#i am still a mess after bad buddys finale

[stellarbit]

i have a kinda strange ask.

so i have severe insomnia. i've done sleep studies and meds but sometimes i just CANNOT sleep, even as bad as multiple days no sleep. doctors and i are still working on a fix. it's a fucking nightmare (except i can't have nightmares if im not asleep, can i???)

i'm a very calm, quiet, logical, and collected person except when i can't sleep. then i'm a crying and genuinely insane wreck.

i would absolutely LOVE if you could do some kind of Crosshair x female reader with some kind of scenario like this. it would make me feel better. Like maybe he didn't see her sleep the previous night and finds her still awake at like 3am the next night and this normally stoic girl is just an absolute unhinged psychotic mess and he has to fix it 🤷🏻‍♀️

idk how far ur willing to go (leaving it up to you) but just as a general idea as to how i (and many other people with this problem) get without sleep, i can get kinda violent, super snippy with people, can't stop crying, impulsive, physically sick sometimes, and don't always sound coherent or refuse to listen to people even if they're trying to help me. it's not a fun mental state to be in.

i'm never sleeping so i might as well read your literature (it's like a nightly ritual i love your stuff)

thank you 🙏

I know what it's like. Insomnia kicks my ass occasionally and it wrecks me and takes days of my life away before I can finally sleep. I hope you find some rest buddy <3 alsothankyouforthecomplimentjfc

give this a listen while you read

Just Lay With Me

Word Count: 1.5k Pairing: Crosshair x fem!reader SFW Warnings: insomnia kicking your ass all the way to next Sunday Summary: After a long bout of no sleep, you break and Crosshair is there to pick up the pieces. gif credit: @moonstrider9904

Sleep evaded you more and more often lately. Your new normal was turning into nights without more than an hour of dozing off. Nights that stretched into a week at a time with an occasional night of sleep, however restless. This time around the sleepless nights were quickly working their way to a month’s stretch.

After a few nights of frequently waking, two rotations went by without so much as a blink of sleep. At this point you weren’t just delirious, nausea turned your stomach and your head throbbed constantly. Every sound jarred you, pushing you to the brink of crying each time. 

Unable to string together more than a few coherent thoughts at a time, you’d planned on avoiding town the next. You were liable to snap at the smallest slight, but even in this state you knew it wasn’t fair to others.

By the time Crosshair came to find you, you were well beyond your limit.

Crosshair noticed your erratic behavior first. You’d snapped at Omega when she and Crosshair bumped into you on the street. Crosshair tried to stop you from walking off but you bit his head off too.

It was unlike you. Ordinarily, you were composed and rational—characteristics that had faded as your sleepless nights dragged on.

Your increasingly disheveled look became Crosshair’s next worry. You didn’t preen by any stretch of the imagination, but you took care of yourself and it always showed. Now, your skin took on a dull hue, your hair greasy and untamed, and dark circles gave your eyes a sunken appearance.

The night before he and Omega ran into you, Crosshair had noticed a light on in your home around 2 AM. Knowing you weren't typically up at that hour, he found it strange. The following evening, as he lay in bed, thoughts of your earlier encounter in town filled his mind. With a growing suspicion, he rose and stepped out to the patio. From there, he could see a dim light shining from your bedroom window.

He knew what insomnia looked like, had fought with it himself after being trapped on that Kaminoan platform, and didn’t want to push you if his suspicions were true. 

Then, the sound of glass shattering from your home shattered his hesitation. He leapt over the patio railing, his feet barely touching the ground as he dashed toward your house. Fortunately, your door was unlocked—an issue he noted to address later—and he entered your home in seconds.. 

He didn’t call out for you, instead choosing to quietly make his way through your space, tiptoeing through scattered blankets and clothes strewn over furniture. When he found you, you were on your kitchen floor, hunched over with your hands fisting your hair. 

Soft heaves shook your body as you rocked in place. Broken glass surrounded you, making the situation even more delicate.

Crosshair had been right, you hadn’t been sleeping.

Knowing there was no good way to break the silence, Crosshair softly called your name. Sure enough, you jumped hard and nearly slid onto a shard of glass.

Crosshair lurched forward to steady you by your upper arm only for you to rip out of his grip. You whipped your head around, hair falling in your face in a deranged look. It fit seeing as you certainly felt deranged. 

The sniper’s eyes were uncharacteristically soft, with brows slightly raised and shoulders relaxed. It felt like pity. Red hot shame flooded your system, sending you shuffling like a newborn fawn to your feet. 

In a harsh, hoarse voice you lashed out, “What are you doing here?”

Crosshair glanced at the mess around you.“Your lights were on and I heard something break.” You didn’t answer leaving only heavy silence between you. Crosshair sighed, looking back at you. “You’re not sleeping, are you?”

There wasn’t enough air for you to answer, your breath hitched into small gasps as tears warped your vision. Dipping your head back, you managed to blink back some of the wet from your eyes. With a determined shake of your head, you cleared your voice and firmly said, “I’m fine.” 

A line in the sand between you - a desperate claim to control something, anything.

His eyes on you, those sharp, all seeing, critical eyes, made your skin crawl. Not him specifically, but him seeing you as you were. This wasn’t how you wanted him to see you. Unable to stop the uncomfortable squirm that rolled through you, you waved both hands at him as if to ward him off.

“Please just leave.” Your voice was pleading, your eyes blinking furiously. 

“I’m not doing that.” Crosshair said gently. You weren’t sure if your tears, the lighting, or reality itself made Crosshair look so hazy.

Perhaps this was the next step into delirium. The thought widened your eyes with newfound fear. He’d appeared so suddenly - was he even real? Crosshair narrowed a worried look on you as a fresh, sickening feeling gripped you, spurring you back a step. Right onto a shard of glass.

You cried out, nearly collapsing, but Crosshair was quick to support you, preventing you from falling completely. The pain shooting through your foot crumbled your remaining resolve.

Crosshair swept an arm under your knees to scoop you into his arms. He hugged you close, even as you thrashed against him in fits of sobbing. He carried you to the bathroom and carefully set you on the edge of the tub.

Despite the sobs, you let Crosshair put your injured foot under the tap and rinse the blood still seeping from your wound. He felt the tremors wracking your body as he angled your foot towards him. Luckily the shard was sticking out enough that removing it would be easy enough under normal circumstances.

“I have to pull the shard out.” Crosshair said as inspected your foot. A choked sob pulled his eyes to your face again. Your lips wobbled in a devastated frown on your blotchy tear stained face.

Seeing you so fragile or haunted tore something in him knowing he could do little more than sit and watch you fall apart.

In an exhausted whisper, you confessed, “I’m so tired, Cross.”

“I know,” He whispered back and removed the shard in one swift pull.

Crosshair put your foot under the tepid water again, simultaneously pulling a towel from the rack beside him. As he dried your foot and applied pressure to the wound, he decided to share something.

“When the empire recovered me from the Kaminoan platform…” He paused on a deep breath. He hadn’t even told his brothers or Omega, but if he could do nothing else he hoped he could at least make you feel less alone.

Crosshair gently pulled you by your leg and pivoted you out of the tub. Braving vulnerability, he knelt in front of you and said, “I… I didn’t sleep for a long time. I don’t know how long, exactly, but long enough that I had to be sedated.” He smoothed a hand over your knee, adding, “I know what it’s like.”

You gave a small nod, focusing on regulating your breathing, too overwhelmed to speak. Sensing your need for comfort, Crosshair whispered, “Can I carry you to bed?” His tone was gentle, mindful not to startle you.

Your head fell forward in shame. Pressing a hand over your eyes you shook your head and mumbled, “It’s a mess.”

Crosshair couldn’t help the soft snort that came from him, drawing your head back up. A questioning, almost offended, look came over you. Crosshair didn’t ask for further permission as he came in close to you and lifted you with him. 

“You should see Tech’s room.” He teased, his breath warm on your cheek. “And he sleeps whenever he likes.”

The small joke did manage to lift your lips and you found some comfort in the cadence of his steps. He’d not yet gone this far for you. No one ever had. 

Crosshair crawled into bed with you still in his arms, pushing into your tousled duvet and placing you next to him. Leaning across you, he murmured an apology and froze before turning your light out.

Peering down past his arm at you, he swallowed before asking, “Do you mind if I stay with you?”

You didn’t think it was possible, but a small smile warbled over you. You hummed out an affirmative and rolled towards, rubbing your face into the soft fabric of his shirt. Crosshair chuckled under his breath and turned off the light.

He slid in next to you, sitting at an angle that his arms cradle around you. His made lazy trails over your back

“The kitchen-” you started.

“Tomorrow.” Crosshair cut you off. “For now, just lay with me.”

In the quiet hour, in your messy bed, in Crosshair’s arms you finally found rest.

[sadlynotthevoid]

I was thinking on how obsessed I am with this side character (Og!Cale, my beloved) who is so interesting but has so little appearances that, if not for the role he plays on the plot, he could be classified as an extra—

But then that reminded me about Miss Not So Sidekick, and now I want a crossover with this two.

I mean, og!Cale in that crack fantasy world. I mean, an AU where both Tboah and Mnss worlds are the same. I mean, an AU where Lcf is kind of happening but Krs in his og boddy and og Cale is still around.

I don't really care. I just need og!Cale to interact with this bunch of absolute weirdos.

I need him to meet Latte and befriend her. To eat popcorn together and witness whatever mayhem the main cast is going through.

I need him to meet Ibelin and call her out on her bs. Just after he had messed with her, of course.

I need him to meet that bl loving princess and become secret book buddies. So what if she has her genre preferences? He finally has someone to talk with about the books he reads without ruining his act.

I need Arwin to find Latte and Og!Cale trying to be the peanut gallery and not getting jealous because the first thing he hears him say is something like "the duke's looks are most of my appeal, but his personality is so bad I just want to smash his face with a chair". Okay, so Latte's friend is not a rival. Got it.

I want Og!Cale to compete against Peridot in every chance he gets. And win. Just because he doesn't like her and sje gives him the jibbies. Trying to make her break character is his new hobby. Then she pisses him off.

I want both casts to clash together for a bit and Og!Cale pretending it has nothing to do with him.

I want Choi Han and Kenneth to meet each other and have mutual hate at first sight.

I want Og!Cale to end either with Rondemio or his sister. The princess wins in both cases.

[ssa-atlas-alvez]

cowboy readers and team run into his southern belle ex and maybe some jealous jj please 😍😍 love to see some jelly jj

Description: the BAU run into an old friend of cowboy reader while near his home town

Warning: jealousy, mentions past smoking addiction, that's about it

A/N: Hope you enjoy, this is after reader quits smoking

PART TWO (of this fic, this one is part one)

Taglist: @xweirdo101x @xdark-acadamiax @ara-a-bird @heidss @chubbyboyinflannel @pendragon-writes @migwayne @bigolgay @technikerin23 @supercriminalbean @honestlycasualarcade @caffeine-mess @1s3v3n1 @oddmiles @kevyeen @stealing-kneecaps @criminalskies @woodandwaxwings @wizardmon3 @aphroditeslovr @ducks118 @azeal-peal @13thdoctor-run @introvertpan84 @goth-boi-atlas

It was a case close to home, now the case had been wrapped up, you planned on staying one more night (spend celebrating in the bar and then sleeping in the hotel) and then you were taking them to your house to meet your family. This case being close to home though, also meant that you could bring Buddy with you to see his grandparents (which is where he currently was whilst you had a night of freedom before staying at your parents house).

“Hey, (Y/N),” You looked up from the case file at Penelope, “Since we’re so close to where you grew up, do you think we can meet the family?” 

You faltered for a moment, “I mean, I’d have to ask my Mama, but can’t see why not,” You said with a shrug, getting your phone out and texting her, ignoring the ‘aww’s from Penelope and Emily as you did so. “I’ve asked,”

It didn’t take long for her to respond (a whole three minutes). “She says of course,” You said, Derek and Penelope both cheering. "She says we can head down whenever. There's a good bar close by if you wanna celebrate first?"

"Let's get a move on then!" Garcia declared.

You drove them all to the bar, missing your truck as you did so. SUV's always hit different. Three drinks in (three drinks for everyone else, you were still making your way through your first pint - you weren't a big drinker), a woman approached you.

"(Y/N)? No way!" You turn at the familiar voice and meet face to face with your ex, Rose. She looks good, she's wearing shorts and a tank top, matched with cowboy boots and a hat. She's still pretty. 'She ain't got nothin' on JJ,' A small part of your brain chimes in, but you shrug it away. Nothing could happen anyway. A twinge of sadness swept through your stomach.

"Rose? Oh wow, it's been a while,"

Rose laughs, "I'll say! How ya been?" She brushes her hair off her face as she talks and you grin.

"Not too bad, just workin' mostly," You say with a nod.

"Hey, cowboy, you gonna introduce us?" Morgan smirks.

"Everyone this is Rose, Rose this is Morgan, JJ, Prentiss, Hotch, Rossi, Reid, and last but not least The Penelope Garcia."

"Hi, it's so nice to meet y’all," Rose grinned.

"How do you know (Y/N)?" Garcia asked.

