#but yeah. it annoys me when people think rory was different and a girls girl and so much better in early seasons

[enbysiriusblack]

rewatching gilmore girls and what'd you mean they ruined rory in later seasons??? she's always been that girl. in the first ever episode she wants to turn down private school cause she spoke to a cute boy once and mocks classmates for painting their nails. throughout season 1 she mocks other girls repeatedly. in season 2 she makes fun of/gets upset at lane for becoming a cheerleader. she gets in a fight with dean (where she was right), but makes up with him and apologises for thinking a woman shouldn't have to cook and clean for their husband. like i do love rory sm, but she was never a girls girl & she was always spoiled and oblivious of that & prioritises boys over everything else.

[bvttoneyes]

request where Benny Weir gets set up on a blind date with the reader

"300 Awkward Blind Dates Later ~ (benny weir x fem!reader's version)

tw! idk cursing ig

i forgot abt my inbox's ngl also guys putting the same req in my inbox twice is not going to make me do it faster!! also ive alr had to delete some reqs too PLEASEEE read my rules befire requesting any songs

It was Rory's fault he was doing this. He complained ONE TIME like a week ago about being single and so Rory put him on a blind date?! When Rory had told the whole friend group about setting up a blind date tonight for Benny everyone laughed, except Benny of course.

It was way too last minute to cancel the date so he had to just suck it up and go on this date with someone he had no interest to know about. Great.

"Hey Rory, next time you set someone up on a date don't you think the people going on a date should know about it?" Benny says, with an annoyed tone, sarcastically.

Rory's eyebrows furrowed, "she knew about it, she's going on the date. So by your rules... it's fine!"

He then walked off before Benny could hit him. Ethan turned to look at him with an amused smile, so did Sarah and Erica.

"Well, we're gonna go to class. Have fun on your date tonight." Sarah said teasingly before the two girls walked off laughing.

Ethan just patted his shoulder, somewhat comfortingly but also so Benny wouldn't see him laugh.

He was sitting in class, not paying attention. Just thinking about tonight. Rory wasn't known for having the best type in woman for example: Debbie Dazzle. The evil fucking doll that was turning the entire student body, and part of their friend group, into dolls!

"Mr. Weir! Whats the answer?" The teacher yelled across the room.

He was awaken from his daydreaming, he looked at the bored and it was blank. Nothing. Shit.

"uh, France...?" Benny asked with his confused smile.

"that might be correct," the teacher begun, "if this were Social Studies, but Mr. Weir... this is Science! Care to share with the class what you were dreaming about that was so important you can't pay attention?"

The look the teacher had on his face of sarcasm and a smug annoying smile. But Benny just shook his head in response.

"Then pay attention to the lesson. If I have to get on to you again I'm writing you up." Then the teacher got right back to teaching the class.

He made it through the rest of the school day without thinking about the date, but when he was walking with Ethan home it is alll he could talk and think about.

"Why would Rory set me on a date and not tell me until that day! Who does that ya know? And it'd be too rude to cancel this last minute... wait... Rory never even told me where!" He ranted about this whole thing the whole walk home, Ethan not really being able to get a word in at all.

He went to his house, found somewhat nice clothes. Three buttons at the top sorta shirt, and jeans. It was different from the shirts he usually wears because it wasn't just vertical lines across the shirt with a bunch of colors. It was one to two color max kinda shirt. He even brushed his hair.

He called Rory and found out where this date was, and he took his grandma's car. His brain then started filling with all of the positives that could come out of this date.

What if you're smokin hot?

What if you've seen every star wars movie?

What if you were nice?

His mind was just filling up with "what if". He got to the Restaurant you two were meeting up at, not super romantic but not McDonald's kind of casual.

He spots a really gorgeous girl sitting by herself at a booth, that has to be you?

He walks over, "Hey are you here on a blind date? Set up by Rory?"

You nod at the man, "Yeah... I don't really know him that well he kind of just started telling me about his single friend..."

He laughs at that before adding on, "I didn't know we were going on a date until today. He also did not tell me your name?"

You smile at him before responding, "(Y/N), and you're... Benny right?"

He nods in reassurance.

You were both there for hours, laughing and chatting. Until the restaurant was starting to close. You had both had appetisers, main dish, milkshakes, and then more dessert.

They told you they were closing and you both realized how long you had been there.

"It's been really fun talking to you... could I get your number?" Benny asked you, with a nervous undertone in his voice.

You smile and nod your head in agreement, taking one of the napkins and a pen from the checkbook, writing your number down to talk to him more often. You hand the napkin to him, as he grabs the pen and checkbook out of your hands. He had gotten the money from his grandma before the date but you didn't have to know that obviously. He actually told her to give him more incase he wanted to buy a video game.

He wasn't expecting to stay long, just get mac 'n cheese and then decide you two won't work well together. But he didn't want the video game and the amount he brought perfectly covered the check with tip.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Benny asks after signing the checkbook and putting the cash on the table.

You looked at him with somewhat a shocked look, "oh, uh yeah if you don't mind. My dad said he was going to be a little bit late."

He heard the nervous chuckle at the end of that, and that is when he realised he fell for you. Hard.

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-3x8: Let The Games Begin, aka Let The ShitCircus Begin (Part 3)

Luke Danes! Lorelai Gilmore! They are: The Abstinence (For Other People But Not Themselves) Brigade! They can detect bubbling teenage hormones from a mile away and will do anything in their power to stop them! Jess Mariano, with his awe inspiring ability to telepathically impregnate naive virgins in 1 nanosecond without removing any clothes, doesn't stand a chance! Thank god we have you, Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore! The Cockblocking Crusaders! The Dry Hump Destroyers! Scene: Our Handjob-Halting Hero, Luke Danes, has just interrupted an extremely chaste attempt at a kiss in progress. After witnessing his nephew openly groping Shane Campbell and likely several other girls in public and in his diner and his home over Horny Summer 2002, interrupting a kiss with Rory Gilmore with no tongue is just ONE STEP OVER THE DAMN LINE for Blowjob-Blocking-Batman!

I dare say, that was a stupid metaphor from our Intercrouse-Interrupting-Ironman.

There are frequent Sock on the Door references in this show. The thing is you hang a sock on the door to let other people know you're having sex and they won't barge in. Too bad Sex-Stifling-Superman here wouldn't abide by The Sock anyhow. Netflix borked the captions big time here, but there is a loud argument between Luke and Jess about the sock joke, with Luke yelling at Jess that there will be "no socks on the door in my house" and I'm just thinking how weird this conversation would sound if you didn't know wtf they were talking about. Luke, less than 5 minutes earlier (and I quote): Wow! WOW! This is great! Wow! Rory and Jess! Jess and Rory! This is great! Don’t you think this is great! They're only great if they reproduce asexually like snails, I suppose. When he thought Jess was doing much worse things with Shane in his own home, his response was certainly not a pleased one, but it was... different. So it's okay if he hooks up with a skanky blond girl he barely knows, because who cares if he takes a ride on the town bicycle, right? But when it comes to Rory, her purity must be protected at all costs by other adults. Ha, funny how that worked out. I know Luke doesn't think JESS is still a virgin.

He looks so defeated, and he WASNT EVEN DOING ANYTHING. Please don't make me turn on Luke, Tumblr. I already have so little left to live for watching this show.

But that's where they were the first time, Uncle Luke.

THANK. YOU. JESSTOPHER. You're so smart. *pinches cheeks*

The more I'm thinking about this notion that Luke is trying to protect Rory's virginity from Jess, where Rory is a newly minted adult and not even his relative, she's just the daughter of some annoying lady who comes into his diner and doesn't pay for her food, but "Jess doesn't need a guardian" if he'd like to fuck around with random girls of questionable purity, becaue he's a boy I guess, the weirder it sounds. This is just another fiber woven into the rich tapestry of "the young women of gilmore girls who lose their virginity will pay the price with a horrible experience or mental anguish" (Young Lorelai, Rory, Paris, Lane, possibly even Lindsay, god help her).

(girls only). Jess: What do you think is gonna happen? Luke: You KNOW what I think is gonna happen.

You know what, how about he doesn't and we say he did. Awkward.

If she’s not too distracted porking Dean to notice, as soon she found out Dean was a free agent she was all over that like a fat kid on cake.

I saw what Jess got away with at the summer bash. I wouldn't exactly count on Taylor Doose for his Makeout Meddling abilities.

Luke looking all smug like "yeah that was great parenting right there. Damn, I’m such a good Dunkel (DadUncle). He’ll never think about humping again.” Good luck.

[pro-logue-epi-logue]

Hey, just wanna drop in to say that I love your will & alex hate, hahahaha! I'm glad i found someone who's as infuriated of will as i did. He's so fucking annoying. Nightfall really ruined his character for me. He used to be my fav horsemen, but after nightfall, the only male characters i like are micah and rory. Don't even get me started with alex. She's like a whole different character in nightfall, and i hate how pd turned her character an OWD (other women drama). She was great before nightfall, why did pd had to ruin her character like that?

I was also pissed when people kept on mentioning how emory was jealous of other women with will, but these same people never mentioned how will always treated emmy badly when HE was the one who had to deal with his jealousy of seeing emmy with other men? Like the hypocrisy? 🙄 i love dark romances, but overall, i think this series just aint for me because i like no main male characters here, and that's literally the opposite goal of a romance story.

I don't find Will romantic enough because his words and actions are just so icky. Just because he went to jail for his crimes that are related to defending emmy, and kept on having loving thoughts of Emmy in his head, doesnt mean it excuses every other hurtful things he's ever said or done towards her, you know. And that's the thing, i'm aware that emmy was not fully innocent either, but at least we saw in her pov that she wasn't delusional about her bad treatment towards will, unlike will towards emmy? And his admission was only near the end, and it was so short and dismissive too? It was so unsatisying, I need a big grovelling.

How do you like the series so far though? Have you found characters that you like better now? Or worse? Do you already have a ranking in mind, or are you the kind that decides it at the end of the series? Do you think you'll like will by the end of the series? Hahaha!

Hi 👋

😅 yeah i kind of hate those two idiots (not adorably) but i technically LOATH alex and just want will to use his brain and i am fine.

1 thing is for sure WILL too deserves hate just because he loved emory that didn't erase that he was awful to her at times.

And honestly i hate all the horsemen, none of them are my favorite.

I the entire series the males whom i loved are my precious MICAH and RORY. There is nothing they did that made me hate them, they were in blackchurch where they were put by their families to suffer but guess what they found someone they lived and thought "hey lets just chill".then they saw emory and was like "now i am intrigued, why exactly is she here?".

I just love these two cuties, they are the definition of the word pookies (i honestly hate this word)

But yes I LOVE THEM, and i want emmy to adopt them.

She probably has, they are her brothers.

Now coming to Alex, i don't think she is a different person in Nightfall, its just we get to see more of her, the real her in nightfall. A bitch who just cant understand her position.

She was not the other woman in nightfall, she was the other woman ALWAYS! thats what her character is. Let me explain.

I conclave she explains how she met aydin.

He was someone else's FIANCE!!!!. and she was thet girls BEST FRIEND.

Imagine your best friend and fiance backstabbing you so bad. I am pretty sure she has a life time trauma because of these 2 *insert a bad word her of your choice*.

And in nightfall Alex always ALWAYS interrupted and meddled in between when will and wm are talking, a thing they barely did..

Honestly she was playing a long game to marry will, considering how she wanted will to put that necklace on her.

So when she realized "hey, em is here will wants her, and aydin is not even looking at me. Then what happens to me??"

For me she was not great before nightfall either, for me she was barely there.

She took banks to shopping not because she wanted to help her but because kai PAID her, and she will do anything for money.

She took winter to fare because will asked her and she never left him alone.

She was with winter when damon was not because damon asked her and she is afraid of her.

So yeah she never was a girls girl to me.

Emmy was jealous yes but its obvious she will feel that way because she loved will hey atleast she never behaved as rudely and childish as alex.

I hated will in present chapter, i get it you want to get revenge, as idiotic your reason is but hey have some spine and just say something.

In past he was like "i will do anything for you, depend on me, i won't let anyone touch you."

In present he was like "yes so what alex slapped her even though i know she was abused for years. Who cares? Fuck this bitch."

"I know you know how to take a beating"

So yes present chapters are the reason i say EMORY deserves better than someone like will who would choose anyone be it alex, damon over emmy.

I just know if martin had been there and hit her in present chapter se would have done nothing.

So yeah thats why i never hate aydin for hitting will.

In this series i hate all the man, just like you.

But the thing is i LOVED kai at first, then he showed why i shouldn't.

So yeah they all can die.

Pd did a poor than poor job writing willemmy, okay so the fandom wants alex, let me write her for half the book,

The fandom wants damon and rika, like me, here we have 4 or 5 chapters for them

O willemmy? Its their book right? Yeah well no one said that they want to read them to me. Duh... i will ignore them, what other option do i have?.

I think will is romantic, i think he is the most romantic of all the horsemen, and i can never forget how he danced in front of the entire cafeteria to make emmy smile when he thought she was sad.

Its just we don't get to see it, we all have to accept the fact that pd don't love kaibanks and willemmy and we are never getting anything about them. If only someone stops thinking about rika,damon and alex in all scenarios this series would have been amazing and not grated on my nerves.

YES! Emmy is not innocent either but atleast we know from her pov what she feels, Will's pov were all him acting like a little bitch. And that short admission of his was so weird.

I have this feeling pd went out of their way to make thing infuriating in this book on purpose. How can you compare alex to emmy.

Will was a let down but only in present.

I don't need groveling, all i need is 3 or 4 chapters of will being true to his feelings, telling em straight forward that he loves em not alex he don't want her. Treat em right for once.

Even aydin treated em better than will and he was not her love interest, will was.

All throughout nightfall i was waiting for that 1 chapter of willemmy alone and in disgustingly in love. But we didn't.

As for this series, pd did not do good with backgrounds and plotline, there were soooooooo many loopholes.

And it was soooooo obvious who their favorite character are.

Favoritism is what killed this series.

I liked reading these books the curious factor was there but why would you write a book if you clearly hate both the fmc and mmc is beyond me.

So yeah it is great but not for me, i hope others like it.

I am here just because i can't get willemmy out of mind 😭😅.

The characters i like-

Banks, Emmy,Micah,Rory, Emmy's college roommate ( she was the true girls girl)

Worse characters-

Alex wins the crown, i definitely see a divorce

Aydin

The horsemen

Rika, its just because of favoritism.

She had 5 books for her while others barely hat 0.5.

Okay my ranking-

The horsemen (some is holding a gun at my head, i am joking obviously)

Daddy issues- kai

Will

Damon

Michael

The girls, i refuse to call them cowgirls

1. EMMY( she is my baby)

2. Banks

3. Winter, because i have neutral feelings towards her

4. Rika

In hell burning- Alex, who never told a girl about rapist

As for Will, i like the past will, i like the will in fire night. But the present will can die.

Even the past will is going to judge present will.

That's all from me, thanks for this ask, feel free to send more 😊 if you want.

[ladyseidr]

I said I'd do it, so here's the first headcanon dump for Phoebe, aka the bully from FN.AF 4 who wears the Chi.ca mask!!

she's 16 at the time of fn.af 4, making her the same age / grade as rory ( by default her and rory are 16 + michael and jeff are 15, but i do adapt to other people's michaels / bullies. so, if you go older or younger, i'll change the age accordingly if wanted!!

in any other verse, she's 21 by default ( same as rory again lmao )

okay i have to discuss her ( default ) dynamics with the bullies, so

jeff: her best friend 100%. would kill for him. since i do write jeff as being ca.ssie's dad, i like to think older!phoebe eventually becomes friends with him again years down the line. this also means she technically could have a S.B verse!! anyway these two are friends before joining the group and they are a very funny pair imo.

michael: listen they're close but she's definitely given him a deserved black eye before, i'm sorry. very, very teasing relationship, like they get downright mean with one another but it's not serious. will laugh in his face if he thinks he's the leader of the group.

rory: it's complicated. she barely tolerates him. she loves him. she wants to shove him in front of a moving vehicle. she would kill both his parents with her bare hands. he loves annoying the hell out of her. she enjoys making fun of him for being obsessed with michael.

anyway, she's being raised by her aunt ( mother's sister ) and uncle and, uh, let's be clear none of these bullies have great home lives. i'll go into more detail later, but for just now that they suck.

her parents are alive just, uh. busy. too busy for their daughter at least.

when it comes to her being a bully, she doesn't tend to target random people. she targets people who have pissed her off somehow. she's probably the most uh. scary in a traditional bully way. ( "oh no, she's might hit me and harass me for weeks" VS "oh no, rory might put me in the hospital" VS "listen i think mike might actually kill me" ).

realized she was a lesbian at 18 when she met a girl at a party who was openly gay and like. phoebe immediately pulled the "straight" girl "oh that's really cool so like. what is. what is that like. what does it. feel like. the lesbian sex i mean. i'm a tactile learner btw." so yeah they hooked up and phoebe thankfully isn't the type to live in 7 years of denial ( rory ).

realizing she was butch didn't really happen until she immersed herself in the lesbian community. prior to that, tho, she still dresses pretty androgynous and her aunt "had" to force her to wear dresses to school dances. and also force her to go to said school dances.

her aunt and uncle moved with her out to salt lake city to escape the judgment post-bite, but phoebe moves back to hurricane for ~3 years after turning 18 ( for a multitude of reasons )

much like rory, as a teen she denies any wrongdoing regarding the bite, except rory tries to claim he wasn't even present despite having been seen there. phoebe admits she was there but claims she couldn't have stopped it. the major difference, though, is that rory fully acknowledges to himself his responsibility in the matter. phoebe, on the other hand, lies even to herself and tries to convince herself that she had no part in it. ( i'll get into jeff's handling of it when i add him btw )

rare win for a fn.af muse: phoebe does eventually open up to the idea of therapy

positive traits: playful, quick-witted, and bold

negative traits: holds grudges, hot-headed, and sometimes takes jokes too far

[leossmoonn]

New Light

masterlist

pairing - kai parker x fem!human!reader

type - angst, fluff

note - so this is like sometime during season 6. im rewatching the series but i haven't got to season 6 yet (im rewatching it so when i write and include situations and plots from the show, i can be correct w the timeline lol.), so sorry if some of the info and timeline is incorrect. i did a little research to try and get the timeline right though. enjoy! oh! and also i made bonnie and enzo already get together since ik they get together in like season 8

summary - kai tries to make you fall for him

warnings - mild language, suggestive language, make out scene

————

*gif isn’t mine*

Kai watched you as you moved around the kitchen, making dinner for your friends and you. You were in the Salvatore Boarding House, the place you lived in after having your home destroyed by Klaus Mikaelson. The Salvatore brothers adopted you into their home. You had been friends with them for the past few years, so it wasn’t surprising you moved in. You already spent more than half your time here anyways. 

Tonight you were having a dinner party, planned by your friends and you to just relax and forget about every crazy thing that had and was happening in your life. Granted, something crazy was probably gonna happen, interrupting the relaxing night, but you held onto hope to have one normal night. Like how you used to before all the supernatural stuff.

One thing kept the hope from staying, though. It was Kai Parker. The insane witch who was ruining everything for you and your friends over the past few months. Stefan had decided to invite him over, make nice with him so you all would have him on your side. You sided with Stefan to not be in a fight with your best friend, but you deeply hated the thought of Kai sitting with you. Eating dinner, staring at you like a creepy stalker, probably plotting your death. Good thing was, though, Elena and Caroline were at the house, helping you. Everyone knew that if you were alone with Kai, you would probably kill him. Bonnie, sadly, was with Stefan and Damon, working out a plan to kill and/or get him back into the prison world. 

You were in the kitchen alone at the moment, Kai was sitting at the island table, staring at you. He had a smug look on his face, resting his chin on his palm and leaning on the counter. He never tore his eyes away from you. It made you want to gouge his eyes out. To try and ignore him, you put on music and focused on the dinner you were making. 

You sang the lyrics to ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson quietly. You moved your body to the beat, chopping up onions. 

“You have a beautiful singing voice,” Kai said. 

You rolled your eyes, huffing and ignoring him. 

“You know, I can sing, too. I used to love singing in the car with my family,” Kai said. 

“Before you slaughtered them?” You remarked. 

Kai frowned at you, pain shooting through his heart. You continued making steak, turning on the stove and letting it heat up. Elena and Caroline finally came back into the kitchen with ice cream and alcohol. You snatched the bourbon from Caroline’s hand, getting out a cup and pouring yourself a drink. 

“Can I have some?” Kai asked.

You nodded, not looking at him. You poured him a glass, walking over and setting it in front of him. His hand reached out to grab the glass, making contact with your hand. His fingers brushed against yours. You felt your skin tingle and goosebumps arose on your arm. Kai noticed and smirked. 

“Cold?” He asked. 

You glared at him and pulled back your arm immediately. “No.”

Kai chuckled, knowing you lied. He could sense you had feelings for him, even if you never would admit it. He just needed to make you see him differently so those feelings would surface. 

You went back to ignoring him, which only fueld his pining for you more. 

Elena and Caroline went over to you with the steaks.

