#but my girl still got her own spinoff so she barely counts

[nileqt87]

How I’d write a Buffy/Angel spinoff!

I still say the best spinoff they could possibly ever make would be all the Chosen Slayers getting deactivated, then Buffy and a Shanshu'd Angel (IMO, this plot really would only work with Angel, because it actually matches his story arc, not Spike's, to want a human life and fatherhood) have a daughter who grows up not knowing the truth about her parents (and half-brother!) until it's forced to come out.

I would particularly note that the first thing that happens to newly-called Slayers is their prophetic dreams. If ever there was a way to start breaking secrets to this new heroine that also serves as flashback exposition featuring the old shows, this seems custom-built for it. It’s exposition for the audience that never saw the old shows as well as an introduction to a key Slayer ability, but most importantly, it’s personal family revelations that go far deeper than historical flashbacks of unrelated persons or monsters that mean nothing personal. These would be scandalous secrets for a baby Slayer, given Buffy was the rule-breaking Slayer who is most famous for having romantic relationships with the very creatures she’s supposed to slay. Angelus would be the worst family secret of all! This story has all the makings of an existential crisis before acceptance. That would also be a good place to drop in Connor’s history. Buffy never actually got to react to that bombshell either, so that would be an interesting drama with her, as well. Buffy and Angel both tended to feature heavily in prophetic dreams, so it also just feels right to continue that.

If there's some reason why David Boreanaz (who, let's face it, is really not getting younger and SEAL Team can't go on forever) can't or is unwilling to appear, one could have an explanation that Wolfram & Hart has had him trapped in a holding dimension for years as punishment.

You could even build an arc around that with Buffy or the daughter trying to find him. Basically, a kind way of explaining Angel's absence if necessary and Buffy unfortunately having to mirror her single mother (which was a fear of hers), despite it being no fault of Angel's. It would be yet more cruelty for him to miss out on yet another child growing up, which would be a dramatic plot point itself. It could actually become a story where he does matter quite a lot, despite initial absence or mystery.

An even bigger shock than mom having Slayer superpowers and a world full of supernatural forces would be a reveal that dad is a 394+-year-old (depends on if you count hell--in a modern-day spinoff, Angel is rapidly approaching 400 years!) ex-vampire.

The most interesting and fitting story you could ever do with a maturing Buffy would be having her be a mother and trying to have a normal life.

This would also give Sarah Michelle Gellar a starring role that allows her to be age-appropriate, yet also having a younger generation that the original audience can still care about because she isn't completely divorced from the two previous shows in the way that an unrelated Slayer spinoff would be. It allows the core storylines of *both* shows to truly matter, far more than a Buffy Steele-Gunn offspring would.

---

Just a a few notes about my pitch for a continuation that works with the real ages of actors and their availability... I should also note that Xander (played by Nick, anyway--Kelly might work for a flashback) is a character who could never appear in live-action again, so maybe he could be used as another event that contributed to Buffy's retirement besides pregnancy.

If the Shanshu and conception were directly post-NFA, any offspring would be 16 years old right now. IMO, if there were any plans to give SMG a series with her in a major supporting role, this just means that the space for how long between NFA and the Shanshu or how long Bangel got to be with each other widens for however many years it would take to revive the franchise.

I strongly believe that the best option for the franchise would be a back-to-the-suburbs story exploring age-appropriate Buffy facing motherhood, rather than trying to turn Buffy into a war general surrounded by nothing but subordinates (horribly alienating future for her) with a lack of equals or a grounded setting à la the season 8 comics. If you want to introduce the Buffyverse to a new audience whom you can't expect to watch 24-year-old shows until they're interested enough by the revival, you're going to have to ground characters in a relatable reality.

As for how a new Slayer would be called after deactivation, I firmly believe the line is through Faith now anyway, so it would just take her dying for a minute à la Prophecy Girl for a new Slayer to be called. I would definitely want Faith in the show!

--- Facebook discussion

I feel like SMG's concern was less wanting to reprise the role entirely, but more concern that she'd be expected to play the same exact role in her 40s. This is giving her a role that fits a woman (and a mother in real life) who is in her 40s and is a major supporting role rather than he young lead whose story is being centered on.

As for the Angel situation, SMG might actually be more willing to return if she could beg DB to come back for perhaps an initially-limited role and the scenario is one I believe she'd actually support, as it fits with her preferences!

While it might seem that Buffy as a single mother retreads the original, Angel is obviously nothing like the Hank situation (not to mention Joyce and Hank being completely clueless), so the circumstances of the father would be quite different from Buffy's own situation, while also feeding into her own stated fears about her future.

This also brings up all the conversations in Bad Eggs, The Prom and the Chosen cookie dough analogy (children are mentioned again) to the forefront. Unlike with the other options, it was something that came up repeatedly. Admittedly, it was always by Angel due to his infertility and the human life he most desired; all of which ended up being an important part of *his* story.

However, a part of Bad Eggs that is woefully underrated is that Buffy was disappointed when Angel told her vampires can't have children. She immediately covers it up with a babble speech and then starts making excuses for why Slayers are unlikely to have that kind of future. Young Buffy did not disregard it because she didn't want children ever at all, but because the person whom she saw that future with was someone who couldn't have them.

Enter Nikki Wood, where Buffy learns that at least one Slayer was definitely a mother, which she was clearly surprised by.