"Oh we dated through high-school," Rose nodded, "Thought it was true love," And you laughed as you rolled your eyes slightly. "We were idiots back then," She added.

"Thanks," You muttered sarcastically.

"What? We were, you started smokin' and I was a mess." Rose explained. "Did you finally stop that smoking habit then?" Rose asks, folding her arms.

"Yes Ma'am," You said with a nod, "JJ here forced me after I jumped back on the wagon,"

"She must be a very special lady if she could make you of all people quit."

"She guilted me into it," You tease lightly, shooting JJ a smile. You force the smile to stay as you see the hesitant smile JJ sent you. Had you said something wrong?

You were too caught up in talking to Rose, you didn't see JJ walking off. Or Emily following her.

"Hey, JJ, you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine," JJ said, fake smile in place.

Emily raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Yeah and your sudden fowl mood has nothing to do with the attractive woman (Y/N) is talking to?" JJ sighed as she felt herself blush. "Ah, so I'm onto something, am I?" She teased. "What's going on? What you thinking?"

"I've developed... feelings for him." JJ admits hesitantly. "And seeing her talk to him makes me feel..."

"Jealous?"

"No. Insecure."

"You? Insecure?" Emily asked, jaw dropping.

JJ groaned, "Please don't start singing one direction,"

"What? No! Gross." Emily paused, "Is this insecurity paired with... any other feelings?"

"A little bit of jealousy I guess," JJ mumbled.

"Are you going to talk to him about it?"

"God no!" JJ exclaims, blushing when she realises how loudly she protested. "I mean, not right now."

Emily gave a small chuckle. "You jealous about anything in particular?"

"That they were dating." JJ said with a shrug.

"Ooo does someone wanna date a cowboy?" JJ flushed bright red. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Okay, yeah, but he clearly doesn't feel the same so there's no point. I just need to get over him."

"Er, excuse, rewind-" Emily said, pointing her wine glass at her. "Are you both blind? You clearly both feel the same way about each other."

"Emily-"

"No. JJ, you both like each other so for God's sake get together!"

"You're just saying that." JJ said. Emily groaned, throwing her hand in the air. "Come on, let's just forget about it and get drunk."

Emily shrugged, that sounded like a good idea to her.

[capseycartwright]

ireland got knocked out of the rugby world cup, i am apoplectic with grief, i have channelled those big sads into a buddie rugby ficlet. yes buck plays for ireland and yes eddie is a irish coach no you don't need to know how they got there.

for my rugby girlies. i hate this sport and also i love it with every part of me. i also think this counts for seven sentence sunday so thank u for tagging me @fangkinkdiaz

The final whistle goes, and Buck knows it's over. He doesn’t need to look up at the scoreboard to know that they didn’t make it - the World Cup dream is over. 

Tears are dripping from the curve of his chin before he even realises he’s crying - but Buck isn’t surprised, really. He’s not sure he’s ever felt devastation quite like it - four points standing between them, and a World Cup semi final for the first time in history. 

Four points. 

This one was going to hurt for a long time yet, Buck knew.

Accepting the hand offered by a teammate, Buck allowed himself to be pulled up off the field where he’d been sitting, hot, frustrated tears streaming down his cheeks, only adding to the mess of blood, and dirt on his jersey. 

“I thought we had it,” Jack mumbled as he dragged Buck to his feet, his hand shaking in Buck’s grip. It was his first world cup, Jack one of the youngest of their squad. It was Buck’s second, but his first with a team he really thought could make it all the way: and the devastation was worse, when you went into a competition believing the win was yours. At least last time, he had been playing for fun.

Buck could only grimace in response. 

He thought they had it too. 

Four fucking points.

It’s a blur, as he walks around the field, shaking hands with players in black celebrating, exchanging tight hugs with his own teammates, his own devastation reflected in their expressions as they take a lap of the field, thousands of sad faces in bright green jerseys looking on as they clapped a congratulations Buck wasn’t sure they had quite earned this time. 

Buck watched, standing alone on the field as his teammates went to find their friends and family. He’d always been jealous of that. Maddie tried to come, when she could, but Buck played for a team thousands of miles away from her California home, and she had a kid now - it wasn’t as easy as it used to be for her to be in the stands. 

He was more jealous of the players who were seeking out their wives, and girlfriends, sympathetic faces pulling them in for hugs, and kisses, the kind of reassurance Buck himself was craving as the adrenaline started to leave his body, and the reality started to hit: the World Cup was over. Rugby was a funny career. Buck liked to think he’d still be fit, and playing, by the time the next World Cup came around, but he knew one bad hit was all it took to end a career.

It was what happened to Eddie, after all.

Buck had watched Eddie play on TV more times than he could count, had stared, astounded, as Eddie had played some of the best rugby Buck had ever seen. And then one day, it was over. 

It had been a warm-up test - not even a championship game. Buck had been watching it back home in California, and it was 3am, and his eyes had ached from the brightness of the TV as he’d watched Eddie line out, 10 emblazoned on his back and a familiar confident grin on his face. He had been the best in the world, and then one bad hit had broken his shoulder so badly, he’d never regained full fitness again.

Eddie had joined the coaching squad, after his career had been cut short, and Buck had sought out the familiarity of another American voice in the Irish camp the first day he had arrived, three long years finally making it so he qualified to play for the country he had adopted as his home after Munster had offered him a contract to play club rugby. It had been a rogue decision, from their coach - America wasn’t lauded for creating the most memorable rugby players - but they’d seen something in Buck. 

He was grateful for that. 

Something in Buck broke as he watched another teammate embrace his girlfriend, and he started to walk, his feet carrying him where his heart so desperately wanted to be.

Eddie was standing near the edge of the field, teeth worrying the corner of his lip as he watched the devastation unfold around him. One thing that people didn’t know about coaches, Buck felt at least, was that they felt the hurt as much as the players did: coaches just had the harder job of putting on a brave face sooner and making sure the squad got back on their feet. 

His lanyard was tucked under his arm, in that ridiculous way Eddie always wore his accreditation, and his hair was a mess: Buck knew if he watched back the match, every time the camera panned to the coaches, he’d see Eddie running his hands through his hair. 

“You fought like hell,” Eddie offered, and Buck knew he wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the comfort he wanted, there and then. 

The thing was - somewhere along the way, Eddie had stopped being that familiar American face, and he’d started to be Buck’s best friend, and then he’d become the love of Buck’s life - in that order, with a few stops in between. They’d talked about it - all the ways going public would affect Buck’s career, how it might make him a target, if he was ready for the snide remarks that would come with being an out rugby player in the peak of his career - and they’d agreed to keep it a secret until Buck retired. 

But they’d just gotten knocked out of the World Cup, and Buck wanted to kiss his goddamn boyfriend.

“There’s no going back, if you do,” Eddie whispered, and that was when Buck realised he’d said it out loud. Eddie had come out after his career had been cut short, never one to dream of being an advocate but suited to the role, all the same, rainbow laces in trainers and a pride flag pinned to his jacket a constant reminder to the world that he was here, and he was queer. 

“I don’t want to go back,” Buck shook his head. They had lost the World Cup - he would be a different rugby player for it, now. He was ready to be a different man, too. 

“Are you sure?” Eddie inclined his head slightly. “Buck, you’re not thinking straight right now - you’ve just played a crazy eighty minutes, and -” 

Buck kissed him. He was gross, and sweaty, and disgusting, and there was blood pouring down his face, escaping the plaster the medical team has hastily put on his head 47 minutes in, but Eddie kissed him back with a familiarity and certainty that Buck would never get used to as long as he lived. Eddie was home. This team was home, and Eddie was home - and he’d figure out the rest. 

The noise of the stadium hadn’t lessened - it hadn’t gone silent, in shock. No, the noise was still roaring, and the world had kept turning, and Buck was pretty sure that was an ITV camera that was recording the way Eddie kept a tight hold of the hem of Buck’s jersey and -

“You’ll take the heat off us losing, with that one,” Patrick grinned, and Buck let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding as his teammate teased him. 

“I was just doing it for the team,” Buck retorted, and despite everything, despite the hurt and the loss and the way it would take weeks to find his love of rugby again after coming so close - but not quite close enough - he looked at Eddie and couldn’t help but smile, his boyfriend returning the grin.

Yeah.

Everything was going to be okay, actually.

[ya-zz]

Could you please do a drabble where Rammatra calls the male reader his pet and throat fucks him and after he comes he reassures the reader he loves him not just for sex but all the time. Sorry if this is straightforward I'm down bad lol

You and me both buddy, you and me both...

!! NSFW under the cut !!

He was intimidating, sure, but that never stopped you from getting on your hands and knees, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

His hand rests at the back of your head as the tip of his cock slides past your lips. Ramattra was gentle at first, slow, languid motions to get you rightfully adjusted.

When he deemed you ready, he pushes you further, your lips against his base as his cock twitches at the back of your throat; a low moan escapes him. Struggling for breath, you pull back, sucking in what little breath you could before he pushes you back down.

He's in control.

"Such a good boy." He coos, holding you there until tears form at the corners of your eyes.

Ramattra looks down at you, marvelling in how pretty you look taking his entire cock. His thumb brushes away a stray tear as he pulls back, optics scanning you. He lets out a satisfactory hum, a chuckle following after.

"My pet." Those words send a shiver over your body, the tone not helping the rising heat in yours.

He was relentless after that, watching as you gag and sputter over him, spit dribbling down your chin. His length felt bigger than before, purple and black length filling your mouth, red nodes gently vibrating with each thrust.

You could feel the bruises already forming as the omnic holding you went at his pace before finally burying himself deep in your throat. A static groan emits from his vocaliser as he shudders, grip tight on your head while you feel the hot slick coat the back of your throat.

Puffy, tear stained cheeks were a sight to look at as the omnic peers down at you while he pulls out. You instinctively open your mouth to show him you've taken it all and he tilts his head with a hum.

"You did so well." He leans down and caresses your face, wiping away the mess you had made. You smile in response as your partner speaks again. "You do know that I love you, right?"

You nod in response, still coming down from the abuse your throat had suffered.

"Good. I do not want it to seem like I am using you. You mean far too much to me." He admits.

Words do not come out as you stare up at him and once he realises, he can't help but laugh at how pitiful you look.

"My precious pet. Let us get you cleaned up."

[subjectsix]

Don't know if you are still taking prompts from that post you made, but I love how you write our boy Simon Arish, something involving the word dissolve maybe?

waahh thank you!! ;u; I absolutely am taking prompts still (and right now am at a point where I'll sort of take them till I stop getting them kjfhdkjhkdfh) I hope you enjoy!

"Simon."

It takes him a moment to recognize his own name. He has to pull himself back out of his head, wrench his eyes up from his cup, let the recognition hit him square between the eyes, and fix his face into a happier expression. Cho's apartment comes back into focus. The rest of his buddies are razzing each other in the living room. Remus is across from him at the kitchen table, thoughtful, searching his face.

"Yeah?" He tries for a smile, and hopes it's more reassuring than it feels. "What?"

"Something up with you, man?"

"Yeah, the fact that you used my first name. That one's usually only employed by ma, or if I've really messed something up. God forbid it's both."

The joke makes him laugh, but Remus finds less humor in it. He just gives him another inquisitive look, then takes up another slice of greasy pizza.

"What?" Arish laughs again, hands out in a questioning disbelief. "I got something on my face? You have a weird dream about me? What is it?"

Remus leans back in his seat, tapping a finger on the table, taking his time to chew through a bite. Arish waits.

"I didn't forget a birthday or upset someone, right?" he asks, a bit more concerned now. "Don't make me so nervous."

Finally, he asks:

"Are you thinking of quitting?"

Arish's stomach drops.

"What?" He hopes his voice comes across more as disbelieving, rather than caught. But he won't lie. "No. Where'd you even get that idea? What do you think I'm gonna do?" Another nervous laugh bubbles out, and he hopes it smooths any worries Remus has. He grabs his beer and takes another drink, wishing it was maybe a little stronger. Remus' stash of whiskey, maybe.

"Cause we've all considered it, after what happened. And there's something different about you. You're good at keeping our secrets, but not your own. Keep getting lost in your head, lingering off on your own. You don't ask for help as it is--"

"Wow, alright--"

"--which is true, because I know you. And that's why I know something's up with you. All I can figure is you're quitting. Am I right?"

Remus waits, eyebrows raised. Arish tries and fails to readjust his shirt into a more comfortable position, or maybe into one that will open a Threshold and swallow him whole.

"No," he says finally. Again, not a lie. "I'm not quitting. I couldn't leave you guys." The biggest truth he knows. Remus leans forward, elbows on the table, pizza discarded on a thin paper plate.

Arish glances over his shoulder at the rest of his squad. They're arguing over something, animated and loud, about 5 minutes away from a noise complaint. Like it's just any other day. Like nothing has ever happened to any of them.

He turns back with a sigh.

"But... I did put in a request for leave. Temporary," he looks down at his slice of pepperoni. Easier than trying to meet Remus' unwavering gaze. "I'd still be in the House, if they approve it. Working security. I've been meaning to tell you guys. Figured one of our get togethers was a bad idea. Don't really want to be the party pooper for that one."

