#god i was just thinking about what a cool chad he is in the books and the awful actor they picked to play him

[incarnateirony]

*Dips glasses in Corporate Oil and looks around*

Alright guys. Let's do this, let's talk about where we really are, developmentally. With the WB, CW, The Winchesters and Gotham Knights (this piece will admittedly focus most heavily on Winchesters, as I know more about its actual development than GK, but the corporate elements of WB will apply to it).

All of it. Because you guys have come to realize there's a lot behind the veil.

Has anyone been watching the Snydercut battle in DC? This seems like a random place to start with for Supernatural, but I promise you, it's critical in understanding what's happened, where we've been, where we've traveled and where we can possibly head from here.

So how is it DC ended up here, and how is it relevant to Supernatural?

Everyone's entitled to their own view of media within reason, depending on their aggression about it proportionately in relation to the actual content and what it is beyond what it's fought about. Personally, I always found Snyder's stuff reductive to characters and just mindlessly operating on rule of cool, but some dudes liked it. So when the first hollering started, I thought, good for you, voice what you believe.

But they never shut up. Instead, they amplified, they got more shrill, all points were taken to the seventeenth degree, VERY bizarre and lowkey threatening videos were made. On and on and on and on and on.

And now they're acting surprised that after literal years of it, the new CEO wants them to shut the fuck up and considers it all a mistake. Gee, I wonder what gave him that fucking idea.

OK. Cool. So anyway, remember the S12 market testing? The stuff I was posting about in S12, that everyone from Patrick to Mary Manchin argued with me about until years later we figured out how to safely clear the receipts without anybody getting blown off the planet with lawsuits?

2016 was leaning closer to modern TV. Closer to the representation demands the younger teen audience generally sets and demands, assuming it will be present on all products. We were leaning that way. So why would, say, Dean and Cas need market testing?

Well, perhaps, it's because in season 9, shortly after Carver recovered the property from near cancellation into being CW's #1 hit above all, the Destiel fandom decided to monkey climb some oblivious business suit without any context of the development chain leading Destiel to where it was at that point. They harassed him until he deleted twitter, they ran multiple articles trying to burn the property down as queerbait, then when the S10 packets dropped with a new sexuality section declaring everybody straight, and everything hit lockdown, they made fucking confused noises and called it Victim Blaming to point out any sort of liability in the dramatic lockdown.

But listen, Chad Kennedy does not fucking care what you think is fair or equitable. He cares about money, his properties, and NOT being torn apart by little shitheads on twitter. For god's sake, his name is fucking Chad, how did you guys expect a Corporate Chad to react.

Less stupid fans had put together books of stats, demographics, and LGBTQ or general audience testimony to package off to elite names in that same S9 year, only for one to survive and move into the room, and be shared by a new showrunner named Dabb, at the same time market testing coincidentally began.

It was already a contentious topic. Turning around a 2005 behemoth that is distinctly not packaged as LGBTQ ware is harder than turning around the titanic and even what berens accomplished was impressive in perspective. I hate market segregation as much as anybody, but it's a reality.

You know what else is a reality?

That the Winchesters is branded as an LGBTQ property out of the gate, as is the developing studio running it, with permission to use the IP, and the potential namesake character there may be reservations over is played by that same studio owner, with 15 years of history.

Zaslav just completely wiped out the upper ranks at WB. Roth had already left and Zaslav called him back personally. Roth, Jensen's mentor, is directly advising Zaslav on properties. So genuinely speaking, who is more qualified than the managing production house owner with 15 years experience with this content and particularly this character to make decisions on what to do with that character, if Roth tells Zaslav to just let Jensen do what he do.

This is a real potential in the air. Other corporate shakeups in the past have sort of been [rolls the dice] "maybe they're not dicks???? no????" but this time there is actually a path through the woods.

Beyond even the queerness of it, the entire structure of the Winchesters is very revealing of how much Roth warned Jensen.

For all the chicken little nonsense about Nexstar aging up, they're actually taking the alternative path I had implied other media outlets were missing, which is instead diversifying the age bracket of content while rotating in things closer to pre-merger CW like (hopefully black) sitcoms. Their new statement is "give us the new, but also give us what we would have had old". They've stated they intend to stay on genre TV but the age restriction isn't just for kids, the content and budget will be more targeted.

Congrats, we're getting something not just mass produced swill, but things WB is banking its entire network TV future on.

Depending on the response to what properties they chose to order, this is them fighting for their rights to timeslot on Nexstar before Nexstar reappraises 2023-2024 content from other sources being brought in. This is why, for example, Misha commented on the size of GK's budget compared to normal, or why Winchesters had enough time, and budget, to reshoot, which SPN never ever fucking had.

Roth warned Jensen. Because for all the confused noises fandom made about "Why John Mary?" it's actually simple if you think about the world beyond yourself. If you go "maybe other people are different than me?" well.

The 70s. A fanciful, whimsical time. the 50+ audience will live for it. And even with shit like Carlos because they remember the 70s they'll remember their gay friend carlos too. But the cast is young and vibrant and queer to bring in new blood and generations, and Dean (and the eventual others) will be there for the older, middle-aged if you will fans that grew with the series.

Roth warned Jensen. Because Jensen built the perfect product to survive the diversification demands of CW/Nexstar. And made the next potential packaged truly viral product to match its forebearer. And all in a time that Zaslav is searching for strong franchises.

Don't know how far, exactly, we'll get to go but we've never had such a clear path there before. There's a possible path through the woods and we're on it with Dean, looking through the haze to see what light is at the end of the road.

Gotham is also getting the benefit of this to some extent, but Gotham is not itself the launch of a franchise as much as a safe bubble in which to use an existing franchise during a tumult. Both are important in different ways, and both are WB's future stake in TV network share or full collapse into digital by 2025.

"We must see the bigger picture. Even in the darkest hour, our light is waiting to guide us."

-- Supernatural 15x15, Gimme Shelter

#wb #zaslav #roth #production #the winchesters #gotham knights

[lilicohirukoma]

What are your honest thoughts on:

Claudine Frollo

Li Shang Jr

Harriet Hook

Anthony Tremaine

Based on what you read about them in the books?

I'm loving all these asks

Claudine Frollo. She's interesting, Frollo is commonly cited as one of the worst villains so seeing his child while a bit impractical (he appeared pretty old) is cool! However I feel like she's underused, depending on the route they went she could've been a Quasimodo like character and represented the main moral conflict of the series/her father's movie well: She's condemned for being Frollo's daughter like Quasi was condemned for being deformed. Who is the monster and who is the man, Beast is the monster for banishing the children.

They also could've made her a terrifying force to be reckoned with. Think of this: the Isle is hopeless, depressing and it's hard to believe anyone there is in a good mental state. This is an easy gateway into baiting people into religion (as a matter of fact this is a common cult recruitment tactic) and then controlling their lives. Imagine crazy cult leader Claudine who has a group of people on the isle who are willing to do anything for God aka her, even die.

Canon Claudine is unfortunately nothing like this, she is a blank page of a person. If she were a spice she'd be flour. Descendants is honestly the mother of all wasted character potential and she's a great example.

Li Shang Jr. I have less to say about him, again he doesn't have anything unique to offer. He is the R.O.A.R captain which is expected considering his parents and is kind to Jay, coaching him in the sport. I see less potential in him tbh but that's likely bc (unpopular opinion) I don't care too much for Mulan (not a bad movie at all it just isnt for me.)

Harriet Hook. I like her! She's a tough girl with a soft spot for her siblings and Hook's crew their children. Also she is in a Crocodile fighting club, like what a woman. Now I do need to be honest and say her character isn't mindblowing but that's fine, she's not a main character and more there to color the world a bit. I wouldn't mind a spin off about her life.

Anthony Tremaine. He's funny to me, an entitled spoiled brat who needs attention. Kind of in the same vein as Prince John from Robin Hood. He acts the most like I'd expect him to and that's nice. I don't really understand why he and Dizzy are so different (I'd say Anastasia was the better sister but hey if Cinderella had Chad for a kid anything can happen.) He doesn't really stick out to me to be honest but I don't dislike him!

Sorry for the whole creative writing project on Claudine, I couldn't stop myself.

#disney descendants

[gyqru]

LADY OF NAMEK — ethan landry

warning: home intruder? mentions of physical attack/gutting. tell me if i missed anything.

summary: after your encounter with ethan and chad at the party, you start to notice ethan everywhere you go. what a weird coincidence right?

word count: 2.7k

author note: this follows a one shot i made about the party scene so read that first to get some context. [do me a favor?]

chapter two

after the frat party, you can’t help but wonder how you didn’t notice the cardboard man before. seeing him when you walk into your math studies, or accidentally bumping into him in the halls; he was everywhere and you never realized it.

you thought it was a coincidence, yet ethan knew it wasn’t. it was easy to get your routine down. ethan followed you on purpose, but he stayed far away so no one would suspect him.

"accidentally" bumping into him? he did that on purpose, choosing when and how you two would collide. bumping into you when you had your hands full, purposely knocking down your books to help you pick them up.

he noticed when you would meet with your friends at the vending machines in the common area. noticed when you had certain classes you wouldn’t try as hard to look good, not that you didn’t always look good.

finally, after weeks of stalking, ethan has the courage to try and talk to you. before all your friends could arrive at your designated meet-up spot ethan goes up to you.

“h-hey! you’re that bunny girl from the frat party..right?” he tries to not sound overly excited, yet his voice cracks making him cringe internally.

startled, you look up, noticing the curly head standing right in front of you. “um hello? yeah, i’m “that bunny girl” you were the walking cardboard box, friends with the cowboy?” you titter, taking out your headphones to hear him better.

“well i was a knight but yeah—my name is ethan by the way” ethan quipped, scratching the back of his neck, a weird habit he has when he’s nervous.

“i know your name, we’re in the same econ study group,” you admitted. you noticed him.. you already knew his name.

that made ethans inside giddy, his mind racing with delusions. “well i just wanted to uh talk to you. i thought you were pretty—cool! pretty cool” ethan exclaimed, not meaning to call you pretty.

giggling at his awkwardness, you smile at him. he’s so nerdy it’s kind of cute, you think. “ha thanks e, you’re not so bad yourself. surprised you didn’t bump into me today” you told him. freezing at the mention of his antics, ethan laughs awkwardly.

“s-sorry about that, i swear it’s not on purpose” he lied, “i’m teasing ethan, it’s my fault honestly. how do i not notice you, a giant, walking towards me.” you joke.

laughing at your joke, ethan tries to get the courage to ask you for your number. he opens his mouth to speak but gets interrupted.

“my god you wouldn’t know the morning i— oh.” your friend mei approached, stopping once she noticed you and ethan together. “uh my bad… am i interrupting something?” mei asks, eyeing ethan. “no meimei, we were just talking” you explain.

“well you wouldn’t mind if i stole her for a minute would you? i’ll return her soon nerd boy,” mei taunts ethan. “okay mei that’s enough, it’s too early to start with your shit” you shove her arm away.

“sorry about her, she can be bitch but she isn’t that bad” you apologize to ethan, rolling your eyes jokingly.

“hey! i’m literally right here” mei scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. ignoring her tantrum, you continue talking to ethan. “look here’s my number. we can talk more if you want” you grab a marker pen from your bag, grab his hand and write your number.

“oh okay yeah i’ll uh, i’ll text you! bye y/n” ethan beams, happy that he got your number without having to find it himself. “mhm, bye bye e!” you wave him off as your friend drags you away.

rummaging through your kitchen pantry, you try to find something to snack on. not realizing the looming figure that stalked your ground-floor apartment.

you finally felt at peace, mei isn’t here to scream at her computer, and chantel isn’t blabbering about her family issues.

successfully finding a bag of chips you start heading to the living room. until your phone starts ringing, startling you. reaching on the kitchen island, you turn it over to see who was calling you this late.

it’s an unknown number, you decide not to reply, letting it ring on the counter. before you can leave your kitchen, a second call hits your phone. now suspicious, you wonder who could be trying to reach you.

“hello? mei? did you lose your phone again? this is the fifth time you've used a pay phone," you say, pausing when you hear heavy breathing.

thinking of who this unknown number could be, you remember how you gave that nerdy guy your number. “ethan? is that you? why didn’t you just text me—“ you get cut off by the sound of a deep modulated voice.

“it’s not ethan, y/n.” the deep voice gravles. recognizing the voice instantly you roll your eyes in annoyance. you lean against your kitchen island and hiss, "this isn't funny ya' know. a voice changer isn't scary."

“let’s play a game y/n.” he stated, completely ignoring your insults. rolling your eyes, you end the call. fucking weirdos trying to scare me, you think. heading to the living room you settle back down to finish your movie.

a loud bang startles you, ripping your attention from the film in front of you. knowing that you're alone in your apartment, you do the most rational thing.

heading to your kitchen to arm yourself with a knife, your cell phone starts to ring again. you want to let it ring, to ignore it but deep down you know what’s to come if you don’t.

“what do you want?” you bark, pressing yourself into the furthest corner of your kitchen. “hang up on me again and i’ll gut you and use your insides as decorations” ghostface seethes. staying silent, your eyes dart around your kitchen trying to think of a plan on how to escape.

“aw, nothing sarcastic to say now? you hear me in your apartment don’t you?” he taunts, his heavy combat boots making your floors creak. fear starts to consume you, he sounds too close to where you are.

fear consumes you; you try your best to think of how to get out of your apartment. there's only one door that connects your kitchen to the rest of your apartment, leading directly to the living room. hearing him turn up the volume of the scary movie playing on your television, you realize that you can't just make a run for it.

you’re a sitting duck waiting to be killed.

sinking down to the floor in despair, you try to hide behind the kitchen island. shaky hands trying their best to keep a good grip on the knife you’re holding. “a-answer me, what do you want.” you stuttered out.

panic starts to bubble inside of you, his heavy footsteps slowly start sounding closer. the quiet sound of the kitchen door creaking open makes your heart sink.

as you prepared to fight for your life, you heard the front door handle jingle. a group of voices from behind the door can be made out; for the first time, you thanked mei for always having people in your apartment.

also having heard the group of people, ghostface makes a run for it. leaving the same way he entered. as his footsteps descend, you hear the door open. the phone call ending, you finally feel like you can breathe.

“y/n! im home, brought over some friends” mei yelled out. getting up, you place your phone and knife down on the counter. exiting the kitchen, you run into mei and hug her.

engulfing her in a big bear hug, she huffs in surprise. “y/n..? you okay babes what happened” she questions, hugging you back. ignoring the people around you go silent, you lead her to the hall that connects all your rooms.

noticing your room door was the one wide open, you cursed. he entered through your bedroom window. “what the fuck happened?” mei barked, noticing your room was a mess. besides breaking in, he decided to rummage through your room.

walking in, you immediately close your window and lock it. “y/n.. what happened?” mei repeats calmly, grabbing your hands and leading you to sit down on your bed.

“h-he got in and he c-called me and threatened me mei. he knew my fucking name!” you revealed, tears welling up in your eyes.

“who y/n? who threatened you?” mei demands, grabbing your shoulders to calm you down. “ghostface.” you muttered, scared if you say his name he’ll appear.

before mei could reply, a girl knocked on the doorframe of your door. “i’m sorry i didnt mean to interrupt” she says, noticing your teary face.

“it’s okay sam, actually glad you did. you would know more about this then i do,” mei got up, pulling sam outside.

after a couple minutes her friend, sam, sits next to you. “are you okay?” she asks, giving a reassuring smile. “i’m fine, i didn’t get hurt” you say, confused on why mei would send her friend to comfort you.

almost as if she could read your mind, sam starts to explain her and her sister's correlations with ghostface. “so if he’s after you and your sister, where does that put me?” you didn’t even know the carpenter sister until now.

“i don’t know honestly, now that he’s after you, this adds a whole ‘nother level of confusing” she acknowledged.

now a group of people have gathered at your bedroom doorway, and you're starting to regret what you said about mei earlier. "we don't want to interrupt, but mei explained everything," said a short girl with dark hair.

scanning over the four people you notice a familiar face. it's that cowboy from the party, the one who's friends with ethan. “uh it's fine, im assuming you all have also been victims of the ghostface attacks too” you said.

“yeah, for years now, welcome to the club” a girl who looked somewhat like sam joked, earning a pinch to the side from a taller girl and a stern look from her sister.

“right.. well thanks for everything really, but i’m sure i’ll be fine for now” you huff out, getting up from your bed. pushing past the group, you try to go find mei again.

someone followed you, pulling you into the privacy of the kitchen. it was ethan’s friend, the cowboy. “hey, i know this is a weird coincidence, but please. he’s doesn’t kill people for no reason, could you at least consider going to the police and giving a statement?” he pleads with you.

you argue that he didn't kill you. “it could’ve been someone pretending to be him or a sick prank, i just don’t want to get involved,” chad fell silent, you were right, he didn’t kill you, which is strange. still having so much on your mind you continue to rant.

“i also find it strange that you and ethan are all a part of this. i gave ethan my number yesterday, and now you’re in my apartment. this doesn’t feel like a coincidence…” you trail off, trying to make a correlation to all this.

“you gave ethan your number? how do you two even know each other?” he questioned, cocking an eyebrow. chad can’t seem to grasp that his awkward roommate could have the balls to go up to you and ask you for your number.

“we’re in the same econ study group” you say blankly. “look.. uh.. ethan’s friend, i appreciate the concern, but i really don’t want to get involved anymore then i have to.”you stressed.

"my name is chad, and if you're still alive, he's definitely planning something. you're already involved." chad retorted. god why does he care so much, you wonder.

“fine, i’ll give a statement but that’s it” you compromise, not feeling like arguing any further.

the ringing of chads phone startled the both of you, pulling out his phone he checks who’s calling him; it was ethan wondering where he was.

“i’m at a…friends” chad pauses before saying friends, not knowing if he should say he’s at your apartment. chad knew ethan had grown a liking to you, he didn’t want to jeopardize that for his roommate.

leaving chad in the kitchen, you walk into the living room. mei was talking to the rest of her friends, heads turning the moment you walked in. jesus christ these people were scary.

"i'm sleeping in chantel's room, mei. please tell her what happened before she gets angry," you sigh as you go to your roommate's room. you don’t hear meis reply, drowning in your own exhaustion.

laying down, you tried not to think about the situation. you didn’t even know if it was ghostface, you never saw who was in your house. the only sign of ghostface was the call, but that could’ve been anyone. soon you finally fell asleep, this was an issue for the police now.

weeks have gone past since your last encounter with ghostface, you stopped worrying about if he’ll come back. you had given your statement to the police but that was it. you weren’t traumatized like the victims of the woodsboro attack, so paranoia didn’t consume your days.

life returned to normal, partying whenever you could. to the naked eye all you cared about was getting drunk on a thursday night.

yet, you knew you hardly ever drank at parties. your rambunctious personality camouflaged itself with that of someone who has had one too many drinks. the way you dressed suggested the same, but you ignored that.

you’ve talked to ethan here and there, it was either friendly conversations or exchanging answers for economics. you’ve invited him to take part in your party lifestyle but he always declined.

as your hips swayed to the rhythms of the music, you failed to realize the pair of brown eyes staring at you. between two of your friends, the three of you danced together, not a care in the world.

"stop staring, man; you look like a creep," chad teased, nudging ethan’s side. "huh, what? i wasn't staring... was it that obvious?" ethan tore his eyes away from you to see chad’s teasing face. rolling his eyes, he went back to staring at you, admiring your addicting aura.

ethan eyed you as you said something to one of your friends, agreeing to your words you walk off. following you with his eyes he sees you go to the kitchen. (ironic)

excusing himself from chad, he follows you like a trained dog, never losing sight of you. upon entering the kitchen, you immediately go to the fridge, digging up something to drink for you and your girls.

before ethan can get to you, some random frat boy beats him to it. the random guy comes up behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist. your bent body shoots up, looking up to see who it is, your eyes immediately widen.

“drew, oh my god! hi!” you squealed, recognizing the tall boy. standing on your tippy toes to wrap your arms around his shoulders. smiling down at you he hugs you back, picking you up off your feet.

ethan watches this play out, feeling jealousy shoot through his veins. who the fuck was this guy and why is he so close to you?

he has you caged between his arms, his face leaning down to your ear, whispering something that makes you laugh. ethan couldn’t stand this anymore, turning his heel and walking back to find chad.

as the party went on, you stayed close to your friends. the guy from the kitchen also joined your group. only leaving them when you needed a drink. ethan was still stalking you, losing his patience quickly.

not because of you, but how at any moment you would be alone some random would always manage to flirt with you. their hungry eyes staring down your low-cut top, or their hands lingering too long around your waist.

giggling at whatever bullshit they said to you, your inviting gaze only leading them on more. it drove ethan insane, he wanted to drive his knife into anyone who even looked at you.

snapping back to reality, he realizes you aren’t with your friends. looking around he can’t seem to find you, get up from the wall he was leaning on he walks to the kitchen.

you weren’t there either, ethan knows you haven’t left yet so he continues looking for you. you were walking upstairs, by yourself thankfully.

perfect timing, ethan finally has you all alone.

alice talks ⋆ ˚ ꩜ ｡ ⋆୨୧˚

left y’all on a cliff hanger. kay so drew, mei, and chantel are ig ocs? they aren’t super important but they’re there. also im spacing out the actual events of what happened cuz i don’t want reader to just fall instantly for ethan (i know you want to be his but come on you barely know the guy) besides that should be all! i hope i didn’t disappoint, i know like four people wanted a part two so this is that part two. kinda proofread!

#scream.com ୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ☆ #ethan landry #ethan landry x y/n #ethan landry x you #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry x female reader #scream 6 #scream vi #chad meeks martin #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #anika kayoko #mindy meeks martin #gyqru #fanfic #writing

[littlebetesofeverything]

Welcome to Night Vale 3

Alright, another practical done! Now I can have a lunch break to myself instead of reviewing. Med school is starting to look up, Whoo!

I love the light imagery that starts at each episode so far. It really sets the tone tbh.

A daily journal that will replace Sunday's copy with milk to be unbiased is incredible.

Remember the pier that doesn't have water? It's gonna have a stadium next to it for the hooded things that creep around the town. That's a spectacle alright.

contract negotiation is a fun time. management sounds fun to talk to lol. tendrils you say? Space not making sense? sounds like a Doctor Who episode set up. You go Cecil, be a reporter baby.

shades of the sky forecast is amazing, I want this all the time. I could use some void rn if I'm honest.

Anti-litter campaign, this sounds cool. The flag system is curious though.

Books have stopped working? now it's a horror story. How dare you tell me not to open a book. I feel like there are certain people who would agree with the city council.

Yes, a black helicopter pad should be a sign of the world government. RIP Chad the intern, you will be missed. I love when the front is so open about being a front.

A creeping fear being literal is awesome. shivering in antici....pation you say? Just drop the Lyme disease diagnosis lol. 10/10 Cecil. the rivalry with Desert Bluffs is beautiful.

Carlos mention, take a shot. Cecil your crush is wonderful, I don't think he is a celebrity to anyone but you. The feelings of a crush getting a haircut are so valid tho tbh. The way Cecil is describing the barber as if he is gonna put a hit on him is perfect.

Cecil, can you describe the traffic babe? I know you are recovering from Carlos' haircut but I want to know what you see.

Management has some concerns? Oof you need to tell them that they are good looking. NO Cecil, don't go to sponsors!

Big Rico's sounds like a penguin that probably should be investigated for burning the competition. and it's a misdemeanor not to eat there.

Cecil you don't sound so good for the weather. The music is on point again.

Oh thank god you're alive Cecil. Now the management is roaming? finally the spooky is here. RIP new intern Jerry, you will be missed as well. They have a dead person impersonation contest for Thanksgiving? Who does Pochahontas is all I want to know.

Well, i think I am getting what I came here for. Prayers for Cecil until I have lunch tomorrow, hope you made it out alive.

#welcome to night vale #betes blog #this is getting good #definitely gonna keep this one going #nice little lunch breaks

[a-libra-writes]

Hello! Do you write for Rhaegar Targaryen as well? If you do please 💖 and 💎. If not fell free to ignore it. Sorry if it's troublesome😅 Your blog is amazing and I absolutely love everything you write! Thank you for staying with us! Have a nice day!

wow, I wasn’t expecting Rhaegar! I’ll give him a try for these lil headcanons ahaha. Thank you for the kind words!! 💞

💎Marriage HC

In a world where Rhaegar was allowed to choose his own bride, he would be nothing short of devoted. He’s a hopeless romantic at heart, so the courtship was full of poems, songs and secret meetings - and none of that stopped once you married.

He’s always preferred sentimental gifts to material ones - he’ll give you a crown of your favorite flower one day, or think up a new song and sing it to you from outside your window. Some might consider his obvious love foolish, but your dragon prince has never cared what others thought.

There are times when his daydreaming and idealism gets the best of him, and you have to remind him of his duties to the realm. Often members of the small council have quietly asked you to talk sense into Rhaegar, or approached you about a problem directly, especially once you’ve proven yourself as capable.

He’s beloved by the smallfolk, and that love will extend to you, as you both make a handsome pair. If you do similar things to help them, like handing out food and talking with them, your reputation will only grow. Many times the Kingsguard has scolded you and Rhaegar for running off to the steps of the Great Sept to speak with the people.

He understands when his duties take him away from you, but he wishes they wouldn’t. He prefers you two to appear as a pair, given how powerful and popular your union is. Also, he’s a bit needy.

He’s prone to bouts of distraction and melancholy. Sometimes he’ll focus singularly on a subject or cause, and other times he falls into a gloomy mood and isn’t interested in politics. You can’t always pull him out of these moods and have to leave him to his own devices, but eventually he comes back.

There’s a specific  part of you that he’s charmed by - your laugh, or the unusual color of your eyes, or several birthmarks, or a scar. You aren’t sure why he’s fascinated by this thing, but he never fails to mention it in the little private poems and songs he writes for you.

💖 Pregnancy HC

Oh jeez, if you thought the poems and songs were a bit much before…

He’s happy, of course, and not just because this is expected from the both of you. Rhaegar isn’t the sort to be overly protective, even when you’re showing, unless it’s a hard pregnancy and you need the extra support. He doesn’t want to hover and make you feel helpless.

Still, you are carrying the heir to the throne, so he’ll suggest you take it easy and rest as opposed to ordering. To keep you from being bored, especially in the later months, he’ll sit by you and read, play a song, play a game - whatever keeps you amused. He’ll never turn down time with you, after all (and it beats the boring council meetings).

There’s essentially a list of expected Targaryen names, but Rhaegar would understand if you wanted something different. He’d absolutely be the type to go against tradition and go with whatever you wanted, especially if it had a special meaning to you.

He’d be happy with a boy or girl, regardless if the realm wants a son. He just wants you and the child to be healthy.

If you were having a hard pregnancy, Rhaegar would send for different teas and foods from Essos. Maybe something there would help you better than the maester’s medicine, not that he doesn’t believe in their skill, he just wants to try something new to see if it works. He really can’t stand sitting by while you’re suffering.

At the end of the day, what do you want? A specific drink, a specific food? Cuddles, time alone, something new to read, a play to watch or a bard to listen to? You’re getting it. Even if you weren’t the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, if you both were just common folk, Rhaegar would do whatever he could to comfort you.

#rhaegar targaryen x reader #got x reader #game of thrones x reader #libra headcanons #god i was just thinking about what a cool chad he is in the books and the awful actor they picked to play him #looked like viserys 2.0 #also elia deserved better BUT i think he'd be such a sweet S/O to someone he actually chose to be with

[walkerismychoice]

Queen of My Heart - Chapter 38 (The End!)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake X MC, Liam X Olivia, Hana X OC Lydia

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The show comes to and end, and Riley contemplates her future

Author’s Note: I can’t believe I’ve finally brought this series to an end. There was quite a long time I thought I may never finish. I want to thank all the readers and friends who’ve read and encouraged me along the way. I want to especially thank @debramcg1106 as of late for helping me work through the ending and pushing me to finish it out. This is the technical end of the story, but I do have an epilogue planned as well.

Tag List: @khakie4 @dreadpirateemma @ritachacha @blackcoffee85 @choices-fanatic @boneandfur @butindeed @simplyaiden-blog @bobasheebaby @traeumerinsworld @theroyalweisme @umccall71 @lizeboredom @debramcg1106 @enmchoices @withice @viktoriapetit @mfackenthal @drakesfiance @drakelover78 @speedyoperarascalparty @silviasutton1989 @krisnicjack @devineinterventions2 @choiceswreckedme @notoriouscs @blackcatkita @hamalu @akrenich @drakewalkerfantasy @jamielea81 @andy-loves-corgis @jlouise88 @jovialyouthmusic @sleepwalkingelite @i-miss-trr @dragonball-luver @gkittylove99 @lovingchoices14

Word Count: 2230

Queen of My Heart Chapter Index

Due to everything that transpired, filming of the finale was delayed two weeks. Riley was grateful for the time and hardly left Drake’s side during his recovery. He was sent back to the palace after a couple days, and Riley had to convince him that whiskey was not a suitable replacement for the antibiotics and pain medication the doctor prescribed. Reluctantly he obliged. He worked with physical therapy, and by the end of those two weeks, you’d have hardly known he’d been injured at all.

