#THANK YOU NICK these were really fun to get out of my head!!!! the general ideas have been stuck in there for MONTHS lmao.

[shirogane-oushirou]

poppy red, chocolate cosmos, and maroon for ren? :3c

nick my friend nick~!! hope you're having a friend lead-up to valentines day with kylar and rika and the squid kids~~~! you're going to have a busy day KJNASKJDN. 🙏🏻💕 ty for the ask!!!

Poppy Red: How familiar is your f/o about Valentine's Day or their source's equivalent of it? What's their opinion of it?

ren has had a number of partners in the past, and so has had multiple experiences with valentines day, ranging from "that was... fine...!" to "DISASTER" :'( he tried to make up for a socially isolated childhood by finding Someone. Anyone. to be in a relationship with, and he'd often flip from completely overdoing things to trying to play it too casual. his partners would inevitably leave feeling some level of disappointed... so the day's somewhat tainted by bad memories. that plus his general negative feelings towards holidays (family shit yippee) makes valentines supremely stressful for him, even though the /CONCEPT/ of the day seems nice! it takes someone with similar social expectations and views of most holidays (hieeeeee. smile.) to finally find a good middle ground approach to the day that works for both of us!.... it still stresses him out though. poor thing. 😫

Chocolate Cosmos: If your f/o was talking about you to someone like a close friend, how exactly would they talk about you? How would they describe you? Characterize you? And how often do they talk about you to other people?

before dating, doc! and v!ren spend a lot of time trying to avoid the fact that he likes me (doesn't want a repeat of past bad relationships, doesn't want to ruin something good, etc), so i feel like he's the "oh they're such a fun FRIEND, i love being their FRIEND, my FRIEND ro showed me this thing--" type, like he's trying to convince himself that that's how he sees me. most others see right through him though KJASNDKJN. r!ren doesn't have as many hangups about his relationships so he's more straightforward. if he was talking to his coworkers, he'd keep things to a Normal level. he'd mention me if he needed to refer to me for something ("oh, ro said that movie was good, do you recommend it too?" "ro and i went to a botanical garden this weekend, how about you?"), though if he was watching me stream art during a lunch break and someone asked about it, he'd fawn over me ("YEAH it's cool right? that's my FRIEND ro, they drew all of these things, look look look you can see them drawing now, they're--") kJNASDKJN. around his sister, though? no holds barred. she's the one who puts it in his head that he's ALLOWED to try romance again, and that i seem sensible and that we'd be fairly attuned to each other, so ofc she's the one he always goes to if he needs to gush. i think he'd focus on my perseverance and passion, but also my art skills, the efforts i've made to improve myself, the "gap moe" between my resting blank face vs my care for others + excitement over my interests, and uhhhhh how cute he thinks i am KJNSKJN. and i think he'd want to stress how much calmer he feels in our relationship. his past relationships all ended up being pretty shallow and unhealthy because he wasn't in the right mindset for it. now that he has a relationship that, even on days when we don't agree w each other, is infinitely healthier and easier... he wants anyone listening to know that i'm irreplaceable to him.

Maroon: What are both of your love languages? How much do they clash and/or mesh with each other?

his are quality time + physical touch, mine is acts of service. i feel like we've worked things out pretty well, actually! when he's done with work, we'll spend the evening just sitting together, snuggling and enjoying each others' company and catching up on each others' days. i like to cook nice meals for him when i can; no matter which ren it is, he could use a little extra nutrition sjkdfn. if i'm in his place, i also like to tidy up while he's out, and with my health situation, i deeply appreciate when he goes out of his way to bring things to me or help clean things around my place when i can't get up ;;; 😭 and we'll sometimes do things that combine all of our languages together!! once in a while, we'll take a night to shower together, one of us sitting in a shower chair while the other thoroughly washes their hair and body, massaging their scalp and helping them relax, and then we switch places. then we get into soft pjs, dry each others' hair, maybe continue with some skincare... yknow. just. spending time really focusing on each other, connecting physically in a non-sexual way, and doing something kind to help let out tension. 🥺💕

(ask game here)

#THANK YOU NICK these were really fun to get out of my head!!!! the general ideas have been stuck in there for MONTHS lmao. #📌 [ my posts. ] #[ asks. ] #✨ [ oc lore. ] #🍄 [ lying on the blade of an emotion. ] #🦦 [ can't escape it. ] #🧃 [ who is in control. ] #🐐 [ been up all night. ] #🌱 [ elastic. ] #[ oomfies ; nick. ] #🐸 [ look ahead. ] #🦔 [ used to be easy. ]

[mindmelter]

New Soldier Skin

Nick found it weird that the doctor was calling him again for a check up, he had done one early that month and they normally don't do twice a month. But he had no choice in the matter, he was just a soldier.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine doctor, there's no need for another check up, also I'm out of duty tomorrow"

"Nonsense, It's very important that we keep track of the health of our soldiers, now stand on the scale over there please. We just want to make sure that you are ready to return to your family, I bet you must be really excited right?"

"Yes I am, Doctor, It's been a long time, can't wait to see my wife and kids back at home" He said getting on the scale.

The doctor's friendly expression changed drastically once Nick was standing on the scale with his back to him, now the doctor had a blank and emotionless expression. The doctor walked to his laptop on his table and pressed a key.

"My wife can't wait to see me back at home, and the kids are really...huh?" The soldier looked down at his feet confused, he could feel the scale vibrating beneath his feet, he tried to take his feet off the scale but he couldn't, his feet were stuck to the scale like a magnetic force was pulling them down "That's weird, I can't pull my feet off the scale, doctor?"

"Thank you for your service, Nick" It was all the Doctor said before pressing another key on the laptop.

"What? What is..." Before Nick could finish, he felt a strong electric shock run up from his feet and spread to the rest of his body, he could feel every cell in his body being hit by the eletrical charge. His body became rigid and he grunted for a few seconds, but then the humming of the scale stopped and he fell to the floor completely hollowed out. His hollow head on the floor with smoke coming out of his orifices.

The Doctor looked unfrazed at the lifeless bodysuit on the floor, actually, he looked even bored with the whole event.

"You can come out now, your new skin is ready" The doctor said and then the door opened and a humanoid alien entered the room. The white humanoid alien was wearing a visibly worn out and torn open human skin, it was very damaged with holes and scratches, and was also missing half the face, under the skin it displayed the alien true form, a white gelatinous goo.

"It was a shame that your last human skin was damaged in battle, you're always so careless with your skins. The General was furious." Said the Doctor.

"I know, I will be more carefull this time" The Alien said looking at the skinsuit lying on the floor, suddenly his true white form started to melt, hollowing out his current damaged skin, his gelatinous form crawled on the floor in the direction of Nick's skin and started to enter through the holes in his head, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, soon the hollow body of Nick started to inflate and gain life, Nick's flat muscles started to get bigger to their full power. The alien was filling every part of Nick with It's slimy form, filling it like a balloon.

After a few seconds he stood up in his new human body, Nick's eyes were completely white with the gelatin alien body underneath, but they quickly started to turn into normal human eyes, now identical to Nick's eyes.

"Do you have any new assignments for me Doctor?"

"No, actually this was his last week of service before his break, you're going back to his family tomorrow"

"Are you serious? It's so boring to pretend to be a husband and a dad, You know I like the action, I want to go into combat!"

"Sorry, but I'm just following orders from the General." The Doctor said grabbing the deteriorated human skin from the floor and looking at it with a disgusted expression. "This was your fourth skin only this year" The doctor then threw the human suit inside a garbage chut on the wall, then he closed it "That's why we chose Nick to be your next skin. The General thinks it's better for you to spend some time out of combat. I know It's not fun to have to pretend to be our skins, but I guess it will be good for you to relax a little, besides you don't have to act exactly like Nick, you just have to not act too much out of character"

"Is being fucked by men too out of character for this hunky skin?" The soldier asked with a devious smile, looking at the doctor with hungry eyes.

"As long as his wife doesn't find out..." The doctor said dropping his pants to the floor, exposing the jockstrap he was wearing.

They both started to make out as Nick groped and squeezed the doctor's big package. Nick dropped to his knees and lowered the Doctor's jockstrap and was in awe to what he saw.

"Wow, your skin is so freaking hung!"

"He used this thing on a lot of women, but I didin't used it in a long time"

"Fill it up, I want to see how big it when completely filled"

The doctor member started to inflate like a modelling balloon in a fraction of seconds.

Nick then started to suck it while he jerked his own hard member. A few minutes later Nick was lying on the doctor's table with his burly legs up being roughly fucked by the doctor's thick cock.

"How is my health, doctor?" Asked Nick with a grin while having his hole stretched by the doctor's big member.

"You're fine... really fine. You are free to go to your new family. Just don't forget to smile and say sentimental words when you see them, like how much you missed them"

______________________

Monthly Report:

Doctor, I'm having a blast in Nick's skin, you were right, I needed a break from all the action, I can have as much action in here with a body like this, I lost count of how many guys fucked me already. Apart acting like a gay slut in the shadows, his wife and kids don't even suspect their beloved husband and daddy is just a skin now. I guess I'm doing a good job as Nick.

End of report.

#bodysuit

[cfr749]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by the wonderfully kind and lovely @coraclavia. If you haven't checked out her work, go do it right now!!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 19

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 354,235

3. What fandoms do you write for? The Rookie!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Beneath Your Beautiful... queue Isn't it ironic by Alanis Morissette 😬

Want You to Stay

However Do You Want Me

One Time Thing

Lucy's Little Secret

5. Do you respond to comments?

I absolutely try to, but sometimes I get behind. Tbh I usually want to respond the minute I see one come in, but don't want to scare anyone lmao. But I read every single one, often multiple times. And you might just get a response from me two years later 😂

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh man... I think this has to be We Built Sandcastles, because I have yet to give it an ending and it hurts me too. I'm so sorry. 😭

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'm gonna go with However Do You Want Me... what's happier than banging on an airplane to save the world?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really... thankfully, 99.9% of the interaction I've had on my fics has been positive and that's a testament to how wonderfully supportive this fandom is of its creators 😭

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yup... the horny kind? Lol... queue Lovin on Me by Jack Harlow. I am pretty vanilla, and I do usually focus a lot on the emotional aspects over the physical. I also generally prefer writing the foreplay over the actual tactics of banging, but I try.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Lol... well... one time when I was 13 I may have written an AU where Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter were normal boys attending the same high school 😂...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully, I don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

I don't think so, but any time someone does comment on one of my fics in another language, I am just honored and blown away that they found it entertaining enough to work through the language barrier.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! Want You to Stay with the amazing @poppypickle. I will always be so thankful that the Chenford fandom brought us together, and so grateful for that creative experience. Truly one of the coolest things I've ever done. ❤️

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I think Chenford still holds this crown.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

We Built Sandcastles, but I actually haven't written anything I've truly given up on. I still think about this universe and write down bits and pieces here and there. I'm also still working on Beneath Your Beautiful!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Weird reality TV AUs? Sexual tension? Feelings?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably too much exposition / time in the character's heads spelling out their motivations vs. letting readers come to their own conclusions.

I'm not always consciously aware of it in my own writing, but sometimes I suspect I'm a little sappier than what I'd normally I prefer to read.

Also I'm slow and sometimes leave my readers hanging for extremely long periods of time (I'm so sorry).

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Depends on the context, but, for me, I'd have a hard time without a native speaker to consult with. No strong feelings against it though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

BSB + NSYNC

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm going to go with one I haven't mentioned yet, which is Cruel Summer because that fic was utterly batshit, came out of literally nowhere, and was so much fun to write!

--

Thanks for the tag, Cora!

I am tagging @poppypickle @queseraone @goodgirlssayiloveyoutoo @rememberthismomentx @thisnightissparkling089 @makeitastrength and @summerongrand (apologies if y'all have already done this and I missed it)!

#chenford fanfic #my asks #see lana ramble #chenford fanfiction #chenford fic #writers ask game #fanfic #fanfiction

[kai-anderson-whore]

The wild rose (James patrick march x fem reader)

Summary: based on the song where the wild roses grow by nick cave and Kylie monoge

Warnings: mentions of murder, suicide

They called you the wild rose, but your name was y/n y/l/n, why they called you that you didn't know, you were stuck in here this gloomy hotel, that was Disguised as a beautiful memory of the gatsby era.

You remembered how you ended up here all those decades ago over 100 years ago, you been stuck here, after being swooned by the owner of this place.

You entered the hotel cortez, your dress swaying at your knees, your heels clicking, to be greeted by a man with a pale complexion a pencil mustache, and a expensive suit.

"Do you have a reservation dear" he asked a smile on his face, "yes it's "miss y/n y/l/n" you replied "ah your not married?" He asked a shocked expression on his face.

Causing you to blush "no I'm afraid not" you mumbled in embarrassment, "well that's obscene" he stated grabbing a room key handing it to you, "I do hope you speak to you again miss y/l/n" he stated.

"Also I'm James patrick march the proud owner of the cortez" he added "Thank you Mr march" you smiled grabbing your suitcase going to the elevator to your room.

James knew you were the one, from the moment he first saw you, you were more beautiful than any woman he'd seen, your lips the colour of the roses miss evers grows on the premises all bloody and wild.

Later on that night, you heard a knock on your room door, confused on whom it could be you went to answer it, to find James at the door.

"Mr march what a surprise" you smiled, your red lipstick still sat perfectly on your lips, letting him enter the room, your eyes red and puffy from crying over something silly, "are you alright dear?" He asked wiping the tears that ran down your face.

Your trembling figure sat on the bed, "What's wrong dear?" James asked, a hand on your shoulder comforting you, "Oh it's nothing something pathetic really I don't want to waste your time Mr march your a busy man" you said.

"Don't be so absurd" he inquiries, let out a giggle "well I came here to pursue a career in acting but got into a huge fight with my parents because I wouldn't marry this man" you said.

"I see" was all he said, "they didn't like that I didn't want to sit there over a stove, cook and clean for a man I didn't want to marry" you said wiping the remaining tears from your eyes.

"Anyway what can I do for you Mr march" you asked wondering why he had came into your room, "please call me James dear, I was wondering if you would like to attend a party Tomorrow at the ball room downstairs?" He asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I'd love to what time is this party taking place?" You replied, "seven thirty" he answered getting up from his spot, "you'll be my plus one" was the last thing he said before leaving the room.

You couldn't help but smile like a fool, once James left going to bed, on a positive note, looking forward for the next day.

The second day James saw you, was when he picked you up, to attend his party, the dress you wore elegant, expensive looking, hugging your curves perfectly.

He brought you a single red rose, you favourite flower "ready to go dear?" He asked taking your hand in his, before intertwining your arms, walking side by side.

"Thank you for this James, it's most generous of you" you smiled your signature red lips, driving James crazy, he knew he couldn't wait any longer to go ahead with his plan.

Entering the party, arriving last but fashionable, all eyes on you both, the rose in your hand, whispers amongst others, as they gawked at your and James.

Through the night you and James danced, sipping expensive champagne, having a fun time, "come with me" he instructed taking you somewhere where you can be alone.

"Do you know where the wild roses grow?" He asked you shook your head as he lead you, where they grow, "my maid miss evers grows them so sweet, scarlet and free, they reminded me of you" he stated making the heat rush to your cheeks.

Finally he showed you the rose bush outside the cortez, they were beautiful, you admired they're beauty, "y/n?" James mumbled his eyes never leaving yours "yes james" you smiled your eyes never leaving the roses.

"Give me your loss and sorrow?" He said, you were confused by what he meant "what do you mean?" You asked, "I mean I want to be the one to make you happy pursue your dreams" he said.

"Not to tie you down so your bond to hover over a stove but to be worshiped, to be treated like a queen" he enquires, taking you aback, no one ever said anything like that, nevermind wanting to treat you like one.

"James I don't know what to say i-" "just give it a think dear" he interrupted not wanting to put you on the spot to make a decision.

But little did you know, the secrets that will be unveiled to you sooner or later.