"So you decided to mope around like you're dying instead?"

He's almost offended, until he catches his eye and sees the glimmer of a smile in it.

"C'mon man. Why wouldn't you tell us that? What for, the stress? If you need a break, you need a break. What're we gonna do, kick you out?"

All the tension in Arish's shoulders dissolves. A sheepish smile tries to hide behind the neck of his beer bottle.

"I dunno. What, you guys would let some security staff member pal around at the ranger function?"

"Badass like you? Absolutely. Never thought I'd hear that out of your mouth either. You sell yourself way shorter and give yourself way less credit than every other employee in that place." Remus picks his pizza slice up and tosses it across the table, and it lands and skids across Arish's plate into his lap. "Knock it off."

"These are new pants!" he protests, but it gets a real laugh from him.

"Your fault for wearing them. C'mon man, temporary reassignment? Over here acting like you've been fired, or about to die of some disease. Actually got lycanthropy from the mission or something."

Arish slings the pizza back.

"Hey!" Cho calls out, lounging on the couch. "No food fights in my place. Save that for Guy's bachelor pad or something." Arish gives Remus a grin, moving to join the others, jamming a thumb back toward him.

"Hey, he started it."

one word prompts

[squishyteri]

*Deep disappointed sigh*

I was thinking that I'll be sitting here at this time, writing about finishing another amazing drama, but instead I'm sitting here, absolutely baffled and beyond dissapointment and confusion.

What the hell just happened? That what what I've asked right after finishing the final episode of DFF. And the worst part is that I will actually never know what had happened.

Honestly, the drama started getting worse in episode 10. That was a whole mess (I've written entire post about it, read HERE ). Episode 11 was good in a terms of what it gave us, but it was at very wrong place. It was truly bad choice for the pre-finale ep, that was supposed to build up the tension for the final ordeal, so this Tee backstory felt anti-climatic.

And today, the finale came and it felt like I clicked on the wrong show. Am I really watching DFF? I asked in disbelief. I just couldn't believe what I saw.

I try to go one by one.

Starting with Fluke. That was actually the part I liked. He was the bywatcher. He just watched. So it was really good choice to let him stab his eyes out. But I hated that he didn't even know about it, since he died (most likely) while still being high on absinth. I HATE the choice of having him die. Him living blind, not being able to be a doctor would be such a great punishment for him.

Top ... Well, first of all, how are you still alive, buddy? But given the amount of people (1) that took way too long to die, I guess people in DFF universe are just slower at dying from very obvisouly fatal wounds. Him killing himself and taking Fluke with him was okay, I guess? I mean we know NOTHING about Top, so how could I know what is in character and what not?

Tee and White. Oh boy. I knew right away that us getting the emotional backstory of Tee is not a gift, it would come in an exchange of an inevitable traumatic experience. But this was not what I expected at ALL. If everything else was perfect, this would fit well. I feel like it's a good scene and great punishment for Tee to live with. ... If we KNEW what happened to Tee... but I'll get to that later.

(also like... White's character is so ... idk, he's just a random, innocent dude, who is there only for the purpose of dying ... not the mention he was really annoying to me at the beginning, like what was that about?)

Now here it comes. Jin. I ... I can't say much, because I think even Tumblr would ban me if I went into detail. Let's just say I did not expected Jin to be horny on main. I still don't understand how Jin was the one who posted the video (we had some evidence it might have been someone else), but if he did or thinks he did, it only makes sense his fear would be related to it. But even so, I think his fear should've been more about him not protecting Non. We know that Jin liked Non and wanted to protect him. So why is his biggest fear everyone knowing he's horny on main? We know from Copper himself that Jin should've been percieved as a good character, but him fearing that what he did to Non happens to him is sort of selfish and absolutely not something I thought about Jin. But let's be honest, bad writing was screwing Jin over since like ep 6 (and it was doing it even harder than Phee) (sorry for this one, I'm leaving the room now).

Now Phee. His fear is obvious and he's the only one getting out of the hallucinations and saving the day. (probably) I didn't understand his momentarily need to save New??? Like buddy, you are in this mess because of him??? But him getting the antidote, saving Jin and then coming back for Tee: amazing, hot, I loved it. Only sad that was like 2 minutes of this tragedy.

New. Oh, New. He was a guy broken beyond repair and I knew he will go. I mostly hoped he would end his life himself after realizing what he did and what happened to Non, but he was too lost for that. But I'm okay with his ending.

FINALLY the holy grail of dissapointment. The ending itself. It suddenly cutting to "2 Years Later" got me thinking That's it??? It didn't even have the shock point, because I was confused the entire time. I was thinking why on earth would you end it like that? Why are PheeJin having happy ending (not that I didn't want it, but not like this, not like this, mate) and why is Tee having the bad ending (really, why?) and like what happened? What did police say? Why we skipped two years ... and suddenly BOOM, they smacked me across my face with that "oh, how did we get out then and why is Non over there?" ending. Like WHAT?

HELLO?

REALLY?

Like you really made me sit through 11 episodes, making my judgement and assumptions about every single character, wanting their ending to be whatever I felt they deserve and instead of giving me the shock, happiness, sadness of what you cooked for them you GIVE ME NOTHING?! OF ALL POSSIBLE CHOICES, YOU GIVE ME NOTHING?!

Is this like write your own ending thing or-? WHY WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME HANGING.

Not to mention there are lot of things unexplained.

Was Jin the one who really posted the video? There were lot of contradictions to it.

How on earth did New manage to prepare everything and hurt Por? We just heard it from Phee, who couldn't have possibly known. And some things like weren't adding up, even if we have the hallucinations thing.

What happened to Keng? Like, is he dead? But we never saw the body. Really, what's with him?

Who are the survivors? We might assume Phee, Jin and Tee, but are they? Are they all dead? What happened to them? This was literally why we all were here and we don't even get that answer?

That ending was soooooo anticlimatic and out of place. This kind of ending can work, but in a slasher movie where we don't care about characters that much and we are there just for the blood and murders (A Nightmare on Elm Street does this wonderfully, for example) but not in a drama, where we spent HOURS learning backstories of each character (except Top, like who is he?) and want to know what is their destiny.

It's like if the ending of Harry Potter was Harry and Voldemort about to fight, then cut to the 19 Years Later scene, but Harry sees Voldemort on the platform and then cut to broken Hogwarts and then end credits. Like, nah, that doesn't work.

I don't want to make my or yours suffering any longer that needed, so I will end this here. I'm very sad, very disappointed and very confused. I feel like I was robbed. This drama was so good, but the writing team just gave up somewhere around episode 9. It's like when I think of good plot for a fic, but don't come up with the ending and have to write just whatever to not leave it open.

Yep, thank you for reading this. The best part about this drama was without the doubt being able to share my thoughts and theorize with everyone. Thank you guys for it.

Special thanks goes to my beloved friends @tbhimnoteasyonmyself @ayansbff @jeffsatursgender and @toonstuna, who were watching each episode along with me and today (and not just today, for like past month and half) were very nice, kind and patient to listen to me ranting about everything for hours (as they were all ranting themselves). Love you all, guys, really <3

Thank you everyone who has been through this with me. Hopefully next time we will meet again at something less disappointing.

Baya!

[seenoversundown]

Sparrow Of The Dawn : Chapter Six

Sam x Willa (Fem OC)

Warnings: Mild anxiety, uncomfortable silences, awkward flirting (there's a theme brewing here) Cursing, & some silly goofy bestie time with our favorite buddy Daniel.

Word Count: 6.7k

Summary: Sam unfortunately finds himself in not so meet cute with Willa. Hopeful that he doesn't cross her path again; the world works in mysterious ways and not always in your favor.

You're Only Human - Billy Joel "'Cause all I needed was a little faith, So I could catch my breath and face the world again, Don't forget your second wind."

My eyes flutter open, Penny’s rough tongue lapping against my face. Wait, what time is it?! I blindly feel around for my phone. Am I on the couch? I rub a knuckle across my eyes, blinking them open and sitting up. I frantically search under throw pillows and cushions until I find my phone… under my coffee table. 5:34 am. Oh fuck, I’m late. Birdie is going to be here by like 6. Fuck fuck FUCK.

I run to my room, Penny hot on my heels, quickly searching for something to wear. I throw on a plain black sweater and a pair of black dress pants. You really can’t get any more professional than black on black. I sit on my bed, sliding on, you guessed it, a pair of black socks. And then rush over to the bathroom, nearly falling over Penny on the way there.

I splash some cold water on my face in hopes that it wakes me up a little bit. I pat my face dry with the face towel that always sits on my sink and reach for my hairbrush. As the only Kiszka who brushes their hair regularly, I have an image to uphold. I gently comb out the knots, careful not to take my head off while still attempting to rush. I finish brushing my teeth and gargle some mouthwash and then double check my smile in the mirror. Perfect.

“Oh, the photos,” I say out loud, slipping past Penny, who patiently waits in the doorway of the bathroom and bolt it to the living room. I gather the photos and look around for my folder. Where is my folder? I had it just here on the coffee table? Oh fuck. I check the time again, and there's a notification from Birdie. 

Birdie 🪿: On my way

Oh shit, oh shit. I haven’t even taken Penny out yet. I drop the prints back on the coffee table and shove my feet into my slippers, and shrug on my coat. 

“Come on, Penny girl,” calling her to me and, hooking on her leash. We head outside, and of course, she takes her sweet time because why on earth would she feel the need to rush for me? I love her dearly, but she’s the biggest and best pain in the ass that I deal with every day, only narrowly beating out Birdie these days. After she, thankfully, does her business, we head back inside. I pick up the photos again, searching for my damn folder, where the fuck did I put it? Penny’s hyped from the cold air outside and bursting with the zoomies.

“Stop, Penny, please.” Running my fingers through the fur between her ears, hoping to calm her a bit. I spot the folder out of the corner of my eye.

“Ah-ha!” I run over to it, and Penny bounds off after; I turn quickly, and “Oh fuck” I trip and fall over her as she tangles herself between my legs. I’m as bad as Birdie is, damn. I reach for the folder on the table from my seated position on the floor and search for the photos now strewn about the room. I tuck them into the folder and promptly shove it into my bag, sufficiently annoyed by my morning. 

Birdie 🪿: Here.

Is she mad.. nevermind.

“Alright, Sammy. You’ve got nothing to worry about. The presentation is going to go fine. Birdie will be fine. You look good. Everything is going to go according to plan… starting now.” I give myself a little verbal pep talk in front of my floor-length mirror. Fiddling with the final touches of my outfit until I feel confident. With this morning being a tragic mess, I have to leave it at the door so I don’t psych myself out for the presentation. I slip on my scarf and jacket, trying to stay bundled from the cold. I grab my keys from the key hook by the door and head to meet Birdie at her car. 

She’s staring down at her phone, biting at her thumbnail when I spot her, bright yellow sweater and all.  

Oh, she’s nervous too. 

I grab the chilly handle of the car door and open it slowly. Her head snaps up and she bites out, “The least you could do if you’re not going to respond to my text is turn your ‘read receipts’ on so I know you’re not asleep or something.”

“Well, good morning to you too, Birdie. Have you not had sufficient caffeine intake this morning?” I set my bag on the floor and scoot into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind me. 

“If I say no, does that mean you’re buying again?” She puts the car in drive and pulls away from the road. When I buckle my seat, I notice her hair is up, well, as much up as your hair can be when it’s short. You can see much more of her face like this. I refocus my attention to the road ahead. 

“Nah, I bought last time. It’s your turn, and I’m craving a caramel latte wicked bad.” I say, throwing her a cheeky smile. 

“Fine, I’ll stop and get coffee.” she shakes her head.

“I know,” I pouted my bottom lip out, “I just had to twist your arm, huh?”

As we make our way through the drive through, I open my bag and reach for my wallet. I pull out a five and hand it to her.

“For the tip,” I say plainly, placing the bill into her hand. She grabs it apprehensively before placing it into the tip bucket. She looks back at me, wearing an expression I can’t quite read. Her eyes catch sight of my open bag. 

“Oh, Sam! Did you buy me flowers as an apology for having to deal with you the past week? That’s soooo sweet of you.” her fake enthusiasm falls short, and she looks at me completely deadpan. 

“I uuuhh,” I clear my throat, unsure of why I feel so awkward all of a sudden. “I actually bought the daisies for.. Daisy. You know, the receptionist.” I swallow thickly. Seriously what's wrong with me. 

“It sounds stupid when you say it out loud, huh?” Her attention is called back to the barista, handing her our drinks through the window. I’ll never get over how sickly sweet her customer service voice is compared to the way she speaks to me. I grab my drink and place it into the cup holder, twisting the top off my straw wrapper and placing the straw through the lid. The squeaking of the plastic on plastic sends a chill down my spine. I put the wrapper in my jacket pocket to be polite but Birdie flings hers to her back seat, where all straw wrappers go to die in her vehicle.

“Girls like flowers?” I defend. “At least normal girls do.” I throw her a side eye she doesn’t catch because she’s keeping an eye out for an opening in the road. 

