#if you really want to know i was/am an accidental career bartender

[kieran-culkins]

you live with your mom?

yes 🙃🙂

[whoacanada]

Zimbits - Bartender!Jack + NHL!Bitty AU

Prompt: Retired NHL player Jack Zimmermann takes ownership of a sports bar in Pittsburgh and accidentally falls for the Penguins’ (closeted) new left winger.

A/N - just the start, I’d like to get around to more of this; the basic idea was an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia AU, but I couldn’t manage to make everyone that terrible so Jack owns and operates a gay sports bar and starts crushing on one of his patrons.

“Can’t believe you’ve owned this place since ’89.” Jack coughs, waving the dust away from his face. “Did you ever come back after we moved home?”

It’d be disingenuous to say Jack had been expecting anything other than cigars and whiskey when his father had invited him on a trip down to Pittsburgh to see Mario and glad-hand some Penguins sponsors. In fact, he’d kind of been looking forward to sulking and getting shit-faced, not limping around a condemned building dodging roaches and rats.

“It was an investment opportunity. That was the trend back then, famous athletes buying up restaurants and clubs — I had big plans for this building. Then your mother got pregnant and I realized I didn’t really give two shits about running a nightclub.”

“Realized you were pretty lazy, huh?”

As Bob laughs, Jack picks at the peeling, lacquered bartop, trying not to imagine how many decades of grime he’s just collecting under his nail, the situation made even more disgusting in such close proximity to the glittering gold championship ring his father had insisted he wear to their lunch meeting with the Penguins front-office suits. Jack flicks the gunk away as Bob levels him with a weighty look, hands braced in the air as if outlining a play and not offering a tour of a cobweb-filled dive.

“Here’s my thought,” Bob says. “The bar. It’s yours.”

Jack leans against the counter, taking some weight off his braced leg, and asks, “What’s mine?”

“This place,” Bob gestures around the room. “The whole building. It’s just sitting here, empty, the bar, the liquor license, there’s apartments and office space upstairs, we’d just need to do some renovations and —“

Jack can’t help himself. He barks a laugh and says, “I’m not moving to Pittsburgh.”

“How many times have you and I talked about opening a sports bar? I’d wanted to get this place fixed up so it’d be ready when you retired, but since the final — you could make it a gay bar, even, if you wanted!” Bob says quickly, offering another awkward olive branch. “A gay sports bar. I wouldn’t care.”

“A gay sports bar. In Pittsburgh,” Jack echoes, reaching for a chirp to defend himself, but he closes him mouth as he realizes a sports bar run by a Zimmermann might not be a terrible investment idea. “The building needs a ton of work,” Jack settles. “I just saw a rat.”

“That was a mouse,” Bob dismisses, not bothering to look at the rat still clearly in view. “Nothing that can’t be fixed. Got a dollar?”

Jack pats his pockets, finds a spare looney and hands it over. Bob doesn’t hesitate, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket to exchange for the coin.

“Congratulations. You are now the proud owner of,” Bob looks around helplessly. “I actually don’t know what they call this place now. A Bar?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” Jack swallows against the tightness in his throat, holding the deed carefully in his hands. “Thanks, Dad.”

Bob brings Jack in for a loose hug and they both ignore the soft squeaking coming from the backroom.

Five Years Later

There’s a man examining the announcement board in the vestibule, and Jack knows that posture: the forward hip cant, thick thighs, a small but definite bubble butt — guy’s a hockey player, and he has been for some time.

“Hey. Hi.”

Blondie spins around at Jack’s address. Not quite startled, but something close enough that Jack feels a twinge of guilt. “You interested in playing in our beer league? You look like you might know your way around a rink.”

The man quickly looks at his chest, as if expecting to find something displayed, but relaxes immediately. Jack fights a grin, he was once old hat at wandering into public spaces decked out in identifiable team merch.

“Bitty.” The man squares up to offer his hand; his accent is warm and distinctly southern, not at all what Jack was expecting. “You can call me Bitty.”

“Oh, with a nickname like that, you have to play, now, no excuses,” Jack gives Bitty’s arm a firm shake, surprised at how complementary his grip is; not just an overcompensating bro who’s walked into the wrong club.

“If only I had the time,” Bitty placates wryly. “Is this place new?”

“Been here a few years, but not long. How about you? Are you ‘new’? In town, I mean.”

“Moved for work,” Bitty’s smile is timid, eyes darting around the room looking for other patrons, up at the memorabilia and the various pennants. “First year. Slowly learning the area.”

Jack doesn’t miss the way Bitty’s eyes linger on the Pride flag draped from the second floor railing, but Bitty doesn’t mention it, and Jack isn’t in the business of prying.

“Let me be the first to welcome you to The Bar.”

“I saw that outside, do you not have a name?”

“We weren’t creative. The owner didn’t realize he was filling in the wrong line on the business license so we are literally called ‘The Bar’.”

“That’s actually pretty solid,” Bitty laughs, the sound lifting Jack’s mood easily. “I’ll have to make sure I come back and patron your establishment at a reasonable hour.”

“What you aren’t interested at getting sloshed before noon?”

Bitty laughs, and Jack is enough of an adult to recognize he’s got a tiny bit of a crush.

______

True to form, Bitty slowly becomes a feature of Jack’s early afternoons. The first few weeks, he does little more than quietly purchase a single domestic beer before tucking himself away in a corner booth, hunched over his phone, ball cap pulled low for discretion. Jack gives him space, and aside from a few curious regulars, Bitty is little more than another closeted young man seeking quiet sanctuary.

That is, until, hockey kicks up and Mario hooks Jack up with season tickets beside the bench. It’d taken time for Jack to get comfortable with being in an arena again, especially without the ability to step onto the ice himself, but he’s acclimated and learned to appreciate his new lot in life. He can be happy for his success and mourn the end of his career with equal measure.

(Doesn’t hurt he still gets asked for autographs on the regular.)

Bittle, the new forward traded out of Columbus, spins to whip the puck between Lundqvist’s thighs and the score is 3-2 with a minute left in the third. Jack stands to cheer with the crowd as Bittle’s pulled into a celly with his line mates, and the new angle gives Jack a good look at the man’s sunny face, complete with a familiar, bright smile and missing canine. Jack’s heart leaps into his throat when he realizes Bittle is ‘Bitty’, and Jack can’t help but cheer louder.

________

After the game, Jack does his homework. Pulls up stats pages and articles on Eric Bittle. Looking to link the quiet hottie from his bar with the energetic man he saw tonight on the ice. If Jack wasn’t in love before, he absolutely is after watching highlights from Bittle’s time in Columbus.

The next time Jack finds Bitty slipping into the bar, probably between practice and a good nap, Jack makes his move; filling a pint glass, wedging an orange slice on the rim, and adjusting his shirt before striding to the corner booth as easily as one can with a titanium femur.

“On the house,” Jack says, setting down the glass gently. “Choice goal, Tuesday. Great bounce.”

Bitty’s grateful smile falters, turning into something guarded.

“What goal?” Bitty asks, voice steady, and Jack’s immediately alerted to his misstep. Jack casts a careful eye around the room and doesn’t find anyone watching, kicking himself for not thinking this through. He’s used to playing this game with guys who aren’t quite comfortable, who might be visiting with the wrong people, but he hasn’t had to do the closeted-pro-athlete dance in a while.

“You know, I must have been mistaken.”

“Happens all the time. Very sweet of you, though.” Bitty apologizes and pushes away the beer, but Jack waves him off. It’s the least Jack can do for calling the guy out.

“I should have known,” Jack tries to recover. “You’ve still got all your chiclets. But, between you and me, Bittle’s a spitfire, eh? Crazy soft hands. I’d like to meet him someday.”

Jack whistles low, rapping his knuckles on the table before turning back to the bar, moving slowly enough he catches the way Bitty’s cheeks flare pink at the compliment.

About thirty minutes later, Jack, half focused on counting down the till, nearly misses Bitty’s exit. He looks up to offer a parting wave, and Bitty returns the gesture, flashing a shy, incomplete smile; one canine missing on the left side.

________

“Anything new to report? Sales look good, think you might be able to take some time off and visit your poor parents?”

Jack slides open a window to let some air into his bedroom, not for the first time wishing he’d taken the chance to tear out a wall and convert a corner of the top floor into a balcony. There’s still time — his father never seems to wary of giving Jack renovation loans — but Jack loves his condo and hates the idea of relocating again, even temporarily.

“New distillery opened, cut a deal on some local gin. We’re working on drink specials, if you have any ideas for names I’m open,” Jack eases onto the windowsill and looks down at the line of people waiting to get into the bar. “And I met someone. Think he might be a hockey player.”

“No shit? Beer-league?”

“NHL.” Jack corrects, an edge of caution in his tone he knows his father won’t misinterpret. “Started coming around a few months ago, gave me a fake name. Went to a game last week, scored right in front of me.”

“Well, you going to tell me who or am I going to have to guess?”

“He’s keeping to himself,” Jack holds the curtain steady to catch sight of a particularly flashy person in a glittering teal gown, texting Holster to snag a photo for the bar’s Instagram. “Don’t go hunting.”

“Well, if he needs any help you let me know.”

“What could you do?”

“I don’t know. Talk to . . . someone. I guess.”

“I’ll keep that under advisement.” Jack placates, smiling at the saucy photo Ransom texts back immediately of Holster lifting their favorite Drag Race runner-up above his head like something out of Dirty Dancing.

“So.”

“Mmm?”

“Does this mean you’ve got a little boyfriend, again?”

Jack leans out over the railing and tries to see if the universe has blessed him with a sighting of his favorite new Left Winger. Sadly, it’s Saturday evening and the Penguins are in Dallas, so no Eric tonight. 

“Working on it.” Jack offers, rapping his knuckles lightly against the window sill and trying not to think about the way Bittle’s face lights up when he sees that Jack is working. “Think I might really have a shot at something.”

“Well, you know what Wayne always says.”

“I do,” Jack breathes, pressing his forehead against the cool glass, taking in his one-of-a-kind view of the city. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Once he gets back.”

“ — You know, I’ve got the game on right now. I bet you $1000 I can tell who you’ve got the hots for. You have a specific type — ”

“Papa.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

“Thank you.”

“But it’s the kid we just got from the Blue Jackets, isn’t it. Bittle? You always like the fast ones — ”

“Goodnight, Papa.”

[thebrochtuarachs]

Something in the Rain - “Interruptions”

A/N: I hope you like it. As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome.

A modern day meet cute instance between Jamie and Claire. 

AO3  / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again : C4: Friday Lunch : C5: Finding Solid Ground : C6: Situations

XXXXX

“What should I wear tomorrow?” Claire texted Jamie on the eve of their first official date. She wanted to have an extra time to shop should the need there be. 

“What do ye mean?” he replied. 

“I want to dress appropriately to wherever you’re taking me, James Fraser.”

“I see. Smart casual would do. :) Sorry, I dinna thought of informing ye earlier but wouldn’t it be hilarious if you dressed to the nines and we’re going to some sort of cattle farm”

“Exactly.” Claire replied with the eye roll and laughing emoji. “Can I know where we’re going?”

“Don’t ye want to be surprised?” Jamie messaged back and saw three dots typing afterwards. 

“Hmm, thinking about it, yes. I’m excited to see the Jamie Fraser Date Experience.” 

“Hope it doesna disappoint. I, too, am excited to see the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience. ;)” he replied, knowing the use of emoji will make her smile as he rarely uses one.

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint, too.” she replied with a winky face too. “Are you back in Edinburgh?” 

“Just about to arrive home. I might just wash and then hit the sack.” 

“Rest then, Jamie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Thanks, Sassenach. I’ll message ye tomorrow when I’m on my way” 

----

It has been four weeks since their accidental meeting at the sidewalk. After countless run-ins, lunches, and an absurd amount of consumed soy chicken, the day of their date has arrived. 

When Claire accepted his invitation three days earlier, Jamie went into a slight overdrive trying to plan what to do. He meant to ask her out when he got back - but when he found out that she met Laoghaire, something pushed him to go for it before Claire had any wrong idea about his connection with Mrs. Fitz's granddaughter. 

His first idea was to go all out - book the fanciest rooftop restaurant in the city, get the best chef he knew, and plan a private dinner for them. Fancy and exclusive seemed like a safe choice and a sure hit. 

Then he thought about Claire and all their interactions so far - hole in the wall kitchens, asian street food, very light and casual. Jamie pondered on the idea and realized that jumping from that to an uber private dinner might not be the best, so he kept that card to play for later. 

It was then he decided to just take their casual lunch to a casual dinner. He’ll just exchange one-hour savory chicken meetings for a comfortable, popular city restaurant and longer conversations. He also decided on wearing more casual clothes, opting out of his office suits that she’d seen him often in for a navy turtleneck, khaki pants and white sneakers. 

Arriving at her front door, Jamie took one last stock of himself, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness, and knocked on her door. 

What he saw next knocked him out. 

Claire opened the door wearing a burgundy sleeveless jumpsuit that was both modest and sexy, yet casual enough. Pairing the ensemble with black heels, the garment hugged Claire’s curves in just the right places that left Jamie staring for a hot minute. 

“Hi” Claire broke through his thoughts and he remembered his manners.

“Hi, Claire. Wow, ye look beautiful” 

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. Going to stop traffic pairing blue on blue like that” 

“Ye ready to go?” 

“Yeah. Are we going to walk?” She asked as she locked the door to her place. 

“Yes, I hope ye dinna mind. Ye live close by all the nice places to eat.” 

“No, I don’t mind and also, very true.” 

It was a short 10-minute walk before they arrived at Howie’s Restaurant. 

“Howie’s. Interesting choice.” Claire commented as they walked to the hostess. 

“We can go somewhere if ye dinna like it here.” Jamie offered. 

“No, I actually quite like it here” she had to stifle a laugh at how adorable she found his tenseness was.

The hostess pointed them to the bar to wait for their table. Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Jamie ordered a light whisky for some liquid courage. 

When the bartender served his drink, a familiar bloke sat beside him and greeted him. 

“Jamie Fraser, hello!” 

Jamie gulped the drink and turned to the man beside him. “Joe! It’s good to see ye, man!” 

The two shook hands and exchanged more pleasantries. 

“I’m actually meeting my wife.” He looked at his watch and then to the front door. “Oh, good, she just arrived!” Joe quickly waved her in and introduced her. 

“Jamie Fraser, meet Gail Abernathy. Gail, Jamie.” he paused when Jamie extended a hand to her. “He was the guy who volunteered at our center two weeks ago. All the kids were just drawn to him.” 

“No wonder.” Gail observed, her comment earning a jokey sigh from her husband. “So, Jamie, what brings you to this side of town on a Saturday evening?” 

Jamie was about to share that he was on a date, but then right on cue, Claire arrives to greet the trio. 

“Hello, everyone!” 

“Claire!” Gail squealed as she gave her friend a tight hug. 

“Lady Jane, you clean up good!” Joe remarked. 

As they finished their greetings, Jamie quietly whispered to Claire to order any drink she’d like. The husband-and-wife duo caught on and couldn’t resist to pry. 

“You guys on a date?” Joe asked frankly. 

“First one, actually.” Jamie replied as Gail raised an eyebrow while Claire returned to his side, drink in tow. 

Joe leaned closer to Jamie and pretended to whisper in his ear, “My date advice is don’t challenge her or don’t allow her to challenge you to a drinking game. You will lose” 

Claire groaned while the rest laughed at her expense. 

Just then, the hostess approached the pairs and told them their tables were ready. They exchanged their goodbyes and were led to their areas. 

 ---

Jamie had been a perfect gentleman. 

He opened her seat, allowed her to order and choose whatever she wanted from the menu (They both went to the steak and fries!), and is making just the right amount of banter. 

Claire actually liked this dining choice - Howie’s comfort food really brought out the easy ambiance and conversation to their date. She didn’t mind going to a fancier place but she knew that if they were there, things would be too formal, delicate and shy. This was much better and she’d Jamie props for this. 

Moreover, what made this official first date a little bit more fun is much of the first date awkwardness is gone. They’ve covered much of the basics about their life during their lunches - their families (both their parents are alive and have retired away from the city, Claire’s an only child while Jamie had an older sister), how they chose their careers and where they went to school (Jamie is Oxford Law while Claire is Cambridge Med, the school rivalry something they joke about), their current or main interests (horses for Jamie, herbs for Claire) and many other things.

So the evening was more or less less a continuation on what they’ve normally done - catching up on their days, sharing an interesting story at work or a photo they found on the web, asking more random questions - the only difference now is, there’s a more clear and intentional purpose for knowing these things and whole lot of shameless flirting in between.  

Forty-five minutes in and halfway through their steak, a man approached their table. “Dr. Beauchamp, it’s nice to see you here!” 

Jamie and Claire looked up and saw a slender man, not much older than they are with grey eyes. 

“Tom, hi!” Claire swallowed a fry and grabbed a cloth to clean her mouth. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening but I saw you from the bar and just had to pass by and greet you. I mean at least, this time, not at the hospital or during check ups” 

Claire smiled and made the introductions. “Oh, I’m sorry. Tom Christie, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, Tom. He is a teacher at the public elementary school. We met when I did the annual medical checkup for the kids. Also, I’m the peds of his kids, Allan and Malva.” 

The mention of the word kids made Jamie release the tight fist he didn’t know he held beneath the table. He didna like the way the man eyed Claire but it was not his place - not yet at least.

Jamie gave the man a nod but ultimately wished he’d go. When neither said or did anything, Tom said his farewells and confirmed his kids check-up schedule in two weeks. 

---

They decided to share a slice of chocolate cake and one last glass of wine each to cap off their dinner. 

As they waited for their order to arrive, they got startled with a loud noise. 

“Jamie, is that ye?!” one man said.

“Oh, heavens, tis!” another man replied. 

Jamie could not hide the embarrassment he felt as the two blokes approached their table. Once they noticed Claire, they did not waste time introducing themselves. 

“Hello, I havena seen ye before. My name is Angus” the thin, beardly man extended his hand. “And ye are?” 

“Hi, I’m Claire.” she reached out but eyeing Jamie for confirmation that he knew these people. 

“I’m Rupert.” the other man said. “We’re Jamie’s cousins” 

“Distant cousins” Jamie retorted back. “What brings ye here?” he asked while glaring at them to leave. 

“We have a double date” Angus shared, pointing to the table where two ladies were indeed waiting for them. 

“Then I suggest you return to your dates then.” Jamie replied then proceeded to converse with the two men in Gaelic. 

When the conversation was apparently over, Rupert sighed and turned to Claire. “It was nice meeting ye, lass. Please ask Jamie here to bring around one of our office events and meet the rest of the clan. I’m sure they’d love to get to know ye as well.” 

Jamie stood up quickly and had to push the two back to their table before they said anything else that may ruin the evening. 

“I’m sorry about them, Claire. They are quite the more, erm, rowdy members of my family.” he said as he sat down again. 

“It’s alright. They seem really nice” Claire said, smiling. “So, clan huh? Just how big is that family of yours really?” She brought the conversation back up again hoping it would ease his discomfort.

Jamie visibly relaxed and then, they were back in their bubble, “How many generations back?” 

---

Desert went by swimmingly with the chocolate cake and red wine proving to be a winning combo. After an almost three-hour dinner, Jamie asked for the check and insisted on paying for the meal. 

 They were one their way out of the restaurant then Claire was greeted by incoming guests. 

“Dr. Beauchamp!” 

Claire turned to look who called her. “Oh, please call me Claire. It’s nice seeing you here” 

“Likewise. Please call me Meredith.” she quickly signaled to the man beside her. “This is my husband, Derek.” 

“Of course, Dr. Shepherd.” Claire politely acknowledged him with the man insisting to be called casually as well. 

“Anyway, I’d just like to say that I just read your latest paper in the Journal of Pediatrics. I look forward to hearing all about it in your visit to Seattle.”

Claire graciously accepted the complement with a smile and bow. “Thank you. We’ll catch up in Seattle in a few weeks, then.” Remembering her companion, she turned to her back where Jamie was patiently waiting for her. “Oh my, where are my manners. Meredith, Derek, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, this is Meredith and Derek Shepherd. They’re visiting doctors from Grey Sloan Memorial in Seattle.” 

Jamie returned the pleasantries and shook hands with the doctors. 

“Alright, I’ll let you guys go on with your evening. Sorry for the sudden call out” Meredith said. 

“It’s no problem at all. A good night to you both as well.” Claire replied as she looked at Jamie and motioned for them to head out. 

--

Once they we're out of the restaurant, Jamie lets out a light laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” she asked. 

“I was just thinking that I’d never unexpectedly run into that many acquaintances in one evening, let alone in a date!” he shared, chuckling more as the thought further sank in his mind and Claire joined him in his mood. “It isna exactly part of the Jamie Fraser Date Experience” 

“I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t be, there’s nothing to apologize for. I mean, who would’ve thought, right?” Jamie retorted, his humor infectious. 

She was touched by his honesty, not just with the situation but the entire night. He was caring, makes great conversation, and is always authentic with who and how he carries himself. She cannot make a full judgement of his character yet, as that is something she is still getting to know, but she likes what she is seeing so far. 

Taking a bold step, she wrapped her arm around his as they started walking side by side back to her place. 

Jamie looked at her hand, smiled and hoped it conveyed to Claire the joy he felt at the moment. “Is this part of the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience?” he asked nonchalantly. 

“Only to a rare few” she said as she slightly tugged him closer. 

The walk back seemed shorter than the one they did earlier. Before they knew it, they were already standing in front of Claire’s building. 

“Oh, before I forget!” Jamie exclaimed as he fished out his car keys and a grey miata lit up open beside them. He pulled out an exquisite posey bouquet of red roses and handed it to her. “These are for you.” 

Claire took them and smelt it, “The flowers are beautiful” 

“I hope ye had a good time, Sassenach” 

“I had a great time, Jamie. Thank you” 

After a beat, Jamie took a deep breath, gathering strength to what he was about to say next. “Claire, we’ve known each other for about a month now, became unexpected friends in a short amount of time, had our lunches and now, our first date. I hope ye dinna think this is too forward of me but...I like you and I would like to see you again or keep seeing you, I guess.“ They we’re holding each other’s gazes as he laid out his intentions and waited for her reply. 

Claire sighed and was just amazed by him. Her previous encounters are usually with male friends who constantly hang out with her then a few months down, asks her “what they are” as if she had to know or feel that something was happening from the get go. So, Jamie's forthrightness and old-fashionedness was truly refreshing and she was more than willing to give it a go. 

As a final check to their chemistry, she stepped closer, tilted her head and leaned in to him. Quickly responding to her actions, he held her face on one hand and placed the other on her hips to pull her closer. He followed her lead until their lips crashed into each other in a single deep kiss.

In that moment, both Jamie and Claire knew something big shifted in the dynamic of their relationship. 

This was not usual. 

This is different.

And oh so good.

They felt each other smile against their lips just as they pulled apart for air. 

“I like you too, Jamie and yes”

--

A/N: Maybe not the first date you might've thought of but hope you liked it! As always, thank you for reading! Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. If there's a story or scene you'd like to know, feel free to drop it! :)This was my original idea for the date but as I was writing it, I was going back and forth about scraping the entire thing and think about something else. But the original thought kept developing in my mind so I went back and stuck with it and cross-fingers, hoped it worked and made sense. I knew she had doctor friends but adding the Greys Anatomy characters just came about since I've been binging the show and thought it'd be fun to crossover. Hope you're keeping safe and in line to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 shot! See you all in the next one!

[fanfic-corner]

Bisexual Dean

9/12/20 - Is Dean canonically bisexual? That’s a fun question (it depends on where you live, I suppose). Anyway, nothing is stopping you from reading these beautiful fics involving a very bi main character.

Tabula Rasa by Dangerousnotbroken on AO3. (78,340 words).

Tags: Writer!Castiel, Bartender!Dean, Past Relationship, Magic, Canon Typical Violence, Mentions of Alcoholism, Mentions of Past Child Neglect, Mental Illness, Witches, Ghosts, Bisexual Dean, Bisexual Castiel, Angst, Slow Burn, Memory Loss.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Once upon a time, Castiel Novak had everything. He had a happy home life, a full scholarship, and, if he played his cards right, a promising journalism career. And on top of all of that, he had Dean. Then tragedy struck, as it tends to do, and Castiel lost everything. At thirty six, he’s got none of those things. He’s got no family to speak of. He’s got a job investigating purportedly true tales of the supernatural for a magazine no one reads. And worst of all he hasn’t seen Dean in nearly twenty years. So when research for an article turns him on to a witch who apparently grants wishes in exchange for stories, Castiel figures it’s worth the risk. If making a deal with a witch can get him Dean back, what has he got to lose?