That's another reason why I can see Buffy, if she got her hopes up with post-Shanshu Angel and conceived, would do anything to be a good mom by not being all about "the mission". She would never want her child to be raised without parents. And I think she'd be doubly sensitive to that, not just because of Nikki, but because of Hank leaving and Joyce dying.

Buffy also became surrogate mother to Dawn, who was made out of her (in a sense, she is her real mother), so Angel's situation with Connor actually had a direct mirror in Buffy's situation with Dawn.

But those conversations were also not just about wished-for children that couldn't be conceived, but also asking Buffy to think about what she wants for her future if she took out the belief that Slayers don't live long enough to have one.

This show would be the answer to what happens to a Slayer when she does live long enough to have the future she barely wanted to get her hopes up for before.

Buffy (ditto Angel) is the character for which this story actually has a ton of setup in the shows themselves. These characters talked about it! And the circumstances are really nothing like Joyce and Hank, even if the initial setup plays into both Buffy and Angel's worst nightmare scenarios about parenthood: being a single mother and not getting to raise the miracle child you thought you'd never have. That kind of bittersweet writing that shirks too-good-to-be-true wish-fulfillment is a cornerstone of what makes it a Buffyverse storyline. If the daughter's family lied to her about their history to keep her safe and protect her from knowing what goes bump in the night (making them the polar opposites of Hank and Joyce in regards to knowing all too well--especially Angel's experience of being the worst thing you could bump into at night, rather than utterly clueless), that would certainly be a conflict. Especially if she found out in a particularly shocking way (say, prophetic dreams). And if Angel (I'd like to imagine he has the company of ghost!Wesley and maybe Illyria and Spike) has been taken for punishment by Wolfram & Hart, it might really confuse her if she doesn't know that he didn't just leave or some other excuse Buffy covered it up with. Wolfram & Hart would also probably love the irony of Angel getting what he most desires (to be human and a father), only to punish him with it by wasting his remaining years separated from all that he loves.

[idolistic-dreams]

Lurking in the Dark; 8

♥︎ Genre: Vampire au, lots of angst, fluff, maybe some smut later on.

♥︎ Pairing: Vampire! Jaehyun x Reader

♥︎ Warnings: Language, Violence, Blood.

♥︎ Word Count: 3K

♥︎ A/N: I love this part honestly. I’m excited to get into what happens next ~

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8

Spinoffs following the series; Serious // Hesitation // Believe (happens before part 8 but not needed )

A deep sigh leaves your lips as a flash of lightning is quickly followed by loud thunder that shakes the windows. With a wince of pain you set the box down which you had carried into your new room. A soft knock on the door brings your attention over to the three other girls standing in your room.

“You need to talk to him…” your cousin Melody frowns. She had recently transferred schools and helped to find a bigger place to move into after meeting her own mate, Johnny. Another loud crack of thunder shakes the apartment. You shake your head and look out at the storm.

“How can I? They don’t exactly have phones to talk to us and we can’t go to the cemetery, bad weather or not,” the ache in your chest grows causing you to gasp.

“Y/N, you’re hurting… badly. If you’re hurting you know he is too,” Hana walks over and sits next to you on the floor, pushing some boxes aside. You lean tiredly onto your best friend.

“The guys are coming later to help us unpack. We can tell them to get Jaehyun for you,” Prita sits in front of you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. You shake your head.

“No. If he wanted to fix this he could. He lied to me, they all lied to us, and I understand that it was for our safety, but you know how I am. I don’t like to be told what to do, I like to take care of myself and I also like the truth. If he had just told me he that we couldn’t come to the cemetery for our protection instead of sending us off and telling us to stay out I wouldn’t have gotten so upset. We have a right as their mates to know what’s happening, don’t you think?” You take a deep breath as you finish your rant.

“Look, I may have gotten here late to the game, and I haven’t even been to this place yet, but Y/N does have a point. I’m a lot like my cousin and I’d want to know what was going on if it somehow involved me,” Melody sits at your other side, rubbing your back soothingly. The front door suddenly opens and shuts, and four guys walk into the room before pausing and looking at the four girls sitting on the ground.

“T-Taeil what are you doing here?” you look concerned. He was known for being the one who’d help take care of people when something was wrong, Taeyong’s right hand man. Something must have gone wrong because he had never come to visit before.

“Is there somewhere comfortable where we can all sit down? I have to talk to you guys and Jeno is on his way with Mei,” he questions. You nod slowly.

“Y-yeah… we have the couches set up in the living room, we can all sit in there,” you frown, getting up along with the other girls.

Once everyone was sat down in the living room, it didn’t take long for Jeno and Mei to show up. They join the group and Taeil stands up in front of you all.

“So, as you girls have figured out, we don’t include you in our meetings. We’ve kept important information from all of you, and it’s been more than this one time you’re thinking of you just didn’t find out about it. There’s a reason we’ve kept you all away from that part of our lives,” he sighs and looks at you, making sure you’re all listening.

“Wait so you’re telling me we’re still being kept out of the loop?” you whine, now even more upset.

“Yes, let me continue before you get upset,” he looks at you, waiting to see if you’d speak again before he starts back up, “When this group first started to get together, Taeyong was already a vampire, so was I. This was a long time ago, and over the years we met, or turned, everyone who is in the clan now. However, before we met any of you, before Jeno and the rest of your friend were turned, even before Johnny was a part of the clan, we had let our mates be a part of our business, human or vampire.”