Olivia was salty her ball had been ruined, but the production staff made up for it, giving her and Liam an overnight filmed at Olivia’s northern Lythikos retreat. She was still worried the country would favor Riley with Liam, but Kat assured Olivia between her heroic actions, personal growth, and some favorable editing, it would be hard for most people not to be on her side.

As for Madeleine, it was still unclear if she would be charged criminally or would be incompetent to stand trial due to her mental health, but either way, she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone for quite some time. It was questionable if Jo’s involvement in the whole thing broke any laws. She wasn’t Cordonian, so she couldn’t be charged with treason for skirting security and endangering the life of the crown prince, but authorities were looking to see if there was anything they could make stick. At the very least she was blacklisted and would never work in television again.

So finally, on a calm, clear, day, there was only one obstacle left. Riley met with Liam, adorned in a stunning, body-hugging, Swarovski crystal filled dress, to put on the performance of a lifetime and act as if he’d shattered her heart. Of course, it wasn’t that easy. There were a couple of takes where neither of them could keep a straight face followed few that were unbelievably dramatic, but ultimately Riley was able to tap into her vulnerability and the tragedy she had faced to bring genuine emotion and tears to light. It didn’t matter that it was unrelated to what was happening in the scene, it was real. Kat said it was perfect, and Liam was free to propose to Olivia.

-----

Now that all is said and done, who will Liam choose to be his future Queen? Will it be the fierce Duchess Olivia, or the plucky newcomer Riley? Stay tuned for the finale of Queen of My Heart.”

Maxwell draped his arm around Riley’s shoulder. “What do you think, sis? How did I do on my television debut.”

Maxwell, Bertrand, Savannah, Hannah, Lydia, Liam, Olivia, Riley, and Drake were all huddled in the palace screening room to watch the finale as it aired.

Just about anyone would have been an improvement over Chad,” Riley teased, ”but the squid suit was definitely a nice touch. Your delivery was great, but did you have to call me plucky?”

“You know I had to play it cool,” Maxwell explained. “Plucky is good, but not over the top. Don’t want anyone thinking I’m playing favorites because you’re my sister.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “The suggested ‘noble newcomer’ would have been sufficient.”

“It was a stylistic choice.” Maxwell made a gesture with his hand indicating a mock hair flip.

"Ugh, enough about Maxwell," Olivia groaned. "I'm ready to get to the good part. Can we just fast-forward through any mushy Liam and Riley stuff? Nobody needs to see that."

"I second that." Drake raised his hand in rare agreement with Olivia.

Liam just shook his head. "I know nobody watches live network television anymore, so you must have forgotten how this works. There's no fast-forwarding. Not even through commercials."

"That's fine with me." Lydia chimed in. "More time for making out."

"Lydia!" Hannah's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.

Lydia pecked her on the lips. "Sorry babe. You're just too damn cute when you blush."

Hannah remained quiet but her smile gave her away. Lydia, with her outgoing, bold, and slightly unpredictable personality, was the perfect complement to Hannah being so shy, proper, and focused. They brought out the best in each other, and the difference in Hannah between when Riley met her until now was night and day.

The friends watched the show and Riley only cringed at herself in a few places, which was much less than she thought she would. Things did get a bit awkward during the montage of kissing scenes between Riley and Liam, and Maxwell and Bertrand made a show of covering their eyes for the steamier parts. They all laughed inappropriately when Liam dumped Riley since they knew it wasn't real. And then finally when Liam proposed to Olivia, everyone cheered.

Riley thought of her friends and family at home. She pictured aunt Susan, Sarah, and Daniel all rooting for her and how disappointed they must have been that she "lost." She couldn't wait to tell them, however, she hadn't lost at all.

"Wow, Livvy." Drake quipped, bringing Riley out of her deep thoughts. "How much did you have to pay them to give you such a flattering edit?"

Olivia threw a pillow at his head which he deftly dodged. "Fuck off, Walker. You were so desperate to get on the show, you leapt in front of a bullet."

"Now, now children." Liam said in a mock scolding tone. "Let's all play nice."

"Yes, father," Drake and Olivia replied in unison, causing laughter to erupt around the room.

Riley still didn't have all the answers about what her future would hold, but she had found her people. Where she was in that moment was where she needed to be.

Savannah yawned. "It's getting late. We should probably go and relieve the sitter." Riley hasn't wanted to pry into Savannah and Bertrand's relationship, but they were working together to parent Bartie and things seemed to be falling into place for them.

"Yes, yes." Bertrand agreed. "Time is money!"

"Oh my god, Bertrand." Savannah rolled her eyes. "Life isn't all about money."

"She’s right." Maxwell propped his arm on Savannah's shoulder. "Besides, now that the show is over, we'll be getting some money, and Kat said if viewers responded well to me, they would probably offer to extend my contract in the franchise. By the looks of these tweets, I'm going to be rolling in dough. 'That Maxwell guy is so hot...ridiculously funny...just what the show needed.' Should I read more?

"Please no." Bertrand groaned. "We can talk finances later. Goodnight, all."

As the rest of the crowd dwindled, Liam asked Drake and Riley to stay behind. He kissed Olivia and promised to join her when the conversation was through.

"So what's up?" Drake got right to the point once only the three of them remained.

Liam cleared his throat. "Well as you know, I highly value your loyalty to the crown."

"Heh." Drake let out a terse laugh. "I don't really give a fuck about the crown, but I do care about you."

"In any case, you take your job very seriously and I could see you as head of the guard one day, once Bastien retires." Liam paused before continuing. "However, I do have another proposition for you."

Drake raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Go on."

"How would you like to be the head of Valtoria?" Liam asked expectantly.

Drake' eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I thought Valtoria was unoccupied. Is there a new Duke or Duchess there now that needs a security detail?"

"No, no." Liam laughed. "Well, there could be. That's what I'm trying to ask you. I would like to give Valtoria to you."

"No fucking way. You have to be kidding me. Did you sign up for some royal version of a prank show now?" Drake scanned the room as if searching for hidden cameras.

"I'm serious, Drake. I think you would make a fantastic duke."

Drake scoffed. "I'm a commoner who despises most nobles and everything the monarchy stands for."

"That's exactly why you'd be perfect for the role." Liam explained. "Cordonia needs a fresh perspective - someone who can resonate with the people the monarchy serves. Just think, you could have a real voice in creating change. I don't want to rule like my father has and his father before. I want the people to have the representation they deserve, and you are a key to that."

Drake sighed deeply. "I don't know Li. Even if I could do this - if I wanted to - what makes me worthy? What's everyone going to say when they find out you gave an average dude the title of Duke just because he's your best friend?"

"I'll tell them that Drake Walker is anything but average. He's smart, capable, and fiercely loyal. He's saved my life more times than I count and has more integrity than anyone I know. Public policy can be learned, but these qualities cannot be taught. He may not be noble by blood, but he is my family, and he belongs."

'Wow, Liam." Drake ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say."

"You're quiet over there." Liam directed at Riley. "What do you think?"

"Me?!" Riley had been as shocked by this as Drake, and she didn't know what to think. This was about Drake, not her. Did her opinion really matter? "I, uh.... think this is really Drake's decision."

Drake took Riley's hands in his. "But it's yours too. I mean, if we are going to be together..."

"Oh, well..." How was Riley supposed to help Drake decide such a life altering thing when she didn't even have her own life sorted out?

Drake didn't leave her fumbling for too long. "Liam, I really don't know if either of use is equipped to answer this question right now. It's a very generous offer, and the fact that I'm not totally shutting you down for suggesting such a ridiculous thing as me being a Duke should tell you I'm genuinely willing to entertain the idea."

Liam chuckled. "I completely understand. This life is new to both of you in different ways, and to navigate a new relationship on top of all that is a lot to ask. I'm in no hurry to fill the vacancy. Consider it an open-ended invitation. I trust that you'll be ready to make your decision long before the public pressures me into making a new appointment."

"Thanks, Liam." Drake gave him hug and patted him on the back. "Now get back to your fiancé before she blames me for keeping you too long."

-----

Back in her palace guestroom, Riley nestled into Drake, her head resting on his chest. "It's been quite a night, huh?

"You could say that again." Drake pulled her tighter against him.

"I kind of feel like we're moving so fast, we're skipping steps - like we're being asked to decide the rest of our lives before we even know what we want to do tomorrow." Riley knew nobody was outright asking for an immediate decision, but she felt the weight of everyone's expectations. Whether she stayed in Cordonia or went back home, she'd probably be disappointing someone.

"Who says we have to?" Drake asked. "You heard Liam. He doesn't need an answer right away. I Know you haven't decided what you want, and I sure as hell don't know what I'm going to do yet. Why don't we take some time together to just...be. Do normal couple things and see where the relationship takes us."

"Normal couple things... I mean I don't know how I can go back to my normal peasant life after attending weekly balls dressed in couture gowns," Riley teased, "but I think I could make that sacrifice for you, my commoner boyfriend."

"Hey, watch who you are calling commoner." Drake pinned Riley down and tickled her sides until she begged him to stop, and he collapsed beside her again. "I just may outrank you soon if I so choose."

Riley laced her fingers through Drake's. "It's crazy to think how our lives have changed in a few short months. I don't think I could have made it through all of this without you, and not just because you kept literally saving my life."

"You may not have taken a bullet for me, but you've saved me too. For once in my life, I see multiple paths with meaning and purpose. I've seen so much of myself reflected in you, but it id the version of me I want to be, not the one I was. You've shown me trials and hardships don't have to make you bitter, and that you don't have to fit the cookie cutter mold to find your place here... Oh, God, listen to me. What have you done to me Bennett?" Drake shuddered in mock disgust.

Riley softly pressed her lips to his and pulled back with a smirk. "I don't think I can take all the credit, or the blame as you might put it. But enough talk about the future. You said we should focus on the now, and right now all I need is you."

"Well then, your wish is my command." Drake pulled Riley tight to him and then they lost themselves in each other, completely unencumbered by any decisions about their future. Those could wait for another day.

#playchoices fanfic #drake x mc #drake walker #the royal romance #choices trr #qomh #my fic

[descendantofthesparrow]

Shuffle Playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Part 8 - Fights and Sisters

=

Mal lifted her foot into the air as she leaned to her right to get the perfect curve of Evie's hair, biting her lip in concentration as she listened to the calming sounds of a spray-paint can fill the room. she clicked her heel as she leaned back onto the box she was standing on and nodded to herself, the mural for her friends was almost done, the last thing she had to do was add detail and she would be done.

“At least I don’t see myself with horns and a pitchfork” Mal spun around with a gasp, holding up her can defensively as she looked onto the sheepish Ben who stood before her.

He waited for her to lower the can, but Mal didn’t budge, keeping her finger on the spray mechanic. “Mal-“ Ben took a step forward, stopping as Mal shook the can threateningly, her eyes staring into Bens with a warning to back off.

“How’d you get here” Mal whispered, she had thought it would take just a bit longer for her friends to get here, she wasn’t ready to face them again.

“I- Mal I’m so sorry about the fight, it was all my fault” Mal shook her head defiantly, no, it wasn’t Ben's fault, not completely, it was hers too.

“How.did.you.get.here” Mal stressed, shaking the can again as if it was a weapon.

“The limo, Jay drove us-“ us. That meant Evie was here, Carlos too, god she hoped Cruella and EQ didn’t know they were here.

“Of course,” she muttered, chucking her can to the floor, seeing Ben flinch out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it, kicking her old makeshift stool over and growling.

They were her family, why did she think they would take a week to come get her, of course it would only be hours before they found her.  But she just needed to escape for a bit, she didn’t want to stay on the isle, not after she crossed the barrier again, but once inside there was no way out, not without the remote.

She was happy that they came to get her because that meant they cared enough to do so, but she wasn’t ready to go back to the craziness of Auradon just yet.

“Mal” Ben started again, attempting to walk up to her but stopping as she held up her hands. “please come home” he held out his class ring, the one Mal hadn't taken off since his coronation.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure how to word what she wanted to say ‘(y/n) did always say I had a habit of saying things the wrong way’ she scoffed at herself, shaking her head. “Ben….I-“ she shook her hands in frustration “im-not gah!” Ben blinked in surprise as she suddenly yelled and shook her head and arms “words! Ben!” he jumped as she yelled out his name, she calmed herself with a deep breath "I am home….you’ve said before that home is where you feel like you can be yourself well”

she held her arms out, gesturing to the hideout “this is it; this is where I feel most comfortable, in leather, with purple hair, with my knife in my sleeve, baring my teeth when someone looks at me funny, swearing to my heart's content because fuck it!” she let her arms go limp and felt them smack against her thighs. She sniffed, feeling her nose burn “Ben, I love Auradon, I love the skies, I love the food, I love the school but….but it's just-”

she lifted her hands up again, her frustration showing in her face and hands as they clenched “I couldn’t even blink without someone in my face asking me about my mother!!” Ben glanced to his left, seeing a large tank with the tiny black and purple dragon sitting on a mini cloth couch, small puffs of green smoke exiting through its muzzle, her toxic green eyes locked onto his form.

 “ or bugging me about me being the lady of the fucking court!! Ben, I don’t know what you expected from me but HOW did you expect me to be able to just flip a switch and turn into this perfect pink princess who always smiles and-“

“I never asked you to change!” Ben yelled, finally shutting Mal up “I didn’t want you to become a perfect Auradon girl Mal! I wanted you! I wanted the girl that told Chad fuck off, I wanted the girl that was adorably possessive of her strawberries, I wanted the girl that growled at people when they stepped to close to Evie or Carlos, I wanted the girl that fought Jay for six hours about the logics of lightsabers, I wanted the girl that jumped off the dorm building because Carlos dared her, I wanted the girl that chewed on her hair because it smelled like grape juice!” Ben panted, giving a small smile to Mal as she stared at him in shock “I wanted you Mal, I didn’t want you to change.”

Mal was silent for a few moments, eyes drifted from Bens once more outstretched hand to his eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “Then why didn’t you say anything” she muttered in a wavering voice. Ben's heart dropped, his body slumping as he looked into Mals watering eyes. “Not once did you ask ‘Hey what happened to my hair’ ‘hey, why that dress’ ‘hey, what happened to your leather’. Not once did you ever SAY you liked my purple hair better, or my leather clothes, or anything like that, you just stood by and smiled, because you are always in this happy glitter world where everything is good. 

Well, it's not Ben! I was stressed out of my mind about everything. I could hardly eat because I was always reading those damn etiquette books, I was up every night till four am studying because I was so tired from learning fucking which spoon to use for soup that I couldn’t keep up my grades anymore, I failed art class did you know that?! no! because you didn’t ask!” Mal panted as she tried to catch her breath, Ben shook his head and stomped his food slightly.

“I shouldn’t need to ask! You should tell me about this kinda stuff I’m your boyfriend! I’m not psychic Mal! I don’t know what's going on in your brain, that’s not my job!!” Mal shook her hands in frustration, her headache returning as her eyes glowed slightly.

“that is-GAH! I’m not saying it's your job! Do you think I know what's going in my fucked-up brain Ben?! It’s a fucking labyrinth that I only just started to navigate! I’m fucked up Ben! And I’m sorry if you can't handle it because I can't either! I’m trying to be better but if you don’t help then I’m never GOING to be better! And before you say anything, I don’t mean help me be the perfect Auradon girl I mean help to be a better me!”

She harshly patted her chest to accentuate her words “call me out on my bullshit, call me out when I say the wrong thing, call me out when I hurt your feelings! I've needed help since I turned against my mother, I don’t know what I’m doing Ben, I needed someone to guide me to be a better person yet all I've gotten is (y/n) being the only person in the universe to notice that I’m imploding!” Mal covered her face with her hands and sighed “Ben, you make me so happy, but-but….you don’t notice anything about me, not really”

Ben tilted his head in confusion, shrugging as he did so “what the hell does that mean? I always pay attention to you!”

“Not really” Mal sobbed, making Ben stop…Mal never cried “Ben I’m was so fucking confused and stressed about…everything, and not one time did you ask ‘are you okay’, and-and I know I lied to you about using my magic but-what harm did it do? I didn’t spell you to think I was perfect, or anybody else! Just items to help myself because I’m not a superhuman who can do everything at once with no-fault! So what I used a speed-reading spell, or a blonde hair spell, or a food spell?! I understand why you are mad about it, because yes! I lied to you about what I was doing and how I was doing it, but even if I never told you, would you have found out?!” Ben sighed, holding his hands up.

“let me calm down, I don’t want this to turn into a screaming match, because if it does (y/n)’s gonna come up here and hurt us” Mal let out a breath like laugh, taking a step back and hugging herself.

After a few moments of silence, Ben finally spoke again “I’m sorry Mal” she looked up at him, a single tear trailing down her cheek “you’re right, I should have noticed you weren’t okay, because….it is my job as your boyfriend to take care of you, and I didn’t do that…I had the same problem with Audrey, sometimes she would come back from her grandparents place a wreck, but put up a front to not worry me, and while everyone else noticed, I just looked away as if her problems didn’t exist. I did the same to you, I’m sorry…” Ben looked down at the floor, playing with his fingers nervously. Mal sighed, stepping closer to Ben and rubbing his arm. “I’m sorry too, if I had asked for help months ago all this would have never happened.” Ben looked back up at Mal, holding out the ring.

“Please come back with us” Mal stared at the ring, slowly reaching out to grab it, smiling as she felt the cool metal of the ring. Then she shook her head, placing it back in his hand.

“…we don’t work right now Ben” Ben gaped at her, trying to speak but she held up her hand “listen to me, we don’t work right now, I’m too mentally closed off, and most of the time can’t look past my own nose. I-I need to fix myself before I can be with you in a way that’s not…toxic. Because that’s what this is, it's toxic, we don’t communicate at all and never look past the surface of each other…I need to take myself out of the picture because its what's best for you and myself…if we kept going like we are now it's only going to hurt us in the end…I’m sorry” she closed Bens fingers around the ring and pushed it back towards him. “But I can't do this right now”

“But I love you” Ben whispered, making Mal stop as she turned to the wall “Don’t you love me?”

She was silent for a few moments before she looked back at Ben. “I know that I’m always happy when I see you or even think of you. I know I love my friends; I love Auradon, and I love the idea of us together but….I don’t know if I’m in love with you Ben, I know I love you but….I’m not sure I’m in love yet…I’m sorry”

She turned and walked back to the mural of her friends, sighing as Ben tried to follow her, she turned, shaking her head “Ben you should go…Tell them that I’ll be ready to come back to Auradon in a week okay?” she looked back to the wall, closing her eyes as once again Ben stepped closer “Ben please go, please leave” she stared into Ben’s sad eyes, feeling another tear drop down her cheek and off her jaw.

Ben slowly nodded, stumbling back towards the stairs and leaving the hideout. Mal let out a low sob, leaning against the wall and covering her mouth.

‘This was the right thing to do’ she reminded herself, breaking up with Ben was the best thing for both of them. At least until she got ahold of her own mind.

=

You looked up as Ben finally descended the stairs again, Mal, like in the movie, not behind him. Evie perked up, walking over to him and looking up towards the hideout “So…Where’s Mal?” Ben shook his head dejected.

“She's not coming back.” Ben muttered, pushing past Evie and Carlos and walking down the alley to get some alone time. You narrowed your eyes, should you follow him? There could be a chance that Uma wouldn’t send anyone to kidnap him…without Harry, you didn’t even know if Uma had a crew, let alone the lost revenge, since Harry's old wharf rats from before were Uma’s crew. You shared a look with Gil and made to start following Ben, but noticed he was already out of your sight.

“How does a scrawny boi like that move so fast?” you muttered, smiling a bit as Gil shrugged and turned back towards the other vks.

“GO AWAY” the makeshift comm system was closed off, leaving Evie staring at the speaker with sad eyes.

You turned back to the alley, seeing a tall figure beginning to walk toward you…that wasn’t Harry, you knew that…who was it then? “guys” you interrupted Jay and Evie's conversation, they turned to you with wide-eyes and raised brows “Ben’s gone”

Evie rushed to your side and called out for Ben “Ben?” no response, but the tall figure continued to move closer “Ben?!” once more no response, but Evie seemed to think the figure was Ben, which you knew it wasn’t….but it also wasn't Harry. Evie sighed in relief and placed her hands on her hips “Ben don’t scare us like that!”

“don’t scare you?!” a teen stepped out of the shadows, his fiery red hair stark against the grunge of the isle walls “but that takes all the fun outta it!”

Yeah, you immediately hated him, you glared at the teen, watching carefully as a monkey chatted away on his shoulder…Jack…that must mean…

Who knew Barbossa could have such a distasteful son?

“Davy” Gil growled, clenching his fists and taking a threatening step towards the smaller teen. Davy glanced at him, his eyes widening for a moment as he looked at Gil's now even larger form.

“What did you do with Ben?!” Jay yelled, Davy pursed his lips in thought before he “miraculously” remembered what had happened only moments before. He turned and pointed down the alley, grinning as Jay grit his teeth at him.

“Oh um, we took him, yeah, and if you want to see him again, have Mal come to the chip shop tonight” he looked at Evie, Carlos, and Jay  “Alone” he turned to you, a flirty grin spreading across his face. “Well well, hello beauti-AHHH” as he reached out with his left hand to grab your hand, you grabbed his finger and pushed it back till you heard it crack.

“touch me again and it's your neck next” you growled, smirking as Davy whimpered in pain. Gil let out a laugh, giving a little wave to Davy as he looked at him with wide eyes.

“you should know Davy” Gil snickered “if your names not Harry Hook, you don’t touch (y/n) without a few bones being broken~” Davy paled at the way Gil said it so cheerfully, looking back up at you and squeaking as you gave him a sharp grin, almost reminiscent of Harrys.

Your other hand drew to your waist and you un-did Harry’s hook from your belt and held the pointy end up to Davy's neck “and I don’t mind spilling some blood~” you released Davy's hand and he scrambled back, giving the five of you a scared look before bolting down the alley.

“he’s gonna lie and say he scared us half to death, isn’t he?” you muttered, slipping the hook back on your belt and crossing your arms.

“yep, that’s what he does” Gil sighed, watching as Jay started to climb up the side of the stairs to go tell Mal about Ben.

=

Smee cursed himself for being old and slow, he had finally made it to Harriet's ship after thirty minutes of walking, and she wasn’t here! His oldest son, Sammy, didn’t know where she was either, only that CJ had told her something and she had left as soon as she was done with work.

His younger sons, the twins, walked up to him and made him sit down, noticing his heavy breathing from overexerting himself “dad please just sit for a while, I’m sure Harriet will be back soon” Smee slowly nodded. But he didn’t want to wait, Harrys freedom and life were at stake.

“my boy, please go out and look for her, I need to speak with her as soon as possible, it's urgent” Sammy furrowed his brows but nodded, turning to the crew and putting Xiaohui, Shan Yu’s daughter, in charge. The girl nodded, turning to the crew and barking orders.

“I'll be back soon dad, Skipper-Sterling, stay with him okay” the twins nodded and turned back to their father mostly distracting him from his worries as they told him about their day.

Smee smiled but the thought of Harry rested in the back of his mind. Oh, how he hoped there was enough time to save him before one of James ‘clients’ decided to take their ‘payment’

=

“This wouldn't have happened if you didn’t bring him along, what were you thinking?!” Mal yelled, leaning on the wall next to her as she glared at her friends.

You and Gil sat on the couch, watching as the four vks as they argued. “He was going to come with or without us we were just trying to protect him!” Evie reasoned, Carlos shook his head and looked to Evie.

“yeah, and great job we did there huh?!” Evie opened her mouth to argue with Carlos when Jay held his hands up and spoke over them.

“OKAY!...okay” you all turned to Jay “what do we do now?” Mal huffed and stepped down from the archway she was under.

“We” she gestured to the other vks and you “Are not doing anything, this is between Uma and me, and Uma’s a punk, and guess what! Now I have to go fix your mistake!” she grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder, gritting her teeth as Carlos stopped her again. “Hey hey, you’re still gonna have to go through whatever crew Uma’s got” Jay nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need us” Mal shrugged.

“Uma said to come alone” Evie sighed and stepped forward.

“Mal come on” she just gave Evie a look and Carlos sighed.

“Uma said to come alone…I don’t know about you guys but I’m not going anywhere” he flopped down on the couch between you and Gil. Mal sighed, looking at her friends. “I know you didn’t mean to get Ben kidnapped” she muttered, finally calming down from her earlier frustration “but that was the stupidest thing any of you have ever done…” Mal glanced at you, sighing “ (y/n), Harry said he’d be at his apartment and Jay could take you there, see you guys later” Mal left the hideout with that. you jumped up and beamed at Jay, who sighed and nodded, gesturing towards the stairs.

“I’m coming with you” Gil muttered, standing up from the couch and following after you and Jay “never bad to have extra muscle” Jay nodded at that and followed you down the stairs, laughing a bit as you skipped some three at a time.

“come on!” you yelled up at them, passing Mal and jumping off the last flight bouncing on your heels as you waited for them

“We’re coming!” Jay yelled, he and Mal making it to the bottom at the same time. “come on” Gil caught up a moment later and you followed Jay down the alley as Mal headed towards the wharf.

“don’t do anything stupid Mal” you called back, smirking as she lifted her arm up and gave you the middle finger.

“Okay, so” Jay stared, keeping a brisk pace as he leads you to Harry's apartment “Harry's place is about ten minutes to and from here, so let's get a move on” you and Gil nodded, easily keeping up with Jay as he took several turns and backways towards Harry's apartment.

=

Mal took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to hype herself up. She couldn't afford any mistakes; Bens life was on the line. She pushed open the doors, smirking as the whole restaurant went silent. She dropped it as she made eye contact with Uma “Looser party of one” Uma droned, gesturing to a free table with two seats around it “Right this way please”

Mal rolled her eyes, walking over to her, stopping and catching the chair that Uma slid towards her. Uma chuckled and rose her brow in challenge. Mal twisted the chair around and sat backward on it, setting her arms on the backrest and sighing. She glanced around, eyeing the rest of the pirates that were resting her then finally looking at Uma, whose dark-now almost black- eyes were glaring into hers.

Mal was silent for a moment, contemplating her words as Uma stared into her soul. Mal smirked, leaning on her palm as she attempting to look as if she wasn’t there on business “How's life~?”

Uma chuckled, tilting her head “Oh pretty good, ya know, considering the food shortage and contaminated water” Mal felt her eye twitch at that. How could she have forgotten all the bad stuff on the isle?

Why did she ever ask her friends if they ever wanted to be back on the isle? Of course Evie and Carlos wouldn’t want to come back this place sucked. Mal forced herself to roll her eyes and lean back on her chair a bit “Where is he” Uma ripped off her apron and let it flop on the floor, giving Mal another smirk.

“you know I’ve dreamed of this?” she laughed again, walking over to another table and leaning on it “You wanting something from me, and me watching you squirm like a worm on a hook~” Mal rolled her eyes again.

“I’m flattered, but I’m done trash-talking, where’s Ben” Uma furrowed her brows, Mal was usually the one to keep talking until the sun went down, it was odd for her to get straight to the point. But she shrugged it off and took a seat across from Mal.

“here's the deal” Mal raised her brow.

“there's always a deal with sea witches” Mal muttered, smirking as Uma gave her a look. Uma lifted her arm on the table, her elbow resting on the surface as her hand arched into the air.

“If you win, Bens free to go!” Mal stared at her for a moment, really? An arm-wrestling match?...she should have brought (y/n), Uma had always been a bit physically stronger than her. “Hmm?” Uma taunted, smiling as Mal finally hiked her arm on the table and started to line up their hands. Uma pulled back for a moment, pouting at Mal “Don’t you want to know what I get if I win?”

Mal stopped…then nodded, letting her hand lay flat on the table. Uma blinked in surprise, Mal never waited to hear the other end, always assuming she would win so she never bothered to learn what the other person wanted. She brushed it off, her teasing smirk slipping into a sharp grin. “If I win…you get me the wand” Mal took a sharp breath, cursing herself as Uma chuckled at it.

Mal closed her eyes and nodded, lifting her hand again to start the match “Fine, If I win; you give me Ben, If you win; I get the wand and bring it to you” Uma smiled, clasping her hand with Mal’s and nodding.

“On three” Uma ordered, Mal sighed and rolled her eyes, starting the countdown.

“One”

“Two~”

“three!” Mal pushed her hand to the left, gritting her teeth slightly as she felt heavy resistance from Uma’s side. Uma let out a small chuckle, smiling at Mal as she started to taunt her.

“You know, that whole princess act. Ugh.” She rolled her eyes, a sharp grin growing on her face “Never bought it for a second. You can stick a tiara on your head but you’re still a villain” Mal smirked, wow she actually thought that was an insult~ how cute.

“Thank you~” Mal purred, enjoying the look of confusion in Uma’s eyes. She jerked her arm heavily to the left, turning the match more to her side, Uma grunted in exertion. Mal hummed to herself, maybe she was stronger than the last time she had “fought” Uma. “and you can slap a pirate hat on and call yourself captain; but you can’t even hold out for your ‘boys’?”

Uma’s eyes flashed and a weight settled in her chest. “I mean come on” Mal cackled, feeling her headache return as her eyes glowed “it's only been five months~ you really gave up on them so quickly?” Uma’s hand was inches away from the table, her teeth gritting in exertion as her mind ran a thousand miles a minute. “How would Harry feel if he knew you already replaced him with Davy?”