“You know, Mr. Socio is in love with you,” Caroline said. 

“He's not in love with me. He just likes to chase people and get them comfortable, then hurt them. Since I’m the only one not with a boy who can protect me, with you having Stefan and Damon, Caroline having Tyler and Klaus at her beckoning call, and Bonnie having Enzo, he has chosen me to haunt and stalk,” you said.

Elena looked back at Kai, who was looking at you still. Elena turned her attention towards you, again. 

“I hate Kai as much as the next person, but he really looks like he has actual feelings for you. You should give him a chance.”

You scoffed, not believing what you were hearing. “Did you forget that he almost killed Bonnie and your beloved Damon to the prison world? He slaughtered his siblings and father without any remorse. Not to mention, he's an annoying prick.”

Elena laughed, “I used to think about that with Damon. But look at me now, I’m in love with him.”

“Yeah, but Damon isn’t a bad person, he just does bad things. Plus, I have seen the way he looks at you and treats you, he is every girl’s dream. Not to mention, he’s a pretty attractive guy. Kai isn’t like that. I mean, yeah, he’s hot, but he’s not the type of person I, or anyone, would want to date,” you explained and took a sip of bourbon.

Caroline smirked, “So, you are attracted to him.”

“No. You can say someone is attractive but not have any romantic feelings,” you shrugged.

In your mind, though, a little voice in your head told you that you did have feelings for him. You ignored the voice, not wanting to try and battle with your feelings. 

“Sure, Y/n. The more you deny it, the worse your feelings will get,” Elena teased. 

You rolled your eyes, flipping the steaks. Oil popped off the pan and hit your wrist. You squealed in pain, holding your wrist. 

Elena hurriedly got you a cold washcloth and pressed it on your wrist. 

“Thanks, El,” you smiled. “Mind taking care of the steaks? I have to keep a cold compress for a little.”

“Not at all. Care, can you get the sundae bar ready?” Elena asked, taking the tongs you used to turn the steak over. Caroline nodded, going over to the cabinets to get ice cream toppings out. 

You went over to the living room, slumping on the couch and grabbing the remote. You turned on ‘Gilmore Girls’. You kept the cold compress on your wrist. 

You felt the couch sink on your left. You didn't bother to look over, already knowing who it was. You two didn’t even sit in silence for 10 seconds before Kai started talking. 

“Rory and Jess should’ve stayed together. Dean’s too soft,” Kai commented while watching the tv. 

“Jess is bad for her. He's smart, but he still has no future. Dean really loves Rory and she threw that away,” you argued.

“True, but Jess loves her, too, just in a different way. Dean is so mellow. Jess is fun, exciting, dangerous. Kind of like Damon. That’s why Elena chose Damon instead of Stefan, right? Because he made her feel things that Stefan could never make her feel, which she liked better,” Kai stated. 

You glared at him. “She didn’t choose him just because of that.”

“No, she chose him because of that. You choose someone because the way they make you feel, that's how love works,” Kai said, turning his attention towards you. 

You felt his burning stare. You decided to turn to him, looking into his dark blue eyes. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” you sighed. 

Kai smiled. His smile made you feel giddy and warm inside. You pushed those feelings away, piling more denial and hate in your mind towards him. 

“You have those feelings towards me, too,” Kai smirked. 

You peeled your eyes away from him, ignoring him once again. 

“Don’t deny it, Y/n. I can see it on your face. I can feel it,” Kai teased, scooting closer.

“Kai, stop,” you muttered. 

He got so close to you, you felt his breath on your cheek. Your heart rate picked up and you found it hot and hard to breathe. Heat went down south between your thighs and goosebumps formed on your neck. 

“You like me, Y/n. I can hear you breathing heavy and you heart beating fast. I can smell your arousal between your legs,” Kai said, putting his hand on yours.

You pulled your hand away. “I said cut the shit, Kai. You’re making me uncomfortable,” you lied. 

Kai’s eyes softened and he moved away immediately. “I’m sorry. I just-”

“You just what, Kai? Think you can use your witchy powers with me to make me fall in love with you? News flash, psycho, I’m not dumb,” you scoffed and stood up.

“I didn’t try to use my powers, I swear. But I can use my powers to heal your burn,” Kai suggested. 

“No, I don’t want your help,” you shook your head. 

“Get off your high horse and let me help you, Y/n. That burn will take a few days to heal and it'll hurt when you shower or brush something against it. Please, Y/n, I want to help you,” Kai pleaded. 

You looked at him. His eyes showed honesty. You sighed in defeat and sat back down on the couch. You moved close to him, your thighs touching. Kai took the cloth off of your burn and held your arm gently. The same, lovey-dovey feelings came back. This time, you didn't fight it as hard, letting yourself enjoy not having to keep up your walls.

“I’m so mean to you, why are you helping me?” You asked. 

“Because I like and care about you. I don’t like seeing the people I care about hurt,” he answered.

He put his free hand over your burn. The burn disappeared by skin forming over it. 

“Really? If you cared about me, you’d leave me alone,” you chuckled. 

“I can’t when I gotta get on your good side. With you and your friends plotting my death, I need an ally,” Kai said. 

Your distaste for him surfaced again. You pulled your hand away once the burn was healed. 

“That’s why I hate you. See, you don’t actually care about me. I knew it. Don’t sit or talk to me during dinner,” you spat and strutted over to the kitchen. 

Dinner was ready, thank the heavens. Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie came into the house on cue. 

“Bon!” You exclaimed, running over and hugging her. 

“Hey! Dinner smells good,” Bonnie smiled and hugged you back. You pulled away and laughed, “Elena and Caroline made it. I got burned.”

“You okay? I can heal you,” Bonnie said. 

“No, uh, Kai healed me already,” you said sheepishly. 

“You let that lunatic touch you?” Damon asked. 

“He was there and asked. He was being nice, but then he turned into a dick again,” you explained. 

“Well, at least you’re not still hurt. C’mon, let’s go and eat. I'm starving,” Stefan said. 

You all went to the kitchen, seeing the meal Elena and Caroline prepared set out on the table. 

“Hey, babe,” Damon smiled and went over to Elena. He put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

You looked at them longingly. You wanted what they had. So in love, nothing else mattering in the world but each other. You sat down in between Stefan and Caroline. You cut a piece of steak for yourself and got some mashed potatoes and green beans. 

“This is so good, guys. Thanks for inviting me over,” Kai said with a mouthful of steak and mashed potatoes. 

“Our pleasure. Mind eating with a closed mouth?” Stefan remarked. 

You chuckled at Stefan’s comment while Kai frowned. 

“So, what were you three doing while us four were here?” Kai said, gesturing to Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie with his fork. 

“None of your business,” Bonnie said. 

“Aw, c’mon. We’re friends now,” Kai teased. 

“You’ll find out soon,” Damon smiled at him. 

Kai frowned again and ate his food in silence. 

“Do you guys want some blood to go with your wine?” Caroline asked. 

“Yes!” Damon smiled. Caroline got up to get a few blood bags. 

All of you except Kai made conversation. While you were talking and laughing, Kai looked at you. He knew his comment earlier got you two on the wrong foot again. He racked his brain with ways he could get on your good side, get you to agree with going on a date with him. He likes you, he really does, he just doesn’t know how to show those feelings without getting rude and angry. He was willing to try for you, though. After a few hours of talking with everyone, people started to excuse themselves to leave. 

“I’ll see you later, Bon and Care,” you smiled and hugged your two best friends.

“See you! Have fun with Kai, I think he plans on staying,” Caroline smiled.

“I actually am going to leave, too,” Kai butted into your conversation. 

Your heart sank slightly. Since calming down from being angry, your attitude towards him softened. In the back of your mind, you didn’t want him to leave. You wanted him to stay, to pester you, to talk to him, to sit down and have him make you feel the way you did on the couch. You wanted to sit down and enjoy his company. But on the surface, you couldn’t care less. 

“But, I want to talk to Y/n before I leave,” Kai said. 

Bonnie and Caroline looked between you two quizzically. They smiled and let you two be alone in the kitchen. 

You walked to the liquor cabinet, grabbing two glasses and vodka. Kai followed you and sat down in his seat at the island table. 

“So, what do you want to talk about?” You asked as you poured him a glass of vodka. You grabbed your glass and went to sit next to him. 

“I wanted to apologize for earlier,” he said and looked into your eyes. He took the glass without tearing his eyes away from you. 

“You apologizing? Who has you possessed,” you laughed looked around jokingly. 

Kai smiled with you as you brought your attention back on him. 

“No, this is just me. I know what I said earlier about just wanting you as an ally was wrong. I mean, yes, I want you as an ally, I want all of you as an ally, but I still like you. A lot. And I care about you a lot, too,” Kai spoke. 

You took a sip of vodka, sighing. “I accept and appreciate your apology, Kai. But, I don’t like you, not like that anyways, I-”

Kai interrupted you by taking your hand in his. “Y/n, I know I pushed earlier and made you uncomfortable, and I apologize for that, too, but I know that's not true. The look in your eyes when you look at me when you let your guard down is not a look regular friends give each other.”

Your eyes focused on his hand on yours for a few minutes, and looked back up to his face. Butterflies filled your stomach again and his words tugged at your heart strings. Your walls started to come down and as hard as you fought to keep them up, you couldn’t. Kai was getting to you and deep down, you knew he was right. That you cared for him the same way he cared about you. 

But then you remembered that he was the enemy. He took your best friend away from you, wrecked havoc on this town, and killed his parent in cold blood. You couldn’t take the chance of getting hurt. So, you pulled your hand away slowly from his, standing up and downing the rest of your drink. 

“I admit, I may have some feelings for you. Deep down inside, but I can’t take the chance, Kai. I’m sorry. Thank you for apologizing and not ruining dinner. I’ll see you later,” you gave him an apology of your own. 

You started to walk away, but Kai put his hand on your arm. He spun you around and your lips met his. Your eyes widened as Kai kissed you. You tried to fight back from not kissing him, but as his arms wrapped gently around your waist, pulling you in, you melted against him and kissed him back. 

As your lips moved with his for the first few moments, you closed your eyes and  behind your eyelids, your brain exploded. You could see colors as your lips moved with his, and your eyes rolled to the back of your head. His lips tasted like vodka and chocolate ice cream. You wrapped your arms around his neck, burying your fingers in his hair. His tongue swiped on the bottom of your lip and you opened your mouth. Your tongues met and you moaned softly in his mouth, tugging at the hair on the nape of his neck.

You pulled away, needing air. Kai opened his eyes, a big, content smile resting on his lips. 

“And friends don’t kiss friends like that. So please, give me a chance. Let me show you I’m different than what you think. Let me show you me in a new light. I can change for you. I want to change. Don’t deny what we have, Y/n.”

You stared into his eyes, knowing you couldn’t deny your feelings any longer. You gave him a small, sweet smile and nodded your head. “Okay, I’ll give you a chance. Prove me wrong, Parker.”

Kai took his hands off your waist, first pumping the air. “I will, I promise.”

————

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[alittlebitgoofy]

if i had my way i would be yours chapter five (taywhora)

fuck ME this chapter kicked my ass but i’m gonna go insane if i go over it any longer so here it is, the long awaited chapter with some smut. it’s the last scene if you want to skip it, the rest is clean

ao3 link

Tayce felt like she was floating on air when A’whora got close to her. Her heart couldn’t handle the cuteness of her roommate in their affectionate moments. She had no idea what she did, innocently cuddling into her as friends did. 

Because they were just friends. Only friends and nothing more. And it totally wasn’t eating Tayce up inside with every moment she realised that. Not at all. 

A’whora herself was just glad to have her friend back, living without Tayce in close proximity was so strange, she loved the way the brunette always kept things interesting in their flat. There was always something going on with her and even when there wasn’t she made something happen. Somehow trying to relax and watch a movie turned into a gossip session, rife with giggles and stories of stupid things no one else would find as funny. But it made them laugh until their faces hurt. Because they were together. 

A’whora took Tayce’s coming out as a chance to bond over something different. She introduced Tayce to small bits of queer culture at a time, though she’d absorbed a lot through being best friends with a lesbian for years and having their whole circle of friends being part of the LGBT. 

“How do I know this will scream I like women?” she’d questioned while A’whora helped her with outfits for a night out. The pair were determined to make sure Tayce had a good first experience at a gay bar while out. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a similarly dark flannel shirt, and a leather jacket. She could not have looked more gay if she tried, though the way the jeans clung to her ass made A’whora rethink agreeing to help her with everything. How was she so hot? She would look so good under her clothes, what A’whora could give to rip that flannel off her and- 

She needed to sort herself out before they left. Her feelings, how hot Tayce was and alcohol was a dangerous combination. She could hold herself together if only Tayce would stop looking so good. 

---

They were late to get there, they always were with Tayce’s lack of time management and A’whora having to spend hours getting ready for anything. It was a bad combination but that didn’t motivate them to fix it, plus people were used to Tayce being late, including A’whora because they were attached at the hip.

They joined Bimini and Asttina once they got inside, Lawrence and Ellie joining soon after. 

“So what actually happened? She was fuming, you were having communication issues and now it’s all fine? You two never cease to amaze me.” Asttina got right to the point, an eyebrow raised as A’whora gave a nervous smile 

-

Tayce felt relaxed by the alcohol in her system, though neither her nor A’whora were particularly drunk; they were a fun level of tipsy, giggling amongst themselves much to their friends' chagrin. A’whora was joking about something, Tayce found it hard to focus on her speech with how cute she was. Her dimples showed as she smiled, laughing at her own joke. 

“Tayce? Are you even listening! That was really funny!” She whined, poking Tayce in the shoulder to get her attention, pouting as she got an eye roll in response. 

“Maybe if it was that funny I would have listened.” Tayce quipped back, holding back a laugh as A’whora whined even more. 

“You’re such a bitch, why are we even friends?”

“Because, someone has to put up with you. Figured I'd give the world a favour.” Tayce smirked, delighting in the huff that the blonde let out before taking another sip of her drink.

“Tayce!” 

“I’m kidding, you’re sweet if not a bit annoying sometimes, it’s what I love about you, you know that, dumbass”

“Yeah, I am pretty loveable.” A’whora bounced back quickly from her annoyance, her chest warming at the compliment. She tried to play it off, flicking her hair in an overdramatic show of confidence. 

“Your ego isn’t” Tayce deadpanned, erupting into laughter as A’whora gasped, hand on her chest in exaggerated shock. 

“You’re cute, don’t let it get to your head though.” Tayce wondered if it was the alcohol giving her the confidence to say what she thought. A’whora could react in any kind of way but she didn’t care. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself, still a bit of an ass though.”

“You say that like you’re not the biggest cunt I've ever met.” 

“Well, you are what you eat.” The blonde grinned as Tayce shook her head at the comment. She delighted in shocking her and causing reactions, 

“You’re disgusting oh my god.”

“What? You’ll discover how good it is soon enough. I know it’s been a minute but you’ll find a girl to show you soon.”

“Aurora please stop talking about my lack of a sex life.” Tayce shook her head, for all that she loved about her A’whora did not have a way with words. She was open to a fault and found it hilarious how squeamish Tayce would get when she got explicit. She could handle most of it after a while but the way she would switch mid-conversation was something too unpredictable to deal with. 

Despite all that, she was still adorable in the way she burst into giggles at Tayce’s plea, agreeing while trying to compose herself. 

“What are you two laughing about, it must be something hilarious to have her laughing like a diseased seal.” Lawrence interrupted them, though Tayce was thankful that A’hwora couldn’t go further with her comments. She wasn’t drunk enough to deal with it yet. 

“Wouldn’t you lovebirds like to know? You two been shagging in the toilets or something? Haven’t seen you since you came in here.” Tayce looked them up and down, noticing the lipstick slightly smudged. They’d been getting up to something, it was obvious by the way Lawrence stammered trying to respond with a quip and failing. Ellie stood silent, shaken by how perceptive Tayce could be.

A’whora had no such reaction, laughing harder as they stood slack-jawed and hanging onto Tayce in a feeble attempt to calm herself. 

“At least they’re finally doing something about it, watching them fumble around their feelings while ignoring any possibility of mutual feelings was just painful.'' A'whora shook her head, delighting in the way Tayce snickered, nodding emphatically in agreement. She internally sighed in relief that Lawrence was still in shock and didn’t notice the way she looked at Tayce when she laughed. 

She didn’t need them pulling attention to her feelings. 

Not when she could barely hold them in.

“What is it with everyone tonight? Bim and Asttina are all over each other, have a bit of class you hounds!” Tayce exclaimed, shaking her head in mock judgement at the couples. Part of her still didn’t love seeing people in a situation she found almost impossible but it was easier now, as if the weight had finally been lifted when she came out to A’whora. It felt good to be understood, to have someone so attuned to you they knew what was happening and exactly what she needed. Tayce shifted, perhaps it was the alcohol but she couldn’t help but think she didn’t deserve how lovely A’whora was. Though no one did, she was perfect, too good for the world she lived in.

She ached to verbalise it, pull the blonde close, and whisper how much she adored her, though Lawrence and Ellie were still there and they were in public. She just wanted to give affection but it didn’t come easy. Maybe with some time? 

The scots seemed more interested in each other than whatever light conversation had happened between the four of them, something must have been in the air to explain the way their companions split off into pairs, interested in no one else than their partners. 

Tayce wished she could be one of them, hold A’whora close and press soft kisses to her as the alcohol broke down her barriers, leaving her a melted putty in A’whora’s hands. 

“What’s got you thinking so hard? Is everyone pairing off making you have an existential crisis or something?” A’whora jabbed lightly, Tayce letting out a laugh at the comment. She didn’t know how to respond, it wasn’t easy to communicate your feelings to your roommate, the fear it would make things unfixable between them heavy on her heart after their previous spat. It wasn’t worth the risk, not to lose her. 

“I just think it’s funny how they paired up. Lawrence and Ellie used to mope with us about being single while Bims was the only one with any balls to say something to someone they liked. Now it’s just us two.” Tayce mused, feeling a hand take her own and give it a slight squeeze. A’whora stared at her, smiling softly. IT was an innocent gesture that sent her reeling further. She really had no idea the power she had in making Tayce feel like she was floating at any sign of affection. 

“It’ll happen to us eventually, you’ve only just come out there’s no need to rush things, no matter who you date.”

“Thanks, Rory. You’ve been really helpful with all of this.” Tayce’s softer tone told the blonde everything she needed to know. Her words were tender, heartfelt. It was a rarity for Tayce to be so open, it felt good. 

No words had to be exchanged. Maybe something was different, they stayed close, Tayce’s hand stayed held by A’whora’s own. Tayce felt a warmth envelop her body that couldn’t have been the alcohol. The way A’whora looked at her just added to it, something playful in her eyes as she smiled at Tayce as if she’d done anything more than sitting there and melt over her pretty roommate. 

“Shit, I think everyone is going to do their own thing, Tayce, maybe we should go?”

“Yeah, I was getting kind of bored of watching them almost fuck in a bar. Takeaway?” Tayce asked, smirking as A’whora’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. 

“You read my mind.”

---

“You good there, Rory?” Tayce watched her roommate distractedly attempting to put some chips in her mouth and failing, blinking in surprise at Tayce calling her attention. She shrugged, the alcohol had mostly faded and she was too busy trying to distract herself with anything that wasn’t Tayce’s current state of dress. She’d complained of being too hot, stripping into a bra, and still in her jeans. It drove a’whora insane to look at. She couldn’t hold herself in if she looked for too long. Though she turned to Tayce as she spoke, soon coming to regret her decision. 

“You like what you’re seeing?” Tayce felt A’whora’s eyes on her, mouth agape. She wanted to mess with her, winking. Internally she was delighting in the way she blushed at the comment. Was she always this easy to rile up? It was probably the alcohol but they both felt pretty sober now. Something about having the blonde unable to take her eyes off her was enchanting. It made her heart speed up, something fluttering in her chest but something else she wasn’t so used to. Something churning below, a desire for a certain someone she was finding harder to contain by the minute. 

“You should put a shirt on,” A’whora muttered out meekly, unable to verbalise much of anything above a pitiful whine. She couldn’t do this, not with Tayce being so hot and her being so pent up. It had been too long, she just wanted to hold someone and make them scream in pleasure. She wanted to know what Tayce would sound like mid climax, would she squeal? Breathe heavily? A’whora pegged her as a quieter person, letting out low moans and grunts as she was pleasured. She wanted to test it, see what would make her squirm and-

Fuck. 

She was too horny to be dealing with this.

“What if I didn’t? Would it drive you insane if I took this shirt off? You wanna see my tits, don’t you, you absolute hound.” Tayce eyed her up like a predator staring at its prey. The way she licked her lips while maintaining eye contact sent A’whora. She couldn’t handle it anymore. She crawled over, placing Tayce’s box of chips on the side before unhooking her bra. Tayce let out a hum of curiosity, nodding to signal A’whora to keep going. 

