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clumsyclifford · 4 years

Note

so turns out these are all very cute.. "54. Against a Locker kiss" with malum perhaps? -fiancee

hiya this is cheesy and stupid and cute i hope you like it

ao3 link!

Michael’s getting his books for class when he feels someone close in on him.

“Hi,” he says, turning to see Calum. Calum, with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Hi,” Calum says.

“How was Mali’s birthday?”

Calum shrugs, leaning over Michael with one palm flat against the locker next to Michael’s. “Fine. All her friends were over so I basically just stayed in my room. But they watched some girly movie anyway, so no big loss.”

“You’re full of shit,” Michael informs him, retrieving his last book and closing his locker. “You love girly movies.”

Calum scoffs. “I do not!”

“You made me watch Love, Actually last Christmas.”

“Because it’s a Christmas movie!”

“Full of shit,” Michael repeats. Calum shakes his head.

“Wanna go somewhere?” he asks.

Michael realizes he’s backed against the locker. He could move — could slide to the right and step around Calum — but he likes where he is just fine.

“When? Now?”

Calum nods. “Come on, I don’t feel like doing maths today,” he cajoles. That explains the mischievous smile, at least.

“I never feel like doing maths,” Michael says. “We’d be abandoning Luke, though.”

“Well, that’s Luke’s fault for not being either of our boyfriends,” Calum says. Which is a fair point.

“Speaking of.” Michael folds his arms over his chest. “What’s with the greeting, Hood?”

Calum’s face screws up into a look of confusion. “What?”

“‘Hi,’” Michael parrots. “That’s it? No kiss? What kind of shit boyfriend are you?”

Calum rolls his eyes fondly. “I’m not that easy, mate. You’ve got to earn your kisses.”

“I’ll ditch with you if you kiss me,” Michael barters, and Calum grins.

“I will let you have that,” Calum says. “Because it’s a win-win situation for me.”

It’s a win-win situation for Michael, too, and he’s about to say so when Calum crowds into Michael’s space, closer than he’d been, and kisses him softly. The cold metal of the locker seeps through the back of Michael’s t-shirt, a harsh juxtaposition to the warmth of Calum’s lips on his. When he leans away, Michael smiles.

“Okay. Let me put my books back and then we can go.”

Calum grins.

—

Neither of them drive, so they walk back to Michael’s house.

“Water,” Calum commands Michael as they enter through the back door. They don’t really need to — Michael’s parents are definitely at work and won’t be home until late afternoon — but it’s always more fun, pretending like there’s a lot at stake when there’s not. The thrill is only really fun when it’s pretend, but when it’s pretend, it’s awfully fun.

“Say please.”

“Water, please.”

Michael grins and pinches Calum’s cheek. “Yes, sir.”

Michael gets water for them both while Calum heads to the living room to set up FIFA. After a moment standing at the tap, he hears the first notes of ‘Jasey Rae’ floating in from the other room, and smiles.

“You’ve got good taste in music,” he says as he enters the living room. Calum graciously accepts his glass.

“I have,” he says. “Very true.”

The song is playing from Calum’s phone, which is perched precariously on the armrest of the sofa. On the TV, the game is already loaded up, so Michael takes his controller into his lap and, with don’t make this easy, I want you to mean it backing him up, proceeds to destroy Calum in the first round.

His second victory closes out with ‘Feeling This’; his third, ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous,’ at which point Calum tosses his controller aside and collapses dramatically over Michael’s lap. “I surrender. I give up.”

“Fuck yes! Victory,” Michael crows, poking Calum’s cheek.

“I’ll beat you one of these days,” Calum announces, looking up at Michael with wide, sparkling eyes. “Just have to, like, break your thumb or something.”

“Hey, is that a threat? I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules. Red card.”

“You can’t red card me for that!”

“You just threatened to break my thumb!”

“I wasn’t saying I’d do it. I was saying that it would have to happen to you.”

“Red card, red card,” Michael declares. “This could be terrible for your career, Hood. If you don’t make this right, the FIFA people are going to ban you from FIFA.”

Calum snorts. “How do I make it right?”

Michael pretends to think. “The committee has decided there’s a solution, but it’s a weird one,” he warns Calum.

Calum shifts and sits up, giving Michael a solemn look. “I’ll do anything. Anything at all. FIFA is my life.”

“Okay, well.” Michael drops his voice conspiratorially. “To start, you have to make out with me for at least ten seconds.”

Calum groans in faux despair. “No! Anything but that.”

“You have to, Cal, or else you’re banned from FIFA.”

“Fine.” The twinkle in Calum’s eye is now in his smile as well, gleaming off his teeth as he wraps a hand around Michael’s neck and pulls him in. “Twist my arm, I’ll do it,” he murmurs, before kissing Michael, and Michael all but melts into it and almost forgets what his second condition for not banning Calum from FIFA was supposed to be. He loves Calum, and though he’s never said it in as many words, he’s pretty sure Calum knows.

It’s probably longer than ten seconds before Calum pulls back, but he doesn’t seem too pressed about the timing. Michael gives him a cheeky smile. “Secondly, you have to call me sir for the rest of the day.”

Calum laughs. “I am not doing that.”

“You have to!”

“One more round,” Calum says instead. “Winner takes all. If you win, I’ll call you whatever you want. If I win, FIFA can't ban me.”

And, like. Michael hadn’t really been married to the sir idea (although he does think it would be pretty funny and kind of hot to have Calum calling him sir for the day), and Calum looks too hopeful to shoot down. “What makes you think you’ll win this round after I just totally crushed you the last three?”

Calum picks up his controller in lieu of responding. “Get ready to die, Cliffo.”

So Michael sighs and starts the game again.

It’s not that Calum’s bad at FIFA. It’s just that Michael’s way better. That’s probably because the game is Michael’s, and Calum’s only real practice is when he comes over to Michael’s, since Mali refuses to play, but whatever. Michael likes being better than Calum at something, when Calum is so much, like, smarter and hotter and cooler and more sociable than Michael. Michael’s not insecure, per se, but it’s nice to be able to annihilate his boyfriend in at least one area.

Except Calum’s a dirty fucking cheat, apparently. Because the game is tied, they’re down to the last minutes, and just as Michael’s lining up a shot, Calum reaches over and squeezes Michael’s thigh, and Michael jerks, distracted, and misses the goal. “You absolute shit!”

Calum just chuckles and leans towards Michael with a guilty grin. “Not my fault you’re irresistible,” he says in his defense, and kisses Michael. Harder than the last time, enough that Michael has to take a second to recover his senses when they break, and as he’s collecting himself he sees Calum smoothly sink a shot into his goal as the timer runs down to zero.

“Are you kidding me, fuck you!” Michael protests, because, really, that’s so incredibly unfair, but Calum’s cheers basically drown him out.

“Victory is mine!” he chants. “I just absolutely wrecked you, Michael! I just fucking ended your entire football career! See, this is way more true to real life.”

“You’re a cheater,” Michael argues. “You distracted me!”

“That’s called strategy.” His stupid fucking grin-of-questionable-intentions is back. “I beat you. Admit it. If not fair and square, then at least at all.”

It’s not like Michael had really had anything at stake here — look, he’d basically figured Calum would cheat, because even Calum isn’t enough of an idiot to expect to beat Michael on his own merit in a game he’s just lost at three times, especially with the threat of having to concede to some dumb condition Michael had set up if he lost — but still. It’s the principle. “You’re such a cheater,” he says again. “How can I trust you in a relationship if I can’t even trust you in FIFA?”

Calum snickers. “I gain nothing if I cheat on you,” he says. “While cheating at FIFA means I don’t have to call you sir all day.”

Michael shakes his head. “So dishonest.”

“You love it,” Calum wheedles. And yeah, Michael does. Obviously he does. He loves everything about Calum.

“Your mum,” he says, instead of that.

Because, like. Calum knows. And there’s no point wasting words on something as trivial as admitting to being in love when he could instead crack a dumb joke.

(He’ll say it another day, and frankly it will probably also happen in a FIFA-related situation, because they find themselves in those a lot. He will. They have time.)

“Your mum,” Calum says back, shouldering Michael. He gives him a smile. “Another round? Promise not to cheat.”

Michael would play it anyway, even if Calum swore up and down that he’d be the dirtiest cheater on the planet. Basically, he’d do anything Calum suggested.

“Okay,” he says, quickly kissing Calum on the nose and then the lips. “I’ll wipe that smug look right off your face, mark my words.”

And he does beat Calum. By a lot.

(But Calum doesn’t look disappointed at all, just kind of happy and warm, and Michael knows, all of a sudden, what Calum hasn’t said either, and knows that they could go the rest of their lives without saying it aloud, and Michael would still be one hundred percent certain that Calum loves him.)

#michael clifford #calum hood #malum #malum fic #5sos #5sos fic #fic #my fic #i was thinking about em whilst writing this so em if you're reading this now you know #here's some dumb stupid fluff for your malum hearts and souls #i am gonna queue it actually though so i don't know when it'll post #ill probably queue this and the other one #and then shuffle the queue #god i love being able to shuffle my queue #yeah that's all i got! enjoy :)#anonymous #ask #answered

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cipheress-to-k-pop · 3 years

Note

Hi, I absolutely adore your writing and it’s quite inspiring and making my imagination go WEEWOO!

Could I request something for YJ With Dick? So like a headcanon or one shot (which ever you prefer queen) where the reader is quite reserved, snarky and can get angry real fast. They have feelings for Rob and they are especially snarky to him to hide their feelings, but they eventually start to open up more and during the events of episode 24 (you know, the one at haly’s circus), they open up to him and they confess? And he does the same?

Flower Language

Pairing: Dick Grayson as Robin x Reader

Warnings: Blood and injuries and plant death.

Word Count: 3.8k words

A/N: This is kind of my take on the Hanahaki disease, kind of. This was so much fun to write honestly, I didn't realize I like all this floral stuff so much. It also reminded me of another 'True Love's Kiss' trope I wrote for Dick Grayson as well. Also I changed the episode this was based on because I’ve already done something based on the episode with Haly’s circus @hanbedumbaf I really really really hope you enjoy it! Sorry it was so late, I finished it a month back but it was in my queue.

Adrenaline was a common feeling to you. A little too familiar. The life of a superhero puts you in peril more times than you would like but it was the only life you had known. You knew the familiar feeling of sweat forming on your skin and your heart pounding so loudly that you could hear it in every step you took.

However, when you heard the pounding, it was because there was a supervillain, usually hairy, chasing after you and determined to get your head on a stake.

Although, feeling your heart jump to your throat was becoming more familiar whenever you were around a certain someone. Robin annoyed you to no end, whenever he was around you couldn't help your face from growing warm and your lips from tingling to form a permanent smile on your face.

Having a crush was irritating, you couldn't think or even function without thinking of him. It was frankly humiliating, you were always so gung-ho about being bold and to the point and yet whenever you were around Boy Wonder, you couldn't help but bend your personality to something you felt like would appeal to him more.

Sometimes, you couldn't even stand yourself.

And so, as a pathetic act of rebellion, and maybe as a clear-cut sign that you had no idea how to handle emotions or anything similar to it, every time your heart got just a little soft, your tongue got a whole lot sharper. Probably not the best way to win a boy’s heart. But you weren't here for a romance story.

It was also a true sign that you had no idea how to flirt, thinking that borderline insulting witty banter was the way to go. Or perhaps it was a way of controlling your emotions, since being bitter and snarky was the thing that came easiest to you.

You seriously needed better tactics.

It was also your oblivious mistake thinking that Robin only saw what you wanted him to see. He was raised to be a detective, of course he was more observant than that. Papa (or let's be real, Alfred) didn't raise no fool.

You made the mistake of thinking Robin saw you as strong and independent and bold, just as the rest of them did. But he saw much more than that.

Robin was distressed by the number of crying faces around him, the kids were inconsolable which was understandable because of just how many things went wrong in the past couple of hours. To be quite frank, Robin was a couple seconds away from having a fit himself.

"Shh, little one," He heard distantly and his neck practically snapped. You were crouching in front of the few who were crying, with a small nurturing smile. It was the first time he had seen you out of uniform, usually referring to you as Antheia, named after the goddess of flowers, but this wasn't she.

"I know you're scared, my flowers, but I promise, we will find your parents." You soothed, gently wiping away their tears. They still looked up at you apprehensively and with uncertainty.

"I'll show you a magic trick." You began, grinning as the kids began to smile back at you. You pulled a seed out of your pocket and held it between closed hands, using a bit of your powers and felt it grow in your palms. When you revealed what you were holding, they collectively gasped.

A bud of a flower now rested in your hand. You smiled at their innocent eyes and held it to them, "Now I'm going to need your help for the next part. Everyone has to blow on the flower."

They nodded eagerly, crawling around you and on the count of three, everyone followed your instructions. And low and behold, the bud bloomed into a beautiful blossom right between your fingers.

One of the girls clamoured into your lap to hold the flower herself and you chuckled, wrapping your arms tightly around her, "You know what this flower means?"

They shook their heads, "It means faith, and hope. If you have faith and hope in us, then you'll get something beautiful in return."

For once, they look contemplatively and you chuckled, feeling pride at the fact that you managed to sow some wisdom in their minds. The girl that had been sitting in your lap turned in your grasp, with the flower in her hand and then reached up to tuck it behind your ear.

"For me?" She nodded happily and you smiled widely, kissing her cheek, "Thank you, petal."

Satisfied that you were able to calm them down, you gently placed the girl back on the floor before moving away from the group. Just as you were about to join the others, you ran into Robin. You didn't know he had just seen the whole thing.

Pulling the flower from behind your ear, you handed it to him, "You know in some cultures, this flower means to pick up the slack and stop looking like a confused chicken." You snapped.

Business as usual.

Robin looked back to the flower you had slipped into his hands, you had said it meant faith and hope, and you had given it to him. He looked back up to see you shuffling away from him quickly, a blush on your face. He smiled.

You were more nurturing and kinder than you let on, it was like it was programmed into your personality and yet you never showed it when you knew they were watching. That wasn't the only part of yourself that you were hesitant to show them.

And the more Robin observed you, the more he realized that you used flower language to depict a lot of your emotions. It was a silent way of letting them out, without having to tell other people what's really in your heart.

You thought you were sly about it, but nothing went under Robin's radar.

Everyone was watching a movie on the flat screen in the rec room. You hadn't realized you were so tired, the movie was boring, something that M'Gann had picked and you hadn't slept the night before, busy patrolling your city.

Your eyelids began to droop before you could even understand what was going on, your head lolling as you drifted in and out of consciousness.

Robin hadn't realized that he was napping through the movie until he felt a weight on his shoulder. He nearly jumped awake and glanced to his side to see you sound asleep, breathing gently. He nearly chuckled, was this what you looked like when you weren't scowling at everybody?

His heart skipped a beat, god, were you beautiful. The smell of flowers vaguely hit his nose and he noticed the red gardenia plant growing steadily in the corner of the room.

'Red Gardenias means a secret love,' Robin recalled from a book he had read, 'It's a secret way for someone to say I love you.'

He glanced back at you still sleeping peacefully, face completely relaxed and briefly wondered if your powers were taking the lead on your emotions and making gardenias grow around the cave. Or were you dreaming about something?

Something in his heart grew, here you were sleeping against his shoulder, making symbols of a secret love grow around the room. This had to be a sign of something, right?

Before he could contemplate it any further, you squirmed and then began to stir. Your eyes fluttered open, hazily taking in your surroundings before they landed on the boy beside you and widened in size, skin darkening with a blush.

"Why the fuck didn't you wake me up?" You snapped and turned on your heel to stomp out of the room without even waiting for a response from him. The others who noticed the way he was just staring at the place you were in surprise. You always do such a 180 when you're around him and conscious.

"Wow, sunshine's crabby in the morning." Wally commented from beside him. When he didn't get any response, he looked over to see Robin with a silly smile on his face.

Dick couldn't stop himself from grinning. The gardenias were still blooming.

***

"Antheia, do you think you will be able to stop the plants from growing any further?" Batman turned to face you, only to find you staring at him with a hazy, blank expression.

"Antheia?" Robin called but you didn't even flinch, your eyes were locked onto the holo-computer, seeing the thick vines that were twisting and turning. Their call was overwhelming, you could feel them grow even beneath your feet. It was like a siren was blearing through your head.

You couldn't tell what they were trying to say, it was like they were muffled. It was confused and lost, following Ivy and it was happy listening to her. And yet, it was feeling pain, the Justice League was busy pruning her as we speak. It was scared, crying out for someone to help them and you felt obligated to help. Your mind was getting heavy, throbbing with an oncoming migraine.

"(Y/N)!" Your eyes snapped open and focused onto the boy in front of you. Everyone was staring at you in concern and you blinked, suddenly not able to remember what the hell was going on. You were just trying to focus on something other than the screams and cries of the plant.

"......What?" You asked a little dumbly, noticing the concern on Robin's face. The plants were still crying. You couldn't get the painful sound of their screams out of your mind. You felt like curling up into a ball and crying.

"Batman asked if you would be able to stop the plants?"

"Oh, um, no." You answered in a distracted way that made his face pinch with worry. His hands were still grasping your shoulders tightly, keeping his face in close proximity to yours. You didn't even realize, too out of it to even notice.

Robin on the other hand felt his cheeks get uncomfortably hot the more you stared at him with those innocent, beautiful eyes of yours. If Batman hadn't been breathing down his neck, he was sure he would've kissed you in the moment.

Unfortunately for him, his dad always knew how to ruin the moment. And he would continue to for the rest of his life. Until death do them part. Even after the two of you grow up and live together, the Batman would find some way to interrupt your fun.

"Robin?"

"Huh?"

"The mission."

Oh. Right.

***

"Robin!" You screamed when one of Ivy's plants wrapped around his neck and slammed him against the trees. They didn't let up curling tighter around his throat. Fear struck you as he began choking from breath and you knew you had to do something.

Suddenly murderous intent took over you and you glared at Ivy who returned it with a smug smirk of her own. Oh, how you'd rip that smirk off her face.

"Okay Ivy, you wanna play? Let's play." You ground out, slamming your hands against the vine around Robin's neck and it began disintegrating beneath your fingers. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath and you tuned out the sound of the plant crying as it died beside him.

Ivy heard it just as loudly as you had, she screamed and more plants lunged towards the both of you.

"Go help the others! I'm about to snap this twig." You spat at Robin, using your powers to kill the roots as it reached you. It was working slowly, your powers weak to the pain of the plants around you. Even as every cell of your body told you not to, you clenched your fingers into fists and watched as the creeper feel to the marsh, dead.

You engaged in battle with Ivy. Plants were screaming for mercy all around you but you couldn't stop for even a second. Life around you was trembling but you had to keep fighting the villain in front of you because if you hesitated for even a second, many more would die.

Thorns scratched your skin, drawing blood and curled around Ivy, sinking barbs into her skin.

"Face it girlie! You're never going to overpower me!"

"Oh, I'm not trying to overpower you, just distract you long enough for Robin to get rid of the control system." You replied, just as smug as she had been at the start of the fight. Now you got to see her face melt into one of panic just as Robin jumped over her head and to your side with a grin identical to yours.

"Cover your ears!" He sang, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and ducking, covering your body with his own. You were grateful for it; you weren't sure you could even keep your body upright at the moment.

Then you heard the explosion and your heart stopped. Every single fibre of your body burned red hot fire as you heard screams and cries around you. Bile was crawling up your throat and your breathing got thin. They were sobbing a heart-broken wail and your eyes misted at the mere sound.

Without realizing it, you were gripping onto Robin's hand, brows furrowed together. The sound of the explosion cleared, the Injustice League was captured and he pulled you up to stand with the others.

It was silent for a moment. You had won.

And then the consequences of your actions hit you.

Everyone's necks snapped towards you when you let out a heart-wrenching sob. Robin, who was standing right next to you caught you just in time before your body hit the ground. Pain exploded in your chest as you began wailing against him.

"(Y/N)? (Y/N)! What's wrong?!" He panicked but you didn't respond, crying into his chest as you gripped his cape in an iron fist. Everything hurt and all you could feel was sorrow and guilt.

The other heroes crowded around you but your eyes were screwed shut, tears making your eyes sting. Robin held onto you tightly, pulling your body against his as you continued to cry.

"What's happening?" Artemis murmured, looking around to see the environment change before her eyes. Everyone else followed her lead to see how leaves began rotting, then the trees. The smell was pungent. Thorns and weeds were crawling up the dying trees, pulling them into the swamp.

"(Y/N) please, what's wrong?" Robin whispered in your ear but you couldn't hear him. The sounds of plants screaming and wailing was echoing through your mind. How they begged you to save them. How they begged you to stop.

And then it got hard to breathe, your chest constricted and you were wheezing. Robin had to watch in horror when petals and blood poured from your mouth. You were choking, throwing up and sobbing in his arms, and he was unable to do anything to help you.

"Flash get her to the Batcave." Batman said gruffly, he was shocked and worried for you but didn't say anything, not wanting to scare his son more, "Sending you the coordinates now."

"Alfred prepare the med-bay."

Dick watched with a sinking heart as he handed you into Flash's arms. It took him a few seconds for his mind to stop whirring, he was still kneeling in the swampy marsh when the team huddled around him.

"It's gonna be okay." Wally murmured, wrapping an arm around his shaking body.

"We just have to hope for the best."

***

When the others had gotten back to the Cave, you had just been moved there, after being looked over by Alfred. He joined you in the med-bay, wanting to keep an eye on you. But as of yet, you still had to wake up.

Dick wasn't supposed to be listening to the adult’s conversation, but he couldn't help himself, he had to know if you were going to be okay.

"The situation is undeterminable, sir. But as of now, the flowers that are clogging her respiratory system keep growing. If we don't find a cure for this, it's inevitable that she will suffocate and pass."

His heart stopped. Die? You couldn't die, not when he still had so many things to tell you. For so long, he hadn't told you of his feelings, wanting to keep the relationship between the two of you professional. But now more than anything, he wished he had said something.

There were so many things he didn't get to do with you yet. You had yet to give him a bouquet on your first date. He wanted to lay in bed with you, smelling fresh flowers as you told him what different plants symbolized. He had yet to see moments where you can't control your powers and make plants grow around the cave.

He hadn't even given you a flower yet.

"Rob listen, I did some research on this 'disease'." Wally said, falling into step with him, "It's called the Hanahaki disease."

"That's fiction Wal—"

"But that's the best we've got right now." Came his curt reply and Dick's heart clenched.

"Hanahaki disease is a fictional sickness that only occurs when someone is suffering from unrequited love. The victim will cough up flower petals that symbolize their love. This disease is only cured when the victim's feelings are romantically returned." Wally read off his phone before turning to Dick with a smile.

He raised a brow, "What?"

"You have to kiss (Y/N)!"

"What!?"

"Yep! You have to return her unrequired love!"

"Wally that's ridiculous, kissing someone doesn't cute anything."

