#maverick trying to flirt is painful to watch

[unlawfulchaos]

Maverick, trying to flirt: My dick is like life... Life is hard.

Iceman, blankly: Life is also short.

Maverick: Listen here, you annoyingly sexy son of a bitch-

Iceman, trying to contain his upset: You should know that my mother is an incredibly kind, respected, and well loved woman.

Maverick: I meant your father?

Iceman: ...

Iceman: Continue.

#maverick trying to flirt is painful to watch #goose crying as he cringes in the corner watching the two of them #iceman is a momma's boy and you cannot change my mind #tom kazansky would cut a bitch for insulting his mama #maverick panicking that he's just ruined his chances with ice #fortunately ice finds his panic face cute #and he will always agree with an insult against his asshole father #slider is never gonna let mav forget how terrible his pick-up lines were when trying to flirt with ice #its lucky ice found them so endearing #even though some of them made the people nearby question Ice's sanity for falling for them #ice didn’t even register that mav called him sexy until hours later #bright red blush on his ears for days when he realises that mav likes him back #incorrect quotes #top gun #icemav #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky

[inmyglenpowellera]

An Innocent Game | Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader

Request: requested by @kati-1997. Asked for best friends to lovers, everybody sees that they like each other but he admits it after someone flirts with the reader, the crew and Penny bet that they get together.

Word Count: 5949 words

Summary: Jake and the reader are best friends, however, the Dagger Squad and Penny can see they both want to be more than that. What started off as a bet of when the two will get together turns into a different game that leads to trouble.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, angst, cursing (I think, I can't remember for sure, kissing.

It started as a game. An innocent little game for the entire Dagger Squad to play, minus Maverick who was trying to be the responsible one out of the group. But honestly, the oldest member couldn’t blame the group for what they started. They had to do something to deal with Fightertown's most clueless couple.

What started as placing bets for when the two of you finally got together turned into a drinking game.

Take a drink when one of you calls the other a nickname or says something flirty.

Take two drinks if one of you kisses the other on the cheek, forehead, or head.

Take a shot when Hangman tries to show you how to properly play pool.

Take two shots if you hold hands.

Finish your drink if you guys end up dancing together.

Needless to say, the members of the Dagger Squad are more on track for liver failure rather than winning any money.

“I’m never playing that game ever again,” Rooster groaned out to the group the next morning, slumped down in his chair with his aviators placed over his closed eyes.

“Yeah, right. We all know we’ll be doing the same thing when we go out again,” Phoenix argued with him, her state being the same, except she’s leaned forward in her seat, head down and buried in her arms.

“I’ve never drunk so much in my entire life,” Bob groaned out from next to her, sunglasses placed on his nose instead of his usual spectacles for seeing properly.

“I think I’m still drunk,” Fanboy stated, Payback humming in agreement from his seat next to him.

“I’m honestly surprised Penny served us as much as she did last night,” Coyote spoke up.

“It’s because Penny understands the pain we are going through right now with watching the two of them together. I’m starting to seriously think we need to step in and do something about it. I don’t know if my liver can take another night like this,” Rooster told the group.

“What do you expect us to do, Rooster? It’s not like we can just come out and say-,” Coyote was cut off by Pheonix shushing him at the sound of whistling.

Jake Hangman Seresin immediately stopped in his tracks when he took in the sight of his fellow aviators. He couldn’t help but laugh at the hungover group as he slowly walked further into the room, grinning around his toothpick.

“Well, it looks like some people had a fun night,” He said with a chuckle, taking his usual seat at the front of the room.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Fanboy muttered, causing Payback to send an elbow into his side.

Hangman showed no sign of hearing his muttered phrase and pulled his phone out to reply to a text sent by you.

Darling: Phoenix hasn’t replied to me this morning. Should I be worried?

His smile widened across his face as he replied to you.

Cowboy: Don’t you worry, darling. It looks to me like she and the rest of the group had a long night last night.

Jake discreetly took a picture of the group sitting behind him with their glasses on and sent it to you. Jake then locked his phone back up and placed it into his pocket before turning to look back at everybody.

“Are any of you going to be up to standards today,” He asked curiously.

“We’ll be fine Hangman, don’t you worry about us,” Coyote told his best friend.

“I just hope Maverick won’t be too hard on us today. I think I might puke if we do any crazy maneuvers,” Bob groaned.

“That’s the price to pay for underage drinking Baby on Board,” Jake said smugly from the front of the room.

“You’re such an ass,” Bob whispered, and everybody was too hungover to comment on the unexpected cursing from the WSO.

Everybody remained silent as they heard the door to their room swing open. Maverick quietly stepped into the room and slowly walked to the front, taking in the state of his team. He shook his head in amusement and cursed his girlfriend for serving them as much as she did. He dropped his clipboard on the podium in the front with a bang, causing all of the aviators, minus the cause of the problem, to let out groans of pain.

“Please never do that again,” Rooster groaned out to his godfather.

“Good morning to you too,” Maverick said with amusement in his voice. “Judging by the look of everybody in this room, practicing flight maneuvers is out of the question and is going to have to be moved to a different day.”

A resounding groaned cheer of numerous “thank gods” and “yes, pleases” rang out from the group, causing Hangman to scoff at the group and shake his head.

“That being said, you guys still aren’t off the hook. I want you all down at the beach behind the Hard Deck and ready for dogfight football within the hour,” Maverick ordered the group, causing them to still groan out in disagreement.

“I’d honestly much rather fly a plane than constantly be tackled to the ground,” Rooster argued.

“That’s the point. I don’t want to hear complaints from the maintenance team about having to hose vomit out from your cockpits, but I can’t let you all off the hook. You’re punishment for drinking so much the night before work is dogfight football. See you all in an hour,” Maverick smirked, leaving the room and the aviators to pull themselves from their seats.

-----

“They look like they’re struggling more than usual,” I commented about the sluggish group of aviators on the beach in front of me.

Penny hummed in acknowledgment and amusement before speaking. “All of them but your best friend.”

I followed her gaze to said aviator and blushed when I saw him, tanned skin glistening in the sun, muscles on show for anyone and everyone to see. I sighed wistfully at him as I continued admiring him, knowing full well Penny was also doing so with Maverick.

“They’re all hungover,” Penny reminded me with a smirk, going back to her work sitting in front of her.

“How are they so hungover? Did they keep drinking after Jake gave me a ride home,” I questioned her in disbelief.

“No, they stopped drinking when you left. You just didn’t realize how much they were drinking while you were here,” She explained. “Probably because you were so focused on a certain Lieutenant Seresin.” 

I removed my gaze from the group and glared over at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mhm, sure. Keep telling yourself that,” Penny nodded at me in amusement.

I rolled my eyes at her and looked back at the group to watch Jake do a double take towards our table. I grinned at him and raised my hand in a wave, seeing a wide grin also take over his face and wave back. After his actions, I watched as all of the aviators slowly looked over and had mixed reactions to my presence. Some groaned in what looked like exhaustion while some waved at me with a small smile.

“How long have they been at this,” I questioned Penny curiously.

“A little over an hour. Pete said it was punishment for getting so drunk when they knew they had work the next morning,” Penny told me with a proud grin at the thought of her boyfriend.

“He would punish them for having fun,” I poked at her, causing her to frown at me and kick me under the table. “I was joking. So, what do you think, maybe a little hair of the dog will help them get through it?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Penny argued with me, seeming to know something I don’t know.

“It’ll be fine, Pen,” I argued with her, pulling the back door of the Hard Deck open and making my way to behind the bar.

I began gathering beers together and placing them on top of the bar. I looked around across the bartop to see no bottle opener in sight. I sighed in frustration and began moving jars of garnishes to the side to locate the opener. When unsuccessful, I groaned and squatted down to locate the opener on one of the shelves underneath the bar and let out a small cheer when I saw one behind a glass jar. I pulled the jar out and reached for the opener, placing it up on the bartop. I went to place the jar back when I noticed a heart drawn on it. I furrowed my brows and held it farther away from my face to properly examine it.

I opened the container and looked inside to see rolls of cash shoved inside of it. 

“What the hell,” I murmured to myself in confusion.

I gripped the jar in my hand and walked towards the back door of the bar, pushing it open with my hip and walking towards the bartender.

“Penny, what the hell is a jar with a heart drawn on it stuffed full of cash doing underneath your bar,” I questioned her in confusion.

I could see the woman freeze briefly and some color drain from her face before she looked up at me wide-eyed. I stared at her expectantly and placed the jar on the table in front of her, watching her glance between the jar and myself a few times before speaking.

“It’s…,” She trailed off, causing me to raise my brows at her. “It’s some money I’ve been saving up for a trip for Pete and me. I’ve been hiding it underneath the bar so he doesn’t see it.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Well, I would love to contribute some, if that’s okay,” I started reaching for my purse, causing her to stop me and grab the jar from the table.

“No, that’s okay. That’s not necessary at all,” She shrugged.

“Are you sure,” I questioned her again.

“Positive,” She nodded at me tightly before looking back at the door. “Weren’t you getting drinks for everybody?”

My eyes widened at the reminder and walked back inside to grab the beers I had planned on acquiring previously. After opening all of them I gripped them in my arms and hands and began walking them out to the beach where the aviators continued their game.

“I heard that some of you could use a bit of help in your day,” I called out, gaining their attention.

I heard some sighs of relief and resounding “thank yous” as they all made their way towards me and began taking the beers off of my hands. Jake was the last one to greet me and the grin on his face caused mine to widen as well. He took the beer from my outstretched hand before gripping it and pulling me towards him.

“Thank you, darling,” he told me, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of my head.

“You’re welcome, hotshot,” I grinned at him.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as the rest of the group all shared looks before taking four long drinks of their beer in unison.

“Don’t overdo it again guys,” Maverick scolded them, taking a drink of his beer as well before sighing. “We can be done for the day. Get some rest and be ready for work on Monday.”

“Yes, sir,” Rang out around me as everybody sighed in relief at being done for the day.

I giggled at all of them in amusement as I moved closer to Jake and wrapped my arms around his waist. “How are all of you so hungover? Penny told me you stopped drinking after we left last night.”

Everybody stayed quiet at my question and continued drinking their beer, causing me to shrug and hug myself closer to Jake.

“Honey, I’m all sweaty and sandy, I’m sure you don’t want to be touching me right now,” Jake informed me with a grin, taking his sunglasses off and placing them on my face so I was no longer squinting up at him.

“I’m fine,” I reassured him, pressing my face into his chest and admiring his green eyes shining in the sunlight.

Everyone groaned simultaneously and took another long gulp of beer, causing me to squint at them in confusion.

“Is there something we’re missing here,” I questioned all of them curiously.

“Nope,” They all denied in unison.

“Uh-huh,” I nodded at them before looking back up at Jake. “Well, it’s Friday night, what are we doing tonight? Drinks at the Hard Deck again?”

“Sounds good to me. What about you guys,” Jake nodded at me before looking back at the rest of the Dagger Squad.

“Sounds great,” Rooster said after a moment of silence, everybody else hesitantly nodding in unison.

“Awesome. Well, I’m going to head home and get changed, let’s meet back here in an hour to an hour and a half,” I questioned the group, removing myself from Jake’s side and handing his sunglasses back to him.

Everybody nodded as Jake placed another kiss on my head. “Sounds good, darling. I’ll pick you up on my way again.”

I nodded at him in acknowledgment before beginning my trek off of the beach.

---------

“Here, darlin’, you’re holding it wrong, let me help you out,” Jake murmured in my ear, placing his hands over my own and leaning over me.

“I think I know how to do it properly after the many times you’ve shown me before, cowboy,” I giggled out to him, lifting my head to look into his bright green eyes.

“Well, it never hurts to have a refresher,” He replies to me, causing me to nod sheepishly and look back at the task at hand.

“Shots, everybody,” Rooster called out, causing everybody to nod at him reluctantly.

I looked up from the pool table to nod at him as well. “I’ll take one, Roo. Can you also get me another (Y/D)?”

“Sure,” He nodded at me with a tight smile before turning and going to the bar.

Jake led me in my shot once again before we both stood from the table and watched the balls move around. Once my turn was over the next person went and I handed my pool stick to the next person. Jake leaned down towards my ear and told me he was going to help Rooster with the drinks before placing a kiss on my temple. I nodded at him with a bright grin and moved to sit at one of the high-top tables surrounding the pool table. As I sat observing the game in front of me, a very drunk Phoenix came and placed her head on my shoulder, causing me to giggle at her in amusement.

“Can I help you,” I questioned her.

“I’m so drunk,” She informed me, staring at the pool table with a blank expression.

“We’ve only been here two hours,” I said in disbelief. She remained silent and only shrugged in response. “Stop drinking then.”

“I can’t. I would lose the game if I did that, and I can’t lose. I already lost my money, I can’t lose this too. This is your fault by the way,” She groaned out to me, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about,” I questioned her.

Coyote stepped forward at that moment and placed his hands on the female aviator's shoulders, moving her away from me and towards her WSO Bob.

