#or I guess probably Riley too that seems like the most obvious read for who az would ship Buffy with in terms of good and bad

[alwaysshallow]

love the idea of high ranked readers kid just being the most chill fucking kid in the world— but only when ghost is holding them. like they just see this behemoth of a man with a skull mask and decide: yes. this is my person now and if anyone tries to remove me i will scream

just them gently patting ghosts face, curious about the mask and just spending majority of their time with their head laid on his shoulder, slowly drifting off to the voices around them and jerking wide awake whenever someone tries to remove them and just scowling at said person while gripping ghosts clothes in their tiny fists to show their displeasure and then slowly drifting off again only for this to repeat

(i am fucking obessed with this and have zero regrets)

You stare at your kid, happily tugging Simon’s shirt, and you can’t believe your own eyes and ears how chill she is.

Earlier? A crying mess, you thought you’re gonna burst into tears too, if she’s not gonna stop with the fuss that felt like her kind of revenge for taking her to work, instead of daycare, like always. You were singing lullabies for her, reading, but nothing seemed to work, and you wanted to hit your head against the wall, you even considered taking a day off, just to be with your daughter.

Yet, the sight of Simon Riley in the mask, coming right to you, seemed to soothe her more than anything - she suddenly got interested, and when he took her for a moment, she decided to stay there.

Your own kid, being a traitor. But could you blame her? Not really, not when she is lying comfortably on his chest, her little fists playing with the material of his shirt. Not when she seems to be the most comfortable around a man with a mask.

Ghost, a myth that scared the most brave soldiers, and when they saw his mask around, they knew their time was limited. Ghost, a legend, someone who was described as a soldier totally devoted to his work, no matter how many people he had to kill, no matter how many months he would have to spend on a single mission.

And Ghost, a babysitter for your daughter, apparently.

“She seems comfortable,” you laugh silently, praying that your voice isn’t gonna interrupt her sleep; it would be good to put her into a stroller, you don’t want to take advantage of Simon’s kindness. “Is it okay with you? I put you into—”

“—’s okay,” he interrupts you, locking his gaze with yours. His intense, brown eyes, makes you a bit shy in this scenario, especially when he looks so good with your kid; you wouldn’t accuse him of that earlier. Of being so good. “At least she’s sleepin’, yeah? Safe and sound.”

“Safe and sound,” you repeat, smiling softly, as you take a few steps into their direction. Lieutenant automatically stands up, slowly, his big hand on your daughter’s back, and you just can’t help yourself from sighing.

It’s like a dream.

“You good, colonel?” he asks, and you barely hold back your laugh.

“That obvious I’m not? Just taking in the view,” you reply, maybe a bit too sincere, but you don’t really care about that. Not when he looks so adorable with your daughter.

“That so,” he hums, and after a few seconds, you are so close - chest to chest close, with your kid between you two. Only barrier; or maybe a connection, binding you two. “Should probably give her to you, eh?”

“Would be nice, yes. You can’t hold her the whole eternity,” you whisper, clearing your throat, when he slowly leans in.

“Well,” he starts, his head tilting to the side, his lips next to your ear. “For you? For you, I’d be more than pleased to do that.”

You want to say something about his words, you want to confess somehow too, but your baby girl starts crying the moment Simon hangs her to you.

A reminder; that he’s not yours, and you’re not his.

“Guess she’s stayin’ with me,” Ghost smirks under his balaclava, when she stops crying.

“She always liked everyone better than me.” You roll your eyes, shaking your head with amusement. “Can you stay here for a couple of minutes, then? I need to go to Price for a second.”

“Right.” He nods. He, then, calls your name. “Don’t think we’re done with the conversation, okay? We can continue later on.”

You just gulp, smiling politely.

It's gonna be a long conversation, then.

[adrianasunderworld]

Something in your Aura

Raihans female!reader

Tired. He was so very tired. Raihan had a packed schedule most of the day. From a photoshoot in the early morning, a training session with his gyms trainers, and then overlooking some documents in the archives. By the time he left the vault, the sun was starting to set. He was ready to sleep, eat, and shower, not necessarily in that order.

    But it seemed the day was not over yet. As he walked down the street, Raihan heard what sounded like a pokemon cry. It was small yelping noise that gradually got closer and closer to him. Looking behind him, Raihan was greeted with the sight of the tiniest Rioulu he had ever seen come bounding up to him. The little one stopped in front of him, tilting its head up and staring curiously.

    Raihan knelt down at the little pokemons level and held out a hand for them to sniff. "Where did you come from?" 

   "Riii" it replied, putting its little black paws on his hand. "Rii rio!" Whatever the little one wanted, it seemed happy.

   While it was content, Raihan looked over the young pokemon. The Riolu looked clean and well fed. It had a little red ribbon tied around its neck like a scarf. At the end it had a name embroidered on the end in gold thread. Gently taking hold of the end of the ribbon, it said Aaron. 

    "Aaron? Is that your name?" Raihan asked the Riolu.

    "Ri!" Aaron nodded.

    "Where's your trainer then?" It was obvious the little pokemon wasn't one of the wild strays that wandered the streets. They clearly had a trainer that took care of them, and were probably very worried. Raihan picked up the small pokemon and stood. "How about we go find them?"

    "Riolu." Aaron nodded and happily perched himself on Raihans shoulder. It seemed the best idea was to go in the direction Aaron had come from. But as they wandered down the street, Raihan didn't see anyone who looked worried or was searching for something, and Aaron did not seem to respond to any of the people passing. He had stopped a couple of people to ask them, but all shook their heads and did not recognize the baby pokemon. 

     It was starting to get late, and at this point Raihan was starving. Aaron began to yawn from his seat on his shoulder. It did not look like they were going to find Aarons trainer tonight. So, without many options, Raihan bought himself some dinner and took his new friend home. 

     "Hey Rotom," he said, and his phone came flying out, the pokemon ready to snap pictures. "Lets get word to out about our little friend here." Rotom pointed the camera at him and started to record. "Hey everyone, listen, if anyone is in Hammerlocke and missing a Rioulu,  I've found him. He's safe. Say hi Aaron."

   "Ri!" He waved to the camera, Rotom being certain to get a good shot of him.

   "Please, if you are his trainer,or know his trainer. Message me and I will get back  to you as soon as possible. Good night." After posting the video and a clear picture of Aaron for good measure, Raihan settled down for the night as he waited for any responses. Meanwhile, the young Riolu seemed to finally grasp that it was no longer home. The cheerful little guy had curled up quietly in Raihans lap, looking a little sad. 

   Raihan scratched him behind the ear. "Miss your trainer?" 

   "Riii…." the baby pokemon nodded sadly. 

   "Don't worry, we'll find them." Raihan assured and let Aaron curl up on his chest that night to sleep.

    The next day, Raihans phone had blown up with notifications. Most of them were comments about how cute Aaron was and well wishes in finding his trainer. most of the private messages that had been sent were of people claiming to be his trainer, but most came off as shady at best. Raihan contemplated going down to the Pokemon center to see if anyone had reported Aaron missing, when he got another message. This one was from a girl, it said her name was __.

   Raihan opened the message and read it.

    Hi, my friend showed me your post about the Riolu you found last night. I'm his trainer, he ran off last night and was no where to be found. I've been worried sick. Please let me know when I can come get him.

    Out of curiosity, Raihan looked at her profile. It didn't take long at all to see a picture of Aaron, ribbon and all, curled up with a Lucario. Then another picture of him being held by the girl, both looking very happy. Raihan showed Aaron the picture and the little one pawed at the screen, crying out for her as if he could reach through the screen to get to her. That seemed to settle it.

     Raihan took one more look at the photo. "Why didn't you tell me your trainer was cute?" 

     "Ri?"

     He chuckled to himself as he messaged the girl back. Noon in Hammerlockes gym lobby sound good?

It only took a minute for her response. 

See you there.

    Sitting in the lobby, Raihan watched as Aaron played on the floor, Flygon had taken it upon themself to entertain the young one by letting him tackle their tail. Just as it was about to be noon, Raihan heard a girls voice from the entrance.

    "Aaron? Aaron!" 

    The Rioulu sprang up and happily ran towards his trainer. She scooped him and hugged him, Raihan could see her relax by the moment. Any worry immediately melting away from her face. 

   "Riri!" Aaron cried out and pointed his paw towards Raihan. 

    The girl looked over and walked towards him. She smiled. "I cant thank you enough for finding him."

    Raihan waved it off. "Dont worry about it, I'm just glad the little guy is back where he belongs." 

     She sighed in relief. "You don't know the panic attack I went through last night." 

    "I can imagine," he said. "What happened anyway? How did you two get separated?"

    "We were walking home after training in the wild area, when he just ran off." She said. "My Lucario did his best to track him down, but he got lost so fast we couldn't find him. I searched everywhere but no luck. Then my friend sent me that post you made and I messaged you as soon as possible." Then she paused. "How did you find him anyway?"

     "He just ran up to me." Raihan said, unsure of how to explain. "I don't know.He seemed so happy, like he was looking for me or something. "

      ___ nodded thoughtfully. "Hhmm…"

      "What do you mean hhmm?"

      "Well…" she paused as if collecting her thoughts before continuing. "I think… maybe it's something about your aura."

     "My aura?"

      ___ nodded. "Yeah… I mean. How familiar are you with the Lucario line?"

     Raihan shrugged. He didn't get to fight many Lucario. Though he was vaguely aware of their unique abilities. "I know they're the aura pokemon. I've read a bit about that stuff, but I can't say I know much."

    She nodded. "Okay, well, to make a long story short, aura is this energy that all living things have. And the Lucario line are unique in that that they are able to sense and use auras energy. I think maybe Aaron sensed your aura and went looking for you."

    Raihan couldn't help but chuckle at the idea. It was certainly an interesting theory. "What could possibly be so attractive about my aura that he would come running?"

     ___ looked him at and down, a coy grin in her face. "It doesn't seem that far fetched. You have a very good aura."

    "You say it as if you can see it."

     Her face went red and she looked away in embarrassment."....I-I can…"

     "Oh," Raihan didn't mean to make her feel embarrassed. Though now he was genuinely curious. "That's pretty damn cool."

      She turned back to him, Aaron seemed to sense whatever it was she was feeling and looked at her curiously. "Thanks, um...but yeah. I guess he could just sense you were a good person and wanted to meet you." she smiled awkwardly.

    Raihan grinned back and reached out to scratch Aaron behind the ear. "Well I was glad to meet him."

      Aaron seemed very happy about it too. But his mood quickly changed when ___ said, "Thanks again for finding him. Come on, Aaron, let's go home." The Riolu started to squirm and cry out. He kept reaching out to Raihan like he didn't want to leave. __ seemed equally distressed. "Aaron, what's wrong? What's gotten into you? Dont you want to see Riley?"

     Aaron only kept pointing at Raihan and looked as if he was begging not to leave. Until eventually, he jumped out of her arms and ran to Raihan wrapping his little arms around his leg and nuzzling him.

     "Oh no." He and ___ said in unison.

     Raihan treated them to ice cream and they sat on a bench, unsure of what to do. Aaron sat between them, swinging his little legs as he munched on his snack. Not caring about the trouble he had caused. Her Lucario, Riley, sat on the ground, arms crossed. Looking at Aaron as the disapproving parent he was. 

     She still seemed so quiet and embarrassed about this whole ordeal. So Raihan did his best to break the ice in an attempt to make her more comfortable. "Riley and Aaron are certainly interesting names for pokemon."

     __ looked at him shyly and grinned a little while her Lucario turned its gaze to him. "I guess so. But in my defense, Riley is named after an old friend. The one who gave me his egg in the first place." 

     "I take it that Riley taught you about Auras?" She nodded. "And what about this one?" He pointed at Aaron.

     "This one is named after Sir Aaron. Another Aura user. One of the few recorded ones in history. Definitely the most famous by far."

     Something about that name struck a cord with him. "I've heard of that guy. Stopped a war and saved the tree of beginning, that Sir Aaron?"

     ___ nodded. "The one and only. So you do know a bit about Auras." She said teasingly.

     Raihan shrugged. "We have a few documents on aura users in the vault. Some of them mentioned the guy. But that's the extent of my knowledge." He paused for a moment before adding. "You seem to know a lot though."

     "A fair amount." She replied, taking another lick from the cone in her hand before it started dripping. "Why, is there something you want to know?"

    "I'm a historian by nature, I always want to know." He then winked before adding, "especially when the source is so cute."

     __ blushed before snorting and rolling her eyes. "That has to be the lamest line I've ever heard."

    Raihan laughed. "Can't blame a guy for trying. But there is one thing I am curious about."

    "And what's that?"

    "What is my aura like?" __ looked surprised. "What's with the face? You can't just say I have such a good aura that your pokemon come running and not tell me what's so great about it."

     ___ shook it off. "Sorry, it's just that I don't get asked that a lot. I dont really go around telling people I see auras."

     "Really?"

     "Yeah…" she let out an irritated sigh as she relayed how annoying it could be. "Whenever i talk about Auras most people either think I'm going to talk about the healing properties of crystals and oils next, or think I'm going to read their auras for free and act like it's some kind of fortune telling. Needless to say I dont bring it up often."

     "Oh Arceus, that does sound annoying."

     ___ laughed and took another lick of her ice cream before turning towards him, resting her arm on the back of the bench. "But since you asked nicely…" she paused for what felt like forever, looking him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. Raihan had never felt more exposed then in that moment. Though oddly enough, he found that he did not mind. "Your Aura is strong and vibrant. That much is certain. It's… warm and kind. Yet sturdy. The essence of a protector. If that makes any sense. No wonder Aaron ran to you. He knew he would be safe by your side." Then her lips tilted slightly in a smirk. "You're aura is friend shaped."

     For some reason that made Raihan bust out laughing. "Do I get to be your friend then?" 

     She smiled, "I'd like that very much."

[teamjacobthot]

twilight saga character tag!

thank you sm @softtwihoe for tagging me <3 i feel like im still new to the renaissance fandom on tumblr even tho i never stopped being a twihard so shit like this warms my heart <3

now my spicy twilight takes………………...

1. Character you find most relatable to you as a person?

the love of my life, without a doubt, 100% leah clearwater. mfs tried to make her feel bad for feeling her feelings but she was valid in all of them. also its canon that shes a scorpio but yall aint hear it from me

rosalie bc we have similar trauma (lmao :/) and like to disagree with people. i also love big dumb men

edward. as a fellow whiny musical pissbaby who cant let shit go, i get it

2. Character that didn’t have a POV in the books or certain unfinished manuscripts, but you wish did?

ok maybe this is super underground but sue!!! mf!!! clearwater!!! she had allllllll the tea on the pack and tbh i really wanted to see how she and her family were before and after harry’s death. that event was a really big deal (outside of just bella and edward) and set shit OFF in new moon

billy bc he also had hella tea and i bet he was super fucking conflicted during the ENTIRE saga bc he couldnt say shit to charlie!!! that shit sounds rough!!!!!

quil bc he was the last to phase and i just wanna know what he was going thru. he would’ve had hellaaaaa jokes too but smeyer doesnt care abt nonwhite characters so :/

charlie, assuming he supports the black lives matter movement

i guess overall i just wanna know how EVERYONE was doing in new moon bc that story ran DEEP. i want a midnight sun for new moon but for every character

nobody asked but new moon is the best in the saga and new moon stans have the best pussy

3. Character that’s underrated and deserves more recognition?

the entire wolf pack but wbk

riley but tbh i think its bc i just loved xavier samuel in the eclipse movie

the denali coven!!!! their story was incredible imo and while irina was a snitch, i understand why she snitched. she didnt deserve to die. the denalis deserve so much better and while garrett is cool to have around, that doesnt fill the void that irina left bc the volturi decided to be a bunch of haters. i want them to heal so bad. 

tanya gets a bad rep for having a crush on edward but she deserves better too

i’d like to read abt the vacations that the denalis with the cullens too

oh and all thats just BESIDES the succubus legend that tanya and kate and irina started in canon!!!!!!!! like??????????????????? they fucked and killed human men??????????? thats the story i wanna READ bitch!!!! thats my jennifer’s body (2009) fantasy!!!!! smeyer is a coward tho

btw carmen and esme are girlfriends :)

4. Character you thought was unnecessary for the story?

ok besides the obvious, and nobody drag me for it, but bree tanner. I get she was there to show us how fucked up the volturi are and to sorta predict bella as a newborn but……...we already knew the volturi kill mfs just for fun. if the cullens werent gonna adopt her we really didnt need many details on her. and regarding the newborn thing, bree’s role as a newborn didnt really mean shit bc bella ended up being ~the perfect newborn~ anyway!!!! smeyer tried to sell us the short second life of bree tanner as if there arent other worthy characters of having a spinoff novella about like leah or seth or rosalie or emmett or charlie or resume from bella’s ovary. that being said………..

resume, for multiple reasons including:

resume literally shouldnt exist. vampires shouldnt be able to have working sperm and even then, edward shouldve pulled out. he could barely even tongue kiss bella so wtf made him think he could cum in her????? whyyy didnt he use his big vampire brain to consider that????? 

resume seemed totally unwanted and unthought of??? bella and edward were so mf absorbed in each other like regular teen couples (with 1000x the intensity but still) that it didnt seem likely that theyd want a baby after fucking like three times anyway. miss bella “fuck them kids” swan also gave no indication of wanting children. ever. EYE would have simply aborted and went on to live my best vampire life :)

resumes existence defeats the purpose of imprinting bc theres no way she’d be able to conceive with jacob. at all. but we know smeyer doesnt think shit through

smeyer writing in resume ruined jacobs character even more esp coming off the shitshow that was eclipse. periodt

5. Top 5 female characters?

leah <3

rosalie

bella

sue

angela

6. Top 5 male characters?

jacob (pre-eclipse but that’s implied)

emmett

seth

quil/paul (i love them equally)

edward’s dumb ass <3 sometimes

7. Character interaction that didn’t happen but you wish it did?

rosalie and edward but only under the condition that he finally stops being a misogynistic pissbaby towards her and accepts her for the sexy legend that she is. i feel like they’d get along well but smeyer is anti-hottie and anti-talent so i guess we’ll never know :/

leah and someone who loves her and respects her and validates her feelings :)

JACOB AND HIS SISTERS. OR EVEN JUST RACHEL. she literallyyyyyyyyyy came home after YEARS in breaking dawn but he was too busy simping over bella to acknowledge her??? huh???

bella and a licensed therapist

edward and a licensed therapist

8. Character that deserves more development?

the whole entire wolf pack but wbk

more specifically, embry. whooooom is his father???

emmett. like we get it hes funny and hot but like……….spare depth maam? any spare depth????

9. Character who is your total opposite?

jasper bc he fought for people who look like me to be ENSLAVED and the fandom lets it slide for whatever reason :|

10. Character you warmed up to after experiencing the Renaissance?

edward, in some ways. i relate to him when im feeling extra self-loathing but then i get over it lmao. he’s still stupid tho

i used to think alice was annoying af (and i still kinda do tbh) but as a fashion hoe, i get it

charlie, sorta, even tho he’s a cop. i wasnt there for the original conversation on here but do yall think he supports black lives matter? idk tbh but we’ll never know bc smeyer probably doesnt know what police brutality is. anyways ive really enjoyed the discourse on his relationship with bella and how he doesnt trust edward

jacob <3 he’s always been my heart, my soul, my baby, my fuckin cinnamon apple, etc. but i love the posts that other fans/nonhaters have been making abt how warm and kind he was before smeyer fucked him over and how he deserves so much better. its like yes im glad youre seeing all the things that make me a team jacob thot :)

idk if yall have already been tagged but im tagging @howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen @leahclearwaterdefensesquad @leahclearvvater and @bellas-dumptruck-ass! also anyone can fill this out and say i tagged them <3

[haveamagicalday]

My 2019 reads

My top ten reads can be found here

4 Stars

All the Bad Apples by Moria Fowley-Doyle

Deena’s family is cursed. Any “rotten apple” in the family is doomed for a a tragic end. When Deena’s sister Mandy goes in search of the cause of the curse, Deena and friends go after her. This book alternates with stories from the past and present dealing with strong feminist themes throughout.

