#james willems x reader

[wherebettertoescape]

A Little Life - Harold Pinter Theatre

For anyone who does wish to attend this production, please don’t take the content warnings lightly - the self-harm is graphic and two characters have full-frontal nudity. 

I (Freddie) attended the matinee production at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London on Sunday 7th May

THIS REVIEW/ANALYSIS DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE NOVEL AND STAGE PRODUCTION, SO PLEASE BE AWARE!

Trigger Warnings: talks of self harm, child abuse, sexual assault, domestic abuse and more

There’s no discernible reaction from the audience when Luke Thompson as Willem makes his entrance onto the stage. He’s wearing a dark blue hoodie, the hood pulled up over his hair - perfectly innocuous, nothing spectacular or grand as he walks about the stage. The lights are still bright, the audience is still chatting, laughter is filling the room. And Luke Thompson as Willem is onstage frying himself some bacon and eggs.

What has struck me again and again whenever I reread A Little Life - because, yes, I get a masochistic kind of joy from putting myself through that pain repeatedly - is the intimacy of it. Naturally with any book, the reader is granted the chance to feel close to the characters, to garner a look at their lives behind the veil. But if you were to ask me, I would say that there are very few - if any - novels that create this illusion as Hanya Yanagihara’s does. For 813 pages you are allowed to experience this life as they are, to experience snapshots of their lives - the good, the bad and the unimaginably horrifying - even as the rest of New York, the rest of the world, goes on as normal, with no thought spared to what is occurring within the walls of Lispenard Street and their subsequent homes. 

The awareness that despite what Jude is revealing to the readers about his past, the beyond nightmarish history he has, the world is continuing to go on as normal was perhaps the aspect of the novel I adore so much that I was most scared about losing in adapting it for other mediums.

But from the moment Luke Thompson stepped onto stage, transformed into Willem and beginning to go about his daily life, with the moving images of New York streets surrounding him in his apartment, I knew that my worries had been unfounded. Ivo Van Hove with his unbelievable direction paired with Jan Versweyveld’s set design had found a way to maintain that understanding. 

Throughout almost all of the performance, there is no moment of stasis. Be it JB and Malcom painting and working at desks on the right side of the stage, or Andy reading his book in his clinic, or the ever-present Willem and Harold. 

The former is always in the same spot on a sofa at the back of the stage, flipping through scripts, determined to make it big as an actor, pouring all of his attention and focus onto learning the lines, dedicated to making his dream a reality, and yet always there ready to support Jude. In the second act, Luke Thompson takes the exact same pose when listening to Jude revealing the details of his childhood, desperate to understand his best friend, and at this stage his lover, in the same way he had been desperate to make it as an actor.

Harold, however, spends much of his time on stage left, stationed at the kitchen set up. Constantly in movement, cooking several dishes throughout the course of the play. A reference, perhaps, to the number of Thanksgivings Jude is reported to have spent with him and his wife, Julia (absent from this adaptation). 

Despite the eternal loneliness that James Norton as Jude exudes with just his presence, he is only truly alone for a few moments - the harrowing whisper of “x equals x” that he gasps out after Elliot Cowan as Caleb leaves him naked in the street. It is then that he is alone onstage, laying in his blood, until he is retrieved by his loved ones and taken to rest on Andy’s hospital bed.

It is this detail of James Norton’s performance as Jude that I found the most powerful - which is saying something, considering that I am considering suing him for emotional damages, hasn’t anyone ever told him to think about using his acting powers for good, rather than evil? He captures a side of Jude that I had not previously considered - Jude views himself as a side character in his own life. He doesn’t feel worthy of attention, of his friendships, he is lonely in spite of being surrounded by those he loves the most and as a result feels unable to call out and ask for the help he desperately craves but does not believe that he deserves. 

The contrast between this and the fact that Jude is always centre stage is immense and almost disconcerting to watch and caused me to spend the entire performance practically begging him in my head to just turn around, they’re right there!

But this desire to be helped and to be heard is brought to life by the presence of Nathalie Armin as Ana. The first person in Jude’s life to truly care about him, and the only female in this adaptation of the novel. Armin has a commanding presence on the stage, even as she is a mere figment of Jude’s imagination. Dressed in all black, a stark difference to the bright set, allowing her to melt into the darkness when the spotlight focuses on Norton. 

In many ways, Ana vocalises the audience’s own thoughts - pleading with Jude to confide in his friends, desperate to stop him from harming himself further, and the relief in Armin’s expression as Jude finally tells Willem his story. 

The choice to keep the cast small causes a heavy weight to be put on Elliot Cowan’s shoulders, as he is tasked with portraying three different, truly heinous characters. Even without the costume changes, however, I truly believe it would be possible to tell which of the three he was in each scene.

Cowan gives truly fantastic portrayals of each of the villains of Jude’s life, as Brother Luke he shows the softer touch which allowed for him to manipulate Jude in his innocence, he never handles Norton roughly when playing the part of Brother Luke. Carefully pulling him along, coaxing Jude to trust him to the point that the child does not realise just how wrong it is what Brother Luke asks of him. 

This acting from Cowan makes Jude’s words all the more heartbreaking in Act 2 when talking to Willem, as the audience is able to see why Jude insists that Brother Luke was different, that he did love him.

When taking up the role of Caleb, however, he becomes the manifestation of everything Jude believes about himself. He has none of Brother Luke’s gentleness, but all of his intensity and possessiveness. The last that we see of Caleb, is when he lifts Jude up by the arm, Norton’s body used to reflect the words he says - “x equals x”. Being with Caleb has brought to life Jude’s darkest thoughts of himself, and Jude views this as proof that no matter what he will always be the same. Damaged and unlovable, to be blamed for everything he had been subjected to in his youth.

As Dr Traylor, Cowan’s words are clipped and straightforward. He is the most detached of Jude’s abusers, not caring for his name and only referring to him as “a prostitute” and reinforcing what Jude already believes about himself. It is not until Jude’s “release” that we see any true kind of emotion from Dr Traylor. Cowan shows Dr Traylor with a manic kind of joy upon forcing Jude to run from him, all the while on the tail in his car. The chase scene is long, and dramatic with the incredible musicians rising in volume and intensity with their instruments. The length of the scene forces thoughts back to Jude’s earlier response when JB asked about his legs - “I used to run cross country”.

In all of his roles, Cowan has the same commanding presence onstage as Armin. The moment he leaves the wings, regardless of who he is in that moment, the audience’s attention is drawn to him. As though by sheer glares and willpower we will be able to change Jude’s story, that we as mere observers will be able to push against Cowan’s slow, purposeful steps and keep him away from Norton. 

Zubin Varla and Emilio Doorgasingh gave masterful portrayals as Harold and Andy, respectively. They are markedly different to the presence of Willem, Malcom and JB - in what proves to be a very physical play, Harold rarely touches his son, while Andy only does so as necessary in his medical examinations of Jude.

This respect for Jude’s boundaries when it comes to physical contact is what truly sets Harold and Andy apart from the other older figures in Jude’s life (those villains played by Cowan). Varla’s portrayal of Harold is always evaluating his own movements, always second guessing himself before moving towards Jude - he does not seek out the easy, casual contact shown by the other three young adults. But when Jude comes to him for comfort, Harold is always eager to provide it.

