#which we promptly never get to see again for the rest of the series

[silkenedstars]

Meeting On A Whim

After a series of unfortunate and tiring events, he finally gets to see the messages you sent to him.

₊✦Honkai: Star Rail | Aventurine x gn!reader | Contains spoilers for Penacony!!✦₊

Additional Notes: Kinda self-indulgent, this one is for every single person out there who was as devastated as I was when they got his final message.

A sigh of relief left Aventurine's lips as his back hit the soft cushion of the couch in his room.

The things he had to deal with, from losing his cornerstone to being threatened by that Galaxy Ranger, not to mention the upcoming and unnerving meeting with Diamond, left Aventurine exhausted, to say the least.

Fishing out his phone from his pocket, he sighed again. If only the Family bothered to put proper beds in the hotel rooms instead of just a bathtub that guided people to the Dreamscape, Aventurine sure could use one about now to take a quick nap but alas, he'd have to go home first before he could get proper rest.

And since there was nothing else he could do right now, he might as well play on his phone, maybe even check to see if he had any new messages. He doubted it— he had just gotten out of a phone call with Jade, Topaz wouldn't text him unless it was related to a mission but even then she preferred calling, and Ratio likely wouldn't be messaging him for a good while. So that only left him with one option… which was to play on his phone and wait for time to pass.

…that was what he thought, at least, until he saw all the messages he got from you. With his curiosity piqued, as well as feeling a pang of anxiety settle within his stomach, he decided to see what you had in store for him.

NO NOOOOOOOOO AVENTURINE DON’T GO I DON’T WANT TO SAY GOODBYE COME BACK Aventurine….. Please come back you're my bestest friend ever I swear if it turns out you're dead I'm calling Ruan Mei to revive you I don't care I miss you

A strange warmth blossomed within his chest, a light chuckle escaping him before he even realized it. "I never took you for the clingy type," he mumbled to himself, rereading the messages you sent; all of which were punctuated with crying Pom-Pom stickers.

It was strange, really. He never expected you to be so devastated by his "death", not when the two of you still barely knew each other.

Not when he never had anyone be this worried for him before.

Still, he couldn't help but feel at least a little bit guilty. He may not know you well just yet, but he did consider you his friend — even if it might not feel like it at times — and his disappearance must've been hard on you, too, given all the messages and stickers you sent.

He was initially thinking of sending back a message telling you he was alright, but maybe you'd appreciate seeing him in person more instead.

And so after sending you a quick message, he stood up and stretched before promptly leaving his room.

Come meet me in the VIP Lounge, we have a lot to talk about.

[ladycaramelswirl]

It Happened in Texas

Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader ❤︎

Chapter 3: You’re not trying to get fired - it’s just raw talent

series masterlist

A/N: The case in this chapter is based on s4e2 where Hotch ignores the doctors orders and goes straight to work after tearing his eardrum 🤡

tags: minor grovelling, slow burn. Hotch needs a hug. Some canon typical violence and a few uses of y/n. Sorry for any typos.

Word count: 2.8k

Enjoy! 🤍

❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

You are so fired. 

Strauss is getting impatient with your fruitless reports. Hotch and you are not on great terms. In fact, since Jack’s party, he’s been avoiding you like the plague. He isn’t ignoring you or glaring at you anymore, but for some reason, he now never pairs himself up with you and keeps his emails to you even shorter than before. He also refuses to talk to you when Jack comes to visit and spends all his time at your desk. It had taken you months and a 5 year old to give you the courage to make any friends on the team. So why are you standing here, scolding your boss? You must have an innate talent for getting fired.

“Hotch. If you think that never hearing Jack say I love you again, or never hearing him laugh again is worth getting back in the field straight away, I’ll think you’re insane, but I’ll never bring it up again. However, I don’t think you’re willing to tell your son his dad can’t hear him anymore because he wasn’t taking care of himself”. 

You take a deep breath, and add for good measure,

“Sir”. 

Hotch stares at you. You are not a confrontational person (at least with your colleagues). And right now you were so out of line. While everyone else might have warmed up to you, you and Hotch aren’t exactly friends. But you had gotten to know Jack, who had been the catalyst to you becoming friends with the team. He’s probably the only reason that you don’t hate your job now. You love that kid. And after seeing Hotch clutch his ears at the graveyard and overhearing him ignore Morgan when asked if he was cleared to fly, you felt you needed to say something. Clearly no one else was going to. 

But why wasn’t Hotch saying anything? You shuffle your feet and try not to think about your face heating up from embarrassment. Where was the person from 30 seconds ago who was basically scolding her boss? Your resolve had completely evaporated. And now you were nervous. Which was a very bad thing to be in front of a profiler.

“I know that you’re my boss and we aren’t exactly friends, but I’m saying this as a…”, what were you exactly? An overeager people pleaser who had just gotten the team to get used to working with you. And an idiot who is currently screwing up her chances of staying employed at the one job you had left. “As a person who respects you a lot”, you decide on. This is definitely true. He was a good person, even if he clearly didn’t like you. He might be avoiding you, but he’s still polite. And if he didn’t say something soon, you were going to say something stupid. 

“You’re also the best boss I’ve ever had, so if you permanently lose your hearing and have to be taken out of the field, that would suck for me too”, you laugh nervously. 

Damn it, you were already in saying stupid things territory. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Oh god, what if your rant was hurting his ears? You start whispering.

“Are you okay? Am I being too loud? I’m sorry, I’m just going to shut up”, you say softly. He’s still staring. 

“I should go now”, you mumble and promptly run away, immediately making your way to the precinct bathroom and locking yourself in a stall. Why did you say anything? The rest of the team had just left him alone, but you were never a fan of turning a blind eye to people’s problems. It just didn’t seem right. Despite the fact that the other team members are clearly each other’s family, you are technically just a coworker. So you’ve definitely overstepped, but it just didn’t seem right to let it happen. To Jack. Not Hotch. Though technically you did care about Hotch too. As a friend. Probably. 

“Hey, you okay in there?”

You startle from your thoughts and see Emily’s shoes from under the stall. You quickly shake yourself together and flush the toilet you clearly haven’t used before coming out.

“Yeah? Am I not allowed to pee?”, you laugh, washing your hands. Emily frowns, but knows better than to press. She might have seen you run out of a precinct conference room you’d been alone with Hotch in, but you’re not going to tell her why and she doesn’t overstep boundaries. She pretends to believe you and moves the conversation to the case. The team has figured out who the unsub is and are about to raid her house. You both leave the bathroom and move towards the SUVs with everyone else. Everyone except Hotch. 

“We gotta go. Where the hell’s Hotch?”, Derek asks.

“He was on the phone with Strauss, said he wanted us to go without him”, Rossi says, walking to the passenger seat. “Let’s go”.

Derek shrugs his shoulders and everyone piles into the cars. You feel your stomach drop. Technically you did just tell your superior off. Was he going to report you for insubordination? Maybe he had had enough and was finally telling Strauss to transfer you. He hadn’t wanted you on the team in the first place. If you get fired from the BAU you’ll probably have to leave the FBI. You shake your head. Whatever happens, the case comes first. You need to stop the unsub before she hurts anyone else. 

You try to forget about your earlier conversation with Hotch and focus on the case. The unsub’s apartment is empty, but Rossi finds her next target, Faye Landreaux, in her journal. You all drive to her house and Emily distracts the unsub while Morgan sneaks Faye outside. She’s trembling like a leaf and doesn’t respond when you ask if she’s okay, so you guide her to a paramedic to make sure she hasn’t gotten any injuries. Technically your priority right now should be the unsub, but the entire police department and 4 FBI agents have a gun pointed at her and Faye is completely alone. You don’t feel right leaving her yet, so once she’s been looked at, you try to talk to her when you hear a gunshot from behind you. Faye cries out and you let her know she’s okay. The sheriff has shot the unsub. It’s over. A police officer the victim knows starts talking to her so you move back to the team. Emily pulls back the unsub’s shirt to reveal that she had maimed herself to become the “Angel Maker’s” last victim. You fail to not feel nauseous. 

It’s late, so you’re all staying the night in Ohio. On the drive, everyone’s talking about how early they have to get up tomorrow. You look out the window and can’t stop thinking about love and what it does to people. What it did to Chloe Kelcher. To all of the “Angel Maker’s” fans. Female unsubs that hurt other women always bothers you more than other cases. Emily notices your silence. 

“You okay?”, she asks quietly. 

“Just tired”, you smile. If she notices it doesn’t reach your eyes, she doesn’t mention it. She nudges her knee against yours - an ‘I’m here if you need me’ without words. 

You nudge her back - ‘thanks. I know’. She smiles. You really are tired though - it’s 2am because the unsub liked attacking at night - and you stifle a yawn. You’re about to fall asleep when the car abruptly stops, signalling your arrival. 

It’s a cute inn, the owner offered you all free rooms for the night as a thanks for capturing the unsub. Everyone piles out, eager to go to bed. You’re suddenly awake though when you see who’s in the lobby handing out keys - Hotch. He’s looking straight at you. Everyone grabs their keys and turns in for the night. If anyone notices you and Hotch lag behind, they don’t say. He gestures to a corner with some armchairs. 

“Can we talk for a minute?”

You nod, slowly taking a seat. You’re too afraid to speak and keep your eyes on the ground. Was he going to fire you now? In some inn in rural Ohio?

“Thank you.”

What? 

You snap your head up to meet his gaze. 

“I called Strauss earlier to let her know I’m taking 2 weeks off from the field. You were right earlier. What I’m doing isn’t fair to the team or to Jack. I want to apologise for putting you in a position where you felt you needed to tell your boss that he was being stupid. That shouldn’t have to be your responsibility.”

He looks straight into your eyes and you can see the sincerity flooded in his. 

“I’ll be taking a car back to Quantico. I shouldn’t have gotten on a plane at all in my condition. You don’t have to worry about me.” He takes a breath. “And I appreciate you telling me what I needed to hear. Even if you shouldn’t have had to”, he adds. 

You don’t know what to say, so you say the first thing that pops into your brain. 

“I’m not fired?”

Aaron looks incredibly guilty. 

“You thought I was going to fire you?”

You nod, still unable to form coherent thoughts in your relief. 

“No you are definitely not fired. I’m sorry for making you feel like your job was on the line”, he says and feels even guiltier at the obvious release of tension in your shoulders.  “If anything I should be fired for endangering you all with my inability to make sound decisions”, he sighs. “When you’re the boss, people become too afraid to tell you that you’re wrong. And sometimes I forget that I can be”.

You try to find the right words. “I don’t think being worried about people getting hurt when you’re not working is wrong”, you say. “But I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself. And thank you for apologising.”

Aaron nods at this, searching your eyes for something. He seems to be pleased with what he finds and stands up. You follow suit, and the both of you start to walk towards your rooms. You lapse into silence as you walk up the stairs until Hotch clears his throat.

“Well, when someone tells you that they respect you but you’re being insane, you rethink your priorities a little”, he chuckles, trying to break the ice. 

You feel your entire face grow warm - you had forgotten that you had called him that. 

“Sorry”, you mumble.

He stops abruptly and you turn to look at him. 

“Please don’t ever apologise for what you said to me today.” 

His gaze bores into you as if to try to make you understand. No wonder he has the most confessions from unsubs in interrogations. His stare is a little lethal. Your knees feel a little weak. 

“Sorry for saying sorry?”, you manage.

He raises a brow at you. 

“Ok. Then I’m not sorry?”, you offer. He smiles at this. 

“Good. Because I’m very grateful it happened.”

You beam. 

“I’m glad you think so.”

“I do.”

You reach your room first. You move to unlock your door and he waits to make sure you get inside safety. Your hand stills on the doorknob and you turn around. 

“I hope you know that it’s still true.”

He looks confused. 

“I still respect you. And now I respect you for being able to step back. And for apologising. Maybe it doesn’t mean a lot coming from me, but I think you’re a great boss and a great dad. Jack is very lucky.” You meet his eyes so he knows you mean it. “You’re a good person, Hotch.”

A lump forms in Aaron’s throat. He doesn’t know how to tell you how much your words mean to him. He wishes, not for the first time in his life, that he was better at communicating his feelings. He shakes his head. 

“It does mean a lot. I respect you too, Y/N.”He pauses, as if trying to find the perfect words. “You’re always looking at the good in people. Jack loves you. And you’re kind, not just with the team. When we catch unsubs you always make sure to take care of victims.”

Your eyes widen. You hadn’t known that he’d noticed.

“You’re smart, loyal, empathetic. I know that these last few months have been… unpleasant for you. And I’m sorry for my part in that. But I’m proud to have you on our team. I know that this morning you were just doing what was right, and earlier you said we aren’t friends, but you were the friend I needed today. So thank you.” 

You blink, trying not to well up at his words. You don’t know if anyone’s ever said something like that to you. Afraid you might cry if you speak, you give him a hug. It’s quick, nothing intimate, but it feels righter than words in this moment. You take a step back.

“So we’re friends?”, you ask, opening the door to your room. He looks at you thoughtfully. 

“I’d like to think so”, he smiles softly. You give him a smile back.

“Good night, Hotch.”

“Good night, Y/N.”

You sleep well that night for the first time in a while. 

——

The next morning, you’re quiet as Hotch tells everyone he’s driving back to Quantico instead of taking the jet. You offer to take the drive with him, which surprises yourself just as much as the team. While you had gotten closer with the rest of the team in the last month, you and Hotch aren’t really close enough for you to voluntarily spend 7 hours in a car together. You’re not exactly sure why you offered either. 

You’re too busy trying to get everyone on board that you all miss Rossi’s barely hidden glee at this unexpected development in your relationship. 

“It’ll be fun!”, you say excitedly. 

“I love you, but 7 hours is crazy baby girl”

“Long car trips make me nauseous. In fact there’s a correlation between-”

“Yeah no, the baby makes me carsick.”

“The thought of being trapped in a car for 7 hours makes me sick”

You’re a little sad because a group road trip would be fun, and it would help to have a buffer between you and Hotch, but it is unfair to force everyone into something they’re uncomfortable with, so you give everyone a hug goodbye before sliding into the passenger seat beside Hotch. You can almost feel him overthinking. 

“You don’t have to do this”, he says.

“I know. I want to”, you tell him. Surprisingly, this is true. 

He stares at you.

“It’s 7 hours”

“It’ll be longer if you keep arguing with me”, you shrug.

He stares at you some more.

“I’m not leaving you to do this alone. Plus 7 hours isn’t that long if you’re with a friend”

He smiles at this.

“A friend?”

“Unless you’re taking back what you said last night?”, you ask tentatively. Had he just been reacting to what you said to him? What if-

“No. I meant everything I said”, he says firmly, looking directly at you to make sure you know he’s serious. His gaze that felt intimidating last night, now somehow makes you feel calm. But it might take a while before you can maintain eye contact with him. You turn to face the road.

“Good. Now drive, or I’ll call Reid and ask him to explain the statistics of car crashes in Ohio”, you tease. His eyes crinkle in amusement.

“Driving right now”.

You grin and start looking at your CD options.

“If I’m your friend does this mean I get to choose where we eat lunch?”, he asks.

You roll your eyes.

“You didn’t let me drive so I’m picking lunch.”

“Yes ma’am”.

Bonus scene:

“They’re driving here together from Ohio? Doesn’t Hotch hate her?”, Penelope asks through the screen. 

“I don’t think he hates her. Don’t you remember what it was like when I first joined?”, Emily asks the team. 

“We never hated you! Except maybe Spencer. But that was a whole other thing. I just don’t get why he still doesn’t like her. She’s so sweet”, Penelope pouts.

“He didn’t tell her no, so that’s an improvement”, Derek reasons.

“I didn’t hate Emily!”, Spencer scoffs.

Emily raises an eyebrow at him which causes him to sputter. 

“Well ok I wasn’t very nice to you at first. But it wasn’t because I hated you”, he tries to explain. Emily mouths a quick “I know” to let him know she’s joking. 

“I don’t think Hotch has ever hated Y/N”, Rossi chuckles. “He just needs time.”

Everyone nods. They all relied on him now, but Hotch was famous for being cold at first. Rossi grins at everyone missing his point. Being the only profiler on the team with relationship experience made for excellent entertainment. They’ll get it at some point, he thinks, sipping his drink. 

(to be continued)

Main Masterlist

[wasawattpadkid]

Housewife

Part - 17

Summery: Billy and Stu have been planning these murders for quite some time. Everything is going to plan until you show up. What happens when they meet someone who is just as mentally deluded as they are?

Pairing: Poly! ghostface x fem!reader

Warnings for this series: ⚠️smut 18+⚠️murder, blood, smut (will be more in depth on smut chapters), power dynamics, a dash of sexism, knives, stalking, perverse behavior, cheating, blowjobs, handjob, fingering (fem! receiving) , pet names

A/N: if you saw this chapter when Tumblr decided to mess around and upload it early no you didn't 😌

Part 1

Billy and Stu would never admit you were right. No arguments, no fights, the dinner was good, and the sex was even better. Separating for a bit did nothing but improve the relationship that so quickly developed. It had been almost two weeks now. Stu came over regularly especially when your dad came home for a couple of days. He spent more time with your father than he did with you honestly. Surprisingly the boys didn't argue about who spent more time with who. They didn't want to mess up the good thing they had going.

Woodsboro High had thankfully calmed down. Of course, your sleeping habits were still being talked about. Some people even connected the dots on who you were prior to your move back. Billy did a good job of scaring people quiet.

As of now, the school knew you were off limits that didn't stop them from whispering though. For once in your life you didn't care. Chase and Linda did sit at the water fountain with you and the boys. It aggravated Billy that he didn't hate the two. Chase looked like a member of some shitty boy band but that's about all the kid had wrong with him.

Stu was happy having friends again. Linda and Stu did not get along. Something about him being too "ostentatious." Lucky for the boy he had no idea what the word meant. Chase enjoyed spending time with you and the guys. He thought Stu was hilarious but he couldn't get comfortable around Billy.

"Are you guys going to be at the party?" Chase asked again. He'd been bothering the three of you all week. "Isn't it a little early to be having a Halloween party?" You asked blocking your eyes from the sun. Stu was on board the moment he heard the word party. You and Billy however were hesitant to go out in such a scene. "I thought it'd be better to have it the last weekend of October." Billy's hand rested on your knee which you promptly removed.

He did stupid things like this anytime Chase was around. For someone who hated PDA, he sure was all over you when another guy was around. "We'll think about it," Billy spoke wanting the couple to leave. "Cool, I'll see you guys there. Y/n you've got my address?" You nodded earning a stern look from your boyfriends. Chase and Linda walked back over to their spot leaving the three of you by the fountain. "Before you say anything he gave me his address on a piece of paper yesterday for the party." You held up your hand keeping Billy quiet.