Notes: This was absolutely amazing; written beautifully, with a fantastic plot.

Take You To The Country by almaasi on AO3. (18,987 words).

Tags: Historical AU, Propositions, Eloping, Newspapers, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Misunderstandings, Pining, First Kiss, Established Relationship, Running Away Together, Moving In Together, Childhood Friends, Marriage Proposal, Businessman Dean, Farmer Dean, Emotional Dean, Bisexual Dean, Domestic Dean Winchester, Clockmaker Castiel, Autistic Castiel, Frustrated Sam.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: A Dean/Cas 1950s AU. Dean reads an elopement proposal in the town's local newspaper, written by some old soul in love with their best friend. He's mid-way through expressing to his brother how beautiful he finds it when Dean realises the proposal is for him.

Notes: I love Sam’s subsequent letters to the newspapers at the end, it was just a really good idea done really well.

A Little Slice Of Heaven by onamelancholyhill on AO3. (112,265 words).

Tags: Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Falling in Love, POV Dean Winchester, POV Third Person, POV Castiel, Bakery and Coffee Shop AU, Episode: s4e17 It’s a Terrible Life, Alternate Universe - Human, Explicit Sexual Content, Bisexual Dean, Idiots in Love.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Jim Morrison once said, “The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are.” That was Castiel Novak’s motto in life, and the reason why he accepted his grandmother's inheritance and took the responsibility it implied. Dean Winchester, a remarkable accountant at Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc., however, had other priorities. He lived to serve, hidden in a mask that didn’t allow him to be honest with himself, but lonesome and boring. When destiny made their paths cross, in a less than promising way, with Dean as the instigator and Castiel as his victim, Dean’s mind started wandering, in between pies and cakes, coffees and muffins... What if Mr. Morrison was right? After all, as the guy used to say, "there can’t be any large-scale revolution, until there’s a personal revolution first."

Notes: This was so cute and I adored the plot! It’s making me want to rewatch It’s A Terrible Life but I’ll live.

Just Like You by imherecauseimnotallthere98 on AO3. (35,717 words).

Tags: Homophobia, Homophobic John, Hurt Dean Winchester, Protective Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Protective Castiel, BAMF Castiel, Protective Sam Winchester, Angry John, Angry Dean Winchester, Angry Sam Winchester, Protective Bobby Singer, Awesome Bobby, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Scared Dean, John Being an Asshole, Swearing, Bisexual Dean, Pansexual Castiel, Past Child Abuse, Accidental Outing, Death Threats, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: When John shows up at their door in the middle of the night, the Winchesters and Cas start looking into who or what could have brought him back. Meanwhile, Dean struggles to keep his relationship with Cas a secret from his father, with some help from Sam. The tension rises between the Winchesters as Dean shows John that he is no longer the obedient little soldier he once was, and tries to establish himself as an equal with his dad.

Notes: Bobby and Sam are icons in this and should have followed through on their threats. That will be all.

Walk Through Fire For You by purple_charlie on AO3. (2,332 words).

Tags: John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, Angst, Pride, Marijuana Use, Polyamory, Gay Cas, Bisexual Dean, Bisexual Gabriel, Everyone is Queer.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Boyfriend. The word still feels foreign in Dean’s mouth, still brings back echoes of John Winchester’s thinly-veiled (if even that) homophobia. "Man up, don’t be a sissy, I didn’t raise a fairy". It’s a swollen blister in the back of Dean’s mind, throbbing with pain whenever a stranger’s eyes linger too long on Cas’ hand in his, whenever a waitress double-takes at how close they sit in diner booths. But here, dirty dancing with Cas in a warehouse full of other queer folks, Dean wants to shout from the rooftops- I’m Dean Winchester, I drive the baddest car in town, I lift heavy things for a living, and this is my boyfriend.

Notes: This was so sweet it nearly made me start crying - Cas deserved to be told that he was loved!

Bottom’s Up by mnwood on AO3. (28,103 words).

Tags: Fluff and Crack, Wing Kink, Domestic, Smut, Bisexual Dean, Resolved Sexual Tension, Established Relationship, Wedding Planning, Partying, Weddings.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Sam could’ve kissed them both when he got to the bunker one day to find a string of clothing (his heart nearly burst with hope when he saw the abandoned flannel and trench coat) leading to a very naked pile of limbs tangled on the couch. Just kidding. Of course it wasn’t the couch. Sam always imagined it as the couch because the fact that he actually found them on the dining room table had tainted the happiness of the memory.

Notes: Jesus, I did not need that level of detail into Dean and Cas’ sex life (but it was very funny).

Stories Are Made Of Mistakes by wildhoneypie on AO3. (4,942 words).

Tags: Human Castiel, Diners, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Dean, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Case Fic, Domestic, Didn’t Know They Were Dating.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: In which Cas is human and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: clothing, Mythbusters, moisturizer, and Greek food. Dean is…Dean and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: boyfriends, language, how to tell your friend that he’s a walking miracle, and when not to quip.

Notes: This was so cute and I live for human Cas. I also love the recurring ‘no fucking quipping’ joke in this, although the idea of Cas swearing broke me a bit!

And this one, which has no Destiel content but a very bi Dean:

Uniform of a Winchester by monsterfuckerdean on AO3. (20,591 words).

Tags:  Canon Compliant, Missing Scene, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bad Parent John Winchester, Young Sam Winchester, Young Dean Winchester, Pre-Season 1, Episode: s5e2 Free to Be You and Me, Angst and Feels, Queer Themes, Character Study, Diners, Sibling Love, Family, Friendship, HBO SPN.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: We all know the story of the amulet Dean wears around his neck. But what about everything else he wears?

Notes: Okay, I have to admit that I am loving the HBO SPN vibes even though I am fully aware that if it was a real show I wouldn’t watch it. This is so good though, and the writing is gorgeous!

My friend came out to me as bisexual this week, and paired with the mess that is the Spanish dub, I thought this would be nice as a little reminder that it doesn’t matter how the show ended, because the fans will always be here and we will always be supportive. Anyway, enjoy!

[ikea-sims]

The Emptiness of The Sims 4 (Rant!)

Let's face it;

The Sims 4 as a game is lacking in a lot of ways, yes, especially when compared with the old games of the franchise and we know it! We have known it for years, and have been demanding better from the Sims Team!!!!

From a baby update, to skin tones, to the return of old sims (Bonehilda I’m so happy you’re back sweetie!) the list is never ending!

We all want, nay, we DESERVE better!

However, I’m here to talk about something different! The truth is The Sims 4 could be a very good stand-alone game! It has real potential! It has charm (in its own little way)! It has........................ uhm well it has something. And it could become even better!

If only it was shown as much love and care by EA as its predecessors............ BUT SO FAR IT HAS NOT BEEN SHOWN THAT LOVE!

And I’m not here to discuss real issues like the baby update, the return of the color wheel and the serious lack of LORE... 

No.

I’m here to discuss something that has been really grinding my gears the last few weeks if you will:

The E M P T I N E S S and lack of sims (and lack of variety in those sims)!

Now, I don’t know about you by I play the game mostly vanilla, I only have a handful of custom content items and MC Command Center installed. And it really rustles my jimmies that this game is so EMPTY and at times even boring! 

And before you say: 

“but Ikea, the game is empty so it can run on all computers!” 

I KNOW. I know how hard it is to run the sims on an old computer that lags like crazy everytime I move the mouse, that sounds as loud as a jet engine while it struggles to load the gallery and that has a brain fart everytime I press the ‘M’ key accidentally. 

I am aware that the Sims Team is making a conscious effort to make the game light so it can run on lower-end computers. But here’s the thing right... The problem I present to you could be easily solved... and it has not been!

Let me show you what I mean:

When you buy the Base Game, you get the following (these are total numbers accounting for Willow Creek and Oasis Springs):

- 32 residential lots (26 of which with actual pre-built houses and 6 empty ones)

- 10 community lots

- 8 households (totalling 26 sims)

                - BFF (3 sims)

                - Caliente (4 sims)

                - Goth (4 sims)

                - Landgraabs (3 sims)

                - Pancakes (2 sims)

                - Roomies (4 sims)

                - Spencer-Kim-Lewis (5 sims)

                - Zest (1 sim)

This means that out of 26 houses, 8 of them are occupied.

Now this is not bad at all, especially when you consider that the DLCs add a lot more to the game! 

However... when you look at the potential this game has to be better, it's quite sad that, even now, 6 years after the launch of the game we still have so little sims and so much empty space.

And if you add to it the fact that the game auto-populates by auto-generating sims to fill up the world and fulfill roles such as:

- food stall vendors;

- bartenders;

- plumbers;

- firefighters;

- pet adoption agents;

- and even coworkers in active careers...

it suddenly becomes much clearer that the game can run just fine with a few - or rather a lot - more sims added to it... Because guess what, when it auto-populates, the game generates 30+ sims to fill said roles!

But, of course, no one wants stinky auto-generated sims with weird make-up and mismatched clothing (most of the time, the actual townies already push the limits a little too far���) and this only gets worse if you have custom content installed in your game!

After all, why should we settle for empty worlds and stinky townies when the game has the potential for more? Why doesn’t the Sims Team give us more sims and more to play with? 

And now this is the part where you say, 

"But Ikea! The Sims Team is busy making more DLCs for us! They can't be filling the world up with new sims for us to play with!"

And you’re absolutely correct! They have better things to do with their time than to spend an eternity in CAS creating new sims!

But, funnily enough, they don't have to! Want to know why?

Because they have them by the DOZENS hidden away in the Sims Gallery!!!!!!

And no, I’m not telling them to use our fellow simmers creations. Those are theirs and theirs alone and to profit off of other people’s work is wrong! 

No, dear friends, I’m referring to the dozens of sims they created for promotional materials: trailers, game covers, blog posts...! Most (if not all) of them are in the gallery and up for grabs when they could be IN THE GAME for us to use!

And most of them have backstories and small amounts of lore! What the base game townies are lacking, those sims are providing! There we have secret agents, ex-mega famous band members, style icons, police officers, childhood best friends, actual couples, children, teens... The list goes on!

Okay... we have new sims. Now we have to painstakingly go through the gallery and the Maxis account/hashtag to find them and slowly download each and every one of them... Wonderful. All of this for a handful of new sims. Knowing EA they probably don’t have any skills, careers or even relationships with each other... and I’m going to need to add those manually too... Great.

Oh hoo hoo my dear simmers! You don’t have to! All of that will conveniently be done for you! How, you may ask? Well maybe you should check my next post (and my new blog!) for some answers! 😉

I'm so excited to share this with you I hope you all like it! Stay awesome and keep playing, simmers!

Much love,

- Ikea (@BetterSims4)

[let-it-raines]

CS JJ Day 13: The Spectacular Ms. Swan (1/1)

1959. New York City.

Women aren’t supposed to have their own voices and opinions, and they certainly aren’t supposed to be funny. Emma Swan, however, has a lot of opinions and is damn funny. She also doesn’t care what anyone thinks. 

Except maybe Killian Jones, a comic who has been her supporter since the day she bailed him out of jail after one of his comedy routines. 

Rating: Teen (language mostly)

a/n: I wrote this one-shot last month after watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and told @shireness-says that I was determined to get it finished before my baby showed up, and she said that baby girl would probably show up early out of spite. She didn’t and @shireness-says doesn’t get bragging powers about being prophetic or something. ❤️

Thanks to the admin at @csjanuaryjoy for keeping this GREAT event running!

Found on AO3 | Here |

-/-

It started on accident.

Really, most things in her life do.

There was the getting pregnant at seventeen and then having to get married because it was 1952 and all sins could be forgiven if she was married to the man she slept with.

“He’s a good man,” her mother had said. “A wealthy man. You’ll never have to work a day in your life. Think about the child. Think about your reputation.”

Then there was being a mother and learning that she actually liked it even if she did have things she wanted to do with her life beside spend her days cooking and cleaning and reading every book in existence to Henry until she had to begin making up her own stories to fuel her son’s seemingly never-ending creativity and imagination.

There’s nothing and no one in the world who Emma loves more than Henry, and that will never change.

But he certainly wasn’t in her plan.

Neither was actually falling in love with Neal or enjoying their life together, at least for the first few years. Because, well, he wanted her to be a housewife who always wore heels and measured her waist and her thighs every day to ensure she didn’t gain weight, and Emma much preferred wearing flat shoes and eating a hot dog at a Yankees game instead of a salad at home or some overpriced restaurant. So, of course, like any man who had a wife who didn’t fit into his carefully drawn out lines, Neal wandered away with woman after woman and always came back…to his secretary.

Emma saw them in her bed in the middle of the day, and as much as she had turned a blind eye in the past, she couldn’t do that anymore. She didn’t say anything that day. What she did, instead, was drop Henry off at her parents’ apartment, go to the Rabbit Hole downtown, get drunk off her ass, and then get on stage and tell a room full of strangers the very intimate details of her life.

They laughed.

And laughed and laughed, and a woman sitting in the back of the room came up to Emma with a business card in hand and said to call her tomorrow when she was the slightest bit more sober because she thought Emma had a career in comedy.

So Emma called.

And now, three years later her son is seven, she’s divorced (thank goodness, she thinks, even if her mother is still disappointed in her), and Emma is traveling around the United States as the opening comedic act for the singer Sky Manhattan, which might be the most ridiculous stage name Emma has ever heard.

But she doesn’t care. Not at all. She doesn’t care about stage names or what kind of airplane or train she’s traveling on. She doesn’t care if she’s wearing the newest brand of shoes (she is) or the most on trend dresses (she’s got those too) with a fabulous collection of hats. All she cares about is that she has this thing that’s hers and hers alone. No one can take it from her or threaten to take her to court over it (well, actually they can, but not if she watches her language while on stage) and it’s hers. It’s not because of her parents or her shitty ex-husband who dumped his secretary for a woman who works at the Revlon counter or anyone else.

It’s because she’s damn funny, and she’s accidentally made a career of it.

She’s not making much money and still can’t afford her own place, but it’s a start. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

Oh, she cares about Henry. That’s the one thing she cares about most of all, and if he asked her to give it all up, she would. He’s the only one she’d do that for, and he’s also the only one who wouldn’t ask. Her mother thinks this is worse than getting pregnant out of wedlock, her father happened to walk into a show where she made a joke about her parents’ sex life, and the both of them have repeatedly asked her why she’s doing this and to stop doing this.

Now, they support her, but they also don’t understand. They both come from wealthy families, her mother the heiress to an oil fortune and her father a lawyer, and they’ve never understood why she’d want to go up on stage and tell crude jokes for a living.

(They’re not all crude, but it does happen sometimes. Okay, most of the time. It depends on the venue. But she’s gotten smart about that because jail is not something that appeals to her.)

But this is what she does, and when she’s finished touring, she’s going to fly back to New York, settle into her parent’s five-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, and spend all of the time that she can with her son. Neal never wants to watch him anyway despite his custody threats, so Henry’s always with her parents when she’s gone.

(“It’s not the man’s job to watch his child,” Neal says. “I’ll take him for a beer when he’s old enough.”)

The only bad thing about her job is leaving Henry, but they talk on the phone every night. She’s doing this so she can be happy, like she wants him to be happy when he gets older and is chasing his own dreams, and so maybe one day she can have a little something for herself that she didn’t have handed to her.

“Emma,” Ruby yells out, “be ready in five minutes. And remember today is a clean show, and what’s our number one rule for clean shows?”

“Don’t say ‘fuck.’”

“And our second rule?”

“Don’t say ‘fuck.’”

“You’re a genius, darling,” Ruby sighs, blowing Emma a kiss before walking out of the room with her heels clacking behind her. “And I’m the best manager on the planet.”

That quip was for Sky’s manager to hear, and Emma has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Whale will kill her if she laughs at that. Or cut her set time in half. Emma would prefer neither, but she guesses dying won’t really be that bad.

-/-

She only says fuck once during her set, it’s a complete accident, and only two people walked out of the restaurant.

Emma would call that a success.

-/-

“With olives please,” Emma tells the bartender, holding up two fingers.

“You know, you can simply order a bowl of olives, and they’ll bring it to you.”

A smile creeps up on Emma’s face, and she swivels in her chair at the sound of a familiar and far too cheeky British accent. “Killian Jones, as I live and breathe.”

“Emma Swan, as I breathe to live.”

“Oof, not one of your best jokes.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.” He leans in to press his lips against her cheek, one side and then the other. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“At a bar in a hotel in Miami? The better question is what are you doing here?”

Killian scoffs and settles down on the barstool next to her, shrugging his suit jacket off and handing it to her. When she raises her brow, he nods down at her lack of sleeves on her dress and all of her pebbled goosebumps. “You’re chilled, and I don’t think your boy will take it well if you freeze to death on my watch.”

“It’s Florida in May. I’m not going to freeze to death. But aren’t you a gentleman?”

“I’m always a gentleman.” He turns away from her quickly and holds up a finger to get the bartender’s attention. “Can you get me a glass of whatever your best rum is and a bowl of olives? And put her drinks on my tab.”

“You are not paying, Jones.”

“I am paying. It’s not often that I see my favorite comedian.”

“You’re full of shit if you say I’m your favorite comedian.”

“Well, if we’re being technical, I’m my own favorite comedian, but I felt that was a little too much to say. I’m trying to be less of an asshole.”

Emma leans her head back and laughs before tugging Killian’s suit jacket around her shoulders. This bar is cold, probably to combat the sweltering heat outside, but she’d never admit that to him.

“I don’t think you can be less of an asshole. Being an asshole is who you are.” The bartender puts their drinks and a bowl of olives in front of them, and Emma immediately pulls the olives off the toothpick in her martini. “I’m the opening act for Sky Manhattan. That’s why I’m here. We’re on tour.”

“What kind of name is Sky Manhattan?”

“It’s his stage name.”

“Fucking dumb stage name.”

“You’re so eloquent with words.”

Killian winks. “That’s why they pay me to talk on television.”

“They pay you to talk on television because you’re funny and you look like a man in every catalog on the shelf at Bergdorf.”

“You flatter me.”

“I try. I want your ego to become so big that your head explodes and you can no longer pop up in random places.” She takes another sip of her drink and leans over to gently push his shoulder. “Seriously. What are you doing in Florida? You live in Manhattan in a fancy apartment.”

“Says the trust fund baby who lives with her parents in their fancy apartment.”

“Hey.”

Killian holds his hands up in mock apology all the while his grin reaches from ear to ear so that his eyes crinkle and the blue of his eyes shines under the dim light of the bar. “I’m working on a show here. It’s only temporary. My contract is up at the end of June, and I’ve had this lovely place to call home for a month already.”

“You’re staying here?”

“Aye.”

“In the land of pastels and peppy waitstaff? Where the bathrooms are pink?”

“It’s a nice change of pace, and since I’m not paying for it, I don’t give a damn.”

“That’s more like you,” Emma laughs, twisting a little further on her stool and leaning into his space. “I’m going to be here for two weeks. Why don’t you come to a show? I think you’ll really like my routine and the guy singing after me is pretty good too.”

“Is that all you have to convince me?”

Her heart picks up its pace as Killian’s hand brushes over her thigh, a light and fleeting touch. “I can get you a free drink and all of the shrimp cocktails you want.”

“I was going to say no, but the shrimp cocktails really do it for me.” He leans in, closer now, and Emma very nearly closes her eyes in anticipation. Of what? She knows, but she won’t even let her mind go there. “I have to run to work. Why don’t you meet me here Saturday night? I’ll take you to dinner and show.”

“I’m working Saturday night.”

“We’ll go after.”

And with that, Killian Jones is throwing cash onto the bar top for a tip and then walking away, leaving his jacket with her.

Damn, she missed him.

-/-

“How was your last day of school, kid?”

“We had cupcakes, and I had two.”

“Two?”

“I wanted three, but Mrs. Horowitz wouldn’t let me have another one.”

“I bet she didn’t want you to spoil your dinner.”

“Cupcakes could have been dinner.”

Emma laughs and stands from her bed, pulling the cord on her phone with her. “Cupcakes are not dinner. Has Grandpa been feeding you cupcakes for dinner?”

“Nope. But he does give me chocolate.”

“Ah, of course he does. I’m going to be home to see you next week before we go to the Catskills for a few days and then I go to Vegas. Are you excited?” There’s no answer on the other end of the line, just a bit of static. “Henry? Kid? Kid?”

“His friend Avery is here, Mrs. Cassidy,” Ashely says over the phone. “He went to play.”

“It’s Swan, Ashley,” Emma huffs. She doesn’t want to snap at Ashely because she’s a sweet girl and helps with Henry far more than she should as her parents’ housekeeper. “Neal and I are divorced, and I changed my last name to my middle name.”

“I have to go, Mrs. Cassidy,” Ashely mumbles. “The boys are climbing on your father’s bookshelves.”

At that, there’s no one on the other end of the line, and Emma doesn’t get the chance to speak to her parents or tell Henry she loves him.

This is her life.

-/-

“Ruby Lucas, I am not going on a date with someone you met today.”

“Why not? He’s from New York, is here on a trip, and he’s cute. I think it could be a good match, and it’s been so long since you dated, which is different than sex, mind you.” “I’ve been divorced for two years and on the road for most of that. I don’t think many men want to date a divorced mother who is a stand-up comedian. Half of them think I’m a witch.”

“That’s because men are idiots.” “And yet you want me to date one?”

“One date,” Ruby sighs, slipping on her heels and smoothing out her skirt. “He’s got money, and he knows people who can sponsor you. Think of it as a business dinner and not a date.” “Well, I can do business dinners, but I can’t tonight. I’ve got plans after the show.”

“The dinner is before the show. What the hell do you have going on after the show? I don’t have anything booked for you.”

Emma turns from Ruby and fixes her blouse, tucking it in before raising her finger and brushing away the red lipstick that’s strayed to her skin. “Killian Jones is in town. He’s taking me to dinner.”

“Ah.”

“What?”

“Well, if you’d told me the man you were sleeping with was in town, I would have changed the date of your dinner with Walsh despite me thinking you need to go on more actual dates and not just sexual rendezvous.”

“I am not sleeping with Killian.” “Please. You can lie to me about a lot of things, but I know when you’re fucking someone.”

“I have never slept with him.” She turns around so Ruby can see her eyeroll. “He’s a friend. He helps me with my routines when we’re in the same city, and he sends Henry an absolutely useless gift at least three times a year. So we’re going to dinner to catch up, and maybe I’ll get some new material for you.”

“I wouldn’t care about new material if you’d fuck Jones.”

“I’m going to fire you as my manager.”

“Never, darling. Now, tits up. You’re meeting Walsh Osbourne in the bar at six. Sweet talk him until you get a meeting for some commercial auditions.”

“I’m doing this for commercial auditions?” “We’re doing this to get our foot in the door for television. You can’t hop straight to one of the variety shows your lover Jones is on.”

“I will stab you with my heel.”

-/-

“Yeah, my son is really into baseball. I got him some tickets to the batting cage and a new bat for Christmas. He – ”

“You’re not funny,” Walsh mumbles after interrupting her in the middle of her answer to his question about what her son is interested in. “I thought you were supposed to be funny. What’s the point of dating you if you’re not funny? I knew women couldn’t be comedians and that you were just a nice piece of ass and a good pair of tits.”

It takes two seconds for Emma to pick up her glass of wine and slosh it across the table at Walsh. She’s been sitting at this table for fifteen minutes, and she doesn’t plan on sitting here any longer.

“Fuck you.”

“You’re also apparently a bitch,” Walsh spits out as she stands. “I have connections, and you can say goodbye to all of them.”

“I don’t need the connections of a sexist pig who doesn’t think women are capable of being funny. I can guarantee you, Mr. Osbourne, that we are, and if you take offense to women not laughing at your jokes or not telling their own jokes all the time, maybe you should look in the mirror and figure out that you’re the one who couldn’t tell a joke to save his life.” “Fuck you. I hope your performance is a failure tonight.” “It’ll certainly be better than yours.”