The final scene of Harold and Jude embracing - Jude in his wheelchair, Harold knelt on the ground in front of him, with the rejected trays of food scattered on the floor around him - when Norton practically falls into Varla’s arms, sobbing into his shoulder, as a screen slowly comes down to hide them, JB on the outside, is one that I believe will stay with me for years to come. 

There is an emotion in Varla’s voice when he confides in the audience the story of Jacob, his first son. And in that closing scene we are forced back to that monologue, when he confesses to anyone listening that when Jacob died, there was a little part of him relieved, as that meant it was over. And although it is heartbreaking, it is this statement that makes it no real surprise that when the screen lifts again, Harold is alone in front of that wheelchair to report Jude’s suicide.

Where Armin’s Ana shows the sympathetic side of the audience, the aching desire to hug Jude and promise him it will be okay, to protect him both from the world and himself, Doorgasingh’s Andy exhibits the rougher side of it. His frustration at Jude’s abject refusal to accept help, his anger at watching someone he loves destroy themselves. The hopelessness he feels when his advice goes unnoticed, and his frequent calls to Harold and Willem - often screaming at the two people Jude is closest to, desperate for them to be there for him more.

Andy does not have the same stage presence as many of the other characters do, instead he - and the same can be said for Malcom - almost fades into the background at times. But they are there, ready to pick up the pieces. Both Doorgasingh and Wyatt are spectacular in their characterisations. In the novel, Andy and Malcom show an awareness that they are not the most important people to Jude, that they cannot help him in the ways others can, and in this adaptation, the actors bring that feeling to life.

They are there, working in their own lives, on their own projects. Malcom quietly sees what Jude refuses to acknowledge about his worsening condition and accommodating for it even despite the push back of his best friend. And Andy who can be seen pacing at the side of the stage, calling Jude when he can sense everything is getting too much for him - they are both there for him in their own quiet ways, and their loyalty and love for Jude is never questioned by the audience. It is also important to note that in this adaptation of the novel, neither of these characters address the audience directly - the only two whose focuses are solely within the story with no fourth-wall breaks.

Omari Douglas as JB, on the other hand, stands out more than anyone. First as a result of his costumes - often more brighter than those of his castmates - and then just as how he presents himself. Anyone who watched his performance in It’s a Sin will recall how Douglas’ presence demands to be noticed, and this is carried forth onto the Harold Pinter Stage. He captures the heart of JB’s character - desperate to be heard, to be needed by his friends. Charming in his own way, despite how his messy character causes him to betray his friends at several points in the story. 

Douglas transitions well from how JB is around his friends - brash, loud, confident - to how he truly feels when talking to the audience. His voice is softer, he somehow seems a little smaller as he talks about watching Jude, how he feels Willem doesn’t value his friendship as highly as the others, how he feels they don’t need him anymore.

While JB’s drug addiction is rather rushed in this adaptation - it’s discussed at length in the novel - Douglas eloquently displays his anguish to the audience, his desperation to quit. A previously difficult to like character, after having seen him mock Jude’s disability, and betray his trust, the audience is able to empathise and understand him better. And when it is just him and Jude left at the end of the show, Douglas doesn’t say anything, but takes up the same space as had previously been filled by Willem and Malcom. He quietly watches Jude - just as he had before with his painting, only this time, it’s out of concern for his friend, rather than concern for his career and viewing him as a muse.

I have already mentioned how this production brought me to tears on several occasions, however none made me sob more so than Luke Thompson’s monologue at the end before his car crash. Having already read the book several times, I had known that this was coming and yet it didn’t stop me from hoping that somehow I’d misunderstood the plot point and that Willem did actually survive. So when Thompson took centre-stage and I knew what was next, my sister took my hand as the two of us prepared ourselves.

Beyond the tear-jerker of a monologue, when I later considered the adaptation as a whole I wondered over the choice to mention Hemming at that point. Perhaps this mention worked some some of the audience, however for me I felt it should have been mentioned earlier, as it is in the novel. With Willem only mentioning Hemming before he dies and only in reference to Jude, it caused me to reflect somewhat poorly on their relationship. It’s a minor point about the adaptation, however I do wonder if mentioning his older brother earlier, before Jude himself begins to use a wheelchair, it would have been more impactful.

I could sing praises about the chemistry between Norton and Thompson onstage - however considering I have the voice of a dying seal, it’s probably best that I don’t. Instead, I’ll simply say that their interactions in the second act, as Willem confesses his attraction to Jude, and he struggles to understand it caused my heart to skip a beat. 

Norton captures Jude’s innocence throughout the play perfectly - from the moments that he slips into his childhood self in flashbacks, to when he’s so unsure in his relationship with Willem, unused to being with someone who does genuinely love and care for him. 

All in all, I enjoyed this stage adaptation of A Little Life - if “enjoy” can be the correct word for a production that brought me to tears and caused me to question the meaning of life. It was hauntingly beautiful, heartbreakingly sad and utterly harrowing. I don’t believe I’ve ever been quite so moved by a whole troupe of actors and the way that they characterise their roles. While I certainly have some criticisms and hang-ups about this show and the story in general, I shall save those for another post, hopefully less long and wordy.

Would I return to the Harold Pinter Theatre to watch it again given the choice? Truthfully, I’m not sure. While I fell in love with these actors, the direction, set design and music, I’m unsure if I could watch it again and feel the same level of intensity as I did on this watch. Also, I cried enough to give myself a headache by the end - so if I were to watch again, I’d have to remember to bring a water bottle to ensure I stayed hydrated.

[aplaceforrtprompts]

Holiday Flash Fic Challenge: Day 22

Pairing: James & Elyse Willems x Reader

Prompt: “I covered myself in wrapping paper and a bow because I’m your present!”  

Word Count: 324

Requester: @rooster-geek

“Come on, Adam. Just help tape me up,” you begged him, wiggling around in your wrapping paper cocoon.

Your coworker sighed but obliged. Adam even helped tie the bow around your head.

“And now the door,” you instructed with a grin. Adam who had been pretty whatever about the whole thing did manage to crack a grin as you shuffled awkwardly through the door.

“I- What is that?” Bruce asked as soon as he heard the crinkling of the paper around you.

“Special delivery for the Willems!” you shouted.

James and Elyse were both out of their seats instantly. Bruce made a face, “Come on. We’re in the middle of a video.”

“Sorry,” you flashed an innocent smile as James and Elyse started to unwrap you.

“I wonder what it could be?” James hummed, playfully.

“I’m thinking a puppy. Who do you think it could be from?” Elyse played along.

“I think it's from a secret Santa,” you replied.

“Who said that?!” James paused and looked around making you giggle.

“James, I think our present is giggling,” your girlfriend laughed finally unwrapping you.

“Just what I asked Santa for!” James wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug.

“We thought you were heading home for the holidays,” Elyse kissed your cheek.

“I was but I talked to my family because really I didn’t want to miss our first Christmas together,” you explained as you wrapped your arms around them.

“Couldn’t have asked for a better gift,” Elyse snuggled up against you.

