#whatever i am just going to try desperately to sleep because i clearly need the rest

[threnodians]

i keep going from sobbing my eyes out to seething with anger and the whiplash is exhausting

[yesihaveaobsession]

Doe Desires

Alastor x doe female reader

Summary: After joining the Hazbin team, Alastor has come a great liking to you a pretty precious little doe, yet you show no interest, but he's determined and decides to up his gentleman game.

A/N- I feel like bro doesn't know how to actually rizz or flirt with someone the real way, so he uses his magic and his piano skills :D This was a very old draft so sorry if it's bad ha-ha!

(I have no idea what to write ... ANYWAYS)

You had joined the Hazbin gang about a month ago, and well you had caught a certain someone's eyes and it was the Radio Demon. Why? Because you were part doe, you weren't just any ordinary doe you were pretty and so ever since you showed up to try and get redeemed the Radio Demon has tried to win your heart over, but you didn't seem to be interested but he wasn't going to give up he's going to up his game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were sitting on the couch reading a book, Alastor appeared next to you and leaned over the back end of the couch. "Good evening."

"Evening Alastor." You replied as your little doe ears perked up due to the feeling of his breath on your ears, but your eyes didn't look up, your eyes remained on the pages in front of you. He had an idea what you were reading but he wanted you to say it.

"What are you reading Dear?" He leans in closer to you over your shoulder getting a closer look at the words on the pages that laid in your hands.

"Romeo and Juliet." You said as you licked your finger and turned the page. "Ah, the tragedy of two lovers who are fated to be denied their happiness. Are you enjoying it?"

Your eyes moved across the pages, and you replied not even listening to the deer demon who was inches away from you, invading your space. "Yeah." You said flatly. Alastor felt a little irritated that you weren't listening but that didn't stop him.

"I know two young lovers whose love has been denied them as well." He inched closer again, his lips inched closer to your cute little doe ears. You replied with a hum and his smile strained, this clearly wasn't working the way he wanted it to be.

"Two people who I am certain are very much in love but due to circumstances they are being kept apart." Alastor said with animated hand gestures.

"Uh huh."

Alastor just decided he was just going to take your book away to get your full attention and that's what he did. "If I may dear." You watched him cautiously. He placed it on the side table gently. The two of you then heard Charlie call your name and you locked eyes.

"May I keep your attention please?" He almost sounded desperate this time. "Charlie needs me." you said as your rose from your spot on the couch and gave him a politely nod and he just watched as you walked away his hands clutched his cane. Plan B.

Later that day after you helped Charlie with whatever you needed you heard a piano in the main lobby of the hotel. The song was your favorite getting closer to the sound you saw Alastor sitting there with a smile as his claws danced across the keys. Your ears twitched and your tail wagged slightly as you watched him. It was like a drug you found yourself walking closer to him, he played with such confidence.

"Care to join me Dear?" He asked and you smiled as you sat next to him on the bench watching as his claws continued to dance on the keys, he eventually looked over at you as he continued to play. Once he finished you clapped for him and giggled. Alastor smiled as he looked into your adorable doe like eyes.

"That was lovely Alastor!" You beamed and that made his heart skip a beat "Thank you dear." He leans in closer, as you smiled you yawned. "Well, it sure is late, I'm going to hit the hay." It was, which made sense because Alastor doesn't sleep, and you are surprise the piano didn't wake the others, but you honestly didn't get that far. After you rose from the bench, he stood up just as fast, his body was now inches away from you and hovered over you. "May I walk you to your room?" He asked as he offered you his arm and grabbed his cane. as You took his arm, and he led you down the halls of the hotel and to your bedroom door.

As you two were still stopped in front of the door he had let go of you and he smiled down at you. "Good night." He said, but bending down at the waist and taking your hand into his claws and kissed the back of it. You did notice that his hand lingered on your hand for a little long.

Alastor then turned on his heels and twirled his cane, you couldn't admit but find him cute, you knew what he was doing and liked playing his little game. "Alastor." you said, and he paused and turned back to you, you walked over to him and leaned up and got on your tippy toes and planted a kiss on his cheek in which it was very hard to not laugh when you saw his smile get bigger if that was possible and his red eyes lit up. "Goodnight." You replied with a smile and turned back towards your door with a pep in your step.

His heart fluttered, he couldn't help it, but he wanted to make your his. He was happy to have more time to try and make you his.

[pintrestgrl]

loved your bsf!jj drabble!!!!! maybe a little drunken love confession from bsf!jj … and reader thinks its lowkey too good to be true bc she’s been yearning forever… but when they both sober up jj is like !!! i meant wtf i said !

hi i wrote this and then it completely disappeared. sigh. also im sorry if this is bad, i was half asleep bc i spent forever writing it the first time.

also i’m sorry for being inactive yesterday i was so so stressed nd had cramps and was dying… but hi !! hope u like this anon 🥹

note: after writing this, i rlly don’t like it. but i pray u guys do 😞

drunk!bsf!jj x pogue!reader.

“here, drink this.”

you spoke, shoving a glass of water into jj’s chest, sitting down next to him on the couch of the chateau.

he was clearly very wasted, and you were only a slight bit tipsy.

you two had both went out to the boneyard together, the rest of the group out doing god knows what.

he rambled on about not wanting to drink it, before giving in and chugging the clear liquid.

“thank god, you’re annoying when you’re drunk.”

“no, ‘m not. you are.”

“at least i’m not sloppy wasted, unlike somebody.”

“whatever. guilty by association.”

he spoke, slurring his words and laughing drunkenly.

“i’m not associated with you, you wish.”

“you’re my bestfriend, of course you are.”

he spoke, rolling his eyes amused at your denying.

you managed to let out a fake chuckle, silently cringing inside as he called you that. were you really only his ‘friend’ to him?

you wished to be so much more, and he had no idea whatsoever.

you were snapped out of your thoughts by his voice, drunkenly rambling again.

“thanks for the water. that was like, kinda sweet.”

“sweet?” you question, laughing as you furrowed your brows.

“yeah. you’re a sweet girl, i swear.”

you opened your mouth to protest, before being interrupted before you got the chance.

“you’re kinda pretty too.”

you froze at his words.

pretty?

that’s the last word you thought jj would use to describe you; at least to your face.

“what?”

“actually, no. you are pretty. very pretty.”

“jj, you’re drunk.”

“yeah, i am. and you’re pretty. probably beautiful if i could think right now.”

“you don’t mean that.”

“no, i do. i definitely do. i don’t know why you don’t have a boyfriend. or why i’m too dumb to ask you out.”

you were completely baffled at this point, trying to find any truth in his words. and to your surprise, he sounded genuine. drunk, but genuine.

you had liked him forever, and this was the most he’d ever showed any reciprocation.

you were always too scared to say anything, afraid of his rejection and what it would do to your friendship.

so, you opted for having some of him, rather then none at all.

“do you even understand a word you’re saying?”

you spoke, desperately needing to know if he was just drunkenly saying bullshit, or revealing the truth of how he felt.

“yeah, i do. you’re a sweet girl who is too pretty to not have a boyfriend. i mean, god. your face is perfect.”

“jj, shut up. stop.”

“no, you shut up. let me talk. i think i like you.”

“i’d hope so, considering i’m your bestfriend.”

“no, no. like actually like you. like seriously.”

you desperately were trying to deny his words, convincing yourself this was a dream and you needed to wake up.

“you think you like me?”

“no, i actually know i do. like a lot.

“jay, you’re joking.”

he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“can you let me be serious about one thing in my life? i mean, god. i’m not joking. i’m serious. serious about this, about you.”

you could tell he was probably getting agitated the way you kept denying him, the way his mood shifted from amusedly drunk, to pissed off.

“why don’t you sleep the ‘liking me’ off, yeah?”

it took a while, but you convinced him to just go to bed. and as he layed in the next room over, you couldn’t get over his words.

was he trying to get in your pants because he was wasted, or was he serious about liking you?

you knew the thought would keep you up all night if you let it, so you decided to drop it from your brain, drifting off to a light sleep.

next morning

————————————————

you woke up groggily, a slight hangover lingering on your body. once you registered everything, you decided to go to the room next door, consisting of a likely just as hungover jj.

you opened the door, sitting on john b’s his bed, silently shaking him awake.

you knew he’d probably get all mad, but you needed him to help you clear the lingering thought in your head.

he groaned, mumbling a sleepy short sentence.

“what do you need?”

“can we talk?”

“speak or forever hold your peace, stupid.”

you rolled your eyes at his tired insult, reluctantly continuing with your words.

“uh— last night, you told me some stuff. like that you liked me, thought i was pretty and stuff. were you serious?”

he shot up as the words spilled out, immediately sitting against the headboard.

“i told you that?”

“yeah, you did.”

“shit— um, well yeah. kinda. in a way.”

“kinda?”

“no. not kinda.”

he said, rubbing a hand over his face.

he spoke again, sounding embarrassed.

“yes. i did. i meant it. every word. ‘m sorry. i didn’t mean to— jesus, fuck.”

“no, it’s fine, uh— i ‘kinda’ like you too.”

you said, letting the words come out before you thought about their weight.

“kinda? you’re serious?”

“yes, i’m serious. and not kinda, i didn’t mean that. i like you a lot.”

“shut up.”

“i’m serious, i do.”

“well, why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“i don’t know. i was nervous.”

a silence filled the room, not awkward. just waiting for someone to figure out the right thing to say.

finally, jj spoke.

“uh— i’m like really hungover.”

you rolled your eyes at the subject change, finding it just like him to do something like that.

“that’s what your gonna say?”

“no, fuck—sorry. can you just sleep in here with me so i can think straight after?”

“you could’ve just said that.”

“well, i just did, didn’t i?”

“i guess. and yeah, i can. scoot over.”

he awkwardly listened to your demand, not used to the feeling of you knowing about his thoughts of you.

you both fell unconscious soon after, unknowingly shiftinging your bodies closer as you slept.

you slept for another hour or two, limbs tangled and intertwined together as your mind tried to decipher if this was a dream, or if your head was really resting on your bestfriends chest.

[sugar-omi]

Ahhh I'm sorry! One more 3am horny story idea because I just need to get these out of my head! (I hope you don't mind <3) But this one would more be about DILF!Cove/ Older!Cove, because any younger and he might die from blushing so hard... But Cove has to go away for a business trip for like a week. Which would be fine, but the night before he is scheduled to come back you are incredibly horny. So you set yourself up on your bed, using whatever toys you need to start. Maybe you're using a vibe against your aching clit, trying to imagine Cove's expert mouth against it... Or you're jerking yourself off in one of his shirts - one he wore before he went on his trip (you really had to do laundry soon). You're just sitting there on the bed, trying to get off as your surround yourself in his scent, that citrus oceany smell that will always be his... trying to remember what it would be like if he was there touching you. He has only been gone a week but you're so down bad! God you can't help but let his name spill from your lips as your try to get off... Anyways, you're so deep in your imaginations that you don't hear the bedroom door creak open before carefully being closed. It's not until a deep voice clears his throat that you look up, seeing Cove standing by the door, his blue eyes dark as he stares down at you and your exposed sex. "Miss me?" He would be so cocky and smug (only an older version. I think step 4 Cove would still be a bit of a blushy mess) As embarrassed as you are to be caught, you can't help but nod and blush deep. You move to stop but you see him shake his head, "No, continue. Pretend I'm not here." To your surprise he drops his suitcase to the side before sitting in the bedroom chair (one that's covered in clothes that aren't too dirty to wash, but aren't clean), shifting it so it's facing you. He begins palming his obvious erection through his jeans, giving you a smug and blushing grin. "I wanna see what you do while I'm gone." Needless to say, once you pick your jaw up off the ground from the shock, you give him a show. I bet it wouldn't take long for Cove to break from the act of just watching before he has to have his hands on you and show you how it's really done ;) God it was only a week but he missed you so much as well ~ ☕️ (ok, maybe now I can sleep???) (BEST OF LUCK WITH SCHOOL WORK I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK)

I LOVE YOU ANON. I AM OBSESSED W YOUR BRAIN OH MY GOD YES.... this is what i imagine daily. hourly. secondly.

DILF!cove is a cocky bastard, he's always so sweet and loving, still reserved but he's confident. but when it comes to you, he can get so arrogant.

in a cute or sexy way of course, only when you're looking absolutely heavenly and he needs to makes sure you know how much he appreciates and loves you.

and when he walks in on you in his shirt, furiously working your sex trying to achieve that satisfying, delicious orgasm that you can only get from him.. of course his ego is stroked.

he loves it, your box of toys are out, a couple different toys at your side, clearly used and abandoned. and you're in his shirt, knees up as you press the vibrator against your sex, tears in your eyes and your slick ruining the bed sheets / cum staining his shirt and your tummy.

you look so pathetic and sweet.

sits and watches how you pathetically use the toy on your sex or finger/stroke yourself, all whiny and desperate, begging him to stop playing around and makeup for lost time....

i need to write this now. jfc. im writing this down, i need this ferally.. i hope you got some good sleep anon, thank you for the brainrot 🫡 i hope you have an amazing week, lovely <3333

[warblogs17282]

So you all remember the 'Gud Job!' sticker from the fourth short right? If Stolas does end up working at I.M.P or whatever, I really think Blitz giving these stickers to Stolas or whatever would be really good for Stolas.

My main reason is because I think Stolas hasn't really been given positive reinforcement much throughout his life, and there's a few examples I can find of that supports this.

A common link with all the examples I can think of is that it reinforces to Stolas that whatever he was doing/did was bad, and that he should stop exhibiting that behavior, something that you notice multiple times if you think about it.

Paimon hitting Stolas:

Easily one of the most notable examples of this, Stolas bows to Blitz, and Paimon takes issue with that because Blitz is an imp, someone near the bottom of the hierarchy, so to 'correct' Stolas' behavior, he hits him in an attempt to reinforce that Stolas shouldn't be bowing to the lower class, that Stolas should stop exhibiting that behavior.

Stella:

Stella was a frequent user of this sort of thing, and it's something we can see in both of her interactions with Stolas in s1 e2 and s2 e1.

Stella is angry in s1 e2 for two reasons, the first being that Stolas having sex with Blitz signals the start of her losing control over Stolas, something she is desperately trying to regain here, and the fact that Stolas slept with an imp, someone who is far below them in the hierarchy. (She is not mad because Stolas committed adultery, she's mad because it was specifically with an imp.)

