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1-800-c0sm1c · 2 years

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If you're not too busy, can I please request headcanons for Joker, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Akechi overhearing their female S/O singing along to her favorite song and showing great talent?

꒰i will always love you !꒱

singing headcannons !

character x f!reader

includes joker, ryuji, yusuke, and akechi !

warnings : none.

a/n : this was a cute one to write ^^ it is also totally not 4am as i am publishing this lol

JOKER // REN AMAMIYA

all im saying is this guy is definitely a theater kid. and i like to think hes good at it too.

im talking main lead in every school play that hes ever been apart of, and he always takes it to the next level too.

and when he finds out that you have a talent for singing? oh man he is WHIPPED.

you probably didnt even know that he knew, hes kind of sneaky lmao.

youre probably just singing along in the shower and he overhears, and hes surprised, he doesnt understand why youre not using this talent more.

i can see him suggesting that you should pursue the arts, especially if youre not sure what you want to do after high school. but if you have other plans thats fine, he just wants whats best for you!

LOTS and LOTS of compliments! hes so sweet and supportive in literally anything you do and singing is no exception!

similar to ryuji, i can see you guys going on karaoke dates, but the difference with ren is hes not trying to actively compete against you, he just really enjoys singing duet songs with you!

this is just the musical nerd in me but imagine,,, performing musicals together,,, so many thoughts.

this man owns my heart istg,,,

SKULL // RYUJI SAKAMOTO

ryuji finds everything you do so mesmerizing, theres practically stars in his eyes when he discovers your hidden talent!

hes also lowkey offended you didnt show him earlier LMAOO

i can picture him asking you to make him a playlist of all your favorite songs, and he listens to it whenever hes doing his homework (a rare occurrence.) or when hes playing video games.

hes basically learned the words to every song on there, and i like to think when youre over one day and you start singing along he kinda just stares at you like :0 !!

hes no professional, but he didnt think he was half bad at singing until he heard you.

only a little (a lot) jealous at how good you are afterwards he kind of just sits around with a pouty face and says something like “how can you be so good at EVERYTHING?”

as impressed he is, ryuji is competitive, so dont be surprised when your next date is a karaoke night and hes trying his hardest to 1-up you.

he claims its just because he wants to hear more of your singing, but hes putting his whole heart and soul into every song that comes on.

overall hes really supportive, and he understands if you dont feel comfortable singing around others. but if you are, hes so definitely showing you off to the other phantom thieves. (he thinks it gives him bragging rights against morgana.)

FOX // YUSUKE KITAGAWA

honestly, yusuke gives off theater kid vibes too so i see him being really excited to catch you singing!

you were over at his dorm, watching him sketch out his newest painting. there was some conversation between the two of you but you let him do most of the talking as not to disturb him too much.

you ended up suggesting to play some music in the background to fill the space, to which he nodded to, not really paying much attention.

you both sat in silence for a bit, simply enjoying each others company as the music played in the background.

“your music taste is incredible, love.” hed definitely ask for you to send him the playlist youre listening to <3

later on, your favorite song had come on, and you found yourself singing along to the music. yusuke had been silent for awhile so you had forgotten he was still in the room.

the longer the song had gone, the more you got comfortable with singing louder, to the point you were able to hit all the high notes flawlessly.

this is what had finally gotten yusukes attention away from his work, him turning back to look at you with a stunned face.

his dramatic ass is so extra about everything i swear. hes going on and on about how splendid of a performer you would be and hes amazed he hasnt heard you sing before.

you, on the other hand are still dealing with the whiplash of him still being in the room.

you guess you hadnt realized how into it youd have gotten, but at least your boyfriend got a free performance out of it!

CROW // GORO AKECHI

you had received a text from akechi 10 minutes ago. a simple “omw.” was all he wrote.

however, you still excitedly set up everything you had planned for your boyfriends awaited arrival.

hed been coming home late from his work at the police station, and you knew hed appreciate the thought of a nice relaxing night at home with his favorite foods and plenty of fuzzy blankets laid out on the couch.

you had music playing in the background as you applied the finishing touches. putting everything you had into the chorus of the song playing over the speaker.

you hadnt even heard akechi walk in over how loud everything was in your living room until you turned around and noticed him staring at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

was he disgusted? or just really surprised? it was always hard to tell with him.

you prayed it was the latter, and continued to sing along, more dramatically, like it was the most important performance of your life. you could see him laugh fondly.

once you were finished, he set his bag down on the kitchen counter to greet you properly.

