#carla wants him too tho

[citrine-elephant]

au where ada and carla become girlfriends and kill simmons together <3

"you know what, FAKE ada? why dont we put our differences behind us? let's kill simmons... together?"

"omg first date??"

"yes and I'M ada. im the REAL ada." and then they kiss

[ramp-it-up]

II Most Wanted Pt. 2: Pedal so heavy 

Pairing: Syverson x OFC Reader "Buttercup" (w/ Betty Bronco)

Summary: The feelings are getting real as you make a decision about giving Jake Syverson the time of day (or night, rather) at your 20 year reunion.

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF. S MUT, Angst, pining, fluff. Flashbacks, horny teenagers being horny (over 18 tho). Prom night, early 2000's music, mentions of sex acts, "Captain" kink, mentions of teenage pregnancy, divorce, breakups. The Powerpuff Girls, old automobiles, 20 year high school reunion, drinking, swearing. Reckless driving?

Read at your own risk.  Not Beta’d. All errors my own.

A/N:  This is the second installment of II Most Wanted. I'm in love with these two; they are bringing my writer heart back to life. If you like it, please reblog and comment.

I don't have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

Previous part here

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

May 2024

“Well, now Buttercup, that’s a long story. I know you want to hang with your friends. And I don’t know what you’re doin’ later tonight, but I would like to go somewhere quiet and talk about it.”

When you heard that, you went into fight or flight mode. Rage, regret, and sadness all flooded your body at once, and Sy’s eyes flicked down to your dominant hand which was curling into a fist. A wry smile started on his lips, and then he straightened up and looked you in the eye as he started to speak again.

“Butter-”

You shook your head, which silenced him. Then you raised your chin, released your fist, and turned your back, walking toward your friends.

—---

Get out (LEAVE!)

Right now

It’s the end of you and me

It’s too late (NOW!)

And I can’t wait 

For you to be gone…

Carla and Tiffani followed as you fled to the restroom.

“Why did you even tell him I liked him? I blame both of you.”

You were hurt, so you brought up a 20 year old slight and lashed out weakly at your friends. You were trying to ascribe meaning to your emotions.

How could everything still hurt this much? 

Carla wasn’t having it.

“Unh unh. No. Nope. We were sick of you running your mouth all the time about how cute he was. And Jakey boy had heart eyes for you since the day you walked into school, despite Becca the Bitch. After they broke up, we had to put you both out of your misery. It had to be done.”

Tiffani was nodding her head in agreement.

You sighed.

“‘M sorry guys,” you sat on the bathroom vanity and smiled to yourself about your Powerpuff councils in the 3rd floor Central High bathroom all those years ago. Then you grimaced when you thought of Sy.

“I just… Can’t…”

“So what just happened?”

Despite your surliness, Carla was ready to go to war for you.

“He wants me to go talk with him, ‘someplace quiet.’”

“Wow. Your air quotes are kind of aggressive.”

Sweet Tiffani was also calling you out.

“Maybe you do need to talk to him. I heard what happened, and it’s kind of a lot. A hell of a story.”

“Tiff has a point. You forbid us to say his name after you two broke up…”

You interrupted Carla.

“After he found out Becca was pregnant, you mean..”

“...That is a part of the story you need to hear. She did him dirty. They split when he finished his first tour. He asked about you, but you were already engaged to Scott…”

You’d heard that Sy enlisted instead of going to State for football like he planned when Becca fell pregnant, but the bit about the split hit you like a ton of bricks.

But why? And what did it matter now? 

“Sy spent the better part of the last 20 years in Afghanistan, and I think it’s because…But that’s not our story to tell. You really ought to talk to him.”

“I don’t have to do-”

Your voice was a little shrill and you closed your mouth when you heard yourself. You stood in the bathroom awkwardly until the familiar beginning of a song wafted into the room:

“Teen drinking is very bad.”

Carla and Tiff started screaming the next line:

“Yo, I got a fake ID tho.”

The beat dropped and they pulled you out of the bathroom onto the dance floor.

One, here comes the two to the three to the four Everybody drunk out on the dance floor Baby girl ass jiggle like she want more Like she a groupie and I aint even on tour...

…..Everybody in this bitch getting Tipsy.

This was your thot song, and after a minute of standing there, fake offended by their dancing, soon you were shaking your ass with your lifelong friends.

—-----

Sy knew how much he was trying it when he asked you to talk, but he had been waiting 20 years for this chance. 

Tonight was the night.

And he wasn’t going to let the night pass without shooting his shot. But the truth needed to be told first. He hoped that you still cared enough to let it happen.

When you stared at him blankly, he started to sweat. He knew you lived your life since then. He feared that any feelings you may have had for him were over and done with. But then he saw your hand balled into a fist, and hope entered his heart.

Sy never shrank from a fight; hell, he’d started too many, but he never wished for someone to sock him in the mouth as much as you.

He wanted to fight with you. 

And he wanted to make it up to you. 

His heart dropped when you walked away, but he decided to let it ride and give you some space. After you disappeared into the bathroom with Carla and Tiffani, Sy ventured into the venue, ready to interact with others now that he had laid down the challenge with you.

—---

You were having a ball dancing with the girls until that song came on. You stopped moving, the hair raised on the back of your neck. When you turned you found Sy staring right at you. You’d managed to ignore him the entire night, but this song and his blue eyes were wearing you down.

I'd sure hate to break down here Nothin' up ahead or in the rear view mirror Out in the middle of nowhere, knowin' I'm in trouble if these wheels stop rollin' So, God help me, keep me movin' somehow Don't let me start wishin' I was with him now

You walked toward Sy, drawn to him as if on a string. You had that feeling in the small of your back as you stood before him, the one that you hadn’t felt in ages, and suddenly everything felt inevitable.

Just like it did 20 years earlier. 

—---

May 2004

On Prom night, you came out of your bedroom and Sy’s mouth dropped open. His eyes never strayed from your face as he murmured,

“You look amazing.”

You blushed and smiled while your mom ‘awwwed’ and went to get her camera. You approached your boyfriend and he took your hand to twirl you around as he appraised the rest of you in your sleek emerald green dress. When you faced him again, he was licking his lips, trying to make the look on his face respectable. You smiled because you could read his mind.

Sy didn’t flinch as your mom called him “Jacob,” and you didn’t have it in you to be annoyed as she took a couple of pictures. Sy’s hand on your waist and his thumb gently stroking the exposed skin at the opening on the side of your dress made you shiver in anticipation.

You were caught up.

Soon, Sy was loading your bag into the back of Betty, and pulling off, your mom having accepted your explanation of staying over Tiffani’s after going bowling with the group after the prom.

In reality, a bunch of the crew were renting a huge chalet in the mountains, 45 minutes away. You and Sy had your own room, and you were ready to give him everything that night. You were distracted, imagining having your way with him that night.

And Sy was right there with you.

“Y’know, Buttercup, we can just head on up to the chalet.” 

He cut his eyes over to you to watch your reaction. When you didn’t answer and just bit your lip, that’s when he knew.

“Our suite has its own bathroom with a shower in it. We’re definitely using that this weekend. Can’t wait to see you all soapy and wet. ‘S all I could think about in the shower tonight. Almost jerked off to the image, but I decided to save it all for later…”

Sy knew you too well, and had keyed into how you responded when he talked dirty to you. He was priming the pump for later.

You pictured Sy in the shower, his lithe muscles clenched as he fisted himself, made you suddenly need a drink of water. You cleared your throat and found your voice.

“We have to go, Sy. I spent so much time getting ready. And you look so handsome in this tux….”

You skimmed your hand down his lapel, down his torso to his thigh, and you quickly ascertained his situation. He grinned at you.

“You’re right.”

Sy winked, smiled and concentrated on the road while you tried not to be a slut in the passenger seat. By the time you reached the venue, you had yourself under control. He parked, then turned toward you. 

“Let’s have a good time tonight, Buttercup. Think you can keep your hands offa me for a couple of hours?”

You scoffed, and Sy took your hand and kissed the back of it, then turned it over and kissed your palm, smoothing the joke away because in reality, It was him who couldn’t help touching you.

“Don’t want to mess up your makeup right now… might ruin it later tho.”

You whimpered in his grip as he kissed up your arm and you tucked a long errant curl behind his ear. 

Sy’s eyes went soft and he held your hands in your lap.

“Y’know, we don’t have to do anything tonight. We can dance all night if you want to. Bowl the blue balls away.”

You laughed and Sy fell in love even more. You were so beautiful.

“I love you, Buttercup, and us having sex or not won’t change that, not one bit.”

You melted as you stared at your handsome fella. He was fiddling with your hand, and then you felt something cold on your finger. You pulled your hand back and saw the delicate white gold ring with a tiny perfect diamond in the center that had been his grandmother’s.

You gasped.

“Sy!”

You looked from him to his grandmother’s ring. You’d come across it the first time you were over his house, ‘studying’ in his room on a chilly November night after football practice. You were being nosy and looking at everything you could touch as he went to get some snacks.

Sy was embarrassed when he came back and saw you with it. You thought he was mad at you for snooping, but he wasn’t. He’d told you that it was just a ‘tiny little ol’ ring, not worth anything,’ and that no one would want it, but that his Gran had left it for him to give to his future wife. 

“But, I’ll propose to someone with a bigger ring than this.”

Sy’s denim blue eyes held yours for a beat. Your heart flipped. You didn’t know why, because you’d only been talking for a couple of weeks and this was the first time you were alone together. 

You didn’t know that Sy was repeating something Becca had told him when she turned her nose up at the antique when she happened to see it, and you didn’t care as you took the black box and sat down on his bed. You stared at the ring inside like it was the crown jewels, and after about 5 minutes of studying it, you looked up at him. 

“Well. I think this ring is beautiful and precious. The detail is stunning. Your future wife would be lucky to get it.” 

That was exactly when Sy realized that he was in love with you.

Back in the Bronco outside of the prom, you were in disbelief.

“What are you doing Sy….?”

All of a sudden, you felt too young for this moment. But after only six short months together, Sy knew exactly what you were thinking.

“Calm down, Buttercup, this is just a promise ring.” 

He kissed your hand again. 

“I know we're jumpin' the gun, and we're both still young.” 

Those eyes held you in a trance.

“But one day, we won't be.”

“Oh, Sy…”

“It’s my promise to you, Buttercup. I will love you ‘til the day I die.”

And it seemed kinda crazy. But you believed him.

—-

May 2024

I made it this far without cryin' a single tear An' I'd sure hate to break down here Oh, no

It was either the music, the dancing, or the alcohol, or all three that made your mind up, but you were ready to listen to what Sy had to say. 

Stephanie Prince, the class president, was calling the Homecoming court up to the stage, and Sy looked that way. Anger bloomed again inside you.

Damnit, Sy needed to choose you this time.

“You still wanna talk, Sy?”

Your body language that screamed aggression: the cocked hip, the crossed arms that pushed up your tits, the tapping foot in those heels, all made Sy soft on the inside and hard on the outside for you. When he answered you, his voice broke. 

“Ye– yeah.”

Christ, you had him weak. But he made a decision, found his strength, and grabbed your hand, pulling you out of the Marriott.

You followed him obediently, and that set him on fire. He stopped and turned around when he reached the Bronco. 

But he didn’t let go of your hand.

You two stared at each other in the late spring night air, stars winking down on you two.

“So where we goin’, Sy?”

Being this close to him again, and the feeling of his touch made all those 20 year old pheromones perk up again. Damn, this man. 

This huge, handsome, hairy man.

“Where do you wanna go, Buttercup?”

What your brain was doing was insane, so you just kept silent.

Becoming mute was one of your tells. Sy was elated that maybe you wanted him, at least physically. He was so thirsty for you.

“Hm.”

Sy grunted, straightened up, loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, all while still holding your hand. It was like he didn’t want to let you go. 

And he didn’t.

“Tell you what. Let’s take a spin in Betty. See what’s up in the ol’ town.”

Your eyes flicked toward the truck, and you knew it was dangerous.

But you were grown now. 

And so was Sy.

Sy led you around to the passenger side door to help you up into the high profile vehicle, leaning over you to buckle you in, only releasing you to put his hand on the door.

“I can’t believe you still have her,” you whispered, indicating the Bronco. “How is she still the exact same condition?”

“She’s been in storage for the better part of 20 years. Thought about her everyday though.”

Sy was looking at your lips, and the memories came flooding back.

“I bet she missed you.”

Sy cocked his head and his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. His voice came out gruff and he had to clear his throat again. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, Sy.”

Any smooth line was lost as his brain short circuited with the concentration it took to not kiss you right now. 

“Well, we’re about to have some fun together again, you, me, and Betty. Sit tight, pretty lady.” 

Your cheeks heated at the compliment.

“Ok, Captain.”

Sy actually blushed, shook his head and closed the door, leaving you to breathe in the old leather smell of the Bronco with your eyes closed, conveniently leaving him to pump his fist behind the car unseen by you. 

He got back in the car, jacket off. And he leaned near you to place it on the back seat, you got a whiff of him, the familiar cologne adding another dimension to your roiling senses.

When you opened your eyes, you witnessed him rolling his shirtsleeves up his forearms. He caught you ogling him and you gulped and crossed your own arms and legs, angling yourself to look out of the open window.

Sy looked over at you closing yourself off from him, then smashed the gas to make sure that you'd squeal and grab his arm like the good ol’ days as he peeled out of the parking lot, pedal so heavy like you were the two most wanted criminals in town.

—---

Hit reblog if you like it!

Next part Here

[leon-on-the-froggy-chair]

marriage in ada solidarity

(I am continuing to rant abt re6 in the tags bc i pissed myself off)

Leon stans be like "Leon Kennedy would never🥰" "Leon Kennedy would treat me right🥰🥰" when this man's average lines are "women🙄" and "following a lady's lead just isn't my style" and "maybe you're not heartless after all" to a woman who's saved his life 27473 times

[jakeluppin]

A Book Half Unread

teen, 10091 words also on ao3 shout out to @renninflight for reading over this and just all around being Top

Thursdays have become Buck’s favorite day for a few different reasons. One, Maddie and him always have dinner and most weeks she ends up cooking. Two, his boss, Kevin, brings in bagels from his favorite shop down the street. Three, he gets to lead the afternoon storytime and Buck has been getting very good at using different voices for different characters. Four, he really loves it when Maddie cooks.

Five, though. Number five is the biggest reason. Because on Thursdays, Buck gets to see his favorite person in the world: Christopher Diaz. He also gets to see his dad, Eddie, which may or may not be the reason Buck used possibly too much cologne and why he changed his outfit five times today.

Chris has been coming to the library a couple times a week for the last four months or so. Most times, though, he comes with a woman named Carla. But on Thursdays, Chris always comes with his dad. They always come with a large stack of books to return and end up leaving with just as many new ones. Buck figures at this rate, Chris will have the whole library read in five years max.

The first time they spoke, Buck had seen him around a few times already. As one of the children’s librarians (okay, he’s technically not a librarian yet, but he’s months away from graduating with his MLIS), Buck tries to get to know the recurring patrons, but it was soon after summer break had started and they were extra busy so Buck hadn’t gotten a chance yet.

Instead, it was Chris who came up to him, asking if Buck could find a book on becoming a firefighter. Buck immediately drops the books he was reshelving and turns to Chris with a smile and an, ���Absolutely I can.” He then asks, “Do you want to be a firefighter then? I really wanted to be one when I was your age.”

Chris laughs. “No, not me. My dad just became a firefighter. So I wanted to find some books to help him be his best. He always tells me if I want to get better at something, I should read and learn more about it. So if I have to do it, he should too!”

Buck can’t help but smile. “Your dad sounds pretty smart. And it’s really nice of you to help him out this way. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.” They found a few books, adding to the large pile sitting next to Carla, who quickly introduced herself when Buck came over.

Every time Buck saw Chris after this, he would drop whatever he was doing (as long as he wasn’t helping another patron, of course) and go over and say hi and ask him what he could help Chris find this time. Not only was Chris a joy to be around, he also would always ask for books on the strangest topics, which made for a fun time for Buck to try and find so many different books.

