#this one had no excuses when it comes to showing kisses onscreen

[jamietxrtt]

episode three. SO MUCH IS HAPPENING.

GAY COLIN GAU GCCOLIN GAY COLIN CAY GOLK.NNNZNSFKDJNDSFJSDFNSEMFKJSF

THEY KISSED!!!! THEY KISSED ONSCREEN!!!! i knew we were gonna get gay colin from the filming spoilers but OH MY GOD. AN ACTUAL QUEER KISS. ON SCREEN. IN TEDLASSO. ASHDHASDFHDFSSMGHKJWRBGKRWGWREGNWR

so curious about who his boyfriend is??? why is he casually flying to dubai??

also the first time i watched this i mistook it for being jamie’s house and i was like HOLD ON HANG ON A MINUTE HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE

he looks so nervous when walking from the door to the car like he’s trying to hide from anybody else around but. babe you think they won’t notice your bright orange lamborghini??? like i think you have to be more worried about getting caught when ur IN the car not out of it

THE INTRO FAKEOUT ALSKJFLSDJGRKGJERG

“if my maths” roy nods “are correct” roy shakes his head. i think bc it’s supposed to be plural? i’m american idk

also!! roy encouraging ted with that little nod was actually really cute and sweet!!

OHHHHHHH ROY SAID COLIN’S A CHAMELEON. OHHHHHHH. see the first time i watched this i heard “colin’s a comedian” and i was like huh this must be some football terminology i don’t know. you call someone who’s a really versatile player a comedian? hm that’s a funny name. well football is wacky!

in s2 jamie calls roy a “grumpy old twat” and ted says “now i agree with the grumpy part, but those other two i take issue with.” now in s3 roy calls jamie a “fragile little bitch” and ted just says “yep that’s what i meant, thanks roy”. part of a pattern of ted defending roy but not defending jamie in the same circumstances-- which is honestly fair, i get why he’d like roy better, but it’s an interesting pattern to notice

ted calling higgins “higgie bear” :)

“fuck yeah, princess diaries!” reminds me of beard in s1 “fuck yeah, the gershwins!”

jamie literally physically getting pushed out by zava aww

also “come on, hurry up and get dressed, we don’t want to keep our newest teammate waiting!” smash cut directly to everyone being kept waiting by said teammate

ted referencing richmond VA made me laugh bc that’s the first thing i always think of when i hear richmond lmao

HEHEHEHEHE KEELEY CLEARLY HAS A BIT OF A CRUSH ON ZAVA. her sticking her hand straight out with the little “hii!!!!!” girl can’t get over those hot famous footballers can she

and SHANDY’s into him too. everyone is stunned by zava

except, it seems, rebecca… right after zava says “you are the glue” to higgins, she gets this look on her face like she’s realizing something… it made me think back to last episode, where she talked about how rupert had the ability to make you feel special, like you were chosen just because he deigned to talk to you, and how that made you addicted to his attention. i think she’s now seeing that zava’s doing the exact same thing-- he knows exactly what to say to make everyone charmed, to make everyone feel special. to make his approval the most important thing you could get. i think that’s why rebecca is one of the few who’s immune to his charm-- she’s had plenty of practice resisting that kind of manipulation.

“how did the damage control go?” “oh it was a mess, but he was adorable” ALSKJFLKSDJF SAME SHANDY

everyone keeps having very interesting reactions to shandy. keeley says “we work together” and they’re still like ??? and then she says “and we’re old friends” and they’re like oh NOW it makes sense. both higgins did it and later the boys when she’s talking to them about the interview stuff. and possibly rebecca did something similar last episode but i can’t remember. i think it’s meant to show how they don’t really think she’s super professional so they need an extra bit of explanation for WHY she’s working with keeley? i wonder if that will become a point of tension between them. “you keep telling everyone i’m your friend like you needed some excuse to hire me, like i’m not good enough just on my own, so you have to explain why i’m here. do you actually think i’m capable of this or are you just pitying me? why did you offer me the job if you don’t actually think i’m capable of doing this?”

my first reaction when zava walked into the locker room: “ah, so zava is jesus”

i like the bit where he keeps standing in front of ted ASKJFLKSJF i found that funny

calling the kitman “the most important person in the room” interesting contrast to s1 jamie and the rest of the guys who always tormented the kitman. zava is self absorbed and possibly insidious but in a very different way

also when he gestures to jamie like he thinks jamie is the kitman and roy sees it and smiles ASLDFJLKSJ ROY. also jamie’s look after zava points at him like “bitch?” and the way he looks to roy like “can you believe this shit?”

“i too worked as a ballboy when i was eleven years old” “i’m… twenty five” see this is a perfect example of the insidiousness of zava!! he’s claiming to appreciate will but infantilizes and disrespects him in the process… it’s a very “aww, aren’t you adorable” kind of smug demeaning attitude… but done through the cover of appreciating him, so it still looks like he’s a good guy

the joke of him letting out the breath and everyone else running out of air ASLKFJLKDSJFLKDSJFLSDKFj as a singer i appreciate that joke so much…. like how much fkn lung capacity do you HAVE

ted looking to roy to talk to zava ALKSDJFLKDSJFLSDKJFSDLJFDSLJF and then roy’s “you’re the fucking coach!!”

all the boys in the back peering into the coaches office ASKDJFLSDKJFLSK

i never understand any of the jokes in this show AKLSJFLSKFJSLD i’m so unknowledgeable about pop culture the references always fly right over my head

hi this is just to remind everyone that hannah waddingham is an excellent actor. every time i see one of her face journeys they’re just so immaculate. her reaction shots are always SO GOOD. you can always clearly see exactly what she’s thinking but without it being hammy or over the top. she’s perfect at it

“because your mother was a skeptic” lmaooo, you can see how much rebecca LOVES being told that she’s more like her mother than she thought she was aSLDKFSDLKFJS

like i realize that tish is a scam artist but i also kind of love her for the aesthetic alone. i would kill to live in this house

as SOON as tish said “there’s thunder and lightning” i immediately thought “you deserve someone who makes you feel like you’ve been struck by fucking lightning”

“you’re drenched and you’re upside down but you’re safe” it’ll be scary and you’ll be turned around but it’s okay, love is worth it, you’re safe

i thought the “you’re going to be a mother” thing was gonna pull rebecca back but i’m proud of her for recognizing it as the control/scam tactic it is. identifying the thing your client cares about most (tish talks to deborah once a month so she’d probably know that rebecca has always wanted kids, or otherwise it’s not a hard thing to guess would be a sore subject given the rupert drama, and the fact that rupert now has a kid with someone besides her, is public knowledge), whether it be kids, a dead loved one, money, fate, etc, and using that as leverage to get them to stay, thereby giving them false hope about something genuinely important to them-- like say, communicating with a dead loved one-- and setting them up to be crushed just so you can get them to stay and keep paying you.

however i’m still unclear on how much the show wants us to be on tish’s side bc later the green matchbox thing comes true so?????

shandy confronting roy about the breakup AHHHHH girl i know you’re trying to help by defending keeley but you are putting her in a SO MUCH MORE AWKWARD POSITIONNNN

keeley has spent the whole season so far trying to paste a fake smile on top of a situation she feels is spiraling out of her control :(

beard’s little HEHEHEHEHEHE after he tricks ted about the wordle ASKLDJFLKDSJFDSLK I LOVE HIM

also you can tell how long s3 was in production because they made this when wordle was still the big craze lololol

when jamie says “i think we’ve got a good thing going here, and zava’s already fucking it all up!” roy gives an interesting look. i took it to mean “i agree but i don’t like the fact that i agree with fucking jamie”

“thanks for hearing me out” “thanks for speaking your mind! please continue to do so!” reminds me of ted in s2 to sam “you are a leader on this team. i want you to speak your mind.”

“i weren’t being ironic, i was being hypocritical” jamie corrects people on language twice in this ep (later he corrects roy with prima donna vs pre-madonna), which is interesting because of his historical difficulties with language (nail in the ashes, instant caramel, etc). i wonder if he’s been trying to pay more attention to that? or if this is supposed to say that jamie has been smarter than everyone thought all along and he’s just been playing dumb? (like how when beard asks him “isn’t that a bit ironic?” he says “...i dunno” as if he’s too thick to get what beard means when he says ironic. but then later when he says “i wasn’t being ironic, i was being hypocritical,” it both shows that he DID understand what beard meant, and also that he’s smart enough to correctly label the interaction himself. so then why didn’t he just say that earlier, why did he pretend like he didn’t get what beard meant by ironic? maybe this is supposed to say that he was pretending in the past, too. …or maybe i’m reading too much into this bc i love him lololol)

also the fact that jamie was freely able to admit he was being hypocritical!! like he understands that he was the same way in s1, but when he was the same way (it’s all about me, just give me the ball and i’ll win all the games for us, you all are just my backup dancers) it was seen as a huge problem and a red flag and a detrimental effect on the locker room. and now when zava does the same thing it’s okay? like jamie understands that he was the same way, but he also understands that the way he was was WRONG. so why is it not still wrong when zava does it?

“now remember, this 4-5-1 is not about dropping back. it’s about getting fucking service into the box for zava” and the fact that they have penalties: zava, free kicks: zava, corners: zava, is all verrrrry interesting. because jamie in s1 was the same way! “Look, our whole offense right now is all give-and-go. Give the ball to Jamie and everyone else can go to hell.” which is literally now the strategy they have with zava!!! but when that was the case with jamie, it was seen as a HUUUGE PROBLEM that needed to change! why is it fine when it’s zava in that place instead?

isaac asking colin if he was alright is very very sweet. i love a good captain and friend <3

also written on the board “make this match your match-terpiece” i love teddd that’s so cute

and then zava breaking up the hand circle to make them put their hands on HIM and HE takes the richmond on three instead of the captain…… mmmmm don’t like it

when jamie lingers behind and gives ted that “told ya so” look AKLSJDFLKSDFJ. remind me of when sam did the same thing in s2 when jamie first came back

also i can’t tell what beard says right after that so if anyone else can make it out pls lmk

“i can’t remember michelle’s cell phone number.” “OHHHH.”

that trump impression was so painful. but i think it was supposed to be

also he calls her “michelle keller” which is very interesting, i don’t think we’ve ever learned her maiden name, bc ted still has her in his phone as “michelle lasso”

the look on jake’s face when he realizes it’s ted. he’s just like “and that’s when i knew i fucked up”

“dr jacobs?” “yeah, uh, you can just call me jake!” ASLKFDJSLKDJFSKD YEAH I’LL BET BUDDY u are so getting your license revoked

and then him begging michelle to take the phone and that whispered “it’s ted” and then it’s MICHELLE’S turn to go “and that’s when i knew i fucked up”

laurel pointed this out to me but henry picking jamie’s number for his soccer team is so cuteeeee

i do like michelle and jake’s little mouthed conversation “i’m sorry” “no, i’m sorry”

ted listening over the phone to jake saying “come on, bud. you ever seen a subaru…” and you can tell his heart is just breaking bc it should be HIM driving henry to his soccer game

when zava told jamie “get open, i will find you” i genuinely thought that meant he was going to pass to jamie and was trying to win jamie over too by giving him chances to score. but obviously not. he was just fucking with his head a think.

also did he slap jamie’s ass????????

ted on the verge of another panic attack :(((((((

and just as a jamie stan i really hate how zava’s halfway line goal kinda shows up jamie’s amazing penalty goal from last season but that’s just me being biased ALSJDFLKDSJFKD

dani on zava’s back is so cuteeee

YESSSS I LOVE A MONTAGE

jamie walking into them meditating and then walking right back out asKLFDJSLFJSKJFSASLKDFJSLKDJF that was so funny

also love how the whiteboard in that scene just says “OM”

saw someone comparing zava to a mini cult leader and yeah tbh true

ted facebook stalking his ex’s new man while drinking alone in his apartment :( ted baby no this is not the way

rebecca’s “what the fuck am i doing?” look when she catches herself looking for the green matchbook SKLJFLKSJF

colin texting his boyf in the locker room that’s risky man, anyone could look over ur shoulder

fucking zava stealing jamie’s first goal of the season makes me so mad. again this is just bc i’m a jamie stan. but still

aaaand roy definitely notices when zava steals that goal and doesn’t look too enthused about it. again i think he’s kind of agreeing with jamie that zava is not cool but doesn’t want to admit that he’s agreeing with jamie. (i think this is all leadup to him offering to train jamie later on, like he wants jamie to best zava too)

again allow me to be a jamie stan for a minute: them winning for the first time at man U…. an AWAY GAME at man u…….. so IN MANCHESTER….. and zava scored a hat trick, meaning nobody else scored….. so jamie didn’t score….. while in manchester….. do u see where i’m going with this

RUPERT BEX BABY

dani mimicking zava with the snapping is very very cute

DANI MADE ZAVA A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET… SO CUTE

colin and his boyf (michael?) being “wingman” for each other…. mmm not a bad cover story! interesting that they had that so rehearsed, wonder how often they use that line

beard ordering “a single and a double…. a triple….” just like ted did back in the gala ep HAHAHA

beard and jane continue to make me uncomfortable

roy noticing jamie sitting alone and going to talk to him is actually really sweet….

JAMIE EARRINGS??? I DIDN’T REALIZE HE HAD HIS EARS PIERCED

also jamie forever with the icon branded stuff ALSKFJSLKFJSDLKFJ

“god’s gift to people who have everything” very interesting to me that jamie phrases it like this, because…. doesn’t he also kinda have everything????? he’s mega stupid rich. what does he mean by “everything”?

“you used to be the best. now you’re not. it happens.” roy knows this from experience, jamie. the same thing happened to him. also i like his little nod on this line. he’s genuinely trying to be supportive. it’s very sweet :) i like roy trying to give jamie some guidance, i think it’s very sweet

also jamie “you thought i was the best?” hehehe he cares what roy thinks… roy’s always gonna be his childhood hero from his poster <3

roy’s “but only if you fuckin’ mean it” to jamie is the same thing he said to phoebe’s soccer team last season hehe

“yeah, she’s great, i love how not shy she is” and rebecca is immediately like OPE BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT ALSKFJLKSDJFSD

keeley and rebecca looking at sam, then roy, then jamie…. you ever have a nightmare where all your exes are in the same room? keeley and rebecca live in that every day ALSDKFJDSLKFJDSLJFSDLKF

the two of them realizing “wow, we truly are both in the most awkward of situations here” is very funny ASKLDJFLKSDJFSD

wtf was that thing about avocados about? where did zava get avocados from? i don’t get this interaction what is it trying to say

noticed a little continuity error lol. when sam is receiving the matchboxes you can see beard and jane behind him just sitting and talking but then in the very next shot they’re making out and she shoved him away lol

MIND UR OWN BUSINESS TRENT. MIND UR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS.

man. SO MUCH happened this ep. these 50 minute episodes are gonna kill me

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers

[banannabethchase]

Hello!! It’s me again. Would you write (even) more for the Fragile Invincibility au? I’d accept anything but specifically love to read the first time hangman takes the baller club boys to watch a match!! Thank you so much for every fic ✨

Backyard Wrasslin' - also on AO3

~

A "The Fragile Invincibility of Youth" story

Adam invites Matt, Kenny, and Nick to one of his wrestling shows. Mox is baffled.

~

Note: Teenagers are referenced having sex. They are both 18, committed relationship, nothing onscreen, all fade to black YA type vibes.

I...maybe have gone overboard on this prompt fill. I hope you enjoy!.

~

"You invited the Baller Club to a match?!" Mox asks. He's got his shirt off and belt undone. "And you decided to mention this right before we have sex?"

Adam, who's brain is decidedly not working right, nods. "Uh. Yeah?"

"They're gonna freak out," Mox says. "They're gonna think I'm actually trying to kill you."

"They won't - come back!" Adam grabs at Mox's belt loops. "I don't know why I brought it up. Take your pants off, I don't - come back."

Mox rolls his eyes. "Okay, yes, because I can't say no to you, but you'll explain yourself later."

"Explain myself la- what am I, your student?"

Mox grins at him. "I mean. We could play that."

"I'm going to kiss you so you shut up," Adam deadpans.

~

They're making their way into the kitchen when Mox grabs Adam's arm and pushes him against the wall. "Wait a second."

"Again?!" Adam giggles. "My parents are going to be home in, like, five minutes."

"Your hair's all messed up," Mox says, fiddling with Adam's hair.

Adam slaps his fingers away. "I - let me fix it. Get off."

"Already did that!"

Adam laughs as he steps into the bathroom. He ties his hair back in a quick bun, adjusts his shirt, and steps back out. "So - "

"So you invited your ex and your annoying friends to our match tonight," Mox says. He doesn't look angry, at least, so Adam thinks that's a small win.

"I can tell them no if you don't want them there," Adam says. He drops onto the couch, pulling his backpack toward him with his foot. He briefly worries Mox won't join him, but then he's there, snuggled up next to Adam like a puppy. “Seriously.”

“No, I just want to make sure they know I’m not actually hurting you.” He looks up at Adam, frowning. “As much as I’m glad you’re all friends again, I’m still a little worried they’re looking for an excuse to kill me.”

“They won’t kill you,” Adam says, running his fingers through Mox’s hair. He’d grown it out over the winter, bringing back the soft locks Adam had originally fallen in love with. The blue was new, though. He and Willow match now. “And if they do, I’ll kill them back so I can use their blood to resurrect you.”

“I need you to stop watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Mox laughs, but he curls into Adam’s lap and falls asleep while Adam completes his Chemistry homework.

~

“Okay, I know I haven’t called you in, like, years, but I have no idea where to go, and I think I’m being followed by a white van, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to kill Nick and Kenny, so where the hell am I supposed to go?!”

Adam pulls the phone away from his face as Matt rants. “Um,” he says. “Are you – where are you?!”

“I don’t know!” Matt wails. “There’s a blue house with, like, pride flags everywhere?”

“Okay, you’re close!” Adam jogs past the ring and parking lot, then dashes out to the road. “Do you see me?” He waves his free hand. “I’m waving. Do you see me?”

Making what is probably a highly illegal u-turn in the middle of the road, a car that is highly familiar zooms toward him and slows only to turn into the dirt road. Matt, looking haggard and confused, is behind the wheel.

“When I tell you these two can’t even read an effing GPS, I’m not kidding.” Matt exhales, blowing his hair out of his eyes. “Where do I go next?”

“Follow me.”

Adam jogs as Matt follows him, and guides Matt into a parking space he’s pretty sure Matt won’t be able to back out of on his own. He waits a little awkwardly as Matt picks his way around the puddles of mud.

“This place is a mess,” he says, grabbing Adam’s arm as he leaps over a puddle.

Adam shrugs as Kenny and Nick, a little less delicately, make their way around the puddles and follow Adam toward the ring and chairs. “It’s a backyard wrestling group. Nothing’s particularly well made here.” He gestures to the seats he saved for the three of them. “Except for the matches. Those are pretty cool.”

Matt primly sits into a chair. “When do you go on?”

“Well, me and Mox have a match first,” Adam says, “but you’ll get to see some cool stuff, too. Eddie is in the main event, so he’ll be on last. He’s going up against the Bryan guy Mox wrestled a while back.”

“Are there any other matches?” Nick asks. He’s looking around eagerly, like he’s more comfortable here than he expected.

Adam nods. “I think three others? Willow’s going up against Ruby – they’re doing a feud because Ruby hit her with a chair a while back – and I think this kid Wheeler Yuta is going up against somebody. He’s a sophomore.”

Matt’s eyes widen. “He’s here? Really?”

Adam states at Matt. “Oh, god.”

“I –”

“I can’t believe you have a crush on him,” Nick chuckles.

“I don’t!” Matt says. Adam, Nick, and Kenny stare at him. Adam thinks it’ll be seconds to wait him out. “…I do. Don’t tell him.”

Adam grins. “I won’t.” He bumps Matt’s shoulder with his. “I gotta go get ready for my match, though, so I’ll see you later.” Adam looks at Kenny. At Nick. At Matt. “Um. Thanks for coming, guys. It means a lot.”

“Of course, Adam,” Kenny says. His smile is genuine when he looks at Adam, and it doesn’t ache like it used to. It’s nice. But nothing more. “Go out there and kill it.”

Adam smiles back. “I will.” He makes his way to the tent where the other wrestlers are getting ready. Ruby is doing Willow’s hair as Willow plays some song game on her phone. Eddie and Mox are trading headlocks in the corner. Wheeler Yuta is stretching on his own, though, so Adam walks over to him.

“Hey, dude,” he says, settling in the chair by Yuta’s bag. “How are you holding up?

“Good,” Yuta says, smile a little weak. “Nervous. Claudio’s huge. I’m pretty sure he’s going to kill me.”

“He won’t kill you,” Adam says, waving it off. “He’s good. And he’s safe.” Adam doesn’t mention the time he almost broke his arm last week after taking an elbow drop wrong, since that was more his fault. “You’ll do great.”

“That’s not how Eddie sees it,” Yuta says, chancing a glance over at Eddie, who is now sitting on Mox’s butt and poking him in the ribs to make him laugh. “He really hates Claudio.”

Adam knows Eddie’s disdain for Claudio, knows of the hatred, but doesn’t know why. He doesn’t feel like he’s ready to ask about it, though. “Eddie hates a lot of things,” he decides on. “Doesn’t make them bad.”

Yuta nods slowly. “Yeah.” They’re quiet for a moment, and Adam’s about to leave when Yuta says, “Um, actually, I have a question.” When he looks up, his cheeks are just this side of pink. “Mox told me you were, um, inviting the Jacksons?”

Adam hesitates. “Yeah?”

“Is, um,” Yuta folds himself into a weird shape. Adam assumes it’s a stretch, but he’s upside down and standing on his head, so he’s not sure. “Is Matt going to be here?”

“Oh, god.”

“No!” Yuta says, scrambling to his feet. “It’s – okay, don’t say anything.”