“i didnt know you were so talented.” he responded blankly, “is there anything you *arent* good at?” he joked.

you laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before playfully responding, “oh no! looks like the detective prince caught me!” and running to hide under a blanket on the couch.

he smiled at your antics, having a seat on the couch next to you, cuddling up to your covered form under the blanket.

you peeked your head out and smiled warmly at him and said, “welcome home.”

moments like these with akechi are rare, but you cherish every single one of them.

#✧;;↬ my work.❞┊🍓#✧;;↬ baton pass.❞┊🪄#✧;;↬ the counsel.❞┊🎊#persona 5 #persona 5 x reader #shin megami tensai persona #persona 5 royal #persona 5 x you #joker x reader #Ren Amamiya x Reader #ryuji sakamoto x reader #yusuke kitagawa x reader #goro akechi x reader

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hello-eeveev · 11 days

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How to Rest Director's Commentary—Chapter 6

It’s here it’s here! The big finale!!!

This chapter is arguably my favorite of the whole fic (though choosing between them all is a bit like choosing a favorite child). It’s just so happy. It makes me so happy. It’s just so full of love, and I’m really excited to talk about it!

(spoiler warning for the entirety of How to Rest)

A couple of things happened to Caleb on the way home from the market.

Don’t ask me why I styled the opening sentence of this chapter after the Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; I could not tell you. I have never seen it, I don’t know what it’s about, but I did spend my teenage years obsessed enough with musical theater to have heard its name floated about and I dunno I think it’s got a nice mouthfeel.

“A message from Zivan Margolin,” [Astrid] said. “Welcome to Soltryce Academy, Professor Widogast. We look forward to working with you this fall.” She paused for a long moment before continuing, her voice softer, more sincere. “Congratulations, old friend.”

Astrid is not Margolin’s messenger, but I think she would not be completely out of the loop regarding Caleb’s hiring, what with the historic connection between Soltryce Academy and the Archmage of Civil Influence, and would be able to work her way into being the one to tell Caleb of his hiring if she wanted. And I wanted her to because 1) I love her, and 2) I like giving Astrid a little space to be human and to try to have a friendly relationship with Caleb again. I wanted her to switch off her formal voice and replace it with a more genuine one. Because she took up Ikithon’s position almost immediately after removing herself from under his thumb, it is more than likely that she is still splitting herself in two, though at least she has more control over this situation than the last. But she is trying to be more than the Volstrucker Ikithon made her, and giving Caleb some good news and congratulating him on it is part of that journey.

And I know that 25 words—only 3 of which are actually her own—are not nearly enough to explore all of that, but she has been a background player in this fic and I wanted her to make an appearance and unfortunately, every time she comes up, I have so many thoughts about her. Here’s a post about that.

Essek stood in the living room, turned away. His hand rested on the back of the couch, and the edges of his travelling cloak rustled in the sudden shift of air. He looked over his shoulder at Caleb’s entrance. The early evening light shone over his nose and hair and cheekbone, casting the edges of him in gold. He smiled. “Hello, Caleb Widogast.”

Look at that dramatic entrance! What an image he strikes!! Handsome boy!!!

But on a functional level, this is one of those visual tropes that I like in TV and movies, and I think it aids the pacing to have a moment to slow down and take in the scene—Essek’s clothing, the time of day, how recently he arrived—before they rush at each other. It adds a little drama, builds some anticipation, it’s a good time.

Caleb always prepared Unseen Servant on market days.

One fun part of this chapter was considering what magic Caleb might use in his day-to-day, and I thought that Unseen Servant would be great for a scrawny wizard who would like to put his groceries away quickly so he can get back to nerd business. Would that I could do the same.

As they moved through the narrow spaces between table and cupboard, they nudged past each other in with soft touches to backs and hips and shoulders, the routine of it hardly a thought while they chatted about what had happened since they had seen each other last.

More often than not, How to Rest is about the little intimacies and the ways in which Essek and Caleb are growing their lives around each other. Compare how monumental every little touch was in Chapter 1 to it being a passing mention here while they catch up and do chores. There is so much love in being comfortable with another person. Even though this chapter has other bigger moments of romantic love, moments like these are not to be discounted either.

He had a house that he had lived in for over a year now. He knew the quickest path to and from the market, which he took with little variation and without fear of being followed. He had a spell he used specifically to help him put groceries away.

Much of How to Rest is also about settling in, finding and creating peace within your life, because with that comes rest, which is what Caleb and Essek have been desperately in need of for years. Not just the kind that restores spells slots, but the kind that lets you breathe and live (hi my name is eve and i live up to its meaning)

For Caleb, I think rest is found in routines and rituals, in security, and in magic both awe-inspiring and completely ordinary. So that’s what I gave him. mwah. love you, buddy.

He knew which cupboard his oats belonged in and how to operate the Vault of Amber where he stored his milk so it wouldn’t spoil.