Chris would talk to Buck about a lot of things - how school was going, new friends he was making, new video games he was playing. Most of all, though, Chris would talk about his dad. He would talk about lives he saved, fires he put out. The way Chris spoke made Eddie out to be some kind of god. It wasn’t just the things that he did, but also the way Chris would talk about it, the joy, the way he would light up, his voice high-pitch and fast as he would ramble on. A small part of Buck couldn’t help but be jealous, wishing someone would talk about him the same way.

It was about two months after first meeting Chris that Buck met Eddie for the first time. And well, Chris wasn’t far off. If not a god, at least an angel. Buck can’t remember ever seeing someone so beautiful, especially when he smiled.

When they entered, Buck was busy helping a girl and her mom find books on sewing so he wasn’t able to go over and say hi immediately. It didn’t stop him from looking their way whenever he had a chance. With each new glance, Chris would have added yet another book to the pile Eddie was carrying.

When he was finished, Buck made his way over to where he last saw them standing. He only found Eddie, though. Buck was sure Chris was down the next aisle looking for more books. Before he had a chance to say anything, Eddie’s tower of books started to fall. Buck managed to grab the top book as it fell, his other hand reaching up to try and help steady the rest of the books.

“Oh man, thank you,” Eddie said with a sigh. He leaned down and placed the stack at his feet before looking up, his eyes locking with Buck’s. “I swear I’m normally not this clumsy.” He grinned.

“Considering you’re a firefighter, I would hope not.”

Eddie laughed and the sound further confirmed Buck’s god or angel theory. Eddie glanced down and then back up at Buck and said, “So you know I’m a firefighter and I don’t seem to be wearing anything that would indicate I am. So either you’re one of those firefighter fanboys or you must be–”

“Buck!” Chris was back, smiling, and Buck reached out instinctively to offer him a high-five. “Buck, this is my dad.”

“So this is your dad, huh? This is the guy who saved, what was it, a man with a grenade in his leg?”

Chris nodded, the top half of his body bouncing along with. Eddie, on the other hand, looked away when Buck faced him. Buck wondered if he caught him blushing.

“It wasn’t that impressive,” he said.

“I can’t see how that could be true.” Eddie looked up and Buck flashed him his best smile.

“Anyway,” Buck said, clearing his throat and reaching his hand out, “it’s nice to meet you. Chris has easily become my favorite patron. But don’t tell anyone I said that. I don’t think we’re supposed to have favorites.”

“Buck’s the one that helped me find those firefighter books for you,” Chris said.

“That was very nice of you. He was so excited to show them to me when I got home. Said he had the best time and made a really cool friend.”

“Who?”

“You, dummy,” Chris said with a laugh.

“Me? Well that is pretty cool.” Buck smiled brightly at Chris.

“Well, we should probably head out before Chris picks out more books for me to drop.” Eddie leaned down, grabbing the tall pile of books. “It was really nice to meet you, Buck.” He stepped closer to Buck and, in a whisper, said, “I’m glad Chris has found a friend in you.” He pulled away, but Buck could still feel the heat of his breath against his ear.

Buck just nodded, unsure of how to speak, his words failing him completely.

“See you later, Buck!” Chris said, waving.

“Can’t wait!” Buck called out. Eddie turned to look at Buck and smiled. Smiled a smile so beautiful, so sweet, so inviting that Buck knew he was in deep. And knew he didn’t even care.

///

There’s no doubt Maddie is Sick and Tired of hearing Buck talk about Eddie, but he can’t stop himself from relaying his latest Eddie and Christopher Diaz encounter with her the second he arrives for dinner. His jacket isn’t even off before the words, “Maddie, I am absolutely in love,” leave his lips.

Maddie shakes her head slightly, not even looking up from the stove. Not that Buck cares or really even notices, his mind is still stuck a few hours in the past when he managed to make Eddie laugh at a stupid joke. And then of course there was the very slight not exactly hand holding that happened when Buck tried to grab the stack of books but accidentally grabbed Eddie’s hand instead.

So yeah. Buck’s kind of stuck in that moment.

“So, when are you going to ask this guy out?” Maddie asks as they sit down to eat.

Buck’s not sure why the question catches him off guard. He’s been talking about Eddie since he arrived. He’s been talking about Eddie since they first met three or so months ago. So. Why is the idea of asking him out surprising to him? It’s the next logical step, right? Ask out the guy you like for coffee. That’s a normal thing a person does. And yet–

“I don’t know,” Buck mumbles, unable to make eye contact. It doesn’t help that he’s not sure if Eddie likes guys or not. Chris mentioned that his mom passed away before. Other than that, the only other people Chris has ever mentioned in relation to Eddie are Carla and some of his fellow firefighters. It didn’t seem like there was anyone romantic in his life.

But then again, why would Chris tell him that? And Buck has had conversations with Eddie, but most of them have been about Chris. Or sometimes Buck will manage to get Eddie to talk about his latest save. That always leaves Buck’s head spinning and heart racing.

“What’s holding you back?” Maddie asks minutes later. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Buck chuckles because he knows the answer to that question. Eddie could be extremely homophobic and beat him up and also forbid Chris from ever coming to the library again. Not that Buck sees that as a real possibility, but worst case there it is. And Buck does have a history of making worst-case scenarios come true.

“What about your cute firefighter?” Buck says, changing the topic instead of voicing his fears aloud. “That one paramedic you met at the hospital a few weeks back. What was his name? Howard?”

Maddie sighs and then smiles. “What about him? I haven’t seen him since. Unlike you, he doesn’t come to my work every week. Well, he actually might, but not on a schedule where I can plan my time around seeing him.”

“I could ask Eddie about him. See if he knows him. Get his number for you. You two can fall in love. And I will just continue to live vicariously through you.”

“Or you could ask Eddie out and fall in love and I live vicariously through you.” Maddie pauses and then says, “No, wait. We both could actually live our own lives instead. How about that?”

“You’re no fun.”

They continue to eat in silence. Once finished, Buck starts to clear off the table and gets started on the dishes. Maddie starts to put the leftovers away, half for herself and half for him.

“Okay, what about this?” Maddie says, handing him his Tupperware. “You go ahead and ask Eddie about Howard. If he knows him, you are welcome to ask him out on a double date. You and Eddie, me and Howard.”

“And I would do this why?”

“Because you love me.” Maddie smiles bright, in a way that Buck knows he has no hopes of saying no to. He’s stuck. He has to ask Eddie out. Maybe. Kind of.

He agrees but all he can think about is all the different ways he can get out of this. Hopefully Eddie has no idea who Howard is. Buck has never heard him mention the name so maybe he doesn’t. Or maybe he knows him and he’s actually a terrible person so there’s really no reason for a double date. Buck might be in the clear.

He lets out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He thanks Maddie for dinner and the leftovers. They hug and Buck leaves. As he makes his way to his car, still thinking of ways he can lie to Maddie about having talked with Eddie, there’s a small part of him, somewhere in the far back of his mind, telling him to go through with it. Telling him that he deserves love too.

Yeah.

Right.

///

When Chris comes in on Tuesday, Buck has a set of books he's already pulled to give to him - books he thinks Chris will find interesting. It’s not something he normally does, but Chris is special to him and Buck loves to do this kind of thing. Chris just happens to be one of the few patrons he feels like he knows well enough to do this for.

“Hey Buck!” Chris says, reaching out for a high five.

They high five and Buck says, “I know how much you love looking around, but I pulled some books already for you that I thought you’d like. You can still look around, but I saw these and thought, ‘Chris would like this,’ so I set them aside for you.”

“That’s so cool!” He starts looking through the stack, eyes wide.

“So Chris, has your dad ever mentioned a firefighter named Howard?”

Chris looks up and squints as he looks at Buck. “Um, I don’t think so.”

Buck nods, filled with a mixture of both relief and dread. Not sure what he expected to feel. But just one feeling at a time would have been nice. At least much easier to understand.

“I’m gonna go look for more books, can you hold onto these?” Chris asks.

“Of course, buddy. Let me know if you need help finding anything.”

Chris wanders over to Carla, seemingly to let her know where he’s going. Carla says something and watches him make his way down the closest aisle. Carla then turns and walks over to Buck.

“Chris says you picked out some books for him already.” The words are simple, a fact, but there’s something in her voice that seems almost accusatory.

“Uh, yeah, I did. He’s not mad, is he? I didn’t want to take away from his experience of finding stuff himself, I just thought he’d like these.”

“He’s not mad.” A pause. Buck feels like there’s more, a but in there. Maybe Carla was mad? Buck is ready to apologize to her when she says, “Chris loves coming to the library, he loves reading. I think most of all, though, he loves coming and seeing you. He says you are the third nicest person he knows. Just behind me and Eddie.”

“Let me guess, you’re number one?”

“You know it.” They both laugh.

“I am glad he thinks so highly of me. But I’m just doing my job.”

Carla laughs. “You’ve done more than that. This is not the closest library to his place. We went to the other one first and a librarian there was, to put it simply, unkind and unprofessional to Chris. He said he never wanted to go back to the library. It took two weeks before I convinced him to try once more and he only agreed to go to a different location.”

“Are you serious? I can’t believe that. Who would ever be unkind to Christopher?”

“I know, I know.” Carla sighs. “It may have just been a bad day for her, but she didn’t need to take it out on him.”

“It just makes me sad because libraries should be a safe place for everyone. But I know they’re not.”

“But this one is because of you.” Carla reaches out and pats Buck’s hand. “And I know Eddie really appreciates it as well. You know, when I saw him the day after you two met, he told me about going and how you helped him with the books. And then he said something like, ‘It’s so great that Chris has someone else he can look up to.’”

Buck doesn’t know how to respond. He’s not even sure if he can, as it feels like there’s something stuck in his throat. He tries to swallow, but it does nothing. Thankfully, Chris is back a few minutes later and Buck helps him use the shelf check-out machine, listening to Chris talk about the books he picked out.

“See you soon!” Buck says, the lump in his throat finally gone. Carla and Chris wave as they walk about.

Buck finds one of the other librarians and lets her know he’s gonna take a beak. He makes his way outside and just starts running. He’s not dressed for running but he has to move, he has to shake the thoughts out of his head while he can.

It’s like this:

Buck is pretty sure Maddie is the only person who has ever really loved him. His parents love a form of him, a version of Evan Buckley, but not him. He’s had relationships, dates, hookups. But nothing real. Nothing where anyone has ever really been close to him. Things always seem to fall apart right before he starts to get close to anyone. Or maybe he’s the one who breaks them.

So. It’s like this:

What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not a homophobic Eddie who beats him up. It’s a loving Eddie, a sweet Eddie, who Buck gets closer to, and right before they can be something, Buck breaks things. He ruins it. Eddie sees Buck for who he is and runs. It crumbles and falls apart right before Buck can have something real, something of his own.

Then, too, there’s Chris. Chris, who is sweet and funny and Buck wants so badly to protect in every way. The thought of ruining things with Eddie also ruining things with him makes his stomach twirl into knots.

Buck eventually stops, unsure of where he is or how far he’s run, but he’s out of breath, his side aching. He leans against a wall, closing his eyes. The thoughts are still there, a swirling cloud of every negative thing Buck has ever thought and ever felt about himself.

He tries to focus on his breathing, square breaths like his therapist taught him. But his breathing is so heavy, so loud, that it doesn't feel like it’s working. It feels like his thoughts are surrounding him, suffocating, taking his breath away. He tries to make his way out, tries to focus on Maddie, tries to think about his favorite TV show, tries to hum his favorite song. Anything to get out the spiral but.

But.

But!

Nothing.

///

When Buck wakes up, he’s sure he must be dreaming or dead or in some sort of alternate reality. Because Eddie Diaz is above him, looking down at him. And Buck can’t think of any reason for this - he especially can’t think of any reason why Eddie’s face seemed to have lit up after Buck awoke.

But then hearing Eddie say, “Buck!” a loud, joyful voice, confirmed that this must be heaven. Not that Buck ever fully believed in heaven but this seems to be proof.

Only there’s something about Eddie reaching out and touching him, his hand gripping tight around his shoulder, that pulls Buck back into reality. He remembers the running, the thoughts, the panic attack. Feeling the hard, cool ground beneath him, Buck realizes he must have passed out. His whole body aches, but nothing too painful.

“Hi Eddie,” Buck manages to say, unsure how long the pause was between Eddie calling his name and his response. His throat feels sore, his voice sounding off. Still, he smiles, because there’s Eddie, right in front of him, with his own smile. Nothing else could be wrong. Nothing else could matter.

“You had quite the fall there, but everything seems to be okay. Well, other than some scrapes on the back of your arm, but those are easy to bandage up. How are you feeling?”

Buck mutters out an, “okay,” which, while true, is far from the full picture. But it’s not like he can say, “I’m feeling sore but honestly I’m just beyond happy that you are here and are smiling as you look at me.”

Eddie’s hand, still on Buck’s shoulder, slides down his arm and into his hand, pulling Buck off the ground. It shouldn't surprise Buck that Eddie is able to lift him up, but the thought still makes his heart race. Probably not a good sign after a panic attack but. Who is he to complain about that?

“Do you know what happened? Did you trip over something?” This time it’s not Eddie speaking, but another firefighter, an Asian man. Buck hadn’t even noticed him on his other side, as he starts to wrap his arm in a white bandage.

“Uh, no, I didn’t trip.” Buck isn’t sure how to respond. He does know what happened, but the idea of talking about having a panic attack in front of Eddie is, well, panic-inducing. Just another one of those things that Eddie could find fault in, could see through to Buck’s core and realize he’s no good.

“If you’re not sure, we can take you to the hospital and have you checked out more thoroughly. But otherwise, you’re medically cleared to go once we finish with this,” he says, waving the bandage.

“No, no, that’s okay. I uh… I had a panic attack.” Buck tries to keep his voice steady, strong, casual, like him having a panic attack is nothing of note. And in some ways it isn’t - seeing as he’s had them off and on since it was seven or so. It’s just a part of his everyday life now.

“Do you have them often? Do you normally pass out from them?”

Buck shakes his head. “I’ve passed out once before, but that was years ago. They just… happen sometimes.”

The other man nods, his eyes holding Buck’s, seemingly looking for something in them that Buck can’t imagine he’ll find. “Well,” he says, finally looking away and back at his arm, “all done here. If anything starts to really hurt, don’t hesitate to see a doctor or call 9-1-1.”

“My sister is a nurse so I’ll probably just show up at her place tonight and beg her to take care of me.”

“Sounds good. It was nice to meet you, Buck.”

“Meet me?” Buck questions. It sounds like a weird thing to say to a random patient of sorts. Or maybe that’s what he always says.

“Yeah, Eddie’s talked about you before. Says you’re Chris’ best friend. Granted, the first time he talked about you, I thought you were also an eight-year-old kid, but I did eventually catch on,” he says with a laugh. He gives Buck a small nod before making his way back to the firetruck.

Buck is surprised to find Eddie still there. Surprised, despite the fact that Eddie is still holding Buck’s hand. But everything has just been so much, so heightened, that Eddie’s touch had just blended into the background with everything else. Like his touch belongs there, like it was also just a part of Buck’s everyday life.

“You sure you’re okay?” Eddie asks. This time his voice is soft, warm. Intimate?

Buck nods, unsure how to make himself speak.

“I gotta head out but… I know your sister is a nurse, but if she’s unavailable or you need anything, you can always call me.” He pulls out a piece of paper and pen and writes his number on it.

Buck takes the offered paper into his hand and somehow manages out a single, “thank you,” as their hands brush once more. Buck’s eyes follow Eddie into the truck and watch as they drive away, Eddie turning and waving at Buck when they pass him.

///

Buck shows up at Maddie’s with take out. He asked her if he could come over, but he hadn’t told her what happened yet. It felt like something best expressed in-person instead of over text. More specifically, in-person over some Thai food and wine.

He lets himself in and calls out for Maddie, placing the food on the table. Maddie comes in just as Buck has finished setting the table. She grabs a bottle of wine from the fridge and the two sit down.

“So, you gonna tell me what happened with your arm?” she asks, pouring the wine.

Buck laughs. “You are not going to believe this.”

“Let me guess, some kid tried to attack you with some child-proof scissors but somehow still managed to cut you.”

“No, I hope that was a once in a lifetime occurrence. But no, I, uh, had a panic attack and passed out.”

