#guys come on please i am legitimately being serious here. just be nice to each other. respect opinions. if you don't like a take BLOCK IT

[margindoodles2407]

Star Wars Fandom I Am Once Again On My Knees Begging You To Stop With The Discourse For The Love Of All We Hold Dear

Looking At You Especially Clone Wars Subfandom

Respect Each Other

[wildrangers]

"Slut!" // William Nylander

Word Count: 2.8K

Summary: Famous singer reader x our boy Willy

{For my 1989 Vaults Track Challenge}

Warnings/tropes: fluff, resolved angst (very minor), mentions of anxiety, strong allusions to sex but no serious smut (like PG-13-ish), cursing

You were used to attention but even you had a limit. You’d hit it a few months ago after the tabloids latched onto you being seen with a mystery man, aka Marc from your agent’s office. When your team published that to dispel the rumors, the media reframed it as you sleeping with him for favoritism within your agency. While they hadn’t actually been yelling “Slut!” at you, they may as well have been and you’d needed to get away from New York.

You’d escaped to Toronto because you enjoyed the city whenever your tour had passed through and decided it was busy enough to get lost in without attracting the press. You were hunkered down working on your next album, doing your best to lose yourself in the rhythm of the city and get back to what you loved most—your music.

Got lovestruck, went straight to my head

Got lovesick, all over my bed

Love to think you’ll never forget

Handprints in wet cement

You’d been walking your dog, Edith, when the air changed around you—you couldn’t quite explain it, but you could feel a group of people getting excited about something and it set you on edge—had you been spotted? You froze, eyes darting around as your breath fogged in front of you.

You spotted a group of maybe a half dozen girls giggling as they walked away from a tall, blonde man with two dogs. As you let out a deep sigh of relief, Edith spotted the other dogs and yanked the leash out of your grip, charging for them and their owner.

“Edith!” you called, heart in your throat, as you jogged after her. Luckily, you were in a quieter part of the city but you were still panicked until you saw the guy grab her leash.

“I am so, so sorry, thank you so much” you called out once you were in speaking distance of him.

“It’s no problem” he replied, smiling easily at you. “I was relieved when a dog was running over—when I heard someone yelling ‘Edith!’ I worried a grandma was really in trouble.”

You chuckled and shrugged, “I mean, she’s just an Edith, you know?” Normally, at this point, you’d disengage to avoid being recognized but his face was so open and you hadn’t realized until now how lonely you’d been holed up writing. “Who are these gentlemen?”

William introduced himself, as well as Banksy and Pablo. You discovered your buildings were near each other so when he offered to join you on your return there, you took him up on it despite your reservations.

“So, what do you do for work?” William asked after a natural lull in conversation and your pulse picked up.

“Oh, I work in the music industry, what about you?”

You felt him reassessing you and his cheeks suddenly flared pink, “I’m sorry, I thought you looked familiar but it didn’t click until just now.”

“Please, don’t be sorry” you laughed, your own embarrassment rising to meet his. “It was nice talking with someone as a human being.”

“Yeah, I get that” he sighed.

“Oh?” you asked, wracking your brain for how he could possibly relate to such a strange feeling.

“I play for the Maple Leafs” he explained and you nodded, pretending to know what that meant. He must have caught on because he let out a rich laugh that made you smile from the sound alone. “The NHL team here, this is kind of a hockey town.”

“Well, that explains the girls back there…” you mused, reflecting back on the frenetic energy that comes with a person meeting someone they only know through a TV.

“They were sweet” he shrugged and you glanced over, noticing his legitimate nonchalance.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“Not really, it comes with the territory and 95% of the time people are nice.”

“Well, that’s good” you mumbled, mostly to yourself. While your fans were lovely, your mind flashed to all the times you’d been met with judgement and jealousy from girls who were into your famous exes. It was a bizarre, shame-inducing experience despite you doing nothing wrong.

“Hey look!” Will said excitedly, pulling you from your thoughts. “Come here, quick.”

You followed him in confusion towards a small section of sidewalk that had been replaced and was surrounded by caution tape. “What exactly are we doing?”

“Come on, we gotta do our hand prints, no?” he grinned and his genuine excitement made you smile too.

“Fine, but quickly” you agreed and he whooped before taking his left hand out of his glove, you doing the same with your right hand. You two quickly stuck your hands in, the wet concrete cold to the touch.

“My plan worked” he smiled and you tilted your head in confusion. “Now you have to come over, make sure we can wash that concrete off your hands. Can’t play guitar with chunks of that stuck to you.”

Lovelorn and nobody knows

Love thorns all over this rose

I’ll pay the price you won’t

You must have dozed off watching the Leafs game because you were woken by Will softly greeting the dogs. You stretched, letting the throw blanket fall around your waist as you yawned.

“I’m sorry, babe, did I wake you?” he asked quietly, placing a kiss to your forehead.

You hummed in response, wrapping your hand around the back of his neck to pull his lips to yours. His kiss was gentle and attentive—he always seemed to anticipate just what would make your heart flutter in your chest. He pulled away a moment later, his blue eyes shining with joy that warmed you from within.

It had only been a few months since you’d met and, if you were being honest, you were a little terrified by how quickly you were falling for him. Contrary to what the tabloids said, you normally guarded your heart quite closely. But with Will, it was beginning to feel like all you needed was him.

“Where’d you go?” he asked and you realized he’d sat down beside you, concern all over his face.

“I’m sorry, just got lost in my thoughts.”

“What were they saying?”

You hesitated, trying to decide how to phrase it, “It just worries me how much you mean to me already.”

“Oh, älskling” he replied, pulling you to him. Your arms wrapped around his middle and you buried your face in his neck, breathing in his scent. “What concerns you about that?”

“I’m scared of people finding out” you admitted softly.  

“Because of the media being assholes?” You nodded, pulling him tighter. “Y/N, people say shit about me all the time. It’s just what happens when you’re in the public eye.”

You sighed, pulling away slightly to look at him. He didn’t get it—how different it was being a famous woman versus a man. “What would the story be about you if it came out that we’re dating?” you questioned and he grinned.

“Just that I’m lucky to have somehow landed a woman that is way out of my league” he replied and you rolled your eyes, butterflies filling your stomach at the compliment.

“What do you think it would be about me?”

He took in your serious expression and paused to think before shrugging, “Tell me.”

“Y/N, dating William Nylander!” you proclaimed dramatically. “Another new man for the songstress! Will she ever settle down? How many famous men will she use for attention? What will her ex think? When can we expect the break up album?”

You’d tried being light-hearted but your voice cracked on the last word as tears pricked your eyes. “Hey, hey” he said quietly, embracing you again and running a soothing hand through your hair. “They can say whatever they want. Only we know what this is—how real it is. They can’t take that from us. But, if we keep hiding, think of all the things that fear is taking from us. You coming to a game, me being able to go to a show of yours someday. Me being able to take you out to celebrate a win or on a nice date.”

Tears flowed freely at his words, “I didn’t mean to hide us, I’m just scared.”

“I know” he replied, wiping away your tears. “And I’ve loved getting to know you and developing this relationship, just us two. But that’s not how relationships work—I want you to meet the team and me to meet your friends, see your home in New York.  I mean, if you’d want that” he said, faltering at the end.

You grabbed his face in your hands, placing a gentle kiss to his nose. “Of course, that’s what I want” you reassured him, getting lost in his deep blue eyes. And as he leaned in to kiss you again, you accepted that you’d likely get backlash in a way he wouldn’t. But you wouldn’t let that stop you from being with him fully.

But if I’m all dressed up

They might as well be looking at us

And if they call me a slut

You know it might be worth it for once

You were nervous as you left Scotiabank Arena with Steph and a few other girls. You’d felt safe up in the suite, watching the game with the other partners and families but away from prying eyes. Now, on the street surrounded by fans, you felt your anxiety rising. You could feel people watching your group, noting the WAG jackets—you couldn’t tell if they’d realized who you were or were just intrigued because of your relationship with a player.

As you saw Will’s car pull up to the curb, you confirmed with Steph which bar you’d all meet up at to celebrate the win before sliding into his passenger seat.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Will asked, eyes scanning your face.

“Yeah, I’m sure” you nodded, despite the nerves filling your stomach. His strong hand gripped yours as he pulled out, heading a few blocks away to the bar. You’d gone to a few closed team events to meet everyone—parties at people’s apartments, joining the girls for at-home brunch, etc. All to help you feel comfortable enough for this milestone.

“You look beautiful, Leafs blue suits you” Willy complimented as he pulled into a spot and you squeezed his hand in thanks. He quickly came around to your side, opening your door and helping you out as he always did, ever the gentleman—it was one of the things you loved about him. You paused for a second at that thought before deciding you had enough to worry about tonight without bringing the L word into it.

You were escorted to a private room where you enjoyed a few hours of joyful company, dancing and drinking, celebrating the guys and their hard work. You’d almost convinced yourself you’d overthought this outing—everything was going great, why had you been so worried? But by the time you were leaving, cheeks flushed from the warmth of the bar and the alcohol flowing through you, your fears were confirmed as cameras began flashing.

Will wrapped a protective arm around you as your name was shouted from all around, Steph tucking herself closer to your other side, bracketing you in their safety.

Send the code, he’s waiting there

The sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air

Everyone wants him

That was my crime

It was the following afternoon and you were spiraling. All those moments you thought were private were plastered across the internet. You and Steph cheering after a goal, you picking up John’s daughter so she could see the ice better, you shielding your eyes when Will had taken a hard check. Let alone all the photos they’d gotten outside the arena and of you walking into and out of the bar.

Even worse, a fan had gotten past your building’s security, knocking on your door shortly after lunch. Luckily, she’d been sweet but it still rattled you. Your building’s manager had apologized profusely, quickly changing all the codes into the building and retraining the staff on privacy procedures.

Will was at practice and wouldn’t be over until later that afternoon, leaving you to your own devices. You’d successfully fought off Googling your own name for hours before finally caving.

Y/N spotted with William Nylander—but is she still with Marc?

Y/N has gone through all of Hollywood’s men—she’s moved onto Toronto now!

When can we expect the Nylander album?

That last one had been the worst—as if your music was owed solely to the men you decided to be with, not something you worked tirelessly on. Your phone vibrated beside you and your shoulders sagged in relief as Will’s name popped up.

“Hey babe, are you almost here?”

“I’m outside, can you send me the new code? It’s a zoo out here.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I totally spaced, it’s 161152. I’ll call George to let him know you can come up.”

A few moments later, you were pulling Will into your apartment and locking the door behind him. You began to explain everything that had happened today but instead simply burst into tears.

“I’m so sorry, älskling—I believed you but I didn’t realize how crazy it would be. But we’re going to figure this out, okay?” And you let yourself believe him as he rubbed soothing circles on your back, his presence filling you with a sense of safety. “And I’m going to be taking your laptop away from you” he added, spotting what you’d been searching.

You chuckled through your tears, pulling away to grab a tissue from nearby, “I knew I shouldn’t but couldn’t stop myself” you admitted and he nodded. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

“Hey, no” he countered, gently gripping your face between his hands. “We knew this could happen.”

“I know but why would you want to put up with all of this?” you asked, emotion clogging your throat again.

“Because I’ll take anything and everything that comes with being with you” he answered, eyes serious as they held yours. You didn’t know what to say to that so you just wrapped your arms around his middle again. “Want to take a nap? I could use one after the last twelve hours.”

Half asleep

Taking your time

You’re not saying you’re in love with me

But you’re going to

A few hours later you were woken by kisses placed all over your face and gentle hands caressing your waist. “There she is” Willy mumbled into your ear and you giggled, turning your face so you could capture his lips with your own. His exploring hands made quick work of both your clothes and soon he was a comforting weight on top of you.

You’d obviously had sex with Will countless times by this point but this felt different somehow. You both normally favored faster, rougher sex but Will was moving so purposefully and slowly, seemingly drawing out the time you two were joined together, impossibly close.

Later, as you came down from your high and felt his rhythm falter, you opened your eyes to meet his and the look there stole your breath away. Such affection and care were in his deep blue eyes before he dropped his head to your chest, burying his face in your neck as he caught his breath.

“That was incredible, Y/N” he said softly and you pulled his face up to yours, pouring all your unsaid feelings into the kiss.

Half awake

Taking your chance

It’s a big mistake

I said it might blow up in your pretty face

A few nights later, you were curled up in Will’s bed, wrapped in his embrace. The dogs were fast asleep around you but you were clinging to wakefulness, enjoying the warmth of Will behind you after a long day in the studio.  

“Y/N?” Will said softly and you hummed in response, turning in his arms to face him.

You smiled up at him sleepily but felt yourself wake up a bit more at the intensity in his eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just…” he began, swallowing thickly. You frowned slightly at his nerves, reaching up to brush a piece of hair out of his eyes. “I just love you, that’s all.”

You fought back a smile, “Oh is that all?”

“Shut up” he giggled, hiding his face in your neck, pulling you even closer to him somehow.

You ran a hand through his hair, placing a kiss to the top of his head. “I love you too, William.”

“Yeah?” he questioned, pulling back just enough to gaze up at you.

You nodded before smirking, “You may come to regret it but yeah, I love you.”

He placed a gentle kiss to your collarbone before settling into your chest again, “I could never regret this, my love.”

A/N: My first Willy story! Thanks to those who sent support for this little series I'm working on to hopefully get out of this writing slump. I wrote this in a few hours so please let me know any feedback you have ☺️ 'Say Don't Go' with Lindgren next!

[waka-chan-out]

your fics are so good!!

idk if you take requests but if you do, could you do a third gym fic (tsukki, bokuto, kuroo, akaashi) with a switch reader?

Third Gym Reunion

akaashi, kuroo, tsukishima, & bokuto x switch!reader

Plot: Your boyfriend, Akaashi Keiji, gets invited to meet up with his old practice buddies. His friends already know you have an open relationship and are fully ready to take advantage of it.

post-timeskip, obviously.

word count: 8.5k (jesus christ !!)

content warning: (deep breath) established relationship, open relationship, five-some (if that’s even a word), sub!bokuto, reader calls bokuto puppy, bokuto with mommy kink, oral (m. and f. receiving), praise kink, degradation, snowballing, spanking, hair pulling, spit-roasting, finger sucking, calling tsukki his given name, spitting, in my canon akaashi and bokuto have hooked up before so you’ll see the repercussions of that in this story, don’t mind me putting in an anal warning for them here, slight exibitionism but not really, slight overstim but not really, essentially it’s filth.

“For the last time, no,” Keiji said.

“Why not? I want to meet the boys,” you whined, grasping at his forearm. He kept staring straight at the road, seemingly immune to your pleading.

“Because I know my friends. It will not end well.”

“How come? Don’t you trust them?”

Keiji laughed. “Absolutely not. Bokuto I can talk into behaving. Tsukishima and -- oh god -- Kuroo? Absolutely not.”

“What could they possibly do?”

“They know we’re more . . . open, love. They’ll try to take advantage of that.”

“What’s so wrong with that?”

“Babe!”

“What? You said they’re all tall, right? Are they handsome?”

Keiji shrugged, then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. My answer is no.”

“Why don’t you just take me along? I’m sure they’d bring a girlfriend if they had one. You’re the lucky guy out of the three of you.”

“What if they try to . . . proposition you?”

“If they’re icky, I’ll say no.”

He turned to you, alarmed. “And if they aren’t?”

“Are you saying they aren’t?”

“Answer the question.”

“If they aren’t, I’ll look to you for approval.”

“No.”

“What? You don’t even know they’re gonna ask.”

“You haven’t met them. Bokuto is going to take one look at you and be latched onto you all night. God only knows what Kuroo will do.”

“What about the other one?”

“Who?”

“The blond.”

“Oh, Tsukki? He’ll just insult you. I doubt he’d ever sink to asking me.”

You smirked. “He sounds fun.”

“Only some --” Keiji noticed your cheeky expression. “Hey! No.”

“You never know.”

“I know.”

“Whatever you say, Kei.”

“Don’t call me that around them.”

You pouted. “Why?”

“That’s Tsukishima’s first name.”

You grinned. “So you’re saying I get to come as long as I don’t use your nickname?”

Keiji sighed. “I guess so. I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t.”

“Yay!” You hummed happily, then turned to him with a cheeky smile on your face. “Wait . . . is Bokuto the one that you--” Keiji cut you off by clapping a hand over your mouth.

“Don’t.”

“I’m right! Oh my god, Keiji, I’m excited to meet him.”

“It’s been a long time, love. He probably doesn’t even remember.”

“Oh please, if it was with you, he remembers.”

Keiji’s brows knitted together.

“What does that mean?” he asked. You wiggled your fingers at him.

“You’ve got very memorable hands.”

His face flushed a bright red and he turned away from you.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

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

Your confident demeanor only faltered slightly when you arrived at gym three, where they all used to practice together. Only Kuroo and Bokuto were there and, as you suspected, they weren’t even remotely icky. Kuroo was tall with dark hair, his dress shirt and pants hiding a slim but muscular frame. He looked like he had just come from work. Bokuto on the other hand was huge. He wore simple sweatpants and a sweatshirt and looked thoroughly happy to be there. He was holding a volleyball and yelling when you and Keiji stepped through the doorway.

“What do you mean I’ve gotten worse? I’m a professional!”

“You’re a dumbass that can’t receive the ball.”

“And you’re a scammer!”

“Bokuto, this is my work uniform. I don’t scam people.”

“You look like a scammer.”

“I work for a legitimate company!”

“Yeah? Prove it.”

“Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not kidding. See? Scammer.”

“Bokuto-san,” Keiji called from the doorway. “His company is real. You need to calm down.”

“Aghakshi!” Bokuto sprinted for his friend while Kuroo fell into step behind him, a pleased smile on his face. Bokuto wrapped Keiji up in a bear hug.

“You’re late, ‘Kashi. Kuroo was mean without you.”

“I’m not mean.” Kuroo placed a hand on his chest. “I am a very nice man.”

“No, you’re a scammer and a liar.”

“I’m not --”

“Guys,” Keiji butted in. He gestured behind himself to you. “This is my partner, Y/N. Please behave around them.” Both men’s eyes froze on you, making you distinctly aware of your height difference. Keiji wasn’t short by any means, but these men were huge.

“Hi,” you said, pasting a cheerful smile across your face. “It’s nice to finally meet you guys. I’ve heard all about you.”

“I guarantee we’re worse in person,” Kuroo said, eyes sparkling as he reached out to shake your hand.

“Why do you do that?” Bokuto asked, eyebrows drawn down in a frown.

“It’s the truth.”

“It’s not the truth,” Keiji stepped in, separating your hand from Kuroo’s. You hadn’t realized you were still holding it. “You’re both dorks and they know it already. Stop being weird.”

“Hi,” a bored sounding voice came from directly behind you. You turned around and shrunk against Keiji. Tsukishima stood behind you, shaggy blonde hair just barely hiding his serious eyebrows. He was thin, too, but tall. He and Kuroo were about the same size, but seeing Tsukishima so close to you made your heart pound.

“Tsukki-poo, how are you, buddy?” Bokuto yelled, pushing past you to wrap his friend up in his arms.

“Don’t call me that.” Tsukki sounded bored and annoyed, but you knew he wouldn’t have come if he didn’t miss his friends just a little bit. “Who’s the little one?” he asked, staring down at you with cold eyes. Bokuto grinned, still hanging onto him.

“That’s Akaashi’s partner. Isn’t that cool?”

“Sure. You guys fuck other people, don’t you?”

Silence. You stared at the ground, eyes wide in amused disbelief.

“That. Well. You aren’t wrong but that seems inappropriate.” Keiji was bright red and only burned brighter as he spoke.

“Not as inappropriate as you describing your sex life to us. Do they know you do that?”

“Yes, I do,” you said, staring up at him. “Slow down, lamp post. I think you need to relax.”

Kuroo let out a hyena laugh. “I like them,” he said.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “Are we playing or not?”

“Playing,” Keiji said.

“Fine. Akaashi, you help tiny. Bokuto, you can be on their team.”

Bokuto frowned. “Why? You guys just have two middle blockers.”

“Kuroo can receive and both of us can spike.”

“Who’s going to set for you?” Keiji asked.

“I can,” you chimed in. Keiji’s friends all turned to you in surprise.

“I played through college. It’s only fair. Bokuto and Akaashi against me, Tsukishima, and Kuroo.”

Kuroo smiled, eyes glinting again as he stared at you. “I think that’s a brilliant plan. Ok with you, ‘Kashi?” Keiji narrowed his eyes at his friend, who still had his eyes trained on you.

“They can play setter for you. That’s it.”

The three other men looked at each other in surprise. The implication of his words was . . . jarring. You smiled nervously and walked to one side of the net. You shrugged off your jacket, revealing a thin long-sleeved shirt that no longer covered the back of your leggings. You could feel at least two men’s eyes on you, but you ignored it. All you had to do now was prove you could still play volleyball.

“You know the rules, then?” Tsukishima asked, tying his shoes tighter.

“I’ll be just fine, Tsukki-babe,” you said. He cringed at the nickname. “I’m more concerned with how Kuroo is going to play in his work clothes.

“Give me a minute, dearest,” he said, walking past you with a bag in his hands. “I brought clothes.”

“Hustle up, buddy, or we’ll start without you.”

“Shut up and practice before we lose to the chaos twins.”

Tsukki scoffed. “Like we’re going to lose to them. Bokuto’s going to go emo-mode in ten minutes, guaranteed.”

“Emo mode?” you asked. Tsukki’s brows raised and he smiled for the first time since you had met him.

“You’re dating Akaashi and you don’t know about Bokuto’s emo mode?”

“I guess not.”

He let out a delighted laugh, completely out of character but quite sweet. “God, you’re in for a treat.”

Kuroo returned in a short pair of red athletic shorts and a black t-shirt.

“Is that the same outfit you had in high school?” Keiji asked, a smile on his face.

“The very same,” Kuroo said, laughing and stretching his arms across his chest. “Well, not the exact same clothes, but the same colors. I outgrew my old stuff. I’ve gotten much bigger since high school.” He winked in your direction.

“Gross,” Tsukki said.

“Shut up.”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “Can we start?” He shrugged off his own jacket, revealing a long-sleeved shirt and athletic shorts.

“Who gets first serve?” Keiji asked.

“There are more of us. You guys can start,” Kuroo said.

“Bokuto, do you want to serve or should I?” Keiji turned to Bokuto, who looked grumpy at the lack of attention he was getting.

“You do it, ‘Kashi.”

“Are you sure?”

Bokuto nodded vigorously and Keiji walked to the back line. You stood up towards the net while the other men backed up on the court.

“Nice serve,” you yelled.

“Shut up. He’s on the other team,” Tsukki said, sounding exasperated.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“So, you should want to kick his ass,” Kuroo said. You laughed and Keiji hit the ball over the net.

It went to Tsukki, who easily bumped it up. It traveled high in the air, thank goodness. You were a little rusty, but this made it much easier on you.

“Left!” Kuroo called, hand in the air. You pushed the ball his way, satisfied at the way it lifted off your fingers. You missed this feeling. It landed right against Kuroo’s hand, who slammed it down. It barely grazed the top of Bokuto’s fingers before spinning off and hitting the ground. Kuroo ran for you immediately, grin on his face.

“That was great! I gotta say, I thought you were going to suck, but that was great.” He continued rambling as you turned to Tsukki.

“What did you think, tough guy? That was a nice receive.”

“It wasn’t that impressive. I just knew it had to go high so your dumbass could actually hit it.” He sneered as he spoke, but from the way he was rubbing his forearms you could tell he was excited too. Though he played on his own, you were sure he missed practicing with this group.

“I’d like to see one of your famous blocks next time,” you teased.

“Then tell Bokuto-san to receive the damn ball.” He turned away from you and walked to the back line.

“Hey!” Bokuto had gotten into a receiving position, hands on his knees waiting for your team to serve. You couldn’t help but notice how thick his thighs were, even through his sweatpants. “Can we go or is Tsukki-dude gonna keep complaining?”

“We’re going,” Tsukishima replied, picking up the volleyball that Keiji had rolled over to his feet. “Relax before you use up all the energy in your brain.” You couldn’t help but snicker. His responses were so quick. He was an ass, but he was charming in his own way.

Tsukishima took his place on the back line and easily popped the ball over the net. Bokuto received it and sent it up high. Keiji had to run for it but he got under the ball. Tsukishima and Kuroo took their places on the net, following Bokuto closely with their eyes. You backed up and bent your knees, ready to receive if they somehow missed it.

They didn’t miss it.

The ball hammered into Tsukishima’s hand and he flexed his fingers, sending it straight back down over the net. Kuroo hollered and slapped him on the back, while Bokuto drooped down and a pouty expression came over his face.

“It wasn’t a hard spike. I don’t know why you’re freaking out,” Tsukishima said as Kuroo continued chattering on about how much he’s improved.

“Aghashkiii,” Bokuto said. Tsukishima’s attention was on him in an instant, eyes twinkling.

“Oh fuck, it’s happening.” He gestured for you to come closer. “Shortie, are you watching?”

“Yes, I’m watching. What’s going on?” You approached and watched as your boyfriend’s shoulders fell in a deep sigh.

“Kashi, we have to switch,” Bokuto whined. “You can’t set it to me anymore.”

“Told you it’d be less than ten minutes,” Tsukishima said, expression smug.

“Is he gonna be okay?” you asked. Kuroo laughed.

“He’ll be fine,” he said. “He just needs his setter. Akaashi, on the other hand, will barely survive. He hasn’t had to deal with this in years.” You snickered, then briefly wondered if they knew about Bokuto and Keiji’s . . . antics back in the day.

“Does he do this on his pro team?” you asked.

“Not that I’ve seen. Either they’re better at managing it or Bokuto just goes full baby for Akaashi.” Kuroo rolled his eyes and walked away.

You laughed to yourself. What an idiot. However, he was an idiot that was wrapped around your boyfriend’s finger. Interesting.

“Bokuto-san, are you sure?” Keiji was saying. “Your setting isn’t very precise.”

“Apparently neither is my spiking.”

“Fine. Good luck.” Bokuto didn’t see Keiji shake his head as he spoke. Tsukishima grabbed the volleyball again, a wide smile on his face.

“God, I can’t wait to see this one,” he said, then raised his voice so the other men could hear him. “Akaashi, it’s coming to you!” Keiji nodded and got into position. Bokuto’s eyes were still wide and blank as he got closer to the net.

Tsukishima hit the ball right into Keiji’s arms. He bumped it up without much trouble and shouted for Bokuto.

“Get under the ball, Bokuto!” He backed up to start a spiking approach.

“I got it!” Bokuto sounded frustrated. He ran for the ball, settled underneath it, and . . .

It clattered to the gym floor behind him. His expression remained blank and focused on the air above him, even when his arms flopped down to his sides.

“Our point!” Tsukishima called, smiling again. He ducked to the other side of the net and grabbed the ball. He really was a brat.

“Bokuto --” Keiji started.

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Bokuto said, slumping to the gym floor.

“You can’t just give up like that,” Kuroo interjected, sounding more amused than frustrated.

“I can and I will. Let’s just go to dinner. I don’t want to be sweaty if we’re going somewhere nice.”

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

You were grateful that Keiji had convinced you to bring something nice to wear to the restaurant, otherwise you would have looked completely out of place. Kuroo had put his work clothes back on. Keiji had thrown on a sweater. Tsukishima wore a button-up and a vest and Bokuto was wearing a blazer with a t-shirt. Somehow, the outfits suited them.

“So,” Kuroo said between sips from a bottle of beer. “Akaashi has told us all about you.” You chuckled, pushing around the remaining rice on your plate.

“Is that so?” You glanced at Keiji, who sat beside you. His cheeks were slightly pink. He looked precious, like he was skating right on the edge of a giggle fit.

“Yep,” Kuroo continued. He had a sly smile on his face and looked all too happy to be talking to you. He leaned toward you across Tsukishima’s lap, who frowned and shoved him off. Kuroo flopped back down, leaning on an elbow on the table in front of his tall friend. “I’d say we know more about you than you know about us.”

“You know, that’s probably true.” You leaned on the table and matched his posture.

“Lame. Akaashi, why don’t you talk about us?”

Keiji took a deep sip of his drink and shook his head.

“Because I knew meeting you guys would do all the talking,” he said.

“What’s that mean?” Bokuto said a little too loudly, leaning into Keiji’s lap. Keiji looked down at him patiently, cheeks flushing a bit darker.

“It means your personalities are so aggressive that they need no explanation.”

“I’m not aggressive!”

“But your personality is.”

Bokuto frowned, not understanding but accepting the answer.

“So, what do you know about me?” you asked, turning back to Kuroo. He shrugged, staring into space to consider your question before giggling.

“What are you laughing at?” You narrowed your eyes at him. You knew exactly what he was thinking, but you wanted him to say it.

“The…nature…of your relationship with our boy Akaashi.”

“Yeah?” You tipped back your glass and grinned.

“We’ve heard all about it.”

“All?” You turned your face towards your boyfriend.

“Not even close,” he said through a smirk.

“What?” Kuroo asked, snapping his gaze to Keiji. “You’ve told us so much.”

“And there’s so much more to explore,” you said with a smug smile and exaggerated gesture.

“Yeah? With who?” Bokuto chimed in. You leaned over to Keiji.

“You’re right. That didn’t take long.” Keiji shook his head at your words and finished off his drink.

“I told you not to trust them,” he said. He turned his attention back to Bokuto. “With anyone, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto’s eyebrows nearly raised off his head.

“Anyone?”

“Anyone.”

“Truly anyone? Or are you one of those couples that acts like they’re kinky but really just watches porn together or something?” You were surprised that Tsukishima decided to chime in now, but you weren’t surprised by his comment. He was the type that had to see to believe. You narrowed your eyes at him and ran a finger down the back of his hand, which still clutched his glass on the table.

“Try me and find out,” you said. His eyebrows twitched and he looked away.

“Wait wait wait wait,” Kuroo cried, leaning over Tsukishima again. “Is that an offer?”

“What would you say if it was?” you asked. Keiji scoffed.

“Seriously?” Bokuto asked, eyes huge. You shrugged and looked at your boyfriend.

“What do you think, Kei?”

Tsukishima choked on his drink, staring at you with wide eyes.

“Kei?” he asked, a deep flush crawling up his cheeks.

“Jesus Christ,” Keiji said, rubbing his eyes. You laughed.

“Sorry, Tsukki. Short for Keiji.” Tsukki’s eyes remained trained on your face, looking not-quite-convinced with a hint of something you couldn’t quite place. You turned back to Keiji before you could get more distracted. “Well?” He let out a long sigh.

“Whatever you want, love.” He looked defeated, but you could tell he wasn’t unenthusiastic about the idea. You saw the way he had cupped a hand on Bokuto’s hip earlier, supposedly to keep him steady as he leaned into his lap. You couldn’t suppress a grin as you glanced back at the other men at the table. Bokuto looked confused, eyes still wide. Kuroo had paled, and Tsukishima seemed to still be reeling from you accidentally using his given name.

“Our place is closest,” you said. All three men looked like they had just been slapped.

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

It started off awkard. There was plenty of time between your statement at the bar, getting the check, everyone finding their way back to your and Keiji’s shared apartment, and getting in a mental place where you could bring them all into your bedroom. Keiji had thrown a box of condoms and a small bottle of lube onto the foot of the bed, making everyone’s eyes go wide. Without kissing, touching, some sort of foreplay, it felt awkward, but truthfully, you had no connection to these men. They were just hot strangers that knew your boyfriend. You could do this.

“Who do you want first, love?” Keiji asked. You stared at the expectant faces in front of you. Kuroo’s eyes were glinting. He would be fun, but you didn’t want to jump into him right away. Tsukki was a silent brat, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. You’d fix that later. He wasn’t a problem to deal with first.

“Bo?” you said. The large man perked up at your words, wide eyes trained on yours. “Come here, baby.” You gestured for him and he complied, swallowing hard as he crossed the room to you. You stood as he got to you and pushed him to a seated position on the bed.

“You seem eager, puppy,” you said, sinking to your knees in front of him. He inhaled sharply.

“I’m not--oh!” His sentence was cut off as you palmed him through his sweatpants.

“You aren’t what, Bo? You can tell me.”

“I-- shit.” His eyes fluttered closed as you established a slow rhythm, feeling him getting harder at your touch.

“You aren’t going to talk to me?” you pouted. You tried to sound sympathetic but you spoke through a small smile. “You haven’t been touched like this in a while, have you?” He shook his head and let out an unsteady breath.