"You are a goddamn embarrassment!". Stella here tries to paint the fact that Stolas slept with Blitz, an imp, as being embarrassing, which as you can clearly see, is a failed attempt to reinforce what Stolas did was wrong, both sleeping with an imp and announcing that he's going to divorce Stella in front of her and some of her friends, and she does this to try and recover the rapidly deteriorating situation, to once again get Stolas to stay in line, because her control she had over Stolas is disappearing, and she obviously wants to maintain as much control over Stolas as she can possibly have. Plus, considering that her attempts to regain her control over Stolas failed, the next step was just to eliminate Stolas entirely, by hiring Striker to kill Stolas in her incredibly short-sighted plan.

"What do you think the rest of the Goetia family will think?". What do you think the rest of the Goetia family and Andrealphus will think of Stolas divorcing her, is what she's saying in that scene. This is another failed attempt to get Stolas to call off the divorce, using the Goetia family and Andrealphus to what I see as Stella subtly threatening Stolas into calling off the divorce, to try and reinforce to Stolas that the divorce is a bad idea, because Stella loses any chance of getting her control over Stolas back if they aren't married.

(Just be to clear, obviously Stolas is in the complete right here, before anyone takes this as me bashing Stolas when I'm not doing that at all.)

The S1 E7 car scene:

We all know what the arc that this scene started up for Stolas, the one where Stolas goes to get an Asmodean Crystal for Blitz, so that Stolas can 'free' Blitz from the arrangement they have, which is very clearly shown in s2 e8 song, "No need for an arrangement, it can just be him and me, I'll set us free" and "He deserves the choice to stay or go, though it scares me to think what I'd lose…". Plus, we all know the line that started that whole arc off as well, "Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you, okay? You make that really clear all the time.", reinforcing to Stolas that the arrangement they have is a bad thing for a few reasons, and that Stolas should 'free' Blitz from the arrangement.

(I am also not bashing Blitz in this post as well btw, and obviously the arrangement had to go, I'm just using that as an example because it fits with the overall point I'm trying to make, I'm not claiming at all that the arrangement was a good idea long-term on Stolas' part.)

Finally, the s2 e8 argument:

Just like overall, what happened here just straight up confirmed Stolas' fears and doubts, with one of the examples of this being that Blitz hates him because of the arrangement, which in turn just reinforces to Stolas that him trying to have an actual relationship with Blitz was a giant mistake, which happened the moment Blitz came to the conclusion that this was all just one giant roleplay, with everything else that happened after that point just rubbing it in to Stolas.

(I am still not bashing anyone at all btw)

So, I believe that all of these examples that I have listed show the point I made at the start of this post, that being quote 'that it reinforces to Stolas that whatever he was doing/did was bad, and that he should stop exhibiting that behavior'. Which seems to be one of the only kinds of behavioral reinforcement Stolas has ever gotten in his life, looking at all of the examples.

Personally, I think positive reinforcement would work wonders for Stolas, because Stolas is very much trying to be a better person, but having to do that basically all on his own, and Stolas having some positive reinforcement in his life, such as the gud job stickers for example, would really help Stolas to become a better person, since the positive reinforcement would help to guide him. Which is why I think the gud job stickers would work so well for Stolas.

Plus, as an autistic person, I can attest to the fact that positive reinforcement can be quite effective. In school when I was like 9 to 11, we had this thing called 'golden time' (it was basically 20 minutes at an end of a friday where we basically got to do whatever we wanted), and the school saw that taking time away from me for bad behavior wasn't really working, so they put me on a positive reinforcement system, where I'd start at 0 minutes and gain time for showing good behaviors throughout the week, like doing my work to a good standard for example.

[otherone12]

Comics And "Something"

Gerard Way x Brazilian!Reader 

-> Masterlist

A/N: Hey!! Well... days ago my intrusive thoughts just won and i wrote a Gerard Way imagine (because why not)... and then I received this request... I've been bored, so maybe i'll post some emo imagines (mcr, p!atd, fob, paramore...) frequently?? Idk. If have requests, I will certainly make them... and i will post a part2 of the “I Can Help You With That” :)

~ "Could you do another imagine with Gerard and a Brazilian reader? (Perhaps the reader is Gabriel Bá's sister) ...I don't know if it's an interesting request :("

Summary - Your brother worked with Gerard for a while, but you've never really met him until now 'cause you live in another country (Brazil). Fortunately, Gerard is gonna stay at your brother's home for a week, to work on a new project. You both don't know what happens when you've seen each other, but it was CLEARLY something.

- Word Count: 1.570

- Warnings: Age gap? (not smut!)

- Ps1: I'll not use y/n…

- Ps2: I'm brazilian, so english is not my first language ... sorry if i wrote something wrong.

Damn... sorry for the superlong intro *-*

___________________________________________

Reader's 1st Person POV

I woke up 3 am and looked at my phone just to see three missed calls and an absurd amount of texts from my brother. I can't believe that this man is like forty-something years old and can't even wait till the morning to tell me whatever he wanted to tell me.

Even though I'm tired, I read every single one of the messages. None of them has a real meaning, was like "are you awake?", "i need to talk to you", "it's important!"

Why the fuck he did'nt just tell me what is going on insted of doing this?? 

I called him back and he dropped the news: Gerard Way will spend a whole week in my brother's house!

- Realy?! - I shout at phone

- Yep... he's gonna stay here for a while... don't act like a stoned, please. - i heard a bit of a desperate tone in his voice, like he wasn't kidding.

- What do you mean? - I said, trying not sound offended, even if i was.

- I know you for 25 years, dear... you can't keep MCR lyrics references out of your mouth for too long. - He chuckles.

He's right... i can't, the same way i can't swim, can't dance and i don't know karate.

- I don't know why you think I'm gonna be weird or something... it's not like I'm a fangirl. Not anymore. - I argued.

- Sure... - his sarcasm always makes me mad - By the way, we'll be busy working, so i will need your help here... can you stay with us in my place?

- Yeah, but why do you need me? Don't you think I'm gonna "act like a stoned"?

- Honestly? I KNOW you're gonna be creepy, but I can't cook, and i refuse to buy shitty North American food for Gerard when he's here. 

- OH, FINE! - I couldn't help but take it as a challenge, I'm gonna be there and act normal, because that's what i am, right? A normal person - I get it. So no cheeseburgers and stuff? 

- NO! You can cook something nice, right?

- I can try... 

- Awesome! See ya tomorrow at 8pm in the airport to pick Gerard up. Good night. 

-  Bye! 

Yeah, sure, how the hell does he expect me to sleep? I mean, when I was a teenager, Gerard was my hero. I'm not that kind of fan anymore, but still, I like him so much. 

Gabriel never introduced us appropriately, probably 'cause I was ‘that’ creepy fan, or the long distance between the countries made it impossible for me to travel. Anyways… just didn't happen yet.

*** time skip ***

I don't know why, but I just imagined the scene of Gerard going out of the airplane and thousands of paparazzis just screaming and taking pictures of him… I was surprised that didn't happen, I know the people here and we can be really crazy sometimes. By the way, Gabriel and I was waiting for him.

Soon, along with several other passengers, We could see him, who was looking for the familiar face of my brother in the crowd. The smile emerged on his face in the moment they made eye contact. 

Damn this man is so good looking… Suddenly I remembered why I had that crush on him.

-Hey, How long, man?! - Gabriel said with a smile as he opened his arms to hug Gerard.

- Hell yeah! How have you been? - That pretty smile still in his face.

- Great! Better now that i know we'll gonna work together again!

I just couldn't stop looking at him… I think he noticed, ‘cause he looked back at me.

-Lemme guess… Your sister, right? - The lovely look on his eyes as he extended his hand to greet me made my face burn. - He talks alot about you, I was excited to finally meet you!

- So as I! - I shaked his hand and smile back at him, trying not to overdo it.

- She's A huge fan! 

The death look I gave Gabriel made Gerard laugh a bit, but not enough to make me feel more embarrassed than I already was.  

-Well, that's true, but why don't we go home? - i said - You need help with that? 

I pointed to the two suitcases he was carrying.

-That's fine. I can handle two of them. Thanks! - i swear, his eyes was glowing… im not that crazy! 

We put Gerard's things in the trunk of my brother's car and we went back home. 

During the way, all I could think about were those hazel eyes and how I felt a connection... it was inexplicable, maybe it's just nonsense in my head. But there's always a ‘maybe not’, right?

Gerard's 1st person POV

I don't know what that was. But THAT was fucking something! The way she look? Maybe, but not just that. don't know! 

I haven't even talked with her, but I hope we have time to get to know each other well. Because that was something.

At home, Gabriel showed me the office and the room i'll stay in.

He has such a pretty house, and all the pencils, markers, and art stuff get me even more excited to start work. But his sister is still in my mind... The best I can do now is go to sleep, cause all the way in the airplane just stressed me out.

Reader's 1st person POV

First things first, i woke up early to do exactly the thing my brother wants me to do: cook. 

I was distracted preparing coffee, and heard a familiar voice from the back of the kitchen.

-Morning… - Even though his voice was dragging because he had just woken up, he still sounded so good. 

Gerard sat at the table while I finished preparing breakfast.

- Morning! How was your night? Did you sleep well? - I asked, trying to start a conversation.

- Yeah, really well, and the feeling of waking up with this smell is just amazing! - He smiled, rubbing his eyes.

- I'm glad you like it. - the feeling of relief and joy took over me, I think being normal will be easier than I imagined…

*** time skip ***

The next two days was normal, just small talks, because the purpose of him coming was not to talk to me, but to work, right? Still, it would be nice to take an hour or two just to talk.

Or not, i keep thinking about the feeling in the airport, i want to feel that again. 

Gabriel left early this morning to look for who knows what, which ended up making room for a break from work. 

I was sitting on the couch, watching a rerun of my favorite movie when Gee appeared in the living room and sat next to me.

-Finally a break, hun? - he said, with his usual smile, which by the way I always thought was beautiful - Don't get me wrong, I love to do that, but sometimes Gabe just goes too deep.

- Yeah, I know… he is intense. Family thing, I guess… - I chuckled and turn the TV off, so we could talk. - Same eyes and same craziness.

We laughed for a moment, but he seemed to concentrate on confirming the similarity between my eyes and my brother's eyes. A shiver went down my spine when the look stopped being critical and became appreciative. It's incredible how artists can vary between technique and feeling.

The situation made me want to kiss him, but I think this is out of the limits, considering his relationship with my brother. I respect that and never gonna do something that could ruin it. 

-  Transcendently impressive… - The way he spoke made it seem like he was in some kind of trance. - Your eyes. 

I gasped in shock. I didn’t know what to say. I just stood still, while my breath was panting.

-Thanks! - I pulled from somewhere within me the confidence to thank and return the compliment. - I can say the same about yours, maybe even more.

- I think you're exaggerating, but thank you - I thought the situation would be awkward, but Gee seemed increasingly comfortable with my company. - May I ask you something?

- Sure! - My curiosity barely let him finish the sentence. - Anything.

- Did you feel that at the airport? - He sighed as if taking a huge weight off his chest. - Because i did. Sorry if it sounds weird or...

- Thank God! I thought i was freak out. So there WAS something. - I quickly got up from the couch and practically jumped for joy. - The last days i couldn't barely sleep thinking of you! Well, not YOU but the whole situation and-

It happened so quickly that I couldn't register in my mind when he stood up, even less could I believe that he cut me off with a kiss. 

-I thought about you too, sugar… 

Before I could do anything, he kissed me again, that feeling it was becoming clearer and clearer, with every second my lips remained close to his.

The next few days were a bit different… not like we just makeout a lot of times, but some quick looks, kisses and conversations. We discovered that we have more in common than we imagined…

Now, taking advantage of Gerard's last moments here, I decided that I would help him pack his bags, so that we could make, whatever our relationship is, last longer. While we were talking, I couldn't help but notice the t-shirt he was putting on his suitcase. 

-Oh my god, i didn't notice… you brought THE shirt! 

- What do you mean? - He was confused, but then he looked at the shirt and noticed why.

- “Pool Boy At The Vampire Mansion” shirt… it's like THE shirt!  

- Ya know? Keep it.

- WHAT? I don't think-

- You heard me. - He smiled, in the cutest way a human being can smile.- I want you to keep it. I don't know when we're gonna seen each other again, so… 

Gerard dropped the shirt in the bed and got closer to me, placing his hands on my waist and, getting even closer, he pressed his lips to mine gently. The kiss became deep as we let ourselves be carried away by the heat of the moment. 

-This week was perfect. - He said, placing his hand on my cheek and looking into my eyes. - I wish it didn't end now. You know, sugar, I think we could work out… be something. 

- I'm sure that we can make it happend- I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss even more intense than the last. The feeling of hope made it seem like time would stop at that moment. 

~ That's it. Hope u enjoyed :)

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲 🌲

(Is this the max? I’m trying for max. I can’t remember how many to send. I just need this story so bad 😭🩵)

The limit is 1k so 1k for ya <3

Putting it under the cut for NSFW content:

---

He grabs Eddie’s waist, peppers kisses down his neck. Eddie shivers. He forgets his concerns. Following an instinct to just do whatever he wants, Eddie slips his hands under Buck’s shirt. He wants to feel all of him. As much as he can.

“Let me make you feel good,” Buck says, voice tickling Eddie’s throat. “Please.” 

He already is. He already is making him feel so good. Any better, and Eddie might genuine combust.

“Yes,” he says anyway. “Yes, god. Please.”

Buck pulls his head back and grins a little wickedly. Like he knows exactly how good he’s making Eddie feel even before whatever he’s planning. Eddie is terrified and desperate to know, all the same. 

Buck kisses him again. He touches his tongue to the sharp edges of Eddie’s teeth, completely unbothered by their inhuman points. All the while, he’s fiddling with the drawstring of his own sweatpants that Eddie is wearing. Eddie moans a little, into Buck’s mouth, practically squirming, desperate for more. 

Before he knows it, the pants are around his ankles on the ground. He’s not wearing underwear, thanks to the damn tail. So he’s just kind of… All on display. Harder than he’s been in a long time, and jutting his hips out in a way that is just begging to be touched. Luckily, Buck doesn’t leave him hanging. Or, well… Not hanging. Buck doesn’t waste any time, is the point. He starts with his hand, gentle and a bit exploratory. But it’s enough to make Eddie’s thighs start to shake. He’s had a hand job before. Of course he has. But something about whatever his body is experiencing right now makes it feel like this is an entirely novel sensation. 