House of Salt and Sorrow by Eria A. Craig

A darker more horror story retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Personally, I felt that connection to the original fairy tale was kinda weak and this could have been pitched as its own fairy tale. It was definitely creepy and kept you on your toes throughout.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Riley Sager is becoming one of my favorite thriller authors but this one was probably my least favorite of his 3 books so far. Don’t get me wrong, it was still really good but while the twist was good, I figured it out fairly early on. I kept waiting for another twist that would blow me away but it never happened. Still, this was fun to read and I still stand by the 4 star rating.

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

After Cinderella leaves with her prince, her stepsisters are left in shame. This story covers the stepsisters lives after happily ever after, and maybe they will get their happily ever after too. This book was sweet and creative. Isabelle, are evil stepsister, was a flawed character but still deeply likable. There was some magic and greek mythology woven in that really made this story stand out for me.

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen does it again in this heartfelt tale of a teenager trying to find her place in the world. Emma Saylor’s mother was an addict and now that she’s gone, Emma only has her stories to remember her by. So where does Emma’s life fit in to these stories and how does the story end?

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

A non witch detective is called in to a high school for the magically gifted to solve a gruesome murder. This was a fun and unique read. It plays out like a typical mystery but the added element of a modern day world with mages and a magic boarding school made it it's own thing. I would actually love to read a series in this world as it was well built and intriguing. A big strength of this novel was I actually was interested in the main character's storyline as I was with the mystery. Sometimes with mysteries, the main character is just there to solve the mystery and nothing more. This was not the case for this book.

The Window by Amelia Brunskill

Jess’s twin sister is dead. She fell out their window one tragic night. But what was Anna doing sneaking out of their window? In this thrilling and emotional book, Jess discovers some of her twin’s secrets and sets out to learn what really happened that fateful night.

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini 

A fun short read that brought me back to my middle school years. Eragon holds a special place in my heart and this was a welcome return to the world. It hints at more in the future and I'm excited to see were this story will continue to go. I will admit though that I preferred the in between chapters with Eragon than the short stories themselves. The Urgal story was probably the best but it seems like Paolini is setting up for another full sized novel in the series and it really had nothing to do with the story at all. Still, it was enjoyable!

The Dark Days Deceit by Alison Goodman

A satisfying ending to the Lady Helen trilogy. There was a twist about the main villain that I honestly would have hated in any other book but it worked so well in this one. I’m going to miss this fun series.

3.5 Stars

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Echo North is a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. This one had its deviations but was more of straight retelling of the fairytale. There are two parts to this book. The first one is about 280 pages and the last part is the last 120 pages. I think I would have preferred if they were an equal length. The first part could have been shorter and the second part could have been longer. There was a lot of interesting content in the second part that I would have loved to explore more. Still, this was a lovely read and a good retelling of the popular fairytale

Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Berube

Skye is our main character. A high school girl that moved to a new town and just wants to be normal, maybe even date her cute neighbor? What stands in her way is her 13 year old sister Dierdre. Deirdre is weird, she’s creepy and she refuses to grow up. And now she is missing. All in all, I thought this was a worthwhile and exciting read. While I was personally left a tad disappointed in the direction it took, I know there are a lot of others that will absolutely love it. And the strength of the first half and the themes it deals with, is enough for me to recommend it! Read my full review here.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Based on Russian mythology and lore. This is a perfect fairy tale to read on a cold winter night. The characters are well developed and the conflict is subtle. It's a slow build up but never felt boring at all.

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book! It was quick paced and kept you guessing. However, while I didn't think the ending was predictable, I did think it was a bit cliched. I was surprised by the twist but but it still felt cheesy. The rest of the book was really solid though. There were plenty of red herrings that kept you guessing and it was an enjoyable read with good characters. I liked that this one only had two main characters as opposed to One of Us Is Lying had the four but if I had to pick one though I would say One of Us Is Lying is the stronger book.

3 Stars

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

A retelling of the fairytale of the same name. It was such a sweet story! I thought that Ani/Isi's transformation and growth throughout the story was very well done. The romance was put on the back burner but I didn't mind. It was cute but a little rushed too. It was also very obvious who Geric really was but I don't think it was suppose to be this amazing twist or anything so I didn't mind. I liked the added elements that Hale put into the fairytale. Ani's wind talking ability was a great addition whereas in the fairy tale, she just talks to the wind and it’s never explained why. It stuck to the fairy tale very closely and I really enjoyed reading it.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Chloe lives with her older sister Ruby, the girl everybody wants to be. But when a night of fun with Ruby goes wrong, Chloe is taken to live with her father, leaving Ruby behind. But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back and make things right for her. This was a strange book. I read it quickly because I wanted to know what was going on but the ending just left me more confused. I don't understand what the point of any of this was? However, the writing was beautiful and I loved the creepy and hazy atmosphere.

Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich

This was pitched as a Faust retelling but I found little connection between it? I loved the Dead House by Kurtagich but her next book was a disappointment for me. While this one was better, I was still left wanting more. It’s strange that the story in the past is the main one, whereas the one in the present is done through transcribed video recordings and journal entries. Honestly, she probably could have done away with the story set in the present. I think many would like this book but it just wasn’t for me.

Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal

Naya lives in a world where necromancy is common, but the wraiths they come back are treated as second class citizens. When a solo trading mission goes wrong, Naya awakens to find herself the very thing she always found disgust in. Wholly creative with lots of twists, this was a strong debut novel.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I read Bardugo’s series of short stories A Language of Thorns last year and absolutely loved it. I was...surprised this was written by the same person. It was a very basic YA novel with a love triangle and super special main character. I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I had read it as a younger teen.

Truly Devious/The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

I went into this book expecting a lot of murder and creepy riddles left behind. That's not exactly what I got though. This book was just a tad bit too slowly paced. The murder doesn't happen until a little after the half way mark so the first half of the book felt unnecessary. I feel like 100 pages or so could have been chopped. What I really liked was the mystery behind the school that happened in the 1930s. For me that was the strongest part and I'm more interested in that than the modern day mystery. Which was sort of solved by the end anyway? I think there's more to it but if not it's rather underwhelming. Overall though, I enjoyed the book and the sequel was enjoyable too. Oh, and I need to set the record straight, there's a line in the sequel where someone mentions that the country bear jamboree doesn't have a movie based on it... but it does!!!

Hidden Pieces by Paula Stokes

Embry is the town hero for saving a homeless guy from a fire at an abandoned hotel late one night. But what would the town think if they knew she was the one who started the fire in the first place? Now Embry is receiving notes from someone who knows what she did. Now she must choose between letting the truth get out or given in to her mysterious tormentor’s demands. Hidden Pieces was a fairly solid mystery but it bordered on unrealistic at most times. Still, it was definitely a page turner.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

This is one of those rare cases where I found that the movie was better than the book. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good book but the movie fine tuned it a lot. The book was surprisingly long and the movie cut out some unnecessary stuff. I was surprised that there was two love interests in the book and I honestly preferred the one that was cut from the film. He was a much better fit for Willowdean and Bo in the book was much more of a jerk who was initially put off by being seen with Willowdean. The fight that Willowdean and her best friend have was much bigger and more dramatic and Ellen was actually pretty nasty throughout it. The movie definitely fleshed out these characters in a much softer light. The relationship with her mother was also much sweeter in the movie than in the book. It felt kind of emotionless and less inspirational here.

Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy 

Popular girls are turning up dead and our main character, Penelope, fears she may be next. I went into this expecting more serious take on Scream Queens. I read this back in September and I honestly don’t remember much other than the characters barely reacted to their classmates/friends deaths and the murderer was impossible to guess and was utterly lame. If the killer has to explain their motives with brand new information that was not found anywhere else in the book, it’s not a good twist. 

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

This had a lot of potential and I know a lot of people have loved it but it fell flat for me in some places. The book is based on and sort of a sequel to the short story The White People. You definitely need to have read the short story first or this will make zero sense to you. Our main character, Mouse, spends much of the first third of the book cleaning out a hoarder’s house. It gets very tedious but picks up pace when the Twisted Ones are introduced. There are some good moments of tension but Mouse tends to ruin these moments attempting to be funny (which she’s not). The White People works best as a type of horror that is never truly explained but this book does just that. It’s at this point that the book lost me again. I think it’s mostly a matter of taste but I just wasn’t in to it. 

Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake

I loved this series as a whole but I did not like the ending. Mostly because my least favorite characters ended up as the “winners”. That’s all I’ll say about that.

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

Helen and Nate decide to leave their cozy life behind to build (literally build) their own little house in a small superstitious town. Problem is, the land they’ve bought is where Hattie Breckenridge a women accused and murdered for witchcraft, lived a hundred years ago. This reads more like a murder thriller that just happens to have ghosts in it than a true ghost story. There were some great twists but it was slow in some places. Like learning about all the ins and outs of what goes into constructing your own house from scratch. Helen and Nate also suffer some martial problems, brought on by the ghost, that just made me anxious and probably wasn’t necessary. I know it adds to the drama and suspense but ugh.

The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

There’s a murder. There’s a mystery. But that’s not really what this book is about. Remy’s boyfriend is dead and her best friend Elise is the one who killed him. But it was self defense. Probably. The majority of the book takes place in flashbacks starting with Remy and Elise meeting and becoming friends. What starts as a normal friendship slowly turns into a toxic and emotionally abusive codependent relationship. Ultimately, that’s what the book is about. It’s honestly a fantastic portrayal. It’s toxic on both sides but you understand why they care about each other and stay friends. Not all toxic relationships end with a death though and perhaps this would have packed more of a punch had our main character came to some conclusions about her best friend in another way.

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Nora is a Walker and Walkers are witches. How do I know this? Because she mentions it every other page. For the most part this book was enjoyable but extremely predictable. I would still pick up the next book this author writes though.

2 Stars

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin

A modern day retelling about Henry and his 6 wives but this time they are high schoolers. The story is narrated by Annie “Cleaves” Marek, Henry’s fourth wife girlfriend.  I'm pretty much assuming everybody knows about Henry and his 6 wives at this point. So where the book really lost me was at the half way point where it turns into a murder mystery type book. If you know your history, you know who did the murder in this book. So the murder mystery angle doesn't work here, The characters don't know for sure, but we the readers do. It becomes somewhat tedious honestly. Our main character also sucked. Cleves was your typical quirky girl. She says witty things that really aren't witty. She claims to be a hardcore feminist but demonstrates this by kind scolding Henry when he says something sexist...and that's about it. This book was entertaining enough to keep me reading but I had my problems with it. Especially the second half. I think there are some people that will really like this spoofy tongue in check retelling but it just wasn't for me. You can read my full review here.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Let me just start by saying that I don't get the hype for this book. It’s an interesting concept but this book just did not work for me. It's somehow not long enough but nothing really happens throughout. The girls were not very "wild" and I don't know what the point of any of this was. This book has been called "feminist horror" and I don't understand that at all. The tox didn't empower them in any way and there wasn't any feminist themes throughout. The gore/body horror was minimal and not very creepy or disgusting at all. Overall, this book was not for me.

The Missing Season by Gillian French

Our lead character moves to a small town where kids go missing every year. The adults find logical reasons for these disappearances but the children of the town believe it is a monster named The Mumbler taking them. Interesting concept that wasn't fully realized. Nothing happens in this book until the last 20 pages. there's no build up or clues that led up to the big twist in the end. When the climax finally happens, it's over within ten pages and then the book ends another ten pages later. Minor plot points lead to nothing and the mumbler was barely played up to make this book suspenseful.

The Babysitter’s Coven by Kate Williams

Adventures in babysitting meets Buffy. Sorta. I went into this super excited and was hoping for something akin to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I did not get that. This reads more like a middle school book and was overly cheesy. I think younger teens would enjoy but I wasn’t a fan.

How She Died, How I Lived by Mary Crockett 

Kyle texted five girls one night. Only one responded and met up with him. He killed her that night. Our unnamed narrator was one of the girls who didn’t answer his text and now she’s dealing with the aftermath of knowing it could have been her. f this book had ended differently, I would have rated it higher. I had major issues with the romance. The narrator starts a relationship with the slain girl’s boyfriend and it was so insanely toxic though it was written to be romantic.

Rereads

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (5 stars)

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (5 Stars)

Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray (5 Stars)

Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (5 Stars)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer (4 Stars)

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (5 Stars)

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (5 Stars)

Short Stories

The White People by Arthur Machen (2 stars)

I like the story itself but the way it was written was horrendous and hard to follow. It was a huge rambling block of text.

Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot (4 Stars)

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (5 Stars)

[mj-spooks]

Alright, judging by how successful that last Harry Potter experimental question was, Buffy's scooby gang, as a Leverage Crew? Is it too simple to say Buffy as a hitter and Giles as a mastermind?

Which version of the gang are we talking here? Can I go across the whole series? Season 1 only? All Stars? Fuck it I’m cherry picking because THAT’S HOW WE DO.

So, Giles is absolutely on the money. He’s the Mastermind, no doubt. He’s the watcher, he trains the others (mostly Buffy and Faith, but let’s be real, he trains all of them in their own way), he’s the one that works things out, leads research parties, comes up with plans. He’s the Mastermind, at least at first. Like Nate, he graduates out of that position (although I think the others sort of share it after he steps down, rather than one person picking it up).

But Buffy’s not the hitter.

Buffy is the grifter.

Think about it. Pretty, blonde, posterchild for popularity. She’s charismatic. She’s endearing.  You like her. You’d probably do anything she asked you to. She’s an an excellent liar, a brilliant actor. She plays the part. The only reason she doesn’t have Sunnydale wrapped around her fucking finger is because all the bullshit with demons and vampires is Too Obvious for no one to ever notice how weird she is. If they could be even slightly more subtle, or pick slightly more convenient times to get up to their nonsense, no one would ever suspect she was anything but what she looks like.

No, the hitter? That’s Faith. And yes, I’m counting her as a Scooby. My girl got done dirty, alright. Granted, she did some people pretty dirty as well. But she was a teenage girl with a really shitty childhood, and I’m not one to use the shitty childhood as a get out of jail free card (get it), but dude. Dude. Every single thing that could’ve gone wrong for her, did. And every time the team had a chance to prove she could trust them, they fucked it up. Mostly Wesley fucked it up, but let’s not go there. And did I mention she was a teenage girl? Also, it helps that she was only Properly Evil for like, a few months, after which she was in a coma, and was Properly Evil for all of five minutes before deciding “Actually I just wanna be Buffy,” because guess what, she never WANTED to be the bad guy-

I’m getting off topic. The point is. Faith is the brawn, alright? Post-Faith, I guess that position goes to Spike, who let’s face it, is basically Buffy’s backup/guard dog from the moment he realizes he can still kill demons, and especially after his big “Oh shit I love the slayer” realization. For the record, bad decisions being made by an ostensibly helplessly evil soulless monster aside, no one EVER had Buffy’s back like Spike did. Not a single damn person. Fucking fight me. Every. Single. Other. Person. Let her down. Constantly. Or they were never in a positoin to properly have her back in the first place. The one time he really did screw it up, he realized how fucked up he was, and went off and got a fucking soul for her, so basically

Riley, for the record, is not a Hitter and does NOT count as a Scooby, because screw that guy. Also while I’m on the subject, screw Xander, because the episode where Riley leaves and Xander gives Buffy the “you’re the bad guy” speech sits so fucking wrong with me, and Xander goddamn Harris can get fucking bent. I’m still off topic, I know, I know. Sorry, I just. I have VERY STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT BUFFY.

ANYWAY. Willow is the hacker, big fucking shock. She’s... she’s literally a hacker, okay. Even when she stops being all computer-y and starts being all witch-y, her approach to witchcraft is... is to hack it. She hacks magic. Literally. That’s what gets her in so much trouble with it, because she’s too fucking good at cheating the system. It’s how she brought Buffy back. She’s the goddamned Hacker. Age. Of. The. Fucking. Geek. Baby.

Thief............ hmph. I don’t know?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?

See, the thing is, basically all of the properly involved Scoobies had to steal something at one point or another, all with basically the same level of success, so... wait.

Okay. No. The thief is Dawn.

She’s literally a thief! She steals from everybody all the goddamned time! With varying degrees of success, sure. But if she was actually trained at it, she’d be better than all of them. She’s the only Little Sibling out of the bunch (Well, okay, Tara had an older brother, but her homelife was so fucked she has Very Different Younger Sister energy than Dawn). She has a specific talent for it that I bet would serve her well if she was actually trained. I honestly at this point have read so much fanfic that I cannot for the life or me remember if canon!Spike ever helped teach her to knick stuff or if that’s just widely accepted fanon!Spike because people love that dynamic (as they should, it’s great). I’m doing a rewatch but... uh... I kinda stopped partway through S5 because I’m like four episodes away from The Body and gods I just can’t take it. Point being, I dunno if that’s legit or not. BUT. If it were legit, and she was taught how to steal, she’d be great at it.

I guess Spike is kind of also the thief. But he’s also the only one of the scoobies that’s properly been a villain (I’m not counting Faith or Willow’s brief insanity, and Angel isn’t the villain, Angelus is, so...), so naturally he’s got the shady skills. He can kind of grift and mastermind, too, except he’s too impatient for it, which is why he ends up stuck as a hitter most of the time. Everything else is too slow for his ass. See, the entirety of S2.

For fun, under the cut, the remaining scoobies and what position they’re best suited for:

Xander: Hitter??? He’s not got the super strength and he’s kind of played for laughs, but there was that whole bit where he had the tactical training from his brief stint as GI Joe in the Halloween episode. He’s a decent tactician, which is kind of the hitter’s job. I bet that if the wasn’t so busy feeling inferior to Buffy and he actually like. Trained. He could be a decent fighter.

Cordelia: Straight fucking grifter. Which she proves plenty of times on Angel. It’s extra great because she basically IS Sophie, what with the whole “can grift like a boss but put her on stage and she’s terrible” bit. She’s also a decent mastermind, also showcased on Angel. She whips him into shape from day one, and is the only thing that keeps AI running half the time. Also not unlike Sophie. Honestly Cordelia is my favorite character from the OG cast. She deserved better.

Angel: Mastermind. He’s got all of Angelus’ brains, remember, just not necessarily any reason to use them. He’s smart, though, and definitely good at planning. He’s also really into knowing the most and keeping his cards close to his chest. The parallels with Nate are a little strong, honestly, because he also has that whole... guilty conscience spiraling downward holier than thou thing going on. And yes, I do ship him and Cordy, thanks for asking.

Oz: Hacker! Not a lot of people really remember this, since his prominent character traits were “In a band”, “Willow’s boyfriend”, and “werewolf”. Plus there’s the whole flunked-senior-year plot point which I honestly think they did just to keep him around. But the first time Oz actually properly interacted with Willow was because they’d both gotten singled out for their badass computer skills on career day. He’s very nearly as good as her.

