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lifeofkaze · 3 years ago

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hello i have fallen i love with your charlie fic (❤❤!!) and i want to ask if you could you write some angst where barnaby has a crush on mc and they're super oblivious and later they start dating someone else ans barnaby realizes he lost them?

My dearest anon, let me say: I AM SORRY. Writing your ask took me forever (literally, lol) even though I had it in my head the moment I got your asks all those months ago. But I never felt the right inspiration to actually write it down until today. Today it just hit me. I do hope you're actually still around and reading what I made out of it.

I'm really truly sorry. 😅

So, without further ado, I present to you:

Missed Chances

Barnaby Lee x Reader

Barnaby Lee wasn’t the smartest kid around.

He was by no means dumb, he just wasn’t as clever or booksmart as most of his peers, a fact he was well aware of. But it didn’t bother him that much, really. He had found his means of getting by during classes and ever since distancing himself from Merula Snyde back in their third year, he had been able to gather a circle of friends around him he could fall back upon.

There was popular Penny Haywood for Potions, shy but gifted Ben Copper for Charms, and ever so patient Rowan Khanna when he had troubles with Transfiguration.

Barnaby’s favourite study sessions, however, were those for Defense Against The Dark Arts. Not because he was particularly bad at the subject; on the contrary, he was a skilled duelist and most charms and jinxes came naturally to him. No, the real reason those lessons were his favourite was because it was you who was teaching him.

Ever since he’d been drawn into your close circle of friends, his above average DADA marks had been plummeting, since he kept getting distracted during class. The professors weren’t impressed but neither surprised at his apparent lack of academic skills and under normal circumstances, Barnaby would have tried everything in his power to prove them wrong, that he could do better, that he wasn’t as stupid as everyone made him out to be.

But when you offered your help in catching up on the subject, Barnaby had changed his mind. You were always top of your DADA class and what better way to spend some time alone with you while listening to your beautiful voice explaining the differences between a curse and a hex.

Barnaby knew most of the things you were telling him already, so he had ample time to just watch you talk during your study sessions. He knew no one else could get so excited over dark creatures and cursed objects like you did. The way your eyes were sparkling when lecturing him on the differences between a werewolf and regular wolf had him enthralled every single time and the proud smile you gave him when he answered one of your questions correctly never failed to make Barnaby’s heart beat hard in his chest.

He would have loved to see that smile more often, but he made sure to let his real knowledge of the subject shine through sparingly. He was afraid that if he got too good, you might want to drop studying with him and that was something he couldn’t risk; spending time with you had become the highlight of his day. No one he knew rivalled the warmth you radiated and the unbroken faith you had in him, a sentiment that was completely new to Barnaby.

When the big news of the Celestial Ball was announced, it was all his peers could talk about. What to wear, how to look and who to bring were the questions dominating all of the four common rooms.

Barnaby never had to think twice who he wanted to be his date for the dance. He thought about how to properly ask you out for days on end; you were no common girl after all. You were the most extraordinary girl he knew and thus deserved an extraordinary invitation. But when he finally plucked up the courage to ask you out, you looked at him sheepishly.

“That’s so sweet of you, Barney. I’m so flattered, really. But I already promised Rowan and Ben to go with them. You know, just as friends.”

His heart sank at the words. Why hadn’t he acted sooner? Maybe people were right about him being stupid after all.

Seeing his disheartened look, your face changed into something softer. “But I’m sure Rowan and Ben wouldn’t mind if you came along with us? As another friend?”

Barnaby beamed at her. “I’d love that. We’re going to have such a great time together, as friends,” he added, not quite sure whom he wanted to reassure, you or himself.

He would probably never forget the night of the Celestial Ball when he saw you in the dress André Egwu had designed for the first time. Rowan and Ben had arrived at the ball before you and when you stepped into the Great Hall all on your own, Barnaby’s breath stopped for a moment.

You were dressed in a beautiful, burgundy dress with intricate patterns embroidered around the neckline. Your waist was accentuated by a small belt and the skirt of your dress flowed around you in several layers of fabric. You looked like an ethereal being to him as you walked through the crowd over to him, Rowan and Ben, your skirt trailing slightly behind you.

His eyes didn’t leave you for the whole evening even for a second. He could hear you laughing when you danced with Rowan and Ben, the sound like silver bells to his ears. When he asked you for a dance with him, your hand just happened to fit perfectly into his and your bright smile made Barnaby forget everything else around you and him. He did take great care to not step on your dress, however. You looked so perfect, he didn’t want to ruin it with his own clumsiness; although he pretty much doubted anything could have taken away from your beauty.

When the Celestial Ball was over, Barnaby took the chance to walk you back to your common room. You had your arm linked with his and marched in step with him. As he was taller than you, it required some effort on your part, the strange walking rhythm making you giggle. The sound had Barnaby’s heart beat faster.

Barnaby was almost reluctant to let you go when you had reached the concealed entrance to your common room. He wasn’t quite sure what to do; all he wanted to do was put his arms around you, drawing you as close to him as possible and never letting go again. But he hesitated; what if you didn’t feel the same?

To gain some time, he cleared his throat. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too,” you smiled at him. “I’m glad you came along. You just have the most fun with your friends, right?”

The word ‘friends’ put a damper on the butterflies that had been swarming in Barnaby’s stomach until this point.

“Yes, friends,” he echoed, “because we’re friends.”

A look of confusion crossed your face for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“Of course I am,” Barnaby lied quickly, glad that the flickering light of the torches hid the blush spreading on his cheeks. “Just exhausted from dancing, I guess.”

“Oh, alright. I’d better get to my common room then. Good night.”

There was a short, awkward pause, before you smiled at him, waved and vanished into your common room. Barnaby sighed; at least for night, he had definitely botched his chances.

Ever since the Celestial Ball and the anticlimax of its ending, Barnaby had made it his mission to convince you there was more to him than being your friend. He’d ventured into the library on his own and gathered together all books on romance he could find and read every single one of them. Most of them, especially the older ones, had given him quite some headaches, but he knew you enjoyed reading old love stories, so maybe they had some useful information to offer. How someone could spend their free time reading things like Jane Austen for fun, however, remained a mystery to him.

And apparently, the tips he had sourced weren’t that helpful either. Barnaby tried it all, he complimented you, he brought you flowers and small gifts that reminded him of you and tried connecting with you over things he knew you loved. Whenever he saw the chance to ask you out he tried. But as soon as he had gathered his courage, you had already promised one of your numerous friends to go with them instead. It was exasperating, really.

All the while, the study sessions with you continued. Barnaby had stopped pretending to be as oblivious as he made himself out to be in the beginning; he knew it was risky, in case you might want to drop studying with him if he got better, but he was too addicted to your smile at this point. No matter how hard his day had been, a smile from you and everything else was forgotten.

Barnaby wished you would finally notice just how much he adored you, but as long as he could spend time with you, listen to your voice and hear your laughter, everything was fine with him.

Until it was not.

He had noticed you were distracted lately and not as talkative as he was used to. Today’s Potions class was no exception. Professor Snape, who was even moodier than usual, was lecturing the class on the importance of knowing potion recipes by heart.

“You will not always carry a textbook with you,” he droned, “and while I wouldn’t trust half of you to brew a potion even with proper instructions, maybe some of you will be able to produce something remotely resembling a proper concoction by sheer luck. If I see one piece of parchment on the table, you will clean your classmates’ cauldrons after class. Begin.”

Dreading the next two hours of guessing which ingredients to use in what order, Barnaby glanced over to you. But you hadn’t been listening to the instructions, it seemed. Your attention was focused on a piece of parchment in front of you, hastily scribbled lines running across it. Barnaby tried catching a glimpse but when you noticed, you blushed deeply and quickly covered the parchment with your hand.

Barnaby, however, wasn’t the only one who had noticed the piece of parchment. Before you could do anything, Professor Snape had appeared next to you and snatched the parchment out of your grip.

“I thought I said no notes allowed, or didn’t I express myself clearly enough for your convenience?” he snarled.

“No, Professor, you misunderstand,” you gasped, “these aren’t Potions notes, it’s private. Can I please have it back?”

You reached for it, but Snape jerked his hand up so it was just out of reach. “That gives it even less reason to be present in my classroom,” he said coldly, a cruel smile stealing onto his face. “Let us share with the rest of the class what is distracting you from my lesson.”

Your cheeks were glowing bright red as Snape started reading the content of your note.

“Do you like me? Yes or No. Circle your answer,” he read out loud. “How droll,” he sneered over the chuckle of your classmates, “I suggest, next time you concentrate more on your potion and less on your silly personal bearings. Perhaps the result will be more decent then. 10 points from you and detention tonight.”

As he swept past your table, Barnaby noticed your hanging head. You had your hands clasped tightly together in your lap and seemed so small all of a sudden that he felt furious. Even though Snape was his head of house, he had no right whatsoever to embarrass you in front of everyone like that.

“Are you okay?” he asked you gently.

Not looking at him, you shook his head. “Why did he have to do that?” you whispered. “He could see I wasn’t taking notes. There was no need to read it out loud.”

“There wasn’t,” Barnaby agreed. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and lightly placing his hand on your arm. “He’s just a big, old, mean bat. Everyone says so.”

You sniffed, a small smile already spreading on your face again. “That’s true. Thank you.” You covered his hand with yours and squeezed it lightly. The touch sent jolts of energy through Barnaby from where your hands connected. His skin was still tingling when you turned towards your cauldron again, breaking the contact.

“Who was your note for, anyway?” Barnaby asked, trying not to sound as if this wasn’t the question burning red hot on his mind.

You looked at him wide-eyed. “I can’t possibly tell you.”

“Why not? Do I know him?”

Blushing again, you could only nod before dropping your gaze.

“It’s someone I’ve been friends with for a while now, but I don’t know if he feels the same. I don’t want to ruin our friendship by making a stupid move.”

Barnaby held his breath. You couldn’t possibly be talking about him, could you?

“How could it ruin your friendship?” he asked. “If he’s your friend, he’s your friend and nothing can change that.”

He took a deep breath. “Maybe you should just tell him,” he said deliberately casually, “who knows, maybe that friend of yours has been feeling the same for some time now, too.”

You looked up at him in surprise. “You think so?”

Barnaby nodded in agreement. “Definitely. Just try your luck, maybe you’ll be surprised.”

After the class was over and you had parted ways for the rest of the day, Barnaby counted the minutes until the evening when you had agreed to meet for another study session before your detention. He was positively bouncing with energy ever since lunchtime. You had come over to him with a nervous smile on your lips to ask him to meet up with you later.

“Chances are, I’ll need to tell you something,” you had said with a shaky laugh before joining your other friends for lunch. Barnaby had swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to look unfazed, but his insides had been burning with impatience ever since.

That was why he had arrived earlier than usual at the library that evening. He picked all the books out you would be needing and stacked and restacked them several times at the table you were usually working on.

It felt like an eternity until you finally entered the library, each second dragging into an eternity of its own. Barnaby saw you first. You stood in the entrance to the grand room and all of a sudden the library seemed to be a little brighter just by you being there. You scanned the rows of bookshelves with your eyes and a wide smile appeared on your face as they fell on him, waiting for you between books and quills in your favourite spot.

You quickly bounded over to him, a spring in your step that was a stark contrast to the miserable mood you had been in this morning. Before Barnaby even had a chance to ask what made you so happy, you had flung your arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

On instinct, Barnaby put his arms around your waist and held you for a sweet moment that he wished would last forever. He could smell the flowery scent of your perfume and breathed it in deeply, trying to commit every last detail of how you felt in his arms to memory. He was sure you had to feel his heartbeat; how could you not with how hard it was hammering against his ribcage?

“He said yes, Barney! He really said yes!” you squealed, not caring one bit about Madam Pince’s indignant shush.

The sheer happiness coursing through his veins turned into ice that froze him from the inside in a matter of seconds. Confused, he loosened his hold on you and pushed you far enough away from him to look you in the face. The joy visible on it almost broke his heart.

“What?”

“My crush!” you beamed at him. “I followed your advice and asked him out, just now! And he said yes!” you repeated, hugging him again.

“You’re the first person I wanted to tell,” you said. Barnaby could feel your breath on the skin exposed by the open collar of his shirt. He hated himself for the shiver running down his spine.

“Why?” was all he managed to whisper in response.

“Because without you, I’d never have the courage to talk to him upfront. It’s all thanks to you that I have a date now. You’re really the best friend I could ask for.”

Every word you spoke was like a dagger pushed up to the hilt into his broken heart, every second he saw you smile at the prospect of going out with the boy you wanted to be with - the boy that wasn’t him - a twist of the blade until he felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. His heart, that had beaten so wildly just moments before when he had held you in his arms, could have stopped beating right there and then; Barnaby doubted it would have felt much different to the consuming emptiness he felt at this very moment.

You were rambling on and on about where you wanted to take your date and what you would wear but Barnaby wasn’t listening. He didn’t even know who you were talking about; all he knew was that it wasn’t him and that thought was louder in his head than your words could ever be.

“What do you think of that?”

Barnaby realised you had come to the end of your explanations and expected an opinion from him. He forced himself to smile apologetically at you, when all he wanted to do was scream.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” he croaked out.

Your brow creased. “Are you okay? You’re so pale all of a sudden.”

“I’m good,” Barnaby answered with a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and started again. “I’m good, I just caught a cold, I think. I should go see Madam Pomfrey later.”

You made a sceptical sound and raised one eyebrow. “If you say so. So what do you think? Is Madam Puddyfoot’s Tea Shop a good idea or not?”

Barnaby had never heard of this tea shop before, but he’d go to Knockturn Alley for a date if it only was with you. “It doesn’t matter where you take him. He’s lucky he gets to go with someone like you in the first place.”

“That’s sweet of you to say.”

“I’m just happy you’re happy,” Barnaby said and even meant it, in a way. He just wished the source of your happiness was him and not somebody else.

You hugged him once again and he was glad that you couldn’t see the pained expression crossing his features for a moment. “You’re the best, Barney. I’m so glad to have you in my life.”

You let go and turned towards the table laden with books Barnaby had so carefully set up. “Shall we?”

He sat down with you and watched as you started taking out your notes on objects cursed with minor jinxes. Your eyes were sparkling even more than usual and even now, you were so beautiful to Barnaby it hurt.

With a sigh, he concentrated on what you had to say for a change. His time spent daydreaming about you was over for good now, so he might as well do what the two of you were here for and study.

No, Barnaby Lee wasn’t the smartest kid around.

But even he knew that when it came to you, he had missed too many chances.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #harry potter hogwarts mystery #barnaby lee #anon ask #fun fact #this is exactly what happened in game for my mc lizzie #went to the celestial ball with barnaby #and ditched him afterwards #whoops #and for talbott of all people #because yknow #that old let us date the quidditch kids discussion #but we're not getting into that now

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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

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Riding On

Ch 17-Let Me Take An Elfie…

Summary: Christmas arrives in the Adler household and its full of laughter, giggles, and one huge gift that money simply can’t buy…

Warnings: Bad Language words, Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: So, like, I’m over 2020 and wish it was Christmas already. This chapter brings Riding On Part 1 to a close and I’ll be likely taking a little break from writing this to concentrate on some stuff I have going on Stark Spangled for the Birthday Party! I hope you enjoy!

This one is dedicated to The Evangers…you know who you are!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 16 Part 2

Monday morning rolled round and for the first time in ages Frank woke well rested. After their plan had worked, he and Fliss had played the recording back to Greg who had been torn between calling them a pair of reckless dumbasses, and being elated with what it meant. Whilst he was unsure the court would permit it as evidence, he was going to have “some damned fun filing it anyway” and then set about giving them the final coaching for the Child Welfare Department interviews on Monday.

To Frank and Fliss, this was the final thing they could do. The last chance they had to get their feelings across and make a good impression before it was then over to the courts. And whilst Fliss was still hopeful that Polland would sign the papers as soon as he realised they had him on tape, Frank wasn’t quite as optimistic. So it was for that reason that over breakfast on the Monday he found himself rehearsing his speech to the Social Worker, just had he had done 2 years or so prior.

He needn’t have bothered though because, as Greg had predicted, the Social Workers discussion with him mainly centred on practical things such as Frank’s new job and his role, what Fliss did for a living, their new home and a little bit of digging into her background which was done sensitively and compassionately. It was the same Social Worker from 2 years back, a dark haired lady called Sarah Kellet, which Frnak was glad about, and she’d smiled when she’d run through things, checking all the facts that Greg had provided her before simply stating that was all she needed.

“What, no soul-searching questions?” Frank asked, arching an eyebrow. She chuckled and shook her head.

“Not this time.” she smiled “It’s a little different Mr Adler. You already have formal Guardianship over Mary so this isn’t about whether you’re suitable or not. This is really just a fact gathering exercise about whether or not formally providing you with Parental Status would be in her best interests.”

Frank swallowed and Fliss gently tangled her fingers in his as Sarah looked at them and smiled.

“Don’t worry.” She beamed. “When I spoke to Mary before it’s clear she’s exceptionally settled, and she adores her new brother as she refers to him as. You’ve created a very stable and loving environment for her, you’re financially credible, not that that’ the be all and end all, and you have a home, family support…all of this will be evidenced in my report.”

“So, do you make recommendations to the court?” Fliss asked and Sarah shook her head.

“Not as such, I’m merely here to pull together a factual, comprehensive report on how Mary is.” She tapped her pen slightly “And it’s always a little easier in cases like this when the minor has been in the care of the applicant prior to it. But, I will be making it quite clear in my conclusions that from the CWD point of view it would be in Mary’s best interests for the court to allow the adoption to go ahead, regardless of Mary’s father raising his objections. Basically if comes down to it, we’ll be fighting your corner.”

Fliss turned to Frank who let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and she smiled at him.

“So, that’s it.” Sarah shrugged. “I’ll send a copy of everything through to the courts and your attorney Mr Adler. All that’s left is for me to wish you both a Merry Christmas and I’ll see you at the hearing whenever that is.” They both rose, shaking her hand and then Frank held the door to the room open for Fliss. She stepped out in front of him, and turned to him smiling.

“That’s it.” She shrugged “We did everything we could.” “Yeah, yeah I know.” He nodded “I’m just relieved it’s all over. Well, for now anyway.”

“Yup, so let’s get on with enjoying Christmas.” Fliss beamed as they walked down the corridor to the little area at the bottom where Mary was waiting. She was sat, reading a book being supervised by another one of the social workers and looked up, smiling as they entered. The woman who’d be supervising left them alone after bidding them goodbye and the three of them walked out to the truck.

“Think your mom and dad will be ok with Alex for a little longer?” Frank asked as Mary bounced ahead of them slightly.

“Sure, why?”

“I thought we could take her for a pizza and bowling, just the 3 of us before we pick Evelyn up from the airport.” Frank said “Been a while since we went.” “Yeah, sounds good.” Fliss beamed “I’ll call mum and let her know.”

Of course Verity and Bill were only too happy to keep Alex. Sian and the twins had arrived earlier that morning and Verity told Fliss that Sian was enjoying Auntie cuddles whilst batting her eyes at Steve asking him if he fancied another. Steve’s response had been to choke on his coffee. They headed to the bowling alley, where Fliss and Mary found to their delight that the skittles were all painted like elves for the festive period. They had 3 games and as usual they whooped Frank’s ass, leaving him in a fake mood declaring Christmas was cancelled. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Mary had vaulted onto his back causing him to laugh and attempt to pull her off. Eventually he succeeded and dangled her upside down by her ankles, the girl shrieking as he swung her round before setting her down.

“She’s getting a bit big to do that with now!” he looked at Fliss, letting out a huff as Mary righted her sweater and climbed into the truck.

“Well, she is 10 in a couple of months.” Fliss smiled and Frank shook his head.

“Don’t remind me.”

Fliss chuckled as she climbed into the passenger seat and the 3 of them headed off to the airport to collect Evelyn. They stood in the arrival lounge, Frank’s arm tossed over Fliss’ shoulders and Fliss could tell he was a little apprehensive. This was the first time he’d seen Evelyn since she had admitted outright she’d bribed Polland to give evidence. He’d told Fliss he wasn’t sure how he was going to react, that he didn’t want to be angry, but he couldn’t help it. Fliss had simply told him that they’d deal with whatever happened when it came.

As Evelyn walked through the glass double doors, pulling a huge case behind her, Mary shot forwards to greet her and the woman bent down, giving her a cuddle. Once more it struck Frank just how different it all was to the first meeting they’d had just over 2 years ago and as he watched his mother gently smooth Mary’s hair back any anger he was feeling simply dissipated. He knew only too well after the events of the last few years, he couldn’t change the past but he could make sure history never repeated itself. He watched as Mary and his mother made their way over to him and he took a deep breath as Evelyn glanced up at him, her face wrought with worried anticipation. She opened her mouth to say something, and Frank knew full well it was going to be an apology so he shook his head.

“It’s done.” He said simply “And I don’t wanna waste a single second more thinking about it, ok mom?”

Evelyn nodded, and then in a sudden display of affection she moved to embrace him. It was a little stiff but Frank didn’t shy away, wrapping his arms around his mother in a gentle hug before he pulled away and took her bag off her.

When they reached Bill and Verity’s neither Frank nor Fliss was surprised to find that Verity had laid a spread on. She loved entertaining and so had taken it upon herself to pull together a buffet consisting of a selection of cold meats, breads, crudités, dips and savoury snacks along with a huge plate of her infamous brownies. No sooner had Frank walked into the kitchen he had a beer thrust into his hand by Steve who winked at him and he turned to Fliss a little sheepishly with a shrug.

“I’ll drive home.” She rolled her eyes playfully as she gently turned Alex so that he was against her chest, head raised slightly as he looked around.

“Oh fuck that.” Evelyn said, taking the red wine that Bill handed her as Frank gave a snort at his mother’s language, not that it surprised him, she’d always been quite colourful that way despite her proper appearance and professional demeanour “We’ll get a cab. It’s Christmas.” “See, she gets it!” Steve nodded to Evelyn who simply shrugged and took a sip of her wine before she set it down on the kitchen counter.

“May I?” she asked Fliss, gesturing to Alex and Fliss smiled.

“Of course, here…” she passed him over and Evelyn looked at the baby who broke into a gummy smile.

“He gets more like you ever time I see him.” Evelyn whispered, looking at Frank who smiled.

“Yeah, so I’m told” he shrugged, attempting an air of nonchalance but as Fliss looked at him smirking he knew he had failed. He fucking loved the fact his boy looked like him, it massaged his ego and he didn’t care one iota about how smug it made him appear.

After Mary, Charlie and Joel had eaten, the three of them headed upstairs to the movie room, arms laden with snacks as Bill put The Santa Clause on the large screen and the adults all settled in the living room. Evelyn asked if she could feed Alex and Frank obliged, handing her the baby and the bottle. There was a little more chat before Verity cleared her throat and addressed the huge elephant in the room.

“So, how did it go with the social worker kids?”

Fliss and Frank exchanged a glance before Frank smiled “Good, really good. In fact, she said in her conclusion they’ll recommend the adoption is processed regardless of any objections but, we’ll see. For now we’ve done everything we can so it’s down to the court in the New Year.”

“Oh, that’s…that’s great, that’s really….great.” Bill said, nodding as his eyes misted over and Verity stood up, moving to give Fliss a cuddle as her eyes had filled at the sight of her father’s emotions. Frank could feel the tears stabbing at his eyes too so, under the guise of nipping to the bathroom he took a moment and headed through the kitchen and out of the bi-folding doors, stepping onto the veranda which overlooked the landscaped garden and pool area.

Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t been out there that long when he heard someone behind him. A tumbler of scotch was pushed into his hand and he looked up as Steve clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Thought you might need that.” He said, as he set the bottle and his own glass down on the table, fishing in his pocket for his cigarettes. As he sparked it up he took a drag, blowing it out to the side taking care to remain hidden.

“Fucking 38 and still hiding the fact I smoke from my mum.” Steve snorted and Frank shook his head.

“Hate to break it to you Steeb but she knows.” He chuckled at the look on Steve’s face “She was complaining to Fliss about it the other day.” “No shit.” Steve muttered, “Oh, well, fuck it…”

Frank laughed again and took a sip of his drink before he asked Steve about the house he was purchasing just out east of Tampa. Steve explained the sale was going through now and they should be ready to move in towards the middle of January.

“Good.” Frank nodded “If you need a hand, moving and stuff, just holler. Lord knows you did enough for us, I’d be glad to help.” “Don’t worry you will be.” Steve smirked and Frank snorted.

“How’s Sian taking to the move? Fliss said she was a little apprehensive.” “Yeah, she was.” Steve shrugged “But she’s also excited. I mean of course she’s nervous to leave her family behind but she knows it’s too good an opportunity to pass up on, and it won’t be forever. Probably about 5 years or so and we’ll head back home.” “I wouldn’t bet on it.” Frank said, knocking back his scotch.

“Why’s that?” Steve asked, his voice coming out as a slight mumble as he held his cigarette between his lips so he could top Frank’s glass up again.

“Well-cheers-“ Frank nodded, taking the tumbler off him “-it’s like Fliss said, once this place gets it’s claws into you, you kinda grow to love it.”

Steve chuckled and dropped his now done dab end onto the floor under his foot before he bent down and retrieved it, slipping it into his pocket to dispose of later.

“So, Fliss told you that we got family coming out this New Year?” Steve asked.

“She mentioned one of her cousins…” Frank paused “Tabs was it?”

“Babs.” Steve corrected “We got 4, there’s Eva who’s married to a Police Officer called Ari, Jen who’s married to a lawyer called Andy and Amber who is married to Curtis…” “He the train mechanic?” Frank racked his memory and Steve nodded.

“Yeah, they all still live in Liverpool but Babs, the one that’s coming…she’s something else.” Steve snorted. “She lives in Australia with a photographer called Hugh. Well, I say photographer, he’s kind of a trust fund rich boy that plays at it, you know? Nice enough guy though, always happy to shout you on a night out.”

“So they making a special trip over or…” “They’re taking some kind of sabbatical, if you can take a sabbatical from doing fuck all.” Steve shrugged “6 month tour of the US starting here. She’s fucking great fun though. Her and Fliss are the same age and were thick as thieves growing up, used to get into all sorts of mischief.” He shook his head. “They once set fire to a bin on a park. By accident mind. They were pretending to smoke these hollow twig things stuffed with dried grass and when one set on fire Babs panicked and tossed it into the bin.” Frank snorted as Steve continued.

“The whole thing went up.” Steve chuckled “So they legged it and got followed home by an off duty copper. Dad and Uncle Ted went ballistic…

“Wait…your dad’s brother is called Ted?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, Bill and Ted.” Steve grinned. Frank looked at him, before the pair of them burst out laughing, and couldn’t stop. It wasn’t that funny, it really wasn’t, but the more Steve laughed, the more Frank did, and the more Frank laughed, the more Steve died. By the time Frank managed to control himself he had tears of pure mirth in his eyes and he wiped them as his laughter subsided and he managed to take a breath, clutching at his side.

“What you two laughing at?” Fliss asked, stepping outside.

“Your face.” Steve shot back.

“Twat.” Fliss narrowed her eyes at him and she turned to Frank who was still chuckling “And I don’t know what you find so funny…”

“Nothing at all baby.” He smirked, dropping a kiss to her head, “Nothing at all.” ******

There were sore heads in the Adler household the next day. They’d stayed at Bill and Verity’s till well past midnight, and had left Mary there as she’d passed out asleep with the twins in the movie room. After they’d managed to herd all the kids to bed, the adults had continued drinking and eventually called it a night when Bill had fallen asleep in his arm chair, dropping his glass of brandy all over the floor.

Fliss had stable duties that morning, and took off early even though she felt she was still half drunk and when she returned a few hours later Frank and Evelyn were sat at the breakfast bar, each nursing cups of coffee and looking half dead. Eventually they all managed to muster enough about themselves to shower, dress and head over to pick Mary up. Frank was low-key pleased to see Steve looked worse than he felt and after a quick coffee they set off into the little town to have a walk round the Christmas Stalls that had been set up before they grabbed a bite to eat and Evelyn started telling Fliss a few stories about Frank and Diane when they had been children at Christmas.

“I think my personal favourite will be the carol service when you were 6.” Evelyn looked at Frank and he groaned taking a sip of his soda as he leaned back in his chair “He has a lovely voice you know and that year he was selected to do a solo.” “We don’t need to hear this…” Frank started to protest but Fliss cut him off.

“Yes we do, go on Evelyn.”

“So his particular hymn was Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. And the line ‘God and sinners reconciled’ was proving a little tricky for him as he rehearsed.”

“I was 6.” Frank deadpanned.

“I’m well aware, it still doesn’t stop it being funny.” Evelyn grinned “So up he gets, sings out the song note and word perfect until he gets to this line and belts out ‘God and sinners dressed in style’”

Fliss snorted and Mary let out a howl of laughter.

“You’re such a loser” she looked at him

“Quit it or you’ll be getting no presents tomorrow morning.”

“Whatever”

“Hey, do you remember that year grandpa sent us nothing?” Frank suddenly had a recollection and he looked at Evelyn who let out a loud laugh.

“God yes, you and Diane were disgusted!”

“Oh, the last year before he died-“ Frank started to explain as Fliss looked at him blankly “-well, he was clearly feeling his age and found that shopping for Christmas gifts had become too difficult. So he decided to send checks to everyone instead. In each card he wrote, ‘Buy your own present!’ and mailed them early. Only when we opened them, there was no check…he’d forgotten to enclose them with the cards.”

“So you all literally got a card with ‘buy your own present’ written inside?” Fliss laughed and Frank chuckled

“Yeah, which to be fair dad thought was hilarious but…poor Grandpa was devastated. He tried to blame Santa, of course, but it didn’t wash.”

“That’s because Santa isn’t real.” Mary looked at him.

“Yes he is.” Fliss sighed “I’m not having this debate with you again.”

“You said yourself the other day that Frank was incapable of organising anything because he was a man so how could one dude organise gifts for the entire world?” Mary looked at her and Frank turned his head slowly to Fliss.

“Oh, you did, did you?”

Fliss hesitated, before she sighed “Come on, your organisational skills at home are ridiculous.”

“Do our bills get paid on time?”

“Yes, but-“

“Has Alex died yet?”

“No…” Fliss laughed.

“Then we’re good!” Frank shrugged, his hand gently dropping to his son’s tummy as he lay asleep in the stroller parked next to him “I find your lack of faith disturbing. And if we’re being sexist, I know Santa is a man as a woman wouldn’t be able to hack driving a sleigh around for a night, not to mention the complete mess she’d make trying to park it…”

“Wow!” Fliss looked at him as he laughed, “Ok, buddy, I bed I can think of 5 reasons why I would jump at the chance to be Santa.”

“Go on.” He teased and Fliss held up her hand, counting on her fingers as she spoke.

“One, I could grow to the size of Hawaii knowing it’s simply all part of the job. Two, I’d simply be able to buy one big, black belt, and brass buckle, and be accessorized for life. Three there would be no reason to have my hair colour done. Four, everyone would be extremely nice to me, regardless of my behaviour and five, if people commented that my belly jiggled when I laughed I could hit them with my purse.”

“Six…” Evelyn picked up as Frank laughed “You would always work in sensible footwear”

Frank shook his head “She always is anyway, not like you wear high heels to ride horses in and muck out stalls…”

“Those boots hurt when they’re not worn in.” Mary jabbed back “I know.”

With a snort Frank leaned back and looked down at Alex “Buddy, you better hurry up and start talking, I need someone here to even out the numbers.”

After another hour or so, when it was dark, they headed home and Evelyn bid them all a good night, heading to her guest suite above the garage to read and relax, declining their offer to join them for a drink stating she’d had quite enough the night before.

Mary wasn’t far behind, the excitement of the last few days having wiped her out, plus as she reminded Frank and Fliss, the sooner she went to bed the sooner it would be present time. She headed off for a bath before she settled down with her book upstairs and an hour or so later Frank went up to took her in, finding her fast asleep with Fred curled around her head.

It wasn’t even 8:30 pm and Fliss and Frank were all set for the evening. Presents wrapped, kids settled, and Frank had just moved to grab them a beer each when his phone sounded in his pocket. He glanced at the shitty Nokia he was being forced to use after smashing his Samsung against the wall and frowned.

“It’s Greg.” He said before he answered. “Hey man.”

“S’up, listen, you guys free if I pop in for 5? I got a Christmas card for you and I forgot to drop it off earlier.”

“Yeah, sure.” Frank chuckled. “Just come on round the back, gate and the door are open.”

“No worries pal, see you in 15.”

“He coming over?” Fliss asked as Frank tossed the phone down on the side.

“Yeah, just for 5 minutes. Says he has a card for us.” “A card?”

“Yeah, you know what Zara’s like. He’s probably had it for weeks and forgotten about it.” Franks shrugged, passing Fliss an open beer as they both crossed to the sofa. They settled down to watch the Christmas special of Brooklyn 99 and true to his word, Greg walked in 15 minutes or so later.

“Hey Greg, you want a beer?” Frank stood up, gesturing to the kitchen area.

“No I can’t stay, I just wanted to give you this before tomorrow.”

Frank paused and took the envelope off him. “This isn’t a card?” he frowned.

“No, it’s a little better than that.” Greg beamed as Fliss rose to her feet, crossing to where Frank was stood. With a frown, Frank turned the envelope over, opened it and as his eyes scanned the piece of paper he felt his mouth grow dry and his heart suddenly pounded so hard he felt it was going to thump right out of his chest.

“He signed the papers…” Frank whispered, swallowing as he looked at the document in his hands. “Lissy, Polland…he signed the adoption papers.”

“What?” Fliss breathed out as she took it from him, her eyes roving the wording before she looked at Frank, then Greg. “I- when?”

“I had a call earlier this afternoon saying they were dropping the objection.” Greg smiled. “Seems he suddenly had a change of heart when his Attorney told him he was on tape confessing to taking a bung and attempting to blackmail Fliss. I won’t tell you what he called him, it was a 4 letter word and ended in t…pretty sure you can fill in the gaps.” He nodded to the paper in Fliss hand “I asked him to hurry that through and it arrived about half an hour before I called. I wanted to give it to you in person.”

“So…we don’t need to go to court?” Frank breathed out, his eyes brimming with tears.

Greg shook his head “There’ll be a finalisation hearing in January but coupled with that and the CWD report it’s gonna simply be a formality. It’s as good as done.” “So, we’re…” Fliss took a deep breath “We’re gonna be her parents?”

Greg nodded. “Yup.”