"We should go. I mean it's a costume party nobody has to know it's us." Stu's smile became somewhat sinister. The boy leaned down next to Billy whispering in his ear. "We could bring back our costumes..." You jumped when Billy pushed his friend back almost landing him in the water. "Are you fucking insane?" Billy asked with utter confusion. "What are you two bitching about now?" You asked before taking a bite of your lunch. "Go ahead tell her your genius plan." Billy held out his arm encouraging his partner. Stu leaned down whispering something similar to you.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" You snapped quietly making Billy smile. "At least someone here has some common sense." Stu huffed thinking you two were overreacting. "Everyone's going to be dressed up as Ghostface. I don't see why I can't have fun." Even if everyone was dressed up as the infamous killer that didn't mean it was a good idea for you to do the same. "That's exactly why we shouldn't go. Aren't we supposed to be traumatized?" Billy asked slightly mocking your overly cautious behavior. "Oh please," You scoffed making the boy laugh. "Stu if you really want to go I'll go with you but no Ghostface costume."

"The case was closed I don't get why you still have your panties up in a bunch. Both of you." Stu looked between you and Billy as his lover flipped him off with a fake smile. You wanted to be as carefree as they were but you couldn't bring yourself to do it. All three of you were criminals. Case closed or not. You couldn't be too careful in a situation like this. "Says the asshole who has literally worn panties." Your face scrunched as you looked over at Stu. "I was curious! There's nothing wrong with a little self-expression man." You opened your mouth to speak but words simply didn't come out.

"As much as this conversation is really turning me on we need to talk about this party." Stu smiled at your sarcasm. "Can I wear a mask?" He asked happily. "With a face like that you need to." Billy muttered making you elbow his side. "Bitch." He mumbled rubbing the now sore spot with a laugh. Stu smiled at his lovers. It really was a miracle things worked out. Billy was slowly becoming the boy he fell in love with in the first place. You seemed to get more comfortable as well. It took awhile but you adapted to the dynamic between the two men. Insults and name calling was a just a cover up for the love the three of you shared.

"Great because I already have a Myers costume I've been dying to wear." Billy looked up with intrigue. Neither of you knew about the outfit. "You bought a Michael Myers costume and didn't show me? Even after you made me watch all the movies?" The offense in your voice was comical to Stu. "It was supposed to be a surprise. What are you going to wear?" Stu gestured over to you with his head. "Well since we like keeping secrets you'll just have to wait. It's a surprise." You flicked the tip of his nose as your finished your sentence.

"What are you wearing?" You turned towards Billy. "Who said I was going?" He spoke already aware that if you and Stu went he was sure to follow. You liked to think you were the smartest person out of the three but if you and Stu were involved nothing good was bound to happen. "I did so what are you wearing?" Billy didn't have a costume. He debated on even wearing one to the party. "You could dress up as Glen from Nightmare On Elm Street." Stu bounced his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "If you think I'm wearing a crop top you're mistaken." Your face lit up at the idea. "Woah woah, what would it take for you to wear that? Asking for a friend." You laughed making Billy smile.

"It would take a lot more than you could give me." Billy tapped your cheek shaking his head. He thought about his closet at home trying to run through the possible costumes. "Do you have face paint?"

He asked seriously making both you and Stu chuckle. "You won't wear a crop top but you'll do yourself up like RuPaul. Got it." You pursed your lips not wanting to encourage Stu. "I said face paint dipshit, not makeup." Slowly you turned towards Stu giving him a look. Before you could figure out anything else the bell rang meaning all three of you were about to be late for class.

With quick goodbyes and see you laters everyone went their separate way. The day was slow mostly because you were counting down the minutes until 7th period. It was nice having a class with Billy. If you didn't want to be bothered he'd leave you alone. If you wanted to ignore the teacher and waste time he was also the guy to go to. You couldn't begin to imagine how a class with Stu would go.

"You'll have an exam Monday. You need to study this weekend or you won't pass." The teacher spoke as she wiped down the chalkboard. Some kids groaned while others just packed up their things. "What time is the party?" Billy asked picking up his notebook and binder. You couldn't remember if Chase said eight or nine. "Eight I think don't quote me on it."

Billy followed you to your locker watching as you put away your things. "I'll meet you and Stu by your car." With a nod from you, he carried his things across the hall.

They gave you space by moving back to their respective houses. School was a different story. By now it didn't matter the whole school knew you three were inseparable. If Billy and Stu weren't together then one of them was with you. It was rare someone saw one of you walking alone. It made you feel safe in a way.

Stu was already leaning on your car waiting for his two favorite people to show up. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" He asked popping a piece of candy into his mouth. "You have. Almost four times now." Stu could be repetitive but everyone knew you ate up the attention. "Well, I'll make it five. You look beautiful Mrs. Crocker. When we get married will you take my last name or will I get Crocker?" Your eyes grew wide at the silly question. "What-"

"I'm going to stop by my house and pick up some clothes do either of you need anything while I'm out?" Billy asked ending the conversation between you and Stu. "I'm good." You spoke throwing your purse into your car. "I don't think so. You taking me to my place so I can grab my costume?" Stu asked the boy who constantly drove him around. "You're paying for gas." Stu balled up his fist in celebration. "I guess while you two are gone I'll get my stuff together."

"Are we meeting up at our house afterwards?" The way Stu called your house "ours" never failed to make you smile. "Yeah, we'll have to if I'm doing his makeup." Billy shot you a look. "Sorry sorry, face paint." You made air quotations around the words just to tease him. "We shouldn't be too long." Billy motioned for Stu to start walking toward his car. "Okay drive safe!" You shouted towards both boys. Stu turned around sticking his tongue out at you. A smile played at your lips as you had flashbacks of nights previous.

You drove home listening to a Jackson 5 tape that was obviously well-loved. The watch on your wrist read 3:30 as you stepped out of the car. You had plenty of time to dig up the old outfit crammed in the back of your closet.

Part of you did want to go out and have fun but something told you not to go. You wouldn't have even thought about going if it wasn't for Billy and Stu. In some stupid way, you wanted to show off the boys. You told your boyfriends one thing but secretly you loved when people's eyes were on you. Good or bad you were occupying their minds and with two men by your side you felt safe. Those insignificant assholes couldn't hurt you anymore. Male validation was something you should probably see someone about with how bad it was. It didn't quite make sense to you. Why would you crave something from the people who hurt you the most? You didn't need to be loved by everyone but you couldn't be hated by anyone.

The Halloween costume was never worn. You bought it last year but with your lack of friends, you had nowhere to wear it. At least now you could feel like it was money well spent. Once you laid out every piece of the set you tried it all on. The knee-high fishnets were scandalous but paired with the maid ensemble it was downright sinful. You turned around making sure the dress covered everything it needed to. The fabric fell to the middle of your thighs. However, your chest was more exposed than usual.

It was a startling change but that's what Halloween was for. It was the one night of the year you could be someone completely different. It was five o'clock before the boys pulled into the driveway.

"What's up, Dewey?" Stu called out seeing the deputy sit on his porch. The boy didn't like the way the officer stared at him as if he'd done something wrong. He knew he did but that was for him and his accomplices to know. Not the town deputy. Dewey squinted at the two men. He had seen them both come and go never staying too long to his knowledge. He felt like a creep staring but he was concerned for you. Something was off about those kids. Especially since Stu showed up with a blood-splattered Halloween mask. "Stu come on." Billy scolded pushing the boy towards the door. "Have a good night Deputy." Billy waved with a smile that Dewey could only describe as disturbing.

"You trying to get our asses busted?" Billy spoke knocking on the front door. "Well, he's got a staring problem." Stu shrugged. "Maybe because you're covered in blood?" Billy looked him up and down with a stern expression. "At least it's fake this time." He mumbled before you opened the door. Stu had the plan to yell and scare you but once he saw what you were wearing plans changed. "Sorry it took me a second to get down here I was working on my makeup." Both boys looked at you like they'd never seen you before. "Fuck..." Stu spoke in a low tone but it became even lower due to the mask over his face.

The blood-stained mask and coveralls were doing something to you that you couldn't quite describe. He slowly titled his head as his eyes continued to scan every inch of your body. The gesture made heat flood your skin. "What are you supposed to be?" Billy asked his demeanor was softer than you thought it'd be. "I'm Magenta from Rocky Horror!" You chirped spinning around for the men. Your dress rode up just a little when you spun letting them see the bottom of your black lace underwear. Billy couldn't be trusted alone with you right now dressed the way you were. He sure as hell hated the idea of you being around a bunch of other people.

You took a moment to look at Billy's outfit. His tight black shirt was torn with several bullet-shaped holes in the fabric. What really surprised you though were the black leather pants that left almost nothing to the imagination. His abdomen was wrapped with what looked like duct tape. If Stu's outfit hadn't already turned you on then Billy's certainly did.

"Um... What- who are you dressed as? " The words tumbled from your lips making Stu smile. He enjoyed the effect they had on you. Billy was too occupied with his thoughts to hear what you said or how you said it. "He's The Crow. We brought the tape over so you could see how to do his face." Billy handed you the VHS tape never taking his eyes off you. "Oh.." The makeup was bound to make him ten times hotter. "You can't do it?" He asked as he walked into the house with Stu in tow. "No, I can do it. Yeah no not a problem." You cursed yourself for sounding the way you did. Stu was getting a kick out of seeing you so excited. He pulled off his mask sitting it on your couch.

Both men sat their combat boots near the door as you grabbed both of them a drink. You desperately needed anything cold. "Thanks, baby." Stu said but his words were deep. You swallowed what little spit coated your mouth nervously. "Yep." You responded quickly. He raised up smacking your ass with a smile. "Watch it." You scolded playfully. You handed Billy his drink but he sat it on the counter. "You look so... different."

Billy focused on your makeup. Your face was a shade lighter than usual. The red and black eyeshadow that circled your eyes made you almost look dead. Your stained red lips were the focal point of the look. The drastic difference in your normal appearance was erotic but it made him appreciate your joyful everyday attire even more. This wasn't you, he could tell by the way you carried yourself. The gaze the two men held on you made you feel like the sexiest woman on earth but Billy knew once that initial high wore off the revealing clothes would make you self-conscious.

"Do you like it?" You asked the boys holding out your arms. "I love it, Y/n." Stu used your name in a way you hadn't heard before, not from him. He wanted to make a funny comment about how you look better naked but he didn't want to cheapen the moment. "Where'd you get this?" Billy picked at the dress curiously.

"I bought it last year for Halloween but I didn't get the chance to wear it." You kept the pathetic details to yourself. A small smile played on Billy's lips. "So we're the first ones to see you in this?" His eyes looked up to meet yours. "The only ones."

The fact stirred something inside both men. You cleared your throat scared of the sexual tension that fogged up the room. "If we're going to that party I need to do your face." You avoided the word "make-up" the best you could. "Can you do my face too honey?" Stu pouted. You laughed at the action. "What do you want me to do?" The innocent question made him almost chuckle. Before he could say "sit on it" you held up your hand realizing your mistake. "Nevermind don't answer that. Make yourself at home while I work on him." You grabbed Billy's hand pulling him upstairs. He sent Stu a look getting an eye roll in return.

You set the VHS tape on your bathroom sink next to the large bag of makeup. Most of which you rarely ever used. "This isn't going to stain is it?" Billy picked up the tube of white you used on yourself just a while ago. "If it does we're both screwed." You laughed but Billy looked genuinely scared.

"No, it doesn't stain." He didn't seem completely convinced. "You don't have to wear face paint. You look great already." You ran your hand along his arm appreciating the outfit for a second time. He couldn't worry about the makeup if he was too worried about the way your fingers danced across his skin. Distracting a man was easy. "I look great?" He asked the compliment went straight to his head. You leaned up pressing a kiss against his lips. Thankfully you wore transfer-proof lipstick. "You look wonderful." You spoke before setting out the black and white makeup. A smile appeared on his face at your words.

You grabbed some hair clips pinning back the hair that fell over his face. "Now you look adorable." You laughed as he scrunched his nose at his reflection. "Don't say I don't care about you. I wouldn't let anyone else do this to me." Now that you believed. "Ooh, I feel special." You joked squirting out some of the white foundation on the back of your hand. "You are." He said looking into your eyes. You gulped shaking your head.

"Smooth Casanova." You smacked his shoulder before taking a brush to the foundation. "Now stay still I don't want to mess up." He had no intention of following your instructions. "Okay."

You started to smear the cream on his cheek slowly spreading it around. The sensation was odd to Billy. He didn't hate it but it wasn't something he'd willingly do again. His eyes traced your features. The way your tongue stuck out in concentration was more than adorable. Every time you moved a shadow would cover his face making it hard to see. "Hold on." You struggled to position him in a way where you could see. "Here," Billy spoke before lifting you to sit on the sink. There was no way it couldn't support your weight but still, you had a habit of overthinking.

"What if this breaks under me? Are you going to fix it?" His hands gripped your bare thighs keeping you still. "It won't now keep going." He said as he closed his eyes. You fought the urge to chew on your lip. Billy stood between your legs basking in the white light coming from above your mirror. It was an intimate act one that did nothing but make you want to stay home. You continued to paint his face making sure the white stopped at the bottom of his jaw like the picture on the back of the tape. At some point, Billy started to like the feeling. Not of the makeup necessarily but more of the feeling of you touching his face. Your movements were precise and careful he didn't have to open his eyes to know that.

You had seen what he was capable of. How horrible of a person he could be. Yet you were careful not to hurt him. Even with a brush that had passed your skin a million times, you traced his face like it might pierce the cream-covered flesh. You found it cute how he started to subconsciously lean into your touch. It made your job harder but you wouldn't tell him to do any different.

Billy's thumbs started to rub against your fishnets absentmindedly. The simple act didn't bother him any but it made a world of difference to you. No longer could you focus on the task at hand. Once the white covered his face you grabbed a makeup palette that held the darkest black you owned. Billy opened his eyes slightly taken aback by the mime look he had going on. "Jesus-" He said making you laugh. "Don't look yet I'm not done!" He closed his eyes trying to hide his smile. As you caked the black makeup on his eyes he raised his eyebrows almost ruining your progress. "Stop." You poked his side making him laugh. You had found out just a few days ago that he was ticklish. He gave you no choice but to use it against him.

Carefully you ran the brush down his cheek dragging the eyeshadow in a straight line. After that was done you did the same thing upwards. You blew the fallout off his face making his nose twitch.

"I asked you earlier if you needed me to pick up anything while I was out. You could've said you needed breath mints." He almost crumbled when your hand poked harshly at his side. His laughter could be heard all the way downstairs. "Apologize." You commanded smiling at his pained laughs. The only time you considered yourself a sadist is when it came to fucking with Billy. Stu and you shared that hobby. "Kiss my ass." He heaved only making you poke harder. Billy twisted with joyful agony. "I'm sorry!" He breathed making you remove your hand. "Good boy." You patted his head obviously teasing him. It was a joke but your words twisted his stomach more than your assault did.

"Now straighten up so I can finish I'm almost done." His eyes didn't bother looking up at his reflection. He was too busy looking at you wondering why you'd say that to him. He also wondered why the fuck he liked it so much. Makeup and now some strange form of submission, God his dad would kill him if he saw him now. His mother would probably disown him if she hadn't already. "Open your mouth."

You expected a snarky comment but it never came. His lips parted letting you do whatever you had in mind. You picked up your eyeliner lining his lips with the jet-black color. Afterward, you applied chapstick on his lips making sure to get plenty on before grabbing the black eyeshadow once more. With your ring finger, you dabbed the color onto his shiny lips. Once his lips were covered you blended it all together careful not to let it bleed.

"Don't move." You leaned over grabbing a piece of toilet paper. Gingerly you patted the paper against his lips picking up the extra product. The last thing you needed to do was draw a line coming from the corners of his mouth. You looked at each line making sure they were straight. "We're done- oh wait." You pulled the clips from his hair letting it hang defiantly in front of his face. "Look!" You cheered happily proud of your work. Billy finally looked up surprised by the person he saw in the mirror. He looked like a total badass but he felt like the complete opposite.

Stu made his way up the stairs getting lonely and curious once he heard Billy laugh. Swiftly he opened the bathroom door making both you and Billy look up at the man. The intrusion made you think you'd been caught doing something wrong. "God damn..." Stu spoke looking at his boyfriend. The makeup was perfect.

Seeing the two of you there, Billy positioned between your thighs was something he wanted tattooed on him. "How does he look?" You asked knowing exactly what Stu was thinking. Both of you shared a special friendship outside of your relationship. You talk to each other about Billy like he was a crush you both had. He loved to gossip and you loved to talk. It was perfect really.

"Does that stuff stain?" Stu asked stepping into the bathroom walking towards Billy. "Nope." You reassured not knowing if it did or not. "Thank fuck." He said before grabbing the boy forcing his lips on his. One of Billy's hands stayed on your thigh as the other grasped Stu's waist.

Something had to have gotten into him. It was probably the fumes from your makeup. He'd never let Stu just grab him like that. Even on the days when they were both insatiable, he put Stu in his place. You watched as Stu yanked on his lover's hair. Billy's frame stopped you from squeezing your legs together. Something you desperately needed to do. Billy softly moaned into Stu's mouth letting his tongue roam around the makeup-covered boy. You could see the black smearing across Stu's lips. There went your hard work but you couldn't care less. Billy's hand ran down Stu's coveralls quickly finding his growing bulge.

As Billy rubbed against Stu his other hand crept up your thigh rubbing softly against your clothed cunt. For a moment you forgot how to breathe. Stu let go of Billy's hair moving his hands to quickly unfasten the buttons that littered his chest. If he would've known how hard this outfit was to take off he wouldn't have worn it.

He still had his costume from when he and Billy dressed up as Bill and Ted for Halloween. That would've been an easier alternative. Finally, there was enough room for Billy to slip his hand beneath the fabric of his briefs. "You look so hot right now." Stu rasped against his lover's lips. Praise was something Stu loved to give you had learned that very quickly. Although the few times he tried it with Billy the man quickly shut it down.

This time however Billy didn't stop him. If his hand wasn't wrapped around his cock right now Stu would've paid more attention to the change in behavior. Billy pulled his hand away to spit in his palm. His lips quickly returned to Stu's as his hand stroked his partner's cock making sure to cover his shaft with his spit.

You watched their every move trying to focus but Billy's hand between your thighs made it incredibly difficult. His fingers pulled your panties to the side before sliding up and down your folds. He smiled into his kiss at how wet you already were.

Without hesitation, his two fingers pushed into you curling upwards as they moved. "Oh!" You called gripping the man's wrist. Billy's hand sped up as he pumped Stu's cock. Every little moan that left Stu's mouth made Billy throb against his tight leather pants. "That's so good right there." Stu continued to encourage Billy wondering how far he could go until he was forced to his knees. Billy just moaned getting off on his lover's words. "Babe!" Your back lurched as his fingertips prodded a certain spot within you. He poked and massaged that spongy spot feeling you spasm around his fingers.