“I promise,” Adam deadpans, “if you go out there and wrestle like you’ve been, Matt will fall in love with you before you know it.”

Yuta lights up. “Really?”

Adam sighs. “Yes.”

He shoves Eddie off of Mox, getting a smack on the ass for his troubles and grinning about it. “Come on,” he says, dragging Mox to the back. “Let’s go over the match, one more time.”

They run the match, throwing each other around, and it ends with Mox pinning Adam. It doesn’t quite feel like Adam’s the one losing, though, with the way Mox’s legs straddle Adam’s hips and his arms loop around Adam’s legs. Mox called it a rollup. Adam asked him if it was secretly a new position Mox wanted to try.

“Oh, god, go be pervs somewhere else,” Ruby says, nudging Mox’s leg with her boot. “Tony wanted me to get you two idiots up so you can get to the stage.”

Mox swings his leg over, spins to his feet, and sticks out his arm. “C’mon, baby, let’s get out there so I can kick your ass.”

“You don’t have to be so annoying about it,” Adam giggles as he leaps to his feet. “I’ve won in other –”

“Nope!” Ruby yells. “Still in earshot! Shut up!”

They get behind the curtain ready for the ring, and Mox starts bouncing. Since Adam’s the newbie, he goes out first to his edit of Bronco, throwing the curtain open at the first, ‘Bronco, runnin’ wild,’ to cheers. He glances over to see Matt, Nick, and Kenny cheering like they’ve been here a million times, like they know exactly what to do. He’s excited to be the face in this match – it’s the first time he’s gotten a real character for himself. The jeans and old cowboy boots work almost too well.

“And coming in next,” comes the announcer’s voice, “Jon Moxley!”

Mox comes out to Wild Thing, a sneer on his face that almost makes Adam giggle. The boos are loud, almost deafening. Matt and Nick look bewildered, but Kenny leans over and says something to them and they boo as well.

The match goes by in a whirlwind, and Adam almost forgets at the end that he’s not supposed to kick out.

When the referee, one of Eddie’s friends from work, Aubrey, counts to three, Adam’s pretty sure he can hear Nick booing the loudest.

“Good job,” Mox says, beaming at Adam. “You killed it.”

“You too.” Adam has to remember to look disappointed as he rolls out of the ring. When he gets backstage, Eddie practically mauls him.

“You did fuckin’ great, baby!” he yells, clapping Adam on the shoulder.

Adam grins at him. “Thanks. It felt really good.”

Mox comes in after him and pretty much does maul Adam, sending him careening to the floor in a way reminiscent of the pin from earlier.

“Hi,” Adam says.

“Hi,” Mox says. “You did so good.” He leans down and kisses Adam hard and fast.

“Gross!” yells Ruby from somewhere in the back of the tent.

Mox helps the other wrestlers prepare while Adam sneaks out to watch the rest of the matches next to Matt.

“You did awesome!” Nick says. “That was so cool.”

Matt’s face is a little pinched. “Mox was kind of mean to you.”

“He’s supposed to be mean, Matt,” Kenny eyes, rolling his eyes. “He’s the heel. That’s the bad guy.” He glances over to Adam for confirmation. He nods. It’s kind of nice to be the one they check in with. “It’s all pretend, right?”

“It’s all pretend,” Adam confirms. “Well, except for the getting an arm across the chest. That kind of hurt.” He rubs at it, the ache blooming as he mentions it.

Matt turns into a googly eyed disaster when Yuta gets in the ring. He enters to American Idiot and Matt claps like a maniac.

“Nick,” Adam says, leaning behind Adam. “Do we need to sedate Matt or something?”

Nick laughs. “Nah, just let him be in love. He’s being super weird about Yuta.”

“Am not!” Matt snaps. “He’s so smart. He’s in tenth grade and he’s in my senior level Calculus class. It’s…” He trails off. “Oh. Oh and he’s got abs.” He pauses. “Maybe I do need to be sedated.”

Adam laughs as the music changed to Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? That entrance music is one among many reasons Eddie hates Claudio, but Adam thinks it’s hilarious.

The match is quick, as expected, as it’s Yuta’s first, but Yuta does great and sells like a champ.

Matt audibly gasps as Claudio hauls Yuta up in his signature swing, spinning Yuta until he taps out and collapses to the floor.

“Should I go check on him?” Matt asks, looking over at Adam. “He looks hurt.”

“He’s fine,” Adam says. “But I’m sure Yuta would be very pleased if you ran ringside and got all concerned about him.”

Matt nods and leaps out of his chair, running over to the ring. “Wheeler!” he calls. “Are you alright?”

Adam, Nick, and Kenny laughs at Yuta’s bewildered face. “Uh, yeah,” he says. He glances at Adam, who shrugs and grins.

“Go for it,” Adam mouths.

“I, uh, could use some help getting to the back,” Yuta says, doing his best to look miserable and hurt. It doesn’t quite work on the rest of the crowd, Adam thinks, but it sure as hell works on Matt.

“Of course!” Matt helps Yuta out of the ring and bats his eyelashes as they go back to the tent.

“I can’t believe Matt got a boyfriend at your wrestling thing,” Nick grumbles, folding his arms over his chest. “I have got to get out there.”

“You will, champ,” Adam says, clapping Nick on the shoulder. “You will.”

Matt and Yuta come back holding hands and chatting with stars in their eyes, and the rest of the show goes off without a hitch. Bryan and Eddie may literally be trying to kill each other during their match, but Eddie wins and it’s an overall success.

“We usually head to Willow’s house after matches,” Adam says as Mox comes up behind him and curls around him. “If you three wanted to come?”

“Yeah, sure!” Matt says. “Wheeler, do you need a ride?”

Wheeler looks shocked, as he’d ridden with Mox and Adam to the show. Adam stares at him, hoping Yuta gets the hint. “Uh. Sure! Sure, I could need a ride.”

“And Kenny and Nick, if you want to hop in my truck,” Adam says insistently.

Nick nods. “Yeah, I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever the two of them are doing.”

As Adam watches Matt smoothly pull out of the parking spot like it’s nothing, clearly chattering nonstop to Yuta, he takes the lead and drives the short distance to Willow’s house.

“Hey, Mox,” Nick says. “So, if you and I were in the ring, which of us would win?”

“Oh, I’d fuckin’ flatten you in seconds.”

“Would not!”

Adam laughs, and thinks that, maybe, he’s got it figured out. At least for now.

~

Mini Playlist: Bronco - Orville Peck Wild Thing - The Troggs American Idiot - Green Day Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart

#HangMox High School AU #FIOY #in which Sara writes #LOOK I DID IT #Why was this prompt so hard to fill? I have no clue #But it was #But it's done! #wtf i like wrestling now??? #HangMox #MattYuta #anxious millennial dreamboat #madly in love with leather daddy jon moxley

[angieschiffahoi]

summerland is basically the polar opposite of fried green tomatoes 

#two women in the fourties raising a boy together #except this is seaside england and that is country usa #also nobody dies (except the husband who's not an asshole in this one) and nobody loses limbs #and the oldies are the protagonists #fried green tomatoes #summerland #fgt is still one of my fav movies tho #this one had no excuses when it comes to showing kisses onscreen #angie rants #ignore

[volturialice]

i think the whole alice-and-jasper-are-not-into-show-thing is kinda dumb???? like, okay, they don't like pda but couldn't smeyer give us a simple HUG??? a forehead kiss???? like, in eclipse they are just looking at each other like 👁👄👁 (in a romantic way, yeah, but still)

oh boy anon I have so many thoughts on this thank you

(and apologies in advance for writing an entire dissertation as usual)

authorial bias and intent

first, I think you can draw a pretty solid line between "alice and jasper are not into show" and smeyer's religious background. if you pay attention to how the various canon couples are framed by the narrative vs how much physical affection they show in public, it sure tracks with the idea that smeyer grew up steeped in purity culture (the conservative christian fundamentalist, purity-ring, virgin-until-marriage-or-you-can't-get-sealed-in-the-mormon-temple kind, not the fandom kind.)

rosalie and emmett are big into PDA and legendarily horny, and their relationship is characterized as "shallower." coincidence? I think not.

contrast the protagonists. edbella's whole "alas, I cannot kiss you too passionately lest I smash your face in like a rotting jack-o-lantern" thing is both the perfect excuse to Leave Room For Jesus and also a source of great sexual tension. it allowed smeyer to have her purity cake and feed her horny tween audience some titillation, too.

and she absolutely adores alice as a character, so it makes sense that she'd give jalice her version of a "perfect" relationship. but at some point (IMO, the point where they're standing in an airport creepily staring at each other instead of hugging) smeyer's vision of an ideal relationship diverges pretty substantially from most of ours (though not all. I've had plenty of aspecs tell me the lack of pda resonates with them!)

to give credit where credit is due, she also seems to have been trying to characterize how a relationship might look different when a) it's 50 years old, and b) it's between people with ~freaky psychic emotion powers,~ but I agree with you that the execution in book!canon falls somewhat flat. she didn't really take the time or care necessary to convey that this is a ~special and unique~ relationship; we're just told it is and then we're shown jasper and alice...not touching.

the whole thing feels like a simple case of intent not quite coming through in execution, mostly because smeyer didn't spend much time or energy describing characters who weren't edbella.

movie canon

shoutout to the various filmmakers, actors, and melissa rosenberg for taking one look at that and going "nah that's dumb, we're not doing that."

by my count, movie!jalice get more onscreen interaction (3 kissing scenes! he hands her a tiny flower! there are multiple counts of uncensored handholding!) than any other couple besides edbella. (jalices can't help but win, ok)

my guess is that this change comes from film being a more visual medium with a limited runtime. it's a lot easier to convey "these two are a couple" via kissing or handholding than it would be via...intensely staring at each other (besides, 60% of the franchise is edbella intensely staring at each other. that's their thing.)

fan interpretations

this is great news for us as fans, because we get to pick and choose. do we want jalice to be Chaste And Private, or do we want them to be fully making out in front of the entire wolf pack? canon either way.

I tend to fall somewhere in the middle, myself. I think the idea that they’re fairly private tracks with jasper’s character—he’s not a showy guy, he’s super overprotective, and he definitely views their relationship in a very ~sacred~ light. alice is a much showier character individually, but when it comes to jasper, she seems fine either way and happy to accommodate whatever his comfort level with pda is.

but I don’t think they’re so extreme that they won’t show physical affection in the presence of friends and family, or to the point of staring-but-not-touching after a separation as dramatic as the one in New Moon. that’s where the line is for me, anyway (and it sounds like for you, too. high five ;D)

basically, writing twilight fic is always a balancing act of “how much do I keep from canon/which canon do I choose?” and this is no exception.

in conclusion I’m sorry if this is a lot of unhelpful rambling but I think about this a lot!!

#asks #anonymous #jalice #alice cullen #jasper hale #meta #religion // #christianity mention // #mormonism mention // #thanks for this one anon #it's a fun discussion

[wsome1ushouldntve]

THINGS I WANTED TO SEE IN 4X08 OF KE:

“Oksana.” Like, not her alter ego, but her real name, being privately and reverently uttered by Eve.

Why is Eve still a Polastri? Warrants thorough explanation.

A not-so-shitty characterization of Carolyn Martens. A very uninteresting writing off of a potentially nuanced character. Her ending made her one-dimensionally evil, despite all the emotional build-up that was the majority of her arc with Geraldine and Villanelle.

Eve’s “rebirth” being making peace with both sides of her personality; the one that is “normal” and the one that is embracing of her darker tendencies.

Villanelle working through her trauma. “Are You From Pinner?” did a somewhat inadequate job of this. So did her kidnapping Martin and having a small and civil breakdown. I would have liked to see her tackle all this head-on. Nothing needs to be obvious or voiced-out about it (like that “I remember Bill” left so many things unsaid in the most wordlessly eloquent way possible and was good, but her “Goodbye, old bastard” while throwing darts felt too on-the-surface, even beside Pam)

WHERE IS IRINA WHAT HAPPENED TO HER

THE TWELVE. For all that talk, all that suspense, all that mystery, this may be the single biggest anticlimactic and incomplete sorry excuse of a resolution to such a significant and insidious part of the plot (esp. In S3 and 4)

Pam is seen as a parallel to Oksana. Konstantin offers her a way out, and it is only after making the mistake of killing him does she realize what a gift it is that he’s given her, so she defies Carolyn and leaves. Oksana, in contrast, grows closer to Carolyn across S4 and is ultimately betrayed in the most undignifying way, without confrontation and without grace. I would have liked to see more of Pam and Oksana, certainly more than that arrow removal scene (rare example of good, snappy dialogue and tension in S4) and the darts in the Barn Swallow (boring, lacking in meaning, a dull lull in pacing).

I need! Very much! An at-peace smile from Oksana the moment she realises her efforts have not been in vain. The closest thing we got to security was 1. the look of enrapturing adoration when she saw Eve on that dance floor and 2. the certain reflex of her shielding Eve from the bullets and pushing her to jump. I’m not sure if it was a trick of light or something but I could have sworn that after a bullet missed Eve underwater Oksana doubled her efforts in swimming towards her, trying to block more bullets, knowing she probably had little chance at survival. I would have liked to see just a subtle indicator of her giving Eve the chance to live and being happy about it, completing her arc of discovery of self, peace, and love, whether that be a satisfied smile or even a panicked “go” or “live” that should have happened in the last seconds of life underwater, in contrast to Eve’s yell of torment after resurfacing was animalistic.

Nothing needs to be obvious or even voiced in this. What little excellence I found in this season overall was the blatant choice to not have them voice out their feelings vocally but still make it painfully obvious in their comforting familiarity of that dance they have around each other and with each other. An example would be the “piss kiss,” no words exchanged and no words needed. Another more subtle one would be the sleeping bag scene, especially the bit where Oksana traces Eve’s scar after they’d shared a look when the bothy couple had showed off their kidney replacement marks. They’ve never had explicit sex. They’ve never even properly exchanged “I love you’s” onscreen. Neither is needed, because in their actions and looks and obsession we can decode the underlying tension that finally comes to domestic fruition in the comfort with which they not so much collide but rather tentatively meet in the middle. Refreshing.

Regarding the silence with which Oksana had died, swallowed up by water while Eve had emerged fighting and yelling and breathing, it was a good anti-parallel showcasing character development where once Eve was restrained and Villanelle was flashy and notorious for her violent outbursts, BUT BUT BUT taking the fight out of Villanelle, while adding another dimension to her fluctuating personality, does ABSOLUTELY GODDAMN NOTHING to the development of her personal life/ feelings towards Eve. She should not have died in such a quiet, muted, dismissive way.

Which begs the question: Should either of them have even died? My view on this is that, pushing aside the debate of the “bury your gays” trope or even the tangent on queerbaiting, is that this is quite lazy writing on what could have been a much more meaningful resolution independent of the decision of killing off one of the title characters. The show’s title is Killing Eve. The twist is inherently clever. What I want to reiterate is that what is decidedly NOT CLEVER is the way they executed (no pun intended) Oksana’s death without much dignity, with so many strings left untied.

These are just some very immediate thoughts. Might think of others.

#in this essay i will #tear into s4 writing like oksana did to that s1 prison girl #villaneve #villanelle #eve polastri #fuck carolyn martens #konstantin deserved better #what is the meaning of gunn #killing eve #killing eve finale spoilers #analysis what more like ranting

[angryschnauzer]

Waited So Long

Summary: As an actress in her mid 20′s you had been lucky enough to get the roles you pushed yourself for, but one role in particular needs a scene you have no experience with; a sex scene, and you co-star is surprised to discover you are still a virgin even though you are in your mid 20′s. But he’s willing to help with whatever you need.

Trope: Friends to Lovers, Co-stars to Lovers Pairing: Henry Cavill x Female Reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, loss of virginity, oral sex, fingering, vaginal sex, protection/condoms. 

I no longer operate a tag list, but instead pop over and follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications. You’ll then get an alert each time i post a new story.

Masterlist got so long all the links broke, so you can now find all my previous stories on my AO3 LINK HERE

Waited So Long 

Henry sat at the large table, grinning and laughing as the rest of the cast had finished reading through the latest episode’s script. Everyone was in a good mood and that was down to the fact that tomorrow’s shooting schedule required just you and Henry, meaning that everyone else got a three day weekend. But… but you were just staring at the script. You knew it had been coming, but to see the words in front of you, the stage descriptions, it was overwhelming. 

 The Netflix special was ten episodes of a sci-fi series, and you played an alien warrior. Henry was the plucky human astronaut  that had been aboard the International Space Station when it had been sucked into a black hole and had ended up on the far side of the universe. Eight episodes into the filming schedule and the pivotal sex scene was about to be included, and that’s what was clouding every thought in your mind. 

 You were far from naive, you had no issue with your costume or even the nudity - you were after all painted purple with patches of ‘scales’ in strategic parts - but it was the fact you had a small secret that was making you so nervous; you hadn’t ever actually had sex. 

 You were already mid 20’s, you’d been through university and stage school, worked on broadway and the London west end, you’d modelled for artists and had always put your career first. Relationships had just fizzled away after the first couple of dates because of your acting schedule… and that is how you found yourself not only a virgin in her mid 20’s, but one that had never even laid in bed with a partner, been close, felt the weight of a lover on top of them… anything at all.

 The producers called it a wrap for the read through, and the sounds of chairs scraping on the floor filled the room. As people shot their empty plastic bottles into the trash you felt your stomach lurch, quickly leaving the room, finding the disabled bathroom and running to the toilet, the contents of your stomach very quickly coming back up. 

 Finally empty, you sat on the floor and rested your head against the wall, your mind spinning. A quiet knock at the door made you open one eye, watching as the unlocked door swung open and a familiar face peered round;

 “Are you ok?” Henry asked, his bulk almost filling the entire doorway; “You’re not coming down with something?”

 You shook your head;

 “No, just umm… nerves… haha…” you laughed rather awkwardly.

 Stepping into the room, he sat against the opposite wall, leaning forwards to hand you his half finished bottle of water;

 “... about tomorrow?”

 Taking a sip of water you nodded;

 “Bit pathetic really, isn’t it?”

 “Not at all. Is this your first onscreen love scene?”

 “Yeah”

 He sat forwards, resting his hands on his knees as he thought pensively for a moment;

 “Are you going out with the crew tonight?”

 “No. Can’t really face it”

 “How about I drive us back to the house and order some chinese and talk things through? This isn’t my first love scene but I remember the nerves. We’ll get everything out in the open so the air is clear ready for tomorrow, yeah?”

 Nodding, you watched as he stood, holding out his hand for you and helping you to your feet.

 -

 The drive back to the shared house that most of the main cast members were staying at was fun, Henry having linked his Spotify to the stereo, firing up a playlist of old school pop with an eclectic mix of metal. By the time he rolled into the large driveway that the rental house had, you were both yelling out the words, laughing and grinning. 

 Once inside you excused yourselves to go shower, twenty minutes later finding Henry in the kitchen. His hair was wet and he wore a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants as he looked over the chinese menu;

 “What do you fancy?” he asked and you tried not to blurt out what you were thinking, because even though you may be a virgin, your thoughts were far from pure. 

 Looking over the list he had already scribbled down, you pointed to a couple of dishes, watching as he added them to the list before dialling for delivery. 

 -

 Pushing your plate away you stretched out and groaned. Still shovelling egg fried rice into his mouth, Henry pointed his fork at your plate;

 “Roo dun?” he asked, his cheeks full like a hamster.

 “Help yourself!”

 He eagerly dumped the rest of your lemon chicken on top of his rice, jabbing at the pieces;

 “Hey, about tomorrow… you really don’t need to worry. It’s just going to be you and me, and three other people”

 Taking a sip of your beer you quietly snorted;

 “That’s still three more people that would ‘usually’ be there… and four more than i’ve ever experienced”

 He paused, setting his fork down and you could see his mind working through what you said;

 “So uhh, it's been a while…?”

 “To be honest, it's been never”

 It was like something short circuited in his brain;

 “Never never? Like, never?”

 Putting your beer down, you fiddled with the label;

 “I’m a virgin. I’ve never had sex. I’ve never even slept with anyone”

 There was an awkward silence, the air tense before Henry finally spoke;

 “Is it a religious thing?”

 You shook your head;

 “No. I just have been so wrapped up in studying or working or being on stage… I would get two dates into a relationship and some big opportunity would come up. I would get blinkered and end up ghosting guys without even realising. Ambition got in the way of a love life…”

 Henry took a deep breath;

 “Ok. So you know i’ll be covered up… down there i mean… and so will you… so there won’t be any slips or anything. I won’t be inside you or anything…”

 Cocking an eyebrow you scoffed;

 “Henry… I know you won’t be inside me. We studied sex scenes at stage school. They gave us the practical run down of what happens. It's lots of rubbing and grunting. I just need to go watch some porn again to figure out what to grunt…” you took a sip of your beer; “... and you probably wouldn’t fit inside me anyway… it’s not like anything has ever breached that hole”

 Henry sat with a wide eyed look on his face, his jaw hanging slack;

 “So you… you’ve never even pleasured yourself?”

 “Of course i have!” you threw a prawn cracker at him; “I’ve just never…. You know… had internal stimulation…”

 “Wow” he muttered quietly, shifting in his seat; “So…” he started again but then stopped, his brain seemingly unable to string a coherent sentence together. 

 Finally he cleared his throat;

 “So there’s never been any on set stuff?”

 “Nope. Usually I run through my lines for the next day, check the schedule, the set and makeup call times. I guess the one bonus about all of this is that there aren’t any lines for tomorrow”

 You both knew that the scene had been set up without dialogue, mostly from Netflix’s instruction because any erotic scenes can cause havoc with sensors in some countries when it comes to subtitles. 

 “What did you want to do now? Do you want an early night? Watch a movie? Talk? You want me to lay on top of you?” he asked, picking his now cold plate of food up and dumping the leftovers in the waste disposal.

 “Yes” you replied far too quickly.

 “Which part?”

