#or maybe the better question is why I assumed this would be a kid friendly show

[greenconvor]

Just finished watching the newest The Acolyte episode. To quote Jake Peralta:

What? No.

What??? No,

WHAT!? … NO!

*spoilers*

Why!? What was even the point!? Just to make me cry!?!? Do you want to see me cry???

I am a SENSITIVE SOUL!!! I get attached VERY EASILY; you have to WARN ME!!! ABOUT!!!! THESE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!

On the other hand, Qimir being the Sith was literally everything I wanted. The actor does amazing and I knew seeing that darker side of him would hit hard. I mean, the way he manipulated and egged on Sol. Perfection.

BUT NO. I spent half the episode going “Wake up, Osha. You’re dreaming. Wake up. WAKE UP.” Because you cannot give me an awesome Jecki fight scene where she pulls out two sabers and holds her own like the BAMF Padawan she is and Yord actually listening to Osha and turning around and then murder them IN FRONT OF ME.

THAT IS NOT OKAY. I AM NOT OKAY. SNFOFMSBFIFBDIXNsofbdndmddnskdb.

*sighs* I am finishing this to the end because I have thoroughly enjoyed this show BESIDES THE NEEDLESS MURDER OF TWO MAIN CHARACTERS and I understand that death is a part of life and we must all keep moving forward. And they have set up an intriguing twin switch.

But. I will not be watching anymore on Tuesday night and will require spoilers to prepare myself beforehand. Goodness, it is too late for this emotional rollercoaster.

OH YEAH, and they better go back and collect those bodies to give them the pyre funeral they deserve or I will RIOT. Metaphorically. Hopefully. -_-

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Can we get an inexperienced/new Villain with a Superhero who has much more experience and knowledge. Maybe the Villian is a little shy and doesn't know what to say to the Superhero since it's The Superhero™

“First time?” the hero asked.

The villain looked up, terrified. Their foot had been crushed by the rubble coming from above when the ceiling had collapsed onto them. Honestly, they had panicked, had realised there was a kid still inside the building. They rushed towards them and had somehow managed to save them.

Are you a hero? the kid had asked and the villain had been in too much pain to answer. They had choked out a “go” and pushed them away to safety. For the last thirty minutes they had been contemplating cutting off their own foot.

God, they couldn’t do it. Apparently, they sucked at this, too.

They nearly sobbed.

“Oh, hold on…” The hero pushed up the concrete the villain was trapped under with ease — something that super-strength was really useful for — and let the villain crawl out. Like a deer in headlights, the villain looked around, stared at the hero, at the collapsed building. They tried to run but their foot didn’t work.

And so, they gasped for air and fell over, back into the dirt. Their lungs hurt. That broken foot was clearly not the only thing that held them back from fleeing.

However, the hero walked up to them and crouched down.

“Relax,” they said, stretching their hand out as if to calm down an anxious animal. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“Go away—” the villain said, almost begged but the hero only eyed them and tilted their head gently.

“Deep breaths, come on.” Once again, the villain tried to stand up and go but their feet failed and their muscles betrayed them. There was glass on the ground, thousands of shards and they cut their fingers. Red blood covered the pavement in seconds and the pain was, once again, almost too much to handle. They sat down and leaned against a wall that was still standing, trying to grasp the fact that they were gonna lose their foot. The adrenaline wore off.

The villain was sure the hero would kill them or at least arrest them. They’d been a fool anyway, thinking they could shape the world into something better, into something more secure. But bombing senators and politicians didn’t seem to go all too well for them.

“Hey, look at me.” The hero’s voice was soft. Too soft. “It’s okay.”

It was just the two of them. And still, the villain felt overwhelmed. They pressed themselves closer against the wall and kept their eyes on the hero. Someone like this was scary for villains on TV. But right now, they seemed a little too friendly.

This was the hero. The city’s hero.

“Your hands, please.” The villain didn’t have a choice, the hero’s hands were around their own and turned them, until both of them could see the bloody palms.

“That’s quite a mess you’ve made. I’ve been watching your moves for a while now.” They observed the villain’s hands, found a little shard inside their flesh and pulled it out. The villain winced. Suddenly they pulled out bandages — the villain assumed that was normal for heroes — and carefully bandaged the villain’s hands.

“I…”

“Maybe it’s better if you don’t say anything. I’m not allowed to do this, actually. And you could get into more trouble,” the hero said. They seemed to be telling the truth which confused the villain even more. Wasn’t the hero supposed to be the bad guy? Why on earth were they helping them if it was against the rules?

“I don’t understand,” the villain admitted.

“You don’t have to, I just ask of you to hear me out. Your foot is crushed and I doubt your ribcage is doing any better. I can bring you to our facility and the medics will take care of your wounds.” They paused for a moment, thinking about how to word the next part. Obviously, there was a catch. “But you will be questioned for what you have done. You will be punished for it.”

The hero finished with the bandages.

“You may never walk again if you don’t come with me,” the hero said. “I know your motives are something only you can understand completely. But from what I’ve seen, you’re not trying to hurt innocent people. I don’t do this normally but I’m giving you a choice.”

They hadn’t let go of the villain’s hands yet.

“Maybe it’s not too late to switch sides,” the hero said.

“I know what side I’m on,” the villain whispered. “But I’ll accept this. I need help.”

The hero nodded.

And both weren’t aware that they’d change each other’s lives forever.

[kingofthering]

obsessed with the bodyswap you just wrote!! sooooo insane making it would LOVE to know where you think it goes from there… are the wounds healed with the tenth under vale’s name… or is it WORSE because vale knows that He was not actually the one to win it… do they fuck nasty about it (kidding. mostly)

Also going to include @moonshynecybin's tags here because they made me pause, especially the first one. Fic in question here for additional context.

So, I thought about this a lot because I feel like this touches the Rosquez thesis a lot, and the many ways you can interpret it.

The damage to their relationship was done before they even raced in Sepang (let alone before Jorge won the championship). They were doing better before it all crumbled down in 2018. And then they once again appeared friendly before divorcing again in Misano in 2019.

All that to say that if we're being real, they were probably doomed in the long run, no matter the outcome of 2015.

In this little universe, though, I do believe that end result of the championship and Marc fighting for him can alter the perception and the understanding Valentino has of Marc, which is key to a better development of their relationship, I think.

(That and better communication but let's not ask too much of them. Anyway.)

From Marc's side, I believe that things are pretty straight forward. Contrary to what Valentino wanted to believe, Marc genuinely didn't have any reason to make Jorge win (they didn't even start looking friendly until 2019, Valentino please, anyway I diverge) and while the press conference definitely annoyed him and made him want to have Valentino pay in some way (cue him being a little more of a nuisance than usual irl), I don't think that's his final mindset in the body swap universe (which is why I wrote things the way I did with him doing his best and getting Vale the tenth, duh).

I've always tended to consider Marc has a person who doesn't hold a grudge (we have one point in common, yeah!) and to me it's always aligned with canon events and the way he's always talked about separating the on-track events from the off-track events. Of course there was some ignoring going on in the beginning of 2016 but then he was the one reaching out to him.

He's always cared about Valentino a lot and maybe he's turned a blind eye on things being a little weird in the months leading to Sepang while being just a little aware of them (like, they were still laughing together and holding hands two race weekends before Sepang, we've all seen the confused/lost expression on his face post press con, home boy did not see that one coming) but when he wakes up in Valentino's body that Sunday in Valencia? Yeah, deep down he still wants the best for Valentino. So he wins him the tenth.

On Valentino's side, though? Oh boy. He legitimately cannot understand Marc's brain process through this and it fucks him up a lot (story of his life, truly). And it's silly but his mind goes both "oh maybe he's not that evil after all" and "hm, he must have done that with an ulterior motive" (hashtag self sabotage). I don't think he believes in that second one much but it's hard to let go of it because it's also the train of thought that justifies his actions and words of the past weeks, so.

Anyway. Logistics now, because you all know I'm a very (too) practical person.

Valentino needs to be there for the celebrations of his title (watching Marc having to do the little gimmick they had prepared for the 10th after he crossed the finish line was painful enough) (I'm going to assume Marc got briefed / reminded about it by Uccio before the race, just in case) (I'm not gonna imagine what they could have prepared but it was definitely the most awkward moment of Marc's life).

If we keep going in the last scene of the first post, we can go like :

"You need to apologize for me, so we can be seen together without raising a billion questions."

"What?"

"We don't even need to organize anything because you'll have to talk to the press tomorrow after testing anyway. You can say that I got a little carried away because I'd been waiting on that title for a long time and I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. We talked and it's all fine now."

Marc's face is unreadable and it's disconcerting. Valentino has always been told that he wears all of his feelings on his sleeve and he very rarely sees himself on camera but being met with his face so guarded? It throws him off a lot.

When the silence stretches, Marc has a short laugh. "Oh you're serious? You want me to go out there and actually lie for you? Just so you can be there when all of Italy is at your feet again?"

On a corner of his mind, Valentino has to wonder if being in his body is giving Marc more confidence than usual because even Valentino can recognize that this is the most confrontational Marc has ever been with him. [which, this is just Marc fighting for himself because he's exhausted and he's in the wrong body —a stressful experience already— and he's just done the right thing and Valentino still isn't happy with him, he needs a break]

Marc's not looking at him. He's barely been doing so since they woke up that morning.

Valentino doesn't call him out on it.

"I think this would be good for you too. If you think about it."

And then Marc looks at him, murderous enough that Valentino feels uneasy and wraps his arms around himself. [How nice to finally worry about the influence of his words on the public's opinion of Marc, right?]

"No wonder you want me to do the apologizing for you considering how much you suck at it," Marc huffs. Valentino thinks he might see some tension releasing from his shoulders. [Because Marc, bless his poor 22 years-old soul, can recognize that this is actually good for him. Doesn't mean he can't give Valentino a hard time about it.] "You're sure you don't want to use my voice to make me apologize for things I didn't do? I'm sorry that my racing had an impact on the championship, I'm glad all ended as it should have."

Valentino can recognize the sarcasm dripping in Marc's voice. He still tells him to shut up but it doesn't sound mean. Not to his ears. Not to Marc's considering the half smile that pulls on his face for maybe one second.

The next day, testing happens (going relatively well considering the situation) and Marc apologizes on Valentino's behalf and he squeezes Valentino's shoulder when he passes by Valentino (while he's talking to the press) and both his words and the photo make rounds on Twitter and all over the Internet.

Then, Marc goes to Tavullia with Valentino. I don't care if that's too big and going to raise too many questions, it's happening.

Don't ask me more about that day but yes, of course they end up having sex about it. It's always sex fixing those situations, anyway. I'm not sure I can say much more about it because body swap sex fucks with my mind a little but yes to all the headcanons.

I do know that 22 years-old Marc exuding Valentino's confidence and boldness sure is a sight for sore eyes.

Okay and I just reread this original ask. I think that Valentino will forever feel a little weird about it but I don't think there is resentment, not really. Can he ever truly deconstruct the delusional thoughts he built in his head (with Uccio's help) in the second half of 2015? I don't know.

But I think he has enough clarity to know he wouldn't have achieved what needed to be achieved in Valencia without Marc's help, so there is that.

[steddieas-shegoes]

I'll be full of the love you want

rated t cw: self-doubt, relationship doubt, light angst tags: happy ending, hurt/comfort-ish, super fluffy romantic words being said

a/n: firstly I am writing this absolute fluff because i've been listening to sleep token and decided i could handle listening to blood sport (i couldn't) and so now we get this fluff. second of all, i feel like before anyone comes for my throat, i LOVE nancy. i hate what the duffer brothers have reduced her character to canonically. she has so much potential, just sitting there, and what are they doing with it? making her worse. i do think that she is just very bad at reading what's appropriate to say to people, and that's what happens here. assume that it gets fixed and she apologizes later, this entire thing is to focus on the boys.

Sometimes, Nancy’s subtle comments remained in Steve’s chest, an unbearable weight that felt crushing.

“Eddie has plans, and they may not involve you.”

That’s what she’d said to him when he told her they were dating.

No congratulations, no friendly smile or hug, not even the expected game of 20 questions.

The words played on loop in his head as he found an excuse to leave movie night early, as he drove home, as he took a shower. 

He barely slept that night.

Nancy was right in a way; Eddie did have plans.

—-

“She what?” Eddie yelled.

“Eds-”

“No, that’s. Stevie, you know how ridiculous that is, don’t you?”

He did. 

But he also…didn’t.

It really wasn’t that ridiculous to think that maybe his boyfriend of barely a month would have plans that didn’t involve Steve.

Steve may be head over heels in love with him, but he hadn’t said that. 

“Is it?” Steve asked, not looking up at Eddie pacing in front of him.

Eddie stopped in front of him, dropping to his knees on the floor between Steve’s parted legs.

His hands gripped Steve’s knees, squeezing in silent comfort.