Uma looked back up at Mal, glaring at the purple-haired fae “when you see them” she growled, her eyes flashing turquoise “tell them they're dead to me” Mal gasped, what?! No! that wasn’t how Uma was supposed to react!! In her moment of confusion, Uma took the chance of Mal’s now loose grip and slammed her hand down on the other side.

Uma stood from her seat and yelled in victory, pumping her hands in the air as the pirates around them cheered. Uma slammed her hands on the table, smirking as she stared at Mal's shocked and defeated form “Now, if you want beasty boy back” Mal raised her brow at the nickname she thought only (y/n) and Harry called Ben “Bring me fairy godmothers wand. To my ship tomorrow at the wharf docks next to the old garage near the pair at twelve noon.” She stood straight and flipped her hair back “Sharp, got it?”  Mal finally looked away from her hand to Uma, glaring at the sea witch.

Uma cackled turning and walking back towards the kitchens when she stopped, turning back to Mal and smiling at her “Oh and if you blab? You can kiss your baby goodbye~” she blew a kiss to Mal and walked off.

Mal sat at the table for a moment, before rushing to stand and get back to the hideout. If Uma told her to go tell Harry he was dead to her, that meant Harry had never talked to Uma.

And they had gotten to the isle at six pm, it was now almost nine pm. Something was wrong.

=

You huffed a bit as you climbed the rickety metal stairs up towards Harry's apartment. Jay stopped In front of a black door with silver and red spray paint all over it. Harry's name scratched into the door. “Here it is” Jay muttered, opening the unlocked door and stepping inside. “ Harry?!” Jay yelled, furrowing his brows as no response followed.

“Harry!?” you yelled, pushing past Jay and stepping into the apartment, your chest tightening as you heard nothing back. Mal said he would be here, why wasn’t he here! “Harry!?” you ran towards the back end of the apartment, going through the red curtain door and looking around.

All you saw was an old queen-sized bed with red and black sheets, a painted red dresser in the corner, a cracked wall mirror, and some clothes thrown about the floor. “He’s not in his room!” you called, stepping further into the room and glancing about, you saw a connected room showing rusty bathroom, pretty nicely kept but unused for a while.

“It looks like he hasn't even touched the kitchen” Gil yelled back, you heard some doors slam closed and Gil walking around the main area.

“…” you pressed your lips together, walking back out of his room and into the living room/entrance area “do you think he went to talk to his sisters? Or Uma” Gil shook his head.

“No, if he talked to Uma, she wouldn’t have sent someone after Ben…or Harry would have been the one to take Ben” Gil sighed, holding his hands on his hips and shaking his head “It hardly looks like he even stepped foot in here” he muttered, glancing at the dark brown couch to his left and the old TV to his right.

“But someone has obviously been in here” Jay pointed out, gesturing to booted footprints on the floorboards “Not Harry but someone else” Gil crouched down, trailing his fingers on the print.

“…CJ’s” Gil confirmed, standing and whipping his hands on his pants “those are CJ’s footprints” you and Jay looked at him with wide eyes.

“How do you know?” Jay asked, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the footprints. Gil shrugged.

“Dad taught me how to tell people apart just from their boot size and stride length, this is CJ’s, see how they don’t show the full boot and they aren’t far apart? She skips as she walks so she wouldn’t touch the ground completely or take full strides” you let out a low whistle.

“Impressive….and those are?” you pointed at another set of much bigger prints that were opposite of CJs. Gil took one look and beamed.

“Harry’s! so Harry was here! But probably not for long if nothing else here is touched” you sighed in relief, so Harry was at his apartment like he said he would be…but if he wasn’t here, and he wasn't at the chip shop…where was he?

“Okay, so…how do we find out where he is?” Gil shrugged, crossing his arms.

“Best bet? Harriet or CJ’s place, he probably hasn’t talked to Uma yet considering she sent Davy to do her dirty work” Gil shivered at the mention of the red-haired “pirate”

“Then we go to Harriet or CJ’s place” you decided, turning to exit the apartment,  only to be stopped by a cutlass blade at your throat "oh... it's you" the girl in front of you growled. Your shoulders dropped in realization as you looked upon the girl's face. Dark curly hair, bright ocean blue eyes lined with black eyeshadow, red coat, hook earrings, and a hook patch on her sleeve

"Harriet?" you whispered "Harriet Hook?" The girl, Harriet, raised her sculpted brow and tilted her head "that would be me, and you are the Auradon brat that stole my brother" you shook your head "we can talk about that later, Harry’s not here and he hasn't talked to Uma" Harriet's eyes widened and the sword drew away from your neck "what? But CJ said he went to talk to Uma two hours ago” you and Harriet stared at each other, horror blooming on your faces as Jay and Gil looked at each other with wide eyes as they came to the same realization you and Harriet did.

"Harry’s missing”

-end of part 8-

and there we go~ Ben and Mal have officially broken up! hopefully that fight made sense and didn't sound like a therapist was talking through either of them lol. also ive decided to fix the timeline of D2 a bit since its just all over the place (it starts on Thursday, when Ben and Mal go on their picnic date, and cotillion is said to be three days from that point (for me that means Thursday (1) Friday (2), Saturday (3rd day/cotillion day)) Mal goes to the isle on Thursday, Uma and Mal arm wrestle on Thursday night/early Friday morning, and the wand for ben fight happens noon the day after the arm wrestle( which is friday i think?) and then suddenly cotillion is the same night as the wand fight? even though its really only been a day and a half) so now im my timeline, the first quarter of d1 happens ALLL on Thursday, up until Carlos n Jay head back to Auradon for the phoney wand, then the big fight happens on Friday, then cotillion on Saturday to give Evie time to fix up Mals cotillion dress

also dont blame Uma for saying Harry n Gil are dead to her, she don't know they love her with all their heart and are still her boys 

anyway permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @rintheemolion​

@verboetoperee​ @imtryingthisout​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​

taglist

@thesailbells​ @beccad10x​

#Descendents #disney descendants #harry hook #harry hook x reader #harry hook imagine #harry hook descendants #descendants #anti canon mal #anti mal #just in case #part of your world #shuffle playlist #rewrite #reprise #encore #harriet hook #mr smee #uma descendants #uma daughter of ursula

[violetwolfraven]

Ghost Guitar Battle (3/3)

((Part 3 of Violet is a fucking idiot and couldn’t help herself from pursuing a random idea when she has actual requests sitting in her inbox. I’m so sorry y’all.))

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

I am well aware that this is corny as fuck but whatever. Also I know I tagged this as flarrie but it’s just in the background.

Warnings: depression symptoms, parent death mentions, character feeling out of control/mind control.

...

Nick didn’t know how long he was just kind of floating in darkness.

It was dark, but it was the kind of darkness where there weren’t shadows, it wasn’t night, there was just nothing there.

A few minutes could have passed or a few months. Nick wasn’t sure. All he really knew was that he was alone, just sitting there in the dark with his guitar.

Not like the stupid thing did him any good. If he tried to play, it just sounded muted. Whatever this void thing was, it didn’t have good acoutstics.

Everything in here was muted. Nick guessed it was convenient it sounded bad when he played, since he didn’t feel like playing anyway. He wasn’t bored, scared, sad, or whatever. Everything just felt... flat. It felt like he’d been sitting there forever.

“Nick?”

Wait, did someone just say his name?

Nick stood up, turning around and seeing—

“You’re Julie’s guitarist.”

“Yeah,” the guy nodded, “Hi. My name’s Luke.”

“Did Caleb get you, too?”

Luke shook his head, “No. Well, almost, once, but... no.”

“Then how are you... you’re a ghost.”

God, everything made sense now. How Julie’s hologram thing worked and why she didn’t perform at that dance. Why it seemed like she talked to herself so much lately. Why Caleb was so interested in her in the first place.

Hell, Julie had called him ‘Luke’ by mistake once. She’d been thinking about this guy.

“Yeah,” Luke agreed, “I’m a ghost. Long story short, no other ghosts can be seen by lifers when they play, so Caleb wants me under his control.”

“That’s why he came after me,” Nick realized, “I could get to Julie and Julie could get to you.”

Luke nodded, “Exactly. Only he slipped up pretending to be you. Carrie noticed and told Flynn and Julie. We came up with a plan to have me come in here and help you push him out.”

“Another ghost tried to help me. It didn’t work.”

“Wait, Willie? You saw Willie?”

“Yeah, but...” Nick sighed, “Caleb made him fade away. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“Oh. Okay. He’s my bandmate’s... he’s a friend, and we haven’t heard from him since he tried to help you. That’s why I asked.”

“Well, I don’t know. So... sorry.”

He was expecting Luke to leave, but he didn’t. He just fiddled with the strap of the electric guitar he was holding.

“So... what do you wanna play?”

“What?”

“I’m here to back you up, Nick. I can’t push Caleb out for you.”

Nick didn’t feel like laughing, but he did anyway, just at the hopelessness.

“I can’t push him out,” he said, “He’s too powerful.”

“You can,” Luke insisted, “This is your mind. You’re playing on your home turf.”

“But I’m not the one in control.”

“But you can get it back.”

“No, I can’t! I’m not good enough.”

“Not good—“ Luke cut off, sighing, “You think I thought I was good enough when I first started booking gigs with my band when I was alive?”

Nick didn’t even know what to say here.

“I was younger than you are now,” Luke said, “I was 15 when I started out. You think I thought I was as good as the bands with twice the experience and twice the recognition? No. But I acted like I did, because if you don’t at least pretend to believe in yourself, no one else will. You gotta sell yourself, Nick. Fake it till you make it.”

“I don’t think that’s how this works,” Nick muttered, “The stakes are higher than a gig.”

“This isn’t about the stakes. Don’t think about those. This is just about the music. Don’t think about the consequences, don’t worry about what’ll happen if it doesn’t work, just play. Feel the music. You’re a musician, so it’s a part of you.”

Nick still hesitated. He knew he couldn’t overpower Caleb, so what was the point?

“Come on,” Luke said, starting up a few quiet chords, “I believe in you. If nothing else, wouldn’t you rather say you tried?”

Nick picked up his guitar.

He started playing hesitantly, a sad song he’d picked up out of self-pity after Julie rejected him, before he made the mistake of getting off his butt and out of his house to give it one last shot.

He didn’t get very far in the song.

“Wha—stop, stop, stop. What was that?”

“I told you,” Nick said, vaguely irritated, “I’m not good enough.”

“No,” Luke shook his head, “No, your technique was fine. It was pretty good, actually, but you weren’t putting any of yourself into the music.”

Nick snorted, “Why do you care? We don’t know each other.”

And if you‘re close with Julie, you probably know about me as the guy who has a crush on her so why would you try to save me?

“You’re right, but this isn’t about me,” Luke insisted, “This is about you. You need to dig deeper, really connect to the music. Play something that’s you.”

Something that was him...

Nick was still hesitant to listen to the ghost his crush had a crush on, but...

He focused in deeper, and what started coming out when he started playing again was a tune something like an early 2000s pop/rock song. It was still sad, but definitely more him.

“There you go,” Luke said, but Nick wasn’t listening.

Playing guitar while feeling this deeply inside his own mind was trippy. It was almost like he could see and hear—

“I know, but what was I supposed to do, Chad?”

Nick was sitting at the kitchen table and picking at his spaghetti while eavesdropping on Ryan talking on the phone with his boyfriend in the next room.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Ryan. Nick did like Ryan. But he still really just wanted his mom. The walls were thin here, and he could hear everything that was being said about him.

“I already told you this, but sure, we can go through it again. His mom, Amanda, is in my musical theatre program. Always shows up late and half-asses choreography. We all thought she was a slacker, but then a couple months ago she unloaded the fact that she’s a single mom and can barely afford to pay for a babysitter for her kid. She’s only in school at all because she got a scholarship.”

There was a pause, and Nick wondered what this Chad guy was saying on the other side. He wondered what Chad was like in real life. He was smiling in the picture Ryan had on his counter.

“His dad’s not in the picture. Amanda never said why, but... yeah, you can still come visit, but you should be prepared for the fact that Nick’s gonna be here. In fact...”

Nick heard Ryan sigh and felt a strong sense of dread at the change in his tone of voice.

“Amanda’s been in the hospital a week and she’s not getting any better. The way everyone keeps talking, I don’t think she ever will.”

That made Nick want to cry. Everyone kept telling him he was strong for dealing with his mom being sick, but he didn’t want to be strong. He just wanted her back, and it sounded like Ryan didn’t think that was going to happen.

“No, no grandparents. Amanda doesn’t have any family. None that she talks to, at least.”

Nick was really trying not to cry now, because... because if he thought about what would happen if his mom didn’t get better, besides how he would miss her, what would happen to him?

“Of course I want to take him, Chad. Nick is my friend’s son. He’s 5 years old and he has nowhere else to go.”

What was he talking about? Taking Nick where?

“Yeah, I know I’m a little young for this, but if I don’t take him, they’re gonna put him in the foster system. Nick’s been through enough. The last thing he needs is to get dumped with some stranger.”

If it was a choice between Ryan and a stranger, Nick knew what he’d choose, but he didn’t want that choice. He just wanted his mom back.

“Chad, I already decided. I’ll use my parents’ lawyers if I have to, but I’m taking Nick in. But... I don’t blame you if you wanna bail. You signed on for me. Not some kid you’ve never met.”

Nick didn’t want Ryan to lose his boyfriend because of him. That would be bad. They looked so happy in that picture on the counter.

Then he heard Ryan laugh.

“Okay, point made. You can meet him when you visit this weekend. You’ll like him. Nick’s a really sweet kid. Love you. Bye.”

Nick couldn’t hide his tears when Ryan opened the door and came back into the main room of the apartment.

“Hey,” he said, kneeling down to be on Nick’s level, “Hey, kiddo, it’s okay. It looks like you’re gonna be living with me for a little longer.”

“You think I’m gonna live with you forever,” Nick accused, “You and Chad. You think my mom’s not gonna get better.”

Ryan froze, then sighed, “I guess you heard me, huh?”

“Your stupid walls are stupid thin,” Nick grumbled.

“My stupid walls are stupid thin, aren’t they? Maybe the wall fairy should come fix them.”

Ryan seemed kind of discouraged with how Nick didn’t find that funny.

“Look,” he said quietly, “Nick, I know I’m not your dad. I’m not even like a cool uncle. I’m just your mom’s friend who wasn’t even that good of a friend until a little while ago. Before that, I was kind of a stupid stinky friend and that’s why she didn’t let you meet me—because she knew I was stinky and she was taking care of you.”

“She always takes care of me,” Nick sniffled.

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed, “Because she loves you. Your mom loves you so much, and that’s never going to change. It’s just that... pretty soon, she won’t be able to take care of you anymore. While she can’t, I wanna to do it for her. Is that okay?”

Nick just wanted things to go back to normal, but... well, Ryan was better than some stranger, if those were the only options.

Little Nick had been devastated when his mom died. It still made him sad sometimes that she was gone, but he had a few nice memories of her to look back on.

And plus, she’d been so busy with work and school that he’d rarely seen her, honestly. Nick had spent most of his early childhood with various babysitters until Ryan got custody.

And besides, especially since Ryan and Chad graduated and moved in together, he had more happy memories of them.

The music shifted to be less melancholy as Nick smiled, thinking of growing up with his dads. The first couple months where Chad clearly had no idea how small children worked but tried so hard to make Nick like him anyway. The confusion of them trying to navigate the system and register him for school. Moving to Albuquerque briefly after the 3 year program Ryan was in ended.

“Nick!” Chad chided, taking the bowl of cookie dough away, “You’re not gonna have any room for dinner!”

“What’s the problem with that?” Ryan asked with a smirk, “You’re a really bad cook.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Nick shot back, “You’re a really bad cook.”

It made him a little nervous when they both froze up a bit.

Nick was well aware that he’d never called Chad or Ryan ‘dad’ before. He wasn’t sure if they were even okay with him calling them that.

He just... wanted to try it out.

Chad and Ryan had taken pictures of him on his first day of kindergarten. They’d taken care of him when he got strep throat the November of 1st grade. Ryan had taught him to sing and Chad hadn’t been phased when Nick showed zero flair for basketball and instead got into little league lacrosse.

They felt like his parents, so Nick wanted to try calling them that.

Then Chad smiled, ruffling his hair, “Well, you can’t cook at all, little man, so I’d curb the sass.”

“Yeah, cause he’s 8 years old,” Ryan objected, “Still, Nick could open a cookbook right now and be better than you. I feel bad for Gabriella and all the other Wildcats’ partners. Zeke can cook so well because none of the rest of you can.”

“What, you think he absorbed the culinary ability from the whole team?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a bad cook too, Dad,” Nick pointed out.

Ryan gasped in fake offense and Chad laughed.

“Can we get pizza?”

“Oh, Chad, he’s definitely your child.”

“You’re blaming me for our kid having good taste in food?”

The tune was evolving again, into a more current style, optimistic and fun. Memories of learning the hard way that he was a really bad dancer and both him and his dads laughing it off. Messing around in their closet and stealing/borrowing old clothes they didn’t use anymore. Missing them when they went to away games or took acting gigs out of town, but being happy for them and cheering them on whenever school didn’t interfere.

Moving to California after Chad graduated and got signed by the Lakers, conveniently around the same time Ryan and Nick’s Aunt Sharpay decided to try out Hollywood and see how different it was from Broadway.

Nick was grinning now, thinking back on all those happy memories.

“What’s up, kiddo? How was school today?”

Nick dodged Chad’s attempt to hug him, “Gross, Dad, you’re all sweaty.

“Well, I was at practice all day, so... the sweat monster’s gonna get you!”

10-year-old Nick yelped, abandoning his homework to run away as his dad chased him around the house, only for them to run headfirst into Ryan and all three of them to fall to the ground.

“First, Chad, go take a shower. Second, is that my black fedora, Nick?”

Nick shrugged, “You don’t wear it.”

“I do too.”

“Not recently.”

Ryan looked like he wanted to argue, but realized he couldn’t, and that made Nick laugh.

“Shush, little man. Ask next time you borrow it. Chad, again, go take a shower.”

“Sure,” Chad stood up, “Meanwhile, you packed your things, right Nick?”

Nick nodded proudly, “Yup.”

“Great. Reunion’s tomorrow, so we’re flying to Albuquerque tonight.”

Should be fun,” Ryan added, “I think it’ll be the first time the whole gang’s in one place since graduation. Cause Sharpay missed the first year, Zeke’s flight got cancelled the second...”

“Yeah, it’ll be good to see everyone.”

Nick tilted his head, “Why’s everybody coming this year?”

As far as he knew, there was nothing special about a 6-year reunion. Or 2014. And the former Wildcats were all pretty busy most of the time, being the successful people that they were. If someone couldn’t make it, it wasn’t like the others would hold it against them.

Nick’s dads exchanged a glance and he realized they were hiding something. He wasn’t sure exactly what, but...

“What’s so special about this year?” he asked, “Don’t say nothing. I can tell it’s not nothing.”

They had another silent conversation before either of them actually answered the question.

“We weren’t gonna tell you until we got there,” Ryan admitted, “Cause it’s kind of a surprise, but you’re gonna be spending some time with Aunt Sharpay this summer.”

“Or Troy and Gabriella,” Chad added, “We made her promise she’d drive you over there if you got tired of her.”

Nick couldn’t see himself admitting he was tired of Aunt Sharpay even if he did get tired of her, but that wasn’t why he was confused.

“Why? Where are you gonna be?”

“On our honeymoon,” Chad answered, “Everyone’s in town this year is cause we’re getting married.”

They were clearly worried about his reaction, but they didn’t have to be because despite being only 10, Nick wasn’t blind. He’d seen this coming a mile away and just been waiting on when specifically it was going to happen.

“I want a little sister or brother.”

They both laughed, and Nick tried not to cringe too much at the sweat when they did a family group hug.

The chords he was strumming now felt suspiciously like some kind of love ballad, like the kind of 90’s songs that had played at his dads’ wedding. It brought back dancing with his Aunt Sharpay and various others of his parents’ friends. Stepping on more than a few former Wildcats toes, of course on accident. Kind of bitterly plotting the kind of mischief he was going to teach the others’ kids when the time came that he finally wasn’t the only kid anymore.

Of course, that brought back memories of that angsty phase Nick went through in his tween years, when he first started realizing exactly how young his parents were to have a kid his age and questioning if they ever would’ve taken him in if there was another option.

That hadn’t been a fun train of thought. The mood of the music dipped in response, corresponding to the anxiety Nick had felt about how his dads had adopted him because they felt like they had to, not because they wanted to. That phase had ended when he decided it didn’t matter as long as they wanted him now, but it had influenced how he’d acted around Lizzie when they first met.

Lizzie had been almost 4 when they adopted her into the family, an orphan like Nick who’s parents had died in a car crash. Now, of course, she was a sassy 8-year-old firecracker who goaded him into playing with her instead of doing his homework, but she’d been a lot more skittish when she was younger. And tween Nick had always tried not to act cold to her, but it wasn’t like he knew anything about being a big brother at the time and he didn’t always succeed.

The music took on a tune almost like a sadder, more complicated version of a child’s nursery rhyme.

Lizzie was a tiny person, and despite the fact that Nick had been the one to ask for a little sibling in the first place, he had no idea how to act around her.

It seemed like that feeling was double-sided, with how Lizzie seemed a little bit scared of him, so at least it wasn’t like he was the only one playing an avoidance game, here. They were avoiding each other. It was mutual.

That wasn’t to say he wouldn’t die for her, because even if they hadn’t gotten much chance to get to know each other in the month since she’d been adopted into their family, she was still his little sister. Despite the disconnect, Nick cared for her more than he knew how to say.

But he really wished he knew how to say it, considering Lizzie was crying and they were in a public place and he was just very awkwardly trying to calm her down and look for their dads at the same time.

You’d think it would be easier to spot an NBA player and a famous actor taking a break from their careers to take their kids to Disneyland.

Nick knew that in the event he got lost, he was supposed to stay in one place so that they could find him, but staying in one place was a lot less daunting when he wasn’t trying to comfort a crying 4-year-old.

“Shh, Lizzie, they’re gonna come find us,” he said, rubbing her back and trying to talk calm, “You’ll see. They’re looking for us right now.”

He didn’t say how he struggled with the thought that if it came down to it and something dangerous happened and they had to choose between looking for Lizzie and looking for him, he didn’t know what their dads would choose.

Nick shoved those thoughts down and tried to say more comforting things, but Lizzie just wouldn’t stop crying. The noise of the crowd definitely was not helping, only stressing her out more. Nick had no idea how to calm her down, except... maybe to distract her?

“Hey, Lizzie, can you tell me your favorite princess?”

Lizzie sniffled, looking up at him with way too much of a look like a kicked puppy.

“Cinderella,” she said in her tiny little voice.

“I like Cinderella, too,” he agreed, “Yeah. You know what Cinderella likes to do? She likes to dance. We’re gonna dance, okay? You can stand on my feet.”

Lizzie stood up, stepping up to stand on Nick’s shoes, and he hummed a Disney princess song, just swaying around in a circle and holding his little sister’s hands.

To, honestly, his absolute shock, it actually seemed to be working. She wasn’t crying anymore, at least, and she actually seemed to be calming down.

Nick made a mental note that princess dance parties were a good thing to do with small children.

Naturally, the guitar shifted to sound like the kind of emo music Nick was listening to in middle school, around the time when he first met Carrie and Julie and Flynn and the guys on the lacrosse team. A few bars sounded suspiciously like the showtunes his dad had showed him at that age, too, in an attempt to get him into theatre.

It wasn’t that Nick didn’t enjoy theatre, but he still preferred music to acting. He and his lacrosse buddies did do team-building parties where they watched musicals and danced and sang to them, though.

Those parties usually ended up being at Nick’s house, given that it was big and all the guys had pretty much become honorary additional big brothers to Lizzie anyway.

Also, given that Los Feliz was most known for its music program and definitely not for its sports, the guys all thought Ryan was as cool as Chad. And even though most of them had supportive parents of their own, the good half of the team that wasn’t straight seemed to find it reassuring that two gay men could be happy and raise a family together.

And despite the time conflict it created, they were all super supportive when Nick took up guitar.

The song he was playing now sounded a lot like the beginner songs he’d learned when he first discovered his flair for the intrument.

“Dude, you’re gonna get all the girls now.”

Nick laughed, “Bro, we’re only freshmen!”

“But girls like guys who can play guitar!”

“Tyler, you’re gay!”

“I still know girls find guitar attractive!”

“He’s right,” Ethan agreed, laughing, “Girls like guitars.”

“Oddly enough, boys like ‘em too,” Anthony chimed in, “I mean I know you’re straight, Nick, but...”

The thing was, Nick wasn’t completely sure he was. He knew 14 was about the age a lot of people started to figure out their sexualities, and lately... he’d found himself getting butterflies as much when Tyler actually managed to score in their games or Kai showed off his percussion skills in marching band as when Carrie let him tag along to her practices with her band and attacked every dance move or Julie played piano and sang with that amazing voice of hers.

The realization didn’t really scare him or anything. Nick guessed he’d known for a while, but just hadn’t put a label on it even in his head until now.

“I think I’m pan,” he admitted, “Like, pansexual.”

“Amen, bro,” Kai said with zero hesitation, “Girls are cute, boys are cute, nonbinary kids are cute, it’s whatever.”

Nick laughed and accepted a high five.

“Yeah, thanks for telling us,” Ethan agreed, “Not that it really matters, but let us know if anybody gives you trouble.”

Tyler nodded solemnly, “They’ll rue the day they messed with the Los Feliz lacrosse team.”

“Of course, ignoring the fact that none of us are very intimidating.”

“Oh, shut up, Chase.”

They all groaned, and Kai grabbed the TV remote to turn something on and tune out the logical person in the room.

“We lose every game,” Chase pointed out defensively, “I mean, no hate, Nick. Being pan is totally pantastic, but—“

They all laughed too much for him to finish that sentence, at which point Nick’s dads entered the room.

“Keep it down, boys, Lizzie’s asleep,” Chad scolded quietly.

All the boys apologized quietly and Kai turned the volume on the beginning of Tangled down.

“What’s so funny, anyway?” Ryan asked.

Nick grinned up at him, “I’m pansexual, dad.”

“Oh. Okay, cool. Want me to buy you a pan flag?”

“Look!” Luke exclaimed suddenly, almost making Nick lose focus and stop playing.

The darkness was getting lighter, the shadows receding. They were standing back on the stage at the high school and Nick wasn’t feeling hopeless anymore. It was still darker than it would normally be, but barely.

“You’re doing it! Keep going!”

The memories became shorter and more random, but Nick dug deep into his emotions and played harder, bringing back—

“Lizzie, you’re getting too big to stand on my feet!”

“Maybe you should grow faster!”

and

“Carrie... uh... would you want to maybe go out sometime? Like to a movie?”

“Um... yeah. Sure, why not?”

and

“God, I really feel for Julie. I remember how bad it hurt when I lost my mom.”

“You’d think she’d realize there’s no better way to channel your feelings than through music.”

“Carrie—“

“I’m just saying, we both know how it feels to lose mothers, and did Julie come to either of us for advice? No. She’s pushed away everyone except Flynn. I feel for her too, but I’m done trying to help when she clearly isn’t willing to accept it.”

and

“Carrie wasn’t helping, Nick. Maybe she meant to, but she was pushing way too hard. She of all people should know how deeply Julie feels things.”

“Flynn, I didn’t mean to—“

“I know. Unlike your girlfriend, you actually care about people.”

and

“I want a puppy.”

“I agree with Lizzie that we should get a puppy.”

“Hmm, Ryan, what do you think? Should we get the kids a puppy?”

“I think we should wait until I’m home from tour and then we should absolutely get a puppy.”

and

“She’s not bad, Tyler, just stressed out. You and the guys keep acting like she’s demon spawn, but the fact is that Carrie’s human. She makes mistakes and tries to play them off so people will keep thinking she’s perfect. She’s got the world watching her every move and I know what it’s like. It’s not easy having a famous parent, especially since she’s a performer with a radically different style than the shadow she’s trying to break out of.”

“I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying she said yes to being your girlfriend because you’re both popular and therefore make sense together. She doesn’t like you. I’m pretty sure Carrie doesn’t even like guys and is just too scared to come out and go after someone she actually wants. Plus, she talks down to you, like, all the time. I’m gonna stay your friend no matter what, but you have to see that yeah, maybe Carrie’s got it tough, but she’s not good for you and it doesn’t seem like she even wants to be.”

and

“This isn’t working out. I think we should to break up.”

“You think we should, or you want to break up because you have a crush on Julie?”

“What about your crush on Flynn?”

“What?! I do not have a crush on—“

“I know you well enough to know, Carrie, so cut the crap. I’m not stupid. You and me never really felt that way about each other and we both know it. We were together because it was convenient and it was easier than making a move on someone one of us actually had feelings for.

“Fine. Just try not to run back to me if you chicken out from pursuing a real, heart-stopping, complicated crush again. It’d be embarrassing to make the same mistake twice.”

and

“Julie is totally into you, man.”

“Shut up, Kai.”

“I mean not that I’d know, but she’s cute, right?”

“Shut up, Tyler.”

and

“Julie rejected me. She has a crush on the guitarist in her band.”

“Oh, dang. That’s rough, kiddo.”

“It’s fine, dad. It’s really on me. She had a crush on me for a while, but I was too occupied with Carrie to pay attention. And besides, I know high school relationships rarely last forever, so...”

