#i think we'll get more content from our man tomorrow

[tuituipupu]

goodnight i am happï happï ☺

[mind-intheclouds342]

Do it for them - Co-captain reader x Curly

Part 4 - Part 5

You heard footsteps approaching, which made you wake up immediately, but when you felt hands on your shoulders, that's when you opened your eyes.

When you saw Jimmy sitting on your bed with his hands on your shoulders, you were surprised, although he also looked surprised to see you awake.

Jimmy: "Captain... I need to tell you something."

"...Is it so important that you had to wake me up in the middle of the nigth?..."

You sat down and turned on the light to see his face clearly, you didn't feel comfortable at all in this situation.

Jimmy: "I was thinking if we open the cargo, maybe we can find something useful there or gain access to some part of the ship that could help us-"

"Couldn't that really wait until morning? Did you have to come into my room?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out, he just took your hands and bowed his head, avoiding your gaze.

Jimmy: "I want to be helpful..."

You pulled your hands away from his and patted his head a couple of times.

"Alright, but let's wait until tomorrow, go get some rest, it's not good for you to be awake at this hours."

He nodded with his head still down and got up to leave your room, but you stopped him at the door.

"How... Is Curly doing?"

Jimmy: "Haven't you asked Anya?"

"She always tells me the same thing... I need to know his condition, I don't want to cling to false hope."

Jimmy: "Of course, she's going to tell you it's fine... Do you want the truth?"

You nodded at his question, preparing for the worst.

Jimmy: "I don't think he can hold on much longer, he's agonizing in the state he's in, his body is useless, he can't move, he can't speak, he can't even open his mouth on his own and can barely swallow. It's a dying dog waiting to be euthanized."

You covered your mouth upon hearing that, the harsh reality your husband was suffering.

You jumped out of bed and grabbed him by his uniform.

"You know the code, you can go see him. Take me there now!"

Jimmy: "I can't, the captain hasn't authorized it yet."

"He can't speak! Can't move! With that logic, I'll never be able to see him! It's an order!"

The man looked at you in silence and with seriousness, soon you let go of his uniform and ran your hands through your hair.

Jimmy: "Just imagine that he's already dead, maybe that way you can work with a cool head, captain."

Those were his last words before leaving your room.

You looked at your empty bed for a few seconds before sitting on it.

"He... is dead... like the cat of Schrödinger..."

You sighed and turned off the lights, trying to go back to sleep, too tired to keep thinking or to notice the unbuttoned buttons on your shirt.

Swansea: "No way, they told us to stay away from the cargo, it's completely forbidden."

"Do those rules really matter right now? Maybe we'll find something there."

Anya: "Maybe there are meds... We are running low..."

Daisuke: "It's not going to kill us to take a look!"

"Here we go"

You sighed as you headed to the cargo hold, the entire crew following you. You entered the code to open the door, and it slowly opened, revealing its contents.

You ventured into it, ignoring the boxes scattered around, more interested in finding something useful to bring you back to Earth while the others checked the cargo.

A light caught your attention, and you could see that there was a screen showing the ship's trajectory; there was a warning alert because they were moving away from the delivery zone. 

You looked closely and tried to figure out where they were going, your face lit up for a moment when you realized they were heading to one of the Pony Express stations.

You did the calculations to figure out how much they would reach.

That place was like a service station, where they could stop if they had any issues with the crew or the ship, but normally it was much faster to make the delivery than to go to one of these, which were too far from the delivery points.

"Maybe the asteroid changed our route and brought us closer to the station before the delivery point... Making the autopilot take us directly there... three months! In three months, we'll be there!"

You gave a small jump, excited about what you had discovered, soon going to the others to be able to inform them.

But just as you were about to reach them, there was a collapse of boxes in the aisle you were passing through.

You could hear their screams and how they called you, you felt a great weight on your body and it was extremely painful, your chest was crushed and you couldn't breathe.

You knew very well that those boxes were strategically placed to avoid damage, so you were sure that someone intervened to make them fall that way.

You let out a sigh, immediately spitting blood, trying to pull your hand out from between the boxes and the mouthwashes on you.

Until you were left with your hand raised and your eyes closed.

.

.

.

.

.

You jumped up with your breath quickened and clutched your stomach as you felt a sharp pain.

"I'm going to kill him"

You didn't take another second to get out of bed, clutching your stomach feeling the pain, but your anger was bigger.

When you were about to leave the nurseary, you heard a groan.

You slowly turned to see that man, or what was left of him, lying on that table.

[mr2swap]

Dungeons and Dragons

-Jacob! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?! - the childish and strident voice of a child made the gang of friends leave their wooden swords, their plastic shield and their "magical" scepter that was actually a broom on the floor

Among all the "kids" there was one that stood out from all the others, a 35-year-old man, shirtless, holding a large metal sword that would normally decorate the Johnsons' game room, he fell on the grass, The muscular man and Shirtless froze in terror instantly upon recognizing that shrill and annoying voice-Ups! Damn, we met-

A scrawny 8-year-old boy walked into the garden, his angry look turning to surprise as he saw the group of children staring at him in silence. -oh Fuck- those words escaped from his mouth with an adorable tone. -Hm… Hey… Dere- I mean "my" dad needs you to help him move something… from his niece.-

-Hey!… Uncle Dick, don't worry, I told my friends about the amulet, I saw you asleep on the sofa, so I thought you wouldn't mind if I took your body to play and I…- Uncle Dick He slowly approaches the children and takes the huge, hard hand of his little thief of his nephew.

-Yeah! Come on Uncle Dick! Just let me play with my friends for 15 more minutes!...- the rejuvenated Uncle Dick sighed and placed his soft hands on his head to give himself a little massage to prevent his brain from exploding from all the anger and anger. accumulated stress in this. Little time.

-Listen Jack... you took my body without my permission, you told your friends our little secret and you left me locked in your room while I slept with a note that said "I'll give you your body back at dinner time, it would be great if you did my math homework” -How the hell do you think I feel?!-

Jack winced and a couple of tears formed on his face which was covered by a freshly cut beard, he rushed to the grass and started crying as he yelled -SORRY UNCLE Dick I JUST WANTED TO PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS WITH MY FRIENDS AND KENNY NEVER LET ME BE THE KNIGHT BECAUSE I AM THE SMALLEST OF MY FRIENDS AND ALSO I…-

Now the thunderous voice of his nephew was heard throughout the neighborhood, The Man in the body of his weak nephew looked to all sides worried that one of the neighbors would look at the muscular man throwing a tantrum -Okay, okay! Only 15 more minutes! You're not in trouble! But stop crying for the love of God!-

The tears stopped, Jack using the hideously long fingers of his new hairy hand wiped the tears from him, wiped his nose and stood up. -Thanks Uncle Dick! You're the best! - The children continued their little game while their uncle Dick supervised them, from time to time he checked his text messages so he was not having such a bad time in the skinny body of his nephew Jack.

"I just hope Uncle Dick doesn't mind having to spend another day in my body. When he finds out that I gave my friend Clarence the magic amulet so he could take over his stepfather's body, he's sure to try to kill me. But what?" could I do in my puny body of only one meter? I guess I'll keep the amulet for now, I don't know what planes my brother had with this thing, but I have big planes for his body tomorrow.

We have big planes for tomorrow! We will drive, go to the bar and even buy our first cigarettes! Maybe if we have time we'll play Dungeons and Dragons, maybe we can both be knights now!”

Hey! You can support me to continue creating stories, see similar stories on my patreon, you can also join my discord if you are interested in role-playing about bodyswap, possession and transformation, m2m!

[mosneakers]

The spirit of Agnes and Coraleye enter the elegant Sunset Valley estate. Vintage melodies from a record player swirl, enveloping Coraleye in a sense of nostalgia that she had only known from classic romance films up until this moment.

Agnes: Welcome home, darling. 230 Redwood Parkway, fondly known as "August Moon" by some.

Coraleye: Wow, that's such a magical name. This home is breathtaking, Grandma!

Agnes: It's always been my envisioned haven for raising children. Coraleye: And you owned it? Even while you lived in Moonlight Falls? Who took care of it when you weren't here?

Agnes: My sister, Cornelia, tended to her in my absence. This home held a special place in my heart, and she, understanding its significance, made occasional upgrades, just in case we ever decided to sell. Or, perhaps... return.

Coraleye: Return? As in move back? Agnes: Come, dear. Looks like dinner is finished, and now we're clearing up. I want you to hear this conversation.

As they step into the kitchen, tension hangs thick in the air. Erik diligently washes the dishes while Agnes busies herself preparing ingredients for tomorrow's meals. Neither utter a word, until Agnes finally breaks the silence.

Agnes: Erik, I... I must apologize for snapping at you during dinner. That was quite unwarranted. You were right—I ought to have shared the news with you about the fire. I know the Seymour house was so dear to your heart. It was for me, too. I hope you're not angry with me.

Erik: Ain't mad at ya, Aggy. Gee, I suppose I overreacted too. It's not just about the house; I can live without that. My decent paying job in Moonlight Falls, no chance nobody here'll pay the same. Cost of living's a lot higher, and...well, I've been hoping you'd eventually come 'round to having another baby with me, honey...

Coraleye: [eyes misting] Grandpa really wanted another baby, didn't he? Agnes: [Smiles fondly] Oh yes. But I was quite stubborn. Coraleye: I think Janie mentioned a bit about the fire being the reason for you moving back here. Did you figure out how it happened? Agnes: No, we never did. But the Crumplebottom Sisters informed me that it destroyed everything. Even their great powers couldn't reverse the damage. I had planned to tell Erik, but Belinda beat me to it with a telephone call.

Agnes: [Continuing with Erik] You know I've always said that I'm content with our two. Erik: I know baby, I've just had my fingers crossed one day you'd change your mind. Just a pipe dream, that's all. Agnes: [Sighs] Well, darling... We'll need to sort through our finances. It seems you might just be getting your way, after all...

Erik: What are you telling me, woman? Agnes: It's still early yet to, but... I find myself a tad late.

Erik: Late for tea and crumpets with the ladies at the country club, or are we talking more along the lines of a bun in the oven? Agnes: It could be. Again, it's still very early. Just three days.

Erik joyfully sweeps Agnes into his arms, twirling her as they share a tender kiss. A soft giggle escapes Agnes's lips.

Erik: Aggy baby, you make me the luckiest man to ever live or die!

Coraleye's heart swells with emotion as she witnesses her great-grandfather express his unconditional love for Agnes with such passion and honesty. They follow the Darling pair into the living area to join the girls, particularly Gwendolyn, who are engrossed in the television.

Coraleye: Gosh, look at how you two lovebirds are gazing at each other. TV not holding your attention much, is it? [Grins]

Agnes: Well, I've always preferred books. [Smiles] The television often broadcasted troubling news, especially that year when the government confirmed the existence of aliens. I made the children turn it off promptly if I heard any talk of extraterrestrials.

