#i just feel like season 3 just keeps going down hill

[keeley-jones]

I think the main issue with season 3 is that there are a lot of great moments/individual scenes, but the dozens of plots going on at once aren’t as strong or cohesive as they were in the previous two seasons.

Like we’ve gotten amazing parts, but the whole is just so messy and aimless. I know we still have a few more episodes to go but I’m truly baffled by so many of the choices made so far.

You’d think with so much more runtime per episode, character arcs would be fleshed out more and we’d get more plot relevant moments but so far it feels like the opposite has happened. Take Keeley and Roy; breaking up your show’s main couple OFF SCREEN and then having them not even interact for 4+ episodes is bizarre. Neither one has even the growth necessary for them to get back together where both of them are in a better place than before. It just feels like they’re wasting screen time yet doing nothing all at once.

I don’t know, I’ve just never been so disappointed in a final season in so long. These are characters I truly love, but now all I feel is apathy at best and exhausted with them at worst.

[aziraphales-library]

Y’all are awesome and I appreciate the hell out of this account! Any fics that are an attempt at a season 3? Preferably comedic ones! Thank you so much and keep up the amazing work! ❤️

Hello. We have a #good omens s3 speculation tag, so check that out. Here are more to add that have some kind of humour tag...

a place to be by kaiyen (NR)

In which Crowley moves back into his flat, Aziraphale has problems at work, and the Second Coming of Christ is but a stone's throw away. In the end, Crowley makes it to rolling green hills, leant against a stubbornly yellow Bentley. He remembers the first morning. He had slithered out of the ground not long before dawn, the dirt damp even before the first rain, the grass cool and crisp against his scales. And the sun had risen, jewels spilling across the great blue sky, warm and golden from the East. Crowley – Crawly, then – had wanted to follow it, had felt a great pull Eastwards. He went, too, until he found the ripe red fruit nestled amongst the lush green leaves and knew what they were for. It was luck, then, that the humans had left in the direction of the sunrise. Luck, or– ineffable. The sun rises over the South Downs, and Crowley finally wants to stay.

The Ineffable Shades of Gray (Good Omens Season 3) by altsernative (T)

After returning to Heaven, Aziraphale learns the Metatron's true intentions, finds himself disillusioned, and regrets his choice to leave Crowley, who has been working in the Temptations department. They reunite, and find themselves stopping the final war between Heaven and Hell and learning God and Satan's true intentions for the world and each other.

Demons are Forever by in_a_pickle (T)

After finallly finding the courage to tell his best friend his feelings, Crowley's dreams are shattered when Aziraphale once again chooses Heaven over happiness together. With ‘Great Plans’ afoot upstairs, Aziraphale discovers that the starring role he accepted comes with some unforeseen duties and that Crowley’s kiss has become something of a distraction. Crowley meanwhile is trying to come to terms with a broken heart and is trying to fathom why Heaven is so keen to have Aziraphale back in the fold. A mini adventure with our favourite group of two, written in case I get hit by a bus and never get to find out what happened next.

The Intended Effect by Esme_Abner (E)

A post-S2 fic that begins with a very sad Crowley and a conflicted Aziraphale and a surprisingly not-awful Jesus. It's all building toward our boys reconciling, because like everyone else, my heart is broken and I need to pick up the pieces somehow. And they might try to like save the world again, too.

(I just can't wait for) Season 3 Good Omens! by RCReveal (T)

After Season 2, I really needed to find out how Aziraphale and Crowley could get their reunion: a real reunion & not 'pretendy real'. They both have so much growing to do with neither of them, yet, being able to even say 'I love you' clearly to each other. Angel, what's going on? What kind of doublethink are you doing to still think that Heaven is the Good side & that you can't even admit to being friends? But you'll do anything to protect the World. Crowley, always planning on running. Sorry, but that won't work. If you had run at Armageddon there'd be no here to be in. But somehow, still a little seed of optimism. And wow! what you two can do together! Especially with a little help from old and new friends. So here's a story about averting the Second Coming with that great ensemble cast of characters in Heaven, Hell, and Whickber ST. Long set up, but then starts to speed up, kinda a wild ride from chapter 42 onto the end. This story is at about the same level of cursing, violence (well, maybe a little more Gaiman-esque), humor (definitely much more Terry Pratchett-esque) and romance as that of the second season.

There's a Special Place on Earth for Beings Like You by Kipje (T)

Set two years after Aziraphale leaves to become Supreme Archangel. It’s the Second Coming. Aziraphale is tasked with finding parents for the new Christ and returns to earth. He needs Crowley’s help, but the two haven’t spoken since the break-up. Crowley doesn’t want to forgive the angel, nor does he want to help out with the baby, but he finds it incredibly hard not to get involved. OR Aziraphale and Crowley raise the new Christ together; a girl named Eden. While they try to sort out their feelings and avert the apocalypse. Excerpt: Crowley had always assumed Aziraphale would want to run away with him in order to be together. He had never bothered to ask if there was a version where they would be an ‘us’ on earth. What was Aziraphale supposed to do once they arrived in the Alpha Centauri system. How would that even work with his book collection? Sure, Aziraphale had fallen in love with the demon – and it had taken him a while to be able to admit that – but he had also fallen in love with humanity, with earth. He had never planned on leaving. He knew earth would be no fun without his favourite wily serpent, but that did not mean he would be fine anywhere as long as Crowley was there. He had standards.

- Mod D

[dystopicjumpsuit]

The Plant Prowler of Pabu

A/N: I’m scared that Pabu is going to be toast after this week, so I wrote a little fluff to make myself feel better. Also, this is the first time I’ve been able to finish a fic in six weeks, so… yay me!

Pairing: Crosshair x Reader (GN)

Rating: T (but MDNI as always)

Wordcount: 2.1K

Warnings and tags: mild language; fluff; a kiss; spoilers for The Bad Batch season 3

Summary: Exploring the island during his first morning on Pabu, Crosshair encounters a mastermind of botanical crime: you.

Suggested Listening: 

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Whoever said, “It’s darkest just before dawn” had clearly never woken up to go for a walk before sunrise. Even if Crosshair hadn’t had enhanced vision, it would have been easy for him to navigate his way down to the beach of Pabu in the dim half-light. Hunter had wordlessly watched him exit the Marauder, pretending to still be asleep, but Crosshair knew that his brother would have drawn his vibroblade in a flash if he’d even glanced sideways at Omega.

Crosshair didn’t exactly blame Hunter for his caution, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. The squad had arrived on the idyllic island the previous day, and Crosshair was immediately swarmed by a horde of curious locals. With Hunter determined to keep Crosshair in sight at all times, there had been no escape from their onslaught of hospitality, and by the time the celebrations had died down, Crosshair had been clinging to the tattered threads of his patience and sanity.

It was a hell of a thing to go from barely speaking to anyone for months on end to suddenly being plunged into the midst of a vibrant and chaotic crowd of nosy spectators. He’d escaped to the Marauder at last and pretended to sleep, keenly aware of Hunter’s eyes on him. He’d spent enough time under the microscope in the past several months, though, and he was ready for some privacy.

And so it was that he found himself wandering down the empty terraced walkways of Pabu, making his way to the shoreline in the pale gloaming. He didn’t encounter a single soul as he walked—barring the ubiquitous moonyos that seemed to frolic across the island at all hours. Pabu was the sort of place that seemed too flawless to be real. Too flawless to last.

Not quite as flawless as it seems on the surface, he acknowledged as he turned down a path that snaked through one of the sections of the island that had yet to be rebuilt after the catastrophic sea surge he’d heard about countless times at the welcoming party the previous night. The buildings had been reduced to rubble, and judging by the weeds sprouting in the cracks of the walkway, the locals tended to avoid this particular part of the island.

Perfect.

The gentle breeze off the ocean was chilly, and he told himself it was the reason his hand trembled more than usual that morning. He shoved both hands deep into his pockets as he navigated the last few levels before he reached the beach. As he stepped onto the sand, a gust of wind buffeted against him. It was bracingly cold, and it smelled like salt and aquatic vegetation and wet earth, and he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply and focusing on the sensation.

When he opened his eyes, a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision had him snapping his head to the side. He froze. A figure meandered slowly down the beach, sticking close to the bottom of the hill where the lush foliage grew thickly right up to the edge of the sand. He was certain you had spotted him, but you didn’t immediately acknowledge his presence.

He watched for a moment as you paused and stooped down to examine one of the plants, then carefully plucked a few bunches and laid them in the basket you carried. Bizarre. What the kriff was this person doing out here so early? Nothing innocent, that was for damned sure. Why would anyone sneak down to such an isolated stretch of the beach at this obscene hour if they didn’t have nefarious intent?

Aside from me, obviously.

He squinted slightly. Even with his enhanced eyesight, it was dark enough, and you were far enough away, that it was difficult to make out your features, but he was reasonably sure you hadn’t been at the party the night before. 

Hmph.

He turned and walked the opposite direction, away from the person who’d had the audacity to interrupt his solitude by getting to the beach first. Better not to get involved.

Crosshair took a different route the next morning, arriving at the beach just as the sun rose. As bad kriffing luck would have it, you were exiting the beach just as he arrived, and your paths inevitably intersected. He braced himself for a conversation, but you simply met his eyes and nodded quietly as you passed him.

He suppressed a sigh of relief. Stepping aside to make room for you to pass on the narrow trail, he couldn’t help noticing that your basket was filled with a variety of neat bundles of leaves and twigs. Odd, but your hobbies were none of his concern. Even if they did involve herb rustling and grand theft shrubbery.

He continued his path down to the shoreline and wandered along the water’s edge, staring out at the horizon. Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see your solitary figure making its way up the steep slope and into Lower Pabu. He was now completely sure that you’d not been at the welcoming party, nor had he encountered you in the village. It wasn’t that surprising; after all, hundreds of people lived on the island, and he wasn’t in any particular hurry to meet them all—or any of them, if he were honest.

Of course, he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Wrecker had flatly refused to allow Crosshair to isolate himself, while the gregarious mayor Shep Hazard seemed equally dedicated to the twin causes of thrusting Crosshair into the community and plying him with as much fruit as he could eat in a lifetime. He was starting to feel a tiny surge of violence every time he saw a jogan fruit.

On the third day, Batcher woke up with Crosshair and scrambled out of the Marauder, bounding ahead of him down the ramp and then turning to wiggle her entire body in anticipation as he followed. He let the lurca hound pick the path that morning, not bothering to hide his thin smile at Batcher’s endless curiosity and enthusiasm. She crisscrossed the walkways incessantly, sniffing and exploring, chasing the moonyos playfully down the hill, investigating every nook and cranny of the village, and easily running five times the distance that Crosshair traveled on their way down to the water.

The beach was empty this morning, to Crosshair’s relief. At last, some peace and quiet. Or at least as quiet and peaceful as it could be with Batcher rocketing back and forth across the wet sand, grunting and huffing as she charged into the surf and back up to Crosshair, crouching into a bow as she tried to entice him to play with her. When he didn’t immediately comply, she took off chasing a flock of seabirds, scattering them into the air in a cacophony of indignant squawking.

She chased the birds down the beach, barking joyously as she splashed through the surf. When the hound disappeared around a bend in the shoreline, Crosshair sped up slightly, not wanting to risk Omega’s wrath if anything happened to her pet on his watch. As he rounded the bend, he was greeted with a most unexpected sight: Batcher was lying on her back on the sand, writhing with delight as you rubbed her belly.

Your basket was overturned, and all the neat little bundles of herbs were strewn across the sand. It wasn’t hard to deduce the instigator of such carnage. Batcher spotted Crosshair and immediately jumped up and shook the sand off herself before rushing to greet him.

“Down,” he said sternly as she jumped up and swiped at him with her massive paws.

She dropped obediently, and trotted along next to him as he approached you. You’d already begun picking up your fallen bundles of leaves, and he quickly bent to assist you.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled.

“No harm done,” you replied, shaking a bit of loose sand out of the bundles before you dropped them into your basket. “They all get washed before I hang them up to dry anyway.”

“So you’re not just engaging in botanical heists for the adrenaline rush?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, it really gets the blood pumping,” you replied, deadpan. “My day just doesn’t feel complete without a little horticultural larceny.”

“I can see you like to live on the edge,” he said with a tiny smile. “The Plant Prowler of Pabu.”

“And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for a mysterious stranger and his meddling dog.”

He liked you. Damn it.

Crosshair didn’t see you for the next several days. He assumed you’d moved your criminal enterprise elsewhere on the island, and after the team returned from Barton IV, he didn’t feel the same need to escape the Marauder as he had previously. Still, he wasn’t sleeping particularly well, and after an excruciatingly restless night, he slipped out of the ship not long before dawn and wandered aimlessly down the streets of Pabu until he found himself in the unstable section he’d discovered on the first day.

As he picked his way through the ruins, he spotted movement two terraces below, and he grinned. Forcing himself to walk casually so you didn’t suspect how pleased he was to see you, he sauntered down to your level, only to find you ripping weeds up from between the fragments of pavement with uncharacteristic abandon.

“What did those plants ever do to you?” he asked.

You must have spotted him before he arrived, because you didn’t even flinch at the sound of his voice.

“Invasive species,” you replied. “I try not to over-forage, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.”

“And I thought your crimes only extended to vegetational theft,” he drawled. “I had no idea you’d escalated to floral murder and agricultural vigilantism.”

“The hero Pabu needs,” you said with a smile that had no business being as charming as it was, considering you were currently covered in a fine layer of dirt and assorted bits of leaves and twigs. “If this plant gets established on the island, we might never be able to eradicate it. It will outcompete the native plants and could cause significant disruptions to the ecosystem.”

“How altruistic of you,” he remarked drily.

“Not at all,” you laughed. “It also happens to be delicious.”

Crosshair stooped down and pulled one of the plants up by the roots, examining it closely. “It’s on sight, then.”

“Exactly. No mercy.”

As the first rays of the sun appeared on the distant horizon, you packed the large bundles of weeds into your basket, then stood and dusted your hands off on your trousers. You stretched a bit, clearly a little stiff from your labor. Impulsively, Crosshair spoke.

“Want to watch the sunrise with me?” You looked surprised at his offer, and he cleared his throat, looking awkwardly away. “Or do you turn into a meiloorun if you stay out past dawn?”

“Yes,” you said. “I mean, no. I mean, yes, I’d like to stay. No, I don’t turn into a meiloorun.”

You bit your lip and stared down at the bundle of weeds in your basket, poking at it ineffectually as you muttered something unintelligible under your breath. Stifling a laugh, Crosshair climbed up onto the crumbling half-wall of a destroyed structure and extended his hand to help you up after him. You scrambled up and sat down next to him, gazing out at the tranquil ocean as the sun began to paint the high clouds in brilliant shades of gold and pastel.

“Not a bad view, is it?” you asked quietly. 

“Definitely worth waking up early,” he replied, watching your face as the light caught on your cheekbones and reflected in your eyes.

Without making a conscious decision, he lifted his hand and brushed a little loose dirt off your cheek. His damned hand trembled, and he mentally cursed. You didn’t seem to notice the slight tremor, though—or if you did, you didn’t say anything about it. Instead, you turned your head slowly, grazing your lips across his fingertips as you met his eyes. It seemed the most natural thing in the galaxy to continue to trace the line of your jaw until his hand curled around the back of your head.

Your lips were soft and warm in the cool breeze, and you tasted like sea salt and dew and something he didn’t quite recognize. Something new. He liked it. You leaned into his kiss, and when at last it came to its natural conclusion, he drew in a shaky breath.

“Hi,” he whispered. “I’m Crosshair.”

---

Want more Crosshair? I have another Crosshair x Reader ficlet here!

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[lady-pug]

Anything For You

Summary: 5 times Crosshair protects you and 1 time you do the same for him.

Pairing: Crosshair x Reader

Word count: 5k

Warnings: canon-typical violence, one dude being kinda creepy at 79's

Notes: Hello hello everyone! It's been a hot minute since this series has seen an update, but after season 3 I had some inspiration (I know it has been a while since season 3 actually come out, but some things had happened that needed my sole attention, I didn’t have the time nor the energy and motivation to write for quite a while). But now I’m back!

I really hope you, dear reader, enjoy this and have fun while reading it. If you spot any mistakes, please feel free to warn me and I'll correct it right away, and feedback is always welcome and appreciated. I hope you truly enjoy this story.

Reader is female, but no physical descriptions provided. Also, when describing the formal attire in topic 3 I tried to keep descriptions to a minimum so you can imagine what the reader is wearing in this scene (I’m a sucker for women in suits, but it’s up to you to imagine)

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1.

The Batch’s mission on Taanab had gone south very quickly. The Separatists had aimed to cut the commercial lines the planet held with Coruscant, which would pose a major problem as it could possibly throw the entire Republic into starvation. So Clone Force 99 had been sent to scout the planet and possibly find Separatists spies stationed there. What they didn’t count on was being ambushed by Norulac pirates almost as soon as they tried to leave the planet.

Tech and Hunter had gone inside a facility suspected of housing the spies they were looking for, while Wrecker kept watch by the entrance, and you and Crosshair covered their shebs from a hill a few klicks away. What you didn’t expect was for Tech to take a major hit as soon as they walked out the door with the spy. In order not to compromise the mission, Wrecker pushed the cuffed nautolan back inside the compound and closed the doors behind them. 

As soon as the first blaster bolt was fired, you leaped to your feet, much to Crosshair’s protests, and started running towards Tech, medkit clutched tightly under your arm. Crosshair, ever the marksman, kept shooting his Firepunch, trying to get rid of as many pirates while you pushed forward. As you approached the place where Tech had gone down you skidded to a halt, keeping your head down as to avoid the blaster fire. Slipping your hand under his armpits you dragged him across the pebbled ground (and mentally apologized for any scratches he might find on his backplate later on), taking cover behind a short wall and starting to patch him up.

What you didn’t notice, however, was the pirate approaching from behind you and Tech while you assessed his injuries, who must have either slipped unnoticed by Wrecker and Hunter or come up all the way from behind the facility. You only seemed to notice him once Tech, coming back to his senses after a stim shot, pointed over your shoulder and told you to look out. By then it was already too late, as the pirate had his vibroblade raised and ready to strike.

As you fumbled with your blaster to at least try and protect the two of you a long blaster bolt came scorching through the air, hitting the man right on his temple and sending him tumbling sideways, dead. You glanced back towards the hill you had just climbed down from, sending a nod in Crosshair’s general direction, knowing he could see you with his scope.

“Thanks for having my back, Cross.” you spoke into your commlink before resuming your work on Tech’s wound, barely catching Crosshair’s reply.

“Anything for you, Copikla.” he mumbled, going back to firing his rifle in order to help his brothers take out the remaining pirates.

2.

The woman was definitely moving too fast for someone who allegedly had nothing to hide. And Clone Force 99 was hellsbent (more like ordered to) figure out why.

Your current mission, issued by Commander Fox of all people, albeit a stealth mission of sorts, wasn’t like anything you had ever done before. A Gran representative of Malastare, acting as a temporary substitute for Senator Ainlee Teem while the senator went back to his home planet to help calm the nerves and appease the public opinion of the citizens of Malastare about the rampage caused by the Zillo Beast, was suspected to be working for the Separatists. Afraid that an investigation lead directly by the Coruscant Guard would be too on the nose and she might try to cover her tracks, Commander Fox had surprisingly, as him and the Batch often didn't see eye to eye, requested that the Bad Batch be the ones to follow her around and figure out her intentions.

So here you and Crosshair were, following the woman a few paces behind her all throughout Coruscant busy streets. The plan of action had been to split up, Hunter and Wrecker taking the two parallel streets to the one where the woman was currently speed-walking while you and Crosshair followed behind her. Tech had stayed behind at the Guard’s headquarters, tracking the woman’s movements using the surveillance system. 

As the teams were being separated Crosshair had demanded that you go with him (although ‘demand’ might be too strong of a word, as he knew Hunter, as his commanding officer, could very well tell him to shut up and take a step back, which he thankfully didn’t), internally reasoning with himself that you could very well get lost and compromise the mission, even though the knowing smirk the Sergeant had sent his way after agreeing with his suggestion told him he might have other reasons. And now he was glad he insisted on that.