When Buck switches from his hand to his mouth, kneeling on the floor in front of Eddie, Eddie thinks he just about blacks out. His brain turns off entirely. He exists entirely in this moment. Knees trembling, Buck’s fingers pressing into his thighs. 

He doesn’t feel like a monster. He doesn’t feel like a failure. He just feels good. 

iv. 

Buck wakes up the next morning before sunrise. His hearing aids are out. He’s in Eddie’s bed, mostly naked. Eddie is sleeping pretty much on top of him, entirely naked. They didn’t go much further than the blowjob. Buck remembers that much. They’d stumbled into bed, kissed some more, fallen asleep holding each other. Then clearly passed out pretty heavily, because it was pretty early in the evening.

Unsure how to proceed, Buck just lays in bed for a few minutes. He just enjoys Eddie’s weight on top of him. Maybe Eddie will wake up, say he was just doing his Huldra thing, say that he’s still straight, and ask Buck never to touch him again. Maybe he’ll be off put by what happened and want Buck to leave. Maybe Buck will never get to kiss him again. Maybe they ruined their entire friendship.

Eventually, the panic rising in his chest over all the unknowns outweighs the comfort of Eddie’s skin against his. He can’t be patient or still any longer.

“Eddie,” he says, shaking Eddie slightly. “Hey, wake up.”

Eddie makes a muffled sound of frustration and only seems to tuck his head more tightly into Buck. Buck’s heart aches. 

“Eddie? Come on,” Buck pleads. 

“What?” Eddie mumbles. 

“We uh… We should, uh…”

Suddenly, Eddie scrambles off of him. Buck mourns him immediately. Wants to grab onto him and keep him in place. 

“Oh my god!” Eddie exclaims. 

Yeah. Fuck. He’s repulsed. 

“Eddie, I-”

“I’m so sorry, Buck!”

Wait. What?

“Why are you sorry?” Buck asks. 

“Because I completely took advantage of you! I am literally a monster made to seduce and kill people, and I… I did half of that to you!”

“No,” Buck shakes his head. “Eddie, no. If anything, I took advantage. I-I know you’re straight, and-”

“Am I?” Eddie asks, loudly and deliriously.

“Uh…” Buck trails off, unsure what to say. “I mean, I thought so. But I guess I’ve been wrong about that in the past.”

Eddie sighs. “I don’t know, Buck. I really don’t. I just hate feeling like I magically compelled you or something. That’s… That’s wrong, even if I didn’t mean to.”

“You asked me,” Buck says. “You asked me. I said yes. I was in control of myself. It just felt… I mean, everything felt so much more intense than usual.”

“Than usual?” Eddie asks. 

Buck’s cheeks heat. “Uh… Is that really surprising after what we did?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says. “It is.”

Oh. 

“Sorry,” Buck mumbles. “Uh… Yeah, probably wrong of me… I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s not it,” Eddie says. “Not wrong of you. I just… I guess I’m surprised you would ever feel that way in the first place. Especially like this.”

“Like a Hulra?” 

“Well, yeah. It’s fucked up, Buck.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t change… I mean I still just see you,” Buck explains. “And maybe… I mean, I don’t really know. I didn’t know myself… But I’ve probably… Uh, I’ve probably had these feelings for kind of a while.”

Eddie is silent for a moment. 

Buck immediately regrets adding on that last part. Holy shit. What was he thinking?

“I guess I just assumed you wouldn’t,” Eddie says quietly. “That it wouldn’t be a thing that came up between us.”

“Well… Yeah, I mean. I thought you were straight. I had a boyfriend,” Buck says. “I wasn’t trying to think too hard about it. It just hurt.”

Eddie is quiet again. 

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,” Buck sighs, scratching his head. He feels like a total idiot. “I’m not even compelled to tell the truth anymore.”

“What?” Eddie asks. “When did that happen?”

“When I had my hearing aids on. It was your voice… Anything you asked, I felt I had to answer honestly.”

“God, I’m sorry,” Eddie says. 

“Not your fault,” Buck replies. 

“But so… You meant everything?” 

“Yes, Eddie. I meant everything. I wanted everything.”

[ladysophiebeckett]

Regarding your Betty gaslighting arc post (which is awesome. Your analysis is always so on point and makes me see a new perspective every time), another great thing about these episodes is Mario’s comments that taunt Armando. Just to name a few of his iconic lines:

- She changed a night of lust and passion with you, for a simple dinner with Nicolás Mora

- Her only reward for doing everything (running both Terramoda and Ecomoda) was your kisses and sinister caresses and it turns out that they didn’t work or weren’t as effective as we thought

- When he flat out insinuated that maybe Nicolás was a better lover or well endowed (even more so than him) and that’s why Betty was rejecting him 🤣🤣🤣

- “You stopped wanting Marcela and all women because the company’s problems have taken a toll on your desire for intimacy, but if Betty accepted to spend the night with you, would you do it? Armando’s face is priceless here, and also Mario’s because it’s obvious he didn’t buy his response.

Finally, when he tells him to please snap out of it, that he had to come to terms with what he was feeling because even though it wouldn’t solve anything, it would allow him to clearly see just how screwed up he really was.

He even said some useful things to him. He constantly told him that Betty was testing him which she really was. Like you pointed out, she wanted to see if he followed word by word what was written on the letter to see if there was anything genuine about the things he said and did. One of the reasons she rejects him the night of El Meson de San Diego (aside from dignity) is that she had heard Mario tell him that had to do whatever it took to get her back even if it included sleeping with her. So when he told her he wanted to spend the whole night with her, Betty thought that this was part the plan he and Mario had for that night. Also, the fact that he didn’t guess she knew everything after all the things she told him that night is beyond me.

Anyways, I wish I could have the will and also critical thinking skills to make a huge post about Mario and Armando’s talks during this arc.

I love your blog, honestly.

you're incredibly sweet <3 thank u so much. i feel like im talking at a wall sometimes but it doesn't stop me.

i myself am trying to unravel the armando\mario toxic frenemy of it all, bc there's a lot to unpack. is armando that easy to manipulate? (no). is mario some puppeteer pulling all the strings? (no).

mario's taunts aren't helpful but i think sometimes theyre armando's mouthpiece. i think mario's comments are things that armando's already thinking but wont say aloud and when mario says them, it's like he's verifying those thoughts. it's 'oh ur seeing this too, im not crazy'. but mario isn't coming from a good place when he says them, however mario does push armando to continue to pursue her; pushing that armando doesn't need bc he was already going to do that. but mario telling him to do that makes it a cover for armando, an excuse, a security blanket if u will.

the night of el meson de san diego, betty drops anvil hints. from their argument in the office, fm their conversation in the restaurant, to their huge fight outside. she's incredibly passive aggressive about it but she does try to make it easy on him. in her office when he says 'you broke all the promises' and she says 'oh I broke all the promises? I'M lying to you?'---that was a life jacket, that was a gift. but he stutters. he's willing to believe she has something with nicolas and that nicolas is Bad and he's better than nicolas--armando can't think straight bc his insecurities and his ego are the forefront of it all.

armando that night really did want to talk and fix things bc that's how their relationship was before the letter. the desperation in his voice when he says 'i know if we go back inside and talk calmly we can figure this out'\'okay we'll go someplace else, i want to spend the night, all night with you'---he was trying to gain back their emotional intimacy and u can see betty waiver. she misses him, she misses how it used to be but she doesn't trust him or her heart anymore. and to really stick it to him she says she doesn't desire him. another blow to his ego. (that was a lie btw, bc they were going at it outside and also bc she says in her diary that it pained her to reject him bc she needed him too)

going back to the mario of it all, he's a complicated character we all have very differing opinions about. as i said, im still unravelling my thoughts about him and his relationship with armando. but i dont think it's a black and white as it seems. he's just as complex as marcela.

[loveandthings11]

How Deep My Love Goes, Chapter 14

Read on AO3 Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13

Fic Summary: A fix-it alongside canon that answers the question "how would things change if Rava said yes?" 💗 Chapter Summary: At Argestes, Kendall gathers support for the takeover from Waystar's inner circle even as tension builds and trust splinters within his team. Everyone scrambles to gauge each other's reactions to Logan's out-of-control anger.

Breaking News

Shanghai, 2003

“I can’t deal with this,” Kendall says into his office phone. She can hear that he’s suffering as she struggles to stay awake in New York.

“I’m sorry I’m so tired,” she says sleepily.

“No, I should have called you earlier. You- you should be falling asleep with me,” he says. He sounds almost desperate. “You have to come out here. I can’t stand it without you. I seriously, like- I’m not- I need you. Fuck. I miss you. No one understands how hard this is.”

She takes in a breath.

“I might be the only one who does,” she says more clearly. “I miss you so much it hurts.” She hugs her pillow. “I wish I could hug you right now. Make you feel better.”

“Oh my god, I’m dying for it,” he says. His voice sounds so stressed and it hurts that she can’t be there to comfort him.

“I want to hold you and cover us up in this comforter,” she says. “Keep you warm, kiss your face.” Sometimes she stays away from it, but tonight she’s just allowing the torture.

He drops his head into his hands. “I fucking- I need that so badly. I need you. I’m-“ he shakes his head “-yeah, you know what? I’m sending a plane for you. Come stay with me. Please.”

“What about-“ she starts.

“I’ll call Yale. It doesn’t matter. You can finish the semester from here. We’ll figure it out.”

“Oh? And how is that going to work?” she laughs.

“Because I’ll make it work. I’m calling them tomorrow.” He sounds serious.

“And- they’ll just say yes?” she asks, trying not to let herself believe it yet.

“One of the few advantages my father offers,” he grumbles. “Their endowment can increase significantly.” He and his dad have been fighting for months over Logan’s decision to send him across the world for a year.

“Oh, one of the few,” Rava smiles.

“I’ll pay your law professors personally. They’ll do individual sessions, whatever it takes. It’s your last year. You’ll have bar exam tutors, whatever, I’ll fly them out.”

“Okay! Well, you’ve convinced me,” she says. She feels a smile spreading across her face. “Ken, can you actually do this? Because if I think I’m going to be wrapping my entire body around you this week and then it doesn’t happen-“

“Well, now that you’ve put it like that, my entire body is very ready for that scenario,” he says. He drags a hand over his face. “Jesus. Two months since your last visit is like a fucking year, I’m fixing this right now. I’m gonna let you go to sleep before I lose my mind in this office.”

“Okay,” she agrees reluctantly. “I really wish you were here.”

He sighs.

“I can’t even think about you in bed right now.” He pauses. “Except that now I will think about you in bed, and nothing else, for the rest of the day.” He pictures their fluffy comforter, soft-as-air sheets wrapped around her perfect body, arms reaching toward him with sparkles in her eyes. “What are you wearing?” he asks to complete the fantasy.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to talk about that while you’re at work,” Rava teases. He chuckles.

“You’re not. But now I fucking have to know. Break my rule. Get your camera and email me a picture.”

“Kendall Roy, what kind of a girl do you think I am?” she asks with pretend shock. He smiles.

“Does that mean you’re not wearing anyth… no. Don’t answer that. You’re getting on a plane this week.”

“Whatever you say,” she says nonchalantly. He raises his eyebrows.

“Whatever I say? Are we keeping that rule when you get here?” he asks.

“Maybe,” Rava answers sweetly. “What are you wearing?”

He grins a little but refuses to give in.

“A suit.”

“That’s not very descriptive. That’s like me just saying ‘lingerie,’” she says. He wonders if anyone can see his smile through the glass of the office. Anyone could tell this is not a business call but he can’t stop.

“I’m not describing my suit.”

“Oh, you’re soooo serious and business-like,” she says mockingly. He tries unsuccessfully to keep his expression neutral.

“Okay. Well, this is a serious day-“ he attempts.

“What color is it?” she interrupts.

He gives it up, shaking his head and laughing.

“Navy blue. Are you happy?” She loves the sound of his laughter. It takes a lot of work and it’s always worth it.

“I will be if I see you this week,” she answers honestly. “You’re really going to call them tomorrow?” she asks hopefully. The possibility makes her heart race and she yearns for definite confirmation that she’ll have him back in her arms soon.

“Absolutely.” He looks at his watch and sighs. “Okay, well-“

“Nooo, don’t go,” she coos. But she knows she has to sleep and he has to work.

“Believe me, I don’t want to,” he says. She makes him feel more wanted than he’s ever felt.

“Okay. Thank you for taking care of this. I love you so, so much. I hope I get to see you this week.” She buries her face in the pillow and wills herself to stop being so excited before she knows if it’s really going to happen.

“You will. I love you too,” he says. He remembers the awful feeling of practically being pulled away from her at the hangar when he left and seeing her crying through the jet window. He can’t do that again. “You’ll stay? When you come?” he asks.

“For as long as you want,” she smiles.

“Forever,” he says. “Just so we’re clear.”

She blushes into speechlessness. She can’t believe how lucky she is.

“Forever. But we’re not staying there forever,” she half-asks.

“Don’t even worry. The day we get back to New York, that townhouse is gonna be home for real.” He’d bought them their dream place on the Upper East Side right before Logan had casually announced that Kendall would be in Shanghai for a year. He can’t wait to propose this coming year and make it all official.

“I love that,” she says dreamily.

“The place is good so far?” he asks. He’s jealous he’s not getting to experience it with her. His long-term hotel penthouse feels cold and impersonal and he misses Rava’s ability to make every room she walks into feel like home to him. He feels warmer at the idea of her in the suite. He likes it better already.

“It’s perfect,” she replies truthfully. “It’s missing you, though. It’s a good thing I have your sweatshirt.” She pauses. “Actually, can I break your rule?”

He smiles.

“Sure,” he agrees.

“Your sweatshirt. That’s what I’m wearing,” she says.

He wonders how she’s real.

“That’s even better than what I was thinking. Well, sort of.” She giggles. She’s warm in their bed inside his sweatshirt. He can’t do this anymore without going insane. “So… you go to sleep. I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be here within the week.”

