#look times have been tough can we skip it this year

[savemohammedfamily199]

Dear                  

!! Please don't skip it🙏🍉                                    

Have a look🇵🇸🍉

I'm Mohammed from Gaza 🍉🇵🇸….. I need your help if you can

🍉🇵🇸, seeking to find safety and peace ☝️for my family if ten members. We have been ❤🇵🇸🍉passing through all forms of torture and pain for almost ten months because of the war on Gaza.                                                     

     Life is very miserable and tragic❤🇵🇸 as we are now deprived ❤🇵🇸🍉of all means  of living. Drink water, healthy food   🍉   

Please don't leave us alone in such dire times. Your kind contribution either through donating whatever you can or sharing my posts will be highly appreciated and valued.❤🇵🇸🍉care and medicine❤🇵🇸 have become things 🇵🇸🍉❤of the past. We are dying dear friends. That is why I am asking you to help us break through this tough situation.

.Life in hot tents is incredibly sad and miserable. We are now experiencing the worst circumstances  we have ever had in our life. The war has stolen happiness and life from us.

Here is my campaign link:

. If you can't donate, sharing our story will help us reach others

who may be able to help.

Any small donations can make difference

to my family lives 🍉

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for

your compassion and support 🙏❤.

Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #148 )

I ask you all to help my family and donate in the link please🍉

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[starcurtain]

A Closer Look at the Phaidei Memory

I've seen so many people talking about this scene with Phainon and Mydei and making fun of how blatantly obvious Phainon is about his... respect for Mydei's... conspicuous body, but one thing I feel like a lot of people missed (or at least I haven't seen anyone discussing) is that this memory seems to come from very early on in their acquaintance.

Looking at it closely, it's clear that the two aren't particularly familiar with each other yet in this memory sequence. For one, Phainon questions things that he should easily know if he was well-acquainted with Mydei already.

First, very comically: "Do you even bathe, bro?"

And second, Phainon questions why Mydei isn't immune to the black tide:

This suggests that, up to the point of this memory, Phainon had not been in enough battles with Mydei (or at least close enough to Mydei) to see him be affected by the black tide. Apparently, this memory-Phainon-and-Mydei don't have years of rushing into battle side-by-side to defend Okhema yet.

It's also hilariously clear that the Phainon in this memory has absolutely no idea how to talk to Mydei.

Breaking this scene down, it's literally Phainon just trying really hard to strike up conversation, doing his best to try to crack the tough exterior and get Mydei to actually interact with him. He jumps around through topics rapidly--the baths, the black tide, their personal sparring--looking for anything that will catch Mydei's attention.

Meanwhile, we can tell that Mydei is not particularly familiar or comfortable with Phainon yet because his dialogue is so different from any of his other scenes in the game. Although Mydei is obviously not the game's biggest yapper, he does always have full sentences to contribute to other conversations and banters readily with Phainon whenever he's baited into it.

In this memory, he instead starts off polite but also completely aloof:

This is the exact sort of response you'd have to a vague acquaintance coming up and trying to talk to you like you're best friends. Phainon skipped at least four steps of familiarity here, and Mydei is obviously at a loss for why the conversation is even happening.

He responds by blatantly stonewalling, answering Phainon's (slightly pathetic) attempts to start an actual conversation in nothing but single word answers:

You can even see Phainon recognize how bad he's failing half way through the conversation, which prompts him to vocally declare that he's going to make a complete topic switch:

And this time, it works!

When Phainon brings up their personal duel or spar, whichever it was, finally, finally Mydei caves and engages in the conversation with him:

Which prompts Phainon to laugh (in relief? lol) and flat out crow about how he's finally cracked the code and figured out how to get Mydei to notice him:

Poor Mydei, however, did not seem to realize his slight display of interest was going to lead him into a full conversation, and he responds to Phainon's blatant invitation to keep talking with a confused:

Witness Mydei accidentally turning down Phainon's request for a date in real time.

The only thing that complicates the situation is what Phainon says late in the memory: that they've battled "all this time." However, looking at his earlier comments, this last statement may just be in a general sense, as in "two Chrysos Heirs who have been fighting the titans for years," especially as the rest of the line "How do you train? Would you consider teaching me?" once again indicates a lack of close familiarity.

(It's also possible this line is just poorly translated in English, and was actually meant to refer to their legendary ten-day-long duel: "We battled all that time, yet I never saw you fatigued." Given the rest of the lines in the memory, I think "dodgy translation" honestly makes the most sense here, and would also just have really funny implications: Phainon and Mydei didn't fall in love at first sight; they fell in comically-long-duel at first sight. Okay, maybe for Phainon it was both.)

Phainon's earlier statements in the memory make it clear that he isn't very experienced with fighting Mydei specifically, with the overall implication of the dialogue being that they've just had their first duel against each other recently:

So anyway, where I am going with all this?

I know a lot of people got distracted by Phainon's (accidental?) pass at Mydei in the first line, but I think taking a step back and looking at the scene as a whole, in context, makes it even more hilarious and off-the-cuff:

Phainon and Mydei aren't well-acquainted in this scene.

Phainon literally walked up on a guy he barely knows and the first words that fell out of his mouth were "Dan Nicky your bobbies." "I would know that body anywhere."

Even Mydei was weirded out at first!

Like, Phainon has absolute foot-in-mouth syndrome around his new "friend." He spends the whole conversation narrating his own attempts to communicate ("Ah, I see I am unwanted. Instead of leaving, I shall try another tactic. Is it working yet?" and "Yes, yes, yes, it worked!") like this is a remotely normal thing to do around a person you're not even close with yet.

You can see his puppy tail wagging. He wants to be friends with Mydei so bad.

He is actively making up excuses to try to get Mydei to spend time with him here--first the comment about "Yay, you're here!" at the baths like he expects them to bathe together, then the whole "Why don't we go somewhere and have a long conversation about the insights we gained from rolling around in the dirt together?" to finally just flat out asking Mydei to train with him.

It's so charmingly earnest, straightforward, and even a bit awkward that I think this scene is really under-rated by the fans. It's not just another example of Phainon commenting on Mydei's muscles--it's a glimpse into what they were like before they were close and just how much Phainon wanted to connect to Mydei, how willing he was to explore to discover exactly what Mydei would be interested in so that he could seize that common ground between them.

Really a masterclass in showing us fans characterization right on the cusp of changing, and for showcasing both Phainon's charming audacity and Mydei's surprisingly-reserved-around-strangers behavior.

And, since we know the future that memory-Phainon-and-Mydei are headed toward... we also know it worked! Mydei is smiling by the end of the conversation! He and Phainon are going to become vitriolic best buds--er, rivals--and Phainon is going to get all the spars he wants.

Persistence pays off!

[wolverigrl]

This scene as a story 🥵

Interrupted

Hugh Jackman x f!reader

A/N: I love all the requests and hope there will be even more, especially for Logan ;)

Warnings: some swearing here and there, light smut

Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------

It's been a long few weeks, but tonight feels different. I'm sitting on the couch in the living room, my legs tucked under me, chatting with Oscar. He's such a good kid - always curious, always with something nteresting to say. Ava's on the carpet nearby, completely engrossed in her blocks, humming to herself as she builds some colorful tower. It's one of those rare peaceful moments.

"You think Dad's movie is doing well?" Oscar asks, his voice thoughtful as he tosses the football between his hands.

"Oh, absolutely!" I smile. "Your dad's been working so hard. The movie will be amazing!"

Oscar nods, looking proud but a little distant. It's been a few weeks since Hugh started his promotion tour, and even though he's come iome as often as he can, the house eels different without him.

Just then, the front door opens, and I hear the familiar sound of his shoes on the hardwood floor.

"Hey! Daddy's home!" Hugh's voice echoes through the hallway

Ava jumps up, abandoning her blocks, "Daddy!" she squeals, running toward him. Oscar and I exchange a smile, and I stand up to meet Hugh as well. He steps into the living room, arms open wide, scooping up Ava as she collides with him. He looks tired but happy, his face lighting up the moment he sees us.

"Hey, there's my beautiful family!" he says warmly and kissing Ava on the forehead before setting her down. His eyes meet mine, and for a second, I feel my heart skip. Even after all these years, the way he looks at me still does something.

"Hey, you.." I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms encircle my waist, pulling me close as our lips meet in a soft, lingering kiss. It's brief, but enough to make me miss him all over again.

"Missed you."

"I missed you more." he murmurs against my lips before stepping back and ruffling Oscar's hair.

"How's it going, buddy? Keeping everyone in check?"

Oscar grins. "Trying. It's a tough job!"

Hugh laughs, pulling him in for a hug.

"I bet."

Ava tugs at Hugh's hand, clearly ready for her bedtime routine. "Come on, Daddy, it's time for bed!"

Hugh winks at me. 'Duty calls. I' I take care of Ava, and then 1'll be back. Oscar, heading to your room soon?*

Yeah, 1'Il probably read for a bit," Oscar says, already making his way toward the stairs.

As Hugh leads Ava upstairs, I sink ack onto the couch, exhaling a deep breath. It feels good to have him home, even if just for a little while. A few minutes later, he returns, the corners of his mouth ifting as he sees me still curled up on the couch

"Bedtime routine went smoothly?" I ask.

He chuckles, collapsing next to me Ava was out like a light. Oscar's a teenager now, though. Bedtime's more of a suggestion than a rule.

We share a quiet laugh, and then it's just us - the house finally still. I lean against him, his arm sliding naturally around my shoulders pulling me closer. The warmth of his body is soothing, and I take a moment to just breathe him in.

"How've you been holding up this week?" he asks softly, his thumb stroking my arm.

"Busy. But good." I reply, turning to look at him. "What about you? It feels like you've been everywhere!"

He sighs, rubbing his face.

"I have. It's been non-stop interviews, press junkets, all of it. I barely had a second to breathe." His eyes soften as he looks down at me.

"I missed you. Missed this."

My heart flutters, and I shift, leaning into his side a bit more. "I missed you, too. It's been strange without you here."

He gives me a slow, knowing smile. "Guess l'II have to make up for lost time then."

I raise an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh yeah? How do you plan on doing that?"

Without a word, Hugh's hand slides down to rest on my hip, pulling me closer until I'm nearly on his lap. His touch is warm, and I can feel the tension building between us, that unspoken desire that's been bubbling under the surface since the moment he walked through the door.

I bite my lip, my breath hitching as I swing my leg over to straddle him and his hands immediately find their way to my hips, pulling me even closer. His fingers dig in, holding me there, as his dark eyes lock with mine. There’s a smoldering heat between us, a spark that’s been building ever since he walked through the door. It feels electric, and I’m feeding off it, my body already reacting to the closeness, the weight of his hands on me.

"I don’t think you understand how much I’ve missed this.." I murmur, leaning down so my lips brush against his ear, teasing him with my breath. I give a slow roll of my hips against his, feeling the growing hardness beneath me.

Hugh groans softly, his hands tightening their grip on my hips as I grind down again, my movements deliberate, slow, and torturous. “Trust me, I’ve missed you more.” he says, his voice rough, barely above a whisper. His hands start to roam under my shirt, fingertips grazing my bare skin, sending shivers up my spine. “Every damn day, I thought about this. About having you like this… on top of me, feeling you.”

I tilt my head back, sighing as his fingers trail higher up my sides, his touch sending sparks of heat through me. I roll my hips again, feeling the friction between us, and I bite my lip, a teasing smile forming on my face.

"I had to keep myself entertained, you know." I say, my voice dropping to a sultry tone. “All those nights without you. I had to take care of myself in more ways than one.”

Hugh’s eyes darken, and he swallows hard, his hands pausing for just a second before sliding up to cup my breasts over my shirt. “Yeah? Tell me what you did.” he whispers, his voice thick with lust. “Tell me how you touched yourself thinking of me.”

I let out a soft moan as his thumbs brush over my nipples, teasing through the fabric. My fingers tangle in his hair, pulling his head back slightly so I can look into his eyes. “I’d lay in bed, thinking about you. About how good your hands feel on me, how your mouth drives me crazy. I’d slide my hands down my body, imagining it was you. And I’d think about how much I need you, how no matter what I do, it’s never enough.”

His breath hitches, and I grind down on him again, this time harder, feeling his hardened length.

“Fuck.” he mutters, his hands moving to my ass, squeezing as he pulls me tight against him. “You saying that is going to drive me insane. Hell, I wish I’d been there… wish I’d been the one making you come, hearing you moan my name.”

I smirk, leaning down to capture his lips in a slow, heated kiss. It’s all tongue and teeth, the kiss deepening with each second as the desire between us becomes unbearable.

His hands start to roam more urgently now, one sliding up under my shirt to cup my bare breast, his thumb flicking over my nipple, making me arch into him. The other grips my ass, pulling me into his lap as I grind against him again, feeling the heat pooling low in my belly.

"Hugh.." I breathe, breaking the kiss just long enough to catch my breath, my lips hovering over his harder this time. The friction between us sends a rush of heat through my body, and I can't help the soft moan that escapes my lips.

"I need you.." I whisper, my voice barely a breath as I feel his hands tighten on my ass, pulling me closer, pushing me down onto him.

"You have no idea how badly l've needed this." he groans, his lips crashing back into mine, urgent and rough. His hands roam freely now, one sliding up to my back, tugging at the hem of my shirt, pushing it higher.

My breath comes out in short gasps, my fingers tangled in his hair as lkiss him again, hungrily, my hips moving in slow, deliberate circles, the sensation of his hands on my skin, the way he's pulling me into him, it's driving me wild.

I break the kiss, my lips brushing against his ear as I whisper. "I've been so wet for you, Hugh. Every night, just thinking about you.. how good you feel inside me."

I pause, grinding down again, harder, feeling his breath catch. "I couldn't wait for you to come home."

He lets out a low groan, his hands gripping my hips as I continue to move against him, my body already buzzing with the heat of arousal. "Fuck, baby.." he mutters, his voice thick with desire.

"You're killing me. I want you so bad right now."

His words ignite something in me and I tug at his shirt, pulling it up and over his head in one swift motion. My hands run down his chest, feeling the firm muscles beneath my fingers, my body aching to feel more of him.

All of him.

He leans back slightly, his eyes dark and hungry as he watches me, his hands sliding up under my shirt, lifting it higher, exposing my skin

I let him pull the shirt over my head tossing it aside, and his hands immediately move to my breasts, making me gasp as a jolt of pleasure shoots through me.

"You feel so good, love." he murmurs, his voice rough, his hands exploring every inch of me.

Suddenly someone clears their throat.

We freeze.

Instinctively, I press my upper body against Hugh and turn my head in the direction from which the voice came.

My heart racing as I see Oscar standing at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes wide with a mix of embarrassment and discomfort.

"Oh my God." I mutter, my face burning with embarrassment.

Oscar clears his throat awkwardly and looks at the ceiling.

"I.. uh.. I just wanted to say goodnight. But, uh.. I'll go to bed now. Good night."

He doesn't wait for a response turning on his heel and practically sprinting back up the stairs.

Hugh and I sit there in stunned silence for a moment before we both burst out laughing, the tension evaporating into a mix of relief and embarrassment.

"Well.." Hugh says, running a hand through his hair. "That was.. unfortunate."

I shake my head, still laughing softly.

"We should probably go to bed too, before we traumatize him any further."

Hugh grins, his eyes still sparkling with that familiar mischief. "Probably a good idea."

We stand up, and as we head upstairs, his hand finds mine, squeezing it gently.

Even though the moment was interrupted, the connection between us is still there, stronger than ever. And I know there will be plenty of time to finish what we started.

---------------------------------------------------

Tags: @angelofthorr @haytchee

[oldsoul007]

“just friends”

joel miller x reader

summary: y/n and joel confess their real feelings for each other

joel miller masterlist

Me and Joel had been best friends for as long as we could remember. We’d spent countless hours laughing, supporting each other through tough times, and sharing our dreams. There was an unspoken bond between us, something deeper than friendship, though neither had ever acknowledged it—until that night.

I had been excited for my date, which was a rare occasion. I’d been talking to Joel about it all day, telling him how nervous I was. Joel, however, wasn’t as thrilled. He’d been quiet about it, his usual teasing banter replaced by an uncomfortable silence whenever the topic came up.

As the evening approached, Joel couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. He kept offering me advice on how to handle the date, but his tone was off, almost as if he was trying to find a reason to keep me from going.

“Are you sure you want to go out with him?” Joel asked, his voice tight with something I couldn’t quite place. “You’ve only met him once.”

I frowned, sensing the unusual tension. “What’s with you, Joel? You’re acting all weird. It’s just a date, nothing serious.”

He shifted uncomfortably, avoiding my gaze. “I just don’t like the idea of some guy getting to know you better. I mean, what if he’s not good enough for you?”

I blinked, taken aback. “What are you talking about? I’m an adult, I can decide who I go out with.”

Joel exhaled sharply, looking frustrated. “I just… I don’t know. I don’t like it. You deserve someone who really gets you. Not some random guy.”

I chuckled, thinking it was just Joel being protective, but something in the way he said it made me pause. “Why are you so obsessed with this guy I’m going out with?” I asked, my voice a little sharper than I intended.

Joel’s eyes widened, and for a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something, but then he just shook his head. “Forget it. Have fun on your date.”

Later that night, after y/n had gone on her date, Joel sat alone in his room, his mind racing. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, about how she smiled when she talked about the guy she was meeting, and how her eyes lit up in a way they never did when they hung out together. The jealousy gnawed at him, and for the first time, he realized that maybe it wasn’t just about the guy—maybe it was about him.

He had spent years suppressing his feelings, telling himself that what he had with y/n was special enough, that their friendship was enough. But the thought of her with someone else… it felt like losing her.

When y/n finally came back from her date, she was glowing, but Joel could see something in her eyes, too—a hint of uncertainty.

“So, how was it?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual, though it came out sounding more anxious than he meant it to.

“It was nice,” I replied, but there was a pause before I added, “But honestly, I kept thinking about you the whole time.”

Joel’s heart skipped a beat, his breath catching in his throat. “What?”

“I don’t know… I was just thinking about how much I wanted to talk to you, how I wanted to tell you everything,” I admitted, a shy smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “It just wasn’t the same, you know?”

Joel’s voice cracked when he spoke. “Y/n, I… I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend like I’m okay with you being with someone else. I… I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

I froze. The words hung in the air between us, as if everything had shifted in an instant.

For a long moment, I stared at him, my mind trying to process it all. And then, slowly, I walked over to him, my voice soft but steady. “I love you too, Joel. I’ve just been too afraid to admit it.”

In that moment, all the unspoken feelings, all the years of being best friends and nothing more, melted away. We stood there, both realizing that what we’d been searching for, what we’d needed all along, had been right in front of us.

And for the first time, Joel understood: sometimes, the person who knows you best is the one who’s been there all along.

My breath hitched as I took a step closer, my heart racing. Joel’s gaze met mine, searching, as if trying to confirm the same truth I’d just uncovered. Then, without a word, he reached out, his hand gently cupping my face, his thumb brushing along my cheek. My eyes fluttered shut at the warmth of his touch, the proximity intoxicating.

“Y/n,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion.

I opened my eyes, meeting his with the same depth of feeling reflected in his. “Joel…” I breathed, and in that moment, everything else vanished. The years of friendship, the lingering doubts, the fears—all disappeared in an instant.