“Want me to help?” you asked. “Want me to suck your cock?” There were several inhales from the wall behind you, but you kept going. You rose up a bit, keeping a hand between his legs as you kissed along his neck.

“Yes,” he breathed.

“Aw, puppy, you know you have to ask better than that.”

“Will you -- fuck -- will you suck my cock?”

“So close, Bo. What do you call me?” There was the sound of Tsukki saying “seriously?” before he made a quiet grunting noise. Someone had elbowed him in the side.

“Ma’am?” Bokuto asked.

“Is that what you want to call me?”

He inhaled sharply and your hand ground into him harder. “I don’t want to say it.”

“Aw, puppy, why? You know I’m here to help.” You closed your teeth lightly on his earlobe and he exhaled hard, making you almost worried for his poor lungs. You whispered into his ear. “I want to hear you call me something pretty when you come down my throat.” His hips bucked up into your hand and he muttered something under his breath.

“What did you say, Bo? I couldn’t hear you.”

“M--” his eyes darted to the other men standing against the wall. You grabbed his face and made him look at you.

“Don’t worry about them. What do you want to call me, pup?”

“Mommy,” he said, so quiet you could barely hear him. You drew in a sharp breath. You were expecting something good, but that exceeded expectations. Your reaction seemed to give him a little confidence, because he spoke louder this time. “Mommy, please suck my cock.”

“Jesus Christ,” said a voice behind you. It sounded like Kuroo.

You grinned. “Good boy. Help mommy take off your pants.”

He immediately did as he was told, tugging them off and letting you throw them to the side. He was big, a little longer and thicker than Keiji. You felt heat rising in your stomach imagining your boyfriend in this same position years ago, using his adept fingers and skilled tongue on the man sitting in front of you.

“So big, puppy,” you said, smiling up at him. Let me help.” Before he could respond you had settled your lips over the head of his cock, swirling your tongue before taking him in deeper. He swore loudly and buried a hand in your hair. You hummed at his noises and moved your head faster. The room was filled with lewd noises that were quickly drowned out by Bokuto’s breathy whimpers.

“Talk to her, Bokuto-san, don’t be shy,” Keiji said. This is why you loved Keiji. He could swap personalities so fast, especially with the right partner.

“Feels good,” Bokuto stuttered, head tipping back. You heard footsteps approaching and felt a warm figure kneeling down behind you.

“Good girl.” It was Keiji. He leaned his face into the side of yours and undid your pants, slipping his hand down the front of them. “So wet already, love. I knew you were a slut, but Jesus.” He slipped his fingers inside you for a moment, wetting them before circling your clit quickly. He had a setter’s hands, precise and sure in every movement. You moaned and took Bokuto all the way into your mouth. He exhaled sharply and swore above you.

“You look so pretty with his cock down your throat, darling. Go faster for him, yeah? He likes it.” You complied, bobbing your head up and down and eliciting a series of loud noises from Bokuto.

“I want you to come when he comes, love. You’ll be good and do that for me, right?” You hummed in what you hoped would be interpreted as agreement and you sunk into Keiji’s touch. He knew exactly what to do to send you reeling in no time at all.

“Bokuto-san, tell her when you’re about to cum, yeah?” Bokuto nodded frantically and Keiji slapped his thigh. Bokuto jumped at the sudden strike, bucking his hips deeper into your mouth. “Use your words, Bokuto-san.”

“Yes. Fuck. I will, I promise.”

“Good boy,” Keiji said, rubbing faster circles against you. You continued to moan and you felt Bokuto twitch in your mouth. You knew he was close and thankfully, you were, too.

“Close, ‘Kashi.”

“Tell them, not me.”

“Mommy, please.” Bokuto moaned loudly. “Gonna cum soon.” Keiji leaned in close to your ear again, never losing his pace on you.

“Don’t swallow. Make him clean up his mess,” he said. You reached behind and squeezed his arm so he knew you understood, shaking a bit with your own approaching orgasm.

“Fuck. Holy shit,” Bokuto groaned, hips bucking as he came into your mouth. You continued moving on him as Keiji sent you over the edge, moaning around Bokuto’s cock.

“Dirty girl,” Keiji said through a laugh, pulling his hand away and returning to the wall. You pulled off of Bokuto, making sure not to accidentally swallow as you straddled his lap. He twitched at your advances, staring wide-eyed at your still-full mouth.

“Mommy, too -- fuck. Too sensitive.” You smiled and pressed your lips against his. He parted his lips instinctively, allowing you to kiss his own cum into his mouth. He swallowed obediently, moaning a bit as he did so. You smiled into the kiss, grinding your hips a little against him. He inhaled in a panic and pulled away, burying his face into your chest. You laughed and ran a hand lovingly through his hair.

“Good boy, Bokuto. Such a good boy. Should we let Kuroo go next? Wanna watch him fuck mommy?” Bokuto nodded against you, chest still heaving. You turned your head to face the wall. Keiji was smirking. Kuroo’s face was bright red. Tsukki didn’t look too phased, although you could see that he was fully hard.

“Kuroo, hon,” you said. He stiffened and pushed off the wall. “Bokuto says he wants to watch you fuck me.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Don’t be difficult. Get over here.”

Kuroo swallowed hard and approached you. You planted a quick kiss on Bokuto’s head and climbed off of him. He let out a gasp at the loss and laid back on the bed.

“Where do you want me?” Kuroo asked. You stared down at his hands and the growing bulge in his shorts and shook your head.

“No. Tell me where you want me.” You began working off the buttons of his shirt.

He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

You nodded.

“Lay back.”

You smiled and did as you were told, scooting farther up onto the bed. Bokuto shifted so he wasn’t in the way. Kuroo smiled and leaned on top of you, capturing your lips in his. He was eager, tongue slipping easily into your mouth. You could still feel the happy curve of his lips as he moved against you, sliding one hand deep in your hair and the other curving around your waist. You kissed him back enthusiastically, surprised but delighted by the genuine affection. The hand on your waist slipped up under your shirt, like he wanted to pull it off but was too focused on the kiss to pull away. You tugged away from his lips and he followed, eyes still closed. You chuckled and sat up a bit under him, pulling your shirt over your head and capturing his face between your hands, pulling into another eager kiss. He breathed a sigh of appreciation and ran his hands over your newly exposed skin.

He pulled away and buried his face into the crook of your neck, kissing and lightly biting the sensitive skin. You sighed and tangled your hands in his insane hair. He kissed down, stopping just above the fabric of your bra. He tipped his head up to look at you, eyes bright. He licked his lips and you felt heat reaching the very tips of your fingers. You ran your fingers through his hair and nodded, giving him all the go ahead he needed to pull down the front of your bra and take a nipple into his mouth. You sighed again, grip in his hair tightening. He let out a huff at your reaction and circled his tongue. He bit down gently and you let out a gasp, locking your legs around his midsection.

“Kuroo,” you breathed. He didn’t break away from you, just let his eyes flicker up to meet yours. You felt a blissed out smile reach your lips at the sight. “Take off your fucking clothes.” He sucked harder on your chest for just a moment, eliciting a gasp from you, then leaned back down to kiss you again, grin on his lips. He only kissed you for a moment, tongue hungry in your mouth, before tugging his shirt over his head and throwing it to the side recklessly.

“Oi!” Tsukishima called out from the side of the room. You and Kuroo both laughed as you worked in tandem to get his belt loose and pants open, kissing clumsily as you went. As soon as you got them down and he kicked them to the side, you pulled your legs up and wiggled your pants down. Kuroo reached behind you and unclasped your bra (something that took even Keiji several tries and a hearty laugh) and began to kiss over your chest again. You tipped your head back and reached down, wrapping your hand around his already hard cock through his boxer briefs. He hissed against you, biting down where he was. Your breath caught in your throat.

“Jesus,” he said as he pulled away again, hooking his fingers into the waistband of your lace undergarments and tugging them down. He stared at you for just a second before snatching up a condom and ripping it open with his teeth. “Flip over,” he said, voice rougher. You complied instantly, breathing heavily from the kisses and adrenaline. You were faced with a stunned Bokuto, who you had forgotten was still laying -- or now, sitting up -- on the bed. You laughed and reached out for him. His eyes were wide as he laced his fingers through yours. From behind you, Kuroo teased your entrance. You sighed and leaned your head forward onto your arm, bracing yourself. He pushed in gently at first, shuddering out a deep breath at the contact. Impatiently, you pushed back onto him, feeling his full length sinking into you.

“Fuck,” he groaned. He leaned forward on top of you while your fingernails dug into the back of Bokuto’s hand. He began moving his hips slowly, the curve of his dick hitting perfectly inside of you. You leaned forward onto your hand, still clasped with Bokuto’s. Kuroo sped up his strokes, leaning back up and getting a bit rougher. His hands found their way to your hips, tugging you back against him as he moved. You choked out a moan as he pushed into you deeper with the new motion.

“Kuroo,” Keiji said. Kuroo apparently didn’t hear, swearing under his breath. Keiji scoffed. “Tetsuro!”

“Fuck -- what, Akaashi?”

“Don’t talk to me like that.” Kuroo ignored him, slowing down for a moment, hitting a particularly deep part of you that made you whine and bury your face further against Bokuto’s hand. “Kuroo, hit them.”

“What?” Kuroo sounded slightly incredulous, or at least as incredulous as he could sound when out of breath and buried inside of you.

“Spank. Them.”

Kuroo chuckled slightly and brought one of his hands back to rest on your ass, rubbing it before winding it back and landing a heavy smack against you. You bucked up at the motion, your back losing its arch for a moment. Your mouth fell open and you felt Bokuto reach up, running a finger along your lip in fascination. You looked up at him, tongue lolling out to make contact with the digit. His eyes widened and he pressed the finger onto your tongue. Kuroo landed another hit on your ass and you jumped forward, taking Bokuto’s finger far into your mouth. He shuddered out a breath. Kuroo smacked you again and you moaned loudly, still maintaining eye contact with Bokuto. His breath was picking up as he watched you, tongue swirling around his finger.

“God, you really like this, don’t you?” Kuroo asked, a smile evident in his voice. “What if I . . .” he reached forward and gathered the hair at the nape of your neck, tightening his fist so he was pulling it without yanking your head backwards. Your eyes fell shut and you let out a muffled moan, the sensation adding a layer of delicious pain on top of the pleasure racking your body.

“I knew it,” Kuroo continued. “Jesus, you’re fun.” He gasped, hips jumping slightly. You heard a scoff at his words. Your eyes flickered open and found the two men still sitting on the side of the room. Keiji was smiling, but Tsukishima looked like he was trapped in a haze, unable to fully comprehend what was happening in front of him. You pulled off of Bokuto’s finger with one last slide of your tongue. He shivered and brought his hand back against his chest.

“Tsukki,” you sang. Tsukishima looked up, eyebrow cocked. You let out a gasp and your eyes flickered closed for a second as Kuroo landed another smack. You smiled at the tall blond and the expression dropped off his face. “Come here, Tsukishima.” He rolled his eyes.

“You seem occupied,” he said, voice wavering just a bit. You bit down on your hand as Kuroo slowed down again, dragging his cock nearly fully out before steadily driving back in.

“Tsukishima, I’m not playing that game,” you managed through a gasp. “Get over here.” He rolled his eyes and stood, beginning to approach you. Your eyes met his hungrily. “Take off your shirt,” you said as he stopped in front of you. You moved so you could face him, Kuroo moving with you and adjusting to the new angle easily. Tsukishima made no move to follow your instruction, staring down at you with an unreadable but distinctly gruff expression on his face. You scoffed and reached out, grabbing his waistband and pulling him to you. You could see his dick, long and thin, fully hard through his slacks. Impatiently, you pulled at the button until it opened. You yanked down, freeing him from his pants and undergarments  in one motion. You wasted no time leaning forward and wrapping your lips around him, hollowing your cheeks and moaning as Kuroo picked up his pace again.

“Jesus fuck,” Kuroo gasped. Tsukishima didn’t look like he knew what to do with his hands, holding them up by his chest in surprise. You hummed around his cock, looking up at him. He held eye contact, previously cocky eyes wide. Kuroo let out a groan and dug the tips of his fingers into your hips.

“Fuck. I’m cl -- fuck!” he groaned, hips stuttering. He wasn’t even capable of finishing a coherent thought, pounding into you from behind. He moved your entire body with each stroke, making you involuntarily take Tsukishima deeper into your mouth at every forward motion. Tsukki finally relaxed a bit, hands gently burying in your hair as Kuroo’s swearing got louder. He leaned down, supporting himself with one arm on the bed and the other wrapped around your midsection. He plucked at your nipples, elliciting surprised sounds from you that were muffled against Tsukishima.

You felt the moment Kuroo came. His face pushed into your back, panting breaths heavy against your skin as his hips broke their rhythm. He pulsed inside of you, dragging a groan from deep in your chest. Tsukishima’s grip on your hair tightened and he let out a sharp hiss, clearly trying to hold back any noise.

Kuroo finally pulled out and tipped away from you, probably realizing how close he was to Tsukishima. He stood up and took a few steps back, brushing his black hair, now sticky with sweat, out of his eyes. You popped your mouth off of Tsukishima and ran your hands up quickly, popping the buttons of his shirt open from the bottom up.

“What--” he started. You cut him off.

“Bo, baby, move.” Your order was gentle but firm. Bokuto recognized your tone immediately, scrambling pantsless up from the bed and moving out of your way. You sat up on your heels and pulled on Tsukishima’s shoulders, pushing him down onto the bed. He sat down and backed against the headboard, brows furrowed. His face flushed when he looked down and realized he was fully exposed, but you remedied that easily, crawling into his lap and silencing whatever snarky remarks were boiling in his brain to calm his nerves. You planted a heated kiss against his lips.

He was a gentler and less smiley kisser than Kuroo, but more precise. Every movement of his tongue felt like a calculated effort, feeling out your weak spots and taking advantage of them once he found them. You sighed and sat farther down in his lap, grazing his cock between your legs. You ground down slightly before realizing -- shit. You were so distracted by the kiss that you almost forgot. You leaned back, breaking the kiss but remaining in his lap. You snatched up a condom and wagged it in front of Tsukishima’s eyes. He scoffed.

“No need to act so giddy,” he said. You just smiled at him, taking in the vision of the red faced man in front of you. His lips were slick and parted, like he was desperately waiting for another kiss, and his glasses were slowly de-fogging. You laughed and captured his lips in yours again, biting lightly at his bottom lip and just barely teasing him with your tongue. When you pulled away, he followed you slightly, then immediately sat back and blinked, like he was trying to cover up the motion. You huffed a laugh and slid his glasses off his face.

“Kashi,” you said, holding them out behind you without breaking eye contact with Tsukishima. You felt them leave your hand and you returned your touch to Tsukki’s face, running your thumb along his bottom lip.

“Cute,” you mumbled, nearly laughing again at the way his face turned an even darker shade of red.

“Agashi,” Bokuto whined behind you. You laughed and peered over your shoulder. Bokuto was squirming. He had put his boxer-briefs back on, but you could see that he was hard again, probably painfully so.

“Keiji, love, take care of him,” you said, carefully putting on the gentle tone you used with Bokuto. Keiji slid next to Bokuto, whose eyes were now wide, and you turned back to Tsukishima knowing your boyfriend had everything under control. You heard Bokuto gasp and Kuroo mutter “Jesus,” but you just held the condom up to Tsukishima’s mouth. He looked at you with confusion written on his face.

“What?” he asked.

“Open,” you replied, holding it closer to his mouth. His eyes grew wide but he leaned in, opening his mouth and closing his teeth on the wrapper. You smirked at him and tugged at the foil. You pulled out the condom when it was finally open and tossed the wrapper from Tsukishima’s lips to the side. You replaced it with your lips as you moved your hand between your legs and slipped the condom onto Tsukki. He gasped at the contact, leaning his head back against the headboard. You followed him with your lips and deepened the kiss as you wrapped a hand around him, lining him up with your entrance. You sunk down, not giving either of you a chance to really react until he was fully sheathed inside of you. He broke from your lips and leaned his forehead against your cheek. He let out a shuddering gasp and wrapped his arms around your waist. You turned your face and kissed his forehead, then lifted up slightly and sunk back down onto him. He gasped and you began to rock more steadily, slowly picking up the energy and pace.

“Fuck,” he muttered. His head fell to the crook of your neck and he let out a sigh, fingers burying into your skin.

“God, you feel good, Tsukki,” you breathed into his hair. He grunted in response, lips pursing to kiss at your skin. You sighed and tipped your head back, exposing more of your neck to his eager lips. His hands shifted to your hips and he gripped them tightly, pulling down as you slid over him, making him hit you somehow even deeper. You gasped and threw your arms around his neck.

“Shit,” you whispered as he took control of your pace, pulling you down hard. “Tsukki,” you sighed, ruffling his hair.

“I--” he started, but was cut off by a sweet, choked sound that came from deep in his throat. “Say my name again.”

“Tsukki,” you said. He shook his head against you. As he tipped his head up towards yours, you heard the familar click of the lube cap and felt weight sink onto the edge of the bed. You were unsure who it was until Bokuto let out a strangled gasp. Ah. Keiji really was taking care of him. You pressed a quick kiss against Tsukishima’s lips and leaned your forehead against his.

“Say my name like earlier,” he said. “The other one.” Your eyes widened and you smiled.

“Are you sure, Kei?” you teased. He groaned. “Aw, you like that?” He didn’t respond, but his face was screwed up into a look of concentration and pleasure that almost looked like pain.

“Again.”

“You feel so good, Kei.” He moaned, a sound you didn’t think you were going to be lucky enough to hear. “So good. Fuck, Kei.” You scattered his name into bouts of praise and swearing. He removed one of his hands from you, making you have to keep up the pace with your hips. You didn’t understand why until his thumb pressed firmly against your clit, starting to draw small, focused circles against it. Your hips stuttered out of pace and you moaned, tightening your grip around his neck. You were so oversensitive from Kuroo and Keiji’s advances that the movement on your clit was almost too much. Your breathing was coming in gasps.

“Bokuto-san, relax,” you heard Keiji say, though it felt like it was a thousand miles away.

“Get off of my fucking foot,” Tsukishima said, sounding frustrated even though the words were strained. Your eyebrows pinched together, frustrated.

“Move, Bokuto,” Keiji said, and you felt the weight shift again.

“Kei,” you said, loud enough to give Tsukishima pause. “Don’t pay attention to them.” He looked suprised.

“I --” he started.

“No.” You cut him off with a particularly devastating buck of your hips, and his expression changed. Just a moment later, though, he was glancing behind you at the source of the muffled gasps and whines behind you. You grabbed him by the jaw and stopped moving.

“Open,” you said. His eyebrows knit together.

“What?”

“Open.” You ran your thumb down his bottom lip, holding it for a moment before he complied. You leaned above him and spat.

Shock was the first thing to flash over Tsukki’s eyes, followed very quickly by something dark. He swallowed, staring into your eyes like you just set him on fire.

“Learn your lesson?” you asked. He said nothing, but his hands returned to your hips and dug into them, like he was begging you to move. “Good,” you said through a smile. You began to rock into his lap once more.

He let out a genuine moan, choppy and desperate and gorgeous. It was like that one motion made him yours, completely. His thumb returned to your clit, rubbing faster and more desperate circles. You crashed your lips into his, moaning into his mouth as he returned the favor. There was something so intimate in his motions. It was hard to believe this Tsukishima was the same asshole from earlier.

“Fuck, Kei, I’m close,” you said. Tsukki nodded, forehead still pressed against yours.

“Come with me,” he mumbled. If you weren’t so close to him you wouldn’t have believed he said it, but sure enough, you were both leaning against each other like your lives depended on it. He started swearing, small “fuck”s that grew in volume the closer he got. You could feel yourself reaching the peak, eyes squeezing shut and body locking. Right when you thought you couldn’t take it anymore, right when you were about to beg Tsukishima to hurry up and finish so you could die against him, his grip around you tightened. He could still move you, riding out his orgasm inside of you, but he squeezed you so close you thought you could shift into his chest if you really wanted to. Your body shook, jerking involuntarily against his thumb. Both of you were panting, and it felt like the world went black around you as you kept your faces pressed together.

You couldn’t tell when the moment ended, but when it did Tsukishima was kissing along your shoulders and allowing you to slump against him, arms barely holding you up.

“Why don’t you lay down?” he whispered, and you nodded, feeling almost drunk. You swung your leg off of him, shuddering at the loss of him inside of you. He laughed at your reaction and pressed a kiss against your forehead as you laid on your back.

“Love, scoot closer,” you heard Keiji say. Fuck. They weren’t done with you yet. You opened your eyes to finally see what had been happening behind you while you were falling apart in Tsukishima’s lap.

Bokuto was laying on his back, legs pitched up slightly. Keiji’s hand was pressed flush up against him, preparing him for who knows what else. Your eyes widened and, without thinking, you did what your boyfriend told you to do.

“Bokuto, turn around,” Keiji said, and Bokuto did as he was instructed. He looked blissed out and shaky, but allowed himself to be pushed forward until his face was laying against one of your thighs. He smiled up at you, as if he was greeting an old friend intead of laying ass up with your boyfriend positioning himself behind him.

“Y/n, open your legs.” Fuck. Bokuto’s cheeks flushed and he turned to look back at Keiji.

“‘Kashi, I--” He was cut off by one slow, perfect thrust by Keiji. You did as you were told, staring up at Keiji’s face in awe. His eyes had closed and he looked unbelievably content.

“You know what to do, Bokuto,” he said. “Just make sure you breathe.”

With that, Bokuto buried his mouth against you.

There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation, like Keiji’s commands were magic. He had been like this as long as you had known him, but judging by the surprised sounds Kuroo and Tsukki made, it wasn’t the Akaashi they knew.

Bokuto seemed hungry, like you were the one thing holding him back from starvation. His tongue made long strokes against you, making your hips shake. He stopped every so often to focus on your clit, swirling his tongue or sucking harshly. You weren’t even sure what kind of noises you were making at this point, just that someone was making a lot of sound and it was more than likely you. Akaashi’s thrusts were slow and deep, making Bokuto groan against you. It was an overwhelming feeling, your boyfriend fucking someone else into you. With how oversensitive you were, you didn’t think you’d last long.

Your orgasm wasn’t a slow build this time. It was choppy and harsh, almost painful as Bokuto sucked enthusiastically on your clit. Your legs couldn’t stay open on their own, crushing his head between your thighs as you made a panicked noise. The rumble of another groan from Bokuto is what sent you over, back arching and head leaning back into the bed. You were breathless, not making much sound as your body reacted out of your control. You had to push Bokuto off of you and slide away in order to get him to stop. He was so eager it seemed like he would have tried for another if you hadn’t escaped.

Now all you could do was watch as Akaashi leaned forward, taking Bokuto’s cock in his hand and timing movement with his hips. Bokuto was drooling onto the bed, making the sweetest whining noises you had ever heard. He came quickly after that, crying Akaashi’s name into the comforter as his lower body jerked. Akaashi fucked him through it and followed soon behind, face scrunching and breaths coming out as gasps.

Bokuto collapsed against the bed as Keiji pulled out, yanking off the condom and tucking himself back into his slacks like nothing had happened. God, he was a piece of work sometimes.

You stood, collecting your clothing from the floor. You pulled on your shirt, not bothering with your bra. You didn’t even know where it was.

You missed the left leg hole of your pants twice before Kuroo finally wrapped an arm around you and helped you get them up, even buttoning them for you once they were on.

“Well,” you said, but it came out strained. You coughed, smiling up at the group of men. “That was . . .” You couldn’t finish the sentence, letting out a choppy laugh instead.

“That was,” Kuroo agreed, laughing with you.

“If you guys would be willing . . .” Tsukishima said.

“Can we please do that again?” Bokuto said, a bit too loud for the room. Keiji’s eyes grew wide.

“Not right now!” he said. Bokuto laughed.

“Not right now. But sometime?” They all turned to face you, looking precious and eager. You laughed, then sighed heavily.

“Absolutely.”

[genesisrose74]

Christmas With the Karasuno Boys (HC’s)!!

Part 2: Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, & Narita

Part 1 (Daichi, Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, & Ennoshita) here!

A/n: Tumblr said my word count was too much so I’m splitting this bad boi up into two parts :p Enjoy!!

*****

Kageyama

This boy has a secret soft side for Christmas istg

He HATES showing it to other people on his team and shit

But holy bejeezus he is mesmerized by the holiday in every way possible

Lights, sweets, snow, just like,,, the general magic of December is the most awe-inspiring thing to him

Since he is still a sporty and pretty active mofo, you decided to fuel that on your holiday-themed date as Kags had noted that he’d never gone sledding before

Your jaw was on the FLOOR when he first told you because he would 10000% enjoy the hell out of it

And so you dragged him out to this popular sledding hill that you frequented as a child and taught him what to do

Not gonna lie, he was kind of nervous

“Well you’re experienced at it. I don’t wanna mess up”

🥺🥺🥺 bubby

“You won’t, Tobio! I can already tell you’re gonna be a sledding pro”

Feels a little better after that, but he asks you to help him out for his first run down the hill

He sits behind you with his arms secured snugly around your waist and his head nestled on top of your shoulder

Which would probably seem really funny to passerby because this boy is tol and intimidating in most other situations

As soon as the sled started down, Kags tightened his grip and made this cute little yelp of surprise

But you were laughing insanely hard at the combination of going really fast downhill whilst also having your boyfriend cling to you for dear life

And then when the sled stopped safely at the bottom he started to chuckle

FULL ON, GENUINE SOUND OF ENJOYMENT

That shit is rare

Y’all stayed at that hill for half the day because it was so fun

You got him a new, very high quality athletic roller for Christmas because his old one was just not cutting it anymore

And you also gave him this really cute bracelet with a volleyball, his jersey number, and a little strawberry milk set of charms attached to it

It matched this really pretty and subtle chain he’d bought for your birthday

His blueberry eyes got all wide with affection dfjdskfjsdk—

Got super blushy and couldn’t get a handle on his speech for a fat minute

He thinks you’re the coolest person ever no I do not take criticism

Geez you’re both adorable together, ideal “stoic boy becomes warmer during the holidays around his love” movie plot and I love it

Hinata

He is all in on Christmas. Not a chance this boy doesn’t get excited as hell

Will openly go into holiday mode as soon as November is over

Was secretly already listening to his Christmas playlist before then

He is one of the sweetest gift givers, that is FACTUAL

If you want something really badly, he will take notice and get it as your present immediately

He’ll also gift you an extra thing that’s handmade 🥺

Like some pastries that his mom helped him make, or a specially made basket of soaps with your favorite scents in it

It’s absolutely adorable and you cherish those ones especially

Is happy if you simply get him something; mans doesn’t care what it is

New practice volleyball? A brand new sweatshirt? Elated either way

You had seen an advertisement for a friendly match between Japan and Poland’s men’s volleyball teams, so you waited online on the ticket sales website until the minute it opened

Spoiler alert: you got some banger seats 😌✨

Shoyo may or may not have tackled you when he read the ticket details, letting out his excited giggle (you know the one)

“I can’t believe you got these, angel! You’re coming with me, right? You’ve gotta! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Gives you sweet little kisses between each individual ‘thank you’

“Of course I’ll go with you, Sho! I’m really glad you like it!”

He will give you the brightest smile of all time — that shit makes Christmas lights pale in comparison

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

RIGHT BACK AT YOU BBY

Hold his hands to warm up together when temperatures drop pls :)))

It’s become a weekly December tradition to watch a Christmas movie with Natsu at the Hinata household

She’ll sit in your lap while the three of you are cuddled under a blanket together, and Shoyo will lace his fingers with yours all discreetly

In conclusion, I am a sucker for holiday Hinata 🥺🥺🥺

Tsukishima

His room is decorated to the very minimum simply because his mom and brother had insisted on him being festive

You know those holiday instrumentals that are really calming and jazzy and stuff? Yeah, that’s the only Christmas music he will tolerate in his house

While he’s still got his usual icy demeanor, this blond bitch does get slightly less snippy with the Karasuno boys

Is always on the nose with getting you the exact thing you wanted for a present

Like,,, TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL

You don’t even have to bring that shit up beforehand, he just KNOWS

“Tsukki, how did you—?”

“It’s pretty obvious, with the way that one ad kept showing up on your phone.”

b r u h

How does he pay such good attention without even letting on??

As for his own present, you’ll usually get him two: one gag gift and one more serious gift

His dino plush collection size is partly due to the former’s contributions this time of year

Yes the dinos have names

You exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve with all the team (you made him go) and he saved your more serious one for last

It was a scarf that you’d gotten custom made, which had a Spotify code knitted into the fabric

Scanning the code opened the app to a playlist you’d created especially for him

He got pretty quiet when figuring it out and scrolling through the playlist

Would let out a certified Tsukki Nose Exhale™ when he came across certain songs

The more subdued reaction was expected because it’s Tsukishima

His little chuckles and warmer eyes were enough of a giveaway to tell you he very much enjoyed your gift

But on the walk home, he took the scarf and wrapped it around you both, and then brought his arm around your waist

“Thank you.”

You deadass almost combusted because it was so unexpected??

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Kei”

Way to respond calm and collected 😌👍

But on the inside your body was in freak out mode

He wears the scarf all the time jdfsklfjdsk

Yamaguchi

Take the most tooth rotting fluff you could imagine

And then double that and put a fucking cherry on top

That’s the equivalent of what Christmas is like with Yama Yama

Y’all are like kids in a candy store — literally

For your Christmas dates it’s all about sweets and shared giggles, so frequent trips to the candy and baking isles of the grocery store is a must

Making gingerbread houses, peppermint tasting (mostly trying those different and wild ass candy cane flavors), you name it and it’s there

Stomach aches? I don’t know her

Yeah you do but they go away with enough butterfly kisses 🥰

Tadashi is exceptionally good at decorating gingerbread houses for whatever reason

He put a poll on his instagram between yours and his final products and he won by a landslide

It’s not like yours was necessarily bad, more like he’s just an icing master

You also might have eaten too many gumdrops which left your rooftop lacking in ✨spice✨

But it’s okay because Tadashi donated some of his leftovers to you

He’s such a sweetheart uwu

Please for the love of everything get him something heartfelt as his present

You know those long distance bracelets for couples?

Basically if your s/o taps the icon on the bracelet it’ll send a little vibration to the other person’s as a notice that you’re thinking about them

This boy seeks constant reassurance, and you love to give him his deserved love and validation, so it was the perfect present

It takes a second for him to figure out what it is, but after reading the directions and testing it out, the most adorable smile erupted on his face

And then since you already had yours on, he tapped the little icon again with a giggle

“Hey there”

It becomes common habit to tap it at least once every couple hours

GOD HE IS SO CUTE

He is just so soft this time of year, give him all the love and he will return it tenfold ☺️

Kinoshita

This boy is absolutely an awkward cutie and an avid romantic

Give him the cliches and he will eat em up, no doubt

It naturally gets more apparent around the holidays

He’ll take you on pretty winter walks, give you lots of little gifts (while blushing a hell of a lot), and is just a professional at stumbling upon some mistletoe

Wow wonder how it got there, Hisashi

He’s quite a bit more confident when simply alone with you than in a crowded space

And that definitely shows when he takes you out on a secluded sleigh ride around town

Yeah you heard me

A fuckin’ sleigh ride

Horses and blankets and everything

Don’t even ask how he managed to pull it off, because he loves watching the cogs turn in your head and simply will not give you a straight answer

Of course there’s the nice driver guy who’s there, but in the back alone Kinoshita’s confidence goes 📈📈

Lots of flirting, tons of skimmed touches and shared giggles throughout the ride

I legitimately simp really hard for him

Anyways it was a gorgeous ride through town and super fun

On Christmas Eve you both exchange gifts together and tbh whatever you got him will leave him happy and flustered regardless

But when he opens the wrapping paper to find an entire set of vintage VHS tapes, he’s stunned

He owns a VHS (actually canon!) and honestly loves it to death, and the fact that you’d get him tapes of pretty high quality for his collection meant a lot

Gosh he’s so underrated but a definite sweetheart, give him all the holiday love

Narita

Another underrated bby 🥺

He’s so chill and is pretty open to anything during the holidays, so long as he gets to spend ample time with you, his friends, and his family

Definitely more of an indoor person despite being accepting of most situations

Hence why you thought a cute little indoor winter picnic would be right up his alley

Which it absolutely was 😌✨ nice work

You’d made plans while in secret communications with his family members about the whole thing

He’d been pretty stressed lately with trying to handle his schoolwork, while also helping out others with theirs

Despite being a wonderful tutor, it was clearly becoming a bit overwhelming as he tried to grapple with so much at once

So when he came home one day to find a pristine house with you settled on a blanket in his living room, he was quite surprised

There’s a cheese plate, soda cans in a cute ice box, sandwiches, snacks, a presparked fireplace — you and his family went all out

Really adorable I cannot lie

“I thought you said you were going gift shopping today?”