“You’ll tell me exactly when tomorrow?” she asks. They had stopped doing their hourly count when she’d emailed him to ask how many hours til she saw him and he’d replied “a million :(“

“Yes. And it’s going to be less than a hundred hours. I can make it,” he says. “I think.”

“I’m so ready to see you. Less than a hundred hours.” She’s suddenly filled with relief. It hits her and she squeals. He smiles at the sound. She’s that excited to see him. “You have to cancel everything on your schedule because when I get there I am not letting go of you for two entire days!”

“That sounds so good,” he says. He glances out his glass office door at Nate and three of his coworkers heading his way. “Okay, I’m really sorry, but the guys are coming in here for the meeting. I love you. I can’t wait to see you. You have no idea.”

“I’m so excited! I love you!” she exclaims. Have a good meeting. I love you, I love you, I love you!”

……

Kendall’s leaning against the upholstered headboard smiling as he reads Rava’s gifted diary. He’d planned to read it all in one day but decided that reading one entry at a time was better.

She drapes her arm over his stomach from the pillow.

“What are you reading about?” she whispers.

“The week you came out to Shanghai.” He looks down at her. “You’re so fucking cute.”

“Mm I remember that. Just couldn’t take it anymore!” she smiles and nudges him to come closer. He slides down back under the comforter next to her and she puts the journal in the nightstand drawer.

“Yeah, that was physically painful.” He rolls onto his side and pulls her into his arms, exhaling fully. “This,” he says. “This is what I needed.”

She kisses him slowly and remembers the absolute euphoria of running into his arms as soon as she’d touched down.

He’d picked her up at the bottom of the plane staircase and she’d finally felt like she was flying even though she’d been in the air for hours. His driver and the flight attendants had stared at them kissing on the tarmac and fumbling and tripping backwards through laughs into the waiting limo.

“You brought literal sunshine with you,” he’d smiled as she shamelessly laid on top of him on the long seat and they saw the rays shining through the window. She had beamed at him and kissed him again and again.

“Where are we going?” she’d asked as the car started moving.

“Bed. Immediately.” He’d flashed her a devilish smile and she’d returned it as he started slipping his fingertips under her shirt.

She’d been terrified for months that she was going to lose him to someone else or that he would get stuck working in Shanghai permanently and wouldn’t be allowed to come home.

The relief of knowing she doesn’t ever have to be without him again floods her like it had in that moment and she rubs his shoulders.

“Hey,” she murmurs. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he mumbles into her hair.

“I’m going to go to Argestes with you,” she tells him.

He’s glad to hear the confirmation. He wants to look at her but he wants to stay where he is more.

“Yeah? Even with the kids and the plane and everything?”

“Yeah.”

He nods contentedly.

“Good.”

……

After dinner that night, Rava scrolls through The New York Times headlines while the staff cleans up. Kendall is reading through his hundreds of subject lines looking for anything that actually needs his attention when Connor calls him. He’s surprised for a moment but picks up right away once he remembers what the rest of the family is doing.

“Miss you, Kenny,” Connor slurs a little as soon as Kendall answers the phone. “Miss. You.”

Kendall is touched. And touched by guilt. He’d told himself he was going to make more of an effort with his big brother and they’ve barely spoken since RECNY.

“Hey, I miss you, too. How’s, uh… where are you all again?” He feels a pang of being left out. It’s been wearing on him lately.

“Tern Haven. What the Pierces call their compound.” Connor rolls his eyes. “They won’t take me seriously as a candidate, you know? They’re so into their elite establishments-“

“Dude. Criticism of the elite? Like- seriously?”

“Ha! You fit with everyone so well. Fuck,” Connor shakes his head. “Even when you’re out, you’re in,” he says. Kendall can hear the resentment and envy.

“Uh. Well, I don’t know that Dad would say that,” he responds. “So- so, what’s been happening? Is Nan Pierce-“

“Kenny, I love you. But I’m not calling to talk about company bullshit.”

“Oh- uh, right. Okay. Well…” Kendall doesn’t know quite what to say for a moment. “So- how are you?” he asks.

“Well, thank you for asking. I’m tired of not being taken seriously.”

“Well- Con, I get it, but you have to prove you deserve it to Dad if you want his-“

“-love?”

“-I was going to say respect. Although….” Kendall rubs his face. “He- I mean, not that I necessarily know everything- but- I think I’ve spent a lot of time close to him, so…”

“That you have,” Connor says plainly. Kendall’s a little thrown off by the attitude.

“Uh, are you guys drinking a lot?”

Rava glances up at him.

“You’re going to ask me if I’m drinking?” Connor asks with an edge.

Kendall sighs and looks at Rava with an expression that conveys how aggressive his brother sounds.

��I just- you seem…” he searches for the right words.

“Upset? Taken advantage of? You’re god damned right. And you’re off with your other family just laughing it up and taking away the company that makes any of us somebodies.”

“My other family?” Kendall is a little aghast at that and Rava looks taken aback. “You’re the one who- who always said I’d get them back? What the fuck? You know what happened with Dad. I had to do something.”

“Not this!” Connor exclaims. Kendall can hear the booze in his voice. “Splitting us up. We could have all been here together, you know? For once.”

“Okay, I’m not doing this. It is not my fault that we’re- you know, split like this. Blame Dad. I’m sure he’s pinning this all on me, but, it’s not just me. What was I supposed to do?” Rava is increasingly annoyed at the disruption in their peaceful day.

“Not take everything for yourself,” Connor grumbles.

“What? It was all taken from me. I- I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” Kendall has a bit of an out-of-body experience saying the things that were once said to him in similar situations. “I’m just going to hang up- and- and we can talk later.” He thinks he sounds like Rava four years ago and wonders if she thinks the same thing.

“No,” Connor says. “I’m sorry. I’m- drunk. I don’t want to- just, you’re the favorite and you don’t appreciate it. You’re not even here. The one time I’m actually invited.”

“Con, Dad tried to destroy my life multiple times in the last four- five months. I don’t think I’m his favorite. Or- not anymore, I dunno.” Hearing himself say it makes him sad. “As for me being there, that just doesn’t- it doesn’t make any sense. When you’re back in the city we can get together. If you want.”

“Sure,” Connor says dully. “But we won’t.”

“Yeah, yes we will,” Kendall replies. “You know, if it made any sense for me to be there, I would be. I actually- it’s hard not to see anyone. Are you going to be at Argestes?”

“No,” Connor answers flatly. “Not invited to things like that. You know, the way the little ones talk to me is unacceptable. Roman thinks I’m a joke and Shiv couldn’t care less.”

“I mean- that’s the way they are,” Kendall says as sympathetically as he can. “They talk to me like that, too. Sometimes it’s good with them, but then- well, they have their own thing.”

“You three have your own thing.”

“Uh, less now. I mean, if it makes you feel better that we’re apart,” Kendall says with some bitterness. He doesn’t like it himself.

“Great, now I’m bad for wanting to separate you,” Connor replies. Kendall rolls his eyes. This conversation is impossible. Connor continues, “But you know, I would know, it sucks that you aren’t talking to them.”

Kendall feels more guilt seep in. His frequent talks with Roman and his last one with Shiv are too secret to mention. He hates to lie when Connor feels like this.

“I mean, yeah, it’s hard not to see them much, but- but all of this is necessary. And it’s temporary.” His carefully chosen words make him feel slimy.

“Right.” Connor scoffs lightly. “Necessary. Because you can’t live without Waystar, right?”

Kendall looks down. He’s sorry to say it, but at least he can tell the truth here.

“Not- not really.”

Connor nods sadly.

“Yeah.” He pauses. “I fucking love you, Kenny. I really do. I’m happy you’re happy.”

“Well- I don’t want you to- I- I mean, I love you, too. I don’t know if I’d say I’m just happy. Everything you said? Roman and Shiv? I don’t like this either.” Rava shifts in her chair and looks sad for a moment. He catches her eye and points to the phone like he had to say it, but she can tell it’s not all made up. He pauses for a moment and gets up to walk out of the room. “Look- you- you helped me when things were bad,” he says quietly. “So, if you want to talk about anything-“ he sees an opportunity. “-the President thing maybe?” he approaches cautiously. “Like, are you just doing this for-“

“Attention?” Connor finishes. “In fact, I am doing this because my principles are the ones America needs to adopt in order to save herself.”

Jesus, Kendall thinks.

“Okay, well. If you want to talk. You know.”

He feels bad but he can’t stop wondering about what happened at dinner. He thinks he’d better not ask Connor.

“Yeah. Okay. Well, I made a friend here. Maxim Pierce. I kinda hate him, but he kinda hates me too, so it’s fun. He’s got some port that’s life-changing. I guess I better get back out there. So…”

“I’ll see you in New York,” Kendall offers.

“Uh-huh. That’ll be good,” Connor says. Kendall hears the doubt in his voice and promises himself he’ll do better with reaching out.

……

Tanya the travel nanny sits reading to the kids in their seat cluster on the jet as Rava pores over the latest documents the firm sent her. Kendall looks out the window and plays music to hype himself up for the upcoming run-in with his dad and siblings at Argestes. He looks at the text he’d received from Roman the morning before and lets it fill him with energy.

Naomi Pierce swung the vote against Waystar. An absolute no. But Dad will get them at Argestes anyway.

Stewy laughs at his phone and calls over to Kendall’s side of the plane.

“Take off your headphones and come look at this shit,” he says. This girl just sent me an article from some site called Fuckable in Finance. It’s a countdown. Top ten.”

Rava looks at Stewy disapprovingly for his language and its content near the kids, but Kendall’s obvious intrigue dances on his face. Stewy gives her an unconvincing apologetic look. Kendall pulls the headphones down around the back of his neck.

“So-?”

“Guess who number one is?” Stewy asks smugly.

“Do we have to?” Rava says drily.

“I guess no one really does now,” Stewy answers mock-thoughtfully.

Kendall stands up and strides over to Stewy, picking up his iPad and scrolling. He wrinkles his nose.

“Four?”

“You’re very hard on yourself, Ken,” Rava says as she pretends to focus on her paperwork.

“I know, seemed a little high for you,” Stewy says. “Recent media appearances probably skewed it in your favor, though. People love it when a thirty-nine-year-old goes through a rebellious phase.”

“Okay. Ha ha.” Kendall wishes Roman were here to do something annoying like put a blanket over Stewy’s head, or at least mess his hair up. “Are there a lot of these countdowns?” he asks.

“Oh god, take the iPad from him now,” Rava says to Stewy as she gives him a rare rye smile. Stewy looks triumphant as Kendall furrows his brow and does a Google search.

“Kendall, do you want to read the next chapter to the kids?” Tanya calls over. “They’re asking for you to do it.”

“With the voices!” Sophie exclaims.

Rava looks at Kendall lovingly and he looks up from Stewy’s iPad.

“Uh, yeah. Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“iPad, please,” Stewy says in a self-satisfied way. Kendall drops it onto Stewy’s armrest without looking at him as Rava stifles a laugh at their adolescent behavior. Kendall walks over to the kids and glances over self-consciously at Rava and Stewy watching him expectantly as he picks up the book.

“In here,” Kendall says to the kids, and ushers them behind a curtain to the other room.

……

Rava glances over at Roman and Kendall poking each other as soon as they’ve walked into the building for Argestes day one.

“Rockin’ some horny ankle cleavage,” Roman’s saying quietly to Kendall. Kendall looks at him with a smirk.

“Oooh, that’s scary. I’m scared.”

Rava chuckles and looks around to see who she might chat with. They’ve been spending so much time alone together lately that she hasn’t seen Bro Kendall in a while. She forgot how funny the inflated ego makes him.

“Maybe you should be scared,” Roman smirks. “We have this deal on lock.”

“I don’t think you do,” Kendall says, trying to sound sure of himself. “I think Nan wants nothing to do with Dad, Waystar, and especially ATN.”

“Well, unless you’ve got something huge to stand in Waystar’s way, you and Stewy and Sandy are dead in the water.”

Kendall works hard to maintain a neutral face until an hour later, when he and Stewy are sitting in armchairs in a breakout room, laptops out and coffees on tables.

“Are you seeing this email from Sandy?” Stewy raises his eyebrows as he scrolls on his phone. Kendall stares at his computer screen.

“Yeah. Fuck. This is a shitstorm. The wolf pack, the whole fucking- I think Greg knows all about this cruises shit… we should have stopped this, done something-“ Kendall starts.

“Dude. What are you talking about, Sandy’s thrilled! No chance Pierce sells to your dad once this story is released,” Stewy almost laughs. “It was supposed to be a while til they published this, but you know Logan’s going to make another attempt to buy while Nan is here. We’ve got to stop that. Waystar tanks, it’ll be nice and easy for us to buy it up.”

Kendall looks at him.

“I- I mean, yeah, but this can’t be the reason Pierce doesn’t sell. What are we doing to stop this article?”

“Stop it?” Stewy drops his head back. “Ken. Don’t be sentimental here. You want Waystar? This is how we get it.”

“How we get it?” Kendall’s wheels turn. “Did Sandy have something to do with this? Did- did he move up the publishing date?”

“Don’t get crazy,” Stewy warns.

“He fucking called New York Magazine?”

“It is his.”

Kendall gives Stewy an almost hurt look.

“Stewy. I did not agree to this. I wasn’t consulted, I would never have allowed this.”

“Well, you’re not the one in charge yet,” Stewy says.

“But you knew about this, obviously. And you didn’t tell me?” Stewy keeps the calm voice that he knows Kendall has to hear right now.

“You can’t always see through it all. It’s Sandy’s way of making things work, okay? You’ll be glad down the line.” Kendall looks at him like he’s insane.

“There might not be a way through it all. He didn’t even talk to me? Stew. Fucking- level with me. Is he trying to get me off the team? Does he have a new CEO in mind?”

“Don’t be paranoid. You’re fine, he’s just being practical.”

“He hasn’t taken my calls the last two days. We don’t have to destroy the company’s reputation,” Kendall says. Stewy still looks far too tranquil.

“Well, it’s happening. Nothing I can do,” Stewy shrugs. He sees a group walking by outside the door and nods at Kendall. “I’ll be back later.” He starts walking away.

