#i still have lots of ideas for more sherry outfits

[evilwizardval]

designs for like a western shakespiers au idea i had and started developing with @sugarspikesart (we ended up adding every re character)

[hidingoutbackstage]

hey Sid! any thoughts on the “jill physically ages slower because of her t virus infection” stunt that capcom has decided to pull?

Angels, the lot of you <3

Yes the most recent stunt with Jill is infuriating, we all agree with this. The reason for it, at least in my opinion, is that this is a mix of several individually infuriating things culminating in a mistreatment of one of Capcom’s most popular characters for, conceivably, no reason

Reason number 1 why it sucks: It’s laziness. Instead of modeling a new version of Jill from a face model or even from her preexisting design, they decided to use the Jill that was made for r3make. Timeline-wise, they are using a version of Jill Valentine from 17 years ago. Jill is 41 now. She would not look identical to her 24 year old self. But because the people making this movie didn’t feel like putting in the effort for a new design, they decided to reuse this asset and call it a day

However this isn’t the first time Capcom (and its associates since apparently people get mad when I say “Capcom” as if this project is completely separate from the company that the IP belongs to) has reused assets in a lazy way. I have bitched about it a lot, and I will continue to, but the heavily anticipated DLC to Resident Evil: Village is 90% premade assets. Two, maybe three enemies are original? All sets and character models and outfits and props and weapons are things that have been in other games (mostly Village) though. So is this behavior of reusing models and that being deemed a job well done disappointing? Yes. But it isn’t surprising.

Reason number 2 why it sucks: The nonchalant excuse as to why Jill does not age shows a lack of care for canon on the part of whoever decided this lore addition was in any way appropriate, consistent, or hell even coherent in any way. The explanation goes “Jill has always harbored a sense of justice and responsibility, but when she was captured by an enemy during the incident at the Spencer residence, she was subjected to T-virus infection and mind control, causing her to instead aide in the act of bioterrorism. Even after Jill was rescued by Chris, the viral side effects lingered, affecting her body's cell division, and while this suppressed her aging, she also had to contend with the mental after-effects.” Which is fucking bullshit. The T-virus has no side effects that would lead to anything like this. The purpose of the T-virus is to be infectious and to give its host extreme durability and strength. None of that correlates to the physical halt of aging. Not only that, but Jill wasn’t even subjected to T-virus infection WHEN Wesker kidnapped her. She was subjected to a mind control drug. The T-virus was dormant in her system since her infection and curing in Raccoon City in 1998

However once again this is nothing new. Rewriting canon/not understanding canon is something RE has done before. I could go into depth about ALLLLL the things Shadows of Rose did that contradicted a lot of pre-established ideas (rapid fire: HWS still operating under the same name 16 years later, Chris legit asking a teenager to be part of a military group, an infected individual getting to attend public school, none of these line up with the already established world we know) but I’ll be more lenient and talk about RE6. Leon calls the President in that game, Adam Benford, his “friend.” However Leon also states that Benford was the one who recruited Leon into US-STRATCOM which, if you’ll recall, is something Leon was blackmailed into when Sherry’s life was threatened. If Benford was the one to do that, how would Leon consider him a friend? How does his blackmail regarding Sherry never come up despite them both being in this game?

Reason number 3 why it’s sucks, and the biggest one: Women aren’t allowed to age. Plain and simple. Men are, women aren’t. Women are supposed to be young, always, and we’re just supposed to accept that.

Okay okay I’ll elaborate. With a list of RE women and how I think literally every single one falls victim to this

Rebecca is the youngest member of S.T.A.R.S. when we first meet her, in fact she’s so young she just became a legal adult (which makes 26 year old Billy hitting on her 100x creepier) and before Vendetta, 0 and 1 were her only appearances, this kid-aged girl. I won’t get into how misogynistic her treatment in Vendetta is btw but that’s also there

Claire Redfield is a staple of this series but she does not age much. We see her last (in game form not manga form although the manga made Claire look stupidly young there too) in Revelations 2 where she seems to have grown up, but with 2, CV, Degeneration, and ID, she’s always got a very youthful appearance and almost always a red jacket because y’know this is that young girl from the first game. The cool, hot red jacket and her high ponytail (that’s kind of a “young” look imo) is frustrating

Sherry Birkin stopped aging at 20 for no reason other than to look young and hot yet still at a legal age for all male players playing this game (and possibly so she looks Jake’s age? Which makes no sense because they could’ve made Jake any age but w/e)

Sheva Alomar, Chris’ partner in 5, is Sherry’s age. Even when this woman is meant to be Chris’ equal, she’s still young and attractive

Helena is even younger than Sherry, by I believe 5 years, and she’s Leon’s partner for 6.

Mia Winters is a beautiful young woman who’s being contrasted against the horrors of RE7 and gets a cute domestic housewife role in RE8, where she is shoved aside, given blue eyes (to make her look prettier I assume since her eyes were brown before) and quietly never mentioned again after the ending despite her daughter being a protagonist for the DLC

Oh yeah and Rose Winters is 16 when she goes on her journey because yeah women have to be young this is the standard.

Even as much as I hate the Lords in RE8, Miranda is still a woman over 200 years old who is youthful and beautiful, along with Lady D despite presumably also being very old.

The only “old” women in this series who actually appear that way that I could think of off the top of my head were “the hag” from 8, who is supposed to be unsettling, and Marguerite Baker from 7 (Eveline’s “grandma” form doesn’t count) who again is supposed to freak you out in her appearance and demeanor.

Jill fucking Valentine is now the latest in this list of character assassinations. My biggest, and I really mean biggest this time, problem is that all of this is fine. Capcom signs off on these lore-breaking explanations and half-assed projects because it doesn’t matter to them. Because they know we’re gonna check this out no matter what. It’s Resident Evil! It’s really big stuff for this series! Why wouldn’t you watch it? You can overlook something as simple as Jill’s appearance, right?

Right?

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

I'll call myself clown anon to keep this train of thought going. I, and I'm sure others, would love to hear your thoughts on remake for 6. Also, sorry about the unfortunate initials, wasn't even thinking about that. :/

Before getting into the hypothetical 6 remake though, I just want to say I think 6 was the perfect opportunity to kill off Chris. Piers could've taken his role and maybe Capcom would've stuck with Ada being in Village. Oh well.

Soooo, I thought a bit about how to divvy up certain things from Chris' campaign if Capcom were to cut it. I think another idea would be merging Jake and Sherry's rescue - or really all of Chris' chapter 5 - into J/S campaign, make it a self rescue like getting out of the lab, and turn Ustanek into a final boss for their chapter 4 or maybe just make it an Edonia thing. Cause someone needs to deal with HAOS and I don't know if something that big, meaning plot relevant, should be cut.

Some of the Carla encounters might be able to be folded into Ada's campaign. I want to see them interact more so we could see even more of Ada's reactions. Might also be nice to see more of Leon interacting with Carla and maybe actually spotting the differences between the love of his life and the woman that was genetically altered to look like her... aside from the obvious outfit change.

I think a dev stated somewhere that the standoff was one of the first ideas they had for 6 and they built around it. I would love to see more of that if they were to focus the story. I want to see more antagonist!Chris and I could see him being turned into a stalker-type enemy for Ada's campaign except obviously you can't kill him.

love it

clown anon hehe

it's okay, i'm just chronically online so i saw it immediately and was like oh no let's change that (it's okay, it's probably better that you didn't see it)

considering that in concept re6, they WERE going to kill off Chris but decided not to. i think that the fact that capcom had been playing with this idea since like 2012 or much earlier says a lot about what they wanted to do with chris. that being said with village, i guess that idea could be scrapped now.

i idea of ada and chris is village would've been amazing but oh well, capcom has been shafting ada for the past while now :| i think most of your ideas are solid. to be frank i don't think i can accurately decide what should or should not be cut lol. i don't have every single campaign memorized.

(that's a lie i mostly have leon/helena's and Ada's in my head rent free)

i feel like a lot of carla's interactions are kind of REPEATED in Ada's so it makes sense if they're cut out of Chris's. i would've loved more exploration of Leon figuring out that it's not Ada. I mean people like to be like "OH HOW COULD HE NOT HAVE FIGURED IT OUT"

WOULD YOU?

WOULD YOU HAVE?

With a ALMOST CARBON COPY OF SOMEONE YOU KNOW.

i wish there was something more definitive to allow leon to discover that it wasn't Ada. (but also to the audience. yes i'm bitter that ada is still being blamed for carla's actions.) the fact that they fight between chris and leon was like HEAVILY advertised is also more reason that they would push for that again imo

[chidoroki]

TPN - “Dreams Come True”

What better way to cheer up the TPN fandom after the second season’s final episode than with the special exhibition chapter finally being fully translated. I caught glimpses of a few pages here and there over the past couple months but seeing all the children live happily together in the human world in their own little village that they made close to Emma and Alex warms my heart. Of course I would’ve loved if we got to see more of the GP Resistance (because the anime denied us of them) but following the GF kids around the world as they experience their dreams is fair enough. We started the series alongside them so might as well finish strong with them too. I really loved seeing everyone grow up but no matter how old they get or how much time passes, I’ll probably never get used to seeing Emma without her iconic “63194.” It’s a bittersweet feeling for me, but her smiles bring me so much joy and I’m beyond happy that she accepted everyone into her life as they accepted her without her memories.

I haven’t a clue on how much time passed since everyone found Emma in ch181 to now, but seeing her call out everyone’s names is a little detail that I love so much considering she had no idea who anyone was at first. Trying to remember 60+ names doesn’t seem like an easy task to me. No doubt I was just as shocked as our girl upon learning these mere children bought a goddamn plane! We learn in a couple pages that it’s because of Norman’s company that they can afford it, but still, he’s like 15 or 16 now? He’s still a child! And I’m impressed! Not only at him, but that Oliver and Violet became pilots as well! It’s especially cute when you remember that Lucas gave Oliver a little toy plane during their time at Goldy Pond.

Speaking of GP, is it just me or does Emma’s current outfit resemble her GP one just a little bit? Sure we have no idea what color scheme this one has but come on, the short jacket, the dark shirt and jeans.. just imagine it! Jemima, Yvette, Alicia and Mark remade Gillian’s original GP outfit sometime before the Grace Field Raid arc (ch137 extra page) so I don’t doubt they could’ve done the same for Emma. Of course that’s just me being completely hopeful and missing the Goldy Pond arc to death but yeah! I’m also so happy to see Chris up and moving again! Seeing him wake up briefly in ch181 was nice but this is so much better. I imagine he and Emma have a lot to catch up on in terms of stories, with him being unconscious since ch105 and Emma not remembering anything.

But here we go, the original 15 escapees plus Norman, Phil, Sherry, I believe I saw Carol somewhere and a couple other random kiddos ready to see the entire world. They get to accomplish so much.. and in a single day too I believe? At least that’s what Phil and Alicia say a bit later about everyone’s wishes, but aahh what a lucky bunch. Hell, I’ll say we’re lucky readers too to be able to see such a great story. Can’t thank Shirai and Demizu enough y’all. I wish we got to see more of Alex though. He’s such a kind soul but I’m sure he’ll be just fine staying behind with everyone else.

This entire page where we learn about Norman as a CEO is gold. I still can’t believe this child successfully built up an entire multipurpose company not only to help their search for Emma but also because he didn’t want to live off the Ratri clan. I wish I knew about this last week when writing out Norman’s birthday post because hell yeah this deserves some praise! AND he managed to graduate school as well during all that! Well, by skipping grades which totally makes sense. I mean, if he managed to pass all the Grace Field and Lambda tests effortlessly I’m sure normal human world school was a piece of cake for him. Holy shit dude, keep on impressing me why don’t ya. Not only him but Nigel and Sonya too! I’m not surprised that Vincent helped out but I’m glad those two got a tiny moment to shine as well! Ray is another obvious choice when it comes to helping Norman, as they’re best friends and he’s always been good with machines.. but boy, I can’t take you seriously when you’re just sitting there unamused and eating chips! Hahah I love him so much! And the fact he replies to Norman’s idea with just a simple “kay” is an eternal mood.

Okay boys aside, can we talk about our fabulous girls now? Because oh my god, they’re so darn beautiful! They’re more fashionable than I’ll ever be and it’s so cute how they drag Emma along to take advantage of the 3-for-1 deal. But our girl pulls off that sporty look so well! (r.i.p. goldy pond outfit ver2.0). I’m not at all surprised that Nat wanted to go see the opera. That's perfect for him and I’d like to think the anime did something similar with that one shot we see of him in the human world. We don’t see him in a theater like this but to me it looks like he’s on the streets of Broadway? At least that’s the vibe I get from it. I’m sure there was something music related on one of those signs.

I can’t get over how adorable all the children look and how happy they are fulfilling their wishes, even if some of them aren’t as extravagant as others. Like eating a fluffy pancake and a ton of ice cream? We can do that whenever we want. But for these kids, it means everything and they absolutely deserve to experience such simple joys like that after all the harsh nonsense they’ve been through. I also love how Ray continues to be such a great older brother by still looking out for them too. The fact he remains completely unfazed by the haunted house is perfect. This boy has been haunted by his own nightmares and demons his entire life, there’s no way a couple of lousy jump scares are gonna spook him. Though I do find it funny that Alicia and Rossi still manage to get scared while Yvette is having the time of her life. I can’t help but laugh at Thoma’s “Shirai face” as well.

I find it interesting that out of all the different kinds of exhibits they could’ve shown us while Rossi visits a museum, they give us dinosaurs.. like that seems so silly to me. Y’all have seen several demons in your young lives already and yet dinosaurs manage to amaze you too? God these kids are precious. And then our boy Phil finally gets to see and ride a train! Just look how happy he is! The poor kid can’t even sit still he’s so darn excited and I can’t help but smile with him! Thankfully the anime showed us this too.

We eventually get to Ray’s wish and guys.. oh my fucking god. Tell me that this is not the absolute best and prettiest smile we get to see from him!! It honestly leaves me speechless okay? Ray never imagined he would ever get to see the outside world, let alone live past the age of 12, and yet here he is, seeing such a beautiful sight such as this, right in front of him instead of from inside a book. You can’t believe how happy and proud of him I am right now. Did you see how ecstatic I was when the anime kept Isabella alive? Multiply that feeling by ten and there ya go. That’s my level of happiness upon seeing my favorite boy smile like THAT! AAHHH!! That panel is gonna live rent free in my head until the end of time. I can’t get over how damn perfect it is. His smile is so pure and how he looks like he’s in complete awe is beautiful. He’s about to burst into tears and I swear I might do the same because I’m making myself emotional over this fantastic boy. Someone hold me.

No seriously, hold me because we’re about to get into some angst as we move onto to Emma’s wish. We all know that ever since 2039 her one dream was to ride a giraffe once they got outside, so here we are, about ten years later and the animals in question are within reach. Our girl should be totally excited, right? Ha, not quite.

That wish was something the old Emma wanted, but since demon god had to be such a bastard, this Emma doesn’t know what to think, let alone what to even feel. She hasn’t experienced the same hardships as her family. She hasn’t gone through hell and back while holding onto that one wish that would make all the suffering worth it. The amount of joy everyone else felt upon living out their dreams, she wonders if she would be able to feel it too.

They brought her here to make her happy, but is this truly want she wants as well? This is old Emma’s wish after all. What about her and what she wants? Could this wish make her just as happy as her old self? She knows her family is only trying to help, but seeing her doubt herself does a number on my heart. Even without her memories, she’s still the same Emma deep down, as she doesn’t want to disappoint her family. She spends so much time worrying about living up to her family’s expectations, to try and be that Emma they all love so dearly.

Little does she know that she acts the exact same as usual, almost as if nothing has changed when she finally expresses how much she wants to ride a giraffe. And that’s great considering when they first arrived at the giraffes, no on had even mentioned riding them. She came across that feeling all on her own and everyone else can’t help but laugh and feel relieved. Her mind may have forgotten but her heart remembers everything. There is no “old Emma” and “new Emma” to her family, just “Emma” and words can’t express how wholesome that is because they love her regardless. All that matters to them is Emma’s happiness because if anyone deserves to feel and experience that, it’s her.

I just made myself tear up, damn it. I started this series with season one okay? I heard about this precious girl’s dream within the first minute of the first episode and here I am, a little bit over two years later, finally reading about it coming true and seeing that bright as hell smile on her face. Do you know how amazing it is to come full circle like that? My heart feels so full right now. I’m beyond proud of her and love her to death. Say what you want but I believe this to be the true manga ending in my eyes.

(damn this series for always getting me emotional)

[xhannahbananax03]

Lake Party

Words: 1.9k

Chapter Warnings: Angst, underaged drinking, flirting, kissing, catcalling

MASTERLIST

After you went inside you got straight to work,  you decided that you would choose the bathing suit for Dean,  and the outfit for Sam,  because Sammy never really liked when you wore two pieces,  he didn't like to flaunt you, even though sometimes you wish he would. First you set your clothes out once you had that all ready, you go to work on your makeup and hair,  for makeup you went with a very light peach the was shimmery for eyeshadow.  You put on some eyeliner and mascara,  then a lip gloss.  For hair you did two French braids.  When you were done with that you slipped on your bathing suit and dress along with a nice pair of flats.

Once you were ready you grabbed your phone and bag and headed down stairs hoping to eat a little of that pie before you left.  Once you made it downstairs your mom was hugging Jake with tears in her eyes,  once she released him she saw Dean and gave him a strange look,  but soon that look turned into one of understanding.  She smiled at him and welcomed him in.  You got everybody a piece of pie,  while you were sitting down eating you phone rang.  You grabbed it and looked at the caller.  It was Sam.  "Hold on I gotta take this.  Meet you outside? " Dean nodded and headed for the door while you made your way into the kitchen to talk to Sam.  It wasn't much he just wanted to know if you needed a ride there,  which you didn't.  What you didn't know was how your mother stopped Dean just before he followed Jake outside.

~Deans POV~

(y/n) 's mom stopped me just before I was outside, "hey Dean,  isn't it? " She asked.  "Yes ma'am? " I replied turning around to face her.  "My baby has been through so much,  all that I ask is that you take care of her. " She cocked an eyebrow at me,  at first I didn't know what I should say,  just then I saw (y/n)  walking out of the kitchen looking pleased and happy,  before I could stop myself I looked back to her mother,  "Yes ma'am I will,  I promise. " She looked pleased with my answer and backed off,  just then (y/n)  came and stood by me,  "you promise what? " She looked up to me,  with what looked like hope in her eyes.  Before I could do anything her mom came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek,  "I presume your staying with Jake tonight? " She asked both of us,  (y/n)  nodded and said,  "if you don't mind... " Her mother nodded and waved us off her doorstep,  "remember sweetheart don't do anything I wouldn't! " He mom hollered at her,  before we reached the car,  she blushed hard and looked down in embarrassment causing me to chuckle.

~Your POV~

Smooth mom,  real smooth.  At that exact moment you wanted the earth to open and swallow you whole,  but when Dean chuckled,  it made you realize he didn't take it seriously,  making you a little sad,  but you smiled nonetheless.  You hopped in the car,  and Dean went around to the drivers side,  Jake looked back at you,  "Nice job not looking like trash. " You put your hand on your chest in mock hurt,  as both boys snickered amongst themselves, you leaned up and hit the both in the shoulder,  then you all started laughing again. 