Frank was struggling for words as he looked at his best friend before he pulled him into a huge bro hug. He stepped back, wiping his eyes as Fliss moved forward to hug Greg too, before they both walked him to his car.

“I owe you, big time.” Frank croaked and Greg waved him away as he opened the door to his Merc.

“I told you it would work out.” He shrugged, smiling broadly. “Merry Christmas guys.”

The two of them waved him off before Fliss turned to Frank, her tears falling down her cheeks “I can’t believe it…” “Me neither.” Frank spluttered and Fliss leaped into his arms, the pair of them laughing in sheer joy. Even thought they’d thrown themselves into the holiday spirit, neither of them had been able to shake that little feeling that a small, dark cloud was still following them. And now that was gone.

It was over. All over. And they’d won.

They headed back inside, both resisting the urge to wake Mary to tell her, deciding they’d leave it for the morning, but they absolutely did decide to crack a bottle of champagne open.

And then Frank had an even better idea, one that came to him on a whim as they walked back through their garden. Silently he disappeared into the little laundry room at the side of the kitchen and when he emerged, Fliss had her back to him so she didn’t see him deposit the 2 pool towels on the breakfast bar. He moved to where she reaching for two champagne flutes, and as she stood on her tiptoes, he wrapped his arms around her from behind causing her to jump a little.

“I can’t believe it.” Fliss whispered “I mean I hoped he’d back down but…”

“I know” Frank kissed her neck tenderly “Another huge Christmas Eve huh? Second one in a row?”

Yeah.” She sighed happily, her hands falling on top of his arms, rubbing gently. “You know last year I was so nervous when I found out I was pregnant.”

“So was I, and that was before you told me that bit of news.” He smiled, his chin resting on her shoulder. “I’d been trying to propose for ages. I was shitting my pants it was gonna go wrong or you’d turn me down.”

“Not a chance Sailor.” She turned her head to look at him. “You’re stuck with me.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and the pair of them stood in silence in their kitchen, lost in their own thoughts, simply looking out of the window over their garden which was illuminated softly by the lighting round the pool area. Eventually Frank remembered his original plan and he smiled to himself.

“So all the presents are wrapped, everyone’s in bed waiting for the big guy with the sack to arrive…” Frank muttered, his lips grazing her neck “The pool heaters have been on all day…what about a Christmas Eve dip?”

Fliss turned in his arms, arching an eyebrow “Would you merely be trying to get me naked Francis?”

“Yes.” He nodded and she giggled.

“Skinny dipping? On Christmas Eve?”

“You lost your sense of adventure Cowgirl?” he teased.

Fliss peered round him to where Alex was sleeping in the basinet and with a grin pulled back and whipped off her T-shirt. “Does that answer your question?”

Frank laughed and caught the top as she threw it at him, tossing it to the side as he grabbed the towels. By the time he caught up with her outside Fliss was on the edge of the pool in nothing but her baby-blue cotton panties and his eyes scanned up her legs and the rest of her body until they locked onto hers. She bit her lip as she stepped out of her underwear and Frank felt his cock twitch as she turned and coyly shot him a look over her shoulder before she descended down the mosaic tiled steps at the shallow end of the pool.

Not wanting to waste a second more he threw the towels down on one of the sun loungers and reached over his head, grabbing a fistful of his grey t-shirt. He pulled it off before be quickly undid his belt and in one swoop yanked down his loose jeans and boxers.

Fliss dropped off the bottom step, her shoulders dipping under the warm water as she turned to watch Frank following her in, her eyes trailing up from his knees over his thighs, semi-erect cock which stood beneath that happy trail that led down his slim, flat yet ever so slightly soft stomach and up to his broad shoulders and strong arms. Her eyes moved to his handsome face, the stubble on his jaw line always gave him a more rugged look and his short hair was spiked up messily as it usually was at the end of the day.

Fuck, he was beautiful.

And not just on the outside. Even before the events of the last few weeks Fliss knew her man was the most caring, wonderful and doting father and lover on the planet but since the issue with Polland had raised its head she'd seen a side to him that she had only ever caught glimpses of before. A softer, vulnerable side and it filled her heart with even more love for him for reasons she couldn't explain other than it just did. He wasn't afraid to show weakness to her, he wasn't ashamed to tell her his fears. Because they were a true partnership. And as she watched him crouch down so his body was submerged in the water, his eyes sparkling in the lights, she felt an unnerving spike of desire that was so strong it surged right from her toes up her body, leaving her slightly fuzzy headed, like she was drunk on love.

Frank cocked his head playfully to the side as Fliss gracefully pushed off the ball of her foot and swam towards him before she twisted in the water slightly and brought her legs out in front of her. She wrapped them round his waist, settling herself on his lap as his large hands gently splayed on her back. Fliss nuzzled her nose against his chin, nudging his head back so she could chain soft kisses across his jaw line, her lips skating the bristles on his face as she gently nipped at his skin. Frank let out a soft sigh, his hands pulling her closer as she moved her affections down his neck, over his Adam’s apple before she gently sucked at the junction of his shoulder and neck, grinding down on him, her bare core slicking over his cock.

"Fuck, Liss..." he stuttered, pulling back to look at her, the water sloshing around them "What's got into you, huh?"

"Nothing yet." She purred back.

Frank looked at her, but before he could make a smart reply she’d dropped her hand from his shoulder into the pool and wrapped her palm around him making him choke on his words slightly as she stroked him with a few quick flicks of her wrist.

“Jesus, baby…” he managed to croak as her eyes locked onto his and a smirk curled on her lips. She leaned forwards, her teeth nipping at his ear and he gave a soft groan, his head falling back slightly as she continued to work him, her hand pumping up and down his now rock hard dick. And then she stopped, and he felt her mouth curve open and her breath was hot on his skin as she whispered 3 words that sent red hot fire coursing through his entire body.

“Fuck me, Sailor.”

He didn’t need asking twice.

Fliss moved herself, guiding him to where she wanted and she sank down onto his length, his hands grabbing her hips as she took him in completely, a low, drawn out gasp escaping her lips as Frank hissed slightly as her walls clamped around him. He gave himself a moment, enjoying the feel of her before he thrust upwards, his fingers curling around her soft flesh as he drew back slowly, before pushing back into her deeply, rotating his hips. Fliss’ hands curled around his shoulders, her head tipping back, eyes closed in pleasure, the action causing her breasts to rise out of the water. Keeping his rhythm slow and deep he dipped his head, his tongue tracing a stripe down her cleavage, the salty tang of the pool water hitting his taste buds as he directed his attention to her nipple, flicking and sucking softly, all the time listening and feeling her reactions as she pushed down further against him, desperate for more. For whatever reason, Fliss was in a downright filthy mood and Frank had a feeling that slow and steady wasn’t going to be enough. He moved his mouth, nipping up her neck before his lips pressed onto hers, the kiss filthy as his tongue fucked her mouth and he pulled back as he began to back himself up to the side of the pool.

With a quick movement he turned so Fliss’s back was against the tiled edge, and he looked at her as she stared at him, her deep brown eyes wide with lust as he dipped his head to kiss her again.

“Turn around.” He instructed, his voice low and Fliss complied, moving off him and spinning in the water. One large hand slid up her spine to her neck and his fingers gently curled around her nape as he pushed her forwards slightly, before he slid both his hands up her arms and directed her hands to grip at the lip of the pool.

Fliss’ body was tingling with anticipation. Her palms gripped round the rough surface of the pool edge as she surrendered to Frank’s control, his chest pressing against her back, lips sucking at her neck.

“If this is too much, tell me…” he whispered against her skin. Fliss tilted her face round to look at him, seeing those ocean blues she loved shining with love and what looked like a slight glimmer of concern. And she knew why. Whilst their sex was hot, passionate, loving, it was very rarely rough because he didn’t want to push her too far knowing her past. But she wanted this, she needed it. She smiled at him, pressing her lips to his.

“I trust you.” She promised him gently and Frank kissed her again before he pulled away. His hands gripped her hips, lifting her ass up so her feet planted on the floor of the pool as he rose to his, the water lapping around his thighs as he buried himself into her with one swift movement. He pulled out slowly before he thrust back, bottoming out as she gasped, her head tilting backwards as he continued rocking his hips back and forth, slowly at first, his movements gathering pace until he built up into a fast, relentless rhythm, every drive into her jolting her forwards slightly as she braced herself against the edge with her arms, elbows locked to absorb the shock. Pants, whimpers, soft cries and the debauched sound of sloshing and skin slapping skin filled the otherwise silent night air of the garden and Frank dropped his eyes to the point where he was pounding in and out of his girl, the sight of where they were joined was hot as fuck and he let out a groan as he watched for a second, before his eyes flicked back up to Fliss. Her head was dropped between her arms, slightly twisted to the right and he could see her eyes were closed, jaw slack, full lips open in a silent cry.

As he continued his powerful, fast thrusts, his cock brushed occasionally against that spot inside and Fliss felt the coil in her belly beginning to tighten slowly, each time he hit it. Frank adjusted his stance and bent over, his right hand falling over hers as he too braced himself against the edge of the pool, giving a dirty grind and Fliss cried out loudly at the sensation.

“Fuck, right there…” she encouraged and Frank repeated the movement again, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he was fighting the urge he was feeling to cum.

“Liss, shit...” He gasped, his left hand dropping between her legs, coaxing her clit and after a few strong strokes Fliss arched her back, her head following as she let out a cry of his name as the world tilted on its axis, her orgasm rocking her to her very core. The feeling was too much for Frank and with a loud moan that rumbled from his chest he followed her right over the edge, his thrusts growing sloppy as he pumped through his own release before he stilled, his head bowing as he waited for the surge of ecstasy to dissipate.

Eventually the fog lifted enough so that he was able to bend his knees slightly, and with the arm that was curled around Fliss’ waist he turned them in the water. Fliss was near dead weight and went with him obligingly, his cock still buried in her as he pivoted and dropped down so that his back was against the wall of the pool and she sat on his lap, the water gently splashing around their shoulders.

Frank cradled her close, pressing a kiss to her neck as he gave a low hum of satisfaction, her head falling back against his shoulder, a smile flickering across her lips.

“You know…” Frank mumbled after a little moment of silence “Cowgirls will always be my favourite, even in reverse.”

Fliss gave a soft chuckle as she opened her eyes and titled her head to look at him. “I prefer sailors…” she smirked and he laughed, pressing his lips to hers.

“You ok?” he asked, as her hands fell over his arms, fingers softly skating up his wet skin and she gave a nod.

“Never better.” She affirmed.

“Good.” He kissed her temple. “You wanna get out or…”

“No, I’m good here for a while.” She purred and he smiled, his mouth dropping to her shoulder where he pressed another kiss to her skin.

Eventually Fliss reluctantly conceded that they probably should get out as Alex would want feeding again any time soon. But, not wanting the moment to end, Frank suggested that whilst she showered he could do the feed and light the fire-pit. Fliss agreed and after wrapping herself in a towel she kissed him again and headed upstairs. Frank dried himself off, located his T-shirt and shrugged it on, leaving the towel round his waist as he warmed a bottle for his now grumbling son. By the time Fliss came back down stairs in her plaid sleep pants and tank, Alex was just finishing up. Frank passed him over, and they both headed back outside. Once the fire was lit Frank scooted off for a quick shower and returned 10 minutes later to find Alex settled once more in the basinet, tucked snuggly under his Christmas blanket that was decorated with little Santa’s and trees, his eyes roaming the starry sky. Fliss sat with her legs under a tartan fleece on the outside sofa, the bottle of champagne stood in the middle of the table in an ice bucket and either side of it rested two full flutes. With a satisfied sigh Frank sat next to her, reaching for his drink and resting his feet on the table as Fliss snuggled under his arm. The pair of them clinked their glasses together, shared another soft kiss and settled into a soft chatter.

It was cosy, domestic, loving, and everything Fliss had ever dreamed of having, but never in a million years thinking she’d experience, and as they sat talking and laughing, speculating about Mary’s reaction to the news of her adoption being tomorrow, she felt herself suddenly choked with emotion and she sat up, looking at her man.

“I think she’s gonna...” Frank trailed off, frowning at the look on Fliss’ face “Hey, honey what’s wrong?”

“Absolutely nothing.” She muttered, clambering onto his lap so she was straddling him, jolting the glass he was holding a little and sending some of the Moet spilling onto the patio.

“You sure?” he titled his head to look at her and she nodded, sniffing back her tears as she kissed him, her hands running through his messy hair.

“I’m just so happy Frank, I can’t stop thinking about how much I lucked out.” She whispered as she pulled away and Frank smiled against her mouth.

“I think I’m the one that lucked out.” He whispered, his spare hand reaching up to smooth her hair back slightly.

“Maybe we can agree we’re both lucky bastards” she grinned and he chuckled, his eyes locking onto hers.

“I can live with that.” He agreed.

******

For the second day in a row Frank and Fliss woke with hangovers, as post the champagne they hit the bourbon and didn’t go to bed until 2 am. Now it was half 6 and Frank wasn’t impressed that he was going to have to deal with a hyper 9 year old who was currently bouncing on his bed, a 16 week old and his mother with a headache and only 4 and a half hours sleep.

After they sat and opened the gifts in their stocking, Frank telling Fliss to leave the thin, flat box until she was alone, they headed downstairs. Frank grinned at Fliss as Mary bust into the family room and glanced at the presents which were arranged in a pile by the sofa. The three of them exchanged their gifts, Fliss being especially delighted with her Spa Day voucher from Mary and Alex, which Frank informed her Simon had also gotten one for Bonnie so they could go together. Frank had also bought her a few new pairs of riding breeches, signed her up for a year’s subscription to Kindle Unlimited, a few more items of clothing, a 3 Pandora charms in the shape of the letters, F, M and A meaning she had one for them all and a stunning silver and diamond necklace and earring set from Tiffany’s which Fliss gasped at when she opened. In contrast Fliss had bought Frank a new phone from Alex and Mary to replace the one he’d smashed against the wall, a few T-shirts and then cryptically told him the biggest gift from her was yet to come.

“You’re not pregnant again are you?” he leaned over and asked her semi-seriously.

“Fuck, no!” she spluttered and he let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. “It’s just a little big…you’ll see.”

Before he could press her any further, Mary gave a loud shriek as she unwrapped the hooded top that was decorated the same as her Gillet and grinned, jamming it on over her pyjama top. Frank laughed as she did a parade in front of them before she paused, looking at the door to the little room off the kitchen. Frank had covered over the door frame in wrapping paper as it held her big present and Mary looked at it, before she turned to Frank and Fliss, frowning.

“What’s that?”

“Dunno.” Frank teased “Why don’t you go through and see?”

Mary looked at the pair of them again before she ran over, her reindeer slippers padding over the floor and she tore through the paper, pushing the door open.

Frank curled his arm round Fliss, kissed the side of her head as they followed her into the room where Mary was stood, gaping around.

As a surprise they’d turned it into a little sitting room of sorts for her. Over the last 4 weeks they had meticulously emptied it of the crap that had been in there since they’d moved in and they’d completely re-decorated it. Frank had painted a pale yellow on 3 of the walls, the 4th at the back was papered with a huge picture of Monty in the pasture. Her show rosettes were hung on a trellis which Frank had screwed to the wall with plenty of space for more and on the shelving unit which housed a large, flat screen Tv, Blu-ray player and Android box were positioned a few photos of various family shots. To finish the room off, 2 huge bean bags were placed in the middle of the room which were big enough for Fliss and Frank to lie in (they'd had a lot of fun trying them out) and there was a small desk in the corner along with an office chair. But it was the electronic keyboard nestled in the corner of the wall that held the TV that caught Mary’s eye.

As Fred sauntered in and hopped up on a bean bag as if he owned the place, Mary walked over to the keyboard running her hands along it before she turned to look at the two adults, her mouth hanging open.

“We thought you might like a place to hang out or chillax or whatever it is you kids do now...” Frank smiled “You know, instead of always needing to go to your room when Rosie or whoever comes over. You can study in here too as well.”

“And trust me you'll want your own space once this monster starts crawling.” Fliss smiled, readjusting Alex in her arms slightly.

“I love it…” Mary gasped, looking around her eyes brimming “My own special living room…and a sort of piano.”

“Well, you keep up your lessons with Nanny V and we might, and I mean might, get you a real one” Frank smiled and Mary beamed at him before she shot over to the pair of them. Frank picked her up with a groan and kissed her cheek.

“Rosie is gonna be well jel.” She giggled and Frank laughed as Mary leaned over to kiss Fliss’ cheek.

“There’s something in the desk for you too.” Frank took a deep breath, setting Mary down on the floor. As she walked over the room, Frank moved, his arm hooking round Fliss’ waist as they watched her open the lid of the desk and take out the envelope. With a frown she pulled it open and her eyes widened as she looked at the detail.

“Is this…” she started breathing deeply, her gaze shooting up to Frank’s, her eyes filling with tears “He…”

Frank nodded, his own eyes pricking with tears “Yeah, he signed the papers Stack.”

“So, I’m…I’m adopted?” she stuttered.

“Not quite but…” Frank sniffed, “It’s about as good as done, yeah. Greg got those yesterday.”

As Mary looked back down at the paper in her hand, Frank spotted a tear fall from her face and then he frowned as he saw her legs starting to shake. In a flash he was by her side, catching her as she dropped to her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck, the paper scrunching slightly in her hand as she buried her face into the crook of his neck and began to cry.

Frank pressed his face into her hair, trying desperately to keep his own tears from falling but failing miserably. Fliss was already gone, and she moved to walk towards them, dropping gently to her knees, Alex held safely in her arms.

“We’re gonna be a proper family.” Mary sobbed and Frank stuttered a laugh as he pulled back to look down at her.

“Mary, sweetheart, we already were.” His voice cracked and she nodded against his neck, before she started to cry again. At that point Thor walked into the room and pushed his nose straight in between Mary and Frank, licking her face and letting out soft little whines.

Mary giggled and grabbed his fur gently “Thor, get off you doofus…”

“Is everything ok?” a voice made all of them look up to see Evelyn in the doorway, wrapped in a dressing gown and slippers. Frank, who had momentarily forgotten he’d text her to come join them, looked up through his tears and nodded. Fliss took the paper out of Mary’s hand and held it out to Evelyn. She gently gripped it, her eyebrows raised slightly, and then her hand flew to her mouth when she read the writing.

“Oh, that’s….that’s fantastic!” she sniffed, “Really…”

Mary, whose sobs had now subsided suddenly pulled back from Frank and looked at Fliss, “We need to give Frank his present!”

“Yup, we do!”

“Yeah, what…” Frank frowned “I’m kinda scared about this you know.” “Oh trust me, you’re gonna LOVE it!” Mary grinned, before she stood up straight.

“Why don’t you let me watch Alex whilst you head out?” Evelyn smiled and Fliss handed him over to his grandmother before the three of them headed to the hallway. Fliss fished the garage keys off the hooks by the door and tossed them to Frank who caught them in his right hand.

“You’re gonna need those” she smiled. Frank arched an eyebrow as he shoved on his sneakers but didn’t say anything as they headed out into the December sun, making their way over the drive.

“Is something gonna jump out at me?” he paused, the keys in the door.

“No.” Mary grinned. With one final, suspicious look at them he flung the up-and-over door open and stopped dead as he looked into the now full space of the double garage, his mouth hanging open.

In front of him was a fairly large boat. It had a covered lower deck area which housed the main engine and cockpit and a large, open flat stern area with benches. It was old, and in need of a fuck tonne of work but Frank was absolutely over the moon.

“Holy…you…you bought me a boat?” he turned to Fliss who grinned and nodded.

“I suppose technically I bought us a boat, but…” she shrugged as Frank moved over to examine it. He ran his hands over the hull, which was sound enough considering the state the rest of it was in and he turned to Fliss, his handsome face splitting into a huge smile.

“It’s a wreck, I love it!” he beamed and Fliss grinned as he took her face in both hands and kissed her “Thank you baby.” “Well I thought about getting a newer one but I know you’ve always wanted to do your own up” she smiled as he pulled away “Plus, from a purely selfish point of view, I’m kinda looking forward to seeing you full of grease again.”

He grinned and arched an eyebrow before he kissed her again and Mary made a gagging noise. He turned to her, playfully swatting at her head and the 3 of them made their way back to the house, Frank casting a loving glance at his newest prized possession before he pulled the door down and locked it.

They exchanged gifts with Evelyn over breakfast, both Mary and Alex’s piles in the living room were significantly larger when they finished opening the bags full each and then following a breakfast of pancakes and bacon which was made whilst dancing around the kitchen to various Christmas songs, Fliss and Mary headed over to the yard to see to the horses and sneak a quick ride in before they needed to head over to Bill and Verity’s.

Fliss opted to shower first so she could get Alex ready and once she was alone she took her time to open the present Frank had told her to leave until later. As she pulled off the wrapping paper she smiled to herself as she saw the Victoria Secrets box and lifted the lid off, gently pulling back the pink tissue wrapping. Biting her lip she pulled out the sheer gold negligee, which was beautiful and rather classy as well, before she placed it back in the box and headed into the bathroom.

Just as she’d finished dressing Frank walked into their room, Alex in his arms and he smiled, pressing his lips to hers.

“I opened it…” Fliss smiled against his mouth.

“Yeah?”

“Mmmhmmm” she affirmed “I happen to think I suit gold.”

Frank smiled “I’m sure you do.”

She grinned and took Alex off him before she headed out of the room, Frank watching her go before he stripped off his clothing and headed into the bathroom.

20 minutes or so later, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a red and blue flannel button down, Frank wandered into the family room and stopped dead as he caught sight of Alex’s outfit.

“Lissy, what the fuck is my boy wearing?” Frank stared at the baby who was sat on Mary’s knee on the sofa, dressed in a green elf onesie. It had a black strip round the middle with a little yellow belt buckle detail, and the collar was red and ruffled. The legs were red and white hooped, just like tights, and on his head sat a red and green hat. As Frank stared at him in disbelief, Alex gazed up at his dad and let out a loud excited noise and waved his hands and legs.

“He looks cute, Frank.” Mary grinned, herself dressed in a white little blouse detailed with christmas patterns. Fliss walked over from the kitchen where she had been boxing up the sugar cookies she had made and grinned as Frank glared at her, pointing to Alex.

“He’s a fucking elf.” He deadpanned. “In tights.”

“Language.” Fliss slapped his arm lightly before she shrugged and gestured to her own Christmas sweater which depicted Santa stuck upside down in a chimney “It’s Christmas.” Frank shook his head. “He looks ridiculous.”

“Don’t be a scrooge.” Mary grinned and Frank shot her a glare, before he glanced at his son again, shaking his head. Alex seemed absolutely nonplussed at the fact his Mother had dressed him in the utterly stupid get up and Frank turned, shaking his head as Fliss smirked at him.

“Everyone is gonna laugh at him.” He pouted and Fliss snorted

“No they’re not!”

Frank knew he wasn’t going to win the argument, Fliss was as big a child as anyone when it came to Christmas, but he was damned if he was going to let his boy be the subject of ridicule without a fight. But whatever protest he had left died in his throat as at that point Evelyn walked back into the room, a few more gift bags in her hands for Fliss’ family and Roberta and let out a little chuckle.

“Oh my God, doesn’t he look adorable.” She clapped her hands and walked towards her grandson.

Fliss bit her lip, her shoulders shaking with laughter at the utter indignation on Frank’s face as he rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated growl as she slid her arms up round his neck.

“Fine, just…whatever.” He sighed as she pulled his head down to hers, catching his lips in a soft peck. “Poor kid’s gonna grow up with a complex” he mumbled against her mouth “First the dinosaur outfit at Halloween, now this…”

“Well, so he doesn’t feel too bad, I got you a matching jumper.”

“Yeah Frank, you can put it on and then we can all take an elfie with your new phone, geddit?” Mary grinned and Fliss snorted. Frank pulled back and glared at Mary “Over my dead body.” “Can be arranged.” She retorted, and at that Fliss and Evelyn burst into laughter.

“Well that’s just mean.” Frank pouted and Fliss grinned, standing on her tiptoes.

“I’ll make it up to you later Sailor.” She whispered, her lips brushing his ear “I’ll let you decide if gold really is my colour for yourself…”

“Yeah?” he asked, arching an eyebrow, his hands dropping to her hips.

“If you wear the sweater…” “That’s…that’s blackmail.” He narrowed his eyes.

“I know.” She pulled back, turning to Mary and Evelyn. “Ok, shall we load the cars up? Mary you wanna ride with me or Frank?”

“Who’s goin’ to get Roberta?”

“Frank.” Fliss said “I’m taking Alex and Thor…and Fred.” She added as an after-thought. “Then I’ll go with him.” She nodded “That ok?”

“Sure.” Fliss smiled, her hand dropping to Mary’s head.

There was a sudden, excited bustle around the room as everyone moved to get their things together…and Frank went upstairs to change into his new elf sweater.

***** Chapter 18

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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hrh-selene-r · 4 years ago

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Celebrity/Character Crush Tag game!!

• tag; post below ten characters, musicians, or celebrities you are attracted to/love and have people assume your type.

Tagged by the Marvelous @ellelaconiwrites 😘 love ya hun!! And yes Michelle Yeoh is AMAZING. Be warned, this list comes in no particular order...so please don’t make me choose

1. Tom Hiddleston (he’s fun, cultured, smart, talented, has a great sense of humor and is good looking; not to mention that he has a boyish charm. If you think he’s a goody goody, you haven’t seen him nasty😏....plus he has a dog named Bobby 🐶)

2. Adam Driver (OF COURSE he’s on my list...I’m not an idiot.. What can I say, he’s a tall and handsome/cute drink of water, he’s also funny and goofy, but thoughtful, talented, hard working, and smart. Not to mention that he has a doggie named Moose 🐕. Of course I Stan! )

3. Cody Fern (While I’m not usually a fan of blonde men, Cody is hmm. This beautiful Aussi falls under my list of men that play with gender. There’s nothing sexier than a man that’s confident enough to play with gender. 🤤 AND!! He’s a great dresser and when he wears make up, ufff. He can be sweet, snarky and Daddy all in one. Plus he’s never boring and is talented, thoughtful.)

4. Adam Sackler & Phillip Altman (They’re both mischievous little boys trapped in men’s bodies. They’re both endearing and obnoxious, but very sweet and emotional. I also like that Adam likes to the role of a caregiver, he likes to feel needed and responsable for someone, and that makes him a good potential to be a father.)

5. Alexander Vlahos (Actor, writer, director, and cat lover. He does it all. Alex is super funny, goofy, smart, witty, handsome and beautiful. He looks good in drag or just hanging out. We have to Stan.)

6. Alexander Ludwig (He’s a gorgeous Canadian Maple, and I can’t help but make heart eyes at him.)

7. Clyde Logan (They grow them big at West Virginia! I just wanna lie on the couch with him and read a book or cook dinner. Like with Paterson -another military vet- Clyde makes you appreciate the simple life.)

8. Toby Regbo (Actor, activist and amateur drag queen. We Stan Stella Lagoon, but I like Toby more ;). He’s so intelligent and thoughtful, he reads a lot of philosophy books and also donates his time doing charity. Plus those eyes are entrancing and I just wanna have a laugh with him while staring at them all night.)

9. Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, D.O., AKA Dr. Mike. (He has to be on this list. He’s a Russian doctor, he’s handsome AF, funny, goofy and is a doggy daddy to Roxy and Bear. He also has a YouTube channel and honestly his best moments are when he’s not perfect.)

10. Jake Gyllenhaal (this is a long time coming. I don’t know if it’s his face, his eyes, his smile or his laugh, but 😍.)

Honorable mentions

Toby Grisoni (He’s a bit of a cynical asshole, but he’s a sexy AF cynical asshole. He needs someone to whip him into shape and show him a bit of humility)

Alexander Dreymon (I have no words for this beautiful German man.)

Paul Rudd (he’s been a crush of mine since the 90’s and I still adore him)

Chris Evans (That’s America’s ass ;)

Jared Leto (He’s a bit of a fuckboi but he’s an immortal one. Plus he’s fun and really smart. He contemplates things a lot and is a nature lover, he has fun with his appearance and is very creative. Plus he’s hung...I mean, there’s a reason they call it Satan...plus he’s into some sado masochist stuff. I’d try it.)

Darren Criss (I cant put my finger on it.)

Michael Langdon (He’s the son of Satan and he’s kinda sexy. He’s not always sure, and he had some help along the way, but when he finally came into his own...daaaamn.)

Nico Tortorella (I just a sucker for them. Nico is just 🤤 but they’re fun and has an adventurous soul. I am so team Josh in younger. To be clear they’re non binary.

Kylo Ren ( Complex character...need I say more. Kylo is a scholar of the force turned commander, turned Supreme Leader. He’s not evil, but also not all good -like any real person. I didn’t see enough of him to get a good grip of his personality, but that’s where we can fill the blanks -cause I can guarantee it’ll be better than whatever Disney would’ve come up with.)

Zuko (Bad guy turned good in the best way possible. Story/character wise: he’s what Kylo isn’t; a well redeemed antagonist. He fails, gets frustrated, tries to be funny but tends to be moody and humorless. But he has a soft cookie dough core underneath it all.)

James ‘Pale’ from Burn This (Jersey boy be Jersey. He’s tall, a hard worker an artist and has a motormouth. Yeah he’s obnoxious, is traumatized by his brothers death and has a cocaine habit, not to mention that he’s in a failed marriage and has issues expressing emotion, but god damn it if you can’t see the emotional vulnerability underneath.

Charlie Barber (I low key love his controlling energy. He’s probably a sub, if I’m honest. But he needs an assertive woman, the man is a controlling narcissist, so his partner can’t take his shit, has to bring him down a peg once in a while and support him, but also demand that he support them.

Sam Geggie: (Sam is a total creative power house as Gigi Goode. They’re funny and witty. I’ll be bad for them if they want. 😏. ❤️ In case you’re wondering Sam is gender fluid.)

L (So he’s basically a law breaking Sherlock Holmes. He’s actually a very engaging and intriguing character. And to be real, there’s an ego thing to being recognized by someone with his intelligence and influence.)

Bill Skarsgard (He’s beautiful.)

Sung Kang (He’s just gorgeous, and his attitude kills me.)

John Hamm (He’s masculine and traditionally handsome...plus he’s hung.)

Alexander Skarsgard (He can be my Viking any day)

Vegeta (yes I’m a dragonball fan. He is arguably the most complex character in the franchise. He is a present father and a supportive and loyal-to-fault husband. Sure he had some growing pains, but I Stan.)

Andreja Pejić (I had a crush before she came out as trans and I still have a crush on her)

Gustav Skarsgard (I cant even. There’s something there.)

Clark Gable (I don’t need to say anything, he’s just so suave and debonair.)

Kento Yamazaki (I mean c’mon. He’s cute)

Did I cheat? Maybe.. ;) Do I have a type? I don’t know, if you thinks so then leave a comment to let me know.

Tagging some friends!! @kowalskibro-adamdriverblog @ktellmeastory @adumbdryer @callmehopeless @direnightshade @commanderbensolo @tsarinastorm @jyn-z-solo @ohiobluetip @oh-adam @thomasscresswell @mind-p0llution @klauscarolove

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faedawayyy · 4 years ago

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I FUCKING LOVE THIS ALBUM AND THE MEANING OF THE SONGS ARE ALREADY SO CEMENTED IN MY HEAD. PLS.

THE CONCEPT OF JUSTICE IN DALLAS’S CASE IS LIKE, GIVING JUSTICE TO THE STORIES AND MOMENTS HE’S LIVED THROUGH. usually, he is very quick to be harsh and talk negatively of things and people but actually, he has a deeper perspective but is too scared to show it or at least he has been in the past. i think i’m trying to develop him in a new direction (ish). he isn’t a saint but i think he’s definitely ready for newer chapters.

2 MUCH “Don't wanna fall asleep, I'd rather fall in love 'Cause eternity with you ain't long enough Two seconds without you's like two months And that's too much” a song about all of his relationships. i feel like this is definitely how dallas feels with ALL of his relationships, whether he claims to love or hate them now. he definitely admires people and puts them on pedalstals and he’s his own biggest enemy because if he could verbalise his feelings properly, people would probably feel more valued by him. the chorus definitely points to how he feels like he knows every romantic relationship he has will be over. they all just feel like ticking time bombs and deep down he thinks he’ll end up alone.

DESERVE YOU I feel like I don't deserve you tonight It's in the way that you hold me I don't deserve you tonight It's in the things that you show me I need you, don't let me go” a song for charlie. she’s his best friend and this is definitely a platonic song. she’s the one friend (girl, anyway) that’s stood by him and not criticised him or patronised him, but also hasn’t made things messy by blurring the lines between them. he knows he doesn’t appreciate her enough but he’s also massively worried about disappointing her/not living up to the person she seems to think he can be if he tries. she was the person who was there at his very lowest. it’s about him feeling fully accepted by her too.

AS I AM “Sometimes, I don't know why you love me Sometimes, I don't know why you care Take me with the good and the ugly Say, "I'm not goin' anywhere" his real fans. the ones who he sees constantly defending him and sticking up for him, despite all of the shit that he’s put them through lmao because he’s definitely not made it easy to support him but he is genuinely grateful (as much as he moans about fancons and being bothered).

OFF MY FACE “'Cause I'm off my face, in love with you I'm out my head, so into you And I don't know how you do it But I'm forever ruined by you” soraya. it’s a love song but also a play on his battle with drugs and how his addiction came in between them. the song lines definitely go back and forth between a stereotypical love song (for her) and a more toxic love song (for the drugs) and how he couldn’t bring himself to part with them for her.

HOLY “On God Runnin' to the altar like a track star Can't wait another second 'Cause the way you hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me Feels so holy” charlie, disney, ruby, adrian, matt, evan, basically all of his close friends. the song is pretty self-explanatory.

UNSTABLE “I tried to scare you, scare you away Showed you the door, you adored me anyway When I was broken in pieces You were my peace of mind, you were my peace of mind.” a lot of these songs are going to be about coming to terms with the truth about his relationship with soraya and realising that he was the problem, because he’s always found it easier to point at anything else.

MLK INTERLUDE “You died when you refused to stand up for right You died when you refused to stand up for truth You died when you refused to stand up for justice for all of his faults, dallas has ALWAYS spoken up about bigger social issues. especially racial inequality. i think he’d put this on here for ally-ship purposes but also to remind people that there are bigger problems than trying to decode what each song is about. i think the speech itself connects to him because there are SO MANY people at st judes who villainise him lmao and run their mouths about how bad he is, but then stay quiet for shit that actually matters. so i guess its kinda shade to them too.

