#it was honestly really awesome to have an excuse to draw him I’m fond of him

[ramenmom]

Mithrun having a rest and some soup

(Commission doodle)

[chiliiscereal]

May I offer a prompt of how the turtles would be with a mom friendTM? you know the type I mean? like.... I think they might benefit from that kind of friend in the group lol (also I love your stories, your such a cool writer keep up the awesome work!)

Rottmnt headcanon: mom friend TM

And thanks so much!

Mom friends are severely underrated XD

——

-Okay these boys need a mom friend badly

-but that’s where you come in!

-as the mom friend you keep them safe in many ways

Donnie💜

-starting with this guy, he never really wanted a mom friend

-when April first brought you over he was cold

-didn’t even bother talking to you

-you were determined to befriend him, even though he left whenever you tried to talk to him

-you became comfortable with the turtles quickly and the others accepted your mom friend nature

-not Donnie though

-he didn’t hate you, sure, but you were too much

-you were too overbearing and too nervous for his safety!

-you’d make him wear a helmet when he used his jet pack 

-you made him put on SUNSCREEN whenever he went outside

-you told him to be careful when rewiring a project even!

-it’s like you wanted to ruin his bad boy image

-he hated it and wanted you to stop being so smothering

-…

-…until he realized that attention and moral support comes with the smothering

-the moment he realizes that he’s all for it

-he’s no longer hiding his inventions from you so you won’t bug him, but he’s seeking you out for your advice and praise

“Hey so I made this and… I don’t know…”

“Wow you built that? It’s awesome!” 

“Really? I mean, I know, I just wanted to show you that it was.”

-praise ain’t something this boy has

-have you SEEN how his brothers react to his ideas?

-he needs this

-with praise comes affection

-I’m talking homemade snacks and questions that his brothers never ask

-you’re there if he needs a cup of coffee or if he hasn’t eaten in a while or taken a nap

-“don, it’s been two days since you slept go to bed.”

-“*hissssss*”

-“I’ll make a cup of coffee for you after...?”

-“*hisses but less intense*”

-you may be good at making snacks and everything

-very good in facts

-but the questions are probably his favorite part

“Woah what’s that supposed to do?”

“Well it’s a device that’s meant to fix all the broken McDonald’s ice cream machines.”

“That’s amazing! What did you use to build it? How does it work?”

-you’re actually trying to learn about his work!

-you’re trying to learn about him!

-he loves it

-and he loves that you’re careful to

-it’s a nice change from his brothers

-you’re someone he can depend on

-doesn’t matter if it’s missions or just being a good friend

-and I mean it when I say depend

-you’re there when he needs help rewiring something or just to simply talk about his dumb dumb brothers

-honestly April isn’t even mad that Donnie stole one of her best friends

-she knows he needs this

-Donnie fully learned to trust you after the purple dragons mishap

-you told him they were untrustworthy but his heart was dead set on that satin jacket

-when he came back to the lair, late at night, with no satin jacket and a handful of his missing tech, he found you raising an eyebrow at him from where you had sat to wait for him

-he knew from then on to trust you and your opinions, even though his often got in the way

-you can often be found sitting on Donnies bed while he works, offering your company and comments

-Normally no one else is allowed in while he works but that’s just because they don’t have anything positive to provide

 Raph❤️ 

-Raph IS the mom friend

-your mom friend energy and his mom friend energy just work together so well together

-I’m talking planning missions together, figuring new ways to trick his brothers into being responsible, cleaning the dishes, and even making snacks together

-“so the mission is tomorrow right?”

-“yep! Should we bring apples with peanut butter or pretzels with hummus?”

-“well Donnie doesn’t like peanut butter, but Mikey does, so both?”

-“awesome! And you’ve got the water covered?”

-“dude I even have caprisuns packed so we’re ready!”

-the others find it to be too much with the two of you but Raph really appreciates the help

-especially during the pizza puff episode

-oh that part nearly set you on fire with worry

-Raph had never seen you that worked up

-you had a fan for Leo, a bowl for Mikey, and a bag of fruit snacks for Donnie

-Raph has to activate his supreme mom friend energy to get you to stop hovering over them

-that meant literally dragging you away from them so they could figure things out on their own

-he’s seen you be a mom friend to them all the time

-but never once for him

-you two were like... co mom friends working together to stop the younger irresponsible three

-until Raph got separated in the sewer

-oh man you were torn with worry

-you nearly destoryed the place looking for him

-and finding him all savage like that... ack that was enough to practically shatter your heart in two

-once he stopped trying to barbecue villains and destroy his brothers you took him to the lair and helped him calm down

-you even turned on a movie for the two of you so he could relax

-it was nice to have your best friend and partner in stopping crime back

-Raph of course was embarrassed because it’s HIS job to help everyone, not the other way around

-after much assurance you had him convinced that you didn’t mind

-he was grateful to have you and your help

-he just wished you didn’t worry quite so much

Leo 💙:

-this boy is soaking it all up from the start

-someone to compliment him?

-someone to help him out?

-someone to admire his achievements?

-oh he’s all for it

-he’s showing off skateboard stunts, he’s doing flips, and he’s randomly pulling you to him and creating a portal

-usually you end up somewhere sketchy but sometimes it works out

-you always have to be ready though

-one minute you’re walking to the projector room and the next you’re in New Jersey with a sheepish looking red slider

-his only problem is now he has to be more careful with skateboard tricks

-he’s fine with a helmet but when it comes to you hovering next to him while he’s going down the skate ramp...

-eh he’s not so fond of that

-praise?

-sure

-home made gifts and cards?

-always appreciated

-but you constantly trying to protect him from things he knew how to do?

-no

-just no

-now he only feels like he can skate if you’re not there or if he goes to a skate park without telling you

-you figure out quickly and still worry that he’ll mess up a flip

-doesn’t matter if you’re watching or not

-you’re the mom friend

-your job is to worry

-you promised that you’d stop worrying about him if he can back

-you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in his own home!

-he agreed and you did your best to keep your promise

-...

-until he actually messed up a flip

-you don’t know WHAT he landed on but it must have been sharp because there was a LOT of blood

-maybe you thought there was a lot because you were so worried but still

-you hadn’t even been in the room but you heard his shout (and crash) and you came running

-oh he was lucky you carried gauze and everything in your bag because other wise they’d have to go buy some

-you chewed him out while patching him up, much to his displeasure

-you’re both sweet and sour about it

-“I’m fine! Look, nothing’s broken!”

-“I TOLD you that you could get hurt! I TOLD you it wasn’t safe! Why did you not listen- I’m sorry does that hurt? I’m sorry!”

-“yeah it does hurt-.”

-“than you should have listened to me!!”

-for a while he’s bitter that you were just waiting for him to mess up

-clearly you thought he was just a big clutz to you

-but after a while of him avoiding you and pouting you brought it up again

-“I’m not just waiting for you to fail you know. I just want you to be okay.”

-“that’s not what it feels like! You clearly don’t trust me!”

-“life happens, Leo! Doesn’t matter how skilled you are! You’re an amazing skater but sometimes mistakes are made!”

-ha that changed his tune quickly

-“you think I’m an amazing and skilled skater?

-you just rolled your eyes and left, not saying anything about his comment

-didn’t matter

-this boy is all smiles for the rest of the day

Mikey🧡:

-he was on board from the very start

-he’s got cuddles, piggy back rides, and his own art fan/critic

-lots of baking and cooking together

-maybe even drawing if he’s lucky

-only problem?

-you don’t trust him to go out on his own

-even if it’s just to grab a video game from the store or pick up pizza

-“I’m just going down the block!”

-“what if someone sees you?”

-“I’ll be careful!”

-“just let me go with you.”

-“no! I can do this on my own!”

-you’re always offering to give him a ride or tag along just because you don’t want anything to happen to him

-that means, of course, sneaking out

-not for a long time, just enough to get some air

-but that also means you’re staying up late waiting for him to come back

-he’s your buddy!

-you can’t let anything happen to him!

-he didn’t know about it until he found you cashed out on the couch with the lamp still on

-normally you gave him an excuse about why you were still up, such as a late night snack or a movie

-but your phone and the tv were both off

-he decided to think nothing of it until he noticed that you were grumpier in the mornings

-he didn’t want his actions to affect you so he started coming back earlier

-even texting you and telling you he was fine

-you two talked and set up a deal

-he could go out by himself and you wouldn’t stay up late waiting for him as long as you had his location on your phone

-it was easier for both you from then on

[sonybees]

random harry potter characters headcanons because i am bored

includes: fred, george, harry, ron, hermione, ginny, luna, seamus, dean, neville, padma, parvati, cedric, angelina, alicia, katie, cho, draco, adrian, blaise, and pansy.

warnings: slight modern!au, swearing, food mention

these are all headcanons i made on the spot so i’m sorry if they suck. i’m just really bored. it is also all over the place. a lot of these are collabs between some characters. i hope you enjoy though!

(by the way, the little dashes are just dividers)

rest under the cut!

fred would dance around his room at 3 am to literally any song.

jazz, classical, rock, metal, pop he does not give a fuck.

he woke up george once by jumping on his bed and playing all star on his electric guitar.

probably a song writer

uses “life is short” as an excuse to act on his bad decisions

dancing in the rain is one of his favorite things to do

sleeps at 3 am or pm, you decide.

hopeless romantic

good old fashioned lover boy by queen is his song

has a soft spot for hufflepuffs

-

george loves birds and bugs. completely unrelated to the last one but it’s true.

saw an injured bird outside his room when he was 5.

he cried and immediately took it in.

also cries when someone kills a bug.

thinks the bug’s family would be angry and disappointed in him.

enjoys painting random objects in his room

loves being called pet names

something like dear, honey, or hubby would make his heart burst

loves using them for his significant other as well

hopeless romantic part 2

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

harry is a night owl and he likes reading comic books.

he likes listening to rock music. i said what i said.

prefers being alone

likes quiet places and probably has a hideout

usually doesn’t understand poetry until he reads it like 20 times

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

ron adores ducks.

tears up when he sees them and always used to beg molly to keep them.

still tears up to this day.

not a big fan of seagulls though

he’s scared of them

but eagles are cool

likes country and rock music

also takes an interest in photography

the breakfast club is his favorite movie

has a soft spot for hufflepuffs

-

hermione loves listening to taylor swift.

reads to her songs always.

ravenclaws save her a special seat in their common room because a lot of them grew quite fond of her

a taste tester for hufflepuffs who go to katie’s lessons you’ll understand this later

she actually enjoys dressing up as well even if there wasn’t an event

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

ginny accompanies dean while he draws.

she just likes looking at other people do what they love so it’s not only dean.

she sometimes zones out looking at hermione read a book, always taking note of the facial expressions and guessing what she just read,

catching harry push his glasses up or cleaning them,

also is with luna every time she paints.

luna has a few artworks with ginny as her muse.

gin likes the simple things in life.

loves board games

sometimes a little too competitive

struts down the hallways with her significant other

she’d never admit it but she loves 10 things i hate about you

has a soft spot for slytherins

-

luna almost always goes with neville to the gardens.

she helps him with whatever he needs and sometimes draws a few stuff.

she’s a photographer too so she loves waking up early in the morning and taking photos.

amazing at braiding hair

and making flower crowns

likes reading royal fantasy books

watches 10 things i hate about you with ginny

has a soft spot for slytherins

-

seamus also hangs out with luna sometimes,

talking to each other about whatever.

he thinks she’s interesting and would make great conversations.

she does.

he also took some painting lessons from her

meditates

loves pumpkin juice

likes the movie my girl

has cried more than he will ever admit

has a soft spot for slytherins

-

dean has a wall in the boys dorm room where he puts up all his drawings.

the guys love it and always just stares at all of them in awe.

they’re all so amazing

is usually the first to notice when someone is sick

takes care of them immediately

loves sweaters

knows how to speak in latin

has a soft spot for hufflepuffs

-

neville goes to hagrid way more often than anyone thought.

he learned how to take care of the creatures, make some awesome tea,

he also sometimes helps hagrid clean his own house.

helps others in herbology

likes green tea

loves overalls

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

padma holds a record of the fastest writer at hogwarts

yeah, she’s amazing at it

ended up publishing her own fantasy book starting at hogwarts

sold out faster than expected

she is also a singer

amazing singer

movie marathons are her thing

prefers crime shows/movies

soft spot for gryffindors

-

parvati is very very very protective over her sister

does archery and is amazing at it

a very chill person until you mess with her loved ones

loves sixteen candles

adores puppies

watches big bang theory

soft spot for slytherins

-

cedric plays the piano.

the ravenclaw common room is where the only piano is at hogwarts so he goes there quite often.

everyone loves hearing him play.

other students gather around with their instruments and sing along as well.

wears glasses for reading

netflix type of guy

probably a theatre kid

has a soft spot for gryffindors

-

angelina also took piano lessons from cedric.

she just asked him one day where he learned it and he said his father taught him and he could tell that she wanted to learn.

so, he offered to teach her.

she was a natural at it and the lessons are always fun, even for the ravenclaws

angelina is also a tutor at hogwarts.

it all started with george and fred and she realized that she actually quite enjoyed it.

all her students love her

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

alicia is always the group leader in every group work she’s ever done.

she’s also usually the main organizer for any event at hogwarts.

she’s usually there with the help of angelina and katie.

they all work very well together

has a soft spot for slytherins

-

katie has a passion for cooking.

she’s friends with a lot of hufflepuffs and she meets a lot of them by the kitchens.

in there, they watch her cook amazing dishes and baked goods.

she was able to teach a few others how to as well.

the house elves love her.

has a soft spot for hufflepuffs

-

cho has an interest in fashion designing.

mcgonagall found her making a dress once in an empty hallway with some cool music playing.

minnie was amazed.

she was also able to start a fashion club at hogwarts.

luna, katie, dean and a few other were apart of this club as well.

likes pudding as much as luna does

has a soft spot for gryffindors

-

draco plays the violin.

pretty unexpected to his friends because he never really told anyone til goyle walked in on him playing in his dorm room.

he is actually very good at it.

combs his hair too often

the type to take too long at the water fountain

finishes his water bottle after like less than two hours of getting it

acts ‘ominous’ to the point where it’s funny

soft spot? for ravenclaws

-

adrian teaches young students how to play quidditch

his favorite color’s green for nature

actually loves reading and writing poetry

“most respectful”

has a soft spot for gryffindors

-

blaise seems very intimidating but is actually very sweet

shouts at quidditch games (much to everyones surprise)

loves the rain

likes dark academia movies

it’s basically his whole aesthetic

holds a record for most botts beans that fit in the mouth (without puking)

has a soft spot for hufflepuffs

-

pansy has a whole drawer of jewelry as she should honestly

actually soft for cats but it’s not like she’ll ever tell anyone

loves playing with other’s hair

massages her friend’s backs

they do the same for her

a goddess at card games

is actually a gymnast

has a soft spot for ravenclaws

-

bonuses: george and fred’s favorite movie to watch together is bill and ted’s excellent adventure

all the gryffindors have a movie night at least once a week and others from different houses join along as well

hermione, ginny, luna, parvati, padma, angelina, alicia, katie, and cho have girl nights

the same with the guys though it was quite awkward at first due to draco being there but they eventually warmed up to each other (after like 4 months)

no one really knows how draco and the slytherins even got there but yk

they never tell anyone that they’re comfortable with each other now though

tags: @quadrupledeckertaco @audreysmusings @georgeweasley19 @krasivayadarling @crookedhag

and others who i think would enjoy this: @lunalovecroft @whizboyhalo @darthwheezely @sirlorelai @puntuations @cherryweasleys @amourtentiaa @whatthefuckimbisexual @gredmforge (you don’t have to read if you don’t like!)

