#where's my sweet sunshine jamie boy?

[thistuesdaynight]

y'all, I'm struggling rn

I just read Snape's Worst Memory from canon for the very first time.

I-

[milla-frenchy]

Morning waves

3k7 | Joel Miller x fem reader x Frankie Morales | ao3

Summary: you meet two men who are on a road trip. You like the same things: the ocean, surfing, dancing and having fun

Warnings: 18+ mdni. threesome MFM, praise kink, fingering, public sex, oral (m/f), piv, dp, anal play, rimming, anal, spit as lube, creampies

No age specified

a/n: this is a contribution to Jamie’s ocean challenge @mermaidgirl30 thank you for this great idea 👌🙏

I've wanted to write Frankie for a while, and even more so after reading “Down the hall” @frannyzooey 😍😍 and this challenge was perfect to introduce him as my new Pedro boy. 

Dividers @saradika-graphics 🙏

@aurorawritestoescape thank you for beta-ing, for the ideas, and for holding my hand with this one, as always 💕 🫶

Masterlist

*********

The first rays of sunshine were already warming you through the windows of your car. You were driving towards the ocean, ready to enjoy its waves. Every morning, very early, you were going to your favorite surf spot. This morning like the others, a few other surfers were also present. Between each set, you were all waiting on your boards, straddling them, letting yourself be carried away by their calm movement.

“You’re impressive”, you heard behind you.

You turned around, and met the most beautiful, sweetest brown eyes you had ever seen.

“Frankie, another set is coming.” You didn't look at the man who had spoken, immediately turning your gaze towards the horizon and new waves that were forming. You surfed that set and a few more. 

When you were returning to the beach, you saw the man called Frankie taking off his wetsuit. The man next to him was doing the same. They smiled at you, when you approached them.

“Hi! I’m Joel, and this is Frankie.”

“Hi, guys!”

“Nice waves!” Frankie’s smile was really sweet. And cute.

“Yeah! Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before. And with that drawl…Texas, I guess?”

Joel laughed and replied “yeah, Austin. We’re on a road trip. Coming from northern California, heading to the south. Are you from here?”

“Yeah, I live here. I’m on holidays, enjoying the ocean.”

“That’s great! Seems like heaven here. Do you know any cool bars? We’ve just arrived, and we’re gonna stay for some time in this place,” Frankie asked. 

“Yeah, there’s ‘The lagoon’. I'm gonna be there around 6 p.m., if you wanna join me?

“Sure! We’ll see you there.”

You spent the evening with them at the bar. Frankie and Joel had been friends for a long time, they told you about their trip, their lives in Texas. Joel worked as a contractor and Frankie was an ex-military, doing jobs with Joel from time to time. They were nice, cool, and made you laugh a lot. They were not flirty nor pushy, and you felt good and safe in their company.

Joel had a certain self-confidence, and was more direct than Frankie. His brown hair was shorter. His smile was devastating. Every evening, when the three of you met again, he wore jeans and a blue or black T-shirt which accentuated his torso and biceps.

Frankie was a little shyer. His slightly longer hair called for your fingers with its brown curls. His eyes and smile were incredibly soft. He often wore lighter pants, gray or brown t-shirts. A cap that he only took off to surf. Both men were beautiful.

You spent the next evenings with them, dancing and drinking shots at The lagoon. Every day you looked forward to seeing them at the beach, then at the bar. They were doing pretty well at surfing, asking for some advice from time to time, and making great progress. 

One night, the three of you were on the beach, hoping to catch some Northern Lights. And you weren't disappointed. The sky was colored with pink, purple and blue lights, while you were lying next to each other on the sand, a little closer than usual. And when Frankie kissed your forehead and Joel your cheek as you were lying on the blanket between them, you felt heat in your core. You saw them differently for the first time.

The Lagoon was crowded. You sat on a stool at the counter, sipping your cocktail until you saw Joel enter the bar. He smiled at you and you wondered how many hearts he had broken. He was so hot. He joined you, hugged you and said “hey, sweetheart” with his Texan drawl.

“Isn’t Frankie here?” you asked him.

“He should be soon. He went to get a tattoo.”

“What, now?”

“Yeah”, he laughed.

You two danced, his hands settled on your hips. Slightly more intimate than usual. He smelled good. He smelled like the sun and the beach. He ran his hand over your back, which your summer dress barely covered. And when your eyes met, something was different.

You walked back to the counter, and he was smiling as he was drinking his beer. His eyes were fixed on you.

“What?” You asked him, smiling too.

“You’re damn pretty, sweetheart.”

Your eyes widened slightly, hearing him. It was the first time he told you something like that. So directly. Even though last night, on the beach, the atmosphere was different between the three of you. Even though two minutes ago, when you were dancing, you felt the warmth of his fingers on your skin, and your hair stood up from the desire for him.

He waited for a few seconds, checking on your reaction. Took another sip. When he saw you smile at him again, he leaned towards you, his nose brushing against your cheek, his hand resting on your waist. You felt goosebumps again. Some electricity between you. And you saw in his eyes that he was feeling the same thing.

“Wanna have some fun tonight?”

You felt heat reach your cheeks but you nodded and murmured, “yeah.”

“Yeah?”

He got up, stood between your knees while you were still sitting on the stool, and leaned forward to kiss you. You felt your heart rate speed up. He placed his hands on your bare thighs and caressed them, slightly pushing the fabric up, as you ran your fingers over his biceps. Then he slipped one hand between your legs. Slowly. Stroking your inner thigh. You whimpered when his fingers brushed against your pussy through your panties.

“You want more, darlin’?”

“Yes, Joel...”

“You gonna let me finger you in here?” he asked, his cheek against yours. His soft beard against your skin.

“Yeah…”

He slid your panties to the side, and his fingers brushed against your folds, making you moan into his neck. He looked up and said, “hey, Frankie.”

You felt shy and tightened your thighs against his legs. He kissed your cheek then said in your ear, on the side where Frankie was standing to make sure he would hear “I’m sure he’d love to touch you too,” before looking back at you. His fingers were still brushing against your delicate skin, and you really wanted to feel him more. To calm the fire, burning you from the inside.

You looked at him, then turned your head towards Frankie. His stare was still soft, but not only. You saw the desire for you in his eyes. 

“Do it Frankie”, you told him. At that moment you didn't care about anything else anymore. The crowded bar. The people who could see you, and wonder what the three of you were doing. Or knowing too well what you were doing.

“Are you wet, baby?” Frankie asked.

You nodded and whined, the second Joel pushed a finger in your core.

“She’s soaked”, Joel said, nuzzling your neck, and you bit your lip. 

“Damn, baby,” Frankie moved closer, the two men now standing in front of you. When one of Frankie's fingers joined Joel's in your pussy, your fists clenched their shirts. One of them stroked your clit with his thumb, but you didn’t know who. It turned you on even more. Their fingers slid into your wetness, pumping your pussy at the same rhythm, and you tried to hold back your moans even if it was getting more and more difficult.

“You're gonna come for us?” You shook your head “I…I can’t. Not here. Too many people.”

“Forget about them. Soak our fingers, baby. And then we’ll have some time together in our van if you want.”

“Yeah…Yes. Fuck.” You felt their eyes fixed on you. They were close to you, so close, protecting you from the eyes of others. Your pussy tightened around their fingers and you were trembling more and more. You felt another thumb near your clit that soon replaced the other one, and whimpered. Your pussy was trickling, and they could have pushed more fingers in easily.

“Come for us, sweetheart. Right here, in this bar. God, you’re fucking hot.”

You bit your lip as you came on their fingers, your pussy clenching desperately on them. They kept fingering you through it, until one of them put your panties back in place, then your dress. You watched Joel lick his finger with a look full of desire, and your arousal increased even more. 

“Take me to your van, please. I need…I need more”, you breathed.

Frankie kissed your cheek, and Joel placed his hand on the small of your back as you got off the stool. Your legs were shaky and he held your elbow until you reached the parking lot then the van. Frankie offered to come to the back with him, on the mattress that they had already set up for the night, without knowing how it would end. You both lay there as Joel started driving. You didn't know where and right now you didn't care. Frankie was already leaning towards you, kissing your cheek then your neck. Your fingers ran through his soft curls. His hand rested against your face at first, then he brought it to his mouth. Licking the finger you had come on, just as Joel had done a few minutes before.

“Damn baby, you taste so good. Can I go down on you?”

“What, now?”

“Yeah. I’ll make you feel good, I promise.”

“Fuck…Ok.”

The van was swaying on a bumpy road when Frankie knelt between your thighs, and took off your dress, then your panties. He brought them to his nose and breathed them slowly, keeping his eyes on you, and the vision was intoxicating. The way they wanted you was driving you crazy. He turned the front of his cap backwards, and lay down between your thighs. He growled as he licked a long stripe between your folds.

“Jesus Christ, Frankie…you lucky bastard”, Joel said.

Frankie was already lapping at your pussy, and he was good at it. So good that you already felt a new orgasm building, while he was drinking all your wetness, his thumb twirling on your clit.

“Frankie…oh my god”, you whimpered. 

You heard Joel unzip his jeans and pull out his cock. “You’re so hot that Joel can’t help fisting his cock while driving, baby” he said, before licking your folds again.

“Fuck, of course I do. All these moans are killing me. How does she taste? Tell me.”

“The sweetest taste, man...” He grabbed your thighs to pull you closer to him. As if he wanted more, always more, and you couldn’t stop moaning.

“Jesus...” Joel growled, as you heard the sound of his wrist fucking his cock.

Your fingers were lost in Frankie’s brown curls, while his nose rubbed perfectly against your clit and his tongue roamed your pussy.

“Frankie…”

“Yeah baby, tell me.”

“Your fingers, please, need your fingers.”

“Like this, mmm?” he asked, pushing two fingers in you.

“Yeah…your tongue too, please.”

His lips surrounded your clit, sucking gently, before giving way to his tongue. His wrist gently pumped your pussy and you felt your wetness running down your folds to the sheets.

“Fuck, baby…I can hear the pretty little noises of your pussy from here, you’re so fucking wet.”

“I know, I know, oh my god, Frankie!” You squeezed his head between your thighs when you came, letting him lick your folds until you stopped shaking. The van's engine was off, but you didn't realize you had stopped. You heard the sound of the waves as Joel opened his door to join you in the back.

“Fuck sweetheart, look at that… he ate you good, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah…fuck”, you breathed out.

Frankie shifted aside slightly and Joel lay down, his shoulders between your knees. He caressed your folded thighs, and delicately licked your wetness, being careful not to stimulate your overly sensitive clit.

“You taste so fuckin’ good, darlin’. Lemme eat ya just a little, ok? “ he said, moving his hand up your sweaty stomach, to a breast that he grabbed. Frankie kissed your thigh, while he caressed your other breast. You moaned again, your stomach rising rapidly with your heavy breathing. Joel’s beard rubbed against your inner thighs. He ran his tongue flat through your folds, sometimes down to your tight ring. Before going back up again, tirelessly. You imagined their hard cocks and you couldn’t wait to feel them in you. 

“You want us to fuck you, baby?”

You nodded, “yeah, need your cocks.”

“Damn, could do this for hours. How do you want us?”

“I huh… I don’t know, I’ve never done that…with two men.”

They looked at each other then Frankie said “we’re gonna undress and we’ll see how it goes, ok?”

“Yeah, seems good.”

“If you’re not comfortable with something, you tell us right away, ok? We’re all here to have fun. Ok, darlin’?”

You nodded and smiled. They were so considerate and careful with you. You helped Frankie unzip his pants and take them off, then his boxers, and held your breath when you saw his cock. “We’ll go slow,  baby”. “We?” You widened your eyes and turned to Joel, already in his underwear, taking off his t-shirt. “Oh fuck”, you said when you saw his bulge. You brushed his crotch and he spread his thighs wider. He was so hard, and so big too. You whispered “fuck...” again, before getting on all fours, facing him. You took his cock out of his boxers, the precum glistening on his red tip. You spread it with your thumb and jerked his cock, while Frankie was caressing the roundness of your buttocks, kneeling behind you. You licked the tip, letting Joel’s taste run down your mouth and then your throat.

“You’re ready for me, baby?”

“Yes, Frankie.”

He nestled his cock at your entrance, pushing in. You whined when he thrust deeper, gripping your hips as leverage. And for a minute you didn’t move, Joel’s cock in your hand, catching your breath. Frankie kept thrusting until he bottomed out. Pushing on your walls.  And you started to suck Joel’s cock, his hands on your head, but letting you lead the pace.

You moved your hips back and forth, fucking yourself on Frankie’s cock. He wasn’t moving, letting you lead too. Your mouth on Joel’s shaft followed the movement of your hips at the same pace as you impaled yourself on the cock, piercing you.

“Fuck, fuck. Sucking me so good.”

“Fuck, baby. You’re so tight. So good for my cock.” You loved how they were praising you. Frankie’s hands roamed your body. Your back, your waist, your hips, as your thumbs caressed Joel’s balls, your head still bobbing on his shaft, your lips gradually getting used to his size.

You pulled him out of your mouth and licked his tip, looking at him you asked, “Frankie, will you let Joel fuck me?”

“Of course, anything you want.”

You lay on your back, inviting Joel to come between your thighs. He lay there, his cock in his hand, and pushed in. Frankie lay against you, and turned your face towards him. Kissing you as Joel thrust in.

“Damn, sweetheart…Frankie was right, you’re so tight. Squeezing me so hard, fuck…”

You whined in Frankie’s mouth while Joel was kissing your neck. He thrust in slowly before pulling back. Repeating the movement endlessly, while your legs spread wide gave him full access. Frankie leaned down and took one of your breasts in his hand, sucking on the nipple, his lips wrapped around it. Joel gave you a forehead kiss, his thick cock buried in you. Sometimes Frankie would slide his hand up to your clit, rubbing it lightly, and your pussy would contract on Joel's cock, making him groan. Their mouths and hands were brushing your skin constantly. 

