#also he still has her with Lasso as her last name in his phone

[leandra-winchester]

Buddie Teen AU (Sims 4) - pt 5

Masterpost.

When Eddie gets to the camp, it’s not at full capacity yet. Some other kids, especially those who are coming from other states, are only going to get here over the next few days. As he expected, most of them are a little younger than him, but there are the two camp counselors who are in their early to mid twenties and seem really cool. 

Louisa - who’s trying to teach him chess, but he’s just really crap at it - asks him if he wants to lead a few sports activity groups, and so Eddie agrees, thinking it’ll be nice if he can make himself a little useful that way. 

The other kids seem pretty cool too, though Eddie has the feeling that one of the girls, Blair, is kind of trying to hit on him when she’s showing him photos on her brand new camera phone. Eddie still only has one that can text and make calls, but nothing as fancy as she has. 

There’s another girl who’s really nice. Her name is Sandy, and she’s about to start her last year of high school after the break.

“Careful with Blair. Rumor has it, her parents sent her to this camp to get some new perspective. She got into some trouble back home, you know, bullying other kids. And when Dana mentioned her ex girlfriend the other day, Blair immediately went on a tirade on how that’s gross and wrong. Total homophobe.”

For a split-second, Eddie wonders why Sandy is telling him that, exactly. But it really just seems like she wants to vent a little. 

Eddie gets to know Dana, too, who’s also super nice and definitely doesn’t deserve being spoken to like that. 

And then there’s also Dani, who’s also Mexican American and even more into soccer than Sophia is. (and who’s definitely not based on the character of the same name from Ted Lasso) But he also enjoys ping pong. 

And then, as new people join the camp, there’s a guy from Pennsylvania. Very tall, blond and with striking blue eyes. He seems instantly popular with the other kids, throwing a few hoops with Sandy when Eddie first gets to meet him. 

“Hi, you just got here, right?” Eddie asks, “I’m Eddie.” 

“Yeah,” the boy replies, “I’m... um. Evan, Evan Buckley. But just call me Buck.” 

What Buck doesn’t tell Eddie is how he only recently adopted the nick name. And maybe that is because his parents gave him lecture after lecture, throwing his name around like it’s an admonishment in itself, when they found out about his latest... um, well, activities through Julie’s parents. And he also doesn’t mention that he, like Blair, was sent here to ‘learn something’ and get some perspective. But the joke’s on them, really, because sending a teenager who’s been a little too promiscuous in their eyes to a camp full of other teenagers may have been slightly counter-productive. 

But Eddie doesn’t know all of that. Eddie only gets to know Buck as someone who’s very likeable, positive and fun to be around. 

And since there was still one bed free in the room Eddie sleeps in, Buck is bunking with him. 

Buck really gets along great with most of the others. 

And Eddie hasn’t met anyone yet who can get so excited about something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich. It almost makes him wish he had been the one who made it. 

Blair is the only one who doesn’t seem to like him, and Eddie has yet to learn why. 

Buck fully understood why, because he also mentioned that he dated - or, well, had a little fling with - another guy. 

Buck really doesn’t care what she thinks all that much, though. So that’s one less person in the pool of overall pretty cool and attractive people he could try to get with. 

Eddie, at least, is a very nice (and also very good-looking) person. 

While the others are great too, for some reason, Buck has the feeling that he and Eddie instantly clicked. It’s great to talk to him just about anything, or to goof around in the small lake on the camp ground. 

With Buck just having turned seventeen, Eddie’s almost two years older*. But he’s definitely kind of adorable. 

And maybe Buck shouldn’t even be looking for someone just to have some fun with to spite his parents. Maybe, he’d rather spend the time getting to know Eddie better. And, who knew? 

They continue to hang out together a lot. 

Buck is more of a football and basketball kind of guy, but he doesn’t say no to kicking a soccer ball every once in a while, either. 

And Eddie, who seems to know a little more about soccer, shows him a few dribbling tips, congratulating him when he manages to keep the ball in the air for an entire minute. 

And when they hug after their more casual high-five, neither of the two boys is going to mention how there’s something warm and fuzzy spreading in their bellies. 

The great thing is that they can also really talk to each other, not just about stuff like sports and their favorite movies or music. 

“You know, sometimes I get the feeling my parents didn’t even really want me,” Buck says one evening as Dani and their other roommate Axl are already sleeping. He’s just told Eddie a bit more about his parents sending him off to this camp. 

“I sometimes feel like that with my dad,” Eddie says, although Buck’s parents sound a little worse. His own dad at least tries to give him attention when he’s there, but Eddie also feels like it’s always conditional. Like it’s his accomplishments - him being good at something his dad considers worthwhile, like fishing, or playing ball - rather than him. 

“So... erm,” Eddie starts, clearing his throat. “What you just told me... Are your parents... against that?”

Buck chuckles a little. “Nah, they don’t give a damn whether I date girls or boys. They’re just like, ‘Evan! You’re too young. You don’t take care of yourself,’ and stuff,” he says, mockingly imitating his mom’s voice. “What do they know? I have been careful.”

“You know,” Eddie starts, “I’m definitely not gonna play devil’s advocate here, but... you don’t have to sell yourself short. You deserve to find someone who’s actually in love with you. Not just...”

“Not just sex?” 

“Yeah.”

For a split-second, Eddie thinks that maybe he could be that person. But the thought is gone again in an instant. Just because Buck is also interested in boys doesn’t mean he’d be interested in Eddie. And aside from that, it would be such a bad idea. Buck lives like 2,000 miles away, and he’s still got a year of high school to complete. 

And Eddie also recalls that he told himself he’d find a girl, a woman, sometime soon. He’s not...

“I’ll see,” Buck says. “But whatever. It’s my life, not theirs. So they don’t have the right to judge my choices.”

And with that, Eddie can only agree. 

To be continued...

*For the sake of this teen AU, I made their age difference a little smaller than it (likely) is in canon. We don’t know Eddie’s exact age, but we can guess that he’s probably around Ryan’s age, maybe 1-2 years younger. 

There are likely going to be two more parts with them at that camp. 

#my buddie sims #buddie teen au #buddie #sims 4

[araivallejo]

It’s telling that of the three people (Rebecca, Dr. Sharon and Michelle) to reach out to Ted the morning news broke about his panic attacks, the only one to whom he responds is Michelle.

My man is still not ready to let go just yet. I totally get it. It’s painful to see him slip and still refer to her as his wife or try to engage with her via text only to get the hint that he overstepped. But it’s realistic and shows that he still needs to come to terms with this before he can even begin to understand his feelings for a certain club owner.

#ted lasso #rebecca welton #tedbecca #ted and rebecca #michelle lasso #divorce #but when he does look out Rebecca #also he still has her with Lasso as her last name in his phone? #maybe she kept that name? #do other people actually put the first and last names of their spouse as a contact?

[attllhak]

Adoption AU - Lullaby Reacts to Time’s Batman Level Adoption Bullshit

@tortilla-of-courage I offer you mercy. Also no one mentioned wanting to be tagged on the last story on this series so it’s just you for right now I guess.

Also, this fic is called ‘Aunt Lullaby/Uncle Sheik On Time’s Sudden Acquisition Of Kids’ in my docs, but I’ve been using the ‘Batman-Level Adoption Bullshit’ for so long that this is the title now.

Also! Some of the boys have some heavy topics to their backstories (Wars comes to mind as an example), so let me know if I need to tag this with certain warnings or stuff. Nothing is actually shown, but I figured I’d just put that out there.

-----------------

Lullaby, who was still just Zelda then, had been very excited when Time, then just Link, had called her to tell her that Malon was pregnant.

She had gotten the call first, as Link had found it important that she knew before anyone else. After everything else in his life, he said, he wanted the person who he knew would always be there for him to know first, and that he was going to be making a few other calls later that day.

Link had never had an easy life. When his father died when he was 10, he’d ended up devastated. Zelda and her Aunt Impa had found him hiding in an alley a few days after, once he’d run away from the social workers. His sister Navi had been with him, and the two were sorting through the very few bits of snack food they’d had. Link’s father had been a foster parent for a lot of strays, orphans, or abused kids needing another place to stay. Link had fallen into the orphan category, and so the social workers had planned to cycle him back into the system. He’d lost contact with his sister Saria, whom he still hadn’t found out how to make contact with again, and so all he had was Navi. Impa had taken them both in on the spot, much to the annoyance of Zelda’s father initially, but the two grew on him. Navi went missing when Link and Zelda had been 17, after an issue with a man who really had wanted to see them both dead. Link hadn’t given up hope yet, but with every passing year it looked worse and worse for her to be okay.

Zelda had known Malon from day one, and had loved Link’s wife and was so happy to see him find that bit of happiness. The one thing she knew he wanted more than anything else was to have a solid, stable family of his own.

The pregnancy was a wonderful bit of news, and she couldn’t be happier for her brother.

She had spent some time over at their house, her then-girlfriend Ruto coming as well, helping Malon with some of the housework and such since she wasn’t supposed to be doing too much of the ranch work while pregnant.

She had arrived at the hospital less than thirty minutes after she got the call that Malon was in labor, and spent the time pacing in the hall, then supporting Link when he got kicked out after panicking too much. Apparently Malon had enough of him.

She could relate.

After Link had his whole ‘we made a whole baby person’ moment where his brain short-circuited after he was handed his son, the next person who got to hold him was Zelda. A chubby baby, who slept almost the whole time. He had his mother’s nose, thank Hylia.

Zelda saw him open his eyes only once that day, and she could swear she saw in his cobalt-silver eyes that same spark in his father’s eye. Singular, since Link only had the one.

Zelda’s family had a long tradition of naming their kids after family members. Her name was her grandmother’s and her great-grandmother’s, so on so forth. Her father had been pressing to pick a family name the entire pregnancy. Her mother had kept telling him to back off a little. Fortunately, Malon’s family also had a set of passed down names, hers being one of them. So the idea of naming the child after family wasn’t a big deal for her, even if it was a different set of names.

However, there was one thing to take into account here, and that was Link’s family.

No one knew what the naming traditions in his family were, he didn’t even know his birth parent’s names. But that didn’t change the desire to find a way to work them in too.

There was only one name from Link’s family that anyone knew.

The baby was named Link.

Zelda’s father stopped complaining a week later. Her mother was very clear about it.

At Zelda and Ruto’s wedding seven years later, Link Jr. was the ring bearer.

Junior stopped being his nickname when he was thirteen.

(---)

Zelda got a call from Link Sr. about a day after it happened with a simple request.

“Who was in charge of the paperwork when your family adopted me?”

Zelda blinked once, then twice. “Come again?”

“The lawyer who arranged for my adoption, who was that?” Link asked again.

“Why?” Zelda asked, her wife leaning around the doorframe to give her a concerned look. Zelda shot her a thumbs up.

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone. “I think I’ve acquired another son,”

Zelda came over.

This new nephew of hers, apparently, was a sweet boy. A series of scars littered his entire left side, burn and explosive damage if she were to guess, and he had no idea how he got them. He had amnesia. The one thing he did know was his name.

His name was Link.

Zelda had to take a minute. She was trying very hard not to laugh. This was exactly the kind of luck her brother had.

“Zelda, stop mocking me, this wasn’t my call,” Link whined, though he’d never say it was a whine.

“Link, you have to see the humour here,” she gasped, waving at the two boys in the living room where Jr. was trying to show Scars how to use a lasso. This was Zelda’s idea, but she wasn’t taking responsibility for it.

Link just sighed heavily. “Link found him on the street. Malon looked into it and his parents died in a car crash a year ago, he has nowhere to go. We’ve agreed to let him stay, you understand that,”

Zelda nodded, sobering up some. “Yeah, I get that, kinda. The lawyer we hired was named Rauru, Mom should have his contact information still, you should call her,”

Link sighed, relieved. “Thank you,”

“Of course, just don’t make it a habit,”

(---)

The first inclination this would be a habit was a year later.

Wild, the younger of his sons, was in the same class as another boy named Link. This boy had lived with his uncle his whole life, and got the call his uncle died when at school. Sheik was about ready to punch someone for doing that to the boy, and just before christmas no less.

Wild brought him home, insisting he could stay at least for the holidays. The agreement wasn’t even a question, there was no way he was going to be forced to spend a holiday at an orphanage.

When Sheik and Ruto showed up on christmas day, not that their family cared much for christmas but they were all off anyways, the newest Link had been named Legend.

He was a little more shy than the others, understandably, and a little snappish.

Not a bad kid, just one grieving and in need of family. That was something their family had never hesitated to provide.

Sheik’s mother teaching him how to spin a butterfly knife was probably not the wisest decision, but considering Rottla heard a therapist say “Your kids are traumatized, they need to feel safe again,” and decided to sign them up for every martial arts she could, well, it should have been a sign that she wasn’t the best in that regard. Time, Link Sr., had made it very clear he felt Sheik took after her. Sheik had no idea what his brother was talking about.

Legend didn’t leave after that. One call to Rauru, and Legend was a permanent member of the family.

Sheik took great pride in being the favorite Uncle of Legend’s, after his late guardian of course. He pointedly ignored that he was the only Uncle, and only part-time.

Time could suck it.

(---)

Lullaby, since so many of her nephews’ friends were named Zelda apparently, received a call at five am.

True, she knew her brother and his wife woke up at sunrise to do yard work and such, but usually they were kind enough to let her sleep in.

Not so this morning.

“Wha?” She mumbled into the phone, trying, and failing, to not wake her wife.

“Zelda,” came Malon’s clipped tone through the receiver, “do you know about a missing person’s case for one Jerimiah Smith?”

Zelda blinked heavily, and had to convince herself not to go back to sleep. Who, why did Malon care? It was five am, the sun wasn’t even up yet.

“Why?” She asked to buy time, still working on a quarter of thought. Ruto rolled over and held her. Not helping, Ruto.

“I have a Link Smith in my barn claiming that his grandfather went missing, and he’s run away from a temporary foster home,” Malon explained, and okay that was worth waking up for.

Lullaby sat up, pushing Ruto’s arm from her waist to her lap, causing her wife to grumble, and turned on the lamp, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. “Okay, okay pause. Pause and back up,” she half-swallowed a yawn, squinting into her bedroom. “What is going on?”

“I got up to do some work, since Link is still asleep, and I came into the barn to find a boy asleep in the hay, here you are,” her voice dropped away from the receiver, likely talking to the boy in question, then came back. “So I found a boy in the hay, and I woke him up. He says his name is Link Smith, and he was living with his grandfather since his father was overseas in the military. His father wasn’t home enough to care for him, so his grandfather had sole custody after his mother died or something, there was a lot of tears at this part. Anyways, his grandfather went missing a week ago, and he’s been through three foster homes and none of them were very accepting of, he apparently has a ‘mental thing’ that he’s dealing with. I was wondering if you could confirm his story?”

Lullaby leaned over the bed, grumbling, and grabbed her laptop, Ruto giving up on getting her back to bed and sliding up the headboard with her to drape over her shoulders while she pulled up Firefox. “Hold on,” she told her sister in law, plugging the name into Google. Jeremiah Smith, went missing a week ago, blah blah blah, oh there we go.

Link Smith, grandson of Jerimiah Smith, left in limbo after his grandfather’s disappearance. Oh, that was interesting. According to this article, which most certainly was breaking some privacy laws and if Link Smith was staying it would be coming down, the boy had multiple personality disorder.

“Yeah, he’s telling the truth,” Lullaby said, switching the phone to her other ear so Ruto could nuzzle up better without bumping it. “Also, I found his weird ‘mental thing’. According to this article, which I’m pretty sure isn’t legal, he’s got dissociative identity disorder,”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Ruto mumbled, still mostly asleep on her shoulder.

“No, not really. He’s actually more likely to be in danger than a danger,” she twisted to kiss her wife’s head, then went back to Malon. “He probably really needs someone who’ll be supportive enough through all this, both the disappearance and his condition. DID isn’t something easy to live with, I can see him having some issues with foster parents,” Lullaby had never been so glad that she got bored one day and decided to look it up after she heard people talk about it so negatively. You never know when information like that would be useful.

“He’s fine to take in?” Malon whispered after a moment. “I just, the other boys,”

“Will need to be patient, but unless one of his alters is particularly bad for dealing with threats, perceived or otherwise, in an unkind way then he’s fine and safe to be around. I’d ask him about that, but don’t force him to admit anything that can be bad for him, but I don’t see any more risk than taking in Wild or Legend,”

Malon sighed on the other end of the line. “Alright, I’ll bring him in and wake up Link, so he can call Rauru about all this while I sit with him and try and get him to relax,”

“Wonderful, I’ll call the office and see about what I can do about this article then. And for the record, if you ever call me at asscrack of dawn o’clock in the morning again, then next time we meet I’m clocking you,”

Malon had the nerve to laugh.

Four, as he’d been nicknamed by the time Lullaby and Ruto showed up to meet him, was a fascinating person. Green, the host of his system, was a brave, if occasionally airheaded, boy who wanted to try everything, and had been fascinated by his grandfather’s old-timey forge. Time had plans to make one in the yard for him. Red, the emotional and spiritual protector of the system, was empathetic and sweet and compassionate. No one had a bad word to say about Red. Vio, short for Violet, was the gatekeeper for the system and kept the four of them working on the same page. Bright and clever boy, his nose stuck in a book most of the time and willing to offer up the most random and yet useful information. Blue, the physical protector, was a little gruff and definitely someone you just got used to, but he cared deeply about his ‘brothers’ as they called each other, and the external brothers he acquired grew on him quickly enough too. It was a bit of a fight to get custody of him, but Rauru was the best there was, so it was only a week or two before the paperwork was going through for him.

Lullaby had a feeling this wasn’t the end by a long shot, and prayed that Hylia would be merciful about granting Time’s wish for a family.

She was going a little overboard.

(---)

Sheik wasn’t surprised in the least at the newest addition when he walked in the one day. No, mostly he was just confused as to why he hadn’t gotten a phone call before he got there.

Usually there was a phone call.

He was very upset by the way the boy looked, however.

This new addition, Warriors as he’d learn later that Time acquired yet another Link, was curled up in the corner of the couch with his scarf wrapped around him like a blanket, clearly trying not to be seen. Voices floated out of the kitchen, and Sheik picked up that Twilight brought him home, and was lobbying for a new brother.

Ah, that’s why there was no phone call.

Ruto went to investigate the conversation, so Sheik decided to introduce himself to his newest nephew.

Upon closer inspection, the boy looked about Twilight’s age, and had a bruise on his temple, maybe a day or two old now. Looking closer saw a few more on the left side of the boy’s face. Someone hit him, with purpose.

Sheik sat down next to him and said nothing, waiting for him to make the first move. Eventually, he poked his head out of his scarf.

“Hello,” Sheik offered once it became clear he wouldn’t be saying anything.

“Hullo,” he mumbled into the fabric, glancing away and back at his feet.

“My name is Sheik,” Sheik offered lightly. “Time is my brother,”

The boy looked up, eying him. “Twilight is your nephew?”

“Yes, he is,” Sheik nodded, smiling at him. “You’re a friend of his?”

The boy shrugged. “Kinda,” a beat of silence passed, then he shifted around. “He said I’d be safe here,”

“You will be,” Sheik agreed, trying to be comforting. “I can assure you of that,”

He hummed and snuggled back into his scarf.

“May I, if this isn’t overstepping, can I ask why you need somewhere to be safe?” Sheik asked after a moment.

He tensed up, eyes darting to him and at the doorway, and then back, wide eyes a little panicked.

Sheik was just about to apologize when the boy spoke.

“I ran away from home,” he admitted, looking away. “My uh, my parents aren’t, great people. I can’t go back, so I need somewhere else to go. Twi said I could be safe here, that his parents would fight for me,”

“They will,” Sheik said with enough conviction it almost startled him. “I know my brother, and he can’t turn away from someone in need, and his wife is the most strong willed woman I’ve ever met. You won’t find another pair of people more willing to go to war for you than them.”

He blinked at Sheik, then nodded, relaxing a little. “And, if my parents come for me?”

Sheik grinned. “My family is very rich, and we have a small army of very good lawyers. You won’t be going back there, I assure you,”

He smiled, and leaned over towards Sheik a little. “I’m Link,”

Of course you are, Sheik thought. He held out an arm for ‘Link’ to lean into, not getting attached to the name since it would be changing. The boy leaned into his side easily, deflating against him with a sigh. He looked so tired.

“Link,” Sheik asked carefully, watching his words. “Can I ask about the bruises on your face?”

The boy blinked up at him, biting his lip.

“They uh, my dad did that,” he admitted in a small voice, curling into Sheik’s side, and the sheikah pulled him in close to his side, hoping to provide the comfort Link was seeking. “Right before I left. I packed up and went through the window. My twin sister is still there, and I’m a little worried about her, but I can’t go back again. I, he,” he paused, sucking in a breath. Sheik rubbed his arm and side, trying to help him calm down, ignoring the tears on his shirt.

“I thought he was going to kill me,” Link finally admitted in a small, scared voice.

Sheik knew he never had very many parental instincts, and he and Ruto agreed no kids before they even got engaged, but for the first time ever Sheik felt that flare that Time and Malon described everytime something threatened their kids. It was then and there Sheik decided this boy would be part of their family, whether Time was the one who took him in or not. No kid should have to say that and mean it. No kid should be scared their parent was going to kill them.

Oh, the lawyers Sheik was planning on bringing down on whoever these assholes were would be many.

Time took the boy in, as Sheik predicted (thankfully), and sure enough the immediate support was immense. His parents never even put out a missing persons report. Sheik added child negligence to his list of growing charges to lay out.

Two months after Warriors moved in, he got a call from his sister. She got out and was safe now, and wanted to be sure he was as well. This made him very relieved. They met up once or twice, and seemed to be getting back to normal.

Two weeks later, Legend and Wild got suspended distracting Warriors’ parents so Twilight could sneak him out the back of the school. Four didn’t get suspended, but only because when Vio messed with the security cameras to cover up the escape he didn’t get caught. Time took all three out for ice-cream and junk food when he picked them up.

Lullaby saw an opportunity and took it without hesitation. Lawyers were called and organized, and without much wait there was an order for both of them to appear in court on child abuse and negligence charges. The kidnapping charge laid against them in retaliation was almost laughable.

A few weeks later, Time and Malon had full custody of Warriors pending a proper criminal trial for full punishment of his parents, at which time Linkle, Warriors’ twin sister, planned to testify as well. If they couldn’t get things settled before Warriors turned 18, then they planned to push through an adult adoption the day he did. A birthday present, Time had said. Lullaby laughed.

(---)

Sky was probably the most skittish of Time’s sons.

Lullaby wasn’t sure entirely why he was so skittish, but he was. He reminded her of a bird, or a rodent, or a cat who really, really didn’t want to interact with new people.

She had been briefed before she visited on Sky’s background. His social worker had been having trouble setting him up with a home where he’d stay for longer than a week or so, and in a last ditch effort had asked Time and Malon, with their long track record of housing troubled and unhousable youths, if they could take one more. They agreed.

Sky apparently had a friend, a bit of a troublemaker if Lullaby guessed correctly, who had gotten the two arrested. Time mentioned the event had Sky concerned about being ‘too much trouble’ and that ‘they’d get rid of him too’ or something. Time said this was ridiculous, as Sky caused him the least amount of trouble, but the boy was concerned about being thrown away again. He apparently had a few self-worth issues.

Lullaby found him on the back porch talking to the birds. Not in any human language, mind you, and Lullaby spoke many, but cooing and chirping back at them. He seemed very happy and at ease like that, singing at the birds.

“Do you mind if I join you?” She asked in a whisper during a pause in the conversation.

Sky jumped, eyes wide, and he squirmed a little when he saw her. “Uh, sure, I guess,”

She sat on the other end of the bench next to him, and calmly went back to watching the birds, and him interacting with them. He seemed much more at ease here than he did with people.

“Did you need something?” He asked, after a while, letting a blue jay grab a peanut from his hand.

“Not specifically,” she shook her head. “I had wanted to meet you, but nothing else,”

He blinked at her a little dumbly.

“Why would you want to meet me?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” She asked back, not sure what he was trying to say.

“Well, I mean, I’m not exactly special. And, it’s not like I’m staying,”

“I think you’re pretty special, most people can’t get birds to land on their hands like that,” Lullaby said gently, not liking how he spoke about himself. “And why would you think you aren’t staying?”

“I never stay,” he admitted, turning his eyes back to the birds, frowning. “No one ever considers me worth the effort,”

“You are very much worth the effort,” Lullaby countered, trying her best to keep her face soft instead of pinching up. “Trust me, however much effort you are, it is nowhere near the level of your brothers. Time wouldn’t have taken you in if he didn’t want you,”

“He’s just doing Impa a favour,” he said glumly, offering up more birdseed to the birds. “I won’t be staying forever,”

“I’m sure my brother has explained why that’s bullshit,” Lullaby said bluntly.