“Sweetheart, I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I’m all in with us. I’m not going anywhere that you can’t or don’t want to follow. If someone sends me to the moon, you better start packing your bags,” Eddie left a kiss on his thigh, looking up at Steve’s wide, glassy eyes. “I don’t think she meant to hurt you, Stevie. I’d just talked to her about the band possibly going to Chicago for a show soon and how excited we were about producers being there.”

“And if they like you guys, you’ll leave. And you should! I don’t wanna hold you back. I just was so wrapped up in the now, ya know?” 

Eddie looked up at him, eyes squinting at him for a moment before he stood up.

He sat down on the bed and pulled Steve onto him so he was straddling his thighs.

“You are more than just my now, Steve Harrington.”

Steve’s heart fluttered in his chest.

Eddie cupped his face in his hands, leaning his head down so their foreheads rested against each other.

“We’ve seen the end of the world together, we’ve seen each other at our worst, at our bruised, at our most vulnerable. You’re my entire world now, and in the future.” Eddie let out a shaky breath, something foreign for him, usually so confident in his words. “I love you. It might scare you off, but I do. I haven’t stopped picturing my future with you in it. Nothing could drag me away from you, not the band, not the kids, not myself. I’m yours, for the long haul, wherever that takes both of us.”

Steve sniffled, the tears pooling in his eyes fighting so hard to fall.

“You can’t say stuff like that,” he squeaked out.

“Why can’t I?”

“I might believe it.”

Eddie tugged him closer, one hand on the back of his head holding him against his shoulder, one arm wrapped around his waist.

“I need you to believe it, love. There is nothing that will keep me from loving you. If Vecna himself couldn’t, then Nancy’s words sure as shit won’t.”

And it could be simple.

It could.

Steve could believe it, he could say the words back, he could plan a real future with Eddie, something he’d never been able to do with anyone else.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Eddie interrupted his thoughts, his hand squeezing Steve’s hip.

Steve pulled back, looking at Eddie’s earnest face.

“I’m scared to love you the way that I do,” Steve admitted, voice barely more than a whisper.

Eddie heard him, though.

He beamed up at Steve.

“You can be scared, but you can love me anyway,” Eddie shrugged, as if it could actually be that simple.

Love was a silly thing. 

Steve felt it easily, for Robin, for the kids, for the Byers’, even Nancy still. He’d known what he felt for Eddie was love way before this conversation, but he hadn’t realized how much that love could grow when it was reciprocated.

Eddie looked at him now like he already knew, like Steve holding back wasn’t changing the fact that Steve had loved him for months now, maybe even longer.

“You can love me, Stevie. I want you to love me. Love me the way you feel,” Eddie continued.

His words cut through his heart, but in a different way than Nancy’s had.

Steve never got to love people the way he felt, always too much, always overwhelming.

His parents taught him not to be needy, let people show their love from a distance and don’t force your attention and care on them.

Nancy taught him that he couldn’t be someone else just because he wanted to love someone, that he had to accept that love wasn’t always enough for a relationship.

Eddie, though.

Eddie had taught him that there was nothing shameful about being loud with your passion, with your love. He taught him that he can’t hold back his feelings, not for anyone, especially not for himself.

He was showing him, more every day, that loving someone can and should be fulfilling.

He couldn’t be scared of loving Eddie, not when Eddie had always shown him how to be brave.

“I love you so much,” Steve gasped out.

It wasn’t the declaration he’d planned, or even wanted, but that somehow made it better for them.

Eddie’s beaming smile proved that even further.

“I’m so in love with you, I don’t know what to do with it all. I just keep thinking that one day I’ll wake up and feel less, but I just keep feeling more. I’m not good with words like you are, but I love you,” Steve added, finally gaining his voice.

“Feels good, right?”

“To love you?”

Eddie leaned up, kissed his chin, then the corner of his mouth.

“To show it to someone who wants it.”

Steve bit his lip, realizing that yeah, it did feel good. Really good.

“You’re gonna get so tired of me loving you.”

It was said as a joke, but it was his last genuine fear. The one thing that he knew always happened.

“I will never get tired of you loving me. Not for a single second. Not even when we’re old dudes sitting on our porch yelling at the kids with the loud music,” Eddie poked his side as he spoke.

“You won’t ever yell at anyone for loud music.”

“You never know. I could become a grumpy old man. Will you still love me?” Eddie pouted up at him.

“I think I’d love any version of you. Actually, I know I would.” “And you say I’m the sappy one.”

[chainsxwsmile-personal]

Aarini Dhar’s journals, which will act as a segway into my fanfiction!

Text under readmore:

Dear Journal,

It was a success!!! I can’t believe that it actually worked, and I can’t even begin to describe the world I’m seeing now!

Stacy and I had been waiting for several days now, but the monster finally showed up again at 0302 like clockwork. The creature’s been doing this for weeks now, but no one else in the household believed Stacy. At least, not until I arrived at the foster family’s house, of course. I must have tricked the monster into assuming that only Stacy was in the room because it only ever approached her bed—and then did nothing! It roared, sure, but left immediately after Stacy screamed. I slept in my usual sleeping place (under the desk) until the second time the monster arrived to scare her. I could’ve sworn I saw indoor lighting coming from the closet, even though I know the bulb blew days ago and the Snyder’s still hadn’t bothered to fix it.

I needed to know what was behind that door. Worst case scenario, I would get eaten by what other ungodly creatures were also in that closet-world. Best-case scenario, I could skip a few weeks from this hellhole. Anything to get away from the Snyder’s. So, Stacy and I kept up the usual rhythm: the monster entered the room, Stacy screamed, and from underneath my desk, I checked out glimpses of whatever world was inside the closet. After weeks of preparation, I made a monster disguise and a plan. I waited underneath a blanket next to the closet door every night, all night until the monster arrived again. And as soon as that door cracked open and the monster moved aside, I slid past them—dressed in my best monster disguise, a hard hat, and a vest! Jeremy from next door said that “nobody ever stops to question anybody in a hard hat and construction vest”, so it helped explain my appearance! After that, I just followed the Exit signs.

I can’t write for too long, but this world looks so similar to ours that I’m wondering if it’s almost like a mirror dimension. Like our world but with monsters instead of people. I fished out a few coins from a water fountain for bus fare, and I’m on my way to a Monsters University. Hopefully, I’ll be able to blend in a little better with a backpack there.

-Aarini Dhar

Dear Journal,

I managed to get on campus during freshmen orientation week, so it looks like luck is on my side! No one would bother a lost-looking freshman wandering around and exploring the campus. I snagged someone’s visitor pass for an added measure, but it looks like visitors are only allowed to sleep on campus with permission from the teachers. Looks like I’ll have to act the part of ‘student’, instead. I think I found where a good hideout might be—there’s a place called the Troll Bridge and a bunch of tunnels next to it! It might make for a good temporary stay while I do some research.

On the plus side, I don’t think I have to worry about getting eaten. Even though it seems monsters make careers out of scaring kids, they’re actually AFRAID of us! Apparently, we’re toxic and dangerous. And I’m not talking just snotty kindergarteners—everyone! All humans are, apparently, toxic or poisonous to monsters and everyone thinks they’ll DIE if a human touches them! They even make movies where human kids are villains—it’s crazy!

I can definitely say for a fact that humans are NOT toxic to monsters, though. I’ve been on campus for about a week now, and no one’s gotten sick. I’ve shaken hands—and claws, tentacles, and talons (!) —with a bunch of monsters and no one has shown any effects! I wonder why they keep telling themselves this… Maybe to protect their world? Not all humans are friendly, after all…

-Aarini Dhar

[saydams]

a rant about neurological testing

so i told my psychiatrist that i was thinking of trying to get tested for autism (i'm sure i am autistic, did many many years of research to be sure, but was never formally diagnosed). and she said "oh i'd better put you on the wait list right now because it's super long, don't worry we'll have plenty of time to talk about it before you get the the front of the line".

fine ok. and i look up her company to see how they are on diagnosing adults and surprise they are very good for that, one of the few who does it a lot. so, great!

imagine my surprise when i am scheduled for an appointment with neurological testing within the month. i dont want to say no and not bea able to test later, so i guess i'm doing this? also weird: it's on zoom. and just one day?? i dont know maybe i'm confused about what this involves

anyway! my appointment was today. and apparently it was some sort of audition to see if i can move on to the next step. i had to explain to the tester (who wasnt even from the same org as my psych, he's from some other place...) why i was there and i wasnt sure what to say so i guessed as best i could. and he kept getting interrupted? like people kept coming in and talking to him? and he didnt mute himself or anything.

so i guess i passed the audition because he said he was going to have his office send me a link to an online evaluation and after he got the results from that he would see about having me come in for testing.

anyway! i got the link and sat down to do the assessment and it turns out it is 30 minutes of video games which i am SO BAD AT--i hit the wrong button a lot and double click when im supposed to single click so i will accidentally pick the same square twice or whatever and it hurts my hands and the games all beep and flash and its awful.

then it is time for questionaires and most of them are about "the child" and it warns me to take into account what is appropriate for the child at the child's age. and i assume they mean me but im not a kid so i guess they mean me WHEN i was a child but at what age? all the ages? so i guessed and i tried to average everything accross my ages and i had no one to ask and no way to write and clarify anything and then they asked all these drug questions but i dont do drugs and some of the questions were about what happened when i abused drugs and there was no option for not applicable so i just hit "no" but even though i think that was what i was supposed to do i still had a panic attack and the whole thing was the worst

and i have no idea if it will give anyone an accurate picture of anything and i am so stressed and upset now.

anyway. i am not going to do anything else today. since th test i have sat with some tea and read a book. i feel a bit better (so now i'm just mad, not panicky anymore). and i am going to make myself go for a walk this evening when it's not sunny. (it's too bright i can't handle it now)

i hope everyone else has a better day! if you also had a rough task today, i offer sympathetic internet hugs or a friendly cup of tea.

[thequibblah]

Hi Suuuuze!! Has been like 2 months since I send you my last review and I am SO sorry!!

I’m kind of cheating myself in this because I’m reading CT in two fronts: this one in my private phone and another in my workplace phone. There I’m already on chapter 46!!!! 😅

I wil try very hard to the synchronise the two again since I want to give my first reaction to chapter 52 in here

Sooooo Chapter 5: Ties That Bind

The way Doe is invested in find Mary a rebound is everything to me!! And she is treating it like something very professional hahahaha

Remus made a face. “Smooth sailing for you, maybe.” - Poor Remus!!

You know, I kind of miss fic’s with the boys being boys, theirs times together. This part made me want more of this…

Sirius is that kind of kid that was raised by his parents to own the world (pureblood, first born, the heir of the family and handsome), to rule the world. He thinks a little like this, like he is better than everyone, but at the same time he was abused by them and he learned a lot with his friends and his own mistakes. I can see this in your writing, so I should thank you for this!

But he had, overall, a rather tepid opinion of Lily Evans, having assumed the role of the cynical, protective friend. - We know darling, and you are forgiven.

I don’t know why maybe because of Dex but in my mind Doc was a Hufflepuff… 😬

Speaking of Doc, there’s a reason why the boys don’t like him?? It’s because of all the drama involving MM and MB?? Or there is another reason?

Poor Sirius too… He is kind of hyperactive isn’t he?

Her friend gave her a look as if to say she wasn’t fooling anyone. It’s for things like this that I love your Mary, she knows how to read the in between’s. Never change Mary my dear.

“My sort? I don’t think I’m a nice boy, really. I can be quite a prick sometimes — though I’m working on it.” - Yeah Dorcas, don’t push him to Mary, he’s YOUR type!

iv. All Your Loving - About this hole section I have 1 thing to ask: WHY IS ALWAYS JAMES??? Why can’t it be Snape at least once?? I would love to see him suffering, not my good boy James (and me in extension)

He’s — he and I are in a strange phase of pre-friendship and I don’t think either of us is handling it well. - Turns out I have another question: Dex knew of the rumours about Jily?

Thank you for this part where the boys simply support each other, even with a sad Sirius I like this part pretty much! It’s the beginning…

The last bit of Mary and Doe it’s just heartwarming, I loved every part of it!!!

And that’s all!! Thanks again!! 😘

HELLO! omg you are rereading TWICE that's so crazy 😭😭😭😭

and thank you for the note about sirius! there's plenty of characters in this fic who put on a facade to hide their insecurities but sirius does it in a very specific, very mercurial way i find so fun to write. sometimes he lets people take knocks at him, other times he just will not have it—and that spark of pride/defiance feels very much like a residue of his life at his parents' house.

hahah doc, a hufflepuff? never!

and thank you—i love that doe and mary are both quite emotionally intelligent, but in such different ways. they play off each other so well because of it.

they just don't like him because doc's a bit of a snob, tbh! he's not wildly friendly, nor is he sporty so he and james have never had that in common. it's not that they hate him or anything, it's just that james and doc have run in similar social circles for a long time and they've never actively been friends—unlike say frank who james has always seen as a good sort

dex knew what everyone in school knew: that james had asked lily out very publicly at the end of fifth year. everyone comes to their own conclusions about that!