“So, what changed?” Hana asks the question you were all thinking.

“Taeyong did,” Yuta’s voice is grim, like he’s remembering a horrible tragedy.

“Taeyong? You mean he wasn’t always that pissy?” You scoff, finding it hard to believe that the leader who barely said two words to you and seemed to glare at you whenever you’d been around could be anything more than rude and unwelcoming.

“No, he wasn’t. He’s a good guy… he just has a hard time letting people in now. Anyway, after what happened he stopped letting human mates be involved in meetings and being put into our business. He does this because it’s too much of a risk. He doesn’t want anyone to go through what he’s been through. What he still goes through,” Taeil finishes. It only leaves you with more questions.

“Wait, but what exactly happened that made him change?” Prita was looking more at Yuta than Taeil as she asked.

“He lost his mate,” you could see Yuta’s grip tighten on Prita’s should where his hand was as he uttered the words.

“She’s dead? Look, I’m happy with my new relationship and all, but uh… I’m too young to die,” Melody laughs a forced laugh. She’s much more tense.

“Calm down, she’s not dead,” Taeil rolls his eyes, “She got hurt. She was human and the injuries were too severe the only way Taeyong could save her was to turn her. The problem with that was that after she turned, she was upset that she had even been put in the position to get hurt in the first place. It was actually pretty similar to what’s going on now.”

“You mean other vampires?” a cough rattles your chest causing you to wince and another loud burst of thunder almost drowns out your question.

“Yeah, it was another group like this one, back in 1990. We thought they’d be okay with humans, most clans are,” Yuta starts.

“Some clans hold on to the old ways though. The fear from the 1700 and 1800’s of being killed if anyone found out about us still lingers. They aren’t too many of them, but they’re dangerous,” Taeil finishes.

“Like the group that’s in town now… haven’t any of them had mates they found while they were human?” Hana asks, one of her hands clasped tightly with Sicheng’s.

“Well yes, but with these clans when they find mates that are human, they usually just turn them. This group in particular has been together since 1747 and they haven’t added anyone else to the group unless they were previously mated vampires since 1793,” Taeil looks almost disappointed as he says this.

“Great, so you’re dealing with a bunch of stiff old idiots who can’t move into the future,” you scoff, causing some of your friends around you to giggle.

“Hey, watch who you’re calling old,” Yuta groans and Taeil chucks, the mood in the room slightly lifted. Another flash of lightning has more thunder following closely behind and the room is quiet for a few moments after.

“So, this other group, the one from 1990… what happened?” You break the silence. Taeil turns to you and sighs.

“We had a meeting one day, everyone was there. All of the guys and our mates were gathered, talking about a new group that was passing through on their way to new territory,” he shakes his head, “We didn’t know that they were one of these groups so we didn’t think anything of having the mates around. At the time, Taeyong was the only one who had a human mate, she didn’t want to be turned until she graduated from university.”

“I haven’t even thought about becoming a vampire,” Prita mumbles so quietly you almost don’t hear it. You can tell Yuta did from the way he stiffens.

“The group got there, and we were ready to greet them and tell them about the area, where and how to hunt in our territory so that nothing would go wrong…” Taeil pauses as another crash of thunder shakes the room. You were surprised the power hadn’t gone out yet.

“Everything went wrong that night,” Yuta says dryly, “We almost lost Ten’s mate, Yoona. She was the one who went to take Elena somewhere safe when things started to go south.”

“When the other group realized that we had a human with us they freaked out, thought Elena was waiting for the right moment to rat everyone out and get them killed,” Taeil frowns, “After that it’s kind of a blur but we managed to take most of them down, two of them got away. Elena and Yoona had been thrown into a wall and Yoona was fine, but…”

“Elena was hurt, really bad. Yoona kept protecting her though. So much so it almost got her killed in the process,” Yuta follows up.

“The only way to save her was to turn her. When she woke up and found out, Elena was pissed to say the least. She blamed it on Taeyong for letting her be there. She thought he should have known the other clan was against humans,” Taeil looks at the ground, his fists clenched.

“Yeah, so she ran off and she’s been gone ever since. It’s been about 30 years,” Yuta finished the story.

“Wait so if she’s been gone all those years, how is Taeyong okay?” You tilt your head, thinking about how you’d been away from Jaehyun for weeks and were slowly getting more worn down.

“It affects human mates more than vampires… we’re immortal, you aren’t so at some point... humans die. He’s still hurting, he’s just learned out to hide it. After a while the bond is weakened anyway so he isn’t physically affected, just more mentally and emotionally,” Yuta shrugs. You feel the tug in your chest hurt even more at his words. Would it really kill you to be away from Jaehyun?

“If… if I could die then why hasn’t Jaehyun come to see me?” You feel your eyes water up, voice quivering. You had been waiting for him to come apologize. You didn’t think he would actually stay away when you told him you weren’t coming back. You expected him to fight for you, not let you die.

“Jae’s been wanting to talk to you for a while, but he’s trying to protect you so he stays away. One of these other vampires has taken a liking to him and has been following him around, it’s actually pretty annoying. Jaehyun is rarely alone and if he tries to go anywhere outside of where we stay this guy follows,” Jeno growls. He feels terrible, you were one of his closest friends and he could see how badly you were hurting.