  "But in all honesty (y/n), " Dean started,  "you look amazing. " He looked at you through the mirror with that smirk that make your knees weak, and that gaze that's so intense it's hard to look away,  but you managed mumbling a small "thanks." Before looking back out the window.

~Time Skip to the Party~

As you got out of the car,  you looked up hoping to spot Sam,  when you didn't,  you figured he show up sooner or later.  Jake walked over to his group of friends,  and started talking with them,  leaving you and Dean.  

"Do you want to grab something drink? " You asked him nodding your head towards the table holding various types of beer,  whiskey,  and soda. "Sure." He replied,  you both made your way to the table,  once you got there you grabbed a can of Coke and drank some of it before pouring some whiskey in it.  Dean gave you a 'really? ' look,  and you just said  "what? ",  " I've never seen a girl who likes whiskey. " He replied grabbed a beer a cracking it open.  

"Well I like whiskey. " There it was that same perky voice that you came to loathe.  Megan grab a bottle before chugging at least a fourth of it  you and Dean watched her shocked.  "Woah,  Megan slow down. " You tried coaxing her,  you didn't like her,  but it's only fair you warn her of the side effects.  "Shut up,  (y/n).  I know what I'm doing. " She said setting the bottle down,  before grabbing Dean's face and kissing him.  Hard.  

"I'll leave you guys alone then... " You said picking up your drink and walking towards Jake.  Once you got over there you noticed your friend Sarah was talking to him,  making you smile.  "I see you two are catching up nicely. " You said trying not to be to pushy.  "Yeah,  I missed a lot. " That's when you saw it,  they were holding hands.  Once Jake noticed you saw he blushed rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand.  "I get it.  Ill leave you lovebirds alone! " You said over your shoulder walking away.  When you turned around you bumped into a strong frame,  almost spilling your drink everywhere.  "Oh,  shit!  Sorry! " You said trying to move out of their way,  when he lifted your chin with his fingers so he could see your face,  you smiled.  "Hey,  Sam. " 

"Hey,  I would ask if you want to get a drink,  but I see you already have one. " He said pointing to your drink in your hand as you took a sip of it.  "So,  where are you going in such a hurry? " He said now walking with you by your side. "Oh I was actually going to talk to Sheryl. " You said looking down at where you were walking then looking up at him sideways only to see him staring down at you.  "You remember her right?  Sheryl Waters? "

"Oh,  yeah Sherry.  Why do you want to talk to her?  I don't remember you guys being close. " He said stopping at the drink table to grab a beer,  you stopped with him leaning against the table. 

"I think she has a thing for one of my friends,  Dean.  And I just wanted to know if she needed any help with that. " You said maybe a little to depressing like,  because he only replied with a 'hm. '. 

All of a sudden Mark showed up beside you,  "Hey sweet cheeks! " He said while wobbling a bit.  "Wow,  only 5: 30 and your already drunk? " You asked chuckling a bit at the site of him.  He used to be Sam's best friend before he moved. 

"Hey Mark!  Long time no see! " Sam said pulling Mark in for a bro hug,  "Sammy is that you? " Mark asked looking up squinting towards Sam,  "dude,  you need to cut your hair! " Mark said making you nudge him in the arm,  "I think it's fine just the way it is. " You said blushing a bit as Sam sweetly smiled down at you.  Sam was so amazing it hurt your heart to know that he didn't love you enough to stay with you even if he was moving,  but he was right,  it was better to end things in person than over text.  "Well I think I'm going to go find Sherry now. " You told the guys,  Sam reached down to kiss you,  but you moved your head just in time so he would hit your cheek instead,  making him frown slightly. 

After walking for a bit,  you found Sherry,  she was standing in front of the lake gazing out into the beautiful horizon with the sun slowly setting,  "hey Sherry. " You must have scared her because she jumped a little making you chuckle,  "sorry,  for scaring you.  But what are you doing out here all alone?  Why don't we go find Dean? " You asked her walking up next to her.  "He's not interested... " She said looking down while frowning,  even though you really liked Dean and you had no idea why you were helping her with him,  but you felt bad for her.  "What!?  Of course he is!  You saw how he looked at you at the diner. " You said now standing in front of her you drink forgotten on the ground,  holding her upper arms with your hands making her look at you.  "I saw him making out with Megan... " She said looking even more sad now,   it made you also feel terrible,  if Sam doesn't take you home tonight,  your not sure anyone will.  "Well then let's show him what he's missing! " You said stripping out of your dress and shoes,  "(y/n)!  Omg what are y-" She cut herself off once she saw you had a bathing suit on underneath,  "oh... " 

"Well,  come on Sherry!  Don't you have a bathing suit on? " She nodded her head but still kept her arms over her chest.  That's when you realized she was a year younger than you,  therefore a lot...  Smaller than you. "Come on,  no one will judge,  and if they do,  screw them! " You exclaimed throwing your hands in the air,  "yeah,  but he'll still only have eyes for her... " She said still sounding sad,  man this was going to be a hard fight but you will win.  "Sherry, " You said grabbing her hands,  "there are many other guys here,  so screw dean. " Finally she gave in taking off her shorts and tank top,  making some guys catcall her,  making her blush and smile,  "there you go!  Now come on! " You grabbed her hand and started running towards the rope swing.  "Would you like to do the honors miss Sherry?" Bowing in front of her,  she smiled but said "do you mind going first?  I've never really...  Done this. " You stood up and grabbed on to the rope looking around once more,  you saw Sam staring at you,  making you blush,  but then you turned and saw Dean staring at you biting his lip,  which made you feel brave,  after winking at him you swung yourself of the dock and let go of the rope before pencil diving into the water,  for a moment you didn't come up,  scaring Dean,  but after another second you popped out of the water and swam to land,  once you made it,  everybody cat called,  and hollered when you bowed.  Once you were done,  you walked back over to your drink and sat down taking a sip you saw Sherry swimming around with some guy,  making you smile. 

While you were distracted someone came and sat by you.

[camelotcinematicuniverse]

About Harry and Maple

Well, this is gonna be a really strange little thing that I write, but I'm still excited nonetheless.

In a Mario Golf 64 Twitch stream clip, the awesome speedrunner MetalYoshi ProGamer (yes, that's his alias. No, it's not lame, shaddup) asked the following question to his chat:

"Do you think that Maple has some kind of relationship to Harry?"

And that got me really thinking to the point that this very blog was made. So thanks, MetalYoshi. If you ever read this, I really needed that boost to put my thoughts out there.

Anyway, I actually have a few headcanon theories relating to Maple and Harry, but first we need context. Both Harry and Maple are the final characters from the Camelot OC bunch to be unlocked (without the Game Boy Color Mario Golf save file), thus making them the "best" of the Camelot OC golfers as character progression is measured through how far you get in the various modes of Mario Golf 64. Harry is the final Camelot Character unlocked through Get Character, while Maple happens to be the first character unlocked through earning 50 Birdie Badges. Technically that makes her the weakest of the four final characters (Maple, DK, Bowser and Metal Mario), but out of every Camelot OC she's probably the best alongside Harry.

Metal Mario may topple everyone else in stats and control alone, but don't let that discourage you from checking Harry and Maple out either. They have their own little quirks and low points, but they're still really good choices if you want something different from Bowser and Metal Mario.

Now for the fun part: my headcanons! I have three ideas to throw out in the ring, so you can decide for yourself which headcanon you'd like to go with. Hell, make your own and let's see what we can all come up with! Now then, let's begin!

_________________

Headcanon #1: Maple is Harry's daughter/little sister/family member:

This is an extremely cute idea to me because both of these characters look similar in a way, but they definitely have a difference in behavior with their mode select screen idle poses. Here we see Harry, with his alt colors, doing a semi serious crossed arms look. Like he takes himself a bit too seriously, but you can tell he loves the game of golf:

As for Maple, the screenshot wouldn't be enough, but she's dancing and just generally being cute:

Do you all notice anything about these two? How they have almost the exact same alt colors, how Harry's older, more seasoned presence kind of trickles down to Maple's eagerness (due to her dancing)? They're both blonde, and even the small things like the structure of Maple's nose kind of seem like a natural feminine version of Harry's being smaller and a lot less prominent, but it's still more than Plum's to me.

All this to say I have the theory that Maple could be Harry's daughter or even younger sister. It's just something about Harry that gives me this "older and wiser" vibe to Maple, and with some of the similarities pointed out, I like to imagine that Harry is a proud dad or brother to a young lady (honestly have no real idea of Maple's age, but I go with young adult/older teen vibes) who is as interested in golfing and competing to get even farther drives than before -- Maple. She looks up to him heavily and even starts to wear some of the same things as him but in her style. Note the first (1st) and third (3rd) alternate colors on the pair: the former is an orange shirt, and the latter is a red shirt. Hell, Maple goes so far as to change her shorts color to red as well, instead of the usual blue/purple. Look also at the hair color from Maple to Harry's hat color. The second (2nd) alt on Harry has an auburn-esque color, and Maple has her hair color changed to Auburn too!

I know that the more practical response would be "that's just how the game works in alt colors," but in universe, why else would Maple go out of her way to change her hair color and wear similar color coded outfits to Harry? Could she be extremely happy to emulate his behaviors and style from the extremely healthy bond the two have shared? Could he have been the closest thing to an exceptional male role model she had in her developmental years, so she trusts him and loves him to the point of having the same colors as an alt? That's something I like considering. Imagine if we had Harry console Maple on things that she's going through in her personal life, giving her a man's perspective on relationships and friends, and them enjoying their time together and being super close. When it comes time to golf, though, they are both competitive!

Headcanon #2: Harry is Maple's mentor:

A lot similar to the dad/brother one, Harry still is able to give Maple advice and pointers on her life, but it's about as much time spent as an average evening of golfing practice, typically a few hours at most. This is really the one I spent the least amount of time thinking about as it's not as interesting as the other two points, but I still thought this would be cool to share alas.

Headcanon #3: Maple and Harry are dating:

Ok, ok, here's the one I think MetalYoshi was hinting at with the way he worded his question. "Do you think Maple has some kind of relationship with Harry?" is probably something I figured he meant as a romance thing...well, I'll explore this one here.

From the first headcanon, we can see they have things in common physically and hobby wise, but what else do they like to do? Maybe Harry secretly likes cooking and Maple does too. Maybe he takes her out when she's upset. They would cuddle every night with a glass of wine (dare I say...Sherry?), and for Harry, Maple is what he needed in his life to keep him from taking everything too seriously. Loosening up to let her in after he puts up his own barrier to his emotions and probably has some puppy eyes thrown in.

Maple really likes Harry in this case because it gives her a sense of security, safety, a feeling of trust and realistic love that no one she had ever been with had before. She's unafraid of letting her walls come down and being more social and being herself around Harry. Her cute, tomboy, dorky self is what he truly cares about.

Hell it even goes through to golfing. Maybe the fact that they foil from each other and compliment well together is what makes them strong as golfers with a good drive and above average control. (Clearly not the best, but for them, that's ok)

________________

When it's all said and done, I do really like the idea of Maple and Harry together in some way. I think it's all too coincidental for them to nearly match in their alt colors, have some of the best stats of all the Camelot OCs, and how much they really do seem to mesh well together. In my eyes, the headcanon I do like the most is the familial one, but the romance option is such a cute option as well, and not to mention in my personal fanfics all three headcanons are interchangeable. The mentor/family friend one is used more often in my writing blurbs, but I liked the other two so much more that I'll have to implement them a lot more!

Ay, thanks for reading this. I really appreciate the traction since I don't usually share a lot of my headcanons on Tumblr...ah well. Enjoy!

[thorne93]

The Softest Fire (Part 4)

Prompt: Rosaline Vaughan had it all: fame, money, power, glory, a high status job. Until, one day, she woke up, and realized something was missing from her life.

Word Count: 1948

Warnings: dealing with animals(??), angst

Notes: First Fantastic Beast fic! I could NOT have done this at all without @arrow-guy​​​. They have created a counterpart to this fic, writing it from Nora Vaughan’s perspective (Rosaline’s cousin/adopted sister). Fic aesthetic done by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​​.

I heard the unlocking of the door from where I sat at the kitchen table. The noise made my heart hammer in my chest. This was it. I was about to tell him. What could go wrong? Other than losing a job I love and Newt distancing himself from me due to being uncomfortable… 

Yes, this would go well… 

I tried to remain positive. I was a catch afterall. Powerful, knowledgeable, cunning, humorous, kind… What’s not to love? Unless, of course, he didn’t love me… But why wouldn’t he? 

Gathering the courage I’d collected through my years of hosting meetings, gatherings, and hunting criminals, I stood, smoothing my champagne colored outfit. I checked my hair one quick time in the tiny mirror that hung on the wall and stepped into his living room as he came in, suitcase in hand. 

“Welcome home!” I announced, a large grin on my face. 

He’d been gone a little over a year now and seeing him was like breathing for the first time. Air sucked into my lungs as my eyes raked over him. He looked even more handsome than I remembered.

“Thank you, Rosaline,” he sweetly greeted back, taking off his scarf and hanging it. “How did everything go?”

“Everyone is perfectly happy. Except the kelpie, he has missed you quite a bit.” 

“I’ll be sure to see him, but I have some news,” he stated, excitement in his voice as he got close to me. 

I grinned widely. “Me too.”

“Go ahead, share yours first,” he offered.

I shook my head. “No, no, you just got home. I want to hear all about your adventure,” I insisted.

“Very well,” he responded, biting his lip before grabbing my upper arms. “I think I’ve fallen for someone.” 

My eyes twinkled, my throat dried. “Really?” I asked, wondrous. Good, I hoped Newt would somehow say this first. 

“Yes, her name is Tina and she lives in New York of all places,” he informed. His words felt like ice as the news slithered through my body. 

“T--Tina?” I choked out, peering at him. It felt as if someone had deflated me, or stuck a needle in me and pulled out all of my happiness.

“Mhm.” He let me go and walked around to the kitchen, to pour himself some tea. “She’s American. We met because… well we met because a muggle got into my suitcase and the demiguise got out and the niffler ran amuck and -- it was this awful ordeal. I wish you’d have been there. You probably would’ve wrangled them all in half the time.” 

“You don’t say,” I muttered, trying to keep my heart in one piece, at least until I could get far away from this flat. 

“She helped. It was quite the challenge. I met her, her sister Queenie, who is a legilimens, can you believe it?”

“No, I’m in total shock,” I replied before he came around me and went to his sofa. My words, however, weren’t meant for the question he had just asked.

He began talking again and I took it as a cue to come sit next to him so he could finish his story. “The muggle and Queenie seemed to have hit it off but--”

“But it’s illegal for them to be together,” I finished, sad for this muggle and the witch.

“Precisely. The muggle, Jacob… he saw a lot. I showed him the case, the creatures, he went into MACUSA, in fact I was sentenced to death…” 

“Newt!” I shrieked. “What the hell happened?” The pain of Newt’s rejection and love for another was still very fresh, but this news was alarming to me so it pushed the pain a little farther in the back of my mind.

“The obscurus. Tina and I were sentenced to death and they sentenced Jacob to be obliviated.” 

“But that’s… they did all that for an obscurus?” 

“Yes. We barely escaped.” 

“I’m so sorry to hear that. That must’ve been terrifying. I can’t imagine the fear you must have felt.” 

“I’m quite alright. But other than the news of Tina and meeting a rather interesting muggle, um… I also came face to face with Gellert Grindelwald.”

My eyes went as wide as they would go. “Grindelwald?! You…” I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. “Why? How? What did you do?” 

He launched into the full story about Credence, Graves, Grindelwald, and everything that happened. The news of this left me spinning, that and this new Tina woman. 

“So you’re in danger?” I wondered.

“It’s possible but… I’m not sure. I think I’ll be alright, he’s in custody now so... Tina and I promised to write and keep in touch. I’d like to give her a copy of my book in person as soon as it’s released.”

“Sounds like things are getting serious rather quickly.”

“I suppose they are, yes. It’s pretty exhilarating.” He looked off, seeming to reach back into a memory and smile. I never thought that smile would bring me as much sadness as it did in that very moment. “But what about you? What’s your news?” 

I drew in a breath. “My news? Ah, right, my news… I… I got the occamies to warm up to me quite a bit.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic. Great. It’s so good to see you. I missed you.” He leaned forward suddenly and hugged me, but the touch of him on me felt like fire, it nearly hurt to be this close to him. 

I pulled away from him and stood up. “Right. Well you’re probably tired and you want to have some time with the animals. I’ll give you a full report tomorrow morning. Good evening.”

And just like that, I apparated out of his flat. I couldn’t even stomach one more second to make it to the door. Outside on the sidewalk, I caught my breath, trying to fight this feeling back. This was something I’d never experienced before, I couldn’t even put a word to it, but it sure as hell made it hard to breathe, and it made my chest hurt.

Before I could rethink anything, or do something I might regret, I apparated to my own flat. My own flat felt like a foreign country to me now. I only visited it once a month to use the pipes and grab clothing. Looking around though, I realized... this wasn’t home. It housed my things, yes, but home was wherever Newt was. Whether I was in his suitcase, in a hotel room, at his flat. He was the reason I felt warm, welcome, and safe. Not these four walls…

I sat down on my blue velvet settee, the one Nora had teased me for. She thought it was so feminine, very much not her style. Thoughts raced in my head faster than I could catch or comprehend them. 

Newt had… he’d met someone, and from what I could see, the infatuation wasn’t going away any time soon. He’d had a whole boat ride to determine if it was a fleeting emotion, so clearly it wasn’t. So this was serious, very serious. Newt had never shown interest in anyone, not really. Well… other than his peculiar interest in Leta, which I had yet to understand. But two women in nearly three decades wasn’t promising. He wasn’t the type to latch onto someone if he didn’t like them. This wasn’t a fleeting fling. 

I had some real competition. There was some woman out there that had somehow entirely captured Newt’s attention in less than a week. I’ve spent years with him and he hasn’t even flirted with me.  She’s American, an auror, she works or worked for MACUSA, that part wasn’t exactly clear… What was so special about her anyway? 

Should I tell Nora? Well, even if I did, what could she do? Nora wouldn’t want to get in the middle of this, it would only burden her. None of my other comrades even knew I had feelings for Newt, so they were off the list. 

How should I even begin to move forward? I wanted him to be happy, of course, but I wanted him to be happy with me… Now, I had to choose between letting him be happy or myself. I spent the better part of a year waiting at home for him, like a dog, a loyal companion, only for him to kick my hope in the teeth. It wasn’t his fault, he had no idea… but it still stung.

Now I would have to face every day with him, bottling my emotions, keeping them locked inside. I was so ready, I had gathered all of my courage to tell him. I was ready for acceptance or rejection, I would’ve respected either reaction. But this… this was a bloody mess! 

What would Nora do? Nora would probably say her piece anyway, because she’s fearless, brave… And what am I? Clearly nothing that Newt wants… 

With a sigh, I stood, putting on a record, letting the music wash over me. As the song started, I poured a glass of sherry and swayed by myself to the tune. 