To the two commenters who independently needed to talk about Caleb keeping his milk in a Vault of Amber: I love you. I love you so much. It will never not make me laugh that—out of everything in this chapter—this line I wrote in about two seconds and didn’t think about again was enough to warrant two whole comments. It is genuinely so funny and delightful.

But to give you a breakdown of my thought process for this detail:

Vault of Amber has refrigeration properties.

It requires five pieces of amber that merge into one upon completion of the spell.

Bruh, can you imagine a refrigerator the size of a pebble???

His heart swelled with an emotion too big to breathe around. It was warm and light, and it ached, insisting that any distance from Essek was too far apart. Just in the other room wasn’t close enough; Caleb wanted to be near him for as long as their scant few hours would allow, to hold him and enjoy his company until he vanished into thin air once more.

Even though Caleb has accepted and made peace with their weird long distance relationship situation, it doesn’t fully remove the longing that comes with being apart or the intensity of the reuniting. And right now, Caleb is having a moment of realizing that despite the brevity of his visits, Essek has incorporated Caleb’s home and life into his own and that when Caleb said he wanted it to be a home base for Essek, Essek took that to heart. To put it into words a little earlier than Caleb does, right now he is feeling how much Essek loves him and how much he loves Essek, and it’s kind of a lot.

“Hello, dear,” he said. “Hallo.”

Me when the wizards say hi: 🥺

Caleb nodded and dropped a kiss between Essek’s eyes, delighting in the way Essek laughed and squeezed them shut. He hoisted himself up and over the back of the couch and lowered himself onto the seat beside him.

It’s fun to write some playful, unserious moments for them, too. Silliness is essential to one’s health.

“It is well-earned. I am very happy for you. In fact, I have something for this very occasion.” He pulled away to reach into his component pouch, and with a flourish of his free hand, his arcane chest appeared at his feet. He opened it and pulled out a thick, square-shaped bundle wrapped in crepe paper and twine. He held it out to Caleb. “Here. This is for you.”

THE OUTFIT!!!! I thought harder about this outfit than I have about any outfit for anything I’ve written and probably anything I’ve drawn. Fashion is something I find very interesting when it is presented to me (Bernadette Banner’s youtube channel was one of my 2020 binges), but is not so much something I consider much of my own accord. But I wanted this outfit to have a lot of meaning. I wanted it to be built of things Essek picked up during his travels because he was thinking about him. Caleb mentioned once that he needed a new wardrobe for teaching and Essek took that on as a sidequest. I did a lot of research in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount and on the internet to find inspiration for what each piece would look like and where in Wildemount it would come from.

I wanted the textiles to be mostly wool, cotton, and linen, but with a few silk details. More practical fabrics because they are, well, practical. And Caleb is the son of farmers. But some silk because he is allowed to be a bit fancy. Everything is of extremely high quality. It is what he deserves.

I didn’t want it to be reds, maroons, and browns because while Caleb looks great in those colors, he has plenty of them already. Something cooler would contrast nicely with the reds in his hair and bring out the blue of his eyes.

So let’s break down each piece (in order of appearance, not of purchase):

…a coat made from a dark forest green tweed and lined with silk […] and dark brown trousers of the same make as the coat.

Both of these pieces were commissioned and purchased in Yrrosa, which is a town located in a snowy part of the Zemni Fields. With this information, I figured that it isn’t a wild assumption that they might raise sheep there and use their wool for textile. While it isn’t the richest town, it doesn’t seem to be exceedingly poor either, so I imagine that Essek was able to find a good tailor with some fine tweeds to make Caleb’s coat and trousers.

…a white linen shirt with traditional Zemnian whitework embroidery on the collar and cuffs.

The shirt was the first garment Essek purchased once he got the idea. After that first date, he went down to Feolinn and bought a plain white linen shirt to be a staple in Caleb’s wardrobe. Later, whether it was through Caleb or his own travels, Essek learned of the style of whitework embroidery practiced in more rural areas of the Zemni Fields and decided to have someone embroider the shirt with that style.

There wasn’t time to describe the whitework in detail, but I was inspired by Schwalm whitework, which is a style of embroidery that originated in the early 19th century in Germany. I think it is so so beautiful and I really wanted to include it somehow. Here is an article that gives you an overview of Schwalm whitework and some examples, and here is an image of a men’s shirt that helped me place the embroidery.

…a waistcoat made of rich purple brocade.

The waistcoat is from Nicodranas. The Menagerie Coast and the Concord were not involved in the War of Ash and Light, so I imagine Essek feels a bit freer to commission something with a bit of Dynasty flair here than anywhere else.