“Come on, bro, I’m not done with this. Don’t fucking-“

Kendall is left standing by himself, tension bubbling from his stomach into his chest and clouding his head. The only thing he can think is that he has got to talk to Sandy. He shuts the door of the side room and reenters the cavernous networking space. He spies Sandy schmoozing with some others in the corner and begins to make his way over. He glances up at the balcony and sees Roman and Gerri rushing away into a conference room followed by Hugo and Logan. His stomach flips and he feels a physical pull toward that room. He should be in there. They’re defending the company. He tries to straighten his thoughts. He’s going to try to defend the company the only way he can. He walks over to Sandy and gives him a tight smile.

Sandy extricates himself from the group he’s with and walks with Kendall into a corner, sporting matching publicly-viewable smiles and relaxed expressions.

“Sandy. New York Magazine?” Kendall starts, keeping a pleasant tone for the many curious lookers-on. “This- this is how you want to win?”

“Kendall, I think you are maybe a little close to this situation,” Sandy says with an edge to his voice as he looks calmly at Kendall.

“What does that mean?”

“You are more concerned about the company’s reputation than ensuring our success.”

“Well, yeah, it matters that the company is in good shape once it’s in our hands.”

“This is a good move, and if it were any other firm, you’d agree that this is the right path.” Kendall tries not to think about whether that’s true. “I think you’re a bit emotion-focused right now.” Kendall tries not to let the fury spill out. “We can PR this… unseemly issue.”

“Sandy-“

“You’re not willing to damage the value temporarily, which we need to do in order to take over,” Sandy continues without allowing the interruption. “We have to stop this Pierce deal. Make them balk.”

“They already said no at Tern Haven. Roman told me so.” Kendall says flatly.

“For their own floppy reasons,” Sandy points out. “Logan is a persuasive man, is he not?” Kendall can’t argue with that. “We need something that even he can’t outbid. Something the Pierces will find sharply distasteful, not just generally offensive.”

“Sure, but-“ Kendall tries again to interrupt.

“But it’s your baby. Isn’t it?” Sandy maintains eye contact with Kendall, smiling placidly as if this isn’t a question that could end the world. “I also worry that this is more about your ego than anything else. You were across the department at the time, you might get dragged for it.”

“I- well- no. It’s- that was Mo, and Bill, first of all,“ Kendall starts. “It’s more than that. This- I am serious about being CEO, Sandy, and shepherding Waystar into the future. Let me say first that obviously whatever happened back then is not okay. I was not aware. I mean, of course there were people I- Mo, you know, he was an old family friend but- but, yeah, we should’ve gotten rid of him. There were-“ he shakes his head. “Sandy, you don’t have to publish. You don’t have to do this.”

“Kendall. It’s going to happen whether we do this or not. And I think you are gong to have to figure out what to say about these things when they come up. I’m sure you will.” And with that, he’s walking away and Kendall’s standing there silently arguing.

He’s so worked up he’s running his hand over the back of his head and starts looking around. He clocks Stewy coming toward him and slapping his own serene smile on top of his concern.

“Ken, what are you doing?”

“Sandy’s fucking threatening me I think?” Kendall begins. “Unless I’m good with the company being destroyed by his article, I’m out?”

“Relax,” Stewy practically whispers. “You are not being removed. He’s doing what is necessary.”

“And if that results in the company being trashed?”

“We’ll PR that shit so hard no one will even remember.”

“Stewy. The cruises thing is fucked up, but I can take care of it our way. Those responsible should be held responsible, but-“

Stewy rolls his eyes.

“We’ll get you your very own soap box,” he says, patting Kendall’s shoulder. He sees someone out of the corner of his eye and walks away again.

Kendall stands in a spiral and looks around hoping to find someone who will relate. Just then, Rava sidles up to him and gives him an excited smile.

“Oh, this is actually fun,” she says. “It’s been a long time but I just had a great talk with-“ she sees his frown. “What’s up?”

“Uh- no. Nothing. It’s good you’re having a good time, I like it here too.”

“Okay. So… what’s with the face?”

He sighs.

“There’s an-an article coming out, about cruises stuff. I don’t know exactly what the story is but it’s going to be bad. Make the company look like shit, possibly make me look like the bad guy. I fucking know who the bad guys were.” He grumbles. “Sandy’s publishing in New York Magazine, which he owns. I couldn’t even- stop him, he’s doing this. He- he doesn’t care what happens to me, Stewy says we’ll just PR it, but I don’t know that I come out of this, or that Waystar even comes out of this-“

“So, what, you just keep it a secret? What kind of accusations are we talking about here?”

“I don’t- I don’t even know. I-“ he glances at her. “You know, bad guys. They did bad shit. Shadow logs, coercion… maybe some assault. Maybe, uh, worse.” He braces himself.

“Maybe some assault?” Rava repeats. “And what, murder? What are you going to say about this?”

“Well, it’s going to depend on how they frame it. They’re doing whatever Sandy says, so the blame is going to land wherever he says it’s going to land. It doesn’t matter what the truth is. Sandy is not that different from Dad, you know… If he says it, it’s real.”

Rava scoffs.

“It is not real just because he says it. And Sandy doesn’t want you to look bad. You’re on his team. I mean, right?”

Kendall thinks for a minute.

“Sure. For now. But, but yeah. If this comes out, we’re going to have to have a big reaction. People are going to look to me. I have to condemn this, have a better reaction than the sibs. I’m going to call some crisis people.” Rava sighs and nods. Always another crisis.

……

The next morning, Kendall and Rava sit with Sandy and Stewy at a table staring over at Logan and Nan and Rhea. The tension is thick in the thin air. Rava’s watching Kendall and can practically hear his thoughts. Can’t believe Sandy’s fucking doing this. He sits refreshing New York Magazine’s home page over and over, wondering what Roman and Shiv are thinking about this. He notices they weren’t invited to Logan’s table this morning.

“You good?” Rava whispers.

He nods.

“Had enough PR people and lawyers to last me a lifetime last night.”

“Oh?” Rava asks, mock-insulted.

He gives her a stressed smile.

“Yeah. Well, except one.” He fidgets in his chair and Sandy looks over.

“Can you relax? It’s not as bad as it could be, Kendall. I am not destroying the company I’m taking over,” he says. Kendall notices his use of “I’m.”

Over at the other table, Rhea is doing the same refreshing. Sandy grins and glances at the time.

“Three… two… one.”

The story pops up on Kendall’s screen and he starts to read it furiously between stares at his father’s table.

Sandy looks on contentedly as he watches Rhea get up from the table with Nan and sees Logan look after them.

“And there goes Pierce,” Sandy says in a tranquil tone.

“Fuck,” Kendall whispers as he reads. “I mean… this is not good.”

Rava reads over his shoulder. Sandy clinks glasses with Stewy and Kendall tries not to throw something. Stewy looks at his face and knows.

“Ken. This was necessary. No Pierce, Waystar’s ours.”

“Ours and ‘embattled,’” Kendall says indignantly as he continues to read. He is sick of being embattled.

“You really don’t see what this does for us?” Sandy asks. Kendall is seething.

“Respectfully, neither of you built this company,” he says in as controlled a voice as he can.

“You are not going to be taken down by this, man,” Stewy tells him. “It’ll be a temporary dip. You know this.”

Sandy and Stewy glance at each other and know that Kendall just can’t see the big picture here.

“You’ll see,” Sandy says. Rava looks at Kendall supportively but she wonders if it might really be necessary to make the takeover happen.

……

After hours of pacing and texting endless questions to Stewy while trying to find out what response Waystar is going to have at the evening’s panel, the time finally comes to sit down and watch it happen. He fidgets anxiously next to Rava in the audience as the discussions begin.

“Who are they even going to have?” he whispers between nail-bitings and foot bounces.

“Stop that,” Rava whispers back, forcing him to sit still and not draw attention to himself. “The more obvious it is that you’re here, the more people are going to stare.” He does his best to stop.

“This is insane.” He glances ahead of him two rows at Stewy and Sandy sitting together. “I would know exactly what to say for this if I were up there,” he whispers into Rava’s ear.

“I know. But it’s probably for the best that you are not the face of Waystar right now, don’t you think?” Rava points out.

“Yeah, I-I guess. Let Shiv and Rome look like idiots trying to defend this? Or throw me under the bus?”

“They can’t do that without also throwing your dad under the bus, which I doubt he would like very much. If they’re going to say you knew, no one would believe he didn’t know.”

Kendall sighs. That’s something. Roman and Shiv are announced and make their way onto the stage.

“This is a joke,” Kendall whispers.

His eyes bore into them as they begin their interview, but after a minute it’s too hard to look at them. He should up there, he should already be CEO. He makes himself take a look around at who else is there. He spots Frank and wills him to turn toward him. Frank continues gazing forward with his hand holding his face. Kendall doesn’t take his eyes off him. This could be the moment to convince him to leave.

“Maybe it’s time for a good old-fashioned dinosaur cull,” Shiv says. The room quiets. Kendall’s mouth falls open and so does Frank’s. In a moment, Frank turns and he’s looking right at Kendall. Kendall eyes him intently, hoping he’ll read his mind. But he lets his godfather lead and stays stoic until Frank breaks the silent pause.

“We need to talk,” Frank mouths. Kendall nods.

Half an hour later, he watches Frank cross his legs as he leans back in the swivel chair at the of table of the small conference room they’d snuck into. He observes his every expression as he continues making his case. “You can’t be seen to take the side of the old guard. Look what they allowed to happen.”

“Well, Ken, if we’re being honest, it could look like this is what you allowed to happen,” Frank says.

“Well, Frank, if I’m going to be honest with you, it could easily look like you orchestrated it and are trying to blame me.” It’s ribbing, it’s serious, it’s everything in between. Frank sighs and Kendall continues. “I-I mean, I’m just saying, I think it’s a solid move for you to show that it wasn’t you. Come to the light, you know? I know you, panic-meister. This is killing you. You’ve got to do something, yeah?” he says with mounting enthusiasm. “Yeah?! I fucking know you! Get away from the incompetents, come remake this thing with us.”

Frank looks at the door and back at Kendall.

“You trust Sandy?” Frank asks.

“I…” Kendall realizes a pause is dangerous. “Yes. Yes, I trust him.”

“Well,” he sighs. “I’ll think about it. He’s easing into the possibility and Kendall tries to temper his eagerness.

“Okay. Good, that’s all I’m asking.”

Frank gets up and turns toward the doorway.

“Hey, Frank?” Kendall asks before he goes. The uncertainty of his situation is getting to him. “Do you think- do you think I can do this?”

“Well,” Frank answers, “I think your dad has definitely thought so. In the past, you know.”

“Sure,” Kendall says. He loves hearing that. “But, do you?”

Frank nods equivocally.

“Yeah,” he says lightly. “Probably, yeah, I think you could. Maybe,” he chuckles.

Kendall nods. He hopes he’s right about whose team Frank’s going to end up on.

They walk back into the room full of networkers, shoe-lickers, show horses, and hangers-on. Kendall darts up the stairs and knows exactly who he’s looking for next. The tallest man in the room.

“Greg the motherfuckin’ egg,” Kendall smiles sardonically as he finds Greg walking down a hallway. Greg looks like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Oh, h-hey, Ken! How’s everything going with, uh-“

“Greg,” he interrupts. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation at my sister’s wedding.”

“Oh-oh, yeah? Yeah.” Greg swallows and tries to breathe slowly.

“Well, I’m just wondering how much of this you know about. Because some of that insider information might be very useful. I thought we could talk about some opportunities for you at the new Waystar.”

“The new Waystar. That’s super- exciting, yeah. I really- um, I’ve been working a lot with Tom… though?”

“Tom?” Kendall scoffs lightly. “Greg. I like Tom. I do. But Tom is in charge of ATN. I’m about to be his boss. I already was his boss. If he’s lucky and gets to stay, we’ll see. He was also directly in the line of information that you shouldn’t have.” Kendall thinks for a second and looks directly at Greg. “Actually, is- is that where you got this information? From Tom?”

Greg looks too scared for that not to be the case. Kendall laughs a bitter laugh.

“Right. Okay. So you’re both stuck. I think you know I have every incentive to place the blame squarely on Mo, where it belongs, by the way, and Bill for covering it up, and unfortunately, that means Tom is in the line of fire. You, though? You could escape. Take the lifeboat.” Greg looks worried and Kendall looks at him seriously. “Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the cruise ship is sinking.”

On the other side of the room, on the ground floor, Rava’s gaze crosses the door that Logan, the old guard, Shiv, and Roman had entered after the panel discussion. Suddenly, she sees Roman stumble out holding his jaw and is shocked to see some unmistakable drops of blood on his hand where he’s holding his face. Her mouth drops open and she makes a beeline for him. He sees her coming and tries to turn the other way.

“Roman,” Rava calls, approaching him slowly. She’s pretty sure she knows what just happened. She catches up to him as he turns a corner into an empty hallway. “Roman. Are you okay?”

“I’m fucking fine, why is everyone asking me that?” But he’s looking at his hand in horror.

“Well,” Rava indicates his hand, his face.

“It was nothing,” Roman insists. “A fucking- accident.” But there are tears forming.

Rava reaches her hand out to touch his shoulder. It’s so tense it feels like a rock. He’s defended and doesn’t really respond.

“Hey. I’m not new here,” she says softly. He still doesn’t want to make eye contact. “Did he break anyth- oh, god,” she reacts as he pulls a tooth out.

“Ow, fuck. It’s fine, it’s nothing, I’ll get a new one,” Roman shrugs. But he’s obviously falling apart.

“Unbelievable,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

She puts her arm around him even though he tries to shrug her off. He sniffles.

“I’m sure Kendall loves that shit, but I’m stronger than him. If he even chipped a tooth he’d be in a plastic surgeon’s office with three psychiatrists convincing him not to jump off a fucking building.”

Rava squeezes her eyes shut and smiles.

“Okay. Can I get you some ice?”

He thinks about saying no but he can feel the swelling.

“Fuck you, fine.”

“Rome?!” They hear Shiv’s voice echoing as she quickly strides in their direction, the door slamming behind her. Rava watches her turn the corner and spot him, bending down to look at his face and make sure he’s okay.

“I’ll be back,” Rava assures him as she heads to find a server.

Once she’s collected the ice, she returns to him, now sitting in a chair in an awkward ball next to Shiv.

“Here you go,” she hands him the pack. He sighs.

“Thank you,” he says begrudgingly. “Where’s Ken, by the way? Can you- where is he?”

