#i really do think things are going to start moving on the jared/josh side in the next few months

[gaylornation]

“In late October 2017, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, dropped into Saudi Arabia for an unannounced visit to the desert retreat of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was in the process of consolidating his power. The two men talked privately late into the night.

Just a day earlier, Mr. Kushner’s younger brother, Josh, then 32, was flying out of the kingdom.

Jared came to talk policy, but Josh was there on business.”

“The founder of an eight-year-old venture capital firm, Josh Kushner had spent the three days before his brother’s arrival at an investor conference, where Prince Mohammed had promised to spend billions of dollars on a high-tech future for Saudi Arabia.

As others sat through speeches in a gilded conference hall, several participants said, the younger Mr. Kushner frequently ducked out for more exclusive conversations with Saudi officials.

Some government ethics lawyers say those conversations — never hidden, but not previously reported — create the appearance of a potential conflict of interest. Although Jared Kushner severed his ties with his brother’s company and divested his interest in his brother’s funds around the time he entered the White House, he was nonetheless discussing American policy with the rulers of the kingdom at virtually the same time that his brother was talking business with their top aides.

A spokesman for Josh Kushner’s firm, Thrive Capital, said that it was not in a formal fund-raising period at the time of the conference. A year later, however, the company raised $1 billion. And two people who spoke with Josh Kushner at the conference said he had been actively promoting a health insurance start-up he founded in 2012, Oscar Health, which five months later announced a fresh $165 million round of financing.

A spokesman for Josh Kushner said the management of Oscar Health knew of no direct investment by Saudis. But the spokesman, Jesse Derris, declined to disclose whether Saudis had invested in any Thrive funds. Mr. Derris said only that Thrive had received no money since the presidential election from any Saudi who had not previously invested in its funds.

“Out of an abundance of caution, Thrive instituted a policy shortly after the 2016 election to prohibit investments from new foreign investors with business in front of the current administration,” Mr. Derris said in a statement. “It has abided by that prohibition.”

But he declined to answer whether Thrive has continued to receive money from Saudis who began investing before November 2016.

Jared Kushner appears to have been closely involved in Josh’s venture capital firm, having sat on the board and investment committees of Thrive Capital until January 2017, his financial disclosure forms show.

He also received at least $8.2 million in capital gains from various Thrive funds while working in the White House, according to a financial disclosure form filed in May 2018.

Whether Jared Kushner was aware of his brother’s visit to Riyadh or of any Saudi investment in his brother’s funds could not be determined. Spokesmen for the White House and for Jared Kushner’s lawyers declined to address those questions publicly.

Jan Baran, a Republican lawyer specializing in government ethics, said an investment in a fund run by Thrive Capital did not appear to pose legal problems for Jared Kushner, unless his role in the White House gave him oversight over matters related to the Saudi investment.

But Kathleen Clark, an expert on government ethics and a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said Saudi discussions with Josh Kushner raised issues for his brother.

“The timing looks bad, O.K., but the bigger issue is his brother’s business,” she said. “It is reasonable to question Jared Kushner’s ability to be impartial in dealing with the Saudis.”

At the time of the conference, Prince Mohammed was basking in favorable attention from many in the West for having taken preliminary steps to open up the kingdom’s economy and relax its social codes. The New York Times was one of several media companies that co-sponsored the 2017 investment conference. Several Times journalists attended, and one spoke briefly with Josh Kushner.

But the bond between Jared Kushner, 38, and Prince Mohammed, 33, has drawn more scrutiny as the crown prince has displayed more aggression.

A week after the Kushners left the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Prince Mohammed ordered the extrajudicial detention of about 200 businessmen and former officials in a Ritz-Carlton hotel, some of whom were evidently tortured. He was also behind the bizarre kidnapping of Lebanon’s prime minister. And months later, he directed the arrests and, according to relatives, torture of prominent women’s rights advocates.

Then, last October, his agents killed and dismembered the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside a consulate in Istanbul — on the orders of Prince Mohammed, American intelligence agencies concluded.

The crown prince has led a four-year military intervention in Yemen that has brought on a humanitarian catastrophe with no end in sight. At the same time, he has sown division among American allies in the region by trying to isolate  Qatar over policy disagreements.

Jared Kushner, though, has steadfastly supported the prince.

From the start of the administration, Mr. Kushner has argued persistently that Prince Mohammed can become a vital ally, especially in bringing the Palestinians into agreement with a promised American peace plan. He pushed past the objections of cabinet members and senior officials to persuade Mr. Trump to visit Saudi Arabia on his first trip abroad as president.

And even after a bipartisan backlash over the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, Mr. Kushner argued successfully that Mr. Trump should stand by the prince. Last month, the White House defied a congressional deadline for a report from Mr. Trump about who directed the killing, sidestepping pressure to acknowledge the intelligence findings about Prince Mohammed’s role.

Professor Clark said that ethics laws could require Jared Kushner to recuse himself from White House deliberations about the response to those congressional demands or other specific proceedings involving the Saudis.

Not long after the congressional deadline expired, Jared Kushner flew to Riyadh for his first face-to-face meeting with Prince Mohammed since Mr. Khashoggi’s death.

Critics of Mr. Trump have often argued that a tacit financial interest hovers over his administration’s dealings with the oil-rich rulers of the Persian Gulf, if only because they are major investors in American real estate. Both Mr. Trump and Jared Kushner are expected to go back into the business of selling real estate investments when they leave the White House.

Josh Kushner, however, has largely escaped the scrutiny that has fallen on the Trump administration, in part because he kept his distance. He stepped away from the family business to found his venture capital firm, and he is a Democrat who has said he voted against Mr. Trump despite the family connection.

Supporters of Josh Kushner note that his young firm has scored early wins — like a timely investment in the photo-sharing app Instagram — and that he was regularly invited to major tech investment conferences before 2016.

But the Riyadh conference drew Wall Street titans, and some attendees questioned how a relatively small player enjoyed high-level access to Saudi officials. On a list of the top 100 venture capitalists compiled by the trade publication CB Insights in collaboration with The New York Times, Josh Kushner appeared for the first time in 2018, entering at 99.

One of those he met, during an opening night party for V.I.P. guests, was Yasir Al-Rumayyan, an aide to the crown prince and the managing director of the kingdom’s vast Public Investment Fund. Another was Mr. Al-Rumayyan’s son Faisal, a student at New York University, and two of his associates said that after returning from Riyadh, they socialized together. (A person close to Josh Kushner said the two met face to face only once after the conference.)”

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Acting Your Age (Part 6)

Summary: The reader spends Thanksgiving with the Ackles family for the first time but not everyone is eager to meet the new girlfriend...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x reader

Word Count: 5,200ish

Warnings: language, age gap, angst

____

“Alright,” you said on the phone while Jensen drove into some Dallas suburb. “Mhm. Say hi to everyone. I’ll talk to you later.”

You sighed when you hung up, Jensen chuckling to himself.

“Your mom missing you for Thanksgiving already?” he asked.

“Apparently. It’s not like we went down on Sunday to have dinner with them or anything,” you said.

“Well Christmas you’ll be all theirs,” he said, turning down a side street, parking behind a car on the side of the road. “Ready to go face them?”

“Uh, still a hard nope,” you said as you undid your seatbelt. You both got out of the car, following him to the trunk. 

“You get the dessert, I’ll get the bags,” he said. You swallowed and reached in to grab the platter, Jensen slinging a few bags over his shoulder. “Hey.”

He grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Don’t be scared, kiddo,” he said. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”

“My parents are one thing. I mean, they already knew you and I had older boyfriends before,” you said. “The biggest age difference you ever had was a few years, not-”

“Y/N,” he said, cupping your cheeks with both hands. “Relax. I love you. My family will love you. I’ve told them you’re a little bit younger than me already. They’re good people. Sarcastic, but good people. Please don’t be afraid.”

“What if it goes to shit?” you asked.

“Trust me,” he said, giving you a quick kiss. “I promise.”

You took a deep breath and nodded, picking up the platter, hanging back some as Jensen shut the trunk and started to walk up a driveway. You caught up with him, Jensen barely opening up the door before it flung open the rest of the way.

“Jensen!” said an older woman with a big smile, her gaze going to you, a curious look on her face. “You must be Y/N. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said more quietly than you were hoping for. Jensen gave your hand a squeeze as she gave him a hug and took the platter off of you, giving you a side hug as well.

“Jensen, drop those bags off up in your old room,” said his mom. He took off, his mom looking over the plate. “Did you make these?”

“Yes. Jensen said no one has any food allergies so I made some sugar cookies,” you said, her head tilting again. “He said that was okay.”

“Sure…” she said, whacking Jensen when he came back downstairs.

“Okay, I’ve been home less than a minute. What could I have done wrong?” he asked.

“She’s nervous,” she whispered. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing!” he said, grabbing your hand. “We’re both a little nervous.”

“Well get unnervous before your brother pounces. You know how he is,” she said. She headed down a hall and you followed towards the back of the house, finding the family spread out in an open kitchen and family room area, every head in the room turning your direction. “Everyone, this is Y/N.”

“Hi,” you said quietly, giving a small wave that you cringed at yourself for doing. A guy a little taller than Jensen with a similar kind of build walked past with a beer in his hand. You could tell he wanted to make a comment but he kept his mouth shut as he kept going. Conversation started back up and Jensen pulled you into the kitchen, his mom going back to a stove as an older man approached the two of you.

“Y/N, this is my dad. Dad, this is Y/N,” said Jensen, putting on a smile. 

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Twenty six,” you said, the conversation in the room dropping again. You glanced at Jensen, ready to bolt for the door if his hand hadn’t been wrapped around it. You could feel the tension in the air before a kid in the family room laughed and people started talking again.

“You’re younger than I thought you’d be,” he said. 

“Yeah,” you said, starting to gnaw on the inside of your cheek.

“Well wine’s on the counter and beer’s in the cooler in the garage,” he said. 

“Is that really all you’re gonna say?” asked Jensen quietly.

“I think the both of you need a drink before one of you keels over. You look like you’re walking into a funeral,” he said. 

“Dad-”

“I don’t give a shit how old she is, no offense,” he said to you. “I don’t know if you’re aware but you make my son happy. Obnoxiously and annoyingly happy to the point where sometimes during his weekly calls, I’ll put the phone down and just walk away only to come back and find he’s still talking about you. It’s cute. I haven’t seen him like this over a girl since he was a teenager. So that must make you pretty important and nobody here is going to care how old you are. You two got that?”

“Okay,” you said with a nod, Jensen shrugging.

“Help your mother, Jensen,” he said, waving you to follow him. He went past and you looked back at Jensen. “We’re not the Mansons, kid. Come on. I see this is going to be like pulling teeth.”

“Here,” said his mom, rolling her eyes and handing you a glass of red wine. “Leave the poor girl alone.”

“No, no. I’m just introducing her to the rest of the family is all,” he said, putting a hand on your shoulder, leading you away from the kitchen.

After ten minutes you had most everyone’s names down and had started to feel a bit better. Until Jensen’s dad wandered off and you were stuck standing there with his older brother.

“So where’d you guys meet? The playground?” he joked, taking a sip from his beer.

“Um, my brother’s party. Jared, who did the show with Jensen-”

“I know who Jared is,” he said.

“Yeah, so, uh, Jared’s my older brother. I’d just moved back home from the UK. I’m living with him right now,” you said.

“Never heard of you,” he said.

“I wasn’t really super close with my family until recently,” you said with a nod.

“Cool story,” he said, giving you a glare. You bit your cheek again, excusing yourself to the kitchen.

“Can I help with anything?” you asked his mom.

“Oh no. We got it. You’re the guest,” she said. You forced a smile and headed back to the family room, making sure to stay clear of his brother.

“Y/N,” said Jensen after dinner as you were helping wash some plates. “You okay? You’ve been quiet all day.”

“I don’t think your brother likes me,” you said.

“He doesn’t even know you. How could he not like you?” he asked as he dried off a plate.

“I got the feeling was all,” you said, handing him another plate.

“Hey,” said his dad, slapping you both on the back. “Fire in the backyard is going so whenever you two are done, come on out.”

“Thanks, dad,” he said, looking over his shoulder as he walked away, catching his brother staring at you. “Hey, Josh. Come here a sec.”

“Jensen,” you mumbled. “Don’t.”

“Yeah?” his brother asked, Jensen spinning around when the house was quiet.

“You don’t like Y/N?” he asked.

“I never said that,” he scoffed, his brother giving you a dirty look.

“Well you seem to be the only person she’s actively avoiding,” he said.

“Maybe she doesn’t like me,” he said.

“Jensen, it’s fine. I’m sorry, Josh,” you said, glaring at Jensen. 

“It’s not fine and don’t apologize to him,” said Jensen. “You don’t have to like everyone but don’t be an asshole and write her off because she’s younger than me.”

“She’s living at home with her rich brother. Why do you think she’s with you, Jay? It’s not that hard to figure out,” he said. Jensen scowled but you could tell he was upset, more so than you’d ever seen before.

“Hey,” you said, stepping up to his brother. “I love your brother. You don’t have to like me and you can think whatever you want about me and why I’m with him. I know why I am and so does he and that’s all that matters. But please don’t upset your brother.”

You put the last plate down on the counter and brushed past them both.

“Y/N,” said Jensen.

“I’m kind of tired from the drive. Maybe I’ll come down to the fire later,” you said, still walking until you found the stairs and got up them, looking in open doors until you found a small bedroom with your bags on top of a bed. You smiled as you looked around, some pictures still up from when Jensen was younger but it was obvious the space was used more as a guest room now for when he came to visit. You pushed the bags to the floor and lay down, frowning after a moment and going to Jensen’s duffel, pulling out his hoodie and pulling it over yourself. You could smell him on it and you felt a bit better with it on.

“Y/N,” said Jensen, knocking on the door a few minutes later. “Can I come in?”

You didn’t say anything and you heard the door open, Jensen sighing when you had your back to him.

“Apologize, asshole,” said Jensen. You sat up and turned around, his brother standing next to him, looking you up and down. “Hey. Now.”

“You know he’s had girlfriends before that were only after one thing and it wasn’t him,” said his brother. “You know that?”

“Yes,” you nodded, glancing at Jensen. “But I can’t prove you wrong.”

“Apologize or leave,” said Jensen, his brother seeming to ignore him.

“No. You can’t,” he said. “I don’t know how you got him so good so fast but you do.”

“Yeah, well,” you said, sniffling your nose, wiping off your face before you started crying. “I’m just some slut after his money. You know, you can think that about me if you want. Go ahead. But think about what the hell that means you think of your brother. Do you think he’s stupid? That he just cares about sex?”

“No,” he said.

“Well that’s what you’re telling me when you think that about me. So think what you want but don’t you dare disrespect your brother,” you said, scrunching up your face. “You tell him you don’t think those things about him.”

“I don’t,” he said.

“Well good,” you said, wrinkling your nose and staring down at the bedspread. “Please go away.”

You heard him leave and saw the bed dip, one of Jensen’s hands sliding over to you.

“I told you,” you said, pulling his hood down to cover your face, tucking your knees into your chest to hide them. “I told you for weeks what your family would say about me.”

“Josh is being an overprotective dumbass right now,” he said. “He’s always been that way with me. He’s scared for me. He doesn’t want me to get hurt again is all.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt!” you said. “And look what happened anyways.”

“The only thing that hurt me was him. You’re crying in here because of him. Someone I love hurt someone I love and that fucking pisses me off,” he said. “Maybe I made mistakes before but no one would ever have stood up to my brother and told him to stop hurting me. You only cared that he wasn’t hurting me. He’s an idiot if he doesn’t realize you were trying to protect me just now.”

“I’ll be okay,” you sniffled. “Go hang out with your family. I know you haven’t seen them in a while.”

“I don’t want to hang out with them. I want to hang out with you,” he said, scooting closer on the bed, wrapping his legs and arms around your back, pulling you into his chest.

“Why on earth would you want to hang out with someone like me?” you said into his shirt. He pushed back your hood and tilted your chin up.

“I love you, kiddo,” he said, a small smile on his face before he kissed you. “He’s just gonna have to get fucking used to you being around.”

“He’s your brother.”

“You’re my girl,” he said. You smiled and gave him a hug, resting your head on his shoulder. He ran his hand up and down your back, making you all kinds of warm and helping you calm down.

A knock on the doorframe made your eyes pop up, Jensen’s dad looking back.

“Well that doesn’t look good,” he said. You ducked your head down, Jensen staying close as he turned his body some, his dad coming in and sitting down on the end of the bed.

“I don’t think Josh and Y/N are going to be the best of friends is all,” said Jensen.

“Go get your brother for me, would you?” asked his dad.

“I don’t think Y/N’s in the mood for anymore fights,” he said.

“There ain’t gonna be no more fights,” he said. “You kids have a fight, you make up. No one goes to bed mad, that’s been the rule since before you even existed. Now go get your brother.”

Jensen sighed but let go of you, heading out of the room. His dad tapped your knee, your gaze flickering over to him.

“You want to tell me what’s going on before the buttheads get back?” he asked.

“I think Josh is being protective of Jensen is all. It’s okay. I’m the one that overreacted,” you said.

“Maybe. Maybe not. You don’t have to like each other but you respect each other, understand?” he asked. You nodded, feeling his eyes on you. “You care about him.”

“He’s my best friend,” you said.

“I don’t think he ever dated his best friend before,” he said. “Other pretty girls. Some nice girls but never his best friend.”

“I don’t really understand what you mean,” you said.

“He’s been in love with a pretty girl before. He’s never been in love with his best friend, not until now. There’s a difference. There’s a big difference,” he said.

“What’s your honest opinion of me?” you asked.

“I think you’re a bit younger than we were expecting. But you care about protecting him, even if it hurts you. Kid, I don’t care how old you are. Honestly. But we’re not gonna go through you feeling second class around here because of what year you were born,” he said.

You nodded as you heard the boys come up the stairs, Jensen glaring at his brother as he stepped inside.

“You’re a grown man. Use your words. What’s your problem with Y/N?” asked their dad.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Yes. Clearly,” he said, waving at you. “Try that again.”

“You’re really shitty at finding girlfriends,” he said, turning to Jensen. “When you were younger, it was all normal stuff and I didn’t worry. But since the show got big, you got money. You got some sway in that business stuff and how many girlfriend’s since then have pretended to like you just get stuff? All of them.”

“Some of them liked me,” said Jensen quietly. “They just weren’t ever going to work out.”

“And you think the twenty something is? I know she’s Jared’s sister but come on, be smart. How do you know she isn’t pulling the same thing?” he asked.

“Because I do,” said Jensen.

“You’re still as gullible as ever,” he said.

“If she hurts me then she hurts me. That’s not your fucking problem,” said Jensen. 

“She’s just like the others! Why on earth do you think she’s hanging out with a guy as old as you?” he said.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize me being happy pissed you off so much,” he shot back.

“Boys,” said their dad as he stood up. “Josh. Maybe try getting to know Y/N before you make assumptions about her.”

“She already said she can’t prove me wrong,” he said.

“Yeah and she asked you more than once to stop hurting me. Not her. Me. Yeah, she must be some horrible person to try and defend me like that at her own expense,” said Jensen, stepping into his brother’s face. “But I’m just an idiot that no woman would ever want for me, right? That’s the point you’re really trying to get at, isn’t it? I’m just a good looking dumbass that has nothing to offer except money and connections, right?”

“Jensen-”

“Come on,” said Jensen, grabbing the bags from the floor. “Y/N, come on. We’re going home.”

“Jay,” said his dad as he righted himself.

“Thank you for proving our fears right,” he said, grabbing hold of your hand when you stood. “Don’t expect us to stop by for Christmas.”

“Jensen,” his dad and brother said as he pulled you down the hall and downstairs, outside and shoving your things in the trunk quickly. He was in the driver’s seat before you had a chance to blink. He honked the horn and you jumped in the passenger side, Jensen already down the road when you saw his dad step onto the front porch.

“Jensen,” you said, reaching over and grabbing his hand. He let out a sigh and turned down a few streets, parking in a small parking lot for a park before he shut off the car and rested his head against the wheel. “Honey.”

“I don’t want you around someone that makes you feel like that. I know you could care less about money and the spotlight and fuck him,” said Jensen.

“He’s trying to protect you. He went about it in a bad way but that’s all he’s doing,” you said.

“Why? Because he knows I’m pathetic?” he said with a shrug.

“Jens.”

“My siblings are all married, they all have kids. I was feeling good you know? I didn’t show up alone this year, maybe I’m not hopeless after all. And he just…” he said.

“Never talk about yourself that way again,” you said, leaning over and giving him a hug. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re mine and I’m so happy you are. This is the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time, Ackles. Maybe not tonight but I’m not going anywhere.”

“Maybe there is something wrong with me,” he said, lifting his head up, turning to face you. “Jared did the show too and he managed to find someone. Maybe it’s just me.”

“You found someone,” you said. “I’m right here. There’s nothing wrong with you. You worked hard and you got dealt a few bad hands. You’re kind and intelligent and you have helped me enjoy life again. There’s not a damn thing wrong with you, understand me?”

He nodded and rested his head on your shoulder. You rubbed a hand up and down his back, spotting a car pull into a parking spot nearby, Josh climbing out. 

“Stay here, honey,” you said, pulling away and out of the car like that, storming over to meet him. “Leave him alone.”

“No offense but you’re not really gonna stop me,” he said, walking past you. You jumped in front of him, stopping him from opening Jensen’s door. “Move.”

“No. You have no idea how much crap you stirred up for him so you can leave him alone until he gets it out of his system,” you said.

“I said move.”

“I said leave him alone,” you said, staring up at him.

“Fine. You come with me,” he said, nodding as he walked onto the sidewalk. You paused for a moment but followed him, his brother quiet. 

“You’re not like, gonna murder me, are you.”

“No,” he chuckled. “No. I came to apologize but since you’re willing to rip my head off, I should probably apologize to you first.”

“I’m not after your brother’s money,” you said.

“Yeah, I sort of got that after I realized he had a point,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Listen. I’m sure you think I’m a dick, rightfully so. But I’ve seen him been taken advantage of over and over and over again. I mean, I was going to be skeptical of the new girlfriend whoever it was but then seeing how young you are...it made it pretty clear in my mind you only wanted one thing.”

“All I want is your brother to be happy,” you said, crossing your arms as you walked.

“I know. I don’t think you’re a slut or money hungry or...I’m sorry for being a jerk. It was wrong,” he said.

“It’s fine,” you said with a shrug.

“No, it’s not,” he said. “You were a guest. You’re someone my brother cares a lot about. I was rude and ignored you and I ruined your first time meeting us when you were chicken shit scared to walk in that door. But you did it for him. You probably have to put up with a lot just because you’re dating him and not some no name guy.”

“It doesn’t matter who the person is. You put up with stuff no matter what,” you said.

“Like asshole big brothers?” he smiled.

“You need to have a serious conversation with Jensen. There’s probably going to be some groveling involved,” you said.

“I haven’t even started groveling here,” he said.

“Well, I’m getting used to people not liking me. Just make up with your brother,” you said.

“I don’t not like you. I don’t know you,” he said.

“I would try being kinder to people you don’t know from now on. World would be a better place,” you said, catching Jensen get out of the truck. “Go talk to him. I’ll be in the park.”

“Hey,” you heard about half an hour later, the two guys wandering over to where you were hanging out on a swing. 

“Hey,” you said. “You guys talk it out?”

“Mhm,” said Jensen, nudging his brother.

“I feel like I didn’t finish apologizing to you. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other and I want us to be friends...not just people who say hey at holidays. We’re a pretty close family and I don’t really know how to make it up to you yet but I’m really sorry,” he said.

“Why don’t you two go to lunch tomorrow? You don’t have work, right?” asked Jensen.

“You’re not going shopping with the girls?” Josh asked you.

“Not a huge fan of shopping,” you said.

“I like you already,” he said with a smile.

“How about Uncle Jensen spends some times with the kids while you two take a few hours, hang out, try to realize you’re both overly protective of me and I love you both so please get along before I have to kick Josh’s ass?” asked Jensen.

“You can’t kick my ass,” he said.

“Pretty sure I could,” said Jensen.

“Guys. Uh, yeah, we can try that before we escalate to ass kicking,” you said. 