“Oh Buck.” Maddie reaches over and rubs her hand on his (unbandaged) arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, my arm just got scratched up. Not a big deal. But that’s not the part you aren’t going to believe. It was Eddie, uh, I mean when I woke up, Eddie was above me, in his firefighter uniform. Which, before we get further into the story, I always knew he was hot. There was no question in my mind. But seeing him in uniform? It’s kind of a miracle I didn’t have another panic attack.”

Maddie chuckles. “I know what you mean.” Buck’s sure she’s thinking of Howie. Or maybe just one of those firefighter calendars.

“Yeah, but not only was he above me, looking hotter than ever, he grabbed onto my shoulder, to like, try and wake me up more I think. I was just coming-to and he was calling my name and then touching me and. Maddie, I honestly thought for a second there I had died and was in heaven or something. But then he held my hand to pull him up and he just. Kept holding it as this other firefighter bandaged my arm.

“Then the other guy asked me what happened and I admitted I had panic attack and I would have bet money that Eddie would have left after that. But he didn’t. He kept holding my hand. Then he gave me his number in case I wasn’t feeling well and I needed anything.”

Maddie looks at him, staring intensely for a few moments before saying, “So, he’s obviously into you. You see that, right?”

“You think?” Buck had thought that yeah, maybe Eddie might like him. Unless this was just what Eddie was like with every person he saved? Maybe he kind of flirted with them all, held onto all of them just a little more than medically needed. “Maybe this is just how he is.”

“Did he have a card or something with his number on it?”

“No, he just had a piece of paper he wrote it on.”

“If this is something he does normally or something required as a firefighter, he probably would have cards to give out. But he did that just for you.”

“It could just be because of Chris. He might only care about me for Chris’ sake.”

“Maybe. But I’ve had children patients I have grown close to and none of their parents have given me their phone numbers.”

Unsure of what else to say, Buck mutters a,“Yeah,” and takes a bite of his pad kee mao.

“You gonna call him?”

“No, I feel fine. No need to call him.”

“You could call him and ask him out on that double date. You could call him to say hello. You could call him and tell him how you think he’s the hottest person in the world.”

Buck laughs. “There we go, just a casual, ‘Hi Eddie, thanks for taking care of me earlier. It was so nice to finally see you in uniform. It was so hot. You wanna like make-out or something? Also if you know a firefighter named Howie, my sister would love to make-out with him.’”

“Yeah, super casual, normal conversation.” Maddie smiles and then says. “I just want you to be happy. I know you might not think you deserve it but you do.”

“I am happy,” Buck is quick to say. And he is. Mostly. Happier than childhood Buck ever imagine he would be. He has a job he loves, he’s so close to graduation, his relationship with Maddie is strong, he has friends at work and school, and he has Chris.

Who did he think he was to dare ask for more?

///

The next day, Buck is busy reshelving holds that were never picked up when he feels arms wrap around his waste. He looks behind him and sees Chris. This is the first time Chris (or any patron) has hugged him. When he lets go, Buck fully turns around and says, “Everything okay?”

“Dad said he helped you on a call yesterday. He said you were okay, but I was just really happy to see for myself. Is your arm okay?”

“Yes, my arm is fine. They took really good care of me.”

“Good! I told him if he had messed up and you were actually really hurt I wouldn’t talk to him ever again.”

Buck is amazed and honored that Chris cares so much about him. “I’m glad you care so much, but even if I was hurt, you would still need to talk to your dad. But thankfully I’m okay. Nothing to worry about.”

“Great, then you can help me find books on lighthouses.”

///

With five minutes left on his Thursday shift, there has been no sign of Chris or Eddie or Carla. Buck has started writing texts to Eddie over and over again, asking if everything is okay, but he never sends them. He doesn’t want to seem weird, to highlight how much he looks forward to seeing them each week.

He can already imagine how much Maddie is going to roll her eyes over dinner as he tells her this. She’s going to go on and on about how he should have just sent the text. Or, better yet, she’s gonna say he should have called. And on that call, he should have told him he’s in love or some other stupid idea like that.

(Of course, Buck would never admit to Maddie how badly he wishes he could do exactly that.)

When his coworker, Lucy, comes to take over Buck’s spot behind the desk, he gets up and looks down at the text message he last wrote to Eddie:

Hey! This is Buck. Just wanted to check that everything is okay since you and Chris didn’t come in today. Hope all is well!

He’s added and removed a heart about twenty times. Switched between exclamation points and periods around fifty times. Switched between Chris and Christopher only about a dozen times, though.

With a sigh, Buck slides the phone back into his pocket and heads to grab his backpack from the back room. He makes his way towards the exit when he hears, “Buck!” from behind him.

He turns and there’s Eddie. Christopher isn’t in sight, but Eddie is there, smiling and waving. Buck starts to head towards him and Eddie does the same. They meet and Buck says, “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Buck knows he should be responding but Eddie is looking at him and Buck can’t think words beyond “wow” so he keeps his mouth shut.

“Your coworker said you had just finished your shift. I was worried I’d missed you.”

“Yeah, I was just on my way out. But I’m happy to help Chris out. Where is he?”

“He’s actually not here. I was hoping you could actually help me out.”

“Oh. Of course. How can I help?”

“I was looking for a book on dating. Well, specifically something on how to properly ask someone out. I haven’t really done that since Christopher’s mom died.”

“Well, I can take you to where you might be able to find some books, but I wouldn’t have any specific recommendations. Unless you wanted something written for teens.”

Buck’s not sure how he managed to even speak, the thought of Eddie asking someone out makes him feel lightheaded. But something about being at work made all the difference. Buck could almost always keep his mind focused when he was here. It was only after he left that things would start to fall apart.

Eddie laughs. “No, I know how it worked as a teen. I tried that already, being subtle, dropping hints. It’s just not working.”

Buck’s heart is in his stomach. “Maybe you just need to ask her to go steady.” He tries to make his voice light but it feels sharp, especially saying “her.” Just another reminder that it’s not him. Never him. How could it be?

“How old do you think I am? Do I really look old enough that I ever asked someone ‘to go steady’?”

“I mean, you’re definitely a few years older than me, so…”

Eddie reaches over and gives Buck a light shove but he’s smiling. Buck stays in the moment and is surprised to find that Eddie does too. They just look and smile and Buck knows he should say or do something but he’d rather just be here as long as Eddie will let him.

“So, book recommendations?” Eddie says sometime later. It was probably no more than thirty seconds but Buck couldn’t say for sure either way.

“Right.” Buck looks away, his mind starting to wander again. Rapid. Fast. Thoughts everywhere in a way he feels unsure how to slow down.

“Well, uh, you know I actually have to go meet my sister and, like I said, I’m not as knowledgeable about our adult section so I’m sure someone else would be better off helping you. Malcolm is probably a good bet - he’s a great librarian and also seems to date a lot. So. Yeah. Sorry.”

Buck starts to turn and walk away. He quickly turns back and adds, “Hopefully see you next week. Tell Chris I missed seeing him today.”

And before Buck can second guess himself, before he gives Eddie the chance to ask him what the fuck is problem is, Buck is rushing out the door. He heads in the direction of Maddie’s hospital, thinking she may still be there. And that’s a closer run than all the way to her house.

When he gets there, he finds Maddie packing up her things. He doesn’t even say anything, just pulls her in for a hug.

“Tough day?” she asks, rubbing his back.

“Yeah. Eddie likes someone else.”

Maddie pulls away and gives him this look like she wants to ask a million questions. But before she can, Buck says, “Can we just talk about another time? I don’t want to get too worked up.”

“Fine, but you’re not leaving tonight until you’ve told me what happened.”

Buck sighs. “Can we have something stronger than wine for dinner then?”

“Whatever you want.”

“You really are the world’s best sister, you know that?”

“Yeah, pretty sure I got that title back when you were still a kid."

“True, but I’m all to happy to continue to remind you anyway.”

///

“So, let me get this straight. Eddie asked for a book recommendation about asking someone out on a date. And you ran away.”

Buck groans. “It sounds dumb when you say it like that, but yeah.”

“Sweetie, it’s gonna sound dumb no matter how it’s said,” Maddie says with a laugh. They’re sitting on her coach. Buck is on his third drink, while Maddie is still on her first.

“I just… The thought of helping him ask someone else out on a date was too much. I couldn’t do it. I wanted to. And normally with work stuff, I can manage to deal with whatever emotions are happening. But I don’t know if it was since I was technically off the clock or what, but I just couldn’t.”

“You do realize you acting like this is only going to continue to hurt your relationship. Like Buck, you literally ran away when he asked you for help.”

“I know, I know. I messed up. I get it.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to get at. But you know why you and I have a great relationship and why neither of us have a great one with mom and dad?”

“Because they suck?”

“Well, yeah.” Maddie laughs. “But more importantly you tell me things. I tell you things. You open up to me about how you’re feeling and what’s going on with you. And it’s that openness that brings us together. So if you want that kind of relationship with someone else, you have to be willing to do the same.”

“So I should just go up to Eddie and say, ‘Hey, I’m in love with you and also I have severe anxiety and abandonment issues.’ I don’t quite see that going over well.”

Maddie sighs. “How many times are you going to jokingly tell me how you’re going to profess your love to Eddie instead of just… talking to him?”

“I know. I know. I’m a grown adult and I need to figure out moving past my years of trauma. It’s just hard.”

Maddie reaches out, touches his arm. “I know. But it seems pretty clear to me Eddie likes you. I mean, who knows? Maybe you’re the person he wants to ask out on a date.”

Buck can’t help but laugh at that. “Then why wouldn’t he just ask?”

“Are you serious right now? Mr. Oh-I’m-Too-Scared-To-Tell-Eddie-I-Like-Him has no idea why someone wouldn’t just ask another person out.”

“That’s different. I’ve got all that trauma, remember?” Buck says with a small smile.

“Well, maybe he does too.”

Somehow, Buck honestly had never considered that before. He’d been so caught up in his own stuff that it never occurred to him that Eddie probably has his own, too. His wife died. That alone has got to trauma inducing.

“So what you’re saying is maybe both Eddie and I are a little fucked up and that’s why we are not currently making out right now?” Buck pauses, letting out a long breath. “Wow. Trauma. Talk about a real cock block.”

Maddie rolls her eyes and hits him with a pillow.

///

Buck spends most of his weekend working on papers and thinking about Eddie. He may or may not have written his name on one of his papers as “Buck Diaz.” Thankfully he noticed the mistake before he submitted it.

“What am I, a teenage girl?” he texts Maddie after this. And then: “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I just need to do something so I can think properly. Or at least a little more properly.”

Maddie replies with the word, “Finally,” in all caps, along with a gif of the old lady from Titanic saying, “It’s been 84 years…”

“I’ll tell him next Thursday, okay? So you better be prepared with an amazing dinner and way too much alcohol to help mend my broken heart.”

Maddie simply hearts the message. Buck wouldn’t have said no to some additional encouragement or support, but Maddie has already given him so much. It’s not like she could send just the right gif or say something new that would magically make Buck feel completely safe in this decision.

Buck has never been the most safe person. As a kid, he was always putting himself in danger to get attention. He’s broken bones, dislocated his shoulder more than once. Part of him still thinks its a bit of a miracle he’s even alive. Part of him never thought he’d make it past twenty-one.

But that’s different, isn’t it? This is his heart. And since Maddie left for college, Buck has been slowly building a wall around it. Not that he blames Maddie for that. Or at least not anymore. But once she was gone, it was just easier to close himself off, to hide behind who other people thought he was. No one can reject the real you if they never know it.

///

Other than a few hours Friday morning, Buck isn’t back at the library until Tuesday. His shift is later than normal, too, so he’s not sure if he’ll see Chris or not. It’s been almost a week since he saw him last and that is far too long.

He starts his shift by walking around the children’s library space, picking up books that have been left behind. He’s only a few minutes into this when he spots Chris and Carla at the shelf checkout kiosk. He makes his way over, happy to see them if only for a few minutes.

“Wow, looks like you got some really cool books here,” he says when he reaches them.

Chris turns around and with the biggest grin says, “Buck!”

(There’s something about Chris being so happy to see him that makes Buck’s heart ache. The idea of someone being happy to see him feels Too Much but also better than anything in the world.)

“You weren’t here yesterday. Or Friday!”

“And you weren’t here on Thursday,” Buck counters. “I was here on Friday, actually, but just in the morning. I had a lot of school stuff this weekend so I took a longer weekend to get it all done.”

“So you spent all weekend doing school work? That sucks!”

Buck laughs. “It wasn’t too bad. If you to get the point I’m at with school, you really only take classes that you are interested in. So most of the time it’s actually pretty fun.”

“You mean I won’t have to take math if I don’t want to?”

“That’ll depend on what you want to study, but if you don’t want to, you can plan around it.”

“Did you hear that, Carla? No more math!”

“Yes, but you’re not there yet. So we probably should head home so you can finish your homework up.”

“If I finish everything, can I have ice cream?”

“What do you think your dad would say?”

“I think he would say I deserve it for being the best.”

Buck can’t help but laugh at that. “See you tomorrow?” he asks as Carla finishes putting the books in a bag.

“Probably not, Chris has a couple doctor appointments after school. But I think Eddie was planning on bringing him on Thursday.”

Thursday. Right. The day he’s supposed to tell Eddie he likes him. Part of Buck was hoping Eddie would just never show up again.

“See you on Thursday then, Chris. And hope to see you soon as well, Carla.”

Chris waves enthusiastically before taking off.

Carla holds back a second and then says, “Take care of yourself,” and gives him this look that feels like she can see every part of Buck. Like she can see his anxiety, his fears, his worries. But also his joys, his love, his passion. All of him.

And for some reason Buck doesn’t seem to mind.

///

Buck’s Thursday morning class, Young Adult Literature, is spent mapping out possible conversations with Eddie. He doesn’t want to sound rehearsed, but if he can at least think through some initial ways to respond to any type of reaction, it will be less likely that Buck will completely freeze up. And that would not be ideal if it happened.

By the time his class is over, he’s managed to come up with responses such as, “It’s okay you don’t feel the same. I understand. I hope we can still be friends,” and “I promise, I have no plans to turn Chris gay. I am not even gay. I’m bisexual. But that won’t be talked about with Chris. Please do not stop him from coming to the library.”

What he hasn’t managed to is come up with a response if Eddie says he feels the same. It feels so unlikely, so impossible, that Buck can’t seem to imagine anything further. (Well, other than simply imaging himself tackling Eddie to the ground and making out with him. (But that would not be a great idea since this was going to happen at work and he really didnt want to lose his job.))

As he makes his way to work, he gets a text from Maddie saying, “You got this!” Buck hard disagrees but doesn’t respond.

He gets in early and grabs a bagel in the break room. He sits down and pulls out his notebook and reads over his messy responses. They all feel so wrong. It feels like he’s setting himself up for failure, stuck with only seeing the worst outcomes.

Turning to a blank page, Buck writes on the top, “Eddie likes me too,” and instead of figuring out what to say in the case, Buck allows himself to imagine anything that could happen in the future. Messy bullet points of what could come next.

The double date he promised Maddie.

Spending more time with Christopher, going to the park, to the movies, playing video games at his house.

Holding hands Eddie for real this time.

Holding Eddie.

Kissing Eddie.

Eddie attending Buck’s graduation.

Chris and Eddie joining his Thursday night dinners with Maddie.

Making them breakfast after sleeping over.

Moving in with them.

Being in love.

Being a family.

Buck looks over the rough list, thinking over all the things he could have if he just let himself. He rips the paper out and folds it up before placing it in back pocket. Despite being literally just a piece of paper, it weighs heavy on him as he makes his way out to the floor.

When he sees Chris, the weight seems to add. When he spots Eddie ten feet away with a small stack of books, the weight feels almost too much. Buck looks at the front door and wonders if he should just run for it.

But.

But.

What would that do? How would that help him? The weight would still be there every time he sees Chris, every time he thinks about Eddie. He would be caught in this, weighed down. Drowning.

Instead, he makes his way over to Eddie. Eddie, who smiles at Buck when he sees him. Buck’s heart is racing so fast that he wonders if he’s going to pass out again. Maybe this time he can just pass out right into Eddie’s arms and cut out the middleman.

Instead, he reaches Eddie and gives him the biggest smile he can. He had thought out so many different ways to tell Eddie how he feels, had jokingly practiced different ways with Maddie. He wanted to start by apologizing from running out on him a week ago, wanting to explain what happened, where he was coming from. Explaining that and then telling him how he felt.