“But, I got arrested,” he mumbled.

“So have three of your brothers,” Lullaby pointed out. “Regularly. For much worse things. I promise you, that is not an issue,”

“But,”

“If you are going to say something bad about yourself again then I’m telling you right now I’m not going to listen to it,” Lullaby cut him off. “Time has told me a lot about you, and all of it is how much he loves you,”

“Really?” Sky looked up at her.

“You cause him the least amount of headaches of all his sons,” Lullaby smiled. “He adores you,”

Sky turned away, clearly trying to think that over.

“How about you tell me more about the things you enjoy doing,” Lullaby suggested.

“Huh?” Sky asked, turning back to her.

“I’d like to get to know more about what makes my nephew happy,” she smiled.

“Why?”

“Well, I’d be a bad aunt if I didn’t, especially since you’ll be sticking around,”

Sky looked like he didn’t believe her, but told her about his woodcarving anyways.

Lullaby was happy that as time went on Sky became less skittish and self-deprecating. He was a sweet kid, and as he got more comfortable and confident more of his true colours started showing through.

She felt a bit bad for Time, though. Apparently he was as prone to chaos as his brothers, he was just more subtle about it.

Time brought it on himself though. He should have known this when he adopted six boys.

(---)

The call about the next son had Lullaby’s head hitting her kitchen table, groaning loudly even when Ruto came to check on her.

Wild found a boy in the woods and they’d decided to keep him.

This was getting to be just a bit too much.

When Sheik and Ruto got to meet the boy, they were a bit taken aback. They had expected another Wild.

What they got was a quiet boy who mostly kept to himself. He was a bit shy, but he seemed to open up a bit more around Wild and, amusingly, Legend. He was a bit jumpy, but considering they had no idea how long he was in the woods that was expected.

What was surprising them most was that he did actually have a mother, who loved him very much, but who was very sick and so wasn’t able to actually take care of him, thus the wandering in the woods. His mother had been very worried, but physically unable to look. She had asked family to check but they gave up pretty quickly.

In light of her family being horrible for taking care of her son, and not knowing if she’d survive her illness, she asked Malon and Time if they could take care of her son for her since she clearly couldn’t trust her relatives and the boy’s father had abandoned them the moment she decided to keep him.

Time and Malon had taken one look at the boy and their sons, and agreed. They worked out an arrangement to keep the boy’s mother in the loop, and then they called Rauru. After which Time called his sibling.

This boy’s name was also Link. Sheik did not feel bad about laughing. Really, his brother had the weirdest luck.

They, for some reason, decided his nickname would be Hyrule. Why they decided to name him after the country, Sheik didn’t know. Apparently it was the only nickname he liked.

He had trouble reading, but he liked learning, especially if he could use what he learned to help people.

He fit right in, which made Sheik wonder exactly when his brother was going to stop adopting. He hoped it was before the ranch house ran out of room.

(---)

Eight. He stopped at eight.

Which was still too many, in Sheik’s opinion, but whatever.

The newest hellraiser at least didn’t come from the streets like almost all of the others.

This Link (because yes, his name was Link too) had recently lost his parents and his grandmother couldn’t financially support both him and his sister. So Time and Malon agreed to take care of him for her. The rest of their sons all acquired a grandma as well, it seemed.

They nicknamed him Wind, and he immediately latched onto his older brothers and started giving his new parents headaches.

When Lullaby and Ruto showed up next, she felt no sympathy for her brother. He brought this on himself.

She was more than a little pissed off when the brat stole her wallet though. Damn thief.

Time assured her that they’d talk to him about it. Lullaby wasn’t sure that’d help.

But, she reasoned, despite the chaos, Time was happy. Practically giddy. He lit up whenever he spoke about his sons, and he clearly loved them dearly.

Hylia had granted his wish for a family. She maybe went a bit overboard, but as long as Time was happy, so was Lullaby.

(---)

She wasn’t commenting on the ninth kid. She refused.

At least his name wasn’t ‘Link’.

#linked universe #lu #lu time #lu lullaby #lu twilight #lu wild #lu legend #lu four #lu warriors #lu sky #lu hyrule #lu wind #malon #ruto #abuse mention #injury mention #ask to tag #this is basically the intro to the au i think #it introduces all the main characters and relationships and backstories #and i also got to write a bit for rottla #i'll be honest rottla has very quickly become one of my favorite characters #i love her #i'm actually very glad other people are liking this au because i love writing it #and again if anyone wants to be tagged when i post more of this au then let me know and i'll make a list #adoption au

[talatomaz]

crossing paths pt.ii | diana prince x lance!reader

a/n: reader has the powers of telekinesis. i’m not sure if I like how this went tbh but oh well

warnings: mentions of fighting

word count: 2.7k

masterlist | request list | request rules

pt.i | pt.ii

reader is sara & laurel’s younger sister who works with team flash. after her and cisco’s experiment goes sideways, she finds herself trapped on an unknown earth not unlike her own

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

Home Sweet Home.

Exiting the train station, you exhaled a deep breath and took in your surroundings. Most importantly, the huge sign that had “WELCOME TO CENTRAL CITY” scrawled across the board.

After the events of the day, you’d decided that the best course of action would be to make your way to this Earth’s Central City.

You’d figured they had to have a Star Labs which you knew would hold the necessary equipment you needed to fix the extrapolator or at least the communication function so you could contact Cisco.

Luckily, whilst on your journey, you’d managed to hack into the train’s wireless computer so you could then erase the museum’s security footage from your phone. The footage of your fight with the robbers was the last thing you needed getting out.

Hailing a cab, you made your way to Star Labs, having pocketed one of the maps that detailed the route to the facility from the train station.

In little over 20 minutes, you had arrived. Paying the driver with what little cash you had left, you craned your neck to look up at this Earth’s Star Labs.

It was different to the one back home. Yes, it was modelled fairly similarly but this had a more...robotic feeling and was definitely a lot darker than yours.

Though you supposed that was because this Star Labs seemed to be more full, several employees walking in and out of the building.

Whereas the Star Labs back home, whilst full of technology, was only home to Team Flash and no one else. The risk far too great for ordinary people to see what you were doing.

Entering the building, you quickly donned a white lab coat and went in search for the equipment you needed to fix the breach device.

Finding a secure room, you put on your mask and used your powers to open the door.

As you walked in, you let out a small gasp. The room was larger than you’d expected; filled to the brim with computers and screens all hooked up to one another. Making your way to one of the larger ones, you began writing a line of code. Then you took out the extrapolator, placing it on the table and grabbed some tools that were on the desk.

You started to mend the broken device, remaining careful and alert incase someone was going to catch you. You were about halfway through when you felt a familiar rush of air and found yourself in an unknown area.

Not unlike Star Labs, it was filled with computers and the like but also held training equipment in the far side of the room. Then you felt yourself tied to the back of a chair, staring up at a group of men.

You recognised most of them, except the one that could only be described as a half-man, half-cyborg hybrid.

“Oh fuck.” You murmured to yourself.

This was all you needed.

To be captured by none other than Batman, Superman and the Flash.

“Yes, indeed. Who are you?” Superman asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

You narrowed your brows, analysing each of their outfits. This Earth’s Superman outfit was different to the one back home. Batman, you’d never really met before so you couldn’t comment.

But the most interesting was the Flash’s outfit.

It appeared to be made up of metallic materials whereas Barry’s was made out of intense heat-resistant and abrasion resistant polymer and some other stuff that Cisco had explained to you that you didn’t take note of.

“More importantly, where are you from?”

You heard a familiar voice say behind you.

You turned your body, as best you could since you were confined to a chair, and felt your jaw drop at the female who stood before you.

Not only was she the woman you’d met earlier at the museum but she was freaking Wonder Woman!

“Holy shit. Cisco is going to be so jealous he didn’t come here.”

“Who’s Cisco? And where did you come from?”

Not giving you time to answer, the brunette continued, “I saw you earlier at the Metropolis museum. You told me about the criminals.”

“We tried to pull the security footage but it had mysteriously been erased.” The man you nicknamed Cyborg said. “Why were you at Star Labs?” He asked.

“You know. You gotta let a girl answer before you continue asking questions.” You joked.

“This isn’t a joke. Tell us who you are.” Batman spoke for the first time, his voice coming out hoarse and rough. Probably from a voice distorter.

“I will. As soon as you untie me.”

When the five of them stared at you, you sighed.

“Guess I’ll do it myself then.”

With a flick of your fingers, the ropes that bound you came loose and you stood to face the group.

They immediately went into fighting stances, ready to take you down if need be.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” you scoffed, “I’m not going to hurt you. I just don’t like being tied up. Unless we’re in the bedroom.” You teased, laughing to yourself.

“You’re a meta.” Wonder Woman commented.

Placing your hand in your pockets, you were about to reply when you felt that they were empty.

“Wait, where the hell is the extrapolator?”

“Oh, you mean this?” The Flash said, holding the device in his hand.

“Give that to me.” You ordered, charging your way to the speedster before Batman stood in your way.

“I don’t think so.”

“Barry, that is not something to play around with. Give me that.” You repeated.

“Wait, how do you know my name?” He paused, everyone’s eyes trained on you.

“It’s a long story. Now please, put down that device.” You sighed when he placed it on the table beside him.

When he put it on the surface, he must have accidentally pressed a button because Cisco’s body popped up like a hologram.

“What on Earth?” You heard Wonder Woman say.

“Y/N! Where the hell are you? Woah, is that Batman?!” Cisco’s voice crackled through the device as the hologram glitched.

“Cisco, the device broke. Can you track what Earth I’m on using the GPS?”

“I can try. But I need you to fix the small chip that’s in the extrapolator first.”

The Cisco hologram glitched out and faded away.

“Shit.” You murmured to yourself.

“What do you mean ‘what Earth’? Who are you?” Batman said.

Sighing, you spoke, “I’m not from this Earth.”

“You’re an alien?” Barry exclaimed.

“What? No! The only alien here is Clark.”

You gestured towards the Man of Steel.

“How do you know who I am? Did Lex send you?”

“Oh, please. As if I’d work with that idiot. Besides, I like his sister much better. As I was saying, I’m from an Earth called Earth Prime.”

Then you gave them all a brief explanation of the rebirth of the Universe and how you’d arrived here.

“Ever heard of Everett’s many-worlds theory? Simply put, this Earth is not the only Earth that exists. I come from a parallel Earth where I work with the Flash and several other heroes, including Supergirl and Batwoman. Though no one’s seen Kate in a while.”

Looking into each of their eyes, you could still see apprehension.

Facing Wonder Woman, you held out your wrist, “Use your lasso of truth and you’ll see I’m not lying.”

“How did you-”

She started before you interrupted her, “Do it and then I’ll explain.”

You watched as she removed the rope from her armour and wrapped one end around your wrist.

Your eyes widened as the rope started to glow a bright yellow, the material feeling warm against your skin.

“What I just said was true. And I know about all of you. Your parallel selves are my family and friends back home. And Wonder Woman-”

“You may call me Diana.” She interjected, flashing you a kind smile.

“And Diana,” you corrected, “you’re somewhat of a Legend where I come from. I visited Themyscira once, it was beautiful.”

“My home is hidden from Man’s world. How did you see it?”

“My sister, Sara, travels through time with her team and when I worked with her for a brief period, my friend, Zari, and I, took Helen of Troy to your island to save her. Anyways, you do exist on my Earth but no one really knows of you.”

Diana stared at you for a few moments, her intense glare making you weak in the knees, if you were being honest.

It was as if she was looking right into your soul.

Whatever she saw must have pleased her because her gaze faltered and she removed the lasso from you.

“She’s telling the truth, guys.”

“Thank you. Now I need to fix the extrapolator or I won’t be able to get home.”

“So that little thing can make anyone travel between worlds?” Cyborg asked.

“Yes, exactly.”

“It’s like one of those damned mother boxes that almost destroyed our world.” Bruce said harshly. “We can’t risk having that here. We need to destroy it.”

“Don’t even think about it.” You spat out, your hands clenched at your sides.

You narrowed your eyes, watching for any indication of movement from the vigilante.

The only warning you had was Bruce’s muscle tensing before he reached for the table that held the device.

In a quick motion, you used your powers to throw the former into a pile of boxes to break his fall.

The playboy rose to his feet and charged at you, ignoring the shouts of his team.

You blocked his punch and deflected his kick. Ducking when he swung his arm, you used all your strength to throw him over you.

He reached into his cape and you flung whatever he was about to hurl at you into the wall. He swiped at your legs, making you stumble to the ground. You picked yourself up and when he ran at you, once more, you used your powers of telekinesis to rise in the air above him.

You extended your hand in front of you and lifted him in the air to face you. He struggled within your hold before you both looked down at Diana who’d shouted.

“Enough! Y/N, put Bruce back on the ground.”

With a crash, Bruce fell to the floor whilst you gracefully landed upright on your feet.

“Bruce, this device isn’t as harmful as the mother boxes. And it is her only way home, we cannot destroy it.”

Diana said calmly as Bruce huffed and murmured a curse.

“Listen, Batboy. I will kick your ass again if you don’t shut up.” You said, meaning every word.

“I’m not trying to be hostile here but I only came here to prove my theory which I’ve clearly done so now I just want to repair the device and go home.”

Walking over to the table, you picked up the extrapolator and inspected it. Your heart dropped when you saw a crack in the chip.

You knew that there was no way to fix the locator.

“Y/N, is everything okay?”

Your voice not strong enough to answer, you shook your head. Clicking the communication button, you saw Cisco’s hologram appear again.

“Y/N, have you fixed the GPS chip yet? Y/N, what’s wrong?” Your friend asked in concern.

“The chip’s broken. Majorly so. I’m going to need to replace it but the only replica of the chip is-”

“Here.” Cisco finished. “Is there a Star Labs near you?”

“Yeah, I went there earlier to fix the damage but there wasn’t any chip. I checked.”

“Okay, I just need to create another extrapolator and then somehow come and get you.”

“Cisco, you know that can take weeks.” You sighed.

“Y/N, it’ll be fine. We’ve been stuck on other Earths before. Including with a telepathic gorilla. I doubt there’s any Earth worse than that.” He said, trying to inject some levity in the conversations.

“You’re right. Look, don’t tell the team. You and I both know that they’ll just worry and I don’t need them telling Sara or Dinah either because they’re too protective. Just lie and say that I was missing Laurel and decided to take a vacation.”

“You got it. Stay safe, y/n. And keep this extrapolator with you so I can speak to you.”

“You got it. Bye, Cisco.”

Once again, the hologram faded away and you hung your head.

Cisco was right.

It was not the first time this had happened and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. You were damned if you’d let this get you down.

Clearing your throat, you straightened and faced the group, having forgotten that they were there for the entire exchange.

“Guess I’m going to be in your hair for a little while longer.”

***

It had been 3 weeks since the day you’d arrived on this Earth.

Diana had kindly invited you to stay with her whilst you waited for Cisco to arrive. You remained in constant contact with the latter; he wanted to keep you updated on his progress.

You were still on rocky terms with Bruce, him not appreciating you beating him. He was stubborn and irritating but reminded you of Oliver in that regard.

You helped the Flash with his speed, giving him tips on how to manage it and retain his strength which you’d learned from having closely worked with Barry all these years.

You also got on fairly well with Superman and Cyborg and even met Aquaman who tried to hit on you the moment he saw you.

But out of everyone, you’d grown close to the Amazonian warrior. The first night you’d stayed with her, you found yourself talking to her all through the night until the sun had come up.

She had told you about her family back home and you told her about yours. You supposed it was easier to tell her than anyone else since she’d endured so much loss and pain and understood what it was like to be separated from her family.

“Y/N, you ready to go?”

Interrupted from your thoughts, you turned to face the beautiful brunette who had a soft smile painted on her face.

She had asked you to dinner a few days before, telling you she wanted to give you both a relaxing evening. You had graciously, and rather, immediately accepted the invitation.

The truth was that, over these past few weeks, you found yourself hoarding a crush on the Goddess.

You could have disregarded it as a schoolgirl crush but the last time you’d ever felt like this, was when you were with Thea. But that had ended amicably after she found love with Roy.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

After eating outdoors at a small bistro, the two of you strolled down the street. Then your heart skipped a beat when she slid her hand in yours.

Looking up at her, you saw a gleam in eyes as she smiled at you which you reciprocated. You basked in the feel of her hand against yours, her warmth spreading through you.

Then you both jumped when her phone started to trill in her pocket.

“Diana Prince.” She answered her phone, humming in response before disconnecting the call.

“That was Bruce. He needs us at Star Labs. Both of us.”

She answered when you opened your mouth to ask just that. Closing your mouth, you nodded and ducked with her into an alley so you could both fly to the building.

“What is it, Bruce?” Diana asked as the two of you walked into the facility.

“The mainframe’s been going crazy. It’s as if someone’s breaking in here but no one actually is.” Cyborg answered instead.

Running up to the screen, you noticed the flashing alarms on the screen.

“Well, at least you guys have better security than we do.”

Pulling up the schematics of the building, you furrowed your brows at the thermal energy reading.

Parting your lips, ready to voice your confusion, you jumped back when a breach opened up in front of you.

When it closed, it left two people in its wake.

Barry and Sara.

“Y/N, Cisco told us what happened. We’re here to take you home.”

Glancing behind you, your eyes fell on Diana whose eyes flickered between you and your friends.

“God, I’m going to kill Cisco.”

<- Part 1

#diana prince #diana prince x reader #wonder woman #wonder woman x reader #wonder woman 1984 #ww84 #gal gadot #gal gadot x reader #arrow #arrow x reader #the flash #the flash x reader #cisco ramon x reader #baby!lance #superman x reader #batman x reader #bruce wayne x reader #cyborg x reader #metropolis #central city #gotham #dc #dc comics #dceu #c: diana prince #c: wonder woman #c: baby!lance #c: cisco ramon #c: crossing paths #s: mine

[primasveraas-writing]

"the holy or the broken" -Ted Lasso

I'm so sorry.

WORD COUNT: 2401

XXX

There are three eras in Roy’s life, and they’re all defined by the same woman.

The third echoes the first: Roy Kent, angry at the world with no one to pull him out of his frustration. It’s also worse, though, because before, Roy lived in blissful ignorance of the joy and sorrow that laid ahead.

Rebecca and Ted express their surprise at Roy’s anger. They thought him changed, or perhaps that grief would prevail over rage, and they were wrong. Because Roy Kent, when stripped of everything he is -his athleticism and grim humor and the love of his life- has anger. Nothing less and nothing more.

At first, he can’t say her name. He doesn’t even think it, because every reminder of her is a reminder that she’s gone. Despite her mark on everything- the furniture they picked out together, the bed they shared, her usual seat at the dining table, the compliments she gave his hair and clothes- Roy doesn’t think of her. Which means he doesn’t think at all, so he becomes his anger and his pain, and nothing else.

He stops coaching, obviously. Nobody asks him if he’ll keep going, nor does he announce his departure. His absence, professionally, personally, emotionally- is expected fully. Though people still coming to the fucking house. He tolerates her parents, and Phoebe once or twice, but eventually the visits dwindle, and Roy doesn’t check his phone or answer the door. There’s shouting, sometimes- inevitably Ted Lasso- but Roy has soundproof headphones for a reason and he’s perfectly fine with calling the cops on Ted. And he does, more than once.

His sister begs him to talk to her, or at least to Phoebe, and Roy, in all his anger, doesn’t have the heart to turn his niece away. So it’s just her and Roy, a few days a week, and they order food directly to the house and Phoebe tells him about school, and he grunts in acknowledgment. She cries sometimes too, and that’s when he holds her. No words are exchanged, but he comforts her, enough so that the sobs stop. The numb feeling he has remains intact.

The yoga moms scout his address, somehow, and drop off a wine basket- they drink in relative silence, and clean up his house and make a few casseroles. He picks at the food, but they slowly disappear, and it’s almost nice to eat more than once or twice a day.

It doesn’t get easier. People tell him it will, that the pain will start to lessen, but it doesn’t. Not three weeks after, or four, or five, or when summer emerges and the lilies bloom.

Roy’s not particularly good at adapting. He never wanted to be. And it’s bullshit that he’d have to start now, for some shit fucking luck and life-alerting occurrences he never saw coming.

Because he never expected that there would be an “after” regarding Keeley Jones. It’s not something he planned for and certainly not something he ever wanted. It’s just: one breath she’s there and the next, she’s not. Gone and the house empty, her office too, and suddenly every space at Richmond is filled with flowers because Roy doesn’t accept a single bouquet.

He does start to say her name, although only to his sister- the only adult he talks to. He spits it out, with venom, and he suspects that it’s this habit that prompts Rebecca to show up at his house.

She sneaks her way in, the stubborn shit. Apparently, she hid down the street until he ordered food, bribed the deliverer with an obscene amount of money, and rang his doorbell herself. Rebecca slips into the entry before Roy realizes it’s her, and slams the door behind her.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He hisses, and to her credit, Rebecca doesn’t flinch. She gives her best businesswoman smile, the one that so directly contradicts the flint in her eyes, and straightens.

“Someone informed me that you made developments in your grief-

“Fuck you-”

“-so I thought a visit was due.”

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

“Somebody told me once that I was always welcome in her home. Has that changed?”

“Yeah. She’s fucking dead.”

Rebecca does bristle at that one but she doesn’t challenge the statement. Instead, she clears her throat, setting Roy’s food down on the table in the foyer.

“Your sister told me how quiet you’ve been. And that any time you talk about Keeley, you do so with an incredible amount of anger.”

Roy doesn’t deign to respond, glowering at Rebecca instead. She takes a look around the room, in all its dusty glory. Lights off, trash piling on the floor, clothes strewn over backs of couches. It matches Roy, in terms of appearance. Unkept. Uncared for. Unloved.

“I’m calling the police,” Roy decides, scanning the room for his phone. “You can’t fucking impersonate a food deliverer. Or fucking be here when I don’t want you to be.”

“I paid him handsomely-”

“-illegal. And fireable.”

“-enough so that his salary for the next few months should be covered.”

“Get out.”

“I can’t do that.”

“I don’t give a damn about what you’re here to fucking do or say. Leave me the fuck alone.”

“And leave you to stew in your anger and your filth? I don’t think so.”

And Rebecca struts into his living room and seats herself on a sofa.

“Dr. Sharon proposed to me that your anger had legitimate grounds. Not just your usual brooding about playing and coaching a game for a living, but you know,” Rebecca gestures to Roy. “Real reasons to be so surly.”

“My fucking wife died.”

“Yes, well. My best friend died yet I’ve been outside over the past few months.” She gives Roy another placid smile. “Despite the fact that I’m mourning.”

“It’s different.”

“Undoubtedly, yes. You’ve been much unhealthier in your habits.”

“Fuck you,” Roy growls. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

“No.” Keeley would refer to that as Rebecca’s scariest tone. “I came to talk.”

“I don’t care.” His hands clench into fists.

“You’re angry at Keeley.”

“I’m fucking pissed at you and your fucking break-in habits. Did you fucking compare notes with fucking Lasso?”

“You need someplace to direct your anger, and since fate dealt you both such a terrible hand, the only thing you can think to do is blame Keeley.”

“That makes as much fucking sense as you impersonating a takeaway driver. Fuck you.”

“So you go from not being able to say her name to saying it like a curse because you’re much more comfortable with your anger than sorrow.”

“I can say Keeley’s name.”

“Can you say it without sounding like the angriest person on the entire planet, Roy?”

“Fuck off.”

“Well?” Rebecca stands. In heels, she towers over Roy, who glares right back at her. “Show me you can, Roy.”

“I don’t have to prove shit to you.”

“No. But I asked you to.”

“I’m not fucking angry at my dead fucking wife.”

‘You’re angry at someone.”

“Yeah. You.”

“Come on now, Roy. Do better.”

“I’m NOT fucking angry at Keeley!”

Rebecca raises an eyebrow. “Clearly.”

“Fuck you.” Roy paces before her, ignoring how every step makes his knee throb. “Fuck you, fuck off. Fuck you.”

“Are you even sad?” Rebecca says quietly, and Roy freezes, his muscles clenching painfully.

“Ask me again,” he dares, his tone low. He takes a step closer to Rebecca, who remains unfazed.

“I said: are you sad your wife died in your arms, Roy?”

“Fuck you!” Roy bellows. He spins away to upturn the coffee table, sending dishes crashing to the floor.

“Do you miss her? Do you wish she hadn’t died?”

“I’ll fucking kill you.”

“So I’ll see Keeley again. How lovely.”