DIE FOR YOU “Pain and passion, my desire You're the right now and what will be You know I would die for you The rest of my life for you” ZARA. zara is the only girl he’s been linked to that has made him meet his match. she always gave him the energy he gave her and that was a first for him, bc he was so used to having the upper-hand. it’s a song about feeling like he’s been pulled out of the rut and the mess he ended up in with soraya x julian and everything else.

HOLD ON “Painting stars up on your ceiling 'Cause you wish that you could find some feeling, yeah, you You know you can call me if you need someone” ruby. he saw how hurt she was after her break-up and he’d been there. they weirdly fell back together after so many years and he didn’t want to see her fall into the heartbreak with ros that she did with soraya.

SOMEBODY “Yeah, everybody needs somebody (Everybody needs somebody) Somebody to wake up to when everyone's gone So if you need me, then you got me (If you need me, then you got me) I'll be the shoulder you cry on” charlie, again, but this time saying he’ll be the best friend to her that she’s been to him.

GHOST “If I can't be close to you I'll settle for the ghost of you I miss you more than life And if you can't be next to me Your memory is ecstasy I miss you more than life” the very last song he’s wrote about soraya. i think he knows deep down that they’re not getting back together but he is deeply in love with her & she is the love of his life, and i feel like he takes comfort in knowing that he’s significant to her too.

PEACHES “I got my peaches out in Georgia (Oh, yeah, shit) I get my weed from California (That's that shit) I took my chick up to the North, yeah (Bad-ass bitch) I get my light right from the source, yeah (Yeah, that's it)” nothing LMAO

LOVE YOU DIFFERENT “There’s beauty on your lips I drown with every kiss I'm not used to this There's nothing I won’t give Don't like makin' promises Just remember this” his relationship with gigi. i think now that he’s away from it and well over it, he sees it more for what it is and the fact that empty promises and trying to be more than they wanted to be kinda ruined them. i feel like this song was written in past tense because they’re obviously not in love any more.

LOVED BY YOU “It's still your love I'm always looking for It's just the way I'm wired Whether I'm wrong or right I've only got one thing on my mind” EVERYONE. i think at his core, dallas is desperate to be loved by people and the reason he pushes people away is because he doesn’t think they’re ever going to. it addresses the people around him, his fans, music academies. he acts like he wants no approval but it’s really the opposite.

ANYONE “You say that I won't lose you, but you can't predict the future So just hold on like you will never let go Yeah, if you ever move on without me I need to make sure you know that...” soraya

LONELY “Everybody knows my past now Like my house was always made of glass And maybe that's the price you pay For the money and fame at an early age And everybody saw me sick And it felt like no one gave a shit They criticized the things I did as an idiot kid”

growing up

#save

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kathyprior4200 · 5 years ago

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Inside Alastor’s Head

“Use the princess to convince Lucifer to hand over Hell to me. Get to know Charlie and her family, see how this so called Happy Hotel works. I can’t wait to see her face when she realizes it’s actually the Hazbin Hotel. Has a better ring to it, anyway. May as well speed up the process by bringing in Niffty and making grumpy Husk join in. It’ll be everything Charlie’s dreamed of…and when it all blows up in her face, I’ll be enjoying my popcorn.”

“So Charlie likes music and dancing, too? How marvelous! These hotel residents can enjoy my singing and illusion magic. (They won’t know what’s coming next.)”

“Who, me? Evil? Why would you think that? It’s totally unlike me to broadcast my massacre of demon citizens who stand in my way. (Except it is.) Man, seeing them running and sacred…reminds me of game I used to hunt when I was alive.”

"Charlie will surely be heart-broken when her plans to redeem sinners falls apart. Maybe if I threaten to capture or kill her, Lucifer will hand over the crown to me. Lucifer makes a deal with me, in exchange for Charlie's safety, I get his powers and rule all of Hell! Hmm, might have to plan things out some more..."

“The demon princess wants to redeem sinners. Ha! Probably the silliest claim I’ve ever heard. A nice refresher from the usual grim news on the Picture Show. Her singing was a nice bonus. Oh, the good old days of being on the air…basking in the attention and glory. I told jokes, advertised shows, announced fun events. I even got to report on murders for the news, probably my favorite part. Soooo close to being able to advertise Jambalaya. Several other announcers got the part, so I wore a disguise, snuck in one day and sliced their heads off. Still loved the expressions on their faces. Here in Hell, I have no opponents in the radio business. ”

“Those overlords look scary and cocky, but they’ve heard the tales of me…they’re scared deep down, for good reason. Sir Pentious didn’t stand a chance when I summoned black tentacles to wrap around him and his ship. Along with my powers, I have shadowy spirits to do my bidding. That’s why you can sometimes see them when I attack. You don’t need brute force and insults to win someone over. All it takes sometimes is some illusions, a little help from the Loa…and just smiling all the way through.”

“My microphone cane surly comes in handy. It’s what allows me to project events in front of me and broadcast them on the radio. It has a life of its own, but I’m in control, of course. All part of the magic deal with the Loa.”

“I enjoyed watching the picture show and going to the circus when I was a boy. Watching the animals and the performers was lots of fun. I may have burned down the circus tent after being rejected from a comedian role. But it was only an accident: my fingers slipped when I was getting cigarettes for father. Whenever I got sad, my mother told me “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” Her motto still rings true to this day.”

“I enjoyed hunting deer in my human life, yet I also feel some connection to the animal. They’re majestic, agile, and are free to travel pretty much anywhere. Though they’re often attacked by hunting dogs…or in my case, police dogs. The beasts mauled me just before I died. It was back in 1933. Thus, for my so called evil deeds, I arrived down here in Hell. And I gotta say, it’s quite a fun place to be!”

“Sex and romance don’t interest me. Don’t get me wrong; Charlie is a charming demon belle, and Vaggie is adorable and feisty…but they’re just a means to an end. Maybe I’m too self-absorbed to want to deal with being judged by others. More fun, less responsibilities when you’re on your own. Though, I’ll admit, I did meet a lovely lady in my human life, but, certain circumstances led to a tragic end. Don’t get me started on Angel’s disturbing sexual remarks. That gross stuff makes my skin crawl. (Heh, that stuff bothers me but seeing the blood of my victims does not. Go figure.)”

“When I smile and touch people, I’m in control. It’s the quickest and obvious way to show my dominance. Frowning shows doubt, weakness, and I can’t afford to appear weak. When other’s try to touch me, it’s always unexpected. I can never tell what it will feel like on me. My space, my rules. Touch me too much, and I hate it. Like when he…my father…did things to me…in front of mom. Abuse, molest, he did it to both of us when the drinks were in his system. You can see why I was shocked and overjoyed when I finally stabbed the life out of him. I also really didn’t want to murder my mother and the love of my life…but they were going to tell the authorities what I did…so there was no choice. I fled into the woods in the hours before dawn, the police hot on my tail. Saw the faces of deer before I got shot in the head. The dogs came upon me and…nothing.”

“I got my love of cooking from my mum. One of her favorite things to make was jambalaya. A tasty cuisine of rice, chicken, sausage, shrimp, a whole bundle of things. She added so much spice to it (and accidentally burned herself making it), it almost killed her. I thought it was fabulous, the heat invigorating to my taste buds. The secret spices she used by accident? Ghost peppers and Wasabi. It reminds me of home in New Orleans…a world of music, daily life, and alas, racism. People who didn’t know me at the radio station, white people and sometimes black people, badmouthing me for my mixed Creole heritage. Once I perfected my shooting with my rifle, well…they got what they deserved in the dead of night.”

“Ah, I loved the stock market crash of 1929! There were so many orphans, so many kids in distress! Perhaps it made me feel better to know that there were those who had it worse than me. I’ve had my share of bad luck, it was about time for others to experience some of their own.”

“I sometimes kill people at random, when I’m especially mad. It’s sort of like a game: the more you kill, the more dominant you’ll appear. I’m not fond of killing innocent children or chasing people, I mostly prefer to catch people off guard. To slaughter them behind the curtain, if you will. I would never rape or eat another person…such uncouth, disgusting behavior. Chasing my victims takes too long. Best to go at my own pace and decide their fate for them. But no worries; for women and innocent strangers, I make their deaths as painless as I can. Gotta keep being a gentlemen in some aspects.”

“Voodoo had been practiced by my ancestors, way back in Africa. I read about the Loas and many of them were just like me: well-dressed, powerful, lovers of food, wine, the good life. From what was passed down to me, I was able to communicate with them. They granted me their powers to use in my afterlife…but only if I was willing to suffer an “early, gruesome death,” along with the loss of a potential lady partner… you know the rest. I know some of the symbols and they provide me with visualization of the spells I want to conjure.”

“Singing, swing music, the radio, dancing, and dad jokes…those hobbies brought light to my otherwise mundane, grim human life. Even if other people don’t find those jokes funny, I always get a kick out of them. They’re so simple…a basic for any comedian. Though I do wish I knew how to tap dance. Maybe my magic can help me out...”

#alastor #hazbin hotel #radio demon

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johannesviii · 5 years ago

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Top 12 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2014

The “least good” of the three best years of the 2010s. This is still a top 12. Because I can, and I will.

I know. People also call it a bad year. And I think they’re wrong.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

New job, which is the one I still have currently. Also, I discovered Doctor Who in December 2013 and you know exactly what happened in 2014 because I dived head first into the extended universe as soon as I finished New Who and I’ve never really recovered since then. The end of the year was highly stressful, with my cat being sick, my father needing a very dangerous surgical intervention, and me being so stressed out I was basically unable to sleep for days. Might explain why there’s a lot of cute songs on this list, I needed cute stuff.

That year wasn’t very generous in good albums from bands I liked. Epica released The Quantum Enigma, and it was okay, Within Temptation had Hydra, and it was also okay, and Coldplay had the very underrated (in my opinion at least) Ghost Stories, a mostly melancholic album full of bittersweet post-breakup songs. So I’m left with no choice but to declare The Birthday Massacre’s album Superstition my album of the year for 2014. They had stayed at a consistent level since Pins And Needles so I wasn’t expecting anything better from them, but boy do they delivered. Here is Divide, it’s about a subterranean world and it might be a metaphor but as you know I’m very literal-minded! Here’s Beyond, about a lady falling in love with a strange woman who might be some sort of fae or supernatural entity!! I love most of the album and there’s only one subpar song on it. I know they’ll never get a crossover hit but they’d deserve it so much. Look at the state of the world. We’re so ready for a new mainstream wave of energetic, angsty, weird music. Just bring it on.

There’s only one non-elligible song that truely pisses me off this time, and it’s Traffic Girl by Indochine, another single from their Black City Parade album. It’s about a policewoman in North Korea who has to wave and smile at non existant traffic all day long and the song presents her as a modern hero. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album and I’m so mad it didn’t make the French year-end list.

Here’s a list of honorable menti-holy shit why is this list so long

Albatraoz (AronChupa) - Riiiiiight at the limit between catchy and annoying. But it’s blissfully short.

Chandelier (Sia) - I would like this more if it wasn’t that painful to listen to, I swear.

Magic in the Air (Magic System) - Insert my usual comment about these guys and their fun & happy songs.

Un Jour Au Mauvais Endroit (Calogero) - Great music, good lyrics. It’s still Calogero and I tend to dislike how overdramatic he usually is. Not enough to ruin that one song for me though.

Je Garde le Sourire (Black M) - This isn’t the last time he’s gonna appear in this post.

Prayer In C (Lilly Wood & The Prick) - A bit repetitive but in a good way.

Budapest (Georges Ezra) - A bit repetitive but in a good way 2, the return but in a completely different genre.

The Monster (Eminem & Rihanna) - We’ve now entered the songs which I considered putting on the list, and yeah, there’s a lot of them even if this is a top 12. “Bad year for pop music”. Yeah. Right.

Addicted To You (Avicii) - This is good, and the music video is great, and I want to stop feeling emotional about Avicii. Please.

Don’t Tell Em (Jeremih) - I. Uh. What the f█ck. Okay. There’s no way I can justify this. I simply adore this beat even if the lyrics are really, really bad. It’s just visually stunning and I really wish the song itself was better.

Photomaton (Jabberwocky) - I don’t think this would have charted without the success of Kavinsky the previous year. But still. Wonderful stuff. Well deserved.

Madame Pavoshko (Black M) - This was on the first version of the list but in the end I really had no room left for it. It’s a song about a guy telling his old teacher he made it in life despite the fact she labelled him a hopeless case at school. With such a premise, it could be an angry song, but no, it’s upbeat, sarcastic and fun. Wonderful stuff.

Le Graal (Kyo) - Kyo? Wait, you mean the embarrassing emo guys from my 2002 and 2003 lists? These guys?? They were back on the charts after ten years?? And suddenly everyone thought it was cool to like them again?? Including me??? Sounds fake but okay

Turn Down For What (DJ Snake) - The last cut. Stim music at its finest, sharp, aggressive and colorful. Everything I ever wanted from a hit song.

Well, that was long. Here’s the actual list.

12 - Wake Me Up (Avicii)

US: #22 / FR: Not on the list

“So wake me up when it’s all over, when I’m wiser and I’m older” should make no sense. You can’t get wiser if you’re asleep. At least that’s what I would probably say if I didn’t feel this. There’s a lot of times in my life I wished I could be switched off and woken up a couple of years later and be like “hello I’m back, I feel better now, what did I miss”. I totally get it.

The only reason this song is so low on the list is the drop. I don’t like it very much. The rest is damn good.

11 - Boom Clap (Charlie XCX)

US: #34 / FR: #84

Boom! Boom! Boom! CLAP. That song got me after its first seconds. Love its atmosphere, very cotton candy-like, very fluffy, with a sharp voice. Doesn’t work well if you listen to it on a loop, though, and that’s the only negative thing I can say against it.

10 - Stay The Night (Zedd)

US: #94 / FR: Not on the list

This on the other hand works very well on repeat and that drop is golden. I’m afraid I don’t have anything very interesting to say about it. It stayed on my playlist from 2014 to summer 2019, though, so that’s an impressive feat.

9 - Rather Be (Clean Bandit)

US: #41 / FR: #18

Several critics I follow have commented this song is 1) mostly meaningless 2) too perfect to say anything about it and I agree. It’s also too perfect to be really passionate about it, unfortunately, but still, very, very good stuff.

8 - Magic (Coldplay)

US: Not on the list / FR: #66

You already know I don’t really like lowkey emotional songs and I also hate the first act of Coldplay’s career, so why on earth did I like Ghost Stories so much and why is Magic making me feel so emotional, you ask? Well it’s because the music itself isn’t bland. It’s lowkey but rich, dense and colourful, and it works much better than whatever they were doing before with their slow boring songs. Also, I really struggle with dramatic vocal performances on quiet emotional songs (which is why I tend to have issues with Adele’s voice on some of her stuff), and here the balance is just ideal. Soft colors, soft textures, soft voice, this is like a colorful plushie you’ve lost for years and just found in the attic and it brings you to tears. I adore it.

Also the part of the lyrics that goes “And if you were to ask me / After all that we've been through / Still believe in magic? / Oh yes I do”, that makes me want to hug someone and never let go.

7 - Waves (Mr Probz)

US: Not on the list / FR: #15

This is completely hypnotic. It’s perfect to drive, to walk, to draw. to sit on a bench and look at the trees. It’s just wave after wave of pastel colors with a good beat and it washes away your anxiety slowly but surely. Therapeutic and beautiful without ever feeling bland. Wonderful stuff.

6 - Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson)

US: Not on the list (#1 on the 2015 year-end list) / FR: #3

Everyone loved it and I wasn’t an exception. You all know it and I’ve got nothing new or interesting to say about it. A ton of fun. Love the lyrics.

5 - Sur Ma Route (Black M)

US: Not on the list / FR: #7

If you’re wondering what’s going on in this picture, the guy is parodying a lot of famous movies or series in the music video. It’s a simple but super energetic song about trying to trace your own road in life and all the problems you encounter and how you can’t always count on people you thought were your friends. It’s very propulsive and motivating and it’s my favorite song from that guy even though he made a lot of good songs. Just great stuff. Check it out if you’ve never heard it.

Speaking of being on your own...

4 - Ain’t It Fun (Paramore)

US: #47 / FR: Not on the list

I miss hearing that kind of thing on the radio and yes, I’m aware that makes me sound like an old idiot. Oh how I wish this had been released in 2010 when I just started to work, that would have been perfect. I know the song is supposed to be sarcastic with the whole “ain’t it fun being on your own” angle, but yeah, when your life wasn’t great before, it’s actually liberating to “live in the real world”, even if it sucks at times, even if it’s difficult and you have responsibilities and all.

Also the music video is super cute. Love it.

3 - Pompeii (Bastille)

US: #12 / FR: Not on the list

I’m honestly surprised this is only #3 on this list considering how much I loved this one back when it came out, and don’t get me wrong, it’s still a song I love to this day, just... a bit less. Maybe it’s because of overplay? I’m not exactly sure considering #1 was also played very often and I never ever got tired of it. And it’s well written, and it’s not every day that you hear a song about two dead people talking about the wrath of the gods after their city was engulfed in ash.

So yeah. Not sure what happened there. I hope this band is eventually gonna have another hit like this one. Bastille, more of Pompeii and less of Happier, please.

2 - Dangerous (David Guetta)

US: Not on the list / FR: #8

A few months ago I heard Memories by Maroon 5 and I was instantly filled with a truely disproportionate amount of rage for such a bland pop song. See, I love it when music uses well-known classical tunes and completely changes their context and tone, but Memories doesn’t do any of that, it’s just the Pachelbel canon with some bad lyrics on top. So yeah, it’s a pet peeve.

Dangerous, on the other hand, is a song mixing a small loop of Toccata & Fugue in D minor and it basically uses it as an ominous pseudo-police siren in a song about illegally cruising a car with your possibly criminal, possibly gangster crush and not knowing if you’re scared, in love or feeling the thrill of adventure, or all of that at once. I. Love this damn song.

When the only bad thing I have to say about a song talking about driving at night way too fast is “eh this isn’t as good as Kavinsky”, you know you’ve found gold.

1 - A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay & Avicii)

US: #51 / FR: #9

As much as I love Dangerous, there wasn’t any doubt about what would top this list. I’ve spent about ten lists explaining how my appreciation of Coldplay kept growing over time and four lists explaining how much I loved Avicii, and this song is the best of both worlds. The first time I heard it, I was driving and, no joke, I was so overwhelmed I had to park my car to properly concentrate on the song.

One day I will have to paint this song to explain how fantastic it looks and I’d have to use purple, china blue and pink watercolor inks and basically paint a psychedelic night sky full of little lights and yeah, this is basically another of these songs that are deeply satisfying on a synesthetic level, and it joins this very select club with the blue song called “Blue”, the song full of bright flashes called “Lights” and the song that looks like gentle pulsing lights called “Fireflies”. I’m trying (and failing) to learn how to play it on the piano. I know the chords, and I suck, but I’m very determined.

On top of that deeply satisfying visual, there’s the soft vocals so specific of the Ghost Stories album, and the very simple, very cute lyrics, and I simply hear “'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars, I'm gonna give you my heart” and I die instantly. This is high quality musical fluff. Come to think of it, this list is full of it, and this is the Ultimate Fluffy Song. One fluff to rule them all.

Sidenote, considering I fell into the DW audios right when this song came out, that’s one of my theme songs for Eight and Charley. Because of course it is.

Next up: The beginning of a progressive drop in quality but you wouldn’t be able to tell considering how long this list of honorable mentions is

#Johannes’ bad not good pretty terrible music lists #music #long post #eye contact tw

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takingcourage · 5 years ago

Text

The Mid-Point Reversal

Pairing: Jaime x MC

Word Count: 2,100

Summary: Jaime stops by Arden’s apartment after one of the worst days ever.

Note: Today’s chapter left a bad taste in my mouth and I had to do something about it. I tried not to make any changes that would significantly impact canon, but the thought of Arden spending the night alone just didn’t sit well with me.

Fair warning: This fic is messy and probably has copious errors. Compared to my normal turnaround time for stories, the 3ish hours I spent on this is really pushing it. If you notice any issues, feel free to (kindly) let me know so that I can correct them.

The headache still hadn't gone away. For hours, both temples had throbbed, followed by a gnawing ache in the back of her skull. Headlights on the drive home had just made it all worse. By the time Arden arrived at her apartment, she couldn't stand anything brighter than the nightlight above her bathroom sink.

But the headache didn't even matter. What mattered was that she was finally left alone with her thoughts -- finally forced to face the reality of all that had happened over the course of the day.

Heart pumping with an alarming pace, she finally acknowledged what she'd known for hours. Since leaving the hospital with Anna, she'd been hedging around the fact that something very serious had changed.

She'd hit her mid-point reversal.

She'd fallen. Compromised her morals for what had, in the moment, seemed the greater good. But a compromise was still a compromise. No matter what the circumstances had been, she'd broken her most sacred rule.

In stories, Arden knew that this was a defining moment that could lead to the resolution of the plot -- an either-or sort of choice that could lead to either a happy ending or tragedy. And in all the stories she knew, abandoning one's convictions rarely ended well.

But what else could she have done?

Through the day, her thoughts had layered and stratified -- building upon each other to the point where she could hardly make sense of all the varied threads of questioning and considering. Yet, in all of that wondering, she still hadn't come up with a solution better than the one she’d chosen.

Arden tossed off her work clothes, opting instead for an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of well-worn leggings. She padded back into the couch and lay down on her side, bringing her legs to her chest. A cold, damp nose nudged at the fingers covering her eyes and she reluctantly pulled them away.

"Hey, Opie," she managed against a tight throat, extending one hand to cup his furry muzzle. His mouth fell open, tongue lolling in contentment.

But instead of his usual litany of the day's events, the quiet endured. Arden heard only distant street noises several stories below. A fresh wash of uncertainty spread over her. How was she going to be a star reporter now? How was she going to do anything?

Much as she appreciated Opie's presence, it wasn't enough to comfort her tonight. She needed a distraction -- a way to get out of her own head, if that was even possible. All other ideas exhausted, she reached for the remote and turned on Netflix. She couldn't watch the brightly lit screen, but having some noise in the background would have to help.

Silence was intolerable.

Arden was well into her third episode of The Office when she heard the quiet rapping at her front door. No part of her wanted to stand and confront another living human being. After the day she'd had, the chances of it being someone she hadn't disappointed were close to zero. Arden pinched her eyes shut and willed the visitor to leave, hoping against hope that it was just an unwitting guest who'd gotten the wrong apartment number.

Of course, she wasn't that lucky. The tapping sounded again, this time ever so slightly stronger than it had been before. Eyelids scrunching harder to confront the sudden burst of pain that came with standing, Arden made her way to the door slowly and pulled the handle without bothering to look through the peephole. She finally willed her eyes open, keeping her gaze close to the floor to avoid the flare of fluorescent lights in the hall.

Jaime's presence came as little surprise, but after their last conversation it wasn’t much of a relief either. Eyes trained on his shoes, she widened the crack and took a step backward. "Come on in."

Sensing her discomfort, he accepted the flat invitation and followed her into the apartment. "Listen," he began quietly once the door had latched shut. "The last thing I want to do is bother you, but I couldn't stand to leave things where they were. It's been eating away at me and I just needed to see you."

"I know." She swept a mass of unkempt hair from her eyes, trying to focus on his face. The sides of his mouth turned down in a heartbreaking frown, concern for her evident in every feature. "I'm doing fine. Trying to get myself good and tired so I can get some sleep tonight."

She wouldn't blame him for not believing her. Not when she didn't believe the words herself.

"I hate seeing you like this, Arden. But if you think you're better off on your own, I can give you these and leave." He stretched out a hand and placed a small paper bag on Arden's coffee table. "I found some treats I thought Opie might like. I've had them for a couple of weeks, but kept forgetting to bring them by. I figured they'd help in case I needed an excuse to show up here tonight."

"You never need an excuse." Arden's neck prickled at how easy it was to slide back into their familiar intimacy. After what had happened that evening, why would he even want to visit her again? She didn’t deserve it.

"Good," he said approvingly. But his smile didn't reach his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened before. I should have just kept my mouth shut instead of trying to solve your problems for you."

Fresh tears stung Arden's eyes. If only Jaime could solve this problem. Unfortunately, nothing that had happened today was going to be so simple.

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to Netflix. But if there's anything I can do to help -- anything at all -- please let me know. I can't stand having you hurt like this and not being able to do anything." As he hugged her goodbye, the tears spilled out, rushing down her cheeks in two hot streams.

"Please don't go," Arden whimpered into his chest.

"I'll stay as long as you want me here," he promised, stroking her back with one broad hand. With his arms as a barrier to the outside world, she finally felt some measure of comfort.

She eked out a whispered, "Thanks, Jaime."

"Do you want to go back to watching The Office? I'm up for some Scranton shenanigans if they’re any help." He pulled back slightly to read her face.

Arden shook her head and extracted herself from the embrace. Grabbing the nearby remote, she quickly powered off the television. "I wasn't really in the mood for it, but it was better than sitting here with my thoughts. I felt like I had to have something on so it wasn't so quiet." She plopped back to the couch, resting her ankles on the end of the coffee table. Jaime joined her, Opie in close pursuit.

"Is it okay for me to..." Jaime motioned toward the bag he'd brought.

"Of course. He deserves one after today."

"They're supposed to taste like peanut butter," he explained good naturedly, though Arden wasn't sure if the words were for her benefit or Opie's.

"As long as this means you're not letting him eat from the jar again..."

"Nope, we learned our lesson the first time, didn't we, boy?" Jaime waved the treat with a flourish, Opie's eyes following his every move. "Now, sit." The animal did as instructed, quick obedience rewarded with the desired treat and several enthusiastic pats on the head.

Arden's lip curved slightly at the sight before her. Even through her headache and all of the day's frustrations, she couldn't deny the adorable partnership before her. Why did Jaime have to be so damn perfect all the time?

Guilt roiled her stomach at the reminder of how imperfect she was by comparison.

"Jaime?" She took a deep sigh and slid her hands into the overlong arms of her sweatshirt. Tucking her fingers around the thick cuffs, she measured her words. "I'm sorry that I can't be honest with you right now. Today's just been..."

No words could do it justice.

"You're fine, Arden. I don't understand what happened with the Carmichael interview, but I shouldn't have pried."

"You were right to. There's an explanation, but I can't tell anyone about it yet -- not even you. I know that's not fair, but I have to work it out for myself first."

She almost missed the quick flash of pain in his eyes. "I don't understand why, but I'll try to accept it."

"That's all I can ask."

"You're sure there's nothing I can do?"

"Just being here is helping. I've made a big old mess of things already. Bringing you into it would probably just make it all worse."

"Okay," he agreed weakly.

For a spilt second, she considered telling him everything. Maybe if the truth had all been laid out, he'd be able to convince her that she didn’t deserve the terrible names she’d been calling herself since leaving the hospital. Maybe he'd echo Anna's earlier assurance that she'd only done what any other person in her shoes would have done. Or maybe he'd be disappointed and remind her of every misstep she'd taken in the course of this miserable day.

Worse, he might try to do something about it.

Jaime’s interference wasn't going to help her expose Charlie Carmichael. He always had lacked common sense when it came to standing up for her. Until she had a plan, it was better if he remained completely ignorant of what had transpired in the hospital room.

But even as she made the decision, a small voice throbbed: you're making a mistake.

Jaime’s voice cut through the sound of her conscience. "Are you feeling any sleepier than you were when I came in? I don't want to keep you up if you could be getting rest."

Arden gave him a sidelong glance, wincing as the abrupt movement sent a shock of pain through her head. "I don't think I could sleep now if I tried."

His brow furrowed in thought. "Maybe...no, nevermind."

"What?"

"It's just, remember how comfortable you were when we were out stargazing? Do you think you might be able to sleep if I was there with you?" His cheeks colored at the suggestion.

"I have no objections to trying it," she admitted. The thought of tossing and turning alone was pretty miserable. Even if she didn't sleep, she thought that she might at least be able to relax with him.

"I'm not just trying to get in your bed -- I promise."

Arden snorted in spite of herself. "Jaime, I know you're not.” Under other circumstances, she’d have reveled in the opportunity to drive the blush a deeper shade of pink.

“Phew.”

"I think I've even got some sweatpants that would fit you. Lemme go check.” After a brief trip to her bedroom, she tossed the pants to the couch and headed into the bathroom.

Teeth brushed and face washed, she returned to the bedroom to find Jaime stretched out on top of her quilt. He’d donned her pants and stripped down to his innermost layer of shirt. Arden had seen him in loungewear plenty of times before, but she couldn’t ever remember having such a strong urge to curl up beside him.

“You can get under the covers, you dummy.” She plugged her phone into the charger, watching him from the corner of her eye.

Jaime did as she suggested, flipping down the blankets on both sides of the large bed. She climbed in next to him, running an appreciative hand along his shoulder.

“Thanks for coming by to check on me. And thanks for staying. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You never have to worry about finding that out. At long as you want me here, I’m here, Arden.” His fingers traced the apple of her cheek, as if sealing the promise in skin.

In return, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Goodnight, Jaime.”

“Goodnight.”

Easing down onto the mattress, she rolled to her side and pressed back against the length of his body. His long arm wrapped around her torso before settling against the flat of her stomach. She nestled closer and shut her eyes, exhaling a contented sigh. With him, the guilt no longer felt so suffocating.

Maybe there was still hope of using this twist of fate for good.

#playchoices #playchoices fanfiction #wishful thinking #jaime lewis #jaime x mc

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ariagrans · 6 years ago

Photo

I’ve had nothing but pure love for this group for a bit over six months now, and it’d only be right for me to tell each and every one of you why you’re so wonderful to me. Muns are listed alphabetically!