“I might have maybe lied :P”

So he gives the sweetest little smile and sits across from you

Y’all stay there and talk for hours

After finally getting through everything previously laid out on the blanket spread, you slid him a little rectangular box that he looked at curiously

“Already? I haven’t wrapped yours yet!”

“Mine can wait a bit! Just open yours”

And so he does, and you watch with a face-splitting grin as he looks down in awe

You got tickets to see his favorite rock band in concert while they were on tour

He sprung onto you and pulled you into the tightest hug ever

“Holy shit you’re the best I love you so much how do you get even more loveable every day—!?!l”

It’s a jumble of words but you’re able to put it together and it makes you giggle

He deadass sprints upstairs to go get your gift and make sure that you feel as equally appreciated as he does

In simple words: wholesome holiday sweetness 🥰

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Top 20 2021

My Favorites (updated)

Hello my readers, it’s been a while since I just posted something not related to a headcanon and I am doing one right now. I just wanted to take a bit of a break to just get SOMETHING on here on my days off work. Plus I’m just trying to find my groove when it comes to writing again so hopefully this helps me just get back into the mood of making a post more often lol. I wanted to revisit this topic for a while just because we’ve had a lot more events and a lot more alts in the game were added. And I know for a fact LifeWonders reads these posts in some capacity because I have meme’d an AR into the game with my top picks from the last list I did for Christmas 2019. No I didn’t. I’m just joking around and I know LifeWonders doesn’t read this.

Anyways rather than just make up a list on the spot like last year I decided to use the Housamo Sortmaker (Link: https://club.housamo.xyz/sortmaker/ ) to try and make a list that’s more revealing to what I was thinking at the time. Since I talked about 20 characters ish last time I’m just gonna read from my 20th place to my 1st place spots and try to justify whatever I was thinking at the time. Anyways-

20: Marchosias and Susan: This one was a surprise for me if I’m being honest but I’m just gonna blame the fact on Shukou’s recent involvement with LifeWonders in the form of Live A Hero and how Ryekie and Mokdai live in my headspace rent free whenever I think about the characters in that game. Maybe we can see about getting some LAH headcanons since that’s a LifeWonders property too). So out of all the characters Shukou drew for Housamo why did I pick Marchosias? Easy, it’s been 4 years and this poor man has yet to receive a proper alt or any kind of skin for that matter and I think that it’s a crime. Sure he’s not my favorite but he’s definitely grown on me because he’s just a gentle dad kind of character and his design has grown on me over the years. I just hope he doesn’t get left behind since he has a lot of really interesting and potential things to look forward to in the future given how the main story has unfolded.

19: Shiva/Algernon: The helmet heads are together because DAI XT quickly became my favorite artist for Fire Emblem Heroes and I really just like their designs. DAI XT just knows how to draw robots, armor and muscles well. Also Chapter 11 with Shiva you can read into some interesting perspectives. I don’t want to spoil any of the untranslated content for anyone who’s waiting for the official english translation. But if you are curious Roureem has a blogspot where he posts summaries of the newly released events.

Link: https://housamosummaries.blogspot.com/

18: Cthugha: I love this goober so much. He’d constantly try to act super sentai just trying say good morning everyday. He may not be very bright but that just adds to his charm and honestly I enjoy how he always tries to play the hero in a lot of scenarios because it’s refreshing when they implement him after a bunch of heavy hitting story stuff. I’m not gonna spoil too much about it but I will say he’s more than welcome after everything Chapter 10 and 11 put the reader through.

17: Mineaki: I’ve made a post about him being one of my least favorites way back when I first started this blog and let me just say how times have changed and I’ve learned the value of not judging a book by it’s cover. I still think there’s something a bit off about Kowmei’s style for his characters, but Mineaki has definitely grown on me. He’s a caring instructor who does watch out for his students even if it’s not always in the most direct way possible. Not to get into too many spoilers he’s got a lot of intrigue around him as well and I am curious to see his role get expanded down the line.

16: Ded: Housamo is the reason I really like christmas. The Christmas stories despite following a similar structure to each other do tend to be my favorite stories. Ded himself is also just another good dad character. He’s also two guys for the price of one, so I mean… you know… you’ve got the forever ask your other dad situation. There wasn’t much thought put into this choice I just like santa as a concept because I think the outfits are cute, it’s always nice to get something for people you care about on Christmas and Ded is the perfect embodiment of both sides to Christmas.

15: Shinya: Everyone we need to manifest buff Shinya for 2021, this is not a drill. This is legitimate. We must make Taromati’s and my wish come true. To be more serious again he’s just a sweet and gentle character. He’s also drawn by my favorite Housamo artist. Their characters always just look so naturally good. I’m just surprised he hasn’t gotten much of an alt given he’s perfect material for Valentine’s day. He’s just a soft boy and I would love for him to be in more things because I just enjoy seeing him.

14: Jacob: I have to be honest Jacob is on here because every time I look at him he just gets more handsome to me. I wasn’t all that impressed with his introduction and we don’t know much about his background but I’ve just been drawn to him more and more. Maybe it’s just because he’s drawn by GomTang? I just like looking at him and I can’t help it. To speak a bit less crass he’s another gentleman kind of guy and those are always nice.

13: Shennong: Yeah I like the doc a lot. Firstly, I’m a huge sucker for big bulls and Shennong fits the bill. The white fur really adds to his appeal visually and the purple horns give off a bit of an unnatural appearance. Shen feels like someone who’s been touch starved and alone for a long time given how he acts as a character and when we actually hug him I just lost it. He always has others well being on his mind so he’s not afraid to jump in and help, or give a much needed lecture about when you need to take better care of yourself. He just comes across as very well balanced overall.

12: Heracles: I won’t lie- at first he didn’t interest me much. He looked incredibly plain when among the rest of the cast and he seemed like the typical “bait” character since the banner had Echo, Barguest, Gyumao and Snow. But after reading the translation for Valentine Time Slip I was taken aback at how much of a gentle giant he turned out to be and I just really liked his interactions with the others in that event. And honestly his special quest from that year was one of the more unique ones given the slower pace and more romantic vibe it had. After the event warmed my heart I did a complete 180 and I just knew I really liked him.

11. Yasuyori: Before I start praising him I feel I have to justify why he didn’t quite make top 10 and it will have some mild Chapter 10 spoilers. To be as vague as possible his resolution just didn’t vibe with me at the end of Chapter 10. Like it wasn’t a bad resolution and it was the right choice to make but in my opinion there really wasn’t a moment I felt was clear where he made a choice for himself. Everything just sort of happened around him and it felt like he didn’t really do much to improve his situation. To an extent I kind of see that being the idea given his origins and the story he’s based on and there is some semblance of him coming to terms with himself alongside his isolation being portrayed pretty well, but I just wasn’t satisfied with it as much as I would like to be. With that out of the way, oh my god I just want this boy to never stop smiling and I just want to give him hugs constantly please he just deserves to be happy!!! Yasuyori is a character who’s got a lot of baggage and he’s just trying to find ways to properly cope with his trauma and not repeat past mistakes and I just really like that idea. His role in Xmas 2020 (sorry I just forgot the name of that event, but its when he gets his alt) was a much better representation for his character in my eyes. I’m not gonna spoil anything like I keep saying but he isn’t one to disappoint in future appearances and I just hope this lovable lug keeps getting the support he deserves.

10: Hephaestus: A spicy way to start the latter half of the list. I just want to give this lad a hug and tell him he is worthy of love. But at the same time he is a little shit… and I love that. I can’t fully explain why I grow a paternal instinct in me seeing this grown man sob about his mother but I just do. I want to keep him safe and give him all the affection he wants. Though I am aware a lot of Hephaestus’s interest in his parental figure is… questionable. I am just gonna say I would accept his love for what it is and he just wants approval.

9. Shuten: I’ll be honest I have no proper reason for why I like Shuten so much. He’s just a cool and reliable guy. He just seems like a go with the flow kind of person most of the time and he’s a bit more direct than most of the characters which I always appreciate. Plus I have an unspoken bias for naop guys in Housamo.

8. Durga: While not number 1 on this list, I still really like Durga. She’s quirky but not to an annoying degree, she’s determined and definitely very confident in her own abilities. Her growing to be more sociable throughout her events is something I enjoy seeing because it really creates this sense of growth.

7. Kyuma: I get a lot of people don’t like Kowmei’s art but I really think we should look past it because Kyuma is one of the sweeter picks. He’s someone who just wants to prove himself for his own worth and not what David can provide, but David is part of him and it just creates the potential for a good arc. Plus this boy is unintentionally smooth and will just take your heart when possible. I honestly want to see Kyuma more in events because he’s honestly the jock that carries 3 of the 4 brain cells. He’s also the last one without an alt so I’m just hoping he gets one in 2021 because he really deserves one in my opinion. (Also fan art makes him really cute).

6. Tomte: Tomte is relatively new but honestly his event in 2019 really endeared me to him. I’m trying to be spoiler free because the best way to enjoy these stories is for yourselves but let me just say his arc in the event was really endearing to me and much more than I was expecting. His fan service is also incredibly hammy and I love it. Visually Tomte is one of my favorites, I love his multi colored hair and starlit pupils cuz it makes his otherwise more generic look have some flare. I knew I liked him out the box and when I read about him in the summaries and can’t wait to read the official translation for him. I was just very endeared.

5. Tetsuya: Tetsuya fucks. Moving on…

Jokes aside this one’s a bit simple. I have no shame in admitting I think he’s attractive and his whole resistance towards wanting a relationship is cute in a weird roundabout way. When he says no I just want it MORE. I just really like duo haired tsunderes.

4. Kengo: Kengo 3rd alt 2021. Please LifeWonders I need my favorite Summoner. He’s a bro and that’s what counts. Kengo has got your back, not afraid to rely on you, a very fun and dynamic guy. Sure he’s not that bright when it comes to making plans or any book smart, but there are times where he’s the best at being able to read the room or just understand what someone needs to hear even if it isn’t always what someone wants to hear. His bullheaded nature is actually one of his redeeming qualities because it’s nice to just not overcomplicate things and just understand what’s actually going on. Yes the early story didn’t do many favors for him but to me the events, especially the later ones, do much more work for his character. To me, at least.

3. Ashigara: Ashigara is best bear, and I will defend that stance in 2021. The main thing that draws me to Ashigara is that I can see a bit of myself in him. He gets very emotional when he gets left alone, he’s very loud when with his friends, has a tendency of speaking his mind- just someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. I also appreciate that in spite of the negative he isn’t someone who backs down when the going gets tough and in a few instances he’s able to hold his ground physically at least.

2. Wakan Tanka: Love at first sight. This ray of sunshine still persists as the number 1 husband, but number 2 character. Firstly I am a huge fan of the partial beast aesthetic. The buffalo ears and the horns  are absolutely adorable. Secondly he’s a perfect body type; he’s not too muscular but not exactly flabby. Third he is just so positive and I love that. He’s someone I admire and wanna hug.

1. Taurus Mask: The more things change the more they stay the same. I’m still a big Taurus Mask fan for all the same reasons as last time. I just… relate to this boy. He is an incredibly shy boy who uses his public persona for confidence. Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it’s like we’re soul bros!

So yeah, my tastes haven’t changed in a year and a half.

[welllpthisishappening]

Hello there, I see you're back on blue-line drabbles! I love them, I am obsessed with this universe. I don't know if I ever came back to say hi after I read all your big fics, but somehow I liked each even better than the last! I don't know how that's possible! But anyway, I think one of the best signs of a good writer/good story is when you're not ready to leave the world once you've finished, and Blue Line is one of the few fanfics I've read where even well after I've finished it, (cont)

(cont) I want to keep living in it and I end up writing my own fic of it in my head (strange, I know). Anyway, for whatever reason, I got really invested in Roland and Lizzie's relationship. Like, how did they end up dating after knowing each other for literally Lizzie's entire life? How did the adults react? Do you have any Lizzie/Roland stories up your sleeve? They would not go unread :)

————

Hello, yes, listen, this ask has lived rent free™ in my head since I first got it and I cannot properly convey how absolutely, goddamn wonderful it is. I am a broken record of outdated references , but it continues and will always amaze me that people are not only interested in Blue Line (more than three years!!! after I originally started posting) but are also interested in other characters in the story who are, for all intents and purposes, original characters at this point. Like the overall size my heart becomes when reading something like that could potentially cause a serious medical condition.

But, like, in a nice way.

So thank you, thank you, thank you. It genuinely warms the cockles of my entire soul. And, like, if you wanna share those fic ideas of the fic, you’ll never hear me say no. Just like I will never turn down the opportunity to write more stuff. Which is what’s under the cut. This stuff includes:

Roland and Lizzie’s first kiss, what I hope is some legitimate banter, more kissing, obvious flirting, and Roland being something of a sap.

Also, uh, it’s entirely possible that I have also already written: Roland and Lizzie’s first “I love you,” their wedding and some other stuff where their kid is involved. Seriously, guys, I am always down to write other relationships in this ‘verse.

————

It was, she figured, something almost passably close to, sort of resembling, definitely inching somewhere nearer to—

Assured. 

Unavoidable. 

Inexorable

Inevitable. 

That was a bad word. That last word. The third one was pretty impressive, honestly. Vocabulary, wise. She’d have to remember that one later. The last one, though. Made teeth Lizzie wasn’t even aware she possessed ache as she ground them together, a pronounced tension in her jaw that was likely affecting her shoulders as well. That word. An awful word. Boasted less-than-positive connotations, letters practically dripping with lack of self-control and overtly aggressive infatuation, but if the world expected her not to be a little in love with Roland Locksley by the time she turned fourteen and noticed that slight indentation in his right cheek every time he smiled, well, then the world had another thing coming. 

Dimple, that was the appropriate description. Another word. More words. Too many words. All of them bouncing off the slope of her skull and scratching at the back of her brain, nearly distracting her from what should have been the very pleasant buzz lingering beneath whatever biological thing made up her top and bottom lips. 

Which were parted in an emotion very similar to overwhelming surprise. 

That was stupid. 

The whole thing was stupid. God, maybe she was stupid. No, that wasn’t true. She’d made Dean’s List last semester. Stupid was—

A stupid word, really. Despite the blush rising in her cheeks and the wide eyes practically boring into her soul, bated breath that didn’t make any noise because that was what bated entailed, and no one else glanced in their direction. Not once. No one else noticed. 

That the whole world had flipped upside down.

Or right-side-up, maybe. Depending on how the next five minutes or so went. 

Because the last two minutes and twelve seconds, give or take, had seen Roland Locksley tilt his head and let his eyes flutter closed before his mouth found hers for the very first time — at midnight for God’s sake. On New Year’s Eve. Or New Year’s Day, she supposed. His parents were standing on the other side of the room.

Suggesting that Lizzie had ever been just a little in love with Roland was a rather monumental lie. 

As far as those things went. 

“So, uh—” she started, only to find blood in her mouth. From her teeth. Wayward and unpredictable, as they were. Biting down on the side of her tongue and Lizzie hated going to the dentist. Doing irreparable damage to her teeth on what was now legitimately New Year’s Day, in the middle of an annual party, was not on her schedule. 

Metaphorical as it might have been. 

She liked schedules. Had plans. Focus, even. People always said that about her — how focused she was, liked to throw around the word drive with startling regularity, as if they were amazed she wasn’t simply willing to rest on her laurels or the pair of last names she proudly toted around with her. As if Lizzie expected doors to swing open on a glance. 

Rather than consistently preparing herself to knock them down. 

She liked the challenge of it all. Appreciated the way disbelief always spiked something in her blood, and that was likely equal parts genetic predisposition and a product of her childhood, but right now, Lizzie was simply prepared to fight for the schedule she’d never allowed herself to mention to anyone else before and it wasn’t like they weren’t friends. 

Talked outside the group chat, even. 

That meant something. Definitely meant something. Had to mean something. Her lips felt like they’d been doused in liquid nitrogen. 

She didn’t know all the scientific properties of liquid nitrogen, but it always made that rather impressive cloud of steam-type stuff on cooking shows. So, it seemed very likely that it did something similar to cause whatever was happening in the region directly surrounding her mouth. Buzzing and tingling, and whatnot. 

When had Roland last blinked? Lizzie couldn’t remember. That would have been impressive in any other situation. Right now, it was sort, kind of, totally— Pissing her off. 

Color dotted his cheeks, no sign of the goddamn dimple because he wasn’t smiling, presumably couldn’t do that when it was clear he was so intent on pulling his lips into his mouth, and that felt a little insulting. Her tongue had just been in that mouth. 

Lizzie was fairly confident in the abilities of her tongue, so she wasn’t all that pleased to be replaced by a pair of lips that could have been doing much better work against the side of her neck. 

“If you sit here right now and tell me that you are,” Lizzie lifted a finger, “one, sorry,” another finger, “two, anything even remotely resembling regretful,” another finger, wiggling close enough to Roland’s nose to make him just a bit cross-eyed, “or, three, too old for me, I will throw my heel at that bruise I know exists on the back of your left calf.”

His lips twitched. 

He really had impossible eyelashes. Seemingly made so he could glance up from underneath them, to meet Lizzie’s steely expression with what she refused to believe could be cautious hope. Passable optimism, maybe. She’d have to look up what liquid nitrogen did, later. 

“I’m standing.” “I hate you.”

“You wanna go in order, or how do you want to work this?” “Where else are you bruised?” Roland laughed softly, a shift of his shoulders and tiny burst of air between barely parted lips. Feeling that tiny burst meant they were standing very close to each other. How they were standing remained another mystery. 

One of those great ones, Lizzie figured. The kind referenced when people talked about the sweeping potential of life and love and— Ah, fuck. 

“Please don’t threaten to attack me anywhere else,” he muttered, before quickly adding, “you gotta know this was not my end game, Liza.” Narrowing her eyes did nothing to temper the…tempest. Swirling in her gut. Threatening the back of her throat. Eating away at vocal cords and vocal boxes and the structural integrity of her entire goddamn larynx. Possibly her tongue, too, just to be especially efficient. 

“Really? Might’a been mine, actually.”

She’d always liked his eyes. 

How they could widen, and it wasn’t like...a normal brown. Nothing about the way he looked was ever dull. Drifted toward regularly excited, and the sparkles were probably a figment of her over-active teenage imagination, but Lizzie liked to think sometimes the sparkle came from her. Because of her, even. When she’d call because he always wanted to hear about her latest lecture and he’d call because sometimes Western swings were exhausting and loneliness-inducing and—

She knew. 

He knew. 

They knew each other.   

Grand scheme, the sparkle-prone eyes still weren’t particularly close to the dimple. On the list of things Lizzie liked. What left butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her heart hammering against her chest. Sparkle was probably a solid fourth. Behind the precise way his curls fell toward his eyebrows when he didn’t have time to get his hair cut. Which rarely happened during the season. Right now, it was happening right now. Well-defined strands that Lizzie knew felt even smoother than she’d ever theorized between her fingers, and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with that information. 

Obsess over it, probably. 

For at least the next week, or so. 

Still. Eyes. Eyelashes. Too long and too bright, and that was the wrong description order and she was starting to teeter. On the edge of a rather dramatic free-fall. Into feelings and possibility, and this was way too dramatic. For both of them. 

“Don’t do that,” she mumbled, a scrunch of her nose that apparently demanded his thumb. Brushing against the bridge, and there wasn’t any caution there. No obvious fear or concern. For the way it left Lizzie’s lungs pinched, and there must have been a limit. 

To everything her internal organs could cope with in a limited span of time. 

“What was the last one on the list?” She swallowed. “Too old.” “Yuh-huh.” “Pretty flimsy as far as excuses go. You realize I’m not asking you to marry me right now, right?” He choked. On what, she wasn’t entirely sure. Only that it made her stomach heave and her teeth dig into her lower lip, and that was— “Because I know I said, end game,” Lizzie continued, giving in to the need to fill empty space with the sound of her own voice, “but that sounds like several pop culture references all at once, and you know how much I—”

“Hate to come across as disingenuous.” “Mattie’s the pop culture reference machine, anyway.” “Please don’t talk about Matt when I keep thinking about how much I want to kiss you again.” Her eyes, that time. Widened. Bugged. Did something unnatural. “Yeah?” “You’re kidding me, right?” “You’re not an old man.” Rolling his eyes, Roland’s tongue dragged across the front of his teeth. To torture her, apparently. “I was in college when you were a freshman in high school.” “Yuh-huh.” “Liza.” “Nah, nah,” Lizzie shook her head. Crossed her arms. Tried to stand up to her full height, but even the heels didn’t do much to add to the overall intimidation factor. Roland was doing an awful job of fighting off his smile. “Pulling out ancient nicknames is not—” “—It’s not a nickname; it’s literally letters in your name.” “Nick,” she leaned forward, “name. All personal-like.”

Making mistakes was not something she enjoyed very much. It was that Jones competitive streak. Plus, the Vankald stubborn streak. Created a monster of determination, who knew what she wanted, and feeling Roland’s fingers graze her cheek as a strand of hair hung limply in the minimal space between them was the result of Lizzie’s mistaken movement. 

Even as much as she might have wanted it. 

Goosebumps prickled her arms. Stole whatever oxygen she’d managed to get in the last forty-six seconds, or so. Her eyes fluttered. Head tilted. Towards the touch and the warmth, and for someone who spent so much time on the ice, he really was impossibly warm. 

“This is your fault.”

He didn’t move his fingers. Cupped her cheek, instead. “You were doing that eyebrow thing.” “Expand on that for me.” “Lifting ‘em. Happens sometimes. When you’re listening intently. Like you’re a little amazed by new information. They’re these stupid little arches on your face. Drives me nuts.” “The compliment was in there somewhere, I’m sure of it.” “I am so much older than you, Liza.” “Shouldn’t’a played out a bunch of teenage daydreams at once, then.” She was legitimately worried about the state of his tongue. Barely biting back her laugh, Lizzie let her eyes lift. To find Roland gaping at her, drooped shoulders and puppy-dog eyes. And that goddamn dimple. “C’mon, this isn’t...do you think I haven’t made out with people before?” “Wouldn’t classify what we just did as a makeout.” “No?” His eyes darkened. Shivering was probably not a good move, right? Right. Definitely. She wasn’t shivering. It was just...January. And inside. With dozens of people around them. “I would not, no,” Roland said, and the drop in overall volume was some sort of trick. Or, something. 

“How many people do you think you’ve made out with? Ballpark it for me.” “No.” “Is the issue a lack of appropriate numbers to tally that mark, or—” She bit her tongue, again. At the flash of amused frustration sweeping his face and polluting the molecules of whatever air was hovering between them. Permeating was a better word. Lizzie really needed to work on all of that. Words. Being slightly less jealous of potential make outs that didn’t have anything to do with her and definitely happened because there had to be other people out there in the world who simply could not cope with the existence of that dimple. 

“How many people have you made out with, then?” “Scores,” Lizzie snarled, only to get immediately scoffed at. “I’m really, incredibly popular.” “Oh, I’ve got no doubt.” “Boatloads of guys. Lining up to,” she pointed an imperious finger at her mouth, “make out with this.” “Your well-defined chin?” “I’m going to take my shoe off.” “Draw attention with a move like that.” Whatever fight she had didn’t immediately die. It just, sort of, fell. At her feet, threatening all the bones there and there were too many. All of them far too fragile. For whatever metaphor she was running with at the moment. “And we’re not trying to do that, huh? Draw attention.” “Shouldn’t you be out sowing wild oats?” “Really know how to charm a girl,” she grumbled, and that got her a smile. No scoff. Not even the hint of a smile. The whiplash was hurting her neck. “Trust me, the oats have appropriately sowed. If I was ever particularly inclined to farm work.” “I’m starting to be vaguely embarrassed by all of this.” “Good.” Wasn’t quite a scoff. Was more like a half-hearted laugh, and a tinge of desire and that was better than the other emotions, but the decreasing level of Roland’s eyebrows gave her pause. “What about the status of your oats?”

“Well sowed, rookie season,” Roland said. 

“You’re going to change the name on your jersey.” “Not sure that particular fact has a lot to do with anything else. Seven years, Liza.” “I’m perfectly capable of doing math, you know I took that stats class once.” “Because I double checked everything you turned in.” “Makes you slightly less of an idiot than the vibe you're giving off right now.” “A freeway or compliments.” Pulling in a deep inhale through her nose, Lizzie didn’t miss the way Roland’s gaze fell. To the neckline of her dress, lingering on the jut of her collarbones for a few seconds longer than a strictly platonic friendship should allow, and they were friends. Still. She knew that as well as she knew that he believed she thought he was simply being clever with nicknames. 

And not making vaguely incorrect My Fair Lady references. 

Because he’d always been a little annoyed that Eliza had gone back to Henry Higgins. Instead of Freddie.

It was really impossible not to be a little in love with him at all times. 

“You’re really going to hyphenate?” Roland nodded. “Think of all the new jerseys they’ll sell.” “By the box-load, and Gina’s gonna buy the entire stock. She’s—that’s really nice, you know.” “Just a fact. Little late, but—” He shrugged. Lizzie’s smile threatened to split her face. In that same nice way, she’d been talking about. Her lips were still buzzing. She might have been buzzing. With adrenaline. Happiness. The near-desperate desire to find some type of closet and get her fingers back in Roland’s questionably long hair. 

“Of naming conventions.” She couldn’t begin to guess what the record was for shoulder shifts in an emotionally charged conversation between two people who were simultaneously ignoring the point of the conversation, but Lizzie also knew her eyebrows had been halfway up her face as he’d detailed the reasons for making his jersey say Mills-Locksley. From here on out. 

Maybe that was the top of the list, actually. 

He was a good guy. 

Had always been a good guy. The best guy, really. 

Falling into that chasm wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Lizzie expected it to be. 

“Why’d you do it?” Roland’s lips disappeared. His tongue moved, again. She was staring at the area around his tongue. So, like, his mouth. Directly at his mouth. “Because, I uh—have wanted to?” “Oh, don’t phrase that like a question.” “Wanted to,” he repeated, a statement of fact with a certain amount of conviction. Enough to make Lizzie’s pulse sputter. “Which is kind of freaking me out.” “Come back with more compliments.” “Your dress nearly made me fall over.” “Better, actually,” she laughed. 

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Made sense at the time.” “Be more specific.” “Kissing you,” Roland said, enough emphasis that he leaned forward half an inch as well. It was a miracle their noses didn’t collide. Not the most impressive miracle, but—counted. “If I tell you that you might be my best friend does that make the lamest professional hockey player alive?” “Yes, absolutely.” “Matt might challenge you to a duel if he hears me talking like this, you know.” “God, Locksley, didn’t we just talk about the Mattie rules? Also, that made it sound like Mattie wants to kiss you too, so...”

He chuckled. Fingers still tugging on the back of his hair, like he was trying to ground himself in the pull and the self-inflicted tension, Roland looked up. Back at her. And Lizzie didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Held her position and prepared herself to defend the schedule she’d only ever allowed herself to hope for in the silence of that one corner in her brain. 

Filled, as it was, with memories. Of conversations that didn’t have anything to do with hockey. Others that did. Arguing over blue line placement in the brownstone and college rankings. Of movies watched on two different laptops in different corners of the country, bad jokes, and consistent updates, that deep-rooted understanding that came from a life full of expectations and the exact opposite. No overt pressure, but the need to prove yourself anyway, if only because of the name on the back of the jersey, and Lizzie was going to have to buy a new jersey. 

“You like me? Yes, or no?” Roland smiled. Wide and honest, the kind that ensured the dimple was on prominent display. “Yes.” “I am a grown adult? Yes, or no?” Crinkles appeared around his eyes. From the smile. 

“Yes.” “Meaning I get to make my own choices. Romantically, or otherwise. Yes, or no?” “Obviously.” “Wasn’t one of the options.” “Yes,” Roland corrected, fingers trailing over the bend of her elbow. Lizzie hadn’t uncrossed her arms. Or remembered when she’d crossed them in the first place. 

“Ok, good. Same page, then.” “Liza.” “Locksley.” Lifting her eyebrows wasn’t a challenge, per se. Was closer to instinct, really. Specifics didn’t matter, honestly. She did that thing with her eyebrows, and he did that thing with his mouth, the same one she was staring at and hoping would move closer to her, and then—

Well, it did. 

Hands found Lizzie’s hips, pulling her forward sharply enough that she let out a soft grunt. From the feel of hips bumping against hers, and she honestly wasn’t sure who hissed in their next inhale, only that it did something to the flutter-like state of her pulse and the erratic nature of her heart, and it was slow and fast and good and great and not a single person noticed. 

Miracles were arriving en masse, apparently. 

Pushing her fingers into Roland’s hair got Lizzie another hum of approval, the first brush of his tongue making her lips part and her head fall to the side, but then his hand was wrapped around the back of her neck, and she could not be expected to pay attention to anything except the semi-consistent swipe of his thumb against her skin. It left more goosebumps. Caused another chuckle, the kind that rumbled through her and resonated around her, a tiny bubble of that same cautious optimism from before. 

Like a spark. 

Fanning flames and threatening to burn everything because if this didn’t work, then Lizzie wasn’t sure what would, and that was scary and overwhelming and terrifying was a synonym, but she really was working with very limited word-based resources when Roland’s thumb kept moving. Tracing her. Committing the feel to memory, and she wasn’t sure when they’d established the rocking pattern they were moving in, but something deep in the center of her trusted it. 

Someone who regularly strapped knives to his feet and raced around at top speed knew how to stay balanced. And she was a stubborn idiot. Who got what she wanted. 

“Is part of liking me because I told you I didn’t think it was embarrassing that you still got a little emotional about Miracle on 34th Street?” Laughter pushed past her lips. Took root in the pit of her stomach and the spaces between her ribs. Laced through her heart. In the kind of way that cemented itself. Right in the middle of Lizzie. Right in the middle of this. Them. 

There was a them, now. 

“Was definitely a factor, yeah,” Roland said, not bothering to pull away. “You, uh—you snuck up on me a little, Liza.” “Peak romance.” “Want me to talk about your dress some more?” She shook her head. “Unnecessary. And you didn’t.” “That might be part of the problem.” “Nursing old crushes, you mean?” Her hair hit her cheek. And his hand. He couldn’t seem to let go of her. “Nah, this wasn’t like...there was no torch, not really. I—I wasn’t hanging posters of you on my wall if that’s the picture you’ve painted for yourself.” “Kinda disappointing, admittedly.” “Pick a lane, babe.” No sparkle, that time. Just flash and want and the very thin line Lizzie’s lips had become. “Be more specific,” Roland repeated softly. “You’re not standing on a pedestal. Just you, Rol, as is.” He waited. That was fair. There should have been more. Should have been a detailed list of all the reasons the grown-up version of her liked so many parts of the grown-up version of him, but that all felt a little extraneous when she was still thinking about closet-type possibilities and that stubborn streak was a mile wide, anyway. 

Roland nodded once. “Good.”

Both of them jumped. At the pop of another champagne bottle and Lizzie never understood how Regina managed to order so much champagne every year, but she felt a bit like she was floating on the bubbles, and they didn’t decide. Explicitly. To keep the whole thing—

Secret. 

Another bad word. With bad connotations and shadows that clung to the definition, but this was them and only them and, for right now, that was enough. And if no one noticed the way Roland’s hand drifted over the small of Lizzie’s back during David’s speech, then that was a miracle she was willing to accept. 

[honey-hippie-harper]

The Day Gatlon Fell

(TW: VIOLENCE)

IT’S VALENTINE’S DAY AFSGHJAFSGHJA. I should’ve done something nice but I don’t seem to be physically capable of doing that, sO IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND TO PLEASE FORGIVE ME AFGSHAFGHAJ. I guess from the title it’s...kinda clear what this is all about, because I like to write about my imaginary complex relationships in Renegades. Yet, I wrote it with love and I hope you like it :’)

This fic is actually a present for those who want to accept it (If you don’t, I understand tbh). But  I’m going to dedicate it for the ones who constantly pretend they tolerate me and like my writing, which are my fellow Reneweys: @healing-winston-pratt @obsidianfr3sk @alecjamesartino @nodrianbcyes @everyone-has-a-nightmare . I love you guys SO much. Thanks for being a safe space full of people who share the same mother tongue and laugh at my stupid jokes.