As dusk fell over the city and rush hour approached, more and more people filled the streets eager to head home. This didn’t pose a problem for Crosshair as his height, greater than that of the regs (and quite greater than Hunter’s, as he often liked to tease his vod about) paired with his extraordinary eyesight allowed him to keep his eyes on the Gran woman at all times. You on the other hand weren’t so lucky, as people bumped into you and tried to squeeze their way past the both of you. Concerned you’d slip away, dragged by the sea of people, he snaked his arm around your waist, his hand lazily draped over your hip, keeping you close to his side and not letting you venture away from him.

You looked up at him, a tiny grin gracing your features.

“Thanks Cross.”

The only response you got was his grip on your hip. tightening almost imperceptibly.

3. 

“I don’t like it.” 

Hunter sighed for the umpteenth time in the past hour.

“I already told you, these are our orders.” he turned towards his brother, who scowled in return.

“Why can’t one of us go in?”

“As a matter of fact, that option has been brought up to Commander Cody,” Tech chimed in, not once taking his eyes off his holopad “but he has reminded us of a crucial fact: no matter how much our phenotype might differ from that of the regs, we’re still clones. If a single slightly more enlightened individual in that ballroom catches sight of our resemblance to our mandalorian progenitor, the mission would be compromised.”

Crosshair huffed, still not convinced.

“But why does it have to be her?” he argued “Why couldn’t they have brought another natborn specialist? Or, kriff, even a senator? Senators are good at these sorts of events.”

“Senators are public figures, they would be recognized in an instant.” Hunter promptly answered “And all other female natborns were unavailable.”

“And the Seppie likes pretty women!” Wrecker laughed “I mean who doesn’t? I’m sure none of us would be able to seduce him!”

“I still don’t like it.” unsatisfied, Crosshair picked up his Firepuncher to check the scope, even though he knew for a fact it was pristine as always. 

A beneficent gala was being held by the InterGalactic Banking Clan to members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems council in Cantonica. One Separatist senator, a sleazy old quacta of a man, was rumored to have information on the next course of action regarding a siege against Republic forces in Ansion. So, given the sensitivity of the mission ahead, Clone Force 99 was called in. However, none of them could go in without the risk of being recognized as members of the GAR, so they had to send in-

“How do I look?” he was buried so deep in his own thoughts he didn’t even hear the door to the fresher opening and you stepping out into the hull of the ship. As he looked up to glance at you, he thanked the maker he was already sitting down, otherwise his knees would have buckled and he would have been sent tumbling down.

You looked gorgeous. 

Your hair was styled in a completely different style than you normally wore it, a few delicate pins adorning it. Some light makeup covered your face, accentuating your natural beauty. And your outfit… Crosshair had only seen you in your uniform and armor in the battlefield, or in your GAR-issued blacks around the ship. He had never seen you wearing anything like this, so formal and fitting for your exact frame.

He couldn’t even speak. He just kept staring at you, his eyes moving up and down your frame.

“You look beautiful, baar’ur’ika!” Wrecker’s booming voice brought him out of his stupor, as he shook his head.

“You really think so?” you asked, feeling a little shy “I never usually wear something so nice, this is a bit out of my comfort zone.”

“You look amazing Doc.” Hunter chimed in, nudging his brother with his elbow, his lips pulled in a knowing smirk “Doesn’t she, Crosshair?”

He was still collecting his thoughts when you turned to face him, eyes gleaming with… hope? 

“Yeah,” he dared answer “yes, she does.”

You beamed at him, smiling so brightly he felt his heart skip a beat for being the reason for your happiness. He wasn’t even bothered when he heard Hunter chuckling under his breath, no doubt catching on his vod’s reaction to your presence. 

As your squad started diskimbarking to start the mission, Crosshair reached out to hold you in place, his fingers gently encircling your wrist, leaving just the two of you still on the ship.

“If-” he swallowed thickly, not knowing how to say what he was thinking. 

“What is it, Cross?” you turned towards him, giving him your full attention.

“I’ll be keeping watch on the roof the entire time.” he breathed out “If anything happens, if at any moment you feel like you might be in danger, comm me. I’ll find a way to get you out, Copikla.”

You smiled softly at him, turning your palm up and intertwining your fingers.

“I’ll be fine, Cross. Really. You don’t have to worry about me.” Impossible, he thought, and as if reading his mind you squeezed his hand gently “But thank you for keeping an eye out for me.”

He squeezed your hand back, lips turning up in the tiniest of smiles.

And if at a certain point during the gala, a glass of wine carefully balanced on a tray on a waiters hand spontaneously exploded, startling the waiter and making him drop the entire contents of the tray over the separatist senator as he started getting handsy with you, Hunter’s scolding for nearly compromising the mission was definitely worth it as you giggled at his antics behind the sergeants back.

4.

79’s was certainly more packed than usual for a standard Taungsday. It seemed like most battalions were on leave at once, hence the more chaotic atmosphere and the crowd forming around the bar. 

It had been forever since Clone Force 99 had shore leave scheduled on Coruscant instead of being called back to Kamino, so you intended to make the most of it. Wrecker was already a few drinks in, arm wrestling some of the boys of the 212th; Echo was catching up with some of the boys in blue, having spend so much time away from his old battalion; Tech had already gone back to the barracks to read some articles on his holopad, the weird neon green cocktail he had order right at the beginning of the night only half empty and long forgotten; and Hunter had already scurried off with a gorgeous orange Twi’lek. 

Only you and Crosshair remained at the table, chatting idly, your thigh pressed against the side of his and his arm slung over the back of the seat behind you. Your heads were tilted close together in order to hear each other over the beat of the music in the club. For a moment Crosshair thought it felt weirdly… intimate, even though you weren’t actually doing anything. He’d never been this close to anyone, where he felt he could just let himself be. It was nice.

“I’m going to get another drink.” you whispered-yelled at him at one point, gesturing at his own cup “Want anything?”

He pondered for a moment, before declining with a shake of his head.

“Someone has to keep a clear head in order to babysit the lot of you.” he motioned to where Wrecker, clearly a little more than tipsy, was celebrating another victory over a shiny.

You snorted, before quickly turning around and walking towards the bar. He couldn’t help but silently watch over you, always keeping you in his line of sight.

It had become second nature to him, watching you. At first he tried to argue that it was only to ensure you didn’t do anything stupid and risk one of his brothers, but it slowly ended up becoming something he just did naturally. He wanted, no, needed, to ensure you were safe at all times, and not just on the battlefield.

As he watched you lean over the bar and signal the bartender, your back turned to him, he noticed a devarionian man quickly glance over at you from a few seats away. For a few moments nothing happened, he kept his eyes trained on you, occasionally catching sight of the devarionian from the corner of his eye. 

And then the guy was moving.

He slid up next to you, standing way too close for your (and Crosshair’s comfort). The mirror above the shelfs in the bar let him see your face,  and you did not seem too happy with your new company. At first you tried ignoring the man, he noticed, giving him very clipped answers and only nodding along. The guy, it seemed, couldn’t seem to take a hint, as he kept rambling on and on about something the sniper couldn’t bother reading his lips for. And the moment his hand brushed against your arm, startling you and prompting you to take a step away from the man with ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘creeped out’ written all over your face, Crosshair was out of his seat and crossing the dancefloor towards you in quick strides.

Once he approached the pair of you, you noticed him over the man’s shoulder, your face relaxing slightly at the sight of him.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, to which the devarionian turned to him seemingly undisturbed. 

“Yeah, me and the lady over here were having a wonderful chat.” the devarionian dismissed him “ Now if you’ll excuse us.” 

Crosshair knew he was tall. He, along with Tech, was the second tallest amongst all clones, shorter only than Wrecker. It wasn’t something he usually cared for, unless when he got to tease Hunter about his own height, which was shorter than the regs, but he knew for a fact he was taller than most people. So he decided to use this to his advantage. As his face contorted into the deepest scowl he could muster, he crossed his arms over his chest, squaring his shoulders. This meant he was absolutely towering over the man. He didn’t even have to say anything and the devarionian was already cowering.

“A-actually, I think my buddy over there is calling me over.” and he rushed off without even looking at you again.

You looked at Crosshair as he relaxed, a mixture of gratitude and a sense of residual unease written in your face.

“Thanks Cross,” you started “but I could’ve handled him. You know I can take care of myself.” 

“Trust me, Copikla, I know.” he shrugged “But you shouldn’t have to.” 

Your face softened at his words, and you leaned your head against his arm. 

“Thank you anyway.” 

His response came in the form of a wordless hum, but which carried a whole lot of meaning to it.

‘Always’.

5.

Crosshair absolutely hated keeping watch. He would take Wrecker’s snoring and Tech’s endless tinkering over this any day. They were in hyperspace, for maker’s sake! What threat could be so dire that one of them had to stay awake and alert for hours, freezing cold as Tech refused to fix the cockpit’s heating system?

But Hunter insisted. And as their sergeant, Hunter was in charge and whatever he said goes. And so here Crosshair was, watching nothing go by bored out of his mind.

All of a sudden he heard the soft pattern of bare feet against the cold floor of the Marauder, approaching the cockpit. It couldn’t possibly be Wrecker, he could still hear his snoring from all the away from the bunks. It wasn’t Echo either, as the clanking of his mechanical legs against the durasteel floor would have given him away. It probably wasn’t Hunter, as the man was an incredibly deep sleeper, his slumber being one of the only one moments his heightened senses gave him a break. And Tech wasn’t supposed to come relieve him from watch duty for at least three more hours or so. So that left only you.

Because of this line of thought he was unsurprised when you joined him in the cockpit, dropping onto the co-pilot seat next to him.

For a moment neither of you uttered a word. He stayed silent as he took you in, noticing the way your shoulders trembled slightly and the soft sniffles you were trying to contain.

“What’s wrong?” he asked at last.

You startled, as if only now noticing his presence next to you. Once you calmed down you simply shrugged in response.

“Nightmare, ‘s all.” your voice wavered a tiny bit, but it was enough for him to notice.

Silence permeated the room once more as he thought about the situation. You clearly seemed shaken by whatever was plaguing your mind when sleeping, yet he didn’t really know how to help. He wasn’t the best with words, Hunter and even Wrecker were way better than him when it came to comforting people.

But then he paused. Thinking about Hunter reminded him of something his older brother would do whenever one of them had nightmares as cadets.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

As a kid Crosshair never took Hunter up on his offer to listen, but he would still sit with him in silence and let him wind down after the dream. Wrecker on the other hand often rambled about what had scared him and Hunter always found a solution for him. Tech often kept to himself, never mentioning when he had nightmares of his own, but he knew Hunter had his back should he ever wish to talk.

You chuckled, though it was humorless and heavy.

“You know I have worked with other clones, right?” he nodded, remembering the medical base you used to work at before joining Clone Force 99 as their field medic “I had a lot of patients there. Most we were able to treat, but… we lost a lot of them as well.” 

He could only imagine the kind of toll that took on someone.

“And it’s like they weren’t even people!” you whispered, frustrated tears collecting in your eyes “There wasn’t any family we could contact to deliver the bad news, at best one of his batchmates or another brother from the same battalion. But in the end it was just… crossing numbers out of a spreadsheet.” 

You took a deep breath in order to collect your thoughts.

“I see them when I fall asleep sometimes.” you smiled, but it was a sad smile, one that Crosshair didn’t think suited you at all “The ones I could save.” 

Crosshair didn’t know what to say to that. How much death had you witnessed before you met the Bad Batch? Before you met him? You had your own demons haunting you, and it served to show him that them, the soldiers fighting this war, weren’t the only ones affected by it.

“Come here.” he extended a hand to you.

“What?” you looked at him, confused.

He repeated himself, and when you stood up and stopped in front of him he gently grabbed your wrist and pulled you onto his lap, maneuvering you so your head was resting against his shoulder, your ear right above his heart.

“It’s not your fault.” he spoke into your hair “You cannot save everyone. All you can do is try.”

“What happens if I’m not able to save one of you?” he heard the terror in your voice and he couldn’t stand it.

“I won’t let that happen.”

“Cross…”

“I won’t.” he affirmed firmly “I watch over you so you can watch over us. Always.”

He could feel the tension in your body vanishing, as a comforting silence enveloped the both of you. Slowly, as your breathing slowed down and you fell back asleep, he tightened his grip on you, keeping you close to him. And you slept soundly and peacefully through the night, with Crosshair keeping guard of your dreams. 

+1 

Another mission, another success. Clone Force 99 was ordered to infiltrate a Separatist base on Agamar and retrieve some sensitive information regarding the former Separatist rule over Onderon. The mission was easy (at least by the Bad Batch’s standards) and Wrecker was overjoyed over getting to blow a droid tank up. But it was time to head back to Kamino, resupply and wait for new orders.

Wrecker practically barged out of the ship as soon as the Havoc Marauder touched the hangar on Tipoca City, claiming to be starving even though he had eaten not even an hour before. Tech, Echo and you followed him to the mess hall, and Hunter headed to the commander’s office to submit the several missions’ reports he was due, promising to join the four of you later. Similarly, Crosshair mentioned stopping by the armory to grab some more reflective disks as he was running out, shooting a wink your way as you promised to save him a seat next to you on the squad’s usual table.

On the way back to their quarters following his visit to the armory Crosshair bumped into Hunter and after a few words both decided to stop by their quarters in order to leave their equipment before heading to the mess hall to meet the others. As they wandered the sterile halls of the kaminoan facility, however, an incoming transmission from Hunter’s comm made them stop short.

“Hunter, where are you?” Tech’s usually calm and collected voice came through sounding a bit… panicky. Strange, Crosshair’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his brother; Tech didn’t panic.

“Crosshair and I are on our way to our quarters, why?”

“You might want to make a detour to the medbay.” Echo’s voice came in as well. “A fight broke out in the mess hall.”

Hunter pinched his nose as Crosshair sighed in annoyance. Typical. They’ve been back on Kamino for less than a standard hour and they were already in trouble.

“What did Wrecker get up to this time?” Crosshair spoke into his brother’s comm.

Echo and Tech paused, the silence on their end stretching for a moment.

“It wasn’t Wrecker.” Tech answered.

“This time.” Echo chimed in.

A distant ‘Hey!’ was heard as Hunter and Crosshair exchanged a confused yet concerned glance before rushing through the halls. Tech and Echo were waiting for them before the closed doors that lead to the medbay.

“What happened?” Hunter asked, his tone laced with tiredness, clearly fed up with his brothers’ antics. 

But before either of them could respond a pair of troopers, regs by the looks of it, walked out the doors. And they couldn’t look worse for wear; one of them had a busted lip and the other was sporting a broken nose, two large bruises already starting to climb up towards his eyes.

“Oh, look, the rest of the anomalies are here.” the one with the cut lip snickered, grimacing as the action pulled against the wound.

“How about you control your little shabuir next time, eh?” the other scoffed as they walked away “Crazy shebs medic and the genetic freaks, it’s like they were made for each other.”

As soon as the word ‘medic’ crossed the reg’s lips Crosshair was moving, busting through the doors of the medbay. What he saw made his heart clench with worry; you were sitting on a cot, holding Wrecker’s hand rather tightly as a medical droid worked on your face. Crosshair could see some caked blood on your hair as the droid cleaned the side of your forehead where it had dripped down. As the droid went over where the cut must have been you winced, to which Wrecker rubbed up and down your back.

“There, baar’ur’ika. It’s all better now.” Wrecker whispered, or at least tried to.

“Thanks, Wreck.” you smiled up at him “I’m just not used to being on the receiving end of medical care, that’s all. I’m always the one cleaning up your cuts, not the other way around.”

Crosshair was so engrossed in watching the exchange he barely heard his brothers follow him into the medbay.

“Some regs started provoking us as we were walking to our table in the mess hall.” Tech explained “She started getting agitated but we told her to just ignore it. But then… a pair of regs said something under their breaths only she could hear, and she…”

“She went ballistic.” Echo completed for Tech, who looked unsettled for once “It looked like she was out for their heads. So much so that Wrecker had to step in.”

Crosshair heard Hunter sigh behind him.

“Command is not gonna be happy with him for getting into a fight. Again.”

“Oh no,” Tech corrected “Wrecker intervened in order to pry her away from the regs. The two troopers who just walked out? That was all her doing.”

A strange sense of pride bloomed inside Crosshair’s chest and started crawling up his throat, his lips threatening to curl into a small smile. Not only were you always looking out for them on the battlefield, but also outside of it? The trust he had been building over time seemed to solidify at that very moment.

As the droid finished wrapping your injury and walked away, Wrecker finally seemed to notice them. 

“Look! Crosshair and Hunter are here!”

As your eyes finally found his, you seemed to light up entirely, akin to a little kid on Life Day.

“Come on, Wrecker, let’s get you some food.” Hunter called, a barely contained sigh escaping from his lips “From what I hear you didn’t get a chance to eat yet. And I have to go back to Command and report this incident.”

Your smile turned sheepish and Crosshair couldn’t tell if you were embarrassed over the slight reprimanding tone in the sergeant’s voice or because your shenanigans had caused everyone to miss dinner so far.

As the other’s left, he sat down on the foot of your cot next to your legs, his long fingers wrapping around your ankle.

“So” he drawled out, a small smirk pulling at his lips “I hear you got yourself in trouble?”

You chuckled, to which he squeezed your ankle playfully in return.

“Yeah, I guess your affinity for trouble is rubbing off on me.”

“I mean, you were assigned to us after all, you obviously aren’t the little angel Commander Cody made you out to be.” he joked, before letting his curiosity get the better of him “What did they say anyway to make you snap like that?”

He noticed the very moment your face fell, your smile slipping off your face and your eyes turning slightly dull.

“Oh, Cross.” there was something so sad in the way you said his name that he never wanted to hear again, even if it meant he never got to hear his name fall from your lips for the rest of his life “They were so vile. First they started talking about Tech, Wrecker and Echo and they just told me to ignore it, but then…” a very soft, almost unnoticeable sheen of tears brimmed in your eyes “They started talking about you, Cross.”

The grip he had on your leg grew even tighter as he physically recoiled, taken aback.

“They started saying these awful things about you and you weren’t even there.” you stammered “They were being cruel and mean to you behind your back and I couldn’t let that slide. I just remembered what you once told me, about how the regs treated you as cadets and I just… saw red. I didn’t even think, I just acted.”

Crosshair felt his heart skip a beat. You, their sweet medic, got into a physical altercation… because of him? Because you felt the need to protect not only him, but his vode as well? You, who baked cookies and was nice to him even when he pushed you away and insulted you, broke a soldier’s nose… for him?

“I-I’m sorry.” you sighed “I know I shouldn’t have, but-”

“Would you do it again?”

Now was your turn to be taken aback.

“What?”

“If a bunch of regs ever insulted me or my brothers again,” he said slowly, the words feeling heavy on his tongue “would you defend us again, even if it meant getting hurt?”

Your lips curled up in a gentle smile, one he came to realize was reserved for him and him alone.

“I’d do anything for you, Crosshair.”

In a moment he was by your side, not even realizing he was moving. He sat on the bed by your side as you scooted over, making space for him, and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. His lips pressed softly on the hair on the crown of your head as he spoke.

“I won’t let you get hurt, Copikla.” he whispered, the most vulnerable he had ever been “Not on my watch, you’re never getting hurt again.”

He sighed contently as you relaxed by his side, laying your head on his shoulder.

“I promise.”

[not-scared-of-microwaves]

I am Jon's number 1 supporter. Everything he's done is perfectly understandable and reasonable. Yeah, season 1 Jon was a bit of a dick to Martin, but if you picked your assistants but your boss assigned this random guy to assist you as well, and this guy isn't very good at his job, and then you find out it's because he literally wasn't qualified for the job in the first place? And add that to the fact that you already know you aren't qualified for the job you've been given, so you need to do a good job and this guy is making that harder? being a bit of a dick isn't necessarily justified, but it's certainly understandable.

Of course season 2 Jon was paranoid, and honestly I'd argue that he wasn't "paranoid" because can it really be called paranoia if you're right? Since he got the archivist job, he's felt like he's being watched and his best defense was pretending to be a jaded skeptic, but it's been proven that being skeptical didn't help, and he got literally eaten by a sentient worm infestation's worms. While hiding from the worms that came for him in his work place, the dead body of his predecessor was found in the tunnels. She was shot, probably by someone in the institute. Things keep showing up asking for specifically the Archivist. He's been given multiple reasons to believe that someone else in the archives is out to get him, and in the end it turns out he's right--Sasha isn't Sasha, and Gertrude was literally murdered by his boss. "His paranoia wasn't justified" it absolutely was. No, Martin and Tim didn't deserve to be stalked, but considering Jon's been nothing but an ass to Martin, and Martin continued to be nice to him, and there was certainly someone out to get him, yeah, it was a reasonable concern.