Billy's thumb began to rub what he thought were circles over your clit. The erratic shapes made your abdomen tighten. Stu started to thrust into Billy's hand forcing his movements to be more aggressive. Stu tugged on Billy's bottom lip earning something similar to a whimper for the usually dominant male.

You were going to warn Billy that you couldn't do this much longer but before you could form the words your whole body convulsed. "That was too easy," Billy said turning his head towards you watching you grip the counter. Your orgasm hit so hard you had to wonder where you were for a moment. It had never been so easy and definitely never that quick.

"Excuse me." You said politely before sliding off the sink counter. Both men watched as you sunk to your knees in front of them. Billy's cock was visible through his leather pants down to the veins. You licked a stipe against the fabric getting a shaky moan in return. Billy continued to pump Stu's cock while you pulled him from his confines. With no prep work, you wrapped your lips around his tip. Billy's head fell back as your tongue circled the warm flesh. A bead of precum sat along his slit before you smeared the liquid with your tongue. Stu watched you greedily take Billy's cock with a little jealousy.

It was like you could read his mind. Your free hand replaced Billy's on Stu's cock. Stu inched closer letting you easily lick both of them. While your mouth covered one your hand would pump the other. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see them holding hands. You tried not to smile given the fact your lips were locked around Stu.

The pigment on the inside of your lips slowly stained the base of each of their cocks. Apparently, transfer-proof lipstick wasn't made to stay on during such an act. The tips of their cocks rubbed against each other as your tongue traced patterns over both of them. Stu tried to hold off but it all quickly became too much for him. Cum slowly spilled from him filling your mouth as some fell to the floor. Billy watched you hold your mouth open for Stu and the sight made his vision blur. With a strained moan he came shooting even more cum into your mouth. At that point, you had no choice but you stand up spitting the mouthful into the sink.

You felt a little bad thinking every woman was supposed to swallow. Neither of them cared. If anything seeing the aftermath running down your chin could easily get them going for a second round. Stu heaved trying to compose himself. Billy kept his eyes closed scared if he opened them he'd fall over. "Was that okay?" You asked looking at your boyfriends. Stu honestly wanted to shake you for asking such a dumb question. "The day I say no I want you to take me out back and shoot me you understand? And take that asshole too because I'm not letting him have you to himself." Stu's breath was labored but it didn't make his statement any less comedic.

"Fuck you." Billy huffed at Stu with a dopey smile on his face. Stu was the first to properly fix his clothes. You were busy trying to clean up your face dreading fixing Billy's.

Stu sat on the lip of the bathtub as you fixed Billy's face. You had to completely wash everything off from his nose down. The whole time Billy had a sated smile on his face. You thought Stu could wash off his face but no, he would rather have you do it. "Me next!" He jumped up like he was chosen for the price is right. Billy admired himself in the mirror. He was aware of the fact he was attractive he quite often used it to his advantage. Having his face covered and looking completely different than usual made him feel better. It was a refreshing change. The look wasn't scary considering you and Stu found it attractive. It was a shame he could only do this once a year.

"There, now I've got to fix my own makeup." You gently pushed Stu out of the way. "Can I do it?" He asked making Billy shake his head with a quiet laugh.

"What, my makeup?" Stu nodded his head up and down eagerly. You looked at your reflection seeing that the only thing that was messed up was your lipstick. "Sure just be careful." Stu grabbed the tube of lipstick you handed to him studying the red color. Stu cupped your face as you parted your lips. He slowly dragged the pigment over your lips making sure to stay between the lines. Stu pulled back looking at his work. "Hand me a piece of toilet paper so I can blot." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I have to get the excess off so it doesn't move around and it dries faster." Stu made a noise understanding what you meant. He handed you the paper watching curiously as you pressed your lips against the paper.

"Alright, what time is it?" You asked checking yourself in the mirror one more time. Billy stepped into your bedroom reading the clock out loud. "It's 7:23." The party started at eight so you had plenty of time. "Oh, I need someone to help wrap my arms," Billy said as he went downstairs for his roll of duct tape. "Wrap his arms?"

You turned to Stu. "It's part of the costume. You'll have to watch the movie, he's seen it a million times. I think it's whiny." Stu shrugged before leaving the bathroom. You followed the men downstairs deciding to leave your purse at home.

"You have your wallet right?" Billy nodded. "Never leave without it." He pulled the square from his back pocket. "Okay well, I'm leaving my purse so someone else is driving." Stu turned around quickly. "Not my car." He frowned. "You suck." He spat playfully. "We know that," Billy mumbled earning a laugh from Stu as he pointed towards you. "I'll remember that next time. Let's see whose knees are sore after I stop putting out." Billy looked over at Stu while you mocked the boy's flamboyant behavior. "You know I can't even argue with that. I can say however that my head game is better."

Billy handed you the roll of tape staying out of this conversation. He pointed to where the tape needed to go. As you wrapped his forearm you responded to Stu. "Why is that?" You asked. Billy knew better than to complain or critique anything he was getting for free.

"Cause I'm a man duh. I mean I have a dick so I know my way around one." He threw himself down on the couch next to his mask. "You can't even brush your teeth without gagging." You added running a piece of tape around his thumb. Billy nodded agreeing with that fact. "He's not used to brushing his teeth that's all." You laughed at Billy's joke. "Eat my ass! I brush my teeth almost once a day." Billy pointed at the man with his thumb as you wrapped his other arm. "Almost?" The concern in your voice mixed with fear.

"I get busy." He tried to defend himself but it didn't help. "At least I wash my hair. Billy's got pomade from last week sitting in his hair." Once again he threw his friend under the bus. "You're not supposed to wash your hair every day it make it dry. There's a reason I don't have dandruff." At this point, you wanted to block out their conversation.

"Both of you are mildly disgusting but I prefer greasy hair to bad breath." You finished wrapping Billy's other arm after you spoke. "Hey! I use mouthwash." You almost rubbed your face before you remembered your makeup. With a sigh, you walked to the front door. "Let's just go before I break up with both of you nasty asses."

Part 18

Taglist (closed): @katie-tibo @agustdeeyaa @bowlofceral @gonnapermashift @tati-the-fangirl @kozumewhore @tatijoestar @illyanam1011 @c4rved-pumpk1n @msghostface @gojosbucket @sammanna @lokigirlszendaya @reneki @fetusharryluvr @kadu-5607 @pumpk1n-writes @lovekeeho @zeysartzone @life-of-music3 @flyestvenustrap @littleblondesoprano @loomiscorpse @nicciekawegosblog @reneemunson @miss-puregotti @ksgsfsgaj @zoleea-exultant @briefwinnerpersonaturtle @mistydreamscape @l4venderia @nex-crowley @ashreblogsnow @brynaa223 @your-desire666 @billyloomiswhore4 @holyladyofsorrows @megluv1 @ellieswifeiya @yoluvrz @forallthstarsinthesky @madsothree @youcantbesirius @lubunnii @captainhowdysseptum @geekygremlin @madneedshelp

[railingsofsorrow]

dance with me

[spencer reid x reader]

summary: who would have thought that a glass of water could make you sway in your feet in more ways than one.

pairing: s.reid x f!reader

w.c: 1.9K

warnings/content: exes that are still in love with each other trope; heartbreak!!; I'm a willifer stan, if you can tell; jack and henry being besties; pinky promises; dancing with an ex lover; I promise you heartache ™; mentions of alcohol and being drunk; ex partners walking down memory lane (longing); angst <3; poorly edited because I'm sleepy.

a/n: this is part of a short series that started with this one shot and someone asked me to do a part 2 but I ended up writing another stand-alone that may or may not connect with the first one.

navi

masterpost

cm masterlist

would you like to enter my taglist?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

jj was one of the most beautiful brides you had ever seen. her dress fit her perfectly, it seemed to have been made especially for her, even though it belonged to her mother.

will looked at her as if she was the sky holding all of the stars. no one else was around as they danced, just the two of them, you could see it in their eyes.

you were kind of drunk on their love, from afar. and, of course, you might be a little inebriated because of the few champagne glasses you've had since the party started. in your defense, it was all penelope's fault, she offered you the first glass. your will to loosen up did the rest.

you almost fell down on your butt from the way henry pulled at your dress. you didn't blame him, he's been excited all night and he had to let it all out as much as he wanted. he yanked you closer to the spot he and jack were playing on the grass of the rossi household.

“uncle spencer told us the secret of his magic trick.” jack explained as you stared at the cards laid out in front of them. “but we can't remember it.”

a chuckled escaped your lips.

“and that's exactly why he told you.”

henry pouted, his blonde strands falling from behind his ear. giving him a soft smile, you brushed them back, booping his nose as he giggled in response.

“i know why you brought me here and I'm sorry to say that I have no idea how uncle spencer does his magic tricks.” you lament as they both protest in defeat. “he never told me. but I swear if he ever does, you'll be the first to know, okay?”

“promise?” jack hotchner raised his pinky and henry made sure to imitate him eagerly.

you nodded, intertwining your own pinky with theirs. “i promise.” you whispered, kissing both of their small cheeks before standing up. penelope and derek had approached your little group and you took advantage of that to walk inside the house and fetch a cup of water. your vision was starting to get a little blurry and that was the indication you had to know that your alcohol consumption was officially over for the night.

someone else seemed to share your train of thought.

“appreciating art?”

spencer was concentrated analysing one of the art pieces in the mansion's hallway. he didn't act startled at your presence, which meant he already felt you approaching beforehand. you stared down at your heels, wondering if they were too loud.

“it's an interesting painting,” you looked up as he said it. his eyes settled on you. “do you know this one?”

“a street scene.” you responded, shifting on your feet. your feet were starting to hurt. you can't remember for how long you have been on those heels. “can't remember the artist though.”

“paul fischer,” spencer promptly said. “it was painted in 1902. he was also known as copenhagen's painter because of how much he represented his homeland on his paintings.”

you let out a slow hum, walking past him to reach the kitchen. “over a century ago.”

“109 years ago.” he chuckled as you chugged down an entire glass of water and filled it up again. “thirsty?”

you lifted a finger, a silent request to wait. spencer leaned on the kitchen counter, observing you with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“i think I may have...” you exhaled, “drank too much.”

spencer mumbled something that you weren't able to hear, but you didn't need to. you approached him slowly, also leaning on the countertop, the marble cold against your palms. narrowing your eyes at him, you said. “don't even say it.”

he had the decency to act bewildered though his lips betrayed him with a quirk on the edges. “say what?”

“you were teasing me just now.”

“i was not.” spencer raised a brow, sending a giddy smile your way. “i was simply stating that you can get carried away at parties.”

“i had two glasses.” you pouted, “maybe four.” you admitted, a half-assed lie. you had no idea how many you have had during the night. just that they were working really fast in your system.

the two of you stayed there. speaking in low voices, rather discreetly, as the party happened outside. the house was quiet but you could make out some loud voices from the open window.

your ears picked up a soft melody, and the voices quietened down. you figured it was the moment for some slow dancing.

“dance with me.”

you'd think you were the one who said that, given your state of mind a few minutes ago. spencer looked handsome in a suit, it was almost out of character for him, you never saw him without one of his sweater vests. you don't deny he's an attractive man. everything about him is attractive, not only the physical aspects but they did him justice alright.

those were the things you noticed when you were dating. and those are still the things you notice as you are exes. you wonder if there is anything you don't notice about spencer.

you froze at his outstretched hand.

oh, he said that.

is he inviting me to dance?

“me?” his grin made you blush. and to think you had been sober just now.

“yes.” he wriggled his fingers. “dance with me?” the tone of his voice carried a tinge of uncertainty.

your body responded before your mouth could. as your hand intertwined with his, the feeling of returning somewhere you had longed for so long squeezed your chest.

with your chin resting against his shoulder and the warmth of his touch enveloping your waist, the music didn't reach the kitchen anymore. you couldn't hear anything else but your heartbeat.

“you don't even like dancing.” you joked, letting him lead your swaying as you tried not to step on his feet.

his answer was closing the gap between the two of you, your bodies flush against each other. you didn't hesitate before laying your cheek on his shoulder. your fingers intertwined behind his neck, grazing against his uncovered skin.

it felt so familiar and normal that none of you flinched away. as if it was how it was supposed to be.

“i like it when I'm with you.” he said, breath tickling the side of your neck.

“the boys...” you drawled out, a smile stretching on your lips absentmindedly. “they asked me how you did your magic tricks. one of them, actually. the one with the cards.” his chuckled made his body shake a little.

“did they? but I told them.”

“you know kids don't learn it the first time. that's why you told them.”

“i can't just reveal my magic tricks like that, can I?” you pulled back a little to make sure he saw you glare at him. his grin didn't let you scowl much longer though.

shaking your head at him in faux disappointment was the worst thing you could have possibly done at that moment. spencer knew that quirk of lips as he knew his own brain and he recognized that tilt of head because of all the times you did that, it only meant one thing: you were about to tease him.

that was his weakness. your lazy smile along with your fluttering eyelashes. basically, your whole charming persona. you. you were his weakness. spencer has admitted that since he knew he was in love with you.

it used to overwhelm him to be this close to somebody, the warmth of two bodies colliding felt too much of a torture for him. until you came along and showed him what safety felt like.

he felt safe when your fingertips grazed the nape of his neck. when you laid your head on his shoulder and when you softly mumbled the song playing outside right by his ear.

you're right here and he's missing you.

isn't that crazy?

“that used to be my favourite song.” you said, caressing the spot behind his earlobe. his eyes were shut as his feet followed the slow rhythm of the melody.

he hummed, “it was all that you listened to for an entire month.” your laugh brought joy to him as he looked down at you. happiness looked good on you.

“yes.” you shrugged, touching his jaw gently. “but you enjoyed it.”

“i did.” he confessed. “it's calm. soothing.” like your voice. I never get tired of it.

he brushed a strand behind your ear. “is it not your favourite song anymore?”

and just like that, the light in your eyes dimmed. it might have been imperceptible if he wasn't that close. too close.

do people ever feel so comfortable around ex partners as he is with you right now? dancing to a song you used to sing it for him?

“it hurts to listen to it.” your voice cracked at the end of the sentence and you rested your head on his shoulder as if you were attempting to avoid his gaze. it physically painted him when you did that. “reminds me of you.”

he thought about apologising. he thought about asking why does it remind you of me and why would it hurt. but spencer was aware of the answer to both questions. he knew why you couldn't listen to it without memories swarming into your brain like a storm. he knew how hard it was and how much it absolutely crushed you that your favourite song reminded you of an ex lover. of him.

he chose to stay silent.

at the same time he wanted to spare you any emotional pain, he wanted to hear if you were hurting as much as he was. how unfair was that? loving you and having you in his arms but not being able to be with you like he wanted to?

was it hard for you too? did it make you want to take back the words you said just like he wanted to take back everything he had said? did it destroy you wholeheartedly?

spencer doesn't know for how long you stayed there at rossi's kitchen, swaying to a song that no longer played. at some point, you retracted your hand from his neck, lowering slightly to take off your high heels, immediately releasing a breath of relief.

and your touch lingered like a ghost. his soul was void. vulnerable and lonely. once again.

emily walked in the kitchen and you two acted as a couple that had been caught doing something wrong. you had been talking — dancing for just a previous moment — there wasn't anything wrong with that, was it?

spencer felt out of it all of a sudden. at one moment, he knows how to act around you, he feels as if he can touch you and hold you like he never missed his chance. and then, a second later, you're walking away and he's not stopping you from leaving.

“it's still my favourite song.”

and it was his, too.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

a/n: the dancing part was definitely not inspired by mitski's song my love mine all mine.

source: the painting mentioned

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

taglist: @lilyviolets

[cherri-tomato]

Venomous.

Chapter 2: Coffee Cups

Pairing: SpiderMan x fem!venom!reader

Chapter Summary: Y/n's hunger grows, Venom is a pain, and Peter provides some much needed comfort.

Chapter content: non-descriptive vomiting, eating

Series masterlist

<Previous Next>

Y/n woke up with a pounding headache and a biting hunger. She rolled over. It was Saturday, she remembered, then the rest of her memories hit her, and she sat straight up, eyes wide.

“...Venom?” she spoke into her empty room, and she'd never been so glad she’d forked over that extra money for a single room as she was in that moment. Her breathing hitched as the same black head from the night before poked itself out from around her shoulder, and she was barely able to stop herself from screaming as its white eyes—if you could call them that—bore into hers. She could see her own horrified reflection in them.

“That’s me—or rather, us.” 

She took a deep breath. “What are you?” Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides and Venom's strange head tilted.

“Veno-” 

She cut it off with a swift shake of her head. “No. I mean what are you? not who.” Venom just stared at her, and she wondered if maybe it didn't understand her somehow, but then it spoke again. 

“We are a symbiote. And you-” its face moved closer. “You are our host.” 

She shuddered. “And…you eat…people?” 

Venom moved its head in the same way someone would move their hand when making a ‘so-so’ gesture, and her eyebrows knitted together. “Brains,” it corrected, and another wave of revulsion fell over her.

She choked out a noise like a pained animal. “Jesus.” Her next words tasted bitter on her tongue as she said them. “So…that guy last night-”

Venom licked its teeth; if it could grin any wider she was sure it would have. “Was a bit lacking in the brains department, but it'll tide me over I suppose~” 

She really was going to be sick. throwing her blankets to the side and rushing into her bathroom. She threw up once, then again for good measure, before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and falling back against the wall. Her breaths came out in hard pants as she contemplated her current predicament. A brain eating…thing, symbiote, whatever—had taken over her body, and had used said body to bite a guy's head off. Right.

She threw up again at the thought. 

It took about 20 minutes before she finally got herself off the floor and made her way to the mini fridge that held all the food—she knew someone would steal if it was in the shared dormitory kitchen—and some water bottles that she immediately chugged, ignoring the way half the water spilt down her chin and soaked the front of her shirt. By the time she had drunk every one of the 7 or so bottles, she could practically feel her stomach eating itself with hunger, and she got to work devouring the rest of the contents of her fridge. 

Saturday passed in a blur of getting sick, arguing with venom and eating food that made her sick. She fell asleep at around 10 pm, which was actually fairly early for her, and woke up at 4 am feeling parched, nauseous and starving in a way she hadn't felt before. She groaned and then gasped as Venom´s head entered her field of view, “FUCK! Do you have to do that?!” She sat up, rubbing at her face until her skin was red.

“If you feed us, we’ll stop,” Venom hissed, and y/n promptly laid back down and covered her face with her pillow.

The dorm kitchen was mercifully empty when y/n eventually made her way downstairs; her hunger had gotten worse and she desperately wanted to eat. The fridge didn’t have much in it—most people did what she had been doing, keeping a mini fridge in their dorm room—and what was there was fairly bare bones. 

She ate what was there, silently apologizing to her dorm mates for eating all their food, but still felt the sickening hunger in her stomach. 