“Agreed,” your boyfriend added.

“It’s going to be so great, getting up on Christmas morning together and exchange gifts in our pjs. It just wouldn’t feel right without you,” Elyse sighed.

“You guys are real cute and all and hate to break this love fest but video,” Bruce pointed to the camera running.

“Oh yeah!” James exclaimed and they each kissed one of your cheeks before running back over to finish recording.

[5lbsofsmarties]

Black Friday: James Willems

Word Count: 540

“Wake up.”

James groaned lowly at the words being whispered into his ear and rolled over, folding the pillow under his head enough to create makeshift earmuffs. He felt the bed shift around and a warm body being pressed flush against his back. An arm circled his waist as the pillow is moved away and lips were pressed just behind his ear.

“C’mon, James… wake up.”

James huffed out a breath and kept his eyes closed as he relaxed against the body behind him. “Y/N, the only reason you should be waking me up like this is for sex,” James grumbled, shifting around to get more comfortable.

You chuckled lowly and slid a flat palm up James’ chest. “Who says I’m not?” you teased in a breathy voice. That piqued James’ interest and made him turn around to face you. “Really?” he asked warily, knowing that you were in your parents’ home and the pair of you had been given quite a talk by your dad before you went to bed on your first night in town.

“Mm, yes… but later. When we get back,” you said happily, grinning like mad before bouncing off the bed.

James’ brows furrowed as he looked up at you in the dark room. “Back? Back from where? What time is it?” he mumbled in a sleep rough voice and turned over to grab his phone. He pressed the home key on his phone and his eyes widen as it illuminated. “Y/N, it is three o’clock in the morning,” he said slowly, slightly afraid that you may have gone insane.

You laughed and nodded from where you were tugging on a long sleeve grey Henley shirt, “Black Friday, James. You promised me.”

For a moment, James had to stop and try to remember when he promised to get up at an ungodly hour to go shopping. And then, it hit him. Two days before you left for your parents’ house, you had been on your knees, your hands toying with James’ zipper. You pouted and whined about wanting to go but no one was willing and James was about ready to explode so he agreed.

“You’re a sextortionist,” James mumbled, flinging the covers off of him and getting out of bed.

You turned and looked at James as you pulled on a scarf. “I’m a what?” you asked, blinking slowly. James sighed and went over to his suitcase along the wall and dug through it for something warm to wear. “A sextortionist. You use sex to get what you want out of me,” he mumbled, beginning to tug on a pair of jeans.

You snorted back a laugh and shook your head before walking over and wrapping your arms around James’ neck in order to lean up and kiss him. “You’re not complaining,” you murmured against James’ lips before pulling away and going to grab your jacket off the desk.

“You’re also a tease,” James said, shaking his head and pulling on a shirt.

With a smirk, you turned to face James and shook your head. “It’s only teasing if I don’t intend on following through,” you said, chuckling, “Now… I will follow through so long as you hurry up and come shopping with me.”

[rt-reader-inserts]

“I didn’t know you were a dom and when I called you Sir you almost jumped me” sex with James Willems or whoever you want

(got a lot of these accidental sex prompts so we will slowly work our way through them - enjoy xx)

“Hey, Y/N, you’re going to be free for demo disc this afternoon, yeah?” James had placed a hand on your shoulder as not to startle you before he started speaking. Removing your headphones you turned your chair around, smiling up at him.

“Sure thing, Sir,” you mock salute him in response, suddenly feeling his hand, still on your shoulder, tense up. His eyes widened and it seemed as though he was about to speak, but instead he just nodded slightly before hastily walking away.

Ten minutes later, after you had dismissed James’ behaviour as being unexplainably weird, your phone vibrated with a message from none other than James himself.

‘I need to ask you something - come to the break room.’ You read the text and assumed it was about demo disc later. Confused as to why he needed to speak to you in private, rather than coming up to your desk again, you saved the thumbnail you were working on before walking to where James was waiting.

“James?” You walk into the break room and see James’ back turned to you. “Is this about demo disc?”

“What?” A note of uncertainty was present in his voice but he continued; “No, this is… Fuck, this is weird.” He ran a hand through his hair as he moved closer to you, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating from his body.

He placed a hand on your lower back, sending a shiver through your body as you leant into his touch. “Can you… Can you call me sir again, Y/N?” His breath tickled your ear, as if he was afraid of anyone else hearing his question.

“Whatever you say, sir.” You match his volume, whispering into his ear. His eyes fluttered shut and you heard him murmur an indistinct curse as his head dropped to the crook of your neck.

You ran your hands up his back and cupped his jaw, lifting his head up to press your lips to his. The kiss was needy, passionate, and you could tell how much James wanted you in that moment.

“Fuck, hearing such a dirty word coming out of such a pretty mouth is so damn hot.” He pressed open mouth kisses to the exposed skin of your neck and you smirked, tugging on the strands of his hair.

You loved the power a single word granted you; how you could make James come undone in a single second. “Never thought you’d be a dom, James, but I’m really fuckin’ digging it.” You moaned, pushing your hips up into his and grinding lightly.

He grabbed your hips and held you still, taking back control. “You need to learn to listen to me, baby girl, and I say you can wait until later tonight.” You whimpered in response and pressed your lips to the side of his mouth.

“Anything for you, sir.” You sigh, James kissing you one more time before letting you go.

“See you on demo disc, princess.” He whispered in your ear before you made your way, shakily, back to your desk, attempting to return to work. However James made it near impossible, and this distraction continued until the two of you made it to his front door; and didn’t end until you drove home the next morning.

[rt-fan-trash-blog]

The Professor (Prologue/?)

You sighed in relief as you plopped down into your desk. The last thing you wanted was to be late to class on your first day of University. You were in your first class, World History, with a new professor. Speaking of professor he wasn’t here yet. It was just you and a bunch of students sitting in the classroom.

Suddenly the door to the room swung open and a young looking man walked in. He had on a gray button up, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and some black jeans. He had a very muscular build matched with blonde hair and the bluest eyes you have ever seen. He walked up to the board before turning to you and your classmates.

“Alright. Welcome to World History 1 I am Mr. Willems. That is W-I-L-L-E-M-S. No A’s in this shit.” He spoke with a smile as he leaned up against the wall.

The whole class laughed with relief to know there professor isn’t gonna be a total hard ass like some of them at the school.

After that Mr. Willems talked a little about himself. He’s a long time wrestling fan, his favorite word is creatine, he plays a lot of video games, and trampled a child once on Black Friday to get a Pennine Press.

You enjoyed your little laugh before Mr. Willems began actually teaching. You sighed at the fact that you had to actually take notes now but at least it’s easy. Though, while you were taking notes of Mesopotamia you couldn’t help but stare at a certain professors backside.

Sure, you shouldn’t be looking at him like that. It was only the first day and you’re already eyeing him up like a piece of meat but you can’t help it, he one good looking man. It honestly gets to the point where you hear the bell ring and realize the most you wrote on your paper was a couple dates. You sigh and get up, packing your things.

As you climb down the stars of the desks and head to the door you hear something behind you.

“Umm excuse me? Miss. Can I have a word?” Mr. Willems piped up behind you.