They took turns between your legs, drawing two new orgasms out of you. Seeing them, feeling them fucking you, one then the other, was turning you on desperately and your pussy was weeping. When one of them was kissing you, searching for your tongue with his, the other was kissing your neck, your cheek, sucking a nipple. You loved feeling their mouths on you at the same time.

They fucked you, one then the other, and they never seemed to get tired, filling your pussy perfectly each in their own way. Until you wanted more, and needed more.

“More? Tell us what you want, sweetheart.”

“I want you both…at the same time.”

“Oh, baby. You want our two cocks filling your two holes?” said Frankie, his cock buried in your cunt.

“Yeah, I’d like to try…”

“It’s ok, baby. We’ll go slow.”

“Yeah. Frankie?”

Frankie nodded, pulling out of you. 

“Get on me, sweetheart.”

Joel lay on his back and you straddled him, grabbing his cock and sinking on it. You brushed his cheek and kissed him, before pressing your chest against his, giving free access to Frankie.

He spread your buttocks, your ring was glistening by the wetness that had been flowing there continuously. He passed his thumb slowly, lingering very lightly over it, as you rolled your pelvis slowly towards Joel. Then Frankie leaned down and started to lick it, pointing his tongue against your tight muscle. His hands now gripping your ass, he softened it under the tip of his tongue. Sometimes dropping his saliva on it, and lightly pushing his thumb in. Then a little deeper. He did it patiently, taking his time to prepare you. He was feeling his cock twitching. Your head resting on Joel's shoulder, you were moaning continuously, overwhelmed by the cock in your pussy, and the tongue opening you little by little. They were so hot, they took care of you so well since the start of the evening at the Lagoon. Attentive to your desires, to your reactions. Slightly changing the pace or position depending on your respiration, the pressure of your hands.

Eventually, Frankie pulled away. “You still want it, baby?”

“Yes, yes. Just…go slow, please, Frankie.”

“Of course. Lemme wet my cock in her pussy a little, Joel”, he asked. You pulled away from Joel slightly and he pulled out, his cock rubbing against your clit. Frankie pushed his cock easily in your dripping pussy, fucking it with one hand on your hip, and his thumb on your ass. Joel placed his hand on your neck, his forehead against yours, and murmured “you gonna take us both, sweetheart?”

“Fuck, yeah…Yeah, I’m gonna take you both, oh my god I can’t believe it’s happening…”

Franck grabbed his cock in his hand, and positioned it against your ring.

“Kiss me, sweetheart”, Joel muttured, stroking your hair. You looked up at him, his hands cupping your cheeks before coming to press his lips to yours. Quickly, his tongue sought yours, just as Frankie pushed in. You felt the muscle resisting at first, then gradually giving up. You whined in Joel’s mouth, his tongue never stopping brushing yours. You knew he wanted to make you forget the pain. Then he nibbled one of your lips, before licking it. Kissing you again. Until Frankie bottomed out, his balls against Joel's cock. He didn't stay buried and pulled back as slowly, before thrusting in again.

“Oh, fuck. Baby…it’s so good, fuck…”

“I can feel your cock Frankie, damn…are you ok, sweetheart?”

You nodded, unable to speak. Overwhelmed by all these emotions you were feeling. Your body was in the middle of theirs, and you felt fulfilled. Their hands were all over your upper body. Frankie’s mouth placed a thousand kisses on your shoulder blades and the back of your neck. Joel's hands caressed your breasts, your ass, your thighs. You heard them grunt and moan, in turn or together. You felt a new orgasm building, from rubbing your clit against Joel's lower abdomen.

“I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come”, you whined.

“Come on baby, come again. Fuck, your ass is so good, baby.”

“Come on our cocks, sweetheart. Then we’ll fill you up. We’ll fill that pussy and that ass.”

“Oh fuck”, you whimpered, coming on their cocks, clenching them. You wondered if you hadn’t fainted, for a moment. 

You heard Frankie growling, and Joel calling you a “good girl”, just before he pulsed as deep as possible in you, followed by Frankie. 

You all froze, panting. Catching your breath. Then Frankie pulled back, placing one last kiss on your back. You pulled away from Joel after kissing him, and you lay against him. Frankie lay against you on the other side, spooning you, his hand on your hip. Their cum flowing from both of your sore holes.

You slept there, sometimes waking up during the night, feeling their bodies against yours or their arms around you. Snuggling against one of them then the other. 

When the rays of the sun woke the three of you and Frankie opened the van door, you had a direct view of the ocean. Its color was perfect. The most beautiful blue. And also these pastel, pink colors of the sky, at dawn. 

You spent the day with them. You surfed, took photos. Frankie’s freshly tattooed forearm with the word “adventure.” You looked at them so many times during that day. And every time your eyes met, you all blushed and giggled, thinking about the night you had spent.

You returned to the Lagoon, and didn't leave them until they finally gave up on the idea of going all the way to Southern California. They called you “our girl”. Their hands, tongues and cocks roaming every inch of your body, just as yours on theirs. They stayed with you until they had to return to Texas.

The day before, Frankie went to get another tattoo. Joel told you Frankie always got one at every place they visit, a tattoo of the best thing there. He showed it to you when he came back: a surfboard with your name on it. You hugged him so tight that he could barely breathe and couldn’t stop laughing, squeezed by your arms.

At the airport, they held you until the last minute. And your heart sank when they left.

A few months later, you were sitting at the same airport. Ready to board for Austin. So that they, in turn, could introduce you to their lives.

You looked at the sun through the large windows of the airport, and smiled. Life offers good surprises sometimes. Yours was Joel and Frankie.

Thank you for reading 🙏

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

another Joel/reader/Frankie fic (different AU): Morning waves

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated ❤️

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Tagging some of you who showed interest in the wip ❤️🙏

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[senseandaccountability]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @mightymizora (thank youuu)

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 94. 

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 1,108,787, ahahaha. I’ve been at it for like 20 years though. 3. What fandoms do you write for? Baldur’sGate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Lucifer make up the bulk of my fics but I’ve dabbled in some more fandoms.  4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

There are names for what binds us - (DAI; Blackwall/Trevelyan) The free parking jackpot rule - (Lucifer; Lucifer/Chloe) Blaze Me a Sun - (BG3; Astarion/Tav) And Hate the Idle Pleasures of These Days - (Lucifer; Michael/Ella) Kiss by Kiss I Cover Your Small Infinity - (Lucifer; Lucifer/Chloe)

5. Do you respond to comments? I always try to!

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? All of my A Song of Ice and Fire fics are angsty since they’re about women who die in various horrible ways. But I’m generally more of a bittersweet writer, I think. 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Like I said, I lean towards the bittersweet and most endings are more sweet than bitter.Compared to canon outcomes I’d say my Michael fics for the Lucifer fandom are the happiest ones because you can’t give me a wretched, bitter, jealous mirror to Most Loved Boi Lucifer and not expect me to root for him in some way. 8. Do you get hate on fics? Not since my Jamie/Brienne drabbles ended up on a rabid Jamie/Cersei reclist. I also had some snippy comments/PMs on a Michael fic where I closed down Hell because Lucifer the show gave me an American Dream ending with self-improvement through therapy in Hell instead of questioning revenge as a moral solution. 9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Gods, I used to. Not so much now, no. It’s just not that interesting to me anymore, I rather write around the smut. The kind of smut I like to write is emotionally intense and/or angsty, at any rate.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Very, very rarely. I’m uninterested in reading them myself but I’ve used crossover as a concept in two stories: Troy Lies in Ruins (Cyberpunk 2077) in which Johnny is the Clementine inside V’s head and I use Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as inspiration for their post-game quest to find each other again.

The Gods That Answer After Dark (Lucifer) in which I crossover Deckerstar with the novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and had a chance to shut down that damned hell again.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes, someone more or less paraphrased my Johnny/V fic And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire by posting their own fic with pretty much entire paragraphs stolen from mine. I didn’t do anything about it, though, it had no comments/kudos at the time. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, it was flattering. 

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I don’t think so, not that I can recall. I’d be up for it, though, it would be kind of cool to co-write a romance story where two authors write two different characters. 

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I don’t think I can pick just one. 

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I always intend to finish the WIPs. That said, it would require a lot of willpower to return to the oldest WIPs I have, by now. 16. What are your writing strengths? I think I’m good at concepts, characters and hopefully keeping a distinct sort of style. I used to be more pretentious. I think my writing has become better by dropping some of the most literary concepts in favour of focusing on emotions and social dynamics. 

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plot? I think I could write plot - I like to plan stories out - but I don’t really want to dedicate time to write it. I’m also really bored by action and exposition. Ugh at having to explain and describe shit beyond a tightly packed sentence or two.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don’t even understand this question and will blame it on English being my second language. 

19. First fandom you wrote for? The Legend of the Ice People, oh my lord. If only for my desk drawer. https://www.amazon.com/The-Legend-of-the-Ice-People-19-book-series/dp/B075TY2F5M The US version of the covers have removed ALL suggestive and thrillingly forbidden vibe from the original though. What 13 year old me loved about them was that the first book was about a horny 16 year old girl who falls in love with a 40 something demonic and cursed (also solitary and very angsty) dude after having intense sex dreams about him as Satan. Every book after that just added to the cocktail of sex, history and ancient curses and for years so much of what I wrote was fanfic versions of this series.  20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? I’m rather fond of this Aeducan/Gorim story: so I wait for you like a lonely house

I'm tagging @wanderingaldecaldo, @thievinghippo, @icescrabblerjerky and @threewhiskeylunch if you're up for it. Otherwise feel free to ignore.

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 140

My mood swings like a wreaking ball during this chapter

This review is gonna have lots of photos for the sake of referencing

Aw I like how Becket feels responsible and concerned towards Maria for what he said. He's a sweet guy. I hope he's not gonna get fired (..or maybe fired and then being Maria's lover haha)

I'm sure Gwen will be fine. Maybe some emotional and mental damages, but she'll be fine..probably.

Why is the technical difficulties so aesthetic for some reason? 😭 it's so aesthetically soft in a bloody way.

And Gwen's siblings staying by her side is soooo wholesome

Even in their sleep they still have the protective instinct of an older sibling 😭 I may be the youngest in my family, but I have a lovely cat whom I love and protect very much.

Prez is all of us in quarantine. I'm glad the medicine worked! Science, baby!

I wanna talk about 4 scenes

The first one

This is what I've been wondering the whole time. Where the heck is Jack? How long is this trip? All we know is he's grabbing the omniscient clam and going to wherever he's going. I think the canyon where the princes and the princesses were supposed to get married at? What is taking him so long?

The second and third scenes

We now know how Jamie's dream is. Sunshine rainbows and all, probably because of her sparkly magic. As the witch said: "They're usually mish-mash of each person's memories, acquaintances, and a lot of nonsense"

She also said "sometimes sounds and smells from the external world can seep in" So I'm thinking of this.

When Gwen ended up in her dream, she smelled flowers and heard birds singing from Lorena and Maria protecting her while she's asleep. Because Jamie realize she could be in a bad dream, I'm gonna bet the pastel family, Agatha and Molly, Frederick, heck maybe even cpc will tell her from the external words sweet messages like "You're loved!" "You're beautiful just the way you are" "I love you" "Please come back to us" over and over again.

What about what Gwen will see? Well from the next chapter's thumbnail we know she's gonna see Leopold. Most probably because of that one time where Leopold become a "therapist" for Gwen. Maybe dream Leopold will tell her the same thing he said in chapter 66:

"You'll never learn to love yourself.. if you can't honestly face your own feelings."

Other than that, she will surely meet her family and Frederick there. Maybe even flashback of when Frederick called her ugly.

But! What I really think is gonna happen is this:

Her memories of her mom is gonna appear like a repressed memory. That is definitely gonna happen I hope that will happen.

Okay! Stepping out from the dream..

AKSKAKAKKANAAAAAAAMWKJWJSWN NO NO WHAT IS HE— YO???? WHAT THE HECK NAH BRO C'MON 😭

WHAT DO YOU MEAN LELAND? What do you mean "tomorrow's the big day" the big day to what?! To what?! You know I could've kept my composure but I absolutely LOST it when I saw Lance's face. Like, boy?? Since when he can do THAT? This is bad. This is REALLY bad. Whatever this plan is, I don't think I'm gonna like it. Well, at least they're not being hung upside down anymore..

HAHA I LOVE THIS CLAM ALREADY.

Suddenly remembering when I said this and I HOPE I'M RIGHT.

So Jamie and Gwen ARE twins!! Maybe that's gonna play more role further on?

Ending this review with them because awww look at them :') They're such sweet couples look at how happy Leelathae is <3

See ya guys, gals, and pals

Mono out!

(But still in to listen to your thoughts :) )

[girlmadeofstarlight]

This episode was EVERYTHING!!!!

Dani, my sweet boy! I hope you never lose your sunshine. Someone please take him to find a tulip!

I didn't know I needed a scene of Jamie teaching Roy how to ride a bike and in honor of his grandfather. Such a sweet but hilarious scene!

Does Jamie Tartt offer Amsterdam running tours for anyone? Because I'd gladly start training right now just to go on it!

Trent and Colin's vulnerability and honesty scene hit at all the heartstrings! I wish for Colin to have a love that he can proudly show off. He deserves the world and more!!!

Beard, where do you party because I totally want to join!!!

All in all, it was a great and fun episode. Probably one of my top 5 of the series. This episode also made me want to visit Amsterdam, adding it to my travel list.

[kandadiff]

Van Der Wulff : Inner Demons

I clung to Lloyd until I heard one of his men say. "He's not here, sir." Then the safety I felt in his arms disappeared and all I think of was Luther. He was free, he was crazed and he had gotten away. I thought of all of you in the house, Naomi would let him in and who knows what he would do. To you all or Damien. Especially that I killed his brother. Did he know? He would soon enough.