-/-

She kills it in her set. She’s fucking spectacular and funny, and everyone who thinks otherwise can screw themselves.

Everyone who thinks she has to spend her days only being funny and coming up with jokes can screw themselves as well.

-/-

She sees Killian slip out right before she closes and introduces Sky.

-/-

“Was I funny?” Emma asks, tugging Killian’s suit jacket around her shoulders. She was going to give it back to him tonight, but it’s chilly again. Plus, he’s wearing a different fitted black suit tonight, and he doesn’t need it back right now.

“Pardon?” “How’d you like my set? I know you were watching.” “Was I?” he ponders, tapping his finger against his lips. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You’re being an ass, and you said you were trying to stop that.”

His brows move across his forehead, that same cheeky smile still on his lips. “I may have been there.”

“And what’d you think?”

“Buy me dinner first, and then I’ll tell you.”

They go to a restaurant that doesn’t seem to believe in white-colored light bulbs or volume limits, and Emma loves it. A band is constantly playing, dancers moving around the floor, and the steak she has is quite possibly the best steak she’s ever had.

Killian Jones has always known how to plan an evening and pick out a restaurant.

“Shall we dance?” he questions as Emma leans back into her chair, absolutely full even if she feels lighter than she has in quite some time.

“What?”

“Dance with me, Swan.”

“I don’t dance.”

Killian stands and holds his hand out for her, blue eyes sparkling even under all of the colored lights. “All you need is a partner who knows what he’s doing.” “And you do?”

“Of course, love. I’m an expert in…movements.”

Emma rolls her eyes, but she takes his hand anyway and melts into the warmth of him as his fingers curl around her palm. “That wasn’t your best work. You’re slacking lately.”

If he responds, she has no idea. The music is too loud already, and it gets louder when they move closer to the band. The songs have been fast and upbeat all night, and yet the moment they start to dance, it changes into something soft, slow. It’s probably for the best. Emma really doesn’t know how to dance (or sing) despite everything asking her why she isn’t a dancer when she tells them she’s a comedian, and she’s pretty much got two left feet out here. So she places one hand more firmly in Killian’s, another around his neck, and they sway back and forth.

It’s not proper how close they are, body pressed tightly against body, but she’s never cared for proper.

She’s never cared for rules and expectations, and while that stung when Neal told her that was one of the reasons he strayed from their marriage, she knows that nothing he says is anything she should listen to.

It’s okay if he strays from the conventional path sleeping with her without them being married and going off and fucking his secretary, but the moment she doesn’t want to cook a ham every night, she’s the one who’s too wild.

He never thought she was funny either. That should have been the first sign.

“I’ve been thinking, love.” “I never like when you do that.”

“Yes, yes you do.”

Killian hums and turns them in a circle, his hand sliding lower on her back. “What were you thinking, Jones?”

“You’ve made comments about my jokes being off, and I don’t know…I suppose I don’t feel the need to be funny around you, and it’s nice. There’s not all that – ”

“Pressure? Expectation? The need to always be thinking two steps ahead?”

“Exactly. As much as I like bantering with you and coming up with new material, I like that I can talk about whatever the hell I want without worrying that I’m being too boring.”

Emma looks up at him and sees his soft smile and blue eyes she finds more charming by the minute. “I like that I don’t have to be funny with you, too.”

“Good.”

-/-

“So, quite the nice night.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s five in the morning.”

“Ah, well,” Killian sighs, waving his hand out to the ocean and the few boats moving over it. The sun isn’t rising, not quite yet, and she can still see the stars twinkling in the sky. “We haven’t gone to bed yet, so I still consider it night.” “Well, if you consider it to be night, how can I deny that?”

“You can’t. Where’s your room?”

“Fifth floor. Where’s yours?”

“Seventh.”

They walk in companionable silence until they find the outdoor staircase that leads to their rooms. Emma’s heels are in her hand, have been for the past few hours, but her feet still ache. She should have changed into her flats after the show, but she didn’t stop to think before heading to meet Killian at the bar. Suddenly, they’re standing on the fifth floor, two doors down from her room, and then they’re there standing on either side of her hotel door.

Killian blinks, and Emma blinks back, not sure whether to speak or to search for her keys. She might be too tired to think coherent thoughts. She also might not want this night to end. It’s the first time in a long time where she hasn’t spent hours trying to impress someone, and if she goes to bed, that’ll be over.

(She doesn’t want it to be over.)

(She wants just this one thing, this one night.)

“You’re staring.” “So are you.”

“Well, I do have a particularly pretty face, love.”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes, leaning against the wall and closer to Killian. “Are you going to tell me what you thought of my act now?”

Leaning closer, Killian brushes his hand over her forearm and up her shoulder until he’s tucking her hair behind her ear. A shiver runs down her spine, working its way into her bones, and her skin pebbles. “You were fucking spectacular, Ms. Swan.”

Emma’s cheek blush, and since she can’t look into the ridiculous blue of Killian’s eyes, she digs for her keys in her clutch and pulls it out, sticking it into the lock. The door swings open, the bed immediately in sight, and Emma feels Killian’s intake of breath. She also feels him stepping away.

It’d be so easy to ask him to come inside and ask him to unzip her dress and untie his tie until they’re both undressed and panting against each other, but it’s also just as easy to step inside without him, right?

Right.

(Maybe not just this one thing on this one night.)

“Goodnight, love,” Killian tells her. “I’ll ring you when I’m back in New York.”

“Henry and I will both be waiting.”

-/-

Neal calls her when she’s in Las Vegas two weeks later to tell her that she’s a horrible mother.

He’s seen his son once (for an hour) in the past month, and he lives ten minutes from him.

Emma has seen Henry three times, one of which was for four days in the Catskills, and she’s traveling the country on tour.

She is not a horrible mother, and she will not let Neal’s voice get in her head. Not anymore.

One more month of this, and then she’s home for two months before they go to Europe for the rest of the tour. She can do two weeks in Las Vegas and two more in Palm Springs.

She can.

-/-

Killian sends her a postcard from New York in the beginning of July.

I’m back in New York. Your boy has already convinced me to take him to a Yankees game. I’m sure we’ll be on our fourth visit by the time you get this.

I promise I’ll try not to corrupt him while you’re gone.

Killian’s an asshole.

But a good asshole.

(And maybe he’s not really an asshole at all.)

-/-

“Ah, that sweet smell of urine and concrete,” Ruby sighs as their taxi pulls in front of Emma’s apartment building. “I’ve missed you.”

“There’s been urine and concrete in all of the places we’ve been.”

“It’s not the same, and you know it.”

“I know, I know.” Emma leans over and kisses Ruby’s cheeks. “It’s been fun, my friend, but I don’t want to see your face for at least a week, okay?”

“I don’t want to see your face for two weeks.”

“Then we have an agreement.”

Emma laughs as she exists the car and motions for the doormen to come and get her bags. She definitely has far too many of them for as much as she doesn’t care about clothes, hers seem to keep expanding. She takes one suitcase and a hatbox and quickly walks into the building and to the elevator, and the operator hits the button for her floor. She’s bouncing with excitement, her feet nearly coming out of her shoes, and she’s so close to Henry she might buzz right out of her skin.

“Mom,” he yells when she opens the apartment door. Emma drops her bag and her box and bends down until Henry is running into her arms. “You’re home.”

“Yeah, kid,” she whispers, cupping the back of his head. “I’m home.”

-/-

“My mother wants me to meet a man.”

“Excuse me?”

Emma brushes past Killian into his apartment, and she lets out the low whistle she always lets out every time she’s here. Whereas her apartment is filled with antiques and furniture that can’t be sat on (thanks Mom and Dad), Killian’s apartment is sleek and modern. It’s all clean lines and black and white decorations with little pops of blue. It’s a man’s apartment, and she’s always loved it.

Plus, the view of the Hudson is spectacular.

“I never wanted to be a woman whose entire life revolved around cooking, cleaning, and waiting for their husband to get home to not acknowledge any of that,” Emma rants, kicking off her shoes and immediately walking to his liquor cabinet. She can’t reach the shelf with all of his good stuff, but there’s a cheap bottle of rum just within her reach. “My mom seems to think that I need a husband to rein me in from my ‘rebellious’ phase.”

“You had a husband. You hated being married.”

“I didn’t hate being married. I hated being married to him.” “Ah.” “What?”

“Well, there’s a difference?”

“Yes, there’s a difference! I imagine being married doesn’t suck if you like the person you’re married to and if he doesn’t sleep with every woman he meets.” She pours both she and Killian a tumbler of rum and hands him his glass. He eyes her but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he tilts the glass to his lips and takes a large gulp. “I just…I don’t know why my mom thinks it’s imperative for me to get married again.”

She walks over the couch and curls her legs underneath her while Killian sits in on the other side, propping his feet up on the coffee table. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

Killian clicks his tongue again, and she’s never noticed how much ginger is in his beard before now. “Well, you’re basically an old maid.”

Emma kicks her foot out at him. “You’re the worst.”

His lips curl into a smirk. “I am undeniably the greatest. And look, your mum is old-fashioned. She doesn’t get why you wouldn’t want to marry just anyone or why you want to spend your days traveling around the world making dick jokes. The one about his dick being so big it was a Richard was inspired, by the way, even if I did know that it was inspired by me.”

“I will stain your white rug with my drink.”

“I’ve got a very nice woman named Greta who knows just how to get that out.”

“Who knew being crude on late night television paid so well as to have a Greta?”

“You did, Swan,” he laughs, taking another sip of his drink before placing it on a coaster. “But back to your mother.” Emma rolls her eyes, but Killian pays her no attention. “She thinks the way to happiness is being married to a nice man and having him provide for you. You have to let her know that you don’t want another Neal or someone you’re only with because it’s proper. You want someone who you love and who lights that fire in your soul that you don’t want to be put out.”

“Someone who I don’t feel the need to be funny around.”

“Yeah,” Killian says slowly, a red blush dusting his cheeks, “someone who you don’t feel the need to be funny with, someone you don’t have to put on an act around.”

There’s always been something about Killian Jones that has unsettled her and yet made her feel comfortable. The night they met she had to bail him out of jail because one of his performances was deemed too crude by the police presence in the bar, and they’ve been circling around each other ever since. He’s wormed his way into her life, and she never really noticed. It’s been in short conversations and trading jokes at a bar, but then it was getting together for dinner and him taking Henry to Yankees games. It was dancing in clubs and almost, almost, almost asking him to come into her hotel room.

It was having him know her better than anyone else knows her.

Slowly, Emma rises from her spot on the couch and walks over to Killian, pressing down and placing her knees on either side of his thighs before she raises her hand and thumbs at the scar on his cheek while her other hand brushes his hair back. Killian blinks up at her, his mouth no longer smirking. Instead, he’s softly smiling at her, and Emma feels a long-forgotten flurry in her stomach.

“Emma – ” She leans forward until her forehead presses against his and until her nose is nudging against his. Killian’s hands are warm against her waist, and she feels it all the way down to her bones, seeping deep within her. “What do you think you’re doing, sweetheart?”

“Being with someone I want to be with, someone who I don’t have to put on an act with.”

His lips are soft and gentle, a fluttering of a movement against her own, and it’s the exact opposite of what she thought kissing Killian would be like. She thought, if anything, they’d be drunk and stumbling across the room, clothes falling to the ground and lips not marking their intended target. She thought her mind would be too fuzzy to think.

That’s not at all what’s happening.

All she can think about is how much she’s wanted this, even if she didn’t realize it but in fleeting moments after nights of alcohol, and how natural it feels to have his scruff burn her chin and to have his lips caress hers.

This is good.

This is a fire she would never want to put out.

“You’re not going to regret that and talk about it in your act, are you?” Killian chuckles while kissing the corner of her cheek and then her jaw, his lips like magic.

“Regret it? No. Put it in my act? Absolutely. I’m not sure how I’m going to make it funny, though,” she sighs, pressing herself further into him, “because there’s nothing funny about this.”

“No, love, I don’t think there is.”

-/-

She wakes up the next morning to Killian kissing her bare skin and whispering words to her that have chills running down her spine.

They go to a Yankees game with Henry, and Killian buys far too much ice cream, not that Henry would complain. Not the Emma would either. She’s too damn happy for any of that.

And he doesn’t judge her for eating a hot dog.

-/-

All Killian wants for Emma is to be happy and live life how she’s always dreamed of living her life, not by whatever standards are expected for her.

Oh, and to keep on being the spectacular Ms. Swan.

(It’s Mrs. Jones now, but the stage name of Ms. Swan has a nice ring to it.)

(She keeps on being damn funny.)

-/-

-/-

Tag list: @csjanuaryjoy​ @stahlop @shardminds @carpedzem @captainsjedi  @galaxyzxstark @thejollyroger-writer @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @xellewoods @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @shireness-says @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @a-faekindagirl @ultimiflos @jamif @dreameronarooftop15 @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke  @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @spartanguard @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious (because we talked about it yesterday...let Lenny live 😉)

[agreateryesterday]

Reylo - ABO fics

An Unexpected Vacation

An Unexpected Date by tigbit

*Finished* 10 chapters, 4 chapters

In which Rey attempts to bolster her bank account by volunteering to fuck an Alpha in a scientific study. Plans go pear-shaped when she accidentally triggers scientist!Ben’s first Rut.

Rey and Ben go on their infamous date.

Terminal Velocity by AQuill2Thrill

(Last updated Feb 22, 2020) 6 chapters

In her final year at the University of Coruscant, Rey Kenobi navigates painful memories of her past while simultaneously fighting to get into the Coruscant Academy of Law. Broken in more ways than one, she finds herself dumbstruck when she receives a letter of dismissal from the Skywalker-Organa Scholarship Program - her one and only ticket into graduate school. Without the necessary funds, her future is completely dead in the water... right? Meanwhile, fast boi Ben Solo - better known as Kylo Ren on the MotoAmerica docket - is competing among world champion racers on dangerous tracks throughout the country. He's got all the wealth and fame he could ask for, so why does he still feel a pang of emptiness as he crosses each finish line like a man possessed?

True Love Waits by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 18 chapters

In Rey's tiny Southern town, courtship for Omegas begins when a woman turns fifteen and ends with mating and marriage on the sixteenth birthday. All of her friends have already settled down, but Rey has a free spirit that isn't so easy to subjugate and control. Ben Solo intends to change that.

The Runner by JaneEyre1847

(Last updated Jan 16, 2020) 18chapters

Rey Niima has a one-in-a-billion secret. If found out, she'll become the target of religious fanatics and political reactionaries the world over. If they catch her, she'll lose everything, including her career, her freedom, perhaps even her mind. So, she pretends to be a normal, if highly unusual Omega, using her unique talents as an endurance athlete and automotive engineer to make a life for herself and craft a meaningful future. Ben Solo is finally, finally free of his past. Still young, still a highly dominant Alpha in an Alpha's world, he has enough money from selling his startup to start a new life in Boulder, Colorado, safe from his mistakes, safe from his family, and safe even from Snoke. All he wants now is to be happy and share his life with the right Omega. It's too bad Ben's past is coming for him. It's too bad his past is coming for Rey.

You Burn First by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 22 chapters

Rey is kidnapped to be a slave for the ruthless Kylo Ren in exchange for the protection of her people. The post-apocalyptic world she lives in is brutal, but he might be worse

Not your omega. by riseofskyloren

*Finished* One Shot

Rey Johnson and Ben Solo cannot stand each others, she's way too joyful and he's just so cynical. They're definitely not mate material, not a chance. But what happened when the person you despise the most in the entire world becomes the one your body's craving?

Pretty Little Thing by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 3 chapters

Rey is forcibly claimed by Kylo Ren. Though the pairing isn't complete, he pulls to her while he's in prison for his crime, and she struggles to ignore her instinct to go to him.

Kitty Cat by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 2 chapters

Rey accepts a ride from a polite Alpha, Ben. He's a perfect gentleman. For now.

Premature by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 5 chapters

Ben is Rey's awkward IT neighbor. She gives him a little bonus for helping fix her Wifi, and his obsession deepens, and he wants to prove he isn't some weirdo.

Bentacles by MalevolentReverie (creature fic *technically no ABO)

*Finished* One Shot

Kylo was kidnapped by humans and turned into a display piece at an aquarium. He meets a kind new girl, Rey, and decides she'll make the perfect mate.

Heat Wave by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 2 chapters

Ben's next door neighbor Rey gets a little too hot. Her heat comes and he'll help her, even if she doesn't want him to.

Yellowstone by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* One Shot

Rey goes on a survival trip with her friends, but they get sick, and the friendly ranger doesn't have her best interests in mind.

Happy Birthday, Rey by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* One Shot

Every year, Rey receives a letter from a stranger. Every year, they get weirder.

Birthday Lick by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* One Shot

Rey decides to finally cut loose on her sixteenth birthday. She sneaks into a club and meets Ben Solo, who's charming, funny, and takes whatever he wants.

Fledgling by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* One Shot

Rey runs away from home and takes a break at a very dangerous rest stop.

derangeD by MalevolentReverie (child like Rey)

*Finished* One Shot

Next-door neighbor Ben is really nice. He used to babysit Rey and gave her a weird bite on the nape of her neck. If he needs help, she's happy to provide it.

Burnt Coffee by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 3 chapters

Ben 'accidentally' forgets to pick up his sister's suppressants. He gets what he wants in her empty coffee shop.

Halcion Days by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 3 chapters

Ben has never seen anything hotter than his unconscious stepsister.

Stay Still by MalevolentReverie (beta Rey)

*Finished* One Shot

Beta Rey babysits her Alpha neighbor Ben's nephew. One night he comes home drunk and aggressive and Rey can't escape.

WENDIGO by MalevolentReverie (creature fic *technically no ABO)

*Finished* 2 chapters

Rey is saved from a wolf attack by a mysterious stranger. He wants more than she’s willing to give, but he’s going to take it anyway.

Fine. Little. Pieces. by MalevolentReverie

*Finished* 3 chapters

Ben loves his mate and his pup very much—and they better love him back.

As Above, So Below by MalevolentReverie (creature fic *technically no ABO)

(Last updated May 9, 2020) 1 chapter

Rey goes on a spelunking trip in North Carolina with her friends. She quickly gets lost and is stalked by a strange, inhuman creature.

Reclaimed by betts

*Finished* One Shot

After the passing of new legislation, Rey and thousands of other omegas are rescued from the abusive grasps of their alphas. She gets adopted by a new alpha and braces herself for the cruelty she’s grown used to. But Ben isn’t like other alphas, and Rey slowly warms to his kindness.

He's Just Not That Into You(r) Scent by SaintHeretical

*Finished* 4 chapters

Rey is a young and single Omega who hasn't had a lot of luck so far finding a nice Beta guy who isn't a total flake. They say they've had a great time with her, but seem to have a difficult time with calling her back. Ben is an Alpha bartender who is tired of hearing about her dating difficulties, and is ready to drop some truth bombs.

A Myth of Devotion by KiraStar

(Last updated Jan 9, 2020) 1 chapter

Rey shouldn't have gone out drinking that night. Ben shouldn't have claimed a 16 year old girl.

all things bright and beautiful by freewalrus

*Finished* One Shot

Rey looks down at the little blue and white stick clutched in her sweaty palm and feels like her stomach is about to fall out of her ass. There, in the tiny gray window, are two seemingly harmless black lines. Two. She blinks rapidly, trying to clear whatever fog has obscured her vision and made her think she is currently holding a positive pregnancy test. She's not pregnant. She can't be pregnant. She just can't be. Because if she is, her mate will leave her. Ben will leave her.

Alpha by PrinceofDarkness15

(Last updated Jan 4, 2020) 2 chapters

"You're walking a very dangerous line here, Kenobi." Ben growled, exposing a row of razor sharp canines. "I wouldn't try it again."

The Claiming Party by SithLord98

(Last updated Feb 16, 2020) 12 chapters

No summary available.

A Wolf At the Door by KiraStar

(Last updated Dec 29, 2019) 4 chapters

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doin’ all alone on a Friday night?” Rey meets an older boy at the drive-in.

Let it Linger by CaptainCabinets

(Last updated May 26, 2020) 3 chapters

Ben Solo and Rey Jones have history. One that they were both hoping to forget. But their past becomes increasingly hard to ignore when Rey starts attending Ben's prestigious boarding school. - Or - Ben is an Alpha. Rey is an Omega. And they forget how to function like normal human beings when they are around each other.

My Heat Will Go On by SpaceWaffleHouseTM

*Finished* 14 chapters

Lucky Omega Rey wins a third class ticket to America on the Titanic. Rich, miserable Alpha Ben holds a first class ticket to a life he doesn’t want. Another tale as old as time unfolds, but this time with... heat.

(Can't Stand) The Heat

Stay Out Of My Kitchen! by SwanSongremix

*Finished* One Shots

She would feel terrible if she asked him to come home early. Wasting all of her alpha’s hard work. He had always been so accommodating of her hectic schedule as an emergency room nurse, it would be unfair to not reciprocate. Besides, she had gone through plenty of heats on her own before meeting Ben. What was one more? In which omega Rey doesn't call her mate, and Ben is a disaster child.

“Seriously, though, how am I supposed to hide this?” Ben asked, following his friend to the front door, waving his covered hands. “I don’t know! Get creative!” And with that, Poe made a hasty retreat outside. Ben stared at the closed door in disbelief. “Fuck my life.” In which Poe is not allowed in kitchens, and Ben is still a disaster child.

Imprints by KyloTrashForever

*Finished* 23 chapters

“I was happy you’ll be working with someone you know. He’ll take good care of you.” Take good care of you. The words send a shiver down her spine, sparking memories that flood her with embarrassment. She feels a strange itch just below her ear, her gland giving a phantom pulse as if her body remembers the incident even still. Suddenly her triumph fades into dread, the idea of working here leaving a hollow pit in her stomach. Poe is still talking, but she doesn’t hear most of it. Her mind is firmly trapped in the vivid memories of six years ago— in a moment she wishes she could forget. By the time she hangs up the phone— she isn’t sure anymore if she can do this.

First Order University by Water_Fox (KnightSiren)

(Last updated April 6, 2020) 3 chapters

A young beta named Rey Kenobi can't believe her luck when she gets miraculously admitted to First Order University, the largest and most prestigious university on Coruscant. She has big plans for her engineering degree and has no problem sticking up for herself in a pool of hormonal alphas. But, when she crosses paths with a strange Alpha named Kylo Ren and unexpectedly finds herself soaking wet and falling at his feet... those plans are threatened to be thrown out the window.

welcome to my cage, little lover by KyloTrashForever

*Finished* 8 chapters

“Come here, Beta.” Every step is difficult— as if her legs are made of stone themselves. He motions that she sit behind him, and she remains there on her knees for several seconds as she wonders what he might want. “Your hands. Use them.” In which Rey is brought to the house of the infamous warlord, Kylo Ren, to serve his every need. Omegas are not allowed. Surely nothing will go wrong.

And They Were Roommates by KyloTrashForever

*Finished* 13 chapters

“This isn’t going to work.” He points a finger between the two of them. “This arrangement.” Her eyes narrow. “You didn’t put any specifications on who could apply.” “Yeah…” He rubs the back of his neck then, the action making it look longer, making her wonder what it might feel like under her fingers. “You have to know that this isn’t a good idea.” She knows what he means, she does—but she’s so tired of being brushed aside for her designation that she challenges him anyway. “And why not?” His eyes bore into hers, his expression blank as he says, “Because I can tell how much scent-block you put on—and I can still smell you.” In which Rey’s new roommate turns out to be a lot more than she bargained for.

The mortifying ordeal of being known (and the reward of being loved) by vuas

(Last updated May 13, 2020) 9 chapters

The omega in apartment 7b was going to pose a problem.

Knot My First Time by KyloTrashForever

*Finished* 5 chapters

“Who can tell me the purpose of knotting?” Holy fuck, are you kidding. His face is going to catch on fire. The teacher still scans the room, looking for a victim of her mortifying question until her eyes finally settle somewhere behind Ben. “Ah, yes. Ms. Johnson?” “Originally, to ensure conception.” Ben sneaks a glance behind him, finding her every bit as distracting as he always does. Rey Johnson. The girl who moved here just three months ago. The girl who seems to excel at everything she does. The girl he can’t get off his mind. The girl he’s heard so much about. In which Ben’s Alpha instincts have always been there, and now they’re awake.