Roy roars, using the full force of his body to punch a hole in the wall. His fist comes out covered in plaster, bright red blood leaking from his knuckles dusted white.

“She fucking died in a freak fucking accident. There’s nothing- nothing- she could have done differently.”

“But she left you.”

“She fucking- she-” Roy’s chest heaves as he looks wildly around the room, at anything but the woman in front of him. “She was supposed to get her fucking nails done. We were going to get Thai for dinner. We had a sexy fucking weekend planned, and she was going to come home and it all would have been fucking fine.”

“And now she’s gone.”

“We can’t do any of that shit. Can’t fucking fall asleep next to her ever again. Or hold her fucking hand. We had fucking plans-” His words catch in his throat, and he looks away, examining the new damage to the wall. “We had plans.”

“Roy-”

“Don’t.” He closes his eyes. “You riled me up. Is that what you fucking wanted?”

“Yes,” Rebecca admits, and she retakes her seat on the couch, disregarding the surrounding wreckage. “Since the one person you want to talk to is gone, I figured I’d substitute.”

Roy glances around the house, at the forgotten groceries by the entrance, at the overturned table, and at the destroyed wall. “Good fucking job.”

“Thanks,” Rebecca says swiftly. “I figured I’d be better at it than Ted.”

“I’d have fucking killed him.”

“I thought so.” Rebecca sighs, massaging her temple. For the first time since her arrival, her bravado fades and her shoulders slump. It’s a familiar sight, one Roy witnessed the last time he saw Rebecca- at Keeley’s funeral, where all traces of the usually confident woman had faded away, and a grieving shell stood in her place. “Is that it, then? All the anger is for what’s never to be?”

“Yeah. That’s it.”

“And this is the first time you’re realizing it?”

Roy’s eyes narrow. “Yeah, it is.”

Rebecca shrugs. “Okay.”

Silence prevails for a long while, then Roy sighs and takes a seat next to Rebecca.

“You know, my office has quite literally never been quieter. Even with Ted bursting in at all hours, it’s just… not the same. I started to get frustrated at Higgins trying to coordinate with me simply because he’s not the person I want to see. And then I woke up angry, too. Absolutely pissed at the sun just for rising. Because every day that I experience is one I should be sharing with her.”

She looks down at her hands, which tremble slightly. “It’s not fair. And I have nowhere to put all my anger and blame.”

Roy wordlessly gestures to the wall, and Rebecca gives a soft laugh.

“There’s one option.” Then, she swipes at her eyes, and sniffs.

“Keeley would have never forgiven any of us if we gave up on you, Roy.”

“I know.” He clears his throat. “She told me as much. About me.” He rolls his eyes, then blinks rapidly. “I’m not supposed to give up on myself.”

“Good job,” Rebecca retorts, and Roy growls, but Rebecca gives another breathy laugh. “You didn’t call the police on me. I’d say that’s a good sign.”

“Don’t let it go to your fucking head.”

“No. Of course not.”

“Thank you,” Roy says very, very quietly. Rebecca takes his hand and squeezes it briefly. Her palm comes away coated in dust and blood.

“Clean up, Roy,” she tells him, standing. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”

-

Rebecca leaves, but she sends over a team of cleaners and a fresh batch of groceries. For the first time since Keeley died, his fridge is fully stocked with food for him to make into meals, and the house is spotless. He sends a text to his sister, telling her to fuck off in a way she’ll know means thank you, and showers. He trims his beard and dries himself off with a freshly laundered towel, then he falls asleep ass naked on the bed and sleeps for twelve hours.

He goes to see Phoebe and the rest of his family. They catch him up on all the petty bullshit he doesn’t give a fuck about, and it’s nearly normal, except that he drives home alone to an empty house.

He goes back to yoga, and every stretch feels like he’s never done a downward dog before in his life. Still, the wine after is good, and he ends up going home with a spare bottle and another casserole, and so another part of his life resumes.

It’s a slow process. Richmond is a hard place to face, with Ted trying to be casual as he checks in on him, and the boys stepping around him like glass, and Jaime Tartt in tears when he first catches sight of Roy. Her office, the lack of visits from his wife during the day, and the plaque commemorating her on the wall hurt like getting that phone call all over again. But it’s the beginning of the mourning process, Dr. Sharon will tell him, and now that it’s started, the hurt will eventually lessen.

With every end, a beginning.

Roy takes his first steps.

-

There are three eras in Roy’s life, and a thousand different Roys.

There’s the prodigy footballer, eight years old and scoring goal after goal in every match. There’s the Chelsea player, a championship winner, then the Richmond player, bittered by age. Injured Roy Kent, retired, coaching his kid niece’s football team. Then, briefly: professional commentator. Richmond coach.

Roy Kent, who fucking hates Jaime Tartt except usually his girlfriend is nice at least. Roy Kent, Keeley’s boyfriend. Roy Kent, Keeley’s fiancé, husband- widower.

Roy Kent- a bastard luckily enough that Keeley loved him too. Roy Kent, who lit up when she walked into the room, who smiled more during their time together than he ever had before in his life. Who wanted to start a family with her. Who doted on his wife and promised her the world and a thousand other cheesy things, because she had that power over him.

Roy, who was beside her at the very end, who evoked her last words and smile. Roy, who had that horrible, painful privilege of easing his wife’s passing with reassurances and small comforts and anything he could do to make her feel his love.

Roy, who loves her still. Who’ll die loving her and missing her, and wishing they had just one more day.

Roy, who learns to live to make her proud.

#roy kent #keeley jones #roy x keeley #roy x keeley fanfic #ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #roy x keeley fanfiction #roy x keeley imagine #roy kent x keeley jones #keeley x roy #angst #oops im so sorry yal #rebecca welton

[crimson-mage-02]

Christmas Treat (Smut)

Summary: Damian and Raven had moved in their new home during the Christmas break while Damian thought through one of his hardest decisions if he ever want to inherit the Wayne enterprises. Meanwhile, Raven has a surprising Christmas treat for him.

Hope you all enjoy! @ravenfan1242, here is my fic. Hope you like it! 

A/N: If you do not wish to read it as it is smut, you can keep scrolling down the page. And if some of you readers do not support this ship, do not read it. I do not want to make anyone uncomfortable or I do not want any hate. Please, read the title before reading. Thank you. 

It was a lovely snowy day in all of the Jump City. It was Christmas Day, and everyone were all excited to see everyone for the break and celebrate it together. Damian had bought the house outside of Jump City where they can see the city clearly and the Titans Tower.

He wanted to make sure he had all of the privacy for himself and for his beloved girlfriend, Raven who was putting up Christmas decorations on the doors, on the wall and on the kitchen bench. She has been cheery all day long.

Damian and Conner got their couch in the living room with the wide screen tv, while Conner was admiring the architecture inside their house and smooth marbled floor in the lounge room. “Wow, looks like you had picked the right place to live in.”

“Yeah, nice digs!” Gar complimented with a grin as he winked at Damian who rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Wow! Raven these decorations are so well done!” Donna chimed as she skipped into the house placing two trays of food on the counter.

“Yeah, I like what you had done to the place.” Tara nodded in agreement looking at the chandelier in the dining room with the golden metal were curved as a raven. She noticed all of their photos from their time as Titans were on the walls and on the table in the lounge.

“It is looking great, guys. But you got the beds next Damian. I can help.” Jaime offered.

“That would be great, thanks.” Damian smiled at his friends and turned to Raven who approached him. “How are the decorations, beloved?”

“Going well, but we need a Christmas tree still.” Raven replied as she kissed him on the lips before heading to carry a box in her hands. “And we need to get our clothes in our new bedroom.”

“Of course. I also need mine inside as well as I get the mattresses out.” Damian nodded. “Sorry, if I haven’t been much help in the house.”

“Dami, it’s fine. I can handle it. Me and the girls were going to decorate the house while you guys get the wine and beer from the shops.” Raven smiled at him. “But don’t let Jaime and Gar get crazy with the beer. Not like the last time.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that time when we were nearly arrested. They are lucky that your father was there, Muscle Man.” Tara said to him.

“That was one time. And we won’t do it ever again, mama!” Gar exclaimed as he pleaded to his girlfriend. Tara chuckled in amusement as she put a mistletoe above his head and kissed him on his cheek. “Good.”

“So what time is this lovely feast going to be?” Donna asked.

“Oh, well, we could have it tonight if you all are feeling up to it.” Raven smiled at their friends who were all looking at one another with worried expressions. “You cannot make it, can you?”

“Well, Jaime has a hot date with Traci and me and Gar will be at the Tower ourselves while Dick and Kori will be away.” Terra said as she looked over at the newest couple Conner and Donna feeding each other with some cookies. “Not sure about those two.”

“Hmm, would it be alright if we all come at Christmas Eve for the dinner and then at New Years?” Damian suggested.

“Hmm, I like it. And I can introduce Traci you all guys.” Jaime nodded in agreement as Wally came in with some Christmas donuts.  

“Anyone?” Wally offered with a sheepish smile. “So, I heard Christmas Eve and New Years Day dinner here at the new love birds house. I’m in.”

“Sound wonderful, but girls, we are still going to do some Christmas shopping after?” Donna asked with a smile.

“Of course, I still have a few ideas for a present for our team leader here. And I know who will present it for him.” Terra slyly grinned at Raven who blushed deep red while Damian stood oblivious, looking at the girls in confusion.

“Well this time, Damian and us boys are going on a night patrol.” Gar grinned with Conner leaning on his shoulder.

“Yup. It will be us guys, fighting crime along with some nice manly time.” Conner chuckled as she fixed the collar of his shirt and winked at Donna who blushed light pink. “But first, let’s get that huge bed of yours in your new room.”

Damian got inside the truck and him and Jaime got the mattresses out with Conner guiding them inside the house with the girls helping Raven with the decorations in the lounge. They had already decorated the railings of the stairs and had placed the photos on the wall.

Once they had done putting the beds all together in the room, the boys got ready to go out and do their patrol while the girls already went shopping. Damian made sure that the doors stay locked with Titus slept on the floor in the lounge peacefully.

In the city, Damian kicked the last one of the thieves that was escaping from the jewellery store with Kid Flash running out with a tied-up thieves and Conner stood beside him with one tied up man with his mouth gagged.

“Okay, that’s it for now.” Conner smiled while getting the lasso back he had borrowed from Donna.

Kid Flash, Gar and Jaime had joined them in handing them to the authorities while Gordon thanked them all and had wished them a Merry Christmas. “Alright boys, you better get going if you don’t want to miss in spending more time with your girls.”

“Oh, I can think of who cannot wait to get their hands on his woman.” Conner wiggled his eyebrows at Damian who slapped him on the back of his head.

“Heh, we all have girlfriends, and I am not sure of Kid here.” Gar pointed at Kid Flash who had his arms crossed.

“Come on, is it really hard to believe that I have a girlfriend now? I mean I dated her for three years now.” Kid Flash explained to his friends.

“Hmm, we shall need more proof.” Damian smirked at the speedster.

Gordon laughed lightly and then wiped his glasses. “Ah, I remember my time at your age. Always about girls. Remember keep them close and it will be all worth it.”

That made Damian think of Raven and smiled at the thought of living with her in their house after moving out of their apartment. He was glad he had found his love, to share his world with, to be able to be more open with her. Be able to share their emotions. To be at ease with each other.

“Well, uh, I will get everything here sorted. You boys go have fun.” Gordon smiled at them and the walked off to his car with the other police officers thanking them and greeted them a very nice Christmas.

The boys went on top of a building near Wayne Enterprises with Damian looking at it, he was to inherit the company but what if he didn’t want to inherit it and wanted to do something different than working where his father worked.

“So, your girlfriend….is she a hero or a normal girl?” Conner asked while he was texting his girlfriend on his phone with a grin on his face.

“Guys, come on. Why is it so hard to believe I do have a girlfriend?” Kid Flash exasperated looking at his friends.

“Don’t know. We’d just didn’t pictured you as a serious type. So you guys are like have an apartment or….?” Jaime asked.

“Yes, we got an apartment outside of her university campus. We adopted a dog together and we are in Vietnamese lit class together. We are nearly graduating. Oh man…mine is due at 8am in the morning.” Wally groaned in frustration. “Well, it is nearly the Christmas break, so I should be able to do it.”

“What’s her name?” Gar asked with Damian coming to his side to hear this conversation.

“Her name is Artemis Lian Crock.” Wally replied with love in his voice. “Aw man, I cannot wait until I come home. I mean, she said she’ll be waiting for me after this.”

“Wow… looks like you guys are so serious. Congratulations, West.” Damian smiled at his friend and teammate.

“Thanks, man. Now I hope you don’t mind. I should get going.” Wally saluted as he ran off the building to see his girlfriend leaving the rest of the team on the building.

“Man, I cannot believe that all of us have girlfriends and are moving in different directions. Damian is finally going to move in a new house with Raven, Jaime, you are with your girlfriend and are moving in together, Conner is with Donna and here I am, living with Terra.” Garfield smiled as he sat on the edge of the building.

“Life can be exciting.” Jaime nodded with the snow falling down on them. “I remember it was just us three boys and now five of us.”

“Yes, we had come a long way.” Damian nodded in agreement with a smile with the snow falling down on them and he put on his hood on. “I think you all are dying to go home and celebrate Christmas with your girlfriends. It is safe for me to say we are done for the night.”

“Aw, thank you so much!” Conner dramatically hugged him with a pat on the back and then pulled back away from him. “Have a lovely evening with Raven. But I must warn you, do not hurt her and if you did, I’ll punch you in the face.”

“Conner, you know I will never hurt her. We have been together for 5 years.” Damian pointed out, trying to get him to calm down.

“Oh, well, then, I have no problem with that at all.” Conner chuckled as he started to fly up into the starry night. He was already excited to see Donna after their nightly patrol. He has plenty of plans for the Christmas season.

“Well, I better get going, Traci really wanted to watch more Christmas movies at home.” Jaime grinned as he flew in another direction with Garfield smiling brightly. Damian watched him transforming and jumped roof to roof until he cannot see him. He might need to go and help Raven get everything all sorted out in their new home.

(~)

Damian walked towards to the door hearing Titus barking excitedly. He smiled softly and opened the door seeing Titus was dressed as a reindeer with a bell collar around his neck. He chuckled in amusement. “Hey, boy, looks like you had fun with Rachel, hmm?”

He closed the doors behind him and took off his cape and took off his shoes with Titus running out to the backyard, much to his confusion. “Titus, don’t you want your food, boy? Oh…well, uh Rachel? Rachel, you here?” Damian called out to his girlfriend but no answer.

He walked towards the kitchen to try and cook some dinner for himself and Raven. Once he made a turn to the kitchen he stood in shock. “R-R-Rachel?! What are—where did you g-get that outfit?!”

Raven blushed and hugged herself, covering her cleavage from him. She was wearing a Santa Claus outfit with a skirt and fishnet leggings. Her hair was braided with a mistletoe hair tie. Damian blushed as he had his hand over his mouth, looking at his girlfriend.

“I uh, well, thought it would be nice to try on the costume that Terra and Donna had bought for me.” Raven replied shyly while hugging herself tightly, looking away with a blush on her cheeks.

“O-Oh? Y-You look stunning in that dress.” Damian cleared his throat and then smiled widely. “So, are you going to wear that during our first Christmas dinner in our new house?” He held her arms gently while looking into her amethyst eyes.

“W-well, I suppose. I was wondering if you really do like it.” Raven mumbled as she looked away from him. He was leaning down for a kiss, but she moved away much to his disappointment and heard her giggling softly.

“While the girls had left and you were at your patrol, I was making some dinner while you were you gone. I got the last box unpacked and I put all of my books in our spare room.” Raven said as she got the pot on the table with him helping her getting the spoons and forks. “I don’t know what we could do for the spare room.”

“Maybe we could save it for something else? Have you ever… consider having children?” Damian asked her.

Raven sat back down on her chair and looked at him with a smile, placing her hand on hers. She always wanted to have a child or children. She never thought of having a family and she would love to start a family with him someday.

“Of course I do. But not right now.” Raven replied with a smile as she put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“I understand.” Damian smiled, looking into her eyes lovingly and then placed his lips on hers softly. Feeling the warmth from her lips and moaned softly. They broke apart from their kiss and had started with their first dinner in their new house.

“So, have you thought of your father’s offer?” Raven asked him while pouring some warm milk for themselves. She heard Damian sighing softly and crossed his arms.

“I do not know, beloved. I-I mean it is such an honour to inherit it but right now, I felt that…I am not ready yet. Father and I had talked about it. He said he would wait for my answer to his offer.” Damian replied.

“Then when the time comes, you’ll know what to say.” Raven smiled at him, standing up from her chair and kissed him on his forehead before going to the counter. She looked at her boyfriend’s back and then smacked her lips together as she looked down at her outfit with a tight-fitting Santa Claus outfit. “So…. Do you…want some dessert?”

“Hmm I would love to try though I am not a sweet tooth, beloved. Sorry.” Damian replied, putting the pot back on the stove and the plates and cutleries in the sink.

Raven huffed softly seeing how he was being oblivious to her now even she was still wearing her costume for him. In their very first house. She was hoping she would make it extra special for him. After all of his hard work, he really does deserve to have some time to relax himself. And herself.

“So, the table is all cleaned, I shall feed Titus. Wherever he may be.” Damian said looking out the windows. “I’ll meet you upstairs, beloved.” He got a bowl with some dog food for Titus and walked out to their backyard while Raven had an idea in mind.

“Here you go, boy.” Damian smiled and then looked at his new dog house. “Looks like you already made yourself at home. Tomorrow we’ll have to find some new plants here for Rachel.” He pet Titus and walked back inside the house, locking the door behind him.

He went to the shower to get himself all freshen up. There was two toilets in this new house, one was near his new office and training room. He was going to put all of his clothes in his new bedroom with Raven. He got into his comfortable clothes while drying his hair with a towel and walked towards his bed room but stopped seeing petals trailed all over in the hallway.

Damian raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. “Rachel?” He heard her not answering him when he was calling her. He slowly walked inside their room seeing more rose petals on the bed and candles lit up. He gulped nervously as he looked for his girlfriend. “Rachel?”

“Yes, Damian?” Raven appeared from their bathroom, now in a different outfit. She just had the red shirt with a belt, resembled as Santa Claus while still wearing her fishnet stockings, with no skirt on.  

Damian was trying to restrain himself from pinning her onto the bed like last time. “You like what you see, Dami?” Raven asked softly, whispering in his ear as he shuddered. Feeling her hands where on his chest.

Then he breathed out shakily, feeling her soft and delicate hands were trailing down his arms and then heard something clicking. He looked down in confusion and saw he was now in his own cuffs.

“W-Where did you get these?” Damian asked her.

“I got it from your costume in the closet. You forgot to pack it all away after moving the mattress and the bed in here.” Raven replied with a smirk as she pushed him onto the bed. “Now, it is time for your early Christmas present.”

Now, that was unexpected of her to do this. He never knew she had it in her. He grunted softly, feeling her hand was rubbing against his cock. She hasn’t taken off his pants, yet she was teasing him. He cannot help…but it felt so good. He grunted and moan much to Raven’s satisfaction.

“You like that?” Raven whispered against his ear and trailed kissed on his neck while she rubbed her knee in between his legs to get another reaction. Hearing him shouting out with pleasure. He gritted his teeth, opening his eyes and watched her every move as her cheeks were tainted light pink.

“Yes, I like it very much, Rachel.” Damian panted softly while smiling as his emerald eyes shone brightly.

“Good.” Raven smirked and then unzipped his pants, taking off them off as well as his underwear, seeing his dick was already hard. She gasped softly and stared at it with admiration while her hand gently touching it, then stroked it while he shuddered.

“Rachel… Gahh!” Damian groaned, feeling her rubbing his dick and licked it with her tongue, begun sucking it while squeezed his balls. She loved hearing his soft groans and moans. It made her crazy enough to wait a whole month for him from his mission with the Bat family.

A month was easy enough to make her feel more crazy and wanted him more. She wanted more of him. She sucked the whole dick and muffled against it with more hot cum, shooting in her mouth, pulled away from it and licked her lips. “Wow… you came a lot.”

Damian panted, laughed while smirking. “It’s all your magical tongue of yours. Is there more surprised I should know about, beloved?”

“Hmm, you’ll see. But this time, it’s my turn and I will unwrap your present if you behave well, Mr Wayne. You have been in the naughty list for making me wait for the entire month from your mission.” Raven grinned as she took off her costume, leaving out her stockings.

He was enjoying the view that was being displayed in front of him. He licked his lips as he sat up and tried to holding her waist but remembered he was cuffed. “Nah uh, not yet bad bird.” Raven chuckled sexily as she bent down and took off his pants and his underwear.

She stroked his dick again and he grunted and clenched his fists tightly while feeling a warm tongue licking the tip. She moaned as she sucked in all of him. “Mmm, you got big… and so damn hard.”

“Beloved…. Can you please take this cuff off? I don’t know how much I can take it anymore…Ahh!” Damian moaned, holding her head while she continued to suck his dick. Then he came again, this time, in her mouth, letting her drink all of his juice.

She licked her lips, tasting the hot juice in her mouth. She looked up at him and grinned. She got the key from the bedside table and uncuffed him. Damian crashed his lips onto her and pushed her into the bed. Kissing her hard while grinding his body into hers while, exploring her curves and breasts, massaging one as he bit one nipple while licking it. She moaned loudly while holding him tightly and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He broke away from the kiss and took off his shirt, making her see the brilliant sight in front of her. She let her hands touch his chest and abs, she bit her lip when she saw him fingering her with two fingers as she screamed and moaned loudly.

He grinned and decided to put in a third finger to make her even more satisfied. “How do you like that, beloved?” Damian growled softly while kissing and sucking her neck, leaving hickeys.

“Mmm, I want you…now.” Raven demanded as she laid her head back on her pillow while he smirked, taking off his pants and underwear. He bent down and straightened his dick lined up then thrusted himself into her, making her dug her nails in deeper into his toned back.

He thrusted in her roughly with her legs on his shoulders bending her body a bit while she moaned loudly and panted heavily while looking into his emerald eyes. “That…that feels so good.”

Damian put down her legs as he pulled away and then turned her body and thrusted his dick into her once again, making her shout out while he smacked her ass while her insides were squeezing his dick tightly, making him groan louder and slapped her ass hard, making her scream again.

She stood on all fours, making him thrust in her more harder and faster, picking up the pace. He leaned down, grabbing hold of her bouncing breasts, while he had pinned her down. “Ahh! Dami. I’m coming!”

“As will I!” Damian grunted, holding her body tightly as he came into her with her screaming out with pleasure before they both collapsed on their bed and panted heavily. Damian got up and turned her body to face him. He looked into her eyes and then leaned down for a passionate deep kiss on her lips with her playing with his locks.

“Now that was a great Christmas treat, beloved.” Damian sighed contently as he laid his back on the pillow with her chuckling softly and laid next him.

“I am glad. You have been away for the entire month and I could not wait to have sex with you.” Raven said, trailing circles on his abs.

“Sorry, beloved. My father insists and he has talked about inheriting his company one day. I-I just know that there was something missing in my life. I got a few family and you. But I felt that I wanted more. Like…. Like a…”

“A family?” Raven asked him with him looking at her.

“Yes, correct. A family.” Damian smiled and felt her straddling on his lap.

“Well, we could get to work, Mr. Wayne.” Raven smirked as she kissed him while they had their tongues dancing and fighting for dominance. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her ass tightly with her muffling against his lips.

“Care for round two?” Damian growled as he bit on her neck, giving her another hickey while she moaned, biting her lips, holding his head closer to her. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Raven giggled as she got on his lap, grinding her clitoris against his hard cock and then put it inside her, while biting her lips. She moaned in pleasure while he held onto her curves gently while kissing her neck.

She began to move slowly and steady, while Damian held her body closer to him and she let him bury himself in her chest while moving around, letting her wrap her legs around him, started to move more faster to keep up the pace while he started to thrust and grind onto her, making her groan and moaned with pleasure.

He trailed his kisses on her neck down to her breast. Raven bit her lip as she grind herself deeper while she moved around with his cock inside of her. She never felt good in her entire life! She leaned her head back while he sucked onto her neck and held it with his other free hand.

He switched, he laid her back into the headboard and he stood on his knees and started to thrusted into her more harder and faster with both of her legs on his shoulders while she held on the head board. They both groaned and moaned louder with Damian grunting in effort to make her even more satisfied.  

He picked up the pace. “Ahh! Dami!” She screamed while he slapped her ass while his other hand massaged her left breast, and his right hand holding her waist to keep her steady as he thrusted into her slowly, all the way into her womb as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Ahh!”