I pushed Lloyd away. The blood that coated my hands and clothes felt like anchors weighing me down. Lloyd reached out to me but I pushed him away. "He got away!" My voice was cracking as I tried to speak over my sobs. "He was going to kill me and I let him get away!" Lloyd tried speaking but I wasn't listening. "I k-killed his brother! M-Maybe he thinks he got rid of me but once he founds out about James!" My voice was shrill and manic. Tears blurred my vision and I gripped my hair trying to organize my racing thoughts. "He's going to hurt my friends! He knows where they are! and the gang! He's sold me to them! How did you get in!"

"Sunshine," Lloyd voice was soft, like a man talking to a scared deer. "He's not going to hurt them or you anymore." He led me through the house. Now I knew why Lloyd wasn't worried about the gang anymore. They laid massacred in the blood stained living room, slumped over each other like sacks.

Lloyd lead me to the black truck they arrived in, placing me in the back and closing the door. I sagged against the seat and wiped my tears watching him talk with his men. One of them handed him the white bag Luther had packed clothes he deemed more appropriate for me. A chill ran through my body and I jumped when the door opened.

"Just me." One of the men said getting in the drivers seat. He gave me a kind smile as the other men settled in. Lloyd next to me. I settled into him, he wrapped his arm around me and I rested my head against his chest. Through the car ride, Lloyd spoke to his men, but I was too emotionally exhausted to pay attention. I found myself falling into a restless sleep in his arms. His soothing hands rubbing my back in small circles.

I was startled out of my dreamless sleep when cool air hit my face a couple of hours later. I pictured the night Luther took me, I kicked our my legs and started to scream in my half-awake state. "Let me go!"

"You're with me." Lloyd voice rang through the haze and I found myself eye level with him. "You're safe." I took his hand as he lead me into a hotel. In the dark of the night, I wasn't sure where we were but no one seemed to bat an eye at me, a girl covered in blood and a tear streaked face.

We entered the penthouse and after seeing my room, I immediately went to shower. Trying to relax as steam filled the room and the water turned pink as the blood was washed from my skin. I couldn’t stop my mind picturing Luther’s evil face with every bruise I spotted on my body. I couldn’t even look in the mirror for too long because all I saw was what he did to me. My eye was blackened, his fingerprints were indented on my neck, I had a cut in my forehead and dozens of bruises scattered around my body. I did my best to pull it together part of me terrified from being apart from everyone for too long. Part of me still thought this rescue was a dream and I was going to wake up in the basement and both Luther and James would be alive and I would be either forced to marry him or be sold to that gang.

I sat in my room, wrapped in the hotel towel when I heard a soft knocking on the door. When I told them to come in, Lloyd entered with a red headed woman with a round face and kind eyes and the man I assumed to be his right hand.

"This is Jamie," Lloyd said motions to the girl as she walked in. She was holding a medical bag. "She's going to check you over." She walked closer to me.

"Is that okay?" She asked. Her sweet voice was calming. I nodded. She looked over he shoulder. "You boys could leave us. I'll let you know if I need you." Lloyd looked at me and I gave him a weak smile.

"I have some business to attend too." Lloyd said watching Jamie unpack her bag. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Don't go anywhere until I come back." I nodded and he gave me a small smile before leaving.

Jamie knelt down in front of me and started cleaning my cuts, apologizing when I hissed in pain. She gently placed ointment on my bruises promising that they would heal soon and wouldn't leave a mark and made me chuckle with her disgust with Luther. She had just finished placing the solvent on my neck when her smile faded and she placed the paste back in her bag. "I heard about where you were kept. One of the men noticed there was blood on the bed since it was far from then man that you rightfully did in... Mr. Hansen, Lloyd, couldn't bring himself to ask but-"

"No I wasn't." I said quickly and saw her relax a bit. "He wanted to 'pure' for my marriage." I shivered as I spoke and she nodded. Pity on her face. She stood up and handed me two white pills. I looked at them in the palm of my hand.

"For the pain. it will help you get sleep."

"I don't want to sleep." I admitted. "I just see him." She frowned and handed me water.

"I will help you heal. Your body is exhausted and you're safe here."

~

Edward didn’t stop hitting Shawn until finally Katya said he had enough. Shawn’s face was nothing more than a knocked out bloodied mess that Catherine quickly attended too. Edwards shirt was covered in sweat and Shawn’s blood, his hair messy as Katya dragged him off of the floor. He flexed his hands, hissing at the open cuts on his knuckles.

“He needs first aid.” Katya demanded. The maids, loyal to the Mendes family grimaced at the strangers.

"You assaulted him." Catherine spoke her voice shrill with stress. She yanked the first aid kit from a nervous looking woman as two men lifted Shawn and brought him to the living room. They laid him gently on the couch while being the two invaders closely/

"He's lucky I couldn't kill him." Edward said rubbing his knuckles on his shirt, the blood streaked on the blue fabric. "Where's Arianna?"

"You knocked him out. Angela-" Catherine's barked her native language in her high pitched voice to the nervous girl. The girl quickly took out smelling salts from the box, waving them under Shawn's nostrils hoping to wake him up.

"I know what I did." Edward interrupted her mid sentence walking closer to Shawn. His security team was gone, out looking for you in the nearby village but the rest of the maids and butlers formed a line in hopes to block Shawn from any further punishment from Ed. Katya placed her back in the holster raising her empty hands to show she wasn't dangerous but they didn't let Edward get any closer. "Where. Is. Arianna?"

"If you give her to us," Katya said simply "Then we leave." Catherine went barking out orders in Greece ignoring the pair. Katya raised her voice. "This is your choice! We can stay here until he wakes up or you can just tell us!" Catherine ignored them again as the nervous woman wiped Shawns stained red face with a wet wipe. "HELLO?" Katya shouted.

Edward running on nothing but frustration, grabbed one of the guns on Katya's thigh. He quickly undid the safety and fired off a whole round into the floor by the couch Shawn was at. High pitched screams erupted from the terrified help and the people who formed a tight line around Shawn scattered like roaches in the sunlight. Catherine herself cowered in fear, placing her hands over her ears and screaming in a mix of Greek and English for him to stop.

The silence was deafening when Edward removed his finger from the trigger. His green eyes locked onto Catherines, he knelt down so he was eye level with her. The smooth barrel of the gun moving over her cheek making her big brown eyes water. "Please, sir-" She looked at Katya behind Edward. Katya eyed the long haired boy close, one of her hands on the taser in her back pocket, just in case.

"I just want Arianna. Thats it, nothing will happen as long as I get her back."

Terror overcame Catherine so strongly that she began shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I-I can-can't" she sobbed. Edward's jaw tightening make her start to choke on her cries.

"Why?" Katya asked stepping closer to her.

"Sh-she-she"

"Spit it out!" Edward snarled at her raising the gun to her temple. Her speech mixed in with her sobs that the duo couldn't understand her. Katya pushed the gun away from her and growled at Edward. She knelt next to him and ordered Catherine to focus on her and not the blood covered devil holding a gun at her.

"Where is she?"

"She-she's gone!"

~

It was somewhat comforting that people were looking for you. But that thought was instantly chased away when you heard Abigail's heels clinking against the metal of the chair. They might have known you were with Shawn but now - no one knew where you were. In some dank warehouse in Greece by the water. "What is this?" You asked flipping through the other pictures of the folder Abigail handed to you. You saw shaky candid pictures of J, mostly in Negans club but some near it. It seemed he truly was a ghost to them. They never even got in his club.

"Keep looking." Abigail said, smoke leaving her nostrils as she spoke. You're eyes scanned over the pictures of the green haired J, cursing him for getting you into this mess. Though a bigger part of you wished he was here, he'd take care of these people. You absentmindedly flipped through the photos not truly looking or really seeing anything familiar until you spotted Robin with a thick red sharpie mark next to his face. It was a tad blurry but you knew it was him. You'd know him anywhere. You pulled out the photo and showed it to Abigail.

"Why him?"

"You think The Joker is the only person the boss is looking for?" She giggled and leaned towards you a bit. "Between you and me, Joker is just the easiest to identify. But that cutie" she pointed her manicured finger at the blurred Robin. "might be on his list too."

"Who else is on the list?" You asked seeing another better quality photo of Robin smoking by the school.

Abigail shrugged "I don't know everyone on the list."

"Whoever he's looking for." You pushed the folder away . "Its not him." Abigail chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"You like him." She teased like you were old friends. She was about to speak more when the shy techie girl, Samantha made her way over to you both.

"Um Abigail." She squeaked out Abigail rolled her eyes annoyed. "The boss says to have someone bring her to the docks."

"The docks?" The look on Abigails face made your stomach flip. Whatever the docks were didn't seem like a place you wanted to be. "Why?" Samantha shrugged and Abigail quickly stood up anger on her face. "With who?" The girl shrugged and Abigail sighed in frustration. She shook her head "Tell him I said no, matter of fact" she stood up pushing past the two men and towards the hallway she came from. "I'll tell him." She'll tell the boss? Maybe she was closer to him then you originally thought. Within a few moments you were once again locked up in the room. At least Abigail left you the vape and the liquor. Though the thought Robin was being watched made you feel a bit sick.

~

[quindolyn]

Could you do a marauders x reader fluff?? Like a poly relationship and it’s like Valentine’s Day or sumthing love ur writing <3

Armfuls of Sunshine || Poly!Marauders

Word Count: 2365

A/N: It’s not really valentines day in the fic or any holiday like that, it’s just that swim weather is setting in for me and I want a lazy day at the lake with the boys so this is completely self indulgent. I know I haven’t been writing a lot I’ve just been a bit overwhelmed and I wish I could say that this is a sign that my life is mellowing out but I’m afraid that it is actually to the contrary. In summary, don’t get your hopes up

Warnings: hastily written, tired while written, fem reader, kisses, lake day so reader is wearing a swimsuit, mentions of Remus’ body image issues and allusions to Sirius’ past abuse from his parents

Masterlist

You closed your eyes, leaning your head back to rest against Sirius’ shoulder who sat behind you with you between his legs. Sitting by the Black Lake he was shirtless, you adorned only in a modest two piece swimsuit leaving the skin of your belly exposed so that Sirius could trace shapes along the soft skin. With your back pressed to his chest and the sun’s rays hitting your front you were surrounded by warmth, like a nice little cocoon you were tucked into. 

With your head against his shoulder you left the side of your neck open, vulnerable, allowing him to drip down wordlessly and brush his lips over the delicate skin before finding your sweet spot on the back of your neck and nipping lightly, his hands moving to grip your hips so you couldn’t squirm out of the hold he had on you.

“Siri!” You giggled, feeling Sirius grin into the side of your neck, getting just the reaction out of you that he had wanted.

“Shhh Puppy,” He whispered condescendingly in your ear, “Gotta be quiet, can’t wake up Jamie,” He nodded his head over to your right where just mere inches from you laid the slumbering boy, all messy black curls, hazel eyes, and with a physique that had you weak in the knees every time you saw him.

Currently his back was on display for you as he laid on his stomach, his hands resting beneath his forehead acting as a pillow, you admired the way the sunlight illuminated his skin and you could see the muscles subtly shift under that skin as he breathed deeply in his sleep.

Watching him, you became aware of just how hot the sun had gotten in the hour or so the three of you had been lounging out there, waiting for Remus to finish up his prefect duties so that the four of you could go cool off in the water together. 

“We should wake him up, Siri,” You voiced, lifting yourself slightly from his lap in attempts to wake up James but quickly strong hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you back down to the spot between his muscled thighs.

“Oh come on baby, you don’t wanna do that, you know how grumpy the baby gets when you wake him up from a nap,” He murmured this mockingly into your neck, hoping that the boy he spoke of wouldn’t be able to hear him but as James let out a disgruntled groan and began to fidget you knew he was waking up.

Ignoring Sirius’ snarky remark, you leaned forward once more, this time Sirius’ hands just keeping a steady hold on your hips while making no effort to pull you back.

“Hey baby,” You crooned, supporting your weight on one hand pressed firmly to the ground while the other moved to bury itself deep in James’ locks, scratching with your nails the way you know he liked on his scalp, smiling at the content grunt the boy let out at your ministrations.

Gazing down at him you let your eyes scan his back once more, frowning as you noticed the slight pink tinge beginning to taint his skin, a precursor to what could be a wicked sunburn if not properly prevented. Letting your hand slip from his scalp you ran it down his neck and down his back, he was warmer than he should’ve been, it wasn’t just ‘laying in the sun’ kinda warm it was ‘beginning to fry’ kinda hot.

“Jamie,” You muttered again, louder this time so that you might be able to get more of his attention, “Jamie, wake up.”

“Hmmm?” He hummed, turning onto his side so that he was facing you, eyes slowly blinking open, squinting as they were flooded with the harsh light of the warm sun. He scooched himself so that he was still lying on his side but so that his head was resting against the hard planes of Sirius’ thigh, nuzzling into the soft skin half covered by his swim shorts which stopped at his mid thigh.

“You’re starting to get sunburned Jamie, can’t have our pretty boy getting hurt,” You explained to him the reason for your disturbance, returning your hand to his hair as he inched up the material of Sirius’ shorts to press kisses to his leg.

You felt Sirius shiver from behind you at the contact of James’ pretty lips on some of his most sensitive skin and you found his hand, interlacing your fingers to give him a squeeze.

“But the sun feels good,” James countered between kisses pressed to Sirius’ leg, not going higher or lower, just dancing around the circumference, tracing where the bottom of the shorts would usually sit.

“I know it does,” You agreed, gazing down at one of your three beautiful boys, “But how about you lay on your back for a little bit, let your tummy get some sun and then we’ll put on more sunscreen and hopefully by that time we’re done Rem will be done and we can go in the water.”