“You know, if someone bought me,” she takes a long pause, flicking her head side to side to double-check she’s clear to drive before successfully pulling out into traffic. “willows every time they tried to get me flowers, I’d never actually want anyone to get me flowers.” She blindly reaches for her coffee, taking a small sip.

“The thing is, your name is Will-A, not Will-ow. Besides, a willow is a tree; a pussy willow is a flower.” No sooner than the words are out of my mouth is she choking on her drink. She grabs a spare napkin and wipes her mouth, coughing a few times before wiping her mouth once more and throwing the napkin in the back seat to join the graveyard. 

“The point is, Sam. Buying daisies for a girl named Daisy– not the most original idea. I’m sure you’re not the first guy to do it.” she lowers her voice before finishing, “Or the last.”

“Flowers are more effort than your date put in.” I know it's a low blow but damn, cut a guy a little slack here. She purses her lips at my comment and I know I may have taken it too far. 

“This is gunna be a long fucking drive. Why don’t we just run through the presentation? That reminds me, you never sent me an email with the digitals you edited. Can you do that before we get there?”

“Yeah, I actually sent it over to you this morning before you got to my apartment. It should be in your email.” I bend down to rifle through my bag, mostly talking to the floor of her car, and try to find my folder of prints. 

“My bag is in the back seat. It’s in the blue folder not the purple folder,” she instructs.

I set my folder on the center console and twist my body, attempting to reach for her bag, but my arm isn’t long enough. I unbuckle my seat belt and mumble out a plea to not kill me while I’m unprotected and kneel backward in the passenger seat. I grab her bag from the back seat and plop it in my lap before I realize it's the same camera bag as the one I use, just in tan instead of gray. Maybe she can hold her own rocks now. I pull out her blue, not purple, folder and set it with mine before putting her bag back in its place. I open her folder and pull out her printed photos, waiting for her instructions.

“Okay, just to double check, I should have the dock, the bird in that bush, and the lobster boat. Then the full view of the rocks and water from Wolf’s Neck.” She recounts her photos on her fingers, tapping each one against her steering wheel. 

“All here. You know what points you want to hit?” I ask. 

“Yeah, I ran through it with my roommate last night,” waving my question away with the flick of her wrist. At least one of us is prepared; I got drunk with Daniel and passed out on my couch. 

“Alright, my turn.” I try to sound more excited than I am. If I’m being honest, public speaking makes me uneasy. Even though I know while I'm sitting there watching other people present, I couldn't give two figs on a rolling donut what they're saying, I always assume people are judging me. The nervousness is always present in the shakiness of my voice, and I hate it, no matter how confident I am about what I’m talking about. 

I flip open my folder and pull out my photos. I scan through them one by one until I count only three. Oh no, she’s gonna fucking kill me. Not only does she have to cart my ass around through this entire thing, but she can’t rely on me for the one thing I have to fucking do. God dammit. I close my folder and clasp my hands together on top of it, staring straight at the road. I can feel her glance at me. Eyes trained on me for as long as she feels like she can spare before checking the road again.

“What?” 

I internally scream. I want to say nothing. I want to pretend this isn’t happening. I want to jump out of the car a little bit. 

But instead, I pivot.

“You look nice today. Yellow, like a ray of sunshine.” I smile sweetly at her.

“Compliments are not going to help you.”  

“We even match. Look,” I point to my yellow and navy plaid scarf. “Isn’t that cute?” I laugh uncomfortably.

She glares at me.

“Don’t be mad.” I wince.

“No. Absolutely not, Sam.” she waves her pointer finger over at me.

“Don’t be mad,” I repeat. Please, please, please don't be mad

“If you don’t tell me what's wrong RIGHT NOW,” She emphasizes her words by slapping her steering wheel. “I will pull this car over and make you walk the rest of the way.” 

I take a deep breath, knowing that I’m about to endure the wrath of a thousand fire-breathing dragons.

“Promise me you won’t be mad, and I’ll tell you.” I am a fucking pussy. She is just a girl, so why do I feel so uneasy? 

“Samuel,” she warns.

“The rock path photo is gone…” I trail off. I know instantly she sees red even though she’s not making eye contact with me. Hoping if I explain she might grant me some leniency, I continue speaking. 

“I overslept this morning and was running around trying to get ready, but running gets Pen excited, and she was trying to play. Anyway, she came at me full speed and knocked me on my ass and.. I just thought I grabbed all the pictures.” I rush out. I should have stayed quiet.

“SAMUEL THOMAS KISZKA!” she yells at what I can only assume is the top of her lungs. I hate to think she can yell louder than that. 

“That’s.. actually my brother's middle name,” I respond, doing myself absolutely no favors. 

“I don’t care whose middle name it is. This is my car which means I say it's your middle name right now because I’m pissed off. You can remember to pack your precious daisies, but you can’t be prepared for the presentation. If we don’t do this, we don’t go to California, and if we don’t go to California, we can kiss the chances of us getting hired GOODBYE.”

I visibly cringe at her words, cutting me like.. tiny daggers. How ironic.

“It was an accident, Birdie. I would think someone as accident-prone as you would be understanding of this type of situation.” I’m deflecting hard. But I can’t stand the thought of disappointing another person in my life. I don’t work much at the bar like I feel like I should be doing to help out, because I’m trying to pursue my own career. My car is unreliable making me unreliable, and I'm constantly asking everyone to help me out. ‘Hey, can I get a ride?’ ‘Hey, can you watch my dog?’, ‘Hey, can I vent to you about my menial problems?’. And now, I’ve disappointed a girl I’ve hardly known for a week, and I feel like the ground could swallow me up in the middle of 95 South. 

“Don’t you Birdie me right now. I should pull over and make you walk.” she snaps effectively pulling me out of my own thoughts.

“I’m sor–”

“Don’t.” Oh if she never snaps this word at me again, it'll be too soon. 

“Ya know, you act like I did this on purpose. If you go down, I’m going down too. We’re in this together, Willa.” I try to reason with her, to no avail. 

“I don't wanna hear anything else out of you until we get there.” She scrunches her nose up at my response and turns the dial to the volume up to further reinforce her request for me to shut the hell up. I honestly don’t blame her. The rest of the ride to the office is filled with her occasional heavy sigh and the 90’s throwbacks being played on the radio station. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

After a sufficiently awkward rest of the car ride, we arrive at the office. If it weren’t for the fact that we took her car, I’m sure she’d have left me in the dust and hurried on ahead of me, but she waits for me to slowly and painfully get out of her car. Impatient, tapping her booted foot against the pavement and absentmindedly checking for stray hairs. As soon as I round the corner, she turns in the direction of the front door and speeds off. Thankfully, my long legs work in my favor and I catch up to her. The elevator ride up is just as silent as the car ride, though when we round the corner to the receptionist’s desk, I’m positive I make out a groan from her direction.

Without so much as a wave to Daisy, Birdie speeds off in the direction of the office room we congregate in. Daisy’s eyes watch her intently as she passes, and then they jet back to me. A smile paints her bright pink colored lips. She is rather adorable. 

“Morning, Sam.” She greets me warmly. 

“Morning Daisy. What a lovely color on you. It compliments your eyes.” I hear Birdie scoff from down the hall. 

“Oh, thank you.” She runs her dainty fingers over the large buttons of her powder blue cardigan. 

“I got you something,” I smirk at her. 

“Really?” She beams, and I pull the flowers out of my bag and present them to her. The baby blue paper delicately wrapped around them slightly crumpled from living in my bag for the last 2 hours.

“Your desk looked far too bare last time I was here. I thought it would give you something pretty to look at.” 

“Thank you, Sam. They’re beautiful,” a light blush reaching her cheeks. 

“I know daisies for Daisy wasn’t my best idea, but I didn’t actually know what flowers you liked. Just wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”

“You’re sweet.” her blush deepens, and I can already feel my failure of a morning starting to repair itself. “Ever heard of Bachelor Buttons? They’re just a type of cornflower, but back in the Victorian Era, they were used as a symbol of love and availability when men would court women.” By this point, this girl is about as red as a tomato, which I find endearing. 

“Anyway, my Nana told me about them when I was young, and it’s just always stuck with me. They’re a really pretty shade between blue and purple.”

“Surprisingly, pretty girl, I have heard of them. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” I shoot her a wink. “I’ll see you later.” Wiggling my fingers in a small farewell, I head off toward the room I’m supposed to be in. 

When I round the corner, I can see Birdie furiously looking through her folders, opening them, flicking through some pages, shutting them, and setting them aside. How many folders does this girl carry with her? I set my bag down next to her on the table.

“Lovely of you to join me, Samuel.”  she doesn’t bother looking up at me. Oh, she’s pissed. I don’t entertain her comment with a response, just take out my own folder, sans one photo, and take a seat. I try not to psych myself out, thinking about having to get up in front of a room full of people I don’t know and speak. I hope my voice doesn’t shake. 

“Ah-HA!” she pulls out a photo, holding it out in front of her, eyes wide. “Here it is.” Her smile is smugly written on her face. I grab the photo from her grasp, admiring my work. The photo she was looking for was the one I took of her standing on the rocks like the Titanic. I know she liked it, but..

“You printed this? When?” I question her. 

“The other day, with the others.” She says plainly. “Just because I don’t like you right now doesn’t mean I can’t like this picture. I told you that.” 

I smile, recalling her response to seeing the negatives for the first time. She had such softness in her eyes when she looked at them gently held between her fingers. I almost wonder if people don’t see her. If the people she’s surrounded herself with have never seen her in that light. Just getting to enjoy a simple day doing what she loves most. Which she does, love photography above everything I mean. And it’s so clear to me. I’m not sure if it's because I also love photography but I can see it clear as day written across her face every time she gets a camera to her eye.

 Her delicate voice interrupts my thoughts.

“You said you took it because it reminded you what Maine is about… right?”

“Yeah, uhh yeah.” I rush out nervously. I did take it because of the project, but she also looked beautiful out there in that moment. It felt like a shame not to capture it. 

“Then we’ll use this one to replace the rock path one.” She smiles triumphantly, knowing she fixed the problem. Her resolution does nothing to subdue my anxiety about the presentation, though, given that now I have to talk about her in front of a bunch of strangers. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Jim enters the room, setting his bag down on his desk and sighing deeply. You can tell he’s just absolutely done with this job. Whether that’s working for the paper period or having to deal with all of us, I’m not sure yet.

“Good morning. Today, we’ll be doing presentations in alphabetical order to make things easier for me. You should all be prepared anyway, so it doesn’t matter what order you go in.” He takes a long sip from his coffee. 

“We’ll make the announcement of the winners before you all leave today and figure out the logistics then. Once everyone arrives, we’ll begin with Connecticut.” He sits back down.

Seeing Connecticut present only made me more nervous. Not because I’m worried ours isn’t good but because I’d rather be doing anything else on the planet right now other than presenting. I’d clean the back room of the bar on my hands and knees with a toothbrush before I’d ever willingly get up and speak in front of people. 

“Willa and,” Jim looks down to check his notes. “Sam? You’re up next.”

My heart leaps into my throat when he calls my name, and I feel like my stomach could fall out of my ass. I’m a fairly confident guy, honestly a bit over confident in situations I could be humbled in. I am self-aware.. sometimes. This is just not one of those areas I need humbling in. I stand up, gathering my things, and I look over at Birdie wide-eyed. Her brows knit together, and she tilts her head to the side in question. I purse my lips together, hoping that tells her enough. I’m not sure it does until she wraps her hand around my arm, giving me a squeeze of reassurance, but she plays it off as pointing me in the right direction to the front. 

She hands me her folder, blue, not purple, and goes to set up her computer to the HDMI cord for the digital part. I display the printed photos against the whiteboard, Birdie’s first and then mine, and then I scoot to the opposite side. I really hope she takes the lead here. 

After small introductions, Birdie, thankfully, starts speaking. “Trying to define Maine can be difficult when you’ve spent your whole life there. Despite it being one of the larger states in New England, I don’t think you could meet a single person from there that doesn’t consider themselves from a ‘small town.’�� She walks over to the board standing opposite me.

“But two things were made abundantly clear to Sam and I on our adventure to get brain food that day.” She looks over at me expectantly. I clear my throat.

“Uhm, the fi-first is that Maine is the pine tree state.” I swallow thickly, trying to clear my mouth of the excess saliva my nerves generated. “Me-meaning the woods are, uhm, a big deal here.” I release an anxious breath, and she relieves me of the stress of talking.

“The second is that a big part of Maine culture is that it’s coastal. They don’t put a lobster on the license plates for nothing, even if it is technically a dead one.” She laughs. So effortlessly, so clearly in her element, talking to these people while I can feel the sweat start to gather on my lower back and threaten to drip down my ass crack.

“Sam made another good point about the culture here, and not just here but New England as well.” Again, she makes eye contact with me, sending me a small smile. 

“New England is Old.” I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Uhh, what I m-mean is that most of the buildings here are old, made of brick. Beautiful, but uhm… Old. We decided on, uh, using film and digital to capture and represent that.. uhm.. idea.” I finished a bit unsure of where I was going with that. 

