#what was Cole's quote about it again

[icharchivist]

the artbook saying they planned on having Cole in da4 to give a compassionate voice wanting to help Solas navigate through his pain and supporting him in front of Rook and the companions, only for the final product to literally just be "bashing Solas hours because he's such a loser for always being alone and he's to blame for literally everything (rightfully so or not)" just fills me with an intense sorrow i will never recover from.

[chasing-it-down]

I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS. FREELATTA WILL ALWAYS BE AT THE TOP OF MY FAV SHIPS OF ALL TIME !!!!!!

[senseandaccountability]

HR department romance plots

I just… beyond the surface level of enjoying a new game with new relationship dynamics to explore, I really can’t feel much about the DAV companions or their romances.

They all just seem so disconnected from the story, from Rook (who in turn is entirely disconnected from all kinds of feelings because Rook is just Employee Of the Year), from the world, from themselves. I feel like Cole here, looking at them and saying in my gentle, fleeting voice: even the dwarves don’t really remember dwarves. It really feels like the interpersonal relationships are written by the HR person who sits with you as union rep to tell you that you should use a positive language, that "we are all simply employees here, it doesn't matter what title you have", give a little pep talk about teamwork and how to get the job done. That's what we're here for. Everyone's equal. We all want the same thing here, your boss is your friend. Have you tried talking to this person, see their side of things, mmmm? It's just... yeah, they're cute, all of them. But why do they like each other? Why do they want to be with Rook? Who are they even in relation to the world of Thedas, what do they believe in, what have they overcome, what do they hate, what sort of prejudices do they carry around? I have no idea.

And since I’m also replaying DAI again, I wanted to compare these romances to my canon romances in DAI.  With Blackwall, you immediately get a sense of attraction and a sort of flirting on his part that suggests this is something he falls into quite easily - “you know a lot about girls” to quote Cole - BUT it’s also something he really, really thinks he shouldn’t be doing now. Why? He is tied to the Warden plot, if you bring him along you get a sense of a man hiding shit but you don’t really understand what, and he still comes to see you (flying/climbing up your balcony wall idk) because he can’t step away. You get to tell him he’s a good man even though you know shit about that at this point, like with Anders in DA2 you can give your PC over to this passion/love despite knowing that there’s something off, something potentially harmful or dangerous. There is conflict, there are things that jar, that can even make you uncomfortable. 

Blackwall as a character is open and compassionate. He approves of mercy, shows mercy, he isn't judgmental of others. In sharp and delicious contrast Blackwall’s crime is vile. He isn’t bound by any sort of oath, he can back down, there is no greater good whatsoever in his actions. It’s inexcusable. And yet. YET. You can CONTINUE THE ROMANCE. He killed a wagon full of kids, THEN RAN AWAY AND LET HIS MEN TAKE THE BLAME and hates himself so much that he tries to become someone else by erasing his previous self from the face of the earth. You can still kiss him and tell him you want him to live and redeem himself. It’s fucking incredible to think about this in the light of Veilguard actually. Your LI, the child murdering coward. 

With Iron Bull you have the doubts all spread out on the table. He’s a spy, how could you ever trust him? He also doesn’t respond to your flirting, why the hell not when you hear through ambient dialogue that he’s fucking half the chantry, isn’t he supposed to be a fuckboy? But he’s fun, he’s a mystery, he’s got fascinating banter with everyone, he’s brought his found family along, he’s a Qunari who at least somewhat believes in the Qun - he’s got AMAZING conversations with Solas that characterizes Bull as deeply intelligent (and Solas as much more caring than he’d let on) and knowledgeable about surprising things like architecture. Cole, as always, gives us more insight into Bull’s mind along the way and even before the offer to ride the Bull, the idea of him has been through some adjustments. You change his idea about a lot of things and in return, Bull challenges your idea of him, your idea of the Qun, your idea of the world and possibly, depending on how you react to his romance, your idea of intimate relationships. The game’s writing allowed me to imagine a rather frumpy circle mage in her mid 30s reluctantly forming a friendship with this strange fellow, only to find herself very much attracted to him, only to find herself being cared for in a way she would never have let anyone do before simply because Bull told her that was the only way he’d be with her. This is how we’ll do it, are you in? Your LI, the service top Qunari spy who is terrified he’ll run mad without his belief system to dictate his actions. 

And Solas. I mean mythical love stories culminating in mythical endings aside, what I really fell for in this relationship was the refreshing dynamic not of enemies to lovers but of two souls just sort of connecting instantly during strange events, taking a few hard looks at each other and going oh shit it’s you, you get me HOW is it possible you get me when nobody else does? There’s so much external drama surrounding them, which is why I personally LOVE and ADORE how calm their internal connection actually is. They know, so early in the game, that this is it. You’re my home, you understand the bones of me, you ask questions no one else thinks of asking, you care about the world in a way I haven’t seen anyone else do. He is LITERALLY the only one who understands your Lavellan when they make her the herald, when she protests and they keep pushing and pulling and sing their song after Haven, and Solas is there to be sarcastic about it. If nothing else, I'd fall in love with that. And there’s this sense of impossibility from the very beginning, a sense of it being almost unreal because the first kiss is in the Fade, the second is in a frenzy where Solas goes from 0 to I LOVE YOU, MY HEART and then leaves and you know, you know how this is coded and YET - he seemed so wise and kind and sad, it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth. And even with this connection of souls, things chafe - he’s an absolute bastard about certain things, he mocks your heritage and you don’t know yet that it’s because a huge guilt blanket rests on top of him since thousands of years back, you can just argue back and receive his disapproval. He says it’s selfish of him to start anything with you yet he does - WHY DO YOU DO THAT, SAD EGG? Your LI, the ancient god of rebellion, treachery and lies, depending on the story. 

Even beyond my favourites, there are conflicts. Sera is A LOT (affectionate) if you're an elf, with Cullen you get a substance abuse story-line tied to his general dismay about his past as a really fucked up templar, Dorian has personal trauma and cultural prejudice he struggles with for the entire game, Vivienne is so complex half the fandom hates her and has very awkward and uncomfortable banters with almost everyone (save for Bull because he treats her like he would a tamassran), Cassandra is constantly challenged in her personal beliefs, very clearly reflected in her conversations with Solas and Cole has a whole personal plotline about deeply existentialist matters. What does it mean to be alive? Who is a person and who gets to decide that? He could have been a person, Varric says. Isn't he already? Does this unit have a soul? Not to mention that Cole functions chiefly as a speaker of truths, bringing a lot of complexity to the others. 

DAI is not perfect by any means but I feel like I know these bastards. I feel like my PC or even I could actively dislike some of them, because they are written to create dynamic conflicts inside and outside of their own arcs. I can write fic about them, I can imagine what they're doing during the events of DAV because I know them.

Because they are written like actual people in a world where some people have power over others and some people have been raised with a certain belief system and some people just have shitty takes on society, may they learn. 

[inktopuck]

juno | quinn hughes social media au (pt. 6)

pt.5

yournamehughes

Liked by _quinnhughes and others

yournamehughes one of me is cute but two though...

_quinnhughes i want more of you

jackhughes dumbass she's quoting a song

_quinnhughes i said what i said

_thombordeleau milf

l_hughes06 quinn just growled

_thombordeleau ohhhh sexy

l_hughes06 okay so which one of then do you want bro

_thombordelau b o a f, BOAF

l_hughes06 yeah forget i asked

trevorzegras she's so tiny she reminds me of cole

colecaufield maybe in another universe 😔

_quinnhughes absolutely not

jackhughes are y'all home i've been ringing the doorbell for ages i want to see my belly girl

l_hughes06 she's MY belly girl

yournamehughes if only you guys were this excited about changing her diaper

jackhughes we're only here for the cute parts, bro i'm not wiping anyone else's ass but my own

_quinnhughes

Liked by yournamehughes, bradytkachuk and others

_quinnhughes heart grew three sizes

jackhughes aw the grinch won't steal christmas anymore

l_hughes06 posting a picture of pda? i don't know who you are anymore

yournamehughes daddy ❤️

trevorzegras oh yes.. daddy ❤️

colecaufield daddy ❤️

bradytkachuk daddy ❤️

joshnorris10 daddy ❤️

bboeser daddy ❤️

yournamehughes i hate you all

elblue06 i am so proud of you and the man you've become 🥰

yournamehughes

Liked by elblue06, l_hughes06 and others

yournamehughes in our own little love bubble

colecaufield zooweeeeee mammaaaa 🔥

l_hughes06 dude not my sister

yournamehughes aw lukey you called me your sister

l_hughes06 you've earned it

jackhughes oh my god stop kissing ass

elblue06 you kids need to go out more! i'll take baby bell!

_quinnhughes forever sounds pretty sweet if you ask me

l_hughes06

Liked by yournamehughes, _quinnhughes and others

l_hughes06 belly time!

jackhughes THIS is who you let babysit???? @yournamehughes @_quinnhughes

yournamehughes he knows how to change diapers

_quinnhughes he's also a very good lullaby singer

bradytkachuk i love that she's throwing deuces already

yournamehughes that's on jack.

dylanduke25 sing to me paolo!

l_hughes06 i only sing for my girl

dylanduke25 i remember when i was your girl....

adamfantilli i remember when i was your world 😔

markestapa oh god not this again

lukeypookie feeling very breedable tonight

pt.7

[hottiesforhockey]

can I request Jack Hughes w the quote "delete it." Where he's on ur insta and finds a picture of you at the beach in a skimpy bikini & there like randoms commenting the crazy stuff, plsss🙏🙏

puckbunnypriv

liked by _quinnhughes, lhughes_06, jackhughes and others

puckbunnypriv sad summer is over 🥲 📸 : jackhughes

jackhughes stunning 😍

↳ _quinnhughes luke is actually drooling right now

lhughes_06 👀 😮‍💨

colecaufield the things i would do for you to give me one shot

↳ trevorzegras @ jackhughes someone is trying to steal your girl

"delete it." Jacks voice is low as he glares down at his phone, his thumb still scrolling as he reads the excess of comments. you pause your movements in the kitchen, placing the knife on the chopping board besides the watermelon.