When Essek was in Nicodranas, I fancy the idea of him consulting with Veth (and maybe Jester if he catches her there?) about the gift, and Veth, knowing that Essek would have limited funds and always being willing to spend money on Caleb, decided to split the costs with Essek. Maybe she knows a good tailor in the city, or maybe she brought Essek to Marion to find one. Veth is probably the best chance at sneakily getting Caleb’s measurements, or at least getting them without suspicion.

I didn’t specify a design for the brocade, so nothing’s set in stone, but I think it could be fun if there were some geometric elements to it. Or even if it had the more naturalistic patterns most brocades seem to have, they could be grouped in a way that evokes a pentagonal shape, like the face of a dodecahedron.

…a set of bronze cufflinks with an intricately carved dodecahedron on each face. […] Caleb held it up to the light, and as he turned it, the metal suddenly seemed to turn purple and a rainbow of colors shimmered across its surface, like oil on top of water. He rolled the cufflink between his fingers and watched as the color shifted—gold to purple, purple to gold.

Gwardan, my beloved! An elvish city in a temperate area near the mountains and not far from the ocean with a unique and beautiful artistic tradition!! I need to go there!!!

I took some liberty with the description of steamcast metal, as it is only described as having a ‘prismatic shimmer’ and I needed more detail for how close and intimate the narration is during this section. So I thought about prisms refracting light and creating rainbows, then about rainbows in oil slicks and how metal reflects light and color and lenticular prints and iridescence. Then I decided on bronze because I think it’s a beautiful metal and purple because it is the best color.

Caleb shucked off his clothes and began changing right there in the living room. Essek shook his head and turned his gaze upwards. Caleb didn’t care if Essek saw him in his smallclothes, but he wouldn’t begrudge him his sense of modesty.

Essek is not embarrassed, per se. He would have had to get over that pretty quick during their wizards’ Aeor trip, what with close quarters, infrequent privacy, and relying on each other for medical care. It’s really nothing he hasn’t seen before.

But like, there’s a time and a place for getting undressed, and Essek doesn’t consider the middle of the living room one of them. And even if it were, what else is he supposed to do with his eyes? Close them? Stare? Awkward.

Essek was still paying attention; once Caleb had put on his new trousers and buttoned his shirt up halfway, Essek moved in front of him and placed his hands in the path of Caleb’s. Instead of moving on to the next button, Caleb’s hands alighted on Essek’s wrists and followed them up as Essek deftly and delicately fastened each button. He turned the collar down and smoothed the fabric over Caleb’s shoulders and down his arms, then took Caleb’s hands and lifted them to chest level. He tapped his index finger against the back of Caleb’s hand, and a box floated between them.

Bruh 🥺

The closeness and the intimacy. This section is almost the entire reason for the non-sexual intimacy tag because it’s just so—

It’s not what I think of as obviously romantic, but that’s what makes it romantic. If that makes sense? Maybe it’s not even romantic at all. It’s just comfortable. Content. Caring. But it’s still intense and meaningful, even if it doesn’t have the same heart-pounding excitement of their early relationship.

I have always loved the way writers, romance writers in particular, are able to slow down scenes and convey that feeling of tunnel vision that comes when you’re near someone you like. There has to be an attention to detail and a keen visualization that can be hard to achieve sometimes. You can’t fudge things or handwave them away like you might when the narration is quicker or more distant. Everything must feel deliberate but natural. It’s not always easy, but when it’s pulled off, it’s great. I’m very proud of the writing I did here.

“In the winter maybe, when the semester is over, we can go and celebrate. If it is safe for you, of course.” Essek pressed a kiss to Caleb’s cheek. “I shall plan on it.”

Caleb is hedging around making a definitive plan, worried about pressuring Essek on accident and not wanting to set himself up for disappointment. But Essek is fully ready to make a plan because he knows where he’s going to be come winter and he’s dropping a little hint as to what his news might be (but Caleb doesn’t have any context for this and misses it.)

but I didn’t miss it >:)

readers, you must know that every time I do a little foreshadowing or allusion or implication, I am tapping my fingertips together and ehehe-ing like the least threatening cartoon villain. this is enrichment for me.

Caleb turned around and took a step back, holding his arms away from his sides to show off the whole outfit.

Modeling is a skill that Caleb does not possess.

Essek looked him over from head to toe, his mouth pressed into a line as he considered. When his eyes met Caleb’s again, his expression softened, and Caleb caught a glimpse of his lower lip caught against a sharp tooth. “You look very beautiful.” Caleb’s breath caught, and heat crept from beneath his collar all the way up to his cheeks. He cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment to regain his composure.

Caleb was asking how the outfit looked on him, but instead Essek compliments his whole self, and it’s so unexpected and so flattering that Caleb bluescreens a little bit.