 “All of it”

 -

 With the TV in the main living area out of action thanks to a rather rambunctious game of ping pong a few weeks ago, the pair of you had moved to Henry’s room. An hour into the movie and it was far from your thoughts, instead you were in the bizarre situation where Henry was literally laying on top of you as you had a conversation. The feeling of his weight pressing against you was at first a surprise, he was thick with muscles for the role, and with probably 200lbs of human pressing you against the mattress you had found you would have to shift now and again. Finally you found a position that was comfortable, and as you chatted about life you found your legs had naturally parted to allow him to lay between them, his stomach pressing to yours, his face inches from your own;

 “This is literally how we’ll be spending our day tomorrow you realise” he quietly pointed out

 “But there will be grunting too… plus some thrusting… it’ll probably get your ass in the gossip magazines as best ass in hollywood again” you teased him, knowing that the nudity he’d done in previous shows and movies had earned him a lot of attention thanks to his rather peachy behind.

 Henry pushed up a little, poking a finger to your breasts;

 “Oh yeah? Well these will earn you a whole legion of fans, you have an awesome pair of tits”

 “Pfft, they’re just average”

 “They’re good enough to give me a semi” he countered with a crooked grin on his face, using his finger to just tug at your neckline, exposing a tiny bit more skin.

 You shifted beneath him without even realising you were doing so and that’s when you felt it, a growing hardness pressing against your abdomen. Your eyes went wide as you stared up at him, the mix of emotions showing on his face;

 “I’ll get off…”

“No!” you instinctively wrapped your legs around his, leaning your head up and pressed a kiss to his lips. He let out a grunt of surprise and you felt him tense, before he softened, his lips following yours as you pulled rested your head back on the duvet beneath you.

 His lips were soft and plump, and as he rocked his hips against you again this time you felt he was getting harder. Instinctively you gasped, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. You may not have had sex before but you had kissed, and your tongue danced with his as hands started to explore each others bodies, fingers seeking out skin as t-shirts were tugged up to expose heated skin. 

 Pulling your shirt over your head he admired your naked chest, the pattern on your top having hidden the fact you were without a bra;

 “Oh yeah, even purple these’ll be popular”

 With a smirk on his lips and a wicked grin on his face he lowered his mouth to your naked torso, taking one peaked nipple between his lips to suck on it, his hand cupping your other breast. As he worked his magic your body responded, the wetness between your thighs soaking through your clothing, the subtle movements of your bodies rubbing together making your arousal almost uncontrollable. Winding your hands into his dark locks, the soft hair curled around your fingers as he looked at you, pressing a trail of kisses down your sternum until he reached your leggings;

 “Can i continue?” he asked quietly, watching as you nodded your head;

 “Yes… please…”

 As he pulled your leggings off he pressed kisses to the heated skin that he revealed, never breaking eye contact;

 “So here’s what i’m going to do… first i’m going to get you to cum with my tongue, i’ll slip it just a little inside you so you can get used to the feeling, then i’ll gently tease you with my fingers; find that g-spot of yours as i’ve been assured a g-spot orgasm is completely different from a clitoral orgasm…

 “Fuck…”

 “Yes, that’s the third thing…” he grinned at you; “Once you’re nice and ready, and really really wet i’m going to make love to you… so you can practice your moans for tomorrow…”

 He shed you of the rest of your clothing before softly grasping your legs and pulling them apart, revealing your virgin core. Tender fingers parted your petals before his tongue swiped a wide stripe through them, and the sound that emerged from your throat startled even you.

 “You like that?”

 “Yes… oh my god, please do that again!”

 “With pleasure!”

 “The pleasure is all mine…”

 “Henry?”

 “Yes?”

 “Please shut up and get on with it” you grinned at him, before he dipped his face back between your legs and went to town. His tongue was seemingly everywhere, grunts and moans as he worked you open, and when he slipped his tongue into the ring of muscle at your entrance your eyes shot open and you giggle-moaned at the unfamiliar but not unpleasant experience. When a finger found your clit you relaxed again, laying back and enjoying the pleasure he was selflessly giving you. 

 Gripping at the bedcovers you found your hips started to move on their own, only for Henry to press a strong arm across your stomach to hold you in place, pushing you closer and closer to your orgasm. When it finally did hit your body reacted instinctively; your legs wrapping themselves around his head, your back arching and your fingers almost tearing through the fabric of the sheets, before you finally went limp. As your mind was nothing but stars a muffled voice came through the haze of your post orgasmic bliss;

 “If i could get some oxygen…”

 Not realising your legs were still firmly wrapped around Henry’s head, you quickly released him, his head popping up from beneath your thighs. His cheeks were flushed red and his chin was wet, and it took you a moment to realise you were the cause for the wetness. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand before standing and grabbing a bottle of water to pass to you;

 “You’re gonna need to rehydrate after that…”

 You went to take the bottle from him but the bulging tent in his sweatpants distracted you, your hand pausing mid air before Henry laughed;

 “Drink first, then you can play with it”

 “Oh… I… “

 “Drink”

 Taking the bottle you sipped at the tepid liquid as he lay on the bed beside you. When you’d finished he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to his firm chest before kissing you softly;

 “Are you ready for round two?”

 “Can i touch you too?”

 A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he nodded, watching as you eased the elastic of his sweats down and his heavy cock sprang free. Your jaw fell as you took in his size, but before you could overthink it he pressed a kiss to your lips as his hands wandered between your thighs. 

 Reaching out you wrapped your fingers around him as his own slid between your folds, dancing over your clit before he pressed a single digit inside you, your eyes going wide and your hand squeezing him involuntarily. 

 “Does that feel good?”

 You nodded;

 “Yes, a little strange that i’m not in control, but i think that’s what makes it even more exciting”

 “That’s good… now, how about another finger?”

 Nodding again you bit your lip as he slid a second finger in alongside the first, your eager hole stretching around his digits. Instinctively you had started to move your hand up and down his shaft, doing little more than gentle movements, but soon the pair of you got into a rhythm, working together to leave your breaths in time with the others.

 “Doing so well for me… so wet. Shall we try a third?”

 Nodding you let out a quiet ‘uh-huh’ as he repositioned his hand, carefully sliding three fingers into your soaked velvet channel, and the noise that came from your throat was base and full of sin. When his thumb started to rub against your clit while he continued to work three fingers inside you the spring in your belly snapped and you were coming hard, shaking around his hand.

 As you came down from your high Henry carefully withdrew his fingers, salaciously licking them clean before he got off the bed and went to the drawer in the little cabinet, pulling out a condom.

 “Oh… i’m on the pill…” you blurted out; “You don’t have to… In fact i’d really like to feel you, you know… bare…”

 Tearing the packet open he grinned at you;

 “I get that… but you’re gonna be in makeup in less than 12 hours” he knelt on the bed as he started to roll the latex down his angry dick.

 “Umm yeah?”

 “Well its something you’d only know from experience, but it can take up to 24 hours for a guys cum to fully leak out of you”

 “Oh…”

 “And your costume and makeup gets pretty intimate, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

 “So you want Iris in makeup to be able to smell my cum dripping out of you when she’s painting your snatch purple tomorrow?” he said with a grin on his face, rolling the condom down fully before positioning himself between your legs

 “I gotta be honest, the idea that someone realises i’ve had sex is kinda kinky” you craned your neck up to kiss him as you felt his dick notch at the entrance to your cunt; “But you’re the expert here”

 “That i am… Let me show you just how much of an expert…”

 With a smooth roll of his hips he pushed into you and the feeling was indescribable, in fact it was so overwhelming you screwed your eyes shut, willing the tears not to fall, but Henry simply held still, kissing each one of your tears as they fell down your cheeks until you were ready.

 “Breathe babe… just breathe… it’s overwhelming i know… i understand…”

 Opening your eyes you gazed up at him, smiling as he leaned down and kissed you softly.

 “Are you ok?”

 “Y-yeah…”

 “You want me to keep going?”

 “Please… oh god please”

 “Gonna make you feel so good”

 He carefully pulled his hips back before pushing into you again, seemingly getting deeper before pulling out again. Soon you were lost in the moment, feelings both physical and emotionally almost overwhelming you again as your body was taken to new heights of pleasure, Henry seemingly knowing exactly how to make the moment special for you.

 Your body reacted in the best way, the tight spring inside you curling ever tighter, until with just the right roll of his hips he tipped you over the edge and you were coming hard, your body squeezing him so tight he knew he’d found heaven whilst you saw stars. 

 Whilst you were in the haze of your orgasm you heard the most beautiful moans, and felt as Henry came deep within you. As soon as he stopped shaking he wrapped his arms around you tightly, pressing his face to your neck as he cradled the back of your head with his massive hand, pressing soft kisses to your heated skin as you both basked in the aftershocks of your intense orgasms.

 Finally Henry pushed himself up to bear his weight on one arm, sliding his other hand between your bodies to hold the condom in place as he carefully pulled out of you;

 “I’m just gonna get rid of this… stay here”

 You watched his peachy ass as he quickly mad his way to the bathroom, hearing water running before he reappeared moments later with a damp washcloth. Sitting delicately beside you he carefully cleaned you up, and when he was finished he pulled the duvet over your naked body as he quickly got rid of the cloth and joined you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you to his chest;

 “Are you ok?”

 “I think so… Did i make a mess of your bed?”

 “No. No blood”

 “Really? I thought…”

 “If you’re relaxed enough you may not bleed… or you may have simply ruptured your hymen just through every day life. A fall, tampons, strenuous exercise… didn’t you do a horseriding movie a couple of years back?”

 “Y-yeah…” you cast your mind back; “Now you mention it, there was one really long day when i’d spent all day shooting a galloping scene with jumps… i just thought my period was coming early, and i had this really dull ache in my lower back… i guess that makes sense now…”

 “So… you’re good? Feel ok about filming tomorrow?”

 You nodded;

 “Yeah, i’m good. Thank you” You looked up at him and saw he was chewing his lip nervously; “What?”

 “I was wondering… you know… after we’ve finished filming tomorrow… did you want to go to dinner with me?”

 “Like a date?”

 “Yeah… hey i understand if you say no… that you want to concentrate on your role and acting…”

 “No! I mean yes!” you took a deep breath; “I’d love to go to dinner with you”

 He pressed a kiss to your cheek before you settled on his chest, his strong heartbeat beating beneath your ear as you let your eyelids drop and you fell asleep in his arms.

 -

 Iris tutted as you fidgeted;

 “Will you stand still? I need to get these scales on!”

 “Sorry Iris… just a little sore…”

 The older woman looked up at you as she held the patch of purple scales prosthetic and grinned;

 “Well its about time” she nodded to the various bottles and jars that were on the counter; “Make sure you take the coconut oil when you leave tonight, it’ll help get the adhesive off without pulling on any bruises”

 You looked down at Iris and smiled;

 “Thanks Iris”

 “Was it worth it?”

 “So worth it”

#henry cavill #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill smut #henry cavill fanfiction

[ohmyjinsus]

paper rings

jung wooseok x gender neutral! reader 

a super fluffy non idol au || 2.9k 

yes it’s a fic inspired by a taylor swift song, don’t come for me, we all know she and changgu are my ults (and I’ve been watching way too much say yes to the dress so...) 

summary: after asking your boyfriend wooseok to help measure your ring size, he thinks you’re dropping hints 👀

Online shopping was not a good idea. For the obvious reason, of course, which is that you should be saving money so you and your boyfriend can move into a nicer apartment. But it’s not your fault you saw an ad for the cutest ring. And it’s not your fault it’s $10. How could you not get it? 

The other issue is you not knowing your ring size. After a quick google search, you realize you need a piece of paper, a ruler, and a pen. Thankfully, all of those things are easy to find. It’s a struggle cutting a strip of paper thin enough to fit around your finger, but you get there in the end. 

You’re trying to mark where the end overlaps when the front door opens. You reach across the couch to shut your laptop on the other side.

“Hey y/n,” Wooseok calls from the entryway. “I’m home.” 

“Hi,” you say back. You’re still focused on holding the paper in place. You have no idea why they had to make this so hard. Surely there’s an easier way to figure it out. 

“What are you doing?” He moves your laptop to the coffee table and sits down next to you. 

“I’m measuring my ring size,” you tell him. He raises his eyebrows. 

“Why?” You know he wouldn’t be mad at you buying a $10 ring, but you decide not to tell him for whatever reason. 

“I just feel like it’s good to know.” You shrug awkwardly. “Here, help me.”  

You hand him the pen and wrap the piece of paper around your ring finger. He takes your hand in his. 

“See where the end touches the other part?” He helps you hold the paper in place. “Just make a mark there.” 

“I don’t see it.” He moves your hand closer to his face to get a better look. 

“What do you mean?” You ask, leaning in to see as well. “It’s right there.” 

“Still don’t see it.” 

You move even closer. Once your face is right in front of Wooseok’s, he pulls you in for a kiss.

“Sorry,” he says when he pulls away. “I missed you.” You laugh. 

“You just saw me this morning.” He smiles. You place a light kiss on his cheek before turning back to the task at hand. “Can we finish this please?” 

“Fine.” He picks up the pen again and marks the spot where the ends meet. “What’s next?” 

“Grab the ruler.” He gets it from the coffee table. You take the piece of paper and lay it down on the couch between the two of you. “So I need to find out how many millimetres it is...” 

“You’re so focused on this.” Wooseok’s watching you. 

“What?” You say.

“It’s cute.” You roll your eyes, but you’re pretty sure you’re blushing. “How many millimetres is it then?” You tell him, so he pulls up a chart on his phone and shows it to you. 

“I’m a size 5.” You give his phone back. “Wait.” 

“What is it?” 

“I just realized I only checked my right hand, what if my left hand is different?” You want to have the option of wearing your new ring on both.

“Your left hand?” You grab the piece of paper again, wrapping it around your ring finger. “Shouldn’t they be the same?” 

“Only one way to find out.” He rolls his eyes, but helps you again. 

“See?” Wooseok says. “They’re both a 5.” 

“Remember that.” You grab the ruler, pen, and paper to put them away. 

“I will.” You give him another kiss before heading to the kitchen. While you’re there, you grab some snacks and drinks. 

After you put them down on the coffee table, Wooseok immediately pulls you down next to him on the couch. You don’t fight him. He’s not usually this clingy, he must’ve had a rough day at work. 

“Wanna watch something?” He asks, wrapping his arms around you, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“Are we actually going to pay attention to it?” The last time you watched a film, the two of you fell asleep on the couch 30 minutes in. 

“Shh,” he kisses your neck. “I just want an excuse to cuddle with you.” 

“Go on then,” you hand him the remote. While he finds something, you make yourself comfortable, pulling your legs under you. Once Wooseok picks a movie, he leans back and you rest your head on his shoulder. He pulls you even closer as it starts. 

At some point during the film, your hand finds his. It’s second nature to you, you barely even notice. It makes Wooseok nervous though. 

He takes your hand in his, and finds himself thinking about what a ring would look like on your finger. It’s crossed his mind before. The two of you have been together for years, and you’ve talked about getting married many times. Wooseok has no doubt about it, he just isn’t sure when to propose. 

The two of you don’t have a lot of money, Wooseok knows this. That’s why he hasn’t done it yet. He has no problem with waiting, until you’ve both saved some more, or you’ve moved somewhere nicer. But the fact that you’re talking about ring sizes makes him reconsider. Maybe now is the right time. 

“You okay?” Wooseok’s focus shifts to you, looking up at him. “You seem distracted.” 

“I’m fine.” He places a kiss on your nose. You nod, turning back to the screen. 

Wooseok tries to focus on the movie, pushing all marriage thoughts out of his mind. But when you start laughing at something onscreen, he can’t help but laugh with you. He wants this for the rest of his life, he wants you for the rest of his life.  

In that moment, he decides he’s going to ask you to marry him. Soon. 

========== Two Weeks Later ==========

Your hours aren’t as long as Wooseok’s, so you always get home first. That’s why you’re shocked to see him in the kitchen when you walk through the front door. 

“Hey babe,” you drop your bag at the door and go to see what your boyfriend is doing. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” He’s at the sink, so you wrap your arms around him and give him a hug from behind. “What’s going on with you?” 

“I’m not used to seeing you home at this time,” you admit. He turns around, placing his hands on your shoulders. “It’s weird.” 

“I asked to leave work early,” he tells you. “I can go back if it’s a problem though.” 

You laugh at that. “It’s nice, we don’t spend enough time together.” 

“y/n, we’ve lived together for 2 years.” 

You cut him off with a kiss. “You know what I mean.” 

“I guess.” You roll your eyes. 

“What should we do?” You ask. “Since you’re home, we should do something special.” 

“What did you have in mind?” 

“Um,” you think for a second. “You’re the one who came home early. What did you have in mind?” 

“We could go out,” you shake your head. “Watch a movie?” You shrug. “Order in?” 

“That sounds like a good idea.” You let go of him. “Let me just get my phone charger and we can decide what to have.” You turn to go into the living room, but Wooseok grabs your arm. 

“You can’t go in there.” He looks nervous. 

“What’s wrong?” You ask. “Did you spill something? Break something?” He shakes his head. “Did you murder someone?” 

“What?” 

“You might be hiding the body in there, I don’t know.” Wooseok laughs at that, but he still sounds on edge. “Can I go get my charger?” 

“I’ll get it for you.” You watch as he walks down the hall. 

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” You ask when he comes back. 

“I have a plan y/n, don’t worry.” 

“Is it an anniversary or something?” You glance at the calendar on the wall. As far as you know, it isn’t a special day. 

“No,” Wooseok shakes his head. “I just wanted to do something nice for you, it’s a surprise.” 

You raise your eyebrows, but don’t question it. “Okay.” 

Wooseok pulls out his phone and the two of you decide what to get for dinner. You try not to focus on whatever the surprise is, and enjoy your time with him instead. That in itself is more than enough. 

When your meal arrives, the two of you sit at the kitchen table and eat together. Normally you sit on the couch and have dinner, watching Netflix. This feels different, but nice different. He asks you about work, and you complain about your annoying co-worker. Wooseok lets you vent, and then takes your mind off of it. You always thought sitting with your significant other, complaining about work, would be terrible, but with Wooseok, you love it. 

It’s not until you’re cleaning up that you remember the surprise. Once you throw away the last few napkins, you turn to Wooseok. 

“Am I allowed into the living room now?” 

“Give me five minutes.” You frown. He leans in to kiss your cheek, but you notice he’s shaking. “Trust me.” 

“Hey,” you say quietly, reaching up to run your hand through his hair, “I’m gonna love it.” He nods, but he still seems uneasy. “And I love you.” You stand on your tip toes to kiss him. When you pull away, he keeps his arms around you for a few more seconds. He gives you another kiss and then lets go. 

“Five minutes.” He says to you, before disappearing down the hallway. 

You have no idea what this surprise could be. Especially if it’s making him so nervous. You’re excited though. No one on this earth knows you better than Wooseok, so you’re sure it’ll be great. Anything with him is great, to be fair. 

“y/n,” he calls. “You can come now.” 

When you walk in, the first thing you notice is all the lights. Wooseok’s set up little fairy lights on all the walls, completely illuminating the room. When you look closer, you see there’s pictures as well. He’s used clothes pins to hang them from the wires. 

“Do you like it?” He asks quietly. You nod, leaning in to get a better look at the pictures. 

“This is amazing,” you let your voice trail off. The first few pictures in front of you are from when you were in school together. This was way before you and Wooseok started dating, you were only friends then. 

As you move around the room, you realize he’s organized them in chronological order. There are so many photos of the two of you together, you with your friends, at special events, tons of things you’d completely forgotten about. You’re surprised Wooseok even has all of these. 

“Can we keep these up forever?” You ask, glancing at your boyfriend. He’s been standing back, watching you from a distance. “I love this,” you tell him, your voice breaking a little bit. 

“Yeah?” 

“I love you.” He smiles. 

“I love you too.” 

You turn back to the wall, where your eyes land on a picture from the day you moved in together. It was taken by Wooseok’s friend Kino, at your housewarming party. The two of you are in the entryway laughing, holding your keys. 

“That feels like so long ago,” you say to yourself. Wooseok’s beside you now, looking at the pictures as well. “It must have taken you forever to put all of these up.” 

“It’s worth it to see you smile.” That’s when the tears start falling. You didn’t mean to cry, but you’re just so overcome with emotion. No one else would do something this sweet for you. 

“Sorry,” you say to Wooseok. He grabs a tissue and helps you wipe away your tears. “This is so.... I have no words.” 

“I haven’t seen you speechless in a long time.” You laugh at that, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“I don’t have words to convey how I feel right now, but maybe this will help you understand.” You press your lips against his, softly at first, before kissing him deeper. You don’t ever want to let him go, physically or metaphorically. When you finally separate, you’re both a little breathless. 

“Wow, okay,” he says. 

“Got it?” 

“Yes.” He pulls you over to the last wall, pointing out the most recent picture the two of you took together. “Look.” 

You run your fingers over it. The two of you decided to clean up your apartment and found an old polaroid camera. It took you about 5 tries to get a decent photo, but it’s one of your favourites. You’re smiling at the camera, but Wooseok’s gaze is on you. It sounds silly, but it really does feel like your love for each other was captured in that picture. 

Finally, you get to the last spot on the wall. There’s a picture frame, but it’s empty. 

“It’s for today,” Wooseok’s voice says from behind you. 

When you turn around, he’s on one knee. That’s when you realize what all of this was for. 

“Oh my god,” you say quietly. Your heart is beating a thousand miles a minute, but when Wooseok smiles at you that all fades away. 

“y/n, I love you and I can’t imagine life without you.” He sounds a lot more confident now, which makes you insanely happy. “I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while now, and this feels like the right time.” 

“I think you’re right,” you tell him, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Yeah?” He looks up at you. You nod. “Thank god.” 

“Did you think I would say no?” 

“I haven’t even asked the question yet,” Wooseok points out. 

“Right, sorry.”