She felt him cumming into her while her entire body shook with pleasure and he set her down, pulling her legs up and bend it down towards her face and started to thrust more harder, while she gripped into the sheets. “There! Damian! That’s…that’s the spot!” Raven panted softly while looking into his emerald eyes.

They both panted, moaned loudly while their bed was shaking underneath them with Raven shouting out while feeling his hot cock pushing in with juice shooting in her. Feeling the hot sensation inside of her while she held Damian’s hands.

He panted heavily while feeling her trembling hand caressing his cheeks with a smile. They both cuddled underneath the sheets with Damian laying down next to her while she laid down on his arm, hugging him tightly. She smiled contently seeing this was the best Christmas treat ever.

“Ah, well, you did certainly learned some new moves.” Raven chuckled while he laughed softly.

“Of course, anything to keep my beloved Rachel satisfied. What type of man would I be if I didn’t do that?” Damian asked her with a smirk on his face. She laughed along with him and then caressed his cheek as they both leaned in for another kiss on the lips.

“Thank you. It was worth waiting for one month after your mission.” Raven sighed contently with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, rubbing his thumb against her soft and smooth skin. He smiled hearing her drifting to sleep. He put a few strands of her hair out of the way to let him watch her sleep peacefully. He turned off the lights and slept with her underneath their sheets. Enjoying each other’s companies and their embrace.

(~)

Few weeks later

Early in the morning, Damian woke up first to cook some breakfast, he let his girlfriend sleep in while he grabbed his shorts and walked downstairs. He went out to unlock the door and called Titus in for breakfast.

He got out his treats from the cupboard where Raven had told him it would be. He also got out some pans to cook the eggs and some bacon. He cooked some eggs while flipping the bacon. Titus barked at him with his tail wagging back and forth.

“Alright, alright, here.” Damian chuckled, giving him some bacon.

Once he had finished cooking the eggs and bacon, he got themselves some toast to go along with it. He set them on the table neatly with some red roses placed in the centre of the table. He walked up the stairs only hear Raven was throwing up in their bathroom.

He knocked on the door. “May I come in?”

“Yes.” Raven replied, while holding her hair back. Then felt his warm hand, rubbing her back while tying up her hair up to keep it out of the way. He continued to rub her back a few times and gave her soothing comforting words.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was going to feel unwell today.” Raven apologised, wiping her mouth in the sink.

“It is quite alright, Rachel. Maybe you can skip work today while I go and visit Father. Perhaps seeing the doctor would do you good.” Damian suggested to her.

“I don’t get it. I was feeling fine yesterday.” Raven hummed, putting her hand to her chin, thinking of possibilities on why she was feeling sick…..then it hit her. “Uh…Damian…. Do you uh, by any chance, used protection?”

Damian thought back on their tryst weeks before Christmas and the days before they moved in their new house after going on a mission. He thought long and hard then realised he…he… he didn’t use protection! He didn’t use it and he was busy being enchanted by her beauty and elegancy!

“Dami? You did, right?” Raven asked sternly with her hands glowing bright purple.

“No. I didn’t! I forgot to put it on when we did it.” Damian replied nervously while seeing her blank expression and then it changed into a determined look, getting something from the cupboard.

“Go! I may need some privacy!” Raven exclaimed, pushing her boyfriend out of their bathroom. He decided to wait while sitting on their bed. He was wondering if everything was alright or not. Or maybe perhaps, he made her feel uncomfortable?

He made sure she was comfortable in their relationship. It has been 5 years since they gotten together and now are living together. He made sure he listens to her while she listens to him. Both made sure they live the best of their lives.

His eyes glanced over at his closet and spied on the little box. He was hoping he would propose but he wanted to wait for the right time comes. They are still young. He is 21 and she is 22 years old. Both may not capable to have children but are dreaming to have children in the future.

He heard the door opening seeing her holding a pregnancy test in her hands. His eyes widened and realised it may be positive. “It is...positive, Dami. We are going to have a baby.” Raven smiled softly at him.

“R-Really?” Damian asked as he hugged her in his strong arms. “We-we’re going to be parents! W-what about your work?”

“Oh, I will tell my boss what has happened. And although, we are still young, you still work for your dad and well, you are still Robin.” Raven rambled while looking at the test in her hands.

“Hey, beloved, everything will be fine. I am sure of it. I’ll be there for you and I’ll protect the two of you so matter what. I promise.” Damian promised her while kissing her softly on the lips. “I know this is sudden, I am truly blessed to have our little bird coming in our lives.”

Raven laughed at this statement and watched him hugging her around her waist with his ear pressed against her belly where their baby is growing. She placed her hand on top of his head while he smiled softly. “Thank you, Damian. I love you.”

“I love you too, beloved.” Damian smiled lovingly as he stood up on his feet and leaned down for a gentle kiss with his arms securely around her waist carefully, trying not to hurt their baby.

#damirae #raven roth #damian x raven #teen titans #conner kent #Jaime Reyes #Garfield x Terra #Donna Troy #titus #christmas fic #Christmas smut #my fanfic #my own writing #dc

[helloalycia]

hiding your truth // donna troy

summary: after your brother gets caught in the wrong crowd, you're left figuring a way out, only for your girlfriend to save the day (and accidentally revealing her superhero identity to you...)

warning/s: minor violence.

author's note: donna troy deserved better (i'm really hoping she's alive somehow lol) also, Y/B/N = your brother's name

masterlist | wattpad 

"I'm just checking on him. He's been acting weird lately... I don't know."

"I'm sure he's fine," Donna was saying through the phone. "Don't be too hard on him."

"I won't," I promised, holding my phone to my ear as I used my other hand to knock on my brother's flat door. "I just wanna see if he opens up to me about whatever is going on with him."

"Invite him over for dinner," Donna suggested, and I smiled to myself at how supportive she was being. "Having you around more might help."

I knocked on my brother's door again, noticing he wasn't answering.

"Yeah, I might," I agreed, though I furrowed my eyebrows when I couldn't hear anything on the other side. "If he decides to answer the door..."

I was about to knock again, but the door opened and I was prepared to give Y/B/N a piece of my mind for keeping to himself lately, and especially for not answering the door just now. However, my eyes widened and I froze in place, eyes glued to the gun directed between my eyes.

"A guest, how lovely," the man holding the gun spoke dangerously, a smirk on his face. "Come on in, dear. And hand over the phone or you won't make it past the front door."

"...Y/N? Are you listening? Who's that?"

I ignored Donna, almost forgetting she was there as my stomach clenched nervously. I did as the armed man asked, and moved the phone away from my ear slowly. I could hear Donna calling my name still, but when I handed over my phone, the man glanced at it and hung up, silencing her voice. I hoped she'd get the hint and call the police, but that was a last minute concern as the armed man followed me with his gun as I stepped in.

I heard him close the door behind me as I stopped walking at the sight of three more armed men surrounding my brother, who was tied to a kitchen chair in the centre of the room.

"Y/B/N, what the fuck is going on?" I muttered, trying to disguise my fear with anger, but it didn't take a genius to know I was terrified.

His face screamed with guilt as he looked to me with a bruised, bloody eye. "I'm so sorry... I should have listened to you." He coughed, spitting a glob of blood to the side before painfully adding, "You shouldn't have come here."

"That she shouldn't have," the armed man who had my phone spoke up, an amused smile on his lips as he approached me, waving his gun between my brother and I. "So, what is this? You're the girlfriend? The cousin? The sister?"

I tried to focus on my breathing, deciding speaking was probably the worst thing I could do now. My heart was pounding though, as I saw how hurt Y/B/N looked and the danger we were in. What the fuck had he done? 

"Wait a minute, I see the resemblance now," the man continued, nodding enthusiastically as if he'd discovered the cure for cancer. "You're both siblings! How lovely." He looked to Y/B/N and slapped him on the back. "You should've told me about your sister, Y/B/N!"

Y/B/N struggled to raise his head as he looked up. "Please, leave her out of this."

The man's smile flickered with thought before he ignored my brother and approached me again. I hated the way his eyes looked me up and down.

"What's your name, honey?" he asked, and I squeezed my hands into fists by my side to contain my anxiety.

I didn't want to tell him, but I also didn't want to test the man's patience as he held a gun by his side.

"Y/N," I said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

He hummed. "Pretty name, Y/N. Just like you."

"Don't touch–!" Y/B/N tried to defend me, shaking in his tied up state, but he was hit on the back of the head with a gun from another guy.

"Don't hurt him, please!" I begged, about to move forward, but I was held back.

"Calm down, nobody's gonna get hurt if we resolve this!" the armed man said, before meeting my eyes. "My name is Newt. And your brother here owes me and my friends $20,000."

My eyes widened as I looked to my brother, who seemed ashamed the more Newt spoke.

"All I want is my money," Newt said with a shrug, looking between me and Y/B/N. "He's been avoiding me. So, I'm here to get it. And you, my darling, have made my job a lot easier."

"Give him time," I asked calmly, but my hands were shaking uncontrollably. "Please. I can help. We'll get you the money."

Newt seemed unimpressed as he waved his gun around dismissively. "You see, your brother said the same thing. That's why we're in this mess."

I clenched my jaw, panicking as my eyes flickered between Newt and his gun.

"You're going to come with me," he stated nonchalantly, before aiming his gun my way. "Your brother is going to give me my money if he wants you back."

"No! Please, she has nothing to do with this!" Y/B/N shouted pleadingly. "I'll get it, just leave her out of this!"

"Oh, you will get it, if you ever want your sister back," Newt agreed, before looking to me with devilish eyes. "You better hope your brother keeps his word, Y/N. I'd hate to shoot that pretty face of yours."

I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest as he stared at me with a creepy smile. Everything was happening too fast and I could barely believe what situation we were stuck in.

Suddenly, the front door looked like it exploded, as pieces of wood flew around, making everybody duck with confusion. I looked up and my eyes widened so much they almost fell out of my head when I saw who it was.

"Donna," I mumbled with disbelief and confusion.

Her eyes looked around worriedly, before settling on me with relief. She suddenly snapped her gaze to Newt, who was attempting to raise his gun and shoot Donna.

"Don't even think about it," she growled angrily, before pulling out a golden rope, swinging it Newt's way and yanking the gun from his hand in one swift motion.

Wait... only two people had that familiar golden rope, or should I say lasso. And Wonder Woman wasn't here.

"It's Wonder Girl!" one of the armed men shouted as she sped forward, quite literally with super speed, to attack.

Head still reeling from what I'd seen, I pushed myself off the floor and ran to Y/B/N, seeing his chair had knocked onto the floor with him still tied to it.

"Hey, you're okay," I got out quickly, breathing heavily as I checked to see if he was conscious. Thankfully, he was.

I moved behind him where I wanted to free his tied hands, but they were zip tied together. I looked up, seeing Donna taking down the four men with ease, barely breaking a sweat. I took the distraction as time to grab a knife from the kitchen, my insides jumping with every stray gunshot that went off. I would have been worried for Donna, but clearly she wasn't who I thought she was.

I returned to Y/B/N and cut him free, dropping the knife and helping him sit up.

"Holy shit," he coughed, looking behind me with shock. "That's... that's..."

"Y/N!" Donna called, and I turned around to see her surrounded by the four men, all unconscious on the floor. She moved towards me, kneeling down and holding me. Her eyes studied me as she asked, "Fuck, are you okay?"

I was at a loss for words as I nodded, still shocked that she'd just done all of that. She seemed relieved as she met my eyes, but a hint of underlying guilt stared back at me. She was Wonder Girl.

"You're dating Wonder Girl," Y/B/N said, grabbing my attention. I looked down to him with concern, seeing up close the damage that had been done to his face. "Lucky me."

I began to get my bearings back as I straightened up, smacking him on the shoulder.

"What the fuck just happened, Y/B/N?!" I shouted at him, panic subsiding and being replaced with anger. "These people just tried to kill you!"

He frowned, attempting to stand up. I helped him, Donna moving to the other side to aid him also.

"The drug dealing–"

"I thought I told you to stop that," I said with a glare. My eyes were getting glassy as I realised that I'd almost lost my brother.

"I know, I know," he said, groaning as he clutched his stomach. "I should have listened, Y/N, I know."

Donna stepped back and went to the window, looking out with concern. I ignored her and looked back to Y/B/N, shaking my head with disappointment.

"I got $12,000 worth of drugs to sell from these guys," he explained with remorse. "They got stolen when I was out on a run, and now they want their money back. Plus interest. I thought I could fix it, but–"

"But you couldn't and now I almost found you dead in your flat," I finished for him, irritation in my voice.

"I didn't know they would come like this," he said apologetically. "I didn't know you would be here."

"That's the problem, Y/B/N, you don't think! This is why we're in this mess!" He stayed quiet as he avoided my eyes. "I can't believe you would do something like this, after everything I told you! I can't–"

"Y/N, stop," Donna cut in, stepping between us and resting a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes were gentle as she shook her head. "He knows what he's done."

I breathed out through my nose and looked away from her. She sighed quietly and looked to Y/B/N.

"Will there be more men coming?" she asked seriously.

"I don't know," Y/B/N answered truthfully. "Maybe. Probably."

Donna nodded regretfully. "That's what I thought... okay, we can't stay here for long. I'm gonna call the police to deal with these guys. You guys need to go back to our place." She looked to me. "Y/N, take him home. I'll meet you there."

Still unsure of my feelings towards Donna at the moment, I nodded, wanting to keep Y/B/N safe. I looked to him with a nod.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

He let me help him to walk and the two of us made our way to the door. I glanced over my shoulder to Donna, who was already looking my way. She offered a small, reassuring smile my way and I felt my shoulders relax as I continued to help Y/B/N out of there.

–

"You sure we can't go to the hospital?" I asked for the millionth time, handing Y/B/N an ice pack. "They'll be able to help you better than I can."

"No hospitals, no doctors," he said adamantly, accepting the ice pack and holding it to his face. "They'll ask questions. I'll be fine. It's just a few bruises."

I sat beside him on the couch, taking in his state. He seemed a lot better now, as I gave him something to eat and drink and mended his injuries the best I could. I was still shaken from what had happened, but I was grateful Donna showed up when she did, even if she'd hidden her truth from me. It scared me to think about what Newt would have done if she hadn't stopped him.

"I know you're disappointed with me," he mumbled, glancing at me.

I sighed quietly. "I thought you had stopped the drug dealing, Y/B/N. You lied."

"I know. I wish I had. I should have listened. I have no reason other for what I did other than it's easy money. But it's no excuse."

I rested a hand on his knee and squeezed it gently. "We'll figure something out. I'm not letting them hurt you."

"I'm lucky Donna came when she did," he admitted, meeting my eyes appreciatively. "How did she know?"

At the mention of Donna, who was still yet to return to our shared flat, I grimaced. "She must have heard them on the phone. I told her I was checking in on you."

He nodded, before pursing his lips and staring at me cautiously. "You... you didn't know about her being Wonder Girl, did you?"

I shook my head, eyes veering to the coffee table. "No."

"Maybe she had a reason for not telling you," he tried reasoning. "I mean, Wonder Girl has been MIA for a while now. She stopped. Maybe she didn't want that anymore."

"Maybe," I agreed halfheartedly.

I wasn't annoyed that Donna had hidden this from me, more so that she had hidden it from me whilst we were moving further into our relationship, and she hadn't trusted me enough to tell me who she really was. We'd been together a year, and had recently moved in together, and I thought I knew everything about her. But clearly not.

The sound of the front door opening pulled me from my thoughts and I heard Donna call out for me.

"We're in here," Y/B/N answered, before looking to me reassuringly. "Go easy on her. She saved my life. And, well, yours."

I said nothing as he looked to the doorway where Donna was standing. She nodded his way, before looking to me with a distracted gaze.

Y/B/N stood up and approached Donna slowly. "I wanna say thanks, Donna. For what you did back there. I'm lucky you came."

"Anytime," she returned with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine. Sorry I brought all this trouble to you guys."

"We'll figure this out," she promised, patting him on the shoulder. "You can stay here tonight. I'm sure Y/N said."

He nodded and offered a grateful smile before looking between us. "I'm gonna go lay down, give you guys some space to talk."

He left the room, heading to the spare room I let him have for the time being, leaving Donna and I alone.

"What did you do to those guys back there?" I asked, speaking first as I looked up to Donna.

She hesitantly moved to sit beside me on the couch as she said, "The police took care of it. I left them an anonymous tip. Left the bodies out back for them to get."

I nodded, chewing on the inside of my mouth nervously.

"Did they hurt you?" she asked with concern. "I came as fast as I could."

"I'm fine," I told her, meeting her eyes. "Thanks."

She swallowed hard. "You don't need to thank me."

"Donna Troy, maybe not. But Wonder Girl, definitely."

She frowned and I looked away from her, down to my fidgeting hands in my lap. I could hear her breathing shift as she tried to speak several times, but no words came out. Finally though, she knew what to say.

"I wanted to tell you."

"But you didn't."

"This whole thing, it's– it's not easy," she admitted. "I don't– Wonder Girl is the past."

"A past you didn't trust me with." I stood up, unable to keep still as I paced up and down.

She stood up, too, eyes softening with guilt. "I do trust you, Y/N."

I stopped pacing as I looked to her, seeing how sorry she was. I didn't doubt that she wasn't, but that didn't change the fact that she'd kept a massive part of herself from me, past or not.

"It's been a year, a little more than that, and you didn't tell me who you are," I explained to her, trying to get her to understand how I felt. "I thought that I knew you, Donna, but I don't think I do. Not really."

"I'm still me," she promised, stepping forward, but I shook my head. "I'm still Donna Troy. The girl who fell in love with you when she moved here."

"More like an Amazon, though, right?" I corrected her. "You trained with the Wonder Woman." She stayed quiet as I continued. "Tell me, Donna, was that before or after the tragic childhood story you fed me?"

"Everything I told you was the truth, Y/N," she said honestly. "The only difference is that the adoptive family I had was Diana. But everything else is the same."

I smiled dryly. "Right."

"I never meant to hurt you, make you feel like I didn't trust you, because I do." She stepped forward and took my hand in hers. I let her. "I should have told you sooner. I was going to. But then I hadn't been Wonder Girl in a long time, and I didn't think I would need to be. And we moved in together and I thought it wouldn't matter."

"This is your life, Donna," I told her, shaking my head as I met her gaze. "Of course it matters. I just wanted to know who I was in love with."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

I squeezed our intertwined hands, letting out a deep breath. "I know you are."

"But you don't forgive me," she noted regretfully.

"I never said that." I saw her dark eyes flickering between mine nervously, her shoulders tense as she waited for me to speak. "I forgive you, Donna. I love you. I just need to get used to this. I still feel... I feel like I've been kept in the dark. I feel angry at the situation. Not at you."

Her shoulders relaxed as she licked her lips. "You have every right to be mad. Be mad as long as you want. Just please don't let my one stupid mistake push you away."

"That thought never crossed my mind, Donna." I rested a hand on her cheek, caressing her cheek bone with my thumb. "We're okay. I need time, but we're okay."

She nodded, her face flooding with relief, and rested her hand on mine.

"Thank you for being there," I said, realising I hadn't properly thanked her. "You saved me and my brother. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there."

She nodded, pulling me into her arms, squeezing me tightly, protectively. I returned her embrace, knowing that whatever betrayal I felt wasn't important right now. She was still my Donna, powers or not. I just needed to get used to it all.

"We're gonna figure this out," she mumbled in my ear, before pulling away. "I won't let your brother get hurt."

"Thank you." I smiled at her gratefully. "I'm really lucky to have you here."

She pressed a kiss to my forehead comfortingly as she cracked a small, doubtful smile. "More like the other way 'round."

I rolled my eyes playfully as she headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I took a seat at the island, thinking about what we could do for Y/B/N.

"They're gonna come after him, aren't they?" I asked, grimacing. "If we do nothing, they'll figure out where he is and come for him. And if we go to the police, he'll get arrested and they'll come after us. We can't get around this."

"Yes we can," she assured, leaning on the counter and meeting my eyes. "I just need to think..."

I looked down to my hands, fidgeting, again, atop the counter. "He did something wrong. I understand that. But he's my brother. He can't deserve this, right?"

Donna pursed her lips. "He's a good guy who got caught up in some bad shit. We'll fix this."

She rested a hand on mine and squeezed it gently, and I placed my other hand on top of hers, revelling in her comfort.

"The only way they'll stop coming after him is if they're afraid to," she said thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowed as if devising a plan. "He can do something... they could leave him alone... might work..."

"Donna, what are you talking about?" I asked, confused to all of the mumbling she was doing. She stood back and held her glass of water, taking sips in between her mumblings. I raised an eyebrow. "Donna?"

Finally, she zoned back into reality and looked up with raised brows. "Huh? Oh. Well, I was thinking and what if Wonder Girl did some threatening and scared these goons away from Y/B/N?"

"Donna, they seem really dangerous," I said instantly, shaking my head. "They almost killed us."

"I can look after myself, Y/N," she stated knowingly, an amused smile on her lips. "Former Titan, remember?"

"I know you can, but..." I sighed, growing worried at the determined expression on her face. "I don't like this, Donna."

She rounded the counter, sitting beside me and holding my hand. "This can work, Y/N. We can just get Y/B/N to arrange a meet-up with these guys. I'll talk to them." I gave her a knowing look and she shrugged. "Maybe more than a little talk, but it'll work. They'll leave us alone. Y/B/N will be safe."

I felt my stomach turning with discomfort. "I really don't like this..."

She looked me in the eyes, her brown ones shining with certainty.

"...but I know you've got this. As we've established, you're Wonder Girl, so... who am I to say no?"

Her lips curled into a small smile. "I love you."

I rested my hand on her cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear. She was absolutely stunning, and sometimes I forgot how to speak when she stared at me with utter love and adoration like she was right now.

Instead of replying, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers, closing my eyes as she began to kiss back. Whenever we kissed, it felt like the first time all over again – butterflies raging a storm in my stomach, her touch igniting a fire in my skin, my lips swollen and tingling with excitement.

I pulled away slowly, catching my breath as I rested my forehead against hers.

"I love you, too," I got out, eyes flickering to hers.

She smiled brightly, relief in her eyes, and I knew there and then that this would work. She didn't have to, but she'd keep us all safe. And I felt extremely lucky she was here.

#donna troy #donna troy imagine #donna troy x reader #conor leslie #dc titans #dc titans imagine

[incorrectbatfam]

Batfam during New Years?

This would’ve been more appropriate three months ago, so I’ll be doing it for the 2019-2020 New Year’s

Also I realize this is a lot more than just batfamily and is probably the biggest crossover I’ve ever done but it feels right

Instead of having a blowout gala, the Waynes just invite a few close families. Namely the Supers, Speedsters, Wonders, and Arrows

Lois, Joan, and Iris help Alfred prepare a marvelous dinner while Clark, Jon, and Conner literally fly in with tables from elsewhere. Conner brings a table that looks suspiciously like the one from Mount Justice

Bruce jokingly allows everyone to bring a plus one because he assumes that all the plus ones were on the original invite. He forgot to account for Barry and Bart’s partners, so they have to send the Kents out again to find more chairs

Speaking of speedsters, Dick forgot to keep an eye on his and Wally nabs all the champagne, much to Jason’s chagrin

They have an early dinner because there’s still a lotta people and they want time for other things. That and it takes forever to make speedsters and Kryptonians feel full

There’s a kids table with Damian, Jon, Jai, Irey, little Lian, and toddlers Don and Dawn. Bruce makes an executive decision to move Bart there halfway through the meal

The teenagers gather in Tim’s bedroom to play Never Have I Ever with a stolen bottle of champagne, with a little help from Wonder Girl’s lasso of truth. And after a few drinks, it turns into a really weird game of Truth or Dare where a couple couples officially come out and Tim admits to to eating ketchup with a spoon, which Khaji Da does not react well to for reasons unknown even to Jaime

Meanwhile, the Outlaws find a corner to themselves to play Cards Against Humanity, but it’s rather hard when Lian keeps peeking over Roy’s shoulders and ask difficult questions like “What’s a [REDACTED]”

The adults gather and gossip on the couch with some wine that Selina totally didn’t steal from another party. They talk and reminisce, bittersweetly wondering where on Earth the time has gone. Because at one point, they were all young superheroes, and now they’re together in a manor full of legacies and holy cow do they feel old

Dick bundles the children up in poofy layers before they go outside to play in the snow. Cass declares an official snowball war and single handedly takes down a team made of an assassin, a super kid, two speedsters, and Nightwing

Duke asks Damian what his New Year’s resolution is. Damian replies, “Try not to kill anyone”. Duke is proud but also yeets away from the conversation faster than the Flash

Alfred also had an enormous croquembouche prepared for dessert stored in the other room. Stephanie, Donna, Kara, and Emiko take turns keeping lookout and shoving cream puffs down their shirts

They hook up a karaoke machine and literally everyone scrambles to do a duet with Black Canary (but Oliver gets first dibs). Barbara tricks the machine out so everyone’s voices come out as hilariously autotuned

Jay, Barry, Bart, Wally, Jai, and Irey still continue their annual tradition of racing around the world and experiencing New Year’s in every country. Jean Paul, Mia, and Hal all have a stopwatch in each hand (like those have any use). Irey wins the race, and they suspect Grandpa Garrick threw the competition for her. Bart comes in last because he stopped in El Paso to chat with Jaime’s family

Harper Row arrives late because of a last-minute mission but everyone instantly forgives her because the mission led to her bringing an entire ice cream truck to the party

Diana jokingly dares Clark to kiss Bruce at midnight. She didn’t think he’d actually do it. Lois and Selina have pictures

Barbara puts the ball drop on TV about half an hour before midnight and everyone gathers around in the main room. Tim and Dick also bring a ton of phones and laptops so they can Skype all the folks that aren’t there, from other hero families like the Atlanteans to Arkham inmates like Harley Quinn and Riddler. After all, they had all been through a lot over the years and the turn of the decade seemed like a better time than ever to put differences aside for one night and celebrate as they count down the seconds together

#ask #ask me anything #send me asks #personal #batfamily #batfam #batkids #batsiblings #superfamily #wonder family #flash family #arrow family #aquafamily #lantern family #justice league #young justice #red hood and the outlaws #super sons #teen titans #gotham rogues #dc villains #dc comics #headcanon #tw food mention #tw alchohol mention #tw violence mention #tw just in case

[mxtantrights]

˚ · . · ✵ PART THIRTY

word count: 2.4k

HAWKINS, INDIANA

MARCH 1985

Steve slid the box over to the hood of his car with a grin too wide for it to be good. The little shit already dragged me away from lunch to eat outside. Just the two of us. I knew something was coming I just didn't know what it was.