Season 3, 4 , & 5Jon? Every decision, however stupid they seem, were perfectly reasonable when you look at how he was being treated. He considers himself a monster, and everywhere he turns other people are encouraging this view. If he expresses remorse? Oh boohoo the monster feels guilty. If he doesn't? Where's his humanity, he's just a monster. If he doesn't tell people what's going on, he's not communicating and people are mad about it. If he does tell people what's going on, then he's dragging them down with him and he needs to stop involving people. Basira blames him for Daisy, until he dies, Tim blames him for Sasha, Melanie blames him for literally everything and never liked him to begin with, Georgie cut him off because he wasn't trying to get out (not that he could escape if he tried), Martin's isolating himself for the Lonely. Everywhere he turns he's met with criticism and a lack of sympathy. Of course he's going to throw himself into the Buried to get back someone he sees as more valued and more wanted than he is--if you already hate yourself, and everyone else is encouraging it, you'd do it too. He blames himself for the apocalypse, he blames himself for what happened to Daisy, the list goes on. Of course he's incredibly self sacrificing--take an already selfless person, load them up with self-loathing and guilt, and the only thing you're going to get is someone who places everyone elses value well above their own, and is self-sacrificing to the point of self-destruction.

He's done nothing wrong and that is a hill I will die on.

[eds6ngel]

pumpkin muffins ๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭༄˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: to celebrate the new season, you and eddie decide to tackle baking some pumpkin mufffins!

warnings: fem!reader. pet names (babe, baby, my love). established relationship. food mentions and eating. swearing. no use of y/n. just domestic sweetness and fluffiness. also, reassurance from eddie <3 [1.5k].

“Okay, so we need one and three-quarter cups of all-purpose flour.”

Fall. The leaves were turning orange, days were growing shorter, and the weather was becoming colder. And what better way to celebrate the new season than appropriately making a pumpkin-based treat?

Bowls and utensils were spread out the small kitchen of the Forest Hills trailer. Making do with the space provided, Eddie grumbles, searching for the required product. He holds it by his face, giving you a confused look as you line the baking tray with twelve cupcake cases.

Knowing what he was asking purely by his expression, you nod, “That’s the one! Now, put one and three-quarter cups of it into that massive bowl there.”

Eddie stands there in confusion, looking around as if to search for the required “cup.” If he was being honest with himself, he had no clue what you were talking about.

He was usually the one to rest whilst you relaxed into the kitchen of his home, hair pinned up in a pink claw-grip, a matching-coloured apron, looking all pretty and dainty, something he admired as you hummed along to the radio you usually turned on whilst baking.

Spraying the cupcake cases with a non-stick lining, Eddie opens up a cupboard, pulling out the Garfield mug of Wayne’s.

“Hey, hey! What are you doing?” you ask softly, a gentle hand placed on his shoulder.

“You said one and three-quarter cups.”

You giggle, the boy truly inexperienced in the baking world. You turn behind you, grabbing the cup collection pinned together around a hook, “These are cups, baby. Measuring cups, not mugs.”

He purses his lips together, staring into the decorated cat’s black eyes, “Oh… I thought you meant a cup as in, y’know, a Cup of Joe.”

You hold in your laugh, a slight smile faltering on your lips as you press them to his cheek, “No, baby. These things. Just do one full cup, a half and then a quarter.”

The cups plop gently into his hands, Eddie reading the engrained lettering into the black coating. Meanwhile, you set the baking tray off to the side, beginning to combine the wet ingredients into a bowl.

One cup into the large bowl and Eddie is distracted. He just can’t keep his eyes off of you, looking all pretty, face scrunched up as you read the measurements on the side of the jug, milk splashing onto the worktop as you wipe it away effortlessly.

“How’s that flour coming on, handsome?”

Your voice snaps him out of his gaze, him stuttering, “Uh, yeah… Yeah, it’s great. Going great.”

He can feel your presence by his side, a tender kiss pressed to his bicep as your hands rubs up and down along his spine. It’s comforting.

“Okay,” you pass over a teaspoon, “One teaspoon of baking soda next!”

Without a second thought, he presses a quick kiss to your lips, hand naturally cupping your cheek, a hand-printed flour stain now left on it. In response, you dip your hand into the bag, placing your hand on his left cheek. “There. Now we match.”

God, you were just fucking adorable.

With your flour-printed cheeks, Eddie continues adding in the dry ingredients with a helping hand from yourself, passing him each ingredient as he needed it, the torn-out recipe now by his side.

Bringing over your medium bowl, you mix the wet and dry ingredients, folding them together softly with your wooden spoon, Eddie’s face nuzzled into your shoulder, hands resting on your waist.

Simple romantic gestures like that had become so natural between the two of you. Whether it’d be Eddie’s head leaning into your neck, hair tickling the side of your face, or your hand delicately stroking along the centre of his back, you just felt at peace. At home.

You place a delicate kiss to his forehead, hair pulled out of his face, something you had to convince him to do, teaching him the safeties of baking. “Time to pour the mixture into the cases.”

“Mmm,” he hums, sloppily placing several kisses alongside your neck before parting from you, grabbing the bowl in his large hands and tipping them in. However, the mixture decides to not be on his side for the day, falling outside of the cases. “Oh shit, shit!”

You giggle, helping your boyfriend out as he continues to struggle, grabbing your wooden spoon and rescuing the spilt mixture. However, as you point the wooden spoon towards his direction, some of the mixture flicks off the end, landing directly on the tip of his nose.

You cover your mouth at the occurrence, the laughs slipping from your lips, “Oh my God! I’m so sorry, baby.”

Yet, Eddie doesn’t seem to mind, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes as he grabs the wooden spoon from your hand, wiping the remaining mixture onto your own nose. “And now we match again.”

You shake your head, attending back to the muffin mixture. After many more spillages and kisses, the muffins are in the oven, baking away for twenty minutes.

In complete silence, minus the hum of the oven, Eddie is sat on top of the counter, you standing between his legs as your head is tucked into his chest, his lips leaving a trail of soft kisses along your scalp.

Leaning up slightly, Eddie’s rough thumbs part the back of your hair, the man humming as he notices a new, unique feature about you, “You know you have a freckle back here?”

Your face is scrunched up in confusion as you lift your head, “Really?”

“Mhmm,” he replies, “Makes you all the more prettier.”

You can’t help but blush at his words. No matter how long you’ve been together, his compliments still make your cheeks light up like a fire, the pink hue gracing them.

“I mean, I would take a photo to show you, but that means letting go of you, and I don’t plan on doing that until the timer goes off.”

“Mmm, me neither. It’s cosy here.”

He can feel your nails scratching up and down his back, the gesture feeling so incredibly good. “Yeah?” he questions with a lopsided smile, grabbing your face in his palms, your eyes connecting, “Nice and warm for you?”

You nod, closing your eyes and wrapping your arms fully around his back, falling back into his cosy chest. Eddie parts different sections of your hair, tenderly placing soft kisses alongside each line.

However, the sound of the timer beeping violently at the two of you raises your attentions. Eddie groaning at the intrusion, you move away from him, grabbing a mit and lifting the baking tray from the oven. The smell of pumpkin invades both of your senses, you placing the tray onto the worktop.

“Five minutes, baby. Then, we can taste our delicious creation.”

He chuckles, cupping your face once more, “I think you mean your delicious creation. I merely threw things into a bowl.”

You scrunch up your face into the cutest anger Eddie had ever seen. How did he get so lucky?

“And did I not do the same? How dare you not give yourself credit, my love.”

His lips attach softly to the creases in your forehead, “Darlin’, you found the recipe from some old ass cookbook, did the entirety of the wet ingredients yourself, and practically told me how to do the dry ingredients. It’s 100% on you, and you know this. What did I tell you about giving yourself more credit?”

You huff, arms flailing up in the air, “I know… I just like to see other people succeed! I like to make others feel as if they’ve been helpful and done a good job.”

You feel his thumb tenderly stroke across the apple of your right cheek, “I know, baby. But, you need to start including yourself in that too, okay? If you need a motivator to do so, just think that I would absolutely love it if you gave yourself credit where credit is due, okay?”

You nod slowly, Eddie’s toothy grin showing as your lips connect, his soft as they move against your own. As you part, your foreheads touch, “You’re talented, baby. You deserve to acknowledge that.”

“Okay,” you quietly reply, before leaning back and smirking, “Would my love like to try my amazing talent?”

Pointing over to the muffins, Eddie carefully picks one up, unwrapping it, waiting for you to do the same.

He lifts an eyebrow, asking, “Ready?”

You nod in response, both of you simultaneously biting into the soft treat, a collection of moans and hums echoing at the deliciousness of the dessert.

“Babe, that tastes fucking incredible. Oh my God.”

You look up at him, Eddie munching further into the pumpkin muffin, basking in its tastiness.

And maybe he was right. Maybe you did deserve more credit. Because if it makes him happy, that is all that matters.

sorry for being so inactive! i'm currently doing film & tv at uni and it's super time-consuming and stressful! also, trying to explore london where i can <3 i'm always here to support other's fics though ♡

taglist: @cosmorant @jesssssmaybankk @tlclick73

[senditcolton]

So Tragic and Rare

"It's Not Your Fault" (pt. 16)

a/n: hello! sorry for the slight delay but I will let you all know that this is another double drop day! there will be a few of these now (simply because i want to complete this series by December). so here is the next installment!

word count: 6.3k warnings: smut! [cocky possessive Andrei, oral (m + f receiving), unprotected penetration, thigh fucking] and angst, which i apologize for in advance masterlist

There was absolutely no physical reason for Andrei to be white-knuckling the steering wheel. He knew this.

The roads were decent: April had warmed enough to melt any lingering snow off the asphalt and the skies were a little overcast but the forecast stated only a small chance of precipitation. And although both the road he was on and the rental car he was driving were unfamiliar, it was nothing that he couldn’t handle.

There was no physical reason for him to be clinging onto the steering wheel like his life depended on it. But when the loud voice of the Massachusetts sports radio broadcaster filters through the speakers, Andrei is cruelly reminded why his body was wound so tight.

“With their win last night, the Boston Bruins are ready to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs. Brooks, how do you feel about their chances against the number one team in the East?”

“Listen, it’s been a tough road for the Bruins. But something should be said about them even making it to the playoffs as a wildcard team – no one expected that at the beginning of this year. But in order to hold their own against a team like Carolina, The Bruins are going to have to step up their game, particularly their defensive game, Cotton. The Hurricanes have been firing on all cylinders since the start of the season: multiple players with 60 points, strong forechecking, and a lethal powerplay. Boston needs to find a way to stunt their offensive momentum and give Jeremy Swayman some support.”

“Agree completely. Swayman has been strong between the pipes all season and I don’t see that faltering now. He’s got something to prove after that contract signing and last years playoffs. Plus, we might even see another level to his play when the first round comes to Boston for Game 3, considering that there has been a rumor that rockstar Keely Halloran will be in the audience.”

The mention of Keely being in TD Garden, watching him play, would normally make Andrei’s heart skip a beat. But now, it just makes his fingers tighten even more – especially since it was mentioned in the same breath of someone who was not him.

“Oh, yeah, he’ll definitely be looking to impress her,” the co-host laughs, his needling words soaked with innuendo pricking at Andrei’s ears.

With a sharp jab of his finger, he silences the radio and returns his focus to the road.

He knew this was just a side-effect of being with Keely. She was a high-caliber celebrity. Everyone wanted to know about her and her life, including her relationship status. And when that information wasn’t freely given, people started rumors.

He also knew it wasn’t Keely’s fault that the tabloids took a hold of the concept of her and the goaltender of her hometown hockey team and ran – and he did mean ran – with it. But the constant headlines, mentions, and even the Bruins media themselves using the rumor for their own gain, it started getting to him.

Andrei was the one with Keely’s number in his phone. Andrei was the one who had seen the inside of her New York recording studio. Andrei knew the address of her Beacon Hill brownstone. He was the one that chose to rent a car shortly after the conclusion of the Carolina v. Montreal afternoon game and was now driving down to Boston to see her.

Him – not Jeremy Swayman.

Highway 89 stretched out in front of him; a long dark trail leading him to Keely. Andrei tries to keep his mind clear, thinking only about the next turn, the correct exit, trying to let the voice of his GPS be the only voice in his head. But while he could silence the radio, there was no silencing the knowledge that no matter what happened, people would still talk. And there was next to nothing he could do about it.

Except…

Him and Keely could go public with their relationship.

They had been seeing each other for around three months – if you count the All-Star game. That was plenty of time, right? And imagine what news it would be if she showed up to the Boston playoff game in red and white instead of black and gold.

That was the solution. That would make all this noise stop.

Andrei smirks to himself, his energy shifted to a new goal. All he had to do was get Keely onboard. He’s sure she would be fine with it. It was clear that she liked him and he liked her back. What could go wrong?

They would show the world that she belonged to him.

Andrei drives the last few miles, taking the exit to Boston and weaving through the city’s myriad of one-way streets. He eventually turns down the alley behind Keely’s brownstone, parking the car and walking along the ivy-covered fence towards the entrance to her garden. He stops at the wooden door and fishes his phone out from his pocket.

[Andrei] Are you home? [Keely] Yeah. Why? [Andrei] Just couldn’t stop thinking about you. Had to see you. [Keely] What? [Andrei] Back gate.

That text message is the only explanation he gives before returning his phone to his pocket, his eyes moving to look up at the illuminated windows of her place. He sees a curtain move, a flash of her silhouette before its gone and Andrei waits, patiently, his ears trained for any sound.

Eventually, he hears her backdoor creak open, the soft yet quick padding of her footsteps over the cobblestones, before the sound of her unlocking the garden door hits his ears. He stands still, watching the door creak open before her eyes connect to his.

Andrei can’t stop the grin that tugs at his lips at the sight of her joyful bewilderment.

Keely doesn’t say anything, just huffs out a surprised laugh as she pushes the door open further, allowing Andrei to slip inside. He doesn’t wait an instant longer before cupping her face in his hands and pulling her lips to his in a passionate kiss. He can feel body go lax in his hold, enjoying the sensation of her smile against his lips.

Andrei doesn’t stop kissing her, tugging her body even closer to his, the kisses becoming desperate. Seeing her face during a video call, hearing her voice through his phone speakers was nothing compared to being in her presence. They had only been able to meet up a few times since New York and it was never enough for Andrei. He always wanted more of her.

His lips trail down to press along her jawline, following the slope of it down her neck. His hands tighten around her when he hears a soft moan leave her lips, her hands twisting in the fabric of his dress shirt.

“Wait, Andrei,” Keely says, her voice a breathless sigh. “I have to make sure the gate locked.”

With a soft groan and no shortage of willpower, Andrei manages to pull himself away from her skin, letting her leave the grasp of his arms as she darts behind him. He waits, listening to rattle of the wooden door on its hinges before she appears in front of him again, a grin on her face. Andrei says nothing, just holds out his hand to her which she happily takes, pulling him across her backyard and into her house.

As soon as they cross the threshold, the door firmly shut behind them, Andrei doesn’t hesitate before pulling her back into his arms, kissing her once again; a kiss that Keely returns tenfold.

“How are you here?” she asks, breaking away to stare up at him with those electric blue eyes. “Didn’t you have a game? Don’t you have to go back to Carolina?”

“It’s only a five-hour drive from Montreal. Plus, Coach gave us a day before playoffs,” Andrei explained. “I chose to see you. I’ll fly back tomorrow.”

“You drove from Canada after an early game for me?” Keely clarifies, her voice almost as bewildered as the expression painting her face.

“Like I said, I had to see you,” he whispers, leaning his face in closer as if to kiss her again. But he stops just centimeters from her lips, his breath fanning her cheekbones. “Had to see my girl.”

This time, it is Keely that moves the barest of millimeters to press their lips together, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. He willingly lets himself get pulled into her, breathing in the subtle scent of the perfume still lingering on her skin. Andrei walks forward, using his body to push Keely deeper into her house, desperate to get her horizontal on whatever surface was closest.

Their blind momentum is stopped by Keely’s back hitting the drywall, a huff of breath escaping them as they tear away. Andrei lifts his head, orienting himself to her brownstone. He had only managed visit here twice before but when he realizes they are on bottom floor, he relaxes. His eyes locate her bedroom door, still slightly ajar and through it, spies her patterned bedsheets, a grin appearing on his face.

Andrei turns his attention back to Keely who had clearly followed his gaze and looks up at him with a grin of her own, one eyebrow jumping in challenge.

He leans in to kiss her again, their tongues pressing together as his hands run down her body, coming to grip her thigh and pulling it up to wrap around his leg. With the adrenaline now running through his body, Andrei lifts her off the ground, Keely’s gasp of surprise is quickly swallowed as her other leg instinctively wraps around his hip, ankles locking together. Andrei’s hold on her body is firm, kissing her deeply once more before he tears his lips away, his eyes focusing back on his destination.

Keely doesn’t seem to mind the loss of his lips on her skin, content instead to pepper kisses against Andrei’s jawline, each press of her plush lips making his steps falter.

“Don’t you dare drop me, Svechnikov,” she mutters into the juncture of his neck, her breath warm against him.

Andrei refocuses, nudging her bedroom door open the rest of the way. He walks to the king-sized bed until his legs hit the soft plushness of the mattress. A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips and without hesitation, his hold falls from Keely, gravity taking over as her body falls from his. Andrei can hear the soft gasp that is forced from her as her back hits the bedsheets, her eyes wide in shock.

“Whoops,” he says, standing over her, the word emphasized by a shrug of his shoulders. He watches as Keely’s face turns to reflect the mischief clearly displayed on his own.

In an instant, Andrei is taken off-guard as Keely – using the strength of her legs still wrapped around his hips – pulls him down to hover over her, her hands tangling into his hair. It’s easy for Andrei to recover, moving to kiss her again. One of his hands holds his weight as to not crush Keely while the other traces down her body, gently pulling her legs away from him.

When he is free of her grasp, he stands up, his body towering over her, and takes in the sight before him.

She is beautiful. It was something that he thought frequently but there was nothing as beautiful as the sight of her laying against the rumpled bedsheets, wearing nothing but a black lace bralette and grey sweats, looking up at him with a dark desire in her eyes.

A desire that was directed to him – no one else.

Andrei’s hands move, fingers slowly unbuttoning the white dress shirt. Each unfastening exposes more of his skin, Keely’s hungry gaze still fixed on him. Eventually, every button is undone and Andrei pulls the fabric off his body. He can’t deny the jolt of cocky confidence that runs through him when Keely’s eyes shamelessly rake down his frame, knowing that those early morning and long hours at the gym were not only for his career but for her.

“Like what you see?” he asks, his voice lowering an octave as Keely gazes up at him.

“I always like what I see when it comes to you,” she replies, her tone matching his. But Andrei can feel his heart soften at her words. It wasn’t just a compliment on his body – it was a compliment towards him. The entirety of him.

He doesn’t reply – doesn’t even really know what to say to her to convey every emotion swirling around in his mind. Instead, his hands just drop to his slacks, unfastening the belt buckle around his hips. He can see the spark brighten Keely’s eyes and before he can blink, she is lifting her body to sit upright, her hands knocking his away.

Her blue irises glance up at him, soft lips pressing against the cut of his abs and the half sigh, half groan that runs through him at the sensation echoes around the bedroom. He can feel her smile against his skin, her lips trailing downwards as her hands make quick work of the clasp and zipper of his slacks. Keely’s hand slides down, gently palming him through the material, releasing another groan from the back of Andrei’s throat, his head falling back.

“I suppose,” she says, elongating the word, causing Andrei’s gaze to return to her. “Since you drove all the way from Montreal for me, I should do something for you in return.”

“Like what?”

“Do you really have to ask?” she teases, her body slowly sliding off the bed to kneel in front of him, her hand lifting to touch him again. “That strung out already, baby?”