“Good. Let’s get back before they send out a search party for us.”

“Well how did it go?” asked Jensen when you got back to his parents place the next day. You huffed as you looked at Josh, getting a dirty look back. Jensen’s face dropped but you started to smile, his brother chuckling. “I hate you both.”

“It was Y/N’s idea,” said Josh.

“Was not! It was totally his,” you said.

“I like her more than you. At least she can race a go kart,” he said.

“You took her go karting?” asked Jensen.

“Yeah. It was fun,” you said. “We were talking on the way home and said for Christmas we should get everybody to go. We were gonna stop down the weekend after. We thought it’d be a good idea.”

“That sounds fun,” said Jensen, smiling as his brother excused himself. “It really go okay?”

“Well it was awkward for the first ten minutes but we talked and we both care about you a lot and he really relaxed once we got that out in the open that we’re on the same side,” you said.

“I’m happy you could work it out,” he said.

“You feeling any better today?” you asked, getting a nod from him.

“Yeah. My parents really like you. They’re friends with your parents so I guess they kinda like already knew about you more than I knew. Your mom and my mom talk about their single kids to each other a lot apparently,” he said.

“That’s kind of cute,” you said.

“My dad says I better pray I never piss you off,” he chuckled.

“You can piss me off. But I’ll stick up for you too,” you said.

“I love you,” he said, kissing the tip of your nose.

“Well isn’t that adorable,” said his dad as he walked by. 

“Excuse him. He’s senile,” said Jensen.

“I like him,” you said.

“Excuse, Jensen. He suffers from that middle child syndrome. He used to tell us as a kid that he had emotional pain from it whenever he wanted something,” he said.

“You did not,” you said.

“I had to get something out of it,” teased Jensen, his dad ruffling his head. “At least I didn’t wind up as the baby.”

“You were the baby for seven years, kiddo. You’re still baby boy,” he said.

“I’m a grown man,” said Jensen.

“Hey, Y/N. We didn’t show you embarrassing childhood photos of Jensen yet, did we? That’s my favorite part.”

“I hate all of you.”

Four Days Later

“Hey,” said Jensen when you curled up next to him on the couch that night, throwing your arms and legs around him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you said, resting your head on his shoulder. “Just happy to be home.”

“I’m so sorry about how things went on Thanksgiving,” he said.

“S’okay. I’m not going to be upset over the fact that you have as protective of a big brother as I do,” you said.

“I guess that’s what we get for being the little siblings,” he said, nuzzling his cheek against yours. “I know why you’re really here.”

“The cuddles,” you said with a smile, Jensen laughing to himself.

“Obviously,” he said, picking up the TV remote and turning it on mute. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot,” you said.

“That acting job I wanted I talked to you about a few months ago. They made a final decision. I got it,” he said.

“I told you you’d get it! I’m so proud of you,” you said, giving him a kiss. He smiled and ducked his head down, turning his head away for a moment before he sighed and looked back. “What?”

“It’s for a Netflix show. Eight episodes. I’ll be gone for about four months,” he said. “It films in Vancouver.”

“Oh,” you said, Jensen looking away again.

“Long distance is hard,” he said. “Jared and Gen did it for years. I know how hard it can be. I’ve done it before. It always drove us apart.”

“Jensen,” you said, grabbing his chin and turning him towards you. Big green eyes stared back at you, worry all over them. “What part of you’re mine Ackles don’t you understand? It’s only four months. We can get through it.”

“I love acting. I love telling stories. It’s not just four months. This is my life forever. Cons start back up again next year and that’s weekends away and part of this will always have that long distance element and-”

“If you don’t love me anymore, I’ll go. But I can handle this. We can handle this. I can come visit you. You can visit me. We can facetime and skype and send flirty texts all day and I want you to have this job. You don’t have to give me up, ever,” you said.

“I’m just scared it’ll be too much. What if the spotlight comes back on me? What if it’s bigger than before? I don’t want you to be delegated to my girlfriend and that’s it,” he said. “I don’t want this job to break us.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” you said.

“What?” he asked.

“I spend most nights here. If you’re that scared, I’ll do what I can so you’re not,” you said.

“Kiddo,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “You’re building your clients up here. You have work and your business is doing really well. You can’t throw that all away for me.”

“Then we try. We talk to Jared and Gen, get some advice to make it easier to handle,” you said. “Look at us. We aren’t scared of stuff we should be.”

“I do have one other thing I wanted to talk about then,” he said. “Would you maybe want a drawer here?”

“Yeah,” you said. “I’d like that. I’ll make some space in my room at Jared’s for you too.”

“Okay,” he said, reaching over to the end table, grabbing a key and fob off of it. “Um, this is a key to door and this is for the gate. I figured...you know.”

“You have a way with words, Jensen,” you said, giving him another kiss. “You getting serious about me?”

“Been serious,” he said. “I know after the holidays, we’re not gonna see each other as much. I want to spend the time with you while I can.”

“Me too,” you said, snuggling into his side. “We’ll be okay though. I promise.”

____

A/N: Read Part 7 here!

[deans-baby-momma]

The Padackles Link-Chapter 53

A/N: Having to post from my phone because my laptop is froze so if this look weird, I'm sorry. I don't even know if the tags will work. ************************************* AUSTIN The warm water cascading down my face masks the tears as they escape my eyes. In the sanctuary of the bathroom, I could let all my insecurities and fear free. What had happened? Where had everything gone so wrong? I was at a complete loss. As I shampooed my hair I tried to think over the events of the day before. Yes I had been worried about showing up to JJ’s party, even after Jensen’s reassurances that I had nothing to worry about. He had even promised to leave early if I had felt unwelcome or out of place. None of those had happened though. The only discomfort was when Josh had shown up. Neither Jensen nor I had any inclination that Dani had began dating anyone, least of all, the doctor who delivered their daughter. After rinsing off, I turned the water off and stepped out into the bathroom. The sink still had his bottle of aftershave and cologne sitting to the side, his razor still thrown haphazardly into its container. All evidence that Jensen hadn’t packed everything. Maybe he was planning on returning to retrieve them later? I wrap my hair up in the towel and step to the sink. Wiping the condensation from the mirror, I look at my reflection. The face looking back at me is one I don’t recognize. My face is red and puffy; my eyes are swollen from crying, I’m sure and they just look devoid and bereft. There is no light in them; no life. I compare the woman looking back at me to the girl who, just a few years ago, had lost the love of her life and became a widow. The woman staring back at me is more disconsolate than that girl was. Shaking my head, I turn and get dressed to go check on my son. He was who I needed to worry about. He needed me, even if Jensen didn’t. Jackson was a helpless baby who needed a mother who could care for him, not a grief-stricken shell. Jackson and I head to the park to meet the Padalecki’s. I am looking forward to having some adult conversation and interactions, not a one-sided communication with an infant. Parking near the entrance, I grab the diaper bag and my purse from the front seat and exit the vehicle. Walking around to the other side, I grab for the handle to pull Jackson from his carseat when I hear my name being called. I look up to see Jared heading my way, a smile on his face. “Hey Jared,” I say as he approaches. “Glad you could make it. How’s little man?” Jared asks looking into the window at my little boy. “He’s fine. Just woke up from a nap not too long ago so he should enjoy this outing.” “How are you doing?” Jared inquired, his voice changing from the cheerful tone to a more somber one. I smile at the compassion and tenderness I hear in his words. He might be Jensen's co-star, best friend and pseudo-brother but if it hadn't been for Jared Padalecki, Jensen and I may not have survived the loss of one of our twins. I wonder now if his support and encouragement had been for naught. If Jensen and I were over and done, would I still be able to call the Padaleckis my friends? Jared helps me pull Jackson from the car and offers to carry the carseat over to where Gen is sitting on a bench in the shade. As we reach her, I notice a small smile on her face as she watches Jared and I interact. I can see that she is contemplating something but can’t for the life of me figure out what is going on in her head. I shake those thoughts away as I sit on the bench between them and watch as the Padalecki boys run and play on the playground, hoping that in a year or so, my son will be able to join and befriend them. DALLAS After changing out of his pajamas and brushing his teeth, Jensen strolled into the one room he knew he could find his mother, the kitchen. Donna Ackles loved to cook and bake and was always tinkering away, making some type of food in the kitchen. Jensen grabbed an empty mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup of the black brew. “Good morning Jensen,” Donna said, not even looking up from whatever she was stirring on the stove. “Are you ready to tell me why you showed up last night? And don’t even tell me you missed us. We had just seen you at the party.” Jensen cringed. He knew his mom was correct. He couldn’t use the excuse that he had thought of because it had only been about five hours before he showed up that they were all together, celebrating his daughter’s birthday. After taking a sip of his coffee, Jensen sit the cup down and leaned his elbows onto the counter. “I just needed some space. Get my head on right.” “About what?” Donna inquired, curious as to what had her son so unsettled. She set the burner on low and turned to look at him. “Yesterday. The party. Danneel flaunting Josh…” “And you’re upset about that?” Donna asked confused. She knew Jensen was upset and hurt when he found out about his ex’s affair but she also knew he had moved on with Drea. Had had a son with the girl, so why did it bother him that Dani had also moved on. “You’re with Drea now. You two have a son. Do you expect Dani to just sit at home in that big house and raise your daughter? That she is not meant to meet someone new for herself?” Jensen looked at his mom, stunned. That wasn’t what this was about whatsoever. He didn’t care that Danneel had found someone new. It wasn’t his place to tell her when she could begin dating again. No, this was more about WHO she chose to date. Jensen proceeded to tell his mother this. “It’s not that she is dating again. I don’t care about that,” he said. “Just...it’s who she is seeing. Josh is the doctor who delivered JJ and conned Drea into dating in order to get the results of the paternity test. Danneel will always have a special place in my heart. She is the mother of my first born, my little girl. And I wish no harm or ill will toward her. I want her to be happy. But I feel as though she is trying to take a jab at Drea by dating her ex.” Jensen ran his hand down his face, relieved to get that off his chest. “What do you mean, ‘conned Drea into dating him’?” “He agreed to do the paternity test only if Drea went out with him. And she agreed. They went out for several months then suddenly he dumps her because she didn’t feel the same as he did.” Donna nods in understanding but then abruptly and tilted her head to the side. “So? People break up all the time. What’s the big deal?” “The big deal? The big deal is after everything Drea has been through in her life, she just shrugged off the fact that the person who unceremoniously ditched her was right there in her face.” “Okay whoa,” Donna said, putting her hand on Jensen’s. “Back up. What are you talking about? What is Drea’s story?” Jensen explained to his mom about Drea’s mother being diagnosed with cancer and passing away when Drea was a teenager and how she had been put into a group home; how she met and fell in love with Chad in that home and after they both aged out of the system, they were married and were beginning to start a life together when it all abruptly came to an end after Chad was killed. By the time Jensen was finished, both mother and son had tears running down their cheeks. Donna grabs them both a napkin and wipes her face before she confronts him. “Jensen Ross Ackles! Are you that naive? I know I raised you to be smarter than this.” Jensen looks at his mom, frozen. “What?” “Drea wasn’t upset about Josh being there, with Dani because she never cared for him. Sure they dated but for her that is all it was. She wasn’t ready to let go of her husband and move on, not with the doctor anyway.” Jensen looked down at the table and let his mom’s words run through his mind. Was his mom right? Had Drea not been ready to move on when she dated Josh? Jensen thought back over what Drea had told him about her relationship with the doctor. She had only agreed to go out with him to help Dani keep her infidelity a secret, to help his ex get the results of the paternity test that she had needed. Donna groaned and sighed. “My god. I can’t imagine what is going through her head. What do you think this looks like to her? You see your ex with someone else and you pack up and leave. She is probably thinking you are upset that Dani is moving on. Good lord, Jensen. You’ve really screwed the pooch on this one.” “No, Drea knows I love her. She knows….” but as Jensen goes to tell his mom that Drea knew why he left, he realizes the fact that he never did tell her what was bothering him. Drea had left him alone after he blew up and threw the glass against the wall. Jensen jumps up so fast, the chair he was sitting in rocked backwards and almost falls over. He sits his almost empty cup in the sink and kisses his mom’s cheek. “Thanks Ma.” Donna shakes her head as she watches her son rush out of the room. She grabs her phone from the counter and opens a new text message. To: Drea My son may be an idiot and does things without thinking but he loves you and that little boy immensely. Give him time and he’ll come around. Jensen throws his bags into the backseat of his truck and hops into the driver’s seat. “Please for the love of god, don’t let me be too late. Let me be able to fix this. I can’t lose her!” he chants out loud as he pulls out of his parents’ driveway and heads back toward Austin. Pulling into the garage, Jensen immediately notices Drea’s car isn’t parked in the usual spot. He looks into the rearview mirror to check the street as he cuts off the engine. Opening the door, his heart drops when he realizes Drea might have packed and left him. Took their son and abandoned the home they had built. He ran to Jackson bedroom and was relieved to see that the crib and bassinet and all the furniture was unmoved and the clothes were still folded in drawers and hanging in the closet. Jensen walks to their bedroom and is once again relieved to see the bed unmade and all of Drea’s belongings in their places. Maybe she just ran to the store, he thinks to himself and heads back to the kitchen to get something to drink and wait on her to return. He is more than ready to beg and plead for forgiveness. He will get down on his knees if he has to. Anything not to lose her and Jackson over his stupidity. AUSTIN Thomas Padalecki is one tenacious little boy. Nothing would make him happy until he was able to push Jackson in a swing. So I held my son on my lap in the wooden swing while Thomas pushed with all his little might. I snuck and helped him move us by pushing my toes into the sand underneath the play area. Jackson cooed and laughed, which in turn made Thomas feel as if he was doing an excellent job. I hear my phone begin ringing in the diaper bag so I stop the swing and hoist Jackson onto my hip. By the time I get to where my bag is sitting, Gen has pulled the phone out and is handing it to me. "It's Jensen." I roll my eyes as I hand Jackson over to her. Taking the phone, I answer the call and walk away from the bench for privacy. "Hello?" "Hey. Where are you? I came home to an empty house." Oh, so he does care! How thoughtful. "I'm out with Gen and Jared. I'll be back in a couple of hours." "Drea, I'm s--" he begins but I don't want to hear it so I interrupt. "Jay, save it. I said I'd be home in a couple of hours. Just don't disappear again, okay? We have a lot to discuss and I'd rather do it face to face." "I'll be here," he says and I can hear the apprehension and panic in his voice. "I love you." "Yea, love you too," I say and hang up. Turning back to the bench I can see Gen keeping Jackson entertained but trying to eavesdrop too. I know she isn't doing it to be nosy or intrusive, she actually cares about this situation. Our conversation last night proved just that. *FLASHBACK (the night before)* "I'm so confused, " I tell Gen. "I thought we were doing okay. Not even an actual argument about anything. We got along perfectly. Almost too perfect, ya know?" "What do you mean?" Gen had asked me, puzzled. "There are no perfect relationships, Gen. You know that. I mean, I'm sure you and Jared have had your share of disagreements." She nodded her agreement. "Jay and I...this is our first. We haven't argued since we've been together. Everything was just….too impeccable. I really should have seen this coming." I run my hand through my hair and sigh. "Do you know how we met?" "You were stranded on the side of the road with a flat and they stopped to help," Gen confirmed. "Yea, and if it hadn't been for the spare being flat I wouldn't've needed any help. Gen, until I met Jensen I was a strong independent woman who could take care of herself. I have no idea when that changed!" Gen placed her hand on top of mine on the table. "Drea, you are still a strong, independent woman. I have never heard you complain once about anything. From months of being alone while the guys are up in Vancouver filming to giving birth with no one there to support you! I don't know if I could have done that." "I had no control over that," I told her. "Jackson wasn't going to wait for his father to make the 6 hour flight." "See strong," Gen smiled. "You just took what was given to you in stride. You're my hero." "And you're full of it," I laugh. "But I am glad you are my friend. I've never really had a friend. Most of the kids in the group home were all snobs and only look out for themselves. 'Cept Chad. We both needed a friend and that's how we bonded." "I'm glad we are friends too, Drea. I care highly for you, kid. Jared and I both do." "Thanks Gen." After our heart to heart, Gen and I had decided to go to bed and sleep away this horrible day. *END FLASHBACK* After leaving the park, I took my time driving back to the house. I knew what needed to happen and what needed to be said but I was dreading it. Dreading the fight for what I wanted, the fight for what I needed. For myself and for my son. Pulling into the garage and seeing Jensen's truck parked in its usual spot caused the pit in my stomach to grow. Here goes nothing, I thought as I climbed out of the car and went to get Jackson out. Jensen doted on his son from the moment I sat the carseat on the counter. He unbuckled Jackson and pulled his from the restraints, kissing on him and telling his son how much he was missed. I sit the diaper bag beside the now empty seat and walked to the bedroom. I needed a few minutes and Jensen needed to spend time with Jackson; to realize what he was losing. I don't know how much time passed before Jensen joined me in the bedroom. "He was worn out. Went to sleep with no problems," Jensen told me as he approached me. He bent to kiss me but I stepped away. "Jay, we need to talk." ************************************* Tags: @lostinaseaoffictionalbliss @carryonmywaywardcaptain @darlingpeanut @sunskittlex @sis-tafics @wayward-gypsy @sea040561 @pretty-fortune @squirrelnotsam @death-unbecomes-you @sandlee44 @internationalmusicteacher @kricketc27 @natura1phenomenon @mannls @nickie-amore @spn-tw-37 @frozenhuntress67 @blacktithe7 @supernaturallymarvellous @thetardishasaquidditchpitch @sirod-30 @heyitscam99 @smoothdogsgirl @i-just-wanna-run-hell @paintballkid711 @closetspngirl @starfirerules @vickiq9761 @rainflowermoon @spnbaby-67 @flamencodiva @tiffany-leigh @drakelover78 @jessieray98 @81mysteriouslyme @travelingriversideblues-x @akshi8278 @keymology @topthis808

[4llmywr1tings]

Can it Green Eyes

Characters/Pairing: Jensen X Reader, SPN Cast Words: 2,096 Warnings: Jensen is a little down about himself, language i think A/N: you are Jared’s brother in law, Gen’s little sister

+++++++

“I think it would be a great run in the right direction for her, but of course you know I have to run things by her first. Yeah, of course one of us will call her.” You look up from your laptop from what you were doing. It was the time of day, that you were doing your daily social media perusing, scaring fans with your responses. You wait for your manager to stop what she was doing to tell you what was going on.

“I don’t think she’d mind working with her brother–in –law, or her husband. No. I don’t think so.” You hated filling in her conversations. Usually she would put her phone on speaker when it was regarding your job, but today she had forgotten. “Yes, I’ll have her make a decision and we’ll call by tonight, tomorrow at nine, the latest? Good, talk to you later Jeremy.”

“What was that?” you asked, finally looking back to your Twitter profile. Like you had predicted, a fan had freaked out when you had “followed” her. She had just replied with a long “thank you.”

“Jeremy Carver. He’s still curious to see if you’re open to taking that part. You’d become a regular. I know you’re still browsing, but.”

“I’ve been wanting to…”

“Stick close to Jensen?” You nod, knowing fully that was what she’d say.

“Yeah. This distance with him in Vancouver and me in LA, it’s starting to get harder. A lot harder. Especially since it’s just new in this marriage.”

“Well, maybe this’ll be an easier decision than we thought?”

“Yeah. I’ll go give Jeremy a call. Let’s get me to Vancouver as soon as possible. I want to go. ASAP.”

“Okay,” Brittany replies quickly. “And then you need to start getting ready for the awards show tonight. You promised you’d make the appearance for the show.”

You let out a sigh and nod, remembering you would help your costar Dwayne Johnson present the first look at your movie together. This movie was a big deal for you, and any good publicity, was well. Good publicity.

You had decided to surprise Jensen, he knew you would probably take the part – you talked about everything together, and he was a deciding factor.

You only wanted to do it, if he was comfortable too. When he didn’t object to the possibility of you working closer to him, your decision was final. If you ever got a job on Supernatural, you’d do it, because being in Vancouver meant being with him.

And that’s what you needed in the beginning of your marriage.

You arrived in Vancouver Sunday morning. The flight was rather quiet, until Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas joined you in first class for the remainder of your flight. By the time you would get in, Jensen and Jared would be at their panel for VanCon, so you thought you’d either crash or just listen in.

Jensen and Jared were their usual selves, goofing off, making fun of each other.

“Yes, you.” Jensen looked towards one side of the stage. He waves goofily with Jared and waits for her. “Hello.”

“Hello.” She giggles nervously. “Oh man, I’m so nervous.”

“Don’t be. Jared does this to all the ladies.” You scoff and shake your head, and even give an eye roll. If the crowd could see you, they would laugh at you.

The fan laughs at them, and continues. “My question is actually for Jensen.”

Jensen gives Jared a smug look of satisfaction and then looks back to the fan. “Continue my lady.”

“My question is, in having a spouse in the business as well, is it harder to work in separate states, or shows, or is it easier to do it together? Especially so soon in the marriage?”

“Well.” Jensen replies, laughing with Jared. “We were just talking about that. It’s hard to be apart. That’s for sure. I was just telling Jared how much I missed her, and having her with me. Vancouver to LA is such a long distance.”

“It’s good and it’s bad. We love her movies, I was a big fan of her before I met Gen, and she loves doing what she does, but we like having her close.” Jared points out. “We love having family close.”

“So she’s either too far away in LA, or too far a way in Austin.” Jensen laughs. “Which sucks.”

“You should get Gen to come here!” the fan responds, and with that the group agrees.

“We should. Hey. Thanks! Good idea.” Jensen waves to the fan and they turn to the other side.

“Um, my question is for the both of you. What do you think of this new Resident Evil movie coming out? I mean Dwayne Johnson is in it!”

Jared laughs and nods his head. “I’ve heard he’s pretty cool.”

“Eh.” Jensen shrugs his shoulders. “I like the (Y/H/C)’d girl that is going to be in it better. I mean I’m pretty star struck.”

“Dude, you’ve got it bad Jensen.” The fan chides him, and they all laugh with the group.

“Oh come on. It’s (Y/N) friggin’ Cortesi. How would you feel?” Jensen asks looking to the fan. In the dark, they can see the fan shrug her shoulders, then nod in agreement. “See. I told you.”

“I like her too.” The fan replies.

“Well, my smart little sister in law liked it, so she put a ring on it.” They laugh as Jensen waves his hand and makes a face.

That was your cue to go out and crash their panel. You sneak out behind them, motioning to the fans who saw you to be quiet.

“But if we’re being honest here, I have to like her, she’s my sister in law.”

“That is a very good answer Padalecki.” You answer, walking out. They start to cheer as you lean against Jensen and immediately he takes your hand over his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s like she knows we’re talking about her.” Jensen replies, kissing your hand.

“All women are like that. They have like a sixth sense.” Jared giggles. “Especially my sister in law, even more so when she’s around Gen.”

You give him a look, but then nod in agreement. “We are really bad together.” You look around to the group. “So, are y’all gonna come see the next Resident Evil movie?”

Jensen laughs and shakes his head. “What? Shameless plugging. I mean who wants to see me kick some Dwayne Johnson ass. Butt. Assbutt?”

Both of them slowly raise their hands, and the crowd joins in on the question. “See, shameless plugging. I am proud of the shameless plugging.”

“Do you want to stay around and shamelessly plug some more?” Jared asks.

“Nah.” You smile. “They paid to come see your handsome faces. I just wanted to crash your panel, say hello, say go watch Resident Evil: Humanity’s Last Stand, guard your carnal treasures, and of course as always. Watch Supernatural.”

There was nothing better to do, so you waited around with all your friends. Once their panel was done, you had to wait for their autograph signings and photo ops to be finished. Even though it was almost seven before dinner was over and you were home, you were done for the day.

“Mmm. Number 47.” You smile, seeing the familiar black numbers over your shared apartment door.

“Welcome home. I’m glad I’ll be sharing a bed this time.” He smiles wickedly at you, and through your exhaustion you think you either scoff or roll your eyes.

“I’m too tired to react Jensen. Put me to bed?” you ask, almost whining like a small, needy child.

“Anything for my beautiful girl. Glad you’re with me.”