[lumitycanon]

@witchnordemon continued from here

Oh, what could they say to that?

They stopped in their tracks when they arrived on their trusty transportation star, just outside the Owl House - and ran into her. Collector had tried so hard to avoid Luz in their subsequent visits after the Isles were freed, and had been successful up until now. It wasn't that they didn't like her - they did! She was such a beacon of positivity and selflessness that... they had just assumed she didn't like or care for them all that much.

The last thing Collector wanted to do, after everything Luz had done for them, done for King, was to guilt her with their feelings. They didn't want to be a constant reminder of the suffering that their actions had caused her in the past, and they certainly didn't want her to feel like she had done anything wrong, when they felt they were the source of the problem.

But... he had made a pinky promise with her to keep trying his best, and... maybe the best thing to do was be honest with her.

❝ ...I've done a lot of things to be mean to you... to hurt you... ❞ He finally manages to get out, averting his gaze out of a combination of discomfort and guilt. Despite all the help King had been helping him to process his emotions, it was still something he struggled with. ❝ ...And to your friends, and your family... I don't... I don't get why you would care about me. ❞

|🦦|: She may have wanted her question answered. However, pushing him away when he needed some friendly interactions was not her way. Gladly accepting his embrace to her person she softened and slowly put her hand around his shoulder.

"Collector. It's alright. Yes you have made those mistakes, but like my mama says. "Messing up is part of living. It's okay to make mistakes as long as you take away the lesson you're mistakes teach you. It's important to learn from them."

Luz was understanding apart from sometimes having a terrible temper Collector was not one of the individuals to bring that anger out. He was a just an overpowered kid. Someone who had a lot of growing up to do. Someone who shared a lot of similarities with the latina on their own journey. Luz was patient, Luz was trusting, she had also saved them/him once before. She trusted her gut that they were a good entity

"I only asked because when we first met each other you seemed so angry so it really looked like you were not comfortable with being friends with anyone. Umm Me especially." Her eyes dropped rubbing his back slightly.

"I think I understand now. I mean you were tricked and you were roped along by Belos! You were trapped by a giant titan after you thought you could befriend the children. You were trapped for so long without anyone...." She nodded and also, ruffled his white hair.

"Because little nino I'd be crazy and selfish to not give you the chance. We did make that promise to be better. I can already tell you're keeping up your side of the promise." With that she gently winked at him.

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Give me the sun and roxy dynamic!

Okay so in terms of the programming conflicts – which I assume is where this sprang from, if not feel free to correct me so I can better answer this – the relationship is very uh… uneven for a while.

Roxy, in her first few months in the Plex, is learning to mix her two conflicting language processors into one that makes her actually understandable to the people around her, and also dealing with every other conflict in her programming. So for a while? She does not understand that a toothy smile is a good thing. And what does Sunny always have? A big ol’ toothy grin!

So she’s under the impression he and Moon really fucking hate her for some reason. She looks at them and Monty with their teeth constantly on display and is confused why they’re talking in chill tones yet obviously telling her to fuck off, and sometimes straight up asking for a fight. She just met these guys! Why are they like this?? Did she invade their territory or something?? Fine! She’ll just stay in her own territory! Fuck those guys!

Sunny on the other hand, is also under the impression that Roxy doesn’t like him. Why else would she growl at them so quickly? Why else would she go rigid and snap her teeth at them when he got too close? Why else would she keep such a big distance between them through the entire one-sided conversation? The difference with Sunny though, would be that they’d probably have been told about Roxy’s lack of clear communication ability. They were just trying to be as comforting, supportive and encouraging as possible and yet that’s how she reacted?? What did they do wrong?? Did he mess it up? Maybe he missed something obvious? Or maybe he was too pushy? He’s heard they can be pretty overwhelming at times but they tried so hard not to be this time! Did it not work? Oh, he’s so sad. He’s convinced he’s just lost a new friend because of something they’ve done and really wants to make up for it but she’s giving him such a wide berth that he’s starting to lose hope he ever will.

However, things do change of course! You can’t just leave Roxy thinking every big smile is some sort of threat, right? Well, this is where the others come in.

I like to give Bonnie this role but it could be anyone you want it to be really, outside of Monty, Moon and Sunny. DJ Music Man would probably be a much better fit for it anyway but moving on. They ask her why she keeps getting into fights with Monty and she stumbles on her words a bit, but manages to get them to understand that she’s convinced he’s starting it. The very moment she mentions why, it’s explained to her that smiling like that is just a natural thing people do, even if dogs don’t. It… takes a good few difficult to answer questions before Roxy is able to kind of wrap her head around that but it’s still going to take some getting used to.

Now, back to Sunny. Bonnie passes onto him that they figured out why Roxy didn’t like him literally the second she saw him and they’re relieved that it was just miscommunication but also feels awful that anyone would feel like he was threatening them so of course they have to fix that. Their next meeting goes a bit smoother, with Sunny making sure to keep some distance between them and not to make any sudden moves towards her to make sure she doesn’t misunderstand their intentions again but also quickly learns that she’s not much of a talker. Or at least, she’s not comfortable enough to be a talker. Or maybe she’s still not great at communicating and thus, doesn’t want to do it all the time, which he can understand! They get all sorts of kids in the daycare, he can handle a new nervous friend! Even if her chomping would ordinarily get her banned from the Daycare…

Yeah, she’s breaking rules all the damn time. Does she know she’s breaking rules? Nope. Sunny hasn’t told her yet. He’s so desperate to make her feel comfortable and make himself out to be as friendly as possible that they’re overcompensating a bit. They’re too nervous to ruin what progress they’ve made by enforcing the rules and she’s not broken anything yet, right? It’ll be fiiiinnneee… Moon doesn’t have this problem ordinarily but Sunny keeps fretting so much that now Moon won’t do anything about it either unless it starts to get out of hand and well. You can imagine that when it does get out of hand, there’s probably going to be some problems.

Anyway, on Roxy’s side of things, the teeth still have her on edge. She doesn’t want to run around or anything because it’s just making her feel like she should be ready to rip this guy to shreds. Also he’s so loud?? And them giving her space like this is both making her feel better and worse because what if they’re scared of her? He won’t be the only one if he is. She’s not sure how to feel about that since the dog side hates the idea while the character side thinks it’s funny, but she does know she wants to jump in the ball pit and chew the giant Freddy plush to shreds. She will not though. She will just not notice as she starts chewing whatever she picks up instead. Chewing stim go brrr

The relationship here is a slow one, just like it is for Moon and Monty. Roxy has to work on unlearning that teeth are a threat and that’s really hard to do when it’s hardwired into your very being. It takes time, and once she makes her debut and has to deal with this exact problem all day from hundreds of people daily that’s gonna get overwhelming fast and she’s probably not going to want to keep dealing with it in her off time so yeah. Once she settles a bit more into everything, things get a bit easier. Well that problem does anyway.

This is just one of her many problems to deal with. Don’t forget the anger issues from the constant conflicts in her programming making it difficult to feel like she is acting as herself or as intended, the frustration caused by language barriers and no one listening to her when she’s asked for help with it, the fact she has to interact with Sunny and Moon who both put her on edge all the time and also don’t seem to get her… Getting past the teeth thing is merely a hurdle in the Grand National here.

Other problems? The side of her that was programmed as the cool, and independent wolf character doesn’t fucking like him. Why would it? She’s cool! She’s clever! She’s a star racer! Why would she want to play Blind Man’s Bluff or Hide and Seek in her free time? She has better things to do! And yet her dog side loves him. He’s the perfect match for her dog side. So add this to the list of frustrating things!

Sunny is so fucking nice and kind and she’s just this ball of fluffy anger and zooms. He can’t tell her to stop breaking the rules because he’s too scared to upset her and she’s  too stuck in her own problems to notice he’s desperately trying to distract her from the Freddy plush she’s absolutely obliterating. He doesn’t understand her, she doesn’t understand him, it’s all a massive learning curve.

Actually you know what would be really sweet? Sunny high jacking the internet for information about dogs to make her more comfortable. He seems like he’d overdo it a bit though or read like… the ‘dominance training’ bullshit and royally fuck it up. But if he does it in a funny way? Well, kudos to him for making her laugh! He’s trying so hard, probably harder than literally anyone else because the one thing he can always do, is make someone feel safe and comfortable and god damn it he’s gonna do it for Roxy if it kills him!

Anyway, some ups, Sunny makes her – and everyone else of course – little gifts during craft time with the tots, and calls her down to the daycare whenever she’s needed for a birthday or when they really need to find something. Roxy meanwhile, starts to really appreciate the bells on him allowing her to know where he is in the room since that helps her nerves a bit and once she’s comfortable, she’s more than happy to find a kid’s toy or something else they’ve lost as an opportunity to show off. Sunny is always trying to coax her into conversation and is insanely patient when she can’t find her words. Roxy needs all the patience – and practice – she can get but also learns how to trigger an infodump or rant so that she can just vibe in the same room and listen without having to work so hard in the conversation.

Also, Sunny is the only one that has the same high level of energy as she does. Moon thinks it’s funny to trigger the zooms in Roxy right before Sunny takes over and mentally sits there with the popcorn as these two lose their absolute shit together. Roxy will just bowl him over and Sunny will jump back up and try and wrestle a ball pit ball from her or something. He has yet to succeed but one of these days they will! Just you wait!

Sunny loves having someone to share fidget toys with and Roxy loves not feeling like the only one that likes them. They get a new one and they can spend all night trying it out before either going back to one they prefer or deciding who gets to keep the new one. They can race each other to see who can complete a Rubiks cube first or run each other out of energy by playing some new fast paced game Sunny came up with or something.

It takes a while to get that far in their relationship of course. Roxy’s more cool and stoic programming makes it a little difficult too since this is kids stuff and not for someone cool like her so that takes some working through as well, but she can’t deny Sunny can be a blast. It also makes her laugh when Moon comes out specifically to cause a problem and then fucks off again, only to return after she’s fallen asleep in the middle of the daycare, pretending he’s not moved away from her because he’s just taken over and hasn’t had a chance to sneak away yet.

Also, oh my god I just realised it would be really sweet if the bells became a stim for Roxy too so Sunny ties one of his belled ribbons to her spiky collar or around her wrist so she can jingle with him. It has been tied around her tail at least once and it makes it even more obvious when Roxy is happy, the jingles making them both happier until her tail wags too hard and the bell falls off and now they’re both sad :(

Lmao anyway, yeah. It’s a slowburn friendship for a multitude of reasons. The unintentionally threatening teeth, both of them giving the other space, getting over the ‘this is childish and weird’ thing, figuring out where the boundaries are, the initial communication barrier, the sheer amount of rules Roxy keeps unknowingly breaking in the daycare until Sunny grows a back bone to stop her… the list goes on! Most of it is on Roxy’s side of things, girl’s just full of problems but they get there!

Probably the last person to get a special Roxy howl for them but that just makes it extra meaningful, right?

[princess-of-the-corner]

I know you wrote a one-shot relating to the Carnterlot Wedding, but I would like to hear your thoughts on how else you'd change the episodes. And how would yu expand them

Okay so yeah there was the oneshot for the thing that basically had just Rainbow being in on things.

But I do want to expand on like. A few little scenes? Not necessarily with Rainbow fixing shit but:

1.) Address why Twilight didn't know about Shining and Cadence until literally the day before the wedding. Like I can click into her being confused about the 'Mi Amore Cadenza' thing but she seriously didn't know he was dating her or even engaged? Why?

2.) Honestly more Changeling Lore in general

3.) Lore on Chrysalis knowing Celestia

4.) let Luna do shit during this

5.) Twilight should've questioned things more. She knows Cadence decently, right? Shouldn't she find it incredibly weird that such a kind mare is being so awful? I think if I had to have her assume this is the 'real Cadence', Twilight might justify it as like. Half rose tinted glasses from childhood (Saying 'oh I probably only /remember/ her being good because I was a kid), and half Twilight had little perspective on friendliness before, so maybe Cadence was always like this and she never realized because she didn't have better comparisons but now she does. (Obviously this is her trying to rationalize things in ways other than Changelings since she doesn't know about them).

6.) Have everyone listen to Twilight more. Like, Shining can still brush her off because he's under a spell. And in the fic I said the others assumed Twilight didn't know Cadence due to the name mixup thing. But while Twilight says the above justifications, her last interactions with Cadence weren't actually that long ago so things couldn't shift that much. So while /maybe/ the very kind and sweet mare is just standoffish and snarky from wedding stress, it should raise red flags and Twilight shouldn't be brushed off as overprotective.

7.) Celestia ESPECIALLY should realize that Cadence is acting weird AF and she knows about Changelings and should try and figure shit out.

7.) I know they probably didn't intend for the Changelings to return, but I want more Changeling characters to appear. Like! Just a handful of castle staff ready to take out and replace anyone who catches on.

