#‘‘just sitting there’’ OOOOOOHHHH THAT’S ALL HE COULD DO

[korkorali]

Oooooohhhh are we talking about Bradford telling Della about the Spear of Selene? I think we're talking about Bradford telling Della about the Spear of Selene!

Okay okay this is something I have Ideas™️about- specifically why he told her, and why she believed him.

The answer (as I have so humbly decided is obviously the abject truth) is the same for both: Because he'd been manipulating her for years.

He was trying to be the Emperor Palpatine to her Anakin Skywalker.

Why? Simple: The Papyrus of Truth.

Think about it- it doesn't make sense to immediately go 'oh, only Scrooge McDuck's heir can find the Papyrus? Welp, time to steal some of his DNA and make a kid!' That's supervillain territory, and Bradford isn't a supervillain! (He's just a bit of a scumbag, but that's not a supervillain so it's obviously fine.)

So picture this: he finds out about the wish Scrooge made on the Papyrus, that only his heir could find it, and his thought patterns line up with Scrooge's:

He thinks "Alright, then it has to be one of those rugrats."

The question is, which one? Della, or Donald?

And honestly, when they're both kids- it's not really that much of a question, is it?

Is it Donald, the angry coward who loves to hole up in his room and write songs about eating the rich and basically doing everything that Scrooge hates?

Or is it Della, the adventurous and energetic ball of high-octane excitement and adrenaline, unable to sit still for a single moment, who acts like Scrooge McDuck, who likes all the same things as Scrooge McDuck, who is pretty much every single thing that Bradford Buzzard hates about Scrooge McDuck, all rolled up into a bratty child?

(Nevermind the fact that she isn't actually like that, not entirely. Nevermind the fact that she's doing all that because she feels she has to be useful, to be likeable, and that means mirroring Scrooge McDuck because if he likes himself so much then he must like seeing himself in her.)

Obviously it's Della. It has to be.

Which means, in order for him to get the Papyrus, he needed to get his claws into Della.

Which shouldn't have been hard- you can't tell me that Scrooge wouldn't do the same thing with Donald and Della that he did with Louie. He'd take them to the Money Bin (after all, it's like a second home for him), then head into his office and tell them not to disturb him.

And that'd leave Della in the perfect position for Bradford to begin to wheedle his ways past her defenses.

(Of course, multiple problems arise, not the least of which is she's a child and Bradford undoubtedly hates children. But moreso it's that she's genre-savvy, and also (and we love her for it, but) kind of dumb. It's a very frustrating mix that leads to her very nearly calling him out on what he's doing a lot.

But also, despite all that- she's still a kid.

And despite how much she thinks she knows, he's still better.)

It'd take a while, and I don't think he ever really manages it, but he still gets her to trust him.

Eventually, of course, he learns that Della isn't the 'heir of Scrooge McDuck.'

(Not sure how this happens, but it obviously does- I'm sure that lots of the Adventure Trio's adventures in the earlier days were spent searching for that missing Papyrus, but for some reason they stopped. The whole thing threatened to tear Donald and Della apart, or something.)

And that makes all the work he spent on her useless. All the time spent manipulating her, and trying (and -mostly- failing) to get her to be something he wanted, to push her to break up her family, all for naught.

Or- maybe not.

Because Scrooge keeps a secret. He makes her a spaceship. An untested, unreliable, terrible spaceship that literally runs on money.

It's horrible.

It's a waste.

It's perfect.

All the work doesn't have to be for naught. All Bradford has to do is let Della come to him one day, when she's at the Money Bin (probably because she and Donald and Scrooge were going shopping for baby toys, and she kept trying to get these really dangerous and deadly-looking ones, and ultimately got sent to the Money Bin as a bit of a 'time out'), let her rant and burn herself out to him about how frustrating Donald and Scrooge are being, how unfair they are (how scared she is, how much she just wishes they'd let her actually handle some stuff, how bad they make her feel for still wanting to adventure at a time like this, how much it feels like all either of them care about anymore are the kids and not her), how much it blows to be stuck like this.

And all Bradford has to do is offer up some half-hearted consolement, assure her that (while Donald is definitely being too overprotective) that of course Scrooge still cares about her, is still thinking about her, is still thinking about her, after all he's making her the-

And then cut himself off, like he said too much. That's aaaaallll that's needed to peak Della's interest, after all. And as soon as that's peaked- it's over.

All he has to do is hem and haw back and forth, say 'oh but he made me promise never to say anything' and 'I could get in trouble' and so on and so forth. Make it seem like he didn't want to say anything. Make Della feel like she earned the information, that he didn't plan this from the start.

And when she finally gets the information about the Spear out of him, and her eyes light up like stars and she darts off to go see if he was telling the truth, he can be confident that she'll never remember that he was the one who told her about it. All she'd be able to think about is 'I figured it out.' Because she had, after all. She'd figured it out, all her, he definitely hadn't pointed her in that direction at all.

He got to get rid of a liability and break the family, all in one fell swoop.

#ducktales #dt17 #della duck #bradford buzzard #honestly I hem and haw over the idea that like #he sabotaged the spear #planting a bomb in it or something #or more specifically having black heron plant said bomb #so he can still pretend to himself that he's not evil #but the storm came out of nowhere and stopped the sabotage from actually working #from killing her #just because I like the idea of the storm that took della away from her family #also potentially saving her life #and her hating it for that

[kitausuret]

Top three Venom panels, go.

Oooooohhhh this is so mean. Like, come on, making me pick only three? BUT. For the sake of "I'm a Venom blog (mostly) and I probably use the same dozen panels over and over" I am going to try and be a liiiiiiittle bit unique this time, and maybe pick out a few moments that I don't normally talk about. These may not be my favorite moments of all all ALL time but I'm using this ask as an excuse to talk about them. I'm also going to behave and limit myself to one panel for each example, instead of like, a page.

Venom: The Madness #3 (W: Anne Nocenti, A: Kelley Jones)

SO. "The Madness" is probably the closest I get to a guilty pleasure with Venom comics. Is it very good? Probably not! Did I enjoy it? Yes I did! I mostly know Nocenti for her fantastic work on Daredevil, but she also was the first writer to REALLY be like, "Hey, could not just Eddie Brock, but Venom have a significant other?" And as someone who's kind of made my whole fic-writing thing about Venom being in relationships, I really enjoyed that. I was very sad that Beck Underwood broke up with Eddie at the end of this comic, but she's a delightful character and I'm nothing if not a fan of exes to friends.

Thunderbolts #118 (W: Warren Ellis, A: Mike Deodato, Jr.)

So, let me preface this by saying that, for reasons you can investigate very easily, I don't like Warren Ellis, and this isn't even really my favorite Thunderbolts series. But. I love an exploration of the symbiote's fall from grace, and how even with Mac Gargan it wasn't so... shall we say... symbiotic. I think there's always going to be a little bit of Mac that's a little bit scared, and a little bit just wants to be protected, but he also wants to FEEL like he's tough and respectable. He's really a rather tortured man, and he and the symbiote found each other at really awful times in their lives. But also, the symbiote being gross is funny, and I like the colors in this panel a lot. It's also worth mentioning that there was some Psychic Manipulation™ happening during this arc, so... take that as you will, as far as how the symbiote's acting.

Venom (2016) #4 (W: Mike Costa, A: Juanan Ramirez)

You thought I was going to close this out with a Flash panel, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU? Well, joke's on you, because this panel with Lee Price literally lives in my brain rent free and has for the past six freakin' years. It's just hysterical to me. The little symbiote manifestations on his shoulders. The symbiote literally pleading with Lee to make the right decision. The knowledge that his little shoulder angel/demons are just in his brain because Black Cat is sitting like four feet away. Hilarious. I love it.

So yes! I hope I had a couple unexpected surprises for you here, because occasionally I do like to showcase just how many Venom comics I've read. For the record, I can't really recommend any of these comics (except for maybe the last one, because Lee Price is an interesting twist on the host-symbiote power dynamics) but I will happily cherry-pick them for my favorite moments.

#asked and answered #venom #eddie brock #lee price #mac gargan #kita talks comics #runner ups were a couple panels from secret avengers and a shot from space knight 1 that i really like #but i talk about SK a lot and flash in general so i decided not to #so while these are not my top three venom panels of all time #they are three panels that live in my head rent free but i don't talk about often #thanks as always for indulging the question MC #i almost left eddie out completely and did an angelo panel instead 😂

[smallestapplin]

ok hi according to an npc in hammerlocke applins can be given as part of a romantic confession which i think is adorable but since they’re only native to galar that tradition definitely doesn’t exist in unova & i was wondering if you could write the subway bosses being given an applin by the person they like, not knowing what it means until someone tells them and then they have to make a mad scramble to tell you they love you too

Absolutely!!

Asks are open!

-

-

🔳Emmet🔳

- you met him when you first moved to Unova from Galar, you had gotten a little turned around and asked him for help. Which the subway boss was more than happy to do!

- Doing his toy solider walk as he lead you through the walk ways. And several thank you’s you left.

- Though you came back once you got use to everything and battled him on the battle carts.

- And he couldn’t help but want to talk! Not only are you a suuuuper strong trainer, you have Pokémon he has never seen before! He had to know more!

- And you two talked until the subway came to a stop. By that time you had exchanged numbers and he begged you to battle him again sometime.

- You two became fast friends. Meeting him outside of work and him showing you around town.

- You even let him in your house to meet all your Pokémon personally! He coos at every last one of them.

- Almost a year into this friendship did he realize he was in love with you. He is a straightforward man but he wanted to make it special!

- The subway boss didn’t know you were planning something of your own when you went back to Galar to visit family for a week.

- Emmet was house sitting for you in your time away. Just as excited as yamper when you walked through the door.

- Happily listening to you talk about your trip.

- “Oh! I also got you something!”

- The expressive twin perks up a bit more before you hand him a small applin.

- With stars in his eyes he looks between your and the small apple Pokémon.

- “It’s an Applin, the mean a lot in Galar-“

- Emmet didn’t give you time to finish before he squealing and cooing over the small pokemon.

- “I love them! Oh I’m spoiling them, oooooohhhh I a cute bow and ribbon is in order!” Silver eyes glance at the over clock before he winces “ah Ingo is going to be mad I’m late, I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer, but you rest up and we can spend time together later.”

- With a hug he is gone. And you sigh, there goes that idea, and just when you had the confidence to confess.

- Emmet carries the Applin, whom he affectionately name Smokey after a kitchen incident, everywhere he goes like he does his joltik’s.

- Emmet is very happy to see his spider children like and get along with the apple Pokémon.

- It had been a week since you’ve given the Applin to him.

- He didn’t know a damn thing until he was battling a tourist from Galar who happened to see the little guy poking his head out from Emmet’s pocket.

- “Aw so cute.”

- Emmet’s grin widens “right!? My dearest friend gave them to me.”

- The trainer looked confused for a minute “you mean partner….right?”

- Now it’s Emmet’s turn to be confused as the Galarian deadpans “you’re telling me you didn’t accept the confession but took the Applin? That’s just cold.”

- “I’m sorry I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

- The trainer sighs “in Galar giving someone an Applin symbolizes affection story goes of you give it to someone you’ll be together forever, nice, ain’t it?”

- The trainer laughs at Emmet’s jaw dropped face. The second the subway doors open Emmet is running out “Gotta go! THANK YOU!”

- Everyone moving out of the way of the speeding twin, Smokey tucked away safely as Emmet doesn’t slow down, if anything he is speeding up once he is nearing your house.

- He flings your door open, making you jump from your couch.

- “YOU!”

- “M-me?”

- You back up as he speed walks towards you. What did you do? Is he mad? He looks mad.

- You don’t make it far enough away before Emmet grabs your arm, pulling you into his chest and kissing you.

- You let out a surprise squeak. Your face feels like it’s on fire.

- Though he can’t kiss you for long, all that running tired him out. He pulls away panting.

- “I love you and you don’t tell me even after giving me the Applin? I had to find out through a trainer?”

- He breathlessly snorts at your embarrassed expression.

- “I-I was going to tell you the day I gave Smokey to you! Honest! But then you left and I lost my nerve I just, I’m sorry Em.”

- “It’s fine, but I demand cuddles and a date.”

- Laughing you agree. And that’s how you ended up pinned on the couch beneath the smiling twin as he cuddles into you.

- “Did you tell Ingo you’d be here?”

- “……..can I borrow your phone?”

- “Siiiigh yeah sure you nerd.”

🔲Ingo🔲

- you lived in Unova for a few months with your Galar team before trying out the battle subway.

- Ingo wanted to talk after your win because he fell in love with your Coalossal. Who betrayed you and liked the stoic man too!

- You got a few good laughs out of Ingo because of this. He enjoyed seeing your bond with your Pokémon, even if you are playfully arguing with it for being a traitor.

- You’d stop by to battle a few more times before you two officially became friends.

- You happily told him all about your home in Galar and all the sights, even showing him pictures you’ve taken back home.

- You two would swap stories and interesting bits of information about your respective regions.

- And you enjoyed his train facts!

- Though he wants to visit Galar now because he wants to see Rolycolies and Carkols.

- Almost two years and he can say confidently that he has fallen in love with you, but he can’t say it to you.

- He gets choked up and quickly changes the subject.

- He doesn’t want to look like a fool in front of you.

- “Hey Ingo! I um, I want you to have something.”

- He was just about to leave since his lunch break was almost over.

- “What is it?”

- And you toss up a pokeball and in your hands rests the cutest little Pokémon he has ever see.

- “It’s an Applin.” You hand the small Pokémon to him. He takes it with gentle care, he can’t look away from it, it’s so small and cute.

- “I love them, so adorable, I will cherish and protect them with my life, thank you.”

- The dragon grass type jumps up and down a little in his hands.

- “W-well uh I just-“

- You two look over to Ingo’s walkie talkie that statically comes to life and Emmet’s voice can be heard.

- “Ingo some have a bitch who wants to talk to you.”

- Emmet does not sound happy, and neither does Ingo at his brother’s words.

- “I will see you later, I apologize for the abrupt departure.”

- “No worries! Be safe.”

- Damn, you missed your shot.

- For almost a month Ingo and his Applin (that he names sunny) were inseparable. Making a home in the stoic twins pocket.

- Ingo is more happy that his large Pokémon like and are careful with the small baby.

- It wasn’t until he was helping a child find her mother in the station did he ever get a hint.

- Before the child left, sunny poked his head out, causing the little Galarian girl to giggle.

- “Mommy look! An Applin!”

- “Now dear I’m sure the nice man wants to get back to his partner, say thank you.”

- “Thank you Mr subway boss sir!”

- And like that they left a stunned Ingo in his place.

- Partner? Where did they get partner from his Applin?

- When his shift was over he made sure to get off on time.

- At home by 6pm he looks it up. He couldn’t let it go.

- And when he sees the hundreds of search results about how Applin’s are a love confession he was melting in his couch.

- Face in a throw pillow he screams.

- His affections were returned and you didn’t tell him!

- Granted he has no room to talk but still!

- Should he text you? Call you? Should he go over to your house?

- Ingo grabs his phone and texts you ‘are you home?’

- ‘Yeah, what’s up?’

- ‘May I come over?’

- ‘Of course, you have a key, you’re welcomed anytime.’

- Shoes on and Sunny on his pocket he is out the door. Stopping by a flower shop and grabbing a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

- Knocking on your door he waits.

- And once you open it your flushed.

- “Oh my! What’s with the flowers?”

- “They are for you.”

- “They are beautiful, thank you, come on in, I was just fixing up some dinner and-“

- “Why didn’t you tell me?”

- He mentally kicks himself for interrupting you.

- “Tell you what?” Closing the door you hunt for a vase for the flowers.

- “Why didn’t you tell me about what Applins mean.”

- You froze. Shitshitshit did he really have to find out?

- “Is that what you were going to tell me because I was called away?”

- “I-I mean…yeah, I was hoping to anyways.”

- He hugs you so tightly. Your face in his chest.

- “I love you as well, I was too nervous about making myself look like a fool in front of you, please, accept my affection.”

- You grip the back of his shirt laughing.

- “Of course Ingo, how could I not?”

- He stays for dinner. You even make a little side dish for Sunny. And Ingo can’t he’ll but feel like this is where he belongs.

#pokemon #pokemon imagines #pokémon #pokemon x reader #pokemon fanfic #pokemon ingo #pokemon ingo x reader #pokemon fluff #pokemon emmet x reader #pokemon emmet

[saikyo-rat]

BELLY RUBS FOR A SICK BIRD(IE)

It was a quiet evening. An evening that most would be peaceful but to Eagle it was too quiet. The kind of quiet that made you think that something bad was about to happen. Eagle sat in his chair alone with his thoughts when suddenly he heard the sound of someone moaning in pain.

He jumped out of his chair and ran up the stairs. Knowing just who exactly is making that noise.”Wha’ did you do this time?” Said Eagle as he walked down the hall to which he was answered with a small groan. He made it to a door and knocked on it.

“Are you alright mate?” Eagle asked as he knocked on the door. He was answered by yet another loud moan. Eagle gently opened the door and was greeted by a huge mess of dirty dishes and trash everywhere.

A mountain of empty beer cans sat in the corner of the room. Bones that were once covered in greasy meat were scattered around everywhere.

To say that it was a bit of a mess was an understatement. In the middle of the mess was Birdie sitting on his bedroom floor. Looking quite green around the gills.

“Ugh…..Oooooohhhh………eagle……..you’ve go' to help ,e…………my belly’s aching so much!” Wailed Birdie as Eagle came closer to him. He could hear a bubbling noise coming from his belly.

“Well firs' of all, did you ea' all that?” Asked Eagle as Birdie let out a monstrous belch. “Of course I did! you thinky i would le' all this grub go to woste?” Birdie boasted before letting out another groan of pain.

“Ugh my belly is really sore!” He then said as Eagle sighed and shook his head. “Of course it’s sore, you’ve eaten woy too much rubbishy for you to be able to handle!” Eagle scolded as Birdie pouted slightly.

He knew his habits of eating lots of food but he never thought that it would go this far. Eagle sighed and began to clean up Birdie’s messy room.

Throwing away the trash and bringing the dishes to the sink. He then made Birdie’s bed and helped him get on it.

As Birdie layed there Eagle grabbed a chair and moved it closer to the bed. He felt his stomach being touched. Eagle pressed his hand against Birdie’s sore belly and began to rub it in gentle circles.

“doessy tha' feel better?” Asked Eagle as Birdie whimpered in pain. “A-a little I-I guess?” Answered Birdie as he felt Eagle’s hands massage his bloated gut. Eagle continued to do so until Birdie had drifted off to sleep. He quickly kissed him goodnight before turning off the lights. (the end)

#cute #street fighter #sick #stomach noises #upset stomach #food tw #alcohol ment tw #birdie #eagle #hurt/comfort #belly rubs

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Poker Face 2

(Continued from Poker Face 1)

[The Super Smash Texas Hold’em World Championship is on again. Once more, like before, four contestants are sitting around a table, while Master Hand narrates]

Master Hand: Welcome back to this year’s coverage of the Super Smash Texas Hold’em Poker World Championship! We’ve got some very familiar faces in our final four tonight.

Master Hand: First up, King Dedede, one of last year’s finalists. Rumours have spread among the Waddle Dees that he has gotten an organ transplant that… didn’t quite go so well.

[King Dedede is completely stonefaced and pale-faced]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (…Stupid monkey kidneys…)

Master Hand: Next up, last year’s million coin winner, Princess Daisy, who is clearly doing well for herself.

[Daisy once again shows nothing on her face]

Daisy’s thoughts: [sobbing] (…I’m in so much debt…)

Master Hand: Amazingly, Kirby’s here too, even though last year it was painfully clear that he did not know how to play poker.

[Kirby smiles innocently]

Kirby’s thoughts: (HAHAHAHA! Oh, the fools! They’ve no idea that I’ve spent the last year learning EVERYTHING there is to know about poker. They’ll NEVER see it coming! Mmm, sandwiches.)

[He swallows an entire footlong in a single bite]

Master Hand: And our one new face, Lucina! Future daughter of the late prince Chrom, who passed away at this very table.