This was far too interesting not to watch. The way A’whora’s eyes stayed trained on her chest, flickering up to gauge Tayce’s reaction every time she did something. With another nod she went further, hands cupping Tayce’s breasts, thumb running over her nipples, and delighting in the way Tayce’s breath hitched. She kept at it, Tayce letting out small noises at the action. Something was about to happen, they both knew it. It was the last chance to bail out before they ended up doing it and Tayce just nodded once more, eyes serious as she smiled at the blonde. 

A’whora took the go-ahead, pulling her into a searing kiss. Tayce could feel her lust in the way she grabbed at her hair, lightly pulling it to steer her into where she wanted. Tayce followed her instincts, letting her lips trail down A’whora’s cheek and feeling herself wetten at the noises she let out. 

A’whora was loud, she knew that already but to be causing those noises and seeing her squirm was doing something to Tayce. She couldn’t hold herself back. She had to close the distance between their lips as A’whora let out a soft moan. 

“We should take this to the bedroom,” A’whora spoke quietly, not sure how much she could get out without Tayce getting more noise out of her. 

Tayce nodded, following A’whora as she pulled her into her room and lightly pushed her down onto the bed. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she got on top of her, hovering about her body as she pulled her into another lustful kiss. 

Tayce tried to get the same rise out of A’whora, running her hands all over her body. Grasping at her tits as A’whora had before. Something had shifted in her the second they hit that mattress. Her eyes sparkled with something that sent a shiver down Tayce’s spine. She knew exactly what she wanted and wouldn’t focus on anything else. 

She wanted Tayce, and she was going to get her. 

A’whora took the lead, her hands exploring the body beneath her as Tayce groaned in pleasure. The sound encouraged her more, snaking her hands down to where her jeans were still on, unzipping them, and helping Tayce out of them. A few fingers fell to her underwear, rubbing through it to see where she was and delighting in the soft whine Tayce let out. 

A thought crossed her mind about making her beg for it, drawing something out of Tayce that she’d never seen but it wasn’t the right time for that. She just wanted to make her feel good, they could play around next time.

Tayce didn’t know how to deal with the pleasure erupting through her body. She muffled a moan into her hand at how well A’whora seemed to know what she was doing. Every flex of her fingers sent ripples through Tayce. She was helpless against her touch and could only let out low moans begging for more. 

A’whora blessed her, speeding up her fingers. Tayce threw her head back, shamelessly letting out a loud groan at how good it felt. She couldn’t help but melt against her roommate's touch. Something about her was so good, it was better than anything Tayce had ever felt. 

If this was what sex was like, she’d never want to go to anyone else. 

She wanted to pull A’whora into another kiss but her body had made another decision, her mind clouded only able to focus on the building feeling of irrepressible pleasure.

A’whora felt her building up, speeding herself up and pressing kisses to Tayce’s thighs, suppressing a smirk at how she gasped at the feeling. She removed her fingers slowly, pressing her mouth to her slick cunt. Tayce let out an uncharacteristically high whine as her tongue hit all the right spots. She squirmed against 

Tayce let out the sound again, lasting longer as she climaxed, A’whora moved back to her fingers to lull her out of it before crawling up to cuddle Tayce as she laid back, recovering from it all. 

“What about you?” Tayce hummed, her tone thick with tiredness. A’whora wanted to laugh at how easily she was wiped out but thought better of it. She was too cute like this, a dopey grin playing on her features as she was still running off the high from her orgasm.

“I’m alright, I just wanted to make you feel good. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.” A’whora shrugged, her chest warming as Tayce scooted closer to curl into her arms. 

“Me too.” The dopey smile returned, Tayce’s words warm with affection in a way that made the blonde’s heart soar. 

Tayce didn’t say much more, passing out with her head on A’whora’s chest, held close by her arms. This was it, all she wanted. A’whora savoured the moment before succumbing to her fatigue, smiling as she heard a muffled “gnight Rory” on the brink of consciousness. 

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

12 DAYS OF FICLETS, FIC 6

Rory x Paris, Gilmore Girls. Also on AO3.

Prompted by @prodigalleverage, #83 - “Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”

****

The sudden need to go swimming wasn’t what Rory would have called a plan, when she mentioned it. It was really more of a desperate attempt to avoid her own thoughts after four days alone with Paris.

They’d agreed to share the room for a week, because the cabins belonged to a friend of the Gellers and Rory wanted a little quiet before she and her mom headed off on their whirlwind tour of Europe. What she hadn’t thought about--but definitely should have--was that a week shut in a room with Paris was going to drive her completely insane.

She liked talking to Paris, Rory tried to remind herself when she started to feel overwhelmed. Conversations with Paris tended to turn into debates, but that was fun most of the time--it kept things interesting. Paris challenged her. 

Being the recipient of Paris Geller’s undivided attention was more intense, though, once no one else was around.

All day long, Paris was full of opinions on the books she saw Rory reading, commentary on Rory’s snack choices, rants about politics even when Rory didn’t bring up the state of the world...and since Paris talked in her sleep, the nights were no less peaceful.

It didn’t help that some of the things Paris said while she was dreaming were really confusing. There was no casual way to ask Paris if she dreamed about her, but Rory was officially wondering. Sometimes, Paris said nicer things in her dreams than she ever said to Rory’s face.

Some nights, Rory dreamed about Paris too. 

On day five, she couldn’t take it anymore, and she shut her book harder than was necessary, setting it aside as though she could push her distracting thoughts away along with it. 

“Want to go swimming?”

“Swimming?”

Paris looked at her like Rory was inviting her along on a spacewalk. 

“Yeah, you know, swimming? In the water? Winter Harbor Bay is right out there, or so the map tells me.”

The bay had to be big enough for them both to find a patch of quiet water to swim in, Rory thought. A chance for her brain to settle down, without Paris noticing how frayed her nerves had become. “I don’t know about you, but the sunlight could do me good.”

“The sunlight will give you cancer.” Paris let go of her pen and frowned. “Do you even have a swimsuit?”

“No, I’m going to swim naked.” Rory rolled her eyes. “Yes, I packed one. I haven’t worn it in ages, but as far as I know, it still fits. Come on, Paris, live a little. We’re ninety percent water--think of it as a homecoming.”

“That’s not even true,” Paris argued. “I hate when people say that. Our blood is ninety percent water, but our bodies are more like sixty percent water--and that’s an average.”

All that mattered to Rory was Paris’s grudging walk to her suitcase, where she began digging for her own bathing suit, proving that Rory had convinced her to come along. 

“I don’t know,” she mused with a straight face. “Some days I definitely feel like there’s more water sloshing around in here than that supposed average.” 

“Because you drink coffee by the gallon.”

“Speaking of which.” Rory grinned at her. “I’m going to finish mine while you change into your suit.”

“Hey, I never said I was coming,” Paris shot back.

“You’re holding your swimsuit.”

“That could be because I’m ready to offer it to you, if yours doesn’t fit.”

“It’s not, though.”

Paris and her crossed arms were no match for Rory’s hopeful grin. She sighed. “No, it’s not. But I’m telling you now, Gilmore, if the bay is full of people or it has a smell...you’re on your own.”

“Noted.”

The spot Rory found for them was, in fact, deserted, though she was too breathless from the drive there to offer Paris an ‘I told you so.’ Watching her life flash before her eyes was an interesting experience when she only had eighteen years of life to remember. She would not be letting Paris drive them back.

“It smells normal to me,” she did say as they set their towels down on the sand.

“Yeah, yeah.”

It’d been years since Rory swam for fun, and her lack of athletic coordination remained consistent when it came to water sports, but at least the bay started out shallow and she barely needed to do more than kick and paddle.

“I’ll be over here,” she told Paris as she drifted away, rolling over to her back and letting herself float. 

Paris watched her go, baffled by the entire situation. 

Was she supposed to do that too, just float? Lie there in silence, doing nothing, staring up at the sky? Why would anybody choose that over a good book in a climate-controlled environment?

It was one of things that had always made Rory so fascinating to her: how different they were. She seemed content, just taking it easy, and that was true for Rory in a lot of situations that gave Paris hives. 

Though her fascination with Rory had evolved over the years, into something less academic, and something harder to ignore, it hadn’t gone away. She knew now that it wouldn’t--she was never going to meet anybody quite like Rory Gilmore.

Rory glanced her way every minute or so, both to keep an eye on Paris and to gauge her own location, since the sky above was not helpful in making sure she didn’t float too far out towards the sea.

“Hey, Paris, you should try relaxing,” she suggested, grinning when Paris responded in sharp Portuguese. 

Though Paris never shifted to floating on her back like Rory had, she did claim her own part of the water and stuck to swimming there, subdued laps that gave Rory the quiet she was looking for. 

It lasted long enough that Rory almost forgot she’d been freaking out so much about Paris’s proximity, and what it meant, and how things felt different now that they weren’t high school rivals anymore.

“Oh, god. Oh god, there’s something wrapped around my ankle.”

From Rory's location yards away, she thought maybe she misheard, at first. “What?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s cold, and it’s slimy, and it’s moving around my ankle--are there eels here?”

Though Rory wasn’t relaxed and floating anymore, a panicking Paris wasn’t the safest to approach. She settled for treading water, watching her across the distance. “How would I know if there are eels?”

“It was your idea to go swimming today while not a single other soul was setting foot in the water!” Paris called back. “Maybe there was a reason for that. Maybe that should have told us something.”

“I didn’t drag you out here, you know. You accepted my invitation. And I don’t think there are eels. Even if there are, it’s not like eels are poisonous.”

“Oh, now you’re an eel expert?” Paris moved sideways, freezing after she started to head towards Rory’s side of the water. 

“Paris?”

“I’m stuck.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Am I known for my hilarious comedic timing? I’m stuck!” Paris’s frantic splashing, combined with the fear on her face, nudged Rory into action. 

“Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”

“Stay there,” she could hear Paris muttering as she swam to her side. “Where am I going to go?”

“Calm down, okay?” Rory tried to grab hold of her hands, not surprised when Paris pulled them away, out of her reach.

“I am calm! I don’t even need your help, I’m fine--it’s not like I’m drowning. I know how to swim.”

“Of course you do. I’m just going to dive down and see what’s got you caught, it’ll only take a second.”

Rory didn’t bother phrasing that part as a question; it was quicker to jump right to the solution than give Paris another opening to argue with her.

She needed less than a minute underwater to detangle Paris from the culprit, which Rory was secretly grateful was not an eel of any kind. Sure, they weren’t poisonous, but she wasn’t eager to meet one, either.

“Gotcha,” she declared when she reemerged, blinking at Paris through the water streaming down her face. 

Paris wiggled her toes, relieved to feel herself bob up and down. Their part of the bay was just deep enough that the water would go over her head if she relaxed. 

“It was seaweed,” Rory told her, shoving her hair back behind her ears. “It’s okay.”

For a second, Paris had gotten distracted thinking about how much darker the water made Rory’s hair look. Which led to thinking about how starkly it stood out against her pale skin...which meant she was thinking about Rory’s skin again. It was becoming a problem. 

So maybe she overreacted a little when she tuned back in to what Rory had said. 

“Obviously it’s okay, Rory. It was just seaweed, not a shark or something. God.”

“I never said it was a--”

“You know, I’m not some damsel in distress screaming my lungs out for a lifeguard, whatever you might have been thinking.”

“Damsel in distress?” 

Paris was ramping up to full rant mode, Rory could tell, and it was exactly the opposite of what she’d come out to the bay to find. For a second, she considered just turning around and swimming off, leaving Paris to talk to the water.

“And I definitely wasn’t panicking, for god sake, so just get that idea out of your head right now. If you tell anybody I was, I’ll deny it.”

Rory was out of patience with the paranoia, the ridiculous idea that she was eager to tell people about a day when some seaweed scared Paris Geller. She was sick of Paris’s complete inability to let anybody else get a word in, ever.

And most of all, she was frustrated by how things like that used to seriously annoy her, how Paris used to seriously annoy her...how she used to live inside a box in Rory’s brain labeled ‘rude and impossible and vexing’ where Rory could keep her at a comfortable distance. 

Well, she wasn’t at a distance now. Paris was a foot away with water dripping off the tip of her nose and she was taking a deep breath in preparation for her next round of argument, and nothing about that should have been cute but it was, which was probably how impulse overcame any common sense that had been ruling Rory’s brain. 

She glided forward and kissed her.

Paris jolted backwards as soon as their lips brushed, stunned, almost dipping under the surface of the bay before she steadied herself. 

Sure, in the moment, that felt like a good solution, Rory thought, backing off in response. 

It was only then, while Paris was staring at her with wide, blank eyes, that Rory remembered how often her impulsive decisions were her worst ones.

“I’m sorry,” she offered up. Deep down, she both was and she wasn’t--so she had to hope a half-apology still counted.

“I--I don’t...” Paris trailed off, her eyes still huge as she shook her head.

Rory liked her? Rory liked her, like that? Little birds braiding her hair in the morning seemed more possible than Rory liking her back. Paris had been holding on to her feelings so tightly, for years. For good reason. It didn’t make sense.

Paris was too quiet. Paris was almost never quiet. She must have really screwed up, Rory realized. Maybe in a way she couldn’t fix.

“Paris, listen. That was...I didn’t mean to--”

She stopped trying to think of a good explanation as Paris moved towards her, reaching for her hands. She was still looking down at them, at their fingers interlocking, when Paris’s mouth found hers.

This time, it wasn’t Rory acting on impulse. It was an exploration, both of them taking their time. Paris freed her hands to touch Rory’s hair, shifting her lips to the corner of Rory’s mouth when she smiled.

Paris kissed exactly like Rory had imagined--now that she could admit she had spent time imagining it. 

She didn’t soften her angles, she was intense and her fingers were firm when they stroked up Rory’s spine. But there were flashes of brightness there, too, in the grin that Paris pressed into her collarbone, the way her thumbs brushed Rory’s ribs so lightly she shivered.

Rory tasted sweet, like she was wearing lip gloss instead of seawater. When she curled her hands around Paris’s waist and pulled her close, they sank so deep into kisses that for a second they forgot to float. 

 In the past, all of Paris’s kisses had been with boys she found disappointing, and part of her had assumed that was because they were boys. As the two of them moved back towards the shore by wordless agreement, their hands joined under the water, Paris wondered if all along, it was because they hadn’t been Rory.

[let-me-write-shit]

Somebody To You: 13

Friendly reminder to please Like and/or Reblog. It helps more than you think! :)

Word Count: 3,028

Warning: ANGST!!!!!!

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

Something about Friday nights at the bar always seemed to put Zoey in an energetic mood. As hectic as it got, there was always something new and exciting happening on the weekends. Groups of newly legal drinkers, bachelorette parties, rowdy swingers, there was always something. And the group of people she worked with on weekends only improved the fun. Andy was at his prime tonight, mixing and mingling with everyone that approached the bar while Brett flirted with all of the girls, Zoey was making everyone laugh, and a few other servers bounced around, as well. 

They had busy weekends down to a science by now, knowing where everyone was, what everyone would be doing, and reading the signs on when they might be able to take a quick break. This was, by far, the most organized bar she’d ever worked at. Zoey stepped out of the storage closet, carrying a box full of napkins when she bumped right into Brett.

“Whoa, if you wanted me to get on the floor for ya, all you needed to do was ask,” Brett grabbed his arm where the box had hit him as he stumbled backward, smirking. 

She could bet that he was so used to flirting for tips that it just came as second nature to him. Still, the idea of getting plowed by him in the closet right now seemed almost too good to pass up. Especially considering how Australian he sounded tonight. It’s been a minute. She smirked back, looking at him through her eyelashes, “Well, the closet’s free now if you want to meet me in there in five minutes?”

His eyes widened slightly before standing up straighter and stammering, “Oh, uh. Probably not a good idea right now, actually. It’s super busy out there. We can’t leave the others alone.”

“Oh, yeah. I was kidding,” Zoey laughed, blowing it off and countering, “I’m still out of a bedroom right now, otherwise I would invite you to spend the night.”

A week and a half ago after Zoey had gotten home from her date there was a pretty bad storm in LA. While she was on the phone with Harry, lightning had struck the top of their building and hit an electrical box that shut the power off on the top dozen floors of her building, including her unit. The electrical current that ran through her apartment had also caused their water heater to build too much pressure which made it burst, spilling water out of the utility closet and leaking into the hallways and the room closest to it, which happened to be Zoey’s room.

Luckily they were able to get the electricity back up rather quickly, but the damage had already been done. Water damaged the carpets, the underlayment, and the bottom of the walls. It even caused water damage to the ceiling in the unit below them. Thankfully the furniture was salvageable, and the building maintenance and property manager were very helpful in trying to get everything fixed and sorted for them, but it did take some time. They had to move all of Zoey’s furniture out of the room and into the living room to rip up all of the carpets, put holes at the bottom of the walls to get air circulation inside of the walls, and install dehumidifiers and drying fans around the back half of their apartment. It looked like a bomb had gone off in there, and because of this, they hadn’t had visitors over since.

He nodded, hesitantly admitting, “It’s okay. I have plans tonight, anyway.”

“Oh, nice. Another date?”

He paused, “Yeah, kind of.”

“Ooo,” she sang, teasingly, “Good luck. Hope they’re not as crazy as the last. How were her parents, by the way?”

He laughed, pushing her lightly, and walking away saying, “From now on I’ll have to mention it upfront. No parents on the first date.”

She continued on her way and began filling up the containers underneath the counter with napkins when Andy came over, smiling and lightly kicking her shoes as she crouched. Zoey looked up and grinned at her friend, pushing the box to the side and standing up, picking a piece of lint off of his shirt.

“I think Brett’s dating someone,” she told him.

Andy faked a frown and teased, “Awe. Are you sad ‘cuz your fuck buddy can’t fuck you anymore?”

She rolled her eyes, hip-checking him, “A little. He’s just being so sketchy about it. I don’t get why he can’t just be honest and tell me we can’t fuck anymore because he either doesn’t want to or because he’s seeing someone. Boys are annoying.”

Andy nodded, pursing his lip, “Girl, I get it. I don’t want to like boys, either. Shit sucks.”

When 1 AM rolled around, Zoey was exhausted. She made out pretty good tips, but she felt like she could have fallen asleep on the drive home. To her surprise, the living room lights were still on. Usually, Nancy and Aurora were in bed by now. They could have accidentally left it on. But just as the thought crossed her mind, a soft door closing and heels clicking caught her attention and she turned to see Rory stumbling in, gasping a little at the sight of Zoey.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Zoey giggled, setting her bag down on the island.

Rory shook her head, her cute little mixed French and British accent squeaking, “It’s okay. I lost track of time. I should have known you’d be home soon.”

“Are you heading out?” Zoey noticed her roommate still fully dressed. Her eyes widened in realization, “Ohhhhh, are you going to Harry’s? I know he said he was thinking of coming home early, but I haven’t talked to him today, so I didn’t realize he did.”

Rory hesitated for a moment before stuttering, “Yeah, but it’s a quick visit. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Zoey nodded, yawning and dragging her feet over to the couch, “Have fun, you crazy kids!” she joked, plopping onto the sectional and muttering under her breath, “Can’t wait to have my bed back.”

“You can sleep in my bed tonight if you want. Since I won’t be here,” Aurora offered.

“Really? Thank you! Might actually be able to get a good night’s sleep tonight,” she grinned standing up.

Aurora paused for a moment before smiling back, putting her head down with a nod goodbye, and walking out the door. With another yawn, Zoey grabbed an oversized tee and a pair of sweatpants from the pile of her clothes in the corner of the living room, quickly changing, and headed towards Rory’s tidy white bedroom. 

Her roommate’s mattress had to be the most comfortable mattress she’d ever been on, by far. As soon as she hit the pillow, there was no stopping it. Not even her most nagging thoughts could keep her awake.

Zoey dreamed of life before all of this. Back to her boring Pennsylvania town with all of her boring adventureless memories. But not all of her memories were boring. She had a good life. It might not have been a fantasy life, but it was stable. She dreamt back to days with Jess, swimming in the pool, and nights with her ex-boyfriend, settling down after a long night’s shift at the bar. She’d be so exhausted that she’d practically crawl through the pitch dark apartment to find Michael already asleep in bed. She dreamt about how she’d climb into the bed beside him and he’d instinctively reach out and pull her closer to him, nuzzling his face into her shoulder to fall back asleep. She remembered that feeling of warmth and security encasing her as she drifted off to sleep.

Except that warmth and security wasn’t just a dream. As Zoey’s consciousness grew, she became more aware of the fact that there was someone in the bed with her, their arms wrapped around her stomach. Automatically her first thought was that Brett’s date must not have gone as well as he’d hoped. But she started to realize more and more that not only was she not in her bed, but the faint red glow on the inside of her eyelids told her that it was morning now, and the way this person’s arm rested across her side so comfortably, and the sweet, yet spicy scent of the person’s breath on the back of her neck was something she never encountered with Brett, who normally smelled of beer and stale peanuts. Zoey suddenly came-to, gasping and pushing herself away from the figure behind her, which caused them to sit up in a panic and gasp as well. 

“Harry? What the fuck are you doing here?” her vision barely came into focus.

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I thought you were Rory!” Harry’s eyes widened.