All alone, I'm so all alone

There is no one else but you

All alone by the telephone

Waiting for a ring, a ting-a-ling

I played the music over and over, until I could barely stand from exhaustion. I let the record player continue as I carried myself to my bed, settling under the covers, hoping things don’t look as bleak in the morning.

-----------------------

The following morning, I went to Nora’s shop to possibly tell her about my utter failure. I was only there a few moments when Newt had walked in. Just seeing him caused my stomach knot up.

“Oh, hey you two,” Nora greeted as she came up from the back. “I’m so glad to see you!” Nora stated from behind the counter, her face beaming beautifully. 

“Good to see you too. I see you managed to keep the place running in my absence,” Newt commented with a lopsided smile. 

“It was hard, I assure you,” Nora teased. “So! Tell me all about it!” 

“Ah! Yes. Well you won’t believe it but I’ve met someone.”

Her eyes flashed to mine quickly and my eyes went to the floor. 

“Oh, you don’t say,” she mused, her eyes narrowed imperceptibly and she raised her eyebrows questioningly. Her eyes flickered back to me before looking again at Newt.

“Her name is Tina… She has eyes like salamanders.”

“And this is a good thing because…?” Nora questioned.

“How is it not a good thing?” 

“I suppose that’s fair.” She turned to me. “Rosaline, I put a kettle on in the back, would you go check it for me?”

I knew exactly what she was doing. She was giving me an opportunity to escape. Giving me a chance to get away from the pain and strife he didn’t know he was the cause of. She’s always done this. She was protective over me when she didn’t have to be, when I was merely her younger, orphaned cousin. Even now as an adult and one of the world’s strongest and most powerful witches, she still protected me.

In this case, I very much welcomed it, because the tears running down my face were entirely foreign to me, and I had no idea how to continue a relationship with my boss with whom I was in love. 

Nora could sense my distress, moving behind the counter to pat my arm and whisper that she would be with me as soon as she could. It comforted me on some small level, but right now, listening to Newt, I could hardly breathe or think.

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

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[alj4890]

Prompt Request/Rachel Green Quotes Prompts

(Chris Winters x MC*Shannon Wright) with the prompt: "I'm doin' good, baby. How you doin'?" As requested by @krsnlove​

(Chris x Shannon) A Choices Red Carpet Diaries/Pixelberry HWU fan fiction.

Masterlist

A/N Took this idea from one of the diamond dates you can have with Chris in the HWU app. 

Tagging a few who I know enjoy RCD fics, LOL @krsnlove​ @lilyofchoices @moodyvalentinestories @trappedinfandoms @desireepow-1986 @flyawayboo

Unnamed Doctor, Number 1

"Hey there." Chris flashed his thousand watt smile when Shannon got into the passenger seat of his jeep.

Her own striking smile grew when he picked her hand up and kissed the back of it.

"Welcome back." She couldn't help but feel giddy when he kept her hand in his. "How did the rest of the shoot go?"

"It went well." He maneuvered through the traffic. "Only a few more scenes to shoot here and I will be free for a few months until the next project."

She relaxed as much as she could in the leather seat. It still seemed surreal dating a movie star, especially the very one she had fantasized about the last few years or so.

Chris squeezed her hand. "How's your search going?"

"I've done a few commercials and a pilot for Netflix." She shrugged and averted her eyes. "Not exactly what I thought would happen after graduation, but at least it's a start."

"Perhaps my surprise will help in that area." His bright blue eyes twinkled. "I'm taking you to the studio with me."

She perked up. "Really? I can't wait to see an actual movie scene filmed."

"You won't have much of a chance." His smile grew at her puzzlement. "I talked the director into using you as one of the doctors in today's medical scene."

"Chris!" She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, no distracting the driver." He teased. "At least wait until I'm at a stop sign so I can take advantage of it."

She laughed and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek again. "This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me since I came to Hollywood."

He looked into her eyes and quickly pulled into a deserted parking lot. "Shannon, you can't look at me like that." He slipped his hands in her hair and kissed her. "I had so many plans to kiss you senseless after the shoot, but you had to upend every one of them."

She giggled in the midst of his kiss. "With just a look?"

He grinned against her lips. "Don't tell anyone, but I am that easy when it comes to you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "So if I were to ask for another kiss?"

He closed the last couple of inches and kissed her again. After a few moments of enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms again, he reluctantly pulled away. "This is why I said I was going to kiss you after the shoot." He grumbled. "We can't be late to the set if I'm to get you into makeup and wardrobe on time."

Once at the studio, Chris kept Shannon's hand in his as they walked toward soundstage eight. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he watched her excitement grow with each step.

He tugged her close when he stopped outside of a trailer. "I have one more surprise."

"Oh?" She tilted her head back and focused on his mouth. "And what might that be?"

"Shannon." he cupped her face and lowered his lips to hers.

"Chris! There you are!"

The couple broke apart. Meghan Prescott came hurrying up. Her smile was a touch strained. "Is this the one you talk about all the time? What's her name?" She tapped a perfectly manicured finger against her dimpled cheek. "Sherry?"

"Shannon." He corrected. "And yes, this is my Shannon." He kept his arm wrapped around her waist. "This is my costar, Meghan."

"Nice to meet you." Shannon said holding her hand out. "I loved your movie, Citizen D."

"Aren't you precious?" Meghan said in a syrupy sweet tone, ignoring the hand held toward her. "Of course, Chris has proven to me countless nights while we filmed in Thailand that he only picks the best out of everything."

Shannon tensed. Countless nights? He didn't say we were only dating each other. I only assumed we were.

Meghan noticed her rival's smile dim and pressed on. "Chris, Jim wanted me to tell you that we will film the big love scene first and then the hospital one."

"Thanks Meg." He smiled and turned away. "I'm going to get Shannon to makeup and then I'll see you on the set."

"If you want to practice," she crooned. "I'll be in my trailer." She smiled invitingly at him and hurried off.

"Shannon?" Chris tried to get her attention.

"Huh?" She snapped her eyes back to his ridiculously handsome face. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Don't you want to see your next surprise?" His smile hadn't dimmed in the least.

"Meg wasn't it?" Her tone held a hint of the sarcasm she was holding back.

He laughed. "No. I've got something better than that." He opened a trailer door and barely dodged the blonde flash that barreled out.

Shannon took a couple of steps back then squealed as she hugged Addison. "Why didn't you tell me this was the studio that hired you?!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise!" She exclaimed while jumping up and down with her. "After Chris told me his plan, I wanted to be the one to dress you."

"Now I know I'll look gorgeous." Shannon hugged her again.

Chris cleared his throat. "Waiting for the attention due to the handsome hero who planned all this."

His teasing smile grew tender when she walked back into his arms.

"Thank you." She said before pressing her lips to his. "I don't know what I did to deserve this special treatment, but I am very grateful."

He held her closer to him. "If you would stop being so you, I wouldn't be tempted everyday to do something special."

Addison broke them apart. "Time is limited people. You two can kiss anytime. I only have minutes to create a masterpiece."

Chris reluctantly released her. "I guess that's my cue to run through the scenes with Meg." He winked at Shannon. "See you soon, beautiful."

"Yeah." She mumbled. “See you soon.”

Addison yanked her into the trailer and got to work. "Hmm? You'll be a doctor out in the jungles of Thailand. Would you wear glasses?"

"Addi? Do Chris and Meghan practice together often?"

Addison paused in piecing together a casual yet striking set of clothes. "I'm not sure. They are the two main stars, so yeah. I would think they do."

"Oh." Shannon plucked at the fringe of a nearby shawl. "They have a romance scene to shoot and I--"

"AHH! I forgot about that." Addison handed the outfit to her friend. She snatched up two garment bags with Winters and Prescott written on the tags. "I'll be right back!"

The trailer door bounced a couple of times before shutting.

Shannon's joy seeing Chris again and finding out his surprise had all but disappeared. She wasn't quite sure what their relationship was. Since meeting in Miami, their time together had been a whirlwind of sporadic dates followed by numerous phone and video chats while he was away on location.

Now, she would be present to see him film a love scene. She had seen all his previous movies and the love scenes had been a vital source of imagining her own fantasies with him. But now, she was actually getting to know the man that acted in those scenes.

He was so much more than a mere fantasy.

How could she stand to see the one who continuously swept her off her feet kiss and possibly be partially nude with another woman? And not just any woman, but People Magazine's Most Beautiful?

"Ugh." Shannon finished dressing and dropped her head on the vanity. "Why did this have to happen now?"

She lifted her head up and stared at her reflection. She thought her brown hair and brown eyes were nothing spectacular. Her golden tan skin and slightly taller than average height were nothing to write home about.

She honestly didn't see why Chris or anyone else for that matter found her beautiful.

She turned around when he returned. His eyes drifted down the hunter green tank top that hugged her curves. The khaki shorts revealed her long legs. He looked up at her lovely face and smiled. "Wow. I would become a hypochondriac if you were my doctor."

She laughed and shook her head while slipping the white lab coat on. She picked up a stethoscope and slung it around her neck. "Seriously Chris, do I look okay?"

"Okay isn't even a part of the language anymore." He sauntered up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look perfect."

She blushed and lowered her eyes. He nudged her chin up and kissed her.

When his tongue teased her lips apart, she jerked away. She was reminded of his upcoming love scene and wondered if he had come directly from practice.

His blue eyes crinkled at the corners. "What's wrong?"

She gave a half shrug. "Nothing much." She bit down on her bottom lip. "How did your rehearsal with Meghan go?"

"Fine." He lowered his head to kiss her again. "I've missed you these last few months."

"I missed you too." She dodged his lips and eased out of his embrace. "I--"

"Shannon?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Did I do something?"

"No, why?" She asked.

"You're not even looking at me and you seem repulsed by my touch." He leaned against the vanity and pinned her with his steel blue gaze.

"I'm not repulsed." She began to explain, trying to think how to carefully phrase what her worries were yet still sound like a well trained actress.

"But--" he started to say.

"Did you film the big love scene yet?" She interrupted, cringing at her jealousy peeping out.

His stance eased with realization. "No. Not yet." He walked over and pulled her back into his arms. "And I didn't practice it either."

"Oh." She mumbled. "Is it a kiss or something more type scene?"

He paused in rubbing his hands up and down her back. "It's a scene that leads to the beginning of sex yet is interrupted by gunshots."

"Hmm. Interesting." She tried to keep her mouth closed and focus on the kisses he was dotting on her skin. Her curiosity got the better of her. "Just how far into sex are we talking here?"

Chris groaned softly against her neck. "We're in the middle of unbuttoning shirts with lips locked." He lifted his head. "It's all an act. I don't feel any attraction to Meg."

Shannon rolled her eyes. "I know it's part of the job." She squirmed in his arms. "I've never..." She trailed off. With his continued silence, she felt bound to continue. "I've never dated an actor before."

"Really?" He smiled down at her. "Good thing we're not dating."

Hurt flashed across her face. Not dating! She tried to move out of his arms. Then what was this? Just some...some...she didn't know what to call it!

Chris held tight to her. "Shannon, you know we're serious, right? I mean, I wasn't the only one to feel that connection, was I?"

She stilled. "Connection?"

His bashful, dimpled smile formed. "I think I was pretty obvious in how hard I fell for you the night we met." He shrugged while urging her closer. "I considered us serious from the moment I knew your name."

"You did?" Her tender smile appeared. "That's so sweet."

He pretended to be embarrassed by such a compliment. "Please. Me? Sweet? With you? Never."

She couldn't contain her bubbly laughter. " I suppose I feel the same."

"You suppose?!" He clutched his chest while sinking to the floor. "Oh. My shipper heart that only beats for Chrannon. It's--"

"Chrannon?" She repeated.

"You're ruining my award winning near death scene that needs a doctor. Stat." He grumbled.

"Chrannon." She mumbled once more. "I would have thought Wrinters but to each his own."

"Stop talking and tend to your patient." He growled. He closed his eyes and fell on the floor.

Shannon smothered her laughter while kneeling beside him. She listened to his heart and checked his pulse. "Oh no! This poor man has succumbed to philophobia."

He cracked open an eye. "What the heck is that?"

"The fear of falling in love." She explained, gently brushing his hair off his forehead.

"I'm not afraid anymore." He murmured.

"Then you don't need ten cc's of kisses?" She began to stand up, only to be pulled back down.

"It couldn't hurt to administer that." He breathed against her lips. "Just as a precaution."

She grinned and lowered her head, kissing him in the manner she dreamed of while he was away.

After a few heated minutes. She propped her chin on his chest. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm doin' good, baby. How you doin'?" He replied in a flirty tone.

She chuckled while getting up. "I'm much better now."

Chris couldn't keep his proud smirk from forming.

"Ready to go on set?" He asked, holding his hand out to her.

She laced her fingers with his. "I am."

He opened the trailer door and led her to the soundstage entrance.

[swearronchanel]

8.07

Well, damn

the girls looking so good 😭😍💖 fashion queens

“Sometimes, we simply see each other through fresh eyes and there’s joy it in”

The Turner’s poppin bottles in the house

I still love Mother Mildred she’s wild

Poor sister Frances, literally the new sister Winnifred 🤦🏼‍♀️

Now she’ll have her “first birth experience” and will have the “I’m a midwife, I can do it” epiphany lmao

Sister Hilda has some good lines lol

Hard boiled eggs yum 😂😂 LMAO ew who wants that as an appetizer or hor d’oeuvre

aw there’s baby teddy, the writers remembered his existence this time

small dry sherry pls

Set aside the bottles we are popping birth control pills ladies, on the daily so they work

violet is me in some situations like great idea but who is paying? 😂😂

POSEIDON’S HIPPYCAMP LMAOOO WHAT?

I love sister Monica Joan

Does England have any gold Olympic medals? 😂 no shade I’m just curious

Silver is still good lol but sister MJ ain’t about it

I would like to join the Phyllis Crane fan club thanks

Ofc they were right there’s like single young moms every other episode

So she’s got an STD

Are we guessing her husband is cheating? Cause I am

THE PRIDE OF THE NATION IS AT STAKE LMAOOO SHE’S SCOUTING THE KIDS FOR FUTURE ATHLETES

I want some chips even tho I still can’t used to calling them chips

YAS Mother Mildred Lmaoo tell sister J about it

Sister J has been pushed the side this series and then they give her a time to make a point and nothing lmao, the same lines she said 3 series ago about the pill

I’m offended write sister J better pls

Val spilling family tea

Her poor grandmother tho 💔 so glad a lot has changed in 60 years (even tho more still needs to change )

Miss Higgins and Phyllis is the duo I didn’t realize I wanted to see? Give us more

I knew he was cheating !! Trash

Fountain of all wisdom😂

LMAO Mother Mildred knows Phyllis isn’t down for him

Gonorrhea,,, shit

(chlamydia is the clap tho? do british people call both the clap?)

Not a chartreuse fan but cute coat for shelagh

“Nice to see you kid” pure 😭

PHYLLIS’ CRINGE at the comment I love Lucille tho lmao

“WE’VE ALL HAD A DOSE” SJSJSJ BRO ACTUALLY WE HAVEN’T LMAO

He said he paid for it so casually, why are a lot of men trash?🤦🏼‍♀️

!Courage and humility! We know this, esp humility lmaooo

This other husband seems better

Shelagh’s plaid pants Yass i love

I hope they show the Turner’s talking to the kids, as sad as it is you gotta shed light all the harsher reality side to fostering kids

My best friends’ growing up parents’ fostered so many kids throughout our childhood is was always sad watching kids come and go

“Bribery and corruption?” I love Beatrix 😂 I love when her series 1 playful/jokester self shines through

Ok but not gonna lie I LOVE Bingo LMAO

“Miss Anderson” 😭😍 pure af and she looks so pretty

Where was sister MJ when I was having nervous breakdowns failing all my math courses? 😭

An enema sounds like a nightmare Lmaoo

Aw here comes the talk 😭

Not “the talk” but that would actually be SO funny omg imagine LMAO

Idk why I expected the little kids to say something lol but at least they showed it 😭poor Tim tho

Trixie looks so good serving some mod 60s realness!!

Val’s outfit is cute too

Damn it there was the chance to bring back “children are more resilient than you think” !! (Sister B said that right?)

The fear of God “I’ve already got that” LMAOO sister Frances

My fam loves bingo we play it at my grandma’s I miss it 😂 this caller isn’t that exciting tho

also am an active player of bingo when we go on cruises bc once again YES, I am actually a 60 year old woman

“WAS SHE WORTH IT?” LMAOO

Why didn’t he yell BINGO in confused? LMAO is this british? Who says house??

Why is it hilarious to me that the hookers know Dr Turner?😂

elbow first?? Whatttt the hell

There’s the little fish looking baby 😂

Aww she’s all crusty but reminds me how excited I am to meet my niece when I get back to the states 😭

There’s the new instilled confidence lol predictable af but still sweet

Nosy bitches, I’d be so catty and just start calling people out on their issues lmao

oh yikes that’s a nasty boil

They’re having a whole party 😂

and now the party’s over

Passing the magazine that’s so cute

“What an honor” uhhh

“Hope my Val is like you” pure 😭😭

Omg she wanted to be a nurse my heart stop I’ll tear up

Are we supposed to feel sorry for Mr Pugh? Bc I don’t (am I being insensitive idk tbh)

baby girls are winning tonight

aw she’s so tiny

“You are Artemis” YAS love that greek mythology😂😭 I will scream it everywhere I love sister MJ

Who thought making “Aunt Flo” a character was ok LMAO

IF GRAN IS DEAD IM SUING OMG SJKJKJK

OH SHIT PLOT TWIST

Was not expecting that. what the fuck

And sister Mildred’s leaving aw 😭I’ll miss her

she’s like sister Evangelina but on another level lmaoo 

Why is she leaving mysteriously after her “work” is done like a magical movie nanny?  lollll

I guess this isn’t the best time to say it but this shuts down the speculations that Val had an abortion?

Ok Agnes is an ugly name but do you

this is so so sad 😭😭 this is why safe abortions need to accessible bc this is how it happens when it’s illegal

burning the fucking money, this is so heavy

They both have points tho so you can’t even point fingers at who is right or wrong in this situation. There’s no good or bad, it just is

Honestly the real one in the wrong here is the damn government who fails the state when they don’t give a damn about women and don’t provide access to legal & safe abortions and just overall make women (esp poor women)’s lives so freaking difficult !!

is Val going to call the cops? I know this isn’t the end of it

There’s Britain’s gold tho 😂

“We can never foretell when our fortunes will turn or when the story will change. Sometimes we see each other through fresh eyes and there’s no joy at all. We see what was concealed and what is shameful. We see what is true, and nothing familiar remains...”

Damn this was heartbreaking but also the best episode this weekend.

[write-havoc]

This Is How I Disappear Ch. 22

Summary: A girl named Chuck finds herself in the exact place she doesn't want to be, living with violent men in a desolate nursing home. After her former gym teacher finds her, will he be the savior she was looking for?

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Completed (story continues in The Flame Is Gone, The Fire Remains)

Contains: swearing, violence, sexual assault, blood, smut

Readers 18+ of age only

Masterlists in my bio

It is early in the morning, the sun just barely above the horizon when Chuck wakes up with Negan’s face nuzzled into her neck. He places soft kisses on her jaw and neck as he rubs his hand up and down her torso. She feels his hand ghost over her breast to lightly cup her neck as he continues to kiss beneath her ear.