[sassygirl579]

Look what I found!

I’m going to a job fair next weekend, and in searching for my resume to make sure it’s updated......I found this forever old (May 2020) very early draft of what probably ended up as TLGF chapter 2 (though we now know Cara doesn’t meet Paz and the kids in person until Chapter 7.  And wow, have things changed--kids without helmets, Kyri and Jos’ whole personalities, even some names (Zara became Miri, Jerek became Jerem--and the Sarai referenced and not actually here is actually a cousin we saw in the chapter where Ezra gets his armor)

Anyway, enjoy what could’ve been--even though writing can be a struggle for me these days, this shows me how far I’ve come--and makes me want to keep going😊 

*******

Cara had now been in the Covert enough times to find the Forge without getting lost.  She hadn’t heard from Bryn since her last holocall to the Captain six days ago, but was assuming their plan for the midday meal of (something) still stood.  Plus, if by chance something was wrong, if her friend needed help, the quicker Cara knew about it, the better.

As she turned the final corner, she did a double-take at the sight of a little girl, maybe two or three years old, standing just outside the Forge.

“Hey, what are you doing down here?” she asked, trying to keep her tone a good mix of friendly and admonishing—but to no avail.  The child burst into tears, her loud wails echoing off the stones of the Covert as she sunk to her knees.

“Hey, who are you—get away from her!” Cara was shocked when a female Mandalorian, much younger than Bryn, if her voice was any indication, stuck her head out the doorway to the Forge, vibroblade in hand.  She scooped the little girl off the floor, and the child buried her face in the young woman’s cowl, continuing to sob.

“Who are you—and where is the Armorer?”

The change in posture that resulted from her question made Cara reasonably sure that she was dealing with a teenager.  She could almost feel the attitude coming off of her in waves.  “I’m not telling you my name—and you’re looking at her.”

Cara stared at the young woman, eyes narrowing.  “Look, I’ve fought a full-grown member of your tribe before, and even with all his fancy gadgets, I still took him down.  You’ve got about ten seconds before……”

“Jos, what is the meaning of this?  Why is she….Cara.” Bryn said, halting as she turned the corner about twenty feet down the hall.

The young woman whipped around to face Bryn. “Wait, you know this aruetii?”

A flash of anger made Cara bow up into a fighting stance.  “What did you just call me?” she said through clenched teeth, her voice low and menacing.

Bryn sighed, a long, weary sound, as she resumed walking.  “Jos, must you stir up contention with everyone you meet?  This is my friend Cara Dune, who is also a friend of Din Djarin.  It has been through her communication system that I have been able to converse with your father for the two months.” She turned to Cara.  “She called you an outsider, that’s all.  If it had been anything significant, there would be consequences.”

She reached over and took the little girl into her own arms, bouncing slightly while rubbing slow circles on her back.  The child looped one arm around Bryn’s neck, stroking the fur collar there, while the other brought her thumb to her mouth.  Her crying all but stopped.

“I’m confused….please explain,” Cara said.  “I knew Captain Vizsla was returning—but I didn’t know he had kids with him.”

“Almost eighteen, not a kid,” the young woman—Jos—murmured.”

Bryn sighed again, and Cara was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes beneath her helmet.  “Cara Dune, I would like to introduce you to my oldest and youngest daughters—Jos and Kyri Vizsla.”

Cara’s eyes went wide.  “Wait….you have….Vizsla…..the big guy?”

“These two, plus six more,” came a deep voice from down the hall.  Paz Vizsla was even taller and broader than Cara had imagined, but he moved with a purposeful, almost graceful gait as he approached the group.

“Eight?!” Cara sputtered?  How…..”

“Two are Foundlings—the rest of us?  When a man and a woman…”

“Jos, shut it,” Paz said, cutting her off before stopping in front of Cara, hand extended.  “You must be Cara—I’m Paz Vizsla—and now you’ve met almost half of our crazy family.”  While his tone was more than a little exasperated, Cara could also hear great affection in it.

“Cara Dune.”  She was shocked at how tiny her hand felt in his.  “I was a teenager once, more years ago than I care to admit…..and I’ve learned way more than I ever thought I would about toddlers over the past few months.  I get it,” she said, giving him a dimpled smile.

“Kyri, can you tell Cara “hello?” Bryn asked the child in her arms.  The little girl peeked out from around the collar, her hazel eyes obscured by a loose chunk of wavy auburn hair.  She took the thumb from her mouth, waved, and promptly returned it.

“Hi,” Cara said, waving back.  “My name is Cara, and I’m friends with your mama.  You look like you’re about……three years old?”

Kyri nodded, her face spreading into a shy smile, and she took her thumb from her mouth.  “We haved a party on the ship.”

Cara’s heart melted.  She missed the little green guy, who wasn’t even hers, terribly, and he’d only been gone a few weeks.  How hard must it have been for Bryn to live without this little one, without all her children, for four months?  “That sounds like fun.”

“Buir gaved us candy, an’ I got a knife.”

“A wooden one.  We’re not that barbaric,” Jos clarified, seeing Cara’s raised eyebrow.

“Jos, will you take over here for the remainder of the day?  This,” Bryn said, nodding her head toward Kyri,” “is not going to work.  Perhaps if I give her the attention she needs now, she’ll feel more secure tomorrow, and I can join you.”

The younger woman gave her mother a salute, gave Cara a nod, then turned to go back into the Forge.  “N-a-p might help, too.  She’s been doing one long one instead of two shorter ones,” she called, immediately followed by the sound of something being immersed into the fire.

“Thank you, tracinya--I’ll keep that in mind,” Bryn responded, then turned to the others.  “Shall we?”

She led the way down the opposite end of the hall, making a left and two rights before entering a code on a panel.  When the door opened, Cara was surprised to find a small, but homey, living area, with two large couches and two oversized chairs, not unlike those in her own apartment.  Further back was what appeared to be a small kitchen area, along with a table with two long benches and two chairs.  There were also three doors leading off of the main room.

“We don’t usually prepare meals here, but our facilities are sufficient for cooling and reheating.  Unfortunately, the Tribe’s cook was among those killed in the massacre, so you’ll have to eat my cooking.”  Bryn tried to hand the little girl off to her husband, but she clung tight to her mother’s collar, and began to whine.

“Cara, make yourself comfortable.  We’ve already eaten, but round two should be coming in any….” Paz was interrupted by a growing commotion outside the door.  Moments later, it opened, and the remainder of the Vizsla children entered, in a cacophony of conversation.

“…..no, that’s not a good choice for a blaster in a situation like that, because….”

“…..she says I should be able to set simple fractures soon.”

“No, Sarai, stop doing that!”

The air was suddenly split by a loud whistle.  All six children went silent—and a second later, Kyri’s cries rang out once again, causing a collective groan from the group.  Paz reached out to stroke the little girl’s head, whispering what Cara guessed was an apology to her, before addressing them at large.

“Okay, now that I have your attention, I want you all to meet Cara Dune.  She’s the one who was nice enough to let BryBuir use her comm system to call us—and she’s a friend of Ba’vodu.”

“Friend, huh?” a boy around ten spoke up.  “More like cyar’ika?” This was followed by a round of giggles by the three younger children, and an eyeroll from a stocky older boy, who was likely the spitting image of his father.

“Ajay, k'uur!  Cuy ogir'olar,” Paz said, his voice firm as he shook his head.  “Cara, I apologize—we’ve been cooped up together way too long, and we’re all losing our minds.” He sighed, and Cara had to fight back the impulse to laugh because the sound reminded her of Din with his own little one.  “You’ve already met Jos and Kyri, so we’ll let the others introduce themselves—oldest to youngest.  Tell her your name, how old you are, and something interesting about yourselves, without getting too crazy.”

The lone helmeted child in the bunch, a slender young woman even taller than Bryn, stepped forward, her long cape rustling. “I’m Zara, and I’m 14.  I’m studying to be a Healer, and I love reading.”

“That’s two things!” Ajay piped up.  “No fair!”

“If you would like to share two things about yourself, you may do so—when it’s your turn,” Bryn spoke softly, swaying a sleepy Kyri in her arms.

“I’m Jerek.  I’m twelve, and I’m swearing the Creed in two months,” the tall boy said, his voice quiet but proud.  Something about him also reminded Cara of Din.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Jerek—and congratulations!” Cara replied, which made the boy blush and smile shyly.

Next was the outspoken boy, whose slightly darker skin and jet black hair made Cara think he might be one of the Foundlings. “I’m Ajay, and I’m 11—and I have a joke for you.”

“Keep it appropriate,” Paz warned, and Cara could almost feel the glare coming through his helmet.

“I will!  Okay, here goes--why was the droid angry?”

Cara took the bait.  “I don’t know—why?”

“Because people kept pushing his buttons!” He cracked up at his own joke, earning another collective groan from his siblings.

Cara laughed, more at the thought of Din’s response to the joke, given his distaste for droids, than the joke itself.  “Not bad!”

The boy bowed, then stepped back.

The next child was a girl, who had the same hair color and complexion as Ajay.  “My name is Nima, and I’m 9.  I lost a tooth yesterday, an’ it bled a lot—wanna see?” she said, holding up the side of her mouth.

Cara felt obligated to look.  “I see you’ve already got the next one coming in,” she said—because what else could she say? The girl’s beaming smile was confirmation that she’d made the right choice.

“Am I next?” the smallest boy spoke up, his voice quiet but full of wonder.

“Yes, ad’ika, it’s your turn now,” Bryn whispered, then turned to walk toward the door to Cara’s right, presumably to lay down the now-sleeping Kyri.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Cara asked, charmed by the small boy with big blue eyes and slightly shaggy light brown hair.

“Evet,” he said with a shy smile.

“Can you tell her how old you are?” Zara prompted.

“Six.”

“Do you want to tell her anything else?”

“I got to see birds, real ones, when we were flying.”

Cara gave him an encouraging smile.  “That’s good, buddy—I’m guessing there’s a story behind that?”

“Yes,” Bryn replied.  “Perhaps he will tell you sometime.”

“I’m next!” the last child, a female version of (name).

“I’m Eira and…..guess how old I am!”

“Hmm….” Cara said, pretending to guess.  “You wouldn’t happen to also be six, would you?”

She looked at Cara, mouth open in surprise “How did you know that?”  

“Because—you look just like your brother, and you’re about the same size—so are you guys twins?”

“We are!” she said, giving her brother a hug.  “That’s my special thing!”

“That’s very special,” Cara replied. “Two of my brothers were twins.”

“Okay, she knows all of us—can we eat now?” Ajay spoke up, much to Cara’s relief.

This time it was Bryn’s turn to sigh.  “Yes—but Cara gets to go first, since she’s our guest.”

After a noisy, messy, hilarious meal, and a quick clean-up, the herd descended in the same manner they’d come—loudly and all at once—which was probably how they did everything.

“So, I’m guessing you have some questions,” Bryn said, as she and Paz sat on one of the couches.

“Just a few—but I’m guessing the answer to most of them is ‘I love my family and will do anything to protect them, even if it means my new friend has no idea they exist’,” Cara said, smirking as she sank down into one of the chairs.

***********

[bigmoneypastelhalloween]

...Tom sharpling also went as lana for halloween this year? Speaking of luke, and tom scharpling, and lana. I was on mushrooms with luke once just after new year 2015 and he got me into best show. (Basement apartment, sidewalk score white bauhaus couch, snow high outside. Both dismal and cozy, nauseatingly both, intoxicatingly both, the room on mushrooms was an infinite breathing in and out of glimmering malignancy contained in a dimly lit cube surrounded by an endless void, the place made the outside vanish somehow, like entering a bunker presuming the apocalypse, was the subconscious effect). Instagram tells me luke got cale weir onto scharpling, too, hahaha. Speaking of cale weir i met that one kid from the lana show on the soybomb roof with nat and shrew, so, spring '14, and they were super friendly but they were just leaving when i said i liked their slimer backpatch and then when they talked to me about it i was like oh its a kid, sheesh is this place lousy with children? Jay what on earth, this is why we (the fort) dont have shows anymore (a policy we should have stuck to honestly, even the anomaly show during pride '14 before i moved out of the fort in october that year, was a pain in the ass, because of all the misbehaving teens)(cheers to glorious time bomb, kampai baby, if we'd had as many shows as you did we'd have had rapes happening at some of them too im sure, and we'd have had an inadequate response too im sure, i mean like not to spill house tea but our rape responses were presumed internally by a teenager living with us to be "figure it out yourself" so she did that first and then told us, which like, pretty admirable how decisively she managed to get someone off the house roster and someone we all liked even better moved in instead so we wouldnt question it before she even ran the why of it all by us. People in toronto make moves). Fastforward to when i saw that kid from the show again: it was winter 2014, they were hanging out with cale at an ocad party where someone I'd hooked up with the summer before was drunkenly holding court about how fucked up trannies are to a bunch of ocad students totally enraptured by the spectacle of someone being so honestly problematic in such a gritty oldschool way (while also disavowing herself as being schizo and "old"-at-22) while there were trans people right there. That one kid from the show saw me and luke and was like "soooo cale, hanging out with the Punkssss," and then they sat down and pitched me on some coffeeshop in leslieville and i was like this is about the arcade somehow, because id finally figured out where is was, but i assumed the tone shift between soybomb and then had something to do with the arcade, or luke, or both, but i didnt even mention like i dont go to leslieville. I was just like oh maybe, i dunno thats so far away...