Ally: Let’s kick this off with something I know I said before but I can’t help to say it again, you amaze with how dedicated you are! I freakin’ love that about you, and it’s an honor to get to be around that. As someone who fawns over all the ships, you know I’ve always loved yours and I love what you put into all of yours replies. They each so well written and I couldn’t feel more blessed to know you. I want the whole world to know what you all you put into your roleplaying so they really know what it’s like to put heart into something. @hqmaia

Becca(EST): Oh man, you really bring me back. When I think about what RP used to be like, I’m thinking of 2012/13 when everything was so with the flow and that’s what you are. I feel like I’m back to when things were easier in life, when it wasn’t so stressful, when RP was a proper escape to submit all of your creativity into. Every time I’m on here and I see you on my dash, I get taken back to that time, and I love every bit of it. You put so much into making this group feel like one and it wouldn’t be the same without! @liliisms

Becca(GMT): My precious Becca, where do I begin? I gotta keep these relatively simple or else this is turning into a novel, so let me focus on just how much you’ve made me fall for your muses! Truly Taylor and Niall couldn’t be more perfect, and I don’t know how you do it but you do. I am such a sucker for Taylor and Louis, and you do such a wonderful job at giving that ship what it needs to thrive, and I’ve never had so much with a Niall before! Even if it’s me seeing him on the dash most of the time or him being cute with Ari, he genuinely brings a smile to my face. Thank you for having them here and blessing my dash with every single post you make. You’re such a crucial part of this RP like everyone, and I couldn’t be happier that you are one. @teylcrswift

Beth: Talk about some who is so unapologetic with the MURDER you inflict on my with you and your muses both, Miss Beth. You know what you’re doing when you’re doing it and you don’t care how much it kills me as long as I find it perfect and you know I always do! If we had an awards for one who plays their character so well in regards of the real celebrity, it’s all yours hands down. I already loved Jack from what I had saw of him and I wasn’t prepared for what would happen when I came here, but you have completely caused me to nose dive into the pool of infatuation with your Jack. All of your muses for that fact, they bring a lot of emotions out of me, and that takes a lot of skill on your part that I honestly can’t go without. I don’t know what the polls are yet, but you’re definitely an All Star. @jocklowden

Charlie: Is it okay for me to start this by saying I love you? Because I do, I really do. You are a part of my every day life now and I honestly wouldn’t want it to be any different. Even if I’m too stressed to get on the dash or not feeling good, you’re still there to be an amazing person to me and somehow want to talk to me! I think Charles and Ariana is what really kick started the two of us talking to each other back in February and it’s seriously been a wonderful almost four month getting to know you. I’m constantly amazed by how fascinating you are and what you do with yourself, even if you don’t believe me when I say it, you are truly one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’ll gladly brag to anyone I know that I also get to know you. Thank you for everything you do, everything you contribute, and everything about you that’s made you a perfect human to me. You’re one hell of a friend and I couldn’t imagine it being any different. @madelame-x

Dee: I know you’ve been here before, but since you just got back, I thought I’d take the opportunity here to welcome you again! I’m excited to RP with your Brie and if you want to plot, Ariana/Fionn/Darren are all yours! Thank you for giving us your creativity and time, I know we’ll all appreciate it. @briannelarsonx

Emily: Girl, you know how to make someone feel loved and their muses feel loved so well, I can only hope that I make you feel the same way! I think everything started with Ari and Troian’s friendship and it’s snowballed in a big ole’ bundle of love for all of your muses since! It’s so easy to write with you and I can feel the chemistry for who we play flow right out when I’m doing my replies! Our friendship means to world to me and no matter what happens and wherever anything takes us, I know I want you to be there with me to write it all out. @hqsofia

Faith: This may be a weird way to start things out for your segment here, but I have to say it. I’ve never met another writer that is so damn good at dry humor the way you are. I mean, there are so many funny people here and I love every bit that they give, but Aaron is one of a kind and damn do I love seeing him on my dash! I haven’t had much experience with others who play him, so having him here really is like a rare gem for me! And you sure know how to make him shine. Him and Lizzie both, with the way they talk to each other, I’m entirely pulled in and each reply is perfect. And oh, don’t let me forget, you know what you’re doing with drama as well! I’m so blessed to get to partake in it with you, and I hope you can forgive me for my lack of activity for our bbies Aaron and Darren, the troubling two. It’s already one of my favorite friendships and that’s largely due to you being the far better half, so never change! You’re wonderful the way you are. @aarcntveit

Ina: My sweet, sweet Ina! If there’s one person that I just want to wrap my arms around and give the biggest hug to, it’s gotta be you! You’re always bringing a smile on my face even when you’re not doing anything but posting in the ooc blog or reblogging a photo of Gen and talking about how pretty she is. I do the same, I mean. I’m obsessed with Ariana so we’re in the same boat of those who totally adore their muses, and I adore yours! I need to get on it with more threads with you because I know I’m missing out on the perfection! You’re a wonderful roleplayer and an absolutely stellar admin that I feel lucky to be around in this group, and it’s been an hour to spend these past seven odd months here with you. @itsgenevievegnt

Jaq: I can’t even begin to properly put into words how wonderful you are, Jaq. A bit of time had passed of me admiring your characters from what felt like a far, but once we had something going for them, their chemistry practically wrote itself! Not to mention our own because my friendship with you blossomed quick and has been one of my favorite to ever experience through RP. I know we’re both busy and have a lot going on nowadays, but Ariana will never forget the threads she’s had with your muses, and I can’t wait for more to come with Cami and whoever else you may ever play. You’re so funny and you don’t mind when I say something utterly dumb on discord and that calls for one hell of a friend because I feel like I say a lot of dumb stuff. And before it slips my mind, I want to add that I hope you had one hell of a time in Maui! You deserved it. @hqcami

Katie: Strike me down right now for not having more going on with you! I adore Diana so much and love seeing her on my dash, I demand I get my ass in gear and get some stuff going. Especially now that I have Darren, even though she’s best friends with Lizzie which we shall access properly, I’d love to have more going with such a wonderful muse played by a fabulous person! And my god, you’re one hell of a cutie on the main. You’re so sweet and I love seeing your posts with Emilia even if you’re just promoting for more people to join. Feel free to message me whenever and about whatever you want, I’d love to get anything started on any of my bbies with you. @diannahq

Kay: Another case where I’m totally ashamed of myself for not having anything going on with such a perfect muse! One, I might add, that’s brought my precious Dove and her muse a lot of joy which makes me love you all the more, because Samantha deserves all the perfect ships and you do one hell of a job to give her one, and that’s makes a pretty great cookie in my book. Please come to me for whatever you want and I’ll have it on your way. I’ve been so tempted to make more promos on my own character just to get you the rest of the 5SOS boys cause I’d love for you to have them around and see the band thriving, and your Luke has been the best one to see around in my years of RPing, thank you so much for gracing us with him. @hwl-hemmo

KJ: I just want you to know that you have been a total staple to my experience here at Hollywoodland, KJ. From your muses to the way you personally are, I get so much enjoyment out of your presence here that I marvel at the way you are. From being a wonderful writer with your characters to being absolutely precious out of character, especially when you had met Eliza and gifted us with the cutest meet and greet photos I’ve ever seen, you’re exactly what this place will always need and I’m so happy that you’re not only a part of this family but one of who helps keep it rolling on the main. From a talented writer to a caring admin, you’ve got it all and my muses will forever love yours just like I love you. @kjapayo

Lara: How can I say that you make my stomach hurt without it sounding bad? I mean, I’m sure Jordan can say it and end up turning it into a flirt! But honestly, you’ve made me actually cry with how funny you are. I have to hide my laughs at work, but it’s all out when I’m home and I’ve had to take time to recuperate when I laugh so hard! Ariana just loves Jordan to bits and she’d do anything to have him around as much as possible. I can’t stress it enough but you really do have a talent with yourself and your muse for cracking me the hell up and I think we all need someone like that in our lives, so thank you for being in mine! @jordnconnor

Laura: I need to message you pronto because if I don’t have more with your perfect muses soon, I may very well go a bit mad! Just what bit I’ve had between Tom and Ariana has been so very dearly loved and I know I’ll enjoy everything that’s written with you, especially since I enjoy reading everything you post! Not to mention how much I love the spread of muses you have, it’d be a crime not to get some for myself so I can enjoy it that much more. I’d love to plot with you even if we all know from the dozens of times that I’ve said how I’m terrible at doing so! @tmhclland

Mal: I know you haven’t been here long, but I really do hope that you find this a place to stay! I see the dedication that you put in your replies and wow is Emilia such a cute little bean! Please feel free to message whenever you’d like if you want anything going with any of my muses, I know I’d love to have something going with your precious girl. @clarkesitos

Maree: Let me take a moment absolutely applaud you for having such a fascinating queen to enjoy on my dash and in this roleplay! I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to RP with a Stefani this much in all of my years of being on Tumblr, and that’s such a shame because she truly is so beautiful and talented and definitely deserves more recognition in the community. Yours especially deserves all of the attention she can get for being so wonderful and bringing a smile on my face whenever you’re around. Not only are you blessing us with such an underused faceclaim to enjoy on the visual standpoint alone, but also with beautiful writing and skill that makes everyone want to fall in love with her. Bless this queen. @stefgaga

Minnie: The DIVERSITY with your muses, I swear! I’m still shocked by it that I had no idea you played them all, and that takes such a talent to differentiate muses when you have a good amount of them, a talent that you for sure have! I’m just in absolute awe with what you do with and for them, and you’ve given me beautiful ships to admire from a far. Beth definitely knows what Jaoirse means for me, and even though I’m not a part of it, I enjoy being in the front row with a box of popcorn ready for the show, no matter what it is that you’re writing for them! We can’t forget how much I love GMax as well, though! You and Ina write that ship out so beautifully and I’m so delighted that I get to see their relationship and marriage continue on, I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for me. @irishxseahorse

Nikki: Your name is right in the middle of this list with the way I organized it, but I might have had to save it for the last one that I’ve written out, and that’s solely because of the fact that I knew how emotional I’d get over writing this out, and I may need to take the rest of the day to regather my composure afterwards, Babe. Where do I even start though when every single thing about you bring my pure happiness and makes me love you more and more every day? How can I properly explain why Harry and Joe bring me so much joy enough to bring them justice? Because that’s what they do! They make me smile with everything they do, and that’s exactly what you do as well. You know how I feel about you and our ship with Fiorry and friendship with Jariana. It’s the world to me, and I’m tearing up right now just thinking about how you’ve changed my life for the better. You’ve gotten me through more rough times than I’ve even let you know about because all I had to do was talk to you for a few minutes and I immediately feel better. I can’t believe how lucky I really am to have you in my life and I hope you can get a sense of what you mean to me even if all I can do is pour my heart out through messages like this and through the writing of my characters to yours. Yep, I knew it, I’m incredibly emotional and I might have to splash my face with some water after this, but I just can’t get over how great my life is now that you’re in it, and I can’t wait for every day from now on because I now they’ll be spent with you in them. I love you to death, Nikki, and I want to go on about what Fiorry means to me as well, but then I know my tears really won’t let me see my computer screen enough to type it out.. Fuck it, they’re the world to me and Harry has done with you did for me but for Fionn. He’s changed his life entirely and I know Fionn couldn’t possibly be more happy about it. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them and their future together, and even if I don’t know what it is yet, I know that it’ll be perfect. This is coming to be a ridiculous amount of me pouring my heart out to you, but I can’t help it. I love you, Harry, and Joe more than you’ll ever know and I owe all of my happiness and gratitude to you. @hcurly

Raven: Thank you so much for bringing us the beautiful Zendaya that I feel is rarely played nowadays! Even in the past, I don’t think I’ve had much experience with one, and I’m glad that you’re who brought her here. She’s so well played and such a beautiful soul, I can’t wait to see what all you do with her here and I hope to be a part of that! So whatever you want, if you want, I’d love to plot or get more threads going. @dayaxxcole

Rose(PST): Hello, 1/2 of one of my all time favorite ships here! God, you really know how to deliver such cute material between Brett and Haley, I can’t help but to enjoy every bit of it! Just in general as well, I enjoy everything that you bring to the table and this RP really wouldn’t be the same without you. There’s such a talent in your writing, and don’t think that I didn’t notice what you were able to do to me during AU week! Brett had my heart absolutely breaking with a lot of emotion that I adored so much, and it really takes a talented writer to bring that out of a person! Thank you for having your skill here for all of us to enjoy. @brettdicr

Rose(GMT): ROSE, ROSE, ROSE, what a lovely human being you are! I’m so happy that I get to be a part of a roleplay that has such a wonderful and dedicated player like yourself. I mean, just tear my heart out and use it as an offering to the gods above that granted us Sprousehart to enjoy in this world.. Was that dramatic? It might have been, but who cares, I absolutely adore Cole and I love how he is with Lili. They’re perfect, you’re perfect, please don’t ever go anywhere because I know I couldn’t take it. You inspire me with what you do for your ship and what you do for Becca, all ships should get the chance to experience what yours is like, it’s just so beautiful and you’re amazing at writing it out. I can’t wait to see what else SH has to bring us. @hqcolem

Sadie: You know what I just realized right now? That you’re only playing Lizzie! And what amazes me about that is that you’ve planted so much of yourself in my RPing experience and have become such a big deal to me that I would have sworn you had more characters, but no! You’re just spreading it all around with your perfect Lizzie that I adore so much and feel so honored to have a plot with. Granted, it’s very sad and dramatic and I just want to hug her so bad because of it, but that’s what makes things so exciting. You make things exciting! You’re so good at running this place as well, don’t even let me forget what a great admin you are to us. My god, I just feel so lucky to be here with you and to read what you put out on my dash, it’s such gold every time! Lizzie has such a humor that I’m addicted to and an attitude that knows how to break my heart when it comes out. Thank you for blessing me with your written talent. @ohlizzo

Sam: BBY, OH THE LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU! Let me get my heart shaped boxing gloves out because I’m ready for another battle to see who can say they love each other the most. You’ll see that I win because nothing can beat out the total adoration I have for you and Grant. How well did our bbies click right off the bat? Sure, it started out just with a common admiration for sushi, but it took off and Ariana is practically in love with Grant. In a friendship way of course! With their cute sushi dates and precious hugs, they’re one of my favorite friendships I’ve had for her, and she misses the hell out of him every day on tour! There’s so much more that I want to do with you, especially on my other muses, but for now just let me thank you for always bringing a smile to my face and gracing my dash with a perfect muse like Grant. I truly can’t get enough of you. @theflashgrant

Samantha: Oh my god, you’re just so amazing. I have to start with that because it’s the first thing that comes to mind! You’re seriously so wonderful, and I can’t believe how much I have in common with you. You love Starkid, you watch Dead Meat, we both have terrible sinuses with allergies. I mean, there’s just so much there. I’m not even afraid to share with you when I’m at my dumbest like chester drawers. I feel such strong chemistry for both our friendship and the ones that our muses have together! I knew in the beginning that I’d want something for Doviana but I had no idea that they’d click so well and I think it stems from the way we click! Thank you for being a friend to me and sharing everything you have so far. It’s an honor to call you my friend. @dcvescameron

Sarah(GMT): Bby! I know we don’t talk much and my characters haven’t had much time with Meryl, but I know I want to change that! It’s so lovely see a FC that’s so underused and I’ve always been a big admire of both the real actress and your muse, so I wanted to thank you for gracing my dash with her when I get to see it! Hit me up any time if you want, I’d love to give you all my muses so we can get some fun started. @xitsmerylstreepx

Sarah(EST): I find it quite fitting that you’re here since they do always say to save the best for last! I know I made this alphabetical, but shh, we can say it was planned. I truly am so happy that you’re here and you joined not too far off from when I did! Come to think of it, it might have been around the same time exactly with Vanessa even if you picked up Bella a bit later, so if you think about it, you could say that we really have taken this RP journey together and it’s been one hell of a time! I absolutely adore you and the chemistry that our muses have, and I’m lucky that I get to be one half of Beliana. I know we don’t often get that much time to write together, but when we do get to, I love every bit of it and Ari’s life wouldn’t be the same without your Bella! Thank you for being here with us and for having that feisty mama for us all to enjoy. @b-hxdid

#[ OOC ]#[ hwlappreciation2019 ]#( I really hope that I have everyone listed here!#you all deserve to know how much i love you <3 #and tumblr better have this tagged all correctly for you to see #i love you so much #please forgive that graphic #i hope my messages make up for it )

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yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy · 5 years ago

Text

Magic and Miracles Chapter 2

Woohoo! Since Tumblr keeps being awesome and keeping this under a cut, I’m gonna keep going. I would like to first, apologize to Toni Mahfud for using his likeness for Andrew Izunia, Ardyn’s son. I wanted a guy who was so RIDICULOUSLY GOOD LOOKING, the kind of hot everyone questions their sexuality when faced with that because they’re so ridiculously hot and good looking, people suddenly don’t care that you’ve turned into a monster. Not saying Toni is, I’m sure he’s awesome in person, this is just for a fanfic. I just felt the need to say that.

So as always here’s the AO3 link, chapter 1 here and chapter 2 below.

Magic and Miracles

Chapter 2

The Ulric siblings had gotten up earlier than they normally would have. Their parents had left for work and it was up to them to get the house as clean as possible for their company. Nyx spent a considerable amount of time on his own room. Just in case Luna should venture in it. He practically displayed his art supplies. Luna had adored the little picture Nyx had drawn her earlier in the week. Nyx had wanted to draw her something else but wasn’t quite sure what to draw her.

Unknown to Nyx, Selena had seen Luna write poetry on the back of the little drawing. What the picture itself had inspired from her. Luna had taped it into her journal and would often turn to it and smile appreciatively at it. Luna had wanted to reciprocate but had little idea of how.

Luna spared a glance to the back seat where a crock pot was bundled along with a container of sandwiches. She had requested to bring lunch, because she did love to cook after all. She had worried about what to make them. So she went safe with a beef stew she had made from scratch, and brownies, chewy fudgy ones that had caramel swirls in them and were always a favorite whenever she had made them before. The weather was still quite chilly so she imagined that they would stay indoors. Selena had said something about playing video games. Ravus liked to play video games but they were always single player and he wasn’t too keen on showing her how to play them himself so Luna’s familiarity with them was a bit limited.

Luna called Selena to tell her she was only a few minutes away and Nyx and Selena got their shoes on to help bring in the food.

“You made it!” Selena cheered as she opened the front door.

“Finally, I may have taken two wrong turns, I suck at directions,” Luna admitted as she got out and gave Selena a hug since she was the first one out to greet her. Luna then opened her back seat and handed Selena the pan of brownies.

“These smell so good!” Selena praised as she held them closer to her face and breathed in deeply.

“Thank you,” Luna smiled before Nyx came over himself. “What can I bring in?” Nyx asked before Luna turned to him, she was wearing makeup again, goodness gracious were her eyes the most stunning ice blue. Nyx tried not to stare at her but then she walked in front of him and he could smell her perfume on the breeze, it was similar to the one she had worn earlier in the week but not the same, still smelled divine though. She had her hair braided in the front so that it looked like she was wearing a head band while the rest of her hair was pulled into a clip in the back. It was a good look.

“The crock pot,” Luna suggested as she went around the car to unbuckle the crock pot, finding the handles from underneath the towel she had used to swaddle it. “Please, please don’t drop it.” Luna pleaded like the crock pot was a baby.

“I won’t,” Nyx assured her as he walked back to the house with it securely in his arms. Luna smiled and went back around and gathered her other container of sandwiches and a small cloth grocery bag that had her sandwich sauces before she locked the car and followed Nyx into the house. ��

“Thank you so much for inviting me,” Luna thanked them as she wiped her feet on the mat inside the door and handed her things to Selena, who had already put the brownies into the kitchen, to hold while Luna took her shoes off. “Thank you for bringing lunch,” Selena mirrored.

“I just hope you like it,” Luna laughed nervously as she took her coat off and hung it on the coat hooks along the wall by the front door, not really realizing she had hung her coat over Nyx’s. But Nyx was not about to tell her that, he hoped that some of her perfume would permeate his coat.

“Oh I’m sure it’s fine, the way Luche went on, you would think you were a gourmet chef.” Selena flattered.

“Yeah that’s what I’m afraid of, not meeting such high expectations.” Luna muttered as she set everything out as Selena and Nyx got dishes and silverware out and set the table. There was a whine at the back door that made Luna’s head snap toward the sound.

“Do you guys have a dog?” Luna asked excitedly.

“Yeah, he’s a rescue,” Selena explained.

“But we are keeping him in the backyard because he is a shameless beggar and jumps up on people.” Nyx explained.

“Oh, I don’t mind, I have two dogs myself, and Ravus has a cat. What kind of dog is it?” Luna asked.

“Pit bull mix,” Selena informed her, half expecting Luna’s eyes to widen. Pit bulls didn’t have the greatest of reputations.

“Aww, I love pit bulls! They are just really big muscle-y marshmallow babies! I know lots of pit bulls and they are the sweetest dogs,” Luna gushed.

“Well after lunch, we’ll let him in.” Nyx grinned.

They sat and ate and Luna could tell that Nyx didn’t love the sandwich, he ate all of it though so as to not offend her. He loved the stew though and was already on his second bowl of it.

“Not your cup of tea?” Luna guessed.

“What?” Nyx asked, his spoon almost to his lips.

“The sandwich,” Luna specified. “It’s ok, I’m not offended or hurt or anything if you didn’t like it.” Luna assured him.

“No, it was fine,” Nyx tried to smooth over. “It wasn’t my favorite sandwich, but it wasn’t bad.” Nyx insisted.

“Ok,” Luna nodded before Selena and Luna broke into the pan of brownies.

“What piece do you want?” Luna asked as she got Selena an edge piece.

“Don’t care,” Nyx shook his head.

“Corner,” Selena specified.

“More or less caramel?” Luna asked as she pointed to different corners.

“More,” Nyx answered sheepishly and watched with eager eyes as the caramel stretched from piece of brownie that was lifted from the pan to a plate. His stomach suddenly found an empty pocket to stow it away into.

“Thank you,” Nyx smiled as Luna handed the plate to him. He moved his bowl of stew over slightly to center the plate in front of him, picking up the strand of caramel and putting it into his mouth. It was sublime and decadent. He picked up the brownie and took a bite. It was just...so damn good. Luna could tell by the expression on his face that he loved it. Nyx tried his hardest not to moan, he tried, and failed.

Thankfully Selena moaned louder than he did to help mask the sound.

“OH. MY. GOD.” Selena said over her mouthful of the treat. “How?! How did you make this? What kind of dark forbidden magic did you practice to make this?” Selena asked as she tried to slowly enjoy and savor it. “It’s so good,” Selena made a show of pretending to cry that made Luna laugh as she ate it.

“I just want to inhale the pan, inject this into my veins, like between my toes, I would walk across broken glass,” Selena went on. “Lord have mercy,” Selena shook her head as she finished the rest of her piece in one bite before getting another.

“I second all of that,” Nyx agreed.

“Yay! I’m so happy you guys like it,” Luna cheered.

“No, not like, love,” Nyx quickly insisted while his brain added ‘you’ in his head as he got up another paper towel to wipe his face before he poured himself the largest cup of milk he could find, gulping it down to help cut the richness of it. Luna couldn’t help but stare at his throat, watching his Adams apple bob with every swallow while not so innocent thoughts suddenly popped into her head. Selena saw this and simply smiled wider as she took another bite of her second brownie before getting Nyx to get her and Luna their own cups of milk too.

Nyx got them their cups of milk, his fingers grazing Luna’s as he did so, before he got himself another piece of brownie. “I need the recipe, if you’re ok with sharing it,” Nyx insisted as he took his seat back at the table.

“I would be more than happy to share it,” Luna agreed before going to her purse to get her journal, flipping toward the back to find an empty page before pulling up the recipe on her phone to copy it down for him. Nyx noticed his picture that he had drawn for her in her notebook and couldn’t help but smile when he saw it. She liked it enough to keep it in her journal, now he really had to draw her something else.

Luna carefully ripped the page out and handed it Nyx.

“Did you want a copy too?” Luna asked Selena.

“No, that’s ok, I love to eat food, not really into making it though, Nyx, however, he is all about that, everything he cooks is good.” Selena praised.

“Not this good,” Nyx argued as he took another bite of brownie.

“Practice and the proper tools.” Luna countered as she finished her own piece of brownie.

“So what kind of dogs do you have?” Selena asked, changing the subject.

“Oh I have a husky/Spitz mix named Pryna and an Alaskan Malamute mix named Umbra and even through they are both fixed/neutered, they are madly in love. Both of them are rescues too.” Luna answered as she pulled up pictures on her phone of her dogs to show them. “And then Ravus has a Persian long haired Siamese cat named Duchess. She is beautiful, she knows it too,” Luna laughed as she swiped through her photo gallery to find a picture of the cat too.

“Aww, they do look madly in love,” Selena fawned when she saw pictures of the dogs. “Wow she is pretty,” Selena complimented when she saw the picture of Ravus’ cat.

“I’ll let Charlie in,” Nyx said as he got up and opened the back door.

“Hi Charlie!” Luna greeted excitedly to the large dog that came barreling into the house. Charlie’s tail wagged so hard his whole body shook as he greeted Luna, he jumped up to put his front legs on her lap and licked her face as she pet him. “Oh it’s so nice to meet you too! Who’s been a good boy? Huh? Who’s been a boy?” Luna cooed to the dog as she scratched behind his ears and gave him a hug.

“Charlie, down,” Selena laughed.

“Oh it’s fine,” Luna waved off as she continued to pet Charlie enthusiastically as Charlie began to sniff Luna. “You smell my babies? Huh?” Luna laughed as she began to give Charlie butt scratches.

“So what were the plans for today?” Luna asked as she continued to pet Charlie who had calmed down considerably under Luna’s affection. Instantly falling in love with her.

“Well we have a Wii,” Selena offered. “Awesome,” Luna smiled as they got up and put their dishes in the sink before going back to the living room.

“You know how to play?” Selena asked.

“Yeah, well sort of, I don’t have one but my friend Rachel does,” Luna answered as she was given a Wii remote and made her little avatar before they chose Mario Cart.

“Oh you bastard,” Selena laughed when Nyx chose rainbow road and chose Yoshi.

“I get Toad,” Selena chose.

“Princess Peach please and thank you,” Luna giggled before they started the race.

“Cheater!” Selena accused as Nyx cut her off and sent a turtle her way, causing her to crash.

“I got you girl.” Luna soothed as she got a blue spiked turtle and sent it Nyx’s way.

Nyx however slowed down and let himself be passed by one of the other racers so that the blue spiked turtle hit it instead.

“Oh, you tricky...” Luna trailed off as she bumped him with her hip in retaliation since they were all standing in front of the TV.

“Hey! Personal fowl.” Nyx laughed as he sped off into the lead with the help of a star.

“Unsportsmanlike like conduct!” Luna countered with a hearty laugh of her own.

“Hey all is fair in love and war and racing sweetheart.” Nyx crooned. “Maybe if you guys weren’t such sore...” Nyx started before Luna passed him in a corner and placed a banana in his path which he slipped on.

“Losers!” Nyx yelled before he growled in frustration as he tried to catch up with everyone with Selena and Luna cackling evilly.

“Get it, get it!” Luna cheered as Selena almost crossed the finish line before Nyx fired a turtle at Selena. But Luna, making the self sacrificing play, swerved behind Selena to intercept so Selena could win. “Yes! In your face bro!” Selena cheered as she did a victory dance with Luna. “Thank you for saving me back there,” Selena thanked Luna.

“You’re welcome,” Luna smiled victoriously.

“Best two out of three,” Nyx requested.

“Now who’s a sore looser?” Selena stuck her tongue out at her brother.

They continued to play, loosing count of who won or lost until Nyx’s phone rang.

“Yeah,” Nyx answered as he tried to talk on the phone and play at the same time.

Selena and Luna paused the game so Nyx could concentrate on his conversation. “Yeah man, let me make sure it’s ok, call you back.” Nyx said before ending the conversation.

“You guys ok if the gang comes over?” Nyx asked Selena and Luna.

“Um, who’s all in the gang?” Luna asked cautiously.

“Oh it’s just Libertus, Crowe and Pelna,” Nyx answered and mirrored her smile of relief when he didn’t say Luche’s name.

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine with me.” Luna nodded her agreement with that.

“The more the merrier, ooh, Luna have you ever played Cards Against Humanity?” Selena asked.

“No,” Luna shook her head.

“Ever played Apples to Apples?” Selena asked Luna.

“Yes,” Luna nodded.

“Same thing, only for the morally ambiguous person, like Apples to Apples- South Park and Family Guy edition,” Selena tried to explain.

“Ooh, yeah sounds fun,” Luna nodded.

“Ok, but just to warn you, there’s a bunch of swearing.” Selena warned.

“Ok,” Luna nodded in understanding.

“Tell Libertus to bring Cards Against Humanity.” Selena told Nyx.

“Well mom and dad haven’t signed off yet,” Nyx reminded her as he called his dad. “Hey Dad? Is it ok if my friends come over? They said they would chip in for pizza.” Nyx asked and waited for a reply. “Ok, yeah, uh huh, ok, bye.” Nyx finished before he hung up and called his mom. “Hi Mom, how’s your day going?” Nyx asked sweetly. “So, Libertus called and him and Crowe and Pelna wanted to come over and we would get pizza, is that ok?” Nyx asked. “Thanks mom, love you, bye.”

“I better call my mom and tell her I’ll be staying longer,” Luna said as she retreated to the kitchen to call her mom, still being relieved that she didn’t hear Luche’s name. Because if she had she may have bolted.

“Hi Mom,” Luna chirped. “Yes, everything is going great, um so I’m having a really great time, could I stay longer? They’re talking about getting a pizza for dinner,” Luna requested. “Yes I promise to be safe, ten o’clock, got it.” Luna assured her mom. “Thank you thank you thank you, love you bye.” Luna bid her mom goodbye before coming back into the living room.

“I have to be home by ten,” Luna informed them.

“Sweet!” Selena cheered.

Nyx grinned as he called Libertus back. “Hey man, yeah, it’s ok, come on over, Selena requests you bring Cards Against Humanity again.” Nyx grinned, chancing a look at his sister before looking away as Libertus continued to talk. “We’ll talk about it when you get here,” Nyx suggested before he hung up.

Nyx and Selena sat on the couch with Luna between them with Charlie sprawled out across all of their laps as they watched TV waiting for everyone else to join them. While Nyx inwardly debated if he should make a move or not. Now that they were alone save for Selena, it was ideally the perfect time but he was feeling so insecure again and his insecurity zapped his courage.

“So what’s Ravus up to?” Selena asked casually, recalling how Ravus seemed particularly nice to her last night, nicer to her than he was to his own sister and was almost charming, but that didn’t sit well with her. The way he treated his sister bothered her deeply and she found she had no respect for him because while he looked handsome, his personality was hideous so far.

“Ravus invited his own friends over today so it really worked out that I could come here.” Luna answered.

“Do you not like his friends?” Selena inquired.

“Um, most of them are ok, a few of them, make me feel very uneasy, like I don’t think they would try and pull anything just...” Luna trailed off.

“So your brother still hangs out with them even though they give you the heebie jeebies?” Selena asked with another disgusted frown.

“Yup because ‘they are his friends and he’s not going to stop hanging out with them just because I’m overly sensitive and misconstrue everything’,” Luna recounted as she rolled her eyes and sighed.

Nyx frowned at that and leaned forward to look at Selena. “Selena, if any of my friends ever, in the slightest, make you feel uncomfortable in any way, tell me and I will stop being their friend for one and two make sure they never come near you.” Nyx insisted.

“I know,” Selena smiled appreciatively. “I’m sorry you don’t have a brother like mine,” Selena said to Luna as she rested her head on Luna’s shoulder. Luna smiled and rested her head on Selena’s.

“Me too, could I borrow him from time to time?” Luna joked.

“Anytime,” Nyx answered. “I’m serious, if you ever find yourself in that situation or whatever, call me,” Nyx insisted.

“Thank you,” Luna smiled appreciatively in turn as she almost asked him out already because she was trying to give him time to ask her out but she felt like their window of opportunity was starting to close.

But just then- Libertus, Crowe and Pelna came through the door. After eating pizza and devouring the rest of the brownies, they decided to play the notorious game.

“So you’ve never played this?” Crowe asked of Luna as Nyx dealt out the white cards and Luna shook her head ‘no’.

“No, I have never even heard of it until this afternoon but Selena gave me the run down.” Luna answered as she picked up her cards that were dealt her. “Oh. My. God. What?!” Luna stared at her cards as she tried not to burst out laughing. “Oh Jesus,” Luna snickered as she looked through her cards. “What the hell?” Luna laughed, finally succumbing to her laughter.

“We haven’t even started to play,” Libertous laughed along with her.

“I know, it’s just, wow,” Luna replied before looking at Selena. “You were not kidding,” Luna said, trying to stifle her laughter and try to regain her composure.

“Ok the first card is, drum roll please,” Nyx announced as he picked up a black card as they drum rolled on the empty pizza boxes. “Why won’t you make love to me anymore? Is it- blank?” Nyx asked as he laid the card down face up so everyone could see it.

Luna bit her bottom lip as she looked from one card to the other before picking one and laying it face down on top of the other cards that the others had tossed in.

Nyx smiled as he leaned forward and shuffled the cards before reading them out loud. “Is it...Sudden penis loss?” Nyx read as everyone started laughing. “Is it..Unsheathing my massive horse cock. Hey man, it can’t be helped.” Nyx remarked wryly as everyone continued to laugh.

“A My Little Pony toy horse kind of cock,” Libertous teased which only earned more laughter.

“Fuck you dude,” Nyx teased with a laugh back before he continued to read on. “Is it...setting my balls on fire and cartwheeling to Ohio? That’s just painful,” Nyx remarked. “Is it rabies?” Nyx laughed. “Yeah man I would think so. Or lastly, Crying and shitting and eating spaghetti?” Nyx and everyone roared with laughter. “Wow, ugh, it’s a tie between- Crying and shitting and eating spaghetti and my massive horse cock, I’m going to go with horse cock.” Nyx decided.

“Thank you,” Luna laughed as she took the black card from the middle and placed it in front of her crossed legs.

“That was your card?” Pelna asked, astonished.

“Yeah,” Luna giggled before it was her turn since she was sitting right next to him and they were going clock wise.

“Ok, so- Come to Dubai, where you can relax in our world famous spas, experience the nightlife or simply enjoy- blank-by the poolside.” Luna read off as she laid the card down and eagerly awaited the group’s answers.

“Everyone put in a card?” Luna asked as she took the cards and haphazardly tried to shuffle them before she cleared her throat. “Ah, hem. Come to Dubai where you can relax in our world famous spas, experience the nightlife, or simply enjoy..throwing stones at a man until he dies.” Luna read off with a light chuckle. “Well you’re not wrong,” Luna grimaced. “Enjoy..breast feeding a ten year old.” Luna laughed, scrunching her nose up in such a cute way as she heartily laughed. “Oh dear god, ok, enjoy...cute boys, yeah, I do like to people watch, next, enjoy...peeing into a girl’s butt to make a baby.” Luna squealed with laughter, as she leaned back but lost her balance and fell back, continuing to hold herself as she rocked with laughter as Nyx and Selena tried to help her sit up again as everyone laughed too. “Shit, that was good.” Luna wiped a tear from her eyes. “Or, enjoy...two whales fucking the shit out of each other.” Luna roared with laughter, laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe, she just convulsed, her mouth open wide as tiny squeaks and huffs of air managed to escape her before she squealed and snorted causing everyone to erupt in harder laughter as Luna went into a full blown giggle fit as she fell over again. “The last one,” Luna managed to get out as managed to try to regain a normal breathing rhythm but was having a really hard time doing so. She crawled over to her purse and got out her inhaler.

“You ok?” Selena asked, worried once she saw the inhaler. Luna nodded yes as she took a puff from it and tried to hold her breath to let the medicine get into her lungs before exhaling out of her nose and crawled back to the group, inhaler in hand.

“I haven’t laughed this hard in years,” Luna admitted as she wiped the tears from her eyes, in an effort to keep her mascara and eyeliner from running as she settled down.

“You have asthma?” Nyx asked, concerned for her despite laughing along with her. “Sort of, not bad, just enough to be inconvenienced.” Luna waived off before she sniffed and wiped at her nose, blood appearing on her hand. “Damn it,” Luna groaned as more blood started to come out of her nose.

“Come on,” Selena urged as she got up and helped Luna get to her feet as the two girls made it to the bathroom only to have laughter spring forth from their location a few moments later.

“I dare you to go out like that,” Selena joked.

Selena came out with Luna following her with twisted toilet paper coming out of her nose.

“Look I’m a walrus!” Luna joked as she clapped her hands together like they were flippers which only got the group to laugh more.

Luna sat back down next to Nyx crossing he legs again but sticking her tongue out to move one of her ‘tusks’ with the tip of her tongue. “Hell of an oral fixation right?” Luna joked, looking toward Nyx who blushed crimson as she did it again as everyone continued to laugh.

The group of them continued to play until Luna hit 10 black cards, Nyx was in second with 9 with the rest of them having various numbers of them.

“Beginners luck,” Libertus gently teased.

“How about a round of truth or dare?” Crowe instigated, wanting to get to know Luna better herself.

“You mean interrogation or humiliation?” Luna rephrased with a smile. “Yeah sure,” Luna shrugged from her spot.

“Ok, Luna, truth or dare,” Crowe posed.

“Truth,” Luna chose.

“How flexible are you?” Crowe asked. “Cause I’ve seen you do the splits in gym and good night nurse, I wish I was that limber.” Crowe explained.

“Me too,” Libertus agreed with a shit eating grin as his arm hung around Crowe’s shoulders.

“You jerk,” Crowe swatted playfully at his chest.

“You love me anyway,” Libertus pointed out.

“Besides the point.” Crowe rolled her eyes but a smile still placed firmly on her own lips.

“This feels more like a dare.” Luna grinned. “But ok, so,” Luna stood and stood next to the couch, holding onto it for balance as she leaned over to the side and lifted her leg until her toes were pointing at the ceiling before stretching further. Everyone’s eyes went wide as their jaws dropped.

“That’s just unnatural,” Selena grimaced in pain as she brought her knees to her chest before Luna returned to a standing position.

“Yeah most ballerina’s can do that though,” Luna shrugged as she sat back down in the circle.

Luna enjoyed herself as she sat and listened and watched as the others were dared or had to tell the truth before it was her turn again.

“Truth.” Luna chose.

“What is the pettiest thing you’ve ever done.” Selena asked.

Luna laughed at the question. “I paid $100 to a doorman to not let my ex into a club he had waited for four hours to try and get into.” Luna answered.

“This sounds like a hell of a story,” Selena prodded.

“Oh it is.” Luna grinned victoriously.

“I dare you to tell the story,” Crowe challenged.