“Hmph,” James looked up at you, he was positioned in such a way that sunlight danced through his hazel irises, making him appear even more ethereal than usual, his tan skin glowing in the mid afternoon sun. He was the picture of effortless beauty.

It was unfair how easily the boy tanned, it was something Sirius in particular was envious of but as he positioned himself so that his lips were pressed to the shell of your ear, “He’s gorgeous isn’t he?” 

“Breathtaking,” You nodded, only breaking your eyes away from James’ face when his eyes flitted back down to the thigh he used as a pillow, resuming his dusting of feather light kisses. “Just as breathtaking as you are,” Twisting your neck you were nose to nose with Sirius, pale skin stretched across his angular features shimmered beautifully in the sun, like someone had dusted glitter along his skin in his sleep making him look almost god like.

Your eyes flickered from his unnaturally ruby red lips to his grey eyes where you noticed a smear of black makeup beginning at the corner of his eye. You lifted your hand to your mouth, licking the pad of your thumb, before extending out from the corner of the boy’s eye where his eyeliner from earlier was smudged against his porcelain skin. 

Allowing his eyes to flutter closed Sirius leaned into your touch and you felt your heart swell, there had been a point during your relationship with the three men where you reaching for his face would’ve caused him to flinch and back away, and even if your hand had somehow managed to make it to his face he would’ve sat there awkwardly and rigid until you pulled away. 

But this comfort was a demonstration of the trust that had formed, not just between the two of you but all four of you, even if one member was absent at the moment.

“There we go,” You murmured, pulling your hand back to your lap, though Sirius followed it, not wanting to break contact with you until the las possible second.

“Better now?”

“Much.”

Casting your gaze back down at the near comatose form of one of your other boyfriends you frowned as James had still yet to shift so that his back wasn’t exposed to the sun.

Though Sirius pretended not to care as much as you he too noticed the pinkish tint James’ skin was starting to take on. Resting one of his hands, stronger than yours, on James' face he began rubbing small circles on his cheek, occasionally running his fingers through the other boy’s hair to keep it out of his way.

“She’s right Jamesie,” His low baritone sounded, “Don’t need you with a sunburn so roll over for us, can put your head right back in my lap, just want you to be okay.”

“But m’comfy,” The other boy protested into Sirius’ thigh, saliva spilling out onto the hard canvas of muscle.

Knowing that if James wasn’t going to listen to you or Sirius there was one person whose opinion would matter you spoke, “Can’t have Remmy worrying about you Jamie,” You implored gently, “We’re out here to help him relax,” 

You were right, with the full moon in a matter of days Remus had been high strung, constantly fidgeting, lost in his head, spacing out during class while also hyper fixating on the most minute of details. The boy was a tightly wound mess and desperately just needed a relaxing afternoon with his three favorite people. 

If he even had an inkling that one of you was anything other than completely fine he would focus all of his energy in on that, forgetting the real reason you were supposed to be out there together.

It was those words that seemed to reach James and had him turning over onto his back so that the back of his head was now cradled in his hands which were interlocked and resting upon Sirius’ thigh, his strong, muscled legs kicked out underneath him, his ankles crossed.

You allowed your eyes to run up and down James’ impressive form, thighs just as beautiful, but more defined that Sirius’ but hidden behind a pair of coral swim trunks. His abs were without a doubt the most defined out of all four of you, like his thighs this part of his physique could be attributed to countless hours on the Quidditch pitch, training him and his team ruthlessly, pushing every physical boundary. It had obviously paid off as the strong muscles of his biceps and triceps flexed as he had his arms positioned to prop his head up.

Flicking your glance behind you you noticed that Sirius was appreciating the view just as much as you were, and who could really blame you? James was gorgeous, and he was all yours just as the stunnig boy behind you was.

Once again pushing yourself out of Sirius’ lap you used your hands to stabilize your body on the ground, your palms pressed flat against the soft material of the towel that was laid out underneath you so that your face was mere inches above James. You didn’t even bother waiting for him to close his eyes before you were melding your lips with his, closing your eyes in contentment as you felt his lips fall open for yours, his tongue peeking out to trace your soft cushions.

Reaching a hand up to cup your jaw James used it to pull your face down closer towards his. You released a muffled “umph” as you were forced to drop from your hands to your forearms to support yourself comfortably and James gently took your bottom lip between his teeth, nipping gently as he deepened the kiss.

Before you could reciprocate, matching his passion, there were another pair of strong hands wrapping around your waist, pulling you away from James’ lips and out of Sirius’ lap. 

You let out a high pitched shriek at the sudden, unexpected motion and with what appeared to be minimal effort the hold on you shifted from your waist to supporting you under the bend of your knees and the small of your back.

Not being alarmed as the deep laughter that erupted from the figure was not only familiar but reassuring, you rested your head against Remus’ chest, having recognized him instantly. Inhaling deeply the scent of the thin t-shirt he’d thrown on before making his way down to the lake after finishing his prefect duties you knew that it was no doubt either Sirius’ or James’ as the three boys rarely ever wore their own shirts, always preferring each other’s.

“Hi Rem,” You smiled, gazing up at his visage from your place in his arms, you squinted because his head was positioned directly in front of the sun, making it look like there was a brilliant halo glowing around him.

“Hi baby, I missed you,” He cooed down at you, pressing a sweet and simple peck to your puckered lips before rising back up to his full height, still cradling you in his arms.

“You can put me down now Remmy,” You giggled, not satisfied with the brief kiss he’d given you, you clasped his jaw similarly to the way James had yours to bring his lips back down to yours. 

But once again, much to your chagrin, he kept the kiss short, no matter the firm hand you kept on his jaw, perhaps even shorter than the last once before pulling away and setting you down softly on the ground, taking great care to ensure you were balanced before letting go of his hold on you.

“Neither of those were real kisses,” You complained, resting your hand against his chest, your head at a near ninety degree angle to look up at the male who towered over you.

“No?” He asked teasingly.

Rising to the bait you answered, “No.”

“Don’t whine baby,” Sirius chimed in from where he laid, still lounging upon the ground, “Remmy’s had a very exhausting day (Y/N), can’t blame him if his kissing isn’t what it usually is.” 

Pushing himself up off the ground Sirius sauntered over to where you and Rem stood, making a show as he carelessly flinging his arms around Remus’ neck.

“Now come on Remus,” He ordered with a false arrogance, “Carry me to the water!” Letting his head fall back dramatically he stood there expectantly but was met only with Remus’ light laughter as he ducked out from under the smaller boy’s arms. 

“I don’t think so Pads,” Remus said as pulled off his shirt, you grinned at the seemingly unimportant action but just as Sirius trusting you to touch him made your heart soar so did this. Remus proudly and carelessly displaying all of the beautiful scars that decorated his chest made you so proud of the progress the four of you had all made together.

“Get Jamie to carry you,” Once again lifting you into his arms Remus pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, “Already got my arms full.” 

tagging: @randomoutsiders @weasleyposts @amourtentiaa @kittykylax @superbturtlemakerathlete @oliviashea05 @gxtitobxby @pinkandblueblurbs @st0nesnglitter @miraclesoflove @priii @wholebigboxofyikes @advictedtohim @gubleryum @temporaryissue @emmaev @zzzfour @itsmentalillness

[the-dream-team]

I’ve just read through your whole collection! Well, over the past few days. I adored it all! And can’t wait to read the next pieces. Do you have any good one shots or short fics that you could recommend while I wait for more?

What in the heck!! I am genuinely so touched by this, anon :') Thank you so much for reading, and boy do I have some suggestions for you!

First off, I'm going to do some shameless self-promo because I have a *secret* tumblr exclusive one shot list here, if you're interested in my contribution to Shirtless JP May or some fics with extra flowery language lol

Alright, now here are some of my favorite one shots, in no particular order:

⁂ Burn Easy by @efkgirldetective

a perfect college!au, Lit major rivals, incredible chemistry, beautifully written, funny and touching and glorious and made my cheeks hurt from grinning - I am obsessed with this fic and have read it too many times to count [NSFW]

⁂ From the Edge by @maraudersftw

THE TENSION - our two favs are stuck in detention. picking one Claudia fic is nearly impossible, but this one really shows off her talent for ramping up that angry jily energy that we love so much

⁂ Until Next Time by @cesays

gorgeous fic following Remus and McGonagall's relationship through the years, literally makes me cry, beautifully written

⁂ Notes by @scriibble-fics

the most quintessential jily fic, follows them passing notes from fifth through seventh year, left my jaw on the floor and my heart exploding from joy

⁂ As the Snow Falls by @mppmaraudergirl

Lily has a Hogsmeade date and James makes the smoothest move I've ever seen, perfect wintery vibes, wonderful jily banter, a pleasure to read

⁂ Seven Minutes in Heaven by @startanewdream

bickering fifth year jily ends up in a broom closet for seven minutes in heaven for a dare, perfect banter, excellent tension, I think about this fic often!

⁂ foreigner's god by @clare-with-no-i

heart-wrenchingly beautiful, somewhat-soulmates!muggle!au that clutched my heart and told me everything was going to be okay, this fic felt like a movie and made me excessively emotional and I still haven't recovered

⁂ Of Breath and Breathing by @corinnesamuels

just an absolute pleasure to read, funny, charming, the most incredible pride and prejudice vibes, Lily works at James's father's company and he finds plenty of excuses to see her, ending with a fantastic fundraising dinner

⁂ Huddle For Warmth by @thejilyship

fem!jily bed sharing fic - the gang goes on a weekend trip where Jamie and Lily end up sharing a room, this fic makes me smile like an idiot and I adore it

⁂ Hazel and Green by @crimson-snitch

counting the times hazel meets green, beautiful, gorgeously written snapshots of Lily and James's lives through the years from the first time they meet to the last time they're together

⁂ Betrayal by @nah-she-didnt

James and Lily are doing rounds as Head Boy and Girl, the Marauders are involved, James is a simp <3 So fun and sweet and I think about this fic often

⁂ The Twenty Third of December by @tumbledfreckles

this is a wonderfully written and touching jily elopment fic - it was one of the first jily wedding fics I'd ever read and has been stuck to my heart ever since, it's so lovely

⁂ and so, they fall by @sunshine-marauders

just the most delicious, flowery language and wonderful imagery, very emotional and raw, another through the years fic in a modern setting and I love it

⁂ Waylaid by @missgryffin

a snowstorm leaves Lily and James stuck at a hotel with *gasp* only one room, a fantastically detailed plot with doctor!james and barrister!lily and there are goats in the kitchen [NSFW]

⁂ this side of the universe (bare & brief) by @emerqldv

childhood friends to lovers, oh gosh this fic tore my heart out and stomped it on the pavement and then put back all the pieces and gave it a big hug - some heavy themes, so check the tags <3

⁂ Wildflowers by @blitheringmcgonagall

gosh this fic owns my heart - so descriptive and darling and touching and then so heartbreaking, makes me want to grow a garden of flowers specifically to pick for Mia

And here are a couple short fics I love:

⁂ Personality Before Punctuality by @theroomofreq

an absolutely delightful fic, bakery!au meets band!au with lots of fun banter, flirting, and James draws and has tattoos - what more can I say :)

⁂ She Didn't by @ashotofogdensoldfirewhiskey

Snape POV watching Lily interact with James through the years, this fic is incredible with super compelling characterizations and some very cathartic moments for Lily, I love this fic with all my heart

⁂ wild things run fast by @thequibblah

magical!au with some of the best worldbuilding I've ever read, amazing jily chemistry, lots of fun quidditch deep-diving, and a bar I desperately wish I could go to [NSFW]

Obviously, this isn't a complete list, but just some of my favorites from the past year! Thanks again for this very kind ask, anon - happy reading!

[majestyeverlasting]

Hi! Can you write prompts 17 & 49 with Bucky x reader, please? Any Bucky you want!

♡ Hello! Thank you so much for sending this request in! I decided to go with dad Bucky since I haven't written for him in a little bit. Which means you guys get to see Jamie (8) and Eden (7), who are in my other dad Bucky stories. This fic in particular happens to be pretty classic in the sense that it follows a relaxed morning. But of course I had to add my own special touches. It's very intimate and cute, and the Barnes family ends up making breakfast together. By the end, Bucky and the reader share a soft moment in which they realize how fortunate they are. Enjoy!

♡ Prompt 17: “Oh, so you are ticklish.”

♡ Prompt 49: “I’ve never noticed these freckles on your back.”

Mornings Like These

Saturday morning brought the sweet sound of laughter to your bedroom, genuine and carefree. It was distant at first, flowing from wherever the children were. There was hardly any light streaming into the room, which meant the sky outside was likely a dusty blue with hints of pink as the sun continued to rise. Surely others were still wrapped in the embrace of sleep.

With a soft sigh, you moved closer to Bucky and nuzzled into the warmth of his chest. A hum rose from his throat when your lips puckered to his skin in a featherlight kiss.

But it wasn't long before the most gentle series of knocks sounded from the other side of the door. Almost rhythmic. Whispers and giggles emerged shortly after. Bucky’s chest shook with a chuckle as a smile budded across your face.

“They’re such early birds,” you murmured, kissing his skin a couple more times, lazily. “Maybe they’ll go away if we don’t say anything,” you joked lightheartedly.

His voice was deeper from sleep when he drawled, “Knowing them, they’d come in regardless.” You laughed into him at those words, and more knocks arose.

“Come in!” You eventually called out.

As soon as Jamie and Eden peeked into the room, neither you nor Bucky could deny that it felt good to see their faces—despite how early it was. They wore toothy, loving smiles as they walked to the foot of the bed, still clad in their adorable pajamas. Neither crawled up to join you two, but they placed their hands on the mattress as if they were considering.

“Morning,” Bucky greeted through a stifled yawn.