(This was after my random-latenight-bikerides-thru-the-east-side phase during the spring of '14 and before the living-at-the-spit-in-a-tent phase in the spring/summer of '15 (even so, i was avoiding leslieville proper to be courteous but the spit was the best place i could think of to have a permanent encampment in the city as an urban tenting noob, and i was honestly hoping that if i blogged it explicitly enough and hung out at the starbucks all day my old roomie who lived in leslieville would wander by and we'd talk, but it was nat who joined me there and that meant a lot to me, its nat im still friends with. just went to ottawa to visit)...i think the concerts were happening when i was in a pattern of couch surfing with nat and luke; i know nat and luke and i tried to sneak into the tragically hip show on canada day this same summer and then we ended up at emmas, and after we dumped luke and the hospital wheelchair off with marjie the next day, nat and i went back to the spit for a while).

Leaving that end-of-'14 ocad party Luke and i walked back to my place partway with mikey cheekbones while he talked about metal gear solid. I think mikey was aiming for what was, in his frame of reference, universally common ground, but luke doesnt know what msg is and ive like, watched an hour of ps2 gameplay at my friends house in highschool (so itd already been 10+ years by then) and absorbed a hypnogogic smattering of info about it memetically but it was not enough to parse the tangent mikey was on and he was like, ok this breakaway old people party is too old, goodbye. Later at the apartment I cried about the scene at the party to leni and while, at that time, luke came off as someone who reads loud dramatic sobbing as fake, i guess he sort of took it seriously in a way, because he was trying to cheer me up with the mushrooms and comedy radio a week or two later. Because, he had told me i should go to the party even after his roommate i hooked up with was there and starting her tirade. Luke swore he just didnt put 1 and 1 together and wasnt just trying to add to the drama but i never really bought it, so i guess what got bought was my forgiveness. Nahhh, he earned it, buying it would have been dropping off the shrooms and running. He did them with me and tried to curate a positive trip for me. It worked. Even when, later, after we'd gone out in the snow to a show and then left to go to another bar, he brought up carlos castaneda and again i was like this smacks of someone whos somehow aware of the situation with me and the eastsiders, specifically of someone whose been "warned" (or overheard a warning to emma) that im a wannabe cultleader, and i know exactly 1 person in toronto who's invested in that theory......Anyway when i saw the kid who recommended the cafe in leslieville again, the slimer-patch-sleeveless-plaid kid who knew cale weir, it was with luke and their two friends at lana, because they were a big fan. I went because we'd tried to get into ovo fest that year and gotten caught and i wanted to actually get in to a molson show, and i wanted to see grimes (imagine genesis live on poppers and grimes is still a queer marxist) but we were out behind the venue for her set, and which like, i was a fake grimes fan, i only cared about the 2 big songs. Compared to her opener lana's set devastated.

7 years later tom scharpling was lana del rey for halloween. I mean he's the best cosign you can get, really. Its vindicating that he agrees with me about her. "California's bruce springsteen" actually has potential as a compilation title

This was the first molson show i ever snuck into...i remember sitting down on the grass to do poppers and luke hauling me up to try to sing along with him and the others off a lyric site on someones phone. I had never heard a bunch of lana del rey songs all together before. All the previous couple years i would hear summertime sadness playing in public and i had finally figured out oh its that headdress girl. Ive told this story before. The ocad kids, especially the poc one, loved flirting with the problematic. Hanging out with luke even tho a famous artpunk said his band was a nazi band. Listening to lana del rey even tho she has colonial entitlement baked into her ethos. The question was are you having FUN? And if the answer is yes how much do you really care about the rest.

Hedonism is an ethic i respect the honesty of.

(You can tell im a virgo because i am compulsively compelled to couch my hedonism in self-critique and reflection)

(Also, to include a list)

Bangers.

I dunno like what am i saying? Try to place yourself there. Look at this setlist, at least. The amyl is probably pretty important...... I think you have to have a partly melted brain to sign off on listening to lana del rey for the aesthetic peak of it all, when that aesthetic is a bunch of weird coquette bullshit. What an artist, i mean that. Hard to know how to sum it all up. Tom sharpling says lana del rey writes songs about california the way bruce springsteen writes songs about NJ. Speaking of the boss, he wrote born to run and i guess thats a good enough segue into: probably born to die is where i was totally sunk wrt ever maintaining the abstentious highground. I was like welp, gonna be listening to this forever, now. I dunno i just didnt go into it expecting her sheer caliber to undermine my predisposition to dismiss her, and i got served so hard, i was undone by the whole experience. Actually being there was so viscerally impressive. But i think thats the selling hallmark of her music like even for home listening--its visercally impressive. She'll getcha. Now youre in a gingham halter pushing milfdom and hanging off the back of a motorcycle with an american flag, too.

It was cute when she was trying to rehab her brand of whiteness by working with the weeknd. She feels about hollywood how i feel about toronto. It fit neatly to me that they would collab. But like imagine having such a crackerific image that a "my black friend" cardpull was a step UP? Sort of like luke changing his band name and hanging out with me & those kids at a lana del rey concert haha

[youn9racha]

I Know (Part II)

Pairing: Changbinxfem!reader

Genre: smut

Warning: mild stalking, stripping, phone sex???, mutual masturbation, semi-exhibitionism, a tiny bit of corruption kink, and an even tinier praise kink, switch!changbin, switch!reader

Words: 2.8k

Extra Notes: like I’ve mentioned in the last part, everyone is above the age of 21 (think senior year of college age), so thats that. I’ve also noticed that the lyric is not that related to the story, but oh well :’) anyways, hope you enjoy this

And baby, I know, I know whatever city you’re in, you’re still the boy that I’d pick…

PLEASE READ PART 1 FIRST BEFORE THIS !!

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This is no way representative of the way Stray Kids act. They’re nothing but references of character, and in no shape or form is this how they act. And I am in no way romanticizing or glamorizing any toxic behavior exhibited, they’re just stories that is meant to be read. Readers discretion is advised.

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Changbin’s calling me…

What in the world does he want to talk to me about in this ungodly hour? It wasn’t late, but it certainly wasn’t early enough for a call like this. I looked back at the window and I still see the curtains still closed, assuming he was out or maybe in another room. I answered and put the phone in my ear.

”Hello?”

“Hey, (y/n)! I just wanted to call to check up on you,” he said, “how are you?”

Damn, he only called for innocent intentions... Why is he so damn cute?! (y/n), you got two choices to respond back; you either respond give him a nice sweet response, or you give a sly yet friendly comeback. It can work—

“(y/n)?” The voice out of the phone took me out of my inner self’s debate.

“Yes! Yes! I am fine,” I said, embarrassed and mentally facepalming myself. This is not doing well, he already thinks I am a creep and a loser. Or maybe not, since its seems like I heard a faint chuckle and the word “cute,” followed by, but that could just be a figment of my imagination. “How are you?”

”Oh, I am good, just came back from hanging out with Chan and Han,“ changbin responded, there were shuffling in the background so he could be doing something while on the phone, but what is it? I wouldn’t know. I heard him and Chris mentioning a ‘Han’ in our conversation we had while preparing for my apartment, so that name is familiar, however the owner’s not. “You should meet him one day, I think you both will be good friends.”

”Woah there, you better take me to dinner first before I meet your friend,” I teased. Keep it going, (y/n), you’re on the right track, you’ve definitely caught him off guard, like you always do.

“Give me a place, time, and date, you’ll get that dinner, or maybe I’ll let Chris take you.” Changbin nonchalantly said, oozing confidence just by his voice. That bitch… Always makes it harder for me than it already is. As if he saw my blushing reaction, he began laughing.

“What’s wrong, princess? Cat’s got your tongue?” He said it in a low voice. Usually, I would gag if anyone—let alone a man—calls me princess, but with him, it felt different. It felt… arousing? No! No! (y/n), get a grip!

I rolled my eyes and laid on my back to be more comfortable, “What is it, Changbin?” I said, changing the subject, “What is that you wanted to call me at 10 p.m?” Yes, pretend like he didn’t just call you princess in the sexiest tone of voice you’ve ever heard. Totally would work.

”I told you, I just want to check up on you,“ he confessed but he also paused to say something further, “and also I am bored and I kinda felt like talking to you. I’m not wasting your time, aren’t I?” Although I couldn’t see him, he does however sound really sincere with his words. I don’t want to sound naive, but he sounded truthful.

“No,” I shook my head, “you really didn’t, besides I just got out the shower and was just scrolling through instagram.” I said, looking down in my nails.

”Oh, really?” He said, “were you going to sleep?”

”No, I stay on social media for a long period of time, I don’t sleep that easily“

”I see,” he said, but then he stopped talking. As the awkward silence has erupted between us, I started to think more about the first time I saw him and how I felt. While I thought it would be better for me to tell him later on and on person, but this balloon inside of me was getting bigger and bigger as guilt is inflating it. I sighed and started to speak, “Hey Changbin.”

”Yeah?”

“Can I confess you to something?”

”Tell me anything, doll, I’m all ears.”

Dammit! You’re not making it easier.

I bit my lips, “uhh,” I am glad he wasn’t looking at me, grimacing and slapping my head.

”You know hitting yourself isn’t gonna help,” as soon as Changbin uttered these words, my heart sank. My eyes widened as I got up and looked out window. His curtains were open, and it showcase a very, very pleasant show.

I see Changbin, sitting at the edge of his bed, facing me as his black shirt was fitting his form really well, especially with the semi-flexed arm that has his phone near his ears meanwhile the other arm was holding the elbow of the occupied arm. He was look at me straight at my eyes when we made eye contact, and fuck, was that an image to look at. As I looked like a deer going through a headlight, Changbin tilted his head in confusion, but he still had a smirk, “what is it you wanted to me?” he said through the phone.

”I-I“ I stuttered. At this point, I’ve lost all sense of dignity and my self thought, I am about to get called a creep by a good looking man I met not too long. Here goes nothing.

”I may have invaded your privacy,” I said, which caused Changbin to furrow his eyebrows in even more confusion, still having a slight smile to it. “What are you talking about?”

”Ugh, Changbin, I saw you half naked when apartment touring numerous times!” I yelled in frustration, as he kept pushing my button. I looked away, not bearing to look at him, as I closed my eyes out of guilt. “I understand if you don’t want to be friend, even though we met for only a week, but I just couldn’t bear the guilt that I—“

As I confessed, I heard a laugh coming put of the phone, I opened my eyes and looked at Changbin looking down, with shoulders shaking up and down. Now, I have the confused look that he had, “What’s funny?”

“Oh, princess, you have no idea,” He said, still looking down. Me still being bemused, he noticed my silence and looked up at my frowned face.

”I know…” He smirked, while my eyes were widened. Son of a bitch.

”W-wh-“

“I thought you knew that I’m doing all this on purpose, I’ve been trying to catch your attention every single way.” He leaned forward, placing both elbows in his knees, “I thought you were smart, only to be a gullible baby.” He whispered the last part, as I gulped at the last part. God damn, he’s so intense with his gaze. His eyes wandering all over me meanwhile maintaining a very dark yet exciting aura, which typically puts me off but now, I’ve never wanted to pounce a man so badly.

I smirked at him, the guilt I had had fizzled away, only to replace with arousal.

“So you’re not mad?” I looked at him, with innocent eyes, now laying on my side, facing him, as my robe slipped and exposed a part of my shoulder and the upper of my chest. He breathed in, as he was examining me, “no, why would I be mad at you?” He leaned back, as his head was thrown back, neck exposed, placing his free hand on the back of his neck.

God, is he so fine…

”I could never be mad at my precious baby.” He smiled a seductive smile at me, which made me riled up by rolling my eyes and looking up. “You like getting called that, don’t you?” He may have said it in a question form, but it didn’t feel like one, it was rather a statement than a question. “Hm,” I said, looking back at him, eyes half opened out of hunger for him.

We had an intense eye contact, where if it weren’t for the distant and the glass that is placed in front of us, we’d probably be all over each other.

”Has your hang out with Han and Chris worn you out?” I asked, decievingly innocent. Man, the power this man has over me is no joke. He scoffed, “so you’re just going to mention other men like that?”

Ignoring him, I got up, letting the towel that was loosely in my head fall onto my bed, and went closer to the window, “let me relieve you of your stress, if you don’t mind.” I shyly fidgeted on my robe belt. He looked at me up and down, licking his lips, “I wouldn’t mind, if you don’t as well.”