“Why are they still here anyway? Weren’t they supposed to be gone a week or so ago?” Mei sighs and looks over at you in concern, “I mean honestly, I don’t think Y/N can go much longer without seeing him. I barely lasted a week before I was at the point of passing out just from walking when Jeno turned me away.”

“That’s actually why Taeil is here to explain everything. They won’t leave. A few of them did for a day or so, and when they came back they said the place they were going to originally had been taken over by a larger clan,” Johnny rolls his eyes as if he doesn’t believe that, “I think they just got too comfortable here.”

“But didn’t you say that they don’t take in people who don’t have mates? So why would they wanted to stay were a bunch of new, unmated vampires are?” Melody asks Taeil.

“Yeah, they don’t. We think they’re staying because they want to try to take over our spot,” he answers, “This is a good area, a lot of teenagers and university students manage to find their way into the cemetery to do dumb shit which makes them easy targets for blood.”

“Whoops,” You, Jeno, Hana, and Sicheng all say around the same moment.

“Is there no way to make them leave?” You ask, you wanted to see Jaehyun, to apologize. You wanted to fix things and tell him you’re not going anywhere. You wanted to be his.

“Not without suspicion. They’re going to wonder why we want them out so badly. Most clans usually just let others stay as long as they need, but with clans like this it’s more difficult,” Taeil puts a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“I need him here with me. It’s not fair. I shouldn’t have told him I’d never come back,” tears start to fall, and your words come in chocked sobs. You were both hurting, and it felt like it was all your fault. You think that maybe if you hadn’t pushed him away and just listened to him things would be okay.

“Y/N, it’s not your fault. This guy would be following him even if you two hadn’t had that argument,” he tries to comfort you, moving his hand to rub your back soothingly. Melody takes one of your hands in hers and squeezes it reassuringly. Another flash of lightning seems to light up the whole room and the thunder sounds louder than ever causing some of you to jump in fright as the power shuts off.

“Oh great, just great,” you hiccup as your sobs calm down. A sudden knock sounds at the door.

“Who the hell is that? We aren’t expecting anyone else” Prita whispers. You all stay still and quiet as can be. There’s another knock, slightly louder this time. Taeil walks to the apartment door slowly, looking through the peep hole. He looks shocked after he sees who it is and struggles as to whether or not he should open the door.

“Guys I swear no one followed me, Taeyong and the others have them distracted, let me in. Please, this is my only chance to see her,” the all too familiar voice calls from behind the door. Your eyes widen and you stand from the couch, looking at Taeil.

“Let him in,” you say sternly. Taeil hesitates for another moment.

“Please, I don’t have time for this,” Jaehyun begs. Taeil finally opens the door and your rush past him, flinging yourself into Jaehyun’s arms. He drops down to his knees with you in his arms, holding you like you would disappear if he let go.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it Jae,” you cry into him, arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. He shushes you and runs a comforting hand through your hair.

“No, I’m sorry—” Jaehyun is quickly cut off by Taeil who was still holding the door open.

“Can you two come inside already?” He rolls his eyes. Jaehyun stands up with you still clutching onto him. You wrap your legs around his waist and he carries you inside. Taeil shuts the door behind you after making sure no one was in the hall.

“I don’t have long they’re going to wonder where I ran off to soon,” Jaehyun sighs, sitting you on the couch where you had previously been. He kneels in front of you and pushes a strand of hair behind your ear, “Gosh, Y/N… I’m so sorry. I did this to you.”

“Jae, stop. There’s nothing you could have done, Taeil and Yuta told us everything,” you smile softly at him. He frowns and scans over your tired looking features.

“I should have tried to get away sooner,” you roll your eyes as he speaks.

“Not if you’re being stalked by some crazy vampire,” you giggle, trying to lighten the mood again. He lets out a light chuckle and puts a hand on the back of your neck. You both look at each other intently before he makes his move. Your eyes flutter shut as his lips meet yours in a tender kiss. In that moment, everything felt like it would be okay. You felt better too. It wasn’t until Johnny let out a cough that you two pulled away from each other.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,” Jaehyun sighs, still holding your face close to his. Everyone suddenly jumps as a knock sounds on the door.

“Okay now this time there really shouldn’t be anyone here,” Taeil whispers, you barely manage to hear it. He walks to the door as he had before and looks through the peep hole again. The others start to get defensive and pull you up from the couches, walking you silently to Prita’s room which was the furthest from the door.

“You girls stay here, and don’t make a sound. Got it?” Johnny eyes all of you. You watch as Jaehyun walks back into the living room with Jeno and Sicheng.

“Got it,” You all whisper as he shuts the door and walks off with Yuta. You can hear the front door open and voices a second later, but you’re unable to make out words. The five of you sit huddled on the floor looking between each other and the door of the room, waiting for someone to return. Suddenly the front door is slammed an footsteps rush through the hall to the door. Taeil opens the door, looking irritated.

“We have to go. The other clan is asking where we all went and is trying to look for us. Do us a favor and don’t leave the apartment for a few days for your safety,” he frowns before turning and leaving as the others had shortly before him.

“W-wait—” Melody calls out, but the door shuts somewhat loudly behind him.

“Well… I guess we’re ordering takeout the next few days,” Prita mutters.

“They didn’t eve say bye,” Hana rolls her eyes and pouts.

“And I guess I’m crashing here with you until they tell us it’s okay to leave,” Mei sighs.