Chuck smiles softly at the pleasant wake up call. “Negan?” she says sleepily.

He noticeably jumps at her voice. “Jesus Christ! I thought you were asleep.”

She giggles. “Sorry.” She turns her body to face him. “What are you doing?”

“I just woke up,” he answers, not exactly answering her question and completely glossing over the way he was kissing her.

“You were touching me.” She likes the way that he was touching her, but it still seems a little out of character for Negan.

“So? I’ve been touching you since we got into fuckin’ bed last night. That’s kinda what sleeping together entails,” he states with a smirk.

“You know what I meant.” She yawns. “Do you always molest me in my sleep?” she jokes.

The horrified look he throws at her makes her chuckle. “Don’t fuckin’ say that shit. I’m not fuckin’ molesting you,” he growls out with a frown.

“I’m just joking.” She pats him on the chest. “But seriously. Do you usually do that? I’m kinda... curious.”

“Are you weirded out?” he asks, almost hesitantly.

“No. It was nice. I just didn’t realize you were quite so... amorous in the morning.”

Negan rolls on top of her and begins to kiss her lips. “You want me to wake you up when I wake up in the fuckin’ morning from now on? Get our fuck on before I leave?”

“I thought mornings were for the wives?” Chuck asks in a joking manner.

“I think I can squeeze you in before them.” He tries to move his legs between hers, but she stops him.

“I don’t think so, mister.” She pushes him off of her with a grunt.

“What? Are you fuckin’ mad at me or something?” he asks with furrowed brows.

“I’m not mad at you,” she answers with a chuckle. “I’m just tired. I hate early mornings.”

“Fine.” He leans back over her and gives her a kiss. “I gotta get up anyway.” He rolls out of bed and gathers up some clothes to wear. “I want you to stick around up here today.”

“Okay,” Chuck says as she tries to get back to sleep.

A little while later Chuck is woken up again by Negan, but this time is a lot less pleasant.

“Motherfucker!” he yells from his office.

Chuck looks at the clock. 6:43 am. She lets out a groan and gets out of bed, putting some clothes on after, knowing that she won’t get back to sleep a second time. She pads out to the office to see what is going on.

Negan is pacing around in front of his desk, his hand raking through his hair, his other hand clutching his radio.

“Is something wrong?” Chuck asks as she approaches him.

He lifts his head to look at her. “Nothing you need to fuckin’ worry about. You can go back to bed.”

Simon suddenly walks through the office door. “So, Walt died-“ Simon stops when he lifts his head and sees Chuck. “Oh, hi,” Simon greets awkwardly as he looks from Chuck to Negan.

“Who’s Walt and why did he die?” Chuck asks.

“I told you not to worry about it,” Negan reiterates.

“If someone’s died here, it’s kinda my business. You know, since I work with the doctor. Was this guy sick?”

“Walt. He was a good guy. Led an outpost,” Simon answers. “He died from an infection.”

Negan shoots him a look then turns to Chuck. “See. It wasn’t here so it’s not your fuckin’ problem.”

“What kind of infection?” she asks.

“He cut his leg on a fence and no one knew what to do with it, I guess,” Simon elaborated.

“Oh no,” Chuck gasps. “Don’t the outposts have medical supplies?”

Negan lets out a sigh. “Yes, they have fuckin’ first aid kits. They’re just too fuckin’ stupid to realize that you have to actually use them so you don’t fuckin’ die from a goddamn scraped knee!” Negan is obviously upset that one of his people died unnecessarily. And Chuck figures that he must have been close with Negan if he made him the leader of an outpost.

“Well... I could show them. I could go to the outposts and teach them basic first aid,” Chuck offers.

“That’s a good idea,” Simon starts. “We don’t have any nurses or anything out there. If she can teach-“

“Nope.” Negan shakes his head and begins to pace. “She’s not leaving these fuckin’ gates.”

“I’ve left before. When I failed at shooting guns,” Chuck explains to Negan. “Remember? That turned out fine.”

“We have five fuckin’ outposts, Chuck! You’d be out there all fuckin’ day. At least!” He stops pacing to stand in front of Chuck. “It’s a stupid fuckin’ risk. You’d be a sitting fuckin’ duck.”

“I want to help, Negan. I don’t want people to die from stupid things that I could prevent. And you don’t want your people to die, either.” She looks at Negan with wide eyes. “I’ll be with you and whoever else you take with us. It’ll be fine.”

Negan scratches his beard and lets out a huff. He seems to be thinking it over carefully. “Fine,” he spits out after a full minute of silence and walks past Chuck to talk to Simon. “Get the guys together. I guess I’ll be making my rounds to the fuckin’ outposts today.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Simon gives Chuck another look before he leaves the office.

Negan grasps Chuck’s shoulders and turns her to face him. “You stay by my side the whole fuckin’ time. You do not leave me, understand? Not for a fuckin’ second. If I need to take a fuckin’ piss, you’ll be standing right beside me.”

“Okay. I won’t leave you.”

“Go down to your room and change your clothes,” he orders. “Heavy boots. Jeans. T-shirt, not a low cut one. And that military type jacket you have.”

“Uh. Okay.” She is a little confused at the very specific outfit Negan wants. And the fact that he thinks she has any low cut shirts. She has never willingly worn anything low cut in her life.

“Meet me out front in twenty.”

She goes to her room and changes her clothes accordingly. Black skinny jeans. Her Batman T-shirt. And the hiking boots that she had picked up in the market a while ago. She throws her hair up in two high pigtail buns and grabs her green bomber jacket to head downstairs.

She exits the main doors and walks to the trucks already parked by the gate. All the men that are standing there turn to watch her approach them.

  Great. I’m late. And now everyone is staring at me. Ugh. I hope Negan doesn’t call any more attention to me.

 “There she is!” Negan calls out with his arms held out wide.

“Ugh,” Chuck mutters under her breath as she walks up to Negan.

“This here,” Negan puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side, “is Chuck and she is why we are going out today. One of your brothers, a good fuckin’ guy that was the first savior I trusted to lead an outpost, died at that first outpost because no one there had the sense to fuckin’ clean a goddamn wound out with some fuckin’ alcohol and shit.” He shakes his head and mutters, “Fuckin’ waste.” He rubs his hand down his beard and looks back up to his men. “So we have to send our resident medical intern to teach those motherfuckers how to treat basic fuckin’ wounds so this shit doesn’t fuckin’ happen again. Now, my girl here,” Negan squeezes her a little, “is very special.”

Chuck can feel her cheeks redden. She hopes and prays that Negan is not about to expose their unique friendship to these saviors. She doesn’t even recognize any of the men, except for Dwight.

Negan continues, “She has fuckin’ medical training, so she is considered precious cargo. If shit goes down, she is to be fuckin’ protected. Just like me.” He turns his head to look at her. “She knows that she’s to be on my hip this whole trip. Right, sweetheart?”

Chuck looks up at him, a little perturbed at why he is making her answer him in front of his men. “Yes, sir.” She thought it best to be formal.

A slow grin sneaks across his face. “Good,” he growls. “So let’s get the fuck on the road!”

All the men get into their cars. Negan drags Chuck to the pickup truck in the middle of the convoy, prompting her to get into the passengers side. He pushes her to the middle of the bench seat and gets in beside her. The driver’s door opens moments later and Dwight climbs up into the seat.

Chuck gives Dwight a friendly smile when he glances at her. She never actually talked to the man before, but she has seen him several times. And she knows that he dated Sherry in the past, which has Chuck feeling a little awkward. As far as she knows, Dwight hadn’t known that Chuck even existed before this moment, so the fact that she knows more about the man than he does her has her feeling weird.

Dwight starts the truck and sets off, following the car in front of them out of the gate. The uncomfortable bench seat has Chuck shifting a bit, trying to find a better position to sit. Negan, of course, takes up as much room as he possibly can, while Dwight, who is a naturally small man, stays firmly on his side of the seat.

They arrive at the first outpost, which is a building that used to be an old community center and exit the vehicles. Everyone is waiting in the main room for Chuck to begin her lessons.

Chuck is very nervous upon entering. She always hated having to speak in front of people, but she knows doing this is for the best. After a few minutes, when it becomes apparent that the people at this outpost are easygoing and very respectful, Chuck is able to relax. They ask pertinent questions and take her lessons to heart.

When they reenter the vehicles, Chuck is in a very good mood.

“That went really well,” she beams.

“You did good, sweetheart,” Negan responds.

“Yeah. I didn’t know a bunch of that stuff,” Dwight adds.

“That’s cuz you’re a fuckin’ dumbass,” Negan says with a laugh.

The next outpost goes just as well as the first. Except for the rising temperatures. By the time everyone leaves, the sun is directly overhead and scorching. Chuck takes her jacket off in the car to keep from overheating.

Negan glances over to her and lets out a growl. “That’s the fuckin’ shirt you picked?”

“Yeah. I like this shirt,” she states as she straightens it out a little.

“Is that the fuckin’ tightest goddamn shirt you own?” he asks with a tone of disapproval.

She glances down at herself. “It’s really not that tight.” She pulls the shirt out around her chest. “I mean, I’ve had it for years...”

  Maybe it’s a little tight. It’s certainly tighter than it was before I gained all my weight back.

 Dwight glances over at her, seemingly interested in the conversation now.

“Eyes on the fuckin’ road, limp dick!” Negan calls out. “See what I’m saying?” Negan says as he holds his hand out to gesture to Dwight as if he had just proven a point.

“I have breasts, Negan. I can’t help how they look in shirts.”

“You can cover them up so motherfuckers won’t eye fuck you.”

“It’s a million degrees out. Unlike you, I’d rather be more comfortable than fashionable.” She gestures to his leather jacket.

“Put the fuckin’ coat on, Chuck. Some of these outposts don’t exactly have a ton of fuckin’ women and I’d rather not have to murder my men today for eyeballing the shit outta what’s not theirs.”

Chuck sees out of the corner of her eye that Dwight turns to look at them again. He is obviously getting the subtext of this conversation. Chuck glances at him momentarily then puts her head down in embarrassment.

The next outpost is a bit smaller than the first two and is comprised solely of men. No women. Just like Negan had warned. And his attitude is much different when he addresses them.

“Alright, motherfuckers. You dumb shits are gonna learn some basic fuckin’ first aid so  you don’t fuckin’ die of gangrene and shit. You treat this girl here,” he points to Chuck, “with respect. And everyone keep their fuckin’ hands to themselves!”

Everything goes fine for a while, until Chuck tries to demonstrate how to use a tourniquet to stem bleeding from a leg wound. She has a savior volunteer to lay on the ground while she wraps the cloth around his upper thigh, but before she can remove her hands, the man grabs ahold of her wrist and forces her hand to his crotch.

“This is all the medical attention I need from you, sweet tits,” he growls as she tries to pull away. All of the men in the room erupt in laughter. Except one.

Negan comes out of nowhere and sharply pulls Chuck off of the man. He kneels down over the man to deliver several blows to his face causing blood to erupt from his nose and split lip.

“What did I fuckin’ say to you?!” Negan screams and stands up to lean over the man. “We’re fucking leaving. Lesson over!” He jumps up and turns to stomp away from the crowd.

Instead of following Negan, Chuck kneels down to look at the man. “I should really tend to him,” Chuck says meekly to no one in particular.

Negan turns back and gives her a warning look, obviously having heard her quiet words. “Have these fuckers do it. You just fuckin’ showed them what to do, didn’t you?” His tone is ice cold.

Chuck immediately leaves her spot to follow Negan, knowing that if she doesn’t, he’ll just drag her out.

Everyone gets back into their vehicles and heads to the next outpost. Forced puffs of breath leave Negan’s flared nostrils denoting his still simmering rage. Chuck hates it when he’s like this. No matter how much she trusts him, he’s still an intimidating guy when angry. She can feel the lump build in her throat, but swallows it down, trying to remain unemotional.

“Do you see, Chuck? Do you fuckin’ see what I was talking about?” Negan hisses through heavy breaths.

Chuck doesn’t think that what happened was that big of a deal. Yes, she’s embarrassed and upset about it, but Negan didn’t need to get involved. Definitely not violently. But she isn’t going to argue with him right now. Especially in front of Dwight.

“Yes. I see,” she answers quietly.

They pulls off the main road and Chuck recognizes the area immediately. They are headed to Rolling Acres. A pit forms in her stomach as she thinks about seeing her former home.

There are a few people milling about the grounds as they pull up to the building. Chuck can see that the plots that used to house the gardens before are all cleaned up and sprouting new plants. A smile forms on her lips at the sight.

“Ready, sweetheart?” Negan asks from beside her in the now parked car. It seems that he had calmed down from his earlier state.

“Yeah.” She gives him a smile. “They got some crops growing,” she points out with a grin.

“Yup. This here outpost is gonna be the bread basket of my Sanctuary. I’m planning on sending more people out here to plant more shit. Get some fuckin animals, too. The skeleton crew here has done fuckin’ awesome, so I think it’s ready to be fully staffed now.”

The saviors are all waiting for them in the main lobby. Chuck’s lessons go by quickly and the saviors go back to their jobs.

“Can I walk around a bit?” Chuck asks Negan.

“Just a little. We still have to get to the last outpost and I wanna be back before it gets too fuckin’ late.”

Negan gives her a little bit of space to roam around the property. Good memories of the first two years of her life here flood her mind.

Playing bocce on the front lawn.

Being babied by Mrs. Anderson. (Chuck didn’t mind.)

Helping Mr. Rhodes feed the chickens.

Learning from Dr. Stewart.

Chuck eventually ends up outside her old room. She pushes the door open slowly and finds that the room is completely stripped and empty.

“I had them burn everything in it,” Negan explains from behind her.

Chuck turns to look at him then back to the room. “Why? There wasn’t anything wrong with the furniture. They could have used that stuff here. It was wasteful to burn it.” She trails off at the end as she lowers her head. She isn’t sure if she’s trying to convince Negan or herself that she is unaffected by seeing her old room.

Negan comes forward and places his arm around her. “That shit was all tainted. I had them burn all the shit in their rooms, too. It wasn’t hard to figure out which rooms were whose.” Negan turns to hug her fully. “I didn’t want their past shit to taint what I want to build here. Okay, baby girl?”

“Yeah. I understand.” She nuzzles into his leather jacket for a moment, steadying herself in his familiar scent. “Let’s go.”

The drive to the last outpost is the longest yet. The horrible bench seat is starting to make Chuck incredibly uncomfortable, causing her to squirm.

“If you don’t sit fuckin’ still, I’m gonna throw you in the bed of the truck,” Negan says between his teeth.

“This middle seat is awful! There’s a bar or something in the middle and I have to sit with my legs spread apart over the center gear shift thingy. Or squished on your side. I’m sorry I can’t get comfortable. Maybe we should switch seats.”

Negan chuckles lowly. “And what do you think the likelihood of that fuckin’ happening is?”

“Not great.”

“But I will let you sit in my lap if you like,” Negan offers with a wink.

“The odds of that happening are even less likely.” She gives him a cocky smile and continues to squirm around, looking for a comfortable position.

The last outpost is tiny compared to the others. It seems to have been some sort of ranger station set just off a main road. There are only ten or so saviors stationed there, and they are all waiting in the main office.

The lesson is going great, with the saviors making the situation light with good natured jokes. Chuck thinks that the people here seem like they’d be really awesome to work with and she is actually having fun with them. The lesson is about halfway over when everyone’s radios start to go off.

“Herd incoming.”

Negan holds his hand up to quiet everyone in the room as he lifts his radio to his mouth. “Report.”

“We led a herd of a hundred or so out past all the outposts. They must’ve took a hard turn somewhere along the way because they’re headed straight for you. We don’t have the guys in the vicinity anymore to redirect.”

“Motherfucker,” Negan says under his breath. “ETA?” he barks into the radio.

“Twenty minutes.”

“God fucking damnit!” Negan yells.

“Sir? This building has a basement. We can barricade the doors and windows up here and hide down there. The biters should pass us by as long as we’re quiet,” one of the saviors offers.

Negan gives a nod. “Yeah.”

Everyone springs into action. The doors are barred shut and the windows are covered. By the time everyone is done, the very beginning of the herd can be seen down the street.

“Two lookouts stay up here. Stay outta fuckin’ sight and keep fuckin’ quiet! Everyone else, basement. Radios off,” Negan calls out.

The basement is very small and seems to be used for storage for old office equipment. Everyone piles into the tiny room as best as they can and waits. Negan takes Chuck’s hand and pushes her all the way to the very back of the room to stand by the back wall.

Leaning down to her, he whispers, “Stay behind me. Don’t fuckin’ move.” He turns back around, Lucille gripped tightly in his right hand, to stare at the only door out of the room, waiting for something to either happen or not.

It’s quiet for a while, but then groans and growls of the dead make their way through the walls as the thickest part of the herd passes through. Chuck can feel her anxiety spike at the thought of being in the middle of the horde of dead. To calm herself down and seek comfort, she nuzzles into Negan’s back.

Negan holds his left hand out and back, prompting Chuck to take it, which she does without hesitation. She closed her eyes and presses her ear to his back, trying to focus on his breaths and not the dead ones outside.

After about an hour, the lookouts open the door and signal the all clear. Everyone, being sweaty and overheated from the cramped quarters, rushes out into the fresh air of the first floor. Because Negan and Chuck are in the back, they are the last to leave.

Negan turns around and cradles her cheek. “You okay, baby girl.”

“Mmhmm.” She gives him a little nod.

“Okay,” he replies with a soft swipe of his thumb on her cheek.

They ascend the stairs to the main room. All the saviors are taking the barricades from the doors and unblocking the windows.

Negan places his radio to his mouth. “How does the fuckin’ route to The Sanctuary look?”

“Looks clear, sir,” comes from the speaker.

“Alright!” Negan calls out to his men. “We’re fuckin’ leaving. Let’s roll out!”

Within minutes the cars are back on the road. The sun is low on the horizon signaling that night would soon descend.

Negan turns slightly to face Chuck in the cab of the truck. “You are never ever leaving The Sanctuary ever again. You fuckin’ hear me?” he growls out with some force.

“Okay!” she bites back in reaction before thinking about it. If she had thought about it, she never would’ve mouthed off to Negan right in front of Dwight.

“Don’t give me fuckin’ attitude, little girl.”

She had never been one to react without thinking, but for some reason right now, she does. “Don’t call me little girl!” She feels Dwight shift beside her and immediately realizes her mistake. “I’m sorry, Negan,” she backtracks quickly. “I’m just on edge from the herd. I apologize... sir,” she tacks on for good measure.

Negan lets out a low growl and turns back to face the front. “Apology accepted. Don’t do that shit ever again.”

Chuck holds her head low the entire ride home, discreetly swiping tears from her eyes before they could fall. She is tired and embarrassed about what happened in front of Dwight. Not to mention the anxiety still present from the herd.

By the time they pull into the gates, Chuck is ready for bed, which she tells Negan on the way up the stairs.

“You need to fuckin’ eat something,” he states as they get to the fifth floor.

“I’m not hungry.”