There’s nothing more sexier than mutual consent. (y/n), shut up, don’t ruin the moment.

I smiled and backed away from the window. I put my phone on speaker and put it on the side. I looked back at him, as I held onto my robe belt, he looked at me with a smile. I turned around with a slight sway on my hips, as I slowly undid my belt, slowly exposing my back at him, smiling as I heard a shuddering breath coming out of the phone.

As the robe completely fell off my body, being just in my underwear, exposing whatever secret flaws that has been hidden from the public. I silently gasp at the cool breeze as I held onto my chest, sensing my nipples getting hard. “Turn around for me, baby,” Changbin’s breathy voice echoed all over the room.

We may not be in the same room, and we maybe exposing ourselves to whoever is above and under us as well, but neither of us care. In our eyes, we only got each other, and we’re the only ones in existence.

I turned to him, letting go of my breasts and letting myself be bare, only to see him palming himself through his tight pants, groaning at his lack of full on skin-to-skin touch. It’s like he was waiting for me to tell him touch himself, which proved correct when he said, “please, let me touch myself.”

I smiled sympathetically, and also slightly astonishingly. I have never met a man with such switch like that. His dominating demeanor has faded and been replaced to a submissive cutie, which I obviously seem to admire very much. Pretending to thinking, I sat down, and looked at him, putting my hands behind me, “only if you give me a show too.”

I smirked at his state. He was disheveled, and adorned a beet tint all across his cheeks and nose. He looked beaten, but I loved it, and he does too. He put his phone on speaker too, quickly got up, and rapidly got his shirt.

“Ah ah!” I said, which caused him to freeze, looking at me, desparation was seeping through his eyes. Menacingly smiling, “slowly.”

Which he obeyed, surprisingly patient and sensual, I jokingly remarked that “he got dancer hips,” with the way he took off clothes while his hips moved in a way not many who can control their bodies can. He chuckle, “you should see how it works wonder,” his cocky attitude has made a comeback, which should piss me off but it made the whole thing hotter than it already is.

We’re both in our underwear, looking up at our eyes and looking down at each other’s half-nude bodies. Changbin wasn’t the tallest man I have ever met—not that it matters—, but he got many aspects that makes up for it, and its not just looks or personality. Just by the outline, I can tell that his little guy wasn’t little.

I propped myself with my elbows as I spread my legs, for him to see the wet spot that is stained in my underwear. He grunted at the sight, while I chuckle, “you like what you see?” I faux-innocently asked as I trailed my hand from my neck, making my head fall back, down to the valley of my chest, onto the waistband of my underwear.

“Fuck…” Changbin cursed, admiring the sight in front of him. He didn’t realize how lucky he was to see me in a state like this, not many have the privilege, especially not with men I met in a short amount of time.

I tugged my panties, took it off and exposed a part that he was dying to see, which caused him to gulp. He sighed with a smile, “god damn, (y/n),“ he shook his head in disbelie, “I’ve always thought you were gorgeous, but now I’m convinced you’re a goddess“

I giggle at his words, “and you, sir, are a demon disguised as a greek god” I teased back, tracing my two fingers around my lips, I noticed that he still was in his underwea. He still waited for my permission. How adorable.

”You can take off your underwear, Binnie” I didn’t even mean to give him the nickname, but I was too excited to even think straight. I looked at him, and saw him reveal his friend, and I gasped loudly, which made Changbin alert. “What? Whats wrong?”

”Nothing, its just,” I chuckle, “you have a nice dick.”

”Thank you,” He smirked as he sat down and looked at me, with full attention. I put my two fingers into my mouth, while maintaining eye contact. I then trailed my finger down to clit, which resulted in me letting out a blissful gasp. Meanwhile, Changbin was repositioning to a comfortable position as he began to touch himself, which caused him to let out a choked out groan.

”Binnie, as you touching yourself?” I half-whispered, but it was still loud enough for him hear along with my fingers movements that moved from my clit onto my slit, which made me moan.

”Ah-y-yes” Changbin groaned and nodded, as he was stroking his dick following the pace that I was going at.

After hearing Changbin’s groans, I began inserting my fingers at my slit, making me whimper in the process, “oh, fuck” I cursed, as I started to thrust my fingers in and out, noises coming out of my mouth along with the wetness of my pussy were getting louder, which excited Changbin, as his stroking was audible through the phone along with his beautiful groans.

“god, (y/n), if only I could touch you,” Changbin spoke through groans when he saw me fondling my breast and going faster. I was getting louder with my noises, in contrast of Changbin’s quite yet beautiful and audible noises. So much so, it sounds like Changbin was watching porn, rather than getting fucked at a distance.

“Ah-are-fuck-are you close?” Changbin asked through whines, his speech was getting difficult as he was getting closer to climax with his strokes going as fast as I was.

I nodded, out of struggle of speech, whining out, “Ah! Binnie!”

“Fuck, (y/n), I’m—“ Changbin grunted, as his strokes was started to get sloppy, he began to thrust onto his hands. I began to feel like something burning up in my stomach, moaning at the sensation, “Chang—I’m cummin— I’m cumming”

“Me too…” He choked on his words, as his groans and moans were also getting louder. Our phone voices combined was dirty but erotic, topped with the scene of two people masturbating to each other, now thats even a hotter view.

“Binnie!”

“Go ahead, baby... cum”

And just like that, I let out a squeal as I reached my peak, still playing with myself until I sensed an overstimulation. Not too long after, I was hearing a lot of grunt from the call and then I looked at Changbin, who ended up cumming onto his stomach, his chest raising up and down, letting himself catch his breath. Still out of breath, we both looked at each other, we both laughed at our fucked out state.

“Holy fuck, was that hot?” Changbin commented, taking the phone, putting it out of his speaker and back to his ear. I laughed at his sudden remark, nodding, “oh yeah, can’t wait to feel what you feel like,” I bit my lip.

”At least buy me dinner first,” He teased, referring to the remark I had at the time, which made me roll my eyes and him to chuckle. “You’re a dick,” I said.

”A big one, and a pretty one according to you,” He teased again. I started to jokingly groan at his words, causing him to laugh, “alright, alright, I’ll stop.”

I got up and picked the phone, looking at him, “I had fun, we should do this again,” him and I started exchanging a smile, this time it was more pure than the smiles we had earlier. He nodded, “for sure, but the next time is going to be in one of our beds, I really need to touch you.”

”The feeling is mutual.”

We began to talk a little more, until we both have felt that slumber was starting to sneak up onto our eyes. We both ultimately had to hang up, since we don’t want to raise our phone bills with our already long call. While facing away from the window, I couldn’t help but started admire Changbin in my head.

I typically hate men, but Changbin wasn’t just like any man.

He was Changbin, and I highly doubt that you’ll ever find a man like him.

[emilysshortstories]

Paul Lahote Part One

trigger warnings: ??? Nothing yet but not promises that will keep in later parts

words: 1543

It’s in those moments of deep desperation that you find hope. Or it seems to find you. When I left home to live with my uncle, miles away from my home, desperation was the only thing on my mind. Desperately running away, I didn’t want to face that part of my life that I already felt as though I was behind. I wanted to start fresh. I still do, so why does the reason I came here matter? My uncle, Charlie, agreed that he wouldn’t tell a soul about the events that lead me to his home, not even his own daughter. Who never really dropped the subject of course, but knew it wasn’t any of her business. I wasn’t naive enough to actually believe that I wouldn’t have to face problems here, but I think that’s what drew me here. Different problems, and that’s what I got. 

When I first moved here my cousin, Bella, had a boyfriend who she spent most of her time with. She still introduced me to everyone and showed me around, but when he moved things shifted. Bella completely shut down, she was always quiet and reserved, but this was different. She was numb. It took her a really long time to talk to anyone, and when she did, it was only me, Charlie, and her friend Jacob. They were always working on these two motorcycles together, sometimes I would join them. Jacob was nice, clearly had a massive crush on Bella even though she always denied it. 

One day when I tagged along I met Quil and Embry, they also seemed nice but I didn’t talk to them much. I didn’t talk to anyone that lived on the reservation actually, not until I had to stop Bella from doing something stupid. Feels like I’ve been doing that a lot lately. 

She was pissed. I’ve never seen her this angry before. I was a little scared to get in the car with her, but the fear of what she was going to do with this anger overpowered me. I stayed in the car when she stormed into Jacob’s house, but practically leaped out as I saw her approaching “Sam’s cult”. I was too far behind her and couldn’t reach her until she had already slapped one of the boys. “ALRIGHT” I yelled at Bella, getting in between them and seeing the boy start to shake in anger. “What you’re NOT gonna do is pick a fight with Mr. Mc steroids over here.” I continued while looking the boy up and down. We made eye contact. I didn’t want to but I froze and felt something turn in my gut while he immediately stopped shaking. I quickly shook it off and turned back to my crazy cousin. “Lets leave. Get in the fucking car John Cena”, pointing to her truck. I heard a bit of laughter as we walked away, but didn’t turn around. I didn’t even dare look in the rear view mirror as I drove off.

After Bella calmed down she admitted that slapping a 7 foot Greek sculpture wasn’t the smartest move. “They did something to him, I know it. Jacob’s too scared to tell me what’s going on but I’m gonna figure it out.” Bella said with gritted teeth. “Listen, you know Jacob better than I do so it’s your call, but maybe consider the idea that it’s none of your business? You and him have been friends since preschool. I feel like if it was necessary for you to know, he would have told you”. By the time I finished my speech Bella had already shut down. Just like she was before. Broke my heart seeing her like this. Maybe I should talk to Jacob or the “cult”, just be civil about it. 

So that’s what I did. The next day I drove to Jacob’s house, but Billy said he wasn’t home and to try Sam’s place. Well, he said Jacob wasn’t home and I begged him to tell me where he might be. For some reason he caved and told me where to find him and not Bella. I tried not to think about it too much or let my anxiety get the best of me while driving. 

When I knocked on the door, I didn’t expect a small, sweet woman with a huge scar across her face to answer the door. “Hi, can I help you?”

“Yes, I was looking for Jacob?”

“Are you Bella?”

“No, I’m Y/N, Bella’s cousin.”

“Oh. OH!” She seemed really surprised to find out this information. “Jacob it out with Paul right now. Working. They will be back soon though if you would like to come in, the rest of the crowd is here. I’m Emily, Sam’s fiance.”

“Oh I can come back another time, I don’t want to intrude.”

“Don’t be silly, we are all friendly and we are dying to get to know you.”

What does that mean? I walked in and saw everyone I saw yesterday but Jacob and the boy Bella slapped. Paul. “Hey Embry, how have you been?” I asked, seeming he was the only person I recognized. “Good, You?”

“I’m ok, just worried about Bella. Wanted to give Jacob a bit of grief for leaving her high and dry. She’s taking it a bit hard, but I also wanted to apologize for how she acted yesterday. Slapping who I assume is Paul wasn’t cool at all. I’m sure she feels really awful about it.”

“It’s not Jacob’s fault for leaving Bella. You don’t have to apologize for Bella, I think we have all wanted to slap Paul at some point in time.” Sam said.

“Got it, but is there anything I can do to get Jacob to talk to Bella again?”

“Jump in line, we all want him to talk about it so we don’t have to hear him monologuing all the time about it.” Embry said, before the third and last boy elbowed him really hard. 

“So none of this is your doing?” I asked all the boys.

“Not exactly, no.” Said Sam. 

“Ok. That’s some clarity at least.” I said with a smile.

“Why don’t you sit down, muffin, before the beasts attack them?” Emily offered a bowl full of muffins the size of Ohio to me.

“Thank you, that’s really sweet of you.” I said while taking a muffin and sitting next to Embry. Emily was right that the boys would attack the food, holy shit. “So why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Emily said, seeming excited and sitting across from me. “What do you want to know? I’m pretty much an open book.” 

“What brings you to Forks?” The ONE question I hate.

“Running away from my problems, if i’m being honest. I’ve always loved the rain, needed a change, and my uncle, Charlie, offered me a room. So I took it.”

“I like that, where are you from?”

“Austin.”

“Texas?” said the only boy who I didn’t know.

“No, actually it’s a small secret base on Mars. I’m an alien.” This made everyone laugh, especially the strange boy. “Sorry, I never caught your name?”

“Jared, you always that sarcastic?”

“Yes, humor is my only likable personality trait.”

“I hear that” said Jared while raising his muffin. “What do you like to do for fun?”

“I write, read, and love watching movies and TV shows. I'm a big music lover but I think that’s just a side effect of being born and raised in Austin. Since moving here I’ve really taken up hiking though, it’s so beautiful here. Not just flat desert like in Texas.”

“The only TV show I watch is New Girl, nobody here seems to watch it.” Said Jared and before I even thought it through my favorite Schmit quote fell out of my mouth.