He leaned in, and as our lips met, it was like an explosion of feeling, all the pent-up affection and longing they’d kept hidden, crashing together in a perfect, fiery union. His lips were soft yet insistent, and I responded with equal fervor, pulling him closer, as though I could somehow melt into him.

We kissed as if time itself had stopped, the world spinning around us, but nothing mattered except the feeling of being in each other’s arms. It was the kind of kiss that made the heart ache, that made everything seem right in the world. And for a long, breathless moment, we forgot everything except the love we had both just realized.

[daughterofapollo-official]

Leo Valdez Fan theory.

OK, I have two really strong, but really dark head cannons about Leo Valdez.

1) he’s got wrapped up in crimes really really in life

2) he’s anorexic.

First, I want to establish that anorexia isn’t necessarily the need to be as skinny as possible.

Can develop and form at age for multitude of reasons the most popular being: constant needed to lose weight, strong need of control, or self harm/punishment.

I feel like Leo is either need for control or the need for self punishment.

I have a lot of thoughts about this, but in order to do this correctly, I wanted to start with the very first appearance Leo has in the Percy Jackson universe.

His very first line is a response to Jason saying “I don’t belong here.”

Stating “you’re right! We’ve all been framed. I didn’t run away six times and Piper didn’t steel convertible.”

How is running away even comparable to stealing a car?

This makes me believe that Leo did something far worse than just run away either he did something and that’s why he ran away or he ran away to do something.

Or he ran away and did something.

But comparing running away a few times and stealing a car and then giving them the exact same consequence scenes unreasonable to me I think Leo probably did something a lot darker but because this is a kids book it’s not mentioned.

Shortly after being introduced to Leo in the form of this first statement, Jason’s in her monologue goes on to describe Leo as this mischievous, looking boy that the second he looked at him and looked in his eyes. He could tell that he couldn’t trust him with matches and sharp objects.

No one could see this as for shadowing for Leo’s godly parent, being the god of forge and fire.

But I see this as a sign that despite his physique Leo Valdez has this aura of danger.

“crash course for the amnesiac: we go to the wilderness school. Which means we’re bad kids. Your family, or the court, or whoever. Decided you were to much trouble so they sent you off to this lovely prison. Sorry, boarding school.”

The words in the statement from Leo Valdez in chapter 1, give us a valuable clues on the type of environment. Leo Piper and Jason are inside. 

As if the further emphasize the point that these kids have committed crimes, Jason’s inter monologue says that none of these kids look like a “hard criminals” and he wonders what they could have done to be “sentenced to school for delinquents.”

And again, these are actual lines from the book Leo Valdez canonically is classified legally as a delinquent.

And knowing Leo does not have any family it’s clear that Leo received this as a sentence from a courtroom.

As he himself stated, as we just saw you can be sent to this place not just by parents who think you need a strict or lifestyle, but by the court.

“ he had survived and tough neighborhoods, tough schools, touch foster homes, by using his wits, he was the class clown, the court jester. Because he learned early that if you crack jokes and pretend not to be scared you usually didn’t get beat up. Even the baddest, gangster kids will tolerate you. Keep you around for laughs.”

This quote from the novel also is a clear clue that Leo a dark skinned kid in the United States, grew up, hanging out with delinquents hanging out with kids that were in gangs he literally said gangsters.

Which means he probably got into school fight, street fights, and substance use.

Because that’s what teenagers do in those social groups.

Crimes canonically mentioned that Leo committed:

• truancy; this is when so, and skip school so much that it becomes legal issue.

Ask yourself in United States, with xenophobia and racism, if a Latino 11 to 14 year old boy, who doesn’t have parental supervision is skipping school. What do you think he’s doing?

It’s only mentioned that he committed truancy, which isn’t it hard crime but knowing reality, it’s very probable that Leo has experimented within this timeframe within running away and being arrested for truancy he also committed underage use of substances.

So let’s take a break from the crime dive. Because I’m pretty sure for the rest of Leo’s appearances in the universe it’s not hinted out or mentioned anymore. I think that’s all I have to say, but I might revisit this later.

This is the first inkling of anorexia:

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post anorexia can manifest at any point of someone’s life for a multitude of reasons.

It is usually during development either late childhood to any point in adolescence.

Although it can form adulthood, it’s more common for it to start in developmental stages.

Anorexia is a cycle and for whatever reason you start starving yourself this little bit and then you lose your appetite and your stomach shrinks and you feel less hunger so you eat less and then you struggle to eat a healthy amount.

You may be thinking there’s no way Leo is anorexic because he is self-conscious of how skinny he is.

True.

But I don’t think him himself because he wants to be skinny. I think he does it for one of two reasons and maybe it’s a mix of both maybe they’re both correct or maybe it’s just just one I don’t know.

1- control.

2- punishment.

In chapter 5, we have a chapter from the point of view of Leos for the very first time, and this is when we first learned about how Leo’s mom died he died tragically in the housefire that he started, and even as a 15 year-old, he blames himself, and he sees himself as the person responsible for his mother’s death.

His mother died when he was eight years old obvious this is going to have severe psychological trauma on him, I believe that Leo stopped eating.

Maybe at first he just didn’t wanna eat anything because he was in grief and he couldn’t eat, maybe it was because he didn’t eat his mom didn’t cook Mexican culture love cooking and he just lost the person. He loved the most in life and he couldn’t imagine eating.

But I think he stopped eating as a way to punish himself for killing his mother, and then it spiraled and snowball and got out of control to the point where he’s severely underweight as a fifteen year old.

As for control, we know that he didn’t have control over where he lived, or who took care of him or what school he went too.

His life was flipped upside down as it went into the foster system and he felt powerless. He felt like he had no control and one way of his for dealing with that was running away, but I also feel like he just wouldn’t eat because if maybe if he could control his weight and he can control what he eats then at least he had control over one thing in his life. He didn’t have control over anything else, but at least he had control over what he ate and then that’s snow bolt into the point he got underweight as a teenager.

It’s one of these reasons or a mix of both of these reasons.

I think Leo is somewhat muscular.

He’s always lift up heavy pieces of metal he uses hammers. He knows how to forage. This requires a lot of muscle mass in the arm and abdomen at least but I feel like the reason he gives the scrawny description is because he doesn’t eat enough.

Even at the end of the war with the Giants, eat enough and he was just like oh he doesn’t work out then he would have a lot more muscle mass and he would not be seen as scrawny as we seen with Percy was seen as little kid in the beginning and now he’s very physically muscular because of the war he went through, but that didn’t happen with Leo because I think he’s already muscular. He just never eats therefore he’s not healthy looking.

Chapter 30, Yet another example of Leo allowing himself to be put at the risk of death without hesitation.

Man for Jason to take Piper and fly away from Festus as the dragon Falls, Leo would stay on his dragon and try to fix it. Then he said he couldn’t fix it he would die.

The first time I read this I didn’t think much of it didn’t even remember this thing happened because it seems like just natural reaction to trying to save the ship sacrifice yourself, knowing how the giant war ends and he did kill himself. I think it’s a reasonable assumption that just does not have enough regards for personal safety and probably not taking care of himself.

During the lost hero indicated that part of the reason how Piper Leo invasion survive the quest was that whenever they were hungry, Leo would cook for them.

But did anyone other than me notice that hyper had to ask for Leo to cook every single single time because he never remembered he was never hungry and he would only eat if they were hungry if they told him they were hungry and asked him to cook.

I didn’t find the scene again because I was only reading chapters in Leo’s point of view, but I think it’s in Pipers and this for me the first time I read it was like the first indication that Leo doesn’t have a healthy relationship with food.

Mark of Athena.

The very first time Leo met Hazel first thing he noticed was that she paid a lot of attention to him. And he didn’t like it you can argue that this is because he was so used to not be center of attention, but we all know that Leo craves attention so that wouldn’t make sense. He says that the reason he feels uncomfortable is that she was staring at him through looking at his body, and it made him feel self-conscious.

House of Hades

“ you haven’t eaten in a few days.” Calypso told Leo. And Leo didn’t even notice.

Wikipedia Page.

I read the entire page. Yes. The whole thing.

I never do that.

But I wanted to see if there was any other extra evidence for my theory.

In the early life section there’s a paragraph about the day of the dead, where Leo’s aunt and his cousin who would bully him went to the cemetery. To clean their relatives graves and bring offerings.

I found this quote “Rosa would force him to stay for the picnic, as if eating with dead people would fix his appetite.”

So his family was aware he wasn’t eating.

“Leo woke up in an ambulance, and the paramedic was kind to him, saying that the warehouse had burned down and his mom hadn't made it out. Leo felt hollow, and realized he had lost control like his mom had warned him about.“

This supports my theory that Leo feels a lack of control in his life, which is why he’d result to controlling his food intake.

“He thought her death was his fault” this quote supports my second theory of what triggered his anorexia. Self punishment. In his very core. He believes he was responsible for the person he loved most in life being dead.

“The police wondered what kind of child would've started a fire. His neighbors in the apartment complex gossiped about him, saying they always knew something was wrong with him.” So already at 8 years old he called the attention of the cops and his community as dangerous. And once you’re labeled as dangerous, and dark skinned… there’s only a matter of time until you do and up being caught in the wrong groups.

Something we know from the books, at Leo’s mention of gangs and a school for delinquents… he did exactly that.

“He even had an abusive foster mom, Teresa.” Another common trigger for eating disordered behavior, abusive parental figures. Usually parental figures can say very nasty comments about the child’s body psychologically parents tend to reflect their insecurities and their life and their body onto the bodies of their children. This is very common with biological kids, but I assume it could be possible for a foster child as well.

Your abusive foster parent also means he probably had a strong distrust between him and the foster mom.

Meaning, if he was caught up in a gang while living with her, you would not tell her he could not confide in her.

Having an Abusive mother figure, hold onto the money issues he had from his mother dying. This strongly explains why he stayed in a relationship with fucking calypso!!!

That woman treated him like every second of the relationship and he was fine with it because she was an older woman, and he was treated like shit by women.

Side tangent that does not have to do with anorexia or his crime history.

Did anyone else notice how every single girl Leo’s tempo was much older than him in the entire books series?

• Hazel

• the ice goddess

• calypso

• Thalia

Two out of four of those were mean to him!! Yes mommy issues really bad mommy issues that turned into a mommy kink. He even calls Calypso Mamacita!!!

And he will stay in an abusive relationship as long as he has an older woman who he is as attractive and more dominant

Another paragraph I found was full of little nuggets I found:

“Maenads from Demigod Diaries, indicating that Leo is quite good-looking despite not finding himself attractive” so just further proof that Leo is a pretty boy but has dysmorphia and low self esteem. “Leo has been called 'cute in a scrawny way' by nymphs”

“a diminutive stature with a slim and relatively scrawny build.” Of course we all remember Leo is skinny, hell that’s what this whole theory is about. But I want to point out the word Relatively. Which reminds me of my assumption that since Leo works with heavy metal he has muscle definition but not enough body fat, making him skinny.

“Leo wears a pair of Georgina's overalls during her absence, so they are probably around the same size.”

Oh that probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to you— GEORGINA IS AN EIGHT YEAF OLD LITTLE GIRL AND HE IS A SIXTEEN YEAF OLD BOY!!!!

They should not be the same size!!!!

“He is said to be sensitive about his size and occasionally makes self-deprecating jokes about it.” Dysmorphia, I’ve been telling you guys over and over! He has dysmorphia.

“Superhuman Strength : Being a demigod, Leo is stronger than a regular mortal. However, Leo has many times labeled himself as weak because of his small stature, and is definitely the weakest male demigod of the Seven, indicating that Leo is pretty weak for a demigod. Leo also is extremely skinny and short and doesn't look very strong. However, Leo has been shown to be quite a bit stronger than he looks as he used two silver-tipped blacksmith hammers to smash full-grown monsters that got in his way”

So even though logic would suggest the opposite Leo always thinks of himself, of his body negatively.

There’s so many other examples but I’m tired.

[mywitchyblog]

I just wanted to say your takes on age and shifting have been really helping me. I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy my teenage years and I feel like everything is falling apart in my adult life, so I really want to age myself down and experience life as a teen again. However, tiktok constantly made me feel like a creep and I was even starting to doubt myself and my motivations, which is crazy. So thank you for standing your ground and having our back lol and stay away from shiftok yall

AS.YOU.FUCKING.SHOULD.

Girl, keeping your distance from ShiftTok? Absolutely the right call. That place is less of a community and more of a cult with a superiority complex, stuffed with self-appointed “moral guardians” who’d rather police everyone’s shifting practices than actually understand a damn thing about shifting itself 💅. They’re too busy gatekeeping, throwing their tired opinions around, and stirring up drama to realize just how hypocritical they look. Chile, the irony is thick enough to choke on, and trust, we see it 👀.

And don’t even get me started on the anti-age-change crew. These people couldn’t argue their way out of a paper bag without leaning on the same three tired-as-hell logical fallacies, dragging them out every time to keep shifters in check without an ounce of actual understanding or empathy.

Ad Hominem – This is anti-age changers’ go-to move when they’re out of actual arguments. They skip right over any real discussion and dive into calling people “pedo” or “creep” just to shut them up. Rather than taking the time to understand why someone might genuinely want to experience being younger again, they grab for the ugliest insults they can think of and throw them like confetti 🎉… only it’s confetti made of trash 💀. Example: A shifter explains, “I age down in my Desired Reality because I had a tough youth and want to relive a better version of it. Plus, I want to experience a healthy, innocent romance from my teenage years.” But instead of even thinking about the idea that there might be something healing and meaningful in that, here comes an anti-age changer with: “If you want to age down to date, you’re a predator—plain and simple.” Here’s the kicker: these critics don’t care about the reasons. They’ll weaponize shame to make shifters look like villains, ignoring the fact that not everyone who age-shifts and dates does it for predatory reasons. Many want to experience that sweet, teenage love they didn’t get in this reality, to relive the simpler emotions of that time without adult complications. But the anti’s? They’d rather throw accusations than try to understand even a sliver of the truth. They’re using the “pedo” card because they know it’ll silence some people, and honey, it’s a sad attempt at control through fear 🙄.

Straw Man Fallacy – Here’s where things get especially messy 🥴. Instead of listening to what you’re actually saying, they twist it into something completely off-base, creating a fake argument to attack. They don’t want to engage with your actual reasons; they’d rather paint you as something you’re not so they can feel good about their so-called “moral high ground.” 🙄Example: Imagine a shifter saying, “I age down because I missed out on a carefree youth and want to date someone my age in that reality. I want to experience young love in a non-sexual, simple way.” The anti immediately twists this into, “Oh, so you’re saying you’re an adult wanting to act like a teenager to date kids? That’s sick.” See the problem? They’re creating a whole new argument based on something you never said. This shifter just wants a clean, innocent experience of being young again, complete with those little flutters and first dates that only make sense at that age. Some shifters may even explore young relationships with some intimacy, but it’s coming from a place of reliving a time they missed—not about attraction to minors or anything predatory. These critics twist the intention, making it sound like a fetish when it’s about pure curiosity, nostalgia, or healing. They’ve crafted their own horror story and are trying to pin it on you 👑, and honestly? It’s lazy, transparent, and completely off the mark.

Hasty Generalization – This is when anti-age changers pull out the big, sloppy brush and slap the same, tired accusation onto every age-changing shifter. Because they’ve heard one example of someone age-shifting for sketchy reasons, they assume everyone who does it must have some secret, shady agenda. Girl, the logic isn’t even there 🤦‍♀️.Example: Anti-age changers will say, “Oh, I heard about this one person who aged down to act out some weird fantasy, so clearly all shifters who age down to date are predators.”This is their way of weaponizing a single, extreme case to invalidate every other shifter’s unique, personal reasons. There are countless reasons people age down and engage in romance, and most have nothing to do with predatory behavior. Imagine someone who wants to experience a first crush all over again, or who never got a chance to date as a teen and just wants that innocent thrill of hand-holding and kissing at a school dance 🕺💃. Some might even explore sexual intimacy because, for them, it’s about curiosity and filling in experiences they missed—not some twisted attraction.Let’s get real: most age-changing shifters just want to feel what it’s like to be young again, to make memories that heal, to have those butterflies and firsts they missed out on. The antis are so obsessed with scandalizing that they can’t imagine a reality where someone wants to age down without any creepy motives. This broad-strokes accusation is not only unfair; it’s lazy as hell. It paints every age-changing shifter with the same brush, and it does nothing but create stigma and misinformation. Like… maybe sit down and breathe for a second instead of trying to stir up a scandal? 😒

Here’s the reality: these fallacies are tools they use to twist, shame, and silence. They’re not here to have a real conversation about why someone might age-shift or date in that reality, or to understand that those desires can come from totally normal, even therapeutic places. They’re here to make it sound twisted, full stop.

The next time they pull out these tired arguments, just remember: they’re not about facts, they’re about control. They use moral panic as a blunt weapon, hoping people won’t look closer and see right through their paper-thin accusations. Keep doing you, stay fierce 🔥, and don’t let their fallacies dull your shine.

[ethereange]

you saw him first. it had always been that way, your perceptiveness betraying you. a quick run to the store for some painkillers after you popped the last couple for a migraine, left you frozen in place at the sight of the ash blonde. your awareness heightened at the fact you were in a giant, beat-up hoodie with mismatched socks, your hair frizzy and gave the impression that you were hungover. and suddenly toughing through a headache at home didn't seem so bad right now.

katsuki was scanning over the jars of protein powder. his hand reached for the one with clean white packaging and a simple black font. the one he always liked. but it faltered, retreating, skipping over to one with a blue label.

since when did he like blue?

your head was throbbing and waves of tears threatened to form at your eyes, but you knew it wasn't from the pain.

he turned around, and all you could do was face the hopelessness of his gaze locking with yours. with him seeing firsthand the look on your face that would crack open until your heart shattered all over the tiled floor.

but it never happened. he never even looked your way.

"kacchan, did you find anything?"

kacchan? but it wasn't izuku's voice..

"i told ya to stop callin' me that," katsuki grumbled.

"i know, but it's so cute! i can't help it after deku used it for you!"

you clutched your bottle of advil. her clothes sat just right. her hair was what you spent two hours in front of the mirror with an iron for. she had eyes so blue it made the ocean pale.

was that why? was she why you liked blue now?

"oh!" she gasped, "is that the powder i talked about?"

"yeah, but," he sighed, "it's shit and i'm not gettin' it."

"what! how is it bad?" she exclaimed.

"the macros are terrible. i'm gettin' my usual."

you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

"you're no fun," she scoffed, "we need to get some gluten-free snacks, can you come?"

there was a pause, before he said, "nah, i don't eat that crap, i needa check somethin' first." the girl blinked at the bluntness, but shook it off and walked down the aisle.

"need somethin'?"

your heart skipped a beat.

piercing eyes of ruby met yours, the same as they always were. something that took years to read, always changing, always something behind the enchanting hue.

"no-" you whispered, mouth dry. "no," you repeated, clearly this time, "i was just on my way to checkout."

"checkout's the other way if ya didn't know."

your face burned red, but you steeled your gaze as best as you could and nodded, turning away.