Don't talk to strangers by P_Dunton

(Last updated March 3, 2020) 9 chapters

“Don’t talk to strangers, don’t leave the path and walk straight to Grandmother’s house.” The village of Jakku has a dark and terrible secret. An unknown evil lurks in the nearby forest and will only be satisfied with an annual offering of a local virgin. Nobody knows where the mysterious messenger comes from every year. Once a year, a masked person appears out of the forest and selects the virgin to be offered to the forest. Poor little orphan Rey, is wrapped in the ceremonial red cloak and escorted by the whole village to the edge of town. In a hundred years, none have ever returned. Will Rey be eaten by the Big, Bad Wolf, or does she have a few tricks up her sleeve?

Let’s Get Together by KyloTrashForever, ohwise1ne

(Last updated Jan 15, 2020) 6 chapters

“You didn’t tell me,” he murmurs quietly, careful that someone won’t overhear. “That you were a counselor.” “Neither did you.” “I told you it was my job to keep disobedient boys and girls from causing trouble.” “Why, sir.” She directs a sly look at him through her lashes. “Do I look like the sort who would cause trouble?” “You look like you’d never stop. But don’t worry.” He lowers his mouth right beside her ear. “I'd know exactly how to make you behave.” When Ben is roped into a job at his mother’s alpha/omega summer camp, he expects to have an uneventful month full of bad knot jokes and teenage hormones — until a counselor from the Omega side of camp turns his whole summer upside down.

Foresight by Aerographer

(Last updated April 6, 2020) 3 chapters

This Hunt would not be Rey’s first. She was 21 now, and had been in them since her 18th year. She’d never had a reactive heat. Never been reduced to a whining shell because of a scrap of fabric. She was one of the lucky ones.

Garbage girl and the Prince: an A/B/O fairytale by Hosnianprime, Trueffle123

*Finished* 19 chapters

Rey is a nobody and an Omega, who is known as “the garbage girl” in the small town of Chandrilla because as an orphan she was caught eating discarded food. Ben Solo used to be “the Prince” of Chandrilla, the heir to the influential politician Organa and businessman Han Solo. So even if Rey and Ben grew up in the same town, their lives couldn’t be more different…After Ben Solo graduated, he decided to leave home and cut almost all ties with his parents. One day, however, Leia (fed up with her son wasting his life involving himself with dodgy businesses such as financial investments for the First Order Syndicate) comes up with a cunning plan: Ben Solo needs to return home for an arranged mating if he doesn’t want to risk disinhersion.

a little death (goes a long way) by crossingwinter

*Finished* 7 chapters

“That’s good of you,” he replies. “Especially with the O-Negative.” “It’s a good deal,” she says and he glances up. Yeah, because Omega blood is harder to find. A taste of life, because they almost never survive the turn.

Down South

Outrun Me by Spencebox

*Finished* One Shots

Omegas were on the brink of Extinction, and staying in Jakku was a a death sentence. But luckily for Rey... “Please Rey, Armitage and his family live down here and they’re perfectly normal. Do you remember Ben Solo? He lives down here too! His mom Leia kind of runs a few of the businesses here and is pretty cool. And Ben even turned out to be an Alpha; he’s totally not like the ones in Jakku. I talk about you sometimes and he seems to remember you. If you have the chance, stop by and we can catch up!” Rey saw no harm in driving down to the Deep South to Coruscant to stay with Rose for a couple of days. Besides, how bad could it be?

There was no going back now—not like this. Rey was running with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide; Unkar Plutt had sold her off ages ago and had kept her locked away since. But this full moon, she ran .

To Resist by Sweetnlow444

(Last updated April 26, 2020) 2 chapters

“I'm in a relationship, I'm in love, I'm happy.” He kept telling himself this, hoping it would help. It didn't. It did nothing. Couldn't do anything in the face of that fucking smell, that intoxicating, mouth-watering, life-altering smell. Rey. He knew who it came from now and it made it all worse.

Desert Concubine by IkonQueen

(Last updated March 1, 2020) 1 chapter

Emperor Kylo Ren has sent out a galaxy wide announcement that he will handsomely reward those who bring him artifacts from the First Empire; Rey, a scavenger from the desert planet of Jakku, finds something even more priceless, though she doesn't know it. When she is brought before the emperor, her life will change forever.

The Perfect Life by Sweetaro

(Last updated Feb 1, 2020) 1 chapter

All any alpha ever wants is to come home to an omega cooking dinner and ready to be knotted. In the case of Ben Solo, that’s exactly what he has, and he couldn’t be happier. Although from the beginning, he has to teach her. But that's fine, he's going to make sure she's the perfect omega too.

You Should See Me in a Crown by 3todream3

(Last updated April 5, 2020) 9 chapters

“I’m leaving,” she blurted out. “Leaving? What do you mean?” He rubbed his jaw with his hand, trying to wake up. “When will you be back?” “You’re not getting it, Finn. I’m leaving.” She inhaled the familiar scent of the stable, wishing what she was saying wasn’t true. “I’m leaving...for good.” Rey watched as her best friend’s shoulders drew back, straightening his spine as he did. A bitter reality was sinking in before the rooster had even crowed. Finn was her protector, her keeper, her friend. If she left him, she would be lost in the world. “You can’t...you need to stay here!” he blurted out as the words Rey spoke finally woke him up. “The princess has been betrothed, and I am to go with her to her new home.” A sob escaped from deep within. “I can’t let them find out about me!”~o~ Rey, a handmaiden to Princess Bazine, has a secret she must keep at all costs, but her life is put in danger when she must leave her only home. Rey must accompany the princess, who is set to marry the infamous King Ren. Can she keep her secret and also keep her loyalty to her princess? Or will an Alpha make it all go to hell?

Tied to you by I_am_the_trash_queen9478

(Last updated Feb 1, 2020) 11 chapters

For months, since he combed through her mind on Starkiller, they had felt a strange pull towards one another. Fighting it only made the bond stronger; in a moment of frustration, Rey and Kylo decide to give it what it wants and allow themselves to be pulled together. They only wanted to find out how to control it, now everything has changed and they don't know how much longer they can keep fighting this feeling, this heat, between them. What could possibly go wrong when the Alpha Ben Solo and newly changed Omega Rey are tied together, in more ways than one?

Bloodmoon by AlexandrinaRen

(Last updated Feb 28, 2020) 4 chapters

Rey has always tried to stay as far away from pack business as possible, living her life as normally as humanly possible for an Omega and a Werewolf. But when a new Alpha comes in to town and challenges the leader of her pack, even she has to attend the Summit where the Alpha rite is about to be held.

That Fragile Scarlet Tree by Lula_Landry

*Finished* 11 chapters

Rey is asked by her boss Ben Solo to join his inner circle at First Order International, putting her brilliant mind to good use. The biggest problem? Rey is an Omega in hiding, living in a world where her kind have become nearly extinct, while Ben is an Alpha amongst Alphas, triggering her biological responses in ways she's never had to deal with before.

I'll Kill The Traitor, But I Will Save My Omega. by ClaireLou

*Finished* 7 chapters

Poe arrives at Bens house to inform him that his boyfriend is missing, not only that but he has taken the Omega. Unfortunately for Finn, The Omega is Bens wife, his soulmate and his forever. Ben will kill Finn himself. But first he needs to get the pack together and get back his Mate.

Say Yes to the Nest by writing2savelives

*Finished* One Shot

“Rey―?” She cuts him off with a whimper, stepping closer. “Please.” “No,” he growls. “You have to use your words. You have to say yes. Say ‘Yes, I want you’. Say it. Please.” Her pupils are dilating again rapidly. She sinks to her knees in front of him, the ultimate display of submission and his Alpha preens. “Yes Ben. I want you. Please Alpha.” Rey's heat is triggered after she must stay at Ben's apartment, prompting her to build a nest of his clothes. This is how Ben finds her.

A Rose For My Love by Spencebox

(Last updated May 12, 2020) 1 chapter

Poor Omega Rey and Rich Alpha Ben are newly dating and though Rey wants to take things slow, Ben has every intention of locking it down. There is a hesitancy in her- he's a decade older, has more money than she could count, is an Alpha that truly emits every stereotype she's ever know, and is ready for everything from mating to having babies. She wants to take things slow but he's in the fast lane. What's an Omega to do?

Keep the Car Running by CaptainCabinets

*Finished* 7 chapters

Someone new joins the carpool. Rey is not happy about it. (Until she is).

Your Sweetness by EyesSoQuiet

(Last updated April 23, 2020) 2 chapters

Kylo is in the middle of a rut when he finds his omega.

Ms. Independent by Athelise

*Finished* One Shot

Rey goes back into heat and begins to miss the one Alpha she trusted to see her through them. If only he hadn't called her a "charity case" she might actually be tempted to ask.

The Courtship of a Southern Belle by Lapinrose

(Last updated May 20, 2020) 7 chapters

In 1860 New Orleans, Louisiana, Rey Josephine Camille is a young girl about to enter womanhood. Her year-long secret courtship with popular alpha Poe Dameron has not been fruitful: he has not proposed nor has he asked to be her escort at the debutante ball! Before she turns 16, she must get engaged or become an outcast in New Orleans high-society but she does not want to marry someone she does not love. That's when she meets aloof alpha and eligible bachelor Benjamin Solo Augustus.

In Plain Sight by LBellicose

*Finished* 23 chapters

Rey never thought she would ever be lucky enough to go to college, much less win a scholarship to the prestigious University of Naboo. Rey meets Rose, before long she is part of the Resistance, a group of liked mind individuals working to solve the mystery of missing Omegas. Everything points to the First Order health. Rey goes undercover suppressed and poising as a Beta to find out what they are doing with the Omegas. She thinks she has it all under control until she meets the First Order's head of security Kylo Ren who has taken an interest in the newest lab tech.

Winter Flower by MelancholyBrilliance

(Last updated April 17, 2020) 2 chapters

"That’s my number,” he informs her, pinning her with his gaze. “Do not leave this hospital until you call me, Omega.” The command comes from somewhere deep inside of him, a place that usually lies doormat despite barking orders to medical personnel every day. It has an immediate effect on Rey, whose pupils visibly widen as she stares at him, enraptured. She nods, and it’s clear that she’s not entirely in control of herself, and maybe Ben should feel guilty about how satisfying it all is, but he releases a pleased rumble from his chest instead. When Rey’s scent spikes in response, he practically runs out of the room, trembling all over. (ABO/Modern AU in which Rey is essentially a homeless youth, and Ben is a doctor who just wishes he didn’t have to feel so guilty about helping her.)

Vertigo Theory by GlassSolomon

(Last updated March 20, 2020) 2 chapters

Rey has just begun the semester as a Biology student and already she is stretched thin. Being faced with the setbacks that come with being an Omega on top of everything else that comes with attending school she must take on an enormous course load and a job on the side to stay afloat through school. It's most certainly not sustainable. Professor Solo, her Anatomy professor soon takes notice of the young Omega in his course and despite strict Faculty Student Relations rules at the University he cannot take his eyes off of her.

Desolate by lhlsy

(Last updated May 12, 2020) 13 chapters

“I don’t care what her reason for sending you over here is,” he huffs out an annoyed breath, “I’m not interested.” At that her stance changes, she straightens up, almost puffing her chest out, her eyes regard him with a sort of intensity he has never seen an Omega exude before, “Mr. Solo, I’m a police officer,” she starts, her tone now laced with annoyance, and even a hint of anger, “I merely came over to introduce myself since I’m tasked with your security.” He smirks, a small snicker escaping his lips. He can’t help it. He really can’t. It’s just so extremely laughable that the young woman in front him is supposed to be his security. Not that she’s really there to protect him, like she seems to think. The police are only there to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, like try to take off his ankle bracelet and skip town.

Pheromatch by pinkhairedhoe

*Finished* 3 chapters

Ben doesn't like to think of himself as a desperate man, but with little free time, a secret desire for a relationship, and pressure from his well-meaning mother to settle down, he turns to Pheromatch, a dating service for alphas and omegas. Rey Niima, an omega grad student who keeps crushing on betas, thinks using a dating service is a cop out. She sincerely doesn't think she'll find anyone. Except one of the alphas kind of smells incredible.

Howl Of The Pack by LadyErica

(Last updated April 14, 2020) 19 chapters

 Rey doesn't do howling and giving in to her wolf. Until she is called to the ritual of pack master. She is one of many Omegas in the pack that is unmated. The pack master is getting old and it is time for a new pack master. Rey watches the challenge in her pack and doesn't like appreciating in old brutal rituals of her pack. Thus why she doesn't give in to her wolf. A wolf she hadn't turn into in a long time since she presented as a Omega. Then the new pack master chooses a mate. That mate is her.

Baby Steps by Athelise

*Finished* One Shot

Rey is an Omega who has never been in heat and fears Alphas and their knots. But with her admission to Naboo University Rey gets a new lease on life with their Omega-inclusive policies and some of the best suppressors in the country to hide her from the eyes of Alphas. Not only that, but her burgeoning friendship with the adorkable Beta, Ben Solo, may just be the best thing to ever happen to her.

love the way you wear that black on black (take it off like that) by galactic_enterprise

(Last updated May 8, 2020) 1 chapter

“You're mine, Alpha. No one else can ever have you.” She placed his belongings at the head of her den, making Ben swell with pride. “Of course, Omega, and you are mine. Such a good little thing. So hard-working and slick, so ready and beautiful for her Alpha. Do you want me, little one? Do you want me to fill you with my knot and coat you with my cum? To put my pups in that little belly of yours?”- or - Kylo Ren wakes up to Rey trying to nest using his things.

Rey's Anatomy by lovelyjades

(Last updated April 11, 2020) 1 chapter

Freshly graduated Rey Kenobi was thrilled to have been accepted into an internship at the esteemed Skywalker-Organa Hospital in Seattle, and everything was going perfectly fine until she met her neurosurgeon supervisor, Doctor Ben Solo, an arrogant alpha who just so happened to be the best smelling man she'd ever met.

But I Do by Spencebox

(Last updated May 19, 2020) 7 chapters

Rey Kenobi couldn't believe it; she was definitely, totally, and without a doubt, shocked. Ben Solo- Alpha, looked like he belonged on the front of a magazine, not pictured as the profile for the Alpha she'd been matched with. Ben Solo was totally, definitely, and without a doubt, out of her league. But that doesn’t mean his name didn’t leave her lips when she fingered herself that night.

Knot Sure by coldmoonviolet

*Finished* 16 chapters

Omega Rey is excited to be finishing up her degree but after a night out with friends ends in the most embarrassing one night stand Rey could have imagined, she's horrified to discover the Alpha in question is her Professor.

Wanderlust by inexorablydrawn

(Last updated May 5, 2020) 8 chapters

Rey had spent her whole life pretending to be something she wasn't. She had hoped to live a perfectly average life without influence by her designation. But when fate calls to her, pulling her out of her city comforts, she finds out that accepting who she is might be far easier than being alone when Ben Solo finds her wandering aimlessly in the expanses of nature.

graceless hearts by darthdarcyy

(Last updated May 5, 2020) 10 chapters 

Rey Niima, independent Omega and millennial college graduate trying not to starve during a recession, takes a desperate job at a tech support call center. One slow Saturday evening, she watches as a tall, beautiful Alpha moves into the luxury loft apartment building next door. To the apartment directly across from her window. The rest, as they say, is history. you smell like every good memory i've ever had. (previously certain things happen in the dark)

Baggage

in the back with the racks and the stacks of your load by praetorreyna

(Last updated May 29, 2020) (Last updated Feb 10, 2020) 11, 2 chapters

Rey is a senior in college, and ready to graduate the top of her class. Enter Ben Solo, her new literature professor who happens to be an alpha. An alpha that also happens to smell irresistible. Her mind is telling her to keep pushing forward, but her hormones are saying the complete opposite. She just needs to make it through the year with out consequence. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

vignettes for Baggage

the threat is real

when his sight goes red again by 11minutes (redlondons)

*Finished* (last updated May 8, 2020) 7 chapters, 1 chapter

Kylo Ren is sick of going through his ruts alone. Rey is sick of going through her heats alone. A dystopian soulmates au with a happy ending.

Our Royal family is trying to get back into the swing of being together. Padme is being the grandmother she was always supposed to be to Ben. Rey has a secret that will cause havoc in the kingdom. And what happens when the Legacy Saber is stolen and Ben shows the depths of his dark side powers? Alderaan is in a state of revolt, Rey and Ben have a lot of work to do!

Lost & Sold by MalevolentReverie

(Last updated May 18, 2020) 11 chapters

Rey is ten days from her work visa expiring. Her boss, Leia, happens to have a single son who’s more than happy to help.

On The Brightside by Spencebox

*Finished* 3 chapters

On the bright side, he had a nice house.

The Ecumene by P_Dunton

(Last updated May 26, 2020) 35 chapters

The Ecumene (or oecumene): the permanently inhabited portion of the Earth as distinguished from the uninhabited or temporarily inhabited area. In the world where Alphas are meant to rule, Kylo Ren is aiming to wipe the Omegas off the face of the Earth. In the world where Omegas are meant to serve, Rey Johnson has suddenly discovered her true designation.

Good little omega by kylosbrickhousebody

*Finished* One Shot

Only a month ago, Rey found herself trapped in her worst nightmare: presenting as an omega and bonding with a strange, older alpha. Trapped under his care by law, Rey finds herself running from the alpha at every turn. Ben tries to convince her otherwise.

Post: Part 2

[lovemesomesurveys]

Whoa, me doing a bolding survey?

*lol bolding surveys are tough for me because I want to elaborate on my choices, which I did a lot of in this.*

NFP | mediator/idealist You get carried away by fantasies and ideas Always want to be hugged You’re energized by quiet time alone Constantly looking for the best in people People say you’re shy/calm/reserved So open-minded Can’t stop thinking about the future Probably a writer or artist in some way Compassionate and empathetic Insanely good listener Prefer a small group of friends Absolutely hate injustice Easily get lost in deep thought 9/13

ENFJ | protagonist/mentor Expert at communicating with others You’re sensitive and easily offended A natural born leader You strive for win-win situations Everyone wants to be your friend You’re basically everyone’s cheerleader  Hate seeing people excluded from things You stand firm for what you believe in You just want everyone to be happy Live for supporting people around you You’d be a great teacher You love to keep your life organized You’re probably an empath 6.5/13

ESTJ | executive/supervisor Incredibly practical about life You naturally step into leadership roles You can be very detail-oriented You’re very matter-of-fact You’re known to be very direct The first to take charge in a situation People say you’re very focused and driven Sometimes you can be too impersonal Strive in managerial positions Driven by results You love meeting and talking to new people You strongly believe in working hard You hate people who don’t follow rules. <<< I consider myself to be pretty rule abiding for the most part and I don’t condone crimes, but I can’t say I’ve never done anything wrong. Maybe nothing too serious, but still. I wouldn’t say I hate people who don’t follow rules, but I have an issue with people who don’t follow certain rules. It’s complicated hence the italicized answer and the need to explain a little further. .5/13

ESFP | entertainer/performer You love to live in the moment You’re energized when around people Avoid conflict like the corona virus You never forget anything Can be materialistic <<< I mean, I like my Apple products and Beats headphones, which are nice and expensive things, yes, but I don’t know if the term materialistic applies to me because of it. I think it goes bigger and beyond that. I’m not consumed with buying expensive things to fill a void or think it can buy happiness. I don’t have to be bigger and better. I don’t want to be flashy. I enjoy the items I listed above, but there’s more important things in life than worldly possessions.   You’re constantly changing your mind Way too friendly You could easily be an actor Often the life of the party Not a huge fan of deadlines or structure Independent af Constantly finding the light of a situation Sensitive to the needs of others 3/13

ISFP | adventurer/artisan Tend to hold back your feelings You live an easy-going life  You stick to a close group of friends <<< no friends anymore, but I stick to my family, who I’m close to and spend a lot of my time with. That’s how it was when I did have friends, though. I never had a big group of friends and that was perfectly fine with me. Hate long-term planning <<< I have to take things day by day or do short-term goals. Mistaken as “lazy” or “slow-moving” <<< Italicized because they’re not mistaken. You take things at your own pace So considerate to those around you <<< Italicized because I think I am? I sure try to be. Absolutely hate criticism and conflict Sometimes too hard on yourself <<< All the time. You could be an artist or musician You have a special bond with animals Have been called “unconventional” before Learn best with hands-on training 9/13

INTJ | architect/mastermind Everyone go away Very low tolerance for stupidity Small talk = your worst nightmare Have very dry humor Sarcasm is your first language You love researching everything Planning is your favorite hobby Can’t stand salespeople Known to be very blunt Probably could be a doctor or engineer A grammar nazi You like to silently judge people You love to create theories about life 3/13

ESFJ | consul/caregiver You care so much about others Take your responsibilities very seriously <<< Not these past few years like I should, but normally. You have a contagious laughter Tasks are your best friend You’re very family-oriented The most loyal person ever You absolutely hate feeling useless No one would ever call you selfish Probably strive as a nurse or social worker Overflowing with compassion and love Always seeing the best in others You value security and stability for everyone So down to earth <<< In some ways. I’m not a relaxed and stress-free person at all, but I’m also not arrogant or proud. I get along with and can work well with others. I don’t see myself as better or superior to others at all. 6/13

ISTP | virtuoso/crafter Very comfortable with change Easily find the solution in any problem Always want to know how things work Love to be constantly doing something Handle crisis-situations really well Efficient af in everything you do Stubborn when you know you’re right Hard for others to tell how you’re feeling <<< For the most part. My mom is good at it, though. 100% a hands-on learner Could easily be a mechanic or it the military You’re never afraid to make a mistake You dress for comfort more than style Easily bored and unfocused with tasks 3/13

ENFP | campaigner/champion Spotted constantly laughing So much enthusiasm for life Love to start new projects Constantly have a new hobby to do Hate repetitive tasks so much Expert at brainstorming new ideas Not a fan of micromanagers Very quick to understand people’s concerns So much energy Probably a comedian or counselor You’re never afraid to make a mistake Easily motivate people to join a cause Always looking at the big picture of life 2/13

ISFJ | defender/protector Very sensitive to others’ feelings Love to have a routine to follow every day Drawn to facts more than theories Hate the “unknown” in any situation <<< The unknown is generally scary to me, but some things I don’t want or need to know. Always want to keep others safe and sound Safety first You’re always obeying the laws/rules Known to procrastinate on certain things Easily taken advantage of, unfortunately Strives as a nurse or interior designer So detail-oriented and organized You love following traditions Probably quiet as a child 6.5/13

ESTP | entrepreneur/persuader Always seeking to have a good time Bubbly and happy almost all the time Love being the center of attention Like to live in the “now” Sometimes you can be too impulsive Life always seems to work out for you Expert at adapting the life changes Rules suck Very observant of the people around you Could be an entrepreneur or bartender So detail-oriented and organized People are drawn to your enthusiasm You’re a “get things done” person 0/13

INTP | logical/thinker You’re known to be quiet/thoughtful Can be distracted for hours by one thing Always hated group projects <<< Not because I have a problem with working with others, it’s just that group projects always gave me added stress. I didn’t like my grade dependent on other people and vice versa. I always stressed about everyone getting their part done. You find it hard to trust others Serious introvert Have a child-like sense of wonder Hate structure You never run out of things to talk about Can handle criticism pretty well Would strive as a lawyer or professor Will share educational articles with others Could easily win a debate with anyone Just generally pretty smart 5.5/13

ENTJ | commander/ceo Find the most efficient way to do anything Very goal-focused Can come across very assertive Born to be a leader Work hard and play hard Can motivate anyone to do anything Hate repeated mistakes Feel the need to fix everything Allergic to stupidity Never satisfied with your own work It’s so easy to get what you want Probably excel as a lawyer or ceo The word “impossible” doesn’t exist for you 1/13

INFJ | advocate/counselor Fear doing the wrong thing Genuinely want to please and help others Believe in the complexities of relationship <<< Not sure I understand this correctly, but I think so? Love encouraging others to be better Very likely an empath Could be a photographer or teacher Always avoiding conflict and criticism Feel the need to fix everything Really good at communicating with others Take relationships very seriously Sociable and fun but needs time alone too Loves physical contact with people Always the one to give advice to others <<< I used to be. 6.5/13

ENTP | debater/inventor Constantly coming up with abstract ideas Champion at debates Arrogant but also aware of your own faults The most introverted extrovert Getting really excited about sharing ideas Constantly changing your opinions Low tolerance for people but also social You overanalyze everything Known to take a lot of risks in life Picking accidental fights all the time Have probably argued with authorities So freaking clever Could be a detective or inventor as a career 1/13

ISTJ | logistical/inspector Take constructive criticism like a boss You thrive on organization Incredibly responsible You don’t rest until the job is done Actually really good with money Believe things should be done by the book Strive for structure in your every day life Absolutely hate getting in trouble Probably an officer or accountant Literally the most dependable person Sometimes too logical for people Take time to warm up to new ideas Some call you a perfectionist 3.5/13

[kinksvt]

jealousy - 1

requested:

anon: dom mingyu with dirty talk and daddy kink, please? 😭 and maybe overstimulation and he’s super sweet after and takes care of you

→ pairing: mingyu x reader

✱ genre/warnings: near infidelity, slight innuendo, that's it

✱ word count: 2,609

part 2

a/n: i decided that i’d make this request into two parts! i’ll post the smutty part soon! sorry for such a long break everyone :(

When Mingyu invited you to come with him to the club, you did not expect to be spending most of the time alone. Mingyu and you hardly ever went out, so when he came to you—eyes sparkling with excitement—you could hardly say no to him. He jumped up and down like a puppy and it warmed your heart. But now that you actually went through with his request, you regret it. You were on the dance floor with Mingyu, your hands empty while one of his held a glass of alcohol that wasn't known to you. He had his other hand on your hip while you two danced badly to the blaring music. That was until Mingyu had seen someone he knew and told you that he'd "be right back." 