Venom’s voice spoke then. “Come on kid, it doesn’t even need to be human. Just some sheep or cows.” 

She shuddered. “How do I know you won’t just go on a rampage the minute I let you take over?” Her voice was shaky. She wanted to say no, to tell venom to shove it, but she was so hungry. “No…I can’t just…”

She sighed, grabbed a bottle of water and quickly made her way back to her room.

────────────

When Monday came, y/n was tired, miserable and starving.

Her classes started that afternoon, advanced calc first, then art history, and finally photography class. She’d realized far too late that she had in fact lost her camera, surmising it was probably destroyed or buried under debris in that god forsaken laboratory. 

“Shit,” she muttered as she dug through her backpack in search of the device, only to pull out loose papers and textbooks.

“Y/n, if you could take your seat?” The photography teacher's stern voice brought her out of her spiraling thoughts. She cleared her throat uncomfortably before zipping her bag back up and heading to her desk, head ducked.

Y/n’s seat was beside a tall brunette boy named Peter Parker. They hadn't ever talked much; a simple ‘hi, how are you?' or ‘did you complete the homework assignment?’—it was friendly, but she wouldn't call it friendship. 

Peter nodded in greeting as she took her seat beside him, her head immediately landing on her desk as she dropped her bag. “Woah, someone’s tired. You okay?” Peter inquired, offering her a boyish smile. She turned her head to look at him, and somewhere in her sleep deprived, starving, mind, venom eyed the young man with unmistakable interest, or rather, hunger. 

“Oh, he’s definitely got a juicy brain in that little head of his~” 

She nearly choked on her spit, immediately sitting up and looking forward, keeping her eyes off the brown haired man. 

Something was placed in front of her, and when she looked down she saw that Peter had moved his paper coffee cup into her line of sight. Her eyes darted over to him. Was he teasing her with the knowledge he had made the clever decision to get some caffeine, or offering it to her?

“I haven't drank from it yet. No germs, I promise,” he said while nudging it closer to her. The smell of hot coffee filled her senses. 

“Seriously?” her hand was already half lifted towards the cup, and peter snorted then nodded. 

“Yeah, no cooties I swear.” 

She rolled her eyes, her fingers already wrapped around the warm beverage as she spoke again, “no, i mean are you seriously giving this to me?” She asked. 

Peter was pulling his books out of his bag and placing them on the desk as he waved her off, “you clearly need it more than i do.”

And then it was her turn to chuckle as she lifted the steaming drink to her lips and took a long gulp. The liquid burned her tongue but she ignored it, drinking at least half of it before putting it down and sighing. Peter's taste in coffee was different from hers; the drink was bitter with a slight hint of chocolate and caramel that left a tangy but pleasant aftertaste in her mouth.

Peter was watching her with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk on his lips “late night?” He sounded just as amused as he looked, and y/n came to the realization he probably assumed she was hungover or something. 

She felt the sudden urge to defend herself, but how was she supposed to explain she hadn't been up all night partying but was instead being tormented by a symbiote that had invaded her life and had been yelling at her to find a brain to eat…yeah, that definitely wouldn't go over well.

Y/n only shrugged, chewing her bottom lip—which had become bitten and raw over the weekend—and Peter's amused expression turned into one of worry. His hand landed on her shoulder in the type of comforting touch one would expect from a friend rather than a virtual stranger, and her skin prickled under her shirt.

“Seriously,” Peter started speaking again, “are you okay?” 

She managed a small nod and Peter's hand dropped, which Y/n was immensely grateful for since she could hear Venom’s hungry thoughts gnawing at the back of her mind.

Her skin was still tingling as the professor started the lesson and began to speak about lighting techniques or something, Y/n wasn't exactly listening.

She stopped at a butcher after class, purchasing as much raw meat as possible with her…limited resources, before quickly making her way back to her dorm, pointedly avoiding the few people she passed as she shoved her door open. 

Venom didn't wait long before emerging, devouring the raw meat with only two bites before disappearing into her and saying, “This won't satisfy us for long.” She knew that. “You know what you have to do.” She did, though that didn't make the reality of her situation any less sickening.

“You can't just expect me to go around eating innocent people.” 

Venom made a noise that was probably an equivalent to a scoff, and she clenched her fist. “You didn't have much of an issue with it last time.” 

She grit her teeth. The feeling of bile rising in her throat had become upsettingly familiar since Venom’s arrival. “What other choice did I have?” Y/n pulled her knees to her chest, the memory of that woman, huddled in a corner and shaking with fear, somehow haunted her more than what she—what Venom—had done to protect her. 

Venom’s head poked out from around her shoulder and she flinched; the sight of its tar-like face and empty eyes was hardly a comforting one. “Come on, kid,” Venom spoke, “a couple less bad eggs wouldn't be a bad thing.”

She scoffed. “And what happens if someone sees me—you? Venom.” It was all very confusing to talk about. 

Venom laughed, and the sound did nothing to quell the unease twisting in her gut. “An extra snack~” 

She glared at the grinning head that was Venom. “Oh, shut up. Just because you have no moral compass doesn't mean I'm the same…” 

She rubbed her face with her hands and forced herself to stand. Upon walking over to her desk, she rummaged through her bag until she pulled the culmination of crumpled papers that was her homework out, and set to work on it.

────────────

The next day, Peter was waiting in his usual seat with two cups of steaming coffee, one placed in front of her usual spot.

────────────

Venomous. Taglist

Send an ask to join the series taglist!

[bozepomagaj]

i was 15 when i watched made in abyss as well, finished the 1st season and promptly never touched it again because of what i learned about the author. From what ive seen from koreans they say that the version shown on korean tv is censored (which sounds plausible) which could mean that the weird parts that we skip may be cut out entirely(?dont quote me on that idk) soobin is on thin ice cause the 2nd season is worse and taeyong is in deep shit because i dont think there is any reason why someone should own the manga😟

I'mma preface this by saying I completely get everyone who couldn't stomach this series. It contains a lot of disturbing topics and at the end of the day, it's a horror series, of course not everyone is gonna be able to handle that, and again that's fine. But I can also say that this arc was surprisingly handled with a lot of care, wasn't fetishized nor glorified just... disturbing. Think of Outlast 2 or the ending of Amnesia:Rebirth.

TLDR:

Second season is way more disturbing but not as sexual in nature and Soobin most likely was talking about the fight scenes when saying how cool it was. And if he wasn't then who knows what he was yapping about, don't know him personally so I can't put words into his mouth unless he says something. As for Taeyong, can't defend him at ALL but calling him a p3d0 would still be a bit too much for me.

AND I wanna add after further investigation, Mingi said he didn't even watch it and instead dropped it because it was too much for him, so there's that.

For a more in depth explanation, here you go:

I'm gonna have to explain the lore in order for you all to understand this FULLY, so heres a summary:

The arc introduces us to Vueko, a victim of trafficking who was thrown into the Abyss with the rest of the now villagers because she wasn't deemed as someone useful. So obviously, when she meets Irumyuui, who has been exiled from her village for not being able to give birth at the age of 8, she immediately takes her in. As a victim, she understands her, and the author explains how, through helping Irumyuui, Vueko is able to heal her own trauma and heal Irumyuui as well. It's extremely well written, and as a fellow victim, there was something so sweet about seeing someone heal with the help of another. Especially when that someone acted like a mother figure. But of course, this is the Abyss. The point of the Abyss is that despite you thinking there's some light at the end of the tunnel, there isn't. Wazukyan takes that away, and Irumyuuis wish backfires (think of it like the wishes in Madoka, you get what you want but at a cost), and she gets turned into a horrible monster. But despite everything, she's happy because to her, she's fulfilled her purpose.

This is the part that I could discuss for hours because to me, it was commentary on how young girls even nowadayas are convinced by others that 'they have to find a man one day' and how having no kids is looked down upon. Especially in 3rd world countries. I could write an entire essay, but we're not here to do that.

I can tell you immediately that none of this was fetishized nor glorified in an yway, it's just supposed to make you feel absolutely empty because again, author is really trying to push that "oh you think you got the good end of the stick? Think again!" The manga if FILLED with situations like this, from Rico's origins to Nanachis arc, the subplot of this entire manga is 'how far are you willing to go to survive?'. Think of it like Fire Punch. Disturbing? Yeah, I mean, even I had to drop it once they began talking about trafficking women. Once again, I am comparing it to Madoka Magica but far more gruesome. Nothing explicit was shown, Irumyuui's private parts were never exposed, and her giving birth was also never shown. Her transformation WAS shown, but it's your basic body horror, like in most Junji Ito works.

SO, obviously if you're not a fan of the horror/seinen genre this is deeply disturbing and fucked but after seeing games like Outlast 2 and Amnesia: Rebirth, I wasn't as disturbed PERSONALLY. Again, recommending this publicly might've not been the smartest idea because you really do have to be into the horror genre to be able to handle topics like that. Even I just had to sit in silence for a couple hours after reading that backstory cuz damn, it hits you right in the feels. And most of the manga past that part just has badass fight scenes and when people praise it, they usually talk about that. From what I saw it was well animated and lots of clips were shared on tiktok, twitter etc. So there's a big chance he was talking about that.

(Examples of why people were hyping it up, even non-fans who had no idea about the series were going crazy because of this fight scene)

Now as for Taeyong... see now the reason I didn't mention him in the original post is because of that specific thing. I love the series and have come across physical copies of the manga but I know damn well I'm not buying cuz I don't wanna be seen supporting the author, purely out of spite. And saying 'oh well maybe he didn't know what the author is like'. Unlike some sites, physical copies DO include the extra chapters which contain stuff like this:

Totally unnecessary, not relevant to the plot and while some say it was added as a "haha funny joke" c'mon now. Let's use our brains. Now, would I call him a p3d0? Absolutely not. Would he be weird for this? To me, yeah. For anyone reading this, it's up for you to decide. I'm only here to answer questions about the series because I see people saying random stuff and making it seem FAR more worse just cuz they saw a couple tags.

[sarahsmi13s]

Tattoos?!

(not my gif)

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x fem!oc

characters: jake seresin, fem!oc (sarah), jack and delilah seresin, jake’s four sisters, jake’s brother-in-laws, jake’s nieces and nephews

warnings: language, tattoos, alludes to sex but no details, nudity, insecurity, talks of future (brief), im sorry if I missed any but i will go ahead and say 18+ Minors DNI!

word count: 976

a/n: this is a headcannon in which jake learns about his girlfriends tattoos

this takes place the summer after Sarah has graduated college 

this is before the events of the other parts in this series, which is inspired by @roosterscockpit​​ ‘s ( @milesdickpic​ ) story ‘His Little Girl’ and yes the oc is based on me (but is mainly fantasy me lol and the tattoos described in this story are mine)

*******

Sarah was spending her first summer after graduating with Jake and Paisley in Texas.

This was the first time she’s really been in the state, except for that one time she went to Waco with her friends the previous summer.

But now she was taking a beach trip to Galveston with Jake and his family.

“Wait, you’ve never been to the beach before? You’re 21, how have you never been to the beach?” Jake asked from his spot next to her in the car. 

She shook her head, shrugging, “Just never had the time, or really the money.”

Jack spoke up from the front seat, “Well, that settles it, you’re coming every year.” Delilah nodded from her seat and Tilly, Jake’s youngest sister, squealed from beside Sarah in excitement.

Once they got to the beach house, the boys on the trip carried in all the bags.

The family settled in and relaxed from the drive, making sure they had energy for the next day.

Once the sun rose the next morning Sarah was stretching and getting ready for the beach day that was planned.

Jake came in from his jog, sweaty and starving. 

He noticed Sarah in the kitchen, still in her pj’s, which was basically an old t-shirt and shorts. He smiled and kissed her temple, “Good morning.” “Better now that you’re here.” “That was cheesy.” “Was it wrong?” He smiled, pecking her lips, “You’re never wrong.” 

Delilah chuckled as she walked past her son, “You learn quick.”

After breakfast and wardrobe changes, the Seresins headed to the beach.

Jake wore black swim trunks, the kind that rested low on his hips, showing off that sculpted body the Navy gave him. Though it was only to show off for Sarah.

Sarah wore a brown cow print bikini, the bottoms were high waisted and her cover up was a thin, red plaid shirt and jean shorts.

The men and the kids splashed in the surf, Jake tackling his nieces and nephews into the water. The women laid out in the sun, Jake’s older sisters enjoying the break from their toddlers. 

“Have you always had that tattoo?” Delilah asked, pointing to Sarah’s right side, where the inked skin of her ribs were exposed. “Oh yeah, I got in when I turned 18.” She straightened out her arm, “And I got this a few months ago.”

Kassandra, Jake’s oldest sister, sat up, “What does the one on your ribs mean?”

“It’s a TV show that really means a lot to me. The brothers in the show have the same one,” Sarah explained. “I just thought it looked cool, and the show has this underlying theme of ‘family doesn’t end in blood’ and that’s just really stuck with me.”

Jake jogged over, casting a shadow over the group.

“What are we talking about?”

Addison sat up, “Your girlfriend's tattoos.”

He pulled a face, “She doesn’t have-” He looked down at her, “Do you?”

Sarah laughed and nodded, “I’ve got two.”

Jake held his hands out, motioning for her to grab them, which she does, and pulled her to her feet. “Lemme see.”

She straightened her arm again, brandishing the colorful ‘LAUGH’ tattooed there. “Aaand-” she turned, lifted her right arm, showing the symbol from the show ‘Supernatural’ that was inked on her ribs.

Jake leaned down to get a closer look, “That’s so hot.” 

Then he scooped her up and promptly walked toward the house.

 “AH! Jake!” She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and he wrapped her legs around his hips. “What are you doin’?!” “I think you know exactly what I’m doin’, Sugar.” 

He carried her straight in the house and up to their room.

Jake went to lay her down on the bed. “No, you’re covered in seawater and I’m covered in sand- shower,” Sarah said, pointing over Jake’s shoulder to the bathroom.

Rolling his eyes, he changed directions.

He placed her on the counter and pulled the top of her swimsuit off, catching her arms before she could cover herself. “Don’t… You’re beautiful.” His left hand came up and rested on her ribs, his thumb rubbing over the inked skin.

“You’ve never seen me like this, so forgive me for being nervous.” Jake smiled and kissed her forehead, “I know. Being nervous is okay. We’ll only go as far as you want.”

Jake kissed her lips, pulling away only to kiss her shoulder and kiss down her arm. He got to her tattoo and planted a kiss on each letter. 

He pulled back, his hand going right back to her ribs. “Are you hiding any more of these bad boys? I need to give all of them attention.” He couldn’t keep the smile away, laughing towards the end.

She giggled and shook her head, “Just the two. I’ve got more planned though.”

He groaned, his head falling into her neck, “I never thought I’d be this attracted to tattoos.” He pecked her neck, “Maybe it’s just you.” 

After their shower, they laid on the bed, naked under the covers. 

Jake’s index finger traced the star of the tattoo on her ribs.

“Could you see me with tattoos?” He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the moment.

Sarah nodded, “Yeah, but not huge pieces though. Probably something memorable to you, something that has meaning to you. Maybe an outline of Texas on your chest.” Both of them laughed at that.

“Maybe not that. Maybe our kids' initials, or something like that.” His eyes widened slightly at the ‘our’ he let slip. But she didn’t seem phased. “Yeah, that’s definitely your ballpark.”

He looked down at Sarah, seeing her eyes start to flutter shut. The tracing of her tattoo, and the warmth of both her sunburn and her boyfriend, had lulled her to sleep.

Jake kissed the top of her head, and they both fell asleep.

**********

thank you so much for reading!! i hope this was enjoyable!

I do have a pinterest board set up for this, just to help me get into the vibe (one is to help with future parts, one is only for the current parts)

SO

if you want to check it out and get more of a feel for the dynamic going on---- you can click right --->   here Like mentioned in the last one, feedback is greatly appreciated!

and my asks are open, feel free to request what you would like to see next while i’m working on the next part!

<3 <3 <3

[aboysbestfriendishismum]

Chapter 61 - Shirts, questions and the Fonz with a moustache

In the previous chapter: Jerry goes on his blind date and meets Heather. Surprisingly, she too reveals that she's not interested in meeting guys at the moment. Realizing that they are very similar and in the same situation, she convinces Jerry to pretend that the two of them are dating so as to be left alone by their respective friends. During a question-and-answer game between Stone and Grace, the two discuss how she hasn't let him sleep with her in her bed yet due to her insecurities. In the end Stone manages to calm her down and convince her to take this step with him. Eddie and Angie finally manage to spend an evening together, with pizza and horror movies. Eddie tries again to make her change her mind about Cameron Crowe's film and reveals that for him it's a special occasion: exactly one month has passed since their first kiss. Angie feels guilty because she hadn't thought about the anniversary at all, not being used to this type of things in her past relationships.

***

He fills me up, he gives me love More love than I've ever seen He's all I got, he's all I got in this world But he's all the man that I need

To a casual observer this scene might seem surreal, I must admit. If my life was a TV series and today's episode began with this scene from this morning, as a viewer, a thousand alarm bells would go off for me, ranging from "It's an alternative reality resulting from time travel gone wrong” to “A catastrophe is just about to happen.” Because me, Angie Pacifico, making pancakes on a Wednesday morning, still in my robe despite having class in just over an hour, dancing to the top 100 on the radio and singing (destroying) Whitney Houston is not something you see every day. I actually turned the volume up for Eddie because I suspect that I-never-sleep-I-only-live-at-night-in-san-diego-I-went-surfing-at-the-crack-of-dawn guy has no intention of getting out of bed. This morning I opened my eyes before my killer alarm clock and I promptly deactivated it to let him rest. I took the fastest and quietest shower ever and now I'm here. Since we are always in a rush and don't spend time together regularly, it seemed like a nice thing to prepare a nice breakfast to spoil him a little and be able enjoy a few more minutes together, sitting at a table, talking and joking, rather than sharing the usual quick bye and go each their own way. And I'm also including Meg in this because, with the end of school approaching, the tattoo thing and all the side jobs she's taking on to supplement her income, even having a nice chat with my roommate has become complex. I thought the smell of breakfast and coffee would be enough to give Ed a sweeter good morning than my hated alarm clock, but I was wrong. I pour another big scoop of dough into the pan and smile when I hear the sound of the shower water running, thinking that my melodious chanting has done its duty, but I immediately change my mind when I hear Meg's voice singing along to the chorus of Freedom 90. Well, if I didn't make it, she'll take care of throwing him out of bed with the help of George Michael.

I take the plate with all the pancakes and put it in the center of the table, the bottle of chocolate syrup is already there. Since I don't want to be seen as someone who only eats junk, I decide to also get some yogurt and fruit, which always goes well on pancakes. I head towards the fridge dancing, but not before shouting EVERYBODY DANCE NOW! together with the radio. I stick my head into the fridge and when I back up and close the door I almost have a heart attack and almost project yogurt and berries on to the ceiling.