I took the box and opened up the lid.

A lasso. A bright red rope that looks like something from an actually farm.

"You know now that I have this you're in deep trouble right? This doesn't end well for you." I quipped without looking up at him.

"Can I get a head start?"

"You get five seconds starting now-one," I grab the lasso out of the box, it's already got a loop and everything. "Two," With the loop in my right hand and the coils in the other I swing it around to get used it it. "Three."

I look up and see Steve not even that far. If I didn't know him I wouldn't suspect he was a basketball player. Aren't they supposed to be fast?

I jog a bit to put less distance between us and throw the loop around him making sure to keep the momentum. It lands around his body and I pull hard on the rope and it tightens around his waist and arms.

Pulling him back to me and his car he's got a look of pure happiness on his face. "I guess I was right. You do know how to use a lasso."

I chuckle at him, shaking my head as well. Only Steve Harrington would willingly buy a lasso so that someone would catch him in it. I don't know another human being that would do that. No one.

"The only reasons that make sense for why you'd buy that is because you have a weird thing for cowgirls and being tied up." I speak.

My fingers are undoing the loop that he's in. He's not even squirming I know he's living for this shit.

Once I get him out he takes a breath and stretches his arms. My eyes try their best but I do catch his shirt go up and see a happy trail-

"Why would having a thing for cowgirls be weird?"

-

I didn't mind spending time in my high school. If I had to study there was the library, there was no reason not to use it. I just didn't like spending time in the middle school by myself. I wasn't by myself, the kids were the av room.

But I didn't want to ruin their game. The room was so small and you could only do so much before you got bored. So I decided to take a walk around the middle school. It wouldn't have bothered me if I was just a normal teenager.

I remember the hallway where the demogorgon busted through the wall. Eleven used her powers to take down those men.

The hairs on my arms are standing up when I come across it.

The classroom we were in when she disappeared. I know she's alive and okay, we all are. But it's like all my brain can focus on is those moments. The dust settling, Elven gone. I walk inside of it and close the door behind me.

My life wasn't normal before this night. I don't think it'll ever be normal after.

I can hear the door click open, meaning I've been caught. Some teacher is probably wondering why I'm snooping in their classroom. If I was stealing something.

I turn to the front door "Sorry I got lost," I stop myself when I see my mother. My mother in the doorway with two men behind her. "I thought you were gone?"

She gives them a look, and the wait outside as she steps into the room. I slowly back away from her. Crap where was my lasso when I needed it? I left my bag in the av room. I look around the room for any phone box but I can't really find it.

"Jessie I'm not here to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." She says, getting closer.

Yeah right! Like erasing my memories and making me do things to people-horrible things to people? That shit hurt me even though it didn't leave a physical bruise. It all hurt in the end.

I put the desk in between us.

I raise my hand at her, palm flat. "Stop right there. Don't come any closer to me. I don't want anything to do with you."

"I just wanted to give you everything that was erased from you."

What?

Why would she do that? Why would she willingly give me back whatever memories she had erased? There has to be something in it for her, I just can't tell what it is yet. Do I even want to know what she's up to ?

I shake my head at her. "No I don't want them back. The only thing I could ever want from you is for you to leave. Leave us all alone."

"You didn't tell him what you did, did you?" The way she asks me that is not sincere.

No I didn't tell my father that I killed someone using my mind. I don't plan on doing it anytime soon either. He already found out there was a monster in his bed he doesn't need to know about his killer-daughter.

Dayton knows. And he keeps on telling me it's not my fault, I know that- I just don't feel it. If my big brother is telling me that it's not my fault then what the hell is my dad gonna tell me? The same thing? Or that it's my mothers fault?

Either way, playing the blame game doesn't help me much. All it does is reiterate the fact that i used my abilities to kill someone. Whether I meant to or not, if I knew it or not. I still did it.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"fuck you."

"You should know everything, shouldn't you? All of the details, all of the memories?" She asks but I don't respond. I just keep my distance, and keep my mouth shut. She puffs out a breath and nods her head. "If you ever want to know, use this."

I watch as she takes out a card from her jacket pocket and places it lightly on the desk.

Then I watch as she turns around and walks out of my life again. I thought the first time would also be the last time but apparently I was wrong. I don't know what she wants from me now, but she's definitely not done with me.

She closes the door and I feel like I can breathe normally again.

My eyes scan the card she left on the table. On it is a typed name and then something scribbled below it.

SAM OWENS

ASK FOR GLENDALL

-

I push open the door and sure enough the kids are all there.

I just stand there for a moment.

Do I even say anything to anyone?

If I say something to Mickey is he gonna wanna see our mother? Is he gonna tell dad? Or Dayton? What if I told my dad? What would he do? Hunt her down? Hunt down Larry Kline, the mayor of our town? Would he tell Hopper?

What if I told no one?

I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder. I almost want to let out a yelp or a scream. But I don't. I don't because I know it can't be her or anyone she knows. She left. I don't know for how long but she's gone.

Turning my head I look up at Steve. Somehow it was always him.

"Look at our little shitheads."

HAWKINS, INDIANA

MARCH 1985

I opened the door to the police station and felt instantly warmer. It definitely beats the cold outside. I step inside and un zip my jacket a little bit. I can't stay long, it already took long enough to ride here during lunch period. I've also got to ride back.

At the front desk is Florence, at the ready to greet me.

"Jessie how are you honey?"

I smile. "I'm good. Just wanted to see if Hopper was in."

She makes a face- he's probably in a mood- and points behind her. I thank her and head in to the station. I can see the other officers, who probably know my dad. Who will probably tell him I was here.

I can make up a lie for that if need be.

I just needed to see Hopper.

He's standing over someone, hands on his hips like he's about to scold them. I should probably save them from the torture. I clear my throat to get his attention and it works. He turns around to face me.

"Jessie? What are you doing here?" He asks me as I step closer to him. I don't need other people catching what I'm saying.

"I need your help with something. Something that needs to stay between us." I say pointing between the two of us to paint the picture for him.

He looks around the office before nodding over to an empty office. I almost let out a yelp when he pushes me in front of him and into the office. He then closes the door behind us and gives me the hands on hips.

He's gonna scold me?

"Now wait a minute before you lecture me on being out of school I need to show you," I dig into my coat pocket until my fingers feel the card in question. I pull it out of my pocket and hold it out for him to take from me. "this."

He takes it and looks at the card. His expression changes very quickly. "Where did you get this?"

"My mother gave it to me." He makes another face now and I nod my head at him. "I was at the middle school and she came out of nowhere claiming she wanted me to have all of my memories back."

I can hear him let out a sigh as he begins to rub his forehead. "Your mother made contact with you and you didn't tell anyone?"

"I didn't know what to do but now I'm coming to you Hopper." I try to explain my actions but really it sounds like bullshit. I was scared about going to anyone else.

"Why me? Why not your dad? Your brother?" He asks me, already knowing the answer. "You don't want to tell them that she came back. Or that you can get your memories back."

I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. "If I tell them anything it opens a can of worms that I don't feel like talking about with them."

"But you'd talk about it with me?"

I roll my eyes at that. "If it wasn't clear before I trust you to be impartial."

He walks over to the desk and leans against it, facing me. "Jessie I need you to tell me what your so scared to tell your family."

I killed a man. That's what I'm so scared of. I'm a killer. Yes it's not black and white but the gun still went off. The bullet still killed someone. I did that. I'm the reason. And there is always this lump in my throat and this thumping in my heart that appears when I think about it.

I clear my throat and try to make sure my voice doesn't crack. "I killed someone. I made a man pull the trigger on himself."

When I look at him, he's already looking at me. And I do not need to see that look from someone else. So I look down at the floor instead. My dirty white converse. Anything instead of having to go through this again.

"I know the man whose name is on this card. He's been helping me with Jane. He's not a bad guy." He explains.

Okay so the man who could potentially give me back my memories is not a bad man. If Hopper is getting help from him, he trusts him to some extent. That's good to know. But what I don't want to know? What I don't want to stumble upon? Is me killing someone else.

I look up from the floor now. "I don't want to get them back. I'm perfectly fine the way I am. I need your help figuring out why my mother wants me to have my memories back. I mean she came back and risked being seen so it has to be something."

"What if it's nothing Jessie?"

I look at him sharply.

"It is something! For all of my life she's been doing this to me, these experiments or tests, whatever. And then she wipes them clean because she can't have her experiment walking around knowing it's an experiment." I walk towards him during my rant.

"Jessie she's go-" Hopper tries to interject but I don't let him. I'm not done.

"She's been in control the whole time. She's been toying with me for my whole life! And it's finally over and she leaves! She doesn't explain, she doesn't say she was wrong, she doesn't say jack shit to me! She just turns her back on me! Her precious experiment!" My voice starts to get louder and louder- I don't realize it because all I can see is red. All I can feel is red.

"Hey, Jessie-"

"I thought she was leaving for good! I thought there couldn't possibly be anything left for her to do to me! But then she comes back! She comes back and she tells me she didn't want to hurt me! She wants me to remember that I kill-" My words start hitting me back and my voice croaks at the end.

Hopper grabs my shoulders and makes that red that I've been seeing snap away.

"Jessie you were being controlled. You didn't have a choice in this. You were just a kid. She's the one who knew what she was doing. She's the one to blame here." He talks like- like I didn't just tell him I killed someone. Like it doesn't matter.

"But it's something. She walked away from me that night with no intention of coming back and now here she is- coming back into my life. I need to know why Hopper, I need to-"

"I'll contact him." He nods to me.

"You'll ask him about my mother?" I ask him and he nods again. "O-okay."

"Now you need to tell your dad what's happening. Beck wouldn't ever blame you, Jessie. The guy loves you and your brothers like theres nothing else in the world. He'll listen, he'll understand."

#DAMSEL #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things #IT"S THE LASSO #The lasso of love- #I'll shut up

[talldecafcappuccino]

Title: Between Close Friends

Rating: General Audience

Chapters: 1/1

Relationship: Ted Lasso/Rebecca Welton

Summary: Ted is bad at social media, but is that a bad thing?

Ted, what the fuck are you doing????

Ted peers at his phone, rubbing sleep from his eyes and reads the message again.

He scrolls down and sees he has twelve more texts and three missed calls all from Keeley Jones. He turns off his nighttime notifications with a few exceptions for emergency contacts, so it’s not surprising he slept through the messages.

He scratches at the stubble along his cheek and checks his clock. It’s seven o’clock here in Kansas, so it must be . . . early afternoon in London. He thinks through the last day, but he can’t remember anything interesting enough to have Keeley on the case.

Henry came over to his extended-stay hotel, they went to an American football game, got a late dinner in downtown Wichita, and watched a movie before bed.

They did make it on the Jumbotron for the Lasso-off, the team’s half-time dance contest, but his moves weren’t especially embarrassing. At least not in his opinion. Unless one of the moves was actually an insult to the English in which case, oh jeeze, he needs to get on this quick.

The call barely connects before Keeley’s voice echoes in his ear.

“Oy! Ted!”

“Keeley, I am so sorry for whatever I did to offend the great people of the United Kingdom. I am ready to make a statement and an apology tour as soon as you tell me which dance move I need to retire immediately.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I need you to log out of the AFC Richmond Instagram account. Like, now.”

That stops Ted in his tracks.

Does he even have access to that? He remembers a post-it note of accounts and passwords from Beard on their first day with Richmond.

There was an account run by the previous manager, but Keeley had taken it over long ago, converting it to the official team account. She had also made Ted a personal Instagram for his own use and brand development, but he never posted publicly.

He puts her on speaker phone and opens the Instagram app. She’s right. He’s logged into the team account with all 25 million followers. Well, shoot.

There are about a dozen stories posted from last night. All of Ted and Henry’s day together. There’s puns (“having a cow” at dinner with an image of Henry holding up a beef rib and screaming his head off), Ted and Henry singing at a dueling piano bar, the two brushing their teeth together in the bathroom mirror.

“No offense, but I think this may delay the Tom Ford deal you asked me about.”

“Yeah. I get that.”

“It’s just, you know, dads aren’t quite their brand. Or our brand. I mean we’re not anti-dorky dad, but you know with the whole comeback narrative during the season hiatus . . .”

“No I get it. You’ve put a lot of work into rebranding this team and I just undermined that.”

She sighs, but it’s fond.

“Sorry, Ted. It’s not like what you posted was bad, it’s rather sweet actually. It’s just a little different from the posts I had scheduled.”

Ted nodded. It wasn’t the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to him, but he felt bad for making Keeley’s job harder than it needed to be.

“No, I’m sorry Keeley. I swear, it won’t happen again.”

****

“Can you believe what Ted did last night? I’ve never seen someone so bad at social media.”

Rebecca has no idea what Keeley is talking about when she walks into her office. She flops onto the couch, feet splayed on the coffee table, clearly exhausted by whatever Ted has done from 4,438 miles away.

“So many puns. Which, don't get me wrong, I love word play more than most people. But I don’t think it’s right for the team right now.”

Rebecca shuts her laptop.

“You’re right about puns not being part of the team plan, but what’s this about Ted? What did he do, exactly?”

Ted hasn’t posted anything in at least 24 hours. Not that Rebecca is keeping track.

“Oh he managed to switch to the team account on Instagram and posted about his entire evening out with Henry. It was quite sweet, actually. The ones that made sense,” but then she pulled a face.”He’s like, really, really bad at social media.”

Oof. Well that isn’t great, but Rebecca doesn’t think there’s anything particularly terrible about Ted’s social media use normally.

“But everything seems under control? No big PR actions needed.”

“It’s fine. I had him log out and wrote a post about Coach Lasso’s surprise social media takeover from America.”

Rebecca nods. Okay, so it was all sorted. Keeley has things totally under control.

But she reaches for her phone anyway. She opens Instagram, taps through the AFC Richmond stories, and snorts at the image of Henry with the rib as big as his head.

“Are people at least being kind?” Rebecca hopes Ted logged out without seeing any messages about Henry. Not that she could see any reason for it, but people were shitheads on the internet.

“Well, wanker is still the most common response. But many of them are wanker with a little heart at the end, so I think it’s fine. We actually got a lot of responses, proper engagement and all that,” she looks up at the ceiling, considering it for a moment before rolling her head to look back at Rebecca.

“If we weren’t trying to present the team as a badass phoenix rising from the ashes, I’d say a Ted takeover isn’t a bad idea. He just needs some supervision. Maybe a phone with a better camera.”

Rebecca is only half listening as she taps to the next story.

“Aw, they went to dueling piano night. That must have been fun for Henry.”

She’s smiling at her phone when Keeley asks, “Dueling piano night?”

“Yeah, you know at Jim Bob’s Bar.”

Keeley is looking at her blankly.

“Fine. I know it’s not really Jim Bob’s bar. It’s probably not even a bar if Henry’s there. But I can’t remember the real name off the top of my head.”

She’d looked it up once, after Ted first posted about the dueling pianos. For some reason she started calling it Jim Bob’s. Ted didn’t seem bothered and had even started calling it that himself.

When she looks up again, Keeley is staring at her, eyes narrowed.

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you know so much about some bar in Kansas?”

That gives Rebecca pause. She isn’t sure what Keeley means by the line of questioning.

“It’s not some totally random bar. Ted posts about it whenever he goes for dueling pianos.”

If he gets to the bar early or she has a particularly late evening, Rebecca catches the story before going to bed. When she does, she always asks him to put in $5 for Wannabee by the Spice Girls. She owes him a small fortune by now, but it’s worth it to see the bar explode with cheers and jeers.

Some nights she misses the story, but he puts money in anyways and she wakes up to a shaky video of, Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.

Rebecca thinks this is a good enough explanation, but Keeley is still staring at her.

“I’ve literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Keeley, you know social media is not my thing. All I know is that sometimes Ted posts about this bar on his tiny friends list thing,” she waves her hand around, trying her best to describe it. “The one with the green ring around it.”

Keeley leaps to her feet, eyes wide.

“Am I not on Ted’s Close Friends list??”

Before Rebecca can say a word, Keeley is halfway out the door, texting furiously.

“Roy, better not be on there, if I’m not on there. Ted knows how I feel about being left out!” she shouts over her shoulder. “Sorry Rebecca, I need to do some investigating, asap.”

Oof. She may have just created a problem. It’s probably best to give Ted a heads up before Keeley gets through interrogating Roy.

She drafts a text once, twice, then deletes it and presses call instead.

“Hey Boss, let me guess. Keeley got a hold of you?”

It’s been a while since they’ve chatted, what with the time difference. It’s bizarre how familiar his American accent has become.

“She just left my office, yes.”

There’s a loud crack in the background and a metal clang.

“Where are you?”

“Oh, just the batting cages with Henry,” he says, cheering loudly. “Hey, do you guys have a sport called baseball that has nothing to do with American baseball? You know, like football and football?”

She chuckles, “I don’t believe we do. However there is always cricket.”

He hums, considering it.

“Now Ted, I think there’s something you should know.”

“Lay it on me Boss. I know I caused a headache this morning, what’s the damage? What do you need me to do? I am at your disposal or I’ll lay really, really low as long as you need me to.”

“It’s not that Ted. It’s Keeley.”

“Keeley?”

“Yes, she’s on a bit of a mission at the moment. It seems you left her off your Close Friends list? I think that’s right. On Instagram?”

“Huh. How did that come up?”

“I was telling her about Jim Bob’s. Apparently she had never heard of it and realized you had a whole social media life she was unaware of.”

“Right . . .”

“So do what you will with that.”

“You haven’t talked to anyone else about this yet, have you?”

Rebecca is confused by this new direction.

“No. Why? Ted, is something wrong?”

It takes a long moment for Ted to respond.

“What can I say, I’m just really bad at this social media stuff.”

It's a non-response and an overly folksy one at that. But Rebecca can’t be fooled by the aw shucks routine—not anymore. She tries again.

“Ted. Who is on your close friends list?”

“Uh. Not a lot of people.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“What can I say?” He huffs, a little frustrated. She would feel bad for prying, but she can't help herself. “The list of people I want to share silly life things with is small.”

“How small?” she wonders.

“Very small.”

The line goes silent and Rebecca swears she lost him. But then she hears him take a deep breath.

“It’s you. You’re the list.”

Rebecca feels flush. That’s not where she was expecting this conversation to go.

“I know that might be a lot. You don’t have to say anything. I just, that’s the honest truth and I’d like to get ahead of it before Keeley harangues the entire team.”

It’s a lot to take in, but it makes sense. Sometimes when she’s watching his posts, she wonders about his audience. Who else cares about his biscuit recipe improvements or Broadway Sundays (a recent development that’s turned into a shared movie night.)

“Rebecca?”

She realizes she’s been quiet for a while. The moment feels tenuous and she worries about saying the wrong thing, sending him running faster than Keeley during a social media snafu.

Finally she settles on, “You know, you’re welcome to text me silly life things. It wouldn’t be a bother.”

She brushes invisible crumbs from her desk, listening carefully to his breathing on the other end of the line.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Maybe I can send some, too?”

Rebecca can hear his smile from across the Atlantic.

“Well, alright then.”

****

That night, Ted’s phone pings and he rolls over to see a text message from Rebecca. It’s a picture of the sun rising over her garden wall.

Something silly to start the day.

But it doesn’t feel silly. Not at all.

#ted lasso #ted lasso fic #some fluff #because a plot bunny got in the way of what I planned to write this weekend #I blame the Easter bunny #ted x rebecca

[sparklywaistcoat]

I find the online version of the 1967 TV Times interview with Diana Rigg unreadable online, so I’m reproducing it here for anyone else who has difficulty with accessibility due to the web page’s design.

The Girl Behind Emma Peel, TV Times, 12/10/1967 (reprinted here from http://deadline.theavengers.tv/tvt1067a.htm)

...the two worlds of actress Rigg... above, as Emma Peel of THE AVENGERS; a series seen in 40 countries; men feast their eyes on her while muttering endearments in 22 languages.  Right, Diana as she is to herself...

Diana Rigg has returned to Shakespearean acting - she is the female lead in a film version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

As far as she was concerned, it was the most wonderful thing that had happened to her in years.

She had been Emma Peel's alter ego so long she had to get away - - or else.

"I had become paranoid," she assured me, "with an underlying urge to pack and run.  It is a curious thing.   People who have never been subjected to it can never really understand what it means.

"I can only describe it as a sense of panic that seizes you when you are Diana to yourself and you are walking down the street.   An instant later, you are somebody else to a lot of people who behave as if you belong to them.

"If you are quite a private person, which I am, this seems an intrusion on my privacy.  I just have to run.

"Mind you," she adds, with an apologetic smile, "I am not ungrateful.  I will be the last to minimise what television has done for me.  It is a phenomenon, a miracle medium, that can accomplish in six months what takes years on the stage.  Suddenly, you are famous.  Suddenly, everybody knows you.

"The point is, though, that you are not yourself.  Only the other person you portray in the series.  That person is, of necessity, imposed by television, one-dimensional.  You ask yourself - - is it worth it?

It should be.  In the three years that Diana Rigg has spent in THE AVENGERS she has been catapulted into a position of bargaining power.

Hollywood producers have offered £100,000 to work in one film.  It seem they would go higher, if that is what she wants.  But she has turned them down.

"So far I have not been offered anything I want," she says.  "I don't want a long-term contract.  As an actress I will work where and for whom I want, if the script is exciting enough.

"If a script is good and they have a director I can trust, then I will do it."

Really it is a matter of time.  The big, international film-makers are confident they will have lassoed this high-spirited long-legged English girl long before Emma Peel loses her hold on the masses - if she ever does.

THE AVENGERS is eagerly watched each week in 40 countries, and Emma Peel (Mrs.) is the series' irrepressible whimsical Amazon of the jet set.  Men feast their eyes on her while muttering endearments in 22 languages, and their women try to emulate her - - but they never will, of course.

Consumption of champagne the world over has been increasing ever since John Steed and Emma Peel began toasting each other in bubbly stuff, from the television tube.

"Avengerwear" - - Emma's fancy "cat" suits and things - - is reaching the shelves and racks of department stores all over the world.

"Emma Peel's" international fan mail, still growing by leaps and bounds, promises to assume astronomical figures before the winter is out.

Diana never touches this mail and has enlisted mother, in Leeds, to head the Emma Peel fan mail operation.

Says Diana: "We have this room at home, measuring 20ft. by 15ft., and it is full of letters.  More are delivered each day - all addressed to me.

"I am supposed to answer them.  But I can't, and that worries me deeply.  I get persecuted by the mere thought that there's an obligation which I am not willing to fulfil.

"That is where mother comes in.  She reads, and she answers.  And I feel ashamed.  But I can't help it.

"People have made up their minds to identify me with a fantasy of theirs on television.  In their minds they want to have a relationship with me based on fantasy which can take any form.