Coraleye quickly averts eye contact, wondering how much Agnes knows about the current state of the world, particularly Sunglo, his abduction, and how those events resulted in the birth of his beloved daughter.

Knowing her great-grandmother's well-documented phobia centered around extraterrestrials, Coraleye opts to change the subject for the time being.

Coraleye: Hey, Grandma? How did you and Grandpa know to bring the family photos along on your trip to Sunset Valley? Most people don't bring all their family photos on vacations.

Agnes: [Grins] My, I did say you were observant, didn't I? Coraleye: Well, astute. But yes. I hope to land a career in journalism, just like Grandpa! Agnes: [Nods approvingly] A journalist in the making, just like your Grandpa. No, the decision to take the photos along was merely a coincidence. Like you heard your Grandfather say, I make him "the luckiest man to ever live or die!"

[believingispowerfulmagic]

Comfort Food

Summary:  After horrible weeks, Robin Locksley and Regina Mills both reach for the last box of mac and cheese at the store. They decide to share it and find it is the start of a beautiful relationship. This relationship is explored in a series of one-shots. Outlaw Queen AU.

Part I: FFN | AO3 | Wattpad

Part XXXV: Henry's First Christmas

FFN | AO3 | Wattpad

Excerpt:

"Well, we've survived Thanksgiving," Regina said, flopping down on the bed. She looked over at her husband, smiling. "Do you know what that means?"

He let out a soft groan. "I'm going to spend tomorrow dragging our Christmas decorations down from the attic."

She chuckled before saying: "Not tomorrow. Maybe Saturday."

"I can do Saturday," he said, looking relieved. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, kissing his cheek. "And then we need to find the perfect outfits for Henry's first Christmas."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you say outfits? As in more than one?" "That's a rich question coming from the man who bought him five different costumes for Halloween," she retorted, teasing him gently. "Besides, think of how many times we change him in one day. Now add in all the holiday parties and other festivities…"

"While you do make a good point, I am going to gently remind you that we have a washer and a dryer," he said. "He does not need three new outfits for every event. We can recycle a few of them."

She sighed, knowing he had a point. "Okay."

Robin reached out and took her hand, turning his head to look directly at her. "Don't worry. Henry will still be the cutest baby in all of Storybrooke."

"Oh, I know," she told him, smiling. She then thought of their friends as she said: "And we'll probably get clothes from people as well. They all seem to love buying him outfits."

"Well, of course they do," he replied. "As I said, he's the cutest baby in Storybrooke."

She laughed, rolling to curl up against her husband. "We are very lucky, aren't we? We have an amazing son and wonderful friends who want to spoil him as much as we do."

He nodded, kissing her forehead. "We certainly are lucky. And so is Henry. He's a very loved little boy."

"Yes, he is," she agreed. "He's also a little boy who will be up in a few hours for a feeding and it's your turn to take it. So you probably should try to get some sleep now if you want to be somewhat human in the morning."

"True," he said, pulling the blankets over them. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

She closed her eyes as Queen curled up on her feet, sighing contently. "Goodnight, Robin. Pleasant dreams."

He kissed her forehead. "You too, Regina."

And with that, sleep pulled her under and she gave into its sweet embrace.

[runningfrom2am]

the sea around us; chapter three

In which Rafe Cameron has to choose between his dad and a pogue who's changing his outlook on life more and more every day.

(rafe cameron x f!oc)

(eventual!jj maybank x f!oc)

warnings/tags: violence, drug/alcohol use, smoking, sexual content (if you squint), slowburn, older brother’s best friend, (these tags are obv not exhaustive but regardless it’s pretty PG13)

wc: 3.3k

my masterlist, series masterlist, requests

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

The next morning, JJ and John B picked me up at the dock behind my house on the HMS Pogue. John B sure has a thing for naming vehicles- he's not the worst at it. I live just down the street from the chateau, so I could see them from the porch right after they left John B's.

Hurricane Agatha sure did a number on the Outer Banks last night. The three of us, Anna, Deck, and I, huddled up in our bathroom since Anna wanted to tell "scary" stories and Deck just wanted to be included. The wind was loud all night, cracking trees and crashing sounds outside kept us up. I ended up passing out on the floor around 4 am, with the twins laying tangled on top of each other in the bathtub.

"Morning, Snow White." JJ says to me as I approach them tied up on the dock.

"Snow White? Really?" John B elbows him in the ribs and he winces.

"Dude- ow. I was gonna say Sleeping Beauty but I just thought it was funnier. You know, because-"

"Yeah JJ I got it." I cut him off. "Good one." I say, jumping into the boat with my cooler backpack over my shoulder. "I slept on the bathroom floor last night- my neck is killing me."

"I'll drink to that." JJ says, turning me by my shoulders to get into my backpack as John B unties us and we head off towards the Heywards'.

"Dude, look at this place." John B says as we pull up to Pope's.

He's out working on the dock with his dad, cleaning up the mess that Agatha had left in her wake.

"Well, look who we have here." Mr. Heyward says as we approach, JJ standing up from my side, preparing to help Pope on.

"We have a safety meeting, attendance mandatory." He explains.

"I can't. My pop's got me on lockdown."

"Come on, man."

At this, JJ holds his hands up to his mouth, pretending to talk into a radio. "Your dad's a pussy. Over." I gasp, reaching forward and giving a light hit to the back of JJ's arm.

"Oh, I heard that, you little bastard." Heyward says, pointing a finger at JJ.

"We need your son." I add, standing up and slipping my arm over JJ's shoulder to steady myself in the moving boat.

"Yeah, and island rules. Day after a hurricane's a free day." JJ shrugs

"Who made that up?"

"Uh... Pentagon, I think. We have security clearance. I have a card." I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"Think I'm stupid?"

Pope chimes in now as he starts to head toward our boat. "I'll do it tomorrow. I promise. Tomorrow."

"Hell no. You doin' it right now." Heyward says sternly.

"Get in the boat." John B whispers to Pope, loud enough for Heyward to hear.

"Boy, if you get in that boat..."

"Go, go, go." Pope says as he climbs in and I wave goodbye to his dad.

"Bring your ass back up here."

"I promise I'll do it tomorrow, Dad."

"You gonna clean shrimp, clean fish, you'll clean your dirty ass room!"

"Love you, Pops."

"Bye, Mr. Heyward! We'll bring him back in one piece." I smile and he shakes his head at me.

"And I don't like your friends!"

Next on our bus route, is Kie.

"Hey Kie!" I smile and wave as she walks up with a cooler behind her. She's greeted with a chorus of "good mornings" from the boys as she jumps in and reaches out for the cooler behind her.

"Whatcha got? You got some juice boxes?" Someone asks as I help set the cooler down on the bottom of the boat, and begin dumping my bag of drinks into the ice with the ones she brought.

"You know, just some yogurts and carrot sticks." Kie says, getting settled herself as John B steers us away. I'm looking forward to some fishing this morning.

"You got my kind of juice box?" JJ asks her and Kie nods.

"Yeah." She says as JJ starts going through the cooler already.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

We're almost at our fishing destination of choice out in the marsh when JJ decides to practice his favorite and least successful party trick.

"Hey, Snowy, hold this up for me will ya?" He asks, cracking open a beer and holding the bottle out to me. I roll my eyes as I take it from him, stepping up onto the front of the boat and facing everyone.

"Punch it, Pope!" JJ shouts, pointing a finger at his dark-haired friend, who's now taken over for John B behind the wheel.

"Here we go, I'm movin'.." Pope rolls his eyes and starts to go faster,

"We've tried this six-thousand times and it's never worked." John B protested and I nod in agreement.

"I've got this, it's gonna work." JJ insists.

When we get to the right speed, I slowly tip the bottle back so the drink inside starts flying back toward JJ's face and open mouth. Safe to say about three drops end up in JJ's mouth, and half the bottle ends up on our friends behind him.

"Dude stop you're getting beer in my hair." Kie groans, putting her hands in front of her face so she stops getting sprayed. John B turns away so it doesn't get in his face either.

Pope puts his hand up in front of his eyes too, telling JJ "alright, alright!" He laughs, and John B agrees. "Yeah, alright, you're done JJ."

Their pleas go ignored, only because the bottle is almost empty and I am getting way too much of a kick out of this. This suddenly stopped when we heard the motor make a rattling sound and we were all suddenly thrown forward, JJ and I flying off of the boat and into the water.

When I finally get my bearings and stick my head out of the water with a gasp, the other three are leaning over the edge of the boat shouting at us. "JJ? Snowy?"

"I'm good." I cough as I swim back toward the edge of the boat, giving a brief thumbs-up to my friends.

"I think my heels hit the back of my head." JJ groaned, swimming up behind me. He grabs my waist with one arm, and with the other, he grabs the boat as he helps push me up while John B grabs my hand and lifts me back in.

"Everyone okay?" Kie asks and I look around at everyone, watching JJ climb back in on his own. I definitely don't have the upper body strength for that. His arms though... man.

A chorus of "Yep" and "All good" answered her question, and I pulled my soaking wet shirt over my head, laying it across the front of the boat to dry since I still had my swimsuit on underneath.

"Pope, man what did you do?" JJ asks, removing his shirt as well.

"Sandbar, the channel changed." Pope said and I look out over the edge of the boat, seeing if that beer bottle is within swimming reach for me to grab it. Kie might have a conniption if I left it behind. I squint a little as I see something at the bottom of the water, something big. Not quite the sand, but not a tarp or something either. A boat?

"Guys? I think there's a boat down there." I point, and JJ walks up behind me and looks down at where I'm pointing my finger with his arm around my waist holding me in so I don't fall back over the edge.

"Shut up, what?" John B said, joining us and looking over the edge.

"No way..." Kie says, shielding her eyes from the sun and squinting down into the water.

"That's literally a boat." I said, looking back at everyone.

Within seconds, everyone was stripped down to their bathing suits and diving in to get a closer look. I didn't want to get too close, so I kind of hovered above as long as I could, watching the others swim down.

After a few seconds, JJ starts to swim up towards me, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me back up with him so we can get some air. When my head breaks the water I take a deep breath, and JJ smiles at me with a slight chuckle. "A Grady White."

When everyone makes their way back up onto the boat, JJ tells everyone else. "That's a Grady White, a new one is 500 g's- easy."

John B flipped his hair out of his eyes and shook it on top of his head to try and get some of the water out. "That's the boat I saw when I surfed the storm."

"You surfed the surge?" Kie gasped.

"Yeah." John B said, high-fiving Pope.

"That's my boy, pogue style." JJ said, laughing and high-fiving him as well.

"Do we know whose boat it is?" Kie asks and I look back down over the edge.

"No, but I'll see what I can find." John B said, grabbing the anchor to ride it down.