You let the door close behind you and wrap your arms around Jensen, letting him pull you tight to his body.

“I am so glad you are with me. Even happier that your first day of work is tomorrow. With me.”

“Me too.” You elongate your words, yawning a little. He supports your bodyweight as you slowly walk to your master bedroom. You quickly strip of your clothes and you’re the first to make it to your bed. “Remember when we met?”

“God, don’t I ever? You were the prettiest lady there, and you were at a wedding.”

“Glad you didn’t tell my sister that. Cuz she would’ve been mad.” You yawned. The bed dips under Jensen’s weight and he quickly joins you, clad only in black boxer briefs.

He laughs and kisses your forehead. “Glad I didn’t. I’m also so glad that they decided to introduce us.”

“Me to green eyes. Me too.” You put your head on his chest and quickly drift to a happy, peaceful sleep.

+

“I can’t believe it. Today’s the day Gen! You’re getting married!” you squeal happily. It was a bit of a whirlwind adventure, but your big sister (by less than a year) was getting married.

And you happened to actually like your future brother in law.

“I can’t either. Thanks for taking time out of your schedule.”

All you can do is give her a look. “Of course Genevieve. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Even if it were Oscar weekend. This is your big day, and I want to be by your side.”

She gives you the smile you always loved. She was your best friend, and being so close together, you followed in your big sister’s footsteps. When she started to act, you did too. When she moved somewhere, you did as well.

You both found your successes and failures. Some movies or TV shows were hit and miss for you, while her first and major success was finding Supernatural, and then finding Jared.

“Well, guess what? You’re going to meet Jared’s coworker. Jensen Ackles. He’s of course in the party.”

“You, setting me up again Genevieve?” you ask furrowing your brow. She zips up your dress and you look to her. “Come on Gen. When it happens, it happens.”

“Just meet him. It’s my wedding day. Do what I say.” She laughs, point to her. You nod in agreement, but it doesn’t help much. Her mind was set.

Now that you had gotten ready, all that needed to happen, was to get down the aisle. Of course your older sister Sarah would be the maid of honor, and you were next.

“So, is this the little sister in law to be, that Jared is trying to set me up with?” a guy asks. You look up to see a pair of beautiful, green eyes staring back at you. Everyone was lining up to walk down the aisle.

“Maybe, and who might you be, green eyes?” You fold your arms and give him a smirk. You knew who he was, and you were sure what his intentions would be.

“I’m Jared’s costar. Jensen.”

You let out an “ah” but have to stop as the procession is starting. “Well, after this is all said and done, tell me some embarrassing stories I can have for ammo against my brother in law to be?”

He laughs, and you feel yourself going weak at the knees. A laugh that you would love for the rest of your days.

A few hours later and a ‘we give you both our blessing,’ you and Jensen had found a quick exit after the bouquet had been thrown.

+

“I still can’t believe you said yes to me.” Jensen’s voice still does the same things to you, and every time you heard it, you still went weak at the knees.

“Best yes I have ever given.” You answer. You were getting ready for the wrap party, which coincidentally happened to be the airing of your first episode. You look to him, and he gave you a weak, yet brave smile. He was probably having a moment of insecurity, like you had many times. “And I’d say yes. Over and over and over again.”

“Some days, I just, I don’t understand why you picked me. You have everything going your way, and you could have any hot male celebrity. Yet you chose me.”

“I got my hot male celebrity babe. You are it for me. You are my person. You get me 100%. You love me for me, 100%. You support me 100%. I don’t know what I’d do without that. You are my person. Forever. K?”

“I. I just.”

“Shut it green eyes. You are my person, end of story. You aren’t getting rid of me, and I’m not getting rid of you. For a long time. Okay?”

[allaboutthebooz]

Send My Love (To Your New Lover) Part Fifteen

Summary: It’s been 3 months since Y/N said goodbye to Supernatural and said ‘yes’ to Jake.

Warnings: Angst, lots and lots of angst. Just a whole buffet of it!

A/N: Here it is everyone! Part 15. I am so excited!!! I’m literally buzzing!!!! I lied though. I said that this part would not have the reader in it, but it does. Just a brief part. I hope you all love it. I’m truly proud of this.

Jensen paced in front around the room, waiting. Checking his watch, he had thirty minutes. Thirty minutes before he had to take his position at the end of the aisle. He had been waiting for this day since the moment he proposed. So, why was he second guessing himself? Why was he thinking about someone who wasn’t his fiancé, on his wedding day?

Why was he thinking about you? It’s not like he’s spoken to you outside of filming, since everything happened in Austin. If he learned anything new about you, it was from Jared or social media. He had seen you go off to Greece with Jake, Jared, and Gen. He knew you had a new dog named Juno. He knew you knew you were currently in Atlanta filming, wrapping up Stranger Things. He hasn’t spoken to you. Unless you were talking to him about a scene, you didn’t talk at all.

You said goodbye to everyone when you all wrapped up filming. The Winchesters said goodbye to Anne with the flames of a funeral, meant for a hunter. You said goodbye to Anne, because you were done with the show. Done because of him.

He paced back and forth for a while longer. He paced until someone knocked on the door, making him stop. He cleared his throat and called for the person to come in. The door opens and Jared pokes his head in.

“Hey, man. You ready?” Jared asks.

Jensen looks at his hands and then back up, squaring his shoulders. His mine set. “Uh, yeah. Let’s do this.”

Jared smiles and opens the door wider as Jensen moves towards it, both of them stepping into the hall. “Are you nervous? I know I was when Gen and I got married.”

“No, I’m ready. I’m not nervous.”

“That’s good. I guess you really are ready this time.”

Jensen can hear the meaning behind the words and looks over and up at his best friend. His best man. He stops, making Jared turn towards him.

“Come on, man. You gotta let this go. You’re supposed to be supporting me. You’re my best man. I’m marrying Dee. I’m doing this.” He says, more to himself than to Jared.

“I know, Jensen, but….” Jared sighs, “Look, forget I said anything. I’m happy for you, man. I’ve always been happy for you. I just want to make sure this is what you want.”

“It is what I want. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Y/N is who I want to marry.”

“Y/N?”

“What?”

“You said Y/N is the one you want to marry.”

“What?” He scoffs. “No, I didn’t.”

Jared just looks at him for a moment before looking down at the watch on his wrist. “Alright. Well, we better get a move on. Danneel will be walking down the aisle in a few minutes.” He stresses her name, so that Jensen understands what he is saying. Reminding him of the choice he made.

“Right. Yeah.” Jensen nods and they continue their journey down the aisle.

+++

Jensen stood at the front with Jared, Josh, and his closest friends standing beside him. Music playing, his hands wringing in front of him. As the bridesmaids moved down the aisle, Jensen’s mind began to wander. He couldn’t help but wonder how his wedding to Y/N would have been like. What everyone would have worn. What her dress would have looked like. What his reaction would have been. Would her hair have been pulled up, her dress puffy like a princess or slender like a mermaid to show off her figure. Would her veil be long and pulled over her face? Would they have cried while exchanging their vows? Would they have smashed their cake in each other’s faces? Would they have dance to the very first song they danced to? What would have happened?

He feels an elbow in his side and he looks over at Jared, who nods to the front. He turns his attention back down the aisle and he sees Danneel and her father starting their walk. He gives her a smile. She’s beautiful. Her ivory dress hugging her top before flaring out around the waist. Her hair pulled back slightly with curls falling around her shoulders. Her veil covering her face, her smile bright beneath it. And yet, all he can see if Y/N’s face. Her face glowing with a bright smile.

His chest tightens and he shakes his head to clear her face from his mind. Danneel and her dad stop in front of him as they exchange their affections, before he places her hand in Jensen’s. They both turn to face the pastor as he begins his speech. Jensen gulps slightly to loosen the tightness in his throat. To ease the ache in his chest. To fill the pit in his stomach. The sounds around him becoming silent, muffled. He looked over at Danneel, except it wasn’t Danneel looking back at him. It was Y/N. Her bright eyes filled with so much love for him. How could he have left her? How could he have believed he was out of love with her? He still loved her, and it was killing him, that he ruined what they had. He didn’t think it affected him, until now. Standing here with the woman he left her for. His heart beat filling his ears, keeping any sound at bay.

He fully turns towards Danneel. “Wait.” He hears his voice fill the space. The mental earmuffs are removed. Sound rushing in. Y/N’s face disappearing and becoming Danneel’s again. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” She asks, confusion filling her beautiful face. “What are you sorry for?”

Tension filling the air around them. “I can’t do this. I shouldn’t be doing this.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been waiting for this day for over a year.”

He shakes his head. “I thought this what was I wanted. That you were what I wanted, but I was wrong. What we did, was wrong. I shouldn’t have left her. I shouldn’t have come to see you that day. I should have talked to her.”

“Y/N?”

He nods. “I’m sorry, Dee.” He drops her hand and starts to step away from her. He looks over a Jared and sees the anger brewing underneath. His jaw clenched. He shakes his head at Jensen, telling him not to screw everything up for you. “I’m sorry.” He tells Jared. He turns and rushes down the aisle. Danneel calling after him.

+++

The first warm day in New York found you sitting on your balcony, Juno at your feet as you overlooked the scenery as the sun set. You were waiting for Jake to call you, once his plan landed in California and he was settled at his parent’s house. He flew out for his mom’s birthday, but you had to stay behind to finish unpacking before flying out to Atlanta in a couple of days.

Your phone rang on the table beside you and you pick it up. Hoping it was Jake but finding Jared’s name instead. You smile and answer, “Hey, Moose. How was the wedding?”

“It didn’t happen, Bug.”

You feel your eyebrows scrunch together. “What do you mean it didn’t happen?”

“Exactly that. He left during the ceremony.” From the sound of his voice, you can tell he’s frustrated and probably rubbing his forehead.

“He left her at alter?”

Jared sighs. “Yeah.”

“Why would he do that?”

There’s a pause. “Because of you, Bug. He told everyone he still loves you.”

Your stomach sinks, breath caught in your chest. You have no words.

“Y/N?”

“I’m here. I’m just…”

“I know. Listen, I wouldn’t doubt if he tries to come and see you. I don’t think he has your new address, but I’m sure he could find it from someone. I’m getting on the next flight out to New York. I just don’t want him to ruin things for you, Bug. You’re finally happy and I don’t want him to take that from you again.”

“Jare, you don’t have to fly out here.”

“Yes, I do. Not protect you, but to get him to leave you alone. He can’t keep screwing with you like this.”

“Jared, I’ll be fine.”

“No, I know that, but I need to be there. I’m so pissed at him. I had no idea.”

“You couldn’t have known. Not like, he would have said anything anyways. I just hate that he left her because of me. I don’t want her to think, I did this as payback or something.” You bite your lip.

“I’m sure she doesn’t think that.”

“I think I need to call her, Moose. I have to talk to her.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t know, but…”

He sighs again. “Okay. I’ll text you her number, but I’m headed to the airport now. I’m coming to see you.”

“Okay. I’m going to call Jake. He needs to know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, alright. I’ll text you when I’m boarding the plane and I’ll call you when I land.”

“Okay. Be careful, Jare.”

“I will. I just hope I can get there before he does.”

You both hang up and your phone chimes with a text from Jared with Danneel’s phone number.

+++

You call Jake and tell him what happened, and he tries to tell you that he’s coming home, but you convince him to stay until after his mom’s party that night. You didn’t want to take her son from her on her birthday. You explain to him that Jared was on a flight from Austin anyways and would be landing in a few hours.

“Alright. Well please call me if anything happens. I’ll try to get home to you as soon as I can.”

“I’ll be fine, Jake. Give you mom a hug and tell her happy birthday for me. I love you, so much.”

“I love you too, Smalls. I’ll talk to you soon.”

You hang up and grips your phone in your hand. Clutch it to your chest, before pulling it away to look at the text Jared sent you. You click on the ten-digit number and bring the phone to your ear as it rings.

It clicks with an answer and a shaky voice on the other end has you holding your breath. “Hello?”

+++

Jensen paced in his hotel room. He had landed in New York about two hours ago after getting your new address from Bob. He knows he should just leave you alone. He should just go back to Texas and go on with his life, but something was telling him to find you. He had to see you. He had to tell you what he was feeling. He had to let you know that he was the biggest fucking idiot that he had ever know. He needs to beg for you to forgive him and to take him back before it was too late.

But what if it truly was too late. You were getting married to Jake. You had said yes to Jake. To the public you both had finally moved on and were ready for your future, but to him you were moving on because he didn’t give you a choice and he didn’t want to let you go. He thought he could, but standing at the end of the aisle, waiting for Danneel, made him realize that he needs you. He needs to hold you. Needs you to hold him. Hold him the way you did, after your last scene was filmed.

He had forgotten how good you felt when you were in his arms. How warm you were.  How you seemed to mold yourself to him. He missed the feel of your skin on his. The beat of your heart under his fingers. He needed to see you. If for nothing more than a final kiss. One final touch of your skin to his.

+++

Jared raced through the lobby of your apartment building. He helped you officially move in when you and Jake got back from your trip to the mountains. He remembers the look of utter happiness on your face when you excitedly showed Gen the engagement ring on your finger. He hadn’t seen that look on your face in a long time and it made his heart swell. He has never doubted his love for you. The way a brother would love his sister. The way he loves his blood siblings.

He will never forget the night that you called him when Jensen walked out of your shared home. He won’t forget the sound of your heart shattering into pieces as you sobbed into the phone, while he had Gen looking for a flight out to LA for him. Gen was days away from giving birth to Odette. So, he dropped the kids off at her parent’s house to give her some time to herself, while he hopped on a plane to get to you. To bring you home with him. He remembers finding you sobbing in the middle of the floor in your kitchen. Broken glasses, plates, everything destroyed around you.

He remembers sweeping away what he could with his hands before scooping you up in his arms and taking you to bed. He remembers packing a bag for you while you lay catatonic underneath the mountain of pillows and blankets. Getting you onto the plane, without the world seeing you, in less than a day. Getting you back to his house and letting Gen take you to the guest room. Burying you beneath more pillows and blankets. Your sobs filling his ears, while Gen holed the two of you up in your room.

He remembers ripping into Jensen for destroying you. He didn’t know if you would ever be the same. At the time, he was sure the he would lose you. You were so broken and there was nothing he could do. He remembers your smile when the boys burst through your bedroom door, while the two of you talked. The smile was dim, and your eyes were platonic, but the boys didn’t care. They were excited to have you in their home. They didn’t notice the difference in you, but Jared did.

It took you so long to get that bright smile and dazzling look in your eyes again. And then you met Jake and it was like you were you again. He finally got you back. Got his sister back. Of course, he had the talk with Jake. Told him what happened when he found you in your own home. Told him how broken you were. Made him promise not to tell you. Made him promise not to do the same thing to you. A promise he has managed to keep, but Jared kept his guard up just a bit. Just in case.

He didn’t wait for the elevator, ripping through doors leading to the stirs. Taking them two, three at a time until he reached your floor. He raced down the hall, until he was standing at your door. Knocking until, you opened the door and let him in.

+++

Jensen walked up to your building, the doorman opening the door with a smile. He pushed the call button for the elevator, whipping his hands on the pants of his tux. The doors opened and he steps inside, hitting the number to your floor. His heart racing as the lift grows closer to your floor. His heart beat in his ears again, muffling the sound of the ding as the doors opened once again. He checked the numbers of the doors as he passed them, looking for the right apartment. He finds your door. He takes a deep breath as he raises his hand and knocks. Waiting a moment.

The door opens and he lets out the breath he was holding. “Hi.”

@liebemeineslebensx @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @cookiechipdough @spnfamily-thewinchesters @tmiships4life @greyeyedsmile14 @aomi-nabi @keikoraventeller @captaindorit0 @frozenhuntress67 @nerdygirlwithacrush @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @everyfallentear @jxnnxbrxwn @parkeret @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @mml232 @sing4mejensen @supersupernaturalfan @voideandotherstuff @samuelwillliamwinchester @sherlockedtash88 @smoothdogsgirl @31shadesofbrown @deansbbysblog @linki-locks11 @mirandaaustin93 @hiraethclaire @love-my-not-natural-babies @nickigv @flamencodiva @gh0stgurl @holylulusworld @heyitscam99 @atlas-of-the-world @colie87 @woodworthti666 @princessizzy36 @pretty-fortune @theloudkilljoy @nea90sweetie

[the--blackdahlia]

Be Careful What You Wish For Part 2

Title: Be Careful What You Wish For Part 2

Summary:  When Jensen and Jared get into a fight, Jensen says some things he doesn’t mean. Those words hold a greater weight when Jensen wakes up in a world that’s not his.

Warnings: None really

AN: Check out my Patreon and get access to the next chapter before it comes to Tumblr!

Jensen heard the noise of an unfamiliar alarm clock early the next morning. He groaned and reached over to shut it off, but it wasn’t where it normally would be. Jensen opened his eyes and looked at the nightstand but found it empty. He turned to look at the other side and saw that it was on the opposite. He always kept it on Jared’s side, because Jared needed the extra loudness to actually wake him up. Jensen rolled over and turned off the alarm, realizing that the bed felt different.

“What the hell?” Jensen asked, sitting up. The bed linens were different. The comforter wasn’t the blue one that Jared had picked out at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was a simple grey one. Jensen shook his head. Maybe Jared had changed it before they went to the interview to wash the other one. The radio that was on the alarm clock started to play as his phone vibrated repeatedly. “Carry on Wayward Son” was playing as Jensen picked up his phone.

There were emails, scheduling calendars, and text messages like crazy. Jensen rubbed his eyes and tried to read through some of them. He caught snippets like “Be on set at 12:15”, “there’s an interview at 10:10”. Things like that. Jensen threw his phone on the bed. What was all that. He had never had a schedule like that before.

“What the hell is going on?” Jensen asked himself. He went to the curtains that were hanging up over a window that didn’t look familiar. Nothing looked familiar. And when he opened the curtains and light came flooding in, Jensen could tell that he wasn’t in Canada anymore. Hell, he wasn’t in Texas either.

Because he as looking out over a bright, beautiful beach.

Because that was Malibu out there.

“What the…” Jensen just stared out the large window. He realized it wasn’t just a window, but a sliding door that went out onto a balcony. Jensen opened it and made his way out. It was warm. He could smell the salty air. The sun was just rising and he could see people camped out on the road just outside a large, steel fence. He had no doubt that they were paparazzi. But he was just a TV star. He never really had that much of an issue with them.

He made his way back into the unfamiliar house. Why the hell was he in Malibu? When he went to sleep last night, he had been in Vancouver. He had went to bed angry after a fight with Jared. A stupid fight at that. He made his way out of the bedroom and down some stairs that opened up into a huge, yet unrecognizable, living area. Everything looked so clean, so untouched. Jensen was starting to wonder who could possibly live in a place like this until he saw pictures sitting around and hanging on the walls that confirmed it.

He lived here, if the picture of him, Josh, and Mackenzie had anything to say about it. It was one of his favorite pictures and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw it. But it was the only thing that looked familiar in the place.

“Hello?” Jensen called out. But no one called back. “Jared?” But no answer.

In fact, there was no sign that Jared had ever even been in the house. There were no pictures, no boxes of his favorite cereal sitting around or cases of his favorite beer. There was absolutely no sign that Jared Padalecki lived in the house. And that terrified Jensen.

“Jay?” Jensen called out. “Come on man.” But he still got no answer. Jensen groaned and decided to look for some food. He was starving. But as he opened the fridge, he didn’t find much of anything in it. A box of baking soda, some beer, some water, and a foil plate that Jensen wasn’t even about to mess with.

“This can’t be my house.” Jensen said to himself. There was always food in the house. Leftovers from events and things they would sneak off the set, snacks for the rare days they didn’t have to go in, things for Jensen to grill. But there was nothing, no matter how many cabinets Jensen opened. Jensen sighed and let the cabinet door slam shut.

The doorbell rang then, temporarily distracting Jensen from his food related misery. He went to the front door and opened it, seeing a short girl with purple hair and glasses standing there.

“Good morning Mr. Ackles.” She said, typing away at her phone. She looked up at him. “You’re not ready?”

“Ready?” Jensen asked. “Ready for what?”

“You have an interview with Buzzfeed in like twenty-five minutes, then a promo shoot for the new movie.” She told him. She frowned when he didn’t seem to recognize what she was saying. “Are you feeling okay?” She reached up to touch his cheek to test the temperature, but he pushed her hand away. “How much did you drink last night?”

“What?” Jensen asked. She sighed and walked into the house, heading up to his room.

“You seriously wouldn’t know what to do if you didn’t have me.” She mumbled to herself.

“Who are you?” Jensen asked, watching as she headed towards his room, to the large walk-in closet.

“Josalyn. Your assistant.” She huffed, grabbing out some clothes and throwing them on his bed. “I’ve been your assistant for the past six years Mr. Ackles.”

“I’m sorry.” Jensen said. “I guess I’m just not feeling myself today. And I’m really hungry.”

“God, you’ve got the munchies? Really?” Josalyn asked. “Damn it.” She started typing away at her phone. “I can get the Buzzfeed interview pushed back to tomorrow. But I’m not sure about the promo shoot. Everyone wants those teaser posters before San Diego.” She told him. “And I have a DoorDash order coming in for you. Carbs. You’ve got to soak up whatever is in your system.”

“I, uh, thanks?” Jensen asked. She was moving faster than his brain could register. She headed back downstairs, Jensen following. She pulled out a water bottle from the fridge and shoved it against his chest.

“Drink this.” She commanded. “I want you to drink lots of water this morning. I’ll put in a Peapod order or something. You need real food around here.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.” Jensen said, a little thankful for the firey girl. She walked up to him and sniffed then, pulling back with a confused look on her face. “What?”

“You don’t smell like booze or pot.” She said. “Please tell me you’re not doing other drugs.”

“What? No.” Jensen said. “I would never…” She stared at him before nodding.

“Well, if you’re getting sick, let me know.” She said. “You have a lot to do that I would need to reschedule.”

“I don’t think I’m getting sick.” Jensen shrugged. Josalyn seemed satisfied.

“Okay, well drink the water, eat the food and sleep for a bit. I’ll check on you before the photoshoot and we’ll see what we can do.” She told him. “Call if you need anything.” She headed towards the door.

“Hey, wait.” Jensen said, stopping her in her tracks. “Where’s Jared?”

“Who?” Josalyn said.

“Jared Padalecki?” Jensen said. Josalyn shrugged.

“I don’t know who that is.” She said as she headed out the door, leaving Jensen standing there, in shock.

Forever Tags:  @anathewierdo @dekahg @marvel-af  @nanie5 @imboredsueme @gemini0410 @aiaranradnay @babypink224221 @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @sandlee44 @shatteredabby @caswinchester2000 @supernaturalwincestsblog

Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles Tags: @queenslandlover-93 @screechingartisancashbailiff @strab0 @maaryisafangirl @deathofmissjackson @hellabrothers@luciathewinchestergirl @sheris532 @bobasheebaby @bella-ca @akshi8278

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Be Careful What You Wish For Tags:  @lauravic​ @mirandaaustin93 @pretty-fortune​

[winmance]

Trust in me

 Chapter 21 - If I’m gonna be alone, let it be with you

Growing up as the black sheep of the family means that Jensen has had his share of awkward dinners. From the not so discreet whispers every time he entered a room, to the side looks every time they thought he wasn’t looking.

He never got used to it, even if he tried. He always left with a feeling of shame, of hate and, much to his regret, sadness. How much of a bad person do you have to be for your own family not to love you?

But he doesn’t feel ashamed to have Jared next to him. He doesn’t feel sad because his family is judging him. He feels hate, of course, because that’s his general feeling toward them, but most of all, he feels happy. Because when he turns his head from the dirty looks and whispers, he find a pair of lovely eyes, glued on him, and a smile that could light up a whole room just by itself.

Jared doesn’t care that everybody hates him, and if he doesn’t care, neither does Jensen.

“So Jared” His mom said “What are you doing in life?”

“I’m still in school, ma’am” Jared says, a polite smile on his face.

“Oh, of course. And what are your future plans? What do you want to do after?”

Jensen tries to remain calm, not wanting anyone to notice his discomfort, but he’s chewing on the meal a little too hard and he can’t stop staring at Jared, praying to god that he doesn’t say anything about his real life occupation. He knows Jared is too smart to do it, but he also knows that he takes a distinct pleasure in embarrassing people.

