#listen patricia is one of us she knows EXACTLY what she's doing

[woso-dreamzzz]

Flirts

Mapi Leon x Reader x Ingrid Engen

Summary: Your cousin's two friends are definitely flirting with you

You meet them at a party - although calling it a party is a bit of a stretch.

You meet them at a get-together. You let yourself into your house with your key and hang your jacket up on your hook, grabbing Patri's up from where she had thrown it on the floor and placing it on a hook as well.

You toe off your shoes and ignore the chatter from the living room in favour of grabbing a drink. You sigh deeply when you see the dishes in the sink.

"Patricia!" You yell," I mean this in the nicest way possible, I don't care if you're friends are here, but I need these dishes cleaned up tonight."

You can hear your cousin swear at the use of her name as well as quiet giggling from her teammates.

You linger in the doorway, arms crossed over your purple scrubs. "I mean it," You say firmly," They've been in the sink since last night."

"Yeah, Patri," Pina teases, nudging her with a foot," Go and clean up after yourself."

You roll your eyes. "You can help, Pina," You say," Seeing as I know you ate my leftovers last night."

The pair both huff but do as you say. Your eyes rove over the assembled football players. You recognise a few of them personally but some from only when you've seen them on tv.

They watch you in silence, some of them wide-eyed.

"How is Nala?"

Alexia's face lights up. "She is good. Better now that her fur has grown back!"

You let out a laugh. "Well, if she hadn't gotten gallstones then I wouldn't have had to shave her." You glance down at your phone, checking your calendar. "I'm still seeing her next week, right? To get her stitches removed?"

"Si," Alexia says," Gracias, y/n, for having her seen so quickly."

You shrug. "Well, when there's a dog as cute as Nala getting them seen quick is my first priority."

Alexia beams at you before saying to the rest of the group," This is Patri's cousin. She's a vet, the one that saved Nala. y/n, this is Ona, Lucy, Keira, Mapi and Ingrid. They all play for Barca."

"Of course," You roll your eyes," It's nice to meet you all." You move to leave but one of the girls on the sofa catches your wrist - Mapi, you think.

Her eyes shine with something you're not familiar with as she exchanges a look with Ingrid, whose lap she is sitting in. "You cannot stay?"

You glance at the clock, not exactly sure why you're entertaining this girl who's clearly in a relationship. "I have a surgery tomorrow."

Her girlfriend moves her head to look at you. "What kind of surgery?"

It's like they both knew how to draw you in, ready and incredibly willing to listen to you talk about the pulmonary stenosis you were correcting tomorrow.

At some point in the conversation, Mapi and Ingrid had separated, moving to different ends of the sofa until you were sandwiched between them. As you spoke, detailing the work you did as one of the few cardiothoracic veterinary specialists in Spain, Mapi's hand came to rest on your thigh and Ingrid propped her head up on her arm and used her hand to gently brush your hair out of your face.

Madre Mia.

They were flirting with you.

●～●～●～●～

You thought it was a one-night occurrence, the innocent flirting and the affectionate touches. You thought that they would remain Patri's teammates who you would occasionally see at games and far away from your actual life out of your cousin's spotlight.

But they start appearing everywhere.

Sometimes together.

Sometimes alone.

Ingrid at your favourite coffee place.

Mapi hanging around the park near your house.

Both of them 'bumping into you' while shopping.

It gets progressively more and more until your day is ruined by not seeing or hearing from them. It's completely seamless the way that they've inserted themselves into your lives.

You're sitting in the crowd at El Clásico when you start to realise that this might be a bit more serious than you originally thought.

You're introduced to Jana, Bruna and Frido as Alexia approaches, extremely happy to announce that Nala is much better than before.

"Oh, I know who you are," Frido replies," Mapi and Ingrid won't shut up about you. You're the vet."

You're a bit confused that Mapi and Ingrid have been talking about you to Frido, even more embarrassed when she reveals that you're all they ever talk about now - the fact that you've made it rich as a cardiothoracic specialist but still helped Nala with her gallbladder despite it making you little to no money compared to your usual work, the fact that you know all the secret backroads and hole in the wall shops around the city.

Everything and anything you've even mentioned in passing to them has been reported to Frido, who laughs slightly at your shell-shocked face.

"They're obsessed with you," She says," And I know for a fact that Patri's been helping them bump into you. You know, Mapi said that she was worried about asking Patri for your number."

Your cheeks colour. You hadn't realised that you meant so much to the couple, who seamlessly brought you into their orbit without even thinking much about it, seducing you into their lives with sweet words and soft touches.

Your mouth opens and closes for probably the whole of the match and it's not until you're let onto the field to congratulate your cousin and Pina, that you finally manage to gather your thoughts.

Mapi crashes into your back at speed, nearly bowling you over but Ingrid's already there, ready to catch you. You're pushed into her front and, with Mapi at your back, you're held hostage between them as they speak to you.

You don't exactly want to escape them though, content and happy between them.

"Bah!" Mapi complains when she pulls away and spies your Patri shirt. "Do you have to wear that?"

You laugh in disbelief as Ingrid moves to settle her arm around your shoulder while Mapi threads your fingers together. "She's my cousin. I think she would be upset if I didn't. Besides, what was I meant to wear up in the Barca box? White for Madrid?"

Both of them make a face.

"Or mine," Mapi says with a silly grin and a blown-out look in her eyes as if she's imagining it," Or Ingrid's. Actually, definitely Ingrid's. You'd look hot in her shirt."

Your cheeks flush - a regular occurrence when you're with the pair of them.

"I think yours," Ingrid replies," She would look equally as good in it." She winks at you. "But I wouldn't be opposed to you wearing mine either."

Your cheeks grow hotter and you bury your head in Ingrid's chest to try and hide your blush.

Mapi doesn't let you though. Her fingers capture your chin and she pulls you to face her. Ingrid rests her own chin on your shoulder and her hands go around your waist, securing you in place.

"Don't look away, amor," Mapi says and her voice drops to some form of purr that you're too busy overthinking to put a proper name to," We like to see when we make you all pretty and red."

"It's our favourite thing about you," Ingrid whispers in your ear and you have to clench your jaw to stop yourself from crying out in public," How you react when we hold you close and don't let go."

●～●～●～●～

You hide out in your house after that interaction, pacing up and down the halls like you're crazy, which completely freaks Patri out.

All those times, you had thought that it was a harmless game to them, flirting with you, buying you gifts, taking you out on things that we're most definitely dates now that you think about. You thought it was just them spicing up their relationship with each other, spoiling you to make the other jealous so they could go home and have epic sex - you almost shut down completely when you think about how good Mapi and Ingrid would be in bed.

But, clearly, your growing crush had been mutual and that's enough to make you go into a complete tailspin.

You don't see them for a few days anyway - travelling to Valencia to perform an open heart surgery on some philanthropist's poor dog. When you come home, it's with a very welcome stowaway.

"No," Patri gasps as she says you stroll in with Honey in your arms.

It turns out your new client (who also was so thankful for you saving his eldest dog's life) had gifted you one of the newest from his Shiba Inu's litter.

She was undoubtedly small, practically a runt but you fell in love with her the moment she climbed into your lap as you took a refreshment break after surgery and licked your nose.

"Si," You say to Patri, who is already taking pictures," Her name's Honey."

Patri's friends all end up coming over, cooing over Honey who takes it so well that you've got no worries about her socialisation.

That's when you next see Mapi and Ingrid.

Mapi walks up behind you, arm automatically around your waist. "You look good as a mama," She says as you both watch Alexia coo over your puppy," She'll be in great hands."

You grin. "Safest hands in Spain," You joke, lifting them up," If you go by my lack of complications after surgery."

Mapi rests one of her hands against your palm. Hers are bigger than yours, and rougher from days of lifting weights and doing pull-ups in the gym. Yours are softer by comparison, used to precision needlework and lightly holding a scalpel to make the tiniest of incisions.

"You have nice hands," She says after a moment and she watches your face redden. She leans in. "I wonder what else they're good at."

You catch the implication and an embarrassing squeak slips from your lips. Mapi grins like a wolf and pulls away, hand dropping but keeping an arm around your waist, pulling you into her body.

Ingrid appears in the next moment. She shares a tender kiss with Mapi and winks at you as they pull away.

"Motherhood suits you," She says, her accent causes something to stir within you," You're glowing."

You fix your eyes on Honey, who's running around trying to see who will give her treats next. "It's not like I was pregnant," You try to defend yourself but from the corner of your eye, Ingrid peels away from Mapi to join you at your other side. Her arm closes around your shoulder, fingers drawing patterns on the exposed skin of your arm.

"Hmm," She says dismissively of your statement," How was the surgery? Good? Seeing as you came home with a cutie like Honey."

"Rich guys are generally annoying but this one was pretty cool. He has a lot of animals but he cares deeply for them all." You frown. "I think he's keeping me on a retainer now. I didn't think you could do that for vets, just lawyers."

"You clearly seduced him, amor," Mapi says," You're good like that, getting people to fall for you."

Ingrid's tongue darts out to wet her lips. "Yes, she's very good at that."

●～●～●～●～

It all comes to a head just two weeks after El Clásico.

You've left Honey at a friend's house and Patri's dragged you out to a club with some of her friends.

You're completely sober though, Patri's only way home, but you still end up dancing.

Somewhere along the night, Mapi and Ingrid (equally as sober) join you.

You're sandwiched between them again - Ingrid at your back and Mapi at your front.

Ingrid's hands are on your waist so even if you wanted to fall out of their orbit, you can't.

Your dancing gets more and more sensual as time goes on until you catch Mapi's eyes.

She's grinning like she usually is when you're caught in Ingrid's grip - like a wolf. It happens in slow motion for you.

She leans forward, ever so slightly and your heart beats erratically in your chest. Your lips connect and fireworks go off in your brain. You move on instinct, kissing back and the guilt appears only as she pulls away.

Your eyes widen in alarm and you dart them towards Ingrid, an apology already on your tongue.

You had a crush on both of them, that's true, but kissing Mapi in front of her girlfriend was crossing a line that you shouldn't have crossed.

But Ingrid's grinning down at you and steals a kiss as well, flicking her tongue into your mouth with ease. Her hands move up to your face, leaving Mapi to hold onto your hips.

Your knees feel a little weak when she pulls away.

"You were right," Ingrid says to Mapi although her eyes are still on you," She does taste good."

The implications of that makes your heart skip a beat. They've been talking about you together, about how you react to them, about how you taste.

"You're so dense, amor," Mapi says to you as recognition of every interaction you've had with them suddenly starts to make perfect sense," So book smart, the best vet in the country but so dense. We've been flirting with you for months now."

"Since we saw you that night at Patri's," Ingrid continues," We just knew we had to have you." All those dates. All those little gifts." Her hand comes to rest on the junction between your neck and shoulder. "We're gonna treat you so well, elskling. You just have to say yes."

"Gonna make you our girlfriend," Mapi says as open-mouthed kisses are pressed against the other side of your neck," Gonna take you home with us tonight, if you'll let us. Just say yes."

You don't even have to think about it.

"Yes."

[final-girl96]

Broken World: Chapter Twenty-Six

Hershel looked at my shoulder first. Luckily the bullet went right through. I gritted my teeth together as he stitched it up. “You have an old bullet wound here I see,” he said. I hummed in acknowledgement. Silence fell between us. I could feel his eyes on me waiting explain more. “I was a detective before all this shit happened. I got shot by a suspect a few back,” I told him.

He nodded his head and finished the last stitch. “You're going to need to take it easy for a few days and make sure you keep that clean, we don't have that many antibiotics.” He cleaned up all his supplies and washed his hands. “Thank You. Thank you all you have done for us. I know it might not seem like it but we are all very grateful for your help and hospitality.” His eyes softened a little and he gave me a small smile before walking out of the room to go tended to Daryl.

I walked out of the room and to the front door. I figured Daryl could tell Rick and Shane exactly where we found Sophia's doll. Plus, there were going to be enough people in that room. When I pushed the screen door open, I was crowded by Andrea. “Oh, my god, yn, I am so sorry!” I took a deep breath and walked past her and down the steps. “I didn't know…”

I spun around and stopped her in her tracks. “Stop! You fucking shot at us! You could have killed Daryl for fuck sake! Why the hell did you have a fucking gun in your hand in the first place? I know damn well with how the sun was hitting that you couldn’t have had a good shot. There is no way. But you just think you know everything! Maybe learn how to listen when someone tells you not to do something. Get off that high horse of yours. You are not better than anyone else.” With that I walked away.

I went right to my tent, and grabbed clean clothes. Maggie had said the shower was free if I wanted to use it. I liked Maggie, she was one of those girls that doesn't take shit from anyone. She does what she wants and she loves her family with everything she has. I could tell Glenn had taken a liking to her. The way he looks at her says it all. He was like a teenager with a crush.

I walked back out of my tent and back to the house. Andrea was sitting on the porch steps with Dale. I ignored them while I walked back inside. “Hey!” Maggie said, coming to stand in front of me. I looked over into the kitchen to see Carol, Lori, Beth, and Patricia all laughing and talking while making dinner. “What's going on?” I asked. She looked into the kitchen and smiled. “Lori and Carol thought it would be nice to cook dinner for everyone as a thank you to my dad and the rest of us for helping you guys and especially Carl.”

I nodded my head, “oh, okay.” I let out a breathy laugh. “Is the shower still free for me to use?” I asked. She gave me a bright smile and led me upstairs. “I have extra razors in here and this is my shampoo, conditioner and soap. You are free to use it.. There are also extra toothbrushes and toothpaste in the cabinet. I set a towel and washcloth her for you. Just be careful of those stitches.” I thanked her and she left the bathroom, closing the door on her way.

After locking the door I stripped off my dirty clothes and turned the shower on. I didn't want to use all the hot water so I only planned to be in as long as it took to wash my hair and body, and shave real quick. I haven't shaved in while and when I finally it did, it felt fucking good. I made sure to be extra careful of my stitches while washing my body and even my hair. Then I pat myself dry with a towel after I got out of the shower. I used the toothbrush and toothpaste Maggie set out for me and then gathered everything up and left the bathroom.

Later that night we sat around the table and ate the dinner Carol and Lori made with the help of Beth and Patricia. Maggie, Glenn, Beth, and Jimmy sat at another fold out table. I looked over to see Glenn and Maggie passing a paper back and forth. They were passing notes like they were in high school again. Maggie caught my eye and I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. She rolled her eyes at me and went back to eating. No one was talking. The air was quiet and tense.

Carol got up with a full plate and walked out of sight before coming back a few minutes later. I knew she went to the room that Daryl was in, he was given orders to give it a rest there for the rest of the night. After I was finished eating the little that I could, I got up, walked into the kitchen, washed my dishes, and then headed back to that bedroom. I don't know why, but I felt like I needed to check on him. I haven't seen or talked to him since we got back.

I knocked on the door before slowly opening the door. Daryl was sitting up with his back to the headboard, eating the dinner Carol had brought to him. “May I come in?” I asked. He looked over at me and nodded his head. I walked in and closed the door behind me. “How are you feeling?” I asked. He chewed his food and shrugged his shoulders. “Feel like I been hit by a damn train,” he said. I gave a little laugh and sat in the chair that was near the bed.

“What about you?” He asked, nodding head to my shoulder. I looked down at it and shrugged, “Nothing I can't handle. Can I ask you something?” He looked up from his plate and hummed. “Who did you see out there? Was it Merle?” I asked. He set the empty plate on the nightstand before answering. “Yeah, fucking asshole is everywhere.” We both laughed and then everything fell back into silence but a comfortable silence.

[harlowtales]

Jack finds out his daughter has talent but has to deal with her attitude first 😒

18 + only - Adult themes,drama,romance

“For the 3rd time Patricia. Go Change!” Jack said ordering his daughter back to her room to take off her mini skirt and tank top.

“Not fair!!” Patricia said stomping back upstairs and slamming the door to her room.

Jack found her with her face buried in her pillow sobbing. He made her jump when he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Bug.” He said gently “I..I’m sorry for yelling, but I can’t let you go out like that.”

“Daddy so not fair. I’m not a slut!” Patricia cried

“Exactly so don’t dress like one.” Jack said sternly “I can get you a top notch stylist to show you how to dress for fashion and taste.” Jack offered but Patricia was more offended.

“So now not only am I a slut but I have no fashion sense or taste?!!” She fumed. “This is about Jordan isn’t it?” She questioned “You don’t like him. Just say it.”

“I don’t think you’re a slut at all Patricia, and Jordan is a nice guy…for another girl, just not my daughter.” He explained.

“You are such a snob! Uncle Clay was right.” She said meanly

“Wait what? Don’t listen to Uncle Clay.” Jack said sternly “You’re not wearing that so take it off and then if you decide to talk to me with some respect, you can go to the movies.”

“Don’t worry about it because I’m just going to stay trapped in my tower!!! When did you become so lame!” She raged. It was clear Patricia was in no mood. Jack decided to leave her alone.

“Umm Y/N, this weekend with Patricia is not going well.” Jack said solemnly as he called you for help.

“That’s weird because you’re so good with words.” You said mocking him. It was just like Jack to call you when he hardly had Patricia on weekends due to his schedule and having other fun. What you didn’t realize was he always did everything for Patricia. He was just staying visible at all the parties but he preferred being with his daughter any day of the week.

“She has Instagram you know Jack. She sees her dad all over the world and not with her and you wonder why she’s disrespectful?” You said angrily.

“Y/N please. Maybe…Maybe we should try again. You and me, I mean us as a family. I’ll slow down, or you guys can come on the road with me. Little Bug needs me now more than ever. I fear she’s going in the wrong direction, hanging around the wrong people. I can’t fucking stand that Jordan kid.” Jack said tiredly. He didn’t know what to do and every time he suggested trying again you shot him down.