Also @all-weather-is-bad whom I love very much. Thank you for tolerating me to :’) <3 and @ifyouhadntbutyoudid bECAUSE FELLOW LATINA <3 (also your art for HCTTR still makes me cry and I know you like Leroy).

And idk if this matters or not, but, for the ones who understand Spanish, this fic was heavily based upon this (yes, the contemporary dance and everything don’t judge me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaaVpaE1XGA

Alec called them the Anarchists, because he called himself Ace Anarchy. And, in a world where prodigies were hurt, mistreated and killed, he also called them hope.

Hope called themselves the Anarchists, and they reunited at the outskirts of the city, and then they marched towards Gatlon when it was still dawning. There were many, many of them, creating a huge mass of people. Some of them were only wearing masks in order to protect their identity, but others, like them, the main circle of Anarchists, were in full costume, including Alec, Ace Anarchy, who was marching at the back of the crowd, for Alec Artino had faked his disappearance (and possible assassination) less than two weeks ago.

As an act of symbolism (in Alec’s own words) the Queen Bee was at the lead, while him, Leroy (Cyanide), stood two steps behind her, with Gerard Hoffman, Atomic Brain, at his right, and Lincoln Palmer, Brimstone, at his left. Behind them were Dexter Hartley, Rat, and the Thompsons. Then, everything was too much, and there were too many people to name them all, when he barely remembered his own name at the moment.

Every distance looked moderately short until you had to travel it by foot, or when you were too anxious to arrive at your destination. Leroy, personally, didn’t consider himself to be anxious per se. At least, that wasn’t the word he would’ve used to describe his situation.

For the first time in forever, Leroy’s mind was making too much noise, and he didn’t know how to make it stop, nor did he know how to decipher what it was trying to say to him. While he marched, Leroy was surrounded by sounds. There were the distant, faint movements of the awakening city, the ring of keys, the dragging of boots, the hasty breaths, the silent prayers, Honey humming to an inexistent melody, while her dress danced to her voice, hanging from her body.

Honey was easily one of the best dressed out of the bunch, which was a very typical Honey attitude from her part. The most meaningful thing in his own costume was the lab coat and the scientific pun, but it was more than enough for him, knowing that, after today, many of the people here wouldn’t be alive anyway, and he wasn’t even sure whether he would make it, either.

By the time they started reaching the city’s main entrance, the sun was covering half of their bodies, announcing they might have “nice” (hot) weather today. For a while, at least. And the heat was so extreme it made Leroy’s temple sweat, as well as the rest of his face, behind the mask. However, he resisted the urge to remove it, as his mind started making too much noise again, when it forced him to remember Alec’s words.

“And, remember, that you are the pain, you are the fire, and I am the courage.” He said, while they were sitting around the campfire, one messy night, running away from the police. “Because courage comes from the same place as fear.”

Leroy didn’t agree with some of Alec’s ways. Hell. He really didn’t. Nevertheless, he was also aware of his own position. He was aware he was a prodigy, and he was aware people were exhausting.

Even before he became…special, people were already picking on him. Leroy had been a punching bag the entirety of his life. First, for being too ordinary.

There was always a defect they could find in him.

When he admitted his father had abandoned his mother not long after he was born, he became the fatherless kid who wasn’t important enough to make his father stay (as if his father being an asshole had been his fault); when his mother met Claire, his other mother, he became the outcast who lived with two insane and sick women who dared to say they were in a serious, romantic relationship (even though they were evidently in love); when he discovered he enjoyed science, he became the weird kid who liked Thursdays, because that’s when Mr. Ruiz used to take them to the lab; when he discovered he was good at school overall and teachers offered him to move him one grade ahead, he became the ugly, creepy and fat nerd kid who lived with dykes and had no life.

And so, Leroy was murdered by his classmates in eleventh grade, in the lab. And when he came back as a prodigy, he became the burden. The fucker. The freak. The disgusting prodigy who should’ve stayed dead.

Because, when it came to people, it was never enough.

It really was never enough.

When they didn’t like you, there wasn’t a limit they wouldn’t reach in order to let you know. They hated you when you were too ordinary, but they hated you more when you were extraordinary.

Being a prodigy meant being your own fight. It meant being out there, in a minefield where everybody was chasing after you, and nobody stopped to help. People were often afraid of the things they couldn’t understand.

But courage came from the same place as fear.

And it was a dark, messed up place that, in the rare cases where it didn’t drive you crazy, it ended up killing you.

Alec’s ideas were extreme and a little twisted, even, but nobody had ever seemed to care as much as he did, and Leroy had to give him that.

He strongly defended that, if nobody did, then there would be a time where somebody would have to, and he had to give him that too. Because, one day, he just decided that person would be him. Because, if not him, then who?

“I’m my own fight. We’re all our own fight. And you should just face that and shut your ass, before you get killed.” Leroy told him the day after he personally met him, when Honey called him, saying the wound in his calf had gotten uglier and he was banned from the majority of the hospitals in the city. At first, Leroy didn’t know why that should’ve been a matter of concern to him, but he ended up showing him at the apartment anyway. When he realized Alec hadn’t learned anything from the previous experience and was already planning the next riot, he felt the burning desire to cauterize him out of spite.

So Leroy cauterized him, with no previous warning. Alec screamed so loud he thought he was going to pass out. But when he was done, Alec thanked him, because, sure, he had nearly fainted thanks to the pain, but the wound was closed and no longer bleeding.

“I won’t get killed.” Alec declared, as if he were some type of almighty god. “But if I do, it will be defending my place and my rights. You say we’re all our own fight. Correct. But, as prodigies, we have to stick together.”

“And why is that, exactly?”

“Because somebody has to fight for us.”

“You want to fight for us.”

“I want us to fight for us.”

At that moment, Honey came into the room, carrying a tray with a steaming cup and a plate with French toast with honey.

“They can’t kill us all.” She said.

“Oh, but they can.”

Before she could answer, Alec spoke again.

“Then how come we’re still here?”

As the hours, days, weeks and months went by, Leroy, beneath all his cynicism and incredulity, realized he cared. And, once he was invested in the cause, he decided he cared enough to believe them.

They couldn’t kill them all, but they could kill some of them. Yet, they would die caring and believing, and defending their legitimate right to having lived in the first place. There were some things they couldn’t take back, but there were others they could stop them from taking away.

Because somebody had to.

And, if nobody wanted to fight for them, then they had to be their own fight.

Leroy had already gone down once, and that was the reason why he was willing to do it again if necessary. There were Alecs out there, who had been born prodigies and judged, mistreated and pointed at because of it; there were Honeys out there, who had suffered from fatidic accidents that had left a mark in them forever; there were Leroys out there, who had been bullied for not being a prodigy, but also for being one.

As long as he was alive, there would be no more Leroys. No more Honeys, either. No more Alecs.

They were their own fight, but they were also each other’s fight.

So, as they marched towards the city, they were carrying tons and tons of weight, even from the pain that didn’t belong to them. Even from pain that had already been silenced.

Silenced like the inert body of a murdered prodigy.

Silenced like the city the moment they saw them come.

Needless to say, they were coming in with previous instructions to show no mercy in case anything went wrong, knowing these people had already been attacked right at the heart of their system (their mayor), but when they saw them walk, they showed no resistance to let them through.

Gatlon City met the Anarchists in a moment that remained suspended into the air, while some of them dispersed to block the entrances and exits, and others stood in the middle of the traffic, creating a human wall that prevented the cars from moving forward.

Traffic lights exploded, as well as display screens, just like the days when authorities were trying to censor a violent riot. Doors became locked, just like the days when citizens were being notified of a group of violent prodigies marching through the city, except this time citizens weren’t the ones locking themselves in. Telephone lines became cut, just like the days when they did that so agonizing prodigies wouldn’t say a last goodbye to their loved ones who lived far away.

They were many. Too many.

And they couldn’t kill them all.

When they realized that, panic started spreading among them.

Queen Bee was still taking the lead, but the lines began to become blurrier and blurrier with every second, as some of the prodigies had to leave the formation in order to silence those who dared to try to oppose.

Gatlon City was a bold, intimidating place, with huge buildings, blinding lights and overwhelmingly wide streets that could swallow you whole if you weren’t careful enough. Yet, it welcomed the Anarchists in a scene that was as surreal as it was fascinating. Out of a sudden, it seemed to shrink before them.

To the elemental prodigies’ hands, the sky started to look as if split in two, fragile and breakable like the green leaves hanging from the trees, which were swaying like Honey’s blonde curls that day at the beach.

It was a public music festival, which they had attended while the Thompsons babysat David, out of pure and classic peer pressure coming from Honey herself.

Leroy showed up late at the beach, after waking up from a seven hour nap (the result of not sleeping at night), given that, despite living together, Honey expressed she hadn’t woken him up because she thought it was only an excuse to stand them out.

Beneath the loud chattering, the live music and the crowding, their presence became as irrelevant as a single grain of sand before it was taken away by a wave, but they still managed to get a decent spot, where they could see the stage from the blanket they were using as seats.

Out of the few bucks they were carrying with them at the moment, they managed to gather enough for a bucket of fish and chips from the food trucks, so they sent Alec to go get it, which left Honey and Leroy alone (though surrounded by people) in the blanket.

It was about time she said something about it, but when she did, Leroy still felt the need to roll his eyes at her until they rolled out of his face.

“You’re the only two people I know who dress like that to come to the beach. It’s honestly embarrassing.”

She was referring to the fact Leroy was wearing jeans, sneakers and a black hoodie, while Alec was wearing jeans as well, and a black T-shirt he had gotten for free at an event in his faculty.

“What are you? A vampire or something?” Upon saying that, Honey got her hands in the cooler and took a can of lime flavored soda from it.

“I don’t like leaving the house without my hoodie.” Leroy responded above the clic and the hissing produced by the carbonation. “It hides my rolls.”

It’s not like Leroy was ashamed of his body. In fact, he didn’t give a damn about it, for he wasn’t one to take care of his physical appearance that much. Nevertheless, having people pointing out defects he already knew he had was annoying and an inconvenience he rather preferred not to go through.

“What are you trying to say to me?” Honey let out a screeching laugh, shaking her head to get her hair off her face, before taking a sip from her soda, very slowly, staring directly into Leroy’s eyes, with an arched eyebrow, not mad, but a little malicious and suggestive.

Whatever she was trying to do, it worked perfectly well, because Leroy could tell the exact part of his sentence where he had gone wrong and dug his own grave. Despite his efforts to conceal it and pretend he didn’t regret saying it, he still felt his face burn a little.

Honey was wearing a two-piece swimsuit that day. A yellow bikini top with white polka dots (“Hope you’re getting a great view because this is the only time you’ll ever see me wearing a bra” “You really are a hippie pothead” “So what?” “Honey Hippie Harper” “Great name, Lery”) and a tight, also yellow with polka dots skirt. The top had a huge white bow tie that fell all the way towards her stomach area, but it’s not like it covered much, and Honey wasn’t exactly the size of a Barbie doll herself (though everybody in Gatlon agreed that, somehow, she still managed to look like one).

Good thing her self-esteem was as high as Everest.

“You’re just jealous I’m so hot it feels like my entire body is catching flames while you look like a poor man’s Dracula.”

“Your lexicon is above the clouds today. Did you teach yourself how to read? And you read Dracula, just by chance?“

“You’re such a comedian. I’m dying. My lungs are aching from laughing so much.” Honey laughed sarcastically, in a flat tone, before taking another sip from her soda. “I had a pretty productive and nurturing self-teaching session yesterday.”

“I see.”

“I did teach myself how to read though, but, just so you know, I read Carmilla and not Dracula, because she came first.”

Being that said, she winked.

By that time, Honey didn’t attend as many feminist movements as before, nor did she lead them, but she still looked pretty invested in her cause and beliefs sometimes, and those were the moments when she looked more like herself.

“The more you know.” Leroy said, between his teeth.

Knowing she had won, Honey didn’t respond anything else on the matter, and reached for her sunglasses instead, putting them on. Then, she kept singing along to the song played by the band, about how the world was going to end soon.

Which was fitting for their current situation.

The entire world wasn’t ending today, but maybe it would, in case they succeeded. Leroy wasn’t the most positive person to have ever stepped on Earth, but, if one thing he knew, was that he was completely able to read and accept facts and get to the truth, and said truth was that Gatlon didn’t have much on its part. A bunch of regular citizens, against a bunch of prodigy citizens, whose mere existence was an advantage over them. And it’s not that Leroy thought prodigies were superior, but, objectively, prodigies could do things normal people couldn’t. That’s what made them prodigies in the first place, and it was part of the reason why they didn’t like them, too.

The terror in their faces made Leroy straighten his back. Above his head, he could already hear the helicopters and planes, both from the press and the government. Still standing in his place, he saw Honey stop. She didn’t hesitate or flinched, but she did stare directly at them. Her lips shimmered, as well as her eyes and the bee hanging from her neck, when the remaining morning sun reached and caressed them. Her expression remained serene, until it wasn’t, and her lips started arching into a sideways smile. With the whole crowd waiting behind her, Queen Bee clicked her tongue and giggled. Then, she waved at the sky, with her eyes grinning as well, behind the mask. Leroy could almost visualize the picture in a History book, in the chapter that talked about the day Gatlon fell.

When he took one step forward, he also saw himself in the frame. Honey, for sure, acknowledged his presence before she continued walking, squeezing his wrist a little, as a reassuring gesture he thought he didn’t need.

With two Anarchists at the lead, the weight of the protest became more evident, but the rest of the recruits were keeping them grounded. Flying prodigies were above their heads, keeping themselves at a prudent distance from the planes and helicopters, becoming an emergency signal for the others. They barked orders, so their companions knew where to aim.

The cocky individuals holding guns while standing in the sideway were attacked from behind and killed on spot. Some others didn’t have it that easy, for they were grabbed by extra arms or tentacles and smothered to death. Others were stabbed by flying pieces of glass or other sharp objects. And the one man who thought he was clever enough met Leroy’s palm, and while he tried not to step on his agonizing body (like Honey did) with a face now looking like a melted candle, he didn’t feel anything when he heard him wail in pain.

In fact, Leroy felt so blinded by adrenaline he couldn’t feel anything at all.

The only thing that managed to make him snap back into reality for a short while, was the warmth that later turned into almost unbearable heat and left them with a lack of oxygen for a short while.

Aracely Thompson, Dome, stepped forward and, with a stomp of her foot, translucent, golden chains rose from the ground, trapping the main Anarchists (plus Jerome and her) in a wide intangible circle, which chains melted into each other once the area was delimited, and turned into a see-through bubble. The ones from the outside could see them, but not hear or touch them, let alone harm them.

Leroy wondered why they hadn’t thought about that before, but he figured they had just thought about how Alec would manage just fine on his own at the back.

Fearless and merciless, they kept on walking the cracking pavement, through the growing chaos, trapped in their bubble with recycled air.

With the traffic suspended, the streets looked empty, as if naked. People had already gotten the message, and they were running like scared roaches, trying to get out of their way. Some were holding their children, some were holding their pets, and others were holding both.

“Where’s Ingrid?” Leroy asked in Honey’s ear, upon seeing a mother run away with her child, who looked around Ingrid’s age.

“At a daycare for single mothers…” Aracely was not a single mother (but she was only married through the eyes of religion. Jerome and her weren’t legally married, and, in theory, her name was still Aracely Brito, but she preferred to be called Thompson, and it was the only last name Ingrid had in her fake birth certificate) “In front of a lawyer firm by Trinity street. So, no matter what happens, don’t touch that building.”

They would have to warn Alec about it, or take Ingrid out before he could reach that daycare.

Some years ago, before Alec arrived to Gatlon, there had been an incident, where a daycare for prodigy children had been destroyed; it wasn’t considered legal, of course, and, through the eyes of the government, it didn’t exist. So, when they contacted the owners to ask them to close it and they refused, one of the gas tanks of the daycare conveniently exploded, resulting in a fire and the death of several prodigy children, which meant that, among a lot of other things, Alec would show no mercy for daycares for regular children. In other words, the entirety of daycares in Gatlon, including the one Ingrid was in.

Alec never forgot, nor did he forgive, and he had a wide knowledge in regards to the crimes Gatlon had committed against prodigies.

They continued on walking through the main street, which led to the main bridge, from which cars were falling like little ants. Nobody truly knew what Alec was planning to do, because he was as pragmatic as he was unpredictable, and the more you hung out with him, the looser the thread your life was hanging from became.

He just said Gatlon would fall.

And when he said something would happen, it usually happened.

Upon reaching the bridge, they were greeted by familiar faces, with familiar uniforms, who maybe thought this would be just another routine intervention. That they would be retouching a line they had already painted some time ago. That they had another chance.

There were uniformed men and women, some in cars, some in tanks, some in patrols, holding their guns and pointing at them, the ones who had made it into the bridge instead of staying in the fight below.

Leroy was starting to suspect a part of them knew it would be useless, because this time they weren’t giving them an option, but, still, in their eyes he could see they were desperate enough to try.

Due to the fact there were so many prodigies stepping on the bridge at once, the ground seemed to be buzzing, as well as the air, and the clouds, and the sky, and the life surrounding them, filled with the distant cries and the echoes of the ones they had lost in the way.

In that moment, when they had already arrived, Leroy drifted away.

He heard the bullets.

Bang, bang, bang.

It was a couple of months ago. They had just taken a government building with brute force, and they had locked it from the inside.

They stayed there for almost a week, until the police finally decided to cease fire and left the area. They had no food apart from some crackers and cheese sticks, they had no water (and no water elementals whatsoever), no electricity and no running water either. If that wasn’t bad enough on its own, some of them were injured or losing blood, and the bullets kept hitting the walls on the outside.

Bang, bang, bang.

Honey had always hated being unclean. Even when she wasn’t in the mood to take care of herself, she kept complaining about how much being dirty disgusted her. Hence, after two days, she sat in a corner and refused to move, until the day they were finally released. Everybody was at the verge of going crazy by then, and so, she decided to stand up and join Alec’s motivational speech about why they were doing this in the first place, in which Leroy was also involved.

Then, when it all went quiet, they just stayed there, with the question “Now what?” floating in the air.

One important part of Alec’s motto as a visionary, was reminding others that prodigies were people too. That they had rights. That they had feelings. That they had needs.

Honey, being herself, started singing Rivers of Babylon out of the blue, and while everybody in the room stared at her like she was crazy at first, suddenly, Alec started harmonizing with her, singing as loud as he did on Sundays, at Mass, dehydrated, hungry and everything.

Leroy just stepped aside, looking in the opposite direction, as if that would make everyone believe he didn’t know those two.

It was useless, because many people had already followed them by the second chorus.

Leroy still remembered the one line he had to drag out of his mouth when Honey placed the lipstick tube she was using as a fake microphone very close to his mouth, and everyone suddenly went silent, waiting for him.

“… When we remembered Zion…”

They went ballistic, almost as if they hadn’t been the ones to take this same building in the most violent way one could think about.

After two or three more cheesy songs that Leroy hated, there was a period of two or three minutes where nobody dared to take a turn in the invisible karaoke, and they realized there was something new there.

Absence.

There were no more bullets.

They were alone.

“I’m not very fond of Miss Harper’s taste in music.” Alec told him later that day, back at his apartment, where they had gone together to check on David and shower. “But it’s exactly what our revolution needs in its darkest times.”

“Because it’s obnoxious and loud?”

“No.” Alec told him, smiling sideways. “Because it’s vibrant. When choosing the head of a revolt, Leroy, everything’s about balance. You are serious, she is vibrant and I am versatile.”

“I thought we were talking about her music taste.”

“Are you implying that a person and their music taste aren’t deeply connected?”

That had been forever ago, compared to now, when the triggers were clicking loudly, and they were staring at their companions from sideways or from above.

Sirens screaming in the distance, along with the citizens. There was pain. There was death. There was blood. There were prodigies.

There was anarchy.

And through the confusion and anxiety, something started moving.

They started moving, at the sides, one by one, to let him through.

Now leading the crowd of Anarchists, stood Alec Artino, Ace Anarchy.

His costume was simple, with the boots, the pants, the navy blue sweater, with the golden A, the gabardine…

And the coppery helmet, made by David himself, shining on his head.

If Leroy didn’t know him well enough, he could’ve sworn he was losing his mind and that his mental health was in an extremely dark place.

Alec used to say David was one of the most powerful prodigies that had ever existed, and that this helmet would be the one thing that changed everything, once and for all. Leroy, who had never finished understanding what David could do, often doubted his words, and, to him, the helmet, if anything, only made him look ridiculous.

But he said Gatlon would fall today, and everyone believed him.

Hard as it was for him to admit it, Leroy did too.

“REMOVE THE HELMET AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF!”

If Honey had been able to speak instead of being completely frozen, she probably would’ve said the man at the front looked, plain and simple, like a cop. Light skin, brown eyes, dark brown hair combed to the side, gun in a trembling hand, afraid of the unknown.

The unknown, meaning Alec standing in front of him, with his hands laced behind his back, and his gabardine flowing with the wind.

“I SAID…!”

“I believe it was clear enough I heard you the first time.” Alec declared, tilting his head to the side. “Isn’t a person entitled to decide what questions they desire to respond to by sorting them according to their level of relevance?”

The man gulped so hard Leroy could almost hear him, and then Alec smirked.

“Can you drop your gun or is it attached to your hand? Because if it is, then I will not bother you again. But if it is not, I am going to need you to put it away so we can have a civilized conversation, like normal people do.”

“You’re… y-you’re not normal. Any of you are! YOU’RE NOT NORMAL, YOU MONSTERS! DROP YOUR WEAPONS, NOW!”

Honey’s bees were starting to present themselves at the scene, flying around her, a little uneasy. Leroy, from his part, felt calm, because this, sadly, wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before.

“Yeah. That is exactly the problem.”

“STEP BACK!”

Alec refused to obey, and remained firm, right there where he was. Slowly, as if he were trying to mentally torture them, he lifted his right hand up. His fingers were in a very specific position, like he was about to make the sign of the cross on somebody.

It was Alec, meaning that, if he had done that, Leroy wouldn’t have been surprised.

But he didn’t.

Besides, if he had actually been planning to, they didn’t give him time for that, for the very second they saw him move, they shot, and many emergency alarms went off.

The bang was so loud Honey covered her ears, and her bees started trying to shield themselves by hiding behind her, beneath her hair or landing on her skin, never stinging her.

Leroy, from his part, felt his fingertips dripping with acid, preparing himself for the impact.

The impact never came.

Right in front of their eyes, the shower of bullets stops. The smell of gunpowder was still filling the air, and the bullets were still there, as present as ever.

However, they were suspended into the air, and one of them was almost touching Alec’s nose, who just smiled, before saying, in such a low volume Honey and him were the only ones who could hear:

“So be it, then.”

Being that said, he lifted his chin.

The bullets turned around.

Then, they were shot in the opposite direction, at full speed, to Alec’s will.

The man at the front of the formation fell first, followed by many others, with the bullets they had shot themselves, in an attempt to kill them.

They fell, one by one, and soon there were puddles of red on the floor, and other voices barking orders.

Shoot the canyons, they said.

But the canyons fell too.

Bring the bombs, they said.

And Alec waved them away as if they were some type of insignificant thing.

The planes, they said.

And they spun and flew out of control, before falling straight into the water or exploding midair.

Bullets stopped again and killed their shooters.

There was blood.

Tons of blood.

That’s when Leroy felt his heart pounding, upon coming to the maybe horrible realization that never had Alec been so strong.

His powers didn’t act like this.

His telekinesis was a hundred times more powerful.

It was…

It was the helmet

“GET THEM!” He shouted then, snapping Leroy back into reality, making him wonder how much time Alec had waited to say those words out loud.

To use those putrid words, the ones they always used before attempting against prodigies, against them.

If he wanted to be honest, hearing them felt good, but Leroy didn’t react immediately.

First he saw the chaos, when the mass of uniformed men and women melted between the prodigies in costumes, stepping on the dead and the dying, sometimes accidentally.

The massacre began in the rest of the city, as the sky became wilder, the tide started to roar and the screams became the type of symphony one would hear when entering the gates from Hell.

Gatlon City was starting to look red.

But the red wasn’t coming from the prodigies, but caused by them.

“You two stay with me.” Alec commanded, looking both at Honey and him. “I need you to clear the path.”

“Clear the bridge?!”

“Did I make myself understood, Queen Bee?”

Honey flinched the very moment she heard her own alias, and Leroy watched her as she tried to process everything.

“Clear the bridge.” She repeated. “Yes. Clear the…”

Leroy hoped that didn’t include the bodies.

He guessed it didn’t. Alec, after all, didn’t seem to care about that.

“Clear the bridge. Got it.” Leroy nodded.

“Excellent.”

Alec didn’t stare at them, and he didn’t move either, standing in the middle, with his hands into his pockets, and his face held high, feeling the movements all around him, prepared to get rid of any threat as soon as he spotted it.

Honey and Leroy rarely talked about their tactics before putting them into practice, but, just for once, Leroy wanted to do it.

And, of course, it wasn’t possible, because just as Leroy was preparing to grab her by the wrist and drag her aside, she got herself out of his reach.

“Wait! Wait!” she screamed, not because she was desperate, but because she wanted to be heard above the rest of the din.

Fortunately, in an almost surreal scene to watch, her voice caught Alec’s attention, and his green eyes caught hers, listening.

Leroy stared at Honey, both incredulous and speechless.

“A—” She stuttered. “… Acey.”

Acey.

Fucking Acey.

Leroy arched an eyebrow sharply, but Alec nodded, as if approving the nickname or acknowledging she was talking to him.

“I… “

BANG.

An explosion.

A loud, very loud explosion, followed by the smell of smoke and gunpowder. Maybe, if they were at a lower spot, they would’ve smelled the burnt flesh too.

Good thing they weren’t.

That didn’t make Alec less mad, though, for he unnecessarily adjusted his helmet and straightened his back.

“Acey, wait, I…! “

“Maybe not right now, Queen Bee.” He declared, plain and cold, but solemn.

Somehow, Leroy already knew what she wanted to say, and he also knew she would never say it after today, because he knew her well enough.

And maybe he knew him well enough too.

“Later.” He promised, empty.

Then, just like that, sitting in a cross-legged position, Alec levitated, perhaps to have a better view of the city.

Leroy took Honey by the wrist, this time for real.

Alec made the tank shoot in the opposite direction, and then came another explosion.

Back to back, Honey and him waited for the ones who came and tried to attack. Leroy started feeling his own heartbeat in his ears, and his whole body was vibrating, while Honey’s hasty breaths tormented him, trying to convince himself that they were doing fine, and that they were right.

Because they were.

They were just fighting back.

Leroy saw the scene as if he were out of his body.

The two of them, below Alec, but higher than the city, which was in flames; the body to body fights, with a considerable unbalance of power. The Anarchists were annihilating them with not a drop of mercy, nor remorse. The fights were on top of cars. On top of buildings. Through the streets. Pipes were leaking. The sky was roaring and wailing at the same time. Bullets were flying. Cables were hanging. Trees were moving as if made of paper.

Leroy could still feel Honey’s back against his’, and they only separated when they had to meet the officials who were coming into the bridge, before sending them to the top of pile of bodies.

A man came in, and he was a little taller than Leroy, with his head shaved and a bulletproof jacket. He wasn’t holding a gun, but a metallic tube instead. In posture and enraged expression, Leroy could tell he wasn’t a cop. Maybe a veteran, or some dumb fuck who enjoyed hunting season.

First, Leroy got rid of the tube, melting it with his hand, and next thing he knew, he was attacking him, trying to put his whole body weight on him. Leroy resisted and grabbed him first by the wrist and then by the cheeks, which made him wail in pain. Leroy pressed his palms harder against his skin, and it was only then that a swarm of both bees and wasps came in and started devouring the man’s face, gathering together into the burnt cheeks and wrists.

Honey grabbed Leroy by the arm and tried to pull him up, grunting and gasping, until Leroy was lucid enough to help her and got up himself.

At that very moment somebody kicked her back and made her trip forward. Fortunately, Leroy was able to catch her, but his blood started to boil, and, then, he just knew he had gone in a blind assault of rage.

Out of a sudden, he didn’t feel like himself. He could feel his pores dripping, and the acid was so strong he felt his whole body itching; getting into a fight position, he asked Honey to get behind him with a hand motion, which she obeyed, though also in defense mode.

It was a female official this time. Light brown hair tied in a small ponytail and muscular body. Leroy waved his hand, and that was enough to send the acid flying towards her, straight into her eyes and different spots of her skin.

She screamed in pain.

Honey was already fighting another man, but still, Leroy felt the bees surrounding him too, and there was a very specific group that stayed even when Honey moved towards another position, and they buzzed loudly all around him, notifying him when somebody was coming.

“They’re like an alarm.” He recalled Honey saying once, standing in the middle of the kitchen, taking the groceries out of the bags. She was covered in bees, as if they were children asking their mother what she had gotten for then. “They usually see the enemy before I do, so they buzz in their direction. From the outside it looks like I have outstanding reflexes but… Baby, you’re too close to my lashes and it’s giving me the heebie-jeebies, would you mind? Thank you.” A bumblebee flew away from Honey’s eye, to stand above her brow instead.

“What was I saying?” She tapped her chin, making the bees go away for a second. “Ah. Yes. I do have good reflexes, but yeah, it’s usually thanks to them, as well.”

Leroy remained leaned against the door frame, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“So.” She pointed at the counter, now full of groceries. “You’re gonna help me or what?”

Leroy wasn’t scared of bees. He had never been. Not particularly. But when he met Honey, he became immune to them and decided he would never be, either. Sometimes, when he was alone in the apartment and saw a swarm by the door, waiting for Honey to come back, he would even try to talk to them, which was useless and, judging for how they always stung him, they didn’t like it.

Maybe the bees didn’t like him whatsoever, but right here, in the bridge, they were pretending they did, because Honey had asked them to do so.

And yes. Hard as it was for him to admit it, they were useful.

Very useful.

On the other hand, it also made him feel dumb, because he didn’t know how desperate you had to be for your powers to respond to you through another prodigy.

Leroy was stabbed during one of the (very violent) riots. It wasn’t by a cop, but by a regular, non-prodigy civilian instead. It was a deep cut, and Alec got so mad he ordered to kill as many as they had to until they found the one who had done it. While Hell was breaking loose, Honey dragged him like a human crutch towards the park, hiding him behind the bushes.

“Don’t fall asleep or move unless you really need to, and don’t try to cauterize yourself because that shit hurts and you might pass out. Wait for Rina. I’ll send her to you.”  Rina was a healing prodigy, and by the time Honey was saying that, she had already been killed, so they ended up sending Gwen instead. “You understand? Now it’s not the time to be the stubborn piece of shit you usually are. That’s not how we’re rolling. You understand?”

Leroy understood, but he didn’t answer. Not directly. Instead, he reached for the small blade he always carried in his pocket and, before he handed it to Honey, he tried to release his power in it.

She stared before grabbing it.

“Don’t let go, Leroy.” She asked, whispering, as she placed the blade in her own pocket. “For all you care, don’t let go.”

And when Honey’s skin touched it without her screaming in pain, he thought maybe it hadn’t worked at all, but a few days later, when Alec came to the apartment and tried to remove it from the dining table (because David was there too and he liked to touch everything), it hurt his palm.

The blade had become poisoned, and it burned everyone except for Honey and himself.

She still had it to this day, and right there, fighting in the bridge, he witnessed the exact moment when she took it out, while he stood behind her, with her bees, that she had lent him.

The sudden war seemed to have gone on forever when Leroy felt the breeze at his feet, produced by Alec’s body cutting through the air. He looked like a ghost. A very tangible and imposing ghost, who stood like a stone looking at the destruction he had caused himself, with his arms behind his back and his eyes closed.

Honey and Leroy came to his encounter, with the “Now what?” floating above their heads, like that time Honey and him had harmonized to Rivers of Babylon.

With sweat rolling down his face through the helmet and mask, Alec smiled sideways, and held his hand towards them, with his eyes showing a mild fuchsia tonality. None of the two, needless to say, knew how to react to that at first, but Honey believed him enough to try, and she wrapped her hand around his’, like a shell protecting a pearl.

And Leroy believed Honey enough to try, and wrapped his hand around hers’, like he was the sand or the water protecting the shell that protected the pearl.

And there they were.

The three of them.

Like the day Leroy met them for the first time. Like the days they travelled together, hiding from the police or not. Like all the days Alec forced them to go to Mass. Like the days they had to sleep under poor conditions, in motels or abandoned buildings, and Alec and him woke up with back pain because Honey always had to have the most comfortable place they managed to get. Like the days one of them was so injured they didn’t know he or she would wake up the next morning, and so they started praying they would.