“y/n,” he opens the small box in his hand, but you don’t pay any attention to the ring. “Will you marry me?” 

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes.” Wooseok gets up and pulls you in for a hug. “This is amazing, you’re amazing.” 

“I know,” he says. You roll your eyes. “Here, put this on.” He holds up the box and you finally see the ring. 

“Oh my god Wooseok, that must have cost an arm and a leg.” He just smiles. 

“I thought you’d like it,” he picks it up and takes your hand. “It’s a size 5 as well.” 

That makes you laugh. He’s right though, it fits perfectly. And it looks great on your hand. Not that it matters, you’re just happy Wooseok’s yours. 

“That’s what you were hinting at, right?” He asks, sitting down on the couch. He pulls you into his lap. “When you asked me to measure your ring size?” 

“Oh my god,” you say, wrapping your arms around his neck. “No, I was buying a ring for myself online.” 

Wooseok’s eyes grow wide. “So you weren’t trying to get me to propose?” 

“I do want to marry you, don’t worry.” You reassure him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” 

“Good.” 

“Do you remember where I left our ruler?” 

“Why do you ask?” 

“We have to figure out your ring size now,” you say, like it’s obvious. 

“Oh god,” Wooseok mutters. 

“We need matching rings! That’s like, the whole point of marriage.” He laughs at that. 

“Can I take back my proposal?” 

“Nope!” You plant a kiss on his cheek. “The ring’s on my finger, it’s all over now.” 

“Nothing’s over,” he tells you. “It’s only just begun.” You smile at that. 

“Nevermind the ruler, where’s the camera?” You point to the empty frame on the wall. “We’ve gotta fill that in.” 

“Oh right,” Wooseok says, gesturing to the side table. “I left it over there.” 

You grab it and then run back to his side. “Let’s try to get this right the first time.” He holds the camera in front of you, while you turn his head towards yours to give him a kiss. You hear the shutter of the camera but you don’t move for a couple of seconds. 

When you pull away, Wooseok hands you the polaroid. You both sit and wait as you shake it, trying to get it to develop faster. 

“That’s adorable,” he says when it finally shows up. 

“You’re right,” you reply, holding it up to get a better look at it. “Our first photo as an engaged couple.” 

“I love it.” 

“I love you,” you say without second thought. “My fiancé.” 

“It’s so weird hearing you say that.” 

“I know, right?” The two of you laugh. “Wait a minute though.” 

You get up again to grab a piece of paper from the kitchen. When you come back, you rip a thin strip and twist it to make a ring. 

“Here you go,” you hold it up. Wooseok holds out his hand, so you slide it onto his ring finger. “Now you’re mine.” 

“It’s actually quite cute.” He holds it up to the light. “I should’ve just gotten you a paper ring.” 

“I would’ve said yes.” 

“Really?” He asks. “Give that one back then, I’ll return it.” 

“No!” 

“Maybe we can use paper rings instead of wedding bands.” 

“That’s not a terrible idea.” Wooseok rolls his eyes at you, but then the two of you break out into a fit of laughter. 

You can’t wait to do this with him every day of your life. 

#I didn't proofread this I'm so sorry #pentagon #wooseok #wooseok scenario #wooseok imagine #pentagon scenario #pentagon imagine #kpop #fluff #to that person who sent me an ask in november telling me to write something about wooseok ummm here you go sorry it took so long #uninet

[mauriceclivealec]

sorry if ppl may have already asked you this but, i've watched the movie recently and felt like a lot of intimate moments between clive and maurice aren't shown onscreen to us? had they been lovers until risley was arrested, the fight and clive's travel? did clive cheat on anne? they were probably seeing each other between 1910 and 1911, right? i'm sorry for the amount of questions but i'm rly curious djdj

Clive and Maurice never have physical intimacy. That’s one of the central points of the story – in E. M Forster’s novel and in James Ivory’s film. For three years, Maurice and Clive have a ‘platonic’ – i.e. sexless, non-physical – relationship. 

This is a central reason why Clive is ultimately wrong for Maurice, and why Maurice finds happiness with Alec.

Even though Forster was writing in 1913-14, at a date when any hint of sex between men was illegal in the UK and punishable by imprisonment – and he wrote Maurice as a 35-year-old gay virgin who did not believe he would ever be able to have a physical relationship legally in his lifetime – he did a brave thing. He wrote a novel which shows that physical/sexual love between men is healthy and normal – not sick – and he gave his lovers who form a physical relationship, Maurice and Alec, a happy ending, without punishment. 

Maurice is also a novel in which two contrasting 1910s attitudes to same-sex love between men are debated (lots has been written about this), and this is where Clive fits in. 

Clive’s stated position (born out of self-repression and/or fear) is that same-sex love between men is only acceptable IF there is no sex. (Remember the film discussion on the punt in Cambridge, where Risley calls Clive ‘cold as a fish on a marble slab’?)

One key film scene where this is made really clear is when Maurice and Clive drive out into the Fens near Cambridge and lie down in the grass. It’s clear thar Maurice wants to take things further physically (check out James Wilby’s acting!) – but Clive will not even let Maurice kiss him properly on the mouth, and when Maurice tries to put a hand inside Clive’s shirt, Clive stops him. Clive says: ‘I think it would bring us down’. 

Similarly, the point of the scene in the novel (= the deleted film scene titled ‘The night before Greece’), where Clive asks Maurice if he can climb into bed with him, is that this is torment for Maurice because Clive won’t permit anything physical, although it’s a torment that (after 3 years of this) Maurice has trained himself to accept:

"I'm cold and miserable generally. I can't sleep. I don't know why."

Maurice did not misunderstand [Clive]. He knew and [had convinced himself by now that he] shared [Clive’s] opinions on this point. They lay side by side without touching. Presently Clive said, "It's no better here. I shall go." Maurice was not sorry, for he could not get to sleep either, though for a different reason, and he was afraid Clive might hear the drumming of his heart, and guess what it was. (Maurice, end of Ch 21)

Incidentally, in a letter to Forster written as early as 1915, Lytton Strachey (one of the trusted friends to whom Forster had lent an early draft of Maurice to read) questioned why Maurice puts up with this from Clive. “He [Maurice] was a strong healthy youth ... how the Dickens could Clive restrain him?”

Forster implies that Clive’s marriage to Anne, too, is more or less sexless, and certainly passionless:

So much could never be mentioned. He never saw her naked, nor she him. They ignored the reproductive and the digestive functions. (Maurice, end of Ch 33)

And, in the closing scenes, when Maurice returns to Penge/Pendersleigh by night to tell Clive his news about Alec before disappearing for ever from Clive’s life, Clive’s entire reaction is to treat physical sex between men as wrong. Clive recoils from the joy Maurice (and Forster) can’t resist sharing:

"I have shared with Alec," [Maurice] said after deep thought.

"Shared what?"

"All I have. Which includes my body."

Clive sprang up with a whimper of disgust. ... [H]is thin, sour disapproval, his dogmatism, the stupidity of his heart, revolted Maurice, who could only have respected hatred.

"I put it offensively," [Maurice] went on, "but I must make sure you understand. Alec slept with me in the Russet Room that night when you and Anne were away."

"Maurice—oh, good God!"

"Also in town. Also—" here he stopped.

Even in his nausea Clive turned to a generalization – it was part of the mental vagueness induced by his marriage. "But surely—the sole excuse for any relationship between men is that it remain purely platonic."

"I don't know. I've come to tell you what I did."

(Maurice, Ch 46)

#Asks #maurice 1987 #e. m. forster #lytton strachey #clive durham #the clive question #lgbtq+ history

[breath-of-the-twink]

41 + 80 for the writer asks!

41: what is the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

Honestly the premise for To Thrive I think is still really funny. The fact that this whole physical and emotional journey was sparked by the fact that Link sounds SO COZY at the Rito Village inn, that I decided that after the game, he decided he wanted to buy one of the feather mattresses and use that as an excuse to trek cross country with Zelda just to haul it home instead of paying someone else to do it.

Chef kiss.

Definitely one of my favorite inspirations so far.

80: do you try to put themes, motifs, messages, morals, etc in your writing? if so, how do you go about it?

If they come up, I definitely do! I spend too much time thinking about literary analysis NOT to add themes and motifs tbh

To Thrive is about Link and Zelda reconnecting and healing and becoming their own people together, the things I write with Ezlo and Vaati end up being about becoming a better person, and how even seemingly minor emotional trauma can make big waves in someone's life (especially with magical intervention but oh u kno). Crash was about Link finding community in New Hyrule when he thought there was no time to be wasted and needed nobody to support him, when in fact he had both and didn't need to work himself into the ground

I love writing fic because it comes pre-loaded with a lot of themes carried over from the source material that I get to expand upon and have fun with. I loved writing A Visit From Satori and a lot of the other upcoming relevant fairy things in To Thrive, because I get to play with the experiences of being adjacent to and identifying with the fae. I also love being able to show how the characters can try to heal and work things out with each other or within themselves when they're given the space to do so, to try and fully realize these concepts onscreen where otherwise the gaps would have had to be filled in in the abstract

If I had to admit to one, my agenda for messages/morals I guess is that people are inherently good and kind, and I love writing for Zelda and Pokemon specifically because their worlds are very cozy and conducive to that idea. And it's fun to otherwise play in their creative worlds and speculate on what they'd actually be like to live in yanno? That's a whole other ball of wax though I just really like fantasy worldbuilding on top of all of this hcjxhl

That might have gotten a little rambley (and maybe not fully answered?) but I really appreciate you asking!

#breath of the fic #ask of the twink #still don't know if that's a good ask tag lmao but that's what we're using #long post #i guess?? #ask game

[kabira]

04 | solo

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

featuring — joshua, yeji (itzy), felix (skz), yangyang (nct)

word count — 2.6k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — one instance of profanity

go to fic masterlist | main masterlist

“You’re being a bitch.”

Vernon closed his locker’s door with a click before turning around, looking at the ceiling in exasperation when he heard the accusatory voice. There was a tube light directly above him, brilliant and blinding right in his sight. He turned away as quickly as he had looked up, blinking back the dark spots in his stinging eyes.

He didn’t bother acknowledging Lucy before making his way down the hallway, bag slung over one shoulder. His muscles ached from the previous night’s encounter—he’d ended up swinging around for longer than usual, long after the three had to go back to the Helicarrier for their bedtime. Knowing May wouldn’t be waiting up for him back home had made him a little careless, and the exertion during gym hadn’t helped.

“Don’t you walk away from me, mister!” Luce called behind him. When she saw that he wasn’t stopping, she blew air out of her mouth in irritation before jogging to catch up. “Vernon! What is up with you?”

The hallway was mostly empty, which wasn’t that surprising. He’d had to stay back in the lab to clean up his new partner’s chemical spill, which had, of course, been blamed on him instead. The old Parker luck. “I need to get home, Luce.”

“Do you?” she asked, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. A muscle in her jaw was working, tensing and relaxing at periodic intervals, her eyes fixed on some point in the distance. She was usually relaxed, but her current gait was constrained, like a coiled-up spring. “I saw how you nailed that new kid in gym today. You usually opt out of dodgeball, but—”

“He had it coming,” Vernon said dismissively, but his lips thinned. The new guy she was referring to was Yangyang, who did have it coming, because of his little incident in the cafeteria the day before. Maybe it was a little uncalled for, but Vernon still honestly believed he had deserved it at least a little bit. “And you’re not supposed to chew gum in the school.”

“Neither are you supposed to be mean to people for no reason, but we’re all sinners.” Luce shrugged, and he bit back a few choice words. She pushed through the door as they reached the exit, and he shielded his eyes against the hot midday sun that’s shone directly at them. “For real, though. You got him good—I’ve never seen you so hostile towards anyone save for Flash. Did Yangyang say something to you?”

For some reason, her knowing his name annoyed Vernon even further. “Did you get the answers to those questions yesterday?” he asked, switching the subject.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Very funny.” The laces of her converse were untied, a band pin on the lapel of her jacket wobbly, a few strands loose from her dark ponytail. He blinked, tearing his mind away from the little details of her appearance and tried to focus on walking. Left, right, left. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yeah, well, I had a headache last night,” he said, grateful he didn’t have to hunt for excuses. His thoughts were already sluggish. “You can ask May.”

“I meant the one about Yangyang.” She paused, and he paused with her, taking a few steps before backtracking towards her. Her eyes were downcast, brow creased thoughtfully. Unconscious little gestures he knew like the back of his hand. Then she glanced up at him, right at him, so suddenly that when her eyes met his he swayed on his feet a little. “You don’t want to tell me, do you?”

I can’t, I’m sorry. But cryptic answers never helped. The last time he had tried withholding something from her that wasn’t his Spider-Man secret—the planned surprise party, for instance—she had persevered until he accidentally let it slip. Plus, she was sharp. A couple of new students, a few matching injuries, and she’d guess those three were superheroes right away. And where would he be then?

“It’s a guy thing,” he said instead, a little white lie he hoped would do the trick. Vernon raked a hand through his hair, pressing his lips into a smile as he squinted at her. “You’re going to embarrass me in front of all these pigeons.”

“The pigeons are half-dead because of New York’s air pollution, I’m pretty sure they have more important things to worry about than some guy’s adjustment problems,” she said, resuming her walk. He waited for her to pass him before following. “Look, I know the new kids are a sudden change after—” She bit the inside of her bottom lip. “Well. After…you know.”

All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned gloomier, as if a cloud had passed overhead. “Yeah,” Vernon said thickly, voice cracking. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know.”

Lucy glanced at him, and though he wasn’t looking directly at her, he could sense the regret in her eyes. “It must be difficult for them, too,” she said. “Joining a new school in the middle of a session, just a few weeks after…all that.” She shrugged, looking at him, and their eyes met. “There’s no harm in being decent.”

He looked away, feeling the lining of his stomach go hot-and-cold. Even a mention of the incident turned every sunny conversation into something dark and somber, even though it had been months already. The counselor/agent had tried making him open up about it as well, but he’d snapped at her, only to regret it right after. It was a difficult subject for him, especially since he felt at least partially responsible for what had happened—but he couldn’t tell Luce that without revealing more than he was supposed to.

“So you’re still trying to score an interview with Tony Stark?” he asked instead, trying to steer the conversation towards a different topic. “I still can’t believe the board’s letting you do that.”

“Honestly? I think the only reason they agreed to it is because then they won’t have to assign me to anything of real importance,” she said with a small laugh. “They think I can’t do it.”

“Can you?”

“I have my ways,” she said, a glint in her eye. “I’d tell you how, but it’s too dangerous to involve an innocent civilian in my plans.”

“Uh-huh.” He tried not to shake his head. Oh, the irony. “You don’t have to talk to Stark, you know. I’m sure there were other civilian witnesses to the Goblin incident.”

“Yeah, but their accounts have already been reported. I need a superhero for this job.” She blew a strand of her hair out of her eyes. “If not him, who else am I going to talk to? Spider-Man?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Maybe?”

“I think Stark might be easier than that.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s kind of the point of the mask.”

He looked at her in half-surprise, unsure what to feel. They had talked about Spider-Man before, of course, but only in passing. A masked vigilante wouldn’t really be central to their usual conversations. Still, he hadn’t expected her to say that. “Yeah,” he murmured, feeling oddly warm. “I guess it is.”

“Oh, look,” she said, stopping in her tracks again. Vernon raised his eyebrows, following her line of sight to a Daily Bugle billboard on the side of a tall building. “Jameson’s having a field day with those photos of the new guys.”

He took a long look at the screen, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “Why would you show me that?” he mumbled. On the top right corner of the screen was a blurry picture of him with Tiger, Nova, and Iceman, looking like a perfectly normal team of superheroes fighting crime—except for the leftover webbing clinging to Nova’s costume. Distractedly, Vernon wondered what Jameson made of that little detail.

“As a sighting in Queens last night reported, it seems that Spider-Man has now deemed it fit to invite even more of his delinquent partners into this city!” the man on the screen yelled. If Vernon tried hard enough, maybe he could even see little spit bubbles form in Jameson’s salt-and-pepper moustache during the passionate rant. “With crime rates already increasing steadily ever since the arrival of this masked menace, who knows what kind of mayhem the new additions to his team will spell for New York?”

Always the charmer.

“…anyway,” Luce muttered. She was frowning at the screen, but seemed unable to look away. “Who do you think those guys are?”

“Those guys?” Vernon echoed, awkwardly running his thumb along the strap of his bag. What could he say that would arouse the least suspicion? “They seem new.”

Nailed it.

“Right,” she mumbled, looking distracted, like her mind was far away—never a good sign with this one. “But, as I was saying, I know the past month’s been hard for you. It’s been hard for me, too, but you shouldn’t take it out on a few unsuspecting newbies when they don’t deserve it.”

Vernon kissed his teeth, choosing to stay silent. The last thing he wanted right now was more impromptu therapy, but he knew that trying to dissuade Lucy from speaking would only encourage her. The best he could do was shut up and let her have it.

“You know what’s helped me deal with it?” she asked, and he raised his eyebrows, wanting to get it over with. “Working. Ever since I joined the school newspaper, I’ve been able to keep myself busy. Distracted. I don’t want to sound like a mom, but maybe something like that could work out for you—like an after-school job or something.”

Oh, you have no idea. But he only shrugged, keeping his eyes on the billboard. He had been able to keep busy as Spider-Man, a well-needed distraction from the pain, but now with those three around, it wasn’t the good kind.

“Maybe,” he murmured, watching on as Jameson gesticulated violently onscreen. “We’ll see.”

|

Vernon swung the drone trapped at the end of his web in a full circle before letting go, letting it fly through the training room into a collapsed structure of another laser. The drone exploded, sparking as it crashed, crushing the circuit of the lasers in the structure beneath it.

Dusting off his hands, he turned, facing the rest of his ‘team’-mates, who stood to one side, having been watching him as he single-handedly took on the subjects of their training session. He had been going at it for about half an hour now, and it had been strangely satisfying to get to throw stuff around for the heck of it.

Nova stood leaning against the wall next to the control panel, his arms folded over his chest. “You done yet?” he asked in a bored voice.

The drone Vernon had just disabled sparked again, shooting an angry red beam across the room. Vernon clicked his modified web shooters into condensed impact mode and webbed the drone again without looking. The drone crackled once, then its light went dark.

“I am now,” he said, dropping his arm. Felix watched him with bleary eyes as he turned and headed towards the exit, which slid open with a pneumatic hiss. “And since I managed to complete the mission objective solo, I think I’m going to head home.”

“Except you didn’t.” White Tiger landed in his path, executing a perfect handspring that arched high over his head. Her reflexes were as good as his—maybe even better, but he would probably never tell her that.

She crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one leg. Despite the mask covering her features, he could sense how peeved she was through the sheer annoyance radiated by her posture. “The objective was to disable the bots without alerting the security system. You trashed the drones and crashed the system, and the power failure would have initiated a manual site-wide search. If this had been a real mission, we would have been discovered by now.”

“Except this isn’t a real mission,” he said, equally annoyed. “If it had been, I’m pretty sure I would have been able to do the job easily. Six armed drones against one spider? No competition.”

“And this was supposed to be a team effort,” she snapped. “If this had just been a solo training session, I would have had no problem with you doing what you just did. But in case you forgot, the whole point of this is to prepare us for team combat in real situations, to help us learn to work better, together. Your taking on everything alone wasn’t heroic, it was an obstruction of the purpose of this entire thing.”

She took a step back, suddenly, as if reeling from a blow, though he hadn’t even moved. The training room had gone silent—granted, it hadn’t been very noisy in the first, place, but her voice had been so loud and her words so rapid that Vernon had forgotten the silence. Now it pressed down on him, like another layer to his suit.

She dropped her arms to her sides, fingers curling in and out slightly, her claws retracting under the white gloves. “I know it’s difficult for you having to work with someone against your will,” she said, “and I know you don’t like us very much. But that’s not a good enough reason for you to throw away everything we’ve been training for. If you’re not going to be nice, at least try to be civil.”

She turned on his heel and stalked out the door. Vernon watched her go, right up until the doors slid back in place behind her.

He turned around, only to find the other two staring back at him. “Way to go,” Felix mumbled.

“You totally got schooled right there,” Yangyang said, though he didn’t sound very amused. “You know she takes this training stuff more seriously than any of us.” He shrugged; arms still folded. “Gotta be more sensitive than that.”

“Stop it,” Felix snapped at him, looking annoyed. “She only cares about this so much because it’s the only thing she’s got. You’ve got the Guardians, and I have—had—the X-Men, and probably a bunch of other mutant organizations, like the Frost Academy or something,” he added the last bit in an undertone, “but S.H.I.E.L.D.—after she lost her family, this is the only place she can turn to. That’s her one chance at making it, but this doofus is refusing to cooperate. If it were me, I’d be pretty pissed.”

Vernon narrowed his eyes at him, but couldn’t find the strength to argue. Too much about what Felix had said hit right where it hurt. Losing someone you cared about, suddenly having nobody to turn to…he understood how bad that was. But losing your entire family and being displaced from your home? He couldn’t even imagine it.

The earlier annoyance had drained from his body like an ebbing tide, leaving nothing but a hollowness and that damned guilt that seemed to follow him everywhere like an annoying ghost. Oh, well, my fault for having a conscience.

Suddenly tired, he sighed, tearing his eyes from the mutant’s and looking resignedly at a spot on the wall. As much as he would like to have a reason to properly hate his new team, he knew he couldn’t really blame them for any of this. “Where do you think she’ll go?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t—” Yangyang started.

“Up top,” Felix answered, cutting him off. His irises were rings of ice, but when Vernon looked at him then, they seemed almost warm. “Take the elevator to the left. Make sure you don’t fall off the side—New York’s a long way down.”