Much to his surprise you were quiet.

“Y/N?” Jack asked concerned

“You’re right. You’re fucking right and I hate it.” You said through tears starting to well up in your eyes. You never stopped loving Jack even after a year of separation. “She’s not getting the best of me either. I’m so consumed with getting my business going.”

“…and dating.” Jack blurted out. He heard the rumours.

“Jack I have a right to date.” You said firmly

“You’re not single.” He pointed out as you were still legally married. Jack had kept to himself the whole year of separation even though reports had him connected to a few people. For once in Jack’s life a relationship didn’t end because of cheating. It was because of his true other woman…music. His career was all consuming and everything with you and Patricia fell apart when he forgot the date of her graduation and booked a European tour he couldn’t get out of. His whole family was upset at him for that one.

“Ok I don’t want to fight with you. Maybe I should come by and talk to her.” You said

“That would be awesome…we can go for dinner as a family, or not whatever you’re good for.” Jack said not wanting to push you away but thrilled he would be seeing you.

As Jack was headed back upstairs to tell Patricia her mom was coming and they were going out for dinner he heard her through the door singing what sounded like something she wrote. He stopped dead in his tracks her voice was that beautiful. It was a sad song talking about not wanting to be in someone’s shadow so she’s hiding her light from the dark world. Jack softly knocked on the door. Immediately she stopped, blew her nose and tried to appear as if she hadn’t been singing or crying.

“Baby. That was beautiful” Jack said humbled by her obvious talent.

“It was?” She asked looking up at him like a little girl again.

“I’m truly touched. Did you write that song?” He asked not wanting to pry too much.

“I just wrote it fooling around being upset.” She said sadly.

“You JUST made that up, like while I was gone just now?” Jack said incredulously.

“Yeah it just comes to me like that.” Patricia said clearly oblivious to her gifts.

“Ok I’m not going to push you but...” Jack started to say

“Oh no. No. No. No. you’re not getting me in the studio.” She replied before he could finish.

“Ok we’ll revisit this because maybe you need something constructive to focus on.” Jack said

“Oh you mean other than Jordan.” Patricia retorted.

“That’s exactly what I mean, but you have to know, you are an amazing singer.” Jack complimented his daughter in awe of her.

“I…I am?” She said in awe of her dad. It was her secret dream to tour with him.

“Dead ass.” Jack said

“OMG dad never say dead ass again it’s so outdated” She groaned rolling her eyes.

“Hey…can I come in?” You had overheard their conversation.

“Mom!!!” Patricia ran to you giving you a big hug.

“Hey sweet pea. Rough day?” You said patting her hair lovingly. Jack’s eyes lit up when he saw you. “You have to respect daddy. We talked about this remember?”

“He’s being so lame mom.” Patricia said like Jack wasn’t there.

“Hey, I have a suggestion. Why don’t we pass by Ceviche for dinner?” Jack offered

“I’m literally starving.” You said smiling at him which was not your usual demeanour in his presence.

“Can Jordan come?” Patricia asked

“No Jordan.” Jack said bluntly. He clearly wasn’t changing his mind about Patricia’s boyfriend. “And I want you on the road next tour. You gonna do this music thing, you have to learn it’s hard work.”

A little smile crept onto Patricia’s face. “Are you being serious?” She said seeming to come out of her dark cloud

“As a heart attack” Jack answered with his hand on his heart in earnest.

“Ughhh! You are the ultimate dork.” Patricia said “But I love you dad.” She left her mom’s embrace and went over to Jack giving him a huge hug that filled him with joy.

“Now change that outfit and let’s go eat.” He said

“Lame.” Patricia said cracking a slight smile.

“Y/N” Jack said in a low soft voice as he had you alone in the hallway. He pulled you close unexpectedly.

“Jack what are you…” You said bewildered and totally unprepared as he drew you into a deep kiss that mesmerized you.

“Doing what I should’ve done months ago.” He said leaning up against the wall like you were in high school days back at Atherton. You and Jack met in math class. He was barely passing and if it wasn’t for you he probably wouldn’t have graduated.

“You wanna sleep over after dinner?” He said smoothly “My parents are out of town”

Patricia came out of her bedroom seeing him pressed up against you and exclaimed “Ewww!!!!” as she pushed past both of you.

You laughed playfully hitting him in the chest saying “Yeah eewww you’re so lame!”

@ride4harlow @okaaay-mice @itsyagirljaz

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

ROUND 1 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

Singularity

Synopsis

Russia, the near future.

The Somnus Foundation knows the fate of mankind; they promise a tomorrow where humanity will evolve into a godlike form of infinite power. They will lead us there, to a destiny that spans the stars. This is how the future will unfold.

The Doctor knows the fate of mankind; the human race is destined to fight and struggle for their very existence, to survive disaster and war and carve an empire from an unforgiving universe. He has seen it with his own eyes. This is how the future will unfold.

Beneath the towering headquarters of the Somnus, in the streets of Moscow, a dark power is building, and a conspiracy that stretches across eternity is nearing completion.

Time is fracturing and the Doctor and Turlough are at the heart of the chaos. History is about to change and the galaxy will burn in its wake...

Propaganda

Doctor Who vs Evangelion (Russia Edition)! (@finalpam8000 )

Other Lives

Synopsis

London, 1851.

Scene of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.

Scene also of a plot to unseat the government, dethrone the monarch and start a republic.

If the Duke of Wellington himself is to be believed...

While the Doctor and Charley are drawn into the murky world of nineteenth-century politics, C'rizz struggles to maintain his dignity against growing odds.

What begins as an attempt to prevent murder quickly becomes a desperate race to avert revolution. Separated from the TARDIS, the travellers are left to wonder if they'll get their own lives back or be forever entangled with the lives of others.

And who is Mrs Georgina Marlowe? What need does she feel the Doctor can satisfy?

Propaganda

Pure historical slice-of-life with C'rizz in a thong! (@heresmyfiddlestick )

The Kingmaker

Synopsis

Doctor Who encounters one of the most notorious characters from the past as he journeys through time to solve the great Historical Mysteries...

Not surprisingly, the Doctor becomes mixed up with Richard III himself as he tries to unravel the perplexing problem of who exactly killed the princes in the Tower.

Peri and Erimem also encounter a suspicious time traveller. Someone from the Doctor's own past. Someone who shouldn't really be there at all.

So who did murder the princes in the Tower? Perhaps it's best not to ask a question like that...

You might not like the answer...

Propaganda

One of the funniest doctor who episode of all time, if you listen to this and don't laugh even once I don't want to know you. (anonymous)

The Girl Who Never Was

Synopsis

"Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. Someone's listening. Somewhere."

A ghost ship.

A girl with no memory, adrift in time.

An old enemy.

This could be Charlotte Pollard's finest hour — or her last.

Set course for Singapore, 1931.

Journey's end.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Condemned

Synopsis

"Dr John Smith — you're under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court..."

Manchester, 2008. The TARDIS lands inside a run-down tower block, beside a dead body — which leads to some awkward questions when the Doctor is found there by the police. Made the prime suspect, how can the Doctor prove to the no-nonsense DI Patricia Menzies that this is not the open-and-shut case it seems, and that she's actually investigating the death of an alien?

Higher up in Ackley House, a girl named Maxine watches the Doctor being taken away in a squad car. Someone wants her to find out what happened in that room, and isn't going to be happy if she doesn't come up with the goods. But she's got hold of someone who knows — someone very important to the Doctor.

A deadly conspiracy is at work — one whose effects will be felt far beyond the walls of Ackley House...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Doomwood Curse

Synopsis

Curses and tombs, revenge from beyond the grave — and Dick Turpin!

England, 1738. On the trail of a lost book, the Doctor and Charley arrive at the beautiful country estate of Sir Ralph and Lady Sybil. But all is far from idyllic. There's a murderer on the loose, and the nearby woods are the haunt of the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

And that's not all. Something else has journeyed here. Something that could destroy the very fabric of reality. The Doctor and Charley have just forty-eight hours to solve the mystery before the whole world succumbs to The Doomwood Curse.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

[cyanophore-fiction]

You chose dare!

Give us a one-shot of Coyote and Pala where they are adopted by a current-day group of humans and their roomba. (assume they aren't being actively hunted at the moment)

Hi! I've been off for a few days, but I liked this prompt a lot. Thank you so much! Here's what I've got:

Things Are Okay

At first, Iris wouldn’t even stay in the same room as Coyote. Its initial attempts at establishing contact with her were abject failures. Squatting on its haunches, perfectly motionless with one hand extended toward her in greeting, Coyote would watch her reaction. Her behavior was remarkably consistent if uninterrupted:

Visual contact → halt all motion → standby for approximately three to six seconds → lower body closer to floor, preparing to bolt if necessary. After another eight to twelve seconds, she would take her chances and trot away, keeping her eyes on Coyote until line of sight was obstructed. Effective threat response, but if the intent was to reduce the chance of detection by staying motionless, she really shouldn’t swish her tail around. 

Coyote hadn’t meant to cause her stress, but it did so by simply existing in her territory. Pala elicited much less of a response, probably because it and Iris were about the same size. Coyote also guessed that Iris’s pattern recognition software probably had a better idea what to make of Coyote’s humanoid chassis than Pala’s arthropod design. She absolutely knew what to make of Coyote’s serrated teeth, so it made sure to keep its mouth sealed when she was nearby. 

Now, a few months after initial contact, she was purring in its lap. Coyote used a blanket to provide a soft surface for her to rest on—cermet armor was less than inviting. It reached down, claws covered by soft plastic caps, and pressed into the white fur around her ears. She pushed her head up into Coyote’s hand, eyes sliding shut, and stretched her forelegs out. A pang of anxiety registered as she did so, but Coyote forced the warning aside. Its claws were capped. The reticle over its vision confirmed that the flechette gun behind its palm was unloaded, the action locked open. Iris was safe.

Maya was across the room, reading in an armchair. Lowering her book, she watched, raising a mug of tea to her lips.

“She’s taken a liking to you,” she said.

“She has,” said Coyote. “Goes both ways.”

They sat for a while, listening to the rain against the window panes. Coyote looked out into the wall of green outside. Elms and pines rose above the undergrowth, leaves dark and wet. “Taking some time for the kids to get back today,” it said. “I can’t get a lock on Sanvi’s phone.”

“You more or less told her you could track it. As long as it’s on.”

Coyote paused. Cocked its head and smiled a little. “Oh. I get it.”

“The buses run slower in this weather. They’re okay.”

“Sorry.”

“For what?” she said, smiling. “Worrying about my daughter?”

“Not exactly used to safety yet,” it said. 

Pala’s signal was moving nearby, coming down the stairwell. It came into view as it reached the landing above the living room. On the step above it was the roomba, whirring along quietly. An antenna had been added to the roomba, held in place by superglue and a few wires running into the casing. Coyote heard a series of radio commands leap from Pala to the roomba. The machine turned, rolling neatly onto Pala’s back, and it transferred the machine to the next step down. Each time it finished sweeping a step, Pala repeated the process. 

[Having fun?] Coyote said. 

[This machine serves my inexorable will. I’m its god,] Pala said. [Yeah, it’s pretty okay.]

[That’s good.]

[I have a confession to make.]

[Let’s hear it.]

[You know the Millers?]

[Yeah. Patricia and Henry Miller, live next door at 202. Why?]

[Almost all of their appliances have wireless control.]

Coyote turned, glanced at Pala. [You didn’t.]

[No. But I could.] Pala said.

[We really need to find you something to do on a daily basis.]

[Oh, is that right? You and the cat still on the same nap schedule?]

[Excuse me, I’ll have you know I did a bang-up job of cleaning the gutters.]

[Records indicate that task took you thirty minutes.]

[True. Yeah, we could both use a little—]

“What are you two talking about?” Maya asked.

“Sorry,” said Coyote and Pala, their electronic voices in uncanny unison. Their entire radio conversation had taken place in less than six seconds. Over the past few months, Coyote and Pala had become more accustomed to the format of each other’s thoughts, and Coyote had even installed sections of Pala’s bleeding-edge operating system into itself. The new software made it feel as though its mind was oiled, free from inefficiencies that it didn’t even realize were there.

“It’s alright, I’d just like to be in the loop,” said Maya. 

“Kind of thinking about where we go from here,” said Pala, deactivating the roomba. 

“You and your family have been really kind to us,” Coyote said. “I’ve said it before, but we can’t thank you enough for taking us in. It just feels wrong to sit around here doing nothing.”

“Doing nothing?” Maya said, raising her eyebrows. “The two of you cook, you clean, you tutor the girls, you run errands, you can fix just about anything, and you don’t cost us a dime. Electricity, maybe, but the bill has barely changed. We’re more than happy to have you.”

Coyote cocked its head. It hadn’t considered that any of those tasks constituted actual work. They were just routines it followed, motions performed day in and day out. None of them required significant processing power or placed any strain on its components. 

“Are you thinking of leaving?”

“I don’t think so. Not sure where we’d go.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. At this point, the girls would be heartbroken. If you’re having trouble finding work, maybe I can help. What are you interested in doing?”

Maya made the remark offhandedly, but the effect on Coyote was profound. Its sensory fins slowly rose, and it stared at her. It and Pala could seek employment, have a career—that was an option. Presented with the concept now, it was shocked that something so obvious had escaped it. Once the dam was cracked, everything that her suggestion entailed also made itself clear. 

Survival was no longer a question. It was assumed. In the absence of that overriding objective, new ones could be defined. They could find a pursuit they loved and follow it. They could find something they didn’t really love, and pursue it anyway because it was rewarding, profitable, necessary, or whatever the hell else. They could seek interesting challenges, or education, or to benefit others.

Coyote realized that Maya probably expected them to explain what was stopping them. Of course the prospect would have occurred to the pair of spirits she had offered shelter to, but some obstacle must be holding them back. Of course there would be something they wanted, something they were interested in. It was just something that people did. 

The corollary to that: Maya truly and implicitly thought of them as people. 

Maya looked on, brows knitting together with concern. “Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s okay,” Coyote finally said. It glanced at Pala, who was also silent. In its lap, Iris made a purring sound and nuzzled its claws. “I just don’t think we’ve ever been asked that question.”

[via-rant]

He did exactly what they planned. Handing out the notes to the address and how to get out. They all met him there like they planned and he was relieved to know they made it out okay.

Four girls, two boys.

"Hey Lee." Leo said to the little boy, 4, who ran to hug him, picking him up. Another girl, 13, was glaring with a bruised eye, the oldest, 17, holding the youngest, 2, on her hip who was already asleep.

"Come on. Let's get you guys settled in." Percy said.

"But what if they find us here?" A little girl, 9, asked.

"If they do, we'll know who to blame." The 13 year old said glaring at a 15 year old boy.

"Or maybe stop blamming everyone else but them." He said back and they glared at each other.

"Okay, okay, it's late, we're tired. Let's get you to sleep, okay?" Leo asked and they rolled their eyes but initially agreed. Sally wanted to cry. These are innocent kids. And watching one of her sons friends help take care of these kids as a kid is heartbreaking. She could never give that job to Percy.

She watched Leo play with the 9, Miriam, and 4 year old, Lee, to get their energy out before they went to bed. She listened to Mia, the 17 year old assure the 13, Tina, and 15 year old, Ronan, that if they do find them, it won't be for a while while tending to Tinas eye. Sally took care of the 2 year old, Patricia. They were relieved to get them to sleep after about an hour.

Leo and Mia held each other afterwards assuring they did a good job before going to sleep themselves. They'll be okay for a while.

Imagine if Leo had no say in going back to foster care. He's scared and tries not to show it. He meets the home, and it starts out like normal. They're nice at first, but they get worse. And worse. And worse. But he can't tell anyone. He can't run either, knowing it won't be any different, and he actually has friends here, people who care about him, so he can't just leave them. Not to mention the job he has. He tries to stay out of the house as much as he can.

Percy's skeptical, though. Every time they visit for any reason, they always have this smile on their faces and a so obvious fake laugh for anyone with experience and the amount of times he's stayed home because of an "accident" was concerning for anyone. Especially when they weren't allowed to see him.

He tries to talk to him about it, but he always says the same thing. "You know me, I'm clumsy.", "They're just like that.", "They want me to focus on my health and healing." But Percy knows.

-----

That's all I can think of.

[mezzowatch]

pat racette just went ‘hellooOOooOOo susan’ in this super low sexy voice and susan got all giggly and flustered and then patricia looked into the camera like THIS

hello 911 i need an ambulance

[charliedawn]

Any fandom/slashers would date ftm asexual

I just feel sad and lonely right now

P.S love your work

(Thank you. And I hope you'll like this work.)

Pennywise :

"That makes us both, doll."

Pennywise has an aversion for touching and being asexual kinda goes with it. Well, he is asexual in the sense that he would understand your situation and respect it.

He was actually surprised when you confessed to him and felt confused, as he never doubted you were too.

He could feel it, but didn't think it was his business, until you asked if he was bothered by it.

"Bothered ? No offense. But, I chose you because of it. You are nice, and what we got going is good. I don't need s*x for us to work."

To sum it up, Pennywise is fine just living in peace with you and wouldn't mind at all that you are asexual.

Don't worry. If you hadn't said anything ? He would have still figured it out.

Perks of being a mind reader.

Patricia (The Horde) :

"Oh, honey..Don't worry. It's normal. I don't care about that. You're perfect."

Patricia wouldn't mind.

She's the kind of person that wants to leave her chastity intact forever, so it would work for her.

She likes you because you always were and are kind to her, even when she explained her situation to you.

However, the whole going from a woman to a man might be confusing to her at first.

But, she's working on her acceptance and would understand in the end.

"I'm sorry I didn't get it right away, but we love you either way, sweetie. You'll always be the best thing that happened to us and nothing will change that." *kisses your forehead lovingly*

Jason :

Asexual ? What's that ?