You turned around to see him moving some papers around on his desk. You walked over to him with a smile as his blue orbs met yours.

“Sure Sir. Is there anything you need?” You asked.

“I was wondering if you were the student who was enrolled to be Mrs. Purgans assistant?” He asked.

“Yes that is me.” You replied happily.

“Well -”, He looked at the name on the paper sticking out of your binder, “YN. Turns out she is going on medical leave so there moving your assistant position to me. You will still get the same bonuses that you were getting from her, it’s just you will be in here instead” He explained.

You couldn’t help but feel your chest tighten up at this news. Of course with your look your changed from having to assist a 50 something year old woman to a man you have attraction to. Though to your defence it’s not like you planned to think one of your professors was a hunk. You simply tell yourself there’s nothing wrong and it’s just some stupid teacher crush like always.

“Umm. YN? You okay there?” Mr. Willems laughs while snapping his fingers in front of your face, effectively snapping you out of your trance.

“Huh? Oh, yes. Sorry. I will make sure to report here later.” You quickly reply, trying to maintain your cool.

“It’s fine. By the way I am gonna head out for a quick workout between now and then. If you want I could get you a coffee while out. I usually get one on the way back.” He offers with that warm smile of his.

“Oh, thank you. That would honestly be great,” you look at the time, “sorry I better get going. I will see you later Mr. Willems!” You cheer before making your way to the door.

“Wait! What do you want from the coffee shop?” He calls out behind you.

“Surprise me!” You yell back as you make your way to the outside.

Even though this is only your first time meeting him, you can tell your relationship with Mr. Willems will be interesting. You honestly don’t know where this will go. You only know that you sure as hell will enjoy the ride.

[youtubexreader]

Send in yo' requests ~ final's week relief

I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you at this ungodly hour (it's 9:41am and I have so much school shite I should be doing but therz no time) Fellow readers and lurkers, reading fanfics have kept me up days in a row (back when I went to a traditional fckn school) and I would get up and read them specifically in government/Econ because we'd work on group projects so we'd lounge in the library while on our laptops and phones working and listening to music and I'd also be reading Matt peake x reader ff (sHHSHHH don't tell my Econ teacher) ANYWAYS! I know x reader ff have kept me occupied and helped get me out of anxious times during finals so I'd like to be able to write and provide the same for those alike: However I can't do much without your own thoughts, your preferences, prompts, specific requests, non specific requests, song requests, etc. You name it, send it in via anon, non anon, message, post. (Whatever you prefer <333)

[rt-fic-life]

Yo your stuff is really good love. Could you maybe do a James Willems where he is picking on the reader in a gameplay video and Bruce starts as well and he gets irritated cause making fun of the reader is HIS thing. Then she is jut all blushy and smiley because she like James and thinks its adorable that he flirts like a middle schooler. I hope you write for FH lol

If Only You’d Asked Me

Pairing: James x reader

Warnings: swearing, drinking,

A/N: I honest to god love Elyse but for the sake of thisfic she isn’t married to James, but she still works at Funhaus, but I havenothing against her, it’s just that this fic doesn’t work if her and James are married.

When you arrived at the Funhaus offices you were unsurprisedto see that they were still in the middle of their drunk Mario Maker streameven though James had told you that they would be done by now. You and Jameslived in the same apartment block and since you worked only a few blocks fromhim the two of you often carpooled together, especially on days like today,when James knew he wasn’t going to be capable of driving himself home. As you entered the room you quickly waved at the camera andthen found yourself a seat out of sight of the camera. You had been in enough videos with the guys and Elyse that the fans knew who you were andthat upon your entrance some of the comments in the chat were greetings aimedat you but other than that the Funhaus gang seemed either too immersed in thegame or maybe just too drunk to take note of your arrival.

It wasn’t until a good five or ten minutes later when Elysefinally noticed you sat off in the corner of the room. You had chosen to justwait out the end of the stream and just spend some time chatting with some ofyour friends and thus you ended up entirely in your own world, only returningto the present when Elyse started throwing bits of her bread at you.

“Y/N, join us” Elyse whined, “we’re all too drunk tocomplete this level” And so that’s how you ended up sitting on the couchplaying Mario maker between James and Bruce who were both absolutely hammered.You on the other hand were completely sober but still equally as bad, if notworse, at Mario maker than the drunkards surrounding you.

You had agreed to join in their game but despite all theirprotests you hadn’t touched a single drop of the alcohol that they wanted youto drink, and so as you continued to die over and over again it was James thatfirst got annoyed.

“Y/N you’re the sober one out of us! You shouldbe able to play better than us.” James slurred. And with that he startedpoking you, “Come on Y/N, you’re playing like shit.” AlthoughJames’ words sounded harsh you knew he didn’t mean it, that’s just how he waswith you. He would joke and say things that would be offensive if they weresaid by anyone else but you always knew that he really did care, he just wasn’tgood at expressing his feelings. And plus, you thought it was cute that heflirted like a middle schooler.

It wasn’t long until Bruce also started to get annoyed athow bad you were playing, “I thought you were meant to be good at videogames Y/N!” He exclaimed when you died again and they all had totake another shot of whatever it as they were drinking. You knew he didn’t meananything by it but when he said it you felt James tense up next to you,and you could tell he wasn’t happy with the way that Bruce had said that.

“Look Bruce.” James started, “Just because Imake fun of Y/N for how bad she is at video games doesn’t mean you canas well. That’s my thing.”

“You don’t have a monopoly on making fun of Y/N.”Bruce retorted, “Just because you’re in love with her and don’t know howto tell her!” As those words left Bruce’s mouth younoticed two things, the look of regret on his face, and the blush that spreadover James’.

“So what if I do? Y/N is pretty, and smart, andfunny, and way better at video games than you. You’re just jealous” Jamespractically shouted, and now it was your turn to blush, you weren’t used toJames being this open with his feelings. You guys had been dancing around thetopic of your feelings for each other for a while now, neither of you wantingto get hurt or ruin your friendship if the other didn’t feel the same way.“It’s not like anything could come from everyone knowing. It’s not like Y/Neven thinks about me in that way anyway.” James continued, slowly gettingquieter with each word, turning to look away from you even though you had beentoo busy looking at the floor to realise that he had been looking at you in thefirst place.

You felt it was time that you spoke up to counter what Jameswas saying and so you said, “James, look at me,” he didn’t immediatelylook at you and it wasn’t until you put your hand on his shoulder that he didface you, “you’re wrong James. I like you James, maybe even love you, andyou would have known that if only you’d asked me.”

Then he took you by surprise and kissed you. It wasn’t thefirst time the two of you had kissed. The first time you had kissed you wereboth drunk and giggling on James’ couch, making out as if it were the lastthing you would ever do, not that James remembered, the next morninghe had woken up with a killer hangover and no memory of the night before, but not you, you rememberedevery detail. This kiss on the other hand was gentile and full of all the love that both of youhad been hiding for far too long.

That day was a day you’d never forget, a day the fans wouldnever let you forget, it was the start of something beautiful.