"she's an intern, by the way." you stopped.

"what?"

"she's an intern, third-year. but she's not tryna be a sidekick, she's aiming for personal assistant. but i'm not picking her up- too chatty."

you swallowed, "okay, and?"

"just thought you wanted to know," he spoke, softly, as he reshelved the jar. "do you.. have another brand i can try?"

you stared at him, and you sighed. as you stopped at his side, you gazed over the rows of containers. "why didn't you like this one?" you gestured to the one he just placed on the rack.

"the macros were fine... i just don't like blue."

you let a laugh slip out, and a warmth budded in your chest, an all familiar feeling.

the pain of your migraine dulled as the pains of the past were slowly, carefully, starting to be stitched up. because you and katsuki were hunched over the protein powder, just like you were all those years ago. and for some reason it brought a sense of peace that you never thought the sight of him would bring again.

[eliza-and-her-monsters]

the tortured poets department

Info Post

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Part I

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Contains/TW: damn okay… where do i begin because this is a WRECK. on a serious note though this chapter contains graphic depictions of self harm and suicide attempts so please please PLEASE be careful whenever you read this. i tried to keep it as vague and non-gory as possible to make it more accessible but it may still be triggering for some people so read at your own risk! this happens in a flashback specifically and is clearly marked with spaces and labeled with the month it took place (april) so you can skip past this part if you’d like! this also isn’t meant to be disrespectful or to romanticize these topics in any way! all things in which i am writing from personal experience as well. if you or someone you know is struggling please don’t be afraid to reach out for help. you are loved 🖤 (also serious stuff aside- definitely a lot suggestive at the end teehee we’re getting there.)

WC: 5.1k

part VI

this is me trying

The ice rink almost felt eerie so empty at night, especially had it not been for the motion sensored lights flicking on every time we entered a new room. Vi didn’t hesitate to hop the counter the moment we made it to the rental booth, already missing the feeling of her arm around my shoulders as I anxiously rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet. “So, what’s your size?”

“That’s a very bold question to ask a lady, sir.” I teased, attempting to put myself at ease as I leaned against the counter. “Six… and don’t make fun of me either.”

“Damn, okay, I’ll see if we have any kid’s sizes.” She laughed immediately causing me to raise both of my middle fingers with a glare.

“I said not to make fun of me.”

“I gotta give you a little bit of shit, who would I be if I didn’t?” She said with a wink that made my heart flip in my chest as she hopped back over the counter. “Here… with extra ankle support… for your sensitive-”

“These could be a pretty sick weapon, don’t you think?” I let an almost maniacal grin stretch on my face as I lifted one of the skates from her hands.

“Wow, first date and you’re already threatening me? That’s hot. Where have you been all my life?” Vi snickered as I felt one of her hands sliding around my back as she pulled me into her side. Her subtle displays of dominance and exertion of control. I wasn’t the one in charge here. She would make me think I was occasionally, but it was never true.

“Geez, how the hell do you guys walk on these things?” I questioned the moment I had laced up the rental skates once we made it into the rink.

“Well… 10 years playing hockey certainly does help.” She chuckled a bit before holding her hands out for me to take. “C’mon, I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.”

“You better not.” I tried to tease, though my legs still tightened and shook the moment I rose up onto the tough blades. I encircled my hand around her bicep, cursing the moment she pulled me onto the ice. It nearly caused my arm to fly around her back until it was gripping her shoulder, nails sinking into the leather of her jacket. “Vi-”

“Hey, I said I’ve got you. Just breathe.” She looked amused, yet her smile remained soft all the same. Her hands drifted from my elbows to cautiously slide around my waist, a small shiver spreading over me the moment she pulled me in, the top of my head just barely grazing underneath my chin. “Just act like we’re ballroom dancing or something… I’ll hold you up.”

I let her pull me deeper onto the ice, my hands curling around her shoulders while I seemed to feel every muscle in her toned back while I kept my face tucked into her chest. “Were you this freaked the first time you went ice skating or-”

“No, it’s not like Ellie would’ve let me fall either.” I scoffed though instantly regretting the choice of words as I momentarily cringed. You have to stop talking about Ellie while you’re on a date, Amelia. “I just mean I was, you know, a-a little bit cocky the first time we went skating. Reckless, I guess you could say.”

“Wow, you actually taking a risk? I’m kind of surprised.” She lightly teased, just in time to reach for my hand to send me twirling like we really were at a ballroom dance.

“Vi!” I exclaimed, wobbling a bit on the blades before stumbling back into her arms.

“You didn’t fall.” She said with a cheeky smile, almost drawing a tiny laugh from my own lips before I let my shaking hands curl around her shoulders again. “So, what were you saying? You were reckless? Let me guess actually… you didn’t want any help so you wouldn’t let her hold you up. Because that I can believe.”

“Maybe you’re at least a little bit right.” My cheeks flushed before I briefly let my eyes roll. “I don’t know, I guess I just spent so much of my life needing to be held up I just- I wanted to be able to do at least something on my own. Even if it was just ice skating. But I got ahead of myself, I was tense and couldn’t balance to save my life so- I fell. Curled my ankle while I did it and I didn’t end up trying it again. I’d occasionally catch Ellie on the ice though because she stayed at our place before the school year started after we both got out of the hospital so… s-sorry I’m probably over explaining things.” I apologized with even deeper heated cheeks.

Vi’s gentle smile never departed as she simply shook her head. “Don’t apologize… I think it’s cute. I wanna learn more about you anyways so- tell me everything.” Her arms seemed to pull me in closer if that was even possible, muscular but soft at the same time. My chin brushing against her chest as I peered upwards at her. “It’s not like Caitlyn’ll tell me anything anyways so-”

“You’re asking my sister for information about me? Are you sure you’re not a creep?” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh I’m definitely a creep.” She spoke shamelessly causing me to let out another giggle before resting my head against her toned chest, our bodies absentmindedly trailing around the rink in whatever direction she wanted to pull us. She could’ve pulled me straight into the ground if she wanted to… and I would’ve let her.

“I don’t know, there’s not a lot of positive stuff to talk about, I guess.” My cheeks heated hidden in her jacket as if in mild shame.

“You know, I did say I wanted to see all of the dark parts too.” She muttered, just in time to feel her hand threading through my hair as she held my head to her chest. “I’m not afraid, Mills, of any of it.”

I let out a soft sigh as I let my eyes flutter shut for a moment, I didn’t even know if there was a method to whatever direction we were going in. A pattern of some sort. All I knew was how easily her touch was managing to loosen me up, hands slipping low to slip around my hips though she still held me so close… and so innocently at the same time too. “Caitlyn… she- she means well. She’s just- I-I’ve put her through a lot.” I spoke after a moment of hesitation, catching my bottom lip in between my teeth.

“She made it her goal to learn everything she could about autism and adhd and whatever other diagnoses I had run into. For a second I almost thought she was gonna major in psychology instead.” I added with a weak smile, gluing my eyes to the ice below. “In doing all of that though I guess she started to think that everything else was a threat… and maybe she wasn’t entirely wrong, I-I don’t know. It certainly seemed that way after a while so… over the course of winter and spring things escalated. I-I was in a really bad place. I was drowning in rejection letters and my parents don’t really do rejection so there was that. More or less I felt like I was just, a ticking time bomb. Caitlyn took the brunt of all of my bullshit though, like she usually did or- does. And then in April I tried to- to-” the words halted in my throat, shaking, too scared to actually continue on for fear of what someone like Vi would actually think. How could you say something like that anyways? Something so drastic and so permanent without even a second thought.

“It’s okay… you don’t have to say it if it’s too difficult.” Vi only whispered as she let a gentle hand slip around the side of my face. Another thing that just felt like she was holding me to her, and possibly the only thing that made it possible for me to stand on my two feet.

“Looking back on it now… I know I didn’t want to die. I just didn’t feel like this planet was meant for me so it would be better if I just… didn’t stay.”

~

April

“Millie! Millie, it’s me- please please answer the door!” I swore it was one of the first times I had ever heard Caitlyn cry as she slammed against the locked bathroom door causing me to flinch as I drew myself towards the opposite wall. She had gotten there in a flash, but not fast enough to completely prevent any damage.

“Caitlyn don’t- don’t come in here- I don’t want you to see this.” I whimpered as I held a hand to my mouth. Deep down I was terrified. Horrified as I starred down at the mistake that I couldn’t undo. Selfishly, I wanted her here. I wanted her in here to hold me until it all went away. If she was she would try to stop me though, up until the bitter end she’d fight for my life even if I didn’t want it anymore.

“Fuck that.” I heard her curse from the other side through a sob as she slammed her shoulder against the door once more. “You’re not leaving, you aren’t fucking leaving me!”

“Y-You’re better off… you’ll realize it eventually, I promise!” It was getting harder to argue, to even keep my eyes open as I slumped against the bathroom cabinets. “Caitlyn please…”

I was in no condition to fight her off, to get her to push back. The door even started to buckle as she sent another strong kick towards it causing me to flinch once more. I should’ve known with all of her training if anyone could’ve gotten the door to break it would’ve been her. “You’re not leaving me, you’re not- fuck that.”

The door splintered at the last kick, my resolve starting to fade as the world was beginning to sound like it was underwater. Fuck, I really didn’t want to die. I really wanted to stay… selfishly and hopelessly. I wanted to get published. I wanted to meet new people. I wanted to have new experiences I was always too afraid to beforehand. Fuck, I wanted to live. I wanted to live so selfishly.

“I’m scared.” I choked the words out, trying not to look at the mess. The disaster that I had created. The embarrassment. The shame. Fuck, what have I done? What did I do? Could I even take any of it back once it was all said and done? Or was this all there was?

The door busted open with a loud crack as she tore inside, my eyelids briefly fluttering open as the first thing she went for was the first aid kit buried underneath the sink. “I know, I know, lovey… but we called the ambulance and they’re on their way you just- y-you just have to hold on a little longer for me, okay?”

“I’m sorry.” I choked out through a sob as she took my shaking body into her arms once she pulled out the first aid kit, nearly taking the entire sink out with her. “Please don’t leave, please… Caity, I’m scared.”

“I’m right here. I’m right here, darling. I’m not going anywhere. This might hurt, just take some deep breaths, okay?” She was the only thing propping me up, the back of my head lolling against her chest while she pressed the gauze to the wound. It didn’t even hurt as much as I thought it would… I just felt tired. All I wanted was to sleep.

My parents were angry in the aftermath, so Caitlyn took on the concerned parent role. The first person I saw whenever I opened my eyes in the hospital next as she brushed the excess hair out of my face. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, like she hadn’t stopped crying for a long while. And I committed that face to memory. My sister was the strongest person I knew, and yet I had managed to break her.

~

“Now since this is a long term care facility, we do come fully equipped with a courtyard, several hiking trails as well since we do believe sunshine and activity to be the best medicine.” The nurse drawled on as she lead the two of us through the long hallways. I clutched a cardboard box to my chest with all of my approved ‘personal belongings’ besides clothes and so on. Mainly just stacks of various books and diaries and such that I hoped they wouldn’t go as far to read through.

The bed closest to the door was already occupied, the green eyes of the girl widening before she sat up and quickly shoved the comic she was in the middle of underneath her pillow. “Oh, and this is Ellie! She’s one of our newer patients as well… she’s been hoping for a roommate actually.”

“Yeah, it gets pretty lonely in here without one.” She said with a tiny smile before pushing herself up to her feet and extending an eager hand to shake before awkwardly flushing at my occupied arms. “Ummm… I-I can help you carry your stuff in if you’d like!”

“I’ve got it, but thanks.” I spoke softly before shuffling over towards what I assumed was my side of the room.

Caitlyn thankfully responded quickly with an enthusiastic handshake of her own before Ellie could retract her own. “Hi! I’m Caitlyn, Amelia’s sister. It’s nice to meet you. I’ll probably be visiting a lot so you might see a lot of me too.”

“That’s great actually, we uhhh, we don’t always get a ton of visitors here.” Ellie added as she nervously wrapped her arms around herself before she noticed Caitlyn’s general confused expression and her eyes went wide once more, “Woah, Ellie, that was some serious projection there. Sorry about that… umm, I-I’ll give you guys some privacy to settle in and- yeah. I-It was good to meet you, Caitlyn.”

“Take care of yourself, Ellie.” Caitlyn added, watching her nervous figure slip from the room. “Well, she seems nice. I think you guys’ll get along.”

“Maybe.” I whispered, eyes still glued to the floor as if I was waiting for it to swallow me up. And I wouldn’t have minded if it did.

“Listen, I know this is gonna be new and- probably difficult but… I really do think this might be the best place for you right now. A long reset before college isn’t a bad idea and you might even meet some new friends also starting at Oxford too. I- I really think this could help you. I do.” She slipped her hands into mine, almost seeming like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

“I hate it though… not being around you. I mean, I know that it was my own fault and I traumatized you and-” The tears were finally starting to come now that we were alone. Big fat shame-filled ones that she quickly caught before shaking her head and pulling me in.

“Hey, hey… this isn’t a punishment, okay? You’re not being punished. I promise, this is just some extra help and- an added precaution to keep you safe.” A shuddering sob spilled from my lips the moment I buried my face into her chest, keeping it hidden tucked away in her shirt for fear the second they saw me it only solidified the fact that I belonged here. “I know, I know it’s scary, love. Just hold on just a little bit longer for me, okay? You might even write the next greatest tragedy while you’re in here.”

I let out a weak tearful chuckle against her arm before shrugging, “Maybe, it’d definitely be fitting.” I sniffled, letting the tears soak into the fabric of her shirt. But she didn’t dare let go of me. “Caity, I- I really am sorry, for what happened. I- I really wanted to keep you from ever seeing it get that bad.”

Her quiet shush only felt like it was bringing out another wave of sobs. Meanwhile she just simply continued to rub soothing circles on my back and rock us back and forth on her feet just like she would whenever I was having meltdowns whenever we were kids. “Listen, I’m your big sister, okay? It’s my job to protect you. Not the other way around.”

“I thought we were supposed to protect each other.” I spoke, every last sob made me hate myself more and more by the second though. Every sob solidifying just how incapable I truthfully was.

“You can’t do that if you aren’t here.” Caitlyn sighed, finally prying the two of us apart before taking my face in her hands. “Can you?”

It was the first thing anyone had said about the situation that had made sense. For a while I was certain she was the only reason I hung on until I finally got close to Ellie. Even though it was sometimes hard to see where the improvement lie in the aftermath. And as much as Caitlyn would never say it, I knew it relieved a lot of weight off of her shoulders… me being in that hospital over the summer.

“I’ll be back Wednesday with all of the summer gossip, I promise. Also if you finish any of those books let me know and I can bring you more.” Caitlyn reassured me for the millionth time as she let me trail behind her towards the exit, a soft hand holding mine the whole time while I clutched onto her arm for dear life.

“Do you think you could bring me something like, dark academia maybe? That way I can get prepared for Oxford?” I wondered, gnawing on my bottom lip as each step seemed to make my heart ache more and more by the moment.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Caitlyn said with a tiny chuckle before placing a soft kiss to my forehead. “Call me the second you can tomorrow, okay? So I can hear about your first day?”

“Sure, promise.” I answered with a little nod of my own. It was almost embarrassing, being so reminiscent of a parent dropping their kid off at school for the first time. Caitlyn had taken on almost every role that my parents should have throughout the past few years. Yet another thing that only made me feel guilty.

“Okay, I love you, pipsqueak. More than anything.”

“I love you too, Caity.”

I tried not to hug her again before she left, an action that I could tell stung but in reality I just wasn’t sure if I would be able to pry myself off of her again. My face was red and blotchy by the time I made it back towards the room, eyes bloodshot, glassy, and tears that showed no plans of stopping just yet.

Ellie was already back on her bed once I made it back, knees hugged to her chest with a look on her face that I could only describe as puppy dog eyes. “Hey- are… are you okay?” She stammered, swiveling towards me as she dropped her legs to swing off the side of the bed before letting a soft sigh with a shake of her head. “Never mind, don’t answer that- I- I know you aren’t okay.”

“I’ll be fine.” My voice sounded hoarse from all of the crying as I took a seat on the edge of my own bed. Surprisingly not feeling like a lump of concrete as I wrapped my arms around myself, preemptively curling myself into a ball as if to prepare myself for where I’d probably spend the first week.

“For what it’s worth, which I know isn’t much because we just met but still…” Ellie began with a clear of her throat as she seemed to anxiously wring her hands in her lap. “If you ever wanna talk or- or anything really… I’m here.”

At the time I had no intentions of accepting her offer, nevertheless though I let myself nod before closing my eyes. “Thanks.”

~

Figures it would’ve been a nightmare that brought us together, I just never expected the codependency to kick in as quickly as it did.

I was still sleeping a lot during the day, not sure if it was a symptom of the depression, the infinite amounts of pills I was on or what. Every day we met with therapists, social workers, doctors, case workers, you name it. Not to mention there was also the group therapy sessions that weren’t mandatory. None of which I had managed to go to which probably wasn’t helping my case any. Ellie had seemed to be here long enough to make a decent amount of friends though. She was anxious, but infinitely more social. So if I needed to be social to spend more time with her I would.

So that afternoon I tried to rouse myself from my bed and shuffled towards one of the large community rooms they usually held group art therapy in. Every inch of me felt like it was shaking as I stepped into the filled room right in the middle of the several different conversations it felt like. Way too many eyes swept over towards my probably supremely tense figure than I was comfortable with. Ellie’s stuck out the most though, sat at a long table with a bunch of other rowdy girls where she was bent over a sketchbook.

“Millie! Hey! You finally came!” She exclaimed with a bright smile on her face as she quickly darted upwards to pull over an extra chair. “We were actually just working on our DnD characters because we all wanted to start a campaign this summer. You should join actually!” She added enthusiastically causing a girl with cropped ginger hair to wrinkle her nose.

“I thought you said we were full.” She sneered in a scottish accent already causing an anxious lump to form in my throat.

“Yeah, just like your file of public disturbances, Maddie.” Ellie shot back immediately causing a few of the girls to erupt in laughter as Maddie’s face went red with embarrassment.

“Jesus Ellie, just because it’s true doesn’t mean you need to say it.” A girl with shoulder length hair spoke up across from Ellie, and if it wasn’t for Ellie’s typical little half bun on the back of her head they could’ve almost been twins.

“Oh no, Max, I think she definitely needed to say it.” Another girl with also short but strikingly blue hair snickered from next to Max as she sat forward as if tuning into a dramatic tv show.

“Have you even played DnD before?” Maddie added, eyes scanning me up and down in a way that had me bristling.

“Uhhh no but-” I was interrupted by her scoff, already picking at the walls of my fragile emotional state.

“Oh get fucked, Nolan, it’s not like she’s playing DM.” Ellie rolled her eyes before I felt the weight of a protective arm slipping around my shoulders.

“Steph, you’re DM… you decide.” Blue directed towards a bored looking girl sat at the end of the table, a red beanie shoved onto her head and the outline of a hummingbird tattoo inked onto the side of her chest.

“I mean, one extra player is hardly going to derail my storyline so… I say the more the merrier.” She spoke with a shrug causing a weak smile to stretch onto my lips.