“Hey, look at who you’re talking to. If you really like Julie, she’s worth one more try. You know, buy her some flowers and give it one last shot. But if she says no...”

“Respect that and leave her alone, I know.”

With one last chord, a terrified tri-tone that represented Nick’s fear when Caleb first possessed him, the shadows fully disapated, leaving Nick in a well-lit, very familiar theatre.

He wasn’t afraid anymore. He had his friends and his sister and his dads behind him, with him no matter what.

And Nick still wasn’t a hundred percent sure how that had just worked, but he could feel Caleb’s hold over him disappearing. The stage was fading not because he was getting shoved down out of control, but because he was regaining control of where his body was in real life.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Luke said with a grin, “Good luck.”

He poofed away, and Nick found himself in that club Caleb had manifested when he won the first fight for control. He guessed the ghost had snuck him here between lacrosse practice and curfew.

There were a bunch of 20-somethings in brightly colored costumes who seemed to be practicing a dance nearby, but none of them were paying him any mind. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Caleb was there, though Nick couldn’t feel him in his head anymore.

Whatever. He could see the exit from here, and from there he could find Julie and her band and help them beat that crazy dead magician.

Well, maybe he should go home first, and see his little sister. Find his phone and call the guys for a musical watch party as soon as possible. Definitely hug his dads, since the Broadway musical one of them was touring in was in town.

Nick knew he couldn’t tell them how he’d won a guitar battle for his soul, but he could enjoy that victory by himself, too.

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the himbos #jatp #nick danforth evans #ryan evans #chad danforth #carrie wilson #flynn jatp #julie molina #lacrosse team jatp #luke patterson #chyan #flarrie #ghost guitar battle #depression tw #mind control tw #parent death tw #violet’s writing

[gordvendomewhore]

Do the preps have any hobbies?

hey anon!! thank you for the ask, this was pretty fun and easy to work on since i already had a pretty set idea on what the preps like to do in their spare time :))

hope you enjoy reading <3

derby:

putting down poor people.

jokes aside (god knows this isn’t a joke though), i think derby is secretly a big nerd

he probably spends a lot of time analyzing old historical literature and artwork, or even studying french (since it’s canon that he knows at least a little bit due to his voice lines)

and while those things seem all fancy and rich and cool, it’s still,,,, SUPER nerdy

and derby definitely knows this, oh of course he does

but he hides behind the prestige of it all in order to cover his ass smh

huh it’s weird how the arts used to be so heavily associated with wealthy culture AKDJSKDKD now all creative people are just gay and depressed

which,, derby fits into the categories of

he’s probably a day drinker too ❤️

bif:

bif has no personality outside of being a boxer. he is, sadly, a one trick pony.

OKAY but to not do bif any injustice, i will say that he is 100% the type of person to have a little backyard garden that is essentially his child

he’d name his plants, set up watering schedules, talk to them about his day and the latest bullshit derby has put him through, play music for them

canonically, bif would NEVER do this. but that does not change that he is the TYPE of person who would.

gord:

shopping. his hobby is shopping.

when he’s sad? shopping. happy? time for a trip to aquaberry. angry? no better way to blow off some steam than by shopping. stressed? daddy’s credit card is already out and ready.

gord probably gets bored of shopping for himself all the time so he forces the other preps to be his little dolls and dresses them up

they all hate it with a passion, but will gord ever stop?

no. the answer is no.

tad:

baking 💕💕💕💕

i know that tad baking was only mentioned in one singular voice line but GOD how did rockstar ever expect me to NOT latch onto that voice line for the rest of my life

anyway yes tad loves to bake 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

he probably hid his interest since,,, he got into baking in order not to get teased

and he 100% stopped baking after the Pitchfork Incident

but i like to think that at one point he opens up about it even if it isn’t anytime soon, or even fit for his canonical personality

i just want tad to be happy :(

also this isn’t exactly a hobby but tad is the type of person to fold laundry when he gets sad

parker:

i feel like parker would be into real soft domestic shit, like crocheting and sewing

he probably makes little sweaters for the gnomes at the harrington house

or maybe even little stuffed animals for himself

like,,, there’s no way to convince he otherwise

one year he made all the preps matching mittens and everyone wore it for the entirety of winter in order to not hurt parker’s feelings

parker is so cute i PHYSICALLY cannot handle it

chad:

chad is one of the preps who has canonical hobbies outside of boxing, so we got got some starting ground woohoo

so canonically, chad boxes and takes flute lessons, and then he used to be apart of the glee club and he used to run track

we also know that the scar on his cheek is from fencing, so yeah we can assume that he fences

(or used to fence, since i HC that chad quit after he got his scar)

look at my boy being so multitalented omg i love him

as i have said before, and will ALWAYS repeat, i think chad is a completionist

he likes to try everything at least once, and so i think he has a lot of skills and hobbies that he does on the side

he’s the type of person that gets stressed if he has too much free time LMAO he constantly needs to be doing something

justin:

justin fucking does SPORTS for FUN

he canonically boxes and swims, but he probably does,,,, other,,,,, sports,,,,,,,,

uhhh what are. sports

HAHA okay okay but he probably plays tennis, lacrosse, golf, maybe he even does archery

justin would do those rich boy type of sports, the ones that have prestige and make him seem all cool and fancy

i think that he’s is similar to chad in the sense that they both need something to keep them busy and occupied since they don’t like having too much free time

and to fill up his time, justin does a lot of hobbies that involve physical activity which is valid

bryce:

he watches a lot of movies/tv shows in his free time

he probably listens to a bunch of audio books too lmao

it’s a good way to escape reality and are all good forms of media that keep bryce entertained yet not too distracted

he canonically works at boat & yacht which is,,, a yacht club LMAOO it’s in the name, but with bryce just being a high schooler, i really doubt he’s doing any high ranking special job

so he’s probably just stuck with working the front desk or working as a server/water

(or a caddie if boat & yacht is also a country club; a caddie is someone who carries around a golfer’s clubs and sometimes they help with other things)

so he has a lot of time to watch/listen to things as he works his job!!

pinky:

she owns a blog where she trashes on people at bullworth and rants about her life

she would be totally dedicated to it LMAOOO she’s the 2000s equivalent of those dumb tea spilling accounts

oh and the 2000s equivalent of vloggers

pinky also loves doing nails and like gord, forces the preps to sit down through hours of home nail care and spa days

imagine the preps with all these colorful nail colors,,,, they said screw toxic masculinity

and that’s it!! so sorry this post is long akdjsjd im on mobile and my posts also don’t pop up in the tags if i add a cut

but yeah thanks for reading!! i tried to be a lot more lighthearted with this post, since i think i worry too much about making everything seem perfect or accurate

in the long run it’s just my interpretation of some random video game characters, so who cares whether or not it’s perfect??

reblogs are appreciated and also feel free to leave more requests woo 💕💕

#i finished this post fairly quickly #like in a couple days?? thats pretty impressive for me #i love feeding y’all with prep content it’s so fun #like they live in my mind rent free and this just gives me the opportunity to talk about them even more #i hope this shows up in the tags kansjdnsjd tumblr fucking hates me sometimes #canis canem edit #bully canis canem edit #bully scholarship edition #bully #cce #derby harrington #bif taylor #gord vendome #tad spencer #parker ogilvie #chad morris #justin vandervelde #bryce montrose #pinky gauthier #mine #anon #ask

[love-geeky-fangirl]

Ranking every Teen Drama I have ever watched

(Updated)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

+ young Shailene Woodley and Molly Ringwald I guess

- everything else. Even Shailene Woodley's and Molly Ringwald's performances weren't that great because the writing is just oh so bad. The background music is bland and repetative and it sounds like out of some teenager's YouTube chanel. The plotlines are ridiculous and convoluted, which isn't neccessarily such a bad thing, because it is a teen drama show after all, the problem is the show seems to take itself too seriously. Other entries on this list also have ridiculously convoluted plotlines, but I'm ranking them highed because they don't take themselves too seriously and don't claim to be realistic like this show does. Seriously, from the title it suggests like this was going to be a real, uncensored look into high school but it's the furthest thing from it. Not to mention how problematic it is- God forbid someone suggests that a 14-year-old pregnant girl gets an abortion or gives the baby up for adoption without being seen as a terrible and despicable person.

Otp: Marc Molina x a job somewhere far, far away from these kids

Notps: every single pairing on this show

Best moment: literally none

Weirdest moment: "I'm such a whore!" "Well, you're my whore." What were the writers thinking??? Was this supposed to be romantic??

We Children From Zoo Station

+the aesthetic, the casting of Christiane, Detlef and Axel

-this was such a letdown. Honestly I was so hyped for it after seeing the trailer since I've read the book and didn't particularly like the movie- I feel like it's hard to fit all of Christiane's story into 90 minutes. That's why I was so excited about this show. Christiane's story covers so much, so it's easier to make it into a TV show when you don't want to ommit anything and butcher the story. But they somehow managed to do it anyway. They changed so much for no reason and completely erased Christiane's childhood trauma, which was important in the book. Now, I know you can say that it's just a loose adaptation, so it doesn't have to follow the book word for word. But I feel like if you already decided to tell her- a real person's story- you should at least do it authentically. Imo they shouldn't have tried to make the setting vague. It worked with Sex Education because the story of Sex Education is timeless. However, Christiane's story is not timeless. It's a true story set in the 1970s. If they were making a new show from scratch, I would have liked it. But this is an already existing story and they’re supposed to be just retelling it. My last issue is a nit pick but I wish the actresses playing Stella and Babsi were reversed. It just would've fit better.

Otps: all those kids x sobriety

Notp: Christiane x Detlef

Best moment: Christiane's first time in Sound was pretty true to the book

Weirdest moment: when Detlef became a gigolo because he needed money for his dog. Who tf thought of that?

Pretty Little Liars

+ makeup, style, the theme song, the drama and mystery that always kept me guessing, the cliffhangers at the end of each episode that made it so addictive, Emily's coming out story, Hanna and Spencer had some good lines

- the mishandling of some serious issues (namely eating disorders), romantization of student-teacher relationship, the timeline not making much sense, these writers seem to put more thought into the characters' outfits than the storylines

Otps: Emily x Maya, Hanna x Caleb

Notp: Ezria

Best moment: Hanna and Caleb in the shower (the sexual tension was cuttable with a knife)

Weirdest moments: Aria asking Ezra out in the middle of a make-up test (it was supposed to be cute but it was just cringy), Spencer trying to block A's text messages on a laptop, in the middle of a park (what? Spencer, you were supposed to be the smart one!)

One Tree Hill

+ Brooke, the theme song, Chad Michael Murray

- the casual drinking and driving (I mean seriously these kids play a drinking game at a party and then casually hop into a car and drive home??), too much basketball and cheerleading (that's not a bad thing per se but I just don't really care about neither of these things), it just seems too stereotypical and kinda bland?? I couldn't really get into it

Otp: Naley

Notp: Peyton x Nathan

Best moment: Naley by the dock

Weirdest moment: "I guess I'm just a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside a bitch." It's not really a bad moment but a cringy line. I guess the writers though they were being clever but it just sounded bad.

Dawson's Creek

+ the clothes, the 90s aesthetic, the 90s soundtrack, many movie references, Pacey is a sweetheart, Jen is a feminist icon, dealing with mental health issues through Andie (it's rare to see in shows as old as this)

- the slutshaming of Jen really hasn't aged well, the storyline of Pacey being statury raped by his much older teacher was mishandled (it was either treated as scandalous, cool or in Andie’s case somehow shameful), same goes for Jen’s backstory- it was mentioned she was raped at 12 by an older man and then never brought up again, Dawson is the most unlikable protagonist ever and his friendship/relationship with Joey is codependent and possessive, the dialogue is sometimes pretentious and unrealistic, the timeline doesn't really add up- I can never tell what time of the year it's supposed to be, because it looks like it's always fall for some reason. And how did they sophomore year have two homecomings?

Otps: Pacey x Andie, Pacey x Joey (yes, both at the same time)

Notp: Dawson x Joey

Best moments: Jen helping Joey when that jerk was spreading rumours about her and then Jen and Joey locking Abby in the closet together (I love it when they stick together instead of tearing each other down), Pacey and Joey bickering

Weirdest moments: when Joey was upset because Dawson didn’t want to tell her how often he “walks his dog”, when Jen was about to have a treesome at a party and Dawson walked into the room and carried her out despite her kicking and screaming

Glee

+ funny, Sue Sylvester's iconic, great covers and a way to find new songs, the performances are aesthetically pleasing, lgbtq+ representation, tackling of serious issues, coming out story, a father who’s accepting of his son’s sexuality right away despite not really understanding it (it’s so rare to see, that’s why it’s so refreshing), the plotlines are ridiculous but at least the show doesn't take itself too seriously

-as I already said the 1st season was great but after that it just seemed like the writers made up a checklist of hard issues they should tackle and tried to tackle every single one of them while covering every single song and it just fell flat. Prime example- Quinn ending up in a wheelchair getting into a car crash to warn us from drinking and driving, singing I’m Still Standing and then suddenly being able to walk normally after. a few episodes Rachel and Finn got almost all songs, while other characters were criminally underrated and underused (Tina, Quinn, Mercedes). The teachers are questionable to put it mildly. Cringy moments- Finn singing You're Having My Baby to Quinn in front of her parents when it wasn't even his baby! Also no one except of Kurt looks like they could be in high school. And why are these cheerleaders wearing their uniforms 24/7??

Otps: Brittana, Sam x Quinn, Tina x Artie (unpopular opinion, I know), Mr Schue x unemployment

Notp: Quinn x Finn

Best moments: Quinn giving birth to Bohemian Rhapsody

Weirdest moment: Rachel's gross and painfully awkward crush on Mr Schue, Mr Schue joining the Glee club on the stage for a performance of Toxic and girls in the audience cat calling him (Ewww)

Euphoria

+ Zendaya's and Jacob Elordi's performances, tackling of serious issues such as drug addiction and overdose, anxiety and depression, abusive relationships and abortion in a better manner than most (if not all) teen dramas, the aesthetics, makeup and wardrobe, the musical number in the finale, the special episodes giving us insight into the characters' psychology, toxic relationships not being romanticized (which is sadly rare), teenagers sounding like actual real life teens (no "I reject reality" crap)

- lack of comic relief (why so serious all the time), sexualization of teen characters (I know this is something many teen dramas are guilty of but it's the most evident here), too much nudity (I know some of you are going to come at me with: "But it's realistic!" So what? It is realitic that teenagers get naked when they go into shower but does it mean we have to see it?? It seems to me like this show is trying too hard to be "boundary pushing" at times and ends up being scandalous just for the sake of being scandalous), these characters just aren't believable as high school juniors to me (they sound like high schoolers but they certainly don’t act, look or dress that way). There's no reason this show couldn't have been set in college.

Otps: Rue x sobriety, Nate x prison

Notps: Nate x Maddy, Cassie x McKay

Best moments: "You did this to me!" and the musical number in the season 1 finale

Weirdest moment: the fact that Maddy lost her virginity at 14 to a 40-year-old man being mentioned so casually because apparently she was "totally in control". Excuse me what??

Skins

+ style and makeup- each character has a signature trademark (Sid and his beanie, Effy's eyeliner, Cassie's soft eyeshadow), their British accents, I'm pretty sure this is the only teen drama that follows multiple classes, teenage characters being played by actual teen actors, the characters looking like average people you meet in high school and not as if they just walked off the runway, dealing with serious issues such as drug abuse, eating disorder, parental abandonment etc (yes, some people claim the show romanticized it, but I disagree. It's not the show that romanticized it- it's the fans. The show tried to portray the dangers of drugs as well as possible. Think about it- every time characters used drugs it ended in a disaster. In the pilot they thought that Cassie overdosed and ended up crashing a car while rushing into the hospital. In later season Effy hit her friend in the head with a rock because she was having a bad trip. That's not romanticizing drugs.), Effy is iconic and honestly the first episode was enough to get me hooked

- every single teacher being a creep and having a thing for a student at some point, the show can get too dark and unncessarily dramatic at times. Did that many people have to die? Did Chris's death really have to be this graphic? Timeline doesn't really add up- are 8 episodes supposed to cover the whole year? It would've made more sense if there were more episodes in a season.

Otps: Chris x Jal, Emily x Naomi

Notps: Sid x Michelle

Best moment: ooh baby it's a wild world

Weirdest moment: Chris's graphic death

The OC

+ more grounded in reality than many others on this list, the theme song, the love stories, Seth and Summer are funny, the friendships are believable and the whole group has great chemistry

- too many unneccessary fights, Luke is the worst, everyone is way too casual about drunk driving, these parents are WAAAY too chill (I know this can be said about many teen dramas but it's the most obvious here. How did the Roberts and the Coopers let two 16-year-old girls go to Mexico alone?? With no supervision?? What?)

Otps: Seth x Summer, Ryan x Marissa

Notp: Luke x Marissa

Best moments: the “oh no, there’s only one bed” in the Mexico episode, Seth and Summer's first kiss and that kiss at the yacht, Ryan and Marissa's first date by the pool

Weirdest moment: these parents letting their teenage kids go to Mexico alone. It's irresponsible when they're 16 but apparently they let them go there and party every year. What?

Gossip Girl

+ every episode having a clever title, the style, the makeup, the 00s soundtrack, the glamour of it all (it feels like reading a very gossipy magazine!), all the scandals, this show never pretends to portray the realitic teenage experience so it can pretty much be as far-fetched as it wants to and you can’t question it, it gives you a chance to live the fantasy of being super rich, living with a penthouse, riding a limo to school and going to parties in New York City every night

- the final reveal doesn't make any sense, just like with PLL these writers seemed to have put more thought into the outfits and makeup than into the plotlines, romantization of a toxic relationship, having every two straight characters date or hook up at some point, which just felt forced, mishandling of serious issues (Blair's eating disorder, Eric's suicide attempt and Serena and Jenny's sexual assault from the pilot being brought up when it's convenient but not really dealt with and brushed off at other times), sexualization of teen characters

Otps: Dan x Blair, Serena x Nate

Notps: Chuck x Blair

Best moments: the Thanksgiving flashbacks, Blair and Serena running around New York and taking selfies in stolen dresses, Nate and Serena’s first time (although it was better in the books) and then their kiss at the white party, the sheer scandal of "I killed someone", Dan giving Blair a plastic tiara to make her feel like a princess

Weirdest moments: Chuck's father returning from the death and then dying again, by yeeting himself off the roof

Freaks and Geeks

+ probably the most realistic teen drama there is, the characters dress the way I can see actual teens dressing, funny, but also heatbreaking at times, probably the only teen show that included an intersex character, the characters being a little stereotypical but self-aware at least, young James Franco and Jason Segel

- the bullying being a bit too much at times and it's a bit unrealistic that the teachers would do literally nothing about it, too short- I will never understand why this got cancelled

Otps: Daniel x Kim, Lindsay x Nick, Amy x Ken

Notps: Sam x Cindy

Best moments: Sam breaking down at the end of Garage Door, Daniel and Kim getting back together in the rain

Weirdest moment: Cindy doing a 180 and becoming super mean when she started dating Sam.

Gilmore Girls

+ so many movie, literary and music references, the quotable lines (what a great way to learn about new movies, books and bands! It’s so unique for a TV show to make you smarter), the witty banter, the comfort of the first few seasons (it really feels like wrapping a warm blanket around yourself while holding a hot cup of coffee, I can’t explain why, but it’s such a comfort show), the quirky small town with many unique festivals, many entertaining and snappy fights where everyone has a point, characters dealing with real world problems (seriously, how often do you see a storyline about termites? Or a teenager with zit cream on a teen drama show?), this is also one of the few shows where teenagers are shown to have rules and restrictions and curfews (finally some kids growing up with strict parents representation) and doing homework and studying and not just partying and drinking and having sex all the time and that’s so refreshing

- but while it is refreshing to see teenagers waiting to have sex and not doing it behind every corner, the show is kind of sex negative. Every single time a (female) character loses her virginity it ends in a disaster. Even when she loses it after she’s married! It doesn’t make any sense, unless the writers just really hated women. Also slutshaming (”I got the good kid!”) ewww. The money and budget doesn’t make much sense on the show either and the girls seem immune to calories. I know some people might come at me for this with: “But it’s just a show!” but I think it’s harmful to show beautiful, thin women eat nothing but tons of junkfood all the time and never excersize and then fatshame people who do excersize but aren’t fortunate enough to be blessed with amazing Gilmore genes, and then throw around tactless references to eating disorders.

Otps: Lane x Dave, Jess x Rory

Notps: Lane x Zach, Rory x Dean, Lorelai x Christopher

Best moments: Then She Appeared, Rory’s valedictorian speech, Lorelai’s graduation

Weirdest moment: Lorelai and Christopher getting married in Paris at 4am. That’s not how it works in Europe. Do Americans think every single Europian country works like Las Vegas, where you can just get married whenever you decide??

#teen dramas #these are just my opinions #so don't take it personally #u might disagree #but idrc

[bastardtetsu]

haikyuu + musical theatre boys pt2

>> PART 1 <<

nobody asked for it but here it is: more MT boy brainrot from your resident theatre school veteran :) | starring: hinata, tanaka, noya, yaku, terushima

tw swearing & more musical theatre bs

HINATA [tenor] such a star omfg his energy & expressiveness!!! not quite a dancer dancer but a VERY strong mover who picks up choreo & technique super fast! also REALLY good at tap, omfg, he just gets it in his body lightning fast. his singing & acting could use work, but like i said he’s a fast learner and his high energy & readiness to commit serves him so well! his main downfall in casting is that he is baby, and gets typed out a lot bc of his height and lack of experience. but we all know hinata doesn’t know the meaning of “give up,” which is a requirement of survival for MTs (!!) so he does just fine

jojo in seussical, tobias in sweeney todd, michael in billy elliot (would be an amazing billy too if he had better technique), literally any newsie

TANAKA [baritenor] king of rap, character acting, & dancing - mainly hiphop/breakdancing & tumbling, please do not ask him to do ballet. singing isn’t his top export and he’s kinda insecure about it, but you’d be surprised at how much this man can turn the house with the vocals okay?? he’s such a fuckin’ character irl though, the energy he brings to the stage is best described as delightfully feral. and BOY can he move, flip, spin, everything, he is the king of tricks (you know he’s always showing off - insists on ripping his shirt off every time too)

mulligan/madison in hamilton, benny in in the heights, tunny in american idiot, grandmaster chad in legally blonde, a wickersham in seussical, gangster in drowsy chaperone (specifically with noya can u IMAGINE), literally anything where they need a shirtless man to do backflips

NOYA [tenor] another rap king but he will also give u that smooth r&b tenor sound~ trina as fuck when it comes to literally any style of dance - tap, ballet, partnering, you name it - plus any tricks & tumbling u can think of. it’s because he played billy elliot as a child and got mad training super young. he specializes in tumbling, but also has always been very good at turns. we’re talking fouettés until YOU get dizzy watching him and beg him to stop. height requirements are a bitch to him sometimes casting-wise, but he still books bc his credits & abilities speak for themselves

sonny in in the heights, pepper in mama mia, literally billy elliot, literally any newsie, a wickersham in seussical, gangster in drowsy chaperone (specifically with tanaka)

YAKU [tenor] TAP GOD. generally trina as fuck, especially with jazz & ballet too. also was a billy elliot as a child so he got that training (remember when he literally grand jetéd over that barricade to receive the ball in the ova?? yea this is canon for me) pretty much always books dancer tracks bc he is That Bitch, but that will not stop him from delivering powerful vocals and bold character choices when you need him to. this boy is a TRIPLE THREAT and do not ever forget it. he makes an amazing swing too, dance ensemble tracks are his bread & butter so you need him to learn 4 of them for one show? cool, he’s ready to go. i would also like to reiterate once again that he is a TAP. GOD. this is very important to me. also do not bring up auditions with height minimums to him

cosmo in singin in the rain, chip in on the town, mike in a chorus line, any newsie, basically any dance ensemble track or smol dancer man type characters

TERUSHIMA [pop/rock tenor] i h8 this mother fucker (no i don’t who am i kidding) but he would book like crazy. only in the more contemporary stuff though since he committed to the edgy vibe with the tongue piercing/bleached hair/his personality lmao. his acting is so-so, but he has the charisma & stage presence to give a solid performance, and his dancing is suprisingly good - i’d classify him as a strong mover. HIS VOCALS are sick though, loves to show off that high rock belt as much as he can (it’d be more obnoxious if he didn’t sound so damn good). also plays guitar and brings it to every audition no matter what it is, just to flex. he’s not even THAT good, but he can play cowboy chords and certain songs if he practices. he’s also the resident horny boy of every cast he’s in, obviously. it does get messy and occasionally weird, like when he hooked up with the girl playing his character’s mom on opening night & had to deal with the awkward oedipal energy for the entire run of the show

johnny in american idiot, gabe in next to normal, dolokhov in great comet (he could play anatole but he doesn’t quite have that C#5 :/), basically any role where he gets to be a glorified rockstar

#also if y’all don’t know what the fuck i’m saying in any of these pls let me know #and feel free to ask #i’ve been too saturated in musical theatre for too long and i don’t know what is common knowledge anymore #i'm just out here saying things and hoping anyone knows what i'm talkin abt lmao #mt boyz #e shitposts #haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu crack #haikyuu #hinata shoyo #tanaka ryuunosuke #nishinoya yu #yaku morisuke #terushima yuuji #.txt #;;yaku #;;teru

[evildoe-r]

sunstroke (bif x derby)

word count: 3,434

rating: T

main characters: bif taylor, derby harrington

spoilers for video game: yes (Dishonorable Fight and Complete Mayhem)

...now he had thrust his apology back into his hands. Bif was one of the few he could not freely take sincerity from, that was his own mistake, and one he just made deliberately. Presently, he felt sickening remorse pooling inside of him, steadily drowning him.

warning; very long post

I

It was a year nearing its lively prime stretching across dusty, strange Bullworth. The evening crept and called the fading light that spread its warm hue across the rooftops and glistened on uncertain waters. Bif made his way through the subdued small town, to return to his dorm at the Academy after he and his friends spent the day at the gym having sparring matches, choosing to spend the penultimate day of school there instead of waste it at Miss Peters’ traditionally mind numbing school play that took place at the end of each academic year. They’d all had a much better time in their gym - all of them except for the absent Derby, who he rarely saw anymore, even around the Harrington House. Derby, who once would let him walk alongside him as his right hand man. He couldn’t tell if he was avoiding him or it was simply coincidence - a coincidence that occurred directly after he had lost a boxing match to none other than new kid Jimmy Hopkins, and disgraced the Preps’ standing within the school hierarchy. 

He hated losing, but he hated the confusion that had followed even more, the vague insights and cues into Derby's fluctuating relationship with him on the rare occasion he did see him around. It was stupid to dwell on this, he knew it. But no matter how much he pushed aside the thought that Derby somehow hated him, it would creep up on him in the school hallways, in the classes he hadn't ditched, before he slept, always circling back to him. 

He had lingered around in the gym longer than the others. Somehow, even after the usual high he got from defeating an opponent in a sparring match, today his movements as he showered and dressed back into his uniform had been slow and his thoughts were cloudy. On the morning after tomorrow's summer day of suspended classes, they would all return home, far away from Bullworth Academy. 

Although the day had been hot, the evening lent a cool breeze which had given him some relief. Even after a cold shower, Bif felt too warm. His hair was still damp and he slicked a hand through it as he walked along the path looking out onto the sea. He could sense the day's sickening heat slowly retreating, which he was grateful for. He would have welcomed the warmth any other time, but all week his head swam with thoughts that made him almost weary. As he made his way toward the bridge, a pack of Greasers raced past him on their bikes, turning toward New Coventry and paying him no mind. Looking straight ahead, he narrowed his eyes against the waning sunlight. He heard their voices before he spotted them. It was Justin and Chad several feet in front of him, their backs turned to him, speaking excitedly and louder than usual. Bif almost halted in his path as he suddenly recognised that unbearably familiar voice mingling with theirs. 

Derby. 

He forced himself to continue walking as normal. Lighthearted laughter erupted from them before he heard Derby’s courteous parting dismissal as the other two departed towards the direction of the Academy. 

Shit.

Derby was left there, standing uphill in front of the setting sun like a great shadow. He watched Bif carefully, and now, Bif had no choice but to meet him and his gaze, always razor sharp.

Derby was the first to speak. 

“Bif.”

“Hey,” Bif tried. 

As he approached Derby, he couldn’t help but notice how he observed him, studied him so closely. Bif knew that Derby had seen him before he realised he was there, just as he saw everything. You didn’t just escape Derby’s notice.

“Thought you’d be back at the House by now,” Derby said.

“Well, yeah, I just got held up,” Bif replied, making an attempt for his voice to remain neutral. But he was scared, excited, anxious. He hadn't realised how much he had anticipated this, whether it was to confront him or to reconcile with him. He only wanted for things to return to what was supposed to be normal. 

But now, Derby’s voice was calm, slightly softer than usual. It eased him a little. Maybe he didn't hate him after all.

II

Derby watched his taller friend’s nervous hand run through his hair. The reddish brown strands were the color of fire in the last reach of the small town sunlight. 

“What’s the matter?” he asked. Bif’s green eyes widened a little in surprise at the question. 