"what are you talking about?" You question, walking around the kitchen counter, leaning over the back of the couch to get a glance at his phone. "Oh, but you took that photo... I thought I looked cute?" You respond, your brows pinching as you look down at him in confusion.

"You do look cute." He groans, "too cute." he whispers under his breath, locking his phone and throwing it to the other side of the couch. "and that's the problem, so delete it."

Your smile slowly grows as you realise the issue with the photo, remembering the messages constantly blowing up your phone from friends who had seen the pic and warned you that Jack has a jealous streak.

"Look at these fucking comments." Jack curses as he tilts his head back noting your sly smile, his hands reaching for his phone, unlocking it before turning it towards you so you can read. "My own brother and bestfriend are drooling over you." he whines as the infamous hughes pout forms on his face.

"aw, how sweet of them." you tease, scrolling a little before adding fuel to the fire, "cole has been working really hard this summer." Jack shift his head to glare at you in full force, locking his phone before throwing it away again, his hands pushing him off the couch, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he closes in on you.

"you think you're so funny." He grumbles, your feet taking a step back every time he steps forwards, his hand reaching out for you as you side step him. "baby, as much as I love seeing you in your swimsuits we need some new rules." he continues as he follows after you, lunging forwards, his hands managing a firm grip on your hips as he yanks you towards him.

"no more bikini pics." he whispers in your ear, his arms wrapping around your waist as he pulls your back tight against his front, his lips pressing a soft kiss to your neck as your giggling dies down, gulping against the lump in your throat.

"your body is for me and for me only." he continues, his hands slipping under your t-shirt, sliding softly against the skin on your sides, your breath catching in your throat, as he presses more delicate kisses against your neck, sucking lightly as he reaches the underside of your jaw.

you let out a soft sigh as your lean your head back against his shoulder, feeling his mouth break out in a grin as his hands move higher, his fingers just barely grazing your skin as he reaches the underside of your breasts fiddling with the lace on your bralette.

your lip catching between your teeth as he moves ripping his hands away from you, moving quickly from his spot behind you - standing two steps away as your body still tingles from his touches.

you turn quickly to look at him in shock, the brightest smile on his face as he watches you frown. "no so fun when you're the one being teased, is it?" he chuckles.

[albertasunrise]

Work Wife - One

Masterlist

Summary: Working as a Secretary and Miller & Sons Construction, you fall hopelessly in love with the eldest son Joel. What you don’t realise is that Joel’s completely in love with you too. What will it take for the two of you to realise whats’s right in front of you?

Pairing: Young Joel Miller x Reader

Warnings: Like AO3, I choose not to give any so the plot isn’t spoiled. This fic is 18+ (So here’s the first chapter as promised! I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what y’all think ♥️… I wrote half of this on my iPad so sorry for mistakes 😅)

Series Masterlist

Working as a secretary at Miller & Son's Construction had its highs and lows. You loved the job. The pay was great, and all the guys treated you impeccably, but there was just one slight problem that, if you were honest with yourself, wasn't really a problem but more of a personal issue. 

You were in love with Joel Miller. 

At 21, Joel was already shaping up to be a fine businessman, taking on a lot of the work from his father so that Cole Miller and his wife Lucia could take more time for themselves. The youngest Miller brother Tommy was shaping up to be a troublemaker. At 17, he was often out drinking with his friends and getting himself arrested and it had fallen to Joel to bail his little brother out every time. 

You were a year younger than Joel but as he always said, years ahead of him on the maturity scale. You had always been an old soul but that hadn't stopped you from developing the biggest schoolgirl crush on Joel the day you had started, two years ago. What had started off as a temporary job before you went off to college became permanent when your mum had gotten sick and your dreams of going to college were dashed. 

Her illness took her a year after she had been diagnosed and with no father to speak of, you were left alone in the house you'd grown up in. Alone, with nothing but the photos on your walls for company. That time had been what had brought you and Joel closer together but had also forged your crush into what it was now. Unrequited love. 

Or so you thought. 

"Sup Pip." Said Joel as he placed a paper coffee cup down beside your keyboard "How's my favourite secretary this mornin'?" 

"I'm you're only Secretary Miller." You chuckled as you picked up your cup to take a sip and hummed at the perfect coffee flavour that exploded across your taste buds "Better now you've brought me coffee." 

"Always happy to assist Pip." He said with a wink and you prayed your flushing cheeks didn't give away how much his wink affected you. 

Pip had been a nickname Joel had affectionately given you around three months after you had started. You had been eating a plum at your desk, not a care in the work and engrossed in the customer email that you were reading that you hadn't noticed that the next bite you had taken had contained the pip. Joel had walked in just in time to witness you choking and, using his first aid training he'd acquired just the week before, had managed to save you from a fruity death. 

From that day he had called you pip. 

Because you'd almost choked on one. 

"Anything I need to know about before I head to the site?" Joel asked, pulling you from the memory of your near-death experience and you shook your head slightly before giving him what you hoped was a bright smile. 

"Yes." You replied as you pulled out the list you had compiled for him "A Mr and Mrs Cork have emailed, wanting a quote for an extension and kitchen refit." You stated as you handed him the email with a post it note with their number on top "You have a call with a new cement supplied at 2 and Gloria Mullins called this morning asking that you call her when you get a chance, apparently her boiler is on the fritz again." 

"I need to tell that woman one of these days that I'm not a plumber." He chuckled to himself as he took the rest of the notes from you. 

"You just need to stop being so nice." You chuckled "You've set their expectations now." 

"I think you're probably right." Joel chuckled as he grabbed his own coffee cup and took a large swig "Anything else?" 

"There's just one more thing." You said shyly as you smiled awkwardly "I need to duck out a little earlier today." 

"Hot date?" Joel asked and you knew he could see you blushing now. 

"Actually yeah." You answered as you looked down at your hands, missing the way Joel's expression dropped "Simon asked me to dinner." 

"Simon Richards?" He asked and you nodded "Oh, wow. I uh... I didn't realise you were into him." Joel shrugged before taking another sip of coffee to try and settle his nerves. 

"Well, he's cute and sweet and it's not like I have guys lining up to ask me out." You replied, your smile almost sad "So I thought I should at least go. See if there's any chemistry there." 

"Sure... Of course." 

Joel knew his response was cold but he couldn't help it. Learning that you were going on a date just made him want to find the nearest pillow and scream. These feelings he had for you drove him crazy and it didn’t help that all his employees knew how he felt about you too. He’d allowed them to plant false hope when they told him that it was obvious you felt the same way. It was becoming painfully clear now that that wasn’t the case. 

He needed to get over you. 

You couldn’t help but notice the slight icy tone that had coated Joel’s response to your request and you couldn’t help be feel a little confused by it. You never asked for things. Often worked late to make sure everyone and everything was up to date. You would argue that you were one of his hardest workers so sue you for wanting to let your hair down a little. 

It’s not like he felt for you the way you did for him. 

“Sure.” He said after a short and awkward pause “Lord knows you deserve an early finish.” He chuffed before gathering his bag, the papers you’d given him and his coffee “And, seeing as I won’t be back today and Friday, I suppose I’ll see you Monday!”

“That you will!” 

“Enjoy your date, Pip.” he finished before giving you a friendly wave and then leaving. 

“I’ll try to.” you said sadly as you watched him walk away. 

...

"You are my hero!" Hailed Gloria as she clapped in delight at Joel's handy work. 

"Was an easy fix." Joel shrugged as he waved the older woman off. 

"You always talk yourself down." She chuckled, her Jamaican accent coming out thicker with her statement. 

"I'm just speaking the truth ma'am." 

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Gloria?" The older woman chuckled and Joel winked as he replied. 

"At least once more."

"Auntie G... you home?" Came a voice that Joel didn't recognise and he looked up just as the owner walked into the room he had occupied with Gloria.  

"Ah, darlin' this is that fine man Joel I was tellin' you about." Said Gloria as she smiled at her niece. 

Joel was instantly aware of the fact he was wearing paint-stained jeans and a t-shirt so worn that he was sure this mysterious girl could see his nipples through it. 

"Joel, darlin' this is my niece, Eliza." Gloria stated and Joel quickly rubbed his hands down the front of his jeans before taking the hand that was being held out to him.

"Nice to meet ya' darlin'." He said sweetly as he gave her a shy smile "Was just helpin' Gloria here with her boiler. Darn thing needs replacin' really but-"

"I won't replace something just because it's a little saucy with me sometimes.' 

"You won't replace it because poor Joel here keeps fixing it for free." Eliza teased and Joel scratched the back of his neck nervously as he replied. 

"Well not completely free." He chuckled "She sends me away with weeks worth of food." 

"You're too skinny." Gloria chuffed "No girls gonna want to marry a man with no meat on his bones." 

Joel chuckled at the older woman's statement before looking back at Eliza who was grinning at him as she practically fluttered her thick black lashes at him.  

"Well, I need to get to that meeting I was talking about." Stated Joel as he coughed nervously. 

"Don't forget to pop by later for your food!" Gloria ordered as she watched him collect his tools "I made you my famous jerk chicken with rice... peas on the side." She finished with a wink.

"Why on the side?" Eliza asked and Gloria simply rolled her eyes as she said.

"Boy don't like them mixed in." 

Eliza mouthed an 'ooooooh' before watching as Joel started to leave. 

"I'll see you later to grab that food." 

"Or I could bring it by?" Eliz suggested, "You give me your address and I can swing by and drop it off when you're home."

"Oh that's-"

"Ah, splendid idea." Gloria interrupted, leaving Joel looking like a fish out of water "Don't worry dear, I'll give her your address. Get her to drop it by around 9. You're normally home then, right?"

"Right but-"

"9 it is now you best get going or y'all be late." Said Gloria as she practically herded Joel out the door. Leaving him speechless when he made it back to his truck. 