“Ok, fine. If I tell this, you all have to swear on your lives that you will not breathe a word of this to anyone, it does not leave this room got it? Pinky promise? Ok, so my ex was really into all things French, which I am French on my father’s side of the family and so for like the two months we dated, I made only French food, got a beret which I don’t look good in hats but whatever. So for his birthday I decided I was going to give him the time of his life, so I made plans for us to go to a really upscale French restaurant and a club that he had been dying to go to and then give him his real present on the way home if you know what I mean. And so I got hooker heels, like five inch stiletto leather boots, black fish nets, a black leather mini skirt, the whole nine yards, because for one night, I’ll be his edgy French dominatrix, because that was his fantasy. I got tips and tricks from a Dom I know and strip tease lessons and lap dance lessons choreographed to Partition by Beyonce from a dance instructor who used to be an exotic dancer, which to this day I can’t listen to that song without getting...emotional...so anyway. So I did all of this work and I have this whole night planned as a big surprise and he dumps me, the day before, for a French runway model. So I, instead of canceling everything like a sane person, I decide, fuck it, I’m just going to have dinner and go to the club with my best friend Noctis because Andrew was always so jealous and super possessive and Noctis would never make things romantic or uncomfortable and we would just hang out for the night and go dancing and it would be great. Now I did not wear the outfit I was going to wear for my ex but I did wear this red silk number that had everyone staring, including my ex because he tried to get into the club that night but because he didn’t have reservations or me to get him in- he was having trouble getting in. So I paid the door man $100 to not let him in either because I’m petty.” Luna explained. “But on the plus side I became really good friends with the girl who gave me the lessons.” Luna shrugged.

Everyone had to pick up their jaws from the floor. Nyx having to do so the most because HOLY SHIT that blew his mind, she came off as this sweet innocent ‘pure’ girl and he...he loved this about her? And was delighted by it. Like it was thrilling, truly, and his brain gave him image after image of her in this notorious outfit and he instantly had a boner which wasn’t noticeable thanks to his baggy jeans that were currently pulled taught because he was sitting cross legged too.

“Damn girl,” Crowe said as she raised a hand to give Luna a high five. “Go big or go home,” Crowe congratulated.

“I’ll bet he was sorry he dumped you.” Selena concluded.

Luna shook her head no. “Not that I’ve seen, well, when he’s sober, he acts like it was no big deal and that he’s better off without me and has said...as much…” Luna delicately explained with a very pained expression as she recalled how brutal he had been, that had everyone looking at her with sympathy. “When he’s drunk, which, is often, it’s the opposite. Although I’m quite happy and relieved that he did dump me and I do my best to stay as far away from him as I can be.” Luna professed.

“How long ago was this?” Nyx asked as he realized that must have done a real number on her and that he realized he would need to be careful with her and around her. She would need him to be if he was going to be in her life.

“Only like, a couple of months ago, closer to three months. We only dated for the beginning of summer just May and June.” Luna answered. “So, I guess fairly recently.” Luna shrugged as she tried to stamp down and push out of her mind all the memories of the horrific experience before Selena quickly changed the subject and they continued to play for a little bit before Luna had to go home.

“Thank you for inviting me over today.” Luna said as Selena and Nyx helped her put her things back into her car.

“Thanks for coming and bringing lunch, we need to hang out again soon.” Selena smiled.

“Agreed, I have a performance next Saturday though,” Luna sighed.

“Ooh, could I come?” Selena asked.

“Sure, it’s at the Performing Arts Center, it’s at 4pm,” Luna explained.

“Can I come too?” Nyx asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Luna smiled excitedly.

“How much is it to go?” Selena inquired.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, you’ll be coming as my guests, it’ll be free.” Luna assured them. “Just um, kind of dress up? Not like formal formal, not like tuxes but just nice dress clothes?” Luna shrugged.

“I think we can manage that.” Selena smiled.

“Ok, I gotta go before I break curfew.” Luna said as she gave Selena a parting hug before giving Nyx one as well even though part of her was screaming at her to just kiss him already. “Thanks again for tonight, it was awesome.” Luna repeated before she got in her car. Both Selena and Nyx waited outside to make sure Luna’s car started and waived as she drove away, Luna waiving happily as she left.

“She’s so nice,” Selena smiled as she turned and walked back into the house. “And hot,” Selena added giving Nyx a look over her shoulder. “Go ahead, disagree with me, I dare you.” Selena winked as she laughed as the two walked back into the house where Libertus, Crowe and Pelna had stayed behind with giddy smiles since they had watched the interaction from behind the blinds.

“Dude!” The trio cheered.

“Shh,” Nyx shushed as he pointed to ceiling where his parents had already gone to bed with one hand while he gestured at his own throat making a cutting motion.

“She likes you!” Libertus insisted but Nyx gave him an unsure look.

“She shoved you every time you won a black card, she kept touching your arm, and your knee and when she laughed she leaned your way.” Crowe pointed out as she counted on her fingers.

“She likes you, I’ve been trying all week to gently nudge her your way.” Selena revealed.

“So what’s holding you back from pulling the trigger?” Pelna asked.

“We just met! This is the first time we’ve hung out, I want to give her a chance to get to know me and maybe I want to get to know her more too?” Nyx reasoned.

“If you don’t pull the trigger, Luche will,” Pelna pointed out. “He’s been trying to buddy up to her and her brother all week, I mean, he’s hanging with her brother, as we speak.” Pelna explained.

“How do you know that?” Libertus asked.

Pelna gave him an unimpressed look as he pulled out his phone and showed all the pictures Luche had been sending him.

“Wow, they have a really nice house.” Crowe assessed.

“Luche says that they have a game room/den, that’s where they are spending the evening. That game room has a bar too.” Pelna informed them.

“Great,” Crowe droll-ed sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

“He says the place is a palace, they have an indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs and tennis courts and shit.” Pelna went on.

Nyx hung his head, feeling completely out of her league. There was no way he could ever give her any of that if they had a romantic relationship with a realistic future.

Luna came home and saw the cars parked along the sides of her driveway, mentally putting names and faces to the cars as she put together who was in her home. She saw two cars she didn’t recognize but one looked oddly familiar but she couldn’t place where she had seen it. Luna shrugged it off as she parked in the garage and came into the house, Pryna and Umbra eagerly waiting by the door for her.

“I’m home,” Luna called out to Ravus, knowing her mother had mostly likely already gone to bed before stopping to let Pryna and Umbra sniff at her legs and her hands and every surface Charlie had touched. “Oh I know, I pet another dog other than you,” Luna cooed as she knelt down to pet them and give them forehead kisses.

“Den!” Ravus called back as he noted the time on the phone.

“K!” Luna called back as she put her purse down before she went back out and got her things from the car, Pryna and Umbra on her heels.

“Need some help?” Craig asked as the portly fellow suddenly appeared in the door way, taking up most of it with his towering frame.

“Yes, thank you,” Luna smiled as she waved him over. Being relieved it was him. Craig was the only friend Ravus had that Luna was friends with too. Because he was practically a big teddy bear and was a general sweetheart and had always been nice and sweet and respectful to her.

“How have you been?” Craig asked as he took the now empty but clean crock pot from Luna, nearly tripping over her dogs as he did so.

“Good, you?” Luna asked as she got the rest of her things.

“Fine, I got a new car,” Craig smiled.

“Oh yeah? Was it the black BMW or the black Mercedes?” Luna smiled as she followed him into the house, shutting the garage door and door to the garage as they stepped inside.

“The black BMW,” Craig grinned.

“Nice, moving up in the world.” Luna appraised as they made their way to the kitchen.

“So who have you spent the evening with?” Craig asked curiously, having thought she would have hung out with them but was relieved she wasn’t home because of Ravus’ other ‘company’.

“Oh, new friends I’ve made at Lucis High, Selena, who’s a junior like me, her big brother Nyx who’s a senior and his friends, Libertus, his girlfriend Crowe, isn’t that a cool name for a girl? And Pelna.” Luna listed off.

“Cool,” Craig nodded in approval.

“We actually played Cards Against Humanity, it was so funny, I laughed so hard I went into an asthmatic attack, thankfully I had my inhaler, but after I used it, I got a bloody nose so then I did the ‘walrus’ and they thought that was funny, so yeah I had a great time.” Luna smiled fondly.

“It’s great to hear that.” Craig smiled, genuinely happy to hear she was happy and doing better. “So what can you tell me about Luche?” Craig asked as he folded his arms and leaned against the counter next to her. Luna mirrored his actions as she racked her brain to think of what she could answer with.

“Oh, um, Luche and Ravus are in the same AP courses, I think they bonded, might have a bromance going. He’s nice, he’s on the same football team that Nyx- Nyx is the quarterback, Libertus is a linebacker/guard, Luche is a running..back? No, he’s a wide receiver, I think that’s the term oh and get this, Crowe, Libertus’ girlfriend, is a running back, Lucis has three girls on the football team, it’s awesome. You remember my friend Noctis and his friend Gladio right? Gladio is a linebacker/guard too so they all play sports. Luche’s really good, I saw him play last night.” Luna informed him.

“Awesome.” Craig nodded.

“So you both have football in common.” Luna shrugged. “He’s been “pursuing” me awfully hard.” Luna muttered lowly under her breath with an eye roll and a huff and that got Craig to bark a laugh.

“What?” Luna asked as she turned to look at him curiously.

“I’m just really happy you can see that. He’s been asking me about you for most of the night. He’s really interested in you.” Craig informed her.

“Well it’s not mutual.” Luna assured him with an adamant shake of her head.

“Good,” Craig nodded as he felt his own hopes soar. Having had a crush on Luna himself for years but always being too timid to say anything or make a move. Hoping that if he just befriended her that their friendship would someday grow into something more one day.

“Luna! Grab me another two liter of Coke!” Ravus requested from the den.

Luna and Craig both rolled their eyes.

“Like he can’t get up and get it himself.” Luna muttered as she went to the pantry to grab another 2 liter of the beverage.

“Let me take it to him,” Craig said as he moved away from the counter.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Luna waived off.

“But-” Craig tried to argue but Luna was already walking quickly toward the den. Craig hung his head in defeat as he walked behind her.

Luna walked down the hall to the den and saw Andrew among Ravus’ friends and froze, her eyes going wide as she found herself barely breathing. Having avoided him for the last few months after the last ‘incident’.

“Ravus?” Luna called out, only halfway down the hall.

“What?” Ravus answered from his spot on the couch.

“You have two hands and two feet, you come get this,” Luna requested. But when Ravus got close she could smell the booze on him as she watched him stagger a little. Which meant he was drunk.

“You’ve been drinking,” Luna remarked as she handed the bottle to him in the middle of the hall.

“And you’re judgmental,” Ravus countered irritably as Craig passed them to sit with the rest of the group.

“I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just...” Luna began to stutter before lowering her voice. “Why is Andrew here?” Luna whispered angrily.

“You need to get over it,” Ravus reprimanded her. “Seriously, you guys broke up like months ago, he’s still my friend, so stop over reacting and treating him like he has the plague every time he just happens to look in your direction. Everyone is staying over, but we’ll all be on this end of the house, so you’ll be fine.” Ravus defended before turning away from her and rejoining his friends.

Luna clenched her jaw and tried to take a cleansing breath but when she opened her eyes. She saw Andrew staring at her, looking her up and down like he used to, like he was undressing her with his eyes and that same smug half cocked smirk he always had when he drank and Luna felt her stomach churn. She turned on her heel and marched back to the kitchen. She paced a little as she tried to come to grips with the situation and the possible variables as Pryna and Umbra laid down on the mat in front of the sink.

“Hey Luche,” Luna called out again, remembering that she saw his car in her driveway.

“Yes?” Luche answered.

“Could you help me open this jar?” Luna asked, figuring that was a safe way to get Luche away from the rest of them so as not to cause suspicion as she went to the fridge and got a jar of jelly out.

“Sure,” Luche agreed as he joined her in the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Luna thanked him before re-tightening the lid herself and put the jar back in the fridge.

“Why...” Luche began before Luna cut him off.

“Listen, Luche, I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to tell me the truth, has Andrew been drinking tonight?” Luna whispered.

“Yeah, we all have,” Luche answered slowly.

“Ok, I need you to keep an eye on Andrew for me and keep him away from me, ok? Andrew is my ex and he can become a very...dangerous person when he drinks and he’s vindictive and spiteful even when he doesn’t drink, I just, make sure he doesn’t sneak away, especially in my direction, run interference for me, please Luche, please,” Luna pleaded quietly as she took his hands into her own and squeezed them anxiously, hoping the physical contact would induce Luche to do as she asked.

“Absolutely, I won’t let him out of my sight.” Luche agreed instantly as he realized how genuinely scared, not scared, terrified, she was and started to worry about her as he realized the golden opportunity he had just been given, he could be the hero and save her from her ex. Something he could definitely do for her. This would prove to her once and for all how much he liked her and if he could do this for her, she would give him a chance and he would win her over.

“Thank you,” Luna smiled feeling some relief in that but the anxiousness still wouldn’t leave her.

She went back into her room, Pryna and Umbra joining her, laying down on their shared bed and watched as she paced.

‘Shit, shit shit’, Luna thought to herself as tried to think of anything else she could do before a thought dawned on her. She got her phone from her pocket and called Selena.

“You make it home ok?” Selena asked from her bed when she saw it was Luna calling. The rest of their friends had already left so that the Ulric siblings could get to bed at a decent hour.

“Yeah, um, it’s just that,” Luna stuttered as she fought to control the anxiety whirling in her chest.

“Luna, are you ok?” Selena asked, sensing something was very wrong.

“No,” Luna shook her head as she continued to pace her room.

“What’s going on, talk to me,” Selena urged.

“I’m scared, my ex, Andrew is here and I’m freaking out,” Luna blurted.

“Ok, how can I help?” Selena asked.

“I need to ask a favor of Nyx but I wanted to run it by you and tell me if it’s crazy.” Luna suggested.

“I’m all ears.” Selena told her.

“Ok, so Andrew has been drinking and he’s...he can be really dangerous when he does. Luche is here also and he said he would run interference but I don’t know if it’s going to be enough. Do you think it would be ok to ask if Nyx could come and spend the night, with me, in my room, pretend to be my boyfriend because Andrew will leave me alone because he’s a douche who won’t respect my boundaries but might respect another guy’s’.” Luna requested.

“Absolutely,” Selena nodded as she jumped out of bed and marched to Nyx’s room, knocking quickly and forcefully as she did so.

“Yeah?” Nyx answered from his bed, taking his hand from his cock, having been trying to jack off to a fantasy of Luna, irritated by the interruption.

“I need to come in, Luna is in trouble,” Selena said through the door.

“It’s open,” Nyx said as he instantly sat up in bed and wiped his hand off on his bedding and pulled his pajama bottoms up to further conceal it.

“Here, she’s on the phone, she’s freaking out, like almost panic attack, you need to go spend the night at her house,” Selena said as she turned on the light and thrust her phone into Nyx’s hands as she went to his closet and began packing an overnight bag for him.

“Luna?” Nyx asked as put the phone to his ear as he swung his legs to the side to set his feet on the floor.

“Nyx, oh thank God, I know it’s late, I’m really sorry to bother you but I need the biggest of favors. My ex, Andrew is here, he’s at my house and he’s staying the night apparently with the rest of Ravus’ friends, and he’s been drinking and I don’t have the safest of locks on my door and I don’t trust him to stay away from me and my brother keeps telling me not to worry and Luche is here and he said he would run interference but I am still scared, I’m scared it won’t be enough. Will you please come over, please, normally I would call Noctis but the last time Andrew was like this and saw Noctis it got ugly. Please Nyx, please,” Luna pleaded, tears escaping her eyes.

“What’s your address?” Nyx asked as he went to his desk and got a pen and paper as Luna gave him the address and directions to her house.

“I have one more favor to ask you,” Luna requested, biting her nails nervously. “Name it,” Nyx answered.

“When you get here, I’m going to kiss you, I need you to kiss me back and make it look real and authentic, I need you to act like you’re my very steady boyfriend ok? Andrew might respect that kind of boundary.” Luna asked, her features blushing hard.

“Yup, got it, understood,” Nyx agreed with a gulp as he tripped over himself again and wanted to face palm himself. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Nyx assured her.

“Thank you, I owe you, see you soon, bye.” Luna breathed before she hung up and breathed out slow and measured as the anxiety finally started to leave her. She would be ok, Nyx would be here soon and she would be safe. She got dressed in her pajamas before she put her clothes back on over them and put a robe on over those as well and got her room and bathroom ready for a guest. She sprayed Febreeze on most of the carpet and furniture as she picked up her room, making sure it was clean and orderly before her own company came.

She left her room to see Andrew coming down the hall but Luche was only a few strides behind him. Luna still froze at the sight of Andrew.

“Mon Cherie,” Andrew greeted smoothly as he strode over to her purposefully caging her with his body as he put a hand on her door behind her.

“Hi,” Luna greeted back with a forced calmness before looking up over Andrew’s shoulder at Luche as she grasped the door handle to her room, ready to open it and unleash Pryna and Umbra on Andrew if he touched her again.

“You lost?” Luche asked Andrew as Luche came up behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and a determined stare.

“Just looking for another bathroom.” Andrew answered, his nerve temporarily faltering as he stepped away from Luna.

“Right back here,” Luche directed as he pointed to the door behind him. Andrew glowered but turned and went to the bathroom.

‘Thank you,’ Luna mouthed to Luche once Andrew turned away from her. Luche winked at her once Andrew passed him.

Once the bathroom door shut Luna blew out a breath of relief and opened her bedroom door to let Umbra and Pryna out again. “Bed time guys,” Luna urged them before they trotted back to their food and water bowls in the kitchen.

“See what I mean?” Luna whispered to Luche as they walked back out of the hallway.

“You weren’t kidding,” Luche shook his head, sad that he hadn’t been just a few seconds quicker coming to her rescue. He had wanted to make sure Andrew had come nowhere near her and he didn’t quite succeed and he inwardly berated himself for it.

“So I called Selena and Nyx is coming over and posing as my boyfriend, so just, go along with it ok?” Luna requested softly as they walked to the front door.

“...ok...I could have done that, posed as your boyfriend I mean,” Luche offered.

“Aww, thank you, that’s so sweet, but it’s ok, so keep doing what you’re doing, you’re doing great, thank you so much I owe you big.” Luna smiled appreciatively before Luche’s cell phone rang.

“Speak of the devil,” Luche said into his phone.

“Is Luna with you?” Nyx asked as he drove over to Luna’s house.

“Yep, she’s right next to me, we’re hanging out by her front door, waiting for you apparently.” Luche answered as he spared a glance at Luna who was looking at him curiously.

“So she told you?” Nyx concluded.

“Dude, I caught the guy cornering her outside her own room which is like on the other end of the house that everyone else is hanging out in, real creeper,” Luche informed Nyx.

Nyx’s features flashed rage as his foot dug into the gas pedal. “I’ll be there as fast as I can. GPS says 10 more minutes, I’ll see if I can make it in 5.” Nyx said as he passed a car.

“Tell him to be careful and don’t get a ticket.” Luna cautioned softly as she went and sat down at the bench by the door.

“Luna said to be careful and don’t get a ticket.” Luche repeated as he took a seat next to her on the bench.

“I will do my best,” Nyx grinned. “Don’t leave her side.” Nyx urged Luche.

“I won’t.” Luche assured him. “See ya when you get here,” Luche said before he hung up.

“Thank you,” Luna said, squeezing Luche’s other hand that wasn’t around his phone.

“No problem,” Luche grinned as he squeezed back, opting to hold her hand.

“What are you two doing?” Andrew asked as he walked past them and stopped once he saw the two. Luna instantly pulled her hand out of Luche’s to fold them in her lap as she sat up straighter and more rigidly. Her whole body becoming tense.

“Waiting on her boyfriend.” Luche answered evenly before Pryna and Umbra came back, both sitting in front of Luna and keeping their eyes on Andrew, the way they had been doing all night.

“You got a new boyfriend?” Andrew asked Luna, his eyes narrowing a bit.

“Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine, captain and quarterback of the same football team I’m on, hell of a guy,” Luche answered for Luna so she didn’t have to, keeping his focus on Andrew even though, in his peripheral vision, could see Luna smiling proudly at him which only made him smirk.

“Huh, I’m going to have to meet him then,” Andrew said as he came forward and sat in a chair opposite of them. Luche and Andrew had a stare off as Luna found refuge in her phone, going through her social media feeds as they waited in awkward silence.

True to Nyx’s best estimate, he was there within 6 minutes. Luna practically jumped up and went to the door, staring out of the glass on the side of the door as she eagerly awaited for him to walk up to the front door. Pryna and Umbra mirroring her as they cautiously wagged their tails. “Excited to see Nyx too?” Luna cooed to her dogs. “Nyx is awesome isn’t he, we like Nyx, yes we do.” Luna continued to baby talk to her dogs before their tails began to wag more.

“There’s my knight in shining armor!” Luna greeted excitedly as she opened the door wide, revealing Luche right behind her and Andrew right behind him as Pryna and Umbra went out to greet Nyx.

“Hey Pryna, Umbra,” Nyx greeted, thankful he had remembered their names. Pryna and Umbra wagged their tails some more, giving him a few curious sniffs before sniffing at the grass to relieve themselves.

“Sorry it took so long Princess,” Nyx smiled as he carried a duffle bag in one hand as he walked up the steps to her front door. Luna couldn’t wait for him to cross the threshold, she took the few steps that separated Nyx from herself and met him halfway there. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him firmly. Nyx dropped his duffle bag and framed her face with his hands as he kissed her back as she held onto him desperately. Something they both had been dreaming about all week but now that it was happening, they found themselves wishing it was for completely different reasons.

“My hero,” Luna grinned up at him as she sighed partly in happiness, partly in relief.

Nyx smiled in turn, giving her another quick kiss before leaning over and picking up his dis-guarded bag as Luna stole into his side and placed his arm securely over her shoulders.

“Andrew, meet my boyfriend Nyx,” Luna introduced proudly as Pryna and Umbra passed them to go back into the house and back to her room.

Andrew tried and failed to keep his disdain out of his expression as he gave Nyx a once over. “Hey man,” Andrew finally greeted as he held out a hand for Nyx to shake.

“Hey,” Nyx nodded as Luna took his duffle bag from him so he could shake Andrew’s hand so Nyx didn’t have to take his arm off her shoulders.

The two shared a forceful handshake, both partly trying to break the other’s hand in the hand shake.

Andrew turned his attention and said something to Luna in French that had Luna staring at him in outraged shock as her cheeks flushed even more than they were.

Luche didn’t know much French but he got the gist of what Andrew had said and glared at Andrew who only smirked in response.

Luche fished his wallet out of his pocket, pulling out two condoms and handing them to Nyx. “I only have two, they might be too tight a fit though.” Luche said as he passed them to Nyx who had to take his arm from around Luna’s shoulders to take them.

“Thanks, I brought plenty,” Nyx replied with a grin, catching onto Luche’s heavy hint as he put them into his pocket.

Luna smiled victoriously and handed Nyx his bag back before she led him to her room.

Once inside her room Luna locked the door and hugged Nyx as tight as she could. “Thank you, thank you so much for coming,” Luna murmured into his chest. Nyx hugged her back, just as tightly. This poor girl, the lengths she just went through to keep distance from her ex. He must have been a real asshole. But he was happy to have her in his arms again. A place he felt keenly that Luna should always be.

Luna smiled before she pulled away and took her robe off and carefully let it pile up on the floor. “Oh and Pryna is the white beauty and Umbra is the mostly black handsome man,” Luna clarified as she continued to arrange her robe on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Nyx asked as she then took her shirt off, revealing her pajama top underneath as she carefully placed the shirt on the floor.

“Making it look like you’ve been undressing me,” Luna answered as she stood in front of him and took off her jeans, making them pool at her ankles before stepping out of them. She went over to her dresser and pulled out a black lace thong and a matching black lace bra and strategically placed them on the floor as well.

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you do the same to your clothes, you can change into pajamas in my bathroom.” Luna suggested as she motioned to the door to her bathroom.

“Wait, why are you doing all this?” Nyx asked as he gestured to her clothes on the floor.

“Because, the last time this happened, I had Noctis come and Andrew broke into my room in the middle of the night in a drunken rage and when he saw that Noctis and I had no sign of being intimate he accused me of...just really horrible things and it just got ugly.” Luna explained, pained by the memory as she pulled out one of the hideaway bed underneath her own, on the other side of her bed that couldn’t be seen from the door that she had used for sleepovers and went to the other closet in her room where extra bedding was stored as she made the bed for Nyx.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Nyx countered as he dropped his bag to the floor, holding his hands out in a stopping motion. “This is your house, this is your room. It should be the one place you feel safe and secure and no one should have access to this space without your permission and consent. If he so much as touches that door I will kick his ass into next year and he will need an ambulance by the time I’m done with him. This is ridiculous! Your brother needs to step up and never let this guy within two thousand yards of the house, you should get a restraining order, you should not, under any circumstances feel like you need to do any of this just to keep him away!” Nyx protested as he gathered her clothes off the floor and handed them back to her. “I’ll still stay in here with you and I’ll play along out there but it has to stop somewhere.” Nyx insisted.

Luna blinked at him in surprise before dropping her clothes and hugging him fiercely again, crying into his chest. Nyx held onto her again, even though he wanted to kick Ravus’ and Andrew’s asses. He felt so sorry for this girl in his arms, crying into his chest and holding onto him so tightly, that it was getting a little hard to breathe. Nyx wrapped one arm securely around her and stroked her hair with the other. Soothing her the best way he knew how.

“You’re right, you’re absolutely right, but I can’t...” Luna sniffled into his chest. “I can’t make Ravus see that. It’s like he can’t look at anything outside of himself anymore.” Luna revealed.

“Well I’m going to have to make him see it then,” Nyx replied.

“No, not tonight, he’s been drinking and it’ll just make things worse,” Luna pulled back so she could look into his eyes as she shook her head adamantly and clung to his shirt, tears welling up and streaming from her eyes. “Tomorrow when he’s sober and Andrew has already left,” Luna suggested. “I just don’t want another confrontation. Not right now,” Luna pleaded.

“Ok,” Nyx allowed. Luna tucked her head back down into his chest and they held onto each other as Luna slowly regained her composure and she basked in the feeling that because he was here, she would be safe, he would keep her safe. It was going to be ok.

“Not exactly how you planned on spending your Saturday night huh?” Luna mumbled into his shirt, a small smirk on her lips.

“No, but I’m glad I’m here.” Nyx allowed a small, gentle smile to grace his lips, his head still to top of hers as he started to worry about what Andrew must have done to her to make her this way and instantly knew he had a mortal enemy in Andrew and while Nyx and Luche had been discretely competing for Luna, at least Luche was still cool enough to have his back and come through for Luna.

“Me too.” Luna whispered softly before she was able to pull herself back together and regain her composure.

Nyx unpacked his things from his bag that his sister had packed as Luna continued to get ready for bed in her bathroom. He looked around at the room, looking at the white walls, white carpet with all kinds of art, mostly watercolor paintings all over the walls before he saw that she had an art corner by her bay window in her room that also had a bench and several cushions and pillows that Nyx imagined she read in and the thought made him smile softly. She also had giant windows that currently had the shades drawn on and several skylights in the room as well. She had a regular desk that he assumed was for homework with a closed laptop on the surface against one of the other walls and her own mini living room in her room. She also had a vanity by the bathroom, half of which was covered with perfumes and lotions and a few makeup bags. He saw the keyboard with a bench on the other side of the bay window. Her room was freaking huge, it felt like three times the size of his living room. He then noticed her book shelf that took up the corner on the other side of her art corner by the bay window and walked over to it curiously. He turned his head to the side to read the spines of the books. A lot of them were about psychology, which would explain how she had managed to win at Cards Against Humanity, a book about reading people’s handwriting, medicine, sports medicine, massage, physical therapy, holistic medicine, essential oils. Then an entire shelf dedicated to cook books then a whole shelf dedicated romance novels, the science of sex and attraction and poetry. Nyx shook his head at the romance novels but tried to take a note of the other books. But then a whole shelf dedicated to art books. He looked closer, smiling appreciatively at the different ones.

“You can you look at any of those if you want.” Luna offered from the doorway to her bathroom, still rubbing in her nightly moisturizer as she walked over and took her favorite one off the shelf and handed it to him. He could see from the paint stained fingerprints on the cover and on most of the pages she must have used this as a reference.

“Did you remember a charger?” Luna asked as she went to her bed and plugged her phone in. “I don’t think I did.” Nyx shook his head as he looked up and noticed when she had turned around that her hair was down, the hair towards her face was in waves while the hair in the back was slightly curled from being twisted into the clip. Goodness was it pretty.

“That’s ok, I have extras, I-phone or Android?” Luna asked as she opened her bedside dresser drawer.

“Android.” Nyx answered.

“My kind of guy,” Luna grinned as she pulled out a spare charger and plugged it into the wall for him. “I should probably warn you, I do talk in my sleep so if that freaks you out, I’m sorry.” Luna informed him as she got into bed.

“I snore,” Nyx shrugged as he closed the book and put it back on the shelf and walked over to the light switch to turn the lights off.

“I won’t notice, I listen to music as I fall asleep, helps me have lucid dreams,” Luna smiled softly as she put one earbud into her ear.

“Does that really work?” Nyx asked curiously as he plugged in his phone and got into the hideaway bed that was next to hers and noticed that it was way more comfortable than even his own bed at home.

“Sometimes, I have really, really intense dreams so when they are good, they are spectacular, when they are bad, they are...brutal and horrific and make me never want to sleep again.” Luna revealed lowly.

“I’m sorry about the latter.” Nyx grimaced.

“Well, you’re here, so I should be just fine,” Luna assured him as she settled into her bed further.

“Nice nightlights,” Nyx smiled as he saw a few of them in her room, one by the bedroom door and one by her bathroom door which was on the side of the room he was on, his bed coming between her bed and the bathroom and then another on the side of the room where the mini living room was, along with the moonlight coming in from the skylights.

“Thank you,” Luna smiled in the darkness, at least he didn’t tease her or make fun of her for being afraid of the dark. “Although, if you prefer to have less light I have a sleeping mask you could borrow.” Luna added.

“Nah, I’m good, good night Luna,” Nyx bid her as he rolled away from her and tried to fall asleep, even though his body begged for rest but his brain told him to stay awake to stand watch over her.

“Goodnight Nyx, thank you again for coming.” Luna replied softly as she rolled away from him in turn and selected her sleep music playlist.

It had to be the middle of the night when he woke up to the sound of her moaning and suddenly his dick sprang to life. ‘Go. Away.’ He inwardly told it and rolled onto his stomach, hoping that with sad thoughts he could make his erection go away. Luna gasped softly in her sleep as she rolled onto her back as she sighed happily. Nyx buried his face into his pillow as he ground his pelvis into the bed, halfheartedly hoping she would stop soon while his imagination was set to record any sound that escaped her to fuel future fantasies.

Her breathing changed, got more labored as little cries of ecstasy escaped her lips as her hands clawed at the bedding as she writhed, fisting them before letting out a silent scream as her whole body tensed. Soon however her body slacked and her breathing soon returned to normal.

Nyx, for all of his self control, couldn’t help but watch, lifting his head and looking at her face, grateful for the soft light that had been emitted from those blessed night lights and skylights. His eyes had adjusted and witnessed the tortured bliss on her face, had seen her hands squeeze the bedding and had watched her writhe in bliss. God help him.

Nyx huffed in defeat and carefully and silently got out of bed and found refuge in her bathroom, carefully shutting the door and being ever so relieved to see she had a night light in there too so he didn’t have to turn a light on and risk waking her up. He took a seat on her toilet seat and pulled out his aching shaft from his pajama bottoms and boxers.

He closed his eyes as his imagination went into overdrive. He imagined Luna in that outfit she had described earlier in the night, imagining the sharp contrast of black leather and fishnets against the paleness of her skin. Her bright, ice blue eyes staring into him as he would put his hands on her thighs, feel the fishnets snag just a tad on the calluses of his hands as he felt the heat of her skin beneath his palms as he would slide his hands up those scorching hot legs of hers. He fantasized that those fishnets would only go thigh high. His hands would go to her ass squeezing the bare flesh he found there as Luna would strip for him. What he would give to tease her, to see that pretty mouth of hers hang open as she panted and moaned as she would spread her legs wide on his lap, revealing everything to him. He fantasized what shade of peachy pink her feminine lips would be, if past experience had taught him anything it was that a girls lips on her face tended to be the same shade as her nipples and her clitoris, nature was funny like that sometimes. He would delve into those folds with his hands as he made out with her. Then when he had her on the brink of release he would pull his hand away, watch her lips pout as she begged for more. Then he would ease her down onto his shaft and watch as he filled her. Watch her head lull back and her mouth open wide as another moan came from her throat. She would ride him, as hard as she wanted to as he held her close, capturing her pulse points on that regal column of her neck with his mouth, biting and sucking until she was bruised all over, claiming her as his for everyone to see. She would start to pant as she got closer. She would start calling out his name as a prayer as she clung to him. His hands would roam her, squeezing her breasts, giving her amazing cleavage before pulling at them and rolling her nipples between his fingertips, what a beautiful contrast they would be to the rest of her flower petal soft skin, a real feast for the eyes. He would try to suck on them as she continued to ride him. She would be so wet because he would make god damn sure she was good and aroused. His hands would go to her hips, helping her, guiding her as she would rock back and forth against him, feeling slick walls start to constrict around him as her cries grew louder as she got closer. She would hang onto his shoulders and the back of his neck for balance, her fingertips digging into the flesh there as her face would wear that beautiful tortured bliss expression again. He had almost forgotten how amazing it was to watch a girl orgasm, to come apart and back together again, to be given the highest of joys and ecstasies. And the satisfaction of knowing that he was the one to give that to her, to make her feel that way if she wanted it was the best kind of natural high. He wanted her, in every way she would have him.

He blew out a shaky breath as he finally came himself. His semen rocketed out of cock and splashed all over the marble floors of her bathroom. He cleaned himself and the floor up, chancing a flush of the toilet with the soiled toilet paper and washed his hands of any evidence of his actions. He was drying his hands when he heard her gasp again, but this one, while soft, was not like her gasps before, there was an edge to it, a hiss to it, like she was in pain.

He opened the door to see her facing the bathroom, her face twisted into a pained expression.

“No,” Luna muttered.

Nyx took one step toward her and she curled in on herself. “Andrew, no!” Luna whispered harshly. Nyx froze in position as his eyes left her to scan the room, making sure Andrew was not in fact there. His eyes quickly traveled to her door and made sure it had stayed locked. His ears strained in the silence, listening for breathing, for movement of any kind other than Luna’s.

Luna’s wrists came together and went above her head, like they had been tied together before she started to silently scream again. She was having a nightmare. She kicked the covers off as she kicked wildly as she continued to silently scream.

Nyx’s heart twisted painfully as he crossed the room in an instant and fell to his knees on the hideaway bed as he knelt next to her bed and grabbed her by the arms, bringing them back down from above her head as he tried to gently shake her awake.