"Well, it's the only thing we have. And for (Y/N), we need to try anything." He said, pushing him towards the med-bay. His voice was tight and tense, like he was holding onto his as his last hope and Dick prayed that it would work when the door of your room came into his sight.

You were asleep and if he hadn't known any better, he would've thought you were healthy. Wally closed the door behind him, leaving Dick alone with you. The only sound in was the beeping from your heart monitor and your light wheezing. It was getting harder to breathe.

Dick inched his way closer to you, watching as your eyelashes fluttered gently in your sleep. Leaning over the bed you were lying in; he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead before moving his head in line with yours.

"God, please let this work." He whispered and your bottom lip was caught between his. It was feather-light but yet, electricity was buzzing through his veins and fireworks went off in his mind.

For a minute, nothing happened and his heart clenched in his chest before he kissed you a little harder. This had to work because they didn't have any other lead. Dick felt you exhale feebly against him and he almost gave up hope.

But then you took a deep breath, stealing the breath from his lungs and he pulled away quickly to see your eyelids fluttering open. The colour was returning to your cheeks and your eyes were sparkling up at him. You smiled gently and he blinked away tears of relief. Thank goodness.

'His eyes are blue' You thought, staring deeply into them. They were beautiful, alluring. You didn't know why but just looking into his eyes was addicting. Was this what it felt like to be so deep in love? That even his eyes were enough to captivate you?

"I'm so glad you're awake." He muttered, cupping your cheeks firmly and planting another kiss on your lips. You giggled lightly, heart overjoyed to find the boy you had been in love with for so long had returned your feelings and you responded to the kiss eagerly, placing your palms over his hands and leaning into him.

With your regaining strength, you felt a flower materialize in your hands. The stem between your fingers brought you comfort just as the scent of the flower brought you back life.

When Dick pulled away, you delicately slipped it into his hands and he turned his attention to it, blue eyes softening when he recognized this particular flower in his hands.

"It's an Aster." You whispered quietly, lips brushing against his and he chuckled. It was the only flower you thought of when he came to your mind, "Get it?"

Dick turned his eyes away from the blossom and looked at you again. Your heart jumped, noticing just how much love he held in them. Eyes you could swim in, overflowing with love for you. Suddenly you were overwhelmed, feeling adoration and attraction. You needed to be closer to him, even though he was pressed against you.

Your fingers curled into his collar and pulled him closer to you, slanting your lips over his in an open-mouthed kiss. Dick gasped against your lips, startled for no longer than a second before sinking against you and wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you closer.

Your lips moved gently against his, the blushing flower trapped between both your bodies. The smell of fresh flowers clouded Dick's mind with everything that was you. Your hair, your smile, your lips. If you kept kissing him like that, he was certain he'd forget his own name.

And then you pulled away and Dick noted that you were as beautiful as a fresh flower. Your skin was glowing with life and your tired eyes were twinkling. You smiled sleepily at him, eyes closing shut and he lowered you back to the bed. Immediately, you slipped back into slumber, exhausted from the day's events.

He watched for a couple seconds, making sure you were able to breathe without any problems before realizing he should tell the others that you were okay.

He slipped out of the room quietly, stealing a final glance of you sleeping peacefully in the bed and a huge smile grew on his face, "She's awake."

It was only then he noticed just how colourful the room had gotten in the few minutes he was with you.

The walls were covered with vines and roses of different colours, camelias and carnations of different shades. It littered the room, not leaving a single inch of the wall untouched and scattered petals all over the floor like confetti.

Different creepers hung from the ceiling, dusting all the superheroes with sparkling pollen and colourful petals. Not to mention there were stems crawling up the Justice League members, flowers hugging their ankles lovingly.

Batman looked a lot less intimidating with petals in his cape and a rose stuck behind his ear. Robin blushed at the sight of everyone giving him knowing smiles.

"We noticed."

Aster: This flower became a symbol of love when in Greek mythology it was placed on the altars for the gods. So now, when you send a bouquet featuring this vibrant bloom, the message of "Take Care Of Yourself For Me" is implied. It conveys deep emotional love and affection for someone.

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

@missdisapear

@tadpole-san

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awritingcaitlin · 2 years

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find the word tag

I was away for a couple of weeks so I’m slow to catch up on stuff! (I had a queue built). But anyway, I was tagged by @muddshadow for another one of these and I love doing them so here we go! My words are: burn , belong , brush , bright , believe .

All excerpts are from RELIC OF THE GODS (ViolinHeist) which I am getting back into drafting!

BURN

Lelia pursed her lips. She leaned over the violin and whistled sadly.

“I am the wrong kind of mage for this,” she murmured.

“Wait, you’re a mage?”

Lelia nodded. “But about all I could do is make it look like it’s not broken. It takes some ridiculous type of thaumaturgy to be able to put this back together. Mending’s not an easy spell and definitely not one I know.”

“So you’re an illusionist?” Em asked.

Lelia nodded. She was trying to keep the pyromancy bit secret. Berthingtonn liked recruiting their pyromancers into jobs like the one Lelia had just left. Besides, what was her pyromancy going to do? Burn Em’s violin. That wasn’t going to help.

BELONG

“How do you know all of this stuff?” Em asked. “And don’t give me the ‘I’m a mage’ spiel because I know that’s not how it works.”

“Years of sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong,” Lelia said. “Got bored a lot which prompted me to go looking for things or sneaking into places. This of course, netted more activities to be shuffled to and from, which I would then proceed to sneak away from half of them if they weren’t interesting.”

“That’s still pretty vague,” Em said.

BRUSH

Lelia started putting on her makeup, adding darker liner to her eyes than she usually wore during the day. She’d balance it out with a slightly darker lip color too.

Em came into the room and grabbed her brush. Her dress made swishing sounds as she walked.

“How are you going to wear your hair?” Lelia asked.

“Up and out of the way,” Em said, pulling her blonde curls into a bun.

“Good idea,” Lelia said. “Plus, it’ll look weird if my hair’s down if I’m pretending to have a performance.”

It was the excuse they were using for why Lelia was going to be carrying around a violin case. They’d chosen Lelia for the job as opposed to Em because if something happened and Lelia was in fact asked to perform, Lelia was the only one of the two of them who had a passable chance at making it seem like she was playing on the broken violin even though she obviously wasn’t.

BRIGHT

The part of town West of Main didn’t look any different than anything else she’d already seen. Plenty of wood and brick, various shops, temples, apartment buildings, and the like. The crowds weren’t getting any less either. Both of Lelia’s legs hurt and she thought one of her ankles might be swollen. Her shoes could only do so much good.

She actually lost track of how much they’d walked. They’d lapsed into an easy silence between them, neither wanting to share too much about their pasts because neither truly trusted the other at this juncture. However, Em did point out a couple of good taverns and a meetinghouse, so perhaps they were no longer avoiding performance talk entirely.

As they wound through the curves in the streets, she started to see docks again. It was surreal. Had they seriously walked the width of South Town? What time was it even? She was finding it hard to look up at the sky and try to gauge how far the sun was past its zenith. Everything was bright and hot.

BELIEVE

“What are you really doing here?” Izzy asked.

“Having a good night,” Lelia replied.

“Okay, that I believe, but what’s with all those lies you told Mom and Dad?”

“Like they’d actually put up with the truth? I didn’t want it to turn into an argument in public.”

“You’re not going to be able to argue with them in private if you don’t come home.”

“You are technically correct,” Lelia agreed. “I’ll figure that out later.”

“Just don’t catch me in the crossfire, okay?”

“Of course not! Now, I have a performance to get ready for and you know how much you don’t like being in my head while I’m playing. Have fun at the telescope unveiling!”

Tagging @muddshadow, @pinespittinink, @jess-p-edits, and anyone else who wants to! Your words are: sun, fire, passion, chosen, and die. 👀

#tag game #my writing #my characters #relic of the gods #lelia #em #izzy

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kentos-filmcamera · 3 years

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10 times, 1 occasion - Inumaki Toge

7. Festivities

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

A/N: hi hi! soo a few things: I would like to warn that this chapter shows a more feminine side of the reader so if anyone is uncomfy,, you've been warned. this chapter is just friendship and ships (there's nobara x maki and yuuji x megumi if you squint a bit) and it's 3.0k words (new record!!!!!) so buckle up and enjoy! also, next chapter is my favorite so far so go read it as soon as you're done with this.

Toge persisted you to rest for the past three days, as you were indicated. He sat by your bedside so you wouldn’t go anywhere, always keeping your injured ankle raised and your head comfortable, helping you to change bandages from time to time. Even then, you persisted to go as normal and continue with your duties.

“So hot…” Maki complained from your green couch, her glasses set aside as she covered her eyes from the sun with her forearm.

“I think you should stop hugging Kugisaki, then” Megumi suggested, the redhead laying on top of her, but he just received a death glare.

“Shake” Toge agreed with Maki, laying on top of Panda, who was snoring loudly. You, on the other hand, were on top of Yuuji’s shoulders, working on your damaged air conditioner.

“Gimme the flat screwdriver, ‘Gumi” You extended your hand, the other one holding one of the filters of the AC.

Your air conditioning system broke down once a year, and you knew it was because of the dirty filters. For some reason, everyone decided to hang out in your room, so extra help was usually given out to you. Maki and Nobara cleaned the filters, Panda and Toge first assisted you and then the help shifted to Megumi and Itadori. The last one was more than glad to have a pair of thighs wrapped around his neck, and his smile displayed so as Inumaki and Megumi both stared him down to oblivion. With the screwdriver now in your hand, you pressed each filter well to its original place. You closed the lid and Yuuji plopped you down on your bed, making you laugh.

You reached in to click on the air conditioner, it turned on normally and after a few minutes, it wasn’t leaking water anymore. “It’s fixed” You heard a collective sigh you let out yourself, feeling the cold air fill the room.

Itadori laid down on the floor by your mini-fridge and Megumi sat at the edge of your bed, next to your feet. You were all so overwhelmed by the heat, no one really wanted to speak, just take in the fake rise in temperature to calm down their sweating and corporal heat.

Just as you were falling into pure, calm bliss, you heard bass thumping from down the hall. You opened your eyes and raised your head towards the door, at the same time everyone else did, confused. Queue in Gojo with a boombox from the 90s, playing ‘Congratulations’ by Post Malone. There was now a collective groan in annoyance as he walked in and faced the bunch of sweaty teens.

“Good afternoon my amazing students!” There was another collective groan in response. No one didn’t even bother raising their heads once more to look at him, and Megumi just turned his face away slightly. Everyone was grumpy or simply not in the mood “I am here to give out great news! Everyone who has tried for first-grade sorcerer has been officially promoted! Congratulations!”

Suddenly, the aura of the room shifted. Everyone was upright, in a mix of shock and happiness. Nobara started screaming out in happiness with Maki, while you, Megumi, Gojo, and Itadori started jumping on your bed in a circle, holding hands. Inumaki was hugging Panda.

“Let’s throw a party! A fancy one!” Itadori suggested, and everyone cheered. Gojo seemed very fond of the idea, as he laughed.

“Dress code is suit and tie, I’ll see you all in the common dining room at 8! Now if you excuse me, I have a party to plan!” Gojo jumped out of the bed, picked up his speaker, and sprinted out of the room. You came down from your bed and threw yourself into Toge’s arms, who pulled you closer in by your waist. You laughed and nuzzled into his neck happily; he was smiling proudly.

“Oh my god! We need to go shopping!” Nobara realized, grabbing Maki’s wrist and snatching you away from Inumaki to head out the door.

“Wait, I need my wallet!” You screamed, but Toge ran after you to give you the tote bag you carried for trips outside the school. You blew him a kiss as he waved you goodbye.

“I’m dressed so inappropriately to go out” Maki groaned as Nobara rushed you on.

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand so no one flirts with you” Nobara beamed at her and then wink, making Maki fluster. You laughed and elbowed her in the ribs, wiggling your eyebrows.

“I can’t believe I'm going to have to third wheel today!” You laughed, watching as both women turned crimson.

Nobara insisted on shopping in the Harajuku district and looking at her eyes gleaming while passing different stores was like watching a kid in a candy store. Surprisingly, she was the pickiest one out of the three. Maki found her outfit first, a black blazer and pants combo with a black mesh button-up that had Nobara drooling. You found a black silk slip dress that reached down your calf, a slit on one of the legs with a loose neckline that reached down your collarbones. Nobara found a black dress that reached a bit down to her knees, it was strapless with a see-through long sleeve with roses. She laughed at the irony of it, considering the poison she was infected with last week manifested in roses on her skin. After that, you went to grab a bite, the three of you talking about everything, anything and nothing at the same time. You noticed the flirtatious remarks between your companions, happy that both had decided to move their attraction to flirting, rather than just staring at each other all the time. You returned to Jujutsu High around 3 PM, more exhausted than ever, you threw your bag to a corner, kicked off your sneakers, and threw yourself on the bed face down, falling asleep in that same starfish position.

“Aw, she’s asleep” You heard a voice comment. You thought it was only a dream and continued on napping. “Let’s just let her rest”

“Are you crazy? They promised to do our makeup! That’s three people already!” Another hushed voice chimed in.

“Tuna mayo” A third voice hummed. You were already back fast asleep as someone tried to shake you awake gently, only to fail miserably.

Toge sighed and squatted down, his face to level yours. Even with your mouth ajar, your duvet darkening from your saliva, and your slightly loud breathing, he loved how you looked so serene that what he was about to do next he found very cruel.

Delicately, he moved your hair away from your ear, swooping it to the other side of your face. Right there, he was taken away by your sleeping beauty; purples, oranges, and blues chiming into light your face as the sun went down. He sighed, half-smiling “Wake up”

He watched as your eyes popped open and you sat up, rigid. “What day is it?” You wondered, scratching your head and yawning, disoriented after the sudden surge of energy running through your body. Toge sat down by your side and placed his hand on your bare waist. You noticed lately he was even more touchy than usual.

“What day is it?” Nobara mocked you, a vein in her forehead palpitating. “You need to do our makeup! Hurry! You haven’t even showered!” She snatched you away from Toge and pushed you inside your bathroom. You heard a light ‘Tsk!’ outside from Inumaki, who has proven time to time really appreciate you being snatched away from him. “And you! Get out!” Kugisaki ushered him out of the room, slamming the door in his face.

“A little harsh, huh?” Maki said, turning to Nobara, who just rolled her eyes.

“I don’t care” She shrugged before taking out her hair straightener and a heat protector. You chuckled from inside the bathroom before taking your phone out of your pocket and connecting it to the Bluetooth speaker on the wall next to the bathroom mirror. You shuffled the playlist Toge made you a while ago and turned on the faucet.

“I hope you’re not going on a world tour right now! We don’t have time to listen to you all the way to your fiftieth stop in London!” You heard Nobara knock and shout at you from the other side of the door.

You rolled your eyes “Maki, keep your girl in check!” You shouted back before stripping and stepping into the shower. You were in the middle of your third song, washing the suds away from your body and giving your rendition of “Cognac Queen” by Megan Thee Stallion when Nobara opened the door and dragged you out of the shower. It became a struggle, and you were only able to grab the pink fluffy robe that hung on your door.

You fixed Maki’s hair by pulling it half up with a small claw clip, leaving her bangs out. Then you applied the lightest layer of makeup, with the dark eyeliner she requested. Nobara, on the other hand, asked for a full face with a red lip. On the other hand, you went for a light look, with a striking eye and a glossy lip. Then, the three of you rushed to get changed as you realized it was almost ten minutes before 8. As you exited the dorm, you wrapped a white ballerina-style cardigan, taking one last look at yourself at the entrance mirror before Nobara dragged you out of there. The three of you walked to the common room carefully, the door opened slightly.

You heard a couple whistles as you entered the room, you humored the boys, Nobara looked slightly mad while Maki ignored them. You realized that for the occasion Toge wasn’t wearing anything that covered his mouth, and made it evident it was a bit ajar watching you arrive. You said hello to the staff, greeting Nanami happily, who seemed pleased with your recovery and being slightly confused at why Utahime was there. You then headed over to greet your classmates, ending up with Toge.

“You look very handsome” You chuckled, and reached in to fix the strands of hair that fell on his forehead. He was wearing a sage green shirt, black trousers, and thin black suspenders. He shrugged a little and blushed as you touched him, leaning slightly into your touch.

“Shake” He nodded, and held your hand briefly, accepting the compliment. You blushed and looked down before taking your hand away from his face, afraid you were overstepping.

The party was light, everyone chatted and conversed lightly. Itadori seemed very busy on his phone, while Megumi spent all his energy trying to grab his attention. Yuuji called out for you, making you pull away from your conversation with Toge and Panda, who looked dashing in a yellow bow tie. He also called out for Panda. “I need your help,” He said nervously “I saw a speaker with lights in your room, can you go bring it here? Also, please wait at the entrance for someone. Panda, I need you as a distraction”

You excused yourself and left swiftly, fitting your cardigan once more. You walked the way up to your room, taking the squared-shaped, medium-sized speaker with half spheres on top, grabbing the aux cord just in case. Holding the speaker by its handle, you followed the trail to the entrance quietly.

“What is this?” You frowned upon seeing the students of the Kyoto sister school facing you. You raised your brows and Mai and Momo narrowed their eyes back to you, but the rest didn’t. Your eyes fell into the liquor store bags Todo held in his hands, then it all made sense. A smirk crept onto your face as Todo watched your change of expression and laughed. A party with the Kyoto students didn’t seem half as bad, and hey, maybe the stone-cold Soju can solve things out between everyone there.

Soon, you heard a couple of explosions and fireworks and some commotion coming from the common room. “Let’s go” You picked up the skirt of your dress a little to run a little easier, the rest following after you. You noticed everyone outside watching an impromptu firework show as you sneaked in the Kyoto students to the now dark room. Slowly, the rest of the Tokyo students sneaked back to the common room, Itadori locking the door in.

“Okay Panda, that was fun, but can we— huh?!” Gojo realized the locked doors and drawn windows. He tried to force the door open but it was closed shut.

“Oh finally. Can we go to a bar now?” Shoko sighed “Let them be Satoru, they’re in the blink of death every day, let them party”

“Can we all pretend they didn’t do that and we were here all the time chaperoning?” Gojo gave in easily, changing his usual blindfold to black, round sunglasses. Everyone made a noise in agreement and the staff left, feeling the bass pumping under their feet, the surges of different colored lights leaking out of the shut windows.

At first, the party was tense. Everyone was just staring at the other from across the room. You were busy in the background trying to plug in your phone and sync it to the speaker’s Bluetooth. Then, Todo gave a lengthy speech about sorority and brotherhood, and how you should all solve your differences so you could… get drunk and nasty together. In fact, it didn’t take long for the party to lighten up and turn into a club scene. By the third round of shots, mostly everyone was hot and bothered, all the tables moved aside to create a makeshift dance floor. Surprisingly, Panda was an incredible bartender, and he was out to kill; his drinks were packed with alcohol, but fruity and candied flavors hid it all and made it even more addicting. By your third drink, you ripped open the seam of the dress, creating another slit for you to move better.

You, Nobara, and the Zen’in twins were incredible dancers, but you didn’t really expect it from Itadori. He had all the spice down in his hips and the way he could shake his ass like his name was Cardi B. He joined in after his third shot with the song ‘Up’

“Broke boys don’t deserve no pussy!” Todo shouted to the song for the rest to respond.

“I know that’s right!” Everyone answered, except for Toge, before you continued dancing. Now more than ever you felt the euphoria of having money. First-grade sorcerers gave you a considerable amount of money, even if you were just a student.

“Yuuji!” Your mouth dropped to the floor, looking at him, before cheering him on along with the others. By the makeshift bar, a flustered Megumi joined by a sober Inumaki watched him dance, not knowing what he should do in that situation.

Then, as if you were reading his mind, you showed him what he should be doing; standing behind him and grabbing his hips. Soon as Nobara did the same with you, followed by Maki, followed by Mai, followed by Todo, making a train. On the other corner, there was some smoke coming up. You never thought you could have this much fun with people.

Another song started playing “It’s my homegirl, we got the same tattoos!” Itadori pulled you close to him while Todo recorded, and you laughed.

“Don’t accuse me of shit if you ain’t got proof!” You sang along, pointing to the camera, following along.

“What if we got matching tattoos?” Itadori turned to you, and you both frowned to think it hard.

“I think that’s enough” Megumi pulled your drink away from your hand.

“‘Gumi, relax. Go take a shot or a hit from Kamo in the corner, it’s a party! C’mon!” You pulled him to the dance floor, both him and Yuuji as you both threw it back on him to the song. This time, Megumi caught clues from earlier and shyly placed his hands on Itadori’s hips. You stopped and nodded, patting him on the back and walking away, a bit clumsily.

“Do we have any more water left?” You asked Panda, feeling your throat and eyes dry from the intoxicating substances. Panda nodded happily and gave you some water. You had reached your limit and decided it was time to sweat off the drinks and hydrate yourself.

“Oh my bad, that’s vodka,” He said as your mouth went into a thin line as you recognized the strong taste and scent. Inumaki snickered “Here”

“Tell me it’s not vinegar this time” You joked, taking a loud sniff of the liquid, and it was in fact, water. You took a large gulp, as you heard thunder followed by the soft pitter-patter of the rain. “Oh, it’s raining” You turned to Inumaki, who looked stunned at your drunken beauty. Your eyeliner was smudged, and so was your lipstick. There was some hair sticking to the nape of your neck due to the sweat. He could swear he saw some drops running down the small of your back. He gulped and looked away.

“You’ve been here all night, love; c’mon, let’s dance” You set your cup down and took Toge’s hand, pulling him out of his seat. The only reason this party was going along all well was that alcohol made you more straightforward, which made you all sultry towards your evident crush.

You noticed he was paler than usual “What’s wrong? Do I make you nervous?” You whispered in his ear, your hand slowly climbing from his hand all the way up to his neck, where you caressed the area. You never could have known alcohol made you that bold, and such a, well, maneater. At his lack of an answer, you just chuckled and took his hand, guiding him elsewhere.

Everyone at the dance floor greeted him more than enthusiastically, and suddenly, every insecurity Toge was holding deep inside of him throughout the whole party had disappeared. He blinked several times as you smiled at him as radiant as ever. “Let’s dance!” He nodded and smiled back. I love you.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk inumaki #inumaki toge #toge inumaki #inumaki x reader #jjk fluff #10times1occ

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kalemakar · 4 years

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theres a zoenne and sobbe fic under the cut

Senne pushes Zoe against the wall next to their flatshare door and presses his lips against hers urgently. Zoe smiles before kissing him back and her arms slide up from Senne’s waist to his neck and they wrap around it, pulling him closer to her. Senne’s hand sneaks up under Zoe’s shirt and rubs her soft skin there. Their lips move in unison, leading to something more. Senne's hand flies away from Zoe’s waist and blindly reaches for the doorknob. Without moving his lips away from Zoe’s, he pushes the door open and pulls them inside.

“You fucking cheated!”