We take our time explaining each photo, 16 in total, giving them a few extras to choose from for the feature if they decide to actually pick us. I can’t help but admire the way Birdie speaks about each place, her eyes lighting up especially when she talks about the water from Wolfe’s Neck and all the rocks she found there. A stark contrast to the way I stumble and uhh and uhm my way through mine. The shakiness of my hands doesn’t let up, but the more I talk, the easier it is until I get to the last photo. 

The photo of her. 

“Truth be told,” I start to explain honestly. “We had chosen a completely different picture to round out our, uh selection.” I scratch at my beard nervously. “But my dog knocked me on my ass, and it’s somewhere in my living room.” I laugh.

“Bir– uhh, Willa pulled this one out of her wonderful bag of tricks. It was a chilly day, well.. for her not for me.” I look over at her and scrunches her nose a little. “We’d wandered around those large rocks trying to find the inspirations around us, and she just took a moment for herself. Something I frequently love to do by the seaside here, as most people do. But the simplicity of her stealing that little moment away for her reminded me why so many people come here on vacation. Annnd, why Vacationland is also written on our license plates. It was a moment I had to capture because it truly represents Maine.” I suddenly realize how long I’ve been rambling for and clear my throat again, darting my eyes around the room. At least people don’t seem bored? I look over at Birdie for confirmation that I did well, but she’s looking for the same from Jim. Her cheeks are tinted pink. 

“Excellent, guys,” Jim says, more enthusiastically than normal. “Great job.”

The mumbled sound of his voice as he calls for the next team to go up and present sounds like radio static in my ears. Birdie comes up behind me, beaming and grabs onto my arm. Her smile is so wide, it’s like she slept with a coat hanger in her mouth. I laugh at the thought. We make our way back to our seats and I whisper to her, “So I take it you’re not mad at me anymore?” I throw her a small smirk. 

“The jury is still out.” She sends me a small cocky side-eye. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

We break for lunch after Massachusetts presents. Birdie decides to head to the bathroom, so I pay Daisy a visit. 

“Hey, stranger. How was your presentation?” She asks sweetly when I reach her desk. I lean my forearms against the counter in front of her and give her my best eyes. 

“It went well, I think. Not to sound cocky or anything, but I think we have a pretty good shot at winning.” 

“I wouldn’t bet against you. You and Willa seem like a good team.” She raises an eyebrow. It feels almost as if she’s digging for some dirt on Birdie and I. 

“We.. do okay,” I say a bit apprehensively. “She’s brilliant. Though I’d never tell her that, of course. We butt heads sometimes, but I really do think we nailed it.” I say, trying to give Birdie her kudos and not give Daisy the impression I’m interested in her. Because I’m not.

I spot her coming down the hallway out of the corner of my eye, and I stand up straight. 

“Birdie!” I say with more enthusiasm than is normal. She rounds the corner, coming into our full view. 

“Birdie?” Daisy questions, and before I can answer she speaks. 

“You can either stay here and starve, or you can come with me to get lunch. It’s up to you.” She adjusts the purse on her shoulder and crosses her arms, clearly unamused. 

I freeze. 

The look on Daisy’s face says she's also unamused. 

My eyes dart back and forth between the two of them as they both stare at me. I clear my throat and awkwardly shift on my feet. 

“Uhh,” I run a hand through my hair. “She’s my ride, Dais. I’ll catch up with you before I leave, okay?” 

She gives me a small nod, and I follow Birdie out of the building. 

As we make our way down the sidewalk to where her car is parked, she grills me. 

“Can you not find another time to flirt other than on the clock?” She rolls her eyes at me. 

“I mean, technically, we’re on lunch.” I try to convey my own annoyance. “She loved the flowers, by the way.” Really driving the point home. 

“Go figure.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The Wendy’s parking lot is where we end up for lunch. Something quick but still not eating in the breakroom. To be honest, the break room is kind of depressing. There’s hardly any windows and everything in there is white. It's practically one step away from being a padded room. 

I take a large bite out of my burger and ask around my food, “So how do you think we’re holding up?” 

“Do you always talk with a mouthful of food, or do you do that just for my benefit?” her lip curls in disgust. 

“Just your benefit,” I mumble out and smile wide.

“Uhm, I think we have a decent shot. Mass did really well, but I’m curious to see how the rest of the projects pan out. If more people bomb like Connecticut did, we're a shoo-in.” She laughs and takes a sip of her drink, and wipes the condensation off on her knee, tightly tucked up to her chest. “I had no idea you were so scared to talk in front of people, though. You were up there shakin’ like a damn leaf.”

I swallow my bite. “Yeah, if you weren’t so angry at me this morning, I might have remembered to tell you that.” 

She scrunches her face, and I try to decipher what’s going on in her head. I venture an educated guess, figuring I have nothing to lose. 

“Hey, I’m a big boy.” I laugh and place my hand on her knee. “I know this is important to you.” I shove a french fry into my mouth. “Besides, I’d gladly take your anger any day because it means we’re talking.” 

I look over at her and smile. 

She looks at me with eyes so wide they look like they’ll bulge out of her head. Did I say something wrong?

I snatch my hand back and run it through my hair. “Ya know, because we have to talk to .. ya know, work together.” 

She laughs louder and weirder than normal. Not that her laugh is weird normally. She’s just being weird now. “Oh yeah, yeah. Right.” 

There’s a moment of awkward silence. Why is this awkward? I’m so confused. Did I say something? Or do something? I thought I was being nice.

“Well,” she says, still loud and weird. “We should head back, shouldn't we?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Birdie and I share a nervous glance after New Hampshire’s presentation. But our nerves ease after Rhode Island does terribly. She poorly attempted to hide her laugh behind her hand, and yes, everyone looked at her. She turned beet red. At least I’m not the only one being slightly embarrassed today. During the last presentation of the day, I know we have it in the bag. I don’t think she’s as confident as I am of the state of her fingernails are any testament. She furiously chews at her thumb again as Jim re-enters the room after deliberations with the other department heads. 

“Alright, it’s close to quittin’ time.”

“Jim,” The woman next to him warns.

“It’s getting close to the end of the day.” He gives her a large sarcastic smile. “So the winners of the contest are, in no particular order…”

I grab Birdie’s hand, effectively snatching away her nervous snack, and weave my fingers between hers. I give her a small, excited smile, but panic becomes her. I squeeze her hand gently. I know the anticipation is killing her. 

“Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and… Maine. Thank you all for coming and participating. Those of you who were not chosen will report back to your home bases tomorrow. Will the winners please join me at my desk?”

We jump up, and she throws her arms around my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist and pick her up, her knees gently bumping against my thighs as I do. She tucks her face into my neck, and I take a deep breath in relief. Finally, something goes my way. Going to California means I have a real shot at booking a job in a field I love. Suddenly my senses are overtaken by the smell of.. Is that coconut? Does she use coconut shampoo? Oh no..

“Thank god,” she whispers. “I was worried.”

“I knew we could do it,” I whisper back. 

She lifts her head, our eyes connecting. Hers soften for a moment before they drop down to my mouth. A stupid smile resting upon my lips. She meets my eyes again but this time they’re wide and nearly bulging out of her head again like earlier. My brows knit in confusion, and I rush to set her down. She lands on her foot wrong and nearly falls over; my hands move of their own accord reaching out to steady her. She fixes her shirt and tucks a few loose strands behind her ear. 

“Uh, thanks. We should..” she points a thumb over her shoulder.

I follow her lead over to where the rest of the winners are hovered around Jim’s desk. 

“Congrats, guys. You’ll all be heading to San Francisco tomorrow. For your convenience, we’ll have you fly out of your local airports, so I need you to write your emails down here.” He points to his clipboard. “We’ll send you an email within an hour requesting certain info so we can book the flights. Then, a second email will follow with your airline booking information so you know when to show up to the airport. A car will pick you all up from the airport at the appropriate times, and they’ll coordinate with you from there. You’ll be gone till Sunday, so pack accordingly. And I think that’s it.” He scratches his head. “Yeah, yep, that’s it, you guys are free to go. Oh! The feature is going to run in next week’s issue, so keep an eye out. Thanks again, guys.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The drive home was much easier than the drive this morning. Birdie excitedly yammering about how she’s ‘never been to the West Coast’ and ‘Will it be as cold in northern California as it is here’ and ‘I could use a vacation. I know we’ll be working, but it still kinda feels like a vacation, right?’ I agreed with a laugh. I wait for the excitement to die down and her to realize she’s stuck with me for another week, but it doesn’t come. At least she’s happy. This trip might not be so bad. She makes me fill out the information for both of us while she drives, ‘not wanting to waste a second of preparation.’ When we pull up to my apartment I thank her again for the ride and send her off with a promise to text her to coordinate once the flight information is sent out. 

I could use a fucking nap, but unfortunately, I have to pack. I unlock my front door and step inside, greeted by my favorite girl. Oh fuck, I need to figure out what to do with her. I hang my coat and scarf up on the coat rack by the door and turn to see the chewed-up remnants of my missing photo. Thanks Pen. 

I pull my phone out of my pocket, selecting Daniel’s contact, and I wait for it to connect. His photo shines across my screen as it starts to ring, and I hold it up to my ear, waiting for him to pick up. Feeling like I’m short on time, I head to my room to start packing.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, I need to ask you for a favor..” I ask tentatively, searching for my duffle bag in my closet. 

“Does it involve my Penny girl?” he says, hopeful. 

“Yeah. Birdie and I won the feature, and they’re sending us to San Fran tomorrow. Can you come grab her tonight?” Aghhh, there it is. I pull it out and toss it to my bed. Penny settles down next to my bag. I could almost swear she’s pouting.

“Congrats, man. Yeah, I can swing by in a bit. I’m at the gym right now.” 

I breathe a sigh of relief and pump my fist. “That’s fine. Thank you, this is really helpful. I’ll see you in a bit.”

I hang up the phone and plug my phone in on my nightstand, making a mental note to remember to pack my charger tomorrow morning. I pull out nearly all my drawers looking for nice but casual clothes to wear in California, knowing full well it will still be cold over there. I checked on the way home, and they only seem to be the slightest bit warmer than Maine this time of year. The initial email outlined what we should bring to prepare, casual clothes, and an outfit for a black tie event. It did mention there was a pool in the hotel, we’ll be staying at so I packed a bathing suit just in case we have some free time. 

Just as I’m searching for some of my toiletries, I hear Daniel’s signature knock again, and Penny is bounding off toward the door. I catch up to her excitedly panting and open the door. She jumps on Daniel, her gentle ‘boofs’ greeting him warmly, and he loves her back just the same. Once she’s settled, we head back to my room where I finish packing. 

“So the presentation went well? You didn’t choke?” He asks, Penny’s head resting in his lap as he sits on my bed. 

“No, Daniel.” I roll my eyes. “I didn’t choke. I was a nervous wreck, and I forgot a photo, but Birdie saved my ass. Two other groups royally bombed, so the competition wasn’t too fierce.” I say, placing my dress shoes in my bag. 

“Ready for another week of Birdie?” 

“I don’t know if it's the excitement from winning or if she suddenly decided not to hate me, but we’ve been okay today. Well, towards the end.” I laugh

“What does that mean?” 

“She bit my head off on the ride down there when I told her I forgot a photo. This is important to her. I didn't take it personally. But she did cop an attitude when I stopped to talk to Daisy around lunch. But after that, she was sweet as pie, actually.” I recall, folding another pair of pants. 

“How’d it go with her? Daisy, I mean.” he corrects himself. 

“It went okay. She loved the flowers, and I managed to get her number before I left, undetected. I didn’t want to risk pissing Birdie off when she was in such a good mood.” I shove the final things into my bag and zip it up. I think I’m done, thank God.

“Probably a good call there,” He nods his head as he pets Penny. “You ever think about why she gets so pissed at you in the first place?”

I set my bag by my door and sit on the floor opposite Daniel. “Dude, I don’t fucking know. Everything I do pisses her off. She basically hates me.” Having worked up a sweat rushing to get everything packed, I take the hair tie sitting on my wrist and throw my hair into a bun. Daniel glares at me. 

“Funny how she supposedly ‘hates’ you, but y’all fight like an old married couple.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. 

Gasping in shock, I say, “But Daniel, how can that be when I’m married to you? You know you’re the only one for me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Daniel waves, brushing me off. “If you don’t pull your head out of your ass, I’ll be serving you papers.”

Whatever the hell that means. 

After Daniel leaves, the only thing left to take care of is to secure a ride to the airport for the morning. I will no doubt be met with a resounding ‘Yes, Sammy! I absolutely will take you to the airport tomorrow’ from exactly all of my brothers. I pull out my phone and open up the group chat affectionately titled “The boys club: Sammy gets employed (potentially)📷” and pull the trigger. 

Sam: Alright boys which one of you can take me to the airport tomorrow?

Josh: How early?

Sam: I fly out at 6 so like.. 5 😑

Josh: no

Daniel: I literally just left your house with your dog, absolutely not.

Jake: I will if you promise to get your truck looked at when you get home

Sam: Done.

And Jake saves the day, and for that, he has earned his place as Tweedle Dee… for now.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed and can't wait for chapter 7 🤭

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

Masterpost | Taglist (or reply to be added!)