[Lucina, like Chrom before her, is calm and collected]

Lucina’s thoughts: (This is for you, father.)

[She plonks down an urn containing Chrom’s ashes on the table]

Master Hand: [As Mario deals the following cards] And here comes the flop, with the King of Clubs, the Seven of Spades and the Queen of Hearts.

[King Dedede starts coughing madly]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (Yeah! Finally, I have a good hand!)

[Continues coughing]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (Stop coughin’, ya fool! They’ll know you’re excited!)

[Stops coughing]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (*koff koff* Much better. *koff* *hack* Wait… *koff* am I coughin’ into my own brain? *wheeze* *koff*)

King Dedede: Two hundred thousand.

Daisy’s thoughts: (I just HAD to use my winnings to buy a yacht made of gold, WHICH SUNK IMMEDIATELY, didn’t I?)

Daisy: Call.

Daisy’s thoughts: (Now all the Cheep Cheeps are living large on my boat, and all my friends are dead in their solid gold life vests.)

Kirby’s thoughts: (Let’s see: King of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Seven of Spades… I have an Ace and a King, which puts my odds of winning at…)

[Computer typing and whirring noises]

Kirby’s thoughts: (62.48%. Excellent.)

[Reaches to place his chips on the table, but stops himself short]

Kirby’s thoughts: (But play it cool! They don’t know that you know how to play now.)

Kirby, feigning confusion: Call?

Kirby’s thoughts: (Mmhmm, and the Oscar goes to: me.)

Lucina’s thoughts: (Breathe… You’ve got this.)

Chrom’s ghost: (Remain calm, Lucina.)

Lucina’s thoughts: (EEEEYYAAAAAAAHHHH!! FATHER?!)

Chrom’s ghost: (Yes. I am speaking to you from beyond the grave. Or… urn, rather. I’m here to help. My one mistake was that I panicked. I don’t want you to-)

Lucina: Call.

Chrom’s ghost: (What are you doing?! You haven’t looked at your cards!)

Lucina’s thoughts: (I DIDN’T LOOK AT MY CARDS!)

Master Hand: Four players, eight hundred thousand in the pot, this could get interesting!

[Mario deals another card]

Master Hand: And there’s the turn, with the King of Diamonds.

King Dedede’s thoughts: (Hahaha! I’m winnin’ that pot now!)

[Splat!]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (ooOOOOHHHH!!! OH MAH GOODNESS! MAH KIDNEY’S EXPLODED! AH’M DAIYIN’!!!)

King Dedede’s thoughts: (Must…finish…game…and…get…to…hospital…)

King Dedede: F-five hundred thousand.

Daisy’s thoughts: (GRAAHH! I need to win so I can buy a silver boat to rescue the gold boat!)

Daisy: Call.

Kirby’s thoughts: (That King puts my odds at 89.07%!)

[Smiles, but stops himself]

Kirby’s thoughts: (No! Don’t be happy!)

Kirby: [Starts crying] Call…

Chrom’s ghost: (What is wrong with you?! How do you not look at your cards?!)

Lucina’s thoughts: (I’m sorry! It’s hard to concentrate when your deceased father starts talking in your head!)

Chrom’s ghost: (Sure, blame the dead guy! JUST LOOK AT YOUR CARDS!)

[Lucina fumbles forward, but accidentally knocks Chrom’s urn over, spilling the ashes all over the table]

Lucina’s thoughts: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Chrom’s ghost: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Master Hand: Oh, gross!

Chrom’s ghost: [As Lucina is frantically scooping up his ashes] (Forget about me! Play the game!)

Lucina: Call.

Lucina’s thoughts: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Chrom’s ghost: (YOU DIDN’T LOOK AT YOUR CARDS!!)

Master Hand: Ooookay, I guess we’re just gonna pretend that didn’t happen.

[Mario hurriedly deals the next card]

Master Hand: And there’s the river- it’s the Ace of Spades! That’s great news for anyone holding an Ace right now.

King Dedede’s thoughts: (NOOOOOOOOOO!)

Daisy’s thoughts: (NOOOOOOOOOO!)

Kirby’s thoughts: (YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!)

Lucina’s thoughts: (DAAAAAAADDDDDYYYYY!!)

King Dedede’s thoughts: (Oh, what am I gonna do? That Ace’ll muss up the whole shebang! What’re the odds that someone even has a King AND an Ace?)

Kirby’s thoughts: [smugly] (…0.01%.)

King Dedede’s thoughts: (I’ve gotta go for it… my one remainin’ kidney ain’t gonna-)

[Splort!]

King Dedede’s thoughts: (SWEET SAKURAI! AH AIN’T GOT NO KIDNEYS!! AH HAVE MOMENTS TA LIVE!!!)

King Dedede: [trembling voice]…All-in…

Lucina’s thoughts: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Daisy: All-in.

King Dedede’s thoughts: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Kirby: All-in.

Daisy’s thoughts: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Lucina: All-in.

Chrom’s ghost: (AAAAAAAHHHHHH!)

Lucina’s thoughts: (WHY DON’T I LOOK AT MY CAAAAAAARRDDSSS?!)

Chrom’s ghost: (I DON’T KNOOOOWW!!)

Master Hand: Millions in the pot, but there can be only be one winner. Dedede will show first.

[King Dedede shows his cards]

Master Hand: A strong hand there: three Kings!

King Dedede’s thoughts: (FASTER!!!)

Master Hand: And Daisy…

[She shows her hand]

Master Hand: …only has two pairs: Queens and Sevens. Looks like she won’t be a repeat winner tonight.

Daisy’s thoughts: (That’s it… it’s over. I wonder how much I could get for one of my kidneys…)

[She trails off as she glances at the kidneyless King Dedede]

Daisy’s thoughts: [smirking] (…Like the wind.)

Master Hand: I’m almost scared to see what Kirby has-

[Kirby shows his hand]

Master Hand: O-oh my… Kirby’s got a FULL HOUSE! Kings full of Aces!

Kirby’s thoughts: (AAAHAHAHAH! THE PADAWAN HAS BECOME THE JEDI!)

Master Hand: And no one knows what Lucina has, including Lucina herself.

Chrom’s ghost: (Let’s just leave! I can’t bear the shame anymore!)

Lucina’s thoughts: (…I have to know.)

[Lucina retrieves her cards and flips them over. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.]

Master Hand: Lucina has a pair of Aces! SHE’S WON IT ALL!

Lucina’s thoughts: (WHAAAAA?!!! AAAAAAAHHHHH!) [joyfully] (HAHAHAHAHAH!)

[As the other contestants wallow in their failure…]

Master Hand: What an unbelievable end to this unforgettable tournament!

Master Hand: And now we close. King Dedede is quickly leaving, most likely to a hospital…

[King Dedede weakly shuffles off. Daisy quickly gets up to follow him]

Master Hand: …with Daisy closely following behind him…

Daisy’s thoughts: (HERE COMES THE WIIIIND!)

Master Hand: …and Kirby consoles himself with a sandwich.

[The crowd awws as Kirby, genuinely teary-eyed, sobs as he stuffs another footlong down his gullet]

Chrom’s ghost: (You’ve done it, Lucina! Now you can afford to buy me an urn with a television in it!)

[As Lucina rakes in her winnings, she accidentally knocks Chrom’s urn to the ground, spilling more ashes]

Chrom’s ghost: (Whoa! I’m everywhere!)

Master Hand: Super Smash Bros. thanks you for joining us, and good night!

#incorrect quotes #smash bros #submission #Source: Studio C #Chrom #Lucina #Master Hand #Daisy #King Dedede #Kirby #Fire Emblem #Super Mario #Kirby Series

[littlemoondarlingarts]

Eat His Head

Chapter 1: Bumblebee

Tw: surprisingly, none!

Word count: 3049 words

Characters: Theodore Malik, Fran Rouge, Rouge

"Did you know that the female praying mantis eats her partner's head after mating?" Fran explained while laying on his stomach and swinging his feet from the left to the right.

"I always thought my spirit animal would be something cool like a crow or even a fox, turns out it's most likely to be a fucking bug." Theodore responded without taking his eyes off the shirt he has been embroidering since morning.

"What do you mean?" The small vampire asked while scooting closer to see what he was working on, "Oooooohhhh! The butterfly looks very pretty!"

"Aaawww thank you Bumblebee!" He smiled gleefully at the compliment, "And don't worry your head about it."

"Mmhmm…." Fran then scooted even closer while rubbing his feet together like a cricket. Why wasn't he insisting to know what Theodore meant?…… he wants something doesn't he?

"Do you want me to embroider a praying mantis as well?" The tired man sighed, hoping, wishing, praying even, that the answer would be no.

"YES!" He nearly jumped in excitement with wide open eyes and a smile that reached his elf like ears, "Thank you thank you thank you!!!"

The boy's happiness was infectious and so he had no choice but to do what the little menace wants with a smile on his face, "Well, I don't know how a praying mantis looks up close s-"

"You DON'T?" He sat up in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape as if he has just heard that santa wasn't real.

The man cocked his to the side head in confused, "Why… why would I?"

"Because they're beeaaauuutiffuull!" He opened his little arms as far as they could go and tossed his head backwards which caused him to lose his balance and fall but his father figure was quick to grap his wrist and pull him forward making him have a giggling fit, "Man I nearly DIED there! Whew, thank godess you're here!"

Theodore ruffled the boy's hair a little earning himself a few annoyed huffs and dramatic puffs, "Yea yea, nothing kills a vampire except falling back exactly two feet," he smiled, "now as I was saying! I don't know how it looks like, so I need you to draw it for me."

"Okay okay!!" The vampire quickly jumped up and run to his large cabinet, climbing the drawers like a spider until he reached his art supplies which he proceeded to throw them on the ground, trusting that Teddy would catch them, little did he know that his support was seeing double at this point, so the box fell on the floor with the sound of tens of pencils cracking. "That's sad." Was all he said before sitting back on the floor and cuddling closer to the blue haired man.

They stayed like that for a while, each of them working on their own projects but still enjoying the presence of the other in their vicinity until a loud and steady knock made them both look up. "Come in!!"

The door slowly opened to reveal none other than the man, the legend, Rouge himself, still in his adorable white sleeping gown, a rare sight for sure. "Oh man… did the sun set already?" Theodore wondered.

"Daddy!" Fran hopped across the younger man, his feet narrowly missing his most fragile parts as he ran towards his number one dad and wrapped his arms around his legs, the boy's head barely reaching the knees of the absurdly tall vampire. Unfortunately this loving gesture only earned him two lackluster pats on the head. Dissatisfied with the amount of attention he got, he rushed back to sulk beside his more expressive dad.

"It did. Why are you both sitting on the floor?" His voice was even deader than usual, is that even a word? Well it should be, it is perfect. 

"Teddy's dad used to sit on the floor and spend time with him and hug him and tell him that his art is pretty!" The boy rattled off, clearly annoyed by the lack of care and support from the older vampire, although that got lost in translation.

"It looks uncomfortable."

"You can't knock it till you try it!" Theodore said as he patted the floor beside him.

But before Rouge could take a single step forward, the young kid shrieked, "NO!" He quickly looked from the vampire to the human beside him desperately, "The floor is our floor! Only you and me sit on the floor! He wouldn't get it! He will only complain and make the mood go bad!" His voice was high with distress.

"Don't flatter yourself Fran, I wasn't going to do it anyway." He said with pride, as if he did something by winning an argument against a literal child. "Theodore, I must talk to you." But when he didn't get the desired response he added, "Privately."

"NO!" Came yet another rejection, "Teddy promised me to spent the whooole day with me," he stretched the "whole" to accentuate his point, "all twenty four hours of it!"

"It's just for a few m-" The young man tried to argue but he was immediately attacked in what could only be described as the most violent hug he has ever experienced, the boy tends to be a little clingy on the best of days but the dismissal his father has shown only made things get worse. "Well, you can cover your ears, right Bumblebee?" 

The boy nodded while on the brink of tears, but he slowly placed his hands over his ears as he nestled his head in the long blue curls of his second dad.

"See, problem solved!"

"No, not really. You haven't gotten my agreement to this predicament, and just to not waste your time, you will never get it."

"We made a compromise you asshole! Just spit it out already." The younger man was on his last nerves, already exhausted by a day full of tiny repetitive stitches, he was read to chew someone's head off.

"Just for your knowledge, cussing doesn't make you sound tough. And I will not yield on my decision, I need to speak with you privately." He pursed his lips slightly.

"Well, Darling, I have no energy for your bullshit tonight, you can say what you want or leave." There was venom dripping from every word he said and he genuinely couldn't care less if the vampire picked up on it or not.

Rouge was stunned for a moment, too used to his partner being patient and gentle so this felt especially cruel, he could stay and argue some more or he could perform a strategic escape. And so he turned on his heels, whipping his absurdly long brain behind him and slammed the door shut.

Theodore sighed and leaned his head backwards on the bed, closing his eyes and breathing slowly for a bit.

"Can I hear now?"

"Wha-? You're still covering your ears sweetie?" He said softly as he removed the boy's hands and set them down on his lap, gently rubbing circles with his thumb when he noticed the worry in his eyes.

"Did you two fight?" Fran sniffled.

"Everyone fights from now to now, don't worry about it." He tried to reassure the young vampire but that seemed to have the opposite effect as he teared up and snatched his hands away.

"You're gonna leave!"

"For the love of God Bee, who said that?!"

"I know it I know it! Everyone ends up leaving! Rouge always does this shit!" Fran's face was red with anger as tears flowed down his chubby cheeks.

"Awww baby don't say that, I'll never leave you okay?" It was a lie, Theodore knew it and so does the boy, Rouge can be insufferable at times and it was only a matter of a few more incidents and he would reach his absolute being point, it's been 7 years, if the man was going to change he would've done so already. 

"If… if you leave.. can I go with you?" Fran looked at him with those big teary eyes, oh how much he hates to see his little boy cry, it feels like a crime against the universe, he is meant to be smiling and laughing and making silly faces at the bugs outside his window not thinking about who to stay with if his parental figures were to split up.

He didn't even try to argue or convince his baby, "Of course you can."

The vampire nodded slowly and wiped his nose with the back of his hand to which Theo immediately shoved a tissue in his face making him grumble. He slapped his semi father's arm playfully before blowling his nose into the tissue and creating a sound that would convince anyone that the end is here. "I'm tired now…. can I continue the drawing later?"

The man knows how much Rouge typically pushes his son when it comes to actually finishing what he started which normally leads the poor thing to hate whatever it is that he made by the end of it. "You don't have to ask me Honeybee, you can rest whenever you need it."

He got a wide tired smile in return as Fran slowly crawled over to Theodore's lap and coiled around himself like a cat, even covering his eyes with his little hands. As much as the human found this adorable, he knew that if he wanted him to get a good night's sleep, he has to turn off the light somehow, so he grabbed an eraser from the scattered supplies and with his experienced knife throwing skills he aimed at the lightswitch and missed it by a whole foot.

"Ha! You're bad at this." The tired boy who somehow knew that his dad was going to embarrass himself giggled.

"Oh shut up! You wouldn't have done any better."

"Yea but I wouldn't have been so confident about it!" He grinned, staring to lose his sleeplessness and they can't have that! So Theodore pulled the blanket from the bed and tossed it over the balled up boy, covering him from head to toe so that no light came in but with a little passageway for air, and soon enough he was fast asleep, the young man wasn't any better as he tossed his head back and lost consciousness within seconds.

Rouge was even more distant the following two days, only answering questions with one to two words, locking himself in his room, and not feeling his lover's bicep even once. Something was definitely wrong. So Theodore busied himself with making a meat pie, his lover's second favourite food, and squeezed some fresh oranges and made sure to strain the pulp so that he doesn't throw them back up and cut out a generous piece, put it on a highly decorated plate and made his way to that isolated room.

As expected, Rouge was still head deep in his paperwork, his hair was a mess and he was still in the same clothes that he wore a day ago and something tells Theo that he hasn't eaten since then. The vampire perked up at the delicious smell, he probably thinks that he looks well put and polished but to Theodore, he looks like a wet shaking kitten, he would've called it cute if he didn't know that his love was starving.

He hopped onto the desk with the tray in his hands as the vampire scrambled to rescue the papers from getting squished under his ass, "There you go darling." He said as he placed the plate infront of his wet kitten.

"You cooked this right?" He asked cautiously and began prodding and disassembling the pie after getting an assuring nod, he trusted his partner's cooking more than anyone else's, but his stomach wouldn't accept anything that hasn't been thoroughly investigated. 

"What are you working on?" Theodore asked as he held up a few papers, there were numbers, so many numbers and none of the equations were right. He had to wait for his darling to finish chewing to get an answer.

"Some paperwork that's due tomorrow, I have been struggling with it for two days now, I even forfeited sleep yesterday to be able to finish them, but every time I assume I've been finally freed from my misery, I end up with the wrong number. I long for death my love." His voice was tired and he seemed near tears.

"My baby I love you but yea no shit you're getting the wrong number, your calculations are all wrong… so fucking wrong.."

"… I.. how do you know that?" He was so offended that it made Theodore giggle.

"Well first of all the result isn't correct, second of all, you're plain shit at math, no offense tho."

"And who would you be to tell me that? Isaac Newton reborn?" Rouge's cheeks were as red as his lips at this point and he was starting to feel bad for teasing him.

"No, just someone who got straight A's on all his math tests." He moved closer, placing a hand on top of his lover's, "Don't feel bad darling, you can't be great at everything, take me for example I-"

"You're bad at everything." He retaliated, feeling a little more confident.

"Everything?~" Theodore purred, moving even closer, managing to turn the tables and flustering the vampire.

"Well.. not EVERYTHING…. Any who, are you planning on aiding me or will you only take sadistic pleasure in my suffering?"

"Oh I would never!" He posed dramatically, "Now allow your prince in leather armor to save you!" He offered his hand which Rouge gladly took, making him double down in laughter.

"What is making you laugh so hard? You gave me your hand and I took it." He defended. 

Theodore couldn't help but grab his cheeks and hiss him on his long nose, "My darling, my sweetheart, the light of my life, I wanted the original paper, you know the one that has what you're trying to solve?"

"…. Ah." He handed him what he needed before silently chewing on the well seasoned meat.

The calculations were done by the time the cup was emptied and Theodore handed them over with pride. Unable to fathom that he isn't the best in the world at everything, Rouge tried to pick apart the equations to find any mistakes, but other than a "2" that was too close to the "+" he couldn't find any which only made Theo smile wider.

"I… suppose I must thank you now."

"Yes, and since I know how much of a narcissist you are, I'll offer you a deal."

"You've piqued my interest."

"Tell me, what did you want to say two nights ago?"

Rouge sighed, pushing back against his chair and rubbing his temples, "I suppose you were going to know sooner or later." He looked at the man infront of him, or more accurately, at the vase behind him, "I will be departing to visit Dracula at the break of dawn, I will remain there for seven days." There was something in his voice that Theodore couldn't decipher.

"Oh. Well that's fun isn't it! Travelling all the way to transylvania I assume, I heard it's a truly beautiful place." He smiled.

"It is absolutely gorgeous, but it isn't fun. I'm fact it is as far away from fun as something can get. I would very much rather be forced to trim the grass with nail clipper and proceed to clean horse feces} with my own ungloved hands than to go there." His voice was harsh despite its monotony. 

"Ouf. Why are you going then?" 

"This isn't the appropriate time to be jesting, my love." But when it was clear that the question was genuine, he caved in and explained, "It is Dracula. Dracula. I can't simply not go."

"Why not?" He could never tell when his partner was overwhelmed, so it came as an absolute shock when he slammed his head on the table with enough force to make Theodore stumble, "HEY HEY! We agreed not to this anymore!"

"I can't." He grumbled, head still down on the desk. 

"You should tell me before things get to this point." He tried to be as gentle as possible with his blood boiling. 

"You don't understand."

"I don't understand because you never explain! You talk in riddles and expect me to do all the work to decipher your intent and God help me if I get something wrong!"

"I don't have enough energy to argue with you." He sounded truly tired.

"Fine. But will you atleast tell me why you can't refuse to go?" Theodore was pleading at this point.