On the third day he had taken you to a river, where more of wild roses grew, you sat on the grass, watching the water flow, peacefully, James eyes never leaving yours, "are you alright james" you smiled snapping him out his thoughts.

"Why yes dear what makes you this otherwise" he smiled back "oh nothing just noticed your staring" you giggled, now he was the one to blush, it was a lovely sight to see, you thought.

Your eyes locked, James face coming closer to yours, till your lips locked together, the first man you had kissed, his lips were soft, pulling away to see your rouge lips stained his own.

"That was my first kiss" you blushed hiding your face, only for James to tilt your head up with his hand "and many more to come dearest" he smirked.

"Let's go back to the hotel" he wanted his plan to happen on his premises, on his terms, taking your hand heading back to the cortez, the elaborate building always took your breath away, the glamour, the beauty of it all, was breathtaking.

Finally making it to your floor James standing beside you, "Thank you for today James I really enjoyed it" you said opening your door, you didn't want it to end, you ended up inviting James in, little did you know this was according to his plan.

Another kiss James gave you laying you on the bed, all you heard was a muttered word not knowing what it was, as he knelt above you with a rock in his fist.

He kissed you with that, rock in his first, "all beauty must die" he whispered hitting you till you were dead, afterwards he planted a rose between your teeth.

You looked peaceful to him, as he carried you to his study, miss evers came running in as he was discarding your body, your soul leaving it a while ago, you sat in the room you were murdered in, sobbing.

"How could I had trusted him" you cried out wanting revenge, but karma was a sweet thing at times, miss evers warning James that the police was on their way up, resulting him and her taking their own lifes.

Looking back you still hated James, he would try his best to have you forgive him, but nothing worked, over 100 years and you still held that grudge.

"Y/n please I'm sorry I didn't mean to" he said at the bar where you sat with Sally, "you didn't mean to you pulled all that nonsense just to kill me James now I'm trapped here" you weeped.

"Dearest please I did it so we can be together remember what I had promised you" he asked earning a scoff from you, fixing your jeans, standing up.

"Yes I remember or obscene words how you manipulated me into falling for you only to get my head bashed by a rock" you snapped walking away.

You knew now why you got your nicname the wild rose, you hated it, now known as his victim for all eternity, Sally becoming a close friend over the years.

As well as liz, cleopatra everyone called her, who helped you dress modern as time passed by, so you wouldn't be like how James remembered changing everything about you from back then, the gullible girl.

"Y/n please a century I've been apologising I love you" James pleaded following you around like a simp, "you love me really" you laughed in his face.

"Remember our first kiss, how special it was" he asked "Yes and I remember our second where I died" you said "please dear what I would do to feel your lips on mine once more" he stated.

Now holding you, looking into your eyes seeing the old you, his wild rose back, he pressed his lips back on yours, not wanting to lose That feeling again, you melted into the kiss, mentally kicking yourself for being like putty in his cold, murderous hands.

He pulled away, resting his forehead on yours, "I forgive you James" you sighed, "Thank you I've been dying to hear you say that for a century" he smiled.

#american horror story #evan peters #james patrick march #james patrick march x reader #kit walker #tate langdon #ahs asylum #kai anderson x reader #evan peters x reader #jimmy darling #kai anderson #kyle spencer #rory monahan #austin sommers #evan peters x y/n #evan peters fanfic #evan peters smut #evan peters fluff #evan peters imagine #evan peters x you #ahs coven #ahs murder house #ahs cult #ahs hotel #ahs fandom #ahs apocalypse #ahs double feature #ahs nyc #ahs smut #ahs

[alohastyles-x]

🌺“Hide! We’re not supposed to be here” with Natasha please 💓💓💓

🌺  Hibiscus

In the Dark  

*let’s ignore that this gif doesn’t match the story- ya girl struggled finding one she liked best :( *

Prompt: “Hide! We’re not supposed to be here” 

Character: Natasha Romanoff x reader

Warnings: little tiny bit of angst, very very very light smut- like just mentions of kissing really

I hope you like this lovely! | Join me on my mini vacay!

When Nick Fury told you your next mission was with the Natasha Romanoff, you couldn’t help but be ecstatic. In any other scenario, you would have been fine to express your giddy feelings towards her, excited to be working with her. 

However this was a stealth mission. Generally speaking, you have to stay pretty silent to not get caught. 

You could already tell you were getting on Natasha’s nerves as she gave you sideways looks in the jet as you bounced in your seat next to her. Mumbling an apology, you directed your attention to your destination: Russia. You grimaced. The cold and you did not mix. You preferred to be somewhere warm, maybe in a beach lounging next to the grumpy red head who sat beside you. 

“Alright, we’re almost there.” 

Speaking of, Natasha’s stern voice filled the jet, pulling you from your day dreams of her in a bikini. You shook the thought away, and began preparing yourself for landing. 

Natasha skillfully landed the jet in a field, where you would then have to trek - silently- through the woods until you stumbled across the bunker the Russian soldiers used to store vital informtation. 

Usually you’d have the other avengers with you, but they were all busy on other missions Fury had assigned them too. This was supposed to be a small, easy mission that two people could accomplish. 

As the two of you unloaded yourselves out of the jet, you slipped, nearly falling out but Natasha’s hands found your waist steadying you.

“Thanks,” you muttered, your cheeks instantly turning a bright shade of red that you blamed on the cold. The feeling of her hands lingered on your was it as she helped you climb down the rest of the stairs. 

You began your silent hike into the dark woods. Fury had given the two of you boots that trekked silently over snow, you just had to be mindful of twigs. 

It wasn’t long before the silence became too much for you. You wanted so desperately just to talk to her, the woman who had encompassed your day dreams for months. You decided you were going to do just that… talk to her. 

“Psst!” You whisper-yelled, trying to get her attention. She was a good few feet in front of you. When she didn’t turn around you tried again. 

“Psst!” You whispered louder, cupping your hands around your mouth. 

“What?!” She whispered back, turning back to look at you. 

“So do you think the others are having this much fun?” You asked. 

“Just focus on finding the bunker,” she responded, rolling her eyes and turning back around. 

You glared at her. A mere twenty seconds passed before you had the urge to speak again.

“Hey Nat, do you want to grab some food after this? Maybe some milkshakes?” This time you didn’t whisper, causing her to stop abruptly and turn to face you, a bewildered look spread across her face. 

“What are you thinking! Shh!” 

You gave her an apologetic look, before focusing your gaze just past her. You pointed to a snow covered bunker sitting amongst the trees. When she turned to look, her eyes grew wide, and she turned back to smile at you. 

There were no guards posted out front, that much you knew from your research. The place was supposed to be abandoned, yet full of vital information. It was a shock when you found out they left the place completely abandoned. 

“There has to be some kind of booby trap,” Nat whispered as you made your way to the door of the bunker. 

“Heh, booby,” you whisper-laughed to yourself. Natasha heard, much to your demise, and turned to give you a look that read “seriously…”. You shrugged, not standing down from it being a funny word. 

“I dont see any wires, meaning there’s probably no electricity, so if it’s a booby trap then it’s a shit one,” you said, before reaching down to the door handle and yanking it open. Sure enough, a large cement block fell in front of you, spreading a cloud of dust into the air. 

“Told you.” You looked at her, smiling, before turning your flashlight on. You began looking around taking one half of the small bunker as Natasha took another.

There was a sudden noise that came from outside, loud enough to be heard inside. Natasha was quickly by your side, pulling you towards a dark corner. 

“Hide! We’re not supposed to be here” She whispered, pointing out the obvious as she shoved you into a small space between two objects. She pressed her front to you, squeezing into the small space as much as she could, and closed what sounded like a locker door. 

You were too distracted by the heat of her body pressing into you, making you ache in ways you didn’t know you could. Her sweet perfume filled the small space, sending you in a frenzy. 

Too distracted by her, you hadn’t realized how much time had passed until she finally spoke. 

“I think we’re in the clear,” she whispered, opening the door. She began to pull herself off of you, but your hands found her waist and pulled her back. 

Even in the dark you could tell she wore a confused expression, so you tried to cover your tracks. 

“You’re… warm,” you whispered, your hands still placed firmly on your waist. 

There was a slight pause before you felt her lips brush yours. It was quick and gentle, but enough to send you spiraling. You pulled her in by the back of her neck, deepening the kiss as your hands wandered her body. You could feel her red lipstick transferring to your lips, the smooth cream feeling warm and soft.

After a few moments she pulled away, breathless. 

“We need to get out of here so we can finish this later,” she whispered, pulling herself away from you, leaving you cold and breathless. 

You couldn’t help the smile that formed big on your face, hurrying after her to try to find the information you needed. 

#Natasha romanoff one shot #alohastylesx mini vacay #alohastylesx answers #selene 🥀 #alohastylesx works #natasha x you #Natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff

[below-average-fangirl]

i finally watched the mummy (2017) the other day and nick morton really was made to be objectified omg why did i not watch it earlier 😭😭 my brain is SO rotted for him now i can’t stand it

anyway… mummy thoughts? 🎤

Ah, Nick Morton, my beloved HIMBO of a Golden Retriever explorer. Look at his dumb, confused face, he's adorable. 

So, when this film was released, it was trashed, like, royally kicked around by critics and, apparently, general audiences. I remember Mark Kermode being so unimpressed with it that he almost wondered if it was time for him to stop reviewing films because he found it so dull, so tbh, I doubt I would have sought it out if I hadn't become a TC obsessive; thank you, TGM. I'm pointing all that out because my expectations for this film were low, but even then, when I watched it, I was genuinely surprised that it received the hazing it has because I found it so much fun and I was not bored at any point.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know there are problems with it, mainly that they're too focused on setting up a shared universe when they should have simply focused on making one film; also, the CGI is a little dodgy in places and they don't utilize Vail at all once he's dead. It's unclear as to why Set wants to become human, especially if that will make him easier to kill despite his powers. Some of the dialogue is a little clunky. Annabelle Wallis has the thankless task of doing all the exposition, but she does it well. And they don't play up Nick and Ahmanet's connection nearly enough, but despite that, I had a great time watching it; it's a solid three-star film, not brilliant but not the dumpster fire that some made it out to be. And I absolutely love how much fun Tom Cruise is having playing Nick.

Look at him! He is having so much fun, and I dig it. And the film is funny. I love the opening sequence with Nick and Vail as they're running for their lives; it's so chaotic. But it's also sentimental in places. The scene where Nick and Jenny are in the water and he's holding her face and asking if she's okay and trying to reassure her that they'll figure it out and pleading for her to stay with him makes my heart hurt. And I think that underwater sequence with the knights coming out of the tombs is beautiful and scary because the sets are amazing.

Also, like Bill Cage, Nick is not an evil man, nor is he as selfish as he believes himself to be. He stands in front of Vail when the other soldiers are pointing guns at him, and he saves Jenny. Whether or not he thought it was the last parachute is irrelevant because as soon as the plane begins to fall, he assists her in finding a parachute and ensuring she is strapped in one, saving her life. My head canon for Nick having such a low opinion of himself is that an authority figure, such as a parent, grandparent, or possibly a teacher, disliked him and turned the smallest transgression into the biggest sign that he was a terrible person, when he probably wasn't any worse than most kids, but he's been told his entire life that he's a terrible person, so he's just thought, "Fuck it. If you think I'm that worthless, I'll be it." Even Jekyll just sees him at face value and uses that as an excuse to justify wanting to sacrifice Nick so they can kill Set. Fuck you, Jekyll.

So yeah, The Mummy's not the best film ever made, but for what it is, it is fun and better than it's given credit for, and Nick Morton needs to be protected, mainly from himself, at all costs.

#asks #the mummy asks #the mummy 2017 #nick morton #tom cruise

[writtenjewels]

Stripper part 2

[I hadn’t planned on continuing this but @lumina252 mentioned them all together as strippers with Rachel as the boss, and that sounded like a great idea]

Part One

Jason could still hear the audience cheering for him as he exited the dance floor. It was always a rush coming off of his performances. Backstage, he grabbed a water bottle and chugged between breaths. Waiters were wandering through the crowd offering food and beverages, and persuading some over-excited women to hand over the clothes Jason discarded during his show.

“You were on fire out there,” Nick remarked. Jason turned to his friend and held up a fist for the other to bump. “That bachelorette party loved you.”

“Don't worry, brother, I'm sure they'll like you, too,” Jason replied with a smile. His clothes were returned to him and he thanked the waiters, tucking the jacket and tear-away pants under his arm. “I'm gonna go cool off,” Jason told Nick. “Have fun out there.”

Jason headed into the dressing room where Joey was lounging, waiting for his turn on the floor. They acknowledged each other with waves. The room's fridge was stocked with drinks and snacks; Jason helped himself to a protein bar and some Gatorade.

“What's the crowd like tonight?” Joey wondered.

“Pretty good. There's a bachelorette party on stage right.”

“They always give good tips,” Joey remarked. Jason nodded distractedly, his mind on the handsome man who'd been with the party. He had hoped for the best when he flirted with the guy, and then the way the man looked at Jason during his dance... Jason shivered remembering the darkened eyes and the awed expression on the man's face.

After everyone had their turn on the dance floor, it was time to go out and mingle. Without meaning to, Jason wandered over to where the bachelorette party was still going on. He was pleased to see they hadn't left yet.

“Hey! Over here, lieutenant!” they shouted, waving at him excitedly. He obediently made his way to their table. The guy was still there with them and his face immediately flushed when he noticed Jason. “Will you give my friend a lap-dance?” one of the women asked, fishing out some cash.

“Sure thing, little lady.” They all giggled appreciatively. The customers usually did like his Southern politeness. “What's your name?” he asked the bride-to-be.

“Liz.... um, Elizabeth.” She looked embarrassed but pleased at the attention. She introduced her other friends at the table, ending with Salim. “He was so sweet to come along with us. I promised to get him tickets to a football game.”

“You must like football, Salim,” Jason noted with a smirk. Salim's face went a deeper shade of red. It was so damn cute. “Now ladies, remember the rules: keep your hands to yourself, all right? My boss is the Queen Bitch and she ain't afraid to kick your asses out if you break the rules.”

They agreed, too eager for his lap-dance. He threw one last look at Salim before settling on Liz's lap. And just like when he danced for them earlier, Jason put out all his best moves: arching back, running fingers up his body; rolling his hips; pushing back the army jacket to tease peeks of his bare chest. He was showing off for Salim but didn't dare look in the man's direction. This lap-dance was supposed to be for Liz, after all.

“You're really good at this,” one of her friends praised him, her voice a little breathless.

“Thank ya, ma'am.” He tugged on an imaginary hat. Another asked him if he was really a lieutenant. “Served two years in the marines,” Jason answered. He caught Salim shift out of the corner of his eye and dared a glance. Something about hearing he was actual military had interested Salim.

Jason finished his dance, thanking the ladies as they generously tipped him. Without thinking he turned to Salim. The man was giving him that same dark-eyed, awed expression. Jason suddenly wished they were alone. Maybe it was hopeful thinking that Salim was barely restraining himself from grabbing Jason and ravishing him. Holy fuck, I need to get laid.

“Have a good night,” he said out loud. “And enjoy that football game, Salim. You sure earned it puttin' up with this.” Salim said nothing but his eyes were slowly roaming Jason, lingering last of all on his face. Heart pounding, Jason slowly ran his tongue over his lips and threw a sultry look at the other. Salim shivered and parted his own lips.

Jason only broke away when he heard Nick calling his name. His body felt alive and excited. He walked away but paused to call back over his shoulder:

“Don't forget, we close at two A. M.!” He was too far away to see Salim's reaction, but Jason hoped the guy got the message.