Anya: Grifter. I mean, the whole vengeance demon schtick relies on the grift. She’s very good at it. Which, she ought to be, she’s been doing it for over a thousand years. It’s sort of hilarious though because it seems like the second she loses her powers, she also loses her ability to blend in. I think that’s likely because she’s used to short term cons, and running the long con that is being human again is more difficult. Still, this is where she shines.

Riley: He doesn’t count because I kinda hate him. But fine if you wanna go there. Hitter. He doesn’t deserve the title though because Eliot is both brains and brawn and Riley can’t think his way out of a paper sack without someone giving him directions, and even then it’s dicey.

Tara: This one is super hard for me! I can’t see her as any of the actual team positions. I suppose the one skill she displays would be grifting, since she does try to hide her identity as a supposed demon from the others for a while before her birthday comes up. But honestly I see her less as a member of the crew and more as a Maggie. Voice of reason, moral high ground, not putting up with shenanigans if she can help it... yeah. Tara’s the Maggie. Every crew needs one.

[quincywillows]

hi maggie! congrats on finishing the first draft of quincy willows! hope you don't mind but i was actually hoping on getting some writing advice. do you have any tips on how to write a change of scene? i struggle a lot when i'm writing a scene and the next one is supposed to be some time after, even if it's on a new chapter. i don't want to be all "and a few days later...". i guess that what i'm asking is for tips on how to make smooth transitions. thanks in advance!

hi there writing friend!! so sorry it took me literally like three weeks to answer this -- i’ve been chewing on it because i want to give you like a good helpful answer and sometimes the brain is just Not Cooperating, you know? lmao. but i think i can tackle it now!

so i think the biggest tip in this sort of case is actually more a mental state than anything to do with your actual writing. i think we as writer’s can get very precious and obsessive about our own work and we then end up overthinking everything (including, as you’re asking about, transitions). believe me, i feel this kind of thing too and know exactly what you’re talking about. however, i think part of the key is sort of training yourself to remember that readers are smarter than we think they are. in fact, we ourselves are readers more often than not! so think about it -- do you spend a lot of time while reading a work of fiction stuck on transitions between time? do you find yourself overthinking the way other writer’s transition? i won’t assume for you, of course, but i would bet you’re far less critical of this sort of thing when you’re reading rather than writing it for yourself, which is totally natural but perhaps can help you not worry so much about it in your own work. readers are smart -- if you lead and at least give some semblance of the passage of time in your story, they will follow!!

in terms of ways to open sections rather than just sort of focusing on how much time has passed, i think i tend to gravitate towards snappy sort of declarative sentences. they’re usually one-liners, and they hone in on the specific emotion or action that is happening in that moment in time. it orients the reader to this new time we’re focusing on, without (ideally) drawing so much attention to the transition.

pulling from all the lonely people, here are a few examples of ways to signal the passing of time without literally stating the obvious (these are between sections, emphasis added):

Riley has never liked talking about herself. But it’s a new day, in a new place. She’s in a place where she can breathe again, light with the knowledge of it and waiting for her enigma boy to wake up so they can greet a new day. All that considered, talking about herself doesn’t seem like such a tall order.

And so she does.

...

Riley doesn’t even realize how long she chats with Rachel, ingesting another cup of decaf and watching the sun rise to its full height and beam across the green lawn outside the window. As the conversation stretches on the rapport between them becomes comfortable, effortless. She learns quickly how funny her host is and can’t help but laugh loudly, only remembering to stay quiet for Lucas’s sake the first couple of times.

that’s an example of just a few hours passing, without being overly specific about it. it’s signaled through imagery, an action occurring (the drinking of coffee and conversation), and even the mention but indistinct passage of time. 

let me grab a larger jump in time or a different method. atlp isn’t the best example for this, since it really is quite linear and doesn’t have many time jumps since it’s taking course in the span of about three weeks (lmao @ me), so i pulled this one from helpless:

It’s humiliating, how much of those crumbled up scraps of paper are dedicated to musings over a boy who he won’t even talk to. Being a student at AAA is challenging, but being a perfectionist, internally dramatic gay freshman with crippling anxiety is its own level of hell.

...

Asher doesn’t even consider the notion of their paths ever crossing until it’s forced upon him, thanks to an accidental lapse in judgment with the most unpredictable character to enter his life since stepping into the halls of Adams two weeks earlier.

in that case, i think the passage of time is sort of vaguely alluded to just in like... the logical passing of time LMAO but then the time change (two weeks earlier) is tacked on at the end, so it doesn’t feel as noticeable. also the focus (the terror and wonder of meeting dylan orlando lol) is on what asher is feeling rather than the literal passage of time. does that make sense?

HOWEVER, i really do think it’s okay to kick off with a passage of time, especially if the time passing is not that far apart. even just searching for examples in my work for this ask, i realize i do it myself quite often. i.e., in helpless just one transition later:

Their teacher gets back to his feet before Lucas can respond either way, leaving him even more uncertain than before. Asher growls and slaps the back of his snapback, causing Lucas to snort before turning it into a cough into his elbow.

Every day, Asher becomes more and more certain he’s not going to survive four years.

...

After a couple of days of existing in a constant state of dread, Asher begins to relax when Lucas’s vague playful threat doesn’t seem to hold any water. Sure, he feels like the title character in a slasher flick and that any time he turns the corner his friend is going to be standing there with a knife in the form of forced interaction, but that moment never comes and eventually Asher has to conclude that Lucas was only teasing him.

so if you’ve read my work, i guarantee you’ve seen me do this too and it probably didn’t jump out to you then. am i right? i really do think it comes back to that notion of just being more critical of your own writing than reading others, so it may be less of a problem than you think it is.

but if you do feel concerned about it, then hopefully some of my tips above might help in some way! i think the most important thing to think about is what other things are changing with the passage of time (feelings!!, thoughts, actions, etc.) that can disguise the signal of it without it just feeling outright. hopefully that makes sense.

happy writing!! sending good creative vibes your way, and thanks for your patience :)

[seouledbysisi]

Moonlit

Chapter 4

Sapphire

Riley

Riley nor Sapphire had seen the inside of the building since the interior designers had started their work. It wasn't completely finished but enough had been done to see the vision of what it was meant to look like.

Sapphire gave the building a peculiar look as she examined the color schemes.

Riley eyed her for a moment. “What's wrong? You have that look.”

“It's. . .not exactly  what I expected. It's really different from Moonlight in Vegas.”

“Saph, it's supposed to be different. It's two different clubs.”

Sapphire sighed. “I guess I'm just scared that it won't be enough to appeal to the people here.”

Minho cut the lights. “Look up!”

Sapphire was taken aback as she saw the ceiling. “Wow!”

“Now, do you think it'll be enough?” Riley asked as she admired the paint. The ceiling literally looked as if they were stargazing. The painted moon shined effervescently.

“Minho, you're good at what you do sir.” Sapphire noted.

Minho chuckled a moment. “Thank you!”

She nodded as she continued to stare up at the completely covered ceiling. “I could literally lay on the ground and stare at the ceiling all day, that's how gorgeous it is.”

The entrance door opened with laughter from several men.

Minho straightened his tie. “I think that's our first meeting. Boy, are they on time.”

In walked three men.

“First?” Sapphire looked at Riley with a strange expression.

She shrugged. She was just as confused she Sapphire.

“Hey fellas, how are y'all?” Minho greeted as he stuck his hand out.

The tallest guy stuck his hand out as well. “Nice to meet with you. Ladies, you as well.”

Riley smiled as her cheeks began to warm up a bit. What the fuck is happening to me? She rubbed her cheeks for a moment. “You as well. I'm Riley and this is Sapphire and we are the proud owners of this new club.”

Sapphire simply nodded.

The other two guys had wandered off to get a better look inside.

“I'm pH-1, that's my rap name. I've actually been to your club in Vegas before. It gets lit!” He said with a shy smile. “I was telling the other guys about it.”

Sapphire clapped. “Well I'm glad you enjoyed being there. This one will be pretty similar but there will be a few differences but not many.”

“It'll be litty too, maybe even more with you and your crew onstage.” Riley added with a quick wink.

pH gave her a small smile. “I'm down for sure and from the looks of it they are too!”

“Man, look at the ceiling! That shit dope!” The shaded guy spoke loudly.

The other guy hit his arm. “Language bro!” He chuckled a bit.

“It is dope!” He continued.

“I'm Sik-k, and this is Woodie GoChild. Nice to meet y'all.”

Sapphire's eyes widened a bit. She turned to talk away quickly.

Sik-k met eyes with pH. “Did I say something wrong?”

Riley immediately followed her to one of the back rooms. “What is up with you, girl?”

“That guy out there-” She tried to catch her breath, she didn't know why she was freaking out but her anxiety was starting rise up.

“Which guy?” Riley asked as she peeked back out the door. The other guys were having their own conversation.

Sapphire took a deep breath. “You remember when I left my wallet at home, when I was buying us coffee?”

Riley nodded. “I vaguely remember. What about it?”

“I swear that guy with the shades looks just like the one who paid-”

“for our food?” Riley finished.

Sapphire threw her hands up. “Yes! But that can't be him, right?”

“I mean, it could possibly be I guess.”

“But what are the odds? And he never mentioned being in the entertainment business either so probably not, right?” She was second guessing everything. She was making a fool of herself.

“What person is really going to say 'oh by the way I'm famous.' if you didn't recognize them already?” Riley snickered.

Sapphire covered her face. It was flushed.

“Just take a deep breath, it's probably not him after all. He didn't seem to recognize you.” Riley giggled and pulled her back out of the room.

Sapphire stared at ground when they made it closer to the guys.

“So, do we have a deal guys?” Riley asked as she clasped her hands together.

pH-1 looked at the others guys.

“You know I ain't turning it down, if this place is as good as this guy says it is I wanna be apart of it.” Sik-k answered.

Woodie took his shades off. “Hell yeah! I'm ready!”

Sapphire looked into his eyes and at that moment she knew it had to be him. She immediately adverted her eyes.

Woodie cleared his throat. “I know you don't I?”

Sapphire looked at Riley quickly. “He's talking to you, honey.”

“Uhh-you probably don't.” Sapphire lied.

Woodie came closer so he get a good look at her. “Phire, right?”

“Phire?” Riley exclaimed. “Well okay sis!”

Sapphire looked away. “Oh yeah you helped me out at the coffee shop. I forgot all about that.” She laughed nervously.

“Coffee shop?” Sik-k said to pH-1.

He shrugged. “I haven't heard this before.”

Woodie lifted an eyebrow. “I find it hard to believe that you forgot about me.”

“Is that so? Why do think that?” Sapphire countered.

“I knew the moment you recognized me, you ran off. It was obvious.” Woodie smiled a bit.

Sapphire rolled her eyes a bit. She cursed herself for being so obvious. “I just needed to take a moment to myself. It had nothing to do with you, don't flatter yourself.”

Woodie tipped her chin. “Keep lying to yourself, it's okay. I know the truth.” His thick accent kept peeking through with every English word he spoke.

After their second meeting with MKIT Rain was finished they all decided to grab a bite to eat. The guys decided to tag along too.

Bloo sat across from Sapphire coincidentally. “So, how long are y'all going to be staying here or are y'all just opening the club and going back to the states?” He asked the ladies.

“It just depends. Right now we have no plans of going back to live for at least another year but things could change.” Riley answered.

Sapphire continued to chew on the delectable spicy chicken she had ordered. She pushed the Ramen aside.

“You don't like Ramen?” Bloo inquired.

Sapphire swallowed her food quickly. “I do, I'm just enjoying this chicken first. I like to eat one thing at a time.”

“You must be one of those people that don't like their food touching too, right?” He laughed out loud.

Sapphire sighed. “Actually I couldn't care less about it touching for you information.”

“You have spunk, I like that.” He added.

Sapphire smirked. “Most guys do.”

Bloo couldn't resist smiling but kept his mouth shut.

“Loopy, you're actually quiet this time around.” Riley giggled.

Loopy wiped his mouth. “When there's food involved I ain't got a reason to be talking.”

Riley laughed loudly. “I feel you, dude!” She gave him a high five.

Bloo cleared his throat. “So, you fucking with Woodie Gochild?”

Sapphire choked on her chicken. “Wh-what?”

Bloo chuckled unamused. “Do you fuck with Woodie Gochild?”

Sapphire took a sip of her water quickly. “Why would ask me something like that?”

Riley eyed Bloo for a moment, she sensed a small sign of jealousy.

“When we walked into your club he was eyeing you like you were his possession.” Bloo answered as he sipped his beer.

Sapphire paused for a moment. She hadn't noticed that look from Woodie but regardless, Bloo was probably just reading things wrong. “I'm not fucking with anyone. I'm here for business, I barely even know anyone here.”

“Could've fooled me but however if you want someone to show you ladies around I could. We could all hang out.” Bloo offered.

“That's sweet of you.” Riley answered.

Sapphire continued eating. “Yeah, thanks. Just let us know when.”

[distrackles]

Resistance: Part 1

Dean Winchester x OFC

MASTERLIST

Despise /verb/: feel contempt or a deep repugnance for.

- B o -

This was so normal for us, me and Riley sitting at a bar at the end of a "hard" day. She'll continuously drink while I sit and have a few beers, neither of us ever get a buzz anymore. Bartenders almost without out fail will hit on her, and she'll most likely bring them back to the room we're staying at while I sit in the car, or even at the bar if her fling takes place in the vehicle itself. I never get mad and she always offers me a free pass the next morning to do the same to her one day, but I don't use it.

"Are you sure you're cool with this?" She asks me, as the guy she's been hitting on grabs his coat.

I nod. "Riley, honestly I don't care, it's your car anyway, try and text me if he turns out to be into anything weird. " She rolls her eyes, and downs her last drink.

"You want me to let you know just so you can get some of that, I know you're into some weird shit." Laughing, she stands up, as my middle finger shoots up. I mean anyone can enjoy a little weird, but I'm not gonna be fuel to her flame. She heads out with the guy and I pretend to busy myself reading the label on the full bottle of  beer in front of me. I usually do this until the bartender asks me if I'm alright, and then when I nod he gives me another bottle. This time I'm doing it because the guy on a stool away from me is glancing not so discretely at me every few seconds, and I don't feel like talking to anyone tonight.

"If you're gonna pretend to read that at least move your eyes a little." The guy says and my eyes flick up before I turn my head to look at him, familiar. "It would make it a little more believable."

" Maybe you wouldn't have noticed if you weren't staring so hard. " I bite back and he smiles. My hand is wet from condensation on the bottle, it's lost its chill as I drink from it. Thinking this man is gonna stop talking to me and just move on to annoy someone else was the first mistake I made. The second was when I actually acknowledged the fact that he had now moved to the stool where Riley was sitting.

"Is she your sister?" He asks, I roll my eyes. "I'm Dean, by the way." Dean Winchester, I think, of course he is. My silence gives him a moment to take another drink from his glass before he licks his lips.

"Hm, I expected Dean Winchester to be a little," I look him over for emphasis. "More intimidating." And then I smile slightly. His smirk made it obvious he wasn't the least bit offended by that, taking it more as a game.

"Should I know you?" Are his next words and I shake my head because it isn't likely, me and Riley keep to ourselves. Then again, he's a Winchester.

"Bo Shoemaker." And then I mentally curse myself because when the hell do I ever give my real last name. It's like that one rule totally left my mind. Dean's face seems to recognize it and he's just processing it, almost as if he'd be embarrassed if he said anything wrong.

"Shoemaker, as in-"

"Yeah, exactly." I cut in because I don't wanna hear his name out loud.

"So that girl, Riley Duncan I'm guessing?" I nod at that. "Bobby always says me and my brother-"

"That we're just like you and Sam, yeah I know and it's ridiculous." Once again he's cut off. "Look I should go, we gotta head out early tomorrow and it's my turn to drive." Liar.

Before Dean can say anything else I stand up, leave money, and walk out before conversation can go any further. I have no clue where I'm gonna go but honestly anything is better than having to discuss personal life. The spot our car was in is now empty, looking around at the last three cars left in the lot shows just how late it is. I scuff my boots against the pavement as I take short walks across the small area I'm given. My hands are shoved into my jacket pockets, and my breath fogs up the air in front of me. It's fucking freezing out here and I'm the coward that walked out just so I didn't have to face the truth. Dean wasn't innocent, but his curiosity was and all I had to do was say I didn't want to talk about it, of course he would have understood. I sit down on the curb of the sidewalk in front of the building, knowing Riley, I would be here a while.

His keys jingle as he approaches my side , and his booted feet crunch against some leaves when he steps off the curb to sit on it.

"I don't really want to talk about it. " I mumble, picking at the thread in my jeans. Dean doesn't say anything for a while, he only extends his legs in front of him.

"Yeah I get it, you need a ride anywhere?" He asks, looking at me.

"How long have they been gone?" I question, considering that it felt like ages since Riley had left me. Dean simply just shows me his wrist and the watch tells me it's been about an hour of me sitting out here.

"Yeah, the motel down the road." I answer his question and stand up at the same time as him. I can tell which car is gonna be his but I still wait for him to make the first move towards it before getting in the passenger side. We take the short drive to the motel, I thank him for the ride and get out as soon as I can.

"Hey, " I look back at him as he stands in the open doorway of his car. "What're you two in town for anyway."

"Not gonna let you steal our hunt Winchester." I smirk towards him and keep walking to our room. Giving the door a few knocks just to be safe, and hearing only the TV playing some ridiculously fake action film gives me the clear to go inside. Riley is on her bed, staring blankly at the screen. When she sees me the TV gets turned off, and her eyes close, she had been waiting for me to come back before she could comfortably fall asleep. The blankets are extremely thin, and my old shirt and shorts don't do much justice for any extra warmth. My eyes close, but I never fall asleep, as always.

.

The next morning we were up early, much to Riley's protest, in our smartest clothes, as we speak to some of the victim's family and friends. The guy's sister and roommate didn't have much information for us when I looked at the notes I took. I look up for just a second to acknowledge the waitress before looking back at my papers, the lady sets the plates down, it's mostly Riley's food anyway.

"Come on, take a break." She says with her mouth already full of pancake.

"We're missing so much yet I feel like it's right in front of our face." Dropping my pen, I replace it with my coffee mug and drink the rest of it.

" We'll figure it out." She assures and when I finally give her a real look her eyes are pointed in a direction outside. I turn my gaze to match hers and see her focus is on the Winchesters. I knew this would happen, I just had hoped I was wrong. What else would practically the most well known hunters be doing in a small town like this.

"Damn it, they're gonna take our hunt. " I groan.

"They can try, we were here first and I bet you got more of a lead anyway. " I go to argue because I know of Sam's records, and he's good at what he does when it comes to research, but Riley's chugging a cup of coffee and walking out the door before I can speak. Leaving a bit of money on the table and rushing to pack all my things up, I follow after her.

"Listen, what we had was great last night but that doesn't mean you can follow me." Is Riley's opening line towards Sam when I get out there, Dean laughs and Sam half smiles shaking his head. They're probably coming from where we just were based on the suits they're in. I finally reach her side and fix the strap of my bag on my shoulder. The boys look at me for a second before looking back at Riley who isn't done talking yet.

"This hunt is ours so don't even think about meddling in on us. "

"Hey, what's wrong with a little help?" Dean says with that smirk I already despise.

"We don't need help." I snap back at him. But then I get confused when Riley doesn't back me up.

"Bo, we could use some help, you said yourself that you didn't have enough, they might have what we're missing" She speaks quietly to me and I'm pissed because she's absolutely right and I still don't want their help.