“I don’t give a shit. You’re eating something.”

“I’ll be fine-“

“We’re not doing this again, Chuck. Is this because I fuckin’ yelled at you?”

They enter his room and Chuck pull out some pajamas to change into, which Negan lets out a huff at.

“You’re that fuckin’ pissed at me that you’re going to wear pajamas to bed? I fuckin’ hate when you wear pajamas.”

“I’m not mad at you, okay? I just don’t feel good. Everything that happened today has my anxiety level up. My stomach hurts. I have a headache. And I just want to go to sleep.” She changes into her pjs and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she comes out, Negan is in the kitchen making himself something to eat.

“Come here,” he yells to her from the other room.

Chuck lets out a groan and shuffles to the kitchen.

“I’m gonna be gone all day tomorrow. I’m headed back to Rolling Acres with a bunch of guys to fully staff it. Eat. breakfast.” he says pointedly. “And lunch. I’ll be back to make you fuckin’ dinner.”

“Okay,” she answers.

Negan walks over to her and gives her a kiss on the top of the head. “Go to sleep, baby girl. You did good today.”

She gives him a soft smile and gets into bed, falling asleep to the sound of Negan setting up his plans for tomorrow over the radio as he eats.

[lexandecor]

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Many home decor sculptures (heminredningskulpturer) also explore a variety of human subjects. Sculptures (skulpturer) of love and family will remind you of those closest to your heart, while jazz musicians and interlocking dancers make the blood flow with musical figurines, just as cartoons can bring you back to your childhood.

First, look for a tabletop or floor sculpture that reflects your style. The decorative statues (dekorativa statyer) come in a variety of themes, shapes, and sizes.

Build new worlds or honor old ones. Let the decorative statues (dekorativa statyer) bring your home closer to distant places and heartfelt memories with their remarkable attention to detail.

In this austere but luxurious home, a Roy Lichtenstein sculpture sits near the fireplace.

Great art can be hard to come by, as anyone who has tried to fill their residence with lust-worthy works knows, but a room is often not complete until a statement-making piece finds its way inside. No matter how classic or playful, wall-mounted or tabletop, the works of prominent artists like Nick Cave, Roy Lichtenstein, Graham Caldwell, and Ai Weiwei completely steal the show. Here in the entry hall, a cascading lamp from Hudson Furniture hangs over the room, which features an eye-catching sculpture by Lexan Décor (iögonfallande skulptur av Lexan Décor).

Since the dawn of civilization, statues (statyer) have captured the imagination. While they may not serve a tangible function as other decorations do, these decorative designs do something just as important - they inspire. So take a look at your indoor and outdoor spaces. Are there any points that appear to be incomplete? Something that would do you good to cheer up? Decorative sculptures (Dekorativa skulpturer) may be your missing piece.

Designed a space where your imagination could spread its wings and fly over the ceiling. The presence of art furniture and modern sculptures (moderna skulpturer) reigns supreme in this luxury home and Inspiration and Ideas is all about bringing you the entire scoop on this contemporary design.

For the past several decades, the clientele of the designer duo ELLE Decor A-List has consisted primarily of art collectors, including the owners of this Palm Beach vacation home. The Washington, DC-based couple, who had hired the duo to design their home in the city, explained that they were looking for luxurious and timeless interiors in Palm Beach that would not compete with their paintings by Ai Weiwei and modern art sculpture by Jeff Koons.

Our old house was traditional in an old Florida sense, with lots of chintzes. We were ready for something different: a fancy beach house, ”says her wife, who loves hosting cocktails and dinners with her husband, a real estate developer.

Elegant décor, while also susceptible to colorful abstract artwork, mud footprints, and spilled drinks, was a difficult task, but one that the designers happily elevated to for this upscale home. Following the latest interior design ideas, Aman and Meeks employed their unique neutral-oriented, moderate palette throughout the home décor.

An abstract painting by Eddie Martinez is offset by a custom sofa in an Ultrasuede by Holland & Sherry and a 1960s side table by Gaspare Asaro. Custom Sisal Vinyl Carpet, Stark.

A brass Jay Specter chair is upholstered with a Larsen fabric, the lamp is vintage and the painting is by Valerio Adami.

He and Aman began by creating a better flow in the public spaces of the house. You enter a gallery from the hallway that opens onto the spacious living room, with a dining room, kitchen, and family room radiating to the sides. Serenity reigns in this luxury home (lyxigt hem) due to its soft and calming tones, but also because of the artist's side that the designers chose for this luxurious interior. Clients feel at home and want to come back any time they leave.

A Hubert Le Gall mirror hangs on the wall; sink fixtures are from Waterworks. The soap dish is from Tiffany & Co., the wallpaper is from Maya Romanoff, and the beaded crystal pendant originally belonged to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Different Types of Wall Art

Spruce up your home interior by placing wall art (vägg målning) pieces that resonate with your personality or pieces that you have created yourself. We present the different types of wall art (vägg målning) that you can display in your home.

No matter the type, I prefer walls with prominent artwork to bare ones. Today, it is common to find living rooms, dining rooms and other parts of the house with a particular wall art(vägg målning). Some even go as far as choosing a feature or accent wall for a complete accent wall.

The earliest pieces of wall art (vägg målning) have prehistoric origins such as cave paintings (grottmålningar), although it is believed that they served as a means of communication or as a religious device rather than a decorative one. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica and date back 40,000 years with wild animals as a common theme.

We now have cool murals hand painted with airbrushed and digitally printed wall art (vägg målning) as the most affordable alternatives. Murals, as well as graffiti street art, are considered bona fide art forms.

Sculpture

Sculptures (Skulpturer) are a great way to add visual interest to your wall when you don't want to add a picture or painting (bild eller målning). Because they are three-dimensional, they will appear to come off the wall and can really enhance a room. Look for a sculpture that is large enough to attract the attention of people entering the room, but not so large that it appears to take up the entire wall. This is especially important if your new sculpture (skulpturer) appears to be detaching from the wall, as you don't want it to visually overwhelm the room.

Photography

This is a classic type of wall art (vägg målning) and one that you will generally see in every home you enter. While many people love to fill the walls of their home with photographs they have taken, there are amazing photographs that you can purchase printed on quality paper to use as art. This type of wall art (vägg målning) is much more realistic than other types, as they are real images from around the world and not just an artist's impression of what he is seeing.

Decals

Vinyl decals have become very popular recently as people have realized how easy it is to put them on the wall and remove them later when they no longer want them there. With options ranging from soccer players and kitchen art to entire nursery room designs, it's easy to find decals to fit the style of your home. They're less expensive now than in the past, and since they don't require you to drill any holes in the wall, they're a great option for families renting a house or apartment. As with other wall art (vägg målning), they can be used over and over in different places around the house, making them cost-effective too.

Wall Panels

For large-scale art that spans the length of a room or wall and can actually be hung in a corner, you'll want to go for wall panels. These will make you feel like you are in an art museum as they are very large and can really dominate a space. Look for wall panels that can span an entire wall if you want to make a statement, as they tend to look a bit out of place when surrounded by smaller pieces of art.

Posters

Posters are incredibly popular in certain settings, such as bedrooms, first apartments, or home theater. They are made of thin paper and can be easily rolled up and stored when not in use. If you want your poster to last a long time, you will want to mount it on a hard backing or frame it right away, as thin paper can be easily damaged. You can buy posters of all styles. It is very popular with people to have posters of their favorite musicians or to buy prints of famous artists. When it comes to much larger art, posters are very inexpensive and therefore ideal for people who are on a budget but want to outfit their home with wall art (vägg målning).

Prints

Prints are incredibly popular and allow anyone to have a copy of their favorite painting (favoritmålning) without having to purchase the original. Of course, when you opt for a print, it is important to understand that it is very possible that you will see the exact same piece of wall art (vägg målning) in someone else's home. If that doesn't bother you, prints can be your best option to decorate your home and fill your walls. They come in all sizes, colors, and themes, and it's usually very easy to find prints to match your home décor.

Mirrors

While it is not usually considered art, when you buy beautiful mirrors (köp vackra speglar), you can enjoy them for their artistic appearance, as well as their usefulness and function. Find a mirror (Speglar) that is large enough for easy use and has a thick decorative frame as well. This will allow you to make your room appear larger, as the mirror (speglar) will reflect the light and also help bring the colors and design of the room together.

Tapestries

Made from woven materials, this type of wall art (vägg målning) usually does not come in a frame, but is instead hung loosely from a rod that runs the length of the top. You can opt for tapestries that are woven to show a beautiful design or, if you wish, choose one that shows a landscape or other image. Because they are often very large, you will need an open wall to display them on to make sure they look their best.

Wood

Wood is becoming increasingly popular for wall art (vägg målning), although some people want the texture and weight of the wood, but prefer the grain and color of the real wood to be fully painted. If you want to enjoy the warmth of wood in your home, look for options with exposed grain. This can create a beautiful contrast when the wood is painted or printed.

Metal

Metal is becoming increasingly popular as a material for wall art (vägg målning) because it makes such a statement. Metal wall art (vägg målning) is generally very large and bold and can give your home an industrial feel if left raw, rough, and exposed. For a more modern or contemporary look, look for metal art that has been finished and is smooth. When integrated with other decor in your home, metal wall art (vägg målning) can bring a room together, keep it from being too drab, and give it a talking point. When opting for metal wall art (vägg målning), you will want to go for large pieces as they will be able to support the greater weight of the metal. Smaller pieces tend to look clunky and not as high-quality as larger pieces.

Canvas

Art that has been produced on canvas will weigh more and feel of higher quality than art that is printed on thin paper. While you can easily print photos and posters in large sizes, if you want something oversized or particularly eye-catching for your home, you'll want to opt for artwork that has been printed on canvas. Noise details will be muted when you hang a canvas on the wall, and these pieces will allow you to enjoy very large prints without worrying about loss of detail and appearance. Of course, canvas is heavier than regular paper, so make sure you use the right hardware to hang your new canvas so you don't have to worry about it falling off the wall. Also, be careful when handling the canvas because you can puncture it if you drop the canvas or try to catch it by grabbing it by the middle.

Hand Painted

For a very special piece of wall art (vägg målning) that is unique, look for something that is hand painted. Of course, you will have to spend more money on this type of artwork, but the cost will be well worth it, as you can be sure that no one else will have the same artwork in their home as you. When you buy hand-painted wall art (köp handmålad väggkonst), you can know that you are supporting an artist and that you will have an original piece in your home that is sure to spark interest and conversation.

Framed

If you don't want to have to worry about finishing your wall art (vägg målning) after purchasing it, you will want to buy wall art (köp vägg målning) that has already been framed. This means that as soon as you receive the wall art (vägg målning) in your home, you can go ahead and hang it up. If you are short on time or really want to finish decorating your home, you will definitely want to purchase framed art as it will speed up how quickly you can hang your artwork.

Personalized

For art that will not only be different from any type of art you will see in someone else's home, but will also be special to the recipient, opt for something that is personalized. You can easily find personalized wall art (vägg målning) with an initial, a name, or a special date, such as a wedding or birthday. While any gift of wall art (vägg målning) is nice, when you choose something personalized, it really stands out. These pieces offer a great way to commemorate a special event and celebrate it every day.

Set

Sometimes you want wall art (vägg målning) that looks great together, but you don't have the time or inclination to search for individual pieces yourself. If you are on this ship, you can greatly benefit from purchasing a set of works of art. This means that all of the included artwork will not match perfectly, but will have enough of the same elements to make them look great together. This gives you a quick and easy way to decorate your home.

Indoor/Outdoor

Wall art (vägg målning) should not only be enjoyed indoors. Make sure you can enjoy your favorite art outside too when you opt for pieces that are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. This type of wall art (vägg målning) is created to withstand the elements and is a great way to decorate a porch or deck.

Floral and Plant

One of the most popular styles of wall art (vägg målning) is natural and floral. Flowers are naturally beautiful, and since they come in so many colors, you can easily choose floral wall art (vägg målning) that will pick up pops of other colors in your decor. Look for artworks that showcase your favorite flowers so you can enjoy viewing them all year long.

Coastal

Even if you don't live near the beach, you can still enjoy the soft colors and beautiful scenery that are common in coastal life. With coastal art, you will find soft, muted colors like blues and browns, as well as many water scenes. This type of wall art (vägg målning) is very relaxing and looks great in homes that display muted colors; don't expect to find coastal art that is brilliant.

Metallic

You can easily add a touch of sparkle or glamor to your home when shopping for metallic art. Unlike metal art, which is not always shiny and shiny, metallic wall art (vägg målning) can be a sculpture or a canvas, but the result will be the same. Bright metallic colors will liven up a room and look great in any home.

Animal

If you want to bring nature into your home and you have a favorite animal, buying animal wall art (köpa djur vägg konst) is a great option. You are also not limited to animal paintings (djurmålningar), as 3D sculptures of animals or birds can add a lot of interest to the walls of your home. The best thing about animal art is that it appears alive.

Farmhouse

The decoration of a farm looks great in houses located in the countryside and is also appreciated by people who grew up on a farm and want to remember how it felt. Look for graphic prints of animals to really bring the farmhouse feel indoors.

Vintage

To add a vintage touch to your home without having to make a big commitment to furniture, wall art (vägg målning) is a great option. These pieces will stand out for their muted colors, strong lines and the feeling they evoke.

Classic

Strong lines and themes that are easily identifiable are sure signs that you've chosen a classic work of art. This type of art will look great in almost any home, but it will look especially wonderful in contemporary homes that feature strong lines and solid colors in furniture and bedding.

Modern and Abstract

When you want art that makes people stop and think, look for something abstract. This type of art does not always have a clearly defined theme and can be open to interpretation by all who see it. Not only can paintings (tavlor) be abstract, but sculptures (skulpturer) can be too.

Kitchen Wall Art Ideas

Kitchens are one of the most difficult rooms for wall art (vägg målning) because there is often not much space on the wall. Cabinets and backsplash take up much of the wall surface.

Bathroom Wall Art

You can have fun with wall art (vägg målning) in the bathroom. As in the kitchen, there is usually not much wall space, but with what little you have, you can incorporate quotes, pictures, shelves of ornaments, and more. We have an extensive list of ideas.

Living room wall art

Probably the most popular room for wall art (vägg målning) is the living room. It is the room with the smallest surface area, making it perfect for all types of wall art (vägg målning).

The good news is that we put together an epic article that features all the various living room wall art ideas (vardagsrum vägg konst idéer).

Primary Bedroom Wall Art

Above is an example of many master bedroom wall art ideas (master sovrum vägg konst idéer). It can go with a quote, wallpaper, wood, accent wall, and many more ideas.

Outdoor Wall Art

Above is an example of how to incorporate exterior wall art (vägg målning) into your home. Spruce up the exterior of your house by turning it into a great art canvas and don't forget to use the windows for interesting details.

Dining Room Wall Art

Don't miss out on adding wall art(vägg målning) to your dining area as well. The dining room is a place where you gather with your family, share a meal, and spend quality time together. It is very important to create a cozy atmosphere in the dining room. Using interesting wall art (vägg målning) is an effective way to create an inviting and inspiring environment.

Office Wall Art

Wall arts (vägg målning) are not limited to your home, you can also create a more productive workspace by adding creative wall arts (vägg målning) to your office space. We also have a lot of ideas for you.

Staircase Wall Art

Stair walls are often left blank and overlooked, leaving them empty and boring. Adding a dose of creative wall art (kreativ väggkonst) can work magic on your staircase.

Nursery Wall Art

If you have a nursery room at home, you may want to add some cute wall arts (vägg målning) to create a happy atmosphere. It is perfect to illuminate the room of your little ones. It also helps promote your baby's visual and brain development.

Hallway Wall Art

Most of the owners neglect the hallways and leave them empty. In fact, figuring out what to do with a hallway is a challenge. How about starting with wall decoration? You will be amazed at how it will turn your hallway from a boring space to an impressive and welcoming space.

Man Cave Wall Art

Like any part of the house, a man's cave should look warm and inviting. It can be done by adding a wall art decoration (väggkonst dekoration) that screams his interest and personality. Below are ideas to guide you in decorating your man cave.

Kid’s Bedroom Wall Art

A child's bedroom is just as important as our bedroom. They should have a room that expresses their personality and something that they feel comfortable with. Be imaginative and explore your creativity with the help of these wall art ideas. Don't forget to involve your children so you know what interests them.

Canvas Wall Art

Fill any part of your home with a canvas to complete its look. There are several types and designs to choose from that will suit your needs. Whether you want it simple or extravagant or perhaps minimalist or elegant, the options are endless. You just need to know what you want or what will go perfectly with your room.

Laundry Room Wall Art

Most of us overlook laundry as it is for housework and nothing else. But wouldn't it be better to have an updated and well-organized look in your laundry room? It will be more fun to be in a nice space and doing housework will not be as difficult as it used to be. Decorate with wall art (vägg målning) and you'll be amazed at what it can do in your laundry area.

Wood Wall Art

Do you prefer a rustic style or a cozy cabin? Then wood wall art (trä vägg konst) is for you. It is stylish and durable at the same time. Add warmth and a personal touch to your home. Also, wood goes well with everything. Regardless of the environment or theme you have in your home, it is versatile and can be combined with any piece.

[sweetlysilent]

Behind The Mask

Requested By: @sadjuggie

hey bb i had a sudden idea for an imagine which i thought you should write! so basically the reader is a cosplayer at a convention and tom is undercover in a spider-suit and he sees the reader and complete fangirls over their cosplay (bc it’s kinda spider-man related or marvel?) and asks for a pic and then he takes off his mask and surprises her?

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Description: You were at your first Cosplay convention with your friends, you’re all dressed up as some characters from Marvel, being the huge fans you all are. However, you weren’t expecting an actual Marvel character to show up, shocking you and your friends.

Warnings: It’s just super fluffy aw haha

Word Count: 1,926

A/N: This request reminds me of when I went to playlist live in 2015 and it was so much fun. If you don’t know what playlist live is, it’s where you either are in D.C. or Orlando and a ton of YouTubers travel and stay at a hotel for three days and you can stay there too and you can buy merch an go to panels, and meet and greets and just walk around and get pictures with YouTubers. It’s honestly such an amazing experience, I loved it. BUT yeah, this request was overall really fun to write, it felt like I was actually there ahahha.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Your alarm was going off on your nightstand, it was currently five thirty a.m. and you were literally throwing yourself out of your warm bed to get up and get your suitcase ready to go.

Today was your first day ever going to a Cosplay convention, you were extremely excited, especially since your friends were joining you, being the Cosplay nerds they were.

You grabbed your cup of coffee and a bagel before leaving your apartment, your suitcase in one hand, your phone and bagel and coffee in the other, yes you were multitasking for life.

Your friends were supposed to pick you up, you all wanted to get to the convention early so you all could unpack and not have to worry about it later on.

You soon heard the honk of a car, signaling they were here, making you rush down and throw your suitcase in the car, as you buckled up in the back seat, finally enjoying your bagel and coffee, before falling sleep against the window.

The convention was about three to four hours away depending on traffic, your friend was a real trooper willing to drive all that way, of course, you all pitched in to pay for gas.