“Ignore Phoenix. She’s just had a little too much to drink. You know how she can be sometimes,” Coyote told me, placing his hand on my shoulder

“Uh…,” I trailed off, looking past him at my female friend with confusion still written across my face.

“Here you go, (Y/N),” Rooster said, gaining my attention.

I looked over at him to see him holding my drink up to me with a grin. I smiled at him thankfully and accepted my drink before looking behind him.

“Where’s Jake?”

“Bringing the rest of the shots,” He told me before downing a couple of gulps of his beer in his hand.

I nodded in understanding before looking back at the pool table in front of me. After a few seconds of waiting for Jake, (Y/F/S) began playing from the jukebox, causing my grin to widen and begin searching for the green-eyed aviator and finding him making his way towards me with a smug grin. I smiled at him brightly and downed my shot before standing from my seat.

“You wanna dance,” Jake questioned me smugly, holding his hand out.

My smile widened and I shook my head at him in disbelief. “You do this every time we come here.”

“Nothing wrong with having a routine,” He shrugged at me before gripping my hand tightly and pulling me over to the jukebox.

I couldn’t help but laugh as he began twirling me around in the jukebox lights before pulling me closer to him. I placed my head on his chest as his hands moved to my waist. The two of us swayed comfortably back and forth for the duration of the song, occasionally catching the gazes of the rest of the Dagger Squad who were looking over at us periodically.

“I feel like something is going on with our friends that they’re not telling us,” I murmured to Jake, questioning if he heard me or not.

“What do you mean,” Jake questioned me curiously.

“They’re acting weird,” I pointed out.

“Because the way they normally act is considered normal,�� Jake said in amusement, shaking his head at me.

“To me it is,” I said shyly, looking up at him.

Jake shook his head at me again with a grin before speaking. “Alright, what are they doing that has you so concerned?”

I looked up at him in disbelief this time and scoffed. “You’re telling me you seriously can’t see it? The occasional groans when the two of us do anything, the hesitation in agreeing to come out with us tonight, the heavy drinking in our presence, Phoenix telling me that her being drunk is my fault.”

Jake stood and thought before saying his piece. “I think our friends are just weird and annoying.”

I scoffed at him and grinned before shaking my head. “Sure, Seresin. Let’s go with that.”

“Look, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think it might just be me, okay? They have to spend all day with me at work and then the evening with me when we hang out. Being around the same people so much can cause some annoyance,” Jake tried to reassure me.

I sighed and shook my head before reluctantly agreeing. “Okay, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. I’m always right,” He grinned down at me.

“That is not true,” I giggled at him before he twirled and dipped me.

(Y/F/S) came to an end and the two of us began making our way back towards the group. I walked to the table that I left my drink on and frowned when I saw my glass empty. I looked around the group to see a guilty-looking Phoenix avoiding eye contact. I laughed in amusement and shook my head at her before looking up at Jake.

“I’m going to get another drink. It looks like a drunk Phoenix beat me to this one,” I informed him, gesturing between the female aviator and my cup.

Jake laughed as well and looked back down at me. “I can get you another one, darling.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m a big girl, I can handle it,” I reassured him, grabbing my glass to take to the bar for Penny. 

Jake threw his hands up in surrender and smirked at me as I rolled my eyes, reaching forward and gripping one of his hands to pull it back down to his side. Jake smiled at me in amusement and squeezed my hand briefly before letting it go, gently pushing me towards the bar. I looked back at him with a small smile before trekking over to Penny.

“Another one,” Penny questioned me in shock, looking at my empty glass.

“Yeah, I’m afraid Phoenix beat me to this one,” I said with a gentle laugh.

Penny shook her head before turning to make my drink. I chuckled in amusement and looked back at the group of aviators at the pool table. Jake looked up from his turn at the table to make eye contact with me. He winked at me before making his move, causing me to roll my eyes and move to turn back to the bar. However, I paused in my turn when I noticed a certain spectacled WSO making his way towards me at the bar.

“Hey, Bob. You doing okay,” I questioned him in concern.

Bob nodded at me with a bright grin, slightly swaying in his spot where he stopped next to me. “Yeah, I’m great.”

I nodded in agreement with him before looking over at Penny. “Hey, Pen? Water for the WSO, please.”

Penny nodded at me as Bob began to shake his head. “No, no. I don’t need any water. I’m fine.”

I nodded at his slurred words and laughed a little bit. “Bob, you’re a lightweight on your best day, I think some water would do you some good,” I told him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

Bob drunkenly stared up at me in a haze before he sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re totally right. (Y/N), you’re the best. You just care about all of us so much,” He told me, taking my hand on his shoulder in his own and moving it onto the bartop.

“Well somebody has to, Bob, when none of your family is here,” I argued with him, laughing again when he gently laid his head on my shoulder.

“You’re right, again. You're always right, and you’re so smart,” He said softly, nodding his head on my shoulder and causing his glasses to go lopsided from the action.

Penny walked over to the two of us and set my drink and the water on the bartop, causing me to give her a thankful look. I released my hand from Bob’s grip and began pushing the water toward his now free hand.

“Thank you,” He murmured, lifting his head and placing a kiss on my cheek.

I lightly blushed at his actions and shook my head at him. “Don’t thank me until tomorrow morning when your hangover isn’t as bad as it could be.

Bob gave a small giggle and nodded at me in agreement before he began chugging the water. I nodded at him in encouragement and rubbed his shoulder.

--------

Jake watched his best friend walk away from him after gently nudging her in the direction of the bar. His smile was bright until his best friend Javy gained his attention.

“Hey, Hangman, you wanna join?”

Jake broke his gaze from the (Y/H/C) after he was sure she made it to the bar safely. “Yeah, sure.”

Coyote handed him a pool stick as Rooster and Payback racked the balls. He took continuous glances at his friend as he waited his turn, telling himself that he was just making sure she was safe.

“Hey, Hangman, how about you stop staring at your girlfriend and you pay attention to the game,” Natasha slurred from her spot next to Rooster.

Rooster nudged the female and gave her a small glare at her words, causing her to look up at him and shrug innocently.

“It’s not like that,” Jake argued with her.

“Oh, please. Do you honestly think we’re all stupid enough to believe that? There’s a reason we’re the best of the best,” Natasha argued back, rolling her eyes at him.

“I think that only applies to flying,” Fanboy spoke up while Coyote began scolding the woman.

“Natasha, knock it off,” Coyote said to her sternly, leaning back up from the pool table after taking his turn.

“Why? I’m just stating the obvious. You said it yourself, Jake’s in love with (Y/N) and she’s in love with him and neither of them wants to admit it,” She slurred out with a shrug.

“That’s not what’s going on. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jake argued with her again.

“Mhm, yeah sure. You’re delusional then,” Phoenix finished off before shrugging and moving to sit with Fanboy at his table.

Jake continued to stare at the woman in deep thought until Coyote placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Hey, man, just ignore her. You know how she can be. She’s just busting your balls,” Coyote told him.

“Yeah, no, yeah, I know. It’s just… Phoenix being Phoenix,” Jake agreed with him quietly before looking back at the game at hand.

“But on a brighter note, you gotta admit that (Y/N) is looking pretty damn good tonight,” Coyote commented, causing Jake to follow his gaze and a mesmerized smile to take over his face.

“Yeah, she does,” He breathed out, taking in the woman across the room.

Coyote looked between the two people and shook his head in amusement before landing a smack to his chest. “Your turn.”

Jake nodded at him and turned towards the pool table to take his turn. He looked up from where he was leaning over to take his turn to check on his best friend again. A smile overcame his face at the sight of her already looking over at him. Jake couldn’t help but send her a wink before making his move, causing her to roll her eyes in amusement and turn back to the bar. Jake stood back up from his position and watched the next person take their turn until Fanboy spoke up from where he was sitting with Phoenix.

“Where’d Bob go?”

All he could see was red. He looked away from his best friend long enough to take another turn at 9-ball, and when he looked back up Phoenix’s nerdy WSO was putting drunken moves on (Y/N).

He watched as Bob grabbed your hand from his shoulder as you talked and gripped it in his own. He watched as the man placed his head on your shoulder and you laughed at something he said. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was when he placed a kiss on your cheek. Jake had never asked Coyote to hold his beer and pool stick as fast as he did at that moment. The drunk aviator fumbled to hold the items and dropped the pool stick with a clang as Jake began to take quick strides across the Hard Deck towards the two individuals at the bar. His strides became even quicker at the site of his best friend rubbing Bob’s shoulder as he chugged a glass of water.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Baby on Board,” Jake questioned the WSO darkly.

Jake watched you turn to him with a look of utter confusion at his tone out of the corner of his eye but refused to take his eyes off the man standing in front of him. Bob slowly lowered the glass of water back down to the bar and wiped his mouth before looking over at his fellow aviator.

“Just drinking some water,” Bob informed him with a bright grin before picking the cup back up.

“Jake,” you whispered to him, trying to gain his attention.

Jake didn't remove his eyes from Bob and straightened up, taking a step between the two of you. Your confusion was furthered when he made this move, looming over Bob with a threatening demeanor.

“Jake, what the hell are you doing,” You questioned him, placing your hand on his arm and pulling him away from the clueless aviator.

Jake still refused to look away from Bob, causing you to move around the side of him and step between the two. Jake finally removed his gaze from Bob long enough to look down at you. You raised your eyebrows at him in question and watched his face soften. You sighed in slight annoyance and shook your head at him before turning around to look at Bob.

--------

“Hey, Bobby, how about you take your water and go join everybody else again, yeah,” I questioned him sweetly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay,” Bob nodded at me with a smile, turning around and making his way back toward the group.

I watched and waited until he was greeting everybody else before turning back around and looking at Jake.

“What the hell was that,” I questioned him, looking up at him in shock and disbelief.

“What do you mean “what the hell was that?” Baby on Board was clearly making a move on you,” Jake defended looking at me in disbelief as well.

“That's not what was happening. He's drunk Jake. He doesn't know what he's doing,” I argued.

“So that's supposed to make it okay,” Jake threw at me.

“No-,” I started, only to be cut off.

“What do you have the hots for Bob or something,” he added.

“What? No,” I denied quickly, only having a second to shake off my disbelief at his words.

“So it would be completely fine if Rooster were to come over and do the same thing,” He questioned me quickly.

“Wha- Jake,” I scoffed out, shaking my head at him.

“Or Coyote, or Pheonix. Maybe even Payback or Fanboy,” he began listing off, causing my frustration with him to grow.

“Jake, seriously,” I slightly whimpered.

“So it's fine for anybody to just come on over and flirt with you and touch you,” Jake snapped back.

“That's not- this isn't-,” I stuttered out, my increasing frustration with the situation making it difficult to properly form a sentence.

“Then what is it, (Y/N)? Tell me what this is. Make this make sense for me,” Jake snapped out at me.

I glared up at him and felt tears beginning to brim in my eyes when I finally snapped “You tell me, Jake. You're the one who made it into something.” 

Jake finally snapped his mouth shut and took a step back from me. He remained quiet but wouldn't remove his eyes from my own.

“What, you have nothing to say now? Because you had plenty a few seconds ago,” I scoffed.

Jake continued to remain silent, now avoiding eye contact. All I could bring myself to do was nod and reach over to grab my drink from the bartop.

“Okay, well… come find me when you finally come up with an excuse for acting like a jealous boyfriend,” I told him, beginning to walk away.

However, I stopped when I felt him place his hand on my elbow.

“What if it were me,” he asked me quietly, causing me to turn and face him with obvious confusion on my face.

“What?”

“What if it were me who was acting like that with you,” he repeated louder. I remained silent as I stared at him, and Jake spoke again at my silence. “What if I didn't just act like a jealous boyfriend and I was actually a jealous boyfriend? Or just a boyfriend in general?”

My confusion changed to shock at his question. I slowly moved back to my spot in front of him and placed my drink back on the bar. I looked down at his hand and watched as it slowly moved from my elbow and down my arm to intertwine with my hand.

“Then I would tell you there's no reason to be jealous because you're the only one I have eyes for,” I told him quietly, looking up from our hands to gaze into his eyes.

I could visibly see the tension turn into relief at my words. See his shoulders relax, his eyes soften slightly, his pinched lips release into a small smile. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something in response, but quickly shut it instead.

“You can kiss me now,” I said to him in encouragement.

“Oh, thank god,” Jake said in relief before releasing my hand to cup my face in both of his, placing his lips on my own.

I released a breath of relief myself at the feeling of his lips against my own, the feeling of his hands holding my face delicately, almost as if he were afraid that I would break. My hands raised to wrap around his wrists, gently gripping them in my own and rubbing my thumbs against the delicate skin. It was a gentle kiss that turned into one filled with passion. He released my lips briefly before moving in for one more. And then one more turned into two… three… until the sound of cheering echoed across the bar, causing the two of us to pull away and look towards the sound. A bright grin broke out across my face at the sight of the rest of the Dagger Squad looking over at us and cheering as if their home team just won a championship game. I began laughing in amusement at the group before looking up at Jake, seeing him have the same reaction as me before looking back down at me.