Tagliiiiist:

@gvfsstardust , @myleftsock , @mindastreamofcolours , @dont-go-home-without-me , @threadofstars , @literal-dead-leaf , @lizzys-sunflower , @mackalah , @klarxtr ,@edgingthedarkness , @writingcold , @takenbythemadness , @i-love-gvf , @ladywhimsymoon, @earthgrlsreasy , @peaceloveunitygvf ,@violet-hayes , @musicspeaks , @anythingforjtk

[respectthepetty]

Hi!!!

I haven’t even fully watched Last Twilight (I think I’m on episode 2 lol) but I’ve kept up with all the gifs and metas and let me say I am ANGRY at Day after the snippets I’ve gotten on tumblr about breaking up with Mhork. I hope they don’t get back together in episode 12 because let’s be real, that boy deserves better!!! I hope Day realizes his mistake but it’s too late because he hurt Mhork so deeply. Mhork literally gave Day his heart and soul and explained all of his raw trauma and then Day threw it on the ground and stomped on it just because of his own insecurities!!! I’m so angry I don’t think I’m going to enjoy actually watching the show because I’m just going to be glaring at Day the whole time. I hope Mhork goes to Hawaii and finds happiness and Day reflects on his life 😤

-MA

MA, I can't encourage you to finish it or not. That's not my style. But I know Aof deserves my watch. He has given me great show after great show and all have featured excellent queer stories. Not only has he written some of these shows, he has directed them as well as produced even more!

I respect Aof.

Which is why even though Only Friends is in Petty Prison and I hated it unlike others who greatly enjoyed it, I finished it because Jojo, much like Aof, has given me so many other great watching experiences like The Warp Effect and 3 Will Be Free. Because what is one bad moment in the grand scheme of Jojo's career or Aof's outstanding career?

And here is the other thing:

I hated Bad Buddy.

Which was also from Aof. I hated it while watching it when Pat was shot on Christmas Eve. I hated when it was done because of that "breakup" at the end of episode 11 and the continued ruse in episode 12 even though the audience had been in on all their shenanigans up until that point. I hated that it was paired with Aof's masterpiece A Tale of Thousand Stars in the Our Skyy installments just so I would have to see Pat and Pran keep pretending they weren't in a relationship even they were actively watching a queer couple breaking up. And I'll always hate it.

But the crowd loved it.

So . . . I believe the crowd is going to love the ending of Last Twilight too while I'm still chilling here six years from now mad about the ending of episode 11 since I'm petty.

I hold grudges and water them daily like plants in a garden. Be My Favorite forgave Knot even though he was awful every second of his screen time. *points hose in its direction* Teh stayed messing up in I Told Sunset About You then had the audacity to cheat in I Promised You the Moon. *blasts some water in its direction* Team needed therapy in Between Us not sex. *turns sprinkler on* HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count exists. *dumps a bucket of water on the ground*

Perhaps wait until the last episode has aired and check the tags. I assure you there will be plenty of people who love it. They will be singing the shows praises and how amazing the narrative was. People will be laughing about how we even questioned the genius of the show after this episode instead of trusting the process.

But as for me, hopefully Night and Phojai are getting married and the simple fact that I am rooting harder for the hets in a BL finale should tell y'all all you need to know about my petty ass.

Now excuse me as I need to go start digging a little hole for the newest addition in my Grudge Garden.

[deluweil]

I have to say that if one is going to create a certain ship, at long last, the emergency of the opening season shouldn't be of Athena.

Athena and Bobby have done their share of bonding.

And even though Buck and Eddie have been closer than ever, the clown couple (derogatory) of showrunners have ruined all progress, one by a certain death doula that "saw Buck" 🤦‍♀️ for an episode and a half and a shotgun relationship created with little sister insignificant Marisol. And the other by Buck literally road killing Eddie to gain "T's attention" (calling bullshit) never apologizing and then have him caught up in himself (what else is new) for the rest of the season. All the while shoving Eddie away from himself and his now not new friend or friend at all, Buck has all the attention now and tbh not sure that toxic crap is the attention I would want, but Buck’s messed up childhood dictates that bad attention is still attention so why not.

Don't even get me started on TM literally burning Eddie’s so called relationship with a TVD doppelganger crap, that is so far fetched and not who Eddie is that my hands are still itching to bitch-slap Tim for ruining Eddie in the name of "the plot" and regressing him mentally to fucked up S3-4 state of mind. Hate him! (TM, never Eddie)

So really the emergency again being an Athena brand, also fucking far fetched because SHE IS A POLICE SARGENT- SHE WORKS THE STREETS!

She in NOT a US Marshall,

She is NOT a detective,

She is not a US Marshall working on manhunt,

She is not any kind of fed, and she is not SWAT but still was brought in to figure out the sniper MO somehow.

I am so confused.

This show is very copaganda and it's driving me crazy, because the mains are supposed to be firefighters with a side of cop wife and dispatch wife not the other way around.

But seriously, after Christopher leaving and with Buck still visiting toxic lane, now would have been the best time to get Eddie into his wild and reckless side and make everyone worry about him and bring him and Buck closer together.

Buck choosing Eddie, showing him, he's enough. Nudging him towards his own realization, making him fight his instincts to self destruction after his drama queen son left him for his toxic parents.

I am sensing a pattern here. Gotta say no parents deserved even the smallest redemption arcs they received in S6 if this was the natural progression.

Not having much hopes of the next season being at all attractive storytelling wise.

Hopefully, buddie, at least, can get their heads out of their asses long enough to get together.

Though, and this is the most controversial remark I will ever make here (and God knows I made a lot) I don't feel like Buck deserves him rn. I really want better for Eddie, I want him to finally be settled and happy and focusing on enjoying life and on his job.

Maybe start studying for the lieutenants exam and move up the ladder in the LAFD.

Don't you guys find it weird that they are all stuck in some limbo, where no one wants to move higher. And the only time they actually received a commendation was not for daring saves during a tsunami, not for a daring save during earthquake or the dam explosion, not for pulling Eddie from snipers fire and so on.

What they got a commendation for was for just showing up, barely doing any saving with their toy chopper, God knows what they planned to do with it and barely any equipment.

I guess showing up is half the part in 911?

A participation trophy if I ever saw one 🤦‍♀️

That was so lame and kinda dumb.

Anyway, I digress, this turned into a longer post than I meant to, and I kinda went off on a tangent.

Bottom line is, that I cannot believe that Athena is on that plane, in the opening long-ass season disaster, again.

[white-lotus-pavilion]

Bear with me all I'm still getting a hold of the characters names of QJJ because there are so many freaking characters so it's going to take me a while to understand who is who but the plot is plotting right now with the emperors assassination attempt!!!

Things are heating up now and in all honesty I'm so happy that I kept on reading because now I'm finally understanding what the heck is happening in this novel and it is actually so fun!

This assassination attempt and the revelation that SZC has something to do with it is actually really fun because now I'm finally invested in the story more because his revenge plan is kicking up!

I've been waiting for this moment and it's finally paying off this is going to be so much fun.

Then there's Li Jianhuang's relationship with XCY. It really shows how fickle their friendship must have been if this is really all it took for him to doubt XCY. And what's making this even more frustrating is that XCY is leaning into it and I'm sitting over here reading it like are we kidding ourselves you literally have the evidence that you are practically innocent and because of your petty nature you are going to lean into it all!!!

That was my first thought when I was reading that chapter but then I thought about it more and I was like this is actually a good opportunity to weed out all of the corrupt people who are against XCY.

There are obviously people who are against him and this attempt at making him the scapegoat for the assassination of the emperor is a really good way to weed out those bad apples and the more I think about it the more I am honestly praising XCY's intelligence because he is right.

If the emperor after he regains his sanity is not able to clearly tell that this is a setup that is aiming to hinder his relationship with XCY (his quote on quote buddy by the way) then that proves that their friendship was never really a friendship to begin with.

And I really like how SZC said it himself he said that if the emperor truly cared about XCY he would have let him go from the military because Lin Jianhuang knew that XCY truly just wanted to go home.

XCY is a free spirit but because the people around him know just how capable he is they do everything they can to keep him around.

It honestly speaks to how SZC knows XCY better than Lin Jianhuang who has known him for such a long time. I honestly love in historical works when relationships that seem deep and compelling are called out for there fickle nature when you throw status and who is the more powerful on in the friendship into the mix.

Like all this interpersonal relationships mixed with the all the politics is really helping me understand everything that is happening a lot better and it is so messy!

Like all this political and relationship mess is literally so interesting!!!

Ballad of Song and Sword: Qiang Jin Jiu

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - December 30th

Welcome to the final SteveTony Weekly of the year! Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my short list of favorite reads of the year--enjoy these and be sure to leave comment and kudos for your authors if you enjoy them! 

~

ends of the earth by meidui

“We have a new deal,” Tony interrupts. “From now on, you feel like you messed up, you come home to me. You come home to New York and we figure it out together. If you’re on this cross country road trip and living on a farm because you like it, fine, I’ll come out and visit. But if you’re out here because you’re sorry, I’ve got some bad news for you, buddy. Not even you could fix the entire world.”

They always slip so briskly and unexpectedly into conversations like this. There’s never been anything between them to thaw. Tony has been a bullet through the heart since they first met and he’s still lodged there, and Steve doesn’t know how to get him out.

He doesn’t deserve Tony coming all the way down to Illinois with his million watt attention and a slice of that blunt kindness of his.

the steve rogers rating system by meidui

Tony has an internalised Steve Rogers rating system, but it’s not standardised. It’s also not a foolproof system because Steve behaves in ways that crash it all the time.

everything and the kitchen sink by meidui

Steve eats a lot after the serum (and stashes snacks in his utility belt).

How Close Am I To Losing You by tinystark616

Three different stories about the first time Steve says "I love you" to Tony.

Unseen, unheard by lomku 

Tony and Steve have a furtive encounter. Tony wishes they could have more.

you'd think they'd be married by now by FunSizedMomo 

Tony can cook.

Steve loves Tony's cooking. And baking.

Oh and he loves Tony too.

Thoughtful Indulgences by HeLovedYou (come_chaos)

Tony takes Steve to space for their second anniversary together.

Sun Spots and Other Warm Things by s_p_r_o_u_t

Steve takes care of Tony on a bad mental health day. Lots of sappy fluff!

Nothing Wrong by tinystark616

As the Avengers' leader, Steve always praises each member of the team for their good work.

Except for Tony.

In Arrears by Sineala 

Steve had nearly forgotten what day it was, because he hadn't exactly wanted to write "roleplay elaborate landlord/tenant sexual fantasy with Tony" on his calendar where other people might see it. He suspected Tony actually had written precisely that on his, but, well, that was why he and Tony were two different people.

Coincidences by ladyshadowdrake

Steve hasn't been to a Quidditch game since his mother was still alive, but the US is playing in the World Cup, so why not? He definitely doesn't expect to run into Tony there.

light of my life by tinystark616

Steve has always loved Tony's arc reactor.

And he's always loved Tony.

Make Me Laugh, Make Me Come (At the Same Time) by Sadisticsparkle (sadisticsparkle)

This was it. After many months of sudden invasions, unexpected heists, and at least two zombie outbreaks, they had an entire night for themselves.

this love came back to me by complicationstoo 

It's been two and half years since the last time Steve and Tony saw each other, but the pieces fall right back into place when a chance meeting connects them again.

fourth time's the charm by complicationstoo 

Three times Steve's gifts for Tony didn't go as planned, and the one time it went right.

dreamt of you all summer long by complicationstoo

Steve spends months after the breakup trying to forget Tony, but it never seems to work. That's alright, though, because Tony can't forget him either.

once in a lifetime by meidui for Areiton

“You should be worried that I'll break into your apartment, steal your identity and flee the country with all your money,” Steve says, one arm slung lazily across Tony's chest, playing with the key to his safe. “You shouldn't go around handing out keys to people, you know.”

Tony makes a low, offended noise and grabs Steve’s chin, making him laugh. “Is that what you think I do?”

By The Numbers by JenTheSweetie

“I’m not certain that obtaining a larger vessel will assist him in vanquishing this most dangerous sea creature,” Thor said firmly.

Or, five ways other than battles that the Avengers measured a year.

The Ballad of Captains America by JenTheSweetie

“The thing I want you all to remember, when this is over,” Tony said to Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, and Bruce Banner, and fuck, they really needed to find Thor, or possibly Thors, “is that I was planning to use this for good, not evil."

do i wanna know by JenTheSweetie

When Steve Rogers woke up, they told him a lot of things.

They told him they’d fixed things been wrong back before, and that the world was better now. They told him that SHIELD was where he belonged, that they took only the best and the brightest and the bravest. They told him that with his help, they were going to save the world.

They also told him Tony Stark was dangerous.

But Steve Rogers once jumped on top of a grenade, so really, it’s all relative.

[littlesovietchan]

The concept for Post-Canon AU: Shortly before graduation, Randy and Howard return to the days of the first ninja. But only Randy returned back to the future...

Now Randy from the tenth grade needs to deal with the mistakes of his future self

Yes, this is a translation from gpt chat again. Let there be no mess, please!!!

Inspired by this post:

Randy has finally defeated the sorcerer, everything is, and he can finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, after this victory, evil is awakened, one that has been trapped for 500 years.