Instead, he simply says, “I like you.” A small pause. “A lot.” Another pause. “Like, romantically.” And Eddie is looking at him but Buck can’t seem to make out the expression, can’t seem to understand what he is feeling. Buck thinks through all the possible negative responses he had imagined, trying to place what Eddie is going to say.

Instead… Well, instead Eddie starts laughing.

Which was not something Buck had prepared for.

Buck stares at him, unsure what to do. Does he leave? This is obviously bad. Buck is about to walk away when he hears, “What’s so funny?” behind him and sees Chris there.

Eddie is still laughing as Buck says, “I’m not really sure,” which is only half true, but he’s not going to offer up his feelings and risk Chris laughing at him as well.

“Fuck,” Eddie says a second later, finally no longer laughing. “Sorry,” he adds, although Buck isn’t sure what the apology is for. Him laughing at Buck? Him swearing in front of his kid?

“Chris, could you give us a minute? Maybe pick out a movie for us to watch later?”

“Okay, but when I come back you gotta tell me what was so funny.”

Eddie nods and the two watch as Chris walks off. Buck prepares himself for what comes next. Eddie tells him that he doesn’t feel the same. Eddie tells him they’ll never come back here again. Eddie tells him no one could ever love him.

Instead:

“I didn’t mean to laugh,” Eddie starts out when Chris is out of earshot. “The whole thing just caught me off guard so much that it just kind of happened.” A pause and then he continues, “I’ve been trying for months to drop hints that I like you. Last week, when I tried to get a stupid book recommendation from you on dating, I had thought books were something you understood and either the book itself would help or as we talked about it I would figure out how to tell you directly. Or it would just finally slip out.

“I thought after giving you my number and you not reaching out I was out of luck. But Chimney, the guy who bandaged your arm, swore he could tell that you liked me. I didn’t believe it, but I thought I’d give it once last chance. So I did the book thing. And obviously that didn’t go over well so I was just gonna give up on it. On you.”

“So me telling you I liked you was funny because you were so sure I didn’t.”

“Basically. Yeah.”

This time Buck can’t help but laugh. “I was so sure you didn’t. I felt like it was obvious I liked you because, I mean, who in their right mind wouldn’t? So if you liked me, you would have just asked me out. Like, why not?”

“Because of Chris… He thinks the world of you and if I asked you out and you weren’t interested, I didn’t want that to mess up your relationship with him.”

“And I didn’t want to ask you out because if you weren’t interested I didn’t want you to keep Chris from coming back here. I didn’t want to lose him, too.”

“Well that was dumb. Even if I didn’t feel the same, there’s no way I would have stopped Chris from coming here or seeing you. You matter too much to him.”

“And I never would have messed up with my relationship with Chris if I hadn’t liked you. So I guess we’re both kind of dumb.”

Eddie laughs. “I guess so.”

“So now what?” Buck asks a moment later. He’s looking at Eddie, earnest, open, desperate to find what comes next.

“Well… if it’s all right with you, I am going to reach out and hold your hand until Chris comes back here. And then maybe we could grab dinner when you’re done with work?”

“Yes, please,” Buck says reaching his hand out towards Eddie. While this isn’t the first time their hands have touched, it’s the first time that Buck has realized just what it actually means. And it feels… electrifying and scary but also warm. Comforting.

“Shit, actually, about dinner, though. I have plans with my sister. She always makes dinner for us on Thursday and, although I know she’d more than understand if I ditched, I don’t feel like doing that to her. Especially since without her I would never have told you how I felt.”

“Oh really? You gotta tell me how I can thank her for that.”

“Well, actually, do you know a firefighter named Howie? He came into her hospital a while back and she has a bit of a crush on him.”

“Not only do I know him, but so do you. Chimney’s real name is Howie. But wait… Is your sister a nurse named Maddie?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Because Chim’s been hung up on a nurse named Maddie for weeks now.”

Buck laughs, shaking his head. It feels like one of those big of course moments where everything seems so clearly obvious you can’t help but wonder how you missed it. “Okay so double date then?” he offers.

“Sounds perfect.” Eddie leans in, his face probably close to Buck’s than it should be when he’s working, and then adds, “As long as I get to spend some time alone with you after.”

Buck just nods before somehow managing to pull away. “So what are you going to tell Chris was so funny?”

“Shit, I have no idea. You better come up with some really funny joke.”

“You think he’s gonna be okay with this?” Buck asks, his voice small.

“More than okay. He keeps asking me when you can come over and whenever we go somewhere he asks if you can come along.”

They’re both too busy looking at each other to notice Chris has made his way back before he says, “Why are you holding hands?”

“Uh… because we wanted to?” Eddie says. Buck stifles a chuckle.

“You guys can do that later. Right now I need Buck to help me find more books. He’s my friend right now, not yours.”

“You’re so right, Chris,” Buck says, letting go and moving towards Chris. “Let’s go find some books.” As they walk back, he glances back at Eddie, whose lips are pursed together, holding back a laugh of his own.

///

Between the two of them, Buck and Maddie have changed their outfits a total of twelve times. Chimney and Eddie will be there any minute and Buck is without a shirt and Maddie can’t seem to find any shoes that match her dress.

When the doorbell rings, Maddie ushers Buck to answer, even though he’s the one half naked. Still, he answers the door and beckons them in.

“Guess I’m over dressed,” Chimney says as they step inside.

“Sorry, just running behind a bit. Maddie should be out shortly. I’m gonna finish getting dressed, but make yourself comfortable.” He motions over to the couch. “You guys need anything?”

“Yeah, can I use the bathroom?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah, it’s just down the hallway over there.”

“You wanna show me?”

“Uh… yeah, sure.” Buck leads Eddie down the hall, not completely sure why. It’s very easy to find the bathroom, but he’s happy to help however he can.

When they reach it, Buck is about to turn around and leave when Eddie pulls him inside. He closes the door and before Buck can say anything, Eddie has lifted him up on the sink.

He leans in and kisses along Buck’s jawline. He pauses, his lips inches away from Bucks, and says, “I really thought I’d make it through at least most of the date before I had to kiss you. But then I show up and you’re shirtless… Was that intentional?”

Buck laughs. “No, I was just having a hard time picking out what to wear. Not that I’m complaining,” he adds.

“Good.” Eddie’s voice is hoarse and Buck can feel his breath hot on his skin. Their eyes are locked until Buck can’t take it anymore. He leans forward and kisses Eddie.

There are times when you’ve thought about something so often or imagined it too many times that the real thing can’t compare. Like the ice cream shop Maddie and him used to go to as kids wasn’t as good as he remembered it being when they were back last Christmas. Or like when Buck started his first graduate school class, it was a lot more boring than he had imagined it would be.

But kissing Eddie wasn’t that. Kissing Eddie was everything and more. Kissing Eddie felt right in ways Buck hadn’t even known existed. Kissing Eddie was, simply put, perfection.

Buck is breathless by the time they pull apart. His heart is racing in a way that almost worries him, worries he’s about to have another panic attack. But it’s not that, not the same. And when Eddie starts kissing down Buck’s neck, he feels grounded, solid, safe (even as Eddie bites just so (causing Buck to groan)).

Somehow Buck manages to say, “I should probably finish getting ready. Or we’ll miss the reservation.”

“You sure you want to do that?” Eddie asks, pausing between each word to kiss him, his lips so light against his skin.

“No,” Buck admits. “But we do kind of owe Maddie and Chim, don’t we?”

Eddie laughs and Buck can feel it vibrating against his skin. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll meet you out there.”

Buck jumps off the counter and says, “I’ll be sure to have a shirt on by the time you come out,” with a smirk.

Eddie rolls his eyes as Buck closes the door behind him.

///

None of the shirts Buck has with him cover the marks Eddie left on his neck. But somehow Buck doesn’t mind.

Epilogue.

It’s graduation and Buck feels dumb in his graduation robes. He’s just grateful that alphabetically his name will be read close to the beginning and once that’s done, he can take them off.

It feels surreal when they call his name and he walks across the stage. He looks in the audience and sees a small cluster standing up and cheering him on. They’re a little blurry at this distance, but Buck is fairly sure he can make out Chris on his dad’s shoulders.

As soon as he can, he makes his way over to them. Maddie is the closest and the first one to hug him. “I am so proud of you,” she says and Buck knows she means it. He wouldn’t be surprised if she, too, didn’t think he would make it past twenty-one. And yet!

Chris is still on his dad’s shoulders when Eddie comes over. Buck gives them a hug, his arms around Eddie’s back and Chris’ legs. Eddie can’t really hug him back, but Chris wraps his arms around Buck’s head.

“So what’s the plan?” Buck asks once he’s pulled away.

Eddie, maneuvering to get Chris back on the ground says, “Last I heard, Carla has broken into your house and is making dinner. I think Chim and some of your friends from work were coming over as well.”

“So does that mean we don’t have time to stop for ice cream?” Buck asks.

“Ice cream!” Chris calls out. “There’s always time for ice cream.”

Eddie sighs. “Guess we’re getting ice cream. You wanna join, Maddie?”

“I told Chim I’d meet up with him before dinner. I’ll meet you then.” She walks over and gives Buck another hug. “I’m sorry mom and dad didn’t come,” she says, voice small.

“It’s okay,” Buck says as she pulls away. And it is. Mostly. Part of him wishes they were here, wishes they cared enough about him to understand what a big deal this was. But others did. And maybe that was enough.

///

Dinner is, of course, amazing. Carla is a phenomenal cook and it was clear she went all out on this meal. Beyond that, too, everyone is chatting and happy and Buck’s apartment feels so alive in a way he’s not used to.

When Buck finally has a chance, he sneaks away to his room for a minute alone. He goes over to his desk and opens the top drawer and finds a worn out, folded piece of notebook paper. He unfolds it and finds the “Eddie likes me too,” list. Since he first wrote it, he’s been marking things off as they’ve happened.

The double date he promised Maddie.

Spending more time with Christopher, going to the park, to the movies, playing video games at his house.

Holding hands Eddie for real this time.

Holding Eddie.

Kissing Eddie.

Eddie attending his graduation.

Chris and Eddie joining his Thursday night dinners with Maddie.

Making them breakfast after sleeping over.

Moving in with them.

Being in love.

Being a family.

He grabs a pen and crosses out, “Eddie attending his graduation.” He looks over the last few items. He’s sure moving in, if it does happen, is still far off. Even though Buck already spends about half of his time there.

Buck remembers marking off, “Being in love,” as soon as he came back from that first double date. Not that he needed to wait that long. He could have just as easily crossed it off as soon as it he wrote it.

“Being a family,” feels far too soon as well. It hasn’t been that long and the last thing Buck wants to do is feel like he’s taking up space that doesn’t belong to him.

But maybe. Maybe it’s not that far off. It was Chris and Eddie who were there today when Buck’s own parents couldn’t have bothered to come visit. They were the ones to arrange this little party. And Eddie’s the one who has told Buck over and over how much he means to him.

And Buck’s not sure what exactly it means to be a family. Other than Maddie, he’s never really had one. Maybe he’s way off, maybe he’ll never really find it.

But this, this, feels like family.

And Buck realizes that’s enough.

[bones4thecats]

If it's okay can I please ask for Carla and shin and Azusa but how would they react to kianna only rejecting their feelings because kianna didn't want too put them in danger because kianna knows how jealous and

unpredictable the sakamaki brothers can be so they end up getting fed up with it and decided just to take her from the mansion but they soon see her sitting on the steps of the manor after poisoning all the brothers with poison that can kill a vampire in order to be with him

and kianna:

Type of Writing: Request Characters: Carla Tsukinami, Shin Tsukinami, and Azusa Mukami Name: Escapes The Brothers to Be With {Character} Requester: @nunezs-stuff

A/N: Honestly, when I first read this I could not think of anything. But, I did eventually grip my idea! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, lil bubble🫧

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🦇 Carla could handle himself against the brothers easily, he was a founder, one that has lived for many more years than them combined

🦇 The First Blood King held his status to a high-degree, especially around any creature he deemed unworthy of his amusement, including you

🦇 But, when he realized how much his chest warmed up whenever he saw you smiling and messing around with Yui, your older sister, he just sighed and began making plans

🦇 The Sakamaki brothers could do nothing against him when it was one-by-one, but when he confessed and proposed a marriage, you were obviously weary because of them and your sister

🦇 Carla had allowed you three months time to figure out an arrangement for you both, one to keep you and your sister safe

🦇 Once the three months were over, the eldest Tsukinami brother took way to the Sakamaki Manor, expecting to see you smiling with your sister while the brothers stayed at the doorway

🦇 What he did not expect was to see the Manor burning with you standing out front with a small bag of things

🦇 He ran up to you and watched as you smiled at him while he looked at the hair-clip your sister once wore, and he put two-and-two together

🦇 You killed the brothers to avenge your now-deceased sister, and you stood outside awaiting him for around an hour, just watching the Sakamaki Manor burn with a small grin on your face and tears running out your eyes

🦇 Carla never thought he'd love you anymore, but apparently, he could

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🐺 Shin was not amused when you turned him down, he was one of the founders of their species! How could you turn him down?!

🐺 He never took into thought about the brothers you lived with, the ones that Shin always found annoying and 'far to arrogant to be in your presence'

🐺 Like his brother, Shin knew the brothers would not be able to fight against him one-by-one, but if they were to join forces? It'd be a struggle for both sides

🐺 He gave you a few weeks to figure everything out, and he was pacing around his home awaiting you to send him a letter so he knew to come get you

🐺 When he heard from one of his subordinates that the human named Yui Komori was deceased, he launched up and demanded to be told about you

🐺 Carla just sighed and gave him the information, knowing no-one was going to stop him from getting there that night

🐺 Shin ran as fast as his wolf-form could take him, and when he arrived and found you leaning against a tree with a burnt-out match in your hand, he smirked

" Did 'ya burn the Sakamaki Manor down or something? "

🐺 You smirked and let a tear fall down your cheek, answering with a solid yes

🐺 He laughed and rubbed your head, causing your hair to get messy as he looked through the woods at the burning manor and he looked at you, gifting you with a very proud smile and thumbs up

🐺 Shin slept soundly that following day knowing you were in his arms and away from those perverse vampire brothers

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🩹 Azusa is a very interesting case here

🩹 Like his other brothers, he knew that their 'adoptive father', Karlheinz, did not truly care about his sons, as they were just pawns in his plans

🩹 And he also knew that Karlheinz found small amounts of value in him and the other Mukami boys

🩹 He only saw you as a vessel for blood like the rest of the boys, but after watching you wrap bandages around his legs and arms from the excessive damage he does to them, he felt weird

🩹 Azusa felt like his stomach was doing somersaults over and over again whenever he saw you

🩹 When he proposed you moving in the Mukami Manor with him and his brothers, you turned him down, saying how you loved him back, but the brothers you lived with posed a threat

🩹 He understood why you were so fearful of them, they were quite violent when 'necessary'

🩹 But, his brothers and him also proved themselves violent against them as well, since they had Kalheinz's blood flowing through them as well

🩹 Unlike the previous two men, Azusa did not give you a time limit on your confession, since he knew the boys could be stubborn, and you wanted to bring Yui with you so she was safer

🩹 Azusa heard from Ruki about a fire being in the forest, so they all rushed in the direction to find you looking dead-cold at the burning Sakamaki Manor, throwing stick by stick inside to keep it ablaze

" My Love? Are you alright? "

🩹 You nodded and wrapped your arms around his form, humming his favorite song while the other boys tried figuring out ways to speak to Karlheinz about the happenings that night

[katerina-marie]

Bathtub Confessions (Eres Tú)

Sukuna x Reader

Part 4

The one where you learn that certain confessions don't always have to be romantic, but others certainly do.

Word Count: 5.7k

Notes: Sukuna x Reader celebrity!au. Takes place directly after part three. Song of inspiration: Eres Tú by Carla Morrison

Content: bandmember Sukuna x actor female Reader (referred to as such, but left descriptively vague), no y/n, manager Nanami, bodyguard Toji, actor Gojo, found family vibes, some angst, fluff, crack, humor, out of character Sukuna (he's so fluffy), suggestive, maybe lightly explicit, tho no sex actually occurs (sorry), so please avoid accordingly.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

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

“Should I change my name?”