#jason kolchek x salim othman #jason/salim #jason x salim #jason kolchek #salim othman #house of ashes #au #jalim

[swearphil]

Hi Renee! It's nice ask week! You make such gorgeous gif sets - what's the one that your the proudest of making?

rae! thank you so much for sending this!

this is difficult to answer! and it makes me realize that I'm proud of gifs for different reasons, so I'm going to give a few answers. I hope that's okay!

when it comes to level of skill, I'm proud of this Nick/Charlie and Fearless (Taylor's Version) set that uses the cassette tape animation. this one took some time, not just because of the animation, but because of figuring out the lyrics and which scenes to choose that would work with the yellow color scheme I wanted to use. the second to last gif in this set gave me the hardest time with that, but I really like how the entire thing turned out!

when it comes to layout and scene selection, I'm really proud of how my Olivia Rodrigo GUTS set turned out. this is another one where planning was key. I knew I wanted to include all the songs and that I wanted to work with the music videos that we had from GUTS, which meant I was just working with vampire and bad idea, right? I'm still surprised I managed to pick 13 different moments from 2 videos that all make sense with the songs I paired them with. I also really like how I ended up alternating the coloring for this set! that was actually born out of me getting frustrated with the coloring for some scenes and not wanting to deal with it lol. so I made them black and white or purple instead.

when it comes to sets I just had fun making, this set for Alex to all american bitch is one I'm proud of! I got the idea for this one after Casey posted on insta stories that this song was for Alex. this set went through a few different iterations in my head, in particular when it came to how to split up the lyrics and how many gifs it would be in total. there were versions where it was 6 or 7 gifs but I ended up with 9 by splitting up "I"m a perfect all american bitch/with perfect all american lips/and perfect all american hips." I loved working with the bi colors and it was so satisfying when the overlays worked out! that's something I don't plan in advance. I just hope the scenes I want work out, and they did for the most part!

and I'll end with two of my most recent sets: the David/Patrick relationship dynamic set and my Dan and Phil Games set. I'm just generally proud of how they turned out, but as I was making them, I was also reminded of how much I love this show and this gaming channel, and I'm so happy I get to make gifs of them!

#asks #rmd-writes #this answer got way too long lol #nice ask day

[bokettochild]

Hi there! I love your stories so I'm curious to see where you'll run with this. I asked this of Skyward-Floored awhile ago but how bout a tail (pun intended) about Mer Legend with only Warriors.

Keep up the amazing work!! 🖤

Thank you so much for this prompt! I had a bit of difficulty figuring out why only Warriors would be there or what would reveal Legend, but I eventually got it! This was a lot of fun, and I really like how it turned out so I hope you enjoy it as well!

As a note, I did include the nicknames from my Broken Together series: Violet (Legend) and Bluebell (Warriors), I hope you don't mind!

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

They had been warned. 

Legend had told them, quite firmly too, of the dangers of his world. The moment they had found themselves returned, the veteran had turned to them with dark eyes and darker stares and recounted the dangers they would face and the things to avoid. 

Once, when they first started traveling, such things weren’t even a concern. Now, having spent months in each other’s company and trying to navigate worlds not their own and monsters unfamiliar, it is common to at least give a warning for the normal, if only so they can recognize what is not. 

Legend had told them about the monsters, about the lynels and the ‘blins and the birds themselves that could be a threat. The vet had told them about the various chus and blobs, the plants and the insects and the stals and the various other monster types that many of the have never had to fight, much less known existed. Still, the vets last few warnings had taken the main focus, being as they were. “Also, if you see other people on the road, ignore them. Soldiers mean trouble, thieves mean trouble, and generally, if they’re traveling alone and they aren’t children, most people likely mean trouble as well.” 

And wasn’t that excellent in regards to his concern for his brother's world! 

“Is that it then?” Time had asked, checking a final time to ensure nothing crucial had been left out. 

The veteran had paused at the question a moment, stroking his chin slightly before shaking his head. “No, there’s a bit more. The water in my time isn’t always safe. Some streams are poisoned by Ganon’s power, and those that aren’t are usually infested with Zora. I know the lot of you are used to friendly Zora, but they aren’t that way here, so under no circumstances should anyone go near them.” 

There’s been questions, as there nearly always is, but the vet pushing aside his collar to display a rather nasty scar had quieted them. “A fight with a zora,” the vet answers when Wind presses for the story, “I walked too close and got caught. Vicious things, those beasts, their claws are sharper than most blades and they’re not afraid to play dirty. I barely escaped with my life, never mind in one piece.” 

And that had been all the warning they’d needed, so they’d left Legend to fix his clothes and tried to turn their focus instead onto what their plan going forward would be. 

And somehow, despite all, the warning still ends up being no good in the long run. 

It’s a battle that does it. They’re on the path and simply going along and then Legend and Wild both stop, ears twitching and eyes meeting across the crowd of heroes before both are drawing their weapons and urging the others to do the same. 

Warriors barely has time to get his sword out of its sheath before the first of the blins is breaking out of the forest line and moving towards them. He’s fast enough to whip around and catch one of the things on the steel of his blade, fast enough to raise his shield before arrows ping down from above, but he isn’t quite fast enough to avoid the spear that slices past, nicking his jaw enough to throw him off balance and spatter blood across his scarf and pauldrons. 

“Wars!” 

“Hit, but not badly,” he assures their leader, not bothering to turn to the man as he engages with a blin that is making moves towards their smithy. 

Time doesn't answer, not verbally at least, but Legend ducks past and takes out the spear wielder for him, catching his eyes by chance and offering a brief nod before slipping into a spin attack that levels a few more of the enemy. 

Their fighting styles are all different, nothing like his soldiers most of them but so suited to each hero. Twilight plows through the enemy, landing choice hits and powerful strikes to take out opponents as efficiently and quickly as he can, a close echo of Time’s own style, yet somehow more savage. Sky is light on his feet and lighter with his blade. It’s clear the Chosen One is more accustomed to actual combat rather than monster hoards, but he holds his own wonderfully; wider and clean sweeps downing monsters and beasts with grace and efficiency that never fails to leave the others in awe. Four fights with speed on his side, slipping in between enemies and jabbing quickly before drawing back, swinging out and knocking out legs before jumping away to deal another blow, he’s like a serpent, lashing out and drawing back, riling up the enemy while steadily making them weaker, saving his own energy and strength for the final blow which is delt without mercy or hesitation. In a direct contrast, Wind, although near the same in height, bulls his way through. The sailor is small, but he uses that to his advantage, lower in his base of gravity and pushing that advantage to topple enemies before striking them down, standing firm as they come at him and clearing whatever comes his way with a sort of confidence that one just doesn’t see in most people. Legend dances across the field. The vet never holds still and is always moving, be it to duck away to crowd into the space of his enemy, each swing and stab efficient and with none of the grace of Sky’s movements, but rather the savage and pointed stabs and slashes of their leader and his pup. Hyrule is much the same, although he prefers to hold himself back from the battle and not get so close to the enemy, sparks flying off his fingers intermittently and shield put to more use than many of the others, like Wild, who only darted in and went wild with a strange combination of all their styles that somehow didn’t end in his own demise but rather those of the enemy. 

It’s a tricky thing to work around the lot of them, especially when he himself is more accustomed to clean cuts and wide sweeps to take out the enemy. He’s used to pushing steadily forwards and holding his own ground, employing his shield as much as his sword to cut through the ranks of enemy soldiers and monsters, but he’s nothing if not adaptable, and with Four and Legend both joining him in working around the styles of the others and adapting themselves to cover the backs of their melee fighters, they get along. 

Well, they get along until a lynels roar breaks through the cacophony around them and makes everything whip up into a frenzy. 

Blades clang and steel flashes as grunts and shouts and squeals become more chaotic as the heroes attempts to end the battle as fast as possible in order to not have to face the beast that is a lynel while still driving off the smaller pests (as small as they can be considered, many are his own height). They’re not fast enough, but they aren’t slow either. Rather, it’s that they’re being pushed steadily back, off of the road and into the woods where they have both the advantage of tree cover and the disadvantage of roots underfoot and obstacles blocking them off from their brothers. 

“Fall back and regroup!” He shouts to the group of them when he hears the screams and grunts of injuries landing on hylain flesh. 

There’s no responding shout or clipped reply, but he can hear steps pounding off into the forest as final swings are dealt and the heroes move to join again. It’s only moments before they’re breaking back out of the tree cover, but by that point there’s nowhere else to go, a river raging past across the narrow clearing, waves crashing against steep banks and thrashing against sharp rocks that lie in its center. 

“Wild, get in the trees to provide cover fire, Four, join him,” the orders are flying to mind and mouth before he has a chance to think about consulting with Time, but they’re followed in moments, both heroes sheathing their blades and catching up their bows as they move to scurry up trees and string arrows to take out the monsters that can be heard thundering behind them. 

“Use the river to your advantage,” Legend hisses, “the cliffs have poor support, if you push the heavy ones that way, they’ll tumble down to the rocks below and the zora can deal with them.” 

There are sharp nods to those words, and that’s the last any of them can do towards planning as the enemies break through the tree line and they’re turning once more to face them. 

The fire from above does wonders in felling and thinning out the various blins and keese that swarm around them, and true to Legend’s word, whenever they push the beasts too far, they tumble down over the cliffs to be dashed to pieces against the rocks below as the current carries them away in a cloud of red. Were they to pause and watch, they would see how clawed hands and scaley heads emerge to grab at the slain beasts, sharp teeth flashing as yet more crimson eeks into the river about them. 

The most of the smaller beasts are falling quickly. Those infected are the only ones left, but with some of their stronger fighters pairing with those faster and more pointed, they’re able to topple those too. 

Legend stands at his own side, darting back and forth and jabbing past him to down enemies in a fluid dance that they somehow hold until the lynel comes crashing through the trees with a swinging spear and raging bellow. 

“Shit.” 

Hookshots are caught in exchange of blades as Time and Twilight try to catch hold of the beast and make it still before it can run rampant over the field. Wild’s already moving from his place in the trees and while Four still pelts the remaining enemies with arrows, the smithy looks ready to jump down and join them at a moment’s notice. 

Good, they might need that. 

Lightning flashes briefly, Hyrule’s gaze keen as he directs his focus on the last of the blins, and once they’re sizzling corpses as his own and Legend’s feet, the captain makes towards the lynel to help his brothers. 

It’s already going downhill by then. They’re already weary and worn, but they pour their all into trying to down the lynel before it can wreck more damage or start a rampage into the village to which they’d been headed. They’re heroes, this is their job, it’s literally standard for them to have to deal with these things. 

That doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. 

Only three of their number know lynels personally, and Hyrule and Legend aren’t used to working with others to down them, meanwhile Wild only is accustomed to the aid of a wolf. There’s a single-minded focus in the champions way of handling them and honestly, it’s the best the rest of them can do to work around it in any effort to help. 

By now, Four has abandoned his post, the arrows but gnats against the thick hide of their opponent, and light feet pound against the earth as the smithy darts towards the battle, blade drawn and ready. The lot of them have to halt their charge when a blast of fire is cast their way, dropping to their knees and holding shields up for cover. He’s close enough to the vet that they can share their shields between them, and Four and Hyrule follow their lead by dropping close and covering each other as the flames whip past them, singing hair and clothes but otherwise leaving them unscathed. 

“The weakness is the back.” Legend rasps to him where they’re huddled together. “Enough strikes between the shoulders and this dratted thing will topple.” 

“How do you get up?” 

They’re jumping back to their feet, continuing their charge as Time shouts something indistinct as he casts a bomb at the hindquarters of the beast. 

“You climb, or hope you’ve got something good to jump from.” 

“What about a toss?” 

Violet eyes flicker to him briefly before there’s a nod, and Legend falls back a bit as they run, close on his heels but giving him enough space so that when he crouches, shield ready, he isn’t run into, but rather over as light feet spring off his back and onto his shield, perfectly timed for him to push all his strength into an upwards lunge that sends the vet flying up, only to come down, blade pointed, on the back of their enemy. 

There’s a roar as the Tempered Sword makes its strike, and the lynel bucks, charging forwards and making frenzied attempts to free itself of the smaller being on its back. It’s all Warriors can do to scramble back up from his crouch and try and get away, but he’s not quite fast enough. 

A hoof, wildly flailing, collides with his back. 

There’s nothing that can be done to stop it, he hasn’t time to shout, to reach and grab for anything, he doesn’t even have it in him to keep hold of his sword as his body flies back, colliding with something harsh and firm and then falling. All he has time for is to think he’s falling a bit too far, and then cold washes up and over him and the air is forced from his lungs as sharp and icy water takes its place.  

Instinct kicks in, calling him to fight his way upwards. The shield still on his arm drags him down, but he hasn’t time to free himself of it as something sharp digs into his leg and something behind him pulls. Water is a hard thing to fight, especially when what little precious air he still has in him is steadily being lost, but he’s able to turn, to catch sight of two great eyes that seem to almost glow in the light pouring into the river, both set in a great scaley head connected to a body equally large and scaley with arms that reach out to hold tight to his leg. 

Another pull, another bubble of air escaping him in a startled sound that is lost to the waves that are trying to drag him away, drag him down and towards whatever place the corpses of their enemies have been taken. The zora seems stronger than the waves though, dragging him upstream despite his weak flailing against the water and the beast itself. 

The air in his lungs is rapidly dwindling, and black creeps in at the corners of his vision even as he can hear the dying roar of the lynel overhead. After a time, he has to stop fighting altogether in the hopes of staying alive, of keeping aware in hopes that he can spy a time where he can fight up and finally breathe. 

So, he drifts, being pulled and knocked against stone after stone and then- 

And then something is happening, the zora’s claws grip tighter and it’s all he can do to not release his precious bit of air in a pained scream. There’s something darting past, something jarring his captor, something striking it hard enough that the claws don’t just loosen, they let go, and then the current is stealing him away, catching on his shield and driving against it with a force that sends him careening into rocks that he’s only just able to avoid direct contact with by curling close to said shield. 

For a precious moment, he strikes hard enough to skid up, head breaching the water long enough to draw a desperate breath, vision clearing before he’s dragged back down. It takes a moment to reorient, especially with the water buffeting against him and trying to knock him free of the rock he’s been pressed against, to force him further down the river bed to who knows where. Still, he’s able to make out the great scaly hide of the zora, sharp claws swinging and something blood red yet solid darting past and around it. 

The current catches him before he can see much else. 

Where he can, he’ll catch his breath. Where he can, he’ll shield the blows of the rocks by curling behind the shield that’s pushed ahead of him like a sail. It’s all he can do to stay aware and breathing, fighting even just a bit. He's not nearly strong enough of a swimmer to fight his way upstream, much less try to avoid the stones or make his way up when the current only tries to push him back down. Instead, he must hope that the channel widens and the water will slow at some place where he can push himself out and towards one or another bank, 

The heroes had been fighting on the left bank when facing upstream, he knows that, knows which way to head if and when he can finally escape the current. 

Another claw catches on his arm, another set of wide eyes moving close. He kicks back at it, trying to push forwards but in the process missing the onset of next stone, which he knocks into hard enough to jar his spine which is already likely bruised from the hooves that landed him here to begin with. 

His head spins, vision going black a moment as the claws catch, only to suddenly release him like the last. Others reach out, but with the same results. It’s as if some charm has been placed, some force or another causing the zora to release him within seconds of grabbing him, and then there is something catching him, there is something drawing him off course, something with limbs smaller than his own but which catch and hold and push him close against something solid and moving. He doesn’t have it in him to fight, his last breath of air over a minute ago and fighting with his body to be released. 

He’s granted breath sooner than he’d think though. 

The thing, his captor for lack of another answer, pushes to the right and suddenly the current is gone, suddenly the water is still and he’s being pushed up, up where his head breaks free of the water’s confines and he has enough time to take a breath, enough time to take two, enough time to not just wheeze for new air but for his lungs to settle as the thing releases him and moves away. 

For the moment he takes the blessing for what it is. He lets air flow freely and opens his eyes and looks around. 

Not that there is much to see. 