[angrylizardjacket]

i’ll be in the front row {Joe Mazzello}

Anon asked: lil prompt I thought of while doing my laundry: imagine meeting Joe while you’re both doing your laundry at a laundromat. it’s nyc, so apartments with full wash & dryer are hard to come by. joe is always running lines with himself, and you both sometimes loan each other quarters when one of you runs out.

Anon asked: tbh I don’t have anything specific to request, but I am begging you to please write more for Joe. srsly you write him so well & he deserves more content!!! 🐚 

A/N: 3269 words. my little garbage brain had to yell at me not to write this like the laundry scene from Dr Horrible. BIG FLUFF. set around undrafted. hope you enjoy. PLEASE leave feedback!! i love this so so very much omfg.

----

You always see him on Sundays, eleven in the morning, like clockwork. Dark sunglasses, fancy backpack, but nondescript clothes; sweater and jeans, baseball jersey and jeans, laundry day clothes if you’ve ever seen them. He’s a little familiar, but you’re not sure why. Sometimes he’s wearing a cap, but not with any sort of consistency, at least not in the six months since you’d been coming there. 

For the record, you’re not staring, he’s the only person who comes in at the exact same time as you, give or take fifteen minutes, and he, like you, always waits for his laundry. It’s only been in the past few months that you’d even started recognizing each other, smiling and giving the other a wave across the machines. It’s harmless, it’s people watching, it’s routine.

One morning, he’s sitting on his washing machine, with a pen in his mouth and a stack of papers in one hand. His usual sunglasses are propped up on his head, which isn’t an unusual occurrence when he reads - is it weird that you know that? Kind of. He’s highlighting something, mouthing whatever he’s reading too fast for you to catch, and anyways, you’re trying not to stare. You’re half paying attention to a kitschy game on your phone since your washing is almost done, and you heave your damp clothes into the dryer.

“Damnit,” patting your pockets again, and searching through your change, you can’t help but scowl and come to an annoying conclusion. All you have is a fifty, and the change machine in the laundromat only spits out quarters.

“You okay?” It’s the guy with the script, your quiet laundry buddy, looking at you with slight concern, pen still in his mouth.

“Yeah,” you huff a sigh, putting on a strained smile, “two quarters short for the dryer.” Usually you had smaller bills, or just remembered to bring the right change, “can you watch my stuff while I go to the gas station to get change?”

“I can cover two quarters,” he offers easily with a slight smile, pulling the pen from his mouth and putting it, the highlighter, and the stack of papers, onto the dryer after he jumps from it. You stumble through trying to brush him off and refuse graciously, but he’s already elbow-deep in his backpack, telling you it’s no trouble.

“I owe you,” you say with half a laugh, and he shares in your amusement.

“Yeah, I’ll hold you to that,” he replies with an amiable sarcasm, which has you laughing. After you start the dryer, however, you turn back and he’s regarding you with a frown, leaning on the washing machine with his stuff in it.

“Do I have something on my face?” You ask with surprising uncertainty, and he’s quick to clear the frown from his face as he shakes his head.

“No, it’s just kind of weird that we’ve been coming here for so long but never... like, spoken.” He muses, and you feel yourself growing surprised. He offers his hand. “Joe.”

“Y/N,” you say, shaking his hand firmly, and he quietly repeats your name back to himself, like he’s committing it to memory. Something warms in your chest, and you can’t help but look at the stack of papers he’d been focusing intently on, “may I ask what you’re working on?” And he looks confused for the barest moment, quickly followed by excitement, and then what you recognize as him very deliberately restraining that excitement into something more polite.

“It’s a script,” and he kind of sounds... apologetic?

“And...?” You prompt, before backpeddling, “I mean, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s fine, I mean we technically just met -” and he’s waiving you off goodnaturedly.

“No, I know, I know,” he assures, “I just... another white guy writing a script in New York?” He makes a face, “get a real personality, am I right?” He laughs self-deprecatingly, but it seems to hit a little too close to home for him, and his expression falls. It’s a sentiment he’s been on the receiving end of far too many times.

“What’s it about?” You ask, gentle and genuinely curious, and his eyebrows raise in surprise as he meets your gaze. Tentatively hopeful, he explains that he’s on the fourth draft of it, that it’s loosely based on his brother’s experiences trying to make it into the Major Leagues in baseball. Most of it goes over your head, but you can’t help but be intrigued. 

“I’m not super big into baseball,” you admit as he’s winding down, “but it sounds awesome, dude; let me know when it’s in theaters and I’ll be in the front row.” He grins at that.

You exchange phone numbers a month later, the pair of you getting take out at the fast food joint across the road from the laundromat, so you could still at least keep somewhat of an eye on your clothes. He’s in between drafts of the script, and they’re actually in preproduction, and you realise oh, he’s actually serious about this.

“See, that’s the difference,” you tell him, leaning your elbows on the table and pointing a finger at him, “the difference is that you follow through.”

“What?” He laughs, not yet following your train of thought.

“Every other white guy in New York could write a script, but none of them would follow through and get it made; you’re ambitious, Joe.”

“I’m not ambitious, I’m just lucky,” he shrugs, a blush creeping up his cheeks, but you won’t let it slide.

“Luck will only get you so far,” you tut, and he gives you a strange look.

“Have you... never seen Jurassic Park?”

“When I was younger,” you shrugged.

“Or The Social Network?”

“I’ve really been meaning to, why?” 

“No reason,” Joe shakes his head with a disbelieving grin, and doesn’t bring it up again.

A few weeks later, he’s late by almost a full half an hour, which you’re not particularly bothered by, you get the impression that he’s a busy guy, but he runs in, laundry basket in hand, apologizing breathlessly. 

“No need to apologise,” you tell him with a bright smile, putting your phone away, “everything okay?”

“Budget meeting ran late,” he explains, gracelessly lumping his clothes into the washing machine and throwing a few tide pods in along with them, “filming’s so close, I just lost track of time.”

“Oh, shit really? Wait have you already cast it?” You asked with a surprisingly genuine excitement; over the weeks, you’ve become rather invested in this project.

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you?” He asked with a grin, “casting was finalized two weeks ago; we start rehearsals next Saturday.”

“That’s so exciting!” You enthused, before laughing, “anyone I’d recognize?” And it’s mostly a joke, but Joe gives pause, evaluating you before he pushes start on his washing machine.

“I don’t know,” he answers genuinely, before conceding, “I mean, apart from me -”

“Acting, writing, and directing; does that make you a triple threat?” You asked coyly, and he breaks out into grin.

“And producing,” he reminds, and you make an impressed noise, nodding.

“Quadruple threat, excuse me.”

“But honestly, I don’t know if you’d recognize them; do you know,” and he goes back to the topic at hand, frowning a little, “Aaron Tveit?” You’re a little speechless, before answering.

“Not personally,” you find yourself answering, which gets Joe to laugh, “shit, dude, from Broadway?” And Joe’s wearing a proud little smile when he nods in confirmation, “and the Les Mis movie?”

“The very same,” Joe agrees, and your mouth hangs agape, “I told you, this is a real movie, I’m not filming this in my backyard,” after a beat, he licks his lips and jumps to sit on the washing machine, “have you seriously never googled me?”

“Why would I?” You asked, and he huffs a disbelieving laugh, shaking his head again in that way that you don’t quite understand. “Should I?” You finally ask, and Joe shrugs, smiling bright and carefree. He’s even swinging his legs, ankles crossed.

“I’m not a murderer, if that’s what’s got you worried,” he muses with a surprisingly carefree grin, “I mean, I’m kind of glad that you haven’t, it means you actually like me for me, you know?”

“Of course I do,” you answer automatically, and Joe’s expression turns fond, “I really like you, dude,” you explain, “I’m kind of in awe of what you’re accomplishing.” And you mean it with your whole heart, “if you’d prefer I didn’t google you, I won’t; I don’t make a habit of googling my friends, I won’t start with you.” When you say this, something about him relaxes, and he hops off the washing machine.

“Wanna grab lunch?” He asks with a smile, which you mirror without hesitation, and agree.

They’re filming out of state, which Joe tells you the week before he leaves, and you hadn’t realised how much you would miss him until the first Sunday rolls around, and you’re sitting in the laundromat alone.

Your phone goes off with a notification at exactly eleven.

It’s a photo of Joe and Aaron Tveit in baseball jerseys, covered in dirt, grinning.

[HOLY SHIT] you send back, following it up with [IS THAT] and then you wait a moment before adding [QUADRUPLE THREAT JOE MAZZELLO??] 

[christ 😳😅🥰] he sends back, and something about his restrained but still obviously flustered response has your heart skip a beat. [is it weird that i miss the laundromat?]

[yes 😂]

[and you of course i miss you too] he’s quick to follow it up with, and your own smile grows wider. You take a photo of the empty laundromat and draw in a terrible stick figure impression of him and send it back.

[miss u too haha] and you give pause before sending [hey if u ever wanna send other prod photos.......] [u don’t just have to send them on sunday]

[you haven’t signed an NDA 😂]

[joseph who am i gonna tell??]

[your other friends idk]

[my lips are ZIPPED 🤐] [photos for personal use only]

[personal use????? 😘😘]

[dont be GROSS]

[but i wanna be gross!!]

So now you’re flustered in the middle of the laundromat, completely at a loss as to how to respond to that. 

[are u flirting with me joseph?] you send back, and you watch the three little typing dots as they hover for a very long time.

[only if you’re into it]

Oh. 

[the FIRST WEEK YOU’RE AWAY FROM THE LAUNDROMAT AND YOU’RE PULLING THIS SHIT] [i AM into it but fuck 😳😅]

[I’VE BEEN FLIRTING WITH YOU FOR WEEKS]

Oh!

[OH]

[THE FIRST WEEK I’M AWAY FROM THE LAUNDROMAT AND YOU FINALLY PICK UP ON IT???]

[go direct ur baseball movie 🥰😅] you send, and tuck your phone away, feeling rather like a fool, but a pleased fool nonetheless, and you’re grinning for the rest of the day.

Photos are exchanged often after that, usually selfies, or photos of where either of you were, what you were doing, the flirting turning absolutely less subtle with each day that passes until you’re just complimenting each other, and mentioning occasionally how you miss the other.

When he sends a photo of himself posing against the fence of the dugout in a way that showed off his ass, you can’t help but make it your lock screen, though it’s quickly followed by a video and a text that reads [i was told i have to send you this too,,, for context].

“This feels undignified,” says a strangely familiar voice from off-screen, presumably filming, while Joe was trying to ask for opinions on how he should pose.

“This is undignified,” comes someone else’s response, and the camera swings around to reveal an amused Tyler Hoechlin, opening a water bottle, “this Y/N must be real cute.” In the background, a few others, vaguely recognizable, all in baseball uniforms, snicker.

“They are!” Joe answered defiantly, grinning, one leg up against the wire, looking over his shoulder, “are you filming me?” The camera flips around and you get a pretty glorious angle directly up Aaron Tveit’s nose.

“No -”

The video stops abruptly, and you’re all but wheezing with laughter, though all you send back is;

[so worth it] [ur ass *chef’s kiss*]

[THANK YOU] [you get it] [knew there was a reason i liked you so much]

The moment he gets back to New York, he asks you out to dinner. Of course you say yes.

For your third date, he offers to cook you dinner, and watch a movie, prefaced with a question that you’re surprised he still asks; have you really not googled me? And the honest answer you always give: no.

His apartment has a lot of movie posters, of movies you’ve heard of but never seen, or seen when you were very little.

“Big movie buff, obviously,” you note with a little smile, and he raises his eyebrows in amusement at your observation. Even moreso when you excitedly coo about how you haven’t seen Jurassic Park in so long when he suggests it.

“Your self restraint is godlike, babe,” he snickers, and you’re not quite sure what he means, you’re kind of just happy to be here. 

He cooks dinner, and you both sit down in front of his alarmingly big TV, and you feel a warm rush of nostalgia at the opening. You’re eating quietly, watching with rapt attention, but you can feel Joe watching you expectantly. 

“What’s up?” You ask, turning to him, confused, and his smile grows a little wider, and his gaze flicks to the screen for a moment, and then back to you.

“Just waiting for it to click.”

“For what to click?” 

“Babe,” and he says it like he can’t quiet believe it, his gaze now focused on the screen where the kids, Tim and Lex, were being introduced, “that’s me.” And follow his gaze and holy shit. A lot of things start making a lot more sense.

He’s not sure what he’s expecting your reaction to be, but the way your face lights up, and the unbridled enthusiasm and compliments that pour out of you, was not it, but he’s definitely not complaining. 

“Wait!” Your eyes sparkle as you look around his apartment, the movie posters he had everywhere now having a completely different meaning, “all these...?”

“Every single one,” he agrees, a little abashed, suddenly humble, and you grin when you finally look back at him.

“I didn’t think I could be more awed by you, but dude,” you enthused, “that’s cool as hell! You’re cool as hell!” But you take a deep breath, putting your plates onto the coffee table, sitting as close to him as you could, “but I would have thought the world on you even if you hadn’t done any of this,” and he tries to brush it off, but you’re adamant, “no, I mean it, I like you for you, Joe, not for what you’ve done, but... for who you are.”

“You’re gonna make me blush,” he shoots for serious, but misses entirely thanks to his pleased little smile.

“Good,” you tell him seriously, and kiss both of his pink cheeks before kissing him. Your dinner might get a little cold after that, but you can always reheat it. 

You comfort him over the weeks it takes to edit him film, Undrafted, though he’ll never let you see too much of the final product; he wants you to see it in cinemas first.

It’s still kind of surreal to you that Joe Mazzello is both a movie star, and your boyfriend. He’s still friends with Laura Dern, and he also spends eight dollars a week at a laundromat to wash his clothes. Bizarre. But you kind of like how down-to-earth he is. 