“G’morning,” they said in unison.

“How’d you guys sleep?” You asked.

“Good,” Jamie chirped.

“Yeah, good,” Eden seconded. “We have an idea.” She then looked to her brother for him to continue.

“We were thinking that today would be a good day for all of us to make breakfast together. We haven’t done it in a while, and I think it’d be really fun.” There was a hopeful sparkle in his eyes. “So maybe that’s something we can do when everyone’s more awake.” He ran a hand through his hair. It was getting longer.

His words rang true—it had been a while. “You know what, I like that idea,” you said.

Bucky smiled. “Me too.”

That’s when they finally climbed up into the bed, uttering exclamations of excitement. They wriggled their small bodies between you and Bucky, and all you could do was allow your heart to feel full. The room seemed all the brighter with them in it, you realized. And the sweet laughter that once danced somewhere off in hallways had found its way to you.

That same energy is what later brought the kitchen to life as the four of you moved throughout it to bring breakfast into fruition.

The scent of turkey bacon lingered in the air as cooked in the oven. It mingled with the scent of the eggs you stood scrambling at the stovetop. Bucky was at the counter cutting different fruits. Jamie and Eden were in charge of toasting the waffles. As they waited for them to pop, they switched between standing at you and Bucky’s sides.

A smile came to your face when Jamie wrapped an arm around your waist and released a content sigh. “You wanna stir them around a bit?” You offered, running a hand through his hair. “They’re almost done.” It was endearing how gladly took the small spatula from you. It was as if he was proud to.

Every day, he was slipping further away from the little boy you used to coddle in your arms. He was helpful, reserved, and kind—so much of what you saw in Bucky in many regards. And Eden was blossoming into her own personality as well, always managing to shift whatever room she entered.

She happened to be over near Bucky, ushering pieces of the strawberries he was cutting into her mouth. With a fond shake of his head, he let her. However, the dramatic way she hummed in approval of the taste made him roll his eyes.

Then she wandered around to stand behind him, ever curious and in pursuit of something new. “Daddy, I’ve never noticed these freckles on your back,” she said, reaching up to poke where they were on his shoulder blade. Bucky made a sound of acknowledgment but remained focussed on cutting.

It became evident that she was trying to get a reaction out of him when she giggled and kept poking him. That’s when he shot a quick look back at her. She quickly folded her hands to make it appear as though she hadn’t been doing anything.

Nevertheless, Bucky tapped her nose. “Quit it,” he said. She continued as soon as his back faced her again. The whole exchange made you smile.

He turned around and pointed a finger at her. “Don’t make the tickle monster get you, sunshine.”

“Too bad I’m not ticklish anymore,” she claimed as confidently she could manage. It was a harmless lie tinged with amusement. As he looked down into her eyes, he was reminded of yours.

“Is that right?” Bucky swiftly scooped her up with his vibranium arm, and all it took was a couple of pinches to her sides to have her squirming and trying to push his hand away.

“Okay!” She squealed. “That tickles, that tickles!”

“Oh, so you are ticklish?” He relented and pressed a kiss to her temple as residual giggles left her. “Who would’ve thought?” She gave him a playful pout when he set her back down, but it didn’t last for long.

Because soon enough, it was time for everything and one to be gathered at the kitchen table. There was sunlight coating the room and the food smelled divine. For a moment, the chatter that once existed subsided as everyone took the first few bites. Upon glancing around, you were struck with a rush of joy. You could feel it kindling within your chest. Bucky caught your gaze from across the table and winked.

You weren’t sure how yet, but you were going to make sure that more mornings like that came to be.

“We should do this more often,” Jamie said as if reading your mind.

“We will,” Bucky promised.

You nodded. “We most definitely will.”

With that, the four of you continued eating and talking, and it seemed as though it’d go on forever. But it didn’t. Plates were cleaned, final stories were told, and last-minute jokes were uttered. And you felt full not because of the food, but because of how happy each of them made you.

When you found yourself washing dishes at the sink, the entirety of the morning was on repeat in your mind.

Bucky came up behind you and kissed your neck in a way that made you want to melt. The scratch of his beard sent shivers swirling down your spine. You could feel him smile against your skin as his arms secured around his waist. The kids’ voices carried from where they’d retreated to in the playroom. Neither of you said anything to each other, he simply held you as you moved to clean the last of the dishes.

Bucky was the first to speak, voice filled with honest consideration, “Sometimes I think I have a grasp on how fortunate I am. But then mornings like these come along and I’m convinced I don’t even know the half of it.” He let his chin rest on your shoulder.

“You and me both,” you breathed.

-

Thanks for reading! More fluffy Bucky stuff here.

[blackstarising]

coming back to this post i made again to elaborate - especially as the ted lasso fandom is discussing sam/rebecca and fandom racism in general. there are takes that are important to make that i had failed to previously, but there's also a growing amount of takes that i have to, As A Black Person™, respectfully disagree with.

tl;dr for the essay below sam being infantilized and the sam/rebecca relationship are not the same issue and discussing the former one doesn't mean excusing the latter. and we've reached the glen of the Dark Forest where we sit down and talk about fandom racism.

i should have elaborated this in my last post about sam/rebecca, but i didn't. i'll say it now - i personally don't support sam and rebecca getting together for real. i believe what people are saying is entirely correct, even though sam is an adult legally, he and rebecca are, at the very least, two wildly different stages of life. for americans, he's at the equivalent of being a junior in college. there are things he hasn't gotten the chance to experience and there are areas he needs to grow in. when i was younger, i didn't understand the significance of these age gaps, i just thought it would be fine if it was legal, but as someone who is now a little older than sam in universe, i understand fully. we can't downplay this. whether or not you think sam works for rebecca or not, even despite the gender inversion of the Older Man Younger Woman trope, whether or not he is a legal adult, i don't think at this point in time, their relationship would work. i think it's an interesting narrative device, but i don't want to see it play out in reality.

that being said!

what's worrying me is that two discussions are being conflated here that shouldn't be. sam having agency and being a little more grown™ than he's perceived to be does not suddenly make his relationship with rebecca justified. i had decided to bring it up because sam was being brought into the spotlight again and i was starting to realizing that his infantilization was more common than i felt comfortable with.

sam's infantilization (and i will continue to call it that), is a microaggression. it's is in the range of microaggressions that i would categorize as 'fandom overcompensation'. we have a prominent character of color that exhibits traits that aren't stereotypical, and we don't want to appear racist or stereotypical, so we lean hard in the other direction. they're not aggressive, they're a Sweet Baby, they're not world weary, they're now a little naive. they're not cold and distant, they're so nice and sweet that there's no one that wouldn't want approach them, and yeah, on their face, these new traits are a departure and, on their face, they seem they look really good.

but at a certain point, it reaches an inflection point, and, like the aftertaste of a diet coke, that alleged sweetness veers into something a lot less sweet. it veers into a lack of agency for the character. it veers into an innocence that appears to indicate that the person can't even take care of themselves. it veers into a one-dimensional characterization that doesn't allow for any depth or negative emotion.

it's not kind anymore. it's not a nice departure from negative stereotypes. it's not compensating for anything.

it's patronizing.

it is important that we emphasize that characters of color are more than the toxic stereotypes we lay on them, yes, but we make a mistake in thinking that the solution is overcorrection. for one thing, people of color can usually tell. don't get it twisted, it's actually pretty obvious. for another, it just shifts from one dimension to another. people of color are still supposed to be Only One Character Trait while white people can contain multitudes. ted, who is pretty much as pollyanna as they come, can be at once innocent and naive and deep and troubled and funny and scared. jamie can be a prick and sexy and also lonely and also a victim of abuse. sam, however, even though he was bullied (by jamie, no less), is thousands of miles away from home, and has led a protest on his team, is usually just characterized as human sunshine with much less acknowledgement of any other traits beyond that.

and that's why i cringe when fandom calls sam a Sweet Baby Boy without any sense of irony. is that all we're taking away? after all this time? even for a comedy, sam has received a substantive of screen time over two whole seasons, and we've seen a range of emotions from him. so as a black person it's hurtful that it's boiled down to Sweet Baby Boy.

that's the problem. we need to subvert stereotypes, but more importantly, we need to understand that people of color are not props, or pieces of cardboard for their white counterparts. they are full and actualized and have agency in their own right and they can have other emotions than Angry and Mean or Sweet and Bubbly without any nuance between the two. i think the show actually does a relatively good job of giving sam depth (relatively, always room for improvement, mind you), especially holding it in tension with his youth, but the fandom, i worry, does not.

it's the same reason why finn from star wars started out as the next male protagonist in the sequel trilogy but by the third movie was just running around yelling for REY!! it's the same reason why when people make Phase 4 Is the Phase For Therapy gifsets for the mcu and show wanda maximoff, loki, and bucky barnes crying and being sad but purposefully exclude sam wilson who had an entire show to tell us how difficult his life is, because people find out if pee oh sees are also complex, they'll tell the church.

and the reason why i picked up on this very early on is because i am an organic, certified fresh, 100% homegrown, non-gmo, a little ashy, indigenous sub saharan African black person. the ghanaian tribes i'm descended from have told me so, my black ass parents have told me so, and the nurses at the hospital in [insert asian country here] that started freaking out about how curly my hair was as my mother was mid pushing me out told me so!

and this stuff has real life implications. listen: being patronized as a black person sucks. do you know how many times i was patted on the back for doing quite honestly, the bare minimum in school? do you know how many times i was told how 'well spoken' or 'eloquent' i was because i just happen to have a white accent or use three syllable words? do you know how many times i've been cooed over by white women who couldn't get over how sweet i was just because i wasn't confrontational or rude like they wrongly expected me to be?

that's why they're called microaggressions. it's not a cross on your lawn or having the n-word spat in your face, but it cuts you down little by little until you're completely drained.

so that's the nuance. that's the subversion. the overcompensation is not a good thing. and people of color (and i suspect, even white people) have picked up on, in general, the different ways fandom treats sam and dani and even nate. what all of these discussions are converging on is fandom racism, which is not the diet form of racism, but another place for racism to reveal itself. and yeah, it's uncomfortable. it can seem out of left field. you may want to defend yourself. you may want to explain it away. but let me tap the sign on the proverbial bus:

if you are a white person, or a person of color who is not part of that racial group, even, you do not get to decide what is not racist for someone. full stop. there are no exceptions. there is no exit clause for you. there is no 'but, actually-'. that right wasn't even yours to cede or waive.

(it's also important to note that people of color also have the right to disagree on whether something is racist, but that doesn't necessarily negate the racism - it just means there's more to discuss and they can still leave with different interpretations)

people don't just whip out accusations of racism like a blue eyes white dragon in a yu-gi-oh duel. it's not fun for us. it's not something we like to do to muzzle people we don't want to engage with. and we're not concerned with making someone feel bad or ashamed. we're exposing something painful that we have to live with and, even worse, process literally everything we experience through. we can't turn it off. we can't be 'less sensitive' or 'less nitpicky'. we are literally the primary resources, we are the proverbial wikipedia articles with 3,000 sources when it comes to racism. who else would know more than us?

what 2020 has shown us very clearly is that racism is systemic. it's not always a bunch of Evil White Men rubbing their hands together in a dark room wondering how they're going to use the 'n-word' today. it's systemic. it's the way you call that one neighborhood 'sketchy'. it's how you use 'ratchet' and 'ghetto' when describing something bad. it's how you implicitly the assume the intelligence of your friend of color. it's the way you turned up your nose and your friend's food and bullied them for it in middle school but go to restaurants run by white people who have 'uplifted' it with inauthentic ingredients. it's telling someone how Well Spoken and Eloquent they are even though you've both gone to the same schools and work at the same workplace. it's the way you look down at some people of color for having a different body type than you because they've been redlined to neighborhoods where certain foods and resources are inaccessible, and yet mock up the racial features that appeal to you either through makeup or plastic surgery.

it's how when a person of color behaves badly, they're irredeemable, but a white person performing the same act or something similar is 'having a bad day' or 'isn't normally like this' or 'has room to grow' and we can't 'wait for their redemption arc', and yes, i'm not going to cover it in detail in this post but yes this is very much about nate. other people have also brought up the nuances in his arc and compared them to other white characters so i won't do it here.

these behaviors and reactions aren't planned. they aren't orchestrated. they're quite literally unconscious because they've been lovingly baked into western society for centuries. you can't wake up and be rid of it. whether you intended it or not, it can still be racist.

and it's actually quite hurtful and unfair to imply that concerns about racism in the TL fandom are unfounded or lacking any depth or simply meant to be sensational because you simply don't agree with it. i wish it was different, but it doesn't work that way. i'm not raising this up to 'call out' or shame people, but i'm adding to this discussion because, through how we talk about sam, and even dani and nate, i'm yet again seeing a pattern that has shortchanged people of color and made them feel unwelcome in fandom for far too long.

coach beard said it best: we need to do better.

