#instead he sent me a full video of them TOGETHER

[pretzelgotze]

Max and Charles yapping at the Spain GP 2024 Drivers' Parade

[therealcocoshady]

Hi coco , I don’t know if your still doing requests if not juts by past this .

Fem reader x Marshall

Reader is some sort of celebrity and her and Marshall’s sex tape gets leaked

SECRETS OUT - ONE SHOT

Eminem x Celebrity Reader

Author’s note : Thank you so much for your request. I Hope you like it ❤️. I thoroughly enjoyed writing one shots and HCs so if you have requests, feel free to send them to me in my Ask.

Synopsis : You’re a prominent influencer, having a secret relationship with Em for years. None of you intend on making it public… until your sextape gets leaked.

When you started dating Marshall, the two of you had a serious talk about how important it was to him that your relationship remained private. He knew that you shared a lot of your life online - hell, it was kind of your job as an influencer - and respected it, but he was adamant about not being featured on your social media accounts and YouTube channel. You respected his wish. To be honest, you were a little relieved : your last relationship had ended because of public scrutiny and you didn’t want history to repeat itself. Especially since the person you were dating was a megastar. No offense to your ex, who was still a very successful influencer, but next to Marshall Mathers, he was chopped liver. If publicly dating someone with ten million YouTube followers was hard, you couldn’t imagine how it would be if everyone knew you were dating Eminem.

You actually did a good job at keeping your followers and his fans in the dark about your relationship. To everyone, the both of you were single and, even though they were rumours about the two of you dating other public figures, you had never been linked together. No one expected you, a twenty-something fashion and beauty influencer to date Eminem. From the looks of it, you didn’t have much in common and didn’t run in the same circles.

So your relationship flew under the radar for years and you even managed to get married without the public knowing. You had the most beautiful wedding, held in a secluded location with only your closest friends, with a lot of logistics and NDAs involved. Everyone joked that you had to be the only influencer who didn’t share the most important day of their life on social media. Especially when the wedding was so insta-worthy. A few years ago, you would have been a little bummed about it, but being with Marshall kept you grounded and reminded you that not everything was meant to be shared online. If anything, the secrecy of your wedding and the « no phones or camera allowed » rule allowed everyone to enjoy the moment instead of focusing on filming it or snapping pictures of their plates or outfit. That didn’t mean there were no pictures taken though. The only person who immortalised the wedding was the photographer and, though guests were sent the pictures, they were asked not to share, and everyone respected your wishes.

Just because the two of you didn’t share pictures online didn’t mean you didn’t take plenty. In fact, your phones were full of cute selfies of the two of you. At the beginning of your relationship, he often made fun of your habit to try and immortalise moments, but he ended up getting into it. When the two of you met, he was still using an old BlackBerry and took the crappiest selfies, but you managed to turn him into the perfect Instagram husband. In fact, he was the one who helped you do your daily outfit posts and he was more than decent at telling you how you should pose. And if he was a bit judgy of influencers at first, he had come to understand your line of work and your love of fashion. He was extremely supportive of every thing you did and his eyes were gleaming with adoration when he was watching you film your videos, though he still liked to tease you.

One evening, during your honeymoon, you found him filming himself in the mirror as you walked out of the bathroom in your finest, sluttiest lingerie.

- What are you doing ? You giggled.

- Immortalising the outfit. So, it’s simple, the boxers are Givenchy, fall collection… care to share yours ? He chuckled as he pointed the phone to you.

- So tonight, I’m wearing a gorgeous Dita Von Teese set, you said as you posed and played along. We have this gorgeous corset, and the panties are amazing, too…

- Turn around and show the back, babe, he instructed. You’re gorgeous.

This became a little game that you played during the whole honeymoon. Each night, Marshall filmed you in your lingerie, under the pretense that he wanted to remember your honeymoon as vividly as possible. This made you laugh and you let him. It started as « innocent » « outfit of the night » videos but, on occasion, you both felt frisky and ended up filming a literal sex tape, or rather a series of them. Nothing especially elaborate, just one of you holding the phone while doing the deed, just for laughs. You didn’t even watch them after or think about it. It was really just the two of you clowning around, making fun of your own IG account and enjoying your honeymoon. Once you got back home, you didn’t keep it going and eventually came to forget there were videos of you and Marshall having sex on his phone. Until the videos were leaked, that is.

You had been married for about six months and enjoyed your weekly brunch with Marshall’s daughters when they suddenly went silent, after Stevie showed her sisters something on her phone.

- Oh my God, I’m going to puke, Stevie said.

- Girls, no phone at the table, Marshall groaned.

- Have you guys… seen the news ? Hailie asked.

- What news ? You asked back, a tad confused.

- The Pistons headline, Alaina said.

- What’s wrong with the team ? Marshall asked with a raised eyebrow.

The girls frowned and stayed silent for a second before handing the phone to the two of you. There was an article about you and Marshall, soberly titled : « Detroit’s ultimate Piston : Eminem sextape leaked (featuring influencer Y/N ». The headline was enough to make you want to die. The article wasn’t much better. It commented on the videos and showed a few screenshots of tweets reacting to the leak such as « Bro can’t take a decent selfie but you can trust him to point the camera at his dick correctly 👀 » or « Damn. He’s 51 but Y/N’s the one who’s gonna need hip replacement surgery with these trusts 💀». You and Marshall stared at each other while the girls were looking at you. You felt humiliated. Not only were the videos leaked online, you were confronted by your step-daughters - though they were old enough to be your sisters - about it. You looked down, absolutely mortified.

- Don’t watch these, Marshall told his daughters.

- Like we’d want to see that, Stevie pointed out.

- Really, guys, a sextape ? Alaina asked. Dad, you’re 51 !

- I’m going to be sick, you said as you left the table and headed to your room.

You heard Marshall calling your name but there was absolutely no way you could face anyone right now. Once you were alone, you anxiously checked your phone. Of course, everyone was in a frenzy. Your manager was texting you and your social media accounts were flooded. Both in the comments and your DMs, people were going crazy and talking about the videos. You already had a huge following, but it was something else entirely. You immediately called your manager, who was beyond pissed. Apparently, some brands you collaborated threatened to sever their ties with you. Of course, you getting rammed on video didn’t really fit in with your usual good girl image and it wouldn’t be a good look for them. Now, not only were you ashamed but you were also terrified. You had worked too hard for your career to crumble that easily.

- What should I do ? You anxiously asked.

- For now, nothing, she said. I’m going to consult with a few people to see what we can do for damage control. Though if I were you I’d get ready to film an apology video.

- I didn’t do anything wrong, you pointed out. These videos were not meant to be shared.

- You know how it is, Y/N. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

- Thanks, you said sheepishly. Talk to you soon.

When you hung up, you couldn’t resist the temptation to go and check other articles. Obviously, news traveled fast and you were now a trending subject. Marshall being the more famous of the two of you, his name was on every headline but, from the looks of it, you were the one whose reputation was suffering the most. While everybody seemed to praise his performance - and impressive physique - you were deemed a slut by the Internet. Even worse, some people were already making memes with your face and some rappers beefing with Marshall were reposting them. You had always been a « glass half-full » type of person but you literally wanted to die. In a flash, it seemed like you could kiss your career and reputation goodbye.

After about an hour, Marshall joined you in the bedroom and took you in his arms while you were sobbing.

- Hey, he said sheepishly.

- I-I’m sorry, you said. But I can’t go and face your daughters. I just can’t. I can’t face anyone right now, I-I…

- It’s fine, he replied before kissing your forehead. I sent them home.

- Im sorry, you said. I know how much family brunch means to you…

- As it turns out, having your kids lecture you about your leaked sextape isn’t as fun as people make it out to be, he said sarcastically.

You couldn’t help but chortle. Even in this type of dramatic situations, you could always count on Marshall’s dry humor. He placed another kiss on your forehead and wiped your tears with his thumbs.

- We’ll be fine, he said reassuringly. Don’t worry, babe.

- Why aren’t you freaking out ? You asked. You should be freaking out.

- Oh, I’m freaking out, he said. I mean, I’m livid. But on a practical level, I know people will forget about it eventually, you know.

- Easy for you to say, you pointed out. The Internet is raving about the size of your dick and commenting about how in shape you are for an older dude… meanwhile, people are calling me a slut.

- You’re not a slut, he said as he rolled his eyes.

- Tell that to the thousand of people calling me a rapper groupie or whatever that is, you groaned.

- Doesn’t matter, he shrugged. We both know that’s not true. You’re not a groupie, you’re my wife.

- Well I’m about to be a stay at home wife, you said with tears in your eyes. I had my agent on the phone and sponsors are already breaking contracts… I-I’m losing everything, Marshall…

The tears started streaming down again. Mentioning the situation out loud was upsetting, it only meant it was real. You were really on the verge of losing everything. Your husband knew better than anyone how much your career meant to you, the work you put in and everything you had invested to be successful. To you, it wasn’t just a job : it was your dream. You had always tried your best to have a pristine reputation as an influencer and stay out of drama but now, people were looking down on you and calling you names. And you dreaded the perspective of doing an apology video. It was humiliating. In most recent years, you had focused your content on beauty and fashion instead of your private life but now, it was up for public consumption. Marshall held you tight as you told him about the comments you received and how sad you were about losing collaborations you were looking forward to.

- You don’t need these people’s money, he said.

- You know it’s not a matter of money, you replied curtly. It’s never only been about money. It’s more than that.

- I know, he said. But look, these videos were stolen from us. And if these brands who put that much effort into building a so-called relationship with you drop you easily, it’s not worth it. They should be sending you flowers and publicly supporting you.

- You know that’s not how it works, you sighed.

- All I’m saying is that it’s unfair, he said. And I’m sorry you’re going through this. But I know you. You’re strong and you’re resilient. And your followers love you. You’re not going to lose your career over this.

- I’ll do my best, you shrugged. My agency wants me to film an apology video.

- Are they serious ? He groaned. You don’t have to apologise for shit. These videos were fucking stolen, Y/N !!!

He was clearly mad. Funnily enough, he seemed more angry over the unfairness of the situation than the fact that everyone could see him having sex on video. But then again, it probably had something to do with his reputation being pretty intact. Sure, that would probably earn him a few lines in diss tracks people might be tempted to put out, but there wasn’t much to be ashamed of, as far as he was concerned. First of all, the videos clearly made a good job of shutting down rumours about his size, and he still came across as someone who had sex. On the other hand, you were more visible on the videos and earning a reputation of an easy and slutty influencer, hungry for fame. Typical double standard. You cursed whoever had managed to steal these videos. And deep down, you were mad that they had been so easily stolen.

- Why were they stolen in the first place ? You groaned.

- What ? He asked. You know how it is… people’s phones get hacked all the fucking time. Whoever did that was probably hoping to get their hands on new music. Joke’s on them, though. We only function with CDs to avoid this type of leaks.

- Joke’s on them ?! You almost yelled. The joke is on me !!! I couldn’t care less about your CDs. No offense but I’d rather have your album leaked than my career ruined, Marshall !!!

- Sorry, he said as he nervously scratched his beard. Poor choice of word. Of course it’s worse. What I mean is… hacks happen all the time. Every month there’s a new story about a celebrity’s phone or computer or cloud being hacked.

- And I’m usually over here, making fun about people who don’t know how to protect their data, you said as you rolled your eyes. The most basic thing to do is to at least put this type of photos in a folder that requires double authentication.

- Double what ?

He looked at you with big eyes. Of course, he had no idea what you were talking about. « That’s what you get for marrying a dummy when it comes to technology », you thought. You didn’t want to get mad at him, but you were pissed. You rolled your eyes at him and let your head fall on the pillow.

- I have to go and call Paul, he said. We’re both going to have to do damage control. But we’ll be fine, I promise you.

- Mmmmh, you groaned.

- I’ll do my best to find whoever did that and sue their ass, he assured you. And whoever shares these videos, too. When we got married, I swore I would protect you and you best believe I’m making good on that.

- Thanks, you said sheepishly.

The following couple of days were especially tough. News had obviously traveled fast and everyone in your life knew about the videos. You thought facing Hailie, Alaina and Stevie was hard, but FaceTiming with your parents was even harder. You could tell they were disappointed, and mostly worried for you. Both of your management teams were trying to find the best way to get through it. Unfortunately, crisis management wasn’t the same for a rapper as it was for an influencer. Marshall’s team advised him to stay silent while yours was almost begging you to address the elephant in the room, preferably with your husband, who was an ogre about it.

- I’m not appearing in your damn apology video, he groaned. It’s stupid enough that you have to do one of these.

- I have to do what’s best for my career, you pleaded.

- You always said these videos were disingenuous, he pointed out.

- Well, yes, but what am I going to do ? You groaned. Disappear and kiss my career goodbye ? And I’m not you, Marshall. I can’t just ignore it and go back to posting videos as if nothing happened.

He hummed and you kept talking about it, trying to come up with a solution. You weren’t thrilled about the idea of addressing the situation and he was right : you had nothing to apologise for. And he was fully against the idea of standing next to you like a First Lady while you filmed something so silly. Of course, it turned into an argument. There was only so much pressure you could take. And you knew Marshall was doing his best and keeping in touch with his lawyers, but you were mad that he wouldn’t support you publicly.

- I’m asking you to stand next to me for a damn video, that’s all, you sighed. I’m not asking for the moon, here. You don’t even have to say anything.

- Then what’s the point in me being here at all ? He shrugged. We agreed that I would be kept out of your content, Y/N. That was clear from the start.

- Because everyone thinks I’m a whore ! You yelled. I was fine with people not knowing about us, but I am not fine with people calling me a rapper whore. And I am not fine with my husband not supporting me. You said we were a team ! You promised to care for me and protect me for the rest of our lives. Or were these vows just words to you ?!?!

You knew he would be pissed off by your words. He had always made it clear that his vows were absolutely serious and solemn. And you knew for a fact that he had put a lot of heart and thought into writing them. He didn’t say anything, just sighed and left the room. Obviously, you both needed to take time off because this escalated into an argument. You groaned and stayed in the bedroom, which you had barely left since the videos had leaked.

A couple of hours later, you went downstairs and found Marshall watching some boxing match on TV.

- Hey, you said sheepishly.

- Hey, he simply said.

- Look, I’m sorry, I…, you began.

- Don’t sweat it, he shrugged as he gestured for you to come sit on his lap.

You sat on him and watched with him in silence, enjoying the sensation of his arms wrapped around your waist. When the match ended, he turned off TV and smiled at you.

- I took care of things, he said.

- You did ? You asked.

- I did, he confirmed. You don’t need to film that stupid video.

- What did you do ? You asked with a raised eyebrow.

He seemed pretty sure of himself, proud even, and you tried hard not to show it, but you were still a bit doubtful.

- Check Instagram, he simply said as he handed you your phone.

You nervously checked your account. You were tagged in thousands of new posts. Only these weren’t posts of the sex videos. Your account was flooded with pictures of your wedding, posted by your friends and reposted by tons of fan accounts. Your closest influencer friends had posted the beautiful pictures of them with you at the wedding. Marshall’s friends had done the same : 50, Dre, Porter, Royce… everyone was posting about your nuptials. The most beautiful shot was the one shared by Marshall on his account : a gorgeous black and white shot of the two of you after the reception, holding hands and staring at the fireworks, captioned : « For better & for worse. Happy 6 months anniversary. ». Everyone was going absolutely crazy in the comments, not failing to show their surprise and mentioning that he was now following one account : yours. You looked at him, almost crying and took him in your arms.

- Oh my God, you said. I can’t believe you did this.

- Called in a few favors and asked our friends to post the wedding pictures, he said with a smile. I figured the Internet would focus on these rather than the videos. So far it seems to be working…

- You didn’t have to, you said emotionally. I know you wanted to keep the wedding a secret.