Repressed memories started coming back, and Leroy managed to dodge every single one of them, although a part of him didn’t want to.

Then Alec stared at them. They were very close together, with their foreheads touching, while the three interlocked hands remained in the middle.

“Courage comes from the same place as fear.” Alec reminded them.

“And the day we decide to burn, they will all come with us. “ Ace Anarchy said.

And then, he lifted.

Honey was the last one to let go of him.

Next, he was gone.

Ace Anarchy stood above it all, like the burning sun, with both his arms extended to his sides, towards the emptiness, and, at the same time, towards the everything.

Leroy took Honey by the arms, putting her aside, as they stared. Maybe in awe. Maybe in fear.

Ace Anarchy looked up at the sky, then at the front again.

All the guns were pointing at him. All the lives were hanging by the thread he was using to sew his way in, and also his way out.

The Earth trembled in fear, and then it shook in pain.

Honey screeched, shoving her nails into Leroy’s arm to recover her balance, though Leroy was also on the verge of falling.

They tried to hold the other up. To force each other to remain standing.

Gatlon City left the ground, light as a feather. The buildings fell, the bridge started to crack, the sea escaped from the place it belonged to, people screamed, screamed, screamed.

Everything was in flames.

The light became brighter.

The wails became louder.

Time became slower.

Time became torture.

Time became endless.

And Gatlon City remained suspended into the air, shattering into little pieces, leaving a trace of blood and flesh.

Then, just like that, it fell.

Gatlon City fell, like a sinking boat.

Like it was nothing.

Like it was made of paper.

And it fell.

And, just like Ace Anarchy prophesied, they all fell with it. And with him.

[j-elaine-hyde]

The Bean Chronicles: Part 18

Henry Cavill / Reader

It was finally Christmas Eve. You and Henry had decided to forgo the parties and stay at home together. Tomorrow morning you’d be meeting his family bright and early for Christmas. Despite becoming close with his mother you were still nervous about meeting the entire clan.

“Dinner smells amazing, my love.” Henry wrapped his arms around you, and nuzzled your neck.

You laughed and pressed against him, “I hope it tastes as good as it smells!”

He patted your butt before scooping up a finger full of mashed potatoes.

“Stay out of that mister, it’s almost done.” You shook your head at him with a smile.

“I’ll get the wine. Red?” He was scanning the wine rack as you watched him. You would never tire of looking at this gorgeous man.

He popped open a bottle as you pulled the roasted vegetables out of the oven. “Time to eat!”

-

You were curled up on the sofa watching “A Christmas Story” when Henry shifted out from underneath you and walked to the tree. He produced a small gift and handed it to you.

“Merry Christmas my love....” he smiled as he sat down facing you. “I can’t wait any longer. I want you to open this one now.”

Your throat felt tight looking at the small square box in your hands.

“Well then you have to open one of yours too.” You placed the box on the table and hopped up. Knowing exactly which one to pick, you pulled the long rectangular box from the stack and sat down.

“You have to go first. Merry Christmas Hen.” You handed him the small box and watched him rip open the paper. As soon as he saw the unwrapped box he looked up and smiled.

“Darling.... I already know I love it.” He smiled as he opened the box.

Inside was a vintage Rolex, the same worn by James Bond.

“Oh my god... baby.... are you serious?!”

“Look at the back...”

He turned the watch to better see the inscription. “Always yours, XO Y/n” he read it aloud. “This is incredible.... how did you find this?!”

“I might have had some help. But I thought since you had the car, you might as well have the watch too.”

He carefully set the watch on the table before lunging forward at you, wrapping you in his arms. “I’m blown away baby.... I can’t believe you found this. I love you so much. You’re amazing. Thank you my love!” He continued kissing you all over as you laughed.

With one long, deep kiss he sat you back up. “Ok now mine. Which I thought was going to wow... but I can’t top your gift....”

You picked up the small square box. “Oh Hen...I’m sure I’ll love it darling....”

You unwrapped the paper, your breath hitching in your throat as you saw the red of the Cartier box. You opened it to see two “love” rings inside.

“One is for now, for your right hand. The other is for later, for you left.”

You looked at him with a stunned surprised look before quickly smiling and holding out your right hand. He picked up the rose gold band and slid it onto your right ring finger.

“I love it Hen... thank you...” you stared at the ring on your finger, “it’s beautiful.”

You continued looking at the ring as you climbed into his lap. You clutched his face and gently kissed him, smiled and said, “I love you. Thank you, I love it.... I’m never taking it off.”

“I do have another gift for you... I have to go get it out of the bedroom.”

“The bedroom huh....” you laughed.

He patted your butt, “Hop up darling and I’ll go get it.” You smiled and give him another kiss before sliding back onto the sofa.

You watched as he got up and walked down the hall. You quickly grabbed the Cartier box, opening it to look at the ‘ring for later’ you were giddy that he had already bought a wedding band, curious if he had already purchased an engagement ring as well.

You heard Henry coming down the hall and closed the box, placing it back on the coffee table.

In walked Henry in a sexy Santa outfit. Your eyes lit up and your mouth dropped open in a surprised smile.

“Santa heard you were on the naughty list young lady...” he raised and wiggled his eyebrows at you before walking over and scooping you up off the sofa.

“I’ve been a very naughty girl...” you said in your sexiest voice.

“Well Santa is going to take you to his workshop so we can work on you being naughty some more....” he shifted you, pushing you over his shoulder as he opened the bedroom door.

He tossed you onto the bed, standing at the foot of it and slid off his suspenders.

“Santa baby....” you mewed as you beckoned him to come with your finger.

Kneeling onto the bed he began peeling off your leggings.

-

Once you were both naked he hovered over you, “Thank you baby... that James Bond Rolex is incredible.”

“You’re welcome honey.... I’m glad you love it.”

“I really do. I hope you like yours... I realize it’s not exactly what you probably thought it was going to be... but...”

You frowned and interrupted him, “Honey... Henry... I love it. This one is gorgeous and I’ll never take it off, and I’ll always think of you when I look at it. It’s a fun way to say ‘you liked it and put a ring on it’ without setting the whole tabloid world on fire.”

“Baby... I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to marry you... after all I did kind of give you your wedding band tonight... I just didn’t want to be THAT guy that proposed on Christmas. I want that to be it’s own holiday. And I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about getting engaged.... so this was a sort of test. I guess.”

“Hen... of course I want to marry you. But I am glad you didn’t propose on Christmas... I agree with you. That needs to be its own special thing. I’m not going anywhere... there’s no pressure. I love you. And I love my ring.”

“I’m calling it a promise ring. I promise to always love you.” He sweetly kissed you on the lips before flipping over, pulling you on top of him.

You sat up, perched on top of him, looking down at his gorgeous face. “So what happens when Santa is naughty?” You grinned and laughed as he bucked his hips, bouncing you.

“Ohhhh babygirl.... allow me to show you....” he raised a single eyebrow as a devilish smirk crossed his face.

—

You had decided to start Christmas morning off by waking up Henry with a gift... you slid under the covers, taking him into your mouth. You gently tugged with your hand as his member sprang to life. You were really getting into it when you heard Henry moan.

“Mmmmm good morning baby.... fuck I love you.... don’t stop....”

You continued but only for a few more seconds before Henry sat up and pulled you out of the covers, and onto the bed. He made a beeline for your neck and began kissing before he thrust into you.

-

You stood in the kitchen wearing one of Henry’s tee shirts as you sipped your coffee. Henry walked in fresh out of the shower in only boxers.

“Good morning my love.... Merry Christnas.” He kissed you on the forehead as he made a cup of coffee.

“Merry Christmas. I’m going to go take a shower and get ready.”

“Why didn’t you shower with me? Hmmm?” He asked as he slid his hand around to your ass giving it a quick pat.

“Because we don’t have that much time Hen... we wouldn’t have showered and we’d be late to your parents.” You laughed as you gave him a kiss on your way out of the kitchen.

“You know I’m right!” You hollered as you continued down the hall.

-

You were finishing your makeup as Henry walked out of the closet in jeans and a sweater: how was it possible that he looked incredible in literally anything?

“Hen... honey... I picked out a few outfits, they’re on the bed.... would you pick one?”

“Let’s see...” he began as he rubbed his hands together surveying the clothes you had laid out. “I’m voting for the dress, bc then I can feel you up and tease you and have easy access.”

“HEN!! Honey.... I’m serious.” You have an exasperated laugh.

“I am too!”

“Babe.... please.” You whined.

“I’m serious. I want easy access.” He finally sighed and gave in. “Jeans, blouse, blazer, boots outfit.”

“Thank you. That’s what I was thinking given your outfit.”

“We could always match.... I love the pictures of us when we match. Is that corny? I don’t care. I like it.”

Henry went back into the closet.

“Babe... what are you doing?” You asked as you stood up and started getting dressed.

“Ahha! Here it is!” He came out of the closet holding a sweater of yours that was just similar enough to his that it looked like you went together, but weren’t twins.

You had just pulled on your jeans when you looked up at him. You almost blurt out ‘are you serious?!’ But you legitimately knew he wanted you to wear it. So you did.

-

Henry walked around the car to open your door. You swallowed hard as your peered out the window at the large house. Your palms felt a little sweaty as Henry offered his hand, helping you out of the car.

“They’re all going to love you, my dear.” He smiled that megawatt melt you from the inside out smile that made your knees weak. He tightly held you hand as you walked to the front door. The curtains shifting quickly letting you know prying eyes had been watching.

His parents opened the door as Henry reached out for the knob.

“Merry Christmas!” They sang in unison as they welcomed the two of you inside.

Henry’s mom rushed you with a hug and a whisper, “they’re already impressed my dear. Just have fun.”

She smiled at you and tapped the side of her nose knowingly as Henry’s father took a step towards you. “Welcome home! You’re family now! It’s so nice to finally meet you. The Mrs. hasn’t stopped gushing about you. I feel as if I already know you.” He grabbed you in a tight hug before offering to take your coat.

Henry’s nephews and niece ascended next as they tackled his legs and jumped in front of him, all screaming and shouting with excitement.

“Let them get in the door at least!” You heard a man’s voice bellow from the living room.

Henry spun and smiled at you, wrapping his free hand around your waist, pulling you close as he tried to walk with his new passengers.

-

You arrived home utterly exhausted, slightly drunk, and extremely happy. Henry’s family had been absolutely wonderful. You adored each and every one of them. They had welcomed you into their family, even before opening your lavish gifts.

TBC

[13-reasons-ideas]

Can’t Go Back Part 9

A/N: *sneaks onto your dash with this chapter and runs away quickly* I’m sorry for the delay. Addy’s mum’s birthday dinner will be in the next next chapter. I felt this one was long enough. Feedback is appreciated. Much love as always- Em

During our wind down time in the evening, I decided to bring up the idea of my friends coming over for dinner. He was done working on an assignment, reading over some sports book on the sectional. I was curled up on the other end of the couch, typing a for fun idea I had. “Can you pass the almonds, please?” I asked him. He passed the bowl over to me without looking up and I took a handful. After he put the bowl down, I asked him, “hey so, how would you feel about my friends coming for dinner on Saturday?” He laughed, assuming it was a joke. When I didn’t laugh, he looked up and looked at me funny.

“Oh. You were serious.”

“Yes.”

“Why would we have people who don’t like me over for dinner?”

“Because they’re my friends? Scott and Charlie come over for dinner. So does Justin.” I set my laptop aside on the coffee table.

“Addison, the difference between them and your friends is that they like me. And are supportive of our relationship.”

“Well this morning you talked to Clay and you weren’t horrible to him and he wasn’t horrible to you.”

“Being nice in a coffee shop in public is very different than having them over to our home in our private space. For all I know, it will be ‘why you’re terrible for our friend’ to me or ‘why did you make such an awful choice’ to you. I’m not going to sit here and let them do that to you. I really couldn’t give a shit what they say about me.” He had gotten up for a drink about halfway through his response.

“I wouldn’t let them do that to you. In fact, I was planning to tell them if they said anything like that, they would be asked to leave. Also, you need to stop moving around so much. The doctor said to rest.”

“That’s fair. But still. I don’t think it’s a good idea. I am not bedridden Addy. I can get myself a bottle of water.”

“I would do it for you.”

“Babe. My friends like you. Hell, I think Bryce likes you.”

“Happy joy. Bryce Walker likes me.” I muttered under my breath. “If you give them a chance, they might like you.”

“If I give them a chance? Addy, I don’t think I’m the half of this equation who needs to give someone a chance.”

“Okay, you’re right. I just don’t want them think this was some spur of the moment, ‘let’s go to Vegas’ thing. And I don’t want to have to choose between my friends and my husband. Because we all know that I would choose you.”

“I get it. You don’t want to lose your friends.”

“Exactly. I feel like maybe if they saw us together outside of school, they might realize that you aren’t as bad as they think you are. That they might see that I made the right choice.”

“I don’t know Addy. I don’t like it. We don’t like each other. I don’t see it going well.”

“I would do it for you.” I gave him my very best puppy dog eyes.

“That’s not fair. This isn’t you trying to get me to go to the store for ice cream. This is dinner with your friends who don’t like me.”

“Would you do it if I said we can play hooky to have sex when you get cleared?”

He was quiet for a while, contemplating my offer. “Would the sex start when we get home from the doctor?”

“Depending what time it was, yes.”

“If they say anything out of line can I kick them out immediately?”

“Maybe give them a warning first. If they say anything else, then you can.” He was quiet again. I watched him take a sip of water, crossing my fingers for a yes. After many minutes, he sighed and reluctantly agreed, “fine. They can come over. They better behave.”

“I’ll tell them to be on good behaviour.”

“Good.” Monty checked the clock on the wall and yawned. “It’s getting late baby. We should probably head to bed soon.” He placed his hand on my ankle and rubbed it up and down.

I nodded and grabbed my laptop to save my work. I got up and smirked playfully, rubbing his hair. “Addy.” he exclaimed as he laughed. I smiled prettily at him. “No touchy.” I shook my head in response and headed to our room for the night, where he joined me a few moments later.

The next morning, I left Monty at the car and went in search of my friends.

“Nice shirt.” Jess laughed when I approached them. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or being a bitch.

“I was tired this morning. Ripped jeans and Monty’s baseball shirt were in easy reach.”

“Late night?” Justin asked.

“I fucking wish.” I muttered quietly. I cleared my throat before answering normally, “not really. Just one of those mornings where the bed is so much more comfortable than it was when I was going to bed. I think going to bed at three thirty the other day messed with my internal clock. Anyway, I talked to Monty last night. He agreed to have you guys over on Saturday. You need to behave because it’s our house. It is our private space. We can and will ask you to leave if you don’t keep it together. No questions about his family. Not negotiable.”

“And if we don’t behave?” Zach asked.

I tried to keep from rolling my eyes. “You will be asked to leave.”

“That’s it?”

“It depends on what you say or do.”

“That sounds fair.” He replied. The first warning bell rang, and my friends left Justin and I to talk for a bit and walk to class.

“So, what did you have to promise him to agree to that? Or rather, how much did you have to promise him?”

“Hooky once he is medically cleared. And I might need to take the next day off too.”

“Damn. Sounds like a fun time.”

“It’s only been like four days and I already have an itch. That clearance can’t come fast enough Justin.”

“I believe it. Why do you think I hardly ever go to your place?”

“We aren’t that bad.” I rolled my eyes at him.

** **

Friday night was usually reserved for football and a movie or possibly Monty going to Bryce’s for a party. One nice thing about people not knowing about us, was that I wasn’t subjected to the parties. I was concerned that I would have to go with him now that people know about us, but he chose to stay home tonight. I was silently thankful for that as he had a tendency to… overindulge and come home late sometimes after spending time with Bryce. It wasn’t a very frequent thing, but it had been the cause of some discussions and arguments both before and after we got married.

I decided to stay home from the game since Monty wouldn’t be playing and my lack of sleep recently had begun catching up with me. For dinner, I had decided to make stuffed shell pasta. Half of them had spinach and the other half only had cheese. We watched Oliver & Company while we ate and cuddled on the couch. When that movie ended, we watched this week’s episode of FBI before calling it a night. I’m so tired. Climbing into bed in one of Monty’s t-shirts and a clean pair of underwear, I snuggled up under the blankets. He got in bed beside me and I cuddled closer. It was just passed two o’clock.

I was almost asleep when I heard him speak up. “Addy?”

“Hmmm?” I mumbled.

“I’m uh… I’m kind of horny.”

“That’s nice dear.” I mumbled patting his chest gently.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

I could tell he was expecting a legitimate answer now, so I sat up some. “That’s unfortunate for you then.”

“Come on babe. Please?” He asked, gesturing to his growing hard on. You have no idea how much I want to say yes. But sleep. Sleep is good. I decided to have a little fun with this before going to sleep. I’ll pay for this when he gets cleared, but I’m not going to complain.

“I mean… there are other things we could do….” I said, seductively.

He smirked, playing innocent. “Like what?” I have him exactly where I want him.

“Like going the fuck to sleep.” I told him, promptly rolling over as I laid back down. He made the cutest, most disappointed sound I had ever heard, and I had to fight to hold back an ‘awe’.

On Saturday mornings we usually had Scott and Charlie over for coffee and breakfast. This morning, Charlie had a little too late of a night, so it was just Scott. I was up early-too early for how late we went to bed-to get a start on making breakfast. I had decided to make coffee Belgian waffles and buttermilk biscuits since it was just the three of us this morning. I would go back to making my more traditional breakfast meals next week. Or if Monty’s friends really do like me, possibly scale the meals up a little in the future. I didn’t bother to throw any pants on, since it was so early.

Monty and I had a rule about him sleeping in on Saturdays unless there was an imminent event happening that he had to be awake for. We did not deem groceries or awkward dinners with my friends, imminent issues. I swayed around the kitchen, humming to myself while I cooked. “If I knew this would be my view as often as it is on Saturdays, I would never have made the sleeping in rule a thing.”

I jumped slightly, not expecting Monty to be up yet. I had a spoon in my mouth, tasting the espresso and buttermilk mixture to see if the ratio was right. “Morning.” I greeted. “Needs a little more espresso.” I muttered to myself, using a teaspoon to sprinkle more in.

“Need any help?” he offered, making his way over to me. The crutches were easy for him to use at this point. He grabbed his favourite mug and poured a cup of coffee.

“Sure. Can you grab me the ricotta from the fridge? And put the mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer?” He nodded and went about the tasks.

“Anything else?”

“Do you want fruit? I’m also making biscuits.”

“Fruit sounds good. What do we have?”

“There are some berries in the fridge that have to be eaten. If you use apples-.”

“Wait until closer to breakfast, I know.” I laughed at him.

“Anything else you want to add, go ahead.” He nodded and got to work at the table, mixing the salad.

While the waffle batter hydrated, I went to get changed and get ready. I settled on a purple long sleeve dress and a pair of leggings so I wouldn’t have to change when we went to the store. I curled my hair and pulled it into a ponytail and did some quick makeup, so I looked a little more presentable. By the time I was ready, Monty had started mixing the biscuits together at the table. I watched him for a few minutes, as he poured the buttermilk in the bowl and used the back of a wooden spoon to mix it together into a shaggy mass. “There’s something very attractive about a man who can cook.”

He chuckled, rolling the dough out. “Come help me cut them out? Round or square?”

“You choose.” I watched as he decided what to do. First, he grabbed the circle cutter and used the back side of it to see how much dough he would have to reshape after. Then he used the back of a knife to measure how many squares he could get out of the dough. He nodded to himself, focusing on his task.

“Square. Re-rolled biscuits are gross.” I walked over to the island and grabbed the spatula and a cookie sheet. After transferring them to the sheet, I set them in the oven he had preheated.

Ten minutes later, Scott knocked on the door. I answered it and Monty manned the waffle iron. “Hey Scott.” I greeted as he pulled me into a hug.

“Hey Addy. How are you?”

“I’m good, you? I heard you guys had a pretty late night last night.”

“Well you know how it is.” He replied, brushing it off as though it was no big deal.

“I know. Biscuits are about to come out of the oven and waffles are on.”

We walked into the kitchen, where Monty was cutting up an apple into chunks. “Hey Scott.” He greeted his friend, not looking up.

“Hey Monty.” He could immediately tell there was something off about him. “What’s up with him?”

“He’s cranky that we can’t have sex.” I half muttered back.

“I can hear you guys, you know.”

“I know. But I’m not wrong.”

“I’m not cranky.” He replied, petulantly.

“Mhmm. Sure thing sweetie.” I poured more batter in the waffle iron as the timer went off on the oven before setting to work on espresso whipped cream.

“I’ll get it.” Scott offered.

“Great.”

“Is the fruit supposed to make us feel better about the carbs?”

“Yes. Carbs are more to make you feel better about drinking last night.”

“How do you know I was drinking, hmmm Addison?” I gave him a come on look and he conceded. “Fine. Maybe I had a couple of beers.”

Our conversation flowed easily over breakfast. “Her friends are really coming over for dinner tonight? Here?”

“Yes.” I responded before Monty could.

“And this is something you agreed to?”

“Reluctantly, yes. I reserve the right to tell them to get the hell out of my house though.” Monty replied, motioning to the door.

“Whose bright idea was this exactly?”

“Justin’s. He thinks it would be ‘beneficial’ for her friends to get to know me outside of school.”

“Ohhh. Okay. Are we placing bets on how awfully this will go?”

“No.” I said, firmly.

“Addy, no offence but this is going to be a disaster.” Scott told me.

“Maybe. But if it is, do I really need to consider them my friends?”

“No, you don’t. I just don’t understand why you want to have them over for dinner.”

“Because I like to cook and if we did coffee, they wouldn’t stay long enough to listen.” Scott ruminated on that for a while and shrugged.

“These waffles are amazing by the way. What’s in them?”

“Coffee.”

“Because just coffee isn’t enough caffeine for you?”

“Not really, no.”

“What are you going to do when you get pregnant and can’t have caffeine?” My eyes widened and Monty choked on his food. We exchanged a panicked look with each other. “Oh shit. You’re not… are you?” Scott asked, thinking our exchange was something that it wasn’t.

“No!” I replied quickly. “No tiny humans. Not that we wouldn’t have them, but not for a long time.”

“Okay good. I would have needed to go talk to Zach about how to remove my foot from my mouth then.” Monty laughed at Scott’s comment and I couldn’t help but laugh a little along with him.

“Can I keep a tally of how many times he puts his foot in his mouth tonight? Please?”

“Yes. But only so you can tell Scott about it.”

“Can I get out of grocery shopping this week?” Monty asked.

“Why?”

“Because I’m injured. I’m supposed to rest Addy.”

“You just want to stay home and watch the game before my friends get here. But I suppose since you’re supposed to sit with it elevated, you can stay home. I’ll need help when I get home though.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t make a mess.” Mhmm.

Scott left shortly after breakfast and I got my things together to go to the store. “List, keys, wallet, dad’s cash for tomorrow’s dinner, phone, re-useable bags. What am I forgetting?” I mumbled to myself.

“Shoes?”

“No, I have sh-. That’s it. Shoes. Thanks love.” I threw on a pair of black Converse and kissed Monty goodbye. “I’ll be back in a while. Call if you need anything.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too.” With that, I ran out the door on my way to Kroger.

The store wasn’t super busy for just after noon on a Saturday. I texted Justin while I checked my list. Hey, I was thinking chicken stuffed peppers tonight? I’m at the store now. “On to the list.” I muttered quietly. I made my way around to the deli and bakery section of the store to grab bread and prosciutto for the wellington tomorrow night. Justin’s ringtone interrupted my audiobook. I answered the FaceTime quickly. Thank God I’m wearing headphones. “Hey Justin. What’s up?”

“You know, the usual. How’s the store?” He was sitting on the counter in their room.

“It’s okay.”

“I asked Clay and he said stuffed peppers is fine.” He replied, popping a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

“Okay. I’ll grab some ground chicken while I’m here.” I grabbed some milk and puff pastry from the frozen section, because we didn’t have enough of the batch I made.

“Clay also asked if we should bring anything? I told him no.”

“No, but you can tell everyone to leave their attitudes at home.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry Addy. I did. Clay knows he doesn’t want to be in the doghouse with you.”

“What about Zach? What’s gotten into him by the way?”

“Well Zach might be a little harder to control. I think he’s upset he missed that you guys were together. I don’t know. He’s my friend but sometimes he’s hard to read.” I nodded, before directing my attention to the butcher counter.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Hello, how may I help you Miss?”

“I was wondering if I could get a one-kilogram beef fillet please?”

“Sure thing Miss.” I watched as he went through the case to find the right size one and get it prepared for me.

“Thank you.” I said as I took it. He nodded in acknowledgement.

“Mom wanted beef wellington for dinner tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Dad gave me the money for it.”

As I made my way through the aisles while we talked, I grabbed the few things we needed for day to day eating until I got to the produce. There, I grabbed cremini mushrooms and some other vegetables. “These peppers look okay?” I asked Justin, holding up a bag of assorted peppers.

“Yeah. That looks fine.” I was about to head to the till when I got another call.

“Hang on, Monty is calling me.” I placed my call on hold and answered my husband. “Hey honey. Everything okay?”

“It’s good here. You’re still at the store?”

“Yeah, why? Did we need something?”

“Can you grab me some more fruit snacks please?”

“Or and hear me out for a minute. I could get you some real fruit.”

I could practically hear the face he made. “No thanks. I was hungry but didn’t know what to have, so I finished the last pack.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you your precious sugar shapes.” I laughed and we hung up. “Sorry. We had a fruit snack emergency.”

“He ran out again?”

“Yup. I’m going to run and grab some before heading home. See you tonight. Love you.”

“See you with friends in tow. Love you too Addy.”

Thankfully, checkout was quick, and I was able to get home by one. Monty helped me carry the light bags in the house and I put the groceries away. From the corner of my eye, I saw him going to grab another bag of fruit snacks. “No. Put it back. We have real food, you know.” I heard him sigh and skulk over to the fridge, which he opened for two seconds before closing again.

“I see no real food here. And fruit snacks are real food.”

“I mean food that isn’t just sugar with the word fruit written on it, so people think they are being healthy. And yes, we do. I know because I was just at the store.”

“I don’t want that food.”

“Have a bowl of cereal then.” I heard him grab the container and turned around from getting the beef tenderloin wrapped, to watch him stick his hand in it and eat straight from the bin. “Monty.”

He gulped his bite down. “Addy.”

“Did all of our bowls go missing while I was out?”

“No. I just don’t feel like dirtying a dish.”

“But that is shared food.”

“It’s not like we haven’t shared anything worse.” He retorted, that sexy little smirk spreading across his features.

“That’s different. Also, don’t start you.” I pointed at him.

“You love me.”

“I know. Can you set the table please? And stop eating out of the box.”

“Why? It’s only like one thirty.”

“Because this way we don’t have to do it later.” I shrugged.

He sighed again and set to work. “The good tablecloth and dishes?”

“No, just the regular ones are fine. We will use the good stuff tomorrow for an actually special occasion.”

My friends arrived around four thirty. I was putting the peppers in the oven, so Monty answered the door. I held my breath waiting for someone to say something. Nothing was said. Not a word. He merely led them into the kitchen and looked to me, expectantly. I gave him my best say something look. Justin cleared his throat awkwardly. My friends, Monty, and I all just stared at each other as though we were waiting to see who would crack and speak first.

“I know you said not to bring anything, but Mom made me bring something because it’s polite or something like that. So, she sent me with a loaf of fresh bread.” Alex offered, awkwardly handing the loaf to Monty. He doesn’t bite. Or at least, he doesn’t bite people who aren’t me.

“Um, thanks Alex. That’s….” He looked at me, begging for help. I nodded at him encouragingly. “nice of you.” His smile was very obviously forced.

“Thank you, Alex. Tell Carolyn we appreciate it.”

“I will. It’s still weird you call her by her first name even when she isn’t around.” He laughed. I joined him and it seemed to break the tension.

“Need any help Addy?” Justin asked, not noticing Monty shaking his head frantically at him. Zach, who still hadn’t said anything, looked at him strangely. I don’t know if the fact that he hasn’t said anything is good or bad.

“No. In fact, out of the kitchen. You know the rules.”

“I know, I know. Just thought I would offer.” I didn’t miss the look he and Monty shared.

“Rules?” Clay asked.

“Yes. Cooking for people is generally my thing. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. If one of you had offered, I would have been more polite, but since Justin spends about as much time here as he does at home, he knows better.”

“Scott already helped this morning. I’m surprised she didn’t have an aneurysm or something.” Monty added.

“We were both busy and all he did was take stuff out of the oven. I have everything under control. Go play nice boys.”

I heard Zach mutter to Clay and Alex as Monty and Justin led them back to the living room, “notice Monty isn’t doing anything to help her.” The boys nodded.

I looked to see if Monty heard him. He didn’t appear to as he sat and elevated his leg. Good. No fights before dinner. Yet anyway. I cleared my throat, catching their attention. “Two things. One, he helped me all morning and is under doctor’s orders to rest. And two, keep your comments in check. I wasn’t kidding about you being asked to leave if you can’t be nice.”

“Sorry.” Zach muttered. Clay and Alex nodded and at least looked a little guilty.

I went about my business in the kitchen while the boys spent time in the living room. Jessica had a family thing tonight, or at least, she said she did, so she wasn’t joining us. Glancing over at the group of men in my living room, I noted the clear division between them. Monty and Justin were seated in the accent chairs, while Clay, Alex, and Zach were seated on the sectional. Their conversation seemed stilted, though that was unsurprising. They don’t really have a lot in common. And also, don’t really like each other all that much. At some point, Zach, Monty, and Justin must have started talking about football because Clay and Alex came wandering back into the kitchen. I chopped some romaine for salad as they pulled up the bar stools at the island.

“Drove you away already?” I asked, smirking.

“They’re talking sports.” Clay said.

“Ah yes. At least it’s a safe topic I guess.”

“That’s true. How’s he doing, by the way? I don’t know if it would be weird for me to ask him, since you know. We don’t like each other.” Alex asked.

“He’s doing okay. I think it’s starting to get to him a bit, especially since he has to go to practice and games, but the pain and swelling have decreased. I don’t think it would be weird. Awkward maybe.”

“Should I even bother asking you to explain what actually happened?”

“Something about falling and bending and extending. I’m not really sure to be honest. I spent most of that night and the next day in varying degrees of shock.”

“That really sucks. I’m sorry Addy.” Clay smiled, sadly.

“It’s okay Clay. It could have been a lot worse, so he got pretty lucky.” Raising my voice slightly, I asked the whole group. “Does anyone want anything to drink?”

I was met with a chorus of water, no thanks, and whatever is in the fridge from my friends. “Well Justin, there are multiple things in the fridge, so what would you like?”

“I don’t know. Is there any of that passionfruit something something juice left?”

I opened the fridge to check, even though I knew there was. Neither Monty nor I liked it very much. “Yes. Since you’re the only one who drinks it, do you want to take it home?” While he thought about it, I went about getting drinks together.

“Nah. You guys can keep it here.” He responded after a couple of minutes. I rolled my eyes.

Back in the kitchen, I muttered to Clay, “I’ll send it home with you.” He nodded. I took the peppers out of the oven and let them rest on the stove for a couple of minutes. “Hey Zach, can I borrow you for a minute?”

“Sure, why?” He replied, getting up and walking over to me.

“While I’m thinking about it and have you here, can you grab the food processor from the cupboard up there?” I asked, pointing to the corner cabinet. He nodded and placed it on the counter for me. “Thanks. I need it tomorrow morning and I don’t feel like waking Monty up because I fell off the counter.”

“Again.” I heard him say as he came up behind me and placed a soft kiss on my head. We could both feel my friend’s eyes on us.

“I did not fall off the counter.” I complained.

“You would have if I hadn’t caught you.”

“Well if you didn’t put everything up on the shelves I can’t reach, we wouldn’t have this problem.” I argued playfully.

“But then I wouldn’t get to enjoy watching you struggle.” He teased.

“Enjoy watching her struggle…?” Clay asked, quietly. Monty turned to my friends.

“She makes these little grunts and her face does this frowning, determined, narrowing thing. It’s funny.” My friends shared looks with each other. Justin laughed at them. They have no idea what to make of this. Monty is actually a normal human being? I slipped my hand under his elbow and noticed he wasn’t using his crutches.

“Babe.”

“What?”

“Your crutches are… where exactly?”

“Over there.” he replied, pointing to the living room, where they were propped up against the back of the chair.

“And they aren’t here, with you because?”