And if I am remembering correctly, this is the first time either of them have outwardly called the other beautiful, or any compliment of the like, even though they have thought it often. Essek has implied it, by complimenting his outfit in Chapter 1 and his hair and eyes in Chapter 3, but now he’s saying it directly and without shame. I don’t think Caleb is necessarily cognizant of of all that, but he has a subconscious understanding and definitely feels its impact.

“Archmage Becke has insinuated to me that Ludinus has become engaged in a new project that has diverted his attention away from me entirely.”

This is great news for Essek! Bad news for Exandria because Ludinus decided that the moon and killing the gods was more important than his former co-conspirator who’s hardly shown his face in the last two years.

I’m not sure if the timing works out (based on the little bit of digging I did just now, it doesn’t seem to), but I like to think that this is when Liliana showed up to the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus’s plans really started to take shape. Uh-oh!

“For the time being, if I am careful, I am a free man. And I’ve grown rather tired of running from place to place.”

Essek: I’m tired.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender super fan sleeper agent in my head, activated: THEN YOU SHOULD REST. A MAN NEEDS HIS REST.

“So…” He trailed off, his eyes searching Caleb’s—eager still, but brimming with an unspoken question. “If you will have me, I would like to spend the time I have here. With you.”

Essek is excited and he knows Caleb will be excited, which is why he feels comfortable showing up unannounced with the intention to stay, but he is still exercising caution. He’s trying to gauge if this is still something Caleb wants now that he is presented with the reality of it. It is. He’s not guaranteeing that forever is a sure thing, but for now, for as long as possible, he can be here.

His vision was fixed on Essek, here in the living room with his back to the front door, as if he had just come home after a long day, and Caleb was sent reeling with the realization that maybe he had.

That’s right, a visual framing in this written medium!!! Positioning the POV so that the front door is behind Essek to reinforce the idea that he has come home.

“Welcome home, Essek.” Essek’s eyes glistened. “It is good to be home, Caleb Widogast.”

HE’S HOME. THEY'RE HOME. TOGETHER! WITH EACH OTHER!!! I AM PUNCHING THE WALLS!!!

“I love you,” Essek said. “I hope you know that.” Caleb stilled. It was a held breath, finally released. The resolution of a chord. I love you. An expected ending—the natural transition into the next refrain, but no less beautiful for it. I love you.

I love a music metaphor. I love music! You know when there’s a chord or a progression that has tension and you can hear how that should resolve? And then it does? That’s good stuff. And I thought it would be a good comparison to the feeling in this scene. As I said when I discussed Essek’s “oh” moment last chapter, I never intended for love to take either of them by surprise, but even so, it doesn’t lessen the impact of the realization. Good music can feel a lot like that. Like, of course that makes sense to the ear, but you still get chills or you gotta move your body because it resonates. Big fan of resonance. As a physical concept and as an emotional one.

The feeling had lain dormant for so long, but now, acknowledged and given a name, it bloomed throughout Caleb’s entire body and reached for the light that was Essek. He followed it forward, nuzzling Essek’s cheek, catching the corner of Essek’s lips with his own. “I love you,” he murmured. Essek leaned into the touch. “And I love you.”

Caleb has loved Essek for a while now, but naming it and expressing it—and knowing that it is returned—he experiences it with more clarity. It’s not necessarily of a greater intensity than the moment near the start of the chapter, but it is a different experience of it. Instead of a longing ache or a yearning, he is filled with elation because Essek is in love with him and he is in love with Essek. He knows this now, and when he reaches for him, Essek will be there.

Essek was silent, his face still in a way that usually meant he was working through some new emotion. It occurred to Caleb that this was perhaps the first place Essek had had of his own, to do with as he pleased, since his towers in Rosohna. He stepped beside Essek and placed a hand between his shoulder blades. Essek took a deep breath. “This is wonderful, Caleb. Thank you.”

My purpose in giving Essek his own room as opposed to sharing with Caleb was initially to keep continuity with On the Nature of Attraction, yes, but then I had to think about why I made that choice in the first place, and it’s more than just narrative convenience. Essek is a known introvert, and in my experience as an introvert (with a generous helping of neurodivergence that I dump onto Essek without specificity), having a place I can retreat to where I can decompress without the presence of other people, even people whom I like immensely, is beneficial to my health and well-being. I’m sure Caleb enjoys that privacy and would want Essek to have it as well.

Essek has been travelling from place to place for the better part of the last year, and prior to that, he was in charge of a very small outpost in the middle of nowhere. The lack of a place for himself and to himself is destabilizing. And with the fact that he must keep his identity secret everywhere he goes, there is a lot of importance in having a space that is not just where he can be alone, but that is representative of himself as well. I think that is key in making the house feel like Essek’s home too, not just Caleb’s.