- I also wanted to keep our sex life secret, he chuckled. But I care more about you and supporting you. Now, everyone knows I have your back. Until death do us part. And if anyone dares come for you, I will end them. I promise.

- I love you, you said emotionally.

- I love you too, he replied before kissing you. I’m sorry I was grumpy about the whole thing. You were right, these vows were never meant to be just words. I want to put them in action.

You kissed him passionately and you both took a minute to enjoy the posts everyone made about your wedding, reminiscing about that special day.

- I’m happy I don’t have to make that stupid apology video, you confessed.

- Me too, he chuckled. I did make an apology though.

- You did ? You asked in surprise.

He showed you his IG story. A black screen with simple text - in true influencer fashion : « I want to take a minute to apologize about the videos that have been leaked. I am sorry if anyone was confused. They were misleading and I want to state that the boxers were actually not Givenchy but Calvin Klein. Sorry for the confusion. 👀». You chortled and kissed him.

- What ? That was the only thing worth an apology, he pointed out with a smile.

- You’re such a troll, you said as you playfully rolled your eyes.

You spent the following days in bliss, showered with love from both your followers and his fans. Everyone was going crazy about your wedding and, even though there were still mentions of the sextape, most of the attention was focused on your relationship. Both of your management teams were also happy to put the incident behind them, though now they had to deal with plenty of interview requests. However, you agreed that even though your secret was out, nothing would really change. You slowly got back to business. Though nothing didn’t really change for Marshall - who was always in hermit mode in the studio - you had a lot of new followers and tons of collaboration requests. The sponsors who had been quick to drop you even came back and attempted to suck up to you, though you absolutely refused to work with them again. You were in your home office, reviewing partnership requests when you came across the biggest offer of your career : none other than Calvin Klein wanted you to be the new face of their underwear campaign, offering you a shit ton of money. It was the biggest opportunity you had ever received but you were a bit nervous when you mentioned it to your husband.

- What do you think ? You asked after you brought it up to him.

- I think we’ve established that you look good in underwear, he grinned.

- Yes but that would be banking on our sextape, our relationship… would it be ok with you ? You asked.

- I’ll cut you a deal : I’m ok with you doing that campaign if you’re ok with me using your moans as ad libs, he said with a smirk.

- You can’t be serious, you giggled as you rolled your eyes.

- What ? He chuckled. We’re partner in life, we might as well be business partners.

[unclewaynemunson]

I definitely think it takes Eddie a while to accept that Steve changed. He remembers what he was like in high school.

When Steve asks him out, for whatever reason, Eddie says yes. But he’s determined not to fall in love, because deep down Harrington’s still a dick. But he’s cute, and Eddie can smile and play pretend.

But then! Steve goes full happy relationship mode, he tells Robin (obv), introduces Eddie to the other adults as his bf, and is just generally being sweet.

MY SWEET ANON I HOPE YOU'LL STILL SEE THIS!!!

I'm so sorry it took me ages to answer this one! But I really loved the idea of this (the good ol' steddie + misunderstanding about what they mean to each other with a dash of terrible communication skills my beloved) so i wanted to give it my proper attention, which i didn't have enough time for over the past few months. Buuut the words have finally found their way to my keyboard so here is the first part of what probably will turn into a 3-part ficlet, I hope it's something like what you had in mind when you sent this ask to me <3

---

Eddie has been acting weird all day. Maybe Steve is too much of a romantic, but he can't help it: he wanted to celebrate this day. Exactly a month ago, he asked Eddie out. And it's been good. They've spent a lot of time together. They've been on lots of dates, spent plenty of nights together... But today, things are different, somehow. Eddie is different. He turned Steve down for a dinner date, he didn't stop by Family Video during lunchtime, and when Steve shows up at the trailer to surprise him with flowers, he merely frowns and pulls back from their kiss before it can even properly get started.

'Everything alright?' Steve asks, trying to catch his boyfriend's gaze – which isn't exactly easy with how Eddie is turning away from him to not-so-gently put the flowers down in a corner of the trailer's living room.

'Yeah, sure,' Eddie mumbles, not really looking at him. 'It's just – I didn't really expect to see you today. We didn't have plans.'

Steve chuckles, trying to get the tension out of his chest. 'Didn't know I was expected to schedule an appointment before coming here.' He tries to play it off as a joke, but the tone of his voice doesn't really want to cooperate.

Eddie finally turns back towards him and Steve catches the end of an eye-roll.

'I'm just not feeling too great today, alright?' It sounds a bit stiff and Steve pauses. He wonders if he did something wrong, if he somehow invaded Eddie's space – even though he has showed up at the trailer on countless evenings in the past month.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' Eddie answers, a little bit too fast. 'I told you, I'm not feeling so well.'

And now that he can see his face properly, Steve notices that Eddie is indeed looking paler than usual.

'Hey, don't worry about it,' he says. 'I can stay to take care of you, if you want to. We don't have to do anything. You can go to bed early and I'll keep you company. I can make you some soup, read to you... You could've just told me you're not feeling good, you know. I would've picked up some fruit on my way over here and stopped by the library for you.'

'You don't have to do any of that, Steve.'

Steve tries to ignore the fact that it's been ages since Eddie has last called him by his official first name. He doesn't like the sound of it.

'But I want to,' he says instead. He takes a step towards Eddie, lifts his arms to wrap them around him – but Eddie swats his arms away before he can properly embrace him.

'Don't.' He sounds cold and detached, so different from how he usually sounds. 'Don't act like this is something it isn't.'

'Like this is something –' Steve echoes, completely caught off-guard by this turn of events. 'Like what?'

'Jesus Christ, you really don't know when to stop, do you?'

'What?' He takes a stumbling step backwards, driven away by the force in Eddie's words.

'We're not – like that,' Eddie stutters out. 'We're just fucking around, aren't we? So you don't need to pretend. You don't need to bring me flowers. You don't need to take care of me when I'm sick. You don't owe me anything, alright? You can go home.'

Steve takes another step backwards, until his back collides with the door of the trailer. He blindly grabs the door handle behind him.

'Alright,' he says, trying desperately not to let his voice tremble audibly. 'I hear you, loud and clear. I'll – I'll leave you alone, then.'

Read pt2 here (Edit: it's actually 5 parts now. You can read the whole thing on ao3 here)

[starkidmunson]

glitter & crimson

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Steve comes home from his first post-injury workout drenched in sweat and throws himself onto the sofa on his back. Robin winces as she watches him go, raising an eyebrow. 

“That bad?” She asks, to which Steve groans in response.

“They want me to wear a bubble.” Steve responds, digs his hand around inside the gym bag still attached to his side and lifts out the full face mask.

“Wouldn’t be the worst idea, protect your face at least.” Robin observes, only to be met by a glare from Steve. His facial expressions are making a triumphant return as he regains more control over his face as the wound heals, and he’s taking full advantage of his bitchy looks whenever he can.

“Says the one not blowing hot air back into their own face as they work out.” He grumbles, flopping back and dropping the mask onto his stomach. “Everything hurts. You’d think I’ve been out for months, not just a few weeks.”

“How’s the headache?” Robin predicts, and Steve gives her another look before he sighs. 

“It’s not bad, don’t overreact. It’s not the concussion.” He insists, ignores the way her eyebrow rises again and instead pushes himself up again. “I’m going to shower,” Steve announces, making a quick escape from Robin.

It’s not exactly that he’s lying, because he’s not. He doesn’t think anything he’s feeling is concussion-related. The soreness in his muscles is from suddenly being weighed down with his hockey gear again, after weeks without. It’s a similar feeling to the first workout of the pre-season. The headache is a little trickier to convince everyone around, so he’d avoided mentioning it and done his best to hide it at the rink. It’s no surprise Robin can just tell he has one, though.

He lets steam fill the bathroom before he steps under water so hot his skin turns pink. He lets the shower spray target the middle of his back, shifts so it settles between his shoulder blades, and rests his forehead against the cool tiles in front of him.

Eventually, he emerges back into the apartment in sweatpants, his hair air drying. Robin is setting a cup of hot tea down on the coffee table, her own tucked onto an end table beside her on the sofa. Steve smiles softly and mumbles his appreciation as he sits and takes a sip.

As he drains the cup, the headache eases a bit and he feels a bit more human than he had after returning home from his workout. 

“You got mail from your parents today,” Robin eventually offers over the New Girl re-run neither of them are particularly paying attention to but have on for familiar background noise. Steve just grunts, uninterested, and instead busies himself checking any messages he may have missed from people he actually cares to give the time of day. 

Dustin had demanded a “family dinner,” which Steve agrees to and warns Robin when to expect a full house. Max, traveling with the Blackhawks for a game tomorrow night, had sent him a detailed threat to not push himself too hard while working out. He responds with a video clip the trainer had taken of Steve nailing a series of wrist shots.

Steve tries hard not to be too disappointed that he hadn’t heard from Eddie. They’d texted about their plans for the day, Steve knew Eddie had said he’d be spending the day in his studio working on a few new tracks he was putting together. Still, though, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hoping he’d have found a text or two from the other in the time he hadn’t been looking at his phone, something that was quickly becoming a standard for the pair.

Biting back his pride, he decides to send the first text, figuring the other will answer whenever they’re wrapping up in the studio.

Steve: Hope you’re having a good studio session.

After a long few moments, Steve can’t help the little sigh he lets out as he buries himself into the throw pillows filling out the sofa beside him. Robin nudges him with a foot, eyebrow raised, and he shrugs back at her, turning his attention to the television. It isn’t long before he zones out, though, thinking and overthinking.

His injury has given him a lot of time to think about a lot of things; primarily what landed him off the ice. He’s only mentioned it to Robin, but he has been considering coming out to his coaching staff and league officials to give background on what seems like an otherwise unprovoked violent streak from Billy Hargrove. Steve learned, in the days he spent in LA after the attack on the ice, Billy had taken to calling him names and slurs with press and on social media. The trash talking had landed him another fine from the league, but it wasn’t slowing him down. It was more than enough to prove the attack was premeditated, if everyone who needed to know the background was read in on their history.

And while Billy was staying on the attack, his teammates were apparently squared up and ready to defend Steve in a way he probably should have expected but hadn’t seen coming. Each of the players who had gotten physically involved in fighting Billy after Steve had taken a stick to the face had made comments with press about how Hargrove plays dirty and mean. Several had also spoken out about Steve’s leadership and sportsmanship on and off the ice, throwing their support behind him through his recovery. 

Coming out to the league and his coaches also had the potential to alleviate some of the anxiety he was feeling around his personal life. There had always been concern about coming out, getting kicked off the ice and ending up without the one thing he knew best. Long before he’d joined the league, his father had impressed upon him that he would have to settle and make sacrifices if he wanted to stay with the sport, but Steve wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to keep his sexuality bottled up and hidden away from the public.

In large part, it was easy to place blame on Eddie. The rockstar blew into his life and changed his perspective on what it was like to be a public figure, out and proud. Steve knew their status didn’t translate equally. Sports fans were different from fans of a band; Steve had joined a team with supporters who would cheer him on so long as he wore their colors and made them proud. Eddie’s fans had sought him out, decided to listen to his music and support him on their own. But for Steve to see Eddie carrying on with his life, not having to hide any part of himself or worry about not posting certain photos from their days in LA on social media (because what if they looked too suspicious and got people talking and asking questions?) was what Steve longed for. 

Chicago was a pretty open-minded town; it’s why he and Robin had first moved to the city to begin with. But it still wasn’t a guarantee that everyone would continue to support the team if he did publicly come out. And Steve was working to reconcile that in his mind; to gauge how much he should even care about it. A part of him knew the greater majority wouldn’t give a shit as long as he still scored goals and played a clean, fair and exciting game whenever he hit the ice. But the thought of those few who might push back too hard and how it could impact his teammates - his friends - in the long term is still what ate away at him.

“I can hear how loud you’re thinking over there.” Robin eventually says while he’s deep in thought, and he shoots her a small smile in response. “Look, Steve, you have to do what you think is best for you. Who gives a shit about anyone else.” She says.

He wishes it was that easy. He knows it could be, but he cares too much about the fallout to stop overthinking. They fall back into silence again, until Robin eventually closes her laptop and leans close to press a gentle kiss to Steve’s hair.

“You’re the best at what you do and if people can’t see that around the fact that you like guys, then that’s their loss.” She says, gently, before excusing herself off to bed.

Steve lounges around in the living room for a while longer, before he turns off the tv, grabs a blanket and makes his way out onto the terrace. He wraps the sherpa around his shoulders and drops into one of the loungers out there, looking out toward the skyline. It’s cold, but not as cold as it’s been, and he’s always found comfort in the winter weather, anyway.

His phone buzzes, catching his attention, and he smiles softly at Eddie’s name. When he answers FaceTime, he’s immediately met by chaos. It sounds like three voices are talking over each other, Eddie’s closest to the phone, making a loud ‘shhh’ sound until everyone around him is silenced.

“Did you mean to call me?” Steve asks around a smile, and watches as Eddie’s face lights up as he draws his attention.

“I did!” He insists, though Steve isn’t entirely convinced. “Want to hear what the track I’m mixing right now?”

Steve raised his eyebrow, only half sure he knows what Eddie’s talking about, before he nods. “Let’s hear it.” He agrees.

“Told you,” Eddie hisses at someone just out of the camera’s frame; probably one of the Corroded Coffin boys. Eddie taps a few buttons below the phone, then a soft guitar tune starts playing. It’s not like anything Steve has ever heard from the band before, gentler and softer. Other instruments crash in, in a more typical Corroded Coffin sound, for what Steve assumes will be a chorus once there’s a vocal track, but it slows back to just a guitar for the next verse. Eddie pauses the song and lifts the phone up again. “Thoughts and opinions are encouraged.”

“It’s different.” Steve says, still a little in awe.

“But not in a bad way!” He hears Gareth’s voice from somewhere in Eddie’s studio, and Steve nods in agreement.

“I don’t think it’s in a bad way, either. Just different. It still sounds like you guys in that middle part, when all the instruments join in. But the guitar, that’s… it’s soft and sweet and gentle. It works nicely, not that I know anything about music,” Steve laughs, and Eddie gives him a little smile.

“I appreciate your opinion,” he says, seeming to inspect the screen. “Your face looks a little less colorful. How was practice?”

“Fine, I’m sore now, though.” Steve admits, shifts and cracks his back.

“Gross!” Jeff cries from somewhere around Eddie, and Steve can’t help but laugh again.

“You should get back to working, I’m gonna head to bed soon anyway. We can talk tomorrow?” Steve asks, and Eddie nods. 