The power she wields over him is dangerous. Some part of Andrei knows that – knows that he would do anything to be with her and that willingness to throw everything away could easily spell doom for him. But when Keely’s soft hands twist in the waistband of his pants and underwear, tugging them down his legs, her eyes alighting at the sight of his cock, tall and proud, those concerns disappear.

And when she presses her soft lips against his silken skin, his mind empties completely.

How he got this lucky, he’ll never know. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world back in that Toronto hotel room. He felt even luckier when he entered her New York studio. But he wouldn’t deny that this, right here – Keely’s eyes looking up at him as she takes him into the wet cavern of her mouth – this felt like the luckiest moment of his life.

Andrei’s body reverts to complete auto-pilot, his hand tangling into Keely’s hair as she lowers her mouth more onto his cock, her tongue moving against him. It feels sinful, sensual, the way she moves in a steady rhythm against him, tracing and tasting what feels like every inch of him. The choked groans and sharp breaths that fall from his chest are entirely unfiltered, wanting to let her know exactly how she’s making him feel. He can’t stop the buck of his hips, thrusting into her mouth sharply once before his eyes dart down, a flash of concern running through him. But when his eyes land on her, she looks at him through her eyelashes, her hand reaching up to grasp the back of his thigh and pull him into her again.

This woman.

His hands tighten in her hair, slowly thrusting, finding a steady rhythm. Keely lets him take her, her gaze trained on him, her hand still resting on his thigh as he sets a perfect pace. He relishes in the sound of her muffled moans, the feeling of him prodding the back of her throat, the sight of her blue eyes pricking with tears – all for him.

“You look so fucking pretty like this,” Andrei mutters, a hand coming to brush away the wetness from her cheekbones. Keely’s only response is a whine, the vibrations of the noise sending a shudder down his spine, his head falling back.

“Fuck, babe, I need you,” he groans, pulling away from her, a glistening string of saliva still connecting them. He can hear her sigh, her tongue darting out to lick her lips, her own eyes sparkling with that mischievous glint that he had come to know and love.

Keely opens her mouth, no doubt some snarky comment about to fall from her lips. But Andrei doesn’t let her get a word in before he is lifting her off the carpet, spinning and pushing her down so her chest is pressed against the sheets, one of his large hands splayed against the small of her back, pinning her in place.

Andrei wastes no time hooking his fingers underneath her sweatpants, tugging down the plush material, exposing her smooth legs to him. But his eyes are attached to the sight of her core, the cotton of her panties stretched over her center, the dark wet patch enticing him even further. His fingers trace over the curve of her ass before dipping in between, his calloused skin pressing against her, causing more of her arousal to flood the fabric.

“Get this wet from sucking dick, sweetheart?” he questions, his fingers sliding lower to press against her clit, releasing a moan from her.

“Andrei, please,” she whimpers, her hips bucking back to meet his touch.

“Not yet,” he replies, removing his hands from her and tugging her underwear down to meet her sweats. This time, it’s his turn to kneel, his breath fanning her glistening core, the sensation causing her hips to wriggle. “Need to taste you.”

His hands grip the muscle of her ass, pulling and holding her open, putting her on display for him. Andrei pauses, taking in the sight of her wet and desperate for him. As if she knew the power she held, Andrei watches with wide eyes as a drop of her arousal drips from her core, hanging down like a silver drop of honey. Any sense of restraint evaporates from him as his tongue extends, collecting that nectar on his tastebuds before following the strand up to her molten core.

Keely’s moan is loud, bouncing off the walls of her bedroom as Andrei’s tongue works against her, dipping into her folds before stretching down to press against her clit. All his senses are just flooded with Keely – the smell of her, the taste of her. She encourages him by grinding her hips back to meet him and Andrei does not stop devouring her, his tongue never ceasing its movement, not until he feels her legs tremble beneath his hands.

It takes all sense of restraint to pull away from her, the whine that she releases another temptation for him to dive back in. But he resists, one of his hands moving back to grip her hip, the other dipping between his own legs to grasp the base of his cock. He leans forward, running the head of him against her soaked folds, Keely’s hips chasing him. Andrei tightens his hold on her, stopping her momentum.

“Andrei,” she whines again, her voice high and tight in the back of her throat.

“Tell me you want it,” comes the demand, practically growled as Andrei repeats his movement against her core. “Tell me you want me.”

“Please, Andrei. Please. I want you. I need you, please.”

If Andrei thought the sound of her moans were the most beautiful music he had heard, the sound of her pleading was a siren song, drawing him in. He was helpless to resist it even if he wanted to. But why would he ever want to deny her?

His hips press forward, sinking into her heat and the mutual moan they both release tells him that he feels just as good inside her as she does around him. Andrei continues to move until his hips are flush against her. There is a brief pause, a moment where the two of them just take in the sensation of Andrei fully seated inside her, his chest rising in heavy breaths as he watches Keely writhe against the bedsheets, her hands twisting the fabric in a death-grip.

“Move.”

The soft demand that falls from her lips sets off a fire inside him and Andrei slowly pulls back until he is almost entirely removed from her core before he snaps his hips forward.

“This what you wanted darling?” he asks, setting an almost brutal pace.

Keely’s only reply is another moan, her back arching as he feels her hips move to meet his thrusts.

“That’s right, fuck yourself back on it,” Andrei groans, his eyes trailing down the cut of her spine to watch her ass ripple with the force of his thrusts. “God, you look so good. Look so good like this. All mine.”

One of his hands trails around her waist, dipping lower to press against her clit. Andrei watches as her head turns, muffling her cries of pleasure into the plush duvet as he rubs slow circles against the bundle of nerves, a beautiful contrast to the animalistic pace.

Andrei’s eyes remain fixed on her body, his free hand running over the curve of her hip, her waist, up her spine before his fingers tangle in the straps of the lace still wrapped around her chest. He fists the material, sharply tugging, forcing her body upright meet his own. The heat of her pressed against the entirety of him causes him to moan, the scent of her perfume filling his senses as he wraps his arm around her, holding her in place as continues to thrust within her. The new position causes a gasp to fall from Keely’s lips, followed by a moan as her hands reach back, tangling into the hair at the base of his neck.

“Fuck, right there. Andrei.”

“Right there?” he questions, his voice a somewhat cruel taunt as he moves again. “Tell me. Tell me exactly what you want.”

“Want… want you,” she moans, her sentence choppy with the most gorgeous whimpers and whines.

“Want me to make you feel good?”

“Mmhmm,” Keely whines and Andrei can’t help the confidence he feels, knowing that he managed to make all grasp of language escape his awarded songwriter.

“I need you to say it. Tell me how I make you feel.”

“Good. So fucking good.”

“Who makes you feel like this?”

“You. Only you Andrei.”

“That’s right, sweetheart. Only me,” he growls, his fingers returning to her clit and rubbing tight circles around it, his touch sliding with an ease thanks to her slickness. “You’re all mine, aren’t you?”  

“Andrei…”

“Say it. You’re mine. Say it.”

“I’m yours. All yours,” Keely moans and Andrei can feel her body trembling against him.

“Go on, darling. Show me. Show me that you’re all mine. Come for me.”

His quiet demand is all it takes for Keely to fall over that edge, her body stiffening as her cunt clenches around him, an almost silent moan falling from her mouth. Andrei groans in kind, loving the sensation of her fluttering around him as she comes down, a softer sigh running through her as her head lolls back onto his shoulder, her eyes closed in satisfaction. He moves gently, his length still hard within her and she whines, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Andrei,” she whimpers.

“I know,” comes his reply, pressing a soft kiss against her temple. “I know. Just stay still for me.”

Keely whines, her head gently nodding as Andrei holds her tight, her back still pressed against his chest, the sweat on their bodies slowly cooling. Andrei slips out of her core, a guttural groan emanating from his chest at the loss of her warmth around him.

“Press your legs together. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?” Andrei whispers in her ear, his voice low and thick with the need for his own release. Keely nods, her feet moving in closer so her thighs touch, her hand still playing with the hair on the nape of his neck while the other rests on the strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Andrei groans, pressing forward to slide his rigid cock between the seam of her thighs, the arousal coating his length and her skin offering no resistance. He groans, his head dipping down to press his lips against her shoulder as his hips move again. The tightness of her thighs is nowhere near as pleasurable as her pussy but Andrei can’t bring himself to care. Not when he is so desperately close.

“Andrei,” Keely whispers, her breath fanning the shell of his ear. “Please. I need it. Need you to come.”

His hips buck, gliding against her skin a few more times before his body stiffens, his cock twitching as he meets his orgasm, the stickiness of his own cum joining the slickness between her thighs. The two of them stand there, tired and spent, their chests rising in unison as they each breathe deeply.

Andrei thickly swallows, his mind coming back to the present moment, his head lifting. He meets her blue eyes already staring at him, her eyelids heavy and a soft smile on her face. Andrei can’t stop leaning in to kiss her, helpless in the gravity of her. She kisses him back, her hand still tangled in the hair at the base of his neck. The two of them stay like that until Andrei pulls away, pressing a playful kiss onto the tip of her nose. Keely giggles in response, her gaze dropping from him as a grimace appears on her face.

“Bath?” Andrei questions.

“Yes, please.”

Andrei slowly pulls himself away from her, but only to give himself enough space to scoop her up into his arms again, another giggle falling from her lips. He wanders into the adjoining bathroom, the lit candle providing enough light for him to locate the large bathtub. Andrei gently lowers Keely down into the porcelain, running to flip on the light before returning to her and starting the water. He waits until it is at a comfortable temperature before stopping the drain, letting the water rise around her.

“Join me?” Keely asks once he stops the faucet, her eyes glancing up at him and her hands extended. Andrei’s only response is a smile as he takes her hand in his. She scoots forward, allowing him the space to climb in behind her, sinking down before pulling her back against him.

Hands moving, they gently clean the sweat and slick off their skin, the intoxicating fresh smell of Keely’s bodywash filling Andrei’s nostrils. They stay there – bodies pressed together, the gentle rise and fall of her chest matching his – until the water cools. After helping Keely out of the tub, wrapping her one of her plush towels, she disappears into the bedroom as Andrei drains the bath.

When he re-enters her room, he finds her already sitting on top of her bedsheets, an oversized t-shirt on her body. Her eyes track his movements as he finds the pile of his clothes at the edge of the bed.

“What brought this on?” Keely muses, her voice soft as she watches him untangle his boxers from the rumpled dress pants on her carpet.

“What?”

“This – this whole ‘you’re mine’ possessive talk? Not that I’m complaining.”

 Andrei swallows thickly, the question he wanted to ask, the proposal he wanted to make, returning to his brain. He is unsure of what to say or at least, how to say it clearly so she understands. Instead, he pulls his boxers back up his legs, choosing to answer her question with one of his own.  

“Are you really gonna go to the playoff games here?”

His brown eyes find her, watching the way she collapses back onto her pillows, her shoulder moving in a non-committal shrug.

“Probably. It’ll be fun, seeing my favorite team and my favorite player,” she replies. Her gaze darts back to him, that sparkling tease shining in her pupils. 

“What’ll you wear?” he asks and he notices the way her eyebrows knit together at his continued questions.

“I’m not sure. Maybe my All-Star jersey. Why?”

“It’s yellow,” he dumbly states. Keely lightly laughs, a grin appearing on her face.

“Yes, Andrei, it is.”

“But…”

“What? Upset that I won’t be wearing red?” she questions, her tone still light.

“You’d look good in red,” he mutters, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, his eyes turning to stare at the carpet.

“I know,” Keely replies. There is a brief moment of silence before Andrei can feel her foot gently nudging at him, causing his gaze to return to her.

“What are you getting at, Andrei?”

Her stare is curious and earnest, the sight of it making him relax. He gently takes her foot, placing it in his lap, his hands absentmindedly trace patterns against her smooth skin as his gaze falls back to the carpet, trying to piece his thoughts together. 

“It’s just… I like you.”

“Obviously,” Keely interrupts with another lighthearted giggle. Andrei eyes dart back to her.

“Keely, please,” he says, his voice firm and he can see her register the seriousness in his tone. Her body lifts upright, the leg not placed in his lap folding underneath her.

“I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

Andrei sighs, letting his eyes return to the space in front of him and the thoughts return to his head.

“I like you. And I’m pretty sure you like me. We’ve been seeing each other for a few months now and… I was wondering… well, I guess – I guess I just want the world to know that.”

The declaration is less certain and succinct than he wanted it to be but he hopes the underlying question is clear enough. His brown eyes dart towards her, analyzing every micro-expression that crosses her face. It takes a minute but Andrei can see when his suggestion registers with her. And a flash of panic runs through him when he watches her body stiffen, the foot in his lap recoiling and curling back towards her. Keely’s legs move, knees coming up to her chest as her arms wrap around her shins.

“You… you want to go public?” she asks. Andrei can’t quite figure out the tone lacing her words so he presses on.

“Yeah. I figured that this would be a good time.”

“Before the playoffs would be a good time?” she clarifies, contextualizing his words as her eyebrows raise in question. The mention of the playoffs triggers the memories of the media surrounding him, the Bruins, and Keely, bringing the real focus of his ire to the forefront.

“I just want everyone to know that you’re with me and not with Jeremy Swayman.”

The last third of his sentence was more muttered under his breath than the rest. But Keely heard it all the same, her body unfolding as her spine straightens to stare him down.

“Is that what this is about? Tabloid rumors?”

This time Andrei can hear the sharpness painting the edges of her words and he realizes his reasoning was the cause.

“No!” he says, attempting to backtrack.

“Then why are we talking about Jeremy Swayman?”

“We’re not – ” he tries to explain but he can feel the anger radiating off of Keely and knows now that he said the wrong thing. But he also knows it was far too late to take back his words.

“Does it bother you? What people are writing?”

“God, yes. Yes Keely, it bothers me. I’m sick of constantly hearing about how you’re in love with someone who isn’t me. I hate it, I don’t want to hear it. We could stop it: let the world know that it’s me – in your bed, your phone, your heart.”

He can see and hear the heavy sigh that escapes Keely’s chest, her eyes wide as she stares at him, her head gently shaking in disbelief.

“They won’t stop, Andrei,” she says slowly, as if talking to a child. “You have to understand this, they never stop.”

“But they will,” he argues back, his own stubbornness blinding him. “Yeah, they’ll talk about us but, it’ll be – it’ll be the truth.”

“No, it won’t. Sure, yeah, some it maybe but they’ll never be entirely truthful. Breakup rumors every time I don’t attend a game. Engagement rumors the very next day. How I’m a distraction if your game falters, how I’m going to write a scathing song about you if you break my heart, how – considering our careers and the amount of time we can’t be together – how we’ll never be able to work.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I don’t?” she questions, her voice sharpening and Andrei realizes that he once again has said the wrong thing. “This has been my life for the past 10 years. No matter what we do, you’ll still have to hear rumors that you don’t want to hear. Are you ready for that?”

“I – I’m – ”

“If you’re this upset about the papers talking about me with someone else, how will you be able to handle it when the attention – both good and bad – is focused entirely on you?”

“I just… I just want you,” he confesses, the words truthful and earnest and he watches as Keely’s body deflates.

“You can’t want me and not be ready for that,” she tells him, her words wavering but her voice clear. “It’s a part of my life, Andrei. It sucks – trust me, I know better than most how much it fucking sucks. But if you want to be with me, it’s just something you have to accept. Can you do that, Andrei?”

The silence weighs over them, Keely’s question hanging in the air, demanding an answer. An answer that Andrei isn’t sure that he can give.

“I – I don’t know,” he says, the words falling through his mouth in the same time as his shoulders fall with a sigh, his eyes returning to stare at his feet resting against her plush carpet.

He can hear her matching sigh and a small part of him knows, intrinsically, that she understands where he is coming from, what he is feeling. But he also knows he can’t erase his previous words from her mind. He can no longer lie to her and pretend like the tabloids and publicity doesn’t bother him.

Keely sighs again, the sound drawing his attention back to her. Her eyes are also trained at a distant point in the room and he hates that he can feel the distance stretching between them, a distance that had been shrinking in the past months but now reverted back to that unmanageable ocean.

“I think…” she begins, her shoulders lifting in a deep breath. “I think it might be best if we take a break.”

The words hit Andrei like a shotgun bullet, piercing through his chest.

“Keely – ” he tries to say but Keely ignores his plead, continuing on.

“You’re clearly tired of the secrecy needed to be with me but you also clearly aren’t ready for everything that going public entails.”

“Wait, Keely, I – ”

“Andrei. Please.”

Her blue eyes dart back towards him and he falters under her stare. If her prior words wounded him, the cool indifference in her eyes would’ve been the kill-shot. But instead, it was the glimmer of pain hidden beneath that mask of apathy that truly cut through his heart.

“I can’t do this with you,” Keely says, her words not as practiced as her last, the pain and truth coming through. “I can’t – I can’t twist myself into something I’m not for someone else’s comfort. I won’t do that again.”

He wants to say that he’d never ask her to do that for him. That he loved her for exactly who she was. But he can’t. Because, while her words may have been harsh, she was right. He wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready. Maybe this was for the best – some space to let them figure out if this is something they both truly wanted.

So, Andrei says nothing. He just hangs his head down, giving Keely a small nod in understanding. He feels her weight shift on the mattress, the firm boxspring sinking as she scoots closer to him. He doesn’t look up, not even when her arms wrap around him in an embrace that is laden with every heartbreaking emotion he can think of. His hand lifts to grasp her forearm, his thumb gently caressing her skin for a moment before she lets him go.

The weight of her disappears and Andrei listens to the sound of her walking out of the room, moments passing before a door down the hallway shuts.

He sighs, lifting himself up and slowly returning his gameday suit to his body. He checks to make sure his keys are still secure in his pockets before he leaves Keely’s bedroom. He is almost at the backdoor when the soft sound piano tapping out a melancholy tune catches his attention. His head turns, listening to the music wafting down the hallway.

The melody is unfamiliar but heartbreaking all the same. Andrei’s gaze returns to the glass door leading to the backyard, rain beading on the surface. He sighs before walking out into storm, feeling his shirt quickly becoming plastered to his skin, that haunting music still ringing in his ears. He pushes through the back gate, turning to make sure it securely locked behind him. It is only when he is back in the cold unfamiliar rental car does he allow his head to drop, letting his tears fall in time with the rain.

a/n deux: yes, it's a third act break-up. i apologize but listen, i did say dating a rockstar isn't easy. will this break be good for them or will it be permanent? guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!

taglist: @fallinallincurls @laureniray @comphy-and-cozy@smileysvech@pyotrkochetkov @thewintersoldierdisaster @svexhenthusiast

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[myocsfanfictions]

South Side Story

Shameless Fanfiction Season 1

Desna Hills has come living in the Southside of Chicago four years before. Taken in by Kev and V, Desna is close friends with the Gallaghers. Let's see how this Southside story unfolds.

Warning: this chapter contains smut

MASTERLIST

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Chapter 3

“God, you look amazing from here!” Lip exclaimed as she was over his lap, moving up and down in his cock, her hands on his shoulder to have a better leverage, her hair to a side and her eyes closed. From her mouth were exiting such sounds that she was almost ashamed of herself.

“Fuck, you feel fantastic!” Lip said as he helped her with her movements, his hands on her hips guiding her to meet his thrust perfectly.

“Fuck!” She moaned as he took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking and licking on it, “Lip, God!” Desna cried moving on of her hands to hold against the metal of the van. They were going so hard at it that she was sure that from outside people could have seen the veichle moving.

“Shit, fuck,” Desna cursed, “I think I’m there, Lip, fuck! I’m almost there!” She liked that she could make noises, she felt him respond to her moans with deep thrust, he liked to listen to the sound she made.

“Wait for me, shit…” he cursed pushing her on her back, so that he could ram into her as he pleased. He brought her legs higher, reaching a deeper spot that made her course again. His hips where moving so fast that she could not take her whimpers inside anymore.

“Fuck, Lip I can’t” she moaned touching her own breasts to relieve some pleasure.

“God you want to kill me,” he groan before he layed on her, careful not to crush he, but in a position where he could give short and strong thrusts.

“Shit, I love this!” Desna said, her hands gripping his back as his hips kept hitting inside of her her perfectly.

“Me too” he whispered in her hear, “Fuck this is amazing, shit.”