“Why the fuck would I be Rory?! Rory’s with you!” she shot back, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Comprehension of what she just said smacked her in the face and she slowly took her hands from her face to get a good look at Harry’s face. She saw his expression range the emotions in a matter of seconds from confusion to realization, hurt, annoyance, and anger. Zoey sat up, eyes wider, holding her hands out and motioning for him to calm down. 

“Hang on a minute,” Zoey pleaded as he stood up, “I didn’t mean to say that, I was half asleep when I came home and you scared the shit out of me. I think I just misunderstood her last night.”

“I fucking knew it,” Harry ignored her, pacing the room, “I knew she was cheating.”

“Alright, now that’s a bit dramatic,” Zoey rolled her eyes, getting out of the bed, “You’re not dating yet, so let’s just relax. You don’t know where she is.”

“Where else would she be?” he shot back.

“Hello? She has other friends besides me and Nancy. Let’s not jump to conclusions. She said she would be back in the morning, let’s just make a cup of coffee. I’m sure she can straighten this out when she gets here and she’ll be so excited to see you.”

Under different circumstances, Zoey would have been excited to see Harry. But her head was pounding from the abrupt wake-up call that she honestly couldn’t figure out her sentiments just yet. She had to physically drag Harry out of the room and keep a hand on him at all times in an attempt to keep him grounded and from running off, whether it was her squeezing his arm, holding his hand, or grabbing his shoulders. He was so full of tension that it just barely worked.

They sipped their coffee at the kitchen island and Zoey did her best to distract him by asking about his final show and trying to talk about what he was going to do when he got back home to England, but it was no use. Harry’s eyes bore holes into the countertop gripped onto his mug so tightly that she was certain it would shatter any minute now when they heard the front door open. Harry instantly got to his feet, darting into view with Zoey at his heels, pulling him back by his wrists when Aurora walked in, her grin fading at the sight of them.

“Harry,” Rory breathed, taking a step back.

“Where were you?” He demanded, yanking his arm from Zoey.

Both girls recoiled, surprised by his tone and actions. Neither of them had ever seen Harry so angry before. It was completely out of character that it sent them both into a temporary loss for words. 

Zoey was the first to bounce back, giving Rory the biggest apologetic eyes she could muster, “I’m so sorry, Rory. I think there was just a misunderstanding. I thought you said you were going to Harry’s last night and I spoke before thinking. He’s just had a long flight, that’s all. I told him you were probably just with a friend and I misheard you.”

“I-” Rory stuttered, looking between the two, unsure of what to say.

“You were with Brett, weren’t you?” Harry accused, eyes glaring.

Zoey shot her head at Harry and gritted her teeth, “Would you stop it with the Brett thing? She wasn’t with Brett! You know him and I have a thing going on. Stop accusing her!”

But when she turned her attention back to Aurora, the color had drained from her face and her eyes glassed over. Zoey furrowed her brows as Rory’s gaze turned to her, pleading as she shot her hands over her mouth and let out a sob, tears finally spilling from her eyes, “Zoey, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to lie to you. It just happened. I swear this is the only time. I didn’t mean for this to happen. We were only planning on hanging out but one thing led to another. I’m so sorry!” she begged.

Zoey’s heart dropped at the sight of her friend and roommates anguish and guilt, trying to take everything in. All she could muster to say was, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Harry spat, “I fucking told you this would happen!” He turned his attention back to Rory who was still crying, “I came back here for you! I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend today! Instead, I come here to surprise you, find my best friend in your bed, and find out that you were sleeping with her boyfriend? What kind of person does that?”

His voice boomed so deeply that Zoey felt the vibrate in her chest with every syllable he spoke. It was so loud that it managed to wake Nancy, the heaviest of sleepers, who pitter-pattered down the hallway to see what all of the commotion was about. Zoey managed to squeak out a quick, “He’s not my boyfriend!” but no one heard over the screaming match that pursued. 

“Don’t you fucking dare try to insinuate I’m a whore! I’m not your fucking girlfriend! You had nearly half a year to ask me out and you didn’t! I told you I wasn’t going to sit around and wait forever!” Rory scowled at Harry. His jaw tightened with each word she hurled, “What was I supposed to think? You talk to my roommate you’ve only known for three months more than you talk to me! You fly back here just to spend time with her, you barely spoke to me that weekend except when you wanted to fuck! And that was only after you spent all day in her bedroom! You tell me what the fuck I was supposed to think!? How would you feel if I did that?!” Nancy softly took hold of Aurora’s arm to try and soothe the tension.

“Rory, I didn’t mean-” Zoey started, suddenly feeling guilty, but was cut off by Harry. 

“I was just trying to be a good friend! I told you that you had nothing to worry about! You knew Zoey was going through something and wasn’t in a good place! You saw her! Zoey’s been nothing but a good friend to you, so what are you even trying to say? First, you sleep with her boyfriend and now you’re accusing her of cheating with ME? You’re deflecting!”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Zoey spoke louder this time, but again it fell upon deaf ears as Rory spoke.

“I’m not accusing Zoey of anything!” she turned her attention towards her roommate, her eyes softening, “Zoey, I’m so sorry, I know nothing happened between you and Harry. And I would never do anything to try and hurt you. I promise I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did happen, and I fucking said it would, didn’t I?” Harry, turned towards Zoey.

“Oh, you said it would happen?” Rory’s sarcasm dripped through her teeth like silk, “Congratulations! Once again, your instincts were correct! What do you want? A fucking medal? If you knew it would happen, why did you even come here?”

“Because I wanted to be with you!”

“If you wanted to be with me so fucking badly, why did it take you five months to figure it out?! You never really wanted me! I was just a convenience for you! That’s why you waited until the tour was over! You have nothing else to occupy your time with!”

“And that’s why you ran to fuck Zoey’s boyfriend, is it? Because he’s emotionally available for you?” Harry’s sarcasm intensifies.

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend!” Zoey screamed, standing in between them, causing the two to retreat, taking a step back. Zoey glowered back and forth between Harry and Aurora, frustrated at the disgusting display of animosity towards each other. She had half a mind to start screaming at them, but when she saw Nancy’s reassuring gaze, she took a breath and calmly reasoned, “Listen. Obviously, we all need to talk things out, but right now the tension is way too high and it’s way too early in the morning to think clearly. Let’s all just take some time to calm down.”

“How about I just go?” Harry retorted, pulling away from Zoey and storming towards the door.

Zoey watched him as he stomped to the door, shooting a glance at Nancy who mouthed, “Go.”

She quickly grabbed her phone and threw on the first pair of shoes she found before jogging towards the door. Rory grabbed her hand quickly, eyes still red and raw from crying. Her voice was so soft that it was barely a whisper, “Zoey. I’m so sorry.”

Zoey looked into the eyes of her roommate and it nearly broke her heart. She placed a hand over Rory’s and managed a sympathetic smile, “It’s okay,” she said, seeing the relief wash over Rory. “I’ll talk to him.”

Rory nodded and Zoey ran off, catching the elevator doors just before they closed and slipping in with a still fuming Harry. When the doors closed and the elevator began its descent, his arms jerked upwards, grabbing onto the back of his neck, doubling over as he shouted, “FUCK!” 

This should be fun.

KEEP READING

---------------------------------

Taglist for Somebody To You:

@thurhomish​ , @stilljosiegrossie​ , @odetostep​

[sapphichymns]

I’m going to put my rant in read more. I’m going to be such a Debbie Downer!

(Also I don’t want to put people in a bad mood just because I feel like being negative)

I think all 3 modern Who showrunners have their problems (and need someone to point out things that might be problematic; tell them when to add an extra line or two) but Moffat might be the one who annoys me the most.

He can do great stuff with other writers (RTD being the best example). I still would put Blink in series 2 and The Girl in the Fireplace in series 3 in order to fit a bit better but eh, its fine. ANYWAY, my problem with him is of how he keeps forgetting the emotional follow through.

Amy, of all the modern companions, has a huge stack of trauma which is never properly talked about. Her parents die but come back and are never mentioned again. She had therapy when she was younger due to raggedy man but that doesn’t go anywhere either. Becomes pregnant and unpregnant so many times in Amy’s choice which is such a brutal thing for her to go through but it is never discussed the consequences of such a thing. Her own pregnancy is hidden from her (by the Doctor too!) and when her baby is born, they get immediately kidnapped/turned into goo on her very arms and yet, the next time she sees her daughter, it’s actually her best friend BUT NOT REALLY BUT LET US NOT GIVE HER THE TIME TO PROCESS  IT?! It is just, why give a character such emotional heavy traumas if you don’t want to talk about them?

River, for such a femme fatale, always goes with the Doctor’s words no matter what. I know people complain how the Fam never push back compared to previous companions (which I disagree because I feel the only who truly pushed back all the time was Donna but that is another matter) but River just never doubts any of it. Even Amy at one point casts doubt about the Doctor and River just says “we have to help him” which...yeah. She just seems like a plot point for the Doctor to unlock than an actual character. The fact she was brainwashed since birth is easily pushed to the side

Rory’s arc is dying enough times to become braver enough (the Dark Souls route) to the point it becomes a joke and we don’t even see his last death.

All these events happen but Moffat just forgets what he puts his characters through. I have problems with RTD and Chibs but it never feels they are going to forget their companions’ past events just because they aren’t directly linked to the Doctor. They still react and act accordingly to what happened to them.

And even this shows in terms of plots. They have all this build up but it never feels they properly pay off and the characters don’t really change due to the build up.

I know people keep comparing the Hybrid to the Timeless Child but the way they are constructed are the complete opposite of each other.

For example, the Hybrid is teased throughout series 9, as something the Doctor knows but won’t tell. People keep discussing it with the Doctor but he doesn’t seem affected by it. Then it is revealed the Hybrid might be his relationship with Clara but the show itself seems unsure about it. I would buy it more if their relationship was different from series 8 and Clara hadn’t come back from the dead!

This problem happens in Dracula too where Agatha keeps discussing with him of why he might be immortal (which he doesn’t really care about) and it gets solved in the last 10 minutes of the last episode in such a handy wavey way.

At least in the Timeless Child, the moment the Doctor discovers about Gallifrey being destroyed and the Master being stubborn about what the Timeless Child really is, she is just in a really bad mood throughout series 12. Plus the consequences of the Timeless Child are clearly still happening.

The other thing I just cannot buy from Moffat’s era is the fact Eleven’s becomes darker with time is on purpose. Sherlock, Eleven and Dracula are so similarity characterized with the “smartest man in the room” shtick where everything in the world revolves around them so him being a manipulative bastard doesn’t seem like a natural progression for him but as something that exists since the start, especially with the fact he never gets called out about it.

And the thing is: the show already had a Doctor becoming more manipulative over time and actually working. Seven, after meeting Ace, starts manipulating her, saying it is for her well being (sure). The build up feels more natural thanks to the fact Ace actually calling him on his bullshit. Of course, both have the problem of the Doctor’s god complex and always knowing every step but one of them is actually fun to watch.

Here’s the thing: I do think Moffat could learn. Heck, he did learn from all these mistakes and that is shown in series 10, especially with Bill and the first half but he always trips up in the same god damn place. I watched his Dracula because I legit had hopes he would change his game a bit but it is all the same but in a different coat of paint (in which case, it is blood and vampires instead of sci-fi).

Also no, Thirteen isn’t like Eleven. She is actually Time War!Eight if he existed (but he doesn’t because we can’t have nice things).

[harmonytre]

Comic Plans

Current Projects:

Prismtale (Mondays): An Undertale AU involving NPCs and multiverse travelling. Multi-chapter comic and ongoing.

Mistbreak (Tuesdays): A Steven Universe AU with about 5 pages left of the comic. Then it will become an ask/drabble/design blog.

Flicker of a Neon Soul (Wednesdays): An Undertale AU where monsters have colored soul traits and humans have white soul traits. 10+ chaptered comic with many plans and plot.

Taffy and Steven (Thursdays): A Steven Universe where Steven and his gem are split into different people and Taffy is a wholesome boyo. One page left of the comic, then will become an ask/edit blog with occasional comics.

Future Fandom Projects:

Pokemon Nuzlocke Comics: Multiple regions and an overarching plot. I need to finish playing and writing the first arc before starting the comic. (long term)

Who I Am: A Pokemon comic where James from Team Rocket is a were-pokemon. I need to rewrite it first. About 7 to 8 chapters. (medium length)

Other Undertale AUs: Certain AUs will be revealed in Prismtale and turn into side blogs, and others will be one time comics. (varies)

Future Original Projects:

(One of these I want to make extremely interactive. Like the audience makes choices for the characters.)

Phantulfurs: A comic about teens with powers to see creatures no one else can. I’ve rewritten the first chapter multiple times, but I need to really write it out before starting the comic. About ten arcs. (long term)

Skryculars: A sequel to the above story. (medium length)

The Journeyers: A multi-book series with my cousin. About ten books. Involves animals, powers, and romance. Won’t give information beyond that. (long term)

Unnamed Animated Series: Still need to design the two main characters, but they’ll travel through many worlds from my dream world. (long term youtube series)

Unnamed Wings Story: Decided many many characters for a high school story with wings. Lots of diversity and LGBTQ. Problem is I don’t like writing high school stories and have no plot. ;^; (medium? short?)

Unnamed Long Term Comic: A story about a space girl with wings, a nonbinary person that can shapeshift and communicate with animals, twins with water and plant powers, and an angsty wholesome skeleton bean. No plot yet. (long term)

Short Term (below the cut, any catch your interest?)

(keep in mind many of these I wrote the descriptions for years ago or based off of dreams.)

“Orphan Dog” and “Martha’s Pack” An orphan finds out she can talk to dogs and realizes they are the key to finding her missing parents. (Wrote when I was 8, rewrote partially when I was 13. So very cheezy. Would be even cheezier if I didn’t rewrite it, but still drew quality serious art XD.)

“The Agency” A girl named Jill has secrets. Major secrets. For one, she can turn into any animal at will including extinct, Fantasy, or hybrids. Don’t forget that she can also turn invisible and do telepathy. (Not to mention she runs an entire secret animal spy community…) When her best friend and spy ally, Izabella the opossum, goes missing, she must find what it means to be a true friend and showing that it’s what’s inside that counts. (Actually liked this one too. Even if it’s also cheezy.)

1. “Moos” A boy is adopted by cows and is granted the power to understand animals and turn into a cow.

2. “Moos: Vile Meat” Hoover is back and he must defeat the evil Haystack, a human entrapping calfs in little domes for eternity.

3. “Moos: Cold Cuts” Hoover finds a new ally, one who creates...snow?

4. “Moos: Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey” Haystack is back and Hoover and his friends must defeat him before he turns all pigs into stone. (Cheezy series?)

“Extraordinaries” Emma, her friend, Millie, her brother, Clark, and her dog, Charlie, have to travel to a faraway land to save Emma’s mother, who has been poisoned. Along the way Emma and the team must find how to deal with their newfound powers of Imagination. (This one was also pretty good! A story from Nanowrimo a few years ago.)

“The Hummingbird Did It” A hummingbird turns a lazy boy into a dog. The boy must venture across country to find the cure. (Was kinda boring and just me having fun with google maps lol.)

“Sunshine and Rainbows” A girl is taken to another world by rainbow dust and must find her way back to Earth. (Can’t actually remember this one.)

“Nature’s Lifeforce” A boy and girl are given the power to turn into any woodland creature and talk to trees. (Also can’t remember, but sounds cool.)

“Ravens” A girl named Hannah, a boy named Billy, a boy named Cameron, a girl named Lyla, and a boy named Clark, among other students, have their wishes come true. This creates a problem as Cameron becomes a dog, Lyla becomes a cat and Hannah and Billy become ravens. They fix the problem for everyone except Hannah and Billy, but embark on an adventure to find the scientist who can help them. (Based on a dream, I think.)

“Dragon wings” Hiccup and Toothless accidentally sit down someplace weird. They switch bodies and Toothless claims to have heard someone press a button. (ASDFGHJKL WHAT?! HTTYD short story)

“Melody Dreambubble” A weird new pony arrives in Ponyville. Twilight is curious to find that she has no Cutie Mark, was raised by wolves, and bears mysterious powers. (My Little Pony, kinda self insert, short story)

“Eyes of Gold/The Tower” A Fan Fiction based on The Ever Afters series and two stories rolled into one. Rory finds that her two best friends have been poisoned by a new dragon species/As Rory is about to enter a tower to save Chase a random girl shows up out of nowhere and has a weird habit of annoying Adelaide. (Was my first ever self insert? And based on a book series unlike the rest? Cool! Oh I even wrote ten whole pages! Neat. Featuring a girl chasing a dragon with a bedpan!)

“Roadkill” A man purposely runs over a deer on a freeway. The deer’s best friend curses the man, later to regret it because he has to undo the curse himself. (Lol, this was interesting.)

“Melissa and Steven Started a Food Fight” A completely random book that takes the characters through an adventure of explosions, unicorns, and talking squirrels. (Used a random prompt generator. Very random. And funny.)

“Before it’s Gone” A snooty teen crashes in her car and finds a surprise when she wakes up. (Oh yeah, another old story. She turned into a dog and none of the other dogs believed her.)

“The Unicorn Killer” A short story about poachers and Julia. (Yep. Short story.)

1. “Feathers of Gold” A logical young bird griffin, Gabriel, wants to find a way to stop to war between bird and lion in his land, Genetica.

2. “Scales of Emerald” A shy young dragon, Emmie, tries to keep her land, Reptilia, from destruction.

3. “Hair of Crystal” A brave young unicorn, Crystal, tries to find a way to join together the leaders of the land of Equinsta.

4. “Flames of Ruby” A vain young phoenix, Flaxter, tries to capture the eyes of girls. Taken place in the land of Flamia.

5. “Gems Unite” Gabriel, Emmie, Crystal, and Flaxter find out they are The Gems, the only ones who can save their world, Animagicia, from the beings, called Humurns, that are trying to destroy it. They must come together and find who they truly are. (Might have fun with this series. I’ve always loved mythical animals.)

“The Distance from Sam” An 8 year-old St. Bernard named Barry, a 3 year-old Golden Retriever named Mick, and a 1 year-old Sheltie named Sandy set off to return to their owner Sam, after being kidnapped and sent across country. (Kinda like Homeward Bound. Came in mind when I saw these three dogs alone by a street, no humans around.)

“The Skilled” Andy and Ashley(both fifteen) and their eight year-old siblings, twins Alex and Alexa, gain powers from the sewers. All: understand animals and fly, Andy: talk to toys, Ashley: speak to plants, Alex and Alexa: psychic powers. “I used to think my toys would come to life when I was gone. I guess I was right.”-Andy. Based on a dream. (Too many “A” names, oof. Also, toy Story much?)

“The Moon’s Eye” A teenage girl named April gets trapped under a snow drift and wakes up to be a wolf. A nearby wolf pack needs her aid and calls her The Mooneye, a changeling. (Cool. Cool.)

“Unusual Forces of Omnipotence” A woman and her horse are supposedly crushed by a U.F.O. When Tanaya wakes up she finds out she has super strong senses and can run as fast as her horse. Pluto the alien knows he’s going to be in trouble if his planet finds out he crash landed and accidentally gave a human the powers of her horse. He tries to fix it. Told from Tanaya, Sunray (the horse), and Pluto’s point of view. Based on a dream. (Sounds interesting! Title came from before I knew UFO was an acronym lol.)

“The Lawn” Unknown to humans, a yard full of statues come alive at night. There is an elk, two bears, four buffalo, a wolf, an eagle, three horses, a small boy, a moose, a bighorn sheep, and a rabbit. (Based on a real lawn I’d see on the way to school.)

“Dragon Eyes” Max has an ordinary life, until his family, him, and his three friends, Alice, Peter, and Samuel, are transported to another world. His parents are then kidnapped and they have to fight against an evil Mother Nature. Based on a dream. (Interesting. The dream was freaky.)

“Sweet Treat” Emily’s dad works at a candy factory, and one day she visits him and realizes his work is not all it seems… Based on a dream. (What? I don’t remember what was different about his work???)

“The Flight of the Supernatural” Randy thinks he is mostly a normal kid. Sure, he and his dad live inside a mountain, and sure, some flying species of human killed his mother, that doesn’t mean he can’t live normal life homeschooling and watching TV. But unfortunately, Randy’s life turns around when he finds out he can fly. Is his father telling the truth? Did his own species kill his mother? Based on a dream. (Actually REALLY loved this story.)

“Whispering Willow” A girl named Willow helps 20 wolf cubs escape a pet store and then is recruited by a zoo. Pretty soon all of the animals know her as Whisper. Based on a dream. (Cool. another animal whisperer.)

“The Invasion of Our Minds” Little black aliens invade Earth and only one person can stop them: Julia. Based on a dream. (Oh RIGHT! Yeah I remember that.)

“The Marble Island(Possibly a short story?)” Julia goes on a trip to a new marble island only to find the owner turns people into stone figurines. Based on a dream. (Links to the previous story, I think.)

“Have some candy!” Violet, an expert on strange occurrences, needs to help a group of people who mysteriously turned into animals after attempting to grab candy bars from a bin in a local store. Based on a dream. (More animal transformation.)