“It is no Tower, but it is permanent, and it is safe, and it is yours.”

I decided against the Tower making an appearance in this last chapter for several reasons. First, there is the practical: a room being reliant on you casting a 7th level spell every day will be inconsistent. The Tower is a luxury that I’m sure Caleb uses often, but there may very well be days where he uses up his high level spell slots or wants to save them for emergencies and in those cases, it is worth it to have a real, physical space that he is comfortable in. This leads me to the second reason, which is that part of the point of Essek creating a home here is for consistency and the security that comes with that. Can he have that if he is relying on Caleb to create and design his space on a daily basis?

“Are you tutoring tomorrow?” “I am.” A pit formed in his stomach. “But you have only just gotten here. I can reschedule it, if you’d like.” Essek shook his head. “No need. I will be here when you return.”

Here, that instinct to make Essek the absolute number one priority, to the detriment of everything else, crops up, an understandable reaction to Essek popping in without much notice or time to spare. But that’s not the case anymore. Caleb will see Essek when he wakes tomorrow and when comes home after work. And the same will happen tomorrow, and for as many days as they are able.

At the end of the hall, before splitting off into their separate rooms, they stopped. It was a scene that had played out dozens of times before, but now—instead of the pats on arms and short hugs of Aeor, or the bittersweet goodbyes before an indefinite separation—Caleb took Essek by the hand and pulled him close.

And here we are, bringing this story to a close by bringing it full circle. It is another parting, yes, but the angst of previous partings is gone. The separation is only a few feet and a couple hours. Lingering at the doorway is an indulgence they can freely partake in, without awkwardness or anxiety. They will go to bed and rest, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow, they will wake in a house that is theirs, where the person they love resides.

asldfaslkdjfljskdfjlk How to Rest, my most dearly beloved! It has been such a joy to work on over the last year and a half, and I’m just… really proud of it. I had to talk about it because writing and wizards excite me and I wanted to share that excitement.

Thank you all who have read the fic and read the commentaries. I hope it’s been a fun journey for you as well!

#last one last one!#i love this chapter! it's so fun!!!#we're tying the whole fic together!!!!!#and here's where I get to break down the ~outfit~#which was a big motivator for doing this whole director's commentary project ngl #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #long post #eve talks #eve’s writing #how to rest #how to rest director's commentary #chattering at birds

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gustingirl · 2 years

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not rlly absurd but here we go

no matter what, wilson is a better cook and baker. the days they dont do takeout are the days wilson whips up a fantastic meal. house is endlessly and vocally jealous

wilson and cuddy (and sometimes ducklings, depends on seniority) have regular talk-shit tea parties. house is not invited but he knows about them and tried to spy once. they ended up sacking him with the bill and everything he heard was decoy conversation (did you know that the barnacle relative to its size-)

house helps wilson learn spanish by refusing to speak to him in english for days on end (and will torment the ducklings just for fun the same way) and takes full advantage of wilson's limited vocab to pepper him with affection. this backfires very quickly as wilson learns

while wilson encourages but doesnt participate, house is a closet musical theater nerd. pretty cool when his mayfield roomie alvie wrote that blockbuster broadway show about a founding father

wilson has stuffed animals and hes almost one hundred percent convinced house does too but to this day the evidence is circumstantial at best

they have both literally slept together on wilson's office couch during all nighter hospital stays and sometimes find excuses to do so before and during their relationship

the stint with the 82yo woman with syph (s1e8) lets say,, inspired house to write poetry. rlly intentionally bad poetry. he leaves sticky notes of terrible lines all over wilson's side of the bathroom. to this day wilson has never told a soul and has kept all of them

oh my god you're a fantastic human being and i love you, let me go in parts

they definitely have like cooking competitions and house is way more petty so whenever wilson cooks something delicious he has to pretend he doesn't like it

SO TRUE, remember that episode where house thought wilson and cuddy had fucked and wilson kept on fooling house about it? same shit, house would go to wilson to "corroborate" tea he had heard and he would be fooled every single time

i would have paid for one episode where house does not speak a word in english just to mess with everybody. i love the idea of wilson and house being competitive

LMAO NOT HAMILTON OMG and considering hugh was the inspiration for "you'll be back", then house was alvie's inspiration. house is definitely a musical theatre junkie but won't admit it bc he knows wilson will mock him

house definitely has stuffed animals bc wilson keeps on gifting them little ones and he can't throw them away but he also can't show wilson he keeps them so he hides them somewhere. when wilson brought it up one dinner, house had to start changing the hiding spot because wilson is always close to find them

but what about when the ducklings catch them? they come up with the most absurd excuses, at least house does. wilson can’t figure anything out so when cameron asks him in private he just confesses

ok but wilson doesn't even tell house about them, until one fight where house says wilson never cared about their relationship, wilson shows him all the post its he has been saving since day one.

then they have sex.

please send me more, you just made my day

#.q&a #house md #should i tag this as fics? ok #hilson fic #hilson headcanons #hilson

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brunhielda · 11 months

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Musical Themes and Capitalistic Hellscapes

I am walking through Six Flags. For the purpose of this story, the only important thing is I am walking through a theme/amusement park. A place of merriment. A place where aesthetics are designed to elicit cheer.