A beat of silence. A drop of water.

“No.”

“Should I get a wig?”

Another beat of silence. A clink of glass on tile.

“No.” 

“Should I flee the country?”

A minuscule half second of silence.

“Not if you’re going to quit paying me,” Toji grumbled. 

His response made the frown on your face dip down further on your lips, and you rolled your head against the back of your porcelain tub to stare at the ceiling.

“Is that all you see me as?” you whined, “A paycheck?”

“You want me to lie?” 

“That’s it, I’m going to drown myself.” 

That gets a long, heavy sigh from your bodyguard and you can hear him readjust himself on the chaise lounge seated in the middle of your expansive bathroom before he carries on.

“First off,” he grunts, “no you’re not. That would require me to pull your sad self naked from the tub, and we both know we don’t want that. Second…you know you’re not just a paycheck.” Toji goes quiet for a moment. “I’d like to think that we’ve become a sort of family over the last couple years, you, me, and Nanami. Shoot, even Megs too when he’s around.” 

His soft confession brings a smile to your face, and you turn your head to the right to look in his direction from behind a large mahogany privacy screen. It stands tall, wrapping just barely around the ends of your tub where your feet and head lay, keeping you securely tucked away from any prying eyes. It found its way there long ago, because this wasn’t the first time that Toji had played therapist from his dedicated chaise while you lounged in a hot bath and the two of you shared a bottle of wine. 

“Thank you,” you whispered to him, “I’m grateful you’re my friend…and my family.” 

“Don’t worry about it, I know you are. But don’t go on getting too upset or sentimental just because you’ve had a rough day. Things haven’t been that bad,” Toji said, and you groaned at the reminder.

After finally arriving home safely—no thanks to you—Toji immediately went into damage control mode and spent the afternoon fielding phone calls and text messages, though nothing too serious had been blown your way yet. 

You had received a none-too-pleased email from the producer of the movie you and Satoru were co-starring in, accusing you of sabotaging the release by not waiting to reveal your relationship with Sukuna until after the movie premiered in a few short months (as if he couldn’t tell that what happened today wasn’t by choice). Luckily, Satoru swooped in with his sweet-talking words and buttered the producer right back into promising extra money for a job well done. Though Satoru’s idea of fixing things was convincing the producer that the only premise that sold better than a classic love story was the angst of a good ol’ fashioned love triangle, and he was more than happy to play the jilted lover dead set on winning you back. You wondered what it must be like to live in such delusions. 

What really put the cherry on top of a bad day was the text you received from Sukuna shortly after arriving home. It wasn’t anything particularly worrisome, a straight to the point, “I’ll call you this evening, busy smoothing a couple things out, x,” but it had you in a fit nonetheless. After sending a quick affirmation back, you threw your phone across the couch in your living room and flung yourself onto the nearest surface to bemoan your miserable existence. Toji was not amused when that nearest surface happened to be his chest, and he only offered you five minutes of soaking his shirt with snot and tears before he drug you upstairs to your bedroom, turned on the hot water to your tub, and shoved you into the bathroom with a promise to return with wine if you quieted down for just a second. 

So here you were, an hour later, soaking under a mountain of peppermint scented bubbles while you toed at the hot water handle at the end of the tub. 

“You think if I begged hard enough Nanami would let me come stay with him for the rest of his vacation? I’m afraid I’m in need of a tropical escape,” you told Toji, already calculating in your head how quickly you could pack your bags and be on the next plane to Malaysia. 

Toji chuckled, “No, I don’t think he would, considering he refused to tell us anything more about his trip other than what country he’d be in and when he’d be back. You showing up would take seven years off his life. Add three more if he opens up the door to you sobbing like you’ve been all day. Besides, running away to another country just because you’re afraid to talk to your boyfriend is a cowardly move.” 

You ‘tsked’ at him for calling you out on poor behavior and slouched further down into the hot water in shame-filled defeat. Instead of wallowing in it further though, you popped your ankles up on the rim of the tub, tossed your arms back to hang behind your head, and clapped twice to get Toji’s attention.

“Another glass of wine, please,” you mocked in as snobby an accent as you could manage.

“What do you take me as? I’m not your damn butler,” he complained, but you could hear the quick successive cracking of his back as he stood up from the chaise and stretched. 

“Just one more and that’ll be it, I promise.” You considered what else could entice him into doing your bidding. “I’ll let you be done for the evening and take the day off tomorrow if you also bring me a plate of cheese and crackers, please.” 

Toji was silent before letting out a begrudging “fine” and shuffling out the door without another complaint. 

You marveled in the silence, nothing but the occasional lap of water as you adjusted yourself in the tub to break it. After a few minutes, however, you realized the absence of conversation was the perfect environment for your thoughts to run unhindered, and that was not something you cared to partake in at the given time. Trying to concentrate on anything else though was futile, and perhaps trying to wade through your own head for a few minutes would leave you feeling better when you chose to pointedly ignore it once your butler…ahem, Toji, returned with your snacks.

Besides falling on national television—and underneath Gojo Satoru nonetheless—you had a particularly difficult time deducing from yourself what exactly about the accidental revelation of your relationship with Sukuna caused you so much embarrassment. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be associated with him or that you always intended for the relationship to remain secret until it had reached its course; your desire was quite the opposite, actually. It was a feeling best left to baser animals and bedroom activities, but the idea of staking a claim, proving that he belonged to you in a way, was not unappealing and not something you could talk your way out of thinking, especially with the world the two of you lived in. 

If you got down to it, the real problem lay in your unfortunate habit of caring what people thought. You didn’t want Sukuna to see you as childlike, only a few years younger than him in age but miles behind in maturity. You didn’t want him to view today’s incident as a misfortunate foreshadow into the “what if’s” of your relationship. Neither did you want the world looking at the two of you and questioning how exactly something like it came to be. Where Sukuna was all sharp angles and dark colors, suave nonchalance and carrying a presence that demanded to be seen, you felt painfully opposite. You wouldn’t self-deprecate and believe that you were unworthy of standing beside him, but just cognizant of how different you felt. More like something that could be just as appreciated, but more likely to be overlooked and favored over something brighter. A “mismatched pair” is what they would call you, something that struck you so vividly that the pressure in your chest increased ten-fold. You knew he would hear it, see it, be made aware of it, and while he may not agree right away, you wondered how long it would take for the sphere of influence to get to him too. The anticipatory grief (as your actual therapist called it, usually followed by anxiety) of waiting for someone you valued so much to realize that he had better options was enough to make you consider running away from the whole thing entirely. 

And that’s how you came back to scheming your departure from the country. If you hurried, you could probably towel off, pack a bag, and slip out the back before Toji realized (you wondered if the big oaf had decided to take a nap instead of bringing you snacks for how long it’d been since you last heard him). Surely Nanami wouldn’t abandon you in your time of need if you were wailing at him over the phone in the airport of a foreign country. 

But alas, you heard your bathroom door open, effectively cutting off any means of escape.

“It’s about time, Toji. What took you so long?” He neither spoke, nor took another step. “Eh, no matter. Bring me my snacks, please.” 

Footsteps continued again and before you could chastise Toji further, a voice spoke up from right behind your privacy screen. 

“Should I be concerned with the normalcy of your bodyguard attending to you while you’re naked in the bath?” 

The shock of hearing Sukuna’s voice caused you to jolt, sending your legs into the water with an unmistakable splash and leaving you to scurry back into a sitting position from where you had slipped dangerously close to submerging your whole head underwater. The indecency of it all would kill you if this conversation that was about to happen didn’t.

“I assure you,” you started, hoping you didn’t sound as wrecked as you felt, “it is not nearly as salacious as you made it out to be.” 

Sukuna hummed. “Really? Because it sounded as if you were expecting him, and when I ran into him downstairs he told me to tell you that he would be back up to deliver wine and cheese shortly. Sounds like a romantic evening to me if I’ve ever heard one.”

You were relieved to hear a hint of amusement in your boyfriend’s voice, but horrified at what he was saying. 

“Please stop implying things that’ll make me gag.” 

Sukuna chuckled, but was quiet for a minute until, “You have five seconds to tell me to stop before I move this privacy screen so we can talk face to face.” 

You shot upwards, looking around hurriedly as you tried to scrape the remaining bubbles in the tub to strategic places in order to maintain your dignity, though you realized a moment later that it was probably unnecessary. With a second left, you brushed tendrils of your hair away from your face and wiped your thumb across the top of your lip to remove any remnants of a wine stain from your skin. In the next, Sukuna was pushing aside the privacy screen and looking down at you with a blank—but not unkind—expression. You eyed him warily as he walked up to the edge of the tub and dropped a cushion from the chaise Toji was sitting on earlier to the floor. He settled himself down onto it and then placed his elbow on the edge of the tub so he could lean in close to you. 

“Hello,” you whispered to him, settling both your arms down next to his and then resting your head against them. A small smile crossed his face.

“Hello to you too.” 

You were surprised at the lack of tension in his face, no clenched jaw or heavy brow to be seen, and as you trailed your eyes further down his torso you noticed its absence there too. His shoulders were relaxed, and his chin was cupped in the hand propped up on the tub so he could gaze at you with those unnervingly observant eyes of his. You wished he’d been wearing a t-shirt instead of the thin navy turtleneck he currently had on so you could focus your stare on the black tattoos decorating his body. Aside from being intricate, and distracting, they always gave you something to look at when meeting his eyes felt like too much. 

The tenderness of Sukuna’s knuckles meeting your temple forced you to look back up at him, only to see that he was following the path his fingers were making over your skin. They grazed over your cheekbone, feathered down the bridge of your nose, and then were skimming over your mouth, his thumb catching ever so lightly on your bottom lip. His hand didn’t linger there, and it was quick to skate over your jaw before his thumb landed under your ear and the rest of his fingers tangled in your hair while his palm cupped your neck. With a slide of his other hand up your arm and down your back to press between your shoulder blades, Sukuna brought you close enough to him that he was able to reach the rest of the way over the tub and kiss you. His lips remained pressed against yours for a second or two before he broke away, hesitated, and then leaned in to do it once more, twice, and a third time. 

You were the one that put space between the two of you, sitting back in the water and drawing your knees to your chest. You desperately needed to inhale without smelling the crispness of his aftershave or the spiced warmth of his cologne, both of which were guilty of making your head spin. 

“You’re not mad at me?” you asked, breaking the silence before he had a chance to, before you lost your nerve. You watched as his head tilted slightly to one side, his expression a touch befuddled, but full of disbelief. 

“Why would I be mad at you?” He questioned slowly, moving himself to his knees on the cushion so he could go back to resting his arms on the tub. 

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t be,” you told him, your voice a bit sharp. “I inadvertently told anyone with access to the internet that we were dating, without even talking to you about it, and then proceeded to flee the scene like a coward instead of getting back out there to present myself as confident enough to own up to my mistakes. Not to mention the fall with Satoru right before. It’s embarrassing. The whole thing made us—me—look like a giant mess!” 

Your voice cracked on the last word, and you bit down on the inside of your cheek until you tasted iron. Sukuna looked pained, and he reached a hand out to play with your fingers as they sat at the top of your knees. 

“You’re not a mess,” he said, rubbing his thumb in small circles over the middle knuckle of one of your fingers, “and I’m not embarrassed either. I never intended to keep us a secret, and I’m not trying to implicate you when I say this, but I don’t think I ever implied doing so that evening.” 

“Well, yeah,” you huffed, the twinkle in his ochre-brown eyes and the mischievous grin on his face as he hinted to the night the two of you cemented your relationship into the category of “official” making your face get warm, “we didn’t do a whole lot of talking after that point.” 

You tried to jerk your hands out from under his to cover up your cheeks, but Sukuna was unrelenting in his hold, and you gave up before continuing on, “I know you never implied that you wanted to keep our relationship hidden, but that’s been the theme of whatever we’ve had going on these last ten months. We were sneaking around from the very beginning, we lied about it to Yuji and Choso, and then let’s not forget about the whole incident of being caught by Satoru,” you pointed out to him, feeling the slightest bit smug when he looked chagrined. 

“I apologized for that,” he reminded you, his voice tone faintly defensive. You squeezed his hand in comfort. 

“You did, and I’m not upset about it.” 

You took a deep breath and cast your eyes everywhere except Sukuna, taking in the details of your bathroom as you tried to muster the courage to share your insecurities with him. He never let his attention on you deviate, and between that and the heat of the water you had been in for almost two hours, you were beginning to feel lightheaded, and everything finally came rushing out of your mouth.

“I feel like we’re mismatched! It feels like everytime someone looks at us, they’re going to wonder why, like we don’t fit well together. And I’m not saying I believe that, or that you would believe that, and I know this whole thing sounds ridiculous because it is ridiculous, but it’s hard to get outside of my own head about this when I already love you so mu—,” 

The startled look on Sukuna’s face is what clued you in to the fact you had said something you had not intended to. You snapped your mouth shut with an audible click of your teeth and used your feet to push away from him and to the otherside of the tub, wrenching your hands out of his grasp. 

If someone asked why you never liked to talk about your feelings, this was why. Why the words that came out were never as eloquent—or as sane—as the thoughts in your head was something you’d pay so much money to figure out. And Kento was about to have no choice in letting you hide out with him for the rest of his vacation because you were no longer asking, and if he was interested in keeping his job he would do so without complaint. Even so, you considered that forcibly releasing Kento from the grip of a career that was so wrought with overtime would be another mercy for the overworked sal—,

“You know what I think,” Sukuna murmured, bringing you out of your own head to focus with rapt attention on the blissfully contented expression he wore. His fingers curled around the tops of your arms as he reached out to slide you back to his side of the tub, and when you were close enough again, he pushed his nose into the plushness of your cheek to nuzzle there affectionately. You were transfixed by a small tan freckle on the edge of his eyebrow that you somehow hadn’t noticed before.

“I think this whole time you’ve been so focused on pleasing everyone around you—which isn’t necessarily unadmirable, I promise—and treading with extreme care to take into consideration my feelings about our relationship that you haven’t noticed what’s been going on…or I haven’t been doing a very satisfactory job of making it apparent.” 

He said the last part more under his breath, but didn’t give you a chance to interject with an objection before he carried on, making intently sure your eyes were on his. “From the very beginning, even when all I had of you were fleeting touches and secret meetings in questionable places, I was always bound to fall in love with you.” 

You didn’t know what to say, what to think, and trying to wrap your head around the fact that what you considered to be one of the worst days of your life was ending with unintentional confessions of love in your bathtub wasn’t helping. So you did what you could and traced a finger down one of the tattoos under his eyes, hoping he would keep talking.

“We aren’t a mismatched pair,” he insisted, his eyelids fluttering slightly at your gentle touch, “I think we compliment each other quite well, so please, don’t try to hide or run away.” He fixed you with a pointed look that told you Toji had warned him of your current status as a flight risk, and you ducked your head slightly and in a way that you hope conveyed repentance.  

“Because you must know, I will always be chasing after you.”

You wasted no time in hurrying to crush your lips against his and throw your arms around his neck, because what else was there to do when words couldn’t suffice, other than to surrender to the melding of bodies? 

Sukuna reciprocated in fervor, breaking apart from you only to stand up from his place on his knees, and reached down to cup his hands under your bottom, lifting you out of the tub and securing your thighs around his hips while his mouth found yours again.

He seemed to care not that you were dripping water on the floor and soaking the front of his clothes from where you were pressed tightly against him. He stumbled back a couple steps until the back of his knees made contact with the chaise, and the two of you fell back onto it. Sukuna adjusted you to straddle his lap, his hands clasping at your hips while your hands scrambled down his back to pull up his shirt. You ground your pelvis down against him as he dropped his head to mouth at your neck, and the rough groan that elicited from his throat had you deciding that your bed was too far away to justify taking time to separate, and that the convenience of the chaise was worth going to the trouble of having to buy Toji a new one. You had no more than let the thought flutter through your head when an obnoxiously loud knock resounded through the bathroom. 

“You two haven’t drowned yet, have you?” 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. 

Sukuna ripped his lips away from where he was sucking a mark into the space where your shoulder blended into your neck, and met your gaze with one that dared you to intervene. 

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled, using the grip he still had on your waist to hold you in place while he rolled his hips up into yours, and you prayed that the moan you let out wasn’t as loud as it sounded. Even if it was, you hoped Toji would get the hint and make himself scarce.