“I want to start my own business. You know, from the ground up?  Finding clients and building a customer base ”

It’s far enough from the truth not to raise any suspicion while still being quite accurate, and Jensen finally allows himself to breathe.

“In what area?”

“Jesus, mom, it’s not a job interview” Josh says “Let the poor boy eat”

“Of course, of course, I’m sorry Jared”

“Not a problem, ma’am” Jared says, dropping his head to his plate again

Jensen frowns, his stare moving from Jared to Josh. His brother doesn’t look relaxed nor happy. He looks scared. Honest to god scared, with shaking hands and beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.

He thought Jared was scared of Josh, but he isn’t sure of that anymore because right now, they both look equally scared, and he can’t think of a decent reason to explain it.

Except…

“My boyfriend is in the bathroom” Jared had said that night, back at the club.

And so was Josh, a few minutes later, ball deep into someone that Jensen assumed was just another girl, but maybe those soft moans weren’t coming from a girl, maybe that was Jared, all long.

He can see them, can see them perfectly. He doesn’t even have to try to think that hard. He can picture Jared’s long legs around Josh’s waist, begging him to fuck him, and he doesn’t want to see it, doesn’t want to see any of it, but he can’t think of anything else but his big brother stealing Jared from him.

“Jensen, are you alright?” Jared asks, a worried look on his face.

Everybody is looking at him, their eyes locked on him, but he doesn’t see them. He only sees Jared, with his big blue eyes and perfect lips. The bruises on his face are almost completely gone, the soft skin under them slowly reappearing.

“I need to get out”

He doesn’t wait for anyone to answer, not giving a shit about what any of their opinions would have been. He walks straight to the door, taking his jacket on his way out.

“Can I come?” Jared asks with a small voice, probably afraid that Jensen would leave him

“Yeah”

He doesn’t need to think twice about it. As much as he wants to be alone, there is no way he will leave Jared behind with any of them. He wants to be alone, but with Jared next to him.

They both exit the house quickly, not even bothering to give one last look at his family.

The air is cold outside, hitting them both right in the face, but Jensen makes the most of it, allowing his mind to focus on the cold instead of everything else.

They didn’t have time to go explore the town, but it looks beautiful. There are a few houses here and there, in an old style typical of the country.  Not a soul outside anywhere except them.

There are mountains far away, hidden behind the clouds, and Jensen wonders if they could go and see them closer, maybe even climb them. He heard his mother mentioning a castle up there somewhere, so he assumes they are accessible to the public.  

“Wanna talk about it?” Jared asks after a while “You seemed really upset”

“No” Jensen says, chasing away the thoughts that are coming back.

“Did I… did I say something?”

“What? No, it’s-“ He sighs, turning toward Jared before frowning “You didn’t take your jacket?”

“Well, you seemed in a hurry…”

Jared says it like it’s the most natural thing on earth. Like somehow, his own comfort didn’t matter as much as Jensen’s. It’s something he's noticed about Jared, how he would pretend that he doesn’t care about anyone else but himself while still doing what he can to meet others needs. He doesn’t think he’s aware of it. It’s probably something he developed through the years, a way for him to protect himself while satisfying his clients.

But Jensen isn’t one of his clients, and Jared shouldn't put Jensen's needs before his own.

Jensen takes his jacket off and puts it over Jared's shoulders, the too big garment swallowing him like a blanket.

“Here” He says “Wouldn’t want you to be cold”

“Thanks” Jared says, a light blush spreading on his cheeks “So? You want to talk about it or are we just gonna walk until we can’t feel our legs anymore?”

Jensen doesn’t answer right away, his eyes scanning the place for a place to sit. There’s a bench across the street, and he slides his arm around Jared, urging him to start walking.

“Let’s sit there. No need to stand up”

He’s supposed to take his arm off, but he doesn’t, enjoying the feeling of having Jared so close to him a little more than what he would dare to admit.

They sit as close to each other as they can, Jared providing the heat for both of them since Jensen doesn’t have his coat on anymore.

“You know my brother, don’t you?”

“I don’t-“

“Jay, please” Jensen cuts him off “Listen, I’m not angry. Well, I am, but not at you, alright?”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you” Jared admits “But I swear, I didn’t know he was your brother until I saw him at your mom’s house”

“I know” He says, trying to shut out the jealousy inside him. He’s angry at his brother for doing that to his wife, but he’s also jealous that he got to have something that Jensen can’t even dream of having without feeling guilty. “It was a one time thing, right?”

“I don’t know, I guess?”

“What do you mean you guess?” Jensen frowns, his heart picking up. What if Josh hurt him? What if he did something to him, the same way all those fuckers did before?

He’ll kill him. Plain and simple. He’ll slit his throat with his own nails if he has to.

“Well, Paige didn’t tell me anything. I know he came for Elsa a couple of times, and for Patricia, too. But I have no idea how many times for Paige”

“What? I don’t . . . what are you talking about?” He asks, unable to figure out what Jared is explaining.

“What are you talking about?” Jared asks, suddenly unsure about his own answer

“I’m talking about you and my brother having sex”

“Ew, I didn’t have sex with your brother!” Jared says, slapping Jensen’s shoulder “You’re an ass!”

“No, I’m not! I saw the way you looked at each other, and you both went to the bathroom to… do your thing at the same time!”

“I didn’t go to the bathroom. The guy I was with did, but I didn’t go with him. I’m not a dirty bathroom whore”

“I never said that!” Jensen defends himself “I just . . . how do you know him then? If it wasn’t from that night?”

“Well, your brother is a regular client. Not of mine, but of Elsa, Patricia, and Lisa for awhile and now Paige I guess”

“Fuck” Jensen says, letting himself go limp on the bench “Four girls. He cheated on his wife with four different girls”

“Yeah. He knows I know him, and I guess he got scared I would tell you. Which I did, so maybe he was right to be scared”

“But you were scared, too” Jensen points out “Did you think he would hurt you?”

“No, but I was scared he would tell your mom what I am, and that you would… I don’t know… tell me to leave?”

“I won’t ever tell you to leave”

Jared shrugs his shoulders, not buying his promise, but Jensen knows better than to argue. Instead, he takes Jared by the shoulders and softly pulls him against him, until Jared’s head is resting on his shoulder.

Jared doesn’t protest, doesn’t even try, and a wave of relief goes through Jensen. He drops his head on top of Jared’s, his hair tickling his nose.

“You gonna tell her? Your sister in law?”

“I don’t know” Jensen admits “She’s pregnant, and they already have three kids. She'd be happier, if she doesn’t know anything. I don’t… I don’t want to ruin their family. What would you do?”

“I can’t answer this for you. But I think… I think that people should deal with their own shit. You could tell his wife, sure, but I think she already knows. I saw the way they act together, how she pushes his hand away every time he tries to touch her. They smile but it doesn’t reach their eyes. She already knows, but if you tell her, then she’ll have to admit it.” Jared turned around until he could look at Jensen “And even if you decide to tell her, you don’t have to feel guilty for saying what you think is right. You didn’t destroy your family. Your father did. And your brother destroyed his own”

Jensen’s throat is too tight for him to answer, tears already starting to fill his eyes. Fuck Jared and his way of knowing exactly what to say.

He sniffed, tightening his hold on Jared until there wasn't any more space between them.

“For a dirty bathroom whore, you’re not that bad”

Jared laughs, hiding his head in Jensen’s neck, and a smile spreads across Jensen’s face, like every time he hears Jared’s laugh.

“Come on, we should go home”

Jensen is the first to stand up, extending his hand to Jared, who accepts it gladly.

“Your mom’s gonna be mad. I don’t think she really likes me”

“Yeah well, my mom doesn’t like me either so who cares?”

“Maybe if you didn’t storm out during family dinner…”

“Oh come on, you were glad I took you out of it”

“No I wasn’t! I didn’t even get dessert!”

They keep talking as they make their way towards the house, Jared complaining about not having eaten enough while Jensen assures him that he ate plenty, but finally agreeing on stealing something from the fridge before turning in.

They both pretend not to have noticed that Jared never let go of Jensen’s hand, their fingers interlacing and rubbing each other from time to time, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Tags : @emmalh2001 @captainsteelandsunshine @servilesammy @jaredbootyylecki @mysterioushunters

[cdyssey]

Once Rewatch: Snow Falls, 1x03

“You’re a... girl?!”

“Woman.”

And then she clocks David upside the face with a big rock.

Now this is start of a beautiful pair. :’)

Omg, I’d forgotten that MM had gone on a date with Whale.

Talk about awkward.

Hm, I also think I’ll do some Whale analysis here as well. He’s arrogant, misogynistic, and kind of spineless when it comes to dealing with forces more powerful than himself. I think this is a great interpretation of source material, lol.

Bc if we’re being honest here, Victor Frankenstein is a whiny college dropout, a prototypical incel who probably passed biology but severely failed ethics.

I’m not crying—there’s just some Snowing in my eye.

On a related note, Isham’s swelling score is particularly powerful here; he amps up the suspense perfectly.

I love Once’s retcon of the name Prince Charming; it works so much better as an ironic moniker.

Snow: “True love? It doesn’t exist. It’s all arranged marriages and business transactions.” (1) So in my writeup on the pilot, I wrote something to the effect that Snow is less vulnerable to optimism than David is, that she’s long been disillusioned about the possibility for happy endings. I think this quote backs that sentiment up quite nicely. (2) I know A&E probably haven’t figured out the logistics of Regina and Leopold by this point, but even still, this quote very well applies to their farce of a marriage. (Snow’s cognition and/or ignorance of this is such a rich place to explore in fic.)

Emma (talking about Regina): Where does she think you are anyway?

Henry: Playing Whack-a-Mole.

Emma: And she bought that?

Henry: She wants to believe it, so she does.

This exchange is funny but also purty revealing, even if Henry doesn’t quite know it. Regina desperately wants things between them to return back to normal, so when Henry tells her that he’s off doing something normal, that he’s returning to his old habits of playing games and having fun and not becoming Storybooke’s new junior sleuth, she’s more than ready to take his word at face value.

Side-by-side, Ginny and Jared look so much alike, and I love that. <3 They also share a buoyant, youthful kind of energy when they play off each other. So I hereby headcanon that Snow and Henry, post-uh-everything, are always going out on mini-adventures together. With their combined imaginations and mutual penchants for curiosity, this grandmother-grandson can make even the most mundane of grocery runs into something like a hunt for buried treasure.

Regina: “Now you’re lying to me?” A simple question which cues us in on lying being a v. new trait that has surfaced in Henry. The psychology of it is pretty logical. She lied to him, and now he’s reciprocating the favor, both of them unable to trust each other at this point.

So Regina says that she found David lying on the side of the road somewhere and that she brought him to the hospital. Whale supports this statement and claims that she saved his life by this act. Assuming that this is true, then I’m reminded of that popular meta which essentially proposed that the Evil Queen rarely, if ever, made a move that would deeply or permanently harm Snow. Theoretically, Regina could have left him on the side of the road to die, could have dealt Snow an irreparable amount of damage without so much as lifting a finger... but she didn’t. #SnowQueen

“Enjoy my shirt... because that’s all you’re getting.” SJKhdsha. 

I like to think that Emma kept the shirt, and every once and while, she pulls it on just so she can mock a v. embarrassed Regina. “Hey, Regina, what was it you said to me again? You know, back when you wore a lot of dark eyeliner and had a giant stick up your—” “Oh, shut up, Miss Swan.”

Lolol, I love how Storybrooke’s hospital is apparently bordered by the woods. That’s some reaaaaally safe architectural planning there.

Snow wants to go somewhere “isolated, where she can never get hurt,” and in the context of the entire show, I hurt to fully comprehend that Snow’s young life was a hellhole. Her parents were killed, she’s forced out of her kingdom and into exile by a vengeful witch, and now, as a bandit, her existence, for all its flux, is constantly defined by paranoia and fear and cynicism and... well... guilt.

In the grand scheme of things, I think we sometimes forget about Snow.

How much she’s endured.

How much she’s suffered.

Snow: She blames me for ruining her life.

David: Did you?

Snow: [Pausing, thinking, her voice hard and wistful.] Yes.

This is a great beat because it further emphasizes that this isn’t your Disneyfied version of Snow White and the Evil Queen.

There’s no such thing as black and white morality in the world of Once Upon A Time.

The Evil Queen wasn’t always evil.

Snow White was not always as pure as the color of her name.

It’s complicated.

They both are.

MM: “Henry told me that you were from a similar situation to his own?” Honestly, beyond the fact that they were both adopted, I don’t think comparing Henry and Emma’s situations is exactly... apt. Emma bounced around from foster home to foster home and had to deal with the fact that she was ‘abandoned’ by her parents. Henry was given up by Emma to receive his best possible chance at life, and accordingly, he grew up in a mansion with a—as we’ll come to find out—loving mother. 

But, lol, that’s not the point the show’s trying to make here. Point is, Emma is a lost kid, and she’s trying so hard to make sure that Henry doesn’t end up being one as well. Plus, it’s heartbreakingly ironic that the very person she’s been trying to find is standing right next to her.

Oh, Kathryn, you have a v. painful arc coming up.

You know, had I been in the OUAT fandom when Ginny and Josh announced that they were together, that would have been the end of me.

The chemistry between these two is incomparable.

Like, I know it’s for the aesthetic™, but this bag is so impractical for the life Snow lives, lololol. 

Had to include these iconic lines.

Regina: We’ll talk about your insubordination later. Do you know what insubordination means?

Henry: [Shakes his head.]

Regina: It means you’re grounded.

Good God—Kathryn’s fake backstory is so intricate and moving. (Also, I love Anastasia Griffith. She really portrays the duality of Abigail/Kathryn well.)

“Because all of this has reminded me of something, oh, so very important... how grateful I am to have Henry.”

“Because not having somebody... well, that’s the worst curse imaginable.”

Lana Parrilla has no right giving such a nuanced performance of what should have been a one-dimension villain.

But that’s why we love her.

Over the course of the seasons, we learned that the curse backfired on Regina. Sure, everyone was miserable, but so was she... and at least her victims weren’t even cognizant of the fact that they were cursed. Heck, in that sense, they had it better than she did.

So in exacting her perfect revenge, Regina only deepened the void inside of her, drove herself to an emptiness like no other she has felt before.

By the time Greg and Owen showed up, it was nearly unbearable.

And then... she adopted Henry.

And suddenly, she wasn’t alone anymore.

Without Henry, her life is but a void, an emptiness, a nothingness of her own design, and right now, Emma Swan is a perceived threat to the tenuous solace she has carved out for herself these past ten years.

What Regina doesn’t understand is that she’s the real threat.

She’s the one who is ultimately pushing Henry away.

Okay, y’all aren’t allowed to make eye-contact anymore. 😭

:’)

I think I can safely say that “Snow Falls” is one of the most tightly written and acted episodes in the series. On an architectural level, the dialogue parallels were especially poignant, and the sentimental moments were well chosen. For instance, concluding the episode on this sweet, tender moment between Emma and Mary Margaret is an expert choice that ameliorates the Snowing pathos we’re currently feeling. Theatrically, it’s the little nuances that make “Snow Falls” so great: JMO’s uncomfortable vulnerability as Emma talks about her history with MM, the mutual attractions of Snow and David that surface in meaningful glances expertly affected by Ginny and Josh, the softnesses Lana and Anastasia imbue their hardened characters with.

Just really wonderful stuff all around.

[echelonlab-blog]

Just Like Heaven -- Part One

Disclaimer: Fiction.

Warnings: None

Tagging: @hazeleyedleto @msroxyblog @letojokerownsme @miss-shannanigans @snewsome756   @maliciousalishious   @nikkitasevoli@meghan12151977 @mindlessselfindulgence88 @sanellv@ambolton@bradlea23@spillinginkwithlove@alexis7215@dezmarz@pezziecoyote@whoistheprettiest@avaj99@iridescxntsolitude@pheenixpeterson@guccilowell@blondiefrommars @rowen1976​ @phoebehalliwell1984 @thathipstaninja @darthjokerisyourfather

   Renee planned this little trip to Colorado almost a year ago. It was supposed to be a couples trip since she was dating Jared and I was with Shannon. Angel and Dan had been together since high school and we were still waiting for him to propose to her. It was ridiculous that he hadn’t done it by now.

  I wasn’t the only one who was semi-newly single. I mean, it’s been a year, so I guess that’s kinda newly single. Melanie and Josh split up six months ago and she was bringing Luke, a guy she was “friends” with. We all knew what that meant. I wasn’t bringing anyone. The only guy I considered allowing to take Shannon’s spot, was my brother Mark, and that’s just so that when all of my friends are out with their men, I’d have someone to talk to. Unfortunately, Bonnie, his girlfriend, invited him to attend a wedding that particular week.

  Renee arrived in Aspen yesterday because of some event that Jared had to attend near our vacation spot. The rest of us flew out together today. It wasn’t too bad of a flight, but I was so exhausted from staying up late and digging out the warm winter clothing. I’m a procrastinator, I have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute for everything.

  Luke carried my bag into the very luxurious cabin. It was actually nicer than I was expecting. Renee and Jared were nowhere to be found and I was sure he had dragged her out skiing or sightseeing. He was always like that, getting bored easily and hated to be cooped up inside.

 There were three bedrooms to choose from and I opened the first door I came to, shrugging at the inside and quickly moving to the next. When I opened the second door, I saw all the luggage and knew it was Renee and Jared’s room, so that one was out.

 I moved up the stairs and opened the first door on the right, almost throwing up when I saw him. Shannon was laying on the bed, phone in his hand and smiled as he glanced over at me. Rolling my eyes, I slammed the door closed and raced down the stairs. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

 “What?” Angel had claimed the other downstairs room and came rushing out just as Shannon darted down the stairs and hopped up on the granite bar.

 “Oh shit,” she said looking awkwardly around the room.

 “Sup Angel? Where’s Dan?” Shannon asked, flipping his cap backward and taking a bite out of an apple.

 “This is just wrong. Where the hell are you going to sleep, because it won’t be with me?” I inquired, placing my hands on my hips. I was so pissed with the way he looked at me with that contemptuous grin.

 “There’s always the couch sweetheart. That’s my room, I slept in it last night and it’s MINE.” he licked his lips and gave me a wink, “but.... Tess, I’m perfectly willing to share my bed with you, again.”

 “Uh, Tessa, where do you want this?” Luke held my suitcase, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

  “Right there is good Luke, thank you.” I turned my attention back to Shannon. “Who the hell do you think you are? If you were a real man, you’d sleep on the couch and let me have the bedroom, but what do I expect from a lying, cheating asshole!”

  Dan made his way inside and when he saw Shannon, he rubbed his hands together and sat on the couch. “Damn! Can you guys start over? I missed some of the excitement.”

  Shannon cocked his head to the side with a snarky laugh. “Not gonna happen, babe, like I said, you’re welcome to join me in that comfy, warm bed, but If not, enjoy that firm, cold leather couch.”

  “God you are such a selfish prick. Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be out getting sloppy drunk and picking up random sluts?” I could feel a year's worth of swallowed fury bubbling its way up my throat.

   “The day is still young, sweetheart,” Shannon smirked with a tilt of his head. He jumped over the back of the sofa and settled himself in next to Dan, feet on the coffee table while he continued to eat that apple and grin like the devil himself. I grabbed my suitcase.

   “Well, since you're so comfy on that sofa....” I bolted for the disputed bedroom, my suitcase bumping up the stairs behind me. I managed to make it inside just in time to slam the door in Shannon's face. As I turned the lock I was sure the satisfied smirk on my face matched his now.  

   “Tessa open the fucking door. All my stuff is in there!” he shouted as he pounded on the heavy pine door.

   “Say I can have the room!” I shouted back at him.

       “No way!”

      I gritted my teeth and scanned the area, looking for an idea, for a little more leverage. It wasn't just that I couldn't stand to let Shannon win, but I couldn't face the idea of spending this vacation with nowhere to get away from him. It wasn't just the thought of having a front row seat as he dragged every willing woman within a ten-mile radius through his bed. I was afraid if I had to spend that much time with him, sooner or later, he was going to see past the fury and know how badly he had broken my heart. Losing this room was not an option. I spotted his duffel bag sitting out on the luggage rack and picked it up, shoving his belongings back into it. “You're not going to leave me without a room. You aren't supposed to be here. Go find another room. Hell, find another hotel.”

   “Fuck that. My brother is here, my friends are here. I'm staying.”

   “They're my friends, asshole.”

   “Tessa, come on. You can't stay in that room the entire time. You're going to have to come out here eventually.” I heard a few more thuds that sounded like him kicking the door. “At least let me get my clothes.”

   “Yeah, I'm not falling for that shit. I know better than to trust you,” I spat back at him, the words bitter in my mouth. “You want your things you can go get them out of the snow!” I flung the window open and tossed the duffel out into the perfectly packed powder below. There were still items lying around and I began hurling those through the open window too. I didn't care how childish it was. It felt amazing, like excising an old wound. “Oops, there goes your watch. Hope it's waterproof!”

   “FUUCK!” Shannon shouted and I heard him running down the stairs while Dan laughed in the background. A minute later I could hear him cursing and sputtering from the snowbank outside. I slammed the window and went into the bathroom to start a hot shower.

   I stood under the shower spray, letting the warm water wash away all the tension I was feeling. Normally, it would work, but not today. Why did he have to come?

   I pressed my head against the shower wall, letting out a deep sigh. Flashbacks of happier times came to me and I shook my head in an attempt to dissipate them.

      I refused to cry because of him and I made the decision that I wouldn't let him ruin my vacation. I could hear banging on the door, but I didn't give a damn.

   I knew I would have to come out sometime and face the consequences of my actions. 'Okay, Tess, you can do this. All you have to do is get through this weekend and then you can go back to your life away from him.'

   Grabbing the shower gel, I made quick work of washing my body, before stepping out and wrapping myself in one of the fluffy towels.

      Combing through my hair quickly, my mouth dropped open when I exited the bathroom to find Shannon laying on the bed, smirking up at the ceiling.

  Not only did he gain entry to the bedroom, but he was lying on his back on the bed, dangling a pair of my new panties from his finger, while shoving some of the cashews I had packed as a snack, into his mouth. The open bag was lying on his chest and he grinned really big. “You never wore anything sexy like this for me when we were together.”

  I frowned in disbelief at the balls on this mother fucker. My eyes traveled from him to the trail of my clothing strewn about from the bed to the floor where my suitcase lay open. “That’s because you were so busy banging skanks behind my back and were rarely home long enough to find out what was under my clothes. Just when I think you can’t be any more of a fucking asshole, you surprise me! Give me those!” I darted toward him, pulling the lacy black thong from his finger. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting him to tug back. I landed almost on top of him, my wet hair draped over his face and cashews went flying.

  He pushed the hair from his eyes and stared up at me, the smile left his face and those hazel eyes burned with the fiery intensity I missed so much. My defenses wavered for a split second, but the sound of the door creaking open and Dan’s annoying laugh snapped me back into reality. “Are you two gonna fight or fuck? I mean, either way, I’m totally down to watch,” he asked, forever loving any kind of drama he could get.

 “You are such a fucking asshole!” My response was actually for both of them. I stood up, giving up the fight for my panties and adjusted my towel.

   Shannon held up the flimsy material, clearly proud of his win. “She’s a fighter Danny, so you know what that means, she likes it rough.” He looked at Dan and stuck his tongue out, but quickly turned his attention back to me. “These are so tiny, I bet you look smoking hot in them. Wanna model them for me?”

 I spun around, flipping him off, thankful that it wasn’t the see-through hot pink panties. He obviously didn’t see those since they were under the clothing he didn’t throw out. “Fuck you, Shannon!” I kneeled down, stuffing the clothing back into my suitcase.

 “Is that an invite, because the offers still open to share my bed.” He giggled at my frustration. I decided to just ignore him. I had no idea what I was going to do about a bed, but I had more pressing issues, like getting dressed. I picked out what I wanted to wear, noticing out the corner of my eye that he was still holding my panties hostage. I stood and successfully snatched them from his hand on the way to the bathroom.