“Good, glad to hear it.” Ellie spoke before shooting what seemed to be a cocky smile towards Maddie’s rolling eyes.

~

Present

I seemed to disassociate in the process of telling the story. At some point Vi caught onto my shivering though and didn’t hesitate to pull me off of the ice. The two of us now sat in the empty yet fancy lounge for the hockey team complete with plush blue couches and the famous coffee bar Ellie had raved about earlier. I had apologized profusely, constantly wondering if I should stop, if I was going in too deep, Vi only encouraged me though. Even slipping a steaming cup of hot chocolate into my cold hands and draping her leather jacket over my shoulders. More of a gentleman than some men.

“Do you still keep in contact with any of those girls? Besides Ellie, obviously.” I heard her ask from behind me where she lounged against the back of the plush chair, calloused fingers tucked underneath the jacket as she ran her hands up and down my spine.

“Yeah actually… or I, I try to at least. Ellie’s more social than I am but a lot of the patients at that hospital are students. Or about to be either one. We even talked about starting a DnD club ourselves since nobody else has bothered to. And it’d probably be overrun by incels.” I chuckled a bit to myself before lifting the cup of hot chocolate to take a sip just as a small chill rushed through me. “You should join whenever we do.”

“I don’t know if it’s really my thing but Jinx and Ekko might be into it. You should ask her. Actually… definitely ask her if Maddie’s involved because I’d pay real money to see them duke it out.” Vi snickered with the soft smile remaining on her lips as she sat forward, “C’mere, let me warm you up.” I almost flinched again whenever I felt her big arms slipping around me from behind, a little gasp lodging in my throat as I placed a shivering hand over top of her forearm causing her eyes to soften a bit. “You okay? Sorry… I-I should’ve asked first, it’s a habit.”

���No, it’s- it’s okay… I’m trying to get more used to it- with you.” I said with a little nod as I tried to sink back into her warm embrace. Slowly letting the muscles in my body loosen one at a time as I let the back of my head rest against her chest, lolling against her thick bicep. She was surprisingly soft, every inch of the cold feeling like it was melting right off of me. From behind me I felt her chest rising and falling with each soft breath, enough to pull me to sleep right then and there almost.

“Baby?” I heard her whisper from above me, gulping another lump down my throat as I felt her calloused fingers brushing underneath my chin and along the curve of my jaw. I tensed again for a moment, my hand wrapping around her forearm with my nails nearly sinking into her flesh in mild anxiety. Let her. Just let her touch you. It’s okay. Let her. “Shhh, I’m not gonna hurt you.” She spoke, probably feeling the shuddering breath I let out against where her arm stayed wrapped around my front. “Can I kiss you?” She whispered, a little flush spreading on my cheeks at the way she still asked.

My eyes widened almost eagerly as I nodded, body consumed with heat just as I felt her lips brushing against mine. Soft at first, arms almost feeling like they were consuming me entirely as they tightened around my body. My hand shook as I lifted it to rest against her head, tangling through her surprisingly soft hair as if I was pressing her further into me. I almost whined whenever her lips disconnected from mine, instead only drifting over to trail along my jaw as if in a pattern.

With every kiss my breathing grew more and more shallow, a small gasp catching on my lips as I felt her lips wrapping around the pulse point of my neck. I almost wanted to slap a hand over my mouth in embarrassment at the way a moan prodded at my lips, fingers curling into her hair as that same ache flared up in between my legs. “Vi-“ Her name seemed to fall from my lips with a whimper as her teeth lightly prodded at my skin.

“Does that feel good?” She whispered, and I seemed to feel my head shifting to give her more access as I nervously and probably awkwardly nodded. Another soft moan spilled from my lips the moment I felt the pinch of her canines against my neck.

Her hand curled into the excess fabric of my sweater, tugging at it as if she wanted to pull it right off. Slipping underneath, her callouses drug along my stomach, my sides, towards my hips, brushing over the bones like she wanted to trace them all the way down. “Vi… please.” The words came out through the airy moans as she continued to let her hand explore my body and her lips decorate my neck in repeated kisses. My head arching against her chest in need, almost leaving me tugging at her hair.

“You know I can’t fuck you in here, right, baby?” She whispered into my neck, giving my hip a subtle squeeze that also left me gasping.

“Then take me to where you can fuck me.” I almost didn’t recognize myself with the words that came out of my mouth as I shifted around to face her. Her hands still staying firmly on my waist meanwhile she only seemed to have a smug expression on her face as she settled back against the arm rest of the couch.

“You want me that bad, princess?” She spoke with a quirked up brow, a delicate finger tracing along the curve of my waist. My hands curled around her shoulders in frustration, certain she could almost feel my thighs tightening around her waist. I was probably a whiny mess as I nodded, the warmth of her hand nearly covering the width of my back.

“Please… Violet.” I knew saying her full name would tug at her. It was usually aggressive whenever other people said it, angry, a sign she had fucked up or pissed somebody off. Whenever I said it though it was needy, a plea almost. I slid my hand from her shoulder to press against her chest, almost like I was trying to grab at her heart. Sink my fingers through her ribs until I could feel it beating in my hands, and I swear I almost felt it quickening the moment I did.

“Fuck it.” I heard her whisper underneath her breath just before I could feel her pressing her forehead to mine. “Wanna go back to my place?”

A/N: okay SORRY SORRY i had to edge you guys 😭 i promise this next chapter we WILL be cranking it up a notch and there might even be some smau vibes as well so… stay tuned please?? </3

i’m so sorry for the emotional rollercoaster and if this isn’t the best as well because i definitely think it’s far from my best work but c’est la vie can’t win them all 😭 love u anyway lesbians!! 🖤

Taglist: @sawaagyapong @autisticgirlkisser @macamilarofe @nombreuxx @snowbunnyboo @lils-1979 @myrrus @baylegend6 @withyou-withoutthem @lil7-I @cloudy-fay @liliwritin @primarina-diamandis @soodle-noup @livil589 @riches-expresso @deepobservationcherryblossom @pixieolives-blog @roseannih @fernanda-2022 @clefairysoup @cherrybomb2298

click HERE to join! 🖤

[blouisparadise]

Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of November. We hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Countdown | Mature | 2,057 words

Note: The main pairing is Louis/Tommy Shelby.  

Tommy Shelby, pack alpha of the Peaky Blinders, has taken notice of The Garrison Pub’s new barmaid, an omega named Louis.

2) When The Going Gets Tough | Explicit | 2,486 words

Harry is going into unexpectedly early rut and right then, his new boyfriend Louis decides to be a dick and make him jealous.

3) The Things Nobody Talks About  | Explicit | 4,883 words

Twenty eight year old Louis Tomlinson walks past his stepsons room only to see the boy asleep spread out naked in bed with only a pillow covering his manhood and his arm over his face. His sheets are disheveled and it looks like he had a good time before passing out, but the reality is probably less exciting. England has been having a terribly hot summer and they don’t have air con. Louis stands at the door and looks in at the boy as he lays there. He has tattoos littering his fit wide chest and down his beautiful body and his long legs are spread out on the bed. He looks very inviting, Louis is sure he wouldn’t appreciate waking up to his overly horny stepfather ravishing him. Louis was married to Harry’s adoptive dad who passed away last year. Louis and Harry decided to continue living together even without his dad being around because they got on really well and have always been close. Louis and his late husband married when Harry was just nine years old so Louis became kind of another dad to him. Now Harry is an eighteen year old uni student who is home for summer break. Louis is still single and doesn’t get out much after becoming widower.

4) I Fall To Pieces When I'm With You (Cherry Kisses) | Explicit | 4,924 words

Where Louis lives in the country side of London and has a sort of long distance relationship with Italian Harry.

5) Do You Think We'll Be In Love (Forever)? | Mature | 4,983 words

Louis is the babysitter for Harry's children. The alpha invites him to spend the weekend with them at the summer house and there they put an end to the desires and fantasies of the two.

6) Eyes Full Of Stars, Heart Full Of Sins | Mature | 5,453 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

As their soul-tying ceremony approaches, Louis reminisces about his relationship with Harry, how they fell in love amidst the war, and how an uncertain foundation still led them to undeniable love.

7) Raise You Up, Pin You Down | Explicit | 5,679 words

Louis felt a bit distracted by the movement of the alphas lips, wet and pink. He gulped. “You can’t just pick up a stranger like that!” His green eyes flashed mischievously. “When I see a poor little helpless omega like you, I have to help. It’s in my nature.”  Signs of another smug look tugged at his lips. When Louis can't, for the life of him, reach the bar to get his drink, he's surprised with a little help from a handsome and cocky stranger.

8) Just Keep Holding Onto Me (And I’ll Hold You) | Explicit | 7,058 words

Harry, Louis, Zayn and Niall reminiscing and grieving together after Liams funeral.

9) I Used To Call You My Best Friend Way Back Before You Were My Everything | Explicit | 6,670 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

“Okay, this is going to sound insane, but I really can’t stop thinking about you.” Louis’ eyes widened and his heart skipped. “How do you mean?” he whispered. “I mean. I kind of, like, want you. And like. I don’t know if I can have you.” “Oh, yes you absolutely can,” Louis gained confidence at Harry’s sudden lack thereof. “What? I was supposed to look after you, and now, not only have I gone and put myself in a position to not be there for you, but I also just. Want you. What would everyone think?” “Harry, I—I want you, too. Who cares what anyone thinks? Do you mean my parents? They’ll live, considering they love you more than they love their own sons sometimes.”

10) Wild Love | Mature | 7,206 words

Louis don’t know how he ended up like that, he was just taking photos to post online, and now he has an feral alpha on top of him, scenting all his determination out, suddenly there seems cozy and a good place to be.

11) I Dig Your Cinema | Explicit | 7,331 words

Harry Styles is a famous actor in town. Louis Tomlinson doesn't care about him at all. Well, at least that's what Louis thinks. But when Harry's on his knees in front of Louis in the bathroom of a night club, he begins to draw different conclusions.

12) Free Falling | Explicit | 7,710 words

Harry came to London for a visit after meeting Louis at Superbloom, but he never really left. Now, sharing a life and a bed with Louis, he’s fallen deeply in love - but he doesn’t know if Louis feels the same. Navigating daily laughter and longing, Harry faces the uncertainty of their undefined bond. Is he truly part of Louis’ world, or just a passing chapter? As doubts build, he wonders: will their fragile connection deepen into something real, or will it slip away before it ever truly begins?

13) Always Yours | Explicit | 8,018 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Jealous and Possessive Harry when someone new arrives in their group and has a crush on Louis.

14) On a Night Like Tonight | Mature | 8,635 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Pop star meets star football player, aka Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce AU.

15) Airplanes & Apple Pies | Not Rated | 8,987 words

Harry & Louis are strangers flying home for Thanksgiving. They bond as the only passengers in business class - things may or may not get a little heated...

16) Cross My Heart And Hope You Die | Explicit | 9,347 words

Something about this man is getting under Harry’s skin in a record time. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” he questions after a moment of silence. Tomlinson exhales a cloud of smoke, smirks and then shrugs. “I know who you are. You know who I am. What’s the point?”

17) Home | Mature | 9,988 words

Louis has a crush on Harry, and Harry has a crush on Louis and they obviously don't know about each other.

18) Lights Go Down | Explicit | 10,449 words

Note: The main pairing is Louis/Zayn Malik.

Louis is in need of the perfect dom, and the best dom in the club has just parted ways with his regular sub. Can Louis be the sub Zayn wants?

19) A Flicker Of Hope That I Wanna Keep (Please Don’t Leave) | Mature | 12,230 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Harry is in love with Louis, and he had thought Louis felt the same until he accidentally left his journal in Harry’s home. He knows he shouldn’t have read it, especially when it only proved to be a reality check he didn’t want. Once Harry finds the green-eyed, curly-haired, gangly fucker that’s stolen Louis’ heart, he’d like to have a strong word with him.

20) Our Sacred Place | Explicit | 15,842 words

Harry knows that, if he wants to keep something from his husband, he has to do it carefully, considering Louis' curious nature. Mia, their daughter, feels capable of helping her dad in this mision so that everything devolps successfully.

21) We’re Leading Each Other Out Of The Dark | Not Rated | 16,187 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Harry leaves and never looks back, only for him to eventually come home to find Louis and a little girl that looks exactly like him.

22) Meet Me At The Rat Hole | Explicit | 16,934 words

Harry's voice drifts into a nervous ramble. “I mean, I know it’s not my place, but he deserves someone who’s gonna make him laugh, not just… not just be there, and—” Shane holds up a hand, cutting him off, his face twisting into a sneer. “Oh, I get it now. You want to fuck him.” Harry and Louis are best friends. Harry is in love with Louis. But Louis has a boyfriend named Shane. He suuuuuuucks. Harry and Louis want to go see the Rat Hole. but again, Shane sucks. Let's see what happens.

23) After Hours | Mature | 17,605 words

"I want you to take me all night when you get back," Louis whispered against Harry's lips. "You think you can handle me all night?" Harry teased. "You know i can." Louis replied confidently, a smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

24) Wolves, I Hear Them Calling For You | Mature | 18,392 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Harry was in love with Louis, but the omega definitely didn't see him that way. Or maybe he did.

25) Raspberry Juice | Explicit | 18,657 words

1. Louis will take the farthest bedroom down the hall. 2.Louis’ room is off limits. 3.No going through Louis’ things 4.Will share food, just ask first. 5.Louis will take two showers. One in the morning and again at night. So, don’t hog the bathroom at either time. 6.Only one guest permitted at once. 7.No parties. Ever. 8.Keep listening/viewing entertainment at low volume. 9.If you're gonna pop your knot, I don’t need to hear the experience while it’s happening. 10.Be out of the apartment every third Thursday-Sunday of the month so I can help my omega with their heat. This list was perfectly fine when Harry first moved in. But Harry's somehow grown attached to the scent of his roommate's omega...even if he's never seen them. He's desperate to catch a glimpse of the couple, to force his wolf to understand the omega is taken. He has no idea it will end in him getting a taste of his own.

26) Limelight | Mature | 20,056 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

During his first semester at Boston University circa 1989, a shy, socially awkward Harry meets a kind, outspoken Louis. In an attempt to show Louis how he feels, he creates a mixtape of songs. But Harry’s deep anxieties cloud him, and he can’t seem to understand whether or not Louis even wants him around, let alone likes him back.

27) In The Spotlight, In His Arms | Not Rated | 20,115 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Popstar Harry Styles and uni student Louis. Harry accidentally goes live on Instagram and his phone captures Louis sleeping peacefully. That’s how he introduces Louis as his boyfriend to the world. The world falls in love with Louis Tomlinson but will everyone really? Slight angst, insecure Louis, but lots of fluff and Louis is so easy to fall in love with.

28) Waiting For The Winds To Change | Explicit | 21,366 words

After leaving his husband, Harry retreats to a remote beach house owned by a friend to escape the tangled mess his life has become. Looking for nothing but a few weeks of peace and tranquility by the water, Harry plans to get his thoughts in order as he prepares to start his life over again. When a stranger arrives, seeking refuge from an approaching storm, Harry is thrust into a whirlwind romance full of self discovery, some hard truths and more than just a few realisations. As the waves come crashing in, their little bubble bursts and when Louis’ own secrets are revealed, Harry must decide if he’s ready to jump head first into something that could inevitably leave him heartbroken and right back where he started.

29) One Last Time | Explicit | 24,295 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Louis is a werewolf, and Harry is a vampire. They’re supposed to hate each other, but they’re too busy fucking to care.

30) My Everything | Explicit | 31,061 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

They got to the building and right before the door of the elevator opened to the lobby, Harry grabbed Louis’ hand and brought him to his chest. “See you later, my love?” he brought Louis to him for a soft kiss. Louis smiled, blue eyes studying Harry’s face closely before he moved his tie back, patting his chest tenderly. “Go save the world, Agent.” Harry chuckled and pecked his lips again. “You’re ridiculous.” Louis scrunched his nose happily, “See you at lunch?” “Always.” He pecked his lips again before the door of the elevator opened to their new day.

31) No Bananas In The Library | Not Rated | 36,436 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Sometimes it all starts with a dare, sometimes the dare comes later, and sometimes the dare is actually the push someone needs to be brave enough to talk to someone. Louis wouldn’t say Harry is his enemy but that loud frat boy can be incredibly annoying, always disturbing Louis when he tries to study, and Louis has certainly told him so. And he’s always eating his disgusting bananas. However, one day Harry approaches him to say that he wants to get to know Louis.

32) In Dreams You're Mine | Explicit | 37,530 words

Harry age 10, and Louis age 12, meet on a seaside holiday and become the best of friends. Their visit to a fortune teller sets off a series of events that changes their lives and dreams forever.

33) I Want You To Need Me | Explicit | 37,609 words

For Harry, finding his soulmate had always been his life goal. For Louis, soulmarks don't matter as long as he loves the person he’s with. And he truly loves Harry. Fate brought them together, on Harry’s 18th birthday, and they couldn’t stay away from each other, even if they tried. Louis is sure their marks will match, their love is that strong. But how will it affect Louis when Harry’s mark doesn’t match his and Harry decides to go find his one true love?

34) Wherever You Are (That's Where I'll Be) | Mature | 50,151 words

Harry took a deep breath, his fingers tightening into a fist. “I... I haven’t been sleeping well. Actually, I haven’t been sleeping much at all,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “It’s been getting worse for weeks now. I think it started with nightmares, but now... it’s something else.” Dr. Sinclair leaned forward slightly, his eyes focused on Harry. “Something else?” “Voices,” Harry whispered, almost as if he was afraid saying it aloud would make them worse. “I’ve been hearing voices, even when I’m awake.”

35) From Underneath Your Glow | Explicit | 53,524 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

With years of bitter experience and a tuition debt that would outlast three generations, Louis did what anyone in his position would; he developed an almost flawless five-step system for scamming alphas.

36) Forever Yours | Mature | 54,130 words

Harry and Louis are very much in love and expecting their first baby together. Everything is perfect until it's not anymore and hearts get shattered, promises broken... Five years later, Harry comes back after realizing the life he left behind was the one he should have chosen all along. Is it too late or can he get his family back?

37) Total Distraction | Explicit | 57,805 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Love On Tour just finished and Harry finds himself being shipped off to Mykonos for three weeks alone. He expects to spend them bored and lonely until Louis comes sashaying down the beach and changes his life forever... or at least for the next three weeks.

38) Midnight Doesn’t Last Forever | Explicit | 63,658 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

When Harry learns that his beloved grandfather has passed away, he also discovers that he's inherited the lake house that he so fondly remembers from childhood. However, it comes with a stipulation - he must be legally married before he can take possession of it. Enter his best friend, Louis, who is an accident-prone freelancer who has a desperate need for health insurance. All seems to be going well with the plan until Louis finds himself in an unfortunate accident that robs him of his memories of Harry and their marriage of convenience.

39) As The Summer Fades Away | Explicit | 66,491 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

Harry and Louis were not supposed to be. And that was a fact Louis had been very aware of for the past decade. It was just the way the universe was. And Louis knew there was no bending and pushing that would change the facts. Harry was his neighbor and his father’s best friend. A constant in Louis’s life for years. Sturdy and unmoving, with an ever present frown pulling on his mouth. Unattainable. When Louis landed back in Texas after graduating college, he learned that sometimes the universe could bend a little at his will.