You would have to explain to him what it means and Jason would listen attentively.

He would think about it and finally shrug.

"Jason..Doesn't care..Likes Y/N, because nice to Jason."

He wouldn't mind.

He's been taught all his life that s*x is bad and was only allowed very few distractions in his life.

He wouldn't know how to "do s*x" even if he wanted to.

Innocent and clueless in this area. Virgin to the bone.

I would be surprised if he even had a boner in his life.

"Jason..Happy with Y/N. Doesn't..want them to leave." *hugs you*

He would accept it and be happy either way.

Shigaraki :

Shigaraki.

😂

Considering he could actually kill you on accident by not focusing for one minute.

S*x might not be his priority in life.

He would be happy to find someone willing to love him and understand his struggles when it comes to his powers.

He was actually the one who told you he couldn't actually commit to the deed from the beginning.

He was afraid of accidentally hurting you.

"I can't..lose focus. I can't hurt you. You're..okay with that, right ?"

He was so nervous at first, but relief washed over him when you confessed you were asexual.

"That's..good. Thank you."

Vanya/Viktor :

Viktor would understand your struggles and sympathize, as he had to go through the same transition.

He would date you and help you.

He would support you and make sure you feel as comfortable as possible in the relationship.

Viktor *takes your hand and smiles* : "There's nothing wrong with being different. You are amazing, and I can't wait for you to meet my family. They'll love you, because I sure do."

Viktor who is usually so unsure about everything in his life, was so sure about you.

He knew dating you would be the best decision of his life.

And, he turned out to be right.

You would also protect each other from other rude narrow-minded people and understand each other in a way that no one else can.

Armitage Hux :

General Hux had been asked multiple times to marry and fond a family, so he may produce more children for the First Order.

He couldn't exactly disobey and say that he had no intention of having an heir.

It would be considered treason and Hux liked his head attached to his neck.

He then found you and realized you were an asexual as you were talking to a stormtrooper trying to flirt with you.

He quickly lost interest, while Hux's only grew and he decided he would take you as his partner and hence, he would have an excuse to not produce any child for the First Order.

You would be a valuable asset to his plans...And slowly turn into something more.

"I was lost before you and I..I thought I would never find someone so similar to me..someone that would understand me. But, you became someone I can't find myself without.."

J :

"Ace..*smiles* Did you know that the ace is the highest playing card in the deck ? It means excellence and whoever gets an ace is one lucky fellow." (I know. I already used that in another post, but I just thought it was too good to waste.)

He would support and kiss the back of your hand like a true gentleman.

Once J likes you ? It's forever.

He wouldn't care about having s*x. The guy is the mastermind of crime and would be happy if you just stayed with him.

He is not judgemental.

No. Sorry. That's not what I meant.

He IS judgemental. But, not when it comes to sexuality.

He just judges society in general. But, he wouldn't judge you for being different.

He likes different.

J *smiles widely* : "There's nothing I love more than a man who knows what he wants ! And you ? You look like you found it ! I respect you even more for that !"

Stephen Strange :

"Really ? Oh..Well, I didn't know that."

Liar. He knew. There are no secrets you can hide from Stephen Strange.

He can see the multiple outcomes of a lifetime.

Once you're in his life ? You can be sure he knows you better than yourself.

He could pinpoint the exact time and place you would meet to its very second and since he allowed it, you can be sure he would have no trouble with you as a person.

He will accept you.

There is nothing Stephen hates more than fake people. And, when he saw you in his future ?

He fell for your honesty and knew there would be nothing you could say or do that would break that.

As long as you have a bright mind, Stephen will love you either way.

Stephen *smiles fondly at you* : "You glow, and if I had to choose between you and anyone else in this world who I could have s*x with ? Guess what ? I would choose you. Every time."

Hannibal Jr. :

"Interesting."

Now, Hannibal Jr. has had s*x before, but let's say, it wouldn't be a problem for him.

He tested his preferences, and turns out ?

He grew bored of it.

Hannibal Jr. doesn't care about s*x or that you're a man. He is open-minded, but he would also be cautious.

Hannibal Jr. is not one to give his trust easily. His love even less.

He would first learn as much as he can and see if you are worth it ? (Very complicated man)

But, once you've gained his interest ? He would be one of the best partners you can have and bring you everywhere, make you see the world.

He's very cultured and as such, has been to many different places.

One thing is for sure, you would never get bored with him.

Besides, he is an individual who eats people, let's say nothing can faze him.

Luna Lovegood :

Luna. Luna is peculiar and she knows it, is proud of it even.

She would never judge anyone.

She would be happy to date you, if you wouldn't mind her constant "loony" behavior and her regular "nargle" hunts in return.

Luna *giggles and shows you her new finding excitedly* : "Look ! I found one ! A purple nargle ! They were supposed to be extinct !"

She was the first to discover a new race of nargles and bring it to the minister of magical creatures.

She wouldn't make an issue out of your sexuality. She would be just as happy to make you tag along on her many adventures.

Luna *tilts her head to the side when you tell her* : "And ? That's great. Is it supposed to be a problem ?"

Bless her soul. The girl is too good for this world.

[gamergirl929]

They Hate Each Other (No They Don't, Not Really)  (Alex Morgan x Reader)

All would agree, your arch nemesis showing up absolutely anywhere you were would ruin your day, but that’s EXACTLY what happens to one veteran USWNT player, Alex Morgan, when she runs into her arch nemesis at the USWNT camp.

Alex Morgan’s eyes widen, pure rage running through her when you strut towards her, bag in hand.

“You shouldn’t look at your soon to be teammate like that Morgan, frowning gives you wrinkles.” You wink, the forward’s lip curling in a snarl.  

“What’s she doing-

“I DON’T KNOW.” Alex yells, nearly making Kelley jump out of her skin.  

Alex was absolutely livid, seeing you at the USWNT camp had been a surprise, and not a wonderful one.  

The second Alex spotted Vlatko Andonovski she advances angrily on the man, who’s looking at her as if he expected this reaction.  

“Alex-

“What the hell!? We’re you going to tell me? To tell US?!” She yells, louder than intended, but you’d riled her up in way no one had before.  

“I didn’t know you were the coach this year Morgan, if I did, I would’ve stayed home.” You snark, your smirk making Alex growl.  

“Shut UP!” She yells and you laugh.  

“We should room together Morgan, I think we’d make GREAT roommates.”  

Alex growls, mumbling under her breath.  

“It’ll be easier to smother you in your sleep then.”  

You smirk cockily.  

“Kinky.”  

Alex snarls angrily.  

“Listen.” Vlatko holds a hand up, glancing your way before turning back to Alex.  

“Y/N is one of the best players in the world, having her at our camp, and possibly on the team brings our team up to the next level. I saw a chance, and I took it.”

Alex shakes her head.  

“But-

He shakes his head.  

“I’m sorry Alex.” He pats her on her shoulder before turning away and walking off.  

Alex meanwhile is standing stock still, her mouth agape.  

Her biggest rival had just joined the USWNT camp, and would PROBABLY join the USWNT.  

She growls.

“Fuck.”  

                                                            ***

If you were being honest, you absolutely hated Alex Patricia Morgan, the woman knew how to push your buttons and she did so whenever she could.

You’d met during college, of course, on rival teams, ultimately where your rivalry began, a rivalry that seeped into your NWNT career, and when Alex came overseas, donning the Tottenham Hotspur’s jersey, you were there, wearing a red and white Arsenal’s jersey.  

Needless to say, when the two teams squared up, your rivalry continued.  

Alex hated you just as much as you hated her, making the competition between the two of you even more fierce.

It surprised literally EVERYONE that the two of you hadn’t killed one another yet.

At this current moment in time though, you were currently literal moments from killing one another.  

“I didn’t mean to step on your cleats Morgan, just go to the store when practice is over and buy another pair.” You snort.  

Alex lets out a feral growl.  

“You are SO fucking infuriating!”  

You blow the woman a kiss, which only infuriates her more, the woman stomping her foot before she trudges off.  

“Fuck off!” She yells over her shoulder and you scoff.  

“You too!”  

                                                            ***

Vlatko rubs the back of his neck watching as you and Alex hurl insults at one another. He’d known about your rivalry, but he wasn’t aware that it went to the extent of actual hatred.  

Alex was absolutely fuming as you walked past her, moments after sinking a goal in her team’s net.  

“Don’t look so mad Morgan, we both know I’m better than you could ever dream of being.”  

Alex stomps passed you, the woman’s shoulder slamming into yours.  

You flip around, eyes full of absolute fire.  

“Body check me again Morgan, I fucking dare you.” You growl in her face, so much so that your nose brushes hers.  

Alex pushes you backwards.  

“Nobody tells me what to do on MY FIELD.”  

You snicker.  

“Your field?” You throw your head back, barking out a laugh, though when you stop laughing you lean towards her, smirking.  

“Let’s see how much longer this field is yours, you numpty.”  

Alex growls as you walk towards the nearby benches with a confident strut.  

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?”

                                                            ***

“I don’t get why you hate Y/N so much ANYWAY, she seems nice...”

The second the words leave Emily’s mouth she feels as if she’s about to burst into flames from the absolute fiery glare she’s getting from Alex.  

Kelley immediately slips in between Alex and Emily, her hands held up in surrender.  

“Jan, please don’t kill Emily, who else will carry on the Frat Daddy legacy!?” The defender asks, pleading for her child’s life.  

Alex snarls, stomping away from the two of them, all the while mumbling angrily under her breath.  

“Y/N NICE?! How could ANYONE put her and NICE in the same fucking sentence???” She snarls, deciding that some time on the field would clear her mind.  

                                                            ***

Though what Alex DOESN’T expect when she gets to the field is to find you there, the field between you and the goal littered with soccer balls.  

Alex ducks down when you turn her way, an aggravated snarl leaving you.  

“BLOODY HELL!” You yell, Alex’s eyes widening at the thickness of your accent.

She peeks out from her hiding place, watching as you drop down onto the pitch, sitting in a cross-legged position.  

Alex frowns when she sees your face is buried in your hands.  

“Fuck that shite.” You sigh as you move to your feet, wiping the sweat from your brow with your bare arm.  

Alex isn’t sure what possess her to stay for so long, but nearly an hour later you’re still on field, sinking ball after ball in different angles, it’s when you miss one that you angrily snarl.  

“Nothing but a right, cock-up!”  

Alex shakes her head, her brows furrowed.  

Why were you so hard on yourself after you’d done so well within an hours time?

Alex’s eyes widen when she sees you glance her way your brows furrowed.  

“Oi! Is someone there?!” You shout, standing stock still.

When no one replies, you give your head a rapid shake, unaware that Alex is currently sprinting away from the scene.

“Must’ve imagined it.”  

                                                            ***

Alex had seen how hard you were on yourself that day, but that in no way quelled her anger entirely considering you were at each other's throats after the fact.  

“You did that on fucking PURPOSE!” Alex growls as she’s helped to the bench, her leg injured from an accidental cleating by yours truly.  

You pinch the bridge of your nose as you jog over to the bench.  

“I didn’t!” You growl as you drop to your knees in front of her, the forward’s eyes wide and brows furrowed when you gently slip her cleat off her foot, along with her sock, now noticing the hints of blood dotting the fabric.  

“Shite.” You mumble, swiping the nearby first aid kit from the team’s doctor.  

“Yeah, I don’t like you, but I wouldn’t make you purposely bleed.”  

Alex watches in something akin to disbelief when you begin to clean her injury with a delicacy that she hadn’t seen from you in, well, ever.  

Your touch sent a jolt from her leg through her entire body, a warmth spreading throughout her from a delicate brush of your fingertips.  

Moments after you finished dressing her wound, you glance up at her.  

“This doesn’t mean I hate you any less.”  

You move to your feet, sending the woman a glare before you head back on field.  

“Don’t use your leg as an excuse for the shite way you’re playing, you know it’s just because I’m better than you.” You smirk cockily.  

Alex’s eyes narrow.  

“Better my ass.”  

                                                            ***

The first person who finds out about you making the USWNT, well, besides yourself, is Alex Morgan, considering you actively sought her out, a cocky smirk on your face.  

Alex sighs in annoyance.  

“I know you made the fucking team, go away.”  

You grin grabbing an apple from the table in front of you and take a bite, the apple crunching loudly.  

“I’m right where I’m supposed to be actually. Isn’t this where the USWNT members sit?” You grin, earning an eye roll from the forward.  

“Yes, but your seat is over there.” She nods towards the trash and you laugh, sucking a piece of apple down your windpipe, garnering no help from the woman beside you.  

“Blimey, let one of the ONLY reasons you’ll be winning any and all major tournaments this year die, real dull mate.”  

Alex growls.  

“I’m not, ‘dull mate.’” She says, doing her best to mock you and your accent.

Your eyes widen.  

“Oh my god, that was rank awful. That actually hurt to hear. My nan is rolling over in her grave right now.”  

Alex blows a raspberry at you.  

“Real mature love, real mature.”  

“Don’t you have someone else to bother?” She growls.

“I’m busy bothering you right now.”  

Alex snarls, jumping to her feet and storming off.  

“See you later teammate!” You yell, waving over exaggeratedly at her as she marches off.

                                                            ***

Where your feelings for Alex, at least off the field, were based more off of annoying her until the point of insanity, your feelings for her on the field was a competitive hate, something Alex mirrored, but her hate for you off field?  

Well, it was complete unbridled hate.  

“Seriously, if you’re going to play like that, then stay off the field, England needs you more than we do.” Alex shakes her head and you smirk.  

“You over shot it! Not me!” You shake your head in disbelief.  

Alex lets out a mock laugh.  

“Maybe you should’ve actually ran faster.”  

You throw your head back with a groan.  

“If I was in your position, we would’ve scored.”

Alex stomps her foot, the look in her eyes something you’d seen before, but never to this extent.  

“You’re not made for the USWNT and you’re NOT made for soccer at a national level, you sucked in college, and you still fucking suck now.”  

The field goes silent, everyone turning to look at Alex, their eyes wide.  

Meanwhile, Alex’s blue orbs are locked on your face, a face that holds literally no hints of the cockiness it TYPICALLY holds, instead, it holds what she reads, as a hint of sadness.  

You clear your throat, your mouth opening and closing a few times before you nod.  

“Th-Thanks.”  

Alex reaches out to you as you turn your back on her, the woman frowning as you make your way towards the bench, grabbing your things hastily before you head towards the bus.  

Alex’s head hangs in shame, the looks of her teammates burning holes in her back.  

“Alex-” Megan starts, only to be cut off by the forward moments later.  

“I KNOW! OKAY!?” She yells, sending the rest of the USNWT a look.  

Her shoulders hunch.  

“I know.”  

                                                            ***

The second she steps on the bus you turn away, unwilling to look at the woman as she walks past, though, unfortunately for you, she doesn’t walk past, she instead sits right beside you.  

“Are you lost?” You ask, voice rough.  

Alex shakes her head.  

“No, I’m not.”  

You move to your feet.  

“Well, if you’re not lost, then I’ll get lost.” You say, frowning when Alex doesn’t move so you can get out of your seat.  

“Move Morgan.” You growl angrily.  

She shakes her head.  

“No can do, Y/L/N.” She shrugs and you growl, about to climb over the seat, but the look on Alex’s face stops you, causing you to flop back down into your seat in annoyance.  

“Why are you holding me against my will Morgan?” You huff.  

She sighs, rolling her eyes.  

“Look, I’m sorry, I took it too far.”  

Your eyes narrow, brows furrowing as you lean back, away from the woman.  

“There’s no WAY that you’re Alex Morgan, she never apologizes, especially not to ME.” You bark out a laugh and she shakes her head.  

“As much as it PAINS me to do so, I shouldn’t have said what I said on field, you do deserve to be on the team, and you don’t suck... That much.” She shrugs, and you can’t help but smile.  

You begin chuckling, the woman looking at you in confusion.  

“What’s so funny?”  

“Yeah, you still suck.”  

Alex growls.  

“Fuck you Y/N.”  

You grin.  

“Right back at you love, right back at you.”  

                                                            ***

The lineup for the first match against Portugal was rather surprising, you weren’t expecting to start, not when players like Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath and Christen Press were on the team, but you were named to the starting lineup.  

You wouldn’t show your surprise to the team, but you’d been sure to ask Vlatko multiple times if the lineup was correct, and he of course, told you repeatedly it was.  

You did your best to not look nervous when standing in the tunnel, a number of Portugal’s players were glancing your way worriedly, everyone knew who you were, and everyone knew what you could do.  

The crowd cheered as the USWNT and Portugal made their way onto the field, everyone excited to see the new editions to the USWNT and what they had to offer.  

You completely blank out the National Anthem, standing stock still your eyes darting around the sold-out crowd.  

It isn’t until you’re taking your place on field that you snap back out of it, your eyes unconsciously darting to the woman with a big 13 on her back.  

You smirk.  

“Show time.”  

                                                            ***

You can feel it, the moment you’re about to make your first goal with the USWNT, your entire body shaking with excitement.

Alex can’t help but smile when you expertly slip the ball passed the Portugal player who’s on you and fire it in on goal, the ball with a bit of a spin on it.  

You still, the ball looking like an overshot, but thanks to the spin on it, gravity pulls it downwards, passed the goalkeeper’s fingertips and into the back of the net.  

You throw a fist in the air with a massive grin, a grin Alex mirrors when she walks over to you, patting your back, her reaction tame considering Tobin was currently hanging off your back, along with Kelley and Emily.  

Alex shrugs.  

“Lucky shot.”  

You snort.  

“Luck had nothing to do with it.”  

Alex snorts even louder.  

“I mean, I DID assist.”  

You roll your eyes.  