“Something is wrong,” you look out of the window but can barely see anything with the storm still raging and the power still out. The pit in your stomach grows, “Really wrong…”

[glitterslag]

Paris, Mon Amour - A Booty Call spinoff/Part 3

Back by popular demand. And because Paris Ben needed his own blurb. 

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: language, some smut, lil bit of angst and a rogue dick-pic

Summary: You’re trying not to miss Ben, but it’s hard when there are pictures of him everywhere you look. Even your house-mate can’t shut up about him. 

A/N: This was originally a spin-off blurb set in the Booty Call AU, but can either be read as a standalone or as a Part 3 of the main fic. LOTS of people have requested this over the weeks (super sorry it’s taken me so long to finally finish) so I’d love it if just as many people RB and comment! Enjoy x

P.S. my tag lists are a holy show at the moment so if you were/weren’t tagged and you did/didn’t want to be - SORRY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Have you seen those pictures of Ben at the Oscars?”

You were kneeling on the kitchen tiles, up to your elbows in the bottom freezer drawer, hunting for a tub of ice cream. Jen’s voice floated down the hallway from where she stood at her bedroom mirror, taking off the last of her makeup.

Jen was one of those people who always kept her bedroom door open.

“The ones with Joe and Gwil?” You called back, smiling faintly.

You had post notifications on for all of your friends, Joe and Gwilym included. You had, of course, seen their instagram stories from the Oscars.

“No, no. The ones with the girl.” Jen said as she wandered through into the kitchen, towel on her head and her body wrapped in her fluffy purple dressing gown.

“Lucy?” You wondered, spoon in your mouth as you used both hands to rummage for the tub of mint choc chip.

“No, the beautiful blonde, the skinny one.”

“Lucy’s the blonde.”

You were starting to get a bit irritable now, fingers stinging with the cold of the freezer. Where was the bloody ice cream?

“No, not Lucy, another one - gorgeous. A model maybe?”

“I think you mean his stylist.” You said bluntly.  “Iliara?”

“Noo no, not his stylist, the stunning blonde-“

“I GET IT SHE’S BEAUTIFUL!” You yelled, slamming the freezer door shut with a heavy thud.

Jen faked hurt.

“Well there’s no need to get so snappy with me. I was just saying.”

You honestly hated her, sometimes.

In truth, you did wonder about what Ben was getting up to every night at these glamorous parties, even though you knew you had absolutely no right to. You couldn’t help it. He wasn’t your boyfriend – far from it - you had only slept together a handful of times by now. And Jen knew that. You tried hard to just to be happy for Ben, and not think too much about him rubbing shoulders with all these beautiful women. But it wasn’t easy when she seemed to have this perfect knack for rubbing things in.

All the boys had said that they wished you could come tonight, but unfortunately not. Apart from Rami, they were only seated in the viewing gallery themselves, and none of them got to bring a plus one. Only having been an apprentice, there was no chance someone with your position would get invited to the ceremony.

You got texts and snapchats from the boys though, all night, making less and less sense as they steadily get drunker and you found yourself staying up way past bedtime to open their messages, despite having a lecture at 9am.

“Wish you were here to help me tie my tie. Keeps coming undone :/”  read a particularly sweet one you received from Ben at about one in the morning, and it somehow calmed all of the fears you’d had before.

~~~

“Have you seen those pictures of Ben in Paris?” Came Jen’s disembodied voice almost the second you walked through the door, and you nearly jumped out of your skin.

“What are you, stalking him?” You said bitterly, ripping off your bike helmet and flinging it down onto the sofa.

Jen eyed you from the kitchen counter knowingly.

“Long day, was it?”

You shed your coat, scarf, gloves, hat, shoes, each one coming to join your helmet with more velocity than the last.

“Mm.” You muttered under your breath, stalking over with your arms folded to flick the kettle on. “Remind me again why I started back at this fucking uni..?”

~~~

You had seen the pictures.

Ben had flown to Paris for fashion week that morning, and by the time you sat down to have lunch at uni he was all over your Instagram feed looking like he’d barely slept. There were pictures of him with models. Sat on the front row of some Yves Saint Laurent show sandwiched in between them. The butterflies in your belly had started up again.

You hated yourself for being like this. Insecure was so not attractive. And you were never like that with boys. It’s just that other boys usually weren’t Ben fucking Hardy.

He didn’t look very happy. He hadn’t shaved, and there were dark circles under his eyes. You couldn’t help but feel a twang of concern. You wrestled with yourself for an hour or so before shooting him a little text, enquiring after his wellbeing.

He didn’t get back to you until midnight.

“Just got back to my hotel room. Exhausted.”

“No offence, but you look it.”

Ben had gone straight from the Oscars afterparty to the airport for a twelve hour flight to Paris. You were doing a presentation on colour theory for your Contemporary Cinema seminar when his text had come pinging through into the top corner of your MacBook, hooked up to the projector for your whole class of 30 to see.

Ben Hardy: Still pissed on the plane. Help me

They’d all giggled as you scrambled to switch off iMessage, struggling to regain composure and continue with your presentation, worth 50% of your grade for the whole module. It was a good job Ben had such a common name, as you had to laugh and brush it off when some kid in the back joked that you were “chirpsing the real Peter Beale”.

You recounted the tale to Ben now, hoping to give him a laugh, and indeed, the screen lit up your dark bedroom with a little line of laughter emojis only a minute later. You grinned, warmed. You might have been separated from him by the English channel, but compared to Los Angeles? You could kid yourself he was only next door.