40) I Love It Better If I Repeat It Many Times; Firefly, Firefly, Firefly  | Not Rated | 65,661 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

“Louis, don't marry him.” he gasped loudly as the alpha cornered him at the engagement party. Louis watched behind Harry to make sure that no one was paying attention to them. “Please don't.” he begged, Louis' blood was boiling, he roughly pulled away from the curly’s firm grip. He couldn't believe his audacity. “What's wrong with you? You just asked Naomi for her hand, you asshole!” He yelled through clenched teeth, still looking behind his back. Harry shook his head for a few seconds, holding his hair that was ruined in a flash. “I can't believe it. You’re-” “I know you don't love him. I saw it in your eyes, Lou. Please.” The brunette omega fell silent, opening his mouth in astonishment, the ring he'd received from Rowan identical to Naomi's weighed heavier against the accusation that fell from the alpha on him. Harry took a step closer, they were practically already close from a start, right now, their chests were brushing. He watched his pleading gaze, his large, warm hands clinging to his arms, Louis felt his mark burning. “Harry-” “If you ask me, I won't get married. If you ask me, I’ll give up on all of this.” His heart along with his knees went weak.

41) I Know Your Love’s Not Real | Mature | 67,890 words

Note: This fic was written for the Bottom Louis Fic Fest. Check out the full collection here.

With a simple bet that could’ve given him his ticket out of this town, Louis finds that taking the virginity of the nerdy alpha came with lots of difficulties and consequences. One being his lack of patience, the other being a broken heart.

42) Bring Me To Life | Explicit | 143,572 words

Louis no longer wants to live and his plan to leave the world behind was almost a success. Almost. That is, until Harry, a vampire, saves Louis' life and grants him immortality with his bite. However, Louis is far from grateful when he wakes up to his new reality. Harry had envisioned the creation of his first offspring very differently and now has to deal with a suicidal young vampire who hates him and constantly tries to end his own existence. As they navigate their tumultuous relationship, they begin to uncover secrets about Louis' family that could change everything they thought they knew.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[canadianfangirl-95]

Window of Opportunity 

Frankie Morales fanfiction x f! reader 

Summary: Years spent with the wrong guy leaves you desperate for true love and single again. Will Frankie be able to squeeze into the window of opportunity and confess his feelings, or will he miss his shot again?

Warnings: swearing, deadbeat boyfriend, talks of infidelity, drinking, friends to lover’s, fluff, kissing 

Picture is just for the banner, does not indicate readers appearance.

Word Count: 6k+ 

“Alright it’s Thirsty Thursday guys, what can I get you?” You say with a smile spread across your face, staring at your favourite customers and some of your best friends, Santi, Will, Benny and Frankie. They themselves have been coming into this bar for 6 years, after they were all discharged from the army and relocated to Fort Lauderdale. You’ve worked at this bar for almost 8 years now, having gotten the job in your mid-twenties to make some extra cash. It was only supposed to be temporary but here you are all these years later, still with an apron wrapped around your waist, a pen tucked behind your ear and shuffling around behind the old wood bar, illuminated by the neon beer signs. 

Santi offers you a kind wink as he settles onto the bar stool across from you, “Just a Rum and Coke sweetheart.” His effervescent smile shining as bright as always.  

Nodding, you begin to make the drink, while Benny and Will offer up their orders. Finally, Frankies sweet brown eyes meet yours and your lungs feel a bit lighter. “And what about our pilot?” you ask sweetly.  

He grins just enough for some of his teeth to peek out below his mustache and tucks his hand under his chin, “Surprise me Skip.”  

Smirking, you begin to whip him up your favourite and slide it over to him on the bar.  

Taking it, he smiles, “Should’ve guessed it’d be a Whisky Sour.” 

“Hey, pick your own drinks if you don’t like my favourite.” You say with a huffed laugh, knowing that despite them not being his type of drink, he’ll sip it down anyway. “How has your week been?” 

“Good, picked up Camila from JK on Monday so now she’s with me until next week Friday morning. She’s having some much-needed Abuela time right now.” 

“That’s good, everything still good with Liv?” You ask intently. 

He shrugs, “Yeah I’d say so, we’re doing pretty well at the whole coparenting thing now that negotiations are over.”  

You reach over and pat his hand that rests on the bar top, “Good, you’re a good dad Frankie. I’m glad you’re able to enjoy her again.”  

His ears and cheeks grow red, and his eyes soften, he whispers to you, “Thanks Skip, couldn’t do it without you.”  

Pulling your lips into a tight smile, you bat your lashes a bit to relax and turn your attention back to the rest of the group, “So, Will, how was the trip? Did you pick a venue?” 

Will nods, “Yeah, Orange County is really beautiful. It was tough picking just one place to have the wedding at, but we put a deposit down on a winery, so now we have a date which is great.” He says with a smile plastered across his face.  

“Oh, that’s great, Wendy must be so excited. Especially since it can be so close to her family.” You say before you notice the server drop down some chits on the other end of the bar. “Oh, I’ll be back guys.” You say before departing down the bar to work on the new orders.  

Later, you are standing cutting limes in front of the men, talking and laughing causally when the bell on the door chimes again. You look up, seeing your boyfriend Marcus step through the door and scan the room for you. The rest of the group turn their heads slightly to see what has caught your attention.  

Frankie grumbles to himself as he peers over his drink to see your boyfriend strutting towards the bar. His overbuilt muscles and $50 hair cut speak volumes about his personality. “Why’s Marcus here?” 

Will nudges his shoulder with a shush, Frankies eyes widen slightly realizing his voice was a tad bit higher than it should have been. Luckily for him, you had already moved down the bar towards Marcus. “He’s here to see his girlfriend, idiot. Why wouldn’t he be here?” Will says sarcastically.  

“He only visits her at work when he needs money.” Frankie states matter-of-factly under his breath.  

“That’s none of your business man, play nice.”  

With that Frankie rolls his eyes and stares Santi down the bar with an annoyed look on his face. Santi nods and takes his hint. Standing from the stool he calls over to you, “Hey Skip, we’re gonna be at the pool table.” The rest of them follow his lead and stand with their drinks to head over to the other side of the room.  

You nod and smile at them before turning your attention back to Marcus.  

“Why do they call you Skip anyway?” Marcus asks, leaning his body weight on the bar top.  

You shrug and smile to yourself, “One time, they were the only ones in the bar, like it was completely dead, and so we played Uno. The guys were such assholes every time it was one of their turns before me, they played a skip card. I swear I got every skip a turn card the whole night.” You say, laughing slightly until you see the utterly unamused face of your boyfriend staring back at your explanation. Swallowing your laughter quickly you clear your throat, “Um, and so yeah, they just call me Skip now because of uh…’cuz of that.”  

His face hangs low with uninterest, “Huh, guess you didn’t get many tips that night huh?” 

Pulling your face tight you reply, “No, I guess not.” 

“Does that happen often? Maybe you should find a different place to work where you can make more money.”  

“Um, no it doesn’t happen a lot. I think there was a storm that day.” You say quietly before stepping to the side to grab your wallet. “So, uh- how much did you say you needed for this football thing again?” 

He rolls his eyes exasperated, “Babe, it’s my fraternity brothers NFL fantasy league, it’s not just some football thing. And the buy in is $200.”  

Your eyebrows pop up, “Geeze, that’s kind of steep, isn’t it?”  

“It’s not about that, it’s about the networking I do with it, alright?” Marcus says. 

Nodding, you hand him the cash from your wallet, and he takes it with a giant smile, “Thanks babe, you’re the best you know that right?” He says before leaning across the bar and planting a kiss on your cheek.  

You say your goodbyes and wipe your sweaty hands on your jeans, letting out a deep breath you didn’t realize you were holding.  

Across the room, Frankie watches you fidget after your uncomfortable meeting with your boyfriend. He stands near the pool table holding his stick standing straight up and leaning some weight on it. “What is she still doing with that guy?” He asks the group. 

Benny huffs, “Wish I knew. Every time we hang out it’s always Marcus did this, and Marcus won’t do that. It’s like she’s his mom”  

Will steps up to the table and leans forward to take his shot, “He seriously doesn’t mind the two of you hanging out as much as you do?” 

“Nope, she even asked him before the first time we went to the movies if it was okay, and the guy is so fucking full of himself he said there’s no way she would ever find better than him, so he doesn’t worry about her cheating at all. In fact, one time he even thanked me for “listening to all her bull shit” so he doesn’t have to.” He says with air quotes and a sarcastic tone. 

Santi shakes his head, “What a dick. Why won’t she just end it with him?” 

Benny steps up to the red-felt pool table and eyes his shot that his brother has set up for him by accident. “Oh, she’s still holding out hope that he’ll man up and pop the question and then things will be better. Not gonna happen though, I think he’s cheating.”  

With that Frankie straightens up, “Why do you say that?” 

“He’s shady as shit, she works evenings and a lot of weekends, you think an asshole like that is really just waiting around for her watching Game of Thrones by himself every night?” 

“So, you don’t have any proof then?” Will comments. 

“Well, don’t tell her I told you this. But a few months ago, she got a DM from a girl that she knows, claiming he was hitting on her at a bar across town. But this girl knew Skip and recognized him from her social media, so she turned him down and messaged her. When Skip asked him about it, he said he wasn’t hitting on her, he was just trying to make some female friends, since you know, she has so many male friends.” he says, pointing around the pool table at the group of them and shaking his head at the obvious lie.  

They all groan in response and look over at you at the bar, working tirelessly to pay for yourself and your deadbeat boyfriends’ lifestyle. All the while he’s probably sneaking around behind your back and then dipping in to steal a kiss and some cash. 

 

Behind the bar, you stare blankly at the faucet on the sink, seeing your angled reflection in it. Your face looks sad, your eyes tired and your heart sunken. All you want, all you’ve ever wanted, was a relationship, an engagement, a marriage, a house and a family. It’s what you grew up in, it’s what your sister has. The white picket fence, the husband that kisses her at the door when he gets home, the two beautiful children she chases around all day. In your early twenties, it seemed like something that was guaranteed. Then it was just disappointing man after another until you finally found yourself on a date with Marcus 6 years ago. He was handsome and charming, and after a year you settled into a nice routine. But year after year you asked for a ring and never got one. One thing you could control was the house, so you saved everything you had to buy both of you one, thinking that would kickstart the conversation again. Yet here you are, a cold finger and your love for a man long gone, but 6 years too long invested in the relationship to bow out now.  

Grabbing a washcloth, you decide to take out your frustrations through cleaning up the bar top, using all the bent-up anger you felt towards your life to scrub off that damn stain you’ve never been able to get off. You peer up through your lashes and see the guys at the pool table, seemingly in deep discussion. You wonder if they’re shit talking your boyfriend. You wouldn’t blame them if they were, you wish you could join them. Frankie rounds the table and bends over to take his shot. His t shirt stretching across his broad shoulders, his curly locks peeking out from underneath the baseball hat you loved to see him in. Frankie, a man who actually talked about wanting a marriage one day but lost it all when his girlfriend fell in love with someone at work. He says they were mostly together for their child that they had accidentally gotten pregnant with and that he could move on. Not seeing his baby girl every day was by far the hardest part for him.  

Frankie was different than the others to you. Santi was your advice guy, always offering his words of wisdom. Will was your hands on guy. Need your breaks done on your car? Will’s got it. Need an Ikea cabinet put together? Will’s on it. Benny is your bestie, your movie and sushi date guy. Your talk shit about your boyfriend guy. But Frankie, Frankie is your if things were different guy. If you weren’t with Marcus, if he was ever even interested in you. Maybe, he could be something more, just by the way you talk so earnestly with one another, you knew he would never treat you the way Marcus does. And boy was he cute. You wish you felt bad when you would find yourself thinking about him late at night instead of your boyfriend laying a foot away from you. You figure after his failed relationship he is probably done with anything serious, maybe just date casually for the next few years and then settle down with someone as a companion. Surely, he wouldn’t be interested in learning about how lovesick you are over him and ruining your friendship and his favourite hangout-. 

A hand suddenly grabs yours to hold it still as you look up and see Frankie looking at you with concerned eyes. You look back down at the bar and see that during your whole internal monologue, you had still been scrubbing the stain and now the pain in your wrist was starting to register just how aggressive you were being with it. Pulling your hand out of his grip you toss the rag into the bucket and slowly rub your wrist with your hand, avoiding eye contact with the man across from you.  

He breathes deeply out of his nose and grabs some of the paper towel you have on the counter to wipe up the soap and water on the spot. He pulls a half smirk and looks at you, “Looks like you finally got that stain huh?”  

You peer over and see that it is indeed gone, certainly needed some elbow grease.  

“You okay?” he asks. The very last question you want to answer right now.  

Doing your best impression of a girl who is going to be okay, you nod and suck your teeth before muttering out, “Yeah, yeah just, - really fucking hated that stain.”  

Frankie can see the tears that want to spill over your eyes, knowing you the way he does, he knows very well that you do not want to lose it right there behind the bar. “Alright well, could I get another delicious Whisky Sour please?” he says with a boyish grin on his face. 

Looking up at him through your lashes you let out a chuckle, “I thought you didn’t like them.”  

“People change.” He states.  

His words dry your throat, and you do your best to nod and go on making his drink. Hoping his statement to be true.  

The night wears on and you say your goodbyes. You close up shop and head home to Marcus, playing every moment of the night through again in your head and hoping to make that people change statement a reality, whether it be you or Marcus.  

Sunday is your day off, and you and the guys planned a backyard BBQ at Will and Wendys to commemorate the end of summer. 

Frankie steps through the patio doors into the backyard. A red and white striped umbrella is stretched out over the patio table and chairs where Santi is seated comfortably talking with Wendy while Will works on the grill. He moves to sit down across from Santi and says hello to everyone.  

Wendy excuses herself to go work on the salad for dinner, and Frankie stares at the door she exits through, hoping you may come through it. Alas, you still don’t show up after another ten minutes, so he turns to Santi. 

“When are uh, Ben and Skip getting here?” Frankie asks, urging his voice to sound less eager than it does.  

Santi gives him a knowing look, “Ben told Will yesterday they may be a bit late cuz Ben had to go out of town this afternoon to pick up some stuff from their moms, she went with him for the drive.”  

Frankie nods and brings his cold beer to his lips, excited at the notion that Marucs won’t be joining them after all.  

A half hour later, Frankie, Santi and Will are seated at the patio table as Wendy finishes up in the kitchen. Their attention is pulled from their conversation when they hear Bennys boisterous voice call out to her as he moves through the kitchen and to the sliding patio door.  

“No Skip?” Santi calls out, as he notices Bennys lonely walk towards them. Frankie and Will look up from their plates of appetizers to observe your apparent absence for themselves. 

The younger man has a surprisingly pleased look on his face as he slides into the chair next to Will. “You’re never gonna believe this. They broke up.” He states with excitement burning behind his eyes.  

The group looks perplexed for a beat, Will asks to clarify “Who broke up?” 

“Skip and Marcus.” Benny says, popping his eyebrows up and down and nudging Frankie’s shoulder.  

Frankie’s eyes blow wide, unable to believe what he was hearing. His ears ring and before he knows it, he’s lost part of the conversation, gripping his beer bottle tighter he tries to focus on the flow of questions coming Bennys way from Will and Santi. 

Santi leans forward on the glass tabletop, “What happened?” 

“She finally had enough. I guess she tried to talk to him again last night about getting engaged and just like all the other times, he made up shitty excuses, so she dumped him right there on the spot. Took all her shit and is staying with her sister right now until they get the house sold and her money back. She called me this morning to tell me she couldn’t come today.” 

“How’s she doing? She okay?” Will asks, concern growing in his voice.  

Shrugging, Benny replies, “As good as she can be, I think. They were together a long time, and she feels like it was all wasted. He’s such a jackass.” He says before shoving some chips from a bowl on the table into his mouth. 

Will glances at Frankie, “So Fish, girl of your dreams finally single. What do you think about that?”  

His eyebrows almost get caught in his hair line and he stutters, “I uh- what. Don’t know what you’re talking about Will.” he says, trying to slurp down his beer before he puts his foot in his mouth instead. 

Shaking his head he dives deeper, “Don’t give me that shit man, we owe nothing to that guy. You’ve always liked her, you’ve been respectful, but now she’s fair game.”  

Santi nods along, “Yeah, we all know man. It’s pretty obvious.” 

Benny and Will nod along to Santis’ statement as Frankie looks around flabbergasted. “Seriously? Does she know?” 

“Nah, I don’t think so. She’s been too caught up in her own shit to notice.” Benny confirms.  

“But now’s the time to make a move, alright? Don’t let the window of opportunity close. Girls like that don’t stay single long.” Santi comments, giving Frankie a stern look.  

Frankie nods, “I can’t just ask her out the day after her relationship ended, she needs time to process this. I don’t want to be a rebound. I’ll let her sell the house, get her shit together, and then I promise I’ll talk to her.” He says defensively.  

“You better, because I’m not listening to her complain about another shitty boyfriend for half a decade.” Benny says, tapping his hand on the table and peering up at the sky, thinking about all the nights he’s had to hear you cry about how Marcus wouldn’t commit to you, even your house was bought by you, him not wanting to invest too much of his savings in case it didn’t work out between the two of you.  

“I don’t think any of us want to see her go through that again, and Frankie man, you’d be perfect together. I hope it works out for you.” Will says, reaching over to pat Frankie on the chest.  

Frankie nods, “How do I do this without looking like a total jackass who just wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state though?” he asks inquisitively.  

Santi shakes his head, “Frankie, Frankie, always counting yourself out before you get in the game. Any girl would be lucky to get a man like you, just have some faith in yourself alright?” 

Before they can continue the conversation, Wendy waltzes up to the table with salads in tow. “Alright everybody, time to dig in.” 

Thursday comes around again; you have switched shifts with the other bartender for a very exciting reason. Each of the guys had reached out in their own ways after they got the news on Sunday, simple texts and calls here and there, all trying to be as delicate as possible. 

Skipping through the door, you make your way over to the booth the guys are situated at. Santi spots you first and gestures to you for the rest of the group to turn and look. They all grin when they see your smile, your hair done exactly how you like it best, a white sundress with brown flowers and brown sandals finishing off the look. Frankies eyes light up seeing your sunny appearance and blossoming self-confidence.  

“Whoa, what are you all dressed up for?” Santi whistles, taking in your ensemble. 

Smiling brightly, you stand in front of the booth and state, “I have a date.”  

Their faces drop entirely, and Frankie can swear you could hear his heart fall to the floor and roll down between the booths like a child dropping candy in church.  

Will is the first to pick his jaw up from his chest and stutter out, “A date?”  

Nodding you reply, “Yep, I’m meeting him soon for drinks and appetizers but I needed to swing by here first for my pay cheque.”  

Santi waves his hands casually in the air as he formulates a question. “Don’t you think that’s a little soon, I mean, you and Marcus broke up last week.”  

