#so he stays with fiona in HER HOUSE and she is so mad about it

[cacw]

do you know the movie manchester by the sea? im watching it right now and it reminded me of someone i know. here is a drawing i made for you 💖💞💖💕

1) i dont even have words for the things im feeling right now. youre so good to me. youre too good to me sam i will be going to staples soon to get this printed so i can tape it to my wall. ive spent so much time looking at it already... its the only thing i could think about last night. i fell asleep thinking about it. a few sparse tears may have been shed because 2) i stopped everything i was doing to watch this movie and it bummed me out so bad. all the more because i was thinking about this frostpod picture the entire time... very on point. thank you so much for thinking of my horrible little family IM RUNNING AWAY.... IM RUNNING AWAY TO STAPLES!!!!!!!!!

[heavenlyhoundoom]

Since I made my own smiling critters...

I've decided to make my own nightmare critters(they're supposed to be inversions of my smiling critters).

1.Sully Sloth: Sully is an inversion of Lilith. Despite being the supposed leader of the nightmare critters, he's a total couch potato who would rather stay in his house doing nothing 24/7 rather than go out and have fun, and when he does, it's because his friends made him.

Color: Purple

Favorite food: Potato chips

Pendant: Pillow

Scent: Lavender

2.Damian Dingo: Damian is an inversion of Katie. He loves living on the edge and is constantly looking for grander and more dangerous adventures for him and his friends to go on, to the point that it's a miracle that they're all still alive.

Color: Orange

Favorite food: Fugu

Pendant: Skull and crossbones

Scent: Cedarwood

3.Roger Raccoon: Roger is an inversion of Toki. Roger loves trash, stench, and being filthy. He hates taking either baths or showers, and when you try to bathe him, he'll act like you're trying to kill him. He also hate flowers because of how pretty they smell, with titan arums being the exception because it's the only flower that's stinky.

Color: Green

Favorite food: Durian

Pendant: Trashcan

Scent: Garlic

4.Fiona Flamingo: Fiona is an inversion of Ortensia. She's the stereotypical mean girl. She loves being popular and will do anything to stay on top, even/especially bully others for being different from what is considered normal by the masses and spreading false rumors about those people to make both them look bad and herself look better than she actually is.

Color: Pink

Favorite food: Strawberries

Pendant: Kiss mark

Scent: Bubblegum

5.Oscar Otter: Oscar is an inversion of Benny. He's a meatheaded jock who is a firm believer that brawn is better than brains and likes to pick on those he considers nerdy, like those who like to read or play video games when he's not playing sports or partying.

Color: Blue

Favorite food: Steak

Pendant: Football(american)

Scent: Leather

6.Parker Panda: Parker is an inversion of Chelsea. While they both like to eat, Parker prefers salty/savory fast food over sugary sweets, and while Chelsea bakes her own sweets and shares them with her friends without even expecting a thank you in return, Parker has others cook the food for him, and eat it all by himself without even thanking them.

Color: Black and white

Favorite food: Cheeseburgers

Pendant: Fry bag

Scent: French fries

7.Hannah Honeybadger: Hannah is an inversion of Tommy. Hannah is a total hothead who will go into a dangerous rage at the drop of a hat. The only people she doesn't have a short temper with are the other nightmare critters, so if anyone else does anything that makes her mad better run for the hills or they may end up in the hospital(or worse).

Color: Red

Favorite food: Jalapeños

Pendant: Volcano

Scent: Woodsmooke

8.Gabby Goat: Gabby is an inversion of Michael. She tends to be very boring her voice is always monotone, and nothing she says or does is remotely interesting. Even the other nightmare critters can't stand how boring she is, and they only keep her around because they would be outnumbered by the smiling critters if they don't.

Color: Gray

Favorite food: Plain oatmeal

Pendant: Square

Scent: Vanilla

[htsdfferent]

@decimatlas for the birthday boy !

it had taken her months to gather everything she needed. hayden had gotten mad when she found everything chelsea had hidden. ( she only dropped the matter when chelsea explained she only saved items from her own food. ) fiona was still giving her the cold shoulder after catching chelsea melting her favorite candle, to turn it into a stick candle. all so he could have a birthday wish. chelsea didn't care when fiona stopped talking to her. she found herself realizing she cares more for brock -- more for her best friend, than she ever cared about her own mother.

she'd stayed up almost all night baking the pie, until the crust was golden, and the apple slices had started to melt. ( she burned her hand on the tin holding her creation ; she reasoned brock was worth the new red mark on her palm. ) matthew had mentioned inviting him over, so the whole family could celebrate his birthday. she said she would think about it.

she woke up hours ago, waiting until the first fragment of light touched her room. she made sure she was quiet, as she tiptoed around the small, old, creaky house ; filling her bag with everything she needed, careful not the tear the wrapping matthew had applied to her hand after seeing the burn. bag is slung over her shoulder, the pie tucked away in an old basket, before she moved back to her room. getting out the window was easy, sneaking passed the peacekeepers was easy. ( it always was. )

now, her boots crunch in the leaves blanketing the wood's ground. she takes extra care to help herself upright -- to keep the still warm pie from falling. it doesn't take her long to get to their spot. spotting their initials carved into the tree from when they were children. when they promised to always meet there.

chelsea lets her bag slip from her shoulder, as she sits the basket on a tree stump. she smiles softly, remembering how they'd take turns helping each other's target skills. she moves from the basket back to her bag. she fishes out the small box, wrapped in the nicest cloth she had found in the attic. she unwraps the cloth and opens the lid slightly, smiles at the small music box tucked inside. her hands rewrap the box, placing it next to the basket. she pulls the matchbook from her back pocket, tossing it up and catching it in her unwrapped hand. ( she hopes he likes what little she could do for his birthday. )

[p4rallel-universe]

hello helloo

there's literally no ian x male reader in here so let me request something for him rq :]

I saw this prompts on pinterest earlier and i thought they would fit ian so i was wondering if you could do smth with them

"Please don't cry, i can't stand seeing you cry"

"Just talk to me."

"Don't pretend you're okay because i know you're not"

bye byee!

tears are in your eyes

A/N - can i just say thank u to this anon for getting me back into the writing spirit frrrrr

this request was exactly what i needed bc i LOVE ian gallagher i literally dream about him

plssss let me know who u are anon bc ur right the lack of male reader ian fics is madness 🙏🙏

summary: you love Ian, but he's sick. and he loves you, but you're crying.

it all started in the morning.

you came round the Gallagher house at 11, looking for Ian. he hadn't taken your calls all morning, it wasn't like you were worried or anything. maybe a little. but worrying about Ian felt like more of a constant feeling recently. when you got there, Fiona was the only person around and she told you to check upstairs, saying she hadn't seen him since she's been up.

when you went up there, Ian was laying in bed, wrapped up in covers. you smile to yourself. he's an angel, he is, and you always think this. even just from the back of his head when he's half asleep. you love him.

"heya," you call to him, "you still asleep?", you shake his shoulder gently and he shrugs you away. you furrow your brow and sit on the edge of the bed.

"c'mon," you ruffle the back of his hair and he groans, pulling the covers further up his face.

" 'm just...'m tired," he mumbles, you shift yourself closer to him, your hand on his arm,

"hey, Ian, you gotta get up. it's past 11." you stroke his arm gently,

"just...just- leave me alone." his tone is harsh and it stings. you remind yourself he doesn't really mean it.

"Ian, c'mon, what's wrong?" you ask and he doesn't reply. the room is silent and uncomfortable, but your hand stays on his arm. you love him.

"just talk to me." you're almost begging now, and he grunts in response.

and that's how it's been all day. it's 4 PM now, and Ian's barely moved. you've stayed next to him the whole time. your hand has moved from his hair, to his hands, to his arm. you've spoken to him softly, you've shouted. he's only replied in grunts or mumbled words, or just stayed silent.

it's hard, to see him like this. but you can't leave him, not like this. you love him.

it's 5 PM and nothings changed. you're lying behind Ian, arms wrapped around him, holding tight. he's holding your hands, loosely, but he is.

"Ian-" you start, whispering right next to his ear,

"no- no, don't," he stops you, "i'm fine- it's fine, i'm just...i'm tired." his voice is barely a whisper, and you hold him tighter.

you pause. there's a depressive intimacy happening, that you don't want to break.

"don't pretend you're okay because i know you're not." you wait for his reply. it never comes. you kiss his cheek and try to hold back tears. you love him

"he's still not up?" Fiona's in the doorway, holding two plates. she looks at you sympathetically, she knows how it feels.

"uh, no." you pull yourself away from Ian, he doesn't try and and hold you there. you sit up, taking the plates from Fiona. "thanks." you say, out of politeness, because you know you both won't eat.

"y'know you don't need to stay here, i can take care of-" she doesn't get to finish before you interrupt her,

"no. i'll stay. i'm staying with him." Fiona tries to smile at you, but she knows, more than anyone, you're just fighting a losing battle.

"right, well, uh, try eat something. get him to eat something." you smile at her as she leaves the room. moving the plates to the floor, you lay back in the bed, staring at the ceiling.

7 PM now, and Ian is laying on his back, looking up. it's the most he's moved all day. you're sat up next to him, staring down at your hands. you pick at your nails.

you're thinking about Ian, who's right next to you but not really there. you think about how the top of his head smells. and his voice in the morning. his arms when he holds you. his smile and his laugh and how his jaw hardens when he's angry. and most of all, you think of how you love him even when he feels like nothing. when it's as if he's just air. you love him.

and then you start to cry. it's slow at first. tears that trickle from your cheeks and land on your shirt. then you can't stop. you rub your eyes harshly to punish them, because you don't want to upset Ian. the tears don't stop, they can't stop. Ian looks at you, his blank face showing concern. and it isn't that he doesn't care, because he does. he's kicking himself seeing you cry. but he just can't. not right now.

"please- don't cry. y'know, i, uh, can't stand seeing you cry." he mumbles, rubbing his eyes. you look at him, face twisted in emotion, your hands in your lap. he reaches out and takes them, kissing them. and you can't help but smile so wide you wouldn't believe it was because of something so small. he pulls you down into a hug, holding you to his chest.

"i love you." he whispers, breathing you in deeply, his nose pressed to your neck.

this time you don't say anything, you just smile. and it's not a lot, but it's perfect.

and you love him.

A/N: the day i stop writing shameless angst is the day i die - stay tuned for many fluff posts from now onnnn (title is inspired by the yo la tengo song ofc)

[usercelestial]

It’s cold and dark, winter raging outside of their broken down home on South Wallace and Fiona’s little brother recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She picks up a laundry basket and heads upstairs, rubbing her eyes and running a hand through her tangled, greasy hair. She needs to brush it, she needs to take a shower, she needs to sleep. 

But she can’t. She has laundry to do and bills to pay and meals to make. She has to take care of her little brother who she can't seem to reach. She wants to help, to monitor him, but every time she tries he pushes back, the rift already forming between growing with every worried glance and pill check. 

She saw what happened to Monica, she experienced it first, she picked up the pieces with every depressive or manic episode. She was the one who stepped in every time Monica left. Even though each time, a little piece of herself was taken with her. She knows the kind of pain caused by this diagnosis, not only to the people around the person with it, but the person themself.  

So sue her for being concerned. Sue her for being overbearing. Sue her for being an older sister stricken with experience in this field. 

She snaps back to herself when she runs into Mickey Milkovich, said little brother’s boyfriend. 

“Oh, shit, sorry,” she yelps, startled by his presence. He’s been staying with them, whether because of Ian or because of his own issues, Fiona’s not sure. All she knows is this is just another mouth to feed and ex for Ian to cry about. 