“Night, Stevie.”

~~~~

He hangs up the FaceTime, steals a pizza roll off Jeff’s plate, and re-opens the notes app on his phone. Scanning over the rambling notes he’d made himself about how he imagined the song would work out, he starts a new paragraph.

And he stares at the blank line before him.

“You’ve composed, like, 4 tracks and you can’t come up with a single lyric for any of them?” Freak asks, takes a pull from a joint burning in an ashtray near the sofa, and blows the smoke out away from the group.

“Very helpful insight,” Eddie grumbles, and Jeff leans forward. 

“Do you want us to help? Like, do you have a theme for the songs, or is this just going to be your own little pet project?” He asks.

“Well, I guess it depends. If you want to drop a surprise EP or double album after the one we’re putting out, I’m probably going to need help. But if you’re cool with letting me sit on it, I can probably figure it out on my own.” Eddie offers.

Gareth twirls a drumstick between his fingers. “I think we let Eddie handle the love songs about Steve Harrington, and if he comes up with enough to make into something to drop, we drop them whenever he’s ready, and if not, we throw them onto the next album or whatever when he’s ready to release them.” 

Eddie sighs and drops his head back against the rest of his swivel chair. “Can we stop calling them love songs about Steve?”

“Guess you have extra incentive to write lyrics to them, then,” Freak teases, and Eddie groans back, making the other boys laugh.

It isn’t much longer before they all excuse themselves to the rooms they claimed around the house. Eddie spends a few extra hours in the studio, working on as many lyrics as his brain allows and even sorts out bridge for the song he’d played for Steve before he heads off to bed.

He isn’t surprised to wake up the next morning to a text from Steve, who routinely gets up hours before Eddie and is always the first to send a text wishing him a good day ahead.

Eddie: Go easy on yourself on the ice today, you were up too late listening to headbanger music.

It’s a while before he gets a response, which isn’t uncommon. They both have their own lives which responsibilities to get up to. But Eddie would be lying if he said he wasn’t waiting not-so-patiently for Steve’s next response. Freak flew out this afternoon, heading back to visit family in Ohio, leaving Gareth and Jeff at Eddie’s. They’re playing video games in the living room when Eddie’s phone rings with Steve’s name and ID photo.

“Hey, how was today?” Eddie asks immediately, launching himself off the sofa and away from the boys and the noise from the television.

“Well, that’s part of why I’m calling,” Steve says, sounding a little out of breath and hair damp with sweat, glancing off camera before he flashes a charming smile down at Eddie. “What are you doing Tuesday?”

His brain short-wires for a second, thrown off course by the response. Is this Steve, asking him out on a date? That can’t be it, right? There’s no way, not with the back-and-forth they have going on. There would be more to it than that, and Steve seems like the kind of guy to give more than 4 days notice for a date that requires at least one party to travel several states. So Eddie does his best to quickly calm and compose himself, hoping he hasn’t taken an alarmingly long time to answer, before he responds. “I don’t know, what am I doing Tuesday?”

“I think you’re coming to watch the Blackhawks play the Predators in Nashville. I’m allowed to travel and suit up, but I probably won’t play just yet.” Steve is grinning, and Eddie can’t help but smile back.

“Hell yeah, I’ll be there!” He agrees, already pulling up the link to buy tickets for the game. “If I get shamed for wearing my Harrington jersey to a Preds game, you get to take the blame for me rooting against my home away from home.” Eddie teases, and Steve lets out a breathy laugh.

��Bring it on,” he challenges, finally seems to Eddie like he’s caught up and gotten back the quick wit and sharp humor which had been on a slight delay since the injury. A sign of recovery, Eddie’s sure and it helps to see him returning to normal.

They catch one another up on their days, and Eddie lets Steve listen to a few more of the tracks they’ve been working on over the last few days, but stops before the lyrics start in the only one he and Jeff have crafted words to so far, not ready for Steve to hear it yet.

As they’re talking, Eddie gets a notification he almost swipes away without reading, but Steve’s name catches his attention, so he drags it down and reads over the words.

“You okay?” Steve asks, and Eddie realizes the face he must be making is ridiculous. 

“Oh, uh. I just got a notification about you?” he mumbles back, and texts the link to Steve.

Now it’s Steve’s turn to look confused as Eddie reads over the headline again.

Hockey Legacy Harringtons to Host Joint Fundraiser

Steve reads the words and seems to immediately understand them in a way Eddie can’t, and he closes his eyes in a heavy sigh. “I promise you, my life is not usually this dramatic.” 

Eddie hates how miserable Steve seems all of a sudden; regrets passing the link on but knows he would have found out eventually and gotten upset anyway. “Dude, really, I don’t even know what that means, so it’s not a big deal.”

“It is, though. This is my parents, deciding that I’m worthy of being their son again because I’m getting a bunch of positive press after the injury. So my name gets to be included in the gala invitation, which I have been excluded from since juniors, by the way.” It’s still piecemeal, the information Eddie is able to take away from Steve’s explanation, but it’s enough to get the general gist of the issue.

“Ah. So, the dad who convinced you to self-sabotage is now trying to take credit for your sportsmanship?”

“Something like that,” Steve grumbles, and Eddie can see how he’s holding the phone differently, typing out a text. “I think I have to get Robin and we need to figure this out, sorry to jump off like this. But, I’ll see you at the Preds game? We can grab dinner after?”

“It’s a date.”

Eddie physically can’t stop the words before they’re out of his mouth, and immediately waits for a hole in the ground to open up and suck him in and put him out of his misery. But Steve just raises an eyebrow, smiles and shrugs. “Not yet, but. Sure.”

Then, Eddie stares at himself in the reflection of his phone after Steve ends the FaceTime call and he has no idea what he’s supposed to do with Steve Harrington, who keeps finding new ways to catch him off guard.

[ssivinee]

✧New Game, New Player✧

part 1 | part 2

BEBE! Bada Lee x Dancer! F Reader: Jeon Y/n joins SWF to prove that her being the sibling of an idol doesn't make her any less of a dancer, but while trying to do so, she makes new friends and potentially something more.

Word Count: 4.7k

Note: Double post cause why not, have too many drafts rn lol.

Character Vision Board

In the world of dance, many professionals look down upon idols who seem to have a passion for it. Many of them saying, it's a different world and aren't really wrong.

Most idols lack in freestyle and versatility which caused a lot of the disapproval last Street Woman Fighter, with idol Lee Chaeyeon.

Jeon Y/n, on the other hand, had a different dilemma.

You were the younger sister of the famous Jeon Jungkook. He was only a year older than you so you two had a close bond, and you love him with all your heart.

Yet you can't deny that once your name was involved, so was his. Your hard work being discredited and diminished by all his career alone.

It upset you as an individual whose danced all your life, going to multiple countries worldwide to gain experience, yet there was always back talk about you.

Deciding to finally make your mark as just Y/n, you opened a studio last year and create your crew Aesthete. Consisting of you, Choi Lyn, Enyo, Heaven Lee, and Kim Aria.

On a Friday morning, you walk into the studio and see the three youngest sitting around, waiting on the rest of the team. Your teams youngest, Lyn, notices you walk in from the mirror. Her bursts of energy activates as she runs up and hugs her beloved unnie extremely tight.

"O-okay, let's calm down before you squeeze all the air out of me," you joke, and Lyn pouts as you pat her head. "Aria isn't here yet?" You ask your juniors as you settle all your items into the closet.

"She was the first one here but wanted to get us all coffee."

Ironically the door opens, revealing the face you were looking for, "Speaking of the devil." She heads to everyone, handing their coffee to them and puts her own personal belongings in the closet.

"Everyone begin stretching. The studio opens in 30 minutes."

You clap and rally the girls together, stretching along with them, then check the list of students coming into the class today. The song chosen for the class was "Con Calma" by Daddy Yankee & Snow. Once class started, you got in the groove of things, and as it went smoothly, you picked a few students and grouped them up to film them for a YouTube video.

When class ends, the girls chill around in a circle as they sit and chat. You scrolled through tiktok, liking dance trends while Enyo leaned her head on your shoulder.

Your phone alerts you, an email sent to your work email instead of personal so you knew it was of importance. Opening the sent mail, your eyes widen at seeing the Mnet logo.

The girls see your face and give a look of concern to each other, "What's going on?"

Your hand over your mouth, and you read, announcing, "Mnet invited us to Street Woman Fighter 2!"

All you can hear is gasps, and after a few seconds, jumping and screaming while you still stand thinking of how unbelievable the opportunity is. Aria grabs your arm and jumps, "Unnie, this is your time to shine!"

You smiled to yourself, now believing that people may actually appreciate you for your dancing.

It was a day of filming on a Saturday morning, and you had finished filming the introduction segment of each crew a week prior.

You get to the main building of the show in your own car and, with another coffee in hand, walk into the lobby to see your team waiting for you.

"Y/n-unnie! Isn't this place so cool?" Lyn says, coming up to you full of energy. Your eyes scan the building, and you must admit, for an assumingly fierce competition, it looked very subtle from what you expected. "It's definitely something,” you mumble.

"Come on, ladies, let's head into our rooms,” you command.

We headed up the stairs and into the halls, passing every crew's room and seeing what they had written on their board.

"It seems like someone tampered with 1Millions board already," Enyo points out, you then frown at their antics. The thoughts of these grown women acting like this irritated you. They were acting like children whose toys were stolen from them.

Yes, you understood bad blood, but pettiness like this isn't a good look on anyone.

The crew sees the Aesthete in a lightly script font in royal blue. You let the girls write on the whiteboard and enter to find the blue room, getting a bit overwhelmed with everything happening so fast.

Everyone sat down and you did breathing exercises, and as the nerves calm, your anticipation and excitement overthrow the previous emotions. The screen then flashes and tells us the dancer on the team with the most no-respect, which was Aria, causing you to look at the screen in confusion.

"Um, okay?" They all laugh at your reaction, mainly because Aria wasn't a weak dancer, but you assumed those stickers were there because of you.

You felt terrible and rubbed her shoulders, "They probably picked you since you’ve been my longest student."

She smiles at you, "It's alright, unnie. I'll just show them why I haven’t left your side."

Aria had been the first student you trained about 7 years ago and has stayed by your side ever since. You always thought it was because she wanted to meet your brother at some point, but over the years, your friendship blossomed, and she reassured you. Aria took your classes because she loved your style, movement, aura, and passion for dancing.

She indeed became the little sister you never had.

Then, the TV signals us to head to the main stage. You all walked down, your team following your lead, and looked around at each group. Every crew was there, but Jam Republic, being the grand finale, you assumed.

Your appearance began to cause everyone to mumble. You kept your hand in the pockets of your cargos, inducing a chill persona.

“Y/n-nim looks so cool.”

“Her eyes look ready to kill. Like she’s ready to punch anyone who disrespects them.”

“And I thought Bada would be the only person here who would be many girl’s type.”

Before you can all take your seats, you stand in the middle and see your team video playing, hearing "Backseat Freestyle" by Kendrick Lamar.

Then, the comments begin to flow in. Starting with Lady Bounce.

"I wanna say I'm intrigued about this team, but only because of Jeon Y/n."

"She's been known as the mother of HYBE. I mean, she's choreographed so many songs for so many groups. I guess that's where all the comments stem from." Lia Kim also speaks, addressing it to her team, and they nod.

"I don't understand why a team like this is on the show. They're like team Bebe, but instead of Bada, they have Y/n," Mina Myoung of Deep N Dap comments, and you stand there with a still, stoic face.

“The team has only been around for one year. They shouldn’t even be in this competition with us,” Wolf Lo’s Halo speaks out with her opinion.

You weren't amused by their comments in the slightest, but you wouldn't give them the satisfaction of getting any major reaction out of you.

Yoonji of Mannequeen then says the comment that ticks you off the most, "Not only are these the shadow of Jeon Y/n, but she is in the shadow of Jeon Jungkook. Even coming on this show, there is no escape from that."

Everyone keeps their eyes on you, trying to see any movement or expression of anger, but you give them a smirk. You knew a comment like this would be said, which didn’t surprise you.

You got those comments quite often any time a choreography of yours went viral so it was nothing you haven’t heard of.

Then, the crew with the trendy Bada Lee appears on the screen, "I'm gonna be honest, I don't know much about them." Lusher begins. " I'd say they're probably our biggest rivals due to our dance styles," Tatter adds.

"Maybe dancing is in Y/n's genes. She just has to prove it here. As a leader, I'm sure she knows many people look down on her due to her connection to her brother." You stare at the screen, a little surprised at the more neutral comment by their leader.

“Their style is very appealing and trendy. I feel we’re gonna see a lot from this crew,” Tsubakill’s Rena says with a soft smile.

The women of Jam Rebuplic were on screen, and you couldn't help but smile a little. Kristen and Ling met you during their time with the Royal Family, and knowing them for many years put you at ease. You also became a fan of Audrey's dance style with her appearance on the World of Dance.

"I know we're in a competition with these girls, but knowing Y/n personally, I know and believe her talent goes beyond imagination and can lead this team to success." The video then ends and shows the status of no-respect stickers given. You had gotten 2, while Lyn had 4.

As you sit, you think of having 3 level-headed crews on the show that didn't disrespect you. If anything, they looked respectful and sincere about all their comments.

The large room began to buzz in whispers as crews chatted about other teams. "I can't believe they think of you like that," Enyo shakes her head, but you shrug. "Their comments were honestly what I expected. I didn't expect the nicer things that Tsubakill and Bebe said."

"Agreed," Lyn mumbles, feeling down due to the comments. "I knew Jam was gonna be nice, but everyone else was truly a fifty-fifty."

Jam Republic then comes down with an energy that no one could match in the studio. They were the ones who felt as if they were at the top, and there was no denying it. They were at the top. The girls were the most unique with their versatile dance arsenal.

You knew your abilities as a dancer, and one thing you couldn't do well was Afro-dance, as the rhythm was genuinely different.

They stand in the middle as they react to their video, but every other team can't help but stare at the girls. The video played, and as every minute passed, their reactions were solely entertained rather than angry. In some way, you were engaged by the comments, too.

Some groups said they'd rather have Paris Globel there, but you know that in the popularity game, every team would have lost right then and there.

Nearing the end, you couldn't help but smile at Audrey's reaction to her 6 stickers. Your crew didn't have anything bad to say about them, and they took note of this as they took their seats right next to yours.

Ling and Kristen give you a fist bump and smile, which is noticed by Bada, who sits one team away from Aesthete.

“They seem close, huh,” Tatter whispers to her leader, who nods, intrigued at your relationship with the international team. After hearing the praise from Jam Republic, she knew you shouldn’t be underestimated.

If people from other countries were saying good things on your behalf, you couldn't be as weak as the other crews said. The large screen then shows the show's logo as the lights begin moving around on the runway area of the stage.

"Is it starting?" Enyo asks, but her questions are answered by Kang Daniel coming out. All the women were cheering as he had the mic and queue cards in hand.

"Hello. Welcome to Mnet's original dance series, Street Woman Fighter 2, and I'm your host, Kang Daniel. Not only will we see the competitions between some of the best dance crews in Korea, but we have gone international this season - with global named crews, making the competition more intense."

Heaven and Lyn act out a fight, punching each other lightly. "Yah, chill out, please," Aria warns the two younger girls causing them to abruptly halt the play fight.

"You'll fight to crush all the other crews and reach the top. Only one crew can do that. Here's the first dance battle to be the winner of this competition."

Kang Daniel did very good at amping everyone up. As you leaned forward, arms laid on your knees, hiding the lower half of your face, you hid your smile of amusement.

"The signature of the dance series is your first mission, the no-respect battle with the weakest dancer." You were all told to change, and you take your water with you as you return to the stage.

As you leave your room, you see the tall figure with the Oreo hair leave the room right beside yours. You bow when you see her, and she reciprocates. Given that you were tall, standing at 5'8, looking slightly up to meet her gaze, it was surprising.

"Hello, Bada-nim," You reach your hand out, and her eyes go wide, looking stunned. "I just want to thank you for not saying anything negative on behalf of my team."

She gladly accepts your handshake with a friendly grin, "Hey man, I know what it feels like when people compare you to the idol instead of acknowledging your talents."

"You're telling me. I've been getting compared to my brother ever since everyone found out about us being related."