“Didn’t need your assistance.” You smirk, the forward’s eyes narrowing as she sends you a glare, receiving only a wink in return.  

Alex growls.  

“Still so infuriating.”  

                                                            ***

By the end of the first half the score is 2-0, and by the end of the game, it’s 4-0, one of those goals being yours, and another belonging to Alex Morgan.  

It’s when you’re heading to the bus that you turn to Alex with a smirk.  

“Had to copy me, huh Morgan?”

Alex scoffs.  

“Copy? You got a goal before me, big deal.”  

Tobin shakes her head as she takes a seat beside Christen on the bus.  

“Do they argue about everything?” She asks and Christen giggles, watching as you and Alex bicker, though instead of sitting far away from one another, Alex sits right behind you.  

“I mean, I guess that’s how they say they’re into each other.”  

An incredibly loud laugh makes Christen jump, the woman turning to her bus buddy who is looking at her in shock.  

“They literally want each other dead.”  

Christen rolls her eyes.  

“No, they don’t, they like each other.”  

Ali turns around in her seat towards Christen and Tobin.  

“I mean, it’s obvious.”  

Ashlyn scoffs.  

“Obvious that Y/N would poison Alex’s food if she could.”  

Kelley, who comes in from out of nowhere snorts.  

“Yeah, I mean, they’ve hated each other since college, Jan talks about it all the time.”  

Christen and Ali share a glance, the two shaking their heads.  

“They’re totally into each other.”

“Oh, I know.”  

                                                            ***

“Wait, there HAS to be a mistake...” You say as Vlatko turns to you, Alex’s eyes wide and filled with absolute horror.  

“No, the two of you are rooming together. It seems.” He shrugs, knowing full well that it was he who decided the two of you would room together, and it wouldn’t be a onetime deal either.

The two of you glance at one another, eyes narrowed.  

“I get the shower first.” Alex mumbles and you smirk, swiping the key from Vlatko before sprinting to the elevators.  

“The FUCK you do!” You yell, Alex sprinting after you.  

“Y/N YOU GET BACK HERE!”

Everyone watches as Alex chases after you, their eyes wide.  

Tobin turns towards Christen.  

“You call THAT being into each other?”  

Christen turns towards Ali, the two yet again, shaking their heads.  

“Oblivious.”  

                                                            ***

“DON’T USE ALL THE HOT WATER!” Alex yells, smacking the bathroom door and you growl.  

The door swings open moments later and you walk out, wearing nothing but a sports bra and a pair of boxers.  

“Morgan, we’re in a hotel, that’s impossible.”  

Alex watches as you head to your suitcase, riffling through its contents.  

She can’t help but stare, the wide expanse of flesh and muscle usually hidden beneath your uniform now on display for her to see.  

You turn around, holding a wad of clothes, your brows furrowed.

Alex jumps when you reach out, poking her in the forehead with your index finger.  

“Hey!” She growls, slapping at your hand.  

“I just wanted to see if you were still alive.”  

Alex’s eyes rake down your front, stopping on your very prominent abdominal muscles.  

You turn away and step in the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind you.  

Alex stands there for a moment before she glances around.  

“Yeah.”  

                                                            ***

Alex had TRIED to tell herself that she was in NO way ogling you like a horny frat boy, but when you walked out wearing basically the same thing to sleep in, she knew she was, for a fact, ogling you like a horny frat boy.  

She’d made a quick retreat to the bathroom moments after, but she couldn’t avoid you forever.  

You meanwhile were completely sprawled out in bed, Nintendo Switch in hand. You briefly wondered if Alex had drowned, but when the bathroom door swung open you sighed.  

“I thought you might’ve drowned, I was going to see if you wanted to smash.”

Alex stops mid-stride, dropping her clothes on the floor.  

“WHAT!?”  

Your brows furrow as you hold your Nintendo Switch up.  

“Smash...?”

Alex clears her throat, her cheeks blood red.  

“O-O-Oh...”  

You snort.  

“Christ Morgan.” You shake your head and she rolls her eyes, stomping to her bed.  

“What?”  

You shrug.  

“Get your mind out of the gutter, at least now I know you want in my trousers.” You smirk and she snarls, a pillow flying from her bed and smacking you right in the face.  

“Fuck you.”  

“SEE!” You grin, throwing the pillow back on her bed.  

“I’m going to kill you in your sleep.”

You shake your head.  

“Get over here and we’ll smash.” You hold a controller out to her and her eyes narrow.  

“Sure, you’re okay with losing?” She asks cockily and you grin.  

“Are you?”

Alex scoffs.  

“I’d never lose to you.”  

“We’ll see about that.”  

                                                            ***

“Why do you look so tired?” Kelley asks Alex the following day and the forward yawns.  

“Y/N and I were Smashing.”  

Kelley’s brown orbs widen, as do Alex’s the forward punching her friend in the arm.  

“Super Smash Brothers you bitch.”  

Kelley hums.  

“I mean I could see you and Y/N hate fucking each other.” She shrugs and Alex’s cheeks flush bright red.  

Alex punches Kelley in the shoulder, the defender groaning.  

“Jesus Christ, Jan. You didn’t have to hit me so hard.”  

Alex turns her attention towards her breakfast and away from the pouting defender beside her.  

Though you were absolutely irritating and Alex thought about killing you a total of 48 times last night, she enjoyed spending time with you.  

You yawn as you make your way towards the table, sitting across from Alex.  

“You have to get used to losing if we keep smashing every night.”  

Suddenly a plate falls to the table, hard, the sound making everyone jump.  

Tobin is standing beside you, her eyes wide, Ashlyn meanwhile is smirking as she sits down beside you.  

“Who’s smashing?” Megan asks and you roll your eyes.  

“Smash Bros.” You shake your head and Megan rolls her eyes exaggeratedly.

“Boring, there’s only one Smash that’s actually interesting.”  

Tobin gasps dramatically, her hand on her heart.  

“I beg to DIFFER.”  

You shake your head, watching with amusement as the two bicker, leading to Ashlyn chiming in.

You glance at Alex.  

“You just HAD to tell everyone we Smashed.”  

Alex rolls her eyes.  

“Of course, I did, because I won.”  

You bark out a laugh, shaking your head as you sip your orange juice.  

“Like one time, Morgan.”  

Alex growls.  

“WELL, WE’LL SMASH AGAIN TONIGHT!” She yells, every single one of her teammates turning her way.  

Alex clears her throat, rubbing the back of her neck.  

“Are we talking about the SAME Smashing?” You smirk and Alex sends you a glare.  

“SHUT UP.”  

                                                            ***

Alex rubs her temples angrily.  

Playing in the rain had always been a hassle, but playing in the rain against SWEDEN was a nightmare.  

Sweden was the USWNT’s rival and the fact that the USWNT were currently down by 2 of COURSE, didn’t sit well with Alex Morgan.  

The whistle blows, signaling the end of the first half and Alex sighs in relief, she needed a break, not only for her tired legs, but to quell the irritation inside of her.

Someone bumps into her and she snarls.  

“Watch where the FUCK you’re going.” She turns towards, who she now realizes is you, you who looks as equally pissed as she does.  

“Listen Morgan, I’m seriously not in the fucking mood, I’m just as mad as you are, so don’t start your shit with me.” You snap, your USWNT teammates stopping to stare at the two of you with wide eyes.  

“Fuck you.” She snarls turning to walk away and you sneer.  

“Yeah? We’ll fuck you too!” You yell before you follow after her and into the locker room.  

“Why are you following me!?” She yells and you scoff.  

“WE SHARE A LOCKER ROOM.” You deadpan, flopping down on the nearby bench.  

“Well, you can still sit away from me.” Alex gripes and you shake your head.  

“I’m not moving Morgan.”

Alex, being purposely annoying sits down behind you, rather closely in fact.  

“Well, I’m not either.” She mumbles and you snort.  

“Mature Morgan, REALLLL mature.”  

                                                            ***

By the time the game ended the USWNT had a comeback, winning the game 3-2, much to Alex’s elation, as well as your own.  

That elation didn’t erase the fact that the two of you had argued during the match, the two of you cold, wet and incredibly angry.  

Alex is pulled out of her trance when the bathroom’s door in your and her hotel room swings open, a rush of steam flowing out as you leave the room.  

Alex glances away from you, not only because you’re, yet again, barely dressed, but also because she’s ashamed of her behavior earlier that day.  

You flop onto your bed without even looking at her, choosing to fall face down against its plush surface.  

You remain silent, the air within the room incredibly heavy.  

The silence is broken by Alex’s soft whisper.

“I’m sorry I took my frustration out on you.”  

You remain silent as you roll over, your hand slipping into your suitcase.

You search blindly until you find what you’re looking for, holding the Nintendo Switch out to Alex.

“Smash?” You ask and Alex smiles.

“Smash.”  

Alex flops on the bed beside you, taking the controller she’d used a few nights prior.

You glance at her out of the corner of your eye.

“I’m sorry too.”  

Alex’s brows arch, the woman unable to bite back a smile, something that makes you send her a glare.

“Enough of this shite, ready to lose Morgan?”  

Alex scoffs.  

“I should be asking you that.”  

                                                            ***

You grimace as the body beside you shifts, a pair of arms wrapping tightly around you from behind.  

“I’m not the little spoon.” You growl, attempting to wiggle free from the hold you’re in.  

“Get over it.”  

Your eyes flash open, as do Alex’s the two of you abruptly sitting up when you realize you’d in fact fallen asleep together the night before.  

You turn to face her, the two of you looking at one another in absolute horror.

“I was just-

Alex leaps out of bed, the woman making a beeline towards the bathroom the two of you share.  

You nod, your cheeks flushed.  

“Ye-Yeah.”

You clear your throat, turning away from the bathroom to instead look at the alarm clock beside you.  

3:13 AM

You grumble, annoyed at the fact that you’d woken up so early.  

If you were honest with yourself, you were also annoyed that Alex wasn’t currently beside you, but you weren’t really in the mood for honesty at the moment.  

You flop backwards, rolling towards the center of the bed where it just so happens Alex had been laying moments later, the smell of the woman’s perfume left behind on the sheets.  

You attempt to resist temptation, but find yourself failing when you bury your nose into the sweet-smelling fabric, the smell clouding your senses.  

The bathroom door creaks open sometime after, the sweet-smelling fabric lulling you to the cusp of sleep, as you fight your eyelids you watch as Alex tiptoes to her bed, the woman glancing over her shoulder at your ‘sleeping’ form with a smile before she makes her way to her own bed.  

She falls down onto the cold sheets with a frown, thoughts of what the following day would bring running through her head.  

                                                            ***

Much to everyone’s surprise at practice the following day, neither you nor Alex had been at one another’s throats, in fact, you’d been ignoring each other as if the other had contracted the Black Death.  

Even when you slip a ball passed Alex and into goal, you don’t gloat, instead choosing to just jog away as if you hadn’t scored.  

“Okay, what the hell was that?” Kelley asks, her eyes narrowed as she stares inquisitively at Alex.  

“What?” Alex asks dumbly.  

Kelley scoffs.

“THAT, Y/N didn’t even gloat! She didn’t rub in your face that she scored passed you!” Kelley points at you and Alex shrugs.  

“Beats me.”  

Kelley’s eyes narrow even further as Alex walks away, the defender’s eyes burning holes in her back.  

“I WILL FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON JAN!” She yells across field, drawing the attention of each and every one of her teammates, including you.  

You clear your throat, your cheeks flushing when you realize Alex’s blue orbs are on you.  

The two of you abruptly turn away from one another, thoughts of the events that transpired that morning running through your heads.  

You clear your throat as you rub the back of your neck, your cheeks flushing further when you think about Alex’s arms around you, and how much you’d liked it.  

                                                            ***

That night was even worse considering the two of you were still rooming together.  

Alex refused to look in your direction and you refused to look in hers, making the situation even more awkward.  

“Look.” Alex started, causing you to turn her way, when your eyes locked, she fell silent.  

“This was easier when you weren’t looking at me.”  

Your eyes widen momentarily before you turn away.  

“Alright Morgan, go ahead.”

Alex huffs.  

“I’m sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to, ummm...”  

You chance a glance her way, smirking when you see how flushed her cheeks are.  

“What?” Alex asks when she sees the smirk on your face and you shrug.  

“Nothing.”  

You fish your Nintendo Switch out of your bag and nod towards your bed.  

“Let’s go Morgan, or are you too shy to Smash now?” You ask, a brow arched and Alex scoffs.  

“Not a chance.”  

                                                            ***

It’s an hour into playing that it happens, though neither you, or Alex realized it was happening until your shoulders brush.  

You both stiffen, your eyes widening, though neither of you dare look at the other.  

Something else neither of you do though is scoot away from one another, your shoulders still brushing.  

You clear your throat, your body untensing as you settle back against the pillow behind you, the feel of Alex’s blue orbs boring into you making goosebumps sprout on your flesh.  

“Come on Morgan, head in the game.”  

You miss the tiny smile that adorns Alex’s face as she focuses on the screen before you, though what you don’t miss is the brush of her leg against yours.  

The inevitable of course happens when you feel Alex’s head rest on your shoulder, the woman fighting her fluttering eyelids.  

You glance at the nearly unconscious woman on your shoulder and snort.  

“Lay down Morgan.” You smile, the forward grumbling.  

“But I don’t want to get up...”  

You roll your eyes, taking her controller and laying your Switch on the table between your beds.  

You wiggle until your head hits the pillow behind you, which results in Alex’s head falling onto your chest, the forward’s eyes widening.  

You remain silent, waiting for her to make the next move, when she cuddles into your side, your cheeks flush, that flush spreading to the tips of your ears.  

“Is this, okay?” Alex asks in a hushed whisper and you smile.  

“It is.”  

                                                            ***

The two of you sharing a bed becomes a regular thing, so much so that Alex’s bed remains untouched 95% of the time, usually housing your luggage instead of Alex like it should be.  

The rivalry you had on the field soon disappeared, something that came as a shock to literally everyone, even Vlatko.  

You knew what you felt for Alex wasn’t friendship, it went well beyond that, your hatred for her turned into something you never ever expect, and that was love.  

You loved Alex Morgan and there was no going back.  

                                                            ***

You were pissed, absolutely pissed, and how could you not be when no fouls were being called against Canada?  

Fouls that were currently being directed at #13, Alex Morgan.  

You snarl when yet again, Alex is taken down in the box, but YET AGAIN, the foul isn’t called.  

“COME ON!” You yell, stomping towards the downed forward whose hand you take before you pull her to her feet.  

“Are you okay?” You ask worriedly as you scan the forward who nods.  

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She smiles and you nod.  

“She better call the fouls or I swear-

The whistle blows and you growl.  

“Nothing but a right bitch that one.” You mumble before jogging away, missing the snort that Alex lets out, the forward shaking her head.  

Her cheeks flush from more than exertion when she realizes your anger that’s directed at the ref is because the fouls have been directed solely on her, considering she was the only one being fouled.  

And that was about to happen yet again, but this time, Alex wasn’t going to get up.  

                                                            ***

The look on your face was one of pure horror when Alex went down with a cry, the Canadian player’s cleats digging into her skin, soaking her socked ankle with blood.  

The whistle blows loudly, the ref finally carding the player who’d fouled Alex with a red card, but that wasn’t good enough for you, not when Alex was currently bleeding.  

Alex watches from her place on the ground as you advance on the player in red, landing a right hook that would make any boxer jealous, the woman falling to the ground with a thud.  

Time literally stands still, your knuckles throbbing in pain as the player cups her cheek, her eyes wide as she stares up at you in shock.  

“OFF THE FIELD! NOW!” The ref yells, the woman producing a red card immediately and holding it high above her head.  

“Bugger off, wanker.” You mumble as you make your way towards Alex, who’s currently surrounded by the medical team.  

“What the hell did you do that for!?” She growls at you and you frown.  

“I-

You glance around, watching as the Canadian player, you were so angry you didn’t know her name, is aided off field, the woman still clasping her cheek.  

Your mouth opens and closes a few times, the taste of bile on the back of your tongue.  

Deep down, you knew why your reaction had been so visceral, but you couldn’t tell Alex that could you?  

So instead, you decided to do the only thing you could do, and that was turn on your heels and sprint towards the nearest exit.  

                                                            ***

Alex frowns as you sprint towards the exit, leaving her and the team behind.  

The medical team hoists her to her feet, the woman limping off field, the fans clapping in respect for the USWNT player as the final whistle blows.  

The second Alex gets off field though she pulls away from the medical team, choosing instead to limp after you, the forward hoping she wasn’t too late and was able to catch you.  

Alex limped down the tunnel and rushed towards the nearest exit, hoping it was the exit you’d went through in your haste to put distance between the two of you.

She rounds the corner, a sigh of relief leaving her when she sees you marching down the sidewalk, away from her.  

“Y/N!” She yells, causing you to stop in your tracks.  

The dark clouds overhead that had been teasing rain all day had finally opened the proverbial floodgates, the soft sprinkles becoming somewhat of a downpour in literal moments.  

Slowly, you turn around to face the forward who’s advancing on you, the woman limping as quickly as she can, closing the distance between the two of you.  

You swallow hard, unable to look the woman in the eye as she tries catching your gaze,  

“Y/N?! What was that!?” She yells, pointing back at the field and you shake your head.  

“What was that!?” She yells again and you swallow hard.  

“She was on your ass the entire game Al, and no one was calling the fouls! I had to do something!” You yell over the heavily pouring rain, the nickname slipping unknowingly off your tongue.  

“That’s not your job, Y/N.” She frowns and you scoff.  

“So, I’m just supposed to watch her hurt you? Watch her make you bleed!?” You cry, the feel of frustrated tears welling up in your eyes.  

“Why does it matter so much to you!?” She asks, and you shake your head.

“Because I love you!”  

Alex stiffens, as do you, your eyes widening in horror when you realize what you’d just said.  