And if you ask her, he isn’t worth it. Mickey’s just gonna leave as soon as he realizes this takes work. He’s gonna break her little brother’s heart and tear him to shreds just like Milkovich’s do. But she’s stuck with him, this intruder welcomed by a vulnerable Ian who’s intrigued by his dangerous nature. That’s all this is, Fiona knows because she’s been there. 

“Fuck, be quiet,” Mickey rubs his eyes, the bags underneath dark and obtrude. 

Fiona opens her mouth to argue because are you fucking kidding me? You’re living in my house and you tell me to fucking be quiet? But just as she does so, Mickey points back to the room he had just stepped out of. 

“Ian just got to bed,” Mickey looks back at the ajar door. Peeking through the crack is a fluff of red hair and pale, chubby cheeks squished against a pillow. Fiona tilts her head at the sight, she remembers putting him to bed, the only way to get him to settle down was to give him a book to read. She called him sweetface, kissed his cheek, tucked him in tight and promised to not let the monsters bite. He would giggle and tell her that he’d protect her. 

That giggle. She would give anything to hear that giggle again. 

She shakes her head and looks back to Mickey, seeing him gaze at Ian with a similar sort of fascination. 

He turns back to her and looks down at the basket she’s holding, “You need help?” 

Fiona quirks an eyebrow, “You wanna fold clothes?” 

He shrugs, “Did it all the time to help out my ma,” Fiona apparently shows how taken aback by this she is because he immediately throws up his arms, “Unless you don’t fucking want me to,” he still keeps his voice down in a hushed tone so as not to disturb Ian who stirs slightly and pulls the blanket up over his head, snuggling deeper into it. 

Fiona doesn’t say anything more, she just jerks her head downstairs and sets him up in the living room. With that job out of the way, she slips back upstairs to find more dirty laundry to throw in the washer but she gets distracted. She finds herself leaning against the door frame of Ian’s room, staring at him. 

She watches as he squishes his face deeper into the pillow and twists around in the blanket. She watches with intense affection as her heart aches. She just wants him to be happy, that’s all she’s ever wanted for her kids. She can’t stand the thought of Ian being lonely or curled up crying like she was last night. 

She watches hoping she didn’t do a bad job but something inside her tells her to doubt herself. Fiona’s never been particularly stable, yeah, probably the stablest thing they’ve ever gotten but that doesn’t say much. Her relationships are flakey and her self depreciation always comes leaking through. 

Maybe Ian will do better. Maybe Mickey will be good for him. 

But maybe he won’t be. He is a Milkovich, she knows that family of thugs and criminals and abusers. Fiona ran into their father a couple times, him always scowling yet looking her up and down with hunger in his eyes. If that’s what Mickey’s been taught, then how does she know he'll be different? What if he hurts him or gets him involved in Milkovich bullshit? 

What if she can’t protect him? She needs to protect him. 

“Hey, all your shit’s folded,” Fiona turns around to see Mickey holding up a basket of neatly folded clothes, “I didn’t know whose shit was whose aside from Ian’s so I just guessed.” 

Fiona nods and takes it from him, she’s about to walk off and sort the impressively folded laundry when Mickey speaks. 

“Does this shit get easier?” He says it quietly, almost as if he hadn’t meant for Fiona to hear. But she does. 

“Hopefully, yeah,” Fiona answers honestly, making Mickey turn his head, his eyes shining with the hint of tears. 

He sniffles and crosses his arms, puffing out his chest and turning back to Ian. Fiona scoffs and watches him walk back to Ian. Ian gently stirring at the footsteps. 

“Ah shit, man. Did I wake you?” Mickey asks not as quietly as before but still soft. Ian shakes his head, lifting up the covers for Mickey to slide in next to him. 

Fiona walks downstairs before realizing she forgot to gather up the dirty laundry. Sneaking back, she overhears conversation from Ian’s room. 

“Fucking jackass,” Fiona’s ears perk up immediately. It’s Mickey’s voice. Then she hears rustling. 

She switches into Fiona mode as her kids have begun to call it, her mind flies to the worst possible conclusion. Mickey sounds mad, maybe they’re fighting. What if Mickey hits him? What if Mickey’s hurting him?  

Then she hears a sound she hasn’t heard in so long. A sound she would have given anything to hear again. 

Ian giggles. 

That bright, affection giggle. She can almost picture his scrunched up nose, his face lifting, unable to contain his glee. 

She peeks her head into the room just for a second. She sees Mickey leaning on one elbow, tugging, no, playing with Ian’s hair. He flips it into his eyes and twists it around his finger. Ian stares up at him with a glaze that’s coated in warmth and affection. 

Then Mickey spots her and tugs his hand away. 

“Just wanted to see if you guys needed anything. Mickey,” his demeanor returns back to defensive and something about his impulsive need to cover makes Fiona’s heart ache, “You can help yourself to snacks, just be careful with the cabinets, they’ve been known to snap off from time to time, alright?” 

Mickey nods stiffly, Ian chuckles softly at his awkwardness. 

“Okay, after I sort these, I’m going to bed, wake me if you need anything, sweetface. Don’t stay up too late,” she closes the door but her instincts kick in again so she opens it one more time, “And keep it over the covers.” 

Mickey’s face goes white and he stammers, a rare trait in a Milkovich reminding her that he’s still a teenager. Albeit a teenager with a record and knuckle tats, but a teenager nonetheless. And if he can make Ian laugh like that, make him forget for a moment where they are, then he’s welcome in her home anytime.

[juniaships]

Potential fanfics for my oc x canon

Encanto 2: The Melody of the Mountains: Sra. Mára has her life together. Or had. After one too many complaints over her strict teaching style, the frigid woman is relocated to a small mountain village. There she meets the eccentric Madrigals, the leaders of the community who possess real magic. Although her cynical outlook clashes with the community's values of strength and family, over time Mára is forced to confront the reality that maybe she is the problem. When a shadow of her past emerges to ruin her future, the proud teacher will have to break her icy wall and put all her trust in her new neighbors. Bruno x OC, found family centric, mentions of domestic/familial abuse and colorism

Shrek the Third: King Harold believes himself to be dying, so to cheer him up the Queen Lilian decides to take him on vacation. They leaves Fiona and Shrek in charge of Far Far Away, and everything is going smoothly until a sudden villain attack sends the couple into hiding. They get transported to Camelot, the place Fiona's cousin Artie lives and seek out his help. The problem? Artie has never fought anyone and his philosophical ways aren't respected in Camelot. Meanwhile Charming is struggling with a new reality without his mom and wealth, his revenge on Shrek is just petty nuisance and he's about to give up. However, with the help of a dashing rouge named Bruce, Charming is able to stop the villains and win favor among the people. He finally has his old life back - but something else is lurking beneath the surface. It soon becomes clear that a new threat against Shrek, Fiona and Charming is at play for its own attempt to gain the throne. Will Artie be able to step up to the plate and save his family and kingdom? Rewrite of Shrek the Third with Artie being a much stronger character and an actual redemption arc for charming. Harold Lives AU.

Brielle De Lune on Zombie Island: Fresh out of ghoul school, the magical girl Brielle is invited to spend the week with her friends to celebrate Daphne's birthday. They travel all over on an unsuccessful trip until a woman named Lena tells them of a ghost sighting on her boss's land. Going deep in the swamp of Louisiana bayou, the Scooby Gang and Brielle are looking for the ghost but discover something much, much worse. Now with lives at stake our detectives must use their skills - and a bit of magic - to seem justice for a crime 300 yrs in the making! SDoZI but with my oc insert not a shipfic except Daphne x Fred

Sonic Movie: The Girl With The Ring: Noelani never thought herself to be courageous, preferring to stay in the background. It's fair given she is the only person in the world who can control water - and she'd like to keep it that way. However her life gets put into the blender when, during a class interview with the local sheriff Tom they encounter a strange blue alien calling himself Sonic the Hedgehog. With a mad scientist hot on their trail, the unlikely trio travel to San Fran to try to help Sonic go back home.

- Part 2: The Master Emerald: Fresh out of saving Green Hill from Robotnik, Sonic has found a new purpose - using his powers to stop criminals. Meanwhile Lani found more of her parents research and is studying them when Robotnik makes his grand re-entrance: by blowing up the Wachowskis house. While they're away...darn! He has a new friend: Knuckles, who seemingly takes Robotnik's instructions without question. Luckily Sonic and Lani has a mew friend two: the spunky fox pilot Miles 'Tails' Prower. Together the new heroic trio travel to a new world to stop the vile inventor and his cohort from using the Master Emerald for his schemes.

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

Thoughts on Lip's behavior?

Lip’s behavior is very...Lip. And I don’t mean that in a nice way. Lip has always had a chip on his shoulder that shrinks or grows depending on the situation and his own well-being. For a while, he was somewhat humbled by his alcoholism and losing everything. Since the start of the season, though, we’ve seen him feeling stable enough to return to how he used to be. After the situation with the rental, where he did what he wanted without discussing it first, he played it safe for a while. He spent money and cut corners, and he kept it from Tami so that it wouldn’t destabilize the fragile peace he refers to when he tells Fred that he’s her bitch over the rental situation.

What I do love about this painful South Side storyline is that it’s forcing everyone to think outside the box the way they used to. Life isn’t the same here, and they can either go with the flow or leave to find the community that has slowly been moving away, like Carol is doing.

Lip thought he was the smartest guy in the room in the old South Side. Sometimes, he was. Sometimes, he was just arrogant. But over the years, we’ve seen that outside his slip-ups, he still sees himself primarily in that fashion. And when the smartest guy in the room can’t make things work right this second? He gets mad. He lashes out, even at the people he cares about most. I feel bad for him and where his trajectory has led so far.

That said, Lip is pissing me the hell off. I love him and this makes perfect sense for his character, but he’s a character whose refusal to believe that anyone else could be more right than him at times has always pissed me off.

He doesn’t live in that house. He doesn’t contribute to that house anymore as a result. Ian and Mickey wanted to get their own place and were struggling with regards to money, but they didn’t suggest everyone else uproot their lives just so they could get that money. When mainstream jobs didn’t work out, they found a scam that, for the time being, will suffice. Debbie’s name is on all the utilities. Fiona gave the money to her to keep that house running before she left. Lip wanted to raise his kid in the rental and got mad when he found out that wasn’t happening, and now he’s doing the same thing to Debbie, who wants to raise Franny where they grew up. Beyond that, he’s assuming she’ll take care of Liam and pinning her with that responsibility like Fiona was pinned with so much. He knows Ian and Mickey are married and will get a place for just them (which Mickey confirmed with looking for apartments, not houses), and he’s been dangling the idea of a “bachelor pad” in front of Carl. They don’t even think of Frank as a viable option, which means he assumes Debbie will finish raising him while they all go live their lives. I don’t blame her for being angry. I don’t blame Frank—regardless of what he’s contributed to it, that is his family home that they lived in because he got it.

Tami found a good compromise. No, staying with her family isn’t ideal, but they’re out of choices. What does Lip do? Accuse her of not meeting him halfway. Let his family assume this was her idea, and I understand why they would based on their socioeconomic backgrounds. Lip has used Mickey then claimed he wasn’t family, used Kevin then got angry when he panicked—all so he didn’t have to work on finding a new job and admitting defeat. All so he didn’t have to admit that he screwed up with Born Free when he should’ve done what countless people do: temporarily gotten a second job until they could figure out next steps, if he could find one. Yes, it’s awful. It stinks. He shouldn’t have to. This is reality, though, and Tami wants him to accept that.