“You would have been my nightmare. We were on very strict instructions from Rabbi Schmolli not to say anything until the very last christian kid found out about Santa Claus. Ruining Christmas? Very bad for our brand.”

Everyone seemed to like me after that and conversation flowed freely. I really liked spending time with everyone and lost track of time until I saw that the sun was going down. “Oh shit, I gotta get going, I’m not used to driving on ice yet and don’t want to drive on these roads when it's dark. Thank you so much for being so nice to me Emily, it was really nice talking to everyone.”

“Oh but Paul isn’t back yet” Emily said quickly. “And Jacob.”

“I can give Jacob shit anytime and I’m sure Paul isn’t my biggest fan after what Bella did so I think it’s a good idea to head out now. Thanks again though.” I said and started making my way to the door. 

“Of course! No problem, please come by again. I liked talking to you too and I’d love you to properly meet Paul.” 

We walked out just as Jacob and Paul emerged from the trees, but as soon as Paul made eye contact with me, that same flip happened in my gut again before he took off running back into the woods. Guess that answers my question on if he’s mad at me. 

[mandareeboo]

Drabble Prompts Monday: after vee encounters some humans more familiar with luz's antics she starts to understand why luz stayed in the demon realm

The hard part of being shoved is that Vee has started to not expect it. Has started to assume that maybe, just maybe, she would be safe from that sort of handling on Earth. She takes a second to breathe out her nose- shoving down years of bad memories- before slowly pivoting.

Vee, of course, doesn't recognize the two human girls. It's fairly standard procedure by now; Luz Noceda seems to be fairly well-known around town, even if Vee would be hard-pressed to consider it a friendly knowing. And she knows the orange and white colored uniforms are Gravesfield colors. Funny. Vee's never heard of Luz and cheerleaders in the same sentence, especially in the cereal aisle of the local grocery.

"Hello?" she offers finally, not quite sure what to do here. Vee's been watching human cinema in her free time, and has learned of friendship handshakes, and every time someone she doesn't know comes to greet her she's terrified they'll have one. Her fingers rub anxiously in her hoodie pockets.

"Is it true?" the first girl- the one who pushed her?- asks. The second snickers into her hand. "I heard they sent you away to one of those camps that teaches you to be normal."

Vee can't help but think that's a trick question. Yes, the camp had gone a long way in teaching her how humans co-mingled and the various ways they worked together, but she didn't really have proof that she was operating at a 'normal' human capacity, either. 'Normal' humans didn't bask for two hours in the morning or suck magic out of old magician's hats.

"I got really good at talking about the weather," is what she settles on. "And I know what a 401k is."

The girls titter uneasily. "Sounds like it didn't really work," the second says.

Vee narrows her eyes. "I feel like you're mocking me."

"No, no, we're just curious, is all." The first girl waves her hands consolingly. "We didn't know how normal camp would affect the weirdest girl in school. We thought you might have blown up or something!"

(Vee made a mental note to look into the statistics of weird girls exploding later on. Better to be safe than sorry.)

"Mija?" Camila asks, butting into the moment with her cart. She blinks at the girls with confusion as they bristle and skitter away. "What was all that about?"

"I... think they were mocking me?" Vee hums, shrugging. "They weren't really doing a good job at it."

Camila's face crumples. A warm hand ruffled her hair. "I'm sorry, mi culebrita preciosa. Kids can be so mean."

"They weren't making fun of me, me," she clarified. "I think they knew Luz? Or they knew she was 'weird', anyway. It sounded like they talked about her a lot."

"She never mentioned anything about it- them?- to me."

"Yeah, that tracks." Vee nods her head. It's not the first incident she's dealt with, but it is the first time someone tried to single her out in public. "When you get used to something, you tend to forget how bad it actually is."

Camila flinched, hands tightening on the rail of the cart.

[freddie-weaselbee]

Real//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Language, mentions of sex, I think that’s it ?

Summary: One small favor. A trade. That was all it was. Mutually beneficial! Until things between Fred and Y/N and their new relationship get a little more complicated and cause too many prying eyes. 

Prompts: Fake Dating with dialogue prompts “we could have prevented this!” and “did you know you talk in your sleep?”

Word Count: 4.7k

A/N: Day 3 of @theweasleyslut‘s 2k writing challenge

 “I’ve made my list of rules which you will abide by and under no circumstances will be broken. Number 1: this ruse does not leave the shop. I don’t want random people on the street questioning me because you couldn’t keep your huge mouth shut. Number 2: I will allow you to kiss me on the cheek and forehead as  often as you like, within reason of course, and you can give me a peck on the lips 3 times in total. I will keep track. And Number 3: Don’t take up the entire bed any more or I will be forced to push you onto the floor. Sound good?”

“Bloody hell, you are crazy aren’t you?”

“Just a little bit.”

Fred was starting to regret his previous decision of making this arrangement with you, but a jingle of his shop bell and glance at who was walking in quickly made those feelings disappear. 

“Deal,” he said, eyes not leaving the woman who had just entered. “But we start right now and I want one of those kisses.”

You looked up at your friend, confused at his sudden nerves before you followed his line of sight and understood immediately. You sighed and ruffled your hair a bit, looking for a mirror to fix your makeup. “I’m on it, give me a few minutes.”

Fred nodded, still watching his target walk slowly through the aisles of his store. As she turned a corner you ducked into the back office, waiting for a good time to reemerge. 

“Freddie!” A high pitched voice pierced through the ear, equal parts flirtatious and absolutely unbearable. Fred glanced up, pretending not to have noticed the girl before. Putting on a fake smile, he set down the product he was pretending to tinker with and placed his hands on the counter table. 

“Brooklyn, hi! How are you?” he asked, hoping his fake politeness would pass as genuine. 

“Ugh I am so good. So SO good actually,” she said, twisting a finger through her hair. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you! I’m so glad you received my letter, I was hoping we could catch up, maybe over dinner sometime? I’ve had so many fine young men ask me out over the last few months, but none of them seemed to compare to you, my little Freddie Bear.”

He winced at the nickname, it bringing an onslaught of unwanted memories that he had desperately tried to forget. Brooklyn bit her lip and placed a hand on top of Fred’s, leaning in to accentuate her breasts and make sure Fred got a good whiff of her new perfume. 

Very calmly, Fred placed his other hand on top of hers, now sandwiched in between his strong grip. “Brooklyn,” he said, faking sympathy, “you’re a lovely girl, and I’m sure any guy would be lucky to have you, but--”

“Hey, love!” 

A voice interrupted Fred’s rejection, making a very surprised Brooklyn become absolutely enraged as she witnessed you come up and place a chaste kiss on Fred’s lips, smiling into him. Fred pulled his hands from Brooklyn’s grip and placed it instead on your hip, pulling you into him and placing another peck on your forehead. You both stared lovingly into each other’s eyes before a harsh cough stole your attention. 

“And who is this?” Brooklyn asked, arms crossed angrily. She was glaring daggers at you, not even trying to fake sweetness for Fred’s sake. 

Keeping his hand on your waist, Fred turned back to the girl who seemed as though she was about to explode. “That’s what I was trying to tell you Brooklyn,” he said, trying to keep his smile as pitiful as he could without it drawing suspicion. “This is Y/N, we’ve been seeing each other for a while now.”

You nuzzled into Fred’s chest for half a second before reaching a hand out to Brooklyn. “It’s so nice to meet you! Brooklyn, was it? I don’t think Fred’s ever mentioned you before, are you one of his childhood friends. Cousin, maybe?”

That had done it and you and Fred both knew it. He subtly fist bumped you under the counter as you watched the girl’s face become redder than Fred’s hair. 

She opened her mouth before taking a huge breath and stepping back. “No, actually,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’m his ex-girlfriend. I left him to move on to much better things. Speaking of which--” she flipped her hair and smoothed out her skirt, straightening her posture to try to keep what little dignity she had left, “--I actually have a date. With a dragon trainer no less, and a very renowned one.”

“Oh really?” Fred asked. “That’s amazing. My brother, Charlie, is a dragon trainer as well, and he’s very well known in the community. May I ask the name of the lucky young man? Maybe Charlie knows him.”

Caught very off guard, Brooklyn rolled her eyes and turned to face the door. “That’s none of your business. I better be going, before we’re late to dinner at a very nice place, somewhere the likes of you most likely couldn’t afford.”

You felt Fred stiffen next to you and you squeezed his hand gently. “Have a nice time! It was lovely to meet you Bridget.”

“It’s Brooklyn,” she seethed. 

“Oh right, silly me,” you said, shaking your head. “Bye!”

As Brooklyn sauntered out of the store, you turned to Fred and whispered seductively, just loud enough for the exiting girl to hear. “How about we have a nice night in tonight? I got something the other day that I’d love for you to see. Maybe after seeing it you’ll make me scream even louder than last night.” Fred’s face began to grow red and he had to discreetly adjust his pants, hoping you didn’t notice exactly what your words were doing to him. 

Brooklyn slammed the door and practically ran down the cobbled streets, only screaming when she thought she was far enough away to not be heard. You and Fred both waited a few seconds before cheering and hugging each other, him patting you on the back for a great performance. 

“Y/N! That was incredible! I knew I could count on you.”

“Yeah yeah,” you said, “I’m amazing, I know.” You smiled up at him completing the high five he was waiting on. “When you told me you needed help with a crazy ex I didn’t know you  meant like actually crazy. She’s insane! How did you put up with her for so long?”

Fred shrugged, jumping up onto the counter. “She was hot and I was horny. Not much else to it.”

You rolled your eyes, jumping up to join him. A few days ago you wouldn’t have been nearly comfortable enough to lounge out on the shop’s counters like you were now, but that was before you were a permanent resident of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Before you and Fred had made the deal. 

“You want me to do what?”

“Please, Y/N, it would only be for a little while until this all dies down, I swear!”

You groaned and rubbed your temple, wondering how in the world a friendly visit to your friend’s shop would turn into something with much more commitment. 

“You’re telling me that you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend? Why on earth would you need that?”

You were pacing around the shop, trying to avoid customers as to not involve them in this very personal conversation. Fred followed you, pleading for you to help him like the great friend you were. 

“I told you,” he said, “after The Daily Prophet did that expo on the shop and made me and George out to be rich sexy businessmen, and I mean where’s the lie, all of my crazy exes have been sending me letters and trying to get back with me. I can’t stand it, there’s so many!”

“Yeah, you were never one for long-term relationships, were you?”

Fred hmphed but quickly picked up with his pleading once again. “You don’t understand, Y/N, it’s absolutely unbearable. It’s common knowledge that George and Angie have been going steady for years now, so he’s got pretty much no one after him. But me? I can’t handle it.”

He dramatically threw himself on one of the empty product tables, causing a couple kids to glance in your direction before quickly becoming distracted by one of the exploding jokes across the shop. 

“Oh, woe is me, I have too many beautiful women throwing themselves at me, whatever am I to do?” you mocked, earning a nasty glare from your friend. 

“I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t of upmost importance,” he said, straightening his tie and assuming a more business-like manner. “Those girls are crazy. Hot, yes, but crazy. And all you have to do is pretend to be dating me for a few weeks, a month at best! What do you say?”

“And what do I get out of this?” you asked. Usually, you’d never say no to helping a friend, especially Fred, but pretending to date him and having him practically use you to make other girls mad? You didn’t like the idea in the slightest. Well, maybe seeing the mad girls would be a bonus. You never cared much for most of the girls Fred went out with. 

Fred’s face turned into an upward grin as he rolled his sleeves up and leaned forward. “I was hoping you’d say that. I hear that you’re looking for a place to stay, is that right?”

You nodded hesitantly, having an idea of where he was going. 

“Well,” he said, pacing back and forth, “to keep up this charade we’ll need to convince everyone, including George and Angelina. You see, Angie’s friends with Alicia, one of the girls who’s been constantly OWLing me, and if she knew this was fake then she’d blow our cover for sure. Which means…”

You gulped. 

“You’d have the pleasure of sharing the loft with me. You’d get a room, shared with me, and a nice living space all rent-free, and all you have to do is act all lovey-dovey and occasionally snog me. That sounds like an offer you can’t refuse.”

Unfortunately, he was right. You were tight on money at the moment and really had no other options. It was a deal you had to make if you wanted to stay afloat, no matter how much annoyance and embarrassment it would cost you. 

Sighing, you let your shoulders slump, a sign of defeat. “You do know how to negotiate, don’t you?”

“Well I am a businessman.” Fred stuck out his hand, and with a slow, drawn out motion, you shook it. 

It was the 4th night of living with the Weasley twins, or maybe 5th? The nights all seemed to blend together as you’d been having more fun than you had since Hogwarts. George and Angelina didn’t seem surprised at all when you and Fred told them your made up story about how you and Fred started seeing each other. In fact, they both said they always knew it would happen. You and Fred shared a laugh about that in bed that night, before he decided to take up all of the space on the small piece of furniture, prompting you to write your third rule. 