“I’ll get him,” she says immediately. “You want me to send him here, or-“

“No,” Shiv says. “No, we’ll be in Rome’s room. Right?” she asks him. He nods.

“Okay. I’ll tell him to come right to you.” Rava takes off to find Kendall. She walks all around the room and looks up to the balcony. Greg is slowly turning away from Kendall and walking back down to the Waystar room Roman just left. She takes long strides to get to Kendall faster. He catches her eye and she gives him a look that screams problems. He rushes to meet her on the staircase.

“Hey. What’s up?” he asks tensely. He looks pulled in a million directions and there’s about to be one more. She tries to keep her voice as delicate as possible.

“Uh, Ken, I’m sorry to tell you this, but your dad-“ she sighs. “Your dad hit Roman- pretty badly. Lost a tooth, he’s-”

The color drains from Kendall’s face.

“He fucking what? When- just now?” Rage spurts out of him. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” She puts a hand on his arm to make him keep listening.

“Yes, it was just a minute ago. I found Roman coming out of the room, and he’s with Shiv now. He asked for you to come to his room.”

Kendall is about to lunge toward the room he knows Logan is in when he’s physically pulled in the other direction by her words.

“He- he wants to see me?”

“He does.”

“Well, is he- is he okay? I’ll go right now.”

“He’s sort of okay? I got him some ice and stayed with him until Shiv got there.” Kendall pauses and looks at her.

“Of course you did,” he says quietly. She’s so good. He holds her hand. “Thank you.”

She squeezes his hand.

“He’s pretty shaken up. But I think he’ll recover.” Kendall looks almost as upset as Roman. She gives him a quick hug. “You should go, take care of him.” He nods.

“Yeah. Okay, yeah, I’m going now.” He walks briskly in the direction of the residences.

Rava watches him go and wishes for freedom for all the siblings. As he disappears behind a corner, she’s approached by a tall man in a suit who taps her on the shoulder.

“Rava. Nice to see you in the wild,” the man says.

“Oh, Joe,” she says. “How’s the case I want back?” she jokes, though they both know she’s serious.

“I’m glad you’re here, figured you’d be attending since the rest of the, uh, family is here,” he laughs a bit and she grins unconvincingly and nods.

“Yes, it’s a great day to have the last name ‘Roy,’” she acknowledges.

“Do you have a few minutes?” Joe asks. “I wanted to update you on the latest from the firm. Things have gotten interesting.”

“Oh? Well, yeah, actually, this is good timing for a few minutes.” Rava follows Joe into a nearby breakout room.

In the next set of buildings, Kendall knocks on his brother’s door.

“Rome? It’s me. Rava said- you wanted me to come.”

Shiv opens the door.

“Hey,” she says mirthlessly. Her expression looks like she’s been to war.

“Hey,” Kendall says, uncertainly giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Everything, uh..?”

“It’s pretty bad. He’s in there.” She indicates the bathroom.

“Should I-?”

“Sure, take a shot,” Shiv answers. She sits on the bed with her head in her hands, taking a moment before she reaches for the snifter of brandy on the nightstand. Kendall will handle her next. He walks into the bathroom and beholds Roman in a cloud of steam from the shower examining his face in the mirror, wrapped in a huge white robe. It’s far too big for him and Kendall could swear he still looks like the scared little kid he used to comfort.

“Hey,” Kendall starts. “Rava told me you- uh-“ He looks more closely at his face in the mirror. “Fuck. Wow. He’s such a piece of shit. Come here, let me see.” Roman reluctantly turns toward Kendall and lets him look.

“It was an accident. Whatever,” Roman tries.

“Rome,” Kendall stops him. He can see that his little brother’s eyes are red. He looks at Roman’s mouth.

“Where’s the-“

Roman gestures to the tooth on the counter. Kendall drags his hands over his face.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” he says.

“Would you stop? I don’t- it’s fine.” Kendall puts his arm around Roman and he lets it happen for a moment.

“Your wife tried this shit too. I said she’s just used to a weaker man who needs it.”

Kendall smiles at him.

“Sure,” he says, allowing the dig. Picturing Rava taking care of Roman in such an awful, lonely moment makes him ache for her. “Rome, you know none of that was okay. I’m gonna go talk to him, I am.”

“Don’t fucking do that. It was nothing.”

“Hey. It wasn’t nothing,” Kendall says gently. Roman seems to relax a few muscles and Kendall leaves his hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” Roman shrugs. “You’re going to be okay.” He looks at Roman’s eyes as he looks away and makes a face. “Yeah?”

“Whatever, yeah.” Roman finally answers. “Yeah. I’m glad you could take time out of your busy schedule of ruining our family’s company to come here,” Roman attempts to spit out.

“Uh huh. Me too.”

“Are you even going to defend yourself?”

“Today? No.”

Roman rolls his eyes.

“Go talk to Shiv. And just- don't talk to Dad today."

Kendall pats his shoulder and nods reluctantly. He walks back out where Shiv is sitting with her knees up leaning back against the headboard with a nearly-empty glass. To him, she’s eight years old again, looking to him to explain why their brother won’t come out of his room.

“Hey,” he sits on the bed near her.

She takes a shallow breath in and stares at the bed.

“It was my fault. So. There you go.”

“Shiv-“ he says.

“No, it was. I said ‘dinosaur cull,’ he hit our brother.”

“It’s never your fault,” he echoes one of his early therapists. “I- I mean, you know that.” He can’t quite help himself. “I might have phrased the- dinosaur thing differently, but- but it doesn’t matter. This?” He gestures toward the bathroom door. “This is not your fault.” She glances at him and back down at the bed, takes a long sip. He leans away from the smell and she puts it down.

“Sorry,” she says, back to avoiding his gaze.

“No, if I could I would. Believe me.” She nods and he reaches for her hand and holds it. “If you don’t want to go to the dinner tonight, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, sure, you would love that,” she says, grabbing a pillow and holding it. “But of course, you have to go, because if you missed a night of bullshit, you might die.”

“Shiv. Come on.” He hates that she’s a little bit right. But he means it when he asks, “Do you want me to stay here? I will.”

She shakes her head.

“No, no. You go. I’ll be there.”

Kendall looks concerned.

“Well- what about-“ he indicates the closed door.

Shiv shrugs.

“I texted Connor. He said he’s going to call him.”

“I mean, sure, Roman’s not going to answer, but-“

Roman walks out of the room on the phone and dramatically shushes them.

“Can you stop talking about me, I’m on a call,” he snaps sarcastically. He walks into the second bedroom of the suite and shuts the French doors loudly.

“You think?” Kendall asks. Shiv raises her eyebrows.

“I guess so!” They sit for a moment of quiet.

“So, back to the shitshow?” Shiv asks. They share a guilty moment of being the ones who love the drama. Kendall nods and sends a text to Connor.

Thanks bro. Back in the city day after tomorrow. Come over for dinner?

Kendall and Shiv walk out of the hallway together into the room full of people, which has quickly started turning into a cocktail party. Kendall looks around for Rava and sees her on the balcony walking out of a breakout room with a man he doesn’t recognize. He nods up at them.

“Hey, who is that?” he asks Shiv.

“Oh, that’s Rava’s side piece. Sorry you had to find out this way,” she teases.

“Uh huh. Okay,” he nods.

“You’re so jealous. You wish you had a relationship like mine,” she tucks her hair behind her ear. Kendall watches as she notices Tom talking to another woman on the other side of the balcony and clocks her disgruntled face.

“Yeah? And how is the perfect marriage going?” he asks. “He tell you what he knew before the article came out?”

She rolls her eyes because she can’t answer that and they walk away from each other.

Kendall climbs the stairs to meet Rava.

“Hey,” he greets her.

She slips her arm around his waist and he dips his head toward her. She makes him want to leave the party and go lie in bed with her watching something funny on tv.

“Hi, baby.” She uses pet names when he might be more anxious than usual. “How’s Roman?” she asks.

“Uh, he’s…” he shakes his head. “I dunno. He seemed okay. He was on the phone with Connor when we left.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea that you leave him alone?”

“Well, not alone. With Connor, sort of.” Rava raises her eyebrows and he acknowledges that she’s right. “I’ll go check on him before dinner.” He looks up and sees the same man strolling the hall. “Who’s that?”

“It’s Joe from the firm that took Tony Trume’s case! They found a bunch of information. They’ve got management names, company info, they’re working on tracking the company’s history, which is basically impossible, but they’re magicians. I learned so much just from being in there. I think I’m going in their New York office next week.”

“Company history. Gotta be careful when that starts coming out,” Kendall notes.

“Yeah, can’t say I’m hearing great compliments about the Roys tonight,” she says.

He sighs.

“Yeah, and I can’t imagine it’ll get much better at dinner. You good if we-“

“Leave early? My favorite,” Rava smiles.

“Okay,” he chuckles. “Good.”

…..

“Permission to never board?” the comedian calls out.

Stewy looks at Rava and snickers. Rava knows Kendall’s emotional fallout would be worse if she joined in, so she privately gives Stewy an amused look and lets it turn into a grimace at the distasteful joke. Everyone takes a second to look for Logan’s reaction at the next table. Stoic. Unmoved. No one’s surprised.

Shiv leans over to Kendall.

“Did you talk to Roman again?”

“Yeah,” he whispers back. “Well, sort of, he just told me to fuck off so I came here.”

She shrugs.

“Then he’s probably fine,” she says. They look at each other. “But I’ll go back after this is over. I had to come to dinner. Can’t be seen being a bad sport and not showing up,” she says as she straightens her jacket. Just then, Logan gets up from his table and storms out, seemingly following Nan Pierce out the door. Kendall and Shiv turn in their chairs to stare after him.

“Or maybe you can be a bad sport. What the fuck?” Shiv whispers. Suddenly she realizes their conspiratorial camaraderie is not appropriate. “Actually- no. You know what? We are not talking about this. Why are you even at this table?”

“Why are you at my table?” Kendall counters. “I don’t see you being invited to that one.” He gestures to the one Logan had left.

“Fuck you, I wasn’t even supposed to go to this stupid thing.”

“Kind of making my point,” he says. She looks away from him. “Shivvy, you’ll join my side eventually,” Kendall grins.

She gives him a look and turns her attention back to the comedian, who has finally moved on to others.

Once the performance has wound down, Rava looks questioningly at Kendall and he nods. They get up to go and say their goodbyes to everyone at the table. Stewy rolls his eyes dramatically.

“Ugghhh, you’re going to bed at- what is it, like ten o’clock? Drink three? Rava, can you make him stop being so fucking boring?”

“Can I make you stop pretending you’re twenty-two?” she asks playfully.

“Age is just a number. On a bank account in Geneva.” He gestures to the server that he wants another drink. A voice pops up behind Stewy.

“Yeahhh, I thought only women had ages.” Roman gives everyone a confused look as he sits down at the table. “Men just have bank accounts that get bigger. Right, Shiv?”

She smiles for a millisecond before it turns to a scowl.

“Look how delighted she is to see me.”

Kendall relaxes a little and doesn’t see Gerri’s long concerned look at Roman from Logan’s table.

“Glad you’re here, bro,” Kendall says. He looks at Rava hesitatingly. She nods graciously and sits back down. He scoots his chair closer to hers.

“Are you kidding?” Roman says loudly enough to be heard at the next table. “Wouldn’t miss this shit-fest. Someone just texted me that Dad and Nan are yelling at each other outside. I heard it was a must-see event.” Gerri takes a sip of her martini as she stands up.

Kendall tries not to smile at the welcome news of their argument, but he knows what that means. He glances down at his phone and opens a text from Connor.

Roman’s doing all right. And yes. I’ll come to dinner.

Rava taps him to look up for a second as Gerri walks by with Frank, now deep in conversation. Kendall leans toward them to try to eavesdrop. He only catches a few words from Gerri’s forceful whisper, but they’re enough.

“…Logan… losing it?”

Chapter 15 💗

[gurokichi]

WE NEED TO PLAY MINECRAFT TOGETHER UGH. soon i promise😔😔 i feel like a total fraud because i first won you over by telling you how many pet mooshrooms and ender dragons i keep, and then you wanted to play minecraft with me!! it’s not my fault my laptop broke and i don’t have minecraft on mobile at such inconvenient timing… 😭 you could take all the diamonds in our world, i’m too lazy to find and mine them!! i prefer quartz, for…… no particular reason 🥰 (building) but i’m also too scared to go into the nether. i hate hate hate wither skeletons and blazes and all other scary nether mobs. piglins are cute though. i want to keep them as pets. are you keeping track of all the pets we need to keep, by the way? because i require them desperately also i am too scared to fight anything i will hide behind trees and you can fight the scary mobs. YOU COULD BE A KILLER BUNNY WAIT. was that a minecraft thing?? i vaguely remember something about it where like it’s really rare to spawn from a rabbit spawn egg and then i kept spamming rabbit spawn eggs and my killer bunny never arrived. i wanted to keep it as a pet. this was three years ago and i have been disappointed since ALSO ABOUT YOUR REBLOG do you KNOW how badly obsessed i am with you??? i think about you wayyyyy too much i got my history paper back and in the middle of my incoherent scribbling on the question paper there was your name written a bunch in pencil. i think i had planned to erase it but clearly never got around to it. i can’t show you now though because they take the papers back for a bit to confirm the marks grrrr but i have a feeling you’re similarly on my other subject papers as well. literally haunting me. i do hold back a lot on you, though. i’m like always fighting with myself thinking if what i want to do will creep you out or come off as overbearing and clingy even if i am overbearing and clingy. i try to filter out that and the urge to spam you throughout the day. and at nighttime when you’re sleeping and i miss you. i feel 65% more miserable when you’re not around and 130% happier when you are. i literally jump with joy when i see the notification for you posting anything on tumblr because you are so INTERESTING AND I LOVE YOU.

YES YES WE DO!! YOU NEED TO HURRY UP AND GET MINECRAFT GRRR.