You wanted badly to tell him you missed him, but you’d only just started admitting it to yourself.

“Sorry we keep missing each other.” He wrote, referring to the conflicting schedules you’d had over past few weeks, as well as the time zone issue. “It’s just been a mad one.”

That’s ok! I get it :)

You reply. And then:

You should sleep.

You worked out it would be past 1am there. He had to have been absolutely worn out.

Can’t.

Why’s that?

Kinda got a problem..

You waited for him to elaborate, sitting up and switching on your bedroom light.

You’re not in public are you?

Why??

You were curious now, closing all your other apps to focus solely on the conversation. Surely he knew that at midnight on a Monday you’d be home.

Just answer You at home?

I’m in bed

Even better ;)

You felt a flutter in the pit of your stomach. What was he up to?

Ben, what is it?

I wanna send you something

And then it dawned on you. He couldn’t sleep. Had a problem. Needed you to be alone.

Oh.

Only if that’s ok?? He replied, seconds later.

Yes

You put the phone down on your pillow, chewing on your nails as you waited for him to send it. There was no reason to be nervous. You’d seen his cock in person. Touched it. It just felt like a big deal somehow, having it on your phone. Risky.

He was lying in bed too. White hotel sheets, single bed against one wall, a mirror image of your cramped little student room. 

The picture was nice.

I mean, of course it was – it was his, but even for him. He was naked, from the looks of it, lying on his back grasping himself in his fist, bright pink and hard against his belly. He looked gorgeous. You could barely close the picture long enough to tell him so.

You didn’t full-on sext. He was far too tired - and you far too shy - for that. But you did send him a picture of yourself, face cut off from the lips upward, of course. It was nothing too crazy. Just you lying in bed in your low-cut pyjama vest and French knickers (“Fitting ;)”).

After a few more messages back and forth your cheeks were stinging with heat, nipples hard through your pyjama top and a pool forming between your thighs.

He sent you a picture of his come, pearlescent white against his velveteen stomach in the camera flash. You felt your heart beating in your mouth and your fingers and your clitoris as you looked at it, wondering how that, something you’d never, ever imagined yourself wanting to receive from anyone, could be so beautiful to you.

You found yourself longing for his taste. To lick every last drop from the silky skin of his tummy.

Christ. You thought. What had gotten into you?

“What a waste” you typed.

~~~

The next morning you strolled into the kitchen with a spring in your step , and were pouring cereal into a bowl when Jen piped up from the kitchen table.

“Did you see those pictures of Ben?” She asked predictably, and you bit back a smirk. “The ones with the models? He’s at the Yves Saint Laurent show.”

As if you wouldn’t have known where he was.

She was on the gossip page of one of those glossy magazines, OK! or Grazia - that sort of thing. As she brushed toast crumbs away to pour over the celebrity news you caught a glimpsed of a harassed-looking Ben, walking down the street with his hood up.

“He’s at fashion week.” She added.

“Oh, I spoke to him last night, actually.” You said, attempting to sound offhand.

“Really?” Jen replied airily. “What’d you talk about?”

“He was just saying how tired he was. Couldn’t wait to get back to London.”

“He was probably saying it to make you feel better.”

She didn’t look up from the magazine as she bit into her toast. Still, you could tell she was put out.

~~~

Ben arrived back that night and invited himself over. Couldn’t be bothered to deal with the mess at his, he said. He could unpack tomorrow. Besides, Frankie was with his ex for the whole week anyway, so there was nothing for him to be back for. He said he’d dump his suitcase at home and then come straight round, but you didn’t realise how literally he’d meant that.

He looked bone-weary. Hair a mess, he wasn’t shaved or showered, still in his clothes from the flight and you thought privately that you might prefer this version of him the best. His nose and fingers and toes were cold from the outside, and you squealed in his grasp, trying to squirm away but he wouldn’t let you, nuzzling his icy nose into you on purpose, seeking your warmth. You got straight into bed even though it had only just gone 8 by the time he rocked up, and his lips were pressed against yours right away.

For once, there was absolutely no lust there. He didn’t try to roll on top of you, hands staying on your middle, rubbing up and down your sides gently instead of trying to wander downwards. Just kissing for the sake of kissing. It made your heart speed up to think it. You still couldn’t quite believe he was here.  He’d never been round to your flat before.

You made out for what could’ve been ten minutes or an hour, before coming to a slow, mutual stop.

“ ‘M’too tired to do anything,” He said, voice thick with sleep as he pushed his face into your neck to smell you. “Jus’ wanna nap for a million years.”

“M’Kay.” You said, muffled against his soft green jumper. He smelled of the outside.

~~~

You woke up not knowing what century it was,  and you assumed he’d feel the same. 

It was about 7am, and you were positively toasty. The heating had kicked in overnight and you’d fallen asleep in leggings and fluffy bed socks. At some point, Ben had taken his top off and you’d eagerly taken it and put it on, keen for his body warmth that still clung to it. 

You peeled yourself off him, feeling sweat sticking down your back from where his bare chest had been pressed against it all night. He was like a space heater at the best of times. You slipped your socks off your sweaty feet and kicked them far down the bed, losing them in the sea of duvet.

You wriggled around in his arms so you could bury into his chest and he wrapped them back around you again, even in sleep. You lay there for a while in the pitch black, playing at being a little mouse snuggled up in the burrow, lying side by side with its den mate in the dark earth. Only the smell and feel and taste of each other to rely on.

You almost didn’t want to wake him up. To prolong the pretence that he was your live-in boyfriend for just a little longer. That he didn’t have to leave in an hour or two and that then you wouldn’t see him again for god knows how long.

You realised you only disliked dark mornings when you were sleeping alone.