You whined in response, putting both your hands on his hips to prevent him from leaving. "Don't leave me alone, baby." 

Pouting, you looked up at him and he groaned. "It'll only be a moment, princess. I promise." You hesitated before letting go, resulting in him downing his drink and giving you a quick kiss. Then he disappeared into the crowd which leads you up to now. 

It had been well over an hour—or it at least seemed like it. 

You searched through the waves of people drinking, dancing, making out and near the verge of fucking right then and there for a sign of your tall boyfriend. Sighing, you rested your chin on the palm of your hand, tracing around the neck of your drink. You were bored, to say the absolute least. You were thinking of inviting some of your friends to come and join you just to ease some of the boredom that flooded your body. You just wanted to go home with Mingyu and possibly do something other than sleep. Your dress was feeling uncomfortable and you just now started to pay attention to the underwire from your bra that's been digging into your skin. You groaned while you attempted to fix it, pulling the wire down and moving your boobs around. 

"You look happy." A voice said throughout the air. You turned around to see a black haired man, wearing a casual yet attractive outfit. He looked about your height, maybe a just a smidge bit taller and his eyes were sharp. He intimidated you feel a bit, the way he looked at you. 

You cleared your throat, remembering he had even spoken to you. "Uh," you laughed lightly. “Yeah, super happy." 

The unnamed man chuckled, motioning the bartender over and ordering for himself. The man sat next to you, his fingers intertwined and rested on the table. "So, what's a beautiful girl like you doing all alone?" 

You let out a breathy laugh, he was already flirting with you and he didn't even know your name. "I had a date but he kinda.." you motioned your hand to the crowd that was behind you, "disappeared." 

He let out a noise in response, "His loss then." The bartender returned with his drink and the man pulled out his wallet. He took out a black Amex card and handed it to the bartender, making him leave off. The man sitting next to you took a large sip of his drink. 

"Is this how you pick up all your women?" You joked. 

He chuckled, accidentally blowing a bubble into his alcohol as he took another sip. "No, actually," he set the drink down. "Just you." 

Your eyes widened as you felt his cold hand come into contact with your exposed thigh. You cleared your throat and brushed his hand off lightly. "Before we continue this conversation," you started. "Can I know your name?" 

He smirked, "Jihoon. You?" 

"Y/N. And before you say it, I've heard the phrase 'beautiful name for a beautiful girl' too many times." Jihoon laughed, his eyes turning into crescents. 

The bartender—who you learned was named Seungcheol—gave Jihoon his card back. Jihoon politely nodded at him and put the card back in its slot in his wallet. "So Jihoon," you decided to take a drink of your light alcohol, having been abandoned it for a while. "What do you do for a living?" 

Jihoon smiled at your curious question, no one usually asks about his career. "I'm a singer and composer." 

Your eyes raised quickly, genuinely surprised. "Really?" 

He nodded his head in response, "Really. I produce a lot of songs and compose music for big artists. I practically saved my entertainment company from going bankrupt when I was 19." 

Your jaw dropped and you stared at Jihoon. "Holy shit, that's so cool! How many songs have you written? Where do you get inspiration?" 

Jihoon smiled at you and began to tell you everything while you sat and listened in pure awe. You had never met an actual successful man go to a public place so casually before, especially a club. 

Jihoon told you that he always comes here just to get lost, have a drink or two and make friends. Surprisingly, he normally doesn't pick up girls or really have a deep conversation like the two of you. You and Jihoon talked for what seemed like hours. He ordered drinks for you and himself, while still being careful not to give you too much. It was nice being in Jihoon's presence, talking like old high school friends who knew each other for years. He ended up giving you his number because he wanted to keep contact with you. He told you that you were easy to talk to and you said the same to him. You had forgotten why you came here in the first place, with Mingyu. You didn't know where he had went and to be quite frank, you were glad that he had left. You wouldn't have made friends with a nice, genuine person. It had been months, maybe even years since you had made a new friend. 

Jihoon must have had a low alcohol tolerance because he already seemed a bit tipsy in your eyes. His words became a bit slurred and he was laughing too much at what you said, despite it not having a punchline. Jihoon called Seungcheol over to give him another drink and Seungcheol fulfilled his request. "Jihoon, I think that's enough drinks for you." 

He groaned when you spoke, "Y/N, I'm fiiiiine." Seungcheol returned, giving him his drink that he ordered but before Jihoon could grab it, you took it away. "Nooo! I'm not finished." Jihoon tried to reach your hand with his drink, you only moving it away farther. He ended up crashing into your boobs, face first, while still attempting to grab his alcohol. 

"Jihoon!" You cried out, pushing him away back into his chair. He smirked slightly and muttered a quiet apology to you. Your cheeks heated up with embarrassment, feeling like all eyes were on you. You quickly shook off your suspicions and tried to continue the conversation with Jihoon.

Little did you know, your suspicions were not just in your head. 

Mingyu was stuck talking to his friend, Wonwoo and his rising acting career. He missed Wonwoo but man, can he talk your ear off. Mingyu just wanted to get back to you and take you home. Wonwoo kept cutting Mingyu off every time he had a feeling Mingyu was trying to leave. Even when Mingyu wanted to get a drink Wonwoo still didn't allow it. He doesn't even know how long its been since he had left you, feeling a bit guilty that you probably were all alone. Mingyu didn't want to be mean but damn was he close to just hurting Wonwoo's feelings. 

He looked around for you while he "listened" to Wonwoo's story about his biggest gig and his upcoming role in a drama show. It was then, when Mingyu finally saw you through the arms of people standing around and talking. You were sitting at the bar, seemingly talking to someone and he was relieved that you weren't alone. He shifted his head and body around, wondering who had the honor of being his temporary replacement while he was stuck with Wonwoo. 

"Are you even listening to me?" The latter asked, moving in front of Mingyu's view. 

"Yes! Of course I was!" Mingyu exclaimed, getting fed up with his old friend. 

Wonwoo gave him a look, knowing for a fact that he actually wasn't paying attention. "Am I boring you, Gyu?" 

Mingyu suddenly felt guilty. Wonwoo was clearly just excited to share his accomplishments with him and Mingyu was getting annoyed and wanting to leave. His subconscious was telling him to just listen to Wonwoo and let him ramble--no matter how badly it pained him and how much he wanted to go back to you. "No, I'm just trying to look for someone, make sure that they're okay. It's been a while since I checked up on them and I was just getting a tad worried."

Wonwoo's features softened, feeling bad that he was keeping Mingyu and even making him worried. "Go ahead, it's okay."

Mingyu shook his head, still feeling guilty. "I just need to look around, then you can continue." And that's just what he did. Mingyu stepped to the side of Wonwoo, finally locking eyes on you. He took in how beautiful and gorgeous you looked tonight--maybe even a little too gorgeous. He finally took a look at who you were having a conversation with, and he couldn't lie when he felt his insides churn with a pang of jealousy.

You were intently listening to a black haired male, definitely way shorter than he, and with sharp, dark cat-like eyes. Mingyu had to be honest, he was pretty attractive. The man was talking to you, laughing a bit--thus making you giggle in response. He seemed drunk and when Seungcheol came over, handing the unknown guy another drink along with two other glasses that were empty, it confirmed his suspicions. You then took the drink that was, most likely for the stranger, and that stranger, was not happy about it. Mingyu saw the man try to grab it but instead, land face first right into your chest. You shouted, "Jihoon!" And at last, Mingyu finally knew the name of the man he wanted to strangle right then and there.

"Okay, continue." Mingyu said through his teeth, still looking at you and Jihoon. He pulled out his phone while Wonwoo spoke. He opened his conversation with you and began to type a text. Mingyu stared at you, waiting for you to get his message.

You and Jihoon managed to ignore what had happened and continued on with your conversation. He talked about the people he worked with--between slurs and giggles of course--and you talked about what you did for a living and how you wanted to become a writer. In the midst of Jihoon speaking, your phone vibrated. You apologized to him and he shook it off, continuing what he was saying as you pulled your phone from your handbag.

Mingyu: You're in for it tonight at home, princess.

You gulped as your eyes scanned over your boyfriend's text message. What did you do? All you've been doing is just talking to Jihoon while he was off to God knows where. He was the one that had ditched you, so what could you have possibly done to get you in trouble? Your mind wandered as you tried to come up with any logical explanation behind Mingyu's text.

More time passed, more drinks passed that Jihoon downed in a second, and more flirty exchanges from the drinks that Jihoon downed. The more that Jihoon drank, the more loose he became, resulting in him becoming more confident with you. You wanted to tell him that you had a boyfriend but you didn't wanna ruin anything. Plus his mind was probably so smeared that even if you told him, he wouldn’t be able to register it. Mingyu texted you that he was going to head home, asking if you wanted to come with. You were confused as to why he needed to ask, and wouldn't he be worried about you? Clearly not, so you denied his question, wanting to continue to talk to Jihoon. Mingyu merely responded with an "Okay.." and you supposed he left. He sent you a photo a few minutes afterwards, his face half-shown with your dog in his lap and a thumbs up sign. He always let you know that he got home safely and you were still left in confusion. Why would he leave without you? Weren't you in trouble? What would be waiting for you when you got home..?

"Y/N.." Jihoon said, dragging out the last syllable of your name. You looked over at him, your eyebrows raised. "You're so pretty, you know that?"

You chuckled, ignoring him. "And you're so drunk, you know that?"

He hummed, "I don't have to be drunk to see that though." Jihoon bit his lip, looking at you up and down. 

You felt a slight blush creeping up onto your cheeks, flattered that a man--you had just met--as attractive as Jihoon, thought you were pretty. "Well, thank you then, Jihoon. I appreciate that."

He scooted his chair closer to you, and looked into your eyes. "You're really hot too." 

You swallowed dryly, your heart beginning to pick up its pace. The way Jihoon looked at you, as if you were his prey and he hadn't had anything to eat in days. His eyes darkened, lowering onto you. "Th-Thank you," your breathing became scattered and you stumbled over your words. Your cheeks became extremely warm. Jihoon was bluntly flirting with you and he wasn't hiding any hidden message behind it either.

"It's a shame you're taken though, right?" He placed his hand on your thigh, making you jump the slightest.

You only nodded, not trusting yourself to speak.

Jihoon began to move his hand higher up, "I bet I could treat you better than he could." He whispered. He had you in a trance, not realizing what was even happening. His eyes locked with yours, drawing you in and blurring out the world surrounded by you. Jihoon glanced at your lips and leaned in. You could feel his breath against your lips, making you feel weak in the knees--despite sitting down. 

Suddenly, you snapped out of the spell Jihoon put you under, backing away quickly. A rush of guilt filled your veins and you told him that you had to leave. You rushed out of the club quickly, heading home while being wary of your surroundings. Your knees felt like jello and your stomach flip flopped with shame, almost kissing a random man you only knew for a few hours. Approaching your house with caution, you couldn't see any lights on in the house. You wondered if Mingyu was home or if he had gone off somewhere else without telling you, which would've been weird if he did. You fumbled in your handbag, searching for your keys and entering your shared home. 

"Mingyu? Baby?" Your voice echoed throughout the seemingly empty house. You sighed, taking your shoes and jacket off and heading upstairs to your room. You didn't feel like turning on a light so your muscle memory took your legs to the bed where you flopped onto with a deep exhale. Your hands reached behind your back to unclasp your bra, a breath of relief exiting your chest as you were freed from your confinements.

Your eyes were suddenly blinded as a light flashed on, Mingyu standing in the doorway. His eyes were dark and the shirt he had on unbuttoned. He held the belt that had once kept his pants tight in his right hand. "You're in big trouble, princess.”

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Saturday Spectacular #19

Happy Saturday!!! So this is me thanking awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and all the time they put into their fics. ♥️ I want to recommend spectacular fanfic stories I read this week! ♥️ All posts will be tagged #saturday spectacular fic rec

Hello friends, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. It’s been a crazy few months. This semester I started college and am getting an associate's degree in one year that means I’m taking 23 credits this fall term. It’s been a bit crazy but I’ve still been read fic so this what I’ve read since September 21. It’s not going to be in order.

light upon darkened dreams by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: After the events of 8x04, Oliver remains awake long into the night, getting lost in his thoughts about his children and Felicity. It's a good thing he isn't asleep, because he catches Mia suffering from a horrific nightmare. How can a father comfort his daughter from the future from a bad dream when they're still practical strangers to each other?

Artemis by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When the Queen’s Gambit sank, two people were stranded on Lian Yu. Five years later, four came back.

Daughter of the Demon by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra’s al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter’s existence.

The Ravager by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Slade Wilson’s plan for revenge against Oliver took time, money and no shortage of lives to pull together. His plan didn’t anticipate Felicity Smoak. How will his plan change now that his lost-lost daughter is working with the very man he’s trying to destroy?

Felicity of Themiscyra by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Years ago, Donna Smoak left the island of Themiscyra and her sister Queen Hippolyta behind to live in man’s world. She never told Felicity the truth about where she came from. As a result of the Undertaking, Felicity discovers some of her Amazonian abilities and makes an interesting new friend: Diana Prince.

The Daughter That Was Left by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Before the Gambit, Oliver Queen met QC intern Felicity Smoak. When he boarded the Gambit, he left something behind. Now, five long years later someone is waiting for him.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

The Point of No Return by @oneofthosecrazygirls-fics | Arrow | Completed

Summary Oliver and Felicity prepare for their first date. This fic is part of the What Should’ve Been ‘verse, but can be read as a stand-alone fic.

Can’t Help Falling in Love by @smoaking-greenarrow | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Collection of fluff fics based on Tumblr prompts! Some are angsty, but most of this is fluffy. Enjoy!

Let the Light Shine Through by @griever11 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Your heart starts healing and it’s a slow process. After all, it’s been in shambles; sharp, cruel pieces of rubble lying on the bottom of your rib cage for so long. Wounds heal, as they say. They’ll scar, and they hurt, but they heal.

Baby Daddy by more0rLessJess | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Bartender Oliver Queen was living his twenties to the fullest, he lived with his best friend John Diggle, and his brother in everything but blood, Tommy Merlyn just moved into their apartment as he started his professional baseball career for the Starling City Rockets. On top of that, his childhood best friend Felicity Smoak, who was no longer goth and instead blonde and beautiful, was back in town and they were hanging out again. Oliver thought his days were going to be filled with partying, one night stands, and boys weekends while also spending quality time with the girl everyone kept telling him he was in love with. Until his ex girlfriend dropped a baby on his doorstep who turned out to be his son. After a lot of thought and Felicity Smoak peptalks, Oliver decides to keep and raise his son with the help of his friends. Or the Freeform sitcom Baby Daddy AU that no one asked for but I needed to write. Aka Oliver and Felicity are childhood friends and are hopelessly in love with eachother and everyone knows but them, oh and now they're raising a baby. What could go wrong?

call me my love, day or night by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: As Mia and William are enjoying their Monte Cristos, Oliver receives a phone call from somebody who is not Curtis. Somebody who is far, far more important.

and you'll blow us all away by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver desperately tries to connect with his daughter but it seems all he needed was a photograph and the memory of a woman both of them love more than anything. [Post-8x04 Oliver & Mia moment]

Fight To Live by CSM | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Post 803. Oliver's conversation with adult William and Mia does not go as planned and there is only one person that can help him. Takes places directly after the episode.

New York's Finest (Supernatural) Detectives by BillCipherpines | Brooklyn Nine-Nine & Shadowhunters | Completed

Summary: Jake Peralta is 100%, without a doubt, definitely sure that his friend Simon Lewis is a vampire. But when he sets out to prove it to his friends they get sucked into the world of Shadowhunters and realize that petty drug dealers are the least of New York's problems. But not to worry, New York's finest Shadowhunters are on the case

The Unlikeliest Places by @griever11 | Arrow | Completed

Summary: 'It all starts on an unassuming Friday evening. Or rather, if she’s being honest with herself, everything else in her life ends on that Friday.' 

An AU meeting fic where Felicity Smoak accidentally-on-purpose stumbles upon some shady activity as an IT tech for Queen Consolidated and realises that she really isn't being paid enough for any of this.

In Another Life (I could be your man) by angelicmisskitty | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Their lives couldn't be more different - and yet Oliver can't take his eyes off the beautiful blonde woman that leaves the subway every morning at 7.43am. There is something about her that makes him look up every morning - something that also makes him aware he'll never be good enough for her, or that she'd even notice him.

He had no idea how much his life would change the day he rushed over to help her...

Olicity AU - no Lian Yu, no saving the city (at least not in the way we know from Arrow :D )

Here At Last by thecomebackkids99 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: A 8x04 spec fic of what happens right after Mia, William, and Connor are transported to the bunker.

Against All Odds by CSM | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Post 3x14. Time Travel. Going back in time. Changing the future is not an exact science but he knows if anyone can do it, it’s her. If there is one thing Eleanor Queen can do, is be a hero. After all she has heroes’ blood pumping through her veins.

Lucas' Adventures by CSM | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Post 2x07. One late night in the foundry Oliver finds an abandoned baby, who he later finds out is his biological son, the only thing is the baby seems to think Felicity is his mother, which is impossible. Or is it? aka, Mia Smoak gets tired of her baby brother and sends him to 2013 where their unsuspecting parents find him. Companion piece to Impeccable Genetics.My contribution for the Olicity Summer Sizzle

“Time for a story” Drabble Series by @smkkbert | Arrow | WIP

Summary: This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. It started as a drabble series, but developed more and more into a full domectic AU. Although some chapters are still drabble-like, there are longer storylines by now.

With You by @griever11 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Post 8x03 Leap of Faith. Oliver, William and Mia have a lot of feelings and in classic Queen fashion, have somewhat of a hard time expressing them. Oliver learns about the future and his kids try to make sense of the past.

in the here and now by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Set immediately post-8x03. “Dad?” Oliver stares in utter disbelief at the trio who have appeared on the bunker platform along with him in a blinding flash of light. For a good couple of seconds, his brain just… stops functioning. He’s so astonished that he can’t think, he can’t breathe, he can’t feel anything but shock.

The Blame Game by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: After they recover from their sudden appearance in the past, what's left of FTA still need to deal with what happened before they left. Mia and Connor both seek a moment of peace and Mia's brother and father are the guiding hand she needs as she feels like she's drowning.

There Are Two Sides to Every Story by @oneofthosecrazygirls-fics | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Susan Williams and Bethany Snow are two of Starling City’s most prominent journalists...but their styles are very different.This is a series of articles written by these two journalists from the time of the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit to the present day.**set in the What Should’ve Been ‘verse**

Campfire Stories by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Samantha has finally agreed to allow William to spend a month of his summer vacation with Oliver, Tommy, and Felicity. William asks to spend his first weekend with Oliver camping - alone. Oliver is more than a little nervous to spend time alone with his son when he still feels like a stranger.

The First Time by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Every love story has a beginning, theirs started with a death.

Home Is Where You Are by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity is away on business and missing home. Tommy surprises her with an unexpected visit.

The Italian Restaurant by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity, Oliver and Tommy go on their first date which leads to other firsts.

Cobble Hill by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Tommy surprises Oliver and Felicity with a proposal that will mark a milestone in their relationship.

Up All Night by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: After a close call in the field, Oliver and Felicity reconnect.

Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow? by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Donna arrives for an unexpected visit and Felicity must decide if she is going to reveal the truth about her relationship with Oliver and Tommy.

Wherever You Are, There I Am by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: The history of Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn's relationship.

Burgers & Lies by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Tommy confronts Felicity about a secret she has been keeping.

Welcome Home by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity has been away for two weeks and missing her guys. Oliver and Tommy are very happy when she returns from her trip early.

Twenty Questions Over Brunch by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Thea has a few questions for Felicity about her relationship with Oliver and Tommy.

Look Me In The Eye And Make Me Feel The Truth by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: A night out in the public eye might be more than their relationship can take.

Three by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity hasn't been acting herself all week. Tommy and Oliver finally confront her and they aren't prepared for what she tells them.

Practical Jokes and Other Misunderstandings by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver and Tommy tell Thea about their relationship.

House Warming by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Oliver, Felicity and Tommy celebrate their first night together in their new home.

Perfect by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Felicity receives a call in the middle of the night from a distraught Tommy.

Nine to Five by @griever11​ | Arrow | Completed

Summary: The new receptionist at Oliver's office is weird, quirky and really cute but totally not his type. At all. Or so he tells himself. An Arrow/The Office AU.

keep this love in a photograph by @alexiablackbriar13​ | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: An alternate 8x01 scene.Moira suspects that there is more to her son than meets the eye when Oliver returns home from the island after twelve years.When she catches him with the photo he's carrying around of him with Felicity Smoak and a baby, a confrontation and an emotional conversation ensue.

Mothers know best by @smkkbert​ | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together.After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

The Legacy of a Queen by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | WIP 

Summary: Series of one-shots from a future AU where Oliver and Felicity are able to raise their children after they defeat the Ninth Circle and Oliver hangs up the hood

A Brother in Arms by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | WIP 

Summary: “I just… she really found me and sent you here?” He asks quietly and John’s face morphs from concern into a sad smile as he nods.“Oliver, you know she’d be here herself if it weren’t for Mia.”“I… it’s been a week. She said she’d find me but I didn’t expect…” Missing moment from 8x01 where John and Oliver discuss Felicity finding Oliver and sending John to Earth-2 to help his brother.

Providence by @so-caffeinated | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Will Queen has struggled in silence in the year since he was shot. But when a shadowy crime lord known as Domino targets the only woman Will’s ever truly loved, fate forces him to confront his demons in ways he never could have imagined… Whether he wants to or not. Amelia Prescott has fought to take control of her life since learning two years ago that her personal and professional worlds were manipulated by others. But nothing can prepare her for just how hard she’ll have to fight to set her own course, especially when her heart belongs to a damaged man and a crime lord threatens her every professional move… And her life. Destiny brings them together, but as chaos reigns and personal demons haunt Will and Amelia both, it may also threaten to tear them apart.