“I’m not in pain or anything Addy. It’s fine.” I gave him my best wife isn’t impressed look.

“Mhmm. Just don’t complain to me when you’re in pain later.” I patted his arm and kissed his cheek, once again leaning against the counter and his arm.

“They do this. Everything is fine.” Justin told our now highly perplexed friends.

“Are you in shit?” Clay asked Monty, skeptically. He chuckled.

“Nah. She says I can’t complain about it, but as soon as you guys leave, she will be ushering me to the couch and pestering me with pillows and ice.”

Clay nodded as though he understood, but he was obviously still confused. This might be a little too much humanization a little too quickly. I transferred the peppers onto a serving plate and set them on the table. “Dinner is ready.” I offered, cheerily. The awkward tension that had returned during our exchange was beginning to get to me. The boys all smiled at the mention of food. “Sit anywhere except there and there.” I told them, pointing out Justin and Monty’s usual seats. I knew the seat next to Monty would be left empty for me.

Zach had stayed fairly quiet before we sat down. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he started back on his new talking without thinking thing.

“Seems a little soon to be needing a two-bedroom house, don’t you think Addy?” I looked up from my salad at him, my eyes darting back and forth trying to make sense of him seemingly random comment.

“Um, no?” I asked. It was my turn to be confused.

“So there won’t be any… additions… to your little family any time soon?”

Once again today, I turned to Monty in shock. He was staring at Zach with wide eyes. “Uh. No. No tiny humans. Not for a very long time.” I turned my attention to Justin, “do I look pregnant or something?” “No. You look perfectly normal.”

“Thank you.” I looked at Zach again. He seemed to be itching to ask a follow up question. “Yes, Zach? Go ahead.” I clutched Monty’s hand under the table.

“I’m just going to assume I’m not the only one wondering how you guys afford to live here. I mean, you’re seniors in high school.”

I sighed, knowing this question would be coming sooner or later. “It’s my parent’s rental house. This was their wedding gift to us.”

“Okay?” He asked, gesturing for me to continue.

“They felt like since we will be going off to college next year, they would rather have us focus on school instead of how we were going to pay rent and stuff. That we should worry about that when we have to, and not when we live in town.”

“And they didn’t think living with the in-laws was a very good idea as newlyweds.” Monty added.

“So, as a gift to us, they let us live here rent and utilities free. Obviously, our personal expenses are our own to deal with, but as far as living expenses go, they are covered until we move to wherever we end up going next year.”

“Interesting.” Zach muttered.

“It’s not like they kicked their old tenants out. Their lease was up a few weeks before we got married and they were moving away. They just decided not to relist it.” Monty explained.

“Plus, both houses are paid for and it’s not like they need the money.”

Justin laughed. “You’re not wrong.”

“I know. Gran has started checking in now that I’m married. Wants to know if she needs to update the will.”

“Why?” Clay asked, seeming genuinely interested.

“Seems Zach isn’t the only one wondering if there will be any kids soon. She wants to know if she has to split my alleged trust fund.”

���She still ranting about how you guys didn’t ask her to come?”

Monty shot him a look. “Justin. It’s her grandmother. She’s old and rich. What do you think?”

“I don’t know, maybe she forgot?” he replied, shrugging.

“She’s cranky, not senile. How well do you think it would have gone if she was here?” I questioned.

He contemplated his answer for a moment. The colour and smile slowly slipped from his face. “No. That would have been bad.”

“Exactly.”

“Why would it have been bad?” Zach asked, but I assumed he could guess why. The guy drives a sixty-thousand-dollar car for Christ’s sake.

“Because he isn’t an obscenely rich white dude who wears suits to school every day. She would have probably stopped the whole thing and brought in some son of an Earl or something.”

“Kind of figured. Son of an Earl you say? Which one?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Sandwich? If not an Earl, some other rich British guy who would be boring as hell.”

“Are you saying I’m not boring?” Monty gasped.

“Well… you’re kind of broken right now so if I was your wife I would say yes.” Alex replied, quietly. I turned to Monty, trying to gauge his reaction. He looked… amused. And then he burst out laughing. Clay turned to me, with his brows raised high.

“I would argue it makes me more exciting.”

“How?”

“I get to come up with all new ways to annoy her.”

“Like what?”

“Making me pick up more fruit snacks at the store because he couldn’t eat the food we had here for some reason.” I interjected, smirking slightly.

“That isn’t food.” Clay said.

“See! I told you.”

“Yes honey.” Monty muttered, patting me on the head. I turned and pouted at him. He raised his brow challengingly and I could feel my pupils begin to dilate slightly. Justin cleared his throat quietly and when I turned back to the table, thankfully it didn’t seem as though anyone else noticed our exchange. How am I going to make it until he gets cleared for sex when he looks at me like that? Why was I so worried about him? I’m the one who is struggling.

“Oh and Zach?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t have the silver spoon shoved in your mouth as soon as you were born.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Addy?”

“It means you don’t get to comment on the fact that my parents let us live here for free. Your first car was a freaking brand new Audi.”

He shrugged, almost admitting I was right. There was a somewhat awkward silence while we ate, which I wasn’t sure was good or bad. On the one hand, no talking while eating mean’s the food is good. On the other hand, it’s dinner with my friends and my husband. Alex broke the silence, asking, “how did her parents react to her bringing you home? No offence but you’re… you. And she’s… her. Or more specifically, Mr. Hawthorne is him.”

“Better than I expected and definitely better than Addison expected. She sat in the car for close to fifteen minutes, just staring at the house.”

“He wasn’t a total dick to you?” Alex’s brow raised.

“Not really. Asked me a couple of questions and that was it. It struck me as kind of odd, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I thought he would be more interested since I was dating his daughter and like you said, I’m probably not what he expected.”

“You mean, you didn’t say anything yet.” Justin added, pointing his empty fork.

“Right. But that isn’t a talk for today. That will require more time and possibly popcorn.”

“Popcorn? Couldn’t have been that exciting.” Zach said.

“It was. Also, can it Dempsey. I didn’t suggest this so you could be an ass all night.” Justin told him. “I’ve had far more experience with her dad than any of you. He knows what he’s talking about.”

“Okay, sorry.” Zach raised his hands in surrender.

With that sorted for now, the rest of dinner was mostly quiet. It was still awkward and there was some stilted small talk, but I think I had begun the process of humanizing Monty to my people. Hopefully in the future, they could all become something akin to friends. Or maybe polite acquaintances.  “Do you want us to stay and help clean up?” Clay asked, after a not so discreet elbow in the ribs from Justin.

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for the offer though.” I told him as we ushered my friends to the door. Monty stood behind me with his hand on the door, ready to close it the second they left.

“Dinner was good by the way.” Zach told me.

“Thank you, Zach.” I nodded. Everyone needs to leave. Get out. I want to be alone with my husband. I smiled politely and Justin seemed to realize what I was doing.

“This was fun. See you Monday guys. Tell Margot I said happy birthday tomorrow Addy.” He gave me a quick hug.

“It was and I will.” They left moments later and Monty closed the door firmly.

“Fun? He called that fun?”

“I guess so. I mean, it went better than I expected.” I shrugged, walking back to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

“I expected to kick them all out before we sat down. I would most definitely not call it fun though.”

“Go sit. I’ll have a bag of ice for you in a minute.” I ordered, pointing

towards the couch. He sighed and I heard him limp over and sit.

After the dishes were loaded and leftovers were put in the fridge, I went to

change into some fuzzy pj pants so I could be comfortable while I started

getting the beef ready for tomorrow. I grabbed the fillet out of the fridge and

got the plastic wrap out to wrap it tightly. Dinner prep was done for the

night moments later and I was able to go sit with Monty on the couch for a

while.

[revisionaryhistory]

Three Days ~ 58

~*~Sebastian~*~

The video call with Emma's family had been good until the last sentence. I wasn't sure if Andrea was legitimately saying she hoped we'd be together or questioning if we would. From the look on Emma's face, she was going with option two. Now I was slightly suspicious Eli's dislike for them wasn't unfounded.

It wasn't late when Emma called. I put my script on the table and stretched out on the couch before connecting the call. I stopped before a word left my mouth.

Emma said, "Hey."

"This is not the same happy face I saw less than two hours ago." She looked exhausted. While her puffy red eyes could be from the pool, I doubted it was chlorine. She'd been crying. A knot formed in my stomach. I spoke quietly, "What's going on, baby?"

What followed was a strange story of her parents ignoring her to talk to Amy then telling Emma she should pretend her life sucks so her sister won't do drugs. Oversimplified, but accurate.

Dammit, Eli was right.

Emma went back and forth between angry and sad. I honestly don’t know which was worse, but I didn't like either of them. A wave of protectiveness washed over me and I wanted to jump on a plane to go get her. She didn't need saving now any more than she did in the bar after the volleyball tournament. The difference was either I was there just in case she needed me at the bar or possibly my feelings for her were stronger now. Or both.

At the end of the story, she said, "It's not always this bad. Most of the time it's fine, besides the walking on eggshells. I didn't say anything because I try to be optimistic. If I come down here thinking the worst, I’m reading into everything and paranoid about everything I say. It only makes things worse. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad."

I double blinked, "Mad? I’m not mad at you. I’m pissed as hell at them. Your best friend kind of hates them. Your sister's a heroin addict and your parents signed over custody of you to a rock star who lived on the other side of the country. I never thought this was a vacation. You said I didn't need to worry, but I did anyway. I am going to need Eli's phone number so I can apologize for thinking he was an ass about your parents."

I felt better when she smiled, "He'll enjoy that and never let you forget."

"Never letting you forget stupid shit is the basis of most male friendships." I switched back to serious for a second, "Do you wanna leave? Say the word and I'll book the flight and talk to you until the Uber gets there. Meet you at the airport here and we'll lock ourselves in my apartment until we have to leave Sunday. Hell, you can just stay here and hideout. Maybe rearrange some more of my drawers."

"As wonderful as it sounds, no. Not tonight anyway. Amy and I will have a good time tomorrow. I'd feel bad running off. Sunday there will be family buffers. Monday, I don't know. Mom will be doing exams Tuesday while I'm with the girls." She shook her head, "I already severely limit my time here."

"Em, it's ok to not want to be around people who make you feel bad. Even if they're family. It's shitty, but it's your choice."

"Visit when my guilt about not visiting outweighs the potential bad time when I visit."

"I don't recommend guilt." I looked at her thinking what a shit situation this was.

"I don't want to fight to just be myself. Shouldn't be this difficult. I can understand them wanting to protect Amy, but I feel like they don't want to hear about me."

I couldn't fix this as much as I wanted to. "Last night when you knew I'd been upset did you feel incredibly helpless? Even though talking to me while I could see you was enough."

"Yep." She yawned. "I was out by the lake. I came back where it was light and we could see each other. We have good phone calls."

I agreed. Phone calls, even video calls, can feel distant or impersonal. Not for us. I'm used to keeping friendships going over the phone. If I couldn't have real conversations on the phone, I wouldn't be sane. "You’re tired."

"I don't want to hang up."

"Not going to. What was your favorite bedtime story when you were little?"

She looked at me like I was a little crazy. Not inaccurate. "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree."

"I want you to go upstairs and get into bed. While you’re doing that, I’m going to find Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. Then I'm going to read to you until you fall asleep."

“You’re going to read me a bedtime story?”

I most definitely was. I nodded with a smile.

“Best boyfriend ever.”

“Trying.” I could tell she was getting up. “I’m going to be quiet so you can sneak in.”

“My parents are awake in the family room. I have to walk through.”

“Just pretend you're sneaking me to your bedroom after a date. Put me in your pocket.”

She laughed and then the screen went dark. I could hear muffled voices. “I’m going to bed.”

“Amy said to be ready to leave at ten.”

“Sounds good. Night.”

“Sleep well. We love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Hmmm. Her voice didn’t hold the warmth those words should have. Not the way I’d want to hear them.

Less than a minute later I was out of her pocket. “I need the bathroom. I’m going to let you hang out in bed.”  She was quiet, but I could see she was concentrating on something. “Enjoy.”

Emma dropped the phone on the bed and I was staring at the ceiling when my text notification went off. Oh . . . the naked on a pool float picture. Peachless. Also, bikini bottomless. I was still smiling when the real girl came back on camera. “Nice ass.”

She crawled under the covers and propped her phone against the pillow next to her. “Remarkably self-conscious.”

“Then why’d you send it?” From the drinking game, I knew she’d sent nudes to someone before.

“Wasn’t self-conscious until after I sent. At the time it was fun and flirty. I knew you’d like it. After I hit send I thought I should make sure.”

“No, you were right I like it. A lot. Want a picture of my ass?”

“Your naked is ass is online and on film.”

“Bonus for you! Everything will be soon enough.” I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Really? Full frontal?”

“Not sure how full, but frontal. The movie I shot in Greece. Talk about self-conscious.”

“I tell you what. When your full-frontal comes out, I’ll send you full-frontal. We’ll be even.”

“Now I’m looking forward to the release.”  A dirty smile formed on my face, “Do I get to take it?”

“I don’t know who else would.”

I scrunched up my face because that hurt in all the good ways. I’m supposed to be reading a bedtime story not getting a hard-on. Guess where gonna see if I can do both at the same time. “Time for sleep.”

She smiled and tucked her hands under her pillow. I like seeing her relaxed like this even better than the naked pool picture. “You look so pretty curled up.”

“Did you remember to turn on the screenshot function?”

“I did.” I took one right now. “I’ll go sleep to that.”  

Winnie-the-Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree, put his head between his paws and began to think. First of all he said to himself: “That buzzing-noise means something. You don’t get a buzzing-noise like that, just buzzing and buzzing, without its meaning something. If there’s a buzzing-noise, somebody’s making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you’re a bee.”

Then he thought another long time, and said: “And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey.”

And then he got up, and said: “And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.” So he began to climb the tree.

I kept reading until I was sure she was asleep. Instead of hanging up, I hit mute and put my phone on the arm of the chair where I could see her while I worked. I kept watch until she changed positions and knocked the phone onto the screen.

First thing in the morning, before heading to the gym, I sent her one of the pictures I took of her sleeping.

Sebastian ~ Hope your day is as peaceful as you look here.

Emma ~ Thank you. For everything. Listening, talking, bedtime story.

Sebastian ~ Confession. Didn't know Pooh before last night.

Emma ~ We can watch next time we're together.

Sebastian ~ Cuddled up watching Winnie the Pooh sounds good. Have fun today.

Emma ~ Have fun with the guys tonight.

 The next time I checked my phone, after working out, I had half a dozen text messages. All from Evans.

Chris ~ Yo!

Chris ~ Wake up

Chris ~ Lazy fucker

Chris ~ Are you home?

Chris ~ I’m in NYC

Chris ~ Let me know

Sebastian ~ Ass. I was at the gym. Chace is in town too. Meeting for drinks about five. Dinner. More drinks. You should come. I'd love to see you.

Chris ~ Sounds great. Tell me where.

 I sent him the address and was more excited about my night. Will, Chace, and now Chris were doing before dinner drinks then we'd meet up with the others. I'd made a ton of progress with the new role. After my shower I made some more notes, alternating with checking Instagram when I got a notification Emma had posted. A group walking down a dock pulling a couple of coolers was labeled, "Load in." A shot all of them on the boat. Emma was wearing the same bikini from yesterday with a pair of cutoffs. A couple of hours later she posted multiple pictures of them tubing, people sitting around laughing, others in the water, and a couple of them laying out on the deck. None of those had my girl. The next batch did. Same sort of pictures, but with her in.

This was much better than last night. She looked like she was having fun. The last one before I headed to meet the guys was her, Amy, and who I assume was Amy's boyfriend. He was in the middle. Emma's caption read, "Someone is missing."

I commented, "Miss you too."

I ran into Chace right outside the bar. We hugged and gave each other shit about our matching beards. We kept up the teasing and laughing all the way to the table. Will and Chris were already seated and had ordered beers. Chris downed half his beer in one drink, "Seb, man, you stood me up. I mean, I get helping your parents move."

Will laughed. Chace cocked his head to the side and smiled. Chris looked at them before turning his attention back to me, "What have you done?"

I put my beer down slowly. "Yeah, about that. I may have left out a bit. I was helping my parents move, but that's not why I stayed."

Chris put his hand on my shoulder, "You met a girl."

"I met a girl. We'd had a great first date and I wasn't ready to leave. I wanted to get to know her better."

Chris looked up like he was thinking, "I'm good with that." His eyes came back, "Still seeing her?"

I couldn't have stopped my smile if I'd tried. "Yeah. Emma."

Chris smiled, "Nice."

Chace looked at Will, "You knew this and didn't bust him in our group chat?"

Will shrugged, "Trust me, it's more fun this way." He shifted his eyes to me for a second before looking back to Chace with a smirked, "You've met her."

Chace pointed to himself, "I’ve met her?"

Will continued, "At Kirk's wedding she was with the singer from Boone's band and his wife."

I watched him search his memory, "Didn't I hit on her?"

"Why did you say that out loud?

Chace snickered, "To see him make that face."

Not sure what face I was making, but I changed it.

"I thought they were in a throuple."

I rolled my eyes, "Not a throuple."

"How is that even a word?" Chris screwed up his face.

Will handed Chace his phone, "This is her Instagram Emma_plays_90"

Unless Emma had updated the first was another throuple.

"Sister?"

"Twin."

Both smirked, "Nice."

Chace asked, "Which is yours?"

"Polka dot bikini."

They scrolled back in her timeline, turning the phone toward me when they got to the peach one.

Chris raised one eyebrow, "Please, tell me you have the uncensored version."

I nodded. Smiling again.

Chace handed Will his phone back, "You have better on your phone. Hand it over."

I knew this would happen and had left the naked one in my texts. I had to stand up to dig my phone out of my pocket. I had it unlocked and the folder full of her open when I got a text.

Emma ~ Tell Chris hi and nice to meet him.

I looked up. Chris was on his phone. "What did you do?"

Chris did a shit job of pretending to look innocent. "Does Instagram notify someone if you follow them?"

"If their account is set to private and they have to approve you, yes, it does." Another text.

Emma ~ And Chace...

I glared at him. He shrugged, "0oops."

"Now she knows we're talking about her." No idea why I said that. Of course, she knows we're talking about her.

Will looked exasperated, "She already knew."

Chace chuckled, "She DM’d me. Hope your pick-up lines have improved." He sat there saying each word as he replied, "I'd like to say they have, but probably not."

Will smacked the back of Chace's head, "Stop it. You know how he gets."

One of the side effects of insecurity is jealousy. I get jealous. And in an all-time dick move I don't like it when girlfriends get jealous. I think that falls under the topic of commitment issues. I shook my head at Will, "Not jealous. It's this combination of annoyed that I could have met her a year ago and relief I didn't because things would have gone very differently. I was not ready for Emma a year ago."

"How'd you get ready?"

One of the things Chris and I have in common is relationship and commitment issues. I had no trouble answering, "Years of therapy finally came together. I managed to step outside my walls and she ... she has this way of working around my anxiety. Makes it ok."

I handed over my phone, scrolled back to the beginning with the fish.

Chace winked at Chris, "Told ya the good ones were on his phone."

They scrolled through, stopping to look at each other before turning the phone around to me. It was on the deck at her place. She was sitting at the table, her leg pulled up with her foot on the seat, smiling at me. She'd looked beautiful in the fading light. The smile, the look on her face, still made my heart skip a beat. Any man would love to have a woman look at him the way she was looking at me. That was day four. It’s even better now.

Chris turned the phone back toward them, "You should have led with you'd blown me off because you met a beautiful woman who looks at you like you hung the fucking moon."

I shook my head, "I met a very kind and amazing woman who just happens to be beautiful."

Chace asked, "How'd you meet?"

"She thought I was a drug addict getting snacks before checking into the rehab place up the road. She

helped me find chocolate chips for mom to make fudge."

Chris looked surprised then smiled, "That's a good story."

"Nice, but makes questionable choices." Chris grabbed Chace’s hand to turn the phone back around.

Chace kept scrolling, "This hers? She have a kid?"

Not sure why the pictures are out of order. "No, one of her students. She teaches first grade."

Chris started laughing, his hand went to his chest, "This is perfect. I couldn't do this better."

I was lost, "What are you talking about?"

Chris waved his hand around, "Issues aside and knowing you're not always the good guy in the relationship. The Seb I know," He pointed to Chace and Will, “we know, is kind, sensitive, and has a big ole soft heart. Every time you date someone, I get scared. Legit terrified. I’m afraid every girl is going to break you, change you, and you won’t be sweet Seb anymore. When I think of a teacher, especially a first-grade teacher, I think patient, kind, empathetic, flexible but firm. If I was setting you up on a blind date, I'd look for those qualities. This could be perfect."

"Emma is all those things. And accepting. I had a panic attack the other night. She didn't bitch about me not waking her, or ask a million questions, she just asked what I needed to be ok. I needed a run. I came back and she was upside down on my couch and had switched my sock and underwear drawers. She took none of it on, just took care of me."

"Refreshing," Chris said and the others agreed.

"I took care of her after she got to her parents."

Will winced, "Eli right to hate them?"

My eyes went wide, "They ignored her to talk about Amy's boyfriend, and told her to pretend her life sucks so Amy won't do drugs and relapse."

Will grimaced, "Yeah, Eli is right."

I filled in the holes for Chace and Chris.

Chace frowned, "You’re supposed to go to rehab for cocaine?"

Chris put his hand over his mouth and pretended to look surprised, "Oops."

Chace again, "I picture a first-grade teacher as sweet and innocent. No cursing, drinking, and kinda shy with sex."

I lifted an eyebrow. The same side of my mouth curving up. "I get that, but no." I pulled my eyebrows down, pursed my lips, and shook my head. "I do like Monday mornings when she comes down looking like a first-grade teacher."

Chace leaned forward, "Are you in love with her?" He started to smile.

I hesitated and Will spoke up, "If you say anything besides yes you're a worse liar than you are an actor."

"That's harsh." I rubbed my hand over my beard. "Falling in love, yes. Haven't quite been pushed

over the edge."

"How long have you known her?" From Chace.

"Three weeks."

Chris was shaking his head," You don't need months to know what's right for you. Don't overthink it. If she's ticking all your boxes, your heart flutters when you see here, and her smile takes your breath away, it's long enough. Don't waste a second. Falling in love is the best feeling in the world, just fucking enjoy.”

Chace held his hand out, palm up, waving from Chris to me. "For the record, I wasn't going to give you shit. I was just curious."

The conversation changed to what had been going on with them. Chace was doing some anti-superhero Amazon series. Chris was signed on for an Amazon series too. Apparently, the future is Amazon. The beers kept coming and we were lit when Chris asked our servers to take a picture. He texted it to the three of us and we posted it to Instagram at the same time. Complete with a countdown. Because drunk boys.

We wove our way the block to the restaurant. Our group more than doubled in size. Dinner sobered us up. It was a good time. We were loud for no other reason than talking across a long table. Ok, we were a little loud anyway. Next was another bar. We got even louder there. The value of a night out with the guys should never be underrated. Being idiots and taking the piss out of each other was good for the soul, and bad for the liver. We closed the bar down, loading into cabs in groups heading in the same direction.

I barely remember getting home. The next morning, I woke up with a raging headache. First order of the day was Advil and a bottle of water. Second was checking in on Emma. After the bar, the first one, I hadn't checked my phone again. She knew how to reach me if she needed me. I'd figured she was having fun like I was. From the pictures and videos on Instagram plus the ones she'd texted me, I was right. They’d gone back to her parents after the boat and had a pool party.

[ryttu3k]

I want to have them all on Tumblr, so. Here are my reaction posts, in order, for Resolution of the Daleks and season 12, part 1!

Resolution of the Daleks

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Resolution! Spoilers, obviously!

Okay, negative first, just to get it out of the way. Doctor Who, I really appreciate that you consistently have queer minor characters and queer couples. Just super casual and all, as it should be. Now can you please stop killing off half of said couples? Angstrom's wife, Frankie, now this young guy? It's really not cool.

Don't think the voiceover worked. I feel the prologue would have worked better with just visuals.

Again, Yaz didn't have much to do. The Doctor got a ton of action, Ryan and Graham both had significant interactions with Aaron, Yaz was... just kind of there. I'm hoping that when the show comes back in a year, now that Ryan has largely dealt with his issues, Yaz will get more attention?

UNIT was killed by Brexit?! Fuckin' rude!

Okay, on to the positive!

The Dalek was, frankly, fucking scary. Despite knowing that the Doctor would beat it, obviously, it caused huge swathes of damage and racked up a... rather high body count. Like it felt like a proper threat. Also, its ability to stop the TARDIS tracking it and stuff. Lin's terror felt extremely genuine and it was just nice and horrific overall, like - if it wasn't for the Doctor, it would feel like a genuine threat to the entire Earth.

(Also, it shut down the wifi. On New Years Day. What a monster!)

Oh man that Dalek laughter. Creepy as fuck. The Doctor dragging it in via hologram to dare it to laugh in her face? Fucking iconic.

"I've learned to think like a Dalek." Oof.

Doctor vs Dalek. Not just the physical aspect, but the mental part - the Doctor recognising the seriousness of it, but also having that element of cockiness ("Oh, mate") because, frankly, she's dealt with bigger threats. She's right when she points out that the biggest problem will be if regular humans try to engage it!

Elements of Dark!Doctor when she asks the team - almost desperately - if she gave it enough chances, if she was nice enough. Because the Doctor can get fucking scary around Daleks and she knows it. She's nice. She's friendly. But she's also the Doctor, and the Doctor has done some really damn questionable things to stop the Daleks, and she knows that. Fantastically done and I still desperately want some proper Dark!Doctor.

Really liked the parallels between the Doctor using scrap to make her sonic screwdriver, vs the Dalek using scrap to make its armour. The Doctor makes a tool, the Dalek makes items of war. Of course, well, the Doctor is probably more dangerous just with a swiss army sonic than a Dalek blaster...

I love how the whole, "Dads are complicated... so I've heard" bit could refer to either the loom thing or the Doctor having actual parents or the Doctor being a shitty dad themself XD

Graham was so excited to show off the TARDIS! Like he's just going, "How cool is this?!"

There were some legitimately funny moments! Graham's chair, "I suppose... we'll have to have a... conversation?", "Junkyard chic"... UNIT was killed by Brexit like that's so awful but. But in a kind of funny way.

Okay, now the unsure. Ryan, Graham, and Aaron. Ryan and Graham have sorted out their issues - but Aaron is still such a big overshadowing part of it that it's a bit of a shock when he comes back in. As someone with a similarly shit biological father, I was completely empathising with Ryan in the coffee shop conversation. And I do understand why they wanted reconciliation, so they showed Aaron as acknowledging his bullshit and Ryan ultimately choosing to forgive and save him.

But it's just... not that easy. It's not all going to be perfect just because they stopped a Dalek together. Aaron's neglect hurt Ryan really badly, and it just felt... too easy? Like it helped that Aaron was genuinely contrite, and that he had that good stepfather talk with Graham, but just... yeah, not sure how I feel about it, honestly.

The Doctor's first words to him being, "You weren't at Grace's funeral. Ryan waited for you, you let him down" were so, so good. Like the Doctor is just going "fuck you I'm his father now". Like tbh I think she was 100% prepared to yeet him off the TARDIS and be done with it. Like damn don't emotionally hurt one of her crew.

Some wonderfully savage lines, though. The Doctor's, "You're almost making up for your parenting deficit!"; Aaron and Ryan's, "Is that how you talk to your dad?" "I don't know, he's not been around"; Graham's fucking smirk when Ryan pointedly calls him 'Gramps'.

I did see a suggestion that would have made it much better - instead of the Dalek capturing Aaron, it captures Ryan. First, it ups the threat in the mind of the Doctor and Team TARDIS - this isn't some dickhead, this is one of them. And instead, it's Aaron who reaches out to Ryan, Aaron who risks his life, Aaron who has to come through for Ryan, instead of the other way around. Also would have tied in beautifully with, "Family isn't about DNA, or a name. It's about what you do, and you haven't done enough."

Also, 'srs tech skillz'. With a Z. Doctor why.

In conclusion, I am going to fight Nigel Farage for killing UNIT.

-

Spyfall part 1

Current response to Doctor Who: making a near-literal SDKFJHGSDASDKFH sound, grabbing a cushion, nearly throWING THE CUSHION.

More intelligent commentary when my brain comes back online.

-

Okay. Am calm. Am good! We're good.

MAJOR SPOILERS for Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 1!

So yeah I actually literally screamed (kind of... scream-laugh-holy-shit-yes). Like, even before Dhawan finished speaking the, "Or should I say spy... Master?" line because of the way he had said 'spymaster' in full in the line before and there's nothing that grabs my brain like that one word in that one context. It wasn't quite as mindblowing as the Utopia reveal, since, let's face it, it's only been a season since we last saw that magnificant arsehole, but still.

(Actually, since I didn't watch Twelve's run, the last time I saw them was exactly a decade ago in The End of Time, broadcast New Years Day 2010. And I still fucking cry over, "Get out of the way." So. That may have been why I literally screamed lmao)

I mean. It's the Master. I can't not. They're my favourite jerk. This is probably slightly concerning.

Anyway. Comments!

The good

Episode was just flat-out exciting. It reminded me both of the Three and Ten eras, a bit? Fun gadgets, fancy suits, and what ends up being a giant game! Did start wondering when they were talking about spies and codes and stuff. It's basically a puzzle that's been set up for the Doctor to solve. Plus, the way she was pretty much enlisted into it! Thirteen and Dhawan!Master might end up having a more Pertwee-Delgado-esque dynamic, maybe? I would be down for that!

(My introductory episode to the Master was The Mind of Evil. Let's just put it that way XD)

"I'm her best enemy." <3

I mean, in retrospect, isolated house full of high-tech stuff and a wall full of books about the Doctor... oh honey. Long, looong game of playing Spies and Conspiracies just for, apparently, the sheer funsies of it. Oh, honey. They're such a disaster and I love them.

The reveal scene, Jodie's acting. The way she just... freezes and hunches in on herself. She's been hiding her past more than other Doctors have in the past, and suddenly, here is her past!! Right here!! Laughing and joking and right there in front of her! And she's just like, "Ohhh shit, I was not ready to have this conversation again..."

Yasmin and Ryan's dynamic. I do like that they split up the usual combos of Thirteen-Yasmin and Graham-Ryan for once, because I do like seeing the way they play off each other! It makes them feel more cohesive as a group. I liked Ryan trying to comfort Yasmin after her experience.

Post-reveal, I'm now wondering if the weird zappy forest thing is the Master's TARDIS? Something to do with changing and processing DNA into something else? Something based around neurons, with the electric travelling system? Am also wondering what happened to Yasmin while in there, since she seemed to be processed in some way, and I'm wondering if she had part of her DNA rewritten as well - or maybe if she's been replaced entirely, like she's currently piloting an alien version of her own body while her actual self is still in there. They did already do that with Flesh!Amy, though.

Once this arc is over, I think Thirteen is definitely going to have to sit down and tell the Fam who the hell she actually is. Graham is having some serious questions, and the Master was definitely egging that on, pre-reveal.

How much do I love that even in a tux, the Doctor still has the culottes and boots? A lot, that is how much. Also, how much do I love the Doctor in a suit and on a motorbike? A lot, that is how much.

"I've had an upgrade." <3

Thirteen playing Snap. It's okay, Thirteen, you still win my heart <3

"Worst! Uber! Ever!!"

"Kisses!" Yes, we know ;) They've been texting! Someone write me a WhatsApp chat fic with plenty of subtext and double meaning, I require it. Also, memes. You know it's true. The Master isn't a Time Lord, they're a Meme Lord.

"Everything you think you know is a lie." Season hook? :o

The hmm

Main concern is how they're handling the Master's characterisation? Last we saw, they were so ready to jump the Doctor ship. Now it's back to games. Kind of wondering if that means the Master is just at the point of being resigned that they and the Doctor just don't work and so is going back to games because at least it makes them happy, but I'm happy to wait until next week to see how things play out!

Did see a suggestion that this is the Master from one of the alternate universes (or at least that seems to be the general consensus on why there were multiple maps), so not actually necessarily the same version as Missy. Alternatively, this could actually be a pre-Missy version! Maybe between Simm!Master and Missy, since we never actually see that regeneration?

Actually, if this is the one immediately before Missy and this two-parter ends with the Master regenerating and we actually do get Thirteen and Missy together on screen I may cry.

(Like I'm aro-ace and agender but I'm still so gay for both of them. There is no word other for this emotion other than 'I'm gay'.)