What’s more bizarre is when he invites you to the red carpet premiere of his movie.

“Me?” You squeaked, and he seemed a little confused at your hesitation, his hands on your shoulders.

“You,” he nodded slowly, not understanding why you’re suddenly nervous.

“For real?”

“Yeah, of course I want you there; you said so yourself, you’d be in the front row, right?” He smiled a little and you could feel your heart melt.

“You remember that?”

“Of course I do,” he tells you gently, “it’s one of the reasons I liked you in the first place.” He’s so earnest; you agree easily.

The red carpet is a whole other world, you find, dressed to the nines, styled by someone you don’t know, cameras flashing in your face -

“Is this Y/N?” Tyler Hoechlin is saying your name. What universe is this? Joe was blushing furiously with his arm around you as the cast made their way over.

“Finally, a face for a name,” and that’s Aaron Tveit; you have to remind yourself not to get star struck. Instead, you smile and offer your hand to them both, which they shake, smiling and greeting you warmly. 

“Don’t embarrass me, you assholes,” Joe warned, though his tone was amused, and the others chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Mister Director,” Aaron assured.

“You’re good at doing that on your own,” Tyler added, and Joe gave him the finger, but held you a little tighter. 

“Did he send you the video of when he asked me to take that photo? You know the one,” Aaron asked, and you straightened your posture, grinning brightly.

“With an ass like his, I don’t know why you’d think it’s undignified,” you said loftily, and there was a beat as everyone took in what you said.

“I fucking love you,” Joe half laughed, pulling you in for a kiss.

“You’re good,” Tyler snorted, shaking his head with a grin, and Aaron was just straight-up laughing. The rest of the cast took to you easily, though most of the in-jokes among them went over your head, by Joe’s side, you never really felt left out. 

The theater itself was cool and dark, but you could feel the whole cast and crew thrumming with excitement and nervous energy, and Joe gave your hand a squeeze where your fingers were interlaced. 

It’s clear he’d poured his heart and soul into the movie, his fingerprints were all over every aspect of it, and you couldn’t quite believe you were watching it all finally completed; it had been almost a year since you’d first asked him about it, and now, here you were, hand in hand with him at the premiere. 

As the credits rolled, as the crowd clapped, and you along with them, you found yourself speechless. Joe, quiet and surprisingly nervous, turns to you.

“What’d you think?” His voice is quiet, uncertain, and you all but tackle him across the armrest, kissing him until you’re both breathless.

“I’m so proud of you,” you gasp against his lips, “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” his voice is gentle as he takes your face in his hands, but you shake your head.

“You could have, babe, you absolutely could have, you’ve got so much ambition and talent -”

“I didn’t want to do it without you,” he admits in a rush, and you freeze, eyes on his, “I mean it.” And you’re kissing him again, hoping he can feel the pride and love that’s flowing through you. There’s an afterparty to get to, drinks with the cast and crew, and a comfortable bed waiting after that, you know, but you can’t help but bask in this one moment together, just a little longer.

[miss-noo-na]

Strange Love (Part 1)

Title: Strange Love

Featuring: Johnny (NCT) x Reader

Rating: Mature. Future updates to include BDSM themes

Summary: Your job is finally recognizing all the hard work you’ve been putting in, and assigns you to a special project that includes travel. The only downside is that you have to team up with your cocky co-worker. In the process you learn about his predilections and what he does to relieve stress in his downtime, and how they might come to benefit you, too. 

The copier spluttered and buzzed as it spit out page after page of the same report. Sometimes it jammed and you had to tap it just right for it to start up again, you knew it like clockwork now, not even having to shift your stance or your gaze to do it. You had made friends with the piece of equipment ages ago, this thing was older than some of the new hires in the office.

You had been there for 3 years now, but it felt much longer. You found the job out of college because of its promised upward mobility and company culture, and after a while neither one of those things mattered anymore. You had only had one partial raise and “company culture” really just meant there was cake in the break room once a month.

You didn’t know why you stayed. Actually, you did, but didn’t want to admit it to yourself. You were afraid.

You had always been timid, knowing what you wanted but too anxious to go after it. You could be stubborn and even stand up for yourself, but often you fell by the wayside, worried about making too much of a fuss. You developed a fine-tuned talent for painting on a smile, seeming agreeable, then grumbling under your breath and to your friends over drinks. You would convince yourself things would change, but they never did. 

When the copier stopped with its signature grinding halt you snapped out of your reverie, piling the papers in arm to hand them out around the office. Busy-work, per usual.

When you stepped out of the room you immediately looked across the hall to the windowed room of your manager, able to hear his muffled laughter, head tossed back as he slapped his hand on another mans back. Your eyes set into a narrow glare at the other person.

John Suh had only shown up 9 months ago and he was already 2 positions ahead of you, with his fancy degree and family connections. They liked to pretend they didn’t play favorites but it was obvious from the moment he stepped in the door that he had something the rest of you didn’t, connections and his daddy’s money.

Plus, there was just this air of overconfidence he carried that enraged you. Not only did he have an advantage, he liked to act like it was his savvy business sense and charm that got him there. 

The most annoying part of all is that no one else felt the way you did.

He was clearly attractive, the only person in the office who didn’t get shit from the boss for growing his hair out or not buttoning up his jacket. Every girl in the office from the 19 year old receptionist to the 67 year old accountant practically swooned when he talked to them. This, of course, made you look like the asshole to your colleagues. They called you distrustful and told you to be a little more open-minded, but you didn’t have patience for nepotism and unearned praise.

If you thought about it too long, the frustration built up and where did that leave you? You went about your business for the afternoon, intent on ignoring his presence like you usually did.

As you neared the manager’s door, he suddenly poked his head out and smiled at you.

“Hey there, can I grab you for a second?”

And then he disappeared inside, through the glass you could see him speak to your nemesis once more. Your stomach dropped, what could he possibly need? You set the stack down on your desk and returned to the office, clearing your throat as you entered since they were chatting and laughing like you didn’t exist.

“There you are, have a seat.” He said as he went to his desk, gesturing to the chairs in front of it. You were surprised when John took the seat next to yours, but chose to pretend he wasn’t there.

“I’ve had this project brewing for a few months now, and whilst going over potential candidates your name came up.”

Project? Your name? 

“You’ve been loyal to the company for years, your workflow looks great, and I’ve never heard a fuss out of you. You’re honestly a prime worker for this position.”

“What position would that be, sir?” You asked gently, knowing he had a habit of going on tangents if you let him. Plus, all of this was lip service you’d heard since you started. They were always quick to praise, but never do anything that actually showed that it mattered in a way that helped you. Empty compliments.

“This is our main office, and the system we have here is the best in the business, but unfortunately that’s not the case in some of our smaller offices. They’re falling behind and their technology and practices aren’t getting updated in a timely fashion. Basically, they need help, and that’s where you two come in.”

Two? You peered over at the man next to you from the corner of your eye, and quickly back again.

“I’m not sure I follow. Aren’t these offices spread out all over the country?” You asked.

“Precisely. We’ve opened up a position for trainers, someone who is free to travel and can help these places get set up. You would spend about a week or less in each place, we would make sure you have proper accommodations and a stipend, of course.”

It dawned on you what he meant and you felt a mix of emotions. It was about time someone realized your potential and the hard work you had been putting in, even if you were still confused on how your name got brought up. You didn’t have any problem traveling, there was no relationship or particular thing that kept you tied down in one spot.

“Oh, and the 30% raise.”

You perked up at that, then quickly tried to make yourself appear neutral again.

“That does sound enticing.”

“What do you say? I think you both would be great at it.”

You fully looked over now, and made brief eye contact with the man who offered you an encouraging smile.

“We would be working...together?”

“It’s a two-man, excuse me, two-person job. I can tell you now I think you would make an excellent team.”

You didn’t even know him like that, and everything you did know you weren’t particularly fond of.  You had maybe spoken a handful of words to each other, in passing.  Things like “excuse me” and “here’s that report you needed.” The idea of having to spend so much time around him didn’t sit well with you, but how could you pass up such an opportunity? it was strictly business, it’s not like you had to be best friends.

“Okay, then.” You nodded and forced an uneasy smile. 

“Fantastic! I’ll draw up the paperwork tonight and get you on your schedule within the week. In the meantime, I encourage you two to get to know each other.” 

You left the office, intent on going straight back to your desk, but your new partner stopped you.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced, I’m John, but everyone just calls me Johnny.”

He stuck his hand out and you had to fight the urge to cringe, there was no way in hell you were going to call him that.

You were cordial, shook his hand and told him your name, avoided eye contact. Being this close to him you didn’t realize until now how tall he was.

“You want to grab some lunch with me? My treat, we can hammer out some details.”

“I’m a little busy this aftern-”

“It’ll be fine, the boss insists we form a game plan and I know a spot around the corner.” He cut you off and started to walk away as if you already agreed. You wanted to fight him on it, but that wasn’t the best way to start out a brand new position. You sighed and followed.

The “spot” was basically a sports bar, that was practically dead, save for a few people at the bar watching a baseball game. You sat at a table near the back and wished you could get a beer, but you still had a whole work day ahead of you.

“So it’s like, part trainer, part teacher, part IT. Do you have any experience in IT? I actually started out in computer science before I switched to business, my dad thought it was the best for my career path. I mean, I guess he was right because here I am.”

He was….different, than you thought he would be. You only saw him in the office, turning on his charm and worming his way into things. Here, he was talkative and friendly, and it was throwing you off-guard. The casual humble-brag about his background wasn’t making him anymore likable, though. 

“No, I majored in English.”

I swear to God if he says-

“English? Aren’t you already fluent?”

You closed your eyes for a second while his stupid laugh rang in your ears.

“Anyway, I think this is going to be an awesome opportunity for us. I mean, how lucky are we to get picked for this?”

“I wouldn’t call it luck.” You grumbled before taking a drink, not really intending him to hear it.

“What’s that?”

“It’s not luck.” You said as you met his eyes fully for the first time. “Not for me. I’ve worked my ass off for this company for years, it’s only luck for people who got a head start.”

You sank your teeth into your tongue just as the words left you, and you could see the smile fade from his face. You suddenly felt flush and thought about apologizing, but he spoke up.

“Ah, so you think I had a leg up?”

“I didn’t mean-”

He waved a hand and laughed. “It’s fine, I know everyone thinks that, you’re just the first person to say it to my face.”

You couldn’t tell if he was offended and playing it off, or if he was really this nonchalant about it. 

“Look, no offense, but I don’t think we need to be buddies for this to work. I would rather just get in the field and work things out from there.” You explained as directly as you could. 

“That’s fair.” He nodded, to your surprise. 

The small-talk ended and when he tried to pay for lunch, you insisted on giving your share. The rest of the day was uneventful, except for the twinge of guilt you had when you thought back on how you spoke to him.

When you got home, you collapsed on the couch next to your roommate, a graphic designer who worked from home and was always in her PJs. You envied her.

“Another rough day at the office, sweetie?” She asked, patting you on the head, condescending but still sincere.

“Remember that douchebag at work I told you about?”

“Oh, the cute one?” She asked with a smile, having seen him when coming to drop off some lunch for you once.

“Whatever, anyway.” You sat up to face her. “The good news is that I got a promotion to a position that lets me travel.”

“Hey, that’s great!” She beamed.

“The bad news is that we have to do it together.”

She looked to consider it for a moment before her lips curled into a devious smile. “On the road for work? Hotel stays? Working in close proximity? Ohh, this is like a spicy romance novel!”

“Ew, stop.” You scowled.

“Only if you stop pretending he’s not hot.”

“Someone can be objectively hot and I can still not like them or be attracted to them. He’s arrogant and he seems to think we’re on the same page somehow. He’s oblivious to his own privilege.”

“Okay, I get that, sorry for teasing you. But hey, this is the break you were looking for, right? Focus on the positive.”

“Thank you.”

She opened up her arms and you hugged for a long moment.

“Maybe while you’re traveling you’ll finally get laid.” She said suddenly into your ear, and you pulled back and glared at her.

“Sorry, sorry! I just know that lately you haven’t really been-”

You stood up from the couch as she spoke. “I’m going to my room now.”

“Let me know if you need help packing!”

You closed your bedroom door and sighed. She meant well, but she had a way of saying things so bluntly that it didn’t quite help. She was right about that, though. Your career wasn’t the only stagnant thing in your life. 

You hadn’t had a steady boyfriend in 2 years, and in that time had only experienced a sprinkling of dates that never went anywhere and the 2-3 times you randomly hooked up with someone to great disappointment. Frustrated was an understatement, and you knew part of it was bleeding over into your professional life. 

You didn’t expect to have any sort of passionate tryst while out for work, but maybe simply getting into a new scenery would make you feel better?

To Be Continued

[peekychu]

hiii ray! we haven't talked in a while but i still get happy whenever i see you on my dash :D i hope you're doing well! it's pretty cool that you're more active on tumblr nowadays, i missed u :'3 if u want to use this ask as an excuse to rant about any hyperfixations or special interests that u have rn please feel free bc ive been super pumped about being neurodivergent all day and want to share that :D it's just been *thinks about my favorite characters having adhd* *thinks about my favorite ch

Warning! This got long, you DID say I could rant, but thought I’d let ya know xD

Hi Avery!!! Aw, I’m so glad my goofy posts can make ya happy, it’s nice to hear!!!

AND YEAAA relating to favorite characters is a super nice thing, I know what you mean!! ^o^ Seeing Undertale trending again recently for the anniversary made me nostalgic for all the self-indulgent headcanon art I used to draw of Alphys, haha!

I will say, it’s kind of weird because lately I haven’t had One Big All-Consuming interest like I usually did in the past (except for maybe Game Grumps and Ninja Sex Party which have still been staples for me xD), I’ve been trying to expand my horizons during quarantine and I’m starting a lot of new shows & games!!! I gotta give my partner tons of credit for introducing me to new things I never would have checked out on my own, without him I’d probably still be watching the same old Game Grumps compilations and nothing else, lol. It’s been AWESOME discovering new interests!

During lockdown I have:

- Watched all of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime and just finished part 6 of the manga! You don’t even know how hard I resisted getting into this series, but sometime around part 4 I got nearly as obsessed as bf xD Emphasis on nearly, hehe. But seriously, I love this series! I met some awesome new characters too! I really love some of the sillier characters like Narancia and Foo Fighters, but Jotaro has grown on me like a LOT!! I love this fella, especially in part 4. Joseph was the first person that made me interested in the show!

- Watched and read all of Beastars so far! Excited for season 2 to be animated! The manga is definitely all over the place, but still made for some really interesting friend discussions! 