Your mouth opens and closes, the taste of bile on the back of your tongue as you take a step back from the injured USWNT forward.  

Alex reaches out for you, her fingertips brushing the back of your hand.  

“Y/N...” She whispers, taking a step towards you.  

You’re about to take a step back when she grabs your wrist, effectively holding you in place, you weren’t about to jerk away, fearful that you may hurt her.  

You swallow hard when she steps even closer, the distance between you closing as her chest brushes your own.  

“Say it again.”  

You shake your head as you turn away, though when Alex’s fingers intertwine with yours, you turn back towards her, the woman’s blue orbs focused on your hand in hers.  

“Say it again...”  

You shake your head, a lump forming in your throat.  

“Alex-

“Please Y/N.” She whispers as she tucks a strand of hair, that had been stuck to your face, behind your ear.  

You blink rapidly, Alex’s fingers tracing your jawline before she cups your cheek.

Your mouth opens and closes a few times before you find your voice.  

“I-I...” You stammer, your eyes shutting as you swallow.  

“I love you, Alex, and I think I always have I just-

You stiffen, your eyes wide and hands hovering in the air as Alex’s lips meet yours in a tentative, first kiss.  

Just as your eyes flutter shut the team rounds the corner, their eyes widening before they turn Christen and Ali, the two smirking as they bump their shoulders together.  

“We told you.”  

Meanwhile your hands find purchase on Alex’s waist, the woman pulling back only to lean right back in, the brush of her lips sending a jolt throughout your entire body.

A crack of lightning makes the two of you jump, though neither of you pull back, your lips brushing as the two of you smile, toothy grins on full display.  

Alex’s forehead rests against yours, her hair stuck to her face thanks to the water entirely soaking the two of you.  

The reasonable members of the team usher the chaotics back into the arena, leaving you and Alex alone, the two of you so wrapped up in one another you hadn’t noticed them anyway.  

Your tongue swipes at your lips, your Y/E/C orbs focused intently on Alex’s.  

“When did you know?” Alex asks, her voice pulling you out of your trance, your cheeks flushing.  

“Know what?” You ask dumbly, earning a look that says Alex knows you’re just playing dumb.  

You sigh.  

“The first time you yelled at me during a match in college.”  

Alex’s brows arch.  

“It was cute.”  

Alex scoffs.  

“It wasn’t meant to be cute.”  

You shrug.  

“Well, it was to me, and I was right smitten.”  

Alex’s lips split into a massive grin, the woman leaning in to bump her nose playfully against yours.  

“Your nose crinkles up when you’re angry.” She giggles and you bite your bottom lip, your cheeks dusted pink.  

Alex tilts her head back, kissing the tip of your nose, your lips splitting into a grin.

“I guess we better get back in there...” Alex sighs and you huff.  

“I guess so.”  

Alex reluctantly takes a step back before she turns around, the two of you walking back to the door that led back into the arena.  

Before Alex can make her way through the tunnel, you grab her wrist, giving her a gentle tug until she’s back in your arms again, your nose brushing hers.  

“I never ACTUALLY hated you.” You whisper softly, giving her wrist a squeeze.  

Alex smiles, the forward closing the distance between you with a feather light kiss, her lips feeling as if they barely brush your own.  

“And I never ACTUALLY hated you either.”

You cup Alex’s cheek, the woman’s blue orbs disappearing behind her fluttering eyelids as she leans into your touch.  

It’s in that moment when you spot them out of the corner of your eye, a snort sounding in the back of your throat as you watch your teammates scramble to make themselves scarce.  

Alex follows your gaze, the woman rolling her eyes in annoyance when she spots your nosy teammates.  

“Idiots.”  

You wrap your arms around her from behind, pulling the woman close, your chin resting on her shoulder.  

“So, you yell at them, and I watch? I bet it’s even cuter when you’re yelling at someone else.” You grin, grunting when Alex elbows you in the stomach.  

“It’s not cute when I’m angry.” She pouts and you grin, shrugging.  

“Actually, it’s adorable.”  

Alex growls, a furrow forming between her brows as she tries, and fails to scowl at you.  

“Still so infuriating.” She grumbles, the woman about to turn away, but before she can you catch her lips, unable to bite back a smile as the two of you kiss.  

“I’m so infuriating, but you still smitten, aren’t you love?” You ask and she rolls her eyes, her cheeks flushed red.  

She gives your shoulder a playful slap and you snicker.  

Looking into the pools of blue that are Alex Morgan’s eyes, you knew coming to the US was the best decision you’d ever made.  

You lean in, tilting your head back to press a kiss to her forehead.  

“What do you say we go kill our nosy teammates now?” You ask with a grin and Alex takes your hand, intertwining your fingers.  

“Lead the way.”  

[joysmercer]

[~2 days after the season 3 finale, inspired by this post by @/lilydreaming13]

Patricia meanders into the kitchen, daydreaming of cinnamon rolls and french toast, but instead of Trudy’s freshly-baked breakfast goods, she's met with a truly vomit-inducing scene that causes her to turn on her heel and run out again.

“Patricia!” Joy calls, following close behind her. “Patricia, wait.”

Patricia stops at the base of the staircase, arms crossed. “Ugh, I need to go gouge my eyes out.” 

Joy rolls her eyes. “Oh, shut up. It’s not like I’ve never walked in on you and Eddie doing the exact same thing before.”

“That’s different!”

“How so?” 

Patricia reddens. Joy smirks triumphantly. 

It’s short-lived, however, when Patricia blurts a second later, “Seriously? Jerome?”

Joy shrugs. “We’ve decided to give it, the us thing, a go.” 

“What? How? When?”

“Exactly what I said, it’s a long story, and at the fireworks,” Joy says cheekily, counting the points off on her fingers. 

Patricia’s about to demand more information but ends up watching, slightly stunned, as Joy’s expression slowly melts into a soft, slightly dazed smile. She hasn’t seen her friend look like that since—well, since Fabian, and even that pales in comparison to the shy, effortless happiness she’s exuding now. “Wait, you really like him, don’t you?” she asks softly.

Joy looks down at her feet sheepishly. “Listen, I know it must seem weird, given that we used to straight-up hate each other, but—”

“No, no, it’s—I’m surprised, but happy for you, Joy, truly.” Patricia smiles and squeezes her hand sincerely. “You deserve this, especially after so long.”

Now it’s Joy’s turn to blush. “Gosh, look at us,” she laughs. “Our middle-school selves would be appalled. Me with Clarke and you with the principal’s son, ‘of all people.’” 

Patricia shrugs good-naturedly. “Eh, we also thought One Direction was Peak Music Quality back then. What did we know?”

The girls simultaneously whip around at the sound of footsteps to find Jerome leaving the living room, balancing one plate stacked high with pancakes in each hand, and sauntering (as best he can without tripping) toward the hallway. He winks at them as he passes, and they stare in mild horror as he enters not his own bedroom, but the one next to it.

Joy glances at Patricia. "Fabian’s out visiting his uncle, isn’t he.”

“Yup.”

“So our boyfriends are planning something insane together right now, aren’t they.”

“Double-Yup.”

“Do we need to be worried?”

 “Joy, I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have,” Patricia says matter-of-factly. She pauses for a moment, then sighs and nods. “We should’ve started strategizing five minutes ago.”

“Figures.”

“You go get some food; I’ll get the others and the room ready.” Patricia  waggles her eyebrow mischievously and adds, “Also, be prepared with all the details of how you two happened, coz I don’t remember anything and frankly, I’m curious.”

Joy grins and races back to the kitchen, eagerly looking forward to some long-overdue girl-talk.

[yackers]

Why Jerome Cheating Wasn't Out of Character and How It Actually Developed Him Further as a Person: an unproofread rant/essay by a bitch with too much time on her hands

okay first I just wanna talk about the circumstances round him cheating. Like he definitely could’ve made better choices and in no way am I saying he’s not to blame but he and Mara were very much broken up when he first started dating willow. Jerome was being a dick in the business competition, but it wasn’t exactly a break up forever kinda mistake. He apologised multiple times in varying degrees of big gestures, to which mara did not respond to or make any move to forgive him. Sure, a lot of this was to do with the sisterhood but it’s not like he knew that.

I think he only went for willow because not only did she help him with his schemes without question, she was also willing to take the punishment all in good fun. In no way were they right for each other but she messed around with him in the costume closet and had fun with her the way he never did too often with mara without being interrupted by mick. Mara then, a while after ignoring his various attempts came up to him and told him she’d forgiven him and they were now back together. He definitely should’ve just told her there and then that he had kissed willow, but he was already starting to question their relationship and honestly I still think it would’ve crushed her.

I think that Jerome only ever wanted to be with mara because he put her on a pedestal as some perfect unattainable girl. He pined over her for years before she showed interest. She was sweet to him and treated him as a human with feelings when the others often wouldn’t but I don’t think they were ever right for each other. They were cute in season 2 but although she helped him with his dad she constantly overstepped with him and poppy and always held a sense of righteousness over him like on donkey day. I think especially once they were in a relationship she expected him to be a different person for her in ways that would change who he was. He looks visibly uncomfortable with the nicknames and is constantly shown to be at her beck and call in a way that is less playful in comparison to season 3 Alfie and amber.

The whole trying to then get away with having two girlfriends whilst he makes up his mind on who he wants to date therefore makes perfect sense for his character as in truth he doesn’t actually wanna date either of them. Willow is fun but not serious and mara is serious but not fun. willow and him was only really ever a fling, as shown by how quickly she moves on. And Jerome is literally an asshole it would be unrealistic at this point in his development for him to handle the situation maturely and lay his feeling out to them because he barely knew what he was feeling and he is self identified sneaky. Are we forgetting that he used to manipulate Alfie for money, literally broke up mick and mara and consistently just makes the worst choices readily available to him. Yes he did gaslight willow and lied to mara but it’s nothing he hasn’t done before and was presently above doing again.

Joy being the one to find out first and see the comparison table is important to her relationship because there is all the worst parts about his character laid out on a platter for her. I think often mara completely avoided seeing how cruel and insensitive he can be at times and thought the others exaggerated it which is why she took the cheating so hard because she didn’t see it coming. But joy knows he’s flawed right from the start of their relationship, including his taunting of her near the beginning of the season. They also have a lot more shared experiences as shown during the ceremony scenes at the gatehouse. They’re both actively mad at each other but yet still come together against Alfie and Patricia and then the teachers. Mara never knew about anything Jerome went through in the first two seasons but joy did.

A really key part of his character development is when mara makes the cruel comment about his dad. I think if anything it shows how wrong they were for each other. Joy’s speech about being the bigger person is a turning point for him. Like mara, she wants him to be better but she says it from the perspective of someone who acknowledges that they too have done shitty things in the past. I think the ‘if you can bare it’ is important too, because she’s acknowledging to him that being a good person isn’t easy especially for people with upbringings and pasts like theirs. I think for the first time he actually feels understood. The ‘my lady’ scene confirms this.

Joy never requires him to be too mushy and vulnerable to her publicly. She’s playful and jokes around and anything sweet he says to her he says because he means it, not because it’s something he thinks she wants to hear. Their letdown washing date it so key to his growth like he’s able to joke around with her in a space where he can also freely talk about his dad and his insecurities about being allowed to scheme and be himself without having to be cold hearted because of it. He tells her she’s a good listener because he’s being heard without anyone looking out for poppy or his dad or the greater good over his own feelings.

One of the biggest signs he’s changed is when he knows that the play is a plot to embarrass him and takes it on the chin, admits he made a mistake and just hopes that it helps mara move on. And he just seems so much more into joy than he ever was anyone else, he even says it!! Unlike mara he isnt following her around like a puppy and doing as he’s told he gets distracted by her as she walks in the room and calls her names and is just!! I think the show is so good at writing couples that don’t have to be mushy and all over each other to show they care and mara is right they are kinda perfect for each other. They both have made mistakes in the past but they’ve grown up and there isn’t an unequal balance of a bad guy and a better girl who wants to fix him. He’s respectful of mara and backs away from joy around her without taunting and fighting back like season 1 or 2 Jerome definitely would’ve. He changed for the better organically on screen and I think his arc was done really well. You can tell by the way he he cries when he overhears about the revenge plot how much he really cared and he broke up with her to protect his own feeling but as soon as he realises that her feelings were genuine he tries to get her back. Not in flashy empty feeling gestures like before but by expressing how he feels.

Im not saying he didn’t develop a lot over the course of season one and two and that mara didn’t play a big part in that development but I think to truly be better he had to take a step back from pretending to be perfect to get the girl of his dreams and actually take the time to work on himself.

And in terms of the cheating/revenge plot line itself it had to be something big and time consuming this season that took up all the characters not involved in the mystery’s time whilst also giving them their own arcs and stories within it. sibuna were literally soulless for a portion of the season which could only work if they were distanced from their close friends outside of it like Jerome and joy because they were far too wrapped up in their own shit to notice. And they’re teenagers! Of course trying to date two girls at once and orchestrating the plot of John tucker must die is a dumb bad idea!! But so is literally every other thing they do in the show because they’re naive and half of them were left there by their parents to rot and have been kidnapped in the past of course they’re not rational!! I actually found the whole sideplot an entertaining break from the darker themes of the third season and throughout the whole season you can feel the characters are 17/18 instead of 15/16 like in the first season, there’s gonna be more romantic motivation to their actions.

In conclusion/ TLDR: just because a character makes mistakes doesn’t mean they lost their development or they were out of character. Interesting characters aren’t good people all of the time and thats what makes it entertaining.

[bigteefsmallbrain]

General Soul Eater HCs please

Soul Eater: General headcanons

Death the Kid:

He’s an art critic

Hear me out

He is obsessed with symmetry, and loves the beauty in it

So when he sees something non-symmetrical, especially in art, he can’t help but to critique it

May go as far as to send a personal letter to the artist (If they’re alive) about how offensive it is that they created something so asymmetrical

If he can’t send a letter to the artist, he’ll send one to the owner/museum and request it be taken down, while listing reasons why it’s horrible.

Anything he writes has an even amount of letters and words

Be that his test answers

Essays

Letters

Diary entry

Speaking of diary entries, he definitely has one

But it’s actually just a catalogue of symmetrical things he’s seen

He puts photos into it and writes about how beautiful it was to see

He doesn’t care what it is much, just that it was beautiful

Meaning he takes photos of people too

Which can be unnerving at times

He’s probably taken a photography class before, or at the very least is self taught

Literally has a photo album of things he views are beautiful, but non symmetrical and he would die if anyone found it

Like a particular sunset with uneven hills

Or a flower with one too many petals

Definitely has an 8 ball, not a magic one, just an 8 ball, it’s placed on a velvet pillow in his room and he frequently polishes it

Elizabeth Thompson:

Makes several backup plans as a way to cope

Especially after dealing with an experience with a ghost

She has notebooks full of them, labeled and detailed

At one point she started putting them in alphabetical order but stopped immediately when she realized Kid’s perfectionist habits were rubbing off on her

She practices acting in the mirror

Usually so she can charm a man into dating her

But also to con people

She used to be a “Street rat” and that thought of ending up on the streets again constantly plagues her mind

She takes full advantage of the “Rich life”

Shopping sprees

Quality makeup

Salons and spa days

The works

She lets Patty’s thought that she knows everything get to her head

The fact alone that her sister believes in her that much is enough to make her a bit egotistical

And Patty’s admiration for the girl makes it ten times worse

She literally doesn’t care if she ends up being wrong because she’ll just be right next time anyways

So stubborn in that aspect

Patricia Thompson:

She likes dark humor

You can’t convince me otherwise, you actually can’t, I have evidence

She made an origami Giraffe, and broke its neck

Laughed when Kid said he “wants to die”

She literally pokes him with a stick when he’s depressed

She likes dark humor, and probably looks up jokes to tell others just for kicks

She’s secretly sadistic, and likes scaring her sister and others

She may act naïve and innocent, but she is anything but

She definitely has, more than once, banged on Liz’s door at 3AM just to hear her sister squeal like a little girl

Honestly, she probably purposefully gets their pose wrong, just to see her sisters annoyance and laugh when Kid gets smacked

She likes origami

Probably first got into it because of the paper ninja stars

Then just found it relaxing

She most likely makes the ninja stars mostly, and keeps a box of her origami creations somewhere

Has in the past, and will not hesitate to do so again, beat someone up for kicks or just to destress

Patty has two faces, the childlike innocent one, and the insane anger one

So it’s not too far fetched to say that she’ll hide her anger till she can corner someone alone and beat them up

Or that she gets bored and decides to do so

I wouldn’t be too surprised if her sister occasionally joined as well

Maka Albarn:

She’s a Harry Potter nerd and you can’t convince me otherwise

She loves the concept of magic

Loves the dynamic between Ron and Hermione, though feels a bit of Deja vu thinking about it

Probably used to write fanfiction, but in a way that made it seem like it was actually part of the story

She will hit you if you mention it

Definitely the type to compare books to their movie counterparts

Not in like, a critic way, but she will definitely rant about the differences, or how a character looks exactly like she imagined, or if they didn’t put in a particular scene she liked in the book

Forces Soul into movie nights, but it’s only the movie counterparts to her books

I can see her forcing everyone into a group study session

Be super organized about it, and setting it up in a way so that no one can refuse

She probably has specific ways for everyone to study

Like having Black☆Star work out while studying so he retains the knowledge better

Or setting up the session in a symmetrical way so Kid doesn’t freak out about it

She writes letters to her mom, as a coping mechanism for when her emotions get to be a little too much

Like when she’s having a bad day

Or if she’s particularly peeved at something Soul did

She writes a lot more letters when it comes around the time of her mom's birthday or death anniversary

She likes the thought of an old timey romance, and often listens to songs that give off that kind of feel

She really likes “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”, it’s one of her favorites

She also likes the old Disney songs, like “Once Upon a Dream” and “So This Is Love”

She would be so embarrassed if anyone found out though, especially if it was her dad or Soul

She isn’t quite sure why she’s so worried about Soul finding out though

Speaking of, she half realizes, half doesn’t with anyone's romantic feelings, including her own

She’ll fantasize about getting a love letter or having someone present her with a bouquet of roses

But if it actually happens she’s like “Oh, thanks friend!”