"It is dangerous."

"Doesn't that make it more dangerous to go?" His worry seeped through his voice as he spoke.

"It is… but there's nothing to be done about it." He went silent for a few minutes, "There is…. one thing."

"What is it? Tell me?" He knows that this prodding will most likely annoy him but he can't help himself. 

"You. You can come with me. If you want." Rouge almost sounded embarrassed to admit that, his cheeks flushed and his voice barely above a whisper. 

"Of course I'll come with you darling, Fran does need a change of scenery as well!"

"No. Fran won't be coming with us, it's too dangerous." Rouge held his head in his hands as he grimaced in pain and this discouraged Theodore from asking what that danger is exactly.

"Alright… Let's get you to bed now, you need some rest before leaving." He said softly before hopping off the desk and nearly breaking the heels of his black pumps.

"No. I can't do that. I have to bathe and wash off this…. aroma off me. I can't stand existing in my skin anymore." He stood up as well and extended a hand to the much… much shorter man, "Would you accompany me, my love?"

Theodore immediately took his hand and rested his head on his lover's torso, "Oh I would be honoured!" He looked down bashfully, a rare occurrence, " I missed you these past two days… you know?"

Rouge wrapped his arm around him and pulled him even closer as they walked to extravagant bathroom, "I missed you as well."

#my art #my writing #artists on tumblr #writers on tumblr #oc #my oc #rouge #theodore malik #fran rouge #if u do read this please tell me what you think about it!

[illicitlimerence-writes]

boys have cooties │ t. holland

pairing: middle school teacher!tom holland x middle school teacher!fem!reader warnings: like two or three curse words, kids, overall it's pretty much fluff. maybe some spelling mistakes. word count: 2k a/n: hi, hello. english isn't my first language, so please be kind. this is the first thing i've written in so long so i'm sorry if this sucks. gif ain't mine, creds to the owner!

"mr holland?" "yes, my friend?" he said, crouching so he could be eye level with little natalie. "do you have a girlfriend?" she asked, her pretty green eyes shining brightly. his mind immediately went to the gorgeous (y/e/c)-eyed girl who owned his heart.

"why do you ask that, friend?" he pulled a chair from the table next to him and sat in front of her. he watched as an adorable frown set on her face, cheeks flushing.

"yesterday i was playing in my room and my sissy was watching a movie with a boy. i wanted to watch tangled so i went to the living room and she was kissing him!" she said, banging her hands on the table as if it was the most scandalous thing she'd ever seen.

"really? and what did you do?" he asked, biting his lips and trying his hardest not to grin at the wholesomeness of it all.

"i screamed, and she was really mean, she told me to go to my room and leave her and her boyfriend alone. do boyfriends and girlfriends make you mean?"

"well, no. a boyfriend or girlfriend is supposed to bring out the best of you. i believe what happened was that maybe she was maybe a bit embarrassed about you seeing them together," he explained as carefully as he could to the six-year-old. he loved teaching little kids, but there were times like this when he had to try to put into simple words something as abstract as the concept of love and relationships. he wouldn't change it for the world, though. there was nothing like seeing the mesmerized expressions on each of their faces when they discovered something new together.

"okay. but i don't think i will ever have a boyfriend. because boys have cooties and germs." she said confidently. he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from his lips. little natalie pressed her hand against her mouth, giggling as if she'd just said the funniest thing in the world.

"natalie! boys don't have cooties." he tried to stop her from laughing, but her giggles only got louder.

"yes they do!" she continued laughing, only stopped when they heard a knock on the door. you walked in, in all your beautiful glory.

"hey ba-buuuddy," you played it cool when you noticed the small child sitting in front of Tom.

"hi, miss y/l/n!" natalie greeted you cheerfully. you gave them both a bright smile, "can you tell mr. holland that i'm right?"

"she's right," you said immediately, winking at her.

"so you agree that boys have cooties?" tom asked, lifting his eyebrows. you grabbed a chair and sat next to him, and grabbed his hand under the table. he interlocked his fingers with yours, squeezing them.

"duh! obviously!" you nodded, which only made the six-year-old to laugh even louder.

"i told you!" she said, pointing a finger at tom. you looked at him, scrunching your nose as you smiled.

"so does that mean i have cooties?" tom asked, his eyes darting between his young student and you.

"no!"

"yes!" you and natalie said at the same time. while the young girl denied it, you played along and accused your perfect boyfriend of having the childish disease.

tom stared at you with his mouth in a perfect o. the six-year-old's laugh could now be heard from outside of the room.

"i'm offended," tom said as he placed a hand on his chest, you chuckled and winked at him.

you were about to make another snarky comment when the loud bell rang, signaling the end of recess.

"saved by the bell," you said dropping his hand and standing up. tom's students began rushing into the room, surprised to see you there.

"miss y/l/n!" the kids cheered.

while tom preferred the joy of teaching new things to the littlest, you enjoyed the challenge of the eldest. your young age was definitely an advantage you had when it came to teaching. you knew the stress and anxiety that school could cause some of the kids and were always flexible with your assignments and your way of teaching. now on your third year as a teacher, you'd heard kids saying they could not wait until they reached fifth grade so they could have you as their teacher. it was safe to say everyone at school loved you. always kind, always giving the best advice, always having the best snacks.

"oh, my goodness! i am never leaving this classroom, you are the cutest little things in the entire world!" you said as they ran to you and hugged your legs.

"go away y/n, they're my kids," tom said faking hurt when he saw the lovestruck expression on the little ones' faces, but his heart fluttered when he saw how they loved you as much as he did.

"i think they love me more than they love you, tommy-boy," you said, a cheeky grin on your lips. he wanted nothing more than to kiss you senseless. but instead, he gasped, eyes widening as he looked around at the kids, some laughing, some ran to tom and hugged his legs as well, meanwhile the others stayed by your side and held you tighter.

"i've been betrayed, and by my own younglings." he dramatically fell to his knees and all the kids rushed to his side, saying how they loved him as much as they loved you.

"no!"

"we love you too, mr. holland!"

"i like miss y/n better."

"you two are my favorite teachers!" loud screeching filled the room, making you laugh.

"okay, kids. go show mr. holland your love, i've gotta go deal with my own munchkins. it was lovely to see you today, remember to drink water, make good choices and listen to tommy-boy here," you ruffled some heads and high-fived hands as you walked backward toward the door.

"alright everybody, let's thank miss y/l/n for stopping by. say goodbye and settle down," tom switched into teacher mode, and you felt the familiar butterflies fluttering in your stomach when you saw him rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. biting your lip, you sent him a small wink as a new wave of voices filled the room.

"bye, miss y/l/n!"

"i love you!"

"come back soon!"

"can i go with you?"

"have a nice day!" you smiled and waved at them. giving tom a small nod and a knowing look, you rushed to your classroom at the end of the hall.

you loved your kids, messy and loud and moody.

when you walked into your room you saw most of them sitting and chatting with their own small cliques, but when they heard the sound of your shoes approaching some of them turned their heads to see you.

immediately, the loud voices filled the room.

"where were you?"

"can we watch a movie?"

"i need to use the restroom!"

"you're late!"

"yes, you can go to the restroom. no, we're not waching a movie today. yes, i know i'm late. i was in mr. holland's classroom visiting my favorite kids in the entire school" you answered, lifting an eyebrow and laughing when you saw their reactions.

"hey!"

"not cool!"

"i like him better anyways"

you continued to laugh as you moved your hands, finally getting them to quiet down.

"that, ladies and gents, was a joke. i was kidding. i wouldn't trade my babies for anything in the world" you said as you sat on your desk, folding your legs underneath you.

"miss y/l/n?" a girl raised her arm, you looked up

"yes, alice?"

"i saw you and mr. holland in the morning, you were holding hands." she said, cheeky grin on her face.

"oooooohhhh, miss y/l/n has a boyfriend!" shouting began again. you tried your hardest to suppress the smile that was threatening to settle on your face. instead you bit your lip hard.

"you woke up and chose violence today, alice," you admitted, making them all laugh. "mr. holland and i are just friends, my babies." you said, knowing how they hated when you called them that. "now, we've already lost too much time, let's get to work. everybody take out your books and-"

-------

at the end of the school day, you stayed behind sorting through papers and planning your classes for next week. when you finished, you put your things away, grabbing some papers you needed to grade and putting them in your bag. a knock on the door grabbed your attention.

"hey, baby," you greeted tom. he walked to you, threw his arm around your neck and pressed a kiss on the side of your temple.

"you ready, darling?" he asked, taking your bag from you with his right hand and grabbing your own with his left one. you nodded, lifting your joined hands and kissing his knuckles. you noticed the way his cheeks flushed pink. and it warmed your heart knowing even the simple gestures still made sparks fly between you two after years of being together.

"yes, mr. holland," you teased, locking the door behind you, interlocking your fingers with his again.

"took me a while to quiet them down after your visit, wouldn't stop talking about you," he squeezed your hand, making you grin.

"oh, you should've heard my kids. alice saw us holding hands in the morning. they think you're my boyfriend." you lifted an eyebrow. letting go of his hand when you reached his range rover. the parking lot was now empty. he opened the door for you, you climbed in the passenger seat as he put your handbag and his own backpack in the backseat.

"really?" he asked, you hummed in response. you moved so you were facing him standing outside. he placed his hands on your thighs, your hands immediately finding his. "if they only knew..." he said, letting go of one of your hands, his fingers traveled to your neck, under the collar of your shirt, and toyed with the delicate gold chain around your skin. he lifted the chain, a sparkly diamond ring sitting there like a charm.

"if they only knew..." you repeated his words, hands traveling to his face, cupping his cheeks. your thumb played with lips and he moved his head to kiss it.

"when do you think we should tell them?" he asked, leaning down, resting his forehead against yours, noses brushing together.

"i don't know. they're gonna lose their shit when they find out," you chuckled, earning one from him as well. "we'll have to tell them before the wedding, though. otherwise, my kids will feel betrayed. they're already mad because i told them i'll be gone for a month."

"but it'll be during the summer holidays," he frowned, a beautiful smile forming on his lips.

"i know, that's what i said. apparently, they still think i live in the school." you shook your head, laughing.

"i can't wait until we have our own little ones," he admitted, hiding his face on your neck, fingers still playing with the ring that he gave you almost a year ago on your two-year anniversary. you smiled, your arms around his waist, pulling him closer.

"me neither, then they'll really lose their shit. can you imagine?" you giggled as you felt his warm breath hit your sensitive skin behind your ear.

"i love you so much." he said, pressing small kisses on your neck, traveling up to your jaw, your cheek, and finally your lips. your thumbs tracing invisible circles on his cheek as his lips met yours.

"i love you, too. so, so much." your hands moved to his hair, fingers running through soft curls. "now, take me home, mr. holland. your fiance is getting hungry." you both chuckled, hands finally letting of eachother, you settled in your seat as he gave your lips a small peck before closing your door.

"how's mcdonald's sound?" he asked when he climbed in the driver's seat, starting the car. like magnets, your hands met halfway and you rested your arms on the console between you two.

"with you, everything sounds perfect." you admitted, meeting his bright brown eyes that seemed to sparkle when he heard the words you spoke. he lifted your joined hands and kissed your knuckles, once, twice. all the way until forever.

#this is so cute #middle school teacher!tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland fluff #tom holland #tom holland smut #tom holland fic #peter parker #tom holland!peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker fluff #peter parker fic #avengers #avengers imagine #marvel #marvel actors #mcu #imagine #fanfic #fic #tell me if you'd like to read more of this #i'm so soft for this #it's 2021 and i'm still crushing on my man tom holland

[sapphicsaro]

24, 14, and 6 for the writing asks!!

6. What character do I have the most fun writing?

oh man this is a toughhhhhh one. i think my favorite thing i’ve gotten to write is olivia on the edible because we never get to see her just unhinged (literally every other fic i write is just so introspective bc she’s such a thiiiiiinker)

but overall character? it depends. i absolutely love writing flirty elliot, like xmas episode style bc that man is a frat boy who just really wants to makeout with olivia

olivia is great to write when im having a day because i feel similar to her character (or at least my version of her) so i get to spend the day processing her thoughts and it’s kind of cathartic

currently have a WIP thats a loooooong oneshot about noah and he’s fun to write as a lil sweetie

ig what i’m saying is each fic i have a diff fave to focus on depending on the story? if it’s happy, then it’s usually elliot bc i like him being all touchy and lovey towards olivia — if it’s angsty, i love me some olivia has to think about this and her “do i love elliot idk if i’m ready for this but he looks at me like that and i just wish he’d talk to me” phases.

guess i have no faves lmfao

14. At what point in writing do you come up with a title?

oooooohhhh boy. right as i’m about to publish, and sometimes it’s the reason i don’t post right away lol

35 steps, a delectable disaster, trapped in an elevator, at her door, come home with me, three strikes, damaging the sun, here at the park… all popped in my head before clicking post! i don’t really have a method, just try to pick out something important in the fic that is the overall takeaway or theme

so 35 steps was a callout to the quote “35. It would take 35 steps for him to be in his (he likes to call it their) bedroom, open up the drawer where he kept all his gym clothes, find the red shirt that was torn, unravel it, and reveal the hidden ring he knew she did not want (yet).”

but something like “delectable disaster” is just fun because olivia is a flirty, but mess high lol

come home with me was SO hard to name for no reason (it was almost named clementine? but that’s being used for a oneshot i’m writing now!) — in my google docs it was called “kissy kissy” and trapped in an elevator was called “mom and dad hotbox their hearts rip”

so moral of the story, i just use a goofy name, write it until i know exactly what i want the reader to feel or remember about it, then try my best to make it fun lol

24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?

YUPPPPPPP. gd every single fic i change. that’s why fanfic is here! (well for some people)

it’s a great avenue for me to learn my voice and play around. fuck, i’m a script writer so the dialogue only ones are my faves but they’re hard fics to be read by people bc it’s such a different format. i literally think in forms of acting, so when it gets to narrative i legit have to write something, sit on it, reread it, fix it, and keep changing it until the picture in my head is painted in the words i feel the action as.

its fucking hard ngl. some people have this beautiful ability to describe things but it takes me time. i’m a visual person. i wish i could hook up a wire to my brain to depict things sometimes, bc i’ve legit had to act out the scene in my room to figure out how tf two people hold each other and a baseball bat lol

i love writing fanfiction, and i hope my writing gets stronger with each new fic. i never would say i was a bad writer, but i think everyone can improve!!

also not to get preachy, but im in a slump rn with writing and i need to hear this — write what’s ready to write and the rest will follow!! just get it down and you can play with it when you’re ready to!!

ask me anything (i have four WIPs and idk what to do with em lol)

#law and order svu #olivia benson #law and order special victims unit #elliot stabler #bensler #law and order organized crime #mariska hargitay #eo #chris meloni #law and order oc #fanfiction #ask me anything #ama #writing

[7demonhoes]

MC, dancing around their room in their underwear

Lucifer, barging in: Hey MC have you seen-- *stops, eyes trailing downwards towards MC’s underwear* Why, you’re cheeks are so... *looks back at MC’s face and winks* ...red ;) 

Mammon, who definitely wasn’t passing by their room to make sure none of the brothers were there without him: Oi! Lucifer! What are you doing with m- OOOOOOHHHH MY DIAVOLO YOU’RE NAKED AND IT’S NOT LIKE I CARE OR ANYTHING JUST PUTONSOMECLOTHES AND WAIT ARE THOSE KITTY UNDIES???

Levi walks in, wondering what all the fuss is about: *Looks up from his phone* Wh- MC- I- *immediately passes out*

Satan, wearing his (fake) glasses with a book in his hand: Could we please quiet down? I can’t concentrate-- hey is that cat underwear? MC would you come to my room real quick? I have a book I want to show you. But I warn you that it’s... quite long *winks*

Asmo, carrying a huge pile of clothes: I heard music! Time for a fashion show, bitches! *Looks at MC, drops clothes, and kneels down by MC’s legs, cradling the booty as if it’s the most (un)holy thing he’s ever seen* ...Unless??

Beel, sticking his head in: Hey, MC, want to eat some food? *Notices what MC is wearing* Oh! *Covers his eyes, but he’s obviously peeking through two fingers* Should- Should I come back later?

Belphie walks in, his eyes barely open: Oh look... pillows. *Sits beside Asmo, puts his head on MC’s butt, and promptly falls asleep* 

MC: GET THE FUCK OUT!!!

#need some crack in my life #you know #instead of doing final project stuff #obey me #obey me shall we date #shall we date #obey me crack #swearing cw

[the-fiction-witch]

Pretty lady

REAL LIFE

COUPLE TBS X READER

RATING SMUT

I finished dropping off a fair at the address heading back into the main more buseling part of the city as I knew the bars would begin to throw out about now I got a notification on my phone so I glanced down I had another fair so I headed over to the bar as it was begining to empty out with a few people here and there. I stopped and waited a moment until the back door opened "hello?" A cheery voice smiled 

"Hey" I laughed I could tell by the time and from the smell of whiskey and vodka coming from the open door he was drunk. "Thomas?" I asked checking the name in my phone

"Yay! The magical phone has summoned my vehicle!" He smiled climbing into my backseat I laughed a little his joy infectious, I started the car glancing at him in my mirror as he sat on the back seat fiddling with a paper crane made from a bar specials sheet, his face slightly obscured by the mad mess of his fluffy blonde and brown hair, a light blue button down slightly concealed by a thick aviators jacket, a pair of tight blue skinny jeans hugging his every curve the usual bulges of his wallet, keys and phone in his pockets. "Hey?" He whispered loud enough for me to hear "hey? Pretty lady?" He whispered 

"Yes sir?" I asked 

"Can I put music on? Or will you get grumpy with me?" He whispered half into his hands 

"You can put some on, use the app honey" I laughed 

"Oooooohhhh" he smiled excitedly before some nice music started playing it was pretty good fairly close to something I would pick myself and he seemed baffled by it all "I'm a wizard!' I'm magic!" He smiled excitedly "hey? Hey? Pretty lady? Can we stop for ice cream?" He whispered sitting up laying his head on my head rest to talk to me more 

"Of course" I smiled, I saw a drive Thur not far ahead so I pulled in and parked up 

"Keep the time on I'm just going for ice cream" he smiled kissing my cheek before he got out the car and headed inside, I laughed a little it's always so sweet when you get drunk guys. Sometimes drunk guys are assholes or three stupidly horny or whatever but when you get the ones who are just adorable it's so sweet and cute. He returned soon after and got into the front seat "I got you ice cream too" he smiled offering me a little cup of ice cream

"Aww that's sweet of you' I smiled taking it putting it in my cup holder for later I headed off again while he sat listening to some music and eating his ice cream as I drove, I could feel his eyes on me, I didn't think anything off it he was drunk he was staring I didn't worry about it for a while as I drove focusing on the road. I glanced to him for a second and had to do a double take as he has since finished his ice cream the cup in the central cup holder his head against the headrest, his jeans undone his hard erect cock out of his jeans and boxers, his hand wrapped around his shaft gently jerking off as he looked at me "what uhhh what are you doing?"

".... Your so pretty baby" he smiled at me his hand getting faster "ummm please, you look so pretty baby" he says

"Why are you uhh why are you doing this?" I ask

"Please, I'm so horny baby" he groans "please" he whines I looked back to the road unable to remove my eyes but also trying hard not to look at him as he looked at me and kept touching himself I moved my hand from the wheel and replace his hand with my own feeling his soft skin smooth and rock hard as his hand moved away "umm your hands are soft" he smirked as I gently began to move my hand as I drove taking a much more secneic route speeding up my hand "fuck! Baby" he groaned moving his hand to my thigh "please, I'm so horny baby. I need you please" he groans "I haven't gotten off in so long" he smirked, and I started rubbing in the precum of his head 

"How long?" I asked 

"Ummm two weeks" he smirked moving closer rubbing on my panties thought my dress kissing down my neck "so? Shall we go back to your place?'