That IS how you won me over... and now it's been 2 months yet we haven't played once!! How could you say all that about playing with me and then not do so, you fraud? Smh. TOTALLY YOUR FAULT!! You should've just not broken your laptop! Do you even have a laptop or was that a lie? SIGHH. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE FROM YOU ANYMORE!! ...Just teasing you! I'm not serious, ehehe. Okay anyway seriously, WE NEED TO PLAY SOON. GROWLS. I will be taking all the diamonds, and I'll share them with you, because I'm so nice! I'll get quartz for you when I go netherite mining for us. I'll make sure to bring back piglins too! ...I am not keeping track, but I say we just get whatever mobs are cute. You poor thing, I'll fend off all the scary mobs for you <3 I am definitely a killer bunny! They do exist in Minecraft, but they can only be summoned with a command, which is why you couldn't spawn them, hahah. I do know!! I reblogged it as encouragement to stop holding back, you keep saying you're scared to upset me or scare me off, but I promise you that you definitely won't. AND THAT'S SO CUTE YOU WROTE MY NAME ON YOUR HISTORY PAPER AW. I wanna see whenever you get your papers back!! I gotta see the proof. You could never creep me out, and I love overbearing and clingy! I love it whenever you spam me too. Do whatever you'd like, and I'll still love you just the same. I miss you too whenever you're not around, and I also get super excited whenever I get a notification from you. I'm like "YIPPEE ERIS IS ONLINE YAYAYAYAYAY" AND I LOVE YOU TOO SO VERY MUCH ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[itslaneybop]

I’m sure someone has come to the conclusion that Barbatos was originally a feral demon upon creation, right? Diavolo very casually mentions that he lured Barbatos to the castle with tea leaves and Barbatos even notes in a different conversation that he was never a child. That one kid event aside, (which I could very easily find an explanation for if I took the time to do so) it seems too perfect that he would be a quadruped beast-like abomination, respectfully, and I’m going to run with that headcanon.

This is turning into a list I want to reference later 💀

• Barbatos has ALWAYS been articulate and insufferably formal. Maybe he’s made that way.

• Diavolo is the reason he takes a human-esque form, whether to match his own likeness or because he was influenced by some other factor prior to “The Fall”

• Barbatos’s current demon form only alludes to what he used to look like and is definitely the reason why it doesn’t seem to resemble a cohesive design

• He would have looked like a Frankenstein mix between a bat, salamander, owl, snake, and vulture

• ✨ Black sclera ✨ because yes absolutely he would *pants*

• Maybe he doesn’t revert to his previous form because Diavolo has never explicitly said that he was allowed to? (his abject servility lends me to believe he would never use his power without instruction or prompt so this might not be too big of a stretch)

• I already believe that most of the notable figures of native Devildom citizens are beasts or monsters and I think the older they are the less “human” they look. Barbatos is VERY old so that would fit in here nicely.

• Solomon nearly did himself in when summoning Barbatos, if I remember that right, and I desperately want to know what that was all about.

• Whether he started out as quadrupedal or bipedal I couldn’t say, but I think he was flexible enough to stride both ways. Don’t ask me for realism because this is clearly fiction lol but I will say that there is a distinction between his back haunches and the front “arms/hands”

• Someone once mentioned that Barbatos’s VA has a slight lisp (I’m unsure if this observation is true, but I can admit that I hear it and it’s undeniably cute to me) and for that reason alone, I’m envisioning either a snake tongue or sharp fangies to make an audible lisp—or he just has one; no reason at all ♥️

• As far as design goes, I kind of go back and forth between anthropomorphic (I’m using the term loosely and with neutral tone) and just full-on beast.

• For whatever scaly parts he has, I think they’re like a shift of green and blue, possibly yellow, like a June bug shell. Otherwise his body is a mixture of feathers and very fine fur, like a shitzu dog’s coat.

• Big ears! Huge ears that flex and move independently like digits on a hand. This would also explain the black claws on his head because I’m not buying that those are “horns.”

• I’m a big fan of Barbatos being able to speak every language imaginable and that definitely includes every variation of Devildom language. He’s old enough to have invented portions of some!

• Barbatos has said he doesn’t need to sleep (or I am at least fervidly trying to find evidence of it) so I want to believe he catnaps. Catnaps have been described as a light dozing while being alert to surroundings, either to escape danger or pursue prey.

• If he had fangs that worked to inject, he was a venomous monster. If not, I am adamant that he could secrete a toxin of some sort.

• Playing off that last idea, this would make a neat foundation as to why he’s so fascinated and keen on tea. I wonder what kinds of poisonous concoctions he’s made?

There’s a lot to add, but I need to reread the story to get some details right or to pick up anything I hadn’t had a mind to look for first time around. I know for a fact I skipped through most of the story involving the grimoire thing(?) and that’s pretty important regarding Barbatos lol so I’m coming back to this eventually!

[the-fiction-witch]

Rip

Media IRL

Character TBS

Couple TBS X Reader

Rating Cute

I yawned trying desperately to stay awake,

"You can sleep you know, we won't land for another couple hours, have a nap" Thomas told me

"I don't like sleeping on planes," I said unable to stop another yawn

"Sleep. Go on I'll wake you if anything happens"

"You sure?"

"Yeah go on don't worry I'll look after you," he says

"Thanks, thomas" I smiled I did my best to get comfortable and get some rest but I couldn't I just found myself squirming in my seat

"Here" he spoke up grabbing his jacket and putting it over me like a blanket "That better?"

I smiled the jacket was so soft and cosy I nodded and did my best to get cosy with it but I was still struggling but without another word, he pulled me to lean my head on his shoulder

"There, that better?"

"Yeah thanks, Thomas" I smiled nuzzling closer and soon enough I drifted off to sleep I hadn't actually slept so well in ages nor since before we started shooting months back mostly because I'd been on hotel beds and trailer mattresses which is not good for sleeping

"Hey, hey... Wakey wakey" I heard his voice muttering and I quickly sat up noticing I had really been asleep and I had even slightly drooled down my chin

"Oh my god- I am so sorry"

"Don't worry about it, you needed to sleep. I kinda forget most people can't just fall asleep whatever like I can" he laughed "I did nap with you for a bit though I'm not gonna lie"

"Did you?"

"Yeah you looked so cosy, I just rested my head on you and that's it I was out"

"You really can sleep anywhere?"

"I once slept on my motorbike"

"How-"

"It was parked. But still. I was doing Christmas shopping in Oxford Street which is a bad idea in general and I was super jet lagged yeah I just laid myself in the fuel tank and I honestly slept for about three hours. Apparently, the guy in the shop was about to call someone he thought I was dead"

"I'm not great at falling asleep. Anywhere that's not my bed"

"Ohh, you must struggle filming away then?"

"It's not fun, how long till we land?"

"About ten-twenty minutes"

"Ohh my-"

"I wanted to let you sleep"

"Thank you Thomas" I smiled

"Have you tried bringing your pillow with you? To help you sleep? you know Dylan does that"

"Yeah I tried that doesn't help plus you look crazy carrying a pillow through an airport"

"True." He laughed

Soon enough we landed and gathered our stuff heading together so we could keep chatting but I noticed something just beyond the next doors

"What?"

"Shit."

"Ohh fuck. Just stick close to me we'll be alright" he says

I did my best to stay close to him but that wasn't easy as the crowd of the press had formed and clearly had intentions they crowded us and I did my best just to keep my head down ignoring the shouting, the flashes, and how uncomfortably close many of them were. I kept pushing people away as their cameras and hands just felt so close I was nervous I'd hit them as I walked or something worse, by now they had managed to separate us even if Thomas did look back to find me and I gave him a nervous look he managed to move back a little and offered his hand through the madness which I quickly took as they got closer and more aggressive the noise and flashing now hurt my eyes I felt so scared of these men and there cameras as they got so close to me leaving me little space to breathe let alone anything else especially as I was wearing a dress. Thomas saw I was uncomfortable and tried to pull me through faster but the moment he did I heard this unmistakable rip.

I froze my blood running cold, he clearly saw too as first his face read of shock, then anger.

One of the photographers in an attempt to get closer grabbed the back of my dress causing it to rip exposing my legs, and my panties the Rip so far up my back you could see my bra.

Immediately I screamed and every camera flashed quickly trying to get the scoop.

I was utterly paralyzed but Thomas quickly wrapped his jacket around me and pulled me through where security was waiting to help quickly ushering us to a security room without any windows to give us privacy and protection. 

I sat doing my best not to burst into tears, thomas paced around the room utterly fuming muttering things to himself

"He's lucky I didn't break his fucking hand. or his camera. fucking cunt" until he saw me "Sorry y/n. are you okay?" He asked and the moment he did I couldn't hold back my tears he quickly pulled me into his chest kissing the top of my head and doing his best to soothe me "It's okay, you're okay. so long as you're not hurt that's all I'm worried about"

The door opened and we both jumped but luckily it was just one of the assistants for the press tour with our bags, 

"Okay talked with security, and they have assorted the press out, we have been told from security they are crowding most of the exits but they have explained they can get a secure car around to a different less popular exit they can't guarantee no press but less" She explained 

"We have any other way of getting out of the airport?" thomas suggested 

"Other than getting on another plane"

"Okay, are you gonna be okay?" he asks 

"Yeah, I'm just going to feel worse the longer I stay" 

"Alright, I'll give you a chance to get changed" He nodded heading out with the assistant a moment so I opened my bag and got myself some other clothes even if I felt so horrible, once I was dressed the security helped us through another part of the airport sneaking us through until we got outside and quickly got into a blacked-out car "You okay?"

"I think so" I nodded 

"Come here" He says pulling me onto his shoulder and keeping his arm around me 

"Okay we have a bit of a problem" the assistant spoke up

"What?" He asks

"The press have found the hotel and are swarming like a plague of locusts" 

"Is there at least a back entrance they can get us into?" 

 "Just finding that out" 

Immediately I felt nervous

"It's okay. I'm gonna take care of you" He reassured 

"There is a back door they use for staff they said they can let us in through there but they have already had to throw five guys out for roaming the halls looking for what room she's in"

"Fuck. Okay... how many rooms do we have booked at the hotel?"

"Three."

"Okay, get us in the back we can hold up in my room until these vultures calm the hell down."

"Okay that's the plan" she explained 

"Don't worry I'll keep you safe. I promise" 

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi, it’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. Don’t mind me, I’ll just be licking my wounds about the postponed state visit over here in the corner. (I do have a fic idea about this but it’s too raw at the moment lol. No seriously, I have had a very rough few weeks and that visit on Monday was what I was hanging on to to power through ha ha ha). Anyways. I am not sure what everyone’s thoughts are on alternative universes (but if you’re down EMT, I do have an idea in mind based on something you said a while ago…), but I feel like right now we all need a little bit of an escape. You’ll see what I mean. Hope you all enjoy this fic!

He slowly blinked awake to sunlight pouring into their bedroom, birds softly chirping outside the window, the gentle pressure of his wife’s head resting on his bare chest.

He took a second to get oriented, dazed as he was from what must have been a very vivid nightmare, one that he now couldn’t recall, eyes carefully tracking each corner of the bedroom, reassuring him he was home in Touquet.

He felt Brigitte stir slowly, moving to pull away as she awoke, before he quickly grabbed her and pulled her back into his side. He rolled over to greet her, “good morning, chérie,” he started to wish her, stopping short as he met her eyes.

Something felt off. She didn’t look any different, really, than the last time he though he saw her, at least, not physically, but there was something about her aura that was different, freer, more relaxed.

“Good morning, mon cœur,” she wished him, like she did every morning, reaching out to kiss him, and suddenly whatever feeling it was in his gut passed as he felt the strength of the love that had completed him, comfort him, anchored him every day for the last 25 years.

“Are you finally going to let me see your book today?” She asked when she pulled back with a teasing smile, clearly asking about some private joke they had been sharing, even if for some strange reason he couldn’t remember it now.

“Book?” He asked a little confused.

“Clearly you slept well last night. I must have tired you out,” she joked with a laugh, slowly stroking his chest with meaning, as he realized they had woken up naked.

‘Oh. Oh.’ He thought as he blushed.

“Your latest novel,” she reminded him, cutting through to him in the present. “I want to know what happens after you last left us in the last one.”

“Can you remind me where that was?” He asked, trying desperately to get her to jog his memory - why was he so confused? Why did it feel as if he had woken up in a parallel reality?

“Have you gotten so far into this one that you can’t remember where you left off?” She smiled up at him.

“Something like that,” he lied sheepishly not wanting her to know something was wrong, never wanting to worry her.

“Well I, or more specifically the woman you’ve clearly based on me, had just asked you, well the man you based on you, to marry him. And I have a feeling he’s going to say yes, but I need to what comes next. I’ve been dying to know.”

“What if I’m not finished with my first draft yet?”

“Chéri, I know you love rewriting things because you’re never happy with what you write, but you showed me the finished manuscript night -“

She paused when she could see him start retreating into himself, noticed as he started to panic suddenly asking “Emmanuel? Emmanuel?” Her voice sounding like it was coming from the very end of a long tunnel.

“Emmanuel!” He heard loudly, startling him up in his seat.

“I’m fine!” He mumbled out, unconvincingly as he tried to readjust to his surroundings. He saw the gilded walls of the Élysée surrounding him, and turning his head quickly saw the face of his very concerned wife.

“Mon cœur, you fell asleep at your desk again. I know things are tense right now, but you need to come upstairs and go to sleep. For me, if not for you. Please,” she begged.

“Wait. I was asleep?” He asked groggily.

“Yes, I found you drooling on that foreign report, right there,” she smiled at him, slipping her hand into his hair, and soothingly scratching her nails against his scalp.

“So we weren’t just in Touquet?”

“No, we haven’t been home in months, I’m sorry to say.”

“And I’m not a writer?”

“I think that depends on your definition, but given the way you’re looking at me, I’m going to go with ‘no’ or at least, not in whatever way you were dreaming about.”

“It all feel so real, Brigitte.”

“You want to tell me about it?”

“I don’t know. I’m afraid,” he trailed off.

“Afraid of what?” She asked sympathetically, squatting down to look him in the eyes. “You know there’s nothing you could do, dream world or real world, that would ever make me stop loving you. You do know that, right?”

“I know,” he nodded seriously. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“You just looked so much happier, lighter, freer, Brigitte. And I’m just afraid that all of this is making you unhappy, that I’m making you unhappy.”

“You listen to me, Emmanuel, and you listen to me well, because I am only going to say this once. You are my happiness. No matter where we are, or what we’re doing, or how many people out there despise us. Does this job come with restraints? Sure. Do I hate seeing all that is going on outside right now, hate being unable to leave this place without a ton of security, scared for you and for our children? Absolutely. But am I unhappy? No. Because I have you. My only unhappiness would be losing you.

