#why can't everyone move here and just make it ez for me ;'(

[breakerbeam]

doing an art dump on instagram made me realize how much i Hate their photo cropping!!! half the things i post have to be cut in half or adjusted out of the app to fit.. i plan to go forward posting most of my stuff on here and then updating sometimes on there but it just sucks because each app has things that i like and dislike and neither is really ideal

[newtthetranswriter]

Soulmates? Soulmates Pt. 8

Word count: 2400

Summary: It’s the final stretch up the Cursed Caldera, will the egg be saved or will the journey have been for nothing.

Warnings: none for this chapter i think, but let me know if I missed any

A/n: Hello, welcome to part 8. There isn’t any Soren content in this chapter but trust that there will be a tone in the next couple. Anyways I want to thank you all for reading and I hope you are enjoying it. Alright with that out of the way, enjoy and remember to hydrate or diedrate.

Part 1 - Series Masterlist

    I watched as Callum, Rayla, and Ellis looked at Ezran in disbelief. It made sense because to them there had to be a miracle healer on the cursed caldera, otherwise how would Ava be there. But I knew the truth and it seemed like now Ezran did as well.

    “There is no miracle healer. I’m Sorry.” Ezran said again, setting Bait on the ground while taking off his back pack.

    “Stop being mysterious. If you’re gonna make a claim like that, you owe everyone an explanation.” Callum said, clearly not in the mood for what he would deem to be Ezran’s childish behavior.

    While holding his backpack Ezran nodded. “Okay. Ava told me-” He began to explain but was cut off by Callum groaning.

    “Ugh, here we go!” Callum said. He never believed Ezran could speak to animals.

    “No, it’s true!” Ezran defended. “I can understand animals.” He explained clueing in Rayla and Ellis who looked confused by the brothers’ argument.

    The girls and I watched as Callum went on a mini rant about asking for Bait’s opinion or finding a squirrel. Seeing the defeated look on Ezran’s face I moved to kneel next to him and the egg.

    “Callum, you should really be more trusting of Ez. Just because on time it caused you to get wet for no reason, does not mean he’s lying about his gift.” I said earning an eye roll from the mage. “I trust you Ez.” I placed my hand on Ezran’s shoulder, earning a gentle smile from the boy.

    When the rest of the group didn’t make any acknowledgement of believing him, Ezran tried to explain again. “I've always been different. It's hard for me to make friends with other kids. I just feel like I don't fit in.” He said, earning a sympathetic smile from Rayla.

    “That’s okay. Fitting in is boring anyway.” Rayla said as she kneeled close to Ezran as well.

    He smiled at her understanding before continuing. “But with animals? Somehow, I have this connection. And a few years ago, I realized I could understand what they were saying.” Ezran finished while scratching Baits head.

    I watched as Callum sighed before once again voicing his disbelief. “Can you believe this?” He asked Rayla.

    “Why would he lie?” She asked confused as to what Ezran could possibly gain from lying about such a harmless thing.

    “Because he's a kid? Because it's fun? Because he's afraid to go up the mountain?” Callum exclaimed.

    “I’m not afraid!” Ezran defended himself.

    Callum rolled his eyes. “Come on, Ez, tell the truth.” He said, sounding upset. “The first time he did this, I asked him to prove it, so Ezran said that a group of raccoons had told him there was a treasure hidden behind a waterfall.” He began explaining what happened the first time Ezran talked about speaking to animals. “But when I went through the waterfall, did I find a treasure?” Callum asked with a pointed look at Ezran.

     Ezran bowed his head. “No.” He answered sadly.

     “But did my underwear get soaked?” Callum asked.

     “Yes.” Ezran answered.

     Callum smiled slightly triumphantly. “Case closed.” He said matter of factly. 

     Ezran looked up and began defending himself again. “The raccoons were being mischievous. I have since learned you cannot trust raccoons.” He explained that raccoons live up to their playful image.

    “This is ridiculous! See, this is why you can't make friends.” Callum shouted.

    Surprised by his outburst I stood up, moving to stand between my brothers. “Callum! Back off.” Rayla said, coming to Ezran’s defence before I could.

    “Do you believe me, Rayla?” Ezran asked, sounding hopeful.

    I stepped back waiting to see if Rayla would believe Ezran or brush him off like most people did. “Does it matter?” She asked in return, causing the prince to deflate slightly at the lack of trust his friend was giving him.

   Rested my hand on Ezran’s head to offer my silent support as Ellis started talking. “I believe you, Ez. But I also know the miracle healer is real.” She said hugging Ava. “Because I have my Ava.”

   “I already said this but I know you’re telling the truth Ez. We’ll figure it out I promise.” I said helping him stand and position his bag back on his shoulders. 

   Not wanting to waste time, Callum declared we were moving forward. I decided to stay closer to the back of the group. I never liked it when my brothers fought and seeing Callum be so harsh with Ezran really upset me. I just needed some time to clear my head.

   As we got closer to the tree that Ellis had pointed out, the forest got spookier. Our path was lined with spider webs and in the distance there was an ominous moaning sound. After sending Rayla to check it out and her returning looking terrified, we pushed further up the mountain.

   Shortly after we began cutting through the webs that blocked our path, we encountered the creature that seemingly created the webs. A giant purple and green spider. And even though I tried to tell them all it was an illusion after Callum’s lightning spell made it vanish, the group remained terrified. They only relaxed and accepted that it was fake after Ezran explained that it didn’t make noise like a spider and began screaming at it.

   With the spider and Callum’s jerkface dance out of the way, we finally reached the tree where Ellis and Ava presumably met this miracle healer.

    “So, now what? Do we just Uh, Miracle Healer? Hello! We're here!” Callum shouted as he spun around inside the hollow tree.

    Ellis shrugged. “I don’t know. I just showed up, then she showed up.” She explained.

    “Yeah, I don’t see why that shouldn’t work.” I said, rolling my eyes at the idea of the miracle healer once again. 

      After a few seconds, a light began to glow from outside of the tree. “Actually, I think it is working.” Rayla said as she stepped out of the tree looking up at the sky. 

      We all watched as a large black and blue bird flew down from the sky. After it landed, it bowed its head and let its rider off. No longer obscured by the bird's head or the bright glow of the moon, I immediately recognised the ‘miracle healer’. Standing next to the moon phoenix, was none other than Lujanne.

      “Oh, no! Ez and Y/n were right about everything.” Rayla said, connecting the dots after seeing the Moonshadow elf. “That's no miracle healer. She's a fake.” Rayla announced.

     Callum looked confused for a second. “What? How do you know?” He asked, not having the knowledge to understand what his elf friend was saying.

     “Like I said earlier, she’s an illusionist. A moon mage.” I answered his question. 

     Rayla nodded. “She can’t heal anything.” She said in agreement. After she finished she glanced at me apologetically, as if to say sorry for not believing me earlier.

     “It's true. I am no healer. I am Lujanne. Guardian of the Moon Nexus.” Lujanne introduced herself to the group.

      Rayla groaned. “Ugh, I'm such an idiot, I should have figured it out. None of those monsters were real, they were all illusions.” She explained to the group. “Wait, You knew they were illusions. Why didn’t you say anything about it instead of letting us fight those things?” Rayla asked, turning to look at me.

      “Would you guys have listened to me if I did?” I asked with a shrug. “Plus, it was quite amusing to watch you all freak out like that.” I said with a smile.

      Lujanne smiled at our conversation before speaking again. “But yes they were all illusions. They were just to scare you. That's how I protect the Nexus.” She explained.

      It was Ellis’s turn to be confused by the situation. “But I don't understand. If you're not a healer, how did you save Ava's leg?” She asked the mage, not understanding how it was possible.

      She approached Ava before kneeling down and explaining how she gave Ava an illusion to make humans accept her. “She never needed that fourth leg to be happy. Everyone else did.” Lujanne finished her explanation by removing the moon stone collar, lifting the illusion. Everyone looked amazed as Ava stood strong on only three legs, not hindered in the slightest by her missing limb. 

     “But the help we need is real.” Ezran said approaching Lujanne. “An illusion won’t help us.” He finished opening his back pack to reveal the almost completely dark dragon egg.

     Lujanne gasped in surprise. “It's the egg of the Dragon Prince. It was stolen, but we saved it.” Rayla began to explain. “I mean, we were trying to save it and return it to its mother. But there was a terrible accident. You see, I -” As she was about to tell the story of how it was dropped through the ice, Lujanne raised her hand, silencing the younger elf.

     “Its life is fading quickly.” She announced placing her hand close to the egg. “The only chance of saving it now would be to hatch it. But that won't be possible. Sky dragons can only be born in the eye of a storm.” Lujanne explained looking at the sky sadly.

     We all looked up as well. “The sky is clear for miles.” I said, knowing that at this point it really would take a miracle to save the dragon prince. It was hopeless, there was no way we could reach a storm fast enough to save the egg. We had failed and now the world would be plunged into a devastating war.

     As we all sat taking in the reality of the situation, Ezran tried to console Rayla as she began to blame herself for us failing to save the egg. Everyone fell into silence but it was quickly interrupted by Callum mumbling to himself.

    “I know what I have to do.” He finally said. We all turned to look at Callum as he held his primal stone in his hand. Before anyone could ask what he ment or what he was going to do, Callum raised his arm above his head before throwing the stone at the ground as hard as he could.

    Almost instantly, lightning began to crackle from the ground as wind began to blow around us. Dark clouds began to cover the sky, and thunder began to boom overhead. With the force of the wind, everyone was left clutching the ground in hopes of not being blown away. 

    As the wind continued to speed past, it knocked the egg out Ezran’s bag, sending the egg rolling towards the edge of the cliff. Right before the egg tumbled off the side of the mountain, Rayla jumped into action, barely catching it with her bad arm. We all watched as she struggled to carry the egg back to the group, with debris being thrown at her by the violent storm.

    In desperation Rayla plunged one of her blades into the ground and held on for dear life. Just as the wind began to pull her off the handle, the clouds overhead began to separate. The winds died down only slightly, and as we all stood to look in wonder at the eye of the storm lightning began crackling from the egg. 

    Figuring that it was a sign Rayla set the egg on the ground and stepped back. We all continued to watch silently as the sparks grew bigger and eventually began to glow a rainbow of colors. The egg began to lift off the ground as the rainbow volts began to spark faster before releasing an almost blinding flash of light. When the light faded we watched as the egg creaked before falling to the ground and sessing to glow all together.

    As the storm suddenly cleared we all stared at the egg hoping for a sign that it had worked. Just as we were about to give up hope, the egg creaked again before rumbling slightly and busting open. Out of the once glowing shell, popped a small light blue dragon with a white cloud of hair on its head. 

    It yawned before stumbling out of the egg tripping over its own feet in front of Ezran. “Come on Bait, help him! His eyes are stuck. You need to lick them open!” Ezran said, placing the glow toad down in front of the baby dragon.

   After giving Ezran a look that said ‘that’s fucking nasty’, Bait begrudgingly complied cleaning the baby dragon’s eyes. Almost immediately after opening its eyes, the dragon pounced on bait before stumbling over to Ezran.

   The dragonling let out a few chirps that Ezran seemed to understand. “You know your own name! Azymondias. We'll call you ‘Zym.’” Ezran announced, informing everyone of the dragon prince’s name.

    After Ezran pointed out Rayla to Zym, the Dragon Prince hopped over to her. Zym inspected her wrist binding before pulling on it. To everyone’s surprise it came right off, freeing Rayla from the fate of losing her hand.

    With Zym now safe and Rayla no longer at risk of losing her hand, we all took a moment to relax. I chose to sit and watch as Ezran played with the baby dragon, while avoiding the questioning glance I kept getting from Lujanne. I knew she would be curious as to why I was traveling with two human princes, missing my necklace she enchanted for me, and why I was so far from my family's home close to Xadian border. Focusing on my brothers I chose to also postpone the inevitable conversation I would have to have with her later.

    As Zym tried to chase his own tail, my attention was drawn to the sky. A bright purple light began to illuminate the Caldera, before long everyone else noticed it. What looked like a purple shooting star flew overhead before exploding, sending hundreds of little glowing wisps raining down on us.

    While the younger members of the group laughed and enjoyed the purple light show, I noticed Lujanne looking off into the distance. Following her gaze I noticed the trail from the purple wisps lead directly to Mount Kalik.  I immediately knew that Caludia had succeeded in her plan to cast a tracking spell and sooner or later her and Soren would be her for the princes and Zym.

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

[runimanio]

2024 Game Clear #49 Fantasian Neo Dimension

My last game clear of 2024! (unless I finish Famicom Detective Club Missing Heir tonight, in which I probably won't have time to throw up a post anyway haha) and it one i've been waiting to escape it's Apple Arcade prison ever since I first heard about the game. From the creator of Final Fantasy's Hironobu Sakaguchi's studio Mistwalker and composed by Nobuo Uematsu using real-world dioramas for the environment to give it a stunning look reminisce of the pre-rendered background style of RPG's from the PS1, easy to see why this seemed like a dream game for Final Fantasy fans

Playing Fantasian was interesting though because honestly this might be one of the more difficult turn based RPG i've played. part of that is just the game throwing a lot of very long and complex fights where you constantly have to manage stuff, which is fine I like those kind of fights in turn based games for the most part (though admittedly it does get daunting just going from long fights to long fights constantly), but I also think I my own RPGs habits made some battles alot hard for me.

I think a lot of us are just over equipment managing, loot loop RPGs design has kinda instill in some of us that stuff like elemental resistance and the like are just nice bonus's but all we really care about are the cold hard stats... do not ignore the elemental resistance jewel and the status protection jewels in this game! I did and once I started using them when appropriate boss fights became much more manageable! I think we also have a tendency to only really use our favorite in these type of games but here every party members has a specific role to play in battle and you'll need to use everyone effectively to get out ahead. Party members and moves I instinctively didn't think I'd get much use out of such as Ez and his enemy moving vacuum skill actually ended up being clutch.

Playing through Fantasian had me thinking about RPG game design like why have these habits that it's okay to ignore certain mechanic in an RPG taken hold in me, if those mechanics are so ignorable then really why do they exist, stuff like that. I don't think all RPGs should be design like Fantasian because I think the more forgiving game design of other games lend themselves better to player self expression which I think is why you can have players who never use stat affecting moves, other games the design needs to accommodates all different types of playstyles.

Mistwalker I think knew that this would be a fairly niche release for the JRPGs diehards so it can dare to be more challenging then say a Final Fantasy. It feels a love letter to turn based combat that it's hard to imagine ever getting from a big mainstream release anymore. I will say the story and characters are enjoyable but I does feel like it missing something to make it an all timer classic... a more grounded emotional stake maybe? it's stakes are by design multiverse level and while there are smaller emotional moments (Tan the edge boy he is had some good one's but, maybe I just love a vengeance quest) I can't help but want a bit more.

Even so this is gonna be a game I think about for a long time

[sincerelyasomebody]

Two Became Three || Johnny "Coco" Cruz & Leticia "Letty" Cruz

(GIF: @angels-reyes)

A/N: With the awesome response for Mama, I decided to write up a "pre-Mama" setting. I hope you all enjoy it! If I'm being honest this Cruz family dynamic is likely to become a series of sorts👀. Because these two deserve so much more😭😫. Coco and Johnny are used interchangeably. If the Spanish translations are incorrect, please let me know. 

Characters/Pairings: Coco x Reader (romantic partnership) ▪︎ Letty x Gabby (friendship) ▪︎ Gabby x EZ (mentioned) ☆ Bishop (mentioned) ▪︎ Chucky (mentioned) ▪︎ Mayans MC (mentioned)

Summary: The start to a wonderful, dysfunctional yet endearing family. 

Warnings: angst, fluff, language 

Word Count: 1829

- ♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

The living room was becoming (Y/N)'s personal race track as she continuously walked around the coffee table in the centre. Her eyes would dart between the landline and her phone. She tried to calm herself down, but the 'what ifs' going off in her mind wouldn't allow her to do so. The familiar rumble of Cocos truck stopped her pacing as she jumped onto the couch. Pulling the edge of the curtain up, she was momentarily blinded by the headlights flashing at her. 

Once she spotted the teenager in the passenger side, she let out a sigh of relief. (Y/N) readjusted her body on the couch and waited for the pair to walk inside. She braced herself for the argument. 

The front door and screen door opened up with Coco leaning against them, "what the fuck were you thinking, Leticia?" 

"You're overreacting," she replied and headed straight for the kitchen. 

"You were at a college party!" Coco yelled as he slammed both doors, "how the fuck did you even get there?" 

She opened up a cabinet and grabbed a muesli bar, "I… just got there," shrugging her shoulders she tore the bar open, "nothing was gonna happen." 

Coco walked over and stood at the entrance of the kitchen, "carajo! The only reason nothing fucking happened was because I showed up!"

Letty turned her attention to (Y/N), "anything you'd like to add?" When she wasn't given a response, she scoffed, "as if I give a fuck what you think."

She brushed past Coco and walked down the hallway. The slamming of a door let the adults know she was in her bedroom. (Y/N) took a deep breath as she got to her feet and stood in front of her man.

"Don't do it." 

He arched his eyebrow, "you think I'm gonna let her disrespect you like that?" he shook his head and pecked her forehead, "ain't fucking happening." 

Letty had moved in with the pair about two months ago and during that time she took full advantage of being away from the clutches of her grandmother. With her newfound freedom she had been disappearing (or "exploring" as she called it) different parts of Santo Padre whenever she felt like it. Sometimes she'd go off on her own and other times she'd take Gabby. 

Unfortunately, this particular night was different. Gabby was out on a date with her boyfriend Ez (the newest patch member of the Mayans) which meant she didn't join Letty on her excursion. Thankfully she was able to provide the details of where to find her when (Y/N) called her in a panic about the teenager not being home. Once she received the details, she thanked her and immediately rang up Coco to inform him of his daughter's whereabouts. 

Before he could make his way to the hallway Coco's burner buzzed. (Y/N) didn't need to read the message to know that he was most likely being told about some club business. Despite it nearing the early hours of the morning, she knew that sometimes Bishop would call an impromptu meeting. 

"At least you're already awake?" (Y/N) offered as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands played with his hair.

"I guess," his eyes darted towards the hallway and back at her, "if she ends up running off while I'm at the clubhouse–"

"I'll call you." 

He kissed her and savoured the moment before pulling away from her. Walking over to the front door, he glanced back at her and blew a kiss. (Y/N) chuckled, grabbing it and holding it to her chest, completing their goodbye routine. 

She turned around as he shut both doors and locked them. The moment she heard his bike start up she decided it was time to get to bed. She was due to go back to work in a few hours and wanted to sleep before having to do so. 

-- ♡ -- ◇ --

After Letty's eventful Friday night, Johnny decided he was done giving her chances. Her phone was taken away and the only times she could leave the house was for school and if Chucky needed an extra set of hands. At first the teenager continued to rebel until she realised another day would be added to her punishment. (Y/N) was proud of the way her man was stepping into the role of a parent. Letty was working into her third week of punishment (she had another week left) and (Y/N) could see the change in her. 

Whenever (Y/N) entered the house, she was greeted with a 'hello'. It may seem little, but Letty acknowledging her presence (in a positive manner) definitely kept a smile on her face. Letty was helping around the house more and started joining Coco and (Y/N) for dinner instead of eating in her room. Coco was also seeing changes in his daughter and hoped she would continue to make positive changes. He had left for a run a couple of days ago and would hopefully return soon.

The sound of drawers opening and closing was the reason (Y/N) woke up. Her eyebrows furrowed at realising she wasn't in her bed and then remembered she had fallen asleep while watching (television show). Looking to her left, she noticed the outline of the teen moving about. She smiled when she felt the softness of a blanket, realising Letty must've thrown it over her. Slowly getting to her feet, she stretched and reached for her phone. The numbers 04:22 blared on her screen.

(Y/N) got up and switched on the light, causing the teenager to jump, "are you looking for the chocolate chip cookies I baked?" Just like her dad, Letty had a sweet tooth. (Y/N) chuckled and pointed towards the top cabinet on her right, "it's in the tin at the back." 

Letty waited for (Y/N) to walk out of the kitchen, but instead the woman opened up the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk. She watched as she grabbed two glasses and poured the milk inside. The teenager grabbed the chair and climbed on top of it to reach the cabinet. She opened it up and pushed some items out of the way to grab the tin. Closing the cabinet, she stepped off the chair and dragged it back to the table.

(Y/N) was already sitting at the table and pushed a glass of milk across it for her. Letty took a seat and opened up the container and pushed it between them. She waited for (Y/N) to help herself to a cookie, before grabbing one of her own. 

"I'm sorry for waking you up," the teenager gave a sheepish grin, "I was trying my hardest not to be loud." 

(Y/N) smiled, "it's alright," she bit into her slightly soaked cookie, "now you know where to go… but, you've gotta make sure to put it back in the same cabinet you brought the container out of." 

"Why?" 

"Because then your dad'll know where all the extra cookies are." 

Letty laughed, "you hide the extra cookies because of my dad?" 

"Yes and that cabinet," (Y/N) pointed to it, "is the only one where I can cover the container without anything looking out of place." She dunked her cookie into her glass, "remember that for next time, okay?" 

"Okay." 

The pair continued to munch on their cookies (with the occasional dunking) and sip their milk. (Y/N) enjoyed the comfortable silence that fell among them. Her eyes drifted towards the living room and remembered the blanket. 

"Thank you." 

"For what?" Letty asked.

"Covering me with the blanket." 

"Oh… I… uh, didn't want you to get cold." 

(Y/N) smiled and was about to talk about something else when she heard the rumbling of Coco's motorcycle. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to drink what was left of her milk, closed the container and passed it to Letty. 

"Quick before he comes." 

Letty picked up the tin and dragged the chair to where it was moments ago. She jumped up onto it and pushed the container towards the back of the cabinet. Making sure it stayed hidden behind the assortment of items inside of it. She jumped off the chair and pushed it underneath the table just as Coco entered the living. His eyebrows rose when he took in his Old Lady and daughter standing in the kitchen. 

"What's going on here?" He asked as he walked towards the duo.

(Y/N) chuckled and brought him into a hug, she kissed him on the lips and cheek before stepping back, "just chatting, everyone okay?" 

He nodded, "we all made it back. Don't worry," his attention switched to Letty, "mija, everything okay?" 

Letty nodded, "yeah…" 

Coco slowly approached her and kissed the top of her head, "that's good to hear." 

Before he could move back, the teenager wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. (Y/N) smiled as she watched Coco gently rub her back and kiss her forehead. She loved seeing the father-daughter pair show affection to each other. Letty released her hold and took a step back.

With a blink of an eye, Letty pulled (Y/N) into a hug. (Y/N)'s eyes grew wide at the contact (so did Cocos) and before she could return the gesture, the teenager had let go. Letty smiled at the pair and then turned on her heel to leave the room. (Y/N) watched the teenager disappear around the corner, before she glanced at Coco with a bright smile. She did a little shimmy moving towards him and held onto his arms as she jumped up and down. 

"Coco… she – did you see that? She hugged me! And she smiled! Oh, she's got a beautiful smile," (Y/N) stopped jumping, "wow… I-I can't believe it. I got a hug and a smile, Coco!" 

He laughed as she danced around him, reaching out he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. (Y/N) squealed when his fingers trailed up and down her hip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head up. Her eyes sparkled with joy. 

Unbeknownst to the pair, Letty had done a U-turn at the end of the hallway. She decided at the last second to ask (Y/N) about something. However, at the sound of excitement she paused and peered around the doorframe. A smile stretched across her face, when she spotted Coco and (Y/N) embracing. She looked away when Coco reached down to grab (Y/N) by the ass and slip his tongue into her mouth.  

"Gross," she shook her head and made her way back down the hallway, "I didn't need to fucking see that." 

Despite the recent image in her mind that she was trying her best to get rid of, the teenager couldn't help but feel as though she finally belonged. 

This was home.

-♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

Spanish Translations: 

Carajo - fuck

Mija - girl

[imagineredwood]

14. Red lipstick and cigarettes 💋🚬(Angel)

Summary: You and Angel broke up weeks ago and haven’t had any form of contact since, but when luck has you both end up at the same bar, the flame reignites. 

Request: Aesthetics 14 with Angel, happy ending

Pairing: Angel Reyes x reader 

Warnings: Mentions of breakups, heartbreak, angst but with a happy ending 

Word count: 1.4K

A/N: Can someone tell me why this “drabble” is 1.4k when my regular stories struggle to hit that many 🥴

Angel takes another sip from his beer before putting the bottle down, his ringed hand coming up to bring the half-gone cigarette up to his lips. He takes a long drag, lungs burning as he holds it in for longer than usual, a cloud of smoke billowing around him as he lets out a slow breath. The cloud surrounds him and he can't help but see it as a demonstration of how he's felt lately.

Cloudy.

Hazy.

Out of focus.

It's been weeks since you and he had split, and despite what everyone had said, it had not gotten easier. On the contrary. It seemed like every day it got even harder to deal with. It had been mutual; both of you agreeing that Angel just wasn't around as much as you wanted him to be. The club took a lot of his time, and his side business with Los Olvidados took up even more. You missed him and while he wanted nothing more than to give you every little bit of his attention, the club had to come first. It had been heartbreaking, tears shed on both sides, but you both knew that it was for the better. Best to break things off civilly before it came to a head and lead to a blow-up.

Even still, it wasn't something that either of you wanted, more a necessary evil. You had kept your distance, neither of you contacting the other nor meeting up. You had stayed away from the clubhouse, something that had proven harder than you had anticipated. EZ and Coco had taken Angel out to a local bar, hoping to get the Mayan to relax and let go for the night. It had proven difficult, Angel simply smoking and drinking in near silence, only speaking when spoken to. When he heard your voice, he figured it was just his imagination, his brain taunting him for his decision to let you go. He scoffed, disgusted with his own mind for toying with him like that. It wasn't until he heard your voice again, closer this time as it ordered your favorite drink that he sat up straighter, head whipping around to look down the bar.

And there you were, arms resting on the shiny counter as you leaned forward, talking to the bartender.

You looked stunning.

Your skin was glowing, the warm lights in the bar casting shadows and accenting highlights. He could see the slight shimmer on your shoulder, knowing exactly which lotion you were wearing. And he could smell you then, his brain tapping into his senses. He could remember running the tip of his nose along your shoulder blade as you rubbed the lotion into your skin after a shower,  the scent of you intoxicating. You looked the same too, though the red on your lips was something a bit new. You only wore it every now and then, when the mood struck you. Angel could remember vividly the time he had left your house in a rush early in the morning, only to be teased by the guys for the lipstick behind his ear that he had missed in the shower. It was an elbow to the ribs that drew his attention away from you and back to Coco.

"Stop staring, you look creepy as fuck."

Angel scoffed, waving his hand dismissively before turning to look back at you. When he did, his heart jumped, finding your eyes on him now. They were wide, clearly not having expected to see him there. The corner of your mouth turned up slightly and he nodded once, returning his own pisspoor excuse of a smile. He looked away first, not wanting to make you uncomfortable. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't also to keep his composure.

The soft-touch to his back startled him and he looked behind him, ready to tell whichever woman it was that he wasn't interested. But there's your voice again.

"Hey."

He turned to look at you and unsurprisingly, you look even more beautiful than he remembers you. His voice is breathless as he responds.

"Hey, querida."

You looked to EZ and Coco then, offering them hugs before coming to stand closer to Angel again.

"Sorry, didn't want to just ignore you and not say hi."

All three nodded, Angel's eyes still glued to you as the other two shared a look. EZ was standing then, Coco following suit.

"We're gonna go get some air, we'll be back. Good seeing you."

It was tense and awkward, the two other Mayans missing you but not wanting to anger Angel by making it seem like they were trying to rope you back in. With it being only the two of you now, Angel swallowed before pointing to the seat Coco had just been in.

"You wanna sit, or..."

He could see the hesitation on your face, not knowing what was the best choice, and his mouth was moving before his brain could keep up as per usual.

"I want you to."

Your eyes were warm as they landed back on him and you nodded softly, your voice even softer as you took a seat.

"Ok."

There was an awkward silence, neither of you knowing what to say. Angel spoke first, going with the option of full transparency.

"I miss you."

The sad smile that graced your lips had him wanting to wrap you up in his arms at once, but he refrained. With a nod, you agreed.

"I miss you too."

It was the tears welling in your eyes that sealed it for him as he pushed closer to you, his knees against yours as he placed his hand on your back, his own heart pained.

"Don't cry, mama."

You chuckled, though there was nothing funny, your hand coming up to dab at your eye.

"Last person I thought I would bump into tonight was you."

Angel nodded, offering a small smile.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't expecting that shit either."

There was a bit of silence then, Angel biting his lip as he swallowed down the urge to just take you into his arms. With his fingers running up and down your back, he sighed, looking back over at where you had been to see your friends there, the women quickly looking away under his gaze. You chuckled again, sitting up straighter now that the overwhelming emotion had subsided.

"They brought me out to try and get over you. I can see EZ and Coco did the same."

"And how's that working out?"

Angel's question was direct and so were his eyes as they stared down at you. With a shrug, you answered.

"Obviously not great if I'm sitting here crying in a bar."

The Mayan chuckled and so did you, the chemistry between the two of you so intense it burned.

"Wanna go for a ride? I only had one beer."

You looked at Angel as he offered, the hope clear in his eyes. With a nod, you smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever. Holding his hand out, Angel helped you stand, tossing a bill onto the bartop.

"You wanna tell your friends? I can take you home after."

"Yeah. I'll grab my purse and meet you outside."

Angel nodded, leaning down to press a soft and slow kiss to your forehead before walking toward the exit. Coco and EZ were leaning against the wall, both wincing as they saw him walk out alone.

"She didn't wanna hear it?"

Angel was about to answer when you came out behind him, throwing a small wave at the boys who were now smiling instead. They waved back and stood back up straight.

"We'll see you tomorrow then."

Angel nodded, a little bit of light back in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll see you."

The two of them were walking back inside then, leaving you and your ex, though it felt like things might not be staying that way. The love that the two of you had was too strong to throw away over tough times. Holding his hand out once again, Angel looked at you as he waited.

"You wanna try us out again?"

Your nod was confident as you gazed at him, a tiny sparkle back in your eyes.

"I'd rather have you only sometimes than not at all."

That was a sentiment that Angel could agree with and he grinned, his hand encasing yours as he walked with you toward his parked bike, happy to know he was going to have his girl with him once again.

General taglist @piccasoe @ateliefloresdaprimavera @gemini0410 @woahitslucyylu @my-rosegold-soul @that-chick212 @everyhowlmarksthedead @glimmerglittergirl​ @elcococruz @fanaticfangurl21 @encounterthepast @iambabyharry @svintsandghosts @starrynite7114 @saturnsaree @multiyfandomgirl40 @destynelseclipsa @sadeyesgf @queenbeered

Mayans taglist @dazzledamazon  @abunnykisses @briana-mishell24 @angelreyesgirl @wrcn9fvlcver @peaches009 @capt-canadian @thesandbeneathmytoes @krysiewithak @bisexual-space-slut @appropriate-writers-name @cind-in-real-life @blessedboo @montanaraed @kkim120 @megapeacelovemusic-blog​

Angel taglist @cardenasarmy @tartanbumsters​

[insomniamamma]

Happy Sleepover. I'm going to indulge in one of everything.

FMK (Fling/Marry/Kiss bc I'm not gonna make you kill any boy): Ezra, Din, Nico.

Crush: I have a crush on an artist I hosted last night. He's a short Aussie king with wild silver-threaded black hobbit hair. I want to make a pact with him if we find ourselves single and alone when we're 90 that we move in together and make each other laugh until we fart.

Choose between: One night in bed with Frankie or one day of chaste prospecting with Ez (planet of your choice/dreams).

My day: So far it's pretty good. Had an amazing rehearsal. Now SO and I are going out to our favorite Ecuadorian place for dindin before driving out to the suburbs to see one of my good friends rock the lead in an eerie show.

Secrets. Hmmm. I keep a written diary that I move around to different hiding spots around the house. It's a small house and if I keep the diary in one place I'm afraid SO will find it and read it and then know where it is. Completed diaries are in a lock box with my important documents to which he does not have the combo.

Recommendation: I know we've talked about this already. But. The Great Wall. I'm still trying to find a way to sneak it to you. I may or may not have a plan.

Weird Questions. Do you have a garbage disposal? I'm just curious to know if people still have these spinning pits of knives in their homes.

Personal things. Are you a morning shower or evening shower person? (I guess for your shift that translates to a "before bed" or "after bed" shower person.) Do you shower every day or just when you feel the time is right?

Drama: I do have some drama in my life right now, but I don't need help with it unless you have a very sharp stick with which to poke my set designer so he'll fucking communicate with me. It doesn't sound like drama, but his wife is my playwright and star and I dated him in college. How's that?

Truth: If you could be any celebrity, who would you be and why?

This is me, asking you for some song recs. Don't worry if you think I've heard them before (prolly have). Let's just pretend we're going on a road trip and I'm asking you what to put on in the car.

Unpopular opinion: I would like to see Cobb Vanth try to woo Fennec Shand. And I'd like to see her surprised that she can't seem to say no.

Venting: CAN WE JUST TAKE A MINUTE AND SHAKE PEOPLE? Conservatives would rather keep their guns than save their children. They would rather make women die and bloat the foster care system than squish a nugget of cells. They would rather let a rich man keep his money than have it fund better lives for everyone (and therefore themselves). They would hurt people to double down on their beliefs but change those same beliefs in an instant if their candidate of choice told them to. I could go on. But here is where I close my valve and let the pressure build again....

FMK (Fling/Marry/Kiss bc I'm not gonna make you kill any boy): Ezra, Din, Nico. Adira you are EVIL for this one. These are my BOYS. The ones I most want to squish. Fling? Ezra. I want to have a torrid affair with this man. His lifestyle is pretty dangerous so I don't think I'd want to marry him, but have him drop in and visit me for a few days and absolutely rail me and then fuck off back to space for a while? Sounds like a pretty good arrangement. AND NOW I HAVE TO PIC BETWEEN DIN AND NICO????? S;AKDJFH;ADASKDFHKDSF Sorry, Din, I'm marrying Nico. The star wars universe is dangerous and I'd likely be the first to get shot. Nico. Oh man. I want to study him like a bug, i want to crack him open like an egg. I want to pin him down and tickle him until he's all red in the face. He's broad and warm and weird. He seems cozy. I want to be his weighted blanket. Just squish that man. Sorry, Din, you just get a kiss. I feel like a tender kiss to his forehead would make Din blue-screen for like an hour.

Crush: OK, since you decided to confess things to me, I'll respond in kind. Most of my crushes are either celebrities or fictional space people. There is a guy at work who i thought was cute when he first started there, but he is an antivaxxer and he's dumb as a bag of bricks. Not that I was doing any more than looking anyhow, but yikes. Your Aussie hobbit sounds delightful though.

Choose between: One night in bed with Frankie or one day of chaste prospecting with Ez (planet of your choice/dreams). Since it's planet of my choice, I'm going prospecting with Ezra. Because space! But also, I think I would make a good harvester. I do a lot of fine work with my hands. So, somewhere safe, but exotic. Nothing too dangerous. I'd be content to listen to him ramble on.

My day: Was pretty interesting. My boy is involved in a few different kinds of martial arts, and his kung fu class got to participate in a small scale festival, which was basically just different martial arts schools doing demonstrations, as well as a variety of Asian music and dance groups. It was very cool. Also I got to eat pork-belly ramen from a really tasty food truck.

Secrets. hmmmm....the only thing that's coming to mind is my sexuality. I mean, it's not much of a secret on here, but nobody in my family knows I'm anything other than straight. I'm married to a guy, so it's just easier to let them think what they will. If I'm asked directly I'll answer truthfully, but I generally don't volunteer that information about myself to people IRL. Because it's not really anyone's business.

Recommendation: hahahahaha. I think I'm just gonna make the hubby buy me The Great Wall on itunes. I mean, we do have a metric shit-ton of Cillian Murphy movies because he was my blorbo for a time. Speaking of Cillian Murphy, The Wind That Shakes The Barley is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I cried like a baby when the end credits rolled.

Weird Questions. I do have a garbage disposal. I had to replace it a couple years ago and the original was installed so oddly? Whoever modernized the plumming in our house half-assed everything so spectacularly that every time we've upgraded the plumbing it's just been a baffling shit show. Do you have a spinning knife pit?

Personal things: Honestly it depends on the time of year. and what i'm doing at work. A lot of times I shower as soon as I get home because I end up covered in Sintra dust or metal shavings or primer or the sticky residue that gets left on plex after it's gone through the laser cutter. It's like decontaminating. When it's real hot, I'll shower when I get home and then do a quick rinse before I crash. I can't sleep when my skin feels sticky. In the winter I sometimes go every other day because my skin gets very dry.

Drama: Oh, theater drama. I remember those days 😁. I deeply miss doing community theater, but i stg some of those folks would just invent shit to get all twisted up over. Most of my drama comes from my parents. I love them dearly, but I am very happy that they live several hours away. They still basically treat me like an incompetent.

Truth: This is fascinating question. I'm going to answer this as if it would be a temporary condition and not, like, absconding with someone else's life. I would love to be in Nick Cave's brain for like, 24 hours. He writes such incredible songs.

song recs you say???? ooooh boy. My musical tastes are all over the place. There is very little genre-wise that I don't vibe with, although I do tend to prefer older stuff these days. Yes I'm turning into one of those people. Get off my lawn. I'll give you five. But i could give you, like 50. You've been warned 😁

Lodestar by Sarah Harmer. "Intensity of stars" I love that so much. Intensity as a collective noun for stars. Fuck yeah.

Catapult by Counting Crows. I've seen these fellas 3 times live. People like to crap on Counting Crows but they will put on the most emotional live show you've ever fucking seen.

Spell by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Ugh. The imagery. The yearning. I could scream forever about how much I love Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Gravity by Charlotte Martin. This one has all the Ezra vibes for me.

Birthday by The Cruxshadows. These guys don't really do US tours anymore which is a crying shame. I lot of goth bands feel like you're watching someone do karaoke but not them. I first heard this song at a show a zillion years go and I lost my mind. The energy was nuts.

Unpopular opinion: OMG this would be hilarious! At first she just gives him The Look. She's in total denial right? Then Cobb come to Boba with some sort of business from Freetown. Once his audience is done Boba gives Fennec a playful swat on the arm. What're you smiling at, Shand? I'm not smiling. Why don't you just talk to him? He's obviously interested. Fennec tells Boba to kriff off, but she can't help smiling just a little, and maybe she goes looking for Cobb at the local cantina.

Venting: OMG yes. I had a guy friend I hadn't spoken to in a while be like you're so angry. And it's like yes. I've been vibrating with compressed rage since 2016. I have had actual men in my life treat the whole roe v wade thing like some sort of abstract thing, well, it wasn't a well written arguement blah-de-blah and it's like you think I give a shit? IT'S WHAT WE FUCKING HAD!!!! This is not an academic exercise this is my fucking living body. People who try to both sides of this can fuck off forever. If preventing abortion was the point they would push for comprehensive sex ed in public schools and contraception would be free and widely available to anyone who wanted it. But it's not about life. It's about cruelty and punishment and control. Always has been. My husband's family is mostly catholic and I told him, warn your family because the first man who tries to tell me this is somehow good for me is going to lose a fucking testicle. I could go on forever but i don't want to end up on some sort of list. I hope my FBI agent likes Pedro Pascal.

sleepover asks