It’s pitch blackness around at first, even though he knows by his breath that he’s no longer being dragged down into the depths. But steadily, he’s able to gain something of his sense, recognize the cold that seeps into him from the water and the smell of river and plants mixed with the metallic tang of blood. He’s not sure how much is his own, but when his vision clears enough and he’s begun to adapt to the dark around him, he can make out that the stains on the waves aren’t from himself alone. 

There’s something else here with him, in what he assumes must be some cavern in the river’s walls. The thing isn’t close, it lingers some distance away, near where new water seems to flow in at what he assumes must be the entrance. 

Great, he snorts it with no small amount of derision. This thing doesn’t just want to eat him, it wasn't to cage him off in its nest and keep him to itself. Just perfect. 

Well, he’s had plenty of things wish him for themself, both intelligent and not, and he’s come this far by holding them off with a decent fight, and as long as he’s able to breathe he’s determined to give this thing the same challenge all else has had in claiming him. 

Except it doesn’t move towards him. Except whatever it is, long and slender and nothing bulky like the other zora, darts in and out from the opening, crimson clouding the water around it as clawed hands reach past it only to be drawn back quite suddenly and with pained roars that ring loudly around the cavern. 

Were he not trying to tread water, Warriors would have to clap his hands over his ears, the sound very great about him and painful to his sensitive mind. 

The beast, or whatever it is, is distracted at least, and it gives him time to orient himself. He’s in a cave, one not fully underwater as the roof of it is still quite far overhead leaving plenty of room for the precious air he breathes. Not only that, but there are ledges, full shelves of rock scattered about him, and though it hurts to push himself forwards, back screaming in protest at the motion and limbs sobbing with the effort, he’s able to push himself up close and catch hold. The water rushes and chatters as it cascades away from him, and he groans as he pulls himself up to flop over the ledge. He’s up though, he’s out of the water and he’s breathing, and with luck, he’s out of reach of whatever thing has dragged him here. Not that he’s counting on luck, but for now at least he’s out of its reach. 

For now.  

He pulls himself up and moves, more crawling than anything, chest still burning and body screaming for him to stop and rest, but he pushes on to the next ledge all the same. It’s a bit of a scrabble to get up it in his weakened state, but he manages.  

There’s a fair distance between himself and the water now, enough that if he had a weapon he could defend his position well enough to at least not be eaten. As is however, he’d lost his sword on the cliffs above while fighting the lynel, and all he has left is the shield strapped to one battered arm and the singular knife he’d left tucked in his boot. To himself, Warriors makes a note to stash more blades on his person in the future. The blade he does have is meant for throwing and light tasks, not close combat. Still, it’ll slit a throat if the need comes, even though it’ll require him to get quite close to do so. 

He only realizes when the water stirs that his focus has drifted, and when he glances down, pushing himself up from where he’s flopped, weary but ready to at the very least shield himself, he’s met with great golden eyes that stare up at him from the depths below. The thing in the water makes no moves to climb after him (do the zora in Legend’s time know how to climb?), instead, it lingers below, watching him, eyes flickering over him in a heavy way as they glint, as they blink, and then come to meet his own. 

Somehow, he knows in a moment that what he’s facing is not a zora. There’s something about that stare that’s wrong, something intelligent and not mindless and blood-thirsty, that makes him pause before striking first or throwing his blade. 

Of course, he’s well aware that it’s the only thing acting as a repellent for other water beasts that would love nothing more than to eat him for dinner, and of course he knows that attacking it first and throwing his only weapon is a foolhardy idea, but he’s still on edge, and should it move too quickly he’s not sure he won’t react on impulse and strike out. 

It’s not a zora though. The light of the cave is poorly, but those golden eyes are too small, too slanted and narrow, set in a face that’s ridiculously hylian and almost- 

“Warriors?” 

He starts at the voice, more so when he sees the head of the thing raised from the water, just barely above, mouth shaping the words in a voice impossibly sweet and melodic, one that echoes off the walls and nestles against his tired mind in a familiar way that has him scrabbling up for entirely different reasons. 

“Legend?” 

Those eyes flicker with something, there’s a brief nod, and then down they go with the soft rippling of water. He can only watch in confusion and worry until the vet’s head emerges again, freshly soaked but smiling in that thin way the other does when he’s tired, yet with a hint of relief in its corners. “You good?” 

“Am I-” 

The crimson in the water flickers back into his mind, gaze following impulse as it darts to rapidly growing cloud around his brother. 

“Vi, you’re bleeding!” 

There’s a wince, a brief nod as Legend ducks down again, and then the other is rising enough that his mouth only just comes above the surface of the water about him. “No shit, Bluebell. Are you okay?” 

He wants to argue, but he knows better. Instead, he takes stock of his own injuries, flexing muscles and bending joints with no little amount of pain. “Light gashes to my left leg and arm, my back’s a throbbing mess and I’m more than a bit sure I’m going to be a walking bruise in the morning, but nothing seems to be broken.” The next wheeze that escapes him is painful. “Well, maybe some fractures, but again, not broken.” 

The vet nods firmly, and all of a sudden it strikes the captain that while his own voice and breath ring loudly about them, Legend isn’t making a noise. 

“Are you alright?” He asks again because Legend isn’t breathing. 

He isn’t breathing! 

The other nods. “Definitely going to come out of this with a few new scars, but I’m alive.” 

But he isn’t breathing. 

Warriors pushes himself up and over and crawls to the edge of the shelf he’s sitting on, looking down at the head drifting before him, hair plastered down over the vet’s face and eyes glimmering- maybe even glowing- faintly in the dim light of the cave. 

 “Why can’t I hear you breathing?” 

A wince, the flicker of the gaze back behind, a slight bob as though Legend is gesturing, but he can’t see for all the water swallowing his brother up. “I’m not,” and then, quickly, because Legend must spy the panic building in his face, “not normally anyway.” 

“How do you mean?” 

There’s a murmur, something he never would have caught if not for the ethereal quality that now lends itself to the vet’s voice and the echo of the cavern about them. “Guess you’re going to see eventually.” And then the vet is pushing up, reaching for the ledge and catching it, but not pulling himself up and instead simply resting his arms on it. 

The first thing Warriors notices is that the vet’s hands have claws. Long, bloodied claws that still have scales caught between them from fighting off the zora at the entrance. Secondly, he notices the discolor of them, tinged with something not quite white like the veteran’s normal skin tone, something a bit darker that fades darker still the closer it gets to those claws. And then he really looks and he sees.  

There is webbing between the vet’s fingers, small fins on either arm. There are slits on either side of the other’s neck, thin small things that don’t bleed, but rather pulse softly, parted a bit as if to take something in- gills, the vet has gills. The vet has gills and claws and fins and- when he looks down- there is a tail moving slowly in the water. 

“You-” 

The vet smiles before releasing his hold and falling back into the water. It makes him start, but then it clicks. 

Legend has to be in the water to breathe. He is breathing through his gills. He is breathing water. 

“You’re a mermaid?” 

The tail flicks, splashing water his way as the vet surfaces again, pulls up again so they’re more level with each other. “Mer-man. I know I don’t usually conform to either, but I still identify as male.” 

Ah, yes. “Sorry.” 

A nod. “It’s fine, most people’s first thought is mermaids when they see the tail. Males of the species are commonly overlooked.” 

Which isn’t fine at all, and misgendering must suck, but he’s thankful that the other takes it with grace. 

“How does it work?” He’s leaning forwards before he realizes it, near tumbles down the first ledge in fact, and he takes that as his cue to return to the one below it. Legend won’t hurt him after all, and being closer to the other’s level will be better for the both of them. 

“Hmm?” 

“The tail,” his foot skids a bit on the slick stone beneath, but he makes it down the ledge to crouch before his brother and successfully manages to not fall down on top of him and send them both back into the water. “Do your legs transform? Are they inside of it? Or” -a new thought strikes him at once- “are you actually mer and you just shift into a Hylian?” 

One clawed finger rises, Legend dropping back off the ledge and into the water for a breath before pulling himself up again to answer. “First, I’m still Hylian. This is a sort of curse, sort of, it’s complicated. Second,” another splash, the vet rises again, dripping and plastered with water, “I have no clue. It’s different musculature than my legs and I definitely can’t feel them anymore, just this.” Another dunk. “Pretty sure I just shapeshift.” 

He nods. “Can you shift back? It might be easier than-” he motions to his brother vaguely, “having to do that.” ‘That’ being the constant dunking in order to breathe. 

Legend shakes his head, water flying everywhere as sodden bangs flop wildly. “This cave doesn’t exit through a tunnel. I still have to swim us out of here, I just thought you could use a break and,” dunk “breath for a moment. We’re here until the zora calm enough from the carnage to let us pass easier, they’re still riled up and waiting them out is easier than” -down he goes again- “easier than fighting them off.” 

Half a moment, fighting them? But a look at the cloud of bloodied water around his brother answers that question. He can’t see any injuries save a light gash across the vet’s nose, dangerously close to his eyes, but there’s no blood seeping from the wound. That’s likely the fault of the constant dips in the water though, any blood is being washed away before he can catch it. Still, when he looks, he can see how tattered Legend’s clothes are, near in rags from the various tears and slashes across them, seams barely holding them together over the vet’s slight frame. 

He can only imagine what the wounds beneath would look like. 

“How long until they calm?” The sooner they are out the better, and not just because the small cavern is eating as his mind and pushing anxiety to the front as he tries to ignore the walls closing close around them. Legend needs medical care for those cuts, and he knows for a fact he does as well. Who knows what’s in the vet’s water; poison was mentioned, and it doesn’t exactly smell like a clean spring. Infection is a risk he isn’t keen on messing with, and the more time between now and treatment the greater that risk becomes. 

The vet’s ears twitch, drawing attention to how webbing now touches them as well. “I’d give them an hour. The blood will move downstream by then and they’ll stop expecting new pray. They’ll probably go seek out whatever's left after that and we can make our way out.” 

He nods. “Upstream or down?” 

A shiver of the vet’s nose, another flicker of his ears (water flicks from their tips with the motion). “Down. The bank is too steep in these parts and getting up them too high a risk. There should be a spot just downstream a way though. It widens a bit and the banks lower about a mile from here.” 

He nods. 

An hour. An hour until they can leave the tiny cave they’re sitting in and get away from the clawed and fanged fish-people that have been trying to eat them. 

Warriors curls in on himself, letting his shield arm fall to his side as the other wraps tight around his legs. It’s cold in the cave and it would be best to preserve what heat he can, that and the feeling of the walls pressing closer about them makes him want to curl in on himself anyway. 

Beside him, Legend slips back into the water, eyes just above the surface but the rest submerged in a pool of bloody water. His brother slips back and forth, checking the entrance here and again, but otherwise the cave is still, near silent save the trickle of water and the captain’s own breath. 

It’s maddening. 

“Legend?”  

Up pops the head, bright eyes turning his way curiously. 

“Could you sing, maybe?” The urge to explain his request pushes at his chest but he can’t exactly find the right words for it. It’s stupid, being scared of the dark, or scared of small places. It’s something that he really, really should be over with by now, but he isn’t, and he’s not exactly feeling up to facing those fears at this precise moment. 

Legend doesn’t seem to need an explanation though, doesn’t ask for one anyway. Instead, the vet simply begins to sing. It’s different from normal, more melodic, more haunting. It wraps around his mind in a way it only ever hints at usually, seeping into every corner and urging him to rest, to relax. He doesn’t even realize he’s obeying until he finds himself leaned back against the stone behind him, body lax as he watches Legend lazily drift through the water below. The vet’s head only just breaches the surface of the water, mouth forming no words in his song, but singing regardless. 

That’s how they spend their hour. His mind is at peace with the siren song ringing about the cave, and Legend seemingly content to sit beneath in the water and check the cave’s mouth every so often for action outside.  

To his shock, he has to be shaken back to himself, Legend leaning over the ledge to reach him, straining just a bit as one clawed hand pushes against his shoulder. He doesn’t even know when the song ended, or even when his mind had gone so blissfully blank, but it takes him a good moment to blink into alertness and pull himself back up. By then, the vet is all but diving into the water below, chest heaving and face pale from a lack of breath. When pink hair emerges again with golden eyes, the vet only peeks up as much as he has to in order to speak. “We can go now. The others will be worried.” 

His head is too light and too heavy all at the same time, mind fogged like he’d been drinking, even though he hasn’t tasted alcohol since last they visited a tavern. “Right.” 

A hand is held out his way, clawed and webbed, but still with Legend’s long fingers and heavy calluses. “I’ll get us out, just don’t kick me this time, yeah?” 

“Yeah.” It’s hard going to get himself back to the ledge and over it, but the splash of cool water knocks him back to himself somewhat, sparking his mind back to wariness as Legend surges closer, eyes meeting his before hands catch his arms. He doesn’t fight the other’s touch, doesn’t do anything more than breathe when Legend says to catch some air, and then close his eyes as they dip beneath. 

It’s strange, feeling the vet press against him so close and moving. They’ve been up in each other’s space plenty, but usually when resting, when injured or sleeping or simply sitting together by the fire. Feeling Legend pressed close against his back and moving, arms firm beneath his own and torso and tail both working at the water around them, it’s strange. 

He only knows they’re out of the cave when the current pulls at him abruptly. Only knows they’re heading downstream because it isn’t pushing back against him. But surely enough, just as the vet had said, the water begins to calm. Legend makes sure to pull them up to let him breathe, but he still gasps for air when at last they make the bank, still spits and gasps like anything as he rolls himself into the sand and lies flat on his back beneath the sun and pants. 

The vet groans beside him. 

“You good?” 

There’s a pained sound, one strong enough to make him pull himself up again. His muscles still ache, and he can’t tell if it’s worse or better than how they'd been before he’d rested them, but he disregards them entirely when he sees the vet fighting to pull himself ashore. 

He’s unsteady on his own legs, but he manages to stumble over and offer a hand, catching Legend’s clawed one with only minor struggling between them and then pulling the vet ashore beside him. If he falls back on his ass from the effort, accidentally dragging the other alongside him, neither one really cares. 

Soaking pink hair comes to rest on his chest, Legend’s breath rattling heavily as the other seems to finally shift back, gills fading and ability to breath air returning. 

Neither of them pushes away from the other, instead, Warriors just lets his shield arm cover them both, cool steel acting as a guard against anything that may come to them. It’s a flimsy defense, hardly covering them fully, but he’s too worn to think on it fully. Instead, he just lies there, Legend now pressed to his chest, both of them breathing and shaking just a bit, and lets himself process. 

When, at last, the vet does move to part from him there’s the nasty sound of fabric sticking to flesh, and when he looks, he sees blood spattered down both their fronts as his tunic sticks to Legend’s chest, and it’s only then that he remembers. 

“You’re injured!” 

Legend’s shoulders tremble slightly in what might be a laugh. “No kidding.” 

He’s up again in seconds. Pushing off his shield and letting it clatter to the shore beside him, catching Legend’s hands and pulling them back so he can assess the damage. 

It’s hard to tell through the mess of shredded fabric and water, but his brother’s taken some rather nasty blows, though the depth of them is hard to tell with all the blood seeping through. 

“We need to get this treated.” 

The vet huffs softly, wincing as he does. “Yeah. My bag’s back with the others though, had to drop it to get you.” At his cocked brow the other explains, “belts and pouches make excellent handholds. I was trying to get you out, not get caught and eaten myself.” 

Well that makes sense, but also doesn’t help them at all. Luckily, “I didn’t have time to shed mine.” He turns to the bag at his hip and prays that nothing inside was damaged too badly by his rough voyage downstream. “Hopefully I have a potion in here that we can use.” He’d had one last he checked, but when they get injured it’s rare that anyone cares whose bag they’re looking through to find a fairy or potion for healing. Fortunately, he does have one, only the one, and it’s halfway gone, but it’s there, and he’s able to hand it over to Legend. 

“What about your back?” 

Oh for the love of The Three! “I got kicked by an overgrown horse-lion, not shredded by rabid fish people, Violet. Drink.” 

