#bro I fully expected to only be able to introduce these guys like.

[aphidclan-clangen]

omg waittt, can I ask the kittypet that gave us lilacpaw? if so :

how many kits do you have? what are their names? what's YOUR name?? can we meet your partner? your very silly!!!!

[beevean]

So!

Those first 3 episodes

What can I say?

The plot was written

The backstories were told

The characters were characterized

The social issues were commentated on

The pacing was....paced

100/10, best show ever

On a more serious note I'm genuinely impressed that they managed to make these 3 episodes feel even more rushed to fuck than Season 1, which in its 4 episodes was able to at least establish each of the main characters and the main villain, their respective motivations and you know was mostly just a testing season made to see if there was public interest plus it was made using the scraps of a cancelled movie from 10 years earlier

This shit right here is awful. Genuinely awful, just the most stereotypically fanficy writing I can think of, the pacing goes by so quickly it feels like they're speedrunning the whole thing and there's no way to properly establish each character without it feeling like a 5 minute digression at best and then on with the fight scenes!

And the social commentary is as subtle as a jack hammer of course, i'm treally curious to see if they'll explain how a vampire elite can control society from the shadows so fully when they souldn't even be able to make public appearences during the day. Are you really telling me the citizen of France are so dense they never thought to set the royal palace ablaze during the morning?

Oh and then there's Maria

Called it about her

I have a honest-to-god headache.

Where do I begin?

Well... Richter is fine, so far, although he didn't do much. He's pretty laidback without being too vulgar. That's honestly how I'd imagine the real Richter to be. I wish they advertised those moments instead of showing him crying. I have to wonder, though, why did he use to be a prominent ice magic user of all things. Are they going to say that he inherited Juste's magic? (also where is the morning star?)

But then... big oof.

The pacing is shit. That was painful to go through. These three episodes were full of flashbacks and fight scenes: the latter to shoehorn tragic backstories instead of organically weaving them in the story, and the latter to pad out time, because they were just "oh there are monsters now! Go smash them!"

also I didn't see a single enemy from the games. We're back to S1's generic monsters. Nice.

Also, what's with those backstories? Richter has a Dead Mom, Annette has a Dead Mom + Slavery, Tera is Russian has a Dead Sister... really? That's the best you can do? It's so fucking cheap!

And the show really deadass killed Edouard, a nobody just introduced, in the second episode, and then expected me to feel bad about him because Annette, another nobody, misses him and cries with the most narmtastic voice acting so far. This is literally the same thing they did with Cho, except at least we weren't meant to feel sorry for her.

Maria is insufferable. She's the rudest and crassest of them all, can't talk about anything that isn't "liberty, equality, fraternity" and she's terrible to Richter - why is NFCV's idea of friendship insulting each other? We don't even know how they know each other! At least NFCV showed us how the gang was formed!

(Annette is too bland as of now, but justifying her metalbending with "she descends from gods" is... something)

Can we talk about that worldbuilding? There are still Devil Forgemasters? Who are they? Did Hector and/or Isaac have descendants (good god i do not want to imagine n!isaac impregnating a woman), or it's yet another person, diminishing the uniqueness of the art? And they're using machines to turn humans into Night Creatures? MACHINES??????? What the fuck is this, Sonic SatAM??????

(also bullshit that Night Creatures are only made, not born. Hector said, and I'm quoting from S2E3, "Before the war, night creatures were simply a species in hiding. They either reproduced naturally or were created by acts of wild magic." bro c'mon I'm not even a fan and I remember your worldbuilding, why can't you guys)

But also. Man they didn't even try to be subtle with these vampires. They are the entire French elite, they are the "white slave owners". Wow, deep commentary right there. And tell me, how can they go out in the open and show themselves to humans like that? How can they walk in the sunlight, like Drolta is seen to be doing? I know the original show had vampire lords like Carmilla and Cho, but they're really saying "yep, all the evil nobility is made of vampires" now, and everyone is aware of it.

And fucking Drolta. What the fuck are those shoes. They look like horse hooves. Isaac was neutered to keep her stupid hair and boobs, and also Olrox sitting on the-guy-who-looks-like-agent-stone-from-the-sonic-movies' chest. Okay. I'm normal about it.

and speaking of sonic references, edouard singing at the bird's funeral is peak NANANANANANANANANAAAAA energy.

Don't know what else to add. It was extremely boring and rushed and while we're not hitting the peak of offensiveness of the original show, this is still so, so bad from a writing standpoint.

And, as expected, the only thing that connects it to CV is that Richter has a whip. The story so far looks like a shitty period drama fusing the French Revolution and that good ol' american slavery story. They haven't learned a thing.

How in the hell are they going to butcher SoTN...?

[judaswail]

110% agree on ur tags about rush - teatro d’ira is SUCH a fucking good album from start to finish, and i was excited for the release of rush but it was so disappointing? i don’t think i made it through all seventeen tracks because they were either mediocre or actively irritating - shit like bla bla bla or kool kids, like maybe they might be vaguely satirical or tongue in cheek songs but they’re executed so poorly that i can’t tell. also parts of it seem to suffer from tiktok-syndrome where it seems like they’re trying to get another viral snippet at the expense of yknow. the whole song.

anyway sorry for complaining in ur ask box, just glad to see someone else who thinks it sucks balls <3

omg don't apologize i agree completely!! just the other day i fully relistened to teatro d'ira and it's so weird how they seem to be an entirely different band - sound AND lyrics wise. just like you i couldn't stand to fully listen to that album it was so repetitive and mediocre, and sadly it is the exact kind of record i had been expecting from them at that point: my friend introduced me to maneskin when they were still competing in x factor and i actually started really liking them with teatro d'ira, so knowing that there would be a part 2 was pretty awesome (SIGH). so anyway they won sanremo and then eurovision and literally blew up, and that kind of success is what i feel ended up screwing them over in the long run: it's one thing to play along for a little while with the image the world has of you, of the sexy horny eccentric italians, another to fully commit to it, cause the joke gets real old real fast and it kinda leads you nowhere. and so right after esc they released mamma mia which kinda sucked imo but they said it was just a song to have fun and relax after such a stressful journey so it was fine. then they fired their original manager, and like DAYS after winning esc. and at the time i didn't want to pass judgement cause obviously it was none of my business and what do i know about the music industry anyway, but now I can't help but feel like they did it in favour of someone who would be more able to handle and increase their new found fame as international stars, if that makes sense (this is also considering the fact that they didn't seem to part ways on good terms, their former manager seemed pretty bummed about it on twitter if memory serves me well). ANYWAYS, then they released supermodel, and as we say in italy, si commenta col silenzio. at that point i was almost certain we would be getting a bunch of songs all built upon one repetitive riff, with sexy/tongue in cheek/unserious lyrics. which was the formula for i wanna be your slave, the ONLY song that sounded like that on teatro d'ira, and coincidentally is also the perfect tik tok formula. in hindsight i should have probably given up my hopes for teatro d'ira vol 2 back in 2022 cause after sanremo they said it would come out in like. december 2021 lmao. so anyway SORRY FOR RANTING EL O EL. i just get really mad about this when i stop and think about it cause!! these guys are good musicians!! and just from a lyrical standpoint damiano CAN write insanely beautiful songs. like bro went from THIS:

to THIS:

like even his love songs went downhill

SO HERE IS TO HOPING THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES AND SOME DAY RELEASE TEATRO D'IRA VOL 2 WITH BEAUTIFUL DIVERSE AND DEEP SONGS✌️to cleanse here is the only video of the only song ever:

[prncssguya]

Hi ! I am sorry I’m actually just writing to commiserate with you about the devil judge, I saw your post about how everyone just puts everything on Yohan and I agree sooo much, it’s infuriating to me, how Min Jung Ho just like immediately says it’s his fault he got attacked, and don’t get me started on the fucking priest, what the hell bro? He was a child, a lonely, weird, abused child, not the fucking devil. Seriously it is getting me crazy, it feels like the only person who sees him as a human being is Gaon. I know a lot of people have made a parallel between tdj and Hannibal, and like, I really disagree ? I understand where it comes from, but Hannibal and Yohan are vastly different characters, and the whole characterization of Yohan to me feels like the writers are saying that while every one thinks this guy is the devil, he is very far from it, whereas Hannibal is definitely a monster, and his relationship with will is monstrous as well (and very captivating don’t get me wrong). What do you think about that parallel ? It just rubs me the wrong way but I don’t know if I put it into words correctly. Sorry for the really long ask btw 😅

Hi! thanks for the question. I completely understand what you’re saying. I hope I can answer this well because it’s really so complex. Sorry if this turns into a whole dissertation essay, Hannibal is like my favorite show ever.

Yea I can see a lot of people draw comparisons to TDJ and Hannibal saying things like “tdj is just Hannibal in a courtroom” or “tdj is Hannibal without the cannibalism” lol. I think what people are mostly looking at is the dynamic between Yohan/GaOn and Hannibal/Will and how they’re similar to some degree.

Gahan and Hannigram have a similar type of tension with each other. The difference is Ga On already had suspicions about Yohan from the very beginning and was very antagonistic towards him. Will, on the other hand, initially thought Hannibal was just psychiatrist and sought out his help. It wasn’t until a little later that he started suspecting him and grew to understand his true dark nature.

Yohan/Hannibal— wealthy socialite, sociopathic tendencies, hiding a secret, wearing a “person suit” (more on this later) to fool those around them, misanthrope and thinks humans are beneath them, thinks no one in the world could possibly understand them until they find the one person who does and they can only show their love through violence and manipulation.

Ga On/Will— sensitive, empathetic, intelligent

Will is first introduced as this tortured genius who has an empathetic ability to recreate scenes. In short, he can vividly construct the mentality of criminals and psychopaths. Being able to step into a darkness like that, you have to eventually lose a part of yourself and start sympathizing with the monsters and that’s what eventually happens to him. They’re both capable of murder. Ga On was ready to kill the con artist for his parents if SH hadn’t intervened. They have a moral compass in their corner to keep them grounded (Jack Crawford for Will, Soo Hyun for Ga On—I won’t even mention Min Junho because the guy is sus). They’re both fighting against an internal darkness

Gahan/Hannigram— THE HOMOEROTIC TENSION.

“I want you to admit what you are.”

“Must I denounce myself as a monster, while you still refuse to see the one growing inside you.”

Actual lines from Hannibal. I can’t even mention all the lines that could apply to Gahan (I could hear these words being exchanged between them). Both Hannibal and Yohan bring out the best, and worst, in their partners. Hannigram is toxic as hell. Hannibal would go through all kinds of sick shenanigans to get Will on his side, Yohan has said he would do bad things to get Ga On on his side. Gahan’s relationship is one that starts out tense and mistrustful, then grew to curiousity, comaderie, now Yohan has come to rely on Ga On without him even realizing it or admitting it to himself.

“No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them.”

This is obvious. Hannibal is a cannibal, Yohan is not.

I was rooting for Will to finally succumb to his darkness and join Hannibal’s side because he found the truest version of himself in Hannibal. I have different expectations for Ga On because my sweet summer child is more different from Will, he’s not as drawn to darkness as Will is (in the recent episode, he was so horrified at the blood on his hands). Will in the end basks in it.

I agree with you about Hannibal, there’s really no denying that he is a monster. And there’s really no explanation for why he is the way he is; he wasn’t abused (as far as we know) but he was orphaned and left to raise his beloved sister (who died) and later became a serial killer. Yohan, on the other hand, was an abandoned and abused child who only had the love of his older brother. It’s no wonder that he puts up a tough exterior because all throughout his life, people have made assumptions about him without trying to get to know him. I mentioned the “person suit” earlier, this is a mask Hannibal puts on to blend into the human world. He carefully built his life and reputation as a surgeon/psychiatrist and socialite, presenting himself as the sociable doctor while living his philosophy of eating the rude on the other side on the veil.

Yohan’s person suit is a defense mechanism. Whereas Hannibal is using his suit to hide a monstrous nature, Yohan uses it to hide his vulnerabilities. He’s wearing this suit to blend in with the elite he hates, but underneath that exterior is just a lonely and misunderstood man (who’s actually a softie in reality)

Finally, I think these two shows don’t really have a whole lot in common besides the homoerotic tension. Gahan are vastly different from Hannigram. Yohan isn’t a true monster/devil while Hannibal is. Will turned his back on his moral compass and succumbed to the darkness, while Ga On can’t seem to let go of his moral compass and he doesn’t desire to become a monster.

Sooo ultimately…

[ericsonclan]

A Sparkle Free Reveal

Summary: Louis gets Prisha to come over and watch Twilight with him and he is excited to find out whether Twilight vampires are anything like real ones.

Word Count: 2772

Read on AO3:

Louis could hardly contain his excitement as he slid across the floor in his colorful lightning socks. After countless times of asking and begging he had gotten Prisha to agree to watch Twilight with him. Of course he had told her that Violet was going to be at this special showing of the movie at his house as well, but as luck would have it Violet couldn’t make it. At least not for the first hour or so.

The werewolf’s text message said something about werewolf training or something. Louis wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. The one time he had seen the werewolf training that Violet did with Coach Garcia he only heard the older wolf talking about what was the best cut of steak. Whatever, he was sure Violet would drop by, especially since he said that Prisha would be here. Originally this was planned to be a double date but now it would be a date plus a cool vampire bro.

Louis hummed happily as he grabbed a ton of drinks and snacks. The frankenstein struggled to balance all the great treats in his arms as he wandered to the movie room. The candy shook around with each step he took and his hands were starting to dangle off as he carried the liters of soda. “Come on, old lefty and righty, we’re almost there!” Louis cheered on his hands which were struggling to hold on for dear life.

After a few moments the frankenstein found the movie room again and was able to place down the sodas, cups and candy just in time. “Phew, that was close!” Louis placed his hands on his hips and smiled proudly at the setup so far. He’d gotten a ton of blankets and pillows and the popcorn was popped and placed in cute little old timey popcorn holders. He had procured all the best snacks: candy, chips, popcorn and sodas.

Louis’ eyes widened in realization when he remembered that Prisha was a vampire. He had totally blanked and forgotten the blood packs! Though now that he thought about it, he might not have been able to get them at all. Earlier this week when he had asked his dad about how to buy blood, his father simply frowned in disgust and said he didn’t want to purchase that sort of thing. Louis was trying to think of a good solution when the doorbell rang. That must be Prisha and Clementine!

“On my way!” Louis declared loudly and tried to move his hands from his hips but as soon as he did he heard the all too familiar popping sound. With a groan Louis looked down and saw that now both of his hands were stuck on his hips. He could reattach them once he reached the fron door. For now he had to greet his guests. The frankenstein slid across the floor with lightning speed on his socks. His dreadlocks bounced around from the sudden movement and his hands flapped on his hips. Louis quickly reached the door and realized his mistake. He had no way to stop himself now. With a panicked yelp Louis ran into the side of the wall and fell on his butt. His legs flailed around and his right one popped off slightly.

“Louis! Are you okay?” Clementine asked, her tone filled with concern. She didn’t wait for an answer and opened the door. Her eyes grew large when she saw the state her boyfriend was in. Jogging over, Clementine worked to get Louis’ hands back on.

“I gotta hand it to you Clem, you sure do know how to make a guy feel special,” Louis’ smile grew when he heard the soft laughter of his girlfriend. The sound made his heart pitter patter; he was so lucky to be with Clementine. She made him feel like no other human or monster ever could.

With a small grunt, Clementine pulled Louis up onto his now fully attached foot. Louis grinned and stole a small kiss. His smile faded though when he saw Clementine pause for a moment. But it became clear as day that he had no need to worry about anything when Clementine returned the kiss. Her kisses always felt like electricity coursing through the frankenstein’s body. It was easily the best feeling in the world to Louis.

“Perhaps it would be best if I watched the movie with you another day,” Prisha’s voice made the two look over. The vampire was clearly already feeling like a third wheel.

“No! I wanted to watch Twilight with you today! Don’t worry, Vi said she would come over as soon as she could,” Louis reassured his friend. “Oh! You may enter!” he declared extra loudly and Prisha blinked, startled for a moment before laughing.

“No, Louis, it's quite alright. I’ve already entered this house before. Besides, the whole ‘a vampire has to be invited in to enter a room or building’ is complete superstition.” Prisha strolled in and looked around at the beautiful interior of the mansion. “It was propaganda that humans made to foolishly think they had the power to stop vampires from entering homes unannounced,” Prisha smiled, her fangs poking out until she saw the look in Clementine and Louis’ eyes.

“Are you a burglar in your free time, Prisha?” Louis whispered to the vampire.

“What? No! I was just- I have class and morals!” Prisha huffed and turned sharply around, causing her black cape to flutter up and dance in the wind. How she had not only agreed to watch this vampire movie but also to wear a ‘vampire’ cape was beyond Prisha. She supposed that was the power of friendship; it had been a long time since she had friends so she guessed it only made sense.

“Well, why don’t we start the movie?” Clementines suggested and slipped her hand into Louis’. The frankenstein beamed and nodded a bit too excitedly, causing the seams on his neck to loosen and his head to flop over. “I've gotcha!” Clementine caught her boyfriend’s head and popped it back in pace.

With his head resecured, Louis proudly led the way forward. He twirled Clementine around once before gushing to both girls about how happy he was to finally be able to do this. After leading the monster and human through the maze that was his house and into the movie room, Louis kissed Clementine’s cheek and scampered off to get the movie set up.

Prisha sat down and noticed the popcorn. Human food had little nutritional use for her but it was still tasty. She took a kernel and tossed it in her mouth. The buttery taste made the vampire’s fangs poke out happily. Clementine smiled at her friend’s happiness and began to get the drinks ready. She was about to prepare the blankets when Louis reappeared.

“Please, allow me, m’lady,” Louis took the blanket and dramatically tossed it in the air and let it drape over Clementine. He then slipped under the blanket and blindly searched for Clementine’s hand. After a second he found it and smiled lovingly over at his girlfriend.

The frankenstein watched the ads playing on the screen before the movie for a minute before he glanced over at Prisha. The vampire had made a nice little spot for herself and although she wasn’t expecting anything great to come from the movie she was enjoying the snacks.

“Pssst, Prisha,” Louis’ voice drew the vampire’s attention who gave him a look to acknowledge she was listening. “I forgot to get you blood packs. Sorry,” Louis’s face fell and his dreadlocks swayed a bit.

“That's quite alright. I figured that may happen so I brought some of my own,” Prisha pulled back her cape and revealed little blood pouches tucked along her belt.

“Ooo! That's good. I was worried,” Louis leaned back in his chair and smiled when Clementine kissed his hand. The frankenstein continued to watch the last few ads before the film when he remembered something else. “Oh yeah, Prisha, I got you a neat stand that looks like a cool tree branch so you can watch the movie in your bat form if you want,” Louis squirmed around to get out of his blanket cocoon to grab the stand. He made a series of victory sounds as he held up the cute little stand. Prisha’s eyes shone at the sight. It was cute and a thoughtful gesture. The vampire soon shook herself out of her wonder though. She wanted to make commentary on how much the movie would be getting wrong about vampires.

“No thank you, I’d rather stay in this form.” Prisha opened up a blood pouch and happily sipped it right as the movie started. It didn’t take long for her to make commentary. It was obvious that this interpretation of vampires was extremely inaccurate.

“Ooo! Ooo! It's their first meeting!” Louis chimed in and excitedly ate some candy. The three of them watched as Edward stared at Bella who walked in front of a fan. The vampire viciously clutched his nose as papers blew in the wind.

“What? Did he smell a fart?” Prisha’s question made both Louis and Clementine laugh.

“Nah, he just smelled Bella’s scent and it was too powerful,” Clementine commented as the scene continued.

“Well, that makes no sense. That would be more akin to a werewolf’s ability of scent.” Prisha pointed out and the frankenstein looked over at his friend.

“So you didn’t smell Violet when you first met and become overwhelmed by her blood’s scent?”

“No! I’m not a creep like this sorry excuse for a vampire! I’m refined!’ Prisha grumbled and fell back in her chair, causing her cape to fly up and fall over her face. Clementine and Louis laughed at the sight before the vampire worked to free herself from her cape.

The movie quickly continued on and the other vampires were introduced but Edward was always front and center. “Why are all of these vampires so moody? I don’t act like this, I’m not some dramatic-” Prisha looked over to see Clementine’s teasing smile. The vampire huffed and flopped back in her chair. “Whatever, my point still stands that they are too mopey.” Prisha tossed some kernels of popcorn in her mouth and washed them down with some blood. The movie continued on and Prisha started to point out more things. Why were all of the vampires sickly pale and all of them if not most were white? Prisha began to go on a small spiel about how vampires were actually created long ago and didn’t originate in Europe but in Asia. Clementine and Louis cuddled up close to each other and enjoyed the vampire’s commentary throughout the movie. The couple snuck little kisses here and there and ended up feeding each other popcorn and candy. Prisha was far too caught up in all the inaccuracies to feel like the third wheel anymore even though that was the reality of the situation.

“Oh, it's this scene. I’m sure Prish will love this one,” Clementine teased which made the vampire raise an eyebrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Prisha leaned over but Louis waved his hand.