[boasamishipper]

Ok I thought I was the only person who shipped Dani/Sam (ted lasso)!!! I am so happy someone else does! Please (!) go off on a rant!

i know this has been sitting in my inbox for a while, but BLESS you for this ask, anon. i am literally always ready to go off about my New Favorite Ship :D

okay we've ALL heard of the ship trope "ray of sunshine x grumpy storm cloud" BUT "ray of sunshine x ray of sunshine" is equally appealing and wonderful

sam is so kind and dedicated to football and stands up for what he believes in and dani is exuberant and enthusiastic and loves football and spreading joy - they already support each other wholeheartedly and encourage each other so much on and off the pitch, can you imagine how good and supportive partners they would be

no seriously though. imagine you're sam obisanya and it's your first season in the premier league and it's been a great experience but the striker of your team has been consistently treating you like shit and it Hurts. and then all of a sudden this new guy shows up and he's sweet and kind and adores football and within Literally Five Minutes Of Meeting You he learns your name, compliments your skill, works well with you, and makes you smile more than anyone else has so far. imagine your devastation when he's injured, and the relief when he turns out to be okay and continues playing well with you after the original striker leaves the team. what's that one soulmate quote where it's like "it wasn't love at first sight, but it was familiarity. something like oh, hello, it's you. it's going to be you." that's robisanya to a t.

they're literally onscreen together Constantly. i am usually the last person to ship a couple just because they're standing next to each other, but they get comfortable with each other so fast!!! dani literally jumps into sam's arms within five minutes of meeting him!! sam is the first person dani hugs after he arrives at the curse-breaking fire!!! (quite literally sam is Always the first person to reach dani when the team hugs!) they're sitting next to each other in the karaoke scene in 'make rebecca great again'!!! they're Always sitting or standing near each other in the locker room!!! their teamwork earned the team a goal in the man city match in the s1 finale!!! i could go on but just, they are clearly very comfortable with one another and very affectionate and it's wonderful to see.

the tiny details in s2 alone have destroyed me. in s2e2 you can see dani about to go after sam after sam storms off the pitch before ted follows. in s2e3 dani is The Only One who does not goodnaturedly rib sam about the dubai air pictures!!! he compliments sam genuinely!!! and you CANNOT convince me otherwise that while dani has genuine beef with jamie for his attitude, part of it HAS to be for how jamie treated sam. add all that to the parallels of sam and dani interacting kindly with the youngest higgins boy, and sam's support of dani during the penalty kick in s2e1, and how sam is the very first one to hug dani after dani gets over the yips, and you can see why i am Constantly Feral over these two. (not to mention all the bts pics cristo fernandez posts of himself and toheeb jimoh on instagram and that one interview the actors did where their characters were referred to "the beating hearts of the team".)

also like. look at them. they're beautiful AND they're fashion icons. name me a duo more iconic.

[spaceorphan18]

Season 1 Songs in Chronological order of release

A couple of things

Duplicates were eliminated

Broadway songs were done by when the show premiered

A few of the songs are the release dates of the versions popularized by other artists - such as Over the Rainbow - to reflect the artists they chose to emulate 

Mash ups were broken up, and songs are treated individually here

If you guys enjoy this - I’ll make ones for the rest of the show, including an comprehensive list. ;) 

1936 -"Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" - Louis Prima 1936 - "Smile" -Nat King Cole 1937 - "The Lady Is a Tramp" - Sammy Davis, Jr. 1950 - "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" - Guys and Dolls 1956 - "I Could Have Danced All Night" - My Fair Lady 1957 - "Tonight"- West Side Story 1959 - "Rose's Turn" - Gypsy: A Musical Fable 1960 - "Where Is Love? -"Oliver! 1963 - "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"- James Brown 1964 - "Don't Rain on My Parade" - Funny Girl 1964 - "A House Is Not a Home" - Dionne Warwick 1964 - "Funny Girl" - Barbra Streisand 1966 - I Say a Little Prayer" - Dionne Warwick 1966 - Maybe This Time” - Cabaret 1966 - "Cabaret" - Cabaret 1966 - "You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes 1967 - "Respect" - Aretha Franklin 1967 - "Hello, Goodbye" - The Beatles 1967 - "To Sir, with Love" - Lulu 1968 - Young Girl - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap 1968 - "Hello, I Love You" - The Doors 1968 - "Dream a Little Dream of Me" - The Mamas and the Papas 1969 - "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - John Denver 1969 - "Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond 1969 - "Proud Mary" - Ike and Tina Turner 1969 - "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones 1970 - "One Less Bell to Answer - The 5th Dimension 1971 - "You're the One That I Want" - Grease 1971 - "Imagine" - John Lennon 1972 - "Lean on Me" - Bill Withers 1973 - "Piano Man" - Billy Joel 1973 - “Dream On" - Aerosmith 1974 - "(You're) Having My Baby" - Paul Anka and Odia Coates 1974 - "Tell Me Something Good" - Rufus and Chaka Khan 1975 - "Mister Cellophane" - Chicago 1975 - "All by Myself" - Eric Carmen 1975 - "Home" - The Wiz 1975 - "Run Joey Run" - David Geddes 1975 - "Give Up the Funk - "Parliament 1975 - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen 1976 - "Somebody to Love" - Queen 1976 - "Shout It Out Loud" - Kiss 1976 - "Beth" - Kiss 1978 - "Le Freak" - Chic 1978 - "Fire" - The Pointer Sisters 1979 - "Highway to Hell" - AC/DC 1979 - "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" - Journey 1980 - "Another One Bites the Dust" - Queen 1980 - Any Way You Want It - Journey 1981 - "Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey 1981 - "Endless Love" - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross 1981 - "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - Dreamgirls 1981 - "Hello Again" - Neil Diamond 1981 - "Physical" - Olivia Newton-John 1981 - "Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield 1982 - "Dancing with Myself" - Generation X 1982 - "The Safety Dance" - Men Without Hats 1983 - "Alone" - Heart 1983 - "Jump" - Van Halen 1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler 1983 - "Pink Houses" - John Mellencamp 1983 - "Faithfully" - Journey 1984 - "Can't Fight This Feeling" - REO Speedwagon 1984 - "Hello" - Lionel Richie 1984 - “Borderline" - Madonna 1984 - "Like a Virgin" - Madonna 1985 - "On My Own" - Les Misérables 1985 - Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves 1985 - "I Dreamed a Dream" - Les Misérables 1986 - Don't Stand so Close to Me  - The Police 1986 - "Papa Don't Preach" - Madonna 1986 - "Hair" - Hair 1986 - "True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper 1986 - Open Your Heart - Madonna 1987 - "Push It" - Salt-n-Pepa 1989 - "Bust a Move" - Young MC 1989 - "Express Yourself" - Madonna 1989 - "Like a Prayer" - Madonna 1990 - "Poison" - Bell Biv DeVoe 1990 - "Vogue" - Madonna 1990 - "Ice Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice 1990 - "U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer 1990 - "Over the Rainbow" - Israel Kamakawiwoʻole 1991 - "I Wanna Sex You Up" - Color Me Badd 1991 - "Good Vibrations" - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch 1992 - "One" - U2 1993 - "Loser" - Beck 1994 - "I'll Stand by You" - The Pretenders 1995 - "This Is How We Do It" - Montell Jordan 1998 - "The Boy Is Mine" - Brandy and Monica 2000 - It's My Life - Bon Jovi 2000 - "Thong Song" - Sisqó 2001 - "Ride wit Me" - Nelly feat. City Spud 2001 - "Bootylicious" - Destiny's Child 2001 - "What It Feels Like for a Girl" - Madonna 2002 - "Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera 2003 - "Defying Gravity" - Wicked 2003 - Crazy in Love - Beyonce 2004 - Confessions Part II - Usher 2005 - "Gold Digger" - Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx 2006 - "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse 2006 - "Keep Holding On" - Avril Lavigne 2006 - "Smile" - Lily Allen 2007 - "Taking Chances" - Céline Dion 2007 - "Hate on Me" - Jill Scott 2008 - "I Kissed a Girl" - Katy Perry 2008 - "Take a Bow" - Rihanna 2008 - "Mercy" - Duffy 2008 - "Bust Your Windows" - Jazmine Sullivan 2008 - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" - Beyoncé 2008 - "Last Name"Carrie - Underwood 2008 - Halo - Beyonce 2008 - "No Air" - Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown 2008 - "Gives You Hell" - The All-American Rejects 2008 - "4 Minutes" - Madonna feat.Justin Timberlake  2008 - "Poker Face" - Lady Gaga 2009 - "My Life Would Suck Without You" - Kelly Clarkson 2009 - "Bad Romance" - Lady Gaga

[nugnthopkns]

may fic round up!

what's up babes? may brought us playoff hockey and me a lot of stress, but around here we focus on the good parts! here's a small collection of fics i read this month that i treasured and adored!

smut is marked with *, minors dni

denis gurianov

rules were meant to be broken by @denis-scorianov

ky and i are in the midst of trading brunette hockey boys to be in love with, and this sweet little fic was with perfect introduction to guri! check it out :))

erik johnson

fourth line grinder (1) (2) (3)* (4) (5) by @horsesandhockeyplayers

yo this series is the bomb and you should read it asap!!! i miss ej constantly and this really fills the void. one day i hope to love my job as much as nell loves hers

jamie oleksiak

sleeping in* by @senditcolton

goofy feel-good big rig smut that feels like morning sunshine when you read it. so good!

joel farabee

i'm with you by @hotgirlhockey

a sweet little beezer fic that made my day when i read it. unrelated but mel is a sweetheart and you should deffo check out her writing if you haven't!

you drew stars (1) (2) by @broadstflyers

a super cute little series that's a mix of childhood friends to lovers/soulmates from what i can tell so far! v excited for the next part

like doves in the wind (1) (2) by @museinmind

joel x oc that looks like it's shaping up to be co-workers to lovers? sign me up!! i love everything about mattie and wish i embodied more of her free spirit

kevin hayes

cape cod confessions by @miracleonice87

adorable summer wedding fluff with everyone's favourite himbo. what isn't there to love?

got a hold on me* by @antoineroussel

this is technically a re-read i did for kev's birthday but it was to be included because it's phenomenal and i think you should read it at your earliest convenience

hell of a view (1) (2) by @danglesnipecelly

this little series is fulfilling all my needs of a summer romance!! there's also a healthy does of fake dating that i can't get enough of. i can't wait to see where this is going to go

matthew tkachuk

twisted in bedsheets* by @troubatrain

best friend's brother has never been my fav trope, but kim is a writing genius who can literally do no wrong. adorable but still so hot

loving you is easier than i had expected by @aereres

i didn't know i needed to see matty as a rockstar but i did and now i think about it daily. so so so good!

bend the rules by @denis-scorianov

angst! angst galore! this hurt so bad but was so beautiful

mikko rantanen

only you* by @hookingminor

who doesn't love mikko?? very hot but also domestic enough to hit me in the feels

sidney crosby

all bets are off (10) (11)* by @princessphilly

i seriously love this story and pray that sid and nina get a happy ending. i want to be as strong as nina when i grow up

tyson jost

like this (1) by @matbaerzal

amalie was kind enough to let me get a sneak peek of this before it got posted and y'all need to get behind this asap!! roomate fics are weakness and this if going to be a good one

[bvckleydiaz]

400 Follower Celebration 🍾

I’m finally getting around to do this post (hold for the applause 👏🏼 ) I’m currently at 423 ha. I’ve been trying to figure out what to say and what to post about this.. I mean it’s taken me almost a week to finish it. That being said, I think I’m going to take a page out of @burzekbrettsey’s book and share some of my favorite blogs who’ve helped me get to where I am and ones that you should be following too!

@kelly-severide: Nikki! Oh my sweet sunshine. I could go on and on for hours talking about her. You are the definition of a soulmate best friend. She’s been such a supportive person from the very beginning. She doesn’t believe it, but she’s an artist is every aspect of the word. The content she makes continues to blow me away every time something new gets put out. She’s legit one of my favorite people on this planet. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you🧡

@loveyourownsmiilee: Juju! Oh lord where do i even start. I swear you are my other half. She has the “oliver sense” that comes into play whenever Oliver posts something and deletes it. I mean she snatches those ig stories like it’s her job! We constantly talk about Oli and Ryan. Those are our boys and no one can say any different. She has one of the most positive blogs out there! She has such a bright, beautiful, and kind soul. I’m so glad we found each other 🤍

@burzekbrettsey: Sky! My bestie. We haven’t known each other for long, but I feel like it’s been ages! You are my favorite person to freak out with over Jay Halstead and his thigh holster. I mean that’s such a beautiful sight! Secondly, you are an AMAZING baker!! Have y’all seen the things she can make?!! When she opens her own bakery later in life I’m going to be her number one supporter! I have a feeling it’s always going to be you, nikki and I against the world. Forever homies 🧁

@matan4il: Alice! First off, if you aren’t following her, you are MISSING OUT! Her stories are everything! Since day one I’ve called her the smut queen and she has never disappointed. Her friendship is something I cherish so much in life. She’s the absolute sweetest. If I’m ever having a bad day, she somehow knows it, and helps talk me through it. I’m so grateful for you! ❤️

@fernnette: Fern! We go WAY back! You’ve seen me at my worst (aka the twitter fandom) and yet you still wanna be friends with me.. I don’t know why, but I’m grateful! I can’t even put into words how awesome you are. I’m so glad you made the discord when you did. I feel we’ve grown closer and we’ve made some amazing friends out of it. You are SUCH A TALENTED WRITER. I’m forever stuck on you and your writings. legit the first thing that comes to my mind when i think of you is #horny-jail. Also, as I’m typing this up you are in the discord writing your ass off and it’s v inspirational. like i wanna hop on over and write some. i can’t wait to see what’s coming up next from you 💛

@kenroczen: Jamie! My twin. Eddie Diaz simps unite! Although we get sad when we get someone new in the discord and we lose them to the evan buckley simps, Im glad we got each other! I love being able to talk all things ryan and eddie with you. Oh and don’t even get me started on the big bird gif! I die of laughter every single time someone is talking eddie/ryan with me and you come in out of nowhere. You are the best! ❣️

@doctornineandthreequarters: Jaime! My GGG buddy!! I never would’ve thought I’d bond with someone over buddie and that lead me to bonding over Guy’s Grocery Games. You’re writings are phenomenal! I don’t know how you do it, but you get those fics out so easily. You put so much into your fics and it shows! You’re such a talent! 🖤

@ineedapuppyandsomevodka: Mikayla! I truly didn’t think I’d ever find someone else who has the same inappropriate mindset like me, but here you are! You are relatable in every aspect. Your writings are some of my absolute favorite! Even the same drabbles have me weak. You’re so supportive of me in the discords and I hope I’m at least half as helpful as you are. I’m super grateful for you 💙

@buddie-buddie: Ella! First off, if you don’t know Ella, she’s the mastermind behind the White House AU universe!! She’s BRILLIANT! Whenever I see you in my notifications I can’t believe it. I’m sorry but this amazing writer and human being is in my notifs?!! What even? I know we’ve only become mutuals recently, but I’ve been following your writings since the beginning. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I see an email saying you updated. You are the absolute best! I hope we get to know each other more in the future! 💗

@sneetchestoo: You are so freaking supportive! I can always count on you to be in my notifications. You give me opinions, advice, and help me through hard time. You’re such a sweetheart 💚

@woodchoc-magnum: Felicity! We don’t get to interact very often, but let me tell you when you followed me?!! OH MY LORD I WENT OFF THE WALL. You are in my top 3 favorite writers of all time. You are such a glorious writer. Like all props to you my love! I swear I fangirl a tad bit whenever I see you in my notifs. Thank you for sharing your talents with us 🤎

and the honorable mentions: there’s so many others that I’m grateful for. I say it often, but i don’t know how I have this many followers! Thank you all for being so kind and supporting this, all over the place, blog 💝

@maygrant @trkstrnd @sixringss @siriuslyjamie @seik-o @shameless-aquarius @sometimesimfandomtrash @princessfbi @javachik @imaginebuck @captaincasey @gins-potter @thisissirius @hotchsbabygirl @jayhalsteadfan-2417 @blakestrand126 @selenaurrr @sunshinestrand @tkandbuck

Cheers 🥂

[merakiui]

Wow! An imagines blog for afterlife! First one as far as I can see... I wish you lots of fun with this! I wonder what your favourite characters from the game are? For me it's going to be Sian and Quincy (I first think I was going to hate this little devil brat but here I am XD). If you don't mind you can do relationship hc's with them and characters of your choice if you don't mind. I don't really have anything specific in mind, just something fluffy, sorry for that! Welcome and have a nice day!