"Be careful," Kie tells him, as he sits on the edge of the boat, walking up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. That one came a little out of the left field. I mean, it's kind of obvious that the boys always hit on her, but that is typically a one-sided inside joke.

"Diver down, fool!" Pope said, walking up and pushing John B off the edge with JJ as Kie stepped back.

He's in the water for a while, and I find myself sitting on the edge of the boat looking down at John B. He's been down there for a while, I definitely would have drowned by now.

Pope speaks up, sharing my thoughts. "He's not back yet..."

"He probably just found something cool." JJ shrugs, sitting down next to me to look over the edge.

"Should we try and get him?" Kie asked, just as John B bursts out of the water gasping for air.

"Oh, my god." I sigh a breath of relief, putting my hand on my chest.

"Any dead bodies?"

"Looting potential?"

"I don't know, I just found this busted motel key." John B says, holding up the key on a small keychain, with a room number written on it as he climbs back onto the boat and hands the key to Pope.

"A key?" He asks, turning it over in his hand.

"Yes Pope, a key."

JJ sighs. "Great, we salvaged a motel key."

"Hey, we should report this to the coast guard." Kie states, our voice of reason.

"What if we waited to see if there's a finders fee?" I suggest and JJ snaps and points his fingers at me, nodding excitedly. Kie rolls her eyes a little at us, in a fun, loving way.

"Yes, Snowy's right. We won't have to work all summer! Thanks, Agatha, ya batch!" He says, pointing his hands up to the sky now.

We quickly pack up to head back to town, in hopes of reporting it and collecting a check.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Without any success, we weigh out our options, and ultimately decide to go to the motel that the key belongs to, and see if we can return it to someone personally. At least, that's what we've convinced ourselves was the plan. No premeditated breaking and entering intended- unless no one is home.

JJ whistles as we pull up towards the motel. Definitely a classy place, at least 2 stars.

"It looks like somewhere kids would stay as a dare."

"A real shitshow.."

"Motel, or meth lab?" The group voices their thoughts, similar to mine.

"It doesn't look like somewhere someone with a Grady White would stay.." John B says as he steers us in.

"More like somewhere with a Grady White gets killed," I add.

"Snowy lay off the true crime pods. This may be a dump but we'll probably be fine." JJ says, ruffling my hair with one hand while bringing back his radio bit and bringing his other hand up to his mouth. I squint and try and pull my head out from under his hand where he's just resting it now. "This is your captain speaking, HMS Pogue comin' in for landing."

JJ jumps out to the ground to help pull in the boat, as John B and I climb out behind him.

"Don't let JJ do anything stupid, Snowy." Pope tells me and I give him a salute.

"Yes sir." I say and JJ wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"C'mon, Pope, she's in on it and you know it." He says, turning us both to walk up to the motel.

We hear John B talking to Kie, telling him again to "seriously, be careful. I mean it." and JJ scoffs slightly. "She's so far up his ass bro." He whispers to me and I quietly laugh.

John B caught up with us quickly, and we headed up the stairs to the second floor, where the motel room we are looking for should be.

"What's with all the mattresses?" I ask JJ, looking up at him next to me.

"After a hurricane, they get ditched because they get all moldy."

"Oh, gross." I reply, scrunching up my nose a bit and JJ reaches over me and taps it before bringing up John B and Kie's chat from just moments ago.

"Yes Snowy, gross. However, not as gross as that conversation we just heard." He said, letting me go and walking up to John B just ahead of us.

"What conversation?" John B just asks and JJ looks back at me knowingly.

"Oh, be soo careful John B..." He mimics Kie's voice, and I can practically feel John B roll his eyes.

"God, you're so weird." He brushes JJ off, walking ahead of us again across the balcony. "Maybe she just wants us to be careful."

"It's true! Ever since you've been threatened with exile from that conversation you had with the social services people she's been like," He grabs John B's shoulders from behind, rubbing them at the same time. "Oh, be soo careful John B, just give me that John D already!"

"Get off me." John B tries to duck under JJ's grip so he would stop as I laugh.

"He's not totally wrong."

"Yeah! See? Snowy knows, when are you gonna swoop on that, man?" JJ asks, looking back at me briefly.

"You're the one always hitting on her and Snowy anyways." John B tells him and JJ nods quickly.

Me too? I didn't know I was actually included in that after what happened between us. I've been known to be a little oblivious though.

"Of course I am! Snowy is pretty much Princess of the Pogues out here, like, look at this hair." He says, reaching back and grabbing the ends of some of my hair that's draped down in front of me, almost reaching my hips. He twirls it gently before dropping it just as I could feel a blush spreading across my face and chest. "-and Kie's a super hot, rich, hippie girl slumming with us, for some reason."

John B chuckles and shakes his head.

"Exactly, I can't figure that out either bro, but who cares?"

John B was unimpressed. "You need help. Not a little help, you need a lot of help." JJ rolled his eyes. Here he went again. "It's like every girl who just has a heartbeat, you're like. . . Uhh!" He imitated a zombie.

John B then stopped and backtracked a step looking at the number on the door next to us. "This is us, 25." He says, changing the subject.

JJ steps up and knocks on the door. "Housekeeping!" He says, in this really funny high-pitched voice.

"That's what you sound like, Snowy." John B leans down to say close to my ear. I side-eye him and roll my eyes, giving him a light shove as JJ tries to look in the window when he didn't get an answer.

"No power, AKA no cameras, let's try the key." John B says, stepping up to the door and inserting it, trusting the handle and holding it for us to slip inside.

"JJ, don't touch anything- this is probably a crime scene," I whisper, as he promptly begins to touch almost anything he can reach. He picked up a bag, and John B instructed him to look for a nametag or something on it, as I look around the shabby-looking motel room. No doubt in my mind that there are bed bugs in here.

We shuffle through everything we find, me with a tissue in my hand so I'm not touching anything, while John B tries to open the safe. He eventually gets it open and calls JJ and I out of the bathroom to come and look.

"Holy shit.." I say, staring in awe at what's inside as he pulls it out. Bare hands. Of course. An orange document envelope, filled with some papers and a load of cash, and I don't notice what JJ pulls out until he talks to me.

"Hey, Snowy, check this out! John B can you take a picture of us? Mr. and Mrs. Smith style?" He says, holding up what I now see is an actual literal gun, leaning his back into me.

"Oh my god, JJ!" I say, backing away.

"Oh yeah? Seriously you want a picture? We're just making our own incriminating evidence now, that's what we're doing?" John B says, running his hand through his hair.

"This is a fuckin' speedy gat, man. Just, bam! Bam!" He laughs, posing with it again. We all jump a little when we hear something tap the window, and JJ and John B look out to see Kie and Pope waving at us wildly, then pointing over to the door and saying something.

"Fuck, cops. Cops man!" John B whispered as we frantically look around for somewhere to hide. We're screwed. JJ grabs my arm and pulls me towards the window as John B opens it.

"I got you, don't worry." He whispers to me, holding my hand and placing his other hand on my hip as I step out onto the small platform under the window. He and John B climb out after me, and John B shuffles to the side opposite us, while JJ steps in front of me and I grab onto the sides of his shirt for dear life, looking up at the sky as he places one hand on my waist to hold me against the wall, and the other up next to my head to steady himself.

I see John B lean over to look back inside, and we hear a small exchange between the officers. They're taking some of the cash. Unbelievable.

I try and take deep breaths, but I can feel myself starting to panic. I'm not good with heights. or cops. "Hey, Snowy, you're okay. You're okay. I've got you." JJ whispers to me and I nod slightly, squeezing my eyes shut. I feel JJ shift his arm that was next to my head, and something falls out of his pocket and hits the dumpster below us, making a loud bang. I flinch and close my eyes tighter somehow, as JJ pushes himself closer to me against the wall, tipping his head back. I can feel his chest moving as he breathes, and I try to focus on that to help me relax. I open one eye to look down at Kie and Pope, who have assumed the "just act natural" position down on the Pogue. Oh god, the cops are looking out the window.

"Oh. My. God." I whisper and JJ slowly moves and puts his hand over my mouth.

"Shh.." He hushes me, and I cringe internally as I feel my cheeks burning up under his hand, and hope he just chalks it up to me literally having a panic attack. But, he's JJ. He'll never let me live this down.

Suddenly, John B and I see Kie and Pope resume their waving, signaling the cops have left the room. That's our cue to get out of here- and we can't do it fast enough.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

A/N;

Hi, me again :)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm loving writing this, let me know what you want to see in the future!

-R

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

3. Charging rent just to live somewhere *is* pretty outrageous.

+1 Communism

LA FUMÉE, VOL 1. NO. 4 - The writer G. Martin remarks dryly that 'capitalists *love* wealth redistribution, so long as it's only redistributed *upward*'...

You flip back to the front of the magazine. The table of contents unfolds before you.

5. [Put the magazine away.]

Since we've leveled up Conceptualization, I head back to the wall, but we've lost our bonus from the evening light. No point trying this now.

The bookstore is also closed by now. Only one place left to go tonight.

🎵 Whirling in Rags, 12 PM

Looks like Lena and the Hardie boys are already gone.

It's a bowl. There's spit in it, reeking of tobacco.

Photos of men in overalls, toting guns and Union placards.

You see hawthorn bushes outside. Hmm...

GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER - "Can I help you?" He arches an eyebrow.

"About my bill for tonight..."

GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER - "Got the 20 reál?"

"Yeah, 20 reál for the night."

"Not yet..."

GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER - "Good. You got the room for the night, but remember -- you'll need *another* 20 reál tomorrow."

-20.00 reál

Task complete: Find money for rent and pay Garte

+10 XP

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - Take it easy on him. Deep down he really hates being the guy who has to remind you.

4. "Good bye." [Leave.]

Goracy Kubek is also gone from the kitchen. No looking into the shady brew.

Alright. Time to see if we can get those boots. First we need to get rid of Kim, so we'll pretend to turn in for tonight.

"See you in the morning."

"Bye."

There is some more stuff to look at in our room first, however. Perception shows us we can pick up this Empty Cassette Case.

EMPTY CASSETTE CASE

There used to be a tape in this case, but it was destroyed in a fit of rage. Something about the Etenniers' single Smallest Church in Saint-Saëns must have rubbed someone the wrong way. The label says the song was recorded in '43.

Words fail to describe how rank it smells in here. They should have sent a poet.

MIRROR - A mirror hangs on the bathroom wall. In it -- your face, adorned with *The Expression*.

2. [Electrochemistry - Impossible 18] Attempt to stop *The Expression* from happening.

This time I remember to put on my cool jeans and gloves before trying an Electrochemistry check.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Impossible: Failure] - Still not happening. It won't come off that easy.

4. [Let the mirror be for now.]

Let's make our way back to the body.