"Sorry hun, my roommates are there" I told him getting faster and faster "why don't we just go back to your place? It's where we are heading anyway" I smiled 

"Can't… my girlfriend's there" he says between kisses 

"Your what!" I said moving my hand and pushing him away from me 

"My girlfriend. She's so mean to me pretty lady, she won't touch me. She won't play with me when I'm horny" 

"Your going home" I sighed heading where I was meant to take him 

"Okay… pretty lady Doesn't wanna play with me anymore" he whined "fine, next time" he smirked giving me a kiss as we arrived at the house so he got out and headed Inside leaving four twenty pound notes on the seat.

[aw-eather]

Heather Watches Stargate SG1: Upgrades

I have some rare time off and deicded I would like to spend it writing another post because its been a long time and I love this show and it’ll help me be less stressed about life and work!  We all love Upgrades so I thought this could be a fun one to do today! I also just love how much you guys enjoy these posts so thank you for being wonderful  As always, I’ll almost defienitly swear so consider yourself warned. 

Nice shot of the gate

SAM’S HAIR

SHE’S SO CUTE

Tok’ra are starting to annoy Jack and honestly same

“Don’t get me wrong Carter, your dads great, love him like a brother”

What about a father in law???

just a thought

Boys stop gagging over a pretty girl

Ew Daniel thats so gross

“Looks like trouble to me” ew

Sam’s fucking face

She’s so C U T E

Daniel stop flirting with every woman you meet

Anise annoys me tbh

Sorry not sorry

No shit Daniel

Jack is judging SO HARD

I’m actually a fan of the caterpillar on Teal’c’s face. 

I genuienly don’t hate it

Of course it doesn’t work on the Tok’ra. 

Why would anything 

Wow Anise you seem awfully suspicious with how desparate you are to get those bands on our space babies...

Sorry Sam is so beautiful 

like SO BEAUTIFUL

CREDITS

They’re so boring this season no offence 

END CREDITS

JANET

she looks so fucking good omg 

her HAIR

Anise go HOME you’re so ANNOYING 

Jack’s neck I-

Jack and Teal’c fighting is cute

I love their friendship

aw poor Teal’c

he’s out cold 

Jacks hair is messy and cute

Janet is not impressed at all

“I’m sorry”

“no you are not”

“You’re right about that!

fucking Jack making a comment about his strength and Janet’s face I love them

Jack reading super fast and Daniel not being able too is hilarioius to me

Mostly because I dislike Daniel

Lol “want me to read it to you?”

Sam sitting in the dark

Janet visiting her with her messy hair and looking so cute and wonderful

I love her

lemme protect her

she’ll need it

Sam, I don’t trust Anise

Jack chil you’re gonna break the machine 

that fucking beanie

i hate it

Jack broke the ball

I’m quiet during this scene because I Do Not Care TM about Daniel and Anise

Janet looks so annoyed 

and I don’t blame her

I agree with Janet

take them off

ah but they can’t 

janet and hammond are ready to slap anise and I’m HERE FOR IT

Jack might not be concerned Teal’c, but I am

jack what did that punching bag ever do to you, you dork

SAm is WRITING  a BOOK with her new found power I hate her

Sam and Janet are beautiful 

and their friendship could have been beautiful

if TPTB knew how to write decent women

“its just so damn exciting sir” I love him

poor Siler omg

why is it always him

can’t he catch a break

aw they’re all locked up

Steak. 

THEY’RE BREAKING OUT

FUCK SHE LOOKS GOOD

LIKE SO GOOD

AND THEY’RE BOTH WEARING LEATHER JACKETS 

THEY LOOK SO GOOOD

FRENCH FRIES INSTEAD OF POTATOES 

I LIKE THE TASTE BETTER 

SAM STOP 

YOU’RE TOO MUCH

MY TINY COLD HEART CANNOT TAKE IT 

defying a direct order but who cares

Jack there is a large, huge MASSIVE difference between steak and earth

the story about that shot with the pool is always funny to me 

JACK LOOKS GOOD

SO GOOD 

WITH HIS HANDS IN HIS POCKETS AND THE LEATHER AND THE GREY AND I-

he is a geek

Daniel don’t do it

oh he did it

Sam’s even telling him not to do it

bloody hell 

can we have a chat about how hot Jack and Sam are? 

Not make them stupid lol 

they were already stupid, Hammond 

they’re space babies

they’re looking so sory for themselves 

no you can’t Daniel

VERY HUNGRY SIR

more of a scuffle sir

ACTUALLY IT WAS YOUR IDEA... SIR

the fucking sass

the FUCKING S A S S 

ugh

UGH 

I AM SO SICK OF ANISE 

bitch  you brought those arm bands there so they could do stuff for you

the Tok’ra are always out for themselves and no one else

they barely do anything to help the taur’i and it pisses me off

Sam looks so cute

Hammond, every mission is a suicide mission 

sam is SO CUTE

HER HAND-

SORRY 

SHE’S REALLY HOT 

AND ADORABLE

I WANNA PROTECT HER

Thta was a lot of science talk 

aww the little hat 

so CUTE

look at em go

kicking jaffa butt

speeding around the place

HER HAIR 

I CANNOT STAND HER

SHE’S SO CUTE

wow thats a big ship

arm band is no longer working 

surprise surprise it happens in the middle of an important mission 

oh Hammond is MAD MAD 

Anise and you can bugger off

Janet’s face is like “did this bitch really just say what I think she just said”

NO SAM

JACK NO

OH BOY 

OOOOOOHHHH BOOOOOYYYYY

FAM I HATE THEM AND I LOVE THEM

THIS IS HONESTLY HEART BREAKING 

BECAUSE THEY OLY NOW REALISE HOW IN LOVE THEY ARE 

FUCK OFF

I LOVE THEM AND I HATE THEM 

BUT I LOVE THEM MORE 

i got a new computer today and the SOUND QUALITY IS SO MUCH BETTER

Aw Sam woke up first 

lol he wakes up funny 

he’s gonna do anything he can to help her

“you gotta get out of here sir”

“so do you” 

STOP IT YOU LOVE STRUCK NERDS

RUN BABIES RUN 

GET YO ASES OUT OF THERE

Look at that little jump over the rock

they’re in soooo much trouble

the fact these space babies didn’t get court marshalled a mllion times still shocks me 

ouch

that had to hurt

nice camera work

I AM VERY WELL GENERAL HAMMOND

lol 

i fuking love Teal’c 

what a sweetheart

i love him

could be a little less sarcastic to the Tok’ra Jack

I hate them as much as you do but no need to make things worse for yoruself 

this is why they never help you 

cause you are sassy to them

Final Thoughts: 

I love this episode

I love the silly space babies

I love Sam and Jack’s outfits when they go for steak

I love Sam’s hair

A lot

I love Sam in red

its a good colour for her

I genuienly hate the Tok’ra 

they’re useless

Jacob is ok

Martouf is mostly ok

the rest kinda suck tbh

Janet Deserved Better

all in all its a fun episode and I love it and it gives me the giggles which is what we all need right now

So tell me, beautiful people, what is our favourite moment from Upgrades? Lemme know and thanks for reading! 

#Stargate SG1 #SG1 #SG1: Upgrades #Samantha Carter #Jack O'Neill #Teal'c #Daniel Jackson #Janet Fraiser #George Hammond #Amanda Tapping #ATapps #Richard Dean Anderson #RDA #Christopher Judge #Teryl Rotherly #Michael Shanks #Heather Watches #Mudblood and proud watches

[stabbysideblog]

I just had an absurd mental trip and I need to share my newest theory with you.

So. We know that Schlatt's diary, currently in Dream's hands, is very, very important, right? Schlatt was a smart man, he was able to win the elections, he found out about Tubbo's double face, he understood that no one was really on his side and when he saw that he couldn't win the fight he just- let go of his weapons and armors to wait his end instead of fighting an already lost battle. So, I say, it would be totally normal for him to investigate on his citizens, right?

What if Schlatt, at some point, found out that Dream is a demon? He finds out and he writes it in his diary, and then he starts looking around for every information about demons that he can find- maybe he asks directly to BBH, making it sound like he just wants to know if Bad is stable or if he's going to lose his shit and kill everyone, after all he's the president and he needs to know if his town is in danger or not, right? So, BBH tells him something, maybe about the fact that he's very stable since his source is strongly connected to him and that it helps him keeping his powers in check and all that, and Schlatt writes everything in his diary.

With that informations, he starts thinking about Dream again- Dream seems stable, he doesn't loses his powers and, on the contrary, he seems very in control of them and of himself, so Dream must have a source, that's the conclusion Schlatt reaches. He starts trying to understand who the source might be- Quackity? No, he's strange but he's not the type of person to catch Dream's interest- Tommy and Wilbur? They're exiled. They might be a danger for Schlatt's presidency, but they don't seem like the people to make demonic deals with someone.

Schlatt slowly ticks anyone away from his list, until only one remains- Tubbo, with his kind heart and innocent face, with his gentle methods and his friendly smiles- he doesn't seem like the type of guy to have anything to do with a demon, but then Schlatt finds out about the TNT under Manberg and about Tubbo being a spy and he thinks that maybe he's exactly the type of person, because no one would suspect him, and that's when Schlatt decides to kill Tubbo- because he betrayed him, Schlatt says, but the truth is that he wants to hurt Dream by killing his source.

Of course, Tubbo is not Dream's source and Schlatt writes it down, but then he dies and the diary passes to Dream. In that diary it's written everything Schlatt found out about Dream. Every. Single. Detail. And if someone where to find it they would have a huge power over Dream.

And I have more, this is only part 1 of my theory but I'll send that in another ask or it might get too long XD please let me know if my ramblings get out of hand and you want me to stop x" -Parrot 🦜

PLease never stop Parrot!

Oooooohhhh I like that, It also explains what the FUCK is in the book. I also think it’s Demon stuff because what else could it possibly be tbh? 

Schlatt kills Tubbo and watches Dream carefully, he manages to figure out his source the day of the war. It’s too late then, he realizes he was too slow and after all he’s far outnumbered. He gives up and drinks himself to death. The deal schlatt made with Dream was this. 

Schlatt’s sitting in his chair writing in a notebook, He’s amassed so much information in it he’s almost reached the last few pages. He sets the pin down and rests his arm, he’s weak and getting weaker by the day, writing in his notebook becomes harder and harder for him but he still does it. It’s important to him and his country. There’s a knock on the door, Schlatt tells him to come in closing his notebook and setting it aside. 

Dream walks in looking around the room, it's dirty littered with beer bottles, protein powder, cigarette butts, and god knows what else. The only clean area is the desk with a single chair in front of it. Schlatt sits calmly behind this desk a facedown notebook, pen, and bottle of beer in front of him. 

"Please, sit down big man"

Dream warily sits down eying up the other man. "What did you want to meet for Schlatt?"

"A little birdie told me that you're a Demon, a Dreamon to be precise" Within a second a netherite sword pointed at his neck, Dream is standing in front of Schlatt gripping the hilt of the sword hard enough to turn his knuckles white. 

"What do you know"

Schlatt laughed and pushed the sword aside "No need for the macho display, it's just us, plus I don't want to use the information against you. In fact, I want you on my side." Dream puts the sword back in his face but less committed, he's listening. "Why would I be on your side? Schlatt you're not dumb I'm sure you know no one supports you. It would be stupid to join your side"

Schlatt set one hand on his notebook "I have information, This book contains all your secrets green boy, If you join me I'll give it to you. If not I'll make copies and spread it so everyone knows your weakness"

"And what if I kill you and take the book?"

"If you do that Fundy will follow my orders."

"That are?"

"If I die today retrieve the second notebook from a secret place and spread it."

"Fine," Dream takes a step back, sheathing his sword. "But we'll have to make a pact, to make sure you uphold the end of your deal”

Schlatt takes a swig of alcohol "That's fine by me Demon"

So then Schlatt make’s a deal to be a temporary source for Dream and Dream agrees to side with him and once they win (or die) he gets the book. It’s also why he gave Schlatt full armor and such powerful weapons, after all gotta protect the source right? 

#this is fun! #parrot #Anonymous

[roc-thoughtblog]

Sense and Sensibility Readthrough Part 19

Chapter 22, Pages 111-119

Hubris is defined as not taking your medication for the week and assuming you'd still have a productive time. It's only 5pm Wednesday so it's not too late to humble myself.

Previously, the Miss Steeles were introduced. The older is very much into beaux, and the younger is very often socially mortified by the former. Elinor is disapproves, but, they mysteriously know Eddie Ferrars, so perhaps she will have to put up with them until they give up the goods.

Not that her opinion matters too greatly when Sir Middleton never runs out of social plans. :'D

Also, thank you for telling me beaux is plural of beau!

Commenting from after having read the chapter: Oh, Elinor...

Readthrough below.

Chapter 22

MARIANNE, WHO never had much tolerance for anything like [...]

And this first sentence goes the whole first paragraph for a whopping 11 lines! It's not exclusively about Marianne's intolerances but there's still quite a lot of that. The second half is about how the Steele sisters prefer Elinor because Marianne is just that standoffish with them but I wonder if there's a literary purpose to cramming all that information into one sentence? It's certainly taxing to get my mind around, though I'm not really sure that's reflective of the Steeles when it's partially about Marianne. Perhaps all parties are exhausting?

In Lucy Steele, the younger sister, Elinor finds a companion of natural wit and intelligence, but lacking in any formal education; though I assume by "illiterate" Austen means that Lucy is simply not versed in literature, as opposed to outright illiterate.

She still doesn't like her.

Seems she also finds Lucy to be flippant and lacking any consistency of opinion, and maybe also attention-seeky. Also that they can't really talk about anything interesting to Elinor as she's not educated enough to share any tastes. That's... a shame that Elinor takes this stance. She reads Lucy's constant flattery of everything as insincerety but I don't have any reason not to think Lucy is just a genuinely positive person about everything. Personally, I would call nearabouts everyone I meet really nice, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's true! As you can see as I try to defy the interpretations of almost every character that has been described unflatteringly by the Dashwood sisters. :'D

Except Mr. Palmer, I have no good interpretations of Mr. Palmer.

Also, just because she's not formally educated doesn't mean she can't be fun to talk to! Engage people on their interests Elinor, not just your personal tastes! Well, I say all this but it's not as though I always live up to my ideal of open sociability.

Lucy asks Elinor if she knows Mrs. Ferrars, Eddie's mother. Elinor is reticent to reveal that she thinks his mother is uh, controlling, but does I think truthfully respond that she's never met the lady in person.

Elinor replies without explicit dialogue a lot, which in the Dashwood sisters I've started to take as signifying instances where not merely do they have nothing interesting to say for the reader to read, but also that they are not invested enough in their conversation partner enough to give a proper reply. Elinor does this a little bit here to Lucy, until, that is, Lucy really catches her interest. Now it's ALL DIALOGUE.

See, Lucy really genuinely wants to know about Mrs. Ferrars, surprising Elinor indeed, who's still hung up on the question of how the Steeles are connected to the Ferrars.

"But if I dared not tell you all, you would not be so much surprised. Mrs. Ferrars is certainly nothing to me at present - but the time may come - how soon it will come must depend upon herself - when we may be very intimately connected."

Oh. Oooooohhhh no. Oooooooh boy. Hmm. Yes. Well. I remember Eddie has a more successful (younger?) brother, but I feel like this isn't a fake-out just to give Elinor a heart attack and then move on. Somebody familiar with Austen and queer readings correct me on this, but I also don't see the remote possibility that this is implying Miss Steele is hooking up with Eddie's mother. So.........

I'm sitting here having not turned to the next page yet. Good heavens! indeed, Elinor.

"No," replied Lucy, "not to Mr. Robert Ferrars - I never saw him in my life; but," fixing her eyes upon Elinor, "to his eldest brother."

T-there it is. And Eddie has the hair ring too, doesn't sound one-sided... could still be parental setup, but Lucy apparently doesn't know nearly enough about Mrs. Ferrars...

What Elinor felt at that moment? Astonishment, that would have been as painful as it was strong, had not an immediate disbelief of assertion attended it.

Oh no. As painful as it is strong? Poor Elinor, that's going to hurt when the shock wears off...

A moment of silence for Elinor before I continue, which I'm going to take a short walk on.

So Elinor's... outwardly taking it well. Lucy continues her explanation.

FOUR YEARS.

FOUR YEARS.

LUCY AND EDDIE HAVE BEEN ENGAGED FOUR YEARS.

EDWARD AND LUCY HAVE KEPT THEIR ENGAGEMENT A SECRET FOR FOUR YEARS.

"May I ask if your engagement is long standing?" "We have been engaged these four years."

FOUR YEARS.

ELINOR NEVER HAD A CHANCE.

"I know he has the highest opinion in the world of all your family, and looks upon yourself and the other Miss Dashwoods quite as his own sisters -"

SHE WAS JUST A FRIEND. SHE WAS JUST   A   F R I E N D.

S H E   W A S   L I K E   A   S I S T E R   T O   H I M.

Alright. Well I needed to process that a bit too.

See, it's one thing for me to expect that Eddie was already engaged to somebody else. I would've been ready for that. Maybe he just moved on after Elinor was gone or something. I would've been like "yep, yeah that was expected." But FOUR YEARS. HE WAS ALREADY ENGAGED FOUR YEARS AGO.

How does this recontextualise the earlier parts of the novel? It was a hundred pages ago I don't even remember! Was this all the Dashwoods' imaginations? Am I going to go back and find out the narrative very specifically refused to state anything except that the Dashwoods thought this to be the case? Was Edward leading Elinor along the whole time? Did he know?? He seemed to be feeling guilt or shame or something so he must know about Elinor's feelings right??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ANyway.

So it's been a secret the whole time. Of Lucy's family only Anne Steele knows, and considering Edward I imagine literally nobody knows in general. Lucy and Edward have known each other for many years, ever since Edward stayed with her uncle Mr. Pratt, whom I don't recall coming up at all before but I wouldn't be surprised if he was name-dropped once in the beginning. Edward is so reticent about himself that Elinor barely knows/remembers anything about Mr. Pratt's existence.

I'm taking these quotes thoroughly out of order because I have been knocked out of order, but I want to highlight this;

Her astonishment at what she heard was at first too great for words; but at length forcing herself to speak, and to speak cautiously, she said, with calmness of manner, which tolerably well concealed her surprise and solicitude:

The forced calm, trying to suppress the adrenaline early, trying to keep up the mask of the disaffected. It was obvious enough that Lucy noticed and stopped mid-sentence to wait for her. Oh Elinor. How fast is her heart beating? Where has her breath gone? And "tolerably well concealed" is not "concealed." She's speaking slowly and carefully, before she's even calmed down. How much shakiness is still audible in her words? How taut has each syllable been stretched, to maintain control? Where was the misplaced pause, a necessity to find the next word?

"May- may I ask if your engagement has been long standing?" "May  I ask   if   your   engagement   has been long- long standing?" "May I   ask   if your engagement has been longstanding?"

Anyway.

Elinor's in either the denial stage or the bargaining stage. Well it's a lot to spring on her, we can't all have omniescent narrative security from beyond the fourth wall.

"Though you do not know him so well as me, Miss Dashwood, you must have seen enough of him to be sensible he is very capable of making a woman sincerely attached to him." “Certainly," answered Elinor, without knowing what she said;

PFFHAHA. Well, Elinor's composure is well and truly gone. If there's one positive thing that might come out of love triangles (positive negotiation sort, not toxic rivalry) it would be the sincere solidarity over the best qualities of the subject of their competitive affections. Though it doesn't seem like Elinor is disposed to be friends with Lucy, sadly...

I think Lucy just wants to be friends, but, uh, well. On the one hand I don't know how sensitive she's being right now really but on the other hand, I dunno how you can sensitively break it to someone that their crush has actually been your fiance for FOUR YEARS. Like, if Eddie knew, this is something he shoulda nipped in the bud long ago.

I think I've already spent an hour trying to process everything here.

The secrecy of the engagement makes sense too. I don't think Eddie's mother would ever have approved of any engagement without thorough vetting of the suitor's prospects. A secret youthful engagement must therefore remain very secret. No wonder Lucy's so concerned about Mrs. Ferrars now, too. And Eddie's only known the Dashwoods with the context of his sister hovering nearby, just ready to be generally Fanny. If information about Lucy had gotten out to Marianne that would already be a risk, but there was MARGARET too, and that sure worked out for Elinor. No wonder the Dashwoods heard nothing.