“Now. Let’s get you to bed, before your brilliant mind starts playing mean tricks on you again.”

“I love you,” he told her simply as he accepted her help in getting up.

“I love you too. More than you will ever know.” She paused for a moment before deciding to change the subject, “now, what kind of writer were you? A journalist, a screenwriter? Ooh I know! A novelist?”

Hellooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

I was also very excited for the state visit... before these protests. Now I’m both sad and relieved that it was postponed.

I hope things are calmer for you now, after those rough few weeks ❤️

Well, speaking of alternative universes, one of my favorite tv series is called “Fringe”... that explores exactly that scenario 😉

Oh I liked how this turned out! Emmanuel and his dream of a different life and an happier Brigitte... You just gotta feel for him 💔 But once again, Brigitte’s words to reassure him of her love for him... oh my heart 🤧

Emmanuel drooling over a foreign report tho 😂

Thank you so much, fanfic Anon #2! ❤️❤️❤️

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (872): Wed 7th Aug 2024

Edinburgh Fringe day2 and after checking out of the hostel (which I've noticed I always sleep very soundly in. You know how some people can't piss if there's someone standing next to them? Maybe I can't sleep unless there's someone asleep in a bed directly above me) I headed off for my first show of the day: Glitch. This was a monologue style play about a woman returning home for her ten year high school reunion and confronting her turbulent relationship with her mother. The actress was really good but unfortunately I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and I had to start pinching myself to make sure I wouldn't fall asleep. It wasn't because the story was boring or the acting wasn't good and as I've just discussed I slept like a baby last night, but for some reason I felt like I was about to nod off. Also to make matters worse there were arseholes drilling outside which made it hard to hear what the actress was saying as this venue had very thin walls as it's essentially a converted shipping container. Word of advice to future performers: set your play on a fucking building site because the noise from outside will create a perfect ambience and you won't need to hire a sound effects person. I still enjoyed it as the actress was very good I just hope she didn't notice that I was desperately trying to force myself not to nod off. I suspected that it may have been because I hadn't had a coffee this morning so before the next show I ducked into a cafe and got myself a nice strong mocha to wake myself the fuck up. My final show of this year's Fringe was just around the corner at Zoo Southside. This show was titled "The Signalman" and was about a train station signalman recounting the story of a recent derailing that resulted in many deaths right near his station. He confides in the audience that since then he's been haunted by visions of a shadowy figure standing at the other side of the tunnel waving at him and crying out "watch out". This was really well performed and the use of shadow, light and spooky sound effects gave off the impression that someone or something was constantly watching. The one thing that marred the show was that right near the end four old dickheads left just as the show was clearly coming to an end. They all were about seventy five and I suspect they only came into this show to hide from the Grim Reaper and left when the play started getting scary as they didn't want to drop dead from fright. I think the twist at the end of the play was that it was the signalman from the future at the other end of the tunnel warning himself about the upcoming collision or something I dunno. That's the only shitty thing about these shows at the festival it's not like you can go onto Wikipedia for a plot summary and you can't go up to the actor afterwards and ask what the play meant or you'll just look like an absolute moron. Well whatever it was about I enjoyed it and at least I didn't fall asleep or walkout with two minutes to go like a cunt would. I still had an hour or so before my train home so I went to a restaurant up the road from the train station and got myself a nice vegan burger and a beautiful non-alcoholic cocktail as I reflected on all the highlights from this Fringe. As much as I have enjoyed these festivals over the years I don't know if I want to come back again. The shows themselves are good but finding ways to kill time in between the shows is hard and also the amount of constant noise in the city and the rushing around to get to shows is becoming unbearable. I remember having the same feeling about London when I went there earlier this year to see AC/DC. It's a beautiful city but I think I've seen enough of it now and I need to start exploring some other places. At the very least I think I'm just going to reduce this visit to a one day thing. I'll get the train down at six in the AM and just spend nine hours going to show after show then getting the train back that night.

[lorillee]

LITERALLYYYY like the ichijou spinoff is largely insanely funny but like also if i think too hard about like a solid 30-40% of it it makes me start seeing actual devils

like theres honestly so much i could say and so much i want to say on basically half this stupid manga and i dont really have the words because its like 3 am and my brain is lowkey fried but in particular it makes me kind of insane how ichijous particular brand of mental problems like insanely primed him for being taken advantage of by teiai. this is, naturally, not even remotely to say that all the terrible things he did was not 10000000% of his own volition but like kurosaki blatantly digs into ichijous insane desperation to prove himself and deep seated insecurities to pull him into teiai because teiai is in the end just as exploitative of his own employees as it is of its victims.

like i like to make jokes about it but genuinely and seriously if the source material didnt have enough basis for it the ichijou spinoff really hammers in the idea that Yeah ichijou has narcissistic personality disorder and its actively kind of ruining his life. like he experiences massive mood swings largely having to do with his own success and has little to no emotional regulation, he's got what appears to be an incredible superiority complex that is actually just masking a devastating lack of self worth, he's incredibly judgemental and has insane standards for both himself and everyone around him (and when he fails to meet those standards Well see: massive mood swings), he's insanely sensitive to failure and criticism and other people's perceptions of him (^well also see: massive mood swings), hes deeply concerned with both his own appearance and beauty as well as that of others, and as a result of all of this combined he deeply struggles to have normal relationships with other people. and of course additionally while we dont really get much insight into it i think its also worth bringing up that we know that ichijous home life was at the very least kind of actively neglectful - see: the chapter about murakamis birthday

and also the summer vacation one where everybody else is talking about like fun memories they have with friends/family and ichijou . well

which at least to me indicates a significant part of the root of the vast majority of ichijous problems.

and like it actually makes me kind of sick and twisted because even though ichijou clearly struggles with like. Being normal to some degree. he does actively try. hes not worlds biggest sweetheart but he does his best and it kind of makes me miserable how in the end he cut everyone off and essentially sold his soul to teiai so he could find happiness and relief in finally proving everyone and proving himself wrong and becoming successful and making something of himself but the reality of the situation is that by letting his obsession with status and power direct his life in the end he becomes more desperate and miserable than ever and drives his life completely down the gutter in the chase of an unattainable dream. And lets not even talk about how murakami completely throws away his life for a company he actively knows and believes to be wrong just because ichijou tells him he needs him. like that last panel is actually sickeningly insane to me because theres like. theres no hesitation theres no question like hes been desperately hoping and waiting for ichijou to ask him because otherwise he has no idea where hes going to go. and in the end he wastes years of his life watching ichijou completely spin out of control and into an endless pit of misery and self hatred because if he cant stop ichijou from ruining his life then the least he can do is be there with him while it happens. which is kind of sick and twisted and makes me want to start attacking people. but whatever i need to go to sleep

we literally should be talking about ichijou right now

[sevcasejay1chicago]

Matt Casey

Y/n is Matt Casey’s wife like she have been for the past four years, and they have a baby girl together.

Casey wakes up early in the morning, and he is feeling sick. So Casey call Boden and tells him that he can’t come to work for a new shift because he is sick.

So Casey stays home with a fever, and his wife decides that she will also stay home just to take care of her husband.

The rest will I let you decide!

Nurse Casey- Matt Casey

Authors note: sorry this took so long! I honestly have had such a hard time writing anything recent with the stress of the holidays and dealing with personal sickness. I’m sorry if this isn’t my best work, but I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: shouldn’t be any! Just pure fluff!

Mentions: Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton

~~~~~~~~~~~

You shot up in bed as the mattress violently shook next to you. You quickly glanced at the clock on the dresser opposite of the bed. The red numbers read 5 am. Your first thought was an earth quake in your sleep muddled brain, but in reality it was your husband.

“Matt.” You whispered, leaning over and placing a hand on his back as you sat up behind him. You could immediately feel the heat radiating off of him.

Matt groaned, still hunched over with his head in his hands. “Something’s wrong.” He slurred, reaching a hand back for you.

You grabbed his hand, sliding up to his back and pulling him into your chest. He was a little taller than you, but his fever ridden body easily melted into your own. “Shhh. Your running a fever.” You cooed, immediately trying to comfort your clearly uncomfortable husband.

Matt never gets sick. A sniffle or cough here and there is the extent of any sickness for Matt, so this had to be bad. Normally the roles were reversed since you have the crappy immune system and your constantly exposed to stuff on the ambo , but now it’s your turn to take care of your husband.

“What’s going on?” You whisper, brushing his sweat soaked hair back to get a good look into his eyes. His whole body is wracked with chills, practically shaking the whole bed.

“M’ head and my stomach are killin me.” Matt moaned, curling into himself as best he can.

You nod, rubbing his back in slow circles. “Alright. I’ve gotcha. Let me go check on Clary and get some stuff. You think your gonna be sick?” You asked, mentally preparing yourself for the worst.

Matt stilled and then shrugged. “Not now.” He whispered. “Everything just hurts. I’m so tired.” He whimpered, looking up at you with tears in his eyes.

You hummed in sympathy, slowly laying Matt back down so that you could get up. “Call Boden. There is no way you are going in and neither am I. I can’t leave you like this.” You instruct, handing Matt his phone.

Matt nods and dials the number as you walk out. You quickly check on your baby, satisfied that Clary seems to be sleeping soundly. You quickly dial Hailey as you grab some supplies from the master bathroom.

“Upton.” Hailey answers groggily, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

“Hails. I’m so sorry to wake you. I need a huge favor.” You start, praying that her and Jay are at her apartment a few floors up.

“What’s up Y/n?” Hailey asks. You can hear Jay asking what’s wrong and shuffling on the other end.

“Matt is really sick. I know it’s like 5 am, but could you guys take Clary today?” You ask, pacing the bathroom after you have everything set on the counter.

“Of course. Is she awake now?” Hailey asks.

“No. She normally wakes up around this time though. Can I bring her up and her stuff? I’ll warm a bottle.” You offer, desperate to get everything situated so that you can focus on Matt and hopefully keep whatever this is away from your daughter.

“We will come to you. Just get everything ready, okay?” Hailey says, sensing your distress.

“Thank you so much.” You breathe, hanging up and getting all the supplies. You quickly walk into the bedroom and place everything onto the bed before grabbing the trash can and moving it closer to Matt’s side of the bed. “Hey babe. Jay and Hailey are gonna come down and get Clary.” You inform your husband, quickly taking the ear thermometer and placing it in his ear. “Your almost at 103. I’m gonna go get Clary’s stuff ready and get you some Gatorade. Just relax. I’ll be back.” You say, quickly kissing Matt on the forehead as he nods slightly to show his understanding. You lay the cool cloth you grabbed across his forehead before exiting the bedroom.

You run around, quickly opening the door as Jay gently knocks. You usher him in, hugging him as soon as the door closes.

“Breathe. Matt will be fine and I will take Clary. I told Hailey to get the pack and play ready so that she can go back down.” Jay soothes, holding you to his chest in the entryway.

You and Jay have been best friends for most of your life. Him dating Hailey and Hailey living in your building was the best thing that ever happened to your small little friend group. You and Jay have always been tight knit, so he knew exactly what was going through your head.

“I know. I know. I’ve just never seen him this sick.” You whisper, pulling back and wiping at the tears that have come to your eyes. You’re stressed and Jay can tell.

“Well, let me go get my niece. You got her bag and bottle ready?” Jay asks, smiling as he turns to walk toward Clary’s nursery.

“Yeah.” You breathe, grabbing the requested items as Jay grabs your baby. You meet back at the entryway, handing the bag to Jay and tucking the bottle into the pocket. Somehow Jay has managed to pick up your daughter without waking her. Apparently small miracles do exist. You kiss Clary on the forehead before opening the door. “Thank you so much. You guys are life savers.” You whisper.

Jay turns, sending you a small smile and a wink. “I’d take my best girl any day.” Jay replies. “Tell Matt I hope he feels better.” Jay adds before turning on his heels and heading into the elevator.

You smile and nod before closing the door. You sigh as you scrub a hand down your face. Now that your daughter was taken care of, you could solely focus on Matt. You run back into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, a Gatorade, and a ginger ale before slipping back into your room. Matt has his arms thrown over his face as he lays naked, save for his boxers, atop the covers.

“Hey baby.” You whisper, placing the drinks down on the nightstand, careful not to spill the glass of water that lays barely touched next to the lamp. “Jay has Clary now. Told me to tell you to feel better soon.” You murmur, lightly rubbing his arm.

“I hope I do.” He groans, taking one arm off his face to grab onto you. “I really don’t feel good.”

You sigh, holding his arm to your body. “I know sweetheart. Think you could stomach some fever reducers?” You hum, lightly rubbing a hand through his hair.

Matt grunts, peaking at you from under his slightly raised arm. “Took some while you were out since you left it all here. It’s not settling well.” Matt confesses, dropping his arm back over his eyes.

You hum in sympathy, lowering your hand to lightly rub his stomach. “Just try to relax. Boden good with everything?” You asked, trying to distract him.

Matt gives a thumbs up. “Said to call if we need anything.”

You nod, though you know he can’t see you. “Well, Clary is taken care of, and I think I can take care of you just fine, so hopefully we will be alright. Just gotta get this fever down I think.” You muse, smiling sadly at Matt’s grunt of agreement. “Let me turn the AC down a tad and I’ll come lay with you. We can watch a movie if you’d like.” You offer, wanting to do anything you can to distract your husband. You can see the discomfort in his body, which is ram-rod straight on the bed. He doesn’t even bother to try and curl in on himself anymore in fear of putting too much pressure on his turning stomach.

“Okay.” Matt murmurs, not really caring what you both do to try and pass the time as he attempts to keep the fever reducers and last nights dinner where it belongs.

You frown slightly as you slowly stand, careful not to jostle the bed. You quickly turn the AC down to 68 before going back to your husband and slipping into bed. You allow Matt to adjust himself into a semi comfortable position as you scroll through your queue.

Matt lays his head on your chest, curled slightly on his left side with a leg thrown over your own. He secured an arm around your waist after placing the now warm cloth onto the back of his neck. You can feel the heat radiating off of his head through the thin fabric of your shirt, but you could care less about any discomfort you could be feeling right now. Once you pick a movie, which is one of Matt’s favorites, you settle in and rub his back, lightly scratching it as you move your hand up and down. You know this relaxes him more than anything and you smile slightly as he lets out a tiny snore barely 10 minutes into the movie.