The harsh yell forces Zoe and Senne to jump away from each other. Senne, with his eyes wide open, looks for the cause of the commotion, realizing it came from Robbe, who is standing on the couch looking down at Sander with his hands on his hips. His eyebrows are pulled down together, framing his angry, glaring eyes, while his lips are being pulled down into a frown.

“I saw you! How could you fucking do that?!” Robbe cries.

“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t Robbe!” Sander yells back.

Senne is very confused. He stares at the two lovers who usually kiss whenever they can, cuddle on the couch while watching a movie, and overall just be sickeningly in love, arguing.

Sander reaches for his bag and jacket and shoves on his shoes “If you can’t believe me then I'm leaving!”

Robbe glares at him, “Fine by me” and stomps over to his room and slams the door so hard Senne hears the cups rattling in the kitchen cupboards.

Senne just stands in the middle of the living room shocked. He has no idea what just happened and is too afraid to find out. ‘Cheating?’ Sander would never cheat on Robbe; he's too in love with him. But Robbe did seem sure.

He turns to Zoe, “Wanna keep making out?” he asks, wanting to resume what they were doing before.

Zoe purses her lips and stares at Robbe‘s closed-door before whipping her head to door Sander just exited through. “Senne, you go talk to Robbe and I’ll catch up with Sander,” she says as she runs out the door.

Senne sighs and walks over to Robbe’s room and knocks on the door. He hears the bed covers ruffling and a loud sad sigh.

“Come in.”

Senne opens the door to see Robbe laying on his bed with his face shoved into his pillow.

Senne sighs wondering why his friend was this upset and was truly wondering if Sander really has done something wrong to upset him like this.

He walks over and sits on the bed to rub Robbe’s back, “What happened?”

He hears a muffled reply, “He cheated.”

Senne raises his eyebrow in shock, “Are you sure?? With who?”

“Yeah I am and I can’t believe he did it.”

“Okay but with who?” Senne asks again.

But Robbe doesn’t reply. Senne moves Robbe over to see that the boy has fallen asleep. Senne smiles softly and pulls up the covers over Robbe. He walks out of the room to see Zoe out of breath in the living room.

He rushes over and asks, “What did Sander say?”

Zoe manages to wheeze out, “He said…he didn’t...cheat at all,” Zoe manages to catch her breath, “I asked him what happened but he said he’s too angry to talk about it and left. I ran all the way back here to tell Robbe.”

Senne chuckles dryly, “Robbe has fallen asleep. And I don’t know if what Sander said is true. Robbe was pretty upset and is so sure that Sander cheated on him?!”

Zoe spits out a laugh, “What?! Sander would never do that! Let’s be real, he is too whipped for Robbe to do anything like that.”

Senne shakes his head in agreement, knowing that both the two are so in love, “Then what’s happening, Zoe?”

Zoe pouts and runs her hand through her hair, “I don’t know, but we have to do something.”

Senne gazes off into contemplation, trying to figure out how to get Sander and Robbe to talk out their issues. Suddenly, he’s hit with an idea he knows will work. If it works in American tv shows, it has to work for them too.

“Zoe! What if we just lock Sander and Robbe in a closet and don’t open the door until both of them talk out their issues?!” Senne asks Zoe excitedly.

Zoe just looks confused, “Why would we force them into a closet? And Robbe just came out of the closet. Why do we want to put him back in?”

Senne lets out a surprised laugh and shakes his head, “No, no, no. That’s not- no. When we force the two into a room and don’t let them out they’ll be forced to talk about their feelings.”

Zoe sighs but a small smirk start growing on her face, “It’s so stupid it might actually work.”

Senne feels like the statement should offend him but he doesn’t care; he’s so excited to see his plan work and have both of his boys happy together again.

The two plan for Zoe to get Sander and Senne to get Robbe and lock them in the bathroom. ‘Since the closet is not an ideal place Senne!’ Senne mocks in his head, upset that they didn’t stick to his original plan. The plan is set for tomorrow and the two go off to their bedroom, sharing lazy kisses, too tired to do anything else, before eventually falling asleep.

The two walk up the next day, groggy and tired, but excited to try and help their friends. Zoe hops out of bed, throwing on some clothes, while Senne brushes his teeth. The two smile at each other, rushing to make their plan a reality.

Senne walks Senne to their flat door, “Remember, try to come at exactly 14:30, That's 15 minutes from now.”

Zoe rolls her eyes, “Yes, yes I know now let me go get him.”

Senne pampers Zoe’s face with a bunch of small butterfly kisses making Zoe giggle before finally letting her go out the door. Senne closes the flat door and rests his head against it. He sighs, knowing that he’s going to have to talk to Robbe and make him forgo his video game. He grabs his cup of coffee and shuffles over to the living room. He sees Robbe violent playing his game, cursing at the tv screen, swinging his controller over while yelling into his mic. Ever since he woke up, he has been showing his angry side by slamming doors and being impatient at everything and everyone, even the coffee maker.

“Shit, shit, shit move you, idiot!” Robbe curses loudly.

Senne nervously bites his lips and stands directly in front of the tv. Robbe looks appalled, “Senne! Move!”

Senne raises his eyebrows at the tone of Robbe’s voice and Robbe sheepishly says sorry. He smiles, “Robbe, why don’t we hang out and talk?”

Robbe looks confused, “Uhh? Sure?”

Senne’s face lights up and he pulls Robbe up by the arm, leading him to the wall adjacent to the bathroom. With Robbe’s back towards the wall, he won't be able to see anyone walking in through the flat door, meaning that he won't see Zoe dragging in Sander. Just then Senne hears the flat door open. Robbe turns his head to look over, but Senne quickly turns his head back and shoves his phone into his face, showing Robbe a meme he found the other day. With Robbe successfully distracted, he peeks over the corner of the wall and sees a groaning Sander being pulled by Zoe. Zoe quickly shoves Sander into the bathroom, letting Senne know that it is his queue. He grabs Robbe’s hand and drags him; Robbe protests, wondering what the hell was going on. He pushes Robbe into the bathroom and Robbe’s shocked to see Sander whipping his head to stare at Zoe and Senne. Before either of them could get out, Zoe closes the door shut and the two lean against it, putting all their weight on it.

Robbe pounds their fists against the door, “Let us out!”

“Not until you two talk about what is happening right now! Clear up the supposed Sander cheating now!” Zoe yells back.

“I already know Sander cheated, we don't have to talk about anything” Robbe retorts angrily.

“Oh my god, Robbe I didn’t!”

Zoe and Senne look at each other nervously. Senne presses his ear against the door hoping to catch more of their conversation; even though that wasn't necessary since both were yelling at each other.

“Oh my god, I saw your hand reaching towards the bank when you were kissing me! Oh. My. God. Did you distract me by kissing me so you could steal the money?!!!” Robbe cries out.

Senne lifts his head up from the door and whispers, “Bank?”

Zoe looks just as confused. Bank? Money? What?

“Oh my god, I was moving the money so I could move you there to make it more comfortable!” Sander retorts exasperated.

“How can I trust you?!”

Senne sees a look of realization crosses Zoe’s face and she backs away from the door and buries her face into her hand. Senne however, is still so fricking confused. What is happening, he thinks.

Zoe starts laughing; she laughs so hard she’s bending over and holding her stomach. Senne is finally fed up with being confused, “What? What is happening?”

“Senne” Zoe gasps out, “They were playing Monopoly”

Senne finally gets it, slamming his head on the bathroom door, startling the two inside, making them stop bickering. Zoe and Senne had done all this just to find out this? This?

Senne yanks open the bathroom door, “Robbe, Sander, is Monopoly really the thing the two of you should be fighting about? Especially to this degree?!” he says to the now sheepish looking boys.

Senne pivots on his heel and pulls Zoe to their room.

“Where are you two going?” Robbe asks.

“To finish what you interrupted yesterday,” he replies. Zoe giggles and hugs Senne sideways after realizing what Senne means.

He pushes Zoe inside their room and puts his hands on the door to close it. Before the door fully closes, he can hear Sander ask Robbe, “Are they going to have sex now?”

Later that day in the evening, Senne, Zoe, Robbe, and Sander are spread out on the living room couches watching a random artsy movie that Sander put on. Senne was running his hand through Zoe’s hair since she is sleeping with her head down on his lap. He looks over to his side and sees Sander and Robbe cuddled up in a bunch of blankets whispering to each other. They look very happy and Senne is very relieved that they had gotten over their petty squabble after Zoe and Senne had come out of their room. Senne smiles when he realizes that the room is calm, peaceful, and quiet other than the movie playing in the background.

He hears the flat door open so he swivels his head over and sees Milan coming back from his job!

“Hey, Milan!” Senne says smiling.

“Hey, Senne! Hey Robbe, Sander.” Milan replies.

Both Sander and Robbe let out a few quick hellos before going back to their own conversation.

As Milan takes off his jacket he whines, “Guys we always watch a movie and chill. We should do something else! We should play Monopoly!”

Senne’s eyes widen and a scared look grows on his face.

“NO!”

#wtfock #wtfam #zoenne #sobbe #zoe loockx #sander driesen #robbe ijzermans #senne de smet #my fics #before you come yell at me idk what this is either #oops haahahaha #scheduled

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calypsoff · 4 years

Text

Thirty Eight.

A month into the overseas tour and I can honestly say I am enjoying it; I am enjoying it way more than I did for my American tour dates. Everything is ever so relaxed, we are going country to country very fluid, I have been happy, it’s been nice to visit these places and get to see more countries. Overseas fan love is just so much more different, I feel the love from them, but I am most excited to be landing in England, I just love the place. I feel like the place has close connections to France and Germany where I can expand my horizons in the fashion industry and makeup line, I just want to spend some time here again and just get a feel for the place. Maybe move here with Chris obviously but the base in England will be so much better, the connections I can build. I did my river island deal here so I can do it, I just need to see how I can do it, but I will eventually. I am currently on the jet to England now, get to the hotel and then I’m out again for dinner with the managing director of Puma, I am trying to make moves and it will happen. Chris has been so good, like I think my happiness stems from the fact Chris is happy. He’s just positive vibes, he misses me a lot though but he’s very upbeats. He wants to do a lot; he is showing improvements. I tend to go through his therapist talk with him, ask him what they spoke about because I want him to know I care and I listen, which I do. He’s drawing again, and I warned him about making any type of mess in that home, it’s rented. I am not paying out for the damages, so he said I got a book, and he will show me soon “oh we about to land soon” Yusuf announced “thank god, I need to get to the hotel and get ready. Big night for me, if I can pull this off I am untouchable” not to be big headed “I am telling you they will want you” Yusuf sounds so confident in that, not so much me.

“Bitch move your phone, I can’t do your hair” Yusuf complained, looking up at him “one minute please” I pleaded with him “fine” he walked off, I am trying to talk to Chris while getting ready and I can say it’s not going well because I’m trying to speak to him while they are trying to make me look pretty “I’m happy you got there safely anyways, I guess you got to go but will you call me once done? I will be waiting. Maybe FaceTime if you would like, I can show you my two step” I laughed out “boy please, I don’t want you spraining your ankle, but we shall FaceTime. I miss your beard; I am going to murder you if I come back and you’re still the same. We are going onto a month into this tour Chris. Please” I think he’s now doing it on purpose, I have a feeling “soon, I keep saying this twin. But goodluck with Puma, get me some freebies while you’re there, joking. I know you’ll kill it out there baby, I really do. But talk soon, take care yeah. Love you” I do like this Chris, such a calm soul “I love you more baby, don’t worry I’ll haggle some freebies for you, talk soon. Bye” I hate saying bye to him, disconnecting the call “oh my heart, splitting up the lovebirds. But time is of the essence, we need to get the hair done” he has a point “did you tell Chris how you were being proposed too by these Arab princes” I snorted “hell nah, I wouldn’t because it will play on his mind but it was funny. Imagine me being a princess? But anyways I’ll pass on that” my phone buzzed on my lap, looking down at the message “bitch!” Yusuf spat “let me see, it’s Chris” opening the message.

From: Chris

To: Robyn

What hotel are you at? I’m not coming I just want to know ❤️

To: Chris

From: Robyn

Corinthia London I got a little excited then..... lol

From: Chris

To: Robyn

So did I 😕

He’s stupid “anyways proceed” let me stop playing around because this is becoming a longer process for me right now.

Walking into the restaurant alone, I mean Rich did walk me to the door but the waiter let me follow them to the table, I am a little nervous about it all. I am just hoping I can do this; I really want to get into fashion “right here madam” seeing this bald Middle aged white man, always white of course. He shot up from his seat “you look beautiful, pleased to meet you Rihanna” he shook my hand “likewise Bjorn, I have been counting down the days until I meet you” he gestured for me to sit “the people are going to think how did I get someone so beautiful to eat with me, my lonely self. But please” I smiled sitting down, my nerves are kicking in “we saw your River Island set, we saw the demand. The queues, the love. We absolutely loved it and we do feel that you will bring that creation to Puma, when our mutual friend reached out and said Rihanna is interesting I said set up the meeting, I wanted it ASAP. I feel like you create things that is with the times and it sells, you sell. So yeah, I am grateful you came” I cooed out “little old me, stop it but this is literally a dream for me. When I were asked I said of course I will meet him and I’m glad I have” I am excited “shall we start going into detail now?” Nodding my head “why not” I want to get over with the whole small talk, I want to start the business talk already.

Closing my book ever so quickly “what was that baby?” my mother questioned, she is so damn nosey “mom stop creeping up on me like that, it’s not nice” that was annoying, I am testing myself, I thought I would draw Robyn naked, see if I remember every curve of her body and then see if I got it right, hand on my heart I know I am right. The picture is not degrading at all, not like she got her legs open; I mean I know her coochie off by heart but it’s more tasteful, a little side boob showing. It’s my imagination anyways but I like it “I was just asking baby, you seem so quiet in your book now” watching my mom sit down “yeah because I am designing for my clothing so stop being nosey” rolling my eyes, I lied but it’s whatever “guess what I did anyways” I cheesed “what did you do?” my dad asked “I sent roses to Robyn’ hotel, she has like this big meeting with Puma, I know she’s going to do well so I sent her congratulation roses and I miss you” my dad didn’t look impressed even though I am happy about it “and what if she don’t get it?” waving my dad off “do you not know Robyn? She gets what she wants, they set up the meeting. They worked around her schedule; I know she has. But what you think?” I think he was concerned she might not have got it “if you believe that then I am fine with it, it’s the sweetest thing you can do. She will love it son” I grinned so wide; I can’t wait for her to call me all excited now.

I need to tell Robyn that I am not on crutches anymore, I mean I feel stupid, but I am using a walking frame now. I can shuffle to places, I don’t hop anymore “I was telling your mother how proud I am of you, watching you sweat. You are pushing yourself to get the leg better more than ever” nodding my head smiling “yeah, I am getting a six pack too. You see those leg exercises” lifting my tee up “six pack!” I spat “six pack Joyce, he is doing the most but with Robyn how come you didn’t do that? Just a question, you seemed maybe a little laid back I suppose” good question “erm, because I made a promise to Robyn, I promised I would be better. I would do better for her, and just seeing her on tour and how beautiful she looks, I said to the therapist. I said I get a little jealous, like I don’t feel I can compare to her and he made me feel better, he really did, and it made me realise that Robyn is with me looking a whole mess, she didn’t care. She took care of me a lot, something I wish she didn’t, but she did. The therapist every week, I just feel more and more positive. The things that happened to me wasn’t my fault, I am just in a good place. And then this, I can literally shuffle, I am slowly being able to pick my foot up while walking. I am happy” my mom looks so emotional “and the beard will remain until she is coming back because I want to annoy her” I laughed to myself “you love stressing her out, Chris I am so sorry we never took you to therapy, we just didn’t know. We are sorry” shaking my head “don’t be. But I am going to propose to her” I said smiling “what!?” my mother shouted, “really son?” my dad is a little shocked “you work faster then I did, wow boy” my dad said, I chuckled “yeah well, it’s time. She has been nothing but be a wife to me, she wants that title, and I am going to give it her soon, I will let you know when I figure it out but it’s closer then you both think. But I am going to propose to her, I am going to wife that up on sight” my mother gushed “my daughter in law, god. I wished for someone to be loving towards you, and she is perfect. I am so over the moon Chris; I love you son. A wedding!” my mother got up from the couch running to me “mon, this stays between us. I am telling you both first, just keep it quiet until I get permission, doing it like a man” I am doing it the proper way.

My mom keeps on looking at me in awe “what?” I questioned placing my fork down “I can’t believe my son wants to get married, I am just shocked. All I ever wanted was for you to happy, to see you smile and I always saw that when you were with Robyn but it’s just so emotional, you are marrying the love of your life Chris, it’s just so emotional” here we go, my mom would cry “yeah I know, so did you” I grinned “that honestly made me want love, to see you both at home. You both have set that goal in my life; this is why I had to find out. I had to see if Robyn did remember me, she did. I knew it was love then” I mumbled “it is baby, it’s love. She loves you so much Chris, I see it in her eyes. but marriage? I am just so happy for you both” my mom is not going to drop this “mom, this needs to be a secret. Please stop speaking on it” she needs to calm down, my phone pinged on the table. Picking my phone up and opening the message.

From: Robyn

To: Chris

OMG! I am calling you in 5 minsss

I chuckled, she has seen the roses then “I think Robyn has seen the roses, that is me though. I will be going to sleep after the call, tired after today” getting up from the chair steady “careful son” my dad said, he worries about me walking but I am getting there “I know” grabbing my phone and placing it in my pocket, grabbing my walking frame “I hate this shit, I look like some old man. Mom, you don’t need to get up” she does the most “it’s making you better boy, you can do this” my mother placed her hands over my cheeks “I am so happy for your progress, the happiness you are showing. It reminds me of my son that I knew” I laughed “thank you mom, I love you” she kissed my cheek “I love you too, goodnight baby. See you in the morning” nodding my had, let me shuffle myself to the bedroom, I will get there.

Sitting on the bed, I just got into the room. Robyn has tried to facetime me twice, but I have been trying so hard to get to the bedroom, takes me a little while to get here. Tapping on Robyn’ to facetime her back, I hope she picks up and she did “Christopher!! Oh my god, poppa. I am literally so emotional right now Chris, oh my god. These are beautiful, I came into my room and this” Robyn turned the camera showing the roses “I am so happy you like them; I know it’s not me but still. Oh my god, is that my bear? That is so cute, look how he is just sat laid out on the bed. Missing me that much huh” I laughed “oh I really do, I posted the roses on my Instagram, thank you Chris. It bought a smile to my face, I love, love, love you so much poppa” I cooed out “I love you too, I just wanted you to smile, and I got it. To see your happiness is my happiness” Robyn really can’t stop smiling, I love that for her “and I got it baby, Fenty x Puma!!!!!” Robyn shouted “oh my god, really!? Robyn that is amazing, see I knew it. You read the card? I predicted this; I am proud of you baby. I love you and your smile” Robyn giggled “thank you” she is so happy “so this is a secret for now? I just want to make sure” Robyn nodded her head “keep it between us until we can release the actual announcement, I can’t wait Chris. The managing director said he wanted me to work with them, they love my vibe so yeah. I can’t wait, you can help me too or I can seal your clothing ideas” I gasped “you better not” it’s so refreshing to see her like this.

I made Robyn close her eyes, I propped the phone up for this “ok, I am ready. You can look now, I mean it’s nothing much, but I am using a walking frame now and look” I shuffled ahead a little “oh my god, Chris! The progress!!! I have only been gone a month, oh wow. You’re going to be walking in no time, I am so proud of you” I laughed at my stupidity, it’s really nothing “also, look at this” turning slowly “six pack too, I kept this a little secret” I hope she can see “my panties are wet Chris, you working out there? You are doing this while I am gone?” Robyn looks offended, shuffling over to the bed carefully “I do a lot of leg exercises at home, remember they said it takes a lot of strength, it’s building my muscle I guess” sitting on the bed and grabbing my phone “you about to look handsome for me?” raising an eyebrow “with my beard yes” Robyn rolled her eyes “I will accept for now because of the roses, Chris you really made my day. You really did, thank you. I miss you poppa, I sniff the bear now and then, it smells like you of course” I miss her face so much, I just want to touch her so bad “I love you” I smiled down the phone.

#Chrianna FF #Chrianna #Chrianna Fanfiction #Fanfic #Fanfiction

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illfoandillfie · 5 years

Text

Seaside Rendezvous - Part 2

READ PART 1

Request: Can you please write a hc for going on a island vaca at a resort with your family after college finals and you meet joe (also a college student) and you two see each other a ton but you are always with your family so not much happens but flirty small talk and you both end up having a lot of sexual tension and go into one of your rooms when you’re family is out and just some smut happens?

Pairing: Joe Mazzello x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Some outrageous flirting, mentions of oral sex, fingering and handjobs, but nothing explicit (yet).

Words: 7977

A/N: Sorry I made ya'll wait so long for this one. Ended up getting way longer than I planned so this is now a three part series.

The scene in the market is based off the International Market Place in Waikīkī (how it looked in the 2000s based off images and stuff I found through google) though I took a bit of artistic licence. It's changed a bit in the last few years but it does still have the banyan tree in the middle of it.

(oh my god he’s a baby in that gif)

Taglist: @laedymoon @somekind-ofcheese @dtfrogertaylor @ezmina98 @vee-ndetta @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @bowiequeen

@ramibaby @briarrose26 @d34d-0n-th3-1ns1d3 @painkiller80 @stephydearestxo

It was much too early to be woken up. Your parents didn’t see it that way though, not even after you, leaning sleepily in the doorway, explained that holidays usually meant sleeping in. In a perfect world that would have been enough for your mother to declare you were right and let you go back to your dreams about the previous night’s kiss but, this not being a perfect world, all she actually said was, “get your sister up, the bus leaves in an hour.” Right, the bus. The bus for the tour of the island your parents had mentioned last night. If you’d have known it meant getting up so early you would have been tempted to cry sick, no matter what Joe said about that plan. At least you could thank him for cutting you off early so you didn’t have to fight off a hangover too. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes as you turned to get Erin up. Luckily, being twelve, she hadn’t worked out the sheer joy of a lie in yet, so she was already awake and moving. Unluckily, for you at least, she’d also been thinking about the previous night and was full of questions. “How did you meet Joe?” “He was on the plane with me.” “So does that mean you know him well?” “Kind of, I guess. Define well.” “Can he come hang out with us again?” “Probably not.” “Why not?” “Can you please be quiet? At least let me get a coffee before you start interrogating me?” “Okay. I’ll wait till breakfast.” Fuck. “No, wait. You can’t.” “Why not?” “Mom and Dad can’t know. You are not to mention last night at all around them.” “Why not?” “Because if you say anything within their hearing about me and you hanging out with a guy they don’t know they’ll flip out.” “But he was nice.” “Yes, but they don’t know that. They’ll worry something bad could have happened. Also, they’ll ask why we weren’t in our room and I’m not going to be the one to tell them what we overheard.” “Does that mean it’s a secret.” “Yes. Very secret. In fact, if you see Joe you have to pretend you don’t know him. Okay?” “I guess. But secrets are hard to keep.” “What do you want?” you sighed. Not the first time she’d tried her hand at extorsion. “Buy me some good souvenirs.” “Okay, but nothing too expensive and it’s gotta be able to fit in your bags.” “I’m expecting better than a tee shirt.” “Snow globe it is then,” Erin rolled her eyes but she seemed content with the deal. You supposed you’d find out when you inevitably ran into Joe again, which happened sooner than you’d expected.