...

Elinor could tank this if she leaked the engagement. Please don't do that Elinor, it- oh no. Elinor won't do that. What if Marianne does it on Elinor's behalf? Oh no oh no. I hope that doesn't happen. Lucy's a nice girl. :(

Come to think of it, as far as underhanded deals go, there is a possibility that Lucy is actually faking this information, knowing that Elinor is interested in Edward, in order to drive her away. That... wouldn't be the case would it...? But he does have the hair ring... It's not like she pressed her into an engagement right...? AM I BARGAINING ON ELINOR'S BEHALF?

Lucy demonstrably proves she's talking about Edward Ferrars and nobody else by showing Elinor a picture of her beau. A thought, considering how much Edward has spoken to Lucy of the Dashwoods, no wonder she was so keen to meet them.

And Lucy is so happy to be able to confide in Elinor because she has noone else besides Anne, who is understandably a liablity in terms of secrecy, and gives poor advice in general. How fortunate to have somebody so level-headed as Elinor! Edward's name coming up at all from Sir Middleton did mortify her at the possibility of beans being spilled. Lucy is so stressed that the secrecy is such that she barely gets to see Edward at all, and never knows what will be of her future. Please Lucy, you know the context of Edward's being mentioned at all, spare a thought for Elinor. :(

Here she took out her handkerchief; but Elinor did not feel very compassionate.

... Yeah.

"Sometimes," continued Lucy, after wiping her eyes, "I think whether it would not be better for us both to break off the matter entirely. [...] What would you advise me to do in such a case, Miss Dashwood?"

Uh. Wrong person to ask. Elinor sure thinks so too. Ah but Lucy even explains why he's been despirited. So it's not as much any guilt or shame so much as stress about his future with Lucy. It does also explain him leaving in a hurry with no explanation, anything related to Lucy would have no explanation given.

And Lucy shows Elinor a letter sent to her by Edward; now all doubts are cleared. She also explains that the hair-set ring is hers, asking her if she had seen it;

"I did," said Elinor, with a composure of voice, under which was concealed an emotion and distress beyond anything she had ever felt before."

After sitting with them a few minutes, the Miss Steeles returned to the Park, and Elinor was at liberty to think and be wretched.

Poor Elinor. "at liberty to think and be wretched" is also a very nice line to end a chapter on. I've definitely felt that before too.

Well.

This chapter. A lot happened here. What's Marianne going to find out next about Willoughby when the Palmers return?? We still don't know about Brandon's daughter!!

I understand now too why the chapter with the Palmers got sandwiched between the preceding chapters and the introduction of the Steeles, and why the transition seemed strangely long. The lack of information lulls a false sense of security, and also it's a small buffer in the pacing to not immediately just, roll reveals onto the reader.

I can think of Lucy as nothing but earnest at least, though, quite insensitive to Elinor's feelings in a way that should have been obvious. Umm. I don't know what to say or think about Edward right now. He's barely appeared really, I can't get a read on him. Floating the idea at the end that Lucy is not secure in her engagement, and also that it could be easily broken by the secret getting out, does... leave the whole consequences of this reveal up in the air really. It's thoroughly within Elinor's power to break them up, but...

Ah, my minds a bit overloaded now and I've gone way overtime so I'll leave the rest to consider next time after I've digested it a bit.

Poor Elinor.

#2400 words #dear lord I went long #and i'm exhausted #poor Elinor #Jane Austen #Sense and Sensibility #readthrough #novels

[trulymadlysydney]

Somewhere In Time: Four

“Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star. It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn't even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.” 

― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

Previous Chapters HERE

tw: Death, Loss of Parent

***Please Do Not Repost Without Permission***

12:02pm, October 5th, 1989

“Uhh, earth to Roni.”

A shrill voice followed by a few obnoxiously bubbly giggles brings fifteen year old Roni out of her own mind, and she looks up with a hot face. She uses a finger to push her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose, but she knows the voice before she even sees who it belongs to.

Lainey Prescott, one grade above Roni and just about the bane Roni’s existence.

She stands no taller than Roni, her two best friends Olivia and Janet standing on either side of her like her little minions. With their matching pink fingernails and Pom Pom hair accessories, they look like little clones. Roni has to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

This happens nearly every day during free period. They come up to bother her, get their little digs in wherever they can, and then continue walking their laps around the track because they’re “working on their figures.”  Roni has tried everything to put an end to it, even going so far as to sit in the dirt under the bleachers, but they’ve always ended up finding her. So now Roni sits out in the open, expecting it almost every day and thanking her lucky stars when it doesn’t happen.

“Hi, Lainey,” she mutters.

“Hey, super cute high-waters today, Ron!” Olivia and Janet snicker behind Lainey, who looks incredibly pleased with herself.  “Whatcha reading?”

Roni sticks her finger between the pages of her book to mark her place and averts her gaze, ears growing hot. “Nothing.”

Olivia speaks up. “I bet it’s another one of those sci-fi books. We all know she gets off on weird shit like that.”

Olivia’s words feel like a blow to the chest, but Roni keeps her composure and swallows around a lump in her throat. Lainey doesn’t seem to notice when she nudges Roni’s sneaker with her sandal. “No seriously, what is it? Looks cool.”

Roni looks up sheepishly. “Do you really care?”

“Totally, babe.”

Roni lets out a sigh, somehow taking the bait.  “It’s called Timescape,” she explains.  “It’s set in two different time periods: the sixties, and the nineties.”

“Wow,” Lainey says,  “The future.  So cool.”

Roni licks her lips in hesitation before continuing.  “Anyway so, everything in the nineties goes wrong, and this scientist guy is  trying to contact the past so that he can prevent whats happening and essentially stop it in its tracks.”

Roni hears Janet mutter an “oh my GOD, so like time traveling? ” to a ridiculously giggly Olivia, but Lainey doesn’t acknowledge them. She instead raises her eyebrows. “Wow, tell me more, Ron.”

Now Roni knows for a fact that the girls are making fun of her, and she’s about to say something when Lainey adds, “I mean, it must be super interesting. You’ve been sitting over here reading out loud to yourself. Did you know you did that?”  She laughs over her shoulder with the other girls before continuing. “It’s adorbs.  I’m sure any guy would find that super cute.”

“Lainey—“

Lainey cuts Roni off, as if this thought has just occurred to her. “Hey, speaking of, you don’t have a boyfriend yet, right?”

Roni sighs. “I don’t.”

You know I don’t, asshole.

Lainey giggles. “Awww, it’s okay, I figured as much. But listen, my parents are out of town this weekend and I’m throwing a party. It’s gonna be a boy-girl party, and you’re invited. I’m sure we could find you a guy there.”

“Yeah,” Janet adds, “and it’s BYOB. Bring your own Book.” Her stupid joke coaxes a cackle our of Olivia, and Roni rolls her eyes.

It wasn’t even that clever.

“Yeah, you can show us all your super cool time traveling tricks.” Olivia snickers. “Or at least spew out more time traveling facts. That’ll be a hit.”

Lainey smirks. “Totally. You should come.”

What Roni wants to do is tell them to fuck off. She wants to tackle them to the ground, rip the pom poms out of their hair and shove them down their throats until they’re all blue in the face. But she can’t do that, because there’s more of them than there is of her, and frankly they scare her.

So she clears her throat.  “Guys, I don’t think—“

“Oh come on,” Janet groans. “What, do you have to ask your mommy for permission?”

Roni’s heart stops the moment the words leave her mouth, and even Lainey and Olivia shoot Janet an incredulous look, as if even they can’t believe she’s just said that.

Janet looks back at them, completely oblivious. “What?! You know she probably does.”

“Janet,” Olivia says quietly, “you know her mom died.”

Roni doesn’t know why people do that; say “died” around her like it’s a filthy word.   She’s noticed that everyone does it, including her own grandmother, and it makes her feel sick to her stomach every time.

Janet’s mouth forms a wide O shape as the realization dawns on her. “Oooooohhhh. Shit. My bad. But she doesn’t care.” She turns back to Roni. “You don’t care, right? Like, you know we’re just joking around.”

Roni feels her eyes welling with tears and she wills them to stop, please stop— at least until the girls walk away.

“Please leave me alone,” is all she manages to say.

Lainey’s perfect smile returns to her face, only far more nervous than before, and Roni can tell she’s trying to do damage control. “So anyway.”  She glares at Janet before smiling sweetly. “The offer still stands. You better be there, girl.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Roni mumbles at the ground, vision now completely blurred with tears.

“Sweet! Catch ya on the flip side.”  Lainey waves her perfectly manicured fingers in Roni’s direction before she and her minions turn on their heels— each executing a perfect hair flip as they proceed on their way.

When she’s sure they’re out of ear shot, Roni lets out a quiet sob, reaching up to rub at her runny nose with the back of her sleeve. How girls can be so cruel, she’ll never know. But these three in particular have tormented her since elementary school, and it’s exhausting.

She doesn’t know why they do it. Why they can’t just leave her alone.  She’d never spoken a word  to any of them before it began, always minded her own business, and still they were relentless. Even after her mother passed, they kept it going. In fact, it almost seemed to get worse.

But Roni is not about to let them see her cry. Not today.  So she stands, flings her backpack over her shoulder, and walks off.

She doesn’t have a destination in mind, all she knows is that she needs to get far enough away from them as possible— even if that means hiding out in the girl’s bathroom until the end of free period (Which she’s also tried doing before. It didn’t work. They always found her).

She makes her way back into the building, heading straight for her locker.  The halls are surprisingly quiet, which doesn’t surprise Roni.  It’s a gorgeous day out.  That was the whole reason she was even outside in the first place. But then Lainey and her friends had to go ruin it, and now Roni isn’t even sure what else to do except grab some things from her locker and wander aimlessly for the next thirty minutes.

Roni rounds the corner and nearly bumps into someone exiting the boy’s bathroom. She’s about to say something snarky when she realizes who it is.

Staring back at her with an apologetic smile lighting up his entire face, is Oliver Ward.

Oliver is one of her friends, she guesses.  A grade older than her, he’s not exactly considered popular but he has more friends in general than Roni does.  She doesn’t talk to him as much as she should, despite the fact that he’s always treated her with more kindness than most people at this school.  He softens once he recognizes the person he’d nearly taken out.

“Roni! Hey!”

Roni reaches up to wipe at her nose and half-heartedly reciprocates his smile.  “Hey.”  It comes out rather unenthusiastically, and she diverts her gaze from his. She doesn’t mean to come across as so pathetic, and she definitely doesn’t want him to know that anything is wrong.  But the way his face falls when he hears her response lets her know that he is most definitely on to her.

“Have you been crying?”  His question is right to the point, and it makes Roni want to start crying all over again.

“No,” she lies.

“You have,” he says, his voice softening.  “What happened?”

Roni knows there’s no use lying to him, so she shrugs.  “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Oliver scowls.  He knows what that means.  “Did Lainey do something shitty again?”

Finally,  Roni looks up and gives Oliver a weak nod.  “I don’t know why she won’t just leave me alone,” she admits.  “I leave her alone.”

“Oh, Ron,” Oliver coos.  “Fuck her. Why don’t you tell someone?”

Roni shrugs again.  “That would do more bad than good, Ollie, you know that.”

Oliver tries his hardest not to smile at the nickname she’s given him.   Nobody’s called him Ollie since the first grade, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell her that he’s always hated it.  Because for some reason, when she says it, he doesn’t hate it at all.

“I dunno,” Oliver says.  “It might finally put an end to her shit.”  He nods his head towards her.  “Where were you headed?”

Roni sniffs pathetically.  “Anywhere.  Just trying to kill time I guess.”

Oliver smiles.  “You can come with me!  I was just gonna finish up some homework in the library, so I don’t know how interesting it’s gonna be.  But at least you’ll have some company!”

Roni eyes Oliver, weighing her options.  On the one hand, she doesn’t want to tag along; be his little sidekick while he finishes up his work.  The last thing she wants is for him to feel the need to entertain her.  But on the other hand, she figures it’s better than moping around without any direction feeling sorry for herself. And besides, the way Oliver grins at her so full of hope and light, makes it hard to resist.

So Roni giggles and nods.  “Okay.”

“Cool.”  Oliver beams, nodding over his shoulder to signal Roni to follow him.  As they begin walking, he launches right into casual conversation.  “So, what’cha reading?”

Oliver is the kind of person who can hold a conversation with just about anyone and make it feel completely natural.  Roni hasn’t talked to him too many times, but each time she does, she thanks her lucky stars that he’s so good at keeping conversation going because otherwise she knows they would be screwed.

However, her ego is still a bit bruised from Lainey’s words, and she’s not too keen on sharing any more information about this book with anyone else.  “It’s nothing.”

“What?  It looks really cool.  What’s it called?”

Roni can feel her cheeks growing hot, and she refuses to look at Oliver when she answers him.  “Timescape.”

“Ooooh!  That sounds cool.  Is it about time?”  Not a hint of sarcasm is attached to his words, and although Roni can’t see his face she knows he’s genuinely interested.  The thought lifts her spirits just the tiniest bit.

“Kinda,” Roni says.  “It’s like, time travel stuff.  Someone in the future is trying to go back and warn people in the past about like, these catastrophic events happening in the world.  It’s actually really cool.”

Oliver whistles.  “No kidding! That sounds rad.”  They round the corner and open the large doors into the school library.  Oliver lowers his voice as they make their way to a small round table with empty seats.  “Think I could borrow it when you’re done?”

Roni nearly stops walking.  “Are you serious?”

“Yeah!”  Oliver smiles at her, slinging his backpack off of his shoulders and onto the table.  “Hell yeah.  I’d love to read it.”

Roni realizes she’s been smiling because her cheeks ache, and she tucks her bottom lip between her teeth to hide it.  She clears her throat.  “I mean yeah, if you want to.”

“Sweet!” Oliver starts unloading the contents of his backpack before pausing and looking back at Roni.  “I mean like, no rush or anything.  Finish it on your own terms.  Don’t like, freak out trying to get it to me.”  Roni notices the slight red tint to the tips of Oliver’s ears, and for some reason it’s beyond endearing.  She giggles, taking her seat beside Oliver.  

“Don’t worry, I’m a fast reader anyway.”

Oliver smiles, seemingly relieved.  “Well that’s good.”

There’s a silence that doesn’t necessarily feel awkward, but it’s charged, and now it’s Olilver’s turn to clear his throat.  He turns his attention to the textbook in front of him, opening it up and flipping through to find a specific page.  He effectively changes the subject, but it feels more like a bookmark has been placed on the tension that Roni just experienced.  She doesn’t necessarily hate it, she’s just never felt it before.  Not with Oliver Ward.

“So anyway,” he says,  “Are you any good at chemistry?  I’ve been stuck on this one problem for ages.”  

-----

8:19am, January 2nd, 1925

Roni wakes earlier today, refreshed and optimistic after spending a good bit of the previous night dancing and laughing with Harry.  She feels much more at peace and surprisingly less disappointed to wake up in 1925 than she was yesterday. In fact, she’s optimistic at the prospect of what today might hold, and she’s feeling thankful that she’s here with Harry instead of with any other guy. She does however, feel a pang of guilt at the fact that she’s made Harry spend yet another night on his couch.  She decides she’s going to work something out with him; maybe they switch off the bed every other night she’s here-- for however long that may be.

With a long stretch that cracks her entire body,  she rolls out of bed-- careful not to move too quickly since she’s already seeing stars.  She adjusts Harry’s boxers around her waist, combing her hand through her hair and preparing herself to find Harry cooking breakfast again. Maybe she can even help him. She smiles to herself at the thought.

Roni tries not to think about last night. How good it felt being so close to Harry, and how wonderful he had smelled.  She refuses to acknowledge the tension that had singed the air, the way he’d watched her and clung to her every move, and the way he’d laughed not at her, but with her.  The night had been Roni’s first taste of normalcy in the past few days, and she’s beyond grateful to Harry for making that a possibility-- tension or not.

The closer to the door she gets, however, she notices she doesn’t smell or hear anything. In fact, it sounds almost completely silent in the other room. Harry hadn’t mentioned having to work today.

That’s odd.

She pushes the door open as quietly as possible , deciding that Harry must still be asleep. She doesn’t want to bother him and she figures she can sneak a shower in before he wakes up— effectively minimizing any awkward encounters that involve her in a towel.

And then she sees it.

Roni stops dead in her tracks at the sight before her. There’s Harry, splayed out and sitting so ungracefully-- legs spread wide and toes curling into the carpet beneath the pooling fabric of his trousers, and a hand wrapped tightly around his cock.

His bottom lip is tucked between his teeth, eyes closed in concentration as his hand pumps up and down, slower towards the bottom of his shaft and more rapid jerks of his wrist the higher up he gets.  When Roni hears him muttering a curse word under his breath, her blood runs cold.

She can’t help herself. It feels like a train wreck or some other disaster that she can’t help but watch.  He’s so much longer than she would have guessed. Not that she’d given it any thought in the past few days, because truth be told she really hadn’t.  If she’d had to guess, she probably would’ve at least been a bit generous with her assumptions, sure, but never this generous. He’s so well endowed she can’t tell if she wants to drool over it or just shake his hand and congratulate him.

The whole vision is just so… beautiful in an odd way, and Roni’s mouth waters when she spares a thought for what he must taste like.

Get it together, Roni. Fuck.

She turns to head back into the bedroom to leave him to it, but her ears perk when she hears him mutter another curse word and a few other filthy things that he would probably say if he were fucking up into someone.

No fucking way.

She’s not doing this right now. There’s no way she’s going to indulge in any of this, and she knows she really needs to close the door and get back in bed. Never mind the fact that she’d had the same idea as Harry last night once she’d gotten in bed, and had to physically stop herself from doing anything to ease the dull ache and wetness between her legs.  She’d settled on squeezing her thighs together every now and then to see if that would relieve any pressure (it didn’t) and had simply gone to bed telling herself she was absolutely batshit crazy.

She wasn’t going to get herself off in this boy’s bed, and she certainly wasn’t going to entertain any crazy fever dream fantasies about him either.

But now here he is, doing the exact same thing that she’d been so tempted to do, whimpering out what sounds like maybe the filthiest dirty talk she’s ever heard, and she feels like she’s going to pass out.

Harry’s head falls back against the couch, and his eyes flutter closed as an almost inaudible sigh passes his wet lips.  “Fuck, you’re so tight,” he mumbles.  “Soaked for me, aren’t you?”

Does this happen often?  Who is he thinking of?  Who, in his mind, is fucking him so good that he’s practically crying alone on his couch?  Roni feels a brief pang of jealousy followed by guilt and a mental slap to the face to remind herself to get it the fuck together.

Roni allows herself a few more moments to watch him tease himself, watching his swollen cock drip with his pre-cum, and she can’t help but to lick her lips when she sees the way his lips curl around his teeth. With eyebrows furrowed, Harry slaps a hand across his mouth to mute his pitiful whimpers.  He’s close, and Roni decides that now is as good a time as any to go back into the bedroom and grant him his privacy.

Silently closing the door behind her, Roni lets out all of her air in one long exhale and stares at the wall opposite her.  Try as she might (or might not), she can’t get the image out of her brain.  How is she supposed to face him later? Is this even something she should bring up? How would she even start that conversation? And what kind of response would that warrant from him? Surely he’d think she was snooping, and probably be mad at her for invading his privacy.

Roni presses the heels of her palms to her eyes, willing the image of him getting himself off to completely exit her brain.  She takes a few minutes to breathe, pacing around the room to get this strangely nervous energy out of her system, before sitting down on the bed with another long sigh.  She knows she’s got no choice but to wait it out now, and for some reason it makes her anxiety a million times worse than it was before.

It’s a few minutes later when Roni hears the bathroom door close, and finally she feels brave enough to make her way back into the living room of the apartment.  She moves slowly, still, as if afraid to make too much noise, and bites at her lip as she makes her way into the quiet room.

No one would ever guess that the events of a few minutes ago had even occurred.  The couch looks completely untouched, the little blanket Harry’s been using at night folded up and slung neaty across the arm.  The air does feel unmistakably hotter in here (or maybe that’s just Roni), but otherwise everything is perfectly still and normal.