“Look, I get it,” your bodyguard remarked, sounding both amused and vaguely uncomfortable, “but it’s kinda, maybe important.” 

With both the mood dashed and your anxiety spiked again, you patted Sukuna on the shoulder in a bid to get him to let you slide off his lap. He rolled his eyes, exasperation—and lustful desperation—painted clearly on his face, but he helped you down without giving you any grief and grabbed a black fluffy robe from where it was draped over your privacy screen. He held it out so you could thread your arms through it, and then he proceeded to tie the belt securely around your waist. 

“Come in, Toji,” you called, moving to sit on the chaise while Sukuna came to stand at your back.

Your bodyguard waited a moment before opening the door, peeking his head around first and then sauntering in with his normal arrogance to lean against your bathroom counter just a couple feet in front of you.

“Glad to see that nobody’s drowned. There’s only one of you I’d be willing to do mouth-to-mouth on,” Toji joked, clearly proud of what he had come up with. You felt Sukuna’s hands come to rest on the tops of your shoulders, his fingertips digging into the muscles lightly. They relaxed when you bought one of your hands up to twine your fingers with his. 

“So, to what do we owe the interruption?” you asked. The amusement on Toji’s face vanished, and in its place came weariness. 

“I just got off the phone with Nanami, and—,” 

“You called him?!” You yelped, springing up from your seat, “I begged you not to!”

“Whoa, Whoa,” Toji cautioned, raising his hands up in a surrender, “easy with the accusations. He called me. He knew.” And before you could open your mouth to ask how, Toji’s expression darkened and his eyes flicked up over you to glare at Sukuna. “Uraume called him.” 

You whirled around to look at Sukuna, who—thankfully—seemed just as surprised by the news as you did. 

“I didn’t ask them to do that,” he assured you, then turned to Toji, “did Nanami say what they wanted?” 

“Just to talk about the whole situation, more or less. Nanami said they only talked for about ten minutes, but they’re planning to discuss things more when he comes back in five or six days.” Your bodyguard sighed and crossed his legs as he leaned back further against your counter. “He was nearly ready to hop on the first plane home, but I managed to convince him to finish his vacation. Told him it’d damn near break your heart if he came back early.” 

You plopped back down on the chaise, bone tired and completely ready for this whole day to be over. 

“Thank you, Toji. I’m sorry for jumping down your throat like that.” 

“Don’t sweat it, Princess,” he said, pulling a vaguely familiar set of keys out from his pocket and pushing himself off the counter to walk towards the door. “You two going to be okay if I head out? I have some errands to run and then I’ll probably crash at Megumi’s tonight instead of the staff quarters.” 

You nodded at him, sending him off with a wave before shifting to look back at Sukuna. 

“Stay with me?” you pleaded. He answered with a kiss to your hair, and then offered his arm so you could stand from the chaise. He followed after you into your bedroom, and the faint flutter of clothing made you glance back over your shoulder. Your heart began to race at the sight of his bare chest, tattoos displayed in full glory. You must have made some kind of noise because he looked up at you from where he was draping his shirt over the back of a lounging chair in the corner of your room.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he said sheepishly, “my clothes are wet.” 

You shook your head, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth as you watched the muscles in his back flex as he bent down to push his jeans to the floor, leaving him in simple grey underwear. There must have been something written all over your face as he began to walk towards you, for he was reaching out to pull you into him as soon as he got close enough.

“I’m tired, Sukuna,” you warned as he pressed your cheek to his chest, though you wondered if you could muster up the energy to continue where the two of you had left off in the bathroom. Surely he would make it worth your while. 

“I know,” he told you, voice light and good-natured, and he tightened his arms around you briefly before stepping back and nodding in the direction of your bed, “why don’t you go get comfortable. Toji left your snacks on your dresser. Want to finish them off before bed?” 

With a grateful nod, you turned to leap onto your bed, sitting down in the middle and wiggling with excitement as Sukuna came to join you. He sat the tray of food and wine in between the two of you and crossed his legs underneath himself before picking up a piece of cheese and offering it to you. You smiled in thanks and began to nibble on it while he surveyed his options. 

“Mhm,” you started, an errant thought popping into your head, “I’m assuming since Uraume knows that Yuji and Choso know now as well?” Sukuna raised his head slowly from where he had been studying the various snacks, and the hint of guilt on his face wasn’t confidence inspiring. 

“They do,” he drew out, observing you carefully, “they were both watching the interview with me.” 

You groaned as white-hot embarrassment flooded your body, and you fell back against your pillows, grabbing one to shove over your face to muffle the bitter laughter you couldn’t control. “What do they think?” 

“It’s nothing you should be worrying about,” Sukuna said, suddenly sitting by your head and lifting the pillow off your face to set it above your head, “you know they adore you. Choso was his normal, level-headed self. He’s happy for us. Yuji was just as ecstatic once he got his laughter under control, if a bit disappointed that we hadn’t told him.” Your boyfriend paused, his face darkening suddenly, and you watched with interest as a muscle feathered in his jaw. 

“What?” you asked, pushing yourself back into a sitting position and poking him in the arm to urge him to explain. He shook his head, clearly annoyed.

“You know what that little shit said immediately after? He thought that you and Gojo had been secretly dating and were waiting till after your movie was over to say anything.” 

Obnoxious laughter erupted from you, and you hurried to slap your hands over your mouth to try to conceal it as Sukuna’s face fell. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you rasped out in between giggles, unable to stop it as you watched Sukuna sit back against your pillows with a huff and a crossing of his arms. 

“The little idiot is just dense. And delusional. Anyone could see that you and the q-tip don’t have any real chemistry.” He sounded an awful lot like he was trying to convince himself of the truthfulness of his own statement. You wondered, affectionately, at which brother was a touch deluded. You were a fine actor, thank you very much. And you were about to open your mouth and say so when something ‘plinked’ off the window next to your bed. 

Strange. Your bedroom was on the second floor. 

Sukuna jerked his head up, all traces of humor forgotten, and the two of you listened for the noise again. 

Plink. 

“What the hell,” he muttered, pushing off the bed so he could go inspect the noise, “stay right there.” 

You appreciated the concern in his voice as he began to lift the window pane open, and he had just begun to stick his head out to look around when something small smacked him right between the eyes, sending him butt-first to the floor. 

“Sukuna!” you gasped, rushing over to kneel by his side and lift his hand from where he had it pressed to his forehead. You didn’t get a chance to fawn over him any further before he was up on his feet and striding to your bedroom door. 

“Be right back,” he growled, throwing the door open and cursing all the way down the stairs. 

You heard something land next to you on the floor, utterly perplexed when it turned out to be a rock from your flower beds. You got up and tiptoed over to the window, just barely lifting your head over the pane as to avoid becoming another victim of a flying projectile, then shot to your feet when you caught sight of a familiar white-haired costar outside beneath your window.

“Satoru!” You screeched, dumbfounded by his mere presence and the way he waved up at you, completely unbothered, “How in the world did you get through the gate?!”

“Hey! There you are!” He called, with a lazy grin on his face, “that’s not really important right now.” 

“I would disagree!” You yelled back down to him, making a mental note to have Toji go over all the security points around your property after his day off. “What are you doing here?” 

Satoru laughed sarcastically before the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and he propped his hands up on his hips. “Where is my car?” 

No. Way. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Satoru.” 

“Nope! Give me back my car. It’s one of a kind!” 

You groaned, reaching up to massage the burgeoning headache you could feel at your temples. “Are you sure it’s not out there in the driveway? Toji left just a bit ago, so you shouldn’t be boxed in or—,” you cut off when the memory of your bodyguard twirling an unfamiliar set of his keys around his finger as he left your bathroom flashed across your memory.

Oh god, that absolute bastard. 

Satoru must have caught the horrified look on your face, as well as how you suddenly stopped talking after mentioning Toji because his face blanched even paler than usual, and his voice was two octaves higher in distress when he hollered back up at you.

“Does that criminal have my car?!” 

You deserved a vacation at this point. 

“I’ll call him in the morning, Satoru, I promise. And I’ll make sure he washes it for you or whatever you want, just come back tomorrow.” You hoped placating him with the prospect of torturing Toji would convince him to leave, but no, he still stood rooted to his spot down below. 

“As fun as that sounds,” he mocked back up at you, “I can’t.” 

“What do you mean you can’t?”

He looked a bit like a toddler caught with his hand somewhere it shouldn’t be. “Suguru dropped me off and then left in a hurry. He said he had something to do.” 

You couldn’t believe that the universe thought that pairing those two together in any capacity was worth the absolute chaos they unleashed on the poor, unsuspecting population. 

The slamming of your front door caught your attention, and you figured your boyfriend was about to make himself known.

“Look,” you sighed, backing away from the window slightly, “you can borrow one of my cars and swap it tomorrow when Toji brings yours.” You ignored Satoru’s protests and started to close the window. “Just apologize to Sukuna for hitting him between the eyes with a rock and he’ll open the garage for you.”

You caught the confusion on Satoru’s face, and just barely heard his panicked remark as you shut the window.

“Oh, fu—.”

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

Whew, that one took it out of me, not gonna lie. Angst and I are not friends.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC questionnaire

Thanks to @elsie-writes here, @mysticstarlightduck here, @riverkaplan here, and @somethingclevermahogony here!

My previous questionnaires:

Robbie, Gwen, Maddie, Noelle, Jedi, and Kelsey here.

Carmen, George, Akash, Sam, Lexi, and Ash here.

Gabriel, Carla, Parker, Rose, Alex, and Ewan here.

Liam, Hye-Jin, Wendy, Wade, Issa, and CJ here.

Below the cut I will do: Teo, Niri, Jazlyn, Anathi!

#1- Teo

Do you believe in the paranormal?

“Sis, my boyfriend literally can heal a broken arm in seconds. You would not believe the shit I've seen Parker do just because Wade can heal him. Oh yeah, and Parker literally is an airbender. How can I not? If a vampire walked into the school I wouldn't blink.”

What oddly-specific T-shirt would you wear?

“This shirt that says ‘born to shit, forced to wipe,’ I want it so much you don't understand.”

Do you usually cry at sad moments or happy moments or both?

“Definitely sad moments. I mean, I would not put it past me to cry when happy, but I can't make it through sad movies, man. Not at all.”

#2- Niri

Where is your favorite place in the world?

“I have an easy answer to this. Carla and George have a quiet room in their house. I can go there if I feel too overwhelmed or if I want to be alone for a bit. The room also has good lighting. I like it if someone joins me, though usually just a few people at the same time. Otherwise my reason for going into the room is ruined. [He smiles slightly.] I like everyone in the Aequales. Although there is a lot of people.”

What food do you hate the most?

“I dislike pasta. Pasta is not bad. It tastes good. But the texture really bothers me. I cannot eat spaghetti.”

Do you like watching sunsets or sunrises?

“Yes. I 100-percent love sunsets and sunrises. I am an artist. Maybe that's the reason. I feel inspired. New day, too.”

#3- Jazlyn

If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

“I would wear a tank top and shorts, easily. Why? Well, I think it would be fun, definitely make me stick out among the modest Utahns I'm forced to interact with. But also they show off how good of shape I'm in. And girl, I'm in good shape. It's hard to find pants for me, since I'm mostly legs. So why not show them off? I'd probably wear cute sandals, the necklace Ewan gave me, and my gorgeous hoop earrings.”

Who's the person you trust more than anyone else in the world?

“Obviously, Ewan. He is the kindest person I know. He would never do anything wrong.”

What's your dream job?

“I would actually find sales fun. I plan to get a marketing degree when I go to college next year. It seems fun to convince people what to buy.”

More Jazlyn: OC interview

#4- Anathi

Who in this world do you trust most, and why?

“... I guess Tyler. Kinda by default. He actually listens to me. Always kept promises, too. I relied on him for many reasons.”

What was your favorite place in the world when you were young

“The park. Where I could hang out with other kids. Before my powers kicked in.”

What is your favorite memory?

“When Tyler and I first met, we talked for hours. I would like to experience that feeling again.”

I haven't written for Anathi yet so this was probably only okay. Shorter responses are intentional tho

Your questions:

Tagging @writernopal @aziz-reads @mk-writes-stuff @romances-not-tragedies @little-peril-stories

@evilgabe29 @maggiekwest @chauceryfairytales @pluppsauthor @willtheweaver

@winterandwords @melpomene-grey @i-can-even-burn-salad @mysticstarlightduck @talesofsorrowandofruin

+ ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO THIS

How do you make decisions? Long deliberation, or impulse? Logic or emotions?

What is the best thing that could happen within five minutes after waking up? Does it signal that the entire day will be good?

Is there anything that you find difficult that you feel should be easy?

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy

[pardonmydelays]

"i don't think i'll ever understand musicals the way you do" is something i've heard from one of my friends a couple of days ago when i told him i'm about to cross the whole country just to see one of those (my favourite one!) live in theatre. and i can't blame him. if you'd have told me a year ago that i would do something like that, i'd probably have laughed in your face. life is so unpredictable. i guess i have changed a lot. and i could write thousands of essays about how musicals helped me get through the shittiest period of my life, but we are not going to talk about this today. today we are talking about in the heights, the first musical i got a chance to experience live in theatre, hopefully not last. so grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable, this is going to be the longest essay you've ever seen, friends.

a little warning: spoilers. a lot of them actually. so if, by any chance, you haven't seen/heard it yet and you are going to, don't read it.

first thing i feel like i need to mention is that they had this mini bar inside the theatre and you could order a lot of different drinks there and one of them was called abuela's coffee. i heard one lady explaining to someone that it's actually coffee with condensed milk. my jaw dropped and i was like CAN I STAY HERE FOREVER, PLEASE? for those who don't understand why, here's a quote from the first song:

USNAVI: abuela, my fridge broke, i got café but no con leche ABUELA CLAUDIA: try my mother's old recipe: one can of condensed milk

so this was my first "OH! THEY GET IT!" moment (a little note here: i had a lot of oh, they get it moments, mostly because i don't have any people around me who understand musicals the way i do... honestly, you'd have to live inside my brain). that was the first time ever when i could actually be in the room where it happens with all those people who get it and care about it as much as i do (mostly actors and people responsible for the whole show tho, but we will get to this later).

let's get to the show. so when i finally went inside and i saw the stage, i already had tears in my eyes (don't judge me please). usnavi's store, abuela's door, daniela and carla's salon, all those puerto rican, cuban and dominican flags (one couple behind me was trying to figure out which one is which and it was funny because i knew and i wanted to scream)... listening and memorizing the whole soundtrack is one thing. being able to experience it all live is something else. all those things around me were so familiar and this was the first time in months (MONTHS! OR EVEN YEARS!) i felt really understood. after all, it was all like a little celebration of lin's story (the one i love with all my heart) and i truly felt like home. so that was another OH! THEY GET IT! moment.

i don't think i'm going to talk about every single song here, that's not the point. i will talk about my favourite moments, but also about things that didn't work very well in my opinion (again: this was a polish version so all the songs were translated into polish. and they did a really great job here, surprisingly. but it wasn't perfect, more about that later).

one thing you need to understand is that i will never be normal about musicals so of course i had to burst into tears at the very first song (i don't even know why, i think i was a little bit too excited). i was actually crying in the most random moments like when i first saw nina or at the end of carnaval del barrio because I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT (who the hell cries at carnaval del barrio when everyone is having the time of their lives lol, me apparently).

ok, so the first song. the choreography, oh my god. it was everything. the translation was also pretty good here, i need to say this was probably one of my favourite moments. imagine me leaving today giggling like a child when usnavi came on that stage and started rapping, i was in heaven. also, i have to admit, the cast was amazing. i could never imagine anyone better for this role (and again, i am talking about polish actors because everyone knows who's the best usnavi of them all). he was cute and charming and awkward and so adorkable and also really handsome. he was actually perfect in my opinion.

i kinda lost my mind when i saw nina for the first time. first of all: i already knew who was going to play her and let's just say i fell in love with this actress before i even saw her live on that stage. this was important to me, because (as some of you know) nina rosario is my favourite character. and oh my god, she was an absolute perfection. what a voice, sweet jesus. i'm being serious, this girl is so talented, give her every award (i honestly hope i will have a chance to see her again one day, i'm just crazy about her). and breathe was so good! polish version was amazing, i was so scared they would screw it up, but they didn't, so all's good (this song is very important to me, ok?). also, she's a phenomenal actress, i could feel all her emotions for real. and of course i cried, what did you expect?