So I am walking though this theme park, and there are sections. Each section of the park has it’s own soundtrack playing from speakers. The old west section has country music, Looney Tunes section has songs song by various characters, Metropolis (where the super hero themed stuff it) plays the soundtrack from the classic Superman movies, while Gotham (only Batman themed stuff- six flags clearly has a favorite) is playing the soundtrack of the 1990s cartoon.

As a musical nerd I am actually enjoying this and getting excited about recognizing various pieces of music. It’s making my day on an otherwise hot, crowded, annoying trip.

I am in the section of the park that is like “Main St. USA” or “enjoy the 50s” or just general Americana. If you live in the US, you know what I am talking about. Arcades, old style movie theater front, “quaint” shops, ect. It is basically playing “oldies” over the sound system. I can get that at the grocery store at home. I am mostly tuning it out. But then… what comes on?

16 Tons. If you don’t know the song, you can find it below. I am singing it before I realize what I am singing, it is that much a part of American psyche. But then I freeze, mouth gaping open, and laugh. Just a startled. Guffaw of a laugh. I’m sure I startled someone walking by me.

This song is about working a job for your whole life, never to get out from debt, and how it can turn you into one tough son of a bitch. It is about people with power seeing you as property, a cog in a machine.

Hearing it in the middle of an American theme park in a section of cheesie “Americana” fun, was the same weird disorienting feeling of hearing “Fortunate Son” blasting through a patriotic movie. It absolutely fits and absolutely does not in all the best and worst ways. Themes inextricably linked yet not compatible.

Does 16 Tons fit the theme of Americana? Absolutely. Our history with hard labor turning into union fights is part of who we are. Like I said, I know this song so well I was singing before I consciously identified it.

Does 16 Tons have a fun bouncy sound that will keep people moving and doing on a day they might otherwise be tired. For sure. Perfect musically for a theme park soundtrack. That’s part of why it’s so singable. It’s one of those “horrifically dark themes put to a fun beat” songs that get sung in pubs and bus rides simply BECAUSE the tune carries you along.

Does 16 Tons work thematically with forgetting your woes to spend a bunch of money on fun without thought or care? ABSOLUTELY NOT. This is one of those songs that plays on the radio on the way to work and if you relate too hard you walk in and quit. It puts into perspective which way your work/life balance is heading. In the middle of a theme park, some catches the lyric suddenly and it’s “Oh GOD, what have I done? Have I just shoveled the debt deeper to forget about it for a weekend? How do I release myself from this never ending cycle?!”

Point is, if you are trying to paint Americana as this beautiful nostalgic, rosy thing, this is the WRONG SONG. It is far too honest. Like “Fortunate Son” being way too real to the life of military service to be used in a movie painting the life as heroic, “16 Tons” is the actual reality of the furthest hellscape of capitalism that Americana has, can, and will likely continue to fall into.

If the American theme park is this symbol of “the American way” working out like it is supposed to- work your week, have a comfortable life, take the occasional weekend or vacation to places like this and bond with the family- then 16 Tons is the absolute other end of capitalism, where people are chattel, and there is no escape, moreover it is the prevailing belief that escape is somehow “immoral.”

Yet here it was, the hellscape of capitalism, being cheerfully celebrated as part of the perfect American identity.

Laughing was really the only response I could have.

youtube

#six flags #theme park #americana #america #musical story #soundtracks of our life #16 tons #capitalism #when the best and worst parts meet up in an amusement park #hellscape of capitalism #tennessee ernie ford #Thank you for telling it how it is in a fun way #it leads to moments like this #that scream “get out!#Youtube #I owe my soul to the company store 🎶#it ain’t me I ain’t the fortunate son 🎶

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tvguidancecounselor · 1 year

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 553: Dave Ross

February 6-12, 1999

This week Ken welcomes comedian and old friend Dave Ross to the show.