(Is it really the first? Whoa! My favorites so far would have to be Ell and Verine! There’s something refreshing about Ell’s optimistic energy, and Verine seems so soft uwu But Sian and Quincy are also growing on me too. Either way, you’ve got good taste~ Please enjoy these hcs and thank you for being the first request, anon! :D)

Relationship HCs (Sian, Quincy, Ell, and Verine)

🎤 Sian 🎤

He refuses to admit to his feelings in the beginning. Why, you may ask? Simple: It’s embarrassing.

So he does what any normal tsundere would do in that sort of situation. He pushes you away by feigning his disinterest.

Naturally, his behavior comes off as rude and abrupt, but you’re able to see past that cold exterior.

Whenever you send a smile his way or compliment him for his good work, he’s quick to deny it. Though the bright blush on his cheeks always contradicts whatever he might say.

Sometimes he thinks you just enjoy messing with him, if only to see him turn red. It’s quite cute, and you can’t help but giggle when he starts to yell.

“It’s not adorable, so stop laughing! And don’t call me cute either!”

Once you’re together, Sian drops his rude act and becomes very affectionate. He still gets shy over small aspects of your relationship, such as holding hands in public or even mustering the courage to kiss you whenever he feels like it.

Kati will definitely tease Sian whenever he talks about his wonderful, loving manager, and Cyrille will provide him with all sorts of scientific facts about the prospect of being in love, how long it exactly lasts, and why relationships are so important in terms of social interaction.

Sian does his best to ignore them, but he always finds himself getting embarrassed. “Stay out of my personal life! I don’t need your help!” Yes, he’s also blushing while he says this.

Underneath that tsundere behavior is a sweet boy who does his best to give you a perfect relationship.

He’ll take you to his favorite places to eat, claiming that you have to try some of the foods he normally gets. In return, you’ll open his horizons to the things you enjoy eating.

Definitely goes to karaoke with you! The two of you sing to your hearts’ content, sharing a few laughs at the impossible-to-hit high notes. Sian manages to surprise you the first time you hear him sing, and when you make a comment he gets extremely flustered.

On days where the weather isn’t the best, the two of you might stay inside to play card games, making small bets every now and then. Most of these bets are about the number of kisses or hugs the other will receive, and when that’s on the line Sian plays exceptionally better.

He’s written songs before, and now that the two of you are in a relationship some of these are about you. You wouldn’t have known about this had you not found a journal detailing different lyrics and song titles.

Waiting for a Sian x [insert utaite name here] collaboration.

When you confronted Sian about it, he became a mess.

Sian’s never let anyone see any of his creative work before, so this was enough to bring him close to tearing up out of pure embarrassment. He feels as though he could just die on the spot.

You understand his reaction, so you’re quick to close the journal, assuring him that you won’t pry further unless he willingly tells you more.

It takes a bit before he’s confident to actually show you and explain his thought process behind certain lyrics, but he trusts you enough and he knows you won’t laugh at him.

You’re his biggest muse when it comes to songwriting. (You’re also his biggest supporter.)

You’ll catch him humming under his breath to certain songs, and he’ll even start to mumble lyrics he’s made up on the spot. You’ll chime in with your own input, and he’ll be quick to write it down if it strikes a chord in his inspiration.

Unfortunately, his memory isn’t the best, so he often forgets things like anniversaries and special dates. He’ll always apologize with his head bowed whenever this happens, but you never seem too bothered. How can you be upset with someone as affectionate and caring as him?

In times of need, he’ll be there to assist you, as he doesn’t want you to stress yourself out. After all, it isn’t fair for his precious lover to carry overwhelming burdens all on their own.

You’ll always find yourself waking up beside the best boyfriend in the world, who will do absolutely anything for you. At the start of the relationship, he tried to do so many things to impress you. He cooked, cleaned, and made sure to always message you when you’re apart. Eventually, you had to tell him to just be himself and to stop taking advice from relationship blogs.

Please give this boy all the love in the world, and he’ll return it tenfold—albeit with a flustered stutter and pink cheeks.

🔥 Quincy 🔥

As the future Lord of the Underworld, Quincy’s quick to let others know of his position as a devil. Bow before him because it’s either his way or the highway.

He has high hopes for you and even higher hopes for himself.

Quincy will be especially impressed if you’re forward and confident in the relationship, but if you’re not that’s fine. It just means he’ll have to take the lead, which is obviously the best course of action, right? His judgement is flawless!

Just know that if anyone messes with his beloved manager, he’ll have no problem putting a curse on the unfortunate soul who decided to bother you. It’s all in good fun, so don’t worry about those silly humans who are now suffering under the weight of a heavy enchantment.

“Looks like my finger slipped. Guess you’ll have to use your puny brain to figure a way out of that. Hmph!” (Based on that cocky smirk, you’d say he’s quite satisfied with his work.)

He may even teach you a few things about the different types of magic, as he wants you to be as good as he is. Oh, but not too good! Quincy prides himself on his skills far too much to let anyone surpass him.

Every now and then, he’ll tease you about anything and everything—no matter how insignificant it is. Maybe you were late to clock in and Nyang Lead Manager scolded you, or perhaps you accidentally forget your lunch. Either way, he’s going to poke fun at those mishaps.

“Ehh? How could you forget when I reminded you earlier? Well, I suppose you can have some of my lunch. ...If you can handle it, that is.”

Spicy food is his life. He probably participates in those challenges at restaurants just to prove that he can absolutely own the competition.

Petition to get Quincy on Hot Ones.

If you’re also a fan of spicy things, it’ll be a contest to see who can handle the most spice. He ends up winning most of the time, but that’s mainly just because he’s a devil who’s used to scorching heat.

If you aren’t, he’ll be pleased to hold the title as someone who can handle extreme foods really well.

Quincy doesn’t like wasting his time on anything small, so there will always be a purpose behind what he does.

Your dates are quite the colorful variety, ranging from spending the day mixing up new elixirs to sharing stories about the Underworld. One day he’d like to show you around if you’re up for it, but the scenery might take some getting used to.

He’ll ensure that you’re never bored by dragging you around to do whatever the two of you deem exciting. When you get to relax from purifying vengeful spirits, you might find yourselves in the human world disguised under the deceptive properties of Humanizer to visit amusement parks, food vendors, and even occult shops.

The relationship is upbeat, and it keeps you on your toes. You’re never going to feel bored again with Quincy around.

Despite his teasing remarks and overflowing pride, Quincy values you a lot, and when it’s just the two of you he’ll be very endearing. It tends to catch you off guard; one minute he’s laughing about messing with Sian and the next he’s moving in to steal a quick kiss.

You’ll have to deal with any reptiles or insects that happen to cross his path, as he can’t stand them. But if you can’t handle them either, then you’ll seek out Jamie. At least he can keep them safe from Kirr and Aitachi. And from your spooked boyfriend, who wants those critters out of his sight. 

Quincy will remind you to come to him if you’re ever worried over something. His advice may not be the most ground-breaking, but it’s the thought that counts. He’s willing to spend hours giving you a friendly pep-talk, and you’re bound to come out of your gloom with a fresh perspective.

☀️ Ell ☀️

He’s a ball of energetic sunshine, so be ready for a very fun, joyful relationship!

Ell always puts you first, ensuring your happiness and well-being.

Honesty is key in this relationship, and that’s mainly because he can’t lie due to his constant sneezing.

And that’s okay because he has nothing to lie about anyways! He doesn’t want to hide anything from you; he’d rather you know than try to keep it a secret.

Imagine all of the cute dates! The both of you could go to bakeries and and sweet shops to try all sorts of delicious treats. Ell would be fond of anything sugary, insisting on playfully feeding you while you’re out in public. Or the two of you could visit craft stores so he can get more supplies for his needle felting.

He’s very big on PDA. Expect lots of hand-holding, random hugs, and kisses on the cheek—even around others when you least expect it. He’ll always smile at you, commenting on how charming you look when you blush at his sudden displays of affection.

Though he’ll try his best to tone it down if Nyang Lead Manager says something about it during work hours. He’ll quietly whine and protest as he tries to explain that it’s hard to resist. He just loves you so much! His complaints tend to get cut off once he starts to sneeze, though.

Along with gifting you his needle felting creations, he’ll also play the lyre for you. He’d be so excited to show you all of the beautiful music it can make. Sometimes he’ll play a few soothing melodies if you have trouble falling asleep.

Speaking of sleep, he adores cuddling. You’ll probably wake up each morning with him clinging to you, the blanket cast aside.

If you’re fond of taking photos, he’ll let you use the light from his halo to brighten the pictures. It makes for a perfect ring light, and he doesn’t mind others wanting to use it. After all, Licht and Kati like to use it for their SNS, so you should too.

If you’re ever having a bad day, Ell will be there to make it better. He’ll do all sorts of things for you, hearing you out when you vent to him about what’s bothering you and even attempting to make a few tiny miracles happen. Anything for his favorite person in the world!

There are times when he feels down as well, but it’s not for long. You’ll always be there to cheer him up. He’s fortunate that you have the patience to help him put his negative emotions into words, and you’ll even sit through all of the times he sneezes. For that, he’s very grateful.

His heart beats faster and he gets bashful when you praise him, but he’ll always fire back with plenty of genuine compliments so you won’t feel left out. There’s lots of love to go around.

Overall, the relationship is so sweet and enjoyable. Ell makes sure there’s never a dull moment when you’re with him, and he truly believes that the two of you will be together for a long time.

He loves you with all of his angelic heart.

“I wish we could spend more time together, but Nyang Lead Manager is giving us so much work. It’s really not—achoo!”

💊 Verine 💊

At first, Verine wonders if the reason you chose to be near him is because of the desire to protect such a sickly Soul Reaper. It bothers him to no end, as he does his best to stay strong despite always having to take different medicines and vitamins.

Once he realizes that you’re not there to pester him about his health, he’s pleasantly surprised. He’s used to others giving him looks of pity, so when you offer your support he can’t help but feel warm inside.

It actually takes him quite a while to confess; the stress of it all was like attempting to find the correct medicine for a specific ailment.

Still, he manages to push his self-consciousness aside in favor of his heart’s wishes, and it succeeds! Luckily for him, since Verine believed his chances were very slim.

While Mori considers him to be a paper doll, you think the opposite. Your boyfriend may be physically weak, but he’s got a strong will and is incredibly gentle with you.

Even if he acts like the presences of others disturbs him, he’s actually quite happy to be near the Soul Reapers. He’s always interacting with the Reapers in Diluculo, but he finds that your company is by far the best.

Most of your dates consist of staying indoors, since Verine doesn’t like the overwhelming temperatures of the outside world. (Occasionally, he’ll sacrifice his comfort so that you can enjoy the outdoors every now and then.)

However, the two of you still find plenty of things to do while inside. From watching your favorite films to assisting Verine with his medicinal herb garden, a lot of these cozy dates are quite serene.

He loves it when you cook his favorite foods. Any meal prepared by your loving hands is a gift he treasures—so much so that he thoroughly believes it’ll heal his aches and pains. Sometimes he doesn’t know how to return the gesture, so you’ll have to reassure him that you don’t need anything. Just his love is enough, and that makes him smile a bit.

Verine is touch-starved since most of his living life was spent in a hospital bed and the only contact he ever received was from doctors checking his vitals. So he’s always eager to let you hug and kiss him.

He might not be into cuddling at first only because he’s afraid his constant coughing will disrupt the calm atmosphere, but once you explain that that doesn’t bother you he’s willing to give it a try. He ends up liking it more than he thought he would, which results in lazy days where the two of you just nap in each other’s arms.

He’ll always be there for you no matter what, and he checks to make sure you’re healthy. Your physical and mental health is very important to him.

If the the two of you ever get into a disagreement, he may bottle up his true feelings for the sake of pacifying you. In the end, both of you talk through it, and this allows Verine to slowly but surely open up about how he really feels.