i don't have that much to say about benny, except that he was really cute and he had amazing chemistry with nina, so once again, the casting was really good. i mean, he is not chris jackson of course, but i have decided i'm not going to compare all those actors because everyone knows at this point how much i love OBC, i was trying to have an open mind. vanessa was also pretty great, amazing voice and her dancing skills, wow, just wow. i could talk about all those actors for days actually, but i'm not going to do that, so i will just quickly mention that i absolutely loved daniela and carla, abuela claudia made me cry, sonny was the funniest character in the whole play and i don't think i will ever recover after piragua guy's performance (i was the only person in the audience who was laughing when he came on that stage, they don't get it, ok? polish people have no sense of humour and that's a fact). actually, there were a lot of funny moments (obviously) and i was the only person who was laughing, god help me.

so let's get to the first thing that was a little disappointing for me. you will not believe it, but it was actually... 96,000 (this is one of my favourite songs and i seriously can't live like this). it's not the translation tho (it was honestly fine), it's the voice overlapping part at the end (again, the best thing ever, just listen to we don't talk about bruno from encanto and non-stop from hamilton and you will understand why it works so well in every lmm's song). the thing is, you could actually only hear vanessa's part and i wanted to die, because EXCUSE ME. i always sing usnavi's part and you could barely hear a word from it. but apart from that, the rest was fine, the choreography was amazing and it's just something i needed to mention because i had thoughts about it.

paciencia y fe! ok besties, i have thoughts, again. abuela claudia was absolutely incredible, also, her relationship with usnavi is something that you can't see in the movie version (they were so sweet i wanted to curl up and die. i knew about it before, i saw slime tutorial with obc on yt, ok? i'm pretty sure lin would be mad at me for watching bootlegs lol. i just wanted to say this). the translation didn't work out at the very end of the song tho, because when in the og version abuela sings about the "winning ticket", everyone knows already she won the lottery. i don't remember polish translation exactly, but it was something with double meaning, depends on how you interpret it, and i'm 100% sure people who didn't know the plot just didn't catch it. the rest of the song was absolutely beautiful tho.

when you're home. i was so afraid of this one, because i am totally crazy about this song (did i ever mention lin wrote this one after one of his first dates with vanessa? no? yes? ok i'll shut up about this now). oh, they did a really great job with it and it's a relief. i have nothing else to say, except that i was crying like a baby, but this song always makes me cry so what did you expect exactly? one of the best moments for sure. again, nina and benny's chemistry was absolutely incredible.

as much as i loved the club, i was actually really disappointed with one part, which is usnavi's famous "jealous i ain't jealous, i can take all these fellas, wHaTeVaaaaa". i've been waiting so long for this! and they messed it up with their stupid cringy translation which i don't even remember at the moment but usnavi was actually mad at benny and he cursed? ANYWAY. the rest of the song was great and the choreography was absolutely phenomenal, oh vanessa! let me get the next one! (i love her so much, she was amazing here). a little note from me: no one was laughing at the "no hablo ingles" part, NO ONE BUT ME!!! THEY DON'T GET IT! WTF! i was so mad (i am aware of the fact that most people probably didn't even know this story before and they just wanted to see a musical, not THE MUSICAL, which is totally fine. but sweet jesus, where is their sense of humour? they left it at home or what?).

and blackout was that part where the voice overlapping effect worked very well, so all's good. actually, one of the best moments for me as well. people were actually so confused when all the lights went down, but that was just so amazing. all the panic! everybody was screaming, crying! WE ARE POWERLESS! THE END OF ACT I!!! oh, i had the time of my life.

i had this weird feeling that they didn't exactly know how to translate most of hundreds of stories so they just made this song shorter than it actually is. which is fine i guess. honestly, it's better than bad translation, so i can forgive them. what i absolutely can't forgive tho is that the audience wasn't laughing at US NAVY. polish people, you have no fucking taste. i said what i said. and then again, usnavi and abuela's relationship was so sweet this song actually made me cry (mostly because i knew what was coming but also, i was just this weird girl who was sitting there in the second row and was crying at the most random moments).

ok, guys, honestly. carnaval del barrio was the best moment from the entire musical. oh, how much i want to experience it again! daniela was absolutely incredible, carla was so sweet, piragua guy stole the whole fucking show for me (seriously guys! he was just so amazing!). also, those little details i have never noticed before? i can't even tell if the same thing happened in the original version (the quality of that bootleg is actually terrible), but benny dancing with american flag somewhere in the background was so fucking funny and i don't think i will ever get over that part where at the end they were all still dancing and celebrating and nina and usnavi just ran away as fast as they could because... because you guys know what just happened. also, this is the moment i started crying.

i was so scared of it. let me tell you one thing, i experienced abuela's death at least fifty times and i still cry every single time. so atención is something i have to mention, because all the emotions and kevin's shaky voice made me burst into tears right away, and this time i wasn't the only one because i saw a lot of people crying when they realized what happened (i also heard a lot of OHs when he said abuela passed away, so yes, most of them didn't know this story and they were surprised). and alabanza was something else. believe me when i tell you i am writing this with tears in my eyes, i have never cried so much in public. this was the moment i was the most scared of and i was absolutely right because holy fuck. i was a mess. all the actors with those candles singing alabanza a doña claudia! (yes, they didn't translate it, all the spanish parts were left like in the original version and i am so grateful for that), it was just so sad and so beautiful. and this time i was actually like oh, they get it now (everyone was speechless and people were crying).

everyone must know at this point how much i adore champagne and i wasn't disappointed (thank god!). once again, usnavi was absolutely adorable here and people were actually laughing this time (also thank god!). how do you get this gold shit off? (my favourite line from the whole musical) was translated really well and the moment when usnavi and vanessa kissed! with all lights on them! this was so emotional and the audience reacted so well! we were all clapping (it was so funny to pretend like i didn't know it was gonna happen haha i was just as excited as all of them and once again i was like OH! THEY GET IT!). 10/10, would recommend.

if you think i wasn't crying during the last song, think again. one thing i absolutely hate about the movie version is that they actually changed the graffiti that made usnavi stay in washington heights, but i'm not gonna talk about that and i'm not gonna talk about vanessa also being there in the movie. in the original version it was a portrait of abuela claudia made by graffiti pete and oh boy, i lost my mind (i knew about it but i still lost my mind because it was absolutely beautiful). i got the feeling it was a little rushed in our polish version, but i can forgive them because it still made me cry. also, at the very end, usnavi did not only finally acknowledge he's home, when the song was over he pretty much told the audience that we are all home right now and may i just say... i felt that. i was home. they made me believe for the first time in my life i was where i belong, and somehow that was everything.

one thing about me is that this is actually all new to me. this was my first musical i saw live in theatre (and also lin's first child, which is exactly how it was supposed to be i think), and believe me when i tell you i've never had this much fun in my entire life, not even at all the concerts of my favourite artists. it was worth every money. it was worth spending 11 hours on the train and 11 more on my way back home, which by the way we should normalize (people are doing crazy things just to see their favourite artists on the stage and it's considered normal, so why can't we consider THIS normal?). anyway, i don't expect anyone around me to understand it the way i do, but i feel like i really found my thing, and it's all because of lin-manuel miranda, our beautiful puerto rican genius. he made me believe musicals can be cool and i truly wish i could thank him for that one day.

and like i said, in the heights is my favourite story with my favourite characters and i listened to it so many times i have memorized all the little details. experiencing it live is something completely different tho and i think it's safe to say this was the best night of my entire life. even tho most of the people in the audience didn't really get it, i finally felt like i was a part of this world created by my favourite genius and for the first time ever i felt understood. so i think i can say that now: i found my island, guys, i'm there, i'm home!

[lisannastraussisanangel]

I’ve really enjoyed a lot of your FT headcanons, especially the Team Natsu ones. I was wondering, how do you think the rest of the team feels about Wendy being as powerful as she is at such a young age? Or how Wendy herself feels about having that level of power? (I’m of the opinion that the sheer breadth and scope of Wendy’s abilities, especially with how expansive and powerful Enchantment magic was revealed to be, ought to be a bit of a bigger deal than it seems to be. Give a girl remarkable natural talent and learning aptitude, as well as access to magic that can essentially warp reality (because what else do you call altering the shape of a country and bringing objects to life), and you’ve got to wonder just what she’s capable of.)

I'm glad you like them! I always think about the scene when Wendy is first introduced and Jura, Ichiya and Erza are like holy shit this kid is strong. If Wendy can keep up with them now just imagine how crazy powerful she'll be when she reaches adulthood

Wendy

Because of everyone around her being so strong, Wendy didn't even notice how much she was progressing

In her head, she's still that weak/timid little girl that joined Fairy Tail

She knows she's gotten stronger technically but she's too busy comparing herself to people way older than her

She starts to realize just how strong she is when she starts matching the strength of the rest of her team. Nothing like throwing Natsu through a wall to make you realize you might have some power

Of course, she is very humble after realizing her strength. When it's given attention during interviews, she always redirects to talk about the rest of her friends strengths

It's just not in her nature to be cocky

She does train and study incredibly hard tho! Our girl puts in the work!

Carla

She knows Wendy is strong, but in her mind, Wendy will always need her protection

She also makes sure Wendy knows her worth

Carla will defend Wendy's honor and strength in every situation

She is also adamant about Wendy resting and not pushing herself. While Wendy is strong, it does not mean she has to be reckless

It took a long time for Carla to notice Wendy's strength. When she first started to realize was during Tartaros

Natsu

Natsu sensed Wendy's strength pretty early on. He didn't pay much attention to it tho

He only really started watching her after Fairy Tail got back together

It was almost impossible not to notice how much stronger she had gotten

Natsu, of course, loves it and is rooting for her to surpass him!

He tries to teach her the same lessons Gildart's taught him, but Wendy has already got most of it down

He has full confidence in her and will hype Wendy up at any and every opportunity

Lucy

She realized Wendy's strength during Tartaros as well

Lucy will forever be impressed with the fact that Wendy was able to take out a demon of Zeref

She knows that with Wendy's strength comes people wanting to take advantage of it. So Lucy is very protective

Lucy is always reminding people that while Wendy is crazy strong, she is still just a kid and needs to be shielding from certain traumas

She also pays close attention to Wendy's limits and will find ways to remove her from situations if it becomes too much for Wendy

It's very important to Lucy that Wendy has as much knowledge as possible, so she tends to go out of her way to find books and such to help further Wendy's education on enchanter magic

Erza

Erza makes sure to drill discipline into Wendy. She knew from the start how much potential Wendy had

But Erza also knows how dangerous that magic can be unchecked

The older Wendy gets, the more Erza trains with her

She worries that Wendy could become drunk with power and begin to look down others, so Erza always takes the time to make sure Wendy's morals line with Fairy Tail's (its an irrational fear but Erza has seen what a taste of power can do to some people)

Erza worries a lot about Wendy and the situations she might end up in because of her crazy potential, but Erza will never voice them. Instead, she is always supporting Wendy and encouraging her to grow

She is a very proud big sister!

Gray

He takes the longest to realize Wendy's potential. To him, Wendy is an adorable little sister. He doesn't think about her in that way

Gray finally realizes Wendy's strength when she brings Juvia basically back from the dead

He cannot believe the little girl has gained so much power in only a couple years

Gray feels indebted to Wendy and offers her any help she could ever need growing up

He knows it'll only be a few more years before she surpasses him. Part him wants Wendy to become S-Class before him. She deserves it

He also tries to keep her humble. Everyone is always singing her praises and he makes sure she doesn't let it go to her head

Ego causes the death of many powerful mages and Gray is determined to have Wendy live a long and healthy life

[diacripticcomplex]

DL boys reacting to their new hairstyles:

Shu: he really doesn’t give a fuck, “it’s unfortunate they didn’t cover both of my eyes…” he would probably say, both eyes covered means he can sleep in peace,

Reiji: he paid for the look, showed the Pinterest inspo as well, Reiji is a perfectionist so you best believe he wanted that cut.

Ayato: “I look cool all the time, y’all can’t tell me otherwise.” The confidence this man child has is crazy. (Tho I do like it too, dont come for me)

Kanato: he detests it completely, his siblings keep calling him Dora, Grimace Levi Ackerman, etc. Almost pulled a 2008 Britney Spears…

Laito: he asked for those frilly blue extensions to be placed in his hair. Yes they are extensions, he refused to dye his actual hair but he loves how he looks and can honestly pull it off.

Subaru: “everyone’s happy they can see both my eyes now, idk why they gave Shu my style tho…” he also doesn’t care too much, Subaru don’t look in mirrors.

Ruki: “I look like my late father…” honestly it gets him all upset, he’s just praying it grows back quickly.

Kou: “Oh so when Oghessy and other mushroom headed dweebs get this cut it’s fine, but when I do it I look bad?? Fuck all of you. Idols gotta change up their looks sometimes..look at Doha Cat’s bald headed self.” He’d go on a rampage and purposely keep it like that for years.

Yuma: “they didn’t even do much just put it in a retarded placement…” he would definitely go back to his OG style in a heart beat.

Azusa: he would be feeling himself. “I feel so elegant…better than whatever is on Kanato’s head..” he’d throw shade at everyone but mainly Kanato’s style.

Carla: “they purposely made me look like that scum Karl Heinz…how disgraceful, Shin go tear off the Stylists head now. “ hates it.

Shin: “I like how I look, and it’s giving me a chance to grow out my hair too, these bitches will love me even more.” He also doesn’t like his brothers cut, it’s offensive to his one eye.

Kino: “well I look better than most of you guys so I think I won, wait no. I did win” cocky little shit but he’s right.

[the-cat-chat]

August 24, 2024

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

A misunderstood teenager and a reanimated Victorian corpse embark on a murderous journey together to find love, happiness, and a few missing body parts.

Warning: Review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

JayBell: We’re starting spooky season early! There are good things and bad things about this movie.

One, I love Kathryn Newton and I like that they reallllllly lean in to how weird and dramatic and unstable her character is. Cause truthfully, you would have to be off your rocker to make the bizarre decisions she does throughout the movie. Like no normal and rational person would make these decisions, but it does make sense for her character.

I also really enjoy that they give her a caring relationship with her stepsister, even though they are totally opposites. Honestly, it’s probably the most developed relationship in the movie, and I like that. It’s unexpected, especially with the evil stepmother and the brainless absent father.

On the other hand, the relationship with zombie boy feels kind of lackluster. The whole time I didn’t feel like she actually cared about him at all, but she was just using him to make herself feel better. So their whole "relationship" isn't that romantic in my opinion, and her love confession at the ends feels meh to me.

Also what on earth is with the father? I still can’t figure that relationship out, and it’s weirdly not acknowledged in the movie.

So yeah. I think if Kathryn Newton wasn't the lead, this would be a much worse movie. I think Cole Sprouse does an okay job considering he has almost no lines, so he's there, but almost like an afterthought.

But I have to admit I was invested and entertained, which is honestly better than I expected.

Rating: 5.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I don’t know where to begin. First, I’m sooo ready for spooky season. Second, I recall this was released for VALENTINES DAY. What a power move. I also want to put out the disclaimer that the concept this movie exists in the same Diablo Cody universe as Jennifer’s Body cures some of my soul’s ailments bc Jennifer’s Body holds a very large part of my poor little broken teenage emo heart. Soo just that alone can cover the few qualms I have.

I loveee Kathryn Newton and her acting in this is so phenomenal she’s such a gem. I love how she sulks and scrunches her body and her costumes are amazing. The stepsister is adequately irritating and Carla Gugino as the evil stepmom??? What a performance.

Now the plot. I’m here for it. But it got freakky. Ok so she hangs out alone in a cemetery- it’s the 80s and her mom was murdered. She’s in love with a grave bust??? She goes to a party?? (Seems her not her vibe? but okay) takes pcp- I at points was convinced she was just in one long pcp trip or dream. And I can even get behind the unbelievable notion this guy came back to life- it’s spooky season.

And I might be slightly underwhelmed that Cole Sprouse neveeeeer spoke but I guuuuuuueesss since it’s frankenstein I’ll forgive it bc what was I expecting??? The mutton chops are too much tho.