“I’m sorry to tell you this Darling, but I don’t think you’re ever going to be able to get rid of me,” Jake informed me with a faux smile of apology.

“That’s alright. I think I just might want to keep you around for a little while,” I smirked up at him before wrapping my hand around his neck to pull him into another breathtaking kiss.

---------

Meanwhile, the Dagger Squad watched their two friends with smiles on their faces and relief in their bodies at the thought of no longer having to watch the two of them dance around each other.

“It’s about time,” Coyote said, resulting in everybody letting out different noises and statements of agreement.

“So, wanna bet on when they’ll get engaged,” Rooster questioned, causing everyone to start shouting out dates and timespans.

However, this lasted for a short time due to Phoenix speaking up from her spot next to a still-drunk Bob.

“Wait, who won the original bet,” She questioned.

The group all looked around at each other curiously before looking over at the Hard Deck owner who appeared at their side with her glass jar in her hand.

“Bob won,” She stated simply.

“What,” Was the resounding answer in disbelief.

She nodded at them in amusement before answering. “He won by two weeks. Predicted it would happen by (Y/N)’s birthday.”

The group looked over at a now passed-out Bob, his head slumped down on the table and Phoenix running her hand over his head gently.

“Did he technically cheat,” Fanboy questioned his friends, pointing over at Bob.

“There’s no way he was smart enough to do that when he’s that drunk. I think it was just a lucky break,” Payback argued with him, causing Rooster and Coyote to nod in agreement with the frontseater. 

Penny made her way over to the WSO and gently shook him, causing him to raise his head from the table in a haze, looking over at the bartender in confusion.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant,” She smirked at him, leaving the jar in front of him before walking off back to the bar.

Bob looked down at the jar in confusion before looking at all of the aviators in front of him who were looking at him in disbelief.

“Did I win?”

#glen powell #glen fucking powell #tgm cast #top gun maverick #top gun hangman #top gun imagine #tgm #jake hangman fic #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman imagine #hangman x reader #hangman fanfiction #jake seresin #jake seresin x you #hangman top gun #jake seresin smut #glen powell imagine #anyone but you #jake seresin imagine

[princessmisery666]

View From The Friendzone

Summary: Jake has been helping you find someone to go home with every night, just like you do for him. When that arrangement ends because of your new boyfriend, he's got to figure out if he's okay with being stuck in the friendzone or if he wants more.

Warnings: fluff, slight angst, jealous!Jake, idiots in love, mild/implied smut.

W/C: 4k

Characters: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado, OMC. 

Pairing: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x fem!reader (you - no descriptions of body type or ethnicity).

Notes: for this request from the lovely @jakexfmc - I hope you like it.

A/N: It was supposed to be a drabble. 

Betas: @wildbornsiren // @writercole // @therebeccaw // all mistakes are mine.

Graphics: made by me divider: @writercole

Master Lists: Top Gun Maverick // All The Fandoms

View From The Friendzone

It seems that men and women are more interested in someone who appears unattainable. You and Jake both use that, and each other, to your benefit. Posing as a couple, you set the trap and you wait to see which little fishy will take the bait. In the air and on the ground, your coordinated wingmen, and the dynamic works in both settings. Plus it’s not like it's a hardship having Jake’s full attention. He’s gorgeous, charming, sweet (when no one else is around) and it’s a good ego boost to have him flirt with you.

Tonight holds promise for both of you. Jake had accompanied you to the bar in town, to make sure your Tinder date, Nick, was legit and not a psycho axe murderer. Jake’s arrival with a woman on his arm attracted the attention of every single female in the vicinity. The woman who had taken Jake’s bait, was putty in his hands. Hanging on his every word with a giggle or a sigh, before your date even showed up. Ten minutes early - tick one for Nick. 

Nick actually looks like his picture. He could break the internet without trying. His jawline could slice an apple in half, piercing light blue eyes, tanned skin, and shaggy dark hair. You wonder if he’s a part time model and just hasn’t disclosed that information yet. 

From across the bar, you see Jake’s new friend make a beeline for the bathroom and you know he’s sealed the deal. They always ‘freshen up’ before they take him home. He swaggers toward you, nodding at Nick’s back with an approving smile and throwing a thumbs up before stepping around him.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he says, offering his hand to Nick. “I’m Jake, Y/N’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nick smiles and your stomach flips. He’s so beautifully handsome, it's almost painful. “Y/N mentioned you’d be here. Make sure I’m not some serial killer with a foot fetish.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a serial killer,” Jake chuckles, “it’s the foot fetish she has a problem with.”

All three of you laugh and you shove Jake’s shoulder, “jerk.”

He twists slightly to give you his full attention, “We still on for breakfast tomorrow?” Jake asks. 

“Yeah,” you nod, “my turn to buy.” 

He leans in and kisses your cheek. “Have fun,” he whispers.

“I promise to have her home by eleven,” Nick says when Jake straightens again. 

“Eleven thirty is fine,” Jake nods, then points a warning finger at you, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Is there anything you wouldn’t do, Seresin?” 

He ponders it for a moment, “okay, if you think I would do it, don’t do it ‘cause it’s probably illegal or highly dangerous.”

You laugh and push him away. “Would you get out of here already?”

 “Breakfast,” Jake reminds you as his date emerges from the bathroom. “eight thirty!”

Jake feels a little put out. There was serious money on the game of pool, between him, Coyote, Fanboy and Payback. But the others were as taken with Nick as you seem to be. They’ve abandoned the game to gather around Nick, listening to him tell a story. He’s joined you all several times now; Nick can’t possibly have that many interesting tales to tell. 

He watches the group collectively laugh and the tender way Nick leans in to kiss your cheek. Nick’s smitten gaze focuses on you for a long moment, and you kiss him again, bashful grin making your eyes shine brighter. The interaction makes Jake’s stomach roll in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable way.

“Jake!” Coyote yells and his tone implies it's not the first time he’s called his name. 

“What?”

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, fine,” he says, walking around the table and lining up his next shot. He pulls the cue back, and as he pushes it forward he hears a chorus of ‘awwwww’. His concentration is broken enough that he misses his shot completely, distracted by the affectionate embrace you and Nick are locked in. He’s never seen the others swoon over a kiss before.

He doesn’t realize he’s staring or that his knuckles are white from his taut grip on the cue. 

He feels rather than sees Javy stand next to him, but it's the other man’s intuitive tone that breaks his focus. “So you two are done then?”

“Huh, what?”

“You and Y/N, your little thing is over.”

“Nothing is over,” Jake sneers, “and what thing?”

“You two-” he says and points from Jake across the room to you.

Jake slaps his hand down and glances in your direction to make sure you haven’t noticed and know they’re talking about you. But it’s clear you wouldn’t notice a brass band striking up a drumline next to you from the way you adoringly stare up at Nick.

Coyote laughs, “you’ve got it bad, man, and you can’t even see it from the friendzone you put yourself in.” 

The statement catches him off guard and, unsure of the reason, he feels his stomach drop to his feet. But he schools his expression to one of cockiness and asks, “Enlighten me Coyote, what is this friendzone you speak of?”

“You’ve kept her on a line from the moment we met her,” Coyote starts, “she made a pass at you the first time we all went out and you shot her down, ‘let’s not shit where we eat’.” he mimics in a poor rendition of Jake’s accent. “She was fine with it. Took it in stride. But you kept dangling that carrot, man. All the flirting, buying her drinks, going on runs together, movie nights cuddled up on the sofa. Breakfast dates, you spend all of your free time together.” Javy counts off each activity holding up a finger. “That’s not counting all the inside jokes you have. Hell you fake being a couple to hookup with other people. You put yourself firmly in the friend zone and now that she has someone, you want her.”

Your laughter filters through the bar and it distracts him that he has to look over. “I am not in the friend zone,” Jake defends.

“But are you into her?” 

“No.”

Javy rolls his eyes and chuckles, “tell me, has she slept with Nick yet?”

Jake knows the answer because you told him this morning over breakfast at your favorite pancake place. 

“Yeah she has,” Jake shrugs. He knows what’s coming before Coyote inhales to reply. 

“Women don’t tell guys they wanna sleep with about other guys they’re sleeping with. Say it with me, F.R.I.E.N-”

“Shut up!” Jake laughs, and he hopes it's not as fake as it feels. “Take your damn shot!”

Javy walks around the table, checking the best angle, “I’m just saying man, tell her before it’s too late. Because that dude,” he points subtly in Nick’s direction. “Is a long term kinda guy and I can feel how much she likes him from over here.”

Jake doesn’t know how or when but he’s going to get Javy back somehow. It’s not Javy’s fault really. He just so happened to be the only one ballsy enough to call Jake out about his relationship, or lack thereof, with you. But now that his friend has put it out there, Jake can’t stop thinking about it. 

There’s some kind of debate going on and Rooster’s talking but Jake isn’t listening. He’s too focused on comparing himself to Nick.

Nick is dark haired, curled slightly, totally opposite of his. The man clearly knows his way around a gym as does Jake, but Nick’s broader, there’s no way he’d fit comfortably in a cockpit. Jake overheard you and Phoenix talking a few days before and she’d referred to Nick as being ‘bear-like’ if Nick is a grizzly bear, Jake’s a mountain lion. Both formidable predators in their own right but almost complete opposites. 

Is that what you like? If that’s your type, Jake doesn’t stand a chance. 

Wait. 

Does he want a chance? But a chance at what exactly? Put a grizzly bear and a mountain lion in a room with a piece of meat, who’s going to win? His throat goes dry and he gulps down half of his beer forcing himself to rejoin the conversation and get out of his own head. 

“I have nothing against one night stands. We’ve all been there,” Nick says. Coyote, Fanboy and Payback all cheers to that, clinking their bottle necks to Nick’s. “Personally, it’s not just about sex, you have to connect on so many more levels. I think it’s more impressive if a man can keep a woman happy for more than a night, keep her coming back for more.”

“Amen to that,” Bob says, raising his glass in a toast from across the table. Jake sees Nick’s eyes flick to him and the slight sneering curl of his lips as he sips his drink but no one else seems to notice.

“No offense Hangman,” Nick says, “I know that's kinda your MO.” 

He feels his jaw ripple with the clench of his teeth. But he refuses to let this man get under his skin, or at least show that it’s working. “No offense taken,” Jake shrugs, cocky smirk in full effect. “I mean, I used to help your girl pick up a different guy every night.”

Nick looks impressed that Jake had the balls to make such a comment, as if he expected it. Jake’s not revealing any secrets, he knows you’ve told Nick everything, because you’ve told Jake everything about you and Nick.

“Well all that's over now,” Nick says, dipping to kiss you. 

Jake’s chest tightens and he worries, Javy is right. There’s that word again - over - is your relationship, friendship, whatever, over?

“Nick seems nice,” Javy says while you and him wait at the bar to be served. 

You smile, grateful for the confirmation. “He is,” you agree, glancing over your shoulder to see Nick and your friends talking animatedly. He’s slotted into the group with ease, and that makes your life so much easier. Having to split time between seeing a partner and friends was always tedious so it’s nice to know you won’t have to divy up your time.

Naturally your gaze takes in everyone at the table, and when you land on Jake, he’s already staring at you. He delivers a wink accompanied by a teeth whitening commercial worthy smile and it still surprises you that after all the years you’ve known him the small gesture can make you weak in the knees. You are, by far, not immune to the charm of Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin. Though you cherish your friendship, you’ll always be a little bitter that you never got the full Seresin service. You’d stake your career on it being an unforgettable experience. You’ve heard the stories first hand from Jake and the rumor mill that churns through base. Jake could certainly keep a woman coming back for more. If only that’s what Jake wanted.

“He’s no Hangman, though.”

You hear the words but too lost in your daydream you don’t quite process them. “Huh, what?” you ask, breaking your focus on Jake to turn around again.

“Nick’s nice,” Javy explains slowly, “but he’s no Jake. But that’s the point, right?”

“I’m not following,” you frown, confused.

“He’s the total opposite of Jake, maybe it wasn’t a conscious decision, or maybe it was.” He shrugs, “But we both know dating Nick isn’t going to make your crush on Jake disappear.” 

“Please,” You scoff, “my crush on Seresin disappeared a long time ago.”

It’s not entirely true. It didn’t disappear, it simply simmered from a gushing waterfall to a babbling brook. You still appreciate his beauty, get a swell of smugness when you notice the envious stares you receive and for the brief periods you fake being a couple you live blissfully in the make believe.

“Oh really?” Javy smirks. “So if I told you that he’s crazy jealous of Nick it wouldn’t make a reappearance?”

He’s as close with Jake as you are. So it’s not a stretch to believe Hangman may have confided in him. But if this is a hypothetical conversation there’s no need for the butterflies trying to escape your stomach.

“Are you telling me that?” You wonder. 