The bus you’d had to get up so early to catch was smaller than you’d thought it would be, only big enough for around fifteen people. There weren’t quite so many waiting when you arrived at the pick up point. Ahead of you in the queue was five others, a very loved up couple who seemed to have glued their hands together, and a group of three who you took to be related – a woman, with her mother and teenage daughter. Slowly you all filed on board, the tour guide checking off names on a list of everyone who’d signed up for the adventure. You ended up sitting towards the back of the bus, legs stretched out over the empty seat next to you. Erin and your mother were sitting about four rows ahead of you with your father on the opposite side of the aisle from them, talking to the grandmother you’d seen before. You’d opted to sit further back so you could have your own window seat. The space from your family was just a small bonus, giving you a chance to dwell on everything that had happened last night. “Alright folks, we’ll be heading off in a moment. Just waiting on one last person.” The tour guide announced, double checking his clipboard. You closed your eyes, tilting your head back against the window with a yawn. A few seconds later you heard heavy footsteps hurrying up the aisle as their owner apologised to the tour guide and driver for being late. You opened your eyes as Joe slid into the seat in front of you.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, leaning forward slightly. Joe turned his head, looking out the window, “Wanted to surprise you,” he laughed quietly, “Didn’t tell me about the fucking seven o’clock start though,” Your eyes darted to Erin but she was holding up her end of the deal, ignoring Joe, listening to the tour guide as the bus roared to life. “How’d you find out then?” “Called reception last night. Told them my friend Y/N had mentioned the tour to me but neglected to say what time, they were very helpful. Silly Y/N forgot to add my name to the list too.” “What are you, a stalker?” “If I’m a stalker then stalking’s too easy.” “Y’know a proper stalker would have sat behind me. Done the whole creepy staring, hair sniffing thing.” “Then obviously I’m not a proper stalker.” he paused to check no one was listening in, “I did almost sit beside you though. Then I remembered the whole clandestine, hide-it-from-your-parents-and-overly-nosey-sister deal. We should get trench coats.” “As fitting as that would be, somehow I think it'd make us stand out more,” “Oh, I didn’t mean we’d wear them round the resort or anything. I was thinking of you, showing up at my room wearing nothing else.” You shifted in your seat, pressing your legs together slightly, “Would you settle for a bikini?” “The one you were in yesterday? Yes.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” “That makes two of us.”

Most of the tour was spent either talking to Joe quietly at the back of the bus or posing for photos with your family. Every time the bus stopped at a scenic or historic site you would shuffle off, leaving Joe behind, and let your mother position you in front of whatever landmark was there for a photo or two. A couple of times you caught Joe’s eye, almost laughing. Then you’d follow the crowd back on board, fall into your seat and wait for Joe to come back so you could continue your conversation and casual flirting. So, when the bus pulled up at a market around two hours into the expedition, you were expecting more of the same. You hopped down the steps and joined your family as they crowded around the nearest stall. “Oh, there you are Y/N! I want to get a photo of you and Erin at the market entrance. And maybe one with your father as well.” “Honey,” your Dad chimed in, “At this rate people won’t know you came on the trip too. You haven’t been in a single photo. We should get at least one with all of us.” “And who’s going to take it Dear?” “We’ll ask someone from the bus, I’m sure they won’t mind.” Your Mom didn’t look entirely convinced. She generally preferred to be behind the camera than in front of it, but you could practically see her planning out the scrapbook pages she was going to make to document the trip and how much better it would look with a family shot. It was enough to make her agree and your father hurried to catch someone from the bus before they all disappeared amongst the stalls.

“Alright, I found someone. This is...what did you say your name was?” “It’s Joe.” Fuck. You whipped around at the sound of his voice, trying to act unfazed. Erin pinched you on the arm but otherwise acted just as you’d asked her too. “Lovely to meet you Joe,” you mother cooed, “We were just hoping you could help us out, take a photo or two for us?” “It would be my pleasure,” He held out his hand for the camera, throwing you a wink when your parents turned around. “Okay, ready?” he asked once you were all in position, “Big smiles, three, two, one,” There was a click and then another and another as he fired off a few shots. “What about a goofy one?” he suggested, looking directly at you. “Everyone pull a face,” Erin yelled. You flipped off Joe as he looked through the camera, noting the way he smiled when he saw. “Alright, I think we’ve held you up long enough Joe. Thank you so much,” Your mother said as she took the camera back. “Any time,” he said with a ridiculously charming smile before heading off into the market. “What a lovely young man,” Your mother said as she flicked through the photos he’d taken, “Cute too.” She looked directly at you when she said it. You rolled your eyes, “Sure, I guess.” Inside you were screaming. You could see things going two ways once your mother got involved. Either she was going to make it her business to push you and Joe together or keep you apart and you didn’t know which was worse. If you had to guess you’d say she was leaning more to trying to set you up. One thing was sure though, her sudden interest in Joe was going to make it harder to sneak off with him. He wouldn’t be able to enter the same room as her without her gossip detector going off and all her attention would be focused on him and anyone who might be trying to sleep with him. “Oh, really Y/N? That’s entirely inappropriate,” she showed you the photo where you’d stuck out your middle finger, “but I think I have enough photos for the moment,” “Can we go look at the stalls now? Y/N said she’d buy me a present.” “Oh that’s nice of her, what’s the occasion?” She asked, turning to you. “Oh, you know, nothing specific. I thought it’d be nice to get her something to remember the trip.” “Well I’ve already promised her a shirt,” “Yeah I figured. I was thinking of something else.” “Well why don’t I take Erin and that way you can make it a surprise.” “Are you sure? I don’t mind walking around with her, she could give me some ideas.” you said, already thinking about finding Joe and using this freedom to your advantage. “No, she can come with me. We’ll see you back on the bus.”

You could have skipped as you turned with a wave and headed in the direction Joe had gone. Instead you walked like a normal human adult, unsure if your Mom was watching you. You wouldn’t put it past her. You rounded the corner and breathed a sigh of relief which turned into a gasp of shock when you felt someone tap you on the shoulder. “Jesus Joe, fucking scared me,” Joe had a hand over his mouth trying to stifle his laughter, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” “Alright, it wasn’t that funny.” “It was pretty funny; you didn’t see your face. You managed to ditch the fam then?” “Yes but I’m still a little worried Mom’s watching.” “You’re paranoid.” “She called you cute.” “You called me cute,” “Yes, but I’m trying to get in your pants. She’s just trying to find out if I’ve managed it yet.” “Aww, you wanna get in my pants?” “Oh shut up. Just keep an eye out for my Mom.” “Well I've got something to show you that I think’ll make you feel better. Just over this way.” Joe grabbed your hand and began pulling you along. You walked straight past every stall, ducking around corners, making your way to the middle of the marketplace. “Where are you taking me?” “Not far, just....” he stopped, “here,” “It’s a tree Joe.” “Not just a tree, a banyan tree, didn’t you listen to the tour guide at all?” “I was thinking about...other things,” you said glancing at his lips and biting your own before turning your face upward, craning your neck to see as high as possible. The tree was huge, branches criss-crossing over your head, stretching out over the entire marketplace, roots twisting over and around each other on the ground. “Okay, it’s pretty cool,” you conceded, “for a tree.” “You haven’t seen the best part,” Joe glanced around before quickly ducking through a gap between the main trunk and some of the smaller trees growing beside it. He pulled you behind him and you found yourself in a secluded chamber, half hidden by trees and half hidden by market stalls, the worn material of the pop-up tents blocking everyone’s view. Before you could say anything Joe was kissing you, pulling you tightly against him as your lips met. It was ungraceful and chaotic, noses bumping together, teeth colliding, in danger of overbalancing and toppling backwards in your desperate need for more. You felt like a live wire, electricity running through you. All the pent-up energy was suddenly released making you feel dizzy and hyper aware of every brush of his fingers, the scratch of his stubble, his knee bumping yours. “Wow,” you said softly when you parted, lips still so close to his they were almost touching, eyes still closed. Joe inhaled deeply like he was trying to breath in the moment, dropping his forehead to yours, “Is it wrong of me to say I wish we were back in my room right now?” “No, I wish we were too,” you lay your hand flat on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath your palm. “We could just...” he raised his eyebrows as he pointed at the ground. “I’m not fucking you in the middle of a market where anyone could find us,” you laughed, pushing on his chest till he took a step back. “I never said fuck,” he said, holding up his hands, “I was talking about a blow job,” You burst out laughing as he tried and failed to keep a straight face. “I’m kidding,” he reassured you, wrapping his arms around you again, yours automatically looping around his neck, “happy just to keep kissing you for now.” The next kiss was less frantic. Soft to start, both of you still giggling a little, gradually building into something deeper. The same electric energy but calmer. “Probably don’t have long before we’re called back to the bus,” he said as he pulled away. “And I’m meant to buy something for Erin.” “Guess we should get going then.” Neither of you made any move to let go of the other, just squeezed tighter as your lips met again.

Eventually you did have to go, reluctantly letting your arms drop and straightening your shirts. Joe poked his head out of the trees to make sure the coast was clear before he slipped outside and held out his hand to help you through the gap. “Don’t worry, no sign of your family,” “Not at the moment anyway,” you looked around at the crowed, double checking for any sign of them. Maybe I am paranoid. You set off towards the nearest stall, hoping no one could tell you’d been making out. “You said something about a present for Erin?” “Reward for her not letting slip to Mom about us hanging out with you last night.” “Ah, of course.” “Had to explain that, even though you were nice, Mom wouldn’t have been happy if she found out. Though I spose she doesn’t have to completely ignore you now that Mom and Dad know you exist. God I still can’t believe you were the one they asked.” “Lucky break,” Joe laughed, “what about this?” he held up a necklace with a cartoony dolphin on it,” “Oh that’s cute! She’d like that.” “What about you?” “What about me what?” “Anything here you’d like?” “You’re not buying me a necklace Joe,” “Oh come on, let me. Look this one’s nice, got a palm tree on it. Or what about this one with the matching earrings?” You handed over the money for Erin’s necklace to the woman running the stall, turning back to Joe as she wrapped it up in brown paper. “If you think buying me a present is going to get you a hand job on the bus or something you can think again Mister.” “Not what I was trying to do.” Joe followed you as you thanked the woman and moved towards a different stall, “Just thought...look I know that whatever is happening here is a short term thing. We’re gonna get to the end of our holidays and then fly back to our regular lives and probably never see each other again. And that’s fine. That’s clearly what we’re both looking for here anyway, just something fun and easy for a couple of weeks. But I thought it might be nice to buy you something you can take back home to remember the trip. Not just me but the whole thing. But also me." “Well, that is sweet.” “Besides,” he leaned in close to your ear, “I know that to get a hand job I have to finger you.” “Oh that’s how it works?” you asked leaning back to look at him. “That’s the exchange rate, yes.” “You’re a dork,” you chuckled, shaking your head. “Maybe. Or maybe I just like hearing you laugh.” “No, you’re definitely a dork. Just used exchange rate in the punchline of your joke.” “Valid point, but who said it was a joke?”

You ended up parting soon after that, deciding there was too high a risk of running into your family. It was a good call because that’s exactly what happened as you ambled back toward the bus on your own, pausing to look at tables of trinkets and racks of touristy clothes. As soon as she saw you Erin was asking about her present but your Mom’s insistence that she could wait had her pouting all the way to the bus. Before you could make your way towards your regular seat behind the one Joe was already occupying, you were pulled into the one next to your sister. Her excitement about the present and curiosity as to what it was couldn’t wait. You caught sight of Joe snickering to himself as Erin grabbed your arm, already babbling about how she hoped whatever you’d got her was better than the shirt you mother had got her. “It says aloha in big letters on the front and the back which Mom found so funny.” “Because it means hello and goodbye? That’s pretty good.” “No, it’s lame. Please tell me you got me something better.” “Tell me yourself,” you said as you handed over the brown paper package. Erin beamed as she tore into the paper, gasping as the necklace fell out onto her hand. “Oh my god!” she squealed, “It’s so cute! Can you help me put it on?” “So you like it then?” you laughed, taking it from her and undoing the clasp, “Does that mean we’re even?” “For now.” “Even? I thought this was just a nice gesture.” You mother piped up, breaking off her conversation with your father to narrow her eyes at both of you. “Oh, it is but I also promised Erin I’d buy her something to make up for last night. We got a little bored and went to try and find the rec room but ended up wandering around lost and then coming back to the room.” “Y/N, I don’t like the idea of the two of you walking around by yourselves so late. You never know who you might run into or what might happen. And don’t try to bribe your sister like that.” “I know, it won’t happen again.”

The rest of the day passed without incident. The tour continued on its route and you were made to pose for more photos. Thankfully no one asked Joe to take another group shot, though you did manage to sneak off for a quick pash a couple more times at various stops. Crowds were convenient excuses as to why your family couldn’t find you and whatever buildings or landmarks that were large enough to hide behind became convenient spots to sneak a kiss or a grope. You came close to being caught out more than once, having to hastily pull your lips apart, his hands falling from your ass at the sound of approaching footsteps. You’d lean against the wall or rocky ledge or whatever you were using as cover and pretend to be talking or else you’d start walking in opposite directions, pretending to have just been passing by each other. It was risky, lest one of your relatives be the one to discover you, but somehow knowing that you could be caught at any moment only made it hotter. By the time you got back to the resort you were dying for more, sick of just having his knee pressing between your legs while he kissed you. “I think I need a nap after all that,” you said, fake yawning as convincingly as possible. “A nap sounds quite nice actually,” your Dad said, yawning for real. You didn’t know if it was better or worse that your Mom agreed too. On the one hand it did mean Erin would have no choice but to join you in your room, on the other though, if all three of them were asleep it would be easier to sneak off for a bit. Or it would have been, if Erin had actually gone to sleep. There was clear snoring coming from the room next door but everyone in your room was wide awake. “Are you sure you don’t want a nap?” “I told you, I’m not tired,” “Really?” “Why don’t we go see Joe again?” “I’m sure he’s busy doing other things.” He could be busy doing me if you’d just go to sleep. “Well I’m bored. Let’s go down to the pool.” “I don’t know if we should. You heard Mom on the bus, she doesn’t want me taking you out alone.” “She meant at night. It’s like, two o’clock and it’s just the pool,” “I guess so. It would be better than doing nothing here.” Erin clapped her hands as she jumped up to find her bathers, rushing into the bathroom to change. You briefly wondered whether you should call Joe, even going so far as to pick up the phone, but ultimately decided against it. Realistically nothing could happen for the moment, not when it was just you watching Erin. You didn’t bother changing out of your shorts and tee-shirt, just slipped a note under your parents door in case they woke up, and then let Erin lead you downstairs and out into the sunshine.

Erin was exhausted by the time dinner was finished, practically falling asleep in her plate. You offered to take her up to bed while your parents retired to the bar, figuring you might at least be able to talk to Joe for a while. You changed into your pyjamas while you waited for Erin to drop off completely but as soon as you were sure she was asleep you called Joe’s room. It rang once before he picked up. “Hello?” “Gosh, you’re eager. Expecting someone?” “I was hoping you’d show up in your bikini the way we talked about but I guess this will do.” “Well I’m here with Erin who happens to be asleep. Deeply asleep. And I was thinking we cou-” The line went dead. What the fuck? You were on the point of redialling when there was a soft knock at your door. As soon as you opened it Joe was on you, making you giggle as he held your face and kissed you. A snuffle from Erin made him stop, peaking at her from over your head. “Bathroom,” you said softly, pointing at it as you closed the front door. Joe grabbed your hand, covering his mouth to muffle his laughter as he pulled you along. “I’m so glad you called,” he mumbled against your lips, hands already firmly on your ass, pulling you against him as you locked yourself in the bathroom. “Mmhmm, me too.” You pulled away for a moment, “I was gonna suggest you bring the rest of that vodka over and we just hang out on the veranda and talk but this is better, want you so bad," “You sure this is okay? We won’t get caught in here?” “Not if we stay quiet,” you breathed out, pushing yourself onto your toes to kiss him again. Joe didn’t argue, kissing you back fiercely as he backed you up against the sink. You could feel the cold sink top pressing against your lower back where your shirt had ridden up, a chill running along your spine, but you were far more concerned with trying to press yourself as close to Joe as possible. One of his hands as slipped up to your back but the other remained on your ass, pulling your hips against his. You threated one hand through his hair, tugging at it as he moved to kiss your neck. “Careful Joe, don’t leave any marks,” “I won’t. As much as your neck is begging to be covered in hickeys.” You whined as he ground his hips against you, able to feel his semi-hard dick through his pants. “Gosh, you’re eager,” he echoed your words from earlier, as he slipped a hand under the waistband of your pyjamas. There was a knock at the door that made both of you pause. You held your breath, waiting, and then it came again accompanied by your mother’s voice calling your name. “Shit,” “Your Mom?” “Yeah. Jesus Christ that sixth sense for gossip she’s got still fucking works. I’ll try and get rid of her, just wait here.” You quickly readjusted your clothes as you stepped back out into the main room, pulling the bathroom door shut behind you. “Y/N, open up,” “Mom?” you said quietly, opening the door just wide enough for you to be seen, “thought you were down in the bar,” “Your father and I felt bad that you were spending the night here with your sister. Thought you might want to come down and join us. Erin’s still asleep right?” “Yeah, completely out of it.” Thank God. “She’ll be fine on her own for a couple of hours, you should come downstairs.” “Oh, I don’t mind staying here.” “Don’t be silly, you must be bored out of your mind,” “Not really. There’s the TV and then I’ve got a couple of things to read before school goes back. You and Dad should enjoy yourselves.” “Honey, I see your father every day but I haven’t seen you properly in months. Now, I insist you come down and have a drink with us. The books will be there when you come back.” “Are you sure it’s okay to leave Erin?” “It’s fine, the door will be locked and she probably won’t wake up. Just leave a note in case she does.” “Yeah, okay, I’ll come down then, just give me a couple of minutes to change out of my PJs.” You shut the door and hurried back into the bathroom, grabbing a pair of shorts on your way past. “You’re leaving?” “I’m sorry, she didn’t really give me a choice. I’ll try and keep it short, see if I can get to your room afterwards.” “Okay, yeah, I get it.” You dropped your pyjamas and stepped into your shorts as you talked, “If not tonight then tomorrow for sure. Don’t think there’s anything planned except relaxing on the beach, so I’ll probably be in my bikini when I come up.” “Well I guess I can wait for that.” “Thank you for being so understanding,” you leaned up to kiss him again, much too briefly, “Give us a few minutes before you leave just to make sure we’re in the elevator.”

If you were hoping to get back upstairs without much fuss you were in for some disappointment. The quick drink you intended turned into a few more, your parents wanting to know every detail of the last few months of your life. They flatly refused to accept short answers and you ended up explaining every class you were taking and telling them about all your friends. In the morning you’d blame your mother. She was always good at getting people to talk even when they didn’t intend to. It was part of how she stayed on top of neighbourhood gossip. A couple of drinks and a few soft words and she could have someone spilling their guts about the affair they were having or their failing marriage or any other myriad secrets they could be keeping. You were mostly thankful she hadn’t mentioned Joe, knowing full well you would have ended up caving and telling her much more than she needed to know. Luckily, she’d been too focused on finding out every detail of your breakup with Eddie. It was over your third gin and tonic that you told her about how you’d dumped him over dinner one night. How there hadn’t really been a specific event that made you want to end it, more of a build-up of little things – he never said thank you and he was always making jokes that seemed like jokes but were actually really mean when you thought about them later and god he’d bought you a coffee mug for Christmas which is such a non-gift like it’s what you get for a co-worker you don’t know well in a secret Santa, y’know? And it wasn’t even a good mug with like a funny saying on it or whatever, just boring grey. Your Mom just nodded along, filing away every scrap of information in case she ever needed it later. “But that’s one reason I was glad you said you were organising this trip. Just needed to get away for a bit.” “So you’re enjoying Hawaii then?” “Oh, so much. It’s so beautiful here. The tour we went on today was incredible.” “Wasn’t it just? You enjoyed it didn’t you darling?” “It was fascinating, all that history,” your father chimed in, looking a little relieved you weren’t talking about boys any more. An idea came to you that would help you get away to see Joe tomorrow, “Hey, do we have anything booked for tomorrow?” “No, I thought we could all use a day to just relax on the beach or whatever. Why?” “Oh, I was thinking about making an appointment for a massage in the spa but I didn’t want to book a time if we were going to be doing a volcano walk or something.” “Oh a massage does sound nice,” you Mom said, “maybe I’ll join you. Your father can take Erin for a few hours and we can have some girl time.” “Oh,” shit shit shit, “yeah, that’d be nice.” “Okay, it’s settled, I’ll make an appointment as soon as we go upstairs.”

By the time you were heading up to bed you decided it was too late to call on Joe, and the possibility your Mom would come knocking to ask you about massages was too high. The next morning, as soon as Erin was in the shower you called his room, intending to apologise again for the previous night and for how you’d fucked up today’s plans. It rang out. You figured he must be in the shower himself or else have already gone downstairs for breakfast, so you replaced the receiver and went about your morning routine. Before you left to head down to the beach with the rest of your family you wrote a quick note to Joe, explaining what had happened. As the elevator doors opened you feigned forgetfulness and claimed you’d left your sunglasses back in your room, telling everyone to go on ahead and you’d meet them down there. You dashed back towards Joe’s room and slipped the note under his door hoping he’d see it, before hurrying back to the elevator. “Got your sunnies?” “Yeah right here,” you pulled them out of your pocket and held them up. “Honestly Y/N, you’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on,” You shrugged, “Probably,” as you followed everyone down the path and onto the sand. When you got there you looked around for any sign of Joe but, much to your disappointment, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. You tried to push him from your mind as you relaxed on the sun warmed sand and swam in the ocean, but you couldn’t help looking for him every time you resurfaced. Erin was something of a distraction, asking you to help build a sandcastle, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep you from scanning the steadily growing crowd, looking for his familiar face in the sea of strangers. It was almost welcome when your mother told you it was time for your massage, if only because you felt tense after not being able to explain what had happened to Joe. Though, you weren’t entirely sure how relaxing it was going to be when you were constantly on the alert for any leading questions about your love life.