#kwritersworldnet #caratwritersclub #seventeen #svt #vernon #seventeen x reader #vernon x reader #spiderman x you #spiderman #svt x reader #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #vernon fluff #vernon angst #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fanfic #vernon fanfic #vernon imagines #vernon scenarios #seventeen x you

[ororowrites]

Scripted - Yahya x Black OC

Sweet Thang- Chapter 3

One-shot: By the Open Fire

Chapters: 1 2 

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2,003

Two months later

Candace finished her last night at Dynasty and vowed to never return. She had collected enough money to support the remaining tuition payments, graduation fees and the application fee for Yale’s School of Drama. March had snuck upon her and her application was due in a month for the 2012-2013 school term. The process was daunting because this was the only M.F.A program she planned to apply to and she prayed this wasn’t a mistake. Yale was her dream school and though she was the type to have a plan B, C and Z, she was gambling on her resume and audition tapes.

Yahya had already made one visit to Los Angeles, since he met Candace at Dynasty. He was collecting unemployment and attending acting classes to get more experience to add to his resume. They had talked about his plan moving forward and Yahya was enjoying acting so much, he planned to apply to Yale as well. Candace had convinced him to live a little and follow his heart and talent. Even if his application was denied, he would have the experience and could apply to another program. During their acting class, Candace was surprised by Yahya’s natural talent in theatre. He deeply connected with the scripts and scenarios and she was in awe of how he could change his entire persona to fit the character. Candace wouldn’t admit it, but her attraction to Yahya was growing. Not only was he physically attractive, but his sensitivity and thoughtfulness made him appealing. He was also attracted to Candace and took his time getting to know her, while also respecting her space after her breakup. 

Another acting coach was in town and Yahya made the trip to LA to attend a session with Candace. It had been two weeks since his last visit and he was eager to get into another class and spend time with his friend. They decided to meet at Candace’s apartment and ride to their class together. 

“Do you think this man will make us cry on cue or what,” Candace joked, flipping on her turn signal to take the exit off the expressway. 

“It’s called the Degree of Emotion, I’m sure we’re crying in this class,” Yahya chuckled, scrolling through his email for job postings. Right now, he was living off of unemployment and his savings, he would need a job sooner rather than later. 

“I can’t cry on cue. It takes a bit of coaching to get me there. Hopefully this class can give me some pointers,” Candace revealed. 

Dr. Ben Mayer, renowned acting coach to many in the industry and professor at Julliard, was standing in the middle of the stage when the students arrived. As they walked into the class, he recited an excerpt from the Odyssey. His heavy voice carried throughout the theatre, capturing everyone’s attention before they reached their seats. Yahya grabbed Candace’s hand, helping her down the dark theatre stairs and to the front row. 

“Welcome to the Degree of Emotion. I’m Dr. Ben Mayer, your instructor for today. Please use the first two rows. Don’t be shy, I don’t bite,” the instructor ordered, pointing to the empty seats in front of the stage. “Today, I’ll be working with you on how to convey emotion with your voice, body language and expressions. Many that come into this field think showing emotion is only about crying or showing sadness onscreen or onstage. Emotion is more than that though. Anyone can be trained to cry on cue but what about that makes you feel like the character you’re portraying. Are you stepping into your character’s shoes or simply putting on a hat? Stepping into the shoes is more powerful and more fulfilling than putting on a hat. You walk in shoes and feel them out. So, I’m going to teach you how to do that.” 

For the second half of the class, the group split up into groups of two and practiced different scripts. Dr. Mayer watched each group and offered criticism and advice. Candace was in Yahya’s group and they were supposed to be performing a piece about a couple who hit a rough patch. She felt good about this particular script because of her recent breakup but to her surprise, her performance fell flat for Dr. Mayer. He told her she was wearing a hat instead of stepping into Charlotte’s shoes and she had a lot to work on when it came to emotional acting. 

That criticism stuck with Candace and ate at her for the remainder of the class. The second half of the course was in three weeks, where they would perform their scenes in front of their peers. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Yahya proposed as they walked to a near-by coffee shop. 

“I can handle criticism. It’s being told I don’t convey emotion that bugs me. No instructor has ever said that and here I am trying to get into Yale not conveying enough fuckin’ emotion,” Candace spat between her teeth. Being a perfectionist ended up being her downfall in many things. She believed in being perfect at her crafts, which is how she ended up in extra acting classes outside of her regular theatre courses. “Are my emotions not believable, Yah?” 

“That’s coming from one instructor. We all have different ways of approaching this acting thing. But if you want to work on it, I’m here for a couple of more days. We can practice. No biggie.”

“I don’t know why I’m this bothered about this shit. But I’m going to give his ass emotion next time,” she promised, tossing her curls behind her ear. 

-------

Trinity was out studying with some friends, leaving the apartment free for acting practice and a late brunch. Yahya was on fruit duty, while Candace made waffles and turkey bacon. 

“What do you think is holding you back,” Yahya questioned, glancing over at his acting partner who was concentrating on whisking the lumps out of her pancake mix. 

“Fear of failure. I think too much when it comes to certain scenes and end up closing myself off,” she replied after a few long seconds of silence. “That’s my only explanation. After all that stuff with Maxwell, it got worse, I guess.” 

“I did this class in San Fran and the instructor had us doing meditation before we got to the acting. Maybe you can try that when you have those hard scenes. It helped me because I get too into my own head at times, too,” he offered, wiping his hands on a towel. “For now.... I need you to relax.” 

Once Candace felt Yahya’s strong hands on her shoulders, she could have melted into a puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor. He massaged the tense muscles and rested his chin on top of her head. She hummed in relief, leaning back into his big body. 

“Instead of thinking about how you can hide Dr. Mayer’s body, think about how you can prove him wrong. Put all that anger into Charlotte because she needs you in order to come alive.” 

“Okay,” Candace sighed. 

“Let’s try meditation first,” he suggested, leading Candace to the living room. “Try to get you nice and relaxed before we start.” 

They meditated for ten minutes before returning to the kitchen to clear up counter space. 

“Ready?” Yahya nodded towards his scene partner and earned a nervous nod in response. 

Charlotte and Tyreik - TAKE ONE

“You’ve changed, Ty. Changed in ways you may not realize but I see it. Hell, I feel it too. When we supposedly make love and you aren’t present...you fill me up but you feel empty,” Candace spoke, shifting her weight from hip to hip. Playing Charlotte made her nervous for some reason. Maybe it was her own fear of opening up to another man after having her heart stomped to pieces by Maxwell. Like Charlotte, she no longer wanted to be a doormat to anyone, especially the opposite sex. 

“You sure you even know how to feel anymore,” Yahya replied, pretending to cut invisible vegetables on the cutting board. 

“Excuse me?” 

“You can’t stand here and tell me you feel a thing, Char. I’ve been trying to talk to you about our relationship for months. But you’re always busy or too tired. So yeah....I’ve changed.” 

The conversation was similar to one she had with Maxwell, except the roles were reversed. Like Yahya suggested, she dug deeper to find that spark that would turn on the switch. 

“Because you talk at me. Yelling isn’t talking and it won’t get my attention,” she shot back, narrowing her eyes. “And the only reason you’re even talking is because you feel guilty.” 

Yahya slammed his hands against the the cold, marble countertop, causing Candace to flinch. “Are we still stuck on that shit? I apologized, you accepted, it’s done. Stop bringing up old shit to hide your own insecurities.” 

“We.... then why are we pretending this is what we both want? If we’re this unhappy, why are we doing this,” she mumbled, her eyes falling down to her feet. 

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re both afraid to let go of what’s familiar to us. I’m your first love and you’re my first long time relationship. Hard to let go of something you worked hard to keep going all these years.”

Dig deep, Candace. Thinking back to how she felt about Maxwell and his unborn child, Candace’s eyes began to water. “I want this to work, Ty. I really do,” she sniffed. Yahya’s eyes met hers and he tried to stay in character but he couldn’t hide how proud he was the moment he saw his advice working for Candace.  

“I do too. But you have to let go of shit if you claim you forgive me,” Yahya moved in closer, letting Candace know they were close to the kissing scene. 

“I’ll try,” she offered, her big, brown orbs searching his looking for a hint of Yahya. He rarely broke character, but there was an extra gleam in his eyes. This was the first time they had done anything outside of hugging. Yahya was respecting Candace’s space and allowing her to heal after her recent breakup.

 Her heart beat violently against her chest when Yahya’s cologne flooded her senses. His lips became Candace’s main focus as he closed the space between them and placed his mouth on hers. The kiss was brazen, making Candace’s knees weak. Yahya placed his hands on the counter, caging in Candace’s small frame. His 6′3 frame towered over her, forcing him to duck his head down to deepen the kiss when her tongue slid past his. Since that night at the club, he had been waiting to kiss Candace’s lips. Just as he thought, they were as soft as pillows and the urge to take things to the next level invaded his thoughts.

Heat rose to Candace’s cheeks before spreading down to her belly, meeting the butterflies that were already dancing. Their scripts were long forgotten and they were well past the point of blaming their actions on their characters. Candace’s fingers toyed with the hem of Yahya’s shirt. They were both breathless when they pulled a part and Candace didn’t give Yahya time to catch his thoughts before her lips were back on his, fighting for dominance. Yahya’s shirt ended up on the kitchen floor, exposing his sculpted but slender mid-section. It was dangerous, yet neither one of them stopped it. The sexual tension had been strong from the moment they met and given the current circumstances, it was boiling over. From the slight touches and long gazes, hormones were bound to get them in this predicament. Yahya’s lips left hers and traveled to her neck, where they stayed, creating love bites.

“Do you want me to stop,” he questioned, his baritone causing a vibration between their bodies. The thumping between her ears and thumping between her legs had Candace’s mind swimming in circles. 

Sorry for the wait and short chapter. We will get A LOT more Yahya and Candace in the next one though!

taglist: @blackburnbook @emjayewrites @just-peachee @chaneajoyyy​

#yahya abdul mateen ii #yahya abdul mateen ii fanfics #yahya abdul mateen x black oc #black oc #black writers #ororo writes

[jlalafics]

“Lesson Learned” Part 4 of 4

I know this is so late, but I have a long day tomorrow and wouldn’t have time to post this.

So please ignore any possible mistakes as I’ve been editing in-between Toddler J’s vomiting episode and a major headache pounding at my brain.

If you’re needing to catch up, see the previous parts below:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Thank you if you’ve been following this little story and enjoy this conclusion with our little sex monkeys!

Summary: Sometimes Katniss asks too much of Peeta. This time she’s gone too far. College Everlark. Katniss and Peeta POV’s. Rated M.

______

We take a break for dinner.

I slip into a pair of sweats and Katniss steals my t-shirt before grabbing her phone to order Chinese food. Heading into the living room, we plopped down on the couch and she reaches to the coffee table where a scrunchie sits, taking it to tie up her waves into a high ponytail.

I’m momentarily frozen by the graceful curve of her neck and how perfect she looks in my t-shirt. It seems right to be sitting here as she reaches for the remote to look through the channels, like we’re a couple settling in for the night.

‘You’re nothing but a friend to her’, that voice in my head taunts.

“Shut up,” I mutter in response.

Katniss looks to me, a furrow in her brow. “What?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

She chuckles. “Tired of me already?”

“Never.” Katniss looks to me for a moment, her eyes trying to discern something. “What’s going in that beautiful mind?”

“Quoting John Legend are we?” she retorts. “I am wondering something…” Katniss edges closer to me on her knees before sitting back. “Why did none of the other girls pan out?”

“Who knows? Maybe I was too overly critical or something,” I tell her. “One of them wanted commitment. Another time, the girl had too much to drink and I didn’t want to take advantage…I don’t know. Sometimes things aren’t meant to be.”

“Hmm…” Katniss rests against me and I put an arm around her, drawing her close. “…it seems right that it’s me and you, right?” From where she’s perched herself, she meets my eyes. “I’m not forcing you, am I?”

“I’m here because I want to be,” I tell her squarely.

My lips graze hers and she moans, the sound causing my whole body to quake in longing. Pulling away, I press my forehead to hers, gazing at the face that has always haunted my dreams and memorizing every mole, every scar, and every freckle.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks in a hushed voice.

“Because I don’t want to forget.”

She doesn’t respond, only bowing her head to hide the telltale blush hitting the apples of her cheeks.

And for a moment, I feel that spark of hope that, maybe…she might love me, too.

++++++

“Because I don’t want to forget.”

The words echo in my head as I wash our plates.

Before I could even get a semblance of a response together, the doorbell rang—effectively ruining the moment that I might’ve probably declared my undying love for my childhood friend.

Would I have told him?

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter as I turn off the faucet. Gathering my courage, I head over to the living room. We had promised honestly, and it is only right that I be honest with my feelings. “Peeta—”

He’s asleep, half off the couch, as the sounds of Harry Potter trying to summon his Patronus plays onscreen. I walk over slowly, sitting next to him before reaching for the remote and turning off the television.

Peeta is beautiful. He’s bare-chested; skin glowing even in the dim living room. And, he looks so peaceful; I don’t want to bother him. However, he’s a breath away from taking a tumble, so carefully I reach out to touch his shoulder.

“Peeta.” No response, just a soft sigh. I lean down towards his face. “Peeta?”

My hand finds a place against his cheek as my thumb moves over his lips, a little dry but smooth.

Slowly, his eyes open and his hand reaches to my wrist where Peeta places a gentle kiss to my pulse.

“You fell asleep,” I tell him. “Prisoner of Azkaban wasn’t doing it for you?”

Peeta shakes his head. “I’m more of a Goblet of Fire kind of guy.”

“Of course. Dancing French girls and all…”

A giggle escapes my lips and Peeta follows, his laugh rough from his snooze.

Our eyes meet and I gulp down my sudden anxiousness. “Should we go…to bed?”

“Yes.” Peeta sits up, my hand still in his as he stands up. “Let’s go. ”He leads me into my room and I can’t help but tremble in nervousness as we walk in.

My bed looks so…foreboding, as if it knows that I’m about to do this life changing thing on top of it.

“Katniss,” Peeta calls to me softly and I turn to him. “We don’t have to do it. We can just sleep.”

My resolve steels and I shake my head. We’ve already come too far.

“No—” I step towards my bed first, reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling it completely off me. “—I’m fine.”

Peeta chuckles, his gaze warm. “My brave Katniss.”

My eyes go to the pair of sweats he wears, the outline of his erection clear.

Looking to him, I smirk.

“Well, it’s just a penis. I’ve seen it before; several times earlier this evening if we’re being specific.”

“Have you ever put a condom on one?” Peeta counters.

Shit.

I falter immediately. “…No.”

Peeta goes to his overnight bag and takes out a small box before standing before me. I look down at the box, realizing that it’s a three-pack of condoms.

“A present for you,” he tells me. “I’m going to show you how to put one on. The other two—” Peeta frowns. “—are for the next time you might be in this situation. Don’t depend on Cato or any other guy to have protection and don’t fall for the excuse about it not feeling good with one on. If you pick the right type of condom, you won’t even notice it’s there.”

I read over the box quickly. “Ultra-thin.” Seems straightforward enough.

We move towards the bed and Peeta gets in first, moving to the far side so I can sit next to him. He pulls off his sweats, revealing his erection to my eager eyes. Now that I’ve seen him in all his glory, it seems natural. Now, I anticipate having him in my grasp, in my control.

“Open the box,” he tells me, and I follow, quickly opening it to pull one of the foil packets. I tear it open and hand it to him. “You’re going to take it out. Hold the tip of it and then roll it down the shaft until I’m completely covered.”

“And, why do I hold the tip?” I ask as I pull out the condom. “And, why is it so damn slippery?”

“Because when I ejaculate that’s where everything will end up,” Peeta replies. “That’s lube; you’ll want that.”

My eyes move down, and I see that he’s lost his erection. He follows my gaze and looks to me wryly.

“This talk isn’t exactly arousing as it is instructive,” he says.

I slip the condom back into its packet and then place it on my side table. “Lay back.”

Leaning down, I press a kiss to his mouth, my tongue gently slipping inside to caress his own. Peeta responds, wrapping an arm around me and pressing me to his chest. My nipples immediately pucker as I meet his heated skin.

Slowly, I reach down and take hold of him in my hand. He pulls away from our kiss, gasping as he lays back onto my pillow. I feel emboldened in his reaction, enjoying the chance to give him the pleasure that he’s given me.

“Because I don’t want to forget.”

Seeing him—eyes closed and whispering out my name—I understand what he means.

I don’t want to forget, either.

“Katniss, you can put it on now,” he tells me. Quickly, I reach over to condom and take it out of the foil pack. Finding the tip, I pinch it as I place the condom over his head; he nods and I roll it down. “Good job.”

“I’m on birth control,” I informed him. “We don’t necessarily have to wear this.”

“I just wanted you to know how to do this.” Peeta reaches to cup my face. “Maybe if we decide to do it again, we can try it without one.”

Suddenly nervous, I quickly lay down. “Can you be on top?”

Peeta nods, shifting until he’s fully on top of me. He holds himself up on his forearms, gazing down at me.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Mmm-hmm…maybe we just get through it quick?” I close my eyes. “I’m really not good with pain.”

I feel his lips moving against mine, pressing delicate kisses as he peppers my jawline.

His mouth moves behind my ear. “You’re delicious. You know that, right?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s the sweet and sour chicken you’re tasting.” I breathe out as he sucks on my earlobe. “Oh fuck, that’s good…touch me, Peeta.”

“Where? Here?” A hand goes to my nipple, pinching it lightly and causing spikes of hunger along my body. I can feel wetness gathering between my thighs; he’s not going to have any problem slipping in there. Then he is reaching to my center, gathering my arousal on his fingers. “Or here?”

I open my eyes, meeting his own. Peeta gazes down at me desperately.

I imagine I look just as wanting.

“There,” I tell him.

Peeta nods, slowly pressing a finger inside me. Instinctively, I tense up and he retreats as I let out a shaky breath.

“Why don’t we try something else?” he suggests, and I nod.

Giving me a gentle kiss, his mouth travels down to my breasts and he takes a nipple in his mouth, swirling and then sucking.

“Fuck…” The feeling causes my stomach to flip and I arch against him. “You’ve learned quickly.”

“I have a good teacher,” he replies against my skin. He is hard against my thigh and adjust my hips to line us up. Peeta shivers at the move, his eyes searching mine. “Did you want to try?”

The feel of his cock nestled between my thighs is a little daunting, but my body calls to him.

I nod shakily. “Okay.”

Peeta moves, reaching between us and running the tip of his cock along my slit.

Instinctively, I respond, hips arching, and our eyes meet as he begins to press forward.

“Katniss.” He stares down at me, eyes soft. “Thank you for choosing me.”

Tears fill my eyes. “I’m always going to choose you.”

I swear I see his eyes go glassy.

Resting his forehead against mine, our eyes remain on each other as he slowly pushes inside me.

I can’t even begin to describe the feeling.

Yes, there is pain, but it happens in a flash. My core instinctively goes rigid and I take a deep breath, willing myself to relax.

Time passes…minutes…seconds…with only the sounds of heavy breathing. Then, everything shifts and I just feel full, a small lull of pain barely accompanying the sensations coursing through me.

I look up and Peeta’s eyes are squeeze shut, his mouth in a tight line.

“Breathe,” I whisper.

His eyes open and he gives me a tense smile. “I’m afraid I’ll be finish before you’ve gotten comfortable.”

Reaching, I brush his hair from his eyes. “You’re not a virgin anymore.”

He laughs. “Do I get some sort of badge?”

“Not sure,” I say, my hand going to the nape of his neck. “I think I’m ready for you to move.”

I guide him down, bringing our lips together just as he pulls out and thrusts into me once more.

I squeal in surprise, the sound muffled as we kiss.

Because this time, it feels… good.

We move slowly at first, letting ourselves enjoy the sensation and as we begin to find our pace, I push my pelvis up to meet his. My legs wrap around his waist, digging my heels into his lower back.

“I don’t think I can hold back any longer…” Peeta tells me.

“It’s okay,” I assure him. “Come here.”

Pulling his head down to mine, I press tender kisses along his jawline. He moves inside me, his face falling against my shoulder as his movements become frantic.

Then, I feel the stutter of his hips as he falls apart in my arms. “Katniss…”

My name has never sounded so honeyed.

He lifts his head to look at me. “Was it horrible?”

I shake my head and give him a smile. “It felt right.”

Slowly, Peeta pulls away, sliding out of me at the same time. I look down and see the smear of blood between my thighs and on the sheet under me.

“Are you in pain?” he asks.

I shift and feel some tenderness. “Not so much. Just an ache, really.”

“Let me get rid of this and I’ll grab a washcloth,” he tells me, his face suddenly red, as he stands and leaves the room.

I don’t feel any different now that I’m longer a virgin. I had no expectations of gaining any new insight on life or on myself.

What I am surprised about is this feeling of connection that I have with Peeta—but is it because I’ve realized that I’m in love with him or because I’ve just lost my virginity to him?

I don’t have time to ruminate over this because Peeta returns without the condom on and with a washcloth in his hand.

“Thanks.” I take the washcloth from him and quickly clean myself as best I can. “I can’t imagine the mess this would make if we weren’t wearing the condom.”

“You definitely need to change sheets now,” he says as he sits at the foot of the bed. “I checked the condom. We’re good.”

“How do you check?” I ask curiously.

“Filled it with water to make sure there were no holes,” he explains. “Don’t worry, I cleaned the sink.”

“I did let you inside me. It’s the least you could do.”

We both chuckle, falling back into the familiar terrain of friendship.

Peeta joins me back on the bed, looking me over. “You didn’t come.”

“Did you expect me to?” I say and he shrugs. “I mean, I didn’t. I only really come if I’m stimulating myself.”

“Well, can I help you?” Nodding in agreement, I let my head fall back onto my pillow and Peeta follows, going on his side. “Touch yourself.”

I’ve never really done this in front of anyone. However, tonight I’ve done a lot of things that I don’t usually do.

My hand travels done between my legs and I dip my fingers into my center before bringing them to my clit, just brushing along it but not directly.