“Lip,” she moaned moving one of her hands so that she could make the boy look at her, “Kiss me, please,” she almost begged and he did as she asked without complaining. His pace was becoming more erratic and they moaned in each other mouth, louder and louder until Desna’s vision blanked as she hit her climax and soon she felt his hot liquid inside her walls. She tried to control her laboured breath as he rode out his high until he came to a stop.

“Oh shit!” He exclaimed with a chuckle as he moved to kiss her neck, still not pulling out, “Fuck that was fucking hot.”

Desna giggled as he kept kissing her, enjoying those sensations she was feeling. Her hand in his hair, inviting him to keep going.

“Mm, this is so nice,” she moaned as he started to suck at her neck.

“I know, I can’t help it today,” he said caressing her breast, moving his fingers on one of her nipples. She moaned again.

“You’re getting hard again,” she said with closed eyes and a chuckle.

“Are you complaining?” He asked moving his hips, making both of them let out a groan of pleasure.

“Shit, no” she said as he looked at her with a smirk. Her fingers on the back of his head made him lean forward so that they could kiss again. Her body adjusted, making him go even deeper,

“Fuck…” she moaned, and he chuckled again.

“Ah I didn’t tell you my idea,” he said getting back at kissing her neck.

“Sorry I stopped listening when I decided to get on top” Desna apologized.

“I stopped talking when you got on top,” that made her laugh, as he started again to give slow thrust, “I’ve talked to Ian,” he said as Desna closed her eyes.

“That good,” she answered, with closed eyes.

“And he agreed on my idea,” he kept talking, as his hips picked up the pace.

“Shit this is distracting,” she admitted as he moved.

“The idea…” he started panting, “Is to get Karen to give Ian a blowjob.”

“What a fucking idea- fuck, Lip” he had just hit a good spot in the worst timing.

“And he agreed,” he moaned, his hips snapped against hers, “Fuck, Lip!” She cried.

“And I want you to come with us,” at his words she opened her eyes in disbelief.

“Are you fucking insane- shit, fuck” she tried to complain, but he got himself into a position where his hips moved at a crazy speed.

“Wait, wait,” he said as he focused on his thrusts “God this feels fucking amazing!”

“Shit, Lip!” Desna was a moaning mess, feeling her orgasm approaching once again, “Fuck, I’m so close, Lip, so fucking close,” she cried opening her legs a bit more so that he could sink in deeper.

“Shit…” he coursed, as she started to plead him.

“Lip, don’t stop!” He thrusted making her moan again and again, “Fuck right there,” his hips moved, “Right there!” another thrust.

“You are so beautiful, fuck!” He said getting back against her so to change the angle and speed of his thrusts.

“Fuck, Lip!” She cried as she climaxed again, soon followed by him, who emptied himself inside of her, before rolling to her side.

“Shit, I love this,” he said trying to control his breaths. They stood like that for a moment as they both came down from their high. Desna was slowly trying to get the control of her body back, before turning to Lip that had a hand over his forehead and a smirk on his lips.

“I’m not coming watching fucking Karen Jackson give Ian a blowjob,” she protested making him scoff, “It would be gross and awkward.”

“You won’t see anything, I promise,” he said turning to her, a hand moving to her waist so to make her body face him, “She will be under the table, you won’t see anything!”

“This is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever said, I swear” she said, even if she didn’t fight the movement that he was making her do.

“Please, you have to come,” he said almost pleading.

“Why?” She asked. But her question made him look away, even if is finger still caressed the skin of her hips.

“I need you to see that Karen is not a threat,” his words took her by surprise, but she let him time to find the right words to keep going, “What we have, I like it” he said, “but yesterday, with all the jealousy… I need you to know that I… care…” she smiled.

“Because she is doing it and not me?” At her question his eyes shot up.

“I would have never ask you to… you know…” she moved closer so their bodies were pressed against of each other.

“You want me to see that you’re not jealous of her doing that?” She asked looking him in the eyes. He observed her for a moment before kissing her lips again. His hand went to the back of her head to not make her move away, and she couldn’t help but to smile against his lips. So he was not jealous of Karen, but he didn’t want Desna to do it.

“Does Ian know? About your plan?” She asked, “Because I will accept only if he agrees,” Desna wanted to do this for Lip, but not if it grossed Ian out.

“I told him that we’ve talked about this situation,” he explained, “And he said that he can do it.”

“This will be so strange Lip, truly,” she admitted.

“Is it a yes?” He asked, rubbing his nose against hers.

“Alright,” she said before he pecked her lips, “But it’s disgusting!” Lip giggled before pulling her in for another kiss.

The day at school went well, it was not that fast since nor Lip or Ian had come to school. But anyways she would receive Lip’s messages none the same.

“That Steve guy came back this morning…” Lip’s message said.

Fiona, V and Desna had met Steve Wilton the night before, when a guy stole Fiona’s purse and Steve tried to help. He failed miserably, but at least he tired. And then he punched the guy at the entrance because he didn’t let them back in. So since he got cut by glasses Fiona brought him home, where V cured his injouries. The four of them where talking when the Gallgher’s siblings all gather down. As he saw her Lip went next to Desna asking her if everything was fine.

“Yeah, it’s alright,” she had said with a smile as he set next to her. Just before Debbie ran to sit on her legs.

“Come here, love” Desna said as she adjusted the little girl to sit more comfortable.

And then they had started to talk about theirselves, Veronica’s job, the Gallaghers’ names and then even Kev arrived. After that Desna, Kev and V had gotten back home, but for what Lip had texted her, that guy seemed to have had sex with Fiona, before Tony brought their father Frank Gallagher home. Ass drunk like always.

“Round two?” Desna texted back at Lip.

“Gross! That’s my sister” he complained, making her shook her head, “But probably”

“Said the guy who wants me there when his brother is going to get sucked off” she dialed and sent.

“Yeah, same guy” he said too overly confident, “Same guy that fucked you this morning”

She blushed lowering her phone, afraid that someone could see.

“I’m at school you prick!!” she texted.

“Sexting” his message said, “We still hadn’t try it, what are you wearing?”

“The outfit you’ll see at Karen’s” she dialed back, “At what time there?”

“Around 4 pm” he said, “Maybe I’ll see what you are wearing in my room after.”

“I’ve got class, perv” she said before putting her phone away. But for some reason she could not take away the stupid smile she had on her face.

4 pm arrived even too soon, as she walked her way towards the Jacksons’ house. On a couple of occasions Desna had even thought about getting back, she felt so gross in doing what they were about to do.

“Here she is,” she heard Lip say as he waved her hand, to get her attention.

“Hey,” she said mostly towards Ian, who seemed really nervous.

“Hi, Des” the boy tried to give her a smile.

“Okay, let’s go” Lip said again overly too confident.

“Do you think it is a good idea?” She asked as they walked.

“Absolutely!” Lip exclaimed but she glared at him.

“Yes I can see that,” Desna said, “But I was talking to Ian.”

“He thinks it’s great!” Lip exclaimed, still trying to convince himself that Ian wasn’t gay.

“I’m very nervous,” Ian admitted, making Desna looking at Lip with an ‘I told you so’ kinda look. But Lip put his arms around Ian as they walked.

“Relax, okay?” But Ian shook his head “No, no you’re gonna like it,” he was trying to reassure him.

“Yeah, if he was into girls,” Desna muttered gaining a look from Lip, not quite sure of what she had just mumbled.

“What am I even going to say?” Asked Ian nervously, but Lip seemed to have the answer.

“Just keep talking about science.”

Desna frowned, what the hell was he saying?

“I don’t know anything about science” Ian complained, but Lip had a solution even for that.

“Okay, then just read the Table elements,” looking towards Desna that was looking at him with a face that was screaming ‘Dude, what the fuck’.

They made it to the front door of the white wooden house and Desna could not feel more out of place. She was about to watch one of her best friends getting a blowjob, from the other girl who the guy she was fucking daily fucked in that bitch house.

“Fuck this is going to end bad,” she muttered as Lip knocked.

“This is going to be just fine,” he said putting his hand on the small of her back to guide her forward.

“What are you trying to prove?” She whispered to him.

“You know” Lip answered.

“I know you’re crazy” then the sound of the door open made them turn. Just that the door was not open, was only ajar and the figure of a woman went closer to look who had just knocked at her door.

“Miss Jackson,” Lip said politely with a smile. A smile that the woman did as well.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, “Karen is thrilled with you she got an A on her physics midterm!”

“Such a great student,” Desna said before she could stop herself, but the sarcasm in her voice was not grasped by the woman, who smiled at her.

“She is, isn’t she?” She smiled again before turning to call for Karen to say that her little helper was there.

“Polite,” Lip whispered with a forced smile.

“I’m always polite,” Desna answered, meeting his eyes, “In fact, I’m politely restraining myself from punch you in the face.” He didn’t have time to answer because the woman turned back at them, still not opening the door.

“This is my brother Ian” Lip said to the woman before turning towards Desna, “And this is my… my…”

“I’m Desna Hills, Miss Jackson,” she said trying to smile as natural as she could.

The woman smiled again, before looking at their feet “I’m out of plastic bags,” she said, “Why don’t you leave your shoes out here where they can breathe.”

Ian and Desna shared a look as Lip nodded his head.

The woman opened the door as they took off their shoes and let them in. It was a room with white and flower patterned fornitures. Very different from how Kev and V decided to arrange their house. They seemed ready to film a sextape, while these people seemed ready to go to church.

“Hello, guys!” Karen appeared. Short, blond hair already tight in a low ponytail and a fake innocent look in the eyes. Her mother seemed a sweet person, even if one of the strangest people Desna have ever meet, and she was sure that the woman knew nothing about the reputation of her daughter in school.

“Darla, right?” Karen said pointing at her, whose lips got thiner in a forced smile.

“Name’s Desna,” she said trying to keep her cool as much as possible.

Karen laughed, “Oh right, I always forget it.”

As he could sense Desna thought of killing the girl, Lip touched again her back as he spoke to Karen.

“Should we start with…” he moved his head to Ian.

“Of course,” Karen said, that fake smile was part of her being by now.

“This is not a good idea,” Desna muttered, stopping Lip by the arm, as Karen and Ian move towards the table.

“It’s alright” he said looking at her, who shook her head.

“I don’t even know why I agreed to this thing!” She complained as Lip guided her towards the table, where he moved the chair from next him so that she could sit there, opening her notebook, pretending to study.

Lip started to explain some random things of science and physics as they observed Sheila going into the kitchen where she was cooking something.

“So are we going to do it together?” Karen asked Lip, giving a glance to Desna, whose head shot up, as well as Ian’s.

“No!” Desna and Ian said together, as Lip tried to tell them to keep their voice down.

“No, Des is here just so that the group thing made sense,” Lip explained in low voice making sure that Sheila didn’t hear him.

“Oh, since I know you two are fucking, I assumed…” Karen was saying, that fake innocent tone was sending Desna out of her mind.

“Yeah, I’m fucking, Lip,” she said, “Only him, not every living soul.”

“Oh,” Karen said glaring at her, “Doris, I thought you as someone more polite.”

“Desna!” She whisper yelled, before Lip started calling her name.

“Des,” he finally made her look at his direction, “Stop, alright?” He then turned to Karen, “Come on,” he said gesturing her to take care of Ian.

“Alright,” she said, giving another glare in Desna’s direction, before starting to get under the table.

“I have to go take something upstairs,” she said so that her mother could hear, but she then disappeared.

“Ian,” said Lip, “Maybe you should repeat the Table elements,” his poor brother nervously opened the book and started reading. Just then Desna let go of her pen in frustration, but soon she felt Lip pulling her chair so that she could be closer to him.

“We said no jealousy,” he whispered to her, searching for her eyes.

“I’m going for no killing,” Desna answered, making sure that Sheila was still cooking, “I can’t stand her Lip, she is so rude,” she complained.

“You don’t have to stand her,” he said shaking his head, “But you don’t have to be jealous,” Desna smiled at him, putting a hand on his thigh, and she was surprised when he took her hand in one of his, as he turned to pretend to read his notes. Then she noticed poor Ian telling the elements out loud, and she really tried her best to focus her attention somewhere else, she didn’t even want to turn.

That poor boy, what if he was not confused at all. Could that be considered some kind of violence? Was she a witness? Was she an accomplice?

If that was the case, she liked Lip, but she had told him many times that was a stupid idea. She didn’t want any part in it.

“You kids want some homemade lime chicken chimichangas?” Sheila’s voice came from behind her and she observed Lip as nonchalancly declined as if Karen was not giving a blowjob to Ian.

“I think you’re twisted, sometime,” she whispered from next to him, who chuckled.

“Does it make you more or less into me?” He asked still looking down at his notes, but Desna’s eyes went wide.

“I’m not into you,” she said as if she has been found guilty of some crime. At that he chuckled again.

“You’re not?” He said with his smartass face as he turned to look to her, slightly leaning forward, “My bad.”

He then turned away, and she found herself at short of words. What did he mean by that?

“Why you…” but before she could say anything, a man, a big man, much bigger than Lip and Ian went down from the stairs. Karen Jackson’s fucking father was in the house. Desna felt like she was about to passed out.

“Hey fellas,” he said as he noticed the three of them, frowning, “Where’s Karen?”

Lip of course was ready to answer that she went to search where Isaac Newton was born, and the fact that the man believed him gave a great picture of Karen Jackson, that was still working on Ian. Desna could not believe it. She turned to Lip, that observed Ian before turning to her with a smirk.

“Get that smirk out of your face,” she said keeping her voice so low that she could barely hear herself.

“Come on, this is funny,” he said and Desna’s eyes widen once again.

“Try to do it next time!” She dared him, who leaned closer with an amused look.

“We could do it next time,” he suggested making her look at him in disbelief.

“I’m not going down on you, with your family around,” she protested, but his smirk got larger.

“Maybe I am going to go down on you, with my family around,” that made her blush, instantly feeling a rush of blood in her veins. Suddenly though out of nowhere an apple fell from the counter, rolling down in the living room, and for some reason they all freezed.

“All right, I’m late,” the man shout, “Karen, honey, I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” then he bent down to grab the apple, but in the process of doing so, he noticed his daughter under the table.

“What is she hiding for?” He asked looking at the three of them, and Desna felt all of her limbs go rigid. Especially when he lifted the tablecloth up.

“Sweet Jesus!” The man exclaimed in disbelief, as his eyes went from Karen to the boys.

They were dead.

It happened all so fast, the man shouted and the three of them jumped up to flee the house. Lip pushed Desna towards Ian, as he ran the other way. The man got crazy, he overturned the table, before running after Lip that was trying to leave the room from the front door.

“Lip!” Desna exclaimed as she saw, Lip running up the stairs with Karen’s father close behind.

“Let’s go, Des!” Ian said grabbing her by the arm, before bringing her outside from the back door.

“Jesus Christ, he is going to kill him!” Desna screamed as they ran in the backyard.

“Run, don’t stop!” Ian exclaimed as they kept going towards the road. As they arrive at the front of the house, they heard a loud noise and as she looked she saw Lip, trying to get up from the ground.

“Did you fucking jump!?” She exclaimed as Ian ran to take their shoes and then they all ran away still hearing Mr. Jackson’s shouts from behind them.

What a fucking day!

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 7 [The Thing Lay Still] - part 3/3

- Okay, the triple confrontation Daniel/Louis, Daniel/Armand and Louis/Louis is long but there's so much to say, I have to quote it entirely:

[Daniel] "Well, isn't that neat and tidy?" - THANK YOU DANIEL, I know I can always count on you to point out the flaws and holes in the fabric of Louis' recollection.

[Louis] "'There was a ship. We did get on it.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, I read that, the first 50 pages. Not exactly the, uh, adventure-of-our-lives feeling I'm feeling.'

[Louis] 'It was a traumatic escape.'

[Daniel] 'Yeah, but she didn't say that explicitly. […] But, um… there's a feeling that she hated your guts there for a while. Why is that?'"

Trust Daniel to always see the little thing that would be inconsequential to anyone else.

[Louis] "'I was haunted by my brother's death, by the abandonment of my sister, by the murder of Lestat, I…'

[Daniel] 'Murder? What murder? It was an act of mercy. You didn't kill Lestat. You spared him out of some fucked-up idea you had about love.'

[Louis] 'Love? I bled him like a pig and waited for the death rattle.'"

Oh, Louis. You are so good at lying to yourself. Good thing Daniel's too much of an excellent investigative reporter to let you fool him like you're fooling yourself. Notice how Louis looks as Daniel undoes all his lies and smoke mirrors? Like he's still trying to cling so hard to the story he's told himself for the past 80 years, like the lie is the only thing that keeps him upright, like if he admits the love, admits he wanted to save Lestat, that would completely undo him and there would be no going back?

[Daniel] "You were shot point-blank by an alderman. You were dropped a thousand feet and survived. You torched Antoinette just to make sure. Where does the trash go, Louis? You take the trash down to the street, some guys show up in a truck and they throw it in the back, and then, they drive it out to the middle of nowhere, right? No. They take the trash to the dump. And having lived two blocks away from the dump just outside of Fishkill, New York, with my first wife, I can state, with authority, what else you'll find there. Rats. Big fucking rats, the size of Kevin Durant's sneakers. Enough blood in them to bring back the dead. Especially one in a trunk with locks on the inside. You knew it, Louis. You had to. The biggest rat eater of them all."

Thank you for bringing back Moonlight Sonata! Haven't figured out yet if it's intra or extradiegetic tho. I love its presence in this episode. It's my favourite piece of classical music (I know, very original) and it's so gothic par excellence.

Mention of the first wife, Alice/Armand, no, I will not get down from this hill.

I love how Daniel's theory posit Louis as having done some planning for himself outside of Claudia's and even Lestat's, with the trunks locking on the inside and the rats needed to revive.

[Rashid/Armand] "'This session is over.'

[Daniel] 'How many days in the Islamic year? How many names are there for Allah?'

[Rashid/Armand] '355 and 99.'

[Daniel] 'Why does a 200-pound bouncer pass out after he sucks him off, and you, a wet T-shirt away from 130, doesn't even blink?'"

Ha, Daniel said 'okay who the eff are you and why am I smelling bullshit'. Meanwhile Armand said 'oh shit we're getting too close to dangerous waters and Louis is about to lose it, better reassert control'. But also, Muslim!Armand. Definitely. Not a throwaway line, not just pretence. Rolin Jones I'm counting on you to not fuck this up.

[Louis] "'I couldn't burn him.'

[Daniel] 'But Claudia could.'

[Louis] 'No', she couldn't.'

[Daniel] 'She stuck a pen in his neck. She recorded his last words in his own blood. The girl did not have a fuckin' problem tossing him on the grill, okay?'"

And Louis' wall of lies is breaking and shattering… And the pebbles of the zen garden, his other big trauma, don't help either…

[Daniel] "You cursed her into the darkness. You chose Lestat over her time and time again. You don't need a memoir, Louis. You need a hundred sessions of EMDR. You know the shit they put soldiers through when they see one of their platoon buddies get blown up in front of them?"

Say it, Daniel! These messy vamps need therapy.

Making jokes to avoid the sheer anguish in Louis' face, voice and body language, both in the 1940 flashback (the image of Louis holding Lestat's body and yelling is tattooed on my eyelids) and in 2022 (Louis sitting in his zen garden hugging and rocking himself, eyes screwed shut, trying to block Daniel and Armand's voices and the memories lives rent free in my mind).

[Daniel] "'144 years and you're still Louis the Pimp, paying a whore to sit in a room and talk with you. 'Cause why? You got some story you wanna tell the whole world about yourself?'

[Rashid/Armand] 'When you hear it you'll be ashamed, ashamed of what you say to him now!'"

Please don't hold back, Danny, do tell us what you think exactly. But hey, Louis needs to hear it.

The fuck are you talking about, Armand… Also notice how agitated he is? Feeling protective of Louis, or feeling like he's losing control of the interview, the interviewee and the interviewer all at once?

Love Armand taking off is gloves in the background. So subtle, so crucial. And then the lenses.

[Daniel] "'This is the same shit that happened in San Francisco.'

[Louis] 'Not exactly.'

[Daniel] 'How is it any different, Louis?'

[Armand] 'This time I won't save your life. Louis can sometimes act out. I protect him from himself, always have. Stopped him that night in San Francisco.'"