  ~~~

“Have you seen those pictures of Ben at the airport?” Jen asked as the two of you trailed into the kitchen.

Ben stepped out from behind you awkwardly, and her ears turned pink with embarrassment. She slapped her hand over her mouth. You realised this was her first time meeting him in person.

“Coffee?” She managed to squeak after collecting herself again, and everyone laughed.

“It’s a good job you’re back.” She said to Ben not long later, handing him the mug of black coffee which he grabbed gratefully. “She’s been in a mood all week!”

“I have not Jen!” You protested, mortified.

Ben just grinned and slung an arm around you, biting into his toast.

“I’ll keep her in check.”

He winked at you and you nearly died off.

You watched him across the kitchen table over breakfast, thumming at your shirt collar. You brushed your fingers over your sore collar-bone absentmindedly, poking at the skin there testingly, bruised from where he’d sucked and bitten it. There was a sort of soft shyness to the way Ben was looking at you; private, stolen glances over steaming coffee cups, Jen yammering on in the background, oblivious to the fullness of the atmosphere.

You’d never liked it in the morning as much as you did with Ben. Only an hour ago, you’d been giving him a sloppy blowjob under the covers, enjoying the perfect stillness of 7am while he ran his hands through your hair and sighed. Eventually, once he was a bit more awake, he’d hauled you up and then rolled on top, pinning your hands to the bed as he settled his warm, welcome weight on top of you.

You’d not been quite ready for him yet, legs slung over his hips and hooked under his bum as he wiggled into you, and the stretch felt so incredible it had been an effort to keep quiet, conscious of Jen asleep in the next room. His thrusts were slow, fingers laced through yours, holding you down as you kissed sloppily.

Then he’d let go of one of your hands to bring a thumb down in between your legs, fingers gripping at your hip gently as he brushed over your clit, feather-light. He slowly built you to a shivering, long drawn out orgasm, clenching on him violently as he trembled with the effort of staying quiet.