“Shhh, shhh, you’re ruining the cinematic masterpiece of vampire storytelling,” Louis whispered over at the vampire. She couldn’t tell how serious he was being. Prisha decided not to focus on it though and returned her attention to the screen. Edward and Bella were now in the forest near the school where Edward was opening up about how dangerous he was. He listed reason after reason and Prisha fully believed he was correct in saying he wasn’t the right fit for Bella. Louis, on the other hand, was completely focused on asking Prisha questions.

“Prisha, do you have super speed?”

“No, I don’t,” Prisha responded and saw the little frown on Louis’ face.

“Is it a secret? It's a secret , right? Does Vi know about your speedy legs?”

“Lou,” Clementine gently pulled on his arm. “Enough about the super speed. Clearly Prisha won't tell us the secret. The secret that she has that ability,” Clementine joked and the vampire crossed her arms.

“I can’t believe this is what humans think vampires are like. They don’t think we’re a threat, they think we’re a joke.” Prisha slurped on a blood pouch with a pout when suddenly something on the screen made her stare at it in disbelief. Was Edward really shining now that he was in the sunlight? Before the scene could continue Clementine paused it.

“Sorry, bathroom break. Oh, I’ll also grab the leftover snacks and pop some more popcorn too,” Clementine leaned over and gave Louis a long, soft kiss before leaving.

After a minute Louis leaned over toward Prisha. “I need to ask you something important,” Louis’ eyes looked serious so Prisha turned her full attention to the conversation.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Do you sparkle in the sunlight? Or in general?” Louis gave an excited gasp. “Can you sparkle on command? Show me your sparkly powers, my wise vampire confidant!”

Prisha had had it. Without warning she abruptly stood up. “I am nothing like those vampires! I have no special sparkle power! Observe!” Prisha took the hem of her shirt and lifted it up to stomach, flapping the shirt again and again and again. “Does it look like I’m sparkling, Louis? Am I sparkling now? I have no spark-”

“Shit! Sorry I arrived so late! Werewolf-” Violet paused as she stood in the doorway. Her eyes were focused on Prisha’s toned stomach and she felt her face growing hot. The werewolf now had a deep blush on her face and as Prisha noticed her girlfriend had arrived she wasn’t doing much better. The vampire slowly let go off her shirt, causing it to fall back down and cover her stomach. The two stood in silence, both of them overwhelmed by what happened.

“Hey, bestie! You arrived at the perfect time!” Louis wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

“Louis!” Violet sent her best friend a look but her tail was still wagging just as wildly as it had been a few seconds ago. After a few seconds she noticed what Prisha was wearing. “Why are you in a cape?”

Prisha glanced down and felt her embarrassment grow. “I was told to look like a cool vampire,” She fidgeted with her braid; she was looking like an utter fool in front of Violet.

“I think you look cool,” Violet’s words made Prisha look up at her girlfriend. Her fangs immediately poked out as she smiled. Walking forward, Prisha used her cape and wrapped Violet in a hug. The werewolf’s ears were perked and her tail wagged ecstatically under the cape, causing it to flutter this way and that.

Soon Clementine had returned with the snacks and the movie resumed. Prisha seemed to calm down on her commentary now that Violet was here. Instead the vampire focused on showing affection to her girlfriend as they watched the movie. That didn’t stop funny comparisons between Prisha and the movie vampires from continuing. Many of the group’s favorite quirks about Prisha weren’t present in Twilight at all, like how she made cute bat-like sounds whenever she was gifted a blood pouch or how she got emotional over stories about bats. The four of them all enjoyed the movie though, even if it wasn’t the most accurate interpretation of vampires.

Clementine ended up falling asleep near the end of the movie, her head resting on Louis’ shoulder who kissed it before resting his own on top of hers. Soon the movie was done but neither couple wanted to move. Clementine was still asleep on Louis’ shoulder and Violet had ended up making a comfy little spot in Prisha’s arms.

“So… not a bad movie, huh?” Louis smiled over at the vampire.

“It was alright. It had its funny moments,” Prisha responded positively which made the frankenstein beam.

“Great! Because I have so many more vampire movies to watch with you! Whatcha say, you in?” Louis moved a bit too quickly, nearly waking Clementine but with a few quick kisses she fell asleep again.

Prisha pondered the offer for a minute. Sure, the movie wasn’t accurate but no human’s interpretation of a vampire ever had been. Besides, it turned out to be a fun double date. “Alright.”

“Awesome, because I found one with a vampire who has hair shaped like a butt!” Louis grinned.

“What?”

“Oh, but first we have three or four more Twilight movies to watch,” Louis’ statement made Prisha’s eyes grow large.

What had she just agreed to?

[peaceoutofthepieces]

chapter 20.5

When I Live My Dream (Please Be There To Meet Me)

To go with chapter 20!! It took longer than expected and got longer than expected and I should be asleep already but it’s done!!! It’s again not at all entirely necessary to read, but it probably will explain some things! And also it’s sweet. It’s really a Sobbe piece, but the amount of subtle Van Der Stoffels turns out to be very unsubtle. So!!! Enjoy!! (I promise I will add a ‘keep reading’ break to all of these tomorrow!)

~^~

Robbe is waiting for Sander. It’s become a very familiar occurrence. Only this time he’s at the skatepark, sitting in a cluster with his friends against one of the surrounding walls. Moyo and Aaron are goofing off at the side, being loud and obnoxious and overall nuisances. Robbe rolls his eyes fondly and switches his gaze to the other two members of their party. They’re watching something on Jens’s phone, Lucas slumped against Jens’s side and giggling as Jens shakes his head, and Robbe realises they’re watching his prank on Jens last April. He can vaguely hear Jens’s coughing through the tiny speakers and Lucas laughs fully, bringing his hand to his mouth to quiet it. Jens digs his elbow into his side but there’s a tiny smile on his lips even as he catches Robbe’s gaze and flips him off. Robbe gives him a cheeky grin and winks and Lucas notices the interaction, giving Robbe a mini round of applause.

“Have you heard anything from Sander?” Jens asks, nodding at the phone being crushed in Robbe’s grip. “When did he say he’d be here?”

“Uhm,” Robbe glances at his phone. With a sigh, he admits, “Now.”

Lucas tilts his head. “What does he look like, again?”

“Uh, bleached hair. Little taller than me—“

“—leather jacket, camera around his neck, looks way too cool to interact with any of us?” Lucas finishes, raising a brow. When Robbe only blinks at him, he nods at something over Robbe’s shoulder.

Robbe whips around, and there he is. In all his leather, artsy glory. He smiles when he meets Robbe’s eyes, and Robbe picks himself up to go meet him where he stands, still a good few feet away.

He greets him with a quick, light kiss, and Sander’s hesitant response leads him to the obvious realisation, now that they’re up close. Sander’s nervous. Robbe locks his arms around his neck and shoots him a smile that he hopes appears comforting. “You can still turn around and run, if you want to,” he reminds him.

Sander huffs, glancing briefly over Robbe’s shoulder, but he shakes his head. He gives Robbe another kiss, this one lingering, toe-curling, and Robbe’s clinging to him even when he pulls away, hands fisted in his jacket as Sander’s hand skims over his back. “No, I’m okay. Besides you’ll be there to protect me, right?”

Robbe smiles, leaning in close once more. “Always,” he promises, and steals one last peck. Then he takes Sander’s hand and tugs him along with a reassuring, “Come.”

Jens stands hastily when he sees them walking over, hitting Moyo’s back until those two join him, and Lucas bites back a smile and rises with much more dignity and grace. Sander squeezes Robbe’s hand tightly. Robbe squeezes back. The boys are simply standing there, eager grins on their faces. Robbe feels like he shouldn’t really have to introduce them, that really it just makes the situation more awkward, and they all already know each other. Still, he finds himself saying, “Sander, this is Jens, Lucas, Moyo, and Aaron.” He indicates each boy in turn and then finishes, “Guys, this is Sander.”

“Jack Frost,” Moyo finally greets excitedly, performing an easy ‘bro hug’, and the tension is broken. Jens follows his lead and gives Sander an extra pat on the shoulder when he moves away. Lucas settles on a fist bump, but his friendly smile is turned up to full watts for the blonde and Sander returns it easily, seeming grateful. He turns to Aaron, who’s only watching him with awed interest. Robbe holds his breath and waits for it to unfold.

“You’re Robbe’s boyfriend?” Aaron asks, oblivious to Jens’s amusement and Moyo’s incredulous stare. Sander’s shoulders straighten almost imperceptibly, but Robbe is in tune to his every breath. He can’t help but find the whole thing ridiculous.

Sander looks a little uncertain, but his voice is sure when he says, “Yes.” Robbe thinks he even detects a little pride. He can’t help the smile that takes over even as the moment drags on, the group’s eyes flicking between the two in anticipation. Then, Aaron pulls Sander into a hug.

Sander immediately looks to Robbe, widening his eyes, and Robbe’s lips tremble in his effort to hold back a laugh. He fails when Aaron pulls back just to say, “I’m a big fan,” with a final pat to Sander’s back.

Jens and Lucas are slightly better at stifling their laughter and Moyo only grows more incredulous, shaking his head as he says, “Man,” with all the disappointment of a wronged father. But Sander only laughs, replying with a hesitant, “Thanks?”

Robbe can’t help sliding his arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Sander smiles brilliantly at him and completely ignores Moyo’s dramatic coos. Robbe, however, is more than happy to flip him off. “Don’t you have to start filming for the vlog?”

Moyo puts on a look of offense, but pushes Aaron towards some of the ramps. “Yeah, yeah, come on.”

Jens and Lucas settle back down in their previous spots and Robbe pulls Sander down with him. Sander settles back against the wall and catches Robbe before he can sit next to him, pulling him to sit between his legs instead. Robbe falls against his chest happily, smiling when a kiss is dropped on top of his head, hugging Sander’s arms around him. Jens tilts his head and then shakes it, disbelieving. “You’re such a lucky asshole. I still don’t understand how you did this.”

Robbe shrugs, feeling more than a little smug. He shakes with Sander’s quiet laughter, and he twists his head around searchingly. Sander gives him a short kiss and Robbe melts, sinking lower in Sander’s hold and kissing the hands now clasped at his chest. He doesn’t even notice Jens’s phone pointed at them until he’s blinking after the flash, raising his brows. Jens shakes his phone at him. “For future teasing material.”

Robbe whines when Sander sits up straighter. “Can you send it to me?”

“Of course man,” Jens grins at him, seeming satisfied, and something settles into place in Robbe’s chest. This is what he’s been hoping for. The effortless melding of these two worlds, of everything finally connecting. Jens is his best friend and the first person he ever really felt like he loved with every part of his heart, without any underlying hurt or resentment. Even when he’d had feelings he knew went unreturned, he couldn’t blame Jens. Loving him didn’t hurt the way loving his parents did, and it was way beyond his care for Jana or Moyo or anyone else.

The only other person he loves as wholeheartedly and unconditionally as Sander. He’s not one bit surprised at the warmth blooming in his chest as he’s able to witness the two of them together, the easy interaction between them. Sander rests his chin on his head and a smile breaks across his face, the happiness filling him beginning to overflow.

Jens starts questioning him on his art and photography while Lucas just smiles at them softly, seeming almost as content as Robbe. He’s another thing that has simply slotted into place, a Broerrr they had never realised they were missing until they had him. He catches Robbe’s gaze just as Jens begins giving Sander the shovel talk, and rolls his eyes. Robbe mimics the motion, smile only widening.

Still, he chastises, “Jens,” with as much exasperation as he can muster and his best friend turns to look at him.

“What? You know this is my job,” Jens says, completely serious. “Now, I’m gonna assume you’re being safe—“

Before Robbe can jump over and cut him off, Lucas is already slapping a hand over his mouth, with all the casual air of a wave. Jens shuts up immediately, blinking, and Lucas gives Sander another of his sweet smiles. “Ignore him. I always do. He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about.”

He pulls his hand away abruptly as his face distorts in disgust. Robbe assumes from that and Jens’s smug smile that Jens licked him, and he can’t help the laugh that escapes. Sander manages to keep his to a quiet huff of breath. “Fuck you,” Lucas laughs, wiping his hand on Jens’s cheek. Jens only blows him a sarcastic kiss.

Sander’s laugh comes out fully, now, and Jens and Lucas turn their gazes to him in awe. Robbe completely understands. Still, it’s not often he gets to tease them back, so with another laugh of his own he knocks Jens’s foot. “You okay there Jens?”

Jens licks his lips, collecting himself before saying, “I knew you were, you know, from online and the fact Robbe never shuts up about it, but up close…” He trails off and Lucas just nods rapidly, still staring, and Sander’s arms tighten around Robbe.

“What?” he asks, a little nervous, a little self-conscious, and God, Robbe is in love with him.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, explaining it for them, then leaning up to kiss Sander’s chin. “I did tell you.”

The blush that takes over Sander’s cheeks is lovely.

That’s when Moyo and Aaron come bounding back over, Moyo smiling briefly at Robbe and Sander’s display before focusing on Jens and Lucas. “You bitches still think you’re up for doing this thing?”

Jens and Lucas share a glance before Jens nods, slightly reluctant, and Robbe feels for them. Sander asks, “What are you doing?”

Jens nods at the rest of the park. “We’re going to try to do a trick at the same time. They’ve been making us practice all week.”

Sander pokes him. “Not you?”

“Lucas is better than me at it,” Robbe says simply. “I’m just doing solo stuff.”

Sander smiles. “So I’ll still get to take pictures of you.” Robbe rolls his eyes but nods, accepting one kiss and stealing another.

Moyo crouches down and starts slapping Robbe’s knee. “Sander could be our behind the scenes Broerrr! Oh man, today could be his initiation!”

“Look at his face. You think that belongs behind the scenes?” Jens points out, like Moyo was stupid for even suggesting it.

Moyo glances over at him. “I’m thinking of his talent, man. Don’t relegate our baby Sander to just his looks. I know you’re more than that,” he tells Sander seriously. Jens flips him off and blows Sander a kiss.

“A skatepark seems like a bad place for initiation. I don’t recommend it,” Lucas warns.

“Nah he’s just gonna be our behind the scenes man for the day. See if he’s up to it,” Moyo explains.

Lucas’s draw drops. “Then why the fuck did I have to be scared to within an inch of my life?”

Moyo snorts. “It could’ve been worse. We could’ve used a real spider.”

“Spiders are worse than death,” Sander says gravely. Lucas fist bumps him, seeming grateful for the show of solidarity.

“I didn’t let them. I would never,” Jens reassures Lucas, patting his cheek. Lucas bats him away, sticking his tongue out.

“But basically you weren’t dating any of us or cooler than all of us combined. Sander is a special case,” Moyo adds.

“No,” Sander pipes up. “That doesn’t seem fair. Whatever initiation you want to set for me, I’m up for it.”

Moyo looks at him like he just grew to love him ten times more. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, obviously trying and failing to find an idea. Surprisingly, it’s Aaron who butts in. “Why doesn’t Robbe teach him how to skate?” Then, “You don’t already know how, do you?”

Sander shakes his head as Moyo’s eyes light up. “That could work,” Jens agrees. “If he can do any kind of flick by the end of the day, initiation passed. We all know Robbe won’t let anything harm a single hair on that pretty head, so it’ll be safe enough.”

“Is that possible? To learn it in a few hours?” Sander questions, dubious.

Robbe tilts his head back to look at him. “Are you doubting your teacher?” When Sander only blinks at him, he lowers his voice to add, “Probably not, but it doesn’t matter. If you manage to move like two feet they’ll applaud you for days.” Sander huffs a tiny laugh and nods his acceptance.

Lucas crosses his arms over his chest, shaking his head. “Unbelievable,” he says, though it’s joking, because he looks at Sander with just as much awe as the rest of them. Except probably Robbe.

“Don’t worry,” Robbe reassures him. “You’ll be the victim of many more pranks to come.” Lucas kicks his foot, but he’s smiling, and Robbe laughs.

“Yeah we still get pranked like, all the time,” Jens points out. “That’s the price of having friends, sweetheart.” Lucas huffs at him, but the statement is true, so he drops the argument.

“Alright, you guys want to do this now? Or do you need to wait until tomorrow?” Moyo asks them again.

Lucas shakes his head. “I’m going home for the weekend tomorrow. It either has to be today or wait until next week.” Jens doesn’t flinch at the words, obviously already aware, but Robbe is curious. Lucas has told them a little about his friends back home, Kes and Jayden, but beyond that they don’t know much. He thinks Jens might have a little more insight, but he hasn’t pushed yet. No matter how much some of Lucas’s offhand comments remind him of his own situation, once. He wonders if there’s a reason for Lucas going back now, when he hasn’t seemed to visit once since moving here, or if he’s just thinking too much into it.

Moyo claps his hands. “Then today it is.”

“Okay,” Jens sighs. “But we’re doing some warm ups first.”

As they move away, Robbe looks around at Sander. “Do you actually want me to try to teach you?”

Sander smirks. “An excuse to have your hands on me? I don’t know why you think I’d ever say no, Robbe.”

Robbe blushes and hides it by climbing to his feet, pulling Sander up with him with a gentle smile.

It is a little fun, trying to teach Sander with the blonde’s hands on his shoulders and Robbe’s on his waist. They get off to an awful start, Sander barely getting both feet on the board before teetering to the side and slipping off. They laugh at it at the beginning, and then Sander grows serious, brow furrowed in concentration, and Robbe loves him.

“I love you,” he says, so simply, and Sander would fall flat on his face on the concrete if Robbe wasn’t holding onto him. He tumbles off the board and into Robbe’s chest, eyes wide and surprised, and Robbe stares back at him warmly, trying to convey all the honesty of his statement. Sander cups his face and looks at him in wonder, shaking his head slightly.

“I love you too,” he says, just as simply, and the air in Robbe’s lungs rushes out in a gust of relief. “God, I love you so much. For so long,” Sander continues, in amazement, and Robbe pulls him close and kisses him, as giddy as a child.

They continue as normal after that, only with a few extra smiles and an added warmth in Robbe’s chest. His heart has never felt so content, knowing it’s not only safe, but cherished in return. It’s a feeling he never would have let himself crave, about a year ago. Before he came out, before he learned to love himself. Before he met Sander.

Now, though, as he watches Sander roll a few feet on his own with only a minor wobble, he basks in it, feeling happier than he ever remembers being.

It eventually comes time for Jens and Lucas to do their thing, and Robbe and Sander migrate over to watch. Jens is tapping his fingers against his board, the only sign of any nerves. Lucas stands composed, spine straight, but his tongue pokes into his cheek every few seconds. Robbe gives them both what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Do you want me to film it the first time, or do you want a practice run?”

“The last time I did something this level, I broke my arm. The least you could do is get it on film,” Lucas says.

Jens jerks his head around to him. “You what?” Then, “I’m not letting you break your arm.”

“Well, I hope not,” Lucas says easily. Jens gives him an unimpressed look. “It’s fine. We’ve been doing it all week. We’ll be fine, yeah?”

As far as Robbe knows, they haven’t actually managed to do what they’re planning, but he decides not to point that out.

Jens acquiesces, and they take their place at the top of one of the ramps, facing each other. They lock their hands together between them and kick off at the same time, racing down the groove and back up the other side, letting go of each other at the last second. Robbe holds his breath as they both spin, Lucas twisting in a 180 degree turn in the same time Jens does a 360, and he only releases it when they both land firmly back on their boards, reconnecting their hands with Jens now at Lucas’s back.

They glide to a stop in the middle of the crevice and Jens throws his arms around Lucas’s shoulders, whooping happily. Moyo screams in glee and the other three join him, Robbe pumping his fist in the air as the two begin to laugh.

Later, they’re sitting at an outside table nearby, Robbe once again tucked against Sander as the others go to throw their trash away and pay for their food. He’s enjoying the comfort of their little bubble, relishing the silence, until Sander interrupts it with, “Jens and Lucas are cute.”

Robbe turns to raise a brow at him. “I did not bring you along to comment on how attractive my friends are.”

Sander laughs quietly, but shakes his head in denial. “No, I mean together.”

“Oh.” Robbe shrugs. “Jens was the first one to befriend him when he moved here. Kinda accidentally, but I guess it worked it.”

“That’s sweet. I didn’t know Jens was into guys though.”

Robbe whips his head up to stare at him. “What? No, they’re not like, together. I didn’t know that was what you meant. What made you think that?”

Sander raises his brows. “Everything? It seems obvious.”

“Well.” Robbe doesn’t even know what to say. “It’s not like that. I’m pretty sure Jens isn’t even over Jana. Moyo said Lucas wasn’t dating any of us, remember?”

“Yeah, but I just assumed it happened since then,” Sander shrugs. “Like, ‘you weren’t dating any of us at the time’. You really never got that feeling?”

Robbe shakes his head, a little helplessly. “They’re friends. I didn’t think of anything beyond that.”

Sander does that eyebrow raise again. “They look at each other the same way we do. Do you really think that’s just friendly?”

Robbe glances over his shoulder, to where Jens and Lucas disappeared inside to pay the bill. He can just see them at the counter, turned slightly towards each other. Jens leans in to say something in Lucas’s ear and Lucas shoves him away, laughing. It doesn’t take them long to gravitate back into each other’s space. Now, Robbe can’t miss the way Jens brushes his hand down Lucas’s arm or the smile on his face, mirrored on Lucas’s own, and something breaks in his brain. The hand Lucas rests on Jens’s chest doesn’t seem at all platonic.

[znaeb]

Meet Cute // Z.K.