“The Guide to Mythical Creatures I Made Up” A guide to everything from the Mystic Melody to the Gollan. (I don’t remember either of their designs! :P )

“Trying to Get Back to Mom” Michael and Annabelle meet new friends, while they frantically try to reunite with their mother. (Don’t remember.)

“Surprise of the Future” Pearl travels to the future and has to fight her now-evil brother in his stone mansion. (Not Pearl from SU. Based on a dream.)

“All for You” A man has to overcome many obstacles, such as mermaids, yellow smoke wolves, and magic maps, to save the world and his girl. (Oh yeah, this was a cool one. Based on a song, but I can’t remember which one.)

“The Stranger at the Door” Keith and Amber have lived with their grandmother for many years, but now they live alone and nobody knows. Then a strange girl arrives at the door. She claims they will have to leave town within 2 hours or risk being stuck in a quarantine zone. There will be traffic jams and other hindrances, so it's best to leave right now without taking anything with you. Unsure about everything, including this strange girl, the teenage boy disagrees to the proposal, if all this turns out to be true, this choice will seem foolish. His younger sister does agree. But what if this strange girl can't be trusted. Or what if all this is an elaborate trap. How could an ordinary teenage girl and boy end up in a situation like this. Time to find out. (Oh, a quarantine story? How long ago was this? 2017 I think.)

“The Beginning of the Hybrid Brothers” A backstory that shines a light on how Ralph the Rat-Man and Dr. Discord came to be evil. (YES, MY TWO VILLAINS NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT BUT ARE STILL DEAR TO MY HEART HNNNNNNNG.)

“Unnamed but same as the blank” A girl named, _____, lives in a family of nine. She and her mother are the only ones who aren’t “Morhumals”, or people who can turn into one animal. After the twins mess-up and send a “Morhumals” hunter after them, it is up to ___ and her sister, ____ to rescue them.

“Song of the Siren” ____ is back after her fourteenth birthday. She finally has received her animal and must follow her family to the mythed Siren hideout.

[nightingiall]

head in the clouds: part i

Rory Bhatt hates lifeguarding, hates the Shack kids, and hates Niall Horan. All she wants is to have a peaceful summer minding her own business and hopefully be able to find some much needed inspiration so she can finally start sketching things that look good again. But Niall Horan appears, with that annoying grin and a problem on his hands, and of course that plan goes out the window. 

A story about tired lifeguards, a stolen cat, wild imaginations, and lots and lots of parties. 

There is not a cloud in sight today. 

The sky is endlessly blue, starting with a light, nearly white, color from the horizon that blends into the soft azure right over where Rory is sitting. It’s beautiful, she thinks, how one simple color can blend seamlessly into the gradients that make up that sea of vast nothingness above her. But today, she wishes that there was at least one cloud floating by. 

She sighs to herself, turning her gaze to the large resort pool in front of her, also a shade of blue, but one caused by the blue tiles at the bottom and not nature itself. There are two children near the shallow end bickering with each other. They couldn’t be more than five and three years old. The oldest, a girl, shoves the youngest, a boy, causing him to wail in the direction of a woman who is presumably their mother. When she doesn’t give him the attention, the boy turns back to the little girl, and even from the distance, Rory can see the angry flash in his eyes. She places her whistle between her lips, readying herself for what he might do next. 

Sure enough, he charges at the little girl, jumping on her with such force that her head gets submerged under the water. Rory’s whistle sounds off loudly, everyone’s head jerking towards her, and when they are assured her warning is not for them, they return to their poolside shenanigans. “No dunking!” Rory yells at the two children, removing her sunglasses so they can see her eyes trained on them. “This is your first warning!”

Their maybe-mother notices this exchange and quickly breaks them apart, dragging them towards the pool stairs and scolding them all the way. By the time Rory pushes her sunglasses back up her nose, they’re already walking towards a lounger where a man, presumably their father, is already watching them disapprovingly. 

“No drawings today?” comes a voice from beside her, and she turns towards it only to find blue eyes that are entirely too close for comfort. 

Niall Horan laughs when she flinches, and she rolls her eyes at the sound. But of course he cannot see that through her sunglasses, so he laughs even louder at her frown. He’s standing on one of the rungs of her lifeguard chair, his face level with hers, and she has half a mind to reach out to shove him off. 

She doesn’t.

“Not inspired,” is what she mumbles instead, turning her attention towards her sketchbook, which stares back at her, the open page unbearably blank. She brought her nice charcoal pencils with her today after waking up feeling like sketching the clouds. But when she looks up at the sky again, the endless chasm of blue taunts her. 

Niall Horan, for his part, simply grins in that wide, obnoxious way of his and hops off the rung to round the corner to the front of the lifeguard chair. He always offers a hand when she steps down and she never takes it, and the same thing happens today. She’s glaring at him now, as she always does when he does that, but she knows he can’t see it through her sunglasses. He must know it’s there though, because this exchange happens every single time, like clockwork. 

Literally. 

Niall has been behind her in the rotation for two whole weeks now, meaning he’s always the one nudge her out of this mind numbing job every twenty minutes when they have to move on to the next lifeguard chair. 

“Well I’m sure you’ll come up with something!” he says cheerfully, just as she’s about to turn away to head over to the next chair. She chances a glance at him just in time to see him swing himself up onto the seat she just vacated, his sunnies, as he calls them, falling back onto his face. She rolls her eyes again, wondering how he manages to make everything seem so effortless yet so insufferably annoying. 

She heads to her next post without another word. 

***

Rory cannot stand Niall Horan. 

She cannot stand him and his loud laugh and his annoying grin and his stupid jokes. She cannot stand him and the way he’s always peeking over her shoulder into her sketchbook and reaching out to trail his fingers along the pages, smearing her nice charcoal work that she’d meticulously smudge to her own liking. 

Rory cannot stand him but there are still 60 days left of summer and she has no choice but to deal with him. 

***

“You totally have a crush on him.” 

Gigi is laughing and Rory is glaring and this is nothing new for the two of them. 

Rory wonders how her roommate can be so cheery all the time. Her dark ringlets bounce with her giggles and her dark brown eyes glitter from the light hitting the tears that are starting to build up near her lashline. Leave it to Gigi to cry laughing at Rory’s expense. 

“I do not,” Rory bites out. The sheer insinuation is so annoying that she can feel an angry heat spreading across her cheeks. “I don’t like him. At all.” Gigi is still cackling, hand clutching her tummy as she bows over on their tiny kitchen table. “Gigi! I don’t!”

Her roommate, after wiping her laughter induced tears from her face and taking a deep breath to calm herself, simply smiles at her, watching her knowingly. “Wow,” is what she says, shaking her head slightly as she leans back into her seat, arms crossed over her chest. “You are in such denial.” 

Rory, for her part, attempts to send her as menacing a look as she can manage, because truthfully, she is absolutely fuming. Seething. Blindingly angry. All at the assertion that she could have a crush on the most annoying boy on the planet. “Gigi…” Her voice is dangerously low and measured. A warning for them to drop this subject before her anger gets out of hand. “I do not have a crush on Niall Horan.” 

There’s a tense silence as they both stare each other down. And, if anything, the way Gigi is calmly smiling at her only makes her more upset. Regardless, a truce is drawn when Gigi brings her mug to her lips, sipping slowly from her coffee and shrugging her shoulders, effectively letting the topic go. 

“So,” is what she says, all nonchalantly, as if they weren’t just having a heated conversation. “What are you wearing for the party this weekend?” 

Rory lets out a sigh of relief, gladly accepting this change in subject and having no interest in giving Gigi any reason to return to the previous topic. So they drink their coffee together and talk about this party. 

***

Rory has worked at The Hightstown Resort every summer since she was a sophomore in high school. 

It’s a tradition at this point, and she feels like it’s not summer unless she’s at Hightstown. It feels like home, familiar in a way she needs to feel grounded sometimes. And for all the crap she talks about it, she always looks forward to coming back and seeing all the knowing faces that played a part in the story of her youth. 

Her mom worked at Hightstown when she was younger too, so all the long-term staff knows who she and her family are. This is especially helpful after hours when she feels like having a midnight snack and the kitchen staffers will gladly let her into the pantry to choose whatever she wants. 

Of course she is not the only returning seasonal employee of Hightstown. Gigi has been her roommate for the past three summers, and there are a few other high school to college-aged people who call this place their summer home too. But Rory likes to think that the rest of the staff likes her best. 

Hightstown is a place that’s rife with tradition. For the seasonal kids, anyway. 

One of those rituals is the summer bash up at the Shacks. Rory has always wondered which snob named the most glorious and expensive staff quarters at the resort the Shacks. Perhaps they thought they were being clever, because there is nothing grungy or shack-like about it at all. There are hot tubs and private chefs and room service and, most importantly, an endless supply of hot water. 

Rory hates the Shack kids. 

Not because they can afford the luxurious accommodations. She has nothing against rich people. But she does have something against rude rich people. 

That fact doesn’t stop her from going to the summer bash, though. 

Gigi made her change her clothes twice so Rory walks into the party sporting her signature snarl because she’s annoyed and her best friend is too preoccupied with worrying over how she’s going to impress one of the Shack boys she has a crush on to notice. “Just because you had a bad experience with one of them doesn’t mean I will,” was what she huffed at her as they walked out of their suite. “Loosen up, Rory!”

Rory hasn’t spoken to her since. 

Now they’re in the Sunset Villa where the bash is always held and she’s long lost sight of her roommate. Somehow, Rory manages to find two people she can actually tolerate, standing near the makeshift bar area, and she heads straight towards them. 

“There she is!” is what Harry says when she smiles at them, throwing an arm over her shoulders to pull her into his side and she gladly reciprocates by slinging an arm around his waist. “I feel like I never see you anymore!”

“Yeah, Rors, where have you been hiding?” chimes in Leslie. Her long, dark hair is pulled up into what looks like a very intricate crown braid and Rory nearly gets distracted admiring it. 

She shrugs. “You know me. Not the social type.” They both frown at her because they know that a few years ago, that wouldn’t have been true at all. Rory was always the one dragging them to the parties and begging them to sneak off the grounds so they could go exploring. But she’s different now. The fact of it makes her heart twist strangely in her chest. So, she changes the subject. “Love your hair, Les! You need to teach me how to braid like that.” 

They launch into a conversation about hair while Harry goes to get them all drinks. Finally things are starting to feel normal. After the rough way summer ended last year, Rory wasn’t sure she even wanted to come back to Hightstown. But Harry and Leslie, because she’s known them forever, can always be counted on to pull her out of a funk. They all started working at the resort in the same year and have stuck together ever since. Lately, though, they haven’t been able to spend as much time together because of all of their different placements: Rory’s a lifeguard, Harry’s in the kitchen, and Leslie does all the kids programming. 

Harry comes back with beers and they catch up for a while. But somehow, the night transitions in such a way that they end up taking shots with some Shack kids, and then more beer, and then someone procures a joint from somewhere which they end up sharing on the back patio. By the time the night starts to wind down, Rory is pretty drunk and maybe a little high and she needs to get back to her room because she’s had enough of the socializing. 

She waves goodbye to Harry and Leslie, leaving with a promise that they’d catch up again soon. Despite technically being outside the entire time, as she walks back through the villa and out the front door, she finds that she can breathe better the further she walks from the party. The breeze feels cooler on her heated skin and her head clears a bit. She briefly wonders whether she should have gone to look for Gigi but figures that she’s probably having fun making out with her new Shack boy toy somewhere so she decides against it. She also may or may not still be upset with her. 

She’s halfway down the trail when she realizes that her head feels like it’s a disco ball spinning out of control, and before she knows it, she’s plopping down onto the curb rubbing her fingers against her temples as though that would help in quelling the beginnings of the headache she can feel coming. The night is quiet though, the air feeling all light and floaty around her, and she doesn’t mind relaxing here for a bit. The grass is soft against her hands as she leans back against it, her head lolling back until her eyes are trained towards the sky. 

The darkness is a stark contrast to the beautiful blue she had been staring at this morning while perched atop her lifeguard chair. There are definitely no clouds in the sky now, but the beautiful thing about Hightstown is that it’s so sequestered from the city that the stars seem to glow a bit brighter here. She smiles, admiring the way they twinkle, almost wishing she could reach up and pluck one right out of the sky to keep. 

“Rory?” comes a voice ahead of her, and when she rolls her head upright again to find its owner, she finds blue eyes that sort of glimmer just like the stars she was just looking at. 

Then she blinks a few times and realizes it’s just Niall Horan emerging from the darkness. 

Her smile falls, then she sighs. She may not like him, but she’s not a bitch, so she mumbles, “Hi, Horan,” in response. 

He’s dressed all nice, like a typical Shack boy: dark wash denim jacket with the sleeves cuffed to his elbows, slim fit t-shirt, and some jeans. With his dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes, he reminds her of last summer. Reminds her of big brown eyes and a smile that can light up the whole resort. Reminds her of searing kisses and warm touches and giggling into a different denim jacket in some hidden away corner of the grounds 

He reminds her of a different Shack boy who broke her heart.

As Niall makes himself comfortable on the curb next to her, she vows to herself that she will not allow a repeat of last summer to happen. 

Just as a scowl is starting to form on her face, Niall turns to her, his own lips curling into that megawatt grin of his, and she has to stop herself from wincing because something about it makes her stomach turn. It reminds her too much of another her, in a different summer, where she might’ve been in this exact position with another boy who she didn’t know would rip her heart out of her chest and stomp all over it. 

“Were you just at the party?” he asks, voice all soft and sweet and lilted in that Irish accent of his. Ugh, she thinks, internally rolling her eyes, because she’s drunk and that accent just made her heart stop for a second and she hates herself for it. Hates him for it. 

She’s just about to say something snarky when she’s interrupted by a strange sound. It startles her for a moment. It sounded so nearby but her alcohol-muddled brain had been too distracted to determine what exactly it was. It happens again and Rory thinks that it sounds a lot like a cat meowing, which in itself is odd because Hightstown has a strict anti-pet policy. 

She looks around to find the source when her eyes land on a rather large duffel near Niall’s feet. She hadn’t noticed it before and when she looks up at him to ask him about it, she finds that his face is flushed a bright crimson, visible despite the fact that they’re sitting in the darkness. “Horan,” she says slowly because she’s slightly suspicious now. “What’s in that bag?”

He chuckles nervously which only makes her narrow her eyes at him. “Uhh,” he gets out as he rubs his hands on his jeans, and Rory would bet her life that it’s because they’re sweating. “Nothing.” 

He tries to move the duffel away discreetly but she notices. She couldn’t care less about what Niall Horan, of all people, was up to. But her interest is piqued now, so she can’t help the way she reaches over him to grab the bag. “You’re hiding something—”

“No!” He blocks her from being able to close her fingers around the strap, and when she looks at him again, there’s a bit of alarm swirling in his eyes. “I—uh...it’s nothing, I swear!”

Rory simply blinks at him. Honestly, the fact that he’s resisting only makes her more curious, so she says, “Niall Horan. What are you up to?”

She watches as he visibly gulps, chewing on his lips as he mulls it over. Finally, he takes a deep breath and says, “Okay. But if I show you then you have to promise not to say a word to anyone.” 

At that, she actually laughs and rolls her eyes because that’s so dramatic. But when he doesn’t even crack a smile, doesn't even try to defend himself, she realizes that he’s totally serious. So, to placate him, she goes, “Yeah, okay whatever.” 

He gives her a look and it looks a bit funny on him because she’s never seen him act in any way except obnoxiously bubbly all the time. “I mean it, Rory. Not a single soul.” 

She groans, rolling her eyes again because this is ridiculous and she’s beginning to wonder whether this back and forth is even worth seeing what’s in the duffel. “Okay, I promise! Unless it’s something illegal like drugs. Then I’m snitching.” It’s telling how drunk she is because she grins at him before her next words leave her mouth. “Unless you’re sharing.” 

Niall simply huffs, shaking his head. But he seems convinced enough because he reaches behind him for the bag and places it gently between them. He’s visibly nervous as he unzips it, constantly glancing up at her as if he’s afraid of how she might react. When the bag is finally open, he tosses the flap back and just looks at her. She shrugs him off, leaning over to peer inside. At first, she sees nothing interesting, but then, she catches movement and immediately recoils with a gasp. 

“What is that!” She knows she’s drunk but damn it seems a bit crazy for it to be what she thinks it is. 

Niall doesn’t have to reply to her because the creature is emerging from the bag. First, its head pops out, then, as if realizing it’s free from its confines, it attempts to step out before unceremoniously flopping over until it lands on the grass between them. It has muted orange fur with black stripes. Its eyes are pulled downwards, mouth—or snout?—curved in a way that resembles a frown. And it’s huge. Rory has never seen one that big and didn’t even know they were able to get to that size. 

“Whoa,” is what leaves her mouth as she stares dumbly at it. She almost wants to laugh. She has to be absolutely wasted because surely her eyes are deceiving her. “That is...a big cat.” Niall is grinning stupidly at her, reaching out to nuzzle the creature’s face. It purrs at his touch but its frown seems to remain intact. Rory tilts her head at it. “Actually...is it really a cat? And not like...a baby tiger or something?”

“Nah, he’s just a regular ol’ cat. Reckon he’s just a bit big-boned or something.” The creature—Rory thinks she’ll just call it a cat—putters towards her and she leans away from it slightly which makes Niall laugh. “Go on, pet him! Isn’t he a cute little fella!” Niall is absolutely beaming now and Rory huffs. She wouldn’t call that thing little, but she reaches out regardless, cautiously rubbing a finger on its head. The cat closes its eyes and purrs at her touch. “Awww,” Niall coos, reaching out too, “he likes you!” 

The shock is wearing off and her senses are finally coming back to her. “Uhhhh. Where did you even get this from? You know they’re not allowed on the grounds right?”

He shrugs, gently grabbing a hold of the cat and placing it back into the duffel. “Some lady left the poor little thing in her car out at valet. When she finally got back she got mad at him for leaping out.” Niall is looking at her all imploringly and all Rory can think about is how he really needs to stop calling that thing little. It is definitely not little. “She even raised her hand on him!” He huffs, getting all heated over it. “So,” he says matter of factly, “I saved him from her.”

Rory stares at him. “You stole a cat?”

He shakes his head at her. “No. I saved him.” He nuzzles the thing before apologizing to it softly as he closes the zipper again, leaving a small portion of it open, probably so it could breathe. “Besides, I’m sure the Dree-foos lady won’t miss him anyway.”

Now she’s gaping at him because she recognizes that name. She nearly hopes she misheard it because he’s in deep shit otherwise. “You stole Mrs. Dreyfuss’s cat?!” she asks in disbelief, eyes widened at him. All he does is shrug and she brings her hands to her mouth. “Horan!” she hisses, “don’t you know who she is?”

Niall gives her a look, reaching into the duffel to pet the stolen cat absentmindedly. “I don’t know? An animal abuser?”

Rory shakes her head, huffing exasperatedly. “No, dummy. She’s on the freakin’ board of directors!” She can see the exact moment the weight of this situation dawns on him, his eyes widening slightly. “If you get caught,” she says, because she feels like he needs to hear it verbalized too, “you’re not just getting fired. Dreyfuss will throw a fit and get the whole company in trouble.”

Silence engulfs them for a moment as Niall mulls over her words. “Damn,” is what he finally ends up saying, eyes glazed over in thought. Then, he turns to Rory, spirit all brightened now like he’s just gotten an idea. “Will you help me hide him from people?”

Rory makes an affronted sound because he is so delusional if he thinks she would ever do that. “Absolutely not! I am not getting fired over your stolen cat-tiger thing.” 

He frowns at her, and she ignores the little swoop her tummy gives. “Please? You know the grounds better than anyone.” 

She gets up from the curb, wobbling slightly because she’s still tipsy and this is all just ridiculous. “No,” she says firmly, turning around to face him only to realize that he’d gotten up too, the duffel now slung over his shoulder. But then, she feels bad because deep down, she knows he means no harm. Even if he’s being absolutely stupid. So she says, “I’ll walk you to the Shacks. But no more. I want nothing else to do with this.” 

He grins at her, thanking her profusely as she starts to lead him through the alleyways to the Shacks. And all she can think about the entire time they’re walking is that if she were sober, this would have never happened.

***

Rory thinks Niall Horan is way in over his head. 

She’s always been a dreamer, and her mom was always yelling at her to get her head out of the clouds, but no one, she thinks now, is more delusional than Niall Horan if he thinks he can just steal a gigantic cat and keep it safely in his suite at the Shacks. 

But she supposes he has 56 days left of summer to deal with that.

--

tell me what you think! :)

[multifandomfanficss]

Benny X OC

My Babysitter’s a Vampire

You’re Special: Part 2

Prompt: This is another Benny x OC fic. In this fic my OC Liz battles her newfound powers and a siren alongside her boyfriend Benny and her best friends. This isn’t based on any specific episode, but is sort of a continuation of part 1.

Warnings: I don’t think there are any

A/N: I’m back at it again with the OC fics. Again there is a part when it briefly switches to 3rd person point of view, but it will be clearly labeled. Tell me if you want me to keep these going.