“I know, I know trust me I’ve heard it already from my sister. But I’m not really grieving the relationship ‘cuz to be honest, I fell out of love with Marcus a long time ago, but I just had already invested all that time and energy, so I wanted to make it work. But, since he’s a total asshat, I have now had no choice but to move on and there’s no time like the present. I don’t want to have wasted 6 years with him and then 6 months waiting for the “right time” to start dating again and then another 2 years trying to meet the right person.” You take a deep breath, trying not to get too worked up over your current situation and pinch your eyes closed for a moment. “I just want…. All I’ve wanted this whole time is a marriage and a family and I’m frankly running out of time. So, I hopped on the dating apps and met this guy Sean, and now we’re going on a first date and then I guess we’ll see what happens from there.” You finish your sentence out of breath and out of options. If Marcus wasn’t your person, and you were too scared to see if Frankie would be interested in you, then this would have to do. 

Frankie can’t believe his ears. He’s already missed the window of opportunity. You’re going to go on a date with this guy, he’s going to fall madly in love with you, because how could he not and whether you like him or not, you’ll stay with him another 6 years just like Marcus. You just want it so badly, that you’ve grown careless with your heart. His stomach is turning in his seat as he tries not to look at Santi, whose eyes he can feel burning into him with a plea to stop this madness.  

The uncomfortable silence finally creeps through your skin and makes you eager to leave. Their shocked and unapproving faces with no acknowledgement of what you have said has you unsettled and honestly kind of annoyed. Looking over your shoulder, you spot your manager and nod to her briefly. “Well, um, I’m gonna go get my cheque and then head out.” Turning quickly, you miss the way their heads all spin to Frankie whose mouth still lay low.  

Benny finally speaks once you are out of ear shot, “What the fuck?” He throws his hands into his hair and looks around the table dumbstruck.  

Will is shaking his head and chewing his bottom lip, Santi is still looking at Frankie as if trying to use secret superpowers to control his body and make him rush after you. Frankie is silent, picking at the label on his cold beer as the condensation loosens the adhesive on the fish picture laden across the front.  

Santi finally breaks his stare and leans in closer, “You gonna do anything about this Fish?” 

Frankie shrugs, “Nothing I can do. You heard her, she’s moving on.”  

“From Marcus, not from you.”  

“Same difference.” He sighs, blowing all the air and joy out of his lungs.  

Shaking his head Santi straightens up in his seat. “No, it’s not the same man. She has no idea you have feelings for her and I’m willing to bet if you told her to cancel that date, she would in a heartbeat.” 

Shaking his head he sighs, “You don’t know that man, what if I fall flat on my face with her. There’s no going back.”  

Will leans his elbows on the table, “Fish, you gotta start believing in yourself more. I know what happened with Liv was really hard on you but-,” 

“But it wasn’t.” Frankie states. Upon being met with the confused eyes of his comrades he continues with shaky breathes, “It wasn’t hard. I liked Liv, felt something similar to love at times when it was easy, but it wasn’t hard when she left, because she wasn’t Skip.” His voice trails off with his confession.  

The familiar sound of your sandals hitting the hard wood floors snaps the group out of their trance, they turn to look at you with desperate eyes, unsure what to say as you stop for a beat in front of them.  

“Alright well, got my cheque.” You say awkwardly, raising the envelope up slightly in your hand. “You guys have a good night.” You tuck your chin down and don’t wait for their goodbyes. They’re being completely weird after all, gawking at you with open mouths like it’s the worst mistake of your life to go on this date.  

Stepping through the bar door you’re hit with the humidity of a late summer night. The sun was already setting leaving a low glow across the sky. You stand for a second, squeezing your eyes and urging the thoughts of Frankie out of your mind in an effort to stop the trickle of tears that would surely flow if you let yourself convince yourself that this wasn’t a mistake. Convince yourself you should go back in that bar and put it all on the line, even if it meant you’d fall with no safety net and lose him for good. That just wasn’t your style though, you didn’t free fall, you didn’t trust the universe. You needed certainty, and right now, the only certainty was that there was a handsome guy, who actually expressed interest in you waiting at a different bar, ready and willing to give you a shot. Taking one last look over your shoulder, you let your breath out and head to your vehicle.  

Frankie and the guys sit in silence, unsure what to do now. He watched as you left, desperate to follow and grab your wrist to spin you around and plant a seething kiss to your luscious lips.  

Benny takes a deep breath in and out, settling his head against the back of the booth. “That girl, Frankie, is worth the ifs, ands or buts. You know that, I know that, and I’m willing to bet she would agree.” 

Before Frankie can respond, the bartender that is covering for you, Tasha, hurries up to the table with a black notebook in hand. “Hey, did she leave already?” 

Santi nods, “Uh, yeah just. Why what’s up?” 

Tasha huffs, “She forgot her day planner again, would one of you be able to drop it off? I know she needs it before her next shift.” She asks. 

Frankie clears his throat and nods, “Yeah, no problem, Tash I’ll get it to her.” He says, leaning forward and taking the book out of her hands.  

She says thank you and swiftly heads back to the bar to greet the hoard of customers who have just stumbled through. 

Frankie stares absentmindedly at the worn book, pages from old day planners ripped out of their books and stuffed into this one instead of rewriting all the phone numbers and addresses you have in it. Quietly he passes it back and forth in his hands, a million thoughts running through his mind when it slips and falls down onto the table, some of the pages slipping out and exposing themselves in front of him. The guys look on with confused faces as Frankies face falls while he reads one of the faded and crinkled pages in front of him.  

Santi is the first to express his interest, “What’s that?” 

Taking a deep gulp, he picks up the piece of paper to examine it closer. Upon being sure that it says what he thinks it says, he slowly turns it around and slides it into the middle of the table for the guys to read. They all lean in and fall silent to see what has their friend so shocked.  

Frankie 555-666-7777 

baseball hat  

bar 

cutest guy ever?  

Update to self- definitely cutest guy ever 

He looks down at the book on the table, and thinks to himself, would it be wrong to go through it. Yes, it definitely would be, but he has to know if there’s anything else you’ve written about him it.  

Before the guys can get their “heys” and waits” out, he is opening up the cover and sifts through the pages. His ears start to ring as week after week contain the same notations. 

Lunch with Frankie <3 

Taking Frankie shopping to get news boots <3 

Borrowing Frankies truck <3 

No hearts beside Bennys name, Santis, Wills, or even Marcus’. He keeps flipping through the disheveled pages until he finds himself at the end of the book where the note pages are. “Fuuuck me.” Comes out of his mouth quietly as his whole world begins to spin, seeing a daily checklist you wrote out for yourself.  

Getting through the day, one step at a time. 

drink your water  

eat one vegetable, spinach dip doesn’t count 

do your morning Pilates, even though you hate it 

talk to Frankie <3 

He drops the book ceremoniously for the others to peer over and read as well. A grin spreads across Wills face as he pats Frankie's shoulder. “Alright man, no more excuses. What are you gonna do now?”  

Staring straight ahead with a sense of determination and wonder Frankie mutters, “I’m gonna go get my girl.” 

“Yeah!” Benny sounds as the others clap along and smile with Frankie.  

He thinks for a second, “Shit, did she say where she’s going?” he asks in a panic. 

Santi’s eyebrows pop up, “Oh, check todays date in the planner.” He says, pointing back to the book, seemingly the solution to all their problems that night.  

Frankie points his finger at his friend to acknowledge his good idea before grabbing the weathered book back into his hands and flitting through the pages to today’s date. He scans the week to Thursday and taps the page when he finds the notation. “9pm drinks with Sean, The Green Door.” He smirks to himself at the notice of no heart once again.  

“Green Door? That’s over on Park Street, right?” Benny asks. 

Will nods, “Yeah like a 5-minute drive, you better get going man.”  

Letting a deep breath out Frankie blinks quickly, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Okay.” He pushes past Santi in the booth and quickly pats his pockets to make sure he hasn’t forgotten anything. “Okay, I uh, I guess here I go.”  

“Go get her Fish!” Santi calls as Frankie begins to step away. Before Frankie suddenly finds himself turning in his spot and standing desperately back at the booth. 

“What the fuck am I supposed to say?” He asks with eyes wild.  

Benny scoffs, “Just say whatever you’ve been practicing in your head for the last 6 years and I’m sure it will be fine. Now go or I’ll kick your ass!” He swats at him playfully.  

With that Frankie gives them one last look of gratitude and jogs out the bar towards his truck, throwing it in gear and peeling out of the parking lot as quickly as the law will let him.  

After leaving work, you stop at a gas station to fill your tank. Standing at the pump you lean against the cool metal of your car and sigh. This new chapter of your life was daunting to say the least, no matter how optimistic you tried to feel about it, no matter how many fake smiles you had to put on for your sister, no matter how many cute guys messaged you on the app. You hear the click of the full tank signal and finish up, sliding back into your car and putting on some Taylor Swift to hopefully boost your mood on the drive over.  

Stepping out of your car, you look up at the neon sign above the green door. Sean had texted you on the drive over that he was there and grabbed a quiet table at the back. You smooth out your sundress to make sure it’s not sticking to the back of your thighs, thank you humidity and leather seats for that, and make your way over to the entrance.  

You hear the sound of a vehicle door slamming shut heavily and then the sound of boots sprinting against the pavement just as you are about to pull at the handle.  

“Skip wait!” 

Turning you look back and see none other than Frankie jogging up the sidewalk towards you nearly out of breath.  

“Frankie? What are you doing here?” you ask, your eyebrows furrowed as you peer over his shoulder to see if he is alone.  

Stopping in front of you he tries to catch his breath, “You can’t, - you, - you can’t go on this date.” He stutters out, trying to pull his shoulders square as he calms himself down.  

Feeling utterly bewildered by his statement you ask, “Why not?” 

He takes a deep breath and stares down directly into your soul. “You can’t because, well, I’m in love with you.”  

Your eyes nearly bulge out of your face and your breath hitches, unable to speak.  

He continues, noticing your shock. “I know, I know. This is probably not something you expected, because I’ve done my best to keep it locked away while you were with Marcus, and I was with Liv. But you’re not with him anymore, and I was never in love with Liv. I couldn’t have been, not when you were already taking up so much room in my heart. My heart is split right down the middle. It’s Camila, and it’s you. Has been for years now, there’s just no room for anyone else right now.” Gesturing to the green door beside you he continues. “This guy, I’m sure he’s nice or whatever, but I know you. I know you better than I know myself and I just, I love you. I do, and I’m not a hundred percent sure what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, but I just need you to know, before you meet someone else. Before I miss that damn window of opportunity.” 

Taking a big gulp of air he finishes, looking down and embarrassed at his confession, fearing to look you in the eyes and see nothing but pity.  

“Frankie.” You whisper.  

He looks up to meet your gaze, and his heart thumps harder in his chest when he sees the tears welling up in your eyes and the way you have to bite your bottom lip to stop yourself from breaking into the biggest smile he’s ever seen.  

Clearing your throat, you find the courage to speak. “I love you too Frankie.” You say, finally allowing the smile to crack your cheeks.  

Frankie's grins goofily and his eyes light up, “Really? Since when?” 

Shrugging you admit, “Since I fell out of love with Marcus. So, years ago.”  

“Huh, never thought I’d want to thank that son a bitch for being such a useless boyfriend.” He jokes.  

You giggle and nod before noticing his face has suddenly changed into something of longing and he inches closer to you.  

Bringing his hands to your warm arms, he slides them up and down and looks down earnestly at you. “Can I kiss you baby?” he whispers.  

Looking into his deep brown eyes you part your lips and nod, “Yes, Frankie, please. I’ve waited too long for this.”  

He slowly leans down, his hands trailing up your arms to cup your face before gently pressing his lips to yours. His lips are plush and soft and move with such care. You bring your hands to his back and pull him slightly closer. He grins before encapsulating your mouth again in a seething kiss, poking his tongue through your teeth to lick into you. A moan vibrates through your throat.  

Before you can really get out of hand, a sound of “Whoops” and cheers sounds from the parking lot beside you and you both break to turn to look at the commotion. A large black truck with Will, Benny and Santi hanging out of the windows and sunroof with devilish grins on their faces is what your shocked and embarrassed faces are met with.  

“Oh gosh.” You laugh to yourself as you turn your body into Frankie's, he instinctively pulls you in close and wraps an arm around your back to shield you from the eyes of your obnoxious friends.  

“Seriously guys? Can’t you let me do anything on my own?” He calls over to them with his free hand raised. 

Santi laughs and retorts, “Had to make sure you didn’t bitch out man! Looks like we came at the right time though otherwise we would’ve been picking you two up from the jail for public indecency.”  

Will and Benny laugh before Benny calls out, “Alright guys, I think we’ve embarrassed them enough. We’re going back to my place for pizza if you two love birds wanna join.” 

You peel your face off Frankie's warm and firm chest and shrug, “I could go for some pizza.” 

He smiles and nods, before taking your chin in his fingers and pulling you closer for one more sweet kiss. “Sounds good to me, I’ll meet you there, okay?” he says once he has sufficiently sucked the smile off your face. 

“Okay.” You say and break apart from his hold. He swiftly takes your hand and walks you to your car, opening and closing the door behind you with a boyish smile on his face.  

You settle into your car and watch him as his tight little butt saunters over to his truck. You bite your lip before pulling out your phone and bringing up your messages. 

Sean: Hey just checking if you’re alright. 

You: Hey, I’m so sorry, I’m gonna have to cancel. Something came up, and I don’t think it’s gonna work out between us. It was nice chatting with you. Have a good night.  

Your phone pings before you put it back in your purse, you’re expecting it to be a disappointing text from Sean, but your eyes light up when you see the name on the notification.  

Frankie: *photo of the checklist in your day planner* 

Getting through the day, one step at a time. 

drink your water 

eat one vegetable, spinach dip doesn’t count 

do your morning Pilates, even though you hate it 

talk to Frankie <3   kiss Frankie <3  

Check! 

[jrooc]

✨Weekly Tag Wednesday ✨

Hi hi! Welcome to your local Tag Game. I’m your friendly neighbourhood host, Jess, and today we’re talking fandom. Come play!

Name and A03 handle: Jess, JR_ooc

Current Location: In my kitchen, in my running gear despite having not yet gone for a run 'cause I just remembered I was doing the tag game

Favorite picrew (don't have one? you can skip this or do this one)?

I don't have a favourite but this one is new? Why do I choose questions I can't answer 😂

What's one thing you want in a picrew?

Two toned hair.

Favourite thing you’ve created (or seen created) for the fandom?

Unsurprising my sportsAU: In My Veins Like Lightning

Why is it your favourite? I just love the story and the boys I wrote and so many of their angsty and sweet moments.

Did it come easily or was it hard to create? Both? Some parts came quickly, a lot of the scenes just came to me. But there were some sticky parts I struggled hard with.

Last ao3 fic you commented on? Darkness comes before the Dawn by @ian-galagher @creepkinginc and @transmurderbug and @crossmydna's Locking Down the Locksmith -- both amazing.

Biggest WIP heartache you’ve ever experienced? Things Beyond Mistake -- I am still heartbroken over a year after reading it. What an amazing story I would give my left arm to have finished. We miss you Grayola.

Favorite trope or head cannon you like included in a fanfic? Cocky!Mickey and Tough!Ian. Love when they fall into bed right away and catch feelings after.

Least favourite? I'll read it all but don't love when Mickey after one interaction is all in. Where's the tension! Where's his tough/untrusting side? Also the slow slow slow burns make me insane... not that that stops me.

Secret or surprising kink or trope? A/B/O and really unique AU's like Maintenance or The Circus

Describe how you feel after you’ve created something new? Like I drank some warm tea. Like things have clicked into place for a moment in time.

Top hype man you have that always helps you get across the finish line: I'm lucky to have a few but @bawlbrayker always helps with a beta and a kind word or helps me choose when I'm stuck between options. Special mention to @runawaybrainsc @gallapiech and @blue-disco-lights who have been clutch and hugely supportive.

It's been a bad day, you turn to the fandom and you _____? Pour a glass of wine, play snails in the discord chat and read some angst with a happy ending or the latest fic club discussion pick.

If you were mentioned, you're tagged! Rest of the tags below the cut:

@deedala @energievie @spookygingerr @michellemisfit @celestialmickey

@mybrainismelted @tanktopgallavich @mickeysgaymom @such-a-barbarian @crestfallercanyon

@rereadanon @too-schoolforcool @roryonic @lee-ow @stocious

@transsexual-dandelions @transmickey @sgtmickeyslaughter @rayrayor @solitarycreaturesthey

@ms-moonlight-inn @whatthebodygraspsnot @suzy-queued @callivich @francesrose3

@doshiart @guinguin1984 @look-i-love-u @spoonfulstar @the-rat-wins

@thepupperino @gallavichgeek @andthatisnotfake @burninface @batty4steddie

@mmmichyyy @pookiebearmick @palepinkgoat @heymrspatel @deathclassic

@wehangout @gallawitchxx @gallavichsuperfan

Lmao I hit my tagging limit so if you see this pls know you’re tagged 😆

[yourdailykitsch]

For Taylor Kitsch, stubbornness marked the path to a dream role

Actor Taylor Kitsch doesn’t credit his talent or luck for his success. He says it’s just the fact that he’s relentlessly stubborn. It wasn’t like he was discouraged from pursuing acting as a profession. In fact his family felt “one day he’d get a real job.” But the one-time class clown just kept plugging away.

As a young hopeful, the Canada native trekked off to New York City to try his luck. “I was too naïve to get scared,” he shrugs. “I kinda just dove into it headfirst and I loved it. I loved working with other actors, especially as green as I was.”

The star of such projects as “Friday Night Lights,” “The Terminal List,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “True Detective” recalls his days in the Big Apple. “My best friend Mike, I was sleeping on his girlfriend’s blow-up mattress. He subletted a bedroom, and I was sleeping on his floor — only for a couple weeks — and then you kind of sleep from couch-to-couch. And some nights you had nowhere to go, so you sleep on the subway car until you get kicked off,” he says.

“I lived in Spanish Harlem for a bit with no electricity, no hot water. But when you're that young you're never, ‘Woe is me.’ Yeah, it was tough at the time, but it’s part of the process. Maybe it’s just because I'm so stubborn I kept driving forward.”

That incessant driving forward eventually landed him the pivotal role of the troubled Tim Riggins in “Friday Night Lights.” And people began to notice. The show was produced by Peter Berk, with whom Kitsch has worked since, including on the upcoming “American Primeval” premiering on Netflix Jan. 9.

This is not your father’s “Yellowstone.” “American Primeval” is the gritty retelling of the battle to settle the West and the factions that usurped the land to accomplish it.

It was no cakewalk for Kitsch either. He broke his foot during filming and had to have a bone surgically removed from his foot. And while they were shooting, he received a call that his father was on his deathbed.

Kitsch’s parents had divorced when he was a baby, and he and his brothers were raised by their mother. “He wasn’t really in my life much at all,” explains Kitsch. “In the last 19 years I saw him two or three times. But me and my two brothers made it up in time. I got a call Thursday, and he died Father’s Day on a Sunday. That helped me and my brothers kind of reconnect, which was great.”

The part of Isaac in “American Primeval” was a dream role, says Kitsch. “I think reconnecting with Pete and then also you have the period piece which I really didn't know a whole lot about — the 1800s and the 1850s — and then you have a guy who was raised Shoshone. It kind of shifts into that world a little bit. You find him mourning the loss of his family, so the stakes are high.”