Peaceful life comes to an end when new monsters attacking students. These monsters roam through the school like shadows, leaving behind a trail of fire and... orange feathers?

Randy is worried - what he sees resembles Tengu magic described in the Ninjanomicon. Doesn't Tengu still sealed in stone? He even double-checked. It can't be Tengu.

Howard feels strange emotions from everything that, and it's not just fear and confusion. He hears someone whispering something to him...

"He will leave you... "

And then one day, an even stronger monster attacks one of the students... a demon? It looks like something between a bird and a human; its face hidden behind mask while its hands are covered in feathers. Howard has a bad feeling about it, but Randy doesn't listen. Randy saves the student and stays alone with the demon bird.

"Hey you! Bird-monster! I don't know who you are but i won't let you harm other students!"

In response, the demon doesn't rush to. He only smirks quietly while tilting its head.

"Well well... how many have passed? You're still just as I remember you—just smaller than when I last saw you."

The ninja tightens his grip on the sword. What does this creature mean?

"I don't know you're talking about! I'm seeing you for the first time!"

"Oh believe me 'buddy,' we've met before—long ago. I've been waiting for encounter 800 years...Randy Cunningham."

"W... What?.."

How does he know who ninja is? What he mean by 800 years?! Even if they were referring to first ninja, why did demon specifically mention HIS name???

"I...I don't know which Cunningham you're talking about! And who are YOU anyway?"

"Who am I?"

Smile fades from beneath the demon's mask while his long ginger hair billows in wind waves revealing red eyes filled with anger mixed with ancient bitterness.

"Don't tell me...you don't recognize your best friend?"

This liar left him in the past for as much as 800 years. And he won't forgive him.

(Omg I'm so cringe)

[cagemasterfantasy]

3rd life Remastered Part 1 (Session 1)

Hello dear reader and welcome to 3rd life remastered a few things before you continue reading. First off it is highly recommended to read the prologue before this it will give you vital information about the rules of this book. Secondly the people portrayed in this story are real but are used in a fictional manner. None of what they say or deal is real this is all satire so do not go harrass the people in this book for it please. Third and this is the most important thing the main purpose of this story is to help raise awareness for those struggling with mental health and thus my warning. This story contains touchy topics of suicide and self-harm please do not read this if you are sensitive to that stuff if you aren't then please read with caution. This story is not for the faint of heart. With that said enjoy my first book

Grian says to everyone at spawn but me who is currently not there "Hello everyone and welcome to 3rd life remastered we have the whole crew here but where could our mystery player be?" I am currently running away from the group off of there camera as Grian says "That's right our mystery player is already in the server with us but he is hidden somewhere on this map stay tuned maybe you'll see who it is."

My name is TheFlyingSlime I run a Youtube channel by the same name and go by Slimer. I have been doing Youtube for the past 10 years and have 6.5 million subscribers and have no intentions of stopping anytime soon. I have collabed with everyone in the Life Series at least once (Mainly Grian as he lives 20 minutes away from me) and now I am finally a member of the Life Series. I am happy. I am fine. Nothing could go wrong..... at least that's what I want everyone to think but deep down there is a dark secret that I am hiding from everyone else. See I caught my wife Laura cheating on me 2 months ago and a few weeks later she divorced me right in front of Grian. What he doesn't know is that did a massive spike to my sanity. I lost almost everything. I am now stuck in a tiny apartment with not much but the one person (Grian aside) that I have left my 2 year old Golden Retriever Rylee. And I still got to keep my computer mic headphones and Camera. Aside from that. I am not not happy. I am not fine. Something could go wrong at any minute. I just don't want them finding out. Little did I know they were about to find out in the worst way possible. This is the day where it all began.

I find myself at the Cherry Blossom Biome after wandering a bit I find myself at an Ocean Biome. "Perfect" I say. "What's going on guys Slimer here and welcome to 3rd Life Remastered. That's right I'm the mystery player. And everyone who isn't subscribed doesn't know that yet. Now like always let's see how I unintentionally embarrass myself my slimelets (What I call my followers). And we found a Ocean Biome so-" "Hello is someone there?" "That better not be" I see Smajor1995 emerge from the Cherry Blossom with TangoTek behind him. "Eyyy my buddies" Scott: That's right guys our mystery player is none other than Slimer. The one I beat big time at Bedwars. TangoTek: And I lost miserably in that round. "Well you still beat me in TNT Run" TangoTek: I suppose that's true. So whatcha doin here? "I'm thinking of building a pirate ship here. Interested?" Scott: "Not a bad idea if you don't mind someone sneaking up and setting the whole thing on fire but I like it" I look happy "Great so let's set out for materials leave the trees close to the shore alone I have an idea for an alarm system" Tango: And what's that "I'm going to the Ancient City to set up Shulk Shriekers" Scott looks at me like I just turned into an Elephant Scott: Are you absolutely insane one mess up and you're dead "Look I just think that the Shriekers will alert us if someone approaches" A message then appears in everyone's chat saying the Boogeyman and partner are being chosen in 1 minute. "Hey if any of us get chosen can we make an agreement?" Tango: What is it? "If any of us is the Boogeyman or the Partner can we agree that we won't kill each other?" Scott: "Of course of course we won't- Hey there's a name coming from the trees." "Oh no it's Jimmy the loser" Jimmy: "HEY I am not a loser" The message 5....4.......3..........2...........1.............You are.......................................Not the Boogeyman or Partner

Everyone present breathes a sigh of relief simultaneously. "Anyway loser what are you doing here?" Jimmy: So our mystery player is Slimer eh btw I'm not the only one who's here. "Yeah Scott and Tango are with me too" Jimmy: And 2 other people. "Who?" I then hear 2 voices "Bdubs and Scar huh? HAHAHAHAHA WHAT'S GOOD" Scar: Hey there so you're our mystery player huh? Bdubs: What's going on Slimer? Hhahahahahah "My 2 favorite people" Scott and Tango simultaneously say "HEY WHAT ABOUT US?" "Hey I like you guys too hey everyone I was thinking of making a pirate ship called Pirate's Cove everyone in" Scar: Oooooh I like the sound of that Bdubs: I've always wanted to be a pirate I'm in Jimmy: Pirates eh? Can't say I haven't thought of that before. Eh why not? "Alright let's get our resources I meanwhile am heading to the Ancient City for Skulk Shriekers" Jimmy: Seems I'm not Jimmy the loser for long you're gonna die "No I won't I'm sneaky I'm stealthy and I know how to troll and use mods" Scar: "And unintentionally embarrass yourself I may add" Rylee lays down in my lap "Aww hi Ry Ry" Bdubs: Aww I wish I could have a fluffy puppy "Then go adopt a fluffy puppy" I say as I head to the ancient city after setting my spawn on the beach

I finally make it to the deep dark and water bucket clutch and sneak immediately whispering "ooooooh that was close look at how close I was to that" I then start to hear voices in my head "Your teamates don't care about you" They will just use your for your own gains" I put my hands on my head and grunt reaching for my inhaler as a panic attack starts and I'm breathing heavily "You should just give up you aren't fit for the Life Series" I put my inhaler in my mouth and see Etho's name Etho: "Hey Slimer *he says whispering* you ok? you sound out of breath" I don't respond right away Etho: "Slimer hey focus" I snap back into reality Me: Oh hey Etho *I accidentely trigger a Shrieker and whisper* Oh no that's strike 1 for me" Etho: Yeah be quiet less you want to get obliterated" Me: Ok ok *I say whispering* So why are you hear?" Etho: Trying to get some loot before everyone else you?" Me: Using the Shriekers as alarm systems for my base" Mumbo then suddenly falls from the ceiling and water bucket clutches Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHH *I activate another Shrieker* Etho: I told you to be quiet" Me: Excuse me for getting spooked by a falling mustache Mr.Ninja" Mumbo pulls out a spyglass and whispers Aha Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" strike 3 the Warden is summoned as we all scatter Etho follows me and I get an uneasy feeling Etho: Don't worry I have your back" After a few minutes Etho pulls out a iron sword and hits me with it Me: NOOO" The Warden who's nearby hears me and fires a sonic blast at me dealing a huge chunk of damage to me although I do manage to get away Etho is hot on my tail as soon as he sees Mumbo he shouts Etho: He's getting away get him" Mumbo then charges at me and criticals me I try to fight back but I'm on my last heart and Etho gets the kill as the message "TheFlyingSlime was slain by Ethoslab" appears and everyone of the players in the chat go wild.

I am in utter disbelief as I respawn at the now complete ship everyone in utter disbelief but still laughing a bit. Scar: You didn't you died to the Bogey huh?" Jimmy: WHO'S THE LOSER NOW" I am not there I am hearing the voices again "You should just give up you aren't going to win" "You're pathetic you're a big fat letdown who'll never be good at anything" *I hear mocking laughing as I snapped back into reality* Bdubs: Hey Earth to Slimer what happened?" I shake my head Me: Er right Etho was the Boogeyman and I'm NOW THE FIRST YELLOW NAME" Scott: Calm down alright it's not that big of a deal what happened?

I take a deep breath and begin talking Me: I went down there and Etho was down there I forgot to whisper and accidentally activated a Shrieker that was strike 1. Strike 2 a mustache fell from the ceiling. and caused me to scream. Jimmy: MUMBO WAS THE PARTNER? Me: Yes but I didn't know right away but strike 3 he did that stupid AHA with the spyglass and he knows very well I hate that. So I shouted NOOOOOOOOO and that was strike 3. Got an uneasy feeling while Etho was following me he attacked me Warden sonic blasted me Mumbo criticaled me and you know what happens next. Scott: Well we sure aren't letting Etho or Mumbo near here we'll protect you until we turn Red that is our agreement" Bdubs: Yeah that wasn't cool what they did picking on the new guy. I could take both of them" Me: Honestly I could have taken them if Mumbo hadn't gotten a crit.

After some more building Pirates Cove is officially finished.

Tango: Hey since you are Yellow and you went through a lot down there you can be the captain" Bdubs: Hey why can't we be the captain?" I lean into my mic and do my best Bdubs impression Me: There's lava up here" Everyone but Bdubs bursts out laughing Bdubs: Stop bringing that up" Me: Then stop making your deaths so hilariously funny" Another death message appears "Bigbst4tz2 hit the ground too hard while trying to escape Grian" Scott: Are you kidding me not even an hour after this one dies you should stay in the captain's quarters and Not. Leave. The. Ship" "You don't need to tell me twice" Grian types in the chat No I am not the Bogey I was the Partner but I helped the Bogey get a kill and that Bogey was Tay. For the record it still counts if the Partner gets a kill so long as the Bogey also participated and gets a hit Me: I will keep that in mind"

I go into the Captains quarters and see Tnt Cannons as Tango comes back Tango: Got some more Redstone for the cannons." Scott: Our Captain Slimer is still holed up in there we aren't taking any chances losing our captain" Tango: Slimer you ok to talk? Me: Come on in Tango I trust you" Tango: Hey we made an agreement not to kill each other so long as we aren't red remember" Me: Enter then" Tango enters and goes to the cannons Tango: Made these myself ready to watch them fire off? Me: You know it" As Tango fires one off Cleo comes out from the treeline and narrowly avoids getting hit and everyone is laughing as Cleo storms over to the ship Cleo: WHICH ONE OF YOU BUFFOONS WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT" Me and Tango exit and see Cleo Cleo: Well well well Tango and Slimer what an absolute surprise Me: Tango was the one who fired the cannon" Tango: Nice going" Cleo: Are you absolutely mental? Me: To his credit we didn't expect you to be coming out of the treeline and almost get hit" Cleo: I actually came over to join you guys and see what you were up to and I almost get blown up and I see you have Jimmy with you that's a bad choice and Scar as well why am I not surprised" Scar: Hey back off we both lost pets this year and he feeds me with a ton of juicy Star Wars content and on top of that me and him are both medical buddies me having Neuromusclar disease and him having Asthma" Scott: Yeah he has Chronic Lung Cancer go a bit easy on him" Me: Scott thanks but please don't joke about that please it's not funny" Scott: I was being serious" I start to hear the voices again "Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee? They don't care about you making jokes at your expense. They don't love you at all" Me: Not again Bdubs: What's wrong" Jimmy: Are you feeling ok?" Scar: Hey is your Asthma kicking in?" I start breathing little heavily "Just accept your fate you useless worm nobody will miss you" Bdubs: HEY EARTH TO SLIMER Cleo: Slimer why have you gone quiet?" I suddenly snap out of it Me: Oh uh sorry I was just thinking how funny it would have been if Cleo died and became yellow like me" Cleo: THAT IS NOT FUNNY" Jimmy: It is a little funny" Cleo: I'll show you funny" Me: Hey let's not fight on my ship please"

Grian then types in the chat end of session everyone to spawn

As we head to spawn Grian is there with Impulse and Pearl there

Grian: Explain to everyone why you're in the center and why" Impulse: I was the next Bogey and couldn't get a kill Pearl: I was the partner and couldn't help to get a kill Grian: So as punishment the server is going to be giving you a extremely hard task if you do not complete it by the end of next session you immediately become Red if you are not already. Me: Question? Grian: Yes? Me: What if you're Red and you don't complete the task Grian: Then you are immediately eliminated at the end of the session in front of everyone that still remains. Assuming you're still alive that is and believe me the Red tasks are brutal." Me: What about the Partner? Grian: The Partner doesn't get a task it's whoever the Bogey is. Oh and I know what you're going to ask and yes if you are a Red Name like in Secret Life you are allowed to sabotage the one with the task with one guess and immediately cause to fail should you guess right. However if someone that is yellow or green guesses it you are not counted as failing unless the task specifically says that you fail if someone calls you out. And finally yes you are only allowed to share what your task is to The Partner and nobody else unless the task says otherwise."