[porlockstompf]

READING DE NACHT READING 2017

                                                            my favourite books of the year

my overall favourite book of the year:

     david keenan “this is memorial device” [faber & faber] (2017)

POST-CYBERPUNKSTOMPF:

01 nick harkaway "gnomon" (2017) 02 kim stanley robinson "new york 2140" (2017) 03 m john harrison "you should come with me" (2017) 04 gardner dozois (ed) "the year's best science fiction: thirty-fourth annual collection" (2017) 05 james morrow "the asylum of dr. caligari" (2017)

06 annalee newitz "autonomous" (2017) 07 cory doctorow "walkaway" (2017) 08 dave hutchinson "acadia" (2017)   + dave hutchinson "slow companions" (2017) 09 ed finn (ed) visions, ventures, escape velocities: a collection of space futures" (2017) 10 bryan thomas schmidt (ed) "infinite stars" (2017)

11 allan kaster "the year's top hard science fiction stories" (2017) 12 nina allen "the rift" (2017) 13 charles stross "the delirium brief" (2017) 14 simon morden "at the speed of light" (2017) 15 ada palmer "seven surrenders" (2017) & "the will to battle" (2017)

16 yoon ha lee "raven stratagem" (2017) 17 john joseph adams (ed) "cosmic powers" (2017) 18 mur lafferty "six wakes" (2017) 19 taiyo fujii "orbital cloud" (2017) 20 andrew bannister "creation machine" (2016)     + andrew bannister "iron gods" (2017)

21 gareth l powell "entropic angel & other stories" (2017) 22 ann leckie "provenance" (2017) 23 monica louzon (ed) "catalysts, explorers & secret keepers: women of sf" 24 ian mconald "wolf moon" (2017) 25 neal stephenson & nicole galland "the rise & fall of d.o.d.o." (2017)

26 adam roberts "the real-town murders" (2017) 27 tim pratt "the wrong stars" (2017) 28 jim c. hines "terminal alliance" (2017) 29 charles stross "the empire games" (2017) 30 james s.a. corey "persepolis rising" (2017)     + james s.a. corey "strange dogs" (2017)

31 allen steele "avengers of the moon (captain future)" (2017) 32 neal asher "infinity engine [transformation III]" (2017) 33 jason m. hough "injection burn" (2017)   + jason m. hough "escape velocity" (2017) 34 donna scott (ed) "best of british science fiction 2016"/una mccormack "star of the sea" (2016) 35 david marusek "upon this rock"/john scalzi "collapsing empire" (2017)

& a couple of re-readings: richard k. morgan "takeshi kovacs trilogy" in view of the coming netflix series and colin harvey "damage time" (2010) ... no further reason needed!

STOMPF KLASSIK:

01 matthew mcintosh "the mystery.doc" (2017)

02 sébastien roger "les désordres du monde. walter benjamin à port-bou" (2017) 03 laurent binet "hhhh" (2012) 04 + laurent binet "the 7th function of language" (2017) 05 jean echenoz "special envoy" (2017)

06 paul stanbridge "forbidden line" (2016) 07 ryu murakami "tokyo decadence (2016) 08 aifric campbell "the semantics of murder" (2008) 09 mark vernon "darker with the day" (2017) 10 magnus mills "the forensic records society" (2017)

GEDÄCHTNISSTOMPF:

01 mckenzie wark "general intellects: 25 thinkers for the 21st century" (2017) 02 claude lefort "wat is politiek?" (2016) 03 ger groot & sam ijsseling "dankbaar en aandachtig" (2013) 04 martin heidegger "beiträge zur philosophie (vom ereignis)" (2003) 05 hannah arendt "totalitarisme" (2014)

06 daniel birnbaum & kim west "life on sirius: the situationist international & the exhibition of art" (2016) 07 ger groot "de geest is uit de fles" (2017) 08 sean gaston "the impossible mourning of jacques derrida" (2006) 09 bas heijne "onbehagen: nieuw licht op de beschaafde mens" (2016) 10 giorgio colli "ecrits sur nietzsche" (2017)

11 frédéric neyrat "échapper �� l'horreur" (2017) 12 slavoj zizek "against the double blackmail, refugees, terror & other troubles with the neighbours" (2017) 13 henning mankell "quicksand" (2016) 14 jacques rancière "en quel temps vivons-nous? conversations avec eric hazan" (2017) 15 alain badiou "je vous sais si nombreux... " (2017)

16 alain badou & jean-luc nancy "la tradition allemande dans la philosophie" (2017) 17 tom mccarthy "typewriters bombs jellyfish [essays]" (2017) 18 valeria luiselli "tell me how it ends: an essay in 40 questions" (2017) 19 fredric jameson "raymond chandler: the detections of totality" (2016) 20 umberto eco "chronicles of a liquid society" (2017)

POLARSTOMPF:

01 chris petit "pale horse riding" (2017)   + chris petit "the butchers of berlin" (2016)   + chris petit "the human pool" (2002)   + chris petit "the psalm killer" (1996)

02 john le carré "a legacy of spies" (2017) 03 david hewson "sleep baby sleep" (2017) 04 mick herron "slow horses" (2010)   + mick herron "dead lions" (2013)   + mick herron "the list" (2015)   + mick herron "real tigers" (2016)   + mick herron "spook street" (2017) 05 jussi adler-olsen "the scarred woman" (2017)

06 jo nesbo "the thirst" (2017) 07 ben fergusson "the spring of kasper meier" (2014) 08 e.o. chirovici "the book of mirrors" (2017) 09 toni coppers "de zaak magritte" (2017) 10 james r. tuck "mama tried (crime fiction inspired by outlaw country music)" (2016)

YOUNGADULTSTOMPF:

01 philip pullman "la belle sauvage" (2017)

PLATTERSTOMPF:

01 cosey fanni tutti "art sex music" (2017) 02 david keenan "this is memorial device" (2017) 03 joanne demers "drone and apocalypse" (2015) 04 + joanne demers "listening through the noise" (2010) 05 robert barry "the music of the future" (2017)

06 richard cabut & andrew gallix (eds) "punk is dead: modernity killed every night" (2017) 07 butt gavin, kodwo eshun, & mark fisher (eds) "post punk then and now" (2016)" 08 sandra garrido "why are we attracted to sad music" (2016) 09 tomas serrien "klank: een filsofie van de muzikale ervaring" (2017) 10 marlies de munck "waarom chopin de regen niet wilde horen" (2017)

11 daniel warner "live wires" (2017) 12 will carruthers "playing the bass with three left hands" (2016) 13 steve hanley "the big midweek-life inside the fall (2016) 14 tex perkins "tex" (2017) 15 mark lanegan "i am the wolf" (2017)

17 simon reynolds "shock & awe" (2016) 18 andrew o'neill "a history of heavy metal" (2017) 19 bryan ray turcotte "the fucked up reader" (2007) 10 bob batchelor (ed) "literary cash" (2017) 20 simon webb "a 1970s teenager. from bell-bottoms to disco dancing" (2013)

         both bell-bottoms and disco dancing can be had @ muntpunt !