Peeta watches before his hand reaches down to my breasts cupping and caress, teasing my nipples back to hard peaks. The added stimulation spurs me on, and a breathy moan escapes my mouth.

“Do you know how fucking sexy you sound?” he says, his mouth hovering over a nipple. His lips brush over the bud, teasing it between his teeth. “I’ll be hard again in no time.”

“Peeta…” My fingers move over my clit and my hip juts up at the sensation. I can feel the beginning of my orgasm. “…more…”

“More of this?” Peeta swirls his tongue around my nipple as his hand cups my other breast. “Or did you want me to talk to you? Tell you how gorgeous you look…how your body is such a pretty pink right now…you’re going to come, aren’t you?”

I can feel the cusp of my climax and I climb towards it as my fingers continue to press against my clit.

“Yes…”

Peeta chuckles roughly against my ear. “Be a good girl and come for me, Katniss—”

“Fuck—” I feel the white-hot goodness of my orgasm spread through my core and through the rest of my body. I practically feel it running through my veins as I fall apart. “—Peeta!”

Breathless, I turn to find Peeta looking at me, a pleased smile on his lips. “Hi.”

“Hello,” I reply, my eyelids drooping. “I’m exhausted.”

“Then sleep,” he tells me, and I can feel him kiss my hair. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You’re amazing.” I’m already halfway gone. “I lov—SHIT!”

Peeta sits up just as I rush out the door. “What?”

“Johanna told me to pee after!”

+++++++

Saturday Morning

When I wake up, I can already tell that it’s different.

For one thing, Katniss is not in bed with me.

After she returned from the bathroom to pee and clean up, we changed her sheets (hopefully no one notices her Christmas-theme comforter and sheet set) and promptly hopped back into bed together.

With Katniss’ head on my shoulder, we talked about how everything went—good overall with room for improvement. For me, I need to work on lasting longer and breast play. For her, it’s her gag reflex and being more communicative about her needs.

I fall asleep with her head on my shoulder and the thought that I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life just like this.

However, cold hard reality seeps in and I know that her neatly made side of the bed is her way of telling me to leave.

Quickly, I get dressed and gather my things.

I find her sitting in the living room with a mug in her hands. She sits up as I appear, looking up at me then the duffle bag on my shoulder.

“You’re leaving,” Katniss says simply.

I nod. “I mean…we did what we had to do.” I’m trying not to fall apart at my words, hoping she’ll ask me to stay. “Unless there was anything else you wanted to talk about...”

Katniss remains in her seat, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “Of course. I’ll call you on Monday.”

Quickly, I nod and then walk over to kiss her cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

Before she can respond, I step out the door and head out of her building.

The few blocks back are spent contemplating her silence. Is this the end of our friendship? I wanted her to ask me to stay so we could make pancakes like we usually did if one of us bunked with the other.

I know that sex changes things, but I didn’t realize how quickly.

When I get to the apartment, I find Finnick sitting at the kitchen counter, looking over a magazine and drinking from his own mug.

“I thought you went home,” he says.

“I changed my mind about staying,” I reply simply.

Finnick’s handsome face furrows in concern. “You good, bro?”

“Nothing a little sleep can’t fix.” I head towards my room. “I’m going to bed.”

As soon as I close the door, I slide down against it and close my eyes.

It was an amazing night, but it’s over now.

I guess we’re over now.

++++++

Why did I let him walk out?

When I woke this morning, I found myself watching him sleep and thought that it would be nice to wake up to his face every morning.

Maybe it was time to admit that our relationship had turned into something more.

I decided to make myself a cup of tea and try to come up with the right way to bring this all up.

Peeta had other plans as he walked out as quickly as he could.

I was so flabbergasted by it all that I could hardly respond.

Now, here I am—crying into my tea.

The front door opens and, for a moment, I think that it’s Peeta coming back to talk.

Instead, Johanna steps into the living room. She spots my wet face immediately.

“I was going to come in quietly because I forgot some of my study material…but it looks like you’re alone.” My roommate sits next to me. “What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, I launch into a timeline of the night before, starting with the first kiss (“I swear my whole world tilted”) and ending with Peeta and I falling asleep together (“Nothing has ever felt so safe”). I am crying and laughing in-between bursts of anger.

I tell her about him leaving, quoting the conversation word for word.

By the end, I’m ready for something stronger than tea—but we’ve run out of vodka.

“Uh Katniss?” Johanna begins, putting a hand on my shoulder. “It sounds like he wanted you to tell him to stay.”

“What?”

“He threw the ball in your court and asked if you wanted to talk about anything! What guy does that?” Johanna looks to me in annoyance. “No guy! They usually want to be out ASAP, but he offered you a chance to talk and even told you to call him if you needed anything!”

“So, I’m supposed to just ask him to stay?”

“Wasn’t this whole weekend about empowering you? Peeta basically showed you how to put your foot down when needed, and how to ask for what you want. Sweetie, it’s so fucking obvious that you want him.”

I flinch at her words. “Maybe you’re right.” Sighing, I sit back. “There’s no way he’s going to want to talk me after this.”

“Give him till Monday,” Johanna offers. “You both have gone through some hard truths.” Consolingly, she puts an arm around me, rocking me slowly. “So Peeta made you come, huh?”

“Yeah—not during though, but he made up for it,” I reply softly. “I expected the sex wasn’t going to be perfect like in the movies. But I was surprised by the connection. For a moment, everything else just seemed to fall away and it was just us.”

“Sap,” my roommate retorts. “But I think you probably got the best-case scenario.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do you want to grab breakfast?” she asks after a moment.

“We have leftover Chinese,” I inform her.

“Well, fuck! Let’s just have that and you can continue to tell me about the amazing beauty of Peeta Mellark’s cock,” Johanna replies with a smile. “By the way—pineapple juice doesn’t work, and the taste changes each time, anyway.”

“Good to know,” I reply. “I’ll go heat up the food.”

+++++++

Sunday

‘Can we talk after my first class?’-K

I stare at my screen before responding, ‘Sure. I’ll meet you in the courtyard.’

Putting my phone aside, I decide to emerge from my room after my self-imposed isolation. When I enter the living room, I find Gale sitting on the couch with a textbook in his lap.

He looks up and gives me an easy smile. “Decided to come out of your cave?”

I nod, heading towards the kitchen. “I have to eat, you know.”

“So, you and Katniss had it out then?”

His words cause me to stop and I look to him. “What do you mean?”

“That look on your face; kind of dopey and shit. That’s your Katniss face,” Gale replied. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” I step out of the kitchen and join him on the couch. “I thought that we connected, and I guess it was one-sided. She likes this other guy, too.”

“Ever think about fighting for her?” Gale asks. He closes his book and tosses it on the coffee table. “Since I’ve known you, I’ve known how much you like her. It’s all over that stupid face that you make whenever she’s around.”

“What if she doesn’t want me?” I find myself asking. “What if we ruin everything?”

“So, you’re just going to sit here and wallow?” he replies, rolling his eyes. “If you never tell her, you’ll be thinking about for the rest of your life. Sure, there’s a chance that maybe you’ll change everything, but it’s better than being in limbo, right?”

I turn to Gale. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

“There was this girl that I was really good friends with back home,” he explains. “I had a huge crush on her, but she’s the mayor’s daughter and I’m just some kid from a low-income household.”

“What happened to her?”

Gale is never one to share. Most of the time, we just talk about school or his job at the nearby grocery store. I’m more than a little surprised that he’s actually sharing this story with me.

“She’s still in town. Last I heard, Madge is seeing some guy that she met at her university,” he tells me. “There was a moment, though. Right before I left, she asked if she could come see me…and I didn’t say anything.”

“That was definitely an in,” I tell him. “Maybe you should try messaging her.”

“Maybe you should try telling Katniss that you’re batshit crazy in love with her,” Gale counters.

“Touché.”

+++++++

Monday Morning

I’m going to tell her.

It’s freezing out here and I’m anxiously waiting outside the auditorium where Katniss’ class is taking place. My breath is coming out in puffs of white and I rub my hands together to quell my nervousness.

The door opens and I watch as the class filters out. My eyes look for the familiar head of raven hair that is Katniss.

My breath catches when she suddenly steps out of the door—with Cato following.

He throws an arm around her shoulders.

I’m too late.

+++++++

The class can’t go any slower.

I spent my whole Sunday coming up with what I wanted to tell Peeta. That I had been a complete idiot who didn’t know how to speak up and tell him to stay. How I think I’ve always cared him as more than just a friend.

How I want to be with him.

“For the next lecture, please read the next two chapters,” Professor Latier calls out. “I’ll see you next Wednesday!”

Everyone begins to clear out and I start throwing my stuff into my own bag.

“Hey, Katniss!”

I turn to find Cato approaching me, a cocky grin on his face.

Oh God—I can’t believe I was even into him.

Yes, there’s no doubt that Cato is handsome, but he lacks humbleness about it. I can see it all over his swagger as he walks towards me.

All through this weekend, Peeta had been trying to teach me how to know the difference between the right guy and the wrong guy.

Cato is so the wrong guy.

“Hi, Cato.” I walk around him as I make my way down the steps of the auditorium. Were there always these many stairs? “What’s up?”

“Uh…I just noticed how great you looked today,” he replies as I get onto the main floor. “And, I noticed you looking at me last week.”

“You did?” Why did I even think of giving this man my virginity? I can already tell he’s the kind of guy who would never go down on me. “Are you sure?”

Finally, I’m out the door and my eyes search for Peeta, just as Cato throws an arm around my shoulders.

“Do you want to go out sometime?” he asks.

“What?” I look around for my golden-haired boy before turning to Cato. “No.”

Cato is surprised. Obviously, he’s never heard someone turn him down. “What?”

“Maybe last week,” I reply. “But now—” My eyes catch Peeta’s navy bomber jacket as he walks away. “—I have to go. PEETA!”

I run towards him and he turns to me, his eyes downcast.

“Why did you leave?”

“You were busy,” he replies simply.

“You saw me with Cato,” I deduce, and his silence is an affirmative. “If you had stuck around, you would have seen me turn the asshole down.”

Peeta steps towards me, a smile growing on his lips. “What?”

“I don’t know when it happened,” I start as I approach him. “Maybe Friday night…or as we stepped on the train to leave home for the first time…or even when we were in Kindergarten and you were the only one who clapped when I sang—but I fell in love with you.” I moved in a little closer till our chests are practically pressed. “And, I hope that you feel the same.”

His hands reach to my face, covering my cheeks from the biting cold.

“I love you, Katniss.” He presses a kiss to my mouth before resting his forehead to mine. “I’ve always loved you.”

“Good.” I grin, feeling warm tears hit my cheeks. His or mine—I have no idea. “Do you have class this afternoon?”

“Not until tomorrow morning,” he informs me. “Why?”

“Johanna told me that pineapple juice doesn’t work,” I say as we head out of campus. Peeta takes my hand in his and despite the cold, I feel the warmth of his touch rush through my veins. “She also says that it tastes different each time.”

“Interesting factoid,” Peeta replies amusedly.

“I’d like to test this theory.” I can’t quite meet his eyes. “Maybe go over everything else you taught me last weekend—if you’re not busy.”

I look over and Peeta is grinning at me, his eyes full of light…and hope…and love.

“I’d like that,” he replies. “If you’ll allow me to reciprocate—until you’re satisfied.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kiss him, sweeping my tongue gently into his mouth.

“I’ll allow it,” I tell him as we draw apart.

“Also…honesty, right?” I raise a brow at him and Peeta smirks. “I’d like a little more enthusiasm…maybe bathe my chin with your tongue—"

I sock him and Peeta laughs before pulling me into his arms, silencing me with a kiss.

I spend rest of the day showing my enthusiasm.

+++++++

The Following Weekend

I bang on the bedroom door, praying that if someone answers that they’ll be wearing clothes.

“Guys! It’s eight in the morning! Come on!”

The door opens and my favorite couple of the hour greets me clothed—Thank God. However, Katniss is wearing a blue button-down and I’m pretty sure that she’s not wearing anything underneath. Peeta is wearing the matching bottoms and showing off a very nice six-pack.

“I know that you’re in love and sex is all new and fun, but you’ve been fucking since Monday and I’ve probably gotten eight hours of sleep between then and now—”

“I’m sorry, Johanna,” Katniss says apologetically. “I’m not being a very good roommate—”

“No, I understand,” I reply. “Love is great and shit, but I have this huge exam coming up—”

“I have an idea,” Peeta suddenly says and rushes back into the room. He is clearly not wearing underwear either, showing off a nicely toned derriere, and I look to Katniss. “Great ass.”

She snorts. “Tell me about it.”

Peeta returns, holding out a pair of keys. “An offering of peace. My apartment is only a few blocks away and you’re welcome to stay there to sleep and study. My roommates are not jerks—though Finnick has a penchant for walking around naked—”

“And why would I take this obvious bribe?” I ask him.

“Because you like Katniss…and if you look underneath one of the lamps, there’s a credit card. Buy yourself lunch…dinner…a massage…on me.”

“Katniss, you must have some sort of magical vagina,” I say to my roommate after Peeta tells me his address. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks Johanna,” Katniss says gratefully.

Peeta is already carrying her to their bed as I close her door behind me.

Grabbing my bag, I throw in my books and some extra clothes.

I mean, who knows when those two idiots will be finished. Hopefully, they’re hydrating.

The walk over to Peeta’s place is quiet and when I get there, I’m surprised at how much nicer his apartment complex is in comparison to mine and Katniss’. She must be doing something right if he’s willing to stay in our shithole.

Taking the elevator up, I pull out the keys and make my way to the last door on the end of the carpeted hall. Unlocking it, I step inside and gasp at the modern decor of Peeta’s apartment. Someone’s father obviously has money.

Stepping into the living room, I find a dark-haired man sitting on the couch, a bowl of brightly colored cereal in his hand.

“Who the fuck are you?” he suddenly bursts out.

“Johanna Mason. Your roommate is fucking my roommate,” I inform him and present my bag. “Peeta says I can stay in his room so he can tear apart Katniss’ vag.”

“That’s nice and graphic. I’m Gale Hawthorne,” he tells me.

There’s a slam of a door and handsome bronze-haired man saunters in—without a stitch on.

“You must be Finnick,” I say. “I’m Johanna.”

Finnick looks to Gale. “Is she with you?”

“She’s Peeta’s girlfriend’s roommate,” Gale tells him. “And put on some boxers for fuck sakes!”

“It’s nothing that I haven’t seen before,” I assure them. “I’m pre-med.”

Gale meets my eyes in interest. “So am I.”

Ignoring him, Finnick joins Gale on the couch and gives me a pearly-white smile.

“Have you ever played Super Smash Brothers?”

“Nope—and I don’t plan to.”

Finnick pats the seat next to him. “Come on. You’re our honorary roommate! You have to!”

Gale smiles warmly at me. “I’ll show you.”

I find myself grinning back at the dark-eyed boy. “Alright.”

I think I might enjoy this new living arrangement.

I join them on the couch.

FIN.

#Lesson Learned #Everlark #Everlark Fanfiction #college!Everlark #Rated M #Complete

[prettywordsyouleft]

Bonding Session

Summary: The kiss scenes in the dramas you watched never left you truly satisfied. Sharing that knowledge with your new housemate ended with taking a turn that definitely changed your view on how someone should kiss.

Pairing: Do Kyungsoo x reader

Genre: roommate au / flirty fluff

Warnings: none

Word count: 1547

“Kiss him! Kiss!” you chanted, hands clutching at your thighs as you leaned forward towards the screen. “Oh, ohhh!”

The couple who you were berating for taking so long to inch their lips together stepped close enough to do so, your heart now fluttering with anticipation. The feelings had been built within them – and within you – and finally, finally you would get your long overdue kiss scene in episode 10.

Their lips met and instantly you deflated, throwing yourself back into the couch, slapping your leg with your hand in annoyance. “That’s not a god damn kiss, that’s a lip press!”

You didn’t know how many Korean dramas you had watched now. Hundreds no doubt. You knew all the formulas and you were certain of what to expect in most storylines. Still, even though most kiss scenes were a letdown in your books, you loved the cliché romance and the build up of it all. You enjoyed the surprising times where actors like Ji Chang Wook gave it his all and you wished nothing more than to be kissed like that. Heck, with some actors, you’d even be inclined to lip press with them. And yet, it annoyed you that they threw away a good opportunity to kiss properly.

Each and every time.

“I swear someone needs to go there and teach them how to kiss!”

“I suppose you assume that should be you?” your roommate Kyungsoo calmly stated, and for a moment, you tore your eyes away from the screen, blinking slowly in recognising he was still there. Of course, he was. You had begged Kyungsoo to watch this drama with you, calling it a bonding session since you had been living together now for two months. You were still learning all about him and this was a great way for him to get insight into who you were as well. However, in reality, it was mostly just you screeching about the happenings on the screen and him quietly observing both you and the drama. You weren’t even sure he was enjoying himself.

You let out a small laugh. “Well, at least I’d kiss them properly. That scene was so steamy and then they dropped it with simply pressing their lips into each other. What a shame!”

“Do you even know what a steamy scene is? You’re watching a show that is entirely unrealistic. How does any of this happen in real life?” Kyungsoo mused, shooting you a side glance. He then shook his head. “I’m concerned you don’t know what real romance is if you sit here and swoon over things like this.”

Gaping incredulously, you shifted along the couch on your knees to poke Kyungsoo in the chest. “Excuse me?!”

He smirked. “I’m only stating the truth, Y/N. What boss is going to fall in love with someone that ridiculous?”

“I’m… I’m like her!”

Kyungsoo shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. “Don’t go fantasising about your boss anytime soon.”

“Oh my God,” you breathed, pushing him again with annoyance. “You know nothing about romance!”

“And why do you say that?”

“Because they clearly have a bond and it’s obvious they like each other!”

“Despite how he treats her? Come on, even I had hoped you’d have higher standards than letting a man that infuriating into your heart.”

“He has some redeeming qualities,” you bartered and Kyungsoo scoffed.

“His abs, right?”

“Hey, I like arms!” you blurted out and pouted when you were done. You decided you would stop watching the show with Kyungsoo after this episode. You didn’t need him bashing your cliché romances. Nor did you need to defend your love for them. You already knew they weren’t realistic.

That was the point. If all that was shown on TV was like real life, you wouldn’t need to watch it. Being able to escape into another world was worth it to you. It meant you could enjoy the emotional rollercoaster ride that came with someone else’s love life.

Since yours was nonexistent.

Moving back to your side of the couch, you reached for the remote to stop Netflix from rolling onto the next episode. Kyungsoo flicked his attention to your face and you could see the ghost of his smile still tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Why did you stop it?”

“It’s clear we like different shows,” you announced glumly and sighed. “You don’t have to watch it with me anymore.”

“I don’t?”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to bore you any further.”

“Who said I was bored? If I didn’t want to watch it, would I have sit through the last ten episodes?”

He had you there. Still, you shot him a look. “You made fun of the story.”

“You did too. You were annoyed that they didn’t kiss properly,” he pointed out and you nodded whilst throwing your hands up exasperatedly.

“Well, they didn’t! That isn’t a real kiss.”

“So what is then?”

“What do you mean?” you questioned warily, watching as he moistened his plump heart-shaped lips. You blinked again, wondering if that was a forewarning to another speech about your lack of realistic romantic notions or if he was thinking along other lines.

Coughing awkwardly, you reached forward to gulp down some of your drink from the coffee table, washing away the brief image you had. Kyungsoo cocked his head to the side, resting back into the couch and watched you intensely. “You seem so full of opinions about kissing yet where is the proof?”

“How can I give you proof?” you chuckled weakly, shaking your head. “I’m just generalising. You could go there yourself and kiss her better than he did too!”

Kyungsoo smiled with immense satisfaction. “So you did just think about me kissing, huh?”

“What?! No!”

“Then why did you grow embarrassed and reach out for your drink hastily?”

You cursed him inwardly for being so observant. “I was thirsty.”

“I bet you were.”

“Okay, I’m going to start the next episode now!” you announced, thumbing the remote control buttons quickly and turned your attention back to the television screen. You cringed; the other thing that annoyed you about Korean dramas sometimes was the replay from the last scene at the start of a new episode. You were acutely aware of your heart thumping away in your chest and this time, it wasn’t because you anticipated their lacklustre kiss.

Kyungsoo moved swiftly, shifting across the couch so fast that you didn’t even have a chance to react until you felt his lips upon yours. He didn’t move them immediately and you almost laughed against his mouth at the fact that he was mimicking the couple onscreen. When he was certain you weren’t about to baulk on him, he started kissing you properly.

Your eyes fluttered shut, responding to his earnest approach with equal measures. You reached out to wrap your arms around his neck, a hand threading through the strands of his hair as you breathed him in.

Now this, this was a kiss. It took your breath away and had you begging for more. The temperature between you rose and you were soon flush against him, his chest heaving along with yours. You vaguely heard the characters behind you talking to one another yet it didn’t trigger you to stop.

You were too wrapped up in your own kiss scene.

When you finally separated from the kiss that truly trumped all kisses you had ever witnessed, you watched Kyungsoo closely. His eyes were blown with lust, though you could see that some of his boldness had overwhelmed him. He retreated a little, still touching you, just not fully pressing you into the couch anymore.

He cleared his throat noisily. “So uh, how was that?”

“Hm?”

“You know, for a kiss. Does it match up to your scale?” You shook your head, smiling softly. “No.”

“Oh.”

Leaning into his space, Kyungsoo caught you easily, his hand encircling your wrist as your palm pressed into his chest. “It exceeded it.”

“Really? I thought you lived for these dramas?”

“Oh I do, but I never said they could kiss well. That moment we just had though, I’m sure would rival even the best actors in the industry.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. “As long as it gave you all the feelings you were hoping for then it was good enough.”

“Should we turn off the drama or?” Glancing at the screen and feeling disconnected from the characters now that you had your own potential love interest sitting next to you, Kyungsoo shook his head. You frowned and then gasped when you came to a hasty conclusion. “You didn’t just do all that to tease me, right?”