What Are You Doing Here, Miss Queen? by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | WIP 

Summary Sara Lance prides herself on knowing people, she gets them in a way a lot of others struggle with. So when a mysterious blonde shows up to help with the fight of their lives, Sara is surprised when there's something about her that she just can't put her finger on. That is until she figures out that this supposed 'Green Arrow from another earth' is actually Oliver's time-displaced daughter. [Sara sees straight through Mia's Crisis disguise, confronts her about what she's doing in the past, and forces father and daughter into a conversation that is clear they needed to have]

the true meaning of sacrifice by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Around five years after Crisis, Felicity is surprised and angry when a group of three heroes show up at her door demanding help from her.

i will find you again by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: a short-introspective on oliver in s8 inspired by the scene in the trailer as he takes a moment to remember the reason he's fighting. his wife, his children... they give him the strength he needs to be the hero the universe requires

Paging Dr. Smoak by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver Queen gets into a car accident, he meets Dr. Felicity Smoak. He had no idea how much a chance meeting would change his life.

little wonders (twists and turns of fate) by @alexiablackbriar13​ | Arrow | Completed  Summary: Oliver and Felicity's drunken mistake of a hook-up in the bunker comes with unexpected consequences in the form of a... souvenir.Deciding to remain romantically uninvolved, the two of them will have to battle all the trials and tribulations of maintaining a platonic relationship while Felicity is pregnant and the two of them are living together, coping with all the emotional baggage that they both bring to the table - and dealing with the fact that they are still very much in love with each other, but scarred by the events that broke them apart in the first place.

time falls away (in these small hours) by @alexiablackbriar13​ | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Missing scene and side-story oneshots and drabbles set within my S5 post-bunker sex AU little wonders (twists and turns of fate). (Will contain spoilers) Summary for little wonders: Oliver and Felicity's drunken mistake of a hook-up in the bunker comes with unexpected consequences in the form of a... souvenir. 

Must be what I need by Nerdofmanytalents | Arrow | One-shot

Summary: Thea gets to meet the reason for her brother's preoccupation of late. Its both exciting and terrifying.

Hawkins: The Upside by allonsysilvertongue | Stranger Things | WIP

Summary: A collection of one shots featuring Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper.Recent Update: "I think you're beautiful."

Welcome to Starling Prep Elementary by inlovewithimpossibility | Arrow | Completed

Summary: When William Clayton and Adalyn Smoak bond over being the two new kids in Starling Prep Elementary's first-grade class, their parents are not prepared for what comes of their children's friendship. Plus, it doesn't hurt that both Oliver and Felicity are single.

Our Version of Events by @machawicket​ & @geneeste​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Action star Ollie Queen is trying to clean up his image and land parts that require him to do more than appear shirtless while fighting stuntmen. Pop star Felicity Smoak wants to be seen as an adult in time for the release of her new, grittier album. And talent manager John Diggle’s got an idea about what coverage of Oliver and Felicity’s brand new (and totally fake) romance could do for them both.

Workouts and Babbles by @elasticmonk​ | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver comes to the rescue of one cute blonde at his gym just as Felicity stumbles upon one handsome mayor at her gym. They both have something in common, but will it bring them happiness?

Bodyguard by originalhybridlover | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity needs a new bodyguard and Diggle referred her to an old friend, Oliver Queen. Unknowingly she meets the man she would one day marry.

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

@hope-for-olicity @emdee8907 @malafle @laxit21 @icannotbelieveiamhere

[chasholidays]

thanks so much for doing this again, it's always super fun!!! after much deliberation my love for the single best asshole friend murphy fic in the universe won out, and my request is "in the library of my house i have a laugh" + graduation :)

Original fic here!

If Murphy had his way, he’d never actually leave grad school.

It’s not so much that grad school is so great and more that once he leaves grad school, he needs something else to do, and that’s a terrifying prospect. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t have a future in academia, not with how much better everyone else in academia is at the whole thing than he is, and he can’t just coast on Jaha thinking he’s brilliant forever. And if he’s not in academia, he doesn’t know what else to do. Somehow, horrifyingly, that’s all he knows.

“Maybe a self-help book,” says Emori. “Isn’t that how people with philosophy degrees and no other skills make money?”

“I think we just starve to death,” he says, staring up at the ceiling. He doesn’t want to have an existential crisis, but it might be unavoidable.

“I still don’t know why you’re so convinced you can’t get a job here,” Emori says. “Jaha isn’t the only one in the department who likes you.”

“Yeah, but can you imagine me as a teacher? Fuck, I don’t want to have the read the bullshit I write, fuck student papers. TAing was a nightmare, and I don’t want to publish research.”

“If only they had an open position for a visionary.”

“I think that’s Jaha too.” He huffs. “You got an idea for that self-help book? I think it only works if I’m actually successful.”

“You have a PhD and minimal student debt. That’s success to many.”

“Probably better to just skip it and be a bartender,” he grumbles, and she kisses his forehead.

“We might be hiring.”

“Awesome, keep me posted.”

*

The thing is, Murphy understands his skills. He’s decent at bullshitting, and he’s not actually a bad writer. He’s definitely engaging, and people like listening to him talk. He’s not exactly competent, but he’s good at surviving. Grad school seemed like a good thing, but now he’s supposed to go into the world and use what he’s learned, except he hasn’t really learned anything, and he doesn’t have any more idea what he should be doing than he did when he decided he might as well get his PhD.

“This is going to sound extreme,” says Bellamy, “but did you think about asking Jaha?”

“How dare you,” he says, reflexive. Then he actually thinks about it. “Asking him what?”

“He’s your adviser. In theory, he’s supposed to help you get a job.”

“That sounds fake.”

Bellamy shrugs, easy. At this point, he’s basically the poster-boy for academic success: not only do he and Clarke both have jobs in their fields, and said jobs are close enough together that they’re on track to be married and start in on their future as functioning human beings in the next year or so. Bellamy even proposed, which, like, it’s not like either Murphy or Emori wants to get married, but he honestly wasn’t expecting Bellamy and Clarke to be so on top of this whole thing.

It’s not a competition, because their idea of a happy future is completely different from Murphy’s. But he’s used to being able to feel a lot more smugly superior to them, and having to admit they seem good while he’s struggling is kind of fucking with his head.

“I’m not saying it’s a miracle fix,” he says. “Honestly, I don’t know what kind of career advice Jaha would give. But if he wants to hire you, you probably want to find out about that now.”

“You think I could be a professor?”

He makes a face. “No. But I didn’t think you could get a PhD, I’m not counting anything out.”

At least his continued success upsets someone. That’s something he’s got going for him. “Guess it’ll at least be interesting,” he says. “Always wanted to know what Jaha actually thought I was going to do with all this shit.”

“If you find out, let us know,” Bellamy grumbles.

Murphy raises his glass. “There’s always drinking myself to death.”

“If that hasn’t killed you yet, it probably never will,” says Gina, as he drains it.0

“Not with that attitude it won’t,” says Emori, and refills his drink.

So at least she’s still on his side.

*

“So, I was wondering if you had any career advice,” Murphy asks. It’s probably the only practical thing he’s ever said to Jaha, and he doesn’t like it. They don’t have real conversations. Jaha drones and Murphy snarks. It’s a really good dynamic. “Since I’m graduating soon.”

“Oh, you won’t need a career,” says Jaha, which is honestly the most terrifying thing he’s ever said to Murphy. And that’s a fucking competitive category.

“I like having food and shelter,” he says.

“John, the end is coming. Soon enough, the entire nature of society will change. In the new world, you won’t need employment.”

“Oh.”

“In the new world, people like us will–” he starts, and that’s a good sign that it’s safe for him to stop listening for a while. He nods and smiles and when he hears, “You should ask your girlfriend about this,” he makes a note to tell Emori that she’s still passing for a robot.

“Okay, so–great,” he says, once Jaha has finally wound down. “Really helpful. Thanks.”

“If you need a letter of recommendation in the meantime, just let me know,” he says, shockingly upbeat. He’s really excited for the robot uprising. “I’m always happy to help.”

“Yeah. Definitely want you vouching for me,” he mutters, and resists the urge to slam the door behind him.

*

It’s not as if Murphy is going to fall into immediate poverty once he’s done with school. Honestly, he’s still in pretty decent shape. He and Emori have a crappy apartment that suits them fine, and he’s still got his odd assortment of part-time jobs, including one he’s picking up at the bar. He’s going to get by.

But there is this weird, annoying, stubborn part of him that thinks he should be using his degree, and that sucks.

“It’s not like I wanted it,” he tells Emori and Gina. “Like, fuck, I was just doing it because I didn’t have anything better to do.”

“You were not,” says Emori. It’s one of the problems with actually having a girlfriend who gets him. “You wanted to prove you could do it, and you did.”

“I did, yeah. So now what?”

“I think you should become a YouTube personality,” says Gina. “That seems like a good fit for you.”

“Huh. I’m listening. Tell me more. What do I do as a YouTube personality?”

“Get high and talk about your thesis, like always.”

“How does that make money?”

“Set up a Patreon,” says Emori.

He shrugs. “What the hell, can’t hurt. Add it to the list.”

*

Murphy doesn’t really have much by way of family, and while he could theoretically invite his racist grandma to his graduation, he’d rather just go on never speaking to her because she’s a fucking asshole. And not in the cool way like he is.

So, instead, he will be celebrating his graduation with his ragtag group of asshole friends, and he’s a little bit emotional about it.

It’s the worst.

Bellamy, being a cook, an officially sanctioned adult, and the most mom-like person Murphy has ever met who is not actually anyone’s biological mother, is making dinner, and everyone else is bringing booze, and they’re having a big party to celebrate the fact that Murphy has somehow conned his way into a graduate degree. So long as he can avoid any accidental, unintentional displays of emotion, he should be fine.

The last thing he wants is for any of his friends to realize he values and loves them.

“If I start getting weird, I need you to take me out,” he tells Emori. “I assume you have tranq darts on you.”

“I have mace.”

“Close enough. If it seems like I’m going to say anything nice to anyone, just mace me.”

“How nice is nice?”

“I trust your judgement.”

“Well, that’s your first mistake,” she says, bright. “I am happy for you, John. I’m glad you were able to do this.”

“Yeah, me too. Now I just have to do something else.”

“Until my kind take over and you become our slaves,” she says, grinning.

“Yeah, do you have a date for that or anything? It would be great if I could plan around the robot uprising.”

“When you least suspect it,” she says.

“Fuck, then it’s never going to happen.”

All of the gang who could make it is at Bellamy and Clarke’s, which is a pretty decent number. They’ve dwindled in numbers over the years, as people have graduated and moved away, but they still have a pretty strong core friend group, and they’ve all come together to celebrate him.

Which is why he needs Emori on mace duty. It’s a very risky situation, emotionally speaking.

Clarke opens the door with an open bottle of whiskey in her hand. “For you,” she says. “You’re graduating, we figured you’d want to just drink directly from the bottle.”

“I want to do that when I’m not graduating,” he points out. But he does take the bottle and take a swig, because that’s what he’s about. “This is actually good whiskey.”

“It’s almost like we’re friends,” says Clarke. “Come on in.”

Miller and Monty are already around, with Gina and Raven on their way. It’s a smaller, more manageable group of people than they’ve had in the past, and it feels like the one that might stick. Couples are easier, it feels like, and they’re all pretty motivated to stay together and in the same place.

He takes another sip of whiskey. These are the thoughts he doesn’t need to be having. Not when alcohol exists.

“I’m going to go help Bellamy in the kitchen,” says Emori. “John, if you need to be maced, just yell.”

Clarke raises her eyebrows, and he shrugs it off. “Inside joke. Monty’s got video games?”

“Lots of video games.”

“Awesome. Thanks for having a party for me,” he adds, against his better judgement. “This is cool.”

“Bellamy’s head might actually explode when you get your diploma,” she says. “So we’re celebrating now.”

“Before he dies?”

“Eat, drink, and be merry,” she agrees. “Video games are in the living room.”

And that’s how it goes. He takes his whiskey and plays Mario Kart with his friends, and everyone swears a lot and drinks a lot, and once the food is done they eat a lot, and at the end of the meal, toasts go around in his honor. Clarke and Bellamy present him with a lifetime achievement award for worst adviser, and Monty plays a song he made with autotune and the best of Jaha’s weird voice messages.

He might say a few kind words himself, even. His breath might even hitch.

“You were supposed to mace me,” he tells Emori, on their way back. Everyone hugged when they were leaving. It was a lot.

“I was,” she says, completely unrepentant. “I didn’t. It was a nice evening. You like our friends, and I’m happy for you.”

“Jesus. Maybe I should mace you.”

She smiles, squeezes his hand. “It won’t happen again,” she promises. “Just this once.”

*

“So, I’m graduating now, you can tell me,” says Murphy. “This is all an act, right?”

Jaha blinks at him. “Excuse me?”

“You had something else going on, right? You’re not actually like this.”

“I don’t know what you mean, John.”

“Do you really think I’m a philosophical genius, or was this some weird prank? Is this a She’s All That deal? One of the other professors made a bet with you?”

“Of course not. All I wanted was for you to realize your potential.”

“Yeah? How’d that go?”

“I consider you one of my great successes.”

“As long as you’re happy.” He shrugs, feeling a little awkward. “Thanks, I guess. For everything. This was–cool.”

“I look forward to meeting you again in the new world,” Jaha says, and offers his hand.

There’s nothing to do but shake it.

“May we meet again,” he says, and that’s it.

He gets his diploma and hangs it on the wall behind the desk in the living room, where he’s been filming his new YouTube series, “Dr. John Murphy’s Guide to the Robot Apocalypse.” Some people in the comments have been doubting his credentials, and he’s looking forward to rubbing it in their faces.

And, he has to say, it looks good up there. Like it really belongs.

[peterparkyourassonme]

hotel; tom holland

pairing: tom holland x reader word count: 1,409 warning: lol, the word fuck summary: you and Tom meet one night at the bar in a hotel my other work

‘Ill see you guys tomorrow. I’m going to make a quick stop at the bar’. Tom said goodbye to his friends. Jacob, Harrison and Zendaya. They were staying at a hotel in (your country) for a press conference for Spider-Man Homecoming. ‘okay, goodnight’ Zendaya said and they all walked off. 

When Tom got to the bar you caught his eye. One of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. You were wearing a nice black dress. He really liked that you had (y/h/c) hair. 

Tom walked over to you. ‘Is this seat taken?’ He asked smoothly. You almost choked on your drink and spilled it out of fright. ‘I am so sorry miss. I guess I sneaked up on you a little. Let me buy you a drink’ Tom apologized and sat down. ‘No, don’t worry. I just did not see you coming, you were just.. there’ you giggled. ‘I’m getting you a drink, it was my fault’. He ordered the drinks and turned to you. ‘Hi, I’m Tom’ He held out his hand and smiled. ‘(Y/n)’ You shook his hand and returned the smile. The bartender put down the drinks. ‘Thanks for the drink and cheers’ You held up your drink and clinked your glas with Tom’s. 

‘You’re not from here, are you?’ You asked. ‘No, I am from London. Just here for work. You do live her?’ He asked. ‘Yeah, I live about five hours from here’.

A couple of drinks later and you were in a deep conversation. You told him about your job and your favorite tv shows. A huge part of the conversation was about you. ‘But we only have been talking about me, what about you?’ 

‘Well, I have a dog, I am a dog person. I have three younger brother’s. I like working out-’ He was rambling, not giving away anything about his career. ‘I can tell’ You commented. ‘What now?’ He smirked and laughed. ‘Nothing, nothing’ You said lightly. ‘As I was saying, I like to work out. I love Marvel. Not much more to me’ He smiled. 

‘So your a bit of a nerd?’ You asked. ‘You could say that, yeah’ He said. ‘You hate it don’t you?’ He bit his lip. ‘No, I’m not really into that stuff’ You looked away and clenched your teeth. Awkward. Then you started humming the old Spider-Man theme song. ‘Oh my god, I thought you were serious for a second’ He laughed with you and pushed your arm lightly. ‘No, I love marvel’ You were still laughing together.

'Excuse me, I am sorry, but my shift is done so I have to ask you to leave’ The bartender said. ‘We’ll be gone in a minute, have a good night’ You said to the guy and took Tom’s hand and dragged him off his chair to the elevators. You realized you were still holding his hand and let it go. A blush crept on both of your cheeks. 

You walked into the elevator and you and Tom’s hands both went to the same button for the fourth floor. They accidentally touched. It did mean you were on the same floor. Tom looked up at you and smiled as he pressed the button.

When you walked out of the elevator Tom spoke up. ‘I had a very nice evening, (Y/n)’. ‘Me too, Tom. You’re a cool guy’. 

'I guess bye then..’ Tom says awkwardly. 'Bye’ you respond. Tom put his key into the lock of his door. You put your key into the door next to him. 'So we’re neighbors too’ Tom says with a chuckle.'Yeah I guess so’ You say with a little laugh. ‘Goodnight’ you say with a smile and walk in your room 'Sleep tight (Y/N)’ He looks at you walk in and sighs. Then walks into his own room.

You let yourself fall on your bed. He was amazing. But what if you never see him again. You also forgot to ask his number. “maybe he’s out for some fresh air” You thought to yourself and rush out of your room. 

When you walked out into the hallway you sighed. There was no sign of him. There was just silence and dimmed lights. You walked back into your room, very disappointed.

You still couldn’t sleep. Your head was full of thoughts about him. He looked so familiar. 

You were sitting down for breakfast, scrolling through your Instagram feed. Someone sat down at your table. You looked up and were glad to see Tom. ‘Hey, Tom’ You said with a warming smile. ‘Hey, (Y/n). Mind if I sit?’ He pulled out the chair across from you. ‘no, not at all. sit down’ You put away your phone. 

‘Do you know those people? They keep looking over here’ You gestured towards a table that wasn’t too far from you. Tom looked at the table and chuckled. ‘Those are my friends, don’t worry about them’ He put a reassuring hand on your hand. You nodded and continued eating your breakfast.

When you took a better look at Tom’s friends you saw that the girl that was sitting with the two other guys was Zendaya. ‘uh, Tom? Is that friend of yours, could it be that she is uh.. Zendaya?’ You bit your lip, not tyring to come over as a fangirl. ‘Yeah, she is. We became really good friends over last year, you’re a fan?’ He was surprised you knew her but not him. 

‘She is my queen. I love that she has a role in the new Spider-Man movie, which is gonna be awesome’ you stopped yourself for a minute. ‘The new Spider-Man movie’ You mumbled. ‘Oh god, now I know why you were so familiar to me. You’re the new Spider-man and- and you were in Civil War’ You were not convincing him that you knew him. You were convincing yourself. ‘Yeah’ He said with a little side smile. 

‘I- I am sorry, I have to go’ You stood up from your seat and walked towards the elevators. ‘No! (Y/n) wait!’ You heard Tom call after you, but you ignored him. 

You stepped into the elevator and turned around. You could see Tom trying to get in, but he was too late the elevator closed. 

When you walked out of the elevator you got stopped by a smirking Tom. ‘You know the stairs are a lot faster’. ‘Could you move out of my way, please’ You said in a very soft tone. ‘Sure, but first tell me what’s wrong’

You sighed and looked up at him. 

'Okay well, I just really like you, I know after one night. Yes I do. I don’t know why but, you have something special. And I get that you’re not interested in me, because if I had not met you I would see your new movie and probably fan girl over you for a couple of months. And I am just an ordinary girl, you are way too good for me. I’ll just leave you alone and won’t tell anybody we’ve met’ You tell him and try to walk away. 

‘Stop walking away from me’ He says as he stops you. ‘Don’t you get it? I like you too, we have this crazy connection. You’re not an ordinary girl! How can you say that? You’re so cool and interesting! I am not gonna let this or you go’ He took your hands in his. ‘You’re not?’ You asked while you were heavily blushing. ‘No, now can I ask you something?’. You nodded. ‘Can I have your phone number?’ He asked very subtle. ‘Yes, you can’ You said before you both burst into laughter. 

‘I- I really want to kiss you, but it may be a bit too fast forward’ He smiled at his feet and scratched his neck. ‘fuck it’ You said and threw your arms around his neck. It was a very cute soft kiss. He pulled away, his hands were on your waist and your arms still around his neck. ‘I am going to check on my friends, they must be wondering where I am’. He pulled you in for a quick peck and then released you from his grip. ‘I’ll call you’ he said with a wink. 

‘You better will’ You winked back at him.  

A/N: Really enjoyed writing this, thought it was p cute.

If anyone is interested, I am going to make a permanent tag list for the people that would like to get notified whenever I upload fan fiction about tom. Most people follow me so they don’t forget my account (well that’s what I always do) but half of them still miss out on stuff. If you want to be added let me know!

give this a little like or reblog if you liked it, requests are welcome, 

and I’ll see you in the next one

[secret-captain-swan-blog]

Castle on the Hill

English Literature PhD student Emma Swan just needs money to pay for her last semester of grad school tuition. Killian Jones has always dreamed of opening a bookshop but has never been able to afford it. So when the small principality of Misthaven is looking for their lost princess, the pair decide that this might just be the perfect money making scheme.

A Multi-chapter Modern Day + Lost Princess (think Rapunzel/Anastasia-esque) + Book Lovers in a Coffee Shop AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 36061/ ?

Prologue (Part 1 + 2) // Ch 1 // Ch 2 // Ch 3 // Ch 4 // Ch 5

Read on: Ao3

It’s Friday evening when Emma finds herself staring at the mirror trying to decide if her look is 1) nice enough for the opera and 2) nice enough for a night out with Killian.

Not that she likes him.

She definitely doesn’t like him.

She can’t like him. Because she put those feelings into a bottle and put the bottle into the wall. The nice safe wall where she can’t like him.

This isn’t going well.

She quickly pulls out her phone to Facetime Belle. It rings a few times before the screen fills with her friend’s smiling face. She can see in the background the living room of their old apartment. There’s the canvas of New York they bought at Ikea and the funky lamp they found at a yard sale. It’s like she’s home, curled up with a cup of tea and ready for a life chat with her best friend.

“Emma!” She exclaims, “It’s so good to see you.”

“Thanks,” Emma says, “It’s great to see you too, Belle.”

“You look amazing,” Belle ooes, “Is that is pink dress? And blush? Emma Swan, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you have a date.”

Emma sighs and runs a hand over her high ponytail.

“Is it too much? Do I look silly?” She asks.

“No, you look darling,” Belle says, “But what’s the occasion?”

Emma doesn’t know what to say. She isn’t sure if she is ready to tell Belle everything yet.

“I’m going to the opera,” Emma tells her, “Well, the ballet, actually. But it’s in an opera house.”

“Are you really?” Belle asks, “And whom are you going to this opera with? Some dark haired Misthavian History PhD? Or maybe an adorable junior professor with an exotic accent?”

Emma smiles. Belle, good old Belle. Her friend has a mind full of marriage, a product of specializing in 19th Century women’s writers. She is always search for love stories in Emma’s life.

Only, this time she might be on to something.

She sinks down into the corner of her bed, “I don’t know, Belle. It’s not a date, really.”

“Emma?” Belle asks, concern eeping into her voice.

“I’m going with this guy, Killian,” She says, softly.

“Hmmm, tell me more,” Belle says, “Is he Misthavian?”

“He was born here, but grew up in England,” Emma explains.

“English accent, Irish name,” Belle muses, “I’m intrigued. What does he study?”

Emma shakes her head, “He isn’t in academia.”

“A civilian?” Belle says, giggling in mock horror.

“He’s a bartender,” She admits.

She wonders if Belle will look down on him for it. At Duke, their lives were so tied to the department that the idea of dating outside of academia seemed preposterous. But here, things seem different.

“Sexy,” Belle tells her and Emma lets out her breath. She has her friend’s approval.

“Very sexy, actually,” Emma remarks.

“So he’s gorgeous, huh?” Belle asks.

“Very much so,” Emma nods.

“So how’d you meet him?”

“I’m not completely proud of the story,” Emma admits.

“Out with it,” Belle demands.

Emma weaves for her best friend the story of how she met Killian at Mamie’s. She tells her about the hooded man, the red jacket, Blanche Neige and cappuccinos the size of her head, and the sunset boat ride.

“So, you like him?” Belle asks, when she finishes.

“I tell you a story about how I am planning on scamming the Queen of Misthaven, and the first thing you ask is if I like the guy who I am scheming with?” Emma laughs, relief walking off her.

“Well, do you?”

“Yes, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“Why not?”

“Because my first priority has to be my thesis, that’s what all this work is for,” Emma explains, “And my second priority is funding my thesis, which right now, looks like convincing the queen that I’m her daughter, I guess. All of those things come before boys.”

“But when are you are going to care about you? About your heart?” Belle demands.

“My heart isn’t important,” Emma says, laughing. Seriously, who says sappy stuff like that? “My thesis is important. My Ph.D is important. I’ll worry about my heart or whatever when I have a career and no student loans.”