She knows the behaviors, she just can’t put two and two together

They would have to be extremely blunt, no over dramatic confession, just “I’m in love with you and want to be romantically involved with you”

She reads dictionaries for fun

She really likes to read out of date dictionaries, just to see what words and slang existed back then

She also highlights words she likes and uses them frequently on accident

She has most definitely yelled “I have cupid’s kettlebells*! I’m not flat!” at Soul before

Soul Evans:

Bottles. Up. His. Emotions.

He’s influenced by “toxic masculinity” and fully believes that being vulnerable in a serious way “isn’t cool”

He will bottle everything up so deep down inside that it seems impossible for it to surface

Feelings of inferiority to others? Bottled

Want to cry or break down? Nope, gotta be cool

Started crying in front of someone and can’t stop? He’s not crying, you’re clearly blind

Speaking of crying, once he starts, and I mean genuinely starts, it’s so hard to get him to calm down, and even then the tears don’t stop

Sometimes he’ll start to freak out and send himself into a panic attack because the tears just won’t stop

He’s that influenced by the thought of being vulnerable

On a lighter note, he does adore playing the piano, but the only person he’ll play for is Maka

He swears it’s not favoritism, and it’s partially true, but favoritism does play a large role in it

He frequently drags Maka to his room to show her a new piece he put together

And if he notices her feeling a little down that day, he’ll start playing a song that he knows she likes

He definitely knows about her love for old timey romance songs and is very embarrassed to admit a lot of the pieces he constructs are based off of that

The walls are p a p e r t h i n , he can hear her music through the walls

He secretly finds it adorable when he catches her listening to it because she’ll be dancing around to it

He also frequently finds himself thinking about those moments

He’s the stereotype that parents tell little girls about, with how boys will bully their crush

He’s a lot more playful and easy going, but still teases Maka, so much

Unlike Maka, he’s fully aware of his feelings, and acknowledges them, but bottles it up, only letting himself entertain the thought every once in a while

He jabs at Maka’s lack of “Cupids Kettlebells” as a way to try and ensure she won’t fall for him, because he doesn’t know what he’ll do if she does

He reads the same dictionaries that Maka does, not for fun, but so he can know just what the actual h e l l she’s saying

More than once he’s had to look up a particular word or phrase online because he can’t find it in the dictionary

“What the hell? It’s an old Victorian saying!? Where does she keep finding this stuff!?”

Subconsciously, as time goes on, he starts using old phrases as well, he was so embarrassed the first time he got caught saying “Keep your idle daddles* off of her!” when defending someone from a perv.

Black☆Star:

Is so unbelievably selfish with food

It’s not even funny

He will stab someone if they reach for his food

He surprisingly eats healthy most of the time though?

Says something like “I have to otherwise I’ll never surpass the gods!”

The only person who could ever p o s s i b l y steal his food is Tsubaki, but even that’s pushing it

He has the weirdest dreams, and I mean weird

Dreams like being turned into a potato and being cooked, mashed, and devoured by Tsubaki herself

He didn’t talk to her for a week after that dream, and refused to eat potatoes for a full year because “You never know if it could be a person turned into a potato!”

He was also very offended when Tsubaki ate potatoes during that time period

He takes things very literally

Like up above, if someone does something in a dream, he acts like it was real

Or if someone makes a joke about fighting, he will drag them outside to fight

He’s secretly scared of Tsubaki

But it’s for literally the stupidest reason

And he fully believes that because of it she could fight god and win

She used to have a pet cockroach

One of the flying ones

And he is so unbelievably scared of them, because for some reason they just don’t die, and they have w i n g s

So the fact she owned one as a pet scares him so bad even though it was literally for only a week

He has a soft spot for children

He doesn’t really know why

He just does

Is secretly really good with kids

Literally the definition of dad material

He has his flaws but still

Little kids are the only people who could steal his food and get away with it

Every. Time. and it makes the others so mad

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa:

What can I say, she’s perfect

She probably receives love letters

Reads them over when she’s feeling sad

Likes to keep them in a shoebox she painted

She definitely paints to unwind and relax

Likes to go outside and paint the sunrise/sunset

Takes note of beautiful scenery so she can come back in her free time and paint it

She probably draws/sketches too

Carries a sketchbook with her

More than likely has drawn Black☆Star doing something

Like napping or training

She’d never show him though, too scared of inflating his ego or giving him the wrong idea

Stress bakes/cooks

We know she cooks

Liz took advantage of it and pretended Tsubaki’s cooking was her own

So we know she does

Sometimes painting/drawing doesn’t cut it

So she heads to the kitchen and bakes away her worries and unwinds

The main reason Tsubaki would possibly be spared from Black☆Star’s stabbing habit with food is because she cooks all the meals

She makes sure everyone is comfortable around her

She’ll go as far as to learn someone's customs and practice cooking their unique cuisine just to make sure that they feel comfortable and safe in her presence

She radiates mom friend energy

She’s perfect mom material, perfect wife material, perfect in general honestly

*Cupid's Kettlebells is a old term for a woman's bust

*Idle daddles is a old term for hands

I Hope you like these general headcanons for the main seven! You didn’t say which characters you’d like to see, so I played it safe by putting the main characters! Thank you for the ask!

[heresathreebee]

Wearing THAT

[Dewey Finn X Female Reader]

Summary: Reader teases Dewey in a Poison Ivy costume. You have a really hard time saying exactly what you want... Masterlist Next

Word count: 3.1k words (no beta) 

Warning(s): 17+ | teasing, lots of teasing and boners, lap sitting, near nudity, touching

AN: only Thots here, thots about Dewey Finn also is Ned British? He's British in my head

This was some sort of test. It had to be. God was testing him through you and you were not playing fair. It’s a costume party not a competition, you pompous little sycophant. And yet he can’t help but tug at the collar of his shirt. It’s not even anywhere near his throat but why else would he feel so constricted? It’s certainly not because of you…

You walked into his shared apartment wearing that and you had no idea the effect it had on him. 

Dewey watches you sling an arm around Ned and kiss Patty’s cheek in greeting. “Hi guys! Thanks for inviting me, I’ve been dying to put this on.” 

“Oh you look lovely,” Patty coos. She plucks at one of the plastic leaves on your corset. “Did you make this?! It’s so intricate.” 

You bark out a laugh. “Oh hell no! I have this cousin, right? And him and his fiancé own this shop where they make costumes for movies and theatre and if you pay ‘em right, ‘personal use.’ And they don’t ask questions what ain’t their business either.” 

“Well, I’m sold.” Ned raises his beer for a toast and Patty clinks it with her bottle of mysterious green juice. “Prost! What’s the name of the shop? Wanna see if they’re online– you know, for... support.” 

“Ned,” Patty swatted his empty hand (no need to be shy, we already know they’re freaky). 

You pat your friends on their backs and take a step towards the kitchen. “Gonna get myself a beer.” 

“Oh honey you don’t have to do that. Dewey!” The man in question nearly covered himself in his own drink when he heard his name. “Be a good host and get this lady her beer!” 

“Yes captain,” Dewey salutes and Patty can do nothing but glare in her Star Trek yellow shirt costume. Original series, of course, nothing but the best for Patricia Di Marco. 

Dewey takes a hold of the moment he has his back to you to take deep, calming breaths. He will not let this be the end of him. Your friendship means so much more to him than that and a little fancy green corset was not going to make him fuck things up with you. 

He’s ready for you when he hands you your beer. Your one arm hug is appreciated because he’s sporting a bit of wood and he’d hate to find out your corset isn’t thick enough to hide it– or god forbid you feel him on your thigh. And god, your thighs… those sheer green nylon tights were doing unspeakable things to him. Maybe if he kept you close and kept your legs out of his peripherals he could make it through the night without embarrassing himself. 

Or maybe not. 

“Are yoooouuu a college student?,” you ask and point at his inconspicuous clothes. 

“Actually– ” he opens the buttons of his shirt to reveal another shirt with a superman logo on it and buttons it back up clumsily as you laugh. “Ssshhh! Don’t tell anybody. Protect my secret.” 

“Of course,” you giggle. God you feel good hanging off him– usually he loves how physical you are but he has to figure out a way to keep his distance without offending you and quickly. “You like mine?” 

The way you pick up a thick swirling red lock and direct his attention to the very thing he’s trying not to look at is killing him. Of course you look even better up close. The leaves of your corset give the thing depth and texture, your gloves are fingerless and go over your elbows, and your heels are high, like make- him- feel- his- below- average- height high. 

“I like these.” Dewey plucks at the ring of leaves at the top of your gloves. It’s a way to keep his mind off your everything else. “Did you dye your hair?” 

“It’s a wig.” You tug on the top and then the bottom, wincing a little. “Sew in, so don’t go snatch it.” 

“I would never!” 

“Poison Ivy, eh? Think that’s one of Dewey’s favorites,” Ned blabs. 

Dewey sends him a death glare so powerful Ned chokes on his beer but you’re looking at your Spock-dressed friend so you can’t see it. 

“Oh, really?” You return your gaze to Dewey and say, “well you must be loving this, then.” 

Dewey swallows. No words come to him and there is nothing to stop the awkward silence that follows. You appear unbothered by it, maintaining eye contact as you smile almost knowingly… 

“We should play twister,” he says with the most unsure voice ever. 

“We don’t even have twister,” Patty mumbled. “Come on, there are like twenty other games setup, let’s play!” 

~

Dewey gives it a minute and when he’s free from you, he catches Ned by his pointy green ear and drags him into the hall. “Hey? What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Whah– what are you talking about?” Ned slaps at the hand fisted in his shirt but Dewey doesn’t budge. 

“You can’t just go telling people I’m into them, dude! Do you know how close you came to giving me away?!”

Ned scoffed. “Her? I hardly think she’s ignorant to your feelings, you’re not like that Steven from Austin fellow.” 

“– Are you talking about stone cold Steve Austin?"Dewey buries his face in his hands- "It’s his last name, not his birthplace–” 

“And besides…” Ned peeks around the corner to see you in the middle of some sort of posing game. Everybody's trying to take the form of some sort of vehicle, and you've got Chloe in a headlock and Vance's leg in the other hand. Ned never got to finish his thought because someone dropped a huge bowl of popcorn and that too became a game of ‘how many can you eat off the floor before Patty cleans it up.’ Ned’s got to help and he’s got to help now. 

Dewey finds himself on the couch with his fifth beer of the evening. Vance, Jeremiah, and Chloe are talking baseball stats when suddenly Dewey’s vision is filled with green and red just before you sit down. Right between his legs. He unconsciously scoots up to make room for you and before he catches on to your game, you nestle into his space by the arm of the couch and sling your legs across his like you belong there. 

Ok, something is definitely up with you. 

Would he describe you as cuddly? A little. Perhaps a more appropriate word would be… hands on. Long before he started wanting more than friendship with you, you two were always just touching. Your presence and your love language was physical. Dewey never felt like you were invading his personal space or overstepping his boundaries because he simply had none with you and the feeling was mutual. But this was something else. Something that wasn’t there before. 

Was it him? Was he fucking up his perfectly in sync companionship with you because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants or (his heart for that matter)? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to drag you closer or push you flat on your ass right now. 

You were listening to Chloe chew Vance out for hating Gritty the mascot when you felt Dewey plant a hand on your forehead. “Hey, are you feeling ok?” 

You gently shake him off and raise a single eyebrow. He seems serious, his voice gone all soft and making you feel gooey inside. 

“You just seem… I dunno,” he fumbles, “do you want me to take you home after this?”

Hellooooo opening! “Actually, can I stay here tonight?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Fuck, who said that? Dewey? Ah, shit… 

 “Thanks,” oh oh you should not be rubbing his thigh right now… “I think I’ll go change here in a minute.”

Oh please do, please please puh-leeaaase–  

~

After a brilliant movie drinking game (which Dewey tapped out of), the crowd began to disband. 24 became 20, then 18, then 12. You went out to your car to grab your overnight stuff and Dewey was hoping for a brief reprieve from the assault of your visage. He just needed a few more people to leave so he can sequester himself and rub one out– you know, get his head straight. Ever since you left his lap he’s been rock hard, there’s not enough blood flowing to his brain. The guest count is down to 3– 2 with you in your car, and he can’t wait anymore. 

Dewey slipped into the only bathroom in the house and prayed to god nobody noticed him. He barely got his hand wrapped around his shaft when Patty’s fist banged on the door demanding he help clean up. Sulking and agitated, Dewey managed to calm down while cleaning up red solo cups, glass beer bottles, cans, and small pocket sized objects that would need to be returned to the guests after their hangovers subsided (no keys, thankfully, everybody’s got a DD). His “predicament’ is nearly forgotten when you finally return with a bundle of clothes, disappear into the bathroom and reemerge in loose sleepwear with your makeup wiped clean and uh… braless. 

You catch him looking. Dewey– surprisingly sober after he gave up drinking half way through his sixth beer– does nothing short of raise a slightly irritated eyebrow at you. “Cold in here, huh?” 

“Shut up. You know how uncomfortable it is to sleep in a bra?” 

You help him collect a couple bottles that rolled under the couch and walk with him down to Ned’s car. Patty would sort the recyclables from the trash in the morning (late morning, she did a couple rounds of tequila shots thanks to you). It’s almost like the party never happened; you’re shooting the shit again and everything is right in the world. He’s got no ulterior reaction to putting a hand on your hip– that’s just a normal thing in your perfectly platonic relationship. God, he really must have been imagining things, he was beginning to think you were actually trying to flirt with him! 

Ned’s bent over the kitchen sink with Patty and holding her hair back. He looks up as you enter the apartment and shakes his head. You and Dewey make yourself scarce by slipping into the shared bathroom to hide. You try to giggle quietly as Dewey surveys the skincare products you covered the counter with. He points to your head and asks, “you wearing that to bed?” 

“It’s sewed in, I’m not taking this off for three weeks at least,” you answer. “Get my money’s worth. I can work it like my natural hair.” 

Dewey nods. You rub your arm nervously and look for something to say, something to circle back to the whole point of showing up looking like a sexed up goddess. What do guys like? Girls wearing their clothes, right? But you need to phrase it perfectly… 

“Dewey?” He looks up from the scrubby lip balm in his hands. “I’m not quite ready to go to sleep yet and it… it is a little chilly in your place. Can I wear your jacket?” 

Just to bring your meaning home, you tug on his sleeve– the very jacket on his back. You don’t want just any jacket, you want that one, already warm and scented by him. You don’t miss the way his eyes glance past you like he was reluctant to comply. And yet… 

“Yeah, here.” He slips out of it with ease and drapes it over your shoulders. You miss the sigh of relief he makes when you pull the zipper closed and obscure your pebbling nipples. “Think I’m gonna go help Ned put Patty to bed.” 

Ned was a scrawny little thing and couldn’t carry her by himself, and she needed to be carried. Competitive by nature, it’s easy to talk her into virtually anything, especially if it feels like girl time. You need Patty in a deep sleep for your plans tonight (sorry not sorry). Dewey’s very sexy as he bears most of Patty’s weight. She’s clinging to Ned, arms around his neck and babbling incoherently while Dewey’s got an arm around her waist and legs, keeping Ned on his feet. You skirt ahead of them and open the bedroom door, help pull her shoes off, her captain insignia, her earrings, you even wipe the spit from her lips and the eyeliner smeared on her cheek. 

“You’re my favorite ever,” she whimpers, “I love you so much, you’re like my best friend ever…” 

You shush her gently. “You say that about everybody when you’re drunk, baby. I promise I’ll make you a fat breakfast in the morning but you gotta go to sleep now, OK?” 

Patty nods. She snuggles into her pillow just as Ned is taking up position as the big spoon when she looks back up at you and asks, “can we go for a run together?” 

You blink evenly. “Yes.” You already regret it as she smiles big and wide. It would be just your luck this is the one thing she doesn't forget in the morning.

Finally it's just you and Dewey in the hallway. It feels like you're standing between two choices: his open bedroom door and the living room. But it seems like only you can feel the weight of it. 

"Are you sure you want to stay over?," Dewey asks, "you can use my bed." 

You perk up out of your heavy mood. "Really?" 

"Yeah, I'll take the couch tonight." 

He can't possibly miss the way you instantly deflate but he's still not putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "Dewey. I'm not going to kick you out of your own room." 

He shrugs. "Suit yourself. I'll grab a few blankets." 

There's a storage closet in the main building with this one extra soft blanket that Dewey knows you'll love. You on the other hand have got no more patience left. Once the man leaves, you stomp your foot and decide to try one final act.

Dewey returns to the apartment to find an empty, quiet living room. Ned and Patty are in bed, but where are you? He wanders past the bathroom door because it's dark inside and checks his room. There you are reclining on his bed. He could have sworn you were wearing pants before but your legs are bare and his jacket hugs the tops of your thighs. He also could have sworn you were wearing a shirt. He finds both items folded neatly beside you with your underwear right on top. 

Oh…

This cannot be happening right now. He just survived tonight by the skin of his teeth and now you were doing this to him. He’s going to pull his hair out, going to scream, it’s so frustrating because he can’t just ask you what you want– you’ll turn the question back on him and he’ll fuck it up. He lets the blanket fall from his grip and with a heavy sigh he whispers in a weak voice, “straight answers only. What are you doing to me? Why you doin’ this?” 