"I had those moments when dancing with Kai, but people warmed up to it, especially the more I choreographed for him."

You smile at her with envy, "I bet it's nice to hear the love from people." You lower your head and lean against the wall, feeling somewhat ashamed for feeling this way. "I'm a little jealous Bada-nim."

Bada tilts her head, confused at what you, out of everyone, had to be jealous about.

"My one wish after this entire show ends is for people to see me as Y/n, the leader of Asthete. The one who puts a lot of effort into their craft and passion. Not just a shadow of my brother."

Bada's eyes soften at your determined gaze. She could feel how much you meant every word you said to her. She could only assume how bad it was for you, but Bada never realized how much it affected your mental until you spoke to her.

Somehow, that being your first proper interaction and conversation with each other made Bada's heart race. She wasn't expecting you to open up, but she really appreciated it, as it motivated her.

You notice all the noise in the room behind her, "You wanna head down with me, or are you still waiting for your team?"

"I'll probably wait to make sure they don't take their sweet time," Bada jokes, and you give her a genuine laugh, knowing how it feels to have a team all younger than you. "Don't worry, I totally understand."

You then bow, excusing yourself to get to the main stage, where you see all of Jam Republic ready. "Kristen! Ling!" You say, coming up to the leader with a massive hug. You met the girls on your travel to New Zealand for a dance collaboration and loved their energy, causing you to keep in contact. "Hey, girl! Long time no see."

You pout, "I know, I've been busy, so I never got to visit you guys over there," you tell her as you point to Ling, trying to involve her in the conversation. She also hugs you and plays with your long, silky hair that was currently ashy brown in color. As the three talk, Bebe comes down and sees the interaction. "She's close to all of them?" Bada mumbled to herself. Lusher looks in their direction as well. "I guess so."

You begin telling jokes and stories about the recent classes you've taught. The newly arriving team saw you showing them a sample of a choreography, you probably made. You looked so happy and smiled brightly as you moved for them, not going all out to save energy. A smile frames Bada’s face as she takes a seat, comparing your energy to a child showing off a piece of candy they got.

Rather than the serious personality you showed when you first came in, you did a 180, displaying your doe eyes and bunny smile. "Oh, Audrey, I've meaning to say how big of a fan I am of your dancing."

Bada's thoughts stray away as she can't help but keep her eyes locked on your figure.

She wasn't gonna lie to herself. You are super attractive as you carry yourself with confidence and assertiveness.

The genes were strong, too. You looked like the female version of your brother, which was a given, but your nose just seemed a bit smaller and your lips were evidently plumper. From the eyes down to the smile and even tattoos that she could see, you were almost a carbon copy of him.

"Oo~ our teacher has some interest in the leader of Aesthete," Tatter teases, and Bada scoffs. "I'm just realizing how much she looks like Jungkook-nim."

"You got that right," Tatter says, and Minah butts in, "As hot as him too." The girls giggle at her comment, but they can't help but agree. "She's so cool," Cheche says.

You begin to raise the sleeves of your flannel, out of habit, as you continue your chat with Jam Republic and team Bebe's eyes widen. You had a few minimal tattoos on your left arm, but your right arm was what caught their attention.

Inked on your arm was a full sleeve covering your forearms and down to your hands. The tattoos were all in a delicate art style, but as they covered your entire arm, the combination was badass. It did suit you, but now your adorable image was flipped upside down in Bada’s mind.

If only you saw her gaze. It looked like she wanted to do unimaginable things to you, but in a quick flash, she realizes the setting she’s in and shakes her head a bit.

"She looks like she would beat someone up," Tatter mumbles, but Bada can't help but think your face doesn't match your body. You had innocent doe eyes and a cute smile while your body looked ready for a boxing match, from the tattoos down to your noticeable muscles. "The Jeon bloodline must be strong," Minah mumbles, but everyone agrees.

The rest of the crews begin entering, and you wave off the girls, returning to your team.

"Whoever is battling first better hype up the entire crowd. My hands are literally sweating right now," Ling says, but you side-eye her with a questioning stare. Emma noticed this, nudging Ling in your direction, causing the two of them to laugh.

Once they commence the battles, everyone gets nervous. "The first no-respect battle is... 1Million Redy."

Your gaze follows Redy as she comes down from her spot. "The person I pick as the weakest dancer is..." She teases the crowd, approaching Deep N Dap or Lady Bounce. Redy then does a complete reverse and stands before the light blue team, "Bada of Bebe."

An obnoxious squeal could be heard, and you covered your ears at the sudden pitch. Looking over your shoulder to see it was Heaven, your eyes grow wide. You never knew that sound could come from her body, as she was always the quiet one on the team.

"THE Bada Lee dancing? Take my money now." Enyo rolls her eyes and slaps her, "Dude, don't be embarrassing us...Have some dignity, please."

Your chuckle pulls the two girls out of their tiny argument, and they continue to pay attention. If Bada got Heaven to react that way, you knew you had to pay attention to her in this battle. The younger girl barely gives anyone a reaction but her members, yet here she was, fangirling over Bebe's leader.

You look over and see the taller woman nod her head. "Redy of 1Million picks Bada of Bebe as the worst dancer."

"I just don't respect you," Redy ends straight and clear. "That's it."

Bada slightly paces and smirks, "Not Redy. Soobin. You're still an eighth grader to me." You smile at the comment, feeling the hype after the comments. "Whaaaa~ unnie. This. Is. Amazing." Lyn jumps up and down as she holds onto your shoulders, keeping her balanced. You stayed seated as the battle began and couldn't help but stare at Bada. Her cold face would get countered by her confident personality.

Redy dances, and you nod your head ever so often. While the battle continues, you feel a pair of eyes staring at you.

You look across the stage and around until you see the pair of eyes that cause your alertness. It was Manequeen's own Barbie doll, Redlic. Your attention was back to the dance where you see Bada about to begin.

Your eyes travel all over her body as she teases the younger girl with her dance, the grinding, body rolls, the taunting? You loved seeing it all. She dominated the stage as a one-man act, and you applaud her for that, which she notices and bows. That was the first time you gave someone a reaction as you all filmed, so she felt good about her performance.

"Cards are open in 3! 2! 1!"

The judges flipped their cards quickly, showing Bebe winning 3:0. Monika picked up the mic and told Redy, "Compared to Bada, you did dance like an eighth grader." Saying it in a casual tone made even you feel hurt.

Everyone sits, and the following battle is about to occur, "Mannaqueen's Redlic, please take the stage."

She wastes no time, walking up to your crew and giving you a seductive look. "The dancer I pick with no respect is Jeon Y/n." You smirk at this and grab your mic.

"Redlic, why did you choose Y/n as the no-respect dancer?"

"I wanted to see if she could set the stage on fire with me on it," causing a very evident chuckle to come out of you. "I can. I can even make it burn," you say confidently.

"Alright, the fight shall begin!"

When it begins, Redlic starts feeling up her body to "Needed Me" by Rihanna and swaying her body. She gets closer to you, going around and shaking her ass in front of you, causing you to bite your lips at her antics. You’d never deny a beautiful woman making moves on you, even if it was just for her dance.

She adds some floor work and ensures she shows out using all her space. Redlic had you entranced for some time, and before you knew it, it was your turn, "3! 2! 1! Switch!"

Your song was "Or Nah" by Ty Dolla $ign, and as you begin, you take off your jacket, revealing your sleeveless white top, and everyone's eyes go wide seeing your arms and full tattoos. You were starting to look like a hot commodity on stage, and Redlic couldn't help but lick her lips at the sight.

Behind you, Bada was still trying to gather herself after her battle, but her face flushed again once you removed your flannel. She felt her body heating up and hoped to cover up her reactions by hiding behind her hands.

You grind on the floor, body rolling on Redlic's body while kneeling, then pull yourself up. You did some ticking moves and mixed in some slow motion in there. As you slow-mo a hip-grabbing movement, you go into a motion of locking and popping. Then, slide on the floor, adding a flip to finish your sensual dance.

Bada stares, the hardest she probably ever has, and you lock eyes for a second. Seeing her face and body language formed a sly grin on your face, making her look away, now blushing furiously. She can’t even keep her head in the game when she hears your win of 3:0 against Redlic.

"Unnie?" Lusher stares at her leader, who follows the direction of her eyes, and laughs at the realization. "Unnie, this isn't like you at all!" The sub-leader claps as she laughs, and Bada can't do anything but tell her to shut up, which only causes her to laugh harder.

After a few more battles, you could all take a 30-minute break before resuming.

Everyone sat down chatting, and you were again talking to Jam Republic. You and Audrey had tied 3 times in battle until they decided you won your last match. "Dude, I need to know how you did that neck-breaking move," you ask Audrey, and she giggles shyly. "Let me show you."

She shows you the move, and as you copy it perfectly, she claps for you, "Yes! Well, you got it, fast girl." You laugh at her and talk about her first dance battle. "Man, the first bone-breaking move was insane."

"Which one?"

"Oh, uh, this one," You show the move she hits during "Low" by Flo Rida. Audrey begins jumping excitedly, almost fangirling for you, even if it was her own move. Everyone in the studio notices your interaction with JR and gossip about it.

"I saw them talking before, so they must know each other."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Y/n has taught a class with Latirce and Kristen before, so it's unsurprising."

You make more friends and move to Bebe, who doesn't notice your presence. That was until Kyma looked like she'd seen a ghost in front of her, causing them to look behind and gasp, seeing you standing there in front of them.

"Hey," was the only thing that came out of your mouth, yet all of the Bebe members stared at you like you had just told them the most remarkable speech on the planet. Well, everyone other than Bada.

She stared at you with enticing eyes, and you quickly took notice of her motive. Regarding the No-respect battles, you had already danced in 5, most girls explaining it was just for fun. In every action you participated in, your eyes met with Bada's, and you never knew what ran through that head of hers as you couldn't even think while dancing.

But you figured it out now.

"Ah, Y/n-nim, I'm a big fan," Minah bows, and you wave your arms, trying to deny any praise. "You're an excellent dancer, no need to deny it. Pretty face and stage present too," Tatter says, mumbling the last part, but you heard it. Your hand guides Tatter's head to face you, and you smile, "If I'm pretty, you're gorgeous."

Her face turns bright red, and you pat her head, finding it cute. You then see a familiar face amongst the crew, "Lusher, it's been a while since you've been to one of my classes." The sub-leader's face is full of embarrassment for being called out. "Don't worry, I'm not mad about it," you tell her, and Lusher's tense body relaxes.

"I've just been more focused on Bebe the past year, but maybe after the show, you'd let me back in?"

"You're always welcome at my place. Any of you are, honestly. Nothing wrong with expanding your horizons in dance." You announce, but Bada scoffs a little. "This feels a bit insulting to me. I am their teacher, you know."

You had no ill intent behind your comment, but you wanted to tease her, "You can always join me too. I'm sure you'll be my number one student."

The two's faces are just inches away, both having a condescending smirk on their faces. Members of Bebe look at each other, feeling the intensity of their stares, but their eyes go large at your pitched idea.

"How do you think about this? After the show, we collaborate in a choreography and class, and then we can dance together. No competition needed." Your fingers then point to your crew and Bada's crew, "We can all dance together."

You were now leaning your arms on the bench, Bada sitting between your sleeveless arms. Lusher and Tatter can't help but giggle at the sight. It was like a fox versus a fox.

"Sure, but I don't know if I can wait that long to be a top student again." You read the subtly in her voice, implying something you couldn't put your finger on. You lick your lips at her gaze and grin.

"Win two more battles, and I'll take my top student out to dinner?'

Bebe's eyes widen again in shock. Never seen Bada's eyes look so mischievous as they did now.

"Deal~"

A/n: The ending feels super lacking on this one, but I might make a part 2 to satisfy myself😭.

-sivine

[worksby-d]

So Close

Pairing: dad’s best friend!Ari Levinson x fem!Reader

Summary: Part two of We'll Get There. Showing Ari exactly what you’ve been up to for the two weeks he was gone.

Warnings: Age gap, inexperienced!reader, sex toys, masturbating, fingering, overstimulation, calling him “daddy,” 18+

Word count: ~1,500

a/n: I'm sorry for the 6-month wait ✋ Enjoy 🫡

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Hearing his front door open, you jump. You lost track of time waiting for him, but you quickly pull his comforter over yourself and listen intently to his footsteps coming toward the room.

There’s a silence when he walks in, one full of tension waiting to be cut by one of you acting on the anticipation.

Pushing his luggage against the wall, he stands back up, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face.

“What have you been up to?”

If his gaze finally on you wasn’t making you nervous all of a sudden, you would almost laugh at how normal he’s acting, as if he hasn’t spent the last two weeks sending you the nastiest texts and having hushed, obscene phone calls with you.

“Nothing,” you shrug.

Subtly looking around, he’s beginning to think your acting shy is a facade.

“Really?” He suppresses his smirk. “Just waiting for me to get back?”

“Yup.”

As he steps closer, you catch his eyes drifting toward the familiar toy on the nightstand next to you – clearly recently used.

“So if I…” His voice trails off as he gently pulls the sheets off of you, revealing no clothes on the bottom half of your body.

“Hey–”

Reaching to tug them back, feigning offense, is no use when a giggle escapes your lips.

“Ah-ah,” he stops you, pushing your hands away. “You couldn’t wait for me, babygirl?”

“Wanted to be ready for you,” you try to defend yourself, putting on a pout for good measure.

“Well,” he lets out a breath. You let him sit on the side of the bed and bring a hand between your thighs to part them, exposing your slick-covered skin. “Looks like you’re very ready. What got you so wet, princess?”

“Was watching that video you sent me,” you mumble, too embarrassed to say any more.

He won’t let you leave it at that though.

“Which one?” He smirks. “The one where I… told you exactly how to touch yourself for me? Or the one where I was moaning your name as I–”

He could keep going if you let him.

Flustered though, you try to squeeze your legs back together, but he doesn’t let you.

“Don’t get shy on me now, baby…”

His teasing touch trails along your inner thigh, getting closer and closer to where you’re desperate for his attention.

“The one where you called yourself daddy!” You blurt it out quickly, closing your eyes.

He laughs. “Oh, you liked that?”

“Yes,” you gasp, pushing your hips toward his hand, needing to feel his fingers on your sensitive clit.

He gives in fleetingly, rubbing his middle finger in slow circles. You let out a moan of relief, effectively doing Ari in. For a moment, he finds it impossible to deprive you of what you've been so patient for since he last saw you.

“You gonna show daddy how well you can take your toy after all week?” He cooes, nearly mocking.

He didn't let you use it the first week he was gone, instructing you to get comfortable with your fingers and a few smaller vibrators first. He said you had to work up to it, that it would work if you listened to him.

“Yes!” You yelp when he pulls his finger away and slaps your pussy. “Please, daddy. I'll show you.”

Grabbing it off the table, he hands it to you and stands up just for a second to shed his jacket and jeans.

When he gets back on the bed, he has you move between his legs. Instead of your back against his chest, he turns you slightly so your legs are over his, giving him a view of what you're doing.

The small shift makes you feel a hell of a lot more vulnerable. But you find comfort in locking your eyes with his, catching a brief reassuring look before one of lust takes over again.

“Go on,” he nods, resting a hand on your thigh to keep your legs in place. “I've been waiting to see you like this again since I left…”

A desperate sigh falls from your lips as your head rests against his chest, warding off your embarrassment by closing your eyes and focusing on the heavy toy in your hand.

You let the tip of it glide through your dripping folds, shuddering when it touches your clit.

“The pictures weren't the same, baby,” he continues. “Sure, I got off, but nothing beats the real thing.”

The image of him jerking off to you flashes in your mind, the videos he sent leaving nothing to the imagination – Sweaty strands of hair sticking to his forehead as he tips his head back, a large hand stroking his cock while the other caresses his balls, all while groaning your name.

It prompts you to finally push on the base of the dildo, the fat tip stretching you open.

“Ari,” you whimper, elusively squirming against him, against the evident erection nudging your hip.

He lets out a breath, trying to contain himself. “That’s a good girl.”

He watches as you thrust it deeper, working yourself up to almost taking it all.

“Feel good?”

“Uh-huh,” you sigh, the initial twinge of pain quickly turning pleasurable.

“You're doing so well,” he praises. “Keep going.”

With how deep you feel it, you swear you're taking the whole thing. The pressure has you hurtling toward the edge already.

“So close, babygirl.”