Coyote rolls his eyes, head shaking while he chuckles. “You made a pass at Jake a long time ago, he knocked you down. I’m making an observation that you two have grown closer, things have changed. Maybe if you took another shot, the results would be different. Just cause you're in the friend zone doesn’t mean you have to stay there.”

“We’re not friends,” you sneer, needlessly offended by the remark. “I mean we are, but we’re more than that…” 

“Lord give me strength,” Javy rolls his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. “You two need to get your heads out of your asses before it’s too late,” he says, collecting the drinks from the bar.

“Too late for what?” you ask his back as he walks away.

You hear your phone ring but it’s too far away - not really, the coffee table isn’t that far - but Nick has you imprisoned beneath him, kissing the air from your lungs and rolling his stiff cock against your heated core.

The ringing stops but starts up again almost immediately and you wriggle free of Nick’s mouth to at least glance at the caller ID. 

“Shit,” you say, “it’s Jake,” trying to reach for it with as little movement as possible.

“Ignore it,” Nick suggests, leaving open mouthed kisses on your neck. “He’s on a date, right? Probably just wants to brag he fucked her in the bathroom or some shit.” 

You laugh and just as your fingertips touch the corner of the device it stops ringing. You smooth your hand up under Nick’s shirt and as he lifts up to pull it off his head the phone starts up again. 

You grab it, answering it as Nick rolls his eyes and sighs heavily. “Hey Jake,” you smile, running your nails up and down Nick’s defined torso, mouth watering at the idea of having it pinning you down momentarily. 

“Thank god,” Jake says, relieved, “I called Coyote but he laughed at me. I need you to come save me.”

“What?” 

“Please Y/N, I need you,” he implores. “I’d climb out of the window if it were big enough. But my ass will get stuck.” 

“You mean your ego,” you joke. 

“So funny,” he retorts and you can hear his eyes roll. “Please, come rescue me, cause a scene or something, just get me out of here.” 

“Jake you can’t be serious.” 

“I’m deadly serious. In G-lock during a dogfight, enemy aircraft are on my ass and I’m all out of flares, serious!” he explains, tempo and volume increasing. 

“Okay, okay,” you chuckle, “calm down, I’m on my way.”

Jake sits at the table, knee bouncing, twisting a beer mat with one hand, the other bringing the glass to his lips every half second. He’s not sure what’s worse, the anticipation of your arrival or the uncertainty of your reaction. He a confident man, always self assured, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. But the anxiety fizzing in his gut makes him want to call you and tell you not to come. 

This was a dumb plan. 

It wasn’t so much of a plan. More of a test, one he now regrets putting in motion because he knows he’ll have to explain himself. You’ll see through whatever bullshit he could try and spout - you always do - so the truth is the best policy. But how does he tell you the truth? How does he explain it without sounding like a jackass?

“I faked being on a date to see if you’d ditch Nick to come help me because I wanted to know if you still care.”

It sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous.

Your entrance pulls his attention from his inner turmoil. He holds his breath while you scan the room. Your gaze lands on him and your shoulders slump with a heavy exhale, even in the dim bar light he can see you’re upset.

You make your way over and he shoots his drink, quickly getting to his feet to greet you with a kiss to the cheek and a swift hug.

“Oh good she’s in the bathroom,” you say, pulling out of his embrace. “Jake,” you fix him with a pitiful look. “I’m not gonna cause a scene. It’s not fair. Just let her down gently, tell her you don’t feel a spark, or whatever. Wish her well and leave. I’ll be in the car, but be quick, I need to get back.”

You twist so fast you make him a little dizzy and he has to lunge forward to grab your wrist to stop you. “Wait,” he calls, tugging you back to face him. He swears he sees tears in your eyes but you sniff them away and before he loses the liquid courage the whiskey gave him he confesses, “I’m not on a date.” 

He waits for you to process, eyes flickering to the table as if you expect to find a phantom woman waiting for him. “What’re you talking about?”

“I just needed to get you here,” he admits, “and I couldn’t think of any other way.” 

“Jake, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Can we sit and talk?” he asks. He doesn’t need to sit down but he feels like this is turning into a scene, and for once having all eyes on him, isn’t what he wants. 

“Can we walk and talk?” you say, “I need to go do damage control with Nick.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“We had a fight.” 

“About what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” you grouse, throwing your hands up, “let’s turn and burn, before the ejection handle on my relationship gets pulled.”

He grabs his jacket off the back of the chair, drops a few bills on the table and follows your purposeful march. 

You're stomping toward the car and he understands your sour mood now. A fight with Nick. He feels shitty that the argument gives him a boost of confidence, if you’re arguing so early on in the relationship, maybe it’s not as solid as he thought. 

“So gonna tell me what this fight was about?” he asks, jogging to catch up with you. 

“Nothing,” you reply too quickly. “Drop it.”

Jake runs ahead to block your path, planting himself between you and your car. “When have I ever dropped anything?” 

The streetlights make the tears shimmering in your eyes look fiery orange and you avert your gaze. Jake tries to bring you back, gentle fingers under your chin to lift your head but you wriggle and pull free so he can’t. “Y/N,” he coaxes, stepping into your space, chest brushing yours when you heave a breath to keep from crying. “Tell me what’s going on, please?” 

“We had a fight,” you say, softly. “He didn’t say it outright, but it was him or you kind of deal.”

You raise your watery eyes back to him for a reaction. He’s so close you have to tilt your head and he looks down his nose at you, breath fanning stray bits of hair around your face. He waits a beat for you to elaborate. But really what more does he need to hear? It was a Jake or Nick ultimatum and you're standing in front of him. He watches a tear drip from your lashes and time seems to stop. 

The tear starts its descent down your cheek and before he really thinks it through he crushes it between your mouths, pressing a tentative kiss to your lips.

You inhale sharply through your nose and he worries your gearing up to push him away when your whole body tenses. He hopes the tension is born of surprise and not anger that your friend is kissing you. 

You haven’t moved, frozen in the moment, and the fact you haven’t shoved him away makes him bolder. He slides an arm around your waist, hand resting on the small of your back, the other smooths along the softness of your cheek, drawing you deeper into him. 

His tongue prods your bottom lip, tasting the salty tear he wanted to lick away. You grant him entry, thawing and melting into him with a contented sigh as your tongues connect. Your nails rake through the hairs at the base of his neck, rising to the tips of your toes, you grip a fistful of his hair, holding him in place. He growls, low and needy, in his chest and he feels his heartbeat quicken, his stomach doing somersaults as if he was inverted.

He can’t breathe, he feels his entire body flush with heat, culminating in his crotch and he can’t help but smile into the kiss when you whine. His smiling breaks the connection and it ends the kiss but you both remain pressed together, panting to catch your breaths.

“Holy shit, that was…” he whispers, brain ticking to find the words to describe what he feels. But he comes up blank, it’s too new, all consuming, overwhelming but immaculately right. “Fuck.”

“Jake?” you say, anxiety clear as day in your tone. “I’m so confused right now.”

“Shit, yeah. Sorry,” he grimaces, releasing you to take a step back. “Not for the kiss, because I meant to do that. Kind of. I mean I didn’t plan it. But I don’t regret it.” 

“Okay,” you draw the word out, confusion deepening. “So what did you plan?”

“Nothing,” he defends. His brain races, adrenaline coursing through him and he’s baffled as to why. He’s nervous. Jake Seresin doesn’t get nervous. He’s the King of Cool. 

He needs to move, standing still, staring at your bewildered expression isn’t helping him. He thinks he may have lost his mind a little. Is he dreaming? This is crazy. 

“Jake,” you soothe, “you’re not dreaming. But this, whatever this is, may be crazy.” 

“What? Fuck, did I say that out loud?” he starts to pace, back and forth, from trunk to hood and back again. “Y/N, you know I’m a man of action. I go head first into everything, consequences be damned. I don’t know why you were the exception to that. Actions speak louder than words. I knew you were with Nick tonight. I lied about needing rescuing to see if you’d put me first, like you have a million times before. But I need to know if I'm really stuck in the friend zone or not. My timing sucks, I know. But Javy was right, seeing you with Nick damn near killed me. I want you, Y/N, I want all of you and I’m hoping you won’t be as foolish as me and shoot me down like I did to you.”

He stops his attempt to erode the asphalt and turns to face you, shoulder heaving as he pants to catch his breath. He’s got the worst ‘I love you’ on the tip of his tongue. This isn’t the time or place but he feels it. That’s why he’s so uncharacteristically nervous. You're staring at him, mouth slightly agape, no hint as to how you feel in your blank expression. 

He thinks about laughing it all off, pretending it's some elaborate joke. Because what if he’s now fucked up your friendship.

The adrenaline from your kiss still coursing through him, and the desire to do it again is what gives him the motivation to remain in place and not flee like his brain is begging him to do.

He watches, almost in slow motion, as your lips curve upward, and a laugh rattles up from your chest.

“I’ve never seen you so nervous,” you smirk, barely containing the laugh. “It’s kinda cute.”

He’s almost offended that you find his confession to be so hilarious but then you step into his space and he forgets what he was thinking about.

“I am not cute!” he defends, wrapping his arms around your waist and yanking you against him roughly.

“Oh, so manly,” you tease, smoothing your hands up his chest to lock your arms around his neck.

“Shut up,” he remarks, crushing any snarky reply between your mouths.

Master Lists: Top Gun Maverick // All The Fandoms

Requests Info

#jake hangman seresin #top gun maverick #hangman #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake x reader #jake seresin fluff #friends to lovers #idiots in love #one shot #jake seresin x reader

[urmindisastreamofcolors]

Jealousy (Smut, 18+ only)

A/n: this is very spicy so please do not interact if you’re under 18! @avagvf thank you for the request (and I’m sorry it took so long!)

Warnings: jealousy, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it) and 18+ only!!!

Taglist: @joshyswife @katie-gvf @theweightofstardust @maverick-rose @greta-van-yeet @gretavanfleas @weightofdreams-gvf

“No. It’s easier if you do it this way,” Jake explained again as you tried to follow along with the riff, but you huffed in frustration when your pinky just couldn’t stretch to play the note you wanted. Instead of explaining it again, Jake wrapped his hand around yours and showed you physically what he meant. You didn’t think anything of it as he guided you through the notes before scooting away and back to his own guitar. 

“Ohhhhhhh,” you said as you played it a couple more times, fingers flying over the chords as it finally clicked. You two continued to practice, critiquing each other when needed, but letting the music between the two of you doing most of the talking. At some point, Jake royally screwed up the run and you laughed loudly at him as he fumbled, trying to recover from his mistake. 

“Okay, that’s enough for today I think! I’ve never fucked up Highway Tune like that in my life,” Jake said as he rolled his eyes causing you to laugh again. The atmosphere between you two was content and friendly as you began to put your guitars back in their designated spots just like you had always done. 

You had joined the band right after Danny, and while your main love has always been guitar, you were originally recruited to supplement where needed. You could play everything from violin to drums, so you were crucial in helping create “the cosmic sound” as Josh called it. Once they realized how well you could play guitar and how cool it sounded in harmony with Jake, it was a done deal. After several years of traveling together, winning a Grammy and producing an EP and two amazing albums, you had grown close with all four boys, especially Josh. 

According to the other guys in the band, Josh had been in love with you from the minute you came home with Ronnie one day after school and was truly head over heels once you started talking about your love for music. Needless to say, after nearly three years of a slowburn friends-to-lovers romance, the two of you had finally confessed your feelings to one another in a heated argument. If you were both being honest, you weren’t even sure what the argument had truly started over. 

As you were finishing picking up and bantering playfully with Jake, you were completely unaware of Josh leaning against the door frame watching the interaction. Some rational part of his brain tried to convince himself that you would never flirt with his twin brother and he knew Jake would never make a move on you knowing how much Josh cared for you. But, the other part of his brain was full of what could only be jealousy. His tongue slid along his pearly white teeth as he tried, and ultimately failed, to pull himself together. Red coated the edge of his vision as he stomped into the rehearsal room. 

“Hey, babe,” you called out when you heard him enter and you were so excited to see your boyfriend that you didn’t even notice Jake’s expression at seeing his brother. 

“What’s your problem? You look pissed, man,” Jake said simply as he crossed his arms over his chest. You wrinkled your brow in confusion at Jake’s words, but once you fully took in Josh, you couldn’t deny the anger that seemed to fuel his body. 

“Shut the fuck up, Jacob,” Josh growled through his teeth as he wrapped one hand firmly around your wrist and began to drag you from the room. His grip wasn’t painful and you were too shocked to argue as you followed behind him in confusion. After a few minutes, he flung open a door to a random empty conference room and pulled you in behind him. Josh slammed the door shut and locked before pinning you against it. The coolness from the door seeped through your thin shirt and your breath was coming in small gasp as your brain tried to figure out what was happening while the brain below your belt tried to throw logic to the side for the moment. 

“Were you flirting with my brother, mama? Is that what that was,” he questioned in a deep baritone that came from his chest and his eyes told you he expected an answer. 