POESISSTOMPF:

01 jonty tiplady "zam bonk dip" (2010) 02 murray lachlan young "how freakin' zeitgeist are you?" (2017)

BILDERSTOMPF:

01 peter-andré bloch "sils-maria - "l'île bienheureuse" pour nietzsche" (2017)

02 willem vanhuyse "atlas van de imaginaire verklaringen: het complete handboek vor de 'patafysicus'" (2017) 03 reinhard kleist "nick cave: mercy on me" (2017) 04 william gibson "archangel (a graphic novel)" (2017) 05 a. uderzo, didier conrad & jean-yves ferri "astérix et la transitalique" (2017)

WISSENSCHAFTSTOMPF:

01 thibault damour & mathieu burniat "mysteries of the quantum universe" (2017) 02 brian cox & jeff forshaw "universal: a journey through the cosmos" (2017)

HUMOURSTOMPF:

01 james acaster "james acaster's classic scrapes" (2017)

02 chris wade “the story of derek and clive” (2017)

CYCLOSTOMPF:

01 frederik bakelandt "grinta! de bergen: 10 legendarsche wielercols" (2017)

02 lucien van impe & filip osselaer "de dag dat ik de tour verloor" (2017) 03 jonas heyerick & jelle vermeersch "bahamontes #17-#20" (2017) 04 frank strack "the hardmen: legends of the cycling gods" (2017) 05 matthias m. r. declercq "de val" (2017)

… tsundoku !

may your home be safe from tigers, leroy, x HNY!

the TBR pile grew with...

lászló krasznahorkai "the world goes on" (2017) samanta schweblin "fever dream" (2017)

peter mark, peter helman & penny snyder (eds) "the mountains in art history" (2017)

alvin lucier (ed) "eight lectures on experimental music" (2017) rhian e jones & eli davies "under my thumb: songs that hate women and the women who love them" (2017)

arne dahl "watching you" (2017) philip kerr "prussian blue" (2017) antti tuomainen "the man who died" (2017) jon michelet "the frozen women" (2017) nicolás obregón "blue light yokohama" (2017)

alex lamb "exodus" (2017) c robert cargill "sea of rust" (2017) chris brookmyre "places in the darkness" (2017) d nolan clark "forgotten worlds" & "forbidden suns" (2017) dan moren "the caledonian gambit" (2017) elizabeth moon "cold welcome" (2017) ferrett steinmetz "the uploaded" (2017) greg egan "dichronauts" (2017) ian whates "the ion raider" (2017) jaine fenn "the martian job" (2017) jamie sawyer "pariah" (2017)

jeff noon "a man of shadows" (2017) joe m mcdermott "the fortress at the end of time" (2017) joe zieja "communication failure" (2017) john kessel "the moon and the other" (2017) john meaney "destructor function" (2017) jonathan strahan (ed) "best sf &f of the year vol 11" & "infinity wars" (2017) kameron hurley "the stars are legion" (2017) kay kenyon "at the table of wolves" (2017) malka older "null states" (2017) marina j. lostetter "noumenon" (2017)

martha wells "all systems red" (2017) neil clark (ed) "galactic empires" & "more human than human" (2017) paul mcauley "austral" (2017) r.e. stearns "barbary station" (2017) robert kroese "last iota" (2017) sage walker "the man in a tree" (2017) stephen baxter "obelisk" (2017) + stephen baxter "the massacre of mankind" (2017) sulari gentill "crossing the lines" (2017) the justified ancients of mu mu “2023 a trilogy” (2017) wendy n. wagner "an oath of dogs" (2017)

[viralhottopics]

Kids’ Choice Awards 2017: The Complete Winners List!

The kids have spoken — and it’s not just about John Cena getting slimed!!

The 2017 Kids’ Choice Awards took place Saturday night, and some stars walked away as fan favorites.

In case you missed any of the awards, we’ve got the complete winners list right here.

Ch-ch-check it out (below)!

Favorite Kids’ Show

Game Shakers Girl Meets World Henry Danger (Winner) Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn The Thundermans

Favorite Family Show

Big Bang Theory Black-ish Fuller House (Winner) Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Supergirl The Flash

Favorite Reality Show

America’s Funniest Home Videos America’s Got Talent (Winner) American Ninja Warrior Paradise Run Shark Tank The Voice

Favorite Cartoon

ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks SpongeBob SquarePants (Winner) Teen Titans Go! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Amazing World of Gumball The Loud House

Favorite Male TV Star

Benjamin Flores Jr. (Triple G, Game Shakers) Aidan Gallagher (Nicky, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) Jack Griffo (Max, The Thundermans) Jace Norman (Henry, Henry Danger) (Winner) Casey Simpson (Ricky, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) Tyrel Jackson Williams (Leo, Lab Rats)

Favorite Female TV Star

Zendaya (K.C., K.C. Undercover) (Winner) Rowan Blanchard (Riley, Girl Meets World) Dove Cameron (Liv and Maddie, Liv and Maddie) Lizzy Greene (Dawn, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) Kira Kosarin (Phoebe, The Thundermans) Breanna Yde (Tomika, School of Rock)

Favorite Movie

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Captain America: Civil War Ghostbusters (Winner) Pete’s Dragon Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Favorite Movie Actor

Ben Affleck (Batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Will Arnett (Vernon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) Henry Cavill (Superman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War) Chris Evans (Captain America, Captain America: Civil War) Chris Hemsworth (Kevin, Ghostbusters) (Winner)

Favorite Movie Actress

Amy Adams (Lois, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Megan Fox (April, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow, Captain America: Civil War) Felicity Jones (Jyn, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) Melissa McCarthy (Abby, Ghostbusters) (Winner) Kristen Wiig (Erin, Ghostbusters)

Favorie Animated Movie

Finding Dory (Winner) Moana Sing The Secret Life of Pets Trolls Zootopia

Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie

Ellen DeGeneres (Dory, Finding Dory) (Winner) Kevin Hart (Snowball, The Secret Life of Pets) Dwayne Johnson (Maui, Moana) Anna Kendrick (Poppy, Trolls) Justin Timberlake (Branch, Trolls) Reese Witherspoon (Rosita, Sing)

Favorite Villain

Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen, Alice Through the Looking Glass) Idris Elba (Krall, Star Trek Beyond) Will Ferrell (Mugatu, Zoolander 2) Kevin Hart (Snowball, The Secret Life of Pets) (Winner) Charlize Theron (Ravenna, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) Spencer Wilding (Darth Vader, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Favorite Butt-Kicker

Ben Affleck (Batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Henry Cavill (Superman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Chris Evans (Captain America, Captain America: Civil War) (Winner) Chris Hemsworth (The Huntsman, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow, Captain America: Civil War) Felicity Jones (Jyn, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique, X-Men: Apocalypse) Zoe Saldana (Lieutenant Uhura, Star Trek Beyond)

BFFs (Best Friends Forever)

Ruby Barnhill & Mark Rylance (Sophie/BFG, The BFG) Kevin Hart & Dwayne Johnson (Bob/Calvin, Central Intelligence) (Winner) Kevin Hart & Ice Cube (Ben/James, Ride Along 2) Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto (Captain Kirk/Spock, Star Trek Beyond) Neel Sethi & Bill Murray (Mowgli/ Baloo, Jungle Book) Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson (Derek/Hansel, Zoolander 2)

