#the way jacob did it? ABSOLUTELY in character

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

"melissa introducing herself to another teacher was out of character" okay then I'll say it jacob and zach breaking up was out of character

[skydaemon]

does anyone want to hear the worst iwtv thought i've ever had? spoilers

so yknow how there's been a load of hints this season (and some last season) that claudia won't be killed by sunlight like she was in the book, but will die in a fire? i can't recall every instance right now, but in ep 4 there was her talk w santiago and daniel's question about the theatre, both of which could just be hinting at the fire in general, or could be suggesting that claudia dies in the theatre fire. there's loads more examples that someone else collated, but i can't find that right now. considering armand and louis are together in the present, it seems unlikely louis knows armand killed claudia, so if she died accidentally (or "accidentally") it would make sense for them to possibly have trauma bonded or just stayed together, rather than being torn apart the way they were in the book. again, could just be coincidence, or could be foreshadowing.

but i was watching ep 4 today in the scene where claudia confronts louis about armand and i found myself offhandedly thinking that the embers from louis' photographs were going everywhere, and they could start a fire.

then i stopped fucking DEAD.

because this episode sure focused a lot on the fact that louis is learning to control fire, huh? weird, since it's not a skill we see him use in present day. also showed he's not totally in control of it, and that he gets emotional and sets things on fire. so of course my brain jumped to the worst possible conclusion: what if louis set the theatre on fire and it killed claudia?

now, it's totally possible that, as in the book, louis just sets the theatre on fire in response to claudia's death. but before i could snuff out the terrible thought, another one followed: if he did, does he know?

because to me, there are four options. 1: he didn't kill her and he knows it. boring, basic, as per. 2: he killed her and he doesn't know. armand has mind-wipe powers that he's clearly used on louis, and it seems pretty in-character for him to hide this from louis. it would be absolutely devastating as a reveal and i KNOW jacob would kill me by acting it. 3: he killed her and he knows. this would be so INTERESTING!!! like retroactively making it canon that louis killed his daughter/sister/best friend and has been dealing with that for the last seventy-five years has INSANE implications and that would destroy me. 4, and possibly the most awful: he didn't kill her but armand made him think he did. this would explain the way louis in the present is significantly more under armand's thumb when daniel arrives compared to their 40s relationship, and why louis is so fucked in the head. it is so fucking juicy i want to rip into it with my teeth like a ripe mango.

anyway, very possible none of this will turn out to be right, but it was such an arresting thought in the moment that i felt pressed to share it.

[lil-frenchfri77]

Begin Again

Summary: Ever since Bella came back to Forks things between y/n and her boys have been different. Embry and Quil stopped answering phone calls and texts, they’ve even been avoiding her everytime she shows up at their house. So y/n does the only thing she can think to do, she latches onto Jacob just like Bella, and when he starts acting like Embry and Quil did, she makes the decision to not put so much effort into a friendship that is clearly one sided. But what happens one day when Sam’s pack is in town at the same time as y/n and her new friends and two certain boys imprint on their former best friend? And what happens when a former best friend doesn’t feel the same way?

Author’s Note: Hello to everyone that is reading this! This is my first ever time writing a fanfic, so (if you’re reading this) go easy on me. I would love to hear any feedback anyone might have in the comments. Super excited to be writing this Twilight fic, I’ve been inspired by others authors on here to take my own spin with Stephaine Myers characters, none of which I have any ownership to. This doesn’t really follow the Eclipse movie timeline, I'm making things up and stretching the timeline. So this is basically my own story just using Stephanie’s characters and some of her themes. There are also some other characters in here that I don’t have any rights to, I just thought it would be fun to put them in this story. I don’t know how long or short this is going to be, I might be able to get my ideas across quickly or this might turn into a few chapters. If you’ve read this far I love you and I really hope you like this!

(Also not beta read cause I can’t afford that)(Dividers from @enchanthings here on Tumblr)

Y/n/n means your nickname 

Embry Call x Fem!Swan!Reader x Quil Ateara

Slight Stiles Stlinski x Reader

Chapter 1 | Master list | Chapter 2

Things had been weird lately, with Bella back in Forks, the Cullens, and your friends on the reservation. It seemed like everyday more and more of your friends were leaving to go hang out with Sam Uley and his pack of assholes. Now it was just down to you, Embry, Quil, and Jacob. It’s not like you’re not fine with that, Embry and Quil were your best friends ever. So you were fine with just the four of you hanging out all the time. But they got so hostile of you whenever Edward or one of his siblings came around to talk to you or Bella. 

It was getting absolutely exhausting trying to mediate things between them. You didn’t want to have to choose between your boys or Bella, but if it came down to it, your choice would always be your family and by extension, the Cullens. Although it seemed like you wouldn’t be getting a choice anyways when Embry and Quil stopped answering your texts and calls. They were never home when you came to visit and see what was happening to them. You had even tried asking Jacob if he knew anything but he swore up and down that he had no idea. 

You never expected to see them hanging out with Sam and his pack, jumping off that stupid cliff. You had never felt more betrayed. They could do whatever they wanted to but it hurt that they felt the need to drop you, without any kind of explanation and go hang out with the few people (at least you thought) you mutually disliked. It was obvious that they weren’t going to talk to you anymore so you did the only thing you could think of, you left them one last voicemail in hopes to get through to them. 

“Hey, it’s me. Um, I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I still miss you guys. I saw you the other day, hanging out with Sam and his boys. It’s fine, I guess. I just thought that we were better friends than that. I mean, we’ve been inseparable since we were 6 but that’s not really the point of why I called.” You took a deep breath, trying to stop yourself from rambling some more. “I don’t really understand why you started hanging out with Sam but you have free will so I can’t stop you. But I miss you guys, and I still want to be friends. I don’t want to permanently lose you both because I can’t get over this petty dislike I have. So, call me back. Please. I want to talk about everything, but if you truly want nothing to do with me anymore then I won’t bother you again. This is goodbye, then.” 

2 months later

Life wasn’t the easiest thing anymore. The boys never called you back, which you expected but it still stung. You still had Jacob, but it wasn’t the same. Jacob knew how much Embry and Quil’s choice had affected you, but there wasn’t much he could do to help you. He couldn’t just tell you that they were werewolves. So he did his best to try and raise your spirits. You were wholeheartedly grateful you had him during this time. 

Bella wasn’t much help either, she had just been broken up with and she was rotting away in her room. It appeared as though life was hating the Swan girls right now. As much as you wanted to wallow in your own pity you knew you had to be there for Bella. It’s not like the kids from school were going to help her, and honestly Bella wouldn’t want them to. So you spent months trying to help Bella, you didn’t want to lose your sister too. 

“Please, Bells. Just talk to me, tell me what’s going on in your head. I’ll do anything to help you, you just have to tell me. Tell me what I can do for you, I want to take all this pain away. I know this isn’t about me or dad but we’re so scared for you Bells. We love you so much.” You plead  with her. Tears welled up in your eyes when she turned away from you and went back to looking out of her window. You walked out of her room before she could see or hear you start to cry. 

“Whoa, slow down there kid. What’s happening?” Charlie stopped you in the hallway. His hands gripped your shoulders as they shook with silent sobs. 

“I can’t watch her wither away like that dad. She’s changing so much, and I don’t know how to help her. I hate Edward for what he’s putting her through and he’s not even here.” You spoke through your tears. Hiccuping in between every breath you took. 

“Y/n,” Charlie whispered, cupping your cheeks and making you look up at him, “We will get her through all of this okay kid? You and me will bring our Bella back. I know it.” He assured you as genuinely as he could. Truth be told, he had no idea if he would be able to get his daughters back to the girls they were before all this happened. He was grateful that you seemed to be okay so soon after the Embry and Quil situation. He didn’t know what he would do if both of his kids were nervous wrecks he couldn’t console. 

You nodded at him instead of answering back. You knew he was just trying to make you feel better. As much as you wanted to stay and keep trying with Bella you had to go to school. You couldn’t miss any more days this week or you would fall too far behind. 

After getting dressed you head downstairs where you say goodbye to your dad and meet Jacob who’s waiting for you outside. Lately he has taken to riding with you to school and then walking back to the reservation afterwards so you weren’t alone in the mornings. It was also a way for him to keep an eye on you and Bella. 

“You know, you don’t have to keep doing this Jake, I’m perfectly okay with getting to school by myself.” You told him today. It has been on your mind for a little while now. 

“I know,” he chuckles, “but I like to. Sometimes I don’t want to be alone in the morning so I make you suffer and force my presence on you. You’re going to have to get used to it.” Jacob simply shrugged. 

You get quiet after that and it worries him, but before he can ask you what’s wrong you beat him to it

“If you ever want to be friends with Sam and everyone else, please don’t cut me off too. I don’t think I could handle that.” Your hands grip the steering wheel tighter as you pull up to a red light. You can’t bring yourself to look over at him, as you not so patiently wait for his answer. 

“Y/n/n, I will never abandon you to be friends with Sam and his pack of douchebags. Okay? It's you and me against the world now.” He says in such a loving tone that it brings tears to your eyes for the second time that day. “Oh god, please don’t cry. I totally didn’t mean for that to happen.” 

Watching him panic while he tries to get you to stop crying does the trick, and you start to giggle at him. The rest of the drive to your school is silent with the occasional sing along moment to whatever is playing on the radio. When you finally arrive at school you're in a much better mood. 

You say goodbye to Jacob and head into the building, putting on your headphones and turning the volume all the way up. Someone knocks into you from the side sending your phone and headphones sliding across the floor. 

“Oh my god. I’m so freaking sorry!” Apologizes spill from the mystery boy's mouth as his friend, the one who pushed him into you, hurries to gather your things. He turns around to his friend on the floor and hisses out “Dude. What the hell??” 

It wasn’t surprising that you had to clue who these boys were. When you were friends with Embry and Quil you didn't really talk to the people you go to school with. “It’s fine.” You shrugged it off, not wanting to create a problem with these two. 

“No, its not fine. I totally didn't mean to smash into you. Scott’s just an asshole.” The boy throws his friend, Scott, under the bus. “I’m Stiles by the way.” 

“I didn't mean to push him into you miss, I didn't even see you there.” Scott pipes in, before quickly realizing what he said. “OH! I didn't mean I didn't see you at all, like you're just hard to see. Cause you’re not hard to miss. Not that you're always in the way! I've never seen you before so… I'm going to stop talking now.” Scott sheepishly tugs at the collar of his shirt. He seems to be sweating now. The incredulous look on your face seems to shut him up well enough for his friend, Stiles, to get a word in. 

“Wow dude, that was bad.” He’s trying to hold back his laughter now. “I think what he's trying to say is that he was so preoccupied with being an asshat that he wasn't paying attention to our surroundings.” Stiles says it a lot more eloquently than Scott had and it makes you giggle. 

They both stare at you like you've grown a second head. “That was the worst apology I have ever heard in my entire life.” You state after getting ahold of your laughter. “I’m y/n. I accept your terrible apology, and it's okay that you haven't seen me around before, because to be honest. I've never seen either of you around before either.” 

They let out a breath of relief and apologize one more time, sounding more coherent and sincere this go around. Scott proceeds to ask you what you have for the first period and surprisingly you have the same class as them, so you all walk to your class talking and getting to know each other. When you get to class you part ways to your seats with plans to meet after class. 

Your class schedules were pretty similar, especially yours and Stiles. In the classes you and Stiles shared you decided to move seats and sit next to each other, getting in trouble a few times for talking too much. You were getting along with him so well that he invited you to sit with him and his friends at lunch. And since you didn't have any other plans you took him up on his offer. 

When lunch time rolls around Stiles follows you to your locker where you get your food before heading to the cafeteria to meet up with his friends. The table quiets down when the two of you approach. “Y/n these are my friends: Lydia, Allison, Issac, Liam, Malia, Kira, and you've already met Scott.” One by one his friends say hello and introduce themselves to you. This wasn’t at all how you thought it was going to go. You assumed that they would only give you a cursory hi and go back to their conversations, but they seemed genuinely interested in getting to know you.

[nemo-in-wonderland]

Jacob and Dottie - XMen Edition

You're all that I can trust Facing the darkest days Everyone ran away But we're gonna stay here, we're gonna stay here

Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh I know you're scared tonight Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh I'll never leave your side

When it all falls, when it all falls down I'll be your fire when the lights go out When there's no one, no one else around We'll be two souls in a ghosttown

When the world gets cold I'll be your cover Let's just hold Onto each other When it all falls, when it all falls down We'll be two souls in a ghosttown

"GHOSTTOWN" - MADONNA

SO.

A few days ago, I asked on IG how my mutuals would have liked to see me drawing Jacob and Dottie again (since, you know, it has been since March that I last drew them together in any capacity).

And dearest @memoriesofafallen suggested me to draw them as X-MEN.

Needless to say, my brain starting going like crazy, because if there is something that I absolutely adore in this world, it's X-Men.

They were the first comics I ever read (all thanks to my older cousin who was the one to actually introduce me to the fandom with the old game "Children of the Atom") and to be honest, the only Marvel comics I ever read (I much preferred DC when I was younger).

So, when dearest Tofu suggested me to draw them as X-Men, the brain started brainrotting right there and then.

BUT.

I was faced with a dilemma: drawing them as my favourite X-Men pairing OR as the characters that Jacob and Dottie resembled the most?

Because depending on that, I would have to draw them as very different characters (a huge cookie to the one that would guess how I would have drawn them if I went with the similarity road lolol)

And Tofu suggested me to go with my favourite ship.

SO NOW HERE YOU HAVE JACOB AND DOTTIE AS GAMBIT AND ROGUE BECAUSE FML.

Only, of course, I had to change Rogue!Dottie's hair, so I inverted the colours lololol

Baby me was smitten with Mr. LeBeau when I saw it on tv in '94, and absolutely love Rogue for how tough she was (why do you think I have a white streak in my hair lol)and you can BET YOUR HAT THAT I JUMPED TO THE OCCASION AND STARTED TO SHIP ROGUE AND GAMBIT (we will absolutely pretend that AoA never happened. Nah-ah. That is not canon for me. nope.)

Also, I decided to go a different way with colouring this time around, and instead of going with the soft rendering I usually go with, I decided to try my hand at recreating the style that is usually used in the comic, and good Gods, let me tell you, I had an ABSOLUTE blast and I am SO HAPPY WITH HOW THIS TURNED OUT.

SO HAPPY WITH THE COLOURING, SO HAPPY WITH THE POSE (also a little throwback to the very first artwork I did with them lolol

SO HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING.

I gave it a small "80s Retro" vibes because YES.

Honestly, for once I didn't dread colouring and rendering, and I had a HOOT.

I truly need to practice this colouring more often because I loved it! <3

Well, I hope you will like this!

--Nemo

[justauthoring]

this is something that has been bothering me for a while and honestly, i doubt anyone will really care on here since tumblr isn’t the problem but im still gonna say something.

ive been apart of a lot of fandoms—i think that fact is clear by how many i write for—and almost every single one of them is toxic in some sort of way. unfortunately, that sort of thing just happens with fans and people who think they’re entitled to more than they are.

but i am absolutely disgusted to be apart of the cobra kai fandom. there are certain characters/actors that get leeway cause they’re “loved” and sure, that’s fine. you love a character? you have every right to defend them. and hey? you don’t like a character? that’s fine too.

but the actors are not the characters.

there are more actors than just this example but i think this one is the most important — mary mouser is not sam larusso and the comments made about her, her weight, the way she acts, talks, etc. are absolutely ridiculous and disgusting. 90% of the comments i see under instagram or tiktok posts from or about her contain things regarding her weight that are cruel and horrific.

it really puts a perspective on society and how it views women and i wish i could tell her that none of what is being said is true. here is a young women that is not only gorgeous but is incredibly fit and athletic (she’s on a show about karate for gods sake and does a good chunk of her own stunts) and has diabetes which affects her body beyond her control and she is being cyber bullied about how she looks.

and she’s not even overweight!! if she was, it would still be a huge issue but it bothers me how she’s a normal, healthy weight and being made fun of still.

did y’all forget the show started about victims standing up to their bullies??? about how wrong it was to be a bully?????

or about the fact that her cast mates, people you all claim to love and hype up, would be disgusted by your comments?? they’re her friends. i know for a fact ralph, billy, xolo, jacob, tanner, peyton (and more) are all absolutely disgusted by this fandom.

im just so upset by this. by people’s reactions to her and how they’ve treated her — a human being?! it was bad before but it’s reached a new low.

so let me just make this clear — if you in anyway think these comments regarding mary’s body, a women’s body, are funny or cool or anything of the sort you can just unfollow me. and do me a favour and comment so i can block you because it’s just disgusting.

[toriangeli]

Do you think armand ever loved louis in the show that was left a little vague especially with this finale.

I'll be controversial: I don't think Armand understands what love is at this juncture. He confuses it with safety, or at least security. Like Assad pointed out, he is primarily concerned with how the other person can help him survive.

Of the few people he might say have truly loved him, he'd list basically everyone who lived under Marius' roof, all of whom were burned to death by the Children of Darkness. Then if he knew the same people as in the books, he'd list Allesandra, his cultist den mom who helped torture him, and maybe Santino, who served the kind of purpose in his life some people attribute to Marius. Bianca, a friend of his in Venice, would also come up. Of those people, I think the only ones who loved him selflessly were those more his own age, like Riccardo (a fellow apprentice) and probably Bianca after a point. Marius tried, but admitted to failure in TVA.

At this point on the show, he can't even list his parents, and I'm pretty sure it was the slavers who told him his parents sold him into slavery so he'd stop trying to escape.

So he doesn't have a lot of very good examples of what real love looks like.

Did he feel great affection for Louis? Yes. But I'm not sure that's the same thing as love. I don't think it mattered that much what Louis' personality was, whether they shared goals or values. Louis was someone. Louis was outside the stagnant world Armand was trying to escape. That was what Armand loved.

I don't say this to mean he's heartless. People as severely mentally ill as, like, 100% of the characters on this show except Madeleine and Claudia, are trapped in survival mode. Survival mode isn't concerned with what happens outside the person. This leads a lot of people to cry pathological narcissism when the self-centeredness is really a symptom of a million different mental disorders.

Now, later on in the books, Armand is able to love selflessly, and loves Louis in this way he couldn't love him before (he mentions loving Louis in Blood Communion). His love for Lestat, as well, is able to make this transition. and he's supportive of their happiness together even if it means he doesn't get either of them. But at this early stage, he isn't able to do that. He's too busy guarding his vital organs to embrace someone unconditionally.

This can also be true of Louis, in a different way. Louis out of anyone has truly crippling depression, always has, and Jacob has talked about how the trauma of his brother's suicide made him reluctant to love. Survival mode.

Mind you, this is all completely separate from Armand's disorganized attachment style. People with a disorganized attachment style can love. Armand specifically can't remember how to do so. Nothing he learned about love and goodness has mattered since he was taken by the Children of Darkness. Those were things actively working against his survival once that happened. All he got for holding out trying to stand for his beliefs and his loved ones was an absolutely harrowing few pages of torture.

tl;dr: it's complicated.

[sarahsmi13s]

Duckie

Chapter 9

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader; bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin sister!reader

characters: y/n bradshaw, nick bradshaw, jake seresin, penny benjamin, serenity hart, denver miller

word count: ~10.7k (don't kill me i know the chapter lengths are all over the place, i'm sorry)

warnings: language, parental doubts, canon character deaths mentioned, drinking, thunderstorms, jake being an absolute sweetheart

a/n: i want to apologize that is has been 8 months since i have last updated the main story, i really didn't think it would take that long... but i just wanted to make sure i was proud of the chapter and i really do think i am proud of it. so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy 💜

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

chapter summary: a week after duckie and jake went on their "not-date" she is seriously regretting not getting jake's number before he left -- considering they haven't seen each other since. though, as fate would have it, that weekend they see each other at the beach and as duckie is walking away jake gets a push from his friends to get her number. little does he know he'll be getting much more than that from her

'duckie' universe

previous chapter || next chapter

It had been a hectic week since your ‘not date’ date with Jake and honestly… you were missing him. Nick was missing him too, hugging the cowboy manta ray every afternoon when he napped. You were really kicking yourself for not getting his number, you had no way of talking to him. And you both were busy, you with school stuff and softball practices and Jake with his Top Gun classes. So you just had to bet on the off chance of running into him again.

Late that Saturday morning, you and Nick were walking the beach, occasionally splashing in the surf. You wanted to tire him out so when Serenity came over later to babysit, he wasn’t too much trouble.

At some point when you had been distracted, Nick had run off without you noticing, most likely seeing something he liked or wanted.

When you do notice his absence, it’s because you don’t hear giggling and splashing. You look down next to you and panic shoots through you when you see that your son isn’t right at your feet. 

“Nick? Nick! Nicky!”

Your chest heaved with your panicked breathing, thoughts running through your mind a mile and a half a minute as you shouted and ran across the beach like a mad woman – shouting for your son.

How could this happen? How could you not notice that your toddler wasn’t right next to you? What kind of mother gets that distracted that she doesn’t even hear her child run off? How did you not notice? Why didn’t you hear him? Why did you let something else pull your attention away that fast and for that long?

Maybe those middle aged mothers in the store were right? Maybe you were too young to be a decent mom… Maybe you shouldn’t–

“Han’man!” 

The small, but excited voice shut your thoughts off in an instant, relief flooding your entire body as you ran in the direction you heard your son – nearly tripping over your own feet in the panic. 

You spotted the classic beach volleyball court and saw Jake pick him up, looking equally as confused as he was happy. 

“Nick where’s your-” 

“Nicholas Jacob!” You called, adrenaline still pumping through your body.

Your son yelped a little and turned into Jake’s neck upon hearing you shout as the pilot cringed. The first and middle name? Never a good sign. 

“Oooh, someone’s in trouble,” he mumbled, instinctively rubbing the child’s back in order to keep him calm. 

The other aviators noticed this and gave Hangman a confused look. They were in the middle of a volleyball match and then boom a toddler’s running into the pilot's legs. And now he was comforting said child, not something they would expect from him usually.

Nick threw his arms around Jake’s neck, not turning to look at you as you ran over, sliding a little as the sand shifted under your heavy steps. “You can’t just run off like that! Do you know how worried I was?!”

The other pilots probably should have looked away, minded their own business. But now they were very intrigued as you came up to Jake as he held your son. 

And by the time you got in arms reach you had calmed down slightly, trying to channel your mother to help you handle this situation.

“Nicky,” you coaxed, as you got closer and reached out to rub his back. He just buried his face into Jake’s shoulder, a small cry coming from his lips as he hugged the pilot tighter. He hates yelling, he doesn’t like it when people are mad at him. You played with his curls, knowing that he thought you were angry, “Baby, I’m not mad… You just worry me when you run off like that. You are too much like your Uncle.” 

Nick looked at you finally, but still rested his head on Jake’s shoulder. His eyes were red and you sighed, knowing that he still thought you were mad. “I’m sorry I shouted, Nicky. Mama’s not mad at you. I promise.” He sniffled and reached out for you. You smiled softly and took him into your arms, then he promptly buried his face into your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” you apologized, looking around at all the pilots. “I don’t know how he got away from me.” Jake shook his head, waving it off with a flick of his wrist, “It’s okay. I was winnin’ anyway.” You laughed, bouncing Nick instinctively, “Alright, well, we’ll leave you to it.” You adjusted Nick on your hip, smiling at the men before walking away.

Jake watched you walk away before turning back to his classmates, clapping his hands together and ready to start the next match. But he was met with crossed arms and expecting looks. “Okay let’s – What?” 

“You’re in so deep, Hangman,” Denver, also known as ‘Ransom’, said with a teasing scoff. “Have you gotten her number yet?” 

The blond shook his head, “No but I figured she’d offer it when she was ready.” The other pilot rolled his eyes. “Seresin, since when have you ever waited for her to make the move?” Jake huffed, “She’s different. I don’t want to move too fast. I want her to know that I’m all in first.” 

Denver crossed his arms, “Hangman, go ask her. Show her you’re all in. She won’t know if you don’t tell her. And I’m pretty sure she’s a little nervous to ask you. You know… given that she doesn’t know!” 

Jake’s eyes widened in realization, making the brunette laugh as Jake jogged after you, “Hey, Y/N, wait up!”

You turned as he called out to you, Nicky looking up as well from his spot on your shoulder. Looking up at him as he slowed down to a stop in front of you, you tilted your head a little, “Yeah?”

He took a few deep breaths, talking with one hand as the other rested on his hip, “First I want to preface, it’s totally cool if you say no. But we’ve been getting to know each other, and I was wondering if I could get your number?” 

You looked at Nick then back at Jake, thinking about your response carefully. “I’ll be at the bar tonight. Come by and we’ll talk about it.” 

Jake nodded, and smirked, “I look forward to it.” He ruffled Nick’s hair before going back to the group.

You smiled, eyeing him as he walked away – a little more confidence in his step as he walked up to his friend. 

You know you were kicking yourself before for not getting his number, but now that he’s asked you… you were hesitant, you felt like you had a lot you needed to tell him before you took this step. Sighing a little, you adjusted Nick on your hip again and made your way back to your car.

During the drive home, Nicky was quiet and played with the shells he had found on the beach.

You knew he was still upset from when you yelled, and you knew that he didn’t quite understand why you were so worried. He was only three after all, and he had so much wonder that it was a miracle he didn’t run off to squash his curiosities more often.

He did need to understand why you had shouted and why you were so worried, it was important that he knew that.

But neither of you were ready to give nor receive that conversation. You were still thrumming with that anxiety from the 90 second eternity it took to find him and he was still upset from when you yelled at him. You just needed to wait for when you got home after you both calmed down.

When you got home, you gave Nicky his bath in near silence as you made sure all the sand was gone and he was clean of salt water.

You had thought through your side of the conversation and decided on how you were going to talk to him.

After getting him bathed and getting some comfy clothes picked out, you knelt in front of him as you helped him dry off.

“Nicky? Can we talk about what happened at the beach?” 

He sniffed, nodding his head under the little shark hood of his towel. 

You smiled softly at him and gave a gentle squeeze to his arms. “You know Mama isn’t angry right?” “You yelled… people yell when they’re angy…” His voice was soft and timid, he was trying not to cry again. 

“Oh baby…” You tilted his head up and cupped his cheek. “Sometimes people yell when they’re angry or mad. But not all the time.” Confusion flashed over his tearfilled eyes and you sighed. 

You sat back on your heels, wiping his tears away with your thumb. “People can yell for a lot of different reasons, Nick. Sometimes we yell or shout because we’re excited, we’ve done that before haven’t we? Like when you saw Hangman and shouted because you were so excited to see him.” 

He nodded, using the towel to wipe his other eye as you gave him an encouraging smile.

“It all comes down to how we say something, and I know that might not make sense just yet, because you’re three, but it will and we’ll talk more about it then. But I know you don’t like yelling when people sound angry or mean, it’s loud and it can be scary, right?” He nodded again, sniffling a little, “Yeah…” 

You nodded, dipping your head a little to look him in the eye. “And Mama’s sorry if she sounded angry or mean, that wasn’t my intention. But you running off like that scared me, it really really scared me. I didn’t know if you were hurt or lost.” 

“But I was safe with Han’man… I was okay Mama…” 

“I know that now. But in the moment I was really worried about you and I didn’t know where you had run off too. That’s why I shouted.” 

You rubbed his arms, making sure to hold eye contact. “You can’t just run off like that without telling me. It makes me worried for your safety.” 

The dam finally broke and Nick started sobbing. “I’m sorry Mama… I-I jus’ saw Han’man an-and wa-wanted to s-say hi…” 

“I know, I know baby,” you cooed, wiping his tears as they fell. “And Mama forgives you, I know you didn’t mean to. And I know there will be times where you’re really really curious and you want to explore, but you have to tell me so I, or someone else, can make sure you’re safe. And there will be times I’m gonna yell, but I still love you okay? And I will do better to control my tone in the future.” 

He sniffled and hugged you tightly, his little arms wrapping around your neck in a grip that rivaled a grown man. You smiled and adjusted your legs, crossing them before wrapping him tighter in his towel and pulling him into your lap.

You sat on his floor for a while, holding him close and rocking back and forth as you pressed kisses to the side of his head.

It wasn’t too long after that conversation that Serenity was using her spare key to come in, finding you and Nick giggling in the living room as you watched Kung Fu Panda.

“Looks like I’m missing all the fun,” she laughed, sitting her backpack down on the bar. 

Nick sat up, a wide smile on his face, “Ren!” She smiled and walked over, her arms out wide for a hug, “Nicky J!” He got off the couch quickly and ran to her, hugging her with a high pitched giggle. 

You smiled as you stood up, “Oh I don’t know about missing the fun, just a little late to the party.” 

“Well, I guess I have some fun to catch up on,” she said as she ruffled Nicky’s curls. “And Mama can relax a little bit.” 

You nodded because now that she was here you could take a shower and get ready to go to the bar. You needed the moment of solitude to collect yourself after your mild panic attack on the beach. Needed to take a second alone to let the parental mask slip and just let yourself feel.

“Yes, and I will be showering and getting ready to go to the bar. You both can finish the movie and give me the rundown when I come back.” 

Serenity nodded, “You got it, we’ll take notes. Won’t we buddy?” Nicky nodded, “And we can act it out for you too!” You smiled and played with his hair, “Yes you can, and I look forward to it.” Nick giggled, running back over to climb on the couch and continue watching the movie.

You looked at the college student, brows raised as you let out a breath. She arched her eyebrow inquisitively, “Mama need me time?” You nodded, rubbing your hands on your thighs. “She needs so much me time. Had a bit of a scare at the beach and I need a minute to process it, without him two feet away… God, that sounds so bad doesn’t it?”

She shook her head, grabbing your wrist gently, “Not at all. You need space to breathe, that’s why I’m here – well, and cause I love that little man over there.” You both laughed, glancing over at the couch where Nick was zeroed in on the TV. 

Her grip tightened momentarily to gain your attention again. “And you’re doing great, Y/N. Don’t ever question that.” 

A rush of tears filled your eyes, a weight you hadn’t realized was sitting on your chest lifting ever so slightly and allowing you to actually breathe again. Biting your lip to keep from crying in front of your son, you hugged Serenity letting out a heavy exhale that released the obsessive thoughts that rattled in your head. 

“Thank you…” 

Your voice was no louder than a whisper, but your gratitude was nothing short of a scream. 

Serenity rubbed your back, “And I will fight anyone that says otherwise. Even you. Understand?” She pulled back only when you did as you nodded and wiped your face. “Good,” she nodded towards your bedroom with a smile. “Now go shower.” 

You nodded, squeezing her shoulder in thanks before jogging towards your room.

She smiled after you before turning to your son, clapping her hands as she walked over, “Okay Nicky, let’s make sure we get all the details for Mama.” 

After your much needed shower, taking the solitary moment to breathe and let more tears fall to just release the stress, you got dressed in a pair of jeans and an old band t-shirt you had held onto from when you went through your mom’s things. And you added a black jacket because it had clouded over while you were in the shower. 

And of course, Nicky gave you the rundown of what you missed of Kung Fu Panda while you got ready before going back to let you finish up.

You took a deep breath as you clasped the guitar pick necklace behind your neck, letting the engraved gold rest against your sternum. Kendall had gotten it for you for graduation, having your favorite lyric of Great Balls of Fire engraved on the front – because he indeed drove you crazy and vice versa. For Christmas, Penny went and had Kendall’s initials engraved on the back, knowing that you’d be giving the necklace to Nicky once he was old enough.

Letting the breath out and calming yourself down, you stepped out of your room and slipped your jacket on as you walked to the door. “Okay, I’m heading out. It looks like it might rain, so just call me if anything happens or you need me to come home, okay?” 

Serenity nodded from her spot on the couch, popping a goldfish cracker into her mouth “Got it, go have fun.” 

You squatted down and Nicky ran over to give you a hug. “Bye Mama, have fun with Han’man.” You smiled and rubbed his back, “I will. Be good for Ren okay? I won’t be back until after you go to bed, so I love you baby.” You gave him kisses all over his face, “Mwah, I love you sooo much.” He giggled and kissed your temple, “I love you too Mama.” 

You shared a smile and he ran back to the couch to curl up in his corner.

“Okay, you know all the numbers Ren. If I don’t answer, call Penny or the bar. Okay, I’m gonna head out now, see if I can beat the rush of pilots that are gonna get grounded soon. I love you both, bye.”

They both waved at you as you grabbed your purse and walked out the door.

About 90 minutes and one Amarello after you arrived, you watched Jake stroll into the bar, his green eyes finding you leaning on the bar immediately despite the crowd in front of him. 

“Howdy,” you greeted with a smile as he walked over and leaned on the bar next to you. “Hi, Darlin’,” he replied, grinning down at you.

You glanced around, the bar wasn’t as packed as you thought it would be, but it was still full of pilots since the surprise showers grounded their classes for the rest of the day. 

You looked back at Jake, remembering his question from earlier today on the beach. As you drove over and the hour and half you had to yourself at the bar, you had tried your best to prepare your speech, get everything you needed to say in order so you didn’t fuck anything up and miscommunicate your feelings.

Sighing, you closed your eyes, recalling everything you had lined up to tell him. You didn’t look in his eyes, keeping your gaze centered on his chest, knowing his green irises would wipe your memory. 

“I’m gonna be honest here Jake…” 

He held up his hand, gently interrupting you, “I get it, Y/N. If you still aren’t ready for a relationship, I understand. But I still want to be a friend that you can call, whether it be just to talk to me or if you need help.” 

You sighed, relief filling your chest knowing that he was willing to wait, but you still wanted, no needed, to tell him how you were feeling. 

You finally looked up in his eyes, swallowing the word vomit of emotions that wanted to escape, “Jake, you have done a lot these past few weeks. You’ve taken the time not only to get to know me but to get to know Nick. That means so much to me, more than you know. And I can tell that Nick already likes you, so I can’t just let you out of our life easily.” 

Jake smiled, bashfully looking down at the bar as a chuckle broke through his lips, “I try my best. And I’m a little offended that you thought getting rid of me would ever be easy.” 

You rolled your eyes before continuing. 

“And I do like you, Jake. I like you a lot. While you are cocky as hell, you’re sweet and a gentleman. It’s just…” You rocked on your feet, thinking of everything you needed to say but couldn’t put into words – your rehearsed lines disappearing into thin air now that Jake was here. Damn those eyes.

You hung your head, trying to see if looking away from him would help re-materialize the pre-coordinated words. 

But Jake ducked his head to meet your eyes, showing you he was listening and chasing away your coherent thoughts, “It’s just what, Y/N?” 

You glanced at Penny, receiving a reassuring nod from her and sending a short one back. “I’m gonna step outside really quick Pen, watch my drink?” She nodded and gave you a small, encouraging smile. 

“Follow me,” you patted Jake's shoulder, and slid your hand down his arm to grab his hand. 

You pulled him outside to the covered deck and leaned on the railing, taking a deep breath to inhale the scent of the rain – trying to reign in your racing thoughts.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Jake’s whiskey smooth voice asked as he leaned on the railing as well, his back facing the clouds.

You cleared your throat, dropping your head to look at the damp sand as you pieced together the puzzle of emotions and words in your head. 

“My dad died when I was 4… He left my mom alone to raise 2 kids that were too much like their father. I told myself that I need to stay away from service men, definitely pilots. But you, and your perfect teeth and perfect hair, those damn green eyes…” 

Jake was flattered but he could feel how this was going to end. You’d build up his ego to cushion his fall when you turned him down.  

“You have become an exception to my one rule.” Okay… Jake certainly wasn’t expecting that. “A rule that I gave myself on my own. I’m just scared, Jake. Nick and I have grown so… close to you and I’m afraid–” 

Jake lifted your chin, cutting you off, and quietly spoke to you, noting the thin line of tears in your water line. “Hey… I understand. But I’m a damn good pilot, I ain’t goin’ down easy.” You laughed, shaking your head fondly before smiling up at him, “There’s that ego.” 

He chuckled softly, his trademark half-smile flashing a canine, “What can I say? But seriously, I will do whatever it takes to get back to you both safe. If that’s what you want.” 

You nodded, stepping closer, unconsciously straightening your back to be closer to him, “I want it, I do.” You bit your lip, a shuddering breath escaping your lips. 

His soft gaze hardened slightly, reading your body language, but it softened again as he tilted your chin up. “Then why are you hesitating?” You shrugged, shaking your head subtly, “I don’t know.” 

You knew why, deep down you knew why you were holding back. Why you wanted to spray the butterflies in your stomach with vinegar. Your brain knew why. But your heart was pounding on your ribcage, trying to get to your brain to tell you it was okay. That you could love again, and it would all be okay.

Jake leaned down, seeing the fight in your eyes. “Is this okay?” You nodded, your breath mixing with his as you looked from his eyes to his lips and back again.

There was a soft eagerness, a puppy in those green eyes waiting to run around, bouncing as he waited for his command – a command only you could give. It was familiar but completely new at the same time. But it felt safe.

Instead of giving him the words he was looking for, you rested your hand on the side of his neck and pressed your lips to his – letting your heart take the wheel.

The kiss was soft, but it didn’t change the fact that butterflies went wild in both of your stomachs. Jake couldn’t help but smile against your lips as he cupped your jaw and tasted the hint of Amaretto on them.

You pulled away, needing to get air into your lungs but Jake chased your lips, catching them in their minty trap. It was clear he came prepared for anything, not that you minded. 

Your free hand fisted in his jacket, wafting his cologne into the air – an all consuming, but not overwhelming scent.

You both finally pulled away from the chaste kiss, light headed and breathless. You stayed close, your noses brushing against each other. 

“What’s gonna happen when you leave?” 

Jake smirked, his breath still tickling your lips as he pulled out his phone, “Well, I’m not sure, but it’d be a hell of a lot easier with your number.” You laughed and finally looked up at him, stepping back a little to take his phone, “Smooth Lieutenant. Very smooth.”

As you and Jake held eye contact a smile settled across your face before you looked down at his phone, typing in your number and sending a text to yourself.

Jake couldn’t help the blush that darked his tanned cheeks at the sparkle of your smile that not even the rain could dim. 

You weren’t like anything he’s ever seen before; a strong, single mother that did everything for the sake of her child and someone that had gone through so much at such a young age.

“You’re amazing…” 

Jake hadn’t realized what he said out loud until you giggled and looked down at the deck with pink tinted cheeks. 

“I said that out loud, didn't I?” He laughed at the end of his question. You nodded, “You did. But I’m flattered, so thank you.” 

You messed with his jacket, “And you’re good, Lieutenant. Maybe too good to be true.” 

“You’re stroking my ego, Darlin’.” You giggled and gave him a quick kiss, “I better head back in.” He grabbed your waist, “Do you have to?” “Do you want to have fun or not?” He bit his lip and you patted his chest and walked in. 

He watched you walk in and shook his head. Laughing to himself he adjusted his posture and went in and straight to the pool table.

You and Jake hung out at the bar for hours after that, having the time of your life. 

You danced to the music that came from the jukebox, played darts and you watched him play pool. You drank and ate, Penny keeping an eye on you both because you had to drive back home to your son and Jake did not need a hangover in the morning.

But you didn’t need the drinks to have a good time. Like right now. Jake had suggested another round of darts, but this time, you added a few spins before your throw. Almost like kids getting ready to hit a pinata at a party.

Jake grinned as he spun you around a few times. “Okay, now that you’re properly dizzy, why don’t you try and get a bullseye?” 

“You’re kidding me,” you giggled as you swayed a little on your feet. “I doubt I’m gonna hit the target. I can’t hit it when I’m standing straight, what makes you think I can hit it when I’m dizzy?”

He shook his head and turned you by your shoulders to square up to the board. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be better?” You snorted as you raised the dart, “I highly doubt that.” He scoffed playfully, “Just throw the dart, Y/N.”

You giggled, “Okay okay.” 

Your tongue poked out of the seam of your lips as your vision swam a bit and you lined up your shot. 

Taking a few balk throws, you finally get ready to actually throw it when there is a harsh crack, followed by a loud, booming sound – loud enough to rattle the windows.

“Oh shit!”

Any attempt you had made to actually aim the dart didn’t matter, because when you jumped at the harsh thunder the dart was sent on its own journey.

You laughed at your reaction to the sudden thunder and leaned back against Jake, “I can blame that horrible throw on the thunder, right?” He looked over your shoulder, seeing the dart about a foot and a half under the board in the wall.

“You sure it was thunder?” 

Your jaw dropped and you smacked his chest with the back of your hand, “That was uncalled for Seresin. But I walked into that one.” You both laughed as Jake nodded, “Yeah, I guess I can give you another shot Bradshaw.”

“Well, thank you oh so gracious Hangman,” you sassed a little as you readied another dart. “I’m actually gonna try this time.”

He chuckled and crossed his arms as he watched you repeat your process, his eyes drawn to your lips as your tongue once again pokes out. 

You managed to throw the dart just as the lights flickered out. 

“Are you fucking serious? The weather really doesn’t want me to hit this board,” you grumbled as you pulled your phone out to use your flashlight. 

Jake did the same, him immediately shining it at the dart board.

“Look at what we have here, you actually hit the board,” he teased as he walked up to the board. “Not a bullseye, but you hit it.” You flipped your hair, “Look at me go. Mama’s still got it.” 

Jake gave you a look, his face deadpanned and his brow low. You held his eyes, yours playfully squinting. 

It was a standoff for about 20 seconds before you both started laughing.

“C’mon Mother Goose, let’s go to the bar,” he chuckled as he grabbed your hand gently.

You froze for a second, confused as to where he got that nickname from – forgetting it was just a nursery rhyme to everyone else at that moment. 

He looked at you, frowning in concern, “Hey, sweetheart, you okay?” 

You shook it off, swallowing as you nodded, “Yeah, yeah… I’m okay.” 

With a furrowed brow, he stepped closer, tilting your chin up with a crooked finger, “You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” 

His light tease pulled you back fully. 

“N-No, I’m fine, it’s okay,” you said softly as you shook your head. He cupped your cheek, “Are you sure?” You nodded, “Yeah, yeah, just thought of Nicky… He’s not the best with storms sometimes.” 

“Do you wanna check in on him? Make sure he’s doing okay? Especially now that the power’s out.” 

You chewed on your lip, your thumb and pinky tapping rhythmically on your thigh. “Are you sure it’s okay?” 

Jake nodded, “Of course it is! That’s your baby, do not question if it’s okay. It’s always okay.” You immediately open your contacts, “Thank you.” 

He smiled, squeezing your hand, “I’ll be at the bar when you’re ready, if you gotta go home, that’s okay.”

You gave him a smile and mouthed a ‘thank you’ as your phone rang, waiting for Serenity to pick up. 

Jake nodded again before going over to the bar.

Penny and Jimmy were turning on battery powered lanterns and setting them up around the bar. 

“You guys need some help?” Jake offered as he leaned on the bar.

She looked up at him as she sat a lantern down on the bar, “You don’t think you could get the power back on, could ya?” 

Jake laughed lightly, “If my call sign was Sparky, I might be able to give it a shot. Unfortunately, it’s not.” Penny shook her head with a laugh, “It’s alright Hangman, once we get these set up, we’ll hopefully get the generator up and running.” 

He nodded, “In the meantime, I’ll take two waters, if you can spare them.” She nodded with a smile, “Coming right up.”

As she got the bottles out of the ice bucket she prepped after looking at the forecast, you came over after finishing up your call.

You sighed a little as you sat down. 

“Hey,” Jake greeted as he rubbed your knee. “How’s the little man holdin’ up? He alright?” You nodded, smiling as you rested your hand on his, “Yeah, Serenity said he was snuggled up on the couch with his turtle and his manta ray, watching movies with plenty of goldfish crackers.”

Penny popped up, “You have power?” 

“Nope,” you laughed a little awkwardly. “He’s watching it on Serenity’s laptop. Which I told her she didn’t have to let him do that. She’s got stuff to do for summer classes but mine was dead. I just hope she doesn’t get behind.”

She gave you your water, “She’s a good kid, I’m sure she’ll be okay for one night.” You nodded and sipped your drink, “Yeah.”

You looked around noticing that everyone started to mellow out since the place was practically pitch black – save for the lanterns.

“Man… seems the lights weren’t the only thing the storm took out. How long until the generator is up and running?” You asked, leaning on the bar. 

Penny shrugged, “I don’t know. It depends, we haven’t used it in a few years. It shouldn’t take too long, I think Jimmy checked on it after the clouds rolled in and the forecast changed.”

You nodded and looked around, “Well, maybe some live music can hold everyone over until then.” Penny and Jake furrowed their brows as you grabbed a lantern and went over to the piano.

“What? Did you seriously think that Bradley was the only one of my father’s kids that could play? C’mon now Penny, you should know better than that,” you teased with a playful wink over your shoulder.

Jake furrowed his brow, “Have you been holding out on me Mother Goose?” His tone was entirely playful as he came over to piano with his phone flashlight on as a fresh toothpick hung from his lips.

Penny blinked and looked up, a rush of nostalgia hitting her, “Wait did you just call her ‘Mother Goose’?” Jake looked up at her and nodded as he rolled the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, “Yes ma’am I did.” She nodded and glanced at you as she wiped down the bar, “And um… w-where did that nickname come from?” 

He shrugged, “She’s got a little duck on her keychain and she’s a mama. Just kinda makes sense, I guess. Why do you ask?” 

You couldn’t help but smile a little as you tapped the keys. 

“Oh I was just-” Penny started but you cut her off gently.

“Goose was my dad’s call sign, Jake. A lot of his friends from the Academy and flight school called him ‘Mother Goose’,” you said, emotion present in your voice but you weren’t sad.

Jake stumbled over his words a little, “Oh I-I had no idea. I can stop if you w-want me too.” 

You shook your head, a smile gracing your features as you looked up at him, “No no, it’s okay Jake. It definitely shocked me when you called me that earlier, but it’s… nice.”

He smiled back at you and sat down, “I’ll call you whatever you want, Darlin’.” 

A giggle slipped past your lips and you were now thankful that the poor lighting hid the blush on your cheeks as you tested more keys.

You took a breath and readied your fingers on the right keys, “Okay okay, let’s get these people fired up.”

Jake arched his brow but then you played the opening notes to a song he heard non-stop in flight school when the class went out to a bar.

“Jerry Lee Lewis? You really are Bradshaw’s sister,” he laughed, gently nudging your shoulder but not so much as to mess you up.

You just rolled your eyes before jumping into the song. “~You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!~”

Jake chuckled as people in the bar began to cheer, a few patrons jumping in to sing with you. He looked around, seeing that the flashlights on phones had been turned on and everyone’s moods seemed to flip on dime.

“~You broke my will! Oh what a thrill!~”

“~Goodness gracious great balls of fire!~”

His eyes landed back on you, watching you play the piano like he had only ever seen your brother play. It was lively, bringing an energy to the bar that got zapped out with the electricity. Almost as if the lightning hit you and you soaked up all the energy in the bar, and now you were returning it when it was needed.

He felt himself singing along, unable to escape the way that your infectious voice seemed to latch on to everyone that heard it. 

Jake had always fought the urge to ‘feel the music’ when it was your brother. Be the one person in the bar unaffected by him. But here with you, he didn’t fight. He didn’t want to fight it. And he was unashamed to be sitting next to you on that piano bench, singing a song that you were sure your brother had played to death. 

He saw you smile at him when you noticed it, feeding off of his energy just as much as he was feeding off of yours.

You found yourself looking only at him to see if he was enjoying himself, using him as a reference point for how the rest of the bar was feeling. That your attempt at entertainment was working.

It felt good to see everyone having fun because of you.

Now you could understand why your dad and Bradley did this so often.

Your smile never left your face as you continued to sing, though you hated how the song was coming to an end so soon.

Jake met your eyes as you started the last verse, his smiling matching yours. 

“~I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs!~”

“~Real nervous but it sure is fun!~”

He watched your eyes light up as he sang the words back to you and the blush crawled up your neck. You clearly weren’t expecting him to sing that line to you – telling you how you made him feel through the song.

So, he continued to look at you, holding eye contact as he sang through a wide, infectious smile, using the lyrics to convey what he had trouble putting into words once again. 

“~Come on, baby! You’re drivin’ me crazy!~”

His heart fluttered when you seemed like you were at a loss for words, despite them already being written for you – all you could do was smile as your muscle memory continued to play.

“~Goodness, gracious! Great balls of fire!~”

You played the last string of notes, your face dangerously close to Jake’s as the soft glow of the lanterns and phone flashlights illuminated his features almost angelically, the lights creating a halo around him and blurring the crowd like a camera focusing in on the subject of its image. His green eyes, though casted in a shadow, twinkled softly as he looked your face over like you were the only thing in the room – and to him, you were.

He was seeing the same thing. The blues of LEDs and the yellow of the lanterns created a harsh but gorgeous contrast on your face as your chest heaved when you attempted to catch your breath and the light sheen of sweat made your skin shine in a way he never thought about before. Your eyes were illuminated, but they held a shine of their own when you looked him over.

The cheers behind him all melded into one sound, one that Jake could confuse for his own heartbeat if it wasn’t pounding against his ribcage.

There was no hesitation this time as he pulled you close by the nape of your neck and pressed his lips to yours with breathless passion.

Your outside hand fisted in his Henley shirt, the fabric warm but a little rough under your fingertips. His heart was thumping rhythmically against your knuckles, giving the butterflies in your stomach a beat to dance to.

His hand moved down to the side of your neck, his thumb finding your pulse point. The sensation of your heartbeat under his fingertips was mesmerizing.

The kiss felt both like an eternity and not long enough when you finally pulled away, both of your lips damp and as your breath mixed as your foreheads rested against each other.

Around you, the crowd was still buzzing with energy, talking to each other as they started mingling again. 

But you and Jake couldn’t hear them, not when you're so consumed with one another right there on the piano bench. You were in your own little world, a small sanctuary in the middle of the bar. Just you and him.

Smiling, you can’t stop the giggle from escaping as you try to smooth out where you had gripped his shirt. “That was um…”

“Electrifying?” Jake offered, his dimple appearing as he smirked playfully.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah,”  you said with a light, slightly breathless laugh.

He chuckled and opened his mouth to say something else, but the overhead lights flickered for a split second before they stayed steady and the sound of the jukebox started up again.

You both sat up straight, looking around the bar as the patrons started back up in their games they abandoned.

“Would you look at that – one song and you managed to light up the whole bar, literally,” Jake said as he looked from his surroundings and then back to you, taking in how you smiled at everyone having fun again.

You hummed, turning your head with a playful glint in your eye, “Well, thank goodness it was only one song. I don’t know if I could’ve played another one. Unless Twinkle Twinkle Little Star counts.” 

Jake laughed as he stood up, offering you a hand to pull you to your feet. “Well, if Nick was here, I’m pretty sure he would have a blast if you played that.” 

“Oh, yeah, he definitely would,” you said with a laugh as you pushed some hair out of your face. “Another drink?”

He nodded, fluffing his shirt a little. “I can go for another.”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bar, “Penny!”

After you got your drinks, you and Jake went to a booth by the windows.

“That was really impressive, Y/N. I knew Rooster was good, but he’s not that good,” Jake complimented as he sipped his fresh beer. The bitter liquid soothed his throat, his voice a little raw after singing.

You shrugged and sipped your Amaretto, the warm liquid warming you up from the chill of the rain outside. “I don’t know about that. He’s been playing since he was little. I started getting into piano in, like, middle school. And then in college I um.. I picked up a little guitar.”

Jake watched you bite your lip, your nails tapping against the glass of your drink. He wasn’t entirely sure what caused that far off look to appear in your eyes, a fogginess he wasn’t familiar with. But one thing he did recognize was that flicker of love, a shine of longing and admiration peaking through the fog – like a lighthouse on the shore.

He didn’t know much about Kendall, just what you had told him. He knew that you had met in college, you had been friends before you began dating, and that Kendall played the guitar – his favorite one tucked into the corner of Nick’s bedroom.

You cleared your throat, blinking the fogginess away and pulling Jake out of his thoughts. 

You rubbed your hands on your jeans before resting your elbows on the table to talk with your hands, desperate to keep the conversation flowing.

“But like I was saying, Brad and I are very different when it comes to singing and playing the piano. He definitely channels our dad a little more than I do.”

He chuckled and leaned forward, resting his upper body on his forearms, “Well, I think I’m a little biased when it comes to that. But don’t sell yourself short, Darlin’, you put on quite the performance.” He added an unnecessary wink, but it didn’t stop you from smiling and looking at the table to hide your blush.

You lifted your head and smiled at him, sniffling just a little. “Thank you, Jake. That means a lot.”

Jake reached over and squeezed your hand, “Anytime.” He cleared his throat, “If you don’t mind me asking, that song clearly means a lot to you and Rooster, why-why is that?”

Tears stung your eyes a bit, again, but your smile didn’t falter. “Our dad, he um… he played it all the time. And I mean all the time. I’m surprised our mother stayed sane.” Jake reached up and wiped a tear that slipped through. You leaned into his warm palm slightly, as you continued.

“One of our last memories with him was sitting at the piano as he sang that song. Our mom in his lap singing with him without a care in the world about who was watching…” Your voice was a little heavier as you neared the end of your sentence, the memory making you a little emotional.

He smiled and squeezed your hand again, his thumb rubbing your knuckles, “That’s beautiful.” You gave him a soft smile and squeezed his hand back. 

“Can I show you something?” He asked softly, not wanting to disturb the moment too much.

You nodded and sat up a little straighter, wiping your eyes as you spoke, “Of course.” 

Jake nodded his head towards the window and your eyes followed the direction. 

The glass was a little foggy, sweating as the cold temperature of the rain was meeting the warm air of the bar and the glass acting like a mediator between the two.

Your brow furrowed in immediate confusion though you weren’t going to question Jake just yet. There was certainly much more to it.

And he proved your suspicions by bringing his finger up to draw in the condensation.

It was a quick drawing, a simple sun with a smiley face and a little heart next to it. But the look on Jake’s face told you it was so much more than just a little doodle on a window.

“That’s really cute Jake,” you said softly, as you smile at him.

His grin widened and he shifted in his seat. “When I was little, I was never good with storms. My sister was even worse. She was scared and I was upset because I couldn’t go play in the rain.” 

You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up when he said that, the picture of a young Jake pouting in his room as he watched the rain out of his window in your head – he definitely picked out two droplets to race against each other, maybe even him and his sister picked one and had a competition.

He just smiled at you before continuing.

“My grandma and my mom had this routine with us where they would have us by the bay window in the living room and we would draw in the condensation. And I, of course, rubbed my wet hand on my sister’s face,” he said with a small chuckle.

“That I’m definitely not surprised by. Bradley pestered me too, still does, it’s a brother thing.”

Jake nodded, “Oh yeah, for sure. But aside from that, there was a purpose to why my mom and grandma had us do this. Because as you can see now-” He pointed to the drawing, seeing that it was already dripping and disappearing, more condensation taking its place. “-it’s already going away.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. You still weren’t exactly sure where Jake was going, but it was clear this was something he held onto and cherished. Especially for him to bring it up now, years later. Plus, he had you roped in now, you were invested in this little smiling sun. 

“The whole point of drawing in the fog was because it doesn’t last forever, and neither would the storm outside. Or any storm, really. As I got older, we stopped the window drawings, but my mom kept it up with us for little things. Like when my sister was going through a break up, she drew a sun with a little heart on a note and put it in her backpack. I can bet you that she still has every note, because I know I do.”

Tears pricked your eyes a little bit, “That’s really really beautiful, Jake. Your mom and grandma sound like very wise women.”

Jake nodded, a proud smile pulling at his lips, “They are, I’m lucky to have them.”

You mirrored his smile and you both went back to conversing with each other, planning out ideas for your next ‘not’ date.

“There’s so much to do here, so much it’s like there’s nothing,” you said, laughing as you sipped your drink.

You had listed off a lot of places to go nearby and all the things you could do together, but it all sounded so fun that you were having trouble deciding.

Jake nodded, rubbing his face a little as he laughed, “Yeah, seems like it.” He glanced around, noticing a pool table nearby. “Hey, how about we think on it some more later and just play a game of pool?”

You hummed a little and glanced over your shoulder at the pool table. 

A sly smile came over your face as an idea popped into your mind. 

You turned back to face him, biting your lip a little, “I um… wow this is embarrassing, I haven’t really ever played pool before.”

Jake squinted at you, almost analyzing you to see if you were just fucking with him. But you just played it up by hiding your face in your hands, hiding the grin that you knew would give you away if he spotted it.

“You’re serious? You’ve never played pool before?”

His tone was inquisitive, but it also had a laugh behind it that he was hiding as best he could and it almost had you laughing.

“No no, I have played before. But it’s just been too long. Last time I played it was maybe 10 years ago when I was in high school, and I was awful.”

Jake’s laugh finally broke through at that.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!” You whined, holding back giggles of your own.

He nodded, trying to stop himself by clearing his throat. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s not funny. It’s… it’s kinda sad actually.”

You dropped your jaw and reached over the table to swat at his shoulder. “Oh shut up!” 

He chuckled as he dodged your hand, and you couldn’t help but smile as the corners of his eyes crinkled and his dimples poked through. “Okay okay, I’m sorry. But c'mon let’s play at least one game,” he proposed as he slid out of the booth and stood. He offered you his hand, a wink accompanying his next words, “And I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

You rolled your eyes and took his hand, “Fine, one game.”

A victorious grin crossed Jake’s face as he pulled you to your feet, squeezing your hand as he turned and pulled you to the table. Your lips pulled up in a similar fashion as you stumbled a little when he drug you behind him. 

“Okay,” he said as he came to stop at the pool table. “I don’t have to explain the rules, do I?” His brow arched with his question, only using it to further his teasing. You rolled your eyes, hand going on your hip, “No, I know that much, Seresin.” The sass in your tone made Jake laugh, “Alright, Bradshaw, let’s play.”

You nodded and grabbed the two pool cues, “Let’s.”

He chuckled and shook his head playfully as he quickly racked the pool balls. Once they were all in order, he took the triangle off and tossed it on a table as he walked over to you.

His fingers wrapped around the taller cue, his warm hand encapsulating yours. 

How had you not realized how large his hand was until now?

“Y/N?”

You shook your head, not having realized that you froze, “Oh um, sorry, sorry.”  You let go of the pool cue, clearing your throat as you pushed some hair behind your ear. He chuckled at your sudden shyness, “It’s alright, darlin’. It’s cute when you get all blushy.” You huffed, though a smile pulled at your lips as you shoved his shoulder. 

Jake laughed and held his hands up in defense, only slightly jostled by your shove. He gestured to the table and grabbed the cue ball, “Okay, okay, you wanna break?” He punctuated his question by putting the ball on the table with a *clack*.

You bit your lip, still feigning nervousness as best you could. You nodded and walked around to the end of the table beside him. 

Tossing the cue up and catching it lower, you leaned over and nearly fell into muscle memory – letting the end come down and rest easy in the dip between your thumb and pointer finger.

You rolled your shoulders a little bit, moving your hand much lower on the stick so you would have less control of the cue. You relaxed your shoulders, letting them drop as your right hand tightened its grip. The maple cue rested on the walnut of the table, using it as the support for the middle of the stick. 

Jake tilted his head, taking in your posture. It was… unconventional, and maybe a little awkward. But he wasn’t going to step in just yet, because maybe that stance just worked for you. And the look of concentration on your face was just too cute for him to interrupt.

Much like earlier at the dart board, your brow furrowed and your tongue poked out from between your lips. Jake grinned at the sight, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Nick made the same face when he focused on something. Like if his nose crinkled like yours did when he colored or if he stuck his tongue out when he did a puzzle. 

Then his mind wandered a little further. 

The image of a little girl appeared in his head, basically a clone of you in your lap as you sat at the piano. You guiding her hand along the keys, then having her repeat the order on her own. Her tongue sticking out as she tries to remember. 

But before he can fantasize any longer, he shakes himself out of it once you take your shot.

He watched the tip of the cue whiff the ball as the butt nearly became perpendicular to the floor. “Woah there!” 

You covered your mouth with your hand, doing your best to feign embarrassment at your ‘failure’. “Oh.. my.. gosh.. I can’t believe that just happened,” you snorted, laughing at yourself as you looked up at the ceiling, hoping that a blush was covering your cheeks to really sell it. 

Jake came over to stand next to you, chuckling just a little. “So um… is that how you held it in high school?” He leaned against the table, the cue snug against his side as he crossed his arms, looking down at his boots as he crossed his ankles before looking up at your profile.

You swallowed as you kept your eyes on the ceiling, and Jake couldn’t help but watch the column of your throat move with the action. 

Sighing, you looked at him, “I mean, kinda, like I said, it’s been awhile. But that felt so wrong.” You looked away from him and focused on your cue. “And now I’m embarrassed… because you just saw that.” 

He sighed gently, a smile pulling at his lips. While you were embarrassed, he couldn’t help but admire the blush on your skin. He didn’t like the reason, because you shouldn’t be embarrassed, but you looked cute.

He reached out and turned your head to face him, smiling softly at you. “Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed. It happens, and I guarantee that is not the worst shot I’ve seen.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” 

He sighed and propped his cue against the wall, “C’mere.” He adjusted the cue ball again and gently pulled you to him when you hesitated to move closer. “I don’t bite, unless you ask,” he whispered the last half of that in your ear, his accent slightly thicker as you felt his lips curl into a smile against the lobe of your ear.

His warm breath raised goosebumps on the skin of your neck, a shiver going down the nerves of your spine. He chuckled, his chest rumbling against your shoulder and making you giggle as a genuine flush covered your face and neck.

“Okay,” Jake said, turning you gently so your back settled against his chest. His hand rested on your hip and everything just felt right. Both of you slotted together like a puzzle piece, it was comfortable.

He looked down at you, “Am I too close?” 

Your head shook almost embarrassingly quickly. If anything he wasn’t close enough.

“No no, you’re okay.”

He nodded, smiling at you, “Alright, just let me know, okay?” You swallowed, nodding back, “I will.”

“Alright, now, I’m gonna show you how to properly hold a pool stick. Do what you were doing before.”

You nodded, bending back over and mimicking the stance you had done previously.

Jake looked at you gaging what to adjust. “Okay, so one issue is, your back hand is too low. Don’t shake hands with the bumper.” He took your wrist and tried to slide your hand up but it barely moved. “And you don’t need a death grip on it, it’s not going anywhere unless you move it.” You nodded and relaxed your grip to let him adjust your hand placement. 

He moved it to about the middle of the weight and watched your guiding hand adjust itself to a bit more of a natural position.

Smiling, he glanced down at you, “There we go, how does that feel?” You nodded, “A lot better, definitely more comfortable.”

“Perfect, and that’s how you know you’re doing it right. Before you were uncomfortable and it threw off your control. You guide the cue, it doesn’t guide you.”

You snorted a little, hanging your head as you laughed, “You sound like a therapist, or a yoga instructor.” Jake laughed along with you, “Unfortunately I’m neither of those. Not qualified nor flexible enough.”

You arched a brow and looked at him over your shoulder, a cheeky smile on your lips, “Not flexible enough? Oh, that’s a shame.” His eyebrows raised, almost as if he was sizing up a challenge, “Oh is it now? I mean, I’m sure with enough stretching, I’ll be good to go.”

You laughed before shaking your head, “Okay okay, let’s stay on task, Lieutenant, yeah?”

“Right, right, of course.” 

Jake cleared his throat as his fingers wrapped around your shoulders, “Okay, being relaxed is fine. But you’re too loose and that makes it awkward.” He slowly pulled them out from their slouched position, straightening your back a little in the process. “That’s better.” 

You swallowed a little, the heat of his chest against your back making you both nervous and excited.

“Do you feel more in control?” You nodded at his question, not trusting your voice to be steady. “Good, now, let’s test this.”

Worry shot through you for a moment, afraid he might step back and let you do this on your own – squashing the mini fantasy that you created.

But your worry was smothered when Jake adjusted his own stance, his knees nudging the backs of your thighs. His right hand encased your own as his left hand acted as a stand for yours – keeping your guiding hand steady.

“Loosen your grip, Duckie. It’s not gonna change your power. In pool, the speed determines the power.”

Jake’s voice was steady, but it was raspy as he spoke in your ear again. His breath fanned along your ear lobe and your jaw, raising goosebumps once again.

He felt your wrist and hand relax a little, and he just hoped you couldn’t feel his heart beating against your back. 

“Alright, there we go. Now, all you gotta do is bring it back and–”

His sentence fell short as the felt tip collided with the cue ball and he felt a vibrating sensation against his hip.

“See? So much better. And now, if that’s your phone in your pocket, I think you’re getting a call.”

He stepped back and let you stand straight as you pulled your phone out.

Your heart dropped slightly when you saw Serenity’s contact flash across your screen. 

Did something happen to Nick? Was he okay? Did something happen to the house? What went wrong?

Jake must have noticed that your face changed on dime, because his face fell into one of concern. “Y/N? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” 

Was it Serenity? Was it Bradley? Was it a chaplain? Or hell an NCIS agent?

“It’s Serenity,” you said as you pressed the green answer button and brought the phone to your ear. “Hey Ren, what’s up?”

Jake sighed in relief, his worst thoughts going off to the wayside in favor of just worried thoughts.

You brought your hand up, chewing on the edges of your nails as she spoke.

“Hey, Y/N, everything’s okay–”

Jake watched your body visibly relax, your hand rubbing at your mouth much like he’d seen Bradley do when he was stressed.

“Nicky’s okay? Nothing’s on fire?” 

“No, nothing’s on fire. But Nicky is not wanting to go to bed without you here. I think it's the rain, the storm I should say. He doesn’t want to go to his room. Won’t even get up off the couch.”

You sighed but nodded, “Okay, I’ll be there in a little bit. Get his turtle and his manta ray, then get my body spray and lightly spritz a blanket and let him curl up on the couch until I get there.”

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I know you wanted to have a fun night out… I just didn’t know what to do.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m glad you called. I’ll be home in a little bit.” 

You hung up and looked at Jake, “I’m so sorry, Jake. Nicky is–”

He held his hand up, “Nope, no apologies, go be with your baby. We can meet up later. Tell Nicky I said ‘hi’.”

Your heart skipped a few beats as you smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded towards the front door, “Now go Mother Goose, you got a duckling waiting on you.” 

The look in his eyes was nothing short of fond, the yellow overhead lighting making his eyes a comforting shade of green. 

He wasn’t upset at all, no disdain for your sudden departure on his features. Was he disappointed? Yeah, but you were always going to be a mother first. He couldn’t and would never get in the way of that, or try to change it.

You hugged him, and he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around your waist in reciprocation. 

“Thank you,” you kissed his cheek in thanks as you pulled away from the hug. “You don’t have to thank me, Darlin’. Just text me or call me when you get home safe, okay?” He said with a smile, gently squeezing your shoulders.

You nodded, matching his smile, “Of course, as long as you do the same?” He winked, “You got it.” 

He grabbed your purse for you, “Drive safe, Sweetheart.” You nodded, “I will. Bye Jake.” “Bye Y/N.”

You smiled at him again before going over to the bar, patting the top with the palm of your hand. You opened your mouth to get Penny’s attention but she was already smiling at you. “Heading out?” Your head tilted as you nodded, “Yeah, how’d you know?” She shrugged, nodding down to the bag hanging off your shoulder, “Lucky guess.” 

Chuckling, you pulled your wallet out, “Nicky won’t go to bed, the storm is keeping him up.” You pulled out a fifty, “For my drinks and Jake’s, the rest is your tip.” Penny shook her head, pushing the money back towards you, “That’s way too much, Duckie. 25 is plenty. Plus, Jake’s tab is open and your drinks are on it.” 

“Penny Benjamin–”

“Y/N Bradshaw, don’t argue and go home to your son,” Penny pointed to the door to punctuate her order, the damp towel swaying slightly from her movement.

Huffing out a ‘fine’, you put the fifty away and put a ten on the bar, “I’m still tipping you, because I love you. Not as much as you deserve, but you’re gonna fight me on it.” She smiled gratefully at you, taking the bill, “Thank you, now go home. Text me when you get there.” 

You patted the bar again, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll see you later, don’t let Jake get too drunk.” 

With that you walked to the door, though Penny stopped you with a shout. 

“That was an Oscar worthy performance by the way!” 

You rolled your eyes, waving to her as you slipped your jacket on, “Bye Penny!”

phew!

that was a long one huh? but hey, we finally got a kiss! they kissed!! and before hand we got a little peak into duckie's insecurities as a mom. though we can all agree she's pretty great right?

i hope you guys liked this chapter and are ready to see where the next chapter takes duckie, nicky, and jake!

hi darlings i know it's been a long time, too long, but like i said before -- i wanted to make sure this was a chapter i was proud of and lately my creative battery just wouldn't behave and it's been hard to write and like what i write. but i think... i think i did it here.

my ducklings <33:

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@horseshoegirl @startrekfangirl2233 @babyreads​ @amatswimming @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @hangmansgbaby​ @callsignwidow @kmc1989​ @goodstuff28​ @pjngpp3501​ @lunamoonbby​ @joyfulpandamiracle​ @craftyinfluencersandwich @averyhotchner​ @emily-roberts​ @teenwolf01 @sunderland-6​ @bethabear12

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[crazyk-imagine]

Flickering Lights and Bonding

Pairing: Paul Lahote x Enhanced!reader

Characters: Enhanced!reader, Paul Lahote, Sam Uley, Emily Young, Jacob Black, Seth Clearwater, Embry Call, Quil Atera V, Jared Cameron, Brady Fuller, Collin Littlesea, Reader's sister (briefly mentioned), Unnamed Aunt (briefly mentioned)

Warnings: Angst, fluff, this is cute, Paul will submit to his queen, he is absolutely infatuated with the reader, the reader still loves him but doesn't want to admit it, two idiots in love, reader tries to push him away but he ain't budging, there's an ending to the ending, this was cute, I love him, I'm fine, paul be acting like paul, he's lowkey a whiney boy, hehe get it, paul is soo protective, the boys are idiots, the pack is literally a mosh of crackheads, literally these boys i swear, our not so dicky boss is hilarious

Word Count: 4,060

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

They glance down and find you've passed out against her.

He smiles, watching as you lay there relaxed and not upset with him.

"You've always loved her, haven't you?"

He nods, "yeah."

She smiles. "I'm happy you found your future in her, you're the only one worthy of her time."

He scoffs. "That's not how I see it."

"She's been through a lot."

He grunts, she doesn't know if he agrees with her or not.

"It's not my place to tell you but you need background information in order to fix your bond with her." She sighs, "her sister hasn't called in a few weeks because of their aunt, and she's been... losing herself."

"Losing herself."

Emily nods, "she's been depressed because of it, not to mention the fact that it’s their anniversary."

"Who's?"

She furrows her brows, "what do you mean?"

"Who's anniversary?"

"Were you not there for the funeral?"

He straightens his posture, shocked at the tid bit of information she shared. "There was a funeral?"

She sighs, realizing she's shared too much. "You do know her parents are gone, right? That's why she's been hanging out with Sam and I more."

His jaw drops, "she- when- what happened?"

She shrugs, "the only thing I could find out was that they were in an accident and didn't come home for the girls."

"When?"

She hums, thinking back to a different time. "A few years ago, you two were in sixth grade, I think."

"Why didn't she tell me?" He glances at you.

"It happened just a few months after you gave her a new nickname."

"I said that was an accident."

"Yeah, just like you always having feelings for her was fate planning on making her to be your imprint."

"I- how has she been here?"

She understands he's referring to the house and likes the fact that he's trying to look out for you and rekindle your relationship.

She's been worried since her world changed with the whole imprint and shifter situation came into play but now, she can ease up just a smidge since he's imprinted on you.

“She’s been in the house for a few years now and it’s been hard. Since you guys shifted, our relationship became a little strained and since you imprinted on her, I can imagine she won’t be too happy with what I tell you.”

He wants to ask but can see with the way she’s talking; he should just shut up.

“Has it ever seemed strange that the lights go out when she’s upset?”

He furrows his brows, “I mean, sure but I’ve never really-”

“She’s different.”

He pauses.

“The only reason I’m telling you is because I want you to understand why we’re here and not at mine and Sam’s. Since her parents passed and their aunt took her sister to California, she’s been upset.”

He nods.

“Which makes sense because it was a hard thing for her to go through, but it’s amplified some things.”

“Things? What kind of things?”

“Her parents were waiting to tell her when she got older,” she sighs.

“Emily.”

She turns to look at the lost shifter.

“What did they want to tell her?”

She takes a deep breath, “she has abilities.”

His brows rise causing his forehead to crease. “Like our abilities?”

She shakes her head, “no but they are tied to her emotions, kind of like how your guys are.”

She hums, “it is starting to sound like she’s a shifter but she’s not. She has energetic abilities that cause me to have a stock of light bulbs in the house.”

“She blows up the lights?”

Emily nods, “yeah, and now that you’ve imprinted, her emotions are more out of control.”

“How does this help me?”

“You’re going to apologize and make amends before trying to make a bond because I know you can help her.”

“How do I do that when she won’t even talk to me?”

“You say you’re sorry, leave a note saying the same thing. Slowly build to it until she talks to you.”

“Isn’t that considered harassment?”

She scoffs through her nose. “Paul, you want her to in your life, right?”

He nods.

“Listen to me.” She glances down at your calm, sleeping figure. “I’m speaking from experience.”

He smiles watching over you.

She glances over at him and can't help but wonder- “Don’t you have patrol?”

He lifts his head, his fondness for you falls. “Sam made me come here.”

She smirks, “you wouldn’t stop thinking about her?”

“I don’t want to get into this right now.” He pushes himself off the couch, searching through your pantries for food, finding a few items to call snacks.

He makes a mental note to buy you some groceries.

By the time he returns to the couch, Emily’s fallen asleep.

He lifts the blanket over you, not wanting you to be cold since he knows you wouldn’t appreciate him being close to you.

He sighs, closing his eyes, wondering how everything went wrong between the two of you and how long you’ve been struggling.

His mind becomes more silent; head feeling heavy, unable to support it anymore as he falls asleep.

-

You awake the next day and find him curled up with an inch of space between you two.

You gulp, staring at him, wondering how it would be if you two were still friends.

You reach out to move his hair the way he like(d) it and stop yourself. You push yourself off the couch and search for the bathroom.

-

Paul opens his eyes, watching as your body disappears around the corner of the couch.

He pushes himself up, sighing as he rubs his hands across his face.

“I’m leaving, fix this before it hurts the both of you.”

He rolls his eyes at Emily’s words.

“I’m leaving so breakfast will be ready for the boys before they get too hungry,” she shouts.

-

You lean over the bathroom sink, keeping your eyes closed. “Okay!”

You pray he left with her, you don’t know how you’d be able to face him.

Why did you have to stay?

-

You knew you should have left earlier but you couldn’t bear to leave after seeing her puppy dog eyes, which you thought was ironic for her being a shifter’s imprint.

She suckered you into staying with one of her infamous home cooked meals, something you could never get over.

“How’s work?”

You stir the mix with a little more vigor than you should have. “Fine, work is work.”

“Care to explain more about that?”

You shake your head, “nope. Everyone is still an idiot, my manager is still a dick, and I am still struggling to pay bills. Need I go on?”

She sighs, “okay, I get it. But remember if you ever-”

“Need anything just ask. Sam and I can take care of you.” She smiles, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. “And it’s true.”

After putting the treats in the oven, you run out to Emily’s truck realizing you left the new baking pans you bought earlier.

You search the bed of the truck and find nothing, realizing that you left them in the back seat.

You close the door and walk back towards their place, pausing when you see the group of boys making their way out of the edge of the woods.

A few of the younger ones were playfully pushing the others back and forth.

Your heart stops when you notice him.

He’s laughing and shoving a couple of his buddies away from himself.

Brady looks away when he almost trips over his feet and looks up, catching your gaze.

He starts waving like a mad man, calling out your name.

You suck your bottom lip in, biting the skin where your lip and inner mouth meet.

His head snaps up, finding your gaze and that’s when it happens. Brady and Quil run towards you.

They always love having you around, not to mention the fact that you’re the nicest person they ever met.

“Hey, we didn’t know you’d be here today,” Brady starts.

“We’re happy you’re here,” Quil adds.

You blink and remove your gaze from Paul’s.

“Are you and Emily cooking?” The shorter of the two asks.

“We are.”

They glance at one another and smile, they always love coming over when you’re there; now you may love Emily’s food but the boys love when you two cook together, nothing can top it (sometimes not even their own mother’s food).

Brady takes the bag out of your hands as he and Quil head back into the place.

Emily smiles at the sight of them, happy to know the boys and her cousins are back safe and sound.

“What happened?” She asks, noticing the paleness in your face.

The door opens and the others walk in.

“I need to go outside.”

She furrows her brows, knowing you only go out there when you need a break and don’t want to blow up any of her light bulbs.

You brush past the others, not even looking to see if he’s with them.

“What happened?” You faintly heard her ask, too into your thoughts to hear Jared answer her.

-

He knocks on the door when your heartbeat quickens. “Hey.”

You flinch, not expecting him to still be here.

The light flickers.

“You okay?”

“Go away.”

"You know I won't leave."

"You're worse than a dog."

"I’m not and I’m not leaving till I know you’re okay.”

“Paul,” you sigh, opening the door. “Don’t you have wolf things to do.”

“I can do them later. I want to talk.”

You enter the kitchen, rifling through the fridge and pantry, finding no items that could go together for a meal. “Yeah, well. I don’t, sound familiar?”

“How many times do I need to tell you I’m sorry?”

“Not anymore because I’m over it. I just can’t wrap my mind around why you want to talk so badly.”

“You know exactly why.”

You whirl around, staring into his eyes. “You’ve never once wanted to talk about your feelings or anything important for that matter or even bow down to someone since- ever since I met you and now all of a sudden you’re mister therapist, I don’t think so.”

You spin around and head towards the sink, cleaning the dishes you didn’t do yesterday.

Bone cracking comes from behind you, and you spin around to see him on his knees, staring up at you like he’s losing a battle and can’t win.

You turn off the water and wipe your hands on the dish towel near the sink. “Get up.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “You’re right. I don’t talk about… emotions or stuff like that and I’ve never once given anyone the opportunity to talk about something serious with me. I’ve never come down to their level so I’m doing it now.”

You gulp, stepping closer. “Get up.”

He doesn’t move.

You sigh and shake his shoulders, “get off the ground and go home.”

He reaches for you, wanting to hold whatever part of you he can; holding you close by the back of your thighs.

Your hands move, cupping his face, giving you the unfortunate opportunity to stare into his eyes; the same ones you always knew you could count on because he’d never let anything happen to you.

You grit your teeth, muttering under your breath. “Stupid imprint bond.”

The corners of his lips twitch.

“Don’t smile you, butthead.”

“I’m your, butthead.”

You thin your lips, trying to figure out how this is going to work. “I’m not letting you in right away. You got lucky coming over last night.”

He nods, grip slightly tightening. “I won’t push you.”

“Yeah, or else Emily will be on your ass.”

He pulls you closer, bury his face into your stomach; hugging you before letting go.

“You need to go before Sam comes looking for you.”

“I know.”

You can see hesitation in his body posture. “What?”

“Can I come by later?”

You blink once. “Why?”

“I want us to start over where we should have grown up.”

You raise a brow. “How do you expect that to happen?”

“Leave it up to me.” He smirks at you before groaning due to the pack link. “I have to go before Jared barges in. I’ll see you later,” he pecks your cheek before running out the door.

You stand there for a few seconds before raising your hand to touch your cheek, tracing along where he kissed you, swearing you feel a tingling sensation.

-

You avoid talking to Emily and Paul for the rest of the day, barely able to avoid the other pack members as Jared, Brady, Seth, and Embry walk into the diner.

You take a deep breath before heading over to their table. “What are we having today boys?”

They glance around at one another.

“The usual,” Embry answers.

“With a side of stupid imprint bond,” Seth jokes before pausing when he realizes it wasn’t the time to joke like that. “I wasn’t supposed to say that, was I?”

Brady smacks the back of his head. “No, you dufus.”

He whines and smacks the boy.

Jared pulls them apart before you could kick them out. “We were hungry and wanted to stop by.”

“Emily’s been trying to call you,” Embry tells you.

“I’ll call later.” You head towards the back, taking deep breaths to stop the lights from flickering.

-

The boys’ glance at one another, sensing they should tell Emily… maybe even Paul.

“Should we-” Seth starts.

Embry and Jared shake their heads.

“I mean, it’s not like we can hide this any longer,” Brady adds.

“What do you mean?” The youngest asks.

The older three boys' glance at one another.

“Paul already knows and is on his way now,” Jared tells him.

“Oh, right the bond.” Seth’s cheeks flush, “does that mean, you guys can see everything?”

They send him teasing smirks.

“You mean, can we see if you play with-”

Jared shoves Brady. “Shut up, man. No, Seth. We haven’t seen anything like that.”

“But remember, we always can,” Embry adds.

-

You hold their plates, “you four need to calm down or make these to go orders.”

“We’re calm,” Jared and Brady told you at the same time.

You narrow your eyes to them. “I’m holding you boys to it; I don’t want to have to work another double because of you.”

“You worked more because of these idiots?”

Your shoulders tense at the voice of the one person you didn’t want to talk to yet.

“We didn’t mean for it to happen,” Embry starts.

“But it just-”

Paul stops Jared from saying anymore. “If you say it just happened, I’m making you take over my shift tonight.”

“But it did.”

“Yeah, you’re taking tonight’s shift.”

You place their plates and aim to head towards the counter when a warm hand on your wrist stops you.

“When do you get off work?”

You glance back towards the kitchen, finding your boss staring at you. “I have a couple more hours until I’m done.”

You turn towards the other members, “you boys enjoy your meal.”

You walk away, expecting Paul to sit down and not follow you.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“I’ll figure something out when I get home.”

He stops in front of the cash register, “let me come over.”

“Why should I?”

“I want to make sure you eat something and the only way I know you would is if I come over.”

“You gonna cook for me?” You ask with slight amusement in your tone.

He nods, “I am.”

Your expression falls, you weren’t expecting to want to take care of you. “I- uh- don’t you have patrol tonight?”

“Jared’s covering me.” He smirks when his packmates grumbles come through the pack’s mental link.

“I-”

“I’m going to sit on your porch, watching over your house whether you want me there or not.”

You roll your eyes, “fine, you can come over once I’m done.”

He offers a genuine smile, “great. I’ll take you home.”

You nod before your brain processes what he said and turns back to him only to find him pushing Seth and Jared further into the booth so he can squeeze in.

“You finally got a boyfriend?” Your boss, Leonard (who happens to be Brody’s older cousin) asks.

You purse your lips, “nope, just got another annoying pain in the neck to deal with.”

“He’s cute.”

“Not into you.”

“I know, he’d rather have you.”

You elbow him in his ribs.

“You’re not denying it,” he wheezes.

-

You walk out of the back room and find Paul still in the booth even though the others had left a couple hours ago. “You didn’t need to wait for me.”

He lifts his head, staring at you with an expression you’ve only ever seen in movies. “I didn’t have to, I wanted to though.” He slips out of the booth and stands before you, placing a hand on your back.

You don't want to admit that you've missed him the last few days, if not the last few years but something about this feels domestic; almost like it's something you've been missing.

He opens the door to his truck, waiting until you're situated before closing the door and makes his way around to the other side.

You didn't know what to say and kept quiet, staring out the window, watching at the trees slip past you.

Paul didn't want to say the wrong thing and cause a fight.

-

He steps out of the car to open the door for you, when he turns the corner, the doors already open. "I was coming to open it for you."

"I got it."

"I wanted to treat you."

"I'm fine, Paul."

He sighs, keeping his mouth shut.

"You brought me home and now you can go." You don’t know if you can handle him being here with you now.

He shakes his head, "I'm staying." He makes himself at home by laying on your couch.

"There's no threat, I'm obviously fine, so you can go?"

"I'm not leaving until we talk."

"Talk about what?"

"You're my imprint and we haven't talked in years; I don't want us to be awkward or make this feel- I don't want it to be forced."

"I-" You sigh. "I have nothing to say."

He pushes himself off the couch, stepping closer towards you. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"I'm not the person you should have imprinted on," you set your bag down.

"That's not for me to decide-"

"Yeah, I know it's the universe but maybe it was wrong."

"It's never wrong."

"It is now."

He follows after you, standing outside of your bedroom door. "You know I-" He huffs, listening to the way your heartbeat quickens. "I used to have a crush on you."

"What?" You whisper to yourself, not sure why he's admitting this but also about the fact that he had a crush on you.

"I like you that's why I- I didn't know what happened but then I couldn't stop it."

You furrow your brows at the sight of his shoulders shaking, knowing the story behind Emily’s scars, you shouldn't take a step closer, but the caring voice inside tells you otherwise.

You step closer, slowly reaching out for him.

Your scent engulfs the room, calming him a bit until your hand touches his arm.

The red slowly leaves his vision and it's almost like he can see clearly when he turns his head towards you.

The lights stop flickering when you make eye contact with him.

"Better?" Is all you can ask, barely able to form any other words.

He owlishly blinks, "what?" He asks with a gruff tone.

"I- you seemed like you were going to lose it and I didn't want you to break my living room," you add, joking with him to calm him a bit.

The corner of his lips curve as he tries not to smile. "It doesn't seem like there's much worth breaking," he teases.

You scoff, "you ass."

"I am sorry though," he tells you with an honest tone as he bows his head in shame.

You gulp, "I appreciate that. I'm just sorry it happened now."

"I'm not."

You furrow your brows, partially offended.

"I wasn't ready for this, what we're making now. I- you wouldn't have liked me then. I didn't but," he reaches for your hand, hovering to give you the opportunity to accept or decline. "I hope now we can work on that... on us?"

You stare at his hand, remembering how many times you wanted this with him and how you pushed him away, leaving him alone.

You wrap your arms around his neck, tucking your head in the space between his neck and shoulder. "I've missed you, you idiot."

He chuckles, resting his cheek on your head, breathing you in. "Not as much as I've missed you, sweetheart." 

EXTRA

The boys make their ways up the path to your door with Sam and Emily in tow.

They're practically bouncing like none of them have stopped eating sugar.

"Do you think it finally happened?" Embry asks.

"Who knows? We're about to find out." Jared tells him before shoving Brady out of his way.

"Why'd we bring them again?" Asks Sam.

Emily smiles and shakes her head. "We had no choice."

"There's a body," Seth says. "I see an arm... and a face... it kind of looks-"

"That's your reflection," Quil smacks his arm.

"Hey, no hitting him. Only I can," Leah adds.

"Uh oh," Jared says.

"What?" Sams asks.

"Incoming," Seth, Jared, and Embry mumble in unison.

"You all need to leave," Paul hisses, slowly closing the door behind him.

"Looks like someone-"

"Finish that sentence and you're dead, Black."

Jacob backs away with his hands raised. “Someone’s grouchy.”

“We just had a decent talk last night and you all are not going to ruin this for me.”

Brady, Jared, and Embry turn around, nonchalantly whistling.

You place a hand on his shoulder, wanting him to stop blocking the door. “Paul, stop.”

He lowers his arm with an annoyed expression on his face.

“I know you all are excited but it’s not even seven yet. I still have to get ready for work and-”

“I brought food,” Emily interrupts as Sam lifts the basket.

You avoid Paul’s gaze as you snatch the basket from him. “You all may enter.”

His jaw drops. “I’ve been tossed aside for food.”

Jared pats his shoulder. “At least it wasn’t a blood sucker.”

Jacob glares at him.

“Too soon?” The man shrugs, “my bad man. Look I’m-” Jared takes off around your house before any of you realized what was happening.

-

“Is it always going to be like this?” You ask her.

She offers a sheepish shrug, “I mean, more at our place but close enough yeah.”

You shake your head, ripping another piece of muffin and shove it in Paul’s mouth before he could complain. You continue talking with Emily while simultaneously feeding him.

You glance down as another muffin makes its way to your hand. “Have you been giving me more just so I could feed you?”

He pauses, almost as if he’s bashful. “No?” He takes it from you and shushes, “don’t read into it.”

He shoves half the muffin in your mouth, and you take it like a baby does its pacifier.

Emily, Leah, and Embry stare at you with perplexed looks.

You pout. “You know I thought when Paul found his imprint he was going to calm down,” Brady interrupts. “But you made him weird.”

Neither of you respond to that.

Jared screaming in the background doesn’t disrupt the calmness in the air... even as he cries calls out for help.

-

Tag list

@kmc1989 @gilbertgirl13

-

Previously: Part I

Paul Lahote Master List

[trevuorzegras]

━╋ NEW RELEASES

⏜ˑ 🐇 actress au part four 𓋜 ⋆ ࣪

౨ৎ . . all works for this series will be under the #his greatest mistake au tag. for any random thoughts, or asks it will be under the #cassidy morgan au tag!

fem actress!reader x quinn hughes.

mentions of fem actress!reader x jacob elordi

faceclaim: beabadoobee

find the series masterlist, here!

cas_morgan

cas_morgan: so so so excited to finally let you guys in on what i’ve been working on! ‘spinning out’ is now streaming on netflix! everyone go show your support, and love please 🫶🏼.

words cannot describe how incredibly honored, and grateful i am to have had this opportunity. i loved being able to bring this character to life. this experience is something i’ll forever cherish, thank you everyone!

tagged: netflix, spinningoutnetflix, evanroderick

liked by trevorzegras, jackhughes, and other

user1: OH MY GOD

user2: on my way to watch it right now

trevorzegras: superstar at it AGAIN

↳ cas_morgan: my #1 supporter 🩷

user3: since when do you know how to skate?

↳ user4: she’s been skating since she was a kid

↳ user3: really? user4

↳ user5: yes! she has a video all about it on her youtube channel (: user3

user6: i need a season two asap

user7: who got you those roses?? 🤔🤔

↳ cas_morgan: 🤫

↳ markestapa: it was me don’t let her fool you

↳ cas_morgan: you are DISGUSTING markestapa

user8: whyd evan and cas be cute irl tho…

↳ cas_morgan: guys this man is 28 PLEASE

↳ user9: age ain’t nothin but a numba… cas_morgan

↳ evanroderick: Absolutely not! user9

evanroderick: Been such a wonderful experience working with you, Cassidy! Thank you for teaching me the ways of skating even if i fell on my ass most of the time. I’ll forever cherish the memories that were made, and i hope to keep a close friendship!

↳ cas_morgan: very like wise! i love working with you, ev! you did a great job, regardless of how many times you busted your ass. i hope to stay close as well, keep in touch, don’t be a stranger! 🫶🏼

user10: i felt so bad for kat throughout the series ):

↳ user11: no literally, my baby deserved better 😭

spinningoutnetflix: our very own kat baker and justin davis! we loved having you bring our kat to life!

jackhughes: the amount of SEXY SCENES I NEED BLEACH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

↳ cas_morgan: there’s like one get a GRIP ROWDY

lhughes_06: watched it like 82672 times

↳ cas_morgan: it came out two days ago, luke.

↳ lhughes_06: don’t underestimate me cas_morgan

user12: i love cassidy’s friendship w jack and luke so much omg ☹️

↳ user13: it’s so cute, they’re like her annoying brothers 😭

user14: anastasia allen core

↳ user15: now she just needs her hockey bf

rutgermcgroarty: would’ve been better with a hockey boy as the love interest 🤷

↳ cas_morgan: not everything is about hockey rut

↳ rutgermcgroarty: could be! cas_morgan

user17: okay but rut’s onto something, would’ve been cute with a hockey player

↳ user18: it’s a basic trope. hockey player x figure skater is BASIC say!! it!! with!! me!!

liked by cas_morgan

user19: oh no she liked the comment about figure skater and hockey trope being basic there goes our chance of getting her with a hockey player

↳ user20: she’s an actress not a figure skater, there’s still a chance trust

liked by cas_morgan

user21: she is NOT slick

↳ user22: she’s so real 😭😭

_quinnhughes: congratulations, cassidy!

↳ cas_morgan: thank you quinn!

edwards.75: you did good 🗣️🗣️

↳ cas_morgan: thanks eth 🔥

user23: she’s so pretty fuck

user24: can’t wait to see more future projects!

user25: you are so talented cassidy

trevorzegras

trevorzegras: don’t let cas fool you, she’s having an absolute blast w the hockey boys 🗣️💯🔥

tagged: cas_morgan, lhughes_06, jackhughes, jamie.drysdale, _alexturcotte, edwards.75, markestapa, rutgermcgroarty, luca.fantilli

liked by _quinnhughes, nhl, and others

cas_morgan: don’t lie to them, i hate you, and everyone here (besides luke, jamie, and mark)

↳ trevorzegras: what the hell Cassidy.

↳ lhughes_06: YUP 🗣️

↳ markestapa: it’s an honor 😭😭😭😭😭

↳ edwards.75: ??

↳ jackhughes: do i just not exist?..

↳ cas_morgan: no you do and that’s the problem rowdy jackhughes

↳ jamie.drysdale: awe cas loves me

↳ cas_morgan: always 🫶🏼 jamie.drysdale

user26: LMFAOO THAT WHOLE THREAD IS SO FUNNY

user27: are you guys excited for hockey season again

↳ trevorzegras: yes i get to drag cas to more games!

↳ cas_morgan: yeah that’s absolutely not fucking happening, good try tho! trevorzegras

user28: so glad cas has people who care about her surrounding her 🫶🏼

↳ user29: real, im glad she’s happier!

user30: Cassidy only has followers cause of the hockey players she sleeps around with

↳ markestapa: cassidy has more followers than all of us 😭 she acts, and we play hockey, let’s not.

user31: mark #1 cassidy defender

↳ user32: that’s dom’s roll, mark can get #2

↳ user33: who’s dom? user32

↳ user32: dominic fike! user33

rutgermcgroarty: don’t let cas fool you, she reads most of the time, and barely talks to us

↳ cas_morgan: don’t be a hater rut

jamie.drysdale: im cassidy’s favorite by the way

↳ markestapa: no its definitely me but okay

↳ trevorzegras: ACTUALLY 🤓 markestapa

lhughes_06: funny you guys are fighting over favorite when it’s literally me 🤣🤣🤣

↳ jackhughes: you’re real funny luke. ever tried being a comedian i’m laughing so hard 😐

user34: none of y’all are the favorite btw

liked by cas_morgan

sorry about slow updates, trying my best! just please be patient, and i promise to try and upload as much as i possibly can! 🫶🏼

taglist | @wnderify @bunbunbl0gs @alwaysclassyeagle @bunting58 @callsignwidow @crazycat-ladys-blog

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I've been reading some of your homestuck essays, I think they're really good! I would like to know what you think about post-retcon homestuck and the interactions between reader and author throughout homestucks publishing. I was not in the fandom at the time of it being published, but I find this to be a very interesting aspect of the comic!

I was only on the fringes of the fandom at the time, but even that was enough to recognize that the fandom was absolutely awful. Every bad story you've heard about the Steven Universe, Voltron, and Undertale fandoms has its roots in the Homestuck fandom.

Pretty much as soon as the webcomic got popular on Tumblr, Hussie was put under intense scrutiny for basically every decision they ever made ever. I'm not going to say that Hussie was a perfect individual who never did anything wrong, because Hussie is a human being and that's how it works, but it's basically impossible to overstate how much the fandom tried to make an enemy out of Hussie.

The fandom was convinced that Hussie was their personal LE, and that attitude continues to this day - like, for an easy example of the fandom harassing Hussie for Literally Anything, when he stated that all trolls were bi/pan, to the point where they didn't have specific words for single-gender attraction, comparing it to a "more exacting preference" like somebody who only dates fat people - but that even within that framework, Kanaya was undoubtedly a lesbian character - people insisted Hussie was being homophobic. Fucking homophobic! For confirming all trolls are bi/pan, except Kanaya, who's a lesbian!

Other examples include: calling Hussie homophobic for John saying he wasn't a homosexual and Karkat literally not knowing what a homosexual was, because again, all trolls are bi/pan. Calling Hussie racist for making the kids aracial but accidentally leaving references to Dave having pale/pink skin in (because Hussie is a biased human person who can't be perfect and who did try to be more inclusive as the comic went on). Deciding that the dancestors served no purpose except for Hussie to be mean to their audience. Like there are valid criticisms to be made of Homestuck, but anything that was valid, nuanced, or thoughtful was drowned under a deluge of incoherent accusations of every -ism and -phobia that the fandom could possibly muster, the fandom as a whole racing to see who could paint Hussie as the biggest monster, even as they were harassing them to make more Homestuck.

Not to mention this was the era of rampant, unchecked ship wars and fandom misogyny. Not that fandom misogyny has gone away, mind you, but it's slightly more in check now. This was the era of fandom where it was normal to be sent death threats for shipping the "wrong" ship, and fandom ship wars were often encouraged by media of the time (love triangles were HOT - think zutara vs. kataang, team jacob/team edward, danny fenton/sam manson vs. danny fenton/valerie grey) because it drove up engagement. Homestuck was not really interested in shipping wars and love triangles - while many characters had circuitous routes and false starts, many were also pretty clearly set up to have specific endgame ships. But the fandom wasn't trained to behave that way, and the troll quadrants + canonical bi/pan trolls + active role of romance in the story meant that the ship wars were brutal - and also, Hussie was getting harassed every step of the way for not making peoples' favorite ships canon, a major part of a larger trend of people constantly ragging on Hussie for things not going the way they wanted plot-wise, to the point where Hussie had to comment on it constantly on his Formspring.

And don't think I forgot about the fandom misogyny! Here's a hot take for the class: Vriska is literally just Girl Zuko. She's ostensibly a noble from an imperialistic, warmongering, fascist society with an abusive parent who raised her with strict expectations, who thinks she has to act much more evil and more tough than she feels in order to earn the approval of her parent/society, and who secretly has misgivings and feels really bad about it and was set up for a redemption arc.

And people HATED Vriska. Vriscourse was so bad that many Homestuck fan spaces banned talking about Vriska at ALL, because just the mere mention of her name would spark massive, endless flame wars as people argued whether or not she deserved her little redemption arc (spoilers: yes, it turns out death is cheap in Homestuck and characters changing, growing, and becoming better is a huge part of the story) or whether or not she was justified in doing the things she did. Genuinely, I think a huge part of this intense hatred and anger was just misogyny. God forbid women have Zuko's character arc.

It was also part of two other large trends in the fandom - the first was that, despite finding every possible reason to call Hussie -ist and -phobic they could, the fandom itself was, ummm... "of its time." For example, the original March Eridan stuff was pretty clearly meant to be funny because, look, man in a dress! Isn't it sooo funny when Eridan wears a dress? (No hate to the artist, this was a long time ago and I'm sure they're a different person now.) The fandom was also constantly goading Hussie on WRT which characters were fat, and while we can argue about whether Hussie is fatphobic because none of the characters are canonically drawn to be fat, I'm going to go to bat for them on this: people treat the Fat Vriska jokes as though Hussie is the creepy weirdo exclusively, but the fandom was goading them on and thought that shit was hilarious, because that was what early internet fandom was like a lot of the time - at the same time as it harassed and decried creators for being problematic, it would turn around and delight in shitting on women, neurodivergent people, POC, and fat people, and Homestuck was rampant with it.

The second trend the Vriscourse was a part of was one that also hasn't fully gone away, but it's better now - wilful ignorance of the actual comic's contents. I'm not talking about the usual fandom fare of noncanon ships or "x character is trans/autistic/etc. even though I know there's no canon basis," which is all pretty damn harmless, but I mean like, memes and fanon would override canon and you would be outright harassed for not playing along. There are STILL places to this day that will call you an actual fascist, genocide liker, evil and irredeemable, etc. if you try to stick up for Eridan, even though Eridan is actually the LEAST casteist highblood and his entire character arc is about how his shitty fascist society makes him deeply anxious and unhappy. Similarly, you can/definitely would be be harassed for saying you don't like March Eridan and/or think it's OOC (it is), and I have nothing but sympathy for Gamzee and Equius fans, who also get it really bad.

The most vocal parts of the fandom, if not the majority, were people who were generally uninterested in engaging with Homestuck on Homestuck's terms, instead dead set on making up a version of it in their head and harassing people who disagreed, including Hussie. Echoes of that persist to this day - Equius, Gamzee, and Eridan get it bad, but practically none of the trolls have fandom interpretations that actually line up with who they are - Kanaya is actually just Eridan's bully (and did nothing to help Tavros after she caught Vriska kissing him), but people portray her as Nice Team Mom. Feferi is a casteist hypocrite who loves classism and calling people the r-slur, but people portray her as bubbly equality lady. So on and so forth. Like, damn, I barely participate in fandom and I'm out here meeting people who think Karkat ACTUALLY hates his friends like he says he does.

And then, of course, these people went and harassed Hussie because actual Homestuck did not match up with the Homestuck that existed only in their own heads.

On top of all the fandom harassment, Hussie was also facing ballooning scope. Most of Homestuck was a single dude drawing, writing, and animating it, and they would update every two or three days, sometimes less. So from the get-go, Homestuck was an INSANE project that demanded an insane amount of work and time from Hussie, and as it went on, it only got worse - and fandom expectations only got bigger. Suddenly, Hussie had to be in charge of merchandise, in charge of vetting, hiring, directing, and paying third-party artists, planning animations months if not years in advance, creating entire sections of the comic that had GAMEPLAY, directing ACTUAL GAMES, etc. ... there's an argument to be made that Hussie should not have taken on a workload they couldn't manage, but at the same time, the fandom certainly wasn't telling them to slow down. If anything, they harassed Hussie for every update, and were furious when hiatuses needed to happen to plan and execute some of the bigger moments later in the comic.

There's a Sarah Z video out there on the creation of the Homestuck game, which I think is OK if you take into account that Sarah kind of has fandom brain and is a little biased against Hussie (and I guess Hussie did send a spurious legal threat which is pretty funny but, y'know, understandable that Sarah would be peeved), where it's really clear that Hussie was not ready for the kind of responsibility, time, and effort needed to manage a whole-ass video game.

So by the time Game Over and the Retcon roll around, you basically have to imagine that Hussie has so many irons in the fire that the furnace is about to pop like a balloon, and the people they were making the damn things for in the first place have been relentlessly harassing them for YEARS, and weren't even that interested in engaging with the actual story in the first place. I'd say the majority of the fandom to this day STILL does not understand Eridan - how do you think they would've taken his redemption arc, and especially the fact that he was set up to date Karkat and Roxy? Given the pattern of their behavior up to that point... they'd probably harass Hussie and call them homophobic.

This is why I genuinely cannot blame Hussie for turning on the fandom and truncating their story. Vriska got upgraded to main character and had her character development reset because fuck you, fandom, you couldn't understand her redemption arc in the first place so now you don't get one. DaveKat got (kind of) made canon but as a weird throuple with the Mayor because fuck you, fandom, you didn't appreciate any of the actual gay ships that were set up so now you're stuck with brutally OOC DaveKatMayor. Karkat and Jake have their plot threads left hanging because fuck you, fandom, you never even noticed all the prophecies and symbolism and character arcs because you were all too obsessed with screaming at women and took the dancestors as a personal insult, so now the guy who's supposed to defeat LE and the guy who's supposed to bring equality and forgiveness to all bloodlines don't even get to participate in any of the important boss battles.

People call Hussie a troll, and they really aren't. If you read their old Formspring, they're clearly deeply fucking passionate about the art of storytelling, and switch between bafflement, mild indignation, and playing along when people ask them stupid questions. But back then, they were always very serious and genuine when they answered questions asked in good faith, and I'm being 100% genuine when I say that I've learned about how to tell stories better by reading Hussie's Formspring. Over time, however, those stupid questions became more common, and often morphed into outright harassment, and in response to that, Hussie's answers became more humorous and facetious, and the fandom - who was already trying to find ANY reason to hate Hussie - started to paint Hussie as an unreliable trickster and liar who got their jollies by shitting on the fandom.

Honestly, in doing so, the fandom was what turned Hussie into exactly that. Again, I'm not saying Hussie was a perfect baby who did nothing wrong - there's a lot of stuff to critique and scrutinize about their writing, their biases, and what topics they found appropriate to joke about. However, I AM saying that they were also just a human fucking being who was trying to write a good story, who was harassed at every turn, mostly for things that actually weren't problematic at all, whose words and actions were always taken in the absolute worst possible faith, and that the fandom is not fucking faultless, and if there's anyone that I'm mad at for how bad Homestuck ended, it's the fans.

That's my hottest Homestuck take.

[travelbasscase]

house md twilight headcanons because i had an idea™

Foreman: Has not read any Twilight book, relentlessly mocks anyone who has.

Cuddy: Has read the first book, decided it wasn't for her.

Cameron: Has read all of them, is unwilling to admit that she has for fear of being mocked by House (understandable). She didn't love them, but neither did she hate it.

Wilson: Read the first book and enjoyed it. Decided to continue on to the rest of the series. However, he somehow missed the middle books and jumped right into Breaking Dawn, and never noticed his mistake.

Chase: Read every single book multiple times. Deeply invested. Openly admits it. HUGE fan of Edward and Bella. Has made multiple Quotev "which Twilight character are you" quizzes. Has posters on his wall of characters from the series. Was incensed by the movies because he felt that they weren't faithful enough to the books.

Stacy: Never heard of them.

Taub: Absolutely adores it. Started a book club with Chase.

Kutner: Didn't read the books, but loved the movies. Sometimes shows up to Chase and Taub's book club.

Thirteen: Thinks that the love triangle is stupid. Hates Bella with passion. Probably wants Edward and Jacob to run off into the sunset together. Sometimes shows up to Chase and Taub's book club just to pick fights with Chase.

House: Has read every book and watched every movie, but everyone just kind of assumed that he wouldn't and never asked if he did. He does not get involved in any conversation surrounding the books so that he can maintain his facade of not having consumed any of the media, but occasionally makes references to it purely to confuse all of his employees, because there's no way that their boss would have read those, so his allusions must be coincidence, right?

He has also read the much worse, much trashier (somehow) Night World series by LJ Smith, and is very upset that it's never been finished. He is invested in the plot and spends his free time sending letters to the author begging her to finish the series.

[hainethehero]

A JOSS WHEDON HATER FOREVER- a think piece on how Avengers 1 set up Steve Rogers to be the MCU's punching bag for the rest of the franchise

(We all know Joss Whedon is an absolute garbage person. He's done many horrible things including being a racist, sexist moron who should be behind literal bars.) This is a commentary on his absolute shit writing for Avengers 1.

This one particular scene and the one following it is purely poor writing & direction for the character of Steve Rogers.👇

After Coulson dies, Fury addresses Steve and Tony and tosses Coulson's bloodied Captain America cards at Steve. He says something like "guess you never found the time to sign them" which is just horribly cruel and though not OOC for Fury, is not something he'd say lightly. We later realize here👇

...that he's secretly trying to put together the team. This is where he makes his big "there was an idea" speech and mentions that "Stark knows this." Because yeah, Tony was made aware of this in Iron Man 1 when Coulson visited and told Pepper. In contrast, Steve had no idea about the Avengers Initiative.

In fact, the dude was just pulled from the Valkyrie in the ice!! In the beginning scene of Avengers 1, we see him at the gym with the punching bag having LITERAL WAR FLASHBACKS about Bucky and Peggy and the Howlies! He's not stable and yet Fury confronts him and ropes him into the mission to get the Tesseract. Steve says, "you should've left it where you found it." And I can't help but think that maybe Steve means himself as well because dude just lost EVERYONE & EVERYTHING he literally knew and cared about.

Anyway, back to the point, Steve knows nothing about the Initiative but is suddenly made to feel guilty about Coulson's death in some kind of roundabout way of "convincing him to join the team" in honor of Coulson.

And then, to make matters WORSE, in the next scene they make HIM comfort Tony 👇

They make him say, "im sorry" (like it was his fault???!) and "he was just doing his job" and "is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" LIKE WTAF???

*INSERTS JACOB ELORDI MEME FROM EUPHORIA SAYING WHAT THE FUCKKKKK?!*

First of all, Steve barely knows these people! Second, he was fond of Coulson and I'm sure they would've been close friends. But did they have to GUILT-TRIP Steve into joining the team? Like, that's just dumb and proves that they don't actually give a fuck about his character!

AND TALK ABOUT MEAN! Fury at least knew about Steve losing Bucky on that train. He KNOWS Steve's first words when he woke up from sleep was "I had a date" reflecting the tragedy of the man out of time. To just rip him out of sleep and thrust him into a mission and later making him feel guilty about Coulson was just pure cruelty, making SHIELD no better than HYDRA. They all saw Steve as a pawn, another mindless soldier to carry out their missions and I hate JW for that.

Steve's character was not accurately portrayed nor was his trauma properly dealt with and so this is why today, we see alot of MCU "fans" calling Steve the worst avenger, lame, boring and basically a crutch to Tony's genius. (I'm a huge Tony Stark fan, don't @ me). It just felt that the mcu wanted to make Tony the ultimate hero- which is fine, Nothing's wrong with that- but they did it at the expense of Steve's character and trauma.

Sadly, this narrative continues all the way down to Endgame and for that I will always hate JW & the mcu's portrayal of Steve Rogers.

[savagewildnerness]

E12

OK... I normally make notes on an episode when I rewatch, but I dunno... after watching S2E5, I just feel compelled to say a few things...  First... LOL...

Armand at the end!!! hahahaha!!!

OK, so first off - the acting is SO GOOD:

Jacob - especially the way he delivers his interview 1 take down of Lestat is SO MAGNIFICENT, OH MY! Jacob! You are DIVINE! (Also: Louis' see-through grid shirt: YES PLEASE!!!!)

Luke - is SO ERIC. OMG, he is SO GOOD!

Eric - is SO GOOD! The emotion. I want Ericasavampire and seeing as much of DM is still-to-come - Eric as a vampire - PLEASE!!!!?! Finally someone to love Armand for all he is. Write an entire NOVEL of your own invention writers please for Daniel!!!

Assad - I am at this point bowing down to my Assad shrine! I haven't the words for how perfect your Armand is. I only have love.

There is SO MUCH to analyse from this episode.  We must PSYCHOANALYSE the characters this week fully!!!

I utterly ADORED it!  One thousand thanks to the writers for creating something like this - not in the books, but totally feels like the books. 

And OMG, at this stage I will be devastated if Daniel isn't involved in this entire show from start to end... which also feels somehow some kind of a homage to River Phoenix, who would have played Daniel in the 1994 film had he lived...?

ANYWAY!  OMG ASSAD I LOVE YOU!  OMG WRITERS, I LOVE ARMAND!  Like this episode - how CRUEL Louis is to Armand!  And yet, Armand saves his life!  And not only that, he offers that pathway to Lestat... right until he is unable to utter Lestat's "I love you.."  And really, Armand, you did that in so much love for Louis - you sacrificed your self! Armand, Armand, Armand.

And Armand, seeking in Daniel what it means to be fascinating and special.  The irony is that Armand IS special!!!  He is absolutely the most complex vampire… he just doesn’t understand how to love or be loved… and Louis is NOT his "one"! But he is SO fascinating!  And special.  All of the edits to Radiohead's Creep PLEASE!!!!

I also find it WONDROUS in a show about vampires - where vampires are always a metaphor to The Outsider... yet... in art, The Outsider is often portrayed in imo an unrealistic way, as in "actually the outsider is infinitely special, really!", BUT IN ARMAND, the writers have given us a truly actually special character who feels like many outsiders do - AND is told by the person he loves SO much he would literally be a pathway to their other love that he is boring and not special and not enough... THAT is relatable! (Even though nobody has told me this, as I am simply isolated, personally! Yet, still, I feel it!)

Also - OMG it is both infinitely tragic and simultaneously hilarious that Loumand true sexy times cannot begin until Armand literally WIPES Louis’ mind of Lestat!!!  LOLOLOLOLOL (Poor Armand!)

Also LOL @ Jacob in the post episode thing - saying he can’t think of a bigger betrayal than rewriting the history of a person you love and that it makes him angry… referring to what Armand does to Louis… when IN THIS SAME EPISODE, that’s literally what Louis does to Lestat..!

Meagre thoughts as I didn't write notes during the episode, so just a few points I think of now (and I have had a glass of wine with this episode lolololololol!!  Lalalalala... GOTHIC JOY!!!!!!!!!!)

Lestat is my boy, but ASSAD'S ARMAND.  Armand was always my second favoruite vampire, but Assad - I do not understand how you are making me love Armand even MORE!  Be MORE evil, Armand.  And more tragic.  And more loving.  Be every thing you are.  I know you are fascinating!!!!!

Also, I cried A LOT in this episode! Though I did not note when. Like, that I feel compelled to do a post now with my random tipsy thoughts on a non HQ version with no subtitles I hope expresses A LOT about how I love this episode!?!??!!

[zahri-melitor]

DC Pride 2022:

I didn't particularly like the Damian and Jon story (not in the least because I generally don't get much from the way they're characterised in stories together), but it did crystallise a few things for me about why I find "it's a Pride parade!" stories so unutterably dull.

I'm not going to go into the 'is Pride a riot' debate that I know was everywhere when this issue came out, but I think the thing is...the art never actually LOOKS like a parade to me, as it doesn't hit the right notes.

Where are the Dykes on Bikes at the head of it. Where are the old people who founded this. The history OF the parade is encapsulated in the shape of the parade itself. It's always too young, too sanitised and too twee.

The Nubia and Io story just reminds me I really want to read all the Nubia stuff (I'll get there!)

Connor's story is that awkward line of 'we need you to come out' and 'coming out stories are so formulaic'. Connor, definitely throw that letter in the bin. You absolutely don't actually want to send a letter to your mother about the specific details of what you do and don't want to do with other people physically. The awkwardness in your memory of what you said will never ever go away.

Alysia Yeoh's story is clearly not contemporary (probably mid Batgirl 2016 I think?) because Babs isn't using the Clock Tower when this issue came out. It's...nice. Adult. Slightly tired.

The Jackson Hyde story is cute. I feel it's making Xebel a lot calmer and friendlier than it's usually portrayed but I haven't read enough Aquaman to be definite on that. Hang out with your boyfriend, Jackson!

The Jo Mullein story I need to come back to after I've actually read Far Sector but felt fun.

The Ray Terrill story...is extremely funny if you have actually read Ray and Dinah's 1990s interactions.

What's calculated to make Ray run off to help immediately? Dinah calling for back up!

Dinah. Dinah. Behaving like this is how you had that massive fight with Ollie where he thought you were cheating on him with Ray thirty years ago. (Do it again, it's very funny to me)

Ray: nobody has every shown me affection before Dinah: acts like a human being Ray: dedicates his entire diary to being aimed at Dinah

ANYWAY. Story is fine, the bonus by reading it through a 90s lens is amazing.

The Kate Kane story just being Jacob Kane being proud of Kate made me laugh (I don't actually think you're that supportive, Jacob, but I'm glad you think you are trying to be in your mind). On the other hand it's sweet to frame something through a proud parent.

Tim's story: I laughed realising they'd given this to Travis Moore. They clearly wanted it to be pretty. Nice that they went to Fair Day.

More seriously though: this is very in tune with Tim having other moments of self discovery (To the Father I Never Knew, the first Father's Day with Bruce). Very similar internal monologue.

As I say annually, the Harley/Ivy story is unnecessary. This should be in their own titles.

(Sorry Earth-11, I do not care about you)

And then we get to the only story in the ENTIRE ISSUE with any real grit to it (Kevin Conroy's autobiographical piece) and they slap an advisory warning on the front.

And look, I get why, but also it's so...hmm...we should be able to acknowledge more complicated stories and common narratives without having to warn people. We don't put warnings like that on the front of Lobo (well, aside from the comic being titled 'Lobo'). It should be possible to acknowledge the joys of identity while still reflecting on the past. It's not even anything more than a single slur a bunch of times plus period homophobia and the AIDS crisis. It's not shocking? or surprising? or unexpected?

DC Pride Tim Drake Special #1:

Okay so this is UL reprints plus one new story?

I think the most disappointing thing about the Steph story is that the characterisation doesn't really ring true to any of the characters involved? Steph is allowed to be jealous. Tim's allowed to be avoiding her and shouldn't be getting nagged by everyone to talk to her (especially given the preceding stories and the DC Pride story make it clear Tim and Bernard have been dating for months). It's a cute fantasy but it doesn't feel realistic for the failure points of the personalities of any of the characters involved (Tim, Steph, Conner or Bart), and Cass is once again just used as an adjunct to Steph, rather than someone who has her own independent relationship with Tim.

The art is cute, I even think Tim and Steph did need to clear the air on page, but...it could have used some more grit? Depth? Possibility of things going wrong or people feeling hurt? Less of an ideal fantasy that worked perfectly?

[leahsflwer]

Twilight - Them finding you crying 🌧️ pt.1

Warnings: Mentions of $uicidal thoughts, depression, insecurities, angst topics, fluff

Twilight characters x Y/N (Your/Name)

Jasper -

He had searched around for you and only found you after like thirty minutes. The rain was playing with his smell but once he stood outside he eventually found you crying in the rain and looking up at the sky, shaking. You were still human at the current moment so it was hard for him to get close but he pushed himself after seeing you were in pain. He put the umbrella above your head, not caring that he was getting wet. He asked you to come inside in the warmth.

~“Please join me inside. We can talk there. I do not care of getting wet ma’am but you are still living, you can get sick and unwell”

Carlisle -

He instantly noticed you sitting in the Cullen kitchen, sitting at the kitchen bench, staring at the same cup of tea for an hour. He walked around the bench and placed a hand on your shoulder, asking you what was on your mind and that he was there to listen. Which he perfectly did, he looked you in the eyes, held your hands as you spoke up and cried, he was a brilliant listener and gave you the best advice he could.

Emmet -

When he noticed you at school crying in the empty corridor and leaning against your locker he asked you what was wrong. You snapped at him and told him to leave you alone. He instantly put his hands up and turned around to leave. But you then asked him to stay. Which he did, awkwardly standing beside you and noticing the writing on your locker, gently moving you and reading the message from your bully, making him angry. You had to talk him out of going to hurt them.

Edward -

He could read your mind often but respected your wishes of privacy until you had been silent and not able to communicate with him well. He decided it had gone to far and he read your mind as your stood in their living room. He heard your thoughts of not wanting to be alive anymore and he was broken and so hurt. He grabbed your wrist and spun you around to face him. He wiped your tears away and sighed.

~”I can’t live without you. You mean everything to me love. I mean that.”

Rosalie -

You were in her room upstairs thinking she was gone out, only for her to return and seeing you a mess on her bed, tears and tissues everywhere. When she walking over to you and saw you with teary eyes she felt heartbroken, then mad as her fists clench. Yelling and asking who hurt you, ready to kill anyone in her path. But you shook your head and she finally gave in after a moment and hugged you.

Jacob -

He is soft when is comes to those he loves. So the moment he saw you get out of your car in front of his house crying his chest ached. He stayed silent as he followed you into his little open shed and watched as you sat down, sniffling. He kneeled down in front of you and apologised. Wether it was his fault or not, he would still apologise, feeling it’s his fault for not stopping your from feeling that way, he knows the feeling and hates it.

Alice -

She was simply outside for a walk and smiling at the trees, the flowers and the pretty blue bird in front of her when she had a vision of you kneeling on the floor, crying. She dropped the plants and ran back to the house, immediately running upstairs and seeing you collapse to the floor crying. She helped you up and pulled you into her arms, rubbing your back and asking what’s wrong. She wiped away your tears as you spoke and nodded at each sentence, being an absolute Angel towards you.

Bella -

Mike and Jessica laughed when you laid with your head down in class and asked Bella to wake you up, but after they left you lifted your head up and revealed that you were crying the entire time. Those two had said some horrid things about you and you felt sick in the stomach. You told Bella and she was shocked. Staring at you for a moment, lip biting in thought before standing up and giving you her hand. She took you outside for fresh air and then took you out on a relaxing night at her place to comfort you.

Charlie -

As you stood there at the Swan residence you stood downstairs and looked at yourself in the mirror, taking in the details of the dress tightly around your body hating the sight. You felt your insecurities digging into your body like stones. It was painful and you wanted to ball your eyes out. Until you seen Charlie in the mirror, he came up behind you with a soft smile. You told him you didn’t quite like the outfit, in fact you hated anything on your body, you just felt ugly in everything, not matter what you did.

~”I think you look beautiful. Everything looks perfect on you. You may not see it Y/N. But I can, the world can see it. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen and I mean that. Now go on, you look stunning” he finished up once he saw Bella join you

Aro -

He would have been wandering around the home of Volturi and noticed a figure sitting on the floor in the hallway, their black robe covering their face. He looked down and caught a glimpse of your face. He kneeled before you and took the hood off your head. Wiping away your tears and putting his hands out and asking you to stand up. After he helped you up he spoke to you and asked about your day, doing everything (secretly without you noticing) to distract you from being upset. Once he saw you finally chuckle he couldn’t help but smile, gently rubbing your cheek with his thumb.

[bellamer]

If Davrin is a fully fleshed character with a fully fleshed romance, with his redeeming qualities and flaws as all characters should have, I’ll be proud of BioWare. Proud that they finally got it right. But not that proud because why the fuck did it take you people so long to finally figure out how to do black characters ? Jacob Taylor was the worst racial stereotype of a character that they pushed out, literally made him an adulterous man with father issues, who cheats on you six months in with a side chick and gets her pregnant not to mention that he’s racist but he works for a racist terrorist organization so of course he’s racist. Then you have Liam Costa, and Liam isn’t really bad per se and I haven’t romanced him but he, along with a lot of characters in Andromeda just felt flat because the game so was rushed that it felt like they didn’t have time to flesh these characters out so it really isn’t just a Liam thing, it’s an entire game thing. And don’t bring up Captain Anderson. I love Captain Anderson, he’s great but he eventually gets killed off so while he’s great, his death still leaves us with one less black character that actually brings something to the table so we still have Jacob who’s the absolute worst and Liam who we’re probably not going to see again due to Andromeda being so widely hated that it’s uncertain that they’re going to even return to it with Ryder and the Tempest crew.

But it’s 2024, we should know how to write black characters by now. Like it’s not fucking hard to get black people in the writers room for advice on how to handle these characters.

Like I’ll give them a flower if they actually took the time to get it right and right their wrongs but I’m not going to suck their dick and act like they’re the greatest of all time when it took them way longer than it should have and there’s still the high chance of them not getting it right because their track record fucking sucks and the fact that even though it’s 2024, not even Larian studios could give their black character a speckle of attention and with the way fandoms are still openly racist, Davrin could have the best possible romance and storyline and he’ll still be sidelined for a white character fandom-wise because a majority white fan base with crumple at the thought of actually trying to like a black character

In conclusion my hopes are high that BioWare will do better with Davrin than their previous black characters and that they’ll treat Davrin better than how Larian treats Wyll but given their previous track record my hopes are not that high and video game studios will still put the preferences of their white audience over their BIPOC audience so while there’s a high chance that they’ll do better there’s still a higher chance that they’ll completely fumble the ball