His words have you peeking your eyes open, a quiet frustrated whine coming from you when you see that's not the case.

“Please, daddy,” you beg, grabbing his hand and putting it over yours, a silent plea for him to take over again.

Lucky for you, he’s feeling generous. He wordlessly replaces your hand with his, fucking you rougher than you had the nerve to do.

A loud moan rips from you as he thrusts the toy the rest of the way, finally filling up your needy pussy.

“Fuck,” you choke out, grasping at his forearm.

You think he's showing some mercy when he slows down, the drawn out drags of the fake cock allowing you to feel every bump and ridge of it against your tight walls.

But that doesn't last long until he's picking up the pace again, laying a hand on your lower belly to keep you in place.

“My good girl can take it, can't she?”

Your rapid breaths make it hard to answer with words, so you nod, but that's not good enough for him.

His free hand slips farther down, fingers landing on your swollen clit, making you gasp.

“Can’t she?” He repeats.

“Yes, daddy,” you cry out. “Please.”

It becomes the only word you know, repeating it until the pleasure becomes too much.

Your eyes roll back as your orgasm washes over you, legs trembling and involuntarily trying to close around his hand. He eases his fingers off your clit to slap your thigh, forcing your legs open, earning a high-pitched moan from you.

The toy practically slips out of your spasming cunt, and Ari lets it, prolonging your high by thrusting his fingers into you instead.

“There you go,” he growls, keeping you full with two fingers as his palm grinds against your clit. “Good girl cumming for me.”

“D– Da– Ari,” you shout, voice quivering as an unexpected second orgasm hits you. “It's– Too much.”

He knows it is by the way you stammer your words like that. He slowly stills his hand, easing away from your throbbing clit and pulling his fingers out of you carefully.

A few more whimpers of his name fall from your lips, your body torn between being over sensitive, but yet not wanting his touch to completely leave you.

“I've got ya,” he whispers, rubbing a warm hand against the side of your leg, up to your back as he pulls you closer against him.

A few residual shocks of pleasure, teetering on discomfort now, course through you as you curl up to him, nestling your face into his neck. Your heavy breaths are hot against his skin.

“I know that was a lot,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “You okay?”

He can feel you nod against him as you hum. “Mhm.”

As your breathing finally steadies, you shift in his arms to get more comfortable.

Your side rubs against his still-hard cock again and he clears his throat to disguise the sharp breath he takes in, but you catch on anyway.

“Sorry,” you chuckle, scooting away just slightly. “Do I need to…”

“No, no,” he hushes you softly. “Not yet. We'll get there.”

He doesn't see your eyes widen upon hearing the words. Not again.

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Tag list: @patzammit @denisemarieangelina @thummbelina @pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc @princess-evans-addict @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @turtoix @katiew1973 @harrysthiccthighss @bluemusickid @rocketrhap3000 @mrspeacem1nusone @geminievans1 @doozywoozy @americasass91 @dwights-new-plague @wwwmarissa92 @redhairedfeistynerd @whxre4cevans @aubreeskailynn @white-wolf1940 @melchills-j @xoxabs88xox @just-one-ordinary-fangirl @before-we-get-started @chrissquares @christowhore @ice-dtae @mariestark @justile @rogersbarber @dilfbarber @livstilinski @payperhearts @vintagestarlight @chaeycunty @miss-ariella @bemysugarbean @t-stark35 @seitmai @reginaphalange2403 @raelorns21

[sturniololoco]

Could you do a younger sister fic where the brothers leave for LA for like a couple months and lose contact and she’s really sad and they come home to find her crying holding the stuff they gave her???

Distant

Sturniolo Little Sister (SLS) x The Sturniolo Triplets

Warnings: Break down, depression, etc.

Note: A TON of people wanted this one! A few of the requests are above but some of them were too long I'm so sorry! if I couldn't fit you in

Really short!

SLS/N's POV

It's been about a week since my brothers moved to LA, and I was missing them like crazy. To stay caught up, I watched all their videos, listened to every single podcast, and always had my phone nearby waiting for their call, facetime, or text.

But it never came.

-

It's been about a month now, and I've still heard nothing.

Sometimes I just go into their rooms and lay on their beds, missing them. I'll readjust all of Nick's Stuffed animals that he left behind. I'll make sure Chris's stash of Pepsi is always stocked, even though no one is there to drink it. I always make sure Matt's room is put together, just the way he likes it so that when he comes home, we can have our sleepovers again.

And my phone is always with me. Waiting

-

Two Months.

Nothing.

Sent straight to voice mail.

Until one day I got home from school, and there they were, sitting on the couch like they never left. Visiting.

They smiled when they saw me like they missed me, but I knew it was a lie.

I walked right passed them and into my room, locking the door behind me, feeling the tears threatening to fall the whole way.

-

I didn't come down for dinner when Mom called me. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Instead, I broke down on the floor, my mind not being able to block out my thoughts any longer.

They don't even love you! They never did! Your are such a waste of space! They moved all the way across the country because of you.

I couldn't breathe. The air was too thin for me to take in. My mind was still racing with the thoughts I couldn't help but think were true.

Inhaler. Downstairs. left of the oven.

I unlocked my door and sprinted down the stairs into the kitchen. I snatched my inhaler out of the drawer and sunk down onto the floor, taking in a deep puff, not caring that my brothers were staring.

They don't even care anyway.

Contradicting my thoughts, Matt ran over to me and sat on the floor, pulling me into his lap, and cradling my head to his chest.

"Hey, hey, hey. Shh, it's okay, I'm here," he said softly into my ear. I cried into his chest, gripping his shirt and staining it with tears. He kept rubbing my back until I calmed down and was able to breathe again.

Chris and Nick walked in, then awkwardly sat crisscrossed on the floor next to us.

"Why didn't you call. Why did you just-just...disappear?" I asked feeling the pain rising in my chest again.

They all looked at each other with wide eyes full of sadness.

"I would like to say we're busy, but there's no excuse for blocking out our sister. I realize that now and I'm really sorry SLS/N." Nick told me, looking deep into my eyes. Matt and Chris nodded in agreement, saying sorry.

I smile through my tears, happy that my brothers still love me and haven't forgotten about me.

-

When it was time for my brothers to go home, I made them triple the promise to call me as much as they could. They all swore on it and got in the car to go to the airport.

They called me as soon as they landed.

Not one of my beast works, but I'm trying to get at least one oneshot a day out to y'all. Shy pt 3 will hopefully be out by 10:00

Tag List

@idkwhosnyla @babypat08 @eyelessdemon00 @christopherowensturniolo @sturnsxx @freshloveforthefit @matty443355 @sleepysturnss @emeraldgreenbeautiesstu @sunsetsturniolos @hoesturniol

[ssalballoon]

i wanna get better at art but dont know how to start ^^' whats a good way to get into studying anatomy and improving as an artist? tysm 💗 love your art soso much

more art converts 😼 yay!!

i think these asks were sent by different people but they're pretty related + a lot of my advice is the same! so i'll answer these together under the cut (it's so long oh gosh)

ok first of all i'm very flattered that people are asking me for art advice but i'm really not the most equipped person to ask TTOTT I've never been deliberately studious with my art so I feel bad offering advice when I've mostly gotten by with just drawing fanart and ocs a lot... my rate of improvement has therefore been slow, but I've still had an enjoyable learning experience so perhaps from that angle my input may help! i'll mainly refer you to external resources that have helped me

For anatomy + drawing humans:

1) I know I'm not diligent enough to sit down and study muscles, so instead I make it more enjoyable by drawing my favorite characters in a pose that targets the muscles I want to practice! (i default to drawing ppl naked because of this lol) This isn't the most efficient, but it serves as good motivation to get practice in. (honestly a lot of my general art advice has the undercurrent of becoming so obsessed with characters to drive your motivation to draw even when artblocked/ struggling with doubts!)

2) I want to refer you to Sinix's Anatomy playlist! Although Sinix focuses more on digital painting, he gives simplified anatomy breakdowns that include how muscles change shape under different movements/poses, which is crucial for natural human posing. the static anatomy diagrams from Google don't really help for that

3) What's just as important as anatomy is gestures! (especially important if you're used to drawing non-human objects I think!) Making figures look like they have flow to them will sell the "naturalness"(?) to your anatomy. If you have in person life drawing sessions accessible near you I'd recommend trying those out, or if you prefer trying it digitally there's this website!

This helps you not only get a sense of human proportions, but also natural posing! I'd limit the time taken to draw the poses from like 10 seconds to 1 minute(?) for quick gestures, and maybe 1 minute to 5mins(for now!! typically they go much longer) to study human proportions. I'd say don't spend a lot of time on them, repetition is more important!

4) I've also picked up on useful anatomy tidbits from artists online! Looking at how practiced/ professional artists stylize a body helps me focus on what the essential details are to convey a particular form (looking up "human muscles" and being hit with anatomy diagrams full of all the smallest details can be overwhelming! what do you even focus on?! so these educated simplifications really help me) Like Emilio Dekure's work! Look how simplified these figures are, and yet contain all the essential information to convey the sense of accurate form (even though it's highly exaggerated!)

(shamefully admits I've never studied from actual anatomy books so I can't recommend anything in that sense TTOTT)

For general improvement:

1) I highly recommend Sinix's Design Theory playlist and Paintover Pals! (+ his channel in general) You don't have to put them immediately into practice, but I think these are good fundamental lessons to just listen to and have them in the back of your mind to revisit another day. Plus these videos are just fun and very approachable! Design theory fundamentals are essential to creating appeal and directing a viewer's attention, and critiquing others' work/ seeing his suggestions are a good way to practice noticing areas of improvement+ solutions yourself!

2) If you prefer a more formal teaching resource, the Drawabox YouTube course covers all the basic fundamentals of drawing in short lessons. But honestly if I were starting out, this would be a little intimidating for me (and even now it still is! I haven't done all of them) But even if you don't watch them, the titles should give you an idea of the basic concepts that are valuable to pick up. I think it would be nice to keep in mind and revisit once in a while as you learn!

(One lesson I do encourage you to watch is the line control one! A confident continuous line conveys motion and flow much better compared to discontinuous frayed lines which I think is good to practice early by drawing from the wrist and shoulder)

3) As a universal piece of advice: Please please please use references! Use a reference for literally everything, observing is how we learn! You'll find that a lot of things you thought you knew what they looked like are inaccurate by memory alone. Also, trace! This is solely for your practice, tracing then freehanding has helped me grasp proportions when I was struggling! (of course don't post these online if you traced from art)

I've found that being able to compile references into easy to access boards has been very helpful in encouraging me to use references more. For PC, I think they use PureRef (free/pay what you want), and for iPad I use VizRef. VizRef is a one time purchase (which was definitely worth the $3.99 USD price imo)

4) On that note, try building up the habit to observe from media + real life and make purposeful comments about what you see! Like hey, when I bend my knee, the muscles/fat in my thighs and calves bulge outwards, I should draw that next time. Purposeful observation carries over to your overall visual library, and it's a little thing that adds up over time

5) For motivation, get into media you really enjoy, or make your own characters! The way I started art more seriously was by drawing fanart + OCs from anime that I liked ^^ For OCs it really encourages you to draw more because you're the primary creator of their art! Also you gotta see a lot of good art to make good art! Watching visually appealing media (like animation with appealing stylization/simplification) can passively help you learn just by observation.

ok wow I could go on but this is already a lot of information TTOTT my main aim for this reply is basically: don't let anything discourage you from learning to draw!! drawing is so fun and brings me a lot of joy ^^ practicing often will of course help you improve, and the way to incentivize that is by having fun with it! i hope this could help!💞

[bullet-prooflove]

Postcards: Manny x Reader

Tagging: @darqchilddaydreamz @theesirenteller @crazy4chickennuggets @kmc1989 @withakindheartx @wnbweasley @bonni-98 @skyesthebomb @delightfulbelieverwerewolf @redpool @trublu2u @fleureeee @yezzyyae @jeybae @thiashazzywriting @lauraaan182 @hatersaremymotivators @fanfic-n-tabulous @ravennaortiz

Ties in with Times Are Changing

Manny thinks of you often. His days are full of club business and adhering to elementary school schedules, but his nights are full of you. The feel of your skin pressing against his as he makes you say his name in that sinful way of yours, how tight you grip him when you come on his cock. He jerks off in the shower fantasising about it.  

More than anything, he thinks of that breathless laugh of yours when he drew you to him that night in the Casino, the way the glow of the fireplace illuminated your skin as you dozed on his chest after the whiskey tasting.

When he receives that postcard from Thailand, he smiles to himself because he knows that you’re thinking about him too. You’ve written your phone number on the bottom and signed it with a kiss. He snaps a picture of it on his fridge before Whatsapping it to you with the words ‘Where to next?’

He receives a text later on in the evening with a picture of Tokyo Tower followed by several Japanses flag emojis. He checks the time difference on his phone, it’s your morning over in Thailand, you’ve just gotten up. He finally puts his phone down at midnight because he needs to be up early to take his daughter Melina to school.

Sweet dreams, you text him and that night he dreams of you in his bed, his fingertips ghosting over the tattoos that decorate your body.

It becomes the highlight of his day after spending time with Melina. Things with the club are complicated. Canche’s death has highlighted some discrepancies with their accounting, Downer’s still chasing down the missing money whilst Bishop is putting pressure on them to buy into the pipeline because Santo Padre are going completely legit.

On top of that there’s been a change of leadership in Stockton after Ramos orchestrated an attack on Nestor Oceteva and his girl. The ramifications of it have sent shockwaves through all the charters due to a change of bylaws by El Padrino. Manny’s lucky, his club are more tolerant and open minded compared to some of the others, his members have always treated their women with respect, it’s the other part some of them are having trouble with. Manny believes in tolerance; he welcomes the change.

Your communications are a reprieve from all of this. He thinks you must be able to sense he’s having a bad day because you video call him that night. It’s the first time the two of you have spoken face to face since you parted in Lake Tahoe. You’re in a hotel room in Japan, the sun shining in through the window when you appear on the screen. He finds the weight in his chest loosen just a little when he sees you.

“Hey.” He says softly.

You’re still as pretty as the day you left; he can tell you’ve just woken up. You have a mug of coffee cradled to your chest and your hair pulled back into a messy bun.

“You wanna talk about it?” You ask him. His lips purse together grimly because he can’t and that was always the point of contention between him and his ex. He could never discuss what happened with the club but she would see the fall out from it. He’d withdrawn from her, so he didn’t have to see the hurt in her eyes everytime he refused her.

“Club business.” He says, his voice rough.

Already he can see how this ends. His silence will be the thing that kills it, the same way it did his marriage. He wonders if it’s better to cut off contact completely because already he knows he’s falling in love with you. That it started in Lake Tahoe and now it’s playing out in the months that follow.

“Ok.” You say, leaning back against the headboard. “Tell me what you and Melina got up to instead.”

He’s surprised by the change of topic, but he welcomes it. He explains how excited she is about the science fair, that he has no idea where she got that enthusiasm from. The two of you discuss STEM programs, how the world needs more female pioneers. You make him promise to send you the video of her ‘Elephant’s Toothpaste’ experiment before you hang up. He goes to bed with a smile on his face and a lighter heart.

When the postcard from Japan arrives a few days later, his fingers trace over the writing as he studies the message you’ve written.

Twenty Third of February – Los Angeles x

Love Manny? Get added to his tag list!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[fryday]

(sorry this is kind of random but you reblogged something with phil’s mum in it and it made me think about this lol)

i’ve never really thought that much about it because there’s soooo much else to think about in BIG but rn i’m pondering how dan talked about how he had just come out to his family like a month before that video and honestly in a way it’s funny to me that dan in his coming out email probably had to say “so remember the guy that’s been my roommate for the last 10 years? funny story about that……”

always happy to receive asks about random things! no worries

so when i read this i went looking for a transcript of big which goldenpinof very incredibly wrote out in full, and the part we're talking about goes like this:

So you know how I finally came out to my family? E-mail. Yep, I literally just sent them an e-mail saying and I quote, “Hello gang. I’ve been meaning to talk to you all for a while, something quite important that should be disclosed at some point. I thought I would around Christmas, then Mum’s birthday, then last Easter Sunday, etc., but every time I meant to, I either felt like I would ruin the mood of the day or I just felt awkward and didn’t want to. So I decided just to email you all instead which is really inappropriate and just weird but that somehow seems appropriate for me and at least I’ll just finally say it. Basically I’m gay.”

the quote ends there, and his grandma's response to the email seemed to only address dan coming out and nothing about phil, so i think it's safe to assume he actually didn't mention anything about phil in that email. whether he ever sent a follow-up email, who knows, but it is quite funny imagining his family receiving that email and putting the pieces together on their own re: him and phil 😭😂

[ingravinoveritas]

Is it just me or does it seem like Anna doesn’t have anything about Michael on her IG? I think the last thing I saw was when she and Michael went to see David’s play last year. Georgia hasn’t had anything about Michael either lately, but it just seems different. Or I’m reading too much into it. At least Georgia does have David on hers.

Hi there! I know you sent this several days ago and I've been a bit swamped, so apologies for taking so long to answer.

You are not at all reading too much into things, as a lot of what you mentioned is what many of us have noticed over the last few years, too. Anna puts Michael on her Insta when it's convenient/when there is something to sell (their relationship, typically). The most recent thing (before today, at least) was a picture from Mabli's first birthday party in May. Though she also posted this photo in a story on the same day that GO 2 was released (again, something to promote/sell):

This was obviously an old picture (likely taken midway through filming season 2, during the holiday break--so December 2021/January 2022), but it's telling that this is what she chose to post, instead of something new. And this again continues AL's pattern of posting terrible pictures of Michael, where he looks miserable and she looks smug. It seems like he was caught off-guard, too, as if she wanted a picture before he could put on his "game" face. There were so many choices happening here, and I'm genuinely confused by all of them.

Which then brings us today, and the bunch of photos/videos AL just posted for her birthday weekend, to again brag/show her "celebrating" with Michael. She posted multiple things, but I'm going to highlight these two in particular, as they stood out to me:

For those who can't tell, on the left is video of Michael at a parking meter machine, going to pay for parking. AL is making fun of him (again, which she has done multiple times previously), likely in an attempt to mimic the way Georgia pokes fun at David, yet lacking any of the underlying respect or affection that Georgia seems to have for David.

This (and AL's other stories from today) also continue her pattern of filming Michael surreptitiously/from a distance in order to generate content. In the story on the right, Michael is shooting basketballs and AL is standing behind him filming, rather than actually being in the moment, which gives the feeling of her wanting attention for herself more than wanting to enjoy her birthday with Michael. What also struck me about this and the other stories she posted is how cold and distant they seem. Pictures of empty drink glasses, a table, her sitting on the floor alone. The vibes are just completely "off" somehow, in my opinion, and it's noticeable.

What really stands out to me as well is that it doesn't look like either one of them were having that much fun. One thing we can say for certain about Michael and David--whether you ship them or not, whether you think something is going on between them or not--they always have fun together. We see it in the interviews they do, the interactions they have, how both of them are constantly smiling/laughing and there is never the feeling of one person monopolizing the spotlight--it's them, together, genuinely enjoying each other's company. Making each other laugh. And I just don't feel like that is the case with Michael and AL, because what I get from those stories today is a sense of obligation, rather than fun.

(I also think it's very telling and worth noting that in all of the stories AL posted, the only face that is full-on visible is her own...)

So yes, those are my thoughts on Michael being on AL's Insta and these new developments. As I've always said, I could be completely wrong about everything, but the fact that I've been getting more asks and comments about this makes me think others are starting to notice the questionable optics as well...

[mochiwrites]

Guess who's back? Back again? Anons back! Tell a friend.

Lol sorry I'm once again back. The same anon who sent a bunch of questions about night life a while ago since I was rereading songbirds blood au. Soo uhm here's more

1. Mochi why does scar say in villainous thing that he has put his head in a werewolfs mouth??!?!?!?!?!? Scar mah dude u ok???? (Lowkey would wanna try it but I probably would leave the werewolfs mouth with a head 😊)

2. Grian.Trans.Canon? (Or scar? Or maybe both???)

3. With the glyphs is there only one way to use them or could you possible make them a tattoo and still you them. Since they are then constantly touching the glyphs they could possible do the magic of a mage. If they had multiple glyphs he could mix the glyphs somehow.(like how Luz mixes the glyphs by drawing them with eachother but instead they do it with their ✨️MIND✨️)

4. Also I love the idea of papapulse. Like I imagine Pearl or grian (most likely grian:^P) and Impulse going full demon mode tl protect them. (I saw that you tagged "Parent impulseSV (Video Blogging RPF)" in troubke in the dead of night🥺👏😍) Also is there different types of demons and what type of powers do they have?

5. In the fic "sitting in the garden at your feet" they have a whole picnic and all the adorableness. Do they go on more picnics frequently? (I really hope soo) I would guess they do since in villainous things they were also on their way to a picnic...but then yeah...poor birb tbh and poor scar

6. Have Ren and Martyn already have their wedding or are they still waiting? I wanna see treebark and I want to see mumbo ask grian go with him as his plus one to the wedding<3

(Though treebark owns my heart, Grumbo will always win) Don't talk about scarian I've never left the desert and don't plan to either😘

7. Okay soo in the fic "weight of living" there was this one scene where etho stared at grian. Here's the quote: "Etho eyes him for a moment, his gaze unreadable as he does so. It leaves Grian with chills. Weird."

Is it possible that etho is a Watcher? I'm mean   he is definitely not human(or maybe he is an immortal human?)  Etho may recognize grian, either as an old Watcher or a new Watcher to be made. Or maybe etho just thinks it is weird to see scar with grian(A HUMAN) The last one is more logical <:^)

8. On that note with Etho. You never confirm nor deny if grian is the "lost watcher" but what if I were to ask you if EFFO is the lost Watcher. I don't have proof but-...yeah idk

Wait wait just had another thought what if Pearl is the Watcher???? When the dream bugs ate her dreams there was a purple mist! Huh huh gotcha!/silly this is purely a joke🤣

9. Will we see a bad boy grian phase or possibly a drag queen phase🥺👉👈. Since it often mention that grian was a dare devil(still is:^P) or did grian have such phases. One of my friends is kinda a dare devil and he did drag once and I feel since grian might be the same there...

10. What did Scott do with the shard? Did he just entirely get rid of it? Also is Scott pure evil or broken. Maybe with the lost of his brother(Xornoth) did he turn evil or was evil just in his genes?

Those are all the questions and theories for now thank you for listing to my literal brain rot<3

This time it was numbered

(There will possible be more to come>:^] )

YIPPEE WELCOME BACK NONNIE :D

see me rubbing my paws together with a big grin >:3c no apologies needed !!!! I love questions hehe. as always, I can't answer everything clearly, because of spoilers but I'll certainly answer as much as I can!

1- WHEEZE scar just feels like the kinda guy to me to stick his head into the mouth of a werewolf for fun, y'know? he'd try it once just to see what would happen (and I mean, he's got no reason to fear dying, all things considered LOL)

2- GRIAN TRANS CANON !! honestly, just operate under the assumption that any grian I write is trans JFGDHFKKJDFG it's my comfort character and I get to project on him /silly (no trans scar though </3)

3- WAUG OKAY -- I've answered this kind of question before but for the life of me I can't find it D: I'm gonna keep searching for it, and when I find it I'll reblog this with that information mjfdhkfghfjg I don't wanna contradict myself LMAO

4- PAPAPULSE MY BELOVED 🥺I really wanna write more with him ueueue. I actually haven't done much world building for sb!demons but I'm going to say that yes, there are different types of demons! and they all have a wide range of different abilities :3

5- they def go on picnics yeah!!! I think it becomes one of grian's default methods to drag mumbo out of the manor when he can <33

6- ren and martyn haven't had their wedding yet :3 I actually hadn't thought about when their wedding would take place but ;w; oh that gives me some ideas....

7- etho isn't a watcher! the current lore is well. no one really knows what etho is. except maybe bdubs and joel. but their lips are Sealed (he's not the lost watcher either I'm afraid </3)

9- so currently I don't have any plans for a bad boy or drag queen phase to pop up in the story (though that could change, if any ideas come up) but they were certainly things he did when he was wayyy younger

10- what scott did with the shard hm? he broke it :) and I'm afraid evil is just in his genes unfortunately </3

hehe thank you for your questions!! :D

[makeyoumine69]

Omg I wrote an ask but then my app crashed, I’m not sure if it sent ☠️ um. Okay if you got this ask already, please feel free to ignore this… lets see if I can remember what I wrote hahaha rip

Like the recent anon you got, I may also need some reassurance about something. What do you do if you really like a character, but then they do something highly triggering, and then it changes your entire perspective of them? And yet, you still want to be with them? I just watched AP a week ago and I was starting to hyperfixate on it. I really like Patrick a lot, probably the first time I’ve ever shipped with a villain who is THIS ruthless, and I’d see him murder ppl on screen and I’d think “oh teehee he wouldn’t hurt my OC though :)” sjfhkshdjg it also helps that I skipped almost all of the murder scenes except the Paul one (my friend who LOVES this movie watched it with me, told me to look away while they fast forwarded through the scary parts) I really cannot handle horror at all, but I wanted to try seeing this movie because I love Christian Bale. So I suppose you can say I technically only watched 30 minutes of this movie XD

I was having a real good time coming up with fluffy stories for my OC and Patrick for a full week now. But then I foolishly watched the deleted scenes yesterday without asking my friend to check the video to see if it had any triggering content… and I liked the scenes very much, except the one with Courtney. That scared the shit out of me. I have had a personal experience of being sexually assaulted and hit in the bedroom without consent, so seeing Patrick kind of yank Courtney around and yell at her, and roughly pull out, hurting her, it definitely triggered me and I was stress vomiting afterwards for a few hours. And today I woke up and I still cannot stop thinking about it. I felt really, really good with Patrick up until I watched that yesterday, and I am so shaky and nauseous just remembering it. It just keeps replaying in my head, despite me trying to stop thinking about it. I believe the director commented that they deleted that scene and replaced it instead with the scene where Patrick and Courtney are simply talking after they had slept together, where she’s just feeling depressed and saying “if you don’t call before Easter, have a nice one” or something like that, I am paraphrasing. But it didn’t imply any violence had occurred beforehand, at least I really hope not

I know Patrick is awful. I know he’s horrible. I know he is the worst, I did this to myself by liking him in the first place. I feel very stupid when I vent about this to my friends, they’re like “well… just don’t ship your OC with him if it bothers you. He’s literally a serial killer, it shouldn’t surprise you that he would also hurt women sexually. Just stop thinking about it.” but it doesn’t feel that simple, I can’t just… stop, you know? I spent an entire week *obsessing* over this character. I got serotonin out of this, it was a habit to think of him; my brain cannot simply just say “oh whatever I’ll drop him then, move on to something else”. I have absolutely tried distracting myself with other interests in the last 24 hours. I have watched other movies that aren’t scary, I have looked at different characters from romantic comedies that don’t involve murder, I have binged SpongeBob episodes lmao, but my brain is very much attached to Bateman. I want to feel comfortable with him, I like him. I wanted to ship my OC with him very badly, and I still do! I know he’s fictional, I shouldn’t be overthinking this, but I feel so shaky and unsafe when I think about him now. I feel heartbroken like I’m going through a breakup, as silly as that sounds, because I have been really looking forward to making this character someone fun to write about. I keep reminding myself it was just a deleted scene, he didn’t really hurt Courtney in bed, but god… it was jarring to see it happening regardless. I know he does these things in the book, I know he’s despicable, but I really wanted to hope that movie!patrick could be someone I could potentially try testing the waters with. Like the anon you answered recently, I have also had a poor experience shipping with villains and I am trying to reclaim that for myself. It feels scary knowing he has the potential to be physically or sexually abusive, when I am trying to practice the whole “I am the exception with villains” thing. I’m so sorry, I am writing so much omg I promise I’m almost done

So I guess I’m just asking for you to lie to me and say he’d be gentle with people in the bedroom, or that he wouldn’t bother hitting somebody or hurting them because it doesn’t bring him satisfaction...? Or even just… he didn’t hurt Courtney… *wouldn’t* hurt Courtney. Or Evelyn. Or Jean. Or whomever else. Like, if he’s ruthless, I’d rather he just murder people, not assault them, does that make sense? Oh my god I know that sounds completely out of character but I need somebody who knows him very well to try to reassure me, if you were okay with that of course. You’ve been writing him for a long time so I think you’d know him best and i know if anyone can convince me that Patrick has a gentle side to him, it would be you. And if anybody else wanted to write reassurances in the replies as well, by all means, I need all the help I can get lol. If you wanted to respond to this, of course. Please don’t feel pressured to respond if you don’t want to! Forgive me for sending such a lengthy ask. I feel very silly. Have a lovely day, I very much enjoy your blog btw you seem like a very kindhearted person :) sending you hugs. Again, please don’t worry about responding if you don’t wish to.

Hello dear!

Jesus, it's such an honor to hear people say that I know Patrick very well, it literally makes me cry! 😭

I would tell you this - when it comes to having crushes and just interacting with different characters, we all have our own visions of them. Speaking for myself, as much as I try to write Patrick canonically, I don't really write any gore or him committing murders because my psyche blocks those aspects of his personality, but I don't judge people who write him really violent and brutal - that's just not my cup of tea. I can't say that I tried to find some good traits in his personality, no, I just accepted the fact that I fell in love with a narcistic, arrogant man who has mental problems and loves to manipulate people. All those "I can fix him" things never worked for me and I never really tried to imagine him changing in a good way for me. Actually, I just let him live rent free in my head, and as for the way I write him - sometimes I feel like I want to write him being gentle and loving - I really have a thing for sweet and affectionate Patty, sometimes (most of the time lmao) I'm into some really angsty shit, so probably most people don't like my writing because in my stories Patrick appears to be a dickhead and a total bastard. But like I said, we all look at characters from our own perspective and we have the right to imagine our crushes the way we want them to be. After all, only Bret Ellis can present Patrick's character the way he is supposed to be, since Ellis created him.

Speaking of the deleted scene with Courtney, it was a little different in the book, but yeah, I wouldn't recommend reading the book because it's much more triggering and disturbing than the movie. Honestly, when I read the book for the first time, I had a big breakdown because I felt disgusted by the things Patrick did in the novel and Bret did a great job of making Bateman a real monster, so I can say that the movie version of Patrick is less off-putting. Even now I try to avoid reading the book too often because some chapters make me really depressed. But I can confess that I'm one of those people who believe in the theory that Bateman didn't commit all those murders and that they were all in his head. In Lunar Park, Bret Ellis' other book, he hinted that all the murders were actually not real. So I can recommend you to read this book because it has a lot of interesting facts about Patrick Bateman as a character from the novel.

I hope I made you feel a little bit better, and my DM is always open to talk! Thanks for sharing this with me! 💕💕💕

*sending my love and hugs!*

[underforeversgrace]

healing the wounds we hid - 2

title: healing the wounds we hid

words: 3,203

Finally, the sequel to broken trust and the wounds hidden behind! (Refresh here on AO3 or here on Tumblr)

Story Summary: Now that his father knows, Danny's life is changing for the better. Jack encourages him to let his friends and the rest of the family into his small word. Unbeknownst to Danny, Jack is secretly worried about how Maddie will react to the news upon her return to Amity - and how to confront Vlad once Jack learns his true identity. Amidst it all, an enemy lurks and plots their revenge.

Chapter 2 of 11: Trusting in You

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One

(Tumblr Chapter Three will be here)

Beta by: @probably-dead and @scarletsaphire!