You were right to be worried. Before you even left the beach she started in on you. “So if things between you and Eddie are definitely over,” “They are,” “Does that mean there’s someone else you’ve got your eye on?” “No,” “Really? Not even a little crush or anything?” “Nothing. Surely there’s something else we can talk about. Tell me about that thing at Erin’s school that you mentioned last night.” “I remember when I was around your age,” she barrelled on, completely ignoring you, “I broke up with my boyfriend and within a week I’d found someone else to flirt with.” “I mean, I’ve done that a bit,” “Oh?” “My friends have taken me out a few times and,” you paused realising how easily she’d got you to started, “And I’m not talking about this anymore.” “Alright, honey, I won’t push. But you can talk to me, I’m your mother and I just wanna know you’re okay.” “I am.” You made small talk the rest of the way, about how pretty the scenery was and how nice it was to get away, but you felt on edge, constantly waiting for another mention of Eddie or, god forbid, Joe. It was a relief when you entered the spa area and your Mom was distracted with the process of checking in. You waited, listening to the calming music and the sound of running water that flowed through the entrance room, suddenly aware of how tense you were. As much as you would have liked to be with Joe, perhaps a massage wasn’t a terrible alternative.

It started off well enough. The calming energy of the spa relaxed you as the masseuse worked the muscles in your back and shoulders until you felt loose and calm. It helped that there wasn’t much opportunity for you mother to badger you, neither of you wanting to break the tranquillity of the moment. It lulled you into, what you later realised was a false sense of security. Once you were settled in a tub of warm water, the aroma of rose petals and lemon slices rising into the air, she started in on you again. “This is such a lovely place, isn’t it Y/N?” “Huh?” “Hawaii. Just stunning.” “Oh, yeah, for sure.” You closed your eyes, leaning back against the edge of the tub and reaching for your complimentary glass of champagne. “And not just the scenery either, so many attractive people,” You took a sip of your drink and tried to ignore her. “Easy way to have a rebound fling, help you get over the breakup,” “I guess so. Haven’t really thought about it.” You hoped she couldn’t hear your heartbeat speed up, loud in your own ears. “Not once?” Don’t fuck up, “Nope, guess I’ve been more focused on relaxing, catching up with you guys,” She paused for a moment, taking a sip of her own drink, as she recalculated her attack, “I keep seeing that fellow from the island tour around the place.” You resolutely kept still, not wanting to incriminate yourself with a single gesture. “What was his name? Jim?” Joe! “Who?” “The lovely young man we got to take our photo. Jim doesn’t sound right,” It’s not! “Oh, him,” “Joe, I think that was it,” You glanced over at your mother, she was watching you intently, trying to spot any hint that you were lying. You could just imagine her if she found out that you’d spent the last two days flirting with Joe. As soon as she got home she’d be telling everyone how you hooked a man within the first days of your holiday. It would be just like when you told her you’d had your first kiss and somehow the next day the whole street knew. “I was thinking of inviting him to join us for dinner one night.” “What?” You hoped your slightly raised voice went unnoticed or at least was taken for surprise rather than horror. “Well I think he’s here on his own and I thought since he’s around your age it might be nice to meet him properly.” “Oh my god, you are unbelievable.” “He thinks you’re pretty. Barely took his eyes off you while he was taking the photos. I probably could have stuck my finger in my nose and crossed my eyes and he wouldn’t have noticed. A miracle we got some decent photos really.” “So?” “So, if you wanted to, I don’t know, spend some time with him...” For a brief moment you were tempted to spill everything, put an end to the sneaking around and just admit that’s what you’d been hoping for since you first laid eyes on him. But the thought of how obnoxious your mother would be about it stopped you in your tracks. Plus, it was weird how curious about your sex life she was. “I’m not really interested,” She didn’t seem wholly convinced by your lie but she dropped the subject, knowing a losing battle when she saw one.

As soon as you were out of the spa you made your way back upstairs, claiming you wanted to have a short nap before dinner. You headed straight to Joe’s room and knocked at his door. There was no response. You knocked a bit louder. Still no response. Looking over your shoulder in case anyone was approaching you knocked again and called his name. He definitely wasn’t there. Not entirely sure what to do with yourself now that your idea had fallen through you headed back downstairs. For a while you wandered around the resort, keeping an eye out for any sign of Joe, but eventually you gave up and went to meet your family for dinner. “So how was your morning dear?” Your father stopped with a couple of fries half way to his mouth, “Yeah, good. We had fun didn’t we Erin?” “Yup! We saw Joe!” You dropped your fork with a loud clatter, drawing everyone’s eyes. “Sorry, slipped outta my hand.” You looked back at your plate, unable to face your Mom’s self-satisfied smile. “We did, ran into him at the pool. Me and him are going to play a few rounds of golf tomorrow. Any of you are welcome to join us.” “Well, me and Erin are going to skip out I think,” your Mom said, “we’ve signed up to one of those painting activities. I think we get to paint a little tiki statue we can take home with us. And then we might try and catch a hula show too. But Y/N, you should go.” You were torn, unsure how to answer, aware of your mother watching your reaction. “Yeah, Y/N, that’d be great.” “Golf....isn’t really my game,” “That doesn’t matter, it’ll still be fun. C’mon, come with us.” You sighed, “Yeah okay,” at least this way you’d be able to see Joe, maybe manage to sneak off for a make out sesh, or, if you were lucky, be able to head back to his room together. You were lost in thought, picking at your food when you saw your mother wave at someone over your head. “Speak of the devil,” she said as footsteps approached, “Joe, come and join us. My husband’s just been telling me you’re playing golf together tomorrow.” “Hi,” Joe seemed a little awkward at the sudden familiarity, eyes flicking towards you very briefly, “yeah we are. I’m looking forward to it, but I don’t want to intrude on your family time.” “Oh intrude-schmude. Please, have dinner with us. You remember Erin of course, and my other daughter Y/N,” “Nice to meet you properly,” you smiled at Joe, sure he was about to laugh at your improvisation. “Y/N’s agreed to come with us tomorrow, play a few rounds.” “Really?” “Sure. I’m afraid I’m a terrible golfer, but how could I resist? When in Hawaii after all.” Joe chuckled as he pulled an empty chair over and placed it next to you, “Surprised I didn’t see you with your father and Erin then. They were fully embracing that attitude by the pool all afternoon.” “I was embracing it elsewhere. Mom and I had a surprise girl’s day at the spa.” You hadn’t been sure Joe would get your hastily written note that morning but at least you could breathe easy now, his nod showing he understood why you hadn’t been around earlier. “It was incredibly relaxing,” your Mom chimed in, “but what about you Joe? Here on your own?” “‘Fraid so. Thought it’d be nice to get away on my own after I was done with exams.” “So, no girlfriend then?” You rolled your eyes as your Mom pointedly looked at you. Joe just chuckled, “No, not for a while.” “Any particular reason?” “Alright dear,” your father said, laying a hand over hers, “No need to interrogate the poor lad.” “Sorry Joe, I can get a little carried away,” your mother said with a smile, “it’s just that me and Y/N were talking earlier about her recent breakup and it was still on my mind.” “Sounds like Y/N could use a little rebound relationship,” Joe said, cocking his head and smiling as he turned to you. “Thank you, Joe, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell her.” “Yes, thank you, but I think Y/N can decide what Y/N needs on her own,” you huffed, crossing your arms and trying to kick Joe subtly under the table. As soon as you made contact with his ankle he winced. You tried not to look too pleased.

Gradually the conversation moved away from your love life into the casual chatter reserved for new acquaintances and you could relax a little. Although not entirely. Your mother hadn’t given up whatever game she was playing, and Joe seemed to be doing everything he could to encourage her, much to your annoyance. You tried to kick his ankle again in the hopes that would be enough to stop him but he shifted in his seat, moving his foot before you could reach it. The corner of his mouth lifted which only made you want to kick him harder. Instead you froze as he dropped his hand to your knee, squeezing it in warning. His voice didn’t waver as he talked to your parents, at the same time slowly dragging his fingers up your thigh until he reached the hem of your shorts. You completely lost track of the conversation as he held his hand there, his thumb rubbing over the patch of skin it could reach. It was hard enough just remembering to breath properly. You only started paying attention again when you heard your name. “Huh?” “I asked you what you thought,” Joe said, entirely too pleased with himself. “Oh, sorry, I uh, I wasn’t listening,” “Y/N, are you okay?” your Dad asked, “you look a little off,” “Feel a little dizzy actually. Probably just haven’t drunk enough water today.” You reached for your glass of water but only ended up knocking it over as Joe chose that moment to move his fingers to the seam along the front of your shorts, pressing down on it as he traced its path between your legs, seemingly unfazed by the potential attention he could be drawing. “Shit, sorry,” you grabbed your napkin, trying to mop up the spill but it had already started to run over your edge of the table. Joe quickly pulled his hand away from you as ice cold water dripped onto his lap. Serves him right was all you had time to think before it reached your leg as well. You shivered at the cold but it was nothing to the shiver that went up your spine as Joe reached over to wipe the water from your leg with his own napkin. “Sorry,” you said again, “think I might go hop into bed early. Make sure I’m okay for golf tomorrow,” you pushed back from the table to make a quick escape but Joe stood up too. “Wait, I’ll come with, make sure you don’t knock over anything else on your way.” “You really don’t need to do that,” “No it’s okay, I’m gonna change my pants anyway since it looks like I’ve had a uh, rather unfortunate accident.” You laughed when you glanced at the large wet stain on the front of his pants but nodded before turning to bid your family goodnight. Your Mom was looking exceptionally pleased with herself.

Once you were closer to the elevators and out of sight you turned to hit Joe’s shoulder, “you jerk. I can’t believe you did that,” “Did what?” he raised his eyebrow and grinned at you. “All of it! Encouraging my mother’s ridiculous notions of playing cupid. Feeling me up while my Dad was right there. Agreeing to play golf with him? What the fuck?” “Well you were a no show today and I was pissed off you’d ditched me again without warning. Besides, no need to worry about him. You said he doesn’t do the whole overprotective dad thing and even if he did, he likes me.” “That’s beside the point. And I tried to call you this morning but you didn’t answer. Even slipped a note under the door for you.” “Whatever. I managed to get us away for a bit didn’t I?” “Oh, if you think I’m sleeping with you tonight you are mistaken.” “C’mon Y/N, it was just a bit of fun,” The elevator dinged and you stepped in, crossing your arms over your chest as you leaned against the back wall, letting Joe press the button for your floor, “Fun for you maybe. Mom’s gonna come past the room later to put Erin in bed and expect it to be empty. She thinks we’re off fucking right now and that’s what I’ve been trying to avoid. Christ she’s gonna go home and tell the whole fucking neighbourho-” You stopped talking as Joe ran his fingers along the seam of your shorts again, “think I can save the evening, make it fun for you.” You closed your eyes, whimpering as he traced his touch over your clit. It took all your willpower to grab his wrist and pull his hand away from you. “Really? You’re gonna punish yourself because of what happened at dinner?” “No, I’m gonna go get off while I have the room to myself and you’re gonna be left with that image being the only thing you can think about.” you pushed past him as the doors opened on your floor, “See you at golf tomorrow Joe.”

#my writing #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello imagine #i'm so sorry about the long wait ya'll #hopefully p3 will be up a bit faster #but like don't hold me to that #(tho i am excited to get into p3 because thats where The Smut will finally happen lmao #I think I'm gonna try and write it so if you didn't want to read the smut you don't have to #because obv. the first part was fairly innocent #and i know that smut isn't everyone's jam)

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rainandhotchocolate · 5 years

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Tension - Part 2

A/N Here is fun ol’ part 2! It’s a bit of a filler/ character building chapter, but I hope you still enjoy :)

Part 2

Rain pounded on the windows of the library, a chill starting to creep into the castle as winter began. Y/N had always liked the rain, it meant that she could convince the house-elves in the kitchen to make her hot chocolates and cosy herself into the Slytherin Common Room with a blanket for the whole evening.

Thunder rumbled loudly, and Y/N couldn’t help but smile, thinking about finishing Slughorn’s essay on sleeping potions curled by one of their charmed windows. Remus knocked her shoulder, glaring at her.

“Can you please pay attention to me for one second?”

“Jeez, is someone on the edge of their cycle,” Y/N rolled her eyes exaggeratedly but Remus looked like he was about to growl at her.

“I asked you a question.”

“Yes, yes, sorry, I don’t know.”

“You should know, McGonagall said she was going to quiz us next week and I’d rather not get destroyed by the Gryffindors again, who, by the way, I literally never see in here, do they even study?”

“Ok, ok, calm down, I promise I will study before class ok?” Y/N reassured him, “And anyway, you’re ten times smarter than those twats.”

“I just wish they didn’t think they were gods gift to mankind, and with that little one following him around all the time boosting their egos…”

“Yeah I kinda feel sorry for him,” Y/N grabbed another book from the pile, “How bout I quiz you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah ok. Hit me.”

They studied for the rest of the afternoon, only heading to grab the end of dinner once Remus was satisfied. Y/N watched as Remus picked at the chunk of mashed potato he had on his plate, whilst she ate some chicken and broccoli, holding off a little for treacle tart later.

“You feeling ok?”

“Fine.”

“Oh yes, you look super fine Moon-boy.”

“Would you shut up with that,” Remus always was angrier around the full moon, but there was a little part of Y/N that enjoyed teasing him just a little. She wondered if one day she might get a smile out of him during the full moon, but so far she hadn’t quite broken through.

“Alright, well go lie down, I’ll meet you later, ok?” Remus nodded, standing up slowly, keeping his eyes down and walking out of the Great Hall.

“He’s sick again?” Y/N turned to see a Severus watching him closely as he left the hall, eyes narrowed.

“Yep.”

She ignored his consistent stares and continued her dinner. Severus was always suspicious when Remus didn’t turn up at their dorm every month, and Y/N was sure he would figure it out before long. She doubted that their elaborate lies regarding different wizard-borne illnesses would stop him from researching further, though it was fun confusing him with the occasional charm to put Dragon pox scars on Remus’ face.

“Shove off, Snape,” Regulus pushed him sideways on the Slytherin benches and sat next to Y/N, “Getting a good feed there?”

“I’m a growing girl, Reggie.”

“You did always love those family dinners,” He winked and stole a potato of her plate.

“Oh yes, my favourite,” Y/N avoided rolling her eyes, knowing that Regulus was still in the Black’s good graces, even if he joked around about their similar family traditions. She quickly finished off her dinner and grabbed her bag, “See you around, Black.”

“Adios, Malfoy.”

He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, following Remus’s route out of the hall and towards the dungeons. It was nearly 7 pm and getting steadily darker outside, meaning that Remus would have already been escorted to the Shrieking Shack, or as he called it, his fun personal torture chamber.

Y/N went up to the dorm and slipped into bed, waiting for the rest of the girls to come in and fall asleep before she got up/ Y/N glanced around the room to ensure the rest of the dorm was snoring loudly. She had a bag stashed underneath her bed with supplies for the evening, sneaking them out of the dorm and into the Slytherin Common Room.

She paused, waiting on the edge of the staircase, scanning the room carefully until she was sure it was clear to sneak out of the front door and out of the dungeons. She followed her way along the edge of the staircases until she reached the first-floor corridor, keeping her hands along the wall to avoid having to light up her wand and wake the portraits.

Finally, she reached the portrait of Gregory the Smarmy. She pushed it aside and stepped through to a small hole to crawl through, leading to a small set of steps leading downwards.

They led to the side of the castle and into the gardens where she could easily sneak toward the Whomping Willow. Y/N could already hear the screams coming from inside, taking a deep breath before she stretched her back and turned into her Animagus form. It was still painful getting used to it, and she winced as she got down on all fours and stretched out her back before following the passage down and into the shack.

She waited in the entrance for a moment, keeping her breathing short and quiet to try to hide from Remus. Remus and Y/N had a deal when it came to her aiding his transformations. She had to wait a few hours until he had already transformed and eaten, basically until he was calm enough to not hurt her.

Whilst Y/N had protested, telling him that he should have someone with him when he changed, but with there only being one of her there was no one to tag team if things got hairy.

Once Y/N could only hear Remus huffing, and the sound of him walking over the wooden floorboards, or potentially broken furniture, she crept out towards the shack, her feet padding softly on the ground, not making a sound.

She made a soft growl, warning him of her presence in advance before letting herself be seen by the huge wolf panting in the corner. It had taken over a year, and a butt-load of research, before Remus’ wolf form had allowed for Y/N to enter without a small fight.

They had found that since Remus was technically the larger and physically stronger of the two, it would require Y/N to ‘submit’ to him, which made Y/N extremely irritated at first. But now, as long as Y/N didn’t try to pull rank, they were able to be together inside the shack and keep each other company, letting Remus exert energy by play-fighting instead of hurting himself.

Remus wore out around 3 or 4am, curling up in the corner and falling asleep, growling softly every few minutes. Y/N found a spot in the other corner to ensure he didn’t accidentally scratch her in the middle of the night and fell asleep quickly, very worn out from the evening’s activities.

Hours later, light began to stream through the dirty windows and Y/N woke up quickly, looking over to make sure Remus had changed back and grabbed one of the blankets she’d left by his side.

He gave her a weak smile as Y/N turned back, pulling on a coat and pair of pants behind a chest of drawers before going out to join him.

“Ready to go?” Y/N held out a hand, and Remus stood up precariously, leaning on her side, shivering in his blanket. There was blood dripping out from underneath it and she silently cursed, hoping that he hadn’t cut himself too deep.

She helped pull him out of the passageway from the shrieking shack and tapped the root of the Whomping Willow to stop thrashing around in front of them.

“So that’s how you do it” A voice gasped loudly, coming from just beyond the tree’s roots. Y/N looked around wildly, attempting to pull her wand from her rucksack and face whoever was watching them.

“Sirius, and posse. Of course,” Y/N huffed, lowering her wand as Remus leaned harder on her shoulder, the cut clearly deeper than Y/N had anticipated, “Look can we have whatever this is later? I need to get Remus to Hospital Wing ASAP.”

“Need a fun break from the full moon huh” James cocked an eyebrow, wand still raised at the two of them. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him, reaching back towards her wand.

“What is this an ambush?”

“We were just curious what mister Lupin does every month, on the full moon,” Sirius smiled uncomfortably, watching the two of them closely.

“Well it sounds like you’ve figured it out, aren’t you the smartest bean in Hogwarts. Can we not let Remus die here please?”

“He’s not going to-,“ James started, but as if on queue Remus passed out, falling fast onto the grass.

“Shit- could you guys please put away your wands and help?” Y/N glared at them and they paused, looking much less macho than they did a minute earlier.

“Yes, of course” James finally broke, elbowing Sirius. They both went down to help Y/N pick Remus up. They didn’t say another thing until they heaved him up into the castle and to the Hospital Wing to a waiting, and very confused, Madame Pomfrey.

“What on earth are all of you doing here?” Madame Pomfrey pushed them all away from Remus has they set him down on a bed, “Do you know how dangerous the grounds can be at night?”

“Yeah, in the full moon,” Sirius muttered, and Y/N kicked him in the shin.

“Ok, I need you all to leave and let this boy rest, you can visit him this afternoon,” Madame Pomfrey shuffled them out of the hospital wing quickly. The boys turned to face Y/N almost immediately, making Y/N say in exasperation for whatever they were about to say.

“What are you thinking?”

“He’s dangerous!”

“Why do either of you care?” Y/N was taken aback, expecting much more hate and less concern, “This is really not your problem.”

“He could hurt someone!” James looked bewildered.

“Why do you think he leaves the castle every month!” Y/N stepped forward, eyes flashing at the two boys, “You have no right to come harassing him like this, do you even know what he goes through? Did you ever stop to think how painful it would be to have your entire body contort into something twice your size? Stop digging your nose into things that don’t concern you.”

“We were just trying to -.”

“What? Help? Save Hogwarts from an unknown beast? You know I bet if Remus was in any other house you would have bothered to research more into his condition before you jumped to conclusions.” Y/N hissed at them, turning on her heel and storming away from the two of them, leaving them flabbergasted.

“Who knew a Malfoy could care about something other than themselves,” Sirius raised an eyebrow, watching after her curiously.

“Well not all purebloods are alike are they mate,” James elbowed Sirius grinning, “Come on stop staring at her, let's go see what Peter’s up to. Maybe he’ll help me practice catching the snitch.”

“Drool over you more like it,” Sirius cackled, following James towards the Gryffindor Common Room, but he was still thinking about the fiery look Y/N had given him moments before.

General Taglist:

@averytruerayofsunshine @siriuslyjanhvi @blushingskywalker @blackpinkdolan @thebabblingbookworm @cherrie511 @imlukesnirvana @avengersassemblee @maraudersandco @sly-vixen-up2nogood @katbernoulli @sirius-lysad @evyiione @minerva26love @aikeia @gollyderek @greatwombatblaze @songforhema

Tension Taglist

@laue-bb @fk12b @slytherpuffgal @fairtaldes @desideriaenigma @j-brielmalfoy

#rainandhotchocolate #sirius black x you #sirius black x reader #sirius black fanfiction #Sirius Black #Marauders #Remus Lupin #remus lupin fanfiction #remus lupin fic #James Potter #hogwartsonline

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patriciahaefeli · 4 years

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A Cautionary Tale? A Love Story? You Decide

It's been one of those rollercoaster weeks, one that began with a great deal of pain, which I tried to ignore at first, so as not to ruin my 17- year old’s already Corona-compromised birthday party. At some point during our 5 p.m. family Zoom celebration, I quietly left the room and went upstairs to lie down, writhe in pain, get back up, bend over, moan, repeat. This continued through the night Monday – and at one point, I remember thinking that labor wasn’t this bad and that I should probably go to the emergency room. In this new world we’re in, that thought was quickly dismissed by one word: COVID. I paced the floor at 3 a.m., alternately moaning and then bopping my head and sort of softly singing what kept running through my head, which was the chorus of The Knack’s 1979 hit song, “My Sharona.” Only my version went “My Corona.” Yes, even while suffering, I’m clever that way.

By Tuesday morning the pain had subsided. I was exhausted however, and slept throughout the day. “Tricia! Drink this! Jesus, she’s burning up.” It was the alarm in my husband’s voice that I responded to more than the command. I sat up, drank the water he was holding out to me, and when I caught my reflection in the mirror over the dresser I had the brief, feverously detached impression of someone who’d sat under a sun lamp for too long. Sun lamp, the words made me almost giggle out loud. Sun-lamp, sun-lamp, sun-lamp…Does anyone even know what that is anymore? A few hours later I had a virtual appointment with my regular GP, during which the decision was made for me to go to the office first thing Wednesday for a full exam. My instructions (my fever-addled brain again added the words “should I choose to accept them” - hehehe), for entering the building would come in the form a text.

My office exam was efficient and thorough. Upon arrival, I called the office and someone met me at a side door. As we were both masked and gloved, we nodded and murmured muffled greetings. Two PAs and an MD palpated my tender abdomen while I stifled screams. They decided that I should have a C-T scan that day, with the expectation that the offending culprit was a kidney stone. As many radiology facilities are currently closed, it took a few hours for them to locate one that would take me. My scan took place at 4:30. I was the last patient of their day.