Bass thumped through his entire body, the house seeming to vibrate with how loud the speakers were.

He made his way down the hallway and into the kitchen looking for Nick, knowing that he was probably at the counter playing bartender.

“Nick!” He called from the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

“Yup?” He responded, his eyes scanning around the room for a second to find Zion.

“Found this in the shower.” He held Nick’s phone above his head with one hand and raised his eyebrows as if to ask ‘what— or who— were you doing in the shower?’

Out of nowhere he heard a small giggle and his head snapped to the right to see who it was. A small girl stood there with a cup in one hand and a cherry popsicle in the other.

She was so pretty, probably the prettiest person he’d ever seen. He looked at her for a second before he even thought to speak.

“Hey... I’m Zion.” He raised his hand to shake hers, but before he could take it another girl rushed into the kitchen and to her side.

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What’re you doing?” She threw a glance at Zion, “never mind, doesn’t matter, come with me.”

“But I was just—” she was interrupted by her friend pulling her out of the kitchen, only able to turn around and shout, “nice to meet you Zion!” Before she was whisked away.

He wanted to say something back but she was already gone. He turned to Nick who had quietly witnessed the exchange, “Who was she?”

“I dunno man, one of Dani’s friends I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued making whatever drink the girl standing next to him had asked for.

“Who the fuck is Dani?” Zion’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Girl she left with.” He nodded his head towards the door they left through.

“Damn.” Zion sat down at the kitchen island and opened himself a beer.

~

He’d been wandering around the party for 30 minutes trying to find her again and he hadn’t had any luck. The house wasn’t that big, but it was packed with people. He asked random girls if they knew who or where she was, even going as far as describing her clothes to a group who said they knew Dani. Still no help.

By far the most crowded place was the living room. He stopped there and hoped that she would walk in, or that he’d see her from his strategic spot in the corner.

After another 30 minutes had passed, he was losing hope. Thinking that when Dani took her away that she must have fully taken her out of the house, figuring that the only way he hadn’t even seen her must be that she left the party entirely.

He grabbed another beer from the kitchen and stumbled back into the living room feeling so disappointed. He danced for a while before getting bored and going to sit outside in the back yard.

He sat in the grass a few feet away from the trampoline in the corner of the yard and laid down on his back, groaning out loud since he was finally alone. He closed his eyes, listening to the bugs and enjoying the breeze.

He heard something shatter inside the house and then someone started laughing. He rolled his eyes and hoped that it wasn’t anything of his that was broken.

The glass patio door slid open.

“Z?”

He sat up on his elbows and looked behind him to see Edwin stepping outside and sliding the door closed behind him.

“What’re you doing?” He spoke again as he walked over.

“Just getting some air.” Zion said nonchalantly and laid back down on the grass. Edwin came and sat beside him. “Have you seen that one girl? Dani’s friend?” He asked with a little bit of hope in his voice, knowing that most of the girls there were Edwin’s friends. What a ladies man.

“Who the fuck is Dani?” Edwin’s question burst his bubble and he sighed.

“I don’t fucking know.” He shook his head and closed his eyes again, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh...” Edwin obviously didn’t understand what the hell Zion was talking about, but then again he rarely did. “I’ll ask around tomorrow if you want.”

“Thanks man.” Zion looked over at him and nodded with sincerity.

“So.... why you looking for a girl you don’t even know?” He asked.

“I don’t know man, she was just so pretty.” He sat up and started picking at the grass by his leg, “like the kind of pretty that’s going to be burned into my head for forever.”

“You sound like a sappy YA novel.” Edwin deadpanned, his face looking suspicious. “How drunk are you?”

“I’m not drunk!” Zion punched his arm and Edwin fell over laughing, “shut up, Ed.”

“Alright, alright.” He sat back up and slightly shoved Zion’s shoulder, “what’d you guys talk about?”

“We didn’t.”

“Huh?”

“We didn’t talk, I introduced myself and then she left with her friend.” He rubbed his face in frustration and slouched. “But she said it was nice meeting me as she left... and her voice was so nice when she said my name. I should’ve followed them out, I should’ve gotten her number.”

“You’re joking.” Edwin raised an eyebrow, “you literally sound like an excerpt from a John Green book, bro.”

“Fucking hell.” Zion huffed and stood up from the grass, “I think I’m gonna get another beer.”

“Yeah, I should go find Miranda.” He said and looked at his watch, “she’s gotta work tomorrow, I don’t want to keep her out too late.”

Zion paused, waiting for Edwin as he stood up and looking towards the house.

“Why is my bedroom light on?” He said out loud.

“I dunno, you probably left it on.” Edwin rolled his eyes and started to make his way toward the house.

“No, I didn’t.” He hustled past Edwin and into the house, ready to break up whatever was happening in his room.

He jogged up the stairs and down the hall, his door was closed but he could see the light coming from underneath the door.

“Hey yo, bedrooms are off limits.” He said as he opened the door.

“Fuck dude, get out.” The guy on his bed yelled as he turned slightly away from the girl sitting next to him.

“You get out asshole, this is my room.” He yelled back, angrily picking the guys jacket up off the floor and throwing it at him.

“Fuck you, man. You shouldn’t throw a party and expect people not to leave for some privacy.” He stood up and stepped closer to Zion.

“The fuck? Go home if you want privacy.” Zion shoved him back, feeling like his personal space was being severely invaded.

In the blink of an eye the guy was back across the room and throwing punches. Zion avoided his fists as best as he could but still got hit in the eye.

Zion threw himself forward and wrapped his arms around the guy’s middle, tackling him the the ground and trying to restrain him from punching anymore.

The girl was yelling something and went to the doorway, shouting for someone to come help break them up.

Zion didn’t want to throw any punches, he didn’t want to be fighting at all, but as the anger bubbled up inside of him and his head started to ache from the impact of the hit he’d taken, he couldn’t help himself from landing a few good blows.

All of a sudden he was being pulled up off of the floor and pushed against the wall, he tried to fight back but stopped when he realized it was Brandon.

“Bro! Chill, chill!” He said loudly. Zion looked over B’s shoulder to see the other guy being held back by what he assumed was one of his friends.

He was breathing heavily and his nostrils flared, he shrugged Brandon’s hands off, stepping forward and away from the wall.

“I’m cool.” He said gruffly, eyes still on the other guy. Watching as his friends hauled him out of the room and down the stairs.

“Alright, party’s over. Clear out.” Brandon clapped his hands once and started ushering people out.

~

A while later the house was quiet.

Zion laid on his bed with an ice pack on his eye. He hadn’t left his room, but he knew the rest of the house was pretty much empty.

He heard Austin talking downstairs, probably to one of the other boys or his girlfriend, but that was the only voice he could positively identify.

Then he heard someone on the stairs. He sighed and hoped that it wasn’t someone coming to check on him. But of course it was.

There was a knock on the door and he called out asking who it was, Nick answered. He poked his head inside the door and said, “hey how ya doin’?”

“I’m alright Nick, my head just fucking hurts.” He spoke quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah yeah, well that’s what happens when you get punched in the face.” Nick shrugged, “anyways, here.”

He spoke quickly and then Zion heard him running down the stairs. He looked up in confusion and there she was.

She was finally in front of him and he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m y/n.”

“I’m Zion.” She giggled at him and took one step into the room.

“I know.” She looked at him carefully, her hands tucked behind her back. “You better keep the ice on that, it’s already swelling.”

He finally realized that he’d taken his hand away from his face, putting it back quickly and looking away when his cheeks flushed.

“You can come in.” He said, beckoning her further into the room with his free hand.

She didn’t say anything, but she came over and sat next to him on the bed. He looked at her and she looked at him.

“Y/n.” He said.

“Yes?”

“Oh, I don’t know... I just wanted to say it.” He spoke stupidly, his mouth turning up into a small smile when she laughed at him.

“Zion.” She said his name thoughtfully, then she nodded to herself and said, “yep, just saying it was a fun idea.”

He laughed in return and looked at the floor.

“I looked for you for like 2 hours.” He said suddenly, finally getting annoyed at holding the ice up and taking it away from his face.

“Well I left, so that’s probably why you didn’t find me.” She tilted her head to the side and picked the ice pack back up, holding it to his face for him.

“Where did you go?” He asked, his eyes looking at the bracelets on the wrist resting in her lap. He reached out and pulled her empty hand towards him, turning it over and spreading her palm flat against his.

“I took my friend home.” She smiled and watched him play with her fingers.

“And then you came back?” He questioned.

“Um, well Dani texted me that Nick was looking for me. So she gave me his number and I called to see what was up.” She recounted the short but very important sequence of events, “he told me that you had been asking around for me, and then he asked if I’d come back to the party and see you.”

He was now holding her tiny hand completely between both of his, watching her face as she told him what happened.

“Remind me to thank him later.” He chuckled.

A few seconds of silence passed before she spoke, “So how’d you end up in a fight?” She asked softly, looking a little hesitant.

“Some drunk guy was making out with some girl in my room and he didn’t like it when I told him to leave... I shouldn’t have punched back, but I got really pissed off when he knocked me in the eye.”

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows again and took the ice pack away from his face to inspect the forming bruise.

“Yeah, that’d piss me off too.” She nodded.

He laughed again and nudged her shoulder with his, “I’m glad you understand.”

They sat quietly for a moment or so before Zion realized that he was still holding her hand. He gave it a small squeeze to ask if it was okay and she responded by pulling his hand into her own lap and running her thumb over the backs of his knuckles.

They stayed up and talked for a long time before she went home, and he even kissed her cheek when she left.

~

The next day his phone went off at about 11 am, he’d received a text from an unknown number. He scrunched his eyebrows and opened his phone to read the message.

‘Don’t forget to thank Nick.’

*********

This is allllllll over the place, but I felt like posting :P

[anactualcaseofthetruth]

Friends Can Break Your Heart Too 

Summary:

Mia Flores flees to Santo Padre for one reason and one reason only: her godfather and the man who raised her, Bishop Losa. The last thing she expects is for Angel Reyes to come into her chaotic life and just maybe be the one thing that makes sense.

Notes:

This is my first go at Mayans M.C. fanfiction, so let me know how I do. I honestly don’t know if I’ll finish this, but it’s in my head and won’t go away, and I’ve become quite fond of my little O.C., Mia

BTW Jeanine Mason (aka Liz from Roswell, New Mexico) as Mia!

Chapter 1

“Of fucking course, goddammit!” Mia Flores curses as she tugs and pulls on the locked chains around the gate of Romero Bros Scrap. “Son of a bitch!” she exclaims to the darkness and delivers a few swift kicks to the iron gate covered in chains with a huge metal lock just for the hell of it.

The twenty-seven year old then steps back to her car and presses her hands onto the hood, silently berating herself for the decision to not stop one last time at yet another shitty, dirty motel, because now it looks like she’s in for a night of no sleep in her car. Again. All she had wanted was to get here, to feel safe, to finally reach the place she has trying to get to.

A loud rumble in the distance catches her attention, the tell-tale sound of a motorcycle, and her breath hitches. What are the odds that they are heading back to the clubhouse?

Mia waits for the appearance of the loud two-wheelers, but they stop short of her being able to see them or hear exactly where they go. Of course.

She considers her options—resign to sleep in her rundown Chevy Cavalier filled to the brim with clothes and all the rest of the shit she took when she made the split decision to leave or follow the noise in an attempt to find the man she came here for?

“Alright, I guess it’s time for a walk,” she mumbles to herself, opening the passenger side door to reach for the little cash she has, her trusty brown faux-leather jacket, and cell phone. She slams the creaky door shut as she swings the jacket on over her form-fitting soft pink v-neck.

After shoving everything into her pockets, Mia looks over herself one last time in the window. Having expected to go right into the clubhouse when she arrived in Santo Padre, she thinks she already looks pretty decent with minimal makeup, hair clean from the motel she stayed in the night before, hanging down her back in its natural state of loose dark brown curls, she has her signature hoop earrings in, a pair of skintight jeans, and her favorite ankle boots with big, thick heels.

It takes over ten minutes of walking and zig-zagging, but Mia finds three Harley’s parked out front of a bar engulfed by smoke. She doesn’t recognize the one bike she wants, but does see the Mayans emblem on the side of all three.

With a sigh she opens the door and enters the smoke-filled bar thinking that even if she doesn’t know any of the Mayans inside—and that’s the likely case—she could at least use a fucking drink.

Her eyes look for kuttes among the crowd, but sees none, and decides to take an empty seat at the bar.

The drink it is.

“What can I get ya, cariña?” the bartender asks, he’s older with worry in his eyes. She’s not sure if it’s something to do with the missing Mayans or being by herself.

“Uh, a beer and shot of whiskey,” she orders, shrugging off her jacket. “Thanks.” A bottle is set in front of her, the lid pulled off with a clink, and a shot soon follows. Mia wastes no time downing the shot and chasing it with the beer.

“A word of advice, chica,” the man says after the empty shot glass is placed in front of him. Mia’s eyebrows raise as she swallows the alcohol. “Finish your drink and head on home. This isn’t the best place to be this time of night for a niña such as yourself.”

“Thank you, but I can take care of myself. Another shot please,” Mia responds with a sweet smile that causes the man to shake his head at her supposed naivety.  

Just as the shot is placed in front of her three men in kuttes exit the backend of the bar. As predicted, she doesn’t recognize any of them, but isn’t shy about looking them over. She practically grew up in the Oakland clubhouse—much can be told simply based on the appearance of a patch.

The first a bigger guy with a shaved head and well-kept beard, which means he has patience and cares somewhat about his appearance. There are tattoos up and down his arms, of course, they even crawl up his neck, and that’s dedication. Mia has no doubt the man would shoot a man without hesitation, but there is also a kindness to his eyes. He isn’t one of the emotionless soldiers.

The second is smaller in stature and body type, a cigarette in his fingers held as if it’s an extension of him. He’s rougher around the edges physically with longer hair and patches of facial hair, he even has some muttonchops forming. He too has tattoos littered all over his body, a small one even on his face. He’s smaller for sure, but there is a fierceness to him that is concerning. His head is on a swivel, meaning he’s always checking his surroundings, and she knows he is completely aware of everyone, and everything, in the room. He’s ex-military, for sure.

The third one catches her by surprise, making her heart skip a beat. He’s taller than the other two by multiple inches, his hair is short on the side and styled on top, and his beard is heavier in the front, but still taken care of. He’s good looking and fully aware of it, and so carries himself with a confidence that can be dangerous. His shirt is tight on his biceps and his arm veins bulge under his tattoos in the best way. MAYANS is tattooed in bold on his right arm, and this alone tells her how important the club is to him. Maybe it’s the brotherhood, the family he gained from joining, or the acceptance they offered. He’s proud to be part of the club.

There’s an ease to his walk that is attractive, it’s a swagger that isn’t forced and is unique to him. She can tell there is a strong bond between the three—they move almost as if they’re one, they are that in tune with one another. Their friendship likely started before they joined the Mayans.

Suddenly his eyes are on her, and now Mia’s heart skips too many beats, but that doesn’t stop her from meeting his gaze. He’s so fucking good looking.

She sits up straighter and runs a hand through her hair, flipping it in a way to get that perfect mixture of messy and sexy, but also can keep a guy’s attention.

One of his friends, the lean one, says something to him that makes him laugh, and it echoes throughout the bar, but his eyes never leave hers as he licks his lips.

Something about the nonstop eye contact makes her uncomfortable, so she looks down at the bar for her shot before tipping her head back with it.

Maybe it’s the intimacy in his stare, the way he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, what she wants, when she doesn’t even know what’s going on in her head. Or maybe it’s the relationship she just left, how his stare never made her feel anything except dread, especially towards the end.

While Mia knows he’s going to end up at the bar with her and it makes her palms tingle with excitement, she knows this is the last thing she needs right now.

Her brain screams at her to get up, to go back to her car, because she’s so close to what she came here for, because of what she’s running from, because she swore she would be different. Her gut, however, and parts further south, urge her to wait because he’s coming any second and it’s so fucking nice to feel excited about something again, especially a guy.

“Hey, Cisco. Two more shots?” she hears next to her not even a minute later and the anticipation in her stomach bubbles over.

The bartender, Cisco, apparently, nods at the request, but says nothing. Quickly their drinks appear, then he is down at the other end of the bar, far away from them and the outcome he was trying to stop by urging her to leave.

One of the shots slides towards her, and it’s only then that Mia lets herself look up at the man next to her. His hazel-brown eyes connect with her honey-brown and there’s that feeling again—that he’s searching her soul for answers she doesn’t even have the questions for.

“I’m Angel,” he introduces before he tilts his head back and takes the shot with no chaser.

His voice is husky and smooth, and she wonders what it would sound like between her thighs. Would it be lower? Would it tickle her skin with the rumble? Fuck, how long had it been since thoughts like these have crossed her mind?

Is he an angel sent for her during her time of need?

“Is that a line, like you’re my angel, or your real name?” Mia questions, being too honest for her liking, and swallows the warm whiskey in one gulp, knowing it’s been too long since she drank and needs to slow down before she embarrasses herself.

He chuckles, leaning on the bar and closer towards her. He smells like smoke and Earth, and she is curious to know if he tastes the same. “It is my real name, and well, if I’m an angel,” he stops to bite his lip, “that depends on who you ask.”

“I bet that’s true.”

“And your name is?” he asks with a lick of his lips.

Suddenly, she wants to take his bottom lip between her teeth to find out what sound he makes. “Not Angel,” she manages.

“I’ll buy you another shot once you tell me your name.”

“Mia, and I don’t need another shot just yet, but thanks for the offer,” she tells him. Another shot is not what she needs right now, all it will have her thinking is how Angel is that type who would like a girl to be loud in bed, uncaring who can hear. In fact, he’d be proud if the neighbors heard.

“Mia,” he tests the word on his lips and it snaps her back to reality. These are not thoughts she should be having, especially with the relationship she just left.

But, as she looks up under heavy eyelids, all she wants to do is be reminded what it feels like to enjoy being with someone again, for once to not know the unsatisfying outcome, to be spontaneous and not care about what others think, to be free to be herself, if she even remembers who that is anymore.

“So, what’re you doing here, Mia?” he asks as he holds his ringed hand up showing two fingers, and she knows their shots will be refilled momentarily. “You’re not from Santo Padre. Small town, you know.”

“It was the first bar I found,” she answers and his throat rumbles in a chuckle.

Angel takes his shot quickly and hisses as it goes down. “You didn’t look very hard.”

“Truth is, I’m on the run,” Mia tells him and pushes the small glass towards him.

“Somehow, I don’t find that hard to believe,” Angel admits while tilting his head down at her. He’s getting dangerously closer and closer to her, and her buzz is running high.

“I was hired to assassinate a high-ranking government official, but before I could my cover was blown and I was forced to flee in the night,” she says. “I’m on my way to Mexico.”

“’ Cause that’s the last place they’d look for a Mexican on the run,” Angel comments with a smile curling at the edges of his lips.

“Well, I figured with how many they are trying to stop getting here it wouldn’t be hard for one to do the opposite,” she says, “even on the run.”

“Your first time?” he asks

“Going to Mexico?”

“On the run,” Angel corrects.

“Isn’t everyone running from something, Angel?” she questions in return.

“Maybe, but,” Angel stops to take the shot between them quickly, “if you’re on the run from the government, you should be better at it.”

“Are you saying I’m bad at it?” she asks, her voice low, making him lean in even closer.

“If you’re trying to hide, you need to keep shit that is recognizable to you covered up,” he explains and his finger begins to swirl at the skin just below her short sleeve. “This gives you away, mi dulce.”

Mia looks down at his finger still caressing the tattoo peeking out from under her sleeve. It’s a skull with a full, vibrant marigold surrounding it, and written underneath is “It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was” with his life and death dates, and one start date with no end.

“The flower of el Dia de los Muertos,” he murmurs.

“Yes,” she whispers and lets him push her sleeve up to see the whole tattoo.

“It’s beautiful,” he tells her, his voice deep and full of gravel. “Two dads?” he soon wonders aloud.

The thought makes her laugh a little. “My biological father died, and my mom couldn’t deal, so his best friend, my godfather, stepped up and raised me for the most part.”

Angel nods with a look of approval overcoming his face before murmuring, “good man.” His finger outlines the entirety of it slowly and painstakingly. Her body flushes, and she isn’t sure if it is from the alcohol or Angel. Probably a little bit of both.

“My mom’s gone too,” he admits. “I don’t have anything for her yet,” he goes on, his hand dropping down to her thigh and squeezing just enough. “Nothing seems good enough.”

“I never got to know him, my real dad,” Mia confesses, finding her voice. “He died when I was five. I’ve heard stories about the things he’s done, what kind of man he was, how he died, but all I remember is that he was always there to put me to bed, to say my prayers with me, and always, always kissed me goodnight.”

“Did your… other Dad continue to tradition?” he asks and sounds so sincere her heart clogs in her throat.

“Every chance he got,” Mia confirms with a wistful smile. “He, uh, didn’t have what you would call a regular job, but when he could he never missed it. At least until I became a shitty tween and told him I was too old for it.”

“Damn, quierda, you probably broke his heart,” Angel teases.

“Oh, he was just the first in a line of many,” she continues in hopes of lightening the conversation.

“You have good taste, the tattoo. It’s a piece worth his memory, or their memories, I guess,” he tells her.