"EDDIE!"

"Hey," he says to me, leaning against the doorframe, sleepy and smiling.

"WHAT THE FUCK" I leave everything on the table safely and regain color.

"Good morning to you too, kitten"

"Fucking kitten, you appear like this out of nowhere, you scared the fuck out of me!"

"Forgive me, I didn't want to scare you. It's just that… you were all focused on dancing, I couldn't interrupt you" he explains with that adorable stupid face that… nothing, I have class in an hour, I can't think about these things .

“How long have you been there?”

"A little while" he's still standing at the kitchen door. Still standing there in just his boxers and his black and red plaid button down shirt. I repeat, Angie , YOU CAN'T THINK ABOUT THAT NOW.

"You could have found an alternative and gentler way to announce your presence, right?" I go back to the unlit stove and pretend to turn it off, then move to the sink and pretend to fiddle with something else until I feel his hands on my shoulders.

"And miss this show? I'm not that stupid" he kisses my cheek and then rests his chin on my right shoulder.

"The ideal show for a traumatic awakening. Hey, be careful or you'll get burnt, it's still hot" I warn him when I see him reach out for the pan, perhaps to put it to wash.

"I'm already on fire anyway" he puts everything in the sink and then hugs me from behind, leaning on me again.

"Eheheh what?"

“Do you have any idea how sexy you were?” he whispers as his fucking grabby hands do the work.

"Am I sexy in the kitchen? At the stove? In one of the stereotyped roles in which the most vulgar sexism imprisons women?" I turn towards him in an attempt to get him off me, but with little success.

“I actually meant dancing in a robe, but honestly this is even fucking better” very poor considering now he's just grabbed at my ass and his mouth is getting dangerously close to my sweet spot on my neck.

"Oh ok so… years of struggles for women's emancipation reduced to a fetish? Feminism that exists only for the sexual gratification of you, straight white man?"

"Stop it or I'll have to fuck you here and now" he backs away from my neck just long enough to point this thing out in my ear, and then goes back to his actions.

"Eheh, you can't anyway" I push him away perhaps too impulsively, I turn around again and start filling the sink with water and then take the dish detergent.

"Why?" please, Eddie, you're not helping right now.

"Because… because Meg is over there…" and again, his hands on my hips "And then we have to eat and I have to go to class"

"Ok, wait," Eddie turns off the tap, takes my hand and, pushing me into a sort of pirouette, forces me to turn towards him again "point A"

"Haha, you even have points ready first thing in the morning!"

"I was born ready. Point A: Meg is over there, she's not here" first he looks towards the door, then directs his eye back towards me and winks.

"But she can arrive at any moment" I reply, but I'm not as quick to fight against his hands, which start unbuttoning my robe.

"We just need to pay attention when we hear Mariah Carey coming over," he jokes, making fun of the song she's singing now.

"What if we're too distracted?" I close a button, he unbuttons two.

"Point B:" he continues, not caring about my objections, "we can still eat... after..."

"After what?" he just looks up to smile at me, without a word.

"Point C: I'll give you a ride to class so you won't be late" and there go two more buttons.

"But-" I try to protest, not so strongly. He silences me by kissing me, softly, but with a certain firmness, and now my robe is completely open.

"Come on, let's go to your room, five minutes"

"It will never be five minutes, Eddie"

"Wanna bet?" my robe is on the floor and his hands are under my pajama top, threatening to send that flying too. Until a detail belatedly catches my attention.

"Eddie, da-… um, sorry, but what are you wearing?"

"I'm overdressed, right? I'll fix in a sec!" he wiggles his eyebrows like an idiot, starts to take off his shirt, but I stop him.

"No, I mean, don't you see what you've got on? Didn't you notice?" I start laughing and this very moment he start to give in a little and lets go of me. I take the opportunity to pull myself together and retrieve my dressing gown from the floor.

"What is it? Did I put it on backwards?" he looks at his shirt without understanding, and then looks at me, sulkily, when I put my robe back on.

"No, you put it on just right, but it's mine, can't you see?" I reveal by caressing his chest (Jesus!) with the excuse of pointing out the pockets on the front of my checked shirt, very similar to his "Yours doesn't have these"

"Oh shit, in the daze of waking up I must have taken yours instead of mine, they look the same"

"How did you not notice? Can't you see that it's a girl's shirt? The buttons are on the other side" I button up a couple of them and in doing so I notice how comfortable my shirt looks on him. Very comfy. Too comfy. He swims in it. It's obvious he didn't notice, if I was a nice size SMALL or EXTRASMALL he wouldn't be able to fit a single arm in this fucking shirt. But no, he didn't pay attention to it, because his girlfriend is a heavyweight. Well he should have noticed for the opposite reason, that is that he could fit his whole band in that shirt.

"Ah! That's why I couldn't fucking button it up! I felt stupid, for a moment I thought I was stoned or was having an aneurysm or something hahaha"

"You're insane" I shake my head and take the plates to put them on the table, turning my back to him to not to show him my face, darkened by the previous thoughts. Why does my brain always have to ruin the best moments?

"I know, I know. Anyway it's comfortable and it smells like you, I think I'll keep it. Can I?" I turn around in puzzlement and when I look at him he takes the hems of the shirt and closes them tightly over his chest, miming a hug. Then he shoves his nose against the fabric of the sleeve and pretends to be inebriated by my perfume, emitting a dramatic satisfied sigh.

“Which shitty romantic comedy did you come from, can you explain?” I look at him perplexed and on the inside I thank him for making me forget my fucking negative thoughts in a second.

"I'm not romantic and I'm not funny" he replies very seriously.

"And in any case the cliché should be the other way around: in any self-respecting romance flick, it's the girl who gets up in the morning and puts on her man's shirt or t-shirt. And he obviously enjoys the view"

"And since when do you respect gender clichés? Why is it always the male eye only that needs to be pleased?" he leans back on the kitchen counter and as he does so the edges of his shirt widen again.

"Shut up or I'll have to… um… jump on you here and now" I half-quote his line from earlier.

"...said the girl, giving him an excellent reason not to stop at all." Eddie walks up to me again in a threatening way (yeah, okay…), but this time it goes badly for him. I think I've never loved and hated Mariah Carey at the same time as much as now.

"Somedaaay Hey Heeeey! Oh hi guys, good morning" Meg enters the kitchen and I don't know if she doesn't notice me and Eddie because her attention is all on the table or if she's just pretending.

"HI"

"Good morning Meg" Eddie and I drift apart like two magnets placed in front of each other. He turns around trying to fasten the remaining buttons on his/my shirt, even though they're backwards, while I dedicate myself to distributing the pancakes on the plates.

“Did I interrupt something?” I correct myself, she noticed and doesn't even pretend she didn't, while she squeezes chocolate onto her pancakes.

“Yes, a debate about feminism” Eddie gives me a flying kiss on the cheek and sits down at the table.

"You can't just flirt like normal couples, huh?" Meg winks at me as I sit down too, resigned to her comments.

"We're not normal individually, let alone as a couple" observes Eddie and he's not entirely wrong. He also goes for the chocolate syrup, so the only one who will give a change to the yogurt will be me, obviously.

“Anyway, when are you going to ask him him to move in here with us?” Meg looks at me first and then, this time, the wink is for Eddie.

"What??"

"So we'll have the cool breakfast every morning"

"If you want pancakes, just ask, no need to get Eddie involved" I mutter as he and Meg laugh loudly at my expense.

“Did you call Crowe?” Meg gives me another jab when she's halfway through her pancakes and it's clear that I'm her favorite target this morning.

"No, I didn't call him"

"And when will you call him?"

"Well, I don't know, I-"

"If you want, I'll take care of it," Eddie saves me in every sense, intervening in the conversation and pouring me some more coffee into the half-empty cup, "I'll tell him when I see him"

"You tell him Angie accepts?!" Meg remains with her fork in mid-air in front of her open mouth and is about to have a bitter surprise.

"Actually, no. I mean, I understood no, or maybe I'm wrong?" Eddie looks alternately between my roommate and me.

"No, you're not wrong, as I already told you, I have decided to refuse" I reassure him and prepare for hell.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Meg drops her fork on her plate and looks at me reproachfully.

"Because, as I already, told you multiple times, it's not for me"

"And you? Don't you have anything to tell her?" Eddie, who evidently appreciated my culinary efforts because he has already cleaned his plate polishing off every crumbs, pauses for a few seconds, keeping the napkin over his mouth before speaking.

"Um? Me? Why? What should I say?"

"What should you say?! Convince her, right?" Meg looks at both of us like we're idiots.

"Well, we talked about it. Personally I think it's a great opportunity, but if Angie doesn't feel like doin'g it, then she shouldn't do it. I don't want to put pressure on her or anything like that." Eddie gets up, puts the plate in the sink along with the cup, after finishing his coffee.

"I, on the other hand, really wanna put all the pressure on you. I mean, without an external push you would never do a damn thing, you wouldn't even be here! And then I think you're making a huge mistake by saying no! And you should tell her too, if you care about her" my friend shuffles in her seat, she didn't expect to find herself in the minority.

"I do care. And since I care I want her to be free to choose what to do. If she took part to the movie just to make us happy, it would be useless. At least, that's what I think." Eddie explains his thesis and then approaches me again and gives me another quick kiss on the lips "I'm going to shower and get dressed. With the right clothes this time"

I look at him dreamily as he leaves the kitchen and walks away, until I meet Meg's questioning gaze.

"Hehe it's because he wore the wrong shirt, he wore mine instead of his... because in the dark they looked the same to him eheh"

"This is not the explanation I'm looking for"

"What do you mean?"

"What did you tell him?"

"Him who?"

"Eddie! He's suddenly so careful not to offend your feelings, what did you say to him?" he crosses his arms and looks at me defiantly.

“What makes you think I said anything to him?”

"I know you. And, even if a little less, I know him too"

"Can't it be that he just believes what he said?"

"No. He didn't believe it when he forced you to play basketball with the band, play drums at Cameron's party, go up the Space Needle, make out in front of an entire club full of people for two hours. I don't see why he would have changed his mind now, unless you intervened in some way" Meg aggressively counts my adventures on her fingers.

“Aren't you going to finish your pancakes?”

"No, I won't give you the slightest culinary satisfaction until you speak" and she knows that it bothers me a lot, she's using strong methods.

"But I have nothing to say"

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing"

"What did you really tell him?"

"Hahaha NOTHING!"

“Did you promise him sexual favors?”

"He's my boyfriend, he already has my favors, I don't need to promise anything to him"

"Maybe favors that are... a little kinkier than usual?"

"No!"

"Just tell me then or these pancakes are gonna end up in the bin" Meg takes the plate, gets up and stands in front of the dustbin.

"You wouldn't dare"

"Wanna bet?" maintaining eye contact with me, she slowly puts her foot on the bin's pedal and the lid opens up with a click.

"Well, it's not like I told him anything specific…"

"HA! You did say something to him, then?!" the lid closes, but she doesn't move.

"I talked to him about the fact that I wouldn't be comfortable being an actress"

"Mmmm"

"And that I would have too many lines to memorize"

"And?"

"That the presence of Tim Burton would have put me in difficulty"

"Okay... and?"

"And that I would have been hypercritical and would never want to see that film again if I had been in it… Maybe, due to the trauma, I would never set foot on a movie set again"

"Only that?" Meg's little foot still rests on the pedal of the dustbin.

"Only that?! I basically told him that it could put my entire career at risk."

"Okay. And then, what else did you tell him?" Meg doesn't give up and I feel I'm about to capitulate, I have no other choice.

“And well, I may have added some plot details…”

"THERE YOU GO. Tell me about these details" Meg realized she finally had me in her under her thumb and she sits back down at the table, placing the plate in front of her.

"I might have told him that, while skimming through the script, I had read of something I didn't feel like doing"

“What the hell of a story did you make up, Angie?” my friend shakes her head and grabs her fork again.

"I didn't invent anything! I just told him that at a certain point I thought I saw a scene with…"

"With…?"

"With a kiss"

"A KISS?!"

"A kiss, a very long one"

"AHAHAHAHAH YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH!" Meg doesn't hold back and laughs holding her belly.

"Look, it's true! There is a kiss! There are several! Just, um, not exactly in my scene"

"WHAT A BAD BITCH!"

“And since I mentioned this to Eddie, he suddenly became very understanding of my insecurities.”

"YOU DON'T SAY?! Who knows why?" Meg dives back into the pancakes, but not before adding some more chocolate syrup.

"You won't tell him anything, right?"

"Look, I would be tempted because for me you are a fool to refuse a part in the film and I would involve anyone to convince you, but…"

"But?"

"But I love your perfidiousness in this thing too much to let you get caught"

"I'm not evil!"

"No, you're just a little budding manipulator who cunningly uses someone else's weakness for her own gain… Little Angie is growing up! I could almost start crying" Meg feigns emotion and wipes away some fake tears with her napkin.

"Ahaha I didn't manipulate Eddie"

"You used his jealousy to make him do what you wanted, how do you call it?"

"I just striked some chords…"

"You pulled the right strings!" Meg gets up and puts the plate in the sink with the rest.

"I don't know if you're trying to play with my conscience to get me to tell Eddie the truth and accept the part or if you actually appreciate my little dishonest ploy."

"Mmm a bit of both!" Meg leaves the kitchen and retrieves her jacket and bag, I join her at the door "Anyway, in the end, even if manipulated, Eddie is right: it's you who decides. It's just that... I would have loved to brag a bit and say Hey, my friend is in that movie!"

"Half the people you know will be in that movie. Anyway, once I become a successful author, you can say Hey, my friend wrote that!"

"I can't wait! Alright, see you tonight at Roxy's"

"Ok see ya"

"Did you follow me to the door to say bye or to make sure I wouldn't go and tell Eddie"

"Hahaha to say bye! You would never do that. At least, not now that he's in the shower"

"Well, I could if I wanted to, you're not the jealous one in the couple" he winks at me and opens the door.

"Bye Meg"

"Besides, I've already seen him in his underwear, so" she's about to leave, but she comes back and shrugs at me.

"BYE" I close the door in her face as a joke and she holds it open with one foot.

"And my friends' boyfriends are all like women to me"

"JUST GO IT'S LATE, SEE YOU TONIGHT!"

The woodworm that Meg has just tried to put in my head about my unfair attitude towards Eddie doesn't even have time to creep into my thoughts when the phone starts ringing.

"Hello"

"…" on the other side just silence.

"Hello?" I repeat and actually I seem to hear noises through the receiver. It's not a noisy line, it's mora like someone is waiting in silence with the receiver in their hand.

"Is anyone there or not?" the moment I clearly perceive a breath I freeze. I look around to figure out where Eddie is, because I can't hear the sound of the shower water anymore, but I don't see him around. I go peek in my room and it's not there, so he's probably finished the shower, but he's still in the bathroom.

"Is it you?"

"…" still nothing.

"Do you need anything? Do you need money?" I ask in a low voice, but without getting any answer, except for an abrupt termination of the phone call.

I exhale deeply, as if I've been holding my breath for a while, and maybe I really have. I drop the phone on the table, take my plate and put it in the sink along with everything else. I glance at the clock. No, I don't have time now, I'll wash them later today.

A new ring of the phone makes me jump, I look at it for a while without doing anything, but then I decide to answer, if only to prevent Eddie from becoming suspicious and coming out here to see what's happening and why no one answers the phone.

"HELLO?!"

"Hey, good morning to you too! What happened? Did you wake up with a bad case of the grumpies this morning?" the response on the other end, this time, puts me in a completely different mood.

"Hi mom! No, everything's ok"

"I mean, it sounded like you wanted to maul whoever was on the other end of the phone…"

"No, it's just… there's someone having fun making prank calls this morning. They call and don't speak, without even a bit of imagination, at least they could come up with something more articulated"

"Like, if you have to bother me, at least use creativity"

"Exactly"

"Okay, how are you? Sorry I'm calling you this early, but at least I'm sure I'd find you"

"No problem, you did well. In fact, you barely found me because I have to go to class soon" I walk up to my room to get the clothes to put on, waiting for Eddie to come out of the bathroom.

"That's it, exactly. I'll end up having to make an appointment to talk to you on the phone"

"Don't worry, I still have time, we can have our fulfilling mother-daughter conversation"

"Good girl. So how are you? How did your holidays go?"

“Well, I worked a lot!”

"It's a shame they're called holidays…"

"Okay, I also rested and did a lot of things that I've had pending for ages! I defrosted the fridge, I cleaned the chandeliers, I washed all the carpets…" I go back to the corridor while I recall all the steps of the great house cleaning.

"What a strange concept of rest"

"Ugh, I went out with Meg and the others too, I haven't been home all day"

"I had no doubts. And how is Eddie?"

"Eddie is-" he almost caught me off guard "Why are you asking me about Eddie? And more importantly, how do you know him?" yeah, how do you know the guy who just came out of the bathroom covered only by a short towel tied not very firmly at the waist that could fall at any moment and who winked at me before slipping into my room.

"Oh your father told me about him"

"Did he tell you about him? What did he tell you?" the guy who slips into the room without closing the door, takes off the towel and… NO, ANGIE, YOU DON'T HAVE TIME AND YOU'RE ON THE PHONE WITH YOUR MOTHER, FOR FUCK'S SAKE.

"Yeah, I mean, he told me that you have a friend called Eddie and that he met him."

“It happened months ago, why are you asking me about my friends now?” and why Eddie, would be the real question. But I don't want to get too carried away and make her suspicious.

"No, I'm just looking at the photos your father took when he came to visit you…"

"Ah, the famous photos that I haven't seen yet" I lock myself in the bathroom and put it on speakerphone, so I can brush my teeth in the meantime.

"Well, because he only developed them now! Forgive him, he's been very busy with work, I've barely seen him too"

"I know, I know, it's just that he told me he would send them to me"

"In fact, he's going to send them to you exactly this morning. Which would also be the reason why I called you, to tell you this"

"Oh great! Thank him"

"And… you know, since I have a photo of you with Eddie right in front of me right now, he came to my mind, just like this"

"Totally random"

"Right. Anyway, how is he?" He's fine, mom, thanks. He spent the night with me and now he is naked in my room.

"Good! From what I know, at least. I mean, the band is recording the album, I don't see them as often as before" well done, Angie. Plural. Go with plural.

“But you told me earlier that you hung out with the guys during spring break.”

"Yes, of course, but I haven't seen them in a while now. However, they're happy, Stone told me that everything is going well." Was using Stone as a diversion from Eddie a good move?

"Ah! So you've seen Stone more than Eddie!" no, it's not good at all.

"I saw them equally, mom, don't get any strange ideas, I thought I made myself clear enough at Christmas" I snort and start taking off my dressing gown and pajamas.