- Started Hunter x Hunter 2011, as well as some of the 1999 episodes! It got to a SUUUPER slow point so I haven’t finished it, but people have been convincing me to stick with it for the Chimera Ant arc which is supposedly the best xD Mostly I just ADORE Gon and Killua’s dynamic, as well as their friends Kurapika and Leorio! I feel like the series is a little bit confusing and isn’t storytelling to its max potential, but I have some favorite bits for sure!

- Re-awakened a Spongebob obsession xD I got the game Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated and beat it, SUCHHHH a good game!! It inspired me to watch a ton of old episodes (seasons 1-3 of course) which was very nostalgic and made me remember how genuinely hilarious of a cartoon it was.

- Played tons of Animal Crossing! I sort of burnt out on ACNH like most ppl stuck at home with a Switch, but I’m happy with my island (named Daffodil!) and the love I put into it! It served as some crucial escapism at the start of this wackiness, lol

- Beaten Mario Galaxy for the very first time!! This was a hyperfocus-y highlight for me, I beat the game in under 3 days and LOVED every second!! Mario Galaxy is such a delightful game!

- Started Majora’s Mask 3DS! My mom also got a copy so the two of us could play together! I ended up getting MUCH farther in the game than her since I’d played the first part a few times when I was younger, but I don’t know if I’ll ever beat it, haha. The 3DS remake made some changes from the original that bummed me out, so I’m taking a break until I’m inspired again :P Maybe I’ll just play through Ocarina of Time again?

- Played Fall Guys with my pals!! Honestly I’m craving this game again, maybe after typing this post I’ll play some, hehe.

- Started Pokemon Journeys (the anime) with bf!!!! I LOVE this show, I think it’s the best Pokemon anime yet! Lots of very cute Pikachu moments which is important to me, and lots of content that really takes full advantage of the Pokemon world!

- Got into Rock-Afire Explosion with bf! I feel weird talking so much about him on here since he doesn’t have a tumblr account and most likely doesn’t read these posts, but he’s been a huge part of my life :P Anyways, this guy is the Rock-Afire KING, it’s been a lot of fun listening to their (shockingly) good songs and seeing the project he’s been working on for it! I’ve grown a huge fondness for Billy Bob, he is a sweet boy with a sweet voice.

- Started Neon Genesis Evangelion! I’m actually super close to finishing this anime, it REALLY got cool and interesting! I’m glad about not being spoiled Too much despite seeing it everywhere online for most of my teenagehood, haha. One of the more serious things I’ve watched lately, but I find stories like this to be cathartic :P

- And arguably most importantly, Avatar the Last Airbender!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy MOLY! This is one of those things that ppl have been pressuring me to get into for Years, and now that I have, I wish I could go back in time and pester myself alongside my friends, haha! I binged a whole season’s worth on a sick day, I just really Really love every character, and the writing, and the worldbuildinG, it’s all fantastic and it’s all been said before xD I also caved and bought the entire collection of The Search and The Promise of the comic series!!! Just read the rest of it last night, I am in awe over how fantastic Avatar really is!! I think that alongside Jojo, Avatar has been a world that really helped me through the weirdness of these past months xD

I also have been thinking a lot about my furry characters, lol :P I’ve commissioned and drawn  so much art of my OCs, they just all make me so happy! Especially my fursona Twinkie of course, I feel so connected with this goofball cat! I want to maybe develop a comic for my characters and make a world for them, but all of my motivation is being dedicated to art classes :P

ANYWAYS!! Thanks for letting me ultra infodump, this became less of an interest-gush and more of a quarantine update xD I don’t love talking about the current situation because it’s All anyone talks about (I mean, I get why but yknow) but I’m really grateful that I found some inspiration and enjoyment in new things during my time at home!

[justatiredghost]

Unsolved Academy Ch11 - End

Klaus and Dave run a Buzzfeed Unsolved-style tv show and they’ve just gotten engaged. (Since the plot is now essentially wrapped up, I’m marking this fic as complete. However, I still have some ideas that I might add as bonus episodes later)

“Just so you know,” Dave said. “I seriously considered proposing in some super fancy restaurant.”

They were holding hands as they walked home from their adventurous night out, their steps slow and casual like they didn’t want the night to end, both of them wearing their rings. Klaus raised their clasped hands periodically to suck on what little candy remained on his RingPop despite the awkward angle. Dave’s was already gone. 

“And how exactly did you think we would be paying for that?” Klaus asked, laughing against Dave’s shoulder.

“Now, see, that’s the beauty of it,” Dave said, raising a hand as he laid out his scheme. “If we’d conveniently forgotten our wallets, surely they’d simply let us go. We’d just gotten engaged after all! It’d be kind of a dick move to accuse us of anything or demand payment. I decided against it though, I’d feel bad not being able to leave a proper tip.”

“Amazing,” Klaus laughed, leaning into him. “Man after my own heart.”

By the time they made it back to the house, enough time had gone by that it could charitably be called early morning. Ben was already up and eating breakfast like a responsible adult, no doubt getting ready to head to class. Klaus was still full of too much energy and excitement and didn’t waste any time.

“Ben!” he exclaimed, bounding up to him and holding up his hand. “Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, look! We’re getting married!”

“About time,” Ben said with a smile, looking truly happy for them. 

“Wait, why don’t you look surprised?” Klaus asked, immediately suspicious when Dave blushed crimson and avoided eye contact. 

“Your fiancé there actually asked for my blessing,” Ben chuckled. 

“What?” Klaus said, drawing out the world, and he couldn’t help but laugh, wishing he could have been there to see it. 

“What? I don’t know how these things work. I never thought this sort of thing would apply to me so I never really paid attention.”

“You are too adorable,” Klaus said, pinching his cheek.

“Did he propose with the RingPop?” Ben asked. “I thought it was a nice touch.”

“Oh yeah, and check this out, you’re never going to believe this,” Klaus held up Dave’s hand to show off the plastic ring there as well. 

“Klaus also got a RingPop to propose with,” Dave explained. 

“Oh my god,” Ben laughed. “You have got to be kidding me. You guys really are ridiculous.”

Klaus beamed at that, finding Dave’s hand again and squeezing tightly.

“Come on,” Dave said to him. “We’ve been up all night, I think we’ve earned some sleep.”

“Good idea. See ya, Ben, good luck in class.”

“Sleep well,” Ben said, smiling and shaking his head as he watched them go. 

-

“Klaus Katz,” Klaus said dreamily, hand up in the air as he examined the ring on his finger as if it had a diamond on it. He rolled over on the bed and scooted closer to Dave, taking his hand as he did so. “I think I like the sound of that.” 

“Hmm, I dunno,” Dave chuckled, so close that their noses bumped.

“What? I think it’s perfect. It might as well be alliterative and over the top. Go all in, baby.”

“Over the top is definitely you, but what about Dave Hargreeves?” Dave countered.

“Aww, have you been doodling that in notebooks?” Klaus asked. “Maybe with little hearts around it?”

“Maybe,” Dave said evasively, grinning.

“Adorable. But really, you don’t want to take that name,” Klaus chuckled. “I’m fine with leaving it and all of Reggie’s legacy in the dust.”

“Is that really what you want?” Dave said, voice thoughtful as he ran a hand absently through Klaus’ hair. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, fuck your old man, but it’s not his name I’m taking. It’s yours. It’s the family you and your siblings are making. You took all the shit he dumped on you and you’re turning it into something good. A real family. And I’m honored to be a part of that.”

He extended Klaus’ arm so he could run his thumb gently across the umbrella tattoo there. Honestly, Klaus would have gotten it covered up with a different design a long time ago if he hadn’t found the entire thing so hilarious; a ‘fuck you’ to dear old dad, having his symbol on his greatest failure, and wasn’t Klaus just the perfect representation of how the whole Umbrella Academy business had turned out? Quite literally in the gutter. But Reginald was dead and this didn’t have to be about him any longer. 

After they’d saved the world, Klaus was actually truly glad he hadn’t gotten it covered or removed. Sure, there was still a lot of pain there, but Dave was right, they were making this their own, repairing their relationships and building the family they’d never had. And to represent that, he and his siblings had gone out and gotten the old faded tattoos touched up, tweaking the design to be their own, to represent something else. Something new. 

None of them had really bothered to put it into words but Klaus supposed it sort of existed as a representation of a promise to try to do better by each other, to make sure none of them had to feel so alone and helpless again. And this time, Vanya was a part of it. Not because she had powers now but because she was their sister.

“But you don’t need to keep the name to keep your family,” Dave continued. “So if your dad is all you think about when you hear the name, then by all means, ditch it. It’s just, I know how hard you’ve tried to keep me away from everything he did and how glad you are I never had to meet him. I just don’t want you to give anything up for me that you might regret.”

“I’m not going to regret anything with you,” Klaus said, placing a quick kiss to his lips. 

“Good. If you’re happy, I’m happy. Because you’re my family.”

“Oh my god! You are too sentimental, you know that? I’m way too tired for you to be this sappy,” Klaus laughed, burying his face in Dave’s neck.

“I can’t help it, I get sappy when I’m tired,” Dave said. “Really this is your fault for keeping me out all night.”

“Maybe that’s because I secretly like it,” Klaus said. 

“We could always abbreviate. Katz-Hargreeves. Hargreeves-Katz? I guess we have plenty of time to work it out. When are we doing this anyway?”

“Oh, right,” Klaus said. “I’d been so focused on the asking part that I completely forgot that it’s not over, we still gotta do the actual wedding. When did you want to do it?”

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Dave laughed. “I also wasn’t really thinking that far ahead.”

“We could stick to the plan,” Klaus suggested.

“Yeah, save up, rent a place, then I guess save some more for some actual rings that are a bit sturdier than cheap plastic? We could probably use our average income to figure out how far away that’ll be.”

“Uuugh, math,” Klaus groaned. “Math is for morning us.”

“It is morning. And besides, I know you’re secretly great at math.”

“It’s for ‘after sleeping’ us then because I am not so secretly exhausted.”

“Sounds good,” Dave said with a laugh. “As for the actual wedding, did you have anything in mind for that? I’d be fine with just going to a courthouse and getting the paperwork taken care of or whatever. I don’t need anything fancy, just you.”

“That’s very sweet but you are missing the perfect opportunity for an excuse to put on a wild party,” Klaus pointed out. “And Pogo would probably pay for it.”

“Oh shit you’re right.” 

“Besides, you can’t tell me you never dreamed of being able to have a traditional Jewish wedding.” 

“Aw, has someone been doing research?” Dave said and he looked much too fond.

“Of course I did, babe,” Klaus said, bringing his hand up to frame his face, brushing his thumb fondly across his cheek. “It’s important to you. So? Do you want that?”

“Yeah, actually, I think I do want that,” Dave said, smiling. “I never really thought it would be an option for me so— yeah. Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For this, for thinking of me even when I forget. Just for everything. You’re my dream come true.”

“Oh my god, stop,” Klaus said, beaming and maybe even blushing a little as he hit Dave with his pillow, but not very hard. Dave was about to retaliate, the two of them sitting up for a better angle, but Klaus suddenly thought of something and raised a hand. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, I just had an amazing idea! What if we got an elephant?” 

“What? Is that even possible?” Dave asked, lowering his weapon, looking curious but suspicious. 

“I dunno but it would be pretty awesome. Come on, it’s your special day, live a little! What else could we do?”

“Okay, how about this,” Dave said, hands out like he had something huge. “An elephant wouldn’t fit, but what if we went somewhere with a ball pit?”

“I’m intrigued, please continue,” Klaus said with a grin, chin in hands.

“It’s suddenly become my dream to see Diego in one. Can you imagine?”

“Oh my god, yes,” Klaus cackled. “We have to do that now. And I’m not above tackling him into it if necessary.” 

“I’d ask if you think we could get Five too but that’s probably pushing our luck.” 

“I guess it depends if you want to die on our wedding day or not.”

“Point taken.” 

“How about Luther instead?” Klaus suggested.

“It might take more than the two of us to tackle him in though.”

“Ben will help. But we gotta be careful or people might catch on the third or fourth time we tackle someone.” 

-

It felt like something huge had happened, even though a proposal didn’t actually change anything between them. Their day to day was the same, but there was just something so official about it all, it just reinforced the fact that they had done it, they had found love, a partner in life, and they were overwhelmingly happy. 

Both of them went into Vietnam thinking they had nothing, that their lives were virtually over, and now, after somehow surviving and coming out the other side, it felt like their lives were just beginning. This was so much more than either of them ever expected to have and suddenly they had a future to look forward to. Together.

Thanks to the success of their channel, they were able to move out sooner than they’d anticipated. They found a tiny apartment, just like they’d talked about, and even if it wasn’t the nicest, it was still utterly perfect. This was theirs. Their home. They stood there side by side, an arm around each other’s waist, perhaps a dozen boxes full of their belongings strewn about.

“We did it,” Dave said, voice full of awe. “Holy shit we did it. We really are adults.”

“Debatable, but we already signed the contract so they can’t kick us out now,” Klaus said gleefully. 

“I mean, they can, but never mind,” Dave said. “Hey, we can do whatever the hell we want in here! What sort of childhood dreams do you want to fulfill? We could get a hammock if we wanted.”

“Yes! And we need a pillow fort! And lots of hideous decor!,” Klaus said.

“I know it’s only one floor,” Dave said excitedly. “But do you think we can fit a slide somewhere in here?”

“I don’t know, but we’re gonna try,” Klaus said. “And obviously we gotta make it all as gay as possible.”

“Hey, Klaus?”

“Yeah?”

“Love you.”

“I love you too.”

It was so strange for Klaus to be standing in the middle of a home he could actually call his own with the man of his dreams in his arms. He’d lived on the streets for so long, he’d gotten so used to just drifting, never having a place of his own, and the only place he had been able to call a home, the place he’d grown up, was anything but. It had been full of so much cruelty and loneliness. 

But this? This was theirs. And they would make it everything a home was supposed to be, full of laughter and love, where they could both be happy and live the lives they always wanted, that they could be proud of. He hugged Dave a little closer, letting him rest his head against his shoulder and he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Wait,” Dave said. “We’re gonna have to unpack all this shit.”

“Fuck. This is gonna take forever.”

-

(Author’s note: apparently I spoke too soon and I’m not done with this yet, bonus chapter here)

[whetstonefires]

d gray man liveblog part 4! (part 1)(part 2)(part 3)

No but seriously, Cyril Camelot is the English Foreign Minister and just staged an assassination attempt on himself for an excuse to declare war on the people he just spent a while negotiating an agreement with.

Why? In what way does this benefit the Noahs?

(...why is the name of the country censored, I feel like hoshino-san just didn’t want to try to come up with a plausible European country for England to go to war with in 18-mumblety.)

I mean Bookman says tragedy breeds akuma in his analysis, but they took Japan while it was so emphatically not at war that it had zero foreign relations at all; war is clearly not necessary for the Earl’s bargains to go through apace.