“Thank you,” she says and eyes his arms. “You have quite the mural yourself.”

Angel looks down and grins. “I like to think so.”

“Very… colorful in their own way,” she comments, her finger following the pattern of his veins as it climbs up his muscular arm.

“Some more straightforward than others,” he agrees as she traces ‘MAYANS’ very carefully. She’s sure he is waiting for her to ask questions about the M.C. as people passing through probably often do, or at least want to.

“So, are you going to ask what I’m actually doing here?” Mia questions, her eyes flitting up to meet his. The hazel seems darker than when he first came over.

He opens his mouth, but just licks his lips for a moment. “Are you going to tell me?”

Mia grins, and it feels like her first real smile in months. “No.”

“There’s that, and it’s none of my fucking business,” Angel says and catches her hand in his, linking them together. His thumb sweeps over her skin leaving tingles in its wake.

“And what is your business over here, Angel?” she asks of him, her free hand resting on his knee, her face so close to his that his breath tickles her eyelashes.

“Not sure yet, will be soon though,” he tells her, that cockiness shining through.

“Oh yeah, what would make you sure?” Her nose brushes against his while her hand slides up towards his crotch, her fingers gliding over his zipper as the hope in her chest swells.

“Done,” he states before their lips crash together and Mia finds he tastes like nicotine, alcohol, and something sweet.

His beard tickles her chin, making her smile into his kiss and pull him closer by the openings of his kutte. Angel’s fingers brush along the visible skin on her chest on their way to cradling her chin with both palms. The moan that escapes her throat makes it his turn to smile.

His tongue meets hers and she’s one more smooth move from crawling into his lap right here in the bar. Although, being a Mayan, that isn’t new to him. Still, it’s not something she does, a part of the M.C. life she never thought she’d take part in—the footsteps her mother left behind and she swore she’d never follow.

Mia’s hand cups his growing hard-on and it causes their lips to pull apart.

Angel studies her face for a moment before he nods towards the back of the bar he first came from and stands with a hand extended out towards her.

She doesn’t hesitate, simply takes it and lets him pull her from the barstool. Even if this isn’t something she should be doing, it is something she wants to be doing.

Mia’s whole body starts to buzz with adrenaline as he leads her through the back hallway to what, in Spanish, reads the women’s restroom. He opens it as if he knows no one is inside and brings her along right behind him.

It’s a single bathroom, one toilet and adjacent sink, and is cleaner than Mia expected.

The door locks behind them and she turns to find Angel leaning against it, studying her as if waiting for her to make the first move.

With a tilt of her head, Mia looks him in the eye, lifts her v-neck over her head, and tosses it on the side of the sink. It leaves her in a lace white bra with a pink bow nestled between her breasts.

Angel simply stares at her a moment, a grin forming as he pushes off the door and steps up to her. His arms slither low around her waist, his hands cupping her ass as he looks down at her and pulls her against him, lifting her the tiniest amount as their lips meet. Mia takes the hint and with a hop her legs are around his waist. She doesn’t even notice he’s walking until he sets her on the edge of the sink, his hands firmly on her neck to keep her close.

It’s only now that Mia pushes on his kutte, knowing he wouldn’t have dropped it on the floor, regardless of how much they want to fuck each other. Angel understands, letting it fall down his shoulders and tosses it on top of her shirt. He pulls away a moment later and tugs his shirt up over his head revealing more of his ink.

“Hmm,” she whispers as a hand caresses the black markings on his chest. “Less than I thought there’d be.”

Angel lets out a breathy laugh. “More than I thought,” he counters before dipping his head down to kiss at the colorful silhouetted birds tattooed on the underside of her breast.

Mia leans back against the wall as his lips make their way up the valley of her breasts and neck. Her arms loop around his shoulders, squeezing the solid expanse of skin. His teeth nibble on her ear and she sighs in pleasure.

Surprisingly, Angel doesn’t continue and instead brings her heeled feet up on top of the sink with her. He rips his lips from hers and begins to untie the laces, but Mia smacks his hand away with a laugh before pulling down the zipper on the side.

“Like I was supposed to fucking know that,” he mumbles as the boots drop to the ground.

Mia smiles and reaches a hand up to cup his cheek, her thumb resting on his bottom lip. “You gonna fuck me or what?”

Angel’s lips pucker into a kiss against her thumb before reaching down for the opening of her jeans and unbuttoning them. “Something I gotta do first,” he says.

Mia lifts her weight up onto her hands as he pulls her jeans down. “And what would that be?” she asks once he frees her legs, the jeans now turned inside out from being so tight.

Instead of answering, Angel opens her legs wide, pushes her underwear to the side, and his head swoops down in-between her thighs.

“Holy—!” she can’t even finish as his lips suck on her clit, hard, and his tongue starts to swirl around the nub. Her hands grab ahold of his hair to keep him in place. “Shi-it, yes,” she stutters.

She feels him smile against her and she tilts her head back on the mirror, not caring about the sounds she’s making or how loud she is. It’s been months since she’d been eaten out, or even had any kind of sexual interaction that felt good, wanted.

It’s not long before two of his fingers enter her, expertly hitting that special spot, and causes her eyes to roll into the back of her head as she suddenly comes. It’d be embarrassing how soon she unravels if it didn’t feel so fucking good.

Angel’s fingers pull out, but his tongue circles her clit until her orgasm is over and leaves her heaving against the wall. “Fuck me,” she breathes in an attempt to regain her bearings.

“I’m getting there,” Angel promises, making her smile as he undoes his own jeans.

“Yes, you are,” Mia agrees and licks her lip at the sight of his cock. It’s bigger than her ex, although that isn’t hard to be. She reaches down and wraps her hand around him, giving a tug that makes his forehead fall to her shoulder as he groans contentedly. She pumps it a few more times before he pulls away, reaching into his back pocket for something.

Angel flips the golden condom through his fingers with a certain finesse that she hopes is supposed to be funny because it makes a laugh erupt from her throat. He rips the package open with his teeth and rolls it up his member in seconds.

Mia opens her legs wide once more for him to nestle inside, then tilts her head up to him. Angel presses his lips against hers before slipping inside her in one swift movement. She breaks the kiss in a gasp at the feel of him, of how she stretches to accommodate his size and girth.

“Fuck,” she breathes as he moves in and out of her. The pace is fast and Mia tries to find purchase on the sink, something to grab onto, but all she finds is smooth porcelain. So instead, she reaches forward and places a hand on either side of his hips for leverage.

“C’ mere, quierda,” Angel murmurs and lifts her jaw to push their lips together. She can do little more than moan and breathe into his mouth, but likes the contact.

Mia already starts to come undone, feels that familiar tingle begin to climb up her spine, but shakes her head. “No, no, no, not yet,” she pleads with herself. She’s not done feeling this, not ready for it to be over yet. “I’m not ready.”

Angel smiles against her cheek as he continues to pound into her. “Your pussy tells me you are,” he moans into her ear.

She shakes her head, her nails now digging into his ass. “Uh-uh.”

He takes her hands from his bottom, where she was probably about to draw blood, and links them through his own, then presses her against the wall. “You’re gonna come, mi dulce, right fucking now,” he orders through grinding teeth.

Against her own wishes, her body lets go, and she bites her lip to keep from calling out as her inner walls clamp down on his cock, hard. Her body starts to shake, her fingers squeezing his, probably cutting off circulation, as comes harder than she ever has before.

Angel is cursing in her ear as he fucks her through the orgasm, not letting himself go until she’s coming down.

“Holy shit,” Mia breathes, wiggling one of her hands free to thread it through his hair, caressing his scalp while he comes down himself. “I think you are my angel,” she murmurs.

Angel lifts his head from where it was resting on her shoulder, a grin on his face. “Happy to oblige.”

Mia smiles back at him and kisses him. “I’m sure you are.”

With that, Angel finally pulls out of her and drops the used condom in the trashcan before reaching down to pull up his pants.

“You think you can hand me my jeans, Angel?” she asks with her legs dangling from the sink.

Angel reaches down for the denim and even turns them right side out for her.

“And they say chivalry is dead,” Mia teases as she starts to slip them up her legs without getting off the sink just yet.

“That so?” he questions, bending down to put her boots back on her feet, zipper and all. When he stands, he winks, and reaches for his shirt and kutte.

“You are a smooth one,” she remarks as she hops down and shimmies the tight jeans all the way up her thighs. “You mind, uh, giving me a minute? I got a little more to clean up than you.”

“Sure thing,” he replies while swinging his kutte on and reaching for the door handle.

“By the way, Angel,” she starts before the door is quite open. He turns with his eyebrows raised. “That thing about not thinking anything is good enough for the tattoo of your mom, it’s bullshit.”

“Oh, really?”

“It���s not about something being good enough, it’s about what will make you think of good memories of your mom when you see it or when you touch it. It’s for you to remember her, to honor her, no one else,” she tells him. “That’s all it has to be.”

Angel looks her over, then nods in what looks like respect. “I’ll take that into consideration.”

This time Mia winks at him and he leaves the bathroom with a chuckle. She finishes dressing, pees quickly, and throws her hair up in a bun since it’s no longer going to look nice down, not after his fingers got all tangled up in it.  

She heads back to the bar, stopping short of being seen coming out of the hallway and looks for Angel. He’s not at the bar, but she does see him off to the side, turned in the opposite direction on the phone.

Mia quickly grabs her jacket and drops a few bills for her share of drinks before ducking out the side door, hopefully before Angel caught sight of her.

She has no trouble making her way back to her car, a smile glued to her face the whole way.

This is not the way she expected her first night in Santo Padre to go. However, as she gets into her car, kicks off her boots, extends her driver’s seat as far back as it will go, and settles under a blanket, she can’t help but think it’s kind of perfect.

They say the best way to get over your ex is to get under someone else, and there’s nothing like kickstarting the process.

For the first time in a long time, Mia falls asleep quickly and with a smile on her face.

-:-

She feels like it’s only been five minutes when she wakes with a start and pounding on her driver’s side window.

It’s accompanied by angry Spanish that doesn’t stop even though the perpetrator can see that she’s awake. As the pounding gets louder the voice changes to English. “Get the fuck up! You think this is park and ride? Are you deaf?” he’s asking.  

In a fit of anger, because the noise is not helping her headache, Mia pops open the door and hits the man with it.

“What the fuck? The fuck is wrong with you, lady?”

“Me? You’re the one knocking on my door like the fucking police,” she reminds him as she reaches for her boots.

“So you understand English, now get the fuck out of here,” he tells her.

Mia stands, squinting in the harsh sunlight, and looks the guy who has been bothering her up and down. It’s one of the guys from the bar, obviously not Angel, but the smaller one. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to get the hell out of here. Do you not understand what I’m telling you? You. Can’t. Park. Here.”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” Mia sighs and reaches for her cellphone. It’s just past nine AM, the gate to the clubhouse is now unlocked, and Romero Bros Scrap is now open, she guesses. “Bishop here?” she asks while walking around to the trunk of her car as it pops open.

“What the fuck? How do you know Bishop?” the man asks, his attitude becoming even more impatient as he steps closer to her.

Mia fishes out a black flowy shirt that has crisscrossing straps across the chest and unashamedly brings it to her nose for a sniff. “Smells clean enough,” she mumbles to herself before taking off the pink v-neck from the night before.

“Jesus Christ,” the guy complains and turns away from her, which is completely unexpected.

“You Santo Padre boys, you keep surprising me,” Mia comments, the new shirt now on, but he still doesn’t turn back.

“Yo, Coco! You take care of our curbside trash yet?” they both hear and she definitely recognizes this voice.

“Can’t get a straight answer out of her,” Coco, it seems, calls back.

“Her?” Angel questions as Mia closes her trunk and it stops him in his tracks at the sight of her.

“What’re you…” he trails off, looking from her to Coco and back. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Your friend didn’t seem to understand the question, so I’ll ask you. Is Bishop here?” Mia asks

“Bish… you know Bishop?” he responds.

“Yeah, that’s about as far as I got with Coco here,” Mia sighs as she makes her way between the boys to enter the scrap yard.

“How the fuck do you know Bishop? Let’s get that far and maybe we’ll tell you where he is.” Coco catches her by the arm in an effort to stop her from going any further.

Mia shakes her arm free from his grasp. “Touch me again like that and you’ll be dealing with me and wish it was your el Presidente by the time I’m done,” she warns causing both men’s faces to be overtaken in shock. “And, actually, we’re going to do it this way. I’m going to find a bathroom so I can pee. By the time I get back, you can either have Bishop here or on his way, or even an address for me to go to him. How does that sound?”

“Listen, perra—”

“Hey, enough,” Angel stops the insult coming from Coco’s mouth mid-sentence. “Bathroom is through there. If you can’t find it ask the guy with wooden fingers, he’ll point it out to you,” he says with a head nod towards the scrap office.

Mia nods thankfully, but throws a glare Coco’s way before turning towards the building she was directed to. It’s minimal, a computer and stacks of paperwork, but she sees the bathroom sign and a little grateful she doesn’t see the wooden finger man. That has to be a whole other story.

When she’s done, Mia stares at herself in the mirror. Her bun kept through the night, the little makeup left on did too. She breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth to calm her nerves.

When Coco grabbed her arm… she didn’t mean to snap, but she’s done being a doormat. That isn’t the woman her godfather raised. She needs to remember who she is, where she came from, and that all starts and ends with Bishop.

When she manages to stop the shaking she exits the scrap office and finds it’s not just Angel and Coco waiting for her, but is now Taza and the one she’s been asking for.

“…has a fucking mouth on her,” she hears Coco saying, a cigarette now in his mouth.

“Do you know how many women that could be?” Taza asks and the honesty makes her snort a little.

All four turn to her and Bishop’s face goes from confusion, to shock, to a smile bigger than she ever remembers all in a matter of seconds.

“She certainly does have a mouth on her,” he comments and is already walking towards her.

“Well, I learned from the best,” Mia jokes as he scoops her up in his arms.

“That you did, baby girl,” Bishop laughs in her ear.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much, Bop,” she whispers and lets him hold onto her so tight it almost hurts.

“Me too,” he says and squeezes her one last time before letting go. “What are you doing here? Did you call?”

Mia shakes her head and tries to hide the tremble threatening to overtake her body. “What? A girl can’t come to see her old man?”

“Any fucking time, pequeña, any time,” he assures her with a kiss to her forehead.

She smiles and hugs him again, this time it’s softer, but feels no less safe than the one before.

“Uh, you mind fucking introducing the rest of us?” comes from their onlookers a moment later and causes them to pull apart.

“Not all of us need introductions,” Taza mentions a second later and Mia smiles before giving him a quick hug too. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart.”

“You too, Taz,” she replies and steps back to Bishop, who wraps an arm around her shoulders.

“Boys, this is Mia, my baby girl.”

CHAPTER 2

Notes:

Thoughts??? Reply with ‘em! Or go onto ao3 and do it as a guest or signed in if you have an account. 

And to the people who asked me to tag them:

@mrsamaroevans && @joalsglasses

[silver--storms]

I know you like it.

This is loosely based off of a dream I had about Jake that I just couldn’t get out of my head, so I thought what the hell? Might as well share it with you guys! Please reblog and let me know what you think! 

WARNINGS: 18+ only, NSFW, fingering, oral, intercourse.

Specific triggers: Violence, sexual harassment.  

   You had arrived at your favorite pub, your best friend had invited you out to get a few drinks after work, you sat at the bar waiting for her to arrive. After about twenty minutes of waiting, she texted you that she wasn’t able to make it, that she had been called into work. You were already a couple Jack and Coke’s in so you figured you’d stay for just a little while longer, hole up at a table towards the back of the bar and people watch. You had luckily brought your favorite book since your best friend had a tendency to cancel at the last minute, you always came prepared. 

   When you went up to grab another drink from the bar, a random guy approached you and immediately made you uncomfortable. He started saying how good you looked, of course you told him you weren’t interested. He was persistent, you tried to ignore him and just hoped he’d either go away or that the bartender would hurry up with what would now be your last drink. The guy kept going, you barely looked in his direction, keeping your eyes fixated down at the bar, counting the seconds until you could go sit back down and escape this awkward encounter.

   The guy was your average frat bro, he said his name was Dave, not that you asked. He struck you as the kind  of guy that even after graduation, still throws keggers in his moms basement and catcalls women when they walk past him like the simpleton he is. Another man your age had approached, leaned over the bar on the other side of you. When he got the other bartender’s attention, he ordered a whiskey neat. The bartender asked for his name to start a tab and he told her his name was Jake. 

You turned your attention back to Dave, he was just relentless and you were starting to get frustrated. 

“You know, you’d be prettier if you smiled, you should try it sometime.” he said with an antagonizing smirk. 

You rolled your eyes, “Look, I already said I’m not interested, I’m not sure why you’re trying to continue this conversation. It’s not going to happen.” you said in a flat, but annnoyed tone. 

   You noticed Jake had overheard you, he seemed to catch on to what was happening next to him, almost like his ears perked up and shot you a strange look. Before you knew what was happening, you felt a hand slide down onto your ass, you turned to see Dave moving in closer to you when he said, 

  “Come on sweetie, I know you like it, why are you trying to play so hard to get? No one likes a bitch.” and laughed with his buddies. 

  You swatted his hand away,  “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” you shrieked.

Before you were able to fully react to the situation, all of a sudden Jake was in Dave’s face, you noticed his fists were clenched and ready to go. 

“What?” Jake said in a raised voice, drawing attention from the people at the bar, “Am I too close to you? Why don’t you relax and give me a smile?” Jake said in a condescending way, “Am I making you uncomfortable?” he snickered. 

Dave shoved him away, almost causing Jake to stumble but he got right back up in Dave’s face again, so close their chests were almost touching, he continued,

“Come on sweetie” Jake cocked his head and patted Dave’s face, “I know you like it.” 

Dave threw a punch at Jake but missed, Jake swung back with a left hook making contact with Dave’s jaw, causing Dave to fall back and trip over a bar stool, landing on the floor. 

The entire bar went silent, all eyes on Jake, he stepped back, looking at Dave on the ground holding his face.  “If you treat women like bitches, you get treated like a bitch.” 

With that Jake looked back at you, “You good?” he said almost under his breath, You were frozen, still processing what the fuck just happened, so you just nodded at him. Jake returned to the bar, quickly downing his drink and closing out his tab. He then grabbed his coat and made his way outside, exiting the bar.  

   Your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest and your cheeks were flushed, you realized you didn’t even get a chance to thank him. Quickly you paid your bill, grabbed your things and rushed out the door after Jake, hoping to catch him before it was too late. When you stepped outside the bar, you expected he would have been down the block by now, you looked both ways without a sign of him in sight. 

“Hey.” said a familiar voice from behind you, to your surprise Jake was still there, leaning up against the side of the bar, smoking a cigarette, he continued “Sorry about all of that, I kind of lost my temper a bit in there, I didn’t mean to cause a scene.” he smirked at you. . 

You smiled at how direct he was being, “Oh, no, don’t be. I actually came out here to say thank you.“ looking down at your shoes, you continued “You really didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate -”

He interrupted you, “Yes I did. It’s 2020, we’re too advanced as a society for that type of shit…or well, we should be at least.” he confessed. 

Jake stepped into the light, “I’m Jake,” he reached his hand out towards you, “and you are?” 

He was looking at you attentively, the entire way he held himself was so intriguing to you, it was hard to stay focused. You introduced yourself, trying not to blush now that you were able to get a better look at him. He was very attractive, He had this beautiful hair that had a slight wave to it, deep brown bedroom eyes and noticeably good eyebrows. He was wearing a dark leather jacket, ripped black jeans and a shirt that said “The kinks” on it. 

 Jake offered you a cigarette, you obliged, taking it from him. You place it between your lips, “Got a light?” you asked.

He nodded, stepping a few feet closer to you, bringing his hands up to cover the flame. Your hands followed suit as he lit your cigarette, your hands brushed together ever so slightly and caused your stomach to flutter.

Once he got it to light, he stepped back, narrowing his eyes at you, “So, were you meeting someone here or?” he said, smiling at you.

 Just like that, the next thing you knew the two of you were stumbling into his apartment, wrapped up in each other touch. With one hand, Jake firmly gripped your waist and with the other he cupped the back of your head, pulling you in for a wet and passionate kiss. 

You smiled against him, biting down on his lip, Jake groaned and slipped in his tongue, dancing together with yours. Jake pushed against you, grabbing at your shirt, and guiding you backwards towards his couch. You followed his lead, pulling your shirt off, letting him push you onto the couch and get on top of you.  

   You were entranced by his lips, he was such a great kisser but the smell of vanilla in his hair and how tender his touch was, had you intoxicated. You were having an out of body experience, it’s not like you to have random hookups, but there was something about Jake that justified giving him the green light. 

   Jake’s hands quickly found your breast, gentle cupping them and giving you small squeezes while still focusing his attention on kissing you. You moaned against his your lips when he started to rub and gently pinch your nipples. You reached down to undo your pants, giving him the go ahead, Jake slowly moved his hand down and traced his fingers across the hem of your panties. He seemed to like teasing you, making your hips jerk with little jolts of excitement, it was a game to him. 

   He slowly worked his way underneath your panties, petted your center, but waited to dip his fingers into your heat. You let out a breathless moan, you never had someone touch you like Jake before, there was this unspoken connection between the two of you. You both knew what the other person needed. 