“Uh, It’s nothing, Derby,” he finally said.

"You seem a bit on edge," Derby observed.

"Oh, boxing and all that. Parker gave me a hard time. But I won anyway, you know." 

Derby offered an acknowledging nod before changing the subject. “Well, I don’t plan on going back to the school grounds for another while.” He gazed out towards the sea, and then turned expectantly onto Bif, awaiting a response. 

"I guess I didn't either," his friend admitted. “I’ve had enough of that place right now.”

“Walk with me, then?” Derby straightened the clean white collar of his shirt. 

“Sure.”

It was quiet. The evening had completely settled upon the town, the sky a gradient of bright pink and a moody blue. Familiar lighthouse beams shone against the darkening horizon. The sound of the sea relaxed him, always inviting him to reminisce about his hazy days as a very young child, on holidays with his family to otherworldly time zones, where he would run on mystical white beaches while his father’s voice commanded him to behave, and so he did. But now, the sky was a soft bluish purple, and the quiet beach was dark and lulling and his friend was right beside him.

As they walked in silence together, Derby watched Bif, noting his furrowed brow, his mind seemingly unsettled. “Shall we walk down the pier?” he suggested, making his way down the wooden surface perpendicular to their path. Bif was at his elbow and slowly followed him down, his familiar movements sure and steady as his body, yet his face was always an open book. As the sun’s last rays leapt above the buildings, Derby knew he must be anticipating something, but he did not speak. 

III

Derby began to hum a slow, sonorous tune that he could not recognise. This was almost like old times. Derby by his side as they walked through Old Bullworth Vale, then down to the beach, spending the early summer days during free periods there, as he convinced Derby to go diving into the cool waters with him and swim to the lighthouses and back. 

They were alone here, besides a weary eyed middle aged man who could have been thirty five or fifty, in a slightly tatty grey suit who was leaning casually against the ledge looking down into the dark waters below them.

“Man, don’t do it!” Derby called with a grin. The stranger turned to them, and spat, before turning and walking away as he lit a cigarette. 

“I’ve seen that guy before,” Bif insisted. “Comes around here a lot, tries to go where it's quiet."

“Then it’s his unlucky day,” Derby smiled, as they watched the man depart. Despite himself, Bif laughed with him, his previous anxieties lapsing.

“Hey, can you believe Miss Peters had that dumb school play even with everything that happened?” Bif had suddenly felt lighter, and was in the mood for banter.

“Everyone made quite the mess of the school, that’s true,” Derby agreed, “But the auditorium seemed virtually untouched. I didn’t even see any renovations taking place there. I guess nobody bothered with it.

“You know, when father heard what happened he wasn't happy at all. He searched for a prestigious school worthy enough for his investment and then all hell breaks loose." He shook his head in disapproval.

“He’s considering transferring me somewhere else for my last academic year,” Derby confided. 

“Yeah?” Bif was oddly disheartened. “I thought your dad was busy with y'know, stuff.” Derby would occasionally mention his dad and how his business was fairing, but truthfully, Bif never had the patience nor the interest to hear it all out. 

“He is. He really doesn’t have time for all this,” he agreed. "But my God, what a state the school was in afterwards..." 

“Yeah, the place really turned into a total dumpster fire after Hopkins beat your-”

A look of irritation flickered over Derby’s face and Bif stopped short. “Uh, yeah, you know,” he said awkwardly, feigning an itch on his neck. He tried to think of something witty, but his head felt confused and muddled again. With nothing more to say, their conversation dissolved into silence, and they watched the waves in the distance for a while. The islands ahead were sharp shadows, only their dark outlines visible in the late evening light. 

It was certainly like old times, he thought. Nonetheless, something felt misplaced, wrong, and he was unable to focus. 

“Can we talk about it, Derby?” He was venturing blind into a conflict, he could feel it, but he had to try. “I don’t think I gotta explain what I mean.” He braced himself for surprise or even offense from his friend, but his face remained impassive. 

“I’m actually not sure what you mean.”

It was Bif’s turn to look annoyed. Reigning in his sudden anger, he found himself raising his voice more than intended. “You ignored me for ages, and now you’re acting as if everything’s normal.” 

Derby’s neutrality stubbornly asserted itself as he spoke. “There is nothing out of the ordinary here, Bif.”

“Were you mad after I lost to Jimmy?” Bif demanded.

“We have nothing to talk about regarding this matter, I mean it.”

“But you were avoiding me! You avoided me for weeks, Derby!” he said desperately.

“I don’t want to discuss this now-”

“Well I do!”

“Of course I was angry, Bif,” came the reply, and his mask of nonchalance had disappeared.

“I don’t need to explain why, you know that quite well. Can we drop it now?” the corners of his mouth quivered slightly and his voice rose and fell a little as if he couldn’t decide whether to be angry or not.

Bif gave an exasperated sigh as he dragged his hands down his face. Didn’t he realise the guilt he felt after he lost? He disgraced himself, and worse, Derby Harrington. He was one of his closest friends, yet he was unreachable all the same. You lost to him too, Derby, don't you remember?! 

Derby glared at him, jaw clenched. Those sharp eyes, and now he’s finally cutting. “You want me to say I lost too, is that it, Bif?”

There it is, and just how had he figured? It seemed like he could always see what was swimming past the surface, and sometimes, with Derby, he didn’t know himself. Always so precise, never anything less. He spoke of loss, and now he'd taken every word from him. 

IV

Derby recalled that day at the gym too well. Bif lying there, barely conscious, as Hopkins taunted them. It was undeniably embarrassing, and Bif would never know the sensation of anger and betrayal that had struck him afterwards. Not just Bif, but his supposed friends too, humiliated by an apparent nobody, suddenly crowned King. Bif seemed taken aback by his question, and he was unsure if he meant it rhetorically or not. He decided to allow him to feel shaken a moment, before he carried on. He needed to make him understand. 

“Have you ever thought about how the situation affected me, Bif? Just once?” 

Bif was angry, that much was too obvious, but his poise was diminished, almost giving way. He was more than angry, he was upset.

“That’s all I’ve been thinking about since that day, Derby,” he said, quietly this time. Suddenly, he turned away. Derby could hear the waves again for a brief moment, slow and rhythmic, distinctly timed. Bif seemed to focus on an object in the distance before he exhaled loudly and whirled to face Derby again.

"Why does any of this matter anyway? It was just a stupid boxing match!" 

"You think this is about boxing? Oh, you're so naive, Bif. " Derby was indignant. 

"Then what is it about?" Bif pressed him. “You just love patronizing me, I know you do.”

“Patronizing? Did you just learn that word from English class yesterday?” 

"Seriously? Whatever, you're too important to tell me anyways. Keep it to yourself, I don’t care."

He had avoided Bif in his shame, he knew that much. He would not ask questions about his whereabouts to other Preps, but he had picked up on his altered emotional state whenever he saw him, which he would insist to himself was a lesson of sorts, a justified consequence of his own failure. His friends had left him disgusted then, most of all Bif, who seemed to guard his champion title so fiercely beforehand. Bif, who he slowly and so carefully placed his shaky trust into.

“So you’re not even gotta admit you pretended I didn’t exist, right?” Bif looked like he found it impossible to stay still. His fists were clenched, and he seemed almost breathless.

“I would never admit something that wasn’t true.” But it is true, he knows.

“Fuck you, Derby.”

Derby almost flinched. His friend’s venom had left him witless, and he wanted to reply with equal scorn, but the rebuttal would not come.

“And guess what, maybe I didn’t wanna see your face either, Derby.”

“Good. I was getting pretty sick of you, you know.”

He rued his words as soon as they left him, and he averted his gaze. Bif was hurt by this, he knew, and this time, there was no reply, no hostility. A bitter quiet fell on them.

“I didn’t mean that truly, Bif. You know that.”

I’m sorry.

“Yeah.”

"Look, I'm sorry."

Bif voiced his apology like a tired surrender. Derby had never seen him like this. Not even on that day at the gym. There was a terrible vulnerability about the person who stood in front of him.

"Don't say sorry to me,  Bif." 

"I just felt like I owed you-"

"Don’t." he told him. “Don’t apologise.”

“Then what the hell, Derby?” His annoyance was tinged with relief, appearing  somewhat yielding, which Derby was grateful for, as an unexpected tiredness grabbed him. For once, he felt out of control of the unraveling before him. He was being hurled off the tracks and he was finding it hard to steer them both into his direction. He had wanted to see Bif today, take in the reassuring presence he gave him, which became so familiar to him over these past few years. They’d argued, and now he had thrust his apology back into his hands. Bif was one of the few he could not freely take sincerity from, that was his own mistake, and one he just made deliberately. Presently, he felt sickening remorse pooling inside of him, steadily drowning him. 

V

He'd fought with Derby before, but it was usually over something stupid. 

"My dad is more important than your dad!" He'd jokingly taunted one night in a slightly drunken daze, and Bif, also in a liquor induced stupor had gotten angrier than he'd wanted to be. 

Derby had turned away from him and Bif said nothing for some time. It was a similar feeling to the tiresome end of a gruelling fistfight, but he was unsure whether he had won or lost this time. Bif felt lighter now, but consequently emptier too. 

"Bif," Derby began slowly,  "I did wrong you. It was a mistake on my part." 

His admission was unexpected, for sure, and he found himself stricken. He would have felt less surprised if Derby had suddenly burst into awful, messy tears. 

"God, Derby, you weird me out. I’ve known you for years, but you still confuse me." 

He felt uneasy now, and he wished this would end. Derby turned, and Bif expected another disagreement to ensue, but there was none.

"Look, It's fine, Derby. I mean, I guess it’s not fine, but we don't have to bring it up anymore." I'm exhausted. "Let's just forget this, for now." 

Derby looked tired too, for once.

“Okay, Bif.”

He's as shaken as I am, he realised.

“Let’s start to head back. It’s late. If you have any more gripes about me, you can tell me directly on the way.”

At least he could retain his sense of humor.

But it really was late, Bif realised. The stars were coming out, and the town’s usual toll had trailed off into silence, save for the occasional car rumbling through the street. They made their way wordlessly across the pier, turning toward the Academy. He almost hated Derby that night, yet he still he wanted him by his side, and despite his fatigue, he wouldn’t have minded staying there a while longer with him. 

There was a peaceful air following them as they traveled to the place they’d had to call home for the school year. A yellow crescent moon was suspended in the cloudless dark sky. The night was warm, and still young. They would arrive well before midnight anyways, and when they reached the Academy, they knew it was past curfew, but Derby had made sure early on in the year that they would go unnoticed by the displeased prefects who wandered the school grounds with torches at night, looking for troublemakers. After all, they loved money, same as everyone else. And besides, it seemed pointless to enforce a curfew on the second last day of school. When they entered the house, the lights were dimmed and it was mostly quiet, except for the muffled sound of footsteps on one of the top floors. They started to make their way upstairs and through a carpeted hallway decorated with paintings and houseplants. Bif stopped suddenly.

“Wait, Derby, are you really leaving Bullworth?” 

He eyed Bif for a moment before answering. “I certainly hope not. How am I going to find so many lackeys who are willing to fight for me in a new school in so little time?” he said, looking at Bif, a laugh breaking out of his neutral expression, and Bif let out a chortle. 

“Man, hadn’t thought of that,”

They stood there in the faint lamplight, so mellow it made him slightly dizzy.

“I gotta go to bed, have an important day of doing nothing tomorrow,” Bif said. As Derby laughed, he looked younger, and for a brief second he was the person who would sneak out of dinner parties with him as a lark and explore the old, stately home they’d both been confined in for the evening, finding dubious locked doors and dusty basements.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then, Bif,” he said, laying a hand on his arm, suddenly pausing. He could feel his warmth through his cotton shirt. He realised how much he had sweated that evening in the summer heat, but either Derby didn’t care or didn’t pay any attention. A sensation in his chest exulted, unsettled him. There was the flicker of longing he’d experienced through the years, now plain and clear as day, and not so uncertain as it used to be. Derby seemed to linger there for a second, lifting his ambiguous gaze to his own eyes, keeping it there, making him restless, but in that moment, Derby began to back off into his room. And when he tore his hand away, Bif almost objected, calling his name and telling him to wait. Derby just stood there in anticipation, and when Bif asked if he was okay, he replied in that affected tone that Bif had always hated, asking why he shouldn’t be. Bif just shrugged his shoulders, and Derby then hastily bid him goodbye, retreating into his room. The door clicked shut, leaving him there.

When he finally went to bed, his frustration had begun to stir among his fatigue and he wondered if he was wrong to think he might fall asleep that night. At one point, the heat in his room was stifling, and he leapt up from his bed and threw open the windows. When he was finally able to close his eyes, he thought of Derby, the sea and its lighthouses, his wanting and his hurt, and the mess he’d thrown himself into. One more day and they’d be apart, and now he wished that he’d caught Derby’s arm before he’d made himself scarce that night.

______________________________________________________________

Notes

Hey, If you read the full thing, I greatly appreciate it! This was quite difficult to write at times because the characters of Bif and Derby were not given so much nuance in the game itself, so it was quite challenging to write a story that delves into their psyche and way of thinking. I wrote this with the intention of exploring their individual characters and feelings toward each other a bit further, especially after the events of the Dishonorable Fight and Complete Mayhem missions. The interactions and the implications of their relationship dynamic are quite interesting to me. Please feel free to tell me what you thought, and once again, thank you for reading!

-A

#holy shit #thank u to the entire 2 people who read this lol #i wanted to practice my writing and what do i do? a berby fic with 3.4k words obviously what else #i dont think rockstar expected anyone who played the game to actually pay attention to these characters imo #lol #anyways #um i um #these characters are just... really interesting with a lot of potential??? #enjoy if u read it! #would appreciate likes or rbs but u dont have to #me watching every cutscene these characters were in 10 times and and listening to their voicelines for this lmaooo #bif taylor #derby harrington #berby #bif x derby #bully cce #canis canem edit #fanfic #cce #mine

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Bluegrass-Chapter 24

                    Much love to @Statell for making my stories flow.

Previous chapter on AO3

Chapter Twenty-Four

The shop owner bent over his worktable and pried the stones out of the gold setting. The ring was fourteen karat gold and would fetch a nice price. When the bell above the door tinkled, he looked up at a lady coming to the counter. She tossed a large ring on the counter.

“Sell or pawn?”

“Sell.”

He looked at her and reached for his loop. She looked like a street person so how did she come by this, he wondered. To his amazement the diamonds were real, and the gold tested to eighteen karat. His heart was ramming.

“Who’d you steal this from lady?”

“It’s mine, you ignorant asshole.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you. Try down the street.”

She grabbed the ring and looked at the man with her one good eye. “Fuck you.”

He watched her carry her bulk toward the door and waved his hand in the air to chase away her body odor.

The woman tried two more pawn shops and the third was owned by someone with fewer scruples. He bought the ring for one thousand dollars plus a gun. It was a lady Smith and Wesson five-shooter. She grabbed a box of shells on her way out, looking at the man defiantly. He ran to lock his door and start making calls. This ring would sell quickly for ten thousand. If it wasn’t hot, he could ask fifty thousand easily. He flipped open his phone book and started dialing.

The sweaty woman stumbled into Walmart and felt the cool air inside provide a little more energy for the last item she needed. Twenty minutes later she held her new phone to her ear and ordered a taxi to take her to the Motel 6. She paid the driver without a tip and heaved herself out of the car. There were working girls and ugly people all around the place. She would fit right in.

Walking up to the desk, she pulled her shirt down over the roll of fat that bulged from her tight waistband. The clothes she was arrested in were now three sizes too small. Prison food is created to keep hundreds of people full for a few hours. Not much thought went into the caloric intake or a balanced meal. Carbohydrates and fat were the main ingredients of her diet for eleven months and she tipped the scale at two-hundred and fifty pounds. The clothes she wore were donated by the prison and they were cutting her in half.

Pulling her coach wallet out of her bag she pulled her license and scooted it toward the clerk. Ten minutes later she was locking her door and scowling at the traffic noise right outside her window. It would have to do.

She was exhausted. It took all night to get processed out of jail and then shown the door to freedom at five o’clock in the morning. She would sleep a bit and then call her father. He will want her to come home because there was nothing for her in Kentucky. He would put her mother on the phone who would beg and cry for her daughter to come back to Scotland. That could wait as well, she decided.

For eleven months she has thought of little else then Jamie Fraser, the man who stole millions of dollars from her by denying her any rights to the business or his new horse. Word went around the prison that Midnight Runner won the Triple Crown and that meant an extraordinary life was now his to live while she was shipped back to Scotland like yesterday’s trash. God she hated him.

Isobel laid down on the bed but thinking about Jamie got her so riled up she couldn’t sleep. Maybe a hot shower would help. The rundown hotel had a small mirror in the bathroom, the first clear mirror in eleven months. She looked at her face and tears rolled down her fat cheeks. One of her eyelids opened only a slit after she was punched in the forehead during a prison fight. The nerve damage was permanent. She looked at her hair cut almost to her scalp. A going-away present from the bitches who hated her and kept her in solitary much of the time. She recalled being held on the ground while the meanest of them cut off her hair. It stuck out in all directions and she tried to smooth it down with water, but nothing helped. She was raging inside at what he did to her. This was all his fault.

Isobel’s father kept money on her books, the maximum allowable at the insistence of her mother. Isobel had nothing but disdain for other women making it quite impossible to make friends who could help her. She bargained her commissary for favors and finally found someone with a relative who would look up Chad’s whereabouts. He was in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville and she wrote to him every day and couldn’t wait to hear back. Months went by with no word and she became hurt, and then mad. She sent another letter and on the outside of the envelope in small letters, she wrote “you little puke of a man why won’t you answer me?” She didn’t expect a response and when one came it was short and to the point.

‘Enduring your disgusting presence and vomit worthy sex was a means to an end. You self-absorbed cow. You never figured out I was gay because you were busy looking at yourself, with or without a mirror. It made it easy to manipulate you. Happy now?’

That was Jamie’s fault as well, she stormed in her head. He deserves to be skinned alive and forced to watch. She wouldn’t risk him getting the upper hand, so she had to settle for a bullet in his head.

She picked up her purse and left. There was a liquor store on the corner and she needed whisky, and a lot of it.

Claire woke up in an empty bed and noticed a note on her side table. She smiled as she read it.

“It is a perfect day to sit on the sundeck and read. There is nothin you need to do today, and I won’t be long with Michael.”

They had purchased a new double-wide ergonomic chase and had not tried it out yet. Maybe they could read the book together. While she waited for Jamie, she chose pages throughout the book to read and was very impressed with Michael’s writing. The theme running throughout the book was about kindness to the horse through various means, particularly the whip. He advocated the elimination of pain as a motivator. It would change horse racing completely because the competitors would be running because they wanted to win. The horse had to love running and it could be done, according to Michael, but training and reward had to change.

Claire wondered how this book would differ from Nosh’s. He was coming to Kentucky the following week and would spend the day with them. She was excited to fulfill her promise to finish her story, whether he believed her or not.

Jamie dropped Michael at his hotel just after noon. He would be joining them for dinner tonight and would UBER back around seven o’clock. Jamie looked forward to an afternoon lounging with his best girl.

For the rest of the day, Jamie and Claire took turns reading the book and powered through half of it before cuddling on the chase to nap a bit.

“Sassenach.” Jamie ran his hand down her arm until she opened her eyes. “Will ye come with me to bring the horses in?”

She smiled up at him and nodded yes before pulling her jeans and boots on. They walked to the barn and discussed the book, both commenting on how much they had forgotten about those crazy days. They brought fifteen horses in, two at a time, then went to bring in the mares and babies. Claire laughed at the antics of the foals, running ahead and then freezing with fear when they couldn’t see their mothers. When all were put away for the night, they made one more trip for Runner and Porcelain. When Jamie watched them running to the gate, he looked at Claire with a big smile.

“I’d like to bring Porcelain into season early and breed her in February.”

“To him?”

It was settled. Porcelain would be Runner’s first cover and Claire was thrilled. A touch of romance in an otherwise clinical setting of the breeding room. They would be each other’s first.

As they walked home, Jamie threw up his arms and announced he had finished the repairs on Runner’s stall, and they could move them back to their larger accommodations. Claire held his hand and told him tomorrow would be soon enough. She had a shower and cooking to do.

It was a delightful time to sit with their old friend, spoil him with steak, roasted vegetables, and copious amounts of whisky. Claire considered inviting others to dinner but decided she didn’t want to share Michael’s time. They ate at the table outside and simply moved to more comfortable seats to continue the discussion.

Jamie answered the doorbell and spoke to a neighbor before announcing he would be back in ten minutes. The neighbor needed a jump. Michael offered to come and help but Jamie told him to relax, he had this.

Michael had Claire in giggle overload reminding her of times they were on the road. Claire got up to grab the coffee pot and stopped in her tracks.

“Michael, do you smell something burning.”

He stood up and said he smelled it too. When Claire opened the front door, she screamed for Michael. It was definitely a fire and somewhere close. They started running and a quarter-mile never seemed so far. The closer they got; they were more convinced it was the barn on fire. Claire punched numbers into the keypad, and Michael opened the roll away doors as smoke poured out.

“Chase them all out, Michael!”

Claire ran down the aisle pulling stall doors open until she got to Runner and Porcelain and they were not moving. None of the horses were running outside. She slapped Porcelain hard on the rump knowing Runner would follow. The mare whinnied loudly and took off for the big doors.

Claire looked at the smoke filling the barn and coughed into her shirt. She saw horses running by but could not see Michael. She continued to work her way down the aisle smacking horses so they would run to safety. She looked up and saw babies running alongside their mothers and knew Michael had gone to the dams’ wing to set them free.

Jamie waved to the neighbor as he drove down their shared road. He caught the scent of burning wood and jumped into the bed of his truck to look for smoke. Finally, he saw the embers rising into the air on his own property! With a hammering heart, he drove through the gate and saw horses scattered all over. He knew someone was at the barn and drove as fast as possible, ever watchful for a horse running across the road.

Jamie ran to the barn. His heart rate was in the stroke zone and he started coughing the second he was inside. He called for Claire as he ran down the aisle looking for any stuck horses. The dams’ wing was empty, where the hell was Claire and Michael? Or whoever let the horses out. He turned the turbines on that pulled air from the interior. They were all over the roof so he ran as fast as he could flipping them on high.

He called the fire department as he ran for Runner’s wing. The door was open and something inside him told him to proceed with caution. He could hear Claire and Michael coughing. Why were they in there? When he heard Isobel’s voice his blood turned to ice. He forced himself not to cough and give away his presence. He searched frantically for a way to get the drop on her. He had to do something before Claire and Michael died from asphyxiation.

He ran to the back of the barn where the smoke was too thick to see. He ran his hand along the wall until he felt the switches for the turbines. Filling his lungs with air he ran into the equipment room and pulled out a ten-foot length of steel pipe, very relieved it wasn’t burning hot and ran back.

Claire wasn’t coughing any more and Jamie knew she passed out with death coming for her. Without another second to think he rammed the door open and kept running as Isobel’s startled face came into view. She raised the gun just as he rammed the pipe into her stomach, impaling her on the back wall. He threw Claire over his shoulder and helped Michael to his feet pulling them outside to safety.

The fire engines were coming in slowly with no siren because Jamie explained there were horses scattered all over the property. Michael was bent over coughing and Claire was silent, unconscious. Jamie lowered her to the ground feeling more terrified than he had been in his life.

“Claire! Claire!”

The EMT’s pulled him away to render lifesaving aid to his wife, his soulmate, his whole world. Fire hydrants were installed on the land according to zoning rules and the men soon had two flows of water directed at the fire. Jamie heard more sirens coming only to go silent as they negotiated the gate and keypad.

The ambulance EMT’s were given instructions to open the gate and wait for it to close to make sure no horses escaped. The driver knew there were critical injuries and it took all his training and willpower not to barrel ahead to the injured. Jamie was covered with soot and sweat as he gripped his wife’s hand.

“Please Claire, ye must fight yer way back to me or I will surely die with ye.”

He was pulled away as they wheeled the gurney into the ambulance, Michael was loaded into a second vehicle. Jamie sank to his knees as a great crash came from the barn and a plume of embers rose into the night sky. Jamie didn’t flinch. He couldn’t move as he was locked into his pleading prayers to God.

A great fireball exploded into the dark sky and men were yelling about a secondary fire. Jamie heard none of it and continued to pray.

The captain pulled Jamie up and brought him under the light spreading out a schematic of the barn interior.

“Is there anyone else in the building?”

Jamie pointed to Runner’s wing. The fire captain pulled him to the large engine and told him to sit down. The huge fire engines took up all the space available in front of the barn and police cruisers were lined up behind them. Officers were standing by a short distance away and the captain went to speak with them.

Jamie felt the tears fall off his face, he knew his business was in ruins, his prize horse chased into the darkness, but none of that mattered as much as Claire’s pale, soot-stained face. He looked up at the commanding voice above him and stared at the officer with blank eyes.

“You identified an area where someone was left inside. I am sorry to inform you that the roof caved in above that wing about five minutes ago. Did anyone go back inside to pull the person out?”

“No. I impaled her against the wall with a ten-foot length of steel pipe.”

Jamie stood up and walked toward his vehicle but never made it. It took five officers to hold him back and he was finally cuffed and dropped into a cruiser. He had no comprehension of what was happening, and he fought against the restraints until he felt a blinding pain as his wrist separated. He slumped forward choking through this added suffering.

“Mister Fraser! Stop struggling I have news of your wife. She is in intensive care, so is the other man, but they are expected to pull through. They are gonna be fine. You have confessed to a capital crime. You belong to the Lexington police force now so you might as well cooperate and sit still. You’re a big man and tasers hurt, so walk when you’re told, sit where you’re told and answer our questions. It’s the best advice I can give you.”

Jamie did as told and explained who Isobel was, how she tried to kill his horses before. He did not know she was released on parole. She had set fire to the barn and held Claire and Michael at gunpoint as they slowly choked to death in front of her. She wore an elaborate gas mask and just stood by as they struggled to breathe. She had raised her gun to Jamie’s head as he rammed the pipe into her stomach. He did not bother to go back in to save her because he was too busy with his wife and friend.

“I didn’t know if she was alive or dead. I didn’t care.”

Jamie was a pillar of the community and the officers made quick work of releasing him with the warning to not leave the state. There was an officer waiting to take him to the hospital. Jamie sat in the back seat holding his throbbing wrist. The officer decided to break the rules for the poor man and turned on his siren as he raced to the hospital.

Jamie piled out of the car and ran into the emergency department. He approached Claire slowly with tears streaking through the grime on his face. He was so overcome at the sight of her his whole body started to shake.

The nurse taking her blood pressure almost fainted at the sight of Jamie but recovered quickly as his face softened looking at his wife.

“She has been asking for you if your name is Jamie that is.” She had a warm smile and a concerned face.

“It is… my name is Jamie.”

The nurse ran for the chair that was shared among the visitors because it looked like he would fall any minute. She pushed Jamie into it and asked if he was alright.

“As soon as this lass opens her eyes, I will be fine.”

“She is doing really well physically. Her doctor may keep her tonight, not sure yet.”

Jamie looked down at Claire’s open eyes, looking at him. She seemed to look at everything she could see and then he watched her dissolve in tears. She was fighting to stop crying but she just couldn’t. She tried to speak to him, but no sound came out.

“Her voice will come back. Two or three days.”

Claire was asleep again and Jamie felt lost suddenly. She just closed her eyes to the pain that was making her cry, leaving Jamie alone. He picked up the phone and called Jason, then Angus. He knew he had to leave her and get back to what was left of their barn. He kissed her face and walked toward the entrance, there lingering at the doorway was the officer who drove him to the hospital.

“Mister Fraser, I waited to take you home, sir.”

Jamie looked battle-scarred and fatigued at the moment, so they headed for his home without further comment. The fire was out, and firemen continued to crawl through the haylofts and roof structure looking for live embers. They had done an excellent job limiting the damage. The fire marshal approached Jaime and shook his hand. His voice was commanding yet tempered with understanding that Jamie appreciated.

“Mister Fraser, it’s a tragedy to be sure, but we minimized the damage and found all the clues, I think. The fire was set on the north-facing side, right here.” He pointed to Runner’s wing on the barn schematic. Gasoline was used as an accelerant that was provided by your fuel tower. The perpetrator used your five-gallon buckets that were stacked at the hose in back, filled them with your fuel, and left the nozzle open to drain the fuel into the ground. When embers landed there it all went up in a fireball. You will have an ugly reminder for a while I’m afraid. It’s safe to bring the horses in except for this area. The roof caved in and it’s burned badly. It is where we found the body of a woman, but I hear you have given a statement to the police already and believe her to be responsible. The coroner has removed the body. I will be in touch as the investigation progresses. He walked toward his vehicle throwing his clipboard on the seat before getting in.

Jamie looked around feeling lost until he saw Rupert and Angus walk out of the barn with two leads each and lariats attached to their belt loops. They looked at Jamie’s haunted eyes and simply nodded as they made their way to the pastures. The horses were tied to a fence once caught so they could be identified and counted. Jason and Lulu pulled up looking shell shocked. Lulu was crying and asking about Claire. Jason ran to the barn for halters and leads and handed a lead to Lulu as they left to search for more horses.