Favorite Frenemies

Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill (Batman/Superman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) Chris Evans & Robert Downey Jr. (Captain America/Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War) Ginnifer Goodwin & Jason Bateman (Judy/Nick, Zootopia) (Winner) Dwayne Johnson & Auli’I Cravalho (Moana/Maui, Moana) Anna Kendrick & Justin Timberlake (Poppy/Branch, Trolls) Charlize Theron & Emily Blunt (Ravenna/Freya, The Huntsman: Winter’s War)

Most Wanted Pet

Baloo from The Jungle Book (Bill Murray) Dory from Finding Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) Po from Kung Fu Panda 3 (Jack Black) Red from The Angry Birds Movie (Jason Sudeikis) Rosita from Sing (Reese Witherspoon) Snowball from The Secret Life of Pets (Kevin Hart) (Winner)

#Squad

Finding Dory Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Willem Dafoe, Ed O’Neill, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy (Winner)

Captain America: Civil War – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman Ghostbusters Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson X-Men: Apocalypse James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Ben Hardy, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Olivia Munn

Favorite Music Group

The Chainsmokers Fifth Harmony (Winner) Maroon 5 OneRepublic Pentatonix Twenty One Pilots

Favorite Male Singer

Drake Justin Bieber Bruno Mars Shawn Mendes (Winner) Justin Timberlake The Weeknd

Favorite Female Singer

Adele Beyonc Ariana Grande Selena Gomez (Winner) Rihanna Meghan Trainor

Favorite Song

“24K Magic” Bruno Mars “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” Justin Timberlake “Heathens” Twenty One Pilots “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” Adele “Side to Side” Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj “Work From Home” Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign (Winner)

Favorite New Artist

Kelsea Ballerini The Chainsmokers Daya Lukas Graham Solange Rae Sremmurd Hailee Steinfeld Twenty One Pilots (Winner)

Favorite Music Video

“24K Magic” Bruno Mars “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” Justin Timberlake “Formation” Beyonc “Juju on That Beat” Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall (Winner) “Me Too” Meghan Trainor “Stressed Out” Twenty One Pilots

Favorite DJ/EDM Artist

Martin Garrix Calvin Harris (Winner) Major Lazer Skrillex DJ Snake Zedd

Favorite Soundtrack

Hamilton Me Before You Moana Sing Suicide Squad (Winner) Trolls

Favorite Viral Music Artist

Tiffany Alvord Matty B Carson Lueders Johnny Orlando Jacob Sartorius JoJo Siwa (Winner)

Favorite Global Music Star

5 Seconds of Summer (Australia/New Zealand) BIGBANG (Asia) Bruno Mars (North America) Little Mix (UK) (Winner) Shakira (South America) Zara Larsson (Europe)

Favorite Video Game

Just Dance 2017 (Winner) Lego Marvel’s Avengers Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Minecraft: Story Mode Paper Mario: Color Splash Pokmon Moon

So fun!!!

Congrats to all the BIG winners!!!

What’d U think of last night’s show, Perezcious readers?! Let us know in the comments (below)!!!

Read more: http://bit.ly/2mE1Ucd

from Kids’ Choice Awards 2017: The Complete Winners List!

[aplaceforrtprompts]

Could you do a full fic with Adam K and the Willemses comforting the reader after they lost a pet?

Word Count: 640

You took a deep breath and tried your best to look put together as you walked into the office. The relief that hit you as you were the first one there for the day was overwhelming, so much so you almost started crying again.

You fled to your desk and dropped your bag on the floor, setting up as quickly as possible so you could look engrossed in your work when everyone else walked in so you wouldn’t have to talk to anyone until you could as least compare yourself for the day.

Peake was the second one in and brought a new wave of relief since you knew he would just take his seat next to you and get to work. As the rest of Funhaus poured in dread started to fill you. You turned up the volume on your headphones and focused harder on your screen.

You were apparently focusing too hard because when Adam placed a hand on your shoulder you let out a scream and all eyes were on you. You looked up at Adam as your emotions you had been trying to shove aside hit you all at once. Tears welled up and burred your vision.

You squeaked out a tiny, “Excuse me.” You stood and rushed out of the room.

You barely made it outside the office building before you crumpled to the ground and began sobbing.

“Stupid furball!” you wailed, curling into yourself. You were embarrassed to be so upset over a cat which only made you cry harder.

You weren’t sure if Adam had followed you or came to check on you when you didn’t come back inside but next thing you knew you were in his arms, crying against his chest.

After what felt like forever you managed to wear yourself out to just small hiccups. “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, wiping your face.

Adam shook his head, “You don’t have to be sorry. Whatever it is, it clearly upset you enough to bring you to tears so there is no reason to be sorry for crying.”

“I meant more so about your shirt,” you managed a half smile as you pointed to the damp spot, appreciative of Adam’s kindness.

“Oh,” he chuckled a little, looking down, “I own a washing machine so I think it’ll be okay.” He looked back to you, “If you want to talk about it I’m here. We all are.”

You looked up at Adam, tears welling up once more, “It’s so stupid but my cat passed away Friday night and I’ve sort of just been a mess sense then.”

“Oh, sweetie!”

You jumped as you heard a voice that wasn’t Adam’s. Looking behind you, you saw James and Elyse coming back from lunch. Elyse shoved her leftovers at James who had barely enough time to react, eliciting a laugh from you. She kneeled down beside you and pulled you into a hug.

“Loosing a pet is like loosing a family member. We all know how close you and your cat were,” she soothed you, rubbing circles into your back.

James stood there awkwardly but offered a smile as you looked up at him. You smiled back, genuinely.

“Thank you. All of you. I don’t think I’ve let myself grieve properly yet and this helped a lot,” you looked at the three of them.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” James suggested.

You shook your head, “I really don’t want to be alone.”

“Oh, good because Adam was going to take the day off too. Not before we all go get ice cream though,” James smiled.

Elyse was already on her phone texting Bruce as Adam helped you up.

You hugged him tightly, “Thank you. Seriously.”

“Of course,” he wrapped an arm around you as he led you back to the Willems’ car.

[5lbsofsmarties]

Regret: James Willems

Word count: 451 FAHC AU Warning: Guns

This was the absolute last situation you would have ever imagined to find yourself in. Of course, there had been numerous times you’d found yourself on this boat, with this man but not like this. Your mind is itching, screaming at you, to remember the last time you were on this deck. There had been smiles, and laughter, and kisses; you had spent a good portion of the day laying out in your bathing suit and watching this man swimming or reading in his own.

But that was a lifetime ago.

Now, the rain has drenched you both but you couldn’t feel the cold; your heart was already cold enough.

You had promised to get this job done. Geoff had asked multiple times if you were okay with the one doing it; he didn’t want to force your hand but you were the one who knew the hit’s schedule the best, you knew everything there was to know about him. So now that you had him cornered, everything seemed to come rushing back.

“Y/N,” James spoke loudly, to be heard over the rain, “You don’t have to do this.”

You swallowed hard, trying to ease the lump in your throat, and shook your head as you raised your gun and pointed it right at James’ face. “I do. You and your crew have gotten too cocky, Willems. You’ve forgotten what in this city belongs to the Fakes. We let you operate here, and you’ve worn out your welcome,” you all but growled at him.