THE HANGED MAN - The man is decomposing visibly now. Every hour he looks less like a creature and more like a pile of intestines...

2. Try to remove the dead man's boots again.

THE HANGED MAN - The body is reluctant to let go of the boots -- as though they were its last bit of dignity.

CUNO - "Whoah. Cuno's little *sneak-pig's* back for the booty... "

CUNOESSE - "Yeah, fuck it to pieces for us. Liar cop!"

Pull on the right boot.

Pull on the left boot.

THE HANGED MAN - It's not completely useless. You're able to reveal a little more of the putrid polymer sock beneath the boot.

2. Pull on the left boot.

THE HANGED MAN - It feels like the leg is going to come off along with the boot, but you are able to get the boot to move a centimetre or two.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - See? The corpse doesn't care if you try to take his boots. He doesn't need them. He's probably *glad* to get rid of them.

Pick up the body and try to shake the boots off.

Step on the corpse as you pull on the boots.

Try to twist the boots off one by one.

THE HANGED MAN - It's heavier than you'd think. You're forced to drop it back down immediately. The corpse lands on the ground with a nauseating thud, looking even sadder than before.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Formidable: Failure] - Damn, you're out of shape... In your defence, the corpse *was* quite slippery.

2. Step on the corpse as you pull on the boots.

THE HANGED MAN - Something cracks in the left leg -- it really is about to come off. The leg, I mean. Not the boot.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - You may want to slow down. Don't tear into it like that.

3. Try to twist the boots off one by one.

THE HANGED MAN - This is the right method. It takes some time, but eventually the boots come off -- with nasty slices of polymer sock stuck to even bigger pieces of skin and rotting flesh.

Item gained: Fairweather T-500 Boots with Rotting Flesh

CUNOESSE - "Look -- he's skinning the fucker up good. *Puukko* style."

CUNO - "Hell. Keep at it, pig!"

Take stock of the damage.

THE HANGED MAN - The legs look like they've been clawed at by wild animals. As for the boots -- you can't possibly do anything with them until you have cleaned and *disinfected* them thoroughly.

PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Trivial: Success] - Yes. These absolutely need to be washed before. The stink is incredible.

2. [Leave.]

FAIRWEATHER T-500 BOOTS WITH ROTTING FLESH

Don't smell these boots. Better yet, don't even *think* about them – unless it's to think about how you're going to get them clean, that is. For now, they're unsellable, unwearable, and just downright disgusting.

We can, unfortunately, interact with these.

BOOTS WITH ROTTING FLESH - These boots were probably left on the corpse because they were impossible to pull off while it was hanging. They're not exactly pleasant to look at right now, much less smell.

Look the boots over carefully.

Look at the soles of the boots.

Look inside the boots.

[Put the boots away.]

BOOTS WITH ROTTING FLESH - Graceful whorls cover the boots' glossy surface. These will be gorgeous once you get them clean.

2. Look at the soles of the boots.

BOOTS WITH ROTTING FLESH - "Fairweather T-500 / VE" is imprinted under each heel.

3. Look inside the boots.

BOOTS WITH ROTTING FLESH - Still just pieces of sock and rotting cadaver.

4. [Put the boots away.]

We need to find a kitchen to clean these in. I can only think of one... I'm sure Garte won't mind.

INDUSTRIAL STOVE - This industrial gas-powered stove has been used to prepare food for many hungry hostel guests. There are several pots and pans on hand.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Easy: Success] - Getting the corpse residue out of these boots is going to require patience. And also a huge pot full of boiling water, soap, and white vinegar.

Check out the cookware.

Check out the cleaning supplies.

Master chef out. [Leave.]

INDUSTRIAL STOVE - A commercial pot draws your attention. It's very large. Gigantic, even. It could be used to make enough stew to feed an entire city. And also to boil a putrid pair of death-boots.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Far away, in the darkness of a makeshift morgue behind Station 41's lazareth, Dr. Nix Gottlieb cuts into the cold, dead feet of a murder victim. The veins are oddly black, he suspects a neurotoxin...

2. Check out the cleaning supplies.

INDUSTRIAL STOVE - There is a variety of soaps and bleaches in the cabinet to the left of the stove. There is also a bottle of white vinegar in the cabinet next to the fridge.

[vveakfish]

Wish I Knew (You Wanted Me) Linear reading order (chronological) | [table of contents]

On ao3 the series is already ordered chronolocially, for the most part. But this one is a little more thorough.

I'm going to be throwing not only fic titles at you, but chapter numbers too. This reading order will take you through this narrative from beginning to end, as smoothly as possible.

or thats the goal, anyway.

I'll be updating this as we upload more chapters, meaning this post is a WIP. There are arc descriptions and more detailed chapter orders under the cut, but here's the Bare Bones if you don’t want spoilers:

Prologue:

Why Don't You (Say So) Trade My Tomorrows (For Our Yesterday)

Part One:

Dancing (With Another Man) [ch 1-7] Hold On (To Me) [ch 1-4] D(WAM) [ch 8-10] It Started (With A Whisper) D(WAM) [ch 11-12] HO(TM) [ch 5] D(WAM) [ch 13-22] D(WAM) [ch 23-25] | HO(TM) [ch 6+7] D(WAM) [ch 26-31] D(WAM) [ch 32-38] | HO(TM) [ch 8-12] HO(TM) [ch 13-18] D(WAM) [ch 39-41] D(WAM) [ch 42-44] | HO(TM) [ch 19-22] D(WAM) [ch 45-48] HO(TM) [ch 23-25]

welcome beneath the cut! get comfy, and let me be weird for a bit. This is going to be made up of blurbs about what these different mini ‘arcs’ of the story focus on — as well as trying to lay out chapter by chapter reading orders to the best of my abilities.

And hey! if you (dear reader) have any reading order thoughts of your own, shoot me a comment or a DM

now, lets get into it:

PROLOGUE: Why Don't You (Say So) Trade My Tomorrows (For Our Yesterday)

These two act as a sort of backstory. It gives you a base understanding of what Dick's relationships with Wally and Roy were like, which leads us into

PART ONE: Dancing (With Another Man) [ch 1-7]

this arc sets up the larger conflict of the story, focusing on Dick, Wally, and Roy's reactions to it.

Hold On (To Me) [ch 1-4]

sets up timkon side plot, and shows how the core four are dealing with the main conflict

D(WAM) [ch 8-10] It Started (With A Whisper) D(WAM) [ch 11+12] HO(TM) [ch 5] D(WAM) [ch 13-22]

this seventeen chapter block kicks off the courtship arc which makes up the bulk of the part one plot — tensions are running high, and Dick has big decisions to make.

D(WAM) [ch 23-25] | HO(TM) [ch 6+7]

these two sections show the same events. And there's two potential ways to read them depending on the kind of reading experience you're looking for. Dick's storyline: -> 23, 6, 24, 25, 7 Tim's storyline: -> 6, 24, 25, 7 (+ 23 (optional)) Technically, Dick's story line would be the truly chronological one. You have all the information as soon as it's available to you. Tim's story line, however, makes this chain of events more of a mystery. You still find everything out, there's just more suspense beforehand. chapter 23 (Roy pov) & 7 (Tim pov) cover a lot of the same ground, which is why it would be optional to read 23 after having already read 7. But personally I think there is still something to gained from experiencing the appeal first hand along with Tim's second hand pov. Whether you read both is entirely up to you. Is this convoluted and possibly unnecessary? Yeah, probably, but hey! Have you ever been reading a comic and then had to chase down a tie in issue from another run just to understand what the fuck was happening? Think of it like that. This is superhero comic fanfic, after all.

D(WAM) [ch 26-31]

we'll call this the aftermath. You could read this as is, and it will make sense — in rereading this story in its entirety for this post, however, I've realized there is another potential reading order. 27 (Steph pov) leads directly in from HO(TM) ch 7 so, you could read this arc like this: HO(TM) 7 -> D(WAM) 27, 26, 28-31. Doing this is not necessary to enjoy or understand the story. Technically, it is the more chronological way to read these chapters, but don't worry to hard about this one.

D(WAM) [ch 32-38] | HO(TM) [ch 8-12]

These also happen at the same time, but are completely different scenes. Reading the section from one fic, then reading the section from the next would work perfectly fine. But, lining things up with the stories timeline the 'correct' chronological order is this: -> 32, 8-10, 33-38, 11+12

HO(TM) [ch 13-18]

i call this arc 'the boys are pouting.' basically the whole time Tim and Kon are dealing with their shit(tm), Wally and Dick are being very gay off panel. Dont worry though! we'll get back to them shortly. You could read this arc exactly as it's posted (it alternates between Tim's pov & Kon's) but they are full side plots on their own, so you could read them like this: Tim -> 13, 15, 18 Kon -> 14, 16, 17 This is me being nit-picky at this point, but I'm just writing this all down for the sake of having it all written down.

D(WAM) [ch 39-41]

See! What'd i tell ya

D(WAM) [ch 42-44] | HO(TM) [ch 19-22]

timkon real, not clickbait (42 | 19), (43 | 20), (44 | 21), 22

D(WAM) [ch 45-48] HO(TM) [ch 23-25]

and that is the conclusion to Part One

[casspurrjoybell-33]

Taming Arrogance - Chapter 8

*Warning Adult Content*

"You can either sleep on the couch or in the second bed," Blake says to me when we step inside the penthouse suite.

My eyes sweep over the layout of this spectacular room and I'm temporarily dazed by its splendor.

Two beds sit at the very far right, both of them neatly made and equipped with fluffy comforters and an over-abundance of pillows.

The carpet is white, red and black, a modern contrast to the white walls and black decorations.

Without addressing Blake's question, my feet continue to pad across the spacious suite.

I glance inside the large bathroom and whistle under my breath.

Everything in here is marble, everything from the countertops, to the floors and even to the spacious Jacuzzi-style bathtub.

"How much does a room like this set you back a night?" I ask more to myself than to Blake.

"It's a company write-off," Blake explains.

"But even so, it's reasonably priced. $600 a night."

That's reasonable?

Shit, I'd hate to see the cost of something he finds unreasonably priced.

For some reason, the fact that this joker makes so much money irritates me.

There's no reason for it to but it does.

I move away from the bathroom and glance at the mini-kitchen as I make my way to the living room.

Despite it being small, it seems to come equipped with more accoutrements than my kitchen does at home.

I plunk myself down on the black leather sofa and stare up at the huge plasma TV.

"Huh," I mumble under my breath.

"Is this room booked yet for opening day of football?"

Blake follows me into the living room and leans against the doorframe.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head.

"And I'll take the couch."

"Oh. Right..." Blake's voice tapers off and the smallest bit of disappointment shows in his expression.

The second I blink, however, all traces of emotion vanish and I'm left wondering if it was really there in the first place.

It's probably just my over-tired brain working on only half a cylinder.