Fast forward to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. I picked up the call, which was remarkable in itself because anyone who knows me knows how irritating it is that, a) my phone is always on silent mode, and, b) I rarely answer numbers I don’t recognize. It was another doctor from Vanguard, calling to let me know that my C-T scan showed no evidence of kidney stones – “Yay!” BUT, he cut in, it did show acute appendicitis. What I needed to do, he said, was to go directly to the nearest ER.

So here’s where this story really begins, because I was about to get a reality check regarding the difference between the inconveniences of “social distancing” and quite literally, matters of life and death. For those of us who are shuffling around at home in our sweatpants, eating too much, complaining about the buffoonery of our President, laughing at all the funny memes, and who are, to one degree or another, COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that health care workers do not have the luxury of ANY of that, here’s the newsflash: The Corona virus has virtually SHUT down normal operations for hospitals and surgical facilities, so if you’re also laughing in the face of social-distancing guidelines, and just can’t wrap your head around the possibility of contracting this deadly disease, know this too: If you break your arm, or your spouse has a heart attack, or your child’s strange rash won’t go away and you’re just really concerned, good luck. We are NOT in Kansas anymore, peeps.

I considered doing a bit of a negative a rant on the first hospital that I went to here, but perhaps that wouldn’t be fair. “The nearest ER” for me would have been another hospital, but due to their somewhat dubious reputation, we opted to go just a bit farther away. The best thing I can say about that experience was that the safety protocols to enter the ER were impressive. Picture the scene in E.T. where the Hazmat-suited guys from the space program find out about him and “invade” the house in a tunnel of white - then picture the people standing six feet apart outside of say, ShopRite, only these people don’t look so great. They’re kind of bent over, or swaying, or leaning on someone else. Then count your blessings that your gut hurts and you’re not bleeding out…or struggling to breathe.

Three hours later, after they’d reviewed my scans and completed all of the necessary pre-op tests (blood work, EKG, urine analysis), I got the word that most of the ORs were being used as ICUs for COVID patients, and they were only doing “emergent” surgeries. They sent me home with massive doses of antibiotics, and a referral to see their staff general surgeon - outpatient.

I figured they were right, too. Must not be very serious. I was doing well with that notion until the following morning, when I heard the barely concealed shock in the voice of my regular MD.

“Did they see your scans?” his tone serving only to increase my anxiety.

“Yeah. But my appendix hasn’t exploded yet.” I said.

“Ah,” he sighed, “I know things are being handled differently in the ‘current environment,’ but last time I checked, acute appendicitis was emergent.”

Okay, pay attention now, because here’s where it gets really interesting: See if you can answer his parting questions:

“Do you have a general surgeon? Preferably one with their own facility?”

So, do you? And if you do, are you sure they’re even open right now? I sure as hell didn’t (and the name they gave me at the hospital turned out to be for a doctor whose answering machine told me he was not seeing new patients). And the idea that it was now pretty much my problem to solve was a little intimidating – especially for someone who generally needs to be told that they’re sick (enough) or in (enough) pain to seek help—but that’s another story. Now that doctor, who I respect and like a lot, said he’d be trying to find me one, but that I should do my research as well.

My husband and I made a fairly long list of people/places to call, and split it. Those we were able to reach at all offered possible solutions to my dilemma, but each dead-ended pretty quickly. I focused on the task now, trying to ignore what it might mean that the ache in my belly seemed to be spreading down my right leg.

As of this writing, I have yet to hear back from my regular GP and yet, here I sit, post-op, able to get this down mostly because of a Facebook message I sent to one of the nurses in the Belleville Public School district. The only real help I got came from her, a nurse, who responded immediately to an “in-boxed” message, and kept responding for the next hour, sending me the names and phone numbers of doctors (sometimes with their credentials!), links to possible facilities, and words of encouragement. She gave me her personal cell phone number and encouraged me to call it if I had questions and/or to let her know how it was going. I felt like she meant it, too. I also think she was responsible for the first in a series of serendipitous events that just may have saved my life. One of the names she gave me turned out to be the dad of one of my kid’s friends.

At that point, things happened pretty quickly. I called him (at home) and told him my situation. In a matter of 20 minutes, he had my scans and had booked a time slot for me for same-day surgery at Clara Maass. He’s a high-energy, outgoing kind of guy, and although I’d stood on sidelines with him and his lovely wife at many a sports event, I don’t know him well enough, nor did I think it was appropriate to laugh out loud when he laid out the plan: “With everything going on, I just really want to do you – and get you the hell out of there!”

So here I am, more grateful to him than I can possibly express and having some time to consider just how random and crazy and dangerous that whole situation was (turns out, my appendix had begun to perforate after all, and the real fun was just beginning) and how fortunate I am.

But the real heroes here - Oh, and God, aren’t we all a little sick of the “hero” thing? – well get over it, and listen up! From the minute I walked through the door of Clara Maass yesterday, my experience was the best it could possibly have been. The nurses! OMG the nurses - I was in pre-op for hours. Lucky as I was to have been squeezed in to an already crowded surgical schedule, the truth of the matter was that my presence had required a quick shifting of resources—stretchers and space and - nurses. My sudden appearance in the queue was inconvenient, possibly even annoying. And yet all of them, including the nurse who ran the OR, came by to check on me, to give me extra blankets, to chat with me, and laugh with me. A friend’s daughter-in-law, who is a nurse there, got a text from him and even she came from three floors below just to say hello and charm me with her Australian accent and tired-but-twinkling blue eyes. I swear, for me? The whole experience was a cross between a weirdly sterile spa stay, and – as mine all happened to be women - a girls’ sleepover with your best girlfriends—only these were women I'd just met (but they’d also pretty much seen me naked, so, there’s that…).

Most of them were nearing the end of a 12-hour shift. As I lay there, relaxed and warm, reading and texting, they race-walked back and forth among those of us who waited, or were recovering. I lost count of how many times one of them asked me if I was okay, or if I needed something. They ate their dinners on the move, taking bites and then sprinting off, tearing off one set of gloves, putting on another. These people Do. Not. Sit. The sink was right near my bed, so I saw a lot of hand-washing traffic too, and a lot of red, chapped, over-sanitized hands. They spoke in soothing voices to those who were waiting, and possibly scared, and loud-enough voices for those emerging from the cloud of anesthesia to understand. Sometimes they shouted good-natured complaints to one another, or teased one another – and me, as when one started repacking those bags they give you for your clothes, amusement in her voice as she yelled, “What the hell did you do here, shove it all in like a little kid? Your purse is open – Maria, come over here and see this – she’s a mess!” Hahahaha! One came by and pointed to the cover of the book I was reading entitled “The Silent Patient”, and joked “That’s the kind we like!”

I even began to wonder if what I was getting was “special treatment” reserved for those whose surgeries were personally called-in by the surgeon. Once he arrived, however, it was clear that not only did they not know he was the one who got me in, but they chided him in the same affectionate way. At a point, I said to one of them, “Doctors think they’re all that, but nurses really run the show don’t they?” She winked at me and elbowed me a little, “Like husbands, honey – they just think they’re in charge!”

I lounged, for over four hours while they stood on what had to be tired feet, hands on hips as they talked to me, telling me which part of the hospital they’d spent the morning in, or where they were headed next in this crazy, all-hands-on-deck environment. We chatted about jobs and kids, and only when the topic of this deadly disease came up did the lack of words become conspicuous. Then it was all a mime of sad shakes of the head and downward glances.

It occurs to me today that after all of this, I'm not sure I would recognize any of them tomorrow if I saw them on street – nor they me. Of course, we were all masked. But maybe I would – if I could see their eyes again. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of all, those eyes conveyed a profound kindness. And laughter, and concern, and compassion, and dedication—and a toughness that allows them to do it all.

I'll tell you a secret: I am a person who often has a weird response to unexpected kindness - it makes me cry. I welled up more than once yesterday afternoon. I may have been just one of many for them – this is just what they do - but for me, a bond was made. I will always remember them.

Make no mistake: it’s no hardship to be home in your sweatpants with your gel manicure looking a little ratchet, and your spouse and kids seeming more like houseguests who have overstayed their welcome. Today, I want you to feel really, really blessed and grateful, and if you’re like me, a generally healthy person who never really gave too much thought to the job that these people do, I hope I was able to convey just a little of it.

That school nurse who rescued me put it this way: “I took an oath when I graduated just as physicians do. I have followed it for 28 years and it has never let me or my patients down.” That whole oath thing is good and important and all, but the heart behind it gives it grace.

So, if you get an invitation to do one of those car processions where you beep your horn and cheer for the local health care workers as they go in to, or leave, work– get in your car and go. Or, just mail them each a check for a million dollars. Either way.

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kmindset · 5 years

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Six Months

Pairing: Namjoon x Jimin x Reader

Word Count: 2119

Synopsis: This is about the vague deterioration of a polyamorous relationship when part of the triad can’t sustain a stable connection. It is about mutual love (or adoration) amongst all parties.

On AO3

Six months without Namjoon was going to be a long time.

Just thinking about it now was making your chest tight.

“Baby?” You looked over to Namjoon. His thoughtful eyes bore into you, knowing full well what was going on in your overactive brain. “Six months will breeze by you know.”

Existential thoughts weighed you down in your seat. “That’s half a year, Joon.”

“Woah, don’t let Jiminie hear you like this. He may be a little offended.” He tilted his head in the direction of the man sleeping soundly on your other side. You looked at his peaceful face. His hands rested against the window in such a way that his lips were adorably smushed. The older man was right, Jimin would most likely feel a little dejected at your strong feelings about Namjoon’s trip. You had voiced your sadness multiple times since he sat you two down to inform you but now that you were on the way to the airport it hit you. In less than 20 minutes, he would be waving until he was out of sight, going to navigate his way through the bustling airport to find the plane that would take him miles away from you.

At this thought, you wrapped your arms around his bicep with your head nestled in the crook of his neck. You could feel the vibrations of his low chuckle as clearly as you could hear it.

20 minutes until you have to say goodbye.

✒

You were crying now.

You hadn’t intended to be emotional but seeing him gather his luggage made a lump rise in your throat. Seeing Jimin’s small frame wrapping so completely by Namjoon’s form didn’t hold it’s usually endearing feeling. As you tried to mentally save the image, you broke down. You were sobbing so much you hadn’t even realized the two men had ended their hug for Namjoon to comfort you. You loved being engulfed by not only his size but his aura. He made everything feel alright and problems seem not so big.

But now he was leaving.

You wouldn’t feel like this for six whole months. In depth of your thoughts, you felt a soft hand gently stroke your hair. The three of you stayed in this manner of existing until Jimin spoke. “Namjoon, your flight is in an hour.”

The taller man sighed, knowing full well that if he wanted to get through check-in and security with time to spare that he needed to say his final goodbyes.

Another wave of sobs felt like they wanted to take over you as Namjoon took a step back but Jimin’s arms were around you in an instant. You hands fisted the material on his shirt in some vain attempt to hold it together. But they both knew better. The two exchanged somber glances before Namjoon put on a brave smile and waved goodbye spilling many goodbyes. Multiple languages, weird faces, almost falling on his own luggage before, just as you had prepared for, he disappeared into the security queue.

That’s when the sobs came full force.

✒

“I swear to god, you are the most frustrating human on the face of the fucking Earth.”

To say things hadn’t been going well would be an understatement. Three and a half weeks in and you felt like you were to snatch every follicle of hair out of your head.

If they didn’t fall out first.

Living without Namjoon was one thing, but dealing with Jimin on your own was another.

Every day was an uphill battle but there had yet to be any payoff. Despite how frustrated you’ve been, this was the first time you expressed it. Jimin was stunned.

He noticed you avoiding kisses here and an eye roll there but this wasn’t a small action, this was a outburst of pent-up rage. He even noticed the moment you realized what you said.

“I-I-”

His loss for words seemed to annoy you further as you grunted and pushed past him to retreat to your room and slam the door. You were fuming and over what?

Jimin not washing his bowl from breakfast.

Yes. That was what set you off. Jimin’s head was spinning. He hesitated at your door on the way his and Namjoon’s shared room but decided against bothering you. Something told him that in your current state just his face would anger you further.

Your thumb hovered over the button to call Namjoon but you decided not to. It hadn’t even been a month without him, alerting him to the turmoil at home would only worry him. You sighed and locked your phone.

✒

This was the last attempt at salvaging this.

“Fuck.”

He released a growl-like sound as you bit into his shoulder. There was so much pent-up rage, so much tension, so much sexual frustration.

He fucked you into the bed, every thrust another word he hadn’t had the courage to tell you in the moment of your anger.

The beginning of the night had filled the man’s head with more doubt than he’d felt in his life. Did you truly love him? Could your relationship survive any longer when it was hanging so helplessly by a thread that only he seemed to be willing to hold?

Now he was releasing.

Every swallowed rebuttal, every feeling of mistreatment, every lonely night; released with a string of dirty words and hard, rhythmic thrusts. Satisfaction growing from your mewls for more.

He relished the sensation of your body pressed against his. He missed it so much, he was eager to give you anything you wanted. All he wanted was for you to be happy.

Happy with him.

He pulled back to look into your eyes...and saw nothing.

You were fucked out and begging for all that he could give you but there was no emotion to be seen behind lust. Those eyes that so delicately sparkled at him and Namjoon in the mornings no longer sparkled.

Most days they held a fire. One that he was sure you would use against him if you could. A year ago if Jimin was in the same position he could look into your eyes and see the reverence to which you always alluded with your shy glances as he danced in the living room or looking up at him from your spot on his chest as he ran his fingers against your scalp.

He hid his face in your neck as the tears pricked his eyes. Your head moved to the side almost as if trying to get away from his intimate touch. He couldn’t handle this rejection.

You had become too lost in distancing your experience from his affections to notice him pulling almost completely out before slamming his hips against yours. You tried to scream in surprise but your mouth hung open in a soundless cry of ecstasy.

He pistoned his hips ruthlessly and soon added the pleasure of his fingers rubbing fiercely at your clit between the almost non-existent space between your bodies.

He was a man possessed. Completely taken over by the rejection piled five months high. You picked up on none of this, too caught in the net of your own pleasure to ponder the change in him.

He clenched his jaw, feeling your body arch into him as you hit your end. “F-Fill me up, J-Jimin.” You egged him on, sounding as fucked out as you looked.

He focused on everything he held in and how he was making you so crazy for him. Right as he was on the edge, he pulled out, releasing a warm load of cum right onto your sweaty stomach. You hoped he would cum inside you like you asked, suddenly feeling the need to be close to him, to feel him everywhere. You barely opened your eyes until you feel something cold swiping across your abdomen.

‘Ever the saint, huh, soft ass pushover.’ he silently chastised himself.

Much to your malaise, by the time you could find the words to question why he ignored your request he was already gone.

It was only, three hours into your sleepless night, you realized you fucked up.

Big time.

✒

‘There is no way this is enough packing tape.’

Many curses spin in your head as you looked around at the mess of a space you called a room. Boxes and clothes were askew in every corner.

A voice in the back of your head, surely the one you were actively repressing, was trying to bring forward your sense of fault and heartache so you settled for melancholy. That was all you allowed yourself to experience.

It was in your moment of rest that you saw a figure. Slightly startled, you fell from your squat back onto your butt.

He raised his eyebrows.

“Are you going to hover in my doorway or will you talk to me?”

Without a word, he turned and ambled away.

Sigh. There was no fixing this.

✒

Hearing his voice broke your heart like nothing else you could imagine.

“W-W-Why?” He sputtered and sobbed, barely able to get the single word out. You held the phone at an angle to keep him from hearing your silent cries that were become more audible with every broken syllable he uttered.

“Hyung...Joonie, breathe.” You could hear Jimin trying to console him from the background. “You have to breathe baby.”

He had only been back in the country an hour but he cried more than he ever had in the course of that hour. Your bedroom was void of any trace of you and Jimin was not the same as he was before.

His strong face was hiding the details of his ordeal without his boyfriend there. It seemed neither were going to give him an answer as to why their happy little home had been thrown off kilter. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle the truth anyway.

✒

Life had become drab and disappointing but what could you do but shuffle on with hope for better days?

The theatre you worked for closed due to low attendance and with few options for work, none permanent, you took a job stocking the shelves in the convenience store by your tiny apartment.

You were mindlessly scanning and stocking when you heard a familiar “Excuse me.”

You looked up to the person cautiously reaching over your shoulder for the candy. The person froze as realization seemed to hit you both simultaneously.

He blinked before standing upright and ducking his head briefly in a lazy bow.

“Jimin.” You spoke his name just to see if the name could still roll off your tongue.

He said your name in response. It was dryer than your mouth in that moment. After a moment of you gawking at him in disbelief, he gave an awkward expression and began to turn away.

“Namjoon’s favorite kimbap was restocked. I’m sure he’d love if you brought some home.”

Jimin stopped. “That won’t be necessary. We’re not together anymore.”

“Why?”

“He said we grew apart but I know he blamed me for you leaving.”

He answered, scratching the nape of his neck. His discomfort was clear.

“How do you know that?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose in obvious annoyance*. “Because I know you two, _____.” He glared at you. “Every lie you told, or hidden emotion. Each and every over baring day that Namjoon tried to keep us from worrying about.” He paused, gaze softening to a tired look of defeat. “Everything you two hid, wasn’t hidden from me.”

There was nothing to say to that. Memories that came to mind confirmed his statement. The memory of the day your design book was ruined and Jimin sang to you was first. You thought you hid it so well. Or when Namjoon was worried he may get demoted for something out of his control and Jimin simply began to dance and dragged Joon up with him. You hadn’t realized anything was wrong until later. The man truly had a second sight for distress.

As if he read your mind he said, “The only thing I couldn’t see was the end of the best thing that has ever happened to me. But I have spent countless nights thinking about it from my makeshift bed on Taehyung’s couch and I came to the conclusion it couldn’t have ended any other way.”

You simply sighed and returned to stocking the shelves you abandoned. “Go home.”

“You were my home.”

You turned back but he was already trudging away.

The words playing in your head over and over again, digging the knife further into the heavy guilt nestled on your heart.

You were my home.

#jimin angst #jimin smut #poly bts #namjoon angst #bts angst #bts smut

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noona-clock · 6 years

Text

First Impression

Genre: Museum!AU

Pairing: Youngjae (Got7) x You

By Admin B

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Youngjae paused, his right foot still lifted up in the air, in the middle of a step. His hands, which were clutching the straps of his backpack, squeezed a little bit tighter in anticipation. Had he just seen what he thought he’d seen?

He set his foot back down. He took a couple of steps backward. His gaze shifted to the large poster advertisement on the inside of the bus station.

Yep. He had just seen what he thought he’d seen.

A Renoir exhibit was coming to the local art museum. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of the leading painters in the ever popular, revolutionary Impressionist movement in the 19th century.

And Youngjae just so happened to be getting his Master’s Degree in Art History. And writing his thesis on Impressionism.

So now you understand why he had to stop walking and make sure he’d read the advertisement correctly. An exhibit like this could help write... twenty or more pages of his thesis! I mean, just the inspiration alone from seeing these paintings in real life! It was incredibly thrilling to think about...

He was such an art nerd, my god.

As he began walking again, his feet once more heading forward in the direction of his just slightly off-campus apartment, Youngjae slid his phone out of his back pocket and pulled up the art museum’s website. A grin pulled at his lips when he saw the Renoir painting front and center on the main page, the dates of the exhibit laid out in black, bold font underneath it. And underneath that, a red box with a link to buy tickets.

He was a poor graduate student - a poor graduate, art student, even - but he would shell out fifteen bucks to go see this exhibit. It would be more than worth it.

By the time he reached his apartment, he’d already purchased his tickets. The exhibit was starting in two days, and he would be visiting in three. After shrugging off his backpack and letting it slide to the floor in his small foyer, Youngjae shuffled over to his somewhat tattered, very worn secondhand couch. He plopped down with a soft sigh, swinging his legs up and resting his ankles on the armrest at the other end.

He’d visited the art museum before, of course, but it had been a long time since he’d been this excited to see an exhibit. He wasn’t sure if it was because it was relevant to his studies or because he just really did love Impressionist paintings; either way, the anticipation was already breathing down his neck, making his spine tingle and his hair stand up on end.

It sounded strange - it probably was strange - but Youngjae had the sort of eerie feeling that this exhibit would change things for him. It would give him that bit of motivation he needed to finish his thesis and make it through the rest of his last semester of grad school. He would graduate, find a job, be immersed in art, and pretty much reach his true Youngjae form.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself, rolling his eyes at how utterly optimistic he was being. But he couldn’t help it. Positivity had always done wonders for him, so why stop now? Even if the exhibit turned out to be... just an exhibit, he would still enjoy himself.

Now he just had to wait three days. Three long, excruciating days.

When Youngjae had purchased his tickets for the exhibit, he’d selected the earliest available date and time, not even bothering to work around his schedule. His ticket ended up being right in the middle of his French class... but he was sure his professor would understand! Honestly, she would probably be jealous. He was going to see French paintings done by a French artist in the height of one of the most French artistic movements in history.

So... he didn’t really feel that bad.

But, on the off-chance she asked why he’d been absent, he would still probably say he’d been sick.

Just to be safe.

About a half hour before the time on his ticket, Youngjae boarded the city bus, his heart racing with excitement and his stomach a bundle of joyful nerves. He was ready to see the paintings and jot down whatever thoughts came into his head, whatever details he could observe, whatever emotions rose to the surface. So ready.

The bus engine rattled and vibrated underneath him as he sat on the hard, plastic seat. The trees from campus whizzed past the windows, slowly morphing into the buildings and bustling streets of the city as they neared the museum.

When the driver rolled to a stop in front of the sprawling, all-white building, its clean, modern architecture such a contrast to the messy, historical paintings now housed inside, Youngjae sprang from his seat and skipped down the aisle. Well, as much as the semi-crowded bus would allow, at least.

He shot the driver a wide, bright smile, lifting his hand in a wave and thanking him for his service. The cool, breezy air hit Youngjae’s face as he stepped off the bus, the feeling momentarily reminding him that Spring was just around the corner. But then the sight of the museum pulled him back to the present, and he hurried up to join the queue to get inside.

Once he’d scanned his ticket and grabbed a pamphlet about the temporary exhibit, he began to meander his way through the galleries. He was there to see the Renoir paintings, of course, but he wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to see other works of art, too. The museum had something for everyone: sculptures, portraits, pieces of furniture, photography, tapestries. European art, American art, Folk art, African art, modern art - you name it, this museum probably had it.

Youngjae spent probably two hours in the permanent exhibits, studying as many pieces as he could. Even though they had nothing to do with his thesis, he just loved art. I mean... why else would he be getting a degree in Art History, right?

When he - finally - arrived at the Renoir exhibit, he quietly slid his backpack off one arm and reached inside to grab his notebook. He wanted to write down every little thing he could, not just for his thesis but also for his memory. The exhibit was only here for about three weeks, and there was no guarantee he would be able to come again. He wanted to, of course, but time and money were in short supply for a grad student.