"Very clear! You know what? The pictures are very beautiful, you'll see. Now I'll get dad for you, he has to tell you something"

"Okay?" my father? What does he have to tell me? He won't ask me about Eddie too, will he?

"Bye Angie, call me next time so I don't bother you, okay?"

"You're not mad because I'm talking to you while getting ready and doing something else in the meantime, are you?" I get dressed quickly, the only thing I forgot to take are the boots, but I can put them on later.

"No, but call! Okay, here's your father"

"Bye"

"Hey Angie!"

"Hi Dad"

"Today I'm sending you all the photos I took when I came to Seattle. Sorry if I'm late but it's been a mess. I've practically been living in the darkroom for weeks"

"Don't worry. How did they turn out?" I put my pajamas in the laundry hamper, throw my robe over my shoulder and, with the phone still on loudspeaker in my hand, I leave the bathroom.

"Not to brag, but they turned out great! Both the ones from the concerts and those from the beach party. I got a nice box here, ready to be shipped"

"Fine, now come out of the dark room and spend some time with mom" when I enter the room I waste no time, I put my dressing gown on the chair and run to cover Eddie's mouth before he can make any sound.

"Don't worry, I'll do that!"

"Did you want to tell me something else? Mom already told me about the pictures" when I'm sure he understood and he nods at me, I release my grip on Eddie's mouth and go and sit on the bed to put on my boots, with my back towards him.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you: do you know Nirvana?"

"Yes, they are a band from around here, I even saw them twice in concert"

"Not as a band, do you know them personally?"

“Um well, not really.”

"What do you mean? Do you know them or not?"

"I know them by sight! Mostly the drummer…" damn, why did I say that?? I quickly turn around and see Eddie has stopped right in the middle of zipping up his pants and is glaring at me "and I exchanged a few words with the bassist, I know who the singer is but that's it"

"Oh because they know you"

"What? And how do you know?" Why do I feel he's not about to tell me anything good? And why the fuck did I keep it on speakerphone? I can't take it off now or it would look like I want to hide things from Eddie.

"They played here in Boise a few days ago"

"Really?"

"At The Zoo" the management guys must have thought it was a real zoo and wanted to send Kurt there, for sure.

"And you went to see them? Weren't you busy with work?" after eternal moments I start tying my boots again and Eddie finally zips up his fly.

"You know what they say, too much work and no play…"

"Yes, and then you end up chasing your family with a hatchet"

"Exactly. Great concert anyway, pure energy! I took few photos unfortunately. The next day I bought the album. They also played some new tracks from the album which has yet to be released"

"And what do I have to do with all this?" if he bought Dave a drink too, I swear I'll scream. What the fuck is that? Does my dad have some kind of radar for my exes now? And he has to talk about it right now with Eddie listening?

"Oh because at one point on stage the singer said something about how it was their first time playing in Idaho and that so far they didn't know anyone from around here, except for a girl who's actually from our town. And he said that he will have to find another nickname for their friend, but it was a quick and rather cryptic conversation that I didn't quite understand. Do you know anything about it?"

"Mmm I have no clue honestly" Eddie looks at me and bursts out laughing, I signal him to be quiet and he covers his face with his hands.

"But you're the friend, aren't you?"

"I don't think so," a friend of that jerk?? I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my bare hands "I wonder who he was talking about, there must be other people from Boise who moved to Seattle, I'm not that special, you know?"

"That's why I asked you if you knew them…"

"Yes, but only by sight and they don't know where I'm from, they don't even know my name eheh" Eddie uncovers his face and makes a noise as if to say Yes, of course!

"Oh well, it's just a coincidence then"

"Of course it is"

"Ok, I'll leave you now. I'll go to the post office and then to the editorial office"

"Okay. Bye and good luck with your work"

"And say hello to Meg"

"Alright"

"And Eddie" Eddie looks at me and explodes into a toothy smile, while he waves hello with his little hand in the direction of the phone.

“Go-why Eddie?”

"No reason, he just came to my mind"

“Let me guess: you got one of his pictures right in front of your eye right now, right?” well, now Eddie will think that in my house there is a little altar with a picture of him, flowers and candles and that my parents pray on it every single morning.

"Hehe, actually yes! Say hello to him when you see him, ok? He's a good boy"

"I will. Bye dad"

“Bye Ray,” Eddie replies to himself as soon as I hang up.

"If they had heard you, I would have killed you!"

"Pff overreacting as usual…" now fully dressed, he comes and sits next to me on the bed.

"Ha! Don't even think about it, it's late and we have to rush to the university"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just wanted to get this" all cocky, he reaches under the bed and pulls out his backpack.

"Sure"

"I'm a good boy"

"Okay, if the good boy is ready, it's time to go"

"Ok let's go"

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

"How do you say Can I have your number in Swiss?"

"There's no such thing as Swiss, Mike" the girl from the staff just opened the door to the dressing rooms, just long enough to tell us Soundcheck in zehn Minuten, and that idiot has already fallen in love.

"What do you mean? So what do they speak in this hell of a country?"

"Where are we now, that is Zurich, they speak German" I just give him the key concept, we have a soundcheck to do and I'm not in the mood to explain Swiss multilingualism to my bass player.

"Okay, how do you say it in German?"

"Ask them in English, you'll see they understand you anyway" Layne gets up and motions to Starr, the only one sitting, to do the same and follow him.

"The whole world speaks English" says Sean the wise.

"You should have learned it by now, after the shitty show the other night in Düsseldorf" Layne opens the dressing room door and goes out, followed closely by us, remembering our nice little mishap the day before yesterday, when Mike al most got us killed. A typical Alice in Chains Monday night, in short.

"AGAIN? Look, I made a fucking comment in a fucking bar full of people, I thought you barely heard me, let alone those guys!" Mike isn't entirely wrong, there was an absurd mess in that karaoke bar. I don't know how the fuck we ended up there, I think it was just the closest source of alcohol on the way between the concert venue and the place we were sleeping at. We were all shitfaced when a guy in a leather jacket and sunglasses, who had just destroyed The show must go on on stage, passed by us. The very second as Mike noticed an unexpected resemblance.

"We all thought he didn't look anything like Freddie Mercury, but we kept it to ourselves instead of shouting it from the rooftops!"

"But it was so him! It was the Fonz with a moustache! What the fuck did I say? I said nothing bad, I didn't call him an idiot"

"Actually the exact words were Such an asshole, rather than Freddie Mercury, he looks like the Fonz with a mustache ah ah ah"

"Okay, he only heard the second part though"

"And thank goodness, otherwise he and his friends would have kicked us all the way inside the hotel, instead of stopping outside"

We arrive on stage and start with the rehearsals without getting lost in further chatter. We're here to play four songs in front of a couple of thousand people who don't give a shit about us and who can't wait for us to get off our balls and enjoy the Megadeth concert, of which we are the support band. But for us it's fucking life, playing is playing, as long as they put us on a stage, we'll do it with anyone and in front of any audience. I mean, we've opened for everyone from fucking Poison to Iggy Pop in just the space of one year. In this Andy and I were really on the same wavelength. I remember the nights spent fantasizing about our imaginary future concerts in stadiums and temples of rock. "Madison Square Garden? I'll even go there with the fucking Warrant just to play there!" I can still hear him say. I miss him so fuckin' much. Well, at least I like Megadeth even though maybe neither they nor their fans like me. We are at the fourth date of this European tour and we still haven't even exchanged a word. Let's say we almost didn't even see them. And the people? Well, if they're cold that's fine, when it's bad then they'll just throw shit at us on stage. If Angie were here, she'd suggest we put up a protective net like in the Blues Brothers… Well, thank goodness the soundcheck is over because I'm getting melancholic as fuck and I need a fucking beer. Without speaking we all leave and go out in the same direction, straight towards the nearest bar, hoping this isn't karaoke too. When I see a phone booth on the other side of the road, however, I can't help but take action and take a small detour.

"I have to… um I have to make a phone call, see you later"

“Can't you call from the bar? I'm pretty sure they have a phone there too”

"Oh no, Mike, he can't! Can't you see the young gentleman here doesn't want to be heard? It's so obvious!" Sean is already on the starting blocks of taking the piss out of yours truly.

"But who do you have to call? The same girl from yesterday?"

"From yesterday and the day before yesterday…" continues the drummer.

"But what about minding your own business?"

"And who is this girl? Aren't you going to tell us?"

"Layne knows her, she's a friend of Dem" Kinney is super informed on the facts, as I imagined Layne held back, but not completely and let the minimum slip. Excellent.

"I cultivate the noble art of minding my own fuckin' business, so I don't know anything"

"Well done Layne!" I pat my buddy on the shoulder and start to walk away again.

"Well done my ass, we're worried about you!"

"Speak for yourself, I'm very calm and I just want the booze" and this too was predictable from Sean. By now I could write everyone's parts in our dialogues, I know them like the back of my hand.

"Don't listen to him, you are our brother! You just miraculously emerged from the disaster with Angie, you know... and now you're going to get yourself in trouble in yet another serious affair with someone else??"

"Who told you this is serious?"

"If it's worth three intercontinental calls, it's serious for me"

"Come on, she's someone he's just met, she's fresh and he wants to keep her interested, right?"

"I see you already know everything so I have nothing else to add, see you later" I walk away amidst the shouts and whistles of my companions and I see them proceed shuffling towards the bar from inside the booth.

I take the small address book from the inside pocket of my jacket and obviously I open it to the first page, to the letter A. I know I should flip on through it, but I can't, it's as if I'm stuck, as if I'm short-circuiting for a few seconds . I put what I think it's the equivalent of our tonight's salary in coins into the phone and dial the wrong number on purpose. What time will it be the now? Like 9 or 10 in the morning, maybe she's not even home.

"Hello" but she's fucking there instead.

"Hello?" she repeats and at that point I realize that I haven't spoken, because in reality I thought I'd answered and told her that it was me and that I'm in a break between soundcheck and concert and that I called her because, for a change, I was thinking about her .

"Is anyone there or not?" I think I can hear myself telling her about the Fonz with the moustache, about the more than necessary protective net for our stage, about Mike who last night was about to pick up a girl who told him she was in her third year at Gymnasium, thinking it meant she was a gym freak, before I saved him by explaining that she was a fucking high school student.

"Is it you?" I'm panicking because I got caught like an idiot. After all, who else would call her and then give her the silence treatment? And from abroad too… I'm such an asshole.

"Do you need help? Do you need money?" at this point it's as if I wake up from some kind of fucking hypnosis and suddenly hang up the phone. Money? Why would Angie think I'm calling her for money? The answer is simple: she didn't catch me at all and she thought I was someone else. But who? Who could call her in the morning asking for money? What kind of mess did she get herself into? When I leave the phone booth I remember that I forgot to call Heather like we agreed, but who cares after all? The guys think I did it, in the end it's the gesture that counts. I join the band at the bar counter with a head full of questions.

The questions run through my head until the concert and even during and after that. In the end the show didn't go bad at all, apart from a few painless coins thrown, the audience also reacted well. You can see that the Swiss are more polite! And I was proven wrong twice tonight because, as soon as we got off the stage, we were immediately intercepted by David Elleffson and Marty Friedman of Megadeth who complimented us, confessing that they had no idea who the fuck we were before they heard us and that in their opinion we rock the asses, even if our name doesn't sound very good to them. We all spent the evening together drinking, smoking and talking bullshit, especially them, because at a certain point Marty said that they want to propose us as the opening band for the mega tour they will do with Slayer and Anthrax once they return home and in my opinion it was the drugs talking. Not that we don't deserve it, on the contrary! Well, I'll wait and see what happens, it would be cool, but I don't want to day dream for nothing. I prefer to take things as they come, day by day. But who the fuck calls you to ask you for money first thing in the morning? Maybe it's just a friend in need that Angie is helping because she always has to help everyone? Or maybe not…

[lothiriel84]

Cards on the Table (pt. 1)

A series of post-canon vignettes, each from a different character's point of view. [Part 1/2]

A Faro’s Daughter one-shot collection. Deborah Grantham/Max Ravenscar, with a side of Phoebe Laxton/Adrian Mablethorpe.

1. Lord Mablethorpe

When informed of his cousin’s engagement to Miss Grantham, Lord Mablethorpe immediately betook himself to St James’ Square, where he spent the better part of an hour questioning Deb as to what manner of horrible things Max could have done to thus prevail upon her. In the end, it was Deborah’s extravagant blush as she declared herself very much in love with the gentleman in question that eventually set his doubts to rest. As utterly baffled at this unforeseen turn of events as he still was, at least he had the presence of mind to wish her every happiness before taking his leave, and setting out for Grosvenor Square.

To Ravenscar’s credit, he met his cousin’s stern words on the subject of Miss Grantham’s wellbeing with a good deal of amusement, and promptly assured him that nothing could be farther from his intentions than to cause any further inconvenience to his betrothed; Lord Mablethorpe privately wondered at whatever past inconveniences Max might be referring to, but in the end he was too much in awe of his cousin to probe any deeper into the subject.

He didn’t get to see much of either Max or his intended bride after that, as he was planning to fetch Phoebe from Wales and properly introduce her into society as the new Lady Mablethorpe; he was therefore quite bemused upon received a letter from Arabella, in which she informed him she had taken it upon herself to act as chaperone to the loving couple, much to her elder brother’s chagrin. Being as much acquainted with Max’s habitual aloofness as he was with the matter-of-fact way Deb dealt with her suitors, he could hardly imagine the pair engaging in anything that might be deemed even remotely inappropriate; but then again, he couldn’t have imagined anything less likely than his headstrong cousin offering for the likes of Deborah Grantham, never mind her consenting to it, so perhaps he was the one in the wrong after all.

When informed of Miss Grantham’s impending marriage, young Lady Mablethorpe declared herself utterly delighted, and expressed a wish to call on Lady Bellingham’s as soon as they were back in London; she went as far as to timidly suggest she would like nothing better than to be introduced to Lord Mablethorpe’s cousin, as he was to be married to someone she owed so much of her happiness to – along with her dearest husband, of course.

Adrian made a mental note to write to Max, detailing how he desired for his new wife to be received, and assured Phoebe that he would grant her heart’s wish, in this as in all other matters.

2. Mr Ravenscar

With considerable effort, Max Ravenscar tore himself from his betrothed’s embrace, turning his glare upon the downright annoyance that was his younger sister.

“I have told you, Belle,” he warned her, struggling for some semblance of his usual composure. “If you don’t leave this instant – ”

“But my dearest brother, I couldn’t possibly do that,” she countered, all feigned innocence and concern. At that moment, he couldn’t agree more heartily with his stepmother’s wish to have the little minx safely married and out of their care. “You see, I do remember someone lecturing me at length on how gentlemen should never be trusted with a young woman’s reputation, and I’ll have you know I take such an enlightening piece of advice very seriously.”

“Very seriously indeed,” he retorted sarcastically, taking hold of Deb’s hands to prevent her from stepping away in her embarrassment. “If this is about that wretched ball you’ve pestering me about all week, I can tell you now – ”

“That we shall be glad to escort you to it, my dear,” Deborah interjected in a rush, meeting his frown with a determined look of her own. He opened his mouth to contradict her, noticed the telltale blush colouring her cheeks, and thought better of it.

“Oh! You truly are the dearest of creatures, Miss Grantham,” the little minx exclaimed in delight. “I can scarcely wait for the moment when I shall be able to call you my sister.”

You can’t wish for that more heartily than I do, he thought to himself, even as Arabella impulsively kissed their cheek in turn, and bolted for the door. Pausing on the threshold, she turned around, the perfect picture of mischief. “I will be back in half an hour. I trust you both to behave within the bounds of propriety in the meantime.”

“I shall never be able to look her in the eye again,” Deb lamented as her sister-to-be finally took her leave, yet did nothing to resist him when he gathered her back in his arms.

“Nonsense,” Max declared, wasting no time in resuming his previous attentions. Deborah sighed, made a token protest, then willingly surrendered herself to his embrace.

3. Lord Ormskirk

If there was one thing Lord Ormskirk despised more than being worsted, it was having his fiascos bandied about; which was precisely why he took every pain to make a show of civility towards Ravenscar, regardless of how much losing the divine Deborah to such a man stung him.

After all, he reflected somewhat cynically, he could hardly measure up to a man of Ravenscar’s wealth, and fool enough to offer the lady matrimony; at least young Mablethorpe had his youthful impetuosity to excuse him, but a gentleman of Ravenscar’s age and position ought to have displayed more sense. Unfortunately, his own pride prevented him from calling Ravenscar out, as it was more than apparent that – for some reason beyond his understanding – the delightful creature’s affections were irrevocably set on his younger rival, and he cared too much about his reputation as a gentleman to attempt anything about it.

As it was, he resolved to withstand the sight of the newlywed couple flitting about the crowded ballroom with the closest approximation to a bored smile he could manage. Looking as radiant as ever, Deborah never once left Ravenscar’s side, and was conducting herself with the dignity and grace of a gentlewoman; still, as the evening unfolded, Lord Ormskirk became aware of a curious alteration to her countenance, so much that he reluctantly started to pay attention to whatever manner of things were passing between husband and wife.

Ravenscar was doing his utmost to – provoke her, there was no two ways about it. From where he was standing, he had a clear view of Ravenscar’s hand resting at the small of her back, his thumb tracing lazy patterns over the fabric of her dress. Ormskirk could hardly recall any previous occasion in which the beautiful creature had looked this flustered, and by such a simple action at that. Ah, to be young, and in love, he sighed, shook his head, and lazily strolled towards the bowl of punch.

It was much later into the evening when he clapped his eyes again on the pair; Ravenscar was distractedly sipping a glass of port when Deborah sidled up to him, leaning closer to whisper something in his ear that very nearly caused Ravenscar to choke on his wine. After that, he appeared to be making his excuses to the rest of his party, and all but dragged his wife out of the room. Deborah’s musical laugh rang out clearly as they passed him by, blind to everything except one another, and whatever his sentiments towards the gentleman, Lord Ormskirk was forced to acknowledge how Ravenscar’s infamous luck extended much farther than his horses and cards.

4. Deborah Ravenscar (née Grantham)

Deborah woke up to her husband gently shaking her shoulder, and had she not been so impossibly tired, she would have been mortified to find herself in the position of relying entirely upon him to hand her out of the carriage. She even caught Arabella casting a worried look in her direction before wishing them both a good night and retiring to her chambers.

“It would appear I am turning more and more into a frail old matron by the day,” she jested half-heartedly as he dismissed both his valet and her maid, and insisted upon helping her out of her evening gown himself. “I am exceedingly sorry you had to find out only after our marriage.”

“I would hardly have expected this sort of thing to happen before our marriage,” she heard him utter under his breath, glanced up sharply to meet the odd look he was directing at her through the mirror.

“Whatever can you mean, Max?”

She studied his reflection as he reached for the brush and started applying it to her locks. There was something peculiar about his countenance, something she couldn’t quite place, no matter how hard she strived to.