"We're heading back to where we're staying, you guys can come with us and we'll see if we can piece anything together." Sam offers, the quiet conversation Riley was having with my ear probably wasn't too secret being we're only a few feet away.

"Yeah that's good, Sam come with me." And with that me and Dean are left standing there as Sam and Riley get in her car and drive off to the place. Dean goes to the passenger side of his car and opens the door for me, my eyebrows rise and he just shrugs. I get in the car with a huff and he shuts the door before getting in the drivers side and starting her up. The car ride is similar to last nights with no talking until we get to the motel they've been staying at.

The rest of the day and the late hours of the night are spent with me and Sam "geeking out" together, as Riley called it. Her and Dean just sat back and looked up anything we asked for. After all of us had gone through our fifth round of coffee Riley had called it a night and went to our room and an hour after that Sam headed to bed. I packed up my things roughly just to transport them to our room so I could continue working.

"Goodnight." Dean says when I try to leave without saying anything to him. I hardly glance over my shoulder and give a slight nod and a mumble before slipping out of the room and into ours.

-

"Bo, I don't see why it's so important to you that we do this on our own." Riley complains as I am trying to convince her to leave before we can meet up with the boys. Call me selfish, but I am feeling pretty confident that we have all the information we need after last night with Sam. Instead of answering her, I just start throwing her clothes that somehow managed to explode out of her bag within a night. I hear her groan and then go into the bathroom to get her other things. I slip out of the motel room to go load up the car with our duffel bags. Just as I shut the back car door, I look up to see Dean looking right back at me. What the hell? Why was he always around.

"What?" I ask, the question comes out a little more snarky than I intended. At first I had thought that I would get off easy when he just simply shook his head.

"Well, I definitely was comparing you more to Sam this whole time, but you and me seem to have some things in common too." He says with a sort of surprised tone. I roll my eyes, because the last thing I want is to be compared to Dean Winchester.

" I prefer to work alone too, just me and Sam." He finishes. I nod and decide to end this conversation as soon as I can.

"You should understand that it isn't personal then?" He nods at my comment this time. "Anyways, let's face it, we'll most likely cross paths again won't we? Hopefully it'll be a while" Dean laughs at that and heads back into his room. Riley comes out shortly after and we get in her car and head off to undergo the action of this hunt.

[livingthroughchoices-blog]

The Marshmallow Chronicles (Ch. 13: Hunting for Love)

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Author’s notes: Hi! Sorry this took so long! As I told a lovely anon, I had been working on it for a while and it was deleted so I had to recover from the frustration. 

Thanks to the people who like, reblog and/or comment. You guys are the reason I’ve kept going <3 Huge thanks to @starstruckzonkoperatorbat, @notoriouscs, @simplyaiden-blog, @snyggflicka, @asprankle, @speedyoperarascalparty, @mirivalencia, @mymandrake and @asobigokoro2018 for asking me to tag them!

Love you guys <3

Rating: T

Pairing: Drake x MC

Words: 5,943

Drake retired to his room early, not feeling up to enjoying the festivities. 

God, this sucks. I have to get this under control. Am I just gonna feel like shit all the time now?

Out of a sense of self-preservation he reflected he should probably keep his distance from Riley for the foreseeable future. He was shocked to realize that the thought of not being around her was more painful than seeing her with Liam. 

I guess I do want Adams to be a part of my life...

He flopped down unto his bed, trying to think of something that could distract him, when he felt his phone vibrate twice in his pocket. 

He pulled it out and read, “Hey, Drake! Where did you run off to?”

And then a separate message, “It’s Addams 😊”

His stomach did a somersault, seeing her call herself the nickname he called her. He’d already known it was her; Liam had given him her number “just in case”, as he put it, but Drake could never bring himself to text her. It would have felt like an even greater betrayal of Liam’s friendship. He had, however, spent more time than he cared to admit with his fingers hovering over the keyboard, staring at her picture and holding himself back from typing. 

“You know me, Addams, always sneaking off”

“Yeah, but you could’ve asked me to come with you ☹️“

Right, like she wasn’t having fun with Liam. 

He was wondering whether there was a way to phrase that so it was less obvious how bitter he was and then she texted again.

“You’re welcome btw”

“For what?”

He noticed she was already typing the moment he sent it. He was glad she didn’t play games with texting, didn’t wait long to reply, didn’t mind double-texting.

“For not making you my court jester! You would’ve looked cute in that cap tho lol”

“Funny. So why didn’t you?”

“Well, you only made that bet to motivate me”

The three dots were still on the screen so he waited. She seemed to be thinking especially hard about this text, as she took inordinately long typing it. Drake’s palms were sweating.

“And... tbh, as soon as they said a cup-bearer is someone you trust I knew I had to say you”

Drake was thankful he couldn’t choke or stutter through texts. He threw his phone on the bed and put his head under his pillow, completely overwhelmed. He couldn’t stop smiling, yet he felt close to tears at the same time. 

Pull it together, man.

He took a few breaths to steady himself and grabbed his phone. He caught a glimpse of his dopey smile reflected on his phone’s dark screen before he unlocked it. 

“You’re making me blush, Addams”

“You’re going soft on me, Drake ;)”

“Hey, thanks. I trust you too”

“No prob, I’ll have plenty of chances to beat your ass lol”

He could practically see her smirk.

“Ha, we’ll see about that”

“Well, I'd better go to bed, my alarm clock is waaay too chipper in the mornings”

“Is being queen even worth Maxwell waking you up every day?”

“I’m starting to doubt it haha”

He knew she was kidding, but he still couldn’t help the stupid, senseless hope he felt at that.

She texted once more, “Thanks for everything, Drake, I mean it. See you tomorrow?”

“Any time :) see you tomorrow”

He set his alarm for the next morning feeling a little more optimistic. That was it, he just had to find the right balance with Riley. He could give her a break, for starters. Since his feelings would not be ignored, he could use them to be nicer and act like a real friend to her, for a change. Yes, instead of wallowing in his unrequited crush, he would try to grow and improve through this. 

With this in mind, he turned the lights off and went to sleep.

The next day he got up unusually early, determined to be a better version of himself. He started by finding Liam, who was enjoying a rare quiet moment in the stables.

“Hey, Liam!”

“Drake! This is a pleasant surprise! What brings you here so early?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t hung out in a while and I thought...” he trailed off. 

I really have to get better at this friendship thing.

Liam looked touched, so much so that Drake felt his embarrassment grow.

“I’d like nothing better! How are you? Any news of Savannah?”

“Nothing. Radio silence. And her trail’s gone cold so...” he sighed.

Liam put a supportive hand on his shoulder, “Listen, if there’s anything I can do, all you have to do is ask. I’ve asked Bastien to look into it, but he seems to have a lot on his plate lately.”

“Oh, so it’s not just me?”

“That he’s been short with?”

“Short? More like a dick! Do you know he yelled at me yesterday for no reason?”

Liam raised a skeptical eyebrow, “No reason?”

“Okay, so I teased him a little but Liam, I swear, it was nothing compared to the pranks we used to pull on him!”

Liam chuckled. “Remember when we locked him out of the training room?”

“Or when we put those balloons behind the door?” Drake snorted.

“He was so startled when they popped he pulled out his gun!”

“Yeah, in retrospect I can see how that was actually pretty dangerous and not super fun for him,” admitted Drake, though he was still chuckling.

“It was very irresponsible,” agreed Liam. “We should really show him some sort of appreciation soon, especially if he is under pressure.”

“Good idea, but you should leave that to me; you’ve got enough shit to do.”

“Do I? Other than choosing a queen for Cordonia and my lifelong partner, my schedule is wide open,” Liam joked.

They heard footsteps getting nearer and Drake peeked out to see King Constantine approaching the stables. That’s my cue.

“I’d better take Morello, then.” He strode to one of the stalls, where a jet black horse whinnied excitedly. “Hey, boy.” He led him gently outside, grabbing a saddle on his way back to Liam. “Well, if there’s any way I can help you, just say the word.” Drake clapped his back.

“I know, Drake, thank you.”

Drake waved goodbye and exited, his horse walking behind him. He briefly stopped to give the King a perfunctory bow. He ambled around the grounds, at peace for the first time in what seemed like ages. He’d missed Liam’s company. He was used to long periods of only seeing each other for quick conversations, but lately, his once-easy friendship had felt anything but. Now, with a clearer mind and knowing what he intended to do about his silly crush, it all seemed as simple as it used to be. 

In a secluded spot, he saddled Morello. He caressed its muzzle and the horse nickered affectionately. “I missed you, too, buddy. It’s been busy around here, you know? Busier than usual. New people and everything.”

He scratched behind its ears, lost in thought. He looked back towards the stables and saw most of the group already mounted. “All right, seems like everyone’s on their horses. You ready?” 

Morello neighed, which Drake took as a yes. He swung expertly onto his saddle and took the reins. “Now listen, if there’s ever been a time when we gotta look good, it’s this one, okay?”

The horse snorted and Drake patted its neck. 

Nothing wrong with trying to impress the suitors. It’s not like I’m making a move or anything. I just want her to know I’m good at something.

He directed Morello at a slow gait toward the others. He’d decided to stay in the back, should anyone need any help. 

Nobles don’t tend to be good at much. 

He smiled a little, remembering when Tariq had gotten his foot tangled in the stirrup a few years ago and sighed contentedly. 

Yeah, today might be a good day.

He saw Riley up ahead and had already raised his hand to urge Morello forward with the reins, then thought better of it. 

You’ll go up to her if it’s natural. Stop forcing it.

He settled in the last spot. After a few minutes of riding at a ridiculously slow pace, his gaze started drifting more and more often towards Riley, until he was fully staring at her. 

I’m such a creep. 

Try as he might, though, he couldn’t help looking at her, the shapes her lips made when she talked or smiled, how beautifully her hair moved in the breeze... 

I’m gonna make myself sick.

She was currently having what looked like a surprisingly civil conversation with Olivia. 

Yuck. She’s such a better person than I am.

A few minutes later, Hana was the one to approach her.

Lovesick idiots that we are. 

He shook his head fondly at Hana. 

God, I hope you come out of this better than me, kid.

Hana moved back to talk to the rest of the suitors. At the same time, Drake noticed Lady Kiara trying to catch his eye and ignored her as politely as he could. 

Out of desperation – fine, and also because I really, really want to talk to her – he called out to Riley, “Addams!”

She turned towards him, grinning. He returned her smile and waved her over. She immediately slowed down and let others pass her until she was at the back with Drake. He was pleasantly surprised at how well she commanded her horse. 

Okay, here we go. Friends. We’re gonna be friends.

“There you are. You look like you actually know how to ride a horse.” 

That’s something a friend would say, right?

One of Riley’s hands flew to her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh my gosh, opening with a compliment?”

“Careful, don’t want you falling off your horse now.” Drake smirked, though he still regarded her uneasily. 

Friends worry about their friends!

“I’m surprised you’re out here with all the nobles today.” It was phrased like a statement, but there was a question behind it. 

Well, obviously the truth is out of the question. 

“Turns out, I had an opening in my schedule today.” He grinned. “And there’s something oddly satisfying about watching nobles fuss over their stuffy blazers.”

Riley giggled. “Is this why you’re not frowning... as much as usual, anyway.”

Drake didn’t know whether to shake her or kiss her. 

It’s you! You’re the reason! Okay, how do I make that friend-appropriate? 

“It has more to do with the company I keep.” That was probably the most sincere he’d been in the past year.

“A second compliment!” This time, Riley didn’t pretend to be shocked, she actually was. Her eyes shone as she looked at Drake, delighted.

“One more and you win the jackpot,” he winked. 

If only I could actually give her anything.

“I hope it’s all your whiskey,” she teases.

It was Drake’s turn to act horrified. She pushed his shoulder and he smiled with a sigh.

“You know, when we first met, I wanted to dislike you so badly...” He was not sure why he was saying this. 

I guess I want our friendship to start on a clean slate.

Riley’s eyes were wide. “You WANTED to dislike me? Why?”

Of course she finds it unbelievable that anyone could dislike her, cocky jerk. 

He smiled to himself.

“You were crashing Liam’s bachelor party! It was supposed to be our last night out together before all of this... We’ve always been like brothers, doing everything together...” He thought of that morning, how spending a few minutes with him had felt like a privilege. 

“Now I’m lucky to see him for five minutes without a noble girl throwing herself in front of him,” he finished bitterly. 

After a moment of silence, he realized she might think he meant her and hurriedly apologized, “Sorry. I didn’t mean...”

She put her hand on his for a second, her eyes understanding, “I know what you meant.”

Drake could not comprehend how the smallest of her gestures could calm him, make him feel better, like he mattered. 

I have to stop getting so pathetically emotional over every little thing she does. 

He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I know we got off to a bad start, but somewhere along the way... things changed.” 

Okay, stop it right there or you might go too far. 

“Hell, Addams, I don’t even know why I’m telling you any of this.” He rubbed a hand on his face, embarrassed at this outpouring of honesty.

Riley spoke, “Drake, I wanted to dislike you too.”

He looked up from his hands, taken by surprise, although he had no reason to be. “You did?”

“Yeah, I mean, you were a total jerk to me!” 

Understatement of the year.

“But now...”

Drake hated how his voice practically trembled with hope, “Now?”

“It took time... but I figured out that you’re actually human under all those scowls,” she poked him.

Of course. She barely even sees me as a friend, how could I have thought... Well, it doesn’t matter, being friends is already more than I deserve after the way I treated her.

He spotted Liam with his parents ahead. 

There’s someone else I need to be better to.

“This has all been touching, but I need to rescue Liam from his family for a couple minutes.”

He heard Riley utter a small “Oh” as he rode ahead, and felt a twinge of guilt coupled with that insufferable emotion he’d been feeling constantly as of late, hope.

He reached them just in time to hear Queen Regina sing the praises of Madeleine, much to Liam’s apparent chagrin.

“Do you see what I am saying, Liam? Wouldn’t you agree that she is the superior choice?”

“She would certainly make an excellent monarch, son,” chimed in the King.

“She is a lady with many merits, yes,” replied Liam diplomatically.

“So is she the suitor you are most leaning towards, then?” prodded the Queen.

“I–I...”

“Liam!” Drake called, startling the three monarchs, who had been so absorbed in their conversation they had not noticed his arrival. “Wanna race ahead?”

“Loser does 30 push-ups!” Liam exclaimed, already urging his horse forward.

Liam was, of course, an accomplished rider. There really weren’t any rich people things you could afford to be bad at when you were a royal. However, Drake had spent more time in the stables than he had. And so, despite Liam’s exceptional instruction, he didn’t share the bond that Drake and Morello did. 

All this to say, by the time Liam caught up with him, Drake had time to pretend to be looking at an imaginary watch on his wrist.

“Liam, Liam, Liam,” he said, with shakes of his head. “You’ve really got me to thank for your abs, you know that, right?”

Liam chuckled. “That’s my secret; I lose on purpose so I can stay in shape.”

Drake snorted. “You keep telling yourself that, buddy.”

“Drake, thanks for that.” Liam’s relief was palpable.

Drake sobered. “No problem. You looked like you’d rather be at the bottom of the canyon so...”

Liam gave a humorless laugh. “Not quite, but almost. I don’t think they understand that I’m conflicted enough as it is.”

Drake perked up at this, “Are you? I... thought it was a done deal. That you were choosing Riley, that is.”

Liam shushed him. “Not so loud!” He ran his fingers through his hair. “What can I say? In my heart, it is, but unfortunately that is not nearly enough.”

Drake’s heart sank. 

Even if he doesn’t choose her, he’s in love with her. And he’s your best friend.

“Stop worrying so much, man, what’s that gonna do? Look, let’s just enjoy the feast today, huh? You still have a few events left to decide. Not to mention a Beaumont party to look forward to!”

“I’ll try. Although I must say, I am definitely looking forward to that! Their parties are really unparalleled.”

“That they are.”

He and Liam rode on in companionable silence until they reached the mountain village. It was charming and rustic, with its little cabins and huts surrounding a vast filed in which long tables had been set out, laden with food.

Once everyone had gathered round, King Constantine welcomed them, “Everyone, we’ve reached our hunting lodges. Our forebears would dine on the day’s hunt here, and though we no longer hunt, we will still have a great feast. But first, we race to celebrate our ancestors. The first to reach Prince Liam will be served first at the feast! Begin!”

Drake was torn between wishing he could participate – he was starving – and excitement at seeing the suitors race and possibly make a fool out of themselves. Except Hana, obviously. And Riley, he hoped... though that would provide an incredible opportunity to tease her.

No. Friends don’t want their friends to look dumb. 

He needn’t have chided himself, for Riley did well. She didn’t win – predictably, it was Hana who did – but she did a good job for her first time, in Drake’s opinion.

An image popped up in his mind, uninvited, of himself teaching Riley how to ride properly. They were all smiles and laughter... 

Stop it, brain.

He forced himself to concentrate on what King Constantine was saying, “That’s superb horsemanship in action. Servants, prepare the first plate for Lady Hana. Now, then. Let’s all take some time to rest. Dinner will begin shortly.”

The crowd broke into smaller, more relaxed groups. He dismounted Morello and tied him to the hitching rail where all the other horses were drinking water and chewing on oats or grazing. He saw Riley talking to Tariq, weirdly. Liam was engaged in conversation with Olivia – no, thanks – and then he spotted Maxwell and Hana.

“Congratulations, Hana! That was some riding,” he admired as he approached them.

“Yeah, you kicked ass!” Maxwell agreed enthusiastically.

She blushed, “Thank you. I am glad I could put something my parents made me learn to use. If only to eat first.” 

“I think that’s the best prize you could get, I’m starving! Right, Maxwell?”

Maxwell was looking out at Riley, who was talking to Liam, with an uncharacteristically pensive expression on his face.

Drake waved a hand in front of his face. “Maxwell? Everything okay, man?”

“Wha–? Oh. Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Sure.” Drake eyed him suspiciously and shared a puzzled look with Hana, who broke the tension.

“Why don’t we go see what they’re up to?” 

The three of them walked over to Liam and Riley. Liam was, as Drake had come to expect, smiling widely, completely engrossed in whatever Riley was saying.

“Hey, the feast is being put out.” Drake pointed out when they’d joined the pair.

“And they’ve got dishes supposedly blessed by the spirits of the nearby ruins,” Maxwell informed them.

Hana’s face instantly lit up. “Oooh! I’ve heard legends about those ruins! They sound magical. People travel from all around just to see them.”

“It’s a shame we’re not scheduled to see them,” Liam frowned.

Thank God! Bunch of old rocks.

Hana’s face fell as fast as it had brightened before. “We aren’t? I was so hoping to...”

Maxwell put a comforting arm around her shoulders and suggested, “Why don’t we just go anyway? Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to miss out on delicious food, maybe. 

“Are you sure we should?” Hana asked, cautiously eager.

No!

“It’d be nice to spend some time together without this crowd around,” Liam said. As always, he turned directly to Riley and asked, “What do you say, Riley?”

Riley had that familiar mischievous look she got when she was ready to break the rules. “Let’s have an adventure!”

Drake came close to protesting this decision, until he noticed that her face was practically glowing with excitement. 

Fiiine, I’ll go. Crushes are so stupid. 

He shook his head at himself but kept quiet, not wanting to spoil the others’ fun.

“Alright!” Maxwell fist-pumped.

“I’m excited to visit another piece of Cordonian history,” gushed Hana.

Liam took the lead and gestured for them to come. “Follow me. I know how to get there.”