Oh, hello, Armand's decided to play Superman. Aaaaah, Armand's orange eyes, I love them!!!

Can we talk about Armand's infantilisation of Louis? "He acts out, I protect him from himself"… Like a child that can't regulate his feelings and needs to be put on time's out. The manipulation is deep and multi-layered, it's not just the memory alteration. Notice how Louis is pretty much dissociating, staring at the grey wall, face slowly becoming inexpressive and voice returning to flat and empty, from the moment Armand started telling off Daniel?

[Daniel] "'You were there.'

[Louis] 'You don't remember.'

[Daniel] 'No, I don't remember.'

[Louis] 'What was that you said about memory? 'A monster', was it?'

[Daniel] 'But I saw you standing in the sun.'

[Armand] 'As we age, the sun loses its power over us. What's a mediocre star to a 514-year-old vampire?'

[Louis] 'Daniel Molloy, I'd like you to meet the vampire Armand, the love of my life.'"

One, don't be too cocky, Louis, there's plenty you don't remember about that night too yourself.

Two, and we've come full circle again, the monster memory making itself fully known after lurking all season long.

Three, shut up Armand, the Sun is not a mediocre star, it's part of the entire reason there's life on this planet, show some respect. Sun deities are some of the most frequent deities around the globe. You need to come back down to earth.

Four, all the books being out of reach to Louis, another way Armand's exerting subtle control.

Five, "love of my life", BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAGA *deep breath* HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA, that line kills me every time I hear time. Why you lying Louis, stop fucking lying all the time. Sorry, Armand.

Daniel seeing them side by side and hearing that stupid line after listening to Louis ramble and compose poetry on the spot about Lestat for the past week or so: "hm. I sense bullshit of the highest degree. Time to destroy that whole tower of lies one by one.".

Aaaaaaaaaah, that was such a rich and intense episode!!!! What a grandiose season 1 final!!! So many different elements that have got to be revisited by other perspectives to get the full painting. So many seeds planted for season 2 and even season 3!! The writing is flawless, the acting is exquisite, the music is gorgeous, the costume, set design and stage direction are masterful. I am in love with this show.

ep1 | ep2 | ep3 | ep4 | ep5 | ep6 | part 1 | part 2

[snowblossomreads]

Day 3: The Snowball Effect

Pairing: Eli Michaelson x StudentFem!Reader

Summary: [Y/n] goes to her professor in need of a lesson of how chemical reactions work. They opt for a more practical demonstration.

Tag(s)/Warning(s): age gap, student/professor. dubious moral, oral (male receiving) and a wild usage of the prompt (throws holy water at myself)

Word Count: 2.1K

A/N: @deepperplexity I want to apologize for the way I used this prompt. 🤣It's a reflection of me as a person and I am flawed LOL. Thank you for understanding. Now lets get to the story while I go get some help 🤣🤣

MDNI

A different way to describe a chain reaction as he told [Y/n] was to imagine a snowball going down a hill and accumulating more snow as it went down before finally accumulating enough to cause an avalanche.

He explained to her that she should focus on how the snowball rolling down hill was the initiation of the reaction, followed by propagation - it accumulating more snow as it rolled down the hill becoming an avalanche at the end and finally, the termination of the reaction. When the avalanche finally comes to a stop and loses all its momentum and forward energy. That's how he said she should think about it.

After the explanation, he asked her if she had any more questions as she had stared at him with a bit of a confused twinkle in her eye. And something more.

"Dr. Michaelson-."

"Eli dear call me Eli."

"Eli I've never seen snow before. I think I might need a more practical example of this."

Who was he to not oblige his pretty little undergrad who had come to him for help?

"A practical demonstration you say? Well you're in luck," he drawled, a hungry grin on his lips as he eyed the woman sitting across from him who was shamelessly rubbing her thighs together already, excited for what was to come. "It just so happens that I was going to add one of those practical demonstrations to my syllabus. Mind helping me see how effective it is in teaching?"

She didn't even have to think about her answer as she popped up from her seat quickly and walked around the desk to his side only to find him rubbing his already freed cock that had an angry red looking head that seemed ready to burst.

When had he had time to do that?

Never mind that she was more interested in the demonstration as he had so called it as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Maybe she shouldn't have worn the skirt considering how seasonally cold the floor was. She should ask him to turn on the heat next time knowing he would probably continue to insist on her wearing something well…accessible.

Turning his chair so that he was facing her and she was facing his cock, Eli removed his hand from himself before directing the kneeling woman to wrap her hand around him firmly but not too tightly.

"That's right wrap your fingers around it and feel free to squeeze oh that's it," he hissed as her cooler digits did as he commanded causing his hips bucking up at the temperature contrast. The contrast of temperatures brought an interesting sensation that was not at all unpleasurable as his cock twitched at the feeling.

"Good girl that's right, now go ahead and move your hand up and down and keep that grip of yours," he directed in a low grunt as she did as he told her.

"Like this sir?" She asked with a tone of innocence as she began to pump the thick member with a practiced paced that he wondered if she had been practicing with any of the boys in her class.

No no, he kept her occupied enough.

"Exactly ah fuck you learn quick don't you," he praised letting out a loud sigh of pleasure to let her know how much he was enjoying the hand job.

"Now open that mouth of yours and lick all around the tip, don't forget the slit ugh fuck yes that's my girl…then I want you to fuck your mouth with my cock can you do that?"

"Yes sir," she answered with no hesitation as she bowed her head, fingers still pumping his pulsing member before she was flicking her tongue around his tip and tasting the warm velvet flesh.

She tested the waters with light kitten licks around the head and small kisses before dipping her tongue in the sensitive slit that had Eli grabbing the arms of his chair and thrusting upwards involuntarily.

"Ugh Uhhn!"

Someone was sensitive today she thought briefly but she had no qualms about that as she continued doing as he had told her. She did enjoy hearing his grunts and groans as she alternated between rubbing his slit with her thumb, smearing him arousal and licking him clean. The salty tang of him was addicting as she swallowed the liquid each time it touched the tip of her tongue and soon enough she was sucking him off with her cheeks hollowed and noisy moans leaving her.

She bobbed her head up and down on his shaft while her hands grabbed at his thighs for purchase as she took more of him down her throat with each pass of her lips. Over and over wet gags filled the room along with expletives coming from Eli who was letting her do all the work of demonstrating his practical explanation of what a snowball effect looked like.

Though she wasn't sure if they were quite there yet.

"Fuck that's it use that little greedy mouth, fuck naughty little thing," he praised as she moaned and gagged on him yet went to take more until she was burying her face in his lap at one point.

It drew out a loud elongated raspy groan from the older man as he sat upright suddenly from the shock of pleasure that filled his veins. His sudden action caused his cock to slide deeper down her throat than she was prepared for causing her to almost choke. Yet she held her composure only letting out a loud whimper as he began to lift his hips up slowly thrusting into her already stuffed mouth.

"Oh god I'm enjoying this, ugh so much fuck gonna come in that little mouth of yours," he loudly grunted as his hand found the back of her head and began to push it down in tandem with his thrusts. "Don't swallow do you fuck understand? It's essential you keep all my semen in you mouth when I come!"

"Mhmmh mhmm!" She could only hum her understanding which only caused his cock to feel like it had hardened even more in her mouth at the vibrations.

That only meant one thing, and within in a few more moments of thrusting he came with a noisy shout of her name as as his sticky salty seed began to coat the inside of her mouth.

It was so much that she was scared he might drown her with it as he had told her not to swallow and she was keen on obeying. Thankfully he must have known how much she could take as he was pushing her off his cock only to have a few spurts paint her face causing her to let out a garbled whine.

She held her mouth closed though as she watched him lean back on his chair. Hair and shirt disheveled, face red and sweat beading on his forehead from the exertion of well...having her give him a blowjob for the sake of education.

"Now come sit here," he panted out pointing at his lap. "Open your mouth and let's see if we've collected enough of our test sample."

Scrambling up from the floor, she quickly planted herself on the knee of his spread legs before opening her mouth showing the pearly liquid that she held in her mouth.

Humming in approval at the sight, Eli ran his hand up her body before giving her tit a nice firm squeeze causing her to shut her mouth and groan at his touch.

"Excellent, with that we can do the actual demonstration, all you need to do is kiss me to start the reaction, oh you like the sound of that don't you?" He teased when she let out a low whine at his direction that was accompanied by him squeezing her side causing her to make another squeak.

"After that you just need to deposit our sample into my mouth, and then I'll give it back to you, and we'll do it oh about five times should be enough to get the point across. We can redo it later if we need to try again. Now come on let's get to work."

Hand cupping the back of her head and pushing it forward without warning, Eli pressed his lips against the woman's harshly licking at the seams of it before she was opening them and letting his cum slip into his mouth.

He groaned at the taste as it was now mixed with her saliva making it even sticker as he added his own before swapping it with her again. It was a messy process and [Y/n] was sure there was a bit running down her chin but it didn't stop her from letting him spit the substance in her open and waiting mouth before she was adding more to the mess.

They did this five times as he instructed, each time the ball of saliva and cum mixing before it was back in [Y/n]'s mouth causing her to puff her cheeks as the volume of liquid had indeed increased with them swapping it back and forth.

Taking a pleased look at her, Eli swooped down and gave her one last kiss before commanding her to.

"Swallow."

She did with a barely audible 'gulp' as he watched with a devious smirk plastered on his face.

"And that's what we call a snowball effect, I think it's a great way to teach don't you think?"

"Mhmm, but I think we may need to retry it.”

"Really and why's that?"

"Well Eli I think the sample loss some of it's volume due to human error," she pointed out, though her voice took on a teasing tone as she swiped some of the cum that had landed on her cheek and proceeded to suck it off her digits. His eyes followed her movements and he let out a soft groan, shifting in his seat as he felt his cock twitch at her salacious action.

"And I want to make sure I have a concrete understanding. Can't let my professor down now can I?"

Smirking at her 'reasoning' the older man could only let out a amused laugh before his hand trailed down and squeezed her ass causing her to moan and push herself closer to him.

"Such a studious student Ms. [Y/n], well then, let's repeat the expriment and see if we can improve our sample collection technique."

A/N: I just I'm so sorry LOLOLOL. No actually I'm not 🤣I hope u guys enjoyed this unhinged mess.

[shinjisdone]

To Soften a Warrior’s Heart (Vinland Saga; Thorfinn; Part 5.1)

In which you have joined Askeladd’s band…and grow closer to the Son of Thors. Though it is more difficult than anyone can could ever imagine…

[Headcanons of how it would be like to meet and crawl your way into Thorfinn’s heart (based on season 1; both platonic and romantic)]

Part 1 is here - meeting Thorfinn at the age of 14 and how he is at that age

Part 2 is here - meeting Thorfinn at the age of 16/17 + headcanons of growing closer (slightly following s1 story)

Part 3 is here - blooming friendship with Thorfinn (slightly following s1 story)

Part 4 is here - Thorfinn unwittingly opening his heart as he realizes he does not want you to die

Part 5.2 is here - other sweet thigns Thorfinn would do for you (headcanons)

Part 6 is here - Becoming Canute's guard while Thorfinn accepts your relationship and bond

Part 7 is here - Canute grieving over Ragnar and Thorkell catching up; Thorfinn leaves you alone for revenge

Part 8 is here - Thorfinn wins against Thorkell; Questioning your bond with Thorfinn

Part 9 is here - Meeting Leif and Thorfinn dueling Askeladd; Losing while Askeladd told him the truth of his constant losses

Part 10 is here - Thorfinn and you bound by heart; Promises of Vinland broken and abandoned

[Mentions of wholesome things now happening between you and Thorfinn in your daily lives as vikings :)

No awful things this time - except potential harrassment of the other bandmates is mentioned. Many female examples in general + gender-neutral ones.]

Also literally had to split my original post in two because tumblr said no 🤡 one more word and youre out

i simply have;;;;;; too much brainrot ughhh too many thoughts

Sweet Things Thorfinn would Do For/With You Now That You Trust Each Other And Get Along And I Have Too Many Thoughts In No Order :)

Just as a heads up:

Never, never ever would Thorfinn ever express his feelings for you verbally, no matter if platonic or romantic. Not a living soul is going to know what's really going on inside of him (not like he even knows what he's really feeling!). Even you could be the one asking him why he's doing what he does and what he feels in his heart but Thorfinn would only scoff and leave you with no answer. If anything, he'd just come up with a light counter question.

The blonde is careful when he handles you. Do not misunderstand, there will be no signs or touches of affections from him. Oh, no, no, no. Thorfinn pushes, drags and pulls whenever and however he pleases. It's just when he does it with you, he keeps reminding himself to be gentle.

Not because he sees you as fragile, injured or not, but because he wants to be gentle with you. He's just not used to it, hence the remembering.

When he pushes you, he does so with half of his strength and because he wants to keep you out of harms way. While others roll down the hill and break their necks, you stumble.

When he drags you, he is, well, dragging you. Maybe you talk for too long, you're distracted or you're being too slow, ya drag. Again, he doesn't haul you by the collar but instead clasps your wrists and leads you elsewhere.

When he pulls, he is first guiding you, then giving you a brief shove into the right direction with his hand on your back. Sometimes he does pull on your hair though to wake you up. The guy is cheeky like that at times, only when you two are alone though and then he has the gall to say with a grin that he just pulled some hay out of your hair (if you have light-colored hair, then he has the excuse that he couldn't just see the hay and...pulled on a handful of locks). And if he doesn't do that, you can bet he pinches your nose long enough to wake you up.

Over time however, there will be not need to remind himself to be gentle. Thorfinn will just become gentle with you. It's like he's learning.

In general he would not think of anything of your gentle or soft touches. Thorfinn takes it that you find his company pleasant too so he wouldn't be surprised if you were kind with the way you are handling him.

However, he might freeze up like a cat that got in contact with water or even have the slightest of blushes on his face (very faint and very rare though!) if you show him any signs of affections or intimacy.

Your grin could rival the sun or you can giggle like a princess and Thorfinn would only smile at the brief joy you can share. It's nothing that flusters him.

However, if you were to tell him how, depsite everything, glad you are that you met him or that even he can be sweet in the same breath, then prepare to meet widened eyes and lips stretched to a line. It's hard to read what he's feeling in situations like these.

Bonus points if you are being affectionate with him. Nothing grand but something akin to gently brushing his hair out of his face when checking for injuries (the sensation of your fingertips gingerly gliding over his skin is foreign), tapping his face when trying to wake him up (your 'Hey, hey!'s that form as warm breaths hit his skin and your own hand is warm on his cheek) or when he drags you away with his grasp on your wrist, your fingers sometimes graze over his palm (You don't seem upset when he does that. It's like you let him know that you are there). All of these little gestures stun him at times...and yes, he might blush. Do NOT ever point it out or you're dead!

Even so, sometimes...just sometimes...if you are being reaaally cautious, you can catch him being affectionate as well.

It's not his fault. Your affection just has infected him.

The young man doesn't even notice. There isn't a change of behaviour or character, it is just a simple action that passes by like a breeze if you blink. When he thinks your joke was lame, he teasingly gives you light shove pat on your noggin (he acts like he's 'punishing' you for that bad joke even if his touch didn't hurt at all). When he cuts your hair or untangles it, he runs his fingers through as a last check-up (or maybe he does it twice, very gently too). When you are too tired or injured he gives you a piggy-back ride if the band has to move on, careful not touch your thighs (in fact he balls his hands up in fists so he can't have his fingers brush you) and adjusting you so you can be comfortable. You can bet he will tell you to hold onto him tightly so you won't and can't fall off. When he wants to wake you up, he nudges his head with yours, right next to his.

Thorfinn doesn't even realize these things can be seen as trusting or intimate. He just...does them. After all this time, why should he be rough with you?

When on baot, both of you have no choice but to share the same sleeping spots with the other men, no matter how much you dislike them. Either you'd wake up before them to enjoy the stillness or sleep in as much as possible until you have to get up. Since neither of you are of any help on the ship (rather Thorfinn refuses to when there is nothing in it for him and for your age you aren't as strong as the others to row).

On land you can bet your camp is faaaaar away from the others. Even when there are not on the battlefield, they are loud, sing, tell each other stories, pillage houses left behind or end up arguing which always leads to a duel. It's not pleasant to be with them so you two prefer each other.

If there are truly no enemies near, both of you feel free to fall asleep...but after that stunt from Askeladd, Thorfinn would always insist on staying up at least a bit before sunrise. It doesn't matter if Askeladd himself comes near, any of them men could be a potential danger (especially if you are a woman).

You wake up and get ready for breakfast. Anything that is edible will do and you both quickly decide who does what. Both of you are okay with whatever task needs to be done, so there isn't much arguing (neither is there in general). You cook, eat, and Thorfinn often trains during the breaks before the band moves on. He refuses to train with you though. On one hand, since he aims to kill, he cannot afford to go easy in general even if it is for sparring. On the other hand, he doesn't want you to get hurt. The blonde doesn't really believe he ever would, even on accident while training, hurt you (the guy is a bit unaware of his strength though...like, he totally could accidentally hurt you. If you told him so, he wouldn't believe you.) - but, as mentioned - Thorfinn does not risk anything when it comes to your safety.

You can best believe he would never admit that though. It's one, if not the only thing he is very much self-aware of - wanting to keep you safe. So if you ever ask why or you insist on training, he will bluntly and briefly tell you no.

If he doesn't train, you check each other's weapons or prepare yourselves while casually chatting. Better be safe than sorry.

If there isn't anywhere to go or anything to do, you'd usually go through your routine or do things that need to be done.

Patching up clothes or repairing weapons near a river while the other one catches some fish for lunch or as provisions. Getting familiar with the area or finding other useful material in the wild (breath of the wild style).

Wether you like or not, both of you have to bathe sooner or later. It gets rid of the stench, of blood, potential infections and diseases. You can't go on sailing the sea when you are this filthy.

I feel like Thorfinn in general is not fond of bathing. He would only do it if he has to, so he probably waits until the day he really, really needs to. When he is stinky and gross. Go ahead and tell him so while covering your nose, he might immediately defend himself but he needs the reality check.

No matter who you are or how close you two might be, I don't believe Thorfinn would want to bathe with you. He'd prefer to do it alone for...no reason really. He is done with it quite quickly too anyway, so he wouldn't need the help or company. It's just not something he'd like to do (yes, he'd find a way to wash his own back if it means he won't have to bathe with you).

He wouldn't want to bathe with you if you are female anyway. So it's not even a question.

In the meantime, he does not mind if you watch his belongings, inlcuding his dagger. The young man wouldn't let his dagger out of his sight for a second but he trusts you to watch it. However, he'd appreciate it if you wouldn't touch or clean it. He would rather do that.

Thorfinn has no problem with you washing his clothes though! Don't be stranger, go ahead! (Well, you did say he reeks. And what's the point in bathing if the clothes stink as well? He's washing himself right now, he doesn't have time, so...)

But in return, he'd do the same for you.

You can go ahead and bathe, he'll watch your belongings and if you ask, well, fine, he'll also wash your clothes.

Again, if you are a woman, he'd definetly will keep watch over your belongings and for you. The blonde would stay near and have his back turned to you as he keeps watch of the area. He can't risk any of the bandmates or others to see you or steal your clothes while you are bathing.

On a note; when he is washing your clothes, he would only go so far as for your pants, top sections, cloak, belts and pockets. He would not touch your underwear. You can go and do that yourself. It's better this way (Thorfinn would in return not expect you to wash his underwear either. Like, ew.).

Aside from bathing, you'd also groom yourselves.

Both of you have no qualms about brushing each other's hair, epecially when it comes to taking out lices. When asked Thorfinn would drop what he was doing (well, if it wasn't anything important) and brush your hair, no problem. The first few times he did that for you he most likely to definitely hurt you and got stuck on some tangled locks multiple times. He does get better though and gets gentler over time.

However, the blonde only insists on help when he is really being terrorized by lices. Even if he has a few, as long as they don't keep him up at night he does not see a reason to brush his hair. Bro could look like a scarecrow but he still wouldn't ask. Thorfinn does not care for his outer appereance as long as he can f i g h t grr.