Cyril kind of looks like he just does this shit for fun.

...”the evil man who made the world his enemy” is a fascinating choice of words, Tykki Mik, I really wonder very hard about you.

And you’re right, when he’s not wearing his balloon costume, and talking normally, and buying flowers from little girls, he looks normal! Weird how that works.

Question: is that umbrella he declined so he could walk in the rain Lero? Does Lero have to share the Earl with other umbrellas outside of official monster business, or disguise himself as a normal bumpershoot when out in public? Is that servant another disguised akuma, or a normal person who has no idea?

...it’s probably an akuma.

YAY KRORY WAKE UP!

why so many chain. it’s not like he lost track of who his enemies were in that last fight, even when he was made of blood. rude to chain.

aw he cry. he cry! ;_; he cry for his friends!

this is the kind of sad boy i like. he can be annoying but not in, you know, a murdery way.

holy shit creepy ghost girl?! i...logically must have read this part before but i don’t remember it, damn i was bingeing like a mad thing.

where...where did the poison come from. why is Krory’s arm sticking out like that. what is going on.

Why Are The Order So Bad.

aaaaand cut to the kind of random hijinks that seem intended to lift the mood but tbh they’re kind of too grim in their own right.

lmao alternately this is an excuse to draw kanda and lavi as chibis and Allen with long hair.

If it’s not because of structural damage, why are they moving to a new base? No one’s said anything about the new headquarters being any more secure against frickin’ teleportation. Maybe the Pope just wants the Order distracted with moving chores?

(I like referring to the higher-ups at the Vatican as the Pope; I realize we have no actual evidence the actual Pope even knows any of this is happening, but if hoshino is gonna be having people shout that other people are ‘property of the Pope’ i’m gonna use the word Pope as often as I can get away with because

1) it makes the whole thing more ridiculous b) it emphasizes the European Gothic Via Japan vibe going on here which is at least 20% of the entertainment value and thirdly, ‘Pope’ is fun to say.)

Oh, right, Allen’s ongoing identity crisis! (it only gets worse from here, kid)

The bosses were logically correct to make Cross Marian do his ‘report to Vatican and be responsible’ part before giving him the pay-off of ‘allowed to talk to Allen’ because otherwise he’d just fuck off but damn it’s hard on the kid, being left hanging.

I absolutely do not believe for one second this business with Mana’s past and secret motives was planned before the series started, but that’s honestly for the best; it’s more wrenching when we didn’t have any more reason than Allen to suspect something was off.

...i like when nice clowns adopt people tho... :o(

not telling the brass or their stooge about your creepy extra reflection was a Good Call.

yes link really truly allen is a good kid who is not plotting evil shit. sheesh.

more Potion Accident gags, i’m sorry, i can’t keep up with your taste in mood whiplash and i never liked most slapstick anyway. the bunny ears are. strange.

...never mind who made the ‘talk like a cat’ potion, who packed that box Miranda spilled; that is such an absurd chaotic collection of items organize your shit people. eesh.

Lmao everyone’s #1 creepy ghost theory is, Komui Playing A Dumb Prank.

...okay, Allen’s reaction as the Matron gnaws on his arm, and the fact that everyone’s first assumption is that Allen has annoyed this very sensible woman to the point that she is communicating via teeth, manages to be funny but noooooo, why would you, not Awesome Shoes Lady after she made it through the Level 4 Akuma attack unscathed, come onnnnnn.

okay, uhhh...contagious vampirism zombie thing...lmao everyone gets worried about matron when she bites Miranda, everyone is super embarrassed when Miranda bites Noise, this is just some impressive Not Realizing Shit’s Fucked guys.

okay, zombie horde of various survivors of all the recent massacres.

uh, if this weren’t being dropped at a time of total emotional exhaustion, it would work better. it’s already working better the second time around for the fact that i took a break after the last arc.

considering it comes out monthly and we had a Noah interlude, it probably worked in the original context just fine, but daaaaaamn did this storyline piss me off the first time, all i even remember about it is the rage.

:D Lenalee rescued Tiny Kanda. Who for some reason can interpret her ‘nyah’ sounds.

...how is a stimulant drug contagious via biting.

i remember the first time i read this i naturally assumed the biting disease was derived from Krory. that still would have made more sense.

robot eats notebook, lol...bickering...”my pride won’t allow me to become a zombie” yes allen excellent logic you weirdo.

okay i’m done checking back in when slightly less stupid shit starts happening....

okay never mind the robot’s fireworks blew Allen through a wall, where Krory was suffering in chains, and then the blanket spontaneously combusted, and then there was somebody with an axe...

...and then Allen wakes up and is informed he was knocked out and concludes Krory’s situation was a dream oh come on.

krory is at the door! but being creepy! the robot refuses to open the door out of self-preservation! allen seduces the robot into risking its life!

...

‘this is nostalgic’ with the hero face on i can’t.

okay, so it was Krory, who apparently swallowed the entire bottle of poison, lid included? for some reason?

oh great there’s a parasitic zombie ghost thing riding Reever and sticking its face out his stomach. horror! nope, now played for laughs.

aaaand suddenly veering back into pathos. bonus info about evil human experiments!

...aaaaaand touching bonding moment for the Lees. Aww.

Not only is Komui protective and self-sacrificing, when he isn’t being psychopathic, he has absolved Lenalee of his having sacrificed his entire life to watch over her after she was kidnapped into this.

then a stupid gag! and the ghost does a creepy jealous possession thing! and meanwhile everything is on fire.

et cetera, mood whiplash back and forth at least once every other page...komui starts reciting from memory the names of every single person killed in the Order’s human experiments...

...i don’t think the names are intended as an additional gag, but most of them are fairly odd and many downright improbable, though none truly syllable-mashing outrageous. I’m rather fond of Asia Smet and Oona Boelyn.

a page and a half of heart-rending pathos, and then the robot falls off the ceiling with a huge syringe of ‘vaccine’ it synthesized from Krory’s blood because he was the first infected by the...stimulant...egad, that’s not how any of that works.

and then, and then...anyway then everyone was zombies and the boss from China came in off-panel and fixed everything, as you do.

i truly hate you hoshino katsura, all the more for the fact that i genuinely loved about 15% of that parade of neck-wrenching bullshit.

anyway! that’s all over and done with, we are now on a boat being cute, because allen is using the stolen teleportation Ark that only he can drive to open a door between the old Castle headquarters and this...uh...cave? that they’re moving into.

...oh hey Shadow Of Allen (XIV) is now sporting wings remarkably like the ones Krory had during his drugged vampire zombie freak-out. i bet that means nothing whatsoever.

man whenever Leverrierererererer turns up i hallucinate ominous music. smug assholish ominous music. slimier sounding than the Imperial March, you know?

that’s not just my biases, hoshino-san lights the panels very effectively to create that effect. egad, he’s going to be in command??? is that why the move, because it was easier to undermine komui’s authority if he was removed from his entrenched power base?

...we just covered last chapter that that castle was a leverrier family fortress originally tho. huh.

excessively creepy secret Pope police involved in isolating and depowering Allen.

also lol that is very Japanese-style religious magic going on, that is not what a Catholic ritual binding would look like at all. not that they have as much settled precedent, their demon-fighting standards run much more toward ‘make it go away.’

aw shit komui’s right there and he can’t do shit, best he can get is a promise that ‘if Allen is a good child’ he won’t die.

flashback! aw man allen the first lesson mana ever taught you was to make peace with the dead and let them lie. should’ve listened.

...man allen was a grouchy brat. i wonder what color his hair was, before it went white. haha apparently he acquired his adoptive dad by running away from the circus with him.

pfffffft little allen hated clowns, that achieves the level of actual irony...welp, suicide joke.

aw shit mana was too burned out on grief to cry for his dog but allen could, for the doggie that licked his hand once. imma cry now.

whoa actual conversation with Cross Marian! under the supervision of papal ninjas (known as Crow) within a magic cage of paper. and wow! an actual answer to a question! unprecedented!

...it isn’t labeled which of these kids was Mana and which was (the most recent incarnation of??) the Fourteenth but imma hazard a guess that the one with hair that matches little Allen’s is not Mana.

oh also Adam Puddinghead killed the 14th, i don’t think we officially knew that until now? or maybe it came up when he blew up Edo i don’t recall.

oh my god i was definitely bingeing too hard last time; by the time Cross Marian started referring to the 14th in the second person to Allen my capacity to be astonished or distressed was burned right the fuck out. i was just like ‘yeah yeah figured get on with it.’

it’s actually a pretty dramatic scene, but it’s weird to be getting this shit in straightforward exposition after all this absence of any information at all.

wait “the human implanted with” ... “the host for his revival” ... i can’t tell if Cross Marian is referring to whatever the normal noah transfer process is or some way 14 found of circumventing that.

ohhhhhh man this title page has tiny clown Allen and it is the cutest shit ever.

did i ever tell you guys one time when my mom was two and a half, she had her stage debut as the cutest little pigtailed clown? and she ran onstage toward her daddy just like they’d practiced and the whole audience burst into delighted laughter.

and Tiny!Mom turned to look at them in appalled horror, and u-turned right back around and ran offstage again.

no one had successfully communicated to her she was going to be laughed at by a bunch of strangers. possibly they didn’t expect a toddler to mind.

oh sure Cross Marian, tell the kid the horrifying truth about himself and his dad in the most overdramatic way possible, in front of witnesses, and then when he dissociates in horror just beat the shit out of him until he resets.

the amount of playing abuse for laughs in this series is one of the many emotional strains that led me to drop it the first time.

it’s honestly a contest sometimes who i currently hate most, Marian, you or Labradorito or the Earl. Ech.

‘no idea’ tch. but if you’re saying he implanted his memories into Allen before he died, then...the Earl caught up with the 14th really recently, then?! How long were he and Mana on the run? I totally forgot these details, wow. i suspect some of them will turn out to be false.

...why the fuck are you saying it like this? bastard.

wow CM you almost look spooked by the fact that allen cares more about the possibility that his dad never actually loved him than the prospect of having his mind eaten.

maybe he’d care more about the mind-eating if the 14th was the Earl’s ally instead of planning to use allen as a weapon to kill him? allen is already using himself as a weapon to kill the Earl.

oop, way to get him back on target! “what if i told you you’ll kill the people you care about?”

aaaand cut.

that was like ten chapters’ worth of blather, i need to get more efficient.

[spectrumscribe]

trust fall.

@lgbtmntweek thank you for giving me the excuse to write a soppy hurt/comfort fic for capritello, after that nasty rib cracking incident in Wanted: Bebop and Rocksteady. 

#ProtectThePuckboy2017

(slightly mature jokes told inside, but nothing even close to graphic.)

Casey probably should have expected it to happen, and should have been completely used to it by now. He decides he could just blame getting startled by tapping on his window on the painkillers.

Two shadowy figures crouch outside his bedroom window, somehow hidden perfectly, despite the sun still being in the process of sinking below the city buildings. Ninjas, honestly. They never seemed to let go of the dramatic flair with their appearances.

Then again, who is Casey to talk about drama?

He pops the window lock, and sits gingerly back down on his bed as April and Donnie climb inside. His ribs ache like nothing else, and he very acutely feels the rampant bruising across the front of his chest. Casey isn’t too broken up about it though; it could’ve been punctured lungs or possibly straight up kabob-Jones instead if he hadn’t had his gear on. And with the fights he’s been in, that they’ve all been in over the years, a few broken ribs is small turkey.

Well. Mostly. They still hurt a whole lot and make even getting to the bathroom a pain in the ass.

“You two are out early,” Casey comments, leaning back against his mound of pillows, courtesy of his dad and sister. They’d even brought him dinner in bed, which had been awesome, except also a little lonely in his room with just his laptop and Netflix. Casey doubts he’ll be lonely much longer, now that his partners are here.

“Would have come sooner, but we got held up by Leo,” Donnie says, and what’s that? Casey’s boyfriend looks embarrassed about something. Consider his interest piqued.

“We got the Talk,” April says without a stutter, earning a miserably embarrassed groan from Donnie. She always was the boldest of them with this sort of thing, once she got past the initial three-way romance issues. “He felt it was his leaderly duty to remind us to use protection.”

“We’re eighteen, for god’s sake,” Donnie mutters, dropping his bo staff off the side of the bed. “We know what protection is. And you have broken ribs anyways. We’re not. Doing that for a while.”

Casey grins at Donnie, who avoids his eyes and looks both peeved and shy at the same time and aw, still embarrassed about discussing sex things after all these months? Fucking adorable.

“I told Leo as much,” April adds on, kicking off her shoes and dropping her sword and fan with Donnie’s bo. “Also where he could stick his invasive opinions about our bedroom life.”

Casey snorts, trying to not laugh for the sake of his poor ribs. “Is that why I got a bunch of all caps texts and snapchats from Mike and Raph?”

“Probably speaking. What were they about?”

“Mostly Leo looking like he’s lost his desire to exist.”

“Then yeah, that’s what they were about. I might’ve gotten a little… strong, towards the end.”

Donnie snorts. “Try strong at the beginning and devastating towards the end.”

April shrugs and seems to regret nothing. Casey laughs and does regret it as everything hurts. “Ow, ow, ow, fuuuck this. Hey Don, can I trade you a foot massage for some mutagen? You can just change me back once my ribs are healed and stuff.”

“Uh, no, because that’s an even stupider way to heal faster than Raph’s method. Which is power drinks and in protein smoothies and even more exercise than usual,” Donnie sniffs disgustedly in the way only a medic can. He starts shoving stray pillows out of the way and moving up the bed. “Now strip. I need to look at your chest.”

April makes an interested sound, and Casey pretends to be shocked. “Oh, already? Thought you said-”

“Casey.”

Casey grins unrepentantly, and April giggles into her hands. Donnie gives them both frustrated looks he doesn’t really mean.

“You’re both terrible,” Donnie grumbles.

“That’s Donnie for ‘I love you’,” Casey says in a stage whisper to April, who laughs harder as Donnie cuffs Casey’s ear. “Ow. I thought we were treating me nicely, I’m injured after all-”

“You’re an idiot, that’s what you are,” Donnie snips. Casey sticks out his tongue, but starts to gently pull up his shirt.

April watches with her knees curled at the end of the bed, while Donnie starts examining the wide, dark bruises on Casey’s chest. Casey whines when a stethoscope comes out, frigid on his very tender skin, but breathes when asked as Donnie listens.

“Any coughing? Odd pains?”

“Uh, I feel like a walking bruise? Does that count?”

“Casey.”

“I’m fine, Donnie. The doctor checked me out, said they’d heal up before I knew it.”

Donnie frowns. His worry obviously decreases an astounding 0%. Typical.