BEEP BEEP I woke to the sound of my screeching alarm clock. It’s Thursday morning. I got out my clothes for the day and waited and listened for the front door to close down stairs. As soon as I knew my dad was gone to work for the day I sprinted to the bathroom and turned the shower on. I slipped off my bracelet and put it on the sink. Part of me was afraid that I would ruin it if I wore it in the shower. It was a beautiful old leather bracelet with magical symbols carved into it. I got it from my boyfriend’s Grandma to help control my powers. I smiled to myself. Saying my boyfriend was still new and it was a nice feeling. Benny and I had only been dating for about a week now. Being as impatient as I am I hopped in while the water was still cold and bounced around waiting for the water to warm up. The water felt nice splashing against my skin. I felt safe. I had always felt a strong connection to water, but now knowing that I had powers that come from the earth everything was a little bit different.

After my shower I threw my clothes and my bracelet on and rushed to put a little makeup on. I don’t usually wear makeup to school. It’s a little bit annoying to wake up early just to put on makeup. These people see me everyday and we all know that nobody wants to be there anyway. I don’t need makeup for school. I’m just going to sit in front of a white board and projector for about 6 hours. I knew Benny wouldn’t care. He’s seen me without makeup a million times, but today was different. I wanted to look good and feel confident. Today was auditions for the drama club’s annual cabaret. Every year our school has a cabaret to raise money for the drama club. I love drama club. Although I don’t talk about it in front of the boys very much acting really is my passion. Benny knows how much I love it. He loves to do lights for the shows. Although Ethan and Rory always make fun of him he is such a techie. It’s really cute. I love seeing him get excited about all of the special effects that go into theatre. Even before we were dating when we were just best friends we always looked forward to drama club. It was always a good way for us to bond. We would never admit it to Ethan and Rory, but it was special to us.

I quickly ran downstairs, packed my backpack, grabbed a bagel for the go, and headed out the door. I met Benny and Ethan in front of the school with a smile on my face ready to face the day. When I got there they were arguing about the Mandela Effect and wether it was real or not. Typical. They were so into the argument they didn’t even notice me. “Benny, it’s not real. It’s not scientifically possible” Ethan argued. “Okay, Ethan, but you get visions and I have magic!” Benny responds. “And when they run out of fries in the cafeteria I throw a 6.2 on the Richter Scale...I gotta go with Benny on this one” I smile stopping in front of them. The boys look at me. “You’re just saying that because he’s your boyfriend now” Ethan says. “That’s right. She’s my girlfriend. I have a girlfriend” Benny says putting his arm around me. I blush. “Will you just shut up?” I beg him. I can’t help, but smile and giggle. He’s so stupid, but it’s the really cute kind of stupid. Thank God my bracelet is on or the school pipes would explode. Benny looked down at me and smiled. “Why do I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world?” He asks me. I blush like crazy. Usually I’m pretty cool and I’m never speechless, but Benny just puts me at a loss for words. “Guys I’m still here” Ethan breaks me out of my bliss. “Now if only we could get Ethan a girlfriend” Benny pouts at him. “Hey, there’s still hope for Sarah yet. She never actually rejected him” I remind Benny. “I’ll ask her when I’m ready” Ethan defends himself. “You better” I tell him. RING The bell goes off and we head into the school.

By the time I had made it to lunch I was already pretty nervous. The day was halfway over and my audition for the cabaret would be soon. I sat next to Benny while I stared across the cafeteria. Ethan and Rory sat across from me. Sarah and Erica were nowhere to be found because the seniors were on a field trip. I was spacing out big time as I tried to make sure I knew the lyrics to the song I was supposed to sing. “Uh...Earth to Liz” Benny said breaking me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and snapped back to reality “Yes?” I asked. “Does that sound good?” He asked. I looked at him with confusion. “Have you been listening to any of this conversation?” Ethan asked. “Sorry...I just zoned out” I apologize. I feel bad, but I’m nervous about the audition. I feel my leg shake under the table. Benny puts his hand on my knee and looks at me. I stop. “Sorry” I say quietly. “What’s up with you?” Rory asks. I shrug my shoulders. “Aren’t the auditions for that drama club thing today?” Ethan asks. I nod. “I guess I’m just a little nervous” I confess. “You’re gonna do great” Benny promises me. “Yeah! You’re Awesome!” Rory chimes in. “Besides didn’t you get like the lead last year?” Ethan asks. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get it every time. Theatre is hard. It’s really competitive” I tell him. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. “Anyway, what’s up?” I ask. “Movie night tomorrow at Ethan’s?” Benny asks. “You know I’m there” I tell the boys. I smile as they start another debate over Star Wars: Episode III and I zone out again. This time I find myself staring at a girl I never really noticed before. I don’t know everyone at our school, but at the same time we don’t go to the biggest school. I feel like I would have at least seen her in passing. She’s probably new. She’s dressed in mostly shades of purple and black and she’s sporting a pretty cool leather jacket. She looks like she radiates so much anger; like she just wants to scream at the world.

RING The last Bell of the day went off and I made my way to the auditorium. I was scheduled to be one of the first auditions. Then I could leave with Benny and Ethan who were waiting for me outside the school. I walked through the door and put my name on the sign in sheet. I’m supposed to go second. At least I’m not first. I looked down to see a name after mine that I didn’t recognize. Who’s going third? I questioned everything when I looked at the name Emily Sirven. I looked around the room and saw the mysterious new girl. It has to be her. The drama club isn’t that big and for the most part I know everyone. I wonder if she’s any good. I walk up to her and try to strike up a conversation. “Hi. I’m Liz. I feel like I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?” I ask. “I’m Emily and I’m going to make you feel in a minute” She snaps. I’m not quite sure how to take the oddly vague threat. Is it even a threat? “Liz?” Ms. LOL breaks me out of my thoughts. I turn to her. “You’re up!” She tells me. I hardly noticed the boy before me had even started let alone finished. I took a deep breath as I held onto the pendant on my TARDIS necklace. I rushed up to the stage and got ready to sing one of my favorite musical theatre songs. I belted out As We Stumble Along from the Drowsy Chaperone. The song was funny and powerful. As soon as I started singing I immediately started feeling better. I always feel at home in my singing. As soon as the song ended I left the stage. I pass Emily on my way out and decide to be nice. “Break a leg” I smile at her. “Oh I’m sure you’ll break something” She tells me. What is her problem? I knew I had to stay to see her sing now. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I stood with my back leaning against the wall and waited for Little Miss Ego to start. “I’m going to be singing an original song” She informs the drama club. Is that even allowed? This a theatre cabaret not an open mic. She started the song and I completely blacked out.

3RD PERSON POV

Benny and Ethan were waiting outside the school for Liz when the entire building started to shake. “What’s going on?!” Ethan shouted over the nicely sized earthquake. Ethan lost his balance and fell to the ground. “We have to find Liz!” Benny responded. He knew his girlfriend was responsible. He grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him up, running inside the building. The boys ran to the auditorium, but as soon as they got to the doors the earthquake stopped. They took a quick look at each other and quickly ran inside.

LIZ’S POV

“Liz” I heard Benny and Ethan calling my name while I was being shaken. I opened my eyes to see Benny on his knees in front of me with his hands on my shoulders. Ethan was squatting next to him. I was sitting on the ground against the wall. They looked very concerned. “What happened?” I ask. “I think you started freaking out over your audition” Ethan guess. “No, I already had my audition” I tell them as I try to remember what happened. My head starts to throb. “I have a massive headache though” I say as I rub my head. I watch Ethan look around to see everyone in the drama club struggling to get up. They all seem to be in a daze. New girl is nowhere to be found. I see all of the destruction. “Did I do this?” I ask. I feel like I already know the answer. Ethan gives me a sad look. “Well we don’t know for sure...” Benny tries to make me feel better. I’m scared. I’m afraid of myself. I hate this. “Benny, I wanna go home” I tell him. “We should probably run you past Grandma” He says as he helps me up. I fall into him. “Sorry. I’m a little dizzy” I say trying to regain my balance. “It’s okay. I’ve got you” He says holding me.

Benny kept a hand on my back making sure I was okay no matter how many times I said I was fine. I just had a little bit of a headache. Benny, Ethan, and I made our way up Benny’s porch and into his living room. “Grandma!” Benny yells. I quickly shush my loud mouth boyfriend. I hated telling him to be quiet, but my head was pounding. “Sorry! Grandma!” He whisper yelled as he walked off to find her. I cracked a smile. Ethan walked to the freezer and came back with an ice pack. “Here try this” He said. “Thanks” I say taking the ice pack and placing it on my head. “I wonder what happened to the new girl” I think aloud. “What new girl?” He asks. “There was a new girl in drama club. I think her name was like Emily Sirven or something like that. She’s really annoying. She disappeared when the little earthquake hit. It probably freaked her out” I tell him. “Little earthquake?” I hear Benny’s Grandma come down the stairs with Benny following not far behind her. “My dear, your little earthquake was big enough to make the news” She informs me. “What?!” I ask. I quickly check my phone and she’s right. “I completely blacked out. I don’t even remember it” I confess. “This is worse than I thought” She walks up to me. “Were you wearing your bracelet?” She asks. I nod. She picks up my hand and waves some magic that I won’t pretend to understand over my wrist. “It’s still intact” She says in surprise. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Benny asks. “On the contrary. You must have gone through something truly terrible if you were able to cause an earthquake that scale while wearing your bracelet” She says. I look down at the floor and look up again at her in confusion and fear. “Why don’t I remember anything?” I ask. “Your brain must be protecting you. Maybe the black out was a defense mechanism” She guesses. “I wouldn’t worry about it right now at least.” She tells us. “Something is definitely going on, but we can’t do anything about it this minute” She adds. I sigh. How can I not worry about it right now?

I wake up the next day dreading going to school. The whole day went by so slowly. I just wanted it all to end so I could finally get to movie night at Ethan’s with my friends. I just wanted it to be me, a can of soda, a couple bowls of popcorn, a sci-fi movie, and my best friends. That was the only thought getting me through the day.

By the time we got to lunch I was so ready to leave school. Usually I liked school. I enjoyed learning and I loved seeing my friends even more, but today I felt like the life was just being drained from me. I was in the lunch line with Benny when I saw her again. She was right in front of me. She was humming quietly. It was so infuriating. I had never been angrier. I couldn’t help, but think about the stuff she said to me at the auditions. I had to say something. I could feel this fire boiling in my blood. “Hey, what’s your problem?!” I ask her. Benny looks at me confusion, but I don’t care. Then he grabs my arm gently. “Cool it sparky!” He says in sort of a whisper yell. I look at him with confusion and then I look to the stove. The flames are out of control and the lunch ladies are rapidly trying to put them out. “How did I-“ I’m interrupted by Emily. She pushes me to the ground. “Stay out of my way geek” She sneers. The second she touches me it feels like a thousand knives are being stabbed into my brain. All I can hear is a loud screeching noise. I watch the water fountain on the other side of the cafeteria explode as I scream. Other kids in the cafeteria freak out and take cover from the water. They don’t notice what’s happening to me. I curl my body into a ball as tears start to form in my eyes. My ears are ringing. Benny wraps his arms around me as he tries to speak to me. I can’t hear him and I start to panic. Everything is too much. I can feel the earth below me start to shake and I can feel the heat of the flames in the kitchen next to me. I feel everything. I feel too much. Benny holds me tightly. I hide my face in his chest. I black out.

I shoot awake. My breathing is heavy and I have sweat dripping down my body. I’m in the nurse’s office. I watch as Benny quickly puts his hands on my shoulders to calm me down. He tries to talk to me, but I still can’t hear him. I look outside to see it’s pouring down rain. A flash of lightening hits the ground and the thunder shakes the whole room. I stare out the window breathing heavy. Benny understands and he places a kiss on my forehead before helping me off the cot and out of the nurse’s office. I don’t know where we’re going or what’s happening, but I can’t really ask. Benny leads me to my locker. He opens it and fills my backpack for me. I watch him silently. I try to stay calm as I worry about if my hearing will ever come back. I zone out and suddenly I find Benny putting my arms into my coat. He pulls it around me and zippers it up for me. I watch him sling my backpack over his shoulder. Then he puts my hood up before taking my hand and guiding me outside and through the storm. I jump at a bolt of lightening as I press my body to his. He holds me close as we walk home in the rain.

As soon as we got to Ethan and Benny’s houses we stopped by Benny’s for clothes. Our clothes were wet from the rain. I sat on his bed in soaked clothes while Benny quickly closed the shades in his room to make it darker for me. I think he’s trying not to overload my senses. Then I waited for him to find me a new tee shirt to wear. He held up different options he thought I might like. When he held up the shirt with the Captain America shield I made a hand squeezing motion in an effort to silently say ‘Give me give me’. He smiled and tossed me the shirt. I then walked over to his dresser and sprayed the shirt with the cologne Benny wears that he had stolen from his dad. He gave me a confused look. “I want it to smell like you” I tried to speak. It must have come out as a yell because Benny quickly put his finger to my lips. I could see him laughing at me. I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. I smiled back. Then I pulled his hand away. He gave me a quick kiss and then I changed into his shirt. He changed and we walked next door to Ethan’s.

As soon as we got to Ethan’s Benny led me into Ethan’s closet and shut the door. He probably just wants to help my senses. I started thinking about the time Ethan lost his hearing and he had to sit in his own closet. Then I had a big realization. “Guys I think it might be a Siren!” I said through the door. Benny opened the door with a small white board and a marker. I laughed a little, at least I think I did. I couldn’t hear it, but I obviously felt it. Written on the board was ‘Does this help?’ I nodded. He erased it. He exchanged a few words with Ethan. He seemed to be telling him what to write. Then Benny wrote ‘We think it’s a Siren too’. Ethan and Benny kept talking. I couldn’t hear them. “It’s probably that new girl” I said in what was probably more of a shout again. I watch the boys nod. “Her name was Emily Sirven” I inform them. Ethan takes the board from Benny’s hands. He quickly writes ‘Well Sirven does sound a lot like Siren’. My jaw drops. “Hey, I was a little too preoccupied blacking out or maybe I would have noticed it sooner!” I definitely shouted that time. Benny takes a phone call while Ethan sits with me. He writes on the white board ‘You should probably get your hearing back soon’. “Probably?!” I question him. Benny comes back and takes my hand. He helps me up and guides me out of Ethan’s room. “Where are we going?” I ask. “My house” I see Benny mouth the words. “Your house?” I ask. He nods. We’re probably screaming.

Once we get to Benny’s house I sit down in his kitchen. I feel someone come up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinch. Benny takes my hand and mouths something I can’t quite understand. I turn around to see it’s just his Grandma. I smile. Her and Benny have a short conversation. I can only assume it’s about what happened to me. Next thing I knew I had Benny putting a pair of noise cancelling headphones on my ears. Benny’s Grandma then touched my head and I could feel a rush of magic go through me. Suddenly I could hear the sound of the blood pumping through my ears, you know the deafening sound you hear when you have noise counseling headphones on. I try to take the headphones off, but Benny puts his hands over mine. Instead he writes a message on a piece of paper. ‘You just got your hearing back all at once. It’s going to be very loud’. I nod. “So when can I take these off?” I suddenly hear how loud my voice was. I must have given a pretty socked face because I can hear Benny laugh through the headphones. I leave them on for a little bit longer. Then I start getting used to letting in more sound little by little.

Benny and I lay on the couch while we watch Supernatural with the subtitles on. He keeps the volume low for me. The headphones are off as this point, but I’m still getting used to having my hearing back. Benny looks down at me, tucking some hair behind my ear and out of my face. “How’s everything?” Benny asks. “It’s a lot better, but I’m still a little freaked out” I confess. “None of the stuff that happened today was your fault” He tried to tell me. “I know...it’s just....I’ve never controlled fire with my powers before...and the rain storm...was that me?” I ask. “Grandma thinks it might be, but you remember what happened last time with Serena. Sirens make your emotions all crazy. It’s not your fault” He reminds me. “Why do Sirens always pick dumb names that just sound like Siren. Like Serena, Sirven, come on. That is so stupid” I laugh. “Yeah what’s up with that? It’s like they’re saying please stop me I’m evil” Benny says as the credits role for the episode. We turn off the TV and decide to head back to Ethan’s for movie night.

I lay on the floor in Benny’s arms. His back is against the couch. Sarah, Ethan, and Rory sit on the couch while Jane is asleep in the chair next to us. Erica is nowhere to be found, probably out for a snack. She didn’t usually join our movie nights. I wish she did. We were watching a what was supposed to be a scary movie, but the only person who was scared was Rory. “Rory, how can you be afraid of this crap? You’re a vampire. You could easily suck that serial killer’s blood. You’re like way scarier than him” I tell him. “Really?” He asks. “Duh” I laugh. “You could beat Bill and his creepy lady with the knife any day” I promise him. “Awesome” I hear Rory say to himself under his breath. I smile as my comment seems to make him feel a little better. I’m exhausted. I guess it’s fair since I did almost rip the entire school apart today. After a long day I fall asleep in Benny’s arms. I don’t wake up until it’s time to go home and go to bed.

I woke up the next day and I knew what I had to do. Tonight is the cabaret. I had to go into dress rehearsal this afternoon and record Emily. Lucky enough I had gotten into the cabaret. I even had the big solo in the group number. If I’m being honest I’m pretty excited. I cannot let a Siren ruin it for me. I changed out of Benny’s shirt and got into the shower. I slept in his shirt. It makes me feel secure. Once I was out of the shower I threw on makeup and changed into something nice. Then I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I was a little nervous, but this was nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing my bracelet couldn’t keep down. Benny wanted to come with me to the dress rehearsal, but I assured him I could handle it on my own. All I have to do is keep my ear plugs in and get a recording of Emily. It’s pretty hard to mess that up, besides I’ve been feeling a little fragile and useless lately because of my newfound powers. I just wanna feel strong again.

The dress rehearsal went perfectly as planned. I got the recording and everything was fine. Now we just have to play it back at her during the cabaret. This could be a little harder. A couple hours passed and the auditorium started to fill up. I was happy the drama club was making so much money, but at the same time I was nervous about what could happen to all of these people. I was scheduled to go on right before Emily. Benny stood backstage with me while Ethan, Rory, Erica, and Sarah we’re getting ready for the fight. “You’re going to be fine” Benny says. “Just fine?” I ask with a laugh. “You’re going to be awesome!” Benny responds. I smile at my boyfriend. What did I do to deserve him? He can be annoying, loud, and obnoxious, but he is also sweet, funny, and a total nerd. He’s perfect for me. Ms. LOL signals for me to cone on stage and I quickly kiss Benny for good luck before walking on. I stand in front of my mic and belt my heart out. I look to the wings at Benny and get lost in the moment. Sarah, Erica, Ethan, and Rory are standing with him. No matter how much has changed and no matter how scary my life is right now I’m so happy doing what I love in front of the people that I love. Right now is the best I’ve felt in a long time. I don’t just feel safe. I feel free.

As soon as I finish the song applause roars through the audience. This does not make Emily happy. She tears onto the stage in fury. She starts to spread her gift. She sings her piercing toon, but she can’t effect me this time. I have ear plugs in. “Why can’t you feel my pain?” She asks. “Why don’t you feel this?” Ethan asks as he plays her own frequency back at her. She screams in pain. She pushes the speaker over and pushes me to the ground. Then she continues to sing. Ethan and Rory run to the sound system while Sarah and Erica try to fight Emily. Benny runs to me. “Are you okay?” He asks. “No!” I shout as I pound my fist into the stage and it shakes. “Liz, it’ll be okay” Benny promises me. I know it will. “I’m tired of feeling weak!” I shout over Emily’s noise. I stand up and I take off my bracelet and nothing goes wrong for once. “What are you doing?” Benny asks. “I’m in control” I say before shooting air from my hands. I shoot Emily with the air and keep her held to the ground long enough for Ethan to set up the sound system. Then he blasts her and she’s done. I collapse onto my knees and Benny runs to me. I watch the curtains close while everyone wears confused faces. They all try to figure out what’s going on. “How did you do that?” Benny asks as he slips my bracelet back onto my wrist. “When I was doing what I loved in front of the people that I loved I just had this emotion that was greater than any fear or any anger or any sadness I could have ever felt. Benny, I think love and happiness give me control” I smile. “You give me control” I tell him as I place my hand on his cheek. He smiles at me and we kiss. Erica makes a gagging noise. I smile and pull away. “Shut up” I tell her. “All I’m saying is that you could do a lot better” She says in her usual tone. I wrap my arms around my boyfriend and smile. Sarah elbows Erica in the arm. “Ow!” Erica exclaims. “But...” Sarah starts for her. “But I’m glad you’re...happy” Erica says through gritted teeth. Benny and I laugh it off. I look at him. “Don’t worry. You’re the best I could ever do” I say before kissing him again. Then we stand up and sit in the back of the auditorium while Ms. LOL apologizes for the weird show. This is just like the Rainbow Factory all over again. We decide to book it and hit the ice cream place on the way home. I sat on the bench under the neon lights with my best friends as I sipped my Chocolate Oreo Malt with my boyfriend’s arm around me. I knew nothing could be better than this.