Anyyyyways the serial killing plot for body parts was unique if unhinged and I totally agree with JayBell that half the time I was convinced her step mom was right and she did need to be thrown in the snake pit (a murdered mom gets a girl at least some meds or therapy right?) - I love that to get him “electrocuted” like in the og story they used the broken tanning bed. I do have to say there are parts and especially the last murder and body part added to Frankenstein kills me and I rather wish I’d never experience, but I’ll add it to my collection. I’m glad Lisa did end up surviving and Frankenstein could talk bc I love a happy ending- and I was totally gonna riot if to avoid the cops she died in the tanning bed.

Rating: 5/10 undead boyfriends 🧟‍♂️

[ghostcatssecretblog]

I'm gonna say this and I know people aren't going to agree and that's okay

But I really don't like Mikasa's character. I think she had the potential to be really cool af, but the execution fell flat. I know she's written a little bit better in the Manga (still need to finish it) but here's why I don't like her and how I think it could have been changed.

I understand why she's so attached to Eren, but it's almost obsessive, and the way she treats him feels patronizing. She wants to look out for him because she loves him, but it's in a selfish way.

Examples: as a kid injuring him and then asking him if he still wants to join the Scouts, FORCING him to eat, carrying him away from fights, telling him to stop talking (tho indirectly) when talking about his more negative feelings (shown in s1 and s3).

My biggest pet peeve is the scene where he figures out the ODM gear and Mikasa is like "he's happy he doesn't have to leave me" which is NOT AT All what he was thinking but sure girl project your bs onto him

^ seriously none of that was okay. And yeah Eren had moments where he's rude to her or has hit her bc he didn't reciprocate her feelings. He was treating her like he'd treat anyone else.

Worse of all we never see get any real development. (Least not in the anime. Maybe the Manga does it better) she's still over protective to the point it's almost patronizing and outside of protecting him, she has zero ambitions for herself. You can't even say she let him go when she killed him bc even then she didn't move on!

Now what I would have liked to have seen- and I've seen some fan-work creators take this direction- is for them to have more of a sibling relationship.

Imagine this. Everything still happens mostly the same but her motivations are different. It's a found family/sibling sort of love. She wants to protect him bc he's like a little brother to her.

Because Carla begged her to look after him (which is canon)

And so her motivation for protecting him had been to bc of this. Bc Carla begged her, too. Because Eren is the only family she has left.

(And maybe dialing back some of her obsessive tendencies)

And had both gotten growth? Her learning she doesn't have to always look out for him. That he can take care of himself, and him understanding that she was only doing it bc they're the only family they have left and him accepting her as such?

There's also my personal issue that I don't see any build up or reciprocation on Eren's some until the very end so as you can guess I don't ship Eremika. Any defense you could have like him being protective of her or holding her hand he also does for Armin and Historia.

But people act like him not loving her back makes him a bad person or that he treated her bad for not feeling the same? Just because someone loves you doesn't mean you have to feel the same, no matter what they do for you. And I'm saying that as someone who's been on the other end of that! Also personally if someone treated me the way Mikasa treated Eren I'd personally consider her a bad friend. If I can't talk to you about my morbid and depressed thoughts why are we even friends?

Also, I'm not expecting anyone to agree. If you wanna have a calm conversation about it, I'm absolutely down, but don't come in my chats yelling.

[pitynostars]

ok so first things first, i loooove gatwa's doctor so much already. if nothing else, i love the masterclass in acting he's putting on, his expressiveness is so impressive. he brings a very fun energy to the role

the church on ruby road has me feeling a bit mixed as well. the plot was kind of meh, and i didn't like how in the alternate universe ruby's mum was just so mean without her. it didn't make sense. like what makes ruby so special, hm 🤨 what's this one white blond baby got that all the other babies in the world don't 🤨 i know the point was to show how much ruby meant to her mum, but like. there are other ways to do it than have a complete 180 in characterization.

i'm honestly not super interested in the mystery of ruby's parentage (which apparently seems like it will be a huge thing unless they're just making stuff up to fake us out, in which case, good on them). but i don't want it to be some big reveal i'm sorry 😩 especially not because if it is, people will bend over backwards to say how great storytelling it is when they'd never say that if moffat did a plot like this. i hadn't even considered the possibility really, when i'd first watched it, i thought it's just not that deep, but maybe i'm wrong. the people who are theorizing that ruby is rose and tentoo's daughter are sooo funny though like

ur only saying that because she's blond and we all know nobody on this show can be blond without being related to The Blond(tm) 🙄

that literally means they abandoned their kid. yes. such good parents 😫

i also feel like we didn't....really get to know ruby that well? i'll reserve judgement to give them more time obviously, and millie seems very green (not a judgement on her, and she and ncuti seem to have a lot of fun energy together) so there's still time and there's a lot of time in general for the stories to get going, and it had to do double duty as a christmas special and an intro episode for both new doctor and new companion so like, my feelings may also change with time. anyways those are my thots for now

yesss i was sold on gatwa very quickly i just hope he doesn't become 10th doctor rehash number 2345932853845 i am so tired. give him something new. also praying him and ruby don't have a romance angle there were a couple of moments in CORR i was like. GOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT AGAIN.

CORR plot being meh i agreeee but also xmas specials plot is a lot of times like a wafer and as someone who watched it quite roasted ngl i kinda appreciated it 😂

YEAH omhg tho with ruby disappearing and her mum (i want to say carla??) completely changing as a person??? i get that the point was supposed to be like one little change can make such an impact etc etc as well. but also i was just like. .... ok but what about the other kids wasnt good enuf ???? maybe i'm a cynic lol. but fr have another MORE kids on the wall bc she's trying to fill a gap she doesn't know is from what !!!! IMAGINE.... especially with it being sort of set up as a doctor/companions parallel oh my god

nooo oh my god i know what you mean about rubys parents i like that theyre setting it up as a counter to 13s "it doesn't matter i'm good as i am my past doesnt define me" etc. but i really want it to not be interesting. i want her parents to just be like. normal people who had to make a hard choice lol. oh my god. i just realised. we're gonna go thru a fucking rey star wars arc with her im gonna lose it byee... imagine she ends the series like "im ruby doctor" :) i would quit watching.

but yeah 100% it's gonna be a big thing. atm i dont care but i guess we'll see and hope they do something interesting with it.... prayers she's an alien tbf

rose and tentoo would be terrible parents tbf i said what i said.

YEAH i know what you mean i feel like that about gatwa too i think its hard making the first intro for both an xmas special because it has to be kinda silly and rompy so you cant rlly get too into the grit of the characters?? still reserving judgement on them both, but its taken me a while to warm up to like. everyone in dr who since bill--- wait i take that back i loved bel in flux from like her first scene but she's not a doc or companion.

[wooltoesocks]

things i want to get answers to in the remaining episodes of four leaf: a very comprehensive list that must be missing some things i just cant remember at the moment (also soilers for up until ep 139):

just in general evrything about the bells, and more especiall like how is lina giving lupe her bells (because that is 100% gonna happen i think) gonna affect them, for example if they'll get lina's bell as like their own, and if that bell being kinda broken is gonna be any problem

will that be a permanent change, is lupe gonna give the bell back to lina after they deal with the wolf

what's gonna happen to cricket if they really do deal with the wolf? or how will tehy come to some wsolution that doesnt harm anyone

CARLA!!! is she gonna be okay? that wound looks very nasty. i hope they'll be able to cure it somehow, and if not, then chopchop there goes a leg :/

talking about carla, is she gonna give er bells to someone like she mentioned in 138? that is only in case she wont be able to continue, but it loks very bad rn, so my question is, is it gonnna be mercy? or in general, who is it gonna be?

also about the bells, i really wanna know how many bells each witch has!! it''s just something i think would be interesting to analyse. (i looked through all the episodes where a witch has their bells out buut i still now only know for certain the number of bels like 7 witches have (before 137 and emma giving up her bells): Erica 1, Emma 2, Socks 2 (most likely, unless she got mor after the prison break, that's when she at least shows only 2), Alishba 3, Linda 3 (both of whose bells were shown during the prison break), Carla 20, Lina 21.

also also (i use that word so much), the names of the witches! we now know there are 17 witches in the red hoods (+lupe +lina so maybe 19 but oh well) and of those 17 we know the names of 12 (episode 133)

what i wanna know too is like which bell belongs to which witch? we've seen some, for example in the flashback of when they first appeared, and also in the festival of roses we see some, but like i wnna knowww (ye sit's very trivial but that's what makes it fun i think)

the mom. what happened with her in the 8 months that have passed since lupe was last in their original world? did she just continue on like normal, or did she actually regret some of the things she's done? will lupe go see her again?

the inevitable. the thing i've been waiting for for like 2 years. the KISS! alvar mentioned the witch loking very mad and the also saying he's the kinda guy to ask twice before a first kiss and what i think will happen is that he is gonna ask. like he's just the kinda guy. but the thing lupe (most likely) will be "mad" about is just that al didnt tell about it (even tho he was gonna tell you lupe, you just didnt want him to). or they arent mad, but just like very confused/fristrated and Al just interpreted it wrong? i dont know. we'll see (hopefully tomorrow in 140 but at the evry least in 141?? like i dont think it will take so long that it would be 142? (i am delusional). also looking at the future chapter thumbnails (not a fast pass reader), it looks like someone is using some kind of reddish/pinkish magic / teleporting right next to him)

okay this isnt a theory or anything, i just know lupe's dad is gonna be so smug learning about lupe and al's relationship when they do get into one like judging from ep 116 and the "crush" i jut know

okay wow this is a long post but i need to get these out of my head and scream into the void and wait if it screams back

back to the bells, they'r gonna give everyone their own one back right? if they deal wit hthe wolf, there shouldnt be any need to hoard all the power, and i dont think it would be very fair to let 72 people just go on about life without really even knowing what's going no just because you wanna levitate. i know it's probably more complicated than that but yeah

also (fuck, this word again) what's gonna happen to the witchs' craving of gloom? is it gonna go away if there is no wolf (okay this is assuming that it's dealt with and they wont come to a peaceful comclusion but if that happens i just really hope cricket will be okay)

are other witches gonna wanna get rid of their bells and become human like emma?

i would like some more information about the different worlds, although i think it's unlikely tha will come up in the chapters themselves, but maybe as some bonus content somewhere?

okay so i already wrote about like if Lina's bell being broken is gonna have any effect on lupe, but will it affect Lina herself? i would assume not, but you never know

just in general, i cant wait to see how everything comes to a conclusion and how the ending is gonna be (even tho i would love for it to go on for longer). are we gonnna see another time skip?

man i just remembered there are alaso civilians in Garua at the moment too like the redhoods are gonna get the to safety right? maybe that will also help a little with the public's fear of the witches, the news that hey maybe they're not bad through and through (even tho that was never the case but most people still thought that so)

fuck this is long how many words even is this... 1005???? man that's like 2/3 of the essays we had to write in high school. yea it's easier to just put stuff from your mind into bullet points but this has taken me like maybe 45 minutes where as those essays took at least 5 hours. i bet i could make one from one of my interests in like 2 hours and i would be much better than any of those monstrocities i wrote

anyway back on track

actually those are the main ones i remember now, maybe i'll update this once more come to mind, but for now this is enough for today

pictured above is me falling for this series

wait one more thing: is it stated anywhere how much the bells weigh? i would assume they're more like incorporeal so they wouldn't hve any mass, and i fell like should know this i've read this series 5 or 6 times. but if they do infact hve mass, do the witches have to actively levitate them or are they jsut funky like that

[scover-va]

I do not know why I'm nervous to ask this But what do you think the hex Characters would be for Halloween.

LUCKY FOR YOU ANON I RAMBLED TO MY FRIENDS ABT THIS ONCE SO I HAVE MOST OF THIS PREPARED IN ADVANCE!!!

Weasel Kid - Superhero or pirate bc those strike me as typical teen boy costumes. No real big explanation here

Bryce - Someone suggests werewolf to him and he goes w/ it because he was struggling to come up with any other ideas. Not scary at all, basically just a big fluffy dog

Chandrelle - Realistically nothing but ideally, vampire or a classic witch costume. My explanation for this is because im gay

Rust - Doesnt really know what Halloween is and the group sucks at explaining it so hes kinda just got a mashup of a lotta things goin on. If i had to pick one thing tho, maybe a zombie bc thats a familiar concept to him probably

Lazarus - If hes low on energy, sheet ghost. If he actually has the energy to make a costume, headless horseman or something along those lines. Maybe a ghost knight as the in between option energy-wise

FPP - Grim reaper or plague doctor. Im basing this on vibes and also i think they'd want a mask

Sado - Some sort of popular fictional media serial killer of sorts. Not pennywise bc she knows thats way too predictable. Other option would be a devil costume

Reggie - A month old rotting corpse, fully realistic detail and everything. This man is SEVERELY fucked in the head and would think this is a very fun and innocent idea. He's gonna scare the shit out of someone

Jeremiah - Tried to do no costume, Reggie talked him into needing to do *something*. He just shittily put on some of Reggie's leftover makeup to match because he doesnt care to think up a proper idea

Irving - Also tried to go no costume but Lou installed a big ol halloween aesthetic into the gameworks database so Irving didnt get a choice. Also went with pirate because at least he could insist if asked that he was just wearing Captain Barnay's outfit because his usual uniform was in the wash (he doesnt need to do laundry)

Lou - Devil costume next question

Lionel - He probably insists hes too old to be dressing up for Halloween but inside he really wants to wear some sort of costume. Probably a character from a game he likes (cant do his favourite game unfortunately because. Well. That would be Cooking Granny and im sure you see the issue here)

Carla - Also a serial killer. Like creator like creation

Rebecha - Also a werewolf but in the extremely low effort way

Rocky - Also a mashup like his pops but its less because hes confused and more just because theres so many different things he wanted to go as that he picked all of them

Im not doin anyone else but additionally to add my hexsona in with this. Vampire. Because well. Gestures at my pfp

[lea-heartscxiv]

Sakurayashiki Family

It's time to introduce the Sakurayashiki family, a family made up of four members.

Dad Kojiro, Sakurayashiki-sensei (who deep down, even if he's sometimes a little child-phobic, is proud of his little ones) and their two twins.

Little Kentaro and Keiko are a pair of daddy twins. Yes, although it may not seem like it, Kaoru acts as a father when he's alone with Kojiro. However, according to him, he doesn't do it because wants to take care of them but because can't leave his stupid Gorilla alone in those moments. However, when he's alone with his children, also takes good care of them, tho he's so reluctant to admit it that when there's someone else around, ignores the little ones.

Kojiro carries his son Kentaro in his arms.

Kojiro: You know Kaoru, when Kentaro grows up and goes to Los Angeles he can be called Ken, he won't have a problem with the way they pronounce his name. Isn't that great? *thinking out loud*

Kaoru: Stupid Gorilla!!! Why would he want to go so far away??!! - while carrying Keiko in his arms.

Kojiro: Isn't it obvious? He'll want to be a skateboarder like us and go to the birthplace of skateboarding.

Kaoru: And why don't you talk about her?

Kojiro: Because she'll be a daddy's girl, and I'll spoil her a lot.

Kaoru: You think I won't spoil her? Even if I don't let them have Carla, I'll make them a special skateboard for both. Though, I won't let them take too many liberties...

Kojiro: Boys are more mommy's boys, and girls are more daddy's girls. So Kentaro will want to be more detached from us and go more with his friends. But on the other hand Keiko will want to spend more time with us and I will teach her a lot of things, especially how to keep those muscles.

Kaoru: Keiko with gorilla muscles? No, no, no, Keiko will be very good at shodo, she doesn't need so many muscles....

Kojiro: Gorilla muscles...?

She's Keiko and the little sleepyhead is Kentaro. Sometimes Keiko likes to tease her brother Kentaro, like now when he's asleep and she sticks her finger in his ear to tickle him.

By the way, sometimes Kaoru when no one is around, takes Kentaro to the restaurant and puts him behind the bar to talk to him. Yes, he may use him as a "waiter", but will never admit it in front of Kojiro. Of course, it should be noted that Kaoru pours his own drinks.

So far the presentation of Matchablossom family, refresh this as soon there will be the last family.