“What? No! We were just practicing,” you managed to say in a choked whisper. The intensity of gaze caused heat to pool between your legs and you tried to squeeze them together in the hope of finding some relief. 

“You think he can make you feel the way I do? Let me remind you of why you scream my name every night,” Josh said lowly while wrapping one hand in your hand. His lips crashed into yours and you didn’t even try to fight for dominance as he consumed you in every way. His cologne filled your nose and his taste coated your tongue. Josh’s free hand gripped your ass tightly pulling you into him and you could feel his erection pressed against you. 

Without breaking the kiss, Josh pulled you away from the door and began to walk you backwards towards the large table in the middle of the room. Your hands found their way into his curls and Josh groaned into your mouth at the sensation of you gently tugging his hair. Josh’s hands found the hem of your shirt as he pulled it over your head in one fluid motion before unbuttoning his jeans. You helped him unbutton and slide off your jeans and underwear. You moaned quietly when Josh began leaving a trail of kisses down the column of your throat while one hand found its way in between your thighs. 

The tips of his fingers traced lightly from your jawline and journeyed down between the valley of your breasts before ghosting along the insides of your thighs. Using one finger, he circled your clit slowly before sticking his middle and ring finger in his mouth before returning to your center. Slowly, he slid the two fingers in while he watched your mouth form a perfect o-shape at the sensation.

His fingers skillfully pumped in and out of you, curling in to hit your g-spot. Your toes curled and back arched as an orgasm began to build in the pit of your stomach. You spread your legs wider giving him more access, but instead he pulled away. An audible whine of protest escaped your throat at the loss of his fingers, but it quickly turned into a gasp when pulled you up from where you had been sitting. 

“Face down. Ass up, mama,” Josh said with a daredevil smile as he turned you around and put gentle pressure in the small of you back. You happily obliged as you stretched out over the cool oak table, back arching in anticipation. You let out a small yelp when the palm of his hand made contact with your ass and audibly moaned when he gripped your hips and lined himself up. 

Without a second to lose, Josh snapped his hips forward. His fingers curled in on your hips and you knew for a fact that you were going to have bruises later, but currently, you really didn’t mind. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head with every thrust and you breath caught in your throat when one of Josh’s hands suddenly was wrapped in your hair. The familiar feelings of an orgasm began to build and your fingernails ran down the tabletop as your breath quickened. 

“J-Josh,” you breathed out as you pushed your hips back into his and smirked when you heard him curse under his breath. 

“I know, mama,” Josh panted out as he began to fuck you harder. The sound of his voice was enough to send you spiraling over the edge as your orgasm rushed through your body. A sharp gasp left your body when Josh pulled out abruptly and pulled your body against him with one hand around your waist and the other wrapped around your throat.

Your cheeks were flushed and chest heaved as you tried to steady your breathing. Josh’s breath fanned along the shell of your ear as you leaned back into him, using him to help support your weight since your legs were no longer working. You were so caught up in post-orgasm bliss that you jumped slightly when he began to talk and his ches vibrated as he spoke. 

“I want you to remember exactly how good I can fuck you the next time my brother flirts with you. Do you understand,” he said quietly, in almost a whisper as he placed feathery kisses down the side of your neck. You were so caught off-guard that the only thing you could do was nod your head in confirmation. 

“Good girl. I’ll see you at home, mama,” Josh said before placing one more kiss to your temple before dressing himself and leaving you behind with a wink. You ran over the past few moments as confusion muddled your brain at Josh’s words and behavior. Apparently, your beloved boyfriend had a jealousy streak and you were happily letting your mind wander to what exactly might happen once the two of you were home. 

#greta van fleet #jake kiszka #danny gvf #josh kiszka #danny wagner #greta van fleet oneshots #josh gvf #josh m kiszka x reader #josh gvf x reader #josh kiszka x reader smut #18+ #jealousy #jealous!josh

[masterthespianduchovny]

I honestly think people focus more on what Scully lost because we “experienced” it in real time with her. We witnessed her abduction, watched her process the fact that she had cancer, watched her fight that, and then found out that she was barren around the same time. 

So, it feels like Scully was the only one to lose anything, where as Mulder lost nothing.

Especially considering that most of the online presence and metas about the X-Files and characters are written by women, it makes even more sense why many focus on Scully.

But, this isn’t about who has suffered more, but rather, an exploration as to why Scully’s pain and trauma is focused on more.

Scully’s violations were more physical than emotional, where as Mulder’s violations were more emotional than physical outside of Samantha.

Even then, many overlook, despite actively talking about it, how Samantha’s abduction shaped Mulder’s life. 

Mulder was consumed with his sister’s abduction for almost 30 years. It shaped the person he became both directly and indirectly. It influenced most of his professional career paths. It affected his relationships or the lack thereof. 

Mulder had unaddressed trauma and he processed this through sarcasm, self deprecation, deflection. etc. He was paranoid, but eager to trust. Hurt easily, but loyal. A maverick at times, but damned good at his job.

We meet Mulder, post Samantha’s abduction, so the trauma that molded him is the only version we’ve ever known of him. Because even pre hypnosis Mulder is still a traumatized Mulder.

This is a Mulder who has only ever had himself since he was a pre teen. Let me repeat that: PRE TEEN. He’s never been an untraumaized adult. He’s been traumatized far longer than he hasn’t been.

We meet this guy when he was 30-31, he’s already settled into the person he is. And the thing is: he’s not noticeably “damaged”. He know his sister was abducted and he’s laser focused on finding answers/finding her, but Mulder doesn’t drink (not really and we’ve rarely seen him drink. The times we have were extreme circumstances), doesn't do drugs, doesn’t gamble, isn’t maladjusted and pushes back when he feels mistreated, etc. We saw him as zany and idiosyncratic, but “damaged”? Many treat his trauma as past tense and not in a perpetual state of present tense.

Then, we get to after Scully was fatefully assigned to Mulder.

And this is not to take agency from Scully in anyway, BUT it’s what happened: Scully was taken to punish Mulder for getting too close to the truth. Scully was given cancer to hurt Mulder. CSM flirted with giving Mulder the cure if he joined him. Mulder’s father was killed so he couldn’t tell Mulder the truth. The way they exploited Samantha, her function in the conspiracy a la clones and shit, to get emotional rises of Mulder or manipulate him to do certain things. The overall way they manipulated Mulder to push whatever agenda they had at the moment.

They essentially committed psychological warfare on Mulder throughout the series and because Mulder is obsessive and compartmentalizes everything, his trauma isn’t obvious unless it’s something like “I don’t believe in aliens anymore.”

For fans, it’s easier to process things we can see and tear apart. It’s something we can hold because it’s solid and heavy. With Mulder’s trauma and the violations committed against him, that’s much harder to unpack, especially because Mulder can function in the real world.

But, functioning and being emotionally heathy and having emotionally healthy relationship are separate things.

This doesn’t even address the entirety of what happened to Mulder OR even touches on his own abduction.

Like I said, I’m not trying to pit two bad bitches against each other, but I am examining why one character’s trauma gets talked about more than the other. This may also explain why and how people react to Mulder and Scully's behaviors towards each other in certain situations, such as fans getting upset when Mulder isn’t supportive enough or being mad about Scully’s skepticism. 

There’s a reason why there are very few occasions where Mulder and Scully are legitimately upset at each other and, others, where it’s just a disagreement even if there is passion behind it.

Man, and it just hit me again that Mulder, by the end of S7, didn’t have any living family left. It was just him. Within five years, he lost both of his parents and found out his sister was mercy killed after being experimented on. You know, after a serial killer tried to bait him into thinking he killed his sister years prior.

Both Mulder and Scully were dealt tragic hands. :(

@karinanic

#mulder #scully #the xfiles #a remark from my last meta made me think of this

[american-satanxx]

Hell of a Night//Chapter 3

Author’s note: Send Jimmy G imagine requests please! Also let me know if you want to be on the tagged list

Masterpost

Put In My Country Rock Hip-Hop Mixtape. Little Conway, A Little T-Pain, Might Just Make It Rain

After the wine and whiskey tasting, a bunch of us managed to find the local karaoke bar. Right now Nick and Brandi are up there singing some song by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. I’m just sitting back, drinking a Jameson and Sprite when Jimmy walks up to me with a beer in hand. “So I have a question for you.” He tells me as he sits down next to me. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, though. It’s all up to you.” “Jimmy, what’s the question.” I smile at him. “Even though, you are very cute when you are rambling.” “Why are you single?” He asks, causing me to chuckle. “You’re seriously perfect. You’re smart, funny, and you can practically be one of the guys. How are you still single?” “Career comes first.” I reply simply. “Guys don’t like successful women, despite what they say. And most guys don’t want to be second to a career. To them, they should be my world. Because they can keep me warm at night and a career cant.” “That’s bullshit.” Jimmy snorts. “Those guys were clearly threatened by you and you’re independence.” I feel my cheeks heat up. “Thanks Jimmy. So what about you? Any girls in your lives? Or are you strictly dating porn stars now?” “You heard about that?” He lets out a humorless chuckle. “Should have known.” “49er fan or not; everyone has heard this.” I chuckle. “But seriously, why don’t you have a woman on your arm? You’re tall, dark and handsome. You’re the total package.” “As a football player you attract one of two types of women.” He starts with a sigh. “You, of course, have the types of girls that are only into you for the fame and fortune. Then the good girls that think will love you forever but leave once the season starts. They always say that they can’t take the traveling and constant practice.”

“I’m sorry but that’s a bullshit excuse to dump a guy.” I snort. “They knew what they were getting into when they said yes to dating an NFL QB.” “You’d think.” A genuine chuckle escapes his lips but that quickly turns into a full blown laugh when he sees David Andrews stumbles onto the stage. “I’m going to sing a song written by a good friend of mine.” He slurs his words slightly. “I’m singing Double Heart by our very own Sutton Maverick!” “So I have another question for you.” Jimmy states. “Did you seriously dump someone because they got your name tattooed on their body?” “Yea.” I reply with a smile. “We’ve only been dating for less than six months when he did it. This was during senior year in college, I believe. He saw the relationship differently than I did. He was a great guy, but he wanted a housewife. He wanted something I wasn’t going to be able to give him.” “Afraid of commitment?” “No. I’m afraid of other people having a fear of commitment.” I reply honestly. “Plus any guy that tattoos a girls name on their body after six months isn’t right in the head.” “I can’t disagree with that statement.” He laughs before a comfortable silence washes over us as we watch our mutual friend make an ass out of himself. ** “So what are we going to do about Brandi?” Jimmy asks as House of the Rising Sun comes on. “She is trying to set us up. And apparently she thinks she’s winning. I’ve noticed her staring at us most of this night.” “We could let her think she’s won.” I shrug. “We can flirt and have fun all weekend and then we can go our separate ways.” I suggest to him. “We can have a final dance at the reception and you can go back to California and I can make my way back to Tennessee.” “Why would you want to play into her hand?” He questions me. “Because she’ll stop trying to set us up.” I smirk, revealing my plan. “And besides, being set up with you isn’t the end of the world. You’re nice, sweet and not bad to look at.” “Typical woman, only using me for my looks.” He scoffs, rolling his eyes playfully. “You have good looks and an ass that won’t quit.” I chuckle. “Any girl would be lucky to have you on their arm.” “You’re something else, Sutton.” He smiles. “I’d love to spend the weekend with you. You’re right, it could have been worse. I’m just glad you’re not one of Brandi’s sorority sisters. It’s nice to have a normal conversation with someone. Her other friends hurt my ears.” “What is with all the yelling?” I question him, laughing. “It’s nice to have girls that’ll have your back but damn! That screeching is like nails on a chalkboard.” “This weekend is going to be amazing.” He laughs. “This might just be the best wedding ever…” And I can’t help but to agree. This might just be the best wedding ever...

#jimmy garoppolo #jimmy g #jimmy garoppolo fanfic #jimmy garoppolo imagine #san franciso 49ers #san fran 49ers #nfl imagine #NFL imagines #NFL fanfictions #nfl fanfics

[placetobenation]

If nothing else, the times are busy in the WWE these days. Two PPV’s within a week of each other with NXT TakeOver: In Your House and Backlash bookending our Sundays, a change in the creative of RAW and of course, the three shows themselves. Never a dull moment indeed.

First, let’s take a look at the NXT PPV.

NXT TAKEOVER: In Your House PPV Results

NXT Championship Backlot Brawl Match: Adam Cole defeated The Velveteen Dream

NXT Women’s Championship: Io Shirai defeated Charlotte Flair & Rhea Ripley to win title

NXT North American Title Match: Keith Lee defeated Johnny Gargano to retain title

Karrion Kross defeated Tommaso Ciampa

Finn Balor defeated Damien Priest

Mia Yim, Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart defeated Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez

Another solid night as Adam Cole not only survived seeing his two teammates from The Undisputed Era, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish kidnapped by Dexter Lumis, but triumphed over The Velveteen Dream, cementing his final shot at Cole’s NXT Championship. I thought the Backlot Brawl was well done as I had reservations, they were using the whole cinematic match genre too much lately. But the use of the cars as weapons worked and it brought Lumis into the feud too. Most thought, unlike me in my predictions, that TVD would come out on top, but I like the fact Cole remains on top for his next challenge.