You cock your head and answer leisurely, your eye drifting across the items in his room. “You know that’s not how I roll, but if you want me to address the elephant in the room: I'm naked in your bed right now." 

Against his better judgement, Dewey moves closer. "I can see that." 

One step closer and your eyes find him again. Like an invitation you lean back more, even uncross your legs but go no further. Dewey swallows his tongue and waits for you to elaborate and every second is agonizingly slow. 

"You think you can just walk around here with your pretty face and cocky little attitude like it’s nothing,” you said accusingly. 

Dewey glared at you. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” 

“Well we're in agreement then,” you’re almost sneering at him, but he knows it’s because you’re really frustrated with yourself, “I look and I touch and I feel but I don’t know, you know?” 

“Not a clue,” he sighs and sits himself beside you. He’s done trying to keep his distance. “Let’s go back to you being naked in my bed.” 

“Do you like it?” 

“Do I like it?,” he repeats incredulously. Dewey leans back on his elbow to look you over from top to bottom. You look damn good in nothing but his jacket. You’ve got the long ends of your red hair in braids that sweep down to your navel. The zipper rests tantalizingly right below your ribcage. Dewey dares to reach out a mollifying hand and give a tiny stroke to that silver keeper. He cannot bring himself to speak above a whisper as he nods, “yeah, I… I like it.” 

The tension leaves your shoulders and you wear a small grin. “It’s not too late to take it back. Say no, and I’ll put my clothes back on and sleep on the couch like none of this ever happened. This,” you point between the two of you, “doesn’t change unless we want it to.” 

… this was real. In answer, Dewey’s chin wrinkles and he watches his finger travel upwards, drawing a light line up the expanse of your chest between your breasts to feel you shiver at his touch. Thing is he doesn’t want to say no, but wouldn’t it be better? Safer? He asks the question he’s been dying to know all night. “What do you want from me?” 

“Whatever I can get,” you answer truthfully. “Whatever you’ll allow. Don’t trouble yourself with labels and things ‘cause what we have has always been so much more than that.” 

Dewey feels a weight lift off of his chest. His hand works around your waist and drags you closer, halfway under him and he rests his perspiring forehead on your breastbone. Whatever happens next happens, for better or for worse. 

You’re not troubled when Dewey moves the jacket to expose one of your breasts, however you are taken aback when he bites you. You barely manage to stifle your yelp when you feel him growl against your flesh and the sound vibrates straight to your core. Dewey drags his head up and stares you dead in the eye as he kneads your savaged breast. 

“All night,” he growls, “all fucking night for this? We could have done this ages ago. The salon, the drive in, Chloe’s cat’s birthday– grocery shopping last week. But no, instead you pick a party full of people and you’ve had me riled up for hours.” 

Dewey pinches your hardened peak and you keen. “‘m sorry…” 

“No you’re not, but don’t worry: you will be.”

AN: Check Out Part 2 @hoodoo12 @go-commander-kim @escape-your-grape @softbeej @imma-fucking-nerd @werwulfy

[collecting-stories]

Gone Hunting - c. 18 - Daryl Dixon

Summary: You mention to Daryl that your mom wants you out by graduation and the first night of your hunting weekend begins. 

A/N: This chapter is just them spending time together...

Georgia Masterlist | The Walking Dead Masterlist

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ 

Beth pushed the door to the diner open, three steps ahead of Hershel, eager to grab her favorite corner booth for her weekly ‘daddy/daughter’ date. He kept a day set aside for each of his children to spend time with him alone and Wednesdays were Beth’s. She waved to Patricia as she headed to her booth, stopping short when she recognized the young man sitting in the booth just before theirs, having dinner.  

“Hi!” She slid in across from him, wide smile on display.  

Daryl looked up from his food, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the sight of the kid at his table. “Can I help you?”

“You were at the graduation party.” She said, explaining that she had seen him kissing you down by the barn when she was playing by the oak tree. “Are you dating now?”

“Beth,” Hershel tore his youngest daughter’s attention away from Daryl, “why don’t we eat, leave Mr. Dixon to his dinner.”

“Evening Reverend,” he said, nodding to him.

Beth slid back out of the booth, waving at Daryl as she walked over the coveted corner booth. Hershel lingered for a moment, “heard ya got into a bit of a scuffle with Shane Walsh at my daughter’s graduation party?”

“He minded his own business, wouldn’t a been a scuffle at all.” He said, jaw tense. He’d let a lot of people get away with giving him a lot of shit over the years but he wasn’t about to let anyone suggest that what happened was his fault. Especially not when you had gotten hurt.  

“Listen,” Hershel said, still lingering at the booth, “I know you been spending time with my daughter’s friend. I just wanna be sure you got her best interest in mind.”  

“I ain’t doing anything ‘sides eating my dinner.”  

“Evening Reverend Greene,” you said, coming up beside him at Daryl’s booth. Hershel looked over at you as if you had interrupted his train of thought, quickly recovering with a smile.  

“How’re you doing?” He asked, accepting the hug you offered, rubbing your back before stepping closer to his own booth, catching Beth’s attention.

“Real good,” you replied, shooting Daryl a smile as you said it, “you two want some drinks before menus?”  

“I want a milkshake!” Beth piped up, getting out of the booth to give you a hug. You wrapped your arm around her, pulling her against your side.  

“What kind of milkshake do you want?” You asked.  

She scrunched up her nose, frowning as she considered the few flavors that Patricia offered in the way of milkshakes. Finally her eyes settled on Daryl again, who’d gone back to eating his dinner. “What flavor do you think I should get?” She asked, lifting her foot to prod the vinyl of the booth.  

Daryl looked over at her, “ya gotta go with chocolate,” he replied, glancing up at you for a moment before talking to Beth again, “just don’t let this one get ‘er hands on it, she’ll drink the whole thing.”  

“I will not!” You pouted, giving him your best attempt at a glare.  

Beth giggled, smiling at Daryl as she nodded her head, “okay, chocolate it is.”

You pushed her shoulders, guiding her back over to her booth, “lets go, dinner time.”  

She waved at Daryl as she walked away, smiling even wider when he waved back. You promised to be back with menus before leaving to get their drinks. The diner wasn’t very full, the Wednesday dinner hour really only attracting older couples and a few single people grabbing meals at the end of the day but it was slow, just you and Amy on tonight since Lori wasn’t feeling well.  

You circled back with menus and drinks for Hershel and then pit stopped at Daryl’s table, stealing a fry off his plate as you sat down across from him. “Rick tell you Lori’s baby shower is coming up?” You asked, nabbing another fry.  

Daryl poked your hand with his fork this time, “nah, doesn’t say much about it other than being excited.” He replied, “why?”

“Just wondered...Lori invited me but I'm not sure what to get her.” You didn’t think that Lori would invite Daryl, or even that she would let Rick have Daryl around at all but there was a small part of you that kind of thought it’d be nice to go together. Maybe a little wishful, but nice.  

“I ain’t shopping for baby stuff with ya.”

“You afraid people will talk?” You teased, leaning against the table.  

His cheeks turned red, the color staining all the way up to his ears and down his neck, “Don’t ya got work?”

Otis seemed to be on Daryl’s side, calling an order up for your side of the diner and forcing you back to work. You stole one more fry, turning to stick your tongue out at Daryl as you headed around the counter to get the meal. It wasn’t unusual for Daryl to drive you home from work but he never came inside and definitely never came early. You’d been surprised when he showed up at the diner, walking in and sitting down in your area without saying anything. The surprise hadn’t lasted long, Otis mentioning to you that he’d suggested to Daryl that stopping by might be a good idea.

“Saw Shane in here yesterday looking for you, so when I stopped by Dale’s earlier to get an oil change, I told Daryl about it, Patty said you two are sweet on each other and I’ve never known him to cause any trouble, not like his brother. Made me feel better thinking he’d be here in case that Walsh boy tried stopping in.” Otis had told you when you put Daryl’s order in. “Tell your boy to bring us some venison too, heard he was going hunting.”  

“I’m taking the weekend off to go with him.” You had mentioned when Otis put in the request.

“Tell him to watch his back.” Otis teased, leaning out the window separating the kitchen and the diner, “ya hear that Dixon, you watch your back with this one hunting.” He called.

“Will do,” he replied, nodding his head to Otis in agreement.  

Patricia was less enthusiastic about you going hunting with Daryl, a weekend alone together, but she said nothing about it to you. And if she said anything to her husband, he said nothing to you.  

Daryl finished dinner before you finished your shift, taking the book you offered him from your backpack and sitting there reading quietly as if he was unbothered having to wait around another hour for you. Beth kept peeking at him throughout dinner, and twice waved when he looked up at her. You passed a few times, always stopping if you had a minute to spare and bringing him coffee once on your way around the diner.  

When Beth and Hershel left you were clocking out in the back but Beth stopped to say bye to Daryl while Hershel paid, telling him she would see him around as if they were friends.  

“I’ll see ya ‘round kiddo.” Daryl promised.  

“Alright,” you sighed, coming over and sitting next to him as Beth and Hershel left the diner, “I’m clocked out and all yours.” You leaned over and kissed his cheek, watching him flush.  

“Lucky me,” he replied, doing his best to sound sarcastic though the slight uptick of a smile wasn’t missed by you. “You gotta be home?” He asked as the two of you stood, heading for the door.

“No, my mom thinks I’m staying at Tara’s since we got half-days...told me I better be looking for a place after graduation anyway.” You replied, “guess my time is up at home.”

“Where ya supposed ta stay?”

“I don’t know, Tara’s dad said he doesn’t mind me staying there but not sure I wanna be living there all the time...I’m gonna look for something.” You shrugged, climbing in the passenger seat of his truck and letting him shut the door after you.

He got in the driver’s side, starting the engine, “yer welcome to stay at mine, ain’t anything special though.”

“I don’t know...you’re there.” You replied, smiling when he scoffed.

-

The cabin in the woods was exactly that. And old cabin that Daryl’s great grandfather had built back in the early 1900s for his family to go hunting. It was proper hunting log cabin. Nestled back in the woods off a dirt path that made it almost invisible unless you were right on top of it. Daryl pulled the truck around back, cutting the headlights and engulfing everything in the pitch black of night. You knew you shouldn’t have insisted on stopping for dinner, especially after the late start, but you were starving.  

“This is usually like, the part of the movie when people realize they’re gonna get killed.” You mentioned, getting out of the truck and looking around at the woods as if you could actually see them.  

Daryl didn’t seem bothered by the dark as he got out, grabbing the bags and his crossbow before walking you to the door, “I ain’t gonna kill ya.”

“What if there’s a serial killer in the woods?” You asked, following Daryl into the house.  

He dropped the bags by the door and lit the lantern hanging at the wall. “I been coming here since I was a kid, ain’t ever seen a serial killer. Be dead if I had.”

“You’d be dead or he’d be dead?”

“He’d be dead.” Daryl replied, “I’m a good aim.”  

“I believe it.”  

The inside of the cabin wasn’t anything special. Old furniture, limited electricity, two small bedrooms off the living room, and, “tell me I’m missing the bathroom.”

“It’s outside.” Daryl replied, seemingly unbothered by saying so as he started putting food in the small refrigerator.  

“Outside as in...” you trailed off, standing in the doorway of one of the rooms, waiting for him to offer a further explanation, one that would bring this cabin further into the 21st century.  

“There’s an outhouse in the back.”

“Daryl Dixon, you did not bring me to a cabin in the literal woods with a toilet outside.” You replied, crossing your arms over your chest.  

“Ain’t that big a deal, I come out here all the time.”  

“Well I’m not going out there alone, just FYI...” you muttered, heading back into the room you’d claimed for yourself.  

The night in the cabin was a lot colder than you expected it to be in May. You had assumed the weather would be warming up but it seemed like a chill had set in around the cabin and you woke up in the middle of the night, room pitch black, freezing under the blankets that Daryl had given you.  

You sat up for a moment, waiting for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, carefully stepping out of bed. The wooden floor creaked beneath your feet, as cold as the rest of the room, and you walked out of the bedroom, going to the door next to yours, knocking.  

“Daryl?” You whispered, knocking on the door. “Daryl?”

Footsteps and then the door opened, Daryl standing there in pajama pants, rubbing his eyes. “What’re ya doing up?”  

“I’m freezing.”

“The walls ain’t insulated, ya need another blanket?” He asked.

Another blanket was not what you had in mind when you woke up and forced yourself out of bed in the middle of the night. “I was thinking I could come in?” You suggested.  

“Come in?” He repeated.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “no heat’s better than body heat...right?”  

Daryl narrowed his eyes at you though it was too dark for you to really tell at all. “I didn’t invite ya up fer that.” He clarified, as if maybe you had misinterpreted him wanting to spend time with you as something else.  

You shrugged, you were no blushing virgin and you doubted he was either but that wasn’t why you’d knocked on the door. If he had wanted to, you’d have few objections considering how it’d been that you’d been pining over him, since before Halloween and it was nearly the end of the school year. But really, you were just cold, and your first thought was getting warm. Particularly, getting warm by being close to him.  

“I just wanna lay with you.” You replied, watching as he pushed the door open further as if those had been the magic words. You stepped inside past him, beginning to walk around the left side of the bed when he grabbed your hand.

“That’s my side.”

“Fine.” You huffed, changing your route to the other side.  

The bed was old, just as uncomfortable as yours, but there was still that distinct feeling of warmth beneath the covers as you got in, burrowing down under them and getting as close to Daryl as he’d let you. If there was anywhere you were opposites it was in the amount of physical affection you had to give versus him. He tensed when you rested your head on his chest and wound and arm around his waist. You tried to shift further onto your side and felt his hand on your hip, maneuvering your leg over his to make both of you more comfortable.  

“Ya ain’t got pants on?” He whispered, realizing he was touching your bare skin.

“No, I’m just wearing a shirt. I always do.” You insisted.

“Now wonder yer cold, ain’t even trying ta stay warm.” He grumbled as if the chill was entirely your fault.  

“I am trying to stay warm! What do you think I’m doing in here?” You pinched his side and he let go of your hip to smack your hand. “Hey!” You huffed, changing the subject, “you remember when I fell asleep at your house at Thanksgiving?”  

“Course. Still haven’t given me those clothes back.”

You rested your chin on his shoulder, trying to see him in the dark as he turned his head to look at you, “Is that all you remember?”

“Nah, just figured I was due to hassle ya, considering yer always giving me a hard time.” He replied.

“I knew it then you know? That I wanted to be with you.” You admitted, not so shy about it or worried that he would kick you out of bed for saying so. You pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “I mean, I knew it at the party, when I bummed a cigarette off you and you let me sit outside with you.”

“I didn’t let ya do nothing, ya invited yerself.” He replied.  

“Yeah, cause I was trying to flirt with you!”  

“I knew what ya were doing.” Daryl said, “get some sleep, hunting starts early, deer ain’t gonna wait for chitchat.”

“Fine.” You kissed his shoulder one more time and laid your head down, closing your eyes. “When did you know?”

A heavy groan sounded, “When did I know what?”

“That you liked me?”

“Why’s it matter?” He asked.  

“Cause I wanna know. When were you like ‘heart eyes everytime you looked at me’.”

“Still waiting on it.”

“Daryl!” You pinched his side again and he smacked your hand.  

“Quite doing that, yer more annoying than my brother.” He replied. It was quiet for a moment, complete silence in the room and you were sure Daryl was focusing on going back to sleep when he finally spoke up again. “When I saw ya at the gas station with that kid Glenn.” He admitted, “now go to sleep.”

-

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[youwontlikethisblog]

Brutas! La Policia!

I've read a few analysis on this episode before so while watching it again I was mindful to pay attention to certain details, for example; Armando's facial movements and the way he spoke while also paying attention to Marcela's behavior throughout the episodes that take place for that night (I think there's two or three.)

Now to start this off Armando is already at the drag party. He calls Marcela up and explains he'll be at the apartment. Now Marcela's reaction reminded me a lot of how abusers behave in public. They smile, they laugh, they're kind, loving, understanding, and most of all the perfect S.O so when you complain about it absolutely no one believes you because "they're so perfect" she often giggles when conversing with him, instead of yelling like she normally would she lets things slide.

Now up to this point of the series we've seen a pretty...dysfunctional relationship but they have their ups more than their downs. We know Armando is a cheating whore and that Marcela is aware of this but lets it slide even though she yells at him all the time. However Marcela is often seen more loving towards Armando, the only time they truly have heated arguments that aren't related to Armando cheating, they're related towards Betty and her role in the company and his life. See up to this point(Before Marcela came back from New York) we as viewers have seen Armando be annoyed at his fiancé but she was still his number one girl, meaning that yeah he could have his side pieces but at the end of the day (As he said himself) she was the woman he wanted to be with, was it for the sake of his parents or just for the company, whatever it may be he wanted to be with her. By little things like asking Betty to stay in meetings, to asking her to sit beside him during meetings Marcela's behavior begins to change. I noticed that when she came back from NY and entered his office, he went and stood next to Betty and looked at her and then Marcela, smiled and commented on her new look (Something that I find interesting and I'll comment on that when I get to that ep) he then went and kissed her, now I know it could have been interpreted that he was feeling guilty over the conversation he was having with Mario and Betty (the company getting seized by Terra Moda) which could be true but I find it interesting that in that moment they didn't show him staring at Mario and then Betty or vise versa but instead he stood next to Betty and glanced at her for a moment.

Why do I bring this up when it happened days before the Drag Party? Because it speaks on the shift that they begin to have in their relationship. Often we see Armando as the main instigator and I won't sit here and justify that man's actions. He was a serial cheater, a whore if you will, and had no regards for anyone's feelings, even his own, though his egoism made him think so highly of himself, showed that he was truly an insecure person(I could write down a post dedicated entirety of this character personality because the writing, the directing, and the acting added so much dimension to a character I'd otherwise find repulsive with no grain of redemption.) However; when you look at this dysfunctional and complex romantic relationship between Marcela and Armando you begin to see why the relationship is so terrible and it isn't soley based on his cheating.