This time, Legend excepts it, popping to cork and throwing back the crimson liquid with a grimace. Whether it does anything he can’t tell, but Legend doesn’t lower the bottle until it’s empty, and then he’s wiping his mouth with a light scowl. “Tastes like rotting cherries.” 

A chuckle touches his voice as he moved to help the other out of his ruined clothes. “I’m not asking how you know that.” Probably something Legend did as a kid. He knows he used to eat all sorts of dubious things as a child, whether from curiosity or genuine hunger.  

Once Legend’s tunics are removed and he uses the sopping wool to clear away most of the blood, he’s able to see the full extent of the injuries. They aren’t great, but they’re clearly better than they were, only shallow cuts now that seep blood at a considerably slower pace than before. 

“You won’t need any stitches,” he announces once he’s inspected arms, back and chest thoroughly. “I’m going to bandage it you up though. It should ease the flow and prevent infection.” For the most part. Poisonous water is poisonous water, and the vet had lingered in it for over an hour. That said, whatever poison it is, it doesn’t seem to have affected the other yet. Sure, Legend is tired, sagging against him slightly, but considering he fought off Nayru knows how many zora, a current, dragged Warriors to safety and did most of it while bleeding profusely, he can’t exactly blame him. 

He has bandages in his pack, enough thankfully to bind around the worst of the cuts. It leaves Legend looking something like a mummy, but there’s not blood everywhere anymore and the vet’s injuries are tended. That said, Legend still flops against him bonelessly when he’s done, head cradled on his thighs as the other breaths steadily. 

“We should find the others.” 

Legend nods, but doesn’t speak, eyes fluttering softly and shoulders trembling a bit in a light shiver. 

“First though, we should get you dressed in something.” 

Violet eyes flutter open to stare at him, and he starts a bit to see the gold faded out from them. “What, shorts and bandages not a good look for me?” 

A snort rattles through him as he combs hair out of his brother’s face. “It’s not a good look for anyone, Ledge, and you’re shivering.” 

Up raise twin brows. “I am?” 

Well that ain’t good. “Yeah, buddy, you are.” 

His bag hasn’t got anything in it though. His spare tunic is in Legend’s bag, rent badly from a previous battle and waiting for hands steadier than his own to mend it. The only thing he has is a spare pair of trousers, something which he knows better than to try to force the other into wearing.  

Warriors sighs, dragging a hand through his own hair and trying to make his muddled brain function. 

There’s a scoff from beneath him, and when he looks down Legend is looking up at his hazily. “Don’t think so hard, you’ll fry your brain.” 

It makes him chuckle, moving to run his hand through the vet’s hair instead and laughing a bit louder when Legend leans into the touch with a soft hum. He’s out of it, they both are, but between blood-loss and likely exhaustion, Legend is putty in his hands, and although he cherishes the open-ness that’s shown to him, he’d rather have the both of them safe right now than out and exposed. 

It’s been an hour, the others will be looking and likely making their way downstream to find them. The likelihood of them having already passed by this place is high, given that they won’t have found anything in the last hour. So, it’s up to him to find them, to get himself and Legend back to them and hopefully a warm fire and something to eat.  

First though, he needs to make them travel ready. 

He uses the last of the bandages to wrap his own injuries; they’re not great, but far from as extensive as the vet’s own. Once finished, he fishes out his canteen, and although they’ve been surrounded by water for far too long, he still thirsty enough to take a drag from it. He offers it to Legend, but the vet only turns his head away with a noise of disagreement. He takes the rejection for what it is, stuffing his canteen bag into his bag and closing it up again. He’s just moving to pull the strap over his shoulder when he pauses. 

He’s wearing two tunics, one over his armor and the other underneath. 

It’s the work of a moment to drop his bag and strip the green tunic of his uniform off. It’s more work than that to work the thing over Legend’s head, but the vet helps him along as well as he can, pulling and pushing limbs and fabric as needed until at last the veteran is dressed in something more than his shorts. After that, he does strap on his bag, and while the cold steel of his chain mail can’t be comfortable, Legend doesn’t protest as he hefts the other up in his arms and moves down the bank. 

It’s slow going, and he has to pause a few times, but they finally find the others. Or, more accurately, the others find them. The group is all running, hastily making their way up the shoreline towards the two of them, eyes wide with relief when they finally meet. 

Wind’s arms are thrown about his waist in a moment, Twilight moving to take Legend from his arms as chatter and worry fill the air, too buzzy and fast for his tired mind to handle. Somehow, he’s able to make out Time announcing that they’ll make camp. Somehow, he has enough in him to register Wind leading him away from the river, sitting him down and helping him strip his armor as Wild and Four make a fire. Somehow, he’s got enough in him to register when a bowl is placed in his hands and someone tells him to eat. Somehow, he doesn’t immediately fade out. 

When he does fade back in though, sometime during the night as Twilight and Time trade soft whispers, the elder ruffling his Pup’s hair fondly, he finds himself curled on his bedroll, Legend’s own bedding beside his own, the vet’s hands caught in his shirt as the other breathes, steady and smooth and catching air (rather than water) beside him. 

“We’re okay.” He sighs to himself, running a hand through cherry-petal pink and fading back to sleep before his fingers reach the veteran’s nape. 

When he does wake in the morning, the others are still fussing. He has to explain everything over a warm breakfast and Hyrule makes a point of checking both his own and the veteran’s injuries, but they’re declared alright, they’re alright and alive. 

And Legend is a merman. 

He doesn’t tell that part, but he certainly does smile in a knowing way when his brother catches his eye here and again. Maybe he sniggers a bit to himself when they eat fish and maybe he teases a bit when the others can’t hear. 

Legend retaliates by holding onto his tunic for longer than is actually necessary, and even when he gets it back, it still gets stolen here and again. 

“Yours are comfier than mine.” Is all he gets as an answer when he confronts his brother about it, and he can’t help but chuckle as he settles at the other’s side.  

“Do the slits in the sides give you more room for your tail?” He teases. 

Legend rolls his eyes, settling against him with a huff. “You tell no one.” 

And he won’t. Secrets don’t work that way. “You’re right.” But also, “not shutting up about it though.” 

Legend doesn’t seem to have expected any different. 

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu legend #lu warriors #mermaid legend

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Julie and the Phantoms AU

What's going on y'all I've been enabled so now y'all get some half-baked angst!

Huge thanks to @we-are-inevitable for helping me finish this AU because it's been sitting on the back burner for literal months and I could never figure out all the details on my own.

CW: death, homophobia, terminal illness, emotional abuse

Okay, so! Here's the characters we're working with (they're not perfect stand-ins, this is just the general role they'll be fulfilling in the story)

Jack Kelly - Julie Molina

Racetrack Higgins - Rose Molina (he's Jack's younger brother tho)

Charlie Morris- Carlos Molina

Medda Larkin - Ray Molina

Spot Conlon - Flynn Taylor

David Jacobs - Luke Patterson

Sarah Jacobs - Alex Mercer

Albert DaSilva - Reggie Peters

Katherine Pulitzer - Willie

Joseph Pulitzer - Caleb Covington

Bryan Denton - Tia Victoria

Don't ask about Nick and Carrie, we don't talk about them, they've caused me so many problems in this AU. There's a version floating around in my brain with Spot and Race as Nick and Carrie. I've been through some things.

ANYWHO I have no idea how to structure this post because there is so much going on so we're just gonna start and hope for the best. I think we'll go by character and talk about where each of them is at the beginning of the story because I don't 100% know how everything fits together yet. Fingers crossed that this is somewhat comprehensible.

(Also, in case you haven't watched the show, Luke, Reggie, and Alex are all members of the band Sunset Curve, who died in 1995 before manifesting as ghosts in 2020. So when I'm talking about David, Sarah, Albert, and Les, their backstories take place in 1995)

Jack Kelly

Jack loves music, it’s basically his entire life. He spends all his free time out in the garage writing and playing songs with his little brother, Race. They would always talk about making it big one day and becoming a famous singing duo. But really what Jack loved was being able to share something special with his brother. He never felt closer to Race than when they were making music together. The two of them would sit side-by-side at the piano with their youngest brother, Charlie, and their adoptive mother, Medda, listening to them play and joining in when they knew the words. Those impromptu little concerts with the three people he loved most in the world were some of the happiest memories of Jack’s life.

Then Race got sick. Then Jack had to watch his fun-loving, goofy, energetic little brother waste away in a hospital bed so quickly it made Jack’s head spin. Then Jack was left with a garage full of instruments he couldn’t bear to play and half-written songs he didn't know how to finish.

He's still close with his mom and Charlie, but there's been a... shift... in the air around the house. He's written some short poems, but nothing substantial, nothing like what he used to write with Race. Jack doesn't play the piano anymore. He doesn't sing in the car or the kitchen like he used to. He hasn't even so much as hummed since Race died. He can't. Every time he even considers making music all he can think about is Race using what little strength he had left to ask Jack to sing for him one last time. All he can see is his little brother taking his last breaths as Jack sang him a soft, desperate plea. ("You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Oh, please don't take my sunshine away")

Jack doesn't want to sing anymore. He can't sing anymore. So he doesn't. He tries to pretend that he doesn't need music anymore and just goes on with his life as best he can. He cheers at Charlie's Buddy Ball games and helps his Ma cook dinner every night and bothers his Uncle Denton at work and laughs with his best friend, Spot, and does everything he can to ignore the gaping hole in his heart.

He doesn't need music. Not really. He doesn't even want to make music without Race there to do it with him.

Jack Kelly does not need music.

He doesn't.

Don't ask why he still signs up to be in the music program the next school year. Don't ask why he can't bear to sell his keyboard like he told Medda he was planning to. Don't ask why he's so so disappointed in himself when he can't bring himself to just play when he's told he has one last chance to participate in music class before he gets kicked out.

It doesn't matter.

David Jacobs

David loves music, it’s basically his entire life. He loves singing, he loves playing guitar, he loves writing songs, he loves everything about it. He lives and breathes music, he doesn't want to do anything with his life other than make music to share with the world. That's the whole problem.

His parents have always told him he has great "potential". That he's smart enough to get into the top universities in the country and to get a full-ride basically anywhere. All he has to do is focus on his studies and fill out his resume with extracurriculars and work experience. Apparently, spending every waking hour of the day writing songs and rehearsing with his band doesn't count as "extracurriculars" to them.

He knows they just want what's best for him, he knows they just want him to get into a good college and get a good job one day. He knows that. But he just wishes they would understand that music is what he's passionate about, it's what he loves, and it's the only thing that makes him feel truly alive. David knows he's smart, he knows he could probably go to some big-shot college and become a lawyer or a doctor or something but he doesn't want to. He wants to write songs and share them with the world. He wants to do something actually meaningful with his life.

It's... tense... at home, to say the least. His parents get mad every time he brings home any grade less than an A, which is becoming increasingly more common as Sunset Curve, the band Davey started with his twin sister, Sarah, and their two best friends, Albert and Bobby, has started gaining some real traction in Hollywood. (I think Bobby is still Bobby, it doesn't really change anything about the story so he might morph into one of the Delanceys at some point, I dunno) His mom keeps signing him up for after-school activities against his wishes and then gets upset when he blows off the meetings to rehearse with the band. His dad keeps trying to get him a job at the company he works for but Davey never sticks around long enough for him to set up an interview. He manages to pacify them a bit by volunteering as an assistant coach for his little brother, Les's, little league team, but it barely helps.

The last straw for David is the day his sister, Little Miss Perfect Sarah, who had always followed every single outrageous rule and expectation his parents gave her, manages to work up the courage to come out to their parents and they act like she just confessed to a murder. There's a lot of yelling and, for the first time in his life, David worries that his mother might hit Sarah, she looks so angry. His sister leaves the house with tears streaming down her face and David moves to follow her before realizing he would be leaving Les alone with his parents looking absolutely murderous. He doesn't think they would actually hurt Les, but he's not taking any chances.

As David sits in bed with his little brother curled up at his side and trying to block out the sound of his parents fighting with each other over whose "fault" this was, David finally accepts what he's always tried to deny.

His parents would never truly accept him. He'd always wondered if he just did what they wanted, if he just worked hard to keep his grade up and joined all the clubs they wanted and got into a good college and got a good job that they would be proud of him. He had convinced himself that they would, that he was choosing their disappointment by pursuing a career in music.

But now he knew better. If they could manage to go from looking at his sister as if she'd hung the stars in the sky to borderline disowning her in a split second, they could never truly love him. Their love was and always had been conditional, and David had no intentions of fulfilling those conditions just to be accepted by the people who had never even tried to understand him.

Sarah came back after spending a couple nights at the studio (aka, Bobby's garage) but it didn't change David's mind. His mother kept insulting Sarah every chance she got and his father wouldn't even look at her. The twins spent a lot of time writing songs together at the studio, avoiding their parents together. Sarah insists that she's okay, that she had expected their parents to react the way they did and she just wanted to wait out the storm until they hopefully came around. David sees straight through her lie but doesn't comment on it.

David isn't sure what does it. But one day he's finally had enough. He comes home with yet another B- on an English paper and endures the lecture from his father and the screaming from his mother with a blank stare and no emotion in his heart other than mild disgust. Then he goes to his room, packs as much as he can into a duffle bag, and heads straight to Sarah's room. She knows exactly what he's doing without a single word exchanged between them.

"So that's it, huh?" "Come with me." "Davey, I can't" "Sarah, they're never going to change! Never. I know you want to fix things with them but there's nothing to fix. They never loved us. Not really. Not in the way you want them to." "Don't you think I know that? I'm not stupid, Davey, I know this isn't the way things are supposed to be but it's the way things are. And I- I know it's pathetic but I want them to love me. I want my parents back. So... so I have to try, Davey, just let me try." "...Fine. You know where to find me once you've had enough of their bullshit." "What should I tell Les?" "I- I'll figure that out later. I'll skip class and catch him at school before he gets on the bus and say goodbye then. I just. I can't stay here another second."

So Davey leaves and hides out at the studio. He never manages to catch Les in time to talk to him but Sarah tells him plenty of stories about what's going on at home. It took his parents three days to realize he was gone. They weren't happy. Davey couldn't care less about their happiness.

His parents don't even try to get him to come home, which just reinforces Davey's certainty that he did the right thing. According to Sarah, they're "waiting him out", expecting him to come running back to them within a week.

Davey never sees his parents again.

He's not particularly bothered.

Davey spends all of his time writing songs about anything and everything. Some of it meaningless, most of it not. He's never been that great at talking to people, so he pours every pent-up emotion he's been feeling for years into his songs. His anger towards his parents, his pleas to his sister, his regrets about his brother, his desperation to make something of himself. He writes about all of it. Some of the songs make it onto Sunset Curve's setlist, but most of them stay in his song journal.

His grades don't get any better or worse, but Sunset Curve gets big. Or, at least, big for a garage band of self-taught high schoolers with about $12 between the four of them. They start booking bigger and bigger gigs and they even manage to pull some favors and scrape together enough cash to self-record an EP.

Then their big break comes. A featured show at the Orpheum! It's everything Davey and his friends have been working towards for years. It's their chance to make it big, for real. Davey thinks about inviting his parents so they can see that he wasn't delusional, that his dreams weren't just stupid fantasies. But he talks himself out of it almost instantly. He doesn't need to prove anything to them. He doesn't want to prove anything to them. They already showed him their true colors and Davey didn't regret his choices.

The only thing he regrets is that he had to leave Les. His little brother didn't do anything wrong and he was one of the only good things about living in that house. He misses Les every single day and considers going back just for him. Sarah tells him that Les didn't handle his running away well and she can only do so much for him. Their parents haven't been taking out their anger on Les, that's the only thing giving David enough strength to stay away.

He knows it's for the best, he genuinely would have lost his mind if he had to stay in that house any longer. That doesn't make him feel any better.

His songs about Les stay private.