Molly and her fiancé were next, followed by two of the vets that Claire had befriended. They would check the horses that were brought in and treat any issues. As word spread, neighbors and owners came in to join the search and by afternoon, all but two horses had been rounded up. The missing horses, Porcelain and Runner.

The horses were split up into groups and led to graze in the multiple pastures. They would stay outside for the day and let the barn air out. Jamie continued to call Claire, to say I love you and give progress reports. Jamie’s voice cracked when he said they had not found Runner or Porcelain and Claire sobbed for the lost horses but mostly for Jamie. Michael had fared better and was released to rest in his hotel room. Jamie wandered through the pastures calling for Runner until dark.

Jamie stayed with Claire overnight. She was moved out of critical care and there was a fat Lazyboy right next to the bed. He had full trust in his crew, so he stayed until she was released the next day. She mostly cried when she was awake, and Jamie couldn’t wait until he could hold her and give her comfort.

Driving into the compound was very hard on Claire as visions of Isobel taunting her, saying she would shoot Jamie in front of her and then let them die, came back to haunt her. Jamie explained that he had killed Isobel, but Claire expected her to jump out from every corner.

Claire couldn’t yell for Runner, but she insisted on walking the far pastures to help look for him. To no avail, the two of them were gone. Jamie held Claire through the night, waking up every few hours because she was crying and shaking. He eased her back to sleep much quicker than he was able to follow her. By the next day, he had deep circles under his eyes as he drove the property in search of his horses.

The other horses were returned to the barn, back in their original stalls because there was very little damage to anything but Runner’s wing. Jamie shivered to think he wanted to go back to the barn and move Runner and Porcelain back to their original stalls. He closed the wing off with plans to rebuild once the insurance was settled. Not one of the owners moved their horse to another barn. They knew Jamie was honest and ethical. This was not his fault and he had taken care of the problem.

Jamie sat down hard on his office chair in the early evening. The silence was such a relief after playing hero for the past two days. He wasn’t a hero. He was terrified about what could have happened and what will happen next. Could his business recover, could Claire feel safe again, could they find a new normal without Runner? Picking up his ringing phone he heard the deep voice of Dunsany, and he lost it.

“Jamie, it's going to be alright. You aren’t hurt, you will repair the damage and go on. Now listen to me son, get it out, and then get back to work. That’s a good lad, I’m here for ye, depend on that.”

Dunsany waited, speaking quietly to encourage Jamie, trying to infuse him with the will to start over. They talked for almost an hour and Dunsany told him arrangements had been made to bring Isobel’s body back to Scotland. She could never threaten them again. The older man worried deeply about Jamie pulling out of this nightmare and his anger at Isobel kept him secluded from his family for several days. It wasn’t right for a father to hate his own daughter and he would keep that to himself.

Jamie walked the pastures as the sun was coming up. He had a distinctive whistle that all the horses were used to. It always brought them in, no matter how far they had roamed. He heard a whinny and turned his head, heart beating like thunder in his chest he watched the pasture turning in all directions and finally saw her. Porcelain ran toward him crying out her fear in loud whinnies. She came to him and snorted while he slipped the halter on her and snapped a lead. He started walking back expecting Runner to run up on them any second. When he closed the door to Porcelain’s stall, he dropped his head in defeat.

“Where have ye gone laddie?”

Jason, Lulu, Rupert and Angus put the barn back together, ordered supplies, rented stalls, answered calls from worried owners, and assisted whoever and whatever was needed in the moment. Their fearless leader searched for Runner day and night and Claire was not often seen. She looked shattered and they didn’t know how to approach her, so they didn’t.

Michael came on the fourth day and took Claire to drive the property boundaries. Claire searched the pastures through field glasses as they continued to drive for two hours. He was just gone. He jumped a fence and just kept running she assumed. There were thousands of acres of forest that bordered their land and he was lost in that forest somewhere, starving to death. Claire’s sobbing broke Michael’s heart. He stopped the car and pulled her out to hold her to him. He promised her they would find him.

“We need to walk the land, Claire. He’s scared and hiding somewhere in the trees. Let him see us walking.” He pushed a lead in her hand, and they ducked between the white slats of the fence to walk the endless acres of Bluegrass.

Runner watched them from behind the trees. He watched her mostly and wanted to go to her. He could hear in her yell, something foreboding and fearful. If she would just get on his back, he could ride her to safety. He tried a couple of times to break out of the tree line, only to retreat in fear. They were getting closer to him. He was about to turn toward the forest and run but he saw images in his mind of Claire hugging him. It made him so happy. She was telling him she needed a hug. In the next second, he bolted toward the fence boundary and jumped it with ease running toward her, happier than he had ever been.

“Stop Claire. Turn around.”

Claire turned to see Runner galloping toward them. She started to giggle and then she held her arms out like she always did, for him to run into. He stopped ten feet from her and showed her images of being hugged. She kept her arms out and walked to him until she could wrap them around his neck. She put her hands on his cheeks and Michael could swear they were having a conversation as Runner would nicker at times and drop his head on her shoulder.

Are you hurt?

I do not hurt.

Where you afraid?

I was afraid.

She kissed his face a dozen times and asked him to walk back to the barn, assuring him the smoke was gone and he would be safe. She dug a handful of sugar cubes out of her pocket and he feasted on them.

Very hungry.

Let’s go home.

Michael called Jamie to tell him they were walking back, with Runner, and he started running to meet them. Runner nickered and lifted his head when he saw Jamie running toward them. Claire unsnapped the lead and Runner took off stopping right in front of Jamie’s beaming smile. They were still hugging when Claire and Michael caught up to them.

Porcelain whinnied loudly in the air and stomped all over her stall. Rupert looked at her and wondered what got into the lass when he saw the movement in his peripheral vision. He was almost in tears when he saw the three of them with a giant black horse behind them. Runner went to Porcelain for a make-out session and Claire could see images of Rupert pouring grain into his feeder. She laughed quietly to herself.

“Cheeky bastard.”

They said goodbye to Michael at the airport and made him promise to visit soon. Claire hugged him and cried while Michael complained she would surely melt with any more tears. Once on the road home, Claire leaned against Jamie and wrapped her arm around his middle. They had not made love since the fire and the feel of him was suddenly intoxicating. She kissed his neck until she was breathless and when she pulled his belt away and grabbed his zipper Jamie pulled onto a logging road into the forest where he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

They were frantic to join their hungry bodies after a long hiatus from passion. Jamie pulled her shirt over her head and reached around to unclasp her bra setting her breasts free to bounce with their efforts. When she finally pulled him into her body, they both moaned loudly before the rhythm of arousal took them to a new plane of existence.

Officer Josh Baker was heading back to the station while he daydreamed in heavy traffic. When he saw Jamie’s pickup truck veer off the road, he shook his head and blinked several times. It couldn’t be, he told himself. What are the odds of finding them in the same predicament as before? Some people never learn he thought. He pulled off onto the logging road to wait.

Traffic along the four lanes where Jamie took the detour slowed way down due to the cruiser parked along the side of the road, presumably for radar speed checking. The officer pointed his radar gun out the window and waited. When he heard Jamie’s engine start he pulled into traffic, and they were none the wiser about his protection.

Slowly, life at Highland Brothers returned to normal and Jason, the new custodian of Claire's truck, would pick her up for a day of medical treatments and do his best to remember any of the details when she asked him. On long rides she would describe the lab assays they would run to get him used to the terminology and procedure. From February to June, she would reduce her hours away to ten hours per week so she could take care of the breeding operation. She was anxious to be working with Jamie again.

Claire sat across from Nosh at the kitchen table and looked at the sheets of pictures. There had to be at least five-hundred pictures of her and runner. She answered Nosh’s questions thoughtfully and held nothing back. Nosh recovered quickly from the declaration that she can talk to animals. He always knew there was a major component of the story missing.

“I have wondered how an untrained jockey could ride that horse through all those races.”

“It was my yoga training. My balance was very good and if you hadn’t noticed, I didn’t move at all, once the race started, I just hung on to is mane for dear life. He told me what to do, when to do it, and I felt safe after a while.”

“How could he hear you during the race, there’s too much noise?”

“Are you saying you believe me?”

“You are an educated woman Claire, a veterinarian, and you won the Triple Crown as a novice jockey. I’ve been on the track all my adult life, so I knew there was a secret to your success. What I wouldn’t give for photo evidence of you racing him on foot.”

“Oh! I have photo evidence. Jamie took loads of pictures from the equipment barn where he hid for the first month. They are amateur at best, but I will be happy to show you..”

Nosh was on his feet in seconds, “please, yes I would love to see them.”

Claire settled Nosh in a chair close to the computer monitor and brought up the pictures. There was a perfect sequence of them at the starting line, Claire running full speed around the track, and Runner staying on the rail to pass her. Claire bent over panting and Runner circling her with his head and tail in the air. In the last picture, Claire is scowling at the horse with her hands in the air.

Nosh laughed so hard and sputtered “pure gold!” when he could catch a breath. “Good God, I haven’t laughed like that since I was a kid. Name your price, I’m sure the magazine will pay it.”

“Certainly not! You can have them with my thanks.”

This was the icing on the cake to Nosh. The book he had dreamed of for the last year would be better than he could have imagined.

Claire told Nosh everything from cutting Runner out of his dam to winning the Triple Crown and all the baiting and psychological tricks she used to keep him wanting to win. The story was told, and she sat back and took a deep breath.

“How would you like to spend some time with Runner?”

They walked out to the pasture and the two horses made a bee-line for them. Claire stood in front of Nosh and opened her arms for two frothy-mouthed horses to assault her with smells and snorts. She stepped aside pulling her phone out of her pocket and launching the camera app. Nosh seemed frozen as he watched Runner come toward him. Claire moved farther away and started snapping pictures. Nosh, nose to nose with Runner, the colt draping his head over Nosh’s shoulder from behind, stroking his neck, laughing at the assault on his pockets looking for treats. Claire kept snapping until she had sixty-five pictures of Nosh and Runner. She would transfer all the pictures of Runner including these to a thumb drive and send it to Nosh. It made her happy inside to give something back.

Claire walked the reporter out to his rental car and hugged him, thanking him for everything. Nosh saw no reason they might meet again so he made his words count.

“You feel like the daughter I never had. I am so proud of what you’ve done. If your actions with Runner are any indication of motherhood, I hope to live long enough to see your kids cure cancer and win the Nobel prize. Goodbye Claire, and thank you for the interview.”

Motherhood? What an odd thing to say, she decided and waved goodbye.

Claire walked back into the house feeling her mood turn dark when she looked at the ugly furniture she and Jamie had failed to replace. She wished for a happy feeling when she opened the door to their home and hated this furniture even more after the fire. A call to the Salvation Army to pick up a high-end living room set pushed her to the front of the line. They would pick it up this afternoon. When the living room was empty, she called Jamie and asked if he could finish early because there wasn’t a chair or couch to sit on anymore. They needed to visit the furniture stores in town.

Claire got dressed up with straight hair and makeup because it felt like a special trip, something to be remembered. They would finally take ownership of their space and rid the memory of the most heinous woman on earth. With only one week until Christmas, she was excited.

Jamie watched a beautiful, confident woman walk toward him when he came home. He looked at her long pretty hair, short dress, and high heels, feeling his stomach do flips.

“Yer beautiful Sassenach, and our living room is empty sure enough.”

“You have ten minutes James Fraser.”

[vikingpoteto]

the curse of cousin Chad

Read on AO3

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Relationships:  GEN. Tim Drake & Jason Todd & Stephanie Brown

Summary: Tim Drake's only wish is for people to stop talking about Red Robin on the news (and a monkey's paw finger curls somewhere as Chad Wayne shows up in their lives.)

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Red Robin had been better, but he had been worse too.

After Batgirl helps him sit down, he stops for a second and decides that he probably doesn’t have any broken bones, just more than a few bruises forming. Batgirl all but falls by his side, exhausted, and judging by the groan she lets out she must be just as sore. Still, she extends her fist for a bump and he grins as he obliges.

“Well, no one got shot or stabbed, so that’s a win on my book,” Red Robin says.

“That and we put away a dangerous gang that had been terrorizing the locals for months,” she reminds him.

“Yeah, that too.”

He glances around and decides the building they chose is tall enough that they can relax for a bit. He pulls down his cowl. Tim lets out a long relieved sigh when the cold night air touches his face. Batgirl follows his cue, even if she struggles with her hair for a bit to do so. The two of them let their legs dangle from the edge of the rooftop, unbothered by the height, their gazes on the sky.

Heavy footsteps approach the young vigilantes from behind, but neither Tim nor Steph worries, because they’re familiar with the sound. As expected, a third vigilante soon enough takes the spot by Steph’s other side, his helmet already under his arm and his face mask free.

“You two look really beaten considering you weren’t fighting alone tonight,” Jason says.

Steph flips him off.

Tim rolls his eyes. “There were a lot of weaklings, okay? Sometimes that’s more annoying than one strong guy.”

“If you say so.”

“How about your night?” Steph asks casually.

“Kicked some ass, shot the kneecaps of the most stubborn ones. All in a night’s work.”

They nod and resume watching the sky for a brief peaceful moment. So high above they can barely hear the sounds of sirens and late night traffic on the streets.

Then Steph sits up so fast she almost slips down the edge. Tim and Jason grab her shoulders by reflex and pull her back at the same time.

Ignoring the fact that she almost died, Steph shouts: “What time is it?”

“Hm... about 2am?” Tim checks his wrist pad. “Yeah, 2:35.”

“Oh my God!” She groans, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. “We missed the countdown by, like, a lot! How did we not hear the fireworks?”

“Gunshots?” Jason suggests.

“Fireworks and gunshots don’t sound the same, we all know the difference.”

Tim rolls his eyes, because this is so them. Of course they’d miss the start of the new year because they were busy fighting crime. Steph and Tim were even planning on going to WE’s New Year’s party together after what was supposed to be a super quick patrol, just to stop a few muggers, really . Tim is glad they did, even if Lucius is going to scold him on Monday. He hates those parties.

“Well, I have a little something here to celebrate,” Jason says with a crooked grin.

He turns his helmet upside down, revealing a bottle of booze. Of course the dramatic bitch had it hidden, just waiting for the right moment to reveal it. Steph whoops excitedly.

“Jason, you’re my hero! I mean… B is gonna kill us if he finds we were drinking in uniform, but it’s not like he’ll find out, right?”

Jason hands the bottle to Tim first, his smile positively wicked. Having been given this sort of gift from Jason before, Tim rolls his eyes and takes a generous chug without hesitation. His eyes tear up a bit at the taste when he passes the bottle to Steph.

She happily drinks straight from the bottle like Tim had… Then she freezes.

"Jason?"

“Yeah, Steph?”

“What the heck is this?”

“Spinach and lettuce juice. Timmy needs those antibodies."

"Jason, why are you like this?

"You didn’t think I was giving you guys alcohol, did you? You two are minors.”

Tim grins. He can tell Steph is trying to decide whether to throw the bottle overboard or at Jason’s head.

Before she decides, he turns his gaze back to the sky and asks: “You guys made any New Year’s wishes?”

“Resolutions,” Steph corrects. “Wishes are for birthdays.”

Jason makes a high-pitched voice, “wow, look at me, I’m Stephanie Brown, my mom loves me so much she celebrated my birthday!”

Tim laughs. “Geez, I’ll drink to that.”

There are no words to describe the horror in Steph’s face when he takes back the bottle and drinks a little more of the green juice.

He simply shrugs. “It’s an acquired taste.”

Deciding it’s not worth the trouble, Steph shakes her head and says, “I’m keeping it simple this year. My only resolution is to pass all my classes for once in my life. What about you, Jay?”

“I don’t do that corny shit.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“I know you guys like corny shit.”

“We’ve seen you cry over Jane Austen, your edgelord bullcrap doesn’t work on us,” Steph says. When Jason tries to protest that his eyes were just tearing up from yawning, she turns to Tim: “What about you? Any New Year wishes?”

“Just one, too,” Tim says. “I wanna make sure every non-criminal forgets Red Robin ever existed.”

Jason and Steph snort.

“I’m serious. No more shipping me with my family, no more stalkers. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure no reporter writes the words ‘Red Robin’ ever again.”

“Good luck with that, Timbers.”

Tim drinks his lettuce juice in silence. He hands the bottle back to Jason. Steph pretends to gag when he also takes a long sip. Despite their incredulity, Tim is feeling positive about his goal. He feels like after the Red Twins craze died down, people lost interest in him. He thinks he can pull it off.

If only he knew.

Tim almost never visits the manor anymore. He’s been to the Batcave once or twice on the past few months, but the house itself… he doesn’t even remember the last time. He decides to stop by on a rare free afternoon, hoping Duke and Cass will be around. If not, seeing Alfred outside the cave and having a cup of tea with him was more than enough.

He lets himself in, because he knows it makes Alfred begrudgingly happy when any of the kids acts as though they still live there rather than politely ringing the bell. It also makes Damian mad, which is always a plus.

Hearing voices from the living room, Tim heads straight there, excited that there’s someone home. His smile freezes on his face. Whatever he was expecting to see, it wasn’t… that.

Bruce is sitting near the fireplace pinching the bridge of his nose as he does when his children are fighting among themselves. On the opposite couch is none other than Jason being embraced by a complete stranger that is currently sobbing into his shoulder.

Jason’s gaze meet Tim’s in what is clearly a plea for help. All Tim can do is mouth who the hell is that? to which Jason mouths back I have no fucking idea.

“Would you look at that, Tim’s here,” Bruce says. Tim has the feeling he’s trying to save Jason.

The sniffling stranger pulls back and turns around. “Oh god. You’re a man now, Timmy! Last time I saw you, you were just a tiny kid!”

To Tim’s complete horror, the man stands and comes hug him tightly.

“Uh… ”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” the man gives a watery chuckle “of course you don’t remember me. You were a basically a toddler and I was also a kid when I last saw you. I’m Chad, your father’s cousin.”

“Oh. You’re…”

“I mean, Bruce's cousin. I knew Jack, though. He was good people.”

“Bruce’s cousin. Hm. So your name is Chad Wayne, huh?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing,” Tim pretends not to see Jason hide a snicker into his hand. “Sounds… cool.”

“Chad is visiting Gotham for a couple of weeks,” Bruce tells him. “He just graduated from college in Central City and decided it was a good idea to visit old relatives. It was such a great surprise when he arrived.”

“Right,” Chad wipes the tears from his face, “and I happened to run right into Jason here and oof. Saying I was surprised doesn’t cover it.”

His jovial laughter is so genuine that it’s almost unsettling.

“Oh. You… You know Jason."

“Yeah, man. My family was in a year long trip to Africa, so we didn’t hear about his death until a long time had passed. My parents were crushed that they couldn’t be there for Brucie then. Bruce was telling me about how you guys got him back. Nothing short of a miracle, huh?”

“A miracle,” Jason echoes.

Chad scratches his own nape, finally looking appropriately embarrassed. “Sorry I got so emotional, Jason. I almost didn’t recognize you, you got so jacked , man. I guess I have a good memory for faces.”

He speaks so fast. Steph always complains that Tim speaks too fast whenever he is in the zone and caffeinated, but that was nothing compared to Chad’s rambling.

“Oh well. C'mere, Tim, sit with us, let me get to know you guys. Even if I’m your father’s cousin, I guess I’m closer in age to you two ahaha...”

Tim is known for being a quick thinker, but something about Chad’s khaki shorts and how out of place they look in Gotham stuns him into inaction. He lets Chad drag him to the couch and doesn’t say anything else on pure fear that the guy is about to do it to ‘em.

“Actually,” Jason stands, “Tim is here to pick me up. We have this, hm, doctor’s appointment. To check my… eyes. Yeah, my eyes. Tim’s gonna drive me.”

“Oh, that’s alright, we can talk more when you two come back.”

“Back?” Tim parrots.

“Actually, Chad, Jason and Tim don’t live in the manor,” Bruce says. “They share an apartment around downtown.”

For the first time, Chad drops his too-blessed-to-be-stressed smile and frowns. “What? Why? I thought you guys just got Jason back. Shouldn’t he stay with you, Bruce?”

“Actually, that’s a funny story,” Jason says, taking Tim by the arm. “I’m sure Bruce will love to tell you all about it. I can’t be late for my appointment, isn’t that right, lil' bro?”

“Uh… Yeah. Being dead made his insurance skyrocket and the cancelation fees are a nightmare.”

“Hm-hum, all that. See you around and stuff.” Jason is holding Tim’s arm with such force that it’ll bruise for sure. They’re still on the way to the door when he hisses: “ Get me out of here right now.”

“But I didn’t even see Alfred,” he whispers back.

“ Now, Timothy ! ”

They don’t stop powerwalking until they’re in the car. Jason doesn’t bother going back for his bike and Tim makes a mental note to ask Cass to bring it back to their place later.

For a second, they just breathe Gotham’s polluted air to remind themselves they’re still home and not in a Disney sitcom.

That’s when Jason starts ranting. Apparently he was on the way to the kitchen to get just a bowl of cereal when he walked into Alfred getting the door open for cousin Chad. Alfred had said "Master Jason, I didn’t know you were here" and cousin Chad recognized him and started losing it. Bruce didn’t let Jason kill him, unfortunately, but managed to pull a story out of his ass about Jason coming back from the dead after someone from the Justice League messed up the timeline or something like that. The official story is that they found Jason just a couple of weeks ago and are still working out the kinks of having a family member return from the grave. Except Jason’s speech was a lot more convoluted and involved a lot of curse words and shakespearean insults.

“...and I didn’t even get my freaking cereal!” he finishes, just as Tim parks in front of their home.

“Well. That was an afternoon you just had,” Tim says. Jason huffs and gruffs on the way to the elevator. Tim waits until the doors close to say: “Bruce didn’t pull that story out of his ass, by the way.”

Jason frowns. “What?”

“Your cover story,” Tim clarifies. “He had it for years. I know everything about it if you want the details. He asked me for feedback when he was figuring how to make it believable and whatnot.”

“What? When? Why?”

“As soon as we found out you were alive. He wanted to be ready in case you decided to officially join the family again. It took a few days of work, but the plan exists and is ready to go whenever.”

Jason doesn’t say anything. Tim had expected that, so he allows him to mull over the newfound knowledge. He also expects Jason to head straight for the kitchen, which he does, and Tim follows his brother closely, not commenting on the tension of his shoulders or the way his jaw is set tight enough to crack a few teeth.

When his brother just stands near the sink apparently unsure of what to do with himself, Tim gets milk from the fridge and starts preparing a bowl of cereal.

“What were you doing there, anyway?”

“I went to see Alfred,” Jason mumbles. “But he was busy, so I was… I was talking to Bruce for a bit.”

“Oh?”

Jason grabs the bowl Tim is offering him. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Shut up.” And Jason stomps his way to his room, slamming the door after him.

When Steph shows up after class, Tim tells her not to bother him.

WAYNE FAMILY

Tim: @Bruce so wats his deal

Bruce: Dear Tim, what do you mean by that? sincerely, Bruce Wayne.

Tim: chad

Tim: whats his night persona

Tim: his masked name

Bruce: Tim, Chad is not a vigilante. sincerely, Bruce Wayne

Dick: shoot

Dick: he’s a villain???

Bruce: Dear Dick, Chad is not a villain either. He’s just a civillian. sincerely, Bruce Wayne.

Duke: dont he want to avenge his parents?

Bruce: Dear Duke, His parents are alive and well. They’re international activists currently on a mission to feed the poor somewhere in South America. sincerely, Bruce Wayne.

Damian: That means he’s must be a sleeper agent of sorts. I’ll collect some of his DNA for examination. Drake, I trust you’ll do a thorough check on his background, official and otherwise.

Tim: on it

Bruce: Damian, if you get your second-cousin’s DNA to run tests, your weekend at the Kent farm is permanently cancelled.

Jason: so b you admit you text like it’s a business email just to fuck with us, huh?

Bruce: Dear Jason, Mind your language in front of your little brothers. Sometimes I’ll sacrifice the format for the sake of speed. Regardless, this is the ideal way of writing a text message. sincerely, Bruce Wayne.

Bruce: @everyone Chad will be staying with us for a few weeks. He’s just a regular civilian with no tragic backstory, no metapowers and no secret identity. I expect all of you to behave like Alfred taught you and hide your secret identities like I trained you to. No one will investigate him or do anything to compromise our identities. Is that clear? Awaiting confirmation, Bruce Wayne

Cass: weird

Bruce: Dearest Cass, It’s not weird. Civilians exist. Sincerely, Bruce Wayne

Tim: not in our family they dnt!!!

Tim: cmon b you cant tell me s not suspicious!!!!!

Bruce: It is not.

Alfred: Master Bruce already checked his DNA for metagenes and ran a thorough background check with the help of miss Barbara. Unfortunately, Master Chad is clear.

Cass: weeeeeiiiiird

Tim decides to avoid Wayne manor for the foreseeable future. Instead, he buys Alfred’s favorite brand of tea and wonders if he can convince the butler to come over to stay with them for an afternoon or perhaps the whole weekend. Tim is more than willing to share the couch with Steph and let Alfred have his bed. He puts the tea away with a passive aggressive note letting Jason and Steph know that tea is to be saved for Alfred.

Jason is in the living room cleaning one of his guns while Steph does her homework on the carpet by his feet, meaning is just an afternoon like any other for them.

Tim has to remind himself of her resolution before he gives in the temptation of asking her to go patrolling with him. The thing is that his resolution is a lot easier to pursue when Batgirl is around, because she can deal with the civilians after the fact while Red Robin vanishes as soon as the criminals are in cuffs.

Alas. Working alone can be fun, too, he tells himself.

Before he heads out to get his suit, however, the buzzer sounds. He hears Steph cheering and saying something about pizza.

Then a voice that makes Tim freeze in horror.

“Oh, hey. I must have the wrong apartment. Is this Tim and Jason Wayne’s place?”

“Uhhhh…”

He runs so fast Bart would be proud, hoping he can sign at Steph to send him away before he sees them, but it’s too late. Tim rushes only to find out that, in all the glory of his khaki shorts and boat shoes, Chad Wayne is already inside his apartment.

Tim is very aware that Jason is frozen on the couch right behind him, still holding a gun.

“Chad! What a surprise!”

“Hey, Timbo!” Chad grins, looking genuinely happy to see him. “Damian told me you wouldn’t be working tonight and then he gave me your address!”

Why, god? Why hadn’t Tim killed Damian when he had the chance?

“And who is this lovely young woman?” He asks. “If she isn’t spoken for, I might want to steal her for me.”

“I’m his ex, actually, and I sort of live here.” Steph offers her hand. “I speak for myself.”

Instead of shaking her hand, Chad brings her fingers to his lips and gives them an excuse of a kiss. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma damme .”

Steph’s smile is too wide to be natural and her eyes look like they’re about to jump out of the sockets. Like the rest of the family, she seems to struggle to believe this guy is real. Tim can’t save her, he just wishes Jason would put away his things while cousin Chad is busy with Steph.

“So, Chad, it’s so nice to see you, but uhhh... What are you doing here?”

“Well, since you guys never go over I had to come see you! And trust me, I get it , when I let my folks’ place to go to college, I wanted to spend even the breaks at my frat house. Anyway, I thought I’d come here, we can order some take out and…”

His eyes finally find Jason and he freezes. “...is that a gun?”

Crap, poop, turd, crap,  crapcrapcrapcrap-

“Uhhh… yeah?”

In the same way when he heard that Jason doesn’t live with Bruce, Chad’s positive vibes vanish and he looks distraught.

“Guys… does Bruce know about that?”

Before anyone can stop him, Chad walks in like he owns the place and takes the seat by Jason’s side. Tim and Steph exchange a panicked look, both praying that the gun isn’t easy to assemble or at least that Jason doesn’t have any ammo within arms reach. The two hurry to join them, Steph dropping on the couch and casually leaning against Jason in a position that allows her to hold his arm should he decide to throw Chad out. Tim takes the arm of the couch closer to Chad, ready to pick him up and throw him away himself if he says something stupid.

“We keep it here for safety,” Jason says simply.

“Okay. Oof.” Chad reaches for Jason’s shoulder. “Look, I get it. Gotham is dangerous. But having a gun at home is more of a hazard than anything else, Jace. Can I call you Jace?”

“No.”

“Look, I’m an only son, but if I had a little brother like Tim, I’d want to show him a good example, you know? And guns are not the solution. Do you genuinely think you could shoot someone? I don’t think so. I served the army and there we learn that shooting a person is harder than you can imagine."

Tim can see Steph discreetly pinching Jason’s thigh to keep him in check. Jason looks like he’s asking himself if he’s in the Twilight zone.

There is a beat of silence and Jason opens his mouth. Tim braces himself. Before disaster hits, Steph blurts:

“Actually, that’s why Jason’s here.”

Fortunately, Chad doesn’t notice Jason’s and Tim’s perplexed faces because he’s focused on Steph again.

“Of course Bruce hates guns with his parents and all that,” she frowns sympathetically. “But… Chad, Jason died. Of course he’s getting therapy, but he still needs something to feel safe at least at home. Isn’t that right, Jay?”

She gently rubs his arm. Jason knows Steph enough to recognize the play along or you’re dead in her falsely upset expression.

“Uh… Right. That. I moved in with Tim because, uh, I know Bruce is weird with guns." Another pinch to his thigh. Clearly in a begrudging voice, he adds: "And I super agree with him. I mean, what if Damian found it?”