"I have heard from my mother that there have been letters from children saying: "You look like my dead mother and so I write to you."  I think that is terrifying."

The story of Diana Rigg is, in a way, the story of two women - the real one and the imaginary one.  They are identical twins.

The conflict within this beautiful and intelligent young woman, who is just a little older than 29, reminds me of the case of Sean Connery, alias James Bond.

In Connery's case, though, there was resentment.  Connery, the man, gradually developing such a passionate hatred for the image he had created that he refused to continue as Bond even at a million dollars a throw.

He made his last two Bond films under protest.  Bond made him a multi-millionaire, but you cannot escape the feeling that he would settle for half this amount if his identity remained - that of himself and not that of the slick, women-loving, superb and deadly Secret Agent 007.

Emma Peel has some of the same qualities as 007, well-screened and suppressed, to fit into a family-watching hour on television.

The innuendo, contained in the name has been a source of Rigg's unconcealed unhappiness.

Asked what innuendo, she blushes and confides in a conspiratorial whisper: "Believe it or not, Emma Peel is a phonetical transposition of "M Appeal", the M in this case standing for Men.  In other words, "Men Appeal."  Isn't it a scream?  Sorry that I blush."

She adds wistfully: "I wanted to be Lady Peel, not for any grandiose reasons, but simply because it seemed to get some rather good comments over on the English aristocracy.  Of course they wouldn't do it."

"They" being the producers who have been running the show like a tightly-run ship.

Not unlike Sean Connery after "Goldfinger", Diana Rigg said goodbye to THE AVENGERS on the last day of a contractual stay at an ITV studio in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, last August 31st.

"They" were highly hopeful that she would be back, if not immediately, then later.

The production schedule could be stretched to accommodate her, she was reminded.  A new regime was taking command of the series, and this, it was felt, would offer Diana an incentive.

She was not sure.  But on the last day of the last batch at the close of shooting at 5.20pm she produced a bottle of champagne to toast her co-star and co-workers.

They had become a closely-knit family, and she would miss them if she were not to come back.

"I am devoted to Patrick," she says, referring to co-star Patrick Macnee, who plays John Steed.  "I'm frightened of minimising him by talking about him, because it always sounds so glib, but he's an extremely generous and gentle and marvellous man."

They are comrades-in-arms on television.   Off screen they are the best of friends, but that is all.  Macnee married a second time during the series.  Again to quote her, she is "totally committed" to another man.

Diana is simply devoted to a number of other people on the series, including her stand-in, Diana Enright, and her double, stunt-woman, Cyd Child, who resembles her so much that all three directors of the series have dared to have Cyd perform her stunts in full-face and semi-close-up.

Viewers have yet to write to complain that the girl hurling herself through the air at an adversary is not Diana Rigg.

And then, there's Diana's studio chauffeur, John Taylor, who is also her "Man Friday".

"I wouldn't know what to do without him," she says.  A confidante, he also does her shopping while she is working, and has the ability to always be there when needed.

Diana didn't join the series under duress.   She was tested for the role, as were others after John Steed's leading lady Cathy Gale (actress Honor Blackman) left the series - - ironically for a Bond flick, "Goldfinger".

Why did a promising young Shakespearean actress offer her services to a television series Shakespearean actors have looked down on with patronising dismay?  To quote the lovely Diana: "I did it because I had left the Royal Shakespeare Company knowing that if I renewed my contract and stayed on for three or four years, I would have progressed and played good parts, but I was yearning for additional scope.

"To accomplish this I would have to plunge into the deep end, and nothing seemed deeper than this.  I was right.  Nothing is deeper."

Before dawn in a delightfully feminine bedroom the phone jangles.  The young woman sleepily answers.  Then struggles out of bed, just like a scene from THE AVENGERS.

But the call was from the telephone service Diana Rigg instructed to wake her.  It is still only 6.30 a.m.  She gropes through the house, takes her luke-warm bath, drinks a glass of lemon juice.  Into the street by 6.50 a.m. - without a touch of make-up.  "I've got no vanity at that time of the morning."

North London's suburb of St. John's Wood is still fast asleep and there's no one to catch sight of Diana Rigg below her perfectly-groomed best.  Except John Taylor, her chauffeur.  He arrives a few minutes earlier, but his instructions are to wait .... about two lines are incoherent here...

"I'm never late," she shudders, "comatose that I still am, and I hate that sound of the bell - at this ghastly hour."

Off to the studios in Borehamwood, Herts.   She reads the morning paper on the way.

"It isn't my paper," she says, "It's John'.  I don't like it but it's the only paper there, so I read it.  Every morning."  Apparently it had never occurred to her to ask John to bring her a paper.  And so... another day in the life of Emma Peel.

This has been her routine since she became a television star.  Diana moved to this house, a lot more compatible with her status, from an old mews cottage she has lived in for five years.  Not that she was so concerned with status symbols.  Diana Rigg couldn't care less about such things.

She simply fell in love with the old house in St. John's Wood.  And her accountant approved of the move.

At her new address previously lived the artist Augustus John; and once Dame Laura Knight.

There, Diana Rigg now lives in the style and comfort of her private world revolving around a specially designed kitchen and window boxes sprouting home-grown herbs.

The house is out of bounds.  Except close friends.  Not that she is a recluse.  She feels that her life is her "own ruddy business".  But when in the mood, she will readily explain that she is every jealous of preserving her own privacy.

She insists on leading a life she considers right for her; not concerned with what she defines as "other people's social consciousness.  I like to do because I wish to, not because I ought to."

Diana was born in Doncaster, in Yorkshire, on July 20th, 1938.  She had spent the early part of her life at Jodhpur in Rajputna.  Her family was in the Indian Government Service.  Later, she was sent home to school at Great Missenden in Bucks.  Eventually, her parents returned to Yorkshire to settle in Leeds, where they now live.

There, Diana finished her education at Fulneck Girls' School, enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (The RADA) and two years later graduated to an acting career.  Was she withdrawn as a child?  "No, I don't think so.  I had the ability to withdraw and I still have it.  But above all I always has a strong sense of personal identity.

"One thing that I never did was dream.  I was always very practical.  I grew interested in the theatre when I was small but not because it offered me an entrance to a world of fantasy, but because it gave me a chance to assert myself.  And I loved its freedom.  I thought of it as a challenge."

Diana reflects: "I can still remember the first time I met an audience on these terms.  I was an understudy at Stratford-on-Avon, when I was called on to replace the principal in 'Alls Well That Ends Well'.  Her name was Priscilla Morgan.

"They gave me maybe an hour's rehearsal.  By a coincidence my parents were out front that night.  I didn't tell them that I was going on, so that when I came out and started shaking, they thought I was just walking on.  Then they realised, and sort of clutched each other in absolute fear.

"My fear was of a different kind.  I was simply not sufficiently prepared and so I was annoyed with myself.  Still, the audience was very kind as it always is when an understudy takes over and doesn't want to make a complete mess of the play, and I was led forward and allowed to take a solo bow.

"I played it for about a week, I guess.  And it was about the end of the week only that I began to enjoy it."

Then Diana was 20 years old and earning £7 10 shillings a week.  "To make ends meet, I was living on faggots, scraps of meat put inside intestines you still get at the butchers in the provinces.  Poor people's food.  They cost fourpence each.

"Four times a week, my dinner would consist of two faggots and maybe some potatoes and another vegetable, and fruit.  And you know what?  I was very healthy.  And very happy."

Diana had an old second-hand bicycle for transport around Stratford.  "And not only did I make the £7 10s stretch, but I could never do without perfume.  I guess I was so very young and this particular perfume was very heavy and musky and made me feel extremely sensual ... I never changed my perfume in all these years!"

Her faggot-eating period came to an end when she moved to London to appear in the London productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The bicycle went.  Now she drives a green Mini.  She lived in the mews cottage, all this still modestly.  No more faggots, but all the perfume that she felt was required, by a young actress, not too bad-looking.

She took a small bottle when she travelled to the United States, appearing in 'King Lear' and 'The Comedy of Errors' on alternate nights.

The company also toured the Continent, as far as Moscow.  From her experience on this tour comes Diana's boundless admiration for actor Paul Scofield.

"He's been my ideal since I first saw him on the stage.  I was working with him in 'King Lear' when I became aware of his sense of identity, a strong totally compromising identity."

She says: "The beauty of it is that here is a man who has just won an Oscar in an Oscar-winning film and Hollywood is after him.  What does he do?  He's gone back to Stratford.  Obviously, he doesn't care for the money.  And he's right.  Of course, it's your beliefs that matter.

"In a way I followed his example when I agreed to film "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  Peter Brook was doing it and I believe in him and I grew up with him, so I had to answer his call.  Professionally speaking, I am part of his troupe.

"Even though I think I'm too bad for the part.  The pay?  Obviously a pittance by comparison with what I'm making, but then, money is so transitory ...  I will not forget that I could, when forced to, live on £7 and 10 Shillings.

Tourists at Athens airport could swear that the young woman killing time in the long drab waiting room  by stopping at souvenir counters to inspect, for the umpteenth time, the pseudo-Grecian vases for sale was... Emma Peel.

She wore her auburn hair loose, letting it flow to her shoulders in the manner of the star of THE AVENGERS.  And her mini-skirt revealed a pair of very feminine, familiar and beautiful legs.

"It was not easy to say I was not Mrs. Peel," Diana Rigg recalls, "because I dislike lies.  But I would have had to explain why and what I was doing there, and it was a long story."

Actually, she was changing planes, going from London to a little-known place in Western Greece.

Eventually a shaky little plane which flies up into the mountains over some breathtakingly lovely countryside delivered her there, to make the trip worth her while.

Two days later, she took the same route back to London and Borehamwood, Herts., to resume where Emma Peel had left off.

It was an unconventional way to spend two days off the series.  "I go to the craziest places for the weekend," she said, dismissing all attempts to explain herself.

In the case of the Greek place, a British film unit was there shooting "Oedipus, The King", and lots of friends were there.

One weekend last winter she flew to Zurich, rented a car at the airport and set out, a map in her lap, for Klosters, the Swiss ski resort.

"I drove through the night, with the craziest Swiss drivers whizzing past me over the ice-covered road," she said.   "It twisted its way through the mountains, and I just hung on the wheel and prayed.  I could have turned back, but I didn't.  Too proud."

Until this experience, she had never motored on the Continent before, much less had snow-covered mountains by herself.

All of which seems to indicate that, not unlike Emma Peel, Diana Rigg is a rather unusual person.

It was she - and not Emma Peel - who helped to launch the mini-skirt, in an attempt to be different.

"The designer and the other men were horrified," she said, chuckling at memories of production executives looking aghast at the abbreviated skirt she was wearing and which she wanted Emma to wear.

"They pulled their hair ... said you can't do that, it's impossible ... I argued that one must look forward and not back and by wearing these brief skirts, one was looking forward.

"In fact, one was creating fashion very avant-garde, rather than remaining at the tail end of last year's styles.  And it turned out that I couldn't have been more right."

Not that she has profited financially from the so-called "Avenger-wear" that mirrors her ideas.  After all, she's an actress!

Nor does she care to identify with an image.  "I never wear the clothes in the series outside," she said.

"But there's a style there that I think is common to both of us, and I have no intention of changing my appearance after Emma Peel is no more.  After all, it was I who affected her."

She has no intention either of abandoning the mini-skirt, which, as far as she is concerned, was from the beginning Diana Rigg expressing herself.

Where the tastes of Emma Peel and Diana Rigg meet is champagne.  Emma loves it, Diana loves it.  And, for the record, she loved it before she became Emma Peel.

"I'm always very well stocked," she said, "but I never drink it at the studio.

"The stuff Patrick Macnee and I drink on camera is bubbly lemonade, very harmless.  I don't touch the stuff then.  You mustn't when you work.  At home, well, that's another story ..."

Diana's secret passion is to cook, and to have friends come to her house in London's St. John's Wood to enjoy her meals, without much ceremony, exquisitely prepared with the help of her home-grown herbs.

"I'm not joking," she proudly expounded on the subject of her herbs.  "They are all mine, and they all grow in window boxes outside my kitchen.  Every window has its own herbs.

"Left to right, I have sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, which is very beautiful, chervil, and two kinds of mint, sorrel and my bay trees.

"Bay tree leaves are marvellous for fish ... true mine are more like baby trees.  And basil, and fennel, and chives.  And that's it.  Except that they all live and prosper, outside my kitchen windows in London."  The secret passion of Diana Rigg ...

"I had always wanted to grow my own herbs," she said.  "This was my obsession.  So I got the address of a herb farm 95 miles out of town, and one morning I went there.

"A little old lady took me around and she muttered under her breath and said they would never grow in the London smoke.  I said I'd like to try anyway.  So, she shook her head and gave me what I wanted.

"They came in little pots, as I brought them back to London they were all looking sad and sick.

"So I put them in larger pots and stuck them in my window boxes and every day I watered them out of a jug.  And the miracle came to pass."

Diana Rigg has become enriched as an actress in the years at Stratford-on-Avon; on tours and the three years that she has played Emma Peel in THE AVENGERS.

She tells about the director she met at a party who told her he had a marvellous script for her.  She had it sent over.

"Well, if I wasn't the girl who comes tearing through the door with a gun in one hand and a flame-thrower in the other," she reported in mock despair, "I was the sexy siren sneaking through the door in Veronica Lake style.  I lost my temper, for the first time.

"I sent them a message saying that I couldn't do it."

#diana rigg #tv times #emma peel #the avengers

[popculturebuffet]

Toons for Our Times: Star Vs: Demoncism

Halloween Havoc BEGINS! And with Tomtober this same month, i’m taking another of my on and off looks at Tom! Tom tries to tackle his literla nd figurative  personal demons the natural way: by having a creepy anti-demon cult that’s never explained suck them out of his body. For some reason Star has a problem with this. We also get Ponyhead in a robe, the wonders of reflectcor and free toys from the toychest for being such a good boy. Face your demons under the cut. 

Welcome boys, ghouls and that bootiful technicolor rainbow inbetween, to halloween havoc! MUAHAHHAHA.  You might be wondering a few things. What the hell that is, isn’t that also the title of a bunch of old wcw pay per views, and have I gone insane. In order it’s usually my catchy term the past two years and this current one for my binging of halloween films and logging and reviewing them on my leterboxd account, but I decided to expand it to here since while it’s not my first halloween on here it’s the first both reviewing animation and planning ahead, I decided why not reuse a good title here.  As for the wcw thing.. well yeah. It’s a great title, neither WWE, who I think still owns the copyright, nor WCW”s Heir Apparent AEW are using it right now despite being one of the best recurring Pay-Per-View titles either promotions had. Maybe not in actualy MATCH QUALITy but that name.. it just sings to me so i’m using it for my weird blog. I’m not making any money of this so why not. And as for my sanity that left a long time ago. So prepare for a month of ghouls, ghosts, goblins, lichs, scooby doo parodies, long forgotten characters, and some suprises and pies of all sizes. THIS... IS....

So to start us off, every year my pal @jess-the-vampire​ does a monthly event known as tomtober, a celebration of all things tom lucitor. And since I started hte tomtropsective for that and still am behind, I figured why not celebrate that, and the fact I can’t draw so I can’t do day 1 as a chat or anything, by continuing the tale of everyone’s faviorite teen demon.  Thankfully unlike last time, or next time wink wonk, there’s not a TON of other plot stuff to fill in. There is one important bit not to this episode but to the series as a whole: Eclipsa is here, since Moon trying to screw her out of the deal she made backried once toffee actually died... as did you know keepiung him alive instead of dealing with eclipsa being free and having the comissoin to back her on it. Nice job moon. Real nice. So yeah Eclipsa’s around.. dosen’t effect this episode but given tom’s involved in two of the biggest plot important episodes in the show, AND one deals with the direct fallout of one of those episodes i’m probably going to have to cover her soon to get to more tom anyway so might as well prepare for that now. 

So yeah this episode’s entreily a straight line from last time and opens picking up on the end of that episode: Star is calling tom wondering when their gonna get that Cornshake. Thankfully she gets an answer. Unthankfully.. it’s from a VERY sweaty ponyhead. 

So that was my own personal hell. Anyways she’s so.. sweaty.. GAHHHHHHH, because she’s keeping a secret and much like me she can’t keep her mouth shut about something she wants to talk about for very long, so we find out what she knows: SHe ran into tom who swore her not to tell Star he was getting a Demoncisim. Which suprises me.. not the demoncism thing the fact Pony would actually listen to anyone else.. Star included. LIke it’s the one thing about this episode that dosen’t quite fit: She’s such a selfish, toxic asshole, though Jenny Slate bless her makes her at least entertaining at times but even she has limits, it just dosen’t track she’d care what Tom thought unless we saw it for ourselves. Pony is ONLY capable of carring about star so while I could see tom framing it as for her own good, it’d be nice if the episode just came out and said that. It’d also be nice if we didn’t get sweaty ponyhead because that’s probably someone’s fetish and I.. OH GOD. 

Okay now i’ve mentally snapped from that revelation, Star lasso’s pony when she tries to escape, and we find out the demoncism is pretty self explanatory: A cermony that removes demons from one’s body.. and given tom is you know, a demon, this could end bad. So with no idea where it’s being held and it going on now, giving them little if any time to figure it out, Star suggests going to pony’s ex.. she dosen’t remember which one and apologizes for how bitchy that sounded, but we find out it’s Seahorse, Pony’s love intrest for the rest of the series and a hardcore emo rocker who even made her a song.. which is just him destroying everything and screaming. Eh i’ve seen people in emowear do far dumber. 

If those are m and m’s their pretzel. Trust me I’m a professional lardass, I know my delcious candy coated choclates. Anyways our dynamic-ish duo head to Seahorse at his job at a relfectcor store, basically a phone store, and is basically a hollowed out shell of a human being with no real personality or free will of his own.. so THAT’S how we got Ted Cruz. Ponyhead natrually breaks down when he dosen’t recognize her at all, which is one of the few time’s i’ve actually cared about her feelings: I mean having your ex just.. forget you exist.. tha’ts rough buddy. I feel bad for her.. I didn’t know she had emotions. I thought her heart and brain were both a black hole.. mostly becasue I thought ponyhead’s hearts and brains were the same organ. Star does however manage to get the map they need to Tom. 

Our heroines find the Demonicsim site and a bunch of creepy guys in robes iwth red glowing eyes.. who are never explained honestly. More on that in a minute. So ponyhead distracts them with one of the greatest  gags in the series history

I mean just.. look at it. The way the robe drapes, the way her nose sticks out much like a certain penguins, the way she decides to distract everyone with petty minute like voting on robes.. it’s fucking great. I may not like pony a LOT but she can be really damn funny> The issues that she often isn’t funny enough to ofset her jackassery. Here though even with my jabs at her.. she works and I like it.  So Star confronts Tom, wondering AGAIN if this is another half assed tactic to win her back.. and her flip flop attitude with tom is starting to annoy me. It fits her personality, and don’t get me wrong as i’ve made abudnatnly clear in past reviews his actions in blood moon ball and ESPECIALLY mr.candle cares were super not okay, so i’ts okay NOT to forget how badly things went last time when your considering getting back together with someone. It’s NOT okay however to hold it over someone’s head forever like any moment their going to snap back into being a manipulative doucheweasel when they’ve left you alone for around 8 months.. and Id id my calcualtion. The timeline of the show is pretty solid up to season 4: Season 1 was star’s 1st semister at echo creek academy, season 2 was her second and as it turned out final one, and season 3 covers Summer , fall and part of next spring. Though again how another summer dosen’t happen until towards the end of season 4 is dumb and I’ll probably rant about that at a later point. Point is since MCC was at the start of season 2, that means it happened around say january or feburary, with Demonicsim probably happening around say march. So he’s left you alone for around 8 months, silver bell ball included. It’s unfair to assume he’s still schemeing when he let you go months ago. H’es made it obvious via his .. everything he’d take you back in an instant, he’s just being patient and not pushing it because he’s no longer as big an asshole, and trying to be respectful. Cut him a break.  Thankfully this gets put down quick with Tom explaning he wants to be better for himself: Like last time he was inspired by her trying to be better herself, and wants to.. but as we’ve established.. he dosen’t know HOW to be nice or a better person. He wasn’t raised in an enviroment that was really condusive to that as nice as his own parents are. Their the exception to the underworld being mostly dicks not the rule, as we’ll see next time. I.. can relate with my own issues with anxiety , depression and, yes, anger. I too have trouble keeping it in and hate feeling bitchy all the time or depressed and just want it to stop. I think anyone with a mental ilness just wants it to STOP to be gone and to be able to live a happy life. But there’s no magic button that fixes your issues, your traumas or your mental health like that. No pill that can fix it just ones that help ease it down to managable. And as i’ve learned the hard way YOU have to work at it, YOU have to make the effort. There’s no easy way out. And while Tom thinks htere is here, it’s very clear it’s a huge risk, and Star’s right that he shoudlnt’ go thorugh with it and that he could seriously hurt himself. But Tom’s in pain and just wants to be happy, to be normal, to be not angry anymore and I gotta tell you if , even if it was risky, there was a way to cure my depression or anger issues or anxiety, not my atuisim tha’ts part of me and not something that needs a fucking cure just more understanding and awarness, but if I could cure those other three things? I would. It’s paart of me sure but it’s a part of me I HATE. So I understand why tom’s doing this even despite the danger: because he’s at his wits end, desperate and this will help he hopes.. it can’t get WORSE, so why not? Evne if he’s wrong here i’ts hard not to understand why he’s so stubborn about it , for me at least.  Star leaves, and takes Ponycloak with her and they go to punch trees: Both to relive and because Pony hates tree. Probably because she went to tree court once and they tried to send her to tree jail. 

I mean she’ll probably get thrown back in there for this but still. Anyways the exerocisim comes. And NOW we can talk about this cult and.. while I understand why they never came back, they were really only necessary for this, I wish they had. I mean a mysterious cult with the power to restrain someone as strong as tom, acess to anti-magic chains the ONLY time we see something like this outside of the comission, and a hatred of demons includign referring to Tom as “Son of the blight” meaning they clearly hate and would destroy Wrathmelor if they could, yet also function as a perfectly legal orginzation the comission or the lucitors themselves haven’t swatted yet. There’s a LOT to unpack here they never did. The leader is also hliarious alteranting between creepy overlord and your dentist after a long apointment as a kid. But the ritual begins and it .. dosen’t go well with tom getting glowy blue lines and thrashing about.. just like me when i watched Ridciulous 6. I also felt my soul was leaving my body but that was just wishful thinking. The cultists run and star runs back to Tom and we get a truly powerful and romantic scene. Unable to free him, Star just.. holds him and is there for him as he goes through this. If she can’t help him she’ll be there for him. And it’s really touching.  We then cut to the hosptial tent at the cult, where the leader goes back to dad mode. Tom feels .. well worse, he just had surgery, as someone who had a tooth yanked out last month I can relate, and is suprised to see only one tiny soul demon as the sum of his anger. But it turns out, NOPE, being you know, the son of a rather powerful demon with a rather pwoerful b loodline, he’s FULL of them, and it woudl take 13 years to do this.. and tom’s naturally bummed because no one wants the equipvlent of having a wisdom tooth pulled a week for over a decade. Also because he now can’t get better.. but Star gently reassures him he’s already on the right track just by wanting to. As I said with most mental issues.. there’s no easy way out but it can get better if you put the work in and tom realizes.. there’s no quick way out after all. Just a long road.. but h’es not alone on it anyomore. But he at least gets a tiny demon in a jar and a toy out of the toychest for being a good boy.. and that’s nto me making shit up that’s the actual episode with him and star taking pinwheels and holding hands to Ponyhead’s annoyance. Which okay yeah they had a bad time last time I get tat Pony.. but your the last person to question ANYONE’S life decisions. Still I wish we’d had ane pisode of pony growing to accept them so we at least know WHY she’s so against it but oh well. 

Final Thoughts: This was a good one. Is it hte best the show’s put out? Probably not as the first part drags slightly but the second half at the demoncisim is just good character stuff, good comedy, and has a good payoff. I honestly like this way more on the second watch.  Though part of that is the context of the time: I admitted to being a starco shipper and having her get back with tom just felt like your standard “put a character in a relationship to complicate the main pairing” bullshit I always hate at this stage. Before anyone relaizes they like each other? Sure but at this point it was clearly just to drag things out. However with Marco getting progressivley worse and the two having good chemsitry.. I grew to like em.. and by the season finale, I just shipped all three together, before pivoting to marco and kelly. This couple grew on me for reasons w’ell geti nto as we go, even if it ended bad for reasons we’ll again get into. Oh we’ll get into them. With a knife. But yeah overall a great episode with a great concept, good character stuff, and some REALLY fucking funny gags. The show is damn good at comedy and I forget it sometimes. Next time we look at Tom, he’ll be in the background as Marco tries to help Kelly with a breakup. And sometime this month we’ll be looking at the halloween special which i’ll be watching for the very first time! So stay tuned, stay safe and Happy Halloween. 