“Luna,” Nyx whispered softly. “Luna wake up,” Nyx urged.

Luna tried to fight him off before her eyes snapped open as she sat up in bed, gasping for air as she clawed at her wrists, scratching them in the process before she realized she was awake and safe and sound in her own room.

“You ok there?” Nyx asked softly, still on his knees on the side of her bed as he gently rubbed soothing soft circles into her back as she caught her breath.

Luna turned to him and flung herself at him and clung to him before practically dragging him back down to the hideaway bed.

“Oh-ok,” Nyx muttered as he laid there awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. Luna, for her part had already mostly fallen back asleep.

Nyx took a deep breath and squirmed to bring his arm up and lifted her head slightly to push his arm through the space under her neck and adjust their now shared pillow before reaching up with his foot and hooked her blanket with it to bring it down since they were laying on top of his and managed to cover them both with it before resting his other arm in the crook of her waist. He couldn’t help but gaze down at her beautiful face and smiled bittersweet-ly as she seemed to be at peace now. His eyes drew heavier and heavier as he slowly blinked at her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering there before finally succumbing to sleep himself.

Luna awoke in the morning, feeling at peace as she could feel a pair of strong arms around her as one of her own arms wrapped around someone in turn. Luna frowned as she realized that there should not have been a pair of arms around her and she shouldn’t be holding onto anyone. She opened her eyes and saw Nyx’s chest and recognized that it was the same shirt he had worn to bed last night, and then looked up curiously to see Nyx’s neck, then that glorious jaw of his, then finally his handsome, peaceful, restful face and could not stop the smile that played on her lips as memories of the night before began to wash into her mind. She had dreamed of him, dreamed of Nyx making love to her and it had been AWESOME. Oh god then she had a nightmare, of Andrew, he had managed to tie her up and was torturing Nyx before coming back to her and she was fighting him off then she remembered that she had woken up from said nightmare, gasping in a cold sweat, and...and Nyx had been there, he had been awake, he...had he tried to wake her up? Bless his soul if he had. She remembered practically gluing herself to him and feeling so much relief, comfort, peace and a deep sense of safety when she did. She must have fallen asleep that way. She noted her blanket laying over them and figured she must have dragged it down with her. For Nyx to make such a big deal about consent and personal space, she sure did invade his personal space a lot, with or without his consent. She would have to apologize for that when he woke up. She should be withdrawing from him, she should...but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him. Heaven help her.

Soon however she could sense him wake up. But still, she did not move. Instead she stayed still and let him wake up.

“Good morning,” She greeted in a voice so small she couldn’t quite believe her own ears.

“Morning,” Nyx groaned sleepily as he pulled his arm away, that had had been resting on her waist, his hand splayed possessively and protectively on her back, to roll onto his back and stretch out. Luna could feel the arm beneath her neck tense as it stretched in unison with the rest of him before it relaxed again.

“Thank you, for helping me through last night.” Luna thanked him softly.

Nyx smiled sleepily as he rolled back over to face her but he folded his arm in front of him, trying to respect her personal boundaries, even though she had made no move to get off his arm, or move away from him. “No problem,” Nyx told her, shaking his head a little as he did so as he slowly blinked his eyes open in the bright sunshine streaming into the room.

“So how bad did I talk in my sleep?” Luna inquired, grimacing as she did so.

“You didn’t, I mean you said ‘no Andrew’ in your sleep but you didn’t say much of anything else, or at least if you did, I didn’t hear it.” Nyx shook his head, choosing to keep part of the truth to himself to save her any embarrassment.

“So hardly at all, good, good,” Luna nodded. “Sorry I invaded your bed.” Luna apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m not going to complain,” Nyx shook his head again, as he could feel the corner of his mouth tug into a smile.

“I just..I mean..I just...” Luna started to stutter and trip over herself as she fought to collect her thoughts again. She grimaced again as if waiting for Nyx to sigh exasperatingly but when she opened her eyes, all she saw was patience tempered with curiosity. “I feel safe with you.” Luna blurted as her cheeks stained rose.

“Good,” Nyx nodded in agreement. “I hope I never make you feel unsafe,” Nyx added.

Luna’s heart melted at that, all she could think of was how bad she wanted to kiss him again as she nodded with him. But she tried to exercise self control. She had to try.

“So...um...so have you...” Luna struggled with forming a coherent sentence.

“Have I...?” Nyx asked after a beat, careful to keep his tone gentle. He had to be gentle.

“Favors, have you thought of how you wanted to be repaid for this favor?” Luna blurted super quickly before she hid her face into the pillow, embarrassed by her stuttering. “Me and English are not getting along this morning,” Luna muffled into the pillow with a self depreciating laugh.

“Sorry,” Luna apologized as she pulled her face from the pillow to face him again.

Nyx was shaking his head again. “Don’t worry about it, you don’t owe me anything,” Nyx insisted.

“I can’t accept that answer.” Luna shook her head in friendly argument.

“No, I’m serious, you don’t owe me anything,” Nyx repeated emphatically but Luna still shook her head no.

Nyx rolled his eyes before placing his hand on her face and gently grabbed it and shook her head yes for her which earned laughter from both of them.

“Yes Nyx, I don’t owe you anything,” Nyx repeated in a girly voice, a gentle teasing sarcastic imitation of Luna’s voice which only got Luna to laugh harder.

“Ok, I give up,” Luna laughed before Nyx pulled his hand away from her face. “Here, how about this,” Luna suggested as she reached around him and began scratching his back through the fabric of his t-shirt.

Nyx couldn’t help the gravely moan that escaped his throat as he rolled back over to his stomach to give her more access to his back.

“May I?” Luna giggled as she dipped her fingers under his shirt to scratch at the skin there.

“By all means,” Nyx invited, taking the shirt off and fully laying on his stomach. Luna smiled as she sat up next to him and began to scratch his back.

“Lighter? Harder?” Luna asked as she scratched softly.

“You could scratch a little harder.” Nyx told her before she put more pressure into her scratching.

“Oh yeah, just right,” Nyx groaned in pleasure as he enjoyed her attention. Soon her scratches alternated into rubs and massage. The moans that escaped his throat had Luna biting her bottom lip because damn was his voice sexy. It was extra deep because of sleep and lord have mercy, it was turning her on.

“Could I try something?” Luna felt embolden to ask.

“Absolutely,” Nyx agreed. She could have her way with him and he would happily comply.

“But I would probably have to sit on you, like your lower back or your butt.” Luna clarified as she withdrew her hands from him to get a book on her headboard and flipped through the pages to find the diagram she was thinking of. She straddled and sat on his ass and suddenly Nyx was very aware of her hot core against him and he was so grateful she couldn’t see his erection that was hard enough to fuck through steel at the moment that was pinned between his body and the mattress. And then she was running her knuckles up either side of his spine and his eyes nearly rolled back into his head. Oh god, she was massaging up and down his back and then her hands went to his shoulders and then his neck and all over again. This was heavenly.

“You can keep going...for like hours if you want, I won’t stop you,” Nyx gently teased her.

“Can I now?” Luna all but purred as she continued to massage him.

Holy shit she was flirting with him and Nyx’s cock was in desperate need of relief again. It was taking every ounce, every molecule of self control not to give into his desires.

She continued to massage his back until her stomach started to growl.

“I didn’t ask you,” Luna laughed as she talked to her stomach. But the scent of breakfast that was wafting through the house.

“It does smell good.” Nyx had to admit.

“Pause on this for now?” Luna asked as she gently caressed up and down his back, giving him goosebumps everywhere.

“Sure,” Nyx agreed, he couldn’t bring himself to even disagree.

“Ok, I’m gonna go to the bathroom and get dressed and stuff, feel free to shower or whatever when I’m done ok?” Luna suggested as she lowered herself to lay on his back, giving his cheek a quick kiss before getting off of him and going to her closet to get some clothes to change into. Nyx stayed put until Luna had gone into the bathroom. When she had retreated to the bathroom and shut the door, he rolled over to his back, he rubbed his face as his erection tented his boxers and his pajama pants, precum soaking through both layers of material but thankfully not really spotting the sheets. Thank god.

Nyx tried to ignore it as he got up and put Luna’s blanket back on her bed and folded up the bedding from the hideaway bed, putting it back into the closet where he saw her take it from before he pushed the hideaway bed back under hers, appreciating the cool design of her bed frame, how it had looked like just a bed long drawer underneath her bed.

He dug through his bag and got the outfit Selena had packed for him and grabbed the stick of deodorant Selena had thrown in and went ahead and got dressed quickly before Luna came back out, thankfully his boner had gone down some and he could hide the remainder of it in his jeans without it being too noticeable.

Luna came out not long after that and stopped when she saw that not only was the hideaway bed put up but that his bedding had been folded and put away. None of her friends ever thought to be so damn thoughtful or considerate.

“Aren’t you just amazing?” Luna cooed smiling appreciatively at him as he passed her to use the bathroom himself.

“I try,” Nyx smiled.

Luna quickly made her bed and waited for him because there was no way she, a princess, was going to leave her tower without her knight in shining armor.

It only took a moment for Nyx to reappear.

“Ready?” Luna asked as she stood from her seat on her bed.

“Yup,” Nyx nodded.

“Follow me,” Luna gestured as she stood up and made her way to her bedroom door, unlocking it and opening it for them before Pryna and Umbra weaved between them to walk out of the room as well.

Nyx politely closed the door behind them. However when they turned toward the hallway again. They found they were not alone.

“Mother,” Luna greeted a bit louder than she should have, as panic seeped into her chest once again at the sight of her mother coming down the hall toward her room. Shit, she forgot about the dragon.

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nubnubblr · 6 years ago

Text

If You Do .1

Masterlist

THEA

"I really don't want to be here," BM whined, for the 100th time since we walked in the door, five minutes ago.

"We know," Charlie rolled here eyes.

"We've literally been here five minutes," I frowned.

"That's five minutes more than I wanted to be here," he grumbled.

"Dude, seriously," Sam chimed in.

"I'm just going to complain the whole time we're here, you should just let me go home,"

"You'll get bored with complaining eventually," I shrugged.

"No, I won't,"

"It's your money, you're building, and you have to live in it. You should at least have a say in what is bought," I tired to reason.

"Just take my card and get me a comfortable lounge, I don't actually care what it looks like," he held out his credit card waving it around.

"I'm not spending your money without you being here, besides, Sam can't lift things on his own and Charlie and I can't lift things. We need your muscles,"

"You can totally lift things, you actually scare me with your manual labour ability," he frowned.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to, besides we won't fit everything in Charlie's car and she won't let you drive it, so suck it up and enjoy,"

"Yo, what's our budget here?" Sam asked.

"Should we have really brought him here?" I turned to Charlie.

"Even if we hadn't told him, he would have sensed we were coming here, he has an IKEA radar. The amount of time he spends here on his own," she shook her head.

"Like you two in Target are any better," BM frowned.

"We only buy the essentials," I glared.

"You have two fruit bowls," he raised an eyebrow.

"And an empty spice rack for more spices than you two will ever actually use," he added.

"We need two fruit bowls, you boys are over more often than not and always eat our fruit so we have to buy more fruit, thus we need more space to store said fruit. Therefor, we need two fruit bowls. As for our spice rack, it's only empty because it's new and she bakes, and I'm a chef, we need all those spices," I defended.

"Also, shut up," I added.

"You would have made your point so much better if you didn't tell him to shut up," Charlie shook her head.

"The problem with Thea is she keeps talking when she should just stop, especially when she says something stupid, she just carries on, half the time trying to explain what she meant which just makes it worse," Sam stated.

"Shut up Samantha," I frowned.

"You didn't answer my question," Sam turned to BM.

"Just get what we need, beds, lounge, stuff like that," he shrugged.

"You realised he has probably been on Tumblr and the IKEA website, and already planned out the entire space by now, right?" Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever, the bar is finished and the upstairs bathroom has been paid for,"

BM had bought a building a few months ago and had just finished renovating the ground level from an outdated restaurant into a bar. Something he had been wanting to do since before we were in high school. The building's second floor, I assume use to be used as an office space or possibly a studio apartment seeing as it had a functioning bathroom, if you could call it that. So BM, who had just put basically all of his money into buying and renovating the bar, decided that he would use the office as a living space for him, Sam and our other friend Jae, who's jobs pay little and infrequently. It's a smart plan, except BM hates shopping and they're all currently sleeping on foam mattresses on the floor of the empty space. Which brings us here, to IKEA, which happens to be one of Sam's favourite places.

"Did you just give him a limitless budget?" Charlie frowned.

"God no, the budget is about half of whatever is in my account right now,"

"Only half?"

"Mm, the other half is delegated," BM nodded.

"I guess I'll have to work on a budget," Sam nodded.

"Yeah because you have so much money normally," Charlie pulled a face at him. Sam just mimicked the face she pulled and continued walking, BM shuffled his feet next to me continuing to make it obvious that he didn't want to be here. Because he hadn't made that blatantly clear already.

"Stop sulking, we'll be out of here soon enough," I nudged him.

"No we won't, you brought Sam to IKEA, we're going to be here for hours," he huffed as his phone started ringing.

"Hey bro, what's up?"

"Yeah we're not there, I've been kidnapped and dragged to IKEA with the girls, you've got to come save me... Yeah Sam's here too, the spare key should be in the usual place, just drop your stuff off and come down... Okay, see ya,"

"Jae's on his way,"

SAM

My phone buzzed in my pocket, the other four were bickering about the consistent whining which was just redundant. 'Bianca <3' flashed across the screen, I let out a sigh and slid it back into my pocket. The ringing stopped, and it started ringing again, when it rang for a third time I gave up on ignoring it and answered it.

"Hey," I sighed.

"Hey, I tried calling, where are you?" she asked as if we hadn't spoken less than twenty minutes ago.

"I told you I was going out, we're at IKEA getting some things for the apartment," I answered absently looking through the display room.

"You should have said so, I would have come with you, I know you hate IKEA, and I have killer interior design skills," I wouldn't call an entirely orange and pink apartment with tacky miniature statues and leopard print everywhere, killer interior design skills.

"It wasn't planned, it was another one of Thea's spontaneous ideas,"

"Thea," she hummed,

"Is Charlie there too?"

"Thea's here so,"

"Well I'm not doing anything, I'll come and help, you're apartment will need a feminine touch and god knows those girls don't have it,"

"It's okay, we won't be here too long, I'll just come to see you once we're done and we'll go get something to eat or something,"

"I don't mind really, I'll just get changed and be right there,"

"B, really we won't be long,"

"Love you," she chimed before hanging up.

"Was that Beunka?" Charlie asked, saying her name in the pretentious way Bianca insists it's pronounced.

"It was," I nodded

"Checking in?"

"Something like that, yo, checkout that bed," I changed the subject. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out that the girls and Bianca didn't get along, Charlie especially didn't like Bianca and Bianca was unnecessarily jealous of Charlie, she made it a point to try and be around me every time Charlie was.

"I see you in more of a racing car sort of bed," she teased.

"Have you ever though of stand-up? I mean you're hilarious," I rolled my eyes going to actually look at the loft style bed. It was the style of bed I was looking for.

"I resent your sarcasm,"

"In that case, I believe you should resent almost all of yourself," I countered.

"You don't know me,"

"Hey is anyone else hungry?" Thea asked.

"I could eat," Charlie shrugged.

"Why don't we grab some food while we wait for Jae?" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, anything is better than shopping," BM continues to whine.

"Dude, shut up, no one likes a whiny bitch," Thea frowned at him.

"Some people do," Charlie shrugged making a small dig at Bianca.

"Let's get food," Thea smirked.

"Does anyone even know where the food court is?" BM asked, they all paused and turned to me.

"What? Because I've been here a billion times you think I know where everything is?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah pretty much," was the general consensus.

"This way," I lead them towards the food.

"See," Thea stated smugly.

"No one likes a dick Thea," BM smirked at here.

"Not true," she smirked back winking.

"We can't take you anywhere," he shook his head at her.

"We can't take either of them anywhere," I pointed out, honestly they were as bad as each other.

"Good thing we brought you here then, huh?" Thea rolled her eyes.

"Like you two are any better, the only difference is we're funny and you're lame," Charlie shrugged.

"You think you're funny," BM muttered.

"Better to think we're funny than look funny like someone we know," Thea looked directly at him.

"Are you sure you're not actually 4?"

"Only mentally," she shrugged.

They continued to bicker back and forth while I lead them to the food court, Charlie added a comment here and there which threw BM off guard for a few seconds, long enough for Thea to throw a comeback at him. In the end he gave up, and sulked a little which only made them ridicule him some more.

"Look, food," I stated in an attempt to save him.

"Why are you looking at me? You eat more in one meal that both of us combined, in a whole day," Thea defended herself from and attack I wasn't staging.

"I was simply pointing out we were in the food court because you wanted food, do you not remember?"

"Probably not, her memory is as bad as the men she's attracted too," Charlie took the opportunities to make fun of her.

The two had a running joke, Thea liked old men and Charlie liked children. Every time, we'll not every time but quite frequently, if Thea finds a guy attractive he turns out to be over 30 and if it's Charlie finding a guy attractive he's between 18 and 20 which in her head is a child, in reality, they're only 4-6 years younger than her.

"Yeah well at least mine have memories, will yours even retain their memories yet?"

"They have their whole life to develop memories, yours are basically dust, they grow older as rapidly as they lose their memories,"

"That's how I like my men, old and dusty, at least they don't smell like a baby,"

"That's disgusting," Charlie pulled a disgusted face, if you didn't know her you would think it was the old and dusty comment, it was actually the baby smell comment, the smell itself actually makes her sick, she boarder line throws up. It's probably a good thing she hates children because I don't think she could handle having them.

"It still confuses me that you can literally use you bare hand to pick up any kind of animal poop, you don't even flinch if they get any form of bodily fluid on you but the slight smell of a newborn and you're out of that room so quick you would think it contained a plague," BM shook his head.

"Animals are adorable, babies a gross and sticky, I'm confused as to why people choose to have them,"

"You realize you were a baby once right?" He frowned.

"I didn't choose to have me, I would have aborted me," she shrugged.

"I would have aborted you too," Thea agreed.

"Like anyone else would understand what you're saying," Charlie countered.

"I have BM,"

"Who only understands you half the time,"

"It's not my fault he's dumb," she shrugged.

"I'm not dumb," BM drowned

"Yes you are," Thea nodded.

Arguing with her was pointless, she'll just keep going until she gets bored and then she'll tell me to shut up. I swear she has the mentality of a toddler, a cranky over tired toddler.

"Just sit down," he rolled his eyes.

"You can't tell me what to do,"

"So you're just going to stand there the whole time?"

"No, I'm going to sit down, but only because I want to, not because to told me too,"

"You really showed me," I replied sarcastically.

"Shut up," she pulled a face.

"Child," I retorted.

"You realizes you're as bad as each other right?" Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"We are not," we both said at the same time.

"Thea is worse than me,"

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Can we just get food so we can get back to what we came here for?" Sam stated.

"He's getting IKEA itchy," Thea smirked.

"He's always IKEA itchy," Charlie stated.

"Where is Jae?" Sam ignored them.

"On his way, why?"

"Because he'll keep her entertained," Sam nodded to Charlie.

"One, don't refer to me as if I'm an infant, that's gross, and two he'll just join in and you know it,"

"She's right," Thea nodded.

"I'm always right," Charlie shrugged.

"You've been wrong before," I stated without thinking.

"Name one time I was wrong?" She challenged.

"Dude, she doesn't argue, comment, or make statements if she doesn't know she's right," Thea shook her head at me.

I was sure she had been wrong about something before. So I tried to think about it but I couldn't remember at this point.

"See" Charlie stated smugly after what felt like about five minutes of my inability to think of one.

"Never wrong," Thea smirked a millisecond later.

"Can we just eat?" I sighed.

"No one is stopping you," she nodded.

"What does everyone want? I asked.

"Why are you paying?" Thea teased.

"If it gets me away from you for five minutes,"

"That was mean," she frowned and pouted.

"You're annoying," I shrugged.

"I'm bored, I've been bored all week. Having nothing to do after working full time will drive a person crazy you know,"

"What's your excuse for when you were working?" I countered.

"I have to deal with you," she shrugged.

"You should try dealing with you,"

"If Charlie can deal with me I'm sure you can,"

"Charlie is as broken as you,"

"No, I'm not," she shook her head.

"Okay, she's on the same level of broken as you, just not as bad,"

"You're so mean when you're forced into going shopping," she pulled a face at me.

"Hello," Sam sighed.

We stopped bickering thinking he was talking to us but he was on the phone.

"We're in the food court, just follow the yellow line on the floor until you find the sign that says food court, yeah, okay just stay there and I'll come get you, bye," he hung up the phone and stood up.

"I'll be back in a minute," he stated leaving the table.

"Where are you going? Jae knows how to follow a coloured line," I frowned.

"It's Bianca not Jae," he said before leaving.

"Did anyone else know she was coming?" Thea pulled a face.

"No," Charlie also pulled a face.

"It explains why he has to go find her," Thea stated.

"Seriously, this is not what I had in mind when you said we were going to IKEA," Charlie rolled her eyes clearly annoyed.

"I didn't invite her," Thea defended.

"Well obviously," Charlie shot back.

"Play nice you two,"

"Shut up BM," they said in unison, which eased their irritation slightly seeing as they both laughed a little.

"Dude, does she even know the difference between a bed and a lamp?" Thea questioned.

"Of course she does, a bed is what she sleeps with Sam on, a lamp is what he turns off so he doesn't have to look at her when he's doing it," Charlie nodded.

"With that logic, she might think a lounge is also a bed, and probably the floor and a shower," I commented.

"Dude I don't want to hear about their sex life," Charlie pulled a face.

"Is it morally okay for him to sleep with someone that has the mental age of a toddler?" Thea asked sounding a little too serious.

"Toddlers are smarter that her," Charlie stated.

"You two are so savage," I shook my head.

"You should hear what we say about you," Thea smirked.

"That you're eternally in love with me?"

"Not even in your dreams," she shook her head.

CHARLIE

It didn't take long for Sam to come back with Bianca. Yay. I noticed her hair first, her usually very bleached, probably severely damaged, bottle blond hair was still mostly the same, except she had ombréd pink through the bottom, which interestingly enough, was the exact hairstyle I had the last time I'd seen her. Not that I was surprised.

"Hey everyone," she plastered on a smile, I'm guessing it was fake seeing as Sams face held a slightly bored, slightly annoyed expression which he normally had when Bianca was annoyed and had tried to argue with him about what ever it was that had annoyed her. Probably my presents here. She was consistently pulling me aside and trying to warn and or threaten me to 'stay away from her man' which honestly only made me hang out with Sam more, mostly to spite her but partially to see if she would do anything because I was certain she only knew how to act threatening, or at least try. Please, my kitten holds more of a threat.

"Oh, you have a new hair style?" Thea asked slowly.

"Yeah, I just had it done. Do you like it?" She smiled smugly. That girl spends way too much money on her appearance, and it's not helping.

"I got kind of bored with it after about a week," I shrugged.

"I thought I'd seen it somewhere before," Thea nodded.

She had a habit of doing that, if I did something, or wore something, she would either do something extremely similar or just out right copy it. Honestly, she was probably insecure about how close Sam and I are, she should be more worried about the fact that Sam is only with her out of convenience.

"Let's eat," BM stated.

"Do you want something?" He turned to Bianca.

"Can I get something with no sugar, no carbs, no gluten or dairy, and is fat-free?"

"So, water?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well she can't use up her calories this early in the day," Thea smirked.

"How many calories are you Sam?" Jae walked up behind him.

"Dude," BM frowned.

"What?"

"That's gross,"

"Thea put the idea out there, I just asked,"

"Thea shouldn't speak half the time," BM stated.

"Hey," she pulled a face.

"I hear Thea puts a lot out there," Bianca made an attempt at joining in on the usual banter, the issue there is, none of us liked her, not even Sam. Which meant it was okay for us to attack each other but it was not okay for her to do it.

This was clear by the way everyone stopped joking, BM looked over at Thea who looked both shocked and like she wanted to jump over the table, I half though she would, half knew she wouldn't at least not in such a public setting. Jae looked amused by the whole situation, but he usually was.

"That wasn't okay," BM stated slowly.

"Yeah That was kind of mean," Sam added with a small frown.

"Why? I was joking?" Bianca was completely oblivious to the mood.

"You're a joke," I shot.

"You think I'm funny?" She smiled not getting the insult.

"I think it's funny that Sam chooses to continue to put it in someone with an IQ of negative,"

"Charlie," BM shoot me a warning look.

"What? It's not my fault she doesn't understand when she's being insulted,"

"I think I would understand if someone was hitting me,"

"I said insulted not assaulted," I rolled my eyes.

"What's the difference?"

THEA

Charlie was getting more annoyed the longer their conversation continued. Sam looked uncomfortable, Bianca was literally too dumb to know she was being insulted but Sam knew, he wasn't an angry person so he wasn't going to get mad at Charlie for it, but that didn't mean he was okay with it either. Sometimes I felt bad for attaching her, in front of him anyway.

"Insulted is done verbally, assaulted is done physically," BM frowned explained trying to defuse the tension. Idiot.

"She'll figure out the difference on her own if she keeps talking," I stated.

"What?"

"There is really no point explaining it, why don't we just eat and get this over with?" Charlie rolled her eyes.

"That's a great idea ChaCha," Bianca used my nickname for Charlie, which the boys barely got away with using and they only got away with it sometimes.

"Don't call me that," Charlie stared at her seriously.

"Why?"

"Only I get to call her that," I answered, to an outsider it probably seemed childish.

"Oh relax Theo, were all friends here," she shrugged this time using Charlie's nickname for me, which made me more mad.

"One, were not all friends, and two, you can't use our nicknames for each other because we don't like you, these three don't even get to use those nicknames and we at least kind of like them," Charlie stated but again the tone and complete message of her comment completely evaded Bianca.

"We're totally friends,"

"Okay B, you know how you only let your grandmother call you Bianca?" Sam stepped in.

"I don't let her, she's just too dumb to know how it's actually pronounced,"

"My point is you don't get mad when she calls you Bianca but you get mad when everyone else does?"

"Yeah, because it's pronounced Beunka,"

"This is the same kind of thing, only they can call each other by those nicknames because they get mad if anyone else does it,"

"Why? They're nicknames it's not like it's their real names,"

"Seriously, a brick wall has a higher IQ," Charlie shook her head.

"What is an IQ,"

"Why don't we just skip eating," I stated slowly, the less time we had to spend with Bianca the better.

JACKSON

I walked through the door and set the box on the table, the TV was on so I was assuming Mark was also the home for lunch, until he walked out of the bathroom clearly just having showered.

"Sick day?" I raised an eyebrow.

"There was nothing to do and I can do nothing at home," he shrugged.

"Right, do you actually do work anymore?"

"I do boss stuff,"

"Okay boss man I have pizza, because some of us only have lunch off and can't sit at home all day,"

"You choose to work, why are you home?"

"Because I'm apparently working in the city for the next two weeks," I sighed.

"And that's bad?"

"Do you know how much of a pain it is to work in the city? With rude assholes and everyone is a rush to get to where every they're going?"

"Dude, I work in the city permanently,"

"You sit in a CEO office while your slaves do the foot work,"

"What's your point?"

"I work on the street in the weather with the people, and they're not very nice,"

"Again you choose to work, no one forced you, besides one phone call and you wouldn't have to work in the city. So, I'm not really seeing the issue, I mean you're home for lunch and you'll be home like almost two hours earlier than normal,"

"I don't like working in the city,"

"Whatever, where's the pizza?" He shrugged.

We were finally leaving IKEA, two and a half hours later. We would probably have spent more time and had more fun, or any kind of fun, if Bianca hasn't of been here. The girls were annoyed, mostly Charlie, probably because whatever Charlie pointed out for, not just Sam, but any of us, she insulted and pointed out something she thought was better - it wasn't. Then Bianca would get mad because we chose what Charlie or Thea pointed out, that gave the two a small victory but it didn't seem to minimize the irritation levels at all. You would think the tension would ease when we left the building, but it didn't.

"So where to now?" Jae asked once we'd finished loading the flat pack furniture onto the back of my Ute, the smaller items had gone into the back seat and boot of Charlies Mini Cooper.

"Well this isn't going to put itself together," Charlie nodded to the pile of boxes.

"So home?"

"Obviously," Charlie stated.

"Should we get something for lunch on the way? Like a hot chicken and some bread rolls?" Thea suggested, she was like a mother sometimes, when she wasn't a four year old anyway.

"Sam and I can get it," Bianca suggested. The girls faces changed.

"Why would you get it?" Charlie frowned.

"We don't have anything in my car, it will be easier,"

"Oh, you're not helping," Charlie shook her head.

"Sure we are," Bianca smiled.

"Sam," Charlie gave him a serious look.

"Charlie's rights, Beunka took time out to come and help with shopping when she didn't have to. You should take her to lunch to thank her," I suggested, Sam nodded understanding what I was doing.

It was bad enough having them all in IKEA, if we left Bianca in a small space with Charlie, Thea, and tools, it probably won't end well. It's worrying enough letting Thea handle tools, let alone giving them a target.

"That's a good idea, let's go to lunch,"

"We can't just leave them to do it, if there's more people not will get done quicker,"

"Like you'll be any help anyway," Thea rolled her eyes.

"No I don't think it will, besides the room isn't very big so it will just be cramped with a lot of people being in there," Sam stated ignoring Thea's comment.

"I really feel like we should help,"

"Why don't we go to that restaurant you wanted to go to, the one your friend was bragging about?"

"Really? I thought you didn't want to go?"

"But you want to, so do you want to go to lunch?" Sam pushed.

"Of course, sorry guys we'll help next time,"

"Yay," Charlie rolled her eyes sarcastically.

CHARLIE

"Do you think I could run her over and claim it was an accident?" Thea asked.

"She's too dumb to think it was on purpose, and if she did it wouldn't take much to convince her otherwise,"

"If she lived," Thea shrugged starting the car.

We followed behind BM's truck and Bianca followed behind us, for a minute I was worried that she had changed her mind about going to lunch and had decided the come and help us instead.

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earwaxinggibbous · 6 years ago

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Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2018

As I geared up to make the list of hits for 2018, I was prepared for difficulty, and I wasn’t wrong. Hence why there are a few little cheats here and there. Really anything that even had the potential to be a hit got on this list because the Hot 100 was fucking barren and I figure I’d rather give some exposure to some good artists that didn’t get what they deserved.

I do discuss alcohol/drug use briefly in my number 9 + 6 and abuse in my number 4. Let’s get this shit on the road.

10. Mine - Bazzi

This song is dumb. And I love it.

Mine by Bazzi, who no doubt will not show up on the charts next year, is a song that all of you know even if you think you don’t, because it’s the one with the memes.

You so! Fuckin! Precious! When you! Smiiiiile!

Yeah, it’s that one.

There’s not much to say about this one. It’s a quick and easy listen at only a little over 2 minutes. Bazzi has a nice enough voice, and the production manages to stand on its own. Honestly the reason it’s here is because the lyrics are adorable.

It feels very teenage, but not in the obnoxious way that Lucid Dreams is. It’s just very innocent despite the second line being about hitting it from the back. It’s a kind of innocence I can enjoy mostly unironically.

Like, whatever man. Just enjoy life.

9. Betrayed - Lil Xan

So I wasn’t actually sure when this song charted. I believe it was either late 2017 or early 2018, possibly with some crossover, but I’m counting it because I love this song so much.

Betrayed actually shares a lot of similarities with Juice WRLD’s Lucid Dreams. They were both towards the bottom on each respective list, they both have videos made by Cole Bennet, and they both have a sneaky anti-drug message.

Ironic considering his name is Lil Xan. Also I lied it’s not very sneaky at all. Which is good, if you’re gonna be anti-drug then just fucking do it. The beat is chill, the bars are chill, it’s all super chill. That’s probably in part due to the fact that Lil Xan has a super calming voice. This is weed music. Like Car Seat Headrest. And good weed music can be enjoyed when you’re sober, which Betrayed can be because it just sounds nice.

A good chunk of Betrayed is about the pitfalls of the rap game, and how suddenly everyone turns on you and wants your money, which is kind of neurotic but not entirely inaccurate.

This was actually the plot of a Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake song called Holy Grail from a few years back. And I hate to say it but this song does it way better, because it’s not trying to make fame out to be some horrible demon priestess who’s sucking your soul out of your ass, but rather, more of a lifestyle with very different complications.

Which is what it is.

So Jay-Z got outdone by a 12-year-old with face tats named Lil Xan, and if I heard about that my ego would be deeply, deeply bruised.

The only reason it isn’t higher is because, uh.

Oof, Lil Xan. Come on now.

8. King’s Dead - Jay Rock ft. Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake

So a lot of people actually didn’t like this song. Which... I kind of get.

Also apparently this was on the Black Panther soundtrack. I never saw that movie, but a lot of the lyrics on this, at least according to lyric genius, relate to that movie. Which I guess is why I have no clue what it’s about other than the average rap music cliches. The only thing I knew about King’s Dead for god knows how long was this gif of Kendrick eating corn in a palm tree.

I feel like the best argument against this song (other than Future’s high-pitched sampling of Slob On My Knob that made me lose my shit) is that there’s nothing really special about it. I mean yeah, Kendrick has a voice that’s smooth like butter, but King’s Dead has a generic beat and bars that just don’t stand out.

But I don’t know. I just love it.

This is just a nice fun song to chill out to. I can put it on, throw myself into bed, and let the cares of the day shloff off of my body as Kendrick whispers to me in the language of the ancient ones. This is nowhere near his best work, not even remotely close to it. All it is is nice and small and easy to listen to without being completely boring.

Maybe I also just like it because it’s been forever since a rap song really sounded like one. This is partially the fault of Future, who is on this song, and doing the same shit he usually does, but at least the rest of the song sounds like words. It feels like it’s been a whole decade since rap music wasn’t just an autotuned jumble, and while I’m easier on mumble-rap than most, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss good old fashioned regular rap.

Regardless of whether it’s blind nostalgia or some level of actual quality, I enjoy King’s Dead for what it is. It may just be a rock and not a diamond, but it’s my rock and I love it.

7. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes

So like, what the fuck happened with Shawn Mendes? He just kind of got really good all of a sudden. Like when every genre, every artist, every newcomer and every single is shitting the bed, it’s Shawn Mendes of all people to bring it home. That’s like if Charlie Puth turned out to be the savior of music. It’s like if Chingy developed into a rap legend. And this song, In My Blood, is about something we all wanna do! Giving up.