She makes her way unsurely into the kitchen.  Should she make herself at home and start cooking?  It would be a nice gesture on her part, and a somewhat wordless apology for the slight invasion of privacy.  Even if she wasn’t outright apologizing, it would definitely clear her conscience.

Roni reaches up to open one of the cabinets to see if there’s anything available to make for breakfast.  It blows her mind that Harry doesn’t have a simple pantry in his apartment, although she’s not even sure a pantry would fit given the size of the place.

She frowns when she’s met with stacks of plates behind the cabinet door.  Where the hell does Harry keep his food anyway?

The refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen is no bigger than a box, and when she opens it she’s met with even less food than she’d been expecting.  Does Harry even eat?

“Oh! Morning!”

Roni turns with a start when she hears Harry’s pleasant greeting, his tone now a stark contrast to the desperate whimper it was just minutes ago.  Roni’s entire body shivers at the memory.

“Hey!” she greets as normally as possible. “Morning.”

Harry walks over to pour himself a glass of water.  “Sleep alright?”

“M-hm!”  Does he know that she knows?

“That’s good.”  Harry smiles, completely innocent.  “You’re up earlier this morning.  Did I wake you?”

“What?”  It takes Roni a moment to realize he’s not referring to that, and she laughs nervously.  “Oh, no, you’re good.  Just like, my natural clock I guess.”

“You’re getting more used to being here.”  Harry grins.  “Wonderful.”

Roni smiles at him a tick too long, and she turns her attention to the cupboards.  “Anyway,” she says,  “Can I help with breakfast?”

“You don’t have to do that!”

“I want to!”

“You’re a guest.”

Roni shrugs.  “Not really.  Not anymore.  I told you I’ve gotta earn my keep around here.”

Harry chuckles, shaking his head at her.  “Alright.”  He blows his messy morning hair off of his face and glances around the kitchen, pondering what to even suggest. “Well, I haven’t got much.”

“Eggs are fine again!” Roni suggests, before a thought pops into her mind.  “Actually, got anything to make pancakes?”

Harry beams.  “I think I do.”

“Perfect! Pancakes are my specialty.”

Roni and Harry set to work then, falling comfortably into step side by side as they weave their way around the kitchen.  They launch immediately into conversation as they work, and it all feels so disgustingly domestic and comfortable that Roni almost forgets there’s anything abnormal about her situation. (She also temporarily forgets what she just saw on the couch minutes ago, although every time she catches a glimpse of his hand she is so painfully reminded.)  They discuss buying Roni new clothes, since she is going to be here for the foreseeable future, and Roni asks several questions about what to expect when entering the roaring 20s.  Harry answers her, “lots of lions” and when she doesn’t understand right away, he giggles through his explanation of,  “‘Roaring.’ Get it? Sorry.”

It’s when they’re sitting at the table side by side, shoveling pancakes into their mouths, that Roni shifts topics.

“Your eye looks better!”

Harry chuckles.  “It does, doesn’t it? Just got a look at it in the mirror.  The swelling  has gone down significantly.”

“Thank goodness,” Roni nods.  “We have to be looking our best tonight, after all. We’re still on for dancing?”

Harry smiles around his glass of milk as he sips, and there’s a brief moment where he forgets to wipe his milk mustache off in which Roni completely melts.  “‘Course we are,” he says with a nod.

“What kinds of places are we going?  Like are we just gonna go bar hopping?  Or like… what’s the plan?  What should I prepare for?  Should I wear comfy shoes?”

Harry makes a face, not answering her right away. He opens his mouth, then closes it again.  He takes another sip of milk, and now Roni is wondering if she’s said something wrong, because his entire demeanor shifts.  “What?  Is that not how it works here?”

Harry won’t even look at her, but the smile on his face hardly falters-- if anything it just looks a bit more regretful.  “No,” he says.  “It’s not that.”

Roni frowns.  “Well, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to! We can just--”

“It isn’t that either.”  Harry finally looks at Roni with embarrassment.  He hesitates to speak, until she presses him with a look.  He sighs.  “Veronica, I have to tell you something.”

Roni hates those words.  Any time someone has said something to her along those lines, it is almost always followed by bad news.  She leans closer to him.  “What’s wrong?”

“I… don’t have enough money… to take you to several places. I can only afford one, and it’s only because I know the guy who owns it.”

Roni still doesn’t understand, so she shakes her head and places her hand on Harry’s arm reassuringly.  “Harry, that’s not a big deal, I don’t mind if--”

“No, listen.  Please.  I have to tell you this because it’s gone on for too long, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hide it from you.”  

Roni swallows, preparing herself for the worst.  Harry’s got a wife and child living somewhere else that he has to support, and they don’t know about this apartment.  Harry is sick and dying and only has enough money to pay his medical bills for the next couple of months until he shrivels away.  Harry has--

“I don’t have a job.”

Oh.

Roni blinks back at him, trying to find the proper words to go about responding to him.  She isn’t mad by any means, but he’s looking at her like she should be.  His cheeks burn red, and his skin under Roni’s hand feels hot to the touch.  He licks his lips, raising his eyebrows expectantly at her, and she realizes she’s just been sitting here with her mouth open.  She shakes her head, and speaks with as much gentleness as she can conjure up.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know.  I really don’t.  I don’t think I anticipated you being here as long as you are-- which, I’m so happy that you are, by the way-- so I didn’t think it would come up.  And now I want to take you out and buy you clothes, and I still very much intend to do that, because I do have money left over for that.  But I just can’t do it to the extent that I would like to.  And it’s awful, because I really would love to show you around, take you to several dance places, etcetera etcetera, but…. I can’t.”

The amount of sadness in Harry’s eyes makes Roni’s heart feel heavy, and she gives his arm a squeeze.  “Harry,” she sighs.  

“Are you disappointed?”

“Of course I’m not disappointed.  If anything, I’m disappointed in myself.  I’ve been so selfish this entire time--”

“Don’t do that.”

“--But if I’d known, I could’ve helped!”

Harry chuckles, and it’s the first time in a few minutes that he seems like himself again. “How on earth could you have helped?”

“I don’t know,” Roni shrugs, “but we would’ve found a way.  You’re doing so much to help me, I can’t just sit here and let that happen without returning the favor!”

“There’s no favor to return,” Harry says with a smile.  “It’s my pleasure.”

Roni sits back in her chair, already brainstorming and completely ignoring his words.  “Lets see,” she says, drumming her fingers along the table top.   “I don’t need clothes--”

“Yes you do.”  Harry snorts.  “You’re practically swimming in mine.”

“Yeah but--”

Harry holds up his hand to stop her.  “I’ve got that part covered, Veronica.  I promise you.”

Roni rolls her eyes.  “Fine.  One outfit--”

“Two.”  Harry cuts her off again, his cheeky smile fully returning to his face.  “At the very least.  You need one for tonight and another for anything else.”

“But--”

“I’ve already got it all sorted.  You’re not going to persuade me otherwise.”  

“So you’re just gonna blow the last of your money… on me?”

“Not the last of it!” Harry shrugs, then laughs when Roni scoffs.  “Love,  I didn’t tell you this to worry you.  I’ll find another job sooner or later.  I just told you so that you wouldn’t be let down when I turn out to be a rather disappointing date.”

“You’re not disappointing.”  Roni frowns.  “We’re gonna get you a job, alright?”

“I believe you!” Harry says, popping another piece of pancake into his mouth.

“Starting today.”

“Today?!”  Harry speaks through a mouthful and swallows a bit harder than he’d intended.  “No, love, today is about finding you clothes--”

“And finding you a job.”  Roni grins brilliantly at him.   “We’re doing both at the same time.”  When Harry narrows his eyes at her, she only giggles and echoes his own words back at him.  “You’re not going to persuade me otherwise.”

Harry rolls his eyes, but his dimpled smile has returned full force.  He shakes his head and takes another bite.  “You’re something else, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Roni pops the ‘p’ at the end of the world before taking a sip of her milk.  “So hurry up and finish breakfast.  We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

----

It’s three hours later when Roni and Harry find themselves downtown, after an hour of cleaning up their messes in the kitchen and Harry awkwardly explaining to Roni how the shower worked.  They’d wasted no time in buying Roni the appropriate outfits,  and she’d changed in the restroom at a high end cafe.  (The looks she’d received were actually quite hysterical-- dressed in Harry’s clothes and entering the women’s restroom only to emerge wearing a brown dress, stockings, and brand new shoes.)

Roni’s first time stepping out of Harry’s apartment and into the daylight had been surreal.  She’d felt dizzy several times, especially when comparing the shops and restaurants along the streets now to the ones of her own time.  It wasn’t that she didn’t know her way around; she knew this city like the back of her hand.  But seeing everything-- and everyone-- so different is a feeling unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life.

But now here she is, dressed the part and feeling a hundred times more confident and present than before.  She and Harry had visited numerous businesses for him to apply to, and each one had given them roughly the same answer.  Promises to call seemed to only crush Harry’s spirit, which Roni understood.  But she’d remained as positive and enthusiastic about the entire process as she could, and now here she is-- encouraging him to just pop into one more store with her.  

“What if they’re the ones that are gonna offer you a job, you know?”

“Or they’ll just promise to call me,” Harry says with a shrug.  “You know how those things work.  They promise to call and they never do.”

Roni is about to launch into an entire spiel about how Harry is only going to attract what he puts out there and he shouldn’t be going into this with a negative attitude, when something catches her eye.

“Oh my god.”  

She stops dead in her tracks, and it takes Harry a moment to notice she isn’t behind him.  He turns to see Roni staring in disbelief at one of the little shops along the strip.  He follows her gaze to understand what she’s so struck by, but it only confuses him more.  “What, the tobacco place?”

“No, the book store.”  Roni feels like crying and she doesn’t even know why.  It’s not a particularly emotional moment by any means, but it’s strange and surreal and the only thing her body can think to do with all of the unusual feelings she’s feeling is to expel them through tears.  

She doesn’t end up crying, not really, but she does have to blink the mist out of her eyes to make sure she isn’t seeing anything.

The sign above the book shop is the same one she’d gotten so used to seeing nearly every day of her life in the 90s, but now it’s got a fresh coat of paint and it’s bright and shiny rather than weathered with time.  It reads, loud and proud in white paint: The Little Read Book, and Roni laughs in disbelief.

If Roni remembers correctly, the shop was opened in 1920-- which technically is five years ago-- by Eileen’s grandmother, and Roni realizes that that means Eileen isn’t born yet, and won’t be for another ten years.

“Harry,” Roni says quietly to a patient Harry who’s been waiting for her to say something,  “I work there.”

“What?”  Harry scoffs, glancing from the shop to Roni’s awe-stricken face.  “What on earth do you-- oh.”  It finally dawns on Harry, only now he isn’t sure at all what the proper way to respond to this situation would be.  He clears his throat.  “You don’t say?  Well, that’s interesting.”

Without thinking, Roni grabs Harry’s hand and yanks him with her as she makes her way to the shop.  “We have to go in,” she says, completely unaware of the way Harry is blushing at her small hand in his.

A familiar bell rings the moment Roni opens the door, and out of habit she wants to call out a greeting to Eileen. The shop smells exactly the same, and it’s organized almost identically to the way it looks in the 90s. The difference is on the walls- there are significantly less photographs covering them, and the ones that are tacked to the green wallpaper are fresh and not yellowed with age.

A few customers walk among the shelves, talking quietly to themselves, and faint jazz music plays from the radio behind the front desk.  The radio is still there in Roni’s time, but it has long since stopped working, and seeing it in all its glory is something so surreal that Roni gets dizzy all over again.

“May I help you?”

Roni turns her attention to a girl much younger than her rounding the corner carrying an armful of books.  Roni’s knee-jerk reaction is to go help the girl but she refrains-- reminding herself that she does not, in fact, work here at the moment.

The girl plops the pile onto the desk and Roni gets a glimpse of her nametag.  It reads “Daisy” in a plain blue font, and Roni wracks her brain trying to remember if she’s ever heard this name before and if this person holds any significance in Eileen’s life.

It’s Harry who speaks first.  “Hi, I was wondering if you had any available positions open?”

The question takes both Daisy and Roni by surprise, and Roni can’t stop her jaw from falling practically on the floor.  Of course it makes sense for him to work here, and she wishes she’d come up with the idea herself. She’d been so shocked to see this place in the context it’s in now, that she’d forgotten all about the task at hand.  A pang of guilt strikes her belly for a brief moment.

Daisy blinks back surprise, a pleasant smile growing on her face.  “Really?”

“Yes ma’am.”  Harry beams,  “I’m looking to start as soon as possible.”

Daisy eyes Harry for a moment, stopping briefly on his still faint-purple eye, before leaning against the counter and grinning.  “What’s your name?”

“Harry,” he replies, holding out his hand.  “Styles.”

Daisy shakes his hand with a smile before turning expectantly to Roni, and now Roni suddenly feels put on the spot.

“Uh,” she stammers, reaching to shake Daisy’s hand.  “I’m Roni.”

Daisy makes a face, cocking her head to one side.  “As in Ronald?”

Harry snorts, and Roni sighs.  “No, Veronica.  Sorry, I should’ve been more clear.”

“No!” Daisy says, “It’s just a unique name.  I’ve never heard anything like that before.  I like it.  Are you interested in a position as well?”  Her bright beautiful smile returns back to her face, and it’s the first time that Roni’s really looked closely. She can clearly see the almost chilling resemblance to Eileen now, and it makes her feel woozy.

It takes everything in Roni not to explain the situation, but how would she even start?  

Actually, I do work here, but not right now-- seventy-four years into the future, and I can give you my official employee reference for you to hire Harry!

Roni sees Harry smirking at her as if he’s thinking the same thing she is, and she giggles nervously.  “No.  Thank you though.”

“Alright, but if you change your mind, I’m always hiring!”  Daisy makes her way behind the counter to organize the books as she speaks.  “My name is Daisy Hartford. I actually recently took over the business with my husband Lawrence.  My mother opened the shop five years ago, but she gave the business to us when we got married last summer.”

Roni tunes Daisy out as she comes to the realization that Daisy is Eileen’s mother.  It feels so strange to see this young girl, likely no older than nineteen, running a business that Roni knows by heart, and speaking of her mother and her husband so candidly.  She doesn’t know that she’s going to have four children, and that one of them is going to be Eileen.  She doesn’t know that Eileen is going to take over the shop one day.  Hell, she probably doesn’t even know that the shop is going to make it another seventy-four plus years.  She doesn’t know any of this-- but Roni does.

Daisy continues rambling, bringing Roni out of her thoughts.  “I love it, but I could use all the help I can get.  Especially once we start having little ones running around, do you know what I mean?  I’m sure the two of you understand.”

Harry’s smirk only deepens while Roni feels her face is on fire. Her voice is so quiet that even she has a hard time hearing herself. “Oh, we’re not--”

“Well” Daisy unintentionally cuts Roni off, smiling sweetly.  “I’m sure I don’t need to bore you with my story.”  She turns to Harry with a pointed look.  “Mr. Styles.  Have you any experience working with books?”

Roni can almost hear the panic bells going off in Harry’s head, but his exterior remains cool and collected.  “I do not,” he says,  “But I am a fast learner.”

“Excellent.”  Daisy flips nonchalantly through a book before setting it aside.  “And your current employer is whom?”

Harry swallows, his ego clearly slightly bruised.  He fidgets with his fingers when he talks, drawing Roni’s attention to the fact that even she’s fidgeting with her ring out of pure nervousness.  “I don’t have one, ma’am.  But my previous employer was Milton and Sons.  I made shoes.”

“Oh, how funny!  I’ve got a pair of Miltons on right now!”  Daisy kicks out her leg a bit to show off her shoes, and it makes both Roni and Harry giggle.

“Those are quite nice,” Harry says.  “I’ll bet I made them.”

“I’ll bet you did!”  Daisy beams, before realizing that this is still a job interview-- albeit a very lax one. She clears her throat and settles herself down.  “Alright, alright.  Next question.  Why The Little Read Book?”

It’s another one of those moments where Roni wants to jump in, and Harry can see her internal struggle.  “Well,” he says slowly,  “A dear friend of mine recommended this place.”

“Did he?  What’s his name?”

Harry’s lips twitch.  “Ronald.”

Roni nearly chokes, but Harry remains completely serious as Daisy thinks long and hard.  “Ronald…. Mr. Whitley?  He comes in here quite often.”

“Maybe,” Harry says with a shrug. “I’ve never caught his last name before.  But in any case, Ronald has been coming here for years now.  He speaks very highly of this place.  Says it feels like home to him.  And I can see why.  You’ve got a remarkable business here, Mrs. Hartford.”

Daisy beams.  “Thank you! That’s lovely to hear.”  

After a few more questions that almost all lead into a conversation of some sort, Roni, Daisy, and Harry feel like three chums just hanging out and having a chat.  Which was something Eileen had constantly told Roni about Daisy.

“My mother could befriend a rock if you gave her enough time,” Eileen would say.  “She would hold conversation with just about anyone.  Everybody loved her, and with good reason.”

Now that she’s meeting her, Roni would have to agree.

“Well, Mr. Styles,” Daisy says through a sigh.  “I suppose I’ve just got one question left for you, and it’s the most important one.”

Harry nods.  “Shoot.”

“When can you start?”

Roni can tell that Harry wants to leap up in the air and celebrate.  She knows how much this means to him and, frankly, she’s feeling the exact same way.  She beams at Harry, expectantly awaiting his answer.  While he remains as calm as possible, there is no denying the dimple on his cheek showing just how happy he is.

“Tomorrow?” Harry raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“We’re closed tomorrow.”  Roni and Daisy say this at the same time, and when Daisy shoots Roni a look of confusion, Roni fumbles over an explanation.  Truth be told, it was merely force of habit.  But that isn’t something she has time to explain to Daisy, so she shrugs.

“Sorry, I’ve just-- tried to come in here a few times on Saturdays and Sundays and always realized you were closed.  Made that mistake too many times.  Ha. Sorry.”

This is a tradition no longer kept in 1999, but Roni remembers the days when both Saturdays and Sundays were off days.  In 1998 Eileen had decided to open up Saturdays for business, keeping Sundays blocked off because “I’m a God-fearing woman, Veronica.”   But still, it is Roni’s knee-jerk reaction to respond the way that she just has, and she’s thankful that Daisy bought her explanation.

“Right,” Daisy giggles.  “Well, in any case, Mr. Styles, are you free to start Monday around eleven?”

Harry nods.  “Monday around eleven sounds great.”

“Wonderful!  I can’t wait to work with you.”  She turns to Roni.  “And I’m sure I’ll be seeing much more of you in here, Mrs. Styles.”

Roni opens her mouth to say something but is cut off immediately by Harry taking her hand and tugging her towards the door.  “Right, lovely to meet you, Mrs. Hartford.  I’ll see you Monday at eleven, and not a minute later!”

The door closes behind them and they’re back outside, squinting at one another in the sunlight.  Harry’s smiling like an excited little boy, and after a moment of watching him, Roni presses him with a nudge.  “Well?”

“Veronica,” Harry says softly, “We fucking did it.”

It’s the first time Roni’s heard Harry (knowingly) curse in front of her, and it makes her giggle at his unfiltered excitement.  She takes both of Harry’s hands in hers and squeezes, beaming up at him before just giving in and wrapping her arms around his torso.  She gives him a tight squeeze and leans affectionately into him.

“Hell yeah,” she says,  “We fucking did.”

----

“Harryyy,” Roni whines from the bathroom.

“Yes, love?”

Roni sighs loudly, and the noise makes Harry chuckle to himself from his spot on the couch.  “You can’t laugh, okay?”

“Why would I laugh?”

“Because.”  Roni opens the door a crack, barely peeking her head out to look at Harry.  “I need help.”

It’s a few hours later and Harry and Roni have found themselves back at Harry’s place to freshen up for the evening.  Roni had insisted she’d be fine changing in another public restroom, but Harry had refused-- saying that he needed to get changed into something “spiffier.”