“But then you’ll have a mortgage. You’ll have classes to teach. You’ll have research and grant applications and publications. You will always have something, Em. When are you going to care about you?” She asks.

Emma wants to roll her eyes, but she can’t because it’s her best friend. And because there is a bit of her that feels more sad than annoyed. Belle is right. There will always be something. So, does that mean that she has no option? Does that mean she’ll just never fall in love because she’s too busy trying to survive?

She gulps and tries to find the words to respond.

“I’m not saying it has to be him,” Belle explains, “You can fall in love with whoever you wish. I just hope that you do. I hope that eventually you find it in yourself to be open to that.”

There is a knock at the door. Emma startles, dropping the phone.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Belle asks.

“I think so,” Emma says.

“Enjoy, Em,” Belle tells her, “And don’t be afraid to keep your heart open.”

“Okay,” Emma says, “I’ll talk to you later.”

“And you do look really cute,” Belle adds.

“Thanks,” Emma says, flicking off her phone.

She glances back at the mirror. The pink dress is out of character for her, but she likes it’s softness. She does a little twirl in it, admiring the way the skirt fans.

“Emma, love,” A voice calls. His voice. “Open up, it’s me.”

Her stomach does a little backflip, but she walks to door none-the-less.

The first thing Killian notices about Emma is that she’s beautiful. Her pink dress swirls around her knees. Her hair is pulled back. Her face has a light gloss of make up on it. He can tell she’s put in a lot of effort.

For a moment, he wonders if it is to impress him.

Then he remembers that’s silly. She’s trying impress the queen. They are trying to impress the queen.

That doesn’t mean he can’t compliment her.

“Swan, you look-“ He begins, walking in.

“I know,” She says, shrugging off the compliment.

He steps into her apartment. She’s flitting around, tossing things into her clutch.

“You know, you clean up pretty well yourself,” She comments.

He feels his ears turn red. He’s worn a suit- it’s the only one he owns. He bought it for Liam’s funeral, the product of many weeks of saving up.  

“Thanks,” He says, “Shall we go to the opera, your highness? I’m afraid that I’ve left the carriage back at the palace. Will you oblige me to take the tram?”

She bursts into giggles, breaking the quiet moment.

“I suppose I can slum it today,” Emma says, as they head out of the apartment.

They walk through the hallways of the building and out onto the street below. The sun is just beginning to dip low in the sky, announcing the approach of evening.

“Tell me about your week as an illustrious academic,” Killian asks, as they start to walk the few blocks to the tram station.

“Far less exciting that it may seem,” Emma informs him, “I started teaching this week.”

“Hmm, Professor Swan, sounds brilliant. And how did that go?” He asks.

“Well, clearly I need to know more about the European education system,” She begins, “I kept asking the students questions and no one answered.”

“I’m not sure students here are as keen on participation,” He acknowledges.

“Right,” Emma says, “Safe to say, I’ve learned that.”

“And what are you teaching them? An entire course on Blanche Neige, I hope,” Killian teases.

“I wish,” Emma grumbles, “I’d be better at that. I’m teaching American literature, which isn’t close to my actual specialization.”

Killian frowns, “Tough luck, Swan.”

“Well,” She says, “Let’s hope we get luckier tonight.”

“Ah, Swan, you want to get lucky, do you?” He jests, “I can make that happen if you are interested.”

“Ugh,” She groans, “Are you always like this?”

His stomach plummets. He feels stupid. Emma doesn’t deserve his obnoxious innuendo habit.

“It’s a defense mechanism,” He mutters, remorse in his voice, “Or maybe a bad habit picked up from bar tending. Or maybe a survival instinct.”

The emotional sentiment is interrupted by the approach the tram. As usual, Emma swipes in and Killian skips the barrier.

They take seats together. Emma sits by the window. She’s silent for a moment, looking out the window in silence. He worries that he upset her. Or that he revealed too much.

Then she turns to him.

“I have survival instincts too,” She tells him.

“You do?” He asks.

“Yeah, mine look more like detailed lists and planners and routine. I’m not a naturally organized person, but I’ve forced myself to become that way,” She explains. Then in a whisper she adds, “Because I have to survive.”

He feels a wash of understanding between them. They both know about survival.

“Studying, reading novels, writing papers- that’s all I’m really good at. It’s all I have. That’s what surviving looks like to me. That’s why I’m so frantic about funding this thesis. If I don’t have my Ph.D, if I don’t have my dissertation- I don’t have anything,” She confesses.

He doesn’t say anything, but he takes her hand and squeezes it. She looks up at him with a smile.

“Emma, we are going to get you the funding,” Killian tells her, “The world needs your insights about Blanche Neige.”

She laughs, leaning into him, but somehow managing to drop his hand in the process. He wonders if it on purpose or an accidental causality.

The train announces their stop. Opèra, Opèra.

For the amount that Killian bragged about his knowledge of Misthaven, he’s never actually been in the opera. He hasn’t had much free time and he’s not opera-going man.

As they make their way into the building, he feels a flutter of nerves. Maybe this is too out of his league. Everything about the opera house is elegant from the outside: domed patina roof, gold guilding, and majestic stone statues. It’s not a place that a guy like him belongs.

“It’s something, isn’t it?” Emma asks, as they pause outside the doors, gazing up at the building.

“Definitely something,” Killian replies.

As if she can read his fears, she adds, “I felt intimidated last time I was here. But it’s really beautiful if you give it a chance. And hopefully the show won’t suck this time.”

“I mean the queen herself did promise it to be good,” Killian teases.

They walk into the lobby and his jaw drops a little.

“I’ll leave you here to drool over the details,” Emma says, “I’ll just be at the Will-Call.”

He watches her walk away, the dress swishing around her knees again. He can hardly believe that he’s here, in this magnificent opera house with a woman as smart and gorgeous as Emma Swan.

“Ready?” She asks, when she returns with the tickets. “We have like crazy good seats too.”

They wander up to the top of an ornate staircase where an usher directs them towards a hall after passing them programs.

They find their seats, or rather their box, second to the end of the hallway.

“Killian, look,” Emma says, pointing to the door past them. It has the Royal Misthaven crest on it in gold.

“This is her box, isn’t it?” She says, softer now.

Killian nods.

“We’re in the box next to the queen,” She says again.

It’s hitting them both how real this is. This whole thing is about to begin.

“We’ll have to thank her for the tickets at intermission,” He says.

This time Emma nods silently.

Killian opens the door to their box and they head inside. He gasps again at the ornate decorations inside. The seats are lined in red velvet.

“Look at the ceiling,” He murmurs.

Emma laughs, her eyes following his. There are dreamy images painted across it, swirling designs, delicate flowers and angels.

“This whole place is bloody beautiful,” He remarks.

She smacks him with her program and settles into her seat. The orchestra begins to tune and audience slowly quiets down.

Killian never thought that he’d ever enjoy ballet. Yet here he is, watching the dancers prance across the stage and being totally entranced.

“Have you ever seen anything like this Swan?” He whispers. “They’re all moving together.”

“Shh,” She says, swatting at him again, “We’re going to get kicked out.”

He can tell from the amused smile on her face that she’s more endeared than annoyed.

By intermission, Emma’s a mix of nerves and adrenalin.

The ballet doesn’t help. It’s a show called Coppelia. It just so happens to be about a girl pretending to be a doll. It makes Emma think about Princess Emma. It’s the same kind of thing, pretending to be an echo of a real person.

“We should go thank the queen,” Killian whispers in her ear.

Emma nods, “These were really good tickets. She definitely deserves our thanks.”

They stand to leave the box. Before she can make it to the door, Killian captures her hand.

Her heart flutters for a moment. Not from her nerves about the queen, but from the feeling on his hand in hers.

He did that before, earlier, on the tram. Just a soft comforting squeeze to signal that she wasn’t alone. He does the same thing now. He lifts his hand in his, squeezes it, and gives her an encouraging smile. He must know how wound up she is. He must know how worried she is.

“Thanks,” She says, opening the door.

They walk into the hallway, his hand still in hers, and approach the queen’s door. She knocks once and the door is opened by someone who resembles a cartoon character version of a guard. Misthaven guards, she’s read, are known for dressing in funny uniforms.

“Who are you?” He asks in a strict voice.

“I’m Emma,” She says, politely, “Her Majesty Queen Mary Margaret gave me the tickets for tonights show. I wanted to thank her.”

The guard turns back to the box and Emma overhears a female voice answer saying, “Send her in!”

Emma walks in to the box, which is only slightly more ornate than her own. Killian’s hand drops from hers as he follows a few steps behind.

The woman stands to greet Emma. She’s dressed in a black dress with a glittery crystal necklace decorating her neck. There is something comforting about her, making the worry in Emma’s stomach disintegrate.

The queen and the guard seem to be the only people in the box. Emma wonders if the queen has friends. Royalty had to be popular, right? That’s how Emma always imagined it. Queens were like the ultimate queen bees from high school. Suddenly, Emma realizes that most of the queen’s friends were most killed in the revolution. For a moment, she is struck by how lonely the woman might be.

“Your Majesty,” Emma says, bobbing a curtsey. She’s looked up protocol for meeting a queen online earlier that day. She hadn’t wanted to seem rude. “I apologize for my casualness when we last met. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know you were the queen at the time.”

The woman stands to greet her, “Oh please, call me Mary Margaret. I’m not too worried about the pomp and circumstance these days. You are Emma, right?”

There something soft about the way the queen says Emma. As if it is a treat for her to say the name. As if it is a familiar caress.

“Yes,” Emma says, “And this is my friend, Killian.”

Killian steps to stand next to Emma and gives a bow.

“Killian Jones? Is that you?” Mary Margaret says, surprise on her face as she looks between Emma and Killian.

“Indeed, your majesty,” He says, “It’s been a few years.”

“I’m sorry that we haven’t had an occasion to meet since your brother’s funeral,” The queen said, “How have you been?”

“Very well, your majesty,” He answers.

“And how did you and Emma meet?” She asks.

“Over our mutual love for literature,” Emma lies swiftly, “We were both reading our favorite books in a café.”

There is a gem of truth in that. They did bond over their love of literature, only it was after they bonded over their plan to scam the queen, but whatever.

“What a lovely way to start a relationship,” The queen says.

“Oh, we aren’t dating,” Emma says, “We’re just friends. I only arrived last week to Misthaven actually.”

“Welcome to Misthaven then,” Mary Margaret says cheerily.

“Thank you, your majesty- Mary Margaret,” She amends.

“You are quite lucky to have Killian as your tour guided,” Mary Margaret tells her, “He’s made out of the purest, loyalist Misthaven blood there is.”

“He has done a great job of showing me around so far,” Emma babbles, “He took me on river cruise at sunset and Misthaven was so gorgeous.”

“A cruise at sunset? How romantic,” The queen gushes.

“Oh, no,” Emma mutters, “It was just a tour around town.”

“Oh right, not romantic,” Mary Margaret giggles, “Well, I can still remember little Killian running down the hall of our castle. Though, unsurprising, he spent most of his time holed up in the library.”

Killian blushes at the queen’s details, “What can I say, I’ve always liked books.”

Emma gazes at Killian, charmed at the image of a little version of him lying on the library floor, pouring over a book.

“So, what brings you to our country then, Emma?” Mary Margaret asks, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I’m working on my dissertation in English literature,” Emma tells her.

“Delightful,” The queen ooes, “I adore the humanities. Arts, literatures, philosophy, music- they are my joy.”

Emma smiles at the queen.

“I don’t leave my house often,” She tells Emma, her voice growing wistful, “But I don’t ever miss what is going on in the opera house. Culture, art, music, stories- that’s what makes life worth living. Even a lonely life is worth it with art.”

Emma swallows, looking down. The queen, the freaking queen of this country, just revealed something insanely personal to her and she doesn’t know how react. She thinks it’s a good sign though. This has to mean that she at least feels comfortable around Emma.

“Sorry, that’s a lot I just threw at you,” Mary Margaret says, startled, babbling, “I don’t even really know you. But you’ve got a familiar quality, Emma.”

Emma laughs gently, trying to hide the bit of her inside that feels like bursting with happiness. This is SO easy. The queen is playing right into her hands so easily.

“I must have one of those faces, you know?” Emma says.

“Yes, you must,” Mary Margaret says, squinting at her.

Emma wonders if she’ll withstand her scrutiny. She watches as the queen absentmindedly strokes her chin, before blinking.

“I would love to talk to you about literature sometime,” Mary Margaret says suddenly.

Seriously, things couldn’t work out better.

“Yes, of course, I’d love that,” Emma says.

“Brilliant,” The queen says, “What do you say to tea this week at my home?”

Emma tries not to gap or squeal or do anything to reveal how shocked she is that this is all falling into place.

“That would be so sweet,” Emma says, letting her voice sound sincere. She really does love to talk about books.

“When is a good time for you? How does Wednesday afternoon suit?” The queen asks.

Emma nods, happy that she isn’t teaching or meeting with her advisor at that time.

“Give your address to my guard and I’ll send a driver to fetch you around then,” She says, the authority in her voice makes it clear that she is truly the queen, or at least once had the strength of one.

“Okay,” Emma says.

“I’m delighted to meet you properly, Emma,” The queen says. Her name still sounds like a caress coming off her tongue. “I’m sorry I won’t be around after the ballet, so you’ll have to save your thoughts on it for tea.”

“I look forward to it,” Emma says, trying to sound confident and casual, and not still shocked that The Queen of Misthaven wants to have tea to talk about literature with her.

The lights in theater flash, signaling the approaching end of intermission.

“It’s been wonderful to see you again, Killian,” Mary Margaret tells them, as they retreat towards the door of the box.

“Likewise, your majesty,” Killian says, bowing, “I hope to see you more often.”

“As do I,” Mary Margaret says, “See you Wednesday, Emma.”

The guard passes his phone to her and for a moment she is confused. Then she remembers the queen’s directions, and promptly types in her address.

“Thank you again for the tickets,” Emma says, bobbing another curtsey, “And see you, Wednesday.”

When the door closes behind them, Emma knows she can’t react. The walls are too thin. If she lets out the giant whoop that she wants to, she’s not sure it would get the right reaction.

Instead, she grabs Killian’s hand and squeezes it tightly, flashing him a huge smile. He squeezes back, his smile echoing hers.

They slip back into their box and the second act begins. The ballet ends with the girl marrying her lover and living happily ever after with her debts repaid. Emma hopes that the whole thing is a working metaphor for her life today.

The ballet ends with the usual applause and fanfare. Emma decides that she likes it much more than the opera. She’s not sure she’d be up for Opera: Round Two, but she would definitely sit through another ballet. You know, if the queen just wanted to give her tickets.

Killian is silent as they make their way out of the theater. She slips her program into her purse, as they burst out into the slight chill of the night.

“Emma,” Killian hushes, “Emma, you were brilliant.”

She turns to him and he’s grinning wide.

“I can’t believe it we did that,” She breathes.

Then Killian is lifting her up, spinning her in a Hollywood-esque romantic moment. At first she thinks that it’s him being saucy, but when she looks at his face, she knows that the gesture is in pure happiness. She lets herself giggle and grin as Misthaven swirls around her.

“That went so unbelievably well,” Emma sighs, when he put her back on the ground.

He scratches behind his ear, as they start to walk towards the river.

“She really thinks you’re her,” Killian says, “Really and truly. Did you hear the way she said Emma, all dreamy-like?”

“I know and the part where she was like ‘you look familiar or whatever,’” Emma babbles.

“She hardly said a word to me, mind,” Killian mutters, “But that doesn’t matter. All she needs to do is be dazzled by you.”

“No, that’s not true,” Emma says, her voice still giddy, “She said you were made out of the bravest or loyalist Misthaven blood. She trusts you, Killian.”

He chuckles, “Maybe she does. If she trust me enough, I may just be able to put in a good word for you when the time comes.”

“Of course, you’ll be putting in a good word for me,” Emma teases.

“How could I not?” Killian says, his voice joking, but there is a trace of something lacing his tone. Reverence? Affection? Emma pushes it from her mind.

They reach the river when Killian pauses.

“Swan, this calls for a celebration,” He says, “Just stay here a moment, love.”

He runs into a local Carrefour and runs back with a bottle of champagne. Emma giggles again as he unpops the cork and sprays sticky mist everywhere.

They cross the love-lock again bridge. He nods to the quay side and they walk towards it, taking their seat along the river and letting their legs hang over the edge of the low wall that runs along it. It’s dark now and a night tour boat is coasting by. It’s lit up, as is the opera house, the cathedral, and the castle. It’s dreamy.

They pass the bottle between them, taking sips of champagne. A comfortable silence settles between them. Emma likes that. They haven’t known each other too long, but they’ve already gotten to stage where they can be silent around each other. It must be part of the kindred spirits thing.

Emma eventually breaks the silence saying, “So, tell me what I should know about her. If I’m going to be Princess Emma, you’re going to have to give me all the help I can get.”

Killian frowns and takes a long gulp of champagne, “I can’t say I know tons about her. I’ve been dreaming about her more and more recently, the little games we’d play in the royal gardens, running across the castle grounds, other small things like that.”

Emma looks at him.

“I used to dream of castles too,” Emma says. “When I was very little. It was like a reoccurring dream.”

Killian looks up at her now.

“Maybe-“ He begins.

“I think it was a coping mechanism,” She admits, “Trying to imagine my way out of my sad story and into a fairy tale.”

“Emma,” Killian says softly.

She shakes her head, letting the thoughts leave her head. She can’t focus on the past. Dreams don’t mean anything. She was a little kid, of course she dreamt about castles, and probably unicorns and mermaids too. She can’t read into it. Not now.

“So tell me about her,” Emma prods.

“Hmm,” Killian says, looking pensive, “She drank tons of hot chocolate. It didn’t help that she was spoiled rotten by everyone in the kitchens who thought she was adorable. She’d always put cinnamon on top of her hot chocolate.”

Emma ponders this a moment. She can’t imagine a childhood like that. She can’t imagine anyone wanting to spoil her. She can hardly remember having hot chocolate as kid. With Ingrid, sure, but before that it was the biggest luxury.

“But she couldn’t really say cinnamon because she was a silly like kid, so she’d say something like synonym,” Killian chuckles.

“So she spoke English?” Emma asks, curious about the detail.

“They spoke French, Dutch, and English in the castle, but mostly English,” Killian explains, “They said it was the most important language for diplomacy.”

Emma nods.

“Most people in Misthaven speak pretty good English,” Killian continues, “We’re close to England and a lot of people watch loads of American telly.”

“So what else?” Emma prods, “Is there anything I need to know?”

Killian shrugs, “She liked little girl things. She loved ponies. Adored them. She had one, but I can’t remember his name. He was a spotted little pony and she was always riding around on him. I remember her begging her father for lessons time after time.”

It baffles Emma again. A childhood where someone buys you a real-life pony? She was lucky if she got some hand-me-downs and a library card. The fact that someone lived in a castle with stables where they had their own pony seemed unworldly to Emma.

“The rest is hard,” Killian admits, “It’s hard to tell what about a little girl transfers to adulthood.”

Things were quiet now. The boat had passed out into the channel. There was distance laughter and noise across the bridge from Old Town, but it seemed far away.

All of a sudden, Emma was struck by how close Killian was sitting. She felt his presence beside her, like an overwhelming aura reaching out to her. She can hear his breaths beside her, the thick gulp as he swallows more champagne

His hands brush hers as he passes her the champagne bottle. Emma shivers. She knows they’ve held hands for tiny moments during the night, but this feels different. There is an energy crackling between them now, a romantic tension that’s palpable.

“She had blond hair,” Killian says, as Emma takes large sip.

He reaches out and brushes his hand through her curls.

Emma takes another gulp of champagne.

“She had green eyes,” Killian says, leaning forward, brushing a strand of hair out of the way.

Emma puts the champagne bottle down beside her.

“And this adorable, dimpled chin,” Killian hushes.

He rubs his thumb over her chin. She wonders if he notices the tiny fleck of a scar that has formed there after the man pressed his blade to her chin last week. She wonders if Killian has noticed the way her bottom teeth are little crooked. Or the way her eyebrows are overdue for a pluck.

There is this part of her that really, really wants him to find her attractive. She wants him to fall for her. He’s so hot, with his stupid stubble and sexy accent.

He leans his head towards her. She can feel his breath close her. His finger is still on her chin, his hand coming to cup her cheek.

And she’s knows what comes next.

He’s going to kiss her.

But he can’t. She can’t let that happen. Emma has manufactured her world with priorities. School, her degree- that’s what matters. She can’t get distracted by men, even if they are beautiful. Even if she really, really wants to kiss them.

She thinks of the talk with Kennedy on her window-sill when she was nine. She remembers Kennedy telling her about the girl who got involved with a bad guy, ended up in jail. That can’t be Emma. She has a purpose and that is grad school and that is all she can have.

No prince charmings. No knights in shining armor. No stupidly attractive men distracting her with kisses and romance.

Not until she has her thesis turned in, at least.

“I’m sorry,” Emma says.

She draws back from Killian before his lips can meet hers.

“I should really be going,” She says, “I have to wake up early tomorrow and work on my dissertation. I’m really behind. Sorry. I’ll see you around Mamie’s soon.”

She scrambles to her feet and hitches her purse over her shoulder. She doesn’t want to wait to see the look on his face after his rejected advance. So, she takes off across the bridge to the tram stop.

“Wait, Emma,” Killian says, following her.

She turns back, mid-bridge. Mid-love lock bridge.

“At least, let me walk you back to your apartment,” He says, his voice only half-hopeful.

She squares her shoulders and brushes her hair back from her face.

“I’m fine, Killian, I can handle myself,” She says.

Tagging with love: @sambethe @lenfaz @pocket-anon @the-corsair-and-her-quill @kmomof4 @kiwistreetswan @princesseslikepirates @timeless-love-story @katie-dub

[gyrlversion]

Rappa Ternt Gamer: How T-Pain Made Twitch Into The Second Act Of His Career

By Luke Winkie

The calculus for T-Pain was simple. He plays a lot of video games; it’s his primary hobby both at home and in the studio — he famously keeps a juiced laptop on hand at every recording session — so the idea of actually making money from behind an Xbox was kismet. All he needed was someone to open the door. Then, in 2014, as T-Pain’s manager watched his client spend another night on the road mired in twilight deathmatches, he introduced him to Twitch, a rapidly growing live-streaming platform that Amazon had just purchased for $970 million.

“My manager was like, do you know you can do this?” says T-Pain, over the phone with MTV News. “So my manager made a few phone calls, [a couple streamers] came to my hotel room, and they showed me how to get on Twitch. I played Doom online, and I [fell in love with it] immediately.”

It was everything he ever wanted, in a way he never knew how to articulate before. “When I’m gaming, and I do some cool shit, [I’ll] come up to my wife, she’ll be like, ‘What’s wrong?’ I’m like, ‘I just did some cool shit and nobody is going to see it!’” he says. “Nobody was in the room with me! I’m so pissed off!” T-Pain was used to having an audience at Summer Jam every year; now he could take those people home to his springy black computer chair and show them his other major talent. As a fan, you watched gobsmacked as the man who wrote “Bartender” proved, in no uncertain terms, that he also had a decent Genji.

As of this writing, T-Pain has logged nearly 100 hours streaming on Twitch, accumulating over 100,000 total followers along the way. He’s moved past Doom and now plays everything from uber-competitive esports-quality shooters like Overwatch, computer-lab classics like The Sims, and intelligentsia-only indie movers-and-shakers like Risk of Rain 2. It’s all part of a serendipitous second act for the artist. Fifteen years after breaking through as an Auto-Tune-soaked hook guy — responsible for both a brief culture war in hip-hop and a body of work that shadows over everyone from Future to Kanye West — T-Pain has made himself into a bona fide “gamer celebrity.” It was evident up close earlier this year at E3, a yearly trade show that serves as a joint news conference and consumer mecca for anyone interested in the industry. At Ubisoft’s press event, attendees witnessed T-Pain holding court with a cadre of Rainbow Six pros, solidifying his place alongside the Kool Aid-dyed twenty-somethings like Ninja that give Twitch its texture. At a time when the music industry is more amorphous and tenuous than ever, T-Pain has found a way to connect with a new fanbase, even as he continues to put out new music. (He released his latest album, 1UP, in February.)