The first painting on display was one of Youngjae’s favorites, Girls at the Piano. It was one of his later works, and the colors weren’t quite as vivid as his earlier paintings. Maybe that’s why he liked it so much; it was still very much Renoir, but it was also different. It stood out from the rest.

Youngjae bent his head over his notebook, scribbling down every thought in his mind right now. It didn’t matter if the thought didn’t make sense - he still wanted to record it, just in case.

After he’d seen about three paintings, something else caught his eye. His gaze shifted from his loopy, scrawling handwriting to the doorway of the gallery. He had no idea why he felt the need to look up in this particular direction, but when he did, he saw you.

He didn’t know it was you, of course. And you didn’t realize it was you.

But it was.

You were standing there, your posture upright but also relaxed, in a way. You were dressed more professionally than any of the tour guides, but you were still wearing a name tag, so you obviously worked here. You also weren’t talking to any of the museum patrons, but you did lean over and whisper something to a nearby security guard.

If Youngjae hadn’t noticed you, he probably wouldn’t have noticed you. It sounds dumb, but you were doing nothing to attract his attention. You were simply standing in the doorway to the gallery, observing and hardly making any noise. He had just so happened to look up in your direction and see you.

He tried to divert his attention back to the paintings since they were the real reason he’d come... but even as he wound his way through the maze of the gallery, he found his focus kept wandering from the artworks.

He kept thinking about you.

Who were you? What did you do? What did you think of Renoir? Were you as good-looking up close as you seemed from far away?

It was strange, actually. Youngjae had never experienced something like this before. Even with the people he’d dated in the past, he’d never been quite this intrigued. Especially without even knowing anything about them. He’d only seen you for the first time about twenty minutes ago, and for goodness’ sake, he hadn’t even spoken to you. You didn’t even know he existed!

But his first impression of you was so remarkably powerful and compelling. You just seemed like a remarkably powerful and compelling person, just by standing there.

By the time Youngjae made his way through the whole exhibit, he’d decided he couldn’t let the fact he was busy and poor keep him from coming back here. The draw of the paintings and the pull of you, whoever you were, was much too strong.

He would be returning, even if he had to skip another French class to do it.

Part 2

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dragonofyang · 5 years

Text

ABTV Feb 25 Transcript

A complete transcript of the ABTV Voltron interview with Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery on February 25 2019 is under the cut.

@crystal-rebellion @voltronisruiningmylife @felixazrael @leakinghate

KC: The series is over, but we’re not quite done. We are the Afterbuzz TV Voltron: Legendary Defender after-show and we’re here to talk to you guys about season 8 as a whole. We’re gonna talk about character arcs. We’re gonna talk about the end of reality. We’re going to talk about some of our favorite moments, and we’re gonna talk about them with two very special guests. So let’s get this ball rolling and team, it’s time to form Voltron!

KC: Hello, everyone! Welcome back. We are the Afterbuzz TV Voltron: Legendary Defender after-show. This is the season 8 review. We are gonna talk about season 8 as a whole. We are going to have a grand old time doing it. I have with me a green lion, Megan Salinas.

MS: Hey, everybody!

KC: I’m black lion, Katie Cullen, and we have two wonderful, fantastic, returning guests that we are so thrilled to have in studio. Our showrunners: Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim dos Santos.

JDS: How’s it going?

MS: [cheers off-screen]

JDS: It’s nice to see you guys.

LM: Yeah, thanks for having us. We’re happy to be back and talking about the final season.

JDS: Yeah, and we have to sort of give a pre-warning that we haven’t really watched it in a while, so we aren’t really sure what season 8 is anymore.

LM: Yeah, I did, I refreshed myself on the, uh, episode thumbnails on Netflix, so at least I have like, a slight reminder.

JDS: Yeah and they spoil everything for you.

KC: No, just me.

[laughter]

KC: Things I will never be over: when Netflix marketing screws up that bad. Well, welcome back. Before we get started we are gonna do a little bit of housekeeping. As always, we have the livechat going for those of you who are watching live on YouTube. We have the hashtag for those of you who are watching live or listening later. That hashtag is #ABTVVoltron. If you’ve got something to say, throw it in the hashtag, throw it in the live chat, you may well get a shoutout. I will say that we do check the hashtag throughout the week, and it lasts longer than the livechat does, so art, links, fun stuff, throw it in there if you want it to be a little more permanent. And as always, we have our tavern of lions house rule: be nice or get out. We--[laser sound effect]--there we go. Yeah. Everyone has opinions. I firmly believe you can express your opinions in a respectful manner and if you find yourself unable to do that, you will be banned from the channel. No more Afterbuzz animation for you. Buh-bye. Most of you have been pretty dang good at that, which I appreciate. Keep it up and we’ll continue. Season 8, though, you guys.

MS: Oh my goodness.

KC: The series finale. What was releasing this last season like for you?

LM: It was…

JDS: Exhausting.

LM: Yeah. Releasing it was really easy because we were, like, out of, you know--

MS: It’s done!

LM: --out of work for, like, a month and we were like, [noncommittal noises]. We were relaxing, we were kind of like--things were nice and slow. Making it was a whole different scenario. This was where we really procrastinated a lot on a few things, like, we thought we had this beautiful idea that we’d have all this time at the end where there’s no new episodes coming up that we’d have to make and like, we’ll have all this time to, like, reboard all these things that needed to be reboarded and focus all this attention. And we had none of that time, and I don’t even know how that happened. I think what we forgot to realize was doing our regular producer duties takes the whole day, and the end of the day was when we did all of our storyboard stuff.

JDS: I think, I don’t know how the math worked in our head, but I think we assumed that, like, as soon as season 7 was done, we reverted back to being, like, storyboard artists or something, and then we’d just be like, “yeah, we’ll just, like, draw and stuff again.”

LM: Yeah, we’ll have all this time to just, like, make the finale the best it can be. Like, I remember us talking with Eugene, like, “Oh my god, Jean. Eugene, when we’re done with, like, this last batch of episodes can you imagine how much time.” And he’s like, “Yeah, it’s gonna be so great!” And then, like, there was none of that because we were still making the frickin’ show and finishing, like, episodes just in editing and in post.

JDS: Balancing act was still happening, you know, like three spinning plates at a time.

LM: One day, I’m gonna figure it out.

KC: Sending it in at 11:59 before it’s due.

JDS: We’re gonna be, like, 80-year-olds like, “We figured it out!” And they’re gonna be like, “What’s this crazy old person doing here trying to make a cartoon?”

KC: That’s what we’re all trying to do collectively. We’re making a cartoon.

JDS: That’s right.

KC: So you had a lot of story threads to bring together and resolve as well as a lot of new information to give us. Was there… was there anything that got lost in the shuffle? Was there anything you would have liked to emphasize a little more that there just wasn’t time for it?

JDS: A lot, I mean yeah. It-it’s tough. We had this massive Honerva backstory to sort of really set up and queue up, and-and we were able to do that a little bit, sort of, leading up, but season 8 was really our big push to-to get that all set up. I think, you know, that came at the cost of, like, I would have loved to have spent more time with the MFE pilots and sort of figure out what made them tick. And we got a little bit of that with, you know, like, “Day 47”, but…

LM: Yeah.

JDS: I don’t know. There was stuff like that, like incidental side characters that we just were-we were super fond of.

LM: Yeah, it’s one of those really tricky things about having a show this big. As you introduce all these characters, and we had all these great ideas of, like, they’re all gonna come into play in these many different ways. And-and so you would be, kind of, in the writers’ room with the writers, like, talking about all these things. And then slowly but surely as we needed to just kind of whittle it down and make it understandable and get the strongest points across, like, these little things would fall away and so suddenly you’d lose that-that kind of side character involvement. Like, we had this idea of, like, Slav was gonna kind of be, like, with them and figuring out all of these, like, crazy interreality traveling stuff and like he would know all the realities, he would know exactly where to go, he’ll be in the cockpit with them--

JDS: Right, right, right.

LM: --it’s gonna be crazy. And then we were like, “Oh, no. We need to just, like--do we really need Slav in the finale? Like--

KC: Yes you do.

LM: --with all the paladins? Like, we love him, but that might be a little awkward. So, uh, yeah. And honestly, just, like, the finale itself, just that last episode, like, we’ve always…

JDS: Yeah.

LM: With every finale we’ve done, um, in-in our three, like, big seasons, we--you know, Zarkon we consider to be one season, Lotor is the second season, and then this big, like, Sendak Earth/Honerva arc--each of those had a big finale and every time we would write that big finale and we would run out of time. Like, we would overwrite it and I would always try to say, like, “Guys, we need, like, at least an act of wrap-up.” And then for the big series finale, like, it would have been awesome to have an entire episode where we could just dedicate to, like, tying up loose ends, but you can’t do that. We-we wrote an episode and then we got notes like, “Hey, there’s only action in act 1, can we have action in act 2 and 3?” And we’re like, “No! No we can’t!” Like, like, we gotta wrap up 78 episodes! This isn’t just a, uh, a 26 episode wrap-up. This is a 78 episode wrap-up.

JDS: But when you-when you look at that final episode, it really is just the first act of, like, fight stuff and the rest is pretty much wrap-up. Uh, I mean, we were just saying to each other, we wished that the conversation in limbo almost could have had its own episode. How awesome would that have been to really, like, explore, deep-dive into Honerva’s POV and make that transition when she, you know, sort of decides to go along with Allura. Sell that. Uh, but, you sort of deal--

LM: It was--there’s a ton of stuff that just hit the-hit the, kinda, cutting room floor, storyboard-wise, just because we didn’t have the time and so we’re looking like, it’s a kids’ show technically still, even though we’re trying to make it more than that. You have a-a scene that’s basically an act long that’s just in a white floaty space with people talking about, like, you know--

JDS: Bigger emotional stuff

LM: Yeah. And, uh, you know, letting that go any longer than that is just like, “You can’t do it!”

KC: Yeah.

LM: “Kids are sleeping right now!”

JDS: No it’s, what’s interesting, though, is that it seems like we’re in a--I don’t know--sort of social situation now where those types of shows are becoming more and more of a reality. And we were on this, like, weird precipice where we were always working on shows that were pushing the boundaries, and maybe Voltron was on the tipping point. It seems like now animation is way--it’s broadening, like, every day, so hopefully we’ll be able to see more shows that can, like, lean in and get really, really character-centric and still have all the sci-fi, like, big action stuff to go along with it. Um,

LM: I was telling Joaquim how, you know, we were just talking about how during our time on Voltron we-we started in a very specific point in the industry where we were very used to working inside of our boys toys animation box and trying to push the boundaries. And those were literally the only jobs that were available to us because those were the only shows that studios had in animation and during our time on Voltron, like Castlevania came out and changed the landscape and now suddenly there’s all these studios. Netflix opened its own studio here. We were making a show through DreamWorks for Netflix and now, you know, we could have just gone straight to Netflix and made a show that was more geared towards, like, young adults and-and more, but that wasn’t available to us when we started.

JDS: We were, like, trying to, like, like, sneak it in the back door like “this is secretly a much deeper show, everybody.”

LM: But it’s exciting that--because that’s--it’s a reality that we didn’t know if it would ever be a thing because we were working on Korra and we would say to ourselves, like, “This is the last time we’re ever gonna get this chance, you guys.” Like, Korra is, like, a crazy creature where Nickelodeon knows they’re not making it for kids, it has no toy tie-in, has no consumer products tie-in, it’s just meant to be kind of an art project at the studio. And so it was allowed to be this very mature, different show for an audience that they didn’t really understand. And-and so when it was over we were like, “Alright, well, back to the old way.” Uh, you know, we were prepared for it and we, you know, we definitely had more of, like, a fun campy vibe to Voltron, but we still wanted to try to push those bigger themes--

JDS: I think we maximized as much of the, like, sort of pathos and-and sort of hero’s journey and sort of deep character introspective stuff as we could.

KC: Yeah.

JDS: But, you know, it’s-it’s funny too because it just seems, maybe even to ourselves, but it seemed like the lines got blurred even in how it was, uh, uh, received by the fandom and received by, even like, the media outlets. It was-it was sort of, like, on the cusp of being talked about, you know, with other shows that were way more mature like, “Oh, the Game of Thrones of it all” and it’s like “[hesitant honking noise].”

[laughter]

KC: “We didn’t kill that many pe--oh we did kill that many people. We ended reality!”

MS: [indistinct] way more people than Game of Thrones.

JDS: So we did. We did-we pushed the boundaries.

LM: Yeah, and we would--we’d find ourselves getting compared to shows that we were… like live-action shows where, like, “Oh, they should have done it like this,” and it’s like, “That, that would be awesome if that were an option at all--”

JDS: Right, right, right.

LM: “--in any way.” But, uh, us-us to consider our, like, little robot lion show being made, us trying to make this show for as many people as possible under the guidelines of a “boys toys” show, it’s never gonna be able to have, like, quite the ability to push farther that, like, a live-action, like Walking Dead on AMC that’s at 10 o’clock at night specifically for adults where you don’t have to worry about “how are my kids gonna do with this?”

KC: If your kids are watching Walking Dead, you have other problems.

MS: Either that or you’re the best parent in the world.

KC: Uh, disagree.

MS: Agree to disagree!

KC: Disagree!

MS: But was it that sort of desire to push the boundaries that, sort of, resulted in this climax where, “Yeah, we have the big action set piece leading up to it,” but ultimately the resolution is one that’s brought up from empathy and understanding.

JDS: I think so. And I think--I will say DreamWorks was incredibly patient with us with regards to us broaching a lot of these subjects. They were, you know, maybe still figuring things out in terms of how they would approach, you know, other topics that we can-we can get into a little later. But I would say the finale is almost--I don’t know, I don’t want to say unlike anything you would see in other like-minded shows, like, let’s say Transformers or Power Rangers or something that, like, Voltron was by outward appearances being compared to--but it was something, I think, really exciting for us to be able to explore because we did create villains and create heroes that worked within this very, kind of like, shades of gray spectrum. There was-there was-there was black, there was white, but we played in this really weird, morally-ambiguous zone a lot of the time and that was, I think it’s important for, kind of, audiences of every age group to see that.

LM: And, you know, we also came from working on shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra which very much pushed those boundaries as well, and were extremely groundbreaking for, you know, children’s programming and it was not something that was coming out of western animation. So, uh, I mean we, I would say we learned an insane amount from Mike and Bryan.

JDS: We just had to reverse-engineer that into the goofy cat lady. [Hosts laugh] You know what I mean? That was, like, that was our, like, little-little trick to the industry. It was like, “How do we do all that cool stuff that-that we were able to do in those shows and sort of cram it into this package?”

LM: Yeah, and honestly, like, a lot of it was just us knowing that our ability to, like, show everything on-screen, like, every type of representation we might have wanted to show. We might not get our way on everything, but at least through having these larger lessons we can-we can still push those messages of acceptance and of understanding and of, like, looking beyond. And you know, those are just important messages. I think, like, everyone kind of learns them in their life in their own way and, uh, I don’t know, like, I was such a little, like, asshole kid [Hosts laugh] that, like, I, like, didn’t understand empathy. I didn’t understand why people cried when they were happy, I was like, “Why would you cry when you’re happy? Like, you’re happy.” And then, of course, now I’m the woman who watched a T-Mobile commercial today and friggin’ cried, so--

JDS: I want to know what this commercial was.

LM: It was beautiful. I’ll describe it to you after because I don’t want to take time.

[Laughter]

LM: But uh--

KC: Advertising other brands, uh, [concerned noise].

LM: But uh, you know, there-there are things that come through, I think, life experience and through learning and our paladins had that, kind of, on steroids with their whole Voltron journey, so you know, to really show how that manifested and how they learn from it was… it’s important, and it-I think it’s just important for kids to see it, even if they’re not there in their life yet, to know when they get there they look back and, like, “Oh, I-I saw that, like--”

JDS: “I saw that happening to that character.”

KC: To be able to see it happen to someone else and someone that you’re invested in because, “Oh, it’s Lance! He’s my favorite!” and then you watch him grow from this brat to the right arm of Voltron. Yeah, actually I think this is a good point to start talking about character arcs in this season.

MS: I think so! Yeah!

KC: Let’s talk about Honerva. Let’s talk about this horrorterror! She’s-she is amazing and horrifying and not the villain I expected to make it to the very end. Here we are, I’m impressed.

JDS: Let me ask you, though, were you at all sympathetic to her and her, sort of, cause [indistinct]?

MS: 100%. Um, it-it’s so--she was one of the most fascinating characters to watch because once she gets her memory back and she realized--you know, contextually-speaking we as the audience find out who she is at the same time she does--uh, you, you slowly start to realize how much of this entire scenario she’s responsible for whether inadvertently or not. And so it’s so fascinating watch her refusal to take responsibility for her part in it but still desperately wanting that sym--you know, the human connections that she was denied. You know, human, so to speak.

JDS: Sure.

MS: Altean!

JDS: Altean.

KC: It’s telling that the perfect world that she found to slot herself into is the dimension where she died. [MS makes an agonized noise] Where-where this whole--

JDS: She was taken out of the equation?

KC: Yeah, it’s possible that it’s a dimension where the comet never happened because Voltron was obviously a surprise. The alliances were still there but the giant robots were, “You’ve brought this monster down upon us, what are you?”

JDS: Right.

KC: So it’s-it’s telling that that’s the perfect dimension that she found is the one where she died super early on.

MS: And correct me if I’m wrong, but her--to obtain the perfect world--she was also basically willing to kill infinite versions of her son and her husband in order to get what she deemed she was worthy of.

JDS: Well, I--that’s, and that’s sort of like the misdirected love, right? Like, she was in one hand looking for the acceptance and the love of family that she never had, but she was blind to everything else, all the other chaos that she was causing as a result. That to me is-is interesting. I feel, you know--

LM: Yeah. It’s an interesting character. It’s not necessarily, like, the most honorable by any means, but you know, characters, when you can understand why they want it but then you see them doing things that are absolutely unacceptable to get it, it’s like you know it’s wrong but you know, you can-can kind of understand--

JDS: We’re hearing crackle in our ears, everybody. [Hosts laugh] That might be me, I’m just gonna go ahead and put it on the floor.

MS: It’s probably mine.

KC: It’s--your phone case doesn’t like the table. It-it’s, no seriously, it’s super weird and I’m pretty sure it’s your phone case. Sorry, I was trying to do that silently so I didn’t interrupt you.

JDS: I was going to call attention to it, please carry on, sorry.

LM: Oh no, we were talking about Honerva, or something.

KC: Great podcasting.

LM: Yeah, there-there’s something really incredible, like, interesting to me about her, kind of victim mentality where she-she really won’t accept that, like, a lot of this is her fault. She just looks at, basically, like, she’s lost her whole life. She’s witnessed it not knowing that it was hers, realizing looking back on all the things she should have done differently, that she could have done differently and it’s kind of, you know, she’s kind of trying to point that blame. I was like, “Well, if I--the quintessence hadn’t, uh-duh-duh,” you know, she-she’ll turn it on everyone except her, even though she was right there, you know, kind of diving into this whole quintessence research and bringing this whole thing about.

KC: “It’s Voltron’s fault.”

[MS laughs]

JDS: But it was also cool, I think, you know, one of the things that I was really surprised of in the room--I don’t really remember how it came up--was the notion that when she shows up in this reality and then Voltron follows, they’re like, “Why have you brought this, like, demon monster to our world?” It’s a-it’s-it’s a-it’s a crazy, sort of, flip of the script where really, you know, Voltron was doing good, but in a lot of people’s eyes and it’s, you know, in a certain people’s eyes, it could be seen as--

LM: I mean, you wouldn’t know. You wouldn’t know any better.

JDS: --bringing chaos.

MS: Voltron was the robeast in that scenario.

JDS: That’s right!

MS: You know, it’s like, “Look at this giant monstrosity that’s gonna wreak havoc on our planet.”

KC: Because Honerva parked hers out back.

LM: She was smart enough to store it off-planet, wink wink.

JDS: And we were talking a little bit before this about, you know, how there’s this portion of the fandom that’s like, “How could you, like, justice for Lotor!” and-and where, you know, “where is his redemption” and “how could you kill him off?” and obviously, you know, we feel we’re coming from a point of, you know, he’s gone so far off the deep end that-that death was really the only, sort of, salvation that he had on some level. But it’s interesting that it was-it was Lotor in that reality, there was a version of Lotor that was, you know, unaffected and uncorrupted, and-and you know, doesn’t come from that-that kind of horrific background that our Lotor did that, uh, was in essence, kind of kicked off everything being turned on Honerva’s plans.

KC: Yeah.

MS: It really does highlight how a person’s, like, the circumstances that they find themselves in really do have an effect on the person they become.

JDS: Right.

KC: But it’s also a matter of choice. Like, this up--these awful, awful things happen to him, like there’s no question that Lotor would have turned out better had his parents been physically capable of empathy. They’re kind of zombies, so it’s an issue.

JDS: There’s nature versus nurture.

KC: That’s not the weirdest thing I’ve said today.

JDS: Aww.

KC: That’s not the weirdest thing I’ve said today. Um, but even after all that happened, he made the choice to go, “You know what? Fine! Violence it is!” And lean super hard into that curve, even while he was still going, “Oh no, I don’t want to mess with my Galra heritage. Oh no, I’d rather be an Altean. Oh no, this.” Like…

JDS: Right. And-and that’s--I think that noncleanliness of, like, where he fits in and, like, the villain category, or the hero category, or the character that’s going to be redeemed, or… That is an area that we like to play in and sometimes does not have the answers that everybody’s sort of hoping for, you know.

LM: We’d like to blur those lines, but sometimes, you know, the lines are blurred, therefore the fans have their own interpretations, but ultimately it’s a story, guys. And not everyone gets to have a happy ending in the story.

JDS: I will say he was beautiful.

[laughter]

JDS: He had beautiful hair.

KC: He did!

JDS: And him and Allura together look beautiful together.

MS: Mm-hmm!

KC: This is very true.

LM: Oh, you’re treading into some dangerous territory there, buddy.

JDS: But, you know, I will--that, you know, that isn’t from a story perspective, sort of, place to, uh--

LM: Yeah.

JDS: --to work back from if that makes sense.

KC: Yeah, but, you ever see those beautiful flowers and then you go to smell them and they smell like death itself? That’s kinda that.

JDS: Hell of a point. MS: I still ship it, but no! It does not work within the framework of the narrative in any capacity.

JDS: Sure, sure.

KC: Look, there is a universe in which it happened and it was fine, this is not that universe.

MS: And that’s the--

JDS: And that’s the beauty of more--

MS: Multiverse stories! There’s an AU where it totally worked out and everyone was happy.

LM: Yes, and there’s comics to be written, fanfics, go crazy.

KC: Yeah.

MS: Yeah, well, and ultimately it’s the memory of what he was trying to do that brings Honerva around.

JDS: Exactly. Yeah. And so there was, there was goodness in him, like, you can’t-you can’t deny that. But, um, some actions are, you know, really your only way out.

KC: You kinda gotta--

JDS: From a story perspective is you gotta, you gotta kind of pay that ultimate price.