~~~~~~

When the last bell finally rang several hours later, Tucker nearly forgot his backpack in his rush to leave the classroom. He didn’t bother with his locker, heading straight outside to wait for Sam at one of the trees near the edge of Casper High’s grounds. He couldn’t remember the last time his heart had pounded this fast in anticipation. 

Sam met him less than a minute later, breathing heavily as she’d had to sprint across the entire campus to get here. “Ready?” She asked, though the word was still breathless.

Tucker chuckled. “Thought you aced that President’s Test?” He teased.

She just glared at him for a moment then grabbed him by one of the backpack straps over his shoulder and began pulling him.

“Why do you insist on pulling me everywhere?” He whined. “Have you ever considered saying please?”

“Never,” she shot back and sped up her steps, heading for the park Danny had mentioned. Despite her quick pace, Tucker kept up fairly easily, having grown taller since freshman year and now slightly towering over her.

He grinned and let her pull him, though he tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach that grew more intense as they approached the park. He thought of all the things he had to look forward to, with Danny back in their lives - the all nighters playing video games together, the movie nights they’d started doing freshman year in Sam’s in home theater.

Simply having him back as someone to talk to, as someone to crack jokes with until all three of them were wheezing puddles on the ground and clutching at their chests as they laughed so hard they couldn’t breathe. He wanted his friend back and he would do anything he could to reassure Danny that Tucker could never hate him.

The two of them slowed as they passed into the park, Sam releasing her grip on Tucker’s backpack strap as they both scanned over it.

It really wasn’t much to look at, honestly. A few half rusted benches rested on cracked sidewalks, a water feature in the center that had long since lost its water and never been refilled. Trees dotted the landscape, flowers and weeds lining the sidewalk. Spring had set in and had finally reached a temperature that was almost perfect, just a touch too cold, and the trees had begun to regrow their leaves.

Sam and Tucker beelined for one of the benches that was in better condition than the others, plopping their backpacks onto the metal. Neither of them sat down, each too full of anxious energy, pacing instead.

For the next several minutes, they continued like that, glancing impatiently at their watches.

“I’m here!” A familiar voice called out, and Tucker grinned as Danny hurried towards them. He’d already mentally queued up a joke about being out of breath - Danny had never excelled in gym, after all - but was surprised to find Danny was not breathing deeply as he came to a stop in front of them. If Danny had started working out in the past year, Tucker was going to eat his own beret.

“You’re late.” Sam said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Danny.

Danny fidgeted, dropping his gaze to his feet as he pulled at his hands, another nervous tic Tucker recognized.

Tucker sent a look to Sam, trying to telepathically tell her to chill out. “It’s all good!” Tucker said, throwing a friendly punch to Danny’s right shoulder. Danny let out a yelp as soon as Tucker’s fist connected, grabbing at his upper arm and jumping backwards. “Whoa, dude, you good?”

“I’m fine.” Danny said immediately.

“You sure? Is your shoulder okay?” Tucker asked, reaching for the end of his friend’s sleeve to look.

“Got rammed into a locker by Dash.” Danny answered, smoothly avoiding Tucker’s hand, though Danny grimaced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“Okay…” Tucker said, letting his outstretched hand fall back to his side.

Sam sighed, letting some of the tension out of her shoulders. “We’re here, Danny. Are you ready to talk to us?”

Again, Danny fidgeted, but he didn’t hesitate before answering. “Yes. I mean… I think so.” He cleared his throat. “There’s a clearing a little bit further in and it’s kind of… private, remember it? Is it okay if we go there?”

“Sure,” Sam answered as Tucker nodded, both collecting their backpacks from where they’d dropped them.

Danny gave them a relieved smile then gestured for them to follow him - though Tucker did notice Danny waved with his non-dominant left arm, seemingly unwilling to use his right. Had Dash hit him that hard?

The three made their way into the tree line at the edge of the park. All of them knew the clearing Danny was talking about. They’d come here many times in the past several years, hiding from parents or bullies. Sometimes, Danny had invited them to watch the stars with him. The memories of stargazing with Danny and Sam to either side of Tucker pulled a soft smile to his lips.

They continued their short traipse through the woods until they broke through the trees into the small clearing. An odd sense of nostalgia grew within Tucker even as Danny tossed his backpack to the side, beginning to pace. They’d been coming to this place for so long and it had always felt so spacious. Now, after over a year of not being here, it felt smaller. They were growing, but the clearing hadn’t.

Sam and Tucker both sat down, leaning their backs against some of the trees. Danny remained standing, walking back and forth in front of them, sending them a panicked look.

“Danny.” Sam said softly, leaning forward and resting her arms on top of her knees. “Please talk to us.”

“We’re right here, dude.” Tucker agreed, mimicking Sam’s position, giving Danny his undivided attention.

“It’s… it’s a lot.” Danny finally confessed.

“And her ultra recyclo vegetarianism isn’t?” Tucker joked.

Sam playfully shoved Tucker with her shoulder. “And his obsession with meat isn’t?”

Danny finally stopped pacing, giving a defeated sigh as he ran his hand through his messy hair. “I honestly don’t know where to begin.”

“Well, freshman year is when you changed. Start there,” Sam encouraged.

“I…” Danny gulped. “I need you two to promise me something, first.”

“If it’s my first born child you want, you’ve got it.” Tucker joked, grinning, while Sam shoved him again.

Tucker’s efforts paid off, it seemed, as a cautious smile finally spread onto the other boy’s face, though it did slide away rather quickly. “It’s… I need to know you will keep this secret safe. No matter what you think of it or of me, you can’t tell anyone. Not your family, not any other students, no one.”

“Danny, of course we will keep your secret.” Sam said, frowning. 

“I need your word. From both of you. On everything you know or love or want, you will tell no one.”

“Dude, is everything okay? Are you in trouble?” Tucker asked, eyeing Danny warily. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Danny like this.

“It’s… hard to explain.” He answered avoidantly.

“Is it something illegal?” Sam asked, concerned.

“Uh…” Danny said, and Tucker felt dread coil in his stomach. “I… again. Hard to explain. The answer isn’t no?”

Tucker stood, taking two large steps until he was right in front of Danny. He reached out, grasping both of Danny’s wrists gently in either hand. Had Danny’s skin always been this chilly? “Danny, tell us what’s going on. We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on.”

Danny’s jaw dropped slightly. “Help me?”

“Help you get out of it, help keep you safe, hell, I’ll help smuggle you out of the city and make a fake ID. Of course I’m going to help you!” Tucker answered fiercely.

“Tuck’s right, Danny.” Sam said, joining at Tucker’s side. “Talk to us. We’re your friends.” And we always will be, Tucker added internally.

Tears began to swirl in Danny’s eyes and the small grin from earlier reappeared. “Your word. Both of you, swear it. This isn’t something to take lightly. This is big and I would get hurt if it got out. Swear to me.”

“Danny, look at me.” Tucker said, still gripping Danny’s wrists. Danny obeyed and Tucker stared into his best friend’s worried blue eyes. “I swear to you on meat, on technology, on everything I am. I will not tell anyone your secret. I am sorry we let you go so easily before. I’m not giving up on you. Not again.” 

Shock sparked in Danny’s eyes as Sam also swore herself to secrecy. Tucker was likewise surprised at his own words. He hadn’t meant to say all that.

Yet he had meant all of it, and would take none of it back.

Danny took a deep breath and pulled himself from Tucker’s grasp. “Okay.” He said, nodding to no one in particular. “Okay.”

He looked to the two of them, giving them one last chance to opt out, one last chance to turn around and forget about him and their friendship. Tucker stayed rooted in place, unyielding as Danny fought over a mental hurdle.

Danny took a step back, putting some space between himself and the other two. “Do you remember the accident I had a little less than two years ago? Right before freshman year started?”

“Yeah, something to do with the portal your parents had built that didn’t work? You said it turned on while you were down there.” Sam recalled as Tucker nodded. He remembered the incident. He’d been so relieved when Danny had walked away from that without so much as a scratch.

“I may have lied about some of it.” Danny admitted, fisting his hands at his side, clutching the hem of his shirt. “It wasn’t… it didn’t just turn on while I was down there. I turned it on.”

“Oh, no.” Sam said, eyes widening.

“Is that why you thought we’d be mad?” Tucker asked. “That we’d blame you for the ghosts?”

“Yes… and no. I…” Danny took a deep breath. “I was inside of the portal when it turned on.”

“Fuck,” Tucker breathed. “You’re lucky it didn’t kill you!”

Danny laughed humorlessly. “Again. Yes and no.”

Tucker and Sam exchanged bewildered looks, neither knowing how to respond to that.

He took their silence as permission to continue. “I… I died, guys. I died in the portal.”

Tucker’s stomach dropped clear through the dirt beneath his feet, grief a jagged agony with every heartbeat as he remembered thinking, not even two minutes ago, how cold Danny’s skin had been. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible.

"No," Tucker whispered, staring at Danny.

"That's impossible. You're not a ghost! You can't be!" Sam cried out as tears fell down her face.

"Well, yes and no." Danny said, making a so-so motion with his hand. 

"Daniel James Fenton, if you say 'yes and no' one more time, I'm breaking your nose, ghost or not!" Sam threatened.

“Okay, okay!” He said quickly, holding his hands up in surrender as a serious look settled on his face. “I… it’s hard to explain, okay? When the portal turned on, there was… it was a massive amount of electricity and ecto energy around me, immediately. I didn’t have time to run or think or do anything before… before a hole in the fabric of reality opened around me, through me, in me.” Pain flickered across his face and Tucker’s heart felt like it was being grabbed and twisted. “But… it brought me back as soon as it killed me. Well. Brought some of me back.”

“Some of you back?” Sam repeated numbly.

“Some of me back.” Danny confirmed. “I’m half ghost.”

Those words were a physical presence in the air, a weight smothering Tucker as he struggled to draw in breaths through the confused grief in his heart. He stared at Danny, horrified. How had he managed to not notice something so awful? Who doesn’t notice their best friend fucking dying?

“I’m still me!” Danny said hastily at Tucker’s look, taking a step back away from him. “Please believe me!”

Realizing that Danny had assumed Tucker’s horror was directed at him and not at Tucker himself, Tucker finally found his voice again.. “I know! I know. I just… I don’t know how I missed it…”

“Is that why you left us?” Sam asked. “You were afraid of hurting us?”

Danny opened his mouth to answer but stopped, instead making the so-so motion with his hand again. Part of Tucker wanted to laugh - even as a ghost, Danny was afraid Sam would make good on her earlier threat to break his nose.

Then the rest of Tucker’s brain processed (again) that Danny was a ghost and any humor died before it was born.

“Kinda? There’s more to it but… it’s a really, really long story. And I haven’t finished telling you everything yet.”

“There’s more?” Sam asked weakly, slowly lowering herself to sit on the ground again.

“Uh, yeah? It’s actually… the biggest thing?”

“You have something. Bigger. Than. Dying?” Tucker said disjointedly.

“Half dying.” Danny immediately corrected. “And yes. I’m half ghost and I have a ghost half. Like, that looks different? And you guys are going to recognize my ghost half…”

For a wild, wild moment, Tucker imagined Danny transforming into the Box Ghost and waggling his fingers as he shouted ‘beware!’ in the most non threatening manner ever. A ghost half? Who could he be? Tucker was wracking his brain to think of other low level ghosts he could think of when he realized Danny had stalled. He was waiting for permission to continue.

“Can we see?” Tucker asked.

Fear and apprehension danced in Danny’s blue eyes until determination pushed them away and he adjusted his stance, feet shifting further apart and shoulders tensing, hands still fisted at his side. “I’m goin’ ghost!”

Tucker wasn’t sure if his heart stopped, stuttered, or accelerated as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. It sure as hell did something, but Tucker had no idea what it was as white rings encircled Danny’s waist. The ring split into two, slowly sweeping up and down Danny’s body, changing him everywhere the rings passed. Danny’s baggy white shirt was replaced with skin-tight black material that glowed, his loose pants following suit. His pale arms disappeared under the same black glow, his hands into white material of the same type.

Tucker recognized the outfit long before the transformation finished. He wasn’t surprised when the rings passed along Danny’s face, turning his skin tan, his eyes green, his hair white.

He recognized Phantom immediately. He knew this was Phantom. Yet he struggled to reconcile that identity with Danny Fenton. The same timid boy who struggled to ask to borrow crayons as a child, who never raised his hand to answer questions, even if he knew the answer.

With Danny Fenton, the child who had ran to the new kid’s aid before even meeting him, who’d taken the punch a younger Dash Baxter had aimed at Tucker’s face on his first day of second grade. The child who’d made quick friends with Tucker, who took hit after hit to protect his friend on the playground.

Suddenly it wasn’t so hard to see Danny Fenton in the heroic Phantom, being repeatedly beaten into the ground, into windows, into walls, smearing glowing green blood everywhere he touched, even as Danny Fenton missed his classes and skipped plans made with friends.

Sam was silent beside Tucker, probably also reeling from the revelation. Phantom - Danny - floated slightly, only an inch or two above the ground, hugging himself as he watched them fearfully. Tucker could practically see the wheels turning in Danny’s head, convincing him they hated him for this. His self esteem had never been great.

“Danny?” Tucker asked softly, taking a tentative step forward.

Burning green eyes locked onto Tucker. They were so alien. He wanted to flinch away, but he refused to break eye contact. He could see Danny in those eyes, in that expression, the way his eyebrows arched, the way self-consciousness warped his mouth into a frown. “Tuck?” Danny questioned, his voice echoing heavily, hope layered into the reverberations.

Tucker didn’t think as he closed the short distance between him and Danny, wrapping his arms around Danny and pulling the ghost close against him. He felt like ice was burning his entire body, searing harshly wherever he pressed against Danny, but Tucker didn’t care. Danny had suffered for so long, Tucker could handle some frostbite.

“Tucker!” Danny exclaimed as Tucker pulled him close, wiggling slightly, but he didn’t phase through Tucker’s grasp. Tucker just clutched Danny close to him, setting his chin on top of Danny’s head. Sometimes it was really nice to be the tallest of the friend group, he decided as he buried one hand in Danny’s white hair. He winced at the icy pain even as Danny settled his head against Tucker’s shoulder, wrapping his own arms around Tucker.

“I’m sorry,” Tucker said, pressing his cheek to the top of Danny’s head. He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. For all the pain Phantom suffered protecting them, for letting Danny go, for all the times Tucker had been too slow to get out of the way and Phantom had protected him, for not seeing how much Danny needed them, for not fighting hard enough for him. He apologized for all of it. “I’m so sorry.”

He felt Danny adjust, moving to press his face against Tucker’s neck, felt as Danny started to shake. Felt as tears of ice dropped onto his skin, heard as sobs and muffled apologies filled the air as Danny clutched the back of Tucker’s shirt.

He didn’t hear Sam get up but he felt as her warm arms wrapped around them. She hissed slightly at the cold coming from Danny, but she seemed just as determined as Tucker, refusing to let the pain keep her from Danny.

Danny just cried harder, melting into the hug, into the two of them.

Sam and Tucker caught each other’s eyes over Danny’s head. He saw his own emotions mirrored in her face - regret, shame, determination, protection - and gave her a hopeful smile. There was no denying their lives would be irrevocably changed from this point on. Phantom had enemies; there was no doubt about that. Would one of them use Sam or Tucker? Hurt one of them to hurt Danny?