In your head, you knew you could do it. You’ve killed before. But this contract, this man, was different. He had meant the world to you at one point, he even had you considering leaving the Fakes. But he had broken your heart and now you had the chance to do worse to him; so, why couldn’t you do it?

His dark hair was matted to his head from the rain and you could see his bright blue eyes shining back at you, making your heart skip a beat. You tightened the grip on your gun and took a deep breath. “Do you regret it?” you finally asked, trying to find a way to break whatever spell James Willems has had on you for far too long. He stares back at you for a beat, blinking slowly, as his face contorts into one of confusion.

“Regret what?” he finally asked.

You sneered at him, “Our relationship together.”

James sighs and you watch his chest heave slightly. You almost didn’t want to hear the answers, fearing that it would break you more than when things had ended.

“Yes.”

“Well, that makes things easier,” you muttered, cocking your gun.

[rt-reader-inserts]

Can you do something with James eylse and y\n where James and Eylse wants to try something different so they ask y\n to be in a threesome with.

(lordy lord this is a 10/10 request and I hope I have done it justice - if you want me to continue the smut at the end just shoot me an ask but I was not bothered and thought the fic had gone on long enough - 1,308 words)

Sitting at the bar, a strong drink in one hand and your phone in the other, you wondered how you’d busy yourself for the rest of the night. You were no stranger to being alone at a bar on a Friday night, changing location every other week to prevent yourself from being judged too harshly.

A vibration felt in your right hand drew your attention back to your phone. Tapping on the notification you smirked; Elyse had just sent you a photo of her and James, both smiling widely, walking in downtown LA along with the message, “What bar are you at tonight? We want to catch up with our fave gal ;)”

Typing back the name and address of the bar you took another sip of your drink, finishing it, and ordering another. Almost half way through your next drink you felt a warm pair of arms wrap around you. One look confirmed they were James’; very muscular but surprisingly gentle.

“I can’t believe it’s been so long!” You exclaimed, now hugging Elyse.

“I know! How have you been?” Elyse replied, James turning to the bartender and ordering drinks for the two of them.

“Can’t complain, honestly. And what about the two of you? Done anything exciting in the, what? Two months since we last talked?” You notice a shared look between the couple and grow confused. They only held each other’s glance for several seconds but it was long enough for you to grow slightly suspicious.

“We’ve been…” Elyse began, trying to hint at something before James interrupted her.

“Great. We’ve been great. Benson’s great, we’re great, everything is just great.”

Now you were well and truly suspicious. The Willems’ had never been ones for subtlety, and it showed.

“You sure? ‘Cause the two of you are acting pretty fuckin’ weird right now.” You took a sip of your drink and intently studied their expressions. They appeared to be in the midst of an argument; perhaps they thought coming out would dissipate the harsh feelings, a plan which had not yet worked.

“Yeah, there’s uh… There’s something we want to ask you. James?” Your eyes narrowed, looking from Elyse to James and back again. James’ eyes widened as Elyse shifted the task of asking you the hyped up question onto him.

“We need you to be completely honest with us,” James prefaced, making direct eye contact with you. “Would you maybe consider joining the two of us in the bedroom? For, uh, for a threesome?It’s not like our sex life is bad… We just want to try something a little, ya know, different. So what do you say?” Both James and Elyse looked at you expectantly with extreme sincerity and seriousness.

You let out a long sigh, trying to weigh up every positive and negative outcome before giving your answer. Honestly, it had been a while since you last had sex and you didn’t want to pass up the opportunity that was just presented to you. It didn’t help that James and Elyse were both very attractive people, and from what you had heard (from Elyse, mainly) James was very good in bed.

“It’s a hard offer to refuse, believe me.” You start, finally finished weighing up the consequences. “But are you sure you want me? Not some random chick you can pick up at a club, take home, and never see again?”

“Look, Y/N. We’ve spent a long fucking time discussing this and we both agree: we want you.” James stated simply, accompanied by silent nodding from Elyse. “And we want it to be good for you - we don’t want you to just be there to spice up our sex life.”

“I didn’t need much more convincing, so yeah. I’ll do it.” You say confidently, glad your night took a turn for the better.

“Then let’s get out of here” James leaned in close to you and whispered in your ear, placing a hand on your shoulder as both he and Elyse stood up.

You were nervous as the three of you waited outside the bar for an uber; nervous when you followed them up the driveway; nervous as you watched James insert his key into the lock and nervous you all walked to the bedroom.

“God I didn’t realise how awkward this would be” James broke the silence, taking a step closer to you, using his hands to slowly slide off your jacket.

“I know a way to break the tension,” Elyse added, also taking steps closer to you. You raised an eyebrow in response but did not stop her as she took your face in her hands. Her eyes fluttered shut as your lips came into contact, pressing against each other gently. You could smell her sweet perfume and moved one hand up to cup her cheek as your mouths moved in sync.

She moved her hands to your waist, pulling you flush against her body. As she did so James came up behind you and began kissing the back of your neck, eliciting a soft moan.

Elyse broke away from the kiss with a small laugh. Her lips were soon captured by James, who had leaned over your shoulder. Instead of standing there uncomfortably you began to slowly undress Elyse, pulling off her jacket and unbuttoning her shirt. A surprised gasp left your mouth as one of James’ hands began to roam your body, stopping at your breasts to fondle and play with them.

You put your hands on Elyse’s body experimentally, running the tips of your fingers up and down the skin you had just exposed. Reaching around behind her back you slowly undid her bra; you heard her moan into James’ mouth as her nipples hit the cold air and pebbled.

Tentatively you began to rub her nipples between your fingers, bending down to press feather-light kisses to her collar bone and neck. You felt a tug on the hem of your shirt and, feeling a hardness press against the small of your back, you realised it was James, wanting you to take your shirt off. You obliged happily, breaking away from Elyse - to her disappointment - to pull it off in one fluid movement, depositing it on the floor next to the shirt you had taken off Elyse minutes ago. You heard shuffling behind you and turned your head in time to see James sliding his pants down his legs, giving you a view of the outline of his cock in his boxers.

Brushing Elyse’s hair to one side you leant in to whisper, “I see why you married him.” Sharing a laugh you started to kiss the line of her jaw, following it until you reached her lips. You felt a strong pair of hands wrap around your waist and begin to start undoing the button holding your jeans up. Kicking them off you felt slightly exposed but your feelings of excitement and arousal flared. From previous visits to the Willems’ household you had a vague understanding of where the bed was and began to make a move towards it. You felt the bed hit the back of your knees and you fell backwards onto the bed, pulling both James and Elyse down with you.

“Why haven’t we done this sooner,” Moaned out James as he sank down next to you. The three of you were a mess of limbs, not knowing who’s hands were on who, and you felt yourself fully agree with James’ statement.

The remainder of the night was spent in a blur of ecstasy and passion, feelings you had not experienced for far too long. As the three of you collapsed in a pile of sweaty, tired bodies a collective sigh of satisfaction was released. It was to no one’s surprise when, a week later, you all found yourselves in the same position.