“That was really close,” April says softly, looking very intently at the big rhino horn shaped bruise. “Too close.” Donnie looks even more frustrated and worried as she does, and Casey wants to sigh in a way his current lung capacity won’t allow. April continues, “Casey, can you promise me you’ll be more careful next time? Please? This is the second time in just a few months you’ve had to go to the hospital.”

Casey squirms a little, regrets the movement as his ribs and core muscles complain, and settles on pushing Donnie’s hands away from his chest. He pulls down his shirt as he talks. “I’m not doing this stuff on purpose, Apes, I swear. I’d avoid it if I could.”

That’s not the answer April is looking for, judging from the tight, unhappy expression she has. Donnie looks no better as he slides his stethoscope back into his belt pouches. Casey tries to lighten the mood. “Hey, come on you two. No one and nothing can kill Casey Jones- this is but a flesh wound. I’ll be on my feet and kickin’ ass again before you even realize.”

April snorts. “You would say that, even if you lost every limb you had.”

Casey grins. “You know me so well, Red.”

“I know,” April says, fond and sad. “and that’s why I know you won’t promise me to stop getting hurt all the time.”

Casey shrugs. He can’t help it. If there’s danger, if they’ve got enemies, if anyone is looking to hurt him and his- he’ll keep on fighting until it’s over, one way or another. He knows the two overly but justifiably worried people sitting on his bed are similar in that; they’d all keep standing in the line of fire if it meant if it meant protecting someone of their family behind them.

Grim thoughts like that are just a fact for them, even now that Shredder is gone. Sucks, but what can you do? It’s just life for Donnie, and to an extent, it’s just life for April.

Even if April could hide her powers and Kraang DNA the rest of her life, Donnie is a giant mutant turtle, and won’t ever have an easy time with anything. Neither of them will ever have an easy life, really. Casey’s nearly normal next to them, and he knows and accepts the fact that he’ll keep on having to meet crazy dangerous situations head on to stay with them both. He’ll get hurt, it’ll suck, and then he’ll get back up and keep on going. And that’s as much a fact as the other ones are.

Besides, he trusts them to not let him die, even when he gets in over his head. Donnie saved Leo from the brink of death once, with little more than a medical kit and determination, and April literally pulled Donnie’s molecules back out of the atmosphere. Honestly, Casey doesn’t think he couldn’t be safer than with April and Donnie, all things considering.

“I got you two to back me up, so it’s all good,” Casey says, because it’s true. “If I ever got seriously hurt, I know you guys would figure something out.”

“And broken ribs aren’t being seriously hurt?” April asks incredulously.

“Tis but a flesh wound, remember?”

April sighs. “What are we even going to do with you?”

Casey grins at her. “Hopefully things involving kisses.”

“Casey,” Donnie says, exasperated. April chuckles quietly, but stops as Donnie draws himself up; looking at Casey seriously. The mood turns as such again for a moment, and Casey sobers from his teasing.

“Just… try to stay closer to us from now on, okay?” Donnie asks, twisting his hands together. There’s that sort of desperation in his fidgeting, the kind he developed after master Splinter died. About losing people. “This happened because we got too spread out.”

Casey privately thinks that if it hadn’t been him, it would have just been someone else of their group. Someone who could have gotten hurt even worse, possibly killed. But, he doesn’t voice that thought, because it would just make the anxiety in Donnie’s eyes all the worse.

“Now that is something I can promise,” He says instead, grinning more so for Donnie and April’s benefit than his own. “Getting up close and personal with you two happens to be a favorite pastime of mine.”

He waggles his eyebrows a bit, and is pleased to see the tension break between them all. Donnie rolls his eyes, announces Casey will probably be just fine after all, and seems to let go of at least a little of his worry. April keeps smiling, fond and sad, and Casey tries to keep his private emotions in check while his psychic girlfriend is in the room. She can probably tell his slight bluffs anyways.

“So… you guys busy tonight?” Casey asks in the lull. “’cause I think I know a guy who’s looking for a movie date right around now.”

“Are you lonely, Jones?” April asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“I might be something close to that, yes.”

“Leo said we should be back for evening training, but I doubt he actually thought we’d show up,” Donnie says. He kicks Casey’s legs, though with obvious care. “Shove over. I’m putting dents in your wall like this.”

“Not like it wasn’t dented before,” Casey points out, because considering how many trials and errors they’ve done on his creaky old queen sized mattress, the amount of dents and scrapes in his wall are actually fewer than there could have been. Three people is tricky, even just with cuddling and goofing off.

April starts crawling up the bed, picking carefully around Casey’s limbs, unlike Donnie. “I think there’s been enough denting of things for a while,” She says, coming up Casey’s right side and pecking him gently on the cheek. “Let’s just watch something inane and pointless and trash-talk it the whole time.”

“Fair enough,” Casey admits. He’s more than amiable to the situation if it involves being sandwiched by his two favorite people. “I just got a new season of Master Chef and Forged in Fire. How about one of those?”

“Perfect.”

“How about we vacillate between the two?” Donnie suggests, retrieving Casey’s laptop off the floor. He does so by leaning over the edge, craning himself to avoid squishing April and Casey’s legs. Neither Casey nor April is particularly helpful- poking his cartilage hard belly with their toes the whole time, making Donnie squeak and glare at them.

He still gives Casey a kiss, and then April, even though they keep purposefully bugging him as he sets up their shows. They can’t help it; Donnie is just too much fun to make squeak with well-aimed toe pokes.

“Terrible,” Donnie repeats to them both, but the scolding effect is lost because it’s between kisses.

In the end, Casey is laid comfortable against a thin pillow between his bruise ribs and Donnie’s chest, with April’s compact furnace of a body pressed up against him. April’s ponytail musses as she lays her head on Casey’s shoulder, and Donnie’s cheek rests on the side of Casey’s head. The laptop rests mostly on Casey’s lap, though it gets jostled a little now and then as their legs tangle together.

The three of them groan and snark as a bladesmith dunks his knife too soon into the oil, probably putting fissures in the blade and screwing himself over for getting into the next round- and Casey barely feels a single throb from his ribs, surrounded the way he is by protective care.

Maybe he’s not as indestructible as he likes to portray, but Casey doesn’t even spare a second thought to worrying about future injuries.

After all, when he’d been flying through the air without any left inside him, April had caught him, and held him close while Casey tried and failed to breathe right. Furiously shielding him from anything else that might’ve tried to hurt him, ferocious enough no one had so much as considered it twice. And after that, Donnie had picked Casey up like he was something too fragile to even touch, and carried him safely out of danger. Not stopping until they were on a rooftop far from the action, and then launching straight into doctor’s mode.

Casey is safe and warm now, tucked between Donnie and April both, and he’d been safe then, on a roof with the two of them looking at him with so much concern and care it’d stuttered his heart.

[twothousandonehundredninetynine]

OOOOoooooOooooOooOooo

ITS 2AM SO LETS START. ( excuse my ramblings, grammar and so on and so forth)

Unlikely Characters From The Beginning Who I Want to Be Seen But Won’t: 

Atom: The first person the audience sees Clarke’s “kill”. For me, ( I know this might sound weird) this was one of the many reasons that I started to like the character of Clarke. Here she had this boy suffering in front of her, a boy that had technically been at odds with her seeing as he was with Bellamy’s “Whatever the hell we want motto” and it didn’t matter. She saw someone who was suffering, someone who understood the gravity of the matter. But it gave us a look into who Clarke is and I for one would really think this would be awesome to revisit. 

Charlotte- Just as unlikely as the first, this was a pretty traumatic death for the beginnings of Clarke and Bellamy leadership on the ground. The killer of Wells but also a little girl who had these demons just like the rest of the 100.  And who was told the little speech about facing your demons by Bellamy. Which this speech was given again by Octavia to Rose in this season . Again, not entirely necessary to the storyline in terms of TV but it would be pretty cool to see. 

Dante Wallace: I know it sounds weird. But is it? Honestly wouldn’t it be interesting to see her interact with the person who told her the mantra of “ I bear it, so they don’t have to?” Like how would this conversation go 4 seasons after Clarke bearing so much responsibility from their original conversation? We hear this said before the destruction of Mt. Weather and again when she injects herself with Nightblood. WHICH GETS HER INTO THIS SITUATION. Anyway would be interesting right??

More Likely People Who SHOULD Be Seen But Won’t: 

WELLS: THIS BOY WAS HER FREAKIN’ BEST FRIEND FOR LIKE 10+ YEARS BUT HASNT BEEN MENTIONED LIKE ONCE. Anyway, honestly if these were the the books  it wouldn’t be too far-fetched that he would “appear” to Clarke but considering his screen time on the 100 he’ll probably won’t be seen HOPEFULLY maybe mentioned- see Clarke’s skybox drawing- but it  probably won’t go past that. 

Harper- GIRLLLLLL, she was part of the 100 but unlike Monty her relationship with Clarke was superficial at best. OF course, I mean this regarding the screen time they had together on the 100- from there I’m sure they were fond and cared for the other- see Jordan Green-  but again she should be seen or mentioned but probably won’t. 

Jasper: I think Jasper would provide an interesting take “appearing” to Clarke. Like what would be said, would an ‘I told you so’ be given or would a Monty-esqe message be given to her of a “do better” speech. Idk, I would like to see this since he was on her mind at the beginning of the 6 years but the possibility of seeing him? very unlikely. 

People I Hope to See and Probably Would Due to Theories and Promo Pics:

Monty: Like DUH.  It would be SHOCKING if he didn’t make an appearance. WHY? because there has  been a mention of his character almost  every episode if not all episodes  this season. Deserving? Yes. And thus should allow for him to “appear” to Clarke.   

Bellamy: IDK BUT I mean she did promise him she wouldn’t forget he was family. So like why not? If so, this would be super awesome. Honestly all my expectations with Bellarke are low. Keep them low so the feelings can feel high. ;)

OBVS Jake Griffin: He was the one to “appear” to her while she was high on Jobi Nuts. Why not  appear to her when she’s dead? But in all honesty I’m pretty excited for this meeting. It’ll be interesting to see them interact and HOPEFULLY talk about Clarke’s life since the beginning of Season 1. 

And Lastly, The I Have No Idea But Probably Audio of Conversation will be Used To Motivate Clarke ? :

Lexa: Her former lover and the person who told her in her dying breath that love isnt weakness. Who, also, through the flame told Clarke that she shouldn’t leave the people/ person she loves behind as it’ll be her biggest regret. So is Clarke going to have the option to fight her way out or be complacent in the mind of Josephine. Will Clarke decide to fight so she won’t have to leave the people she loves behind? - I mean of course we know that Clarke is fighting her way out but it won’t be easy. So will the people she loves be the thing that keeps her grounded during her mind fight? Time will only tell. 

Now that @historyofbellarke mentions it I would like to see younger versions of our living characters pleaseeeee.

Guesses on who is coming back in 6x07?

Gimme your guesses people.

We know for sure: Jake and at least a brief glimpse of Lexa

 I think we might see (based on rumors and hints): Monty

But beyond that, I’m completely in the dark. I’d love to see some combination of: Jasper, Maya, Atom, Roan, Wells, or younger versions of our still-living characters.

It might (probably will) only end up being Jake and Monty but damnit let’s speculate lol. Share widely! I want lots of ideas ranging from possible to lol never gonna happen. Have at it!

Tagging to start off: @junebugninja @geekyogicheese @iishallbelieve @hostagetakerandhistraitor @nvermindiseeyou @buttered-rice1 @clarkeywifey @broashcol @clarkeywarrior @natassakar @twothousandonehundredninetynine @krstnrhodes

[a-berry-in-lights-blog]

personal tutoring meeting (continued)

Finn and Rachel continue their second tutoring meeting at Finn’s house, and they learn that they have a lot more in common than what they expect and learn a lot about one another.

Finn led the way to his bedroom, glad that it was clean, though it was embarrassing to have a girl in his room that was covered in posters of his favorite video games and sleepovers. He pulled the chair at his desk out for her and then sat on the edge of his bed. "Sorry, my mom is a little overbearing sometimes."

Rachel followed Finn to his room and took in the surroundings once she made it inside. It was interesting, to say the least. It definitely showed everything that he loved and that was alright, he was allowed to express himself in his own space. If anyone saw her room, they would be shocked that she had half of the things that she did. Taking a seat, Rachel looked over at him with a questioning look. "What exactly did you get in trouble for? Tutoring me is your...punishment?" Rachel was a bit confused but looked at him and waited for a response. 

Finn shrugged his shoulders as he looked down at his notebook, his fingers toying with the edge of the paper. "It was stupid. I got caught with marijuana at school and they told me that I wouldn't be able to finish out debate season or be on the team next year if I didn't do this... Or I could face suspension." he bit his lip, shaking his head.

Rachel stared at him as he spoke about what he had gotten in trouble for. Finn smoked marijuana? "You smoke?" Rachel was shocked, she didn't believe it at all. "I didn't see you as being someone who did any of that, you seem like a person who would frown upon that." Rachel looked down at her book and then back up at Finn. She only tried it a few times but was not fond of it at all. "Well, I'm sorry you got stuck with me. I didn't think that it was a punishment, but I can understand why you would not want to tutor."

Finn decided to avoid her question because truthfully he hadn't really tried to smoke before. "Its okay, it's not the worst punishment ever. It is way better than being suspended."

Rachel noticed that her question was avoided, and she decided not to press further on the issue. She knew now that he was in a similar situation as hers, do it or be off the squad/suspended. "I try to be bearable to be around sometimes," she said as she looked back down at the notes that she had written about the subject.

Finn "I have to admit, this is going better than I expected it to." He gave her a small smile. "I mean, I'm sure you know your friends don't exactly like me. I figured you would be in with that too."

Rachel looked up from her notes and then looked at him. She was surprised to hear that he had actually not disliked their time together. When he made the comment about his friends, her face dropped and she looked back down at her hands. She really did feel bad to have put him through as much as her friends did. "I know you probably won't believe it, but I feel bad whenever they treat you terribly. I run the school, yes, and people think that makes me some sort of evil bitch. I know it's not an excuse, but being around those type of people, you have to join them or get your whole life ruined. I'm sorry they are like that and I'm sorry I did nothing to stop that." Where was all of this coming from? Rachel had no motive to be nice anymore, seeing as he technically was forced to do this. But he was a human being and no one deserved to be treated the way he was treated.

Finn didn't want to ruin their dynamic by not forgiving her, though he did not feel like he should forgive her. Her friends made his life hell and she watched without saying a word. "It's just high school, it won't last forever. I'm just getting through the rest of this year so that I can do concurrent enrollment next year. Then I won't have to spend so much time at the high school." he shrugged.