Stark realization doused Tucker as Danny’s sobs began to slow. As he triggered his transformation and left a human Danny Fenton between the two of them, no longer so cold it hurt, Tucker realized he didn’t care about the risks or the negative consequences.

He didn’t care because he loved Danny and he would be damned before he let Danny slip through his fingers again. He finally accepted that as he pressed closer to Danny, running one of his hands soothingly through black hair as Danny cried.

He loved Danny and he’d fight as hard for Danny as Phantom fought for Amity.

[lilmissnatcat24]

hey 👋 # 3 and 7 from the fic ask meme, from a fic of your choosing

raaahh thank you!!! I LOVE ASK GAMES! i'll do from my wip Electric Sheep, i have a bout three chapters written of it :)

3. what's your favorite line of narration?

honestly, the opening paragraphs of my fic is something i really love. i had it planned out for months, so when i finally wrote it down i was like yes yes this is going swimmingly (turn left spoilers)

On the day that Garrus Vakarian died, he had bought Shepard white flowers. Lily of the valleys, to be precise. She always remembered; because despite his corpse on the ground, his eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling as if he were praying, she could still smell them through all of the blood and bile and decay. They were so drenched in Garrus’s blood that there was not one trace of white left on the petals, dripping rancid blue. Even now, when Shepard saw pictures of sweet little forget-me-nots, or sparkling lakes, or pristine sunny skies, she felt the inexplicable urge to vomit.  Kaidan brought a bouquet of flowers to their quarters that night to commemorate the anniversary. His face, slightly flushed and chapped from the harsh winds of a Horizon evening, a collection of weeds plucked and hastily tied together with a spare wire. Shepard smiled, but only for a moment. It fell off her face when she remembered the way his congealed blood dripped from the bouquet onto the floor, so loud it was deafening. Kaidan let the flowers fall to the ground, instead rifling through his footlocker to the expensive bottle of whiskey his mother sent him-- red wax seal, for special occasions only. 

7. where did the title come from?

it comes from the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. full disclosure, I have not read it. which I guess makes me a poser. BUT it is the inspiration behind the Blade Runner movies. I wanted to bring almost a cyberpunky vibe to this fic, because i always felt like that was lacking in the trilogy (and because cyberpunk 2077 is my other favorite video game). and when we see what's come of our lovely Garrus, it'll make more sense ;)

Thank you for asking m'love :)

[maria021015]

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 17 AHEAD!

Immediately after the school bell rang Allison and Zaida hightailed it to Beacon Hills Preserve, following the location pin that Stiles had sent. They knew they had managed to find the spot when they saw the transport van. Zaida decided to sneak up on the boy, and ducked, keeping towards the side of the van as she crept forward until she was right beneath the driver’s side window. She jumped up and slammed her hands against the glass and Stiles jerked away, screaming and flailing his arms and legs until he realised it was her when he heard her laughter.

“Not funny, Zaida!” Stiles hissed. “I thought you were the Kanima coming to kill me!”

“On the contrary, it was hilarious. For us, that is.” She pointed to Allison behind her who was also chuckling. “Where’s Scott? I thought he was going to meet us here.”

“Yeah, he’s on his way. He went to visit Danny at the hospital and asked him what Jackson might have been mad at him for. Turns out, Danny was fixing some video for him. So Scott promised to get Danny’s fake ID back - which I will be stealing from my Dad - in exchange for information on that video.” Stiles relayed what Scott told him. “Jackson taped himself sleeping on the night of the full moon, and someone edited out two hours of the footage. Scott went to Danny’s car to get the tablet that the footage was on but someone already broke in and took it.”

“And he’s right on time,” Zaida commented, hearing the familiar squeaky breaks of the Jeep as the powder blue car rolled to a stop in the clearing. Allison ran to the boy as he got out of the car and enveloped him in a hug.

“Maybe we should start hugging like that.” Stiles suggested to Zaida as he dropped out of the truck cabin and closed the door behind him. “Or at least we should have our own handshake or something. We’re kind of a dynamic duo, you and me.”

“If by ‘dynamic duo’, you mean I keep you from making the stupidest decisions known to man, then yeah, I guess you’re right.” She shot back, sweeping her arms wide to gesture to the van he’d stolen from the police to kidnap Jackson.

“Yeah well, we weren’t left with many great choices.” Stiles defended his actions once more.

“You could have taken him to the Argents’ bunker beneath the Hale house! Those chains held Derek, they could have held Jackson - better than that van, at least. That way you wouldn’t be pissing off the cops and committing unnecessary crimes.” Zaida instantly came up with a far better idea, leaving Stiles’ mouth gaping open. “And no one would know where to find you guys.”

“Well, maybe you should have come with us instead of going with the girls.” Stiles nodded in acknowledgment.

“And who’s idea was it that I go with them?” Zaida asked rhetorically. “That’s right, yours. Maybe we should stop letting you come up with the plans.”

“Uh oh, Mom and Dad are fighting again.” Allison teased as she approached, clutching Scott’s hand.

“This is payback for making fun of you guys, isn’t it.” Stiles narrowed his eyes at the taller brunette.

“So, Jackson wasn’t trying to kill Danny? He just wanted the missing footage?” Zaida clarified once Scott and Allison joined them. “But then, where is it now? Because whilst you two knuckleheads aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, I think you would have noticed a tablet sticking out of his bare ass. Or wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to find it. If Jackson doesn't remember being the Kanima, he's definitely not gonna remember stealing Danny's tablet.” Scott reasoned.

"What if someone else took it?” Allison chewed on her lip, frowning in deep thought.

“Then somebody else knows what he is.” Stiles started to put the puzzle pieces together.

“Uh, which could mean someone's protecting him.” Scott continued and Zaida concentrated hard.

“Like the Bestiary says, ‘The Kanima seeks a friend’, right?” Allison nodded, agreeing with Scott’s idea.

“Okay, hold on - so, somebody watches Jackson make a video of himself turning into the Kanima, and then just erases part of it so he wouldn't know? I mean, who would do that?” Stiles tried to find the sense in this mystery ‘friend’s’ actions.

“Somebody who wanted to protect him?” Allison suggested.

“Protect him from knowing the truth about himself? Then wouldn’t they also be trying to stop him from killing people, like we are? I think we’d have run into them by now.” Zaida shook her head, not quite finding the sense in that theory.

“There's something else.” Scott turned to Stiles. “You said the only thing you found online about the Kanima is that it goes after murderers. What if that's actually true?”

“No, it can't be. It tried to kill all of us, remember? I don't know about you three, but I haven't murdered anybody lately.” Stiles pointed out sarcastically.

“But, I... I don't think that it was actually trying to kill us.” The wolf thought back to all their run-ins with the creature, and Zaida did as well, realising he was right. “Remember when we were at Isaac's the first time, it just went right by us, didn't it?”

“You're right - it just ran off.” Allison’s eyes widened as she came to the same realisation.

“And it didn't kill you in the mechanic's garage.” Scott pointed at Stiles and Zaida.

“Well, yeah, but it tried to kill me and Derek in the pool.” Stiles found what he thought was the flaw in the speculation.

“Did it...?” Scott prompted the boy to think harder about what had actually happened.

“It would've. It was waiting for us to come out.” Stiles nodded.

“What if it was trying to keep you in?” The wolf’s words caused a chill to run down Stiles’ spine and he shuddered.

“It ran after me too, but when it caught me…it had the chance to kill me but it hesitated. It just stared at me and hissed.” Zaida recalled back to that night when she had slipped and found herself staring right into the Kanima’s face before Scott hauled it off her.

“Why do I feel so violated all of a sudden?” Stiles groaned, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“Because there's something else going on. We don't know what it is. We don't know anything about what's going on with Jackson, or why someone's protecting him…” Scott started listing off all the things they had yet to solve.

"Know thy enemy," Allison muttered, and her boyfriend looked at her with curiosity. “Just something my grandfather said…”

“All right, I got it - kill Jackson! Problem solved.” Stiles threw out the idea.

“He risked his life for us, against Peter. You remember that?” Scott’s brows furrowed in disapproval.

“Yes, but what did we just find out? He got the bite from Derek. It's funny how he just got exactly what he wanted by supposedly risking his life for us. It's funny.” Stiles shrugged.

“Yeah. It doesn't mean he's not still worth saving.” Scott defended the boy.

“Usually, I’d be with Stiles on this one, but…Jackson doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s not murdering people…the Kanima is.” Zaida agreed with the wolf.

“I didn't know what I was doing either when I first turned. You remember when I almost killed you and Jackson?” He looked at Allison with regret in his brown eyes. “I had someone to stop me. He has nobody.”

“That's his own fault.” Stiles scoffed with a scowl.

“Now that, I do agree with.” Zaida backed up the boy. Jackson had no one to blame but himself for pushing everyone away by being a raging dickhead.

“Doesn't matter. If we can save him, we should try.” Scott insisted.

“What do we do now?” Zaida asked. “What’s our plan?”

“For now, we keep him here to stop him from killing anyone else. It seems like he only turns at night.” Scott instructed and the rest of them nodded in understanding.

“My parents think I’m studying at Lydia’s tonight for mid-terms,” Allison stated by way of indicating that she was in.

“My dad’s on the search for Jackson,” Stiles added.

“My Mom’s working a double at the hospital.” Scott contributed, and reached out to take Allison’s hand, leading her over to her car.

“I’ll tell Xander I’m staying at Lydia’s to study too.” Zaida pulled out her phone to do just that, taking a few steps backwards to lean on the hood of the Jeep.

“You guys still aren’t on speaking terms?” Stiles questioned, joining her whilst the other two walked off.

“Nope,” She popped the ‘p’ exaggeratively. “I actually haven’t even seen him in days. Both of us are mad and when we get mad, we get stubborn. It’s more of a competition about who can make the other break first, and it’s definitely not going to be me after what he did.”

“Still no ideas about where to next?” He asked with a heavy sigh, hopping up to sit on the bonnet of his car.

“Lydia suggested we take another look at the photos.” Zaida shrugged and at Stiles’ confused expression, she explained, “I told her about it, minus the supernatural. She wants to help.”

“Okay, well maybe she’s right. We can go over them again and see if anything jumps out at us.” Stiles nodded. The conversation fell silent for a moment, leaving both of them staring out at the swaying trees and the stars. There was something calming about it until Stiles interrupted the silence once more. “How’s your head?”

“Completely fine. It’s like every time I get hurt, it heals faster.” She absent-mindedly brought her fingers up to feel beneath her hair at the spot where there should be a bump and scab, but there was nothing but a smooth scalp.

“Have you noticed anything else…?” He spoke to her gently, but from the way he was looking at her expectantly, Zaida clued in that he had seen something himself that had prompted him to ask.

“What is it that you noticed?” She turned the inquiry back onto him and he tilted his head at her with analytical eyes.

“Well, for starters, your hands were shaking that day when Erica had her seizure.” Stiles began and Zaida frowned at him.

“Yeah, I shake when I’m anxious. You know that.” she suddenly became sceptical of his apparent observations.

“Yeah, but Scott was shaking too. That’s how he knew something was wrong with her.” The boy continued and now he had captured her attention. “It wasn’t just that. You were terrified of climbing that wall. You were so adamant that you wouldn’t do it, but once Erica left, you changed your mind and you scaled it like it was nothing.”

“I decided to do it because you and Allison wouldn’t leave me alone about it.” She retorted.

“Did you? Or did it not feel as scary anymore?” He pushed her to really think about it, and when she did, she realised he was right. She had thought her fears were alleviated somewhat after watching Danny and Greenberg have a go…but maybe it hadn’t had anything to do with that so much as the fact that Erica was far away enough. “I think you can sense people’s emotions…even feel them.”

“But I’m not a werewolf or I would have turned already. I felt nothing on the full moon.” She reasoned.

“I don’t think you’re a wolf. Scott can’t do what you do. He can sense people’s emotions - smell the chemosignals - but he can’t feel what they feel. You felt it as if it were your own fear.” Stiles shook his head and continued. “That night at the pool…how did you know where to go?”

“I…” she thought back on it for a moment, struggling to find the words to explain. “I just felt that something was wrong and I followed that feeling. My lungs were burning, I felt tired, my pulse was racing, and there was this twisting fear in my stomach. The closer I got to the pool the stronger it was.”

“I think you could feel what I was feeling. I don’t know if it only happens when someone’s in danger like some kind of spidey-sense, or if the person has to be physically close to you, or if you can just feel what people feel every day and haven’t noticed.” He explained his theory. “Have there been any other times when you think you might have felt something that wasn’t your own?”

“I guess that day when we opened Xander’s box. I could just feel this overwhelming sense of grief that I hadn’t felt in a long time. It surprised me because I already mourned for my parents. I might be stuck there mentally, trying to find out what happened…but I processed my emotions towards it a long time ago.” The memory hit her like a tonne of bricks. “It wasn’t my grief. It was Xander’s.”

“It’s probably happened a lot and you just never picked up on it, because who would ever think that the things they’re feeling aren’t really their own?” Stiles went quiet once more, his expression darkening when he seemed to remember something else of consequence. “Hey, Zaida…the night of the winter formal…how did you know to look for Lydia on the field?”

Her eyes shot up to meet his and her lips parted slightly. “I felt her panic,” she confirmed Stiles’ guess and realised exactly what that meant. From the look of complete and utter shock on Stiles’ face, he did too.

“That was before Peter bit you,” he stated what they were both thinking, putting together the clues to come to the same conclusion Zaida had, though she had arrived there in an entirely different way - courtesy of Derek. “Whatever you are…you didn’t turn into it after the bite. The bite didn’t affect you because you were already something. You’re not a shape-shifter like the others, you’re a completely different supernatural creature, which must have made you immune to the bite…but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Zaida sighed at being caught out, and she tilted her head down slightly into a nod. “After it happened and I didn’t turn, I went to Derek to ask him if he knew anything about what was going on. He told me that I smelled the same then as I did before the bite, and that whatever I was…I’d probably been born that way.” She admitted reluctantly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Stiles looked marginally hurt by the fact that she’d kept it from him.

“Because…I wasn’t sure if it was true, and I was afraid of what it meant.” She exclaimed, her frustration towards the situation causing her to lash out at him. “That my parents probably were murdered by a werewolf, and that they must have been like me, or at least knew about it running in our bloodline. That they kept it from me, and that I would never know the truth because they’re gone. That maybe…I never really knew them at all. I guess I thought that maybe saying it out loud - telling you - would have made it all a bit too real for me to handle.”

“Zaida,” She could see from the sympathy in his amber eyes and heard from the softening in his voice that he instantly forgave her. “We’re going to find out what happened to them, and we’re going to find out what you are.”

She gazed up at him with a grateful smile. How did she get so lucky as to have friends that would support her no matter what? “There’s one more thing…” Stiles’ serious tone caused her smile to fade as she listened. “You remember how you sprayed Isaac with boiling water to get him away from you in Scott’s kitchen?”

“Yeah, how could I forget.” She snorted. “I got lucky, he probably would have killed me if I didn’t.”

“Do you know how the water turned on?” He asked her, staring at her intently.

“Yeah, Isaac knocked the knob when he threw me onto the bench. Why?” She frowned at the strangeness of his questioning.

“When I walked in, I saw the water turn on, and Isaac didn’t touch the knob.” Stiles shook his head.

“So what, are you saying I telepathically moved the knob?” Her brows furrowed impossibly closer together as her confusion grew.

“No, the knob wasn’t open at all.” He told her plainly. “I’m saying you made the water flow all on your own.”

Zaida stared at him, taken aback by his revelation, but they didn’t have time to dwell on it when they heard a heavy thumping and then a loud bang of metal hitting metal. “What the hell was that?” Zaida straightened up, hurrying to the transport van with Stiles not far behind her only to see that the back door had been busted completely open and Jackson's handcuffs were lying in a broken heap on the floor.