(Okay incoming angst here: Another reason why he might not want to get his hair brushed is because it might remind him of the old, english mother who did that for him - before he ended up getting her killed. If you were in the middle of brushing his hair like she did, he might freeze up and tell you to stop - sorry, I know I said this would be wholesome but it just came to me,,,, ಥ,_｣ಥ I'm sowwy, if you want wholesomness pls ignore this)

Back to the wholesomness haha: If you do brush his hair, no matter if you talk to him/tease him/are completely silent, for the first few times, Thorfinn would definitely get embarrassed.

He knows it's done for the sake of hygiene but...he can't help it. Having you take care of him through such an motherly act is...touching as it is equally embarrasing. It would not help if you started just casually talking to him, or tease him for his behaviour or start humming like a mother taking care of her fledgling. PLEASE. JUST STOP.

And if you compliment how nice his hair looks? That you like how blonde he is? Gods, p l e a s e. just s t o p. You're embarrassing him, he's gonna go red as a tomato!

It's another reminder of how...normal of a person you are. That this moment that you shared was a moment of normalcy.

Normal, everyday interaction. Something akin to what friends, family and lovers have.

You two have long learned to not do this in the presence of the others. While the men simply wash themselves when it rains and groom themselves by running their (usually dirty and bloody) fingers through their hair, they see your way of taking care of yourselfves as too intimate. It's the same result and something many villagers do but it still makes these prideful vikings laugh.

So when you do take care of yourselves, you do it in private (You grumble how anyone can be so childish to mock something as normal as brushing your hair with an actual brush).

This includes cutting hair.

In his opinion, Thorfinn's hair doesn't get in the way so he seldomly cuts it. He can cut your hair whenever you like though.

He'd even use his dagger. There isn't much going through his mind when using said weapon - he might admire it in one hand while holding a few of your locks in his other before starting. The same blade that belonged to his father, which he killed people with and defended the both of you with, he would now use to cut something as simple and light as hair. He'd feel a bit more sentimental though if the point of cutting your hair was benficial to your general safety.

The blade that kills and defends would now keep you a bit safer (would his father agree?).

Aside from all this sentimentality, you can bet all your belongings that Thorfinn is an awful hairdresser.

He'd take a fistful of your hair, just the amount that you said you wanted gone, and just...cuts it. No corrections afterwards whatsoever. He is as gentle as a mother but your hairdo still looks like trash.

Well, in the world or vikings where you could die at any time and at any battlefield, looks don't really matter.

Still, there is something going on in his mind, you can tell.

After or during the haircut, Thorfinn looks at your cut locks in his hand, blinking with an unreadable expression before having the wind slip them out of his grasp.

Perhaps he is thinking that even something like long hair can be a danger out on the battlefield and the sea. Maybe you actually like to keep your hair the way it was but simply had to cut it and saw it as a shame. Or he might have thought how pretty your hair is. Who knows.

Thorfinn is the kind of guy who overthinks but keeps most of these things to himself.

Injuries are common as mercenaries and when you do have some, you two are the only ones taking care of each other.

In fact, either of you would refuse to help anyone else on the ship.

Men who raid, kill and follow a man who tried to get you killed are not worth to fuss over (yes, you both are still salty about that).

They can get sick and rot as much as they want, they won't get any help from you and Thorfinn.

When it comes to injury and sickness, it is one of those times where the both of you treat the other like glass. Gingerly and carefully while ordering that there will be no more working, helping and fighting until they are better. Thorfinn is a bit more stubborn to disobey and fight regardless and you've told him dozends of times how foolish that is. In fact, you might have had to save him a few times because he was being too stubborn.

On that note, you both save each other. It's an unwritten rule and there are no favors expected at the end. You save him and he saves you because both of you want to. Both of you don't want the other to die.

That can lead to arguements on what is considered dangerous. It's all out of tough love, however.

And when the day draws to a close, you two perpare to rest. Food is shared and the sleeping spots prepared. On boat, you are on the far back, huddled close and leaning against the raling to sleep. On land, you either camp or sleep on some hay in a stable.

Nevertheless, before anything can be done you two decide who will keep watch first. The decision is done quickly and whenver the other one starts to feel tired, they nudge the other one awake to switch.

If it gets cold and the wind bites you, well...you and Thorfinn were thinking of cuddling not to freeze to death. It's embarrassing (definitely for him, you could be a total different case entirely).

First you tried to share your blankets but keep some space. That would mean neither of you gets to move though. Besides, what's the point of keeping warm if you can't feel the body temperature of the other?

So...it seems like you have to physically touch. It's easy if both of you are sitting and just lean against each other, maybe even have one rest their head one the other's shoulder or head. Knees touching as your hunched small and close, though Thorfinn is very hesitant to wrap his arms around you. It's different when he is simply patching you up or leading you elsewhere...here he has to keep you warm.

Will most likey not initiate any kind of cuddling/wrapping his arms around you AT ALL. Dude is too embarrassed. And if you are female, then he is certainly hesitant. What if you don't want him to be close at all but have to endure it due to the cold? He surely can't touch you then.

However, if you tell him it's alright or if you initiate it, then...well, he needs time and a bit more encouraging but he will accept. Gingerly so though, and constantly overthinking where he even should put his arms. Finally decides to just have his arms around your shoulders, maybe rest his hand on your head.

Speaking of heads, he really, really, really prefers to have your head on his shoulder and not the other way around. As comforting as the thought may be...it also makes him feel small, like he is being taken care of. Just let him rest his head on your head, alright?

Please do not talk to him during this. It's beyond embarrassing but also...flustering. Thorfinn wouldn't know what to say anyway. Sleep, it's the reason why you are so close in the first place, right?

Now if you were lying on the ground...uh oh.

Thorfinn would not ever cuddle with you while lying down. He'd rather freeze to death.

No, no, no, no. He can't handle that.

But if you were the one freezing? If the cold, howling wind bites you and snow starts covering you like a blanket? He would do it. No question.

Again, please take the initiate. Just...tell him what to do, briefly and bluntly with no teasing. The blonde doesn't have the patience for that.

Thorfinn could never spoon in general, let alone be the BIG spoon. You and him...aren't like that. And have him be the little spoon? No, feeling your arms around him from the back is also just too much. It messes with his head and seldomly might even make his heart speed up.

Ugh, how annoying.

No spoons. Just not dying. That's it.

It's best to just sit and sleep if you have to cuddle.

Having your arms around each other, being so close, lying on the hay, your face so close to his...and then, maybe you even snore and he feels your breath fawning over his lips...

Bonus points - or rather, to add to his anxious horror - it would even be worse if you move a lot in your sleep.

You could cuddle into his chest, neck or face. That'd just be awful. How is he supposed to move? How is this going to look like in the morning?

AND IF YOU MOVE AWAY FROM HIM AND HE IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP YOU CLOSE SO YOU WON'T GET COLD??? BRO HE IS TRYING TO HELP YOU.

Does he seriously have to physically pull you close to him? What. A. Drag. He shouldn't have to be dealing with this.

The young man is already battling with himself where he is supposed to keep his hands when pulling you back to your original position. Oh, hell no, he going to wake you up and tell you to stop moving (stop snoring while you're add it btw).

Oh, also a VERY important point: You are not shorter than Thorfinn. Period. You can be the same height or taller but Thorfinn keeps on being the short one, capiche. He. Remains. Small.

So because of that when lying next to each other, you are probably face-to-face most of the time.

It is...bothersome. Thorfinn can't turn away nor look anywhere else when your face is right there.

He might even tell you so since he cant see anything with your mug right in front of his face when he has to keep watch. You offer to make yourself small and it inevitably leads...to you nuzzling into his neck (or chest if you hunch real small. Your back is gonna hurt in the morning though). The young man supposes it's better than nothing. The only way even perhaps.

He keeps a hand on the back of your head to keep you from moving and blocking his sight. Does not help when he feels your warm breath hit his neck.

You are either both asleep, or you switch, nudging the other awake to keep watch.

If it is Thorfinn, well, lucky him. He definitely can't sleep when you are cuddled up to him like that...though he tries to see it as something useful. He won't ever fall asleep while on watch and neither would he get any nightmares when he's awake.

Especially if you snore.

But perhaps you don't snore. You talk in your sleep instead.

It could be about anyhting; A dream, nightmare, a memory, family, your past, something that just happened a day ago. It depends on you if Thorfinn is familiar with it.

He'd stare, not knowing what to do. As long as it isn't anything that causes you to panic, he lets you sleep. Having no choice, he probably must listen to your rambles, wether or not you both like it.

If he hears anything personal, he won't mention it in the morning. You didn't mean to spill any beans, it just happened.

If you seem to be in discomfort, oh boy, does he not know what to do. Thorfinn might try to rub your back and he might try to pat your head but if it doesn't work, he shakes you awake. No use if you panic in your sleep right next to him.

He tells you of your discomfort but wouldn't know what to do afterwards. You can either try to sleep again or take over watch...

[too...many...thorfinn thoughts...overtaking...my...brain...not good...

also there literally are no pictures of prologue Thorfinn smiling :,) there is that one thing where he makes fun of Canute but thats no smile...thats basking in mockery :,)

little thorfinn is cute thou]

[acoraxia]

Hello, good evening! Can you tell us random facts about your ver. of Erlang and Wukong? Just random stuff yknow--

OOOH OK i love sharing general headcanons and stuff (keep in mind most of this is for the LEGO Monkie Kid verse not JTTW or FSYY verse)

Erlang Shen / Yang Jian:

Middle child syndrome is strong with this one

He's much older than most other gods and deities that have been presented to us thus far because of the fact he had a mortal father and an immortal mother. It isn't until he fully accepts his role as the God of Justice and Engineering that he gradually stops aging whatsoever (rip to him, forever having to deal with backpains)

A funny gag I have is that he and Su Daji used to hold hands but that is mostly due to the 2019 drama series of Investiture of the Gods. He misses his wife. He misses her a lot Wukong :(

He has a habit of coming across as closed off/serious when in fact his head is completely empty and he is thinking about when he can go home

Watched all of Heaven and the world almost collapse and went, "Well, that's not my problem," and went back to taking his nap with XIaotian Quan

Doesn't like meeting new people

Has a soft spot for his found family in Heaven (Sun Wukong, Nezha and his extended family from Wukong's side)

Sun Wukong / Victorious Fighting Buddha:

"The Buddhist canon states that bodhisattvas can assume whatsoever gender and form is needed to liberate beings from ignorance and dukkha." genderfluid Sun Wukong is real y'all who says he can't have a fem form???

do you have any idea how hard it is to fully characterize this guy? goofy silly YES but also serious like he was during the book but also a terrifying demon king but also a kind god that protects people

he houses LOTS of yao in his mountain, takes in anyone regardless of who they are, but he makes sure they all do their part in taking care of the mountain even in his absence

technically lives within a mansion on flower fruit mountain but it's similar to his vault: magic door to enter and no you cannot enter if you are not allowed to sorry

i do not like how LMK makes FFM feel so SMALL like gosh dang it is a GIANT KINGDOM and Wukong loves all his subjects that live there

planted a garden for his generals, spider queen, macaque and lady bone demon

i always imagined lady bone demon and swk having a familial dynamic (all because of that ONE jttw live action show making them sworn siblings) and it explains his reason for being so angry at her during Season 3

he loves stone fruit, not just peaches, and they're his favorite thing to munch on (peaches are just everywhere because of the one peach tree he planted)

can beat up Erlang if he wanted. has threatened to do so. nezha hopes he keeps that promise-

Sun Wukong AND Erlang Shen:

became sworn brothers through the journey

Sun Wukong almost beat him to death after he learned that Erlang burned his mountain to death

they had a moment (think Invincible talking to Mark after beating him up) and Wukong apologized before saying he was angry and viscous and "you took my family"

they reconcile years later and Erlang proposes they be each other's family (as brothers) and Wukong spends time on plum hill before accepting

Wukong sometimes shrinks down to his younger self and clings to Erlang when he needs comfort

Erlang has a habit of worrying over Wukong far too much (he was an older brother before Wukong mind you)

Iron Fan prefers Wukong over Erlang

my personal headcanon that Iron Fan was not that close to Erlang during their time in Heaven as Erlang kept to himself or was just never fully there

DBK does not like Erlang!

[louloulover]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷Teen Wolf Script✮⋆˙

𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓸𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼 ♡

(this is my first ever script on here, I'm still trying to figure tumblr out)

Beacon Hills high school will be shut down for awhile, places in the school are broken and they feel it isn't safe for the students. So they will be placed into Beacon Hills private high school.

(am i going for a fancy rich school, yes. I want to have a relaxing experience if I'm going back to high school.)

𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓸𝓷 𝓗𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓗𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓼𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵

(it's giving mean girls, high school musical, 2000s experience)

This school is big and supported by lots of the student's parents. They have a bunch of extracurricular activities you normally don't get. My favorites is Yoga, Tennis, Jewelry making, and more if I feel like it. This school is very clean, and always is. (bathrooms are spotless) Before other student's you would have to buy a LOT of money to get in, that's why they have a small amount of students.

Of course they have strict rules about certain things:

-You are not allowed to smoke anything on campus, you can even get kicked out of school for it.

-if your racist, homophobic, etc. you can get kicked out.

and more, just if you do rude stuff your out of the school. no clothing rules because I would hate that.

I have a cute locker I decorated, pink of course. Stiles locker is right next to mine.

My parents are one of the biggest donators for the school, which gets me a pass in every class with good grades so I don't even have to be in the class lowkey. (so we can skip school at times, also i don't have to be in tests)

I have my own credit card from my parents, so I'm pretty much the 'provider' for the group. lmaoooo. Just pay for the gas, food out, etc.

𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓶𝓮

Age: 18, October 13th (same as here)

Supernatural: My family are witches, but we keep it personal. My parents are centuries years old, I am a only child. Yes I am a witch but.

My parents did a ritual when I was a child, because they never wanted to lose me/protect me. So they gave me "power"

(honestly I don't wanna fight and somehow get hurt yk. Who doesn't wanna be overpowered??? pfft)

Like black eyes, sharp teeth, like come on? who doesn't wanna control that. Witch + Dark. So hot.

જ⁀➴𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

here we go.. I'm still trying to figure it out, I'm so open to suggestions.

start: 3 part 2 (Void Stiles <3) + season 5 (I'm removing 4)

We all start off in Senior year, we meet Liam this year as well. (although Liam doesn't get changed until later in the year. Also Theo doesn't come to our school until halfway through. so i don't beat him up right away. lol)

protect Stiles at all cost. I'm probably gonna edit later or whatever. But I just wanted to post so I can talk with other people tbh. Im so open for messages!!!

[howtosingit]

Tag Game: 911 Lone Star Fandom Edition

Tagged by @rmd-writes and this is probably the first tag game I've done in... *checks calendar* I can't count that high 🤷🏻‍♂️

When did you first start watching Lone Star? Who or what introduced you to the show?

I've been watching since the pilot premiered on Sunday, January 19, 2020 🙃 I actually was still watching OG 911 at that time with @emisfritish and we were trying to decide if we wanted to watch the upcoming spinoff or not, so we checked out the trailer. Saw that first little clip of Carlos Reyes and that moment of Tarlos getting down to business in 1x02 and I was suddenly way more interested in LS than I had ever been in OG (sorry not sorry). And though she never really joined the LS fandom, I do still get to experience @emisfritish watching LS episodes for the first time (even if it's sometimes months after they air) and it's one of my favorite things.

Which season is your favorite?

Season 3, for sure. Best viewing experience of any season, really strong storylines, so much more Carlos than the previous 2 seasons (combined), the full tarlos arc from exes to fiancés and all the really good growth for them in-between those two moments... I don't know that the show will ever reach those heights again, but I'm so glad I got to experience every moment of it in real time.

[Seasons best-to-worst, imho, are: 3, 4, 2, 1]

Who is your favorite character? (Bonus: If you answered TK or Carlos, who is your favorite besides them?)

LOL such a mystery, my favorite character is obviously Caleb. Love that dumbass. (Real answer: my top 3 characters are Carlos, Grace, and Judd.)

Top five episodes. Go!

Oh goodness, okay...

Push Bad Call Saving Grace Riddle of the Sphynx Donors In Sickness and In Health (sorry I know that's six but rafa is just so fucking good)

If you could pick any character to be given a "begins" episode, who would it be and what would that episode look like?

First I will say that I'm really happy that we don't do "Begins" episodes with LS because I remember wanting to skip so many of those when watching OG (never grew attached to any of the characters, maybe I'd like them better in LS but let's not risk it) and I think there are more organic ways to incorporate backstory into the narrative than to say "here's 45 minutes of backstory!"

ANYWAY For a very long time my answer was uncontestedly Carlos Reyes, and I would still love to get every single moment of his life from his birth until now, but also... I don't know, I think at this point in the show we've gotten so much of Carlos's history (through what is sometimes messy writing, sure, but we still got it) that it feels selfish to keep asking for more when a character like Paul still feels really undervalued on the show. So, maybe Paul? But, also Carlos because... I'm me 🤷🏻‍♂️

What is a scenario or storyline that you would like to see in season 5?

Honestly, I would like to see Carlos have to face the consequences of his actions in the s4 finale. I love him, I would die on every damn hill for him, and I fully tracked his rationale for why he did what he did, but it was still really messed up, and I would love to see him battling with those decisions and what they mean for him at the top of the season. I'm not against Carlos struggling and messing up sometimes (two of my favorite episodes are "Cry Wolf" and "In Sickness and In Health"), but it's a way more interesting narrative if we actually see him confronting his mistakes rather than them disappearing into the unknown like most of the consequences on LS... Also, Rafa would destroy scenes like that and I always want to see Rafa at the top of his game.

Would also love to see him get a different job but that seems unlikely and we'd lose that glorious utility belt strut

What do you think is going on in this still?

I do think it's most likely related to Gabriel's murder. It could be an update on where the Rangers are at in the case, it could be them calling Carlos in to assist with something (undercover Carlos mayhaps?), or maybe Carlos got suspended after what he did last season and this is him receiving a call from his boss with an update on his job status... honestly, no idea, but it's making me want to know things so fuck you tim minear

We all know about the elusive 5x05 spicy scene that has been teased, so what is your prediction for how it could possibly top 1x02?

See, I thought elements of the 2x12 sex scene were better than the 1x02 sex scene because there was all of this added intimacy and emotion between them, which just makes every touch and kiss and look and breath that much deeper and richer and sexier. Like, that look Carlos gives TK after taking his shirt off while straddling TK's thighs? That's sex right there. So, honestly, I don't know what they're going to go through between 5x01 and 5x04, but as long as the 5x05 scene contains all of that context that makes the moment about them and how they feel to be with each other, it's already topped 1x02 in my opinion. Rushed, casual, fun sex is great and hot and obviously I didn't hate it, but the combination of lust AND love? You can't ever beat that.

Where was the Tarlos honeymoon in your mind?

You know, I honestly don't know... I haven't really thought about it. Their honeymoon has kind of been a non-thing for me, so I hope wherever it was it was peaceful and exactly what they both needed.

Shoutout one of your favorite fan creations.

I know this says one, but there are so many different types of creations and I won't be able to mention all of them (it's been FOUR YEARS OKAY) but I want to try to share a range...

I absolutely have to start out with all the incredible work that @reyeslonestar gave this fandom: I have this one printed and framed, but I also love this one and this one and this one and THIS ONE. Also love this one by @whatsintheboxmh so much. I also love these two NSFW pieces by @a-kinkajou (but the AO3 links seem to be broken so you'll have to look at the SFW versions here on tumblr and just trust me).

ALSO I really love fanvids and in particular this one and this one (SOBBING) and this one and THIS ONE. While I wish I could list every gifset that has sparked an emotional response for me, it would be impossible, so I'll share this one (@maxbegone) because it makes me smile, these two because the vows are ev-er-y-thing (@danieljradcliffe), and this one because the Carlos Reyes Strut is also everything (@evanzbuck).

I mean, the Teacher AU. It's the teacher au. You don't understand, it's THE TEACHER AU (@three-drink-amy). I'm already so in love with Call Me, but that's no surprise since it's from the writers of iconic works like these (@welcometololaland @rmd-writes) The Knave verse is beyond iconic at this point (@liminalmemories21). This Carlos begins fic is really beautiful (@freneticfloetry) and this early fic has one of my favorite Carlos characterizations ever (@singerofsimplesongs). I'm always down for a firefighter!Carlos AU (@reyesstrand) because the man should be wearing turnouts.