Plus, Io Shirai stole the night and stole a sneaky pin to win Charlotte Flair’s NXT Women’s Championship, flying off the top rope to pin Rhea Ripley while Ripley was in the figure 8 from Flair. Keeps Flair strong and unpinned and brings the NXT Championship back full-time to Wednesday nights.

Karrion Kross destroyed Tommaso Ciampa. A strong performance to solidify Kross’ dominance in his debut on TakeOver.

Surprised that Keith Lee beat Johnny Gargano, but as we saw on Wednesday night, there’s still more to be done in this feud.  And yes, while Damian Priest brought a good fight to Finn Balor, Balor needed the win as he sets his sights a bit higher in the future.

As for the creative change, I was hopeful when Paul Heyman was put in charge of RAW but still thought that it was handcuffing a genius. Heyman is awesome with guiding the edgy storylines and pushing some superstars that need it. We saw that in the rise of Andrade, Angel Garza, Austin Theory, The Authors of Pain and Dana Brooke. But it just seemed like some of the details were missing and we had a lot of 50-50 booking on RAW. With Bruce Pritchard now overseeing both RAW and SmackDown, let’s see if the ideas are still split or if there’s more of an umbrella type booking for the time being. Needless to say, no crowds have hurt and that could be changing with more things opening up around the Country as we try to get back to normal, whatever that is, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few words of advice for Pritchard move forward – think out-of-the-box, have common sense and don’t forget the details, they matter.  

Star of the Week:

Couldn’t fathom talking about anything else. Today’s #NewDayPod with @AndreasHale. pic.twitter.com/gIXQbJ0z0R

— Florida Man (@WWEBigE) June 8, 2020

The New Day – Kudos to Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods! Not only are they the SmackDown tag team champions, but they are leading the way in the WWE with their leadership and voices they’re leading to the Black Lives Matter movement. Symbolically, Big E and Kofi kneeled with one hand raised during their ring entrance on Friday night. But before then, on their podcast, there were powerful words. I just wish the WWE would put this kind of content on their shows to bring to a wider, mainstream audience than just what’s on social media. Like CM Punk’s opinion last week on WWE Backstage, it would bring a whole new dynamic to the type of change we as a Community are looking and hoping for.

BACKLASH PPV – UPDATED CARD

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley

Universal Championship Handicap Match: Braun Strowman vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Greatest Wrestling Match Ever: Edge vs. Randy Orton

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Nia Jax

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Women’s Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews vs. Andrade

Predictions are below….after we take a look at the Week that Was for RAW, NXT and SmackDown.

RAW

RESULTS

Asuka & Charlotte Flair defeated The Iconics and Sasha Banks & Bayley

Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo defeated Buddy Murphy & Austin Theory

United States Championship #! Contender’s Match: Andrade defeated Angel Garza & Kevin Owens

Bobby Lashley & MVP defeated The Viking Raiders

Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka

Loved it:

THE QUEEN DOES IT AGAIN.@MsCharlotteWWE defeats #WWERaw #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka with the assist from @NiaJaxWWE! pic.twitter.com/hn5qA3coXN

— WWE (@WWE) June 9, 2020

Asuka & Charlotte – Anytime you can get Asuka & Charlotte in the same ring twice in one night, it’s a good thing. Plus, we get the Women’s Tag Team Champions in on the fun as Bayley & Sasha Banks come to RAW for a night. The only downside of the night, and yes, we know it was a predictable one, was Nia Jax interfering in the main event costing Asuka a win over Flair. I don’t love the fact that the RAW’s Womens Champion loses on the go-home show before a PPV, but I understand why they did it.

Peep Show – Christian was spot on putting Edge in his place before pumping him back up for his Greatest Wrestling Match Ever against Randy Orton this Sunday. There’s no substitute for chemistry my friends.

Drew vs. Bobby – Nice build up to their title match Sunday with both looking strong all night. Lashley gets a win with MVP over The Viking Raiders while Drew makes the save after the match. Can’t wait for the physicality Sunday night!

Meh:

Your eyes didn't deceive you.@AndradeCienWWE just pinned @AngelGarzaWwe to earn himself a #USTitle opportunity against @WWEApollo at #WWEBacklash! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/dnCvA1GhTg

— WWE (@WWE) June 9, 2020

Triple A: Apollo vs. Andrade again – Do we really need to see this match again? I’d rather see Crews vs. Kevin Owens get some more time than they did on RAW a few weeks back. Plus, I think we can all see Angel Garza getting a little payback on his faction brother, right?

Just for grins and giggles:

Charly and Angel – Can we just get these back together on the love train already? It was fun with the flirting but it’s kind of been put to the side the past few weeks. Charly Caruso needs her love and so do we! And oh by the way, not enough Zelina Vega this week. The Ariana Grande look rocked, but she was oddly quiet after being “injured” by Andrade.

NXT

RESULTS

Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae defeated Keith Lee & Mia Yim

Indus Sher defeated Mikey Delbrey & Mike Reed

Finn Balor defeated Cameron Grimes

Dakota Kai defeated Kacy Catanzaro

NXT Championship Non-Title Match: Adam Cole defeated Dexter Lumis

Loved it:

TICK TOCK.

#WWENXT @AdamColePro @Lady_Scarlett13 @WWEKarrionKross pic.twitter.com/WF98AASFSX

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Tick. Tock. Challenger – That was a seriously special moment to end NXT as Scarlett brings the hourglass to the ring after Adam Cole’s successful NXT Championship Title defense against Dexter Lumis. The look on Cole’s face of fear not that Karrion Kross is in his crosshairs was awesome. This should take the title picture on Wednesday nights to a whole new level.

Kacy gets a shot – Yes, I’m biased since I’ve watched Kacy Catanzaro since her American Ninja Warrior days, but I loved that they gave her some time in the ring against Dakota Kai and actually got some good offense in too. Kacy’s better than just being used as a person in the crowd, so I’m glad they saw that. I hope it continues.

WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!?!

#WWENXT @hijodelfantasma @RaulMendozaWWE @joaquinwilde_ pic.twitter.com/jrGVxwkf5J

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Hello Mr. Escobar – El Hijo del Fantasma is not only the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion, but now he’s the new Santos Escobar and is the leader of the Mexican Masked Mafia. With an unmasking and a beatdown of Drake Maverick, it’s a whole new chapter for Mr. Escobar.

Can’t wait –

"@RealKeithLee, when you're done playing house, come see me." @FinnBalor has his eyes on the #WWENXT #NorthAmericanTitle. pic.twitter.com/6Y85J0cWCM

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2020

Balor vs. Lee – So, Finn Balor wants a shot at the NXT Title he hasn’t won yet – the North American Title. I’ll take it. I wonder what Johnny Gargano thinks of all this as I don’t quite think he’s done with Mr. Lee just yet.

Thank you:

Rhea Ripley – Thank you Rhea for making quick work of Robert Stone! The tough days continue for the Robert Stone Brand.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

SmackDown Tag Team Non-Title Match: Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The New Day

Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals: AJ Styles defeated Daniel Bryan to win title

Braun Strowman, Otis & Tucker defeated Dolph Ziggler, The Miz & John Morrison

Loved it:

After an INSTANT CLASSIC, @AJStylesOrg is the NEW Intercontinental Champion!#ICTitle #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/qmfaRCJgbq

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

Simply Phenomenal – I think we can all agree that if there were to be a Greatest Wrestling Match Ever this weekend, it would not be Edge vs. Randy Orton, but the one Friday night between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. Anytime these two hook up, it’s good, but with the I-C Title on the line, this one was top notch. I’m hoping it’s not just a one-off either. Give these guys an Iron Man Match or a best of three series.

The New Day @WWEBigE & @TrueKofi make their entrance on #SmackDown. (via @wwe) pic.twitter.com/HH7dCJtezi

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) June 13, 2020

The New Day – While we didn’t love the champs losing again on TV, something the WWE is seemingly in love with these days with their champions, we applaud The New Day’s tribute to the Black Lives Matters cause as we said above, making them the stars of the week.

Confused:

Well … that’s gonna leave a stench.@JEFFHARDYBRAND turns the table on @WWESheamus’ impromptu urine test. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/xyiU52DSZQ

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

You’re In – See what we did there?! The Jeff Hardy/Sheamus drug test to start SmackDown was just silly. Shades of the Attitude Era silliness with not enough edge. Plus, you can say “pissed off” but you can’t say “pissed on” on broadcast TV? Well, that just makes no sense. At least the backstage brawling was better to put the spotlight on Sunday’s PPV match.

Didn’t love:

Main event – If the 6-man tag team match with Braun Strowman joining Heavy Machinery to face The Miz, John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler was supposed to make me want to see the Universal Championship Handicap Match at the PPV, it didn’t. There was more of a spotlight on Otis/King Corbin and Mandy Rose than the champion, the Miz or Morrison. A total miss right there.

Quick Pick Predictions for Backlash PPV:  

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeats Bobby Lashley

Universal Championship Handicap Match: Braun Strowman defeats The Miz & John Morrison

Greatest Wrestling Match Ever: Randy Orton defeats Edge

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka defeats Nia Jax

Sheamus defeats Jeff Hardy

Women’s Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: Bayley & Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews defeats Andrade

Overall: I don’t see much changing on Backlash as far as titles go. Drew is too strong right now on RAW, but expect the feud with Lashley to continue. It would be foolish for Strowman to lose again in another handicap match. Look for Randy Orton to get some revenge on Edge for WrestleMania. There’s no way Nia Jax is beating Asuka – same can be said for the Women’s Tag Team Titles as the new champs shouldn’t lose their first title defense. Apollo Crews’ push should continue as well.

Parting shots:

Don’t forget, part 4 of The Undertaker series is back Sunday night after the Backlash PPV on the WWE Network.

I’d love to see someone ask Bret Hart about appearing on AEW on this week’s WWE Backstage. Now, THAT would truly make some noise, but I know it would never happen. Kind of surprised Hart is doing the show.

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

[mdwatchestv]

Dirk Gently 1x03: We’ll See How It Goes

Bonjour chérie! I can't believe it's November, I am tired and now have to be cold on top of it. Unacceptable. But luckily we have another episode of Dirk Gently to try and parcel out. This episode thankfully did some investigating into the tangle of exposition unloaded last week, but there was still LOTS going on. Can we just agree now that Alan Tudyk is living his best acting life as The Priest? I know he is a bad guy, but I can't help rooting for him. Things happen, we'll see how it goes.

We start this episode with a scene of a child drawing a windmill on a wall, we have seen this child and its wall-drawings in the previous two episodes. I feel like it is safe to say that this is the sought after "boy", but who or where he is still remains to be seen. Once again we then go to Wendimoor, but this time checking in with the people on the other side of the conflict. We learn that Pink-Hair is not unique, but rather part of a whole people of pink hairs! These people are the farmers we learned about in last weeks Wendimoor scene who the royalty are in conflict with. The royalty people seem to believe that the pink hair people have kidnapped "the boy". In order to end their conflict the pink peeps could "find the boy" but that seems to be either ridiculous or impossible. Instead they are going for more of an "all out war" approach. Yolo pink hairs, yolo. In order to bring the pain to the monarchy, the fuchsia fam has ordered a weapon from "The Mage" (John Hannah), which turns out to be an AK! Way to bring a machine gun to a scissor fight, magenta mavericks! Not only is the conflict escalating in Wendimoor, but it’s also suggested that The Mage can travel freely back and forth between the world of Wendimoor and our own. We also know that Pink-Hair was able to manage this as well, but it begs the question of how simple a task this is granted that most people don't seem to attempt it.

Back at the sheriff's station our team cosplays as law enforcement through the ages and continues their investigation of Hector and Marina Cardenas. Farrah and Todd exchange some very flirty banter, which was a bit jarring to be honest. Not that there has not always been tangible chemistry between them, but without any hint of a romantic spark in the first two episodes I assumed that plot-line had been abandoned. Guess I was wrong! Flirt away friends. Our crew looks at the Cardenas' bodies and discovers that Hector has two holes in his head, implicating that he was murdered before being entombed in the tree. The wheels in Farrah's noggin are turning and she seems about to make a connection between Hector's head holes and the fact that Marina's corpse has two broken fingers. She doesn't quite get there, but could Marina's fingers have made the holes?

Dirk is also acting strange, or more strangely than usual. After being confronted by Todd, Dirk admits he is upset because things aren't as chill or calm as he had hoped. Todd is suffering from pararibulitis and many of their friends are missing or AWOL, life is bad, and Dirk’s not having it. Todd gives him a pep talk telling him that he needs to "make bigger choices", giving them a bit of a role reversal from the first season. Dirk and Todd’s relationship is the bedrock of this show, and Elijah and Samuel have real-deal chemistry. More scenes of this please.  But wait there is more action to be had at the sheriff station besides dress-up, friendship and tree boring!