"We'll need to leave here tomorrow before nine," Blake says clearing his throat.

"Our site visit is at ten. What do you want for breakfast?"

I yawn and start stretching out across the plush sofa.

My eyelids are becoming heavier by the second, the mistress of sleep pulling me into her warm embrace.

"Tuna on wheat with a diet coke," I murmur sarcastically with half-closed eyes.

I think I see a smirk on Blake's face but I can't be sure.

He says something to me about food again but my brain is checked out for the night.

I feebly wave him off, silently indicating that whatever he wants to order is fine by me.

"Goodnight, Callum. Sweet dreams."

********

Blinding light wakes me up in a coat of sweat and a state of unbearable thirst.

I thrash out of the comfort of my sleeping position, prying my eyes wide enough to find my way to the kitchen.

I'm temporarily shaken at the fact that I'm no longer in my home but instead in some highfalutin hotel suite.

The soft carpet changes to cool tile beneath my feet.

I welcome the change and begin digging through the cupboards in search of a cup.

It takes only a minute before my impatience gets the best of me and I move to the sink to turn on the faucet.

I lower my head and begin to lap up the water like a dog on a hot summer's day.

The coolness feels like ecstasy as it washes over my dry taste buds and down my raw throat.

"Oh, Callum. I thought you were housekeeping with breakfast."

Blake's voice jerks me out of my moment of hydrated bliss.

I pull back to look at him and my cheeks immediately redden.

The man has a towel around his waist but every inch of him from the hips upward is nothing but flesh and beads of water.

For being an older dude, he's got a pretty decent body, I guess but does he have no shame walking around like that?

I mean, it's disgusting.

My eyes slowly rise to his face.

A second, smaller towel is draped around his neck which he's holding onto at both ends.

"I was thirsty," I finally say.

Blake grins and nods towards the still-running water.

"I see that."

Blake ever-so-slowly walks towards me, not stopping until he's just mere inches away from my chest.

With precision he reaches above me to open the cabinet directly above my head.

A glass cup is dangled in front of my face and I grind my teeth together in frustration.

"I'm not thirsty anymore," I try to spit out but for some reason my voice seems to catch in my throat.

"Hmm. Well, I'll set it right by the sink in case you change your mind."

There's laughter and amusement in his voice.

"Fine," I say through clenched teeth.

"Are you going to move out of my way now? I'm not a fan of man nakedness."

Blake chuckles and easily steps aside, not at all offended by my words.

I stomp out of the kitchen and head back into the living room to grab a new set of clothes from my backpack.

Without my permission, my brain pulls me back to the image of Blake standing in the doorway of the kitchen, his nearly-naked torso glistening with beads of water.

To my horror, I feel my dick twitch.

I freeze and stare down at my pants.

When it starts to soften, I once again pull up the mental image of Blake in the kitchen.

This time I think about him sauntering towards me.

My brain decides to take it a step further, imagining what it would be like if he closed the distance between us and demanded a kiss from my lips.

"What the hell..." I whisper under my breath, staring down at my raging boner in utter shock.

It must be because I haven't gotten laid in almost a week.

Or maybe it's because I'm just waking up, a common cause for many of my early morning woodies.

Either way, there's no way in hell it's because of Blake or his surprisingly fit body.

I cover my embarrassing erection with my spare set of clothes and dash into the luxurious bathroom.

I refuse to allow my mind to drift back to him another time throughout the duration of this trip.

'Nope. Not happening.'

A deep exhale pushes past my lips in the new relief that I'm away from Blake.

The second I inhale though, my moment of reprieve comes to a screeching halt.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Blake's cologne, along with his natural scent are everywhere.

The air is intoxicated by him. It's sultry and rich, seductive and heady.

My eyes close of their own accord.

I close the bathroom door and lock it behind me, allowing my body to slump against the door to indulge in his smell for a few seconds longer.

What the hell is my problem?

I'm not the type of dude to bask in another man's scent, let alone enjoy it in the first place.

It must be this Floridian weather that has my brain all askew.

Whatever it is, my body can't help itself by reacting and for the second time this morning I'm left with a hardness beneath my shorts, all thanks to my very own boss.

My fingers itch to slide down my boxers and relieve myself of the problem but then I remember my brother's words in the back of my mind.

As he said to me less than a day ago, men who deny it the most are the ones who end up being the gayest.

Or something to that effect.

There's no way I'll touch myself knowing it was a man who caused me to be in this state.

I will never be like my brother.

I will never be a fag-tard.

These thoughts go on repeat through my brain, their message slapping my mind back to reality.

A piece of me wonders if he has some special gay man powers that he's pulling on me.

Whatever the case may be, I don't know how much more of it I can take.

What'll happen if my thoughts stay as they are?

What if they get worse?

Would I actually let Blake touch me?

I shudder just at the thought, though if it's a shudder of excitement or disgust, I'll never know.

I wipe away the steam that has collected on the mirror from Blake's earlier shower, studying my hazy reflection with an anxious expression.

Light eyes stare back at me.

They look confused, worried even.

"C'mon Callum," I mutter under my breath.

"Get your shit together."

Without wasting another thought on Blake or his special powers, I take a quick shower and throw on my clothes for the day.

I spare a quick glance in the mirror, smoothing out my dress shirt before tucking the ends into my khaki shorts.

Blake never specified the dress code for this little weekend getaway, and since I've never attended a 'site visit' I just packed as best I could.

I run a hand through my slightly disheveled hair and shrug.

Good enough.

As I step out of the bathroom, a cacophony of smells greets my nose.

It's enough to send a shooting pang of hunger through my stomach.

I rush into the living room and see two, silver trays sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Without waiting for Blake, I plunk myself down and start digging in.

By the time I finish off my fifth slice of bacon and third cinnamon roll, Blake walks into the living room looking as sophisticated as ever.

The dude probably doesn't own a single piece of clothing under a hundred dollars.

Pretentious asshole.

He barely spares a glance to me or the food.

Instead he walks over to the hallway mirror and straightens out his tie.

His normally relaxed face is pinched with an emotion I haven't witnessed before.

"Nervous?" I ask him through bites of food.

"No. I don't get nervous," he assures me.

"Then what's with the look?"

"I'm not particularly fond of having my schedule upturned to fit someone else's agenda."

I frown and begin the ever-so-tedious process of licking off the leftover bacon grease and cinnamon from my fingertips.

"Hey," I respond defensively.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"I wasn't referring to you, Callum."

'Oh.'

"Phil will be joining us tomorrow morning," he explains.

"Which means things need to be moved around, I need to get an additional room, and the list goes on and on."

"And Phil would be...?" I ask, letting my voice trail off to silence.

Blake turns to look at me.

He raises a curious eyebrow and allows his gaze to sweep over my face with careful inspection.

Shit. Did my voice give something away? It couldn't have.

Plus, there's no rhyme or reason as to why I'm feeling so curious.

Why the hell should I care who this Phil dude is?

It's none of my business.

Blake once again turns to the mirror, straightening his tie for the second time.

When he finally gives his response, however, his eyes flicker to me, as if studying how his words will affect my demeanor.

"Phil is," he answers with a hesitant voice.

"My boyfriend."

[firstscn]

continued @waehles

   Henry practically melted at those words. Alec somehow found ways to make him love him more with most of the things he said. Most, because sometimes he was a menace too, but he still loved him. “Yo tambien te amo querido.” With Alex, his language skills came in handy, but also, he wanted to see that pleased look across his lovers face too. A shiver went down his spine as he felt the breath of Alex’s words against his ear. So he ends up reaching out a hand to curl it around the others hand.    “All of that just for dinner? No wonder you’re always the dramatic one,” Henry said with a teasing smile. “You’re welcome, love. You know I would do anything to get the chance to spoil you. Not that you even need it.” He chuckled a little and then kissed Alex softly on the mouth. And none too soon because their dessert arrived. Suddenly Henry did have some more room, but he offered some to Alex instead. When the waitress had been there, he’d ordered a few of the meals to go, which she seemed surprised about but accepted. So they took their time to eat dessert, having a little packed up at the end since they couldn’t finish it all.    Before Alex could take the bags, Henry did. “C’mon. Let’s go home.” He lead the way out to the car, putting the food in the back and opening the door for Alex. This night was about him, after all. Well, it was about both of them and he meant what he said earlier, he did enjoy spoiling the man. They listened to some soft music on the ride home and when they got there, there was nothing but relief.    David was excited to see them return and Henry laughed lightly, ruffling his hair before offering him some treats for being good while they were gone. Henry put away the leftovers from the restaurant and soon enough joined Alex in bed. “D’you think our date night will be all over the papers tomorrow?” Henry asked him, practically throwing himself halfway across Alex as he did so. A yawn escaped him and he nuzzled against Alex’s chest. “Mm … you’re warm.”

Henry speaking multiple languages is a HUGE fucking turn on, but there's just something about him speaking Spanish that's on a whole other level. It doesn't just send a shiver down Alex' spine, it also makes his heart flutter in his chest, and if he hadn't already been madly in love with Henry, that would have done the trick.

"Yeah well. I do take my food very seriously." he grins after the kiss, and he's sure there's a few cameras clicking outside. They're hidden from view a little, but paparazzi always find a way, and Alex has sort of learned to live with it. He's not a fan, not of the aggressive ones anyway, but it's ALWAYS going to be a part of their lives now, and it just isn't a good thing to constantly be riled up about it.

The dessert is just as good as the rest of the food, and Alex, of course, stops to feed some to Henry, because when can you do it, if not on a date? He smiles, watching the other swallow and enjoy the delicious food, happy and content to just snuggle up to him in the car on their way home. This whole day, though insanely long, seems like a BLUR now, and Alex is glad when they can finally shut the door behind themselves.

He kicks off his shoes and unbuttons his shirt, quickly stepping out of his pants, before Henry joins him on the bed. Everything is WARM and fuzzy, and even though Alex thinks back to this morning, he's content to just lay here and take in the weight of Henry's body above him. "Oh absolutely. Don't know if we'll make front page, but we'll see," He jokes, pressing a kiss to the other's hair. "I love you."

[valyalyon]

June 2022

This is the month before Dolores leaves Phoenix to move to Kansas. Tomorrow I will be posting the July 2022 post, where we'll get to see some very important events leading to the end of Dolores and J's relationship. Not crazy explicit, but another potentially dub con situation so read with caution. Below for more Dreams, Ink and Embers.

DIE MASTER LIST OR #LYONDIE

June 16, 2022.

Today, Julius and I have been together for 46 months! We are so close to 4 years...

CW: Sexually explicit content, explicit language and vague dub con. Cheating. MDNI.

...I’ve never been happier and I feel so at peace. We keep jumping from strength to strength.

We moved out from our respective places and moved into a house that we shared with another couple.

It feels really fun to be living with him. I feel like I have a best friend and a lover at all times. Anyway, no idea what he’s planning for today.