#halloween #tomtober #tomtober 2020 #tom lucitor #star vs the forces of evil #demoncism #star butterfly #startom #lilica ponyhead #seahorse #wrathmelor lucitor #reviews

[primasveraas-writing]

"Kent v Fucking Automobile" -Ted Lasso

This is an accompanying piece to 2 others in this series, but I consider it an AU of the first one. The subject matter is the same, but things go down differently. This one can be read on its own.

Part 1 // Part 2

WORDS: 3482

XXX

Roy Kent’s life is fucking incredible.

For one, he has a gorgeous, wonderful wife, with whom he has a fucking wonderful son, and if that weren’t enough, they’re expecting another baby in just a few short months. But, not only does Roy have a perfect fucking family that he loves, he also has one of the greatest fucking jobs in the world: coaching AFC Richmond (a career second only to being a footballer himself).

He’s headed to work early; Sam needs him for something before practice, and apparently, Roy loves this team enough to miss part of his morning with his wife and son.

It’s one of those days where he’s on autopilot, barely needing to pay attention to what he’s doing. He’s slowing for a traffic light when it turns green, and then there is a mass moving towards him, and he jerks the steering wheel, dread heavy in his chest.

All Roy knows is that he’s bracing himself, then there’s pain, then a hot flash striking his arms and face, then the world stills and he’s opening his eyes. There’s an airbag in his face and horrible pressure against his right side. He blinks, slowly, and tries to take a steadying breath. That doesn’t hurt, at least, and he looks around.

His door is bashed in, bent awkwardly into his body. He can hardly see around the airbag, but he can feel the metal against his leg- his fucking leg, as if it weren’t fucked up enough- and the other car is rammed into his own. Roy swears, loudly, and realizes that there are people starting to swarm around the wreck. He groans and curses again- he doesn't particularly fancy making the headlines with this one.

He gives one of the pedestrians a thumbs up, then fumbles around for his phone. There's no moving until the other car is gone, and even then, Roy's not sure he'd be able to climb out of his seat without collapsing. The phone rings once, twice; long enough that Roy can feel his hands shaking.

"Keeley," he says when she picks up.

"Roy," his wife answers, and she sounds startled.

"I'm okay," Roy says, staring down a bystander, who's unabashedly taking pictures of the scene. "Whatever you see, I'm okay."

"Okay," Keeley says, and there's an edge to her voice now. "What's-"

"I was in a car accident. I'm fine."

Keeley gasps; Roy wavers, suddenly regretting his bluntness. "Some wanker hit me from the side. Airbags went off but aside from being very pissed, I'm alright."

He hears Keeley breathe in and out deeply, and more anxiety bubbles in Roy's stomach. He feels hot, uncomfortably warm, and when he raises his free hand to his head, it comes away wet with blood.

"Are you sure you're alright, Roy? Did you call 999?"

"No," he mutters. "Though I'm sure someone else did." A beat, then:

"I think I fucked up my leg."

"Does it hurt?"

Roy looks down, tries to move his leg, and bites down hard on his tongue to keep from yelling. "A little."

"Okay." He can hear Keeley moving in the background, undoubtedly getting her keys. "Where are you?"

Roy peers through his cracked windshield and finds his vision is blurry. "I don't know," he whispers, and closes his eyes. "I was on my way to the pitch, but-"

"Right. I'm coming to find you."

"Wait," Roy warns. He can hear sirens approaching. "Worry about Oliver first. I'll meet you at the hospital, okay?"

"Okay." Keeley manages to sound businesslike. He knows she's trying not to reveal her worry, and that she knows he's downplaying the circumstances. "I'll see you there, then."

Roy waits for her to end the call. There's a few seconds of silence.

"You're okay, yeah?"

"Yes, Keeley," Roy promises. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay," she whispers back. "Love you."

"Love you, sweetheart."

-

Keeley stands in her kitchen and releases the kind of profanity only Roy is usually capable of. Her purse and keys are already gathered in her hands, but there's just one thing she has to worry about first.

"Oliver, love, we're going-" She bites her tongue. She can waste precious minutes asking the neighbor to come and watch him; if that fails, she'll have to find someone to come over and that could take any amount of time.

"We're going to the hospital!" She declares, and her and Roy's little terror sprints into the room and cheers.

Keeley scoops him into her arms, feeling incredibly unbalanced, and makes her exit, grabbing the first pair of baby shoes she can find. She's sure she's missing something, but at least her toddler won't have bare feet.

She calls Ted and Rebecca on the way there; Ted to watch her son and Rebecca to watch her. It'll make them both late to work, she's sure, but there are few people she'd trust more to support her family.

As expected, both of her friends drop everything to help her. Ted sobers up the moment after Keeley says hello; the worry in her words must be painfully evident. In turn, Rebecca vows to be at the hospital in a time that guarantees some horribly reckless driving, which is terrible, given the circumstances, but Keeley knows Rebecca and her best friend bribing her driver isn’t Keeley’s greatest concern right now.

Unsurprisingly, Rebecca is waiting at the hospital for them, Ted at her side. He’s white in the face, which confirms Keeley’s suspicions about their ride over, but he scoops Oliver into his arms, asking how his day has been and if he’d like Special Texas Pancakes for lunch. Keeley offers Ted a wordless smile in thanks before Rebecca takes her inside.

“All I know is they’ve admitted him,” Rebecca says, glancing at the receptionist. “They wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

“Right, well, you can’t bribe hospital staff all too easy,” Keeley muses. She gives her name to the attendant, who, despite Rebecca’s glowering, tells them to wait, and they take a seat.

It’s only a few minutes before a nurse is pointed towards them. He smiles at them, which Keeley takes as a good sign, though she still clings to Rebecca’s hand during the whole of the conversation.

Roy is fine; he was brought in conscious, but with a severe leg injury and a probable concussion. The doctors aren’t terribly worried, but they have to act fast.

“We understand that Mr. Kent has a previous knee injury.” Keeley nods. “This complicates things. Preliminary tests suggest that there’s further damage to his knee. We still need to do an x-ray and an MRI, but it’s likely that he’ll need surgery.”

Keeley swallows, hard; the youngest Kent-Jones gives her bladder a kick, and she shifts uncomfortably.

“We’ll let you back as soon as we find a room for Mr. Kent.”

“I’d like to see him before any surgery,” Keeley asserts, but her voice is strained.

The nurse nods. “Of course, Ms. Jones.”

-

Soon translates to an hour, but Rebecca occupies Keeley, complaining about idiot businessmen and updates on her mum and anything else asinine that Rebecca can think of. Keeley’s leg shakes up and down, but her thoughts aren’t totally captivated by worry, and that’s good enough.

A different nurse takes her back to see Roy when it’s time, and they wind down a long series of identical hallways. The air is stale with sickness and nerves, and Keeley’s boots click on the linoleum of the otherwise silent hall. Then, they round a corner and the nurse pushes open a door, leading Keeley past curtained-off beds and finally, to Roy.

His eyes are closed. Bright red skin indicates the burn of a deployed airbag, and there are cuts on his face and arm. The hospital gown does him no favors, revealing his mangled leg and the mess of bandages covering his knee.

Tears well in Keeley’s eyes. It’s the most vulnerable she’s seen Roy, topping his last game with Richmond, his retirement conference, and his reaction to the birth of his first child. He’s pale, clearly in pain, but when his eyes open, they seize her up quickly.

She breathes out his name, moves to the head of the bed to run her fingers through his hair, and presses a kiss to the unmarred part of his forehead. His hand captures hers, gripping tightly.

“I fucked my knee,” he whispers, and Keeley nods.

“We’re gonna unfuck your knee,” she tells him, unsure of how much she means it. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Roy nods, alert, but obviously tired. His voice was shaking on their call; it’s steady now, but Roy is stuck in a grimace, and he’s barely moving as he talks to her.

“What did they tell you?”

“Not a lot. What did they tell you?”

Roy eyes her suspiciously. “Fuck all. They did a hundred fucking tests and kept their damn mouths shut.”

“Okay. Let’s wait for the doctor, then.”

“Keeley-”

They know each other so well. She’s hard-pressed to get out of this one.

She can see the argument brewing in his mind- his lips are parted, his trademark scowl graces his lovely features, and she knows that he has every right to be frustrated.

“Well, you’re not gonna lose your leg,” she informs him, and Roy snorts. Keeley bites her lip. “I think.”

“It’s fucking useless anyway.” Roy rolls his eyes. “I’m not fucking playing football with it.”

“Legs have other uses, you know,” Keeley points out, and Roy snorts again.

“Fuck that."

A smile is tugging at her lips, and Roy is about to mirror the expression despite everything fucking hurting when metal scapes against metal, and the curtains part to reveal a doctor, who smiles at them both. Roy scowls.

“You’re going to cut my fucking knee up.” He accuses, and the doctor nods.

“You tore several major ligaments and we need to prevent permanent nerve damage and limit the risk of blood clots.”

Roy’s scowl deepens, impossibly. “Fine.”

“Excellent. We’ll get prepped for emergency surgery.” She looks at Keeley and Roy, at how tightly they’re holding each other. “I’ll give you two a minute before we take you back.”

Keeley murmurs her thanks, and turns back to Roy.

“Right,” she says, brushing a stray curl off of his forehead. “You be good, and enjoy the hell out of those painkillers. I’ll see you soon.”

“Right,” Roy agrees, kissing the back of her hand. “Don’t eat shitty hospital food if you get hungry. Make Rebecca order you something fancy while you wait.” Roy’s brow creases. “Ted has Oliver, doesn’t he?”

“He does, yeah.”

“Fuck. Well, Ted can keep him when he has his massive fucking temper tantrum ‘cause of all the biscuits he’s eaten. And you fucking relax and don’t worry too much about me and my fucking knee, okay?”

“Okay.” Keeley bends to kiss him, and he smiles at her, not with his usual brilliance but something close, and that’s enough. She knows he’s in pain; she can read it in every line on his bruised face, but he’s being unflappable for her, and she can try and do the same. “I love you so much, Roy Kent.”

“I fucking love you, Keeley Jones,” he tells her. “And tell Ollie I love him too.”

“I will. He’s gonna cuddle the fuck out of you when we get home, you know that.”

“Damn right.”

-

Keeley stays with Roy until nurses come to take him into surgery. She watches them wheel her husband down the hall and through a forbidden set of double doors, and exhales.

She finds Rebecca quickly enough, who ensures they celebrate Roy’s prognosis and consciousness and retainment of his humor. Over and over, she repeats Roy’s words in her head: he’s going to be fine, and she shouldn’t worry too much.

Rebecca regales her with tales of the worst men she’s worked with; when that fails, they compare notes on baby names. They laugh and grin without light ever reaching their eyes and neither utter a word about it, but Rebecca confiscates Keeley’s phone when her Twitter mentions blow up. There are pictures of the accident, and of a bloodied Roy Kent being loaded in an ambulance, and Ted texts her to let her know that he’s brought Oliver inside where any nosy press won’t catch a glimpse of him. Her heart aches for her son, who would be distressed if he knew any better, and who likely won’t get to see much of his parents today. Ignorance is bliss, though, and Keeley thinks of Roy’s last smile to her, and not of his strained words when he called her, or the pictures of his totaled car online, or how fragile he looked in the hospital bed.

There’s a nagging at the back of her brain, though, of what would’ve happened if Roy couldn’t reach his phone, or if he left home a second sooner or a second later, or if she had gone with him, or if he had to drop Oliver off somewhere along the way, or if the other driver had been going a tiny bit faster or hit Roy at a slightly different angle. He’s lucky, after all, that it’s just his leg, that it’s not even broken, that their baby wasn’t in the backseat, that Roy will ultimately be fine after this, he’ll be fine, because he’s still so fucking young and his son is still a baby, really, and he hasn’t even met his second child yet.

Keeley takes a shaky breath, and Rebecca captures Keeley’s hand in both of her own. She rubs her thumb across the back of Keely’s hand, and the younger woman rests her head against Rebecca’s shoulder, and the two women stay like that for a long time.

-

It’s three hours before they get any word about Roy. Keeley thinks, really, that it should have been like, half an hour at most, but the nurse who talks to them says all good things, and that they’re almost done. Some of the damage is permanent, especially to Roy’s nerves, but the rest of him is fine. Walking normally will be the greatest challenge, and to Keeley, that’s a nominal problem given the rest of his prognosis.

Rebecca stews when they have to wait another couple of hours: first, the surgery has to wrap up, then Roy is brought to a recovery room to be monitored, then finally, finally, he’s moved to a private room where they can sit with him. The whole time, Rebecca lingers an inch away from total fury, but Keeley lets Rebecca be as angry as she likes, so that way, Keeley doesn’t have to be and all her energy can be focused on Roy.

It’s quieter when she sees Roy this time, more peaceful. Even Roy Kent doesn’t scowl in sleep, and despite the IV in his arm and the injuries peppering his skin, Roy appears at rest, genuinely so. Keeley waits, alone for the first time that day, for him to wake, and when he does, Roy only mumbles hi and offers a groggy smile before he’s out again. Keeley texts Rebecca and Ted an update, and that’s how her afternoon passes, her husband in and out of sleep, and not much else in the world mattering.

-

The next day is a flurry of doctors and physical therapists, and their three-year-old son navigating a hospital for the first time. Roy’s concussion means wearing sunglasses indoors, but Ted drops Oliver off with a matching pair for him and Keeley, and their first family picture after the accident is of them in the hospital, all wearing shades inside like a bunch of proper arseholes, Roy’s face impassive but Keeley and Oliver positively beaming at the camera. Roy learns how to navigate on crutches, as is the condition of his release, so he struggles his way up and down a short hallway, swearing all the while, his grouchy disposition only faltering when Oliver makes his opinion known about the matter (“Daddy has four legs!).

They’re sent home, donned in sunglasses and laden with crutches and high-grade painkillers, late that day, and Roy has to wonder if Rebecca’s paid off the press when he’s loaded from wheelchair to car without any twats snapping pictures of him at his worst. Later, he’ll confirm that she did, in fact, pay the tabloids to piss off, accompanying a press release along the same lines. He and Keeley are lucky to have such a friend, he knows, especially one that doesn’t believe in bullshit.

He’s absent at the next Richmond match and most of their practices the following week, in favor of sleeping frequently. Something wonderful about needing three fucking naps a day is that Oliver will nap with him, which gives Keely a much-needed break, and also there’s nothing fucking better than his baby asleep in his arms, because he loves his son so fucking much but sometimes it’s fucking nice when Oliver isn’t running around like a maniac, and Roy can just hold him.

Putting any weight on his leg is fucking hard. Showering is fucking impossible, bending down to pick up Oliver’s ridiculous toys is difficult, stairs are a fucking burden on humanity, and Roy is in so much fucking pain all the time. It gets better at a snail’s pace, and he manages to make it through a full day of work on an obscene amount of Tylenol and Ted literally cheering him on in the most annoying way possible. The only thing that pacifies him is Keeley coming in to kiss him at various intervals throughout the day, and he buries his head against her side and she runs her fingers through his hair, and their kid-on-the-way sometimes kicks against Keeley’s stomach, which never fails to be spectacular.

Roy masters crutches, even though the dumb fucking things make his armpits hurt, and a month after surgery, when Roy has endured physical therapy and public sympathy and a thousand fucking stairs, he begs his doctors to let him off them. And so, they introduce the next alternative that Roy will use for the rest of his fucking life.

A cane. Roy Kent, still fucking young, is fitted for a cane, which Ted immediately wants to decorate with lights and streamers and shit, and that Oliver tries to use as a fucking lightsaber and wack people with. It’s fucking terrible, but it’s also the first thing that makes Roy laugh after coming home from the doctor’s with his fancy new stick.

They told him and Keeley this, that first day in the hospital after the wreck. That he would never walk the same, that some of the nerves were too far gone. There’s nothing he can do, aside from physical therapy to build up some strength. It’s damning, and a hard pill to swallow, but Roy’s knee has been fucked since his last football match against Manchester, and he knows that. Keeley reminds him that his life is still pretty incredible, after all, and Roy has to agree.

His daughter is born shortly after, and Roy weeps when he figures out how to hold a cane in one hand and his precious baby in the other. Frequently, he looks like the corniest fucking dad ever, because it’s honestly easiest to carry Lily in a papoose, but Roy fucking Kent’s reputation holds up: he’s still the scariest motherfucker to ever grace the face of football. When he takes her to practice, though, he finds that this effect is somewhat diminished; he yells at one of the boys to tighten up, then his daughter gurgles, and Roy is caught gazing down at her with a dopey fucking smile on his face.

The first cane breaks when Richmond loses by a slim margin thanks to a few small mistakes. Roy is minutes into a post-match debrief when he punctuates what went wrong with the cane against the whiteboard, and the wood slams against metal and splinters into a hundred fucking pieces all across the locker room, footballers ducking for cover, Roy’s chest heaving as he surveys the scene. Then Ted sits Roy down, commends his incredible strength, and tells the team to goldfish their way through this, and that they’ll work through it during the next practice.

Oliver breaks the second cane. And the third. And then Roy concedes style to durability and gets a fucking metal cane that his kids aren’t allowed to touch.

His life is different, largely because he’s a father of two now, and stairs are fucking terrible and he hates them. But, aside from that, he’s still Roy Kent, Keeley Jones’ husband, parent to the two best fucking kids in the universe, football coach extraordinaire. That’s pretty fucking good, in his book, and in the end, there’s nothing fucking wrong with using a cane so long as Oliver doesn’t kill anyone with it.

#roy kent #roy kent fanfic #ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #keeley x roy #roy kent x keeley jones #keeley jones #roy x keeley #roy x keeley fanfiction #roy x keeley fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso imagine

[dvp95]

quiet on widow’s peak (14)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, mystery, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, trans character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.4k (this chapter), 46.4k (total) summary: Phil’s got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

"You're Martyn's brother, right?"

"Martyn is my brother," Phil corrects her, doing his best to keep a straight face. He's never met the teenager, but she'd been happy enough to get on Skype with him for his last-ditch attempt at getting some information that isn't useless. He's really running out of ideas, and he isn't sure how much longer he can stretch this case out. "And you're Frankie's sister."

"Frankie is my sister," she repeats. Her grin is wide, her teeth straight and lips painted a dark pink. Phil wonders how that colour would look on Dan.

Great. He'd managed a whole thirteen minutes of coordinating this Skype call without thinking about Dan. It's a new record at this point, and all it took to break it was the memory of how pretty Dan looked with lip stuff on.

"I'm going to start recording now," he says, getting his various windows all sorted before pressing the big red button on his software. "Can you state your name and connection to the case for us?"

"Sure. I'm Val and I'm one of the people responsible for the sigils in the Wilkins place attic."

Phil freezes. He hadn't known that. Val had simply confirmed that she and her friends had gotten in trouble for trespassing in September, and now Phil feels like an unprepared idiot for not seeing how connected she was to the mystery before he hit call. He wonders what Dan would say about that.

He checks the time again. Definitely less than thirteen minutes that time.

"Will you tell us a bit about sigils in your own words?" Phil asks. Maybe if he keeps her talking, he’ll have time to lasso his wandering mind back into place. "I've done my own research, of course, but I think it can be useful to hear it from someone who knows what they're talking about, y'know? Plus," he adds, giving her a conspiratory sort of smile, "then I can use your voiceover instead of recording one myself."

Val laughs and launches into a Sigils For Dummies explanation that Phil does his best not to interrupt. He asks some leading questions and mentions his own hit or miss experience with taking sigils into the house. For a teenager, she's surprisingly eloquent. Moreso than Phil is, anyway.

They talk a bit about the Wilkins place the way he had with the other people he's interviewed, because he's fairly certain that Val's testimony will be the only one that he actually ends up using for his video. He doesn't let himself feel any creeping sense of hope, though. She could still have nothing aside from some fun backstory, and this whole investigation could still be a failure.

Not just the investigation, either. Phil doesn't like to conflate his own worth with the content he produces, because there are always going to be people who are unhappy with what he does - including himself, more and more lately - and he can't be worrying about his future every time a video doesn't pan out the way he wants it to. Something about this case is making him feel that in a way he tries very hard not to on others. Maybe it's how close it is to home, quite literally, or just how helpless he'd felt while waiting for his friends to wake up.

This investigation could still be a failure, and so could Phil. He can't deny how entwined those are right now.

Phil knows he shouldn't be basing his decisions on something as volatile as a single YouTube video, not when he's usually comfortable posting anything that's entertaining, but he feels like the tide is coming in and he's going to get swept away unless he moves somewhere.

"So, back to your sigils specifically," says Phil. He's supposed to be taking notes or something, probably, but instead he's just doodling some half-assed sigils of his own.

"Yes. We heard about all the incidences and, while we were pretty sure that not everything going around was true, my friends and I wanted to check in and make sure. We did a couple of different rituals first, cleansing the space and trying to see if we could find the presence, but..." Val went quiet for a long moment. "Well. I don't know what exactly was in there, but there was something."

"What makes you so sure?" Phil asks quietly.

"Well, you can feel it," she says. She runs her hands over her own forearms, like she's a mime pretending to be cold. "Goosepimples. Hair on the back of your neck standing up. You keep wanting to turn around, but nothing is looking back at you from the darkness."

Phil keeps his own input rather impartial in interviews. There's no real reason to alert anyone to his own opinions on what might be going on - that's what the wrap-up is for.

So instead of telling Val that he felt everything she's talking about, he simply asks, "Is that all?"

"No," says Val. "No, the rituals we tried to do... it didn't work, Phil. And I know you might be thinking that rituals aren't supposed to work or that magic isn't real or something, but it's not just that nothing happened. It's that... it was like something was messing with them on purpose. My candles kept blowing out even though there wasn't a draught and Sammy's sage bundle just... disappeared. It really scared us, to be honest."

"Why didn't you just leave the place alone from then on?"

"We knew people weren't going to stop partying there," she says. "And that's... a choice, I guess. But we wanted to help if we could, so..."

"So you put the sigils on the floor," he says when she can only finish with a vague gesture. "I know that you can't tell me their exact meanings or anything, since you don't know them anymore, but can you give me a general gist of what you guys were trying to do?"

"Sure, yeah," she says, shifting around like she's getting comfortable in her chair. Phil can see an incense burner on her desk next to a perilous-looking stack of books, and he wishes he could light a candle or something. His room, and his parents' whole house really, has been smelling like nothing but cleaning supplies since he got here. "We took different roles, kind of? I focus on minor protection most of the time, so it was my job to make sigils that would sort of protect innocent people from coming into contact with whatever the entity was, while Sammy is more about healing and cleansing - she was trying to heal the house, I think. We tried not to talk about them in detail so we didn't fuck each other's things up, because the whole thing felt a bit too high-stakes for that."

Phil doesn't know nearly enough about sigils to know whether or not the ones in the attic were helpful or harmful, but he's glad he didn't have to talk to a bunch of teenagers trying to summon a demon or anything. For the second time this year.

"That's really good of you to try," Phil says with a little smile. He's trying to figure out exactly how he should play this one. "And you covered a good amount of the floor."

"Of course, that's when the cops got called," Val grins back.

"That's when the cops always get called," he says.

He's got a handful of other questions for her, but Val doesn't actually know much more about the Wilkins place that she hasn't already told him, and he doesn't want a lesson on protection magic today. She says that he can email her when the video is up, and to send her any other interesting magic cases he comes across in the future.

The future. Phil is trying not to think about that too much right now. He promises, anyway, and ends the call on a fairly light note.

He's got more of an idea how he wants this video to look, now that he's gotten one of the small mysteries solved. He exports the video and audio from the call separately, knowing he's going to use a good chunk of Val's answers as narration over the surviving footage. Not that he has much of that - just the tour of the house that he and his friends had gotten the first night and some more dark corners in VHS and Polaroid form. He knows that he can make a video out of what he's got.

The problem is that he also knows it won't be good enough.

Sure, it might be good enough for his audience - most of them, anyway, since he's got a pretty stubborn set of fans - but it isn't good enough for Phil.

His suspicion is confirmed after a couple more hours of cobbling together what survived into a rough edit, which he sends off to PJ. After a moment of thought, he adds a final line to the email.

P.S. I know you already told me that you aren't a gender guru and that was really funny and everything and I don't expect you to like educate me or whatever, but why do things get so effing complicated with it????? Like I had myself figured out and now I don't, and that sucks.