Okay, so that’s not exactly what it’s about. It’s about the feeling of wanting to give up, but refusing to, in a very chronological way. With the verses representing the low points and the chorus representing the swell of energy that forces one to get back on their feet. It’s an incredibly well put-together song where Shawn’s voice is actually put to good use instead of him gargling pus like he did on Treat You Better. I’d be lying if I said he didn’t emote wonderfully on this.

I haven’t heard any of the other singles he’s released around this song, but I’m definitely interested in doing so because In My Blood is an experience, kind of in the same way that like, a really good Panic! at the Disco song is. It just punches you repeatedly. You ever been punched by a song? It feels great. I wish more songs would punch me.

In a lot of ways In My Blood is also nostalgic for me, since it brings me back to an era where I actually got excited about pop music because it was important to me some-fucking-how. And I don’t mean like, I was interested in pop like I am right now. When I was littler my parents basically raised me on old alternative music and jazz, and while I definitely enjoyed it I had literally no idea what other kids at school listened to. The first pop song I remember hearing was Pokerface by Lady GaGa, I was on the school bus, and it sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before. Over time my sister began playing the radio so that her friends at her new school would stop goofing on her for not knowing any pop artists, and hearing all this new music was kind of an experience. Of course after awhile we both moved into individualized tastes and neither of us really listen to the radio unless it’s during the holidays, but hearing In My Blood somehow reminds me of a time when being a hit actually meant something.

It’s a song where you put it on and it just owns the room despite its minimalism, and with tons of easy listening alt-crap hitting the stations nowadays, it’s nice, albeit surreal, to know that Shawn Mendes is the one who gives a shit.

6. Genius - LSD

In case you didn’t know, LSD is the combined efforts of rapper Labrinth, singer Sia and producer Diplo. I hadn’t actually heard of this group until pretty recently, and I wish I had because if you know me, you know about my wretched obsession with Sia. Maybe I’m too forgiving, but I can’t remember a single bad track she’s put out. And Genius is no exception.

Lyrically this song’s a bit lacking, despite the title. But soundwise it sticks like gum, with a layered production. I always say that they should have Sia work with one of these sing-rappers, so having it finally happen is proof that god might be listening to me.

It’s like bubblegum for your brain, it’s sweet, it tastes good, it’s fun and it sticks. Even after only one listen I couldn’t get the tune out of my head. And god knows I just want the charts to be fun for once. No, I don’t think this song charted, which is an absolute shame. LSD should absolutely have the star power to hit the top 100, but I guess this just wasn’t a good year for them.

Regardless, I have heard that LSD plans to do a full project, and after listening to the rest of their short album I am more than excited. The only reason this isn’t higher up is that, judging by the group name I was expecting it to be way more of an acid trip soundwise. It’s definitely hard to compare LSD’s Genius to any other type of pop in recent years, but I feel like that’s moreso because Diplo and company have taken all sorts of elements from all sorts of pop music and sneakily fused them together.

Regardless, Genius is a highly enjoyable listen. Sia’s at top performance as per usual, Labrinth sounds really nice beside her and Diplo’s production is solid. Also I seriously recommend the music video. It’s super weird. I wish animated music videos were more common with pop, to be honest.

5. Better Now - Post Malone

I almost feel like I’ve sinned putting a Post Malone song above a Kendrick Lamar song, but god do I love Better Now.

The Post Malone conversation is still very much underway, with a lot of people saying they hated Psycho because it was boring (which I can get even though I don’t agree) and that they hated Jackie Chan because it was just really really stupid. But, much like Candy Paint, I have yet to hear anyone say they dislike Better Now. And I do honestly believe that he hit it out of the park on this one.

This one’s sort of the reverse of Genius. It has pretty basic trap production, but really nice lyrics. Possibly building on the story from I Fall Apart, though with a slightly more mature outlook, Post talks about an ex-girlfriend who he misses, trying to drown his feelings in alcohol, drugs and expensive stuff in the wake of the relationship.

A total bummer, but Post sells it pretty well.

Like damn. That’s a detail right there.

I mean, I could argue that nobody has a specific drawer for socks they don’t like, but who cares really.

Anyway, unlike I Fall Apart, which was a turn-off for a lot of people because it felt spiteful and juvenile, Better Now doesn’t really place the blame on Post or his ex, which is a much more realistic scenario. Because really, his ex isn’t at fault for no longer being in love with him, but Post isn’t at fault for pining. He’s only human. Judging by the lyrics, the story is that Post was dumped for being a druggie in this song.

Though Lyric Genius also argues this is a reference to the death of Lil Peep, who was close personal friends with Post Malone in real life. If this song is somehow in a weird roundabout way an ode to Lil Peep, honestly it does feel like it’s a good send-up to him from another rapper. Like yeah, a love song might seem weird as a tribute to a dead friend, but it definitely does feel like a mournful, sad song about longing for a close person who’s gone for the long run.

Whether this is a tribute to Lil Peep or just a breakup song, it definitely carries the weight of the emotions, partly since Post just generally sounds sad all the time. And in a year full of pissy break-up songs, this is the one that hits home more than any other for me. If Post is going off of past experience, it shows, and if he isn’t he’s just a really good actor I guess.

4. Freaky Friday - Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown

This song is the bane of my fucking existence.

Why do I laugh at this? Why do I laugh at jokes about Lil Dicky having a small penis still? Why am I losing my shit at the idea that a white guy in a black guy’s body would immediately wonder if he can say the n-word? Why am I, a grown man with presumably mature tastes, going ‘hee hee hoo hoo’ over the phrase “I’m DJ Khaled! Why am I yelling?” And why the fuck, in the year 2018, am I actively enjoying a Chris Brown song?

Lil Dicky I have a soft spot for. We’re both Jews, we’re both stupid, we both look dead inside in every photograph taken of us. We’re basically like long lost twin brothers. Plus I do think he’s a skilled rapper, with his greatest track easily being Professional Rapper featuring Snoop Dogg, and if it had been my choice, that song would’ve been his first big hit. But no, it had to be Freaky Friday. A song that, for all accounts and purposes, is about as funny as an early Your Favorite Martian song, and yet still makes me roll into a screaming fit laughing my ass off.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m over the Chris Brown drama just because there’s plenty of worse artists charting right now. Forgetting it would be an offense to everyone involved. Do I think he’s probably matured since? Maybe. But that doesn’t excuse or explain away what he did. But for me to pretend I don’t enjoy this song would be disingenuous, and it breaks my heart to actually enjoy a Chris Brown song. In 20-fucking-18.

Everyone hates this song. And they’re valid, honestly. I just like the chorus, maybe? I don’t know. It’s hardly Lil Dicky’s best work, but fuck me. Of course I had to be the one suffering with the curse of enjoying Lil Dicky’s Freaky Friday to the point that I put it above a ton of songs that are probably objectively better, all because I laugh at dick jokes and love a catchy chorus.

But I will give it credit, this is the first popular comedy song in a long time I’ve been able to get down to. Selfie and What Does The Fox Say made me wanna scoop my eyes out with a melon baller, but of course the fucking Chris Brown comedy song makes me shriek in body-wracking laughter as if I’ve never heard a joke before.

It’s been at LEAST a year since I felt this shitty for enjoying a song, but that’s life I guess. Just enjoying bad music by bad people for bad reasons.

3. High Hopes - Panic! at the Disco

How is it that we’re having a Panic! at the Disco hit in 2018? Whatever, I’m not mad.

I mean, come on. A swelling Brendon Urie anthem about finally being able to achieve your dreams and shit? That’s really all I need on a bad day, isn’t it. Thanks 2018.

I don’t even remember if this song has good production or not. It’s really loud. Everything is loud. Do you think I care if it sounds good? I mean, Brendon sounds good, but like. Biz Markie’s Just A Friend fills me with emotion and it sounds like it’s being sung by a donkey. My standards are not high. Maybe I’d need higher standards to not like this song.

Frankly, I don’t care if the production is bad. Because this song is just good mood music, and I like that it’s loud. I want Brendon to scream in my ear about having high hopes. Do you think I care how it sounds?

No but really. It’s a perfectly well-built song, Brendon performs well on it. Bless this shit though. If there’s anything that represents hope in my mind, it’s Brendon Urie skittering up the side of a building while singing about having high hopes and his mama and whatever whatever. In a year full of dour break-up songs and people dying and abusers getting famous, all you can really have is high hopes. And that’s all there is to it.

2. Neva Lavd Yah! - Dusty Ray Bottoms

Can we all agree RuPaul’s Drag Race is kind of a hack show at this point? I mean, Season 10 was a disaster and so far AS4 has been a disaster too. I’m not even sure why I still watch it at this point.

Anyway, this is kind of a cheat. Neva Lavd Yah! charted on Billboard LGBT, and actually charted pretty high. Not the actual Hot 100, but do you think I care anymore?

So we’re all mad that rock music is dead, and that the only remnants we have of it is Imagine Dragons and other similar garbage. But don’t fret (unless it’s on a guitar) because Dusty Ray Bottoms, queen of my heart, is here to solve that problem. Full electric guitar and drums. No autotune. Just pure Dusty Ray on the track here to kick ass.

I guess Neva Lavd Yah! is a generic “fuck the haters” anthem, but for once I actually believe it. Maybe it’s because it’s being sung by a 50-foot-tall gay man with dots all over his face. Maybe it’s just because, with every drag queen doing techno music, Dusty Ray has done something completely different. God knows I was sick of every drag queen doing overproduced electronica about nothing at all.

Neva Lavd Yah! isn’t polished or clean. It’s screaming and loud and full of passion. Sometimes you’re just a 50-foot gay who wants to yell, sometimes you’re a 5-foot gay who wants to yell. Maybe you don’t feel like yelling right now, but you’ve probably been in that mood before. Neva Lavd Yah! is for when you wanna chill in a garage with an electric guitar and write songs and then scream with your shitty garage band and it’s the 90′s and you’re gay.

Damn right.

And before we move forward,

let’s hit those honorable mentions.

I Like It - Cardi B ft. Bad Bunny and J Balvin

This song really did almost get on the list, and I mean it was like a baby dick’s length away. I almost feel bad that I let Mine on instead. Cardi I am so sorry.

Nice For What - Drake

This was the only good song Drake released this year, and while Drake talking about “strong women” on the same album as I’m Upset seems like bullshit, I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t at least kind of a banger.

Now or Never - Blair St. Clair

This was the only other big drag queen hit I remember this year. It was released in the wake of Blair St. Clair coming out about a sexual assault, and while I do think it’s an empowering song, I don’t like the way it sounds that much.

Pray For Me - The Weeknd ft. Kendrick Lamar

How I liked King’s Dead more than this I can’t even explain to you. The beat on Pray For Me rocks my tight ass though. Plus let’s be honest, The Weeknd and Kendrick are a fucking dream team.

I Love It - Kanye West ft. Lil Pump

I can’t hate this. Fucking look at it. They’re in roblox costumes!

Famous Prophets (Stars) - Car Seat Headrest

Not a hit, which is the only thing that kept it off of here. Consider Song of the Summer by Remo Drive, Humanity by Gorillaz and When You Die by MGMT also in this spot.

On to number one, and if you know me you probably know it already.

1. Kamikaze - Eminem

Listen. I don’t care if this didn’t chart. I don’t care if it didn’t get close. I don’t give two fifths of a fuck if Eminem isn’t as good as he used to be. I don’t give a single rat’s ass.

Because I fucking love Kamikaze.

(The song.)

The album was fine, I wasn’t huge on the whole “call out everyone” angle it took. Sure sometimes it landed, but other times, like with the Tyler the Creator diss, it was completely pointless and kind of petty.

But the title song? It bangs.

The lyrics are good, obviously, it’s an Eminem song and he hasn’t been struggling with lyrics since... Revival I guess. The production on Kamikaze is interesting, the chorus is catchy. I just love it. It puts me in a good mood for reasons I cannot explain using words of the English language.

Maybe I just love Eminem too much. But in a year of stolid depression like 2018, all I wanted was for my favorite rapper Eminem to say “fuck” and yell a lot and just be kind of motivational in his weird way. And he did it. And I understand if people don’t enjoy Kamikaze (the song or the album) but I just can’t not love it, it makes me so excited every time I hear that intro. I feel like a child almost.

I saw Eminem live for the first time this year at Governor’s Ball. It was an experience. My feet were killing me because to get good spots, my sister and I had to sit through Chvrches. (Didn’t like them very much.) It was loud and crowded. It started raining, I was cold as shit and tired and this enormous drunk guy in a wifebeater nearly elbowed my head clean off of my shoulders just due to a lack of spacial awareness. And I didn’t even give a shit until it was over.

The music ended, and I realized I was freezing my ass off. And that’s what good music does to a guy I guess. And being able to download a new, really good Eminem song was like capturing that moment in a bottle. A bottle of white boy spite, but a good bottle nonetheless.

Of course I’m biased. God knows if this song is actually better than something like In My Blood or Genius, but I love this song too much to put it any lower than number one.

Whenever I need motivation or I’m just really pissed, this song is here for me to listen to, so I can lose my shit by the side of a man who I’ve literally begun referring to as my dad at this point. And that’s just what I want. A song that I can feel next to. A song that can feel with me. And as good as some of these other songs are, I don’t feel with them like I do with Kamikaze.

See you next year, I guess.

#top 10 #top 10 list #top 10 best hits of 2018 #year end countdown #panda posts #positive review #pop song review

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sweetnestor · 6 years ago

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the end of infinity with you | septic egos

previous: the last of the real ones

other works of mine

“you were too good to be true

gold plated

but what’s inside you?

but what’s inside you?”

After a very long month, Jack was transported to another hospital, on Dr. Schneeplestein’s orders. This hospital would be better for Jack, but it was just a little too far away and visitation was limited. Meaning, Chase couldn't visit every day like he used to.

Work had gotten a lot more demanding over these last few weeks. Bro Average had been picked up for a third season, which meant that Chase was on set almost every single day. Sometimes he had to bring his kids with him on the weekends. It's not really how he wanted to be with his kids, but it's better than nothing. Besides, the kids were fascinated by the big cameras and the bright lights. They liked to brag that their dad was a big star, and the crew adored them.

That was only sometimes. Other times, Stacy had to keep them over the weekend because Chase was a little too busy at work. He was quite taken with the flask he would bring with him. He knew he couldn't let the kids see that. He couldn't let anyone see that.

Other than that, Henrik got in contact with Chase again. He was put in charge of Jack's case, so he was constantly updating Chase on the situation. Lately, though, there weren't any drastic changes. Jack's blood count went up and down every day. His heart was going from good to great, from great to bad, and so on. His kidneys weren't working one day, his liver always threatened to give out. It was never anything major. There was no sign of Jack waking up, nor was there any sign of him never waking up again.

This was starting to feel like the beginning of the end.

It was another day of Chase sitting in his Bro Average dressing room. It was the middle of the week, so his little ones weren't running around the set. No one was keeping his mind occupied between takes. Typically, Chase would be chatting with his co-stars or FaceTiming some local magazine for an interview. But instead he was sitting in front of the vanity, anxiously checking his phone. Waiting on any kind of news about his comatose friend was getting to be exhausting these days. Of course, the worst news was sticking out in Chase's mind more than anything. He didn't want to wake up one day with a new text saying-

“Brody, we need you on set!” called the assistant, Jan. Third one he's gone through this month.

With a sigh, Chase put down his phone and put on his signature grey hat. He looked at himself in the mirror, trying to remember some vague but powerful quote to get him going again. Then, he cracked his head from side to side, only to feel a sting… on his throat?

Chase swore and placed his hand over the base of his neck, examining the skin in the mirror. That sting didn't feel like a sore throat, it was like…

He looked down at the palm of his hand. The scar was still very visible. The things that came after getting that cut were more vivid. Red lights in dark rooms still haunted his dreams at night.

“Okay,” Chase said to himself. He reached for the bottom drawer of the vanity and opened it up.

At this point, he didn't even read the labels on these tiny bottles. He just knew they would help.

Not surprisingly, Stacy had no problem keeping the kids for the third weekend in a row. She also didn't have any problem with not letting Chase talk to them over the phone. He knew he had to go visit Jack in London, but he didn't want the kids to feel left out because of it. Stacy always had to keep them to herself, and she wondered why Chase was so angry at her all the time. Always playing the victim.

The cab ride to London took ages. Chase wanted to sleep the whole way there, he even had some wine to help with the process, but to no avail. By the time he was actually in London, he was very glad he wasn't checking into a hotel. He would not have done it coherently.

Henrik had been kind enough to let Chase stay in his massive home. He was too kind, actually. He told Chase that the place would be empty, apart from the staff.

Yes, staff. Henrik owned a fucking mansion in a gated community of more fucking mansions. Apparently, he owned more in different parts of the world.

That was a little weird to Chase. He knew Henrik had a wife and child in Germany. Wouldn't he want to stay with them? Did they ever visit? Henrik was a strange man.

The Victorian style home was eerie once Chase was actually inside it. There was a certain vibe within the walls that made Chase’s hair stand up. This place was probably haunted. Maybe it was haunted enough for Bro Average to come and do a spooky Halloween episode. Upon that thought, Chase wondered if he could sleep at the hospital.

“I'm too drunk for this,” he mumbled as he followed one of the butlers up the marble staircase. The portraits hung on the wall were watching him. He held his backpack closer to himself, like the people in these portraits were going to jump out and rob him.

“I will have someone fix you a cure for that,” said the butler over his shoulder. They walked onto the second floor and opened the first double doors on the left of the hallway. “Here are you quarters, Master Brody.”

That only thing that was a master was the bedroom. There was a massive four poster bed between two large windows that had an incredible view of the neighborhood. There was a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling as well.

“This is awesome,” Chase muttered. Maybe he should be a doctor instead of a TV personality.

“The car will be here shortly, Master Brody,” the butler told him. “I know you are wanting to see your dear friend.”

Chase got a pit in his stomach again. Right. That's why he was here in a bougie ass mansion.

Once the butler had gone, Chase dropped his backpack on the floor and went to lie down. The bed was soft and very comfortable, especially in his intoxicated state. It was like being a cloud of ducks wrapped in pillows…

“Still… here…”

There was a flash of red light, and then Chase jolted awake. He was sweating, and his heart was pounding. Such a short dream, but he felt so put off by it.

“Mr. Brody?” called a female voice from the door. “May I enter?”

“Uh, yeah,” he called back. “And uh, please just call me Chase.”

A woman in a powder blue maid’s outfit walked in, holding a glass of clay colored… something. She smiled warmly, pretending not to notice the sweat dripping from Chase’s face.

“This will put you right,” she said as she handed him the glass. “If you drink it all now, you’ll be sober by the time you get to the hospital.”

“Thank you.” Chase accepted the glass, but he waited until the maid left to set it down on the bedside table.

He didn’t really want to be sober right now.

It was dark outside by the time Chase arrive to the hospital. Still, he was itching to see if his friend seemed any different than when he last saw him. Chase all but ran up to Jack’s room, ready to speak to him and catch up. Just as he approached the doorway, he heard other voices.

“So then what would this card be?”

“A joker?”

“Wrong! It’s the king of diamonds!”

“What do you mean?!”

Chase heard two voices, but he discovered four people when he entered the room. Henrik was checking Jack’s vitals, but the other three were quite the sight. Chase could barely take them in before Henrik started talking at him.

“Ah, look who has finally showed up!” he said as he went to shake Chase’s hand. “Welcome, my friend!”

“I, I didn’t know you would be here,” Chase said. “Thought you only worked in Brighton.”

“I am all over.” Henrik smiled. “Come, meet the others.”

The other three men came forward. The first one to offer his hand was a dapper looking guy in a white button up, blue vest, and a black bowler hat. It was like he was plucked straight out of a Charlie Chaplin film.

“This is Jameson Jackson,” said Henrik, placing his hands on the man’s shoulders. “He prefers to be called JJ.”

Chase shook JJ’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

He smiled wide and nodded. Then he let go and signed something to Chase.

“He said he likes your hat,” interpreted one of the other guys. He was in a bright red hoodie with the hood up, and he wore black skinny jeans and blue converse.

“Oh. Thanks, dude,” Chase told JJ.

“Anyway, I’m Jackie,” said the red hooded guy.

“Huh. Jack and Jackie.”

“I know right!” He sounded a little too excited, given the circumstances.

Then came the last guy. He had on a purple button up, black skinny jeans, and boots very similar Chase’s. This guy also had a man bun, and he had a cape hanging over his arm. There was also a cat mask with little designs attached to his belt buckle. To top it off, he was fiddling with a deck of cards in his hands.

“Hey, I’m Marvin,” he greeted. “Wanna play fifty two card pick up?”

Chase cracked a smile. “I play that with my daughter all the time.”

Once all introductions were made, they all turned to Jack. Still in a coma. Still unknowing. Still beating. The heart monitor was the only bit of reassurance that he was still there. JJ returned to his chair right next to the bed, and he looked sadly at Jack. Marvin leaned against the wall next to the door, still shuffling his cards. Henrik stood at the foot of the bed, hands in his pockets. Jackie went over to the window, staring out into the night.

Chase thought he would have been sad all over again to see Jack like this, but he was just numb. “Are we still on the waiting game?”

“Yes,” Henrik answered, “but he hasn’t gotten any worse.”

That numbness went away pretty quickly. Chase couldn’t control his tone. “So then what was the point in moving him further away?”

However, Henrik wasn’t fazed by the change in attitude. “There are more doctors, better doctors. More great minds to try to figure out what to do.”

“But aren’t you the best there is?” Chase was getting angry. “Why would you move him if he was just going to stay the same? Why aren’t you being the good doctor you say you are?”

Jackie decided to step in. “Hey, he’s doing his best! It’s a really tricky situation, especially since we don’t know exactly how he got this way!”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one who’s pissed at the situation,” Marvin added.

Chase only felt angrier. “Who the hell even are you guys? Jack has never talked about you guys before! I never saw any of you at the other hospital!”

Marvin looked him right in the eyes, a hard expression on his face. “You know, he never mentioned you either.”

“That’s not true… We’re best friends!”

“Never seen you before, never heard of you.” He looked at JJ and Jackie. “You guys ever heard of a… what was it again? Chad?”

“It’s Chase…”

JJ and Jackie didn’t say anything, they were just looking back and forth between the other two men. Meanwhile, Henrik was staying out of it and pretending to check on Jack some more, walking up to check his eyes with a mini flashlight.

Marvin shrugged his shoulders as he turned back to Chase, still mocking. “I wouldn’t know. Jack’s never talked about you before.”

It felt like lead was falling over Chase’s shoulders. Was Marvin telling the truth? Had Jack never talked about Chase to anyone else? Was Chase not important enough to be talked about?

“Guys I think his feelings are hurt,” Marvin said to the others, only adding to the humiliation.

“Hey, come on now,” Jackie said as he turned away from the window. “Jack has loads of friends. I’m sure he’s mentioned all of us at least once.”

“Then how come I’ve never seen any of them at the hospital in Brighton?” Chase shot back. “How come only me and his family would come see him and everyone else just sent cards he can’t even read?”

JJ tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Chase watched him sign a speech, but Henrik interpreted.

“We were all planning to come visit. We just didn’t know we were all going to be here at the same time. The timing is strange, if you ask me. But please, don’t be angry. Jack is everybody’s friend.”

Chase wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Here he thought Jack was his best friend. He thought he had an effect on Jack like it was the other way around. Chase thought he finally mattered to someone. But maybe Jack only hung out with him out of pity. They did meet in a bar when Chase was completely hammered. Maybe that’s why Jack hid him like a dirty secret.

So then why was Chase wasting his time here?

“It’s true, though,” Jackie spoke up. “None of knew the other person was coming here today too. I don’t know about you guys, but, uh, my schedule is really busy at the moment. Really unpredictable. I didn’t think I would find the time to get here.”

“My round of shows in Vegas were pushed to next week,” Marvin said. “I figured now was as good a time as any to visit my friend. You know, before there is no time.”

“I got a random free weekend,” Chase told them. “It’s weird, I just started shooting the new season of my show, things were tight. No time for breaks or vacations.”

“But your superiors told you to take the weekend off?” Marvin guessed.

Chase nodded. He thought only Henrik’s house gave him skin crawling chills. Then, he turned to JJ, who was sitting down again.

“What about you?”

This time, instead of signing, he pulled a notepad and pen from under his hat. He quickly scribbled on a clean page and showed Chase.

“I was in the neighborhood,” he read out loud. “What does that mean?”

“He travels a lot,” Jackie explained. “He comes and he goes. We don’t really know where he came from.”

“So you all know each other, then?” Chase asked.

Jackie and Marvin shared a look.

“I have treated Jackie in the past,” Henrik spoke up. “I have treated him many times, actually. I met JJ and Marvin only today.”

“Yeah, we go way back,” Jackie added. He rolled back the sleeve on his hoodie, revealing his pale arm. “See that? There’s nothing! Would have been an ugly burn scar if Doc over here hadn’t helped me.”

“I have treated Chase as well!” said Henrik a little too gleefully. “Look at us, we all have common ground!”

Chase only nodded curtly. He didn’t really want to get into the time he was in the hospital shortly after the divorce and custody battle. “So how do you all know Jack?”

JJ went first. He wrote on his notepad again and passed it around. “We met on Halloween! We were pumpkin carving!”

“Jack always did love carving!” Henrik said with a laugh. “A little too much, I think!”

“I met him when I was doing street magic,” Marvin said, still leaning against the wall. “He was really fascinated with it. He encouraged me to keep pursuing it, to throw myself into it. So I did. Wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for him.”

“He saved me from getting jumped,” Jackie recalled. “Scared some guys out of an alley to keep them away from. He had a pocket knife and all. Now, I try to help people as much as I can.”

Chase felt a little sheepish now. These guys were doing great things because of Jack. Chase could barely function these days. He was still a little intoxicated standing in this hospital room. He wasn’t anything special. He didn’t do anything worthwhile. All he’s done is fail.

“I met him in a bar,” he said. “We really hit it off. We’ve hung out a lot.” Truth is, that was probably where the drinking habit began. Not because of Jack, though.

“Well,” Henrik began, “Jack helped me when one of my patients went under. We made a great team. Then, he needed my help. He was attacked, someone slit his throat. I almost lost Jack, but he is very strong.”

Chase suddenly remembered the weird sting in his throat from earlier today. He had never gotten injured like that before, and he had never know about Jack’s injury. There wasn’t even a scar to show for it. Yet, Chase could clearly imagine the blood seeping from the fresh wound… It went towards him… it came closer…

All five men jumped when Chase’s phone started ringing. Who the hell even calls him these days?

Stacy, apparently.

“I gotta take this,” Chase said as he went out into the hallway. Then he pressed his phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“You wanna tell me why there's so many empty liquor bottles in your flat?” Stacy's shrill voice said on the other line.

Chase froze in the middle of the corridor. His blood ran cold, and it felt like the ground under his feet disappeared.

“Uh - Why the hell are you at my flat?” he shot back.

“The kids left their Switch. What's your excuse?”

“I, uh, I had people over.”

“When? You don't have any friends!”

“You don't know that!”

Stacy sighed angrily. “You know, I thought your drunk voicemails were a one time thing. I was nice enough to let it go, I let you have the kids on the weekends-"

“You didn't let me, the court ordered it!” Chase spitefully reminded her.

She scoffed. “Well, the court will change their mind, won't they? Once they know what you do during the week-"

“Stacy!” he interrupted, getting desperate. “Stacy, I swear, it's not what you think.”

“Don't lie to me. I called your show producer. You're drinking on set.”

This couldn't be happening. This was not real.

“What do I have to do?”

“There's nothing you can do.”

Suddenly, a group of nurses rushed past Chase. He quickly got up against the wall to avoid a traffic jam, especially after seeing one nurse pushing a crash cart. To make matters worse, Chase saw the nurses run into the room he had stepped out of.

He heard Stacy's voice yelling over the phone, but the sound faded as he let the device slip out of his hand. Everything went in slow motion as he ran back to the room. All other sounds disappeared, the only sound was Chase’s blood pounding in his ears. Just as he made it to the doorway, he collided into Marvin, JJ, and Jackie. That was when everything came back.

“H-He, his heart…” Jackie tried to explain, while JJ frantically signed with teary eyes.

“The heart monitor went crazy,” Marvin explained, sounding shaken. “We heard the long beep, then the thing started sparking. Then, Jack started seizing. Nurses told us to get out.”

They all heard Henrik’s frantic yelling from the room, ordering to hit Jack with however many grams of whatever medicine. Then they heard something like, “We're losing him!”

“Come on, man,” Chase mumbled. He peered into the room, but only saw the backs of many nurses.

Soon enough, they all backed up on Henrik’s orders. He had the defibrillator ready.

“Clear!”

The paddles barely touched Jack's chest before he sat up. Jack literally sat up in the bed, scaring the hell out of the people surrounding him. His eyes were wide and alert like he wasn't asleep for months on end. He stared right at the four men at the door as he reached for the tubes in his mouth.

“Jack, no!” Henrik yelled. “Let me, let me!”

He tried to reach for Jack, but he was suddenly knocked off his feet, along with the nurses. It was like an invisible force pushed them back.

Jack pulled the tubes out of his mouth, still staring at the doorway. Then, he spoke in a clear voice:

“I remember what he did to me.”

Blood started coming out of his mouth. He choked and coughed, spitting blood down his front, and then he finally fell back again.

Chase, Marvin, JJ, and Jackie were sent to the waiting room while everything got resolved. Eventually, Henrik found them and updated them on the situation.

“I am very sorry…”

JJ responded by taking off his bowler hat. Chase did the same with his snapback.

Several phone calls were made after that. All the guys sat together and alerted Jack’s family, girlfriend, and close friends. After that, they were just sitting and trying to process what had happened.

“He’s really gone,” Jackie muttered, like he was thinking out loud. “Never gonna see him again, are we?”

“What the fuck?” Chase wondered. It still hadn’t properly hit. “What the fuck?”

“Why did his last words have to be so cryptic?” Marvin sounded more annoyed than sad.

JJ just sat with his head down and his shoulders slumped.

“If that fucking demon wasn’t there…” Henrik trailed off.

So they all saw it.

“I should’ve known,” Marvin spoke, rubbing his temple. “I told Jack how I… He told me he was desperate for change. He wanted a way out. I told him what I did. Didn’t think he would do it.”

Chase tilted his head. “You told him to use a Ouija board?”

“I told him I… called upon things outside of this realm.”

“Who’s the cryptic one now?” Jackie said rather harshly. “Jack was found unconscious in front of that board. If you told him to summon a demon or whatever the fuck, then just fucking say it!”

Marvin looked him in the eyes and said nothing. The two had a silent conversation before Jackie turned his eyes to the floor.

“I thought he was done with that stuff,” Henrik spoke after a while. “I thought the neck injury was the last straw for him.”

Chase absentmindedly rubbed at his throat. “I used a Ouija board not that long ago. Whatever came through, he took my kids for a day.”

“Just one day?” Marvin asked.

“Hey, when you’re a parent, losing your kids for even a minute is fucking scary.”

“Were they okay?” Jackie asked, concerned.

“Yeah. They’re perfect. They don’t remember a thing.” Chase remembered the phone call with Stacy. “I made a deal with this thing to make sure of it. The kids were to be unharmed, and I would lose everything else in return.”

He paused and waited for one of the guys to lash out. If Chase’s deal was to lose everything, then technically Jack dying was his fault. That’s what he waited for one of them to say. But they were all quiet.

Then, JJ took his notepad and wrote something. He showed Chase the page.

“He doesn’t like being called a thing.”

______

tags: @ninjasversuslife @modicumofmotivation

#septic egos #chase brody #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #dr schneeplestein #jameson jackson #sweetheart writes #ego fic #song: the last of the real ones by fall out boy #i have come to realize #this is me coping with a loss #or a simple distraction from this loss #bc i havent really felt anything regarding that situation #but ay theres some sweet sweet content thats come out of it #and im v sure no one will read bc no one cares lol #but yh i needed jacks condition to be Finalized #like ye hes definitely gone and not coming back #at least thats how it is in my book #sometimes things are out of our control #and theres nothing you can do #it b like that i guess #hurray for pain #drowwwnnn it oouuuutttt #like i alllllwwaaaayyyssss dooooooo #also i couldnt be bothered to write out schneeps accent #yall know what he sounds like!

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spideyxchelle · 7 years ago

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Sorry I know you probably have so many prompts. But I was wondering if you would maybe write something around a soulmate au. Something in which earth is a place that soulmates exist and as peter and mj get to know each other they realise that perhaps they are each other’s.

hey friends, we are just getting right down to it when it comes to the prompts, aren’t we? YAS FAM. okay. one soulmate au coming up. i did TRY to be funny and then it got angsty. i’m so sorry.

in this world soulmates exist.

they do not show up in the form of a tattoo (someone’s name, or the first phrase they ever say to you, or the last). nor is it that the whole world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate and then suddenly the world is technicolor. no. not that either. in this world soulmates are not exactly fool proof. see, everyone on earth is born with an extra finger and when you meet your soulmate it falls off. WHICH IS SUCH A BAD VERSION OF THIS UNIVERSE! like, losing an appendage is traumatic. and often people are so distracted by LOSING A FUCKING FINGER they don’t bother to look up and see who is around to mull over who might be their soulmate.

meeting your soulmate in a crowd is horrible. fingers just falling off, crowds screaming, its not a fun time.

but if you happen to work through the trauma quick enough to pick up on who ELSE just lost a finger you get a soulmate. good for you.

when peter meets michelle jones on the first day of high school they are not the only people in the room that meet their soulmate. four different sets of couples lose fingers that day. AND BEYOND THE TRAUMA it is also very confusing. like, wait, which of us are soulmates??? the people that lose fingers are Gwen Stacy, Michelle Jones, Laura Rene Scott, Charlie Weiderman, Peter Parker, Joshua Ranzino, Frank O’Neill and Stephanie Patelli. which means everyone and ANYONE is game on the soulmate pairing.