Sarah Jacobs

Sarah likes music. She likes her drums, even if her mother would prefer for her to spend more time practicing piano. She likes helping her brother write songs for their band and goofing off with her friends in the studio. But what she really loves is performing. There's just something about being on a stage in front of a crowd of people, buzzing with energy and knowing that she's about to blow them all away. It makes her feel absolutely electric and leaves no doubt in her mind that this is what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

If only she could muster up the courage to tell her parents that.

She admired Davey for how little he managed to care about what their parents thought. Maybe he just had a passion for music that Sarah lacked. Maybe there was more pressure on him to succeed, therefore it was easier for him to disappoint, and therefore it was easier for him to stop caring in the first place. Maybe she was just a coward.

As much as she knew that it shouldn't matter what her parents thought, as much as she knew she would be better off taking a page out of her brother's book and just doing what made her happy, as much as she knew she had what it took to succeed in music, Sarah wanted nothing more than for her parents to be proud of her. And that meant keeping her grades above a B, staying in ballet classes, going to a good college, and getting a "real" job.

Sarah hated herself for how well she played the role of Perfect Daughter. She hated how easily she slipped into the pleasant, kind, soft-spoken little girl her parents had raised her to be. She hated how she kept her head down whenever her parents ripped into David for whatever way he'd managed to disappoint them this time. She hated how no one knew who she really was, not even herself.

She wanted to be able to listen to the kind of music she liked and not be scolded for it. She wanted to wear clothes that felt like her and not like she was dressing up in a costume as someone else. She wanted to do and love and enjoy the things that she wanted to do and love and enjoy. She so was sick of pretending to be someone she wasn't. She wanted it to stop. Sarah Jacobs wanted to be herself more than anything else in the world.

Maybe that's why she did it.

Maybe that's why she had looked her mother in the eye and managed to gather up enough courage to be honest with herself for once in her life.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting.

She knew what she had wanted. She had wanted her mother to prove her wrong. To look at her with the same amount of love and adoration she always had and to tell Sarah that she loved her no matter what she did, no matter who she loved.

Sarah isn't surprised to find herself sobbing alone, curled up on the couch in the studio after listening to two people who were supposed to love her unconditionally call her the vilest names in the English language.

And it hurts. It hurts so so much. She had always known, deep down inside, that her parents would never accept her for who she was. That was why she had always hidden her true self so deep down that even Sarah herself didn't know what her true colors were.

She had always known what would happen when she finally revealed those colors.

But knowing you're about to be stabbed doesn't make it hurt less. It doesn't stop the knife from piercing straight through your chest, making it impossible to breathe through the pain. It doesn't stop you from feeling the blade twisting inside your heart, destroying every last shred of hope.

She goes back home. David tells her to stay at the studio, that he'll take care of her there and that it'll be easier, in the long run, to cut their parents off then and there. She knows he's right. But she can't help but want her parents to love her again. If they had ever truly loved her to begin with.

So she goes back, she endures the anger and the hatred, she watches her brother leave her to pick up the broken pieces of their family all alone, she lets her parents blame her for David leaving, she lets Les scream that he hates her for not stopping him, and she lets him come back an hour later to sob through his apology.

She lets it happen.

And her parents stop screaming at her every time she walks by, resorting to ignoring her as if that meant she didn't exist. And Les stops begging her to convince David to come home, deciding he hates his older brother for leaving him and crying into David's pillow when he thinsk she wasn't looking. And Sarah plays her role of the perfect daughter when they're out in public, resisting the urge to flinch every time her mother puts an arm around her waist with a fake smile plastered on her face.

She had revealed one of her true colors and it had ruined everything.

She didn't regret it for a second.

Charlie Morris

Charlie is ten years old. That doesn't make him stupid. He understands what's going on around him, no matter how hard his mama and his older brothers try to hide just how bad things are. He knows why Medda is constantly working overtime, but makes sure it's only at night so she can spend every possible second at home with her boys. He knows why Jack looks so sad and lost all the time and why he can hardly bear to let his little brothers out of his sight for longer than a few minutes. He knows why Race isn't going to school anymore and why he doesn't help out at Charlie's Buddy Ball games like he used to and why he keeps waking up in the middle of the night with coughing fits so loud Charlie can't sleep through them even though their bedrooms are on opposite sides of the house.

He knows why Medda and Jack look so frantic when they can't get Charlie's big brother to stop coughing and just breathe and why Medda makes him and Jack stay in the other room when the ambulance comes and why Jack is holding onto him so tightly while they wait for Uncle Denton to arrive. He knows why the doctors and nurses keep giving him sad smiles while he sits in the hard, uncomfortable chair of the hospital waiting room and why his mama looks so sad when she tells him he has to say goodbye to his big brother and why Race looks so unbelievably tired as he manages to give Charlie a small smile.

He knows why Race doesn't say anything when Charlie lays down next to him and just wraps an arm around his shoulders, letting Charlie ramble about everything and nothing. He knows why Race rarely even opens his eyes over the next few days and why Jack stops driving him to school in the mornings. Instead, Uncle Denton picks him up and brings him to the hospital where Medda and Jack had spent the night. He knows why everyone looks so heartbroken when Race finally manages to stay awake long enough to talk and his only request is for Jack to sing to him.

He knows why his mama is hugging him tight to her chest, her tears soaking into his hair, as the steady beeping that was always running slowed to a stop. He knows why Jack breaks down into heartwrenching sobs as soon he finishes his song. He knows why Uncle Denton doesn't even say anything, he just pulls Jack into his arms and stares at Race. At his body.

Charlie knows why he's never going to see his big brother again. He knows why Jack won't even hum along to the radio anymore and he knows why Medda can't bear to touch anything in Race's room, even though there's dirty laundry on the floor and he knows she hates that. He knows why Uncle Denton keeps bringing homemade dinners over every single night and why he keeps smiling and joking as if nothing's wrong. He knows why his teachers don't seem mad when he doesn't have any of his homework done when he comes back to school two weeks later.

He knows what Medda and Jack mean when they sit him down and gently explain that Race had to "go away" to "be an angel". He knows that Jack can barely drag himself out of bed every morning and that Medda is struggling just to hold herself together as it is. He knows that they don't need him to be having a breakdown every time he feels like it (which is fairly often, if he's being honest). He knows that at least one person in his family needs to be okay.

So he tries his best to go back to normal, to tell Jack all about this day like he always does, even when he just wants his brother to hold him close and let him cry. Jack smiles every time, so Charlie thinks it's worth it. He tells his mama jokes and stories while she cooks dinner, even though he wants to tell her about how much he misses his brother and how angry he is that he had to go. Medda laughs at his jokes every time, and Charlie knows it's worth it.

Uncle Denton gets him a tablet for his eleventh birthday, and Charlie discovered pages upon pages of stories, information, and videos about ghosts and the afterlife. Charlie thinks a part of him knows that none of it is true, but come on, can you blame him for wishing there was a way to know Race was still out there somewhere?

That's all Charlie wants. He just wants his big brother back.

Les Jacobs

Les is ten years old. That doesn't make him stupid. He understands what's going on around him, no matter how hard his older siblings try to hide it from him. He knows that Davey and his parents are always one wrong look away from the next fight. He knows Sarah would do anything in the world to make their parents happy, even though they treat her like garbage. He knows that as soon as he's old enough for his parents to start setting expectations of him, he'll be going through the exact same things.

He knows that it wasn't Sarah's fault that Davey left, and he'll feel sick to his stomach for the rest of his life every time he thinks about the things he said to her when he was too angry and hurt to think straight.

He knows that Davey would have moved mountains for him, that he never would have left Les if he had any choice. But he still can't understand why he never even said goodbye. He can't understand why Davey never came back for him. He can't understand why Davey would leave him and Sarah to fend for themselves.

He can't decide which of his siblings is being braver, David for having the strength to get out while he still could, or Sarah for having the strength to stay and try to fix things. Either way, Les is glad to have her around and, years later, when he knows that those three months were the worst three months of his life, his biggest regret in the world is that he never took a break from his forced anger to tell Sarah how much he loved her.

His parents dismiss Sarah's invitation to the band's show with an air of annoyance and indifference, but Les couldn't be happier. Davey would be there. And as much as Les has been trying to hate his older brother for more-or-less abandoning him, he can't help but feel giddy at the prospect of seeing him again. Sarah arranges for him to ride to the show with Bobby's parents under the guise that Les is spending the night with a friend.

Les is giddy with excitement the whole week leading up to the show and, as Sarah tells him goodbye before she leaves a few hours early to run a soundcheck, Les barely even gives her a second look, too busy digging through his closet to find the matching shirt he and Davey had gotten on vacation the year before.

It's not until days later that he realizes that was the last time he saw his big sister alive.

He's not quite sure why Bobby's parents seem so worried when they arrive at the theatre. It's a bit empty outside but they are kinda early. He doesn't like how Mrs. Shaw squeezes his hand tighter while she speaks softly to the worker at the ticket booth with a mixture of shock and horror on her face. He can’t understand why Bobby is sitting alone backstage or why he bursts into tears the second he sees Les or why he can’t stop crying long enough to answer him when he asks “Where’s Davey?”

His parents don’t show up at the hospital for nearly four hours. No one can get ahold of them, apparently. Les isn’t sure where they could be. He doesn’t know what could possibly be more important.

Albert’s dad and brothers are around somewhere, Les saw them come in but they didn’t exactly exchange small talk.

Bobby and his parents are the ones to tell him what happened. Mrs. Shaw is the one to pull him in close and wrap him tight in her arms while he cries. Mr. Shaw is the one to hold his hand when they finally let him see his siblings after hours and hours of begging. Bobby is the one to hold him close when he runs out of tears and can’t bear to do anything else.

Les is ten years old. That doesn’t make him stupid. He knows that his parents are the reason Davey never came home. He knows his parents are the reason Sarah was so miserable all the time. He knows that maybe they couldn’t have done anything to stop what happened that night, but they sure as hell took away Les’ chance to say goodbye.

So when his parents finally show up having the audacity to look like they’d been crying, Les doesn’t run into his mother’s waiting arms when she calls out to him. He buries his head back in Bobby’s shoulder and ignores her, just like she ignored every desperate plea Sarah ever cried. He pulls away from his father’s uncharacteristically gentle touch and begins to walk away. And when his father tries to follow after him, like he never, ever did for Davey, Les yells at them to leave him alone, in the coldest voice he can muster.

He never quite remembers exactly what he said to them, but he knows it was all true. That they were the ones who drove Davey away, that they never once believed in him, that he was right to leave them, and that Les is surprised he stuck around for as long as he did. That they treated Sarah like she was nothing, less than nothing, that she had done everything for them, that all she had ever wanted was for them to love her. He tells them that his siblings died hating them and that he would die the same way.

He’s pretty sure Bobby’s parents stuttered out something about grief and Les not really meaning it but he did. And his parents knew he did. Because they knew he was right.

They could spend the rest of his childhood honoring his siblings and pretending they were heartbroken. They could keep trying to have a relationship with him and keep trying to “learn from their mistakes”. They could give Les the entire world and it wouldn’t change what they had done.

They had stolen something from Les that he could never get back, and he had no intentions of ever forgiving them for that.

Yeah so those are the only characters I've put a lot of thought into, so we're gonna do a rapid-fire version of the last four that are important to the plot. They'll all probably develop more as the AU goes on, and feel free to send an ask if one of them catches your eye!

Albert DaSilva

Listen, I love Reggie Peters with all my heart, he's probably my favorite character on the show. But I could not for the life of me figure out what to do with him in this AU. Jac suggested Albert be the third member of Sunset Curve and while I'm super excited to explore this version of the character, I have absolutely zero thoughts about his backstory.

Like, I guess I could do what I did with David and Sarah and just. combine his Newsies fanon backstory with his JATP counterpart's backstory, but I'm not 100% sure how to do that. He's definitely got some kind of daddy(?) issues 'cause I'm giving him Reggie's one-sided friendship with Ray/Medda

As of right now, Davey and Sarah are having a shared crisis, and Albert's just having fun hanging out with Medda and messing around with Charlie. He is simply vibing.

I told Jac that he would probably gain some trauma as the AU progressed and they responded, and I quote, "i cannot WAIT for this"

Send me an ask if you want Albert to get trauma and/or daddy issues.

Spot Conlon

Spot as Flynn is probably the best decision I have ever made in my entire life because they're such different characters but also they are exactly the same.

He’s doing all the same things that Flynn does, he tries to help Jack stay the music program, he gets mad when Jack lies to him about the band, he helps Jack get through the ups and downs of life, and he’s Jack’s #1 fan (he’ll accept being tied for first with Medda and Charlie)

It’s just. He’s also Spot. If you know what I mean. I don’t know how else to describe his role in the story, he’s Jack’s ride or die and that’s all there is to it.

Spot’s still a DJ I think, but I feel like he’s got a funny story for how he got into doing that. Or just how he ended up in the music program in general. Also, yes, during the I Got The Music scene, Jack does daydream Spot rapping. He’s very confused afterwards but I think it’s funny so it stays.

Joseph Pulitzer

He's taking on Caleb's role.

He's a creepy magician guy.

He manipulates his daughter.

He sucks.

That is all.

(I mean like I'll give him a backstory if you want but yeah, his main character trait is: sucks)

Katherine Pulitzer

Katherine my beloved!!!!

Okay so her backstory is incredibly involved with Pulitzer's (duh) so I guess this is kind of like a 2-for-1 type thing here.

Anywho, Katherine and her father were a double act together performing magic! I'm thinking around the 1970s or 1980s ish. She enjoyed performing but she wasn't a fan of her dad. He didn't really care about her, he just cared about how he could use her to make his show better.

She's only seventeen, so she doesn't really have a choice, but she's been making plans to get away from him the second she can, and then... well... she's not really sure. She's going to start out performing on her own, just to make enough money to keep a roof over her head, and then she'll figure it out from there. Maybe she'll find something she's actually passionate about. Maybe she'll be a performer for the rest of her life.

Katherine doesn't care. All she cares about is getting away and making something of herself. She doesn't care what she ends up doing with her life as long as it's something she can call hers.

Yeah so then a few months before her 18th birthday, one of her father's magic acts goes horribly, horribly wrong and that's the end of her story.

And then she becomes a ghost.

And now she's stuck under her father's thumb for the rest of eternity.

If only someone would come along and help her learn that she doesn't have to let her father define her and that she does have the power to stand up to him and take him down. And if only that someone was also very smart and funny and pretty and was a drummer in a 1995 rock band and was also struggling with figuring out who she was without her parents around to tell her....

IF ONLY

So yeah! That's more or less everything I have for this AU so far! I do have some ideas in mind for different scenes and overarching plotlines, so please please do drop an ask if you want to hear more! Ideas include but are not limited to:

Unsaid Emily scene but with Les! (I have a song in mind :D)

Wake Up scene but with Jack!

Les growing up and having to watch his siblings' best friend getting famous off the songs he stole from them (see it's even Worse because most of the songs are about his family because Davey wrote all of them)

Jack and Charlie having a nice little heart-to-heart about grief and such (it is criminal that we never got a scene between Julie and Carlos talking about how his obsession with ghosts and the supernatural was his way of coping with his mother's death)

Sarah and Katherine meeting for the first time

Albert telling Jack about Les (That scene from episode 5 where Julie calls Luke selfish and Alex+Reggie tell her about his mom)

Sarah running off to the studio after coming out to her parents (I have an idea for this scene that involves Albert! Mans gets to actually do things!)

Once again, huge thanks to Jac for their help with this AU and I hope y'all like it! I have spent two days writing this post instead of working on a paper that's due in 2.5 hours! Haha send help :D

#ghost au 2: electric bungaloo #cw death #because ghosts #anyways yeah absolutely send me an ask if you want to hear more about anything in particular my brain is absolutely vibrating #I know Jack is supposed to be the main character but i planned this au with jac so it’s not my fault that davey is the most fleshed out #newsies #newsies au #newsies fanfiction #livesies #newsies live #jack kelly #davey jacobs #sarah jacobs #javid #newsbians #jac tag #saf's jatp au #saf's fic concepts #saf writes #julie and the phantoms au #julie and the phantoms

[jennajaeger]

My general feelings on my F/Os' canon love interests and how I picture my dynamic with each of them:

Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid):

Eric is MY GUY. BESTIE. HIMBO EXTRAORDINAIRE. We high five each other as we pass each other in the hallway because we both have the best wife in the world. Literally the epitome of this meme:

Me: "The stars are so beautiful tonight."