The outfit Harry had bought for Roni seemed nice enough, but now that she’s actually trying to do up the buttons in the back while keeping the sash tied correctly, she’s realizing just how complicated the entire outfit is. It doesn’t help that the only bra she has is the one she’d been wearing the night she arrived, which is very modern in comparison to the rest of the dress.   Try as she might, there is no way she could manage getting the buttons all done up herself.  So she’d swallowed her pride, and now here she is-- pitifully asking Harry for help.

Harry looks lovely, of course, and it’s the nicest Roni has seen him dress the entire time she’s been here.  He’s in a gray suit buttoned up the front, and a nice pair of leather shoes that, admittedly could use a bit of a shine but are altogether so handsome and so Harry.  He completes the entire ensemble with a little gray cap on his head-- because of course he does-- and Roni suddenly feels self conscious when he looks at her.

He smiles knowingly, rising to his feet and heading towards the bathroom door.  “Too advanced for you then?”

Roni pouts, stepping out of the bathroom in the half buttoned, half tied mess of a dress.  “I just can’t get the buttons done,” she huffs.  “And the belt won’t stay tied!”

Harry snorts, picking up the ribbon that droops around Roni’s waist.  “It doesn’t go there.”

Roni rolls her eyes.  “Well that would’ve been nice to know ten minutes ago.”

“Alright, alright,”  Harry says through another laugh.  “Turn around.”

Roni complies without thinking, and Harry’s breath catches in his throat the moment she does.  

It’s the first time he’s seen a woman’s bare back in, god, he doesn’t even know how long.  She’s gotten the buttons done up herself all the way to the spot just before her back dips into her bottom, and Harry subconsciously licks his lips at the involuntary thought of what lies beneath the southernmost button.  The lace of her brassiere clings delicately to her back, and although Harry has seen a decent amount of brassieres in his lifetime, he’s never quite seen one this intricate.  He would give anything to unlatch it and place his lips to the spot on her skin where it rested, but he knows he can’t.  He knows he’s got a job to do here, and she’s waiting.

Harry doesn’t realize he’s been staring for so long until Roni speaks. “What, did I mess it up?”

“Yes” Harry says, praying that Roni doesn’t notice the audible crack in his voice.  “But it’s okay.  Nothing I can’t fix.”

With shaky hands Harry works to fasten the buttons up her back.  Roni sighs, seemingly unaware of the way Harry trembles behind her.  For some reason the fact that this is completely normal to Roni, in a time where it’s scandalous for any unwed woman to present herself to a man this way, is making this all the more sexy to him.  He licks his lips, focusing on getting this done as quickly as possible so as not to make it weird, while also savoring the moment as much as he can.  

He can feel the heat from her skin, and he can smell his shampoo in her hair, and he closes his eyes to allow the scent to fill his nose.  Should he say something?  Is he being weird by not saying anything?  Can she feel how absolutely tense he is as he tries to focus on not touching her for too long?  He’s completely short-circuited, and he gulps trying to come up with something to talk about.

When Harry’s finger accidentally grazes a spot on Roni’s back, she jolts, starling Harry.

“Sorry, sorry!” Harry blurts.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No, no, it’s just-- your hands are cold.”

“Oh.” Idiot.  “Sorry.”

“No,” Roni says again.  “It felt… good.”

“Oh.”  

Can he say anything other than oh?

Harry watches as goosebumps prickle Roni’s skin, and he moves slower now, taking special care to brush his fingers against her back occasionally.  If she said it felt good, it’s all he can do to keep her feeling that way.   She swallows and audibly exhales,  and the goosebumps never fade or shrink.  

Harry doesn’t know why it happens this way with her.  Everything is always so friendly and normal, and then the most casual and mundane thing sets him off.  He knows she feels it too, because even over her shoulder he can see her eyes nervously darting around with every controlled breath she takes.   She, too, looks like she wants to say something and can’t find the words, but Harry doesn’t mind.  The higher he gets with her buttons, the slower he goes.

With a shaky hand, Harry reaches up to gather Roni’s hair in his hand and gently brushes it over her shoulder and out of his way.  She shivers when he does this, and it makes him smile to himself.  If ever he should be lucky enough to be this close to Roni again, he needs to remember that she likes to have her hair played with.

When he finally reaches the top button, he takes his time fastening it.  He doesn’t realize that he and Roni are both holding their breaths until both of them let it out in a sigh.  He closes his eyes briefly, willing time to stop just for moment so that he can savor this longer, but he has no time to linger on the thought before Roni is spinning around to face him.

“Does it look okay?  Like seriously, do I like… fit with the times?”

She looks genuinely worried, and her eyes scan his for any sign of humor in his response.  

How can Harry tell her that she looks like a dream?  She looks like everything he’s ever wanted and so, so much more.  Of course he’d gone a tad over his planned budget in buying her this outfit, but seeing her here, wearing it and looking like that makes it all worth it.  Were dresses like this supposed to fit this way?  He’s never seen a dress look so good on anybody before, and he doesn’t know how on earth to tell her that without frightening her off.

So he keeps his composure as much as he can, smiling mischievously down at her.  “Not yet.”

He reaches for the tie that Roni had mislabeled a belt and, feeling bolder now, unties it from around her hips.  She squirms a bit in his grasp but she isn’t smiling, not yet, and Harry realizes that fitting in is something incredibly important to her.

“Right, hold still.”  Harry loops the tie around the back of Roni’s neck, brushing her hair up over it and smiling when he notices the goosebumps on her skin once again.  He watches her face closely as he ties the tie in a loose knot in the middle of her chest.  She won’t look at him anymore, but there’s a hint of a smile gracing her pretty lips, so he knows he’s got her where he wants her.   He secures the knot and takes the two loose ends of the tie in his hands, yanking her gently closer to him.

Roni stumbles and gasps softy, before glaring up at him.  “Hey, careful! I could’ve--”

She trails off when she sees the way he’s smiling at her, and she softens immediately.  Her eyes hold an almost indiscernible worry, and if Harry had blinked he would’ve missed the way they darted down to his lips for just a split second.

Harry smirks.  “Now you look perfect.”

Roni giggles nervously, a red tint glowing from her cheeks as she averts her gaze.  She seems to come back to her senses slowly, and Harry is pleased with the effect he has on her.

“Thanks,” she says softly, stepping back and out of the circle of his arms,  “For… helping me.  I don’t mean to be so helpless it’s just…. You know.”

Harry nods.  “I do know,” he says with a reassuring smile.”  He places a hand on his belly.  “I also know that my stomach has been growling for the last hour, and I’m itching to show you off on that dance floor.”  He offers her his arm, grinning smugly down at her.  “So.  Shall we?”

---

The New York air is much colder now, and Roni leans closer to Harry for warmth as they walk.  She’s significantly less afraid now that she looks the part, even going so far as to give passersby a few polite head nods and a quick “good evening!”

Harry grins down at her, squeezing her arm with his own.  “You’re a proper lady now, aren’t you?”

Roni takes on her best posh accent, making Harry snort when she talks.  “Well I look the part, darling, but now I’ve got to act it, haven’t I?”

Through residual giggles, Harry shakes his head.  “You had me up until the accent.”

“What a shame,” Roni says, making her accent even thicker and giggling to herself.  “I’ll have to work on that.”

A clocktower in the distance chimes six o’clock as Harry and Roni finally approach their destination.   It’s busier than Roni had anticipated, but then again it is Friday night. This seems like the place to be, and if this is the only place Harry can take her tonight, he definitely picked a good one.

Harry talks briefly with the host at the front desk, who he’d mentioned to Roni that he was friends with, but Roni doesn’t even pay attention to anything being said.  She instead takes this time to really study the place.  Several round tables surround the large dance floor.  If Roni remembers correctly, this building is a roller rink in her time, and it’s so strange to see it as something so drastically different now.  

It’s also strange to see how many people are smoking indoors here, and Roni coughs when a woman walks by and wafts cigarette smoke into her face.

They’re seated shortly at a smaller table in the corner, and when the host returns back to his post, Harry beams at Roni.  “So? What do you think?”

“It’s cute!” Roni says. “It’s weird because I’ve been here but you know, like… in the 90s.”

“Yeah?  Is it pretty much the same?”

“Not at all,” Roni laughs.  “I mean the big dance area kind of looks the same I guess.  But it’s a huge roller rink.”

“A what?” Harry scrunches up his face, but doesn’t even give Roni a chance to answer him. “Oh, like for roller skates?”

“Yeah!”

Harry looks out at the dance floor thoughtfully. “Gee. So that area is just filled with people roller skating, huh?  That’s odd to think about.”

The waiter approaches, quickly shifting both Harry and Roni’s attention.  He informs them that his name is Stanley, goes over a few of the food specials for the evening, and then asks them what they’d like to drink.  Harry orders a lemonade, and then both he and Stanley turn to Roni expectantly.

“Yeah, uh, I’ll take a rum and coke, please.”

If a record-scratch silence was such a thing in these times, it would have happened at that exact moment.  Stanley, the people at the next table over, and even Harry all stare at her as if her order is the most scandalous thing they’ve ever heard.  Roni stares back blankly, trying to gather what on earth the problem could be, before finally looking to Harry for help.

Harry catches on quickly, laughing dryly and leaning across the table to place a hand on Roni’s.  “She’s joking, of course,” he says.  “She’ll just have a coca-cola.  Please.  Thank you so much.”

Stanley lingers a moment, as if processing what just happened, before turning slowly on his heels and making his way to the kitchen.

When Harry is sure the waiter is out of earshot, he leans across the table with a serious look.  “Don’t do that,” he hisses quietly.

“Do what?!” Roni asks incredulously.  “Order a drink?  What, are women not allowed to drink here?”

Harry chuckles.  “Actually no one is.”

“What the fuck?” Roni says, biting her tongue the moment it escapes her lips because she knows she shouldn’t be cursing like that in public.  Not here at least. She glances around to make sure no one heard her, then lowers her voice.  “Why not?”

Harry grins smugly.  “You mean to tell me the prohibition isn’t something significant in the future?  Like it just… ends?”

Roni rolls her eyes.  “Oh god,” she says.  “The prohibition.  Forgot about that.”

“Ah.”  Harry nods.  “So you’ve heard of it.”

Roni pouts.  “Yeah, and it sucks.”

“You’re telling me,” Harry says through a laugh.

“I guess just a coke is fine though,”  Roni admits.  “Probably don’t need anything making me more disoriented me more than I already am.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Roni sighs, glancing around the restaurant again in another attempt to take it all in.  When she catches the eye of an older lady a few tables over, she notices the woman is frowning at her, and she shifts in her seat. “Are people staring?  They’re definitely staring.  Did you button me up wrong?”

“I didn’t,” Harry says. “Maybe they’re staring because of how beautiful you look.”

Roni’s cheeks grow hot and she rolls her eyes, but she can’t suppress the smile on her face. “Harry--”

“I’m serious!” he says.  “That dress is divine.  I must say, whoever picked it for you has excellent taste.”

“Hey, I picked it out, too.” Roni sticks her tongue out at Harry.

“Maybe so,” Harry says with a shrug,  “But of the two of us, I’m the one with the fashion sense here.”

Roni opens her mouth to protest, but Harry only rises to his feet and holds his hand out for her. “Anyway,” he says, “care to dance?”

At first Roni feels awkward on the crowded dance floor.  Everyone around her seems so experienced, and there she is stumbling around like she’s never even heard music before in her life.  She accidentally bumps into several people, and Harry always calmly apologizes for her before jumping right into the impromptu dance lesson he’s giving her.  Of course she feels bad, but he’s so encouraging (and went through all the trouble to get them here), so she puts on a brave face and soldiers through it.

By about four songs in, however, Roni’s insecurities wash further and further away with every smile or word of praise Harry gives her, and suddenly it feels like they’re the only two in the entire building.

The familiar opening chords of The Charleston begin booming from the orchestra, and Harry and Roni immediately exchange open-mouthed grins.  “You know this one!” Harry yells over the music, already beginning to tap his feet.

“No I don’t!” Roni giggles, already being swept off her feet by Harry.

Once again they’re laughing like children, stumbling over one another while Harry shouts incoherent commands at her.  

“Remember? Left, kick, left--- Veronica, focus!”

“I can’t! Not with everyone around!”

Roni finally allows her giggles to get the best of her, letting go of Harry and hunching over to clutch her belly.  Harry watches her, an endeared smile on his lips, before reaching to take her hand again. “Veronica--”

“Wait!” Roni stands up straight. “Wait, it’s my turn. Let me show you how it’s done. Ever heard of this one?”

She starts half-jumping, half- running in place and Harry lets out a loud cackle. “What on earth are you doing?”

“It’s called the running man!” Roni calls back.  “All the rage where I come from!”

Harry’s face grows redder by the second from laughing so hard, and he lets out a hacking cough. “Oh my god, you look ridiculous!”

“Yeah? Like that one? How about this one?”  Roni places her hands on either side of her face, framing her head and moving her hands from her cheeks to her chin and top of her head. . “This one is called Vogue-ing.”

Harry wipes at his eyes, clutching his stomach. “Veronica,” he says through a wet laugh, “Please, no more.”

“And here’s a classic!”  Roni goes completely stiff, bending her arms at the elbows and moving robotically. “They call this one the robot!”

“God,” Harry shakes his head, face now beet read from laughing. “You’re so bloody weird.”

“You aren’t gonna try it with me?” Roni asks.  “I try your weird dances with you!”

Harry rolls his eyes, but he knows she’s got a point. “It’s not the same.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Roni calls back. “C’mon, just try the robot one time.”

Harry glances nervously around before deciding to just completely throw caution to the wind and join her.  He goes stiff as well, mimicking her movements in the most forced and uncomfortable looking way.

Now it’s her turn to laugh, and she lets out the most adorable cackle Harry thinks he’s ever heard. “Ha! You’ve got it!”

“Do I look absolutely mental?” Harry asks through a grin.

“Absolutely, babe,” Roni says with a nod.

“Good!” Harry starts moving faster, knowing damn well he isn’t doing this dance correctly at all, until Roni can’t even dance anymore. She’s nearly on the ground with how hard she’s laughing, and both she and Harry completely ignore the dirty looks from everyone around them who’s actually taking their dancing seriously.

Harry is completely out of breath by the end of the song, and he genuinely feels he’s going to be sore tomorrow.  

But if it meant seeing Roni this happy and full of laughter, he’d take her out dancing every single night.

---

“So what was it like?”

Roni turns to Harry.  “What?”

Roni and Harry are walking home side by side, and Roni is carrying her shoes-- even though Harry had informed her several times how filthy the ground was. When they’d finally decided to stop dancing and sit down for dinner, they’d launched immediately into conversation, covering just about any topic under the sun. Harry marvels at how easy it is to talk to Roni, and he reckons he could sit and listen to her talk about absolutely nothing for days on end.

“The moment you traveled back.  I know you said it was a lucid dream of sorts, but what was it really like?  Was it like you were flying?”

“No, not really,” Roni says, and she takes a moment to think of how to explain this to him.  “It was just like walking.  But I couldn’t walk fast enough.  I wasn’t being threatened or anything.  I just knew I had somewhere to go and I didn’t think I’d get there in time.”

“Where were you trying to go?  You’d mentioned something about the 1980s… is that correct?  Something about your mum?”

Roni smiles sadly at him.  “You remember me saying that?”

“‘Course I do.”  Harry notices the sadness of Roni’s features, and he lowers his voice.  “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay,” Roni says wistfully.  “I wanted to go to 1985. That was the year I lost my mom.  In a car accident.”

“Oh, Veronica,” Harry coos. “I’m so sorry.”

“Cars were… well, are a lot different where I come from.  People drive like assholes.  Pardon the language.”  Harry smirks to himself.  Since when does Roni feel the need to apologize for her language?  He doesn’t have time to tease her, however, and he figures now is not the time.  So he lets her continue.

“So mom was driving to work one morning.  And this guy fell asleep at the wheel.  A trucker.  He’d been driving all night.”  Roni seems lost in her own thoughts, and Harry hangs on her every word.  “And it sucks because… it was just like any other day, you know?  We just said a normal goodbye.  She was planning on ordering pizza that night when she got home.   I asked her to take me to the pool, and she couldn’t.  She was working overtime so that she could pay for this stupid class trip for me.”  Roni shakes her head bitterly, and Harry wants to say something, but he decides to let her sort through her own thoughts.

“I just thought that… maybe if I could go back to that day I could stop her, do you know what I mean?  I thought I could maybe warn her not to leave.  She would’ve listened to me.”  Roni chuckles softly to herself.  “I was always good at persuading her.”

They round the corner, beginning their ascent up the steps to Harry’s apartment.  He finally speaks as he fumbles with his keys.  “You know you can’t give up, right?  You’ve proven that time travel is real, now it’s just a matter of perfecting the specifics.”

Roni shrugs as Harry pushes his creaky front door open for her to walk through.  “I suppose,” she says, “I just don’t know if I want to risk going to another unfamiliar time period.  I’m not sure anyone else would be as kind as you.”

Her words tug at Harry’s heart strings as he locks the door behind him.  “Can I say something?”

Roni kicks off her shoes.  “Of course.”

“I’m really glad you showed up here.”  When Roni shoots Harry a look that says “don’t be cheesy,”  he giggles.  “I mean it! You’re somebody that I feel very, very lucky to have met.  You’re an incredible person.”

“Oh stop it.”  Roni and Harry make their way through the living room, while Harry begins unbuttoning his jacket and Roni fumbles to untie the neck-tie that has been itching her skin all night.

“I’m serious,” Harry says.  “You’re intelligent.  And witty.”

Roni smirks at him.  “Alright fine, keep going.”

“And funny,”  Harry adds with a pointed look.  “Gosh, Veronica, no one makes me laugh as hard as you do, you know that?”

“The feeling is mutual, dude.”  Roni frowns down at the knot that she still hasn’t been able to get untied, and Harry keeps talking.

“You keep me on my toes, but in the best way.”  Harry wiggles out of his jacket, placing it neatly over the back of a chair. “I never know what to expect from you.”

“Good,” Roni says, distracted and still scowling at the stubborn knot.  “I want to keep it that way.”

“You’re unlike any woman-- no, any person in general, I have ever met in my life.  And I’ve met a lot of people, you know.  You’re someone special.  I feel like you were meant to come into my life, even if you came from the future.  And--”  Harry trails off when he notices her struggling. “Do you need help with that?”

Roni frowns up at him, finally giving up.  “How tight did you tie this thing?!”

Harry laughs, making his way over to her.  “Alright, c’mere.  Let me see.”

It feels good to be this close to Roni again, and although they’d spent the last roughly three and a half hours dancing closely, this feels so much better.  Harry feels the same nervous energy he’d felt while tying this thing, but somehow he’s more confident about it now, and he doesn’t shy away from standing so close to her.

“You can keep going on about how great I am if you want,” Roni teases.

“Oh can I?” Harry asks.  “Thank you for your blessing, madam.”

“Anytime!”

Harry smiles, working at the knot gently and really searching to find the right words in his mind.  “Suppose everything I’ve been saying is rather sappy, innit?”

“I don’t mind.”

Harry’s heart pounds at her words, although he isn’t exactly nervous.  “Well, may I say something else sappy?”

“We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?”

“Fair.”  Harry smiles.  Admittedly, he’s got the knot figured out and could easily side the tie off with no problem. But he likes having something for his fingers to fidget with, and he definitely  likes having his fingers so near her body.  “On top of everything else I’ve said, you are… undoubtedly… the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.”

Roni’s mouth falls open so subtly that Harry would have missed it if it wasn’t for the almost inaudible gasp that accompanied the movement.  He doesn’t look at her eyes, he instead focuses on the knot-- which he is now halfway done with.

“Harry.”

“Pardon me if I’m being too forward, Veronica.  I just think it’s high time that I let you know that.  You deserve to be told that every day.”

Harry shakes the knot a bit, effectively loosening it so that it practically slides off.  But he doesn’t let go of the fabric, holding it loosely on either side of her neck.  He swallows and she lets out a shaky breath, eyes darting frantically along his face as if she can’t decide on a place for them to land.  The mood in the room has shifted entirely just from his one confession, because they both know that his words hold so much more depth to them.  He isn’t just complimenting her to fill the silence.  He means it, and he means so much more by it.