Who should show up but our friend Bart, who we haven't seen since she was blasted by shapes in the season opener. Bart has come to the authorities to demand justice for her unwarranted shape assault, and to also continue her quest for the missing Ken. While Bart is a fantastic character, I worry the writers don't know quite what to do with her this season. A lot of the mystery around her has been resolved, and she has already had three confrontations with Dirk where she has not killed him, but there doesn't seem to be a clear forward path for her. She is sort of haphazardly journeying around looking for Ken, as well as struggling with killing and not-killing, but all this feels like mostly an excuse to keep her around than a real meaningful story contribution. Her relationship with Ken was also both interesting and extremely compelling, and their continued separation is tangibly felt.

Out in the world Farrah and Tina stumble upon Pink-Hair himself, and bring him back to base. Pink-Hair has QUITE the prophecy including mention of a dark wizard, their apprentice, a girl who sees all that can transport people, a boy, and a man who will save the world. All Pink-Hair knows for sure about this prophecy is that the man is Dirk Gently, but I think we can make some additional inference's ourselves. A dark wizard feels like it could be The Mage (John Hannah) and his apprentice could be the only other character with magic who is also going down a bad path, Suzie (Amanda Walsh). The girl with visions is clearly good ole Amanda, but the identity of the boy himself, beyond likely being the child of the Cardenas', continues to be a mystery.

Speaking of other characters, our girl Suzie continues to be the baddest mother in town. We get a lot of her backstory this episode from the women at the book club that Suzie crashes. Suzie was a popular high school mean girl and Prom Queen (natch). However four years ago she crashed her car while under the influence of Xanax and with a car filled with  This led to her hip injury and ostracization from the her social groups, including book club. One of the women literally says to Suzie, "You are the bad guy." The show is really trying to hammer home that Suzie is no good, but nothing she can do will stop me from loving her. You're gonna have to try harder than that to get me to turn against a fellow witch television! Upon arriving home Suzie's irritating teen son (can we just curse him already) demands his phone back which is, whoops, still on the corpse of Suzie's boss. Suzie returns to the quarry and gets the phone but runs into The Mage. The Mage attempts to strip Suzie of her wand (the nerve) but she is able to escape. The Mage seems more amused by this than angry, and perhaps this signals his interest in Suzie, perhaps an....apprentice-level interest? Time will tell.

Finally Amanda and Vogel arrive at the Motor Court (previously owned by the Cardenas', also seen in Amanda's vision) where Amanda discovers Todd's belongings. However The Priest (Alan Tudyk) arrives shortly after and he is feeling pretty ambivalent about capturing Amanda and Vogel alive. As a side note, while I remember Friedkin as being short in the brain cell department last season, I don't remember him being so reticent about killing. Rather he was always the first to pull a gun, and even killed Estevez in the season one finale. This character is just not gelling for me this season, he doesn't seem to be grounded in any deeper emotion or motivation. While the world of Dirk Gently is home to many off-the-wall character's, but as I've talked about before, what makes them so compelling is the writer and actor's ability to ground them in some deeper truths. To make a long story short (too late) I'm finding Friedkin to be the odd man out so to speak.

Anyway, The Priest decides life is too short to not kill people in a hail of bullets, and he does his best to fill Amanda and Vogel full of holes. Amanda is convinced that this is not how it's supposed to end for her, and calls out to whoever may be listening for help. Surprisingly (or not) her pleas are answered, and The Priest  bursts down the door to discover his prey has vanished. This is the second such vanishing this season, and the fact that this disappearance also involved water (the plumbing bursting and soaking Amanda and Vogel) hints that perhaps Mona is once again the culprit.  Speaking of Project Blackwing, after unearthing the original files on the Blackwing subjects (on floppy drives no less), Friedkin tasks Ken of all people with their decryption. So hopefully we will be getting a lot more backstory on our new friend Mona, and our old ones too.

CORGI WATCH:

Didn't want to pay for the ole fluff this ep I guess :(

XO MD

PS How great was Elijah Wood’s bad British accent? I die. 

#dirk gently #Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency #bbc america #dirk gently gifs #dirk gently recap #dirk gently review #two broken fingers #tv recap #tv review #tv gifs #martha writes #samuel barnett #elijah wood #amanda walsh #tyler labine #hannah marks #corgi #ken #alan tudyk #the priest #the mage #john hannah #pink hair #farrah black #bart #wendimoor

[taneyhana]

It Matters How This Ends || Combination Head Canon and Manes Dream Para || July 20th to July 29th

I will leave my heart at the door I won’t say a word They’ve all been said before, you know So why don’t we just play pretend Like we’re not scared of what is coming next Or scared of having nothing left Look, don’t get me wrong I know there is no tomorrow All I ask is If this is my last night with you Hold me like I’m more than just a friend Give me a memory I can use Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do It matters how this ends

Let this be our lesson in love Let this be the way we remember us I don’t wanna be cruel or vicious And I ain’t asking for forgiveness

Everything seemed to be falling apart around Taney. It was like watching old wallpaper flake off a wall. Then, as she tried to keep herself together, she felt like the harder she tried to grip reality it dissolved like ash in her hands. Her happiness had been wholly reliant on a few things, and even those seemed to drip through her fingers. For the last six or so months, Taney had devoted about ten hours a week to yoga and meditation. It was how she had weened herself off the cocktail of medications her quack-doctors had put her on and it was a large factor of her depression. Then there was Lucas and Wednesday. Between the two of them her life had mean. Lucas was her best friend and confidant, Wednesday a reason to keep waking up and moving. Together they had encouraged her to progress healthily.

As the twenty-seventh approached, however, Taney was without both of them for a short window. Axel had vanished and Lucas was rightfully worried about him. Taney took that time to keep her focus on Lucas and keeping him de-stressed and happy. Meeting his needs kept her mind off her own chaos. As time ticked on, she tried to focus on when she’d have Wednesday again, the twenty-fourth, rather than the absence of her daughter. The latter task was easier said than done as Maverick plastered his relationship with Lilja on the network. His words made her bleed, time and again.

He’d sworn he’d never get married again, she swore she’d never get married in the first place… then they’d eloped. He’d sworn he was too old to be a parent and Taney had long since accepted that the array of medical issues she’d had made her chances of being a mother something needing a miracle… then they adopted Wednesday. He’d agreed to love her until they died and now she was alone in loving him. So, when he couldn’t accept her relationship with Lucas and they parted ways and he’d insisted he’d be alone forever a deeper part of her hoped that those words were true and that she would be someone of value to someone. The other part of her deeper than that doubted that it would happen, that it would be another thing that he went back on. Sure enough he had reneged on that too.

Lilja was extremely different than Taney. Taney was genuinely happy for Maverick to have found happiness again and with someone that wouldn’t bring up the slightest chance of an associations with her. However, the constant push and pull from him regarding Taney’s attempts at being nice had made even that little bit of happiness turn sour. In six months she had listened to attacks on Lucas, belittling of her character and motives, and what seemed to be intentional mind games in some sort of sick attempt at making her sick. She questioned everything every time they talk and she was tired of trying to keep score of the good parts of him and his ugly side.

Taney loved Maverick. Despite the spiraling of their relationship that had not changed. Despite the blood and tears, he was the person that had shown her that she could find things she wasn’t looking for. Every night when she laid down to go to sleep since she’d realized she loved him she felt lucky for knowing that she was capable of doing something that was in her own realm of impossible. In her fuckedupness she had not considered Maverick wanting that for just himself. Now it didn’t matter, that endless fight over what the parameters of her emotions and sex life should be in an open relationship had long since come to an end.

Signing a piece of paper didn’t stop her from loving him. It wouldn’t stop her from missing him. It wouldn’t stop her from questioning if leaving him instead of Lucas was the right choice. Sometimes Taney thought she should have stayed. Her thoughts would pull back to her last mental breakdown in front of him, the grabbing on his part and how she fell through one of her many mental rabbit holes. Taney thought that if she’d walked one way instead of another that they would have worked through their problems, no more silence or violence. Excuses for him were made. Blame was easy for her to place on herself. It was Lucas that reminded her of the bruises and gaslighting. Still, she loved him…even when she hated him she loved him.

As the twenty-seventh approached, Taney tried to define and understand that love. Her mind was always most clear in her first tattoo session. She did her yoga in the morning before work and let her mind wind up and pour out as the needle hummed like a bird against her client’s skin. It was a fruitless chore, trying to understand her relationship with Maverick. It always left her with lingering questions. With a heavy feeling of failure she would trudge back to Flex Appeal after work and clear her head again. It felt like a true physical weight to still love her husband so much when it was all about to end. Marching to the end of that road felt like walks in a dark clouded room wouldn’t stop crowding in on her.

No one at Flex Appeal seemed to notice Taney’s stress, anxiety, or depression. Most of the instructors that knew the state she was in when she started saw the big-picture progress and not the small steps back. The few instructors she was sleeping with thought she was just being more playful than usual. It was amazing in a way, how little people noticed. She was shocked that a person so desensitized to emotion had become overtaken by them and the world was now desensitized to her having them. So, she put on a face and kept it on because she was determined to not let her sadness rub off on anyone.

It was the first time in her life she had been so fake. Taney could remember some points in her childhood where she’d been fake. Funnily enough, on the compound when she put on a face it had been to make herself cry to get some attention from her father. With countless children from a dozen wives, Taney was a mere number floating through a sea of prettier, smarter, and funnier children. She remembered being happy there, particularly with her half-sister Whitney. Beaten by life, that happiness would end with years of pain and running. It made her cold and blunt.

Being fake for Taney, until this point in her life, had been putting on makeup and playing pretend, usually in a sexual way. As she logged in to the network she flirted half-heartedly. Taney put on fake smiles and made fake jokes. She forced herself out of the house to drink and fuck, but her heart wasn’t in it. It was all an act to keep her preoccupied and her head to busy to think of the voices that would tear her apart as soon as time stopped. However, time always did stop at night when she was alone and until Axel came back she was lucky enough to be able to avoid even that.

Taney was so filled with self-loathing she couldn’t even look in the mirror. If she got out of the shower she let the fog sit there. In a way the blurred smokey shadow was her true visage. The weight of regret would be painted over through a smaller lens of a compact as her life moved closer to that day. She painted on the eyeliner, covered the bags under her eyes, and rolled on lipstick. Nothing seemed out of place because she was, in a way, just as scary as she had ever been. Others that knew her and didn’t recognize the woman in front of them took it as business, motherhood, or… and at its worst….that the fake smile was real and a representation of her happiness at the nearing end of a tumultuous relationship.

So many people at kINK knew Lucas. He was a client, true. He was the guy Taney talked about the most and the one she was going home to a lot these days. When she said she was going to her happy place, home to Lucas, she meant it. His mom had welcomed Taney into their family and now Wednesday too. It was the first time she felt that things didn’t have to be so tiring and lonely. The road didn’t feel like it was forking. The sky didn’t always feel like a dark and starless night. Cheesy as all that was, she was finding peace…or so she thought.

Whitney, her sister, had hung around more as the divorce date approached. At first she was just doing her usual routine of picking up and dropping off Wednesday on her way to work. Then it became lunch break visits. Whit soon added texts of pictures of Wednesday in daycare at CC West to the mix. Taney knew what she was doing, trying to keep her positive. It worked a little until Luke left to help Axel.

Axel needed Lucas. Taney knew that they were best friends, practically brothers. She didn’t to interfere with whatever was going on with Axel. After all, Axel had been the only reason she’d had a decent lawyer and wouldn’t lose custody of her daughter. She owed so much to Axel and she knew a mere thank you wasn’t enough. He’d pushed her away a few months ago and they hadn’t talked, but whenever Lucas worried about him she made sure to shoo Lucas off to check on him. It was the right thing to do for Axel, but it didn’t change that it left her alone at night, when the depression came in to crush her.

When Taney picked up Wednesday at CC West on the twenty-fourth she hugged her extra-tightly. Winnie wasn’t going to spend the next few days at Taney’s. She’d taken off work and Whitney had too. Winnie would stay with her aunt until after the divorce’s finalization so that Taney could focus on her meetings with her lawyer and preparing for any possible issues. Despite trying to listen to her lawyer’s tone of confidence she didn’t feel like she knew Maverick and that meant that she was terrified about what he would do.

With Lucas at Axel’s and Taney at home, she kept busy cleaning and re-reading paperwork. If that wasn’t enough to keep her mind busy she went out. Isabel and Tanes got drinks. It was a relief to listen to someone else’s problems. Then she and Emmett went for smokes and whiskey, the laughing and swearing was nostalgic to a pre-Los Angeles version of herself that was more authentic than Emmett knew. Then Keila came over to talk and eat. Keila, or Maahsy as Tanes affectionately called her, was like a sister to Taney. It was more than a distraction talking to Keila. It was constructively working through her friends problems that felt like real progress.