Eric: "You know who else is beautiful?"

Both of us in unison: *sighing dreamily* "Ariel~"

Keyleth (Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina):

So admittedly I have not finished the series yet but as far as I can tell, Vax and Keyleth have a very "right person, wrong time" type of relationship? Like, I get it, they're always gonna love each other, they're just never going to be in a place where they can BE together? And I mean......that works for me :P I feel marginally bad about stealing her man because she's so sweet and deserves a break, precious bean, but if it works it works <3

Meryl Stryfe & Milly Thompson (Trigun Stampede):

I felt so bad the moment I started watching the show because I was like "oh god another female character I'm gonna have to throw under the bus in the name of self shipping" but honestly so far in the 23 version I read their dynamic as platonic?? And just in general, I love her <3 She's a tough little cookie; and I haven't properly met Milly yet but I just know I'm gonna love her :P girl frankly you deserve to have Nick maybe you'll mellow him out a little good heavens XD

Helen Wick (John Wick franchise):

I will always have a moment to pay homage to our lord and savior Helen Wick who died to give us the best action franchise of the modern age, girl you were a real one and rest easy knowing I am going to RIDE THE TRAUMA OUT OF YOUR HUSBAND

Tess Marshall (Barbarian):

SHE DESERVES S O MUCH BETTER OH MY GOD I mean they both do, they're stuck in this terrible movie :P In a better world I would love to be friends with Tess, and act as Keith's filter because good lord boy you're cute but you're dumb as fuck sometimes XD Also if I ever see Keith's ex-gf I'm throwing hands

Alt Cunningham & Rogue (Cyberpunk 2077):

god I'm glad these two are Johnny's exes XD I'm sure I would have liked Alt a lot more had I known her when she was, y'know, alive, but as a......tech ghost or whatever, she's not a lot of fun :P As for Rogue, she's a bitch, I KNOW she's a bitch, and I respect her for it. She DID stab Johnny in the back though and I'm not about to let her forget it.

Alys Rivers & Helaena Targaryen (House of the Dragon):

I haven't properly met Alys yet but I'm looking forward to it, I feel like I'm gonna like her :P And Helaena is A SWEETHEART, an absolute darling, I would love to sit with her and have tea while she does her embroidery and listen to her talk about anything that comes into her pretty little head because THE GODS KNOW SOMEONE HAS TO. I will also be her "dump your shitty husband" friend so fast XD Like, LOOK AT AEMOND. LOOK AT HIM. HE'S RIGHT THERE GIRL I WILL SHARE.

Anyone Dream has ever been romantically involved with and yes I'm including Hob Gadling (The Sandman):

I have nothing but love and respect for Dream's past partners (Calliope babe I'd die for you) and I just love the idea that we have like, dinner together and they all just spill the tea about the shit Dream got up to in past decades :P

Vision (Marvel Cinematic Universe):

I have no problems with Viz, he was a good man. Wanda really could have done BETTER in my opinion, but y'know, she could have done a lot worse too, so :P And thanks to Viz we have the boys, Billy and Tommy <3

Martin Blackwood (The Magnus Archives):

I don't hate Martin. He's a sweetheart. But I need him to not even BREATHE in Jon's direction, because that is MY MAN. Nothing personal :P

Mikasa Akerman (Attack On Titan):

I will meet that bitch in the FUCKING PIT IT IS ON S I G H T LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!!!!!

#save tag #mine #long post

[fuzzydreamin]

for the edgy oc ask, 6, 7, 20, and 25 for nora and al (...and jack, if you want...?)

Won't do Jack because I'm still working on him in my head. Thanks for asking though💖

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

✪ Nora: She'd only do it if her life or that of her friends were in danger, and even then she'd be looking for ways around it or to turn on whoever is making her commit said act. If there's no one forcing her and/or she just has to go through with it then she would, and just hope she can live with the guilt.

✝ Alberta: There are certain lines they won't ever cross, but mostly... it depends on who is asking them.

7. What’s one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

It's hard to say. They all certainly aren't quite the same as when I first came up with them, but I wouldn't say they've changed that much either. Just, got more fleshed out in general? There's nothing so different that I can think of it to bring up.

20. Does your OC have a tendency to get jealous? If so, how does this manifest?

✪ Nora tries really hard to not get jealous. She doesn't like feeling that way, and it's not a good or very useful emotion. But it is still an unavoidable one. Getting jealous is just human. (She feels similarly with rage/anger.)

She feels envy more often, usually in regards to peoples skills, but the few times she can feel jealous are around relationships, which makes her feel worse for feeling that way since she's poly and part of her ideology there is to not be jealous.

It's not about any of her partners having more partners though, she's genuinely completely fine with that. It's if someone she's interested in and flirty with keeps blocking her but is willing to flirt with others (particularly if they won't elaborate on why they block but keep flirting with her anyway - like, stuck in a limbo of "do you like me or not?"). One moment I can think of off the top of my head is when you go into the Memory Den with Nick and he and Irma are flirty.

Nora doesn't really act on jealousy though. She knows that those feelings are a her problem, so she mostly works it out internally.

✝ Alberta is often jealous about things they don't have, but want, but won't admit to wanting. Things like family and relationships in general, the ability to live a stable life and just be happy with it, certain things to do with health, etc. Sometimes just dumb shit too, if they're already in a mood.

They don't often recognise that they're feeling jealous though, as they'll just default to rage and acting out. She does not really have the emotional intelligence to work on herself. Not without help.

25. What is your favorite thing about your OC?

✪ Nora: Is smart. I can do fun things with either working with or around the story and lore we are given because she's smart enough to see between the lines and come up with clever solutions. Bitch to write sometimes though.

✝ Alberta: Feral. I can do just about anything to this bitch and it's amusing. Literary punching bag. Into the salad spinner with this one.

#fuzzy.oc #oc: nora sosu #oc: alberta jefferson

[gdmbrwiththerealcrew]

Day 12 - July 10th

At Day 11 dinner, we all discuss the plan for our last day. J, J, & N were going to leave their gear with Beth, Bill & Annette. They would then be able to hammer home on what was thought to be a tough course. Bill offered to do the same for us.

None of us really knew what to expect for the gravel portion of our route. We knew we finished with 15 miles on pavement but the rest was a mystery. John had heard that the gravel was generally unmaintained forest roads with many downed trees and very rocky surfaces. Again, we would know by the end of the day.

When we woke up we decided that we would take advantage of Bill’s offer. David, considering his previously broken rack, unloaded all of his gear except lunch and a rain jacket. Ed kept his panniers with first aid stuff but got rid of his tent, sleeping gear, and some clothes. I unloaded my tent and stool. Jose decided to finish the ride with all his stuff.

Last day!

We rolled out of camp ahead of J, J, & N. Within 1/10 of a mile I made a wrong turn and it cost us 2.5 miles plus a climb. Back on course, we needed to grind out 2000’ of climbing in the next 10 or so miles. The first 8 miles were on a pretty rough gravel road with several steep pitches.

Just headed up…

At about mile 8 the road swung up to the left while a closed forest service road was directly in front of us. I stopped to rest at the gate while Jose continued up to the left. Ed and David pedaled past me up to the left. A minute later Nick stopped along side me and said the route was the service road. Damn! I confirmed the mistake and had to chase down the boys who had just climbed another quarter mile. Incredulous, they came down the hill to get back on course.

We all looked at the gate preparing for what we’d find on the other side. Rolling through we found smooth double track divided by high grass and wildflowers with the occasional downed tree as an obstacle. In some places the grass had filled in the track. Regardless, the road was better than the gravel we just pedaled for 8+ miles! We climbed a little then descended for about 10 miles on double track. It was really quite a lot of fun!

Views from the double track.

The path ahead.

At some point on the descent Jose jammed on his brakes to stop for a bear ahead. He and I got a quick look at a bear with black coloring and rounded ears. It was small in size, just a couple hundred pounds, probably just a few years old. Fortunately, it was alone. Based on the ears, it was probably a grizzly. From then on, we made a lot of noise and kept a close eye out for more wildlife. Hey bear!

After that descent we started another 4 mile climb. The double track was a little more rugged but rideable. We rounded a corner to find that forest service had trimmed overhanging trees. The road was covered with splintered branches and pine boughs. The equipment had cut deep tracks into the road. We rounded another corner and we could hear the machine ahead of us. Coming around another corner we were face to tail with a tree eating monsters which was grinding up the hill at 3 miles an hour.

To our advantage, the operator had his dog with him. While the man couldn’t see or hear us, his dog alerted him to our presence. He shut down his tractor and climbed out to greet us. His brother also came down the road to join the conversation.

A few minutes earlier, J, J, & N had ridden past him. He didn’t get a chance to talk to them so they continued up the climb as was described in our maps. With a broad smile on his face, the operator told us we could cut ahead of them by 3 miles and completely avoid the climb. He pointed down a grassy patch and said take this road until it ends at a bridge, don’t cross the bridge, go left for several miles until you reach another bridge and a clear gravel road. That would put us back on course 3 miles ahead of the other guys!

Our shortcut was the grassy patch by my right elbow.

We chatted for a while longer, said thanks and then got a closer look at that grassy patch. It was a double track forest service road with clear tracks but waist high grass all around. It descended into the trees and so did we. For some reason, everyone wanted me to go first.

The track was smooth with humps every 1/10 of a mile or so to control erosion, I guess. They made for a great roller coaster ride. We reached the bridge in minutes. From there we turned left and descended along a creek on a similar double track. It was not as steep as the previous stretch but we were still able to fly. We popped out at the gravel road, crossed the bridge, grabbed some snacks, and waited for J, J, & N.

At this point we were only about half done with our day. Back on the gravel we had to climb as payback for a total blast of a descent. Or maybe we had to climb so we could blast down the other side. Fortunately, it was the latter. We climbed about 4 miles and peeked over the top to see a valley carved by the Blackfoot River. We descended steeper grades for 4-5 miles before it mellowed a little. There was only one choice… maintain control by letting go! Jose and I followed each other’s lines to the bottom.

When Jose and I reached the pavement we waited for a few minutes for Ed and David. Ed came rolling around the corner with no David. He pulled up next to us and said: “Guys we have a problem. David’s jacket got caught in his wheel”. I asked is he was okay. Fortunately, he didn’t crash but the bike was not functional. Then I asked how far up the hill he was. My mistake to think that we wouldn’t be climbing any more.

We found David a 1/2 mile up the hill with his bike turned over and his knife in hand to cut out the jacket. His favorite rain jacket, I’ll point out. It was stuck in his rear wheel between the brake disk and the spokes. It could have been a disaster.

Roadside repair.

David’s favorite rain jacket.

Once all was clear, we rolled down the hill and onto MT 200 which had plenty of traffic but a wide shoulder. Down we rolled. A little while later, down came the rain! You carry a rain jacket for 11 days and never use it. You lose your jacket and it rains.

Seven miles out of Missoula we met J, J, & N at KettleHouse Brewing for a celebratory beer. They were ahead of us so they finished and said their goodbyes. We had a beer while the rain slowed and then finished our ride downtown.

KettleHouse with 7 miles to go.

All that was left was the celebrating and the reminiscing.

Celebratory dinner in Missoula

Rooftop cocktails.

All in all, a very good day!

Cheers.

Ride stats:

Miles ridden: 54.1

Elevation gain: 3,987 ft

Max elevation: 6,140 ft

Total descent: 4,952 ft

Start time: 8:16am

Moving time: 5:50:05

Elapsed time: 7:38:48

Ave speed: 9.3 mph

[jmrothwell]

📓

Hey anon!! Thanks for the ask!!

So let me talk to you about The Host AU I developed for this small ficlet I wrote. Because I HIGHLY doubt I will ever write a full fledged fic for this one but I do have ideas and thoughts. . .Like a LOT of ideas and thoughts. 

I broke it down into Casting thoughts and Plot Point thoughts found below the cut (due to length)

Send me a book to hear about a fic idea I may never write

'Casting’:

So for the ficlet I wrote I casted based on personalities and already existing dynamics and who would be most likely to fit 

Really the hardest call was Melanie/Wanda and that casting decision was solely based on personality.

So with that in mind Carrie filled the role of Melanie. They’re both hard working fighters full of snark and sass. 

Julie was then slotted into Wanda’s role because they are both self-sacrificing(would do anything for the ones they love), struggle just a little bit on identity and self-image, generally polite but not afraid to stand up for themselves or more importantly what they care about.

Carlos was always going to fill the role of Jaime. . .Which meant I had to figure out HOW and came up with the following Wilson family back story

Wilson Family: Robert Wilson had Carrie, Ray Molina had Carlos, both lost their wives and remarried while Carrie and Carlos were relatively young. Trevor Wilson is Carrie’s Uncle, Bobby Shaw is his son-Carrie’s Cousin (It’s a Wilson family tradition to name the eldest son’s Robert, which is why he goes by Bobby, he also has his Mom’s last name)

Trevor then went on to fill the role of Jeb.

Which leads us to the Jared and Ian casting. And while there is an underlying double romance thing happening in the ficlet(and story in my head), I wanted to try and shift it to be more blatantly found family. 

As such Jared and Ian from the book kind of get split up between a few folks(this MAINLY impacts Plot Point thoughts)

Nick and Bobby take up the bulk of Jared’s side of things. Nick 100% covers the romance aspect.

Reggie, Luke, and Alex cover the Ian side of things. Reggie (and Luke?) covers the romance aspect. (There also may have been some casting bias due to the fact Ian is described as pale, blue-eyed, and dark haired-snow, ink, and sapphires).

Willie and Flynn would take up some of the more prominent additional characters.

Caleb took me a bit but I keep going back to wanting him to fill Doc’s role. Although he’d make a GREAT seeker fill in.

For the role of Kyle I invented a brother for Reggie. I KNOW he has other brothers floating around but I was NOT about to make any of them super violent. Also I thought it’d be fun to lean into the Peters’ are Elton John fans headcanon and name this new brother Elton or Kenneth. 

‘Plot Points’:

If I were to have written this I would probably skip over or rush a lot of the pre-desert stuff

As such I have it planned that Julie/Carrie gets lost in the desert looking for Trevor’s hide out, passes out and then Nick, along with Alex and Reggie, go out to get her. Upon opening her eyes, Nick basically throws her away from him which leads to her hitting her head HARD against a rock and passing out AGAIN.

When Julie/Carrie wakes up, they’re already tucked away in the storage area hole. Nick, Bobby, and Reggie are having a HEATED discussion because they’re ALL a little overwhelmed by the whole thing:

Bobby: What the hell are we doing Nick?

Nick: I don’t know I just I

Bobby: What are you thinking What’s Trevor going to say?

Reggie(though Julie doesn’t know his name yet): Alex and Luke went to get him (and doc?).

Then Elton/Kenneth shows up with a small mob of very angry people. Julie/Carrie do the whole ‘don’t hurt him’ shielding thing throwing themselves in front of NIck and Bobby(kinda Reggie by virtue of how everyone is set up). Big fight ensues, Julie/Carrie gets knocked around a bit, and then Trevor shows up with the gun and stops the whole fiasco

Reggie curled in on himself: This is so messed up

Trevor ”Why don’t you boys go get yourselves something to eat, I’ll stay with her.”

Nick: Shouldn’t we…what about…

Trevor: Seems to me you boys may be feeling a tad conflicted over the matter, take some time to think on it. 

Alex: Think on what, exactly?

Trevor: You brought her into my home, You decided to keep her here rather than take her to Doc. What happens next is up to.

Luke: Wait, us? Like all of us?