“Had either of us been blessed with sensible female relations reasonably knowledgeable about such matters, I would have suggested you to seek out their advice,” he sighed. “However, I would never ask you to submit to the indignity of broaching such a delicate issue with my stepmother, or – heaven forbid – my aunt.”

“You’re forgetting Aunt Lizzie,” she protested weakly, by now thoroughly puzzled by his oblique remarks. The truth was, she was so very tired, and his gentle ministrations had her well on her way to falling asleep where she was seated.

Max had the decency to look vaguely embarrassed at her objection. “As admirable as your aunt is, I fear she might not be as well informed upon such matters as we might wish, or she would very likely have enlightened you upon your entering the married state.”

As the meaning of his words finally dawned upon her, she was suddenly grateful for the support provided by her chair, and the pair of steadying hands around her shoulders. She was dimly aware of the clatter of the brush hitting the floor as the room spun around her in a most dizzying fashion, and the next thing she knew she was lying on the bed in their shared chamber, her concerned husband dabbing at her temples with a damp cloth.

“I am well,” she hastened to reassure him, yet she had to concede he was probably right in preventing her from sitting up. “I’m just – surprised, that’s all.”

He considered her in that intent manner he occasionally displayed in her presence. “You truly had no reason to suspect that might be the case?”

“I – I did not think too much of it, if I am honest,” she admitted, fighting the blush she felt creeping upon her cheeks. “We’ve been married for scarcely over two months, after all.”

A teasing smile danced on his face. “And we have been nothing but diligent in our marital duties, dearest.”

Her cheeks in flame, she gathered whatever little amount of energy she still possessed to swat at his arm. “Max!”

“No need to sound so scandalised, my darling wife. But I will have the family physician summoned in the morning, so that we might seek further confirmation of your condition.”

Caught between utter bewilderment and bone-deep tiredness, she made no protest when he helped her shift under the bedcovers, tucking her in as if she were little more than an infant. He pressed his lips to her brow and she let out a sigh of contentment, and was only pulled back from the brink of sleep by a sudden thought. “However did you come to be so knowledgeable about such delicate matters, husband?”

He let out a soft chuckle, his fingers coming up to lightly caress her cheek. “You forget I have the misfortune of possessing a sister almost seventeen years my junior. And you should be well enough acquainted with Olivia by now to know that anyone living under the same roof as my esteemed stepmother would have no choice but to be extensively informed about every single one of her ailments, imaginary or otherwise.”

Deborah snorted her laugh into the pillow, and let his soothing caress lull her into a deep, dreamless slumber.

5. Lady Bellingham

Upon entering the house in Grosvenor Square, Lady Bellingham was vaguely surprised to be shown into the library rather than the front parlour where her niece usually received her; still, she thought nothing of it, until the door opened again to reveal none other than her nephew-in-law, who bowed politely and explained that, as his wife was currently indisposed, she was begging her aunt’s permission to come and visit her sometime in the afternoon.

“Of course, if she wishes to,” Lady Bellingham replied somewhat hesitantly. “I wouldn’t want her to overexert herself, knowing that she is unwell.”

The amused look Mr Ravenscar addressed her did nothing to dispel her confusion. “She will be perfectly recovered by the afternoon, I can assure you, ma’am.”

What a strange, strange man, she thought to herself even as she thanked him and took her leave. The truth was, she had been finding Mr Ravenscar’s conduct exceedingly puzzling ever since he had decided to send back the mortgage and those dreadful bills, all of this after being kidnapped and put in a cellar no less. Infatuation or not, she would hardly have expected such a proud man to offer for her Deb, and yet there they were – her niece safely married to the richest man in town, and herself very comfortably set in a respectable house in Berkeley Square.

Mr Ravenscar’s extremely liberal settlement – as well as his generosity in taking upon himself the remainder of her debts – was enough for her ladyship to feel secure for the rest of her days, and not having to worry for her niece and nephew besides. Still, she couldn’t help but occasionally harbour some lingering worries with regards to the potentially disastrous effects of her niece’s headstrongness and quickness of temper, even more so when combined with similar faults of character in her husband.

As it was, Lady Bellingham spent the remainder of the morning in a state of uneasiness, her agitation increasing by the hour, and she was just about to succumb to one of her fits when Silas Wantage showed up announcing that ‘our Miss Deb – Mrs Ravenscar, I should say’ was at the door.

“Upon my word, Aunt Lizzie, you look dreadful,” Deborah greeted her cheerfully, pressing a kiss on each of her cheeks. “What can possibly have happened since I saw you two days ago?”

One quick glance was enough to reassure her ladyship that her niece was indeed in as good health as could be hoped for; unfortunately, it was also enough to make her aware of the glint of barely concealed mirth in her eye, one that long experience had taught her foretold nothing but trouble.

“What was all that nonsense about you being indisposed, that is what I would very much like to know,” Lady Bellingham said with feeling, reaching for her smelling salts. “You are never ill, Deb – and if you’re up to one of your horrible tricks, I must beg you to tell me everything at once, before my poor nerves give way.”

“Nothing of the sort, Aunt,” Deborah assured her with one of her mischievous grins. “Max and I were simply waiting to be sure, and for all that we’d rather delay a public announcement for as long as can be managed, we both agreed that you should be informed presently.”

Lady Bellingham blinked, and promptly dropped the smelling salts. “Deb! You’re telling me – oh, I do declare, I will positively die of joy – and so soon after the wedding, too!”

“I can’t say I expected it to happen this early,” Deborah laughed. “But as Max is utterly delighted at the prospect, I hardly have any complaints for myself.”

“Oh, but we should write to Kit, of course! And Lucius, too – I know you said you have your reasons for refusing to receive him, but he has been extremely kind to us all these years, and – ”

“All in due time, Aunt Lizzie,” her niece forestalled her, shaking her head in amusement. “As I believe I mentioned before, we would rather keep the news for ourselves a little longer.”

“Very well,” Lady Bellingham conceded at length with a long-suffering sigh. “I won’t pretend I understand the point of such secrecy – but as I see you’re determined, it’s not for me to question your reasons, or your husband’s for that matter.”

Deborah offered her a warm smile – she looked positively radiant, now that she thought about it – and gracefully stooped down to retrieve the smelling salts from behind the settee.

[go to part 2]

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground episode 35: The Big Melt

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The Plot (for want of a better word): Robotnik’s forces are trying to melt the Polar Ice Caps to cover Mobius in water! Can the Sonic Underground save the world, or will Sonic drown under the pressure?

Sorry. Had to do it.

Quick note. This episode has some serious dubbing issues, and whoever was on the localisation animation apparently spent the entire time writing ‘Queen Sauna’ and none on actually fixing the rest of the episode for English. This is the only episode I have noticed this on, but it’s very, very obvious that this was originally a French cartoon.

It’s a bit of an unusual start to this one, which implies it’s A Dramatic Episode (it’s really not). We open with some unknown Resistance Members watching Sleet and Dingo from afar, before cutting to Aleena’s monologue over the triplets relaxing on a beach, and immediately throwing THE SONG in to get it out of the way.

The Song: Fun in the Sun. Beach Boys with the serial numbers barely filed off and no bothers given.

IF YOU WANTED you could see an homage to the Sonic OVA, with Sonic watching over his sunglasses as Manic rides the waves on his hoverboard.

But then Sonia appears in a panic to report the what the Resistance saw. The boys complain (to the point of a proper tantrum from Sonic…), because Sonia is the driving force of the Sonic Underground once again. But of course she easily guilts them into it with a scowl and they head off, and we accept that sure was a five minute character spot before the plot can properly kick off.

This sets a theme for this episode.

Robotnik reveals his plot is to melt the ice caps so Mobius floods, specifically to annoy Sonic. And I mean… sure, Robotnik, you do you, but there’s short sighted and there’s SHORT SIGHTED. There is a reason I quietly headcanon him as going crazy from chaos radiation when he’s on Mobius.

Sonic��s whining about the cold is very annoying, and Sonia rightfully calls him out on it. She also mentions that it’s warmer than you would expect the ice caps to be (-20 Celsius, which is not really that uncommon for the Antarctic coast, which can get up to positive 10 degrees in the summer, but that’s a random trivia fact I just happen to know and honestly, self...). Manic, in another of his rare shows of insight, suggests that Robotnik is trying to melt the ice caps, and is promptly disregarded. This insight is not commented on later.

There’s a big long action scene where Sonia is split up from the boys, both carried away by melting ice on boiling waves. The boys are taken off into the ocean (egh, I’m sure they’ll be fine and this won’t feed Sonic’s aquaphobia at all, don’t even worry about it) while Sonia ends up stumbling across the Resistance hideout (and some Three Stooges knock offs that immediately recognise Sonia as royalty), and we can get this plot on the road. Kind of.

The penguins think Sonia is the reincarnation of their past Queen Sauna (-side look-) who is prophesised to return and make the Polar Ice Caps into a warm paradise. This will never be explained.

It’s that kind of an episode.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Manic are rescued from drowning in boiling water by Robotnik’s submarine surfacing underneath them, so they can learn what’s going on and get in trouble. But thankfully Sonic gets them out of it just as easy. And now he’s got enough momentum to run across water or something because he’ll be find moving around from here on out super easy. So that sure was a scene.

Now, the penguins are upset because ‘their queen’ is melting their city, but Sonia points out she’s going to need her brothers to stop the melt. She calls them with music (this is the third time this has worked in this series. I feel like it should have been a bit more of a common theme, but we take what we get) and after Manic points it out, they report for duty, and the penguins realise Sonia’s not their queen. Apparently their prophecy never mentioned siblings. -vague shrug-

Seriously. This episode has SUCH a weird rhythm. There are all these tiny scenes, almost like someone was storyboarding cool visuals and then added the script afterward. The weirdly elongated action scene earlier was one, and then they have this random three second scene of the triplets and penguins sliding down into the Resistance base, and then this joke about Sonic drilling twenty-something holes through walls to find Robotnik’s machine (the joke is him insisting his sense of direction is perfect, which… one could make something of that, and how it shouldn’t be a joke because this is a guy who can and has jogged around the world in hours and rarely seems to get lost)(but one will not, because one has better things to make too much of)(why one is speaking like this, one does not know), and then they have a scene where Sonic comes back, reports many lasers so they can wonder what they’re going to do, only for him to immediately pop back in and take out the lasers. I mean… it’s just… Did you not have enough script for the episode or something?? Throw a few more scenes of Sonia getting pampered, or explain why the penguins have a statue of her lookalike, something! I feel like I can't settle into any of these scenes!

They end the conflict with an equally weirdly timed thing, Sonic advising Sleet and Dingo they should run while Sonia and Manic set explosives, and then there’s a montage as they escape and tell Robotnik and… it’s really, really weird.

Like, not even the usual weird, it’s just… weirdly artistic for this series? It's odd.

This episode is ODD.

But everyone gets out, and now Sonia, Manic, and the penguins are relaxing in the warm water, and they end the episode by teasing Sonic about his aquaphobia.

Cool. Cool, cool, cool.

You guys did such a good job of dealing with it before, but cool…

So… so, sometimes, shows do something odd, and you’re like… there was definitely something going on behind the scenes here that caused this to be created. Sometimes it’s a poorly disguised pilot, sometimes it’s one of the actors trying their hand at directing or writing or arthouse theatre. Sometimes you wonder if maybe this episode was never supposed to be released in English but they needed an extra episode for some reason…

Not sure if that’s what was going on here, but WOW am I certain SOMETHING was going on with this episode and I do not care enough to find out what.

Onto the next.

[tomreview]

A long-lasting email follow-up series promoting today's

No mystery procuring a day to day existence maintaining (or even extraordinary) pay online is past trying for the vast majority. There is so much to learn, practice, and master.

The vast majority never arrive at their fantasies along these lines.

It's really sad because the secret to success is quite straightforward. Sadly, the vast majority never learn it, nor are they given the instruments with which to rapidly succeed.

Again, it's easy to succeed online.

All you truly need are...

An Incredible lead catch pipe...

A durable email follow-up series advancing the present most reasonable and productive proposals for you day in and day out, even while you rest, and...

A triumphant traffic procedure that contantly sends new possibilities into your pipe.

That is all there is to it!

With these three components set up, you can procure a fortune on the web.

Furthermore, That is Where I Come In!

My name is Lee Murray, and today I'd like to share my DFY funnel, email, and traffic strategies with you in order to improve your marketing results.

I know that once you begin utilizing my DFY messages and preparing, you'll promptly understand that you're at last on the correct way to enduring, groundbreaking outcomes.

Today, old buddy, it can all change for you!

Above all, How about we Talk...

I realize you've been attempting to obtain the sorts of results you'd truly prefer to get on the web. It's intense stuff. Dissimilar to a task, you have no manager guiding you, nor do you have a reliable check to anticipate in the event that you just "put in the hours."

You could have put in a lot of time, and you probably have, but there is nothing to show for it.

This genuinely makes me extremely upset.

However, if you haven't been able to make a significant amount of money online up to this point, it isn't really your fault. This is true, despite the fact that it is frequently stated. Why? Gurus like to make things more complicated.

This is the reason such countless sparkly articles hit the market every single day. People believe you should accept that the "old ways" of accomplishing things don't work, and that the "dependable" approach is obsolete. Therefore, they promote the idea of "what's hot now" to you.

Spoiler... It's dependably hogwash.

Yet, it's the reason each deal page will incorporate list items like...

No paid traffic

No composing articles

No publishing content to a blog

No recordings

No virtual entertainment

No starting items

No rundown building

No email advertising

No item surveys

All in all, No Stuff That Works!

This would be similar to hearing someone instruct you on how to run a restaurant with no customers, kitchen, staff, location, or food—only "Push-Button Magic," and no baking, frying, boiling, or broiling.

This press button stuff is bizarre, complex, and inadequate... in any case, it's constantly camouflaged/showcased as "fast and simple."

"Procure $342.36 a Day In Only 30 Seconds By Taking advantage of a 2 Billion Man Pool of FREE Purchaser Traffic from More than 100 Sources." Sound familiar?

Want to understand what this forever is?

It's always a cheap page builder that comes with 100 (often obscure) social media buttons to spam your page with and some random, poor products to promote.

Each... single... time.

Only that is provided. And you won't get any good results if you don't already have a large, devoted following on each and every one of those social media platforms. Even if you have a large following, people won't trust you or buy from you if you just send them spam.

It just doesn't work like this!

These individuals are "selling you the fantasy," my companion. And it hurts you.

You continue wasting your time, accusing yourself, and turning out to be progressively baffled.

This causes panic and despair, which are never good for you.

What's more, once more, it makes me extremely upset to see individuals succumb to this stuff, particularly when all they're doing is purchasing, attempting, and falling endlessly further behind throughout everyday life.

That is the reason I just suggest doing stuff that works. Things like: Yes, paid traffic, writing articles, Yes, blogging, Yes, videos, Yes, social media, Yes, product launches, Yes, list building, Yes, email marketing, Yes, product reviews

Because of this, nobody will tell you the truth. That is the reason individuals continue to sell you items that guarantee easy for the time being wealth. Allow me to say that once more... THEY Continue To sell YOU Items that guarantee easy for the time being wealth.

Allow me to pose you an inquiry...

Does making/selling items sound like easy for the time being wealth?

It's not. Work is hard. These individuals are working really hard to sell you something expected to be easy...

However, why? For what reason would they say they are doing that? Instead, why don't they just do the "effortless" things?

Why are they still attempting to break down the door if they have the keys to the kingdom?

Simply because it's all nonsense!

All things considered, despite the fact that what truly takes care of business requires exertion, it's really not anywhere close to

as overwhelming as it might appear to be on a superficial level. By no stretch of the imagination. At all.

Let me break it down for you.

You will Adore this!

[shyvioletlife]

Hi I’m super upsetti and in my emotions right now so I’m gonna actually use tumblr as a personal blog for once

Situation: my friend/roommate and I have been living together for three years. Two of those were with other people who moved out last year and my friend and I decided to stay in the same house and continue living together. At the time of resigning the lease, they had a steady job and had been at said job for nearly a year, and were looking into other jobs down the line to upgrade to while getting their masters

Shortly after we resigned the lease, they had a series of really good interviews for a new job and were so hopeful about it that they decided (in a decision I was informed about only after it was already said and done) to put in their two weeks with the current job before even getting hired

Spoiler alert:they never got hired at that job

Suddenly instead of having some split on the rent, I was forced to take on the entire rent ($2,020 plus bills, mind you) every month. That’s my entire income. It’s only thanks to some inheritance that I didn’t need to worry about being catapulted into living paycheck to paycheck but every month I would be drained of more money as every single cent I earned went just to rent and bills, and any money I spent on top of that immediately proceeded to skim more money out of my savings.

It took five months for them to get hired again, and then another month after that before they were even put on the schedule to start working (the place was going down the drain and had a leadership crisis so nobody was communicating, supposedly) and they miraculously also got hired at a second place on their college campus but I guess they requested(??) that job not start until the next semester(????).

Even after getting hired they proceeded to then call out at least once a week or every other week. All of the money they made went immediately to catching up with and paying off all of their own stuff, which is very understandable when you’ve been unemployed for a while, but is still exhausting when I’m still not seeing a cent of my paychecks since I’m too busy covering their ass on all the shared bills and rent.

Around this time we did finally manage to get some other roommates who were good for helping on the rent and did so promptly, so thankfully at least some of the load was relieved.

Even so, now we are all moving out and yet another problem has arisen as we run down to the wire. The two who moved in later have fully moved out and cleaned up after themselves, and are volunteering to come in and help with the remaining cleaning. I split up my move into two major parts of furniture first, then possessions a couple weeks later, so I’m about to enter the final drive to move said possessions and do a full house clean in the next couple days

Roomie one rushed their move because they didn’t want to be the last one in the house and did not manage to secure enough storage space with their limited funds, and so has now ended up leaving a whole bunch of their possessions behind. Supposedly they can come up on the very last day to do the last of the cleaning, but they can’t take any more of their possessions and is essentially discarding them for either the landlord or me to take care of

Extra fun fact I haven’t yet mentioned: I’m the only one with any money in the security deposit anymore, and if the landlords decide to keep the whole thing I’m the only one who stands to lose all of those $2000 dollars. I have no guarantee I’ll get any of it back in the first place, because I’ve never moved out of a lease under this company before, but I can’t help but be pissed off that my roommate is just abandoning the rest of the possessions for me to deal with and now I have to take them with me or discard them myself if I want to prevent further fees from the landlords.