“I’m not that cruel. But let’s keep watching. According to your statistics, there will be more kisses before they start hugging instead of passionately embracing each other, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

Kyungsoo took your hand away from his chest, instead linking his fingers with yours, knowing that you had exclaimed earlier on how that was one of your weaknesses in these shows. He shot you a smirk. “We have some kisses coming up to watch out for, since we need to outdo them, right?”

You grinned. Maybe watching dramas with Kyungsoo was a good way to bond with him after all.

_________________

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[fakeikemen]

Anti-Kat/aang rant:

I had some leftover doubts since I recently joined the fandom, about if Kat/aangers had any points worth mentioning about why Kat/aang is a good ship or why Zutara is a bad ship. And the YouTube comment section of the soon-to-be-premiered video of Zutara relationship progression on the official ATLA Yt channel has convinced me that— No, they don't have any points at all. They actually invent excuses to hate on Zutara. And ridiculous excuses at that:

"Katara and Zuko have no chemistry. They are like siblings. Katara is the sister that Zuko never had."

Like I would've actually considered this theory if Zuko and Katara weren't so obviously romantically framed in the scenes they shared starting from "Crossroads of Destiny".

Somebody in the comments accepted that Zutara scenes were romantically framed but that didn't mean anything.

And I'm like: ?!?

This is animation we're talking about? Like anything that happens onscreen is because it was 100% intentionally put there, because it is drawn, coloured and animated. Even for a second worth of screen time, multiple frames have to be created.

Why would they put in that much hard work into making something if nothing was to come of it? Why would they frame those scenes romantically if Zuko and Katara were supposed to be siblings?!

Argument: Null and void.

"Zutara could never happen because Katara already had A/ang loving her and because Zuko had already M/ai as a lover."

Oh so fictional characters are strictly supposed to have only one possible love interest because anything else is illegal?? That's some bullshit right there.

And while we're at it, they talk about M/ai like she was perfect for Zuko but she was not? She treated him like trash? And Zuko literally forgot about her until she showed up in the last few minutes. Yeah, that's true love right there.

Argument: Null and void.

"Katara and A/ang have always been in love with each other from the start. Katara was ready to leave her village for A/ang after 5 mins of meeting him, obviously she was whipped. She was one who suggested that they kiss in Cave of two lovers and she blushed. She kissed A/ang on his cheek many times!! It's true love!! You're blind if you don't see that!!"

I—? Like, its clearly stated in canon that she wants to go with A/ang because this is her only shot at learning waterbending? They really think Katara exists as a character only to be A/ang's love interest, huh? That's sad.

She suggested that they kiss because they were trapped in a cave with no way out. There was a sculpture of two people kissing with ominous scriptures like: "Love will lead the way in the dark" (I don't exactly remember). This was evidently a "kiss or die" situation? Like it just shows that there is no other way Katara would've thought of kissing A/ang?? Seriously this is minus points for Kat/aang Idk why they even use this argument.

And why do they think the innocent cheek kisses are proof of Katara "not keeping her hands to herself"? Ugh. And if these kisses are romantic, why are we always shown that A/ang likes it but not the other way around, i.e.: Katara blushing after kissing A/ang's cheek?

Like Kat/aang's so called development is a joke. There are no two ways about it.

Argument: Null and void.

"Katara hated Zuko for 90% of the show and was kinda okay with him for the last few episodes."

Katara definitely didn't hate Zuko in Book 1 and 2. She was angry at him, yes, but she didn't outright hate him? Like if she did she wouldn't have bothered to offer to heal Iroh. She wouldn't have reached back to Zuko in the catacombs either. And she definitely wouldn't have offered to heal his scar.Her grudge against Zuko became personal only after Zuko betrayed her in Ba Sing Se.

For which he earned forgiveness from Katara fair and square and Katara forgave him at her own volition. No one forced Katara to forgive him.

And after being forgiven, Zuko and Katara were practically glued to each other. They really act like the episodes after TSR don't exist, huh?

Argument: Null and void.

"Zuko is abusive. He hurt Katara many times. He tortured Katara and her friends and tried to kill them."

Where? Seriously, where? Definitely not in canon.

Like, the narrative takes so much time to establish the fact that Zuko doesn't hurt people fatally under any circumstances. He is a victim of abuse: not an abuser himself. When did he hurt Katara? He pretty much saved her from a much, much worse fate in "The Waterbending Scroll" i.e.; the Pirates. He only knocks her unconscious at the North Pole and Katara returns the favour the next time she sees him. Combat is not physical abuse. Where did he torture them? He barely caught hold of them long enough to even actually say anything. Zuko literally got his face burned off for trying to prevent some soldiers from dying. This character would try to kill a 12 yo and his friends? Bullshit. He never tried to kill them. Other than the time he hired Combustion Man which was sooooo evidently wildly OOC for Zuko The worst of Zuko's behaviour paints him mostly as a brat and sometimes as a rude assh*le.

Saying that he was anything more is pretty much gross mis-characterization of Zuko. Like, its literally making up things that didn't happened.

Throwing around heavy words to make the opposing ship look bad is not woke at all.

Argument: Null and void.

"Zutara never kissed on the show, Kat/aang had 4-5 kisses."

Yes this is a real argument from their side.

Like yeah man, kisses = true love; why didn't I think of that before?

This is a new low.

Their first kiss is "kiss or die", the next kiss was in a daydream, the next two kisses were non-consensual and the last kiss featured an extremely OOC Katara.

The fact that Zutara has equal, if not more shippers even without any kisses just makes Zutara more powerful.

Argument: Null and void.

"Zutara makes no sense."

Oh but it does. It makes an awful lot of sense. A lot more sense than their ship.

Like their personal character arcs are so beautifully intertwined? They literally complete each others arcs? Them getting together would reinforce the main message of the show: healing and growth? They are both so alike yet different; they balance each other so perfectly? Zuko actively works toward improving Katara's mental health? Katara offers him endless support? They are so beautiful: I cry.

Argument: Null and void.

"Kat/aang is cAnOn!!!"

Do they have a better argument: No.

Like yeah, we know. We know that Kat/aang is canon. But we also know that the Zutara fanon is much better. And they know it too. That is literally why they feel the need to attack Zutara whenever they can. They can't even state valid points in their defense? And when you state logical points, they just— ignore it? It's almost like they harp about canon to remind themselves about it.

Argument: Even the arguer doesn't believe it.

Yes these are comments I saw with my own two eyes in the comments section. Is it just me or do Kat/aang shippers chose to remain wilfully ignorant about the context of the show?

[booksncoffee]

get lonely with me, four

the one with the difficult scene

“You didn’t answer Heather,” Iris points out. Only because she’s curious to know the answer. Tom looks at her, confused. “Are you secretly a romantic?”

His grin appears and he raises an eyebrow at her, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Iris is pretty sure she’s never been this nervous. She was nervous for her chemistry test — before and after she found out she’d be running her lines with Tom. She was nervous for her first day of filming — because she’s working with Tom and she could feel his eyes on her when they’re on set. But if you ask her, she’d tell you that it’s because she’s working with Kim Davison. 

Not Tom Holland. 

Who she’ll have to kiss today. 

The scene they’ll be acting out is the one where Sabrina and Leon realise that they actually have a lot in common — apart from them not liking each other — and they realise that they’re drawn to each other, both literally and metaphorically. It’s one of Iris’ favourite scenes from the book because it’s such a soft, tender moment between those two. A complete opposite of how they usually act around each other. There’s tension there, but there’s also understanding. 

It’s The Moment for Sabrina and Leon. And Iris has a feeling everyone wants it to be perfect. 

This time, she’ll openly admit that she’s nervous because of Tom. 

She’s kissed actors on screen before — several times. But she wasn’t as nervous as she is right now as she sits in her trailer, trying but failing to keep her knees from bumping up and down, up and down, up and do—

“Everything alright, sweetheart?” Her makeup artist, Julie, asks her, snapping her out of her thoughts. 

“Sorry,” Iris apologises as she stops bumping her knees, cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

Julie smiles at her as she goes back to applying concealer under her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you nervous?”

“Mhmm,” Iris answers. She doesn’t trust her voice all that much today, afraid that it’ll betray her. 

Her hand itches to reach for her phone and ring her mum, but she’s not sure if her mum will be much help when it comes to this. She’ll probably just ask her why she’s so nervous about it when she’s kissed people on screen before and Iris really doesn’t want to go there. Her mum is convinced that she still has a crush on Tom and if she rings her and tells her how nervous she is for the kissing scene, it’ll just confirm her mum’s suspicion.

“About today’s scene?” Julie asks. 

“Yeah, it’s just… It needs to be perfect.” 

“And it’ll be,” Julie reassures her. “You and Tom will do the scene justice.”

The mention of Tom’s name makes Iris’ heart beat faster. She can’t help but wonder if he’s nervous too. She bets he’s not. Just like her, he’s kissed actresses on screen before. But unlike her, he’s probably not nervous about today’s scene. Sure he seemed nervous on the first day of filming but that’s normal. Everyone gets first day jitters, she learns, even the Tom Holland.

The production team had an intimate coordinator come in a couple of days ago to help them with the scene and to choreograph Sabrina and Leon’s first onscreen kiss. It was nerve wracking but the coordinator was so friendly, so bubbly that she made Iris forget about how nervous she was about kissing Tom. They started by asking the people involved about the context — why is the kissing scene there, if they think it’s necessary for the story as well as for the characters — and once they’d gotten that out of the way, they started working on the choreography. 

Iris couldn’t tell back then if Tom was nervous. He’s an actor, after all, so he’s good at masking his emotions. And he’s a professional. Iris likes to think that she is too but when the coordinator, Heather, told Iris to press one hand on Tom’s — Leon’s — chest and the other on his cheek, her hands shook. She quickly apologised but Heather brushed it off and Tom, well, she’s pretty sure he was laughing at her. But then he also messed up his lines and it was Iris’ turn to laugh at him. 

All laughters aside, they managed to nail the choreography down by the end of the day. It took many tries, many corrections — Heather changing her mind several times to make sure they’ll get the scene right for the day of filming — but in the end, they got it. 

Still, Iris’ heart jumps to the base of her throat when she’s told she’s needed at the set and when she sees Tom already on the set talking to Kim, she thinks she might throw up. 

“Nervous?” Harrison asks as he sidles up to her out of nowhere.

“Jesus,” Iris mutters to herself, clutching her chest. “Where’d you come from?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Harrison answers. “Are you nervous for the scene?”

Iris presses her lips together, considering. Harrison is Tom’s best friend so she has a feeling that whatever she tells him, it’ll get to Tom. But Harrison has also become her friend because they’ve spent loads of time together on and off set. And because there are occasions when Harrison would take her side instead of his best friend’s. 

“I am,” Iris admits before she can change her mind. 

“Tom will kill me if I tell you this,” Harrison says, dropping his voice a little, as he shifts closer to her. “But he’s nervous too.”

Iris looks over at Tom just in time for him to look over at them. He has a smile on his face but it disappears when he catches Harrison standing next to her. Then, he says something to Kim, probably to excuse himself, because seconds later, he’s stalking towards them.

“Hey, guys, what’re you two talking about?” Tom asks, his eyes darting from Harrison to Iris. There’s an edge to his voice like he already knows what they’re talking about but he wants to ask anyway. 

“Nothing,” Harrison grins. “Just wishing her good luck for today’s scene.” Then he turns to Iris and smiles, “Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“You too, mate,” Harrison says to Tom, squeezing his shoulder as he walks past his best friend. 

As soon as Harrison is out of earshot, Tom turns to Iris. “Are you ready?”

Iris swallows the lump in her throat. “Yeah. You?”

Tom cracks his knuckles and nods, “Yeah, yeah, I guess. I just hope I won’t mess up my lines again.”

“You won’t and I hope I won’t too,” Iris tells him because if either one of them messes up their lines, they’ll have to redo the scene over and over again. Which means they’ll have to kiss each other a lot of times before they get the perfect shot. They didn’t practice the kiss with Heather, only the choreography leading up to the kiss, so today will be the first time they’ll kiss. She just hopes that they won’t mess up. 

Iris might or might not have thought about kissing Tom and not just as Leon. How it’d be like to have her lips pressed against his. Where his hands would be like when they kiss — would he put them on her cheeks? Jaws? Neck? Or would he wrap his arms around her whilst they kiss—

Iris snaps out of her thoughts, shaking her head, willing those thoughts to leave her mind. 

Tom looks at her, brows furrowing in confusion. “Are you okay?”

Iris nods.

“Shall we?” Tom asks, gesturing towards the set. 

The scene they’ll be playing out today is set in Leon’s bedroom. Sabrina was there because Ruby made her come with her for a movie night at her boyfriend, Daniel and Leon’s shared flat, and against her better judgment, Sabrina found herself in Leon’s bedroom because both her and Leon couldn’t stand the movie Daniel and Ruby had chosen to watch. There, Sabrina learned more about Leon and they started talking, realised they had a lot in common and then, the kiss happened. 

“Iris! Tom!” Heather greets the both of them with a hug and airy kisses. “How are we feeling today?”

“Nervous,” Iris and Tom answer at the same time. They share a look and then crack a smile. 

“You’ll do great — both of you,” Heather tells them. “You remember the choreography, yeah?” 

Iris nods. “Yeah.”

“I just…” Tom scratches his head. Everyone turns to look at him. “I may have a suggestion as to how we could make this scene better.”

Heather frowns. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this at least 24 hours before we film the scene?”

Tom flushes. “You’re right. Nevermind. Forget I said anything about it. It’s a stupid suggestion anyway.”

“But I didn’t say you can’t tell me what this suggestion is,” Heather continues. “Go on. Share with us.”

Tom looks at Iris briefly, cheeks still red. “Erm, so can I…” Tom trails off, pointing at the script in Heather’s hands. Heather hands it to him. He opens to the page where the kissing scene happens and then points to the line before Leon pulls Sabrina in for a kiss after they both opened up to each other. “Right. So I think there should be a bit more hesitancy? I know they opened up before that kiss but uh, up until this moment, they thought they hate each other so I just think instead of Leon kissing Sabrina just like that, he should maybe move closer and when she doesn’t budge he’d tuck her hair behind her ear, because we know how much he loves Ir-Sabrina’s hair and he should leave his hand on her cheek and he’d lean slowly and when Sabrina still doesn’t move—”

“They kiss.” Heather finishes the sentence for him. “Thomas Stanley Holland, are you secretly a romantic? I’ll let Kim know about this and if she says it’s good then we’ll go with it.”

Heather disappears and Iris turns to Tom. “That’s… amazing.”

Tom finally meets her eyes again. “What is?”

“That suggestion. It shows that despite how confident he is and how open he’s always been, he is still a vulnerable person after all. He’s still scared. And in that scene, Sabrina scares him.” 

“Yeah,” Tom says, swallowing. “And besides, he doesn’t really want to ruin what they have, you know?”

Iris agrees. The transition between enemies to lovers isn’t easy — it should be well executed for people to not feel as though the characters go from hating each other to liking each other in the blink of an eye. There should be hesitancy, doubts — lots of them.

“You didn’t answer Heather,” Iris points out. Only because she’s curious to know the answer. Tom looks at her, confused. “Are you secretly a romantic?”

His grin appears and he raises an eyebrow at her, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Iris lets out a surprised laugh and that seems to put Tom at ease. Before Iris can tell Tom to be more serious and answer her question, they’re called to set and Iris’ heart speeds as they near Leon’s bedroom. 

Before they step into Leon’s bedroom, Iris takes a deep breath, clears her head and counts to three. When she walks into Leon’s room, she’s no longer Iris Liu, she’s Sabrina Woods. And Tom isn’t Tom, he’s Leon James. 

Kim gives the cue and Sabrina looks around Leon’s room, taking everything in. She’s never been in here before and she can’t believe that she’s here. In her nemesis’ room. Her eyes land on a stack of vinyls next to his drawer. She crouches down in front of it and starts browsing. 

“You know I’ve always wished you’d stay quiet more but now that you’re so quiet, I’m scared,” Leon says behind her. He’s sitting on the edge of his bed, his eyes following her every move. She thinks he’s nervous to have her in here but he’s doing a great job at hiding his emotions. “Are you plotting my death?”

Sabrina cuts her eyes at him. “Death by vinyls?”

“Hmm doesn’t sound so bad,” Leon grins. 

“I can’t believe we like the same music,” Sabrina says as she stands up and moves to his drawer. “Disgusting.”

“What, you’re the only one allowed to have taste?”

Again, Sabrina glances over her shoulder and narrows her eyes at him. “It’s just surprising,” she says with a shrug. “I thought your music taste is more like Daniel’s.”

Leon recoils with disgust. “How dare you…”

“Huh, look at that,” Sabrina picks up a picture frame. “You were… cute.”

Leon gets up from his bed and makes his way over to her, looking at the same from over her shoulder. “I was, wasn’t I?”

Sabrina lets out a small laugh. Before she puts down the frame, she points at the couple standing behind him. “Your parents?” He nods. Sabrina notices the slight tick in his jaw. “You guys aren’t… close?”

“You could say that,” Leon answers. “They, uh, got divorced when I was 11.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Leon brushes it off with a shake of his head. “I was close with my dad,” he shares, surprising Sabrina. For someone who’s an open book, Leon doesn’t talk about his family much. “He’s the one who introduced me to those bands. I used to hate them—”

“I knew it,” Sabrina mutters. “You didn’t actually have taste.”

Leon chuckles. “But I guess they grew on me. It reminds me of when things were good, you know? When my dad would take me to the record store ‘round the corner every weekend and we’d pick a vinyl or two and then we’d spend the rest of the day listening to these songs.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It was,” he agrees grimly. “So, what about you? What’s your story, Sabrina Woods?” 

“My parents aren’t divorced if that’s what you’re wondering.” 

“Lucky, but that’s not what I wanted to know.”

Sabrina raises an eyebrow at him. “Then, what do you wanna know?”

“I want to know why you’re here.” 

“Because I can’t stand that atrocious movie they’re watching,” Sabrina answers. “I’m pretty sure they’re just making out right now.”

“Wanna check?”

Sabrina crinkles her nose in disgust. “No, you pervert.”

Leon laughs. “Do you have any family tradition?”

Sabrina shakes her head. “I’m… not exactly close to my parents.”

“You’re not?” 

“Guess that’s one thing we have in common,” Sabrina admits.

“And that we have the same music taste,” Leon grins. 

Sabrina makes a disgusted face. 

“And that we hate the same movie,” Leon adds. 

Now Sabrina pretends to throw up at the only plant in his room and that makes him laugh.

“Accept it, Woods, we have a lot in common.”

“Eh,” Sabrina shrugs. She walks over to the stacks of vinyls again and before she can stop herself, she finds herself saying, “You know, there’s a record store near my neighbourhood.”

“I know.”

Sabrina rolls her eyes at him. “You should go there. Keep up the tradition.”

“It won’t feel the same going there alone.”

Sabrina takes a step closer and Leon looks at her, confused but not at all against the idea of her getting closer to him. It’s a strange thought because most days, he can’t stand her. The only reason he spends time with her is because Daniel is always around Ruby and Sabrina comes with her. He’s pretty sure she feels the same way. 

“Take Daniel.”

“I think we’ve established that he has shitty taste in music.”

Sabrina chuckles. “Or you could… take me.”

Leon raises an eyebrow at her. “You’d spend your weekend with your nemesis?”

“Would you?” She asks. There’s a challenge in her voice. A twinkle in her eyes. 

“Do you know what we’re doing right now?”

“What?”

“We’re… bonding.”

“Disgusting.”

“And for once, I’m gonna agree with you,” Leon says as he moves closer. Their fingers on top of his drawer touch and he’s pretty sure Sabrina feels it too. The electric running down their spine. Leon takes another step forward and when Sabrina doesn’t move, he swallows and takes another step until there’s barely any space between them. Then, he reaches for a strand of her hair and tucks it behind her ear, his hand lingering at her cheek. He loves her hair. It’s so beautiful. She’s so beautiful. Leon swallows again. “Sabrina…”

Sabrina doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t move either. She just stares at him like she’s waiting for his next move. 

Leon starts to lean in and he expects her to move. She’s going to push him away, remind him that they hate each other, but she doesn’t. She lifts her chin up towards him, places one hand against his chest, the touch sending shivers down Leon’s spine. Their eyes meet, an unspoken confirmation that this is really happening. That Sabrina and Leon are crossing the enemies line. Then, in one single smooth move, their mouths meet in the middle. 

At that moment, Iris has to consciously remind herself to stay in character. That although she’s kissing Tom, she’s not really kissing him. And he’s not really kissing her. Their characters are kissing. So she shouldn’t be wondering if this is how Tom kisses or if this is just Leon. The thoughts of Tom shouldn’t at all invade her mind. And she shouldn’t be thinking as Iris. She’s Sabrina Woods and the guy she’s kissing is Leon James. 

“So that’s what it feels like to kiss Sabrina Woods,” Leon says breathily, breaking away at the right time. 

Sabrina shakes her head at him and is about to turn around and leave his room because what the hell were they thinking and holy shit did she really just kiss Leon James? Leon James, her freaking nemesis. 

But before she can reach for his door, he pulls her by her hand, spinning her to him until their fronts meet. The collision takes the breath out of Sabrina’s lungs and before she has a chance to react, Leon wraps his arms around her waist and says, “You didn’t let me finish.”

“Save it.” Sabrina flushes with embarrassment. He’s going to taunt her, she just knows it. And right now, she doesn’t need that.

“You don’t want to hear me tell you that you’re a great kisser?”

Sabrina kinks an eyebrow at him. “I’m sorry, what?”

“That was… quite literally the best kiss I’ve ever had.” 

Sabrina’s face breaks into a smile and then:

“Cut!”

Tom lets go of her and clears his throat while Iris takes a couple of steps back, putting as much distance as she could without making it seem like she can’t get away from him fast enough. 