    Jake slipped his finger in between your folds, he gave your clit a couple of soft strokes before removing his hand to pull your pants down the rest of the way, he struggled to free your feet, you had to kick while he pulled them off of you. The two of you laughed for a minute at the awkward moment, before crashing back into each other and his hand picking up where it had left off. He glided his fingers through your center, when he felt how wet you were he hummed and smiled at you. Jake dragged his index finger up and down, you thought you were going to cum right then and there. 

     You watched as he slowly lifted his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean and moving his face between your legs. As soon as his tongue hit your labia, you let out a loud mewl and trusted yourself against him. Jake moaned against you, obviously enjoying you riding his tongue, enjoying every moment he got to taste you. You abruptly felt him insert two fingers, immediately started to plummet them in and out of you. Feeling him spread your walls, he increased his speed, it was all you could do to hold onto the couch to stop from falling off. 

  You fell apart and lost all control of your inhibitions, long explicit sounds started escaping your lips. You started to feel a familiar burning, your abdomen tensing and feeling yourself contract around his fingers. Without much warning you started to cum against his tongue, once Jake realized what was happening, he increased his speed even more. 

With both hands on Jake’s head, you rode out your high as the room spun and everything went white.

    As soon as you finished, you were left breathless, totally wrecked from how intense of an orgasm he gave you. Without missing a beat, Jake removed his shirt, he started to undo his belt buckle and the fly of his pants. You were mesmerized, totally captured by how beautiful he was as you watched him undress. When he finally revealed himself to you, it was hard not to stare, he was so beautiful.

   Jake slid his underwear off, exposing his pulsating erection, the sight of it made you throb and wetness pool once again between your legs. Jake left the room briefly, when he reappeared he was opening a condom and quickly put it on. He rejoined you on the couch and playfully pulled you on top of him. You giggled as he wrapped you up in another kiss, his hands gripped your bare ass, pulling you in closer and rubbing up against his cock. He reached his hand down between the two of you, lining up the tip of himself up with your clit. Jake pressed his forehead against yours, locking his eyes with yours, he slowly moved his tip up and down, nudging you ever so slightly. He kept teasing you like that for a few more moments until you couldn’t take it anymore, you pushed his hand away and gave him a few strokes. 

  You could feel him throbbing with excitement in your hand, you lined him up with your opening and sunk down onto his cock. Jake wrapped his hands around you, pulling you flesh against his chest, letting you rock into him and take control. He buried his head into the crook of your neck and shuttered when you began to increase your pace.  

  You started to practically hop up and down, holding onto the back of the couch for leverage, pulling yourself almost all the way off and slamming back down onto his dick. Jake was losing control beneath you, his hands started to move all over your body and he made sweet sounds in your ear. He leaned back, watching you ride him, captivated by your form, feeling how tight you were around him. You were close yourself, but it was over when you saw Jake squeeze his eyes shut and his mouth go agape.  Your next high hit you like a train seeing Jake’s face twist, he let out a deep and lengthy groan, 

“Fuck, oh my god that feels so fucking good, don’t stop.” he moaned, “oh shit.”, He panted, he was so close. Overwhelmed by pleasure, you collapsed on top of Jake as you sloppily attempted to still ride him while you came together.

You stayed still on him for a few more moments, unable to move as the two of you tried to regain your composure, he brushed your hair back and kissed you once more before letting you move and get into a more comfortable position. Jake laid back, pulling you onto his chest and held you close. 

“That was amazing.” he confessed, “Seriously, that was so good.” he said smiling at you. 

You laughed, giving him one last kiss before you felt yourself drift asleep in his arms.

Shout out to @sweetkiszkadreams for telling me to write it. 🖤

[ayellowcurtain]

SKAM NL S3 EP1 - Lucas Van Der Heijden

-

Lucas loves to party. It gets his mind off of his shitty life. Now it’s even easier, he’s living with Jayden and Ralph, the party animals.

He was trying to be better, to get out of a situation that was clearly not healthy with his mom. Lucas doesn’t care about his dad anymore, he didn’t have the right to leave like he did so fuck him.

“Here…” Kes gives him the joint back and he takes a long hit, letting it fill his lungs slowly, laughing when he sees Kes just staring at him, raising his eyebrows. “We’re sharing, you know…” He says and Jayden gets the joint of his fingers, smoking too.

“What? I can only smoke for half a second?” Kes nods his head, pinching his cheek.

“Yes, you’re too young and too skinny to smoke this much.” Lucas rolls his eyes, turning to look at the city while the other two continue to smoke. They have an amazing view from here. He can see all the lights still on, inside some apartments across the street you can see another party happening, but you can’t hear anything apart from muffled loud music coming from inside their own apartment. It feels like the city is sleeping at ease. Lucas wishes he could be at ease like that too.

“Shit…” Jayden is pulling him by his jacket to turn to them again, shoving his bag of weed inside one of Lucas’ pockets. “The cops are downstairs.” He taps the pocket and opens the door for them to get inside again.

“Wha-Why the fuck I’m the one that’s keeping it?” He opens his arms and follows the other two inside. The bag is not too big, you can’t see it, hiding inside his pocket, but he doesn’t want to get caught by the fucking police.

“Your baby face will help you, they won’t look for it in you.” Lucas looks at his best friend, waiting for any help, but Kes just shrugs and taps his shoulder, walking past the drunk dancing people, into the kitchen, just waiting for the police to ring their bell.

If it was up to him, they would have gone somewhere else, maybe Kes’ place. He kissed someone earlier, but he couldn’t care less about the girl, he did it because his friends were nagging him about it. Lucas is not even sure about her name anymore. He can see her staring at him while dancing with her friends, but he just ignores it, trying to act cool while he’s waiting for the cops to come and end the party and hopefully not inspect the left pocket of his jacket.

-

This room is way too fucking hot.

Lucas moves his legs until they managed to push the sheets away from his body, just keeping his feet underneath it. He blinks a few times, the sun is burning his improvised bed. It’s his luck that the only place they could fit a mattress in Jayden’s room was where the sun shines bright all day long. Most of the time is good, he likes the feeling of warmth, but today is just not the day.

Jayden forgot to close the curtains again and it’s too hot. He moves to his side, Jayden’s bed is empty, Lucas can’t remember what happened, but apparently Jayden didn’t sleep here today. He’ll have a taste of what’s privacy again. He looks at the door to check again: it’s closed, so he can close his eyes, trying to think of something...interesting while slowly pushing his hand down his body, pulling his briefs away from his skin.

“Good morning!” Lucas pulls his sheets back up to his shoulders while Ralph bursts into his bedroom, pushing Jayden in front of him. Jayden lies down on his bed and fully covers himself and Ralph comes to Lucas’ bed, looking at his phone, putting his head on Lucas’ chest, still looking at his phone.

“Ralph...knock on the fucking door, fuck!” He complains, suddenly feeling tired again, trying to move away from Ralph.

“Sorry, baby. But Liv is here! Say hi!” Lucas pulls his sheets to be fully covered as well, closing his eyes.

“Hi, Liv!” Jayden says in unison with him from under their respective sheets. The sun is not bothering him anymore, Ralph is, but the warmth starts relaxing him into his sleep again, Ralph and Liv are just background noise now, even the weight of Ralph’s head against his chest is soothing.

-

“Man, I knew I shouldn’t have left it with him, Kes!” Jayden is still whining and the day has barely even started.

“What the fuck are you talking about? It was your idea!” Kes laughs, shaking his head and he’s right. Lucas definitely didn’t ask to be the one to hide the weed. It’s not his fault that he lost it at some point when the police came in. If Jayden was so worried he should have kept it close to him.

“That costs money, bro!” Kes rolls his eyes, looking at Lucas, silently saying don’t worry. And he’s not really worried. He can’t remember half of what happened that night, he doesn’t even know how he got to his bed and how he slept only wearing his briefs. Ralph said he helped Lucas get to bed and Lucas took his own clothes off.

He has nothing to say so his eyes just wander around his surroundings. Deep down, Lucas is so sick of this. The same people every day, the same subjects, the same problems. Lucas has a heart and feelings and of course he loves his friends, it’s just that-

Finally, a new face. A good looking face.

Again, his friends are just background noise as his entire brain seem to focus on one person.

It’s hard to miss him, really. With a purple windbreaker with a neon-yellow line crossing his chest. His skin looks like honey when the sun hits at just the right angle. His hair is very short and bleached, apparently his mouth is constantly pouting just a little with soft, thick lips. He’s far away, but Lucas can tell he has piercing bright brown eyes that are staring back at Lucas now. Fuck.

“I’m still hungover and you’re talking about another party.” Kes’ voice slowly starts to come in the foreground just in time as Engel stops right in front of their table, blocking the way to the new guy.

“Hi!” She says happily and Lucas can’t relate to that mood this early in the morning.

-

Lucas shouldn’t be able to remember the guy’s features so perfectly. And he shouldn’t still be thinking about him either. Maybe he’s just a pretty face. Or maybe he just has style and long legs that go on for days. He’s probably just another guy that’s full of himself.

He’s interrupted again by Esra coming inside his bedroom without knocking on the door first. She comes with a soft smile that seems to be her thing, and sits on his bed, looking at him.

“I’ve got your weed.”

Maybe he’s in trouble. She’s always in a good mood and she’s the nicest person he’s ever met, but maybe he doesn’t know her that well. They don’t really talk.

“Ok…” With that smile on her face, he can’t read what she’s expecting him to do or say, so he waits.

“You want it?” She raises her thick eyebrows and her tone is still chill and soft. Lucas really looks at her and sits on his bed. Esra is holding something but he can’t see, she has one hand on top of the other.

“You’re going to give it to me without a lecture of why weed is bad for you?” It’s a push-and-pull kind of conversation that’s unexpected. She was the last person he could think that would have his weed. And if she did had it, he would never imagine her being so calm about it.

She finally moves just enough to turn her hand and offer him the little plastic bag filled with weed. Maybe he’s missing something here, but he slowly reaches and she lets him grab the bag.

“Thank you...?” Esra happily nods her head and like a ballerina with soft and perfect movements, she gets up, but she’s still looking at him.

“From now on, please clean your room, it stinks.” He’s still confused, but he nods his head. She’s not wrong and she just spared him of a lecture and having to deal with Jayden’s complaints, he can try to clean his part of the room.

-

This is the best part of summer. Having parties every day, you can even choose which one you wanna go because there are plenty of options. Still, Kes choose the worst one for them to go. Engel’s party are so fucking boring! It’s always just them and the girls. Everyone else doesn’t care enough about her to spend their Friday nights at her party. Kes and Isa keep stealing glances and Lucas can’t deal with that drama anymore. So the best thing he can do is get drunk.

“Does anyone want anything?” He taps on the table to get their attention. Kes just shakes his head, too busy looking at Isa to properly answer and Jayden just looks at him and shows his empty bottle. Two beers then.

The fridge is old, it doesn’t hold the temperature too well. As soon as he grabs the bottles inside, he knows they’re not cold enough. Lucas opens both at the edge of the counter and takes a big sip, not wanting to wait for the beer to get even warmer.

Looking from afar it’s even worse. The small apartment feels big. Jayden and Kes outside on the balcony and the girls sitting on the couch, watching Ralph and Esra trying to sing and dance to the music they choose in the karaoke. Jayden turns his body and puts his head inside the living room.

“Is anyone else coming?” Janna looks down and quietly looks at Engel and shrugs. Nobody is coming. Jayden seems to get that too, grabbing his phone again, probably looking for other parties to go to.

Lucas takes a deep breath, ready to go back to the sad party when someone opens the door, blocking the kitchen’s entry. The guy from the other day. He looks behind the door, straight into Lucas’ eyes.

“Sorry. Hi.” He can’t think of what to say, the guy just talked to him. He has a deep and calming voice that matches perfectly with his looks. And he’s just as tall and Lucas imagined.

The new guy finally closes the door behind him, still looking at Lucas while he does so and then he goes to say hi to the others. Lucas is still in shook and the others are singing too loud so he can’t hear when the guy introduces himself to the girls and then goes to shake Kes and Jayden’s hands.

There’s no way he can just go back to talk to his friends now. He is there, smiling and talking to Kes, of all people. Lucas leaves one of the bottles on the counter and quietly goes out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Janna’s building is a small one so he takes the stairs instead of the old elevator. The more time he has alone, the better. When he finally gets to the ground floor, his beer is also done and he leaves the empty bottle on the floor, walking out of the building. The streets are empty and Lucas has some time to himself.

He looks for his phone, but it’s not in his pockets, he forgot at Janna’s place. So he has nothing to distract himself from his feelings and his thoughts. Whoever he is, his name and where he comes from, he’s Lucas type. If Lucas could ever create someone made for him, that guy would be it.

The quiet night is interrupted by an old door opening and closing. Lucas looks inside the building just to see him again, the elevator door closing behind him, he’s looking around, stopping when he finds Lucas outside. He smiles and comes out too. Why does he smile so much?

“Hi.” He stops by Lucas’ side, grabbing a cigarette and lighting it in between his perfect pouty lips. He’s looking at Lucas, probably waiting for a response this time.  

“Hey…” Lucas manages to say, looking around to see if someone is seeing this.

“What’s your name?” He turns his body a little so he’s actually looking at Lucas, he is being very obvious that he wants to continue the conversation, not just be polite to a stranger.

“Hm, Lucas. And yours?” Lucas puts his hands deep inside his pockets, pushing his thumbs against his palms, trying to ground himself. He takes one step back so he can see the guy without having to turn his body.

“Milan.” He offers his hand and they shake hands a second later. His hand is big and mostly soft, just not so soft where his fingers start. They definitely shake hands for too long. Lucas is the one to pull his hand away, shoving it inside his pocket again, trying to engrave in his memory how Milan’s touch feels.

The awkward silence turns even worse after the weird handshake. It’s heavy and filled with unknown feelings. And he can feel that Milan is still looking at him and smiling. Lucas bites the inside of his cheek, looking everywhere else but in Milan’s direction.

He hears some voices in the distance and it gets closer and closer. Lucas looks up to see a group of girls. He sort of recognizes some of them, but he can’t remember from where.

“Lucas!” One of them says way too loud and happily and he’s sure he should know her name, but he doesn’t.

Emma? Eva?

Whoever she is, she comes close enough and hugs him tightly. All he can think about is Milan’s eyes that are still on him and on the girl as well.

“Engel invited me and I thought you would be here so...I came! And brought some friends, hope it’s ok…” He didn’t ask, but she keeps talking like he did. Lucas is trying to think on what to say, maybe lie and say that he’s leaving, but then Milan would be left behind too. He opens and closes his mouth and the girl already moved on, saying hi to Milan too.

“I don’t think we’ve met...I’m Emma.” She shakes his hand and he fake smiles to her, shaking her hand too.

“Milan.”

[unordinary-analysis]

Episode 145

Honorable mentions:

Was it just me, or was john’s edginess this episode so much more electrifying than usual. I don’t know, i’m not sure if “edginess” is the right word, more like he’s being like such a snake and those are my favorite type of characters. The ones that know they hold the strings and take full advantage of it. God, that’s the best

John has so much potential to be the tom riddle of unordinary if he just stopped instinctively slapping and yelling at everyone that pissed him off like really bro?

It feels really weird to see submissive arlo

I’ve recently realized that we are nowhere near the end of Unordinary as a story because the ultimate climax is going to be that drug company, ember, and invisible guy because those were introduced in the beginning and have been peppered in so far, you can tell that it’s going to be the final boss

For some reason now, I'm like hyped to see a tiny, evil (I’m kind of picturing a mini john) Terrence shoot

But like seriously, i want to see what’s happening now get so hyped up, this big war between hierarchy and vengeance, but then it just like zooms out and you realize that it’s all been pretty insignificant. I don’t really know what I’m saying, but I know it’s likely I will sit down to write a whole ass theory after this. Not even a theory, just like a hype post lmao.

Also want to make a for and against post about the hierarchy I don’t know

John’s a little whiny bitch ain’t he

But a manipulative whiny bitch recently, and I live for that. It’s so weird to compare him to how he was at the start of the comic...

On one hand, I don’t know whether I’d like the repetition of a john and Remi fight because he’s really fought everyone and we know he’s going to win, but then i just want to see black lightning

It’s been too long since I’ve seen Arlo’s barrier please it adds on to my lifespan, uru-chan

John in the middle of a deserted alley like “oop you don’t want people to see you fighting me”

None of you can understand how much I want Blyke to figure it all out. Like pleeease show the readers and the characters what he can do, that he’s not just a fighter. I know this is where you’re going uru.

Honestly, Blyke is going to be (I’m optimistic) such a great king.

“What’s he like when the abilities he collects wear off?” Is that foreshadowing

Is it too much to ask that Blyke didn’t think anything of John’s muscles other than ‘damn he’s hot”?

I’m so sorry for not having an actually section for that ending, but I don’t really have any solid theory, I’m just excited

Like, everyone’s wondering if Blyke finally figured out who Joker is, but literally how would he have recognized it from John in a tank top…??

One of the top comments said “Blyke you smart ma***.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. WHAT IS “MA***”??????? What kind of swear is that…? (sorry it’s just bothering me)

Was gonna procrastinate this, but it was such a good episode, I couldn’t god this is why I started writing these

John vs. Arlo:

    God, even though this conflict is more flattering towards Arlo, I can’t help but side with both of them. Arlo is that classic redeemed douche that you can’t help but root for, the one with understandable morals and his logical brain yesss. But then there’s John with his snakey behind-the-scenes controlling (lmao i already talked about this in the honorable mentions). I don’t know. Just know the dynamic is phenomenal (dynamic is everything, always remember).

    You know, I have to say I am disappointed in a small way at the way this scene played out, though it didn’t end as bad as i thought it would if that happened. I was expecting John and Arlo to come to some sort of compromise. I thought at least Arlo would have figured out a way to stop John from defeating Remi. I’m sad because of two big reasons. One: kind of repetitive and a waste of a scene, if i’m going to be harsh. We’ve had loads of scenes where John gets away because of what he holds over Arlo’s head and I wanted something different so bad. I thought it would be different because Arlo apologized this time, but nothing really progressed or got accomplished in this scene. Two: neither of the characters acted any different than they had. I know that Arlo apologized, and that was intriguing in the start, but when John got annoyed, he went right back to aggressiveness (which is completely understandable, but just so overused). John, obviously, acted very much the same, or at least had the same mindset. Only new development there was that he showed Arlo that he knew how everything worked and knew the places that Arlo couldn’t hurt him (am I being clear enough?), but I mean, he’s always been about intimidation. *sigh.* I really only enjoyed this scene because of how powerful and in charge John acted. Not like, he was on top, but more like he was aware of how to use it. Different from just bossing people around, but I was getting a small bit of old Arlo from him, and I loved that kdhfksjfh.

    I have to say that I don’t fully understand when John says, “With this, you’d be sabotaging yourself even further (about Arlo being seen fighting John).” Like… boy. Arlo isn’t really looking for support from the students. That won’t help him and yet the threat works. I don’t know. Lmao do neither of them realize nobody likes Arlo anyway? Not like that would help. A bunch of low-tiers ain’t gonna be able to take John down, it’s a canon fact. I don’t know…

Isen’s theory:

Also, Isen’s theory is at least partly wrong because someone said that when Cecile and John collected the powers, he didn’t look at them, yet he used them, so I don’t really know what’s going on about this. I’ve already posted this on this account, but whatever 

[mobius-prime]

145. Sonic the Hedgehog #80

If Wishes Were Acorns

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: James Fry Colors: Frank Gagliardo

So, what exactly has happened to Amy? What did she use the mystical, wish-granting Ring of Acorns to wish for? Why, to become older of course - because if she's older then people will take her more seriously!

So this is essentially how the comics resolved the issue of Amy originally being very young, but now suddenly needing a redesign and an excuse to act older - they literally just magicked her older. Specifically, she's physically about sixteen now, despite being ten years old in actual age. Of course this is kind of an insane decision for the reasons Sonic points out above, but then again, ten year olds aren't known for their stellar decision-making skills. Despite the fact that by all accounts she should be mentally still ten, the comic actually treats her like a full teenager from now on aside from small references to her true age here and there. I guess her maturity is just assumed to follow the same rules as OoT Link's or something - perhaps the ring also gave her that extra six years of mental maturation or something, I dunno. Regardless, she's gotten her wish and is now allowed to come along on the mission, though perhaps not for the reasons she initially wanted.

As everyone prepares to leave, Sally steps into her mother's storage room to say her goodbyes, hoping that her mother can hear her speak even though she's still in a coma. Outside, Sonic's own parents try to say goodbye to him as well, but he refuses to actually say the word "goodbye," seeming downcast.