“Can I say something as well?”  Roni says quietly, and Harry only nods.  “You’re… the most wonderful person I’ve ever known, Harry.  And I wish… I wish I’d met you sooner.”

“I consider myself incredibly lucky to have met you,” Harry says.  “And I... I don’t know how long you’re going to be here with me for.  But I already wish I had longer with you.  And I wish you were mine.”

Roni licks her lips as their eyes finally meet.  They both wear looks of confusion, a bit of fear, and so much yearning that it would make Roni sick on any other day.  But now she’s here, and she’s feeling something she’s honestly never felt in her life.  She smiles, reaching up slowly to cup his cheek and run her thumb over the spot where his dimple lives.

“I wish that, too,” she says breathlessly.

Finally. Finally it’s the moment they’ve both been waiting for for so long.  Harry tugs lightly on the tie, pulling Roni in so close that their faces are practically touching.  It would be so easy for them to just do it, just tilt their heads the slightest bit and kiss already.  Roni feels jittery and shaky, and Harry reaches up to take the wrist of the hand that cups his face.

They’re so close that Roni can feel the warmth radiating off of his skin, and she swallows down all of the words that she’s dying to say.  She licks her lips, only briefly giving in to the “what if’s” swimming around in her brain, and she removes her eyes from his swollen pink lips.  She scans the dip of his cupid’s bow, the little mole on the corner of his chin, the point of his nose, and finally his green eyes that match the intensity on his face.  Memories of the image she’d woken up to this morning float back into her mind,-- images of him, naked and swollen and whining-- and this time she lets them linger for a moment.  Enjoying the way the sight had made her feel.  Enjoying the way that that same hand feels now against her wrist.

“Harry,” Roni whispers.

Harry bumps his nose to hers, lips so close that she can practically taste them.  “Yes, love?”

Roni wants to stop herself from saying what she’s about to say.  More than anything she wants to give in to this boy who’s standing so close to her, she wants to fasten their lips together and taste him.  She wants to kiss his neck, and she wants him to kiss hers.  She wants to touch him, lick him, bury him inside of her until they pass out from exhaustion.  And she wants to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

But instead, she says something she almost instantly regrets.

“I can’t.”

#told ya she was a long one! #anyway HOPE YOU ENJOYED #Harry Styles #Harry #One Direction #Harry Styles fanfiction #Harry fanfiction #One Direction fanfiction #fanfiction #Harry Styles AU #Harry AU #One Direction AU #AU #Harry Styles fluff #harry fluff #One Direction fluff #fluff #Harry Styes smut #Harry smut #One Direction smut #smut

[jess-rewatches-prodigalson]

Episode 3: Fear Response

You know the drill. Thoughts with time stamps coming your way.

SPOILERS AHEAD

0:55 - Is Martin really that delusional? He killed people and he thinks his wife isn’t going to divorce him?!? 

1:23 - “A woman overlooks things.” No. I’m sorry. But Jessica’s mother sounds kind of awful. No one should have to overlook “things” in a marriage. Communicate people. Don’t settle. Compromise. Love. Forgive. Don’t overlook red flags.

1:47 - Lay down the law Jessica. That’s my girl. This is the moment I fell in love with Jessica. 

3:19 - Malcolm leaves his phone in another room when he sleeps? Good for him. My technology addicted ass could never do that. Plus it’s my alarm clock so you know - there’s that. 

3:30 - Jessica owns the building Malcolm lives in. This raises a lot of questions for me about Malcolm’s finances. He was clearly getting paid by the FBI. I assume the NYPD is also paying him. Does he have access to the family money? Is he paying rent for his loft? Or does he live rent free because it’s the “family building”?!? The finances of people who grew up rich is such a mystery to me. How does it work when your rich parents are still alive? 

3:49 - He flung himself out a window. He was having a nightmare and it caused him to fling himself out a window while he was still asleep. This. Boy. Needs. A. Hug. Also real sleep. And peace. 

4:48 - “I just watched you throw yourself out a window.” Did you see Malcolm’s facial expression after she said that. It was a look that says “I know I’m broken. I don’t like it. I’m sorry. I’m doing my best. I’m ashamed.”

5:10 -  He knows. He knows his mental health is a mess but he lies to his mother anyways. He wants to be brave for her. He doesn’t want her to worry about him. She’s suffered enough. She’s worried enough. He doesn’t want to be a burden. My heart breaks for Malcolm in this scene.

5:35 - Look I have personal issues with shrinks but I’m really happy Malcolm has someone to talk to. Also she’s such a cool therapist. She’s kind and respectful without being demeaning and coddling. 

7:00 - I LOVE that Malcolm is sitting with his legs folded. It’s super cute. Also it reinforces the idea that he’s in a vulnerable state.

7:22 - Does Malcolm have social anxiety? The way he approaches this crime scene it almost looks like he’s rehearsing what he’s going to do/say when he arrives. It’s a very common social anxiety habit. 

7:38 - He took enough lollipops to share. That might be the sweetest thing in the world. Gil looks so happy. Dani and JT look so confused. I wonder if Malcolm is sharing lollipops to subtly tell Gil that he’s seeing his therapist and he’s getting help. 

8:11 - Another awkward Edrisa and Bright interaction. I’m cringing. 

8:50 - Do you ever wonder what Mr.David’s job description is? I do. I mean does he just stand there watching Martin all day. Is he supposed to talk to Martin? Is he supposed to prevent Martin from hurting himself? I mean I love Mr.David but if Martin is alone in his room why does Mr.David need to be there? Martin is chained to the wall. 

10:10 - Oh hell no. That’s nasty. Also Malcolm looks way too excited about the brain removal. 

10:34 - Ok. So I don’t ship Maldrisa. BUT that little smile that Malcolm just gave Edrisa is warming my cold, dead heart. 

11:05 - The victim was scared to death. Malcolm is currently suffering from increased mental distress caused by his father and extreme night terrors. And now the victim has been scared to death. Irony? Foreshadowing?

12:03 - hahaha Gil’s face. He’s like “I can’t explain that boy’s behaviour.”.

12:07 - STOP. Right now. Does Malcolm really have his own desk?!? So he’s like officially employed right? This isn’t some irregular consultation gig that Gil has arranged. Our boy has a desk. Our boy is permanent. I am so happy. 

12:30 - Mr.David doesn’t deserve to have to bend to Martin’s will.  “Could you mute that please”. That man better be getting a pretty penny from this job. 

12:40 - How does Martin get this case info?!? I don’t see the newspapers/newscasts mentioning the incision on the side of the victim’s skull. 

13:30 - Oh and whose fault is that Martin? Ugh. I wish Martin just wouldn’t talk to Malcolm anymore. He really aggravates Malcolm’s anxiety.

14:33 - I am both touched and slightly creeped out that Gil has been staring at Malcolm through a window while he was on the phone. 

15:07 - Fanboy alert. It’s honestly so freaking sweet to see Malcolm this excited....but it’s really not the time. 

16:10 - What exactly does Jessica do all day? Does she just watch the news and keep tabs on her children? That’s kind of sad. For Jessica. I wish she were able to have more of a social life despite what Martin did.

17:12 - Ainsley, sweetheart, I love you. I see where you’re coming from. But your Mother did the right thing for you. You shouldn’t have to remember a monster. 

18:40 - Dang. Dani looks beautiful in that shade of blue. 

19:30 - Do you ever wonder why Malcolm doesn’t carry a gun with the NYPD? He’s qualified to carry a gun since he used to work for the FBI. Do you think he’s not allowed to carry one since he’s technically not a police officer with the NYPD? I prefer to believe that he refuses to carry a gun with the NYPD because he’s terrified of what he might do with a gun. To a suspect. To himself (presuming he stores it at home when he’s not working).

20:12 - Again. Malcolm is not a killer. Look at his concern for Dr. Brown in this scene.

21:21 - JT’s writing the report. Do they all have to make a report for every case or do they take turns writing a single report (like a group project) for every case? I’m very curious. 

21:23 - oooooohhhh Dad is angry. And concerned. 

21:50 - Do you ever wonder what classes Bright took in university? I do. He has a degree in psychology but he seems to know a lot about specific medications, medical conditions, and medicine in general. Is that because of Martin? Maybe? But a lot of his knowledge seems way beyond what a 10 year old could understand and retain. 

24:10 - I love this scene. It suggests that there was a point in time when Gil and Jessica talked frequently. Maybe they were even friends. It suggests that they bonded over how much they love Malcolm. Makes me wonder what kind of a relationship Gil has/had with Ainsley.

27:48 - This. This is how much Jessica loves Malcolm. Yes she oversteps boundaries and she can come across as cold and distant. BUT she is willing to see a man that terrifies her. Who caused her so much pain. A man that she hates. Simply because she wants to keep her son healthy and safe. That right there is a good mother. 

28:28 - This is my favourite running gag of the series. I genuinely want to know what JT stands for. If it’s not something ridiculous like “James Tiberius” or “Justin Timberlake” because JT’s parents were big nerds I will be so disappointed. 

29:00 - This conversation about trust and respect between JT and Malcolm is everything. It really solidifies their friendship. You can tell that from this point onward JT is much warmer toward Malcolm. I love this. So much. 

29:15 - What branch of the military was JT a part of? Marine? Air Force? Army? Navy?

30:08 - Malcolm’s list of diagnoses. Yikes. :( My heart is shattered.  

30:21 - The look in Malcolm’s eyes here. Just. No. Ouch. That hurts. This boy needs a hug. 

32:30 - I kind of don’t feel bad for this woman. She kind of sucks.

32:50 - I like to believe that JT is texting his wife in this scene. I like to believe he’s telling her about how he got stuck babysitting the weirdo who keeps guessing what his name stands for. 

32:52 - I’m sorry. What? What did JT see that caused him to get out of the car. Malcolm hasn’t called him yet and that house looks normal on the outside. 

34:14 - The fact that Malcolm can empathize with killers is beautiful and terrible. It’s a wonderful quality but it’s probably not great for his mental health.

34:55 - That’s a concussion.

36:15 - I get the feeling that half the time when Malcolm’s talking down a killer he’s really talking to himself. That breaks my heart.

36:38 - Malcolm’s manic guesses of JT name is very concerning. I’m worried for this boy. I really hope someone got him checked out for a concussion.

37:12 - Ugh. Don’t look at her like she’s a piece of meat. 

37:33 - The way Jessica and Martin interact really makes me question what their married relationship was like. Did they argue a lot? Did they show a lot of PDA? I have questions.

38:30 - The way Jessica insults Martin is my favourite thing. It’s freaking hilarious.

39:10 - If Martin is a psychopath he legitimately can’t feel pride for his children. Right? So he’s lying here?

40:40 - What was the whole story? What did Jessica do? Was it the alcoholism? Is that what he’s referring to?

42:00 - DUDE. Please don’t drug yourself. You are so desperate for answers that you’ve become self-destructive. I want you to be safe. 

I love this show. Ugh. If you read through any of this - thanks for hanging out. I hope to post my thoughts on the next episode soon. 

#prodigal son #jess-rewatches-prodigal #malcolm bright #whitly #ainsley whitly #jessica whitly #martin whitly #gil arroyo #jt tarmel #edrisa tanaka #dani powell #this show is almost perfect #i love this show #whump #malcolm needs a hug #so good #rewatch #spoilers #ps #e:3 #Fear Response #1x3 #s1

[hetalialoverwrites]

Ways to be Wicked

Part 7

First  -  Previous  -  Next

        Back in Auradon once again, Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were dressed for the Isle of the Lost and running downstairs to get to the limo waiting for them. "Jay!" Ben called, making said boy turn to him. "Keys, remote." Ben tossed the items to him swiftly and Jay went towards the driver's door as he caught them. "Wait!" Evie called out, making the three boys stop and look to her on the last set of stairs. "Something's wrong." She said seriously before fixing Ben's beanie. "Oh, um." Ben sighed at her, slightly realized that it was nothing important. "There," Evie said, satisfied. "SHOTGUN!" Dude yelled out and making everyone look at him with obvious shock. "No dude! Stay! The Isle is way too dangerous." Carlos commanded. Dude trotted in place and groaned frustrated as Evie gasped. "Did he just-" Carlos cut Jay off, "Talk? Yeah. I'll explain later." He sighed before they all piled into the limo. "Okay, once we cross the bridge, park under the pier in the old garage, okay?" Evie asked Jay. "You got it." He nodded before starting the limo and driving. Jay drove quickly to the broken bridge and then pressed the button, not waiting a moment for the magic bridge to start forming in front of him.

        Once through the barrier of the Isle, Jay parked the limo, and everyone got out. "Ben! Help me with the tarp!" Carlos called, running over to the tarp he was talking about. The four of them used it to cover the limo so no villain could steal it, notice it, strip it for parts, or leave the Isle with it. "It's really weird being back here," Evie told Jay, a little uncomfortable. Jay glanced around before looking at Evie, "We'll get in and get out." He reassured her. As the VKs finished covering the limo, Ben walked over to a giant pipe, peering inside, "What's through here?" Ben asked curiously. Evie's heart nearly stopped when she was him before dragging him away, "You don't want to know." "Hey, guys. Keep it chill, alright?" Carlos asked everyone, trying to keep the small group calm. "The last thing we need is people figuring out we're here." At a few nods, they made their way through the alleyways where Evie got robbed by two kids. "Hey! Hey!" Evie called, snatching them by their wrists. They stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, holding her wallet before Evie's eyes softened, "Go... You can take it." She let go and watched sadly as the kids ran off. When she turned around and saw only Jay and Carlos standing there waiting for her, she sighed deeply, "Ugh, Ben." She stalked off with the boys hot on her heels to find the naive king. 

        Ben walked around, a pleasantly wonderstruck look on his face as he looked about the Isle. It was so different than Auradon... Ulstead was also pretty different, but this... Seeing a man leaning against some posts, Ben wandered over to him with a grin. He held his hand out to the man to shake, "Hey-" The man growled and lunged at him threateningly, making Ben back up before the VKs caught up to him. Evie grabbed ben immediately and pulled him further away from the man while Carlos immediately went chest to chest up to the man and intimidated him back. The man grew wary and stepped back a bit as Jay arrived and replaced Carlos, and making the man run away. "Ben stop," Evie commanded sternly, giving Ben a firm look. "Why?" Ben asked, slightly miffed with the overprotective behavior. "This isn't a parade, it’s the Isle." She scolded him before letting him go. "keep your hands in your pockets unless you're stealing." Jay told Ben seriously. "You either slouch or strut," Carlos informed. "And never ever smile." Evie sighed. "Okay, than-" Ben was cut off by Evie, "No 'thank you's and drop the 'please'. Just... Chill." Evie advised before resting her elbow on his shoulder and slipping into a song. 

        Ben bumped into a guy stealing some eggs from a woman's stand and stumbled slightly. The sight of the boy caused jay, Evie, and Carlos to tense and rush to Ben's side. "Hey man! Hey!" Gil grinned broadly at Ben before looking at the VKs. "Uh, no. I don't know you either, man." Ben tried to play it off. "Uhm, yeah you do. Come on man, really?" Gil looked a little disheartened before brightening once again. "Dude, I'll give you a hint. My dad is quick, slick, and his neck..." Gil pointed to his neck with a childlike glee, "Is incredibly thick." Ben looked to Evie for help when Gil caught sight of a royal poster that was put up. "........OH!! You're King Ben!" Gil gasped. "Oh, no no no, I don't think so." Ben stuttered out, being pulled by Jay and Evie away from Gil nervously. "Yeah! And you're J-Jay, Carlos, Evie...! Hey guys!" Gil greeted them even though they had already disappeared around a corner. "OOOOOOHHHH!! Uma's gonna love this!!" Gil giggled, jumping up and down in excitement before running off to tell his captain what he saw. Meanwhile, the three VKs brought Ben to the base where they were sure Mal and (Y/n) would be. Picking up a rock, Carlos threw it at the warning sign and a gate opened to a stairwell. "Just in there. They should be all the way up." Evie said, pointing to the stairs. Ben nodded and walked over to it before turning back, "Wish me luck." And then he ascended the stairs. 

        You were sitting in your nest, waiting for Mal to come back with food. You had insisted ongoing but were convinced to just take a few minutes to relax and rest. So here you were, laying in your nest and thinking about earlier when Harry had consoled you. After your run-in at Dizzy's shop, you three had gone back to the hideout and hung out for a while. You and Harry caught up for the most part with Mal tagging in to tease you about something or add something that you had left out. It was really nice to have your best friend back... You heard the sound of footsteps on metal, but with no following sound of something dragging behind them, you had assumed Harry had come back. Sitting up and rising from your nest to greet your friend again, you were stunned when you saw Ben standing in the doorway. You felt uneasy under his gaze and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." You paused. That didn't come from you. You looked to Ben again to see a remorseful expression as he walked closer. "I'm so sorry (Y/n)... I blew up at you when you were under so much pressure, so much stress. You were only trying to make things easier on yourself and do your best and I didn't appreciate that. I didn't even say anything or ask you how you felt when you started to hide your wings and horns!" Ben now stood right in front of you, looking every bit as apologetic as he sounded.

        "It's okay Ben... I know I probably looked more appealing when I looked human..." You frowned and looked away. "No!" Ben grabbed your arms and looked at you earnestly, "I think you look nice when you look human, but you look radiant when you're in your true form. I really, really, really missed seeing you like this." He admitted, his cheeks flushing a bit as his eyes scanned over you. "I'm so sorry I didn't say so sooner." He apologized, rating his forehead against yours. "I'm sorry too, Ben... I should have been honest with you about my feelings and about everything that was going on. It was just... I didn't want to seem like I wasn't trying when you were doing all you could to learn how to be king." You apologized as well. "I should have asked you how you felt about all of this and told you how I feel about magic. It's a part of me I can't ever get rid of... I should have told you that from the beginning." You felt his thumb brush against your cheek, and you realized you were crying. "(Y/n)... Please come home." Ben asked quietly. You felt a pang in your chest, and you pulled away, "I... I don't know Ben..." You hesitated. Ben noticed how your wings tensed when he asked but continued trying to convince you. "Please come back with me. I'll do better. I'll be a better boyfriend. I'll spend more time with you, talk to the kingdom about the situation, just... Just please come home." Ben begged, getting on his knees and holding your hands tightly in his.

        "Ben!" You gasped in surprise at his display, "I-I... No, Ben, you've been a wonderful partner! We've just been having some... Communication issues, that's all." You knelt down to be on the same level as him. "But I don't know if I can go back just yet..." "Please..." Ben begged in a soft whisper. It had only been a day, but he had already missed you so much and the thought of you never coming back to him had scared the life out of him. You noticed his feelings too. So, with a small sigh, you made a compromise, "I will stay on the Isle for a little while longer, but I will be back for Cotillion tomorrow night. And then we can work on fixing all of this. Okay?" You asked, hoping he would agree. Ben seemed to brighten, and you smiled, leaning forward and kissing him softly, "Then we're agreed." You whispered after pulling away. Ben looked a bit dazed by your kiss before taking your face in his hand and kissing you once again. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed back happily before the two of you had to pull away. You leaned into his touch and smiled, taking one of his hands in yours and giving it a light squeeze. "I'll see you at Cotillion, okay?" You asked quietly. "Okay," Ben replied softly, kissing your knuckles and helping you up. With a final goodbye, Ben went downstairs only to be met with the sight of an irritated Mal holding a bag of food. As if sensing his presence, she spun around to face him and became infuriated, "YOU!" She hissed before marching up to face him. "How dare you upset my sister so much!" She snarled, "(Y/n) was a wreck when I found her after your fight! She was killing the forest and he didn't even know it! You promised my mother that you wouldn't hurt her as a condition of your relationship!" Mal growled, her wings fluffing up and spreading menacingly. "I know, I'm sorry." Ben apologized before he was cut off by Jay, Carlos, and Evie jumping in to calm Mal down. In the mild chaos of the situation, Ben was kidnapped. 

#descendants #reader insert #ben x reader #descendants au #romance #mirror mirror #crossover #maleficent #fanfiction #fanfic