Rachel looked at him with sympathetic eyes and listened to what he was saying. Her friends made his lives so rough that he was going to try to be at the school less than usual. That made her heart break, honestly. She wanted to make a stand and say something to her friends, but she knew what they would do to her. She was torn. "I appreciate your help," Rachel said, trying to change the subject from what they were talking about. "I see that you have a lot of posters on your walls," she said as her eyes wandered throughout the room. There were a few that she did not recognize. "What are some of these about?"

Finn was surprised that Rachel wanted to hear about his interests, though he had the feeling she was trying to deflect from the conversation. "Oh um.. I don't know if you wanna know." he said with a nervous laugh. "This one is Skyrim and this one is Destiny. They're my favorite video games.” he pointed at a couple of posters. “And uh, Star Wars, obviously. And this one is just a collage of my favorite DC superheroes. My friend Charlie drew it for me, she's super talented.”

Rachel nodded her head as he spoke, looking at all of the posters as he gave an explanation for them. It was interesting to watch him speak about things that he liked, she only ever saw people trying to impress her when they spoke. She knew that he was probably a bit embarrassed to speak about this, but she just listened. Her eyebrows raised as she looked at the drawing, hearing about his friend Charlie. "Who is Charlie?" She probably wouldn't know the girl, but was still a bit curious. Why? She didn't know.

Finn "Charlie is my friend. She goes to Lima University. She's in my D-" he decided to not to divulge too much information. "She hangs out with me and my friends for game night."

Rachel: "Oh, alright." Rachel spoke, she definitely did not know who Charlie was. "I'm glad that you have some friends that you can enjoy game night with. "I've heard of a few of these but have never seen them or anything."

Finn "You've never seen Star Wars?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought everyone had seen it. You'll have to check it out someday. It can be cheesy but it's amazing."

Rachel felt a blush creep on her cheeks when he asked her about Star Wars. "I have not ever seen Star Wars," she admitted. "I didn't really watch many movies growing up so I have missed out on a lot of classics that there are out there." She looked back up at the Star Wars poster, studying it a bit. She had heard about it but never saw it. Her and Sam never had movie nights, all they did when they hung out was hang out with other people so she never had the chance to with it with someone. "Maybe I will," she smiled at him as she spoke. "Sam doesn't watch movies with me and neither do any of the Cheerios, maybe I'll have to watch it on my own one day."

Finn "Ah, well I guess a lot of people don't like to sit around watching movies.. I can't blame them. If you want to borrow my movies sometime, you can." he offered. "So uh... How is the homework going?" Rachel looked at him when he said that she could borrow his movies if she wanted. "Thank you, Finn. That would be nice." She looked down at her homework and shrugged. "Well, it's homework and I wish I didn't have to do it." She chuckled, looking over at him. "But I'm understanding it more, thanks to your help."

Finn "I hate homework too." he said with a nod. "Its a necessary evil though. Hopefully you can get your grades up so you don't have to worry about it so much."

Rachel "Thank you for doing this for me, really. I know you are kinda forced to but I owe you if my grades go up." Rachel smiled and nodded at him. "Really I do, I'm not exactly sure with what. I'm great at baking, though! I can make some wonderful cookies or banana bread. Or whatever it is you like." Finn "Its okay. It will be worth it to just forget about the marijuana thing. But banana bread does sound pretty awesome."

Rachel agreed with what he was saying. "Well, we all do things that aren't good ideas or in our best interest. It's all apart of high school." She said with a shrug, and her face lit up when he said that banana bread sounds awesome. "I make the best banana bread in all of Ohio. Not even kidding! It's amazing and I am very proud of it."

Finn "Cool, I'll have to try it some time." he looked at her with a smile, then quickly looked back down. "So did you want to meet at your house next time?"

Rachel nodded her head at him, "yes, I would like that." She looked down at her notes once again, and she was content with everything that she had learned that evening. "Oh," she remembered, looking at Finn. "My algebra test was today and I feel like I did a decent job on it." She was pretty damn excited about that too

Finn "Oh good! I'm glad to hear that. If you want, I can help you with all of your homework for that class so you don't ever start getting behind." he suggested.

Rachel "You would do that for me?" Rachael spoke up, really Thankful to have Finn here for her and her studies. He was a life saver. "I can't thank you enough," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. She smoothed her dress out once again and looked at him with a smile. "I felt a whole lot more confident today during my test as well. Usually all I feel is dread when I take a test." It was nice to feel confident in herself in a subject that she did not do well in.

Finn "Well I'm your tutor, so yeah. I don't mind helping at all." he said with a half smile. "I'm glad I could help with that. Sometimes you just need to hear things the right way so it clicks for you."

Rachel had to say that Finn was a pretty cool guy, and he was incredibly helpful. "Well, thank you for offering and thank you for helping. And thank you for letting me invade your room." Rachel looked around once again and then turned to him with a smile. "I know you still aren't that incredibly comfortable around me, and I want you to be. And I want to be comfortable around you, so maybe we should get to know one another a little bit more? Like, personally? Not just "Rachel the bitchy Cheerleader" or "Finn the marijuana smoking tutor"", she teased.

Finn "You're welcome." He responded with a nod. Hearing that she wanted to get to know one another, Finn raised his eyebrows. "um.. okay.. What do you want to know?"

Rachel chuckled, she could tell that he was not used to getting to know someone like this. "Well," she stood up, walking over to one of his posters. "I see that you like all of these things that are on your walls and you said you have a game night with friends and such." She turned to him and looked at. "What are your friends like? And what all do you like to do for fun?"

Finn "My friends are all older pretty much, except for Puck. We've been friends since we were like toddlers so he doesn't really count though. I don't know, we usually just play video games and watch movies. Just.. Hang out." he shrugged. "What do you do for fun? Besides cheerleading and stuff."

Rachel watched him as he spoke about his friends, really listening to what he has to say. It sounded like he had a decent group of friends around him. "None of them go to the high school?" No wonder he was alone and trying to get out as soon as possible. "Well, in my spare time, I do enjoy to sing and to dance, which isn't really something I have ever told my friends. They assume that I can dance, but the singing part? They'd burn me. But I enjoy doing that, and when I'm home with my dads, on the rare occasion that they are home, we have family game night that I really look forward to."

Finn "No.. in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly liked at school. I'm not sure what I did, but whatever it was made everyone hate me. Not complaining, I'm fine hanging by myself and focusing on my education, but I think hanging around me is just asking to be a slushie target." He listened to her and was shocked that she liked to sing, even more so that her friends didn't know about it because she was embarrassed. "What kind of stuff do you like to sing?" he asked her

Rachel felt her heart breaking as she spoke. The more that she thought about it, the more she questioned why they picked on Finn as badly as they did. She looked down at the floor, trying not to look incredibly guilty. It was terrible feeling like this, and this is how Finn felt day in and day out. She was gonna make it up to him one day, she promised herself that. "Well," Rachel began, walking around his room and looking up at the walls some more. "I have to say that I do like some Rock music, that is always fun to jam to, like the classics and such. I, of course, listen to pop music as well." She felt her face heat up at what she was about to admit out loud next. "If I have to be honest, my guilty pleasure is show tunes. When I was really little, I always could see myself being a star one day, but that all went away when my fathers said that I needed to be well liked and have a good reputation and focus on a career that can get me paid."

Finn "You should definitely try to be on Broadway if that's something you still want to do. Nobody should be stuck doing something they don't want in life. I hear New York City is the place to go for that kinda thing. Maybe you'll end up there." he felt strange, putting a human emotion behind someone like Rachel Berry who he had always thought was just another drone.

Rachel shook her head at Finn, rubbing her arm gently. "I don't think I could ever be that talented to be on Broadway. It's a shot in the dark, I haven't prepared myself for it or even put any thought into it once my parents said it wasn't worth it. I buried it deep down, but I still listen to show tunes because they just make me happy. They put me in another world where I don't have all of these standards to live up to." Rachel knew she was talking too much, and she turned away from Finn and looked at more of his things in his room. She seriously could not believe she was spilling all of this about herself, this was stuff no one knew. And she was telling Finn? It was all very strange to her.

Finn "You never know unless you try." he shrugged. "Just do whatever makes you happy. It makes life way easier." he said, half playfully.

Rachel "You're pretty smart, so I feel like I have to listen to your advice." Rachel smirked and turned back around to face him. "Maybe one day I will be on a stage somewhere. Maybe. Like you said, you never knew unless you try it out." She looked up at Finn and was happy that she was able to have a conversation with him, just the two of them talking. It would make spending some time with him easier and less awkward. "So, what type of music do you listen to?"

Finn "I'm not that smart. Book smart, but... That's not everything." he shrugged. "I like classic rock.. Journey, The Cars, The Rolling Stones.. Stuff like that." Rachel "You're a lot smarter than a lot of people that I know. A lot of the people that we go to school with have no common sense." She smiled as he mentioned the bands that he enjoyed, nodding her head at him. "I get into the classic rock mood all of the time. I have a Journey CD in my car that I listen to all of the time. It's just something that I enjoy listening to."

Finn "I agree with you on that one but I think it's kind of a trend at school to pretend you're really stupid so you don't seem lame." he shook with his head a chuckle. "I really love Journey, so that's cool. I wouldn't peg you as a rock kind of person."

Rachel "I have to agree with you there. I have always been on top of my grades, but I have been very distracted as of lately and that is why my grades slipped. If my fathers knew that my grades were so bad, I would be getting screamed at." She shuddered, thinking about the consequences of them finding out about what her grades are. "I grew up listening to rock. I have two gay fathers, but they know their music. Their love of music is what gave me my love of music, they just, again, don't see it being a career that one can excel in from a smaller town like ours."

Finn "They won't find out as long as we're able to work together on this. I promise I can help you get your grades up." he told her with a smile. "You can always have music as a hobby though. Once you get to college you will be able to meet more people that like to do that kinda thing. Sing and what not.'

Rachel believed Finn when he said he promised he was gonna help her get her grades up. When she sees what she got on her Algebra test, then she will know for sure that this is something that is benefiting her. "I know I keep saying this, but thank you." They may not have been hanging out with one another long, but she thought that Finn was a very decent guy. "You're a very nice guy and you don't deserve any of the bullying that you get." She made a mental note to make sure that the football team stays off of his back. She has that power to do that. When he mentioned college, she sighed and felt worry course through her body. She hadn't even thought about that yet, all she has been thinking about was football games, homecoming and this year's prom. "I haven't even began to look into colleges yet." She looked over at him, "do you know what college you would want to go to?"

Finn 's smile fell a little when she mentioned the bullying but picked it back up with a tight smile. "Thank you." He said quietly. "I'm not sure entirely yet, it will all depend on where I get into but I honestly am hoping I get into Harvard so that I can go to their law school eventually. But... It would be hard to actually leave my mom alone here. She kind if needs me, so we will see. If she marries the dude she's with now, I will definitely go out of state."

Rachel noticed the change in his facial features when she mentioned the bullying, and she knew that he was just being nice for the sake of them working together. He didn't like to have it acknowledged it seemed, and she knew that he did not forgive her for it. That is something that she will have to live with. "Harvard?" Rachel was quite impressed, but Finn was smart, and she knew that he would be able to get into Harvard if he tried hard enough. But she understood leaving his mother, that would have to be difficult. Rachel noticed that he did not like his mother's boyfriend, but she didn't think it would be appropriate to ask about it right now. "Well, I think you would get into Harvard if you applied. You never know what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it." She winked at him, he was being inspirational to her and now she was being inspirational to him.

Finn "Well if I get suspended or kicked off the debate team I might lose my chance at a scholarship so I have to stay on track." he bit his lip as he looked down.

Rachel "You're not gonna get suspended, because you're gonna be a great tutor to me and we will make sure that you get into a great college, okay?" Rachel looked at him as he looked down, knowing that he was nervous about losing his shot at making it to a decent college. "DId they say how long you have to tutor me until you are off of the hook?"

Finn "You have to be to at least a B average by the end of the semester."  He fidgeted with his hands a little as he spoke.

Rachel thought for a moment, trying to think about what her grades were right now. She knew that they were not the greatest right now, but she had to try her hardest in order for Finn to not take the fall for smoking marijuana on school grounds...which she still didn't buy that he did that. But she was determined to make sure that Finn was off the hook and that she had decent grades by the end of the semester. If that meant that she had to see her friends less and Sam less, then so be it. "We can make that happen."

Finn nodded his head "I think we can too. It will help both of us in the end so we have the motivation to do it. I'm just glad they didn't stick me with someone who doesn't care about their grades."

Rachel "I'm happy that they gave me someone who cares about my grades, too, though. I know that you care about them because you do not want to be in trouble, but I know you genuinely care as well." Rachel looked at him with a smile on her face, taking the ponytail holder that she had on her wrists and pulling her hair back into a low ponytail. She always did that whenever she got warm, she got dedicated or she got nervous. It just seemed to be a habit. "I don't know how long you wish for me to stay, but I know that a majority of my homework got done. If I ever get in your hair or bug you, you can simply ask me to leave." Rachel didn't want to overstep any boundaries and stay too long. This was her first time at his home, anyway.

Finn "Only because you've been nice." he responded quietly. He watched her pull her hair up and tried not to think about how pretty she was as she did so. He looked down again, adjusting his glasses until she spoke again. "Oh. uh.. You're not bothering me. It's kind of nice to just sit and talk." he admitted.

Rachel heard his quiet response and gave him a small smile. "Okay," she replied, glad to know that she was not bugging the boy she was talking to. She was getting a bit tired of standing up and decided to make a bold move, even if it was just a question. "Do you mind if I sit next to you? The desk seems a bit far away and standing it making me a bit tired," she chuckled a bit at herself, hoping that he would allow her to sit on his bed, if he was comfortable with that.

Finn nodded his head and scoot over to give her room to sit beside him. He pat the bed beside him and watched her. "Is your coach going to let you stay in cheer while we do tutoring?"

Rachel was glad that he allowed her to sit next to him, smiling at the boy as she took a seat on his bed. It was rather comfortable, and she scooted over a bit to give him some room as well. "I don't know, everyone will be asking why I'm not there, but I don't know if I want to face them right now." She shrugged her shoulders, turning to look at him. Biting her lip, she spoke again. "I was hoping that they would let me, I'll have to talk to Coach Sylvester tomorrow."

Finn "Oh. Hopefully she lets you. That would kind of suck for them to go without their captain for no reason. The debate team freaks out when I have to miss a meeting, so I can imagine." Rachel agreed with him. How was she supposed to lead the team if she wasn't there? Coach Sylvester would have yo understand. "We're both important people, hmm?" Rachel smiled at him after she said that, knowing that the debate team was probably very important to Finn, much like cheerleading to her.

Finn "There's not that much to leading debate." he shook his head. He looked over at her, studying her face. He really was just surprised she was still here with him. Was he actually making a friend?