What an earth just happened?

...

The restaurant that Simon had brought you to was nice. Not too fancy but not exactly a dive either. Conversations had been a little awkward at first. You'd not really been on many dates but after being honest with Simon about your lack of dating experiences, he put you at ease and now after one glass of wine and a very large meal, the two of you were chuckling away as subjects came easier to you both.  

"So how long have you worked for Mr Miller?" You asked as you sipped at your second glass of wine. Simon had already been at the company when you had started and was a few years older than you and Joel. 

"More or less straight outa of high school." He replied as he took a swig of his soft drink "Have always been good with my hands so when Cole put up an advert for an apprentice I marched myself over to his office and waited till he got back to speak to him..." 

"Wow." You chuckled around the rim of your glass. 

"Guy liked my tenacity. Offered me the job on the spot." 

"Well, you know my story so..." You trailed off, smiling sweetly at him as he grinned at you.

"So glad you agreed to come out with me." Simon confessed, his cheeks tinging pink "Been wantin' to ask you out a while but didn't outa respect for Joel, but can only wait so lo-"

"What do you mean, out of respect for Joel?" You asked and Simon's expression took on one of a deer caught in headlights.

"Well... with him being into you and all." Simon clarified and your brows drew together as you shook your head.

"Joel isn't into me." You pushed and Simon grew more uncomfortable with each passing moment. 

"He's been crushin' on you more or less from day dot." Your date continued when he saw you needed further clarity "We've always teased him for it but he never made a move so I thought, you know, with him not trying to date you it'd be okay for me to." 

You weren't sure what to do with the information you'd just received. For years now you had pushed your feelings down for Joel because you believed he didn't return them. So to learn that he might really put a spammer in the works for you. 

The subject moved on after that but the atmosphere wasn't as relaxed. After Simon dropped you home, you allowed what he'd told you to run on repeat in your brain. Keeping you from getting to sleep until late that night. Yet, you came to a decision before you finally drifted off. You were going to go to Joel's in the morning and ask him.  

You had to be sure.  

...

Joel wasn't surprised when there was a knock at his door at 9 pm sharp. He opened the door to see a beaming Eliza on the other side, her arms full of food containers. 

"Shit, come in." Joel said before grabbing a few containers to ease the load. "Let me take some of those." 

"Auntie G likes to feed you huh?" She chuckled as she followed Joel into his kitchen. 

"I had to buy a second freezer." Joel stated and Eliza barked out a laugh, taking Joel by surprise. 

"She's always been a feeder." She chuckled before placing the food down beside where Joel had put the other containers "Think it's a Caribbean thing."

Joel chuckled before turning to face his guest. 

"Thank you for dropping this by. You really didn't have to go through all the trouble."

"It's not trouble is I offer." Eliz chuckled and Joel chuckled at her reply. 

"Either way... that you for bringing the insane amount of food your aunt,

made me over."

"You are quite welcome." Eliza replied as she placed herself within kissing distance of him "I wanted to see you again anyway." 

Joel blushed at her statement. Taken aback by how forward she was then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, she was kissing him. Starting softly and gradually growing hotter as tongues tangled. 

"I uh... I feel like I should tell you that I'm kinda getting over someone so I'm not looking for anything serious right now," Joel stated and Eliza chuckled. 

"Who said I wanted anything serious either?" She whispered against his lips "I think I can be of great help... assisting you in getting over whoever this person is." 

Joel looked into Eliza's eyes a moment, trying to discern her endgame. Then, when he was sure that she was being honest with him he kissed her again. The food is forgotten as clothes are discarded in a breadcrumb trail to his bedroom. 

... 

You let out a steadying breath before knocking on Joel's door. Your slightly shaky left hand clutching the to-go coffee tray that contained your and Joel's favourite coffees. You chuckled when you heard Joel inside, calling out to wait a moment before suddenly opening the door, looking rather flustered. 

"Pip." He said as his expression turned from surprised to confused "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about something." You replied with a smile "I brought you a coffee. Mind if I come in?"

"Now's not a great time... what was it you wanted to talk about?" He replied nervously, smiling awkwardly as you handed him the coffee. 

"It's just about something Simon told me on our date last night." You chuckled "You see he said that you have-"

"Who's this?" Asked a woman that you didn't recognise, dressed in a shirt you assumed was Joel's and nothing else. Her brown skin glowing in the early morning light. 

"Oh, I didn't realise you had company." You said awkwardly as you started to take a few steps backwards "I'll um... I'll see you Monday." You choked as you fought to keep your tears at bay, but in doing so you missed the step down and went tumbling onto your backside. Your coffee going all over your arm. 

"Shit... Pip, are you okay?" Joel shrieked as he leapt towards you, stopping dead when you held your hand up to stop him... 

"Fine... I'm fine."

"That coffee'll be skalding." He said as he took another ginger step towards you "We need to get your arm under some cold water or else it'll blister." 

"Please just let me go." You choked, your resolve crumbling under the weight of your sadness and embarrassment "I... I just need to go." You affirmed and Joel nodded, giving you a small smile before stepping back into the threshold of his home "Bye Joel."

The older Miller brother watched with concern etched into his features as you left. Glancing at Eliza who was watching you and looking equally worried. 

"You think she's okay?" She asked and all Joel could do was shake his head as he replied. 

"I don't know."

...

You spent the rest of the weekend dreading Monday morning. You felt like such a fool going over to Joels to, you had hoped, profess your love but instead, you had fallen ass over tit in front of him and his date and burned yourself in the process. Said injury was now wrapped in gauze and throbbing with each knock and graze of your arm on your desk. You had spent the morning wishing you lived somewhere colder so you could hide your accident. 

But alas, it's 100 degrees outside and you were forced to wear a short-sleeved blouse. The air-con once again broke at the most inconvenient moment.

"Morning Pip." Said Joel as he stepped into view, placing your coffee down as he did every morning. 

"Morning." You replied, not takimg your eyes off your computer screen. 

"How's the arm?" He asked upon seeing the brilliant white bandage wrapped around it. 

"Killing me." You answered shortly, still not looking at the man who was desperately trying to pry any form of conversation out of you. 

After a long, heavy pause, Joel spoke again. His question finally tearing your eyes away from your monitor. 

"Did I do or say something to upset you?" He asked, his signature kicked puppy look making your stomach twist.

"No." You answered simply and he nodded. 

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked and your brows drew together "On Saturday... you said you needed to talk to me." He clarified "Said Simon had told you something on your date."

"Doesn't matter now." You bluntly replied before returning to the email you'd been writing before. 

"Seemed important then." 

"Well, it isn't now." You growled, your tone stopping the conversation dead.

"Okay." He couldn't hide how your aggressive tone wounded him. He didn't understand why you were suddenly so cold towards him. What could he have possibly done? 

He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Simon as he blasted into the office. 

"Morning Boss!" He said chirpily before turning his attention to you "Morning beautiful."

"Morning" you replied with a smile that he returned tenfold. 

"Fancy going out with me again on Friday?" He asked and you nodded without hesitation "Great!... see you later beautiful."

You grinned at Simon as he left. Not seeing Joel's crestfallen expression.

Perhaps he did need Eliza. 

Next

For updates follow @albertasunrise-ficsblog

[wrestlingwithlife]

COD Incorrect Quotes With Our Lovely Y/n

Warning gets a little spicy towards the end ;)

Price: Well, should I be worried?

Y/n: Not yet.

Price:

Y/n:

*loud explosion*

Y/n: Now you can worry

————————————————————————

Y/n: No, I don't want to talk about physics! I don't know anything about the laws of physics because they are hard and boring. I simply would like them to behave in a way that is most convenient to ME and MY LIFE! Is that really asking too much?

Gaz: Yes, as a matter of fact, it is!

Y/n: Well, guess what? Science is stupid bullshit!!

Gaz: You take that back!!!

Y/n: No. Magic is awesome. Science blows. The end.

————————————————————————

Y/n: What are you doing here?

Soap: I could ask you the same question.

Y/n: I live here. This is my room.

Soap: I should probably ask you a different question.

————————————————————————

Y/n: I just heard Ghost call the dog a “fucking liar” because he barked like someone was at the door and no one was there.

————————————————————————

Price: I am going to need you to swear-

Y/n: Fuck.

Price:

Price: ...swear as in promise.

————————————————————————

Price: *shatters a window and climbs through it*

Price: *turns around and helps Y/n through it* Breaking and entering is wrong Y/n

Y/n: Okay.

————————————————————————

Ghost: You read my diary?

Y/n: At first I did not know it was your diary. I thought it was a very sad handwritten book.

————————————————————————

Y/n: I like your new pants!

Price: Thanks, they were 50% off!

Y/n: I’d like them better if they were 100% off. *winks*

Price: The store can’t just give away clothes for free.

Y/n: Thats’s… not what I meant.

Price: That’s a terrible way to run a business, Y/n.

————————————————————————

Y/n: The real treasure was the memories we made along the way.

Graves: I almost died.

Y/n: That... was my favorite memory.

————————————————————————

Soap: You look good in that hoodie.

Y/n: You know where else I'd look good?

Soap, zero hesitation: My bed.

Y/n, at the same time: By your side- wait, what?

————————————————————————

Ghost: This bloodline ends with me.

Y/n: That's the fanciest way I've ever heard someone say "I'm gay".

————————————————————————

Y/n: Gaz, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right?

Gaz, naked in Y/n's bed: No, I absolutely do not.

Y/n, already taking off his clothes: Fuck... Me neither.

————————————————————————

Price: We should get you to a doctor for a check up immediately. What if it happens again, and there isn’t anyone around to help you? What if it’s congenital? Oh my God! Was it me? Did I hurt you?

Y/n: …You realize any other person that made their partner pass out on bed would simply feel really proud of themselves, right?

————————————————————————

Y/n: Well, Ghost and I finally did it!

The rest of the squad: *gasps, shocked expressions, etc.*

Y/n: That's right... We kissed!

————————————————————————

Y/n: There are 20 letters in the alphabet, right?

Gaz: Nope, there's 26.

Y/n: Ah, I must have forgotten U, R, A, Q, T.

Gaz: Aww, that's cute, but you're still missing one.

Y/n: You'll get the D later ;).

————————————————————————

Y/n: What are you in the mood for?

Ghost: World domination.

Y/n: That's a bit ambitious.

Ghost: You are my world.

Y/n: Aww...

Ghost:

Y/n:

Ghost:

Y/n: OH.

————————————————————————

Price: Know why I called you in here?

Y/n: Because I accidentally sent you a dick pic.

Price: *Stops pouring two glasses of wine.* Accidentally?

————————————————————————

Soap: You know my motto: carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe coles.

Y/n: Seize the day, seize the night, what’s the last one?

Soap: Seize the dick.

————————————————————————

Hopefully these helped quench you guy’s hunger whilst I work on my next post.

- Author~Chan out ✌️

[voylitscope]

This post about fic length came across my dash. It got me thinking about how many truly incredible Stucky fics under 5k I've read — specifically about the short fics that have broken and/or healed my heart.

So, I made this quick rec list of 10 under 5k Stucky fics that are deeply heart-affecting and emotionally devastating.

(There are so many beautiful, moving, and painful fics in this fandom that come in at under 5k. In the interest of keeping this list to 10 fics, these fics are all also canon/canon-divergent.)

💔 Cheat Days | chicklette | Mature | 2,033 words | Pre/Post TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

Only on the very worst days – when he is tired and sore and hurts all over, hurts inside and out. Sometimes it’s the fight that does it, his need to be held, to be loved after throwing himself on the line. Other times it’s something else - something more cruel – a joke that he knows Bucky would find hilarious, a movie that Bucky would have loved, a book. Sometimes Steve is just so goddamned lonely that he feels like he’s going to come out of his skin. Then he has what he calls a cheat day. A day when he closes up his apartment and uses the coin, and sighs into Bucky’s embrace.

💔 029. Mirror | aimmyarrowshigh @aimmyarrowshigh | Mature | 2,400 words | Pre-War

Quote I'm unwell about:

“I wanna sit at his bedside when he’s sick,” Bucky says finally. “And buy him hot dogs at Dodgers games. And uh… I guess, I wanna…” He exhales and looks down, away from Mrs. Rogers’ eyes. They’re too much like Steve’s and Bucky’s never said this out loud, not even to him. “I wanna get an apartment for the two of us and curtains that close, and I want to teach him how to dance to Cole Porter records. I want to finish all his stupid fights. I want… I dunno. A lotta impossible things.” Sarah’s voice is so soft. “Like what?” “I want to see him grow old,” Bucky mutters. “Right beside me. I want it to be a hundred years from now and look to my right and see Stevie standin’ there.” He blinks away the heavy wetness in his eyes.

💔Not the Needle, Nor the Thread | steebadore | Explicit | 2,017 words | Post-TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

"Okay, sweetheart, okay," Bucky whispers, running his thumbs over Steve's brow, his wet eyelids, down that bumpy, ungainly nose--the only physical evidence that Steve is a flawed human and not a figure cut from marble. If you asked Bucky what he loved most about Steve, he might say something like his goddamn earnest heart, or those too beautiful-for-spacious-skies eyes, but really it was this: the bump on Steve's nose, put there by Bucky himself, age eleven. Selfish, maybe, but Bucky never pretended to be otherwise these days. He doesn't know why the serum didn't fix that--Bucky likes to think it couldn't. Steve always said how it didn't change anything, just amplified what he already had, and what he had was Bucky's mark on him, down to the bone. This one's mine, it said. You cannot have him. Not the whole of him.

💔Through the notches in your spine | caughtinanocean | Explicit | 4,460 words | Post-TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

Maybe Steve was right to worry, and maybe he's not ready and—he's breathing too fast, and Steve's going to notice any moment now, going to stop and leave. Steve lets go of Bucky's hand to stroke the side of his face, tender and soothing. He leans in to give Bucky a soft kiss on the lips, and Bucky doesn't feel so panicky anymore. He's with Steve. Steve is inside of him, as close as someone could be, and nothing bad could ever come of that. Bucky wills himself to focus on the moment, to watch Steve's face, soft with affection, to relax and enjoy this. “'s like it's my first time all over again. How many people get a shot at that twice?” Steve groans. He looks flushed and giddy and bright, and Bucky's inordinately proud that it's his words and his body making Steve glow like that. “I'm gonna make it way better for you this time.” “Our first time was bad?” Bucky asks, trying not to sound crushed, even though he feels it a little.

Steve traces Bucky's jaw and down the line of his neck to caress his chest. “No, our first time was perfect. We had no idea what we were doing, but it was perfect.”

💔A History of Birds | OddityBoddity | Not Rated | 2,580 words | Post TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

“I don’t remember,” he says. Steve holds his breath. “I don’t remember telling anybody about that.” It’s like there’s something stuck between his lungs, like something’s pulling them apart in his chest. “You mean about the bird?” he whispers. Bucky looks at him. Not staring, not really, but looks at him like Steve’s looked at paintings before. Like he’s trying to work out how it’s done. “That little bird,” Steve says quietly. When he speaks, he speaks like the words are a spell or a prayer. Like the words are going to reach into Bucky the way his name once did. Like they’re going to catch his arms and pull him up to safety. This secret they both kept. Something so little, so inconsequential that no one has touched it.

💔You Will Meet a Stranger | spitandvinegar | Mature | 3,081 words | Post-TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

"Steve," she says, unruffled. "He needs someone who'll look at him without pining for who he used to be."

Steve sets his coffee cup upright again. He mops up the mess with a napkin. "Honestly," he says, "All I ever pine for is for him to look back."

💔This is the place | dharmashark @dharmasharks| Explicit | 4,654 words | Canon divergence

Quote I'm unwell about:

With a metal hand there, under the small of his back, Steve might as well be weightless. It’s terrifying. For Steve to be so fragile in ways that Bucky isn’t, and might never understand. But Steve has never been afraid, has never shrank away. Not ever. Not even when Bucky could have—when he would have—when he almost hurt him—Steve had only balled his fists and locked fierce, red-rimmed eyes on his. Steve is fragile; he is unbreakable. Bucky’s memory is full of contradictions.

💔i've seen my share of trouble and i've held my weight in shame | inevitablemeow  | Teen | 4,166 words | Post-TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

Bucky is a ghost, still, in the wind so far they haven’t been able to find him. It’s been six months since the helicarrier, and Steve hasn’t lost hope, not fully, but he’s slowed his search. Seeing this heart, knowing that all the others are his, has that hope roaring back to life. They’re his. They’re all for him.

💔sorrow sings a song in me | unicornpoe | Teen | 4,425 words | Post-TWS

Quote I'm unwell about:

Bucky’s note is on a thick piece of cardstock, and the words are a little more steady, this time. STEVE, IT HELPS ME TO READ THESE THINGS. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HELP YOU TOO. I MISS YOU. I WANTED TO CRAWL UNDER THAT BLANKET WITH YOU, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW IF I SHOULD. I DON’T THINK I’M GENTLE ANYMORE, AND I WANT TO BE GENTLE WITH YOU.

💔more than anything | jehans | Explicit | 2,938 words | Pre-War

Quote I'm unwell about:

Steve is a reckless asshole who Bucky loves unconditionally and wholeheartedly, and when Steve is quietly undoing him in their bed, loving on him openly and indulgently the way Bucky doesn’t always let him, it becomes difficult to keep pretending that Bucky wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for any of Steve’s whims. But mostly, what makes him so honeyed in these moments is the way Steve transforms. When he climbs on top of Bucky, all of Steve’s usual, too-close-to-the-surface anger drains out of his eyes, clearing away into pure blue skies of utter adoration. It’s an honesty that Bucky cracks under, breaking open the clay of mundanity and allowing him to shine brightly under Steve’s hands.

Fic rec series

[lulu-tutu]

Incorrect Quotes #1 (Ninjago)

Lloyd: Can I be frank with you guys?

Y/n: Sure, but I don’t see how changing your name is gonna help.

Kai: Can I still be Kai?

Jay: Shh, let Frank speak.

———

Kai: *Gently taps table*

Y/n: *Taps back*

Nya: What are they doing?

Zane: Morse code.

Kai: *Aggressively taps table*

Y/n: *Slams hands down* YOU TAKE THAT BACK-

———

Lloyd, Y/n, and Cole are sitting on a bench.

Jay: Why do you guys look so sad?

Lloyd: Sit down with us so we can tell you.

*Jay sits down*

Y/n: The bench is freshly painted.

———

Jay: *Screams*

Y/n: *Screams louder to establish dominance*

Zane: Should we do something?

Kai: No, I want to see who wins.

———

Lloyd: How did none of you hear what I just said?

Y/n: I’ve been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.

Kai: I got distracted about halfway through.

Jay: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

———

Kai: Y/n isn’t answering their phone.

Cole: I’ll call.

Kai: Jay and I have both tried six times each, what makes you thi-

Y/n: Hello?

———

Zane: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Kai?

Kai: … No.

Y/n: I do!

Zane: I know, Y/n.

Y/n: I’m sad!

Zane: I know, Y/n.

———

On my Ninjago fixation again, for the millionth time. Send help.

[colealexart]

story time! i met the cr cast this past weekend at mcm london and they were the kindest people imaginable, but my interaction with laura and marisha was just. incomprehensibly sweet and the best thing to ever happen to me.

first up was laura. my friends izzy (@wvearp) and abby (@overnighttosunflowers) went before me in the queue and they got my art signed by her. when they did, she said “oh, best art” and they told her that they were here with the artist. she immediately was like “what?! where?!” and started looking around frantically. i was standing just to the side and i waved awkwardly and she was like “NO WAY! YOU!! i favourite this shit on twitter ALL THE TIME!” which i find hilarious because yeah, i freak out a little every time she does.

when it got to my turn, i said hello and asked her how she was doing. she did not answer my question and instead said “cole, are you kidding me? these are gorgeous” about the two prints i handed to her. (the one pictured and a different one i got signed.) she said she remembers seeing this after the episode aired and i was like “yeah, it airs at 3am here so i drew this in a frantic, sleep deprived stupor at 7am” and she said “you did it so fast, i remember! i sent it to marisha! people are SO QUICK with the fanart, you guys are insane.”

after she signed the print, she held onto it for a moment and just sat and admired it, before looking at me with the BIGGEST smile and saying “you are seriously the best. thank you.” and i don’t know how to handle sincerity so i handed her the dice i got for her. she was so excited about them and immediately rolled the d20 and got a 10 (edit: i misremembered, she got a 3 lol). i then asked if we could play rollies and she beat me. i got a 5 and laura got a 7. i said i’m sorry they’re not rolling well and she was like “it’s fine, they just need charging up!”

i also got a selfie too, but the guy helping her at the table took the photo for us instead of me trying to take it because i suck at taking selfies. she gave me a really tight side hug and when it was done, she thanked me again with the biggest smile.

i also didnt realize until afterwards but instead of writing a character quote, laura wrote “you are everything” on my autograph 😭

next was the group photo op. as we walked up i said hi again to laura and she immediately recognized me from before. she grabbed onto my shoulders and literally spun me around to marisha and was frantically saying “marisha marisha, this is the person that does the amazing imodna art!” but there was a lot going on and marisha was looking at me with the most bewildered expression, until she eventually understood what laura was saying but we had to rush to take the photo. laura held onto my arm and marisha leaned against me and i didn’t realize until afterwards but liam and tal also had their hands on my shoulders lol. it was A Lot. i told marisha i would probably be heading to her autograph queue next so i’d see her there and she was like “awesome, i cant wait!”

so after that, i met marisha. i was probably the most nervous to meet her because she’s just so cool and intimidating but in reality she is just so warm and has such a calming presence about her. she was like “cole, good to see you again!” and i handed her the same imodna print that i had laura sign. she said “ohh, aww this is amazing! this is what laura was talking about, i was so confused!”

then we talked a bit about the live show because her voice was hoarse and i asked her how she was feeling. she said it was just her voice that was gone, but we agreed that it was absolutely worth it because the live show was incredible. i also congratulated her on the how do you wanna do this, then gave her the dice i got for her and we played rollies too. we both got an 18 at first and when we rerolled, she beat me with another 18 to my 16. then she was like “oh these roll really well, i’m definitely gonna use these!”

we took our photo together and afterwards she said “thank you for your art and everything. seriously, you’re so talented” while rubbing my shoulder, and then i headed off to join ashley’s queue.

i’m probably gonna make a separate post about meeting ashley and sam. i just wanted to write this down mostly to immortalize on my blog. i expected them to be kind but i did NOT expect to feel so loved and appreciated. laura was about as excited as i was, and made me feel so special. (this is also a pretty small thing but i dont think i pass very well, so the fact that laura said ‘person’ and didn’t misgender me meant a hell of a lot too.)

i did bring extra prints to give to them as a gift but was overwhelmed and forgot lol

anyway, that’s it! for anyone wondering if the critical role cast are as kind in person as they seem online, they absolutely are and then some. i’ll never forget this past week.

[jamiepaige]

Constant Companions Closeup #2: NOT QUITE THERE

(also on spotify!)

b-b-back once again

Round two of the Constant Companions Closeups - a series of in-depth dives into the songs off of my latest album, Constant Companions! Yesterday was track one, Dyad - today is track two, Not Quite There, featuring the incomparable telebasher!

This one's a bit of a dark horse relative to the rest of the album, but it may very well be my personal favorite song on the entire thing so dammit let's Yap

---

For the uninitiated, this song pulls heavily from a song off my previous album called Gummyworm, both in vibe and by very directly quoting its synth motif.

Both of these songs deal with two sides of the same emotional coin. I actually don't want to go into too much detail about it - I feel like the lyrics spell things out clearly enough - but I will say this:

When it's all you know, it's easy to believe that a love that isolates you, a love that doesn't respect you, a love that hurts is better than no love at all.

You deserve better. There are always people who genuinely want what's best for you, who want you to feel truly loved. It certainly isn't always easy - it's genuinely good if your interpersonal relationships have a little friction sometimes - but love should make your life brighter.

You deserve a love that's fair.

---

The original version of this song was actually intended to be on Bittersweet alongside Gummyworm. The original concept for that album had a whole heady concept involving duality, songs reflecting each other, the two halves basically being reprisals of each other... Ultimately, I'm glad I scrapped that idea, because it was waaaaaay too much for me to manage after a couple years of barely making music. Maybe I'll revisit it someday though?

The drums on this song are sampled from an Instagram post by Louis Cole, where he's doing this crazy one-handed hi-hat blast by holding a drumstick sideways. I'm a drummer and that shit genuinely scares me a little like i dont know how he does half the things he does its fucked BUT. I bring this up because he's one of my biggest inspirations as a musician! I'm really big on jazz in general, in case my love for spicy chords wasn't enough of an indication, but his specific brand of freaky hyperactive bullshit just does it for me.

Seriously, go watch his band KNOWER play their song Overtime. Absolutely insane performances across the board. also Clown Core

This whole song is really just my attempt at matching some of that hectic jazzy energy with my own style of music, so I figured it only made sense to make it another collab with another musician making delightfully frantic jazz bullshit - the legend herself, telebasher! I really am such a massive fan of her work, and I struggle to think of anyone who plays guitar quite like she does. We previously worked together on another Bittersweet track, Asemic Speech, and her guitar work is a major reason why that song is still one of my favorite I've ever released!! She's just built different like listen to this oh my god!!!!

Lastly, since this song was one of the first written for this entire project... it is admittedly a case of me shoehorning the album's leitmotif in after the fact. It's a little forced when it shows up in the backing vocals! But, the choir of vocal synths during the guitar solo served an additional purpose - my own voice doesn't show up on the album again for another four entire songs, and this would've otherwise been the only song on the entire album that didn't feature any vocal synths. Thus did I attempt to bridge the gap, as it were. Hopefully it makes the final product feel more natural!!

Either way, that's all for today's post.... i think.... which means that tomorrow.... we're gonna rot.... for clout

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Okay, so I've seen a lot of posts on the "should Morro have stayed dead or should he have been given a redemption arc" and all that and I just kind of wanted to share my thoughts on the topic. I don't think his canon ending is bad, in fact there's a lot I like about it. It's a tragedy and a very good one at that. The way it ends with him and Wu, and with the whole "you can only save those who wish to be saved" quote? That's poignant, that has narrative weight. I think to say that it's bad is to ignore a lot of what makes Morro a good character. He's a reflection of Wu as a teacher, his teachings, and he's a foil to Kai specifically. He shows us why Wu works better now, and why he teaches the way he does. A large component of what makes his story have depth isn't just that he died young and was traumatized it's that he continued a cycle of trauma on with Lloyd (and Cole, if you considered that he dies indirectly due to Morro's actions but that's another topic). He's a bad person, he did really bad things, that's part of who he is. But, I think it's a misstep to call him irredeemable. I think that misses the point of his character entirely actually, like severely. Morro isn't irredeemable, he shows that he's capable of growth in the very scene he dies in! That's part of the tragedy too! It's not a 'hot-take' to miss the point of a character because it's the cool fandom opinion of the month actually. I know people are frustrated at the fandom misogyny in how people talk about Morro vs. Harumi and I agree, it is frustrating, but y'all are just spreading around just plain bad takes and that's getting frustrating.

On the topic of missteps, as much as I do like it, I also think it was a misstep in how DOTD handled Morro. In general DOTD has some interesting ideas and concepts but is overall flat and under-cooked. Morro's part in it isn't excluded from that. DOTD brings him back, it shows that he is extremely capable of change and growth, and understanding (which is something you guys like to ignore too, actually). Then, it has him just leave again, die and I understand why but I think it's very genuinely sad in a way I don't think was intended, or well done. I think it backtracks on the narrative weight his conclusion in Possessed had. Possessions' ending for him is sad but it has depth and weight. DOTD just brings him back for fan service, and again, just has him die, and it's because he wants to. I understand they were going for a "at peace" kind of approach with him but it just falls flat in my opinion. If they were going to bring him back, and I know this is kind of a debated topic, I think they should've just kept him. And everyone who says that he wouldn't be capable of change for that is dead-wrong, the show proves it, and just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad. In terms of how it's handled in fanon, I think it's a mixed bag. Some people do it really well, faithful to his character but other times I think he just gets hit with the fanonization beam really hard. Sometimes you see his woobification of him based on the trauma and death he went through, and that erases what makes him and any sort of possible redemption or relationships with him interesting. I think people tend to miss the idea that a redemption is both not something a character has to 'deserve' (because redemption doesn't equal forgiveness) and also something a character has to work towards. The idea a redemption has to be deserved (as a moral concept not a narrative concept), instead of something worked towards by the character presents in people downplaying his actions and effects, but also in people acting like redemption is inherently reductive to his character because he's bad guys, he's a bad guy guys. Bad guys don't deserve redemption guys (/sarcastic). To be entirely real, I do think redemption can and does have a place in his writing. You can't look at how he acted at the end of possession and DOTD and tell me otherwise. Redemption in fiction at the end of the day is a narrative device and trope, and how a character is written informs their development. Additionally, I think some of you guys take his "you can only save those who want to be saved" way way too literally. That, too, is tragic and it's not because it's right. When characters speak, nine times out of ten, you're not supposed to baselessly accept and internalize what they say as correct and true. Was it true when Cole said he wasn't a ninja after dying in the same season? Was it true when Kai said he deserves to be the green ninja, just because he said it? Come on. Also, just, I think sometimes this fandom needs to accept different people find different things appealing and cathartic. It's okay to prefer a tragedy, but it's also okay to prefer the idea of him redeeming himself (because it takes work) and healing. There's this whole argument about whether or not saying he should've gotten a redemption arc (kind of a stupid question to begin with, in my opinion) but at the end of the day, it's already done. Also, both ends of the spectrum can have the most frustrating takes on him, and yeah I'm going to be annoyed and salty about it if you couldn't already tell. Anyways, there's no proper point to this because it's really just be ranting about several things I find really frustrating about how people handle this topic, so take it as you will. You can disagree, but I'm not saying his ending is bad nor that his tragedy is bad. In fact if you disagree I encourage that this fandom is way too prone to just parroting each others (mostly bigger blogs) opinions and not their own personal ones, so yeah.

[musings-of-a-college-dork]

An Odd Request

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Word count: roughly 1K

Steve’s wife goes to the gym and makes an odd request when she arrives home. 

Warnings: sorta NSFW (mdni), use of Y/N, terms of endearment (baby).

Author’s note: This is just fluffy Steve and was written directly after I got home from the gym needing this man and a very specific kind of cuddling so…here it is! Short and sweet and very silly. Hope y’all enjoy! 

It was a quiet Saturday morning in the Harrington household. Steve was the only one home, having a few hours on his own as Y/N went to meet her personal trainer. She had been seeing a trainer for a while as she, quote on quote, wanted “to be able to carry all the groceries in a single trip all by myself.” A noble and worthy cause in Steve’s eyes and yet as long as he was around, she’d never have to lift a finger. He was more than content to show off his own strength for her enjoyment…and yet wished to support her in any and all of her goals so off to the gym she had gone. As such, he had the home to himself for a few hours, a chance to get some work done. 

He had spent most of the morning thus far drinking his coffee and sketching up new basketball drills and formations for the middle school team he coached. He finally understood exactly what Hopper had meant all those years ago about “coffee and contemplation” finding more and more that the man’s wisdom was never ending the older he got. We’ve gotta tighten up their current formations, he thought as the TV played some mindless sitcom in the background while he chewed on the end of his pencil. His mind looked over the squiggles on the paper in front of him trying to decide how to fix this. It had been weeks since they had won a game and morale was dropping fast. Jamie has to pass more but Donovan can’t really shoot…maybe if we move Paul to center and then swap Jordan and Cole we could-

The man wasn’t given another moment to think as he heard the front door open and close with a loud slam, the sound of feet padding their way down the entry hallway. 

“Hey, baby!” Steve called as he continued to focus on the squiggles, drawing a few more lines before erasing them with equally as much vigor, “How was the gym?” A loud groan was all he received in reply as his wife dropped her bag to the ground and kicked off her tennis shoes, not even bothering to put them in the basket where she knew they belonged. The same basket she insisted his shoes lived in but rules didn’t apply to her, at least not right now. I’ll tease her about it later. “That good huh?” He called with a low chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair, “Well your protein shake is in the fridge. Should be cold enough since I put it in when you left.” Oddly enough, the man received no response. He waited a moment before he called again, looking up from his work.

“Bab-” And just like that she was in front of him. He jumped and let out a quiet swear as he clutched a hand to his chest. He hadn’t seen her before she had left and found himself taking a sharp inhale as he looked her up and down. She looked so fucking gorgeous in those tight black leggings that fit her just right, a simple white workout top, hugging her every curve, and the expensive black workout jacket he had saved up to get her for Christmas that she never left for the gym without. Not to mention the way her hair looked post-workout and the glow of sweat that radiated off of her. He was about to open his mouth to make some lewd remark he hoped she’d find charming but-

“Hold my tits.” The man blinked once, then again, his mouth open and gaping like a fish. 

“W-what?” 

“I want your hands on my tits,” Y/N repeated, holding his gaze with complete and utter seriousness, “Please.” 

“Like…you want my…”

“Your hands. On my tits. Now.” When the man continued not to move his wife let out a deep sigh and took the pencil from his hand, laying it down next to his sketch as she replaced it with something much better. She led his large palm gently to her breast, letting out a sigh of relief as she encouraged him to give a little squeeze. Again, Steve didn’t even know what to do, never having seen her like this. Sure, she was usually a little more cuddly and blissed out after the gym as the endorphins ran through her body but this was…new. A good kind of new. 

“So I take it you had a good time at the gym?” The man teased breathlessly as he ushered her around the coffee table to sit beside him on the couch. The woman let out a hum in confirmation as she laid down so they were pressed together, her back to his front, and wrapped his arms around her so his hands could live right where she needed them to. Another chuckle came from Steve as he buried his face into her hair finding-

“Did you put on perfume?” 

“After working out,” she whispered as her eyes closed shut in complete and utter satisfaction, being held just the way she needed to be right now, “Didn’t want to come home smelling only like sweat.”

“I don’t mind,” Steve used his nose to brush the hair from the side of her neck, making her giggle as he pressed mindless kisses there, “I smell like sweat all the time and you still love me.” 

“I do,” Y/N titled her head so he could press a kiss to her lips, one she returned eagerly before laying her head back down on the couch, “Fuck, I’m never doing the Stairmaster ever again.” 

“Y/N, baby, if this,” Steve gave her tits a little squeeze to punctuate his thought, “is what happens after you’re on the Stairmaster, by all means, keep doing it. Any excuse to cuddle with my pretty little wife and hold her boobies is more than fine by me.” 

“Don’t call them that,” Y/N scrunched her nose with a chuckle as she pressed her ass more into him to fit them closer together. 

“What?” The man teased giving another squeeze, “Boobies?” 

“STEVE!” The couple dissolved into a communal fit of giggles as they lay there together, all stress and strain completely forgotten as calm domesticity filled their hearts and home. 

[hexedwinchester]

Early seasons of SPN are superior

so I'm re-watching Supernatural (I'm always re-watching SPN, don't mind me) and I realised why the early seasons are so freakin good whereas the laters ones are a complete mess...

Horror was the core theme of Supernatural (yes, I'm not discarding the brothers' drama, I'll get to it in a minute). These beautiful scare tactics that they employed were amazing: the crib mobile toy rotating, shadows moving out of the corner of the eyes, toys going off, subtle bloody Mary reflections in the mirror, creepy skulls dug from the ground, the ghosts flickering. Hell yea they nailed 'Scary just got sexy' with these.

Don't get me started on the background music. Whimsical music crescendo, building up the anticipation. The rock music blaring through the Impala. What happened to the cool ass music in the later seasons? They just played this weird, sad tune like someone's blowing raspberries to show grief and that's it!

Monster of the week theme and the lores/legends in early seasons were much, much better than S12's Foundry or the later season episode with bizarre tentacle porn thingy (you know which one I'm talking about). It just didn't feel the same. The stories were poorly written and even more poorly executed.

Early seasons used to be purely about Sam and Dean (as it should have been throughout) Them against the world, heaven and hell. No dumbass angel lurking in the background like a pathetic third wheel. No king of hell bitching about his sad childhood for two whole seasons. No Soccer mom half assing their way into hunting.

Foreshadowing was done so beautifully! Everytime I re-watch the early seasons I find a few bits that connects to something that happened initially in say S1-2. The parallels are done beautifully and writing is good, and I mean 'I wanna use this quote as a wallpaper' good.

The struggle for the boys was real. They had to do their own research, save their own asses, stitch their wounds, pop their dislocated shoulders back in the place. Later seasons? Bunker has answer to everything, angel healing wounds with a flash of light, Lucifer bringing Sam back from the dead without asking for anything (and no, taking him to Jack is not a good enough bargain), Jack healing wounds or whatever. Where is the damn struggle?! Where is the hero's journey?!

I miss the beautiful, colourful motel rooms that had its own personality. I HATE the bunker (yes I know a lot of people love it because Dean has a good shower, they have a home etc, etc) but no! Bunker is lame and boring and monotonous. There isn't a single thing I like about it. Gimme back my motel rooms with the sunburst mirror!

Story arc or lack thereof from S12 onwards. The main plot just got duller and duller from S12 onward and it felt like the writers got lazy and stopped putting efforts. There was no build up and the plot felt forced. The main arcs didn't feel exciting enough. BMoL and Kelly's pregnancy: the who and why? Jack: predictable. Other Micheal and Micheal Dean: meh, next! God as the big bad: interesting but I don't think they have it in them to execute this correctly.

Irrelevant/Unnecessary characters and their mini plots. S1-5 focuses purely on the brothers and that's what I'm here. I don't care how and why an idiot angel opened purgatory. It sounded more like a dull spin off plot than main story arc. I don't care about prophets and their lives (yeah Kevin is in Advance Placement, what am I to do with that?). I don't care about the different angel garrisons at war (again a plot for a lame spin off). I don't care about Crowley, his son or his relationship with Rowena. Tell me how this affects the boys. If it doesn't, please let's move on. Whatever was going on with Cole Trenton was pointless. I don't care about Mary and her hunting escapades with BMoL. I don't care about Kelly's pregnancy. The multi-universe and all characters they vomited back in the show with this. Not needed! Let Charlie, Gabriel and Bobby's memory rest in peace. Nick's killer storyline and wayward sisters. Enough said. Empty and the deal with Cas and Meg 2.0? Boring! Billy playing the bad cop, the whole death's library? Poorly executed and it turned into a bowl of cold spaghetti. In the end, the focus moved from the boys to useless characters and mini plots. Fuck that! Supernatural is about Sam and Dean and that's about it.

The direction. Later seasons lack the beauty of scenic shots of the landscape, close on up the boys' faces, the lights hitting their faces to show their beauty. Camera angles and slow panning shots. I miss the beauty that were the early seasons.

[hockeyboysimagines]

Love so sweet

Chapter 2

Warnings: Language, Angst, implied sex.

Chapter 2! Hopefully you guys like this as much as Chapter 1🤍

“Excuse me could you like get out of my way?”

Tabitha whipped around ready to tweak out on someone when she came face to face with Cole, and broke out in a smile instead. She let out a breath of relief, both because she was bursting with happier see him, and because it meant she wouldn’t have to cause a scene in public. Breakups put her in a foul mood and that usually meant some poor soul suffered because of it.

“Hi stranger.” She said accepting his hug. He gave her a squeeze and pulled back to look at her, hands still braced on her arms.

“How are you? I heard you guys broke up…again.” He said with a chuckle

She nodded, hands coming up to hold him by the elbows “What else is new right?”

“True.” He sighed and let go of her, and walking along side her as she continued to shop “You doing okay? We haven’t seen you in a bit.”

It was true. The last week or so had been especially tumultuous between she and Arber, and seeing them unfortunately hadn’t been in the cards. That was one of the worst parts of the constant fighting if she was being honest. She loved his teammates and his friends and most of all his family, but they were exactly that. His teammates, his friends, his family. Not hers. And if they really did ever break up for good she would have to expect to lose them as a part of her life.

But for now, she was fairly certain this was another temporary one.

At least she hoped. This breakup had been rough on both of them and she’d said a lot of things she didn’t mean, and thrown some accusations she couldn’t take back. She hoped Arber knew that she didn’t actually mean them, and it was something she said while in a heightened state, but it wasn’t an excuse. Her emotions felt out of control sometimes and she often said or did things she didn’t mean. At some point she had to pull herself together and start looking at things more level headed.

Maybe she needed therapy.

She nodded and tossed something in her cart “I’m okay I guess. Just been a rough week.”

“Tell me about it. He’s been a mess.”

She frowned “What’s that mean?”

“He just hasn’t been himself. Like more than normal. I hate when you guys fight.” He said frowning at her.

She sighed and nodded “That makes two of us.”

He picked something off a shelf and chucked it in her cart with a shrug “We may as well shop together. Let me tell you about your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore. Fuck this” she said air quoting, as Cole rolled his eyes and made a face “His words not mine.” She finished with a shrug.

“I know they are but you know that’s not for real right? I don’t get what you guys even fight about.”

“Everything basically anymore.” She said offhandedly “Something new to fight about everyday. This one was my fault though.”

“What happened anyways?”

“I-“ she said with a pause “Someone told me that Arber got some girls number when you guys went out the other night when I was working. I just kinda freaked out and here we are.”

“I see. He didn’t, just by the way. I’d tell you if he did.”

“I know that now. Unfortunately I didn’t ask before I yelled at him. Something I’ll have to remember for next time. Oops.” She felt a little embarrassed and glanced at Cole but he wasn’t judging her.

“I get it. But I can promise you he wouldn’t do that. You know that right? Arbers not like that.”

She nodded as they turned the aisle “I do but for some reason I keep doubting it. Maybe I’m crazy. Or maybe I’m just a bitch.” She said with a shrug.

“Nooooo your not.” Cole said with a small smile “I can see your hurting, and it’s any consolation he’s not doing any better. Seems sad.”

“It should make me feel better, but I don’t want him to be sad over me. I just want things to get better.”

Cole smiled a little and bumped her shoulder “And that’s why your so great. You gotta fix things though. Because he’s on the verge of committing a crime out on the ice.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes “He’s always on the verge of committing a crime on the ice. It’s adorable.” She said with a dreamy smile and then coughed to cover it up.

“See?” He said turning to her with a grin “That’s why you guys are perfect for eachother. Kirby asked him where you’ve been the other day and I thought he was going to punch him.”

“He would never punch Kirby.”

“Maybe not but he wanted to. You miss him?”

“Of course I miss him Cole. But if he wants to break up then it is what it is. I can’t make him change his mind. It’s not that simple.”

Cole was shaking his head “You could. All you have to do is call him.”

He was right. It didn’t take a lot to get Arber back and vice versa. Usually just a text or a phone call or even just showing up at his apartment did the job but she was always afraid to reach out just in case it was really over. She couldn’t take it if he told her it was the end, so she usually let him reach out unless she was feeling particularly brave.

As they made their way to checkout Cole updated her on the rest of the guys and how they were doing “They miss you. We went out the other day and they were hoping you’d come out with him. We didn’t know you guys were fighting though.”

“I heard. He was at my house.”

“I knew it!” He said pointing at her “ I knew he was there. He only cancels plans when he’s with you, and he hates going out. He said going out with you gives him anxiety.”

Tabitha chuckled “Yeah talk about him committing a crime.”

They chatted while they checked out and made their way out to the car.

He helped her load her stuff and turned to her, shutting her trunk.

“It was so good to see you.” Cole said as he hugged her, eyes closing and gave her an extra squeeze “Don’t be a stranger okay? Were your friends too.”

She felt her eyes start to water and blinked them away with a nod “I know. I will. Promise.”

He nodded and turned away but paused and glanced over his shoulder “I’ll tell him you said hello. Okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak and gave him a wave and slipped into her car just as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She hated this. She sniffled in the front seat and watched Cole back out and leave the lot as she collected herself. Her route back home took her directly past Arber’s apartment building, and she purposely looked straight ahead. She was always afraid during a breakup that she would drive by and see him with another girl, which was silly because she knew he was most likely with the guys or sulking in the living room.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in as she made it through the light and the building disappeared from her view.

***********

“I saw Tabitha at the grocery store.” Cole said off handedly in the dressing room.

Arber paused and half turned “Yeah? And how was that.”

“She said she was so relieved you guys broke up because she’s always wanted to date me.”

“Haaaaaa.” He said making a face “Very funny.”

“I thought so. She misses you.” He said quietly.

Arber nodded “I know. She okay?”

He nodded “She says she is. She told me to tell you hello.”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face and shook his head “Did she say anything else?”

“Like what? Like she wants you to go to her apartment after practice and get her back?”

He rolled his eyes as Cole continued “If I say yes will you do it?”

“It’s not that simple.”

Cole cracked a smile and let out a huff “Funny she said the same thing. You two are wild man. If you can sit there and tell me that you don’t miss her then I’ll shutup.”

Arber shrugged “Of course I miss her. I don’t like fighting with her.”

“Then get it together and go fix it you idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot-“

“Then don’t act like one.” Cole said with a shrug “You miss her, go get her back. You know how easy it is.”

“What’s easy?” Slaf said sitting down next to him.

“Arber and Tabitha broke up.” Cole said eyeing him with a small smirk “But he’s going to go get her back right?”

“Again?” Kirby asked pulling off his helmet off “Why now?”

“Maybe you guys should just break up for good.” Nick said.

Kirby, who was closest, slapped his helmet out of his hand “Take that back. He can’t break up with Tabitha. We like her too much.”

“I agree, but this fighting can’t be healthy.”

Arber didn’t say anything while he listened to the the guys talk about him like he wasn’t there.

He hadn’t expected his teammates to take to Tabitha the way they did, and almost instantly. In a very short time they were always bugging him about bringing her along when he went places with them. She was so good with them, and so easy to talk to. They were a good group, and always respectful, but they could be silly and joke with Tabitha and she gave it right back. She could be one of the guys, and in the next minute be the picture of femininity. They loved her, and she loved them and the constant fighting put a wedge between that each time. It made him feel bad.

He kept most of the fighting and breakups to himself when it came to his parents. They had thankfully always been on good terms when they came to visit or when she came to visit and they had fallen in love with her maybe faster than he had. They raved about her night and day to anyone who would stand still long enough, always requesting she be available when they FaceTimed him. She had fit so seamlessly into his life it felt strange when she wasn’t there.

He hated it.

He didn’t say much for the rest of practice and as he left. He heard the guys calling him but he just wanted to go home and pity himself so he waved them off and made his way home.

He thought back to the first time he ever saw her.

The bar was loud and packed and all he wanted to do was go home.

He was tired, his knuckles hurt from the fight he’d been in, and the headache was unlike any other he’d experienced, but he’d been roped into coming out with them to celebrate the win. He was thinking about the best way to plan his exit when he glanced up to find a girl staring at him from across the bar.

He was fairly sure someone was talking to him but heard nothing.

She was beautiful, the prettiest girl he’d ever seen without question, but there was something else about her. Whatever it was, it had him up and out of his chair and making his way across the bar. The closer he got, the more he wished he hadn’t taken a single step but it was too late to back out now. If there was one thing Arber was not, it was easily intimidated, and yet here he was with sweaty hands and something that could only be described as nerves settling in his stomach.

And then she smiled at him.

“Hi.” She said leaning forward on the bar, as he came to stop next to her.

“Hi.”

“I’m Tabitha.” She extended a hand and grasped his, fingers stroking against his in the most pleasurable way.

“I’m Arber.”

“Arber? That’s not a name you hear everyday.”

He chuckled and leaned against the bar top, feeling a little more at ease “Tell me about it. You should hear my last name.”

She smiled “Tell me.”

But he shook his head “No. I’m gonna write it down and I want you to say it.”

He wrote his last name down on a napkin and slid it over to her so she could see it.

“Xhekaj?” She asked glancing at him.

His mouth fell open “You can pronounce that?”

“Yeah? It’s Albanian right?”

“Arbs what-Oh hi?” Cole was standing behind him and smiled at her but then turned back to Arber “Why are you writing your last name?”

“He didn’t think I’d be able to pronounce it.”

Arber turned and looked at him “She said it right on the first try.”

Cole’s mouth fell open “No shit? Are you Albanian?”

“No.” She said with a small laugh and a headshake “I just happen to watch a lot of Habs games at work.”

“Work” ended up being a sports bar and restaurant downtown, and Tabitha tore up his world like wildfire from that point on. Before he knew it she had poured like water into every facet of his life. Her love was overwhelming and smothering sometimes and in the very early months of their relationship he was so infatuated with her he didn’t know his left from his right. He’d felt feelings for girls before but never like this. Tabitha had become everything to him in a very short amount of time, and when his feelings that normally died down a bit didn’t change for her after 3 months he knew she was the one.

And everyone else knew it too, except maybe Tabitha herself.

Even with the way things were, if he could go back to that night he would still get up and approach her every single time. She had made his life better even with the fighting.

As a last resort he called his mom. She was the best listener he knew. She was privy to some of the fighting but not all of it. She had always tried to help him see things from Tabitha’s perspective as well as his own, and that helped sometimes. He never realized how things were for her until someone else told him and that made him feel stupid. He’d just assumed she was as blissfully happy all the time as he was and never thought for a minute that she could be struggling with outside influences polluting her brain. He felt like an ass and had promptly driven to her apartment with flowers, apologized and never forgot what his mom had said after that. The conversation was much the same this time. His mom agreed, that she hadn’t raised a cheater because of she had he wouldn’t be alive, but that you start to believe things when you hear them enough times. It made sense to him, but she also reinforced that he didn’t do anything wrong this time, which he knew of course and Tabitha probably did too. Things had clearly gotten lost in translation and out of hand. But she said it could be fixed. They talked for a while until she hung up, encouraging him to go talk to her and make things right.

He huffed and checked the time, before heaving himself up and grabbing his keys.

Arber had a strict rule of never listening to any of his teammates and their dumb ideas, but hearing his mom say it was more convincing which is how he found himself a short while later following Cole’s suggestion as he made his way down Tabitha’s street. Her porch light was on and her car was parked out front. He hadn’t expected her to be anywhere else, and even though he felt a little bad but he was also relieved to find that she was home. Though he’d said last night he could go out and pick up some girl, which he could, it would be a lot easier for her to do it. And if that happened, then he’d have to have to hurt someone. It was a lose lose.

He knocked three times and leaned on the doorframe with a small sigh, but also some relief. This was usually when things got better rather than worse, and he was glad that it was heading in that direction, hopeful she was in a good mood on the other side of the door. He could hear her shuffling around, and she looked surprised when she appeared and found him standing there. But she smiled apprehensively “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

He shrugged and smiled at her “Just thought maybe I wanted to see you is all.”

Her cheeks turned pink and she took a step back allowing him to walk past her inside. He sat on the sofa and looked at her expectantly as she hovered between the couch and the door.

“Come sit.” He said patting the spot next to him. When she did he reached forward and gripped her hand.

“Tabitha. Can we stop this please.”

She nodded and gave his hand a squeeze “I hate fighting with you Arber. It hurts more every time.”

“Then let’s just stop fighting. We fight over the dumbest stuff. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am not cheating on you. I have no intentions of cheating, it never even crossed my mind. I love you okay?”

She nodded as he continued “You've got to stop listening to other people and just ask me. Whoever is telling you that stuff is full of shit. Do you think if I was cheating on you my teammates would want me to be bringing you around all the time?”

She shrugged and looked at her lap “No.” she said quietly.

“And do you think that I would even be with you if I was out fucking around. I would just be out doing that while I was single. Come on. You know me better than that.”

She nodded “I know. I just feel so anxious all the time.”

“About?” He said leaning forward.

“That you might find someone better.”

“No.” He said with a smile and a shake of his head “I couldn’t even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I’ve told you this so many times and it hurts my feelings sometimes that you don’t believe me. I’m not trying to gaslight you, but I try so hard and I feel like it’s all pointless. I don’t know what else I can do for you Tabitha but if there’s something, tell me what it is and I’ll do it.”

Her lip trembled and she squeezed his hand “I love you.”

“I love you too. Come here.” He patted his knee and waited till she was situated before he rested a large hand on her knee “I’m not saying we’re never going to fight because we will. But in situations like this can you promise to at least talk to me before you rip my head off? If something bothering you just tell me what it is. Okay?”

She sniffled and nodded “Okay. I promise.” She leaned a head on his shoulder.

“Do you feel better? Not mad at me anymore?”

“I feel better.”

“Cuz if your still mad and you wanna take it out on me a little I’m game.”

She looked up and snorted out a laugh “I don’t wanna hurt you or anything.”

He held up a fist and smiled “You know I can take a punch.”

She rolled her eyes and wiped away the mascara from under them as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek “If I give you-“ he glanced at the clock “A half hour, think you can be ready to go out to dinner?”

She shrugged “Sure. I just have to fix my face a little.”

“Makeup.” He corrected “There’s nothing wrong with your face.”

“Okay I have to fix my makeup and change. Unless it’s acceptable to wear pajamas whenever it is we’re going.”

“It is not. You will also not be wearing those pajamas when we return home.”

************

Arber felt so much better in the following days, and it was reflected to everyone he knew. He was a little lighter, more talkative and smiled wider which is how the guys knew things were back to normal.

“So things are good again?” Slaf asked as they watched drills during practice.

“Yeah. Much better.”

“Good. Stop fighting. It’s dumb and you’re no fun when your fighting with her.”

“You definitely should fight with her when we play rivalry teams though. Just sayin.” Kirby said from his left.

“No I don’t think that I should. I’m not sure anyone’s ever been arrested for committing crimes on the ice and I don’t want to be the first. Imagine having to explain that to my mom.”

“Tabitha would bail your dumbass out.” Slaf said with a chuckle.

“No she wouldn’t. She’d commit another crime against whoever he committed one against. And then we’d have to alternate weekend visits. Like children of divorce.”

Arber chuckled “Well don’t worry. No divorce here. At least not today.”

*************

“So. Back with…him I see?” Jessica asked cooley, eyeing Tabitha over the table.

She rolled her eyes “Yes. I don’t want to hear it.”

“I wasn’t going to say-“

“You were. You always have something to say about me and Arber and I’ve heard it all before. So save your breath.”

“You know Tabitha. We’re just looking out for you.”

At first she’d really believed it. She really felt like her friends wanted her to be done with a ther because it was in her best interests. But now she felt like they nagged her about him all the time and it was getting real old real fast.

It was constant.

If they were complaining about them together, they were complaining about Arber himself and if they weren’t doing that they were fueling her paranoia about the rumors by adding to them. I heard Arber did this, I heard Arber did that blah blah blah. Tabitha was over it in a big way. She found herself hanging out with them less and less. They had noticed this of course and then claimed that he was “isolating” her because he was this big evil monster that had taken over her life and her happiness. But really it was just because they were awful. She could understand them not liking Arber at first. That first breakup followed a huge blowup of epic proportions that made Tabitha ugly cry for days. Understandable how they would be weary of him after that, and he agreed they had every right to feel that way. But it had been over a year now and they hadn’t even thought about giving him another chance. If they had, they would see that Tabitha was at fault for half of not more of their breakups and arguments. She’d tried her best to rehab his image, and he had at first too but finally he said he wasn’t going to try and make peace with people who didn’t want to make peace.

It just wouldn’t be worth it.

She’d even arranged “accidental” encounters put at the bar and still no such luck. They avoided Arber like the plague and he did the same to them. So Tabitha was left somewhere in the middle. It was funny though, that her friends couldn’t stop saying terrible things about Arber and he never brought them up unless she talked about them. Sometimes made her wonder who was really the terrible one in her life.

They didn’t say much else, and neither did Tabitha but she excused herself earlier than she needed to, so she could pick up Arber while her car was in The shop getting new tires.

She sat in the parking spot drinking her nails on the steering wheel, and ran her fingers over the cool leather with a small sigh.

She felt so much better now that things with Arber had settled and her stupid friends had ruined it. She always felt, no matter how things were with him, that the disappointment of her friends ruined every good patch. They made her feel so shitty about her relationship with him, even when things were fine. Their tone was always dripping in disappointment when they talked about him which was often.

It was mentally exhausting having to play middle man between them.

She did know however she felt much more mentally exhausted having to shield herself from their disappointment than it was to be with Arber.

She shook her head and looked at the clock. Arber would be home in 30 minutes.

That would make everything better.

[therealvinelle]

When did Dumbledore start his giant grudge against Tom Riddle? What triggered it?

From what we see in the memory of Dumbledore and Tom Riddle's first meeting, we started off at day 0 with this enmity, and the trigger was that Dumbledore... doesn't seem to actually like children all that much. Oh, it's all well and good when they're pleasant and listen with bright and attentive eyes to him, but Tom Riddle was guarded and that seems to have been enough. The way Dumbledore reads nefarious intent into everything Tom, an eleven-year-old, says or does speaks for itself.

(As it is I find Tom in the orphanage memory acts very much like a normal child. Distrustful of authorities and jaded, yes, but that's hardly surprising given his background. Dumbledore's lack of understanding and immediate dislike of what is essentially a troubled child is what I find concerning about the chapter.)

Dumbledore goes on to explain to Harry how... I can't even paraphrase this, you're getting a quote (only a paragraph, or we'd be here all day):

"I had, as I have already indicated, resolved to keep a close eye upon him, and so I did. I cannot pretend that I gleaned a great deal from my observations at first. He was very guarded with me; he felt, am sure, that in the thrill of discovering his true identity he had told me a little too much. He was careful never to reveal as much again, but he could not take back what he had let slip in his excitement, nor what Mrs. Cole had confided in me. However, he had the sense never to try and charm me as he charmed so many of my colleagues." (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 239-240)

(Yes, the guy kept going, beautifully at one point admitting "So I never actually caught him doing anything wrong at any point, but I feel confident in saying he was being evil off-screen all the same" and at another explaining "He had dark glamour, Harry", but I'm trying to be brief here.)

So.

Dumbledore, per his own admission, couldn't catch Tom out on anything even though he kept close watch and we know how uncharitable he is in his interpretation of Tom's words and actions. Notice too, though, how he thinks Tom viewed their first meeting: he believes Tom Riddle was an eleven-year-old politician straight out of Lord Hadrian Potter fanfics. Tom keeps his distance from a professor he doesn't like and Dumbledore says, "Ah, the Machiavellian youth recognizes me as a worthy opponent. How sensible of him."

You can't make this shit up.

So, no, Tom never stood a chance with Dumbledore. It was one-sided Machiavelli at first sight.

(And no, I don't believe this was mutual. Tom acts entirely too normal in the job interview memory, he's having a job interview and Dumbledore is Obi-Wan meeting Darth Vader on the Death Star. It's hilarious, but uh telling.)