The limited series is based on a real event, says Kitsch. “And I think it's really when you get a character like that, it’s as deep as you can take them. I think all actors are looking for something like that.”

Looking for something like that has been with him since he was a mischief-maker in high school.

“I was in trouble from being chased by the cops at Halloween to skipping class. I remember taking this photo class and, ironically, I love photography now, but me and my friend Dave skipped class, went and bought this Toyota Corolla for a case of beer, got it insured, and then he took it to his mechanics class and put brakes in it.

“We bought it from my brother’s roommate. And he said, ‘This car is a piece of ---- and you gotta put brakes in there.’ We’re 16, and we said, ‘Yeah, whatever man.’ And then we’re diving it, and he wasn’t lying. So Dave put brakes in it, and we would do an obstacle course in the parking lot in the mall with carts. We would give anybody who wanted to draw something on the car, we would let them. It was ridiculous. By the end of that photography class that same day, we bought that car and drove it along.”

While he took an excruciating drubbing for his role in “John Carter,” Kitsch says he never wanted to quit. He’s proud of the fact that he helped one of his half-sisters through a life-threatening condition. He took two years off during and right after “True Detective” to help his sister. “She’s a traveling nurse now and she’s come full circle and traveled the world a couple of times, backpacked southeast Asia on her own,” he says.

Though Kitsch couldn’t get arrested after “John Carter,” again he stubbornly persisted. “You're kind of battling your way back up the ladder,” he says. “I’ve really never had a contingency plan, but it makes you question stuff.”

The 43-year-old actor has moved from Texas to Montana and says he’s never bored there. “I love wildlife photography. You're going back to the mountains, to nature, which I grew up in. It just really resets you in a beautiful way. ... There’s just something about the mountains for me and being around wildlife that just speaks to me at a different level,” he says.

[sleeby-bo-beebie]

Ok SO! Reading the journal pages in TBOB I wanted to line them up with journal 3, and they line up SUPER well! (I mean, why wouldn’t they!)

Some lineups/ things I noticed while looking at them together:

‘My Assistant’ page Fidd’s photos of loved ones keeping him grounded- the picture of he and Ford in his desk!!

Journal starts on June 18, next dated page is August 3rd. He mentions the hide behind but doesn’t chronicle it until well into July. This furthers the thinking I’ve had that Ford doesn’t always write chronologically, or rather has different things in different journals (he just doesn’t always write in actual page order I think)- esp considering that he puts portal info in 1 & 2.

‘Cipher Speaks lines up with being written before “My Muse” as he names Bill directly, but ‘My Muse’ being written after as a re-do, hence the note to self to keep secret, and burn the page. This is in spring/ summer of 1981

Next, my muse and me, which is brings us to 1982, as “it has been a year since I met my muse” this page puts context to the next 40ish pages of J3, which chronically various cryptids. While the ghost pages are at toward the end, we can assume that perhaps he had the coordinates when writing but did the chronicle-ing after. Here’s where it gets confusing- the next page in TBOB is June 15, which helps because after August, we get July 18th in J3. So, we can conclude that August is August of 1981, and there’s a year skip to July of 1982. My Muse and Me is placed before the august 3rd page, but not too close to My Muse.

The Birthday page of TBOB is of 1982, and happens sometime probably after the ghost pages? Definitely before “My Muse has Spoken” (I think bill def settled in on ford being his portal guy after their night out)

Then Fidds joins. They go on their trips, the bunker, etc! We hit “An Encounter” and we get “we have nearly completed the portal and will soon be ready to test” This lines up with “A voice from the past” , as Ford is adjusting the TV for F’s first portal test.

The next dates page is Jan 17, testing day. So, of course, the Winter Break section happens before this. I think it goes before the page on them being super tired (the one directly after ‘an encounter’) so my guess is, an encounter, a voice from the past, then the page across from an encounter, then winter break, then the page about being tired, if that makes sense? (It’s the positioning of the blueprint style pages that say “the time has come to test” that put them after)

This also lines up for me with his convo with bill about his homeworld, and then mentioning bill being distant on ‘a winter break’

We get ‘snowed in’, and I think the disappearing child footprints are definitely a reference to Dipper and Mabel time traveling!

Some chronological pages next!

I think ‘My muse returns’ happens right after the final winter page, my reasoning being that Bill plants the idea that Fidds isn’t fully invested, and this lines up with Ford being “worried about his resolve” on the blueprint page. “Despite his concerns”

The childhood photo pages next, with “perhaps my muse was right that F is getting too close” (bill was def jealous of their holiday)

“Dream, or Warning?” Daytime of Jan 17, “F has invited me to dinner at Greasy’s tonight to toast to tomorrow’s test”

Jan 17th page happens next, an hour after their dinner, including the “it was just as my muse had warned me” Bill has succeeded in convincing ford to isolate himself from Fidds.

The J3 “No!!! curse the world” page and TBOB’s “I was wrong about everything” seem similar at first, but I think “No!!!” Was first- it details what happened in the portal test, and has very fresh anger to it.

It’s a bit tough to place the next pages, but I think the pages before TBOB’s “The war in my mind” happen before the page of all the codes, where he writes “he is taking advantage while I sleep” in “the war in my mind” he is already worried about burning the journals, which is a concern presented previously on “hiding places” him getting kicked out the library pairs well with his lack of sleeping and freak out in the diner.

I do think the zom-bills page happens after the incident at the diner, as he is surprised that Bill calls him Sixer, but then doesn’t mention it when he calls him that again on the zom-bills page.

Everything “a war in my mind” and after takes place after the codes page, but before the “Trust No One” page. Bill definitely wrote the ‘blank’ blacklight page about being summoned while he was possessing Ford.

On the diner page, he mentions there being only one person left to trust, giving fodder for bill to prank him by trying to call Stanley. He’s given the 72 hours. He finishes that entry realizing he can’t contact Fidds, and makes his pro/con list. He writes his final journal entry, saying “all that there is left to do is wait for S”

And that concludes my hopefully sense-making idea of what pages go where!! If you have both books, I definitely recommend looking at them together!

I’d love to hear any thoughts on this! It was really fun to go through the pages. It got a little tricky at the end, but it’s definitely likely that Ford wasn’t writing in page order anyways, being paranoid and sleep deprived.

I’m so glad we got these pages, as they really beef up the lead up to the end of Ford’s first section of journal 3! And of course, give us lots more about Ford and Bill’s relationship and how they talked to eachother. The notion of bill being able to still enter ford’s mind after Ford learned the truth was always so compelling, and I’m so glad we got to see how that actually played out!

[ceruleanangel]

The Diamond of Zaun- Chapter Two

Pairings: Vi x Reader kiiiiinda Silco x Reader could be more later...

Tags: f!reader, performer!reader

Content Warnings: angst, kiiiiiiinda age gap! relationship

a/n: Chapter two everyone! this one actually gets into the plot so im really excited to see what y'all think. Also I'm making it to where Vi and reader are both 17 pre time skip, so around 24/25 after the time skip.

Also Also I've been binging some playthroughs of Final Fantasy VII and I'm absolutely smitten with Cloud Strife so don't be surprised if some drabbles of him come through teehee.

Chapter One

“I finally got a letter back”

Vi’s head instantly turned to you from the couch she was lazing on, 

“What does it say?” 

You held up the sealed envelope so Vi could see it. She quickly vaulted over the back of the couch to meet you where you stood at the entrance of the gang’s little clubhouse. She waits for you to open it, glancing back and forth between the letter and you, biting your nails in anticipation. “Oooh I can’t open it, I’m too nervous.” You extend the envelope to Vi, flashing a smile, “Can you do the honors?” Vi raises an eyebrow at you and tuts, but regardless, she takes the envelope. She messily tears it open, although careful to not damage the contents of the letter inside. She clears her throat and reads in a pretentious accent,

“Dear Miss Y/n L/n, 

With great pleasure, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Piltover Institute of Dance and Performing Arts-”

Vi wasn’t able to finish reading the letter before you grabbed her hands, jumping up and down squealing with excitement. You hop up on the boxing machine platform that has doubled as your mock stage over the years for your ‘grand performances.’ Mostly only for Vi. “I can see it now!” You spin on the stage, holding an air microphone, “Everyone will know my name…I’ll even have it in lights!!” You turn and smile down at Vi. You can feel your cheeks heat up as she looks up, smiling warmly at you. You nervously put down your hands and breathe out a small sigh of relief as she looks back down at the letter. Your excitement swiftly fades to confusion as Vi’s eyebrows furrow, and she continues reading,

“...and we eagerly await your presence on campus in Piltover one week from now… “ she looks up at you, the corners of her lips becoming down-turned, “You’re leaving us in one week?” You step down from the stage to stand in front of Vi once again. You don’t meet her eyes, looking towards the floor, 

“Well, classes would begin in one week so…” A moment of silence passes, both of you contemplating the limited amount of time you’ll now have together. You finally gather up the courage to look up at Vi and slip both of your hands into hers. She gazes back into your eyes, despite her tough exterior, you can sense the sadness in her expression. “I promise I’ll come back to you every weekend!” you convince, trying to coax a smile out of her face despite the melancholy moment. You pull her towards the make-shift stage, backing up until you can step up onto the platform. Your thumbs rub circles on her hands as you muster up your award winning smile, 

“You know that you’ll always be my favorite person to perform for.”

Current Time

It’s almost as if time had stopped, the way you stood frozen in the hallway outside of your dressing room. Your hand would have shaken if not for its stabling hold on the door. You could hear the blood pumping in your ears as your vision became foggy, the image of Vi fading from the sight of her in front of you, to the way you saw her seven years ago, bloodied and…

“Hey Dia, everything alright?” the sound of one of the club’s bouncers jumpstart your brain back into motion. You look towards him then follow his eyes back to Vi and also another tall girl with blue hair that you don't quite recognize, standing behind her. “Is there a problem?” You’re about to open your mouth when Vi hoists herself up from the couch, and strides up to you, placing her hand on your shoulder as she passes.  You can only watch, mouth agape, as she turns to the bouncer, grinning at him “No, no problem here, we were just heading out.” She takes ahold of your hand and slips somthing in it, nodding to the bouncer and continuing down the hallway. The blue-haired girl follows close behind, skittishly looking between you and the bouncer before jogging to catch up with Vi. Who is that girl?

Once your brain catches up with the events that just transpired, you move to catch up with them, her name fighting to be freed from your throat, but the bouncer grabs your arm, “Yes?” you hurriedly ask him, you keep your eyes locked on Vi, desperate to catch up with the mystery that is currently walking away from you, carrying all your answers with it.

 “Boss left something for ya in your office.”

That catches your attention, and you turn to the bouncer, “the Boss did?” “Yep, came and dropped it off himself.” Thoughts fly through your brain once again but you quickly filter through them, the time-sensitive ones flying to the top.  You glance back toward the hallway and once you see it’s empty, you rush toward the door and glance out into the bar. Your eyes squeeze shut in frustration once you realize that Vi is already long gone. You turn, retreating to the back hallway, letting your head fall, but your gaze reminds you of a folded piece of paper in your hand. You quickly return back to your dressing room and open it up. You chuckle at the chicken scratch handwriting thats virtually unintelligible, that is, to almost anyone but you.

Meet me in an hour. You know the place.

Shivers ran down your spine. As time went by, ghosts from your past always seemed to go away, either fading into something else or being gone permanently. 

This was not a ghost you’d ever thought you’d see again

After boring holes through the folded, crumpled paper with your stare, you set the note down to get ready. But once you glance up, you're reminded of the ‘something’ that was left in your room. 

Not noticing the grand bouquet of fresh flowers sitting square in front of you on the dressing table goes to show the level of distraction that you are currently dealing with. You sit up in your chair, breathing in the scent of fresh tulips. You cup one of the buds in your hands as you glimpse the corner of a card peeking out from the center. You pull it out and have no trouble reading the excellent penmanship, 

My Diamond,

I’m so terribly sorry I had to miss your show, but I have no doubt you were as dazzling as usual, please do take these as an apology 

-S

Compliments and other such flattery have long since grown weak on you, having heard everything in the book, but you pretend to not feel a slight heat on your cheeks as you place the note back into the bouquet. Instead, you pluck one flower out of the bundle and arrange it into your hair, pulling it up and back away from your face. You quickly change out of your performance outfit and into something you can wear through the streets of the underground. You slip out into the night, heading exactly where you know you’ll meet the pink-haired ghost of your past. 

~

You make sure to listen intently to your surroundings as you traverse your way to the old clubhouse. It being abandoned and such, you never know who could be slinking around, especially with Shimmer affecting the citizens the way it does, causing them to find solace in the shadows. You wish you could retreat in such shadows, but the light always seems to find you. 

You reach the broken glass window and navigate through, without marking yourself on the shards. Scars wouldn’t be good. No one likes a damaged product. The glass crunches under your boot as you wander through a place you once practically lived in. Your hand brushes against the boxing machine that holds so many memories. You looked up at the leaderboard. If the power was on it would show Vi holding the top places, and many more after that. Without your knowledge, a smile began to tug at your lips as wetness started to well up in your eyes. Your hands blindly start to grasp to find the switch. 

“Don’t bother, they won’t work.” You didn’t need to turn your head to know who was speaking from behind you. Nonetheless, you whirled around, once again glimpsing Vi and an unidentified blue-haired girl. You had questions about her, but those could wait. 

“Vi, I-” “Where's my sister?” you two spoke at the same time. “...your sister?” you spoke after a moment of silence. Vi began to stride towards you, her voice becoming more intense and frantic.

 “Yes, where's Powder, I need to find her now-” 

“Vi where have you been?” Vi stops in her tracks, only a few feet from you as you cut her off. You can feel your throat start to close up as tears start to well in your eyes. You will not let them fall. Your eyebrows furrow in anguish and frustration, why did she leave you?

“I thought you were dead and - and now you just reappear like nothing happened?” You glance down at the shards splintered on the cement floors down below, trying to blink away the wetness in your eyes. “...not even ask how I've been?” 

There's a moment of silence between you, but you refuse to look up into her eyes. You’re scared of anything you might see on her face, sadness, anger, but most of all, 

Indifference 

You could have never imagined the sinking in your stomach when what you were afraid to see is instead delivered to your ears,

“I don’t have time for this-I don't even know why I bothered…you’re too busy galavanting on stage, prancing around for everyone- for Silco.” She spat the words at you like it was poisen in her mouth. You finally look up at her in time to see her turning her back, “...You don’t care about us anymore.” She begins to take a step away but she stops at the sound of your voice,

“You have no idea what I care about!” Your chest tightens and the tears run freely down your cheeks. Images of the seven years you were apart, the seven years you had to do what you could to survive, images of the Garden. Your head buzzes with anger and anguish, and you release it all out onto Vi. You aren’t aware of what you’ll say next, the feelings that have been built up over the last seven years cause words to stream right from your heart to your tongue.

“You have no idea what I have done to protect those I care about...including you.”

You don’t even take a minute to catch your breath before taking long strides towards the broken glass in which you entered. But instead of moving out of the way of Vi you aggressively bump into her shoulder, leaving her stumbling as you continue to the exit. You kick in the glass at your feet, trampling smoothly through the gaping hole. The cool air from outside in the alley blows through your clothes as if they weren’t even there, swiftly calming your hot head and bringing you back to reality. You take a deep breath and turn your head, just enough to be perfectly silhouetted by the neon lights blazing on from outside the valley.

“And by the way, it’s not Powder. Your sister’s name is Jinx.”

Chapter Three

[sl-newsie]

American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 63: A Poor Predicament

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/sl-newsie/739551758747090944/american-woman-thomas-shelby-x-american-oc?source=share

*Warning: mention of menstrual blood

Watery Lane is still as comfortable as before. I sleep decently, considering that I just saw my past love after five years. Today brings more clouds and a nippy wind that taunts winter’s approach. 

Ow. Today also brings another familiar ache inside of me. The time of the month. I slink out of the cozy covers and make my way to the kitchen’s warm fire. The house itself seems to be still empty.

Does anyone else know I’m back? I knew not to expect an enormous welcome nor did I want one. But it would be nice to know where everyone is now. I was hoping Bonnie might be around for a visit-

Thud.

There’s the front door. Who’s-? Uh-oh. Not him.

No. No. Oh no. That spotted red isn’t the fabric of my skirt- 

“Blood? What the Hell happened?”

Of course Thomas is the one to pop in! And of course it has to be when my cycle begins.

“Verena, what happened?!” Thomas exclaims and lurches forward to inspect my skirt.

“Thomas, calm down! It’s not an injury-”

“Then how the Hell is there blood all over you?!”

“Thomas!” I step back and hold up a hand to calm him. “It’s my menstruation. I can’t help it. I didn’t catch it in time so it stained the fabric. Do not blame me for my anatomy.”

An ‘a-ha’ look takes over Thomas as he processes my words. He glances down at the blood and back at me.

“Your menstruation…” He repeats slowly. “You’re not on birth control?”

“Why would I be? In America, women need permission from their husbands to have it. And I do not approve of tampering with God’s gift He has given me.” I change to a softer tone. “I’m not injured.”

Believe me, I have felt greater pain than this.

Thomas’ panic is easing off but now he’s looking at me in a new light. Like I’m a prized horse. Or a fragile vase that’s easily broken. So being a virgin off of birth control makes me weak now? So help me I’m about to slap his arrogant face-!

“Do you know what Finn’s been thinking?” Thomas changes the subject, toying with a cigarette. “I talked with him today, like you asked. He was thinking of marriage. Do you know who he once thought of marrying?” He tilts his head at me. “You.”

So he picks up on this now? All this time with all the talk of marriage and pregnancies, he now realizes that I am a worthy bachelorette and will be sought out?

“Yes, we discussed it before on occasion,” I respond evenly. “We think it best to stay friends because it feels natural.” I move over to the sink so I can look away when I ask: “Are you jealous?”

A pause. “How can I be?”

“Because your own broer had the guts to do what you can’t.” Shot fired. “Finn didn’t used to be like the rest of you. He could be compassionate without trying to be tough. I’d say don’t ruin his chance for a good life but that ship has sailed.”

Another long pause. “He… says he wants to marry this new girl. Says she likes the life we’ve got.”

Perfect. Another woman chatting about, ousting me just because my last name is not Shelby. 

I take a breath and face Thomas with rebellious determination. “Then that is where God will take him. As you’ve said before, he’s a grown man now. Speaking of grown men, has Michael arrived yet? I assumed he’d be here by now.”

Thomas takes another drag of his cigarette, letting smoke to hover over his face. “You’re right. He took a boat through Belfast. He’s arriving today, and that’s why I’m here.” He points to me. “To tell you that I want you to be at the Garrison for a family meeting.”

Yes, a meeting. I should have expected this. I can’t just skip off to Germany. Lord, everyone’s going to be so on edge. And it means I have to spend more time in the proximity of Thomas. Unfortunately he seems to pick up on my hesitation.

“You’re still employed by Shelby Company Limited, and as your boss I’m ordering you to be there.”

There is no room to argue.

“Fine.” I purse my lips and my eyes narrow. “Is Michael the one to blame for our predicament, then?”

Thomas gives a short grunt. “Yes. Thanks to him, right now we’re losing money. And his attempt at arranging my death won’t go unnoticed either.” He gives me a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry, we will handle him.”