Nice to see Mina again - she's not getting a lot of screentime these first few issues, but she'll become a bigger character as time goes on. Everyone groups up on Knothole's makeshift airfield, and Nate explains that the Hidden City of the Ancients is inhabited by five-fingered Overlanders instead of the usual four-fingered ones like himself. Wait, what? So this is a weird plot detail that hasn't been touched on at all yet, but if anyone has been paying attention, all Overlanders, including the original Robotnik (but not the current one), have usually been portrayed with four fingers. I say usually because it varies wildly between issues - both for Overlanders, and for Mobians. For example, lately Sally has often been portrayed with four fingers, but later on in the series she gains a fifth, and it's entirely inconsistent between issues due to changing artists and canons. For now, just take the comic's word for it that Overlanders usually have four fingers, while these other ones apparently have five. As the king, watching over the departure, reassures Elias that they'll still be able to find a cure for the queen even without the Ring of Acorns, the group takes off, Sonic and Tails in the newly-rebuilt Tornado, and everyone else in the shuttle the Freedom Fighters always use. Soon they find themselves coming up on a strange mountain in the distance…

It's hard to imagine how this city has apparently remained so hidden that many think it's a myth - that thing looks like a siren's call to any intrepid explorer. Apparently somehow this thousands-of-years-old airplane managed to survive the ravages of time and nature, paint and all, with nary a scratch to be seen. Nate suspects that the survivors of the ancient crash took shelter inside the mountain's caves, discovering they went very deep. Everyone takes a mine cart further inside, and at the end of it, they find themselves bedazzled by the sigh of an entire metropolitan city underground…

Land Fall

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Knuckles has rushed to Haven to find out why the other members of the Brotherhood didn't see Robotnik's assault coming. Thunderhawk was apparently the one on duty when it happened, and blames Hunter's sabotage of their systems for disabling any early warning they may have gotten. However, they did capture images of Robotnik during the attack, and in fact still have him on their video feed.

No, you know what, shut up Locke. And Knuckles, good on you! It's about time you stood up to the Brotherhood and your father and told them what ignorant idiots they were being. This is the biggest case of "I told you so" in the entire comic. They refuse to help Sally and her kingdom fight against Robotnik, and not even a week later he comes in, blasts apart the Chaos Chamber, shatters the only thing keeping their island aloft, and releases Mammoth Mogul back into the world to boot. Locke gives me strong vibes of that type of middle-aged asshole who refuses to let someone younger than them tell them off because they don’t want to admit to being wrong. Knuckles has every right to be angry and shame the entire Brotherhood into rethinking their stupid isolationist policies, despite Locke's insistence that they did what they did "for the greater good." Thunderhawk tries to agree, but Knuckles ignores them and heads out to trail Robotnik and hopefully find out what he's planning next.

Meanwhile, outside, Vector, Mighty and Julie-Su are examining the crater left behind by Robotnik's drilling venture. They don't know it's him yet, so they spend some time speculating, wondering if it's perhaps the work of the Dark Legion.

They race to find Espio and are first shocked by the fact that the island is floating in the water (did you guys completely not notice the eight mile drop earlier or something?). They then notice Espio, handcuffed and being led along by some very large and vicious-looking kitties, who he nervously introduces as their new "neighbors." I'm sure this bodes well…

Swallowing Trouble

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Jim Valentino Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Have you ever lain awake at night and thought to yourself, "Gee, there's nothing more I want out of life than to see the story of Big the Cat and Froggy as told by Ken Penders"? Well boy oh boy, you're in luck, because that's exactly what you're getting! Unlike in the games and anime, where Froggy is literally just an ordinary frog, apparently in this universe he's a fully sapient being in his own right, thinking in complex thought to himself throughout the story. Froggy wakes up in the middle of the night to some strange noises, and tries to rouse Big, who carries on snoring. Thus, Froggy leaps away to investigate for himself, finding a moving puddle of water and deciding he needs to drink it immediately in perhaps the most uncomfortable series of panels imaginable.

Big awakens shocked to find that his friend now has a tail and is acting strange and ignoring him, and before he can move closer to investigate, a red and yellow robot appears from amongst the trees and scoops Froggy up. This alarms Big, who moves closer to demand his friend's release, and proceeds to blame the robot for his hand hurting after he punches it.

Bro, I'm sorry, but you punched a freaking robot! What did you expect, a gentle caress on the knuckles? The robot scurries off with its new prize, and Big picks himself up and lumbers after it, determined to get his friend back. And thus, the stage is (halfway) set for our upcoming adventure! How much weirder can this adaption get, you ask? Tune in for the next issue to find out!

[undertaleowl]

hey there, i've only been following you for a short while but i've quickly fallen in love with your way of writing. Could write up something about UT sans and his S/O, where they are both equally lazy/laid back and love to crack jokes to get on everyone's nerves. hehe. (if pics give you inspiration for writings you could take a look at my profile pic if you'd like) (:

Thank you so much! I’m glad you like what you’ve seen so far! One one-shot coming right up for you, lovely! Underneath the cut!

Two of a Kind

WC: 1,473

When you met Sans, it was like a magnetic attraction pulling you towards puns and pranking and causing minor chaos. You and some friends had gone to Grillby’s, a favorite place among Surface-natives and monsters alike. The laid-back atmosphere, the broken jukebox that only played six songs, the best burgers and fries in Ebott City, and there was always the fact that the monster drinks were intoxicatingly delicious.

You and your friends were laughing at the bar instead of in the dining area because it was less crowded. As your friend was about to put some ketchup on her fries, the loose lid immediately caught your eye, and you grabbed the ketchup bottle from her hand and tightened the lid before handing it back to her. Your friend blinked.

“Usually, it’s you who pulls that kinda crap,” she giggled before squirting an appropriate amount of ketchup on to her plate. You smirked.

“Let’s just say if there’s gonna be any funny business for you guys, it’s gonna be because of me,” you said, eyes glinting confidently. “This amateur really needs to ketch-up on other restaurant pranks. That one’s the oldest one in the book!”

Your friends all groaned, and the friend you had saved from a ketchup disaster shoved some fries into your mouth to keep you quiet. Little did you know that there was a certain skeleton monster in a blue hoodie who smirked to himself, even if his ego had been slightly scratched by some random human. The human had challenged him, and he wasn’t planning on going down anytime soon. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his emergency whoopie-cushion and attached it to his hand.

Your friends had all gone to the bathroom to freshen up, and you elected to stay to make sure no one stole their spots or their wallets.

“Heya. So uh…I noticed you being kinda saucy about a ketchup prankster. You alright?” he asked. You gave him an amused glance and a snort of laughter before nodding.

“Oh yeah, we’re fine. I mustard the common sense to see that my friend’s bottle had been tampered with. It’s no big deal,” you said. His already permanent grin seemed to widen, and he motioned at the open seat next to you in the form of an unasked question. You gestured to the empty seat, intrigued and amused by this skeletal stranger in the blue hoodie.

“I’m Sans, by the way. Sans the Skeleton,” he introduced, sticking out his hand. You stared down at the hand, and tried to keep in a smirk at the pink tab that . This must have been the ketchup prankster. You had expected it to be a kid, but a strangely charismatic, adult skeleton? Your night just kept getting more and more entertaining.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m left-handed. Any way I could shake your other one?” you asked. You saw his grin falter a little bit, but he recovered quickly.

“Heh, sure thing, kid.” He switched hands, and victoriously you grabbed his hand with you own, and immediately let your mouth fall open in shock. You could have sworn the whoopie cushion was in his other hand. He smirked at you this time, his white eyelights shining just a bit brighter. “Whatsa matter? Shake my hand.”

You shook your head slightly, staring at the ground and smiling. You knew when you were bested, so you squeezed his hand fully, and snickered when fart noises came out of it. He smirk turned into a more genuine smile.

“The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. It’s always funny,” he replied, leaning forward on his elbows. “Like loosening the lids on ketchup bottles.”

You shrugged with a giggle. “I didn’t know my criticism of restaurant and food pranks was eating at you that much,” you replied. Sans straightened and leaned forward even more. Oh, this was the most entertaining human (besides Frisk) that he had spoken to in weeks. He shrugged in feigned nonchalance.

“Nah. Thanks for the condiment though,” he said as you took a sip of your cocktail. You choked on it in laughter and after grabbing your water for you, Sans the Skeleton laughed with you. As your friends came back onto the scene of a pun-versation happening, your friend just hung their head.

“There are two of them,” she muttered to herself. The flaming bartender who had been watching the entire thing go down just sighed in silent agreement.

A FEW YEARS LATER…

Sans woke up groggily in his hotel suite, immediately going to shake your shoulder to get up. Today was an important day, after all, and even if you both were lazy, you were not going to miss your damn wedding for it. His soul started beating ten times faster when he didn’t feel you snuggling next to him or moaning some sleep-deprivation related joke at him. He shot up in bed and saw Papyrus sleeping on the floor, still hugging his body pillow.

Okay. No reset. He remembered now. Humans had the stupid-ass tradition that you couldn’t see your fiance or fiancee on the day of your wedding until the actual ceremony. You and a few of your friends were in your hotel suite on a different floor, getting ready for the big day ahead. He checked the time. It was 12:00, so you would probably be getting ready in an hour, just so that you could be ready to go for the pre-ceremony while your friends helped you into your outfit and generally with making sure you weren’t stressed at all while waiting.

As if you knew he was thinking about you, he heard a chime come from his phone. A text, from you.

“Heya, soon-to-be-husbone! I think I know how Muffet is going to get into a relationship,” the text informed. He felt his eyelights turn to souls and back as he texted a response.

“Morning, verte-baby. And yeah? How’s that?” he texted back. Papyrus groaned groggily and sat up, stretching. He jumped when he saw Sans awake.

“Brother! Good morning! Did you sleep well? You need to be at the wedding venue at 5:30 PM, so we have time to go over every single detail of the ceremony. As your best man, I will ensure that your portion of the wedding goes off without a hitch,” he declared proudly. Sans chuckled.

“I bet it will be amazing, bro.”

Even with his relaxed tone, there was an underlying excitement. It wasn’t just a human marriage ceremony, but a soul-sharing monster ceremony as well. As soon as you two bonded, then you would truly be able to call the other “yours” and while Sans had maybe been a little hesitant in the passing years about such a commitment, he knew that there was no one else he’d rather be bonded with. His phone buzzed again and he snickered at the response. “Oh my God Y/N.”

“I bet she’ll find someone on the web 😂” you had texted back. If he listened really hard, he could practically hear you giggling at yourself while your wedding party groaned or begged you not to say any puns today, since it was your intimate, romantic, and very serious wedding.

“😘 You’re as sweet as the hotel room you’re staying in,” he typed into his phone. Before he could hit send, Papyrus got his attention.

“Are you texting Y/N? I thought they said that you couldn’t do that,” he admonished. “They are following our traditions so we must follow theirs!”

Sans shook his head. “Nah, bro, we only can’t see each other. Communication is the key to a good marriage after all.”

Papyrus scrutinized his too-smug brother. “I can’t tell if that was a pun or not, but because it’s your bonding day, I shall let it go. However, we must go over your vows, and practice the motions for a bonding ceremony and get you dressed in your tuxedo and-”

As Papyrus continued to list all of the things Sans needed to do to get ready for a wedding, Sans sent the text to you, his future mate. Not a minute later, Sans was convinced that you two were meant to be together for the rest of their lives. You had sent him a message with an attachment.

“I know I’m not allowed to send a pictures of myself, but I thought I’d send you a little love,” the text from you read. He opened the message and cackled. It was picture of a tiny slip of paper that said “love” on it. He glanced at his bedside table and stared at the little “love” that he had written on the corner of a napkin that he had planned on sending them before the wedding.

Together, you both were really two of a kind.

[aaronmaurer]

TV I Liked In 2019

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

The era of “peak TV” has never been more apparent to me than the past year. I am very aware of the many shows I have not seen (don’t have Amazon Prime, for example), and yet I expanded my list from a top 10 to top 15 and still had to leave out A LOT of stuff I really liked! These picks include my legitimate favorites, ranging from truly important looks at the criminal justice system to ensemble comedies that I couldn’t wait to return to. In another year I may have been able to include the latest seasons of Barry, Stranger Things, Queer Eye, Bojack Horseman, Glow, or the finale seasons of Legion, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Veep, Silicon Valley and The Deuce, all of which I’d still recommend. But these stood out even more.

14 (tie). Chernobyl (HBO) / The Hot Zone (National Geographic)

Two limited series focusing on real-life disasters in the 1980s: the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and an Ebola outbreak outside of Washington DC. Chernobyl is an incredibly harrowing account of humanity’s inability to believe things that don’t mesh with their interpretations of reality and the destructive power of lies and cover-ups. The Hot Zone adapts the non-fiction Richard Preston book, a revealing look at pandemics, the power of fear and human resolve. Taken together, they raise interesting questions about governmental gatekeeping, professional competence and personal sacrifice.

13. Mindhunter: Season 2 (Netflix)

Joe Penhall and David Fincher’s look at the early days of the FBI’s criminal profiling department goes broader and deeper in its second season. There are still chilling interviews with incarcerated serial killers and criminal minds (including Charles Manson this time out), but the season really revolves around the Atlanta child murders. This focus provides a compelling look at who the justice system helps and who it ignores, and the investigative – and bureaucratic – work it takes to put together a case.

10 (tie). A.P. Bio: Season 2 (NBC) / The Last O.G.: Season 2 (TBS) / Schitt’s Creek: Season 5 (Pop)

Three great hangout comedies that really came into their own in their most recent seasons. A.P. Bio transcended its first-season preoccupation with revenge and leaned into its fantastic supporting cast – one of the best comedic ensembles around – to become a show I loved spending time with each week. (Thank goodness it’s coming back via NBC’s upcoming “Peacock” service.) The Last O.G. has had a lot on its mind since it began, but its second season covers privilege and the opportunity gap among other issues, ending with a note-perfect homage to Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, making it an unexpectedly resonant comedy. Schitt’s Creek is obviously having a moment right now, and Season 5 (the first season I watched as it aired) was perhaps its best yet. While the whole cast is great, as a big fan of Best In Show and A Mighty Wind, I love seeing Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara share the screen again.

9. Crashing: Season 3 (HBO)

The first two seasons of Pete Holmes’ show made my list in previous years so I’d be remiss not to include the final one, which may be its finest. Pete spends the season making a lot of mistakes – saying yes to things (gigs, relationships) that he probably shouldn’t – and although they provide growth, he doesn’t come across as the “good guy” in how he deals with all of them. This adds additional nuance to the show, questioning its straight white male protagonist’s actions rather than merely rewarding him for following his passions, while still leading to an uplifting and fitting finale.

8. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4 (Netflix)

Netflix split the final season of Kimmy Schmidt into two parts, so technically only the final six episodes premiered in 2019. Those alone warrant a spot on the list, as the show concluded by following its idiosyncratic bliss to the end. The final group of episodes includes a (pre-movie) takedown of Cats, a Sliding Doors homage and an unexpectedly moving series finale. If this one fell off your radar a few years ago, it’s worth revisiting and seeing through.  

7. What We Do In The Shadows: Season 1 (FX)

Based on the horror-comedy film of the same name, this series follows a different crew of vampires who live together on Staten Island. I was initially skeptical because I love the movie and couldn’t see how a television version could do anything but dilute its charms. On the contrary, the show broadens the universe in hilarious ways by introducing characters like “energy vampire” Colin Robinson and the incredible Vampiric Council (with so many incredible cameos!). The core actors are all wonderful, but the MVP has to be Matt Berry’s louche and libidinous Laszlo whose line readings are simply hysterical.

6. Les Misérables (BBC/PBS)

Although it aired in the UK in 2018, the BBC/PBS production of Victor Hugo’s epic didn’t grace American screens until early 2019 so I’m including it here. I am a big fan of the musical adaptation and find it quite successful at cramming so much story into a three-hour runtime, though it obviously has limits to how much of the source material it can explore. This (non-musical) adaptation’s six episodes allow for more of Hugo’s tale of forgiveness versus retribution to live and breathe. The terrific cast includes Dominic West as Jean Valjean and David Oyelowo as Inspector Javert, as well as Lily Collins as Fantine whose backstory is more fully realized here than the format of the stage show allows.

5. Our Planet (Netflix)

Essentially a sequel to the Planet Earth documentaries, with the same production team and David Attenborough narration, this Netflix series presents another stunning collection of nature footage that showcases the incredible diversity and beauty of animal life on Earth. Each episode includes a haunting reminder of man’s impact on the featured habitats and serves as a rallying cry in the fight against climate change.

4. The Good Place: Seasons 3-4 (NBC)

The Good Place has been high on my list since its first season and shows no signs of dropping in quality or esteem as it enters its final stretch of episodes. 2019 encompassed the end of Season 3 (including the hilariously imaginative visit to the Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes) and the beginning of Season 4 (with its crew of new characters and just as many reversals and rug-pulls as you’d expect). The final episode before its winter break was “The Answer,” a touching spotlight on William Matthew Harper’s Chidi, which might have been enough to make this list all on its own. (And given the surprise cameo/quasi-crossover in its first episode of 2020, I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up here again next year too.)

3. Unbelievable (Netflix)

The true story of a serial rape case adapted from journalism by ProPublica, The Marshall Project and This American Life, Unbelievable is one of the most simultaneously heartbreaking and satisfying procedurals I have ever seen. As crushing as it is to watch the initial investigation completely mishandled and devolve to gaslighting, it is powerful and inspiring to watch compassionate public servants and actual good detective work be carried out as the series progresses. Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever and Toni Collette are uniformly excellent here (as they also were in their respective film roles in Booksmart, Marriage Story and Knives Out this year).

2. Watchmen (HBO)

Showrunner Damon Lindelof (LOST, The Leftovers) takes some incredibly bold swings in his limited-run sequel to the groundbreaking 80s graphic novel that deconstructed the ideas of vigilantism and superheroics. Picking up in the same alternate reality as that story but in present day, the main action is shifted to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the central theme is race relations. It could have gone way off the rails in a million different ways, but I found it to be incredibly successful. Each episode is a captivating work of art and it somehow seems to top itself with each subsequent installment. While I appreciate the book, I don’t love it; this series takes that source material seriously and, to me, completely transcends it.

1. When They See Us (Netflix)

As compelling as it is devastating, this miniseries from Ava DuVernay (who directed and co-wrote all 4 parts) dramatizes the lives of the wrongly convicted children the media dubbed “the Central Park Five.” Even with some familiarity of the story from watching Ken Burns’ documentary years ago, I was utterly gutted by the depiction of the injustices and systemic racism that stole these childhoods. Everyone in the cast shines, but Jharrel Jerome’s portrayal of Korey Wise (the only one of the group played by the same actor as a child and adult – and so convincingly) is truly phenomenal. Not a comfortable watch but an essential one. 

Bonus! Musical Comedy Specials:

The Unauthorized Bash Bros. Experience (Netflix) – This “visual poem” from the Lonely Island presents “an album of raps” recorded by Jose Canseco (Andy Samberg) and Mark McGwire (Akiva Schaffer) at their steroid-fueled 80s peak with the Oakland A’s. Your likely enjoyment is probably about equal to your reaction to that description. The songs are great, catchy and hysterical on their own, but the videos take it to another level, parodying everything from 80s infomercials to Enya to Beyonce’s Lemonade. There is no 30 minutes of TV I rewatched more in 2019.

John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch (Netflix) – Debuting on Christmas Eve, this children’s television homage/parody snuck in just under the wire. The words of the day could be fear and mortality, as the group of kids Mulaney interacts with reveal their personal phobias and several skits revolve around existential angst. By the end of the first musical number I was sold, by the time David Byrne showed up I was committed, and by “Mr. Music’s” madcap finale I wished it could last forever.

[archmage--khadgar]

Hia! I always feel happy when I see one of your posts pop up on here c: why do you like Khadgar?

*Stares into space* OH GOD THIS IS gonna probably be a long post. HERE WE GO.So uh. I always really like Karazhan and the lore around it, hardcore fell in love with Medivh and pretty much ANYTHING in game that was connected I ate it up. I got the urn, the keys, all the rings, all the rep, you name it. I tried SO HARD to get Atiesh from the old Naxx but that didn’t happen. (I AM STILL SAD ABOUT THAT.) So that was -kind of- the start. In order for the next part to make sense, need to sidestep and backtrack a wee bit for context.Not to be all sob story, but I gotta be honest, I spent most of my childhood alone (either outside or in my room), reading, playing out epic stories with my toys, exploring the outdoors, and most of my social interactions with people I was either being bullied by kids at school or my mother. And y’know, despite all the stories I read or watched on t.v it was a loooong while before there were characters that made me go….”Holy SHIT I know what that’s like!?” Like there was a difference, to me, between characters like Michelangelo and Beetlejuice that I REALLY WANTED to hang out with, and then a character that made me go….”I know exactly how that character feels. What happened to them, happened to me.”Digimon was the show that broke that mold for me when not only were there two characters who had DIVORCED PARENTS!??? Like me, there was a girl who had a REALLY BAD and unhealthy relationship with her mother. (But she was still powered by love, which was awesome.)This kinda started getting me into other stuff because the more characters I found that I could relate to, the easier it was to explain how I felt to strangers and it made friend finding a little bit easier. FAST FORWARDING A LITTLE BIT.