Kim and Heather walk over to them. “That was great.” Heather says. 

“I like the hesitancy,” Kim continues. 

“But I think you could do the kiss better,” Heather adds. “It was good. But it was not great.”

Iris’ heart drops. This is what she fears. Tom isn’t a bad kisser, not at all, but kissing him… that was, well, it messed with her head, so much so that she broke character for a moment. That had never happened before. When she had to kiss another actor, not once had she ever stopped and wondered: so this is what it feels like to kiss him? 

But with Tom, fuck, why did she stop and wonder if this is how he kisses in real life? 

“Let’s do it one more time,” Kim says. “Or more if we need to.” 

When Heather and Kim return to the camera crews, Iris turns to Tom. “I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

“No, it’s probably mine,” Tom replies. “I think I didn’t hesitate enough. I guess I got carried away.”

Iris wants to ask Tom what he meant by that but they’re called to set and the question takes a backseat in her mind as she frets over kissing him again. And how her mum might be right: she still has a crush on Tom.

#tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom fanfic #tom fanfiction #tom x oc #tom holland x oc #tom holland x original character #tom x original character #glwm #tom holland #TAADAAAA HERE'S AN UPDATE #a longer one too! #enjoy!

[bluezey]

Inside Onward:  Typical Morning

It’s finally here!  It’s just the first chapter, or specifically, the first scene from the film.  But with the twist that we get to see what’s going on inside Ian’s head.  So, yeah, this is a crossover of sorts between Inside Out and Onward, as we see there was another story going on inside Iandore Lightfoot.  There’ll be more chapters to come, I hope, and I haven’t decided if I’m gonna update the story periodically or post when I get the rest of it finished.  Until then, read, enjoy, I hope, leave comments, all that stuff.

The familiar chime of the smartphone alarm rang through headquarters.  Followed by another familiar wake up call of a chipper voice exclaiming, “It’s morning!  It’s morning! Wake up, sleepyheads!  It’s the big day!”

Fear was stirring out of his slumber in his bed, rolling onto his back as he rubbed the sleep from one of his eyes.  “Oh, do we have to?” he thought to himself in a grumble.  His eyes shot wide open as he sat straight up in bed.  His mind just woke him up with the instant realization that this is the day, a big important day!  Quickly, Fear jumped out of bed and changed into his clothes, buttoning up his red flannel shirt, slipping into his short denim jeans, and tying his blue sneakers on nice and tight.  He struggled a bit getting his Willowdale College sweater on, having to tug to get his pointy purple elf ears and long thin nose through the collar, but thankfully succeeded and smoothed the wrinkles out with his hands.  He gave his curly blue hair a good brushing before checking his reflection in the mirror.  The blue pompadour was resting perfectly, even with his purple nerve popping out at the part on the back of his head.

“Come on guys!”  Joy voice echoed through headquarters.  “Today’s the day!”

Fear took a double take as he saw the three emotions, Sadness, Disgust and Anger, about ready to leave their shared bedroom.  Never wanting to be the last to leave, or the second, Fear quickly placed the digital watch on his wrist and grabbed the notepad and multi-colored pen off his nightstand.  He raced for the exit, barely pushing past Sadness, before slowing his pace to a steady yet leading walk down the ramp to the headquarters floor.

“Okay everyone, today is the day,” he began announcing, as he already began scribbling fresh new notes down on paper.  “Do we have everyone present?  Anger? Disgust?  Sadness?”

“Here,” Sadness called out in his quiet, melancholy voice.

“You don’t have to do roll call every day, Fear,” Disgust had to comment in his own snippy way.  “We’re not going anywhere.”

“Not like we have a reason to leave, anyway,” Anger added in his grouchy tone as he began crossing the floor towards the console.

“Okay, and Joy?  Where’s Joy?”  Fear looked up from his notepad and began looking around.  “Has anyone seen Joy?”

“Right here!”  Joy raced from the console and made a beeline towards Fear, leaving a trail of glittering particles of yellow energy in his wake.  He stood straight in front of Fear, grinning ear to ear.  Fear couldn’t help but notice Joy, as his perkiness made him jump a bit.  He collected himself and continued, “So, how was dream duty?”

“Another perfect dream,” Joy reported, following Fear as they walked towards the console.  “It was a classic, wonderfully calm dream of stargazing.”

“Relaxing, I like that,” he commented, writing Joy’s report into his notebook.  He stopped right in front of the console and asked, “So, where are we now?”

“Ian’s just finished in the bedroom,” Disgust replied, pointing up at the screen in front of them.

Fear looked up from his notes, he paused a moment as he looked at the image onscreen into the outside world.  Onscreen was a reflection in the mirror, and in that reflection was an image of Ian, a sixteen year old elf boy, just finishing putting on his dad’s old Willowdale College sweatshirt as he gave himself a little grin into the mirror. Fear smiled, along with the other emotions, as the vision onscreen turned from the mirror to the corkboard in Ian’s bedroom, where on the calendar listed today as Ian’s sixteenth birthday.

As Ian exited his bedroom and began to head downstairs, Fear turned his attention to the other emotions. “Okay gang, let’s make this sixteenth birthday the best sixteenth birthday Ian’s ever had.”

“Ian only gets one sixteenth birthday, Fear,” Disgust corrected.

Fear gulped as he felt the anxieties run through his body like frantic butterflies.  “Don’t remind me…”

“Morning, mom,” Ian called out.

The emotions looked up in unison at the screen.  “Oh hey, it’s mom,” Joy pointed out, as Fear could feel a warm glow from behind them. He turned to look out the window, into Ian’s mind world, and a small collection of Islands of Personality standing along the horizon.  Fear smiled as he saw Family Island burst to life, showing the yellow core memory of Ian’s family is working.

“Oh, and here comes Blazey!” Joy cheered.

“What?” Fear turned back just in time to see the pet dragon leap into the screen.  It was a blur of chaos as Ian fell to the ground, happily laughing as Blazey pinned him down and licked his face.  “Evasive maneuver!” Fear called out as he leaped for the controls, only to find Joy was already at the console.  Fear stepped back, a nervous smile on his face.  “Oh. Uh, nice reaction time, Joy,” he mumbled his comment.

“Why thank you,” Joy chimed back.

Ian climbed back up to his feet as his mom, Laurel, greeted him with a “Happy birthday, my little man,” and covering his cheek with kisses.

“Ew, she’s doing it again!” Disgust gagged before pushing Fear out of the way and taking control.

“Ew, mom,” Ian cried out before breaking free and wiping off his cheek.

Fear pushed himself back by the console.  “Disgust, I know we don’t like mom’s kisses, but I need to be…” The emotions looked up silently at the screen as Laurel was looking back at Ian.  Fear finally broke the silence with a whisper. “Should we be worried?” he asked, pressing a button on the console.

“What?” Ian asked.

“You’re wearing your dad’s college sweatshirt,” Laurel replied.

Disgust commented as the other emotions breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh, right.  The sweatshirt,” she commented as she flicked some switches on the console.

Ian looked down at the Willowdale College sweatshirt he was wearing over his red flannel shirt.  “Oh, well, it finally fits,” Ian said as he shrugged it off.

Laurel lit up with such joy as she approached Ian.  “Oh, my little chubby cheeks,” she said with such motherly love.

Disgust stepped back. “Ew, she’s coming back.”

“Stop her!” Anger snapped as Fear dove onto the controls.

Ian stepped back before Laurel could hug her.  “No, mom. I gotta eat breakfast before school,” he said, adding a chuckle.

Fear looked confused, until he glanced over at Joy on the other side of the console turning a dial or two. “Joy,” Fear spoke up, getting her attention.

“What?  It’s mom,” Joy explained with a smirk as she held up her hands.

“There’s nothing to eat?” Sadness asked, overhearing Laurel.  “That’s sad.”

“That’s not fair,” Anger grumbled.  “How are we supposed to survive school without food?”

“We’re gonna starve,” Sadness sighed.

“Not on my watch,” Fear said as he took over.  Ian opened the fridge door and was met with a pan of delicious finger foods for the party.

“Yum, boars in a blanket.” Joy instinctively pressed a few buttons.

Fear panicked. “Joy, what are you doing?”

Laurel playfully smacked Ian’s hand away.  “Don’t touch those, mister.  Those are for your party tonight.

“Now look what you did,” Fear reprimanded Joy.  “You got Ian in trouble!”

“Sorry, they looked so good,” Joy sheepishly excused his actions.

Ian instead grabbed a carton of milk and began to pour himself some cereal.

“How bout inviting those students from the science club to your party?” Laurel suggested to Ian.  “You said yourself they were pretty rockin.”

“I didn’t say it like that,” Ian replied, as his Disgust rolled his eyes.  “And besides, I haven’t asked them.”

“Well, it’s your birthday, it’s the day to try new things,” Laurel encouraged Ian while prepping a protein shake in the mixer.  Just as she turned it in, Laurel asked aloud, “Speaking of new things, have you signed up for your driving lesson today?”

“No!” Ian shouted, before nervously lowering his voice.  “No, I haven’t.”

Sadness glanced over at Fear, who was shaking like a frigid leaf, his eyes wide as he thought about the very idea of Ian driving.

“There’s no reason to be scared,” Laurel told Ian.

“I’m not scared,” Ian replied.  Joy pressed a few buttons, and Ian changed the subject.  “I’m gonna move Barley’s game.”

Joy glanced over at Fear, the frightened purple emotion was stepping back from the console and placing his hands under his arms.  “Relax,” Joy told him gently.  “Ian’s sixteen now.  He needs to drive.  He’ll be okay.”

“Okay?  Okay?  I know he’ll be okay,” Fear stammered.  “I just want him to be safe, I mean, okay.”

“Don’t worry, it’s Ian’s big day,” Joy assured Fear.  “What could happen?”

“HALT!!”

“NO!!” The emotions were shocked as Ian was suddenly scooped into a big bear hugging arm lock by his older brother Barley.

“Get him out of there! Get him out of there!” Fear ordered as he jumped onto the console, the other emotions scrambling for controls.

“This again?” Anger snapped.

Disgust gagged.  “He reeks!  Doesn’t he ever shower?”

Ian struggled to escape, but instead kicked over his cereal and watched helplessly as it fell to the floor. “Oh no,” Sadness thought softly as Ian slumped in defeat.

Fear started flailing his hands, darting his head back and forth to all his emotions.  “What do we do?  What do we do?  Why is Barley so strong??”

“Move over!” Anger barked as he punched Fear out of the way, sending him flying away from the console. The angry red emotion was literally steaming from atop his head as he cracked his knuckles.

“You know, Ian,” Barley commented boldly, “men of your age would prove their manhood by taking the rite of passage through the swamps of despair.”

“Oh, I’ll show you despair!” Anger roared as he took control of the console.

“I’m not testing anything,” Ian snapped back, sounding more like a gurgle through Barley’s headlock. “Now let me go!”

“Let him go, Barley,” Laurel called out from the kitchen, more of a comment than a command.

“Okay,” Barley said with a shrug, letting Ian go, as well as letting Ian drop onto the floor in a thud. “I know you’re stronger than that. There’s a warrior inside you, you just have to let him out.”

Fear finally climbed onto his feet, he looked up to see Ian struggling to climb onto his knees as well.  The purple emotion’s eyes grew wide, he stepped back slowly, then broke out into a quick, frantic nervous pace across the headquarters floor.  “Oh no… no no no no no, this isn’t right, this isn’t right…”

Joy caught the sound of worrying, leaving the console to the other three emotions, as they’re just now helping Ian quietly pick up his spilt cereal as Barley and Laurel broke out into another wrestling match.  “Hey, hey,” Joy calmly told Fear in his cheerful tone.  “It’s alright.  It’s just cereal.”

“It’s not the cereal!” Fear stopped pacing and placed his hands under his arms again.  “Okay, it is, but it’s everything!  Ian gets only one sixteenth birthday, and it’s chaos before it even started!”

“Relax,” Joy assured him. “It’s just another normal day.”

“But it’s not a normal day,” Fear replied frantically.  “It’s a birthday!”

“You’re getting stressed out, and Ian hasn’t eaten yet.”  Joy took Fear’s hand and they both sat down on a couch beside them.

“It’s my job to get stressed out,” Fear said, frustrated as well as anxious.  “I’m a Fear.”

Joy paused a moment, a thought rolling through her head, causing her smile to grow more melancholy. “Look, I shouldn’t make things worse, but, the guys…” Joy motioned to Sadness, Disgust and Anger at the console. “They’re talking about you again.”

This again.  Realizing where this is going, Fear quieted down and sank into his seat, wrapping his hands around his sides.

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re doing great.  You’re a great Fear.”  Joy paused a moment, trying to sugar coat it.  “But lately, you’re being… too good.  Again.”

“I can’t- I can’t-“ Fear began calmly.  He paused to collect his thoughts, brushing his hands up his face and through his hair. He sighed, almost seethed.  “Ian’s life is just so chaotic lately.  His school, his driving lessons, his brother. ….. that,” Fear added, pointing to a red light currently dormant on the console.

Joy chuckled, realizing he was pointing at the puberty alarm.  “That?  Don’t worry bout that.  That hasn’t been an issue since sex ed class.”

Fear shuddered so hard, a little flurry of purple particles shook off his body.  “Don’t remind me.”

Joy laughed, seeing how that at least broke the tension for one of them.  It gradually quieted into a grin when Fear finally gave the tiniest of grins back.  Joy placed a comforting hand on Fear’s shoulder.  “Look, Ian’s fine for a few minutes.  He’s just making some toast,” he commented as they both looked up at the screen.  “Nothing bad can happen from that… not even cutting himself with a butter knife.”

Fear chuckled a bit. Yeah, it’s kind of silly to be scared of butter knives… but, they are knives… and they can cut through butter…

“Why don’t you sit back here for a minute?  Clear your head.  Maybe a quick break is just what you need.”  With that, Joy stood up and walked back to the console, leaving Fear on the couch.

Fear closed his eyes, tilting his head back that it hit the back of the couch.  It made it so his neck look like it was at a ninety degree angle, thank Alora emotions are made of pure energy and not bones, so it didn’t hurt, maybe pinch a little.  He finally opened his tightly shut eyes, starring up at the mural of stars and some planets painted on the headquarters ceiling.  Well, most of them, somehow Joy managed to slap a couple of those cheap plastic ones onto the ceiling too.  He smiled, Ian sure did like space.  He stood up from the couch and walked across the headquarters to the large pane window in the back, overlooking the wide, vast expanse of the mind world.  Fear looked at the hardwood floor of headquarters. And the shelves, holding necessities for their job, from idea bulbs to mind manuals, to the newest memories they made that very morning.  While built like compartments pocked both organized and disorganized like the old headquarter shelves, they were lined with a strong wood paneling to match Ian’s bookshelves in his bedroom.  In fact, headquarters was dressed up a lot like Ian’s room these days.  He could still remember when he popped into existence in Ian’s mind, just seconds after Ian was born.  Headquarters was an empty canvas, and the emotions were just anew strangers with elf ears and generic business casual clothes.  Just a blank canvas.  And over time, as they shaped Ian into the teenager he is today, they and their headquarters were changed as well.  Well, more like influenced… inspired?  Okay, the mind world can be cryptic and confusing.  But if it meant being with Ian, helping Ian, Fear wouldn’t have it any other way.

Speaking of cryptic and confusing, Fear looked down as his foot stopped short of stepping on the core memory holder nestled into the floor.  It wouldn’t hurt to step on it, but the bright lights beaming through the floor, straight out to the mind world outside, pointing at, fueling every island of personality across the far chasm that separated headquarters from the rest of the mind world.  Fear gazed out at each island that fueled what made Ian, Ian.  School Island, complete with a stack of textbooks, with a math textbook being very prominent since he won that award.  Science Island, glowing with stars and planets to highlight Ian’s fascination with space.  Space was his most prominent interest in the sciences.  Smartphone Island.  That’s a new one.  Ian has been glued to his phone lately.  Hope that’s a phase.  Friendship Island… looking small, as Ian only has one friend.  Island upon island, big and small, displaying each important piece of Ian, each fueled by a powerfully important memory that birthed it.  And in the center was the largest, grandest island, Family Island, an island fueled and created by Ian’s love for his family. Even his brother, no matter how much of a pain he could be.  Definitely highlighted by that statue on Family Island of Barley holding Ian in a headlock and giving him a noogie.

“Hey, it’s Officer Bronco!” Joy cheered, breaking Fear’s walk down his own memory lane.  Looks like break’s over.  But, Joy may have been right, Fear does feel a little better.

As Fear approached the console, he immediately stopped dead in his tracks as he, the other emotions and Ian saw Colt and Laurel kiss.  “Eww,” the emotions grimaced in unison, Ian recoiling as well thanks to Disgust at control.

“Ugh, I’ll never get used to that.”  Disgust tried to hold himself back from throwing up.  “I’m done.  I’m done,” he said, pushing away from the console for a minute.

Ian went back inside the kitchen getting back to making some toast for his breakfast.  His ears caught the sound of loud banging of furniture, sounds of a centaur trying to get into the house without breaking things, and failing. Anger growled, “He’s coming in.”

“Relax,” Joy told Anger, patting him on the shoulder.  “Officer Bronco’s just trying to be nice.”

“Hey there, birthday boy,” Colt told Ian.  “You working hard or hardly working?” Colt gave that braying laugh of his at his own joke.

That was enough to make even Joy groan.  “Are you kidding me?” he exclaimed while the other emotions groaned.

“Well, you know just, making some, toast,” Ian replied sheepishly.

“Why is it so hard to get some breakfast around here??” Anger snapped.

Fear pushed Sadness out of the way as Disgust made his way back to the console.  “Okay okay okay,” he stammered.  “Let’s just get Ian fed and out of here before anything else happens to him.”

“Hey, Ian, you can learn a lot from Quests of Yore,” Barley called out from the dining room.  “You want to play?”

Fear froze just from hearing Barley.  “Oh no,” he uttered softly, giving Disgust a chance to take over.

“I don’t,” Ian replied.

“You can be a crafty rogue,” Barley continued.  “Or, I know! You can be a wizard!” Barley chimed, grabbing Ian in a side hug.

Fear dove onto the console the second he saw Barley’s spiky bracelet brush against Ian’s sweatshirt.

Ian quickly ducked out from Barley’s grasp.  “Hey, careful with dad’s sweatshirt.”

Barley smirked.  “I don’t even remember dad wearing that sweatshirt.”

“Well, you do only have two memories of him,” Ian told Barley.

“No, I have three,” Barley corrected.  “I remember his beard was scratchy, he had a goofy laugh, and I would play the drums-“

“-on his feet,” Ian finished.  The emotions at the console chuckled a bit, happy to hear something about dad, even if it was from Barley.

“Yeah, he went,” Barley began as he drummed on Ian’s foot with his hands, but ended up knocking Ian’s toast onto the floor.  “Oops, five second rule.”  Barley leaned over to pick up the toast, and ended up snagging a loose thread on Ian’s sweatshirt with his bracelet.

The emotions gasped as they heard the fabric rip.  “No!” Fear exclaimed in pure horror.

“It’s okay,” Barley told Ian, just as worried as his brother was.  “You just have to pull it.”

“No! Stop!!” Fear exclaimed as he slammed his hands onto the console.

“Barley, don’t!” Ian pleaded, just as a hole grew from the popped seam on the sleeve.  Laurel finally intervened, snipping the loose string with some scissors.

“You know,” Ian said, backing away, “I’m just going to grab some breakfast on the way to school.”

“I’ll sew that up for you after school, okay Ian?” Laurel said as Ian left the kitchen and headed straight for the front door.

Fear was leading the controls, and was making sure Ian went straight out the door.  “Okay guys, let’s just get Ian to school.”

“Wait!” Barley called out, catching up to Ian.

“Seriously?” Fear exclaimed, letting go of the controls in pure shock.

“Why won’t he leave us alone?” Anger shouted, as Disgust and Sadness groaned.

“By the laws of Yore, I must dub thee a man today,” Barley explained as he grabbed a sword, which may or may not have been a toy.  “Kneel before me.”

“No, no, that’s okay,” Ian replied.  “I gotta get to school.”

“Okay,” Barley said.  “I’ll pick you up this afternoon.  We’ll do the ritual at school.”

“No!  You don’t need to do that!  Okay, bye!” Ian quickly grabbed his book bag and slammed the front door.  Finally out of the house, he gave a big sigh of relief and began to walk down the sidewalk.

Once he was safe, Fear gave a big sigh of relief himself.  He gradually let go of the controls and grasped his sides again. Ian’s sixteenth birthday is already a failure.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Joy said to Fear, placing a calm hand on his shoulder.  “The day’s still young.  We can fix this.”

Shaking his head, Fear walked away from the console and began to pace back and forth.  The other emotions went back to work, including Joy, after glancing over to Fear one more time.

Fear gripped his hands tight against himself, his pace was quickening, his body was shivering with… well, fear.  Ian gets one sixteenth birthday, one shot.  And already it’s a disaster.  It’s all been a disaster since before Ian’s sixteenth birthday.  It’s all been a disaster since before his thirteenth birthday. Since before middle school, since before kindergarten, since…

Fear paused.  He walked up to the back of Headquarters, placing his hands on the window as he looked out.  To the side of the large Family Island was a smaller island.  The island displayed photos of a familiar stranger, and an audio cassette tape labeled “Dad.”

… since little child Ian found that tape.  Since that memory created Dad Island.

Fear placed a hand on his chest, his fingers resting on stitching that spelled out Lightfoot in cursive.  The exact replica of Ian’s Dad’s sweatshirt.

Ian has heard many stories about his dad.  How his dad was courageous, and lived every day without worry, without care.  If only Ian could be like his dad.  If only Fear could.

#Inside Onward #pixar Inside Out #pixar Onward #sir Iandore of Lightfoot #Ian Lightfoot #Barley Lightfoot #Fear #Sadness #Anger #Disgust #Joy