   Once I had finished dressing and drying my hair, I cautiously poked my head back out of the bathroom, but Shannon was nowhere to be seen. I thought briefly about barricading myself inside the room, but it wasn't like I could stay in there forever. I figured it was time to be a grown up and find a way to get through this vacation.

   When I made my way back downstairs, I found Renee and Jared in the kitchen, removing groceries from bags. “Your brother is a jackass,” I told Jared.

   “Nice to see you again too, Tess,” he smiled back.

   “Why is he here?” I asked Renee. “I thought he was supposed to be meeting up with his buddies in Majorca or something.”

   Renee shrugged. “I don't know. He just showed up sometime last night. I found him in the kitchen this morning, no explanation, just making coffee.”

   God damn, that was so fucking Shannon. Doing whatever the hell he pleased, wherever the wind took him and to hell with everyone else. I could feel the steam building in my head again. “You know this ruins the vacation for me.”

   “Just ignore him, Tess,” Renee said as she switched from unpacking groceries to retrieving pots. “It's a big cabin on a big mountain. It shouldn't be that hard.”

   I stayed in the kitchen, helping Jared and Renee make everyone pasta. I could hear Shannon in the other room, clowning around with Dan, and every time he would laugh it was like nails on a chalkboard, making me grit my teeth and shudder. I hated that he still got to me so badly after all this time. When Melanie came in with Josh to start gathering things to set the table, she noticed my tense state and started rubbing my shoulders. “I'm sorry,” I told her. “I know I shouldn't let him get under my skin.”

   “Fuck him,” she said. Mels had never been a fan of Shannon and she had been the one to help me pick up the pieces after our relationship exploded. She probably understood better than anyone where my head was at right now. “You're tougher than this. Don't let him get to you.”

   I made my way over to the table, giving an annoyed huff when I saw the only available spot was next to Shannon. He smirked at me, trying to wink that stupid broken wink of his, patting the spot next to him.

   "C'mon, Tess, I won't bite! Unless you want me to."

   "Fuck you, Shannon!" I mumbled under my breath, sitting down.

   He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Like I've said before, if you're offering..."

   I felt like punching the daylights out of him. "Shan, play nice..." Jared warned.

   "You know I can't do that, little brother. When it comes to playing, I'm the devil."

   I rolled my eyes, picking at my food as my friends talked amongst themselves. I tried to eat a little, but I wasn't that hungry. The wine was going down smoothly.

   I helped Melanie take everything in the kitchen after everyone was done. Shannon for some reason decided to follow us, hopping up on the counter and kicking his feet.

   We paid no attention to him, getting everything packed away. I turned on my heel when we were done, heading upstairs to retrieve my stuff from the bedroom. I knew Shannon wasn't about to give up on it and I sure as hell wasn't staying in there with him.

   I heard the door click closed, turning to find Shannon there. "What the hell do you want?" I began shoving the clothes back into my suitcase.

   Shannon put his hands up, smirking up at me. "I don't wanna fight. Just thought maybe we could share the bedroom."

   "Are you frickin' serious right now, Shannon?"

   "Why not?"

   I pushed at his chest, the anger boiling inside of me. "Are you seriously asking me that? WHY NOT? Maybe because you're a cheating asshole."

   We heard the lock click over. What the fuck? Both of us raced to it, hearing furniture being moved around. "What the hell guys?" Shannon tried the door, banging on it when it wouldn't budge.

   "Make sure you guys play nice with each other. We'll let you out when the morning comes." Dan said, laughing on the other side of the door. "And don't bother trying to lockpick it, Shannon. We moved furniture in front of the door, so you won't be able to get out."

   "Open this door right now."

   "Will do once morning comes. Try not to kill each other in there."

   We heard footsteps retreating down the stairs. Fuck. I was stuck in here with him. Figures Dan would pull a stunt like that. I was gonna kill him if I survived this night.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

All In The Family

Summary (request): can you do a jared x reader where the reader is dating jared secretly and her brother Jensen finds out and is not thrilled about it

Pairing: Jared x reader (with brother Jensen)

Word Count: 3,700ish

Warnings: language, angst, fluff

A/N: Why did this get so angsty...sigh...

“We had too many kids,” you heard your dad mumble, your mom laughing quietly before she whacked his shoulder. “At the time it seemed great but now...“

“We can hear you dad,” said your oldest brother.

“Good. Let this be a lesson to you all,” he said.

“Hey, as youngest I take offense,” you said.

“As youngest you know you were unplanned,” snickered Jensen. You hit his arm, Jensen frowning and pulling you into a headlock. “I was kidding!”

“Jensen, behave. Her hair is done nice,” said your mom.

“Ha,” you said, getting a wet silly before he released you. “Gross!”

“Ha yourself you- Josh!” said Jensen pawing at his ear, Josh smirking as he walked away.

“Remember who taught you, little bro,” he said.

“Actually I taught Jensen that,” said your sister.

“No you didn’t,” said Josh. “Besides, you’re way too young.”

“No I’m not,” said your sister. “Y/N’s younger than I am.”

“We weren’t even talking about that,” said Jensen.

“Two kids we said. Two kids,” sighed your dad. “Thank you for getting your mother a nice family portrait for her birthday, Jensen. Really brings back those memories of you four being demon spawn.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic,” he said.

“I know,” he said with a smile.

“Okay, Ackles family,” said the photographer, coming out from the studio. “We got all the spouses and kiddos settled so let’s get you guys in there front and center.”

“Mom,” you said. She shook her head at you. “He totally doesn’t have to be in the photo. He’s only a boyfriend, not...”

“I keep telling you he totally is going to be in the photo. You’ve been dating the boy for ages. He can be in the photo,” she said with a smile.

“I didn’t know little Y/N had a boyfriend,” teased Jensen.

“Really?” asked your other siblings. Jensen frowned. He hung back a moment and nodded for you to stay. You got a reassuring smile from your parents that only made Jensen scowl harder.

“Jens,” you said when you were alone. “You know how you get with me and boys.”

“You still always talk to me. God, besides Jared, I’ve probably not talked to any other human being on the planet more. Even De,” he said.

“We’ve been talking. We talk every day,” you said.

“I get not telling me about a new boyfriend but he doesn’t sound so new,” said Jensen, kicking the floor.

“Jensen-“

“As long as he’s good to you, it’s none of my business,” he said. You pursed your lips, getting a smile from him. “It’s alright kiddo. I forget you ain’t my kid sister sometimes.”

“I mean, I’m still your kid sister,” you said.

“Good point,” he said, your dad whistling.

“Slackers, come on,” he called. You took a deep breath and headed inside, listening to the photographer show you where to sit. You were right in front of your guy, Jensen pausing before he sat down in front of Danneel.

“Jared,” said Jensen.

“Hi,” he said a bit quietly. You saw your brothers shoulders tense as he sat in front of Danneel. He leaned over to you, so close you were pretty sure only you could hear.

“When we get back to the house, us three are having a talk.”

“Hey, babe,” you said, giving him a hug and kiss when Jared walked in the front door to your parents house.

“Hey,” he said, looking around.

“Jensen’s up in his old room. We got a minute,” you said.

“He looked pissed at the pictures,” said Jared, following you back through the house, avoiding everyone and heading straight for the backyard. You slipped outside with him, taking a seat on the swing set, moving slowly as Jared leaned against the support. “I think he’s pissed at the keeping it a secret thing, not that we’re actually dating.”

“I know. You’re his best friend. He knows you’re a good guy. Hell, he knows you better than anyone,” you said.

“I know we kept it secret at first from everyone but I can’t even remember why we never told Jensen,” he said. You glanced up at him, Jared knowing somewhat why you had never talked to your brother about it. “Y/N.”

“I love him, Jared, I do. But I am not the little girl he thinks I am,” you said. “I don’t need him to save me anymore.”

“Well what’s he supposed to be saving you from?” asked Jared. “Living your life?”

“No. No,” you said, closing your eyes. “He’s just...he’s so fucking protective of me is all.”

“There’s a story there,” he said.

“He’s overprotective is all,” you said.

“Alright,” said Jared. He hummed and sat up on ladder wrung, taking hold of your hand as you swung lightly. “Do I make you happy?”

“More than,” you said softly. You gave him a smile, squeezing his fingers. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said. You saw the backdoor open, Jensen hard faced as he walked across the grass. “Hey.”

“You be quiet,” he said, pointing a finger at you before turning to Jared. “Who’s idea was it? Keeping me and De in the dark on this?”

“I know you’re mad but we’re all adults, Jensen,” said Jared.

“Who?” asked Jensen.

“I did,” said Jared.

“No, he didn’t. I did. I told him not to say anything at first and then we just never told you,” you said.

“That’s what I thought,” said Jensen, turning around, pacing around the swing set for a moment, pausing in front of Jared. “I get it and we’re fine.”

“What’s with the scary face then?” asked Jared, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I said you and I were fine,” said your brother, glaring at you. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Jensen, you’re acting like a child,” you said. He scoffed, walking away. “Jensen!”

“At least I don’t hide my relationships from other people,” he said. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” barked Jared. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

“There’s a reason she’s always single, Jared,” said Jensen. You widened your eyes, Jensen cocking his head.

“Why are you being such an asshole? I didn’t tell you I was dating your best friend because I was afraid of the reaction,” you said. “It’s not like you’ve ever been afraid, right, Jensen?”

“Shut up,” he grit out, looking around. “Don’t you dare bring up that.“

“Maybe I will!” you said, looking back at the house.

“Don’t speak to me again,” he said, storming off back up to the house.

“What the fuck was that,” said Jared.

“Can you please get my bag from my old room. I’d like to drive back to Austin tonight with you,” you said.

“Y/N-“

“Please, Jared. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Two Weeks Later

“Hi,” you said when Jared walked in the apartment after work. “Dinner’s almost done.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled, taking a seat at the counter, frowning at you. “I talked to Jensen today about what happened.”

“Did you now,” you said. You very quickly got pissed off at your brother. Maybe you had made a mistake, maybe you hadn’t, but there was no reason for him to go off on you like that. It was so completely out of character you almost called De to ask if Jensen was going through something. But the thought had passed and now you were as every bit as angry as he was.

“I really think you should apologize,” said Jared. You stared at him, Jared inching back in his seat. “I did for lying and he forgave me. I think that’s all he wants.”

“No. What he wants is me out of his perfect life and now I am,” you said. “Good for him. I already apologized once. I ain’t doing it again.”

“You two just basically yelled at each other,” said Jared.

“Did you tell him to apologize too?” you scoffed, walking out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, I did,” he said, watching you go to the foyer. “Where are you going? You just said dinner-“

“I had a long day at work. I need a drink.”

“This seat taken?” asked a voice at the bar. You started to growl when you recognized it, a tired looking Alex taking a seat next to you. “S’not like you to sit alone in bars.”

“Did Jared send you?” you asked.

“He was trying your regular place, asked me to check on your backup bar,” he said. “So want to tell me what happened?”

“I got angry and took it out on Jared,” you said, rubbing your face. “He’s been having a bad few days too and I had to fuck that up worse and worry him.”

“Just because he’s having a bad day means you can’t have one too?” asked Alex. You sighed and rolled your eyes, Alex stealing the rest of your beer. “Didn’t even finish your drink.”

“I’m sure you’ll take Jensen’s side too. He’s your friend after all,” you mumbled.

“So are you,” he said, leaning against the bar top. “It’s not my business. Now come on, let’s take you home and give Jared a call so he stops freaking out.”

“Hey,” you said when Jared walked into the apartment. You stared at your feet, his own appearing in front of you. “Sorry.”

“Don’t do that again. You need to have a bitch fest about your brother and get loaded, fine, but do it here at home. Or let me go with you,” he said.

“You hate me too?” you asked. He shook his head and pulled you into his chest, kissing the top of your head. He shushed you for a few minutes, running his hand up and down your back. “Did you save the leftovers? I’m starving.”

“Yeah,” he said, releasing you but holding onto your hand still. “I am not taking his side. I let him know how pissed off I was for how he talked to you. That’s not him. But until I know the full picture, I can’t help you and him fix this.”

“There is no full picture, Jared. He doesn’t want to talk to me, I don’t want to talk to him. You can be his friend and hang out with him. I just don’t want to, alright?” you said. “Now I’m going to have dinner. Come on. I’ll make you some dessert when I’m done.”

Two Weeks Later

You stopped dead in your tracks when you saw Jensen in the hall. It was work. You should have realized he’d have to stop up in the production offices for something at some point. He stilled for a few seconds before he kept walking. You held your head high and walked to the stairs, a sigh behind you. You glared over your shoulder, Jensen rolling his eyes.

“Excuse me but I work here. Why don’t you go look pretty in front of a camera?” you said. He scrunched up his face, bumping your shoulder hard once you were on the landing and up on the second floor. “Asshole.”

“Bitch,” he shot back, heading down to a conference room. You glared at him. Who the fuck was he to call you that? “I can’t believe you.”

“Believe what, dickhead?” you snapped, spinning around, Jensen almost looking like Dean Winchester for a moment. He stormed over, staring down at you.

“Stay away from me,” he growled.

“It’d be my pleasure, pretty boy,” you said. He bit his bottom lip and walked away. It was a low blow and you knew it and you felt a bit bad about it. You knew he had issues over that, way down deep that hardly a soul knew about.

“Y/N,” said your boss, poking his head out from his office a minute later. “All set?”

“Yeah. You know how Mondays are,” you mumbled. “Always a pain.”

“Congratulations, baby,” said Jared that night, picking you up in his trailer. “Your pilot got picked up!”

“It’s not my pilot. I just wrote it,” you blushed, Jared spinning you around. “Jare!”

“I’m so proud of you,” he said, kissing your cheek hard. “How many episodes?”

“13. Kids shows are normally shorter seasons since they repeat them so much. I won’t be writing all of them but it’ll be good to have the job security for the next year or so,” you said. He squished you until you needed to breathe, smiling when he set you down. “My boss said I can work from wherever so that’ll be great for traveling with you too.”

“I’m so happy for you,” said Jared, swinging your hands in his. “I am taking you out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate.”

“It’s really no big deal,” you blushed, Jared shaking his head. “Alright, alright. But maybe an early dinner since you got night shoots tonight.”

“Nah. I’m taking my girl out someplace special,” he said. You leaned up and gave him a kiss, Jared smirking at the end of it. “Drive home safe.”

“Will do, babe.”

One Month Later

“Honey, I’m home,” said Jared as he hopped in through the front door. You glanced over the top of your laptop at him and went back to writing. “Still working?”

“No. Working on a new novel,” you said. “I’m five chapters in.”

“Oh. You know someday, we’re going to have to publish one of these. Or at least bundle your shorter stuff together,” said Jared.

“S’not good enough,” you said, already back to typing.

“You always say that. Your stuff is better than pretty much everything I’ve ever read,” he said. “I’m still waiting to see how Peak Mountain ends.”

“I have to edit it,” you said with a smile. “I printed out the first two chapters of this one and put them in your spot if you want to take a look.”

“Yes please,” he said. He moved around the apartment for a few minutes, you and Jared both aware that you were settling into domesticity nicely.

You’d only been living together a few months but you wouldn’t have been surprised if Jared popped the question soon. Everything had been pretty fast. You’d known him for a number of years, meeting him at a con once. But one of you had always been dating someone else and when you were both single, those little sparks finally caught.

“Hey, Y/N?” asked Jared. You glanced up, more time going by than you thought. Jared was holding his chapters, giving you a strange smile. “This is a little dark for you, isn’t it?”

“I’m experimenting,” you said. “I don’t just write cute stuff.”

“I know. You’ve just been a little off lately...and you typed Jensen in this,” said Jared.

“I can’t name my villain after something stupid?” you asked. Jared took a deep breath and held up his hands.

“Have you guys spoken since your parents house?” he asked.

“We got in an argument in the hall at work a month ago,” you said. “But no, I haven’t.”

“You two haven’t spoken in two months?” he asked quietly. You shrugged, focusing back on your computer. “You two talked every single day. Since you were a little kid, Y/N.”

“So?” you asked. “He’s the one that won’t let it go. I love you. You’re amazing and exactly the kind of man I want to be with. If he can’t get over what happened, that’s on him.”

“It’s not just a secret, Y/N. Something else happened and no one in your family knows what the hell is going on except for you two,” he said.

“He is too protective. I can’t help it,” you said, slamming your computer shut. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”

Two Months Later

You were at Jared’s in Austin, smiling happily in bed. He was out getting breakfast and had ordered you to stay put. The night before had been amazing, the happiest of your life. You stared at your hand, smiling at the thought this house would be yours forever too.

The doorbell rang, more than once and you sighed, rolling out of bed and grabbing your robe, tying it before you went and answered.

Jensen was standing there, looking on the verge of tears.

“I…” he breathed out, biting his bottom lip. “I-I know...help me.”

“Okay,” you said, pulling him inside, Jensen shaking. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Hospital,” he said, blinking at you. “I need to go to the hospital.”

“Let’s call an ambulance. I-”

“Not me. De and the kids...car accident. I gotta...they didn’t have any details...I tried to drive myself but couldn’t get…” he trailed off.

“Two minutes,” you said, sprinting upstairs and getting dressed. You texted Jared quick and grabbed the keys out of Jensen’s hand, leading him outside and climbing inside his truck. “What hospital? Jens.”

“Um, N-north,” he said. You pulled out of there, Jensen quiet as a mouse.

“Didn’t know you got engaged,” he breathed out.

“Happened last night. No one knows yet,” you said.

“He’s nice,” was all Jensen said, staring blankly out the window. You reached over and held his hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

“You’re gonna be alright,” you said. He didn’t speak again but the grip he had on you was verging on painful. You were barely parked before he sprinted out of the vehicle and you had to jog to catch up.

“What?” asked the nurse that Jensen was talking to, Jensen groaning.

“Ackles. An adult woman, 3 small kids. This is her husband and I’m her sister-in-law,” you said. “They were in a car accident but he wasn’t told anything.”

“The Ackles family was discharged about ten minutes ago,” she said with a smile. “Everyone seemed okay. Very minor bumps and bruises.”

“Thank god,” said Jensen, resting his head on the counter, taking a deep breath. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Sir?” she said.

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “Sorry.”

“Here,” you said, giving Jensen your phone. He typed away for a minute, smiling when the other end answered. “Hi honey...yeah...you guys okay?...good, good...no, I’m fine...yeah, just got to the hospital but everything seems okay...no, no, I’m okay...yeah, I’ll be home soon...love you too.”

“They all good?” you asked. He nodded and handed your phone back. You texted Jared that everything was all good, Jensen already outside by the time you looked up. You followed after, climbing back in the car and heading for home when he pulled off the road and into the local park. “Jensen?”

He got out and walked away, taking a seat on a bench near the pond. You followed him, taking a seat beside him, his head turning to you slowly.

“Thank you,” he whispered. You nodded, sitting with him in silence for a while. He shifted in his seat and pulled out his wallet, thumbing through it and pulling out a photo. “Remember this?”

“Yeah,” you said, running your thumb over it. “My fifth birthday party. You drove all night from LA just to see me for two hours.”

“You only turn five once,” he said, tucking the photo away. “Jared’s a good man. He’ll make you happy.”

“I know,” you said. Jensen stood up and stretched.

“Now what?”

“I’m going to drop you off and then go home,” he said.

“I meant…” you trailed off. He kicked the ground and sighed.

“Can we stop fighting?” he asked. You nodded, Jensen returning it.

“I am sorry we kept it from you so long but-“

“I have a habit of chasing off boyfriends. I know,” he said.

“You didn’t get in that car accident on purpose, Jens. Back in the day,” you said. He blinked slowly, nodding his head. “I didn’t even get hurt.”

“You almost did,” he said quietly. “I was supposed to put the car seat in mine and I didn’t and you almost got hurt.”

“You were grounded for leaving the house without me,” you said. “We both lied about what happened that night.”

“So?” he said. “I should have-“

“Just let it go, Jens. I’m not four anymore. You don’t have to protect me from the whole world, even guys,” you said.

“I know. This morning...we’re okay again?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said. Jensen smiling at you. “What?”

“Nothing. Let’s go home. Maybe you and Jared will want to come over for dinner tonight if you want,” he said. “Celebrate.”

“Yeah, we’d really like that.”

“Baby,” said Jared as you were walking home from dinner that night. “You okay?”

“For sure,” you said, leaning against him. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been the past few months.”

“I’m thrilled you and your brother are getting along again but you weren’t the only one being thick headed,” he said. “Plus I really like your new novel.”

“I got to change the bad guys name,” you said with a giggle. “What about Clyde?”

“No. Too western. I always pictured him as a Lucian,” said Jared.

“No. Luke?” you asked. “Lyle.”

“Oh, that’s good. You ever going to publish one of those books?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” you said with a shrug.

“Maybe just one for me?” he asked.

“One for you I can definitely do,” you said. “Love you, Jare.”

“Love you too, baby.”

[hornsbeforehalos]

Whiskey, Sweetheart: Part 1

Pairing: Norman Reedus x OFC, Past JDM x OFC Warnings: RPF, Language, Breif Violence, Jealousy, Angsty.

Series Masterlist

Summary: After Jeffrey’s neglect pushed her away and into the arms of his best friend, Norman and Ky have to figure out if their new relationship can withstand not only the aftermath of the unspeakable crime they commited to keep her safe, but the backlash that comes from being co-workers with a very betrayed Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

A/n: This is the Sequel to Anytime, Sweetheart and The Conquests of Norman Reedus. You dont have to read all of Conquests to understand, but at least the finale:  this

TAGS: ( I tagged everyone from A-S, please let me know if you want to be untagged for this series.)

@elinyaes   @jml509  @jesbakescookies @daddy-kink-confirmed @aquivercactus   @xagateophobiax @sorenmarie87 @missghoul18 @jdmfanfiction @jeffreydeanneganstrash @through-thesilver-lining @beffyblueeyes @docharleythegeekqueen @make-things-beautiful2 @srj1990  @dragongirl420  @reedusteinrambles  @youandyourstupidrope @addiction-survivor25 @fireheartart @redm81  foreveror-never @zombeeemomeee @blacklightguidesnic @jackybehappy @jodiereedus22

‘Fuck, Fuck fuck fuck’ I thought to myself as the memories of the night before flooded through my body, the image of Norman tangled between my legs and him calling out my name making my eyes widen and burn as I stared at Jeffrey in front of me, my fingers grasping onto the sheet wrapped around my body with one hand while gripping the door handle for dear life to keep from passing out. His eyes widened themselves as he took in my state of dress, the sheet falling slightly in my surprise. 