“This is so cute, Julius,” I said, swooning as we came up the stairs of a building onto the roof top.

Everything was already set up for us, a beautiful table in the middle with two chairs and silverware, rose petals scattered the floor, and there was a candle on the table.

It was honestly so cute, and I had no idea where this was going.

I hoped it was more than just a dinner, I’ll admit that. I hadn’t been pestering him but he seemed more ready than ever to propose.

Still, I kept my hopes low and just enjoyed the night for what it was: a cute, romantic dinner with a beautiful view of Phoenix at night.

We each had chicken dishes, along with potatoes, and rice. I drank vodka with OJ, pineapple juice, and more vodka.

After a while of laughing, this conversation started.

“I know we’ve talked about marriage before but, lately I’ve really had it on my mind. Living with you has been honestly the best…” he said, and then he paused for a second.

Oh, hello love, for you, I have so many words. But I, I forget where we were…

I looked at him, eyebrows furrowed slightly in cute confusion. He always said I looked like a little rabbit.

“You okay, Tough Man?” I asked confused.

“Yeah, sorry… I lost my train of thought with that one. I think I just meant to say that I know I want to be with you forever, Dolores.”

I smiled and kissed him, “I want to be with you forever, Julius…”

Julius smiled for a second, and then kissed me again, “I think you’d make an amazing mother and a wife I just wouldn’t deserve, too sweet and too perfect for me.”

“I’ve been so happy, lately, Julius… You’ve changed me so much since we met,” I played with his beard a little, and smiled as I looked into his dark eyes.

“These last few months are the happiest I’ve been in years and since I met you I have grown and learned so much,” he told me, standing to give me a hug.

We shared a tight hug and I couldn’t help but laugh, “you always squeeze me like you wanna pop me.”

“I’d love to drink whatever comes out of you when you pop,” he kissed me and then we returned to our seats to finish dinner.

I remember feeling so sad that he hadn’t proposed to me that day, and of course years later, I’d find out that he had been planning to propose on our 4 year anniversary.

June 18, 2022

A few days after the dinner, Julius invited some of his friends to come with us to Arizona Wonderspaces in Scottsdale. The two friends, Charlie and Owen, both lived on the way to the event space, so Julius agreed to pick them up.

It was pretty much universally agreed: everyone would be getting stoned in the parking lot of Wonderspaces and then we’d make an appearance and interact with the art experience.

What I wasn’t planning on though was everything starting to get derailed.

After we arrived, after we had smoked, Julius looked up from his phone and said, “Raphael said he’s pulling up right now.”

“Raphael is coming?” I asked, confused and beginning to rub my temples. As an introvert, I was already going out of my way so much that day, and now Raphael was going to be there too.

I was less than amused.

“Yeah… I’m sorry, I did forget to tell you. Wanna keep smoking a little longer?” Julius tried to make it up to me.

“Yes please… Give me two minutes and I’ll catch up with you guys,” I felt so bad but I was a very anxious person and I needed to be prepared in advance for events and people.

Julius gave me a sweet kiss on the lips, and then turned to Charlie and Owen, “let’s start walking boys. Slow though, she’s got little legs.”

He got out of the car with his friends, and I stayed smoking. I took another 7-9 deep puffs of smoke, and let them out slow but completely.

I caught up with the boys, clung onto J’s arm as we approached the part of the mall the experience was in. Right outside, Raphael stood waiting. He turned to greet us, and went right for Julius and the boys first.

“Dude, you have the tickets… I’ve been standing here like a fucking criminal…” Raphael told Julius, giving him a hug.

He greeted Charlie and Owen casually with hand shakes, and a typical, “lookin’ strong dude” to each one.

I was bored out of my mind, wondering why we were in a queue and when I would get to start seeing pretty lights. I was so stoned and already had an airpod in to disappear during the experience.

Raphael finished his introductions to the boys, Julius had circled back to stand beside me by now but was distracted talking to Charlie and Owen.

In this one second with Julius and his friends occupied, Raphael took my hand and kissed it. I remember thinking it was inappropriate, and trying to focus my attention on his eyes to voice my discomfort.

That was the only thing, I hadn’t ever looked into his eyes until that moment and maybe being stoned added to it, but the memories came flooding back in. Dreams of love with a man named R. The love was harsh, cruel, and possessive. It was all encompassing, it was powerful beyond words.

But it was scary and dangerous and unstable. Nothing would be promised, nothing ever could be promised with R.

As our eyes met, Raphael smiled at me, and his eyes looked so confident. All he said to me was, “So happy to finally meet you.”

I immediately got mad.

Raphael and I had met and been around each other numerous times. I pulled my hand from his, annoyed, and turned my attention to Julius, who was already turning to me.

“I hate this guy, can you stand in between us?” I gave my biggest puppy dog eyes to Julius without really meaning to.

Julius looked at Raphael and started to laugh, “you can’t pretend not to know the Princess.”

I honestly tuned out their conversations after that, moving to the back of the group and listening to music while we wandered through each exhibit.

Raphael, Owen, and Charlie had all decided to get drinks from the bar, and when we met up with them again we were in the coolest mirror-light exhibit I had seen in a while.

Julius met up with them while I wandered aimlessly down the aisle in view of him. I was pretty fucking stoned and having a really nice time by then. The lights are still and luminescent, the energy is just electric.

See, since I had remembered the R dreams, I found it incredibly hard to breathe. My heart was racing, my face and body were hot. I was trying to maintain my distance from Raphael, just because I did not want to interact with him.

They ended up coming towards me and I noticed that each one of them was carrying 2 drinks. They had bought 6 drinks. From the looks of it, too, both drinks were just several shots of whiskey or bourbon.

I tried to focus on the conversation to see what they were saying, still shifting along the floor and glancing at the reflections, the lights…

“Honestly, Ralph, that’s just messed up. Did you at least pay for it?” Julius asked him, and then grabbed me by the arm pulling me to him.

I spun and landed in his arms, Julius held me in place and I looked up to see Raphael standing a couple feet in front of us. Again, his dark eyes were glued onto my eyes.

He pulled his eyes away and turned his attention back to Julius, responding with, “yeah, man, why wouldn’t I? You think I’m broke?” Raphael sounded kind of angry all of a sudden.

Julius laughed and turned to give me a kiss. I kissed him and held his face, “can we go into the next exhibit?”

“Of course, Dolly,” Julius said with a smile and gave me another kiss.

In this next room, though, there were red lights hung on thin chords, with glowing white lights in between them. We went in a line, I was first, then Julius, Owen, Charlie, and Raphael.

Eventually, though, maybe overcome by all the darkness and the floating lights, and all highly intoxicated in one way or another; the line broke apart.

I didn’t notice it immediately, too engulfed in the lights. So, when I felt the hot hands touch my shoulders, I whispered, “Julius…”

Am I not the one you’re dreaming of, my angel?

I was wearing a pink dress. It was delicate, his hands start to lift the dress up my thigh. One hand holds up the front of the dress, the other grips my neck.

His hand moves down to my panties, and he touches me along my clit. He knows my body so well… Like he’s known it for so many years…

His mouth comes to my neck and he gives me a kiss. It’s wet and hot, and I’m trembling against his touch.

The lights are dazzling me, and I start moaning, “kiss me… kiss…” I was turning towards him quickly reaching up to wrap my arms around him.

He was pulling me in by the waist when I met his eyes.

If our love is so wrong, tell me, why does it feel so right?

Those weren’t my J’s eyes. Staring back at me was Raphael, his arms wrapped around my waist, and his eyes focused on mine.

“Oh my god,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“You okay, Lola?” Raphael asked me, letting me go.

“Why would you do that, Raphael?” I asked, my voice getting annoyed so fast. “I’m going to tell Julius.”

“Are you?” Raphael asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yes,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Okay, do you mind if I tell him about you and this little skirt?” Raphael’s voice was dark and stern.

“My outfit doesn’t mean anything, you pervert,” I replied very angrily, wanting to get away from him before I started to scream at him.

“That’s not necessarily what I mean… That skirt came up pretty easy for a man that isn’t your man,” Raphael stood nearby, blocking me into this little space I’d wandered into.

He felt like a wild predator. He was a Lion, a hunter stalking it’s prey. He made me furious, he scared me, I wanted to kick him.

“Maybe because I thought it was my man,” I was exacerbated and didn’t want to get angrier with him, so I looked him in the eye, and said very forcefully, “take me back to Julius.”

“What if I didn’t?” Raphael asked, crossing his arms and leaning into look at me.

I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, shaking him, “Take me now! The next time I reach for you, I’ll be grabbing your hair and tearing it out.”

He laughed but grabbed my wrist and took me back to the group. It hadn’t even been three minutes, nobody noticed we were gone.

In another room, there were these silver balloons in the center of the room. Around the room, on all of the walls and the floors and ceiling, were rings within rings within rings. Just a circular, particle filled repeating pattern. It was hypnotizing.

I stood beside Julius on one side of the room, the two of us talking and laughing together. I’m not sure where his friends were, or if there were cameras in the experience, but Julius started to kiss and touch me.

I moaned against his kisses, trying to push out of mind what happened with Raphael. As he touched me though, as we kissed, I noticed that Raphael was staring at me.

Those dark eyes were burning, they looked angry, staring from across the room. I remember thinking to myself that he seemed set on destroying the life his best friend was creating and I wondered if it was jealousy.

I closed my eyes, and continued to focus on Julius and our relationship.

Although, now there was a thought burning in my mind. What were the R dreams? And why did Raphael look so much like the man in those dreams?