Michelle Jones immediately takes herself out of the running of figuring this mess out. the other seven students really want to know, are dying from the curiosity, but MJ could give a shit. she has more important things to do than figure out the whole high school sweetheart/soulmate puzzle.

which leaves the soulmate puzzle a little one-sided. Frank and Josh are both gay. so they figure out their soulmate situation pretty quickly into freshman year. Laura and Stephanie figure their shit out at the top of sophomore year, too. which leaves it down to Charlie, Peter and Gwen (and silently MJ). and the Charlie, Peter and Gwen saga becomes a thing. because Gwen and Peter hit it off. and Charlie is shy and awkward and there is no way that he’s Gwen’s soulmate.

she’s sweet and popular and adorable. and looks at Peter like he shines. which means that Charlie must be it for MJ. which is a bummer because she wants nothing to do with the soulmate business.

and its awesome. for Peter. Gwen is great. Gwen is, actually, incredible. and he falls in love with the smart, funny Indian girl within a month of dating. and he tells her he’s Spider-man a few months after that.

being soulmates with Gwen Stacy eliminates the pressure of his relationships with everyone else in that circle of eight kids that found out they had soulmates that first day of school. in fact, it makes it easy to be their friends. especially MJ. when Frank and Josh found each other and Laura and Rene the following year, Peter would silently lay awake at night and consider Charlie, Gwen and MJ as potential soulmates. it was maddening, insane and hurtful at times. but now, with Gwen, he can just be their friend. and he finds its incredibly easy to be friends with MJ.

she’s a genius. and she’s witty. and funny. and pretty. and figures out Spider-Man stuff all on her own. actually, she forces herself on to team Spider-Man with Ned and Gwen. and its awesome. their little team of four is great.

they become so close that he starts to talk to her about Charlie. because he’s so happy with Gwen that he really wants that for MJ. she always gives him a weird look. it’s almost longing. but he doesn’t notice. he can’t. he has stars in his eyes. and whenever he brings up Charlie, MJ brushes it off. “ugh, would you stop going on about Charlie fucking Weiderman?” Gwen always sweetly interjects, “Charlie is really cute, MJ. and nice.” to which Peter always jumps in, “see? cute. nice.” but neither Gwen nor Peter ever get through to her on the case of Charlie Weiderman.

actually, nobody really talks to Charlie at Midtown. if Peter is a dork and bullied by the masses, Charlie is invisible. only nice, wonderful Gwen Stacy ever takes the time. she is his science lab partner and sits with him at lunch so he isn’t alone. she’s sweet. GOD. peter loves her.

quick note about soulmates: when your soulmate dies you feel it. and the hand where you lost your finger blackens. a symbol of your loss.

and in every universe, in every version of their story, Gwen Stacy dies because of Spider-Man. in this world Gwen gets kidnapped their senior year of high school by some alien calling for revenge on behalf of Thanos’ defeat. and there is nothing peter can do but beg and plead for this otherworldly creature to let her go.

it is the wrong choice of words.

the alien lets her go. and she falls, falls, falls. when peter closes his eyes every night for the next year he will see her falling. the fall never ends. until it does. until he doesn’t save her. until she hits the ground and ceases to be, ceases to breathe. whatever gwen stacy was in life, she is not in death.

peter begs for her to wake up. he wants to see her eyes, he tells her. nothing he says brings her back. and that’s when he expects the pain to shoot through him, for his hand to blacken. it never does.

somewhere across town Charlie Weiderman doubles over and screams. his hand blackens. the pain does not ebb away. he has lost what he never had.

peter barely notices that his hand never changes. he is too overcome with grief. only when tony points it out to him back at the compound does it hit him. he was never gwen’s soulmate. it does not make the loss any less. but it causes a different kind of sting. she was never his to begin with. he stole time from her real soulmate. he suddenly dreads seeing MJ or Charlie. one of them will bear the mark of losing the love of their life.

he does not go to school for two weeks after Gwen dies. and when he finally does pluck up the courage to go to school, Charlie is no where to be found. he meets MJ’s eyes across the hall and she crosses the distance, brushing students out of her way, to throw her arms around peter’s frame. he chokes back a sob and hugs her so tightly that they sway. when he finally pulls away from her he cannot look down. he does not want to see if he took her soulmate from her.

she smiles sadly, cups his cheeks with both hands (neither of which have blackened and decayed) and shakes her head, “it wasn’t me, peter.”

in the throes of grief (because gwen was MJ’s friend, too…they both lost something) there is something suddenly between them. a spark of recognition. if it was not mj. then it was charlie and if charlie was gwen’s soulmate. then that makes her……his.

the sadness of losing gwen is too crippling for the pair of them to even acknowledge the terrifying truth between them. they spend weeks grieving with ned. team spider-man isn’t team spider-man without gwen there.

charlie never comes back to school.

slowly, the mornings stop being colorless. and they find joy, the three remaining members of team spider-man. they heal together. a beautiful, fractured thing. and somewhere around graduation peter says it. the thing neither he or mj have had the guts to say out loud. “so, you’re my soulmate.” she shutters, like his words are a physical wound, “i guess. yes, i am.” “and you’ve always known,” he suddenly realizes. and all of the years of her avoiding him, of being unwilling to join the search for soulmates when the eight midtown students all first met. it all makes sense. the way she has looked at him. she was always waiting. waiting for him to look at her back.

“soulmates aren’t a guarantee,” she whispers, “somebody can be your soulmate and still hurt you….or leave.” mj has never spoken about her mother before. and he had never asked. now, he has a hunch as to why she has never been around. “that doesn’t mean it’ll be us, em,” he scoots closer to her so their knees touch. the discovery of her touch is miraculous and something he wants to spend the rest of his life learning better. “it doesn’t mean it won’t,” she says breezily, but he can sense the pain underneath.

“let me spend the rest of our life proving you wrong, then?” he says. and he nearly flinches at how hokey it sounds. but he can’t help himself. mj is undeniable. he’s not sure how he missed it for so long. the obvious spark between them. he realizes, like a lightening strike, that he likes her and he loves her. and that is somehow all together different than him and gwen. mj is his best friend.

she gnaws on her lip and curses, “you fucking dork.” but she doesn’t say no either. and that’s how they begin. friends. and it makes everything else that comes after so much more special.

when they come to school the next day holding hands ned whoops in glee. mj rolls her eyes. and charlie weiderman, holed up in his room across town, begins to fester and plan.

#headcanon ask #spideychelle

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maccymacdonald · 7 years ago

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A Study in Sunny

When asking how much of an impact television shows have and why they are so important to us, I’m sure the latter is a question that’s lingered in the minds of many parents concerned with their child’s obsessions with various things, whether that be bands, actors, sports stars or TV shows. I know I for one have endured the embarrassment of my dad bringing up my new hyper fixation at family dinners or my friends roasting me for whatever new poster I’ve just bought. Even before I planned on writing this article, I think I’ve always known my short-lived obsessions or long time loves have always been deeper than superficiality. (Maybe my High School Musical phase can be excluded from that, though).

I think there’s a lot more to what we watch that makes us cling so hard to our shows, and that they genuinely have a huge influence and emotional impact on our lives. A few people I’ve talked to or seen online think that my generation’s attachment to fiction universes is a bad thing, which to an extent I can understand. However, at the risk of sounding dramatic, I truly believe TV shows have unimaginable impacts on us.

Whether that’s simply making us laugh until our sides hurt or allowing us a brief distraction from our messy lives there’s so much that shows offer us than just entertainment. Whether you find solace in living vicariously through your favourite character or simply enjoy being able to relate to a situation close to your heart, why should it matter what others think? How could we not hyper-fixate on something that to some extent reflects who you are and what you find compelling about life? And really, who’s to say that doing so is detrimental when to some, a show could be their only outlet to express themselves? I don’t know about you, but I can’t see anything wrong with that at all.

While its all well and good me saying all this, I thought I needed proof. I want to prove that TV shows touch people in many different ways and have the ability to improve lives, and that to many, tv shows mean so much more than what they are on the surface. The only way I was going to prove it, however, is with evidence. So I did a little research.

One of my favourite TV shows of all time is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Rated 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s millions of committed fans and numerous awards make it one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. It’s extremely dark and controversial humour torpedoes taboo topics in the most hilarious and ridiculous scenarios, yet remains subtly brilliant in the way it presents itself and it’s characters. If you haven’t seen it, (in which case the rest of this post will probably make no sense and I’d advise you to binge it, right now), the show centres around five terrible friends who run an equally terrible bar in downtown Philadelphia.

I decided to run a survey about how Always Sunny has affected its fans. I chose this show in particular because each character is so complex and profound in their own right I can see how easy it is for many people to connect with them on such personal levels.

I think the thing I found funniest when starting this show is that the characters are seemingly just really bad people. Every member of the gang has been arrested for something, they’re all alcoholics, they’re constantly thinking of new get-rich-quick schemes and regularly ruin other people’s lives without a second thought. In a most extreme example, my brother can’t even watch the show simply because he genuinely hates the characters (which all in all, is fair enough.) However, I believe beneath the surface of the arguments and violence there’s a depth to every character that you don’t always see in light-hearted comedies.

“They are the most elaborate, multi-dimensional, complicated and most well-written characters in any show ever, especially comedy.”

The characters are all very different. While Dennis is constantly harassing women and plotting against his family, he’s also extremely insecure and vulnerable. He was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in season ten, which leads to him often being shown to struggle with his emotions and ability to feel. He’s an incredibly complex character who I think is often just overlooked as the psychotic angry man, which isn’t true at all.

His sister Dee entertains the more slapstick and needy version of her brother. She too is very easily agitated and has no patience, as well as she’s always desperate for validation (where most of her humour stems from). Because of this, she is immensely guarded of her emotions, also due to the perpetual verbal abuse she’s endured from her family her entire life.

“I can relate to her past with being bullied, and her constant need for affection and to be told that she is good.”

Mac, on the other hand, wears his heart on his sleeve. His development of starting the show as a heavily religious closeted gay man to openly out and proud over 12 years was really inspiring to watch, and his father issues and struggles with acceptance is what makes him one of the most engaging and interesting characters.

His best friend Charlie is also fascinating. On the surface, he is a substance abuser and alcoholic, unhygienic, illiterate, and highly unpredictable. But beyond that, he is very loving and supportive (most of this time). He adores Frank and is usually happy to do anything for his friends. As a sexual abuse survivor, he is such an important character because it’s clear especially in the later seasons that he truly loves and believes in himself, and regardless of how others see him he never attempts to change who he is. Not only that, but many fans believe he’s autistic meaning his character is not only lovable but awesome representation.

A few months ago I launched a survey that 206 wonderful people responded to. Even though I’m involved with the Always Sunny community every day through social media, it really helped me get an understanding of the bigger picture, rather than just memes and discourse (although I wouldn’t change the Sunny Tumblr fandom for the world). So before I dive in I want to thank everybody that took the time to respond to the survey or talk to me privately, as you’ve helped everyone that reads this gain more of an insight into It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and it’s amazing fanbase, which I appreciate tremendously.

(And before I start, the overwhelming majority classed themselves as being obsessed with the show, and almost 100% have dedicated some form of social media to it, so you know these results are the real deal.)

While many people, like I do, watch the show on their own, over half watch it with friends and 49% say watching the show helps them bond with someone. I thought this was quite interesting because whether it’s your friends, parents, siblings or anyone else, if a show brings people together it really can only be a good thing, especially a comedy show.

I think a lot of people don’t realise how important tv shows are to relationships. I once knew someone who told me the only time they ever spent with their father was when they watched their favourite programme together. This shows how powerful tv shows are – to some, they’re vital for bonding and spending time with someone you love. They allow you the opportunity to do something fun which inspires conversation and communication, things not always easy to achieve.

While this is really important, there are three main things that stood out in this survey as the most relatable and helpful to fans. Charlie’s autism, Mac’s sexuality, and Dennis’s BPD. After reading the results it became obvious that so many people relate really strongly to these characters, each one holding something personal to every different person who watches the show.

“I really like Charlie because he very accurately portrays a dyslexic person and I think that’s really great. I also really like Mac because I can relate to him being very closeted so his progression to acceptance of himself was really nice to see for me, so his storyline, as problematic as it may be, I do find to be very realistic and relatable. I can also relate to Dennis in a really dark way, with the borderline personality disorder, so he also has a special place in my heart.”

Predictably, ‘Who is your favourite character?’ is one of the questions I asked, and this is what came back.

Charlie had the most votes with 58%, while Mac wasn’t far behind with 53%.

(And whoever gave a notable mention to special agent Jack Bauer and Poppins the invincible dog, I love you.)

As you can see, Charlie and Mac are the clear favourites. ‘Wild Card’ Charlie has attained number one though and has been a fan favourite for a long time. While there are hundreds of reasons to love him (he’s my favourite too), I think most people just see him as the funniest character. (Which is completely justified). However, apart from his humour, which obviously a lot of viewers adore, there are many other reasons fans love Charlie Kelly and the other characters so much.

Something I found interesting was quite a few responses mentioned Charlie’s autism. While it’s never been explicitly stated in the show that autism is definitely a condition he has, it’s something many fans have speculated about. It’s pretty much confirmed Charlie is autistic due to certain things he does or certain personality traits he has, explained brilliantly by Reddit user carrionkid in this post.

“I really like how his character is almost certainly autistic. It helps me realize that it’s not something that I should be ashamed of, and I also really like the way he’s played and written in general, and his musical talent! I find a lot of comfort in the ways he’s similar to me. I relate so strongly to that feeling of being left out and trying really hard to make your friends like you.”

Charlie is obviously a character that some fans have a deep connection to. Autism isn’t often portrayed well or accurately on-screen, and well-developed characters like Abed Nadir in Community and JJ Jones in Skins are very rare. Frankly, representation of various mental conditions is majorly lacking in the film and television world. So to see someone as complex and engaging as Charlie Kelly is really refreshing and important in the progression of television.

“I find Charlies’s autism symptoms make me feel more comfortable and accepting of myself as I might not be otherwise, due to past experiences with people telling me that I am not autistic despite my diagnosis (even though these comments were motivated by bigotry towards minorities I fit into I still find it hard to ignore them).”

Characters like Charlie show how much of an impact TV shows can have. Being able to relate to a character is a really big deal – finding something like a show that seems so unimportant, yet turns out to be something genuinely helpful in accepting who you are and being less lonely is really special. I think the personal connections between characters and viewers are underrated. At a certain point, they stop being characters, and you see them as yourself. Albeit a more exaggerated, problematic version of yourself, I suppose.

Probably the biggest thing that a huge amount of people responded to is Mac’s sexuality, and his troubles with learning to accept and love himself as an extremely religious gay man.

“Mac became a favourite [of mine] since at the time I was very closeted and so was he, and I felt protective of and comforted by him.”

If I’m totally honest, there were times in the first few seasons I really didn’t like Mac, but I think it just took me a while to understand him – Mac is a very dramatic guy, simply because he expresses his emotions so outwardly while the rest of the gang often struggle to. He tries to hold nothing back and is very open with who he loves, and I think this is why it was so heartbreaking to watch him suffer from his internalised homophobia and closeted sexuality.

There were so many people on this survey talking about how much they relate to him. In fact, when asked what kind of things in Alway Sunny has helped people with on a personal level, a third of respondents said Mac’s sexuality, and 38% said the show’s acceptance of their LGBTQ+ characters.

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The writers and creators (Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day who incidentally play the characters of Dennis, Mac and Charlie) confirmed that each member of the gang is bisexual, while Mac himself is homosexual. This kind of representation, even though the topic was addressed off-screen, is still important for diversity and providing safe, inclusive characters for viewers to watch that aren’t harmful to the LGBTQ+ community or at risk of being killed off. In the unfortunate television culture now where LGBTQ+ characters are constantly under threat from the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope, it’s so important to have such a well-developed, funny, human character like Mac around, who is happier than he’s ever been and isn’t going anywhere.

“The pay-off of him finally coming to terms with his sexuality was refreshing in the way that it didn’t become the butt of a joke or change the nature of his character completely.”

It was really emotional to see people responding to the survey who have grown up in unaccepting, extremely religious families who found solace in witnessing Mac’s journey and finding hope in his coming out arc. It really is wonderful to see how comforting Mac is to people having a hard time and who may not have anyone else to relate to.

“Mac’s character development resonated with me. Even though it was over the top and exaggerated in the show, the extreme Christian life of a closeted gay person and falling in love with your best friend was relatable.”

It’s been a running element of the show for a long time that he’s very much in love with Dennis, and whether their relationship is another case of queerbaiting, a simple gag that won’t actually amount to anything, or the longest slow burn relationship ever, Mac is still awesome representation and an amazing character who embodies many of the struggles and hardships real people face every day. And he’s an example of someone who overcame all of it.

While the gang have earned themselves a reputation for never giving a shit about each other, it’s pretty clear deep down they do all love one another. To see the gang unfazed by and supportive of Mac’s sexuality, (especially given Charlie and Mac have been best friends their entire lives and Charlie tells him he’s always known) is clearly very comforting and inspiring to a lot of viewers afraid of coming out.

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I recently chatted with awesome Tumblr user Sunnystruck. On her blog she explained the importance of Mac’s storyline way better than I ever could:

Mac’s coming out arc is so unique and personal to me because it’s one of the very rare instances of fictional coming out arcs that doesn’t involve a romance as the transformative catalyst for a character embracing their sexuality or coming out.

Even when everyone else knows and recognizes that Mac is gay, he still has to figure out how to get there on his own terms. It takes him so long, and then to see him love and embrace that decision about himself is so refreshing. He comes out and celebrates his gayness openly and because he spent so fucking long getting to that point and so much time wrestling with it in terms of what it meant for his identity and his image – which again, are completely personal.

It took him a long time to love a part of himself. And that’s truly a kind of representation that gets to me.

Even though I came out to my friends and immediate family I’m still navigating how to embrace that around them and seeing Mac be so gay in some episodes makes me feel so normal. He’s really fucking gay and it shows, and I can relate to that. And he still took his time and that means so much to me especially in an age where straight people claim to have gaydar and say they’re waiting for someone to come out but it’s not their call you know? It’s ours. They don’t dictate our stories, we do. That means something.

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie aren’t the only ones who struck a chord with viewers. Dennis also got a lot of attention from fans, mostly, I found, because of his borderline personality disorder.

Dennis has always shown signs of extreme mental illness. He is immensely manipulative and cold, often being compared to a rapist and serial killer. While claiming to be completely emotionless (which most of the time, he is), Dennis is prone to extreme bouts of rage. While these moments are funny to watch, Dennis’ behaviour has always signalled to something more serious, and in season 10 he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

“I relate the most to Dennis because before getting treatment for DID and BPD I was very similar to him.”

For those who don’t know, BPD is a disorder of mood and how a person interacts with others. While there are many causes for developing BPD, a prevalent one is traumatic events which occur during childhood. Many people with BPD have experienced parental neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse during their childhood. This would make sense for Dennis, as he and Dee often describe the way in which Frank is a terrible and emotionally abusive father. Not only that but in the eleventh season Dennis reveals he had sex with the middle-aged school librarian, Mrs Klinsky, when he was 14. Despite his insistence he wasn’t raped, the experience seems to have been very traumatic and has left obvious scars. These factors probably contributed to his emotional issues and extensive mental illness.

“I don’t “relate” to Dennis but his trauma and the way it manifests has been really helpful for me in dealing with my own trauma.”

Dennis is an extremely complicated character, who may at first seem impossible to relate to, as his personality and behaviour are extremely complex. Despite this, or maybe because of this, a lot of people relate to him on many different levels. Some respondents said they also have difficulty comprehending social boundaries or emotional relationships. Some said that simply seeing a character be diagnosed with a condition they have is extremely comforting and helpful.

“I relate to Dennis in him having BPD. I didn’t even really know it was a thing until he was diagnosed with it, then I looked into it more to understand it and realized (to my horror, confusion, and ultimate relief) that he had the same thing as me.“

While in some ways I think the portrayal of Dennis’s BPD on the show can sometimes be quite problematic in terms of positive representation, his diagnosis has clearly been very important to a lot of people. This character is evidently very reassuring and solacing, and his effort in getting help and medication (although reluctantly at first) is extremely encouraging and inspiring to those in a similar position.

Okay, so that was a lot of information. Although, before you call me out for wasting time or over-analysing a sitcom, I’m not the only one:

So suck it. But seriously, while I went into probably unnecessary and excessive detail, I did actually have a point.

The point I’ve tried to make here is that TV shows are extremely important. They’re important because of the immense impact they have on their fans.

Hypothetically speaking, TV show creators have a choice to use their influence for good or bad (or worse, indifference). It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has succeeded in carefully crafting characters which resonate strongly with their audience, and whose storylines and personalities are so well thought out and developed they’ve helped fans cope with a number of issues they’ve struggled to get help for anywhere else.

TV shows do affect us greatly. While the most common examples of this are being heartbroken over your favourite character dying, falling in love with a show so much you make it your life or a show inspiring you to follow a certain career or lifestyle, the responsibility TV shows have for creating a safe and inclusive environment where you can see yourself being represented is, in my opinion, much more important. From what I’ve seen, countless popular shows just simply aren’t trying hard enough. Shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead have become slightly infamous for their mistreatment or lack of representation of POC and LGBTQ+ characters, and every day a new show emerges that inevitably gets slated for romanticising or glorifying mental illness.

To disagree and say that TV shows don’t have an obligation to be diverse is something I just can’t understand. An audience is never exclusively white, straight, neurotypical individuals, and to assume that they are is absurd. While Always Sunny has a long way to go in its inclusion of POC characters, it’s one of the few shows I’ve seen that present such varied and interesting people who are so easy to fall in love with.

It’s so important to feel represented on-screen, so if anyone in any way can relate to Charlie, Mac, Dennis, or any of the other characters, and become happier because of it, it’s a win. So I believe yes, TV shows are important, and their effect is monumental.

If you managed to make it this far without falling asleep and want to obsess over this dumb show together, follow my Sunny blog!

CREDIT:

Thank you to these people for letting me use your screenshots or taking the time to chat with me! 🙂

phenomenaaa

milksteaksandghouls

god-hole

macdennisd

wjldcard

How much do TV shows really affect us? Why are they so important?

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kathyprior4200 · 4 years ago

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Inside Alastor’s Head (sensitive content warning)

Part 1

“So Charlie likes music and dancing, too? How marvelous! These hotel residents can enjoy my singing and illusion magic. (They won’t know what’s coming next.)”

“When I smile and touch people, I’m in control. It’s the quickest and obvious way to show my dominance. Frowning shows doubt, weakness, and I can’t afford to appear weak. When other’s try to touch me, it’s always unexpected. I can never tell what it will feel like on me. My space, my rules. Touch me too much, and I hate it. Like when he…my father…did things to me…in front of mom. Abuse, molest, he did it to both of us when the drinks were in his system. You can see why I was shocked and overjoyed when I finally stabbed the life out of him. I fled into the woods in the hours before dawn, the police hot on my tail. Saw the faces of deer before I got shot in the head. The dogs came upon me and…nothing.”

Part 2 (Sensitive Content Warning)

“Hello mortal humans, wherever you may live. For those who may not know me, I’m Alastor, the Radio Demon from Hell. Thank you for tuning in to 66.6FM, the only radio station in Hell and the only one I can talk into in your world.

You may be thinking, demons aren’t real. Hell and Heaven aren’t real. He’s probably just using a low radio voice for effect. Well in a way I am, (laughs). But I can assure you…I’m very much real, though not really alive anymore. You see, with the help of some imps from Immediate Murder Professionals, my shadow has access to portals from Hell to Earth. He is Rotsala, and he can travel through radios like I can. He’s been lurking everywhere; in your car radios, those alarm clock radios you have in your homes. And recently, (with Vox’s help), he’s figured out how to access online podcasts, if that’s what they’re called. Thanks to him, I’ve gotten updates on your modern world. It’s very strange and very wild…I’ll never really understand it. Mostly because I’m from the early 1900s and I’ve been in Hell for decades.

Now, if you remember from last time, I discussed my thoughts on the Hazbin Hotel in Hell and Charlie. About how she was a lovely friend and you she would be of great use to me to take her father’s place on the throne. And you got a glimpse of my love of cooking, sewing, singing dancing, along with the obvious killing and eating people part. I could talk for hours about myself, but not this time. On this broadcast, I’m here to talk about all of you.”

“No, no, no, don’t try and turn the radio off. I have it stuck on full volume, so much that even covering your ears won’t do. You probably already know that I constantly smile to show my dominance and power. Frowning indicates weakness. But…I have learned there are a few exceptions when it comes to showing other emotions. I am…actually upset. Very rarely do you find me in this state. So unless you want my shadow to rip you apart from your insides, I suggest you listen very, very, carefully.”

“First, let’s discuss this global pandemic that you all are dealing with right now. You refer to it as the corona virus or Covid 19. It seems that everywhere, people are dying right and left as this virus rapidly spreads. Jobs are being lost, entertainment sites shut down, people stuck in their homes for months, wondering if they’ll make it through all this.”

“I’ll admit, this pandemic is just as entertaining as the Stock Market Crash of 1929. So many orphans, so many hungry people waiting in line for food, or not being able to be with their loved ones. Mostly it’s fun to watch because I’m already dead and I like watching others suffer. (sighs)”

“But yes, it’s also a mixed bag. When I took a peek at modern New Orleans I was frankly stunned like a deer in the headlights. (audience laughter). How utterly lifeless it was! Bands not playing live anymore, restaurants closed. Even more shocking, Mardi Gras was cancelled! I grew up with the parades and the laughter and music in my previous life. To have all that taken away…I might as well have died sooner. It really is a shame how we take everyday life for granted…we’re not concerned about death or loss until it hits us right in the face. Trust me, I’ve been there. Back when the 1918 Spanish Flu killed my mother. Back when I cried at her gravestone even with a large smile on my face. That day that I lost all sense of humanity and became the demon I was destined to be.”

“But what of you folks? You wear facemasks every day, you wash your hands, you pray every day that somehow, you and your families and friends and loved ones will get through it in several years. Maybe you will. Maybe you won’t. One good thing about the pandemic: the enforcement of the six foot rule. Social distancing is essential, and I think it should be mandatory in Hell! I hate being tainted and touched, that’s why I wear my gloves all the time. If only Angel Dust had that rule drilled into his head, it would make my afterlife so much easier. I always wash my hands before and after cooking, and especially after getting my victims blood all over them. You should too. Pure common sense. You can never be too clean and careful no matter where you are. But enough about that.”

“Hell is being more overpopulated than usual, and now I can see why. Thousands of people dying and being sent down here…I bet that stuffy hothead Stolas is having a party now that he’s not lonely anymore. You all are careless fools. You huddle close together during protests or pool parties or fight each other in grocery stores. All you think about is yourselves, hording toilet paper and food and not thinking of those who might actually need it more than you.”

“That drama gets old fast, even for me.”

“Many believe they have their rights taken away just because they can’t go to the Picture Shows anymore. Well let me tell you this: nurses, teachers, policemen, caregivers…they’re all risking their lives on the front line trying to heal others and slow down the spread of the virus. They witness deaths all the time and for every person they don’t manage to save, they feel guilt that will weight them down for weeks, months or even years. And the majority of you laze around, too absorbed in your own worlds to take notice.”

“Want something to do to cure your agonizing boredom? Well, sadly, killing and cannibalism isn’t recommended as you would put your health at risk. But you can try new recipes at home. Learn how to make classic foods, especially good Creole dishes like Jambalaya. If you can make it better than me and my mother, I’d be impressed but we all know that’s not going to happen. Sing along to some songs. Listen to the radio. Watch some classic musicals.”

“Or for the online folk, watch the Hazbin Hotel! Make art and stories about me torturing my enemies. Laugh at all those who ship me with other characters because we know that I’m not interested in sex and romance. But to be heard…those who attack other people in the fandom over tying me down with Charlie and Angel and whoever else…stop it. Enough is enough. Respect other people’s fan works and let them indulge in their crazy imaginations. I belong to no one and I will befriend and flirt with others however I see fit. “Some asexuals and aromantics can still fall in love and enjoy sex.” Yes, that’s true, but my standards are different. Back to the virus…there are some people that deserve to get sick from it. The whole world could get infected and die but I’ll still be thriving in Hell…provided that I don’t get killed.”

“I don’t really care about any of you. I’m just here to bring you the harsh truth. Doctors and essential workers are trying their hardest to make sure you all and enjoy your mundane lives. There’s no need to glorify them as heroes either. Just treat them with respect and move on. Patience is a virtue…I know that many of you need to go back to work, but putting others and the community at risk will just create an ongoing vicious cycle of misery. But if you want to expose yourself in the name of “making America great again” or wherever else you are, then be my guest. I’m always up for more prey to hunt down here.”

“Now, onto the second topic: protests. Believe it or not, I, too, was saddened and shocked by the death of African American mortal George Floyd. He’s up in Heaven, not with me, so don’t fret.”

“Yes, I’m entertained by the violence, cars setting on fire, the screams and yells, very thrilling! But to be honest, sometimes I feel safer in Hell in comparison to what’s going on in your world…and that’s saying something.”

“All the riots going on, protesters being sprayed with teargas, being hit with batons. Looting, shooting, all of this madness going on. Charlie says that inside every demon is a rainbow, but I say inside every demon is a lost cause. Perhaps we’re both right. Though they’re may be some good inside everyone, we’re all imperfect lost causes. We’re subject to sin, violence, discrimination, and endless chaos. We are failures. It’s inevitable. There was no hope for me, and now there’s no hope for any of you.”

“Police brutality needs to end. They are supposed to protect you folk, not use power to push everyone back for no reason. The rioters who looted stores, set cars on fire and put others in danger like that, need to take full responsibility for their actions. They don’t need to unleash their pain and rage onto the city and others. Killing and chaos is my job, no theirs.”

“Racism, sexism, homophobia, they’ve been around since mankind became civilized. Black Lives do Matter. Those who have been downtrodden, beaten up, pushed to the side like dirt, need to have their voices heard. Otherwise, those in power will keep using and abusing their power and authority until there’s nobody left.”

“Just take those white police and your president for example. The policeman arresting George Floyd and pressed a knee onto his neck for no apparent reason, other than he was a person of color who so happened to be caught doing something wrong, at least to them. He kept saying “I can’t breathe” and no one stepped in to stop the situation. The policeman was arrested but that’s a mere slap on the wrist in comparison to a life lost. The cops involved need to experience the same fate.”

“And don’t even get me started on this Trump. A narcissist who sees himself as America’s God and has a cult of brainwashed voters and supporters. One who throws tantrums whenever someone disagrees with him. He sees women as sex objects and minority groups as tools and trash to be disposed of. Tear-gasing innocent protesters while holding a Bible posing for pictures. Satan himself would be shaking his head at this. Life on Earth was Hell for me and apparently it’s gotten even worse.”

“And not to mention Trump boastfully claiming that he’d unleash vicious dogs and military force on protesters. Only a few people would see that he inadvertently made a reference to when African Americans and ethnically diverse people were attacked by police dogs when protesting and trying to make their lives better. As a biracial French Creole who was mauled to death by dogs, I’m offended and appalled.”

“Oh but I’m just a fictional character who can love or hate anybody. I bet I love Trump and Angel and world suffering and sex just because I’m a crazy furry demon. Right? Right?”

*intense static and screeches*

“GROW UP. WAKE UP. IF YOU THINK ANY OF THOSE THOUGHTS, THERE’S A SPECIAL CIRCLE IN HELL FOR YOU.”

(deep breath) “Apologies.”

“All Lives Matter? Wrong. A pathetic way to derail from the main problem and include white people so they can play the victim. The truth is, no lives matter except my own. Second to my life is my mom, Charlie and her friends. (Except Angel). Charlie’s project of rehabilitating sinners will eventually come to an end when humanity suffers a Greater Depression and all fall down into Hell. I have all of eternity to witness the end.”

“Onto the last topic. You know that I secretly desire to take over Hell and spread chaos to Earth and Heaven, yes? If Charlie behaves, she’ll get to rule by my side along with Husk, Niffty, Mimzy and Rosie. Will that happen? Who knows? You’ll have to stay tuned for the next episode, if it even comes. (laughs). You’ll never know what happens next, just that everyone enjoyed my jambalaya at the hotel.”

“Oh dear, did I strike a sensitive nerve? Did that hurt your insides and your mind more than our previous topics? You’re even more pathetic than I thought.”

“But have you ever considered any underlying reasons as to why I enjoy spreading chaos and destruction? I may not be God but I do have god-like powers.”

“The obvious answer? Sheer absolute boredom! I’m always seeking new forms of entertainment to enjoy. And what better way to do that then to watch sinners scream and tremble at my presence? Of course, I would always like my friends to smile and have fun with me, singing dancing, making deals, or whatever.”

“But let’s say I was God? Why send Exterminators to reap Hell of demons every year. To curb overpopulation, yes, but to also remind demons of their place. God and the angels and the chosen reside in “paradise.” Only those who are fully “good” and devoted to helping others and believing in God can enter. It’s the perfect fear tactic: remind demons that they are lost causes who deserve to suffer and potentially met their end.”

“Perhaps I do want to help Charlie with the hotel. Not just for entertainment but to introduce her to the way real life works. Seeing others fail will happen no matter what and that will be a pleasing sight. Demons reside in Hell due to the lives they’ve lived before. There’s no undoing what is done. Even if she does manage to redeem a sinner or two, there will always be those who try to claw their way up and then tumble back down to failure. I am a deal-maker, perhaps the most untrustworthy one in Hell. I want to test others, see how powerful and smart they really are.”

“This all ties in to a larger lesson that is bigger than any of us can comprehend. With the pleasures of drugs, sex, killings and sin, comes the cost of knowing you are seen as outcasts deserving of death by those in the heavens. Whether it’s Angels, Exterminators, Overlords or people in politics and management, the elite have always used power, fear, rules, and any means necessary to keep people in line in the name of “order” and “God’s will.” Lucifer would explain this better than me as he has centuries of experience. I’m willing to bet that Charlie will learn this the hard way, sending off sinners to “paradise,” only to find that she and her parents are stuck down here forever. Earth is between Heaven and Hell; it is full of good and evil, the sins and freedoms of Hell but also the passiveness and illusions and sheep mentality of Heaven. It’s all too easy to blame others and deny what’s going on around you. Go to Heaven for an enlightened life and forget about the criminals, the homeless, and the misfits below your feet.”

“Let me tell you what my name means. It means “tormentor,” “avenger.” I’m a seeker of entertainment who loves to torment others to boast my status. But I am also one of vengeance. Retaliation against anyone who takes advantage of others. Those in Heaven, Vox, Valentino, Lucifer, my father, all of those who treated me like dirt for who I was… my magic is there to benefit myself…but it is all used to teach others a deeper lesson in mortality and what one believes.”

“And me being an anti-hero could somehow lead to my redemption? Ha! No. As long as more episodes don’t come on the air, then I will continue my rampages and broadcasts in Hell. And if anyone lays a hand on me, my mother, or Charlie and my friends, then they will wish they had met their fate from the virus instead.”

“Agree or disagree with me. I don’t care. Thank you for listening and as always, stay tuned.”

#alastor #hazbinhotel #covid_19 #protests #black lives matter

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