Still, when she thought about what Maverick could say or do she was terrified. Would he, at the last minute, change his mind about their custody arrangement? If he dragged her through the court systems would Axel keep paying for her lawyer? Would her medical history and sordid past be brought up? Taney wanted to say that Maverick was fair, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know the man that ignored her across a waiting room. She didn’t know the man that stared at her coldly across a kitchen or coffee shop’s table. She didn’t know the man that dug at the parts of her they was theirs. That was, to her all that was being left as the divorce process went through.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she looked over the balcony of the loft and down on the entryway and kitchen below. She couldn’t think of how they ended up there. Peeling off her clothes, Taney left them in a pile on the floor rather than chucking them into the hamper. Passing the wicker basket on her way to the closet, She looked at all the things she could wear. It was a small and mostly colorless arrangement. In the back, however, was one long gown, delicately wrapped up. It wasn’t her dress, not technically, but it was the dress.

Taney pulled out the white dress that Whitney had loaned her for their wedding in the courthouse. It was as pristine as ever. She pressed the fabric to her face and inhaled. The faint smell of either Maverick or the place she had once called home seemed to still be saturated in the places he’d held her. She dragged the heavy garment to the mirror and held it in front of herself. Truthfully, Taney couldn’t place the woman she was to the woman she had been at that time. Now she was physically healthier that she had ever been. Emotionally, however, there were new scars and uncertainties that had shaped her into an unrecognizable creature.

The longer she stood there, looking in the mirror for the first time in a week or so, the more anxious she grew. Her wedding dress slipped through her thin fingers and cascaded to the floor. Taney’s chest tightened with the weight of an incoming panic attack. Try as she may to blink away the familiar burn of oncoming tears and stinging lungs, it wouldn’t let up. She tried to be strong, to look at that unfamiliar face in the mirror and tell herself that she was stronger than the person she had become. She tried, and failed, to reassure herself like Lucas could. Her gaze fell from her own eyes to her slender frame and the ink that pained her porcelain skin. There he was, etched into her existence covering scars. The woman’s thin fingers brushed across the watercolor lion on her side and immediately tears streamed down her face.

She had to wonder if the stabbing had been some kind of omen that she should have left him. Looking back on their relationship she now felt more than ever that she had brought him nothing but pain and suffering. It wasn’t like he hadn’t flat out told her how badly she’d ruined his life either. As her sides burned from the pain of her panic attack and she gasped for air, every fight seemed to replay with vengeance in her mind. Her fingers pressed and dug into the tattoo. A part of her wished that she could claw it off, as if the action could rid her of her unrequited love for him…The other part of her, however, simply wanted to be closer to him. The mere thought that ink was as close to him as she would ever be again led to an even heavier bout of crying.

At some point she’d collapsed into the pile of the white dress on the ground. Choking and crying she kicked it away, backing up across the loft’s room until her back was against the half-wall that looked down. She looked through the glass and, again, her bickering mind seemed to be in that place of chaos between self destruction and lucidity. Her thoughts danced between throwing herself over and how stupid it would be to kill herself over someone that neither knew nor loved her. She tried to cling to the reasons not to do it, the simplest reason being that it most likely wouldn’t kill her, and then moved to simply counting out her breaths until she calmed herself.

Knowing full well that Luke was busy and that Taney didn’t want Whitney to come over and help her when she had Wednesday, Taney became all to aware of how few people she had in her life to take care of her. Keila would have come, but Taney knew she was grieving in her own right. Genaya and Taney always found means of distraction, but Taney didn’t want to drag her into more of the mess of the divorce than she already had. One by one, Taney crossed off the list of her ‘friends’ and made her way downstairs to the kitchen where her phone was docked on its charger. Picking it up off the cold marble she looked at the time, the blank screen, and felt more alone than she had upstairs naked with a stranger in a mirror and that wedding dress.

Leaving the phone on the counter, Taney fell onto the couch and turned on the television. Everything seemed to remind her of Maverick or their relationship, so she rolled onto her back and shut her eyes. Her mind ticked away at how this was the last day of their marriage and how low of a note it would be ending on. She felt heavy and almost sick thinking about how wrong it had gone and instead tried to recall some of their happier moments. As they played over in her head, the sound of his laugh, his smile when she woke him up with her mouth trailing down his body, the way his body wash filled up the smell of the bathroom, she felt at peace.

Almost as quickly as that sensation of peace sank in she felt jolted out of her dream. She tried to remember it, whatever it was that had made her feel better. It didn’t seem to matter now, as she trudged back to the kitchen. Glancing at her phone she saw the texts and missed calls from Maverick, but there wasn’t a notification of a voicemail. Here it was, she thought, the last day as his wife and after months of not wanting shit to do with me he calls

Taney wanted to be mad at him, she tried to stay mad by refusing to open the texts. As she went upstairs to get dressed and brush her teeth scenarios started to play through her mind. What if, a freakishly uncommon optimistic voice chimed in, What if he doesn’t want the divorce? What if he’s ready to accept the open marriage if that means he doesn’t have to lose you? She shoved the thought away, calling it ludicrous bullshit as she rinsed off her toothbrush and moved to the closet. There another voice found her, one she had heard far more often, Just go see him and see what he wants. It’s not like it’s about Wednesday. She’s safe with your sister. Go see him, Tanes, it might be your last chance. That voice seemed far more logical as she pulled on a tight dark wash jeans, a MuteMath shirt, and her leather jacket.

Maybe she hadn’t realized what she was doing, that she’d listened to one of the voices. There she was, on her bike, riding the familiar route to the house she’d called home. Every light was green and she tried not to take that as a sign that she was making the right choice. The next thing she knew she was at his door, panicking. What could she say to explain turning up there? What if he had called her on accident and the text she had refused to read was just him saying it was a butt-dial, the second then being a question about Wednesday. She felt like and idiot and began to think about turning back, but her hand went to the doorbell as if possessed.

With no way out, Taney thought up a new horror: What if Lilja opened the door? It was still a raw subject, knowing that Wednesday would have a second mom that was a hands-down better person than her. Turning on her heels she took the first step back to her bike, muttering under her breath that this had been a bad idea. A hand reached out and pulled her back to the door. Turning around nervously she realized it was Maverick. She was about to apologize when she realized he wasn’t letting go of her hand. “When you didn’t call back I didn’t think you would come.”

Putting up her guard she looked into his blue eyes and tried to read what those words meant. “I didn’t read them. The texts, I mean… I saw them, but I didn’t open them.” Her confession wasn’t defensive, but it seemed to be the only thing she could say as she tried to be brave. “I should go.”

“Wait,” he pulled her closer. It was gentle, which completely surprised her. Taney swallowed nervously, but was surprised that there was no stinging pain where their skin came in contact with eachother. She wanted to tell him to stay where he was. A part of her was genuinely afraid of what mistakes would be made if he closed any more space between them. Maverick, however, tried to change her mind with ‘please stay’s and she wondered if something really had changed.

Taney had underestimated her ability to resist him for his own protection and followed him in. As she stepped into the familiar house she tried to be brave as she saw the new paint on the walls covering what had once been a loving paint war. Then there were the pictures of his new family. As she felt the walls close in on her she realized just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t be the person that had casual conversations with a person she missed to the point of breathlessness. “I really have to get out of here. I shouldn’t have come.”

It had been her fifth or sixth protest and as she feared the nothingness that awaited her outside the front door, Taney shut her eyes and tried to turn around and leave. His familiar firm hands took hold of her, one wrapped around her thin waist and the other tilted up her chin. There was an eternity and then no time at all between him holding her and their lips meeting. Her heart raced, but she couldn’t ignore her walls crumbling down as that buried love for him finally received what it had begged for every second of every day since she had come back from England.

At some point he had picked her feet up off the floor as they kissed and they’d wrapped around his waist in the familiar ways they used to greet each other. Between kisses she whispered she loved him and she was certain she heard him say it too as he carried her upstairs to their room. As different as the rooms had looked just moments ago, Taney now wondered if it had just been that she’d simply forgotten the details of the place. Before she could thing about it Maverick had collapsed onto their bed and she looked down at him. A part of her told her not to do it, that she’d asked for this and he’d flatly laughed it off. Another told her that he was too logical to do this without being okay with it. So, Taney hoped that maybe something had changed and that this wouldn’t be a mistake.

The entire day seemed to move slow, like a movie montage. His fingers silently undressed her. His lips rediscovered her skin. When he was ready he rolled her over and reclaimed his wife, slow, deep, and full of love. Their fingers tangled in each other’s hair. The only music was their own panting and moans of pleasure, a symphony of the headboard hitting the wall. Then, as he emptied himself deep within her and the moonlight glimmered into the room, kissing him in places she’d been marking with her lips, teeth, and nails all day, she realized just how different he looked.

It was the realization that he didn’t have all of his scars and tattoos that her chest tightened with panic once more. It was like the world quickly began to shatter. No amount of I love you’s or begging to never leave could stop him from going away, fluttering away like ash. As she reached out and called his name she shot upright, her eyes wide open. Surrounded by the white cloth of her wedding dress, the sunlight pouring in stung her eyes. Taney curled up, sobbing on the floor, her small hands hitting the ground until she couldn’t feel the pain in her chest, only the pain in her wrists and hands.

Eventually she couldn’t cry any more and her body was shivering with cold. She clumsily moved to the kitchen, picking up her phone and sifting through old notifications, as there were no new ones, for anything from Maverick. When there was nothing she wrapped her arms tightly around her sides, her fingernails digging into her skin as she tried to gauge the reality. When she felt the stickiness of blood on the tips of her fingers she quickly rinsed her hands off in the sink and splashed water on her face. The voices were screaming a million commands but she reached with shaky hands for her phone to call Lucas.

As her wet fingers dripped on the screen she felt the guilt of calling him for a dream when he was taking care of his best friend and no one was taking care of him. Taney pulled out the small trash can under the sink and moved to the utensils’ drawer. Her fingers moved slowly over the blades of the knives and then she scooped them up and dropped them in the bin. She shoved it back under the sink and went back upstairs to go grab her razors and get dressed to take it all to the dumpster. As she stood in the closet she saw the same dark wash jeans and shirt on top of her clothes. She reached for them, pulling them on as she felt herself making a decision, to go to Maverick and talk ….to really ask if they were making the right decision.

While she moved downstairs with everything in her hands that she knew she couldn’t be left alone with she made a some semblance of a speech in her head. She wanted to ask him if it was really over and if he wanted to really give up on them. Taney wanted to tell him she’d changed. Taney wanted to tell him they could be what they needed and still be happy with other people too. Honesty was all she wanted from him, to give him, and she didn’t want to end their marriage without him knowing how much she still loved him.

Throwing everything into the dumpster she thought about how fair all of that was to Lucas and Lilja, and to Wednesday if it didn’t work again. She couldn’t justify anyone being in a relationship with her and as she shut the door to her apartment she slid down the door, throwing the small trash can across the room. No one needed her and she was finally admitting that she wanted to be needed. Torn between trying to control her emotions and the overwhelming self-loathing, Taney pushed herself up of the floor before she could cry herself to sleep again. Here it was, the last full day of their marriage and she wasn’t trying to spend it crying.

This was it, she thought as she dragged herself upstairs, Lucas had found his moment to step out. He could focus on Axel and put distance between them because there wasn’t a chase if she wasn’t married. Maverick had long since moved on, she cried as she pulled the duvet of the bed and dragged it into the bathroom. Tragically, even as she thought it she still couldn’t fully accept it… despite knowing it wasn’t her place to have an opinion. Wrapping herself up she climbed into the tub and fell asleep in the small space, withdrawn from the world. She didn’t know what would wait for her on the other side of the twenty-seventh. Taney couldn’t bring herself to think about it, but she refused to leave the bathroom and let herself run to Maverick begging and groveling.

When she fell asleep this time there were no dreams and when she woke up she was short on time to get to their meeting. Her appearance was only as put together as it had to be, though days of crying were still noticeable under the light layer of makeup. Again, they shared no words or gazes and when it was mentioned again that it was the easiest divorce the lawyers had handled Taney quickly blew through the tabs needing signatures, stood up, and asked if there was anything else they needed from her. What may have looked like pride was the final collapse of a woman who had once been a mountain and now struggled to understand basic breathing.

If anything the breakdown was made worse by being forced to have to stay in Los Angeles. She kept her fake face on for the people that offered to occupy her time. Still, at the end of the night she was up and forced to see comments about her child on the network, forced to witness petty stupidity, and it all seemed meaningless. Her phone had long since died and her laptop was left on her bed after a few more disgustingly happy smiles. With no appointments at her job until the first and Luke busy with Axel, though she still felt like he might leave too, she stayed in the bathroom as some kind of blanket burrito warrior trying to kill the voices in her head. Whitney checked in on her lunch breaks while Wednesday was in daycare and eventually she managed to fake it enough to get back to work and enjoy her Saturday with her daughter before handing her back to her now ex-husband as if it was a final seal on her fate.

#closed #image deletion repost