SONG REFERENCE I Forget Where We Were by Ben Howard Meet Me in the City by Lord Huron

[mojavepumpkin]

"so we beat on, like boats against the current. borne back ceaselessly into the past." (cliche, i know but i can't get over that line)

sunday, march 3rd

haven't written in a while, haven't had my computer in a while. left it home when we went to fernandina. it was a good weekend. i was on my phone more than i'd like to have been, the weather was worse than i'd have liked it to have been. still managed to walk 12ish miles, all in all. the weather wasnt so bad when it wasnt raining. cooler than normal, especially sunday. saturday was nicer, walked 9 miles. had a conversation with a man in a silly hat selling free advice. he was nice but i dont feel all that helped, i still appreciate the conversation.

i am disturbed by my lack of preparedness for this literary thing. i have no idea what's going on, what im really doing, who even is running it. oh well, it can only help me i spose. or i could embarrass myself, but i guess i shouldnt get too hung up on that.

i might be getting a new car, or should i say, old truck. which is exciting. this summer. my car is the most expensive out of all of our cars, it was originally mom's and she gave it to me. the insurance is super high, so once we pay it off (in june), we can sell it and get something thats cheaper for me. it just so happens that i have a cheap taste in cars- or trucks. anyway, i hope we'll be able to find a 1998-2011 ford ranger. a tiny little truck for lil ole me.

anyway. im considering deleting youtube. it's tough. it's definitely my most used social media, and i can say 100% that it has made me better and more informed. if you can call it social media. but its also a big "crutch". eating food? watch youtube. getting ready in the morning? watch youtube. cleaning my room? watch youtube (this one is more understandable.)

given it more thought. i will delete it as an experiment. i think i need to learn how to practice mindfulness instead of consuming content every waking moment of my life. i need a book on it, maybe. definitely.

my mind feels very busy at the moment. let me think. the tv is very loud. i feel very hot. my room is dirty. okay. breathe.

what will happen tomorrow? anything of note? not that i can think of, i might make plans. that could be nice. i like keeping myself busy. i wish i could've figured out plans with J today, but nothing materialized - i just went outside by myself. i haven't read very much. but i haven't been on my phone very much. so i guess i've been doing things. i dont have any homework due. i dont have work tomorrow. i should be happy. i need to return a book to the library, and i cant think of anything else i need to do.

tomorrow might be a good day to walk. i'll speak to some folks. i'm trying to incorporate some more southernness into my speaking voice. idk, i'd like to feel like my voice is some kind of connection to the place from which i originate. i tried so hard to get rid of it, now i dont have it all and want it back. thats life.

despite not having known him for very long or very intimately i see a lot of my grandfather in myself. he has become sort of a kindred spirit i spose, for myself. maybe i do believe in the afterlife, i can still kind of feel him. maybe thats the afterlife we get, the feeling we leave with people. even though he isnt my biological grandfather, he was the only grandfather i knew on that side of my family that i ever knew. and now is certainly the only positive father like figure there. maybe all of those parts of him that are in me now are like little shrines i've built so that he can live on. our love of johnny cash, western movies, ford rangers, and straight-edge shaving. maybe i should start fishing more seriously, honestly i've thought about it often. i'd like to go fishing with a buddy. i just need a pole and some know-how, or my friend being the know-how could work too. i love him very much now, even though he is somewhat of a stranger to me. he loved my grandma, i can see that. i read one of their letters and was moved to tears. life is something incredible.

[claire-starsword]

Landstalker JP manual - Prologue

Note: the manual mixes up Nigel's narration with pictures and dialogues that aren't necessary at the same point in the narrative. I felt this could get extra confusing given how I format things in this blog, with the translation text also separate from the images, so I reordered things in a way I hope will flow better. That's all, enjoy five pages of dorks.

Prologue - Landstalker Story Many centuries ago, there was an infamous king who ruled this land, King Nole. He built a most extravagant palace, and beyond that, gathered treasures from all around the world. However, the population, who had been suffering under him, gathered under three leaders to form a resistance, and at last dethroned King Nole. After that, the three leaders founded many countries, and peace reigned once more. But even after all this time, no one knows what happened to King Nole and his vast treasures, and they became a legend passed on through the generations.

A man stood in the marketplace of the town of Kalva. He's the protagonist of this adventure, Nigel.

Old merchant: Hey, young elf over there! Buy these EkeEke fruits, c'mon! Nigel: I don't need that kinda stuff. Old merchant: Hey, eat one before you say that, here. Nigel: They're sour, and really bad!!!!

The name's Nigel. I'm a treasure hunter. I risked my neck to get the Hidden Treasure of Jypta, and came back to Kalva to give it to my "esteemed client" and get my reward. We'll meet for business tomorrow. While hanging around town, I ended up buying some weird fruit.

The morning of our agreement came. I wanna get my money for the treasure of Jypta, and then relax… Don't wanna get into another mess for a treasure in a while, even a guy who loves his job like me needs a break sometimes. I got the promised payment in the promised meeting place. All done. That moment, some small thing flew on my bag looking for help. "I'm being followed, let's flee together", huh, so it's a girl? Then a weird trio came up to me. "Hand over that girl to me!", the woman is their boss then? I could easily drive them off with my sword, but letting things escalate is a pain, and I'm not a fan of hitting women. Like the gentleman I am, I ran away with my "baggage".

Kayla: Hand over the girl inside that bag of yours! Ink: Hand over. Wally: Yeah, that. Nigel: What nonsense are these guys saying? The heck do you want!

Friday: My name's Friday. Nigel: First time I see a Succubus, but what do you want with me?

Me and my bag's contents made out of the town while running from those weird three. Out of the bag came a small devil girl named Friday. She told me those three are called Kayla, Ink and Wally, some stubborn guys who had been chasing her around. But what really surprised me was that she brought up "the treasures of King Nole". Anyone who calls themselves a treasure hunter has tried for these mythical treasures. This little girl (though she's apparently older than me) knows of a mystery no one ever managed to get their hands on. And she says "I could tell you even more if you became my servant". Damn it, for Nole's treasures I'll even become a slave!

Kayla: You two, I'll make you regret letting them escape this time!

According to Friday, there's a hint about King Nole's treasures on the Mercator Island to the east of the mainland. Mercator is an island crawling with monsters, even adventurers like us keep away from it. But I can't get cold feet because of stuff like that. We flew on the back of the beast bird Deldrichy the Third to a high point of the island, taking the first step of our great adventure into the land of Mercator.

The secret lies in the mystery island of Mercator!? What awaits Nigel and Friday there?

Notes:

I tried to stick to the US version's names, but I don't think the bird's name was mentioned anywhere in that so that's my own romanization. As far as I can tell it has no particular meaning other than sounding comically fancy.

Friday uses "atai" as her first person pronoun here, while using only "atashi" through the actual game. To my knowledge "atai" is a bit more childish, but I'll admit I don't know much about it so take that with a grain of salt, I just figured I'd point out the inconsistency.

Also damn, that map has writings on it huh, someone should have thought of translating it before starting this post.

Maple is where Nigel and Princess Lara are from, Gamul is where Duke Mercator is from, also seems to be kinda like, the main country in the continent. I don't recall Lanpart, Honomu or Chica being mentioned anywhere, so romanization is mine. Green definitely gets brought up at some point, but I forgot where so, oopsie.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend to (belatedly) celebrate the success of our "zero expectations" attitude for 911 this week!! We got a lot of fussing over Buck and a whole Buddie scene on OG (honestly I would easily skip most 6x11 and go straight to this episode if I could) and some amazing backstory for Marjan and family moments over on LS. So yay to keeping our expectations in the ground!! I have nothing to expect for the next OG episode since every plot line seems kinda closed right now (I guess not the Denny stuff but its barely been around so 🤷‍♀️) so keeping that up when it returns seems easy enough (knowing KR I'm sure we'll get some promo eventually to sink them) but I'm actually looking forward to seeing a paramedic focused episode on LS (not that there's been much of a firefighting focus lately 🙄) so I should start tempering that.

Anyway, the main point right now is that its finally song time!! And look, I know we've done this one a LOT, but you cannot convince me that the Buddie of last episode was not the literal embodiment of Two. Its almost word for word perfection from "sweetheart, you look a little tired" to "calm waters if that serves you best". The way Eddie doesn't push, just gives the space he Buck needs and says what he needs to hear when he wants to hear it, and the little hints of their shared traumas and both want to "get around to fixing myself too", I couldn't resist, so enjoy!!

Hello my friend! I'm glad there's no episode today because between having my niece visiting and the head cold I have, there was no way this was getting done before tonight. 6x11 letting me down SO HARD in regards to Buddie/firefam focus and feels meant that 6x12 was so much sweeter when I was watching. (It still had some issues, one of which being that after telling us all about how Bobby and Buck are father and son we got nothing with Buck being worried or concerned about Bobby. I swear the pacing and planning is just all over the place with no consistency, but that's for another post.) I'm also confused about what we're doing for the rest of the season because everything but the Denny thing seems to be in a good place (I'm steadfastly refusing to think about the sperm donor thing because it's stupid and I hate it and IDK what the point even was if they weren't going to have Buck struggle at all. Still manifesting it's not his baby because I need this plot to GO AWAY and NEVER. COME. BACK.), but I know we have Ravi's return and some good Madney stuff to look forward to! Aside from the whole thing about L coming back (seriously, that more than anything else TANKED my excitement for the season. I hope they cut absolutely everything possible. Zero dialogue, just let her be present in the background and then fuck off forever), there looks to be some exciting stuff and the finale looks good! So it's a mixed bag. (I'm still not convinced that Buddie poker picture is real and not something that person did to show off some editing skills 🤷🏻‍♀️

For LS, oh man that was an EPISODE! I think I would mind less about them doing one-character focused episodes if they were more spread out so we got lots of everyone, every week and then once in awhile we got a "begins" type episode but I'm taking all the Marjan content where I can get it because we never get enough! And I'm excited to get back to the team responding to emergencies and tomorrow's episode looks really exciting on that front!

Okay, song time!! And look, it's not our fault Two is such a banger! It's just sooooo good! And if the show would quit robbing us of opportunities to do songs like Learning Curve and January White, we wouldn't be in this position, but here we are 🤷🏻‍♀️ So lets get to it!

sweet heart, you look a little tired. when did you last eat? come in and make yourself right at home- stay as long as you need. tell me, is something wrong? if something’s wrong you can count on me. you know i’ll take my heart clean apart, if it helps yours beat.

it’s okay if you can’t find the words, let me take your coat and this weight off of your shoulders.

Okay but YES this is EXACTLY the kitchen scene!! Eddie noticing Buck looks tired and welcoming him in, letting Buck make himself right at home, and not minding that it's already late and dark out. Then the whole "Am I allowed to ask how you are now?" because Eddie was going to give Buck space, but he is also desperate to know and to help and to be there for Buck like Buck was there for him after the shooting. AND THEN you have Buck bringing up the shooting and Eddie being willing to confront that memory, to take his own heart apart, to give Buck some peace of mind, and being willing to listen as Buck struggles to find the right words, and helping carry the weight for a bit so Buck can rest. I just... *screams into pillow* this whole first verse just...perfectly captures that whole scene. And there's something to parents often mis-typing as Twos because that's the state they revert to in times of stress and needing to protect their loved ones, and the Chris of it all being present in the food Eddie is making and Eddie taking that care and applying it to Buck too. Hold on a minute, I need to go cry about this scene again.

like a force to be reckoned with, a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you with every single thing i have. like a tidal wave, i’ll make a mess. or calm waters if that serves you best. i will love you without any strings attached.

Ahhhhh, this is the 6x10/6x12 parallel just laid out in front of us too! When Buck was suspended in air, Eddie was a force to be reckoned with, fighting to get him up and when that failed, getting him down to safety, and forcing Buck's heart to beat until it could do so on it's own. When Buck spent the whole day hosting people and putting up a front that he's fine (because he doesn't want to be a burden), Eddie is the calm waters Buck retreats to where he can rest. Eddie sees what Buck needs and makes sure he's able to give what serves Buck best in the moment. And how "love me anyway" coded is "I will love you without any strings attached"?!

it’s okay if you can’t catch your breath, you can take the oxygen straight out of my own chest.