“You fuckin’ kidding me?” He instantly roared, pushing past me into the room to yank the covers off Norman, who was instantly shocked awake. “What the fuck?” Norman barked, jumping up out of the bed and holding his hands up in defence, “Look, Jeff, I-” “You what, Bubba? Please fucking tell me what I’m lookin’ at right now.” Jeff growled, glare shifting back and forth between Norman and I. “It’s-” He started, but I cut him off, “We fucked.” I stated bluntly, letting the sheet drop from my body as I worked my way around the room collecting my clothes, “I wasn’t gonna tell you, but since you so rudely woke me up this morning, I really don’t give a fuck.” Jeffrey spun on his heels to point an accusing finger at Norman as I began getting dressed, “You fucked my fuckin’ woman, Norm?” Norman raised his hands back up in surrender, stuttering something that sounded like, “I-I-I…” “I should have fuckin’ known,” Jeffrey seethed, shaking his head before turning his fiery stare back to me, chuckling out a breathy laugh,“After Rob, after Corey…” I cocked an eyebrow at him as I finished pulling my dress down down around my torso, “What’s that supposed to mean, Jeffrey?” “Do I need to spell it out for you, little girl? I should have known you two would pull some shit like this.” “The fuck that’s supposed to mean?” Norman growled, puffing his chest out dominantly as he took a step forward. Jeffrey snorted, scrubbing his jawline with his finger tips in amusement, “I shoulda known never to consider you a fuckin friend, Norman. I’ve been fucked over by friends before but this?” He shook his head again, waving a finger back and forth between the two of us again, “This is a new fuckin’ low, bro.” “Aye, man, fuck you. You’re the one that ditched her ass on her fuckin’ birthday, and every fuckin’ time before. You’re the one that pushed her away.” “The fuck you just say to me, boy?” Jeffrey growled, pressing his own bowed out chest against Norman’s intimidatingly. “I’m not a fucking boy, number one.” Norman squinted, “and number two, yeah, I fucked Ky. Hell fucking yeah I did,” His eyes roamed up and down Jeff’s face and neck before meeting his eyes again, “And I’m gonna do it again, too. Cuz you not knowin’ how to treat a fuckin’ woman ain’t my problem. Don’t play the victim when you know for a damn fact you put her through Hell.” My mouth dropped open as Jeffrey’s fist flew and cracked Norman against his cheekbone as the other man grabbed the front of his shirt. They wresteled each other to the floor of the hotel room and I instantly ran over to try to pull Jeffrey off of Norman. “Gonna need another fuckin’ eye socket when I’m done, bitch,” Jeffrey roared as his fist contacted Norman’s face again, a gurgle of pain erupting from the man as he landed his own blow against Jeff’s jaw. “Fuck you, Morgan.” he gritted and punched again. “Jeff, fucking stop!” I screeched, tugging on the collar of his jacket, trying to pull him off, “Fucking quit!” Jeffrey’s elbow rose back and came incontact with my chest, pushing me back as he stood on his feet and grabbed my upper arm, “Get the fuck off me,” Before I could even think my own fist was colliding with Jeffrey’s nose, blood immediately pouring out as he shoved me away from him and against the wall. I hit the drywall with a thud, my head connecting and causing me to see stars momentarily. I slipped down onto the floor, Jeff looming over me menacingly. “You stupid fucking bitch,” He spat, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, “What did I do to deserve this, huh? “Well, I don’t know, Jeff, let’s fuckin’ see,” I started, rage giving me the strength to stand on my feet again, “In the month that it’s been since I fucking killed a man, I haven’t seen you for shit, you haven’t even asked me how the fuck I’ve been the entire time I’ve been in Vancouver, and then, then, after all that bullshit, you miss my fucking birthday? No!” “You’re the one that wanted to be big billy bad ass with that guy! I told you I was gonna take care of it!” He gritted back, “When, Jeff? When he fuckin’ killed me?"I growled, tilting my head in anger and squinting at him, "And let’s not fuckin’ forget Tanya, now, shall we?” He snatched me up by the front of my t-shirt and pulled me to his chest, “Don’t even fuckin’ start." 

"What are you gonna do, Jeffrey?” I snorted, looking up at him unafraid, “Hit me?” “Get your fuckin’ hands off of her,” Norman roared, shoving Jeff from the side and ripping him away from me. They fell to the floor again and grappled, exchanging fists once more before the door was finally busted in and 3 Dallas police officers barged through. 

Naturally, because Dallas is what Dallas is, all three of us were handcuffed and thrown in the back of police cars and carted off to Lew Sterrit, the officers explaining “our celebrity” status required them to take us some place more “secure” Whatever. It took aproximately 4 hours for Josh, Jensen, and Jared to show up, and in the mean time I could still hear Norman and Jeff through the thin walls of the interregation rooms they were holding us in. “Jesus fucking Christ, you two, shut the fuck up!” I shouted loudly enough for them to hear me. “Fuck you!” I heard Jeffrey roar back. “Don’t fuckin’ talk to her like that, fucker!” “Fuck you too!” “I swear to fucking god I’m going to kill both of them,” I mumbled lowly to myself, irritation at the situation spilling over. When my brothers did finally get around to bailing us out, the looks on their faces told me all I needed to know about how they were feeling. “What the fuck happened, Ky?” Jared asked, confusion and irritation flitting across his face. “Yeah, explain to everyone why they had to bail us out.” Jeffrey spat as we exited the building. “Because you’re a fucking psycho.” I hissed, head snapping towards Jeff as we made our way to the cars. He barked out a laugh and moved his hand to cover his mouth, cocking an amused eyebrow, “You fuckin’ serious right now?” Norman instantly gave Jeff a shove against the car, Jared and Jensen moving instantly to pull him off, “Dude, we’re in the fuckin’ jail parking lot.” Jared reminded him. “Don’t fuckin’ talk to her like that. That’s why you lost her right there,” Norman gritted out, huffing and puffing his chest out as the boys held him back from Jeff, who was equally seething, “You act like she don’t have emotions, which she does if you took three seconds to look her in the face instead of eye-balling her fucking tits!" 

Jeffrey growled at the man but didn’t advance, shaking his head as he opened Jared’s car door and got in the passengers side. "Josh’s got to get home, so you two are riding with me,” Jensen glared, fingers directed towards me and Norman “Yessirr” I snorted, giving him an exaggerated salute as I crawled into the back seat of his convertible. 

“Kylin, you know what people are gonna say about this,” Jensen scolded after I spilled the beans and told him wht happened on our way to my parents’ house. “So? People already say shit about us. Jeff’s the one that fucked that shit up, not me.” I assured, crossing my arms over my chest with a huff. “You’re not exactly a ray of sunshine, either, princess,” Jensen retorted, earning him a snort from Norman. “Look, Jeff and I are done, Norm and I like each other..or whatever this is,” I explained, shifting in the backseat to lean between the driver and passenger sides, “I’m not gonna feel bad for shit, and Norman shouldn’t either.” “Norman should probably feel a little bad,” Jensen contested, waving his hand back and forth in that “prolly about half way” motion. “And I fuckin’ do, okay? You think I wanted to fall for my best friends girl?” Norman shook his head, running his index and thumb over his chin as he gazed out the building whizzing by as Jensen drove. The dark purple bruise on his cheekbone flowering against his flushed face, “I feel like a fuckin’ asshole, man. I’m supposed to be Jeff’s friend, your friend.” He turned his head back to motion to me, “And that moment in the airport when you hung up that phone and then told me you were really through, allI could think about was how I might have a chance.” The car was silent for a moment as I sat back in my seat, sighing slightly at the idea that Norman felt like he was betraying his friend. I suddenly felt like I pushed him into this, and tears welled up and threatened to spill over as my lip quivered. “I"m sorry, Norm. It was a mistake.” “No, it wasn’t, babe. It’s a shitty situation, yes, but I do care about you, and I’m not going to do what he did.” Jensen nodded his head in approval as he cleared his throat, “Look, sis, this is soemthing that the two of you are gonna have to work through. Shit’s about to rain down on all three of ya'lls heads and I’m guessing I'mma get dirty in the process. Keep shit as low key as possible for now, would be my advice, but you know that shit don’t usually work that way.” The rest of the ride back was quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts until we pulled into the driveway. Jensen put the car in park and turned to Norman, speaking in a low, stern voice, “Why don’t you go on inside for a minute, I need to have a word with my sister.” Norman nodded his head, glancing at me for a second with a small smile before exiting the vehicle and walking towards the entrance of the house. “What, bubs, spit it out,” I urged, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms again. “Look, I’m not going to lecture you or fight with you like last time, but this shit is bad, Ky. I mean, come one, Norman? That’s worse than if you'da run off with Corey.” “Jesus,” I huffed, shaking my head in annoyance, “It just….happened, okay? I’ve loved Norm for a long time, but I didn’t think of it as anything because of Jeff. Thought it was a friendship thing since he’d been there with me through so much shit. Then I was drunk and thinking and realized that the reason why I loved him was because he’d been there for me through all of it. He’s the one that stayed up with me when Jeffrey was with that bitch, He’s the one that made sure I was taken care of constantly and never needing anything. He’s the one that eventually showed me the fucking truth. He’s given me so many fucking opportunities to be independent, Jensen,” the tears were back now, and I sniffed the snot that was trying to run down my nose and wiped my eyes, “and not to mention Vegas….Jesus, he helped me fuckin’ kill a man.” “I know, sis…” Jensen whispered, nodding, “He’s the only one that’s checked up on me since then. Jeffrey avoided me, Corey’s still ignoring me…"I snorted again, wiping more tears, "Norman’s the one who actually made it a point to come to my fucking birthday party. Jeffrey just covered up his neglect with a fucking Camero and a text message.” “It’s a pretty sweet car, though.” Jensen reasoned, “Fuck yeah it is, and I’m keeping it too.”

“Everything okay?” Norman asked as I walked out into the backyard where he was sitting with my mom, smoking a cigarette. I plopped myself down beside him and stole one out of his pack, sighing deeply on exhale once it was lit.

“Yeah, I’m just tired. I don’t know what to think of this birthday.” I chuckled, small smile crossing my face as he switched hands holding his smoke to tangle his free fingers with mine. “Ya’ll are just adorable.” My mom cooed, smug smirk on her face like she’d just got done watching The Notebook or something. “You know, it is still technically your birthday,” Norman snorted, taking another drag as he squeezed my fingers, “Let’s go out tonight, we can go to that little bar we went to last time we were in Deep Ellum.” “Ooo that sounds like a lovely idea, dear.” My mom agreed. ”You’ve gotta  black eye, I look like shit. I’m good.” “It is your birthday, babe. Plus, I’ll wear my shades and no one will even know.” Norman insisted, pushing his sunglasses onto his nose to show that it covered the bruising on his face. I rolled my eyes.

“Go have fun, Kylin.” My mother urged.

“Fiiiine, okay. Something low-key though. I’ve had enough excitement for the day.”

We wound up at a little metal bar in Deep Ellum called July Alley, and sat in a back booth snuggled closley together after after pizza at the resturant next door. “I swear, I’m just gonna start callin’ you Whiskey, Sweetheart,” Norman chuckled as I was delivered my 5th shot of crown by the waitress giving him googly eyes that he wasn’t paying attention to. “I’m pretty sure it already makes up for about a third of my blood supply,” I snorted before knocking the shot back and humming at the delicious burn of the amber liquid, “It’s the only thing my stomach can stand to drink.” Norman barked out a laugh and shook his head, his fringe falling into his eyes under his Snapback, “Mine too, probably after hanging out with you so much.” “What can I say, I’m a bad influence,” I giggled sweetly. “Yeah, you are.” He agreed, throwing an arm behind my shoulders and reeling me into his side to kiss the crown of my head, “Happy birthday, princess.” “Thank you,” I smiled up at him, my fingers moving a piece of hair out of his face gently before running down the scruff decorating his cheek and jaw, “Thanks for everything.” “Ain’t a problem, girl,” He assured, his pretty chrystaline eyes dancing around my face, “I ain’t goin’ no where.” I smiled back at him and continued to play with his beard, running my thumb over his cheekbone as his free hand found its own way into my hair. The next thing I knew he was pulling my face towards his, touching our lips together in the first kiss since the night before. It was warm, inviting, and safe-feeling, something I’d been looking for for a long time. He tasted like cigarettes and Jack Daniels, with a little bit of garlic left over from the pizza. I smirked into his mouth as his tongue danced with mine, reveling in the low moan vibrating his chest as he tightened his fingers into my curls to pull me closer. HIs hand around my shoulders squeezed gently before he pulled away from me slowly, our lips finally breaking apart as our eyes opened and we stared at each other adoringly. 

“I’m so happy I can do that now.” He breathed, heart beat still steadily thumping against my own, “Don’t have to just think about it anymore.” “Me too,” I grinned back, face reddening suddenly under his soul-baring eyes. I nuzzled myself into his neck as he pulled out his phone, opening the selfie-camera and holding it back to get us both in the shot. I shook my head but smiled for the camera, followed by another with us both making goofy faces. He had shoved his sunglasses on to cover his black eye, and he played with the filters on his phone, giving it a spooky kind of vibe before opening instagram and to post it. “Watch your caption.” I chuckled. “Pffft, what do you think I am, stupid?” He snorted back, cocking an eyebrow at me as he typed out the caption. “Happy birthday to one of my best friends.” “Awh, I’m one of your best friends, Reedus?” I teased, nudging him with my shoulder. “Shut up,” he blushed, shaking his fringe infront of his eyes to try and hide, “You know you are.” “Still nice to hear it, though.” I grinned at him, resting my head on his shoulder. He kissed the crown of my head flippantly before tucking his phoen back in his pocket after checking his notifications, letting out a sigh at some of the comments, “So, how’re we gonna play this?” “What do you mean?” He held his mouth in a flat line and barely squinted his eyes sarcastically as he held up his phone, the picture of us already getting mulitple comments; “Where’s Jeffrey?” “I bet they’re fucking” “Since when are they so close?” “Jesus Christ,” I barked as he turned his phone back around and continued to scroll through. “Yeah…” “Um, Well, I don’t know.” Norman bobbed his head up and down in thought for amoment, drumming this thumbs along the edge of the table in front of him, “Probably should keep things a little quiet until shit settles between you and Jeff.” I sighed, nodding in agreement, “You’re probably correct.”

“So when you goin’ back to ‘Couver?” Norman asked quietly as we sat on my parents’ couch. Everyone else was asleep and the house was quiet and dark save the dim light pooling in from the kitchen. “Tomorrow,” I sighed, rubbing my temples with annoyance, “I’ve got to get Misha prepared to go home for the holiday plus make sure he’s everywhere he needs to be afterwards.” “Tense.” “He’s annoying.” “Seems like it.” I snorted at him and shook my head, bringing my glass of amber gold to my lips and sipping deeply. “Then you comin’ back here for Thanksgiving?” He questioned, taking a sip of his own glass.

“Yeah, Thanksgiving with my family. What are you doing?” “Gonna be in New York with Ming. His mom’s got some crazy thing to do in France or something.” “Fun” “Probably not. He’s getting to the age where he’s too cool to hang out with his ol’ man.” “I’m too cool to hang out with you too but here I am.” “Asshole.” “Generally, yeah."I retorted, stiffling a yawn with the backside of my hand. "Tired?” Norman asked with an amused smirk. “Fuckin’ exhausted.” I answered, placing my glass on the coffee table and stretching my arms over my head. “Come 'ere,” Norman whispered, stretching out across the couch and patting his thighs as he turned on his side and pressed himself against hte back cushions. I grabbed the throw blanket from the arm chair, wrapping the fuzzy fibers around me before spreading it out over Norman and joining him, my back pressed agains this chest as he wrapped his wide shoulders and arms around me. My head fell comfortably on his bicep underneath me and he nuzzled his nose into my hair, kissing me right behind my ear. “Mmm, this is nice.” I purred as I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing, enjoying the sensation of his arms tangled around me. “Mhmmm,” he cooed back, tightening his grip as we drifted off to sleep.

[denimwrites-archive]

Getting Into Character

Prompt: I got the idea for this when I read @watch-the-whole-world-disappear ‘s headcanons for glasses wearing Evan and their idea of a partially blind club between Evan, the reader, and Jared (with Alana and Connor [I’m totally here for glasses!Connor])

Fandom: Dear Evan Hansen

Pairing: Jared Kleinman X Reader w/ Glasses

Summary: You and the Partially-Blind Squad go with Jared to pick out some new frames and you two joke around as he contemplates which pair will make him into the best meme.

Word Count: 1,396

Warnings: None? Maybe language?

A/N: I hope I did alright with this? I’m not really used to writing so many characters at once, but hopefully it made sense? (Also I didn’t explicitly have Jared and the Reader be dating, it could be read as platonic or not, it’s really just like hanging out idk)

Links to the Glasses Mentioned:

Harry Potter       Hipster       Old Man/70s       Alana Copy       Thick Bih Roland