They walked away from the crowded field and into the adjacent forest. At least this I can enjoy. Drake took in the lush trees, the leave-strewn path they were following and the mysteriously soothing sounds of nature surrounding them. He tried to see if he could spot any forest creatures, but aside from a few shuddering bushes, he didn’t see any; they had probably been spooked by the humans’ presence.

He breathed in deeply, feeling a bit better, despite the hunger. He realized he’d been walking next to Maxwell, who had been quiet the whole time. 

What the hell?!

“Hey, Maxwell, you know I’m not buying that ‘everything’s fine’ bullshit, right?”

“What? Why? Everything is–”

“Stop it. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Maxwell sighed. “Okay. I need someone’s opinion on this, anyway. You know how I’m sponsoring Riley?”

“You can skip the intro, Maxwell, I am the same guy who’s been here for everything,” Drake rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sorry.” Maxwell was cracking his knuckles nonstop at this point. Drake grabbed his arms and forced him to stop.

“What is it? It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not bad, it’s complicated. Riley might not be sure about this whole thing anymore.”

Maxwell looked so conflicted that Drake put an arm around his shoulders and said, “Well, being queen is a big deal, dude! Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll come around!”

“It’s not that. Or at least, not just that. It’s... it’s Liam, too.”

Drake almost stopped walking and had to remind his feet to keep going.

Maxwell kept talking and Drake listened to him half-heartedly. “So I don’t know what to because on the one hand, she’s my friend now. I don’t want to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to! Especially something so big! And I know she feels pressured... I mean, who wouldn’t, with Bertrand? But on the other hand, House Beaumont desperately needs a win, now more than ever... er, for no particular reason.”

Drake was busy trying to calm his buzzing thoughts. 

She’s not sure about Liam! Could it be that–? 

No. There’s no way it’s because of you!

You can’t know that!

So what? Even if it is, you think she’s gonna give up a kingdom? 

His internal argument was interrupted by Maxwell taking a huge breath and continuing, “And then there’s Liam; he really, really likes her and he probably thinks she likes him back and I know it’s not my place to tell him but I feel terrible.”

Right. Liam. You couldn’t do that to your best friend, either way.

There was no argument there.

“Drake? Are you going to say anything or...?”

“Oh, uh, yeah! I don’t think there’s that much to say except, Addams is going to choose whatever she chooses, okay? Even if Bertrand is pressuring her, she’ll do whatever she wants; she’s stubborn like that,” he smiled fondly. “And I guess you gotta trust that she knows.”

“Knows what?”

“Well, that she understands both the reason you brought her here in the first place and that you’re her friend. I’m sure she’ll do whatever she can to help House Beaumont and be happy. She’s one of those people that always finds a way, you know what I mean?”

“I do and I hope you’re right.”

“Psh, when am I not?”

Maxwell pushed him away. “When you said I wouldn’t dare ask the Queen to breakdance with me.”

Drake snorted, “You got me there. I underestimated how inappropriate you can be. And this is from a commoner.”

“I still think she secretly wanted to.”

“Right, maybe she just needed a few more glasses of champagne. Why don’t you try again at the next Beaumont party?”

“Don’t think I won’t.”

They spent the rest of the way laughing and coming up with stupid plans to get the Queen to breakdance.

“Here we are,” Liam announced from ahead of them.

The group moved forward out of the trees and into a clearing. Imposing, mossy stone ruins littered the place, most of them unrecognizable as buildings after so long.

“It’s so beautiful and serene,” Hana breathed out.

Without distractions, Drake’s hunger had returned with a vengeance. “Yep... sure are a bunch of old things here,” he shrugged.

Liam shook his head at him. “It’s so much more than that. There’s something so calm about this place. Can’t you sense it?”

They stood there for a few seconds, their own silence swallowed by the noises made by thousands of bugs and other small critters accustomed to their solitude.

As he’d come to expect, Maxwell broke their silence first, “The only thing I sense is about a million snakes and probably a couple of rock monsters getting ready to attack us.”

Hana’s eyes widened. “Rock monsters? Do you have any rock monsters in Cordonia?”

“It was a joke... just forget it.” Maxwell sighed in defeat.

“I want to find some ghosts,” said Riley, putting her arms up in a “spooky” stance.

“Ghosts?” Hana looked worried, again.

“Maybe one will tell me my future,” piped up Maxwell

That’s not how ghosts work.

“Or devour your soul,” Drake replied in a creepy voice.

Riley shot him a look, “Drake.”

He smiled at her and shrugged. “I’m just saying, that is the likelier outcome!”

“Since some of us,” said Riley pointedly, “seem determined not to take this seriously, why don’t we split up? That way we can all explore however we want.”

“Or not explore,” grumbled Drake.

Riley rolled her eyes at him.

They went their separate ways. Too hungry to be curious, Drake found a rock that looked like it might be halfway comfortable and slumped against it. 

Hana’s already quiet footsteps were further muffled by the leaves and dirt, so he jumped when she addressed him, “Hi, Drake.”

“Hana! You scared the crap outta me!”

She giggled, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to.”

“Yeah, well, next time clear your throat or something.”

“Understood.” 

She slumped – somehow making it look graceful – next to him. 

“So how are you?”

“Same old. Acting like a dumb teenager with a crush, you?”

“Me too... although I never got to be a ‘dumb teenager’ so I wouldn’t know.”

“What are you gonna do about it? I just... I have no idea how to act or what to say or not to say.”

“I don’t think I’ll do anything about it at all. I am here as a suitor and that is something I must keep in mind. Not only that, but she’s my best friend... I don’t think I am prepared to risk our friendship.”

“Well, at least you have some sort of claim, you know? She’s your best friend. I’m... what? Her boyfriend’s best friend?” He scoffed.

They settled into a gloomy silence until Drake spoke again. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’d be risking your friendship. If she doesn’t... feel the same way, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Hana thought about it for a long moment. “You may be right. I’m not certain I’ll have the courage, though.”

“Are you kidding? You came here from so far away and you’ve tried so many new things; of course you do! You have more guts that Liam, Maxwell and I combined. With Addams you might be evenly matched,” he chuckled.

Hana smiled. “Thank you, Drake. I only wish there was a way this could end favorably for everybody.”

Drake didn’t think that needed an answer. They all wished that. Hana patted his shoulder and left as quietly as she’d come.

Almost as soon her barely audible footsteps receded, Drake heard somebody else approach.

“Hey, Addams,” he greeted her.

She stood in front of him. “You look like you’re having a good time exploring,” she said with an arched eyebrow.

Drake grimaced. “Archaeology isn’t really my thing.” 

Plus, I’m fucking hungry. Bordering on hangry.

“You could at least look around.” Riley gestured at the ruins. “It’s not like you come here often.”

“I looked around. There’s some old buildings. That’s about it.”

What happened to being friendlier, dammit?

“Hmm...” Riley considered what he’d said as if he’d actually made and interesting point instead of just sarcastic whining. 

“Don’t you want to know where you come from? And what about insight into how people lived long ago?” 

She sounded so fascinated it was almost enough to get Drake interested. Almost. “They could’ve ridden dragons for all I care. It doesn’t mean much now.” 

There’s enough shit going on in the present, and shit to worry about in the future. Why look at the past?

He could see Riley was getting tired of his attitude. 

Hell, so am I. 

She put her hands on her hips. “So why did you come out here if you don’t really care for these sorts of things?”

Because you looked adorably excited about it? 

As had become common for him, he went with a different version of the truth, “I don’t think we’re going to get many more times like this.”

Riley tilted her head, “Like what?”

“I mean... Liam is going to be king soon.” He swallowed painfully. “And you could very well be his queen. Everything’s going to change.” He bit the inside of his cheek and looked down. What was he going to do the day of the Coronation if he could barely handle the thought?

To his surprise, Riley’s next words were, “You know, you’re right.” 

He looked up to see a fierce look on her face, “We don’t need to associate with the riff-raff. I mean, really, what could you even provide for us? A sense of grounding and humility?”

Drake shook his head but couldn’t help smiling a little. “I see what you’re trying to do here. It’s not going to work.”

“Or maybe someone to sneak us out of the palace? Why would we want that when we’re drinking champagne and shaking ambassadors’ hands?”

She sounds so sure. There’s no way Maxwell’s right, he probably misunderstood. She’s gonna be queen. 

His stomach clenched and he had to make an effort to focus on their back and forth.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep on punching down.”

Riley’s voice softened and she stepped closer. “Or maybe we’ll need a reminder that no matter how tough someone may seem on the outside, there’s a big, lovable softie on the inside.”

“Hey!”

She put her hands on both his shoulders and gave him a goofy smile. “Come on, Drake. There’s a smile inside you somewhere.”

Drake gave up and smiled with a laugh. “You’re the worst, Addams.”

“Would you have me any other way?”

She’s gonna make me say something I’ll regret if she keeps asking those questions. Fuck no, I wouldn’t have you any other way. You’re amazing.

“Addams... We may have had some ups and downs between us, but I want you to know that I’ve enjoyed this little adventure with you. Not just the ruins, but the whole thing since I walked into your bar in New York.” 

He looked her straight in the eyes and tried to say something nice in the least romantic way possible. “You’re... you’re not bad.”

Riley seemed more moved by that than he’d expected. 

Maybe she understands I mean so much more than that. 

“Awww, Drake, I care for you too.”

Goddamn. I care so fucking much and I can’t stop.

“Addams... I...”

Don’t say anything. Think of Liam.

He shook his head and sighed. He let himself meet her eyes; there was such an intense, yet soft look in them. He felt his gaze slowly make its involuntary way down to her lips. He couldn’t remember wanting anything as badly.

“You’re something else...” he choked out. 

He heard her inhale sharply through her lips. She blushed, breaking their eye contact and putting her arms down.

I went too far.

“Now, we really need to get you out of here before you completely lose it.” The conversation was light-hearted again. “All this reflecting isn’t healthy for you.”

“You’re right. If I stay much longer, I might melt into a big ball of mush,” he shuddered. He had to stop putting himself in these situations; he’d come so close to saying or doing something he shouldn’t...

“Let’s go find the others.” He started walking towards the edge of the forest without looking back. Everyone else was already there.

“That was lovely,” said Liam.

“There weren’t any ghosts,” Maxwell complained.

“Why are you sad about that?” Hana seemed to grow more confused by Maxwell the more she knew him.

He shrugged, “I don’t know, I’m kind of curious what a ghost would have to say. Would’ve made a good story.”

“You can always lie. I’ll back you up,” offered Drake.

“There’s an idea!” he exclaimed.

Unexpectedly, Riley wrung her hands nervously, “Maxwell, please don’t tell me any ghost stories.”

“I won’t tell it to you. You’ll be a supporting character in the story.” 

“Do I survive?” she asked with hope.

“No.”

“Aww...”

“Hah,” Drake mocked her.

Maxwell put an arm around Riley and reassured her, “Drake is the first to die, though.”

“Hey!”

Liam chuckled along with everyone but Drake, and then said, “Alright, everyone. It’s time to head out.”

Riley took one last look at the ruins, sounding resigned, “These ruins were bigger than I thought.”

“Could’ve used an open bar in my opinion,” muttered Drake.

Maxwell, who apparently was almost as hungry as Drake, urged them on, “The feast is waiting for us back at the village! Let’s go!”

“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had. Including sponsoring Addams,” said Drake, earning him a push from Riley.

The walk back to the field seemed much longer to Drake, eager as he was for something to eat. 

When they eventually reached the banquet tables, he was relieved to find them still heaping with food; he’d been anxious it would all be gone by the time they returned.

“Wow... That’s a lot of meat!” Riley’s mouth was watering as she looked at the many cloches piled with different types of roasted meats.

“It’s not exactly a feast without it.” Drake said this as he loaded his plate with everything he could reach.

“A little more fruit couldn’t hurt,” Hana murmured, eyeing the comparatively few options a little sadly.

“I wouldn’t mind putting a bunch of fruit on a stake and waving it around like a sword.” Maxwell was already looking around the tables, trying to find something stake-like.

“Alright, let’s grab our food before Maxwell gets any other crazy ideas,” Drake interrupted.

Maxwell spotted a watermelon and grinned. “And then I could wear a watermelon as a helmet...” He smirked. “I’d be unstoppable.”

Drake had to forcibly remove Maxwell from the table before he could carry out any of his plans. Riley got him a bit of everything – except for watermelon – and brought both her and Maxwell’s plates to where Liam and Hana were already sitting. 

Maxwell revealed a champagne bottle he’d managed to swipe from the table before Drake took him away. 

“I’ll go get glasses!” Hana volunteered, and darted to the table to get five of them.

Maxwell popped the champagne and poured some for everyone. He then stood up and raised his glass.

“A toast to all of us and to our friendship!”

“To friendship!” chirped Hana.

“Ugh... to friendship,” agreed Drake reluctantly. 

It’s only all I’ve thought about today.

Liam smiled at them all and said, “To friendship.”

“To friendship!” exclaimed Riley.

They clinked their glasses and drank. 

Damn, if I didn’t get lucky with these people.

[ladynonsense]

One Night in the City (TRR AU) Part 4: The Duchess

Let’s say rated M for some salty language and very light smut.

Liam x MC, Liam x Olivia, Drake x MC

Read Part 1 Here

Read Part 2 Here

Read Part 3 Here

Tags (sorry if I missed anyone, I'm new to tumblr and don’t know wtf I’m doing) @theroyalweisme @pbchoicesobsessed @smritysriv @thatcatlady0716 @jayjay879 @boneandfur

Part 4 of a series. AU where Maxwell never brought MC to Cordonia. Liam never saw or heard from her again after the night of his bachelor party and social season went on without her. In this chapter, after his uncomfortable reunion with Riley, Liam realizes he was foolish to be hung up on someone he hardly even knows, and it’s time to stop holding part of himself back from his new fiancée...

Olivia arrived back at her hotel in a rotten mood. What the hell was Liam's problem? All day they'd flirted and toyed with each other, surviving the relentless tedium of the tail end of their engagement tour by focusing on the night they would have together. Then one minor disagreement about visiting a goddamn statue seemed to set him off, and he abandoned her alone at the ball without so much as a discussion.

She poured herself a glass of wine and lounged in a chair in her suite, marinating in rage and drinking to fuel the fire. She looked forward to the fight they would have when he finally came to see her. But as the night wore on, her rage slowly morphed into fear, and that ugly, insecure feeling that crept in whenever she faced the obvious truth: Liam may have chosen her for his queen, but he did not love her like she loved him. She would always have to struggle to keep his attention, to protect her position. As glad as she was to have won his hand and the crown that came with it, she still wasn't sure how to win his heart.

Annoyed at her own weakness, she poured another glass. Fuck him. She was a Nevrakis, not a lovesick little girl. No one was allowed to make her feel this way, not even a king. Finally she decided she needed to go for a walk to get some air. When she opened the door, she nearly walked right into his chest.

"Oh!" she cried, surprised and annoyed that she'd been caught off guard. "Where the hell have you..."

Before she could finish his arms were wrapped around her, nearly lifting her right off the ground, his mouth pressed passionately to hers. He led her back into her room, kicking the door shut behind him as his hands trailed down her back, pressing his fingertips into her soft flesh as he pulled her tightly against his body and they fell together onto the bed. She was tempted to melt into him and forget the rest of her awful night, but anger kept nagging at the back of her mind, taking her out of the moment.

She pulled away from him. "Liam, what is going on with you? You left me! Your guards wouldn't let me in your room, wouldn't even tell me if you were inside...did you tell them to get rid of me?"

Liam frowned and stroked her cheek. "Oh, Olivia, no! They're merely following protocol...no one is allowed to come and go from my suite in my absence, and they don't disclose my location to anyone. I should have told them to make an exception for you - it never occurred to me they would turn you away." His face softened, a smile creeping in. "Once we're married, they'll be your guards, too. And it won't be my suite...it will be ours." He moved to kiss her again but she pulled away, still upset.

"You're drunk," she said, stating the obvious. His breath was heavy with whiskey, his skin overly hot to the touch. He'd been three sheets to the wind by the end of the ball, and it seemed he'd continued drinking afterwards.

Liam's eyes wandered to the empty bottle of wine on the table across the room. "Looks like I'm not the only one, love." She rolled her eyes, but his word choice did not escape her.

"Why did you come to me, Liam? It seems we've spent our respective evenings drinking to forget how pissed off we are at each other."

"I'm not angry with you," he whispered, his face falling. "I came because I needed to talk to you. To tell you..."

"You didn't seem overly concerned with talking when you came in here," she interrupted as he trailed off. He laughed softly.

"I suppose I lost my senses a bit when I laid eyes on you, that's true. But I did want to tell you...Olivia...you need to know that I love you. I've always cared for you. My father...he was happy to care for you as a child, but as we got older, he started to discourage my affection for you. Once Leo abdicated, the pressure to turn my attention towards Madeleine started immediately, and he was constantly warning me of the dangers of a 'rash' and 'emotional' ruler. I guess I wanted so badly to please him and to be a worthy king that I forced myself to ignore what was right in front of me all along."

He reached for her hand, kissing it softly. "But he was wrong, Olivia. Aside from the fact that I never could have loved someone as cold and calculating as Madeleine...I also truly believe she was wrong for the crown. I tried not to be drawn to your passion and your fire, but with my father's influence gone, I'm realizing that I need that fire in my life, and Cordonia needs it in their rulers. I want to apologize for ever burying my feelings for you. I do love you, Olivia. And every day I spend with you by my side, I love you more."

Olivia bit her lip, afraid to speak for fear she would dissolve into tears. She'd known she loved him since before she knew what love was...since she was a scared and lonely orphan, and the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen took her back home to his palace. She didn't want him to know how desperate she'd been to hear these words. She buried her face in his warm chest, letting a few silent tears seep into the crumpled fabric of his shirt.

Liam held her gently, not minding the silence, giving her time to consider what he'd said. He began gently working the pins out of her hair, letting it cascade onto the sheets, a soft wave of red against the white linens. He gently combed it with his fingers, helping the odd kinks and bends holding the shape of her updo to relax and smooth out. His hand paused at the top of her dress's zipper, silently asking permission.

She shook her head and sat up, rejecting the whole thing - the "poor little orphan girl" narrative, the damsel in distress being rescued by her Prince Charming. She momentarily forgot that this narrative was taking place mostly in her own mind, but it was nagging at her, hinted at in his words...or was she imagining it? Something was off...he seemed sincere enough but...clearly he was here to make amends, to beg for her forgiveness after running off like an impetuous child at the slightest provocation. But he hadn't exactly said as much. Olivia rose to her feet.

"Liam, where the hell were you. Did you go to the statue of liberty?"

He looked away, gazing out the window beyond her shoulder. Carefully considering his words, guarded, even now, tired and drunk in his lover's bed. "I didn't. I saw her last time I was here, in this city, and it was magical. I wanted to again but...it's better off as a memory." He laughed softly, nervously. "I did run into Drake and Maxwell, though. And Bertrand and Hana. I think I was a bit hasty in my departure when I realized I should be here with you...I may have stiffed them with the bill."

Olivia laughed, glad to have some of the tension lifted. "Bastien probably paid it for you the minute you turned your back. You're lucky to have people around who keep you from making a complete ass of yourself."

Liam thought back to Drake's scolding of him at the bar. "Yes, I certainly do need help in that regard at times. To be honest I don't think I even had my wallet on me...what was I thinking?" He sat up and reached into his pocket instinctively, checking for it, and pulled out a small bundle of lace instead. "Oh..."