The fact that he makes the conscious decision to take the choice away from his family when that’s not where he lives anymore is infuriating to me. But I’m not surprised. Lip has been paralleling early-seasons Frank all season, just without the alcohol and open bigotry, so I can’t say I’m surprised that he’s unjustly deciding he’s the patriarch of the family who makes all the decisions now. I can’t say I’m upset with Debbie for making him look like a psycho to those detectives, especially when he’s guilty of what they’re looking for him to ask about.

I have a lot of sympathy for where Lip is right now and how hard it is for him to be in this position after all the work he’s put into their lifestyle as it is. What I don’t have sympathy for is how he’s choosing to handle it.

[fictionalreads]

The Cleaning Lady Season 1 Episode 4 thoughts

Thony

I love seeing her and Fiona together just being.

I also love Fiona being a ride or die for her.

Get out Thony! Fiona can only last so long

Why did he back out? And did you really think an ambush would work?

Joe is a dick. Like. Evil for no reason. I get they ambushed you man but damn why you gotta treat them like that?

Who’s in the house? Where are the kids? Please let them be safe.

LMAO My heart.

You don’t exactly have moral high ground over Fiona Thony.

Thony you have a tell. Stop touching the necklace.

Yo man is gonna get what he needs. You gotta deal with it.

Joe don’t seem like a good father so the imagine it’s your daughter route doesn’t seem like the way to go.

Oh God. Be safe. Wait where’s the cart

DAMNIT THE NECKLACE

Pretty sure she hates you Joe.

Pay attention Thony. This man has a weapon near you.

GO THONY! SECURE THE BONE MARROW GIRL

Arman

WHAT A KING He immediately knew something was wrong and asked. Are my standards too low? Absolutely. But imma still simp for him.

Girl let that man help his future step-son.

Oh Joe really don’t know who he talking to.

Do what you gotta do. She’ll forgive you when Luca gets the transplant.

Was killing that guy you or Hayak?

Fiona

Don’t fall for this crap. You get tied up and then you stuck.

....Did you take some of the molly?

Garrett

How he talks about Lexi is such a direct opposition to how Arman talks about her

Why do have to make it a competition between you and your ex wife?

You truly don’t care about your informants. Why do you hate Arman so bad?

You make people uncomfortable. Why would she want to stay and chat with you?

I know you’re working for the law but NOO

Did you really think they were gonna let him live?

Do not go after them. When Arman finds out you went after his future wife he will be pissed. He’ll also be mad at her for lying but he will turn his anger to you at some point.

Miscellaneous

Where is Arman? It’s been 20 minutes and he has not graced my screen. There he is.

Joe. Shut up.

Not an excuse to be an ass Joe. I feel for you but shut up.

[celiamae99]

Sparks Fly -- L.G.

Falling in love with my best friend was never the plan. I mean a girl from the South Side who was just trying to get a two year degree and ignoring the fact that her parents were never coming back, falling for the man who was a recovering alcoholic who had an addict and alcoholic father an a bipolar mother who had the potential to get a degree from any college he wanted?

What could possibly go wrong?

“Come on, get in, I’ll drive you the the bar for work.” Lip told me getting up from the couch, as I was getting ready to walk to work.

“You just got back from work,” I reminded him. I knew that after his shift at the garage he would want to sleep, but he ignored my comment and slipped his coat on an a hat over my head.

“It’s negative ten degrees out,” he commented. “The fuck you’re walking to the bar from here.”

“But—“ I tried to protest but it was useless.

“Get your ass in the car, Lily.”

I never thought the passenger seat of lips old car would ever be as inviting as it was, but as we listened to music and he smoked, I realized I was in love with Lip. Fuck.

The worst part was, and I knew it, was that everybody basically knew that I liked Lip, besides Lip. He was the only consistent person in my life besides Fiona and Ian, and the only true person to care about me in a way that was more special than Ian and Fiona did. I loved my Gallagher’s like they were my own, but Lip was different.

He could smile at me and I would forget how to breathe. He could hold me in bed and I would forget all my problems. He punched a kid at a party who tried to roofie me and I swear in that moment I had never felt more loved.

He held me the whole night as I cried for hours because my mom was never coming back home, never once getting upset even though he had brought it up before.

He held me two days after I got raped and I refused to leave Carl’s bed. He slid in behind me as I faced the wall and held me for hours and hours. He didn’t make me talk, he didn’t make me cry, he didn’t have me look at him. He held me until I was able to to turn around and face him and the truth of what had happened.

He was there when my dad had died. He came to the funeral, he held my hand, he made small talk with my grandma and everything. He sat with me while I sat by the grave and cried after everybody had left.

He was there when nobody else was.

“It’s just so hard at night,” he commented as he flicked his smoke. “That’s when it all sets in and I can only thinking about alcohol.”

“How do you not drink?” I asked. “I mean you come to the bar and hangout with me, V, and Kev, and then you go home and everybody but me and Debby drink. I just don’t know how you do it.” I commented, pulling my leg to my chest.

“Honestly? It’s why I sneak into yours and Liam’s room.” I stared at him and waited for him to continue. “Liam’s basically my child. And sometimes just watching you both so peacefully is enough to get me through the night.”

“What about when Liam sleeps with Carl or Debby because I work late?” That was the real question. Lip ended up in my room almost every night, whether Liam was there or not. Most nights, because I worked the bar until closing, Liam slept in Debby’s room or with Carl. That didn’t stop Lip from climbing into bed with me.

He scratched the back of his neck, his nervous tick. “I think you’re my light in a dark place.” He muttered. “You stood by me through it all, ya know? Karen, Fiona, Frank, Marcia, the stuff with school, Ian, Debby having a baby, rehab, twice. You were just always there. The one consistent thing in my life.” He focused solely on the road and I smiled to myself. “And even when you’re sleeping, I know it’s enough to keep me from stopping to drink.”

I grabbed his hand lightly and threaded our fingers together, and kissed his cheek. “Stay at the bar until I close?” I asked quietly. Lip kissed the back of my hand and my cheeks flamed rosy red.

“Don’t I always?” It was true, when I worked at the bar, Lip stayed and had one to many cokes and scared off the spiteful men that tried to get in my pants.

“Sometimes you you go off with a girl,” I muttered bashfully. I did not want Lip to know the sinking feeling I got in my stomach when I knew he was with a girl.

“Haven’t since I got out of rehab.” He breathed lowly. I thought back on it. Had it been that long? Really? “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

I gave an embarrassing smile. “Are you saying I’m only cute when I’m jealous of other girls?”

Lip didn’t miss a beat. “You’re always cute. You’re cute when you cling yourself to me even though half the bed is yours. You’re cute when you try to reason with Carl and you scrunch your nose up. You’re cute when you and Liam dance in the kitchen to Johnny Cash. You’re cute when you get angry at your chemistry homework. Scratch that, you’re hot when you’re angry. You’re cute when you come home from work and just drop into bed after changing into my shirt. You’re cute when you blush. You’re cute when you wake up in the morning. You’re cute when I come downstairs and you’re making breakfast in my shirt and boxers. I think that’s when I find you the cutest.” I stared at Lip as he pulled into the bar. “What?” He asked as he felt my stare on him.

“You -- you,” I stumbled for words. “How the hell am I suppose to go to work for seven hours with all I want to do is kiss you?” 

Lip barked out a laugh. “Well, princess, I guess you’ll just have to wait until after the ball for you prince charming to kiss you.”

I scoffed, and swung myself over the console, straight on to Lip’s lap.

“Not even a kiss for the girl who’s sitting on your lap?” I leaned my head to one side and let my hair fall around us like a blanket.

“If I’m going to kiss you,” He breathed into my ear making me shiver, “It’s going to be my moment. This,” He gestured between us. “Is extremely hot, don’t get me wrong, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more turned on, and you better believe we are going to do it in the car, but our first moment will not be here.”

“Okay,” I muttered, trying to ignore the bile in my stomach from rejection and tried to think of the possibilities that would happen when I left work.

“Hey,” He gripped my thighs tightly. “I want this badly, baby. Just not like this. You deserve special. And this isn’t special.” My heart fluttered, he knew I had never been with anyone or done anything, that I was waiting for the right person. I didn’t want what happened with my parents to ever happen with me.

“Okay,” I said more bashfully, now shy at my forwardness, biting my lip.

“Don’t do that,” Lip said, gripping my thighs tighter. 

“Don’t do what?” I muttered, confused.

“You bite your lip.” I stared at him, very confused.

“Yeah, so? I do it all the time,” I muttered off handedly, failing to notice the problem.

“It’s hot.” Blushed bright red for what felt like the hundredth time today.

“It’s hot when I do that, but yet you don’t want to kiss me?” I quirked my eye at the 23 year old. 

“Come here,” He muttered. He pulled me to his chest and I shifted to get comfortable. That’s when I felt it. He was hard. “Yeah, that,” He muttered softly. “Is from you. And it’s probably going to stay that way until we get back to the house.”

“I should get to work,” I muttered, my hot breath making goosebumps arise on his neck.

“And Liam is sleeping with somebody else tonight. The only person who gets you tonight is me.” I kissed his pulse point softly before scrambling out of the car, looking at a flustered Lip.

“Are you coming?” I asked, looking back at him, finally noticing how flustered he was. “Awe, are you the one that’s all hot and bothered now?” I giggled.

He glared at me before hopping quickly out of the car and dashing towards me. I shrieked and made a mad dash for the bar. I quickly ran in and ran behind Kev. “Save me,” I pleaded as Lip came in flying behind me. 

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you for the pretty lady.” Lip said with a fake, horrible, British accent. I squealed and ran into the back.

Kev laughed, “Y’all are idiots!” Kev called after us as Lip chased me.

“I got you,” he slammed me against the door of the girls bathroom and I took a deep breath as his hot breath fanned my face and his arms went above my head.

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it mister. As far as we’re concerned nothing’s happening until after my shift.” I said in the brattiest voice I could muster.

“Don’t be a brat just because you’re not getting your way,” he threaded his fingers through my hair and tugged harshly. I gulped. I knew this was what I wanted.

“Right,” I nodded slowly. “But I am a brat, so what are you going to do about it?” I taunted, pushing my chest forward, knowing how to use my assets.

Lip took a deep breath as his eyes glanced between my eyes and my chest.

“You’re going to go to work and then when we get home,” He moved so his hands were set just below my breasts and he rubbed the underside of them. My breath hitched in my throat. “Then, we will have fun, you brat.”

I’ll admit, him calling me a brat turned me on more than I wanted to admit. “Okay, I mumbled.”

“Now go work before Kev comes and yells at you.” Lip muttered, kissing my forehead firmly. I pranced out to the bar, knowing full well that Lip was watching my ass.

Throughout my shift, I knew Lip was watching me. I laughed with Veronica throughout the whole shift.

“V!” I giggled as she made another joke about Kev. “You can’t say that about your husband!”

“Lip’s looking at you again,” She wiggled her eyebrows and gave me a knowing look. My cheeks flamed bright red. “You finally admit that you guys like each other?” 

“Kinda,” I muttered. “We’re not gonna define it, I don’t think.” I said softly. “The last thing he needs is me going crazy on him trying to define something when we don’t even know what it is.”

“Girl, you trippin’ if you don’t see how he looks at you.” I stared at her blankly. “I mean, you both have had eyes on each other for years.”

“Yeah, maybe me, but no way for him.” I mumbled wiping a glass. “He had Karen, and then he had Mandy. Then he had that thing with his professor and then quickly moved on to Sierra. And I look nothing like them. Plus I have all my scars and that’s a lot of trauma.”

“Look at me.” She said softly. “It doesn’t matter that you don’t look like them, baby. He loves you and that’s what matters. Your trauma is also his, he’s been there through it all. Also, you’ve been with him through all the things too. He loves you girl, don’t doubt that.” V told me honestly. “Plus, you’re hot as fuck girl.”

After my shift, V told me that she would lock everything up with Kev. I smiled as Lip pulled me into his side. 

“You ready to go home?” He asked, glancing down at me as I nervously fidgeted.

“Yeah, but,” I hesitated briefly, “Can we take it slow?” I whispered, nervously.

“Yeah,” He muttered, pressing his lips to forehead. “Whatever you want.” 

My heart warmed at his sweetness and I hugged him tightly as we made our way to Lip’s car. I gnawed my lip as he opened my car door. I was in for a long night.

[doyelikehaggis]

I got a question, who do you ship Mike with, it can be Queer or MLW, i do ship him with Sid (from series 4 of TSOTB) as a never met ship, and with Peter Umbleby as a crack ship, do you have any care worker pairings?

Hm, I haven't thought much about Mike in terms of shipping, to be honest. I can totally see why you ship him and Sid! And Umbleby is Definitely a crack ship but it's an interesting thought; would he have been able to turn around him around on shutting down the DG had they gotten involved romantically? Oh my god, and does Mrs Umbleby Not Exist in this au or is it a secret affair or does she know but she's fine with it?

For Mike, specifically, I remember thinking that he and Duke could've had something going on in TSOTB. As a child, I thought he and Jenny were going to get together, and I'm not sure if I necessarily ship them but I wouldn't have been mad either? I actually think it would've made me way happier had he and Jenny reunited in the Graybridge episodes instead of bringing in Fiona, a character we had never heard of before. It would've just felt so much nice to have that storyline of being reuntied and falling in love with a person from their past that slipped away from them with a character we Knew had been in his past. So, yeah, actually, I quite like the idea of him and Jenny.

As for the other careworkers!

For Jenny, like I said, I like the whole idea of her and Mike having his storyline with Fiona. But I also thought about her and Cam a few times? I don't know where it came from, but it crossed my mind at one point and I just think it could've been nice. However, I have great love for Cam and her new wife, so Jenny and Mike can stay.

Nathan. My sweet boy. I don't even think I actually Can ship him with anyone, I mean, apparently his actor was genuinely 17 when he came into TSOTB, though I'm pretty sure he was actually 19, which still Blows my mind. But that also makes him Way younger than the other careworkers and at least three-four years older than most of the older residents, excluding Bouncer, Adele, and Amer who I Think were all 16. On a sidenote, is it not Crazy that he was like 19 when he worked there and Tracy was like 15?? That feels so Weird, like how did he get this job, he was practically one of the kids!! But yeah, so as for shipping, there really isn't Anything for him, which hurts me because I adore him.

Shelley... I think I actually also shipped her and Jenny despite the fact that they Never Met either.

And again, for Duke, it was Mike.

I never really get Sid much thought since I tend to skip his season (sorry! I am simply not good with Change asdfhs), so I can vibe with him and Mike! Damn, Mike is getting All of them.

Well, in TSOTB, at least. TBR and TDG are a whole other story.

Because he and Gina were platonic besties and that is the way it should be. I simply adore Gina. I think that, on a friendship level, she would have gotten along Really well with Jenny. But I'm not sure about romance. There really isn't much option for the careworkers, is there? They don't exacly seem to have friends outside of their coworkers and there's usually only two at a time.

I will always ship May-Li with Alice, her beautiful wife. Before that storyline cropped up, I will admit I thought she was going to get with Mike but I can see how that they are simply Work Soulmates, and I love that for them. I also just discovered through googling the actors that May-Li's actress is only a year older than Nathan?? Which is. Okay, I can handle that. BUT IMAGINE IF MAY-LI HAD STARTED OUT AT STOWEY HOUSE AT THE SAME TIME AS NATHAN, BOTH 19 BUT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Oh, the friendship that would've been, especially because Nathan gives me Big queer vibes.

Scott is... a disaster, I love him, but I fully cannot ship him with anyone. There is literally no one. He's younger than all of the other careworkers except for May-Li. Well, his actor is 28 while all of the others are like 37-40s. So, it's not a Huge gap, but like... no. He's good on his own for now unless they introduce another younger careworker. And there are like none of the parents that I can see him with, really.

I just forgot about Tracy and Seth, my bad, because they were in fact both careworkers in TBR. However, shipping with Tracy always leads me back to the people she was in care with. Like Ben. And Crash. And Lol. And Justine.

Hold on, I just checked how old the actor who played Seth is and he is 36. Nathan's actor is 37. SETH AND NATHAN. Okay, THAT I can vibe with. They have a similar chaotic energy, Seth was in a band and Nathan loved going to gigs for the kind of music that Seth played. That's just one thing, but yeah, those two.

Hold on, I need to just include all of the careworkers ages to help myself out because I am Lost.

So, Mike's actor is now 57. We take off 19 years to take us all the back to 2002, when TSOTB first aired, meaning he was 38 in the first season. Which feels wrong because he looked Extremely young, but we move on. Mike was 38 in TSOTB.

Jenny's actress is 45 now, so we once again take off 19 years and get 26 for the first season of TSOTB. Which is totally fine, because when she and Mike would reunite in TDG, she would be 42 and Mike would be 54.

Shelley's actress is now 49, so we take off 18 instead of 19 since she wasn't in the first season, making her 31 when we first meet her.

Nathan's actor is 37, so he was Apparently 19 in his first season (which was also season 2), though google keeps telling me the actor was 17 which is a touch confusing, but oh well.

Duke's actor is also 57, so he was also 38 in the first season.

Sid's actor is 54, and his first season was 4, so taking off 17 years this time, he was 37 when we first saw him.

Gina's actress was 57 when she passed in 2020, and we first met her in 2010, so she would've been 47 in the first season of TBR. (At this point, Mike would've been 46.) And since this was also Tracy's first season as a careworker, she would've been 21.

Seth the social worker’s actor is currently 37, he came into it in season 2, making him 27 and Tracy 22.

May-Li's actress is 38, we first met her in 2014 when she was 31.

And Scott, our lovely recent addition, his actor is 28 right now and we've only had him for like two years, so he was 27 when we first met him.

And simply to make sure we have everyone, Elaine’s actress is 49, making her 30 in TSOTB. 

And I think that is all of the careworkers! Not that you asked for their ages, but I was just trying to work it out in my head. Not sure why I laid it all out like I was going to get told off for not showing my work on these maths sums.

So yeah! The careworkers are Surprisingly hard to ship, but there are a few that I do enjoy the idea of!

[calpalirwin]

Nicest Asshole You’ll Ever Meet

Request: May I request a Lip Gallagher X Fem!Reader fanfic? Maybe set during season 1 or 2? Y/N is Kevin’s little sister and gets jumped on the south side. She gets badly beat up and barely makes it back home to her brothers house. No ones home so she goes to the Gallagher’s and Lip answers. He patches her up and it’s cute and fluffy. Maybe she falls asleep in his bed and they end up cuddling and then sharing a blunt? (You don’t have to add the blunt if you’re uncomfortable) Thank you love :)

Word Count: 1.3k

And away, and away we go!

__

You cursed as you stumbled your way down the street. Kevin was gonna have a field day when he saw you. It wasn’t your fault you had broken the single rule he’d given you. You hadn’t started the fight. Why the fuck would you with odds like that? 5 to 1 was hardly fair. And while they had landed their fair share of kicks and punches on you, you held your own. Kevin had said that you couldn’t start any fights, but he never said anything about finishing them.

“Jesus? Get hit by the L? You know you’re supposed to stand behind the yellow line right?” a voice quipped, and you turned to find the eldest Gallagher boy sitting on his front steps, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

“Reckon I’m still better lookin’ than you, Lip.”

The boy scoffed, before dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out with his boot. “C’mon,” he said, rising to his feet and jerking his head toward the house. “I’ll help ya get cleaned up.”

You waved him off, “It’s fine. I’ll ask V for help.”

“She’s not home. Neither is Kev. Alibi.”

“Shit.”

He shrugged. “So, you comin’ or not?”

“Fiona or Ian home?”

“Nah. Work.”

“Debbie? Carl? Liam? Fuck, Frank?”

“Do I look like a fuckin’ nanny? No. I’m the only one here. Why? You afraid of me or something?”

“Pffft, no…”

Lip smirked. “Oh, I get it. Alright. Did Kev tell you to stay away from me? That’s rich… What did he say? Like the reasons?”

“He said you’re too smart for your own good, and that you’ll use those smarts to get into every girl’s pants.”

The boy laughed. “Yeah, he’s probably right. But he’s gonna be mad either way. You might as well be cleaned up when he flips his shit.”

You blew out your next breath in a huff before crossing into the yard, officially in Gallagher territory, and following Lip into the house.

“Just have a seat,” he said, nodding at the couch before jogging up the stairs.

You complied, whatever adrenaline you had finally fading your body, pain taking its place. You wondered briefly if you looked like how Lip had said you did; like you had been hit by a train. You definitely felt like you had.

You turned to the sound of Lip’s boots thundering back down the stairs, a first aid kit in his hands. His crystal blue eyes studied you carefully as he shook soft brown locks of hair out of his way. “You’re bruised pretty badly, but I don’t think any of your cuts need stitches so that’s good. And nothing looks broken. So, what happened?”

“Stupid girls,” you hissed through your teeth as he started dabbing at your face with an alcoholic wipe.

“Hold still. Sooner I’m done, the better.” One of his hands came up to cup your chin to keep you from flinching away, his hold surprisingly gentle. “Stupid girls did this? Like from school?”

“Yes, like from school.”

“Did you get them back?”

“Sort of. 5 to 1 makes it a little hard to do much besides get your ass kicked. But I finished it, if that’s what you’re asking. And they jumped me. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk into odds like that.”

“5 to 1? Shit… so this was Leah, and her stupid fuckin’ friends?”

“That would be them.”

“Which means it’s Tyler’s fault. And Kev warned you about me? Damn…”

“Tyler’s a piece of shit who’d flirt with a rock if it’d flirt back.”

“Pretty sure he has.”

You laughed, then winced, clutching your side. “Don’t make me laugh, asshole.”

“Let me see,” he said, his hands falling away from your face.

“What? No! Are you insane?”

“Oh, relax. I’m not even gonna see your bra, much less your tits. Now lift up your shirt or I’ll do it for you.”

“Fine, fine,” you grumbled, pulling up on your shirt, both of you sucking air through your teeth at the sight of a giant splotch of purplish blue.

“Don’t bite my head off, alright?” he asked, his fingers hovering over your exposed skin.

You squinched your eyes shut, breathing harshly. “Do it.”

His fingers grazed across your ribs, again with a gentleness that took you by surprise. “Probably just badly bruised. That, or you have a really high pain tolerance. Or you’re a really good liar.”

“All of the above,” you grinned sarcastically, dropping your shirt.

“Well, not a whole lot for you to do besides rest.”

At the mention of rest, you became aware of just how tired you were. “Yeah. Rest. Sounds good. Thanks, Dr. Lip.”

“Anytime. C’mon, I’ll help you upstairs.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You need to rest. And I’ve slept on this couch. It’s not exactly comfortable. You can use my bed upstairs.”

“Or I could go next door. To my bed.”

“Where Kev will find you all bloody and bruised? Nah. Plus, it’s too far.”

“Stubborn fuckin’ Gallaghers…”

“Hey, this stubborn fuckin’ Gallagher just played doctor, and offered you his bed.”

“Where he can play more doctor? Pffft, yeah right. I’m fine here.”

Lip’s eyes rolled. “I promise to not sleep with you. There. Now, are you gonna move on your own? Or do I gotta carry you up there myself?”

“Fuckin, Christ…” With his help, you made your way up the stairs and into a room with a single bed pressed against one wall, a bunk bed perpendicular with it against another wall. “It’s not the top bunk, is it?”

“No, it’s that one,” he said, nodding at the singular bed.

“Well, thanks I guess. For everything.”

“You’d be surprised how often I do this,” he tried to joke as you got settled on the bed and he fiddled with something at the desk.

“Play doctor to all the banged up kids in the neighborhood, huh? Wow, way to make a girl feel special.”

He gave a short laugh. “Have Carl as a sibling, and nobody would ever need med school.” He dug into his pocket, pulling out a lighter. He brought whatever it was he’d been fiddling with- a blunt you now realized- to his lips, lighting it and taking a deep hit. “Here,” he breathed, passing it your way.

You took a hit, welcoming the hazy cloud the enveloped you, feeling the bed dip as Lip crawled in beside you. “I thought you weren’t gonna sleep with me,” you pointed out as you handed him back his blunt.

“Do you see me stripping?”

“No…”

“Exactly. I may have offered you my bed, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna sleep on my fuckin’ floor. I’m nice, not a gentleman.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘asshole’ actually.”

“Nicest asshole you’ll ever meet.”

You took turns passing the blunt back and forth, your back pressed against his chest as you crammed together on the small bed. “Fuckin’ bitch,” you cursed Leah and her friends when you took a hit that left you sputtering, the coughs causing your sides to ache.

“I can fuck Tyler up if you want,” Lip offered. “And I can talk to Mandy about helping you with Leah. Like I personally won’t fight girls, so she’s my go to for that shit. Needed her help back when Debbie was getting bullied.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, cuz that’s what I need. More problems.”

“Well at least start walking with us then.”

“Aw, is Lip Gallagher offering to protect sweet little me?” you cooed.

“We look after our own,” he said as easily as if he was telling you the sky was blue. The bed creaked as he reached over you to turn off the lamp on the desk, before he settled behind you again.

You lay there wondering just what your brother had been thinking in telling you to avoid the boy. Sure, he had more charm and smarts than he knew what to do with. And he was a certifiable asshole. But he was a nice- and admittedly very cute- asshole. And you felt safe with Lip’s arm thrown gingerly across your waist, and his slow even breaths lulling you sleep.

__

Tag List

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[surferboypizzas]

The Reconciliation

summary: an ahs; coven fix-it-fic in which zoe tricks kyle and madison into reconciling.

warning: this fic includes discussion of s*xual assault and death. also swearing.

what you need to know about this au before reading:

Zoe was friends with Kyle before he died, and when Zoe and Madison brought zombified Kyle back to the coven, he was taken in by the small school.

There never was (and is not currently) anything romantic or sexual going on between Zoe, Madison, and Kyle.

Kyle did attempt to kill madison, he did not succeed. Ironically, he was stopped by Zoe, who (newly resurrected by Cordelia) ran upstairs after hearing screaming.

Fiona did not "fix" (I hate using that word in relation to him, but still) Kyle the way she does in the show.

The school has not been opened up to other witches outside of the coven, but this is a while after the events of Coven.

Misty and Nan are alive.

Madison and Zoe aren't gross people. Think of a gross bad thing they've done? It's gone. I've erased it. Never happened. We all know Queenie is the only canonically good person who is also a witch student in Coven.

~~~

"Ok. Now, Kyle, you go first." Zoe speaks from her space in between Kyle and Madison, who are standing across her room from each other. Snow falls outside, and the school’s old heater creaks in the background. For the last two weeks, Zoe had been waiting for the perfect moment to trap these two in a room together and convince them to make amends. Kyle turns to look at Zoe with a face of pure disbelief.

“Sh-” He points to Madison with his eyes wide, “She ki-killed me!”

Zoe looked at him with her arms crossed. “And you tried to kill her! C’mon, Kyle. Please just- apologize?” Kyle squinted at her and then sighed, nodding his head and pressing his palms together nervously while he turned back to Madison.

“I’m so-rry. Sorry.” He apologized half-heartedly. He could never say no to his friends, especially Zoe.

Madison smiled and sarcastically placed her hand over her heart. “Well, that was moving. I think we really made a breakthrough here! Thanks, Kyle! See ya!" Madison starts to make her way out of the room before Zoe grabs her arm to keep her from leaving. Madison slows to a stop right in front of the door.

“Madison.” When Madison still didn’t turn to look at her, Zoe uses her nickname. “Mads, you made up with Misty, who you actually tried to kill, is it so hard to make up with Kyle?" Madison rolled her eyes at Zoe’s trademark ‘mom tone’ that she only used with her. She hated how Zoe had started to shift the way she spoke to be tailored to each person around her. At first, Madison thought it was just some weird baby voice she used on Kyle, until one day she realized Zoe had given her a baby voice too. That she had started treating Madison like she was going to throw a fit if not handled in a specific way. She finally turns back to face Zoe.

“Give me one reason why I should, and- don’t give me that ‘because I said so’ bullshit," Madison says. Zoe pauses for a second before pulling both Madison and herself back to their original spots.

“Listen up, you are both very important to me and the rest of our family,” Zoe started (Madison already wanted to Vincent van Gogh her ears off), “and it would mean a lot if you two were to make up. I love you both, and I just want the people I love to get along. Is that really so hard to understand and achieve?” Zoe ends her sentence looking at Madison with a slightly pleading look.

Madison glances at Kyle and sees how easily his grumpy face melted into a grin at the word ‘family’ and rolls her eyes. “Fine.” She spoke, then sees Kyle’s smile grow. “Not for you, dumbass. For Zoe.” Kyle blinks at her dumbfounded, but not quite offended. Zoe looks between the two, she is clearly thrilled that her plan is working, but is attempting to contain her delight.

"So... I'm like... sorry. I guess." Madison says, clearly uncomfortable. Zoe moves her hand signaling her to keep going, (this is also an attempt to teach Kyle non-punchy conflict resolution skills, after all). So Madison restarts. this time actually looking Kyle in the eye.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for killing you, and I'm sorry for bringing you back." Kyle’s face twists in confusion at those last words, why would she be sorry for bringing him to the coven? Was she being sarcastic? It didn't feel like she was. He thinks Madison is finished for a moment, but she continues. "I'm going to be soft as hell for a second, so Kyle, listen up because I will never repeat this. Ever. And if you bring this up ever again I will gaslight the shit out of you and deny it ever happened. Now, you," she pointed at Zoe, "Need to leave so that I can be honest."

“Wait- me?” Zoe points at herself in confusion.

“No bitch, the ghost behind you. Yes, you. Trust me.” Madison says, gesturing at her to leave the room. Kyle and Zoe look at each other (Kyle seeming a little nervous), then Zoe nods and exits the room, closing the door behind her. For a moment Zoe considers eavesdropping through the door, but then decides to take the moral high ground... and considers listening with a spell instead.

Madison walks around Kyle to drape herself over Zoe’s soft chair by the window, and Kyle sits on Zoe’s bed, having to carefully move her books to do so. There is a moment of awkward silence, and Kyle starts picking at the fuzzballs on his red sweater. He wants to give her time to think of what she wants to say. His eyes snap up to hers when she starts speaking again.

"I'm sorry for being more bitchy to you than I am to the average person. It's just that- It's just that you... ok, let me explain. So you know how Zoe and I put your twunk ass back together with different limbs and shit? The frat boys' limbs?" Kyle nods, even though he doesn’t know what a twunk is. "So- to me, you're this lumbering giant whose arms and legs are this constant reminder of... the shit that happened.” Kyle tilts his head at this. Not only because the last word he would use to describe himself is giant, Kyle felt small most of the time. But also because he doesn't really remember much of what happened before he was dead, and assumes she is referring to the other Kyle. The Kyle without scars that Zoe has a few pictures of. "Shit, you don't know what happened." Kyle shakes his head and goes to say something, but Madison speaks before he can. "All you need to know is that some people were doing bad things. To me. And they were your... friends. Or whatever."

Kyle could tell Madison was trying to stay casual, but he has a sinking feeling that what happened to her wasn't nothing. "B- bad thing- gs?" He asks.

Madison was stiffer and speaking softer than before. Kyle had only seen her act small once before, and it was when he was hurting her. His stomach filled with guilt, usually, he tries not to think about what he did too often. He didn't like that feeling. "Yeah, Kyle. Bad things." Madison says while looking out the window.

Something in Kyle recognizes her tone and posture. He can’t quite put a finger on what, though. "Hur- hurt you?" He asks. Kyle watches Madison shrink in her chair and decides to go back to picking at his sweater, and attempt not to pressure her to respond quickly. As he does, the familiarity of the situation continues to tug at him. She looks a bit like how he felt after what happened at the other Kyle’s house. Or how he felt when he thought about the lady there. Zoe says that lady is (or... was) his mother, but he doesn't believe her. He sees mothers on the TV every day, and that lady is not at all what a mother is. If anything, Ms. Cordelia was his mother. she was all grown up, and Kyle was only 19. Ms. Cordelia never yelled at him, always helped him when he got in big trouble, and gave him those gross leaves when his stomach hurt. Kyle thinks about who Madison's mother might be. He hopes that Madison can talk to her about the bad things that happened.

Looking back up at the unusually vulnerable girl across from him, who is hugging her knees and staring out the window, he feels about her the way he feels about who he used to be. He wants to hug her and protect her and tell her that it’s not her fault those people made her so sick, and that he is so sorry he hurt her, and that he knows she feels soft and stained- but that one day she will be allowed to be happy and messy and big at the same time.

"Yes." Her words snap him out of his own head and back into the situation at hand. Madison's neutral expression does not waver.

Kyle points at himself and decides to ask just one more question, the one ringing in the back of his mind. "My Frien- ds?"

Madison is quiet for a moment before responding. "They were your friends. But you- I really don’t think you knew they were bad, Kyle. The thing is that... when I see your tattoos... I start to think about what happened, and when you make sudden moves I jump a little. So it was, sometimes still is, hard for me to be around you. You're just- big. If that makes sense. Like they were. I'm sorry for giving you those parts of them... for making you carry their shit with you. At least some parts of their sorry asses were finally put to good use when they became a part of your whole labrador retriever thing you've got going on.” Kyle is clearly upset by the fact that he cared about such bad people, and that he couldn’t tell they were mean sooner. “Oh, stop giving me that guilty look like you had something to do with what happened to me. You tried to help me, shithead. Now calm down." Madison says.

"I help-p ed you?" A soft smile starts spreading across Kyle's face.

Madison raises her eyebrows at his reaction. "Calm down Kyle, stopping those guys was a bare minimum thing to do." Madison starts, (Kyle frowns), "But thank you. For 'protecting' me or whatever. Congratulations! I guess you were always meant to be our guard dog."

Despite her insults, Kyle once again feels a surge of affection rise inside of him towards her. This time, he stumbles over to Madison, leans down, and engulfs her in a hug. He was never good with boundaries. He couldn't use his words to express himself, so he leaned on using physical affection (or fighting people but that wasn't currently applicable) to show people how he felt. His eyes instantly widened and he quickly pulled away.

"Sor-ry!" He stepped away from her, hanging his head and mumbling like an embarrassed child. “S-udden Move-ment." Kyle brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes before looking back at her to see if she looked upset.

Something inside of Madison grew sappy and soft. This idiot toddler-man had somehow comprehended the convoluted shit she was saying, and is trying to change his behavior according to it. She stands up and speaks, "It's fine Kyle. Really. Just, warn me next time. Or walk slower if talking is too hard."

Kyle decides to take the latter approach. "O-Ok." He said, then began to approach her very slowly. Like- very, very, very slowly.

Madison wishes there was someone else in the room she could look at to confirm that Kyle was, in fact, being insane. "Ok, I don't have all day. I'm going to need something faster than a snail's pace." She says.

Kyle stops and wrinkles his nose in disgust. “Snails. yuck!"

Madison’s expression turns into one of pure (amused) shock. "So the two words you do fully have down are 'snails. yuck.'? How- how does that even happen? Don't answer that, I don’t care. Hurry it up. Hug me now or never, Day of the Dead."

Kyle walked up to Madison and bear hugs her, she is significantly shorter than him, so she almost disappears into his sweater. Madison doesn’t hug him back at first, she instead lets her arms fall to her sides.

"F-riends now." He pats her on the head gently and intentionally. "Sa-safe now." He says in the softest voice he can muster (generally Kyle finds that he is stuck speaking at one volume, and that volume is loud).

Madison freezes at his last two words, then returns his hug for a moment. She thinks this might be the first time she’s ever hugged a boy who didn’t want to kiss her. It was nice. After a few moments, she clears her throat and steps back from him. "Thank you, Kyle." She says genuinely.

"Mhm!" He says, then just smiles at her, happy to have made a new friend. It was one more person on his list of people to protect and be protected by, and in his mind, there was nothing better than that. "L-et's te-ll Zoe w-e're frien-ds now." Kyle says, gesturing at Madison to follow him.

"What the fuck did I just get myself into," Madison mumbles, before following Kyle to the living room.

[gallavictorious]

ive seen multiple ppl post recently about mickey hugging ian at the police station and psych ward in 5x06 and ugh it's hitting me in the feels. like that's probably the first time that the rest of the gallaghers see mickey drop the tough guy act and the shield of anger and just be soft with ian 🥺

Ungh, that scene. It's incredibly sad, but yes, there is something so very soft and so very gentle about it too. It's a goddamned torpedo attack on my heart, it's what it is.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure it's the first time the Gallaghers see Mickey drop the tough guy act and his shield of anger, even if they've never seen him be outright soft like that with Ian before. After all, Mickey stayed with them for some time, and given the “want some more” of 4x08 and what-not I believe there must have been at least a few instances of casual familiarity stripped of anger and performed toughness (as opposed to actual toughness which Mickey's also got in spades). Incidentally, I think that Mickey knows he should probably play it way cooler at the Gallagher house – by, for instance, not sleeping in Ian's bed – if he wants to preserve the secrecy of their relationship, but at this point he just can't be bothered because he's missed Ian too damned much to play that game. I mean, Ian wouldn't stand for it anyway, but mostly it's about Mickey just really not wanting to be feign distance anymore.

Then there's 4x11, where Mickey can't – and doesn't really try to – hide how upset and worried he is over Ian's condition. After that, I don't see Debbie, Carl or Fiona in any way doubting that Mickey's love is very much genuine or that he is both capable and willing to let himself be vulnerable and soft when it comes to Ian. Even they don't witness him being soft with Ian prior to the scene in 5x06, I don't think it comes as any real surprise to them.

However, I'd argue that this moment still represents a shift in their understanding of Ian and Mickey's relationship. Given that Ian cheated on Mickey, made a porno, and then ran off with and endangered Mickey's kid, I don't think anyone could realy blame Mickey for still being a bit pissed at this point (even if Ian's at diminished capacity, the endangerment was completely unintentional, and Mickey has mixed feelings about the child). But there is none of that; no anger; no recriminations; there is just love and a desire to comfort and help. So, even if the softness itself is not too much of a surprise, I think it makes the Gallaghers realize that Mickey loves Ian in the same way they do, ie unconditionally, unquestionably. Mickey's love might be romantic whereas theirs is familial but it has the same quality of constancy. Like, no matter what you do, no matter if we fight or are angry or hurt each other, I will still love you and when you need me to I'll still take care of you, and nothing can change that.

The Gallaghers are Ian's family, and I think this is the moment when they realize that Mickey is Ian's family too. Is, and always will be. Nothing Ian shares with any other boyfriend comes anywhere near it, and I believe the Gallaghers all recognize that. It's there when Debbie comes to talk to him after Ian's flushed his pills; she knows that not even all this will actually have an impact on Mickey's feelings for her brother, even if he is momentarily overwhelmed. It's there in the siblings' continued support for their relationship even after the whole court house fiasco and subsequent Byron madness. Even when they're on the outs, even when they're not together, even when they're in different countries and expecting never to see each other again, Ian and Mickey are family, and the Gallaghers have known this ever since Mickey wrapped his arms around Ian and tried to comfort him rather than rage at him in 5x06.

(I also find it worth noting that Mickey is ready to do whatever it takes to get Ian the help he needs, even if it means Mickey potentially losing Ian, temporarily or forever. Mickey's love for Ian goes beyond what it does for Mickey, beyond how being with Ian makes Mickey feel good and happy; it's genuine and unselfish concern for how Ian feels. Ungh, again. The way this boy loves. I can’t.)

[sonnetthebard]

if it's not too much to ask, could i request a continuation to the jane/linda switched at birth story? 😅

Absolutely! Y'all really like this, don't you?

Genre: Drama/ Fluff?

Words: 1588

TL;DR: Linda accidentally ends up telling Emma about he and Jane being switched at birth

TW: Swearing

Side note: if anyone has ideas/ sketches to elaborate on this headcanon... please do them and tag me. I wanna see them. I mean I’m kinda loving it.

______________________________________________________

Linda sipped at her coffee, sitting at one of the small tables in Beanies. She let her legs dangle a bit, blowing on her coffee to close it. For once it was piping hot. That probaby had something to do with the fact that she was now rather close with Emma Perkins, the barista who had made it. Jane's sister- her sister. And god, could she ever see it. How could her sister ever work in a cafe though? The cafe had technically closed about five minutes ago, but... the manager, Nora, was letting her and Emma Perkins stay a bit longer to have a chat alone. Emma sighed, bringing over her latte and siitting down with Linda.

"Your coffee okay?" Emma checked. "I know the coffee here isn't too great, but... I tried to make it a bit better. I put a pump of hazelnut in there, and-"

"It's wonderful. Thank you." Linda cut her off, sighing. "Was it a good day at work today?"

"Eh, same old same old." Emma chuckled. "People are assholes sometimes."

"Tell me about it." Linda scoffed, smirking. "Any fun stories?"

"Well... this one guy tried to actually make me *sing* for my tip." Emma rolled her eyes. "Because Nora mentioned while he as at the counter that she'd seen a cafe in god-knows-where doing it."

"Did you actally have to sing?" Linda winced.

"God, no." Emma snickered. "Listen, it's no official rule yet. There's no sign, and therefore Nora can't make me."

"Thank god." Linda laughed along with her.

"Hey!" Emma mocked offence. "I'll have you know that I'm a pretty great singer!"

"Really?" Linda quirked a brow, smirking.

"Oh yeah! I played Fiona in my high school production of Brigadoon." Emma smirked back, putting on the scottish accent for 'Brigadoon'. "I'm not really into theatre any more, but... I fucking killed that role."

"Interesting..." Linda sighed, just taking a look at Emma again.

Sometimes when Emma brought up these significant memories Linda couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt. Because... she was this girl's older sister. She should have been there toshare those kinds of important moments with her. Not... not phony Jane Perkins. Who wasn't her sister. She liked Emma. A lot. Sure, Emma's life might be a bit grittier than her own, but... they had the same spunk. The same wit. Emma's was slightly less refined, and maybe a bit more crude, but it was there. In a lot of ways, it was like looking in a mirror. Both in looks and personality. That was, of course, if she had been a brunette.

"Hey, Linda, I've been meaning to ask you something." Emma bit her lip.

"Hm?" Linda hummed, indicating for her to go on.

"Why... why the sudden interest in me?" Emma asked carefully. "I mean, not that I don't love getting to actually get to know you- because you're great- but... I don't know. You're... you. You're rich, and your life is fabulous. And I'm me. A thirty-year-old barista at fucking Beanies."

"Well... I suppose I just felt drawn to you." Linda lied.

"Okay, no offence, but... bullshit." Emma sighed. "That's total bullshit! There's gotta be a reason."

"I simply noticed you at work, and... you reminded me of myself." Linda told her, inching closer to the truth.

"Really?" Emma blinked.

"You did... and you do. More and more with every second I spend with you." Linda nodded.

"But like... I know I'm repeating myself, but you're, like, fabulous. And I'm... me." Emma furrowed her brows.

"We've got the same spirit." Linda chuckled. "The same... spunk, if you will. The fire, and the sarcasm. We're peas in a pod."

"Is the sarcasm really that obvious just by looking at me?" Emma smirked.

"In the best way possible." Linda teased. There was a beat of silence between them as both sipped at their coffees.

"So... there was nothing more?" Emma checked.

"No... no, only that you're my sister." Linda sighed. A moment later she realized what she'd said.

"Pardon?" Emma blinked.

"I meant soul sister... sorry, it’s been a long day.” Linda chuckled nervously, hoping that would work.

"Okay, I would've believed that if you hadn't said anything, but... now that you've said it, it sounds so sketchy." Emma shook her head, stunned and suspicious. "What do you mean I'm your sister?"

"It's nothing. I misspoke." Linda blushed, looking to her feet.

"You're lying." Emma stated plainly. "I'm a little sister and a trouble maker. I read body language."

"Emma..." Linda pleaded, a pit in her stomach. She'd never meant to tell Emma. She had planned never to tell any of them.

"No, Linda. I want some fucking aswers." Emma demanded.

"No, you don't." Linda warned her. "Believe me... things will be a lot better if you just forget what I said.”

“No... Linda, you just called me your sister and then completely eliminated the ‘she’s jus being friendly’ context from the situation.” Emma stammered, clearly freaked out. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Fine.” Linda relented. “I didn’t want to tell you because... it’s fucked up, Emma. It really is. And it’s nothing I did, but... I still feel immensely guilty.”

“Just get to the fucking explanation!” Emma urged. 

“My parents- the people who raised me- paid a nurse off to switch me and your sister as babies... It was silly, really. They wanted a natural blonde baby.” Linda sighed. “All of that to say... Jane was never your biological sister. I was.”

“What the fuck...” Emma breathed, eyes wide. 

“That’s what I said when I read it in their financial files.” Linda sighed. She gave Emma a sympathetic look. “Now do you see why I didn’t want to say anything?”

“Um... yeah.” Emma nodded, still trying to take it in. “You’re my sister?”

“We can’t tell anyone, Emma.” Linda warned her. 

"Right...” Emma agreed. 

“It would cause too much of a fuss.” Linda sighed.

“Yeah...” Emma sighed. “So... what, did you start up this friendship because you felt guilty that your parents were heartless assholes who dumped their problem on my parents?”

“No. I did it because... if I had a sister, I wanted to know her. Even if she couldn’t know what she was to me.” Linda explained. “But... now you do, I suppose.”

“Yeah... I do...” Emma blinked. 

“Please... don’t be too mad at me?” Linda pleaded. “I genuinely just wanted to-”

“No, I’m not mad at you. You did nothing wrong.” Emma assured Linda. “Just... God. I always knew there was something fucking weird about Jane.”

“Really?” Linda quirked a brow. 

“Yeah... yeah, not even my parents understood where she got all the ambition and cunning from.” Emma nodded. “She was like... a total Slytherin. And I was very clearly a burnt-out Gryffindor. I mean, I’ve gone a little more Slytherin with my sarcasm over the years, but...”

“I’m sorry, a what?” Linda asked, confused. “Slithering?”

“Like... Hogwarts houses.” Emma checked. Linda stared blankly at her. “Oh my god... tell me my big sister knows what Hogwarts is...”

“I’m...” Linda started, before blinking. “Big sister?”

“Well, yeah... if you were switched with Jane, you’re my big sister.” Emma shrugged. 

“So... we’re alright, then?” Linda blinked. “Just like that?”

“Well... yeah. Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” Emma chuckled. “Look, it’s a lot to get used to, but... you’ve pretty much handled everything right. And... I really appreciate that once you found out, you wanted me in your life.”

“And I want you to know that I really did make an effort to get to know you right when I found out.” Linda assured her. “I only discoved it when I was going through my parents’ financials while planning their funeral.”

“Yeah, I can get why they would never tell you.” Emma sighed. “I mean... god. That was terrible. No offence but... they kinda sound like terrible people.”

“Well... just like Jane, they were very ambitious.” Linda bit her lip. “And they had a weird thing about keeping the blonde hair in the family.”

“They sound like the Malfoys.” Emma whistled. 

“The who?” Linda asked, not recognizing that name.

“Right. You don’t know Harry Potter.” Emma remembered. “Okay, you know what? I think Paul’s at D&D with the boys from work tonight, so I’ve got the house to myself. You should come over, and we’ll watch as many of those movies as we can cram in.”

“Oh... okay.” Linda agreed. “Harry Potter... that sounds familiar.”

“It’s kinda a huge thing.” Emma chuckled. “You’re free, right?”

“Gerald’s taking the boys night golfing tonight, so yes.” Linda smirked. “Is this going to make me finally seem like a cool mom to my boys?”

“Probably.” Emma smirked back. “Alright... do you need a drive to my place?”

“I would appreciate one.” Linda nodded, following Emma out the door. 

Perhaps that day staying late at a mediocre coffee shop had been the start of something beautiful. Or perhaps it had already started before. It was, at least, the day that Linda and Emma fully embreaced their sisterhood. And it really was only the beginning of their story. They would continue to blossom and grow together, and navigate what whas a confusing but worthwhile journey. It’s funny how sometimes you don’t know how much you need something until it’s handed to you. That sentiment couldn’t be any truer than it was with the two new sisters. Emma was precisely what Linda had always needed, and Linda what Emma needed. Finally, at long last, they could embrace that. 

[agentnolastname]

Tell the World

Pairing: Raleigh Carrera x Cadence Dorian (Platinum)

Prompt: Image

for: @choicesseptemberchallenge20 • Day 25

Note: Hello! This is my first time joining a fic fest and my first time writing, too. It's not the best but I hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you!

---

Cadence wakes up as the rays of sun hit her eyes. She stirs and tightens her arms around the waist of the man beside him, unwilling to move and get the day started. It hasn't even been 24 hours since the last time she went on stage and she feels so tired. She groans as her phone buzzed once again making the latter chuckle from behind her and stroke her hair.

"Babe, you have to wake up. Your phone has been going off since earlier." Raleigh pats her back lightly as he inched himself away from her only to put a kiss on her forehead and on the tip of his nose. Cadence waits for his lips to land on hers yet she didn't feel it. So he opened her eyes and pouts only to see her boyfriend grining down at her. "Thought it's gonna wake you up and it did. Good morning, hermosa. Let's move now, shall we?" He says finally reaching to let their lips meet.

Cadence groans and hides her head on his neck once again.

"Can't we stay for another hour?" She protested and let herself nuzzle the latter's neck. Raleigh just stays still as she does, holding her tighter.

"You know just how much I'd love that but I bet Fiona would disagree." Just then, her phone buzzed once again. Fiona's caller ID appearing on her screen. Raleigh takes it and answers the call.

"Hey, Fiona." He answers brightly. His husky voice long gone. Cadence chuckles as Raleigh continues bickering with her publicist on the phone.

It was after a few minutes when Raleigh sets the phone down on the night stand that he rolls them over, he ends up hovering on top of her.

"My manager talked with Fiona and it's bad news." Raleigh smirks as he lowers himself to trace kisses on Cadence's neck. She giggles at the sudden contact, lulling her head back to give his boyfriend more access.

"How bad?" Cadence asked him as he goes to kiss her on the lips once again.

"Let's just say, a pap saw me walking into your house last night." Cadence hums and pushed him to sit. She moves to straddle him.

"That's not so bad." Cadence says unfazed, trailing Raleigh's neck and chest with her fingers as she follows them with little kisses. The man held her on the waist pulling her impossibly close.

"Except they saw me carrying a box of condoms." Just like a lightning, Cadence's expression changed as she moved away from Raleigh's body.

"They did what?!" She asked, obivously surprised. Well who wouldn't be? The press will eat this issue. Especially when both of them are coming out with an album next month. Especially when they allegedly broke up three weeks ago.

"They saw me walking into your house with a box of condoms in hand." Raleigh chuckles and pulls her back to him. He leans his forehead against hers and smiles. "It isn't that bad, babe."

"Raleigh, we broke up three weeks ago." Cadence says emphasizing the word broke up as if it'll knock some sense into him.

"That's what they know." Raleigh shrugs, Cadence hits his shoulder lightly and stands up. Grabbing clean towels and heading into the shower. "Oh in the shower? Again?"

"You're not joining me for shower today, Mr.Carrera!" Cadence says out loud just as he was about to enter. He laughs and moves away going back to bed as he waits for her to finish.

This will be a long day.

---

They arrived at Overknight early since they did not make any stops today, Cadence did not even speak to him during the whole ride. She just leaned on his shoulders and not say anything. Not that Raleigh would wish for anything else though. Holding Cadence in his arms is more than enough, but surely, being able to tell the world that she is a big part of his life rather than a phase would be great. They walked into the studio hand in hand. Cadence stayed quiet despite Raleigh's efforts to open up a conversation one after another. They sat side by side into a couch in front of Fiona and Raleigh's publicist, Edward.

"I said that you two should be careful." It was the first thing they heard from the two. Cadence's heart beats fast on her chest. Unable to make herself feel at ease because of the possible scenarios this event might lead up to.

She doesn't get nervous often, but then this might affect both of their careers, and she wouldn't like it if this will harm Raleigh's career in any way. She looks down as the publicists talks about the issue, thinking of ways to avoid further controversies.

"If we're talking about publicity then this issue is definitely doing great in terms of exposure. America loved their relationship, don't you think?" Edward scrolls through twitter showing that the netizens mostly had positivie reactions regarding this.

Some even thinks it's funny how their relationship is an open secret the company is trying to hide. Cadence plays with her hands, still unable of what to make of it. Suddenly, Raleigh's hand covered hers and gives it a little squeeze. When she looks at him, she saw Raleigh grinning at her. So she smiles, too.

They continued discussing with their publicists unable to come up with a definite solution, but with the current position of the issue, it seems like there's no way that it'll worsen. After an hour, Fiona decided that it was enough talk for a day.

"I can see that the issue has no significant effect on your standings. I'll leave it up to you both."

Just like that they were dismissed. They said their goodbyes and head home right after.

---

Contrary to what Raleigh had initially thought, today went by fast. They dozed off to sleep right after they reached home and they played a couple of movies during the afternoon, making out a few times in between. Yet, they still haven't decided on what they should do next.

It was night and Cadence is almost done cooking for dinner. Raleigh, on the other hand, is on the kitchen bar stool when he decided to bring the topic up.

"I want to go public." He says randomly as he takes in the sight of his girlfriend moving across the kitchen. Looking a lot more beautiful wearing her messy bun and without make ups on.

This is the kind of sight he would kill to see everyday. The kind of moment he would like to boast around the world. He's the lucky man who gets to eat Cadence Dorian's cooking every day, what's there not to be smug about? He chuckles when he realized Cadence still hasn't moved since he says it. He stands up and goes behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down on her shoulder.

"I want to tell the world that we own each other, Cadence." He says, placing a soft kiss on her exposed shoulder. Cadence turns the stove off as she looks over her shoulder to reach his lips for a kiss.

"What if some of your fans become mad again?" She says, now leaning her head into Raleigh's chest.

"They're not fans if they act like that. Besides, I don't intend on having fans forever. On the other hand..." he trails off and perched a kiss on top of her head. "... I plan to stick with you from now on."

Cadence chuckles at this, turning around and dragging Raleigh back into the living room where she pushed her boyfriend into the couch and she sits on his lap. Raleigh's arms are wrapped into her in seconds.

"Is this real? Raleigh Carrera being cheesy? Sounds like headlines to me." She teased as she loops her arms around Raleigh's neck.

"Make it a headline then, I don't care." He says nuzzling her neck. "If that's how you want to go public then so be it. Good way, too, since they'll realize I probably plan on marrying you."

"And do you?"

"Of course, hermosa." He chuckles placing yet another kiss on her neck. Cadence giggles and hugs him tighter.

"I love you."

"I love you more, Cadence."

"You go and tell the world how crazy you are for me then."

Raleigh placed one more kiss before the latter stood up and heads back into the kitchen. He follows after a few seconds hastily snapping and image of his girlfriend. Then he opens twitter and types, attaching the picture he just took, clicking on the tweet button once he's done.

He chuckles as their friends replied one by one. The people went crazy, as their names enter the worldwide trends in just a few minutes. Cadence confusedly looked at him as she unlocks her phone only to see his tweet.

"God, why is my boyfriend like this?" She frowns and placed their food in front of Raleigh who is still busy scrolling through the tweets. Cadence sits beside him and sends a tweet.

"What's this? You actually don't mean..." Raleigh trails off and shakes his head, moving closer to Cadence. "Nah, you won't break up with me." He says sneaking his arms around her waist immediately.

"Oh, who told you?" Cadence raises her eyebrows, bringing her tweet to life as he teased his boyfriend. Yet, Raleigh didn't budge. He still wears his confident smirk, inching himself closer to her. He leans his head on Cadence.

"You did."

They both laughed as they started eating. Finally relieved that they wouldn't be sneaking out for a date tomorrow, or the next few days, or ever. They happily ate dinner. Glad that they can finally date freely now.

---

EXTRA:

[forabeatofadrum]

che col tuo lume mi levasti - chapter sixteen

AO3

–

SIMON

Something’s happened to my mum.

I don’t know what.

I came back from my little trip around Bérgamo and she was silent when I showed all the readings to professor Bunce. To his dismay, there was nothing out of the ordinary. He’d hoped for a possible explanation as to why dead spots appear.

We stayed in Bérgamo for hours and my mum still worked as a translator, but something was off and on our way back home, she looked distracted.

I’m lying in my bed in my childhood bedroom and I call Baz to tell him. I also want to know how Agatha reacted. He texted me to tell me that it went well, but now I want the full story.

“I’m so happy, Snow,” Baz says. I think he might be crying. “She’s not jumping up and down from excitement, but it went so much better than I expected.”

“I’m so happy to hear this,” I tell him. Everything’s working out for him and I couldn’t be more in love with him.

“She asked me who knew, and I told her that my parents and Fiona obviously know. And that you were the first person I ever told. And that your mum found out… you know when.”

“When I killed dad.”

“Yeah. And Shepard. Agatha admitted that she was a little jealous that I told him before her, since she’s my best friend, but she also fully understands that it was easier to tell Shepard first.”

“Shepard is my bestie.”

“Snow, for the love of Merlin, stop saying bestie.”

“No.”

Baz laughs. We’re just messing around. We still rile each other up when we see a chance and he knows that I say bestie just to get his reaction.

“So, tomorrow’s the birthday?” I say.

Baz hums. “Yes. Fiona is invited.”

“Oh. How is that playing out for you?”

“… I don’t think I will ever forgive Nicodemus and his chosen family, but I think it’s also unfair to be mad at her, especially now that I know that vampires aren’t pure evil.”

“That sounds fair.”

“How was the research?” Baz changes the topic. I let him. He doesn’t like Nicodemus.

I tell Baz that it was disappointing. Professor Bunce, Alexandra and their teams all had their hopes up, since it was the first study that compares two different countries, but so far it looks like the zone morte are similar to the dead spots. Everyone had hoped to find some difference, because that could lead to a possible new theory, but nope.

All the dead spots and zone morte seemed to have appeared at random, all around the same time, and it’s not because of the lack of language.

I then hide underneath the covers. I obviously cannot cast a silencing spell and my mum’s in the same house.

“Something’s wrong with my mum,” I whisper.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I came back from my little solo expedition and she was just different.”

“Different how?”

I tell Baz what happened.

“Hmmmm,” he hmmmms, “And nothing happened beforehand?”

I think back. I remember something. “She looked very uncomfortable when professor Bunce showed her the location and date of the first dead spot in the WoM.”

He also hates it when I say WoM, but he doesn’t react to that. Instead he asks: “Do you remember what it was?”

“Somewhere in Wales,” I answer. I don’t know where exactly. “June twenty-first 1997.”

“Simon,” Baz says after a small beat of silence, “Simon.”

He only calls me Simon when it’s serious. “What?”

“Simon, love, you absolute idiot, that’s your birthday!”

I sit up in my bed. The sheets glide off me.

“Shit! You’re right!” I hadn’t even realised. I don’t care as much about my birthday, compared to other people. I completely missed the obvious. That’s when I realise the other obvious thing. “Baz. Wales.”

“Yes,” Baz breathes out, “You’re Welsh and born on June twenty-first in 1997. Simon, how big are the odds?”

“I… I…” I splutter out. I don’t know what to say. English is my first language, but sometimes you gotta fall back on Italian. “Cazzo cazzo cazzo merda porca puttana dio Cristo!”

“Simon, stop!” Baz yells in my ear, but I keep yelling Italian words. I am no longer being silent.

At one point, the door to my room gets opened. My mum’s standing in the doorway. “Simon Oliver Snow, what is going on?”

I stare at her. “Mum, June twenty-first, 1997, Wales. Mum.”

She understands what I am talking about immediately. Her shoulders sag and she looks sad. I don’t like it when my mum looks sad.

“Let’s make some tea,” she eventually says, “I think we need to talk.”

--

BAZ

The birthday is in full swing. Officially, it’s the twins’ birthday party, but everyone in attendance knows that I am grouping a lot of birthdays together, so no one bats an eyelash when I give Mordelia Simon’s gift.

I snap a photo of Mordelia and her doll so that I can send it to Simon. Last night he told me that his mum wanted to talk, so we wished each other goodnight and then we hung up. I haven’t heard of him since. He’s out in the field. He’ll call when he has the time.

I wonder what happened. I have a precarious feeling about all of this. I don’t know if Simon’s already realised that the last dead spots appeared in September 2016. Truly, how big are the odds of the first dead spot appearing on Simon’s birthday and the last ones appearing in the month he gave away his magic?

He’ll call. I know he will. Right now I have another mountain to climb. Fiona has arrived. I down my drink and I hand my glass to a waiter (yes, Daphne has hired staff) and I walk towards her. She sees me approaching and her entire face falls.

Shit.

“Fiona,” I say kindly.

“Baz.”

“Can I talk to you in private?” I ask.

“Are you going to kill me for marrying a vampire,” she whispers angrily. Then she looks around to see if someone’s overheard, but everyone’s focusing on Petra doing a magic trick. It’s actually magickal.

“No.”

“Fine.”

The two of us leave the party unnoticed. The moment we’re outside, Fiona lights a cigarette. I scrunch up my nose. I hate the smell. Fiona sees my reaction and she rolls her eyes.

“Fiona,” I start, “I don’t like Nicodemus, but not because he’s a vampire. I don’t mind him being a vampire. I don’t mind me being a vampire anymore. I think I can embrace it.”

I don’t know if Fiona planned on keeping up an annoyed appearance, because right now she looks at me in surprise. Then the surprise morphs into pride.

“Really?” she asks, amazed, “Baz, really?”

She knows more than any other person in the world how much I hated being a vampire. She never actively encouraged me to embrace it, since Fiona also grew up with the World of Mages’s view on vampirism, but in the end we still care about each other and we wish each other happiness.

I was happy. I’ve been happy for a while, especially now that I have Simon, but this unhappiness always prevented me from being fully exuberant in life.

“Really?” she asks again. She uses her free hand to grab my shoulder. Then she puts the cigarette in her mouth so that she can grab both shoulders. It’s reminiscent of the many times that she calmed me down. I almost tear up at the gesture. I nod.

“It’s still here, Fi,” I point towards my heart, “A part of me still finds it difficult to accept, but I’m working on it. I even told Shepard and Agatha the truth.”

“How?” Fiona sounds muffled with that cigarette sticking out of her mouth, but I heard her.

I put my hands on hers.

“Nicodemus told me about the vampire hub in Rome. Simon and I went down to see it for ourselves.” I tell Fiona what happened. It’s not as detailed as the stories that I told Shepard, but I tell Fiona the most important bits. I talk about the kindness that Emma, Angelo and the community showed me and how everyone was so welcoming towards Simon. I give Fiona a little rundown about the CoMi and CoMa and how it’s so much better than the World of Mages.

I tell her that it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

“If I could travel back in time and stop the vampires from Turning me, I still would,” I admit, “But I can finally honour the promise that I made to my mother and carry on as I am, in peace.”

Fiona’s openly weeping now.

“Natasha is dead,” she sobs, “And she wasn’t a saint.”

I shake my head. “She is. She wasn’t.”

“But I’ve thought a lot about my sister in the past one and a half year, and she might not agree with the way we live, me marrying a vampire and you being one, but I think that above all else she’d want us to be happy. She wasn’t a saint, but she also wasn’t a devil.”

“Nicodemus and his friends are evil, but they don’t represent all vampires.”

Fiona hangs her head. She lets out a sigh and the cigarette falls to the ground. “Nico and I have talked a lot about Nat’s death since we came home from Italy.”

“Is he going to abandon his family?”

Fiona shakes her head, looking solemn, and I still hate Nicodemus.

“But I don’t ever have to see them,” Fiona then says, “And I won’t, because I’ve told Nicodemus that I will set all of them ablaze the moment I lay eyes on them.”

“Same.”

“Natasha burned. So can they. For what they did to her and to you. And I never hated The Mage more for what he did to her and you. I want to kill him.”

“Simon beat you to it.”

Fiona laughs shakingly. “Fuck me, Baz. I still can’t believe that Simon being the fucking Greatest Mage got swept under the rug. I don’t know if I should be angry or happy with it. Angry, cause I always wanted to kill the fictional Greatest Mage, but happy, since he killed evil.”

“Don’t shout it out loud.”

“I won’t, kid,” Fiona says, “I understood why you told me. We both have partners who are hiding a big truth about ourselves. It’s just so conflicting. The Greatest Mage, for fuck’s sake.”

“The world is filled with conflicting ideas,” I say, “Who knows what other secrets are out there?”

“Speaking of… Have you connected the dots?” Fiona suddenly asks.

“What?”

“What The Mage did to you?”

I frown.

“He sent the vampires.”

Fiona has a sad smile on her face. I grip her hands.

“Nicodemus and I believe that he’s the reason that the numpties kidnapped you.”

“What the fuck?” I yell out. Fiona’s said that before, but I never saw a reason to believe her. Fiona blamed The Mage for everything!

“The Veil lifted,” Fiona reminds me. I know this. Everyone at Watford was talking about it when I came back and you can figure it out with some simple math. It’d been twenty years since the Veil previously lifted. “Nat didn’t Visit us. Not me. Not Malcolm. But Nico thinks that she might’ve Visited you.”

And that’s when I start to run.

--

SIMON

My mum and I drive to Spinazzino. It’s a fraction of the city of Ferrara and it has a zona morta. It’s a two and a half hours long drive, so we left early with all the researchers in tow. That’s why I stayed the night at my mum’s. It’s just easier to leave together.

I am driving.

“What are we going to tell Martin?” my mum suddenly asks.

“The truth?” I propose. What else can we say? Yesterday, my mum and I went over all the dates ourselves. My mum does not have all the information and fancy maps, but she still has the original list of dates given by the Lob.

A lot of dates didn’t mean anything. Small dead spots appeared in nineteen years. But in 2016, something changed. The two big dead spots of 2016 were the first in a list of big dead spots. I remember that, since Baz had to go home to help his parents move. They appeared on the same day Baz and I fought the vampires.

The last day of BM.

(Or the first day of AM? I learnt about my magic in the middle of the day, so BM and AM overlap on that day.)

The day I went off and grew into my magic.

“This could be a coincidence,” my mum says, but we don’t believe that. The evidence is astounding.

“We should tell professor Bunce, mum. See what he has to say,” I say with more certainty now, “We brought the extra books, and he knows the truth about my magic. He might make sense of this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

We talk more during the drive, but we stay away from this topic. We arrive at Spinazzino, and just like last time, the dead spot hits hard. My mum starts gagging when I drive, which means that we’ve arrived. Behind us I see that the others park the cars, so I do too.

Spinazzino is very small. There is basically one street, the Via della Cembalina. There’s also the Via Cascina, but according to Google Maps, that street acts as a border of Spinazzino, so it’s not really part of Spinazzino. Or it is. It depends who you ask.

We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.

There are a few houses and a church, but we’re surrounded by land. All the researchers take their time to adjust to the dead spot. Since I don’t have to, I start to unload their equipment from the cars. Some locals spot us, but we came up with a cover story and I bullshit my way through it. It’s something about the environment. If you use fancy enough words, people will take your word for it, since you sound smart and they don’t want to look dumb and argue. (Baz also taught me that.)

The others have gotten over their shock and we go to work.

“When do we tell Martin?” I ask my mum.

“Let’s wait for a while, okay?” my mum suggests, “Maybe they’ll find something.”

I doubt it.

And after a few hours, I am proven right. Professor Bunce looks like he wants to rip his head off his body, that’s how disappointed and frustrated he looks.

“Lucy, are you sure nothing big happened in the Italian magickal community on this day?”

My mum shakes her head. “Alexandra says no.”

“But there must be. The Comunità is disorganised. Maybe she doesn’t know!”

My mum and I look at each other. We pity him. He looks like he’s at the end of his rope, trying to find an explanation. He’s spent years of his life studying this phenomenon only to be proven wrong.

“Martin,” my mum says seriously, “Simon and I have found something. I think we should talk. Privately.”

--

End notes: Spinazzino is once again chosen at random. I put my cursor on a random place close to Salò and I just loved the name so much (spinach is my favourite food). 

And another shout-out to Marta matsonmars, who wasn’t fazed at all when I asked her for a string of swear words to yell out in panic.