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Forever: One More

Intro: How much can 2 words actually mean?

Warnings: Language! Smut (NSFW) No under 18s

Pairings: Steve Rogers and Katie Stark (Rogers)

SSF Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

April 2026.

“James Anthony Samuel I swear to God you push your sister like that again and there’s no Baseball or Soccer practice for a month!” Steve glared at his son as he picked his 23 month old daughter up from the floor.

“She started it!” the 6 year old met his glare straight back “She smashed up my lego house!”

“Yeah, and you used to smash up our actual house when you were her age.” Steve pointed at him as Aurora buried her face into the crook of his neck, sobbing loudly. Steve gently shushed her as he looked down at Jamie “you’re bigger and stronger than she is, you don’t push her or hurt her in anyway, you got that? If she’s annoying you, you come find me or your ma.” Jamie looked up at his dad for a second, before he looked down, his wrong behaviour understood “Sorry Dad.” “It’s not me you should be apologising to.” Steve said, his voice softening slightly.

Jamie looked up, his blue eyes full of tears and Steve’s heart sank. He hated seeing his kids like this but he knew he had to tell them off when they misbehaved.

“Sorry Rori.” Jamie sniffed.

Rori turned her head to face him leaving a stream of snot and drool hanging from Steve’s shoulder as she eyed up her brother.

“MkayJay…” she sniffed and she leaned forward holding her arms out to him. Steve dropped her to the floor and she toddled across to his open arms and gave her elder brother a hug. Steve smiled as he watched them, despite the fact she bugged the crap out of him Jamie would do anything for his baby sister. Steve knew that.

He also knew that it was only fair Rori got chastised for her part in the argument. So he crouched down in front of them both and he looked at her.

“Aurora, you don’t touch Jamie’s toys unless he says you can ok?” he said to her, firmly but not angrily “You have enough of your own to play with.”

Or destroy as the case may be Her big green eyes, so like her mothers looked back and him and she nodded, looking down at the carpet, suitably chastised, her voice quiet “ok daddy” “Good girl.” He smiled, brushing her brunette hair off her face. When she looked back he was pleased to see both of them were smiling again. Crisis averted, discipline delivered…

“Cookie?” Rori asked hopefully and Steve sighed. He and Katie had been hoping that she would have slightly less of an appetite than her brother but no. The serum was as much a part of her as it was him. He glanced at his watch and seeing it was almost 4:30 pm he knew Katie would be home any time and he had just started their dinner before world war 3 had broken out in the living room. So as far as cookies went he really shouldn’t… “One.” He relented “but you better eat your dinner. And don’t tell momma.” He held out his hand. Aurora slipped her small palm into his and they headed into the kitchen, Jamie following.

There were no more tantrums or arguments that evening, just a small plea from Jamie as he tried desperately  to avoid going to bed at his 9pm weekend curfew      “Just one more please Momma and then I’ll go to bed I swear” he said from his spot sat in between Katie’s legs in front of her on the piano stool. Katie sighed and looked at Steve who leaned in the doorway of the smaller lounge at the back of the house and cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows before he shrugged. “One more…” she relented and Jamie clapped his hands as she placed her fingers onto the keys of the piano in front of her, Jamie lying his hands on the top of his mom’s. He wasn’t interested in learning to play, not really. Baseball and soccer were his things, but he enjoyed this, the alone time with his momma and dad that the two parents tried to ensure each of their younger kids got fairly (Emmy being far too old for any of that ‘mushy shit’ now) Katie’s hands flew over the keys and her soft voice gently filled the room as she sang, Jamie joining in after giving her a little grin when he recognised what she was playing. “I wanna be where the people are I wanna see Wanna see ‘em dancing Walking around on those…”

She stopped playing and looked down at Jamie playfully “What do you call ‘em?” “Feet!” Jamie said, holding his leg up. Steve let out a soft smile at the display of playfulness and affection between his wife and son as Katie laughed and carried on with the song. Eventually they finished and without protest Jamie turned to his mom and placed his arms round her neck. “Night Momma. I love you.” “Love you too baby boy. I’ll be up soon to tuck you in when you’ve finished your story ok?” He jumped down from the bench and headed over to his dad who gently guided him out of the room with a large, gentle hand on the back of his head. As he turned to go he cast a look over his shoulder as Katie stood up, closing the lid on the American Walnut finished Bösendorfer 155 baby grand piano he had bought her for her 40th. She turned to face him, and shyly smiled in the same way she always did when she caught him looking at her the way he was right then, the expression on his face soft, conveying just how much he loved her and it still knocked her off her feet. “You’re beautiful.” He said softly as she brushed past him in the doorway. “Charmer” she smiled as he captured her lips in a soft kiss before giving her ass a friendly squeeze with both his palms before he headed off after Jamie for their usual bed time stories. A father-son routine that Steve hoped Jamie wasn’t gonna grow out of any time soon.

A story about 1920s Gangsters later Steve bid Jamie goodnight and strode over the landing to Rori’s bed room. He picked up the stuffed bear that had fallen out of her toddler bed and, tucking it in next to her, he straightened the covers around his daughter’s chin and dropped a kiss to her head.  “Sweet dreams Princess” he said, standing up and turning off the lamp, flicking the pony night light on. “You know when they’re in bed I actually understand why we had them.” He chuckled gently as he entered the kitchen where Katie was unloading the dishwasher. Katie laughed softly  “They’re good kids really.” “I know.” Steve’s arms circled her waist “What time is Emmy back?” “You told her midnight…so probably about 5 past.” she grinned. “She text me before, she’s fine. Pete took her to a burger joint and they were just about to go into the movies…” “Better not be on the back row” Steve grumbled. “She’s 18 Steve.” Katie laughed before she sighed. “They’re all growing up so fast” “You not fancy one more?” He asked, his nose brushing against her jaw. Katie stilled and turned her head to face him. “I’m 42, still carrying extra pounds from Rori. And trust me when I say after her birth, I have no desire to push a baby out of my vagina ever again” Steve laughed loudly, his head tipping back as he did so. “Just a thought” he said, kissing the side of her neck before he straightened up. “You fancy a glass of wine?” “Getting me drunk will not make me agree to having another baby…” Katie sly eyed him as he opened the wine chiller and pulled out a bottle of Sancerre. Steve rolled his eyes “That’s not what I was trying to do… I thought seeing as they’re asleep, its Friday…we could sit outside by the fire pit and take some us time. Maybe I can make some loving on my baby momma.” She smiled and slipped her arms round his waist, standing on her tip toes to give him a kiss. “Sounds perfect daddy, let me just go tuck Jamie in and I’ll be with you.” *****

June 2026

Steve looked at his wife, simply smiling as she talked. It wasn’t often they got out like they had done before the kids, but tonight they were out for a meal and a few drinks for her birthday. She looked stunning. Her hair was curled loosely, hanging to one side over her right shoulder, her eyes were highlighted even more by the light brown shimmer that sat on her lids and her lips were plump and glossed with a soft, almost neutral pink. It reminded him a lot of how she had looked on her first date. Similar, but yet slightly different. A bit like them really. They weren’t radically different but everything they had been through, seen, done, becoming parents…it had made them evolve in a way but Steve’s heart still burst with pride and lust and love whenever he looked at the woman sat in front of him. Yes she had changed physically over the years. Taught lines of muscle had given way to softer curves over her stomach and thighs, her hips were bigger- not much- but it only served to emphasise her small waist even more. The curve of her ass was more pronounced as was her chest, both of which Steve was more than happy about, especially tonight as they were emphasised even more by the tight black cut off capris she was wearing, low cut shimmering gold top and high heels that made her shapely legs look even more toned. And right now he was imagining them hooked around his shoulders… “Are you even listening to me?” She sat back, glass of crisp white wine in her hand, a teasing smile on her face. He looked beyond gorgeous. Short, dark beard flecked with grey, strands of his short hair also Iightening slightly. His black long sleeved sweater which although loose did nothing to hide his still ridiculously toned physique underneath. He was deep in thought, but relaxed, she could see that from the way he sat. His elbow was leaning on the table, chin resting gently in his hand, his fore and middle fingers making an L shape against his cheek as his thumb gently brushed against the beard underneath his chin. She raised her eyebrows silently requesting an answer and he took a deep breath, and cocked his head slightly more to the left, eyes crinkling even further as he suppressed a chuckle because he had been caught, red handed.  “Sorry baby I was just thinking.” “You were miles away.” She said softly, leaving forward “what’s going on Soldier” He loved how she still called him that. And right then it made him want to bend her over the table and fuck her senseless. He squirmed slightly and picked up his wine glass, leaving back in his chair “Just thinking about you, how lucky I am…how gorgeous you are…” his voice dropped as he arched an eyebrow “and the things I’m intending on doing to you tonight.” They headed to a bar and bumped into Marcus and his brother, Allan, two of the guys who had religiously attended Steve’s support groups pre and post snap. Marcus gleefully told then that his wife, one of the returned, was expecting their first baby, news which both Katie and Steve had greeted with congratulations and a bottle of Don Perignon As they chatted and laughed with their friends, Katie was very aware of how tactile Steve was being. A hand on her back, skimming her ass every now and then, squeezing her hip, soft kisses to her temple and cheek.. it was all driving her wild so after an hour or so in the bar, when he asked if she was ready for home she greeted him with an affirmative nod. He held out her jacket for her, hands skimming the bare skin on her shoulders making her shiver. They bid their friends goodbye and headed out, hand in hand to hail a cab. Katie stole a glance at her husband, the father of her children and a fire lit in her belly. She had never loved anyone as much as she loves him. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. But they accepted each others faults as much as they loved each others better traits. He was an affectionate and loving man, both with her and their kids. Firm but fair and never shied away from lavishing affection on any of them. And then, in the dimly lit back seat if that yellow New York cab as it headed over Brooklyn Bridge something stirred in both her heart and her mind. She leaned over to him and gently nuzzled her nose into his neck, breathing in his aftershave. He gave an involuntary shiver and moved his arm around her shoulder as her nose now moved over the short whiskers that adorned his jaw and cheeks up to his ear where she whispered. “One more…” He turned to her, his eyes shining as he looked at her, smiling softly. “You sure?” He asked, barely able to believe it. She placed a soft kiss to his lips and whispered into his mouth. “Yeah, I’m sure.” It was all Steve could do to keep himself from jumping her there and then but somehow his will power held out. Once home, Emmy had simply raised her eyebrows when they had popped their heads into the lounge and told her and Peter not to stay up to late, and then rolled her eyes when Steve had pointedly told Peter the spare room was the 1st door on the right after you climbed the stairs. Closing the door to the lounge, Steve slung his wife over his shoulder causing her to giggle as he carried her upstairs, dropping her gently on her feet in the bedroom when she exclaimed she needed to pee. Steve shrugged off his sweater and was midway into undoing his trousers when she emerged from the bathroom, her pants in her hand, leaving her clad in just that delectable top and underwear. He felt his cock twitch at the sight of her almost naked ass and long legs. As she walked past, heading to the laundry basket in the corner of the room,  Steve looped both arms round her waist and pulled her discarded clothes from her hands, dropping them to the floor. He tugged her back into him, his hands gripping the hem of her top before he pulled it over her head, hands setting on her hips as she rolled her head back against his shoulder so he could lightly graze her skin with his lips.  Her hands gently moved between them as she undid the clasp on her bra and Steve slid the straps down, placing soft kisses to each of her shoulders causing her to shudder as he tossed that to the floor too. His palms flattened on her stomach as her arms slid up and connected round the back of his neck, pushing her chest up and he gave moan as he glanced down and saw her presented to him. One of his large hands crept into the front of her lace briefs, the other up to her chest, gently tweaking and playing with her as he saw fit, lips skating over her neck. “So beautiful…” he whispered and she moaned and writhed in delight at his praise and his actions as he worked her over “such a good girl for me…” Her head fell back even further into him as she let out a soft whimper of his name, his hands upping their pace slightly as she began to buck into his touch. She arched her back, her mouth fell open and then her head rolled forward as she came, knees trembling, her hands pulling at his hair. He held her up in his strong arms and whilst she was still in the after throws of bliss he nipped at her neck, drawing a soft groan from her mouth. “Gonna fuck a baby into you…” he said, lips hot on her ear “fill you up, see you all round with my child again…that what you want?” “Please…” she sighed, “Please put a baby in me, Daddy…”   His hands fell to her hips and he spun her round, lips crashing to hers almost bruisingly before he walked her backwards, her knees colliding with the bed as she fell back wards, Steve crawling over the top of her. His lips skated down from her mouth, to her neck, between the valley of her breasts and to her naval where his nose skimmed across the waistband of her panties. He hooked his fingers into the top and slid them down over her thighs, a hot kiss dropping to her ankle. His beard scratched her soft skin as he nipped his way up her leg, before setting his mouth to her. He licked, sucked, bit as she keened into him, her hands tangling into his hair as she writhed and groaned, trying but failing to keep her noise down. It wasn’t long before he’d gotten her there again and as she fell back, panting slightly he crawled over her, ridding himself of the remainder of his clothes as he did so. His hands placed either side of her head, he dropped his mouth to her ear and kissed just underneath before he whispered “I know you got one more in you baby…” as he pushed into her, the pair of them groaning at the sensation.

And she did. As he thrust into her powerfully, her hands skated up his arms to hi back, nails dragging down his skin. It was an assault on her senses, and as he continued to love her in a way only he could, the heat was rising again and she found herself teetering on the edge.

“That’s my girl…” Steve panted out as she arched her back and came again, this one leaving her utterly shattered. Steve wasn’t far behind her, releasing inside of her before they both collapsed, utterly boneless and melted completely into the bed beneath them. Her hands gently tangled into his hair and he lazily picked his head up and gave her a soft kiss, his nose rubbing up against hers.

“I love you baby girl.” he said softly, lips pressing against hers.

“Love you too…” she whispered into his mouth.

***** February 2027 Katie glanced down at the small, white stick in her hands. She inhaled sharply as she glanced at the result and tears filled her eyes as she stood up from the toilet where she had been sat on the lid, waiting for those precious last few seconds to pass.

Her mind strayed to the conversation they had held on Christmas eve little over 6 weeks prior…

“You know… it’s kind of ironic” Katie sighed as she nestled into Steve further, her head on his chest as the arm round her gently traced shaped on her side, under her jumper. “What is?” He asked, although he had a feeling he knew what was wrong. She sat up and looked at him, her eyes sad. “We’ve been trying for our little one more ow for 6 months. Doing everything right and…” she took a deep breath “maybe I just can’t anymore. I’m sorry Steve” “Hey.” He frowned, shifting so he was looking at her as she blinked, trying to stop the tears from falling “You have nothing to apologise for.” “I just know how much you wanted this and…” “Stop.” He said almost sternly as he gently cupped her face in his hands “we already have 3 beautiful kids. I don’t want you feeling like this” He hated it. Hated the fact he felt like he had backed her into this in a way. She was feeling inadequate and she was anything but. “I wish you’d told me you felt like this sooner.” He said softly, and she shrugged as he pulled her face to meet his in a soft, tender kiss. “One more try.” He rest his forehead against hers, his decision made “One more month and we forget it. I’m not having you feeling like this anymore baby. I love you too much to see you hurting ok?” She nodded and smiled gently, her hand reaching up and her fingers gently scratching through his beard. He closed his eyes and then her lips were on his, pulling him down on top of her on the couch, the movie on the tv completely forgotten as they lost themselves in each other again, moans and sighs filling the softly lit room.   No more tries. “Honey?’ Steve called later that evening, his keys dropping to the table in the hall as he greeted their now, very elderly dog, before he headed into the kitchen. She was sat at the table, eating dinner in between watching Aurora feed herself. Jamie was tucking into his food with gusto as both kids beamed at their daddy who greeted them both in turn. “Hi.” Katie smiled softly at him, taking the kiss he offered on her cheek “dinner is in the oven” “Sorry I’m late.” He said “ the faculty meeting went on a bit longer than I thought and then we got caught discussing the next semester…” “Steve it’s fine.” She assured him, taking a drink of her soda, eyes still on her fiercely independent daughter who probably had more spaghetti round her face than in her stomach. “How was your day son?” He asked once he had grabbed his plate and settled into the seat next to him at the oak table. “Ok.” Jamie shrugged. “Ok?” Katie looked at him “more than ok sweetie, tell your dad what you got in class!” “Oh I got the class weekly gold star for my art” he said, excitement flooding his tone. “No way!” Steve beamed at him, he loved the fact his son had inherited his talent “for the sketch you did of the planets?” Jamie nodded as he smiled. “Proud of you buddy” he said, ruffling his hair as Jamie’s grin at his fathers praise practically split his face in half. A few hours later both kids were in bed, they’d skyped Emmy who was just getting ready to go to a party in one of the dorms, something Steve wasn’t feeling all too comfortable about, and were heading up to bed. Steve was just about to make his way into the bathroom for a shower when Katie stopped him. “I have something to tell you.” She said softly before she opened the drawer at the side of her bed and with a sigh she pulled out the test. Steve felt his heart sink as she turned around and held it out to him. “Baby don’t be upset.” He said softly, as he took it, giving it a cursory glance “we agreed that if it didnt…” He trailed off and looked again. 2 blue lines. 2. “Oh my…shit.. Katie…” he looked up at her, his face shocked before he gave out a splitter of a laugh and grabbed her hips, swinging her up in the air. She laughed as he set her in her feet, giving her a soft kiss “You sure?” He asked, wanting to believe it but not daring to at the same time “Maybe you should do one more to be sure?” With a smirk she turned and reached into the drawer and began to toss test after test on the bed. 10 in total, including the one still in Steve’s hand. “Way ahead of you there soldier” “You’re incredible…” he said, tossing the plastic stick onto the bed and pulling her closer “My fucking incredible…” kiss “amazing…” kiss “ gorgeous” kiss “baby momma…” This time when his lips met hers she wrapped her arms round his neck and held him in place whilst she kissed him hard, deep, passionate before she pulled away, her fingers felt tracing his t-shirt clad chest “you mentioned something about a shower…” Grinning his hands slid under her ass and she laughed as he hauled her up, legs wrapping round his waist as he walked them into the en-suite.

***** August 2027 “One more baby.” Steve urged, his wife’s hand tightly gripping his right, his left brushing her hair back off her face “One more honey, you got this.” With a loud yell and a final, almighty effort she sagged back on the bed as a piercing cry hit their ears. “You did it…” Steve said, his eyes welling up “I’m so proud of you Kitten, you did it…” She laughed through her tears as their baby was placed on her chest, cries giving way to soft wimpers which turned into those familiar nickering noises babies make as their newest addition pressed into his momma, pink and wrinkled, brown hair spattering his head, his eyes the same shape and colour as his fathers, but the Stark nose stood out clearly, just as it did with Jamie. Their little one more, Henry Steven Rogers, Harry for short opened his eyes for the first time to reveal a shock of baby blue and Steve felt his heart swell even more. Out of all their kids he had been the easiest to name. Henry chosen by Steve, Steven picked by Katie, Harry agreed upon by both. There was no 3rd name. They didn’t have one they liked or felt drawn to and besides, in Katie’s eyes he didn’t need one, because his fathers was worth two. Something which had made Steve’s eyes fill with emotion when she had told him that. Harry was measured, weighed and returned to his father wrapped in a soft blue blanket as Steve preened over his latest progeny, another male to carry the Rogers name down the line. Eventually he began to fuss and was handed to his mother for his first feed, Steve settling in their bed, arm round Katie as he watched his son’s cheeks work hungrily. “I love you” he said gently, tilting Katie’s face round to his, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you too..” she smiled before they both looked down at their baby as he suckled on his mothers breast, tiny hand shaped in a fist which rest against her exposed skin. Steve gently traced his youngest son’s cheek with his finger, his chest felt like it was going to explode with emotion. After a few hours of being on their own with their baby boy, Katie having been cleaned up and Harry settled and changed and fed again, the peace of their hospital room was shattered. “There really should only be 4 visitors…” Steve heard the nurse say as the door hovered open a few inches. “Oh come on, what’s one more?” Sam’s voice pleaded. She must have acquiesced as the door opened further and their eldest and second eldest shot into the room, followed by Sam and Buck with their now second youngest held on his hip. “Oh Mom!” Emmy gushed, her large brown eyes shining as she looked down at her baby brother in her mothers arms whilst the men were exchanging back slaps and hugs “he’s beautiful” “Course he is” Steve replied, taking Rori and walking her to the bed so she could look at her baby brother “Your mom made him” Katie smiled up at Steve “You had something to do with it…” “The enjoyable bit.” We winked as Emmie moaned

“Gross..” Jamie climbed up onto the bed, his mum gently pushing down the blanket so he could see Harry’s face clearly. The sun was peeking through the blinds, the room was loud and crowded as their older kids aged 19, 7 and 3, and their friends- their brothers- took turns to hold and meet the newest addition to the Rogers family. Steve dropped a kiss to Katie’s head, the pair of them sharing a deliriously happy look.