Olivia smirked. "You seem to have something of mine..." She stepped closer to the bed and suddenly Liam's hands were on her hips, pulling her closer to him, remembering that there was nothing but the silky fabric of her short dress keeping him from her. He leaned his head against her stomach as his hands slid down her thighs towards the hem of her dress, grazing against her pale skin as he started to push the fabric up her legs.

"Wait," she commanded, tilting his face up to look at her. She slipped her hands underneath his suit jacket and pulled it off, tossing it into the corner. He grinned and removed his shirt and tie as quickly as he could, desperate to be free of all his designer clothes and just be himself. He wrapped his arms around Olivia's waist and pulled her into bed with him, rolling on top of her as she yelped in surprise. Olivia stared up into his smiling face, finding herself speechless. They'd been spending more nights together than apart throughout the tour, but something had shifted tonight. The expression on his face was so unguarded, so loving.

"You're mine," she said out loud, softly. Then louder, commanding, "you're mine."

"I am yours forever and always, my queen."

[gilbertandanne]

AU College Fic. Farkle never figured out how Riley really felt about Lucas, so it never got out. Now she’s turning 21 and the gang decides to go to Las Vegas to celebrate. Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Rating: M

Pairing: Rucas

Word Count: 3,626

Cross-posted at ff.net            

Soundtrack (although not at all organized and subject to edits)

A/N: Please read the a/n because it might be the reason why this is the last chapter you’ll read.

Ok, so first off (and this will help explain what I did and why I did it), the chapter titles.  I always had a vague idea about what I wanted to do for this fic.  As I began to write it, I wanted to figure out exactly how long it was going to be.  I knew that I wanted it to encompass a long weekend, so I knew it wouldn’t be super long, and I knew I wanted it to have some cool chapter titles to tie back to the overall Vegas vibe.  I thought, at the time, that I wouldn’t be able to do 21 chapters, so instead, I came up with something better.  Every chapter (minus chapter one), corresponds to a playing card nickname.  The chapters have gone from Deuces (a nickname for the 2 card) all the way to the Ace card (Aces high, baby!).  I only cheated slightly with chapter ten.  It was originally called Dime, but I went with a ten higher card nickname (TT) because the name was perfect.  A lot of the chapter titles dictated the course of the fic (an example is the hot tub moment in “The Devil’s Bedpost” or how “Time Travel” was comprised of a flashback).  I wanted to challenge myself to stay in those sort of parameters, and honestly, I think that overall, the fic turned out better than I thought it would. Those nicknames really weaved a lot of the story.

Hopefully you’re still reading this because this is the whole point of me telling you about the chapter titles: I didn’t stop with the Ace card.  There is an epilogue, which will be posted tomorrow (Saturday).  It’s the “joker” card and the name of it is “Wildcard”, and trust me when I say that it’s called that for a reason.  So, if you want this fic to be wrapped up nice and tidy, don’t read the epilogue.  If you want to read the full ending I had envisioned for this story, then definitely read the A/N I’m going add before the epilogue begins.

This is the longest a/n I’ve ever done, but if you’re still reading this, thank you.  Thank you for reading this fic, and for humoring me.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A | J |

                                    Chapter Fourteen: Alas

“I don’t know about you guys, but this has definitely been the best night here,” Lucas told the group as they lounged in the living room.  “Just a few drinks.  Some bowling, some pool…just us…all of us.”

“It’s definitely been more low key,” Farkle agreed.  “So, what’s been your favorite part of the trip?”

Lucas briefly glanced at Riley.  She looked like a vision as she was seated next to Maya on the loveseat.  She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his eyes were on her as she and Maya laughed at whatever they were talking about.  He smiled softly as he looked back at Farkle.  “Are you asking the group or just me?”

“Everyone,” he clarified as he glanced at the girls.  “Because I figured with you and Riley it would be the obvious…you know…finally getting together.”

When Riley heard her name, she turned her attention to the guys’ conversation.  She glanced at Lucas as his eyes fell to the ground.  She couldn’t be certain, but he seemed a little sheepish as he looked away from her.

“You’re whipped already,” Zay teased as he caught the bashful look on his friend’s face.  He had known Lucas for most of his life and had only seen him act like that twice—both times involved one Riley Matthews.  He sipped on his drink as he tried to think about his favorite part of the trip.  “Mine would probably be…watching Farkle drive the golf cart into the lake earlier today.”

Maya and Riley nearly exploded in laughter.  “Wait,” Maya continued to laugh, “What?”

Zay grinned.  “Oh yeah…you guys missed it.  Farkle thought he had it in reverse, but it was actually in drive, so he went right over the edge and into the lake on the 10th hole.”

Riley covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled at her friend’s mishap.  The mental image of Farkle driving a golf cart into a lake was priceless.  “Oh my God,” she began as she wiped tears from her eyes.  “What happened?”

“We managed to fish it out,” Lucas explained.  “Thankfully the cart wasn’t damaged or anything like that.”

“So, who won,” Maya asked as she wrapped her arms around her suddenly cramped stomach.  She wasn’t sure the last time she laughed so hard.

“I’ll give you one guess,” Zay answered sarcastically before he gestured to Lucas.  “He was Mr. Perfect in middle school and high school.  He’s still perfect…even in college.”

“I thought we didn’t keep track of our score,” Lucas told him.

“I lied.  I was keeping track in the off chance that she,” he waved his hand in Riley’s direction, “got you off your game today because of last night.”

“Hey!” Riley crossed her arms over her chest in mock offense.

“You know what I mean,” Zay chuckled as he playfully winked at Riley.  “How was the spa?”

“Good,” Maya answered.  “It was relaxing…for the most part.”

“For the most part,” Farkle asked.

“The girl talk was…intense,” she elaborated.  “Once that was out of the way, we were able to relax some and have a good afternoon, right Riles?”

The brunette nodded.  “Absolutely.”

“What was your favorite part of the trip, Farkle,” Riley asked him.  She knew that the breakup with Smackle still weighed on him, but she hoped that they were able to get his mind on something else, even if only for a little while.  He seemed so uptight when they first arrived, but he had appeared to have relaxed some over the last few days.

“Honestly?”  He smirked.  “I think it was when Zay, Maya, you, and me were dancing last night.”

Riley laughed.  “When I forced you to?”

He nodded.  “Yeah…ever since Isadora…ever since the breakup, I haven’t been…I haven’t really been myself.  Last night, I was able to let go for a little while…it was nice.  It was nice to be able to laugh with you guys.  It helped me to forget about…everything for awhile.”

“We’re always going to be here for you, Farkle,” Maya assured him.

Riley nodded.  “Yeah, no matter what.  You’re stuck with us…all of us.”

He smiled.  “Yeah.  I want you guys to know that you are the best group of friends I could ever ask for.”  Maybe this trip was the first step in the right direction?  He was finally able to let go for a little while and have fun without thinking about her.  He knew that everyone had been patient with him as he dealt with everything, and for that, he was forever grateful.

“So, why don’t we do this then…” Zay stood up as he face the others.  “No matter what happens.  No matter where we go…what we do…every year, the five of us take a trip somewhere.  It doesn’t have to be here or anything too exotic if we don’t want to.  Just a trip somewhere.  That way, no matter where we end up, we’ll still be in each other’s lives.”

“I like that idea,” Maya told him.

“Me too,” Riley smiled.

“So, let’s do it.” Farkle stood up before he slid his hands into the front pockets of his pants.  He turned to Lucas.  “Lucas?”

“Yeah,” he nodded as he stood up.  “I think it’s a good idea.”

“I only have one question.” Maya looked between Riley and Lucas.  “Where is Zay going to sleep tonight?”

Riley slowly turned her head to Lucas.  When their eyes met, their cheeks turned crimson.

“You know, you don’t have to spend the night with me if you don’t want to…or if you want to take it slow,” Lucas told her the moment she came out of the bathroom in a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top.  His heart fluttered at the sight of her.  He briefly wondered if that feeling would ever go away, but as she walked toward him, he realized that his heart had fluttered every single time she entered a room.  He looked down at the bed as he pulled the covers down.  “Or, if you want, I can take the other bed.”  He knew he was rambling.  He never rambled before.  God, what was she doing to him?  “We don’t have to…just because Maya and Zay…” he looked back at her.  He’d gladly turn into a complete buffoon if it meant that she would always look at him the way she was at that very moment.  An amused smile tugged at the corners of her lips while her eyes seemed to sparkle underneath the glow of the lamp on the nightstand.  He sighed.  “We do what we do.”

She couldn’t help but to be slightly amused by his sudden anxiousness.  She had never seen him so flustered before.  She secretly enjoyed the fact that she had set him on edge for once, since he had always managed to make her act the same way.  “Lucas, if I didn’t want to be in here, I wouldn’t be in here.”  As she closed the space between him, her eyes fell to the bed.  “And once we get back to the city, I’m not sure when we will have another chance to…you know…spend the night together.  With finals and then winter break…I’ll be back at my parents’ for a month and you’ll be back with your parents and…” she blushed as she clasped her hands together.  She slowly looked up at him. “I…I want to be with you…even if we’re just sleeping.”

He dropped the sheet as he turned to her.  As nervous as he was a minute ago, a sense of tranquility suddenly washed over him.  That was his Riley.  She had the power to incite a nervousness he had never known in one moment and then immediately calm him the next.  “Well, I think we’ve already been together longer now than the first time we were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

She laughed as she remembered their afternoon long relationship when they were in middle school.  “Hey, it’s a step in the right direction, right?”

“Absolutely.”  He wrapped his arms around her waist as he buried his head in the crook of her neck.  “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” she closed her eyes as they held one another for a moment.  She thought for sure that there would be a lot of awkwardness between them after their earlier encounter, but there wasn’t.  If anything, she felt more comfortable around him, and despite his slight nervousness, he seemed to be more comfortable around her as well.  “I’m glad that everyone seems ok with it.”

“Were you that worried about it?”

When they pulled back from one another, Riley turned away from her boyfriend as she slid underneath the covers of Lucas’s bed.  “A little,” she admitted.

Lucas frowned.  “Why?”

“Because of Farkle…and Smackle.”  She looked up at Lucas as he sat down across from her at the foot of the bed.  “They were together…forever…you know?  A-And now, they aren’t.  Have you even seen her since they broke up?”

He sighed.  “No, I haven’t.”  It wasn’t intentional.  He and Smackle had grown to be pretty close friends over the years.  They even went to the same college, but it was as if she had completely disappeared when Farkle and she broke up.  He tried to text her, but she never answered.   “You?”

“Once.  It was…awkward…horrible.  There was this Farkle sized elephant in the room and Maya and I tried so hard to tiptoe around it, but every single time we opened our mouths, we ended up saying something about Farkle.  We didn’t mean to…we thought that we could make it normal.  We thought that we could be friends with both of them, but…it was so…awkward.  Maya and I tried to remain impartial throughout everything, but she broke up with him.  She…she broke his heart and as much as we wanted to stay out of it, we also wanted to protect him.  I think…I think Smackle knew that.”  She paused as she thought back to that horrible afternoon at her mother’s bakery.  “We weren’t mean or anything…and Maya and I thought that…well, I don’t know what we thought.”  She looked down at her hands, which rested in her lap.  “We haven’t…we haven’t hung out…or even spoken since then…and…I don’t want that to happen with us, Lucas.”  She cut her eyes up to him.  “If something happens…if this…if this ends, I don’t want our group to be even more fractured.”  She took a deep breath.  “It’s one reason why I…why I never told you how I felt.”

“Riley…I know that…that this changes everything, but I also know that whatever we have…it’s different than what they had.”  He looked down as he reached for her hand.  “They know that.  They want us to be happy…I think Farkle especially.  He knows that our relationship wasn’t his relationship.  We’ve been friends for a really long time now.  We know what we’re walking into.”

Riley glanced at their joined hands before she looked back up at him.  “Lucas, we were never just friends.”

He ran his thumb over her knuckles as he lowered his eyes to their hands.  “You know…my favorite thing in this world is when you talk to me.”

She furrowed her eyebrows.  “It is?”

He nodded as he looked up at her.  “I hated it when we drifted apart.  It felt like…it felt like part of me was missing.  It felt like the best part of me was missing.  Riley, I know that I loved you before I even really knew what love was.  When you pulled back from me after that party…and I heard you and Maya talking…I think that’s when I realized what love…what losing it really meant.  I don’t…I don’t want to feel like that again.  I don’t want to be incomplete.  I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.  I don’t know where life is going to take us, but I do know that I’m willing to fight everything…fate, time, misunderstanding…just…everything…in order to be with you.”  He took a deep breath.  “I’d do anything for you.”  He glanced down at their hands once more.  “We’re different than Farkle and Smackle…and any other couple we know…because every relationship is different.  This…you and me…I’ve been waiting a lifetime for it.  Now that we’re…starting to explore that…I’m not going to be able to let go that easily.  At the end of it all, I need you, Riley.  It’s that simple and it’s that complicated…not to mention the fact that it’s also that scary.”

Riley swallowed.  “I know that I’ve been running away from this…not just the last few days, but ever since Tombstone and Texas.  I…I feel the same way.  I know that I can’t lose you from my life…so I thought it was safer to hide…even after you and Maya broke up.  I know I pulled away…and I need you to know that…it killed me.  I hated leaving places when you were just showing up.  I hated cancelling plans all together because I knew you were going to be there.  I wanted to see you.  I needed to see you…but knowing that scared me even more.”  She gripped his hand.  “I’ve been able to keep you away because…because I told myself that you didn’t see me like that, but…after that night in the hot tub…after we kissed…I knew…my heart knew that I…I couldn’t run away anymore.  This…instinct that I have to protect my friendships tried to fight it.  I tried to push you away, but…I can’t do it anymore.  I don’t want to do it anymore.  I want to be with you.  I need to be with you.  You’re right…it’s the scariest thing in the world to need another person, but I…I love you.  I’m in love with you…and now that I’ve had a taste of everything I’ve been running away from…I know that I’m willing to fight for it too.  Anything…everything that comes our way.”  She ran her free hand through his hair.  “We really stink at this taking it slow kind of thing.”

He smiled.  “Yeah…but if you think about it…we’ve waited seven years for this.  For some people, that’s taking it painfully slow.”

She considered it for a moment.  “You make a good point.”  She smirked.  “You know…I wonder what my dad is going to say about all of this.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to be losing a lot more shoes,” he laughed.  “At least over winter break anyway.”

“Oh, you think you’re going to sneak into my room without him knowing it?”

He smirked as he leaned in closer to her.  “I’m going to try.”

Riley smiled against his lips as he kissed her.  This felt right.  More than right.  Her hand slid to his neck as she opened her lips against his.  He was rapidly becoming an addiction.

The phone in Lucas’s room blared promptly at 8:00am.  He groaned as he rolled over and picked up the phone.  “Thank you,” he mumbled before he put the hung up the device.  As he rolled back over, he took a moment to look at the angel who slept next to him.  So, yesterday wasn’t a dream?  They were actually a couple now?  He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her once more.  Last night had easily been the best night of sleep he had in ages.  Being able to hold Riley in his arms was more than a dream come true for him.

“What was that,” she murmured half asleep.  

“Wake up call,” he answered softly as he kissed her bare shoulder.  He reveled in the feeling of his skin pressed against hers.  He could easily get used to waking up like this every morning.

“What time is it,” she mumbled as she pressed herself against him even more.  The feeling of his skin next to hers felt nothing short of electric.  Couldn’t they have this every morning?  She frowned slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.  No, they couldn’t.  They had to get back to reality today, and that meant spending the night in their separate beds.  Besides, if this was going to work, they couldn’t go 0 to 100 right away.  She wanted to enjoy every single moment of their ‘honeymoon’ period.

He planted another kiss to the back of her neck.  “8am.”

She slowly turned her head toward him.  A lazy smile danced across her features.  “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he smiled.

“It definitely is,” she softly whispered before she pressed her lips to his.  She sighed as she turned her body to face him.  “How long do you think we have until Zay demands to come in and get this stuff?”

“Don’t worry,” he smiled as he ran his fingers down the length of her arm.  “I packed it all up after you fell asleep last night.  It’s already in the living room.”

Riley chuckled.  “Poor Zay.”  She never wanted to kick the guy out of his own room, but the temptation to have one full night with Lucas was too appealing to turn down.

“Poor Zay nothing,” Lucas insisted before he kissed her again.  “I wasn’t about to let anyone disturb you.”

Her teeth lightly scraped her bottom lip as she looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes.  “You know…you are always free to disturb me…if you want.”

“You aren’t tired of me yet?”

She smiled as she swung one leg over his hip as she straddled him.  “No,” she answered as she leaned down to kiss him.  “We’re just getting started.”

Lucas smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Riley’s furrowed her eyebrows as she flipped through the movie selection.  She bit her bottom lip when she reached the movie she wanted to watch on their flight to Las Vegas—the movie that she had to stop watching so she could pretend to fall asleep all because she was petrified of sitting next to Lucas.  Was that only four days ago?  She tapped her fingers against the screen as she, once again, debated the selection.

Lucas smiled from his seat behind her.  It was definitely déjà vu, but only this time, he felt a lot more confident as he leaned forward.  “Are you ok?”

“Hmm?”  She turned her head toward him as a half smile slowly formed on her lips.  “Yeah, I’m ok.”

He gestured to her screen.  “I heard that’s a good movie.”

Riley looked back at the screen as she softly chuckled.  “Yeah…yeah.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.”

“Do you want to watch it together?  He glanced at Zay.  “I’m sure Zay will switch seats with you…or if you want to sit by the window, I can move to the aisle?”

She slowly turned back to him.  “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

He looked down as he lightly laughed.  “Yeah, we have.  I’m just hoping that…”

“What?”  She could practically hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for him to answer.

“That your answer will be different this time.”

Riley glanced at the blonde who slept next to her.  She knew that once they got out of the airport, they would go their separate ways in order to study for finals.  That meant that it would easily be a week before she could see him again.  “I’d love to.”

Lucas couldn’t hide the grin on his face as he watched Riley get up from her seat.  He nudged Zay, who had been completely oblivious to the entire conversation as he had his headphones plugged in and the volume turned up.  “Zay,” he called out as he nudged him a second time.

Zay glared at his friend.  “What,” he asked as he slid his headphones down.

“Can you switch seats with Riley?”

Zay glanced at Riley as she attempted to climb over a practically comatose Maya.  He slowly looked back at his friend.  “Ahhh, I got ya,” he nodded.  “So, is this how it’s going to be from now on?”

Lucas frowned.  “What are you talking about?”

“You two are going to be going out on dates and holding hands and all scared to death.  You’re not going to think anything at all about ditching one of your best friends.”

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows.  “I’m not ditching y--”

“Oh, you abandoned me for her,” he gestured to Riley.

“Zay, you know I’m not abandoning you.”

Zay’s look of complete and utter betrayal quickly morphed into laughter as he stood up.  “Nah, I’m just kidding, man.”  He slapped Lucas on the back before he looked at Riley.  “I’m really happy for you guys.”

Riley smiled as she slid into Zay’s seat.  “Thank you, Zay.”

Lucas looked up at his best friend.  “Thanks, Zay.”

“Just remember this when you name your firstborn, ok?”

Riley and Lucas laughed as they watched him climb over a completely oblivious Maya.  As Riley turned to Lucas, their eyes met. Their laughter slowly faded as they both considered Zay’s last statement.  Could that be something in the future, perhaps?  Kids?  Maybe one day?  Riley laughed nervously as she turned to the screen in front of her.  “So, are you ready to watch this movie again?”

“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention to it the first time.”