After driving for hours, you finally made it, your eyes widening in pure excitement as you saw people already entering, dressed up as their favorite characters.

This was every thing you could have ever dreamed of.

Once parked in front of the convention, you all grabbed your suitcases, entering the building, checking into the hotel you were staying at.

While you were waiting to get the room keys, you decided to wander around a bit, your eyes becoming even wider if that was even possible.

The place was gorgeous, there were people dressed up as their favorite characters, different stands that had posters and tattoos, even areas where people could put on a panel, overall it was mind blowing.

You were so mesmerized by the main area you didn’t even realize one of your friends dragging you away to the elevator.

“Sorry! I kinda got caught up.” You laughed, a huge smile on your face as the rest of your friends laughed along with you.

“No worries, I was the same way when I first went to one of these.” Your friend Sherrie said, a smile on her face.

“This place does that to you, I think it’s because you feel at home, like you belong with this kind of crowd and it just makes you really happy.” You friend Emily spoke up, leaning against the elevator wall.

You all chatted the entire way up to your dedicated room, before entering and unpacking your belongings, that way you wouldn’t have to do it later.

It was now nine a.m. and you all were starving, so you all decided to go get breakfast.

You all went to the main area where they had food, you all filled up a plate, before sitting at a table, chatting, eating, and observing the area a bit more.

“Do you think anyone else will be dressed up as Marvel characters?” You questioned as you took a bite of your apple.

Your friends all shrugged, looking around before going back to their meals.

“I mean it’s a good possibility, but we all know we’re the real Avengers.” Your friend Carly joked, making you all laugh.

Time soon passed and you all were finally dressed up in your cosplay outfits, your friend Sherrie was dressed up as Captain America, obviously a girly version, but she looked amazing, your friend Emily decided to dress up as Thor, which she also rocked by the way, and then your friend Carly decided to dress up as Iron Man, which you found extremely funny since you all had just seen Cap Civil War.

You on the other hand, you were dressed up as Black Widow, mainly because your friends made you because they thought you’d be best for that costume.

“Avengers assemble!” Carly shouted, as you all ran to the elevator laughing, being the nerds you all were.

Of course you all were taking selfies, no matter where you went, selfies were taken, whether it was in your hotel room, the elevator, but especially the main area.

You all walked into the main stage area, people were everywhere, dancing, laughing, chatting, cosplaying.

You all walked around a bit, chatting with other cosplayers, having a blast, before you all decided you wanted to get tattoos.

And you all did.

After that you decided to go watch a panel or two, loving every moment of it, as did your friends.

Hours passed, and you all were back up and walking around, taking selfies with other cosplayers, complimenting each others outfits, a lot of people thought your group was super funny, which made you all giddy on the inside.

“Hey look, it’s Spider-Man! We should see if he’ll take a group picture for us, you know, since we’re basically the same.” Sherrie joked, making you all roll your eyes and laugh.

“Hey! Hey you! Spider-Man dude!” Sherrie shouted, pointing at the person who was dressed up as well, Spider-Man.

He looked at her confused, but walked over to her anyways.

“Can you do us a favor and take a picture of us?” Sherrie asked, as “Spider-Man” nodded, as you all posed, getting your picture.

It took a few minutes for said “Spider-Man” to realize your costumes, before his heart beat started to increase.

“Whoa, you guys are a version of the Avengers!” Spider-Man spoke excitedly, making you all smile and nod.

“Why do you think we asked you to take our picture?” Sherrie laughed, making Spider-Man rub the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I see your point.” He chuckled, making you all laugh.

“I don’t mean to be a bother, but can I get a picture with you guys? It’s just I haven’t seen anyone dressed up as the Avengers and I-” He stopped rambling as he saw you all smiling at him.

“Of course we will.” Emily smiled, before Carly called someone over to take a picture of all of them.

You all took a few pictures, smiling at how great they all came out.

“Thanks guys, this is so cool.” Spider-Man grinned through the mask, making you all nod and smile in response.

“But you know what’s even cooler?” He questioned, making you all shake your heads, curiosity peaked.

Spider-Man slowly took off his mask revealing the one and only Tom Holland, the actual Spider-Man.

You all gasped, not expecting that at all, making Tom laugh at all of your reactions.

“Surprise!” He cheered, making you all laugh nervously, still unable to process you’ve been with the Tom Holland, the Spider-Man this entire time without even knowing it.

“I can’t believe it’s actually you!” Carly shouted, covering her mouth as she tried to contain herself.

“This is mind blowing, nice job.” Emily laughed, giving him a thumbs up.

“I’m not okay. Nope.” Sherrie shook her head, covering her face as she leaned her head on Emily’s shoulder.

You on the other hand, still couldn’t believe it, Tom Holland was here, pretending to be one of you, a cosplayer, to see what it actually felt like.

“C-Can I get a picture with you?” You stammered out, making him grin and nod in response.

You both got a few pictures together, which turned out really cute, you even sent them to Tom himself.

“I really love your costume by the way, Black Widow.. Nice.” He grinned, winking at you as you blushed, biting your lip nervously.

“Thanks, I like yours too, it suits you.” You teased, making him laugh and wrap his arms around you from behind.

“You’re funny.” He grinned, resting his head on top of yours, your friends watching in awe, but secretly taking pictures at the same time.

“Yesss Y/N! Get some!” Carly shouted, making you glare at her as Tom laughed, making you smile.

“We need to create a ship name, because this,” Sherrie motioned to you and Tom, “Needs to happen, like now.” She laughed, making you both blush this time.

“I don’t have anything against that.” Tom smirked, and you were pretty sure you stopped breathing for a split second.

“What about you darling?” He hummed, making your heart melt just from the way he spoke.

“I don’t know.. You think you can handle all of this?” You teased, a smirk on your face as you felt him laugh.

“Oh, I know I can.” He teased back, your friends watching in amusement.

“But I’m Black Widow.” You spoke teasingly, a proud smile on your face, as your friends started laughing at your statement.

“Maybe, but I’m Spider-Man.”

[spaceorphan18]

Finding Kurt Hummel: Previously Unaired Christmas

Masterpost

5x08: Previously Unaired Christmas

Look - it’s no secret that I am not a fan of this episode.  It still makes my stomach twist a little for reasons that I can’t entirely articulate (and I suspect are far more personal than any real issue the episode presents).  I know people are split on either loving this episode or hating this episode - maybe doing this will help me figure out what’s really going on.  

I, personally, have two issues with the whole thing. (The second one I’ll explain within the narrative of the episode.)  The first is that it does kind of feel like an FU to pretty much everyone.  I don’t necessarily think it’s to the fans explicitly (though the stuff with Kurt kinda feels like that), but in general, I’m guessing they were forced into a holiday episode that they didn’t really want to do by the network.  Because more so, the nastiness towards Christmas feels like that.  

I also have to wonder if Cory’s passing plays a small part.  I mean - this is cracky Glee - it’s been cracky Glee for a while now.  We just had an episode about puppets, twerking, and dressing up in bizarre Lady Gaga outfits.  The show has been kind of off the rails for most of season 5, and this episode almost feels like the climax of that (after the break - things feel a little more...normal?)  

Anyway - I don’t know exactly how we ended up here - but I kind of wish that Glee didn’t end it’s Christmas run on a, well, whatever this note is.  

Oh! And one last thing.  At this point - season six was not shortened.  I wonder if they had another, more heartfelt, Christmas episode idea for their final one.  Hmmm.  

What If

We open with Jane Lynch talking about how this was a secret hidden away episode.  And I’m bringing it up because this whole set up seemed to confuse everyone.  No - this was most definitely not a lost episode, nor do I think it’s any more or less controversial than anything else they did on the show.  (I do think the writers didn’t give a flying fuck - and were warning about that...)  

However, this whole intro does seem to make things confusing.  Yes - it’s set in season 4.  Yes - I’ll bet they did, at some point, come up with the Rough Trade Santa thing the previous year, and just discarded it until now.  However, shout out to @ckerouac for bringing up the point that -- if Glee wanted to go cracky, they could have gone so much further.  I mean if you’re going to go AU - why not do something entirely wacky.  They kind of did in Glee, Actually with Artie’s fantasy.  So, I’m kind of in agreement.  Why bring it back to season 4 (other than you have newbies you have to deal with).  Why not shoot it into the future, or just switch everyone’s bodies again.  Glee can go that extra mile, why not?  Who knows.  

Meanwhile - I need to state that this did not happen in the main timeline.  It could have (sort of - there are so many continuity errors that it hurts my head).  But it did not.  This is completely AU.  And really, I could skip it if I really wanted to.  I’m going through it just the same because a) for completeness sake - it’d bother me if I didn’t, b) there are some interesting Kurt-meta points that I think are worth bringing up.  

That long winded, probably unnecessary preamble aside - here we go. 

Grandma Moses

So.  We open on the New York side with Santana crashing at the loft, buying Kurt weird doll heads and tickets to Dildo island.  (Are we being edgy yet - the writers ask? Just you wait ;))  Okay, so this scene kind of sets up what the whole New York act is supposed to be about.  It seems they want to address two specific things about Kurt (that I have at least seen in criticisms, and I’m pretty sure the writers did, too)  -- a) That he didn’t have enough of a “normal teenage reaction” to his break up with Blaine and b) that Kurt is an old grandma, desexualized gay.  

Well.  Glee being in its FU mode is going to rectify that - just not in the way that’s going to satisfy anyone (I shouldn’t generalize - I know there are people who love this episode, my regards).  

And - in a FWIW thought, Kurt is an old grandma.  He always has been.  That’s just part of the make up of the character.  

The point, however, of Santana’s little monologue of exposition here is to set the stage for what’s going to happen in the rest of the episode.  It reminds me of the Tattooo Guy in The End of Twerk - telling Kurt that if he’s going to go nuts, he has to go all out.  

[2 asides - 1. Santana is also getting rewritten break up stuff (I’m guessing in response to criticism), as they seem to retcon a ton about the Brittana break up.  2. This whole story seems to be a commentary about Kurt specifically, and not really about Blaine?  Blaine seems to be fine this entire episode - though he’s barely shown because he’s off screen with some weird yule log obsession ;)]  

Meanwhile - Rachel has gotten them all jobs as elves at the mall.  Which - I suppose makes sense.  Oh! And weirdly enough - there’s no discussion from Rachel about her own break up with Finn (which makes sense because of Cory), or about Brody, or Cassie, or any of the stuff that happened to Rachel in season 4.  Weird, right? Nah, she’s just a backdrop to the Kurt and Santana stuff.  I will say - Rachel saying that she’ll be the best Jewish Elf ever made me laugh. 

Bad Santa

Ah, the one highlight of the episode - Chris Kurt in that elf costume.  It was like he was born to play an elf.  Lol 

Anyway - they get to the mall, and Santa’s late, and drunk.  (Not really here for bad santa - but his line about them in an ‘equity card’ mindset had me laughing.)  So, of course Rachel takes charge and they try to calm the audience with Here Comes Santa Claus. It’s -- perfectly fine.  In general, I find the music of the episode, with the exception of Love Child, somewhat uninspired.  Oh, right, this is a musical show, we have to have music.  Here’s a Christmas song.  

Of course, at the end, the kids aren’t charmed - they throw crap at them.  Yeah - we totally didn’t see this happen in season 2.  

I have read some meta about how Kurt, Rachel, and Santana are stand-ins for the writers here -- that whatever they do, it’s gonna get crap thrown at them.  (The thought is echoed at the end, too)  Oh! I have lots of thoughts on this, but I should probably save it for another post, cause it’s not really about Kurt.  

So -- the next day? Later that day? Santana goes and takes a bath...in the loft? I have no idea what the time line is.  I haven’t watched the Lima side of this episode since it aired.  Anyway, Kurt and Rachel call her up and beg her to help them.  Santana gives another obligatory joke about Kurt being an old grandma - born to play Mrs. Claus.  (Um, Santana - I think we’ve established that Kurt was born to be that Elf.)  

Oh - this still says so much....

Santana arrives as Mrs. Claus and proceeds to be a bitch to little people under ten.  Kurt and Rachel rightfully look horrified.  Sorry.  I don’t like this sequence.  It’s mean spirited and awful.  I don’t think it’s funny when adults are mean to innocent kids.  Moving on...

And....then we have the arrival of “Sexy Santa” Cody.  (Dude - this guy is totally skeevy to me -- who arrives at a mall without a shirt? But whatever)  And the rest of this plot line gets played out like half baked smutty fanfiction.  

I will say this -- I do think all of this is completely in character for Kurt.  Remember Ricky Martin in season 3?  This is essentially the same reaction from Kurt.  Kurt finds lots of guys attractive -- and he is allowed to react to it.  (And we’re in cracky mode - this is totally played up for laughs, in the same way it was when Ricky Martin guest starred.) 

This is also not one of my issues with the episode. 

Anyway - Cody wants to “get to know” his elves before he helps them.  Ew.  Kurt those abs are clouding your judgment, buddy. 

That Godawful Chipmunk Song

Santana once again reminds Kurt that he’s a stick in the mud and convinces him to spike his own eggnog.  And then Cody arrives.  Again.  Shirtless.  **rolls eyes**  And obviously scoping out the place so he can rob it.  Maybe that’s part of the reason I can’t really get on board with Kurt hooking up with him.  Cause it’s obvious that this guy is gross and going to be bad.  Yuck. 

Anyway, we all know what a light weight Kurt is - and within a few sips of cooking sherry and eggnog, he’s all flirty mcdrunk pants.  

So - this whole Chipmunk thing - in bulletted form because my brain is currently working better that way... 

I, personally, think this song is dumb.  Sorry.  

It creates this super weird adult/kid vibe between Cody and the loftmates, which I find uncomfortable.  

Cody is obviously playing this all up because he’s going to rob them - which makes his actions later really awful.  

Trashed Kurt with anyone else (especially Blaine, but anyone really) would have been hilarious in just about any other context.  

Chris, obviously, had a lot of fun filming this - so I’ll let him have that.  

The point where SO goes on her diatribe - so feel free to skip

Oh, where to start.  

1. Cody is taking advantage of a incredibly drunk, barely legal teenager in order steal from him. I don’t think the writers put a whole lot of thought into it -- other than saying ‘hey, we can make Kurt a sexual creature’, but I do think it was kind of in bad taste. 

2.  I wasn’t personally offended by it - but there were a lot of people who were (especially when it gets to the being tied up, and Kurt telling Cody no), and a lot of people telling them to get over it because it was cracky glee.  The whole hoopla over that in fandom has always left a bad taste in my mouth.  

3. Gross Cody stuff aside, no I don’t think this is out of character for Kurt.  Kurt’s in a bad place about breaking up with Blaine -- and after being pushed by Santana hard enough, having enough alcohol in him, and being presented with the opportunity, Kurt’s trying to get out of his shell a bit and enjoy himself.  He’s perfectly right to do so, and I do think it makes sense that someone going through a hardship like a rough break up with a first love would try something new -- especially being a first time college student with no limitations. 

4. What about “you matter” and baby penguin Kurt?  Well - first of all, I don’t think Kurt has ever been a baby penguin, and I’m going to spend a lot of the second half of season 5 talking about Kurt being very much a sexual being.  I also think that Kurt does and will always be particular about sex -- again, the writers had to get Kurt incredibly drunk and in a very specific situation for this to even present itself.  I don’t think it’s that Kurt can’t (or won’t) have casual sex, but more so that it means more to him when it’s with someone he loves.  Had this not been a throwaway episode intent on being offensive and cracky, that thought might have been explored. 

5. It cracks me up that they kind of even half-assed Kurt being a sexual being.  Sure, Cody’s half naked in-between Kurt’s legs.  It’s more of a slight of hand, though.  The kissing is a) cut away from very quickly, and b) barely kissing (the first part when Santana and Rachel come in isn’t really even kissing - it’s like stage kissing, where you kiss their cheek, it looks like making out, but it’s not).  The whole thing looks way more provocative than it really is. 

6. I do think it’s unfortunate that they didn’t let Kurt be this provocative and flirty (and handsy) with anyone else on the show.  I do think Kurt has hotter moments (with Blaine - in various episodes, I can name them for you if you like).  But the whole being overtly sexual and gay and somewhat naked is limited throughout the show (this goes for Brittana, too, for that matter, and even the Quinn/Santana hook up - they were mostly covered and a good four feet from each other on that bed). 

6B. As an aside, though -- Glee doesn’t do overtly sexual very often, and nearly every time they do it’s for comedy.  It makes me wonder if there was some kind of limitations in general.  I mean, Finchel never got a mostly naked sex scene either - though Blaine and Brittany did -- for comedy.  

7. I do think there’s an interesting story about season 4 Kurt dealing with his break up -- which would have included more intimate moments with Adam, and/or other people.  But that wasn’t the story they chose.  

7B. I do think, ultimately, this was the writers saying - well we could have written that story - but we prefer the one we are doing.  I think it’s in part of the whole FU thing they were going for.  I mean, even for people who wanted to see Kurt get more action -- he’s going to get punished for it in a sec, so even that feels like a bit of an FU.  

Moving on... the next morning Santana and Rachel wake up to find that they’ve been robbed and Kurt is tied up.  

Kurt does say that when he said no to a sexual thing - Cody got aggressive and tied him up.  That is leaning on sexual assault there, show.  Again - I’m not personally offended, but I also don’t think it’s funny either.  

Oh, as an aside I want to mention the whole thrown in joke there about Kurt being sexy to kiss because it’s like he has no kiss (geez, is it just me or is there a blow job joke in there somewhere?) it is a comment on Chris’s physical attributes.  So, calm down people when we get to Santana’s rant in season six.  Every character gets pot shots about their looks. It’s part of being an actor in general.    

Go Feel Shame

It’s...the next day? And Kurt’s talking to Santana (seeming much more Kurt like than the rest of the episode) about how he just wanted to let loose and feel better.  (Well, alcohol rarely helps with that kiddo - but it’s a lesson nonetheless.)  It’s interesting that he says he feels ashamed (he shouldn’t - but I can see why he would).  And he also doesn’t want Blaine to know, ever.  (An odd comment for something that is an AU)  

I do understand some people’s thoughts that they wished Kurt had had a better experience about letting loose a little (and in some ways he did -- I mean that was what The End of Twerk was about).  And I agree in that not every poor decision in your life needs to be met with shame and being robbed.  

But I do think it’s also Glee’s way of saying - hey, we did hear you - and we’re going to continue to tell the story our way.  

They all look really lovely in this scene.  Rachel has a new gig for them - singing behind a wall of glass.  

It’s the fourth wall -- Kurt, Santana, and Rachel are the writers again.  It’s probably better that they stay there for their own safety.  But also - this episode is what happens when that wall is broken down between creators and fandom - a weird mess of....whatever this is.  

Oh! One last final side thought -- no, there’s no Klaine duet.  That doesn’t bother me within the context of this story - it wouldn’t have made sense anywhere.  That said, I’m sorry they didn’t get a final duet.  I think Winter Wonderland would have been a nice conclusion for them.  Let’s take a moment and lament that there was no season six Christmas episode to end on a high note with. 

Time to move on to the regular story at hand.  

[silverhands-etcetera]

On The Road, Again.