KC: Well, for Lotor there was some good in him, but uh, cool motive, still murder.

MS: So much murder!

KC: Lots and lots of murder!

JDS: Totally involved a ton of murder.

KC: Yeah, pretty sure all of the battery Alteans are super dead because I don’t think anyone else found that moon.

MS: Yeah!

JDS: Right.

MS: Talk to Bandor if you wanna hear about why Lotor doesn’t get a redemption arc.

[KC makes uncomfortable noises]

MS: I’m sure Romelle would love to hear your thoughts on that.

JDS: By the way, when that episode came out, and when we were getting, like, the recording, we couldn’t stop saying to each other, “Bandor! Bandor!” Like, we loved that read so much, like, and we love that name.

[Hosts laugh]

LM: Bandor.

JDS: Oh, Bandor.

MS: Well there were-there were a lot of fun--talking about that--there were a lot of fun references to the original series in this season. Like at the very beginning we actually have a clip from the original series playing.

KC: We did! “I don’t sound like that!” God bless Bex and their ability to sound like that.

JDS: Yeah.

LM: We, uh, we love the original show and we always had this silly idea because we played with so many different realities that, like, what if in our reality the show it’s, it’s technically live-action to them and it’s being made about them. And so it’s like, because here we are making a show that’s based on that show, and I was like, “Ooh, what if that show was based on our show?”

JDS: It’s super meta, it’s like inverse meta.

LM: It was just funny to us that, like, we could work it in. And we always wanted to work it in in some way just because, you know, we love it and we like to pay homage to it. But that, like, we-we joked about it and we actually had a few more references, like, in the episode. I ended up way super-overwriting that episode, so we cut a bunch of stuff, like, you know like the rookie writer mistake. Um, but, uh--

JDS: It was all gold, it was all gold. It just had to go.

LM: Yes.

[Hosts laugh]

LM: I paid him to say that.

MS: You have to kill your darlings.

KC: Yup.

LM: But, uh, there was a scene where they were gonna see, like, the Sven dies scene. Shiro wasn’t there, though, but like, Eddie was like, “Hunk and Keith were, like, at little viewing party with, like, Hunk’s family.” And uh, and then they see the scene, they’re like, “Wow, they’re really taking some liberties” like--

[laughter]

LM: “--they were making their own story about the paladins.” And it was just--

KC: There wasn’t a space hospital!

JDS: That’s right.

MS: I would have expired. I would not be here right now if that had happened because I would have died laughing.

KC: I would’ve been doing this show on my own this season.

JDS: There-there was a version of it.

LM: It never made it, it never even really made it past, like, the roughs and storyboard, ‘cuz again, like, I so overwrote that episode that we just started hacking stuff out.

JDS: There was also, Tim Hedrick did an amazing Pidge in the room and a lot of, like, us being so obsessed with him was just going like, “Waaaahhhh?” If ever something was, like, confusing he would just go “waaahhhhh”. Bring in more OG Pidge. Bex.

KC: Yeah, Bex’s ability to emulate that voice.

JDS: Oh, she nailed it.

KC: Oh yeah, they are just wonderful.

MS: They’re amazing.

LM: Yeah, we got to do that, we got to have the little nod to, like, Pidge’s outfit and Allura’s outfit that, like, kind of goes by real quick.

MS: Those are so fun.

KC: That was pretty great.

MS: That montage. And then we got Chip at the end, too! And Vehicle Voltron!

LM: I know! Like, we’re the biggest trolls ever, like, “here’s a show we’re never gonna make!”

KC: That and the epilogue about, “They made the next generation of Voltron!” and it’s like, “it’s happening. It’s happening!”

JDS: We queued it up real nicely for whoever wants to do it, by the way.

LM: Yeah, you know, if anyone wants to take that. But, uh, we, you know, I, so, I’m just gonna admit I never watched Vehicle Voltron.

JDS: How dare you.

KC: Same, I had to google what Chip was.

LM: But, uh, you know, like, I did my research. Like, there’s a cool idea to-idea to it there and-and my husband and I were originally recently watching Patlabor--how they call it, that’s what they call it on the thing--Patlabor.

JDS: That’s probably close.

LM: They call Labors. Patlabor was what we always called it, but they’re called Labors and it’s this, like, cop mech show and it’s really clever, like, it’s fun because they have mechs and they’re cops and they just, kind of, episode to episode do cop things. And I was like, “Well, if you’re gonna make a vehicle Voltron, you’ve got these three teams, they could basically be, like, cops in mechs.” And it would be a lot of fun.

MS: You just described my dream show, oh my god.

LM: But, uh, yeah, we queued it up and then-and Chip I just, I loved the idea, like, Pidge’s one goal in life, you know, going out into the world and seeing sentient AI, like to create one of her own and she’s doing it, like, with her brother and it’s this, like, nice bonding moment. And then the fact that Chip was, like, what, Pidge’s cousin or something?

JDS: Yeah, that’s right [indistinct].

MS: I think it was her brother. I believe it was brother in the loosest--it was really just--

JDS: I thought it was just cousin.

MS: It was--it might’ve been cousin.

KC: Well, I mean Sven had “a brother” that they found later on.

MS: It’s a little hard because they started cutting together different series to continue Voltron, so it’s hard to say.

LM: It just made a lot of sense that, you know, she would pursue that and that would be her passion. Technology is her passion. And then you’re with her family and then obviously being such a huge part of the Galaxy Garrison with Voltron, kind of, you know, taking itself out of the equation, they would then--

JDS: Sort of take up the mantle.

LM: Yeah, and then really--

JDS: I do think there’s a pitch, though, where Chip ends up taking over Earth as, like, a sentient AI and becomes the villain a thousand years later.

MS: And it’s the singularity!

LM: Hey man, I was just about to say, like, the dark version is that, like, the Voltron that Sam and-and everyone creates ultimately is, like, you know, the police and then they--yeah--they become the power-hungry, power-hungry Earth.

KC: And there’s a scrappy Galra resistance.

JDS: And they flip the script and become the good guys.

LM: There you go.

KC: Living long enough to see yourself become the villain.

MS: Oh my gosh, I love it.

KC: I don’t have time to get into how much I love this AU because we are gonna run out of time here in a hot second. I--there’s so much I want to talk about and I’m having such a hard time deciding things.

MS: Let’s talk about Allura.

KC: Oh, Allura. She had such a rough season. Incredibly well-telegraphed, very rough.

LM: For sure, I think, you know, we-we knew, like, coming down to it that with Honerva being the final villain, and basically we have two female Altean people who have had a very similar thing happen to them. They’ve lost their families, they’ve lost, like, the life they knew, and it’s just two very different ways of how they handled it.

JDS: That’s right. They’ve had very, in a weird way, similar circumstances and come-and approached it from very different angles.

LM: Yeah, it’s a storyline we wanted to originally do, kind of with Keith and Lotor back when, like, our kind of original story pitch where Shiro was gonna, kind of, exit the show, Keith was gonna be here, he was gonna stay with the team so he wouldn’t have jetted off and gone into the Blade of Marmora, and it was gonna be a big, like Lotor season where you got Lotor, half Altean and half Galra, Keith, half Galra, half human. And it’s like, you’ve got--

JDS: They sort of were--

LM: --yeah, the duality of those two and, like, how does it work out? And, you know, you see Lotor seems like the guy who has it all together in the beginning, but then ultimately Keith evolves and becomes a better person. So we got to play a little bit of that here with Allura and Honerva, who… very similar situations, but Allura going about it, like, the way that it’s-it’s painful to her. She did lose her entire family, she lost her planet, her home, and even now there’s-there’s a sense in the first episode where she realizes once this war ends, she might not even have, like, her Voltron family. It’s like, they have families--

JDS: They’re all gonna go on their ways.

LM: --like, “what are they gonna do? They don’t need me anymore.” And it’s this, kind of, very--it’s selfish in a way, but it’s beautiful because she can feel that way, but she’s not acting on it.

JDS: Right. She’s allowing herself to feel it, but she’s not acting on it.

LM: She’s not sabotaging the war effort to keep them, which, I would have loved to do that. That dark, sick, twisted version of, like, Allura sabotaging the war effort to keep her Voltron family, but, uh--

KC: There is a universe where that happens.

JDS: Yeah, sure.

LM: But uh, but yeah, it was just beautiful to kind of see how much she was willing to take onto herself

JDS: And at the end of the day, like, you know, we keep sort of using this term “boys toys show” because that’s sort of the reality of what we came into. We sort of were taking on this--this franchise that was very merchandise-based and trying to sell toys to young boys essentially. And at the end of the day it became this story, almost Allura’s story solely when you-when you really sort of, like, step back and look at it, but it was-it was this, sort of, face-off of two strong women that were approaching these problems from very different angles and who the heck would have known that that would have, you know, that would have been the--

LM: Yeah, we didn’t even really know it at the beginning.

JDS: We didn’t. We really didn’t. It evolved.

LM: But, but, yeah. It was nice. It was nice because when we-we told Kimberly, and of course she was sad and like, listen, we know it’s--we never--it’s never personal, we’re not like, “You know, I don’t like that Kimberly, let’s kill Allura.” It’s never that.

KC: At the very last minute.

LM: But it’s, like--

JDS: We also told Neil when--

LM: We told Neil, and we try to be kind and, like, let people know and so we let her know ahead of time and so she’s not just reading the script like, “What the hell?”

KC: “What?!”

LM: And she was sad, but we just let her know, like, “Listen, this is Allura’s story, like, she is literally the hero. She’s not dying to further another hero’s story, she is the hero. Like, this war ends with her.” And then I made her a completely, um, fake promise that I couldn’t really make her. But it--

JDS: I think I know what this fake promise is.

LM: Because I have no control over what they do with Voltron, but I was like, “Listen, if we do any more episodes, I’m bringing her back. We’re not--I’m not making this show without her.” But then, like, I have no control.

MS: But there’s no Voltron without Allura.

LM: I have no control after this point.

KC: Eight seasons, now we need a movie.

JDS: Honestly that the, sort of, post-credits thing was leaving that door open.

LM: Yeah.

JDS: The Lions taking off and seeing the, you know, Allura nebulae, I think, in our minds, it was sort of her quintessence coalescing and--

LM: Reforming. It’s, like, kind of coming back together, so you can do whatever you want with that, like--

JDS: Yeah, but it was--

KC: Have fun, guys!

JDS: Honestly it was-it was a door left open. Like, there’s nobody ever really dies in comics or animation.

LM: I mean, yeah. I feel like comics and animation and sci-fi in and of itself is a door left open.

JDS: Right, right, right.

LM: If the word sci-fi exists in a definition of your show, there is a door left open.

JDS: This was like one step back from the ending of Iron Giant. [hosts going “ohhh”] Like, we didn’t actually, like, show all the pieces going and the thing.

LM: Yeah, like there isn’t an Allura hand that’s just, like, crawling through space.

JDS: Yeah, there’s no hand, like, jumping through the snow.

MS: That would have been terrible! Oh my gosh. But yeah! I think there’s this misconception because Allura is a woman of color and so I think a lot of fans only looking at it superficially were like, “Oh, the woman of color was killed off.” And it’s, like, yeah, there is a trope of people of color dying to save the stupid white people around them, like I understand that trope. But the problem with that superficial interpretation is that they’re ignoring the fact that she’s the main character here.

JDS: Well, there’s that and also just to put it on the table, our original pitch was that they were all gonna die.

KC: Woah!

[Hosts scream and cackle]

JDS: And that got taken off the table.

KC: I love it!

LM: It’s teamwork! Voltron! And honestly, in my opinion, that would have been an easier, like, window to bring them back. If they all disappeared, you could pop them all back anytime and you got the team again. Easy-easy spinoff. But, uh--

JDS: Sorry if the board is blowing up.

KC: So it wouldn’t have been, like, literal bodies, it would have been just disappeared.

LM: Yeah.

KC: Okay.

JDS: We’re not showing, like--

KC: We’re not showing Lotor.

JDS: We showed, like, the melted, like, Lotor body, but--

LM: It would have been the same--

MS: Nobody’s getting Cronenberged in this scenario

KC: Except Lotor.

LM: --same scene except that we, you know, instead of Allura taking it upon herself, they all would have agreed to do it together and-and they would have gone in and essentially taken Voltron out of the equation.

JDS: Right.

LM: That was something we actually really believed for even from early on, we introduced this idea that Alfor had helped to create this thing, not realizing how dangerous it could be; kind of like, you know, the person who created the atom bomb, and, like, having that guilt. And so having Allura be part of the team that took Voltron out of the equation and now that weapon isn’t available to anyone, that was a big deal. We were told that was too sad.

[Hosts laugh]

KC: Uh, you broke chat. Alexis is in chat going, “*rocking back and forth, broken*”. Like, congratulations. Everyone, take a drink of your nonalcoholic beverage of choice.

MS: Oh that is-that is a line of gibberish that she typed.

KC: Oh yeah, no. Everyone’s just losing their noise, it’s great. I love it.

JDS: It was, you know, in a strange way I think, a beautiful sacrifice that Allura is allowed to make. And also really when you think about it, if it had to come down to any one person, she’s from, like, a logistical standpoint she’s the only one powerful enough and we’ve sort of through, you know, being a life-giver.

LM: So, we’ve had a lot of characters, like, who’ve been on, like, the death table. We’ve thrown them all out there at some point.

JDS: Right.

LM: But they all had to, kind of, get thrown out at a point in the story where it made sense that their death would have been worth it. Like, for Pidge, it would have been saving her family. Like if she had died to save her family. For Hunk, it would’ve been saving Earth, which almost happened. Um…

JDS: Hunk was, like, inches away.

[Hosts go “ohhh” and laugh]

LM: We got a yes, and then, like, you know, they were like, “Who’re you gonna replace him with?” And we were like, “A lady,” and then they said, “No.”

MS: Ohhhh.

KC: Would Romelle have been the pilot?

LM: It would have been, it was gonna be Acxa. Yeah, it was gonna be a redemption arc that takes place over this last season of, “It’s not about who you were, it’s about who you are,” and the fact that she’s done some bad things. But she truly believes in doing the right thing and moving forward and she could have been a viable part of that team.

JDS: But I-I also would argue that, like, there’s no--there wouldn’t have been enough time, I think, for everybody to, like, absorb that. If we had, like, a three season run at, like, bringing her in, getting her settled, and then having her, that would have made more sense.

LM: Yeah, that was a hesitation.

JDS: But Hunk’s was especially tragic, like, it was the moment where they were gonna--where they were taking robeast up and there was, like, that ticking time-bomb going off. He literally sees his family, but he’s never actually, like, interacted with them. So he only gets to look at them and see that they’re alive, and then he’s like, “I gotta get this thing out of here.” Sorry everybody!

LM: But he didn’t die! We didn’t kill anyone.

MS: And speaking of dark storylines, princesspony in the hashtag did some fanart of evil Chip.

JDS: Oh wow!

[laughter]

KC: They are very fast.

LM: World domination.

MS: Check out the hashtag #ABTVVoltron to check that out, it makes me very happy.

JDS: Are there red glowing eyes?

MS: No, it’s black and white, but he does look very happy.

LM: But Allura’s death was the only one that made sense from a power standpoint and even from a story standpoint that we were setting up with Honerva. And then also just on--I know, like, it’s probably gonna be highly contested--but on a feminist level from my standpoint, the-the man is always the one who gets to be the hero. Like Armageddon, Bruce Willis sacrifices himself to send, you know, friggin’ Ben Affleck back. And if-if basically Keith had gone like, “I’ll do it,” and then, you know, Allura had to stand on the sidelines and say, “Good thing Keith saved the day! I’m happy!” Like no. I want my women to be able to save the day, too, and even if it’s about making that ultimate sacrifice, if people want to interpret that as sexist, then that’s fine. But we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree.

KC: I mean, Keith tried to do the heroic sacrifice at one point and it didn’t work.

MS: They went, and you guys went, “No! Don’t do that!”

KC: Lotor was just like, “Excuse me.”

LM: We tried to kill Keith, though.

MS: This was--

LM: That’s not a lie.

MS: You guys apparently tried to kill everyone!

LM: We did. It was because we were told we couldn’t kill Shiro. Like, well, we don’t need two leaders, we’ll kill Keith. And they said, “You can’t do that.”

[Hosts laughing and sputtering]

JDS: Also by the way, we’re not kill-happy people. We’re not. We don’t kill for the sake of killing, like, there’s something--it’s a journey and there’s something meaningful, I think, to everybody’s death. And-and so when you even look at, like, melted Lotor corpse. Like, he basically had done to him what he had done to so many other people, so there’s, like, a sort of a give and a take there.

MS: And like a show where--I don’t want to rag on any other shows that skirt around death or anything like that, because again, they are writing for certain demographics--but I always appreciate when shows have, you know, actions have consequences. And sometimes character death is a really good way of conveying that. And I think for a lot of other people, people forget that Allura in season 1 is the same character that picked up Shiro, threw him out of a room right as the doors were closing, and basically could have died in that moment. She was sacrificing herself, so it’s not like this is out of character for her.

LM: Yeah, and Coran said, like, 15 different times, like, you know, “What about the risks? You could-you could not come back from this. If you give all your quintessence to the balmera, if you give all your quintessence to making this gigantic wormhole to transport Zarkon’s ship.”

JDS: “If you take the darkness into yourself.”

LM: And every time, she would say, like, “I know the risks.”

KC: Yolo.

[laughter]

MS: Until she walks into the west with the other elves.

KC: Or into the void with Honerva. I love that she had to do a hard reset on Honerva’s brain and then we could fix things. Like, she’s the only one that would have been able to do that in any capacity.

LM: Yeah.

JDS: Yeah, and it’s allowing Honerva to maybe experience the consequences that came as a result of her actions and really understand what those--

LM: It’s allowing her to get past, like, the cloud of all of the pain she’s felt, realize, like, remember the good things because sometimes you can get so bogged down with the negativity that you can forget what it was that you loved about a thing in the first place. And she was Altean and she loved discovery, she loved knowledge, and she-she reached out with Alfor and she helped multiple people before, you know, they started this quintessence project that kind of messed everything up. So she just kind of had to show--

JDS: She had hopes, she had dreams, she had heart.

LM: Yeah. At one point.

JDS: [quietly] At one point.

KC: Is there anything else that you--’cuz we’re hitting the end of our time--is there anything else you guys want to touch on now or should we save a few things for next week?

JDS: Uh, yeah, I mean, you know, look, we, I think, Lauren made a really good point in that, you know, sometimes you sort of lose sight of the good things for, you know, some of the negative things. We’d only hope that, you know, the sort of big post-mortem from the fandom at large-- even those that are super unhappy with the way season 8 turned out--sort of looks back on the series with positive feelings because I think there’s, while feelings might get hurt and feelings might--people might feel betrayed by, like, story decisions, like, the show was made with nothing but, like, love and good intentions and positivity and yes we told some hard stories to tell and characters came to certain conclusions that weren’t, like, the most popular decisions, but we were just trying to tell a story that, like, looked beyond the campiness and beyond the colorful robotic silliness to tell something that felt a bit more true and a bit more real and had, as one of our execs would always say, stakes and consequences.

LM: No, stakes and urgent stakes.

JDS: Stakes and urgent stakes.

LM: That was gonna be a restaurant.

KC: That’s one of Vrepit Sal’s new chains. It’s part of Hunk’s food empire. “Steaks and Urgency.”

JDS: But we can, you know, leave all the other stuff for our other show.

LM: Good times.

MS: Yeah, and princesspony has made a new version that’s got red eyes.

JDS: Ah! Red eyes! Red evil eyes!

KC: You asked for red eyes and in-chat they went, “I’ll add red eyes!” All for the red eyes. Well, yeah, thank you for joining us this week. This has been absolutely lovely. Are there any other projects you’re working on that you can tell us about?

JDS: No.

KC: Okay! NDAs it is!

LM: I am working on getting my floors re-done, and I’m getting the popcorn scraped off my ceilings, which is a lot more expensive than I realized it was gonna be. And-and moving all of my crap out of the house so that these people can do this work and that is a hell of a project that I would not wish on anyone.

JDS: And I just took a week off with my wife to Marie Kondo our entire house.

KC: Dang!

MS: Nice!

JDS: She didn’t come over or anything, but we definitely--

LM: Did you actually put it all in a pile?

JDS: She did with her clothes, and it was pretty epic, like, my pile went to your sister to eBay off, so that was. And my pile of toys.

LM: Oh, right, right.

JDS: Her sister is a sweet human being and like, will like, yeah. During the course of Voltron, during the production, like, super weighty dark times, I would just go on, like, eBay and be like, “buy, buy, buy, buy” and a pile of toys stacked up behind me that I never opened up.

LM: Yeah, me too. We had a cardboard box fort.

JDS: Yeah.

KC: Oh, goodness.

LM: And then he had a kid and said, “Oh no, I don’t need all this stuff.”

KC: And return to sender.

JDS: Yeah.

KC: Sounds fun.

MS: eBay.

KC: Where can the people go on social media if they would like to keep up with you?

LM: Um, all of the same places: @artofLaurenM on Twitter, @thebestlaurenmontgomery on Instagram, though I will say the Voltron posts are kind of over at this point. So maybe don’t follow me now if you’re just coming for Voltron. You’ll probably be a little disappointed.

JDS: Same for me. Um, @jds_247 on something and @jds_77 on the other thing. There you go. Underscore in between those. Sorry.

KC: So I’m gonna follow you guys now for Voltron. [laughter] No, no!

JDS: That’s fine!

LM: But if you like any of my other artwork, you’re more than welcome to stay.

KC: I like all of your other artwork.

MS: It’s so pretty!

KC: Alright, thanks again for coming, you guys.

JDS: Thanks for having us, you guys have been awesome this entire time.

LM: And we’ll be back next week.

JDS: That’s right.

KC: Yes we will! I was gonna save that announcement for a little bit. Uh, Megan, where can people find you?

MS: You guys can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at @themenguin. I was gonna say, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to Mark and Emma and Alexis who all were wearing the hashtag tonight. We miss you guys and we love you and we’ll be seeing you soon!

KC: And on the live chat in Alexis’ case.

MS: Love you, Alexis!

KC: You can follow yellow lion Mark Donica at @MarkBDonica, co-red lion Emma Fyffe at @EmmaFyffe, and blue Lauren--blue Lauren--blue lion [unintelligible]. I am Katie Cullen, you can follow me all over the social medias as well as on YouTube and Twitch at kiaxet, I am also on Overwatch podcast called “On the Point”. Guys, we will be back for the final episode of ABTV Voltron. Next week we are doing a series retrospective. Same lion time, same lion channel, thank you so much for watching and we’ll see you next time.

Voiceover: Our founder: Keven Undergaro and me, Megan Menounos, would like to thank you for tuning in to Afterbuzz TV. Remember, we’re not just the first, we’re the biggest in the world and we’re the only destination for all your favorite TV shows. Whatever you crave, we’ve got it, so go to afterbuzztv.com and check out our lineup. Buzz you later!

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