--

PJ calls him a little after dinner, lulling Phil into a false sense of security with questions and comments and suggestions about the video. Phil has almost forgotten about the postscript entirely, but then PJ cheerfully says, "So you're an idiot, huh?"

"Yeah," says Phil. "Wait, why?"

"What's so complicated about gender for you?" PJ asks, and Phil wishes he'd never answered the phone. "Are you questioning?"

"You know that I'm not," says Phil, rolling his eyes.

They've known each other for years, and PJ is his best friend, and there is no way in hell that he doesn't know exactly why Phil is Googling words he'd only ever thought about in passing before. He can practically hear PJ's smirk. He seriously considers hanging up before this gets even more humiliating.

"Yeah, I know, but thought I'd ask in case," says PJ. "It would be irresponsible of me as your token trans friend to act like I know how you feel about your own gender."

It's the first time that Phil has actually heard him use the word. He'd always imagined that PJ talked in riddles on purpose, like maybe he didn't actually want to use words for things when he could use extended metaphors and jokes instead, but it's possible that Phil just hadn't been paying enough attention, because PJ sounds ridiculously comfortable with saying it out loud.

"You're not my token anything," Phil says. He waits a beat, picturing PJ's skeptical expression, before he adds, "Dan's my friend, too."

"Dan," PJ repeats. "You've got it bad, my friend."

"What?"

"I can hear it in your voice. You already miss them, don't you? You've been spending all your spare time with them already, you absolute knob. And let me guess," PJ continues before Phil can even attempt to defend himself, "you've got it in your head that liking Dan makes you less gay?"

Phil touches the tip of his nose and then remembers that PJ can't actually see him.

"Maybe," Phil hedges. He knows that PJ is right and he's sure that PJ knows it too, but admitting that is a whole other beast. "And it's also, like... it isn't fair, is it?"

"Fair to who?"

Despite everything in Phil wanting to brush the subject off and start talking about ghosts instead, he takes a moment to consider the question. He supposes that it isn't fair to either of them, really. His feelings for Dan are throwing everything he knows about his sexuality into question and he doesn't know how to deal with that.

Because Phil is gay. He's very gay. He's known it for a long time, even if most of his family members are still in the dark about it, and he's never had reason to think about it like this before. Sure, he's had the usual fantasies of how much easier things would be if he were straight, but he's never actually wanted to be. Maybe he doesn't talk about it the way some people do, but that's because it's far from the most interesting thing about him. Phil has never really considered it other peoples' business.

That doesn't change the fact that it's a fundamental part of him.

Someone who's gorgeous and tall and has big hands that fit ridiculously well into Phil's own shouldn't be enough to throw a wrench in that certainty. But they have, and Phil can't keep acting like they haven't.

PJ is being patient, waiting for Phil to find the words. There's some kind of video game music on his end that Phil can't immediately place, and Phil has a weird moment of homesickness for PJ and the Brighton house, even though it hasn't been that long since they were there together.

"It's not fair to anyone," Phil eventually says. "I think it's pretty obvious why it isn't fair to me, but it isn't fair to Dan either."

"Humour me," says PJ. "Why isn't it fair?"

"Dan isn't... a man," Phil says, slow. He pulls a face at his ceiling, knowing how clumsy he sounds right now. "And I don't think I'd like them if they weren't..."

"You wouldn't be attracted to them if they had a typically feminine body, right?" PJ asks, and then immediately continues as if Phil had answered. "That's not unfair, Phil. I seriously doubt Dan would be bothered by it."

"We don't know them that well," says Phil. It feels a bit like a lie, because he feels like he does know Dan fairly well at this point, but he needs PJ to understand where he's coming from with this. "And I don't know if they'd even be comfortable enough to tell me if they were bothered."

There's a long moment where the only sound is Phil's own breathing and the music of PJ's video game - Spyro, Phil realises - but PJ breaks it in a mild sort of tone. "I get that. Like, I really do get it. You might not think I get it, but I get it. Thing is... I've been somewhere like this. Because I met Soph after I was already living as a guy, right, but I thought she was totally straight at the time. She thought so too, actually, but I know she's felt a lot more connected to the community for a while now. And I didn't know... how to tell her. Because what if she totally freaked? That's not exactly a low risk, y'know."

Phil is far from an expert, but he does know that much. He's well aware of some of the numbers out there, knows that it can end in more than just hurt feelings when trans people come out to their partners, but he'd never once considered that PJ dealt with that. He feels a bit stupid for it. Sophie - and Chris, he supposes, even if he doesn't particularly know the intricacies there - isn't PJ's first foray into dating. Yeah, they've been together as long as Phil has known him, but that's not an excuse.

"Sorry," says Phil, hoping it sounds as sincere as he feels. "That, um. That sounds like it sucks."

"Oh, it totally sucks," PJ laughs. "And that's why I can say that you're freaking out for no reason. I mean, your own shit, whatever, you can run yourself in circles for months if you really want to, but the Dan thing? It's unfair not to tell them how you feel, Phil. They've been out for a little while now, they know how this works as well as I do. Sometimes there are compromises."

"I don't want anyone to compromise an identity," says Phil. He can't explain why that makes him so on edge. It would take too long, and he knows that his friends are various degrees of fluid when it comes to their attractions, so there's no guarantee of them understanding at all. It's not that he's being stubborn or close-minded or anything; it's that he's gay. "Peej, I'm a Kinsey fucking six. Telling Dan I have feelings for them is opening a bucket of worms that I don't know if I could close again."

"A can."

"What?" Phil asks, thrown.

"A can of worms, you fucking buffoon."

"Why would worms be in a can?"

"The - you know what, Phil? I can't have a conversation like this with you right now." PJ is doing his best attempt at a serious voice, but Phil can hear him trying not to laugh. "Tell Dan you like them. They like you."

Phil sighs. "I know. That's part of the issue here."

"I don't see an issue," says PJ. "You like them, they like you. Go... like each other."

"It's not that simple."

"It's never really that simple," PJ says, giving in to the laughter. Phil smiles at the unrestrained sound. "You think what I've got going on right now was simple in the beginning?"

"I don't like to put much thought into what you've 'got going on right now'," Phil admits. "But... no. You just make it look easy."

PJ cracks up properly. Phil can't help grinning, too, because PJ's Muppet laugh is always a bonus to saying something ridiculous. PJ waits until he's got his breath back before he says, "Phil. You're kind of a moron."

"I accept that," says Phil. "And before you get your lecturing pants on again, I know that it would be best to talk to Dan about this. I'm just..."

"Scared?"

Phil wants to deny it. He almost does, knee-jerk, but the problem is that PJ knows him too damn well for that. He knows that Phil worries about everything to the point that he's got medication to help with the anxiety spirals, and he also knows that Phil isn't exactly jumping to think or talk about his feelings at any given moment. It's normally a bit like pulling teeth, both for Phil and for the person trying to connect with him.

But PJ knows him. So he says, "Yeah. More scared of that than of the house."

--

The lighting isn't as good as Phil has in his room, back in Brighton, but he brings all the lamps he can find into his childhood bedroom to make sure he's decently visible on the viewfinder. He doesn't do a lot of talking to the camera without any external stimulus - the only times he's sitting still and addressing the audience directly is when he's doing the wrap-ups at the end of each video. Sometimes he does an intro as well, but it's usually able to be replaced with some good B footage and voiceover. Phil fixes his hair for the millionth time and takes a deep breath before he presses the record button.

He tells his audience what happened, the night that's been lost. He explains everything, every vibe that felt wrong and every terrifying moment in the attic, every file that he can no longer access. Even as he's saying it, he can imagine what the comment section is going to look like.

"I won't blame the lot of you if you don't believe me. I'll put what it looked like when we tried to access the files on the screen now. The corruption was on our devices, though, and we couldn't retrieve anything."

Another deep breath. They're still not going to believe him.

"And that's okay," he adds. "I'm not here for you guys to take my words as, like, facts or whatever, and it's not my job to convince anybody. I'm just here to tell a good story. I wish it had a more conclusive ending, but I'm sure you're already bickering in the comments about what we all experienced, or if you think we experienced anything at all. So tell me what you guys think, and let me know - do you think I should keep imposing on my parents to investigate this some more or is the Wilkins place a story to leave alone?"

He'd normally start to do his like-and-subscribe routine after that, but he pauses.

"And I wanted to say a really big thank you to everyone who helped me with this project, but especially to Winnie. They really went above and beyond in sending me this one, and I'm not going to forget that."

Phil gives the camera an awkward sort of smile. He might not leave that bit in, but he needed to say it.

#quiet on widow's peak #words words words

[birlcholtz]

25 - 50 - 80 for the angst/fluff ask. Ship of your choice. ^_^

25. Karma is a bitch.

50. It’s not safe here.

80. You have no idea.

Prompts from this post!

i had no idea if you meant these separately or together, so here’s 2k of a charmer… kind of monster hunter kind of ghostbusters au! they fight things and cait has a truck that’s the vision here. and here it is on ao3!

.

Caitlin has seen a lot of weird things. She kind of gets paid to go around looking for weird things and, well, stabbing them, frequently. (She tries to communicate first, but… usually, if communication is possible, the sixteen-year-olds who make supernatural creatures angry in the first place can manage the situation themselves.)

But this is the first time that someone else has beaten her to the site where the last interaction took place. This time, it’s an empty lot, mostly weeds and dead wildflowers, bordered by trees on every side except the side with the road.

The teary, fear-quickened voice on the other end of her work phone had said that the thing, whatever it was, had six legs. So Caitlin is pretty sure that a person in black jeans and a teal sweatshirt is some sort of bystander, stumbling into something they are not equipped to handle.

“Stop!” she calls out, just loud enough that she can be sure the person hears her. They stop walking, and she can see their back stiffen just before they turn towards the source of the noise, but she’s already running towards them. If the thing comes out, this person will be a lot safer next to Caitlin than far away from her. “It’s not safe here,” she adds once she’s within a few feet.

The person gives her a small smile and says, “Oh, you have no idea.”

Okay. Fuck. That’s ominous.

At least they don’t immediately grow four more legs and attack her, which dismisses her immediate thought of shapeshifter, but Caitlin braces and puts her hands on her weapons— coiled rope on one hip, knife on the other, gun under her jacket but let’s hope that’s not necessary, and says, “Tell me what you know.”

“It’s a giant venomous tarantula. I haven’t seen it myself, though.” They shrug, hands still in the front pocket of their hoodie, which Caitlin can now see has a San Jose Sharks logo on the front. “Sorry!”

“So are you going to help me deal with it, or am I doing this by myself?” she asks. Which might be rude, but they’ve got bigger problems.

The person blinks, and then lets a bigger, close-mouthed smile spread across their face. “You’re going to help? ‘Swawesome! I brought these.” They pull their hands out of their pockets, revealing a knife between each finger like Wolverine or some shit. They’re an interesting color, not silver or gray or anything, dark and viciously sharp-looking. “So what’s your name?”

Caitlin sizes up the knives again, and then says, “Are you fae?”

“Nope! I just don’t know many people outside my house. Are you a monster fighter?”

“Yes,” she answers slowly, and decides not to reveal any more personal information until she’s figured out who the hell this person is.

“That’s cool,” they say cheerfully, and Caitlin notices dark hair, mostly hidden under the hood of their sweatshirt. “I’m learning how to do that. Usually I’m supposed to have an escort for the first five years so nothing bad happens but my team decided to send me out here while they work on something over in Worcester, I’m not sure what? Anyway. I’m glad you’re here too though! To be honest, I was a little nervous about doing this by myself, but you know.” Another shrug.

Caitlin most definitely does not know whatever this person is referring to, but she keeps that to herself. “Do you have any idea where the tarantula is right now?”

“Probably the trees. I wouldn’t be in the open right now if it was me, it got a pretty bad scare! Not as bad as those kids did, though, I guess.” And the person giggles. “Oh, well.”

This is definitely weird, and Caitlin has decided not to rule out any possibilities on why, exactly, this person is here right now and how they seem to know so much about what’s going on. Better to probe for information. “How did it get scared?”

“Well, they’re burrowers, you know? Someone just took a stick and— get ready! Try not to hurt it!”

And with that, the person springs forward what has to be at least six feet in the blink of an eye, settling into a crouch, knives in hand, almost before Caitlin sees the first pair of legs emerge from the trees, followed by the second, and then the third.

The tarantula is, indeed, giant. It’s brown, and furry, and has lots of eyes, and overall looks kind of like every other tarantula Caitlin has ever seen in pictures and terrariums, except tall enough to make solid eye contact with her shoulder. And Caitlin is tall.

She grabs her rope. It’s already set up to be a lasso, which is probably ideal in this situation. At least, if the whole ‘try not to hurt it’ thing is actually a good idea.

The tarantula approaches, and Caitlin wishes they were somewhere with streetlights, but all she has to go off of are the stars, sparse in a sky artificially brightened from light pollution, and the waxing moon overhead. It’s enough to see by, barely. The tarantula doesn’t actually seem super interested in attacking them, which is a good sign, but it’s also coming directly at them, which is a bad one.

She readies her lasso, but it’s still well outside of lassoing distance when it stops and starts doing something.

“Burrowing,” the person still crouched about six feet away whispers. “It probably just wants its home back!”

That does actually look like what’s going on. Caitlin can see the tarantula digging, even pushing some of the dirt farther away from what must be a decently sized hole. But she doesn’t dare move.

They wait there for at least twenty minutes. Caitlin’s abs hurt from how hard she’s clenching them to stay still, and she cannot believe this person is still maintaining a crouch. They haven’t moved at all from what she can see, and she was so proud of herself for managing a five-minute wall sit yesterday, too. 

Finally, the tarantula stops digging. It starts walking again, and Caitlin tenses even more, but it just walks in a circle around where its hole must be (she can’t see exactly, because the weeds are tall enough to block her vision), and then it must crawl in, because all of a sudden it’s vanished.

The other person stands up immediately and says, “Woohoo!”

“Uh, what?”

They’re already putting the knives back in their sweatshirt pocket (which does not seem like a good place for them, but whatever). “Okay, so I didn’t hear everything that happened earlier, but I’m pretty sure someone like, poked its burrow and ruined it. And it got really, really big to retaliate— I bet if the people hadn’t gotten away so fast, it would have tried to destroy some houses or something. But it’s got its home back, so it’s back to normal size. I’m Chris, by the way!” They stick out their newly knife-free hand. “I’m from a monster hunting team outside Boston. Who are you?”

“Uh, I’m Caitlin,” she says, and shakes their hand. “I’m a loner.”

“Oh, that’s too bad! Unless you prefer it that way, then I guess it’s better? I really like being around other people, though, so it would be worse for me. The other guys on my team— we’re not all guys! Just, like, I am, and a bunch of other people are, but not all of us, don’t worry, we’re not like some weird misogynistic monster fighting group or anything— anyway, some of the other guys on my team have worked together forever and they bought a really big house a few years back so they could all live together! And once I joined I moved in too and it’s been great, I’ve never had so many roommates! But um. Anyway. How’d you hear about the tarantula?”

She shrugs. “Someone called me. Probably one of the people who was there when it happened, but I have no idea. I usually don’t bother to find out, because I’ve got a private patron anyway, so I don’t need to get paid for each job.”

“Oh, us too!” Chris says. “Does yours have a really weird name too?”

“Mine calls himself Fry Guy?”

His jaw drops, just for a moment, but Caitlin notices the glint of white teeth before he closes his mouth again. “That’s what ours calls himself too! I bet it’s the same person. You should totally come join our team, then! Wait, but you’re a human, aren’t you? Never mind.”

“I’m half banshee,” Caitlin says.

Chris beams and reveals a full set of fangs. “Great! I’m a vampire!” That explains the leg muscles. And the speed. And Caitlin is guessing he heard whatever happened with the tarantula— she hasn’t met any vampires, but people have told her their senses are very good. “I just got turned, like, two years ago, though. We were fighting this demon and it was the backup goalie from my high school hockey team, and we didn’t know that but he totally had it out for me, because I was goalie too and he was a senior when I was a sophomore and I guess he was mad because he didn’t get as much ice time because of me and then he didn’t get scouted or anything, and I definitely would have died so my friend Justin had to turn me, like, right then. Um, and then the demon guy kind of burned himself up because he wasn’t supposed to use that much power at once?” He frowns. “I think he might have been a warlock, actually. But he wasn’t very good at hockey.”

“Karma is a bitch,” Caitlin offers, because that whole speech was a lot and that’s about the only thing she can muster.

Chris (Chris? For a vampire?) says, “I think the real problem with karma is that usually people don’t live long enough for it to come around again.”

“That sounds really jaded for someone who says they’re a new vampire.”

He shrugs, smile back in place, although Caitlin notices it’s just a little crooked— she can see his fangs on his left side a little more than the ones on his right. It’s surprisingly endearing. “April says I’m learning to fit in with the team really well!”

They wait in the empty lot for a few more minutes, just to make sure the tarantula doesn’t get back to giant size, and then Chris graciously accepts a ride in Caitlin’s truck back to his house. He’d run to the lot, apparently. 

“You really should consider joining our team, you know,” Chris says once Caitlin’s started the truck. “We have enough different people that we can choose who we send to deal with different things. And also we have collective bargaining power.”

“It sounds great,” Caitlin admits. “I’ve been working by myself the whole time. It gets kind of lonely.”

“Well, we don’t take humans at all, so you’ll need proof that you’re part banshee, but you’re super qualified! And I’ll vouch for you.” He smiles at her from the passenger seat, and Caitlin wonders how a creature of the night can smile so earnestly that it lights up his whole face.

She drops him off at a huge colonial-style house with a long driveway, and he puts his phone number and the landline for that house in her phone, and Caitlin watches him leap up to a second story balcony and casually step inside and wonders if this time next year, she might be able to call this place home.

She drives off, remembering Chris’s last smile from over his shoulder, and she smiles too.

#my stuff #randomnoteforfuturereference #fic #charmer #omgcp #quarantime

[roswelldetails]

Episode 201: Stay (I Missed You) - Details

Episode Summary:

Torn between the heartache of Max’s (Nathan Parsons) sacrifice and the joy of Rosa’s (Amber Midthunder) resurrection, Liz (Jeanine Mason) suppresses her grief to focus on moving out of Roswell with Rosa. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) copes with Max’s death in his own self-destructive way, while Isobel (Lily Cowles) focuses her attention on honing her alien powers. Finally, Liz makes an alarming discovery after Rosa begins experiencing mysterious side effects from her resurrection. Michael Trevino, Heather Hemmens, Tyler Blackburn and Trevor St. John also star. Lance Anderson directed the episode written by Carina Adly MacKenzie.

DETAILS:

They left Noah's body by the cliff near the turquoise mines

Max tells Liz specifically that Noah called him a savior, and that the victors would be coming for him, and specifically the term alighting.

2 weeks later...

A guy is seen trying to scrub graffiti off the wall. The graffiti is an alien saying to a ghost "I don't believe in humans." Rosa's?

Arturo is working on his citizenship paperwork.

"...the occasional face mask selfie..." Once again, like in the pilot with the reference to the border wall, Carina writes a line that she had no idea would be quite so relevant on the day that this aired. Maria is referring to lab face masks, not medical face masks, but given the current state of things it's still quite the on point line, politically.

The card Arturo gives Liz is San Cristobal (Saint Christopher). Info on San Cristobal: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Christopher?wprov=sfla1

What Arturo says to Liz in Spanish: "Para que te cuide en el camino." Translates to: To take care of you on the way.

The church where the funeral is held is the same church Liz prayed at in episode 102... Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. It actually is a pretty interesting place, which you can tour if you visit Santa Fe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretto_Chapel?wprov=sfla1

The photo Isobel looks at is a shot of Max, Isobel, and Noah at what appears to be their wedding.

Isobel is the one hiding Max's death. Liz and Michael are helping, but Isobel wanted him put in the pod. "...we'll make up a story, okay? We'll send text messages from his phone. We'll say that he left town."

Sheriff Valenti tells Isobel that she's "Roswell PD family", but in season 1 they were very consistent about using Chavez County Sheriff's Department, not Roswell PD.

Another reference to the graffiti... Again, Rosa?

Liz had to prompt Isobel to tell at her at the wake, meaning this is them implementing Isobel's "story" on why Max left.

Liz told Rosa "everything except that the whole town thinks she's a murderer."

Rosa's first nightmare... She walks into the Crashdown, plays STP, reveals the handprint, the jukebox sparks and distorts, hears Isobel's voice, and Noah appears.

"They're not going to come after you. They're going to go after the people you care about." - Noah said this to Max in 107 in reference to Wyatt Long's lawyers.

Rosa's necklace that she and Liz argue over is the turquoise bead necklace that Liz wears throughout S1, including in the pilot, So Much For the Afterglow,

Mimi Deluca...

Quoted from Aliens (1986) "I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit."

On Rosa's death a decade ago: "Not always. Sometimes it happened just yesterday. Sometimes it's been a century."

Rosa started on oxy. But according to Kyle's scans her "frontostriatal loop is fine." And she produces "normal noradrenaline". Basically, Max healed all damage to her body including damage from her drug addiction.

Alex is listening to Next Time by All the Brightness on his headphones. Thanks @michaeldeluca for figuring it out!

Alex says that most of the Caulfield files are encrypted so there's not much to go on, but he was able to break Project Shepherd's encryptions in the bunker in S1, which again implies that maybe Caulfield is a bit bigger than Project Shepherd.

Michael's mother was marked N37. Her intake form was datestamped Oct 12, 1948, which is almost a year and a half after the crash (June 14, 1947).

Liz and Michael both didn't get handprints from Max, only Rosa. Liz's initial handprint from Max (in the pilot) lasted only a few days. Rosa's hasn't faded at all in 2 weeks.

Isobel's been practicing for 2 weeks and she showed signs of both Michael and Max's powers in this episode (possibly? exploding the lights in her house and blowing up the bowls could both be Michael's power if it was just telekenisis in both cases and not channeling electricity a'la Max)

Mamma Ortecho is "shacked up in Nebraska with some white guy named Dirk."

Michael says that he fixed the old (junked) ultrasound machine after Max died. That they did scans initily while Isobel was in the pod and they were working on the antidote. He had a scan of Max's healthy heart. Now "there's a void".

Michael says Max's heart was damaged before he "lassoed lightning" to kill Noah. He died of a heart attack. His heart is "shredded".

Rosa's 2nd dream: running from Noah and calling Liz to help her.

Noah says: "Strange creatures with familiar features. The alighting! They're coming for us Maximo!" All things he said to Max in the cave in episode 113.

Liz theorizes Rosa's dreams are the result of a psychic connection through the handprint to Max, that Rosa is seeing fragments of Max's memories.

Which means that Max's brain isn't fully dead. Liz explains to Rosa:. "if there's a part of his brain with coordinated electrical signaling, if there's consciousness, that means that there's oxygenated cells...if the connection to you kept his brain alive there's hope."

Cremating an alien body releases toxic fumes (according to Project Shepherd research from after the 1947 crash).

Flint was taking Noah's body to Area 51...where he has clearance and Alex doesn't.

Flint says: "There's a chain of command in this family."

Flint Manes was in the same grade as Rosa (meaning he's two years older than Alex).

During the dissection:

Liz: "It could be some kind of organic phosphorus?

Michael: "It's an unknown chemical compound. A distant derivative of phenyl-2-propanone. I could never figure out the 21st compound. But apparently it's the key to their nanotech and their biology. Our biology. I always thought it was synthetic but if it's organic the tech itself could have neural activity."

Liz: "Wait, you're saying you think these organs are part tech?"

Michael: "In human terms, I guess."

Liz: "That's good 'cause in the human world, broken tech can be fixed."

Translation: The alien organs (and the ship pieces) are part organic and part tech.

Rosa's 3rd nightmare...she is in the gazebo looking at her and Izzy/Noah's drawings from 2008 (episode 110), Noah approaches and she fights back this time. And then Noah uses his powers to choke her.

"All those books and you haven't figured religion out." When he approaches.

"Ophiuchus!" Yelled as he chokes her.

Max appears and lightning-lassoes Noah to free Rosa.

"I've been trying to get to you. I'm sorry to put you through this. You're the only one I can reach. Liz can't bring me back to life. Do you understand? No matter what it takes you have to stop her."

MUSIC:

1. Everclear "Santa Monica"

2. Stone Temple Pilots "Plush"

3. Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real "Bad Case"

4. Justin Townes Earle "Maybe A Moment"

5. Meredith Brooks "Bitch"

6. I See Hawks In LA "King Of Rosemead Boogie"

7. Hamish Anderson "You Give Me Something"

8. The Cranberries "Zombie"

#roswell new mexico #episode 201 #stay (i missed you) #long post #episode details #rnm season 2 #rnm music