Verine might keep a lot of his emotions to himself when around the others, but with you he doesn’t have to.

“Ah, I must’ve fainted again. I really am useless.”

When he gets like that, just tell this sweetheart he’s in no way useless. He’s perfect in your eyes, even with his coughing and eternal illnesses, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[thedistrictsleepsalonetonight]

Always (or Dani, the collector of souls falls in love and Miles keeps passing out during the entire story)

If you were, hypothetically, of course, to visit a place in England called Bly Manor, you would most likely meet an odd group of people. You would see two children, one an absolute angel, the other a teenage, snarky brat of a boy, who are probably being supervised by a stern, yet extremely capable looking woman. You would probably be shown around the house by the sweetest housekeeper in the world, probably be offered lemon cakes by a tall man who looks at the aforementioned housekeeper with all the stars in his eyes. And maybe, just maybe in the middle of it all, you might glance outside and see a woman standing by herself in the garden. At first you would think she’s just moving casually, maybe dancing on her own; and then you would see that her movement has a pattern. It almost seems as though.... no, it couldn’t be.  

“Is that woman,” you would ask, hesitantly, not wishing to offend these people and some potential strange ritual of theirs, “talking to herself?”

The housekeeper (Hannah, you think she’s called) glances outside and chuckles. “Oh, that,” she says. “That’s just Jamie. Jaime’s the gardener. She’s just talking to her girlfriend.”

You would resist the urge to rub at your eyes. “Her.... her girlfriend?”

“Well, technically Dani hasn’t asked her yet,” the cook cuts in, smiling. “But it’s on the way, I assure you.”

You would look from the strange, solitary woman, to their frank, open faces, and then back to the solitary woman again, and you would think.

You would think Why, these people are absolutely fucking bonkers.

*****

(They’re really not)

*****

The first time Jamie saw the woman, it was from across the grounds, which is why it took her crossing halfway the distance to realize that she was breakdancing.

Then again, she had also got other things on her mind. Peter Fucking Quint had to go and fall off the parapet while attempting to rob the Wingraves of their old jewelry the night before last, and between helping Hannah communicate with the police, ensuring Owen received an adequate number of head pats every hour to calm him down, and offering Rebecca a listening ear for both murderous rants and angry tears, she had her hands completely full. And that wasn’t even including the kids, although they seemed to be doing fairly alright. Thankfully they had not seen the body. However, that didn’t deter Miles, who was currently going through a bit of a Hannibal phase, from popping up at random intervals to ask her what broken bones looked like, or if the blood had frozen overnight.

All in all, pretty exhausting.

Which is why the sight of the children standing in front of a breakdancing woman didn’t register at first. She was pulling out the weeds, sun high in the sky, sweat tracing an uncomfortable path down her back when something made her look up. One double take, and she was scrambling in their direction.

She reached them, panting, raised her head after her breath was a little more even and looked right at the woman, who was currently doing the robot. “Um,” she started, unsure of where to go from there. “Are — are you quite alright?”

The woman stopped abruptly, her mouth falling open. “You can see me?”

Okay, this woman was clearly mental. “Yes?”

The woman looked even more astounded. “You really can?” she turned to Flora next. “You too?”

Flora blinked. “Yes, we can.”

“But that’s impossible! You shouldn’t be able to see me. In fact—”

“Jaime, darling,” Miles cut in the middle of what seemed to be the beginning of a rapidly delivered monologue. “Could you escort this.... clearly insane lady outside?”

Jaime thwack-ed the side of his head gently. “Wanna try that again? Nicely?”

He looked sheepish. Not really a bad kid, that one, she thought. Just annoying.

“But you really shouldn’t be able to see me. By all calculations, it’s completely—”

“Well, why not?” Miles asked, now having warmed to the idea of possibly talking to someone who was crazy.

The woman brightened up. “Well, because,” she said, “this, I guess.”

And then she snapped her fingers, disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the lake, where she waved at them excitedly.

Flora is the only one who waved back. Jamie was too busy supporting the weight of a now-collapsed Miles.

*****

Jamie thought it was patently unfair that the reaper of souls was just so damn cute.

(They weren’t supposed to be cute! They were supposed to look gaunt and hollow, and angry and sad, not like sunshine wrapped up in a very human looking package. They weren’t supposed to be walking around with bright, blue, gorgeous eyes, and faces that seemed to have been sculpted by some divine power up there, and a voice that was sweet and soothing enough to put Jamie right to sleep.)

“It’s amazing how all of you can see me,” the reaper of souls, or Dani, as she had introduced herself, said, looking wide-eyed at all of them. Rebecca and a recently awakened Miles were the only ones who looked actively concerned, standing in the corner. Owen and Hannah were, as ever, polite and pleasant, if a little curious. Flora was already settled in next to Dani, asking her questions a mile a minute. And Jamie was—

(Very fucking annoyed at how pretty Dani was)

—completely alright.

“And you’re here to get Peter?” Owen asked her, with a sideways look in Rebecca’s direction.

“Oh yes,” Dani replied. “And boy, was that man a pain. Really whiny. Went all Boohoo I can’t be dead, I’m supposed to do so many things, I’m so cool and awesome and. Ugh. Annoying is what he was. I mean, the list says Peter Quint — died while trying to steal from Bly Manor; what am I supposed to do?”

They all nodded, a little dazed.

“And then I saw the kids and I was bored and I thought they couldn’t see me anyways so,” she continued, and then looked down, suddenly a little shy. “I really am sorry about the.... you know, breakdancing. I honestly thought nobody could see me.”

“It’s okay, it was cute,” Jamie found herself saying before she had time to process, and then wanted to stab herself with the fork lying on the table. If that didn’t work, bang her head on the surface until she bled to death. Or—

“Thank you,” Dani said, equally as quiet.

Jamie closed her eyes, willed her body to fall dead right then and there.

(It didn't work, unfortunately)

“Would you like to stay for supper?” he heard Owen ask their guest.

“Supper?” Dani asked. “Wait, is it already that late?”

Jamie looked up a moment later, when she heard everybody scream and then she opened her eyes to see a stranger standing right near the stove.

“Viola!” Dani said, alarmed. “I thought I sent a message I was gonna be late.”

The woman looked very haughty, very angry and (this is something she hated to admit, again, but) very fucking hot. Seriously. What was with these underworld people and ridiculously angelic skin? Her gaze moved past all of them, came to rest on Dani.

“I got your message alright,” she announced, blithely. “Just couldn’t figure out why you were still here.”

Dani chuckled, nervously. “So, funny story, but as it turns out — these people can — uh, see us?”

Viola tilted her head, regarded her. “Are you sure?”

“Hello,” Hannah said, ever the gracious host. “Welcome to Bly Manor.”

Viola looked flabbergasted now, doing a double take to look at all of them more carefully.

“They can see us?”

Dani nodded, gingerly.

“Seriously?”

Another nod.

“But that can’t be—”

“—Viola, I know, but—”

“—it simply cannot be allowed—”

“—absolutely not I know what you’re thinki—”

“—We have to end them!”

There was another whoosh right next to Jamie’s ear, and she took her time, turning around, only to see another pissed-off, hot woman, standing in the kitchen, her arms crossed.

“I didn’t even say kill!” Viola protested.

“You implied it!”

Their standoff was interrupted by a violent, abrupt thud. It seemed Miles had fainted again.

*****

Jamie walked into the greenhouse, paused and smiled.

“You cannot surprise me,” she said, aloud.

There was movement behind her, and then Dani walked into view.

“How do you always know I’m here?”

Jamie stayed quiet. There wasn’t a good, less-embarrassing way to say The air dances when you’re around, or I can feel your presence in the back of my neck, in the way my heart starts skipping steps on whatever treadmill it is currently running on.  

“Let me keep my secrets,” she answered.

Dani stayed beside her, as she started on the rose plants, a safe distance away, safe enough for Jamie to not feel like she would combust. “I got you something.”

“You’ve already given me so many things,” Jamie told her, hand rubbing at the back of her neck. It was true. Every time Dani had dropped in the past month, she’d brought little trinkets from her travels all over the world.  

(Travels was an excellent way of describing the action of harvesting the grumpy souls of the dead)

One time there had been crepes from Paris, courtesy the tourist guide who passed of a heart attack in a café. Another time it was one of Cerberus’ treats, because Jamie was eternally curious as to what hell dogs actually ate. The bone had been framed and now lay on one of her shelves back at home. One day, she had gotten macarons that Owen had scarfed down before Dani could get around to telling him they were filled with the eternal cries of the dead.

(He’d spent the entire day walking around convinced he was going to die. The doctor said it was indigestion)

She opened the neatly wrapped box and picked up the pomegranate. Turned it around in her hand, examined it.

“Aren’t these supposed to tie me down to the Underworld forever?” she asked, only half-serious.

“Gosh, no,” Dani said, nervously chuckling. “These are not that kind.”

Jamie waited.

“Um, so these,” Dani went on, “these seeds are kind of multi-purpose things? So basically you can eat them, but these seeds, when planted, they can grow any plant in the world. Doesn’t matter what soil they’re on. I mean, I heard you mention that flower you’ve always wanted to grow, but England doesn’t have the climate suited to it and — well. This would work.”

If Jamie could speak, this is what she would have said: I don’t know how to thank you. I don’t know why you’re here, why you give me so much of your precious time, time that you could be walking around the whole world in. I don’t know what to do with myself when I’m around me, how to breathe, how to look, and I’m an utter godforsaken mess, but I’m eternally grateful you barged into our lives a while ago. I don’t know what I was doing before you came. I hope you never leave.

She would have said I know you collect souls, but there’s at least one heart lying in that bag of yours, and there’s a good chance it’s mine.

As it is, all she did was grab onto Dani’s hand, and squeeze.

*****

“You have got to stop doing that!” Owen gasped, hand on his heart.

Dani shrugged from on where she was now perched on top of the table, sitting directly in front of an open-mouthed Miles. “Hannah always knows when I’m here.”

“That’s because I really do have eyes everywhere,” Hannah turned around, smiled brightly at Dani. “Spaghetti?”

“I’ve been asking you for the past five minutes!” Jamie said, indignantly.

“Well, now we know who’s her favorite,” Dani shoots an infuriatingly smug grin in her direction, and pats the top of her head and—

Jamie would feel annoyed if her heart wasn’t racing and there wasn’t a blush fighting to make its way up her cheeks. This love thing was annoying.

(Not that it was love, of course. Certainly not)

“As charming as that sounds, Hannah darling,” Dani continued, “I actually came for a purpose.”

“Is it to set murderers on us again?”

“No, Miles,” Dani replied, patiently. “Plus, Viola and Perdita wouldn’t really have.... killed you. Maimed you, at best.”

Rebecca shuddered delicately on the other side of the table.

“Remember when you said you’d had a bit of a dinosaur phase when you were a kid?” Dani directed this towards Jamie.

“... yes?”

“Well,” Dani snapped her fingers, and to their extreme horror, a parrot sized creature appeared next to her, “meet Battery!”

“—completely house trained,” she heard Dani explaining to Hannah, while she extended a hand towards (what was he called? Right) Battery. He opened his mouth, stepped closer, licked the entire length of her finger with a long, slimy tongue, and then immediately nipped at her nail.

(Jamie may or may not be helplessly charmed)

Before she could say anything, however, Miles fell from his chair onto the kitchen floor.

Rebecca sighed, got up from her chair. “You guys know there’s going to be permanent brain damage if he keeps doing that.”

*****

About three things went wrong the day Jamie decided she was finally going to tell Dani she was in love with her.

The first thing was that she needed to get drunk, and decided to trust Owen and Hannah to deliver. The second was that Battery wasn’t adequately educated in the intricacies of human weirdness and tended to panic at the first sign of strange behavior. Third, lakes weren’t the most romantic places to confess your love, but apparently nobody had told Jamie this.

So when she found herself flailing for breath after having somehow made her way to the middle of the lake in a makeshift lifeboat and then having upturned it in the process, she only had herself to blame.

“What,” Dani started, looking absolutely furious, hair all over the place as she held Jamie up, “the fuck were you doing in the middle of the lake?”

“Hey!” Jamie sang, because the alcohol was making her feel very sing-song-y, “You shouldn’t be here yet! It’s not time!”

“Battery panicked and summoned me,” Dani explained. “Are — are you drunk?”

“No, she’s not!” Hannah called out from where she and Owen had just reached the lake. “We gave her loads of strong bitter soda and convinced her it was watered down whiskey.”

(Now that she was thinking about it, the whiskey had seemed pretty fizzy for her liking)

“Oh,” she Jamie, now sobered up. “But I was drowning.”

“Yeah, in about five feet of water.”

Well, that was anticlimactic.

*****

At midnight, she sat by the lake, covered in a warm, fuzzy blanket Dani had draped all over her. Dani sat beside her, Battery on her lap, smiling at her from time to time.

“You’re such an idiot,” she said, out of nowhere, and Jamie didn’t have the heart to disagree. “What am I even going to do with you?”

“You could,” Jamie started, ponderously, like she hadn’t spent three months of her life thinking this over, like her heart wasn’t an over-excited ping-pong in her chest right now, “you could always take me out on a date, you know?”

“Really?” Dani murmured. “Well, that’s a novel idea.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Depends. Would you be okay dating someone who is almost constantly grumpy from carrying around beleaguered souls all day?”  

Jamie pretended to think. “I think so, yes.”

“Someone who regularly hangs out with a murder-friendly woman?”

“.... maybe?”

“How about someone who may have to keep going away for lengths of time?”

Jamie turned to her. “Would that someone come back to me, though?”

Dani’s eyes were shiny and hopeful, and she felt her breath get stuck in her throat like a lovesick little fool. “Always,” Dani whispered.

“Well, then,” Jamie whispered back to her, and then leaned in for the most picture-perfect happy ending of all time.