Oh man, we were just missing a scene of Eddie giving Buck mouth-to-mouth and this would have fit PERFECTLY but they knew they would never recover from that 🤣 This also fits the shooting conversation scene (both this one and the one from season 5 at the stables but in reverse), where Eddie sees that Buck is struggling and pulls his memory of that horrible day from himself to give Buck a moment to breathe.

i know exactly how the rule goes: put my mask on first. no, i don’t want to talk about myself- tell me where it hurts. i just want to build you up, build you up ’til you’re good as new and maybe one day i will get around to fixing myself too.

Oof oof oof. I'm thinking about that little wrinkle in Eddie's brow after he says "you DIED, Buck" like he can't bare to think or talk about that moment. Which is fine because right now it's NOT about him and how he's feeling, he wants to get to the bottom of where Buck is hurting so he can help him feel better. I would LOVE if this comes back around later because Eddie has been doing so well, but I would strongly suspect something like this, especially with him being the one holding the rope, to throw him for a loop. I don't expect to see it, but it's what makes sense in the narrative.

i don’t even know where to start, already tired of trying to recall when it all fell apart. and i just want to love you, to love you, to love you well. i just want to learn how, to somehow, be loved myself.

This is just...the Buddie thesis statement. I want to love you well, I want to learn how to somehow be love myself. That's it! That's Buddie in a nutshell.

like a force to be reckoned with, a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you without any strings attached. and what a privilege it is to love, a great honor to hold you up.

like a force to be reckoned with a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you with every single thing i have like a tidal wave, i’ll make a mess. or calm waters if that serves you best. i will love you without any strings attached, i will love you without a single string attached.

While 6x12 made this chorus very much fitting for Eddie, it's also just so true of both of them like, all the time. They are always there to balance each other out, to give what the other is needing in the moment, whatever serves them best, and they love each other. Full stop. Without a single string attached, that love is there for the other's taking. Aaaaaaand now I'm crying again.

PERFECT choice this week with everything we got! Fingers crossed we can get at least one more song out of this season!

[yhwhrulz]

Worthy Brief - October 10, 2024

Repentance is a lifestyle; be ready!

Luke 12:39-40 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour when you think not.

As we find ourselves in the midst of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), our hearts are centered this week on repentance as we prepare for Yom Kippur, which is approaching this Friday. In this spirit, I want to share something I discovered while studying the Jewish roots of many of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) parables. I came across an insightful teaching from a Jewish Rabbi, which I believe holds a valuable lesson for us today.

Rabbi Eliezer said, "Repent one day before your death." His disciples asked him, "Does then one know what day he will die?" "Then all the more reason to repent today", he replied, "lest he die tomorrow, and thus his whole life is spent in repentance."

When I first became a believer, I thought by simply dealing with my outward sins that I could live a state of sinlessness. But it wasn't long before the Lord began revealing and dealing with my inward sins and attitudes. Now, and the longer I walk with Him, I understand more and more the meaning of daily repentance!

If we truly want to be free and walk in His liberty, we cannot avoid this crucial requirement for freedom. Because we cannot receive His forgiveness without it, repentance must be a way of life for us [1 John 1:9].

Staying close to the Lord is His heart's desire for us…but one of the main conditions for it is walking in regular repentance. When we walk in humility and truthfulness about our sin -- we are walking in the light, and the blood of Jesus keeps cleansing us from sin. In that condition we are so much more able to love the Lord and those around us -- with Him, touching one life at a time. So, let's lay down our pride and turn to Him every day….with genuine repentance … and then we'll be walking in daily revival!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Birmingham, Alabama)

Editor's Note: Feel free to share any of our content from Worthy, including Devotions, News articles, and more, on your social platforms. You have full permission to copy and repost anything we produce.

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. https://t.me/worthywatch/ Be sure to check it out!

Editor's Note: Dear friends — we are now booking in the following states. Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida! If you know Rabbis, Pastors or Leaders who might be interested in powerful Israeli style Hebrew/English worship and a refreshing word from Worthy News about what’s going on in the land, please let us know how to connect with them and we will do our best to get you on our schedule! You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information.

[dadddybangtan]

Metanoia | ch. seven

cw: drvgs, strong language

word count: 1.3k

a.n. fluff and filler, but it’s important i promise

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Jin has ordered me some nice luggage to pack for our trip to Daegu and I pack it the moment I return to his apartment. I throw everything in there without any proper organization.

"Hey." Jin says with a knock on the doorframe, "Leaving so soon?"

"We should just go to Daegu early," I say, "Get a head start on the plan."

He steps into the room and sits on the bed, crosses one leg over the other and holds his knee in place.

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm just- really excited about the job." I grunt, pushing the clothes in the suitcase.

"Then why does it look like you were crying?"

I stop in place and finally look into his eyes. He looked apologetic, as if he knows how horrible I feel.

"Because your boss is a dick." My voice cracks and my eyes start to water.

"What did he do?"

I lick my lips and bite back a wailing sob. I can still taste his predatory mouth and how hungry he was. How he fed off of my discomfort.

"What do you think he did?"

"Well, he told me that he kissed you. Because you were 'begging for it like a whore,'" He says nonchalantly, "His words. I didn't believe him though."

"Good. Because I didn't want it." I mutter, fiddling with a pair of jeans on the top of the pile.

A bit of silence stays between us. I assume he's waiting for me to compose myself. I sniffle hard and lift my head back so tears don't fall.

"I think you should call Taehyung," Jin offers, I perk up at his name. Someone finally refers to him correctly and not as some derogatory term, "And we'll leave in the morning. To get you away from JK."

"Th-thank you."

"I understand that he's aggressive. Even I struggle to stay in this business," Jin admits, voice coated in guilt, "But when Agust is dead, I fear that JK will only get worse. More deadly, more consumed in power that he won't even see the damage he's causing."

"Why are you telling me this? I thought you were JK's most trusted man."

"I am, but... I just want you to know that I'm a good guy in a bad circle," He nods, pursing his thick lips together in confession, "That my beliefs don't reflect his."

I nod but I don't believe him. There's no evidence to make me trust this. The only reason he's taking me to Daegu tomorrow is because JK wanted us there today. He's JK's mule, not thinking of my safety in the slightest. He's full of shit.

"Well, I'll let you be now. I'll come get you in the morning." He says, standing up and leaving.

I grab my phone from my back pocket and find Taehyung's number. I listen to the ring, let it purr in my eardrum as I wait for him to answer.

"Hullo." His deep voice says, matured by static.

"Tae. It feels so good to hear–."

"J-Jimin, I can't t-talk right now." He mumbles. I can barely make out a word he says.

"What? What's going on? Where's Hobi?" I ask too many questions at once, knowing he won't be able to answer any of them.

"So high."

My heart pinches and folds in my chest. He's using and I can't look after him. It's terrifying having a stranger be the one to look over him. If he is.

"Baby, can you put Hobi on the phone please?"

"Hobi?"

"Yeah."

"Uhhh, he's not here."

"What? You're by yourself?"

"I'm high myself." He chuckles.

The achiness in my chest spreads throughout my entire body. Even to my head, inducing a painful, throbbing headache. If I could bail on this stupid job I would. Not knowing if Taehyung is okay rips me apart inside. I can't even stand upright.

"Jin," I yell, "Jin."

He comes with a perplexed look.

"What?"

"Do you have Hobi's number?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Call him, Tae said Hobi's not there."

Jin curses under his breath and takes his phone to call the man.

"Tae, baby, listen to me. It's getting late and we gotta go to bed." I say as calmly as I could.

Jin pushes his phone in front of my face, showing that Hobi is on the line. I take the phone, put it to my ear and mute my mic on my phone.

"Wassup." He says.

"Where are you?"

"Chill, man, I went outside for a smoke." His tone is raspy, high pitched and annoying. A punchable voice.

"Taehyung is high on heroin right now, I need you to—."

"Oh, yeah I helped him stick it? Or however the fuck he said it." He laughs.

My blood boils. I close my eyes and try to regain composure. It barely works but I need to be clear about my instructions.

"I need you to go to the kitchen, look for the medicine cabinet. In the very back left hand corner, you'll find a nasal spray of Narcan."

"Narcan? Dude, you trippin'. He is not 'boutta overdose."

"I don't care," I scream, causing Jin to jump, "Just spray it in his nose and put him to bed."

"Okay, damn."

"Do it now." I order. My body shakes with anger. All I fucking wanted was to talk to my boyfriend, but he's too high to hold a conversation. I just wanted to talk to someone I could trust.

I hang up on Hobi and unmute the mic on my phone.

"Oh, oh. Hobi's back."

"Good. He's gonna help you get to bed, okay?"

He better. Or I'll put a bullet between his eyes too.

"Are you going to bed too?"

"Yeah, baby."

I hear Taehyung sniff hard and sneeze over the static of the line.

"I miss you." He says weakly.

"I miss you too," I wipe a tear from my eye, "And Tae? Please tell me if Hobi does something you don't like."

He gets silent and I get scared. Either he's already done something or he's spacing out and overthinking the request.

"I love you." I say.

"I love you too."

And the calls ends.

Jin's closing of the trunk is harsh and shocks me from the passenger seat. He seems to be in a bit of a mood this morning. But, I don't blame him, being up this early is nearly unbearable.

Neither of us talk much on the drive, I'm guessing it's because neither of us are morning people. Or maybe it's because of last night. Jin saw me vulnerable and it's hard to say anything.

"I'm sorry for what I said about Taehyung."

I think he's referring to when he called him a getaway druggie driver who's only driving me down a bottomless pit.

"Why?"

"Because I can tell you really care about him."

No shit. Anyone could tell if they saw me yelling at Hobi on one end and verbally coddling Taehyung on the other.

"And I can tell this job means a lot to you. It could change everything."

I stir in my seat and mess with the hem of my ripped jeans.

"I meant what I said. I will do everything I can to help you succeed."

I just nod. Much like last night, I don't believe him. He's not loyal because he wants Tae and I to live better. He's loyal because that's the job JK gave him. He's full of shit, but that's okay.

I need to harden up. Like I said, trust is my weapon. But it can't be a weapon used if I give it away. It doesn't work like that. If everything goes as I plan, Agust will be dead. JK, Hobi and Jin will join him as well.

"Thanks." I mutter.

I don't remember when I started having such violent thoughts. Maybe it's a primal survival instinct within me being triggered by the circumstances. Knowing that I could lose my life if I'm not careful, knowing that Tae could lose his life as well. Everything is on the line and I'm one bullet away from survival.

It's like walking on a tightrope. The bottom is bottomless and the end is endless. But I still walk, one foot in front of the other and don't look down.