Trevor: A couple of you may have a larger vote than the others by virtue of relations and kinship, but yes, all of you.

Reggie sounding nauseous: Oh my god.

Then after seeing Julie flinch at something: This is beyond messed up

In case it wasn’t obvious, witnessing that whole thing with Julie/Carrie would THOUROUGHLY fuck with Reggie’s head. Because logically he gets the whole parasite alien thing, he gets that from the human perspective it’s a whole war and he’s on the losing side. In all other regards he just saw a girl nearly get beat to death and it’s very triggering. 

So after Trevor bestows the decision on the boys (probably because he picked up on how Nick was trying to avoid HAVING to make a decision). Nick distances himself from Julie/Carrie unsure what to do. Bobby takes over the bulk over Julie/Carrie watch but in his mind Carrie is already dead anyway, why bother keeping Julie. Luke and Alex conceded they’ll follow whatever decision Bobby/Nick make and also avoid Julie/Carrie.

Reggie is the only other one that even checks up on Julie/Carrie. He doesn’t know what to think because of all the aforementioned. He can’t wrap his head around WHY if the alien is supposed to be out for the elimination of humankind it would use itself as a shield to protect said humans. 

Trevor would eventually send Nick, Bobby, (Alex or Luke), Elton/Kenneth, and a couple others to go do the supply raid thing. Which would lead to a similar Trevor slowly getting Julie/Carrie involved in the community by having her help around the caves, with Reggie and Alex or Luke, tagging along.

Some noticeable differences would be that Julie(once she’s moderately comfortable) starts humming under her breath as she works. Eventually Reggie asks her about it and she goes quiet again trying to not draw attention to herself. Reggie apologizes and explains he doesn’t mind her humming; he was just curious.

Another difference is unlike in the book where everyone just lets Wanda never take a break, Reggie (or if he’s the one who stays behind Luke) finds out she’s been working non stop and force her to hang out with them (Reggie, Willie, Flynn). 

 Carlos of course is unavoidable in all this but that’s probably going to follow similar Jaime story beats anyway.

In the case of what would be the “Carlos gets sick and Julie gets snuck out to get meds” plot point Bobby, would be the one doing the whole sneak Julie out of the caves, while Nick went and got the Jeep and did the driving. Avoiding the whole silly let’s try and have you run blindfolded through the desert.

Another major difference would come during the end when they meet up with the other survivors. Ray would be there and recognize Carrie and get reunited with his family.

.

….I think that’s about all I have when it comes to plot point thoughts.

If you’ve made it this far, CONGRATS! Thanks for reading!! Have a cookie 🍪

#fic's I'll never write #Thanks for the ask!! #fanfiction thoughts/ideas

[mlobsters]

supernatural s14e14 ouroboros (w. steve yockey)

these pre-ep recap music selections are all over the place the past two seasons. always keep em (me) guessin. we're on music selection #3 within this one recap! and the pace of them is all dissonant. lol. this one is alexander bornstein (marked co-composer) and christopher lennertz

(putting in my request for an episode where i don't cry please and thank you. talking about the god forsaken box and showing sam fully crying in that moment in 14x12 does not fill me with hope.)

appreciate using someone with good knife skills for the closeups. had to go look up an anatomical diagram because that seemed awfully high up in the chest cavity to be yoinking a liver out of, but i guess it's not that far off. it's right below the pecs. like the cw version of nbc hannibal

no clue what the exchange (would say flirting but to what end, to make cas uncomfortable or actual flirting) between rowena and castiel was about. very much don't remember when they were last in the same place together. rereading the summary of the last ep they were in together (14x07) and i am none the wiser

SAM Maybe it's his pet. I mean, no pictures in his phone. And, uh, this place doesn't exactly scream "snake guy". ROWENA Not enough Pantera posters, for one.

LOL what do you know about pantera rowena

DEAN You know, I've got to say, I got a pretty good feeling about bringing Rowena in on this one. I think her and Sam have a chance of cracking it. CASTIEL They do have many books. DEAN Yes, they do.

laughed out loud, thanks cas. followed up by that stinkface

CASTIEL Are you really fine? DEAN I don't know, Cass. But that's what I'm supposed to say, right? "I'm fine," keep on moving? That's what we all say. CASTIEL No, Dean. DEAN Okay. There's this pounding in my head. It never stops. Michael's in there, and he is fighting hard to get out. And I can't let my guard down not for a second. I'm barely even sleeping. CASTIEL Well, that's not sustainable. DEAN No. No. It's probably not. But no point in complaining about it. It's on me. CASTIEL No. It's on us. We are here to help you. DEAN I know. I know that. And I appreciate that. I do. Look, before the kid gets back -- I know I agreed to give you guys time. CASTIEL Hey, Dean, and we will find a solution. DEAN Okay. But if -- if you don't we still have Plan B. CASTIEL Dean, come on. DEAN Coffin. Ocean. Done

#we're fine #everything's fine! no coughing up blood here and needing to burn off my soul to heal it, no siree (me contemplating the logistics of getting lucifer back into nick, stabbing dean with the archangel blade real quick to heal him, then getting jack's grace back [???] from lucifer)

DEAN This is like an A.V. Club presentation. JACK What's an A.V. Club? CASTIEL It's a special group for people who do not play sports. DEAN Yeah, him. He's A.V. Club.

we know sam did soccer iirc, did dean do any school sports? otherwise he's just a no sports no av club guy

gorgon dude using sex to pick up dude at the truck stop, all righty

looks like they had fun with this

ook, that was a choice. good old thermometer up the ass while spelled into a dog

was side eyeing the whole generic snake venom thing because i know some are specific to the type of snake, but i also learned that there's an antivenom that covers: North American pit vipers (all rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths) called Polyvalent crotalid antivenin (CroFab - Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine))

*shakes head*

i really enjoy how they switch up her makeup looks and they're very like. full glam and playing around with colors. and i love her hair color right now, it's shocking! and it's also good to see her in a different hairstyle

ROWENA Fine. Don't tell me. But using dangerous, mysterious magic, regardless of the cost, that's a very on-brand me thing to do. SAM Well, thank you. ROWENA Of course Samuel, until very recently, I was the villain.

i thought she should have stayed more the ambiguous villain type with crowley, but alas. they seem to enjoy bickering

i had just convinced myself that they're just gonna have au people off on hunts perpetually and never in the bunker

are we treating a concussion like the serious injury it is now? or is this just michael drama

SAM What do I do? ROWENA Clean his wound. Make him comfortable, then we'll see.

if this is just about the traumatic brain injury, TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL.

jesus christ him seizing on the bed as sam's about to ineffectively dab at his head with a dry cloth startled the shit out of me, thanks

JACK I-I can't think about losing him or -- or Sam or you. I-I just -- I hate -- I hate thinking about it. CASTIEL Yeah. So do I. But, Jack you know, Sam and Dean, they're human, and they're very extraordinary, brave, special humans, but they're -- they're still humans. And humans burn bright, but for a very brief time compared to, you know, things like us. And eventually, they're gone, even the very best ones, and we have to carry on. It's just -- It's part of growing up. JACK Losing people? CASTIEL Yes. JACK What's the point? CASTIEL The point? JACK What's the point of being a cosmic being if everyone I care about is just gonna leave? CASTIEL The point is that they were here at all and you got to know them, you. When they're gone, it will hurt, but that hurt will remind you of how much you loved them. JACK That sounds awful. CASTIEL It is. But it's also living. So when Dean wakes up -- and he will wake up -- we just have to remember to appreciate the time that we all have together now.

laughed at the agreeing it's awful. but like i mentioned in the previous episode, when you know for a fact that these people are gonna be in heaven after they die, and there are means to get to heaven, or be in heaven, then it's not so bad? ah the great devaluing of real world living

dude. did they just kill off all the generic apocalypse people??? lol ok. so now rowena gets a turn with michael, all righty

JACK I'm not a child! I'm the son of Lucifer. I'm a Hunter. I am a Winchester!

ook. i dunno if it's the writing or what but not really feeling the acting sometimes with him. and this is just. goofy

LOLOL i very much did not see this coming, here i was too busy scheming ways they could use the archangel blade and jack just had to use his soul magic to zap michael like sam burning out demons when juiced up on demon blood. and he got grace again - but it's michael's grace?? but without a soul (i assume)? does that make him just like. just an angel? was he able to flex wings before this? i can't remember

rip generic au people i'm glad you're gone, royally sucks you had to die to michael after all though

#supernatural #spnwatch #spn 14x14 #steve yockey

[renegadefearstreet1966]

Chapter Four | The Vigil

credit to gif owner.

Later that night in her room, Angelica stands in front of the mirror hanging on her bedroom door as she zips up her cheer outfit. Angelica moves her hands down to smooth out her skirt, looking at the letters sewn into the fabric that lays against her chest. 

It reads ‘SHS’ — the initials for Shadyside High School. Angelica stares at herself then turns around, noticing the padding of her bandage on her shoulder and her arm, cowling her healing wound. Shaking her head, she looks at herself in her mirror before heading downstairs, seeing her parents. Angelica’s two mom’s sit at the table in the small kitchen as they look at their teenage daughter. 

“Be safe, please. I can’t have you die like you almost did last night.” 

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I promise.” 

“Be back as soon as the vigil is over.” 

“Okay. But I gotta drive to Shadyside High School then get on a bus to Sunnyvale.” 

“I’ll drive you.” C. says, rising.

Angelica looks at the clock in the kitchen, seeing that she needs to leave. C. Berman and her head toward the front door, grabbing what they need in order to leave the house. Her mom grabs the keys to their 1992 BMW. The drive there was quiet as C. looks over at her daughter, who fumbles with the bandage on her arm.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say have fun at the game."

"Thanks, but I don't think it'll be very much fun since Sunnyvale's holding a vigil for the victims who died at the mall."

"I'm aware. But try to at least enjoy it. And, if you get overwhelmed, call me or mom, and one of us will drive all the way here and pick you up."

"Thank you, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Angel."

Ending up at Shadyside High School, Angelica exits the vehicle as she says goodbye to her mom before stepping onto the bus where chatter was indistinct and the other's begin whispering to each other about how Angelica is the remaining survivor of the Shadyside Mall massacre. She sits beside Deena, who was annoyed. Tapping her on her shoulder pad, she glances at Angelica.

“Yes?” 

“Just wanted to say that you actually put it on.” 

“Yeah, I hate it.” 

“It’s not the worst.” 

“I guess,”  

Both Deena and Angelica were silent throughout the ride, passing through Shadyside and how run down it is compared to Sunnyvale’s bright and luxurious houses. Expensive cars sit in the driveways as everything else is kept well clean. 

Arriving at Sunnyvale’s stadium, she sees the logo for the team — Sunnyvale Devils as she walks onto the turf as she overhears someone talking. The voice of Will Goode, the mayor of Sunnyvale — is amplified as Angelica makes her way through the crowd with Deena and Kate, standing beside them as the people next to her pass a candle, she grabs the lit candle. 

“...I wanted to be here as a fan. Our Sunnyvale devils and your Shadyside witches throwing down some good old american football. Instead I find myself here as a husband, a father, as a neighbor. And the mayor of Sunnyvale. On behalf—” 

Angelica stops listening as she sighs, looking at the photo of Heather on the vigil program that rests in her hand. Soon though, the blonde peeks over at Deena, who is looking as if she’s searching for someone in particular.

“Yeah, it really looks like they give a damn. The only Sunnyvalers who came were the only ones who had to. The football team and the cheerleaders.” Kate sighs.  

Angelica watches as Deena watches Sam — her ex-girlfriend — chat and giggle with the male as she sees the sadness form in Deena’s eyes. The band geek walks the opposite direction, holding a shoe box from earlier. The bright lights above shut off, one by one. 

Nick Goode’s voice speaking on the night. 

“My family’s been in Sunnyvale for generations, and now my brother is mayor and I, your sheriff. We prospered here. And yet, I’ve seen you, our neighbors in Shadyside, suffer tragedy after tragedy. It’s easy in times like this to drown in questions of why… Why did this happen?” He speaks. “But I know too well there are no answers that will provide relief. There’s no peace found in the past.” 

He continued, but Angelica blocked out little by little. “...We must not fall into darkness. We must look to the light.” 

Soon after, Angelica suddenly hears the Sunnyvaler who was with Sam begin to speak. He scoffs. 

“Yeah! What we should do is light a fuse and burn down Shittyside.” 

“What’d you say?” A Shadysider asks. 

Angelica knew the tension was high as she began to move away. Everyone around her looked toward the situation. The Sunnyvaler steps closer. 

“I said it ain’t a tragedy when it happens every week.” 

The rivals move closer as Angelica steps back. 

“It’s a joke,” 

The rivaling teams step closer as the chatter around is again, indistinct. They stand in front of one another. 

“Say it again, motherfucker!” The Shadyside player from earlier speaks again, shoving the other male away. 

They suddenly break into a fight. Other team members from both sides, coming together to fight one another. Angelica watches as Kate is nowhere to be found as she watches as Nick approaches the fighting teens and barely breaks them up one by one. 

Suddenly, Angelica watches as Simon, dressed as a witch, rushes toward the male from the opposing team and whacks his back with the broom. He then flips him the middle finger. Angered, the Sunnyvaler chases after Simon. 

“You little green prick! Come here, you little bitch! Come here!” He shouted.

sees her shouting. An elbow decks her in the face. Angelica rushes over to Kate, who holds her cheek with her hand, seeing that it’s red and beginning to swell. Grabbing Kate’s hand, they both run away from the field, stopping to watch Simon flip off another Sunnyvaler before being chased off. 

——

Once when everyone is on the bus, Angelica gets pushed on there too. She sits in the back of the bus in the seat in front of Deena. Kate stands in the aisle, holding an ice pack to her cheek. 

“They think they can do what they want!” 

“No!” Students shout. 

“They ruin out vigil, then go waltzing back to their mansions, like we’re some reject pile that they can step on!” 

“No!” 

“Well, we are not the reject pile!” 

“No!” 

“This shit ends tonight!”

“Yeah!”

“What are we gonna do?” Simon asks, enthusiastically.

“We’re gonna go kill those preppy assholes!” 

The cheerleaders, football jocks and band geeks cheer before chanting Kate’s name. Simon speaks as Angelica blocks out the noise. Suddenly, she watches as lights shine brightly, honking blares as well. Looking back, she watches as a car moves closer as Deena gets off the seat and goes to the back of the bus, Angelica joins her. 

“Goddamn Sunnvalers.” 

A glass breaks as liquid splashes on the glass, causing the two teens to duck down. Without hesitation, Deena calls for Simon and Kate to come to the back. 

This time, all four Shadysider’s stare out the back of the bus’s window. The car approaches, tires squeal as another bottle is thrown. It crashes against the window. 

“You gotta be kidding me.” 

“Hey, isn’t that, uh..” 

Coming into view, the four teens stare as one familiar face is shown. Samantha Fraser. She sits in the passenger seat with a scared expression. 

“Sam,” Deena says above a whisper. 

Simon unzips his pants as he slides them down, putting his bare buttocks to the glass before moving away after a few seconds. Simon pulls his pants up. Without hesitation, Deena grabs the water cooler then tells Kate to open the emergency door, getting into position. 

The back door swings open as the other attendees on the bus stare. Angelica stands back with Simon, watching carefully. 

“This is definitely a good idea, right? Deena?” Kate asks. 

Counting down, Kate calls Deena’s name again. "Your nose."

Deena's nose begins dripping crimson as Kate steps back, almost disgusted by it. Arm blocking her face.

Deena’s grip loosens on the cooler, dropping it below as the cooler falls on top of the red vehicle. The liquid substance spills on the car behind, everyone in the bus watches from behind. The red car runs off the road and into a nearby ditch. A gasp escapes Angelica’s lips, covering her mouth. 

“Stop! Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” Deena shouts a little too loud. 

Angelica removes her hands from her mouth and towards her ears, covering them in the process. If Deena shouted any louder, she would’ve busted an eardrum.