The most bewildering part is how this 33-year-old has developed a native understanding of the culture. T-Pain looks like everyone else on Twitch when he’s live: a ravioli-sized portal at the bottom corner of the screen points at his face, while a direct link to the gameplay takes up the rest of the display. T-Pain is natural and affable as he’s always been in his music, and if you watch his stream, you’ll see that he’s learned the tried-and-true fundamentals necessary for anyone to cultivate an effective Twitch career. He knows when to read and interact with his chat. He knows what games work as spectator sports, and what games don’t. He knows to never get baited by the trolls. T-Pain says he’s just doing what comes naturally, that his Twitch persona is just himself turned up to 11; he’s enjoying another victory in spare moments between his other obligations. “[People] are always giving me pointers on how to stream, but for the most part, this is just how I am when I game,” says T-Pain. “It’s just me.”

There was a time when T-Pain was one of the very few famous people on Twitch, but that isn’t the case anymore. Last year, it was reported that more than a million people are tuned into the platform at any given time, so inevitably, other crossover artists have started to sniff around his turf. Deadmau5 has had his own controversial run on the platform, and there was that legendary night last year when Drake, Ninja, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Travis Scott briefly derailed all of social media as they spent an evening playing Fortnite together. But T-Pain takes pride in both being one of the first artists to migrate his talents to the gaming-as-entertainment ecosystem, and also being the only one to take it seriously as an ongoing concern. “I get people saying, ‘Oh, you’re only on Twitch because Drake was on Twitch,” he quips. “It’s like, no, I was on Twitch for four years before Drake was on Twitch!”

Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images

It’s become a fixture of his business interests. As of 2019, T-Pain is represented by the Online Performers Group, a talent management company that hosts a rolodex of traditional Twitch and YouTube stars who came up through gaming, rather than music. There is perhaps no better way to sum up the definition of celebrity in 2019 than by considering how a guy like T-Pain shares representation with Angry Joe. That accidental synergy has brought him a whole new universe of fans: the people who were either unfamiliar with T-Pain’s music, or simply didn’t like T-Pain’s music. All of them have had the chance of a reintroduction to the man through the common ground of video games, which eliminates any genre or generational barriers at the source.

“I’ve got a whole different audience now. I’ve got people on Twitter everyday saying, ‘I didn’t know you played games! I don’t really like your music, but you’ve got a fan in me,'” he says. “People that don’t have an interest in my music, or have a preconceived notion of me because of the music they do, they get to see me just living my life on Twitch, and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s not an asshole!’ That’s pretty cool.”

Nobody was more prepared for a pivot like this than T-Pain. Consider the many different lives throughout the 15 years he’s been active in the music industry: Florida hardhead, ubiquitous guest-verse maestro, Lonely Island-bred meme, prolific record label executive, legendary Tiny Desk Concert performer. A turn as a Twitch streamer is just another chapter for an artist who learned a long time ago the importance of staying curious and proactive. T-Pain will always be a gamer at heart; it’s what makes his streams spirited and authentic, and distinctly not depressing in the way that the many embarrassing pop-culture crossover attempts this industry has seen in the past. But he’s never lost sight of a fundamental truth: In 2019, stars need to diversify their portfolio to stay relevant. Sometimes, all that takes is a quick game of Doom.

“We have more access to the behind-the-scenes, it’s like how artists coming up now are refusing to sign record deals because of the years and years of artists complaining about how record labels work. When people see that there’s money to be made on Twitch, more artists are going to Twitch,” he finishes. “We’re asking, ‘OK, what can I do outside of rap.’ Because people that are diversifying are getting celebrated. You don’t even have to be doing it well, as long as you’re doing something, people are going to be like, ‘Oh man, he’s so smart! He’s putting money everywhere!’ It’s a great argument in the barbershop. With a lot of diverse fans, people are going to bring in revenue from many different streams, and many different walks of life. Liking weird shit is what makes you different.”

The post Rappa Ternt Gamer: How T-Pain Made Twitch Into The Second Act Of His Career appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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[thejokersenigma]

Joker x Reader Deadly Voice Part 26

Hi guys - next parts out!

I’m a little bit worried about writing bits with Frost in because I feel like I don’t really know the character - so I hope its alright!

(Can you tell I’m putting off any real conversation? hahaha  I am really worried about writing it because I think’ll it’ll be hard to not mess it up - so it might take a while to get the next bit out!)

Hope you enjoy it! Feel free to leave me any comments on it or have a chat to me - about this or anything! I love talking to you guys!

Masterlist

I didn’t know what to do and probably stood there frozen far too long. The group in front of me, whom I was supposed to be serving, were beginning to look at me oddly - as though I had forgotten how to function.

I quickly apologised and served the final drinks before moving to an empty table just to the side of me, still within hearing distance. I strained my ears to hear what was going on as I pretend to wipe the table top with a cloth and spray that I had tucked into my apron.

The stranger had asked why Frost wasn’t with the Joker anymore. I expected the larger man to go on the defensive and tell him it was none of his business and to butt out, but tonight Frost seemed to be in the mood to talk – maybe he had consumed one too many drinks.

“He’s just gone insane.” I heard him state. The man opposite must have looked at him funny because Frost tried to reiterate, “Look, I know the guy is insane – that’s his thing and all - but it’s become even worse.” Clearly the guy still didn’t believe him because he carried on, “I mean he’s completely deranged now. There is no more genius behind the plans anymore – it’s all poorly thought through suicide missions.

There’s no sit down and thought processes behind them - it’s just blow up a wall in a bank and pray the cops are on the other side of Gotham!” cried Frost a bit too loudly, and I flinched - geez maybe he was quite drunk. Even if you had just left your life with as criminal, you still didn’t just shout about it.

Not that I blamed him for hitting the drink this hard. If I had just abandoned the clown prince I would need at least a couple strong drinks to get me through - plus a few more to calm the nerves abut that fact that he might come after me for abandoning him. I had nothing but sympathy for the Joker’s ex-bodyguard right now.

“Any fun that I use to find in it left a while a go – we were always cutting it too close.” Frost continued, calming down a bit so that his volume returned to a normal level, but still making the most of finally being able to talk about something that had clearly been bugging him for a while.

“The man’s getting worse as well.” He exclaimed, “He now purposefully walks into a room to die - it’s some strange miracle that he hasn't yet. Don’t get me wrong,” he said honestly, “he’s always played with his life - but he knew the odds - now he ensures they are stacked against him.”

 I listened to all this as I scrubbed the table, my back to him so he couldn’t accidentally see my face. I soon realised I’d been there too long, and I couldn’t justify hanging around with the pub this busy, all staff run off their feet.

Instead, I reluctantly headed back to the bar, forcing myself to stay facing forward and not look back for even a glimpse of Frost – I couldn’t risk it. Instead I danced around the tables; trying to ensure that the least amount of my face would be visible, should he glance my way. Yes, it may be true that he no longer worked for the Joker, but I still didn’t want him to recognise me – who knew who he’d tell and who it would get back to.

Once at the bar I tried to ensure that I made any drinks with my back to his general direction as well, turning only briefly to place them in front of the customers on the bar stools.

I caught a glimpse of the guy across from Frost stand up, shake hands with the Joker’s bodyguard and then turn and leave. I was just about to move onto the next round of drink orders when I saw the ex-right-hand-man stand up from his table and make his way in my direction. Shit.

Without thinking I instantly dropped down behind the bar, pretending to tidy the shelves below for far longer than I needed to. I paused for a moment, knowing I had orders I was supposed to making. I could do that down here right? I took my time choosing glasses and filling them with ice cubes, before lifting them up to blindly place them on the counter top without moving from my hidden position.

Then I paused. What was I going to do now?! I remained crouched there desperately thinking to myself how I was going to check where he’d gone without him seeing me - and how I was going to continue working if he was going to hang around all night?!

My eye then caught movement to my left and my neck snapped round to see Frankie, another waitress/bartender friend, walk behind the bar and abruptly stopped in surprise when she noticed me squatting amongst the glasses and ice boxes. She crinkled her eyebrows in silent confusion at me and I shot her a pleading look in response, putting my finger to my lips. She gave me the smallest nod in acknowledgement and I sighed in relief as she returned to her task. She may question my sanity, but she was willing to ignore it for now.

I was – however - still stuck behind on my knees behind the bar.

Maybe I could just stay here for the rest of the evening – I could try to convince Frankie to run the drinks for me if I could manage to make them. Or I could try to ask her if to play spy for me and let me know where he was – but then that might require an explanation as to why.

As I debated in my head and wavered between my different options I suddenly felt a tap on my head. I look up instinctively to see Frost peering at me over the top of the bar.  

Shit.

I immediately dropped my head back down - nearly overbalancing in the process and causing a few bottles to wobble, precariously close to falling. I silently prayed that I had been fast enough so he hadn’t seen my face properly – though even I knew that was a hopeless ask. Maybe he’d think he was going insane – what with me supposedly dead and all.

I felt the same tap again. “Uh- err, can I help you, sir?” I asked, trying to alter the tone of my voice slightly as I kept my eyes on the sticky lino flooring and pretended to be messing with the glasses on the shelves in front of me.

“I need to have a chat with you.” Frost’s voice came from above me. “Miss [L/N].” He added, and I could hear humour in his voice.

Damn.

I hung my head in defeat and slowly rose to my feet, keeping my head down until I was stood upright. He had been leant against the bar and now straightened up as I finally looked him fully in the face. It was like looking at the first friendly face in weeks - like even the friends I now had were strangers to me compared to the man before me. He was the only piece of Gotham I really had and looking at him almost felt like my life was back to normal and I was in the city I loved again.

“I don't believe it.” He breathed and I could feel myself blush with the shame of my situation. From this distance I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and for the first time I saw real emotion, not just the reactionless mask he usually wore. I could see the surprise clearly in his eyes and, what that, relief? Must be the drink. “I thought it was you when I watched you walk away from my table…” he murmured, “But I honestly didn’t believe it.”

“How did you see me?” I asked, ignoring his muttering.

He blinked a few times - as if stupefied that I could speak - before he shook his head slightly and seemed to gain back control over himself again – any emotions wiped from his face – back to how I usually knew him. “You don't get to my level of this sort of job without noticing things.” He pointed out, a smirk playing on his lips, “Like your friend’s not-so-subtle way of agreeing to keep your hiding place.”

Damn. “So no spy career in my future?” I asked jokingly – not knowing what else to say in that moment.

“I highly recommend avoiding thievery as well.” He informed me, with humour in his eyes and I chuckled – the first genuine laugh I’d had since I’d started my new life.

My laughter died down and a silence fell between us, but it was almost comfortable and my smile remained on my face as I looked at him. I let out a deep sigh at him. “It’s actually really good to see you.” I admitted taking him in.

He looked the almost the same as usual with his neatly trimmed facial hair, dark suit and matching tie. But some things were off about him - his suit, usually buttoned-up, hung open to reveal a crinkled and creased shirt, the tails un-tucked from his trousers and the top button undone with his tie handing loosely around his neck.

He looked like he’d had a rough night.

“I can actually say the same for you too.” He confessed and I gave him a questioning look, but didn’t push it for now.

We stood in silence for a minute, both of us drinking in the odd situation we had found ourselves in – neither expecting to have been in the same room as the other again. It was almost surreal.

I eventually broke the silence, “Look Frost,as much as I would love to stay and chat – or not as the case may be,” I teased, “I actually have a job I am supposed to be doing…” I trailed off suggestively gesturing at the drink bottles and taps around me.

“I get that [Y/N], I do. But I actually need to talk to you.” Urged Frost, not use to considering other people’s lives in his usual line of work.

“And I get that.” I retorted. “But some people need to work to live – and that includes me.

If you are willing to wait around till my shift ends, then we can talk.” I informed him and he seemed to consider his options behind he submitted and gave me a single conformational nod. I nodded back at him and turned to leave.

“Oh.” I said, turning back to him, “You do need to promise me something.” I stated, looking him dead in the eye and pointing a finger at his broad chest, “You tell no one – and I mean no one,” I emphasised, “about me or my situation. That includes your green haired boss. We need to talk about this all first.”

Frost frowned at me and my stipulations but eventually nodded. “Fine.” He muttered.

“Fine.” I mimicked, “See you at 11.” With that I grabbed my tray of drinks Frankie had kindly finished making for me and walked back toward my job, but hesitated. I looked back over my shoulder to see Frost pull out a phone from his jacket pocket, unlock it and begin flicking his fingers over the screen, skim reading something. I frowned and turned, putting the tray back on the bar and returning to stand in front of him, eyeing him suspiciously.

“What?” he asked rudely, not looking up until I didn’t say anything, at which point he lifted his head and raised an insolent eyebrow at me.

“Give me your phone.” I ordered without wavering.

“Why?” he asked stubbornly, keeping a tight grip on his little black device.

“I don’t trust you not to tell him.” I stated bluntly.

“I won’t.”

“Yeah right.” I said unconvinced, “You’re the Joker’s lap dog whether you like it or not.” I pointed out, both of us flinching slightly at his the name. I recovered from the slip and carried on, “You say you won’t now, and I know you say you ‘don’t work for him anymore’” I said using my fingers as quotation marks, “but your natural response to anything like this would be to taddle – so how do I know you won’t convince yourself into doing it whilst you’re sat here?”

He looked at me with a calculated expression, almost as though trying to determine if I had lost my mind or if I was actually speaking some sense. Eventually he nodded, handing me the phone without a word.

I took the phone from his large hand, feeling the rough skin beneath my fingers, and slipped it into the back pocket of my trousers. I gave him a nod and returned to my tray of drinks, leaving him leaning against the bar.

 I kept my eye on him for the rest of the night as I navigated my way around the pub - taking orders, delivering drinks and wiping down tables. All he did however was find a stool at the bar and remain there, nursing several strong drinks.

As the night wore on the pub began to thin out – no one exactly being late night partiers in this quaint little town.

When I noticed him swallow down rest of his amber liquid and order his fourth, I headed to the bar to intercept the order - telling Frankie, who was manning the bar, that “I got his one” with a quick smile. She shrugged her shoulders, not caring that she didn’t need to serve one other patron and moved on to the next person gesturing for her attention.

He looked at me in confusion and I could already see the alcohol clouding his mind in the smallest of actions – the way he was slumped instead of sat tall and proper, the way his hands rested - not ready for any quick reflex - and the way his eyes were drooping slightly - no longer bright and alert. I felt sorry for him, but I wouldn’t let him drown himself in alcohol.

“Sorry my friend, I’m cutting you off.” I told him, removing the glass before him and replacing it with some water. “Drink that or don’t drink anything.”

He looked at the drink before him, realised it wasn’t alcoholic, and looked at me reproachfully, trying to make me cower under his glower. I didn’t back down however, matching his stare with my own stern glare, “This is going to be hard enough, without having to deal with you completely wasted.” I defended. He grumbled something unintelligible before standing up - leaving his water - and walking off to an empty booth in a quieter part of the pub, sitting with his back to the majority of the pub. I sighed loudly in exasperation and left him to it, returning once more to my job. However, when I wandered past his booth, I silently slid a glass of water toward him. I moved off before I saw his reaction but the next time I looked over the glass was empty.

 Eventually, after what seemed like too long and not long enough, I served my last drink. I made my way to the back room, untying my apron on the way. I hung my apron up and retrieved my belongings from my locker, hanging my bag over my shoulder. I paused in the middle of the room to compose myself before I made my way back out into the main pub, over to where Frost sat silently in his booth, staring at the empty bench in front of him.

I stood before his table looking at his side profile. He didn’t make a move.

“Ok.” I sighed, placing my hands on my hips and shifting most of my weight into my left leg, “Let’s talk.”

[letsprayitwritesitself]

groundhog dave part 3 - day two

At six am sharp Davey was jolted from his suspiciously pleasant sleep. He reached out and whacked the alarm clock and took a second to remember why he was still in this fucking hotel room. The groundhog. The blizzard. The bar.

Oh god, the bar. He’d had so much to drink. Jack had convinced him that the best way to deal with being stuck in Punx another day was to drown his sorrows, make their own fun - and he’d had a point. But each drink Davey had made the next seem like a better idea and he distinctly remembered not being able to walk in a straight line by the end of it. Oh god, his hangover was going to descend any second. Any second. Any... second?

He sat up in bed. Why did he feel so okay? He had been hammered. Usually he couldn’t move his head too fast without the world spinning and he tended to spend mornings like this feeling incredibly sorry for himself. But today his head was clear, his stomach felt fine. Weird. Good weird, but weird.

The radio sang.

That’s right woodchuck chuckers, it’s Groundhog Day!

He stared at it, quizzical. They’d replayed yesterday’s broadcast by mistake. Amateurs. That was the kind of ting he’d had anxiety dreams about when he first started at the studio, the fact that when you were a producer your mistakes tended to be incredibly public. He imagined that at lease the audience of this radio show probably totalled less people than you could fit on a school bus. 

He climbed out of bed, letting the radio continue with its mirror of yesterday’s broadcast. They hadn’t made concrete travel plans yet but he was hoping that they could be on the road in the next hour or so, meaning they’d be in Philly by lunch and only would have missed a morning of work. Hopefully Jack would be too hungover to speak, making it a peaceful journey.

Last night had been nice, in a way. Davey knew that when he was in a bad mood he couldn’t help but cast a shadow over everything and when he realised he was stuck for the night (and when, of course, he got his second and third beers in him) he let himself relax and be taken in a little by Jack’s charm. Crutchie retired after one drink, citing exhaustion, so they got to know each other, and he found out that Jack was an artist who took up a career in meteorology because it helped him make sense of the universe, a statement which had taken Davey aback somewhat. 

Maybe the words ‘So you’re not just a pretty face,’ had come out, meant to be a joke, but as soon as he said them he realised that Jack actually did have a rather pretty face. Who knew. When he’d said it Jack had raised his eyebrows and Davey was just sober enough to be embarrassed, spluttering out ‘What? Just a saying! Do you want another drink?’

He had headed up to the bar to get another round in, and the sexy bartender had laughed at him, dark eyes crinkling, and asked ‘Date going well?’

‘It’s not a date!’

‘That’s why you’re blushing?’

‘Oh jesus, am I?’ He’d felt his cheek with the back of his hand. ‘I accidentally called him pretty.’

‘Uh oh. Better have these on the house.’ He grinned as he handed them over. ‘And relax. I know if you called me pretty I definitely wouldn’t mind.’ Davey looked down at the beer and back up at the bartender. Again, he was pretty - but this wasn’t a habit Davey wanted to get into, just telling every attractive guy that. He picked them up and stammered out a thanks before heading back.

Thankfully Jack didn’t acknowledge the compliment when he sat back down, instead directing the conversation back to work. They stayed until last orders and took the scenic route back to the hotel, through snowy parks and side streets, marvelling at how they could just walk around at night without fear of being stabbed. 

Once back, as they stood outside their rooms, Jack had said ‘You know, you’re more fun than you let on, Jacobs.’

And Davey had thrown up.

Well, he’d opened his mouth to reply, felt his stomach lurch, clamped a hand over his mouth and then ran into his room to throw up. Jack had followed, and after five minutes of intermittently rubbing Davey’s back and laughing at him, had let himself be evicted, leaving Davey to collapse into bed.

As he remembered these events the next morning his un-hungover state made less and less sense. He remembered falling straight into bed, not getting changed, not washing his face - and yet he felt fine. Better than fine. Good, even.

And he was in his pyjamas? Had he woken in the night and unconsciously changed?

He headed down, thinking that he’d have breakfast here and if he didn’t see Jack and Crutchie, he’d knock on their doors in about half an hour and drag them by the ear to the van. The hotel owner, a sweet old lady called Mrs. Bloom, greeted him as he sat down. 

‘Happy Groundhog Day!’

‘Happy - what?’ How many days was this holiday?

‘Surprised you’re not heading down to the square, the announcement will be any minute now!’

He checked his watch. 7am.

‘i saw your friends head down there already, with the camera. Gotta get there early if you want a good spot!’

‘I... My friends? Left?’

‘To the square! Whole town’ll be there! Coffee or tea?’

‘Oh - neither, I guess.’ He stood up. ‘I suppose I should get to the square.’

Why would Jack and Crutchie go to the square the day after Groundhog Day? Even if this holiday was suddenly multiple days, they had only planned to go on one morning. And they went without telling him? He didn’t throw this power around but he was their producer, it was up to him what they, well, produced. 

He walked to the square in a daze, along with the rest of the town, all of whom appeared in high spirits. How did he not know that they were continuing the celebrations? Especially after the damn groundhog said that winter would be continuing? The square was abuzz, music and dancing and laughter, like the day before had never even happened. He found Jack and Crutchie in the exact same spot as the day before.

‘Morning sunshine!’ Jack greeted him with the same grin. Davey looked around.

‘Didn’t we... do this? Aren’t we done?’

They stared at him.

‘You alright, Davey?’ Crutchie asked tentatively as Davey glanced around wildly.

‘This - we did this! The thing, the groundhog saw his shadow!’

‘Spoilers!’ Jack punched him in the shoulder.

‘I think you’re getting mixed up there, Davey. Are you remembering last year?’

‘What day is it?’ Davey checked - he had to check, even though it felt dumb.

‘Groundhog day! Surprised you have to ask!’

Davey glared at Jack. ‘Right. I think I’m having deja vu. Really, really freaking badly. I just... Really feel like we did this already.’

‘’Fraid not,’ Crutchie smiled sympathetically. ‘Still gotta do it.’

‘Right.’

The celebrations started on stage and Jack began his broadcast, exactly the same as before - but not before? Davey remembered it happening. Jack’s effortless charm on the camera, the groundhog ruining everyone’s day, the - the snow?

Because last year had been a different forecaster - it had been Jack’s predecessor, Darcy. So how could he remember Jack doing it? Had it been a vivid dream? Nightmare?

But the emcee was now announcing that it was ‘February 2nd, at 7:20 and thirty seconds.’ 

So today was February 2nd. 

And yesterday was... a false memory. Or he’d had a stroke and forgotten an entire year between this and last Groundhog Day? 

Right on cue after the broadcast snow started to fall. Jack lifted his hands up to catch it.

‘It’s snowing!’

‘We should get on the road.’ Davey remembered the day before (the one that may or may not have happened) and the blizzard that had stopped them getting out of town.

‘Can we stop for breakfast?’

‘No.’

//

It still happened. They pulled up to a blocked off tunnel and snow they couldn’t see through.

This had definitely happened.

‘We can’t get out.’

‘It might just be temporary?’ Crutchie peered through the window.

‘I don’t think they’re letting anyone out til it stops.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I just... know.’

‘So, another night in this adorable place, right?’ Jack piped up. Davey sighed and leaned forward to rest his head on the steering wheel.

//

As he sat in the diner with Jack he tried to logically deconstruct why he could swear that today had already happened. He knew all of it. He knew that the groundhog would see its shadow, he knew that the tunnel was going to be blocked, and he knew that he would end up sitting exactly here, in the diner, next to the fogged up windows, talking to Jack.

The first thing he thought of was the movie Final Destination. How the kid had the premonition and was able to change the course of events, because he’d seen them happen. And then all his friends had died. Maybe not where Davey wanted to be finding similarities. But it felt like the same thing - it felt like he had experienced the day, and maybe given a chance to do it again. And yes, he had failed to get them out of punx before the blizzard hit, but he could still change the course of the days potential events, if he wanted to.

Did he want to? The day before had turned out surprisingly... okay. It was nice getting to know Jack last night (or whenever.) He had thought of the You’re funner than you let on, Jacobs, multiple times while getting showered and dressed that morning. But had that really happened? The Jack that he was sitting here with didn’t know that all of that had already played out, at least, in Davey’s mind (or wherever.) So he wouldn’t know that this was Davey’s second draft of the same day. He could maybe slow down a little on the drinks, not throw up in front of Jack. But then if he didn’t get as drunk, maybe he wouldn’t have the same fascinating conversations with him.

He would maybe try and skip the calling him pretty thing.

‘So now will you come hang out with us, see what Punx has to offer?’

Davey stared at Jack, who was eyeing him cautiously, like he was about to get scolded for daring to ask. Part of him wanted to get straight to bed, just so he could wake up on February 3rd and write this weird feeling off as a stress-induced manic episode or something. The other part liked having the chance to prove to Jack that he wasn’t a stick in the mud.

‘Yeah. Why not.’