Eyes squeezed shut, pink lips parted, he approached his high, and you took him by the back of the head gently to place a long, soft kiss to his cheek to soothe him. He pushed into it, panting, little noises of appreciation escaping the back of his throat while he came.

~~~

“I’ll have to leave”.

You snapped him out of his reverie and he blinked at you, blushing. You didn’t have to be an expert to tell what he’d been thinking about. 

“Lecture?” Ben wondered, and you shook your head.

“Nah, work.”

You told Ben he was free to stay and have breakfast after you left for your part time job at a cafe. However, it appeared that the idea of him and Jen being left alone together terrified him as much as it did you and he opted to walk out with you after you finished your coffee. You walked your bike with him to where he’d parked his car.

“I could give you a lift?”

“Nah,” you said casually, fastening your helmet under your chin. “traffic’ll be bad”

He nodded his head. Neither of you moved to leave, and he looked like he was about to say something until both your heads jerked around at the sound of a group of school kids shouting from across the road.

“Oi, weren’t you in Eastenders?!”

One of them came running across the road to where the two of you were stood, face to face in front of his car boot. The rest of them followed nervously. The two of you sighed and smiled.

“I’ll be late.” You said, mounting your bike. He shot you a pleading, apologetic look but you just grinned at him from over your shoulder.  “I’ll have to go.”

You waved him off as the gaggle descended on him, cycling away before they could get too good of a look at you. You glanced back every now and then at his retreating form, trying his best to be polite as they each asked him for an autograph and a picture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/19/19

A Bride’s Story, Vol. 11 | By Kaoru Mori | Yen Press – Back to Bookshelf Briefs with this volume. Not that it’s not good; it’s very good. But I don’t have a lot of detailed analysis about it. This is possibly a slower-burning romance than even Amir and Karluk, as Mr. Smith is an English Gentleman and Talas is chasing after love after several husbands have all passed away. The “husband and wife” part goes quickly—in fact, Smith proposes almost immediately—but, as with a lot of couples in this series, actual romance is awkward and relatively innocent—the best part is a ride on a swing where we finally see Talas fully open up emotionally. In any case, we now get to go ALL THE WAY BACK, as Smith and Talas decide to reverse his journey. Which means we get to check up on everyone. Peaceful reading. – Sean Gaffney

Cells at Work! CODE BLACK, Vol. 1 | By Shigemitsu Harada and Issei Hatsuyoshiya | Kodansha Comics – Yikes. I knew this was going to be a bit more serious than the main series based on the premise, which is that we see a red and white blood cell in a crappy body that’s smoking, drinking, impotent… the works. But this ran in a seinen magazine, and is not afraid to pile on the gore… as well as the boobs. A lot of the cast die trying to save the body, the liver is portrayed as a host club with girls galore, etc. In among this is the aggrieved Red Blood Cell, male in this spinoff, and his stoic White Blood Cell friend, who is also busy dealing with the fact that White Blood Cells are vanishing. Heck, even the Killer T’s get brainwashed and then arrested (and presumably executed). For hardcore fans only. – Sean Gaffney

Cells At Work! CODE BLACK, Vol. 1 | By Shigemitsu Harada and Issei Hatsuyoshiya | Kodansha Comics – One of several spin-offs of Akane Shimizu’s Cells at Work, Code Black takes the same premise—personifications of human cells, viruses, bacteria, etc.—and moves the action to, well, a body that’s really not doing so well health-wise. The first thing I noticed about Code Black was its mature content warning. In part this is earned due to subject matter (for example, one chapter deals with erectile dysfunction), but also because the creators incorporate a fair bit of fanservice into their interpretations of physiological processes (the white blood cells’ breasts are barely contained by their uniforms and rest and recuperation in the liver includes some nudity.) Code Black also examines the effects of smoking, drinking, and sexually transmitted infections. (Someone is having a rough time of it.) While the original Cells at Work is so far the stronger series, Code Black, like its predecessor, can be both entertaining and educational. – Ash Brown

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 17 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – After the anime of this aired, and perhaps after hearing from fans, I’ve been noticing that the lesbian members of the class have been appearing more and more and getting more and more out. Though here we hear that it’s not lesbian but “yuri” as yuri is “pure and innocent,” which is meant to be pointed commentary, I believe. If so, it fits right in with the rest of A Centaur’s Life, which continues to have things like parasites trying to blend in while taking over human hosts, kaiju monsters helping to save battleships, and Manami straight up beating her grandfather into the hospital when he accuses her sword style of being soft. I honestly have no idea what’s coming next. Nor does the author, I suspect. – Sean Gaffney

Giant Killing, Vol. 16 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – The flashback to Tatsumi’s playing days concludes with him being branded a traitor for accepting an offer with an English team, even though he only did it so his teammates would no longer be so dependent on him. Back in the present, he’s seeking the help of Kasano, the man who recruited him to ETU in the first place, to help bring in some promising new players. This whole scene—“I know his faith isn’t dead yet”—made me unexpectedly verklempt. And then it’s time for a midseason training camp, where Tatsumi attempts to foster team unity by subjecting his players to various weird tasks. I love how skillfully the creators depict that this strategy is actually working, and that some players are discovering abilities they didn’t know they had. I’m glad volumes of this have started coming out again! – Michelle Smith

Haikyu!!, Vol. 34 | By Haruichi Furudate | VIZ Media – A high five made me cry. Honestly, that probably tells you all you need to know about Haikyu!! and how Furudate-sensei creates characters so beloved that readers celebrate with them. Finally, Karasuno and Nekoma are facing each other on a national stage, and what really got me here is that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi prove that Kageyama and Hinata are not the only rookie duo to look out for. Yamaguchi’s floating serve paired with Tsukishima’s blocking proves a very effective strategy, only possible because various people have helped Tsukishima both with technique and with allowing himself to shed his reluctance to really try. Unfortunately, Karasuno still can’t manage to win a set off Nekoma, and the volume ends as the second set begins. I’m sure this’ll be a game that spans multiple volumes, but man, is it going to be a good one. – Michelle Smith

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 5 | By Waco Ioka and Midori Yuma | Viz Media – Sometimes all you need is one customer with pull to turn things around. So Aoi finds when she ends up serving a tanuki who enjoyed her boxed lunches and is also a writer… and when he enjoys her meals and also (natch) finds out about her grandfather, he gives the place a write-up. Of course, now that it’s doing better it’s also attracting attention, as Aoi is asked to cater to another couple where the husband is a yokai and the wife is human—what sort of food would serve them best? And yes, there’s more romance here and there, but for the most part this has become a food title. My one complaint is it’s too short—the lower page count means less plot happens. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 37 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – Let’s get the big complaint out of the way: a series that began with a fun cast of three ends with only two of them saving the day, despite a token attempt to have Morgiana do something. She needed to be in the final battle. Still, Aladdin also gets a bit shafted, as in the end this is Alibaba’s journey and his story, as it’s his choices that prove to carry the day time and time again, to the point where they save the world—admittedly a world that is a bit topsy turvy. And we do end with a wedding. Magi got a bit drawn out by the end, and a lot of its best fights were interrupted by lectures and platitudes, but I was happy to read it, and will miss it now that it’s over. More Shonen Sunday series, please! – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 3 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – My wish is granted in this third volume, which has no short stories at the end and is entirely about Shirayuki. She’s still trying to deal with the first prince, and also her own self-doubt. Things are not helped when Prince Raj, the jerk who started this whole mess, shows up on a visit between royals. Fortunately, he turns out to merely be an immature schmuck (tum-tum may be the funniest part of the book), and his presence actually makes her feel better about herself. Which is good, because we continue to get vague romance, and politics, and both of those have to be solved by Shirayuki being clever and plucky. A volume that shows why fans were clamoring for this license for so long. – Sean Gaffney

Wonderland, Vol. 3 | By Yugo Ishikawa | Seven Seas – I must admit, I was expecting the main cast to stay shrunk for the entirety of this title, so seeing our heroines (and the old guy) return to normal due to the power of hot baths was very startling—it was startling to them as well. Unfortunately, Yukko’s parents are still dead by cat, though they also appear to now be normal sized—but still dead. So Yukko is going back to school and attempting to process everything. Fortunately she has her friend Takuya. Unfortunately, she also has a government minder, and she seems intent on erasing Takuya’s memory of everything that happened. I suspect “cast vs. the evil government” may be the theme of this series, but will Yukko shrink again? And can she reunite with Alice? Still weird, still good. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown