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84reedsy · 6 months ago

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The Mentorship, Part 17

The Mentorship

Characters: Curt Hennig/FemOC , Scott Hall/FemOC

Part 17 of ? (Parts not chapters, parts length varies)

Warnings/Considerations: Smut, Age Gap, Power Dynamics, Dirty Talk, swearing

Word Count: 3336

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Taglist: @writeandsurvive @theweaselandthekilt (DM or comment to be added!)

Arriving in Orlando, Brinkley felt nerves starting to churn in her gut. She had been wrestling dark matches the last couple of days with other women, jobbing them with Curt at ringside in what felt like an odd reversal. But she was thankful for his supporting presence.

But now being in the city where she had a high profile match amongst 3 high-profile stars was starting to flare her anxiety. The live TV show on Thursday wasn’t even on her mind, though it was the last chance to really ramp up to the big match.

Scott noticed, back to being just a passenger while Kevin drove. He sat in the back with her most of the trip, trying first to talk her down, moving on to just trying to distract her. She swatted his hand away when he would get too bold, not nearly as comfortable with the idea of Kevin watching as she was with Curt. She blushed as she realized she probably wouldn’t stop Scott if Curt was driving.

It wasn’t long ago that the idea of Curt left a bad taste in her mouth; she thought she’d never be attracted to him again. She was confused that her mind and her body seemed to be on such separate planes.

She didn’t ask when others would be arriving, she didn’t want to say anything too leading. Scott and Curt might have been on better terms, but she knew Scott may be a little insecure over it.

She took a swim while the house was still somewhat empty, Kev keeping her company while he tanned on a poolside chair, nursing the first of likely many beers. She was sure he was asleep most of the time, but occasionally would say something as she’d pause her laps at each end.

Feeling a little gassed, she paused swimming, hanging off the edge of the pool in front of his chair.

“Kev, can I ask you something?” She asked, smoothing her wet hair back and clearing water from her eyes.

“Sure, in fact, you just did,” He responded sardonically, “Don’t you fucking dare,” He warned, pointing a finger at her as she paused from splashing him.

“Fine…can I ask you questions,” she pointedly emphasized the plural nature of the word. Kevin didn’t look at her, but smirked as he shrugged.

“Sure, why not,” He rested a bent arm behind his head.

“Did you ask Scott if you could fuck me?” She asked with a surprisingly casual nature. Kevin didn’t seem to react right away; she assumed that wasn’t a clear ‘no’.

“Why?” Was his simple response. She knew it was a very loaded single word.

“Just asking if you did,” She remained coy in return.

“I didn’t ask. It came up in conversation.” He clarified, but kept from taking ownership of any remark.

“Were you the one that brought it up?” She said with a mild hint of accusation.

“If it's a no, just say so,” He shrugged again. He didn’t plan on letting her get the upper hand to hold anything over his head.

“Well, if you’re going to be like that about it,” She rolled her eyes, lifting herself out of the water, “Then fine, it's a no,” sticking her tongue out at him, “At least until you learn some manners,” She grabbed her towel from the next chair and wiped herself down as she made her way onto the back porch. She shook her head as she looked back at Kevin, still lounging in the chair. Sometimes he was very kind to her and others so cantankerous. She wondered if she had agreed if he’d have treated her any differently.

Walking into the kitchen, she secured the towel around her waist just as she saw Curt sitting inside at the counter. She couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Hey, did you just get here?” She looked around, seeing no one else, “And you’re just lurking around in the kitchen?”

“Just finishing this one off, figured I’d grab another, so I’d save some time,” He held up the beer he was working on. He noticed the uncertainty flash across her face as she glanced at the bottle, “I promise, you have nothing to worry about. You don’t have to trust me if you don’t want, but I’m taking it easy - no Jack tonight,”

“Well, you can’t blame me for being cautious,” She leaned against the island countertop he was sitting at. Her two-piece wasn’t super revealing, but it didn’t leave much to the imagination either, “Who knows what I might do to set you off,”

Curt looked at her as he took a drink. He knew she was being flirtatious and provocational. It wasn’t necessarily outside of her nature. She always had a charming allure about her, it was likely why she was doing so well in the business, backed up by her actual skill.

“Better not let Scott hear you talking to me like that,” He warned her in a low tone, but couldn’t hide the hint of mischief in his tone. If he didn’t know that she and Scott were exclusive, he’d be making up an excuse to get her into his room. He assumed the fact that he couldn’t have her now was making him feel more pent up than usual.

“He never said I couldn’t talk to you,” She played back, “Just that I couldn’t-” Her inciting rhetoric was cut off by Curt pressing his index finger to her lips.

“Stop right there,” He warned her again, “You still need to learn not to show your hand even if you have all the cards.”

“Oh my god, haven’t heard that Hennig wisdom in a while,” She went to the refrigerator and grabbed herself and Curt a beer, “You should write a desk calendar with all these gems,”

“You’re lucky you’re cute, because you can be a real asshole sometimes,” He teased her, popping the cap off of her beer for her, “Still getting used to it?” He laughed at her only slight grimace when she took a sip.

“Yeah, I’m getting…better with it,” She knew she sounded less than confident, “And me? An asshole?” She mocked offense.

“You have your moments,” Scott said, walking into the kitchen from behind her, announcing his arrival with a swift pop to her backside, he grabbed a beer, joining them at the counter, “If you're wanting to go practice, you better get ready,” he checked his watch, “unless that's what you're working in.” Scott pulled off her towel as she failed to keep hold of it, “I wouldn't complain,”

“Damn you!” She tried to get it back, his long arm keeping it from her reach, “at least I'm not the only asshole around here,” she finished her beer swiftly, making her exit to get dressed. She could care less about the present company seeing her this way, but she wasn't keen on the rest of the roster getting a good look.

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Brinkley stepped up her game in practice. She took more artful falls and sold moves better than she had in group training before.

She struggled the most with keeping a straight face with Scott in the ring, though it was a possibility the announcers could use that during the match to sow discourse about whether or not she really wanted to win. They could potentially suggest she'd lost the match for her and Curt on purpose. They might allude to the possibility of her turning on Curt, giving the win to the Outsiders.

Brinkley covered up her real opinion, shrugging her shoulders and being neutral. In fact, she hated the idea. It made sense, it was logical, it fit within standard kayfabe and would help give her her own identity instead of being attached as an afterthought to a male wrestler. But part of her couldn’t detach the real feeling of betrayal from it, even though Curt seemed to react positively to the idea.

Her amiable nature made that the prevailing option as they all agreed. Brinkley ignored feeling sick to her stomach. Scott could sense her unease and it spread to him - wondering if she was really ready to leave Curt, even after all that had happened. He didn’t think he could handle losing her - but now he had to wonder if he ever really had her or if she’d only been on loan this whole time.

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Her quietness didn’t help ease Scott’s mind on the ride back to his house. But the number of cars parked indicated that quite a few people had already arrived - he wondered if he’d get a moment with her alone. Unlikely as he saw all the bodies that spilled out of the cars and the cases of beer and alcohol they had with him.

He grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her to him to whisper in her ear just as Curt pulled in behind them.

“Meet me in my room in 20,” He instructed, not asking. Brinkley had to wonder if he was upset, she couldn't think of anything she'd done that might. All of her reservations had been in her own head and she knew better than to admit any lingering attraction to Curt.

She nodded to agree before waving and greeting Ray Traylor who was at Curt's car unloading beer. She grabbed one of the cases as she chatted up both men on the way into the house.

Kevin noticed the dark look that flashed across Scott's face; he’d seen that look before. He’d seen the fallout from that look before. He’d been perfectly fine at the gym and on the ride back. He suspected it was something with Brinkley (mainly for the fact that when isn’t it a woman), but he’d not noticed anything particularly problematic that she’d done.

Maybe if he’d kept Scott distracted; they could avoid whatever potential meltdown was boiling below the surface.

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Brinkley loaded case after case into the refrigerator and then coolers of ice that were also brought. She knew there were a lot of people, but she didn’t understand how they could drink THIS much. She checked the time and it had been just over 30 minutes. She handed off the last case to Rick Steiner to manage; she heard them popping the tabs open instead of putting them on ice. Cans crushed nearly seconds later as she turned around to see them opening a second already.

“Good lord,” She laughed a little, shaking her head as she ran up the stairs, two at a time. The house was already filling with noise, the din only increasing as someone started playing music. She walked into Scott’s room, closing the door behind her, the sound muffled greatly. The room was dark, the blinds closed up tightly to block out the harsh Florida sun.

“Scott?” She called out, her eyes still adjusting. She noticed him now, in a chair in the sitting area of the room. Shirtless in basketball shorts and his hair hanging down, Brinkley had to keep her tongue from hanging out of her mouth. She saw him set a half empty glass bottle on the table beside him. He was starting out heavy, “What are you doing here all alone in the dark?”

She walked up to him, ignoring the tension in the room that felt like static.

“Waiting for you,” He looked at her with his dark eyes in an even darker stare, “Wondering if you would bother to show up,”

She slipped into his lap, the smell of whiskey was far more obvious. Though Scott had never struck her or put an unkind hand on her, she felt uneasy remembering the same smell on Curt’s breath and a similar dark look in his eyes. She noticed Scott’s face soften though as she nestled herself in his lap and against him.

“Of course I’d show up! I was just trying to set up some sort of order down there, guess that’s a lost cause with this crew,” she motioned behind her, “Any time with you I can get, I’ll take,” She meant it, but knew buttering him up wouldn’t hurt. She gently walked her fingers over him, stroking his hairy chest slowly.

“Do you know how hard it is?” He asked vaguely, his hand sliding from her knee up her thigh.

“Hmmm…what exactly are we talking about?” She remained playfully coy.

“Training with you. How hard it is for me not to just throw you down and fuck you in the middle of the ring?” His hand slipped up to her hip, squeezing.

Brinkley nearly panted, squirming in his lap.

“In front of everyone?” She countered trying to prolong their repartee.

“Everyone, no one. Doesn’t matter…” He felt her tense and heard her gasp as he lightly bit down on the side of her neck, “Because you’re mine,” He growled.

“God, yes, Scott…I’m all yours,” She whimpered, not realizing she was digging her nails into his chest, but he didn’t stop her.

“Oh yeah? Get down on your knees and prove it to me,” He grumbled in her ear, one hand lightly smacking her thigh.

She felt her skin prickle as she slowly slid off of him, sinking to her knees between his splayed legs. She felt as if her senses were heightened and with them so were her nerves. She couldn’t pinpoint her unease, but she wanted to please him so much that she did as he asked.

“Clothes off,” He slouched in the chair a little, licking his lips as he watched her undress.

She leaned forward between his legs, kissing down his stomach slowly, occasionally pulling at a hair with her teeth, making him hiss slightly. Her hand rubbed him over his shorts, feeling him stiffen with each pass. She did feel relieved when his hands touched her gently, one reaching underneath her and toying with her breast.

“Girl, you know just how to get me going, don’t you,” He mumbled, feeling himself pulse against her stroking palm. Whatever irrational anger he was feeling was dissipating and he felt more and more powerless. Desperate to maintain control, he reached under the elastic of his shorts and pulled his manhood out. His other hand gripped into her hair, directing his cock into her willing mouth.

Brinkley was surprised by the abrupt motion, but was quick to acquiesce his demands. She teased him, resisting his urge to take him deep, her lips working around his tip. She kept her eyes on his and noticed the wanting, needy look on his face that she preferred. She let him push her farther down now, taking his cock roughly as he moved his hips.

“Fuck…that’s it, baby, suck Daddy’s cock just like that…” His hand was still firmly gripping her hair, not allowing her to stall or come up for air until she finally pulled away, gasping. She looked at him, feeling unsure of why referring to himself that way affected her, “What? Don’t wanna call me Daddy?” He was almost condescending as he asked.

“I will if you want me to,” She softly replied, wondering if his mood had anything to do with Curt.

“Oh, I want you to…because I’m your Daddy now…not him,” Scott leaned forward, gripping her chin firmly in his hand. She could feel the pressure in her cheekbones as he held her forcibly in his gaze. She gulped, trying to ease her shaking breath.

“Yes, Daddy,” She managed a breathless reply, not wanting to sound meek.

“Mmmm, that’s good…I definitely like the sound of that,” He stood up, towering over her as he walked behind her. With an almost effortless strength, he picked her up and bent her over the arm of the chair. Before she could adjust her balance, he forced his saliva-glistening cock deeply into her. She cried out into the back cushion of the chair, desperately trying to acclimate to the bulging intrusion.

“Daddy…” She said, her words stilted with the force of his thrust, “Not…so…h-hard,” She begged, breathing a sigh of relief as he slowed for a moment and she caught her breath, “You’re just so big, Daddy…” She followed up, looking back at him with the big, doe eyes she knew he couldn’t resist.

His irritation subsided again, knowing he might have hurt her. He slowed, just like he promised he would. Annoyed as he might have been, he didn’t want to break her trust in him.

“I’m sorry, baby,” He moved slower now, feeling her pussy slicken a little more as he moved in deliberate, full strokes, “Daddy got too excited,”

Brinkley could tell the name was really working him up. That idea alone turned her on. She braced herself against the other arm of the chair, feeling his gradually quickening his pace as her sex squeezed him. She came suddenly, without a chance to warn him, biting her lip to keep from screaming out profane obscenities for all the guests to hear.

She felt herself being pulled backwards a little, his hand sliding around her neck and holding tightly.

“You only cum for me…understand?” He leaned forward, nearly seething the words in her ear, “You belong to me,”

She nodded, swallowing and gasping for the breath that his grip allowed her, “Yes, Daddy…” She squeaked out.

“Say it,” He seethed, burying himself deeper, his large hand gripping tighter.

“I only cum for you Daddy,” She whimpered, “I belong to you,” She took a big breath as Scott’s hand dropped from around her neck, both hands now squeezing around her hips as he came, burying his cum deep inside of her sex.

She took deep, steadying breaths as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm. She was a little surprised when she turned to sit on the edge of the chair arm and he didn’t move to embrace her like he normally would, instead only putting himself back into his shorts and grabbing the tshirt he’d laid on the bed.

“Hop in the shower if you want. Come to the party when you’re ready,” He said, going into the bathroom to rinse the sweat from his face with cold water and towel it dry, “I’m gonna head down now,” He made a move toward her, but her hope was fleeting as he only grabbed the glass liquor bottle from the table beside her and made his way to the door. “Ok, shouldn’t be long,” She still offered a smiling face, but it fell quickly when he left. She felt used. In all the times she’d been with either of them, she’d never felt this way. Even with Curt, who was clearly using her - she never felt this discarded.

Perhaps she was being too naive, assuming every time would be romantic and would have those lovely intimate moments afterwards. Maybe the two of them had coddled her too much up until this point. She would have understood all of that…if only she had known what she’d done wrong to upset him.

She searched her mind as she stepped into the hot shower, wondering if she had inadvertently vocalized an objection to turning on Curt. Was it because she just shrugged at the suggestion instead of agreeing wholeheartedly? Was it because she helped carry in Ray’s beer and he thought it was Curt’s? She knew some of the thoughts were ridiculous, but she couldn’t find a reason why Scott would be upset with her. That only bothered her more.

She suddenly did not feel much like being sociable or partying with everyone. God forbid she had a nice conversation with another man and a drunken Scott took it the wrong way. She took her time after the shower, combing her hair slowly, lotioning, and redressing. She even blow-dried her hair unlike usual. Anything to stall while she tried to think. She tried to tell herself she was just being a ridiculous, emotional girl - that Scott wasn’t upset and she was just overthinking everything. She hated the fact that she wished she could somehow talk to Curt about this.

#wrestling fan fic #wrestling fic #wrestling fanfiction #curt hennig #wcw #wwe #wrestling #fanfiction #pro wrestling #1999 #Scott hall #kevin nash #The Mentorship #wrestling smut #cameos by a lot of wrestlers

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highwarlockofbookworms · 1 year ago

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“He hears Andrew scoff on the other side of the line. “My PR agent just called; SPORTS UNLIMITED wants to know if they can use the picture Kevin tweeted last night on the cover of their upcoming issue. They’re running a segment on you two for some unknowable reason. Also – I do not want to deal with this.”

“Hold on,” Aaron says as he logs back into his Twitter, begrudgingly. Nicky is quiet, so Aaron assumes that he hasn’t seen the picture as yet either. “Also, how is your PR agent even involved in any of this?’

“Also also, why do you even have a PR agent when you refuse to talk to literally everyone?” Nicky adds. He’s not wrong. Andrew doesn’t really need a PR agent. Neil needs a PR agent.

“Probably because I’m in the picture too and because you don’t have a PR agent and we have the same face – now what they should have done is contacted Kevin’s agent, but he’s kind of an arsehole who is dealing with a lot right now I assume he told them to shove it. Also, you may need to get your own PR agent.”

Aaron finally bypasses all the (still active) notifications and finds Kevin's tweet from 13 hours ago. It’s a picture that Aaron doesn’t immediately recognize, of both Aaron and Andrew, just like Andrew had said. It was taken from a few paces behind them and features the twins engaged in conversation – heads slightly turned towards each other – walking together through the village market near the stadium.

The factor that intrigued SPORTS UNLIMITED was undoubtedly their attire. Both twins are sporting exy merchandise of rival teams. Andrew is wearing his own team shirt – probably his own uniform since they seem to be on their way to one of Andrew’s games. It’s his Knights shirt with their surname and the number 3 on the back in clear, white letters.

Aaron, however, is wearing Kevin’s merchandise. The Wyoming Wolves shirt – the team Kevin used to play for, at the time – with the name Day and the number 2 in black letters. It wasn’t actually Kevin’s own shirt, just merchandise.

Aaron admits that in light of recent events, it’s a cute picture. But the true story isn’t even a romantic one. Aaron isn’t wearing Kevin’s number to be cute; he’s wearing Kevin’s number to be a shithead to Andrew – it’s become a sort of tradition.

Since they’d graduated and Andrew and Kevin had both gone pro on rival teams, Aaron had found himself attending their games whenever he was free. He obviously supported them and wanted them to win, but – that’s boring. The first time he’d done it, it was to annoy Andrew – Andrew didn’t care, but Neil got annoyed, so it was still a win-win situation. Aaron had worn his Kevin Day Wolves shirt to a knights game when the Knights weren’t even playing the wolves. He thought it was funny, and even if Andrew didn’t give a shit – pissing Neil off is always a good pastime.

The next game he’d attended was one of Kevin’s, and he wondered if he could get the same rise out of Kevin he’d got out of Neil. The Wolves were playing the Panthers, and Aaron showed up in a Knights shirt with Minyard 3 on his back.

It became a fun game, wearing Andrew’s shirt to Kevin’s games and Kevin’s shirt to Andrew’s. Finally, the Wolves and Knights played each other, and the Foxes had placed bets on what Aaron’s move would be. Choose between Kevin and Andrew, finally? Normal attire? Wolves merch in the first half and Knights merch when Andrew finally shows up in the second half?

Aaron had worn his own Foxes, Minyard 5, shirt to that game, and every game Andrew and Kevin played each other in future.

“I do not need a PR agent,” Aaron finally says. “I did not get as far away from exy as I could, and go to fucking medical school, to be on the cover of a sports magazine,” “that’s the type of thing you should tell your PR agent,” Andrew advises.

-Chapter 3, The One Where Everyone Finds Out

#aaron minyard #andrew minyard #nicky hemmick #kevin day #neil josten #kevaaron #aftg fanfiction #aftg #the one with kevaaron #the one with all the ships #the one where everyone finds out #andriel

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balletroyale · 1 year ago

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Asked and Answered: Royal Ballet (At long last)

Clara debuts for Bomin, Viola and Marianna! Thoughts?

Bomin and Marianna have always caught my eye so far, I'm really pleased with them. Viola I hadn't ever really noticed until that competition, and even then I wasn't terribly impressed. But hope she's improved since then!

Curious to see which cast will get the live cinema of Swan Lake for Royal Ballet. Also wondering if we will get any debut for Swan Lake

I am still not-so-patiently waiting for Campbell's debut in Swan Lake. I'm sure it won't happen but please, Kevin, shock me.

I think Swan Lake is probably going to be Naghdi/Ball or there's a slight chance of Kaneko. I'm really hoping for Lamb though; there's not a professional recording of her Swan Lake and she doesn't have too many left.

wild question just for fun - predict 1-2 future royal ballet principals from the current artists/first artists :)

Daichi Ikarashi, Bomin Kim

Osipova and why she only has 4 shows for fall season (theory/spectulation)

I don't want to be weird about her personal life, but I think there's a few reasons why Osipova doesn't have a lot of shows this upcoming autumn season (based on what I've read/heard):

1. She said in a 2022 interview (I think in the Guardian?) that she wants to have children. I'm praying she's able to conceive. It's going to be such big news in the ballet world if she does get pregnant/announces her pregnancy

2. She said she wanted to focus more as a director of her Bloom Dance project in the future rather than perform the same dance roles she's done so many times (Kitri, Odette/Odile).

3. She's now 37 and embracing age, even said something like "I used to get 16 shows but now I get like 2, 3, 4 shows now."

Basically I believe that she wants to focus more on her personal life now and have children before she gets older.

I think all of this could be true but I don't think it's particularly strange she's only performing 4 times in the autumn. there are plenty of principals doing that, it just doesn't happen to all be in the same production. She probably isn't doing Nutcracker because she has to do two casts of Don Q into November and then is going to be filmed in Manon in Feb.

Do you happen to know why there is so much criticism about natalia osipova? In my opinion she's a true talent and definitively a ballerina that will go down in history for her amazing feats. And I just see people kind of brush her off like she's not the legend she is! I'd love to know if you have more information on this..

There's a few reasons, I think. Firstly, she isn't the type of 'trendy' ballerina we see today. This may be controversial but I see her much more like a Soviet-era dancer than a modern one. She is fast, she isn't too concerned about getting her legs as high as possible, and performance comes before technique. She is not long and graceful. I also think that people who see her in person have vastly different experiences seeing her in-person vs. on a video. She dances for everyone in the house. Her expressions are exaggerated in order to do this. In a video, this comes across as overacting instead.

#ask #royal ballet

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stormblessed95 · 3 years ago

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AFTG Quotes I Love

All art (unless stated otherwise) by @llstarcasterll

I'm high key obsessed with these books (All For The Game Trilogy) and I'm about to reread them again with a few friends (their first time 🥺) so I wanted to make a post gushing over it and some of my favorite quotes from the Trilogy! Feel free to ignore it, i know my book posts aren't why yall follow me. Lol let me indulge though! And maybe it will encourage some of you to pick the books up though too if you want!! Beware any minor or potential spoilers though in the rest of the post if that's something that bothers you. I won't include any major plot spoilers though of course. I read them for the first time in 2020 and this will be my 4th reread. Lol

Now clearly I love these books, they are comfort reads to me. I love these characters. But that doesn't mean they don't have their fair share of problems 😅 and it's got some romance in there, but it's not a romance book. I love these characters way more than I should, but they aren't good people! Lol trigger warnings should be observed before reading these books, please. Trigger warnings include, well basically everything that could be a trigger warning. You can find a detailed list of those warnings here.

The Foxhole Court:

"Did you think I made the team the way it is because I thought it would be a good publicity stunt? It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

"It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation."

"Keys meant Neil had explicit permission to be here and do what he liked. They meant he belonged."

"I'm not a math problem." "But I'll still solve you."

"Neil was much better at instigating fights than winning them, but it'd be worth losing if he could just put a fist through Kevin's face once."

"What he'd just told Andrew was fifty percent truth, the most honest thing he'd ever tell someone about his life, and Andrew took it without batting an eye. Neil didn't know how to feel about that. He should be relieved, because it meant Andrew might be done asking him questions, but it went deeper than that. He wondered for a moment if Andrew could handle the entire truth so calmly, but that was too dangerous and stupid to consider."

"Morning, sunshine," Matt said with exaggerated cheer. "Fuck you," Kevin said. Dan yawned into her hand. "Glad to see you're still a morning person." "Fuck you too."

"When I said Abby and I would look out for you, I didn't mean you should pick a fight with Riko on national television," Wymack said. "Should I have spelled that out beforehand?" "Probably," Neil said."

"Family means something different with us because it has to. It's not about blood. It's not even about who we like. It's about who Andrew's willing to protect."

Top 2 from @llstarcasterll bottom 2 from @rosiethorns88

The Raven King:

"Renee and Andrew are sparring partners," Matt said. It obviously didn't sound as ridiculous to them as it did to Neil, but aside from flat- out asking what a sweet Christian girl was doing fighting the unofficial sociopath of the team, Neil didn't know what to say."

"Neil wanted to tell them death was no reason to hold back, but he found their humanity interesting."

"Your parents are dead, you are not fine, and nothing is going to be okay. This is not news to you. But from now until May you are still Neil Josten and I am still the man who said he would keep you alive."

"Yeah, Hennessey," Dan said, sounding calmer than Neil thought she should in the face of such treatment. "Treats you right if you're willing to pay and will fuck you over the morning after if you're not nice enough to her. Sorry, but this bottle's got a name on it. Hope you feel that one for a while, you lowlife asshole."

"I was the first person who ever looked at Andrew and told him he was worth something. When he comes off these drugs and has nothing else to hold him up I will give him something to build his life around."

"They never pried, but it took him weeks to realize they didn't have to. They didn't ask for secrets; they settled for the breadcrumb truths of day to day life. They knew he hated vegetables but loved fruit, that his favorite color was gray, and that he didn't like movies or loud music. They were things Neil understood only in terms of survival, but his teammates hoarded these insights like gold."

"Neil thought about Renee's bruised knuckles, Dan's fierce spirit, and Allison holding her ground on the court a week after (x)'s death. He thought about his mother standing unflinching in the face of his father's violent anger and her ruthlessly leaving bodies in their wake. He felt compelled to say, "Some of the strongest people I've known are women."

"I am a bad person trying very hard to be a good person, but I would not be trying at all if not for the outside interventions in my life."

"Andrew laughed. "I'm remembering why I don't like you." "I'm surprised you forgot." "I didn't," Andrew said. "I just got distracted for a moment there."

"Neil waited, but Andrew didn't let go. With so many people watching them Neil couldn't lift his shirt. He did the next best thing and dragged one of Andrew's hands under the hem. He pressed Andrew's palm to the ugly scarring across his abdomen. Andrew's eyes dropped to Neil's shirt like he could see Neil's marred skin through the dark cotton. "Do you understand?" Neil asked. "Nothing Riko does will make me leave him. We will both be here when you get back."

The Kings Men:

"You flounder when they call you 'friend'; you'd probably have a psychotic break when they freaked out over you."

"He straightened and turned to find Andrew had shifted closer. There was nowhere for Neil to stand except up against Andrew, but somehow Neil didn't mind. They'd been apart for seven weeks but Neil keenly remembered why he'd stayed. He remembered this unyielding, unquestioning weight that could hold him and all of his problems up without breaking a sweat. For the first time in months he could finally breathe again. It was such a relief it was frightening; Neil hadn't meant to lean on Andrew so much."

"I'm not a hallucination," Neil said, nonplussed. "You are a pipe dream," Andrew said."

"That's not exactly reassuring. From you 'fine' could mean anything from 'I'm going to hitchhike across the state' to 'I'm beaten to a bloody pulp but I can still hold a racquet'."

"Andrew doesn't believe in regret; he says regret is grounded in shame and guilt, neither of which serves any real purpose."

"Andrew refused on the grounds he wouldn't wish you on anyone except a mortician." "Drama queen," Neil muttered."

"I care about who you are right now and who you can be going forward. I'm not asking you to forget your past, but I am telling you to overcome it."

"You gave me a key and called it home."

"I am not your answer, and you sure as fuck aren't mine."

"I've said all year I don't swing and I meant it. Kissing you doesn't make me look at any of them differently. The only one I'm interested in is you."

"Andrew bit the question into the corner of Neil's jaw. "Yes or no?" "It's always yes with you," Neil said."

"Fight because you don't know how to die quietly. Win because you don't know how to lose."

Why is this series just trauma and found family and why is it basically my comfort read?? Lol for anyone who read all this, thanks. If you've read this series and want to fawn over it with me, please feel free to do so and/or DM me! I'm ready and willing to talk about it constantly. Lol I had to cut so many amazing quotes for 1) space and 2) major spoilers Lol. Just a bunch of awfulness and loveliness all rolled into one Trilogy I guess? 😅😂

Thanks for indulging me in my love for another book series over here!! 🥰🥰 I appreciate you all

#aftg #foxhole court quotes #my comfort characters and I dont want to know what that says about me thanks #andriel

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spaceorphan18 · 3 years ago

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have you ever read a detailed post about the glee cast’s singing voices? like all about their technique and stuff? reading your reaction to the ‘vocal coach reacts to glee’ video makes me want to know more!

Hmmmm, not really! Not from a professional vocalist POV, I don’t think. (That I’m aware of. This does remind me there was one vocal coach in fandom, and she hated Blaine, and I wasn’t too fond of her, or her analysis, so I won’t point you in that direction.)

My background is in music, but not in vocal performance. But I can give you a quick rundown of cast’s musical abilities if you like, though they won’t be huge on the technical side of it.

ETA: I started this a while ago before I started doing the music retrospective - I’ll probably try to explore a little more as I do those. If you guys want more conversation about one person in particular, let me know!

But for now...

Matthew Morrison: Is a classically trained musician with a very good voice. It’s a shame Will was such a tool, because Matthew Morrison was very talented, had the ability to do a lot of great things with his voice. People joke about his rapping -- but I think this stemmed from the issue that his background is in musical theater -- which teaches you a cleaner and more traditional way of singing -- opposed to a pop or rap style. He doesn’t have the grit that rap often has, which makes it a little too much like a Kid’s Bop version of something. When singing musical theater, though, he really shined.

A number that showcases ability: Make ‘Um Laugh

A number that isn’t so great: Ice Ice Baby

Lea Michele: Lea does have a very good and solid voice. She’s also been classically trained. The one drawback is that it hinders her a bit on pop music, she lacks some of the grittiness often needed on a lot of the pop songs. She also starts to lose some of her classic training as the show goes on (which I think is a shame) so that she can get some of the shine off her voice to make a transition to pop music.

She has one vocal tick that drives me crazy, though -- she has a tendency to slide into her notes instead of hitting them dead on, which gets worse as the show goes on, and it makes her sound a little screech-y at times. But for the most part -- she is really good.

A number that showcases ability: Don’t Rain on My Parade

A number that isn’t so great: Ooops...I Did It Again

Amber Riley: The cool thing about Amber is that you get to hear her grow as a musician as the show goes on. She had already started to get vocal lessons before the show started, but at the beginning, she was still a bit raw and unrefined in her technique. But you can tell she did practice, and her voice is developed beautifully as the show goes on. She was one of the best, well rounded vocalists on the show. She had a good handle on pop and R&B music, but she could sing musical theater rather clearly, too. She has great breath support - and can belt numbers out while still retaining the quality. Can’t say enough good thing about Amber’s voice.

A number that showcases ability: Someday We’ll Be Together

A number that isn’t so great: Sweet Transvestite (It’s not bad - but it’s my least favorite Mercedes solo.)

Cory Monteith: Cory wasn’t a vocalist. And, to be completely honest, I thought it was some kind of joke when they introduced him as some kind of hidden musical gem when Will hears him singing the showers. He did really well with classic rock that’s allows not only for a weaker voice - but is often not as technically hard. And I have to wonder if Cory got lessons, because he did get a lot better as the show went on, and I think his season 4 work is great!

I will say that sometimes they pushed his voice a little too far. A lot of times songs were either too high for his range and he often sounded like he was straining. (The most notable of which is A House is Not a Home - which is far too high for him.) That said - I think he did reasonably well along side Lea - mostly because often sang pop duets.

A number that showcases ability: I’ve Gotta Be Me

A number that isn’t so great: Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore

Chris Colfer: Chris is such an interesting study due to the uniqueness of his voice. He’s got a huge range both in terms of genre and literal range of voice. He can sing quite a few octaves. He’s got a great, clear sound, too, which is why he’s great with theater numbers. Interestingly, Chris’s voice did drop over the years, and while I know people love his higher range, he has a gorgeous lower range that wasn’t used as often (and is often my favorite.)

The one (nitpicky) issue was that Chris’s voice ended up getting pigeon-holed. I know singing Diva-Broadway songs was his schtick - but it would have been nice to hear him sing a bigger variety of songs. He wasn’t the strongest on non-ballad pop music, but they also didn’t give him that very often.

There’s also the fascinating unusualness in that, Chris could really sing duets very well with people -- but in group numbers, his voice sticks out like a sore thumb, and he was often left out of some of the more general songs because of it. His voice just doesn’t texture very well - which is why I get why they did what they did.

A number that showcases ability: Being Alive

A number that isn’t so great: I’ll Remember

Kevin McHale: I feel like people are often surprised when they sit down and think about it, but Kevin has a great voice. He has a solid range, and he’s able to do pop music very well (I believe it helps that he was in a professional boy band for years.) Not sure if people noticed - but he’s often the lead on group numbers that don’t need to be related to specific story or character points. Which is a bummer for Artie’s story - but if you’re a fan of Kevin’s voice, you get a lot to choose from.

Kevin was also able to handle a lot of the musical demands that I think some of the other males weren’t? He’s a much better singer than Cory - and could handle leading a full number. His voice isn’t as unique as Chris’s and can texture really well. In addition he was fairly versatile. He might have been the best rapper the show had, lol.

A number that showcases ability: For Once In My Life

A number that isn’t so great: Addicted to Love (personal taste choice - I just don’t like the song.)

Jenna Ushkowitz: Jenna is another one who is classically trained. She has a strong, solid voice, which was unfortunately not showcased all that well on the show, and because of that, I’m not sure how she does on a wide variety of music. I do think she sounds a little generic - but not helping is lack of being featured.

A number that showcases ability: I Don’t Know How To Love Him

A number that isn’t so great: Gangum Style (She does fine - but the fact that they made her do it in the first place...)

Dianna Agron: The interesting thing about Dianna is that she has a really nice low female voice. The fact that they never gave her any punk or harder rock was really a shame, because I think she would have done really well with that. The funny thing is that, more so in the beginning, they show tried to make her sing songs that fit her character - but weren’t necessarily great for her voice. I feel like it wasn’t until late season 2 did they start really using her voice for the better.

A number that showcases ability: Never Can Say Goodbye

A number that isn’t so great: It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World

Mark Salling: Mark had a really solid voice - that often lent itself well to folk and acoustic really well. He was good with softer pop and classic rock, and the show showcased that pretty well. I think, in general, Mark was a much better vocalist than actor, and the show often picked good music for him to sing - which helped with his character. I don’t have a whole lot to say, only that I think he was underrated as a vocalist, but I get it - with all the other baggage that comes with talking about Mark.

A number that showcases ability: No Surrender

A number that isn’t so great: Fight For Your Right (to Party) (I don’t think it’s bad - I just hate this song.)

Naya Rivera: Naya is a little tricky. I think she has a good, smoky sound to her voice that makes her excellent at things like pop and R and B. (Shame she didn’t have a good jazz number to do on the show - she would have been great at that.) I think she was really versatile, though, and handled her Broadway numbers really well. I do think she was somewhat pinched and nasal at times - and while I do think this was a stylistic choice, to me it’s not my favorite type of vocal sound. But I do think she was really good at the numbers she was given, and was one of the most talented female vocalists on the show.

A number that showcases ability: Back to Black

A number that isn’t so great: Alfie (I think I may dislike the song more than her singing on it.)

Heather Morris: Heather wasn’t a singer, and I do think it showed at times. She often had to have her voice autotuned more than anyone else on the show. That said - she did do Britney Spears really well, and I think she deserves credit for that.

A number that showcases ability: I’m a Slave 4 U

A number that isn’t so great: Dinosaur

Chord Overstreet: Chord’s background is in country - and that shows a bit through his singing - he’s got a bit of twang in his voice, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s a fun singer. I don’t think the show knew exactly what to do with him (voice or character) but there’s a lightness to his singing that makes him easily adaptable to pretty much anything you throw at him.

A number that showcases ability: Red Solo Cup (You think I’m joking - but I think this is the most fun Chord has singing a song.)

A number that isn’t so great: Girls on Film (I think just by default of me liking everything else better.)

Darren Criss: Ah, Darren, where to even start. The thing about Darren is that he may not be the strongest singer, his voice is a little wobbly at times, and his range is somewhat limited, but his showmanship is just completely beyond nearly everyone else. Darren has the unique ability to draw you in with his singing and hold you captive. There are technically better singers on the show - but Darren just has this amazing ability to really sell a performance. And I do love his voice, even if there are some limitations to it. I really could gush about Darren’s performance abilities, but I’ll refrain...

A number that showcases ability: Teenage Dream (Both Versions)

A number that isn’t so great: Piano Man (Which isn’t bad - I just think the show had done it better, and it’s a rare time that felt like Darren was kind of phoning it in.)

A quick run down of others, but first a quick aside - as they started adding people in, vocal ability starts being a factor. I think a lot of the newer characters could sing better than they could act, which was both helpful and a hinderance. I think we began to get more solid musical numbers as the show went on, but sometimes acting wasn’t always top notch - and across the board, old and new, hitting a combo of acting and singing ability didn’t always happen.

Harry Shum Jr.: Not really a singer - but the show often played to his strengths, and his few songs played off the fact that he wasn’t a great singer to great aplomb.

Jane Lynch: Can hold a tune, even if her voice isn’t the best - is really great at musical comedy.

Jayma Mays: She has more singing ability than the show allowed to showcase, however, she’s another one whose voice was really unique, and doesn’t texture very well.

Damien McGinty: Is actually a very good singer. However, he’s very generic, too - which makes him a little on the bland side.

Sam Larsen: I think he was fine - I don’t think he sang enough on the show for me to make much of an impression one way or the other.

Alex Newel: Fucking Fantastic! Alex might be one of the strongest vocalists on the show - has great range, energy, and vocal control.

Melissa Benoist: Her voice tends to lean on the pop-ier side, but it’s a solid voice, and her work on the show was pretty good.

Jacob Artist: Has a strong voice, and could sing genres that weren’t often featured on the show (like hip-hop and R&B).

Blake Jenner: His voice is fine, but like Damien McGinty, it’s generic and a little bland.

Becca Tobin: She has a very quirky voice that brings in a different and unique sound. They didn’t use her much, though, so it’s hard to comment.

Noah Guthrie: An amazing singer, has a really unique sound, but is able to do blend in well with others.

Samantha Ware: Another amazing singer. She’s in full control and can do really great things with it.

Billy Lewis Jr: Has a good, solid voice. Not as strong as Guthrie, or some of the other guys, but he’s a lot of fun to watch.

Laura Dreyfuss: Like Becca Tobin - has a uniqueness to her vocal quality that makes it stand out a little, but she’s still a solid singer.

Marshall Williams: His vocal ability is okay. It’s better than his acting ability. I’m slightly confused how this dude got cast, tbh.

#Anonymous #if you guys want to me to elaborate on someone - please let me know!#it's hard to do everyone since there are so many #this post took forever to write up #that's how s.o. sees it

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ificanthaveu · 4 years ago

Text

Don’t Tell The RA || Shawn Mendes

Description: RA!Shawn asks for your help with studying for your final exam, but an RA should always expect the unexpected.

A/N: Happy 1st day of my semi-not-really-ficmas! I’m positive I’ve used every winter/Christmas themed fic idea, but I scrounged together a few so here’s the first of the installment. These’ll probably all be pretty short (except for 1 probably bc i have a lot of ideas for it). Also.....if this gif doesn’t look like RA!Shawn trying to get his freshmen boys to stfu so they can start and end the hall meeting ASAP.

Word Count: 2.4k

You were the first person out of the room when your History professor dismissed you, meeting your awaiting roommate Micah across the hall. The two of you started walking back to your dorm without much of a word until she launched into how difficult her calculus exam is going to be.

“At least it’s related to your major. I’m about to fail a gen-ed,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “I’ve never liked History, and this is a literal nightmare.”

“Hey, only one more test, and we’re done,” she reminded you.

Before you could respond to her, you heard your name being yelled from behind you. The both of you stopped and turned around to see Shawn maneuvering his way in and out of people, his tall stature poking out from the rest as you smiled at him.

“Have you started studying for the final yet?” He asked as he fell into step with you and Micah, making your way out of the building.

You practically snorted with a head shake before you said, “Absolutely not. I’ve been so caught up in my biology classes that I’ve barely started looking at this. It’s not looking good for me.”

“We get it. You’re pre-med,” Micah mumbled before you elbowed her.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve cracked open the textbook since the first week,” he said.

“Oh, you opened yours? Mine’s still in the plastic wrap,” you said as proud as you could.

That earned a laugh from Shawn as he shook his head at you.

“You may be worse off than I am,” he said.

He paused for a moment, looking between you and where he had to turn to go to the freshman dorms, opposite campus from the junior ones.

“Would you wanna study tonight?” He asked.

You heard Micah choke on her breath as you prayed he didn’t hear it.

“Yeah, I definitely need it,” you replied.

“Can’t do it in our room,” Micah interjected quickly. “Josie is coming over for calc.”

“We can study at mine,” he said. “If that’s ok with you of course. We just might get interrupted by check-out questions.”

“Sounds just fine with me. I could never do what you do,” you said, looking up at him as he shrugged and looked away, the blush almost evident on his cheeks.

“Well, my room and board is paid for, so I’ll deal with throwing up freshmen in the bathroom at 2 am,” he said. “Does 7 work?”

“Sounds perfect,” you said as you turned to go towards your dorm. “See you then.”

Micah followed behind you as you began to cross campus, waiting until you were clearly out of earshot of Shawn.

“You really had to say we couldn’t do it in our dorm?” You asked as you gripped onto her wrist and she laughed. “Now I have to be extra alone with him.”

“That’s the point,” she said flatly. “Don’t act like you haven’t been staring at him all semester. That man is the total package.”

“And we’re studying together, nothing else,” you quickly pointed out.

“Well it may start that way but-“ you cut her off before she could finish.

“Don’t say something that won’t come true,” you said as you swiped into the building and walked up the stairs to your dorm.

“You wish it will though,” she said in a sing-song voice as you unlocked your door and pushed her in.

“So what are you wearing?” She asked as she whipped open your closet.

“I’m not changing,” you said.

Micah turned around and looked up and down at your sweatpants and sweatshirt with a look of disgust.

“Can you at least put leggings on and a clean sweatshirt? Maybe put your hair in a pony-tail instead of that bun that looks like it was slept in - scratch that - a bun that was slept in,” she said as she threw you a pair of black leggings and a school crewneck.

“This is ridiculous,” you mumbled as you changed.

“You’ll thank me later,” she called after you.

It had started snowing by the time 6:45 came around, and you began your trip across campus. You were regretting not wearing a jacket as you shivered and crossed your arms tightly around your chest.

The person at the front desk smiled at you as you made your way up to Shawn’s dorm, scanning the rooms for the one that said “Residential Assistant” on the front.

You knocked twice once you found it, rocking back and forth on your feet and trying to shake the cold. You glanced around at the winter-themed decorations around the hall before Shawn swung the door open.

“Hey,” he said brightly with that big smile that made you weak. “You look freezing.”

“I am,” you said as he welcomed you in. “Big mistake not wearing a coat.”

You scanned over his room quickly as he shut the door behind the two of you. He had white Christmas lights strung along his window, making for a beautiful reflection mixed with the snow. His overhead light was off, but the lamp beside his futon was on. It was surprisingly clean, but you attributed that to him never knowing when someone was going to need to talk to him.

Two mugs were situated on his desk in the corner of the room. He crossed the room and grabbed one and handed it to you.

“It’s mint tea,” he said. “Helps with studying.”

“Ah, of course,” you said, taking the mug and sitting on his, surprisingly comfortable, futon.

“And a blanket,” he said as he pulled it from the back of the couch. “Since you look like you might have hypothermia.”

“Thank you,” you said softly as you wrapped it tightly around your shoulders.

You pulled out your book and binder, flipping to the study guide that was handed out in class.

“Ok, where do you want to start?” You asked as Shawn pulled his slightly crumpled study guide from where it was tucked in his book.

“Well, I know nothing,” he said as he scanned over the paper. “Actually, I know one.”

“Which one?”

“The one he told us the answer for today.”

“That does not count.”

The two of you determined an order to study from as you kept his open textbook balancing on both of your knees, occasionally having to lean closer to the other to take a look at a passage.

Shawn skimmed the page, pointing at a passage and trying to explain it to you as you looked at him. You couldn’t hear a word he said as you watched how into the topic he got, using his hands to try to express his point. You sent the butterflies to the bottom of your stomach by taking a giant sip of the tea and moving onto the next question.

He asked you the next one, taking the textbook from you as you leaned an arm on the back of the futon. You glanced between him and the mini Christmas tree in the corner as you tried to explain it as best you can without the book as a crutch.

You looked back at him, his head cocked to the side and an interested look on his face. A few curls fell onto his forehead as he studied you. You tried to keep talking as his gaze was unwavering.

“Sounds right to me,” he said, his face dangerously close to yours as he also leaned his arm on the back.

“I honestly wouldn’t know,” you whispered. “Were you even looking at the book to make sure I was right?” You teased.

“I had something else I had to look at,” he said at the same volume.

You felt him lean in as you did the same. You could feel his breath fan over your lips as your hand rested on his knee.

Three solid knocks sent you flying away from each other.

Shawn cursed under his break as he stood up and swung the door open quickly.

“What?” He said to the kid in front of him, who was significantly shorter than Shawn.

“Kevin knocked over the-“ he paused as he saw you watching from across the room. “Oh, sorry, Shawn, I didn’t realize you had a girl over.”

You choked on your sip of tea as Shawn shoved the kid out the door and slammed the door behind him.

You pulled yourself together as you could hear Shawn’s muffled voice through the paper-thin walls.

“Why the fuck would you say that with her right there?” He said.

“I didn’t know! I would’ve gotten the RA on duty if I knew you were on a date,” the kid yelled back.

You could hear Shawn huff and could imagine him tugging at his hair.

“It’s nothing, Cade. It’s literally nothing at all,” Shawn said quickly. Your stomach dropped.

“It didn’t look like nothing,” the kid - Cade - teased back.

“Just tell me what’s going on, so I can study, which is the only thing we were doing,” he trailed off as you could hear the two of them walking down the hall.

You tried not to let yourself get too disappointed as you half packed up some of your stuff, not wanting to overstay your welcome if he didn’t see anything here. You felt yourself begin to overthink, wondering what would’ve happened if he kissed you. If he just wanted something quick before break, a finale to your semester together in class.

You waited patiently, your chin resting on your knees as you tried to look at the study guide with no luck.

The door swung open once again as Shawn came back. He shut the door behind him, running his hands through his hair as he looked over at you, noticing nothing but your study guide sitting out. He felt his stomach drop but didn’t say anything.

“Ok, where were we?” He said as he sat down again, dangerously close as his thigh grazed across yours.

Your breath hitched as he looked over at the study guide in your lap, looking at your one newly highlighted point.

You looked up at him as he asked you a question on the point. It was obvious he was looking at your lips.

You tried to answer the question and steady your shaky voice, but he leaned closer. Before his lips had the chance to press against yours, you rested your hand against his chest.

“Shawn…” you trailed off. “I can’t.”

“I’m so sorry,” he quickly said. “I didn’t - I thought - I’m sorry, I thought there was…” he trailed off as he tried to motion between the two of you as he leaned back.

“I just,” you paused as you let out a breath. “I really don’t want to be a one-night thing before you go back home.”

“Why would you think that?” He asked, an upset look clearly on his face.

“It’s nothing. It’s literally nothing at all,” you quoted him as you played with the edge of the study guide.

He looked at you confused as you looked down at the page, trying to distract yourself.

“Why would you say that? I don’t think this is just nothing,” he said.

“Shawn, these walls are paper-thin,” you snapped as you looked up at him. “I heard you telling the kid that this was nothing, and I don’t want nothing. So I’m stopping it here.”

He rubbed his forehead softly as you tucked your study guide into your binder, opening your backpack to put it away.

“I’m not going to tell one of my residents that he just interrupted something,” Shawn said quickly. “They’re my residents. I’m not about to tell them about my love life. I didn’t know you’d hear that. I swear I don’t think this is just nothing. I just don’t want them to know that stuff about me. There’s no reason to. I’m so sorry if it came off as any other way.”

You watched him continue to get flustered as he stayed relatively close to you, his hand almost hitting your shoulder as he spoke.

“I’ve been crazy about you since the beginning of the semester. I don’t just want to kiss you and forget,” he explained, leaning close to you again.

“Really?” You asked softly.

He smiled back at you, his hand almost resting against your shoulder as he draped it against the back of the futon.

“Really,” he replied.

This time when he leaned in, you let him kiss you. His hand enveloped the side of your face as you rested your hands gently on his chest. He tugged on your hip, and you followed his lead as you climbed onto his lap, smiling into the kiss as his hands stayed planted on your hips, gripping into your sides.

You pulled back before pecking his lips once more, leaning your forehead against his so you could see his big smile.

You glanced outside to see the snow getting worse as you let out a sigh.

“I should get going,” you whispered.

“But it’s a blizzard out there,” he mumbled as he pressed a kiss to your cheek. “And you don’t have a coat.” Another kiss at the corner of your lips. “Just stay,” he whispered as his lips met yours again.

“I don’t want to get us in trouble,” you whisper back.

“I know the RA. Don’t worry about it. I can pull some strings if he finds out,” he said with a cocky smile as you rolled your eyes, leaning in again.

“Won’t the residents know?” You mumbled against his lips.

“Let ‘em talk,” he said as his hand rubbed up your side, sending shivers across your body. “I won’t see them for over a month anyway.”

“Well, as long as the RA doesn’t find out, I think maybe I can stay,” you whispered as Shawn flipped you over so your back pressed against the futon and he hovered above you.

“I’ll make sure he never finds out.”

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teawaffles · 4 years ago

Text

The Conspiratorial Bullet: Chapter 2

“Oh my…… I thought this would be nothing more than a war game, but it’s certainly more nerve-wracking than I expected.”

The participants had taken their places, and around five minutes had passed since the game began. Kevin was whispering to Albert beside him as they walked, while pointing the gun he’d received in every direction around him. But in contrast to the jittery man, Albert had the relaxed air of a soldier.

“Certainly, this is a feeling of tension one wouldn’t normally get to experience. In fact, the enemy might just be around that corner.”

“What!? Really?”

Panicked, Kevin’s eyes darted all around them in a fluster. That disproportionate reaction elicited a wry laugh from Albert.

“Although it’s important to be aware of your surroundings, if you’re that stiff, your movements will be slow when it’s time to fight. Please relax a little.”

“I-I see. Yes, you’re right……”

Kevin nodded. Beside him, Albert’s guard was impeccable as he watched the leaves swaying in the slight breeze.

The playing field encompassed the entire forest. That said, as it wasn’t a vast area, there was no danger of getting lost. In addition, there was a little cabin in the woods, used on a daily basis by the gamekeeper who managed the hunting grounds; as they had obtained permission to use it during the game, indoor battles were also an option.

For the purposes of safety, all players were obliged to wear spectacles shaped to resemble goggles, as well as bulletproof vests. The guns they had been issued fell into two categories: revolvers and sniper rifles. As a forfeit, and also to pass the time, eliminated players were tasked to feed pheasant chicks at a game bird nursery a good distance away.

Incidentally, Herder had also wanted to impose a severe punishment in the event a gun was damaged. Foreseeing that this would create needless worry, Moran and the others had swiftly hushed him before the words left his mouth.

Thinking back to the explanation of the rules, Kevin looked at the revolver in his hand.

“In any case, this gun is exquisitely crafted. As it was mentioned earlier that the guns used fake bullets, I imagined it would resemble a toy, but it looks exactly like the real thing.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, though it’s all due to Herder’s exceptional skill. I heard he oversaw the creation of these weapons down to the finest details.”

Kevin looked at the card attached to his gun with string. Written on it was a number 8.

“I see: so this is a measure to prevent the guns from getting lost. But if they are so important, I thought it would be safer to carve the numbers directly onto them.”

“You may be right; in which case, we may’ve caused everyone some inconvenience.”

Albert said that with a slightly apologetic tone, and Kevin waved it off.

“No, no — if anything, it reflects his passion, and I honestly respect that. Even though I work in a different field, I have a lot to learn from him as a professional.”

“Thank you very much. I’m sure Herder would be delighted to hear that,” Albert replied, with sincere joy.

However, in an instant, Kevin’s expression seemed to grow a little darker.

“Still, maybe I shouldn’t have brought Helena here after all. She absolutely insisted on coming, so I relented, but with the guns looking so real, that…… I wonder if it’ll remind her of that incident.”

Albert could sense what he was trying to say.

“For that, I sincerely apologise. This event must seem somewhat inappropriate after what she went through.”

Hearing Albert take his remark so seriously, Kevin tried to explain himself in a fluster.

“N-No, it’s alright, I did not mean it as criticism. Besides, Helena seemed to be especially enjoying herself too.”

“Nonetheless, please allow me to apologise, for it may be the case that she’s simply putting up a strong front.”

At that, Kevin cocked his head in confusion.

“……Then, why did you decide to hold this game?”

Albert’s reply sounded almost as if he was speaking to himself.

“——Because it’s part of our ‘plan’.”

“Huh?”

Unsure of the meaning behind that word, the question fell from his lips before he could stop himself. But Albert did not elaborate further.

The conversation had unwittingly ground to a halt. Just as Kevin was searching for a different topic to talk about, Albert’s sharp gaze landed on a nearby thicket.

“There’s someone there.”

“Huh? Really?”

Bewildered, Kevin looked in the same direction. Then they heard the sound of leaves rustling, and the undergrowth parted to reveal an elderly nobleman.

Seeing the person before them, Albert lowered his gun. A warm smile rose to his face.

“……So it was you, Lord Andy. I thought you were the enemy.” [1]

“Hello, Albert-kun. Just for fun, I thought I’d hide and see how long it took you both to spot me, but it seems you discovered me instantly. As expected of the young, your perceptiveness is incredibly sharp,” he laughed, ruffling his own short white hair. He was also on the same team as Albert and Kevin.

The elderly nobleman was Andy Krueger, whose estate extended across the surrounding lands; he also owned the hunting grounds on which the game was being held. Today’s game had been brought into reality after Albert proposed the idea to him.

For such an important gathering on the social calendar, one would normally be hesitant to transform it into an unorthodox event like this. But Andy had jumped at the offer, and even offered his opinions on the finer points of the game. Because of this generous and broad-minded nature of his, he also had the trust of the other nobles.

At the man’s arrival, for some reason, Kevin sighed in relief.

“Please don’t surprise me like that — unlike Lord Albert, I was frightened half to death.”

“Sorry about that, Kevin-kun. But aren’t you being too timid? Have a little more nerve!”

“I’ll do my best.”

At their friendly banter, Albert seemed curious.

“Are both of you already acquainted?”

“Yes,” Kevin affirmed. “We got to know each other when Helena’s father and I were gaining recognition in London. Ever since that time, the nobility had not looked fondly upon us, and only Lord Andy treated us as equals.”

Kevin looked gratefully at the nobleman as he said this, and Andy clapped his shoulder heartily.

“Those aristocrats are really quite averse to the changing times, it seems. But I have no interest in such dreadful traditions. Even at the gathering earlier, they were keeping their distance and saying such rude things that I had to tell them off. Although I hadn’t seen them in a while, because of that, I didn’t even get a chance to say hello— Ah, apologies.”

“No, it’s fine, Lord Andy. You don’t have to apologise,” Kevin said, waving both hands in the air. “Rather, after hearing that you went to such lengths for a good-for-nothing like me, I’m truly grateful.”

“What’s this? Timid as ever, I see,” Andy barked. “You’re an excellent businessman, so why not act like it?”

Then the elderly nobleman’s expression, which had been cheerful thus far, clouded over just a little.

“Nevertheless, I still feel sorry for your friend. At least, his daughter Helena seems to be doing well…… Have there been no clues even now?”

Kevin’s tone also grew heavy.

“……None at all. Helena believes he’s alive, but personally, I think he’s no longer……”

“He’d suddenly vanished, didn’t he?”

Out of the blue, Albert cut in. The two men were startled, but Albert continued with a somewhat knowing look.

“After the incident at the department store, I became curious, and tried doing some research into it myself. It seems there are various peculiarities about this case. For one, the store Helena’s father opened with Mr Kevin had been a success, but one day, he simply disappeared without warning. On the night he was thought to have disappeared, when he was having dinner at home, a friend testified that nothing had seemed particularly off about him.”

“Moreover, that was the last time I saw him. I never thought it would be the last conversation we’d have together……”

Kevin — the friend who’d testified — said so in a thin voice, the corners of his mouth twitching as if in self-mockery.

“Of course, at first, the police suspected that I had something to do with it. They even went to the trouble of thinking up a motive: that as a co-owner, I would stand to gain all the store’s profits if he were to disappear.”

Thinking back to that false accusation, Kevin’s shoulders drooped. Seeing that, Andy addressed him in a droll voice.

“Come now, you never know — one day he might just come home all of a sudden. I’ve told you before: there’s nothing we can do at present, and on top of that, worrying unnecessarily will only injure your health.”

“……You’re right. Besides, we’re supposed to be having fun right now: if I’m the only one being so grave, I’ll just be putting a damper on things.”

“Exactly, exactly. Well then, let’s get back to the game,” Andy urged, thumping him on the back.

Albert, who had been watching their exchange with a calm gaze, smiled gently.

“Indeed; let us focus on the competition first. By the way, it’s about time for us to get our blood pumping…… I’d like to advance deeper into enemy territory. What say you two?”

At his invitation, Kevin quickly shook his head.

“No no no! Frankly, since the start of the game, my heart’s felt like it’s about to explode! Anything more than this and it’ll stop altogether!”

But the elderly nobleman threw his head back in hearty laughter.

“You young people have so much energy, it’s making me jealous. Kevin-kun, you’ve got to watch and learn as well.”

“No…… When I think about what lies ahead, somehow my legs can’t stop shaking,” Kevin murmured weakly. His legs were indeed trembling pitifully, so much so it wouldn’t be surprising for them to give out any moment now.

Andy sighed, as if astonished.

“It can’t be helped then. Sorry, Albert-kun — it seems he can’t go on. I’d like to say that I’ll go with you in his stead, but…… for some reason, my legs have been hurting for a while now. Despite my high spirits, my years have bested me today,” he laughed wryly, his expression weak.

Albert nodded firmly.

“I understand. Well then, let’s part ways here. I wish you both the best of luck.”

“T-Take care……”

Watching Albert’s brave figure as he walked gallantly into the depths of the forest, Kevin felt ashamed at his own cowardice once again.

Scoreboard

🔹 Blue team: Albert, Jack, Fred, William, Kevin, Andy

🔺 Red team: Moran, Bond, Louis, Helena

Footnotes:

[1] Andy’s title is not formally given in the story, but judging from the amount of land he owns, I think it’s safe to say that he’s a member of the peerage like Albert, and hence should be addressed as “Lord Andy”. (Wikipedia)

#moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #yuumori #english translation #the girl who sees rainbows

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cuppasunu · 4 years ago

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

synopsis: where juyeon loses all his memories after a terrible accident. many years later he’s bound to marry another woman—not knowing their photographer used to be his girlfriend of seven years. will he remember their love?

genre: series (fluff; angst; suggestive)

pairing: lee juyeon x fem. reader

playlist: spotify link

status: completed.

w/c: 1.4K words

once more masterlist

kyu is listening to ... take her to the moon by moira dela torre

[2018]

“So, a spring wedding would probably be perfect for this venue, right y/n?” Juyeon’s fiancée, Sihyeon asks, breaking your trance reminiscing about your memories with Juyeon.

“I’m sorry, I was distracted.. This is where you’re holding the wedding?” you asked, nearly choking on your water.

“Well, the date isn’t until spring next year so we’re still looking for options. It’s funny how my love actually insisted on the idea of having our engagement shoot to be done in a flower field..” she laughs, but hearing that just digs a deeper wound inside you, realizing this is exactly where Juyeon has taken you on dates.

Taking a deep breath, you excuse yourself and leave the couple to look around the location. Your eyes cannot peel away from Juyeon’s smile, it looks like it could reach from one ear to the other.

he looks so happy..

Rushing on your way to the back door, you bump into a person.. maybe two (?) coming from the parking lot.

“I’m sorry, I’m sor-”

“y/n.”

Hearing that familiar voice, your eyes immediately dart up meeting your old friend, Changmin. You glance past his shoulders—there’s Chanhee and Kevin. That persistent feeling of wanting to run away? Oh, it’s back and it’s even more intense.

Before you can even move your feet, Changmin grabs a hold of your wrist out to the parking lot, checking if the four of you are out of the couple’s sight.

“Y/n.. did you meet them already?” Kevin’s genuine concern is present on his face, but you’re not really sure if that’s for you or his dear friend.

“Did you tell him the truth?” Changmin asks.

“Hold on- I think I need some explanation on my end too! I didn’t know I was meeting him today, much less find out he’s getting married and he doesn’t remember me? What happened? Does he remember you? When did the accident happen?” you finally burst, tears streaming down your face.

You all stood there in silence, trying to make the situation make sense. Changmin looked like he was going to say something, and his expression seems like he wants to burn you alive.

“..we should have come earlier..” Chanhee hisses out of frustration, while putting the effort of calming Changmin down.

“We don’t owe you anything, y/n. Not one explanation. Especially when you br- when you left Juyeon.”

His stinging words hurt as if it just slapped you across the face. You chose to keep your mouth shut, knowing how much those words may have been painful, it was equally as accurate.

“Well, you know most of it. Before the accident, he already got rid of all your pictures, memories, everything.. So when we found out he had amnesia, we all thought it would be better to not remind him of you,” Kevin explained, “It’s better this way, y/n. They’re happy. He’s happy, now. And all those memories he had of you, it doesn’t hurt him anymore..”

but he forgot all our good ones too..

You sink down on the bench, processing the mess you have entered. The concrete was rough as you threw your head, leaning on the wall, “Is it too late to back out now?”

“Honestly, yea. Sihyeon has been raving about your work for months now. She’s been so excited about the thought of working with you but obviously we can’t stop her without raising any questions about your past with Juyeon,” Chanhee replies, “That’s why we were hoping to catch you before they did in case it all went wrong.”

“.. so she doesn’t know either..”

“She doesn’t. So please, keep this up. Until they get married at least. If you leave now, you’re going to have to explain why,” Changmin mutters bitterly, “Can you really live with the thought of hurting Juyeon again when he realizes the past five years of his life has been a lie?”

You shake your head, coming into terms with everything that’s going to happen. You stood up from your seat, fixing your hair and wiping away your tears.

“How long have they been together?”

“2 years.”

[2008 — flashback]

“Y/n, it’s unfair to be pretty and smart and talented AND be in a relationship..” your best friend, Mina, jokingly complains.

“And I think it’s time I set you up with one of Juyeon’s friends,” you replied, making the final touches on your hair in front of the mirror, “Hm, what about Kevin? Maybe Changmin?”

“Oh no, I’m not a sorry case! I’m perfectly satisfied being single,” she smiles, “Less distractions too, I have college to think about missy.”

“Who said that I’ll be abandoning my dreams for a relationship?” you protest.

“Alright- alright, I know you know better than that. It has worked for more than a year.. “

“Two years! It’s our second year anniversary today,” telling her as your ears perk up to hear the sound of your doorbell, “He’s here.”

“Now, have fun on your date!” Mina fixes your collar before ushering you out the door.

After waving your goodbye, you made your way to the gate, light on your steps. Juyeon is standing outside, sniffing a small bundle of tulips before hiding it behind his back when he hears you coming.

“Hi hun, happy second year anniversary!”

Juyeon greets you with a kiss on the forehead before presenting the flowers to you, “Hey babe, happy anniversary.”

“As always, you know which one’s my favorite,” you tell him, beaming at the buds of vibrant orange on your hand.

“It never changes, y/n,” he pokes fun at your reaction, “Actually I switched it up this time. It’s orange instead of the usual pink.”

“Ha ha,” you laugh sarcastically.

While walking to the bus stop, Juyeon tells you that today’s location will be a secret. But judging on the basket he’s holding, it’s not much of a surprise.

“I have an idea~”

“That’s not fair..” he huffs.

“You baby. Okay, I won’t ruin the surprise. I’ll wait when we get there.”

And as you guessed, he picked the Seoul Forest as your picnic location. Thankfully, on this cool spring day, it’s the perfect balance of sunny but windy weather. He lays down a blanket on the shade and sets the food he brought out of the basket.

“Wow, did you make all of this?” you’re amazed at the variety of snacks he made.

“I really should say Chanhee did all the work and I just ‘helped’ but I’m always trying to impress you so I’ll take the credit,” Juyeon sheepishly grins.

“Oh sure, yes. My chef boyfriend,” you say, pinching his cheek.

Juyeon scrunches his nose upon hearing that—boyfriend. It’s been two years since you gave him that sweet yes to his adorable confession, but he’s not going to get used to hearing you call him your boyfriend anytime soon. Of course you notice the way he gets shy when you do, so in every possible moment, you made sure to call him that.

“Right- my gifts,” you remember, grabbing your bag for the small box you’ve prepared to give him.

With raised eyebrows, his eyes follow the box you’ve given him. Opening the ribbon that tied it prettily, Juyeon scans through the envelopes that carry the letters you wrote. Inside, there’s also a handkerchief neatly folded at the bottom of the box.

“You can read the letters later,” you mumble, “but quick, look at the handkerchief and check the embroidery.”

He touches the edge of the light blue fabric— L J Y with a tiny arrow right beside it. At the same time, you pulled your own handkerchief to show him where you have stitched your own initials at the same place, but instead had a heart right next to it.

You look at his expression to gauge his reaction, and Juyeon’s face says it all. You swore he was so close shedding a tear or two, his eyes watering at the brim. Now, that genuinely surprised you; he wasn’t the type of guy that would seem to be easily moved.

“Do you like it?” you ask him.

“Do I like it? y/n.. I love it,” he sighs, cupping your cheek on his hand, “Thank you.”

You got on your knees to reach over the food and give him a peck on the lips. Feeling his smile pressed against you, he goes back in to kiss you again. It was sweet and tender—the way you would describe your relationship.

The rest of the afternoon went by like a blur, but all it reminds you was that it was a day well spent.

previous : next

a/n: oooh we met the rest of 98z !! why are they so mad that y/n’s back.. hm? gee i wonder why :> anyhow feel free to shoot me any asks of your theories muahahahah. i mean the plot is pretty much all done but i’m curious about what you think heehee

taglist:

@fullsunsays @haylo4ever @fleurseoul @deobi-pabo @amajeekies @lsangyeons @mydaintydaisy @sunwoowuvbot @elcie-chxn @zyoumeval @autumnleafez @nyuwings @hae-chans @mistresskate101 @heartyyjeno @nanadreamies @bacardihs @sanniescat @gughoul @hhjvlogs

please let me know if you would like to be included or taken out <3

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blossom-hwa · 4 years ago

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fashion major!kevin

ANYWAY THERE WAS LIKE ONE PERSON WHO CALLED FOR A FASHION MAJOR KEVIN SPINOFF OF THE COLLEGE MODEL JUYEON AU I JUST POSTED (linked below) anyway! hope you enjoy, please reblog if you did, and check out my other dumb overly long blurbs in the stream of idiocy tag on my blog <3

pairing: kevin x gender neutral!reader

wc: 2.5k

genre: fluff, university!au

triggers: cursing

college model!juyeon

TBZ Scenarios Masterlist | TBZ Drabbles Masterlist

kevin moon is known on campus for two things: 1. his bright personality literally everyone loves him and if you don’t you’re jealous of him like sorry not sorry i don’t make the rules you know i’m right and 2. his.... unorthodox fashion sense. like eric thought his snake patterned shit was weird as hell?? but there are weirder things in kevin’s closet i swear to you. anyway this unorthodox style is what got him accepted into the fashion program at the university and even though there are a few assholes who stick their noses up at kevin’s work the vast majority of people are cool w his outfits even if they personally wouldn’t wear them and kevin is v well-liked in his major and on campus in general bc he knows everyone and is nice and polite and really a v cool person to be around when he’s not being a fucking idiot

and on campus there are fashion shows a few times every semester to show off the fashion majors’ work, and let’s just say that this university if p well know for its fashion major so some famous people sometimes come along to these events so EVERY TIME a fashion show rolls around the fashion majors get nervous as FUCK and there’s a lot of speculation on who will get noticed and whatever and everyone is secretive about what they’re working on and just. everyone goes fucking haywire and kevin is always v happy when the stress winds down after a show

(no one knows it but kevin has gotten offers from several companies to work with them after he graduates. he hasn’t told anyone except a few friends like juyeon/jacob and his family)

anyway you are also a fashion major who secretly really admires kevin’s stuff?? like you just think he’s so daring and creative and all of his work is absolutely amazing even if it’s a little weird and honestly you don’t even feel overshadowed by his talent and hard work you just feel in awe that you can be in his presence at all. you’re p sure kevin has no idea who you are bc even though you have a lot of the same classes you’re always too shy to sit or work near him bc even though he seems so nice and approachable he’s also just.... god he’s so good

BUT THEN. one of your professors announces that for the next fashion show they’ll be modeling projects that he’s assigning right now. which is weird asf bc usually you’ll all take your best clothing and like fix it or tweak it for the next show, like sometimes people will make something completely from scratch but that’s nerve-wracking and not many people do it unless they’re in a real pinch but it gets even WEIRDER bc this is not a regularly scheduled fashion event?? it’s like a smaller event apparently that they’ve organized just for this project AND THE WEIRDNESS TAKES THE CAKE when your professor says that YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE MODELS. YOU ALL ARE GOING TO PICK SOMEONE IN THE CLASS TO MAKE CLOTHES FOR AND THEY WILL MODEL YOUR OUTFIT

and this SENDS EVERYONE FREAKING THE FUCK OUT??? bc oh god you can’t rely on the models you’ve been using all semester now??? and you have to make flattering clothes for someone you might not even know v well and it’s just. holy fuck holy fuck holy FUCK

meanwhile you already know who you want to create for (/ahem kevin moon/) but you’re also chicken so like??? you’re just sitting in your seat looking over at him but not saying anything until your friend chanhee just pushes you out of your seat in kevin’s direction and is like GO ASK HIM BEFORE YOU LOSE THIS CHANCE and you’re like JESUS FUCKING CHRIST CHANHEE but kevin’s noticed your movement and he’s looking over with a smile on his face and you’re like jfc i can’t do this but chanhee shoves you again and so you kinda smile (you really hope it looks like a smile) and your voice is LITERALLY shaking when you go over and ask if it would be ok to use him as a model for this assignment and he’s like.... oh my god yes

because what YOU don’t know is that kevin has been ogling your designs all year?? like he enjoys his own style and is comfortable in it but he loves your work as in LOVES IT. he thinks your designs are absolutely flawless and original and you combine styles so effortlessly that he just wants to look into your brain when you come up with ideas bc what the fuck?? you may have different styles but kevin knows how to admire art AND YOUR DESIGNS ARE ART.

so you’re reeling a day later bc now you have kevin moon’s number and he has yours and he’s now texting you on when you think you’ll have the first preliminary designs ready and when you can meet up so you can get each other’s measurements and all that and when you eventually meet up your hands are shaking so much that you can barely take his measurements and kevin is screeching in his mind as well bc oh my god you’re going to model his clothes YOU’RE GOING TO MODEL HIS CLOTHES

most people are again being secretive about their designs and even though someone in their class is modeling for them this time so there’s a bit less secrecy they’re still working alone so you get a shock when kevin asks if you want to coordinate your outfits. like work on designs together and maybe make something that matches a little though ofc retaining your own styles and you just shriek when you get the text and poor childhood best friend younghoon spills his coffee (you have been friends since basically birth and there are no romantic feelings whatsoever ok it’s strictly platonic like you watched younghoon vomit after eating too much bread when you were like 10 and he watched you get tangled up in a soccer net when you were 13 there are no romantic feelings stemming from any of that)

needless to say you reply yes yes ye sYES and kevin is grinning so wide on the other end that juyeon wonders if he’s gone slightly insane (which he has but we’re not gonna dwell on that) and both of you show up to the work rooms nervous as all hell (i’m not a fashion major i have no fashion sense i still think t-shirts/leggings are the way to go so idk how any of this works do not sue me) but kevin has a natural ability to defuse any tension in the room so within minutes you’re comfortable and laughing with him and wondering why you were so scared to approach him before and THEN YOU’RE REMINDED WHY when he shows you his design for you because... oh god.... it’s unbelievable. like it has a distinctly kevin feel to it but he’s clearly been paying attention to what you wear and what you design because it’s something you would like to wear and something you even think you could look good in. holy shit

and you just blurt out like kevin what the fuck this is so good did you like stalk my designs or some shit?? and you mean it as a joke ofc but kevin just goes beet red and mumbles something about how he really likes your work and how it’s so sharply elegant but also insanely creative and you’re just. open-mouthed like. dude i’m in love with your work too oh my god i’m gonna cry my fashion idol just said he likes my designs i’m gonna screaM

kevin stops you from screaming though even though he also feels like he’s gonna scream and this is the start of a very productive partnership between the two of you like most of the fashion majors are friendly despite the competition but you and kevin are on a whole other level?? and you start hanging out more and more often even when you’ve finished designing and are actually sewing (you ask him if this part can be secret bc you want to add a few things as a surprise - he ofc says yes and winks and tells you he has things he wants to add too which just makes you want to scream out of excitement)

and it’s a week before fashion show day and you and kevin are finished with putting together the designs and you’re excited as all hell and kevin is literally about to burst from his own skin and you insist that he goes first and when he pulls the outfit from the bag you’re just. in absolute awe. the colors match the design you made, it looks like it’ll fit, and even though it screams kevin moon it also has a distinct vibe from your own fashion style and you just yell KEVIN MOON YOU GENIUS as you snatch it from him and go change

(you don’t know obviously but kevin is blushing like a tomato while waiting for you to finish changing)

it fits almost perfectly, kevin marks a few places to fix and is debating whether or not to compliment you bc??? that sounds like he’s complimenting his own work and that’s egocentric as hell but then you say something like does it look fine and he just blurts out more than fine. you look great

AND YOU’RE SO FLUSTERED THAT YOU ALL BUT THROW YOUR OWN BAG AT KEVIN and are like GO CHANGE

so he takes out the clothes and goes silent and you’re like.... oh my god does he hate it i mean we worked on the designs together and he said he liked it then but what if he changed his mind but then he looks at you and his eyes are sparkling and he’s like y/n this is perfect. literally perfect and he rushes to go get changed and when he comes out your eyes are bugging out of your head bc holy hell you pictured kevin in these clothes obviously since they were made for him but he looks so much better than you ever imagined

and then you blurt out something like holy shit you look beautiful

and kevin blushes again

anyway you both take your measurements and run out and then the day of the fashion show rolls around and both of you are freaking out backstage but the instant you two go on it’s like you both are literal gods bc you feel so confident in each other’s clothing and the crowd can feel it THEY CAN FUCKING FEEL IT and they go nuts when you two walk out!!! and even though it isn’t like a huge major fashion show, it’s just for this one project that your professors cooked up, you and kevin are both beaming like the sun when it’s over despite the fact that it wasn’t an important event bc holy shit you two had fun and everyone’s complimenting your clothing and it’s great it’s just great

finally all the chaos is over and the clothes have been put away and the makeup removed and you and kevin are now standing outside the venue in a kind of stunned silence that all of it’s over. it’s all over. and then you suddenly thrust out the clothes you made that kevin wore and tell him to keep it. it’s a present. and kevin takes it but he also forces you to take the outfit he made for you. and then there’s silence again

but if there’s anything you’ve gained over the past few weeks it’s a bit of courage. courage that let you talk to kevin, courage that let you design clothes for him, courage that let you become friends (and maybe something more) with him. you’ve also learned that kevin is a massive dork and a lovely human being and you’d really love to at least stay in contact so in that the moment you smile and say ‘if i asked you on a date, would you wear that outfit?’

poor kevin looks like he’s about to have a fucking aneurysm and you start to lose confidence but then he’s nodding like there’s no tomorrow like yes ye sYE S OH MY GOD YE S and omg you now have a boyfriend whom you like very very much and kevin has a partner whom he likes very very much

you two may not be a pda couple but you ARE that couple that matches every outfit they wear, you make jewelry and accessories for each other and also make each other clothes every so often. everyone is jealous of your combined fashion sense bc even though the outfits might look outrageous, you two both manage to pull them off and look fabulous at it, but also they can’t even be that jealous bc you two are the sweetest couple and are absolutely lovely

both of you do wear the outfits you made for that show on your first date which is to like a musical or smth bc theatre kid kevin is something you can pry out of my cold dead hands and everyone’s staring but you two are in your own little world and it’s amazing

kevin admits at one point that he was afraid to ask you out bc he thought younghoon was your boyfriend and you just snort and tell him everything stupid younghoon’s done and by the end younghoon is done with you, kevin is about to vomit he’s laughing so hard, and you are smirking like no tomorrow

for the end of year fashion show you and kevin fix up and accessorize the outfits you two made for the show that brought you two together and there is absolutely no surprise that several different fashion companies scout both of you (and a couple modeling agencies too since you and kevin decided to model your own clothing again - younghoon whines that you’ve replaced him but you shut him up with chocolate bread)

kevin’s a sucker for romance (you CANNOT tell me this isn't true) so your first kiss is on the roof of the fashion building at sunset when kevin does the cheesy thing where he says you look more beautiful the view and you almost slap him but you’re laughing so hard and kevin’s cackling and somehow it turns into a kiss

you are a dork and kevin is even more of a dork and it just works out beautifully bc you’re so absolutely in love that it makes people fake vomit from the sides (looking at chanhee right here) but it’s also really sweet in that you two trust each other completely and would do absolutely anything for the other except murder. kevin made that v clear but really only bc blood would stain his clothing and he doesn’t need that. you agree wholeheartedly (younghoon/juyeon are looking from the sides like what the fuck is this couple do they need help and you two are like just go away and let us be the weird couple we are ok). the conversation ends in a v soft v sweet kiss and just. ik i said it with juyeon but kevin moon is also best bf ever ok you cannot convince me otherwise.

and that’s how it goes :)

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for this weird-ass couple)

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calpalirwin · 4 years ago

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Nicest Asshole You’ll Ever Meet

Request: May I request a Lip Gallagher X Fem!Reader fanfic? Maybe set during season 1 or 2? Y/N is Kevin’s little sister and gets jumped on the south side. She gets badly beat up and barely makes it back home to her brothers house. No ones home so she goes to the Gallagher’s and Lip answers. He patches her up and it’s cute and fluffy. Maybe she falls asleep in his bed and they end up cuddling and then sharing a blunt? (You don’t have to add the blunt if you’re uncomfortable) Thank you love :)

Word Count: 1.3k

And away, and away we go!

You cursed as you stumbled your way down the street. Kevin was gonna have a field day when he saw you. It wasn’t your fault you had broken the single rule he’d given you. You hadn’t started the fight. Why the fuck would you with odds like that? 5 to 1 was hardly fair. And while they had landed their fair share of kicks and punches on you, you held your own. Kevin had said that you couldn’t start any fights, but he never said anything about finishing them.

“Jesus? Get hit by the L? You know you’re supposed to stand behind the yellow line right?” a voice quipped, and you turned to find the eldest Gallagher boy sitting on his front steps, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

“Reckon I’m still better lookin’ than you, Lip.”

The boy scoffed, before dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out with his boot. “C’mon,” he said, rising to his feet and jerking his head toward the house. “I’ll help ya get cleaned up.”

You waved him off, “It’s fine. I’ll ask V for help.”

“She’s not home. Neither is Kev. Alibi.”

“Shit.”

He shrugged. “So, you comin’ or not?”

“Fiona or Ian home?”

“Nah. Work.”

“Debbie? Carl? Liam? Fuck, Frank?”

“Do I look like a fuckin’ nanny? No. I’m the only one here. Why? You afraid of me or something?”

“Pffft, no…”

Lip smirked. “Oh, I get it. Alright. Did Kev tell you to stay away from me? That’s rich… What did he say? Like the reasons?”

“He said you’re too smart for your own good, and that you’ll use those smarts to get into every girl’s pants.”

The boy laughed. “Yeah, he’s probably right. But he’s gonna be mad either way. You might as well be cleaned up when he flips his shit.”

You blew out your next breath in a huff before crossing into the yard, officially in Gallagher territory, and following Lip into the house.

“Just have a seat,” he said, nodding at the couch before jogging up the stairs.

You complied, whatever adrenaline you had finally fading your body, pain taking its place. You wondered briefly if you looked like how Lip had said you did; like you had been hit by a train. You definitely felt like you had.

You turned to the sound of Lip’s boots thundering back down the stairs, a first aid kit in his hands. His crystal blue eyes studied you carefully as he shook soft brown locks of hair out of his way. “You’re bruised pretty badly, but I don’t think any of your cuts need stitches so that’s good. And nothing looks broken. So, what happened?”

“Stupid girls,” you hissed through your teeth as he started dabbing at your face with an alcoholic wipe.

“Hold still. Sooner I’m done, the better.” One of his hands came up to cup your chin to keep you from flinching away, his hold surprisingly gentle. “Stupid girls did this? Like from school?”

“Yes, like from school.”

“Did you get them back?”

“Sort of. 5 to 1 makes it a little hard to do much besides get your ass kicked. But I finished it, if that’s what you’re asking. And they jumped me. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk into odds like that.”

“5 to 1? Shit… so this was Leah, and her stupid fuckin’ friends?”

“That would be them.”

“Which means it’s Tyler’s fault. And Kev warned you about me? Damn…”

“Tyler’s a piece of shit who’d flirt with a rock if it’d flirt back.”

“Pretty sure he has.”

You laughed, then winced, clutching your side. “Don’t make me laugh, asshole.”

“Let me see,” he said, his hands falling away from your face.

“What? No! Are you insane?”

“Oh, relax. I’m not even gonna see your bra, much less your tits. Now lift up your shirt or I’ll do it for you.”

“Fine, fine,” you grumbled, pulling up on your shirt, both of you sucking air through your teeth at the sight of a giant splotch of purplish blue.

“Don’t bite my head off, alright?” he asked, his fingers hovering over your exposed skin.

You squinched your eyes shut, breathing harshly. “Do it.”

His fingers grazed across your ribs, again with a gentleness that took you by surprise. “Probably just badly bruised. That, or you have a really high pain tolerance. Or you’re a really good liar.”

“All of the above,” you grinned sarcastically, dropping your shirt.

“Well, not a whole lot for you to do besides rest.”

At the mention of rest, you became aware of just how tired you were. “Yeah. Rest. Sounds good. Thanks, Dr. Lip.”

“Anytime. C’mon, I’ll help you upstairs.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You need to rest. And I’ve slept on this couch. It’s not exactly comfortable. You can use my bed upstairs.”

“Or I could go next door. To my bed.”

“Where Kev will find you all bloody and bruised? Nah. Plus, it’s too far.”

“Stubborn fuckin’ Gallaghers…”

“Hey, this stubborn fuckin’ Gallagher just played doctor, and offered you his bed.”

“Where he can play more doctor? Pffft, yeah right. I’m fine here.”

Lip’s eyes rolled. “I promise to not sleep with you. There. Now, are you gonna move on your own? Or do I gotta carry you up there myself?”

“Fuckin, Christ…” With his help, you made your way up the stairs and into a room with a single bed pressed against one wall, a bunk bed perpendicular with it against another wall. “It’s not the top bunk, is it?”

“No, it’s that one,” he said, nodding at the singular bed.

“Well, thanks I guess. For everything.”

“You’d be surprised how often I do this,” he tried to joke as you got settled on the bed and he fiddled with something at the desk.

“Play doctor to all the banged up kids in the neighborhood, huh? Wow, way to make a girl feel special.”

He gave a short laugh. “Have Carl as a sibling, and nobody would ever need med school.” He dug into his pocket, pulling out a lighter. He brought whatever it was he’d been fiddling with- a blunt you now realized- to his lips, lighting it and taking a deep hit. “Here,” he breathed, passing it your way.

You took a hit, welcoming the hazy cloud the enveloped you, feeling the bed dip as Lip crawled in beside you. “I thought you weren’t gonna sleep with me,” you pointed out as you handed him back his blunt.

“Do you see me stripping?”

“No…”

“Exactly. I may have offered you my bed, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna sleep on my fuckin’ floor. I’m nice, not a gentleman.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘asshole’ actually.”

“Nicest asshole you’ll ever meet.”

You took turns passing the blunt back and forth, your back pressed against his chest as you crammed together on the small bed. “Fuckin’ bitch,” you cursed Leah and her friends when you took a hit that left you sputtering, the coughs causing your sides to ache.

“I can fuck Tyler up if you want,” Lip offered. “And I can talk to Mandy about helping you with Leah. Like I personally won’t fight girls, so she’s my go to for that shit. Needed her help back when Debbie was getting bullied.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, cuz that’s what I need. More problems.”

“Well at least start walking with us then.”

“Aw, is Lip Gallagher offering to protect sweet little me?” you cooed.

“We look after our own,” he said as easily as if he was telling you the sky was blue. The bed creaked as he reached over you to turn off the lamp on the desk, before he settled behind you again.

You lay there wondering just what your brother had been thinking in telling you to avoid the boy. Sure, he had more charm and smarts than he knew what to do with. And he was a certifiable asshole. But he was a nice- and admittedly very cute- asshole. And you felt safe with Lip’s arm thrown gingerly across your waist, and his slow even breaths lulling you sleep.

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#nicest asshole youll ever meet #lip gallagher #lip gallagher fic #lip gallagher x female reader #calpal irwin

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

Text

Static Shock: Shock to the System and Aftershock Review

“You know what? 13 years ago, me and some friends sat in a restaurant all night and daydreamed about the kinds of stories we would tell if we had the chance. We wanted to expand the concept of superhero to include characters that kind of looked like us, who had some of the same background, experiences and dreams as we did. We wanted to create something fun that a new generation would respond to the same way we responded to our childhood heroes -and damn if we didn't succeed beyond my wildest dreams. Today, Static Shock is a household name with millions of fans of all ages (Is there stuff I'd do differently? Yeah, almost all of season four but why nitpick?) Static is the most successful thing I've ever helped create and I'm both proud and gratified that people have taken it into their hearts. “

Dwayne McDuffie, Co-Creator of Static and Writer for Static Shock

This review is dedicated to Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III. Rest In Power Static Shock is awesome. I grew up with the show watching it both first run on the WB and second run on Cartoon Network and loved it as much as I did other large parts of my childhood courtsey of DC like Batman the Animated Series, Teen Titans and both Justice League Shows. What makes this unique among the DC Properties is that Static wasn’t really a big name when he got a show. He wasn’t even part of the DC Universe.

See as I had no idea for probably a good decade, Static actually came from Milestone Comics, a company ran by and focused on african americans. The goal was understandable: While black heroes existed at the time, and there were some fantastic ones like Storm, Jim Rhodes and Steel... these guys weren’t the center of their universes. The big faces of the big companies, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash.. were white. So milestone was a shakeup of that with the main teams and heroes all being black, from Icon, an alien who’d lived among man but rather than end up in kansas like say superman ended up imprinting on a slave woman centuries ago and has been with us since, who was encouraged by an energetic teenager named Rocket to put on a costume and do something with his powers and his community, Hardware, a tech genius who had his work stolen by a white asshole and wanted to fight back and BLood Syndicate, a group of gang members all caught in the “The Big Bang”, a huge fight between all of Dakota, the midwest city where the comics take place, that ended when the police released a bunch of experimental gas that gave them all super powers.

As most of you who have watched the show already know, this is where Static comes from. Static was the company making their own Spider-Man, i.e. a nerdy teenager who suddenly gets super powers, in this case Virgil Hawkins who at the prodding of a friend took a gun to The Big Bang to get revenge on a bully. .but ultimately couldn’t go through with it, decided it wasn’t him and got rid of the gun and ran.. and still ended up in it, becoming Static, a young hero dedicated to using his powers to fight other “Bang Babies”.. a term that dosen’t really sound that great and they really should’ve thought through. But Phrasing aside the character was great and I look forward to reading more and only haven’t because I have to buy the issues gradually, but DC is currently re-releasing the individual issues of Static, Icon, and Hardware weekly in anticipation of a reboot of Milestone Coming in May digitally on Comixology at only 2 bucks a pop, and rereleased the original print collections that were long out of print for 10 bucks each, though i’m getting static on it’s own since i’ts really not that much less expensive as it only collects four issues while Icon and Hardware both collect 8, so I can wait a bit there on Hardware and already own Icon: A Hero’s Welcome.. and really need to review it at some point.

While Milestone’s output was good, at least from the two books i’ve read, with Robert Washinton III, who sadly not only ahs also passed but was fucking homeless for a while in the 2000′s.. what the actual hell, writing Static alongside Dwayne McDuffie, whose later moved onto animation writing tons of Static episodes all of them classics including the school shooting episode, the first three rubberbandman episodes and both Anasazi episodes. Point is it had good writers and artists and even had a distrbution deal with DC, so they had a leg up on the glut of other comic book companies.. but happened to start at the start of the comic book crash, a huge downturn in sales in the 90′s as the speculator boom, i.e. a bunch of people assuming every number one would be worth golden and silver age money, forgetting a character has to BUILD INTREST and this stuff takes time, and whose attempts to sell fast flooded the market with comics no one wanted,, caused the roof to cave in and with a bunch of assholes pegging milestone as a “Company for black people” rather than you know, a company trying to add fucking diversity and represntation to the comics industry, and that simply wanted a unvierse that was centered around people of color instead of white guys. The company eventually had to shut down, and was left to lisencing. This is where the show comes in. Producers HAD been trying to make shows based on Milestone for a while, as far back as the mid-90s and the company was was all for it but the closest it got was an x-men style team series using various characters whose first draft was terrible and whose second draft by Alan Burnett, a producer on various DC Animated shows who’d go on to produce Static Shock, that McDuffie and others really liked but sadly did not get picked up. eventually though with presistance Static ended up getting a series and as I said McDuffie went on to write for it though he did not develop it. Some changes went into place naturally to make it work for an early 2000′s kids show and while i’ll probably miss so since again, only read one issue as we go. But due to Milestone coming back my intrest was peaking, hence finally reading the copy of Icon I had to buy from the library years ago due to keeping it overdue but am now EXTREMLEY glad I own as i’ts incredibly rare and really damn good, and wanting to read static, doing so lately since it’s finally on digtiial and again not too expensive. So join me as I give you a shock to the system and revisit this hell of a series to see if it holds up.. which just to cut that short it does and i’m only holding off binging MORE because I want the first two eps to be fresh enough in my head to review properly.. and also go over the various voice actors because that’s a thing with me now and charcter co-creator dwayne mcduffie because he’s awesome.

As I like to do when covering a series first episodes, let’s run down the voice cast.

First up is an UTTER LEGEND, and I use the term voice acting legend a lot, and mean it every time and have good reason to use it when I say it, and Phil LaMarr is a GOD in the buisness, having done a metric ton of voice acting roles, and being easily the most proflific black voice actor in animation. He’s also done some acting work, mostly in pulp fiction which I have not seen, but his true staying power and talent is in animation so here’s just the roles I feel are most notable or may not be very notable but i’m bringing up anyway because it’s my list.

His roles besides Virgil include Lester Payton the Texas Ranger who showed up for one very good episode of king of the hill to be badass and show up the hickish, stupid and very punchable local Sheriff, Gearld’s obnoxious older brother Jamie O on Hey Arnold, Hermes Conrad from futurama, Carver from the Weekenders (PUT IT ON PLUS DISNEY), Axel Foley for exactly one bit in Clerks the Animated Series, but anyone whose seen it will know exactly which one, Micheal on the Proud Family, Black Vulcan on Harvey Birdman (In His Pants), Hector Con Carne and Dracula on Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Evil Con Carne, Jack on Samurai Jack something I didn’t know for decades (and I didn’t know about the carver thing till today though i’ts obvious in hindsight), John Motherfucking Stewart on Justice League and later Steel and Adult Static in the Unlimited seasons, Osmosis Jones on Ozzy and Drix, Bolbi Strogofski on Jimmy Neutron (And yes i’m just as shocked as you are.), Wilt on Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Marcus on Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Bull Sharkowski on My Gym Partner is A Monkey and Also a Sociopath Please Help God My Life is a waking nightmare..... okay the rest of that title is implied but we all watched the same show, we all know in our hearts that was the title

Moving on, he was also, and yes there’s MORE: Maxie Zeus on The Batman, Philly Phil on Class of 3000, Both Robertsons AND Fancy Dan on the Spectacular Spider-Man, Jazz on Transformers Animated, Kit Fisto and Bail Organa on Star Wars the Clone Wars, Gambit and Bolivar Trask on Wolverine and the X-Men, Aquaman I, L-Ron and Green Beetle on Young Justice, J.A.R.V.I.S. and Wonder Man (Simon Williams) In Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Gabe and Carny on Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters (Really miss that game and have been snapping up what cards I can get lately), Baxter Stockman in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (And there’s also an awesome photo of him with 2003 Baxter... the two best together in one place. I got chills), Dormammu (I’ve come to bargin) in various Marvel Shows, Noville in Mighty Magiswords, Zach’s dad Marcus in Milo Muprhy’s Law, Craig’s Douchey Brother Benard on Craig of the Creek, showing he’s clearly come full circle, And Mr. Scully on the Casagrndes. And given It took about two paragraphs to cover all of this, yeah, I MEANT legend.

Next we have Kevin Micheal Richardson as Virgil’s Dad Robert, and it’s the first time since I started introducing Voice Actors on a show that i’ve overlapped. I already covered him during the second episode of legend of the three caballeros, but for the short version he’s also very acomplished, very damn good and I somehow missed he played the old blind guy in hey arnold> Needless to say the dude is awesome.

Virgil’s Sister Sharon is played by Michele Morgan who was in the rap group BWP and did some smaller roles outside of this the one exception being Juicy on the PJ’s, which I have not watched much of but REALLY do not like, though i’ll at least give it credit for being a decently long lasted black claymation sitcom at at time when there were, and hoenstly still aren’t, many black animated shows.

Back to long casting sheets, next up is Jason Marsden, who is one of my faviorites as i’ve realized recently as Ritchie. As I also found out only recently he started on the Sitcom Step By Step and while that show is .. ehhhhhhhhh, he is great in it because he’s great in everything. He also apparently has his own internet variety show which I have to watch now. His roles include Max Goof, ironically given I was just talking about that role a few days ago, Haku in the english dub of Spirted Away, Micheal, the kid being yelled at by a bunch of 80′s cartoons characters not to take drugs in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue!, Nermal in the DTV Garfield movies and The Garfield Show, Tino on the Weekenders (SERIOUSLY DISNEY), Snapper Carr on Justice League, Rikochet on Mucha Lucha! for the last season (Why I do not knkow and while I love the guy he was not the right choice), Felix on Kim Possible, Chase Young on Xiaolin Showdown (WHich I did not realize was him and now I do easily his best role and I REALLY should’ve), Red Star and Billy Numerous on Teen Titans, Speedy on Batman Brave and the Bold, Impulse/Kid Flash II on Young Justice, and Fingers on Kaijudo. He hasn’t done as much lately which is a shame but hopefully i’tll pick up again.

Next up is Hotstreak, Virgil’s brutal bully turned unhinted pyromancer played by DANIEL COOKSY, another actor i’m happy to talk about and another faviorite I haven’t seen much of lately. Daniel was an actor from childhood, playing Budnick on Salute Your Shorts, but he quickly gained a long and storied catalogue of VA Work: His first big roll was as Montana Max on Tiny Toon Adventures and if there is a god he’ll be back for the reboot, Stoop Kid on Hey Arnold, the incomprable Jack Spicer on Xiaolin Showdown, far and away his best role and part of why Chronicles sucked so bad was he was he didn’t get to reprise the role, The titular Dave the Barbarian, Django of the Dead on El Tigre (Had no idea), Kicks utterly insufferable big Brother Brad on Kick Buttowski and apparently he’s back at it again after laying low for a bit as he’s voicing Snag in Long Gone Gultch.. which I already really needed to watch but hot damn, I missed him. Sign me up.

Frieda, Virgil’s crush and close friend who in the comics was his main confidante and love intrest but here is eventually pushed aside, is voiced by Danica Mckeller whose work didn’t seem all that familiar.. until I found out she was Ms. Martian on Young Justice. Hello, Megan. Very talented and she did get a major role in a dc show eventually so good for her. Can’t wait for season 4.

So with our major players out of the way, let’s talk about Dwayne. McDuffie is an AWESOME man and my respect has grown for him more and more with time. A writer and editor at Marvel, McDuffie has a decent resume doing smaller but awesome books, which I got most of for free last year when Marvel was giving out free digital collections due to the lock down, like Damage Control, a sitcom set in the marvel universe about the company that picks up after superhero battles and the logistics and antics that insue and Dethlok, about a pacfist trapped inside a cyborg zombie. He was as mentioned one of Milestone’s founders, and wrote Icon, Hardware and co-wrote the first few issues of Static. He’d go on to a pretty stacked career in animation, writing on this show and Justice League before becoming story editor and show runner for Unlimited , even making a return to comics as a result writing the Marvel miniseries beyond and an arc of Fantastic Four in which Black Panther and Storm filled in for Reed and Sue while the two of them worked on their marriage after Reed did.. pretty much everything he did in Civil War. He also became head writer and show runner for Ben 10: Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, revamping the franchise a bit, and Alien Force, at least the first two seasons are awesome and I feel people overreacted on the changes. Ultimate Alien is okay, but has it’s problems but the finale was awesome and left the man’s legacy on a high note.. as he sadly passed in 2011 due to heart complications. He is truly missed and produced some utterly amazing stuff whlie he was alive. So on that melacholy note let’s see what happens when his creation hits the tv screen shall we?

Shock to the System:

This episode is written by Christopher Simmons, who is apparently a huge art designer guy.. but i’m not sure that’s the same chirsptoher simmons. Much more notable is the writer of the episode after this Stan Berkowitz, who was showrunner for season 1 and has done a LOT of DCAU work and is suprising talent, having written a lot of awesome Justice League episodes including Secret Society and The Royal Flush One. Point is we’re in first class hands. Before the episode itself I want to talk about the intro and how it’s unique among DCAU shows. Like most Western Animation the intros for DCAU shows didn’t change much over the seasons with the most I can see is JLU changing up the footage to preview the current episode and later adding Hawkgirl to the intro after her return to the team. I THINK superman the animated series changed some of it’s footage too, but I can’t confrim it and may of just been imagining it. As i’ve talked about on my blog it’s normally a pet peeve of mine, mostly because shows you know, change after season 1, characters get added some one shot characters used for the intro never return, and after a while it can feel dated especially in more recent shows where the status quo is not at all set in stone and things change quite a bit. But sometimes it can be good enough that either the dated elements don’t matter or general enough that you don’t need to change it and i’ts just that good.. and given Batman the Animated Series has both in spades, you can see why i’ts probably my golden standard for intros and after superman the animated series DC mostly followed suit. But being part of the teen superhero boom of the 2000′s Static is unique in that it splits the diffrence: It’s intro gets the character across perfectly like a good intro should starting with Virgil getting out of bed and running a comb across his head before showing off to his sister to bug her and literally running into his dad who hand shim his bag and smiles, silently showing off his family. He then runs to school and runs into some trouble.. and said trouble changes for each intro, with Rubberband Man for season 1, Kanga (Whose name I only know because I happened to run across it) for season 2 and your guess is as good as mine for seasons 3 and 4, though Hotstreak is a constant. They still save some money for seasons 1 and 2 by recycling some animation.. but that’s alright with mea s it was good animation, and the improtant thing is cycling out old villians for new ones, while Season 3 is the only out and out redo to show off Richie taking on the Gear identity, adding about 10 seconds of intro to let him show off. Seriously it’s an utterly great intro and like the other DCAU intros outside of superman, stuck in my brain.

The other change that’s ENTIRELY diffrent from the rest of htem is that the music changes each time. The first two have the same formula just with a difrent vocalist and backing track: a superhero theme but with some hip hop beat boxing over it. The first intro is fine enough, not specattcular but stilll god. The second song.. is eh. Not really great and feels like a marked downgrade from season 1 and just dosen’t blend an ocrehstiral superhero theme with the beatbox elements NEARLY as well. The third song though is my faviorite.. even if I HATED Little Romeo as a kid because I really did not like his nick show, it’s more a straight up rap song, but it has a faster beat that fits the intro better, and Romeo’s bragging fits Virgil’s character and penchant for Spidey quips perfectly. I also find it ironic that the theme that blends in with the dcau the most, the first season’s, is the one from BEFORE they decided to put it in the same universe. Still this season’s intro slaps, I just like the LIttle Romeo one a bit more. The opening scene is picture perfect. Some masked crooks looting a warehouse are loading some stolen TV’s into a van when suddenly the lights come on one by one above one of the crooks before his tv switches to various channels before going haywire. Cue our heroes’ entrance. Let’s tak ea good look at him

Static’s Costume is awesome. While I prefer the season 3 redesign, and clearly DC agrees as the redeisgn was used for both pre and post new-52 when they used him, and while he’s getting a fresh design for the reboot, said design takes a lot of cures from said outfit. As for how the outfit differs from the comics itself this is the design he had in the comics

It didn’t change much from the first issue, with the exception of his now iconic big puffy jacket which was added pretty early into the character’s history but I was unaware of that and just assumed he had the bodysuit the whole time. The more you know. But as you can see outside of the cool puffy jacket over a costume the two couldn’t be more diffrent. While the Dakotaverse outfit is more a standard superhero outfit, with some regular clothes touches on top the first cartoon outfit comes off more realistic, looking fantastic, but still coming off as something two teenagers could realistically have thrown together with what clothes they could buy, while still looking awesomely superheroy. IN short it’s perfect and only topped by the season 3 onward look...

But the slicker look, with an even cooler jakcet and the new colors all fitting the lighting ascetic better, but fits: not only has Virgil come along farther since he started, but with Richie now having a genius brain as Gear, he can provide a far slicker, far more professional superhero outfit on the budget the two have. This show is just great at costume design.

So getting back to the episode at hand, Static puts up a huge sign in elecrticy saying “Bad guys here”, PFFFT, and then hides away and narrates that a few days ago he’d be the last person anyone would’ve expected to be a hero. Cue Flashback.

We meet Virgil Hawkins on an average day: rapping into his razor, getting into a petty argument with his older sister Sharon, as a younger brother myself I relate to this, and talking to his dad who tries to get them to cut that out. We find out his mom has passed via his sister making really terrible eggs and saying that’s how mom made them. Exposition! Though we do get a great bit through this as when his sister gets distracted by her boyfriend calling, he uses the opportunity of her leaving the room to dump the eggs.. after having earlier jokingly prayed to his mom for a way out of breakfast. “Thanks for looking out for me mom” That’s both very sweet and very hilarious.

This is a change from the comics it turns out as I was utterly flored to find Virgil’s mom alive and well when reading the first issue of Static. Turns out this was a change made during development and one Dwane McDuffie admitted in the interview I got the tribute quote from to not liking as he had a good reason for having Virgil have a nuclear family, as most black families in media at the time were just one single parent and a kid or two with the other having either left or died. He wasn’t too bothered by it as while he preferred what he came up with in the first place, the show DID get some really good stories out of her being gone and didn’t just have her be absent because shut up. Virgil is still working over her death and the way HOW she died ends up playing an important role in this episode and gives Virgil a dislike of guns, as she died to gang violence. So the change wasn’t for stupid or racist reasons, but likely both to keep the character count down while giving them something to work with for storylines. Or it could’ve been for stupid reasons and the writers simpily made lemonade out of that very dumb lemon, either way it ended up working. Virgil also plans to ask his friend Frieda out. Frieda was a bigger deal in the comics, being Virgil’s friend and confidante as well as his ocasional love intrest, but here while she was inteded to at least be his love intrest here, that sorta fizzled out. As for the best friend role we meet her replacement in Richie, which McDuffie conceded was the kind of change a studio would make swapping out a female character for a male one. That being said the crew made the best of it and Richie is awesome, a bit of an overcompensating dipstick at times, but a good sounding board and pal for virgil and funny as hell too. He was also gay, something only revealed post series by McDuffie.. but unlike say Dumbledore, it’s a bit easier to swallow here: The early 2000′s were an even worse time for gay characters in tv let alone cartoons, and if they couldn’t kiss or have sex scenes on regular tv, there was no way we were getting any representation in a children’s show. So it was largely just hinted at by Richie overcompensating in how “into girls” he was and i’m once again fine with this being word of god as it was literally the best they could do and his counterpart in the comics was also gay, if not as relevant. Ritch encourages Virgil to work on his opening to ask her out as it’s awkward as heck, hits a bit close to home.. but I do appricate the show just .. having him try and ask her out from the first episode. They likely would’ve drug thigns out a bit granted had they used Frieda more, i’m not blind to the convetions of the time. .but as someone who got the very wrong idea from tv that just waiting around meant a girl would like you eventually, when no you need to actually try even if rejection happens, I honestly wish we had more of this in media than the other garbage morals at the time.

So he prepares to , not helped by her mentioning guy after guy is asking her out.... but before he can F-Stop, the future hotstreak, shows up. F-STOP

That being said...... it’s not as bad as the original gangster name for the comic’s version, Biz Money B. Yes BIZ MONEY B

So yeah while F-Stop is no more intimidating, it at least means I can stop laughing. Francis, because I can’t type F-Stop without laughing and this review is already behind, shoves Virgil out of the way and agressively hits on Frieda, even saying “you smell good”, the international sign your a douchebag and also to call the police. Virgil steps up to the guy and gets PAINFULLY slammed into the lockers, something I give the animation team a lot of credit for, as you can FEEL how fucking painful that was. Virgil is saved by Wade, another local gangbanger who in the comics was a close friend of Virgils but here saves him seemingly just because.. seemingly.

On the way home though Virg’s problems don’t end as naturally, the giant sized asshole with nothing better to do has his goons corner virgil before VIOLENTLY beating him.. off screen but the noises, and the clear brusies including a black eye, on virgil afterwords.. just holy damn i’m suprsied they got away with this but it shows just how horrifing it was and that this is a step above regular bullying, which make no mistake is absoluttley terrible and the series would later do an episode on it and school shootings, into straight up gang violence. Wade shows up again and gets the bastards to flee.. but also makes it clear he can’t keep doing this.. and forces Virgil to meet him at his base under the bridge. And it’s a tense sequence, with Virgil KNOWING this is a bad idea but having no real choice and Wade making it abundantly clear that he wants Virgil to join his crew, and makes a chilling point: while Virgils dad RIGHTFULLY dosen’t want his son to join a gang as Virgil points out.. he can’t be there for him all the time and eventually one of those times, Francis will be around. And he may not surivive that. Virgil nods noncomittaly. At home it gets even more grim as he dosen’t open up to his family, understandably as his dad would jsut say to call the police and well.. we’ve seen how the police treat black people. At best they’d just try and use Virgil as an informant and that likely wouldn’t end fucking well for Virgil. Ritchie points out he can’t join a gang, virgil’s mom died that way.. see told you it’d be important to the plot.. but I like how the story dosen’t offer an easy answer.. well okay he gets electric powers soon enough but without the fantastic element this is just an innocent kid caught between either joining the very thing his mom hated or hoping a system not built to protect him will keep him alive. It’s utterly saddening and chilling and holy shit is it amazing a cartoon in the early 2000′s was able to get away with.. ANY OF THIS, and they handle it great, paired down a bit from the comics but even then it’s still incredibly balsy they got THIS much in.

Naturally Wade calls in his favor and our hero is forced to come running.. and soon finds out Wade’s brought him in for a massive gang war. Welcome to the big bang, baby. He hands Virgil a gun as things get started and Virgil.. drops the thing and tries to escape, in a harrowing sequence.. and runs into Francis because god apparently REALLY hates this kid today. As if to prove that the police show up and while that prevents a beating, they demand they disassemble. then release untested gas on them because of course they do.

As a result the big bang truly begins, with the various gang members getting mutated.. and naturally so does virgil. Though he wakes up the next day seemingly fine. How’d he get home? Does his dad know where he was?

I don’t know and we’re not getting any answers, but Virgil soon finds weird stuff happening like his clock shorting out, change being attracted to him and his razor going wild. It’s only once he get sback to his room he gets an inkling of what’s going on and calls Ritchie to meet him at the Junk yard.. though it is a bit of a dick move as he dosen’t you know, tell him anything about Wade or Francis right away. He does at the yard though.. and that he has powers, having finally figured out how to use them to a point. And the series does provide a decent justification later as to why he’d get this so quickly: Virgil is a smart kid, gets great grades at school and apparnetly there’s even an episode later where he gets a scholarship to a fancy genius school. So him getting how elctromagntisim works or being a quick study on it makes perfect sense.

Richie suggest the obvious.. to become a superhero. And the thought.. hadn’t occured to Virgil. It’s honestly a nice twist on the old trope. That he hadn’t thought of it, not because he’s selfish or any of that or needs to learn a hard lesson, those have been done.. simply because the rush of getting his powers, and implicitly of having a way out of his current predciament, a way to keep Francis off his back and keep Wade from pulling him in further. His own path. But once i’ts brought up.. he jumps on it. Part of it is being a nerd like you or I, of course he wants to.. and being a good intetioned one, he knows this is the right thing to do. It’s waht makes a superhero a hero: Anyone can get powers in a universe like this, esepcailly the dcau, but it takes true courage and heart to use them selflessly and knowing you’ll be in danger. It’s why I love surperheroes: they often didn’t ask for this but they do it anyway because somebody’s gotta. We also get an intresting wrinkle is superman is, at least I think in this episode I could’ve missed it or misremembered things, mentioned as a fictional character. That’s because originally like the comics this wasn’t part of the DCAU.. but eventually the crew decided it shared staff from it, shared a network, both first run and on reruns, why not just make it part of the DCAU proper. I fully support this decisionf: While i’m midly annoyed unlimited never really used anything from static shock outside of Static himself in the time travel episode, despite you know Static and Gear having BEEN to the tower and not being much younger than Kara and defintely older than Courtney, I chalk it up to weird rights issues or something like that. But having Batman, Batman Beyond, Superman, Green Lantern and the Justice League itself all guest star was a good idea, and expanded both static’s universe and gave the DCAU something differnt as most heroes in it were older and more experinced in contrast to the up and coming virgil. Again really would’ve been nice if he and gear could’ve been a part of the expanded league but production might of just been too far ahead or, given he had his own series, they might just have wanted to stick to toher characters. Also begs the question why Icon or Hardware wasn’t adapted for the expanded League but hey, questions for later and the tricky logisitics of the milestone rights might’ve been the issue. I don’t know I wasn’t in the room.

So we get a costume montage, including Black Vulcan from Superfriends, who again ironically would be voiced by Lamarr not too long after this, though weirdly they DON’T use his outfit from the comics for this montage. I mean why not? It fits the gag and would’ve been a good second to last choice.But what could’ve been aside we get our winner and cut back to present day...

Thanks boys. Static finds out one of the things in the warehouse is a shipment of computers for the school and can’t help but show off, showing up to the school, where Frieda and Richie are setting up for the dance, and dropping off the computers, and even saying his catchphrase for the first time “I’ll put a shock to your system” (Which Richie chimes in with awesome line and I agree, great catcphrase), before helping set up and flirting with frieda.

Though as Richtie says he’s a natural. He’s not wrong as he can work a crowd. .but back it up too as his first run out had him easily taking out the crooks, and as many teen superheros and fans of heroes of hte type, myself included will tell you, getting it right in one is not easy. Not even Miles MOrales was immune. All Static needs now is a villian.

And the end of the episode provides one as we see, in horrifc and once again damn suprising detail most of hte new metas aren’t doing so good and are melting and other stuff and we catch up with Francis whose burning up.. and naturally given that hair, though given he named himself F-Stop it’s the least of his problems, he’s got fire powers and escapes to “Have me some fun”

So with that we end episode 1. And it’s excellent, a great way to introduce the hero and while the warehouse opening is a bit superflous, it is a decent addition, showing our heroes first outing in costume and giving us a bit of an action scene to get us through the very heavy rest of the episode. But the rest of the episode is no less grippping, telling the tale of a teen caught in an unwinnable scenario who suddenly finds a way out. And speaking of which waht of Wade? Will we see him again? Is he perhaps Ebon, the series big bad as I thought when I was a kid? What comes of the man who directly caused static’s origin?

Yeahhh that’s the one mistep I think the pilot makes. Frieda is understandable as that was likely a simple change in creative direction. This though? Why build this guy up if your not going to bring him back. I mean where he went was probably the grave, as he probably did due to his mutation, but it’s still VERY weird to spend a whole episode focusing on this guy, building him up as a big personal threat to our hero.. and NOT have him become the series big bad. And maybe he WAS supposed to be ebon and they just changed their mind. I don’t know but it bothers me it bothers me a lot. Otherwise though flawless. ONe more to go.

Aftershock: We open outside an electronics store, as our heroes watch the news reacap what happened in the first episode, with the media dubbing it the Big Bang and revealing their could be hundreds of “Metahumans”, as Virgil dubs after deciding the media’s term “Mutant” dosen’t fit, a nice wink to the fact that that’s the term used in dc comics and I believe milestone but could be wrong there. Me I like the term, has a nice ring to it.

At the store while Richie mulls over waht this means Static finds out he’s a human CD player.... this was before mp3 players and streaming on your phone made them horribly obsolete mind you and if you don’t know what one is congradualtions you live in some sort of bubble and you made me feel really old junior.

Frieda happens to be there and Virgil quips “What’s the matter they run out of britney cds”. Dude she’s not bad. Also be careful what you wish for man. Nickeback returned the year after this. You have not truly suffered through bad music yet my young friend. They spot a kid looking feverish, and he soon turns into a purple werewolf, as you do. It’s a bang baby.. those are richie’s exact word and you may not want to start a panic there bud. Just saying your best friend is one. THeir not all like this. Our heroes book it only to run into Francis who naturally refuses to let them leave and only doesn’t try to beat up Virgil because Virgil points otu the werewolf and nonplussed, he goes to fight it, scarring it off by revealing his own powers. He’s now dubbed himself Hotstreak which points for getting an actually good name kid. No points for what happens next as unsuprisingly getting powers did NOT mak ehim a better person and he attacks Virgil who blocks with a garbage can lid and thankfully is blasted into an ally. Richie tries to guard frieda for damn obvious reasons but gets hsi shirt burnt up because shut up Thankfully Static shows up, and we get our firsdt full on superhuman fight as both fight each other with aplomb, and it’s a damn good fight.. and one that goes pear shaped for Virg as he’s caught off guard when he finds out Hotstreak can use his powers to fly, and tackles him and his previous trauma causes him to freeze up. Thankfully , as Frieda put in a call earlier, the fire department arrive and HOt streak has to retreat, though Virgil is bummed that he “Choked”. And I love this as it not only shows Virgil’s inepxerince, as this is his first time fighting a bad guy but that just because he HAS power now dosen’t mean trauma and his previous fear of Hotstreak goes away or you won’t freeze up from time to time. It dosen’t make him weak or anything like some assholes would call it .. it makes him human. Humans make mistakes, and it makes him all the more relatable that he’s not pefect and that he did freeze up as I know I certainly would at last once in the circumstances.

Things don’t get better at dinner as Sharon and Pops argue over the bang babies with Pops calling them a meance and Sharon pointing out Static exists so they can’t all be bad. See assuming a group of superhumans are bad because a handful of them ar edick sis why the x-men had to get their own island nation. You can only save an ungreatful populous so many times before you say “fuck it i’m getting my own island, pay me for life saving drugs, save your damn selves and stop doing genocides on us. Kay thanks”. But he does bring up a valid point that rattles his son: We don’t know anything about the Bang Babies or their biological structures and it’s likely they might further mutate into monsters, Static included.

Virgil, understandably, wants to check this and thus he and richie compare blood samples in science, to no real conclusion. She he checks out with his doctor who assumes he’s sexually active in a great getting crap past the radar bit and a bit of realisim, but he agrees to the test though if something came up he would have to tell Virgil’s dsad and is up front about this. Nice dose of realisim.

That night City Council has a meeting and the Mayor TRIES to deflect Papa Hawkins questions about the bang babies which again, while being a judgmental ass as not every person hit was a gang member (Virgil, and as we discover later some others), and not every gang member is there by choice, some by circumstnace some, like virgil almost was, because they HAD no other option. Again years of reading x-men may of just made me a bit touchy on assholes admitely assuming superpower people bad. But it’s clear the public is upset and while she says an investigation is underway... Virgil and Richie are not only not convinced, but figure she’s actively covering it up. And unlike everyone else there who probably suspects the same, they can do something about it and tail her. It’s during this, and cleverly as I didn’t realie till writing this using similar skills to his human cd player act, Virgil listens in and discovers whose behind it: Edwin Alva, whose apparently richer than bill gates and a beloved phinarophist Alva, as it turns out, was actually the arch enemy of Hardware in the comics, taking advantage of the guy in his civiliian idtentiy and thus casuing him to launch a war on the asshole. He does transition into this series well though, being the one behind the gas that caused it and with the mayor agreeing to back off, planning to simply dump the info about the big bang on a disc then destroy everything for now till the heat dies down. Yup sounds like a corprate douchebag.

Static tails him, finds the lab and infiltrates it, stealing the disc.. but getting caught by Alva’s goon, and trapped in a glass prison, forced to use ALL his power to escape and barely getting out alive, but not before bouncing off alva’s car. Still he now has the proof.. and meanwhile Hotstreak, who I was wrong did get captured, is forced to take pill sbut spits them out once the orderly is gone. Dude.. WHY DIDN’T YOU WATCH HIM. Make sure he swallows that shit especially since, as he has no powers right now and can’t harm you.

Hotstreak escapes off screen and our heroes discuss the disc before he shows up, and we get a REALLY fucking amazing scene: Virgil ducks into an Alleway and ritchie is worried.. and Virgil disarms him with just one word responses Ritchie: Virg you can’t take him. Virgil: Gotta. Ritchie: Well at least wait for the fire department Virgil: Can’t. It’s simpile but it gets the point across: This is his fight, he can’t wait for help, and people need him. And this is what makes a true hero: It’s easy to be a hero when everythings going well.. but it’s the true ones who stick it out against the odds and fight anyway. And he’s going to. So we get one hell of a fight, though naturally Hotstreak burns up the disc. And I do like this as it dosen’t feel contrived.. yes Static could’ve left it with ritchie.. but he wasn’t thinking in the moment and dind’t really have time to think abotu the disc, only that people were being hurt and he was all they had between them and Hotstreak. It was no choice at all. Still that pisses Virgil off that the last night’s work is now worthless, and he fully charges up and curbstomps francis who retreats into a clearing. Hostreak brags when static follows, as even he’s figured out Static needs to be around metal, as he’s usually on his disc or the street, and in the park there suppodsidly isn’t any. But he’s not THAT smart as Virgil points out two things: one, he hoped to do this on PURPOSE so they wouldn’t be around people and no on e would get hurt and 2).. this is a city, there’s metal everywhere.. and he awesomely and cleverly proves it by unlodging a sewage pipe with his powers and dousing his foe, winning and proving his stuff. I love this solution, it’s a clever spider-man type way to disarm him, using smarts and the einvroment instead of just brute forcing it. Though the sewage part wasn’t intetional our hero still won and gets praise from the people dumb enough to follow the fight.

However at home Virgil points out it was Pyrrhic Victory and shows off his smarts by telling the tale behind it, which I didn’t know,because tv tropes didn’t exist yet: king pyrhus fought the romans and WON.. but had so little armies left that he still lost overall. That’s what this feels like to Virgil: he beat hotstreak but any chance at a cure for Bang Babies and Alva going to jail for causing them is gone. His mood does get a boost though as the doctor calls and reveals he’s fine, he just has a bit too much elctrolytes and just needs to lay off teh salt. He celebrates, we get a quick gag and the episode ends

Aftershock is another stellar episoe, giving us Virgil’s first super foe and a personal one at that, while showing some growth. As richie tells him he’s not virgil anymore he’s static and he can’t let his past get to him.. and he does’nt going from cowering in fear to easily beating his foe with simple logic. It’s a good followup that answers questions you may have from the first ep, like what does this do to virgil’s body, who supplied the gas, and why has no one done anything about this, and sets up another villian for Static in Alva. Great stuff. I highly recommend these episodes and the show as a whole: it’s fast paced, grounded and enjoyable, having just enough levity to not be too dour but just enough tension and stakes to be intresting. A throughly fantastic superhero show and one that i’d certainly love to revisit on this blog If you have an episode of static or the dcau in general you’d want me to cover, my comissions are open and details are on a tab on my blog or can be gotten simply by asking me via ask or dm. Tommorow we’re going deeper underground, there’s too much damage in this town as the Lena Retrospective continues. So expect gay ducks, straight ducks and some terrfirmains. See you next rainbow.

#static shock #static #virgil hawkins #richie foley #robert hawkins #sharon hawkins #hotstreak #milestone comics #dc comics #dc animated universe #dcau #dwayne mcduffie #robert l washington IIII #kids wb #hbo max #2000s #animation #black lives matter #black history month

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fuzzballsheltiepants · 5 years ago

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Picture Kevin, three years old, running after his mother on awkward too-short legs in the park across the street from their home. She laughs and grabs his little hands, swooping him off the ground in a great arc and he squeals and kicks his feet and shouts, “Again, mummy, again!” He seems to glow in the sun, and Kayleigh had never thought that love could be like this, something so big and all-encompassing it feels like pain.

Picture Kevin, four years old, already learning to read; at first Kayleigh thought it was memorization of his favorite books, but one day at the library he finds a book with a frog and a toad and he sounds out words on his own. Her heart swells with pride, and she kisses him on the top of his head and brushes back his silky hair and the frog and toad book finds its way home with them.

Picture Kevin, five years old, coming home from school bubbling with excitement day after day. “I made a new friend, mummy.” “Did you know that a long time ago Ireland was covered with ice, mummy? And there were furry el-fants and huge deers and all kinda stuff that’s gone stinked now.” “We drew today and I drew you and me and we were playing exy and the teacher said it was really really good.” “I know maths now, mummy. So much maths.” After school he pulls out his legos and starts adding to the giant structure that has taken over one corner of their living room. “It’s a castle, mummy. It’s s’posed to be big.”

Picture Kevin, six years old, leading Kayleigh through the streets from shop to shop. Gravely saying hello to the shop owners, who smothered their smiles and exchanged looks with Kayleigh over Kevin’s head. He talked about fish to the grocer and dinosaurs to the bookstore cashier and space to the pharmacist and then ran into the green to kick a ball around with some kids from school. “I like football okay, mum, but it’s not as much fun as exy.” They put on music in the car and he sings along, not caring if he’s in tune, just singing for the pure joy of it. Kayleigh wonders when she started becoming afraid of people who couldn’t even hear her; how many years had it been since she hadn’t cared what anybody thought? She turns up the music and sings along too.

Picture Kevin, seven years old, in tiny exy gear, playing in little league. He throws himself into it with abandon; sometimes the ball ends up in the little stands set up around the pint-sized court; sometimes he releases too late and it just bounces sadly off the ground; once it ricocheted off the low wall and whacked him in the shoulder. He rubbed at it, glaring at the offending ball, but two seconds later he was laughing and leaping back into the fray. He knocked a defender over, then stopped to extend a hand to help him up, and they hugged it out while someone else scored. Afterwards the defender went out with them for pizza and they talked about space robots for a solid hour until Kayleigh was ready to scream.

Picture Kevin, eight years old. Somber. Lost. Riko, promising to be his friend, and Kevin swallowing against the lump in his throat and nodding. Riko, a dark-eyed island in the sea of grief.

Picture Kevin, nine years old. Riko made good on his promise; he’s Kevin’s friend, his only friend; his brother, in all but genetics. Kevin trains, and he doesn’t make mistaken throws anymore. His footwork is sure. Tetsuji praises him, and he basks in the words, and vows to train harder.

Picture Kevin, ten years old. Riko drawing a 2 on his cheek; Kevin returning the favor, the 1 he draws precise, painstaking. “We are the best,” Riko murmurs, “you and me,” and Kevin smiles. One of the college students plays some music in the locker room, and Kevin remembers this song—the melody, the words. The song plays through his head, and he longs to sing along, but Riko ignores it and Kevin closes his mouth on the lyrics. He can hear something, in the Master’s locked office behind him; a muffled thud, and a groan, and somehow it’s louder than the music.

Picture Kevin, eleven years old. They go on a trip to a natural history museum, something their tutor recommended. Riko wanders around, haughty and bored; Kevin trails after. The placards at the exhibits call to him; so many facts, laid out before him; a real mammoth skeleton towers above, and Kevin wants nothing more than to gape at the enormous curving tusks, but Riko tugs him away. “This stuff doesn’t matter,” Riko says. “We’re going to make Court. We’re going to build Court our way, and it will be perfect.” Kevin wonders if perfect is worth it, but then swallows down the traitorous thought.

Picture Kevin, twelve years old. Already there are murmurs. Of his greatness, of Riko’s. Together, they are unstoppable. The Master tells them they would be the best, and they do not wish to prove him wrong. Always, Riko is with him; except once in a rare while when the Master takes him away. At first, he would come back pale and shaken, and Kevin would hear him sniffling in his bed; but that stopped a long time ago. Riko never talks about what they do. “Moriyama stuff,” he said, stiff and proud. They meet a new player; a possible recruit, for Riko’s Perfect Court. Nathaniel’s tiny and fast and he laughs as he intercepts a ball from Kevin that he never should’ve even had a chance at, and for a few moments Kevin thinks he can remember what it was like when his mother would cheer him on. Then the three of them are brought up, up to the tower where they meet Nathaniel’s father who looks just like him, and Kevin learns what “Moriyama stuff” really is.

Picture Kevin, thirteen years old. Someone asks him in an interview, after his team wins the Little League championships again, about how it feels to follow in his mother’s footsteps. He doesn’t even really know what he says; he’d been coached on this so many times it was all automatic. But that night all he can think about is that he doesn’t remember his mother’s voice anymore. He doesn’t cry; he can’t cry, there’s nowhere that he’s safe. For he’s not really a Day anymore, except in name, and he knows too well what it means to be a Moriyama.

Picture Kevin, fourteen years old. A new recruit arrives, and this one won’t run in the night like Nathaniel did. He doesn’t speak a lot of English, and he’s taller than Kevin, and he doesn’t know why he’s there. One day he checks Riko into the boards, and that’s when Jean first starts to learn his place. Riko and Kevin—they had already learned. That night Kevin holds Jean in his arms as tears leak from his eyes unbidden, and they don’t talk, lest they be found.

Picture Kevin, fifteen years old. They play against the college students now. Faster. Harder. More. At night, he soothes his aching muscles by delving over his books. He was smart, the tutor told him; he could study anything he wanted. But it was history that drew him, history that was endlessly fascinating. Who knew that facts were such subjective things? So many layers to unpeel, to distract.

Picture Kevin, sixteen years old. Pro teams already are banging down the doors for contracts for the pair of them, but they will have to wait. The professional leagues have less status than the NCAAs; the Master had already decided that they would use the pros as summer training, nothing more. He pored over college tape instead of worrying about it. He knew all the coaches in NCAA exy, all their styles. Except Coach Wymack, who was new. Coach Wymack, a bleeding heart with a hopeless future at a mid-sized university. Oh, the university would humor him, for hadn’t Kevin’s mother taught him? But they would lose patience, once they realized he could not win. Kevin would pity him, but pity was for the weak. He thought he remembered reaching a hand out to a fallen player, but he must have made that up. He would never be afforded the luxury of kindness.

Picture Kevin, seventeen years old. A letter, creased and yellowed in his hand. Jean, wide-eyed beside him as he studied the writing in a strong and graceful hand. “Will you tell him?” Jean asks, little more than a whisper lest the Master come in and see what Kevin found, hidden in a history book that had no doubt remained unopened for a decade. Kevin refolded it, slowly, carefully. “There’s nothing to tell.” And if Jean noticed him tucking the letter into his jacket pocket, he didn’t say a thing. That night, he charmed one of the college students to pass over a bottle of vodka, and he relished the burn down his throat, the way it made him forget.

Picture Kevin, eighteen years old. Newly annointed to Court, Riko by his side. He raises his chin as the cameras click all around him, the smile on his lips foreign and familiar. He knows his press smile, his press laugh, his press voice. He doesn’t remember what his real one is anymore. He looks at Riko, laughing easily next to him, and he thinks there was a time without that glint in his brother’s eyes, without that cruel note to his voice, but then he thinks maybe he was fooling himself all along.

Picture Kevin, nineteen years old. Watching Riko, sprinting up the court, waiting for the pass. Kevin has a clear shot; a guaranteed goal; but he pivots and throws to Riko instead. Two seconds later the goal lights up red, and Riko is celebrating. Kevin swallows down the bile in his throat and joins in the cheer. Thea looks at him from across the court and shakes her head, but she never says a thing. She’s never felt the sharp edge of Riko’s cruelty, but rumors travel fast underground. She may not know, but she has held onto Kevin in the dark and helped him find relief from the pain.

Picture Kevin, twenty years old. His legs are bruised in stripes from the Master’s cane, from Riko’s racquet; he’s slumped on the hotel room floor. Nothing feels real, anymore; it hasn’t for a long time. He cradles his hand against his chest, but he doesn’t see the red; just the green green fields and cobbled streets. He doesn’t hear his own shallow breaths, whistling through his teeth; just his mother’s voice, that he thought he had forgotten, singing off key. Softly at first, then louder. Jean pulls him to feet he can barely feel, and he presses his forehead to Kevin’s, and he whispers in the accent he never surrendered, “Go, and be safe.” And Kevin goes, but he knows not what safety is.

Picture Kevin, twenty one years old. He feels scraped raw; has, since the day Jean whispered in his ear; like his hand has healed, but he was dragged across cement every day without end. Only Andrew keeps him here, keeps him from bleeding out upon the ground. He’s not certain if his facade is intact, but he reaches deep inside himself and finds it. Neil’s fighting him, and somehow that helps; if he focuses on Neil’s idiotic stubborn streak he can forget that the last time he was here he had Riko by his side. He walks out onto the stage to a round of applause, and Andrew is staring up at him with those eyes and he can breathe a little easier. But then—he’s there. Riko is there, and his cruelty has been whetted like a blade. Kevin has not forgotten its sharpness. But Neil parries every blow of Riko’s, and he’s stupid and he’s brave and Kevin wonders how on earth he got this way and he wonders if—if maybe he should try to learn.

Picture Kevin, twenty two years old. The crowd is screaming; the stands are rumbling with the thunder of thousands of feet. Neil is to one side of him; Andrew to the other. They are becoming what he had once seen; the sculpture inside the marble, slowly being chiseled out. The rest of the Foxes range behind him, and his father stands tall at the back. Kevin takes a deep breath, drops the butt of his racquet to the ground, shifting it to his left hand. The stadium quakes, and it should. He takes a step onto the polished wood floor of the court he knew better than any in the world, and nothing will ever be the same.

#kevin day #aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #meta #angst #my writing

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apocalypseornaw · 4 years ago

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Always be Yours- 4

Word Count: 5,342

Story Summary: Inspired by the 2 part I did of the same title

Chapter Summary: a tech issue within the bunker becomes a witch issue. Charlie being the genius she is calls you out on your developing feelings for Dean.

Warnings: Cursing, fights, brief character death

You were sound asleep when you heard a noise in the hall. You figured it was Sam considering he had to pass your room to get to the kitchen so you started to roll back over until you heard what was clearly mumbling and decided to head out and investigate. You slipped a pair of jogging pants on under the t-shirt you normally slept in and stepped out into the hall. You blinked a few times then realized it was Kevin pacing the hall and talking to himself. “Kev?” you called softly and he jumped like a gunshot had went off “Y/N..I didn’t mean to wake you up” “It’s ok. What’s wrong?” you were starting to get worried about him in the last few days considering you could barely drag him out of his room for meals and this just further confirmed your suspicions. The poor kid was burnt out. He was staring off like he was hearing something that you couldn’t so you stepped closer and touched his shoulder “Hey sweetie” he blinked and finally looked at you so you smiled “Why don’t I make you some food?” he nodded “Yeah um sure” and followed you blankly into the kitchen.

You went about making the grilled cheese he asked for along with a glass of milk and sat it in front of him. He mumbled a thank you then started picking at the sandwich. You watched him for a few minutes before deciding he needed a break out of the bunker to clear his head. “Kev I’m gonna go see if Dean’s up ok?” he nodded as he stood to grab another glass of milk.

You stepped back into the hall and slowly walked down to Dean’s room. You hesitated for a second before knocking. You heard his grumbled response right before the door opened. You had to remind yourself to blink at the sight of Dean shirtless wearing only black sleep pants complete with the spiky bedhead. “Y/N? Did you wake me up to stare at me sweetheart or is something wrong?” he asked with the barest hint of a smirk despite you hearing it in his voice. You cleared your throat and looked back towards the kitchen trying to ignore the way just the top of your ears warmed up from the embarrassment of not only checking Dean out but getting busted at it. “Kev um Dean the kid’s a little busted” “Busted?” he asked so you explained the shape you’d found Kevin in.

He listened then nodded slowly “Yeah we need to get him a breather. Come daylight I’ll load him up and take him into Branson, get him a room and ward it to hell and back. Might do him some good” “Sounds good. I’m gonna check on him and try to get him to lay down somewhere” “I’ll come with you” he offered and leaned back in his room to grab a t-shirt and his robe. You bit back a laugh when he tied the belt and he eyed you suspiciously so you explained “I feel like we caught our teenager doing drugs and now we’re doing an intervention” “Oh so you already planning to have my children?” he teased and you rolled your eyes “Oh yes that’s my goal in life to bring forward the spawn of Dean Winchester into the world” the smile reached his eyes when he said “Well I don’t know about you but I could do a lot worse” then turned to head to the kitchen leaving you to trail behind him.

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It took about an hour of coaxing for you and Dean to get Kevin settled into his room and asleep. You pulled the blanket over him then glanced back at Dean “I guess those years of you raising Sam comes in handy?” he scoffed “Me? That was all your years of wrangling hunters along with Bobby” you smiled then motioned to the hall so he followed you out. You gently closed the door then turned around and only then realized how close you were standing to Dean. You looked up into those green eyes and had to kick yourself mentally to not get lost in them. “So um I’m going to head to bed or well back to bed” his eyes never left your face as you talked and you started to feel a bit self conscious considering you had gotten woke up and didn’t even check your reflection before waking him. He nodded after a moment “Ok. Yell if you need me” “Um you too” you mumbled then headed for your room trying to resist the urge to look back at him. What the hell was up with the way you were feeling around Dean recently?

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You woke up a few hours later with the plan to just put some space between you and Dean telling yourself it was a close quarters thing causing whatever attraction was going on. Luckily when you walked into the kitchen Sam was alone at the counter pouring a mug of coffee. When he heard you come in he grabbed another mug then held it out to you “Where’s Dean?” you didn’t mean for that to be the first thing out of your mouth but it just slipped. “He took Kevin to Branson? Said it was your idea” oh yeah it was. Did a part of you think he’d wait until you got up? No no no! You could not be doing that! Dammit Dean was your friend that was it. “Yeah the kid needed a break”

“Want to come with me to talk to Crowley?” he offered so you shrugged “Sure why not?” and placed your coffee mug down in the sink next to his then followed him down to the armory.

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Crowley blinked against the light when you and Sam stepped in then greeted Sam “Hello Moose” then leaned a little to look your way “and sweets is here too” Sam laid the piece of paper and crayon down on the table without a word. Crowley grabbed the paper and balled it up “You want more demon names” and threw it at Sam to emphasize a point “I want a room with a view” Sam barely bumped your hand then both of you turned to walk out. “We can discuss this” Crowley called behind you and when neither of you stopped he offered “I’d settle for stretching my legs!” but you were already in the hall and Sam killed the lights then shut the door. “Little fuckin creatin” you muttered and Sam laughed “That he is. I figured he’d be a bust but I think I may have an idea of how to help Cas if you wanna help me?” You caught his eyes and for the briefest moment wondered again if Ezekiel was looking back at you before slowly nodding “Yeah, of course”

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You and Sam had the table in the map room covered in notes and pages from the archives when the door opened so you glanced up to see Dean while Sam asked how it went with Kevin. Dean’s eyes flicked towards you momentarily before they went back to Sam “Oh that little nerd is in a lovely warded hotel room in Branson. He’s got about forty eight hours of pay per porn and Kenny Rogers ahead of him” “How’s he feeling?” Sam asked.

“Well he stared at the angel tablet and repeated the word falafel for the entire ride.Y/N was right the kid’s cracked. Hoping this break will clear his head” Dean looked back towards you after he spoke then added “I figured after everything that’s happened we could use a little break ourselves. So I uh picked you up season one, games of thrones Sammy. Figured we’d get a little takeout” “All right but first I think we figured out a way to help Cas” the moment Sam said those words you could feel Dean’s eyes on you so you finally met his gaze when he asked if either of you had talked to him. “No” you answered with Sam who continued “I still don’t understand why he left in the first place. I mean the bunker is the safest place for him. Bartholomew and who knows how many other angels are out there gunning for him”

The memory of Dean guilt ridden the night Cas left flashed through your head as he said “There’s nobody wants him here more than I do but he felt like he’d bring trouble down on us so he had to split but if you two have a way to help him I’m all ears”

You let Sam explain the theory of hot wiring the map table as a way to track angels and therefore give Cas a heads up about where they were. Dean asked how it worked so you said “No idea. We thought it was a computer but it’s just part of one so we followed the cables and well let’s just show him Sam”

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You lead the way into the computer room and turned the light on. “This is a computer?” Dean asked and you shrugged “It was in nineteen fifty one when it was installed” Sam lead Dean around to the back telling him the strangest thing you’d found which was the computer was not plugged into anything. “We have no idea what’s making it work” Sam said right before Dean ran his hand across a back panel “It’s warm here”

You glanced around and spotted a screwdriver on one of the shelves and held it out to him. He took it with a flicker of a smile. Dean ended up prying the panel off even if it did cause him to stumble back into a shelf when it broke free. You instinctively wanted to move to check on him but he was still upright so you stayed glued to your place. “Got it” he boasted with a wink.

------

Considering out of the three of you there was only a working knowledge of computers and that was mainly on Sam Dean decided to call in help. That help was in the form of one of your favorite people Charlie Bradbury.

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You were standing between Sam and Dean in the computer room trying to keep up with what Charlie was saying but you were falling behind and was grateful when Dean said “Skip to the end” “It’s kind of an alarm system? Global badness and it freaks” She shortened then added the computer was actually what had locked the bunker down when they’d left Kevin alone there. “Can we use it to track angels?” Sam asked.

Charlie contemplated for a second then cracked her knuckles “Let me see what I can do”

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You weren’t exactly sure what Charlie was doing but there was something hypnotic about watching her work. After a while she glanced up from her computer “All right it took some doing but now we can download. This beast has all the men of letters files. Time for a little drag and drop”

“Wow” Sam uttered in astonishment and you agreed with a smile “That’s awesome Charlie. Thank you” You saw Dean shoot Sam a look and knew now would come to the lecture to her about he mentioning the fact that she’d recently done a couple hunts. “So you been hunting” Sam offered and Dean added “Alone” in that tone of his that automatically made you have the urge to apologize because he sounded so damn disappointed. Charlie glanced your way for help so you gave her a small shrug she had to give some sort of explanation before you could jump in to defend her. “I know, not a good idea according to the supernatural books”

You looked up at the mention of those said books “When are you going to send me a copy?” Sam and Dean both gave you matching glares before Sam asked why Charlie couldn’t simply delete them from the internet. “Not even I can do that” She replied and you had to laugh at how offended Dean looked when he asked her where she foum and she replied “A top secret place I call Amazon” “Amazon has them?” you asked and Dean shook his head at you “No. You’ve been around a good amount of our hunting lives but there’s some things I prefer you not know”

“Oh now that just makes me want to order them even more!” you argued but Charlie interrupted the two of you when she said that someone uploaded all the unpublished work. “Who uploaded it?” Sam asked and Charlie shrugged “The screen name was Becky Winchester one seventy six. Ring any bells?” Sam’s hand flew out to cover your mouth before you could answer for him and said “No. There are no bells” you licked his hand and laughed when he quickly pulled it away.

Charlie looked between the three of you then looked back at her screen “Ugh these files are encrypted. This is gonna take a while” then she glanced back up “So, takeout, sleepover,braid each other’s hair?” “I’ll go grab take out. You two feel free to braid Sammy’s hair” Dean offered standing up to leave but Charlie quickly suggested “Why doesn’t Sam go with you? Give me and Y/N some time to talk without ya know you two?” Dean shrugged “Ok then Sammy we’re officially kicked out of our own bunker” You shot him a wink as he walked out “Don’t forget the pie honey bunch” and was rewarded with an eye roll.

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“So what’s it like living here with the guys?” Charlie asked as you showed her around the bunker to the areas she hadn’t seen yet or what you could show her anyways which mainly consisted of the library which she fell in love with. “I don’t know? Sometimes I feel like the mother hen, Dean eat..Sam get some sleep” “And other times?” She asked and you shook your head “Other times I’m just grateful that for the first time in a very long time I have a solid place to call home. Sam's my best friend and Dean is..well Dean that man is a force of nature in his own right" her grin lit up at your words and the horror dawned on you of what you'd just let slip to the smartest person you'd ever known. "Does he know? Oh does Sam know?"

"Do I know what?" you heard Sam and the two of you walked into the map room to see both guys coming down the steps. You crossed your arms and met Dean's eyes "Didn't Bobby ever teach the two of you that it's rude to eavesdrop?" Dean made a so/so motion with his hand "He said it was rude unless you wanted to know what was being said" You glared at him but he shook the bag in front of you "C'mon now I got you one of those energy drinks Sam hates you drinking" "I forgive you, this time" you teased taking the can from him. Dean grinned then glanced around "So game of thrones?"

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Dean was sitting on one side of Sam's bed with Charlie on the other. Sam had taken up residence in one of the chairs in the room and when you went to sit in the other chair Charlie patted the middle between her and Dean "C'mon Y/N there's enough room for you" you glanced towards Dean "Um looks like three would be a tight fit" "You can always cuddle me?" Charlie offered with a wide smile so you narrowed your eyes at her then climbed into the bed next to her. You sat with your shoulder against Dean's and she turned to be leaning more on you then the bed as Dean started the first episode.

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"Wow that Joffrey's a dick" Dean announced turning off the screen. Charlie grinned "Oh you have no idea, wait until he" "Woah, spoilers! Sam hasn't finished the books" you reminded her and Dean looked over at Sam "You're gonna read the books?" "Yes Dean I like to read books" he teased before Charlie stood up and asked Sam if he was planning on moving in anytime soon which resulted in a few words being passed between him and Dean.

Dean finally just stood up and said "I'm gonna go get us some more beers how about that" you stood up to go use the bathroom while everyone else was taking a break.

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Once you and Dean made it back to Sam's room Charlie said that the downloads should be done so all of you headed to the computer room to check the progress. When you walked in the room however there seemed to be some weird sort of cocoon behind the shelf. "What the hell?" you muttered while Charlie went to check her computer and the boys moved the shelf.

Once it was completely moved Dean pulled his knife out and cut into the cocoon. You weren't expecting an arm to fall out. Sam pulled his gun and aimed it on the cocoon while you moved forward to help Dean cut more of it away and a brunette woman fell out onto the floor. You knew both Sam and Dean were covering you so you knelt down and put a finger to her pulse point "She's alive" the moment the words left your mouth she took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

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The woman as it turned out was none other than Dorothy. Yeah wizard of old, ruby slippers. That Dorothy.She'd come to the men of letters for assistance in killing the wicked witch when all other options failed she used a binding spell to trap the witch for the last seventy five years.

"Wait so you're telling me we have an unkillable witch wandering around a magical bunker?" You asked and Dorothy nodded "Fuckin awesome"

From what Dorothy told all of you the witch was looking for something in the bunker and she needed to be found before she found whatever that thing was. Dean nodded "Ok Charlie dig in the files, find something that'll put a dent in a witch. Me, Sam and Y/N will have a look around" "I'm helping" Dorothy pushed but Sam told her "Why don't for now you rest up and help the smartest person in the room" You glanced back and shot Charlie a wink before closing the door behind you.

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Crowley was the first stop. You stayed at the door to watch the guys backs should the witch pop up while they checked the armory. You could hear Crowley talking to them but tried to keep your attention on the stretch of hall. When a gunshot rang out you walked in and Crowley had a fresh bullet hole in his suit "Sweets, Squirrel doesn't play nice" you narrowed your eyes at him "Neither do I jackass now tell us what the witch wants" he smirked then unballed the paper in his hand which simply read "Key"

"Key what key?" you asked and he shrugged "Haven't the foggiest darling. I sent her on a merry chase before she could melt me. Told her your boys kept the keys in the kitchen. There is a kitchen in this craphole isn't there?" you glanced at Sam who walked around to lock Crowley back into the chain before all of you headed to check the kitchen.

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The kitchen had been completely trashed but no witch in sight. "Damn it, I just cleaned in here" Dean grumbled and you looked at him "Dude witch! Focus. I'll help you clean up later if she doesn't kill us first ok?"

Charlie and Dorothy walked in about that time with a little good news. They'd raided the gun range and made some poppy bullets. They wouldn't kill the witch but they would stun her. "Something's better than nothing. Good job Charlie" you told her as you took the bullet she offered and loaded it into your clip. Bad news was there were only five bullets so each shot had to count.

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The key that the witch was after was the key to Oz. Dorothy showed a picture and you recognized it from the inventory. "Where is it now?" Dorothy asked and Dean replied "My room. Me and Charlie will go grab it. Sam, you take Y/N and Dorothy and buy us some time"

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You were ambushed by the witch in the library. Dorothy got one shot off but then the witch disappeared into the duct work which meant she could get anywhere in the bunker from there. "Split up, we'll cover more ground but watch your backs!" you warned heading one way while they went others.

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You heard a shot coming from the direction of Dean's room and spun around on your heel to head in that direction. You slid into the room to find Charlie motionless on the floor "Dean? Is she?" you asked running to his side where he was crouched over her. He moved to roll her over but when you saw how limp she was a sob caught in your throat "Get her on the bed Dean. We need Ezekiel" you could see tears in his eyes.

About that time you heard Sam's voice "DEAN" you and Dean both hollered "ZEKE!" and you saw Sam's eyes glare and his posture change the moment he made it into the room. "You have to help her" Dean begged looking so very broken. "She's gone" Ezekiel said and you shook your head "Bring her back, like you did with Cas!" "I can not keep doing that Y/N" before you could respond Dean hollered "WHY THE HELL NOT?"

"I am barely back to half strength. Every time I use my power it weakens me, which means I will have to stay in Sam longer than any of us want. The witch running around your bunker is very powerful. I can help with the witch or save your friend" Dean looked at you and you nodded knowing what he was asking "We can handle one damn witch. Save her"

You moved to stand next to Dean while Ezekiel touched his hand to Charlie's head. It only took moments before Charlie was waking up and Sam was collapsing as Ezekiel became weak once again. "Check on her" you urged moving around the bed to Sam.

"Y/N, what the hell happened?" he asked as you helped him to his feet. You looked back at Dean and he said "The witch was about to put a whammy on me and uh Charlie jumped in front. She got zapped then the witch got the jump on you and Y/N spooked her"

"Did she get the key?" you asked Dean who nodded "Yeah she's gone" Dorothy popped into the door "No she's wounded so she could still be in the vents" Charlie who only you and Dean knew was freshly back from the dead pushed herself up "She's right. We have to" but she swayed when she got to her feet so Dorothy offered "You three go! We'll catch up" you grabbed Charlie's gun and held it out to Dean "Let's go get the bitch"

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The three of you were working to clear the halls when Sam asked "Who's Zeke?" "What?" you asked hoping you'd heard him wrong. "When I came into the room, I could've sworn one of you said the name Zeke. Who's that?" "Um" you didn't really know what to say so Dean cut in "Look I think you're still a little punchy man. Let's just keep moving"

Sam moved ahead and you cut your eyes at Dean for just a second before continuing down the hall.

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You were each clearing rooms. You heard Sam holler "Clear" followed by Dean "I got nothing" then heard Dean holler Sam's name. You ran towards the map room where they'd been at last in enough time to see the three of them on the floor. You saw her touch their heads and their eyes glowed with her power. "Oh fuck" she looked up at you but didn't bother attacking. No, she now had Sam and Dean for that.

They both looked up at you but you knew for a fact you couldn't handle them in a fight by yourself so you did the only thing you could. You turned to run.

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Dorothy and Charlie weren't in Dean's room and you didn't see either of them hiding in the armory so you ran down the hall and saw a door open up ahead so you ran into it and wasn't really surprised that the bunker had a garage. The upper level lights were on so you ran up the stairs and spotted Dorothy and Charlie next to a motorcycle "She got the boys! She hexed them or something so we got to do something fast"

"There you are" you heard from behind you and cursed before turning around to see both Sam and Dean not five feet away "Do something with those nifty shoes" you urged Dorothy who'd just retrieved the ruby slippers from her motorcycle side car.

You backed up with Dorothy and Charlie and swallowed hard seeing Sam's eyes glow green yet again. "Which one do you want?" Dorothy asked and you nodded at Dean "He hits harder but Sam has a wider reach." She nodded "You take the harder hitter I'll take the wider reach"

"Charlie get to the witch!" you hollered as Dean grabbed for you and Sam advanced on Dorothy. "Pretty little hunter. You can die along with them as well" he growled slamming you back against the wall. "Naw, I'm not one for dying easy" you hissed and brought your knee up into his crotch. The distraction gave Dorothy an opening to catch Sam off guard. She threw the other slipper to Charlie "Go! We've got this"

You watched Charlie run out and ran to Dorothy's side. "Knock em out if need me but try not to hurt them" she looked at you like you'd lost your mind before saying "Tell them that!"

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Dean caught you with a hard punch so you headbutted him back causing him to stumble "GOD DAMMIT YOU TWO CAN ONE UP ARCHANGELS AND NOT ONE BITCH" you grunted when he kicked you in the stomach. You looked up to see Dorothy wasn't fairing a lot better. Dean grabbed you by the hair "I'll deal with you after hunter. Dorothy is who I want dead" he threw you across the room and you saw that Sam had Dorothy around the neck and Dean now had the demon blade in his hand. You glanced around and spotted a piece of pipe and picked it up. You didn't want to hurt them but you couldn't let them kill her.

Right as you got to your feet you saw Dean's eyes glow again and let out a breath "Charlie did it"

Sam let go of Dorothy who came to your side "Y/N are you alright?" you nodded and spit out a mouthful of blood "Fighting is a lot easier when you can kill your opponent" she wiped her split lip and laughed "Tell me about it" Sam looked between the two of you "We did that?"

You shrugged "Actually Sammy you kicked Dorothy's ass. Dean kicked mine" you saw the guilt flash across Dean's face when you grimaced slighly from straightening up but shook your head "I'm fine. Let's find Charlie"

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You all found Charlie at the top of the stairs leading out. She smiled and waved the key "Ding dong bitches"

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Dean of course wanted to move baby into the garage after getting a better look at it so when all of you met back up in there his eyes flicked across your face and where you were sure bruises were blossoming before saying "Baby looks good in here doesn't she?" "Baby looks good anywhere" you replied and he smiled and motioned towards the empty space next to her "Room for the jeep" you nodded then said "I may move her in to keep baby company"

You and Sam took Dorothy the copy of her book you found in the archives while Dean spoke to Charlie. You cut your eyes at them then looked back at Dorothy.

After she thanked all of you for your help she said she had to get back to Oz to finish the rebellion she started then looking at Charlie "You coming or what?" "With you to Oz?" Charlie asked and Dorothy replied "You said you were looking for adventure Red. Well here is it. Come help me find my damn dog. I'd ask Y/N to join too but it's clear where her ties are"

Dean shook his head at Charlie "You have no idea what's in Oz. I mean there's flying monkeys, armies of witches. There's all kinds of danger" You had to bite back a laugh when Charlie asked him "Promise?" She hugged him then Sam then you. "You boys listen to Y/N"

You stood next to Sam and watched as Dorothy opened the doorway to Oz and the two of them walked in. Once the door shut you couldn't resist the urge to open it and double check but that doorway once again only showed the tunnel leading out the garage."Think she'll be back?" Dean asked and Sam nodded "There's no place like home"

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Later that night Sam had headed to bed and so had Dean so you were up in the kitchen nursing a beer. The bruising had went down with the use of a vial of stuff Dorothy had offered and your ribs were just a little sore. You glanced up from the book you'd been looking over when you heard footsteps and saw it was Dean. He stopped at the doorway "Um Y/N.. I um" you knew what he was trying to say so you waved a hand "I know you'd never hurt me Dean. I wouldn't have gotten it so bad if I hadn't been worried about hurting you"

He chuckled at that then walked over to the table. He reached for your chin and you knew partly that was due to him being used to checking Sam over for injuries but that knowledge didn't stop the little shiver that ran through you at such a gentle touch from him. He turned your face to look at it in the light and his thumb brushed lightly across your cheek "I would offer you a free shot but something tells me you'd either not take it or save it until I was least suspecting" You smiled up at him "No free shot needed Winchester. Takes a lot more to hurt me"

His thumb barely ran across your bottom lip and you swallowed hard and knew he felt it. "Y/N Charlie um said something I wanted to ask you about" he spoke softly while still holding your face in his hand. "Ask me" you all but whispered and he started to lean closer to you but the hall light came on and you heard Sam's footsteps a half a second before he stepped in the room causing you and Dean to separate like you were guilty of something. He looked between both of you "Did I interrupt something?" You cleared your throat and turned your eyes back to the book "Just Dean feeling guilty for knocking me around under the witch's power. I told him I'm fine maybe you can convince him" you quickly gathered the book and beer then stood to head to your room "Night fellas" "Night Y/N" Sam said and you heard Dean mutter "Night" right before you stepped out into the hall.

Tags @facadeformyrealblog @akshi8278

#spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader #always be yours

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91percentpynch · 4 years ago

Text

kevin day as a singer/ songwriter

IT‘S KEVIN DAY BITCHES YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS - originally this was supposed to be a kevin day writing songs, soft wholesome au thingy, it ended up in kevaaron angst with a happy ending. but i put conan gray songs out of kevin‘s point of view as a bonus??? so it‘s still singer/ songwriter kevin??

kevin day has always loved music. he loved it when his mother sang him lullabies when he couldn‘t sleep, when they danced around the kitchen screaming the words to the song from the radio on the top of their lungs, loved it when she taught him how to play the piano and the guitar.

but like every other good thing evermore took this from him, once they snatched him and burried him alive. riko hated music, so naturally it was forbidden for all of them. no happiness, no light. only ever exy, exy, exy.

don‘t get it wrong, kevin loved exy. he was the son of exy. kayleigh found exy, kayleigh gave it to him, it was in his blood. it was in his soul. and it brought him closer to his beloved mother, to the woman who made his life good, who gave him light and happiness and left him back alone. gave him to them.

however just as exy was in his blood, so was music. so whenever he was alone with his partner he would quietly hum or sing a song his mother used to sing him.

when jean moreau arrived at the nest hell broke out. riko was jealous because kevin would spend more time with the new kid than him. kevin wouldn‘t give the king enough attention so all of his subjects had to suffer.

it got worse with every passing day, with every look that lasted just a second too long, with every conversation whispered softly in french, with every lullaby kevin would sing for jean when he was scared, with every embrace and late night talk. with every stolen kiss, they had to pay. well, jean had to pay. kevin had to remain untouched, no scar was allowed to be visible on his perfect face, on his hands or any body part visible. jean however? jean was never allowed to leave the nest, he was riko‘s, he belonged to riko like some doll he could stab or kick or do whatever he felt like to.

the day kevin told riko to stop, was the day riko lost his patience. kevin day got better in exy, he took his favourite toy away from him, he had the audacity to talk against his king.

kevin always knew riko was unpredictable when he was angry, that the world was just black and red when he was mad with anger, but he never in a million years thought that this anger would ever be against him. that he would have to feel what jean felt every single day.

but he did this day, when riko broke his hand. it was also the day when kevin decided that it was time for them to leave. for both of them, jean and him.

„we‘re going“, he whispered in french when he came back to their shared dorm room. „we‘re leaving. you and me. my father, wymack, he has an exy team on his own. the foxes. we‘re going to join them. because i will not leave you here, understood?“

„we can‘t go, he will find me and while he cannot kill you, he certainly can kill me. no one really cares about me, anyways“, jean replied.

„oh is that so? well i for that matter care about you, you beautiful french bastard and now take your five things and we‘re going“

„kevin, we can‘t. not both of us. that‘s way too suspicious“, jean tried to reason.

„darling, it‘s more suspicous when i go alone, now come. we don‘t have much time. riko will look for you soon, if he doesn‘t already. i know the way out, maybe, if we‘re fast we can go to a more growded place before he catches up on us, maybe we can even reach the bus or a taxi before he comes. we have to try, we cannot stay here. i for once must go to the hospital, the bastard broke my playing hand“

„i‘ll make sure he won‘t come after you, you go. go and forget me. go and leave me alone. it‘s only a few more months before i go, only a few more months before it‘s all over. you don‘t have to watch that. just, go“, jean said, his voice tired and filled with emotion.

„i will get you out of here and you will give live a chance. i promis you will see the sun again“, kevin replied, tears running down his cheeks as he leaned in for one last kiss. „i love you“, he whispered into the darkness as he turned to go. kevin never heard the reply, he wasn‘t sure he wanted to.

so kevin tiptoed to the backdoor and left. just like that. until this day he didn‘t know what jean had to go through for him to be able to leave like that but he was thankful for it nonetheless.

somehow he made his way to psu and found his place in the team. well, not exactly found a place. more like got adopted by a scary 5“0 tall, stabby boy, who promised to keep him safe, his twin brother and their cousin who scared the living crap out of him.

„what is our routine? do we have 16 hour days as well here? when is practice? and do we choose our majors ourselves or does the master choose them for us?“, kevin asked the others when they were alone in their dorm.

„do we have WHAT now?“, nicky asked. „dude, no we do not have 16 hour days, we, you know, want to like surive?“

„oh, are we allowed to listen to music or does the king not approve that?“, kevin asked instead.

„dude i don‘t know what fucked up shit they did in evermore but you‘re allowed to do whatever the fuck you want here. and dan would more be a queen, but we just call her dan or captain?“

„oh, okay“, kevin said before turning around and leaving the room. his chest tightened, his arm hurt, he just wanted back on the court. but he wasn‘t allowed on there until his left arm was doing alright, and as long as he wasn‘t on the court he couldn‘t train his right hand to play.

the only other thing that could calm him right now was music. the sound of a piano, the strings of a guitar against his fingers, the scratching of a pen against paper as the notes are written down on it.

kevin wandered through the fox tower, more lost than ever, and somehow found himself in a music room. a dusty piano stood under a bright window, an old guitar was in the corner next to an alomst ancient drum set.

almost automatically his feet brought him to the piano and he began playing. he played and played, as if his life depended on it and kevin felt calmer and lighter than he did in years. the voice of his mother was in his head, singing lullabies and placing a kiss on his forhead.

his right hand was playing the old lullabies he remebered while the left hand rested on his tigh

„that was good“, a voice said, bored and unimpressed. he turned around to see one of the twins watching him. it was the one who couldn‘t hide all of his emotions like the one with the knives.

„aaron, right?“, kevin asked, voice hoarse from crying.

„how do you tell us apart? not even nicky can tell us apart like 90% of the time and he‘s basically our mom“, aaron replied.

„well, it‘s a 50/50 chance, isn‘t it? i was just lucky“, kevin replied.

the music room became his place of safetey and calmness after that day. he would return whenever he felt lost or sad or upset. be it 2 am or the middle of the day.

and aaron would join him more and more often, may it to study because „your music helps me concentrate“ or just to watch kevin play while the sunbeams chased over his pretty face.

and if kevin slowly fell in love with aaron in those shared hours it was nobody‘s business

however it didn‘t look like aaron was into him anyways, as the joining kevin in the music room got less and less, and the time spent with kateyln from the vixens got more and more. and suddenly all of the songs kevin wrote were about aaron. all kevin thought about was aaron. he joined him in his dreams. the nightmares from evermore were replaced by kevin dying alone in a dark void while aaron laughed at him with katelyn by his side.

it was one of those late nights, one of the 2 am sessions where emotions took over and the truth was just easier to take. it was one of those nights that aaron decided to go into the music room, he didn‘t konw why. maybe it was katelyn telling him she wasn‘t into him anymore. it‘s not even been a month. or was it two? aaron never was good with telling weeks apart from days or hours. it was all the same blur of colors and voices and the ever so present need to be perfect. nothing less was acceptable.

„why would you ever kiss me? i‘m not even half as pretty. you gave her your sweater, it‘s just polyester, but you like her better, wish i were heather“, it was kevin‘s voice, like an angle, filled with pain and sadness. aaron sat down on the floor, just listening, wondering who the fuck heather was. and who the fuck would ever break his heart.

„watch as she stands with her holding your hand, put your arm ’round her shoulder, now i‘m getting colder. but how could i hate her, she‘s such an angle. but then again kinda wish she was dead, as she walks by, what a sight for sore eyes. brighter than a blue sky. she‘s got you mesmerized while i die. why would you ever kiss me? i‘m not even half as pretty. you gave her your sweater. it‘s just polyester, but you like her better. wish i were heather. wish i were heather. wish i were heather. why would you ever kiss me? i‘m not even half as pretty. you gave her your sweater it‘s just polyester, but you like her better. wish i were katelyn“, the last word was barely audible and aaron would have missed it if he wouldn‘t have moved closer to kevin while listening to his song.

„why would you want to be katelyn?“, he asked kevin as before he could stop himself.

as kevin turned around the moon let shadwos dance around his beautiful face. aaron could see that he was batteling with himself. that he was about to say something he wouldn‘t normally allow himself to say. show weakness and vulnerability when strenght was all he knew.

„because you like her better. because i want to be the one you kiss“, kevin whispered, looking at the ground. his hair falling into his face, hiding his expression.

aaron moved closer and closer. there were only a few inches between them now. softly he took kevin‘s chin in his hand and lifted it, forced him to meet his eyes. „well, what if you were heather?“, aaron asked, a small smile dancing around his lips.

„but- but katelyn is heather“, kevin whispered.

„well, kately found herself a girl. thea. she dumped me. and i‘m actually glad she did, i wanted you anyways. i just couldn‘t admit it. i thought it was wrong, unnatural. but if something this beautiful is sinful, i understand how adam was able to make the sin. if a fallen angle is wrong in god‘s eyes i have no answer what is right“

he closed the distance between them and placed a soft kiss on kevin‘s lips.

kevin, confused and drunk on the smell and taste of aaron, kissed him back. hungrier. needier.

the taller boy softly put his arms around the waist of the smaller one and pulled him closer. „you do not understand how long i‘ve been waiting to do this“, he whispered against aaron‘s lips.

„believe me, i do“.

the next day kevin took a guitar and a blanket after exy training, took aaron‘s hand and told him to come. together they went to the roof (where andrew and neil were making out, as usual) but they didn‘t mind they went to the other side, andrew‘s death glare on them but what‘s new, and filmed an accoustic version of heather kevin would then later on youtube. heather became their song (weird choice i know but it‘s the song where they kissed for the first time) and so so kevin‘s music career started.

kevin kept writing songs - mostly about aaron - throughout his exy career and published them. his fans loved his songs. his fans loved making conspiracy theories about who the songs are for. they‘re losing their shit when they found out it was aaron. after kevin retires he becomes a fulltime musician and eventually even goes on tour.

BONUS - CONAN GRAY SONGS OUT OF KEVIN‘S POV

grow - years, after evermore. after he starts therapy (and takes it seriously) and he feels like his life slowly but steadily becomes better. aaron and him have been dating for a year or two. he is ready to grow, to become his own person. to be himself and do whatever he wants. he is ready to go into the world. he is ready to show them that he queen of exy is not afraid anymore. that he is worthy and he knows it.

comfort crowd - aaron comforting kevin. aaron knowing when he needed to be with the foxes and when he needed some alone time. or some aaron-kevin-time. i do believe that the foxes becomes his comfort crowd, because they‘ve all been through shit and i refuse to believe that they wouldn‘t care about kevin as they did with neil once they learned what that poor boy had to bo through.

the story - kevin wrote that song about him and jean and the nest. the boy and the boy are him and jean. it‘s the story of their time there and the second verse is kevin‘s story of fleeing from evermore. and the refrain is a metaphor for life, because his life wasn‘t funny. or sweet. or pretty. and the „it could work for you and me. it‘s not the end of the story“ is about him and aaron. the last song verse is about jean and that he hopes that he finds his happy end with jeremy.

maniac - kevin wrote that one when katelyn came back to aaron and asked him to take her back cause the girl she thought she was madly in love with broke her heart. but aaron refused to take her back, told her to go back to her ratback and leave him alone. he‘s with kevin now and he doesn‘t need her anymore. she can‘t get him back.

affluenza - kevin wrote that for allison. i don‘t know the deep story behind that, the song just gives me allison vibes.

wish you were sober - kevin wrote that after the first party he went to with the foxes after he joined him and it‘s obviously about aaron. drunk aaron to be exactly. drunk aaron has a special place in kevin‘s heart.

the cut that always bleeds - that one was when aaron dated katelyn and told kevin about it and kevin just died a little bit inside whenever he did.

fight or flight - he wrote that before aaron told him how he felt about him. he just didn‘t know how to put his feelings into words so he just wrote that song.

lookalike - kevin wrote that before aaron and him started dating, but when jean and jeremy started to become closer. he didn‘t take that well at that time as he had a massive crush on both jean (who refused to talk to him) and jeremy (who never looked at him twice but still). and he just daydreamed about dating jeremy so much it almost felt like a betrayal when he started dating jean.

the king - honestly? aaron dating katelyn but nonetheless always coming back to kevin. kevin knows that. that‘s why he wrote the song.

(can we be friends?) - this is about jean/ jeremy when kevin didn‘t really have friends. jean/ jeremy at the time of the nest probably.

(online love) - this one‘s about jeremy. cause let‘s be honest, at least one of those songs is about jeremy.

crush culture - that one is the result of an angry 4 am song writing session when aaron dated katelyn and jj was just starting to date.

generation why - this one‘s for the millenials. his generation in this au.

heather - heather is aaron, basically he‘s talking about having a massive crush on aaron but aaron would never feel the same cuz he‘s obviously straight and madly in love with katelyn (= heather) who is just stunning and gorgeous and beautiful and so much better than kevin

overdrive - this one was written after the first time the twins and nicky took him to eden‘s. the time when kevin started to catch feelings for aaron.

#all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the king’s men #kevin day #aaron minyard #ship: kevaaron #kevaaron

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