Oh my, it’s been some time, hasn't it? There ain’t a lot of words I can think of to express the change and the loss and the perspective that has come into play since the last time I took to writing my days down on these pages. Perhaps in due time we’ll get around to telling all of the stories, if I can manage to get them out -a few of the tales bring water to my eyes, so maybe it’s good that the medium I work in here is just words, consumed long after they are brought to bear.

Whoa, that got dramatic…

Get this- we’re on tour. I’m in a plane, way up over Saskatchewan. Currently, My parents are in Virginia, my brothers are in their homes, Esme is in Rock Island & BJ is up there in the upper Mississippi valley, Joy & Tom are just above Greenlake, Jack is in Bellevue, Lucien is in Kirkland playing guitar, Ethan is in Nashville, Julian is mixing your next favorite record, and Aimee, Sherri & Michael are a few rows behind me in this huge metal tube up in the sky.

But it wasn’t supposed to be this way - all of us on a direct flight in the same plane, that is. I bought a ticket that sent me through Salt Lake City, entirely on the basis of economy. That was a couple months ago. A whole lot has transpired since then, on the road to me sitting in 23B, and pecking out this story.

This trip has been in the works for some time. Back when we were young & idealistic & slightly more foolish than I am right now.(I am aware that I changed our pronoun in mid sentence there, but it seems more correct that way.) I only jest a little about my altered level of foolishness. I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but sometimes there are events that open your eyes to how things really are, the people who glue your world together, and the people we hold esteem for without any real reason except for the ideas in our own heads. I’ve spent a lot of my life making space for, and forgiving the acts of one particular person. I wish it wasn’t so, but sometimes it takes a full-on tragedy to open the eyes of a fool such as I. I’m not gonna get into that right now, but I’m in a space where there is no grey area. I am heavy on regrets & light on shame or burdens.

I ain’t taken a band on the road for a couple years now. I have walked a many hundreds of miles in Spain in my last couple visits, but haven’t played a proper gig on the european continent since the (pre-election) 2016 tour. And my travel writing has dropped off too. Last spring, I thought I was in bad shape. I was nursing a broken heart, for sure. Since then I have lost my most noble role model, my strongest mentor, and the Dog who straight-up saved my life when I couldn’t find my identity or purpose. So yeah, a few things have changed. Anybody who knew Manolo, Steve or Faron would readily understand how the world is different without them in it. I’ve learned a lot from the choices they made, and the self-righteous acts of those who would take their choices away from them. I wish there was a way I could have learned the lesson without all the grief, but we all know that real lessons don’t come cheap.

As always, I digress. -

I think it was around February this year, I was talking to Alwin about bringing Silverhands back to Germany. We were talking about a gig in Erkelenz. I’d been rethinking what my band meant. Trying to get the songs to return to their essence, so to speak. Along the way, if I could step up my guitar playing that’d be pretty cool too… so Silverhands is a 3-piece band now. Just Aimee on the drums & Sherri on the bass, and most dramatically different- just me on guitar. We work really hard on letting the songs breathe and just exist. Many times in the past I have felt the joy of being pulled along by the songs and the people playing them. It’s a beautiful thing to hear a little sonic progeny of your very own sitting up and telling you how the ride is gonna go. Showing you that it has a voice of its own & there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Kinda how I imagine it’s like to have grown children. But songs ain’t children, and they are never too old for me to put over my knee & change their attitude when I see fit.

This stage in the life of my band is where I chill the hell out & try to assess where the songs are, and to potentially cull anything that doesn’t stand up on it’s own. I’ve been blessed with some inspired lead players -folks who can slip deeper melodic passages between the & and the 1 than I often manage to fortify an entire verse with. The beauty of this is that I can show up to any gig, hack out three chords and an occasional minor VI, and somebody is gonna turn it into music. Right now I’m trying to make sure I’m holding up my end of the bargain, and hoping to inform any future songwriting with a deeper level of independence from flourish. Clapton did a good job with JJ Cale songs, but they were all better when they were just JJ Cale songs.

I play with a few bands. Silverhands doesn’t even get the bulk of my time. I am lucky enough to play gigs with lots of varied folks playing all kinds of stuff, but I’m only IN just a couple of bands -I still get to play drums for the Joy Mills band, I play prog-funk & straight-up hardcore bluegrass on the bass fiddle with Supernatal & Darlin’ Do, respectively, and I rock the shit out of the electric Bass with Del Vox (if I might say so myself).

All y’all know that Del Vox is Sherri Jerome. And Sherri Jerome is Del Vox. I loooove these songs. There’s a lot of challenge in them, and consequently, there is much reward in playing with this batch of people.

It so happened that Sherri & I were both considering tour booking around the same time. Our bands’ unique personnel situations allowed us an opportunity to benefit from the usually mundane and costly logistics of travel. We booked each band on its own short run of dates, in mostly the same circuit of venues, back-to-back from the middle of September to the middle of October. Both bands are hitting some familiar haunts & some fresh new cities. (I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to Temse) (I actually have very few retrievable memories of belgium in general, but I’m pretty sure it’s always a good time)

As the tours started coming together, we began the long process of planning, preparing, refining our concepts, & ultimately packing our bags. I spent a lot of time deferring the literal act of packing, as well as much of the intangible act of “planning”, due to a hyper-busy summer into autumn -I have been playing a lot of bass gigs, stretching out on some country chops that I apparently grew up knowing, but never had the sense to use before now. I love learning new music & playing with new bands, but it takes up a big part of my brain, and ultimately all the clerical duties of being in a band tend to suffer for the sake of The Gig. I recognize that gigs are dependent on me being able to plan/book them, but when that big boulder gets rolling, sometimes you just do your best to stay in front of it.

So I bought a plane ticket awhile back, but really hadn’t put any thought into “planning” anything until Monday, and hadn’t considered “packing” until Tuesday morning. On Monday I realized that I had basically one pair of pants. And I was about to share a van with 3 people for a month. On Tuesday, newly outfitted, I realized I had no luggage that would fit all of the things I need to carry for this venture. Enter the Goodwill on 145th…

A giant, yet slim, tweed trunk, like the kind you'd expect to see on top of a stagecoach, goes home with me on Tuesday. I took the neck of my ’72 Geddy Lee Jazz bass & toss it in with about 20 plain black t-shirts and some socks. I am set.

I still had a gig to play on Tuesday night, so Jack loaned me his slick new blonde Jazz bass, which plays like 80 degree butter, and I went down to Conor’s to sew some pockets with Kelly Van Camp in Fredd’s new Tuesday-night project. My plan was to drink one beer & head home straight after the gig, but the North Star beckoned, and I was out till roughly 2:30, in bed by 3. It was a good night.

My eyes open around 9 AM on Wednesday. All I know is that I need to pick up the drummer at 1, and I need to get my second pair of pants in the laundry. I take a moment to consider falling back asleep, just playing guitar all morning, or any number of things more lovely than washing clothes & lugging suitcases. But we’ve got a job to do, and it starts with some cabbage & eggs. Just like every morning.

When I consider intangibles like “time” and “distance”, it always seems feasible that you could do all you need to do, clean up the dishes, take a nap, a walk in the park, entertain guests, and get a shine on your shoes all before 1pm. As it was, it was all I could do to meet up with the coffee crew up at the Herkimer before the headache started setting in. It was good to get a breather in what was going to be a very long day. Jackie & Aimee & I sat in the sun and moderated our respective awarenesses with warm beverages, warm sun and oxygen. Joy met us up at Graycie’s house, where we all piled in the van with our cases & bags and the remainder of an old flask that Aimee found in the back seat of my car. Let’s get this show on the road.

It was all we could do to find a table at the airport bar, another story altogether in getting any beverages brought to us. So after one round, I had to split to head to my gate & get on my two-part flight, while the rest of the band gets on the direct flight an hour later (remember, this was the story I was telling) but at my gate, there was no airplane. I expressed my concerns at the help desk in missing my connection, and the dear woman immediately rebooked me on the direct Seattle-Amsterdam flight. With the rest of my band.

A short train ride over to the international terminal, and now here I am. Or here we are, as it were.

Now that I’ve had my airline bottle of Dewar’s & a tiny chicken salad and fruit cup, we’re all up to speed -the only real variable being, will my old tweed trunk and the precious bass inside of it get to Amsterdam with me? But this is ultimately a question for the next episode, which starts roughly when the sun rises over Holland on Thursday morning.

-

At this point in the blog, we’ll find ourselves at the beginning of one story, chronologically, but also at the end, as things go on the page. Feel free to continue reading about my previous adventures, walking in Spain, and past tours way back to some bygone days.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

[embracetheapocalypsewithme]

A Slippery Situation

This fic was borne out of a silly conversation with @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash on this post. I hope that I did the idea justice. :)

Summary: Negan eats some questionable soup while working late and encounters an alternate version of himself. This “Other Negan” may be a little older and shorter than him, but he might just have some things to teach Negan about oil wrestling and the love that a man can share for his ruggedly handsome TV clone. 

Word count: 4,301

Warnings: Smut, Negan, Negan being Negan, Comic Negan being Comic Negan, submission, domination, anal sex, unsafe sex, oral sex, semen, drugs, mention of incest, mention of masturbation, and oil wrestling! Enjoy!

A Slippery Situation

From the very first spoon-full, Negan knew that the soup tasted funny, but went right ahead with his meal anyway. Hell, most things that came in cans had started to taste funny as they exceeded their best before dates by months and years. Besides this, the Sanctuary’s cooking staff were notoriously terrible at their job, so everything that left their kitchen tended to taste a slightly “off” at best, and barely edible at worst.

“I’ve gotta find some new kitchen bitches like fucking yesterday,” he grumbled to no one in particular as he raised the spoon to his lips and grimaced at the slightly sour taste that invaded his mouth.

The soup was so bad that on another day he probably would have had one of his men bring it back to the kitchen and tear a strip off of whoever was in charge of that night’s meal, but he was far too busy for those kind of shenanigans today. He braved his way nearly to the end of the bowl, trying to fill his empty stomach with the disgusting liquid while actually tasting as little of it as he could manage. He mostly succeeded and only retched once near the end when the soup had begun to cool to room temperature and the taste could no longer be masked by its initial scalding temperatures.

“Fucking good for nothing, lazy asshole fucking, so called fucking cooks. Fuck, fucking fuckity fuck fuck fuck!” he exhaled a long sigh of profanity after regaining control of his gag reflex, and pushed the nearly-empty bowl of soup away in disgust.

As he sat alone in his room, going over battle plans in preparation for another day of squabbling with Alexandria, he felt his mind wander back to the god-forsaken soup. Fucking Christ, how he wished he had time to personally march down to the kitchen and force-feed the cold leftovers of his meal to the first member of the staff he laid eyes upon. A tension headache began to gnaw into the centre of his forehead and he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, slamming his eyes shut.

“Oh fucking great! Just fucking marvelous! A fucking headache is all I need now…”

But it wasn’t just a headache that he was feeling. His stomach turned over and he felt another wave of nausea hit him as his vision began to dance slightly. Staggering to his feet, Negan shuffled toward one of the long, velvet couches that sat against the wall of his office. These were typically inhabited by a wife or two, but he had dismissed the women in order to focus on his work this evening, and was totally alone.

“Just need to lie down for a minute and let it pass. I’ll be right as fucking rain if I can close my eyes for a goddamn minute. Not like I have a fucking choice at this point.”

He let his large body drop into the couch dramatically and groaned in frustration at his plight. Of course he would get food poisoning the night before he had to deal with Rick the Prick and his merry band of dickwads. This did not bode well for them at all.

“Well, shit, you fucking pussy! Why don’t you just bash another one of their heads in and break his spirit a bit more. Get him back in line, man!”  

The voice that came from inside the room was deep and not entirely dissimilar to his own, but it had a strong southern drawl and was rougher around the edges. Negan’s deep brown eyes sprang open and he sat bolt upright, ready to confront the intruder.

His gaze fell to a man he knew he had never seen before, and yet he felt instantly familiar to Negan. This was because he was dressed in his characteristic uniform of green pants tucked into black boots, a white t-shirt with a leather jacket draped over it, all topped off with a bright red scarf around his neck. He was even carrying his beloved Lucille in his hands. The man was several inches shorter than Negan and much slimmer, but still managed to look imposing as he loomed over his current place on the couch.

“Good morning, sunshine!” the man drawled smoothly as a shark-like grin spread across his face, which was undeniably handsome and adorned with a fair amount of silver-tinged scruff. He leaned back at an angle that seemed just a little bit too extreme to be comfortable and slung the wooden symbol of the only bitch Negan had ever loved over his shoulder.

“You must have a fucking death wish, asshole!” Negan bellowed, springing to his feet, ready to follow the man’s advice and start cracking skulls at this disrespectful display, “What the fuck is this? Halloween for Doucehbags? Get my fucking jacket the fuck off of you and get the fuck on your knees! Now!”

“Oh, sweetheart, you know I can’t do that yet. Ya gotta buy me dinner first!” the man said, taking a step closer, “Besides, this ain’t your jacket, prick. Look down.”

Negan did as he commanded, against his better judgment, and was stunned to find that he was still wearing his leather jacket. In fact, he was wearing the exact same outfit as this man, right down to the biker gloves that partially covered his large hands. He gaped in confusion, at a momentary loss for words, before his head sprang back up to meet the other man’s hazel eyes.

“Alright, fucker, who put you up to this? Was it Dwight? Is this some kind of weird dominance display to retaliate for fucking Sherry? Because if it is, I’ll Freddy Kruger the other side of his ugly face!”

The slightly older man with the scruff scoffed at this, “Do you really think Dwighty-Boy has enough creativity to pull this shit off? Not heckin’ likely! I’m you, Negan.”

“What the ever-fucking-shit are you talking about? You’re not me. I’m me. The world can only handle one fucking Negan and I am it!” he bellowed at the man.

“Well, shit. Tell that to Scott Gimple,” the Other Negan said with a smirk.

“Scott who?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he replied dismissively, stepping uncomfortably close to his younger and taller counterpart, “Let’s just say that I’m an alternate version of you. I’m kinda like…what you would be if they made a TV show of your life.”

“Well, it’s fucking flattering that they think I’m so goddam handsome,” the larger, Original Negan said, inspecting the Other Negan’s face, “but I’m not nearly as old as you are, asshole.”

“That may be true, darlin’, but that just means I’ve got more experience,” the handsome TV Show Negan drawled, placing an arm around Original Negan.

Original Negan ducked out from under the arm, shaking his head, “If you’re me then why don’t you fucking swear. I swear all goddamn, motherfucking, cocksucking day! It’s kind of my thing.”

“Censorship,” TV Negan said simply, looking slightly annoyed, “Jesus, I wish I could swear like you. Might get rid of some of these anger management issues I seem to have. Maybe I’d stop having to bash in so many heads.”

“Nah, there’s sadly always some fucker who needs to be put in their place,” Original Negan sighed, “It’s unfortunate, but some pricks just deserve it.”

“Well, at least that’s one thing we can agree on. That, and the fact that I’m fucking handsome as shit!” TV Negan said, the grin returning.

“Uh, yeah. Ok. Fine, we can agree on that. I’m man enough to admit when I find another man attractive. Nothing fucking wrong with that…” he trailed off in thought for a moment and then came back to himself, “How-fucking-ever, I am going to need you to return my lady-friend you have there. I don’t like other fuckers touching her, even if they do look a bit like me.”

“I’m afraid that I just cannot do that, sweetheart. This Lucille is mine, and I am not letting her go for anyone.”

“Well, it looks like we’re at a fucking impasse here because if you don’t return Lucille this fucking instant, I’m gonna have to kick your ass, and I’d rather not do that tonight. Got shit to do. You know how it is,” Original Negan said as a cold look spread across his eyes.

“Rick the Prick being an asshole again?” TV Negan asked with a twinge of sympathy.

“You fucking know it. God! He’s such a fucking dick sometimes!”

“He does suck ass. A whole lot of ass.”

“Fuckin’ A!” chuckled Original Negan, “You’re alright in my books if you hate Rick, but the fact still remains that I’m about ten seconds away from stabbing you in the gut and taking Lucille back by force if you don’t hand her over.”

The shorter man held up is free hand in a placating gesture, “Calm down, ya big asshole! I think there’s another way to go about settling this.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Original Negan asked, skepticism creeping into his tone.

“I’ll wrestle you for her,” TV Negan replied, his expression grave, “Whoever wins gets to keep the fair lady, Lucille. How about it?”

Original Negan stroked his smooth chin with two gloved fingers, considering the other man’s proposition for a moment, “Yeah…Ok! You got yourself a deal. Hell, I’ve got at least a few inches and more than a few pounds of muscle over you. This ain’t gonna be much of a fucking challenge!”

“Plot twist!” TV Negan exclaimed as he stripped off his leather jacket and tossed it aside, “This isn’t just any kind of regular wrestling, you know. That’d be too easy. This has to be oil wrestling, just to even the playing field.”

“Are you fucking shitting me right now?”

“Do you want the chance to win Lucille back or not, asshole?”

Original Negan shook his head slowly, “I can’t believe I’m actually gonna do this…” he mumbled as he pulled off his own jacket and tossed it  into the couch, followed shortly thereafter by his t-shirt and pants, “I’m not ruining perfectly good clothes just because you got it in your head that getting all greased up gives you an advantage. I suggest you follow suit and we do this in our fucking undies.”

“Whatever you say, big boy, only there’s a bit of a problem with that plan,” TV Negan said as he unbuckled his belt and tugged his zipper open.

“And what exactly is th-“ Original Negan’s words cut off abruptly as he quickly discovered the issue for himself.

“I’m not so much a fan of underwear, ya see,” TV Negan said with a grin that contained not even a trace of bashfulness.

Original Negan stared blankly at the other man’s naked form, taking it all in before stripping off his own underwear and squaring up to his opponent.

“Ok, so where’s this fucking oil then?” he asked.

“Behind you,” TV Negan said matter-of-factly.

Original Negan turned to see a large bottle of baby oil sitting on the end table beside the couch, its powder pink label blaring out at him. He reached for it and grasped it in his hand, turning it over hesitantly before flipping open the cap with a shrug and pouring a generous amount of the viscous liquid over his chest and arms.

After passing the bottle to TV Negan, who followed suit, he began to lather the oil across his upper body, eventually trailing his rough hands down to his thighs and calves. He took in the sight of his muscles glistening in the light, the oil highlighting every curve, and then raised his eyes to look at the other man just in time to watch him finish applying the oil to his own body.

Somehow, looking at the attractive older man naked and covered in oil caused an unexpected flood of arousal to take root in his stomach, and Original Negan felt his cock twitch to life ever so slightly. Hoping that TV Negan hadn’t noticed, he shook off the feeling as best he could and readied himself for the fight.

“Ready for me, big boy?” TV Negan inquired, licking his lips slightly and looking Original Negan up and down. Shit! Had he noticed after all?

“You fucking know I am, asshole. The question is: are you ready for all of this?” he responded, gesturing to his large frame.

Without saying a word, TV Negan lunged for him, tackling him to the floor and straddling him before pinning his hands down next to his head. Caught off guard for a moment, Original Negan stared up at the man in a daze, wondering how someone smaller than him had managed to knock him on his ass so quickly.