So I certainly have a character -type- that I relate to the most. And it’s chaotic bookwork with anxiety. Fun fact: I am always dubbed “the twilight sparkle” of friend groups IRL because I was always, ALWAYS the one who was solving friendship problems and I did that looong before the show. OOPH. THE BIG PROBLEM. Was that it was getting to the point where all the chaotic bookworms were either: Evil, female (and I love gals, but that’s not my gender identity ORZ), or like. largely hated by the fandom and were always mocked.Or some combination.SO LIKE. Hey, I get introduced to Medivh and his TOWER OF BOOKS and all that shit and it’s like “Fuck yeah sign me up bro, living alone? Shitty mom? I feel you.” But then, y’know. He was a wee bit possessed and not. Exactly the good guy SO THERE WAS THAT.And then. There was Khadgar.I hadn’t been able to find the last guardian book yet, though I had read about the lore highlights online so I was familiar and stuff.And then WoD came out. And Khadgar! Was doing stuff! Which got me excited because it was more of the Lore that I really liked, and during MoP, I was hardcore going…”THE LEGION IS COMING BAAAACK. I JUST KNOW IT. CAUSE WE DIDN’T KILL KJ. SKREE.” I got called crazy and stupid a few times BUT HEY. Jokes on you fuckers I was *right*.Anyways!That first quest chain into Tannan rolls in. And it’s just. Khadgar. Being Khadgar. “Well, then I guess we owe you one.” scene hit every…“Oh fucking god bless Khadgar for the sarcastic sass”Because I really enjoy sarcasm and it’s more obvious in voice chat or in-person but my sass rhythm and tone, especially if I’m ranting is veeery similar to Khadgar’s sass.And then the PUNS. Listen. *Listen*. I hear an opportunity for a pun and I have to take it. I have to. If I try to hold it in my face starts smiling like the Cheshire cat and I sometimes let out a high pitched “eeeeeee” until given permission. After that quest chain, I quickly noticed that no one had rolled a Khadgar blog. No one! And well, I was all about having a blog where I could be free to make jokes all the time. IIRC, my first post was…”The party has arrived~!” Or something like that. I honestly didn’t expect much to happen cause I didn’t have any friends or anything like that and all the wow blogs all pretty much had their followings already and I was uh…a WEE BIT ALONE. But I was like “well even if this blog doesn’t go off I’ll at least have an outlet where I can just be me where no one will harass me.”Cause gotta be honest, I’ve never been well-liked. There was never a place for bookworms who liked puns and had anxiety in the world I lived in. If I acted like myself I was hated, and in order to fit in, I had to be someone else, which was a ditzy stupid, lazy girl. I wasn’t allowed to be trans, (still not back in Maine), or smart, and….yeah.  But hey! On tumblr, I can RP a male character that had my same sense of humor and sass and BE MYSELF and NOT BE A GIRL and all my IRL haters wouldn’t be able to stop me.And then uh, A THING HAPPENED. I no longer have the original blog because of reasons I’ll mention later, so I CAN’T REMEMBER who first started sending me asks but I know @kiyastrasza was one of them (she passed away suddenly a few months ago and I miss her SO MUCH.) But then like, I DON’T KNOW. I know I got a few initial asks because “fuck yeah finally a khadgar blog”  and honestly, I thought my blog was rubbish because it was 80% me just being my sassy nerd self and 20% studying his word usage for more serious things and getting my hands on every scrap of Khadgar related lore.”So I fully expected to get called out on being canon divergent or a shitty Khadgar or SOMETHING. Or have people ONCE AGAIN be like….”This character archetype is annoying and stupid and we all fucking hate him and hate you for rping him.”But that didn’t happen. In fact the EXACT OPPOSITE HAPPENED.My ask box kept getting filled with puns to be approved, rhyming his name with stuff became a thing and now even BLIZZ says “Dadgar” like jfc what even.And then like. I don’t even know, a lot of it is a blur because it all happened so fast but the BIGGEST THING.Was that for the first time ever, being myself wasn’t met with bullying and hate and people telling me to shut up and go away or anything like that.People -loved- Khadgar in-game. And people -loved- finding a Khadgar blog that “when I read their posts I can hear Khadgar’s voice”.  And better yet? KHADGAR WASN’T A VILLAIN! (Don’t get me wrong, I loooove AU’s but imagine being a kid and you can only ever connect to villains and then people hate you anyways IT DOESN’T FEEL TOO GREAT).And uh. Yeah. I don’t really know where to go with this. But yeah! It was the first time where I felt like nothing was wrong with who I was. That there was nothing wrong with being book smart and having a sense of humor and looking death in the face and just eye-rolling and going “Well aiight.”I mean hell yeah there’s been an epic shit ton of drama with people being jealous and making shit up and who the hell even knows what any of that was about anymore, and there’s still plenty of bullshit in my life keeping me otherwise miserable and I’m getting really frustrated that every goal I try to accomplish gets utterly destroyed in some way and I’m currently an emotional husk and I 100% HAVE NOT been myself lately as I’m a mix of grieving and severely hurt and physically ill and I’ve been broken pretty damn hard and when I pull myself back together it’s probably going to be like. 11th Doctor just turning into cranky 12 and not being pleasant BUT. The muse is still strong, the muse is honestly probably the strongest thing about me. Not because I think that I’m actually, really Khadgar and that’s ME you’re talking to in game and Azeroth is real, etc, etc. But it’s strong because that type of muse was already something that was effortless for me and part of my personality foundation. And before the blog it was withering away and crumbling and I had no self-love to keep it going anymore and then the blog happened, and even though I still have 0 self-love, I genuinely hate myself, the love from others healed it, and my love for the character, I think, is my subconscious finding a weird loophole to get around the self-hate because I CAN’T HATE KHADGAR, and fucking hell whenever I make a pun irl and someone is a shithead about it or calls me annoying over voice chat, my brain is like. “Yeah, but if Khadgar were real. He’d laugh.” And eventually, it’s like….”OKAY FINE. IT WAS FUNNY. THAT PERSON IS JUST A SHITHEAD.” I can’t remember where I was going with that. Uhhhhhh……SOMETHING SOMETHING.I absolutely hate myself and feel as if I’m undeserving of love because I’m a horrible, broken person that makes stupid mistakes and is only good for hurting others and being a bitchB U TI hate myself a little bit less when I RP a character, like Khadgar, that lines up with one of my personality foundations, and the general response to it is people loving it and telling them I make them happy.  I’ve still had more hate directed at me in the past (and sadly the present) than I have love. But uh. It doesn’t take much love to get me all sappy and crying and happy.  (Hate is a tossup, a lot of hate I can take but certain, specific things will strike me hard and fast).SO LIKE. Uh. I know the majority of my foundation at the moment is either destroyed or heavily damaged, cause I’ve also been heckin angry a lot lately and I don’t know how to deal with that at all since it’s something new so a lot of my foundation wasn’t protected against that, and I’ve certainly died emotionally a few times more this year than my normal rate of it taking a couple years or more to emotionally die and regenerate. BUT THE PART that’s still holding fast and bouncing off all the negative self-destructive shit is because of Khadgar, and all 1,297 of you (give or take) that’ve either stuck with this blog since the beginning and through a blog deletion and change or have come recently. That send in everything from ARCANE MEAT to puns, to AU ideas to random nice things SO UH. This is turning into an awkward unexpected thank you, to all of you. dashjkIt’s more than likely that I will live the rest of my life absolutely hating myself, and it’s possible that the rest of my foundations may never heal or be repaired. Even though I can easily attach some of them to characters like Khadgar for the most part, I just….eh. I dunno. No outlet and it’s not prompted ever and…it hurts still cause they’re broken. Which, eh, whatever, healing can’t be forced or half-assed, cause you can’t expect a broken leg to heal as fast as a papercut, all you can do is wait and let things heal or you’ll make it worse, but then obviously you can’t heal EVERYTHING otherwise no one would ever be disabled, but REGARDLESS.I may always hate myself. But I’ll always love Khadgar. And YOU guys love Khadgar. And you enjoy me rping Khadgar. So then I guess MAAAAYBE.It helps. With making it worth. Sticking around for a little bit longer.  :T

[vitanes]

this one is for @miss-pulet i’m sorry for such a delay but i got a little bit carried away n ended up with over 7k words ifjisjf i hope u will like it!

a little bit of you and me

Lucas hates everything soulmates stand for, especially the lack of choice and how fake it seems to be. Don’t even get him started on how weird his mark is. He definitely never wants to meet his soulmate. 

But the universe? It always finds a way to fuck him over. 

(Or, the one with a zoo, Eliott and some difficult dilemmas.)

At the age of six, Lucas had only a vague sense of understanding what exactly soulmates were. Being more invested in cartoons and his toys, he didn’t pay much attention to the mark over his heart. Unlike some kids around him, he didn’t observe the way it’d started changing its shape to something more than a dark blob that could have been easily mistaken for a mole.

Perhaps, that’s why when one day he was taking a shower and he noticed half of his chest was covered by dark shapes, he freaked out.

It took his parents over half an hour to calm him down and then another thirty minutes to convince him that his mark wasn’t ugly or weird.

Being twenty-one, Lucas still thinks his mark is bizarre. Of course, It’s gotten smoother over the years, more realistic. It doesn’t look like a pre-schooler doodled it.

But–

Some people have flowers, flames. Normally paired up animals. He, on the contrary, has got a hedgehog and a raccoon intertwined together. With no way of knowing the meaning behind it. Especially since he’s not very keen on meeting his soulmate.

Don’t get him wrong, good for all the people that have found their destined ones, but he’d rather stay out of this business. He can go on his whole life without meeting the person that made the strange duo form on his chest.

Soulmates are overrated.

 ***

 The first day of Lucas’ summer internship at the local zoo would have been going pretty well if not for one tiny detail. Or well, not that tiny since Lucas is shorter, but. But, another intern keeps being very distracting through the whole day. From the second the guy anxiously introduced himself as Eliott, Lucas couldn’t have been able to stay calm. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries not to pay attention to him, he gives in to throwing glances now and then anyway.

The worst thing is that Eliott isn’t even doing anything special. He works with the animals, the same way Lucas or Imane and Manon do. Yet, all Lucas can do, is agonise in silence over how gentle and cute Eliott is with those they are supposed to take care of. It’s only day one, how Lucas is going to handle the next weeks is beyond him.

Having issues with being gay, but also being gay is a little bit problematic for Lucas. That’s why he hopes Eliott won’t get near him. That way Lucas will get his staring without any consequences. Besides, what business would Eliott have in talking to him?

Well, in Lucas’ opinion none.

 ***

 Lucas is feeding the dolphins. Not having any prior experience with those animals, he was slightly hesitant the few first times, but eventually, he found out it’s not scarier than dealing with a chimpanzee.

The fish in the bucket are moist and Lucas’ face scrunches up each time he reaches out for one. In order not to have one sliding out of his grasp, he needs to properly hold it and it gets harder with each one. His palms are already fully covered in mucus.

The smell is going to cling to him for days to come. But he’s there for all of the animals, isn’t he? He’s going to face even worse things, the last thing he should be unhappy about is throwing some fish into the water. Some would say it’s even relaxing. He doesn’t need to use much of his brain for this task.

With that in mind, he lets his arms do the work while he tunes out. Next thing he’ll have to do is help with cleaning up some cages. That surely is going to be plenty of fun.

Well, he must have been naïve if he had thought he’d be spending all his time there playing with animals. The kid in him jumped out and the adult forgot about all of the awaiting responsibilities.

“How’s the first day going?”

Lucas jumps, snapped out of his daze. He nearly drops the bucket with the fish, but someone grabs it in the last moment and moves it back towards his hands.

His fingers clasp around the handle. Ignoring his wildly beating heart, he looks up at the intruder.

And oh boy, if it’s not the God himself. The smile that Lucas is on the receiving end of physically pains him. It’s wide and makes Eliott’s eyes crinkle up.

Lucas is sure he probably resembles the fish very well now. With the gaping and all.

They keep staring at each other, Lucas clutching the bucket against his stomach and Eliott standing there, his hair messy and cheekbones so sharp they could cut a bitch. His gaze seems piercing through Lucas who has yet to take a breath if he doesn’t want to suffocate and fall into the water to become dolphins’ dinner.

Pretty sure dolphins don’t eat humans, but that’s beyond the point.

Eliott’s lips move, but Lucas is too out of it. He doesn’t really register anything besides how nice the timbre of Eliott’s voice is. How pleasant.

He shakes his head.

“What?”

“I was repeating my question,” Eliott says, amused and Lucas nods slowly.

Oh, yeah. A question. He can’t make Eliott utter it for the third time. He needs to remind himself what exactly scared him.

Lucas hums, dumbly, searching his mind for clues, all the while Eliott’s eyes don’t leave his face. To say it’s unnerving wouldn’t be enough. He can’t focus. Until.

“Not bad,” Lucas stutters, casually throwing yet another fish into the water. “What about you?” he adds. If he shows how chill he is with the situation, maybe Eliott will forget whatever has just happened.

“I’m having fun. I love these little guys,” Eliott says, slightly tilting forward.

Lucas’ first instinct is to stop him from potentially falling into the water and ruining his perfectly styled hair, but he refrains. They are strangers, he’s not about to cross some boundaries and potentially touch him.

“Yeah? That means you haven’t dealt with enormous dump yet.” Oh, back with the complaining.

Eliott snorts and takes one of the fish out of Lucas’ basket. He doesn’t throw it to the animals but shoves it in front of Lucas’ face. Lucas steps back from it, puzzled but doesn’t say anything. He needs to play along even if he could end up with a mouthful of raw fish. He has no idea what Eliott is capable of after all.

“A little poop has never killed anyone,” Eliott says in a deep voice, while his fingers move the fish’s mouth as to imitate talking. That’s something Lucas did not expect. But maybe he should have. Given the context, there aren’t many things Eliott could have done with the fish.

Seeing that Eliott is not some mysterious enigma makes Lucas somehow less intimidated and he rolls his eyes, sighing. He wrings the fish out of Eliott’s hands before he tosses it into the water, careful not to touch Eliott’s skin. Boundaries, right.

“You’re weird. Don’t play with food,” Lucas retorts, but a little smile appears on his face anyway. He just can’t help himself. Sue him.

“You think I’m weird?” Eliott teases, nudging Lucas in the ribs. Well, as it seems, not everyone cares about boundaries. “Well, get ready because it’s going to get only weirder from now on.” There’s a promise in Eliott’s voice, accompanied by a wicked grin and eyes full of sparks.

Lucas’ heart skips a beat.

 ***

 Lucas wasn’t all that keen on being friendly with Eliott, since Eliott is a very very cute boy. But what can one do when someone keeps on reaching out? And chatting them up? He can’t force Eliott to fuck off, he isn’t an asshole. Also, it’s not like he’s oh, so very bothered by it. Or, if he is, it’s not in the sense he ought to be.

It’s been, what, two weeks? Since Lucas has started working there. And so far Eliott has managed to work alongside him more often than not, entertaining Lucas with how he impersonates some animals or making the most mundane things sound interesting. They exchanged social media, followed each other on Instagram. Eliott has a tendency to send voice notes whenever anything out of ordinary happens. They’ve fallen into a habit of sending each other memes.

Just bro things.

Long story short, Eliott must have decided they should not only be co-workers but friends as well.

And if Lucas’ blush is from a prolonged eye-contact and not caused by physically dragging an animal from one place to another, well then, sucks to be him.

 ***

 “So, what do you think about soulmates?” Eliott asks one day when they are eating lunch.  They are both sitting at a small, tiny table with very little room between them.

Lucas swallows down his cheese and ham sandwich and shrugs.

“They exist,” he says, unbothered. He hears Eliott huff.

“Elaborate, maybe? Have you met yours? Are you excited to meet them?”

“Not really. I haven’t met them, but even if I had, I wouldn’t care.” Lucas turns to Eliott just to be met with a confused gaze. He smiles meekly. “I think it’s forced. You are expected to jump on some stranger just because your marks match? That’s bullshit. You don’t know them. Very shallow. And it’s like, what, if you fall for someone who isn’t your soulmate, it’s less valid? You have to leave them if you eventually meet that soulmate? Thank you very much. I don’t believe in its profoundness,” Lucas explains, his fingers idly playing with the sandwich.

Anyone who’s ever met him knows his opinion on the topic. He’s got many reactions whenever he spoke his mind; pity, skepticism or even understanding. But no one has ever been as baffled as Eliott is in this moment. Like he can’t quite grasp the meaning of Lucas’ words, as if this whole way of approaching the subject was unbelievable for him.  

“And you?” Lucas eventually mutters, putting his sandwich down on the table. After playing with it for too long, it doesn’t look edible. And Lucas’ fingers are sticky from butter.

The tips of Eliott’s ears are pink when he admits, “Thinking about my soulmate kind of helps me get through.”

Oh.

Eliott looks down and then to the side, his teeth biting down on his bottom lip. “It’s kind of reassuring, knowing there’s someone that will get me. Accept all of me. I feel less alone. I see your point, though. I just think that you’re bound to eventually get to know them. Being soulmates makes the connection stronger, I guess.” He looks back at Lucas, something inexplicably sad hiding in his eyes. Despite that, he still smiles softly.

“Why do you think someone who’s not your soulmate wouldn’t accept you wholly?” Lucas asks, curious. He can’t imagine a universe in which someone could dismiss Eliott.

“Let’s just say I can be hard to love,” Eliott whispers, fingers tapping an uneven rhythm on the surface of the table.

Lucas wants to disagree, but he fears he could sound foolish. After all, he barely knows Eliott.

(Deeply, Lucas disagrees anyway. Eliott must have been told that he’s hard to love by all the wrong people. The people like Lucas’ dad who made his mother believe the same.)

 ***

 Taking a walk back home with Eliott isn’t something unusual, but it sure makes Lucas aware of many things each time their shoulders brush.

They’ve been leaving the zoo together ever since they found out they don’t live far away from each other. Things feel completely different in the late evening and instead of being nervous around Eliott, Lucas finds himself getting relaxed. They don’t need to use words, especially when they pretty much use them up during the day. Sometimes they keep completely quiet right up until they part in front of Lucas’ building.

There’s a lake they pass by on their way there and that’s where they currently are at. The air around them is warm, with only a slight breeze blowing through their hair. There are still traces of the setting sun all over the sky, with its edges painted warm red. An occasional chatter coming from random passers-by’s. It’s that time of the day when the bugs start their concert. The atmosphere is peaceful, romantic even.

Lucas throws a glance towards Eliott and sees him closing his eyes, exhaling. The day was tiring and it shows on Eliott’s face just how worn out he is. But still, there’s something beautiful about him that Lucas can’t find a name for.

Eliott opens his eyes lazily as if he’s sensed he’s been watched and they look at each other for a few seconds too long. Eliott smiles at him and the back of his palm knocks against Lucas’ fingers.

Lucas feels like he could stay in this moment forever.

 ***

 Lucas should have known that a bored Eliott holding a hose would be a dangerous combination.

It hits him just how dangerous when he’s minding his business, cleaning up the cage with his own hose just to suddenly have the back of his shirt drenched in a matter of seconds. He doesn’t even have time to escape the attack.

He can hear loud cackles and after turning around, ready to throw hands, he’s faced with Eliott who’s doubling over from how hard he’s laughing.

“That’s funny to you?” Lucas asks, exasperation audible in his voice.

Eliott fans himself with his hands, visibly trying to contain his laughter, but fails horribly. What’s worse, his laughter turns into loud snorts. Lucas’ chest is filled with fondness and he can’t have that.

That’s why he raises his hose up and points it directly at Eliott’s scrunched up face. The laughter dies down immediately and Lucas can’t help, but feel smug. After seeing how ridiculously adorable Eliott looks like, it’s Lucas’ turn to crack-up. He thinks he got his point across, his revenge if you will. That’s why he’s completely caught off guard when Eliott mercilessly covers the rest of Lucas’ body in water.

It’s needless to say things can only escalate from this point on and soon enough they are having a full on fight. The only sounds audible over the stream of water are their chuckles. They get so into it that Lucas ends up in Eliott’s headlock, having the water poured down his head. His face is squished against Eliott’s chest and if they weren’t in the middle of a war, Lucas would have panicked.

But as it is, he’s way too competitive and too into it as of now. He tries to wring out of Eliott’s hold. To no avail, sadly. He only manages to pull away slightly, far enough to open his eyes.

Far enough to have his heart stutter in his chest when he sees Eliott’s skin under his soaked shirt. It’s so wet it’s become see-through and to Lucas’ horror, he’s mere centimeters from a mark he knows all too well. That isn’t on his skin.

He stops fighting against Eliott and just stares at the weird combination of animals displayed over Eliott’s heart. It’s exactly the same as Lucas’ and he looks down on himself to check whether his own mark stands out as proudly as Eliott’s.

He lets out a sigh of relief upon noticing it’s still covered.

“Please, don’t tell me I damaged you with that water,” Eliott says next to Lucas’ ear and Lucas looks up into his eyes, panicked. He must have spaced out, if the worried look on Eliott’s face is anything to go by. Their hoses have been turned off and there are tentative arms supporting Lucas’ weight against Eliott’s body.

It’s then that he realises how weak in the knees he is.

He straightens up and puts some distance between their bodies, a reassuring smile stretching his lips.

“I’m fine,” he says, his voice sounding foreign even to his ears. Eliott must catch onto something as well because he doesn’t look convinced. “Really, I’m all good,” Lucas insists and gives Eliotts a thumbs up to emphasise.

He’s far from feeling good, but he needs to leave freaking out for later. He can’t let Eliott know what he’s just found out.

Lucas nudges Eliott in the shoulder and looks around.

“We made more mess than there was, to begin with,” he says, pleased with how calm he appears. “Come on, let’s get changed and try to fix it up,” he adds.

Eliott nods, his lips pursed, and follows Lucas to the lockers. Completely unaware of all the emotional turmoil going through Lucas’ mind.