Rachel "You have to be able to argue and such to do debate, right?" She assumed it wouldn't be all that difficult to do but still, it was something he was good at. "Still, you're their leader, and every team needs their leader." She smiled over at him, then looked back down at her hands in her lap.

Finn "uh kind of." he said with a small laugh. "Just debate. You are given a topic and have to make people feel for it against it." He nodded his head when she said he was their leader. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

Rachel nodded as he spoke, she always thought that debate was just people arguing. "How often do you have meetings for debate? And when do you compete?" She was interested, she never even thought about the other clubs in school and how they worked. "Is it similar to cheerleading with your meetings and competitions and such?"

Finn "We meet on Tuesdays and we usually have debates on Saturdays, it just depends. I don't know how it is with cheerleading, but we just go to an auditorium and have two people duke it out on stage. It's not very exciting."

Rachel thought that it seemed a bit interesting, a lot less entertaining than what she did but to each their own. If he enjoyed it, he enjoyed it. "Well, good for you, I'm glad that you found something you enjoy doing."

Finn "Its not fun or anything, just looks good for college. " he shrugged.

Rachel "I understand that, I was hoping that being the head cheerleader would help get me onto a cheer squad somewhere in college maybe?" She wasn't sure, she knew that he academics weren't up to the standards, but with Finn's help, maybe she would focus on other ways to get into college. "But, now that I have someone to help me out with my grades for right now, maybe it can raise my GPA and I can find ways to get into college with my academics alone."

Finn "Yeah, maybe, if that's where you want to focus. I think it would be good for you to do that. It kind of cuts into your personal life though." Rachel had decisions that she had to make in the near future, difficult ones. "I know that I don't want to ve stuck in this town for the rest of my life. I need to take school seriously so I can get out of here and make a name for myself wherever I go."

Finn "College is provably the best way to do that. Unless your parents are rich." he joked.

Rachel "Well, I am very fortunate to have parents that have a good income, both of them being lawyers. However, I don't know if they would just throw money at me and then let me go wherever I wanted to. They're gonna miss their baby girl when she leaves," Rachel said with a laugh and rolled her eyes. Finn "Ah, well they'll have to let go eventually. You can't stay in Lima forever if you don't want to."

Rachel agreed with him completely. "You're right. They need to let their daughter grow at some point. I love them, but they can be overwhelming sometimes."

Finn "They probably just want the best for you. My mom gets that way too and I get annoyed but I guess if I have kids someday I will probably be the same way."

Rachel "I understand that, but it's still annoying, you know?" Rachel looked to the side and thought about her dads. They always wanted what was best for her but did they know what was best for her? They never talked to her. "My parents don't really talk to me much."

Finn "They don't? Even when you have your family game night?"

Rachel shook her head, looking up at him. "When we have family game night, they speak about their jobs the entire time. All they know about me is that I'm the head cheerleader." She liked to tell people that he parents and her had a great relationship because she was embarrassed to admit that her fathers barely know her. "I guess it's because they're so busy. I never told anyone that before."

Finn watched her speak and gave her a small smile "Do you try to talk to them about things?"

Rachel stopped, looking over at him. "I guess, I mean I don't really put forth effort myself, so maybe that might be why?" Rachel thought about it, maybe if she tried then they could have a decent conversation. "Maybe I should give it a try."

Finn "I'm sure if you tried they would talk to you.. I don't them but that would be strange if they didnt." he shrugged.

Rachel nodded her head at what he was saying. "I think that you are right, I think they just get too busy and then talk about their work so mch that they forget." She wasn't exactly sure why, but other than family game nights, they don't usually talk to her.

Finn "Well I'm sorry, that's gotta be hard to feel like you can't talk to them." he said with a frown.

Rachel "It's alright, I've gotten used to it." Changing the subject, Rachel turned her body a bit toward Finn and smiled. "Enough about my parents, but what is your mother like? She seemed nice."

Finn shrugged "I don't know, she's cool. She works a lot but... she's a good mom."

Rachel "I'm glad to hear she is a good mom. She looked like she would be a sweetheart." Rachel smiled, but that smile faded as she thought about her mother and how she has never met her. She recovered from it quick though and put on her best smile. "Having two dads, I don't get to have a woman figure in my life to look up to."

Finn "I could see where that would kind of suck. If it helps, I don't have a dad so.. It's always just been my mom and I."

Rachel "Really?" Rachel didn't know that he didn't have a dad, she just assumed he lived elsewhere. "I'm sorry to hear that, Finn. I just thought your parents has gotten a divorce." She felt bad now. She could tell he didn't like his mother's boyfriend, so that must make it a whole lot worse as well.

Finn "Its okay. I don't really talk to anyone at school, so it's not like you'd know." he shrugged.

Rachel didn't want to overstep any boundaries and ask a lot of questions, so she just let Finn talk and then nodded her head. "Well, I'm glad I'm getting to know you. Who would have thought that we would have some stuff in common?"

Finn "I would have never guessed." he said with a small laugh. He still wondered if her being nice to him had a different motive, like she was going to go to school and tell her friends that he was even more pathetic at home than at school, so he was being a little more reserved with her.

Rachel had to agree with the boy. Who would have guessed that the head Cheerio and the kid on the debate team would have something in common? It was odd, but a good odd. She actually enjoyed talking with the boy. "Thank you for listening to me talk, I appreciate it."

Finn "Of course. You were right, getting to know each other will probably help make this tutoring thing easier."

Rachel "Exactly. I don't want you to feel awkward around me when we tutor, and vice versa." Rachel placed a strand of hair that fell out of her ponytail behind her ear and smiled at him. Really looking at him, Rachel realized that he was pretty attractive. She noticed that the first time that they met up but she still was looking at him as "Finn the geek", not the Finn that she has gotten to know a bit.

Finn sat quietly for a moment, looking at her every so often before he finally spoke. "Well, I have some homework I needed to get done. I should probably start that."

Rachel "Oh, yes, I don't want to take up all of your time." Rachel stood up from his bed, going over to the desk to collect her things. "When would you like to meet up again?"

Finn "You're not taking up my time, I just have to be responsible. " he gave a nervous chuckle. "That's up to you,  I'm good for whenever you need help. "

Rachel nodded at him, "I understand completely. You are such a good student, and you have to keep up that reputation." She giggled softly, putting her backpack over her shoulder and turning around to face him. "Well, I am free tomorrow after practice if that would work for you?"

Finn "Yeah, we can do that. Your house this time?"

Rachel "That works well with me. My fathers will be at work until late so you won't have to worry about running into them."

Finn "Oh, it's fine if they would be there. Homework doesn't really fall under the kind of activity parents watch over." he joked.

Rachel went wide-eyed for a moment, then laughed it off. "I know, I was just saying that you wouldn't have to meet two men at one time rather than a mother and a father. Sometimes people can get intimidated by them. Sam completely screwed it up and was rude around them and they hate him, so he never comes around."

Finn "I'm great with parents." he teased. "Sounds like Sam was just nervous or something."

Rachel smiled at him, he seemed like the type of person that would be good with parents. He's a wholesome, good guy. "You know how Sam is," Rachel said, looking at him and then looking at the ground. "He can't keep his mouth shut, and he said some homophobic slurs to me about my dads and then was just overall snobby to them."

Finn "Why would you be with someone who thinks that way about your family?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Rachel realized what she said, that she told him what Sam had really said about her fathers. She had never told anyone that before because she didn't want people to know. But now that it was out in the open, she bit her lip and looked down in shame. "I didn't mean to say that," she looked back up at him. "But more than likely, he would try to destroy me if I broke up with him." Really, their relationship was for show. People didn't know what happened with them behind closed doors.

Finn paused for a long moment "Thats... Awful. You should probably reconsider your friends." He knew he shouldn't have said that, so he shook his head. "Anyways, I really should finish my homework up."

Rachel didn't say anything to the comment about her friends, but she pushed that piece of hair behind her ear once more and nodded her head. "You're right, I'm sorry to keep you." She was quieter than before, and she walked up to Finn and smiled softly at him. "Good luck on your homework and I will see you tomorrow."

Finn nodded his head and walked her to the front door to open it for her. "Goodnight, Rachel."

Rachel "Goodnight, Finn." She waved and turned to walk away, heading to her car and driving home for the evening.

[scheduledfor1fall]

Raw 3/22/93 Review

Well, this is it, everyone. The last episode of Raw before the big stinker itself: Wrestlemania 9! After sifting through weeks of Raw and watching the card come together, I’ve gotten it in my head that following my review of Wrestlemania IX, which shouldn’t be too much longer after this, I’ll be making a post with my ideas for improving the show. I’m usually not too fond of armchair booking, per se. I usually do it in terms of predicting where the booking might go and comparing it to my own predictions, but I just don’t have it in me to pull out booking ideas as a WhatCulture-esque “I could do it better” game. That said, Wrestlemania IX to this day has a reputation of being one of the worst, if not the single worst Wrestlemania of all time, and I think outside of large scale angles like The Invasion, would probably be a common target for rebooking. So, expect to see those two posts in the near future. But, for now, let’s get right into it; the go-home show for Wrestlemania!

 Raw starts with the intro and goes right into introducing our commentators for the night, Savage, Bartlett, and McMahon. After Bartlett’s tedious imitation of McMahon last week, I’m weirdly relieved to see the genuine article here at ringside. We’re back at the Manhattan Center, as they run down the card, which reads like any other mediocre episode of Raw from this time. Excitement! The Bushwhackers music hits for what I believe is their debut on Raw. Already in the ring is the awesome tag team of Damien Demento and Repo Man. After some delay, the Bushwhackers are seen parading around the balcony. Back from the break, as the Bushwhackers are still in the crowd, albeit in the lower level. They climb in the ring, and one of them plants a kiss on the larger ring girl, who seems to be a recurring character on Raw.

 THE BUSHWHACKERS DEF. DAMIEN DEMENTO AND REPO MAN BY PINFALL VIA BATTERING RAM:

 Yuck. Awful, awful match. I’m aware of The Bushwhackers’ reputation as violent heels, but they were just abysmal here. Lots of biting, lots of deliberately missed spots, and just general goofiness that wasn’t even entertaining enough to laugh at. At least Demento and Repo Man tried. 1/4 *.

 After the match, Vince speculates that we may be seeing more of The Bushwhackers in the future, which I take as a threat. After the break, out comes Tatanka, for what feels like his ten thousandth match in the Manhattan Center. He’s squaring off against Reno Riggins, a longtime jobber best known for his work in Memphis in the 90’s:

 TATANKA DEF. RENO RIGGINS BY PINFALL VIA SAMOAN DROP:

 Your usual Tatanka squash. I’m not sure if the crowd’s just getting jaded on Raw in general, but they were deathly silent for this match. Maybe it’s a condemnation of Tatanka, or maybe they’ve just seen it all at this point. I know I feel that way watching Tatanka on Raw.

 After the match, Vince McMahon announces that a WWF Hall of Fame was recently formed, and the first inductee is none other than the recently deceased Andre the Giant. We get a nice video package highlighting Andre’s career in the WWF, officially signaling his induction. The story of Andre the Giant is absolutely extraordinary, and he’s honestly one of my favorite wrestlers to just read about. Classy tribute to the Eight Wonder of the World. After the break, out comes the Tag Team Champions Money Inc., as they get ready to face the team of Scott Rich and Jeff Armstrong. Before the match, IRS warns the crowd that the tax deadline is drawing near, advising them not to cheat on their taxes. I adore the one-track nature of IRS:

 MONEY INC. DEF. SCOTT RICH AND JEFF ARMSTRONG BY PINFALL VIA CLOTHESLINE:

 Short, one-sided squash. I was actually very distracted here, as they cut to Rob Bartlett switching through channels at ringside during the match. Well, that’s a nice idea to plant into the viewer’s head. Actually, if I were watching live, I would probably just stick with the program, just so I could be doing the opposite of Rob Bartlett. Have I mentioned he sucks lately? Because he does. He really, really does.

 We get the last Wrestlemania IX Report, as they hammer home the big matches, as well as the thrilling “toga party” aspect of the event. Gosh, I wonder why people don’t look on this show so fondly. I should also mention that Mean Gene claimed his toga had less material than a piece of dental floss, so I would not be surprised if people were scared away from buying the show just from that one statement. After that, we get a plug for the main event, Kamala vs. Doink the Clown. Dear God. Out comes a newly afroed Doink, holding a present once again. Out next is Kamala with Reverend Slick:

 KAMALA AND DOINK WRESTLED TO A DOUBLE COUNTOUT:

 A sideshow main event that really didn’t do much to entertain. The finish came when Kamala started chasing Doink around the ring, until Doink offered him the present, which turned out to be empty. They awarded the match to Doink, I guess because he got in the ring first, but I believe both men were counted out at the same time, as they were both outside when the bell rang. Doesn’t matter much, the match sucked regardless. 1/2 *.

 Post-match, Kamala chases Doink once again, but this time, Doink crawls under the ring. Kamala follows suit, but Doink emerges on the other side, steals Howard Finkel’s chair, and hits Kamala in the head with it as he tries to emerge. Holy shit, Doink the Clown is actually a pretty great heel. Kamala eventually emerges from another side of the ring, sneaks up behind Doink, and chases him to the back with the chair.

 After a few commercials, we cut back to ringside, as the commentators are surrounded by 3 large ring girls. Vince McMahon announces Rob Bartlett as the winner of the 1993 Spam Eating Contest. I’m not going to touch that one. Vince refers to the ring girls as members of Bartlett’s fan club, possibly the sole members, one of whom proceeds to make out with Bartlett. Wow, if you thought Mauro Ranallo was mistreated, wait until you see this segment. It’s becoming more and more clear that they want Bartlett out with each passing week. The feeling is mutual on my end. They plug a USA Special that serves as the true go-home show to Wrestlemania, with Savage vs. Yokozuna, and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The Undertaker. That sounds awesome, but I don’t believe it’s up on the Network right now. I should probably just stick with Raw and PPV’s for now, anyways. Raw goes off the air with Savage denying Bartlett a handshake, and Vince plugging the Rob Bartlett fan club. Gripping stuff.

 OVERALL THOUGHTS:

 I thought that last week’s Raw was perhaps the worst episode I’d seen to date. I’d like to apologize for that hasty statement, as I now sincerely believe that this episode was even worse. I guess I can excuse the lack of proper build to Wrestlemania by acknowledging that they had a USA special a week before the show to do that. But that doesn’t excuse the half-assed matches and the insufferable Rob Bartlett segments. I was actually a little miffed that the Manhattan Center crowd was appearing to grow jaded, but now I think I get it. Week in and week out, meaningless squashes, half-hearted angles, and stupid comedy. Thumbs down for this miserable episode of Raw.

 Up next, it’s a review that I’ve been personally anticipating for weeks now; Wrestlemania IX!