“Thank you.” Steve said, resting his head against hers. “Thank you for making me the happiest man alive” She smiled, pressed a kiss to his lips before they both turned back to watching the other people in the room, both savouring every goddamned second as they knew full well there wouldn’t’ be another ‘one more'. Tags @the-omni-princess@momobaby227@jtargaryen18@geekofmanythings16@angelofhell-666@marvelfansworld@thewackywriter@cobalt-gear@asgardlover75@jennmurawski13@saiyanprincessswanie@patzammit@navispalace@joannaliceevans-fanficblog@icanfeelastormbrewing@djeniiscorner@ayamenimthiriel@coldmuffinbanditshoe@disneylovingal @madzmillz @sgtjaamesbaarnes@sweater-daddiesdumbdork

[abdicatedarchive]

Lasagna || Wren & Chanel

Redo of Wren and Chanel’s first conversation when he returned to White Lake @chrysolites

Wren: Hey idk if ur mom told u but i moved back to town, r u still next door?

Chanel: Lawrence?

Wren: Wren, but yeah 😀

Chanel: oh sorry lmao but no my mom didn't tell me, she's been busy lately. how long are you staying?

Wren: just wondering, i ran into her and she insisted on giving me your number haha 

Wren: I'm moving here permanently actually

Chanel: omg... im sorry, was she annoying? 

Chanel: really? wow that's fun! maybe we should catch up sometime 

Chanel: if you want

Wren: she didn't recognize me at first, but she was just talking about when we were kids 

Wren: rory's out for the night, but me and nana are having lasagna if you want to come by for dinner? She's heading out pretty quick for her book club, so maybe we could watch a movie or something 

Wren: catch up, we could roller blade?

Chanel: probably cause it's been so long, sorry about that. her brain is not that big 

Chanel: sure, im not doing anything today   

Chanel: do you still roller blade?? i do! we can totally do that

Wren: I haven't in a long time, but I'm down to be a total clutz 

Wren: head over around 7?

Chanel: sounds good!

Wren had set the table and was helping Nana set up the kitchen, "You excited to see your old friend Laurie?" asked Nana with that special glean in her eye. "Uh yeah, it's whatever" said Wren shrugging it off, he was kind of nervous to see her after so long. But he knew that he was looking a lot better, and he was excited to see the look on her face. That validating look that would affirm for him that he had gotten a lot better looking. He'd been recovered for a while, and he was feeling good, like he didn't need to see someone in town for mental health. He heard a knock at the door and he headed over, "I got it" he said to Nana and she just smiled to herself and took the lasagna out of the oven. "Hey" said Wren as he opened the door for her.

Chanel put in the extra effort to put on something cute. She went with a pink top that ties up in the front with a matching skirt. Not too revealing cause Nana would be there but enough to show Wren how good she looks. Chanel was always told that she was a pretty girl, but her confidence was at an all time high. Before leaving the house, she texted her mom that she'd be at his house. She didn't want to think about the conversation Tiffany had with Wren, she must have made Chanel look like such a dweeb. As she made her way over to his house, she could feel the nerves kick in. She hadn't seen him in years, he never even wrote to her. Neither of them did, but Chanel was just too scared to send the letters, she tried. She knocked on he door and took a deep breath before Wren opened the door. Her eyes widened as she slowly looked up at him, "Oh. Hi." she said, putting on a sweet smile. What the fuck happened to him? She always loved her little Laurie, but he was so tall and really hot. Like really hot. "It's been so long. You look good." she said softly. There was clearly a lot going on in her head.

Wren would have noticed how she looked at him more, but he was distracted. Respectfully distracted. Don't look, don't think about it, you've seen more from her instagram, you got this he thought to himself as she told him that he looked good. That was all he needed to hear, that validation that it wasn't all in his head. It was what he was most looking forward to that one summer he was supposed to come back, but he ended up going to rehab instead. But that was the old Wren, he was feeling healthy and confident: ready to be back here. "You look great too" said Wren going in to give her a hug, which ended up being a little bit of an awkward hug to begin with. "Oh Chanel!" said Nana as she came up and gave the girl a hug as well, "Dinner is all set, but I'll only be here for a little while so you two can catch up better" said the woman as she led them into the dining room and everyone sat down.

Chanel loved hearing that she looked good, it's all she ever heard but it was just more fuel for her ego. If she had known he looked like this, maybe she would've worn something more reveling. Nana was cool, she would have understood. She was taken back as he went in for a hug, but she wrapped her arms around him awkwardly and patted his back. Chanel's smile widened once she saw Nana, she didn't see her as often anymore but that was mostly her fault. Seeing Nana reminded her of Wren. "Thanks for inviting me, I've always loved your cooking." she said with a nod. "We do have a lot to catch up on." she looked up at Wren as she passed by him to go into the dining room, her tone being a little suggestive. "So are your parents here?" she asked Wren as she took a seat. "Why did you guys decide to come back?"

Wren just assumed that was how she talked, not that she was being suggestive. He just didn't pick up on things like that at all, especially not from her. Wren knew he looked good, but he didn't think that he looked Chanel level good so there was nothing to even consider. He had friend-zoned himself. "My parents are off in Europe teaching and writing, they're cultural anthropologists which I could never have pronounced last time we hung out" he joked, it was a big word and they hadn't seen each other since they were small. "But Rory and I wanted to finish high school in the states, so we decided to move in with Nana" he replied, he was nervous to go back to school in a month or so. Luckily most people wouldn't remember him or recognize him anyways. "White Lake has a great team, so it just all works out" Wren said with a soft smile.

"Right, cultural anthropologists." Chanel repeated back with a smile. "I think I use to tell my parents that they worked with culture and they'd just ignore it." she shrugged her shoulders. "But that's exciting for them." It was a little sad to think that Chanel wouldn't be seeing Wren's parents right now, but if he was living here permanently, she assumed his parents would eventually visit. Her brows raised once she mentioned a team, "Oh you're going to be on a team? Like the debate team?" she asked. Chanel just assumed it would be something like a debate team and not a sports team. He never played on a sports team when they were younger.

Wren realized that she really didn't know him at all anymore, which was weird for him. They used to know everything about each other, "Basketball" said Wren to clarify, "I used to do swimming and lacrosse too, but I'm slowing down a little and focusing more on just the one" Wren stated, "What are your extra curriculars now?" he asked, already knowing she did cheerleading. He'd looked her up on instagram on several occasions. Luckily she didn't know that, so it just looked like he was making conversation. Nana was just serving up the lasagna.

Chanel tried to not look so shocked by the answer but she was. It made her wonder how much he's changed since they last saw each other. She definitely changed. He was always so sweet, he'd probably hate the person she is now. "Wow, you were doing so much. That must have been fun. We could always go swimming together when you're free." she told him with a smile. She just looked great in her bikinis and thought he'd appreciate the sight. Who wouldn't? "I'm on the cheer team, been doing it since freshman year. So I guess I'll be cheering you on at your games." she said in a sweet tone. "Thanks." she nodded at Nana as she was served her food. "It looks amazing."

"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding down at the country club" said Wren with a smile, he had thought it was a good way to keep busy and make friends before school started. He had already made one good friend, so that was an improvement from last time he was in White Lake. He really only had two friends when he left, not that he had managed to stay in contact with either of them. "That will be so sweet, I'll also be cheering at the games" said Nana with a laugh as she sipped her wine. "So you must know Valerie" said Wren with a smile, blushing a little but not too noticeably as he dug into his food.

Chanel started eating the food when Wren brought up Valerie. Ew. Out of all people, he wants to talk about her. "Valerie Richie?" she asked with a straight face. "Yeah, she's on the team." Unfortunately. she kept the thought to herself. "Why? Did you know before you moved? I don't really remember if you did." That was a lie. She knew Valerie and Wren did not talk to each other back then.

"Funny enough, I never met her before. She must have been in different classrooms all those years" said Wren thinking about it, he hadn't even known how long she had lived here. "I was looking for a present for Nana when I ran into her, and we ended up going on a sort of date and then an actual date. She's really nice" said the boy smiling to himself as he ate another forkful of lasagna. "Do you like being on the team with her?" he asked.

Chanel stayed quiet for a second, she wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this. She didn't know he had such bad taste in girls. She also questioned how long he's been in town. Wren was already going on dates with other girls and he only texted her cause her mom gave him her number. He must not even want her over. Maybe what she thought back then was true, and Wren just didn't really want anything to her. "Actually no I don't." she said casually. "We don't get along, never have." she shrugged her shoulders. "Um, just wondering but how long have you been back?"

Wren was surprised that Chanel didn't get along with Valerie, she was such a nice girl. Well, they both were. Maybe it was a weird long term rivalry or something, he was sure they would work it out soon enough. I mean, now they have Wren in common. Well he hoped they would. Chanel was one of his oldest friends, and he would hate to have her not want to be in his life. He decided to not say anything, "Like three/four days" said Wren candidly. He had spent the first day with Nana and Rory getting settled, then he met Valerie in town the next day and they went out the day after that. Nana interrupted, "Oooooh, okay I definitely have to go to book club, Mrs. Street just found out from her husband who the mayor is having that affair with" said Nana laughing to herself a little, "Gotta go hear the gossip" she said as she got up, "Chanel it was so lovely to see you" she added as she gave Wren a kiss on the top of his head and headed out.

Chanel nodded at the answer that was given to her. It wasn't that long, but deep down in her heart she kind of hoped she'd be one of the first people he went to see. But she understood, they weren't like they used to be. "Oh, well I'm glad you're back. I've missed you." she said with a genuine smile. Chanel turned to Nana as she spoke, the smile instantly disappearing as she mentioned the mayor's affair. She could feel her heart drop. This wasn't how any of this was supposed to go. Now Nana is gonna hate Chanel and her family too. "Huh?" she snapped out of it and looked at up at the woman. "Oh right, yeah. It was nice seeing you too." she turned over to Wren and forced a smile. "So... this lasagna. It's really good." she said, playing with the food on her plate. Chanel didn't know what to say, but she felt like she needed to distract Wren enough to not ask questions.

Wren started eating some salad as Nana left and he smiled and waved, excited to get to spend time with just Chanel. They could watch snow dogs or they could go roller skating. The options were ... well they weren't endless but they were something. "I can't believe how much drama this town has" said Wren just making conversation, not knowing any better. "Does the mayor have kids or anything? That kinda sucks that everyone is talking about it" he added.

"Yeah, it's sucks." Chanel spoke quietly. It's all people were talking about and now that everyone knew it was her mom, people were starting to give her nasty looks now. She hadn't done anything but people had already made their minds up about her. "Um yeah he does. They go to our school, one son and one daughter." Chanel looked up at Wren as she spoke, she felt like avoiding eye contact with him would make her look suspicious for some reason. She didn't even want to think about how Juliette and Montag were feeling. They probably felt the same way she did, but she avoided them at all cost. "You've missed a lot." she forced out a laugh, trying to make light of the situation.

"I feel like I have" said Wren, "But Stevie's still here, and Taron. I should really reach out to them" he said with a shrug. He knew he should, it was just that he wanted to be confident and at his best when he saw everyone he knew. He wanted everything to be in order, completely under control before he threw himself back into everyone's lives. He also knew that those people would come with their opinions of other people, and he wanted to be open to getting to know people himself. "How have you been? Things good at home?" he asked, hoping that was a nice change of topic.

"I'm sure Taron misses you. I go over his and Sophie's house a lot." Chanel had been spending even more time over their house since things at home were getting worse. She was really grateful for the Hayworth's but she felt like such an annoyance, she was going over so frequently. "Home? It's fine. I've been okay- good. I've been good." she corrected herself. Chanel had been super stressed lately. Things at home were worse than they've ever been, but she didn't want Wren to know that. She just wanted a nice dinner with him. "So does your family still call you Laurie? Or is that completely off the table now? I liked it." she tried changing the subject, hoping that talking about himself would distract him enough.(edited)January 1, 2021

It was good to hear that everyone else was still close, he worried that people would have massive drama that he would have to navigate when he got back. He didn't want to pick sides on years long beef when he didn't really even know anyone that well anymore. "Nana does, even Rory calls me Wren now" said the boy with a smile, he wouldn't super mind it if Chanel called him Laurie, as long as it didn't catch on at school. He liked Wren better, but hearing her say Laurie brought a childhood familiarity to him that he hadn't felt in years.

Chanel loved his old nickname. As kids she never used his full name, it just seemed too weird saying it out loud. "That's nice." she said. It sounded like she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, but she was too busy thinking about Nana coming back. She didn't want to leave, but she couldn't stay. It was best to save the embarrassment and get out while the woman was gone. Having dinner alone with Chanel must have been uncomfortable for Wren anyways. "I'm really sorry but I... I need to go. I'm not feeling well." she was already getting up from her seat as she spoke.

Wren was surprised when she said she had to go, she had seemed fine. "Yeah, um let me walk you out" he said as he got up from his seat. He had wanted to catch up more, to go roller skating or watch a movie. Just spending time with her already made him happy to be back in White Lake. There was something about Chanel Hampton that was comforting for him. "It was really nice seeing you again, Chanel" said Wren with a soft smile across his lips. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was, and he was hoping that they could get back to being friends like when they were children.

Chanel crossed her arms over her body as she walked towards the door, she didn't want to come off rude with her sudden exit but she panicked. Even after all these years, she still cared so much about Wren's opinion on her. Even if this news about her family didn't change his mind, he'd eventually find out how much she's changed. It was best to avoid him altogether. It's not like they were really friends anymore. "Yeah it was. I guess I'll see you around. Bye, Wren." she responded back with a weak smile before heading out the door and to her house.

[trashy-croud]

Jungle - India 🗺️🐒

So, where do we start? So I did initially start this game with the Manor run, seeing how well I did the assault course and the driving and I did pretty okay. I mean, I remember them clear as day as this croft manor was the one I played the most as a child on the PC, whilst my dad was at work so I didn't lose his progress. After getting used to all the controls again, and finding out there was a sprint button, I decided to start this game up for real. I won't say much about croft manor, may look at it more after all of this but I'll focus on the main story for now.

So let’s begin on this new adventure with Lara. In the very beginning cutscene, before the menu appears, we see a meteor crashing onto Earth. It landed in Antarctica, had to look this up, as during the time it crashed, Antarctica was tropical. This very first cinematic is set over a million years ago, long before our little adventurer had anything to do with it. As we move onto the present day, we’re in the Antarctica that we all known and love to well as there seems to be some people doing research there, some digging and whatnot. One man who is there is named Willard, he’s totally not the bad guy. I sweaaar.  Anywho a lot of the machinery goes wrong, from what I can tell, they basically made a discovery of a set of stone heads, very much like the ones on Easter Island in Antarctica. It is a huuuge wild ride in one cutscene alone! And then we are shown at the end, the discovery of a handmade grave/post/thing, for one Mr Paul Caulfield. I suppose he’s going to have quite the impact on our adventure and like Willard says, "This place has a busy history." I don’t think he’s too far from the tree, ya know.

So after all that, we finally begin, woo, finally talking about the first level of this game and boy, was I struggling to get used to this and had to go through it several times to obtain all the secrets. Yes, I know about you “All Hallows” and I will not make the same mistake as I did in the previous game! So in this first level, we start off in India, off in the jungles. It doesn’t specify where precisely, we’ll perhaps get more information on all of that as we progress further through these few levels, but all I know is that things have changed and boy, do I gotta talk about them!

So for starters, we have a mixed save system. Playing on the playstation, I don’t get unlimited saves like on the PC or like the second instalment of the game, well, not anymore. Instead we have a combination of the first game with the save crystals and the second game with getting to save whenever we please. But, now we have limitations on the saves, which means someone is going to have to be extra careful with her saves from now on and not waste all of her save crystals carelessly~ Note to self: if they are anything like the flares or how many times I saved in the previous game, these crystals will not be lasting long.

Also, I don’t have a button to use my flares constantly either. I have to actually open my backpack up and then think, I have to think about whether I need them or not. Do we understand how this is a mind-blowing mechanic for someone like me who wasted them all in the early levels of the game and never got them again?! On one hand, it’s super helpful for people like me, but on the other hand, it’s also annoying because I can’t access them within a second of needing them. So you know, there are pros and cons to this little feature. But I will have to adapt!

Final note before I actually talk about the level itself. Heh. Secrets. I mentioned earlier that I was going to collect them all to get the secret level but did I mention that it’s not like the second game anymore? I’m so used to the idea I only have to collect three secrets that when it popped up with the statistics screen, when it said “3 of 6″, I think I about lost it? Like, it’s gone back to the first instalment’s idea of secrets, which I ain’t complaining about. It just threw a huge spanner in the works and goes to show that this is going to take ten times longer for me to complete! So don’t expect a finale any time soon! I feel like, in particular levels, I’m going to miss the obviousness which was the dragon statues you had to find previously. I’m sure I’ll complain about it all soon enough, just you wait.

Anyway, right, so let’s actually talk about the level itself! As the first level of this game, it really did not pull any punches. You are literally given three secrets to find at the very start of the level, that later two I found much easier but the first one was so dang hard. Like, I kid you not, I was trying everything, looking everywhere I could and how I was supposed to find this secret was beyond me. Like I was just jumping around on the slope, hoping I’d find something and low and behold, I bloody well did! This was only the beginning of my struggles as the level pressed forward. After finding the first three secrets, which were quite literally one after the other, we’re introduced to something new. And oh dear god, I’m gonna hate it. It’s quicksand! Yaaaay.

After overcoming the quicksand, we met new... enemies? Well, we met some monkeys, but they seem friendly, at least for now but that is bound to change very quickly. Because it’s a Tomb Raider game. And nice enemies don’t happen often. Y’know, like the tigers that try to maul us to death later on and the addition to some new watery enemies, yeah, watery. I used that word. Piranhas. Oh boy, I don’t like this. Water is meant to be my safe zone, although there are sometimes shark and crocodiles/alligators, I can cope. Even with the odd barracuda and the like, I can cope. But piranhas? Oh no. We are done. Because these awkward little swines cannot be killed as far as I know, and I’m ready to absolutely weep at them! But nonetheless, we somehow still trudged on. We’re just plodding along.

We encountered traps like never before, we met boulders and spikes and more boulders, oh and zip lines. Now, you may be thinking, “But Croud, how are zip lines traps? They help you?” And now here’s the part where I prove you wrong because I cannot use zip lines to save my life. The amount of times I died in the floating island level due to zip lines is unreal, and they’re here in this game too? Oh they are certainly classed as traps on my list. You can make sure of that!

To make a long story short this level put me through the works. Like so many works it’s unreal. 

This level did not pull on any punches and really got you involved in it. I thought “The Great Wall” was a wacky trap filled first level, but this. This wasn’t just filled with traps, no, we got multiple routes, more exploration. It felt much less linear yet you still knew the way to go. It almost made the level more expansive? I believe that’s the right way to put it. Was probably the reason this level took me so long. I’ll hopefully make the next post much more structured compared to this one, but right now, I want to just gush over how many flare I have. 34! That’s right, ya girls’ been good with ‘em. It won’t last long so took a picture to commemorate it. 

Over all, I greatly enjoyed this first level, it has truly set a tone for the rest of the game to come. Finished it in style by jumping into more quicksand in the end, which really did make me panic - all before we were given the final cutscene, one where Willard makes his appearance once more, or at least an audio appearance rather than a physical one.

During this last cutscene, Lara comes across a campsite and a radio from which we can hear Willard talking, or better yet, trying to get into contact with someone from this site. That is when we are introduced to the “loon” known as Tony. He did not hold back with our Lara, though I’m sure he was suffering from jungle madness with the way he spoke and his attitude. After going in a bit of a circle with him about how many there were of her, we finally get to the point as to why Lara is in this jungle. The Infada artifact. Finally we get a name for the mysterious artifact we’ve been searching for and it sure does sound mysterious. Though Tony doesn’t seem to agree with us completely, summarising it plainly as “voodoo magic and all that”. Perhaps he has seen it before or witnessed what it can do? Though that summary definitely did not impress our Lara as she was asking about anyone else who could talk to her on a more intellectual level, or without brushing off what she was talking about as just “voodoo magic”.

Tony certainly doesn’t have his way with women, we can see that for certain. And he didn’t impress Lara further with the mention of Randy and Rory, who he said was staying put in that temple. Now that ain’t boding too well. Nor do the last words Tony leaves us with, which are quite literally “die” as he jumps off a ledge, disappearing with giggles galore. He was right when he said the jungle was truly rotting his brain, or perhaps it is actually something else that is causing this? Now as someone who hasn’t played the game, nor gotten further than literally this level alone, this cutscene has always been one to make me believe that Tony ain’t a trustworthy guy, and boy was my gut instincts as a child were right. Because I still don’t trust this giggly arse! 

But now that’s it! At least for now. This has been the jungle levels as we explore more of the India levels, now moving onto the Temple Ruins. This game is giving me a different kind of feeling to the previous instalment and oh god, I’m currently enjoying it. Though I’m petrified because this is new territory. Hopefully we can get all these secrets! But see you all soon in the temple ruins, where we’re sure to meet Randy and Rory, or at east whatever is left of them from the sounds of it?