In a fleeting moment of courage I can’t stop myself from speaking. “Having much causes conflict. Maybe this is a hidden message telling you that Shelby Company Limited has grown enough.” I walk past Thomas and give him a quick pat on the shoulder. “My advice? Let God be enough. Not that you still listen to me anyway.”

But even that won’t be good enough for you, will it Thomas? As I leave him to stew on that I head to my room and begin to gather my coat and purse. I also quickly change into a fresh skirt. Damn this menstrual timing. Maybe once this meeting is over then I can take a boat to Amsterdam and begin my way to Oldenburg. Lord knows how Abel’s doing with this. In all the rush of things I still haven’t called him-

“You’re still trying to get me to believe I’m worth something, eh?” Thomas speaks up from down the hall.

I finish buttoning my fox coat and step forward. “It is never too late to walk in faith, Thomas. Faith grows strongest during times of trial. And I can tell that we are going to need all the faith we can muster for this upcoming trial.”

Still being the gentleman he is, Thomas opens the front door and we both head out into the crisp November air. I graciously let the cold wind numb the conflicting emotions clawing at me. Another gleaming Bentley awaits, and when we start driving down the dusty roads Thomas clears his throat.

“Um, happy belated birthday. 27, eh?”

“Yes.”

What else can I say? ‘Yes, Thomas. I’m growing even more older and still haven’t settled.’ ‘Yes, Thomas. I’m practically igniting the rule book of society by staying single.’ No. He does not need any elaboration. He can keep guessing for all I care.

Not much has changed over the years. Same dusty roads, same wanderers looking distantly lost. Right now my mind wants to feel just the same but I cannot let it. We approach the Garrison and I make a silent objective to avoid reattaching myself to this place. There is no use clinging onto old memories and wishing that things have not changed.

“Here we are.”

Thomas parks the Bentley and gets out, starting to round the car. I open my door and step out before he can reach me.

“I am capable, Mr. Shelby.”

Each decline to abide by his first name is another discrete shot. Ones that Thomas tries to ignore but I know better. 

“Steenstra!” A familiar voice shouts from behind.

I turn around and my bland face brightens at the sight of the eldest Shelby broer, who’s wearing a very spiffy suit and bowtie.

“Hello, Arthur!” I reply as he grips my shoulder in greeting.

“Tommy!” He gently punches his broer’s shoulder. “You didn’t tell us she’d be coming!”

“She didn’t either,” Thomas mutters, walking on towards the Garrison. 

“Unfortunately I have not brought any whiskey,” I inform Arthur, both of us ignoring Thomas’ distant behavior.

“Ah, no problem. We’ve got more than enough. Besides, Polly’s going to be happy to see you.”

The pub’s doors open and I follow behind as the two broers confidently stride in. I turn the corner and am greeted by who else? Polly. 

“Verena, dear!” Her face lights up and she rushes over for a hug. “Ada didn’t tell me you were coming!”

“Well, it was quite last-minute. Obviously due to recent events I had to come back.”

A look of understanding crosses over Polly’s eyes and I see her glance shift to Thomas. She knows without elaboration that I am not here for pleasure. I trust she will do well not to prod at my personal barriers as Ada has tried.

“You armed?” Polly asks the broers, holding up a smoking cigarette.

“Yeah.”

“Please consider putting your guns behind the bar in case feelings start to run high.”

“Behind the bar, eh?” Arthur exclaims with wild eyes and dramatically pulls out his pistol. He empties the bullets onto the floor and plops the gun onto a table. “I prefer it there.”

Polly looks at Thomas and he grudgingly complies as well. Thomas starts to say something but cuts himself off over the rustling of my clothes. Everyone looks at me as I pull out two Smith and Wesson pistols from under my skirts, setting them down as well. Despite my welcoming appearance, this American came well prepared.

“Anyway… Had a dream about a black cat last night, Pol,” Thomas declares. “It means there’s a traitor close by, you taught me that.”

Polly takes this news modestly. “A black cat can mean lots of things. It can mean you’re hurting yourself. You're seeing things, Thomas?”

“Yes. Yes I am. Very clearly,” he answers and lights a cigarette. “Coming from every fucking direction.”

Arthur and I exchange glances. A traitor. We’re all thinking it but no one is bold enough to say. And it seems God has sent him this way. Through the window I see a car stop outside and Michael steps out, along with a tall blonde girl in a floral dress with shifty eyes.

“He’s here,” I mutter.

Polly gets an uncertain look. “Should Verena be here, Thomas?”

Thomas doesn’t hesitate. “She’s the foreign representative. Michael’s done his work in America and she needs to hear it. Besides, he has another American for us to interrogate.” He holds up a calming hand to me. “Not directed at you, love.”

No. He’s right. As much as I want to keep stone cold Thomas is right. This new woman is a stranger and we have all learned how unpredictable strangers can be, myself included. Not that I don’t want to offer friendship to whoever she is but I’m not as open as I used to be. Thomas doesn’t need to worry about offending our original encounter.

“I know,” I claim and give him a nod. “I’m on your side.”

The door opens and the couple walks in. Michael tries to keep a laid-back face but his partner looks otherwise. She scans us up and down and when her dark eyes focus on me her gaze all but latches onto me. I don’t let my own eyes soften and take the time to inspect her as well. Business must have been good to them in Detroit before the crash.

“Thomas, I’d like to introduce you to my wife.” 

Michael gestures to the woman, who’s now eying Thomas like he’s a piece of meat. Wife. Oh, I’m sure she loves Michael…’s money. She reminds me of the girls I’d see walking through Williamsburg back home. 

Thomas ignores his request. “Sit down, Michael.”

Michael keeps talking. “I betrayed you, but only in my heart. There was a time in America when there was a lot of money in that bank. I wondered if I could… leave, go to California.”

Oh, you klootzak. He thinks he can just walk away with our money? Granted I haven’t been around either but I know for a fact that I’d never be able to escape the Peaky Blinders if I tried.

“Invest in Hollywood. But Gina stopped me. She said-”

“I told you to sit down, Michael,” Thomas orders, waiting until his neef complies. “Now tell me what happened, on that ship, in Belfast Harbor.”

Belfast. Familiar territory. If Michael won’t spill his guts I’ll make sure Uncle Colon will make him.

Michael looks between Polly and Gina. “On the journey back from New York we needed a witness. He was from Belfast.”

Thomas’ face doesn’t change. “What happened when the ship docked?”

“This person had friends who ran a whiskey distillery in County Tyrone. They wanted a way of getting their stuff into America. So I invited them onboard.”

At the mention of whiskey Thomas’ eyes find mine and I shake my head. No, this is not my uncle’s work. Thank God he must believe me because Thomas looks away.

“When they came in I realized they were Scottish from Glasgow. They didn’t make whiskey. I asked Gina to leave and then they started talking about you, Tom. They said Tommy Shelby was a spent force. That politics had gotten to ‘im. Now was a time to move in, and if I wanted to move in with them. Then men from the IRA came aboard.”

With every word that comes out of Michael’s mouth, we all continue to stare at him as he explains, similar to how a young child might when telling why he did something bad. Laced with fear. For the entire time he keeps an apologetic, almost innocent look of trying to convince us that this is not entirely his fault. 

Thomas waits for a moment. “And the men from Glasgow?”

“The IRA commander said they were called Billy Boys.”

“Fucking Billy Boys,” Arthur grunts. “They run every coal mine on every shipyard east of Glasgow. Protestant razor gang. They also dabble in politics.”

Enemies of Uncle Colon, no doubt. That’s probably why I’ve never heard of these men.

“But you did no deal, Michael,” Polly states. Is she trying to answer for him?

“We were too busy being excited to give you the good news.” Michael smiles and Gina takes the moment to lean in closer to him. “The reason we got married is because Gina is pregnant. You’re going to be a grandmother.”

Another man who couldn’t keep it in his pants. At least they had the decency to wed. Although I’m not too optimistic about these two being considerable parents. But if God has blessed them then I should not judge too harshly. All that’s left is for Thomas to declare his thought on the matter as we all look to him.

“Okay, Michael. I believe you. Welcome home, congratulations. Just remember. Your unborn child has witnessed what you said, and they-”

“Thomas,” Polly warns with wide eyes.

“And it will be born accordingly,” Thomas finishes.

Michael’s eyes flash and he jumps from his seat. “The fuck-?!”

“Where the fuck you going, eh?” Arthur growls and blocks him from Thomas. “You are free to fucking leave, Michael.”

Michael wants to strike so badly. His eyes burn with murderous desire. You wretched bloke. After everything we’ve all gone through I’d hope he would know to treasure the value of family. 

“Fucking bastard!” He hisses.

Thomas doesn’t flinch. “You’re not really free, Michael. You lost this company a lot of money. I told you to sell, but you held on. Now I want you to pay me back what you owe me.”

Ah, sweet karma. It’s such a passive insult but it’s an insult nonetheless. I hope to never be on this family’s list of enemies. If only Gina’s scheming face wasn’t slinking closer.

“Michael, honey. Look at your cousin. He’s in trouble. He needs you.” She gives Thomas a final glance before pulling Michael away. “Come on, baby. Let’s go.”

I can’t help myself. “Good to see you’re keeping up the stereotype that Americans like to party.”

Gina stops in her tracks and looks down at me. “Oh, Michael’s told me all about you.”

My lips press into a line. “Then you do not truly know me.”

Michael scoffs and points at me. “What about her, eh? Steenstra was there too! Slacking off in Grand Rapids while I-!”

Thomas abruptly steps forward and Michael stops yelling. “Verena was still working, Michael. In other places. Grand Rapids, Chicago, Georgia. She was with her family. She understands family, right?”

In the corner of my eyes I see him looking at me. I don’t look away from Michael when I give my cold answer.

“Yes.”

“That is why she owes us nothing,” Arthur clarifies, stroking his gun on the table.

I shake my head with pity. “You have no idea what you just walked into, Michael. You of all people know not to fuck with Thomas Shelby.”

Gina leads Michael out, each looking very cross. Polly escorts them and Arthur shuts the door before I can utter even more harsh words. I can tell Michael’s news has left a mark on Thomas. He keeps staring ahead with the same blank expression. The look that says he’s thinking too deep.

“Ignore them, Thomas. You are not a spent force.” I give him a sturdy pat on the shoulder. “You are a strong and stubborn force that’s going to outlast them all.”

Thomas stays quiet. Arthur, on the other hand, keeps chuckling and looking at where the others just walked out.

“Fucking cheek of her, eh?”

Thomas snaps out of his trance and picks up his gun. “Verena, please make a call for me. I’d like to speak with your uncle.”

I don’t hesitate. “It will be done.”

“Thank you, love.” He looks up with eyes that dare to show me how much fear he has riding on these recent events. “I know I can trust you.”

If only I could say the same.

@meadows5

[formulas-bitch]

Family above all - Daniel Ricciardo x sister/reader

The sky was a deep, cerulean blue, unmarred by a single cloud. The air was warm and gentle, caressing Daniel Ricciardo's cheeks as he stood on the edge of the pier. His little sister, Mia, skipped along beside him, her long, chestnut hair bouncing with each joyful stride. The waves lapped rhythmically against the wooden boards beneath their feet, creating a soothing melody that seemed to echo throughout their souls. Daniel turned to face her, the sunlight reflecting off his piercing green eyes. He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders, the burden of responsibility that came with being the big brother. But in that moment, with her bright smile and infectious laughter, he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," Mia said softly, her voice barely audible above the sound of the waves. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

Daniel looked at her, surprised by the sincerity in her eyes. "It's okay, Mia. I know you didn't mean any harm. It's just… things have been tough lately, you know?"

Their parents had been going through a rough patch, arguing more often and retreating into themselves. It was like a dark cloud had settled over their happy home, making it hard for anyone to find any joy. But standing here with Mia, Daniel felt a sense of hope begin to stir inside him. She was his little sister, his best friend, and he knew that together they could weather any storm.

"You know, Dan," Mia said, her voice growing stronger, "sometimes when things get tough, we just need to find a way to make each other laugh." She giggled, the sound echoing across the water. "Like that time you tried to teach me how to ride a bike and I fell over and scraped my knee. That was so funny!"

Daniel couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Yeah, that was pretty funny," he admitted, feeling a small twinge of guilt. He wished he could take back some of the things he had said earlier, but it was hard not to feel protective of his sister. She was only 24 years old, after all.

Mia's face lit up at the mention of the memory, and she giggled again. "You should have seen your face when I fell over!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "It was priceless!"

Daniel couldn't help but laugh too, feeling some of the tension ease from his shoulders. "Yeah, well, I guess I was just trying to be too protective," he admitted. "I didn't want you to get hurt or anything."

"I know, Dan," Mia replied, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "But I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle myself." She paused, her expression growing more serious. "And even if I can't, I know you'll always be there for me."

The sincerity in her words made Daniel's heart swell with pride and affection. He looked into her eyes and saw not just his little sister, but a strong, independent woman who would one day make her own mark on the world. And as much as he wanted to protect her from everything, he knew that he had to let her spread her wings and fly.

"You're right, Mia," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're not a little kid anymore. You're growing up, and you're going to face your own challenges. And I'll be there for you, through everything. Just like I always have been, and always will be."

Their eyes met, and for a moment, they were lost in each other's gaze. The weight of the world seemed to lift from their shoulders, if only for a little while. They stood there, side by side, watching the waves crash against the pier, feeling the warmth of the sun on their skin.

"You know, Dan," Mia said thoughtfully, her voice barely above a whisper, "I've been thinking… about our parents. I know they're going through a rough patch, but I think we can help them. We can be there for them, you know? We can be their strength when they need it most."

Daniel nodded, considering her words. He knew that Mia was right; they could make a difference. They could be the ones to bring their parents back together, to help them remember why they had fallen in love in the first place.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "We can do that. We can show them that we're here for them, that we'll always have their backs." He paused, looking at her with determination in his eyes. "And we can have some fun along the way, too. Just like we used to."

The two of them shared a knowing smile, remembering the countless happy memories they had made together. From building snowmen in the winter to camping trips in the summer, from watching movies under blankets on the couch to staying up late playing board games. Those were the times they cherished, the times that made them feel like they could take on anything.

And so, with renewed determination and a sense of purpose, they began to plan. They would start by spending more time with their parents, finding ways to include them in their daily lives. They would arrange family dinners, movie nights, even simple outings to the park. They would show their parents that they were still capable of enjoying each other's company, that there was still hope for their relationship.

The first step was to invite their parents over for a picnic at the beach. Daniel and Mia spent hours planning the perfect menu, making sure to include all of their favorite foods. They set up a beautiful spread on a blanket, complete with fresh-baked bread, cheese, fruit, and a selection of cold drinks. As the sun began to set over the horizon, casting a warm glow over the water, they eagerly awaited the arrival of their parents.

Their father was the first to arrive, looking slightly uncomfortable in his dress shirt and slacks. He took a seat next to Mia and offered her a small smile. "So, you two have something special planned?" he asked, his voice a bit strained.

"We sure do, Dad," Mia replied, returning his smile. "We just wanted to spend some quality time with you and Mom. You know, like the old days."

Their mother arrived a few minutes later, looking more apprehensive than their father. She glanced between them uncertainly before sitting down beside Daniel. He put an arm around her shoulders, offering her a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, Mom," he said, "we're just glad you could make it."

As they all sat there, the sun dipping lower in the sky, they talked about everything and nothing. They told stories about their childhood, laughed at old memories, and shared their hopes for the future. The food was delicious, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore provided a soothing background to their conversation.

Their father seemed to relax a bit as the evening wore on, even cracking a joke or two. Their mother smiled more often, and her eyes lit up whenever she looked at them. Daniel could see the love they still had for each other, even if it was buried beneath years of hurt and resentment.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, they gathered their things and walked hand in hand along the beach, the warm glow of the setting sun painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. They stopped at a small rock formation jutting out into the ocean, and their parents leaned against it, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"This is beautiful," their mother said, her voice soft with wonder. "It's been so long since we've just been able to enjoy each other's company like this." Daniel and Mia exchanged glances, pleased with the progress they had made.

"Yeah," their father added, his voice gruff with emotion. "You two are something else. You know that?" He turned to face them, his eyes shining in the fading light. "I don't know what it is about you two, but you have this way of bringing people together. I'm not just talking about us, either. We've seen it with our friends, our family… You're like a little ray of sunshine in everyone's life."

Mia blushed at the praise, looking away shyly. Daniel, on the other hand, was beaming with pride. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder, feeling a newfound sense of closeness and understanding. "Thanks, Dad. We're just glad we could help in some way."

Their mother smiled, her eyes filling with tears. "You don't know how much it means to us, Daniel and you, Mia. You've given us hope. Hope that maybe…" She trailed off, searching for the right words. "Maybe things can go back to the way they used to be."

Daniel and Mia exchanged glances, their hearts swelling with affection for their parents. They didn't know what the future held, but for now, they were content just being together like this. As the stars began to twinkle in the sky, they stood up, taking turns helping their parents to their feet.

Hand in hand, they made their way back to the blanket, gathering up the last of their things. The cool breeze off the ocean tickled their skin, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a soothing lullaby. As they walked, Daniel and Mia couldn't help but feel a sense of peace wash over them.

Their parents, too, seemed to have relaxed, their steps more steady and their conversations more animated. They laughed at old stories and shared memories, and for a brief moment, it was as if the years had never passed. They reached the car, and as they loaded the blanket and chairs into the trunk, their father glanced at Daniel and Mia.

"You know, I've been thinking," he said. "Maybe it's time we started planning some family vacations again. Just the four of us." There was an unspoken promise in his words, a vow to work on repairing their relationship and rediscovering the love they once shared.

Mia's heart swelled with hope as she looked at her parents, seeing them as they used to be: a strong, loving couple who could face anything together. Daniel, too, seemed to sense the shift in the air, a newfound sense of optimism that they hadn't felt in years.

Their mother spoke up, her voice tinged with excitement. "That sounds wonderful, dear. I've always loved spending time with all of you. It would be wonderful to make more memories together." She smiled at Daniel and Mia, her eyes shining with gratitude.

Their father nodded in agreement. "We'll find a place where we can all unplug from our phones and laptops and just be together. Someplace quiet and peaceful where we can reconnect." He turned to face them, his expression serious. "And I want you two to know that we're here for you, no matter what. If you ever need to talk, or just need some space, we'll be there."

Their mother reached out and took their hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "We love you both so much, and we're so proud of the people you've become. No matter what happens in life, we'll always be on your side." She glanced up at the stars, her voice filled with emotion. "I think this night has taught us all an important lesson. About love, and family, and the power of forgiveness."

Daniel and Mia exchanged another glance, their hearts swelling with love for their parents. They knew that the road ahead wouldn't be easy, but they felt a renewed sense of hope and determination. As they climbed into the car, Daniel slid into the front seat beside their father, while Mia nestled in next to their mother. The scent of the ocean lingered in the air, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore faded into the distance.

Their parents continued to chat, sharing stories and laughter, the tension that had been so palpable in the past dissipating with each passing mile. Daniel and Mia listened, content to simply enjoy the company of their family. They couldn't help but feel that something had shifted, that a new chapter was beginning for all of them.