Again, Marcela is playing this act of being an understanding and easy going girlfriend in front of Patricia Fernandez, the model, she lets Armando's erratic behavior slide and even behaves when he hangs up on her, instead of calling him multiple times and yelling at him. When her bestie Patty tries to instigate her, her sister Beatriz tries to calm her by saying 'Maybe something did happen and we're not leaving this apartment 'til he shows up' but this entire time we see a compose and calm Marcela, something we all know is not like her. Now, she had spoken to Armando before that scene, where she told him she could go get him and for a brief moment Armando agrees, seeming a bit reluctant at first but he agrees to receive her help, then Daniel and Beatriz show up and he finds out and decided he no longer wants her help.

Who does he call?

Betty.

Betty agrees to go get him on his terms, whereas Marcela said she was taking her siblings with her, or otherwise they'd stay in his apartment(he didn't want them there in the first place). Even when they find him and Betty freaks out, she doesn't judge him. Instead she tells him that she understands not to ask questions and that his secret was safe with her, even though she doesn't get what's going on. Had Marcela reacted the same way?

I want to mention this now, before when Armando had to go to the gay bar to apologize to Hugo he said he felt like he had lost a part of himself, he felt vulnerable (Something we know that dude doesn't ever do) and Marcela's go to, instead of listening to him or truly paying attention to him was simply saying she was going to remind him that he was a man and bam seggsy time.

Now back to this episode, Betty goes to pick him up, he explains what happened, Betty asked one question and once he answered her back the conversation regarding that is let go of. They then go to Eco Moda, cops show up, Betty laughs once the cops leave and Armando, after his hellish night, finally laughs at the situation. In a night he himself calls hell, Betty helps bring some sort of comfort and brightness to it.

Later at her house Armando hears Don Hermes express himself regarding the way he treats Betty(Now lets scratch the tape here and rewind just a few scenes before; Armando seemed annoyed at being in Betty's home, once she left the room we see him roll his eyes once he sees where he is, which shows just how stuck up that foo' is and he could catch these hands.) and cut to the scene of Armando leaving her house in Don Hermes's clothes and he asks her if he was truly awful. Now the interesting part of this is that first he asked if he mistreats her, to which she answers back no, he looks truly sadden and disturbed with the idea when asking that that he could be mistreating her. He then mentions that her dad has a bad impression of the company, then he proceeds to say that he had a bad impression of him, indicating that he cares about his image and the way her dad thinks of him. Betty tells him that he doesn't need to worry and that her dad won't beat him up, to ignore him and he then asks her "Is it really that awful to work for us? Is it a nightmare to work for me?" once more showing us, unlike before, that he isn't soley preoccupied with the company, but he actually cares about what Betty thinks of him and the way he treats her as he later says that he'll work on yelling less at her. This entire time Betty is a trooper, as always, she listens to him, tries to reassure him, doesn't judge, and helps him deal with what ever it is he's dealing with.

This leads to Armando showing up to the apartment, Marcela goes to greet him and then takes notice to what he's wearing and instantly a judge-y look falls upon her face.

You can tell by his body language that he feels embarrassed, warned out and frustrated but Marcela goes to the room instead of paying attention to his body language and his reaction she goes to question him. To add to this she is instantly irritated at him and in the room goes to tell him "Do you have any idea how much embarrassment you've made me go through? in front of everyone?" tell me that doesn't sound abusive, I'll wait.

She then goes to name everyone in the apartment and that he knew exactly who was there, how could he be so selfish as to go to his own apartment, dressed in clothes he borrowed from his assistant's dad because he had to go settle a bet he made so Hugo wouldn't quite the company, therefore hurt the company they all love? How dare he do that to her? Marcela goes to tell him "You better think of something good to tell me!" and his facial expression the entire time is dead. He looks done but when he speaks to her, as he has his back to her, his voice sounds kind, though his facial expression looks dead. He replied "Nothing my love... I dressed up in drag" she doesn't believe him and he tells her the whole truth. He even admits that his biggest mistake that night was not being honest with her from the get go and she goes to sniff him, then shoves him away from her.

This is where Marcela shows her true colors. In the eyes of the public she is the poor girlfriend who forgives her cheating boyfriend who is always yelling but behind close doors with just Armando she is emotionally abusive to him.

People often justify her behavior because Armando is a cheater, there fore hey no harm no foul. However no matter what his actions are she is emotionally abusive towards him. In this instance the problem wasn't him cheating or running off. He was truthful to her about his whereabouts and took responsibility for his mistakes but Marcela's behavior is still wrong. She makes his embarrassment about her, daring to insinuate that he's selfish in that instant for causing her to look bad in front of her guest. Not once thinking about how he could have felt, she's supposed to be the one that is in love in the relationship. She's supposed to be the one that picks up on the cues and cares about him because he's supposed to be the jerk who is selfish at all times and disregards her and thinks of her as just an object to screw at night, right?

Remember how I mentioned the night Armando went to the gay bar?

In this breakdown of this scene I want you to remember that incident.

Marcela, in a loving voice asks him "I don't understand why you couldn't tell me something so dumb?" she is using emotional manipulation here because in the bedroom her tone hadn't been that. It had been angry. What she truly wants is for Armando to confess some wrong doing, something to give her an excuse to act out. However Armando is honest with her once more and tells her that to him that wasn't dumb but had been an entreat(in Spanish the word used "Suplicio" interprets that it had been a deep inner begging for it to end, osea, it had been suffering.) Marcela seems truly concentrated and caring to what he is saying. She does after all care for him. He is being communicative and opening his feelings up to her, something he didn't do with Betty and this is where once again Marcela makes it about herself.

I'm not saying she didn't have a right to but if your S.O is opening up their feelings about something that just happened to them and how deeply it affected them, going as far as to say "you have to understand me" and then you say "and you had to go to someone else?" this turns to focus away from the person who is being vulnerable and turns it towards you, what would you call that? Trying to find fault in someone's feelings and invalidating them by dismissing them and making their reaction a personal attack against you and your relationship is abusive one way or another. She wasn't looking to comfort him, she wasn't looking to show she was truly the one he could count on. She was trying to justify her actions, trying to justify that she has a right to behave and react the way she does because he lied and didn't call her so she could aid him. His body language then proceeds to shift from being the one that was being vulnerable to then having to defend himself.

She warns really, though it reads as she is asking him, to not involve Betty in his personal life. That Betty is only supposed to be part of the company's time. He sits standoff-ish, a nervous tick of him that I've noticed is that he often bites his thumb nail when feeling nervous(duh) he then stands up and stares at her for a brief second before letting out a sigh and hugging her and agreeing.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone that just makes you feel so emotionally frustrated that instead of talking it out you just sigh and agree with them? You set aside your own experience and emotions because you're just tired of having to defend your feelings? So you bend their way in hopes it ends the discussion?

Yeah Armando feels that deeply.

This isn't the last of these scenes. Often their dynamic of a dysfunctional relationship, toxic relationship if you will, is seen more focused when Armando is yelling at her or cheating on her. The subtle ways Marcela is abusive is often seen as a "Poor Morch she is just trying to be in his life" you don't try and be in someone's life by making it all about you, invalidating their experiences, not taking no when they say they're not in the mood(often even before Betty and him got involved when he'd say no to her she'd kiss him and wouldn't stop until he finally gave in.) and then threatening that you'll destroy them if they leave you.

Once again the acting, the directing, and the writing itself tell us a very hard telling truth. In relationships, often when they are toxic on both ends, it isn't always one person who is the instigator. Often they shift. One moment someone is being reactive to the abuse, the next the other is being abusive. However this sets the domino effect we later see with Armando and Marcela always at each other's throats, especially the day of the new collection launch, when Armando finds out about Betty's platonic love.

You can compare both of these relationships and their S.O. While in one the S.O is always making it all about themselves, the other is allowing the other to be the main focus(Betty deserved better than the beginning steps of her romance with Armando(once again I can go off on this character and their behavior in great detail lol)). Armando was never the main focus or really any focus of his relationship with Marcela. It was always about her and his parents. While with Betty, even in this episode, we see them both dealing with it. In the company and now for the first time in a setting outside of the company, Armando isn't facing something on his own or going through the motions of something for the sake of everyone but he is very much present.

I really don't know if any of this makes any sense. I think it plays out the dynamic of the relationship and what's to come of it very well. It also highlights Marcela's toxic behavior and abuse as well and why Armando seemed so unhappy by the point that he accepted to romance Betty.

To add to this; This is all just days or weeks apart from the day the plan to make Betty fall in love with him to secure the company is created. The change between Marcela and Armando has been slow but it comes to an exploding halt by then.

Marcela's behavior is abusive. You cannot look at it any other way but that. She is possessive, jealous, emotionally manipulative, sexually manipulative, and over all views Armando as an object that belongs to her. When he bends her way her love is unconditional and she's happy. The correct term is that she is in the honeymoon stages. If your S.O is so afraid of making any mistake due to your reaction; IT'S ABUSE. You're an abusive person. She isn't physically abusive or sexually abusive towards him but she is verbally and emotionally abusive towards him.

We often see him have a tone that is kind and loving while his entire body and facial expression shows the contrary. It shows a man afraid to speak his mind.

Yes he yells at her, he cheats on her, and he isn't the greatest boyfriend. He tells her that he'll do her the favor of marrying her, that he'll end their relationship if she tells his parents the true state of the company. He manipulates her, he is a gran manipulator. He isn't the best but what makes him different from Marcela? That he takes accountability for it. He feels an immense guilt for lying to her and cheating, not only sexually on her with Betty, but emotionally and mentally. He carries that load while Marcela not once has ever show guilt, remorse, or accountability for her abuse.

While one shows to have some form of redemption the other still believes and tries to justify their behavior. Often she is looking for things to be upset about regarding Armando. As if she just needs one small reason to throw every mistake in his face, to yell, to manipulate, and to be over-all a possessive, controlling, abusive girlfriend.

Now this doesn't mean Armando is innocent. There is a reason why their relationship is toxic because they're both abusive towards each other but I noticed that often times, when the subject isn't infidelities', Armando's abusive tendencies come from a reaction rather than the instigator. He is an instigator at times(he cheats for god's sake) but Armando's abuse is manipulation and gas lighting, which are bad too. Those are the moments he is the instigator, when he is being manipulative, gaslighting, or cheating, the rest are reactionary abusive tendencies towards Marcela, who feeds the cycle of toxicity because due to Armando's cheating and gaslighting she's a possessive control freak and the cycle feeds itself. They are both bad people, they are both at fault of the dysfunction in their relationship and they are both abusive towards each other. I think it's important to note why it is that Armando even began to have feelings for Betty as he himself said that their relationship was harmonic whereas what he had with Marcela was anything but that.

Now I'm not saying Armando is the victime here. He is both the victimizer and the victime as well as Marcela.

Once I collect my thoughts to better express and breakdown scenes where Armando is the instigator in the abuse in his relationship with Marcela I'll make a post for it and I'll definitely make one about his abuse in his relationship with Betty.

But let me just say this, I don't hate Marcela. I actually like her, outside of her relationship with Armando and how vile and abusive she has been towards Betty from the get go, she shows to care about her employee's her siblings, and is companionate towards others but I've seen one too many people always act like she was only a victim and never did any wrong. Her character is meant to be realistic which means she is no saint and neither are any of the characters in this novela.

'Til next time.

[neeterloveschenford]

THOUGHTS ON RNM 3x08

Wow! What an amazing episode!!! I think I have watched it 5 times now.ed And watched all the Malex scenes on youtube repeatedly. Stopped and stared at every gifset I’ve run across. It’s just been an amazing feeling knowing that we won people!!! Malex is back and I honestly don’t think they will be going back. It’s really, finally their time. But I’m going to save them til last because there will be so much flailing! So I’m going to start with the only thing that I had a real problem with in this episode. Why does no one care about Kyle? I’m positive that they know about him. Alex wouldn’t drop everything he dropped in this episode without letting them know where Kyle is. And there is a very bad habit with this show of telling instead of showing. And I totally get why Maria is the priority at the moment. Kyle is presumably stable and being taken care of by Eduardo, while Maria was deteriorating while she was “possessed” by Jones. But still, a little “Hey Alex, how’s my brother?” from Rosa would not have been remiss. But, I guess I just have to take a step back and remember that this is RNM and old habits are hard to break with them apparently.

Now. Let’s move on to the things I loved. I know there was so much hate and salt thrown Maria’s way because she’s rarely written the way she should be. And of course there was all of last season that made a lot of people loathe and despise her. I’ve had my moments where I never wanted to see her on my screen again, but then I took a step back and realized I was putting all of my hatred and upset onto a fictional character. Maria is not the person who wrote such a crappy story for her last season. I think we can all agree that Maria was Carina’s self-insert character. But I decided that I was going to move past my anger and try and embrace her this season. Admittedly, it’s been up and down. I think there have been times when she has definitely been used too much, and times when she was never fleshed out. But this episode her story revolved around what I have always thought was the most interesting part about her. Her heritage. I’ve always been interested in Patricia and what happened to her at Caulfield. To see how she worked with Nora to build the Lockhart machine was great! And then to find out how she was injected with the alien chemicals after Lockhart figured out she was actually helping the people she was supposed to be injecting, that was awesome. I’m glad Maria got to find out more about her family’s past. Now I’m left wondering if Arturo has a past interaction with aliens or a connection to Caulfield. So far we’ve learned about the Valentis, the DeLuca’s and the Manes families. Now we need to find out about the Ortecho’s.

Next I would like to talk about all of the wonderful interactions between the women. I was feeling so much girl power emanating from my tv screen! I don’t care what anyone says, I love the friendships between Liz and Isobel, Isobel and Rosa, Rosa and Maria, Isobel and Maria, and Liz and Maria. They were amazing. I can’t wait to see more of their interactions. I think all of the women (frankly, all of the characters) have grown so much this season. I love the bonds of sisterhood that have formed between our ladies! They were all so supportive and caring with each other. It’s like Maria said, she wasn’t alone, she had her sisters with her! And when Liz said the three women I love, I wanted to cry. They have all come so far this season. Is everything perfect? No. But it’s so much better than it has been. I just want more, more, more.

Liz got to be her badass science self again. I loved the fact that she talked to the horse the entire episode. Sometimes we just have to bounce ideas off of somebody. Why not a horse? And the way she figured out how to disconnect Jones from Maria using Rosa’s new powers was perfection. She really got to see a new side to Rosa this time. I’m so glad that we are getting these wonderful Ortecho sister moments!

Isobel is a bamf! She took on Jones without a moments hesitation and totally kicked his ass! I love her so much! She has grown so confident in her abilities. And the fact that the one moment of doubt she had was when Rosa swooped in with pod Yoda wisdom was exactly what she needed. They are one of my favorite friendships on the show.

And my last thing before I fall down the Malex rabbit hole. My dudes. Get over the hug already! It has been canon the entire time that Alex still thinks of Maria as one of his best friends. As much as y’all want her to have her reckoning for 2x06, it’s not going to happen. If it bothers you so much that all you can do after so much wonderfulness, is complain about Maria, then you need to really think about whether or not this is the show for you. She is not going anywhere anytime soon. Yes, she still annoys me sometimes, but I can put that aside and love the show despite her. I don’t mean to be harsh, but there is just too much negativity out there.

So now for the good stuff. (Rubs hands together.) OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!

I cannot believe that we won! We’ve lost so many times. But now WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIENDS! We were given a feast with this episode. I mean in the first five minutes we have Alex coming clean to Michael about joining Deep Sky. And instead of blowing up and walking away, Michael actually listened. And what Alex said about making a world where Michael didn’t have to live in fear for the both of them? I nearly died then and there. I seriously could have just had that moment and been happy. The eyebrow flirting was so cute. Then we get it again when they are trying to figure out where Jones was. The heart eyes coming from Michael was glorious. He was so proud of his man and his hacking skills. And we got dorky eyebrow flirting again! Then we have that scene where we learn why Alex is the way he is. I know there has been a lot said about him having a white saviour complex with the story of Omar, but I’ve heard similar stories from actual vets. We tend to let our own feelings about the military cloud our feelings for the men and women who serve. I’m glad that they finally showed Alex’s PTSD. He holds himself away from people because he knows what it’s like to lose people. And Michael rubbing his cheek like that. I almost died again. I just love them so much. And then we get the scene where Alex stops Michael from trying to take the sword from Jones. Him grabbing Michael’s hand like that was downright sexual. I need to fan myself. That’s chemistry folks! And then we get Alex hitting Jones with the truck! What a great parallel with Michael hitting Jesse with his cane. Those boys will do anything to protect each other.

And then we have that scene. SO MUCH GOODNESS! Alex telling Michael about the Lockhart machine. Michael admitting that he knows that he probably won’t get clearance to work on the project. Alex saying he will tell him everything anyway. Our boys have grown so much this season! And the way Michael took off his hat to kiss Alex. I just felt so much in that moment. That kiss was so soft and sweet. When they pulled away, the way Alex looked up at Michael with so much longing was just uh! And Michael’s little exhale and smile. He knows exactly how to put Alex at ease. And then the hug. I am ready to cry right now just thinking about it. I know many people think it was too much too soon, but I beg to differ. This is how I’ve always seen things happening. Once they were both on the same page, it was bound to go down exactly like this. They have so much history and passion between them. And now they can finally admit to each other and themselves that there is no one else in the universe for each other. Their love is so strong. Why shouldn’t they acknowledge their feelings while growing closer. In the end I think it will only make them stronger.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I can’t wait til we get worried boyfriend Michael in the next episode. It’s going to be awesome! Till next time my friends!