 ***

 No, no, no. Nononononono.

No.

Eliott can’t be Lucas’ soulmate. He just can’t. It’s not allowed. Maybe his eyes played some tricks on him.

Lucas is standing in the bathroom, getting ready for another day of work. He hasn’t moved for the past few minutes, though, his eyes glued to his reflection in the mirror. More precisely, to the mark on his chest. He’s never spent as much time studying the image as now. He’s trying to find any detail that would tell him his mark and Eliott’s are not the same.

Because they can’t be, shit.

Lucas has been feeling so fucking good around Eliott. Might have even started to like him. Like, the instant connection between them made him feel exhilarated. Big ‘fuck you’ to everyone claiming you can’t have an honest bond with someone that isn’t your soulmate. And sure they haven’t known each other long enough to have that depth, yet. But Lucas swears there was a potential of something grand.

Now it turns out all of that was a scam. They don’t like each other for who they are, but because the universe is telling them.

That’s the last thing Lucas wished for. This choice to make, that he was robbed off. Yet another one. If he was forced to be in a dysfunctional family, with sexuality that people were killed for, he could at least be free to choose who he wanted to love.

And it’s a shame, because Eliott is someone Lucas could see himself easily falling for.

He sighs deeply with resignation and pulls a shirt over his head. Even covering the mark doesn’t make him feel any better.

 ***

 Lucas is inclined to putting some distance between himself and Eliott, but he wants to be subtle about it. Eliott is a smart guy and if Lucas stopped whatever they have going on out of the blue, he’d get suspicious. And Lucas is pretty determined in avoiding the outcome where Eliott finds out the truth.

It’s not easy, the distance thing. For more reasons than one. They work together, Eliott is a pretty affectionate guy and a part of Lucas doesn’t want to be away from him. But what has to be done, has to be done. So Lucas throws himself into the work. It’s reasonable for him to focus on it than on messing around with his co-worker.

Eliott seems to buy it.

It gets less subtle as time passes. They still work side by side, but most of the time Lucas is left alone. He tries not to appear cold or bothered when Eliott chats him up during lunch breaks, but he also doesn’t put as much effort as before. Using his phone while Eliott talks to him may be rude, but at the very least it makes Eliott take the memo and after a couple of days, his attempts to make a conversation are very few. Eliott stops walking Lucas home and eventually, their relationship turns into one between two people that work at the same place and may not even be very fond of each other.

No lingering stares, no accidental touches and no relaxing silences.

Well, it may be cruel, but Lucas would rather have Eliott not liking him than knowing they are soulmates.

The internship will end at some point and they won’t have to see each other ever again anyway. That’s what Lucas tells himself every time he wants to reach out to Eliott.

Everything goes on like that for quite some time and Lucas makes peace with it. He convinces himself that he stopped the storm before it properly started. Everything is good up until Manon suggests they all should grab dinner together, hang out a little bit since they’ve gotten familiar enough with the whole staff working at the zoo. No one seems to be against the idea.

For a moment Lucas tries to come up with an excuse not to come, but he quickly talks himself out of it. With nearly everyone participating, there will be a pretty big crowd. Just because he’s avoiding Eliott, it doesn’t mean he has to shut himself off completely. The chances are, they won’t even run into each other. Right?

 ***

 It’s only Lucas’ luck that he ends up sandwiched between Imane and Manon all the while Eliott is sitting right across him. And he’d have to be stupid not to notice the expectant looks Eliott keeps throwing his way.

He pretends he’s stupid, though, and with his head hanging low, he tries to seem as engrossed in his food as he can.

The fact everyone’s talking amongst each other and they don’t pay much attention to him besides asking him to pass them something is good. The fact he’s hyper aware of Eliott at any second not so much, though.

The girls are having a discussion over his head that more people start joining in and Lucas wishes he could participate, act normally, but he hasn’t slept much lately and his mind is too full. All he craves is some quiet.

Someone kicks him under the table. Not hard, giving him a way to brush it off as an accident. And that’s how he knows it’s Eliott.

Lucas is tired. Tired of the avoiding, of how he screwed up the friendship that has started blossoming between them. All because he’s a stuck-up bitch who denies himself good things in life because of reasons. Even if they are soulmates it doesn’t have to mean everything between them will be completely fake.

He doesn’t want to deny Eliott any longer.

That’s why he looks up.

He’s met with an anxious smile tugging at Eliott’s lips, but determination lighting up his eyes.

“Want to leave?” he mouths, tilting his head towards the exit.

Lucas doesn’t hesitate before nodding.

The first minutes after they’ve left, they are just walking aimlessly around, not uttering a single world. And it’s not the same comfortable silence they shared before. Lucas knows it’s his fault for creating that gap between them.

They were fast to go from strangers to friends to strangers again.

“The weather is nice tonight,” Eliott breaks the quiet and Lucas needs a moment to process. It’s weird to hear Eliott speaking to him so casually all of sudden.

“The weather? Really?” Lucas retorts, hoping he doesn’t sound hostile.

“Why not? It’s better than nothing.” Lucas sees Eliott shrugging out of the corner of his eye.

Lucas sighs and moves a hand over his face. “I’m sorry for acting so weird lately,” he says, glancing at Eliott.

“It’s okay, we’re all a little weird from time to time,” Eliott’s voice is calm when he speaks, but there’s something hidden underneath it. “You know, sometimes I feel like leaving everything behind and starting over. Sometimes I do things that normally I wouldn’t. We all have our demons.”

Lucas bites down on his lip. Eliott is sharing something personal with him to make Lucas feel more comfortable. To justify the way he’s behaved. Lucas isn’t sure how to feel about it.

“I shouldn’t have acted like a dick, though,” he says, frowning and Eliott’s gaze lays on him.

“You shouldn’t have,” he agrees, his voice full of emotion. Lucas feels like there’s more Eliott wants to add, but he only settles on a soft, “Are you better now?”

Lucas stops walking and Eliott does the same. He turns towards Lucas so they are facing each other and Lucas can’t stop his heart from beating faster when he meets Eliott’s eyes. When he realises how close they are after weeks of distance.

They stare at each other, both searching and expectant. The evening air around them is thick with anticipation.

Lucas tilts his chin up. “Yeah, I am,” he whispers and gets the brightest smile in return.

 ***

 There’s more between them now than there was before. The looks are growing bolder and gestures are going way beyond friendly. Their feet are pressed together during their breaks and there are smiles reserved solely for each other. There’s an unspoken what are we every time they get too close. Eliott pulls Lucas in and Lucas doesn’t resist. He doesn’t want to resist even if it’s against everything he believes in. Everything is the same, but at the same things have changed dramatically.

For example, now, Eliott invited Lucas to come over. He’s never done that. Besides the dinner and their walks after work, they’ve never hung out outside the zoo.

They’ve ordered pizza and have been drinking beer, the atmosphere relaxing and soothing. They are sitting next to each other on the couch, their knees brushing against each other. They’ve eaten almost everything and Lucas feels heavy. Tired. Like he could fall asleep in seconds. The fact he’s surrounded by warmth makes him even lazier.

He turns his head and he looks at Eliott. He doesn’t even flinch when Eliott notices and stares at him back. Lucas lets himself watch. He marvels at how the light reflects in Eliott’s eyes, how soft his hair seems to be and how inviting his parted lips are. There mere centimeters keeping them apart feel like they are kilometer long, but at the same time like there’s no space left for air between them.

It’d be so easy to kiss Eliott in this moment. And maybe Eliott would kiss him back.

Lucas stands up before he inches closer and changes things even more.

He can feel Eliott’s eyes on his back when he takes his steps further away from the couch. He takes a look at Eliott’s face and he seems to be asking why do you keep running away? to which Lucas’ only answer would be I’m scared.

The territory they are currently crossing is as tempting as it is dangerous. Considering everything Lucas’ knows about their supposed bond, he doesn’t dare to take the leap towards his destiny.

What if all he feels towards Eliott is only caused by the soulmate thing? It’s killing him, the lack of knowledge about his own matters of the heart. What part of all of this is genuine and how much of it is just a cunning ploy designed by the universe? What if none of it is truly real?

His eyes land on a drawing of a raccoon. The blood drains from his face and his breath hitches in his throat.

“What is this?” He points at the image, feigning nonchalance.

Eliott moves from the couch and comes to a stop directly behind Lucas. His front is almost touching Lucas’ back and he rests his chin on Lucas’ shoulder. His exhale tickles the side of Lucas’ neck, raising goosebumps over his skin.

“It’s me,” he says.

Lucas scoffs and turns his head slightly to the side to get a proper look at Eliott’s face. “Huh?”

“Like a spirit animal?” Eliott offers sheepishly.

Lucas stares at him, partly amused and partly baffled.

“So, like your fursona?” he asks, his tone teasing and Eliott’s eyes widen.

“I don’t think that’s what a spirit animal is,” he mutters, his cheeks growing redder with each passing second.

“Spirit animals are like in Native American’s culture, though. I believe you are just a regular furry, buddy,” Lucas retorts and reaches behind to pat Eliott sympathetically on the shoulder.

“This is embarrassing,” Eliott mumbles and hides his face in Lucas’ neck. Only then does Lucas realise how close they are. Despite the fact that he moved away earlier just to avoid something exactly like that happening.

“It’s okay,” he says meekly and clears his throat. “I accept you,” Lucas adds, letting out a chuckle right after.

Eliott buries his face deeper in the place where Lucas’ neck and shoulder connect. Eliott is clearly ashamed. “I’m not a furry,” he insists, his lips moving against Lucas’ skin and sending a shiver down his spine. They stay like that for what feels like forever and then, “You’d be a hedgehog.”

 ***

 “How’s the internship going?” Yann asks while Lucas is taking a sip from his bottle.

Seeing how they all have been busy both with preparations for the uni to start and their jobs, it’s amazing that Lucas, Yann, and Arthur managed to find one evening when they were free and could chill together. Lucas has to admit he’s missed his friends and how he doesn’t have to worry about anything around them. Besides, it’s nice to escape the conflicting Eliott-feelings for at least a few hours. They’ve been so close ever since they reconciled that at times it gets overwhelming. Lucas wonders if it’s this intense because they are soulmates.

He wipes his mouth with the back of his palm and puts his beer down.

“It’s okay. Tiring,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You reek of animals,” Arthur chimes in and Lucas huffs.

“I do not,” he retorts. Lucas can admit, the smell was hard at the very beginning, but he’s been taking two showers a day and he’s bought shower gels that are supposed to be efficient. So he does not reek.

Unless he’s just got very used to that animal fragrance.

“You kinda do, dude,” Yann adds, kicking Lucas’ ankle. Arthur snorts and the two of them high five each other.

He needs new friends.

“Anyways, guys! I have news. I met my soulmate,” Arthur announces proudly, his grin blinding.

Lucas rolls his eyes. Amazing news. Really. Ten out of ten.

Yann congratulates Arthur, of course, and that’s when it hits Lucas and he sits up straighter.

“Didn’t you have a boyfriend?” he asks and is surprised at how harsh he sounds.

Arthur tilts his head to the side, his eyes narrowed. “Yeah? So?”

“So you just broke up with him?”

That’s fucking why Lucas hates soulmates. They ruin everything. Whichever higher power decided this concept was okay, must have been really fucked up–

“I didn’t?” Arthur looks between Yann and Lucas, baffled. “Why would I?”

“Because you met your soulmate?”

“So? We hit it off, sure, but there aren’t any other feelings between us? I like her as a friend, but I love my boyfriend. And she’s a lesbian. So any feelings beyond platonic are impossible,” Arthur explains, his tone edging on being defensive, but at the same staying composed.

“I don’t understand. Isn’t a soulmate supposed to be the love of your life? Written in the stars and all that shit?” Lucas asks, feeling more and more stupid after receiving puzzled looks from Arthur and Yann.

“Sure it happens, but mostly when the people like, fall for each other, you know? The stars aren’t in control of your feelings, though. Your soulmate is just a person you vibe with. Can be romantic, can be platonic. Hell, some people hate each other’s guts but are soulmates. Being soulmates with someone just means you two get each other on some deeper level. The connection is stronger. But developing romantic feelings for them? Or any at all? That’s all just chemicals in your brain,” Arthur explains, his index finger pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah, and some people are convinced that soulmates are solely romantic and get together with them the second they meet. Later on, they realise they have no romantic feelings for the person and puff,” Yann adds and Arthur nods at his words.

Lucas feels as if his whole world has shifted off its axis.

Wow. His mind? Blown.

This honestly changes the perspective.

“You okay, Lucas?” Yann asks, watching him like he’s grown a second head.

“Yeah, I’m just processing,” he mumbles, staring down at his lap.

So, his whole life has been a lie. How does one just recover from that? Why has no one ever told him all of that? Now what? He can let himself… feel? Without second thoughts and always stepping back?

As if on cue, his phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out and there’s a notification staring back at him. A message from Eliott. He hesitates for a moment before he clicks on it.

see you tomorrow at the zoo gate at 9pm

Lucas clutches the phone to his chest and looks up at the ceiling, disbelieving.

 ***

 He didn’t get more information from Eliott, but supposing Eliott didn’t cancel, they’re still on. Lucas has no idea what Eliott could have planned, especially there out of all places. After everything Lucas has found out the day before, he doesn’t care that much. He’s just excited to meet up with Eliott and finally stop holding back.

Funny how he needed to be told that his feelings for Eliott aren’t caused solely on the fact they are soulmates. Although, considering his aversion towards the whole concept and his past experiences, it’s not surprising that he couldn’t believe it earlier.

Now, he can finally breathe freely. He’s glad he didn’t fuck up their relationship to the point of no return. He’s glad they haven’t parted their ways yet before anything could happen. Maybe it’s high time Lucas forgave the universe. At least partly.

It’s dark outside and he’s thankful for the fact the zoo management spends so much money on keeping the area around lit up. Otherwise, he’d have been spooked.

Waiting at the gate, Lucas wonders when Eliott is going to arrive. There are still a couple of minutes left and Lucas is sure Eliott wouldn’t be late – he tends to be anxiously early when it comes to the job. So there’s no need to worry about having to wait too long. Unless Eliott stands him up. But he wouldn’t, would he? God, Lucas should have texted him something more besides an okay.

“Hey, hey,” someone is whisper-shouting and Lucas turns around to face the gate that has now been slightly opened. He sees Eliott waving at him to come in and without a single thought, Lucas complies.

After that, Eliott shuts the gate closed again and smiles widely at Lucas.

“What are we doing?” Lucas asks in a hushed voice.

“We are having a date,” Eliott answers, his tone solemn. Lucas can feel the heat creeping up his neck after hearing those words.

A date. They are having a date a day after Lucas realised that whatever they have is real. The fate isn’t fucking around, huh.

But there’s something gnawing at his conscience.

“What about the guards? The cameras? We could be fired for it,” Lucas states, getting antsy at the mere thought.

“A little birdie told me which place is almost never checked and well, let’s say the security will be looking away from certain monitors tonight, if you know what I mean.” Eliott winks at him.

The realisation dawns on Lucas and he opens his mouth. “You didn’t. You know bribing is illegal?”

“Worth it,” Eliott says and shrugs, still beaming at Lucas. “Also, the internships are almost over so not much to lose. Come on.” He tugs on Lucas’ sleeve and drags him in an unknown direction. Lucas lets Eliott guide him without any objections.

They end up by the hippo exhibit and Lucas stops in his tracks. It’s not the place that shocks him, but the blanket laying on the ground with food waiting on it and all the candles carefully placed all over the area. It’s probably unsafe, but everything be damned no one has ever prepared something like that for him.

Eliott has sat down and is fidgeting in place, looking everywhere, but at Lucas. It’s endearing, really.

“I hope I didn’t overdo it,” he admits quietly, his fingers playing with the sleeves of his hoodie.

Lucas comes closer, wary not to knock any of the candles over. He crouches in front of Eliott and grabs both of his hands.

“It’s perfect. Really,” he murmurs, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips and Eliott visibly relaxes.

After that Lucas sits down, reluctantly letting go of Eliott’s palms, and they start eating. An easy banter flows between the two of them and Lucas feels truly content. If someone had told him he’d be on a date with Eliott a few weeks ago, he’d have wholeheartedly disagreed with them. Now, it’s like everything is finding its place.

Funny how fast things change. How they don’t need many words to navigate that fragile thing between them. Lucas just feels like he belongs right there, with Eliott. And he hopes Eliott feels the same.

There’s some fear in Lucas, though. Fear of how Eliott could start acting if only he found out about who they were to each other. Because well, Lucas knows what he feels right now. With or without the soulmate aspect, he’d have fallen for Eliott. And Eliott seems to like him as well, but Lucas knows how Eliott is about soulmates. How important it’s for him. What if he goes overboard once he learns the truth?

“Are we dating now?”

Lucas looks up from his nearly empty plate at Eliott, snapped out of his thoughts. Eliott seems shy and uncertain.

“Do you want us to?” Lucas asks, his heart beating fast and loud.

Eliott shifts closer to Lucas, kneeling in front of him and Lucas straightens up.

Eliott’s voice is shaky when he speaks. “Can I confess something?”

Lucas only nods in response.

Eliott reaches out for Lucas’ hand and before saying whatever he wants to say, he puts Lucas’ palm over his heart. Presses it against his chest. If Lucas focuses hard enough, he can feel the quick thump thump thump under his fingertips. The gesture is even grander for him since he knows just what exactly rests on the skin he’s touching through the material.

Eliott doesn’t let go. He closes his eyes and exhales harshly through the nose, bracing himself. Then, he looks deeply into Lucas’ eyes. “I’m bipolar, Lucas. I think you should know that,” he pauses to take a deep breath before continuing, “and a lot of people tried to convince me that anything I feel is a delusion caused by my illness. But I know that what I’m feeling right now, with you, is true,” he admits, his gaze unwavering.

“And what are you feeling?” Lucas asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

“That you are the only one I want,” Eliott answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah?” Lucas inches closer, up until he’s on Eliott’s eye level. His fingers curl up over Eliott’s heart.

“Yeah,” Eliott breathes out against Lucas’ mouth.

They stare at each other for a few more seconds before Lucas captures Eliott’s lips in a kiss. It’s desperate and messy at first, but they quickly find their rhythm. And despite them having never kissed before, it feels they’ve already done it over a thousand times. It’s familiar.

Like coming home.

 ***

 He’s going to tell Eliott. Lucas needs to do so or else it’ll kill him.

It’s been almost two weeks since their zoo date(no one was captured and candles didn’t burn anything down, much to Lucas’ surprise) and they’ve been together ever since. It’s been amazing. Lucas has never felt happier if he’s being completely honest. One can take whatever they want from it. The point is, that despite things going well, there hasn’t been a day when Lucas didn’t think about the soulmate secret.

Eliott deserves to know. And not when they end up being shirtless together. No, Lucas needs to be honest with him. Eliott told him things about himself despite his fears. So Lucas owes him. And there’s no better occasion to spill his guts than during their next date.

They are at an amusement park. The summer is about to end and Eliott was adamant on going there. Said there’s no better way to celebrate going back to adult life than getting in touch with their inner younger selves. Lucas couldn’t argue with that, especially when Eliott looked at him with those eyes.

Now they are walking hand in hand, munching on some candy floss and thinking of where to go next. Lucas can’t find the right moment to reveal the truth to Eliott and it’s awful.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Eliott asks, grabbing one of Lucas’s hands and swaying it back and forth.

Lucas hums.

“I know we’ve talked about soulmates before.” Oh, fuck, oh, shit he’s seen right through Lucas and is about to call him out, isn’t he? “You told me why you hate the phenomenon. But I was wondering if something happened for you to be so against it?” So Eliott is only curious about it? That’s great.

No need to stress it.

“My parents were married for years, but then my dad met his soulmate and left in an instant,” Lucas says and feels Eliott squeezing his palm. Something warm spreads through his chest. “I wish my tragic backstory was more interesting. But you know what?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve been kind of warming up to this whole thing. I talked to some people. And yeah,” he finishes lamely and glances briefly at Eliott. Who for some reason, is grinning.

“Maybe let’s go there,” Lucas suggests, pointing towards a giant roller coaster.

He hears Eliott huff and then saying in a gentle tone, “Sure.”

Soon enough they are buckled up and holding each other’s hands like their life depended on it. The moment they are moving, Lucas regrets ever thinking it was a good idea.

He closes his eyes against the wind and he’s sure his fingernails are going to leave half-moon shaped marks all over the back of Eliott’s palm.

At some point, they come to a stop and Lucas opens his eyes, relieved it’s the end just to find out they are very fucking high. About to drop. God fucking save him.

“Hey, Lucas!” Eliott shouts and Lucas turns towards him. Seeing him relaxed and smiling grounds Lucas, no matter how cheesy it sounds.

“What?”

Eliott sobers up in a matter of seconds. “Remember that time we had this water fight? And we went to change?” Lucas nods. Of course, he remembers. Everything has been turned upside down since then. “I saw you changing your shirt,” he says, a meaningful look over his face.

Lucas squints at him, his brain not quite catching up with what he’s just heard. Eliott squeezes his hand again today and Lucas gapes when he realises what kind of bomb Eliott has dropped on him. He wants to say something, but before he has a chance to, they are falling down.

And despite that, the only thing he sees is Eliott.