She frowned.  “Really?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.  You see, I really wanted to watch it with this girl…but she kinda brushed me off.”  He lifted his arm in a silent invitation for Riley to snuggle next to him.

Riley smiled as she curled up next to him.  “Well, it was her loss.”

“Nah,” he decided as he handed her the left ear bud.  “The timing wasn’t right.”

She looked up at him.  “And now?”

He slid the right ear bud into his ear before he looked back at her.  “It’s perfect.”

[graceivers]

Review #12 - Sacked

Sacked Author: Jen Frederick Genre: College, Contemporary Romance, Sports Rating: ★★★★★ Recommendation: worth reading; would read again Summary: Knox Masters is on his way to becoming a professional football player. Ellie Campbell is just trying to do the right thing by helping her brother. It’s love at first sight for Knox, but for Ellie, a relationship with Knox almost seems too good to be true.

Female Lead: Ellie Campbell is one of the best, most self-sacrificing people ever. The fact that she’s been more or less verbally abused and neglected by her parents as an individual just because she’s a girl and not a guy who her father can live his professional football career through is heartbreaking. Ellie has put up with so much from them, and the only reason she hasn’t put her foot down is because she loves and supports her brother, Jack, so, so much. So what does she do to get her parents off her back and appease them? She does their bidding; she basically assists Jack in academic cheating since middle school. Middle school! She went to a junior college and got an associate’s degree instead of a four-year college for him. Ellie transferred to Western State with him, for him. She loves her brother and wants him to have the best football career possible that she continues to cheat for him even when it wrecks her to do so.

Then, God, Ellie sacrifices her relationship with Knox so he, her brother, and the entire freaking football team for the school can go on like nothing happened. I disagreed with the decision she made, but I could see her rationale. Ellie refused to let people down, to be the one that ruined everything. She sacrifices her own happiness for others. That’s respectable and amazing. Having experienced the consequences of what happens when teammates screw each other over, Ellie refuses to let that happen—again, to her brother, to Knox, to the whole football team. I don’t know how you can’t not love Ellie when she’s so ready and willing to put others before herself. I personally think that’s an highly admirable quality to have. Male Lead: Sweet. Lord. Knox Masters gave John Logan from Elle Kennedy’s The Mistake a run for his money as my favorite book boyfriend and I think he won. I’m still a little messed up over this book after finishing it, but I think Knox has just taken that top spot. A couple of the reviews I skimmed on Goodreads said he was cheesy or something like that? Um, no. Knox was the sweetest, most amazing guy ever. You know after chapter one that he’s a goner for Ellie. She’s just it; she’s the one. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He just knows without a shadow of a doubt. It’s the best love-at-first-sight moment. That’s the stuff dreams are made of. Knox Masters is what dreams are made of.

The fact that he’s a virgin? Yeah, of course that’s freaking hot—that he has goals, that he doesn’t sleep around because he can, that he’s waiting for the right girl. Oh, Lord. How can you not love him for that? He’s twenty-one years old and is mature enough to realize that sex and instant gratification isn’t everything. He’s patient; he can and will wait; there’s so much discipline and determination there. That’s sexy as hell.

Even when Ellie breaks up with him, Knox just doesn’t give up. He can’t. He’s all messed up about her. The way Frederick writes it, you know there will never ever be another person for him. He will never ever find someone like Ellie, and he will never ever love anyone so fully and completely and unconditionally the way he loves Ellie. That’s what we all want, isn’t it? I mean, that’s what I want—to find that one person that is the be-all and end-all of life, to love that person so wholly and be loved just as equally in return. Knox gives Ellie everything. He chases after her even when she breaks up with him. He wants to fix things with her even after she seems to be done with him. He’ll never get over her, and Jesus, I love him so much because of it. Plot & Writing: To be honest, the book didn’t sound like much after reading the summary. Other than the fact that it was stated outright that Knox was a virgin, I wholly expected this to be just another book under the list of college romances starring a jock. But lo and behold the way Frederick hammers in the whole delayed gratification theme, and you’ve got yourself an amazing read here. The chemistry between Knox and Ellie was amazing as was the way Frederick incorporated both their individual lives into one cohesive story.

I thought the relationship between Knox and Ellie developed very organically despite the fact that Frederick did more or less use the love at first sight trope. It was obvious that Knox wanted and Ellie and would only want her and no one else, but Frederick still made sure that she built the relationship. The fact that she addressed that Knox was moving faster than Ellie relationship-wise but he didn’t want to scare her off by moving too fast, that was great to read because it both spoke to Knox’s character as well as the fact that Frederick was developing a relationship instead of just shoving it in our faces. It took time for Ellie to get there than Knox, and that’s more than okay because that’s honest and real.

Okay, so the one thing I want to discuss is Ellie’s decision after the coach bans her from anything football related at the school other than seeing her brother. It’s kind of an age-old question: do you lie and push the one you love away or do you tell them truth in fear of a nasty response? When presented with this dilemma, Ellie chooses to follow the rules as set by the coach and break up with Knox because she doesn’t want him ensnared in the drama she has caused and lose the respect and support of his coach and other sports people alike. I understand her decision because it aligns with the personality Frederick wrote. Ellie does what authority tells her to; she is self-sacrificing. So her decision makes sense. But, what would’ve happened if she came clean and told Knox everything about cheating for Jack’s grades to stay up? What would’ve happened if she was honest instead of lying and breaking up with Knox? We saw what happened when she went with the latter—one bad decision after another that hurt both of them. The drama is already out there when Ellie confessed to what she did, so I personally would have liked to have seen her take the other route and be honest. I’m sure Knox would have been upset and rightfully so, but I choose to believe that he would’ve also been understanding and forgiving. And then they could have avoided the world of hurt that happened when Ellie pretended not to know the difference between Knox and his twin and then left him. She was the love of his life, for God’s sake. As upset as his reaction might have been, I believe he would’ve gotten over it. By the way Frederick wrote his perspective and his consuming love for Ellie, I wholeheartedly believe he would’ve gotten over it. And technically, no harm had been done to the team given that none of the stuff Ellie did for Jack in that political science class was graded; it was just a bad decision—unfortunately egged on by horrendous parents—on her part. So, go for honesty. Honesty and openness and communication. I’m pretty sure that’s what keeps relationships standing.

Kudos to Frederick for making Knox a virgin so I wouldn’t have to go on my ‘use condoms because you don’t know who people have slept with’ rant.

Just a little note on the epilogue. I loved it, of course, but I also maybe would’ve preferred if the epilogue ended with the actual draft or whatever happens immediately after? That one line about probably getting drafted by whatever team didn’t seem enough considering that the whole book, Knox was so focused on his career and the game if he wasn’t thinking about Ellie. Just about everything Frederick wrote in that epilogue could have been easily transferred into a scene during/after the draft to make it equally as meaningful. But I guess this is me being nit-picky with an already amazing story. Secondary Characters & Plots: I love all of them. Every. Single. One. Well, everyone except Ellie and Jack’s parents. Riley proved to be a friend for life, which was what I was most concerned about when considering the secondary characters. I needed that for Ellie—a female friend, someone there to listen and support her outside of her brother and Knox. Thank you, Frederick, for making Riley an amazing secondary character. And Jack was a great brother to Ellie. He recognized how horribly their parents treated her and that they were sexist, so he made it his mission to always be there for her. And when he told off their dad? “You’re the disaster. Get out.” YES. THANK YOU. Amazing brother is amazing.

Speaking of awesome brothers, Ty was great! I LOVED that Ty was the first person Knox called when he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ellie was the one for him. I loved that they were super close. I even loved that they had ‘the test’ and that they believed in it because people couldn’t tell them apart. This was seriously a great brotherly relationship that Frederick wrote.

AND THEN THE ENTIRE FOOTBALL TEAM. All of them were awesome and super hilarious. I will never get over the scene where Matty and Hammer are arguing about whether the nutritionist put papaya or pineapple in that smoothie. That was so funny. I loved how they were a tight unit—as expected for such a winning football team, but still wonderful to read about. The guys had Knox’s back when he told them he wanted Ellie and was going after her, and they still had his back when he didn’t play his best after the temporary breakup.

The secondary plot of Ellie helping Jack in his classes was interesting. I didn’t think it would play that big of a role—didn’t think her behavior would have the type of consequences Frederick mentioned. I was more concerned about academics, but of course, this is a book about a football, so it was interesting to see how Ellie’s actions could jeopardize not only Jack’s academics and playing time but also how it would affect the team and Knox. And Ace for that matter, who nicely covered up for his defenseman. Favorite Part(s): Knox’s physical reaction when he finds out just how well Ellie can tell him and Ty apart. I mean, I could feel it, how visceral his reaction was. Knox had already stated that Ellie was the one for him before that moment, so to have her pass ‘the test’—albeit the picture version—with flying colors? God, his reaction was everything. He’s freaking out and everything’s slotting into place and he calls her ‘my girl’ for the first time and everything is amazing.

But also, the wedding. I was all for it! When Ace was explaining what happened to Knox, and then that line, “He said immediate family is outside the ban?” Ohmygod, I was internally screaming, ‘GET MARRIED! MARRY HER!’ and then it happened and Jack walked her down the aisle and Knox’s mother lets her borrow a strand of pearls. Good lord. It was totally okay with me that this amazing couple kind of got cheated out of an amazing, grand, romantic wedding because the way they did it was all they wanted and needed. On the football field! It fitted them perfectly. Final Thoughts: Knox Masters, I love you. I mean, this was an amazing read. Heavier on the sports content, which I didn’t necessarily have a problem with since I enjoy the sport. Frederick didn’t skimp on the college bits, which was good. Great characters, smooth flow in the writing, good relationship development. College romance at its finest. There wasn’t one thing I disliked about Sacked, and I highly recommend.

[silkclient90-blog]

The 25 Best Ships Ever on Freeform

Here at TV Guide, we love love more than just about anything. Half the reason we watch TV is to stare at two beautiful idiots as they gaze adoringly into each other's eyes, and the other half is to get the cathartic release of second-hand heartbreak when they break up because the course of true love never did run smooth.

Maybe that's why we're so obsessed with Freeform and its many millennial-targeted TV shows. When it comes to shipping and romance, Freeform has the best of the best, whether it's a forbidden romance between a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder or the sex-positive romance between two journalists trying to make it in New York City.

With so many amazing ships to chose from, it's hard to know which one is best, but TV Guide editors Megan Vick and Lindsay MacDonald put their heads together to come up with a definitive ranking of the best 25 Freeform ships! Can you guess who took the number one spot?

Discover Your New Favorite Show: Watch This Now!

25. Daphne & Wilke (Switched at Birth)

Daphne (Katie LeClerc) had a variety of love interests over the course of Switched at Birth, but the one that made our hearts flutter the most for her was Wilke (Austin Butler). It was a typical case of getting the do-gooder to loosen up a little and make the reckless prankster realize he didn't need to write himself off the way that everyone else had. These two had really great potential, but Wilke pushed it just a little too far and got himself sent off to military school instead of proving that he and Daphne had a teen love for the ages.

24. Maddie & Wes (Recovery Road)

It is inadvisable to start a relationship when you are in rehab, but if you're going to do it, pick a hottie like Wes (Sebastian De Souza)! Recovery Road lasted just one season, so Maddie (Jessica Sula) and Wes didn't get to reach their full potential, but the time they did spend together was electric, complicated and heartbreaking — the stuff all the best ships are made of.

23. Ryn, Maddie & Ben (Siren)

Bear with us on this one. Love triangles are great fun, but honestly, they're getting a little tired. As a siren, Ryn's (Eline Powell) sexuality is very fluid (sorry, couldn't resist that pun), and she seems to have developed a deep love for both Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) and Ben (Alex Rowe) during her time on land. In fact, she's even kissed them both! It's easy to understand how that might cause tension in Maddie and Ben's relationship, but wouldn't it just be so much better for everyone if they all just decided to be together? Fans are already shipping this polyamorous relationship, and so are we!

22. Paige & Rainer (Famous in Love)

For Paige ( Bella Thorne), the well-intentioned (and slightly naive) ingenue, there was really no better love interest than Rainer (Carter Jenkins), the emotionally vulnerable bad boy with big eyes and bigger hair. Sure, they didn't quite manage to make it across the "happily ever after" finish line before the show was canceled, but given that Season 2 ended with a Rage studio lot kiss, we're going to pretend they just road that bike straight off into the sunset together afterward.

21. Riley & Danny (Baby Daddy)

We know there are Riley (Chelsea Kane) and Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) shippers out there — and that their chemistry was undeniable — but Riley and Danny (Derek Theler) were meant to be together. And Danny was the one who ended up putting a ring on it. He was always the one who Riley made her way back to, and they made a beautiful family together.

20. Callie & Aaron (The Fosters)

The Fosters was no stranger to breaking ground, and Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Aaron's (Elliot Fletcher) relationship was no different. They had the first sex scene between a cis-gendered female lead and a trans man on television. But more than breaking representation boundaries, Callie and Aaron are on this list because they challenged each other in the best ways. Aaron did his best to try and stop Callie from getting into trouble, like when she would ride in cars with murderers or accidentally become a prostitute for a minute. He showed her there were better, smarter ways to fight for what you believe in. He's a large part of the reason why Callie ended up becoming a lawyer and thus their relationship will always hold a special place in our hearts.

What That Good TroubleCliffhanger Means for Callie's Romantic Future

19. Cameron & Kirsten (Stitchers)

When you grow up believing you are essentially allergic to feelings and then get a job where you start taking on the last emotions of the dead, it's only natural that your new potential for empathy would lead to a workplace affair! That sentence probably made no sense, but Stitchers was an out there kind of show. The moral of the story is that Kirsten (Emma Ishta) didn't know how to feel for anyone, but working with Cameron (Kyle Harris) in the Stitchers program helped her to become a better person. Once she got the hang of the whole feelings thing, they developed quite the compelling workplace romance, which often meant invading other people's minds to save each other. Yeah, it's still a weird show.

18. Zoey & Luca (grown-ish)

Zoey (Yara Shahidi) had three suitors at the end of Season 1, but she inevitably chose the guy who never wanted her to be anything but herself. Yeah, Luca (Luka Sabbat) is the epitome of chill, but it's obvious that Zoey brings out a spark in him that only art can. He keeps her grounded when she starts spinning out of control, and let's face it, you are never going to see another couple this straight-up beautiful together.

17. Jane & Pinstripe (The Bold Type)

Ah, the ever-changing, ever-frustrating love/hate relationship that is Janestripe. These two crazy kids can't ever seem to get on the same page with each other, but their chemistry is so electric that it sometimes barely matters. As a young writer in need of a mentor, it's obvious why Jane (Katie Stevens) fell for Pinstripe's (Dan Jeannotte) worldly, witty ways. Now if they can just manage to spend some quality time together without drama blowing up their lives, they could totally be endgame

16. Simon & Maia (Shadowhunters)

Though there is a special place reserved in our hearts for Sizzy, there's no denying that Maia (Alisha Wainwright) and Simon (Alberto Rosende) are good for each other in very important ways. As a young adult who already went through the whole "I got turned into a supernatural monster, what now?" thing, Maia was a great, stabilizing influence on Simon, and Simon obviously helped Maia heal from some old (and still very open) wounds from her relationship with Jordan. Though we don't think this is a romance for the ages, there's something to be said for loves that come around just at the right time.

Shadowhunters: What Is The Praetor?

15. Gabby & Josh (Young and Hungry)

As unlikely a duo as Gabby ( Emily Osment) and Josh (Jonathan Sadowski) were, they somehow managed to eke out a happy ending that was both hilarious and touching. What made this dysfunctional couple so entertaining to watch is that even though they were both so crazy (and both so prone to making a mess of their own lives), his crazy somehow managed to fit perfectly together with her crazy. It was a modern-day love story for the accident-prone and socially awkward!

14. Tyrone and Tandy (Marvel's Cloak & Dagger)

Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy (Olivia Holt) haven't gotten romantic yet on Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, but they're called the Divine Pairing for a reason, and that's because the fates want them to be together as much as we do. They come from different worlds, but they understand each other on a level that no one else they know can touch. The chemistry is undeniable, and it's only a matter of time before saving the world by uniting their powers is going to cause them to unite in other ways. When it happens we know it's going to be just as explosive as light and dark coming together.

13. Jesus & Emma (The Fosters)

When it comes to making progress in a relationship, there are few ships on this list that can compete with Jesus and Emma. They were very young when they first fell in love, but they still developed a bond that saw them through wrestling fights, traumatic brain injuries and long-distance relationships during college. Jesus (Noah Centineo) showed Emma (Amanda Leighton) how to have a good time and that not everything had to be about school and grades. Meanwhile, Emma helped Jesus see the potential in himself that might have gone undiscovered if they hadn't fallen for each other. After six years together through their adolescence, they broke up to have adult relationships with other people. It was a good, level-headed decision, but there's still a strong hope they'll find their way back to each other — maybe on Good Trouble?

12. Sutton & Richard (The Bold Type)

Dating an older guy is always complicated, but dating an older guy who also happens to be on the board of the magazine where you work? That's a sticky situation if ever there was one. Richard (Sam Page) and Sutton (Meghann Fahy) have had their ups and downs, but ultimately their relationship is too strong to be cowed by judgy interns or age gaps. Just you wait, they'll be New York City's most lovable power couple in no time!

The Bold Type Cast Is Totally Down for a Musical Episode

11. Spencer & Toby (Pretty Little Liars)

This one is for the nerd lovers out there. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Toby (Keegan Allen) were probably the most stable of the Pretty Little Liar couples — as stable as you can be when you're being stalked by a manipulative sociopath — and their couple hobbies included reading and playing Scrabble. And you know, trying to one-up the aforementioned sociopath. Even with the insanity, it was easy to see these two sharing coffee and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle together on a Sunday afternoon.

10. Callie & Brandon (The Fosters)

Listen, we know they were adopted brother and sisters, but that wasn't always the case! You knew at the beginning of The Fosters that Brandon (David Lambert) and Callie were meant to be together. That belief was so strong that a Brallie reunion was even teased in the show's series finale, but ultimately Callie's need for a family was greater than her need for Brandon as a boyfriend. Still, he was one of the first people to show her that she could trust others and made her feel like she belonged in the Adams-Foster household. Who knows if Callie would have stayed at the house and become the well-adjusted adult she became if Brandon wasn't her first love. For that reason, we can (mostly) overlook the overlap of their relationship with the adoption proceedings.

9. Aria & Ezra (Pretty Little Liars)

Ezria gets points for being the OG ship of Pretty Little Liars, but they also lose points for being problematic AF. Sorry, there's no way to slice this to make it OK for an adult English teacher to sleep with a 16-year-old student. Knowing he purposefully seduced her in order to write a book about her best friend's disappearance only makes things worse. However, when Aria did become of age, the chemistry between the two was undeniable. They were ride-or-die until the end of the show, which is all we can ask for from a best ship, even with a bit of scandal on the side.

8. Simon & Izzy (Shadowhunters)

Izzy (Emeraude Toubia) and Simon have both had other romances since Shadowhunters premiered, but that doesn't mean Sizzy hasn't always been in the back of our minds. Even as a vampire and a Shadowhunter, Simon and Izzy have built a beautiful friendship on a foundation of trust, and they've pretty much become each others' rock at this point. If we're all very good and hold our breaths at the exact same time, romance might just be on the horizon for these two as we head into the final run of Shadowhunters. They've got to be endgame, right?