After he regained his composure Original Negan used his legs to flip the man off of him, causing him to land with a thud on the floor to his left. Before TV Negan could get up, Original Negan had climbed on top of him and used his knees to pin the other man’s hands by his side.

“Well, shit! You’re pretty fast for such a big guy!” TV Negan’s gaze drifted down Original Negan’s body, landing firmly and obviously at the man’s crotch, “And I do mean big! Holy shit, man! You appear to be a grow’er, not a show’er,” he said with a wink.

“What are you-“ Original Negan looked down at himself, flustered by TV Negan’s accusation,  only to find that the part of his body he affectionately called Lucille Two had betrayed him again and was standing firmly erect, pressed fast against his lower stomach. In the heat of the moment, he hadn’t even noticed.

TV Negan used this temporary distraction to break free, his slick body pressing into Original Negan’s as he escaped his grasp, sending the larger man scurrying forward in an attempt to re-capture his opponent. Original Negan’s oil-soaked hands slid out from under him on the wooden floor, causing him to sprawl forward and his chin to connect with the hard surface with a thud as he crashed down.

“Ha! Made you look, shit head!” TV Negan called out from behind him. Fuck was he ever fast!

Before he could get back on his feet, Original Negan felt the other man land on top of him from behind. His chest pressed into his back as he threw his whole weight into Original Negan, ensuring that he would stay on the floor.

“So, I take it you like what you see, huh?” TV Negan practically purred into his ear, his mouth was less than an inch away and his silver-streaked stubble brushed against Original Negan’s smooth cheek, “You might try to cover up your…tendencies…behind that harem of wives we’ve got going on, but your dick ain’t doing such a good job of keeping up appearances, Neegs.”

Original Negan felt his hips buck almost involuntarily as another wave of arousal hit him at the older man’s words, and his ass connected firmly with something hard yet soft behind him. TV Negan’s cock dug into him from behind as the he ground his hardened member against Original Negan.

“Heh. That’s what I thought. You like this, don’t you?” TV Negan inquired.

“Fuck you, douchebag!” Original Negan boomed from below, his face still pressed against the cold wooden floor as TV Negan continued to pin him down. He tried to sound furious, but his voice wavered. He knew the truth, just as TV Negan did, that he was in fact very into this.

“That’s the idea, dollface,” TV Negan replied in a low tone.

With that, TV Negan lessened the pressure against Original Negan just long enough for him to roll over before straddling him again, this time higher up on the large man’s muscular chest, which brought his sizeable cock within inches of Original Negan’s mouth.

“You sure do have a pretty mouth, you know,” TV Negan beamed down at him from above, “It’d be a shame if we didn’t find out how it feels wrapped around my dick, now wouldn’t it?”

“I-uh…what the fuck?” Original Negan felt his eyes go wide as his face grew hot with embarrassment, a sensation he had not felt in ages.

There wasn’t much that could embarrass the boisterous man, and yet the sight of TV Negan straddling him and offering him his cock was almost too much for Original Negan. Oh sure, he had done some same-sex experimentation in college. Lord knew that the long nights on the road with his table tennis team had led to some pretty wild shenanigans, which often devolved into homoerotic romps with some of the other men.

Original Negan hadn’t ever really thought hard about his sexuality or put a label on himself. His motto had always been “If it feels good, do it!” So why was he balking at the chance to literally go fuck himself now? Or, at least to fuck an alternate version of himself.

With these thoughts racing through him mind, Original Negan locked eyes with the man on top of him and raised his head off of the ground far enough so that his mouth hung just in front of the head of TV Negan’s cock. Without breaking eye contact, he trailed his tongue over the slit, flicking it up quickly at the end. He felt a shudder of pleasure radiate from TV Negan as a small moan, almost too faint to hear, escaped the man’s lips.

“Mmm. Good boy. I knew you would find a way to put that mouth to use.”

TV Negan lessened his grip on Original Negan just enough for him to free himself. Once his large arms were able to move, his first instinct was to flip the older man to the ground and fuck his shit up royally for pinning him down like that. Instead the lust won over, and he grabbed the other man’s ass firmly and forced his cock closer to him so that he could fully insert it into his mouth.

The sensation of TV Negan’s thick cock filling his mouth caused another wave of lust to hit him and a slight whimper made his throat vibrate against it. TV Negan must have enjoyed this because his rough hands quickly found their way into Original Negan’s thick, dark hair where they grabbed on tight and forced his mouth even further down the shaft.

A sigh of contentment left TV Negan, “Mmmm…Now how did I know you’d be so good at this? Must be that slutty, filthy mouth of yours? Hmm?”

Original Negan continued to suck the other man’s cock vigorously, taking him all the way into his throat, but his rhythm was broken by a sharp tug on his hair that forced his face to look up at the man who was still perched above him, “Answer me when I’m speaking to you!” TV Negan warned, slowly extracting himself from Original Negan’s mouth with a pop.

“Yes!” Original Negan answered.

“’Yes!’ what?” TV Negan asked.

“Fuck yes, my filthy mouth is great at sucking cock. Now, can I get back to it?” he replied, more than a little bit annoyed.

“Oh, I don’t think so, darlin’,” TV Negan grinned down at him, “I think I’m good and warmed up now, and I want at that ass of yours. Is that gonna be a problem for you?”

Original Negan considered TV Negan’s proposition for a brief moment before giving his answer in a low growl, “Fuck no, it’s not. Let’s fucking do this.”

“Good!” TV Negan said simply, standing. Original Negan relished the sight of the man looming over him, his cock bobbing just above him, glistening with his saliva. TV Negan’s eyes darkened as he regarded Original Negan, who was still sprawled on the floor below, ”Get on the couch and get that cute, little ass in the air for me then.”

Original Negan did as he was told, placing his knees on the cushions and gripping the back of the couch. Within only seconds he felt TV Negan take his place behind him, his body radiating heat against him and the hair of his happy trail brushing across his ass slightly as he lined himself up with Original Negan’s opening.

“Now, normally I’d use some lube, but…extenuating circumstances seem to have left us fresh out of such luxuries…so I guess I’ll just have to improvise!” TV Negan said gleefully. Original Negan heard the unmistakable sound of TV Negan spitting into his hand, and only a few seconds later he felt the man’s hard, slick member pushing against him from behind. A sharp gasp of pain caused him to jerk forward as TV Negan’s tip trespassed his tight hole, and suddenly the man’s hands were on his hips, pulling him closer.

“Ah! Fucking fuck! Be gentle, asshole!” Original Negan growled in anger.

“I’m sorry, baby doll. I’ll go easy on ya. Just relax,” TV Negan cooed.

Original Negan took a deep breath and allowed his muscles to relax a bit as the other man pushed himself further inside. Now fully buried in Original Negan’s ass, TV Negan began to thrust into him slowly but firmly, his fingers digging deeper into the skin of Original Negan’s hips. Original Negan moaned deeper, letting the initial discomfort melt into pleasure as TV Negan quickened his pace.

“I knew you were gonna like this! What a filthy, little slut you are – just letting me waltz in here and fuck you right away,” TV Negan punctuated this with a playful slap to Original Negan’s ass.

Original Negan moaned deeper, feeling his cock dripping with arousal, desperately needing release. As if he was able to read the large man’s mind, TV Negan grabbed a handful of his hair with one hand and pulled him backward far enough to force him into an upright position. With one arm across Original Negan’s chest, TV Negan slipped his hand down to grab the other man’s cock, never slowing his pace as he fucked the younger man from behind.

“Oh fuck, that’s perfect! Keep fucking me and make me cum!” Original Negan moaned, lying back against TV Negan’s chest as the man pumped his cock expertly.

Shudder after shudder of pleasure coursed through Original Negan’s body at the feeling of his cock being milked while his ass was being fucked relentlessly by TV Negan. He knew that he was close to orgasm as his large thighs began to shake uncontrollably with each pump. His breath hitched in his throat and his eyes shut tightly while a low growl left his mouth.

“That’s right, baby. I know you want to, so why don’t you just cum for me?” TV Negan whispered in his ear.

The feeling of the other man’s breath against his cheek was just the sensation that Original Negan needed to push him over the edge. In a flurry of curses that would make a sailor blush, he released himself all over his lower stomach and TV Negan’s hands, the streams of fluid pooling into the fabric of the couch.

Once the last few aftershocks of orgasm had subsided, he felt TV Negan slowly pull himself out of his ass as he simultaneously pushed Original Negan back down into the couch so that his ass was in the air. Seconds later, Original Negan felt TV Negan’s copious, warm release hit is ass and upper back as the man came against him, his breath erratic and labored.

“Oh fuck that was good!” TV Negan allowed himself to slump against Original Negan, still breathing heavily, “You have such a nice, tight ass. I couldn’t help myself. Had to mark my territory. Now everyone will know that I screwed you raw.”

“Mmmm. You know what? I think I’m fucking ok with that. Quel fucking surprise,” Original Negan admitted.

It was at this point that some of the Saviors burst into his office, but Original Negan was too far gone to notice them. They had been sent on an urgent mission to notify him that the cooks had added a special ingredient to the soup that evening: wild mushrooms. Unfortunately, the person who had found the mushrooms growing in a field that morning was not a very adept mycologist, and had mistaken psychedelic mushrooms for edible ones. In doing so, roughly half of the Sanctuary’s residents had been accidently dosed and were tripping balls. Evidently, this number included Negan.

They found Negan alone and naked, slumped against the back of his couch, and completely covered in baby oil and his own semen. As they toweled him off, throwing subtlety amused glances at one another, they caught a few words from the dazed man about “alternate time lines” and a “sexy, fucking old dude” who “needed to shave that shit”.

At one moment, Negan locked eyes with a young man in a moment of apparent clarity, “Hey! You! Riddle me fucking this: If you fuck your clone, is it masturbation or incest?”

The young Savior’s eyes widened momentarily, preparing to answer one of the most important philosophical questions of the post-Apocalypse, but one of his comrades managed to quiet Negan down first, and he was spared that pleasure.

After finally getting Negan to lay peacefully on his couch and covering him with a blanket, the Saviors who found him vowed to one another to never speak of the “magic mushroom incident” to anyone for fear of Negan’s wrath. The next morning, their leader woke up with a splitting headache and vague memories of some very sexual, homoerotic dreams involving a man with a greying beard and dimples for days. He smiled to himself over coffee with his wives, deciding to keep the dreams to himself as future spank-bank material.  

[shinobicyrus]

“No Reservations”

So like. 

Tucker got it. There was no good time to break up with somebody, but that didn’t mean that it still didn’t need to happen. Sometimes it was mutual: a lack of chemistry, incompatible lives. LaTonya had been sharp enough to realize that Tucker had been hiding something and wasn’t being one-hundred percent honest with her which, yeah, he couldn’t blame her for that. It wasn’t like he could explain that he was covering for his half-ghost best friend who moonlighted as a superhero. He lied to Danny about that one- dude didn’t deserve feeling guilty about it.

A few times it had been totally his fault. Tucker was man enough to admit it. He could be selfish and insensitive at the worst times. The hearts of nice, awesome girls that didn’t deserve it had gotten broken, and he didn’t tell Sam or Danny about it because even years later he was still ashamed with himself. 

Once and a while it just had to happen, no if ands or buts. Jackilyn had it in her head that Sam of all people was trying to “steal” Tuck away from her and demanded he end their friendship. Maybe it was a little rude to laugh in her face about Sam trying to steal him, nevermind cheat on Danny, but yeah hahahahaha good one Jacki don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 

Or there was Anita, who up and asked his best friend’s clone-sis to stop “making her uncomfortable” by just snuggling with her girlfriend and Tucker honestly never expected to get hugged by Valerie of all people after throwing his very recent Ex out of the apartment in front of everybody. 

Penny, though? Penny he hadn’t seen coming.

He got it, he really did. If things weren’t working out, you had to strike a balance between doing it delicately but also not dragging it out. With Valentine’s was less than a month away, Penny had done the right thing and ripped that band-aid right off. 

It just really, really sucked to be the band-aid.

By this point Danny and him had themselves a post-breakup tradition (always Tucker’s break-ups, of course) of stocking up on snacks and booze, then holing up in the apartment so they could spend the night getting drunk and talking about feelings while playing video games. Then Tucker rode out the emotional hangover that was the rest of January binging on pirated Stargate Atlantis episodes on his hard-drive because Netflix betrayed him. Netflix was a lot like his love life. There was a ‘chill’ joke somewhere in there that he honestly didn’t have the energy to come up with.

Whatever, he could deal. Not like it was the first time he’d been dumped. Definitely won’t be the last; Tucker liked to talk a good game but deep down he knew the score. 

God, couldn’t Penny had pulled the rug out from under him before he’d gotten those reservations a month in advance? He’d scored a nice table at like, the third snazziest restaurant in town for Valentines. Sure, maybe it was a tad overcompensating because he sensed there was some distance growing between them- talk about seeing the warning signs too late. 

He gave the table to Danny and Sam. No sense in a nice romantic dinner to go to waste -even if Sam could probably make two phone calls and get a table at the fanciest gourmet place in the state, if she wanted. 

Most of Tucker’s relationships, even the serious ones, never managed to last more than a few months, and the timing meant that Tucker had a lot more experience spending Valentine’s Day single than with a date. He totally had this covered. 

“What do you mean you can’t make the raid either?” Tucker paced around his room while he talked on his phone. “Come on man, there’s no way just nine of us can tackle the Temple of Amaat- we’ll get trounced! We need our epic tank-mage-rogue trio to-” He stopped pacing. “Seriously? You’re spending Valentine’s with Dee and Pocket? In real life? At the same time? And they’re...okay with that? Huh. Dee’s idea? Yeah that sounds like them. Well okay, dude, can’t really argue with that: Baes Before Raids.” He listened to Sherry’s reply. “I’ll hold you to that, dude. Next week then, have fun. Yeah, you too.” 

He hung up and sighed. Great. Not only were his plans shot, but now he owed Sam a Level 63 Infernal Battleaxe. One of these days he’s gonna learn to stop betting on relationships- he always got it wrong. 

As if having your Legends of Destinyscape Valentine’s plans fall through wasn’t evidence enough. Tucker didn’t know how bad he should feel that so many people in his clan had to cancel because of date plans. Just goes to show that even MMORPG nerds find happiness. 

Down the hallway he heard a knock on the apartment door. “Yo Daaannny! Door!” Waited for a response- only heard more knocking. Tucker snorted. Probably too busy getting ready for his big romantic night out. “Fiiiine, I’ll get it!” He made his way down the hall, grumbling on his way to the door. Danny was probably fussing over his outfit for dinner with-

“...Sam?” Tucker blinked. He’d been under the impression that Danny would be flying off to meet Sam at the restaurant, not her showing up at their door dressed in torn jeans and a Widowmaker tee-shirt. 

“Hey Tuck,” Sam shouldered past, arms full of reusable shopping bags. “Sorry if I scuffed your door with my boots, couldn’t get my hands free.”

“Uh...it’s fine.” He shut the door as she set her bags down in the kitchenette. “Are you...going out in that?”

“Nope.”

“Hey Sam,” Danny appeared in the hallway. 

Tucker threw up his arms. Oh, now he shows up....also dressed in jeans and his laziest lazy-weekend NASA shirt. “Is seven years like the point in the relationship where the romance fades and you stop caring about dressing up?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam gleefully accepted a peck from Danny and slapped his butt. “I love these jeans.”

“It’s nearly seven!” Tucker checked his phone. “I know Danny can fly you, but between getting dressed aren’t you cutting it a little close?”

Sam turned around and started pulling out snacks out of her bags and arranging them on the counter. “Oh, we decided not to go out.”

“What? But it’s Valentine’s Day!”

“Riiight,” she looked over her shoulder to roll his eyes at him. “Because I’m so into manufactured corporate holidays that enforce narrow, traditional relationships.” 

“We gave the table you gave us to Val and Danielle,” Danny explained. 

“Danielle’s going to be eating at the third fanciest gourmet restaurant in the state. Danielle.”

Danny grinned. “We told them to send us Snaps.”

“But what about your guys’ night?” Tucker demanded. 

Sam turned around holding a bottle of expensive wine and a huge bag of chex mix. “We found better plans.”

Tucker sort of...stared at her numbly. His head churned, dissecting, rearranging, and sorting through those four simple words but it kept not making sense. He looked to Danny for some kind of explanation, but his roommate was pulling out a ridiculous amount of candy from Sam’s bag, including some of Tucker’s favorite sour candies that most stores didn’t carry. 

Wait. Did. Was she saying. 

“You guys want to spend your Valentine’s Day...with me?”

“Took him a second,” Danny said. 

“With me.”

Sam shrugged, mouth curving slyly. “Well...I might have had some forewarning that your raid plans would fall through, so I acted accordingly.”

“Kurt told you.”

“You owe me an Cleaver of Khaos, btw. Don’t think I forgot.”

Tucker watched Danny cart the junk food haul over to the coffee-table in front of the TV. “This is...really okay?”

“Tuck,” Sam put down the wine and put a hand on his shoulder. “What do you think we’d rather do more? Eat out at some stuffy restaurant where everyone would look at us funny, or here with you ruining expensive wine with cheap ass candy?”

“I...” His throat felt raw and tight, like he was trying to swallow something thick and painful. “I don’t know what to say,” He managed to croak. 

“Say you wanna stay up with us all night having a Marvel movie marathon.”

He chuckled, trying not the sniffle. “Are you gonna spend the whole time complaining about Black Widow not getting her own movie?”

“You know you’d prefer it over Scarlett’s Ghost in the Shell movie.”

“...yeah okay that’s legit.” Tucker said. “I’m...I’m gonna run to my room and grab my portable hard drive.” And totally not cry a little where no one can see. 

“Okay, we’ll set up out here.”

It was like they were stupid kids again, all crowded on the same couch with no sense of propriety, not caring about the horrible mess of crumbs and wrappers littered around them. That was tomorrow’s problem. Well...later in the day. Somewhere lost in the chronology between Iron Man 2 and Winter Soldier it had stopped being Valentine’s, but here Tucker was, his best friend dozing on his shoulder and his other best friend sprawled across both of their laps.

“Tuck?” She asked, a little drowsily. The second bottle of wine was mostly empty and was probably somewhere on the floor with the first.

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re a great guy, right?”

Shrugging would have thrown Danny’s head off him, so he didn’t do it. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes you’re great or sometimes you know?”

“Yes.”

She adjusted her position so her face was pillowed on his lap. Jacki would have flipped her shit at the sight of it. “I actually liked Penny.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“She wasn’t as cute as LaTonya.”

Tucker snorted a laugh. “She noticed. Said you kept staring at her chest.”

“I wasn’t staring. I wasn’t wearing my boots and she was tall, okay?”

The both of them snickered at that, careful to keep their volume low enough to not wake Danny.

“I know it always sounds stupid and hypocritical coming from me or Danny, but you know you don’t have to rush, right? It’s okay to be single for a while, too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tucker said tiredly. The soft light from the TV played shadows over the creases of the blanket covering them. “It just...it just gets a little lonely sometimes, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Sam said. “But you’re not lonely right now, are  you?”

“Nah,” Tucker burrowed a little deeper into the blanket, pressing closer to them. “I think I’m pretty good right now.”