Tagging: I'm not going to tag anyone because I think this game was going around a few days ago and I missed the train, but if anyone likes the questions and wants to answer, they should!

[gloster]

FAVORITE FANFICS OF 2023

We did it. We made it. We made it through the end of 2023, and BOY AM I HAPPY AS HELL TO SAY GOOD-FUCKING-BYE TO IT. I don't know about you guys, but this year- particularly the last quarter- have been a lot to say the least. A lot of headaches, a lot of mental breakdowns, a lot of emotional gymnastics, and more.

But thanks to good friends, good shows, good music, and of course good fanfics I managed to see it through the end.

One of my favorite New Year's Eve's traditions where I do my annually fanfic recs/favorite fanfics of the year. This marks a whooping 5th year doing it, YAY 🎉💃🏿 If interested, check out 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 lists.

Please know there's no real ranking, despite the number ordering. Loved all these stories listed. Loved all the fanfics writers featured. And of course highly highly highly recommend

Without further ado, here are my favorite fanfics of 2023:

1). Something Good by @no-net-ensnares-me (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: Eager to earn a wage that would provide a more suitable life for her family and prepare for Edwina’s debut in a couple years, Kate accepts a position as governess for the Bridgerton family and moves to London, where she finds herself thrown into the chaos of living with the severe yet handsome Viscount Anthony Bridgerton and his seven siblings.

or

The Sound of Music AU

The Hills are aliiiiiiiiiiiiive with the sound of music/and the feels are FEEEEEEEEEELT with each new chapter. LOL, but all jokes aside, yes it's been a year since we saw our dear Viscount and Viscountess yet I still ride hard for them like it's their season premire all over again. Thanks of course to the awesome fic writers who keep us well-feed as we wait for season 3, such as this gem right here

Seriously, I cannot stress how insanely good this was. A good retelling where you see elements of Sound of Music while also being its' own thing. The longing, the longing between Kate and Anthony is so good. READ IT.

2). A Devil's Love by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: When Kate's sister goes missing, she gets herself a waitress job at the Pebble Lounge to track her down, working under London’s seedy underbelly to find the only person she has left in this world to love. And Anthony Bridgerton? No matter how alluring and distracting he may be, he’s just a means to an end, his life defined by his family business built on corruption.

Kate won’t dance to that tune. She’s just trying to find her sister.

Two in a row. A win for kathony/kanthony. Where the first one for the most part is cozy and light, this one is dark. Not surprising since this story, according to the author, was inspired by the 2022's The Batman, focusing on the electric dynamic between our favorite Bruce and Selina Kyle. Or rather in this AU, the dynamics between a dangerous mob boss and a woman going undercover as a waitress to figure out what happened to her sister.

It's got everything. Protective/possessive Anthony. Stubborn, witty Kate. Great sexual tension. Fair warning, there is an unplanned pregnancy so keep that in mind. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride

3). Intent to Cherish by iffervescent (kinn x porsche)

Summary: A mouthy beta runs off with Kinn's watch. He goes to get it back.

4 chapters this story is. 4 chapters of hilarious back and forth. 4 chapters of Porsche keeping that stubborn streak in tact with Kinn trying to chip his way through. 4 chapters we get to watch Porsche go from intriguing thief, to Kinn's employee, and finally intended.

This story checks off so many boxes. ABO AU, which is always a favorite. Sugar Baby and Sugar Daddy dynamic- never get tired of that. And of course Porsche being spoiled rotten. What more could you want?

4). burnt cotton series by taetaehland (taekook)

Summary: here's a series featuring your favorite bratty taehyung and his whipped husband, jeongguk (plus their adorable pups)

Once again, we got ABO and we so far have 11 stories of it featuring our favorite BTS as they grow more of their little family, grow more in love, and of course Tae growing more crafty and poor Kookie growing more insane. I love it.

Not to mention seeing all the ways Jungkook becomes more and more whipped for his husband is just the icing on the cake.

5). 'Tis a Far Better Thing by @the-sinking-ship (drarry)

Summary: 'Tis a far, far better thing doing stuff for other people — or however the Muggle saying goes — because Potter is in need of professional help, and Draco is just the man to give it to him.

A Drarry Clueless AU.

Sometimes you come across two things, such as two fandoms that on the surface seem so far farfetched until one ambitious fic writer creates a story that combines elements of the two and creates a wonderful gem of a story. Which is exactly what happened here.

Draco Malfoy and Cher Horowitz are so much alike, it's not even funny. Thus enhancing my enjoyment for this story to outright love love loving.

Again, elements to a famous story that brings on the nostalgia and enjoyment while also being it's own fresh spin. Plus FASHION. Draco as a Fashion Designer with Harry being his newest client. Along with Draco massively simping- always a win in my book.

6). Tracklist by Mia_Moon (sukuita/sukuIta)

Summary: Singer Sukuna x Fanboy Yuuji

Where they do kinky stuff together first and then get to know each other later.

Sometimes you have that fandom with an OTP that's set and your loyal ride or ship. Then there are other fandoms, where you love most of the characters, see the chemistry between them, love the dynamics, and it's fair game for shipping season. Jujutsu Kaisen is one of those fandoms, and sukita/sukulta was one of those ships that I just ended up falling in love with it.

Listen. Listen. Listen. I know the synopsis just give smutty smutty good time, but you get that and MORE.

What more you say be asking? Well, for starter our dear boy Yuuji who gets spoiled rotten, pampered, and yes, also gets sexed up 7 ways to Sunday- featuring some of the hottest smut I've read so far might I add. Mia_Moon did their thing, and I definitely will be reading more of and more of their works.

I don't know why to explain it, but there's something about a celebrity AU, where we have one half of the ship be this famous celeb and the other being this outsider getting pulled into their world. I ate it up every single time.

7). I'm Only Going to Heaven (If it Feels Like Hell) by stereobone (eruri)

Summary: "Are you saying you want to be my sugar daddy?" Levi says.

This story, I kid you not, came at the best timing, especially as I still try to untangle my very tangled feelings regarding the final season of Attack of Titan. But one positive that came outta it was my ulitmate love for Levi Ackerman, along with rekindling my love for eruri.

Good to note, one of the quickest quickest ways for me to immediately read a fanfic is if I see the keywords: Sugar Daddy.

What can I say? It gets me everytime. And this one was no different. This story not only came to my radar at the perfect time, but it also was just so damn perfect. So damn good. And of course had me looking through whatever other eruri stories the writer had under their belt.

8). Minor Family Supremacy by @yoonmoonbii (vegaspete, kinnporsche,payurain, prapaisky)

Summary: Like Vegas, Venice Theerapanyakun was born into a dangerous world of crime and power plays. And unlike Vegas, he is well protected by his family who shelters the little boy and spoils him to the core. However, in a day like every other, Venice is kidnapped.

Oh dear lord, where do we begin with this one? Well, much as 2023 was a hot flaming mess, it also became the year of Love of the Air (my new comfort show) and Kinnporsche. For not only me but also for my dear friends @littlenightdragon & @kila09. And what does one do after getting into a new show/fandom? Find fanfics to satisfy the fangirl cravings.

Minor Family Supremacy, or as me and @littlenightdragon often like to call it, the Minor Family Saga was the fanfic for us. And deliver what we needed after finishing Kinnporsche and wanted more of Vegas, more of Pete, and see the other side of the Minor Family.

This one, massive massive props, praise, and all the kudos for @yoonmoonbii for putting this series together because wow. Series starts off with Payu aka Venice as a kid, best friends with his cousin Prapai, being protected by his loving parents until one day changes their dynamics forever- and further widen the gap between the two . But quickly as each story goes on, the two find themselves being more aware of their positions, the complicated histories of their families, and how to stay on course of their own lives without falling into the trappings of Korn's narcisstic chesse game.

It's that good. Each story is like a TV season to the vegaspete spin-off we were so badly owed and sadly weren't granted.

9). Haute Couture, Mon Amour by @goldentruth813 (sheith)

Summary: When a scruffy stranger walks into Mamora Designs, personal shopper Shiro decks him in finery instead of sending him away. Little does Shiro know there’s more to this man than meets the eye and while trying to give him a picture perfect moment he just might find his own instead.

When it comes to @goldentruth813, you can count on several things. Amazing sheith stories. Incredible moments that will make your heart swoon or flutter (depending on the rating). And of course for Shiro to be spoiled rotten and given more depth than the show did.

This one, one word: FASHION. Fashion, fashion, with a lot of a Cinderella-ish vibe, only slightly if you catch it.

Honorable mention:

Wishing on a Frat Boy

10). He's The Bride by @sashadistan (tododeku)

Summary: Fae Prince Shoto has been waiting his whole life to marry his betrothed. As it turns out, a few interesting details were lost in translation, but Shoto still thinks his bride is worth the wait.

Oh @sashadistan, how I adore thee. For the way you just drop these amazing stories for us peasants, feeding us with wonderful content one story at a time. I always love your stories whether it's sheith, tododeku, and more.

This one was no different. This story has everything I could want: Fae Shouto, possessive Shouto, body worship, Izuku being his stuttering and flustering mess, and arranged marriage.

If y'all told me 5 or so years ago, I'd get into arranged marriage, I would have been dumbfounded. Or wonder if you were trying to be funny. Now? I love it. Just goes to show that sometimes it takes a good writer to make something you don't like a win in your eyes.

And now for the Honorable Mentions that were insanely good but due to time & length, couldn't go into full depth:

Just Breathe by @icecream-suga (2 part series w/1st part focusing on yoonmin & the 2nd on taekook; gangsters, drugs, gunplay, OH MY. So goooooood)

Right at Home by cmere (firstprince, alex x henry; grad students in a non-royal AU, fake-dating, and hijinks)

Hair Ribbons and Silk Ties by writer_of_passion (tiana x nanami/tianami; loving husband goes bonkers seeing his wife's curls loose and it GOES DOWN, so so so good)

Bedroom Hymns by Writcraft (drarry; daddy kink w/dom & sub undertones, insanely HOTTT)

Like, Comment, and Romance by @xskyll (tododeku; Youtuber Deku, pro-Hero Shouto, mutual longing and pining wrapped in a insanely fun read)

And there you have it. As usual, thanks to the awesome fanfic writers who do what they do. Fanfics, literally, is the only thing keeping us sane. And please check out all these stories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS

[taejusunju]

Autumn leaves 🍂

Woonhak x fem!reader genre: fluff, angst word count: 2.39k admin: 🧃

note: Hii okie ik this is pretty long but bare with me, I haven’t written something in a while and this is my first official ff also feel free to leave any feedback. I do know the angst is a lot, had to make it sad you know. Either way I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading. 🤍🧸

Summer was coming to an end, the chilly breeze and colourful leaves falling had already indicated autumn slowly weaving its way. For others it may seem like an ordinary day and nothing special, but autumn was my favourite season. The not so cold and not so hot weather, the colourful leaves falling from trees, this was the time to relish in the colours, wear cozy sweaters and sit by cozy fires, roasting marshmallows while singing your favourite songs, the time for the closeness of others to keep out of the chill of the morning and the dark-eyed darkness of the night.

This time everything would be different, autumn wouldn’t be the same as it had been all the past years for me. The person whom I had shared the beautiful memories of enjoying this season wasn’t going to be with me.

Every autumn my family and I, would go to our cottage on the far side of town for 3 weeks during fall break. I had made many friends and we would have so much fun together. Sometimes I would visit them during spring break too. Till 3 years ago, I had met my best friend woonhak. Me and my friends had visited a new coffee shop opened near us, and that was when I had spotted a cute barista, who later on became my friend and then best friend. Woonhak had always kept in touch with me even when I came back to my hometown. But till last autumn, when he had suddenly started to change and become more colder, and just different. I wasn’t sure what had happened but he wasn’t the same Woonhak who I was bestfriends with. From hours of facetime calls to not a single text message, me and him had completely drifted.

Time sure does fly fast, its fall break of my junior year and me and family are on our way to our cottage. I had texted all my friends, most of them are reaching today and we are excited to finally see each other again. I was wearing my favourite knitted brown sweater that I got gifted on my 14th birthday by woonhak with grey sweatpants and my busted converse. It made me a little upset thinking about how I won’t be able to hangout with him like I used too this break.

Lost in my thoughts, while listening to music and looking outside the window admiring the red and orange leaves scattered across the roads and in the air, the chilly breeze hits my face like ice, sending chills down my spine. We were about to reach the cottage. I could smell the faint scent of firewood and home baked sweets in the air. It felt like I was finally home. When we finally arrived, I ran out the car and straight to the lake down the street. I could hear my parents yelling from behind, telling me to come help with the bags, but I had to go to the lake. Just like I had assumed my friends were already there. Taesan and eunchae were the first to arrive and they came to the lake first. I had missed them so much I ran up to them and hugged them tightly. After a bit we saw jaehyun, sungho, nat and woonhak, coming down the hill. What was he doing here? I forgot for a second that just because he’s not close with me anymore doesn’t mean he’s not close with the others after all he was jaehyuns bestfriend. They all came and we started hugging eachother, it had been a year since we last saw eachother. Woonhak was still distant with me. Besides a mere exchange of hi we said nothing to eachother, I could tell the others had sensed the awkward tension between us.

After chatting for a bit and catching up with eachother we all decided to call it a day and head back home. Everyone lived near the village, besides me and woonhak cause he lived a little further down the street from me. I was walking behind him. I so badly wanted to go up and talk with him but I didn’t know how. I feared he would just ignore me and not say anything back but I couldn’t stand the silence anymore. So I got a little closer and started walking near him, he didn’t even move a bit to look at me, like I’m not there. “Hi”, I said hoping he would notice me and talk, I was surprised when he said “Hi” back but in a cold tone. “It’s been a while since we have talked” I said nervously looking at him. He just nodded back in silence this time moving his head towards me for a mere second of eye contact before he looked back ahead. I wish it could’ve lasted longer, I haven’t seen him in so long or talked to him. I missed him.

It was starting to really irritate me and making me upset, I hate to admit it but I did have feelings for woonhak and before I could confess them last year he had just stopped talking. Getting annoyed I stood in front of him blocking his way, he looked at me with a confused look. "What are you doing?” He said. “The same thing you’re doing, blocking your way like you blocked me out of your life” I said, I wasn’t gonna hold back now I have had enough of it. "Why have you been ignoring me? Did I do something? If I did, why don’t you just tell me instead of leaving me in the dark, was all those years of friendship worth nothing to you, that you just threw it away like it was trash?" I said to him now a bit more louder and colder. He just looked at me with a blank face, "you did nothing wrong, it was me." He said. “So what? That’s it? You have nothing else to tell me? Seriously woonhak what is wrong with you.” I said while starting to tear up, I was too frustrated I just couldn’t hold back my emotions. As I started to cry, I noticed my face being lifted up, it was him. "Please stop crying, i didnt mean to hurt you." He said now looking worried, this was the first time in a while I had seen any sort of emotion on his face. "I just..had to but I didn’t mean to hurt you” he said. “How could you not hurt me, we were bestfriends woonhak” I said. “Oh. yea best friends..I’m sorry" he said now looking down at his shoes. "It’s getting late you should head back home" he said. "Fine” you said, you were upset and frustrated and continued to walk back home alone.

The rest of the evening I spent unpacking my bags and spending time with my family. I didn’t wanna think about what had happened earlier. Everyone was texting in the groupchat making plans on what to do tomorrow together but thinking about how woonhak would be there was already making me upset. Ever since woonhak and me stopped talking, jaehyun and I had became really close friends. I had asked him many times why woonhak had been acting the way he is, but it was only me who felt that way, jaehyun said he seemed fine and maybe he just didn’t wanna be friends with me anymore, but why?.

Its now 11:40pm and I can’t sleep. I decided to go to the park near me, I remember me and woonhak used to hangout a lot during last fall here together. He liked playing basketball and I would watch him or sometimes play with him. As I got to the park I sat down on the swing, listening to the sound of leaves rusting against the ground as the wind blows them. The quite sound of the night, the water of the lake moving and the crickets sound. I was gently swinging when I heard someone sit on the swing beside me, "Can’t sleep?" He asked. I looked up to see woonhak, "I don’t want to talk to you". For a bit we stayed in silence swinging before either of us said a word. "I’m sorry" he said looking at me. I didn’t feel like talking to him, it’s not going to fix anything since he doesn’t want to. "Why are you sorry, it’s not like you care” I said. "I do care, a lot more then you think” he said. What did he mean by that, "If you cared, you wouldn’t have just cut me off like that, do you know how hurt I was" I replied. "I know and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left everything like that but I didn’t know what to do at the time” he said. “God why are you so stubborn woonhak, can’t you just tell me what’s wrong if you aren’t I’m just gonna go” I said getting frustrated. I was about to get up and walk away but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to hug him. "Can’t we just stay like this for a while, I’ll tell you everything” he said, my heart was beating so fast I hoped he wouldn’t notice it. "I missed you so much, you don’t understand” he said, I missed him a lot too.

We stayed hugging for a few minutes before we both pulled back. We sat down at the bench near us, hopefully he would tell me everything and why he was so distant with me. "So tell me now, don’t leave a detail out okay?” I said, “okay…I didn’t want to distant from you y/n…we were so close….I-I just didn’t know what to do. Jaehyun had liked you since we all had first met and he wanted me to help him pursue you.” I was at lost of words, jaehyun liked me? But he had never told me anything. “I didn’t wanna help him pursue you, but I also didn’t want to tell him that cause he’s been my closest friend since childhood. So the best thing I did was cut you off and tell him we weren’t close anymore and I couldn’t help him. I truly am sorry for hurting you y/n it wasn’t my intention” he said. “Why did you not want jaehyun to pursue me?” I asked, why was he so against it. “It’s cause.. I just you know” he said, “you know what woonhak, say it” I was tired of him going around the bush. “It’s cause I like you, I like you a lot y/n and this wasn’t how I planned on telling you but you keep on insisting. I never knew if you felt the same and after jaehyun liking you I thought you would like him too and I never wanted to ruin our close friendship.” He said dropping the bomb on me, I was silently shocked, I didn’t know what to say to him. He liked me too? Did he not know I liked him too. "Oh” was all I could say. “It’s fine if you don’t feel the same, especially after becoming distant you probably lost any sort of feelings for me anyways” he said looking kinda upset now. “NO no, I’m sorry it’s not that it was alot to take in, but no I do like you woonhak, I always have since I first saw you at the coffee shop. I wanted to tell you last fall but you had already cut me off” I said to him, it felt so good finally telling him the feelings I had bottled inside me for years.

We both stood there looking at each other and smiling, after confessing to each other. I could see a smirk plastered on woonhak as face, “So you liked me for so long and didn’t care to tell me?" He said. "And you liked me and cut me off" I said back. "Heyyy I had my reasons to why” he whined, "okayy finee. oh..yea what do we do about jaehyun now?” I didn’t want him to ruin his friend ship with jaehyun cause of me. "I don’t know I guess I’ll have to talk to him and tell him about us” he replied. “Us?” I said grinning back obviously teasing him, “You know what I mean..like us liking each other” he said shyly, I could see his face becoming red. "It’s getting late, I’ll walk you back home” and I nodded back.

He walked back with me home, on the way we just chatted a bit catching up on old stuff. Here and there our hands would rub against each other and making us both get shy and look away from each other. After a bit we finally reached my house and it was time to say goodbye for the night, but I didn’t want to and I knew he didn’t want to either. "It’s getting late now you should head inside” he finally said. "Yeah you should head home too, goodnight woonhak" I said looking at him, admiring his face glowing under the street light. "Goodnight y/n, sleep well” he said. I wish we could stay like this for longer but it was getting late and he needed to get home. I started heading back inside and I saw he was still standing there smiling and waving at me, waiting for me to get home safely before he left. I waved back at him before I headed inside my house.

The next few days, me and my friends hanged out together and we did our usual activities that we did every fall. Woonhak and me had gotten closer again too. He would always text me in the morning, drop me off home, we always take our night scrolls at the park. As for our relationship, we wanted to take things slow and regain our friendship before anything else. As for jaehyun, him and woonhak had talked and he wasn’t upset, actually he had already known and moved on awhile ago and was now dating nat which definitely surprised us all cause no one knew about their secret relationship. So after all, my autumn break this year wouldn’t be bad as I thought it would be.