“God, no,” Tim deadpans. “I don’t want to even imagine Damian with a gun.”

“But Tim and he knows he's not to mess with it,” Jason adds.

“Bruce told me you’re here you and him are a bit at odds, but he didn’t tell me you fought over you having a gun.”

“Bruce doesn’t know and you can’t tell him,” Tim cuts in. Batman is definitely going to forget his no-killing rule if he finds out they let cousin Chad see Red Hood’s gun. “Please, Chad. I promise you we’re careful. We’re just trying to make the best out of a difficult situation.”

Tim hopes the mention that this is a touchy subject will deter Chad. He forgets to take in consideration that Chad thinks they’re his family despite him knowing literally nothing about them. He is under the very wrong impression that he's allowed to talk to them about personal shit. Which is great. This is just great.

“If it makes you feel better, this is temporary,” Jason says. “I talked to my, uh, my therapist about it and he cleared me to have the gun. When I start, you know, getting over the death trauma, I’ll get rid of it.”

“Right,” Steph nods eagerly. “We’re planning on throwing a party when we reach that point and everything.”

The three of them wait with baited breath as Chad considers their excuses, his expression somber. Then Chad opens his arms and pulls Tim and Jason into a triple hug.

“I get it,” he says in a hoarse voice he probably finds cool. “You do what you have to do to cope, man. Bruce told me you’re brave and I can see that’s true. And you, ” he squeezes Tim, “I heard from Dickie that you’re a little prodigy, but I’m so proud of you for being there for your brother!”

God, he has so many feelings. Tim promises himself he’ll never complain about Dick being clingy again. Dick has a Batman level of emotional constipation if compared to this guy.

“Right,” Jason pulls himself free from the hug. “I’m gonna put this away, alright?”

He gathers his cleaning supplies and the spare parts spread across the coffee table and takes it to his room. His expression says he's still trying to figure out what that was.

“But, Timbo…”

“Just Tim is fine.”

“I thought you didn’t know Jason before his death? Bruce adopted you kind of recently, didn’t he?”

“Uhhh… I don’t know what to tell you. Jason and I hit it off and became friends fast,” Tim says. “I mean, at first he hated me enough to want to slit my throat…”

“Wow, alright,” Jason interrupts as he returns, a pout on his lips. “I see we’re very comfortable joking about my early… grumpiness. It’s not something I feel guilt or still have nightmares about at all”

Tim almost snorts at that. “Like I was saying, we got better.”

Chad nods thoughtfully and leans back to be more comfortable, nothing about his body language suggesting he might be getting ready to leave.

“So!” Steph claps her hands together. “Thank you for understanding, Chad. Now maybe let's talk about something lighter, shall we?”

And that’s what they do, with some sttrugle. At first, Chad seems too upset to talk about anything and Steph has to use all of her charm to get him to forget about the fantastic start of his visit. Jason helps by making sarcastic remarks that almost sound genuine and Tim… Tim can’t do much.

He texts Cass and she agrees to take his patrol duty for the night. Tim considered making up an emergency at WE and going out anyway, but in the end he decided that was unfair to the others.

He also sends a message chewing on Damian for sending Chad his way without a warning. No one ever visits Tim’s apartment other than his family and his hero friends, so they could have been in full uniform in the middle of the living room. Damian responds with a dismissive text filled with words that Tim doesn’t know. Tim threatens to break all of his crayons and puts his phone away

By this point, Chad is a bit more like himself again and Tim almost wishes he stayed distressed, because the rest of the night is painfully weird. To avoid more awkward conversation, Jason puts on a random horror movie for them. Chad comments on how impressive it is that none of them seems to mind the gore. He squeals and groans and gives Steph a horrified look when she simply keeps eating her pepperoni pizza as though nothing of note is happening on the screen.

The thing is that the movie’s gore is decidedly inaccurate to the point that they barely recognize it for what it's supposed to be. Besides it’s nothing worse than some wounds they’d either suffered or seen as vigilantes.

Maybe it’s because Tim didn’t get the adrenaline he expected from patrol, but he ends up falling asleep on Jason’s shoulder during the climax of the second movie.

He wakes up alone on the couch with a blanket half-thrown over his legs. It's still the middle of the night and he has half a mind to go to his room before he hears muffled voices from the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes, he follows the sound without thinking much.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Steph greets him.

She and Jason apparently are building a castle of Uno cards in the middle of the kitchen table.

Tim joins them. “It’s 3am.”

“Witching hour,” Jason mumbles.

Steph gestures at the castle and offers Tim a card. He takes it.

“It was a dirty trick to fall asleep like that,” she tells him. “You missed the selfie party to celebrate the first time he visited Jace and Timbo.”

Tim groans. “He stayed long?”

“Too long.” Jason adds another pair of cards to the castle. “I think I have a headache and the Lazarus pit is supposed to make you immune to headaches.”

“That's what I was telling Jason before you got here, Tim. We’re socially capable, right?”

“Hmmm… Right, I guess.”

“How come we couldn’t get rid of him? Why were we so lost while we were, like, just hanging out with him? Is everyone outside of Gotham like that?”

Part of Tim is relieved that Steph hates Chad too. He thought he and Jason had finally caught Batman’s moodiness, but Steph is one of the most cheerful people he knows and her dry sense of humor and quick quips are a lot more bearable than cousin Chad’s peppy attitude.

The other part of him…

“I think it’s less about him not being from Gotham and more about him being a civilian,” Jason says.

The castle falls. None of them reacts.

“That can’t be right,” Steph says. “We have civilian friends and they’re not like that.”

“Do we?”

“Yeah! Jason-- Hm. Tim has Tam… Oh, forget it, she’s not talking to him again. I have Francisco and- I just remembered he’s the son of a gangster.” Steph pauses. “Huh. Do we seriously not know any civilians?”

They don’t. Not on a friendly level, at least.

Tim had considered that before, but he didn't want to think about it. It was weird he was so distant from a normal life that he felt unsettled by it. Not bad. Just weird. If he hadn’t found out Batman’s and Robin’s identities, would he grow up to be a Chad? Finishing high school, living in a frat house in college, and all that? Would he still be a Drake, neighbor to the Waynes?

He loves all of his siblings and Bruce and Alfred and he doesn’t want to consider a life without them.

However.

In a world without Batman. Bruce would still be a good man. He still wouldn’t hesitate in adopting an orphaned circus boy. He would probably also adopt the little shit that tried to steal his not-batmobile tires. If by a miracle he also adopted the boy next door that tragically lost his parents and a girl from a very broken family and a young boy whose parents couldn’t be there for him anymore. His gremlin of a biological son would have grown up beloved and incapable of harming anyone, let alone assassinating a person.

He remembers the plan to bring Jason back to the world of the living and how easy it had been for him and Bruce to put it together and make it seem believable, because in their world it was believable and it could have been the truth.

If Jason Wayne, a regular boy, son of a regular man, had been killed in a freak criminal act and brought back to life thanks to superhero shenanigans, all of them would have been there for him. Jason wouldn’t resent his father for not killing his murderers, because that wasn’t a possibility, and they’d find a way to get him to overcome the effects of the trauma. Bruce certainly wouldn’t spare effort or money to get his son back to full health.

If Stephanie’s father hadn’t been a super criminal, Tim’s first girlfriend wouldn’t hit him in the face with a brick on their first meeting. She would have been a normal girl with a normal life and she could even run into him at school. There is no doubt in his mind that he would have found and made Steph his friend no matter the universe, except… would he?

In that reality, he didn’t know what gore looked like. He would get too upset to function for half an hour at the mere sight of a gun. He’d visit relatives unannounced and the worst thing that could happen was to find them heading out as he arrives. He draws the line at the khakis and boat shoes, because he doesn’t think he’d wear those in any universe, but still.

That would not be Timothy Drake-Wayne. Tim had seen his own internal organs before. Tim’s not only unfazed by fire guns but also built some for his older brother. Tim is fully aware that visiting any of his siblings might mean walking into a ninja fight at worst and finding them pretending to drive the batmobile at best.

Steph and Jason don’t say anything for a while and Tim could easily blame it on the fact that it’s almost 4am and they have yet to sleep, but he knows it’s because they’re reaching the same conclusion he did: they’re not normal people. They always knew that, but knowing something and seeing evidence are two different things.

And again… it’s not bad. It’s not that Tim wouldn’t change anything about the past, it’s just that he doesn’t regret the life he lead up until this point.

It’s still weird. Too weird.

BABS

Babs: The red dynamic duo ship is back with a vengeance, huh?

Babs sent you a link.

Tim had never had a panic attack. Considering the life he leads, that’s a pretty surprising thing. However, that text from a woman he considers part of his family kicks his fight-or-flight instinct like nothing in the world could. He clicks on it. He reads the article.

He screams into a pillow for about ten minutes.

Jason and Steph find him lying face down on the floor trying to get his phone’s AI to buy him a ticket to Smallville. He's sure Conner will take him in. He’ll work at the farm. He’ll stop being Red Robin. He doesn’t care.

It’s an article from a teen magazine.

TIM WAYNE AND MYSTERY MAN?

Ah, the Wayne Family. Our favorite and most iconic family of Gotham. Timothy Drake-Wayne (18), or Tim, how he prefers to be called, has been under our radar for quite a while and not just because of his cute face. The young CEO of Wayne Enterprises and heir to Drake Industries is smart, rich and incredibly charming if the rumors are true. That being said, the question we’re all asking is: how is this boy still single?

Little to nothing is known about Tim Wayne’s love life and we were all crazy to know if he is in the market for a girlfriend.

Well, ladies, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Tim Wayne might have a special someone. Nothing is confirmed yet, but Chad Wayne (26), Tim’s adoptive father’s cousin, shared a rather interesting picture on his snapchat.

[IMAGE]

Once we got over how freaking hot Chad is looking, we noticed something in the background. Right behind Chad, we can barely see someone that looks exactly like Tim Wayne fast asleep on the shoulder of a real heartthrob. Our suspicions were confirmed by Chad’s caption that said “visiting the little cousins���!

It’s a well-known fact that Tim Wayne is openly bisexual, so could this be his boyfriend? Or are they just dudes being bros, unbothered by toxic masculinity? Only time will tell.

THE BIRDNEST

spoiler alert sent a screenshot.

spoiler alert: lmao

WonderWing: … ok first I thought it was funny but now I’m concerned

WonderWing: do I need to talk to them?

WonderWing: do I need to talk our dad???

In the hood: WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO US?

In the hood: WHY IS ANYONE SEEN NEAR THIS DAMN KID AUTOMATICALLY HIS SIGNIFICANT OTHER??

send me a Signal: scratch that what is this openly bisexual business?

send me a Signal: I mean we know hes bi but hes not that vocal bout it?

spoiler alert: lmao tell em dick

WonderWing: lololol when he was like 12 there were rumors that Jack Drake’s son was gay right?

WonderWing: high society trashy gossip

WonderWing: around the same time his mom thought it was a good idea to let him be interviewed for this random magazine

WonderWing: they mentioned the rumors prolly because they wanted him to like say something motivational about bullying or wtv

send me a Signal: i think i know where this is going

send me a Signal: what did he say?

spoiler alert: i like my men how i like my women

send me a Signal: of course he did

spoiler alert: yeah and he wasnt out to his parnts yet so that part is less fun

send me a Signal: oof

In the hood: are you kidding me? Tim came out to the whole world because he couldn’t stop himself from making a dumb bi joke? Why can’t he stay in the closet like the rest of us?

Boss A$$ Bat: Bi rights

WonderWing: steph did you change cass nickname again

spoiler alert: ye

Boss A$$ Bat: I like it (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

send me a Signal: wait tims too quiet where is he

in the Hood: Steph took away his phone because he kept trying to book a flight to Smallville to become a farmer.

send me a Signal: of course. why wouldnt he.

Chad apologizes profusely for not noticing Tim and Jason were on that shot, but thankfully he does it over the phone so Tim can hang up halfway through his heartfelt apology.

The kids that still live in the manor aren't so lucky.

Tim gets a stream of facetimes from Duke, Cass and even Damian. Apparently Chad won't stop asking Cass to speak up, because she can, why bother with this weird sign stuff? (Cass stops Duke from hitting him.) He insists on asking Damian to play football with him until Damian knocked him out with a ball to the face. Bruce forced Damian to pretend he dislocated his shoulder on the stunt to prevent further invitations. Even though Duke is, by all means, perfect, Chad keeps stalking him and asking about his opinions on his siblings and if he thinks Bruce is doing the best job on raising them. The answers never satisfy him and he keeps asking as though he thinks the boy will change his mind if caught by surprise. Duke starts using his powers to jump out of the window whenever Chad is about to walk into the room until he lands on Alfred's roses. The fact that the butler isn't mad, just disappointed causes Duke to stop his daring escapes.

Bruce, despite his cool facade, isn't much better. He now has to keep his public persona at home too and, when it isn't driving him insane, he is being annoyed by his children exchanging weird looks and holding back giggles while he plays the himbo part.

Long story short, Chad is making a few days feel like torturing years.

The breaking point is the day Tim walks into his living room only to find Steph and Damian sitting on the couch facing each other while she dutifully paints his nails black.

“What is happening?” Tim asks. “Did I fall into a parallel Earth?”

“Tt, do not concern yourself with us, Drake. I’m here for Brown, not for you.”

Steph smirks at him.

“What the- Okay, first of all this apartment is mine and Jason’s. Steph doesn’t live here. Sometimes. Second… Since when do you get along with Steph?”

“I tolerate her.”

“What the hell? That’s like I love you in Gremlin language! Since when did you get Damian?”

Her smirk widens and Tim more or less expects her to do a little victory dance. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. I’m just irresistible.”

“Hm.” Tim turns to Damian. “Chad drove you out of the house and Bruce didn’t let you go to Dick's place in Bludhaven, right?”

“Father says I cannot miss school.”

“Great. If you’re going to become our second unofficial roommate, please stay away from Jason’s pots. He says he has a system and he's a nightmare when we mess with them.”

“I would never spend more time than necessary in your disgusting nest.”

“You’re literally on my couch! Letting my best friend paint your nails! You freaking pest!”

And Damian isn’t the only one.

Cass used to come over regularly, but the frequency of her visits increases dramatically now that Chad is staying at the manor. She isn’t bad to be around, though, as she mostly keeps training in the basement or napping on the couch that Steph is more than happy to share with her. When Tim asks why she doesn’t simply stay in the Batcave, Cass tells him Bruce is keeping their time at the cave to a minimum because Chad noticed sometimes they vanish even if all cars were in the garage.

Chad is also painfully public. He’s constantly tweeting and updating his Instagram and making sure everyone and their mother knows what he’s doing, who’s with him and where they are. That makes it difficult to kick him out without drawing attention. Gotham's elite is a nest of gossip and intrigue and people ought to ask uncomfortable questions if a rich guy sends a rich relative away for seemingly no reason. Bruce might be the most private person in the world, but Brucie Wayne is supposed to be a fun-loving man.

Cass convinces Tim not to make much fun of Bruce, because apparently, after Chad posted a picture of him and Bruce trying to bake and Brucie is wearing an apron that says “Kiss the Bat!”, Superman himself called him only to laugh for ten minutes. Tim Supposes that’s punishment enough.

When Duke is the one seeking shelter, it isn’t as fun. As much as Tim likes the guy, he’s a chronic worrier in a completely different way of Tim. He wants to make sure they're all living healthy lives and eating properly and, for some reason, whether Steph and Jason are bullying Tim. He question things such as the fact that Steph is ruining her back on the couch, Tim’s habit of leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight and the lack of the right brands of food, whatever that means. Tim gets tired of it pretty fast, but he also finds that being unnecessarilly dark is a efficient way to get Duke to shut up.

“So Steph basically moved in, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you guys share the rent or…?”

“I own the building, Duke.”

“Right. So she doesn’t pay any bills.”

“She kills bugs for us sometimes. She buys candy, too.”

"Does Jason pay bills?"

"He does. We split it evenly between the two of us."

"Huh. Where does he get any money?"

"Don't know. Don't care."

"Is Bruce okay with that?"

"If Bruce wanted to have a say in my life he shouldn't have died and forced me to get emancipated."

"... Tim, I love you so much, man, but sometimes it's hard to be your brother."

"I know, Duke. I love you too, Duke."

One night, he comes back from patrol and he finds all of his siblings literally camping in the living room. Someone even built a pillow fort by tying a preposterous amount of blankets to the porch door and the TV stand. Too tired to care, Tim turns to his room.

“Good night, Jay. Good night, Steph. Good night, parasites that do not live here.”

“You take back those words on this instant, Drake,” Damian hisses, but fortunately someone (Steph) tucked him too tightly into his sleeping bag, so there’s nothing he can do but wiggle around like an angry worm.

“Why are we parasites?” Duke asks from his air mattress. “I’ve done the dishes. That’s more than what Steph does.”

“Good night, Tim,” Cass says from… somewhere. They know she found a place to sleep. They don’t know where it is.

DAD

Tim: brus pls get rid of him

Dad: I can’t, Tim, it’d be suspicious to kick out a relative for no reason.

Tim: every1 is living at my place bc of him

Tim: even damian

Tim: do u kno how insuferable a man has to be that damian would rather spend time with jason and i

Dad: If everyone being at your place is bothering you so much, why don’t you invite Chad?

Tim: … no. ur not pushing him to me.

Dad: Chad and you are close in age, aren’t you? You could get along if you tried.

Tim: i 19! he 26!

Dad: Jason is 22 and he’s your best friend.

Tim: conner is my best friend

Tim: jason is a partner in crime at best

Dad: If you’re able to think of something to shorten Chad’s visit, I’m all ears. I admit it’s inconvenient to have him here. Otherwise, I think spending time with your siblings will do you some good.

Tim: i hate you

Dad: Alright, Tim.

Tim: … ok that was a lie and im sorry i love u bruss

Dad: I love you too, Tim.

One day, Tim goes to the kitchen for a mug of coffee and finds Barbara comfortably working on her laptop.

“...you don’t even live at the manor.”

“Hm? Oh, I’m not avoiding cousin Chad, Steph just invited me over for waffles.”

Tim just takes his coffee and leaves without saying anything else.

And then shit finally hits the fan.

Because Tim isn’t an idiot like Bruce, he didn’t make his public persona something that would be painful for him to play. As far as Gotham’s society knows, Tim Drake-Wayne is a calm and collected young man, work-driven and not too ill-mannered for a rich boy, which isn’t as different from the real Tim. Real Tim is an overworked ball of anxiety that appears to be a calm and collected young man, so no one is surprised when he doesn’t acknowledge the rumors about him and the mysterious man.

At least not until a son of a bitch with too much free time decides to ruin his brother’s life on twitter.

@earthnotflatffs101 yo don’t this dude with tim drake low key look like jason todd?

And the motherfucker even dared to repost Chad’s selfie and an old picture of a 13 year-old Jason walking alongside Bruce.

Of course the tweet goes viral.

Everyone starts talking about the eerie resemblance between Tim’s buddy and his deceased brother that he supposedly never met. Some find it tasteless that everyone is making a conspiracy theory out of an allegedly dead child, but they are quickly overpowered by the wave of old gossip being revisited. It takes one Sunday afternoon for everyone to start pointing out how weird it is that Tim Drake left the Wayne manor seemingly out of the blue and started living by himself at such a young age and how my sense it’d make for him to share a place with a brother. They notice Chad captioned the picture as "visiting the cousins" plural even if it's public knowledge that Tim Drake- Wayne lives alone. People start demanding to know who is the mystery man lending his shoulder to Tim, tagging the few Waynes with known social media in their posts and even WE corporate account.

It’s the very definition of a shit show, in Tim’s humble opinion.

Red Robin and Batgirl skip their Sunday patrol to brainstorm ideas of damage control. Damian is pacing around the kitchen as the two of them desperately try to apply an algorithm Oracle made to make sure less people will see posts about Jason Todd. There’s not a lot they can do about the fact that #IsJasonToddAlive? is trending. They’re so distressed that Damian forgets to be unpleasant.

“I see no other option,” Damian says at some point. “We should kill that man before he ruins our family any further.”

“How would killing him solve anything?” Tim groans.

“It would make me feel better.”

“No.”

“His death would cause people to forget about Todd.”

“... Go on.”

“Tim, you’re not going to let Dami kill Chad.”

“Why not!”

“Because with our track record he’s going to come back with radioactive powers or some shit.”

“That would be good! He’d finally fit in with the family! As it is now, we’re becoming the freaking Kardashians with a hint conspiracy theory, Steph!”

That’s not the biggest problem, though.

The problem is that Jason doesn’t come home on that night.

Tim and Steph wait for hours after Damian finally calms down in his sleeping bag, but the sun rises and Jason’s room remains empty.

He isn’t freaking out, by any means. Jason is an adult man and he can handle himself. He used to go missing by months at a time before moving in with Tim. He must be busy doing Red Hood stuff. He could let them know he’s okay, just for shits and giggles, but it’s alright. He doesn’t owe them anything.

On the third day after #isJasonToddAlive went viral, Tim and Steph go on patrol even if it’s not their turn. It’s a spur of the moment thing, because they’re home and bored. They agree to split up and just ride around town aimlessly, see what happens and meet at the end of the night to grab waffles at that 24 hour diner Steph likes so much.  One that Jason first took her to after one particular bad night in which she failed to stop a mugger from shooting their victim.

He is just riding his bike, not paying attention to where the wheels take him. It’s just a coincidence that he ends up in Red Hood’s old territory. He hears from some loiterers that Batgirl had been seen roaming around just south from where he is. He keeps his patrol focused on the north side.

A beeping sound informs him that someone is trying to contact him. He accepts it almost right away.

“ Jason ?”

“Nope, it’s me, Timmy,” Dick’s voice answers.

He sighs. And cringes when he realizes he broke the no-real-names-when-in-uniform rule. He’s lucky it isn’t Batman calling him. “Sorry, Nightwing, I thought… Never mind. You need something?”

“No, it’s just that I just got here at the manor. I thought I’d let you know.”

“Oh. Is everything okay? I didn’t even know you were coming back.”

“Well, with this whole Jason is alive thing blowing up I thought I’d come home, help in any way I can. Reporters are driving B insane.”

“Ugh.”

“Yeah. Also… Do you know Jason’s here?”

There is a beat. Tim presses the breaks with too much force and it’s a miracle that his bike doesn’t simply throw him away with how fast he stops.

“ What? ”

Dick chuckles over the comm. “I figured he didn’t tell you. Do what you want with this information. I’m gonna help Alfred now.”

Tim doesn’t bother saying goodbye, but he’s sure Dick will forgive him. He’s already pressing the buttons on his wrist pad to contact someone else. “Batgirl? Meet me at the cave. Now.”

It takes a lot of effort to stop Steph from storming into the manor through the main entrance in full Batgirl gear. And it’s a good thing Tim managed it, because there is a literal swarm of reporters in front of the gates and Tim wonders if anything happened in the short two hours he was out patrolling.

Once they’re in the cave, they’re careful enough to change into civies. Unlike Tim, Steph doesn’t have clothes stashed there so she simply steals a sweater from Damian’s locker while Tim checks the news.

“Someone saw the mystery man that looks like Jason Todd getting into Bruce Wayne’s car two days ago, ” he tells her when she comes out of the changing room. “How did we miss that?”

“I don’t know, you’re the tech dude,” she groans. “Maybe we hid so much crap the computer started hiding it from us too.”

It’s an explanation as good as any other and the truth is unimportant now. They climb out of the cave with unusual care, checking twice to make sure no one is around to see them emerge from the secret passage. As soon as the cave entrance is hidden, they hear altered voices.

Steph reaches for Tim’s hand when they walk towards the commotion and intertwines their fingers. One could think the gesture was a request for comfort. Tim had been friends with her long enough that it was a silent plea to hold her back if she needs to fight the urge to dropkick someone.

“... can’t simply hide him forever, Brucie!” They hear Chad saying.

Then, in a deep voice that isn’t quite Bruce or quite Batman, but that is still firm and definitive:

“If you can’t agree with me, feel free to leave. But stay aware that if you do anything to expose my son to unnecessary attention, I will not take it lightly.”

They walk into the room to find a Chad that looks somewhere between mildly horrified and extremely angry. Bruce is standing against the fireplace and he is definitely using the shadow he’s casting to appear bigger and more threatening, a trick he usually only uses when he’s wearing a cowl.

“What’s going on?” Tim asks.

“Tim!” Chad turns to him. “Get your father to see reason. I’ve been telling him that this is the perfect time to tell everyone Jason is alive. He wants to… to hide him like he’s a dirty secret.”

Tim raises an eyebrow. “What does Jason think?”

“Jason doesn’t know what’s best, Tim, he’s not okay! He has a gun in your house, for crying out loud!”

For the sake of the intensity of the argument, Tim pretends not to notice the batglare he’s getting from his father and focuses on giving Chad a batglare of his own:

“So? You have a problem with my brother?”

Steph is squeezing his hand enough to hurt. He isn’t sure who’s holding who back now.

Chad takes a step back. “You people are insane. Mom was right. Trying to help you guys is useless.”

“ That’s what you’ve been trying to do?” Steph blurts.

Chad shakes his head and storms out of the room… And just like that, Chad’s gone. Gone from their lives, hopefully forever, and if not... Tim knows last year Duke learned a lot about restraining orders.

“I was wondering when you two would come pick him up,” Bruce says. “I hoped it’d take a little longer, it’s nice having him home.”

“Where is he?”

“First… what is this about a gun?”

“First of all, it was Damian’s fault for giving him our address.” Steph shrugs. “Second of all, the gun is the least dangerous thing in Jason’s room and right now I’m more dangerous than any weapon you have, so where is he ?”

“Library.”

They bolt out of the room and straight upstairs. Tim is so caught in the relief of the biggest source of problem being gone that he gets careless. Jason always said Tim is too quick to forgive, even if he doesn’t forget, and he guesses that is true. When he enters the library and he finds himself facing a startled Jason, he’s not angry. Mildly annoyed, for sure. Relieved that his worst paranoiac fears rooted in PTSD are proven to be untrue. Concerned by the fact that Jason looks almost small, younger, maybe because he’s wearing one of Bruce’s shirts or because his expression is so off guard.

But, most importantly, Tim isn’t holding Steph’s hand anymore.

“Jason Todd, you mOTHERFUCKER!”

“No, don’t- ”

But it’s too late. She leaps and dropkicks him and Jason screams in pain and soon the two of them are literally rolling on the floor yelling insults at each other and knocking an entire table sideways. Tim sighs.

“Say uncle! Say uncle right now, you musky bitch!”

“ It’s musty, dumbass!!”

“You’re that, too!”

He sits down in one of the comfy reading chairs and waits for them to get it all out of their system. At some point, Steph is straddling Jason’s back pulling him backwards by the nostrils and he somehow is reaching back to tickle her sides and both of their gazes meet Tim’s unimpressed glower. They stop.

“You two done?”

“She started it!”

“ Bitch- ”

“Enough already,” Tim groans. He waits until both look appropriately ashamed and get off of each other. “Steph is right, though, what the fuck, Jason?”

Jason cringes, but still tries to play it cool, as though nothing unusual happened. “The news had my face, I decided to lay low.”

“And how’s that working out for you?” Steph snaps. “It took us three whole days to find you without actively looking. Bruce found you even before.”

“Also lay low hiding from what? Us?”

Grumbling something impossible to understand, he stands and crosses his arms in a clear attempt to look tough. In the absence of his leather jacket and the presence of all of Tim’s annoyance he only looks stupid.

“Look, I freaked out, alright? Me being found out was my fault.”

“How the heck is Chad’s stupid selfie your fault?”

“Because I knew it was a bad idea, okay?” Jason snaps. “I shouldn’t have sat there and made dumb excuses, I should have told him to fuck off the moment he saw my gun. I noticed him taking the stupid pictures, but I didn’t even care that I could be in one of them, I thought it wasn’t worth waking Tim up. All these months playing house and messing around with you guys made me reckless and soft. ”

Steph retreats a step as if he had slapped her.

“Okay, Jason, I’m willing to put up with a lot of angsty bullshit from you, but… Is that really what you think of us? That we’re, we’re what, bringing you down?”

“That’s not what I said!” He runs his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“No,” Tim interrupts. “He's right.” When Steph makes to argue, he raises a hand asking her to listen. “You did grow reckless. That’s what you’re supposed to do, Jason. You’re supposed to relax and have down time and mess around with us. And if shit happens… We have each others' backs. You’d known that if you had come home, because you’d know Steph and I spent the past three days trying to cover for your stupid butt, since we knew you’d want that.”

Jason doesn’t say anything for a minute. When Steph doesn’t either, Tim continues:

“You don’t have to just survive anymore, you know? I thought you knew that when you agreed to live with us. You’re family.”

“You sound like Dick.”

“I mean, Dick was the first person that treated me like family. Maybe that’s why I was so... Hm. Never mind.”

“You’re still upset he fired you, huh?”

“No. I mean, I have been. But I know now it wasn’t personal. He was doing the best he could, even if he didn’t really understand what I needed back then. I know Dick always loved me.”

“Hm. Did you talk to him so he could apologize or did you work all that on your own and forgave him by yourself?”

“Nice try, but right now we’re talking about your issues, not mine.”

Because Steph had been awful quiet for a while - which is something highly unusual - they turn to her in question. They find her wearing her furious expression, the one that puts fear for their lives in criminals hearts, but the effect is ruined by the fact that her big eyes are pooled with tears.