I kind of wish someone had double-checked the name of the company because VOR running the world is. Is. "Right now, VOR is more powerful than most nations." Just. *pinches bridge of nose* Like okay you know how we say 'oh yeah just google it' 'yeah I googled it' are they really gonna say 'yeah I just VO

'I'm going to V

I can't say it. I can't.

Apparently the Australia scenes were filmed in South Africa. Kind of assumed it wasn't really Australia as soon as I saw actually greenery in the background h e h.

Highkey wish I could have seen Missy and Thirteen together. Dhawan!Master is very fun so far but. Missy and Thirteen. See comment above about the Master's characterisation!

...ABC are you really going to keep to Thursday night broadcasts even after the UK switches their Sunday nights / our Monday mornings? Well that's a good way to guarantee I'll be watching them online first! I was happy to wait twelve hours or so so I could watch it with Mum, but like hell I'm going to wait three and a half days!

In conclusion, am dead, send help, is it Monday morning yet?

-

Spyfall part 2

Thoughts on Doctor Who: Spyfall, part 2!

GALLIFREY LOOOOORE.

Oh man I'm hyped. We got a teeny teaser to the Timeless Child way back last decade but now we may actually get to see what the fuck is going on. And hell, if nothing else, at least the discovery is being teased to be so devastating it did undo Missy's characterisation. If this incarnation of the Master is after her, at least. Still not necessarily anything to suggest that. The Master will likely be recurring over this season, so we'll find out more, at least!

God, the Master is so fucked up. Like. He's seen something apparently so massively traumatic that he had to destroy his own planet and legitimately does look broken by it? Unless he was acting, but I did not get that impression from the message at the end. And the only way he can think of to get the Doctor's attention is to start his old tricks? Not sure if it's better or worse for him to be pre-Missy tbh.

It's just... such an interesting dynamic. Also I really want to read into the whole... scene where the Master asks the Doctor to kneel and call him 'Master' in front of everyone - then, when she does (defiantly! Stubbornly!), he... kneels to be at the same level as her. Like, "I'm going to play these BDSM-esque power games with you but when it comes down to it, I still consider us equal."

Anyway the Master is def a service top.

This comment from Tumblr user upslapmeal:

"'why would it stop? I mean how else would I get your attention’ what did I say about the Master being like a cat knocking things off shelves"

I mean. Yeah.

"Contact." Old school.

The Companions! They get a capital C because they were rad as hell. I love them all deciding that what they do next is: carry on to save the world. Like they're all heroic af without the Doctor and it's so good.

"Don't make me do a soft-shoe shuffle!"

And questioning at the end, oooh man. There are some Implications there, yeah. They've found out some surface information, yes, but no real hint at the deeper trauma. And given what this coming season is hinting at, I strongly suspect we will indeed be getting that deeper trauma and maybe even Dark!Doctor. Gallifrey does tend to bring it out of them...

The whole on-the-run thing seemed to definitely be a callback to Sound of Drums. Uh, what's that going to do long-term? Send out a worldwide message saying, "Sorry, our bad, they're fine"? I mean, last time that happened... okay, Jack was already with Torchwood and so is used to Not Really Existing, but Martha definitely couldn't go back to fuckin' medical school. She ended up at UNIT and then went independent. They did not return to their normal lives.

Barton: needs a goddamn punch. He killed his mother what the fuck. On the plus side, at least he seems to have thoroughly destroyed his career? Be interesting to see if he reappears later, you don't go from the most powerful person on the planet to massive pariah overnight without Repercussions.

On to our guest characters! I hate to brag but I guessed who Ada was as soon as I heard her first name and saw her outfit. I mean the computers theme was already there, who else would she be? :D And I admittedly didn't know who Noor Inayat Khan was except in passing, but still. Little upset about the erased memories (Donna ;_; ), but I can see why the Doctor did it and like... this way, I'm glad they were able to avoid the implications of, "Ada only developed computing because she had already seen the future." Like people said that with Rosa Parks even though the Doctor said explicitly to only ensure there were enough seats filled and the act itself was all Rosa, so they may have wanted to play it safe.

I... really want to comment on how Ada definitely was crushing on the Doctor (and really, who wouldn't?), but she was a real person so I shall avoid those implications. (But really though!)

Doctor how many times have you been in someone's liver. This is some Magic School Bus Inside The Human Body bullshit and I love it.

Doctor's recording: "First of all, you're not gonna die! Second of all, don't talk back to the screens, obviously I'm a recording and I can't hear ya. Third, don't panic. Especially you, Graham."

Graham, panicking: "I'M NOT PANICKING!"

Doctor's recording: "Yes, you were! And I did just say, don't talk back to the screens!"

Graham: "????!?!!"

I want an entire series of the Master having a really infuriating seventy-seven years on Earth. Please.

Comments on continuity issues regarding that, "It's worse than Jodrell Bank!" "Did I ever apologise for that?" "No." "Good." exchange XD;; Like people are going, "Continuity error!! It was the Pharos Project, not Jodrell Bank!!" and like. Pharos was a project. Jodrell Bank is an observatory. You can do projects at observatories. Also, you can refer to projects by location, too. Am I referring to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Project or Tidbinbilla Station? Both! They refer to the same thing! In the Whoniverse, they likely did the Pharos Project at Jodrell Bank, and just had some lighthearted bantz about that time where the Master killed the Doctor, no biggie.

So, onwards to... an apparently unrelated episode for next week! Also, the Kassavin? Still there. Like. The Master only gave suggestions. They still have all those agents everywhere! They're still ready to act! And yeah, now they have the Master in their hands, so... I wonder if they'll make the Timeless Child a long, ongoing arc, and have the much more immediate threat of the Kassavin as the season finale?

-

Orphan 55

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Orphan 55!

...whew.

First thought: anvilicious, but some anvils need to be dropped, because, uh, have you seen the world lately.

It feels like quite a brittle episode? Even beyond the immediate tension of 'there are large angry creatures trying to kill everyone', there's just this sense of... like, tension. There's the tension between Benni and Vilma, which at first is kind of a sweet tension then becomes a life-threatening and sad tension. There's the tension between Roger Parslow Silas and his dad, with Silas not being taken seriously (although I do think him running out while they're in life-threatening danger is a bit much). The obvious and major tension between Bella and Kane that drives the whole episode, yes.

And there's also the tension amongst Team TARDIS! The episode starts with the Doctor still in Some Kinda Way about last week, and I felt a bit of tension between Yaz and Ryan? She seemed rather unimpressed by Bella, at any rate. I do like how organic the relationship between Ryan and Graham feels, at least. "It ain't the aliens that are gonna kill me, it’s worrying about you!"

Set and costume building, I felt, was kind of... eh? I liked how Tranquility itself looked, but the tunnels looked Very Generic, and some of the looks I felt didn't really work. Silas and his dad's green hair just looked very obviously fake, and I saw a description of Hyph3n-with-a-three looking like a cross between a Jellicle Cat and John Candy in Spaceballs (which... yeah, honestly). And I'm not sure about the Dregs, although I did initially have the thought that whatever the original inhabitants of the planet were, they must have been humanoid was amusingly accurate...

"I just pulled this out of a friend of mine! >:("

"Oh! ...We do not make any judgments on our guests and fully support any way you choose to enjoy yourself here at Tranquility Spa! ^_^;;"

"... ... ...It wasn't recreational! o.O"

God you could feel Hyph3n-with-a-three's embarrassment...

"If I had crayons and half a can of Spam, I could build you from scratch!" Excuse me I am at least Tofurky.

Also a logical issue on the whole journey to find Benni, because frankly, it just wasn't... sensible. Okay, bring a kid. Father of the year right there. Okay, bring an old woman. Granted, she could have insisted because it was her man-friend they were looking for, but surely she would have known she would slow them down? Her 'heroic sacrifice' felt very wasted, because dammit, she could have survived if she had stayed in the Dome where it was at least a bit safer!

"At least three eighths of a plan, right here! ...Two eights. I'll be honest, all I've got is the letter 'P'..."

So the Doctor is almost at the point of passing out from oxygen loss but hang on, let her first indulge her curiosity...

The sheer existence of orphan planets is very depressing. The sheer fact that there's at least fifty-five is very depressing.

There's an interesting comment about how straight after discussion of the reveal, the first shot of the preview is the Statue of Liberty. Very Planet of the Apes! (No apes next time, just Tesla vs Edison!) Also feeling a strong connection to Midnight (stunning resort on dangerous planet with a very personal enemy), and I saw a comment about Thirteen unintentionally The-End-Of-The-World-ing the Fam (and making a connection between 'very angry trees' and the Forests of Cheem). Bit of Ravolox. Bit of... fuck what was it... Curse of Fenric.

Although, we know that the Earth will eventually be consumed by the sun, and it was done in a way that was like... it was its time. This was not its time, was a colossal fuck-up on a planetary scale (and the Doctor continues to be 'eat the rich'), but it's also only one potential future. Which is good, because that got dark. Even more than The End of the World, even more than Utopia, even more than fuckin' Frontios, because this is the near-future. The shots we saw of the destruction were modern day! That was the Dome of the Rock you saw getting bombed!

"Be smarter than what made you." PAGING THE GOVERNMENT...

Going to put it on a solid... maybe 7/10? Some really good elements in there, but also some clunkers, and unfortunately not a patch on the same writer's It Takes You Away, which was one of the strongest of the last season.

-

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror!

Opinion before episode: man, Tesla's cool. Opinion after episode: man, Tesla is fuckin' cool! :D That was a well-done personality-based historical, absolutely - I think it's my second-favourite personality-based historical only to Rosa (there are other pseudo-historical based ones set in the past that I love, but they're not personality-based; the Human Nature duology is a good example).

But yeah, Tesla just came across as a really, really cool character. Genius and he knew it, yes, and the real Tesla did have some questionable views (sexism, mostly), but otherwise the archetypal Idealistic Genius who wants to change the world for the better. Contrast with Edison, who was... a businessman. With, like, a really punchable face. Still pretty intelligent, but... very, very punchable. I've read about the Tesla-Edison feud before and always sided with Tesla, and let's face it, so did the writer XD

Good mix of character combinations - with a lot of characters, it's easy for someone to get sidelined, but this managed to handle Thirteen and the Fam, and Tesla, Dorothy, and Edison, pretty well. There were some neat combinations, like Ryan and Dorothy bonding over the sense of adventure, and Graham and Edison's confrontation; I also really loved the whole conversation between Thirteen and Tesla on the joy of just... creating. There's actually a very nice overlap between arts and sciences.

Antagonists - not bad? I feel a lot of people were expecting the Racnoss, and there was such a similarity that I would have liked at least a throwaway line about how the Skithra were related or something. Ooh man she definitely brought out Dark!Doctor, though. Teleporting the queen back to the ship, specifically so she can be fried? I mean, she might have survived it. Might. And just that fantastic little change of expression when the queen asks the Doctor if she's ever seen a dead planet before! Whittaker pulled that one off.

There's a very interesting compare and contrast between the Skithra and Edison, I found. Thirteen has her speech about how once the Skithra are gone, they won't be remembered. Caput. Forgotten. They left nothing behind. Compare and contrast to Edison, who was openly accused of using other people's work, but who's able to learn from his mistakes, end on an even(ish) setting with Tesla, and who does get remembered. Which kind of stings, honestly, if you look at Tesla's actual history.

Like. Apparently that, "The man just didn't understand the American sense of humour," line was an actual historical line, according to Tesla's own records. The absolute main reason for the difference in fame and recognition is that Tesla was a genius who didn't know how to market. Edison was a marketer who could invent a bit. So in conclusion Edison is a dick and Tesla needs more respect, the end.

Favourite lines and scenes:

Tesla: "Is - is this your own design?" Thirteen: "I made it! Mainly out of spoons! :D" Tesla: "You're an inventor! :D" Thirteen: "I have my moments." Tesla: "I knew it! So you... so, you can understand how it feels, you know, when you have an idea, and - and to make it real. I don't think there's any greater thrill!" Thirteen: "I couldn't agree more." Tesla: "You... you spoke of aliens. People here laugh at the very idea." Thirteen: "But not you." Tesla: "Well, apparently I'm not like other people. It can be difficult, you know, to feel no one else sees the world the way you do. It's like you're, uh..." Thirteen: "...out of place."

Graham: "Yeah, still. I bet you'd jump at the chance to have him back working for you, wouldn't ya?" Edison: "Yeah?" Graham: "Yeah!" Edison: "How d'you figure that?" Graham: "'Cause I had a supervisor like you at my old depot. And men like you don't pay a bloke that much attention unless you think there's a payout comin'."

Thirteen: "I wouldn't go killing me and Yaz. 'Cause Yaz... can tell you what this is." Yaz: "It's a camera!" Thirteen: "Bingo!" *FLASH!*

Edison: "I couldn't figure it out either." Tesla: "The internal dimensions transcend the external." Thirteen: *GRIN* Edison: ._.

Thirteen: "You do realise, it's killing Edison that they want you and not him? ;D"

Graham: "Don't worry. This ain't our first rodeo!" Ryan: "We've never been to a rodeo." Graham: "...you're not helping, Ryan..."

Thirteen: "And what are you queen of, exactly? A stolen ship and second-hand guns? A queen of shreds and patches. You're not a ruler, you're a parasite." Queen: "And what are you? So clever, stealing onto my ship, taking what I claim as mine. But where has it got you? No weapons. No armour. No escape. Just the desperate hope you might change my mind." Thirteen: "No, we are way past that. I gave you your chance." Queen: "A chance to be like you?" Thirteen: "A chance to evolve. But you were too stupid to take it. When you die, there'll be nothing left behind - just a trail of blood and other people's brilliance. No one will even know you existed."

(Side note: I love that this speech was actually in front of the companions. They're starting to see that things are Not Okay.)

Thirteen: "Don't give up." Yaz: "Whatever anyone says." Tesla: "Well, let them talk. The present is theirs. I work for the future... and the future is mine."

Favourite incorrect lines:

Thirteen and Tesla, firing at the ship: "VIBE CHECK!"

-

Fugitive of the Judoon

I'M GONNA... NEED A HOT MOMENT TO PROCESS THAT...

-

WELL I. UH. OKAY.

lmao I'm serious I don't even know where to begin.

Uh, some very disorganised comments on Doctor Who - Fugitive of the Judoon!

I squealed when I heard Jack's voice then saw him in the flesh. I gasped audibly when 'Ruth' broke the glass. I yelped when we saw the buried TARDIS. I MAY HAVE SCREAMED A LITTLE WHEN 'RUTH' INTRODUCED HERSELF.

(Also can we talk about her outfit. That was on point.)

I'm getting a very... very early vibe? She didn't know what the sonic screwdriver was, and that was introduced with Troughton. Since we saw the Hartnell-Troughton regeneration, she must be pre-Hartnell? Maybe a Doctor whose memories were rewritten to the point that they thought the Hartnell incarnation was the earliest? Not to mention that was a pretty old-school-looking TARDIS!

Alternatively, maybe between Troughton and Pertwee? Either option has some inconsistency - if she's post Troughton, she should have known what the sonic was, although it admittedly did look very different. Plus, her TARDIS is already its police box shape, which was implied to have set in the junkyard. Also, we never actually do see the regeneration between Two and Three, and it could explain why Gallifrey was after her - she escaped after her trial after The War Games!

Definitely early, though.

Alternatively alternatively, Thirteen actually does say 'time is swirling around me'. Maybe an alternate timeline. Something to tie back to the Timeless Child?

"I've lived for thousands of years, so long I've lost count. I've had so many faces. How long have you known me? You don't know me. Not even a little bit."

That wasn't just aimed at the companions. I feel that was aimed at the Doctor themself.

(Related: the response from the fam was flat-out beautiful. Doesn't matter who she was or who she'll be. They know her now, and they love her.)

Just. Wow. Wow.

Really cool note from Twitter - disguised name was Ruth Clayton. Ruth = 'friend, companion'. Clayton = 'of the Earth'. She literally named herself 'friend of the Earth'.

"You're probably a bit confused right now."

I mean. Yeah. Confused and intrigued and what.

"Don't do points! I do points! Points are my thing!"

Jack. Jack. Smooching Graham, hitting on all the companions, getting into Shenanigans! The Lone Cyberman - I wonder if that's a totally different crisis that isn't even related to the current Gallifrey-Timeless Child one? The more important part is Jack's presence - the presence of another time traveller with a... unique relationship with the universe. The actual warning could be a red herring, but Jack showing up anywhere in the first place is a sign that something is happening with time?

Orphan 55 had a timeline that may or may not have been the 'real' one. Being only a potential future kind of doesn't work with what we know of established DW continuity, so I'm liking the 'alternate timeline' theory, maybe?

Ryan: "I liked him. Kind of cheesy."

Yaz: "But good cheesy."

Thirteen, smiling: "That's Jack."

Graham just standing there going, "He kissed me tho? ...Wasn't bad, actually."

"Is she safe?" Jack, honestly, is she ever safe?

"When she needs me... I'll be there." Oh yeah, he's so coming back later this season.

Also, Judoon, chameleon arch, the Master, Jack - getting big season 29 vibes here and that's a big thumbs up for me because that's my favourite season. We just need Martha to make an appearance now!

...hehe honestly, between Jodie's entire existence, and now, in the span of five episodes, introducing Dhawan!Master, Gat, and now Jo Martin as the first black female Doctor, and reintroducing Jack, one of the most overtly and openly queer characters on the series, the 'Doctor Who is too PC!' bunch are going to be so mad XD

"A platoon of Judoon... near the moon." / "Look at you, your platoon of Judoon near the... that lagoon..."

Man. The close-up in the very first shot of the watch. Nice tie-in.

"The Doctor never uses weapons!" "I know! Shut up! >.>"

Where do the Kasaavin come into play? Is this something they've done by integrating themselves throughout time and space? Maybe they're fraying the fabric?

My mind is blown. I can't wait for the rest of this season :D

-

[Part 2 - Praxeus to The Timeless Children]

[fanforthefics]

Ooh Sid Geno No 15 - meeting at A&E?! (In honour of my clumsy self who spent yesterday afternoon getting X-rays after falling and having to go to the ER!!)

The first time Sidney comes into the emergency room, Geno doesn’t think much of it. He’s busy, because emergency rooms in metro centers always are; he doesn’t have time to spend long on each patient. Especially not ones where the problem is pretty simple–hard hit to the arm, doesn’t look broken, splint and go. Geno pings last name Crosby first name Sidney 26 year old male oh huh he’s attractive and sort of familiar-looking and nothing else; Geno has to deal with a heart attack and someone with something he won’t say up his butt, he doesn’t have time for this. 

Not much more pings the second time–gash on his leg, needs stitches. Or the next–hit to the head, no concussion. Every time Sidney’s polite and helpful if distant and the kind of guy that Geno very much suspects is not actually resting like Geno tells him too. But once they leave his ER, that’s not Geno’s problem. Geno just patches them back up. 

When Sidney comes in for the sixth time in three weeks, though–and that’s just when Geno’s on shift–Geno starts to notice. They get repeat customers sometimes, generally paranoid mothers with accident prone kids and elderly people who legitimately need it, but they don’t tend to be men in their mid-20s who looks like they could benchpress Geno, and not people who come in with these sorts of physical injuries that generally come from being hit. 

“You know,” he says carefully, the next time Sidney comes in–a strain in his knee–and he’s finished with the x-rays to confirm it’s not serious. “Can’t help notice, you in here a lot.” 

Sidney laughs. His smile is bright and easy and a little crooked. Geno looks, but he can’t see any lie in it. “Yeah, well. Shit happens, you know?” 

“Yes, it happen.” This would be hard enough in Russian, let alone English. “But, it not always your fault, when things happen.” That gets him a shrug. 

“Oh, yeah, I know. I sort of have it coming sometimes, but, you know. It’s always what’s happened, I’m used to.” 

“That not mean you have to keep doing.” 

Sidney’s jaw juts out. “Yes I do.” 

“No, you don’t.” Geno tries to be gentle. “Is–can always get out, yes? Not have to stay where get hurt. Can–break up, can leave. We have help, resources–can call police–” 

Sidney is laughing, big and graceless and charming. “Am serious,” Geno protests, trying to keep his cool. “Is serious. If someone hurting you, not care if you love, you should–” 

“It’s not that,” Sidney cuts him off. “Thank you for your concern,” he goes on, sounding like he means that. “But I’m not being abused. I just play hockey.” 

“Hockey?” Geno echoes. He hasn’t paid much attention to hockey in his new town, not since he moved to the US and started med school. But that does explain a lot. “Your beer league this violent?” 

Sidney, inexplicably, goes a little red, but he laughs again. “No, um. I don’t play beer league.” 

“You–” Suddenly, it connects. Why Sidney’s so familiar. Where Geno’s seen his face before–on the billboard coming into town, a hundred times bigger than life. “You in NHL.” 

Sidney looks oddly pleased. “Yeah.” 

“You don’t have own doctors?” Geno demands. They have experts on this. 

Sidney shrugs. “We’re locked out, so I don’t have access to them.” 

“So you come here? I’m second year!” God, and he’d been treating–this guy was on a billboard. How much was his arms worth? And Geno had just been–

“Well I’m all in one piece, so I think we’re fine.” Sidney hops off the table. Geno’s still staring. That explains the whole-built like a tank thing. Sidney takes a step foward, puts his hand on Geno’s forearm–an easy, unthreatening touch. “I’ve seen a lot of doctors, Dr. Malkin,” Sidney says, his voice sure and soothing. “You’re a good one, trust me.” 

GEno blinks. “Of course I’m good,” He says, weakly, and Sidney laughs again. 

“Good. Well, I’ll see you later,” he says, and tips his baseball hat to Geno.

“Hope not!” Geno calls after him. Then he sits down for a second before his pager goes off again and he has to run. 

Geno googles Sidney as soon as he’s gotten off shift and slept for ten hours. It feels a little intrusive, but–his face is on a billboard, he must understand. 

And then Geno sees the results, and–well, he’s pretty sure Sidney definitely understands. 

“You not just play hockey,” Geno tells him accusatorially, when Sidney is in a week later with another twinge in his shoulder. Geno does not envy trainers’ their jobs. “You–you best hockey player.” 

Sidney, charmingly, blushes. “That’s an exaggeration,” he chuckles. “You looked me up?” 

“I’m curious,” Geno tells him. He takes Sidney’s arm, starts to rotate it in the socket. “Tell me when hurts. No lying, no hockey pain tolerance. Just when hurts.” 

“Okay,” Sidney agrees, sounding mainly like he’s humoring Geno. He lets Geno rotate his arm. 

“And you should be rest, anyway,” Geno goes on. He’d seen plenty, in the google rabbit hole he’d fallen down last night. “Concussion for over a year? You should take time to rest, now you have it.” 

That gets him a look that’s steely-eyed beneath Sidney’s affable smile. “I just got hockey back,” he says. “I’m not letting anyone take it from me again.” 

“Is not take, is–” 

“I won’t,” Sidney repeats, and Geno remembers the look he’d seen on some tape, when Sidney stared down a game and willed it his way. “Anyway, I was cleared. My head’s fine.” He smiles wryly at Geno. “Though it’s nice of you to worry, too.” 

“I”m not worry,” Geno mutters. “Just like Pittsburgh, want win another Cup.” 

“You and me both,” Sidney laughs, then–”Oh. That. That hurt.” 

“Yeah?” Geno confirms, and starts to really examine him. 

Sidney keeps coming in, off and on, for the next months–as the lockout continues, Geno figures. He sometimes sees images in what he definitely isn’t skimming for news of Sidney of Sidney in suits talking to the commissioner, making statements. It’s a far cry from the guy he gets, generally in sweatpants and a t-shirt and his baseball cap. That’s his excuse for why he didn’t figure it out earlier, he tells everyone at the hospital who apparently think he’s an idiot; he never saw Sidney in the waiting room, signing everything in sight. 

Sometimes Sid comes in once or twice a week, in what Geno calls good sense and he calls an overabundance of caution. Sometimes it’ll go weeks without seeing him, and Geno doesn’t let himself be disappointed. Once or twice he comes in with someone else–all big burly guys, with hockey players’ broken noses and way of roughhousing. 

It’s–Geno’s not saying he looks forward to it, because Sidney coming in means Sidney’s hurt, and he’s quickly determining that he’s not fond of that–the few times when Sidney’s face actually tightens with pain, when his breath goes harsh and Geno can see his knuckles curve on the edge of the table. But Sidney’s not at all what Geno would have expected a hockey star to be like–he’s nice and straightforward and kind and he listens like no one else Geno’s ever met, until somehow during examinations Geno’s the one talking, about moving to the US from Russia, about med school and the grueling shifts of residency and how hard it is sometimes to see all the disasters that can happen to a person. Sidney listens, and Geno knows he really listens because he always asks about it, that time or the next time or a few weeks later. Sidney, Geno can see very clearly, is a very good captain. And probably a very good friend, or more. 

Then–Geno flips through the news when he wakes up, and there it is. The lockout’s over, and the NHL is starting again. There’s a picture of Sidney right there in the first Google images, grinning like he’s never heard anything better. 

Geno takes a long breath, then goes to get ready for work. It was–this will have been a cool interlude to tell his co-workers about, the times he met Sidney Crosby. Sidney will start going back to his trainers, and Geno will have other patients. Geno’s going to miss him, but in all the ways you can lose a patient, this is probably the best. 

He’s at the nurse’s station, checking in on what’s happening, when one of the administrators taps his shoulder. “This was delivered here for you,” she says, handing him an envelope. 

Geno takes it, rips it open. Three pieces of paper fall out–two tickets and a note. Geno lets the tickets lie for a second for the note. 

Thanks for taking care of me all this time, it reads, No pressure, and I know it’s not the same, but I wanted to give you something. If this time doesn’t work with your shifts, call and let the office know, they’ll find a game that will -Sid

They’re rinkside seats, Geno realizes, looking at the tickets. That’s–some thanks for Geno doing his job. 

He flips one over. On the back of it, in the same handwriting–if you want to come, stop by the locker room after, Sidney–Sid–has written. I want to hear more about Jeffrey. 

Geno smiles, and slips the tickets and the note into the inner pocket of his scrubs. He–

His pager buzzes at his hip, and he jerks to standing, checking the code and taking off at a run towards the next emergency. 

[bluerosesburnblue]

Your Jacob’s Character by @hufflepunk-asfrick and (spiritually) MC Character Challenge by @cptaincarswell (neither of whom will actually be tagged because the ship sailed on these months ago and I don’t want to clutter their notifications)

Rules: Make a collage of characters that summarize what you headcanon your MC’s brother, Jacob to be like! Tag who you want to see do this

and

Rules: Choose five characters (movie or tv show) that represent your MC/ MC’s different layers.

So uhhhhhhhhhh... here’s the thing. I was tagged in the Jacob Character Challenge by @wilhelminafujita and indirectly by @batgirl-87 a long ass time ago. I was also tagged by @batgirl-87 in the MC Character Challenge but I don’t... watch enough TV or movies to actually do that one all the way! So I’ve gone ahead and merged the two challenges into just a collage of five characters for both of them

Explanations for the choices below!

We’re going clockwise from the top of each collage

Jacob Caradoc Dwyn

Ephemer (Kingdom Hearts series)

I made a direct comparison a long time ago, but tell me if this is familiar: an overly curious boy goes missing while investigating a huge conspiracy and you spend most of the prequel mobile game he stars in hunting his ghosting ass down while he occasionally sends you vision messages

The similarities go way beyond just their roles, though. Ephemer is a big conspiracy theorist who hates not knowing things and will do whatever it takes to hunt down the truth

Most people thought he was absolutely crazy, as you do when someone tells you that they think you’re all secretly being sent into holographic simulations when you go on missions (but he was also totally right)

He’s also notoriously overconfident in combat. You meet Ephemer because he decided to take on a monster way stronger than he was and got seriously hurt. But at least he’s self-aware enough to admit it (but also... is really gung-ho about fighting things in the current arc...)

He’s a genuinely nice guy but not above needling people to get the information he wants from them

Loyal as hell to the people he cares about and protective of them. Like, he really doesn’t know your Avatar all that well but still rushes out onto a battlefield to save you and volunteers himself to go on a potentially deadly mission with you just so that you won’t have to go alone

...buuuuuuut he’s not above going off on his own without telling anyone in an attempt to keep them “safe” and then getting into serious trouble for it

Is currently having a panic attack because he was placed in charge of a gang of teenagers and has to be The Responsible One™ but clearly hates it, which is what I imagine Jacob would do if you ever made him a leader in any capacity

Messy hair and an adorable smile

Honestly it’d be easier to list the things that Jacob and Ephemer don’t have in common. I didn’t intentionally base Jacob off of him but I won’t deny that a lot of Ephemer probably influenced Jacob’s character

Sokka (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Sokka’s on here mostly due to his relationship with his little sister, Katara. Jacob’s relationship with Seren is a very strong mirror to the Southern Water Tribe siblings

He’s really smart, but because he’s also very goofy a lot of people tend to overlook just how much creativity and ingenuity he brings to the table

No, Sokka’s seriously one of the smartest members of the cast. There’s a reason they call him “the ideas guy.” He knows when to get serious and break out the logic and reason. It’s never stopped him from being a loud, boisterous goofball, though

Cursed by the universe to a lifetime of misfortune

Sokka is very loyal and protective to his younger sister, but because she’s generally more emotionally measured it comes across like she’s taking care of him. And he knows that and really loves her for it, but it just makes him want to take care of her more, since that should be his job

They bicker a lot, but in the end they’re completely inseparable

Ellie (Up)

A bit of an unorthodox choice, but Ellie really is the physical embodiment of Jacob’s excitement to travel and Hufflepuff hard-working nature in a lot of ways

Ellie has huge dreams of exploring distant lands and she goes at it with such gusto that it’s completely infectious

Some people would argue that it’s overwhelming, but Ellie doesn’t really care about their opinion. She’s doing it for her own satisfaction!

When she falls in love with Carl, her goal changes to having both of them go on the trip together in much the same way that Jacob would really prefer traveling with his precious little sister, Seren, than by himself because they’re a team

She saves up her whole life for this trip. She never once gives up on it entirely. Despite the setbacks, despite the fact that she passed away before ever even accomplishing her goal, she was always working towards that great adventure

Sherlock Holmes (Ace Attorney Series - The Great Ace Attorney/Dai Gyakuten Saiban)

I am... so glad that I didn’t make this until after the fan translation for DGS came out because hoooooooo boy does Ace Attorney Sherlock give me mad Jacob Dwyn vibes

(I was always going to make Jacob a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so this worked out way too perfectly)

Ace Attorney Sherlock is legitimately very perceptive and good at picking up on minute details, but because he’s so overzealous about his detective work he has a tendency to jump to conclusions a little too fast and usually ends up having to be redirected by his more calm partner

Once you get him on the right track, though, he’s an unstoppable crime-solving machine (with the bonus ability of being really damn good at sleight-of-hand stuff)

He’s also hugely eccentric. Would Jacob Dwyn just hang from the wall by a hook while wearing an expensive tiara for the hell of it during an investigation? Ooooooh yes

Jacob’s a lot less wildly inaccurate, though, because he does genuinely want to solve the crimes to the best of his ability

I am absolutely certain that Jacob wouldn’t hesitate to tell everyone he knows about all of the mysteries he’s solved with his sister because guys. Guys it was so cool. Yes, I am THE Jacob Dwyn of the Dwyn Detective Agency please pay attention to my cool job

Sherlock is a Good Dad and Jacob is a Good Brother. Case Closed.

Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ant Man)

By this point you should be seeing a pattern. Smart, creative guy who’s also pretty goofy who has a younger female character that he loves greatly

Scott, though, isn’t above doing a lot of really sneaky stuff and taking unscrupulous jobs to get to his (admittedly pretty noble) goals. He adds that slight bit of moral edge we were missing from the Jacob equation. Not much, but some

Like I just think of the scene where Scott uses a bunch of creative methods to break into Pym’s house. Methods that require a lot of knowledge of security systems and science

He also does not let the rules stop him from doing what he thinks is right. It’s how he ended up in prison in the first place

Jacob Dwyn would unironically get very excited about a “Time Heist” and you can’t convince me otherwise

Also, the snark and quips. Can’t forget that Jacob’s an incorrigible sarcastic doofus

What can I say? Scott’s undying loyalty to his daughter matches Jacob’s undying loyalty for his sister perfectly

(We are all very lucky that Jacob wants to solve crimes because he would be way too good at doing crimes)

Seren Aisling Dwyn

Saoirse (Song of the Sea)

It wouldn’t have been right to make this list without including one of the characters that inspired Jacob and Seren in the first place and Seren fit Saoirse better than Jacob fit her brother, Ben

Song of the Sea is an Irish film about the two kids of a Selkie mother and a human father, who hides their heritage from them when their mother disappears (note: Jacob and Seren’s mom does not disappear). This hidden heritage causes Saoirse a lot of physical problems (i.e. rendering her mute, making her physically grow weaker the longer she’s apart from her seal’s coat), just like Seren’s hidden Siren heritage causes her to completely fail to address her additional needs that leads to a lot of unintentional illness in her Hogwarts years

Ben and Saoirse have to try and get back home so that Saoirse can sing the Song of the Sea and sent the Fair Folk home. That’s where I got the idea for Jacob and Seren to go wandering off alone as kids and encountering a bunch of magical creatures during their adventures from

Ben totally hated Saoirse until later in the movie, which inspired Jacob hating Seren after she’s born but warming up to her in a few months

Personality-wise, Saoirse may look sweet and quiet, but she’s a huge ball of sass. It’s just easy to miss because she only conveys it in her facial expressions, which is something that Seren’s always done, too

She also doesn’t follow their grandmother’s rules well. She’ll go along with things to a point, but the second she doesn’t agree she’ll strike off on her own and get it done by herself despite how tiny she is

(A lot of younger!Seren was inspired by Saoirse)

When given the opportunity to leave with the Faeries and her mother, she chooses to stay behind with her brother and father because she loves them, and while Seren isn’t fond of either of her parents, she would stay behind for Jacob

Yew Geneolgia (Bravely Second)

Okay... look, I promise that I didn’t just base Seren off of Yew because I made her before finishing Bravely Second but...

Playing Bravely Second was an experience after making Seren

So my boy Yew Geneolgia is the youngest member of a noble and prestigious house, was never expecting to inherit it because he had an older (half-)brother so he went to magic school and ended up being, like, the smartest student there, to the point where they had to give him a secret special ranking on the school ranking system because he was tooooo smart at magic (*cough* Seren singlehandedly winning the House Cup every year *cough*)

Of course their father doesn’t want to let Yew’s brother inherit anything because he’s not a pureblood noble (and the Dwyn siblings aren’t pureblood wizards). Yew’s brother disappears hunting down a sword in order to earn his way back into the family

Yew goes hunting the sword down to try and bring his brother home and surprise surprise it’s CURSED

(The Geneolgia siblings are not a perfect match to the Dwyn siblings but there are a LOT of similar elements there)

After his brother goes missing again after finding Yew with the cursed sword, Yew decides that he’s just going to try and be his older brother by taking up his place as a swordsman despite sucking at it. In Year 4, Seren decides that everyone just wants Jacob and not her, so she starts modeling herself after him more until she can’t keep it up anymore in late Year 5

So a small, young magic nerd who’s extremely awkward in social situations whose story revolves around a missing older brother that they attempt to emulate, unsuccessfully

Also, Yew is the one making all of the Bestiary entries. He’s clearly got an interest in Zoological stuff and he’s a very good artist since he does all of the illustrations in there, too

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (How to Train Your Dragon Series)

Hey speaking of Zoology did you know that Seren was into Magizoology and is very good at befriending creatures? It’s true!

Seren in her early years at Hogwarts is very similar to Hiccup from the first film. She’s shy, but undeniably witty and sarcastic. Her self-confidence is extremely low because she keeps getting compared to more successful family members. Her strengths come from her intelligence and being able to look at things from angles others might not, like extending empathy to creatures that most would hate

She’d never be able to hurt a dragon like Toothless come on. He’s too cute. Too sweet

As she gets older she still matches up with Hiccup, though. He finds himself being thrust into a leadership position and having to adjust, but doing so gracefully and with emotional maturity in much the same way that Seren steps up to lead the Cursed Vault crew when she needs to

You have to be pretty fearless to step up to a dragon that could bite your head off and then learn to fly on it, and when it comes down to it Seren is just as fearless in anything that is not a social interaction

I’m sorry, did I just hear SELF-SACRIFICIAL TENDENCIES? Why yes, yes I do believe that I did

And Hiccup will never, ever give up on Toothless no matter what. No matter what the dragon does (or is forced to do in the second film). Just like Seren will never give up on Jacob. No matter the cost

Ema Skye (Ace Attorney Series - Apollo Justice)

I know that Ema was in Spirit of Justice, too, but I don’t know anything about that one so I’m only covering her appearances chronologically up to Apollo Justice

I didn’t realize until watching someone’s blind playthrough of Apollo Justice recently just how much Seren was like Ema

So Ema starts off strong already as A Very Devoted Little Sister who absolutely refuses to believe that her older sister is guilty of a crime despite her sister confessing to it

(She ended up being right and her sister was blackmailed into covering it up which was honestly my default situation for the Dwyn siblings before the Portrait Vault chapter came out. Ema’s sister was being blackmailed with evidence that could implicate Ema with murder, Jacob would have been blackmailed with Seren’s safety. Which is still true, I suppose, but we’ll see how this holds up later)

She’s very passionate about forensic science in the same way that I imagine Seren can be in her own interests like Magizoology and later on the development of forensic magic

Almost a decade later, though, and Ema is... super jaded and grouchy. She’s sarcastic and kinda rude, but lights up again if you get her talking about her interests

She also doesn’t have her dream job but is instead... a detective. though Seren’s a lot more content as a detective than Ema is because she’s got Jacob and a license to do creature-related cases

But just the progression from the innocent kid to the jaded adult detective is... such a good match that I just had to put Ema in here

Katara (Avatar the Last Airbender)

And just like Jacob had Sokka, Seren gets Katara to round it off

There might be something to be said about the Southern Water Tribe siblings and the Dwyn Siblings both being linked to water as an element

I already covered a lot of this in Jacob’s section, but they have a similar dynamic

Katara is a Mom Friend extraordinaire who obsessively takes care of everyone in the group, even when it’s not her place to. A lot of them find it overbearing sometimes

While she’s generally fairly mature and level-headed, when she gets mad she gets absolutely furious and cannot be stopped until she’s satisfied

“You can’t knock me down!” is such an iconic line and very much embodies Seren’s stubbornness and determination to get back up and keep trying no matter what

She loves her brother. She’s not above criticizing him or the occasional jab, but she also knows when to give him credit for the incredibly smart things that he does. Nobody will defend him quite as hard as she will when she has to

The lovable, goofy, intelligent, protective older brother and the equally intelligent, mature, caring, stubborn younger sister. There’s no better way to describe the Dwyn Siblings than that

[lgcchenglei-blog]

hello friends !! my name is jada, and...i’m so excited to meet you all !! this is my absolute heart and soul zhao chenglei, one of the newest additions to the legacy family !! i am actually...so stoked to be here, this group looks so cool !! i look forward to meeting you all, but i’m going to jump straight into things ! chenglei / lei is 20, a dance fanatic, and a lovebug ! you can find his info as well as a few connection ideas below,  and his profile here !! the other pages are wip, but i’m sure we can figure something out from there !! oh, and don’t forget to like this if my boy’s caught your eye and you’d like to plot together !! 

alright so !! he’s from hong kong, and born to a mom who was a model for a popular skincare company and a father who’s an anesthesiologist !!

his parents are quite ambitious & his name means “become great” since as their first child, they had high hopes !! he’s often called lei for short around friends.

his mom wanted him to follow in her footsteps so for the early part of his life she was obsessed with booking him baby modeling & acting gigs!! he was in a few commercials and an extra in some small shows, but didn’t gain much fame from it.

his family is originally from mainland china (which is why he’s pretty good at mandarin) but moved when he was born because they liked the atmosphere for him better ! also his mom started getting more opportunities to work there and rather than keep traveling when she had a newborn the whole family packed up and left !

to say the least he was raised pretty comfortably !!! his parents had a lot of influence in their respective fields and he lived well, always getting the things he asked for & such !

but honestly, he’s not the type of person that is obsessed money but that’s probably because he’s used to it? like ofc it’s nice to have, but he’d be perfectly fine living a normal life.

his parents don’t feel the same, they’re very invested in getting & keeping money, so they would always get mad bc he had a tendency of giving his friends things if they didn’t have it !!

he’s been really adamant on creating his own lifestyle recently though, so is trying to make his own name for himself & make his own money instead of relying on his parents forever.

he went to a private school in the city, which is where he learned english. it was widely spoken where he was anyways, but there were some exchange students who helped him too. 

also totally irrelevant headcanon but one of the students he became close with was australian & he traveled there in high school, so when he speaks english he’s a bit influenced by the accent !!

a dancing machine for real !! first got into dance 1t 5 when his mom thought it’d be cute for him to do ballet?? he hated it only because his friends made fun of him for it, but the more time he spent doing it the more he was kind of like...oh !! this is kinda nice !!

and then he fell in love with it, and to this day ballet remains his favorite type of dance. the older he got though he took more classes, and eventually joined a competitive dance team the city had !

he first got interested in kpop by a few friends in middle school, and that reflected onto his love for dancing! he began learning all the dances he could, and the more he saw them the more he felt he could turn his love for dance into a real dream.

long story short, his parents were v unhappy to hear he wanted to be in such a risky career, but after constant begging allowed him to audition! they promised thinking that he wouldn’t make it past first cuts, but when he did they were very shocked and kind of just in awe let him start training??

his first few months training were a huge struggle to face. right off the bat he could hardly speak korean, and it’s when reality really set in ?? as much as he said he wasn’t dependent on his wealth it was a big adjustment to go from his life in hong kong to living in dorms with other trainees. it was just...wild!!

not to mention chenglei can be an introvert when in situations he doesn’t know people in,  so he was probably really quiet at the beginning !!

but he definitely opens up once he becomes comfortable around others. he’s still on the quieter side, but definitely v sweet and even a little mischevious around the ones he’s close too !! so by now it can be assumed he’s this way around the trainees he encounters often.

but when he’s in work mode ?? totally different lei !!! he takes training very seriously, takes staff criticism hard, and just kind of beats himself up to work harder !! not the best method, but if one thing’s for sure it’s that he serious about improving and doesn’t put anything above that when it’s time to get serious.

and performing lei !! also very different. he’s definitely a worrier all the moments leading up to performance, but becomes some confident dancing machine when he gets on stage ! he doesn’t worry about looking too weird, just focuses on delivering a powerful performance. very different than his usual self !

he’s currently in his 2nd year as a university student, and it is h-a-r-d !! since he practically goes straight from school to practice, he’s burnt out 80% of the time and lives off of coffee and a prayer.

oh in terms of languages !! he speaks cantonese as his native tongue, learned mandarin through talking with his family in the mainland,  learned english through school, and is still actively learning korean ! he’s only completely fluent in cantonese, but learns korean the most out of all of them on a day-to-day basis.

he’s a little creative boy !! lovesloves to draw and paint and you can always catch him doodling things that went on during the day if he’s bored !!

also plays piano, which he was kind of forced into by his parents lmao ?? but it’s always a plus when he mentions it and it’s fun to play.

he’s quite a softy?? especially for a guy, he’s very affectionate, v loyal, and always looking out for his friends in any way he can ! it probably comes from his dad always being off at work, and his mom ( who is the more nurturing of the two ) being the most present, so he took after her and is very caring & sweet !

i’m not gonna lie...he’s a little bit of an eboy ?? let the sighs of shame arise lmao !! but honestly he’s like if an eboy & art hoe had a baby, but who’s also soft ?? the chaos !

he’s also a bilie eilish supremacist ?? don’t know how that happened since i don’t even stan her that much myslf ?? but like....if you couldn’t tell from his audition video he loves her & will cover each and every of her videos

he’s a baby pan !! he hasn’t really “come out” officially to his friends per se, but has vaguely expressed interest for something outside of a relationship with just girls ! he’s terrified to tell his parents & if he ever will...who knows !! but he’ll become more comfortable with his sexuality soon enough, at least.

his end goal, well semi-end goal, is to become a choreographer !! he wants to be an idol / dancer above all things, but he knows that career won’t last forever so he hopes when he gets out of it to help others achieve their dreams !! he’s very strong on the belief that what’s given to you must be paid back, so he wants to show his appreciation for his eventual debut by helping others reach theirs, too !! 

i think i’ve talked waaaay too much already, so...let’s move onto some quick plot ideas !! i promise i’ll have a legitimate plots page soon. xx

maybe some awkardness ? maybe lei thought he was helping this muse out by giving them presents & money, but they took it a different way as him flaunting his money or treating them like a charity case ? i think it could be interesting !

another foreigner ?? the classic helping each other out duo, but i think it could be really important for the both of them considering they’re still trainees navigating a new country together !

a senior he really admires ? even though they’re all trainees, lei treats those more experienced than him with lots of respect, so he’d probably do everything he could to learn from & get on their good side ! maybe a cute friendship could develop out of it !

on the flip side, someone younger / he’s senior to he can baby ! he’s kind of used to being babied around, but he tends to become a lot more protective & caring over those under him ! please give him someone to spoil & instill confidence in pls thanks

sibling-like friends ?? i need someone he can just be silly with, ruffle a few feathers with, and even have the occasional dispute, but in the end they’ve gotten really close and no one can mess with one without the other ready for a fight !

maybe lei’s got a boy / nb crush he wasn’t expecting ?? he’s a softie so i think it’d be adorable for him to have a little crush on someone, requited or not !

university students rise !! give my boy someone else to share his pain with and complain about how it’s impossible to get good grades and have good evaluations !!

little competition !! he’s mainly a dancer, though he also sings, so i think it’d be fun to have someone he competes with & is often compared to ! maybe they’re actually really close and help each other, maybe they’re true rivals trying to bring each other down !

[sammyspreadyourwings]

maylor / 7 bookstore!au / 5 unrequited love / 32 “shut up for a second, will you”

Bookstore Unrequited

I kind of did a 5+1 in that, but this is kind of just Brian being dumb. John being tired. I am legitimately bad at unrequited love, ngl. I should note that this is a cafe-bookstore hybrid.

Circa Modern Era

He’s blond.

Brian looks up from his book at the ring off the bell. As expected, the familiar blond enters and smiles at him before taking his usual spot in the corner and hauling out three thick textbooks and a notebook. He smiles to himself, watching the play of light on blond hair. It’s dumb, truly, for him to be so enthralled with a person he’s exchanged maybe ten words too.

His eyes drift back to the paragraph discussing the heat death of the universe. He reads the same sentence three times before someone comes to the register. They set their books down and Brian quickly checks them out.

“Thank you and have a nice day!”

The girl, who is a cute red-head, winks at him, “I just might, cutie.”

Brian flushes and awkwardly waves as she waltzed out of the store. He glances up to meet stunning blue eyes. Quickly he looks away towards where John is wiping down a mug and raising an accusing eyebrow at him. It’s enough to make him look back to his heat death paragraph and wonders if that would be such a bad thing.

He’s a medical student        

Brian is not entirely sure when he little infatuation with the blond (a medical student according to John) turned into a crush. It’s odd because he doesn’t think he’s ever heard the blond speak. Hell, he doesn’t know anything about the guy except for that he’s a medical student and drop-dead beautiful.

John continually makes fun of him for it.

Brian says he stares just to pass the time.

Oh, and he knows that the blond comes in at 14:40 every Tuesday and stays until closing time. The semester prior he came in at 8:50 and stayed until noon. Brian is happy that he’s at least making it to the store.

He spends time between equations picturing what he’ll say to the blond when he finally works up the nerve to greet him. There are at least twelve ways that he deems acceptable if he approached first, and zero ways if the blond approaches him.

Why would someone that stunning want to talk to him anyway? Unless of course its to buy something, but that would be a break in the pattern.

His coffee order

Brian knows its an issue when he memorizes the blond’s order. It just happens to be the first time he heard him speak, Brian was stocking the bottom shelf next to the little café.

“Banana nut muffin and a flat white with a shot of espresso, soy milk, and one and three-sevenths sugar?”

He doesn’t know why the voice sends his heart somersaulting down to his stomach, but Brian can’t stop thinking about it. The order is also specific enough that he asks John at closing what it was about.

“Seriously? You’re asking his coffee order before his name?”

“You know that don’t you?”

“I’m not telling you,” John wraps the scarf around his neck, “and the sugar thing is a joke between us.”

Brian tries really hard to not be jealous that John has a joke with him.

He’s single

“Good news,” John says dryly, “blondie is single. Just broke up with some bloke.”

Brian tries to stifle the smile at that, because the chances of him getting a date increase fractionally, it goes from a zero percent chance to a two percent chance.

“Now that we know that, can you please stop pining? It’s not good for morale.”

“We’re the only two working.”

John shrugs, “hostile work environment.”

“I can’t just go up to him and say ‘hi, I’m Brian, I’ve been watching you in a totally noncreepy way for the past several months, do you want to go get coffee,” Brian sputters.

“Leave out the part of you watching him and it’s literally fine,” John snorts.

Brian blinks, “It’s indecent!”

John starts walking away, “It’ll be a miracle if you ever have sex if you think asking someone for coffee is indecent.”

Brian is about to yell something when the bell rings and lo and behold enters the man of the hour (or any hour for Brian). The blond offers a smile before wandering over to his spot. He has a different book with him. John points at the blond and then mimes walking up to him.

He buries his head back in the textbook about the rubber band theory of expansion. Maybe if he falls too deeply, he’ll snap back to his senses.

His best friend’s name

Naturally, it doesn’t happen. Brian is in deeper than he thought possible. He’s never fantasized about a crush before, especially an idle one that will never happen, but lately he’s been having dreams about what it would be like to go on dates and hold hands and kiss.

His dream last night was them going on a stargazing trip and just laying in the grass looking up.

“Your wet dreams suck,” John replies, “seriously. Just talk to him before this bites you in the ass and you crash and burn.”

Brian supposes it’s fair. John was around for what was the mercy death of his relationship with Chrissie. Then for the fallout that was his mental health after the breakup. Maybe he has been single for a long time and now he’s just projecting his desire for a relationship onto the first pretty face he sees.

“No, it’s just his guy.”

The day that the blond misses his now Thursday mid-day binge (Brian wonders if a sign that they’re schedules keep syncing up three semesters into this disaster, John tells him he’s delusional), he gets disappointed. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, but it is a highlight of Brian’s week.

He jumps when someone slams their hands on the counter. Brian looks up to spot a dark-haired man who looks hurried. Brian wonders if they’re finally being robbed, but after a second look, the man just looks worried.

“May I help you?”

“Yes, sorry for startling you,” the man takes a deep breath, “but have you seen a blond, yay high, blue eyes and the tackiest shoes you’ve ever seen?”

It’s so terribly tragic that he knows exactly who the man is looking for, “no, not today, he’d be in that corner.”

The man turns and looks towards the vacant table and chair. He runs a hand through his hair, “okay, hm.”

“If you leave your name, I can tell him you were looking for him?”

“Oh, thank you, darling. It’s Freddie.”

Brian offers a friendly smile, “I hope you find him.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. The bastard is just running around in the jacket I was going to wear for a date.”

With that, the man exits the store. Brian sends John a slightly overwhelmed look. John blinks and turns around as if that never happened. He snorts.

“Thanks for your help, John.”

The day Brian works up the courage to ask the blond (probably love of his life at this point, John is never going to let him live this down), is the day he receives his acceptance for graduate school.

It’s also the first day that the blond breaks the habit. Brian is reading about the Big Rip theory and barely understanding it when someone taps on his arm.

He looks up and spots stunningly blue eyes. Brian has never seen them up close before, and it’s probably a good thing because he gets lost in those eyes within seconds. The blond tilts his head and Brian shakes his.

“How can I help you?”

His voice didn’t crack with the nerves, that’s a victory in his book.

“I actually wanted to ask you something?”

Brian nods and wonders how a voice that mystical can exist, “oh, sure.”

The man hesitates and lets out a long breath, “I wanted to ask your name? It’s just that we’ve sort of known about each other for two years and haven’t actually said anything to each other.”

Behind the man, Brian sees John stop in shock.

“Oh right, I’m Brian.”

“Roger,” the blond man grins.

This is his chance, Brian inhales sharply, “actually I wanted to ask you something? I was wondering if you would want to get coffee sometime? I mean, we don’t have to get coffee and it doesn’t have to be a date sort of thing even though that’s kind of how I meant it, but whatever you’re comfortable with I-”

“Just shut up will you?” Roger laughs, “I was about to ask you the same.”

“Oh. Coffee? As a date?”

Roger’s smile softens, “and here I thought you were going to be tall dark and handsome.”

“Mostly tall.”

Brian is in serious trouble he knows because the laugh makes him fall deeper in this sort of admiration love he’s found himself in. At least he has a name to go with the face.

“Want to go get some after your shift?”

“Yeah, I’m off at-”

“17:00, I know.”

Maybe Roger is also in serious trouble.

[365daysofmchart]

Reflecting on McHart: 3x02

Well, my post on last week’s episode was well received (thanks for all of the likes and replies!) and this week’s episode gave us SO MUCH, so I’m back with another post breaking down and delving into every little thing relating to Mr. and Mrs. McVeigh! (Yes, I did just say that.) And I essentially do mean everything, because my God, this thing is so freaking long it is absolutely ridiculous and I am so sorry... but you should all definitely read anyway ‘cause I spent too much damn time on this for you to not, LOL! (What a pitch, that was! HA!)

Once again, spoilers below! Hope you enjoy!!!

Breaking down scenes:

1. Diane is doing a full on investigation because she is still determined to find out exactly what happened when her husband was shot by the lil Trumpkins, NDA be damned! He’s told her he’s fine, I’m sure that at this point she can see herself that he’s fine... but she still just needs to know every detail of what happened because THEY SHOT HER HUSBAND AND THEY CANNOT JUST GET AWAY WITH IT JUST LIKE THAT. And yeah... I’m sure the politics factor in too, but I think that most of it is genuinely her grappling with how these men boys shot him and acted like nothing happened, silenced him. I think it breaks her heart a little bit and she just needs some kind of justice, even if it only means her herself learning the truth.

2. His little “bows,” oh my heart! And I very intentionally used quotations because he really just tied little ribbons around the bottles with little knots, but HE TRIED. Oh, he tried! And if he’s this helpless here, then that definitely means that every gift we’ve seen him give her he’s taken to be professionally wrapped, which I really don’t think is a Kurt thing at all, but he knows she does appreciate things like nicely wrapped gifts and he just wants things to be so nice and pretty and perfect for herrrrrr. Also, I feel as though Kurt is thoughtful, but not necessarily romantic, but they’ve been working towards creating this life together for so long now and it’s finally here, and so this man that hates anything “girly” decided that he and his wife have something to celebrate, and you know what would make this news even better, what will make her happy? Little bows. (And she is delighted!) But he’s not very good with those. BUT HE TRIES. Ugh.

3. “Are we celebrating?” “We are. We got a job.” WE. I mean, he got a job, but apparently he’s using “we” ‘cause they’re a unit and they share victories and also it means that THEY FINALLY HAVE THIS LIFE THAT THEY’VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR TOGETHER. And she’s so excited for him and she does that little, bitty, mini fist pump, but then you can see how deflated and concerned she suddenly is when it occurs to her that perhaps it will take him away, BUT NO, IT’S BASED IN CHICAGO AND OH MY GOODNESS SHE IS SO ELATED AND SO IS HE.

4. “Yes, Mrs. McVeigh.” “Oh!...  Mr. McVeigh!” “Well, uh, you might decide it’s time to take my name.” SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE, OH MY GOOD LORD!!!! Breaking this whole exchange down into subparts, okay?

    a. When he refers to her as Mrs. McVeigh, there’s no significant reaction from her, meaning THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME HE HAS REFERRED TO HER AS MRS. McVEIGH!!!!! So just how often does he refer to her as such? Does she ever refer to herself as Mrs. McVeigh? What happened the first time he uttered those words to her? How often is Mrs. McVeigh used as foreplay? I need to know all of these things!

    b. For a singular kiss, that was a good kiss, guys--a solid liplock. And her hand on his cheek and his arm around her back that slowly moves up higher and higher to the back of her neck to pull her in closer, then her “Mmm...” as they pull apart? YES, I WOULD LIKE MORE OF THIS CONTENT IN THE FUTURE, PLEASE.

    c. And between kisses, he’s talking but they’re still holding each other so close and sort of swaying in each other’s arms and looking at each other with such adoration and joy, and my God, those two are so in love and so happy with one another and YES, THIS IS EVERYTHING THEY DESERVE, AND DAMN IT, IT IS EVERYTHING THAT WE DESERVE TOO.

    d. Taking his name. She might “decide” it’s time to take his name. Even while joking he's respectful of the fact that it is very much so her decision! And he is, in fact, joking--surely he would be honored and thrilled if she did so, but he’s not making a serious pitch here, he’s fully accepting of her decision and not at all pushing.

    ...That being said though, I wonder if this is something that bothers him at all, deep down. Again, he obviously accepts her decision and I’m sure he knew very well that that was going to be the case before it was even discussed. However, he is very much a man’s-man, and he has conservative leanings (also see my notes from last week’s post, in point 8), and I think it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to discover that deep down there is a part of him that wishes she would take his name (even if only to have that bond of sharing a name). I don’t know if he has ever broached the subject seriously in the past (again, I’m sure her keeping her name was an assumption from the start), but I think it wouldn’t be totally surprising if he (or perhaps she???) carefully brought it up once she retired (if that day ever comes, lol), when there were fewer practical reasons for her to keep her name. Or perhaps, if it actually is something that bothers him (and it very well may not), he’ll still forever keep it buried within because he’d never want to pressure her in any way, and though a part of him wishes they could have that, another part of him loves her for being a strong woman who has worked hard and built her name/reputation and wants to keep that identity intact in every way. ...Just some thoughts.

5. "Is it possible for you to get past your hatred for them?" Point taken, Kurt, but also... THEY LITERALLY SHOT YOU. (It's not just political! ...Though it is that too, haha.) Does he keep forgetting that??? Also, we haven't had all that many opportunities to see his protective side, but I have a feeling that, if their roles were reversed, he'd have a little trouble getting past someone shooting his wife and delaying medical attention, too!

6. "Can we just be happy for a minute?" Are we slowly spiraling from (or into?) that season-opening scene? (Update: Christine Baranski actually talked about this a bit in a video posted by The Good Fight)

7. SHE THOUGHT SHE’D SURPRISE HIM WITH COMING HOME EARLY.

8. Their whole little exchange, their repartee, is so adorable! ...But also, within that, they’re joking around about him going on a date with two other women (and Diane brought it up) and I think that really speaks to where they are in having moved past the whole Holly ordeal. (Again, while she had suspicions last week, they were based on his legitimate lies, which makes those suspicions totally valid.)

9. And we get both a “Whoa-ho, you look sexy,” and a “What’s up, handsome?” in under 60 seconds, and then there’s her tucking in his shirt and fixing his tie, and also, since when is Diane like a foot shorter than him??? LOL! Oh my God, I love it so much! 

And, well, Kurt tried to keep her away, but no such luck! HA! And I think the poor man knew it was over as soon as she declared she was coming. AND OH, THAT SARCASM AND SASS I LOVE IT!!! And I think I said this last week too, but while it may annoy him a bit at times, Kurt definitely loves it too!

10. Oh, Kurt and his pre-Republican function pep talks! He tries... he knows his wife and he’s gotta at least try. It doesn’t work, of course, clearly. But he tries. And then apparently after a certain point of it not working he resorts to subtly stepping on his wife’s foot to get his message across, LOL!!! 

I must admit, I really love the irony that she’s having a way better time at this Republican fundraiser than he is, haha. ...You know what I love more though? How uncomfortable Kurt looks that entire time. Look, I’m sure that some of it has to do with Diane, but I think a lot of it has to do with his morals alone. He may be conservative politically, but he’s not down with racist bullshit, so at least we’ve got that going for us. ...Or, rather, he’s got it going for him.

11. *Siiiighhh* Kurt is such a party pooper! But okay, real talk though... how confident are we that Diane actually deleted that recording? Cause look, I want to be confident, but... Diane is in a certain kind of place these days and I would not quite put it past her to have deleted another random recording instead. But I hope not. Because, really guys, could you both please just do the honesty thing this time around??? 

Anyway, assuming that she wasn’t bullshitting him, I find that whole thing very sweet. Yes, she had her fun, but she sees that perhaps she’s pushed it just a bit too far for her husband and she gives in, deleting it, to make him rest easier.

(As your resident McHart investigator, I looked closely at the deletion and 1) the file is only 9 seconds, which seems a little short 2) ...The file name still exists in there after it’s “deleted”??? There also weren’t any recordings above it though, so that’s something, meaning it was likely the latest. ...All of that being said, I would not advise reading too much into it because it’s graphics and her phone also reads 12:01 PM (when it is clearly not noon) as well as shows 80% battery--the latter is totally plausible, of course, but also doesn’t seem entirely legit either, ya feel?)

12. THEY ARE IN BED HOLDING HANDS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY EPISODES, WHO DOES THAT?!?!?! (OUR SHIP DOES THAT and I am HERE FOR IT, HOLY SHIT, WHY ARE THEY SO ADORABLLLLE) And then her little 🎶 Back together agaaain... 🎶 I can’t. SO FREAKING CUTE. On that note though, it also felt oddly narrative to me, as though it was a sort of nod to the audience. I’m not sure if it was because it sort of punctuated the scene--their scenes of the episode--if it was the sing-song tone, or how it ended with a blackout, but yeah... it just felt like somewhat of a statement to me. Anyone else get that vibe? (I’m obviously not going to weigh this too heavily, but just thought I’d share how I read it all.)

Standout Lines:

“Hans and Franz, your safari buddies...”

“...Their baby zebra barbecue that they scheduled?!”

“...And that trumps everything else.” “Oh, DON’T USE THAT WORD!” “And that’s more important than anything else.” “ERRRRRR...” *MOMENT OF APPRECIATION FOR KURT’S FACES THROUGHOUT THIS EXCHANGE*

“Oh, I’m coming.” “Diane...”

“Eric and Don?! I have lived my life for this moment! Oh! ...Ooh, what should I wear?” *Got this whole damn thing italicized cause that sarcasm tho

“Me?? I’m just here to be a supportive spouse!” “Uh-huh.”

Other things:

I need that plaid wrap of Diane’s in my life!

We’ve seen Kurt in a white button-down both last week and this week (with only seeing him in one in a single other instance in nine past seasons, on their wedding day) and look, I’m not complaining, but... idk, it feels weird?

I’m going to spare you all a solid two paragraphs on the closet situation (...for now, anyway), but just... the closet situation.

By the end of this season I’m definitely gonna need a Diane-in-Pajamas roundup post.

Why are they always (and by always I of course mean in the two scenes we’ve had of them sleeping in bed thus far) only under the sheet with no duvet??? Does anyone else sleep like that on a regular basis (when not in a tropical climate/it isn’t summer)? I certainly don’t and no one else in the Good-verse has (including them in the past), so WHY IS THIS A THING?!?! Totally appreciate Kurt's shirtless sleeping habit though.

Was kind of hoping the axe throwing was going to start out as a cute McHart date night, but I suppose Diane getting out her aggressions is nice too. ...But I would 110% not be opposed to her bringing him along one evening!

In conclusion:

Guys. The unintelligible noises and flaling that came from me while watching this episode... I could. not. deal. Their scenes were all just so entirely lovely. And after everything (and by everything I don’t only mean the Good Wife finale aftermath, but also how drawn out their relationship was before that) it’s so wonderful and rewarding to see! And it’s funny--I remember a few seasons into TGW I came up with a McHart wishlist of sorts, and now, a few more years (though admittedly quite the journey) down the road and... I think that just about everything has been checked off??? (...Except for her wearing one of his shirts. And given they’ve got her in fancy robes and pajamas and slippers WITH HEELS this year, I’m not gonna hold my breath on that one, lol.) HOW LUCKY ARE WE?!?!? (Still could’ve gone without that affair though, and I’m still bitter.)

What’s still on your McHart wishlist?!?! (DON’T JUST TELL ME A SEX SCENE GUYS THOUGH. COME ON, ISN’T THAT ON JUST ABOUT EVERYONE’S LIST?!?! Be a little more creative! LOL!)

It’s looking like no McHart next week but WE STILL HAVE SO MANY MORE EPISODES TO COME!!! ...Two down, five to go!

Now, with that, this has gone on for long enough (too long,) and so, I’ll wish you all a good week! As always, fell free to message via ask or reply!

-E

...Oh, and once again, I am so sorry that this was so long! ...But, hey, I guess the last one was pretty long too, and you all seemed to like that one just fine, haha.