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7. Hanna & Caleb (Pretty Little Liars)

Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) were the epitome of opposites attract. She was the aspiring fashionista who yearned to belong and he was the hacker outsider who hated fitting in. It made no sense that they should want to be together, but once sparks flew between the two, you knew they couldn't be with anyone else. They tried a few times, of course, but at the end of the day Hanna and Caleb were like two magnets that couldn't be kept apart. It's for the best because who else was going to put up with their wiseass comments but the other one?

6. Emily & Allison (Pretty Little Liars)

Pretty Little Liars took its sweet time giving its most dedicated fans the ship they yearned for the most, but at the end of the day, Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) found their way back to one another and started a family! That's the most normal kind of happy ending anyone on this show could hope for. While Emily was prone for falling for any wayward lesbian who made their way through Rosewood, her heart was always drawn to Alison. And it was only when Alison was able to come to grips with her own feelings for Emily that we felt like we could truly trust her.

5. Clary & Jace (Shadowhunters)

Clary (Katherine McNamara) and Jace (Dominic Sherwood) have been on a bit of a whirlwind, haven't they? Their immediate connection and chemistry was put on hold for a while during the brief period they thought they were actually brother and sister (we're still having nightmares about that, BTW), but eventually they found out it was OK for them to bang. And it's a good thing too, because it's hard not to want two people so perfect for one another and so deeply in love to be together. If Clace isn't endgame, we'll cry ourselves to sleep every night for the rest of the year.

4. Kat & Adena (The Bold Type)

Kat ( Aisha Dee) and Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) have had their issues on The Bold Type, but that's part of what makes their love story so wonderful to watch. Kat is still learning about her sexuality and Adena selflessly gave her the freedom and the trust to do that, knowing how important that journey is for a young woman. In return, Kat recognized that though their relationship was good for Adena romantically, it may not be so great for her artistically. It takes a lot for a person to realize that your partner's happiness and passions have to come first sometimes, even if it could put your relationship in jeopardy. Even if this ultimately leads to a breakup, it's so nice to see two hot, badass women having the emotional maturity to put their partner first, no matter what. *SOBS*

3. Stef & Lena (The Fosters)

Oh yeah, there are parents on a list of Freeform ships, and we stand by this couple wholeheartedly. The love between Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) on The Fosters was the heart of the show. It feels weird to say that when the show premiered it was shocking to see an interracial lesbian couple raising a family on TV because over the course of five seasons the two women showed us just how powerful love can be. They had their ups and downs, from Lena's flirtation with her boss to Stef's breast cancer scare, but at the end of the day they proved that love can conquer all. Out of everyone on this list, they are the epitome of relationship goals for their bravery, vulnerability and compassion. Plus, even with five kids making them want to tear their hair out, they still found ways to keep the spice alive, and we respect that so much.

The Fosters Says Goodbye (For Now) With a Tearful Wedding and a New Chapter

2. Bay & Emmett (Switched at Birth)

Disclaimer: Bay (Vanessa Marano) and Emmett (Sean Berdy) were not together during the final season of Switched at Birth, which was the only season to actually air on the network known as Freeform. But we curated at this list, and since Switched is still technically a Freeform show, we're not ignoring its best and heartwarming ship. Bay and Emmett started out as complete opposites, but their love not only brought them together but also helped bridged the hearing and deaf communities in the show. Their romance had all the angst of a first love, but it was also emblematic of what made the show as a whole so special. The show was canceled with only enough time for the writers to write a series finale rather than a full final season arc, so while Bay and Travis (Ryan Lane) were good together, deep in our hearts we have to believe that Bay and Emmett were the true endgame.

1. Magnus & Alec (Shadowhunters)

Is it any wonder Malec tops this list as the best Freeform ship of all time? Their love story turned Shadowhunters from a binge-worthy show into a viral sensation that makes even the most diehard fandoms seem like underachievers. The electric chemistry between Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) and Alec (Matthew Daddario) is only the tip of the iceberg here; under the surface there's a deeply devoted, unbreakable connection between two people who should have been enemies but turned into soulmates. There's simply no ship on Freeform (or possibly on TV at all) that can hold a candle to Malec, and we'll ship them until the day we die.

Source: https://www.tvguide.com/news/25-best-freeform-ships-ranked/?rss=breakingnews

[woozi-boo]

Call Me (Ten One-Shot)

This was, without a doubt, the worst idea you have ever had in your life. Your immediate regret at listening to your best friend Lacey and ignoring the wise words of Riley, the oldest member of your friend group and practically your mother, sank in as soon as you realized Lacey had vanished from your side. The dark room you were standing in held far too many people to make it comfortable, and the smoke and scent of the basement made you turn and walk quickly away from that mess. After cursing Lacey for convincing you that college parties were fun and you needed them in your life, you wandered the house, searching for said idiot. The house wasn’t too big, and you assumed you could find your friend and be gone easily. Yeah, okay.

After searching for at least twenty minutes, wandering the whole house save for the basement three times, and turning down numerous cups filled with mystery liquid that you were certain you did not want nor need in your life, you were back to the cramped dark room with the too loud music. By now you were quite convinced Lacey was in the basement and you refused to go down there and see what was going on, so you curled into the shadows, trying to be as invisible as possible and waiting until the door did not have thirty people in front of it so you could make your getaway. Riley would wander down to the basement and drag Lacey from the party if you asked her to, you were sure of it.

Looking down at your outfit, you were thankful that Riley had put her foot down on Lacey making you wear a dress and heels. Instead you were wearing a dark pair of jeans and a red t-shirt with a sarcastic saying on the front. The shirt had been hidden by your oversized black hoodie, but with so many people in the room, that was now tied around your waist. Speaking of people, you glanced at the door to see it finally less crowded than before. With a quick glance at the basement door of doom, you turned back around and nearly ran to the door, only to collide with someone who had the exact idea you did. An arm wrapped around your shoulders to keep you from crashing into the wall and pushed you forward, getting both of you out of the crowded house and down the steps of the porch. You spun to see a boy about your age, a blush covering his face and tinting the tips of his ears red.

“I’m really sorry about pushing you. I was just getting too hot in that house and there were so many people… Anyway, I am truly sorry.” The boy glanced up at you to read your expression and you gave him a small smile in order to calm him down. He seemed rather nice and he had gotten you out of that situation that Lacey had left you in, so you were very thankful.

“It’s alright, no harm done. I was trying to get out anyway, so you helped me too.” He visibly brightened at your words, scanning your face to make sure he hadn’t ruined your night. You responded by sitting down on the grass, patting the spot next to you since you weren’t leaving until you could convince Riley to find Lacey. As the boy sat down, you turned to face him, questions hanging off the tip of your tongue.

“I’m Dia, what’s your name?” You asked easily, smiling as he smiled back. You were nearly taken back by how brightly he smiled but it was cute so you didn’t mention it.

“My name is Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul but you may call me Ten if you wish.” You grinned and nodded, as trying to pronounce his full name sounded complicated and you did not want to get it wrong. “What brings you to this party, Dia?” He asked curiously and you laughed, making a face as if it was obvious you didn’t want to be here. It probably was.

“My friend Lacey is the reason actually. She wanted to come here and show me what college parties are like but she completely ditched me after we got here. I looked around a bunch but I’m guessing she is in the basement and I refuse to go there. What about you?” You were curious as to why he was here as well, seeing as he did not look enthused to be here either.

“I’m in a similar situation as you are, my best friend Johnny decided we needed to come for the experience. He vanished after five minutes and I haven’t spotted him since. I called our friend Taeyong, he is kind of like the leader of our friend group, and he said he would be here to find him in a few minutes. He would be able to help find your friend to if you wanted.” You smiled at the prospect of not needing to drag Riley from the dorm room you two shared and nodded quickly.

“Yes please! I was going to call my friend Riley, she is my roommate and basically the mom of our friend group, but if I don’t have to wake her up then it might be better. Thank you!” Ten grinned at your relieved smile and the two of you continued into random chatter. Obviously you stated your majors because in college, it seemed as though that was the first step in making connections and then friends. Ten was in the middle of telling you a story about a snake falling through the ceiling in his one class when a boy with whitish purple hair walked towards him.

“Taeyong!” Ten grinned, jumping to his feet to greet the kind of serious looking man. Ten introduced you to him as well and Taeyong smiled slightly before letting you know that he sat behind you in composition, something you finally realized as soon as he said it. With a small amount of small talk, Taeyong led the way with you and Ten following closely behind. Ten had inched closer to you and grabbed your hand, mumbling something about not getting separated in the crowd and you were more than happy to let him continue holding on.

Taeyong pushed the door to the basement open quickly, motioning for both you and Ten to enter before shutting it again. The smell hit you nearly immediately and you used the collar of your shirt as a makeshift air filter against the smoky air. Ten led the way down the steps, refusing to release your hand for even a second, even as the three of you made it to the bottom safely. A quick scan of the room brought focus on many people dancing weirdly or sitting in random places, but you still didn’t see Lacey.

You didn’t realize Taeyong had left your side until he was back with a random boy that was holding onto Lacey’s arm as if he refused to give her up.

“Johnny won’t let go of her.” Taeyong said tensely, glaring at the boy standing next to him before making sure he wouldn’t fall over.

“Dia are we going home?” Lacey asked from Johnny’s side and you nodded rapidly, the hand not still claimed by Ten reaching for hers. She let go of Johnny tamely, tucking into your side and complaining about being tired. You nodded calmly and released Ten’s hand finally, pulling Lacey slowly up the stairs and out of the house, hearing Taeyong and Ten doing the same with Johnny.

As you all made it outside, you turned to Ten, prepared to thank him and Taeyong for helping you find your friend when a paper was pushed into your hand. You glanced at Ten to see him smile before leaning over and kissing your cheek softly.

“I had fun hanging out tonight. Call me.” He whispered before leaning back, smiling as your face lit up with a blush and then he was gone, helping Johnny back onto the sidewalk and walking with him to their dorm, you supposed. As you sorted your thoughts, trying to compose yourself for the journey back to your dorm with Lacey, you heard her huff rather amusedly and glanced at her.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” She said easily and you rolled your eyes, blushing even more as you led her out of the yard and towards your dorm. You knew she would stay at your dorm tonight since hers had a person on watch during the night, but unlike most nights you didn’t mind. Listening to your best friend’s stupid idea may have helped you more than you would ever let on.

[cover32-yahoopartner-blog]

Hopes for today’s Panthers Titans game

Hopes for today’s Panthers Titans game

I’m guessing there will be an official announcement that Cam Newton is out today versus the Tennessee Titans. All indications were that he would sit. If I was looking forward to a win, this would be good news. A win is down my list of accomplishments for preseason though. I was hopeful that the Carolina Panther’s gunslinger would test the Titans secondary.

The Titans first string secondary played poorly last week against the Jets. General Manager Jon Robinson has spent big in free agency and used draft picks to improve this unit. When the Jets “no name” wide receivers cruised right by them, it was not reassuring.

The Titans have consistently had a weak secondary. Over the last few years, their pass defense has appeared to be improved statistically when Dick Lebeau’s defense can put pressure on the quarterback. The quarterback winds up having less time to pass and this aids the secondary. It has just been an NFL version of “smoke and mirrors.”

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This 2017 Titans secondary has the talent to not only get the job done but be one of the better units in the NFL. Derek Anderson is a well-known backup quarterback that is somewhat average. The Panthers have Devin Funchess and Kelvin Benjamin at wide receiver. They are two tall, strong, athletic receivers. Even without Cam, these receivers offer a very nice test for the Titans secondary. Prized rookie Adoree Jackson hasn’t played much against elite talent. He hasn’t faced many receivers that are as fast as him or can jump as high as him. He hasn’t faced receivers that are significantly stronger than him or “polished” receivers that run routes perfectly. The rookie will have his work cut out for him today. Let’s hope the Titans secondary comes through and stands tall against these Panthers wideouts.

Rookie linebacker Jayon Brown was impressive last week. He is fast and gets to the ball nice and quick. The Jets were caught off guard a bit by his speed. Brown won’t surprise teams much longer. The Panthers practiced against him and saw last week’s game tape. They will probably have someone schemed to make sure to block Brown and the rook is going to have to brush this blocker aside.

Christian McCaffrey is the son of former NFL wide receiver Easy Ed McCaffrey. He is a dynamic player that can play running back or wide receiver. After he catches the ball, it’s show time. He has moves on top of moves to shake n’ bake his way past defenders. He could wreck the Titans with one big play.

Which defender does Lebeau trust for the task of shutting down McCaffery? Is it Brown? That’s a big task for a rookie that appears to be a backup. The Titans outside linebackers are fierce big former defensive ends that attack the passer and cover some. They are not “cat quick” where they can matchup with McCaffery. What about free agent addition Johnathan Cyprien? Last year, Kevin Byard would be asked to shut down some key targets, but he is the outfielder free safety this year. If he is assigned to the Panthers speedy back, who do the Titans line up deep then? Logan Ryan is a smart, clever cornerback. He is disciplined and won’t fall for many fakes. As any well-coached player will do, he watches hips and wraps up legs when he tackles. Ryan is probably the man for the job here, but then who replaces him outside? Is Jackson ready to start? Lebeau is going to show us today who he trusts most in his secondary.

Much like the Titans, the Panthers like to run the ball and run it often. The Titans were not good last season at stopping runs up the middle. The Panthers (and every team in 2017) will surely begin the game by testing if the Titans have fixed this issue or not. After allowing nearly six yards per carry, teams are going to see if they can still go to that well. Is Woodyard up to the task? Aaron Wallace? The Panthers would literally run all day if they could. The Titans have to shut this down.

After praising Antwaun Woods, promoting him to starter, and giving him the starters privilege of a light workload last week against the Jets, Coach Mike Mularkey surprised us this week. The Titans coach promoted free agent signee Sylvester Williams thus pushing Woods back to the second team. It was odd and quite unexpected. While Woods did nothing to deserve being demoted, one can simply assume that Mularkey wants to see Williams against the best unit. Third string nose tackle Angelo Brown was excellent last week and has caught the attention of many in camp. Would the Titans keep two undrafted free agents over a highly paid free agent? That would be so rare in today’s NFL, yet those two are playing very well while Williams is struggling. This also sets up Woods nicely. If Williams struggles and the Panthers run up the middle well, Woods would then have the opportunity to “show the world” his impact. As I’ve been writing since 2016, he is exactly what the Titans need. He is a big tough beast of a nose tackle that makes one think “good luck pushing him out of the way.” Pay close attention today to the rushing success of the Panthers before Woods is in the game and after. I predict this is going to be a big moment for Woods’ career as it will erase any doubt that he should be the starter.

The Titans secondary depth had an excellent game last week against the Jets. So many of them played well it made it seem like they were going to wind up cutting some excellent players. The Titans can’t keep everyone. While I do think the Titans have nice depth in the secondary, I’m not sure if they are that special, that great. I’d lean more toward “good” with hopes in developing their talents. They were awesome last week though. Which of them can continue to play at an extremely high level?

I would imagine that Curtis Riley, Kalan Reed, and Denzel Johnson could make the team with some stellar play this week. It’s only the second of four preseason games, so please bear that in mind. Reed and Riley play both safety and cornerback and would be very useful as depth. Johnson was outstanding as an outfielder last week. He “flew” across the field and read the quarterback wonderfully. If the Titans wanted to allow Kevin Byard to play near the line of scrimmage some and matchup with the tight end like last year, Johnson would be needed to replace Byard as the outfielder. Cyprien and DaNorris Searcy can’t “fly” like Johnson and really aren’t an option to replace Byard as the deep man. These three could almost make the team if they can “show up” two weeks in a row.

Jeremy Boykins should be put to the test this week. He is a tall athletic player that can play safety and cornerback. His height is a commodity the Titans don’t have. It would be odd to play a depth player early, but hopefully, they will. The Titans need to know how he fares against the Panthers tall wideouts. I’m not sure if the Titans feel this is a priority, but it would be beneficial to see how he fares.

On offense, there isn’t much new here that we haven’t discussed a zillion times this offseason. The Titans now have a nice compliment of “weapons” for Marcus Mariota to work with. Who will he target? and how often? One hmmm complaint last week was that even with all of the new players, Mariota threw to Delanie Walker and Rishard Matthews. Mariota didn’t play much and that has to be understood. He is going to have to build a bond or rapport with the new targets. Mariota trusts Walker and Matthews to make a big catch when he needs them to. The others are going to have to earn his trust too. It’s the same story, we just need to see Mariota utilize them.

Taywan Taylor needs to make a significant improvement. I know many will disagree with me here, but he really does. He had a nice first game last week. His rookie jitters were obvious on a few drops, yet his big play ability was also evident. He wasn’t consistent and Coach Mularkey demands consistency. Mularkey has probably said the word “consistent” one thousand times since taking over the Titans. It is “everything” in his evaluation of receivers. Taylor surely has done enough to make the team. Will he be a key cog in their offense this year? Or spend much of it on the sideline? He must be consistent this week to be anything more than a “spot” player in 2017.

Khalifani Muhammad needs a good game this week to make the team. It seemed oh so obvious that David Fluellen and Akeem Judd were significantly ahead of him to be the Titans third running back. Coach Mularkey downplayed Judd’s presence earlier this week, stating that there wasn’t a true advantage between the two. Judd had a real nice 40 yard run against the Jets. If he has another nice game against the Panthers while Muhammad struggles, he could put Muhammad in his rearview mirror. At this point, I would guess Fluellen makes the roster and the other two are battling for a practice squad spot. It’s time for Muhammad to step up in this competition.

“Hey what about me” wide receivers should get a nice test from the Panthers scrappy depth in the secondary. Harry Douglas and Eric Weems are not eligible for the practice squad. Tajae Sharpe will not clear waivers to even be put on the practice squad. The Titans have always had a wide receiver or two on the practice squad. Mekhale McKay was having a nice camp til he got injured. He is not expected to play tonight, but needs to get back soon if he’s going to make the practice squad. If not for the injury, I would have predicted this 6 foot five inch giant would make the squad. Jonathan Krause has made several spectacular catches that people have shared on social media. He is a journeyman type that probably relishes the opportunity to be on the Titans practice squad. He is the favorite right now. Kevon Mabonn and Giovanni Pascascio still have a chance. Last week, Taylor got much of the work late in the Jets game. Look for the Titans to test some of these depth wide receivers that are full of hope.

Show us what ya got

Tre McBride has been on the Titans practice squad for two years and does have one remaining year of eligibility. I don’t think he clears waivers. He has shown progress as a receiver and that he can play both gunner and returner. See the above depth WRs? They don’t play all of these spots and most NFL teams have similar one-dimensional depth. I fully expect McBride to be claimed by another team as a better option than a one-dimensional developmental type.

Tyler Ferguson was the talk of spring practices. By many accounts, he has done reasonably well in camp. Last week, he only took a few snaps while Alex Tanney was being evaluated for a concussion. While I enjoy everything I read of Ferguson, I’d like to see it. The rookie only threw roughly 50 passes at Western Kentucky and that heightens my curiosity. I’m hopeful the rookie gets plenty of action in the second half.

Josue Matias has been the Titans backup guard since about the day he signed as an undrafted free agent. Last week seemed to be the Tyler Marz experiment as the tackle suddenly played with the second unit. Matias was outstanding, even dominant, against the Jets third string. How much of a promotion will Mularkey gives him off of his play last week? While he probably plays with the twos, will they give him some time with the first unit this week? Matias was one of my surprise starters I predicted in a sort of “make some daring predictions” type article. On a personal level, I’m still hoping he shocks Titans fans and can win the starting right guard spot.

The post Hopes for today’s Panthers Titans game appeared first on Cover32.