“Oh shit. That’s new. I didn’t know she did that. I thought she destroyed her tear ducts when she was a kid or something. What do I do?”

She simply shakes her head. “I get you, Jay,” she says, her voice a bit wobbly. “Admitting you have something means knowing you can lose it. But is the fear of losing it worth throwing it away altogether?”

Jason pulls her into a hug. She sniffles and rubs her face on his chest, purposefully wiping her runny nose there before she hugs him back.

“I hate you so much, Jason.”

“I hate you too, Steph,” he says softly. “And, from the bottom of my heart, my bad.”

She sniffles again. “Tim, get your gay ass over here. This is a triple hug situation.”

Tim snorts and mumbles something about the fact that Dick can never find out about this or he’ll never forgive them for not including him.

He joins the triple hug nonetheless.

The trio ends up sitting on the floor, their backs resting against the table Steph and Jason knocked over. They learn that Jason had escaped to one of his old hideouts when he heard the news. He was both annoyed and creeped out to find Bruce already there waiting for him and the fucker had the gall to bring Alfred along to make sure Jason wouldn’t say no.

In exchange, they tell him Damian was offering to kill Chad on Jason’s behalf, which makes him bit moved.

“Bruce had already said everything you said, by the way,” he tells Tim. “It’s scary how you’re more like him than his own biological son.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “We said the same thing because we’re right.”

“It almost sounds like you do want me to go out and tell everyone I’m alive.”

“I mean, yeah, but that doesn’t matter.”

“Wait, what?” Steph frowns. “You want people to know Jason’s alive? Then why did you make me spend hours sitting in front of a computer hunting tweets about this glorified zombie?”

“Because if Jason’s secret goes out, it’s for us, not for him,” Tim says. “It’s a pain to be part of a public family. We’d get to go out in public without worrying about being seen and to, I don’t know, post stupid pictures online, mock old people together in Bruce’s galas, but it also means that he would have to avoid reporters and have a double life like the rest of us do.”

After Tim finishes speaking, Steph nods as if that makes sense. Jason finds himself frowning at his feet.

“I’m gonna do it.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m gonna come out as a living person. I’ll maybe even pepper in the fact I’m also queer, just to spice things up.”

“Jay, you don’t have to…”

“No, I don’t. When it was Chad’s bullshit about me having to live my best life, I wasn’t going to, but if it’s for you guys, I can do it. Steph’s right. I can’t live a half live." His smile twists into something wicked. "And I know exactly how to do it.”

Congratulations, @JasonToddWayne! Your twitter account has been successfully created.

The first and only post is a picture of a man in a leather jacket and sunglasses in the middle of a fancy lobby. Hanging upside down from the chandelier above him is no one other than Dick Grayson-Wayne holding a flashlight right behind the man’s head to simulate a bright aura. Around him, some kneeling, some standing, but all holding out their arms towards him are all of the Wayne kids, Tim, Cassandra, Duke and even Damian. If you look closely, you can see a smiling butler on the background and, further, a shadow that looks very much like Bruce Wayne facepalming.

The caption of the picture simply says: I lived, bitch.

@dgraysonman retweeted that.

@stephssss retweeted that.

@thomascommaduke retweeted that

@babsgeez retweeted that

@BruceWayne retweeted that

The thing about being part of a scandal you purposefully caused is that you get to kick back and watch the world burn around you while you wear an evil little grin on your face whenever people ask what the hell you were thinking. Tim used to get annoyed by interview requests that had nothing to do with WE and everything to do with his personal life, but for once he enjoys watching the messages piling up and eventually saying no to all of them.

Bruce makes a brief and vague declaration about his son being back from the dead, no big deal, and he expects everyone can respect his family's privacy in this delicate moment. He gives the press just enough and refuses to elaborate. Only liars give too many details and they’re not lying. Not entirely, at least.

Of course, Jason doesn’t help by posting the weirdest freaking memes to his twitter account and, whenever someone tries to get answers from his, his retorts vary widely from “I returned from the grave to wash Damian’s mouth with soap” to “I was captured by a group of murderous ninja that dipped my corpse in a cursed pool that brought me back to life”. Unfortunately, he gets verified and no man should hold so much power.

They return to their lives, Tim in his room, Jason in his and Steph on her couch. Sometimes they even meet in the kitchen to play Uno and prank call Dick - it never works, because Dick always says he’s flattered that they wanted to hear his voice, but it’s the thought behind it that counts.

They go on patrol sometimes. By this time, the public seems to have caught on that Batgirl and Red Robin are basically a duo. Sometimes the Red Hood is included in the mix. For once, Tim doesn’t mind that they know as much.

He thinks they’re heading towards more peaceful days.

DUCK DUCK BRUISE

Duck Robin: hey stephanie what the hell

Duck Hood: Do I even want to know

Bruise: we need our own groupchat

Duck Hood: Why is it named that?

Bruise: bc we red red and purple

Bruise: u never played duck duck bruise?

Duck Robin: its duck duck goose steph

Bruise: u and i led v different childhoods

Duck Hood left the chat

Bruise added Jason Todd to the chat

Bruise changed Jason Todd’s name to Duck Hood

Bruise: u cant escape us jay

Drake Robin: one of us! one of us! one of us!

Duck Hood: Next time either of you complain about not getting laid I’ll show you a screenshot of this conversation.

Jason, Tim and Steph are walking home. It’s still day and, even if the sun isn’t quite shining because this is still Gotham, it’s nice and warm outside. The reason they went to get groceries together is because Jason had been horrified to find out that neither Tim nor Steph knew how to pick fruit and they spent a good part of their afternoon arguing over which apple was the ripest. Tim refused to get out of the shopping cart until their groceries were paid.

It had been fun.

Steph forced them to carry all the bags, arguing that she is but a frail young woman even if Tim is pretty sure she can bench press him. The real reason is because she wants to play Pokemon Go on the walk home and that’s valid, so they carry the bags. She is one of the few people of Gotham that isn’t afraid of getting mugged, so she might as well use that privilege.

A text stops her from catching a bulbasaur right before it stops her entirely.

“Steph?” Tim calls, his brow furrowing in worry.

“It’s happening again,” she whispers.

The brothers approach her to look at her phone. They’re already familiar with this at this point, so none of them is surprised to see a headline and a picture.

MYSTERIOUS BOMBSHELL SEEN LEAVING JASON WAYNE’S APARTMENT

Tim recognizes the outfits they wore two days ago on the day he snapped and forced them to take out the trash together, which ended a week long battle of wills. It’s also the day the biggest bag ripped open and an obscene amount of RedBull cans rolled down the curb. The picture is them watching the disaster. Steph is a pretty girl, but that picture is not doing her any favors. Her face is all scrunched up, as Gothamites tend to be on the rare occasions they see the sun, part of the ripped trash bag still in her hand. Jason has his hands on his hips looking like every bit of the mother hen he is and he is wearing crocs over socks (Tim has sworn to kill Roy Harper for corrupting his brother like that, making him think that’s an okay thing to do and say disgusting things like just try it, you annoying hipster, it’s comfy. )

“You know what? They called me a bombshell, I’m not even mad.”

“How come it’s Jason’s apartment? I’m literally the only person in this household with a dayjob!”

“First of all I'm an university student. Second, you only do actual work because you’re a sucker, you’re all trust fund babies. And that includes you, mr. Crime Lord.”

“Thank you, miss Eats All my Fucking Food.”

They resume their walk without reading the rest of the article. Tim thinks to himself that this is not too bad. Then it gets worse.

“Hey. Are those reporters?” Steph asks. “In front of our house?”

It only takes a glance to find out that she’s right. There is a small group of people hanging out near their apartment complex even though there’s no apparent reason to be there. Any decent Gothamite knows you don’t loiter for no reason, because you never know when the freaking Killer Croc is going to randomly pop out of the sewer or some crap. Those people are there with a purpose and that purpose involves a lot of them holding cameras.

“Yeah, I’m out,” Tim says.

“What?”

“This is the first time I’m not involved in the news. I’m going to enjoy my immunity. You two are on your own for this one.”

He turns his back to them. Enough is enough. Sometimes you just have to draw a line in the sand, let the universe know what you’re willing to put up with on that day. Tim is not willing to deal with this. He gestures at Steph and Jason not to follow him as he stalks into the adjacent empty alley. He takes a long, deep breath and shouts at the top of his lungs:

“COOONNEEEEEEEEEEER!”

Tim had never been better, or at least that’s what he tells himself 50 times in a row. He chose to be in denial and deny he will. He sits on the floor of his best friend’s room and takes a deep calming breath of the fresh air coming through the window. It doesn’t smell like gritty cities or nosey reporters at all.

Conner finally comes back and hands him a bowl of popcorn before taking a seat by his side. He turns on the old television in his room. Tim smiles.

“Hey, your siblings are on the news,” Conner says.

Tim glances at the phone Conner is holding. It’s a picture of Steph walking into their building carrying Jason in her arms as one would carry a toddler, one arm supporting his bottom and the other pointing threateningly at the camera. There is no doubt in Tim's mind that they’re mimicking the meme on purpose. He doesn’t bother reading the headline. He doesn’t want to know. He simply puts the phone aside and hugs Conner.

“I don’t want to go back to Gotham ever again. Let me live here, please.”

Conner laughs. “Sure, Ma’s been trying to get me to kidnap you for a while now.”

“Good. I’m going to learn farm work. I’ll bring honor to us all.”

“Sure," Conner pets his hair. "It’s been a whole day now. You already miss Jason and Stephanie, don’t you?”

“...yeah.”

“I’ll fly you back home tonight.”

“Thanks, Conner, you’re the best.”

Despite everything, there’s no place like home.

#batfam #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #red hood #red robin #batgirl #impulse control? idk her #i swear i was gonna wait to post it but lmao #i mean it's already written so #here take this

[walkerismychoice]

Unwritten - Chapter 3

Book: Platinum

Pairing: M!Raleigh X MC

Rating: This series will contain mature themes. Any necessary warnings will be listed before each chapter, but the overall series rating is 18+

Series Summary: Newly discovered talent Aria Campbell get unknowingly assigned to help write Raleigh Carerra’s latest album and rehabilitate his image in the process.

Summary:  Aria is ready to start writing. Raleigh? Not so much.

Chapter Warning: Hints at excessive drinking/alcohol abuse

Word Count: 1750

Master List

She should really go back out there and try to start writing. They only have six weeks to write enough songs to fill an entire album. Then again, six weeks is kind of a long time. What’s a little bit longer?...

Aria picks up the flip phone from her nightstand. She would just text, because who actually likes to talk on the phone anymore, but texting without a keyboard is hardly worth the effort. Seriously, why do they still make cell phones like this? Her finger hovers over the call button momentarily, and then makes the call.

Several rings go by before Aria hears an agitated voice on the end of the other end of the line. "How many times do I have to tell you to take me off your list? How can my car warranty be expired when I don't even own a car?"

"Shane! Wait, don't hang up," Aria pleads into the phone. "It's me!"

"Aria? What are you-" His angry tone gives way to confusion. "Whose number is this and where are you? Wait, are you doing your writing thing? Tell me who you are writing with - is it Avery Willshire?"

If only, she think to herself, hesitating a moment before replying. "I can't tell you that. It's in my contract. If it were to get out, they'd kill me."

"Who are they, the mob?" Shane chuckles. "How many years have we been friends? You know you can trust me. And besides, I had to sign an NDA to be on your contact list, if you go down. I'm going down with you."

"Well that's reassuring," she answers dryly. Sure Shane's in film school and could be the next big director, but as of right now he's unknown, and Aria's got a lot more to lose. But he's right. They tell each other everything and she knows she can trust him. "Fine. But you can't tell anyone."

"Promise."

Aria inhales sharply. “It's...Raleigh Carrera."

"No fucking way!" Shane practically screams into the phone. "Binge drinking, property destroying, R&B singing Raleigh Carrera? You writing for him is...unexpected."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She replies dryly.

“Ari, you know what I mean. You're more indie pop, with meaningful lyrics. He sings about getting laid in the club. You've never so much as had a tardy at school, and he's got quite the bad boy reputation.”

"Yes, Shane, I know I'm a boring, wholesome girl from the Midwest.”

“No, no! I just don’t want you to have to sacrifice your integrity. It can’t be easy to make sure your voice is heard with with someone like that.”

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” Aria asserts trying more to convince herself than anyone else. It’s not like she hasn’t feared what Shane has said and more ever since she got here. But she’s determined to fake it until she makes it as they say.

"I know you are. I've seen it in action - like when you dumped that smoothie on Chad's head because he made a comment about your ass."

"Oh my god. I can't believe I didn't get fired for that." Aria laughs genuinely for probably the first time today.

They continue on their path down memory lane until Aria's cheeks hurt from smiling, and she finally says goodbye.

 "Maybe I should just call mom first," she ponders out loud before thinking better of it. Things ended on a high note with Shane, and she doesn't need get all homesick and weepy right now. She supposes it's time to face the music - literally.

Aria peeks in the open doorway across the hall, and Raleigh's room is empty. She checks the main areas downstairs, but all is quiet. Finally she looks out the the beachside picture window to see a human form spread out on the sand.

As she heads out and towards the beach, she makes out a familiar object next to Raleigh and rolls her eyes. Apparently he has no plans to fully sober up before starting to drink again.

His eyes are closed as she approaches, and when she calls out his name, he doesn't stir. She won't shake him awake because that feels a touch too intimate for someone she just met. Especially someone of his status, lying their shirtless in the sand, a sheen of sweat glazing over the tattoos covering his neck and torso. Ugh stop ogling him, she thinks to herself. You hate tattoos and he's an ass. Aria grabs the bottle of rum and jabs him in the side.

"Huh?" Raleigh jolts upright and frantically looks whips his head around until he gets his bearings. "Oh, it's you." He grabs the bottle from her and takes long swig.

"Bacardi straight from the bottle in the middle of the day? Doing your best to live up to the cliché rockstar lifestyle, huh?” She immediately regrets the words and wonders if she went too far.  

He shrugs it off with a laugh and points the bottle at her. "Want some?"

"No." She scrunches her nose and shakes her head. Sipping straight out of the bottle is not her style. Not to mention they're supposed to be working and she prefers to write with a clear head.

"I guess Learning How to Party Like a Rock Star 101 is not part of a music major’s curriculum. You could use some real-world instruction from Professor Carrera." Raleigh teases.

"Haha, very funny.” Wait, how does he know she majored in music? Probably just a lucky guess. "Anyway, I came out here to see if you wanted to get started."

"Nah, I'm good." He takes another pull from the bottle. "I like to write when the mood strikes. If you're so moved though, feel free to whip something up on your own. I really don't give a shit what's on this crap album anymore."

Her blood is boiling now, and she fights a juvenile urge to kick sand in his face and stomp away. "That's not how this works. If they wanted me to just write everything on my own, I could have done so from the comfort of my own home rather than being stuck here with you."

And there it is again - that mischievous twinkle in Raleigh's eye. And before she has much time to worry about what it means, Raleigh's up and scooping her off her feet. He runs towards the water as Aria yells at him to put her down to no avail, and once the water level reaches his knees, a wave hits, sending them toppling under.

Before Aria can get her bearings, she feels Raleigh’s firm grasp pulling her upright. She wipes the seawater from her eyes to see Raleigh standing there with a big shit-eating grin, his hands still bracing her arms to keep her steady. Maybe if she wasn’t so pissed off at his antics she’d notice the slight tingle where her skin was touched by his, but then again she might just attribute that to the chill from the cool water.

She shrugs out of his hold with an exasperated groan. “Why are you such an asshole? I know you don’t want to be here with me, but this wasn’t my idea. You don’t have to take it out on me.”

“Relax, Ice Queen. I’m just trying to thaw you out a bit. We’ll both have a much better time here if you can learn to have fun.”

“Ugh! I’m not..” That remark cuts Aria deep, more than Raleigh could possibly know. “Maybe if you actually agreed to do some work with me, I’d be more in the mood to have some fun.

Raleigh looks her up and down with an undiscernible expression that makes her uneasy before plopping back down on his towel and putting his sunglasses on. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

Fiona looks up from her laptop and spots Raleigh and Aria emerging from the ocean and engaging in what looks to be an intense conversation. The guest house has a spacious wraparound porch with cushy patio furniture. If she’s got to be stuck somewhere on glorified babysitting duty, as if she’s got no other clients and nothing better to do, it’s not a terrible place to be. At least there’s wifi and she can keep working on her projects with other artists on the label.

She’d been skeptical, to put it mildly, when Ellis brought Aria in to discuss working with Raleigh, and based on his initial reaction this morning, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Aria had tried to quit on the spot. Sure Raleigh getting wasted on the beach and throwing his writing partner in the water day one would look bad by anyone else’s standards, but Fiona’s know him a long time. The fact that that he’s engaging at all is a good sign. Maybe that little chat she had with him earlier stuck.

“Looks like things are going as well as can be expected with those two.” Fiona muses aloud. Hank stands and watches attentively, arms folded across his chest. You’d think he was guarding the President with how serious he takes his job. There’s not another human in sight aside from the four of them. He weighs his words before responding. “It seems so, ma’am.”

“Eww, don’t call me ma’am.” Fiona visibly shudders. “We’ve worked together for years now. You can call me Fiona. And anyway, nobody is around. You don’t have to take your job so seriously here. Why don’t you go grab a beer.”

Frank tugs at the knot in his tie. Yes, he’s still wearing his suit and tie - at the beach. “Drinking on the job would be unprofessional, ma-, I mean Fiona.”

"Okay then," she utters under her breath. It says something that self-described workaholic Fiona is the fun one here, but if she's going to make it through this period of time without dying of boredom, getting Frank to loosen up might just be the side-project she needs. Maybe he'll even take his tie off at some point. Fiona looks back to the beach where Raleigh is sunbathing and Aria is nowhere to be seen. "Would it be unprofessional of me to run out there and smack him upside the head?"

"Yes, I believe so," he replies dryly, but Fiona can detect the corners of his mouth curving upward ever so slightly. There might be hope for him yet.

#playchoices fanfic #platinum #raleigh carrera #raleigh x mc #fiona x hank #tw alcohol

[descendantofthesparrow]

Harry Hook x reader - exchange

Harry stared at the beautiful necklace in the window, hands in his pockets. The sapphire and ruby-encrusted jewelry staring mockingly at him.

All he wanted to do this year, was get his amazing girlfriend of 3 months her first Christmas gift from him, it had to be good or else!

‘all guys know, if a girl doesn’t get a good and expensive present for her birthday or Christmas, or an anniversary from their significant other, they'll dump ‘em flat, it's just the facts Hook’ Chad Charming had said that to him a little while after he and (y/n) had gotten serious.

Harry pulled out his phone, opening his bank account app.

$496.56 available in your account.

glancing back up, he grimaced at the price tag of the necklace

$2,000.99

“ugg, I'm never gonna be able to get ‘er a present worthy of ‘er”

shaking his head, he sulked down the street, making his way back to auradon prep. shivering as he made it inside, just in time for curfew, rubbing his hands together to gather warmth, and shaking off the cold snow from his shoulders.

“Harry~!” he felt a smile bloom on his face as he locked eyes on you, (short/long/mid-length) (h/c) hair gleaming under the lights, bright (e/c) eyes happy to see him, and a bright gorgeous smile.

god, he had gotten the most beautiful girl in auradon hadn’t he? that’s why he had to get the most beautiful present for her.

“bonnie lass~” he cooed, catching you with his arms and hips, spinning you around slightly as you jumped on him. “hehe, I was only gone for 20 minutes~”

“I know~ but I missed you” you mumbled into his chest, feeling the warmth radiating from him.

“Alright, alright little koala, let’s go” 

you giggled as harry carried you back to your dorm, letting you drop yourself back onto your feet.

“Thanks, hooky” you smiled, tiptoeing to kiss his cheek, which was still red from the cold.

“yer welcome love, now get some sleep” you nodded, pulling him into a quick hug before sliding back into your dorm.

“good night Harry ”

“goodnight (y/n)”

=

you sighed as the door closed, god you were falling in love with that boy, and hard too.

“so what are you getting him for Christmas (y/n)?” Jane spoke up from her bed, smiling at the stupid grin on your face, but frowning when your smile dropped.

“shit! I don’t know! he's so perfect, so I have to get him something perfect!!” Jane found herself laughing.

“what- why are you laughing?!” Jane stifled her giggling, smiling at you “because the gift value doesn’t matter, it's the person it’s coming from that matters~!”

you sighed “I know but...Harry-Harry is my first boyfriend, so the first Christmas gift has to be perfect! and if it’s not perfect, Harry will think I'm not worth it and then he’ll leave me!!!!” Jane sighed and stood from her bed, walking over to you and gripping your shoulders

“if I help you find something, will you chill for at least a couple days about a gift for Harry?” you nodded vigorously, grabbing Jane's hands

“yes of course! thank you Jane!!”

Jane nodded, grinning “you’re welcome, now go to bed!”

you laughed, releasing Jane and heading over to your dresser to grab your sweat pants and a Harry hoodie.

“Alright, see you in the morning jane”

“see you in the morning (y/n)”

=

 “christ Harry 2,000 dollars for a necklace? you sure about it?”

Harry nodded, looking intently at his phone at the photo he took.

“it’s perfect for ‘er Uma, I have ta get this one”

“Harry, I'm pretty sure you can just get her a 25 dollar crystal necklace and she’d never take it off till it broke, and then she would go crazy over fixing it because you gave it to her”

Harry shook his head, messing with his mother’s old ruby ring, “no Uma, I have ta get this one, it's the only thing worthy of ‘er” Uma rolled her eyes. she would never understand Harry’s obsession to please whoever he was with, it was the same with his dad.

and then Uma, and now (y/n), with him wanting to make her happy with lavishing her with expensive gifts when she would be happy with a well-worn hoodie or jacket.

“Okay so it’s perfect for her, but it's 2,000 DOLLARS you can’t afford it!!” Harry’s shoulders slumped, feeling that pressing feeling on his back.

“I know, what am I goin’ ta do?” Harry locked eyes on his ring, ripping it off his pinkie finger he turned to Uma with a giant grin.

“I'll sell my ring!!’ Uma's eyes widened and she shook her head

“what no! that’s the only thing you have of your mom left!!” Harry’s face dimmed slightly “I-I know but, if it’s for (y/n)-”

Uma groaned, standing “alright whatever, do what you want, but I'm warning you, (y/n) would be happy with just a bracelet or something”

Uma walked off, leaving Harry to stare at his mother’s ring.

=

“no, no, no, no, nope, nah, no, uggg there’s nothing!!”

you flopped back into your chair, there was nothing online for harry, and going to the mall had proved fruitless.

“come on (y/n), let’s go to the mall one last time, maybe you’ll find a cool jacket?”  you sighed, shrugging.

“yeah, we have to go later though, I have winter break homework to do” Jane nodded, putting on her coat.

“Alright, I'm going to go to lunch with Lonnie and Evie alright?”

“kay have fun”

=

Harry rushed through the streets, skidding to a stop at the jewelry shop, smiling as he spotted the necklace, glancing at his hand, he played with the ruby ring.

“Hopefully it's enough for an exchange” he muttered, pushing through the shop doors.

“Hello, welcome to the miner’s jewelry shop, I'm Doc, how can I help ya?” Harry took a deep breath holding out the ring.

“is it possible I can exchange this for that ruby and sapphire necklace in the window?” Doc blinked, taking the ring carefully and examining it.

“well my boy, the necklace retails for $2,000, and this...wow this would go for $5,000 easily, are you sure about this?” Harry blinked surprised, 5,000? wow, but he had already made up his mind.

“I'm sure, its, the necklace is important to meh”

doc smiled, eyes twinking “whos the girl son?” Harry felt his face heat up, and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

“that easy to figure it out? well, her name is (y/n) and...she's really important to meh, and I need the first Christmas gift I get ‘er to be perfect.”

Doc nodded, glancing back at the ruby, “alright, I’ll take this, and you can take the necklace, sound good?” Harry nodded, grinning widely.

“yes! that sounds perfect!”

Doc smiled, placing the ring on the counter, getting up from behind the counter to retrieve the necklace.

“I’ll tell ya something else, if she doesn’t like it, you can return that and I’ll give you back your ring” Harry nodded, watching as Doc unclipped the necklace and walked back to the counter to place it in a box.

“Thank yeh”

as he left Harry couldn’t help the sinking pit that formed in his stomach as he walked away from the last thing he had ever gotten from his mother. 

=

you groaned, closing the math book, and face slamming into the cover.

“you good love?” you jumped out of your skin, whirling around to see Harry grinning devilishly at you.

“Harry you ass” you laughed, standing and walking over to him for a hug. he hugged you tightly, rocking you slightly.

“Sorry love”

you sighed, pulling back and grasping his hands, brows furrowing when you noticed something missing from his right-hand pinkie.

“Harry?” you questioned, bringing up the aforementioned hand “where's your ring? you never take it off?”

Harry shrugged “im havin’ it polished”

you didn’t believe him, he never trusted anyone with it.

you narrowed your eyes but let the matter go, not wanting to start a fight.

“alright whatever you say hooky”

=

your jaw dropped as you passed by a jewelry shop, Harry’s ruby ring sitting inside a box in the window, you could tell it was it due to the specific scratch on the band on the left side, no price listed, instead it said.

not for sale till 1/30/2020

pushing open the door you walked right up to the man at the desk, pointing back at the ring.

“how much is that ruby ring in the window”

doc smiled, he could hear the anger and confusion in your voice.

“(y/n) I presume?”

your arm dropped to your side, and you balked, jaw-dropping and eyes widening, looking confused “wha- how do you know my name?”

“your boyfriend came in about two days ago, traded in that ring to get something for you”

your jaw dropped, “but-it- its important to him, I wouldn’t want him to give it up just to get me something”

doc chuckled “tell you what darling, I'll give it to you for free, so you can give it back, and you’ll be able to keep your present from him”

you balked “but-but-free?! you’re going to give me it for free?!”

“why it's Christmas! and I have plenty of rubies to spare, I don’t need one with precious sentimental value” 

you felt tears burn at your eyes, and you nodded “thank you, thank you so much”

“of course, now let me go fetch it and I’ll wrap it up for you too”

“at least let me pay for the wrapping?”

“oh alright”

=

“I still can’t believe you gave it up Harry, you know when she finds out she’s going to be pissed”

Harry shrugged, tying the ribbon on the wrapped box “not when she sees ‘er present I bet” Uma made a face, yeah right, she’s just going to storm right over to the store and demand the ring back.

“whatever Harry, she's going to be pissed at you” Uma stood and walked out of the room, leaving Harry behind with the pit in his stomach growing bigger and sinking deeper.

"I'm doin’ this fo’r ‘er." Harry stated to himself, looking down at the semi-neatly wrapped present. "Ma would've liked ‘er…." 

~~~

"I can't believe he traded his ring for a present for me! This ring is way too important to him!" You exclaimed, pacing your room.

"He must've gotten you something expensive." Jane stated, watching you pace.

"But this is the last thing his mother gave him! Why on earth-"

"Bonnie lass?" Harry's voice came from the other side of the door.

You ran to the door, shoving the wrapped up ring box behind ur back as you opened the door.

"Harry!" You exclaimed, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"Merry Christmas love!" Harry exclaimed, hugging you back.

Jane coughed, causing you to release Harry and glare at her.

"Jane, don't you have your gift exchange with Carlos?" You stated.

Jane went wide-eyed, grabbing her present and rushing past the both of you with a quick "bye!"

You laughed before pulling Harry into your room, closing the door behind you. When you turned around, Harry was holding out his gift to you.

"Harry, I want you to open yours first." You stated, holding out your smaller gift to him. He looked confused for a second, but nodded, taking the box.

You took yours, watching as he walked to your bed, sat down, and began to open it. You smiled as he opened the ring box. 

"But how?" Harry questioned as he held up his mother's ruby ring. he looked to you, his eyes were shining with tears.

You smirked. "I saw it in the window at the jewelry shop you traded it at. Doc was very kind even though I basically threw open the door and demanded to know the price of it. Although he knew right away who I was." You rambled on.

"But now I have to return your gift…." Harry frowned.

You smiled. "Nope! Doc said I could keep it." 

"Really? Well open it lass!" Harry exclaimed, sliding his mother's ring back onto his finger, where it belongs.

You sat down next to Harry and began to untie the ribbons on your present. Unwrapping became a bit of a struggle when you realized Harry has never done this kind of thing before. 

Finally, you managed to get to the box inside. You opened it up and gasped. The ruby and sapphire encrusted necklace shined up at you.

(imagine the diamonds are sapphires) 

"Do ye like it?" Harry asked as you held up the necklace.

"I absolutely love it! But Harry, don't ever think about giving up something of yours just for me, legit i would have been happy with one of your old hoodies" You exclaimed, putting on the necklace.

Harry snickered, shaking his head. "Alright Love. I won't try tha’ again." 

Harry leaned forward, kissing your forehead. "Merry Christmas my love"

You smiled, laying back into Harry's chest. "Merry Christmas my pirate"

~The End~

thank you to @marichat4lyf​  who both beta read and wrote the last half of this fic!!

#descendants #Descendents #disney descendants #harry hook #harry hook descendants #harry hook x reader #harry hook imagine #christmas fic