Purple swirls surround Impulse and a book appears in his hand Impulse: Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

The voices begin again as I am about to join the Discord and chat with the rest of the players in a group call but first I send my footage to my editor @doodl3 and tell her "Here's your footage go on and laugh if you want I embarrassed myself yet again like I always do" Then the voices pick up "Liar" "Deceiver"

End of part 1 next is the Irl segment part 1

Prologue Next

[sugarsfics]

Idol

Summary: You were your little brother’s Dustin idol from the day he opened his eyes, that was until Steve “the hair” Harrington came along. God how you hate Steve.  But does he hate you?

Trope: Steve x Henderson!reader; enemies to lover 

Warning: Cussing, Dustin being a jerk but makes up for it, talks of the events of season 2 and 3, upside down, bad writing  

Word count: 1.8k  

Ever since your little brother Dustin was born, he has been attached to your hip. He looked up to you, he wanted to be just like you. You’re the one you got him in to DnD, his character was the same as yours but male version. He was always in your room reading your books, listening to your music, he always wanted to hear the gossip of what was happening in high school. You love it, it was nice to have someone who wants to be like you. You were riding on this high that came crashing down too soon for your liking. The cause of the crash was Steve Harrington. Your brother bonded with Steve, while you were trying to help Jonathan, Joyce and Nancy get the mind flayer out of Will, Steve had the kids. Next thing you knew Steve was Dustin new idol.  

 After the gate was closed the kids had a nice night at the Snowball. Dustin came out of the bathroom with his hair all did up. “Woah what is going on the mane-ow" “Don’t touch it” “Whatever you say little brother...Mom is going to snap some pictures then we will hop in my car” “Oh um I don’t need a ride” “I am not going to let you bike there you will mess up your suit” “No Steve is taking me” your blood boil at the name Steve “Why is he taking you” “He is going to help me with the ladies” “Ladies?” “Yeah, he helped me with my hair” is this what heartbreak felt like your brother is choosing Steve Harrington over you “Well your hair looks s-” knock knock what broke your heart even more is seeing his face light up “Steve’s here” he beamed. He ran to the door and opened it “Steve my man” “Hey buddy you ready” “Yep oh let me grabbed my jacket” Steve looked at you “Hey y/n” “Hi” you said annoyingly “You look pretty” you looked down and your outfit “I am just wearing a pair of sweats and a shirt” “Still pretty so you doing anything tonight” he is really trying to flirt “No I am not” “Well maybe we can-” “Got my jacket let’s go” Dustin interrupted “Yeah ok so y/n maybe-” “STEVE” Dustin shout from the door way “If you are going to ask me to hangout or whatever the answer is no” “Oh” he looked like a kicked puppy “So you should get going” “Yep I should” “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out” Did he really think you were that dumb he just wanted another tally mark as much as you like Steve you knew his game and you weren’t about to fall into his trap. You saw all the girls he hangs out with, there is a new one every week you knew you would never be one plus he didn’t even know your name or the fact that you existed until this year. You hated him right yeah you did hate is stronger the love like hate is stronger than like.  

Summer 1984

You finally graduated, now you had a job at Star-court mall you were the first batch of people that got hired. “Just a head ups y/n today we have a newbie, and you are training them” your boss said “Roger that” you wiped down the counters then you heard that voice “Hey I am new here where do I go” Steve. You look up just to make sure and up there is was Steve “Y/n hey I didn’t know you worked here” he did that’s way he applied in the first place “Ok come on back and we will get started on your training” when he came into the back he couldn't help up but stare you surprisingly the uniform made your body look good the shorts squeezed your hips like a waist trainer. Over the weeks of working with him you couldn’t help but laugh that amount of times he got reject but a smile on your face he deserves it you thought. One Saturday you were extra happy because Dustin was coming home from camp, you missed him and wanted to hear all about it. As you were it that back you hear Robin say “Is who hear” then Steve “Henderson” he was here you ran out to see him only to see them doing complicated handshake then Steve took Dustin to a booth to talk he didn’t even know you were there. After that, your and your brother's relationship changes for the worse. 

You thought after protecting Dustin from Russian, for Christ sake you got beaten up and truth serum inject into you not to mention with Steve being tied to you. But nope when you found a way-out Dustin ran too Steve make sure he was ok. You tried reasoning with it because maybe Dustin just needs a male figure in his life, yea we are just going to say that, so you just let it go. 

March 21, 1985 

You got a call at home “Henderson residence” “Hey y/n it’s me Dustin” “Is everything ok” “Yes um are you able to feel in for Lucas tonight at hellfire” he wants you to play with him he wants to hang out with you “Yes yes sounds great” “Awesome you were my last resort Steve couldn’t do it and-” ah last resort “Um Dusty I got to go be good” “Ok” “Bye-” the line was died. Last resort those words replayed in your mind last resort. But hey you thought maybe this is a chance to redeem yourself and be his Idol again. You made his favorite cookies and got your dice ready. Dustin met you outside “Ready” you nodded you walked into the Hellfire room, with Dustin and Mike at your side. “Well Well Well if it isn’t lady y/n haven’t seen your since graduation” said Eddie “Wait you know my sister” “Yep we go way back” he winked “Shall we get start” “What no initiation no tests no anything” Dustin complained “Nope lady y/n is a legend in these parts she singled handedly beat my campaigns with nothing but a stone and a dream” he cheered Dustin stare at you in awe your moving on up. The game ended with you bringing them to victory. You all walked down the hall screaming and shouting with a pair of eyes watching you those eyes watched has Eddie threw an arm over you and gave you praise.  

“Lady y/n I see you are still the best around” “Your eyes are correct Eddie the banished” you both laughed those same eyes turn dark why is he making you laugh why don’t you laugh with me “I really missed you y/n Dustin is pretty cool but he ain’t lady y/n cool” “Oh please your making me blush” now he is making you blush “Hey thank you though for taking in my brother and his friends” where is my thanks “ No need to thank just some more sheep's to add to my flock” “Sheeps don't have flocks” you teased “Oh shut it smarty pants” he grabbed you and spun you around I have seen enough those eyes thought “Steve!!” Dustin says those eyes met yours “Do you need a ride Dustin” “I- ““Why would he need a ride I'm right here” “Well you seemed pretty occupied” he said nodding toward Eddie. “What does that even mean” “So Dustin do you want a ride or not” Dustin glance at you then back at Steve “Y/n you wouldn’t mind right”  

Your drive home was quiet, he chose Steve again. You drove around for about an hour hoping that you would avoid both. When you pulled into your driveway a figure lingered near your door. You have to get home and shower just ignore it and walk in you took a deep breath, opened your car door and speed walked to your door “Y/n can we talk” silence “Please” he blocked the door with his body “Listen to me” “Please” said Steve “No” “No?” “No you don’t deserved to know how I feel” you spat “Just tell me why” “Why what” “Why not me” you looked at him confused “huh” “you don’t look at me the way you look at Eddie or another guy I tried and been trying so hard to get you attention for you to look at me without hate in your eyes” “That’s because I used too” you mumbled “What” you couldn’t hold it in anymore “ I used too” you yelled “Back in high school my focus was on you but you didn't even know my name till Junior year then of course what Steve Harrington wants he gets and you got my brother wrapped up in your spell another person falling for you you’re his number one his Idol I was in your place before you came around that was the one thing that was keeping me from leaving , I was just waiting for you to drop him like you did every other girl but nope somehow your bond got stronger HE CALLED YOU FIRST TO FILL IN FOR LUCAS I'M THE ONE WHO TAUGHT HIM THAT GAME AND I WAS HE LAST CHOICE  and you want to know what is worst I can't even hate you because I love you so much that it hurts” you took a breath a wipe tears that you didn’t know fell “I didn't know you felt this way” “Yeah no one did” “I know I can't change the past but let me help our future please I want to be with you, you are so brave and smart beautiful please just give me one chance” “I need time please” “Take so the time you need” he said and kissed your cheek 

You open the door was was met with a teary eyed Dustin “I'm sorry” he quivered “I didn’t realize I was pushing you away I-I-I- it was nice you have an older guy around teaching me things” “I kinda thought that” and brought him into a hug “Please forgive me” “I forgive you” “Please don’t tell Eddie your like his favorite and he will forbid me from ever playing again” “Ok I won’t” you laughed and you sat on the couch with him still in your arms “Last thing” “What's that” “Give him a chance he really likes you he has been talking about you for a long time he tried to be sneaky but it’s Steve so  and I don't want to be the reason why he doesn’t find love”

You and Dustin fell asleep on the couch with him resting in your shoulder. You slowly got up to not disturb him and laugh when his head fell on the couch. You made your way to the phone and dialed certain number. “Harrington house Steve here” 

[barrenclan]

WOOO NEW ISSUE!! i began reading this earlier, but couldn’t finish due to me rereading what i had just read and focusing on the pictures!!! so yeah, finally finished it, and GRRR GOOD ISSUE

first off, throws thrasher in the cootstorm pit too, they can share. no transphobic kitties allowed (obviously not literally, but i love how like.. natural it is? it’s just cormorantpaw’s life and what he’s been raised to think). egrettail should deck him

also egrettail!!!!!! favorite kitty therapist!!!! i assume maybe asphodelpaw asked about her being aroace, maybe brought on after daffodil was like “oh!! ur just like me and asphodelpw!!!” to pinepaw, and that made her think “wait am i into men even?” but. yeah. she just wants to help and she’s such a sweetie

SEVEN. SILVERS. SHE’S MADE IT!!! SHE’S IN AN ISSUE FR!! ULTIMATE ALLY INVENTED HRT TO SUPPORT EGRETTAIL. THE MOST BASED CAT EVER. I LOVE HER SHE’S JUST A LITTLE KITTY. I HOPE SHE’S OKAY. IM GONNA SAY IT METHINKS EGRET, HUSH PUPPY, AND SEVEN SILVERS R FOUND FAMILY JUST A COUPLE OF CHOSEN SIBS. UNLESS THIS IS A NO. SORRY IM EXCITED ABOUT SEVEN SILVERS

shoutout to cormorantpaw for getting his 2nd issue. kinda a crime that i only bring him up now but its ok. i love the goofy early cartoons titlecard image with the literal lovebug and him just thinking it over before going “oh fk im bi” and i love how egrettail was like “it seems like it to me, but it’s up to u” bc she can’t really like. force him to think he has a crush, something about that was really gentle- back to cormorantpaw!!! now he’s a blushy mess and i love him for it. also WHAT DO U HAVE TO DO BOY. WHAT IS YOUR ANGST

yes i know daffodilpaw was hardly here but she still gets her own section bc that’s my favorite community hc collection. cormorantpaw doesn’t seem to want to be involved romantically with her, saying how she’s nice but also noting how she doesn’t tend to listen to him (which doesn’t make daffy a bad person!! just something they gotta communicate as buddies) but also mentioning how she puts her paw on his, and also in the sleeping shot cormorantpaw is staring past daffodilpaw, who sleeps next to him, and at pinepaw. i’m just. babey noooo. break out of ur toxic mindset its okkk. unless u actually do like cormorantpaw then i’m. sorry. how did i make the daffodilpaw section the longest oops

rate this issue 5 mysterious end birds out of 5!!! thank u for another great issue :3

So sorry not answering this ask for awhile! All that trouble with my account hit at a bad time. I'm glad you liked the issue, though. :)

Egrettail had the patience of a saint for not beating the absolute shit out of Thrasher when they were in Defiance, and I'm certain she gave him what for on more than one occasion after Hush Puppy died.

Yes, she and Asphodelpaw may have had a conversation about similar realizations she was going through just like Cormorantpaw, heheh. We'll get there someday.

I was so excited to finally include Seven Silvers in an issue!! When I first created her character I wasn't planning on it, but she's just too fun not to use. Hell, I'm allowed to invent magic cat hormone therapy if I want to, who's gonna stop me. Seven, Hush Puppy, and Egret are any manner of close friends you like, and found family/siblings are as good a way as any.

The POVs from other characters are not going to be very common, since Pinepaw is the protagonist in the end, but it's always nice to dip back into Cormorantpaw's thick little skull. I was pretty pleased with myself for thinking of the rubberhose style joke with "lovebug", honestly. Don't worry about his angst, I'm sure it's nothing.

Good catch on everything with Daffodilpaw in this issue! It's something I did intentionally include, and did want to draw a comparison between Corm describing her as not really listening to him with Pinepaw always listening to what he says (which as you said, doesn't mean Daff is a bad person, just that she's got her own things to work out).