Overall, it had been a great experience. Couples game night, movie marathons, gossip sessions with Angelina about you and Fred’s sex life (which you didn’t have to fabricate too much, you already knew too much from the incredible amounts of detail he used to provide about his dates with other girls). It was like being thrown back into a dorm room, and your old teenage self was starting to shine through again. 

You stared at yourself in Fred’s bathroom mirror, very proud of how you handled Brooklyn earlier that day. She was one of the few girlfriends of Fred’s you never got to meet, probably because they only dated for a short period of time before she left him for the first rich snob to bat an eye at her. Out of everyone you could think of that he dated, she was by far the worst, which meant the next few days would probably be more difficult. It was easy making that bitch angry with smoke coming from her ears, but you didn’t know how good you’d feel about lying to someone a lot nicer than she was. 

After brushing your teeth and donning your pajamas, your Hogwarts house colors of course, you crawled into bed and joined Fred, who was reading one of the novels you had recommended to him. “You like it so far?” you asked. 

Fred took off his reading glasses and nodded, setting a bookmark in the book before placing it on his nightstand. “Surprisingly, yes. I didn’t think it would be my thing, but so far it’s actually really good.”

“Told ya,” you said as you laid down beside him. You and Fred were comfortable enough to share a bed with few problems except for his stupid long legs. You’d been friends for years and had grown way too comfortable with each other, so squeezing together each night wasn’t too out of the ordinary. 

As you snuggled into the covers, Fred following suit, you mentally went over the schedule for the week. 

“How many girls are there again?” 

Fred paused for a moment, trying to remember what he had sent to each girl. “A few I was able to ward off via letter, the more sane ones, but there are still two more girls who insisted they pay me a visit. Addison’s coming tomorrow and Alicia the day after that.”

You nodded, although you ducted Fred could see it from his position. “Got it. Addison’s sweet, I liked her.”

Fred scoffed, wrapping an arm around your waist as he had started doing while you two slept. It was nothing more than platonic, Fred was just a touchy person. You told yourself he would do this with any semi-attractive girl laying in his bed. 

“Yeah, sweet girl all right, until you come home to your entire apartment torn apart cuz she thought you were cheating on her because apparently you ‘took an extra 12 minutes of lunch break and it seemed awfully suspicious.’”

Your body reverberated with a small giggle, remembering how Fred had to crash with you at your old place while he was trying to replace all the furniture she had literally torn up. “That’s right, she’s almost as crazy as I am.”

“Almost.”

You wouldn’t have a hard time lying to Addison, you decided. It was actually kind of fun when you did it with Brooklyn. You could get really creative with this one. 

You released a deep breath and closed your eyes, nestling back into Fred as he spooned you, claiming it was the only way he wouldn’t sprawl out and kick you in your sleep, which you knew was a lie. He’d find a way to kick you somehow. The git always did. 

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

“That was surprisingly better than expected!”

You nodded gleefully, handing Fred a scone and coffee that you had picked up from a nearby bakery. Scaring off Addison had been even more fun than Brooklyn, you and Fred really getting into character and being as lovey dovey as possible. She seemed to take it well, but you wouldn’t be surprised if she triggered the security system tonight trying to break in and destroy the shop. 

“And if I’m being honest it was actually kind of fun,” you told him, settling in behind the counter. 

You raised your muffin to your mouth to take a bite but Fred’s huge mouth snagged a taste before you could, bending down and taking a chunk out before you could have any. “That’s disgusting,” but you had no disgust lingering in your tone. 

“I agree,” he said through mouthfuls of muffin. “It was an excellent way to spend the morning. Bloody hell she would not leave!”

“At least she was nice about it.”

Fred reluctantly agreed before making another move to your muffin, one that this time you anticipated and you swatted his nose with a nearby newspaper. “You have your own, you greedy pig.”

He yanked the paper from your hand, using it as a napkin before the front page caught his eye. He quickly crumpled up the paper and tossed it into a nearby waste bin, something you wouldn’t have been suspicious of had he not done it so nervously. 

“Fred, what’s in the paper today?”

He shifted to put himself in between you and the wastebin, his tall figure looming over you. “Not important, just more junk that no one cares about.”

You didn’t believe him for a second. “Frederick Weasley you move this instant.” You tried pushing him out of the way but it was like moving an annoying ginger stone wall. Trying another approach, you darted to the left before doubling back and running right, but before you made it two steps he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder. “Fred!”

You wiggled with all your might and finally made it out of his grasp, snatching the paper and unfolding it to read the headline. 

Diagon Alley Playboy Finally Settling Down? Or Is Y/N L/N Just Another of Fred Weasley’s One Night Stands?

The color drained from your face and you slowly lowered the paper, reading the front page again and again. Attached was a blurry picture of you and Fred from the day before with you tucked into the side. The buggers at The Daily Prophet must’ve caught it through the store window. 

“I’m sorry,” Fred said softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. “I tried to keep things quiet, but I guess the press always finds a way in.”

You rubbed your temple slowly, trying to ignore the dread in your stomach. After seeing Harry Potter be brutally torn apart by the press for years, the last thing you wanted was rumors about you going around. 

"We could have prevented this!” you exclaimed, slamming the paper onto the desk. “This is complete bullshit. We’re not even dating! I swear I’m going to march straight to their office and--”

“Don’t bother,” Fred said, completely exasperated by the constant coverage of his family. “It does absolutely nothing, trust me. As a close relative to a professional Quidditch player, The Chosen One himself, and his two best friends who literally saved the world, we’ve learned that nothing will keep them away. Especially since they pinned me as the player of the Weasley family.”

“But you’re not!” you said, getting angrier by the second. “So your relationships don’t last long, so what? You’re not some womanizing piece of shit that the papers say you are!”

Chuckling, Fred replied. “I know that, and you know that. But the rest of the world wants drama, so if they want to think I have a new girl in my bed every night I’ll let them.” He shrugged. “You get used to it after a while.”

“Well you shouldn’t have to,” you grumbled. “You’re one of the best people I know, and the world should know it too.”

Catching you off guard, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your torso and a head lay on your shoulder. “It’s ok, love, just one more day and then you can stay out of the papers forever, I promise.”

Sighing, you turned to face him and let a small smile shine through. “Thanks. But I still think it’s absolute rubbish what they’re doing to your character.”

“Me too, but at least you know what a charming and caring gentleman I am and that’s all that matters to me.”

“Aww,” you coed, “you love me don’t you?”

“Shh, don’t let the press hear! It’ll ruin the image they worked so hard to create.”

You hit your head against Fred’s chest. “Only one more day of this. One more to go.”

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

“Do you know you talk in your sleep?”

“What?” You were so busy trying to find something to wear that you had barely heard what Fred said. 

“Last night, when you fell asleep. You said something funny.” He was sitting on the bed, adjusting his work tie and pulling on his socks and shoes. He looked...confused. Like he was trying to solve a complicated problem and he just couldn’t git the pieces together. 

“Oh?” you said, growing nervous. Had you dreamt last night? You were racking your brain, hoping you hadn’t said something embarrassing. 

You definitely had a dream, and Fred was there. You were at the shop...and Alicia came in! And…

“You were saying ‘Alicia, no, Fred’s mine not yours, I love Fred,” and umm, other stuff like that.” His face was heating up by the second, as was yours. 

“Really?” you said through awkward laughs. “Must’ve been preparing for today, huh?”

Fred said nothing, instead choosing to focus on retying his shoes. 

“Well,” you said, finally picking out your outfit, “I’m going to change, I’ll meet you down there later, ok?”

He nodded, still confused, and you rushed to use his bathroom before things could get more awkward. 

You decided to take a nice, long shower to cool down, hoping that you could somehow wash away the embarrassment. So maybe you had a slight crush on Fred. Who could blame you? You’d been spending the last week cuddled up with him and spending so much time at the shop, not to mention acting like a couple in front of everyone. Who wouldn’t develop feelings?

But for some weird reason you had a feeling that this wasn’t a recent crush, rather something that’s been lurking right beneath the surface for a while. You groaned, hitting your head against the shower wall. This was not the time for this. You had a job to do, and Alicia would be here in 30 minutes so you had to hurry up. 

Scampering down the steps 15 minutes later after using a drying spell and getting dressed, you stopped in your tracks when you saw what was happening across the shop. Alicia was here early. 

From the looks of it, she had already made herself comfortable, leaning in to talk to Fred, who wasn’t doing anything to discourage the behavior. Instead, he was leaning in as well, laughing at a joke she just made. 

Fury burned inside you as you watched the scene unfold. You knew from the beginning that Alicia would be the hardest ex to deal with. Not only had she been Fred’s longest and most intimate relationship to date, but she was also a really nice person, meaning you had no reason to hate her. But at this moment you did. 

Alicia leaned closer, her nose almost touching Fred. What should you do? Did he want your help getting rid of her? Was he still harboring feelings and actually looking to reconnect? You saw him slowly lean in toward her, which you took as a sign to continue with your plan. 

You were almost running when you reached Fred, who turned and seemed happy to see you. “Just in time,” he said the Alicia, “Alicia, you remember--”

You cut him off with a kiss, the third kiss you’d promised him. Except this one wasn’t one of the pecks you described on your terms and conditions. You pulled Fred down into one of if not the most passionate kiss you’d ever had, wrapping your arms around his neck and drawing him closer to you. 

Almost immediately he pulled off of you, looking more bewildered than you had ever seen him. “I…”

“Well that was quite the spectacle.”

You looked over to where Alicia was standing, smirking at the two of you. Contrary to what you had expected, she actually seemed rather calm and actually amused at what she had just seen. 

“S-sorry,” you said. Fred tried to say something but he was too dumbstruck to even get a word out. He just stood there, eyes wide and mouth twitching. 

“Is this a bad time?” she asked. “I’m supposed to be meeting my fiancé for breakfast later so I can just come back another time if that works for you.”

“Your...fiancé?”

“Yeah!” Alicia beamed as she showed you her left hand, her ring finger adorned with the most beautiful engagement ring you’d ever seen. “Actually, the reason I’m here is because I just asked Fred if he wanted to be in the wedding as a groomsman. Or bridesmaid. Whatever works for him. Thankfully the big oaf said yes before you laid that on him, or else I think I’d be waiting a lot longer for an answer.”

Fred was still as frozen as ever, making you and Alicia chuckle. “Hey, it’s been forever since we’ve caught up, how about you and Fred go on a double date with me and Lee sometime?”

It took you a second to understand why Lee would be there, until it dawned on you. “You’re marrying Lee Jordan?!”

She couldn’t hold back her laughter at this, loving to see your reaction. “That I am! You’re obviously invited, I’m sending invitations out soon. I’ll hope to see you there, and don’t be afraid to reach out, alright?”

“Y-yeah, will do,” you said. Alicia looked up at Fred and then to you and winked, before waving goodbye and leaving the shop. 

You refused to make eye contact with Fred, too embarrassed to even begin to talk to him. Maybe you’d just take 5 and take a walk down the street? That would help distract your brain from whatever just happened. 

“Real?”

You turned around to the source of the voice, a now more interactive Fred. “What?”

“Real,” he repeated. He shook his head a few times, blinking rapidly. “Sorry, I just mean, that kiss was umm, it was real.”

Your breath hitched in your throat. The fact that you had kissed Fred, and an actual kiss at that, was finally hitting you. “Yeah, it was real, I guess.”

He took a step closer, his face assuming the puzzled look from the bedroom earlier. “Was...was what you said real too? From the dream, I mean?”

Now it was you who was frozen, feet stuck to the ground with no way out. What should you say? Confess your feelings and hope for the best? Or deny everything and try to work your way around this mess? You didn’t have time to think nor ration. Just act. 

“Yeah. It was real.”

Fred nodded, pursing his lips and shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Cool.” He hesitated. “Would it be super crazy out of the blue if I asked you to maybe go out with me sometime. For real?”

A smile rose to your face, hoping that this wasn’t a joke. Slowly, almost shyly, you nodded. “Yeah, it would be a little crazy. But I’d say yes.”

Fred smiled too, a big toothy grin that only made you smile wider, before pulling you into a side hug. “Good, because you’re a little crazy too, so we’ll match on our date.”

“You’re a big dork,” you said, returning the hug. “What will the paper say when they see you with the same girl? They’ll probably explode!”

“I hope so,” he replied as he gave you a loving squeeze. “What I’m worried about is how we’re supposed to explain to George and Angelina that we’ve been faking this whole time and it’s only now getting real.”

“Eh, that’s a problem for another time. Right now, we’ve got some more pressing matters.” You gestured to the front window where a reporter was holding a huge camera, trying to snap a good picture of the two of you. 

“I’ll handle it, grab me the dungbombs.”

“Yes, sir!”

You ran to assist Fred, head rushing with thoughts of first dates and future ones down the road. Of attending Lee and Alicia’s wedding together and getting completely wasted with each other. Of sleeping together each night, holding each other in an embrace that was now true and deep and caring. In a relationship that was now real. 

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