Anyway I’m exhausted and sick and tired of dealing with this whole situation. There’s plenty of nuance to their side of the story I haven’t written down, but as the person who knows and understands that nuance I can’t help but feel mislead and lied to that someone who was supposed to be able to meet me as an equal and a friend in this living situation essentially took advantage of my kindness and loyalty to the people I care about to keep screwing me over. They say they feel terrible and that they were trying really hard to remedy their joblessness and they they’ll pay me back for all the money I had to fork over to cover them but I’ve always been an actions speak louder than words type of person and so far their actions have done nothing but screw me over

[mysteriesofmarcy]

Mystery Monday #42: New Season, New Possibilities

So, I actually thought of this one shortly after posting last week's post. It would have fit perfectly into last week because that day was the vernal equinox, aka the first official day of spring.

So I thought I'd come up with some episode ideas for what would happen if Matt ever decided to make a new season.

First of all, any new season would probably either be a prequel or a sequel. Let's start with a prequel.

Some episodes might focus on Anne, Sasha and Marcy's antics. Marcy has ideas of what she wants to do, but these are usually overruled by Sasha, who pressures Anne and Marcy into causing trouble. Also, Marcy notices at some point that "what Sasha wants to do" is never at home, leading her to speculate about her friend's family life.

This continues until one day when Anne and Marcy FINALLY convince Sasha to have a sleepover at her house (previously, Sasha had decided which of the two of them would host). The three go to her house after school. After walking past the baby's room (Sasha HAD mentioned having a little brother), they get to Sasha's own room, which is trashed. Her dad acts almost as a servant, frantically trying to suit his daughter's every whim. This leaves Anne and Marcy with more questions than answers. Anne wonders "Well why doesn't she ever want to go home if this is how her dad treats her?" And Marcy wonders "Why DOES her dad treat her like this? And where is her mom?" (Marcy and Anne only ask these questions to themselves, by the way, never to Sasha or anyone else.) Later on, Sasha hears yelling coming from elsewhere in the house and responds by turning up the music. The next morning, Marcy's parents chew her out for going out without permission.

Or, we might focus on daily life in Wartwood. In this episode, Polly tries to cause trouble all over town, all day long, to varying degrees of success. Meanwhile, Sprig sees one of the giant insects that Amphibia is known for and pretends to fight it off to impress some other kids, only for Ivy to jump in and ambush the bug, and then him. Hop Pop tends to the vegetables and gets frustrated when the kids aren't there to help him. The episode ends with the family all sitting together on their back porch, spitting across the water.

Other episodes might focus on Toad Tower, before and after Sasha's arrival. Grime is basically Hopper from A Bug's Life, in that he forces a different species to pay his species so that they can continue their entire way of life, which is to steal from the species below them.

Grime has trouble keeping his troops in line with his rough exterior, but they don't leave because -- well -- the tower is all they know. There is contact and coordination with the other towers, in attempts to keep the frogs in line. Perhaps the Hasselback Gang makes an appearance of some kind.

Then one day, a creature appears in the swamp and the toads take it in for questioning. They decide to keep it in jail until it talks.

And still other episodes might focus on life in Newtopia, either in the city or at the palace. These episode also might show before and after Marcy got there. The newts live their lives much like if they were in a human city; they work, play, drive, and live entirely within the city walls. (They kinda have to, as the city is surrounded by a moat -- though then again, they are newts, so aquatics is hardly a barrier to them.)

The castle has two residents -- well, two newt residents, anyway. The king lives a life of solitude, passing the time by reading, playing flipwart, and spreading propaganda. Lady Olivia is the closest he has to a friend, and their relationship is strained by his constant escapes to seeming solitude (really chats with The Core).

Then one day, a creature appears just inside the city gates, at the top of the palace steps, and promptly tumbles down the stairs. The king, feeling lonely, decides it will make an excellent pet. And the rest is history.

We will continue this series next time.

[walmart-the-official]

Alrighty, finally getting around to doing this. William Afton is the main antagonist of the game series Five Nights at Freddy’s (also the movie but that’s another can of worms), despite the fact that he’s never a direct threat while “alive” (the alive part is very important, I’ll get to it later). He’s also a tumblr sexyman despite canonically looking like this

(fig. 1) his graphic novel design is not better but I do want to share my least favorite image of him from there

(fig. 2) At least he looks good in the fanart?

Before getting a confirmed named, around 2016, he was known as the Purple Guy. His fanon name was Vincent and he was obsessed with toast due to his badge looking like a piece of toast (see fig. 1 FNaF 2)

He opened Fredbear’s family diner alongside Henry Emily, iirc in 1983. He also has three kids and no one knows literally anything about his wife or if he even ever had one (unless you believe her to be represented by Clara in the in-game series The Immortal and the Restless). William Afton is also an entirely shitty father! In some fanon you’ll see him being a good father, even I like to write aus where he is, however, if we go purely on canon he’s just an all around piece of shit.

He hits Elizabeth (his daughter) at least once in the books and she barely exists in the entire canon (I know I said I was going to stick to the games but the books have most of the lore) except as his favorite. He’s also neglectful to the point where one of his sons accidentally killed the other. Oh yes, and the one that died? He put a speaker and camera in his favorite stuffed toy to spy on him and use the bear to talk to him and instill fear and doubt. Then the other son he indirectly killed but we’re not quite to that part yet. Nearly forgot about one more thing in the books, he used a nightmare gas to intentionally experiment on his kids and give them nightmares!

So, after the one son gets killed (Crying Child), William goes a bit crazy and decides to murder Henry’s daughter, Charlie Emily! After that he murders a few more kids (at least five) and stuffs them in animatronic suits which they end up possessing and then they kill him but we’re not there yet

Somewhere between child murder, William decides to build the Funtime animatronics. There are four of them, but the only relevant one is Circus Baby (ignore the smaller animatronics those are biddy babs)

(fig. 3) This is a robot he told Elizabeth not to go near but also told her that it was made just for her and that it can make ice cream. But of course, Elizabeth being a small child goes up to Circus Baby and promptly gets killed because William made the Funtimes to murder MORE children because when kids die it produces Remnant which no one really knows what it does and it’s a complicated and weird road to go down right now. But basically he’s experimenting with it

This is already super long so I’m just going to rush through the rest of the explanation and then lmk if you have anymore questions. William goes back to one of the multiple Freddy’s restaurants and gets killed in the Spring Bonnie suit (fig. 2 once more) rots in a back room for thirty years, FNaF 3 happens and he tries to kill the player after being brought into a horror exhibit. Burns down. He returns as Scraptrap in FNaF 6, tries to kill the player again, THAT place burns down, and then one of the kids he killed traps him in hell (play through this experience Ultimate Custom Night!) and that’s the end of William Afton, right?

Of course not. Apparently Remnant can also make a digital copy of people with their memories and all and so now we have Glitchtrap as the main villain for a few games taking over a couple brains and doing a bit of murder but he’s probably gone now. There was also one where there was Burntrap which might’ve also been him but that might’ve been retconned and anyway the Mimic the main villain now

Sorry this took forever I completely forgot and then had to keep taking breaks and saving it as a draft hopefully it makes sense, but like I said, ask me if you have any questions

Still don’t know what he has to do with cannibalism though tbh

Hmm cannibalism

[writeouswriter]

Bitches* be like “this is a story about a guy who can see ghosts, you like ghosts, right? You like fairly grounded low level contemporary fantasy about psychic powers, right?” and then hit you with a giant alien mind controlling bug man and demon pig hybrid cavemen from the future.

*Dean Koontz, Dean Koontz is bitches

[just-a-slytherpuff]

Harry Potter and the Philosophy of Nice and Good

This thought wouldn’t leave me alone so please join me on this journey as I examine the themes of Nice and Good in relation to Snape and Hagrid. I’ll be looking at the text in Philosopher’s Stone specifically but this is not unique to book 1.

TL;DR Hagrid is Nice but not Good, Snape is Good but not Nice

We can all agree that Hagrid is Nice; he is kind, generous, and caring to a fault. In his very first scene, he asks to be allowed to wish Harry goodbye, kisses him on the head, and promptly bursts into tears at the fact that the Potters are dead and Harry is left orphaned. He is a man full of love and affection who never forgot the little boy he had to leave behind, to the point that on their second meeting, on Harry’s birthday, he even brings the boy a cake to celebrate. He’s clearly happy to see Harry again and excited to be the one to properly bring him into the magical world. 

From this meeting on, Hagrid represents a major source of kindness to Harry; he defends him from his uncle, introduces him to magic, and happily answers his many questions. He’s also responsible for two of Harry’s most treasured gifts: Hedwig and the photo album of his parents.

Throughout book 1 and the series as a whole, he makes it a point to invite Harry and his friends over for tea, regularly looking in on him and checking on his well being. It’s easy to see that Hagrid could be seen as a sort of father-figure or older brother-figure to Harry who is starved for this sort of positive attention.

However, while his actions show that Hagrid is Nice, he is not in fact Good.

When Harry meets Hagrid properly for the first time, it is because the half-giant has just forcibly broken into the shack that Harry and the Dursleys are currently staying at. 

At midnight.

While everyone else was asleep.

He then proceeds to politely invite himself in as though this is normal, makes himself at home, insults his “hosts” and asserts his right to be there despite being demanded to leave because a “ruddy muggle” like Vernon can’t tell him what to do. He uses both his force and his magic to terrify and cow the Dursleys into letting him do as he pleases and, on top of that, hexes Dudley. This leaves him with a permanent pig’s tail which ends up needing to be surgically removed because the magic never fades, even over a month later. Hagrid even admits that he had been trying to turn the boy into a full pig, not just give him the tail, implying that if his magic had succeeded, Dudley could have been stuck in pig form for the rest of his life unless someone had reversed the magic.

And what did 11 year old Dudley do to deserve this terrifying attack from a 63 year old man?

Nothing. 

As far as Hagrid’s temper is concerned, Dudley’s disfigurement is the punishment Vernon deserves for insulting Albus Dumbledore. While much of Hagrid’s anger towards the elder Dursleys is certainly justified, it doesn’t change the fact that he attacked a child for something his father did. And despite all this, Hagrid is framed as a hero in this scene; he is the one to bring truth and magic to Harry’s life, he is the one to defend the sacrifice of his parents, he is the one to rescue Harry from his life of abuse. 

Until he sends him right back. 

Bear with me.

After this assault on their son, the Dursleys flee to the safety of the other room while Harry and Hagrid go to sleep. In the morning, Hagrid does not bother asking for permission and effectively kidnaps Harry as they take the only boat on the island to get to shore, leaving the Dursleys stranded. He brings Harry to Diagon Alley to collect his money and school supplies then almost immediately abandons his responsibility to supervise the boy’s shopping trip because he needs a stiff drink after his roller-coaster ride of a Gringotts trip. 

On their reunion, Hagrid goes on to disparage half of the school, calling Hufflepuff “a lot o’ duffers” and claiming that “there’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin”. This is the first Harry has heard of the house system and already he is being fed bias and prejudice that Hufflepuffs are losers and Slytherins are evil. And not by just anyone, no, but by an employee of the school, an act that seems highly unprofessional. 

He then proceeds to buy Harry a pet, his beloved Hedwig, without his guardians’ permission. This is a problem because, as previously stated, Hagrid will soon be sending Harry back to his “loving” relatives who likely only accept having a raptor in their house out of fear of further retribution. Hell, they likely only accept having Harry back in their house out of fear of further retribution. It’s honestly a miracle that the fear held long enough for him to be left alone the rest of the summer. Of course, Hagrid doesn’t bother bringing the boy all the way home, he simply leaves him on a train that is heading in the right direction and then disappears. Harry has just turned 11 and is definitely not old enough to be left unaccompanied in this way when it is certain he has never made a trip like this alone before. And all this is assuming that Hagrid had any way of knowing that the Dursleys would even make it home before Harry’s arrival, especially since Hagrid was the one to leave them stranded on that island. Luckily, Hagrid’s many attacks on the Dursleys doesn't lead to them resentfully taking their anger out on Harry and the boy manages to survive the summer.

While at school, Hagrid manages to go most of the year without causing any noticeable harm (other than openly insulting one of his coworkers in front of students) until one day he finds himself in possession of a dragon egg. An undoubtedly black market dragon egg at that, given that owning a dragon is highly illegal. But Hagrid does not care for the laws of the land because he has always wanted a dragon of his own and the looming threat of legal consequence is no match for his enthusiasm. Neither is the fact that his hut is too small to support a dragon longer than a few weeks and also made of wood. Nor the imminent danger a baby dragon poses to his safety and that of the rest of the school should the little dragon manage to get loose and wreak havoc, since it quickly becomes clear that Hagrid is not equipped to raise a baby dragon, though he tries to deny it to the very end. 

Harry and his friends are even roped into helping with the dangerous task of assisting Hagrid raise the dragon which leads to Ron being bitten, something Hagrid does nothing to help with and instead chastises him and implies it’s his own fault he was bitten. Hagrid’s behavior towards the dragon’s actions is highly reminiscent of pet owners who refuse to take responsibility for the damages they cause because they are firm in their belief that their precious baby can do no harm. It also brings to mind the sort of exotic pet owner who will insist that their large predator is fine living in a house.

And although it is highly assumed that Malfoy is aware of the dragon and waiting for the right moment to ruin Hagrid’s life, Hagrid still refuses to come clean to any responsible adult and instead, it is up to three first-year students to fix the dangerous mistakes of their 64 year old friend. The solution they come up with is taking the dragon to the tallest tower at midnight to hand it off to some friends of Ron’s brother. This plan gets complicated due to the fact that Ron’s bite leads to him being hospitalized, which inadvertently leads to Malfoy finding out the timeline and trying to sabotage it. But these children are too worried about their 64 year old friend getting into trouble so they show up at his hut at the assigned time (the fact that in the future, Hagrid will chastise them for being out after curfew is the height of hypocrisy), collect the dragon, bring it to the highest tower just in time, and promptly forget the invisibility cloak which causes them to be discovered.

Harry and Hermione, along with Neville who was caught out trying to warn them, get detention and lose 50 points each for Gryffindor, dropping the house into last place and causing 3/4 of the school to ostracize them for “ruining their chance at having someone other than Slytherin win the cup this year”. And still, Hagrid stays silent as these children are bullied for his refusal to be responsible. When their detention comes around, Malfoy is upset and reluctant to enter the Forbidden Forest because it could be dangerous and Hagrid has the nerve to tell him he deserved it for being out of bed, the exact same thing Harry and Hermione were punished for while trying to help him. Because it’s fine for kids to be out of bed to help a grown man old enough to be their grandfather smuggle a highly illegal dragon out of a castle but it’s not okay to try and expose said illegal activity. And of course, because this is a punishment, Hagrid has no problem sending Malfoy off into the woods alone with nothing but another first year and a cowardly dog for company. 

Twice.

In the same forest that students are banned from entering because it could be dangerous.

Hagrid is certainly a Nice and lovable character, but he is not actually Good.

Conversely, we can all agree that Snape is not Nice. Before we even meet him properly, Snape has the sort of reputation for being strict and unfair that could potentially be passed off as children thinking the worst of anyone who hands out punishment and expectations with a scowl on their face. He makes no attempt to soften himself for his students and his joy is most often described as being at the expense of others. Snape is clearly not a happy person and has no problems sharing this fact with anyone who comes across him. And while we never see how he interacts with his students in other classes, we know that he has no problem singling out students if he feels it is justified (or perhaps necessary).

During Harry’s first potions lesson, Snape calls attention to Harry’s celebrity status in a mocking way and then shortly after tries to put him on the spot by asking several potions questions that Harry is unable to answer. Snape relishes in his inability to answer, claiming that “fame clearly isn’t everything” and implying that Harry made no effort to read the material before attending class. Unless these quiz answers are all within the first few pages of the textbook, it is highly unfair of Snape to imply anything negative about Harry’s intelligence or diligence, especially as this is the first week of school and the first potions lesson.

His final cruelty of the scene comes when Neville and Dean’s potion explodes, causing Neville to need to go to the infirmary. Snape is quick to turn to Harry and accuse him of trying to make himself look better by letting others fail, hypocritical of course since in the future he will punish students for trying to help each other. And when Harry goes to defend himself and call Snape out on his unfair behavior, Ron immediately holds him back knowing it is futile because Snape is well known for being nasty.

We learn in the future that Snape’s animosity towards Harry largely stems from the fact that he is James Potter’s son. And while we eventually find out that much of this anger towards the elder Potter is justified, it doesn’t change the fact that he was nasty and mean to a child for something his father did.

However, while Snape’s attitude towards others shows that he is certainly not Nice, he does in fact show himself to be Good.

Despite being assumed to be the villain of book 1 for his unfair attitude, Snape is eventually discovered to be trying to save everyone throughout the year. When Quirrel runs in announcing the troll has invaded the school, Snape immediately runs to the third floor corridor, assuming the troll is a distraction to steal the precious Philosopher’s Stone. Unfortunately for Snape, he is met with Fluffy who then tries to take a bite out of his leg and leaves him injured enough to be seen limping several days later. Despite this pain, the sound of a commotion and students being in potential danger is enough motivation for Snape to run back fast enough to arrive at the girl’s loo just after McGonagall does. He even immediately stalks over to the troll to make sure the creature will not be getting up again any time soon.

This is also not the only time that Snape will find himself injured trying to protect others. During the first quidditch match, Harry finds that his broom is moving without his permission. This soon escalates to trying to buck him off entirely, a dangerous act considering how high up he is at the time. When Hermione takes the binoculars from Hagrid, she sees Snape staring directly at Harry while moving his lips and assumes he is the one responsible for the curse. She runs to the rescue by setting the bottom of his robes on fire in the hopes of breaking his concentration. Unfortunately for her, she was entirely wrong in her assumptions and instead ruined the concentration of the person who was actively trying to save Harry from the curse being inflicted on his broom. Lucky for her, she also happened to knock over Quirrel, who was the actual culprit, saving Harry from taking a spectacular dive.

Of course, his near miss at saving Harry’s life means that Snape decides to be more proactive next time, going so far as to be the referee in the next Gryffindor match. The Gryffindor team is so grateful that someone is looking out for their little first year seeker that George hits a bludger directly at Snape. 

Once the match is over with Gryffindor victorious, Harry spots Snape going into the forest and, assuming he’s doing something villainous, goes to spy on him. He catches bits and pieces of a conversation with Quirrel and assumes that Snape is threatening the poor, unassuming professor into helping him get the Philosopher’s Stone. However, while it turns out that Snape was indeed trying to intimidate and threaten Quirrell, it was not for Snape’s own gain but instead to protect the Stone. A brave act, considering the presumed culprit going after the Stone is supposedly doing it on Voldemort’s orders and his interference could have hindered his safety as a spy.

Beyond all this, Snape is regularly seen patrolling the halls after dark. And while this may seem like a negative to any who thinks wandering around after dark is great fun, Snape is actually spending a lot of time running around making sure no foolhardy child is dying in an empty corridor because they refused to understand that curfew rules are imposed as a safety measure. For a man who is so clearly unhappy with the world and the people around him, he sure does spend a lot of time and effort making sure everyone is safe. So while Snape is certainly not Nice, he is definitely Good.