Glasses Jared Actually Gets 

~~~

Alana was in the front seat, driving everyone to the mall. Jared was in the passenger seat, going on about some conspiracy he read about online. Connor, who was sitting next to you on the hump in the backseat, was trying to dispute it with a different theory he had heard of. You were rolling your eyes at them, and Evan was just looking at them amusedly.

Jared had an eye doctor appointment today, and you were all going to help him pick out frames after he was done. When you finally got to the mall, you dropped Jared off at his eye doctor before splitting up. Alana going to Bath and Body Works, Connor to Hot Topic, and you and Evan heading to just walk around Target.

As you all did your own thing, Jared was going through the routine examination with the letters and repeating 1’s and 2’s. He tried to crack a few jokes, but the doctor apparently had no humor-us bone in his body. After he finally got out of the office and texted everybody he was done. You made your way back to the glasses store and Jared was waving his prescription at you.

“I’m more blind than I was the last time, but I know I can get through it with the help of my supportive friends,” he said, pretending to get emotional.

“Just shut up and pick out a pair of frames, Kleinman,” Connor replied.

“See? I love you guys, you’re always there for me!” You and Alana rolled your eyes at him, while Evan chuckled quietly. Jared then turned to the closest wall of frames and began to peruse. You stepped up and looked at some on the shelf next to him, and the others split up to look around the rest of the store. You heard Jared gasp, and turned to see that he picked out some round, metal frames. He was looking in the mirror and waving his arm around.

Shaking your head at him, you did your best impression of Draco Malfoy and said, “Enjoying yourself, Potter?” with the best leer you could muster.

“Having a better time than you, Malfoy,” Jared replied as Harry, his British accent as horrible as ever. You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped, which brought Connor over to investigate. “Hermione! Come give Malfoy a good what for, eh?”

Connor rolled his eyes. “Stick with puns, Jared,” he stated flatly before moving back to his corner of the store, making you laugh harder. Jared held his chest in mock hurt, but put the frames back on the shelf.

Alana then came by with a pair for Jared to try. They were clear, except around where the lenses were, where there was an outline of a tortoise shell. He tried them on, but still couldn’t really see himself in the mirror, so you snapped a picture to show him when he could actually see with his actual glasses. He struck a pose as you ~took the photo and you giggled as he threw his head back, putting one of his hands on his hips and the other in the air as if presenting something in the palm of his hand.

When he looks at the photo he laughs and exclaims, “I look like some hipster who’s trying to get somebody to support his startup.” He makes grabby hands at Alana, and she hands the glasses back to him. He puts them on and starts talking in a ‘posh’ accent, “Yes, Josh, I know that my latte is nine dollars. But if I don’t get my caffeine I don’t get my brilliant ideas, and then we really would be in debt, wouldn’t we?” He lets out a chortle.

Alana is shaking her head, but giggling all the same. She goes to put the pair back, and Evan walks up with a nervous chuckle, handing the frames to Jared. He hadn’t put on his prescription pair yet, so he holds them up close to his face, inspecting them, before shrugging and putting them on. You take another photo, with a different posing Jared.

This time, both of his hands are on his waist, and he’s looking off into the distance as if he had just finished saving the day. You smile, knowing he looks like such a dad with the wire frames and aviator style, almost like the 1970s. As soon as Jared gets a good look at the picture, he puts the new frames back on and begins to rant about ‘new-fangled technology’.

Connor comes back over, and Jared says with his best Dad Voice, “Young man, you need to take your responsibilities seriously. Either you get your grades up, or we’ll have to take away your television.” He turns to you and nudges your side with his elbow, “That’ll show him.” Connor rolls his eyes, but you can see the hint of a smile breaking through.

Evan is giggling as he puts the frames back, and Connor hands him a pair before whispering something in his ear and walking over to Alana. You give Jared a suspicious look, but you know he can’t see it since he’s trying on the pair Connor gave him. The second he looks at you, you know why Connor picked them. They look just like Alana’s and you can’t help the laugh that escapes you.

Alana makes her way over, Evan and Connor trailing behind her, the latter with a smirk on his face. You know you don’t need to take a picture, but you do anyway. When Alana is standing next to Jared, she looks him up and down. “I think you could actually pull them off, Jared. What do you say, want to join the Beck fashion line?”

“Do I?” he asks, a teasing excitement in his voice. “I can’t wait to be transformed! I’ll be accepted into so many colleges, and have the highest grades in my class. And I’ll be a huge nerd! I mean, who wouldn’t want that?” Alana gives him a playful shove, but laughs all the same.

“Who’re you calling ‘nerd’? You’re the one wearing a Zelda t-shirt.” He shrugs and throws an arm around her shoulder. She rolls her eyes as you snap another picture, the perfect mix of friendship and annoyed tolerance captured in that moment. Connor snatches the glasses off of Jared’s face and puts them back.

The next pair Jared tries is one that you picked out. The frames are absurdly thick around the lenses and you couldn’t help but imagine what he would look like in their bulky shape. As he tries them on, you actually think he looks kind of good, but you giggle anyway at the way they almost take over his face. His pose is one of a thinker, with his fist resting on his chin and his arm resting on the other.

Jared busts out laughing when he sees how he looks, not even trying to make it any funnier than it already is. “They were so heavy!” he says as you put them back, “I honestly thought they were some kind of goggle at first.”

Finally, after trying on a few more pairs, Jared found the perfect match. They were a bright blue, which not only brought out his eyes, but also reflected his personality perfectly. Slightly rounded, but still rectangular-ish, they were slightly smaller than his other pair, but you knew he was getting them the second he saw the color. “They came out of the blue,” he joked as he paid for them.

Your group made their way to the foodcourt as you waited for the glasses to be ready. Ordering things from a few different places and having a mini buffet so everyone could have a taste of everything. You talked about school and some college stuff, until Jared announced that his ‘ocular enhancers had finished being commissioned’. You threw away your trash and headed back to the store.

You all waited as Jared got them fitted and watched in amusement as he confidently walked out of the store, and straight into a disgruntled group of teen girls. They glared at him, but he ignored them and struck another pose, which you knew couldn’t be captured through a cell phone. You just had to be there to truly witness the magnificent dork that is Jared Kleinman.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

sarah (Sarah Frostenson, politics editor): The 2018 midterm elections were what we called “a blue wave.” Democrats picked up 40 seats in the House, making it the third-largest gain by any party in 40 years. However, as we cautioned then, this did not mean anything for what the electoral environment might look like in 2020. Two years is a lifetime in politics.

But now we’re roughly six months away from Election Day, and it looks as if the electoral environment might once again favor Democrats. Take the Democrats’ lead over Republicans in our congressional generic ballot tracker. It’s about 8 percentage points, which is just 1 point less than their lead on Election Day 2018. It’s not just the race for Congress either. Former Vice President Joe Biden also has about a 6-point lead over Trump nationally, and that lead is even larger in some states.

However, the national environment can change — and probably will. We found, for instance, in the last six months of an election cycle, a 4-point spread, on average, between the largest and smallest generic ballot margins. That might not sound like a lot, but in our era of ultra-competitive elections, things are often decided at the margins.

So today, let’s talk about the case for — and the case against — a blue wave in 2020.

First, big picture: What evidence do we have that the overall environment is good for Democrats? Evidence that it’s good for Republicans?

nrakich (Nathaniel Rakich, elections analyst): Yeah, I’m really torn on this. The evidence in favor of a blue wave starts with the polls, IMO.

First, as you mentioned, Democrats have a solid — almost 2018-level! — lead in our generic congressional ballot tracker.

I know Geoffrey has found that that’s subject to change over the course of the cycle, but it has been really steady.

Plus the Biden polls you mentioned.

Plus some truly bonkers Senate polls!

There is certainly time for things to change, but I think you can’t be feeling good about these numbers if you’re a Republican.

geoffrey.skelley (Geoffrey Skelley, elections analyst): Right, while the generic ballot does handily favor Democrats now, it could change. (Historically, the margin has narrowed, and as we’ve said, I found that it moved 4 points, on average, between six months out and Election Day.)

Of course, there’s no guarantee it’ll move as much this time, but as I noted in an article on the 2020 House map, there are a bunch of seats Democrats are defending that Trump carried in 2016, so even a 1- to 2-point move in the generic ballot might make it tougher for Democrats to hold on to some of these more competitive seats they won in 2018.

Democrats are defending many districts Trump won

Incumbents seeking reelection in seats won by the other party’s presidential candidate in 2016, by 2016 presidential result and median race rating

District Inc. party Incumbent seeking reelection 2016 pres. margin Race Rating NJ-11 D Mikie Sherrill R+0.9 Safe D NJ-05 D Josh Gottheimer R+1.1 Safe D WI-03 D Ron Kind R+4.5 Safe D IL-17 D Cheri Bustos R+0.7 Likely D AZ-01 D Tom O’Halleran R+1.1 Likely D MN-02 D Angie Craig R+1.2 Likely D NY-18 D Sean Patrick Maloney R+1.9 Likely D PA-17 D Conor Lamb R+2.6 Likely D MI-11 D Haley Stevens R+4.4 Likely D NV-03 D Susie Lee R+1 Lean D NH-01 D Chris Pappas R+1.6 Lean D VA-02 D Elaine Luria R+3.4 Lean D IL-14 D Lauren Underwood R+3.9 Lean D MI-08 D Elissa Slotkin R+6.7 Lean D UT-04 D Ben McAdams R+6.7 Lean D NY-19 D Antonio Delgado R+6.8 Lean D PA-08 D Matt Cartwright R+9.6 Lean D GA-06 D Lucy McBath R+1.5 Toss-up IA-01 D Abby Finkenauer R+3.5 Toss-up IA-03 D Cindy Axne R+3.5 Toss-up NJ-03 D Andy Kim R+6.2 Toss-up VA-07 D Abigail Spanberger R+6.5 Toss-up NY-11 D Max Rose R+9.8 Toss-up NM-02 D Xochitl Torres Small R+10.2 Toss-up ME-02 D Jared Golden R+10.3 Toss-up SC-01 D Joe Cunningham R+13.1 Toss-up OK-05 D Kendra Horn R+13.4 Toss-up NY-22 D Anthony Brindisi R+15.5 Toss-up MN-07 D Collin Peterson R+30.8 Toss-up CA-25 R Mike Garcia D+6.7 Toss-up NY-24 R John Katko D+3.6 Lean R PA-01 R Brian Fitzpatrick D+2 Lean R

Rating is the race’s median rating among the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

Sources: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Daily Kos Elections, House of Representatives

nrakich: But even if the environment changes, I’m not sure it will be in Republicans’ favor. In addition to the polling evidence, there’s a good theoretical argument for a blue wave, which is that we’ve entered an economic crisis and the incumbent president (and his party) does not do well when the economy is struggling.

The unemployment rate is currently 14.7 percent, and I think most experts expect it to get even worse.

geoffrey.skelley: And the president’s approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus crisis is now about the same as his overall approval (43.5 percent approve of his coronavirus response, and 43.7 percent approve of his overall job performance). The fact that these figures now align arguably isn’t great for him or Republicans.

sarah: That’s a good point, but I also don’t know how big a deal that is considering just how stable Trump’s overall approval rating has been. Will his handling of the coronavirus really cause supporters to abandon him when so many other things haven’t? I don’t know.

One other thing I’m not entirely sure how to reconcile is Democrats’ performance in special elections. You’ve found, Nathaniel, that if one party is performing consistently better than expected, that can foreshadow a strong election cycle for that party.

Yet Democrats haven’t done that well in 2019-2020 special elections, right?

In particular, I’m thinking of their two most recent losses — the California 25th and the Wisconsin 7th — but also ones that predate those two elections haven’t boded all that well for Democrats. Is this a possible silver lining for Republicans when it comes to the national environment?

nrakich: Right — to me, this is the big argument against a blue wave. Remember how Democrats overperformed their partisan baseline so consistently in 2017-18 special elections? Well, I’m working on updating that analysis for 2019-20, and I’ll give you a sneak peek: On average so far this cycle, there has been no overperformance for either party.

That tells me that, while the national mood does seem very pro-Democratic, when it comes to turning out to vote, voters of both parties are equally motivated.

sarah: What does that mean if neither party has an advantage?

nrakich: It would point to a neutral political environment.

geoffrey.skelley: And if the electoral environment is more neutral, that might point to a close presidential race that could go either way. You’d probably still be looking at a Democratic hold in the House — but with some GOP gains — and a likely GOP hold in the Senate as well.

nrakich: Right, and I think that’s the prior we went into the election cycle with, considering we are in a historic era of polarization and close presidential elections.

Still probably not a bad assumption.

sarah: And I guess one unknown that is hard to quantify is how the coronavirus pandemic — especially if there is a resurgence in the fall — could upend the election. Not many states have moved to prepare for an all-mail election, so the repercussions could be wide-ranging, in addition to being unpredictable.

nrakich: Yeah, exactly. The coronavirus is a known unknown in more ways than one.

We’re of the position that vote-by-mail doesn’t benefit any one party. But what if different states, or different parts of swing states, are affected differently?

geoffrey.skelley: Luckily, most of the key battleground states do offer some type of mail voting, but obviously access and ease vary from state to state, and no matter what, states will need to be ready for a surge in mail balloting.

sarah: Exactly. And FiveThirtyEight contributor Lee Drutman cautioned in that piece Nathaniel linked to that we should be careful not to apply too much of how voting by mail has worked previously to 2020, as the states that moved to universal voting did so gradually, over several election cycles. In other words, there’s no precedent for what we might see in 2020, and as Lee wrote, “The obvious implication is that efforts to expand absentee voting in a pandemic might work differently. And maybe there will be partisan differences in who chooses to vote by mail, as we saw in Wisconsin’s primary.”

nrakich: Switching gears a bit, I’m curious what you guys made of this article from CNN?

To sum it up, it found that Trump supporters were more enthusiastic to vote in November than Biden supporters. That’s significant because the party with the enthusiasm advantage has won every presidential election since 1988.

geoffrey.skelley: Enthusiasm certainly matters to some extent. But if one side has a pretty appreciable lead, I’m not sure it matters that much at the end of the day.

nrakich: Yeah, on the other hand, I do wonder about a scenario where the coronavirus is still a factor in November, states haven’t moved to vote by mail and Democrats are more scared to go to polling places than Republicans are.

sarah: Ah, about that supposed lack of enthusiasm for Biden…

People were skeptical in April when we chatted about an ABC/Washington Post poll that found lukewarm enthusiasm for Biden and solid numbers for Trump, but I still think this idea that voters aren’t that excited about Biden has the power to shape the narrative in more ways than we give it credit for. It’s hard, for instance, for me to see Biden driving record-level turnout like Democrats saw in 2008.

That said, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of negative partisanship, or voting for a candidate because you dislike the other party so much. That played a big role in 2016 and could again in 2020.

nrakich: Yes, that’s a good point, Sarah.

Democrats don’t have to be enthusiastic about Biden if they’re enthusiastic about beating Trump.

sarah: Exactly.

geoffrey.skelley: Yeah, negative partisanship has probably never been higher than today, so it’s a factor in our elections now more than ever. Though a piece from Matt Grossman for FiveThirtyEight points out that anger at Trump — which connects to negative partisanship — might not be enough by itself for Democrats to win in November, because while it may mobilize white voters, it doesn’t motivate nonwhite voters as much. And Democrats will need solid turnout among African Americans and probably Latinos, too — think Arizona — if they are to win the presidency.

sarah: Turnout, particularly with all the unknowns surrounding the coronavirus, could play a really big role here in November, too. But I’m not entirely sure which party would benefit.

You could see maybe more Republicans turning out — virus, be damned — given some of the partisan splits we’re starting to see emerge on the coronavirus. Or maybe it’s a redux of what happened in Wisconsin if the effort to push for more mail ballots is driven largely by one party.

Are there clues we can be looking toward now to help us understand the turnout factor come November?

nrakich: I’m not sure we can know, Sarah, especially because of the coronavirus.

I just think the best tool we have is to look at the polls.

geoffrey.skelley: I haven’t seen recent polls asking about attention level and the election, but that could be something to look for, too.

nrakich: Yeah, I bet that’s decreased since the pandemic took over the news.

geoffrey.skelley: Good point — it might actually be a misleading indicator at this juncture.

nrakich: One interesting thing that may or may not be important is that, according to the RealClearPolitics average, both Biden’s and Trump’s vote share in polls went down as the pandemic started.

Perhaps that suggests they’re feeling more uncertainty about the election?

geoffrey.skelley: That’s possible. It could also just be something about the pollsters included in the average in that particular time period.

sarah: OK, we’ve talked about how the generic ballot currently gives Democrats about an 8-point lead over Republicans, which bodes well for them holding their majority in the House, but what about the Senate? What can we say there about each party’s relative advantages there?

geoffrey.skelley: Unlike the House, the Senate isn’t a national election — only 33 seats are up regularly, along with two special elections in Arizona and Georgia this year. However, of those seats, Republicans control 23 of them, so Democrats have a fair amount of targets. The problem for Democrats is that Alabama is going to be tough to hold, so they need at least four seats plus the vice presidency to gain control. So I would still peg Republicans as favorites to hold it despite the environment.

Another way to put it (editor-in-chief Nate Silver might approve) is that earlier in the cycle, I would’ve said Democrats needed an inside straight to get control of the Senate. But now they’re on a flush draw — more options and slightly better odds — though they still need help.

nrakich: Interesting… I think the Senate has to be considered a toss-up at this point. Republicans pretty much always have the advantage in Senate races because of the chamber’s rural bias. But Democrats seem to be doing well enough in the individual races this year that a 50-50 chamber seems like the modal outcome.

According to the polls, Democrats are clearly ahead in Colorado and Arizona. North Carolina and Maine seem like toss-ups at worst for Democrats, and they might even be a little bit ahead. Even if they lose Alabama, that’s 50-50 already.

Plus Democrats have several dark-horse opportunities, like Montana and Georgia.

geoffrey.skelley: I would rank Montana and Iowa ahead of Georgia at this point, in terms of Democratic chances.

The runoff factor in Georgia is a potential headache for Democrats.

sarah: And remember how Indiana, Missouri and Florida went for Democrats in 2018 despite a very favorable national environment (they lost all three). I know we’re saying that Senate elections aren’t national elections — and they aren’t — but Democrats taking back the Senate could still be very challenging.

geoffrey.skelley: Right, the baseline partisanship of the states with Senate contests is still slightly better for the GOP than for the Democrats. And that could make the difference in 2020, because remember that every Senate race followed the state’s presidential result in 2016. True, Colorado and Maine, which currently have two GOP senators up for reelection, lean slightly Democratic, but states like Georgia, Iowa and Montana lean toward the GOP. That’s true of Arizona and North Carolina, too, to a lesser extent.

nrakich: Sure, but Democrats could easily win the Senate even if every state once again votes the same way for president and Senate. It’s quite possible that Biden will carry Maine, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina. If you take the polls right now literally, he’s probably ahead in all of those states.

It just goes back to the question of, “Will there be a blue wave in 2020?”

Biden winning those four states would require a mild blue wave.

Although not necessarily a 2018-level one — D+6 should do it.

geoffrey.skelley: For what it’s worth, another thing to remember is that waves tend to happen in midterms, not so much in presidential cycles, which usually are more evenly matched. The 2008 cycle is an outlier there. Just look at House results — the big shifts usually happen in midterms.

It’s also worth remembering that the blue wave conversation may be more obvious in the Senate because of the nature of the map there. Because Democrats control the House and most of the competitive seats, I don’t think you’ll see a big gain for Democrats even if the environment is pretty favorable for them. There just isn’t much low-hanging fruit left for them to pick off, plus they have to defend some tough seats in GOP-leaning places.

nrakich: That is fair. But the circumstances just seem very parallel to 2008. A tanking economy, an unpopular Republican president…

geoffrey.skelley: To some extent, yes. Granted, Trump is seeking reelection, and even though he’s unpopular, he isn’t nearly as unpopular as George W. Bush was in May 2008.

sarah: Bold prediction, Nathaniel! But OK, on that note, what are the biggest unknowns we should be watching as we get closer to Election Day to understand whether another blue wave is in the cards?

nrakich: This is a boring answer, but I’ll just be watching the polls. Special election results notwithstanding, I still think they’re our best indicator.

But the polls in, like, October. I will fully grant that the polls right now could be misleading us.

geoffrey.skelley: The polls right now are reasonably meaningful, but because presidential elections are just close by their nature these days, even a marginal shift could alter the outcome — and there would be down-ballot ramifications for such a shift. So yeah, let’s see where things are in the fall.

nrakich: Right. As I recently wrote, a normal polling error for a presidential general election is 4 points. So that 6-point Biden lead could actually be a 2-point Biden lead, which would make Republicans solid favorites in the Senate and would probably make the presidential race a toss-up given Trump’s likely Electoral College advantage.

Of course, it could also be a 10-point Biden lead.

[junker-town]

What each No. 1 pick still in the NFL has to prove this year

Jadeveon Clowney, Baker Mayfield, and Joe Burrow are all members of the No. 1 pick club.

From Joe Burrow to Cam Newton, there are nine former No. 1 picks currently in the league — and all have plenty to play for this season.

A wide range of players can call themselves No. 1 overall picks. That includes Hall of Famers like John Elway and Terry Bradshaw, and high-profile busts like JaMarcus Russell and Tim Couch. Not every draft pick pans out, but players selected first overall are greeted with higher expectations than most.

When the 2020 NFL Draft arrived, the Cincinnati Bengals made Joe Burrow the newest No. 1 pick. Like those before him, Burrow is expected to be a big part of his team’s turnaround. He also has a lot to learn as he transitions to the NFL.

But what about the other nine No. 1 picks who are still playing in the league? Let’s see what Burrow and his fellow top picks need to prove this season.

2020: QB Joe Burrow, Bengals

What he has to prove: His magical 2019 season wasn’t a fluke

No, I am not saying it was a fluke. But Burrow wasn’t on many people’s radars before last season. Then the quarterback had one of the greatest seasons in college football history, leading LSU to an undefeated and a national championship. He did so after an OK season for the Tigers in 2018 after transferring from Ohio State, where he completed just 29 passes in three years.

Now, the Bengals are banking on him being their next franchise QB. He doesn’t need to replicate the monster numbers from his Heisman season (5,761 yards and 60 touchdowns), but he needs to show the Bengals they put their future in the right hands.

2019: QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals

What he has to prove: The Cardinals should no longer be taken lightly

Murray had one hell of a rookie season in 2019. He threw for 3,722 yards and 20 touchdowns, earning him the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

The good news is the Cardinals have acquired some major weapons around their second-year QB to help him grow even more. It started with acquiring receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans, then drafting offensive tackle Josh Jones out of Houston to beef up Arizona’s offensive line. Murray was sacked 48 times last season, but the future is already looking bright for the Cardinals in Year 2 under Kliff Kingsbury.

2018: QB Baker Mayfield, Browns

What he has to prove: His sophomore slump isn’t who he really is

Mayfield entered 2019 with high hopes after a strong finish to his rookie season. He played his best football in 2018 under interim OC Freddie Kitchens, which is likely a big reason the Browns chose Kitchens as their head coach. But things didn’t go well for Mayfield (or Kitchens) last season, to say the least.

Despite playing in more games, Mayfield regressed in literally every major statistical category in his second year. He threw five fewer touchdowns, seven more interceptions, completed 4.4 percent less of his passes, and his passer rating dropped from 93.7 to 78.8. The Browns finished 6-10, and what was once the most hyped team at the start of the year ended with another disappointing season in Cleveland.

But let’s not forget Mayfield has yet to spend two seasons under the same coaching staff. There’s reason to believe he can rebound in 2020 with QB guru Kevin Stefanski as his new coach.

2017: DE Myles Garrett, Browns

What he has to prove: He’s more than the guy who fought Mason Rudolph

Garrett’s 2019 season was over after he hit the Steelers’ QB in the head with his helmet at the end of the Week 10 Steelers-Browns game. Garrett was suspended for the rest of the season, ending his 2019 on a not-so-pleasant note.

Garrett still alleges as recently as February that Rudolph used a racial slur during the fight, which Rudolph denied and of which the NFL found no evidence. Regardless, Garrett has accepted blame for his own actions and has apologized.

Before the nasty brawl, Garrett was known as more than a football player. He’s displayed his love for poetry and charming personality, and he’s been doing charity work in the city of Cleveland both before and after his suspension. Off the field, he has a chance to redeem himself and show that he’s bigger than one mistake.

On the field, Garrett was on his way to his best season yet before the suspension. He had 10 sacks through 10 weeks last season, just 3.5 away from his career-high mark. If he can pick up where he left off in 2019, he can easily be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

2016: QB Jared Goff, Rams

What he has to prove: He can play like he did when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl

Goff had the most productive season of his career in 2018 with 4,688 yards and 32 touchdowns. He led the Rams to a Super Bowl that year, and then was given a four-year, $134 million extension before the 2019 season.

Last season didn’t go the same way for Goff. He had just 22 touchdowns and a career-worst 16 interceptions. The Rams finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time under Sean McVay.

Unfortunately for Goff, he lost some weapons from that 2018 Super Bowl team, including running back Todd Gurley and receiver Brandin Cooks. But Goff still has McVay as his coach and weapons like Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods around him. That means he has a chance to bounce back to his 2018 form once again.

2015: QB Jameis Winston, drafted by Bucs and now with Saints

What he has to prove: That he’s still a valuable QB, even if he has to be a backup

Winston signed a one-year deal with the Saints, where he’ll likely be the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Brees. It’s an interesting move for the 26-year-old Winston, who will be taking on a backup role for the first time in his career and has a surprisingly low $1.1 million contract.

However, it’s a win-win for both sides. New Orleans needed a reliable backup after Teddy Bridgewater left for the Carolina Panthers in free agency. Winston needed to restore his value as a starter. If he does, he could have the inside track to the Saints’ starting job after Brees retires, or he could become a starter elsewhere like Bridgewater did.

2014: DE Jadeveon Clowney, drafted by Texans and now a free agent

What he has to prove: He can be an elite edge rusher with more consistency

Clowney was drafted out of South Carolina with the expectation to be an elite pass rusher. But over his six-year career, he’s accounted for just 32 sacks. Still, he’s emerged as a good defender against the run, which was part of the advantage he gave to Seattle’s defense last season.

Clowney was much better than you might think last season, had one of the best EDGE run defender seasons ever. But he wants to get paid like a pass-rushing specialist, like he was drafted as, and that's simply not what kind of player he turned out to be. Still great, though.

— James Brady (@jamesbradyisme) March 18, 2020

Even though Clowney had just three sacks in Seattle, he still had a good season in 2019 and showed up when it mattered most in the Seahawks’ biggest games. Among all defensive players last season, he was ranked 13th in hurries (17), 21st in knockdowns (10), and 27th in total pressures (30).

Clowney has missed seven games over the last two years due to various injuries. If he can stay healthy for whichever team he signs with and play more consistently, he can be a valuable asset on defense even if he’s not racking up sacks.

2013: LT Eric Fisher, Chiefs

What he has to prove: He’s still worth his $11.5 million salary

Fisher has been a starter in Kansas City since he was drafted. Although his rookie season wasn’t great, he’s been a solid offensive lineman each year since then. But Fisher missed half of last season due to a groin injury, then returned in November in time for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run.

Fisher might be looking over his shoulder a bit next season, though. In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected TCU OT Lucas Niang in the third round, which might give KC the opportunity to move on from Fisher after this season.

I’ll let Arrowhead Pride explain:

Although the expectation is for Niang to be kicked inside this season, the Chiefs may decide to move him back outside to tackle in 2021. If he is capable, the team gives itself the option of moving on from Fisher. If they do decide to release the No. 1 pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Chiefs would free up $11.5 million in cap room.

Fisher has been a fixture in Kansas City and will still be tasked with protecting Patrick Mahomes this season. As long as he stays healthy, he can remind the Chiefs why they drafted him so high in the first place.

2011: QB Cam Newton drafted by Panthers, now a free agent

What he has to prove: He can be a franchise QB again

Newton has yet to be signed to a team since the Carolina Panthers released him in March. But now that teams for the most part have their QB situations figured out post-draft, he might have to join a team which just drafted a QB to add some veteran experience to the locker room.

One reason why Newton hasn’t been signed yet is his health. He played in just two games last season due to a broken foot, and missed two games in 2018 due to a shoulder injury. Newton had a physical and was cleared before being released. But until team doctors can examine Newton’s health — which currently can’t happen because of coronavirus — there will still be doubts about his foot and shoulder.

When Newton is healthy, he’s one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the league. He won the NFL’s MVP Award while leading Carolina to a Super Bowl in 2015, and he’s the Panthers’ winningest QB in franchise history. If he gets a chance to start, he can prove he can be that same QB for another team in 2020.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: PACK PLAYERS NOT READY AFTER BREAK IN 5-1 DRUBBING BY SOUND TIGERS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings BRIDGEPORT, CT - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers pulled away from the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack with three goals in the third period to take control of what was an otherwise tight battle between the intrastate and franchise rivals and won 5-1 at the Webster Bank Arena kicking off the post-holiday break on Friday night. Andrew Ladd had two goals while Otto Koivula added three assists to drive the engine for the Sound Tigers offense. The victory was Bridgeport’s first against the Wolf Pack in four games this season. The Sound Tigers are now 9-1-0-0 when leading after two periods and the Wolf Pack record when trailing after two drops to 2-7-0-1. “We did a good enough job in stretches, but we gave up way too many odd-man rushes and the chances we gave up were really good. (Goaltender) Adam (Huska) kept us in it, particularly in the second where he made some really big saves,” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch stated. The Wolf Pack record slips to 17-8-2-5 (41 points) and they are second in the Atlantic Division. The team heads back  to Hartford where they will prepare to play the first place Providence Bruins, 4-3 winners over the Springfield Thunderbirds, on Saturday night at 7pm at the XL Center. Igor Shesterkin is slated to be in net, but the Pack will be without team captain Steven Fogarty, who was recalled after the game by the New York Rangers as a result of the broken hand suffered by Brendan Lemieux. With Fogarty heading to the NHL, the Rangers promoted forward Dillan Fox to the Wolf Pack from their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners, and signed him to a PTO deal. In Maine, Fox has 12 goals and 24 total points in 26 games. He is second in scoring behind only Terrance Wallin. Fox is a four-year minor league pro out of Division III SUNY-Plattsburgh (SUNYAC). This will be his first AHL action. Maine dropped a 5-0 game at home to the Reading Royals and will play in Worcester against the Railers on Saturday night. Bridgeport's record improves to 13-16-3-1 (30 points). They sit in seventh place in the Atlantic, just one point ahead of the last place Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Tigers will host sixth-place Springfield on Saturday night. The Wolf Pack sought to battle back early in the third period and managed to score shorthanded. Fogarty was on the right-wing and waited as he and Boo Nieves broke in on a two-on-one. Nieves broke away from the checking of the Sound Tiger’s Travis St. Denis and got separation and took a cross-ice pass and whistled it for his third goal of the season to the short and stick-side of Jared Coreau at 2:55. The goal narrowed the Sound Tiger lead to one at 2-1. “I really thought we had a chance there scoring early. I really felt we were going to win it when we got to one goal. Then we hit a post and just after the power play ended, they scored and we didn’t recover and they quickly got another one on us,” said Knoblauch. Nieves, who has been snake-bitten in his shooting at times this season, wasn’t going do any victory laps while scoring a goal in a game his team lost. “It was good to get us back in the game at that point, and it gave us a chance. It's only a good feeling if you don’t get scored on a couple times (right after). Then it doesn’t feel so good.” 23-seconds later, Tim Gettinger snapped a shot from off the left-wing side that hit the post. That would be the closest the Wolf Pack would get again. The Sound Tigers pulled away with two goals in a 3:01 span, reestablishing a two goal lead. Ladd tallied his second of the game, and ninth of the season, when he finished off a strong passing sequence. It started with Koivula in the right wing corner hitting Josh Ho-Sang in front of the net. Ho-Sang made a sweet one-touch pass to Ladd, who then deftly put the puck into the back of the net at 6:03. “We can’t give up that much space. This is a good league and players like that are gonna score those. We gave up way too many open shots like that and we're gonna have to clean that up by tomorrow night,” said Nieves. For Bridgeport’s head coach, and former Wolf Pack, Brent Thompson, he had all of his big scoring eggs coming from one basket. Koivula, Ladd, and Ho Sang, who is in his second game after sitting out two months waiting on his trade request. It paid off in big dividends. “Otto had his feet moving tonight. Josh is a high-end caliber talent, and Ladd has that experience. Put all those pieces together, you have a powerful unit." Grant Huston followed with a 55-footer from the left point that found its way through traffic with Koivula starting the scoring play again for Bridgeport at 9:04. Kyle Burroughs put a 195-foot shot into an empty net off a clean defensive zone draw win with 33.4 seconds left to close out the game for the Sound Tigers. The games' first goal came in the second period. After gaining a clean entry, on the power play, the Sound Tigers set up shop. Matt Lorito came in off the right-point. The left-handed shot fired a bullet that Huska stopped, but for the Wolf Pack, the rebound went to the wrong guy. Kieffer Bellows of the Sound Tigers had a wide open net and deposited his team best tenth goal of the season at 10:34. For Bellows, it was his fifth straight game at home with a goal. He has nine goals in his last 12 games and is among the hottest players in the AHL. Thompson was eager to discuss his growth and development. “It's not only his play with the puck, but his play away from the play is better. He was having a tough time at the beginning of the year, but he is learning the systems. The biggest difference is he’s moving his feet and he is getting it now. It's about breaking old habits. You're in a league that is bigger and stronger, and you can’t do things you got away with like you did in college or juniors. The pace changes and I accept that it takes time.  Some break it early. Some take a year. Some take two years. It’s a long road for him, but I couldn’t be happier for him right now his attitude and work ethic. Right now it's all about confidence. 100%, he’s got it. It’s a long year if you stay focused, good things can happen." It was the first time the Sound Tigers have scored the game’s first goal this season in the series between the two teams. “We got that first goal and refocused and got some momentum and started creating chances,” said Thompson. A power-play came a result of an instigator penalty called on Darren Raddysh. He came into the play when Bridgeport’s Robert “Bobo" Carpenter nailed his defensive partner, Vincent LoVerde, from behind. Neither coach could have been happy with the officiating or the linesman. Nieves was tackled in the offensive zone in the second period. No call was made on the play. Joey Keane dropped the puck on the power- play for the trailer and he gets dropped in neutral zone on a solid hit by Carpenter. “You're not trying to get me fined are you?” replied Knoblauch with a smile and a chuckle when he was asked about the officiating. “Sometimes the calls go your way and sometimes they don’t. That’s all I’m gonna say.” Nieves on ice frustration was noticeable, but he stickhandled his way around the question too. “That’s not my area of expertise. It's frustrating and it is what is, but you just can’t let it get in your way.” The Sound Tigers generated half of their 14 shots from the back-line over the first two periods. The Pack got a solid effort from Vitali Kravtsov who had a solid chance at 5:50 of the second period. He then made a tremendous recovery play diving to block a pass to Bellows at the end of his shift. The Sound Tigers staked out a two-goal lead in the last minute of regulation of the second period. Defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon made a strong lead pass to Koivula. He took the pass and went down the left-wing side, spreading out the Wolf Pack defense and then found Ladd, a former NHL first-round pick, open, backdoor.Ladd didn’t miss with 22.7 seconds left in the period. The Pack only managed to put nine shots on net in the second period. “Well, we did go through a long stretch without a shot on net, but I don’t think (we were too choosy). I think we tried to stick-handle too much on our entries rather than chip it deep and get behind their defense,” said Knoblauch. The first period was scoreless with both teams trying to find a rhythm after coming back from the holiday break. Bridgeport had a 5-2 shot advantage in the first ten minutes. Huska made two quality stops on the five denying Grant Huston and then Bellows. Over the final ten minutes though, the Wolf Pack found their stride and outshot their hosts 7-0 and generated some quality chances in the final five minutes. Raddysh, Phil DiGiuseppe, who was just returned from his Rangers recall earlier in the day, Kravtsov, Nick Ebert, and Vincent LoVerde were all denied on solid scoring chances. LoVerde's coming in the final ten seconds of the period. LINES: Nieves - Fogarty - Beleskey O’Regan - Kravtsov - Di Giuseppe Jones - Lettieri - Gettinger Zerter-Gossage - McBride - Gropp Raddysh - LoVerde Keane - Geersten Rykov - Ebert SCRATCHES: Patrick Newell (Upper-Body, day-to-day) Jeff Taylor (Healthy) Lias Andersson (Suspended) Gabriel Fontaine (Season Ending Shoulder Surgery) NOTES: Both teams come off shutouts in their last game before the break. The Wolf Pack white-washed the Providence Bruins, 4-0, with Igor Shesterkin recording 32 saves. Meanwhile, the Sound Tigers shut-out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-0 off a 38-save performance from goalie, Jakub Skarek. It was his first AHL shutout. Bridgeport left the pre-game skate early. Seven Wolf Pack players remained as the clock hits zero. You are required to exit the ice or you can be penalized and fined by the AHL for the violation. There has been some strong goaltending so far this year in Hartford, but out West, Stockton beat San Jose 8-1 with the goaltenders only seeing 19 shots on goal. The G.A.A. for the goalies in that one is not going to look pretty. At the WJC, the US downed Germany 6-3 as a former member of the Avon Old Farms Winged Beavers, Trevor Zegras tallied four assists including a fantastic play off a turn and pass to Connor Hall, who put it in past a thoroughly surprised German goaltender. The Sound Tigers' Oliver Wahlstrom tallied his first goal of the tourney. It was the sixth of the game and came after he came off the left-wing half-wall in the German offensive zone. He cut to the middle and tucked his shot in along the ice. The US squad is off Saturday and will play the Russians on Sunday. Brooklyn Kalmikov, the son of former Sound Tiger, Konstantin Kalmikov, was traded at the QMJHL Trade Deadline from the Cape Breton Eagles to the Victoriaville Tigers. Read the full article

[survivormetaverse]

Episode 8 - "If you waited a round longer I probably would've saved you." ~Jodi

that move was 99% strategy, 200% vengeance. 

https://youtu.be/yx1Jmbn43Yk this has to be the worst thing to happen to me since i chipped my tooth a few weeks ago

https://youtu.be/4MvB2gvwYiw

Okay merge update. Omg and so it begins. I actually think we have it sorted well enough for now, but the paranoia has set in a bit and everyone was all over. Jodi put me in another alliance with Jay who is also from subrosa and then turns out he didn't even know I was ☠️. And the brayden added me to a three with anastasia. And then we made a six with the core of myself Jodi and brayden and then anastasia jared and Colin. It's a mix and we all had questions able true loyalties, like if there's a kyoshi alliance, if there are OG tribe alliances, if there are swap tribe alliances, but for this first vote it is still really about people who haven't connected so it was down to ginny and Babs. I wanted Babs to go because one they didn't even accept my chat request until after I won immunity and two they almost won lol. So there was a LOT of chats and messages while I was in the airport lol but I had sort of stepped back bc I was busy. At this point I am trying to do less in the game and I know it's going to cause me not to make it as far, but oh well. It seems to have settled down a bit before tribal as we settled on ginny. Makes me worries bc if there is an og SEES they can get numbers now or if they are picking off new fools but we keep talking about the other side but it doesn't seem like they are really organized together? It's hard to tell. All this to say that in the middle of it colin was like Jodi is a lot haha but I couldn't say anything about the like 10 alliances I'm in. Also everyone keeps talking about advantages and I am not saying anything but it's funny that brayden who is supposed to be closesly aligned with me hasn't said anything about the fake idol I gifted him that he thinks is real so 👀 there's that sir. But I still am vibing and just waiting until they vote me out. I mean I just won the first individual immunity challenge and at the same time I won the Hunt merge idol, plus I have a steal a vote, on top of giving the fake idol. 😆 And I'll probably get voted out with it all bc people aren't asking directly about my hunt scores but I did say "not great" in some. Anyway it's a fun crew but I now don't have the time to put into this anymore so I'm going to try to make tribal but we will see. Okay bye.

~

So we settled on ginny for the merge boot which I was consistently like y'all she isn't a threat she is not going to win any challenges or hunts. They only thing she does is make alliances, she doesn't even talk to people. Babs I haven't spoken with and turns out they won the puzzle hunt (which I was so close with!) And it was blocking TWO votes! It was very interesting because we only had brayden throwing a vote on Babs and everyone else voted ginny I think. But Babs blocked ginny and Elle's votes, meaning they think they were against Babs. But Babs said something about insider info and I think she was referring to the ginny - elle - anastasia link. Which is scary like where did they get that info huh. 👀 Like who is leaking info 👀 I mean I know ginny mentioned having elle when she made and alliance with anastasia and myself. And I can't remember who I told that but it's either dennis (most likely) or jodi or brayden. But I was also stirring stuff up during the merge chaos which was hilarious so rumors were flying! Then after tribal which I didn't realize was so long oops I should have just not been there live but I didn't want to miss the first merge tribal. But anyway Jodi and brayden are freaking out. Turns out jodi was talking to dennis who was freaking out then jodi called brayden and I and went on about how she thinks he is the leak and also paranoid and was telling jodi she was in danger for some reason. And like don't tell Amy. And here's my confusion like I thought I was tight with dennis but maybe he thought I was closer with Ginny even though he knew how I was ready to vote them out back on oh phantom. And why would he even pretend like Jodi is I'm danger? So either he's not with me at all or jodi is playing me hard. Also one of the voting confessionals said that was for voting out jennifer it's vengeance which had me like 👀 ☠️. Because was that anastasia? But she voted out jennifer. Or was it an og SEES and they are all after us? Basically I'm just hoping an og SEES goes home this time and our alliance holds strong. Here's hoping I don't go home with an idol in my pocket! Basically I would love if Babs went next because they are good at comps and still don't talk to me. Elle still hasn't talked to me either but then again most people have been quiet with me besides brayden Jodi and jay. Which is fine it fits my schedule nicely and I'm not trying to win. I am excited to figure out how to cause chaos with my advantages and I'm excited to see how these twists turn out. I guess things I'm watching out for is jodi is connected with everyone but I think I'm her number one still? And then everyone is talking more than me. But we will see how it goes! I'm excited for a challenge that doesn't take much time / focus (even though I do have a little more time now) . Okay that's the update. They are playing cah together on our day off right now but I'm exhausted and in a car driving back from a trip. Hope they have fun and aren't making new alliances lol 😆 oh well if they are. Oh also one more funny thing jodi keeps saying colin is a super high profile player and he won't do anything too wild (which I know he will lol I was there when he mutinied with like no warning) and then she said she was like "Amy didn't play before I even went to her player page to check" like girl you must not have checked too hard lol 🤣 like my two Stings games are on there I checked too ☠️ glad I haven't been straight up lying to people but I'm definitely not giving information for free. If she figures it out I'm just going to say oh I thought you knew lol bc I played with Cody and Sarah and that's how I was on subrosa. But anyway I think it's all hilarious how my game is going. But I trust jodi bc she tells me things she doesn't even tell brayden like she went for 15+ hours and still didn't win the endurance but she told brayden 5 hours. Anyway that's all I got. I need to try to reconnect with people tomorrow. 

Ginny's gone 💔 Babs used a vote blocker on me though and I had actually voted for Ginny, not Babs (though good enough guess since I reluctantly voted for Ginny), but now I'm worried. She hasn't been active today, at least with me and I'm a little concernedddd. I was actually kind of hoping we could be good allies in this game since at the beginning I feel like we clicked a bit but then I put fostering that allyship on the back burner and it bit me in the butt 😖, unfortunate. Jackbox games with the tribe was fun! I've been talking with Jodie a bit more, but it seems more to me like she just wants me to not perceive her as a threat moreso than she actually sees an ally in me. We will see I suppose.

https://youtu.be/kT_3OY9Ai-A

Big round, could be hands up tribal, could be not. Regardless, I think being prepared is good. Right now, my top priority is flushing advantages since 1) I don’t know where they are and 2) they’re deadly in the late game with less people left. I suspected Dennis having the Phantom idol, and Elle/babs having the SEES idol, but Elle has a risk of having 2 idols - they very well could’ve won the merge hunt. Ideally I wanted to flush out Elle’s here, even if they don’t go home. The tricky thing is Colin and Anastasia always wanted to protect Elle, and Brayden seeks approval from Anastasia, so I wanted to keep them happy. I privately started to bring up flushing idols to both of them, and who they think has them. They both said Elle for SEES. I hopped onto call with HIMYM to talk, and Anastasia OPENLY suggested voting out Elle to flush their idol. Colin was shocked but Anastasia being the most weary of voting Elle, we were set. I knew Amy would be down because she mentioned before. The plan is HIMYM vote Elle and leave the rest out to vote Babs (Jay is ok being on the wrong side of the vote) but since Dennis wants to vote out Elle too, here’s my ACTUAL ideal plan: - HIMYM on Elle - Dennis on Elle - Jay or Josh on Babs And key part to this; - Babs on Dennis. If my instincts were correct, this either means we lose Elle and their idol(s), Babs and their potential idol, and if they both play, then DENNIS goes WITH his idol. Regardless of 0 or 3 being played, an ideal scenario is playing out. It probably won’t be very complicated but there is a potential for 3 idols to be flushed or someone we wanted to go to go. If this turns to a Null vote btw, I think I’ll push for everyone to just vote Josh here as Anastasia is sketched by him and I’ll just cut my losses at this point. If this happened I’d have flushed 3 idols anyways so it’s hardly a loss. But how brilliant to have Jared’s be the only idol left in the game. Also, I’ve worked overtime diverting attention away from Jared’s idol. Everybody on this tribe now thinks Jessica had it and walked out with it in her pocket, as that’s the story I’ve created. People like Josh and Dennis are still VERY skeptical (as they should), but at least I’ve made a big enough effort to consistently plant that idea in peoples’ heads that they’re starting to believe it and roll with it. Jared telling me about his idol was the key thing in making me trust him 100% in this game, and make me prioritize him and Jay 100%. Colin has told me about his Safety without Power, and that’s why he’s just slightly behind those two. Amy and Colin are great shields. I’m aware Jared is currently playing the best game, but I still have full confidence that I am planting the seeds and driving the votes of this game. The merge boot solidified that I knew what was going on in the tribe. Dennis has become a growing issue because he makes everyone paranoid but I think he’s still with me for the time being so ideally others go first. He tells me everything (he calls it tea, but it’s really just stale leaf water because I’ve either literally created the plan or his info is wrong) but he will vote with me for the time being. But I’m also sick of him telling me who not to talk to because turns out, my instincts were correct all along and I’m gonna talk to who I wanna talk to. Easy to gather votes against him when that time comes. At this point, nobody will turn on me without me hearing from somewhere. I firmly believe my connections are strong enough that there will be a weak link who will tell me or Jared & Jay. I’ll tread carefully but I’m very happy with my game thus far and I hope you all are enjoying watching it. 

~

Dennis stop talking shit about me to Jared before I vote you out

We are voting Elle out tonight. And Brayden really wants Dennis gone. And I really don't want Elle gone but it's something that needs to happen if I want to win. But Elle will soon know that she is getting votes. So she will play the idol and there will be 2 votes on Dennis and Dennis might be going. I'm really tired so I have not thought that hard about this plan. I just hope everyone doesnt hate me.

https://youtu.be/Z4E3q31u0u4 elle pls answer my texts

I'm intentionally on the outs so I can get information in the future. We have this setup so people feel comfortable with Jodi and Jared, and if anyone wants to flip, they'll need Jay Ashdown to do it, and when they tell me about it, I get to tell Jodi and Jared and we make a move on it. I feel like tn is hands-up tribal tbh, so we're preparing for that.

Soooo I was first infected at the challenge /And/ unfortunately the tribal is uh, no advantages! Which includes my idol, sooooo eh, hands kinda tied. Interesting! If this is the end Upsetting bc i was never really chaotic which was my goal 🙃 should've let the FOOLS win shape memory in the end, huh. But also if it's end I'm kinda of fine with it 😂 I've been super busy during this ORG and tbh haven't been nearly as active as I usually am and that's on me, and I've proven I'm good at challenges so a non-social challenge threat? I'm not surprised it looks like this is the end oof :/. Don't cry for me, Argentina💃🏽✨ instead Apply To Survivor: Ingary!!! it's Howl's Moving Castle (book and movie) themed and it's gonna be so good especially if I have time to work on it again bc I'm voted out lmao 😂 so please apply ty ❤️ https://forms.gle/RAVnLE48B8cSjXdm7

https://youtu.be/MZXluiFLtqQ im so popular in this worlld

YALL. ginny vote went just as planned. purr. Told y'all it'd be just as easy as telling everyone what to do. everyone in this game is ultimately just a sheep that needs guidance. anyway moving on bc that doesn't affect much. So I'm getting really close with Dennis. I like him a lot, he's very interesting to talk to. I think he's the person I've genuinely had the most fun calling with. I love talking to Jodi but I just connect with Dennis on a deeper level I feel like. Plus I'm still reeling from the brief messiness of last round and y'all I'm boutta give myself whiplash with how much I keep flipping between duos. I wanted to try and duo with Dennis bc of our connection. but then Jodi and I talked and she explained all the messy stuff Dennis does in the game; spreading lies, throwing people under the bus, ratting people out, telling people they're being targeted. and i was like shit I'd be messy as fuck too if I was in Jodi's position and someone kept telling me things like that. So then I felt closer to Jodi. UNTIL THE IMMUNITY CHALLENGE WHEN SHE INFECTED ME sis. literally I would have WON if she hadn't done that. but we supposed to be final 2s? and she just snatching immunity from me and giving it to BRAYDEN? no ma'am. so my bitter ass likes Dennis again. but THEN BRAYDEN HAD TO PICK THE TWIST. and Brayden, Anastasia, and Jodi all wanna vote Dennis out while he can't save himself with advantages. I understand its smart. I understand that Dennis is a wildcard in this game rn. But i like him!! he's fun to talk to!! and I need a backup f2 in case Jodi doesn't work out. Jodi is getting close with Anastasia and Brayden, and I feel like the best thing to do maybe would be to weave myself closer to them as well. I need to get in more with the last two though. I'm playing this game SO emotionally and I need to manipulate that to where I'm also playing smart. so I'm gonna try and talk to Brayden and Anastasia more so I can feel okay with voting Dennis if that is what it comes to. ugh. i hate this round already.

I was feeling down in the dumps about this game because I felt like all of my relationships weren't strong enough but it's better now. Basically I called Jay we talked about how we both like Brayden and Elle and I had already talked to Brayden about Jay and Brayden wanted to be in alliance. So I asked Elle what she thought about an alliance between Jay Brayden and I and she said that she was about to propose an alliance to me tomarrow morning!! WOW IT ALL IS PERFECT. I really hope this alliance works out for the rest of the game because Elle, Jay, and Brayden are really the only ones I trust. I know I'm in an alliance with Jodi and Amy and Colin and Jared and Brayden, BUTTT I am super wary about all of those people. Jodi is trustworthy but she is kind of running that alliance and I am not about to just follow her. And Jared is pretty inactive but honestly i do trust him we just arent super super close. And Amy is perfect but she is super close with Jodi and I need to talk more game with her if I want to know where her head is at. I finally talked game with Colin 1 on 1 and he is super genuine and he is struggling with voting out Dennis because they comnected which I totally sympathize. I like Colin and he says he is straight up and truthful but I feel like he is too smart and he knows what he is doing. I feel like he would blindside me easily. Anyways bye

Dennis, you chose the wrong round to throw out my name. Actually you shouldn't have talked to Jared if you wanted me out. If you waited a round longer I probably would've saved you. 

thank GOD for alliances there's probably like 2 players that have me sussed the fuck out

Jesus there's so much. First, I'm hearing that this plan is for Dennis to leave but I do not want that to happen. He might have advantages but hes alone and hes a vote for me. Dennis has also revealed that I may not be as close with Jodi as I thought I was. According to Dennis, Colin told him that apparently I'm high up on Jodi's hit list and she's just stringing me along. Dennis told me that Jodi is in a million and one alliances and that shes the one calling all the shots and it all makes sense. I'm not sure if I can save Dennis tonight as he's trying to push the vote onto Jodi but my antennae are definitely up and I'm keeping a much closer eye on my so-called al-lie. 

well dis is probs my last confessional. jared is a puppy dog, jay is dumb. elle isnt thinking that far ahead and dat makes me sad bc i know elle is smart. im not giving anybody the satisfaction of flushing my idols so im probs giving them to colin. ive opened my eyes to a lot and its probably too late. hate jodi fei, very strange behavior which explains a lot. but shes good at this game clearly and needs to go. she has been gaslighting me and thats not cute. i dont see her going to the end and i will throw her under the bus publicly tonight. fuck these people :) ive had a fun time in this org so thank u for having me be a part of it. cant wait to say i told ya so to everyone that follows. denbagel: out

https://youtu.be/lHGgEXKrSNI

So Brayden told me that Colin mentioned my name to vote and I was like wtf. And when I heard this my blood sugar was low and I was tired so I told Elle and Jay immediately and then got super stressed. But now Im thinking I could use this to turn our alliance against him. I told Jared and he thought it was wild too so maybe I'll tell people and spread suspision and make people want Colin out.

We seriously were expecting a hands up and it didn't happen. This is gonna be short bc I have shit going down irl. So Jodi has been talking with everyone and relaying info to me and brayden and a bit himym and more me. But it's a lot and it's worrisome that she's so connected. I've actually talked with both colin and brayden about it being a lot lol. So for infection I figured everyone was voting Babs but it was 6 on elle. And then like right after brayden won jodi was talking with Dennis and was like he needs to go! And she has been suggesting it for a couple rounds. I know jodi and Colin are close and it is scaring me. Basically everyone thinks elle has two idols and Dennis has something big but I think Jodi has the endurance since she went 15 hours. Anyway everyone was like immediately sure dennis. Which has me worried bc goodbye another of phantom I guess. Like why. But here we are. And now dennis is scrambling and Colin know about fang gang (dennis me and jodi) and Colin said both jodi and dennis told him and basically I know I've been playing messy but oops caught but people are still okay with me lol I think I'm okay for now since I was like yeah I didn't really talk in there. Anyway I think I'm okay for this round. I really want to pull brayden and Colin away from jodi lol but I knew her doing the most would catch up with her and it has. Our bigger concern right now is whoever is leaking from himym. Jodi said Josh told dennis but me and brayden think it was colin tbh. Also dennis is naming alliances with me and random. People that I'm not aligned with but some that I am and omfg it just got MESSY and it's hilarious and fun and I do not expect to make f6 anymore lol

https://youtu.be/CioFI2QZeSE

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Edgic:

Power Rankings:

Jodi: Jodi might as well be ruling this tribe with an iron fist. Everyone is buying what she is selling. They are all hypnotized by her mist. This round has been extremely good for Jodi as she has been getting everything that she wants and all the information people have FOR FREE. Nothing is given in exchange. It feels as if everyone is just propping up Jodi to win at this point as if she were Boston Rob on redemption island.

Jay: One of Jodi’s cronies. He’s been more active this round, and has been a huge part in Jodi’s top ranking because he’s one of those people that instantly rats to her about everything he hears. He is definitely hiding behind her too. Everyone will be looking at Jodi, but not at him. Though one has to wonder when he will distinguish himself from Jodi.

Brayden: The main person who wanted Dennis gone this whole round. He’s been trying to get Dennis out for the whole game, and his plan is finally coming to fruition. Will it actually benefit him? Hard to say. However, his immunity win and his choosing of the twist greatly worked to make his dreams a reality.

Colin: Colin is one of those players that doesn’t take the lead. He more so follows and does passive pushing for his targets. This has worked out greatly because Dennis is leaving while giving Colin two idols. Colin’s social game and ability to work with those he’s not already aligned with has worked well in his favor.  

Anastasia: Brayden’s #1. She’s sort of in the middle of things. Doesn’t have much say, but is not on the bottom either.

Jared: One of Jodi’s cronies but hasn’t been around much for the strategy talks this round. Just rats on everything to Jodi. Similar to Jay, but has less influence in this round. Seems to just be going with the flow. Directly in the middle of things.

Amy: Similar to Anastasia in that doesn’t have much say on who goes. Though she doesn’t have a solid #1 looking out for her either which puts her near the bottom. If she links up with Colin, they could be powerful.

Josh: Dangerously close to being targeted next. He’s been able to keep his head down, but he lacks awareness of what is actually going on. However, with Dennis’ last pitch he seems to know that Jodi is someone to watch out for. Hopefully his game starts blossoming.

Babs: Doesn’t have any idea what is going on nor whose an actual threat to take out. Doesn’t have any relationships outside of Colin and Jodi.

Elle: Going to be next targeted and has no idea that her new allies wanted to get her out before immunity. Is too trusting. Needs to link up with people in the bottom to take out those near the top.

Dennis: In the bottom for choosing to try and go after Jodi. Jodi found out and has worked overtime to make him into a social pariah so that no one wants to talk to nor play with him. Has been iced out by his tribe and is being blamed for things that Jodi has done. Will be a bitter juror based on how these people are treating him.