Ken and Dave talk about changing NYC's nickname, apples, Jersey City, how amazingly great George Clooney is, Middletown and Newburgh NY, bands in North and Central NJ, 90s and 00s punk, hating masculinity, rage, angry dudes, watching bands, tour dates, Toad's Place, punching people, awful hardcore bands, 1999, realizing you remember way more TV than you thought, the amazing movies of the 90s, George Carlin, Mulan, Cops in Palm Beach, stand up on Comedy Central, Premium Blend with the US Bombs, Jeff Foxworthy, Brett Butler, Backstreet Boys on pay per view, Mad TV over SNL, The Simpsons, LA Confidential, Newsradio, loving 90s sitcoms, being obsessive, regional stores, fast food, Tom Green, Big Brother, Survivor, The Real World, Road Rules, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Spin City, Hannity and Combs, Michael Chiklis, Wired, theater nerds, tough guys, Mad About You, Kids in the Hall, Stephen Root, King of the Hill, The Drew Carey Show, Beverly Hills 90210, Party of Five, William Ragsdale, Veronica's Closet, Just Shoot Me, The Powers that Be, dark humor, suicide jokes, making jokes about tough things, loving John Leguizamo, Boy Meets World, WGN, Wayne's Brothers, Jaime Foxx, how great Steve Harvey is, Richard Karn, Larry Sanders, Nash Bridges, vampires, Talk Soup, wondering where John Henson went, Behind the Music, shows starting at weird times, Bruce Willis, Ally McBeal, Tracy Ulman, Providence, being mad about too many dogs, and the beauty of catching up.

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adsdragonlover · 3 years

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You Matter To Me

Coda to 15x19

Wc: 2k, Tags: fluff, pie, happy ending, first kiss

Also on ao3

It’s been three weeks since they won, but Dean still isn’t happy.

He’s been driving around the country, searching for something he knows he won’t find. The thing he wants that he knows he can’t have. He lost his chance.

Eventually, he ends up at a diner.

Lulu’s Pies, it says in softly glowing neon cursive above the building.

The bell above the door chimes as Dean pushes it open and steps inside. It’s pleasantly warm compared to the cold night outside, but Dean still feels cold. At least on the inside.

He heads to the bar and sits down on one of the stools.

With a cursory and habitual glance around the diner, he realizes he’s the only one here. At least the only customer.

That makes sense, he supposes. It’s barely 3 AM and the diner is plopped in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. The only other signs of life in the area are the long winding road outside and the shitty old gas station a few miles back.

To be honest, Dean doesn’t quite know why he came here. Maybe he needed a break from the drive.

He wanted to get some pie - the place was literally named for its pies - but that was mainly out of habit rather than actual desire. It’s been hard to want any of the things he used to enjoy, not since…

He cuts off that train of thought with a scowl to himself.

The waitress, a sweet looking woman with long, wavy, dark blonde hair and deep blue eyes approaches Dean from the other side of the bar. “What can I get for you, sugar?” she asks with a warm voice, rich with a soft southern accent. It reminds him, inexplicably, of his mother.

“I-“ Dean stops. “I don’t know,” he admits quietly.

The waitress, Jenna, according to her name tag, smiles sympathetically. “That’s alright,” she says sweetly. “It can be hard to know what you want, especially when you lose someone dear to you.”

Dean frowns. “How did you-” He begins.

Jenna smiles sadly at Dean. “There are some things a mother just knows, and heartbreak is one of them.” Her eyes are understanding, and painfully blue - too close to Castiel’s eyes for comfort. Dean looks away. “You look like you could use a slice of pie,” she says, handing him a paper dessert menu, specifically made for this week. “They’re all made from scratch, and made from the heart. Take all the time you need, honey. I’ll be back with a cup of coffee for you, it’s on the house.”

Jenna’s words soothe something raw and stinging inside Dean, and he offers her a small smile as she heads back into the kitchen.

He looks over the menu with a tired sigh. Not too long ago, Dean would’ve killed to eat here. All the pies sound awesome, and something about the waitress makes it very clear she puts effort into her pies.

Still, his heart isn’t really in it.

When Jenna comes back with a mug of coffee and a smile, Dean nods thankfully, but shakes his head when she asks if he’s ready to order. “I just- I need more time,” he says.

He isn’t just talking about the food. Not anymore.

Jenna nods. “Just give me a call when you’re ready, hun,” and then she’s gone.

Dean isn’t really sure how long he sits there, staring blankly at the dessert menu, coffee warming up one of his hands, his soul feeling achingly empty.

He's snapped out of his stupor by the sound of the bell above the door chiming to indicate someone else entering.

Dean’s eyes are glued to the menu still, reading the blurb under Heartbreak Pie. It's a black bottomed cherry pie, and the picture stops him.

He hears footsteps walk over, but he ignores them. They come closer until the stranger sits down on the stool to the right of Dean.

Dean feels irritation flash through him briefly, the diner is completely empty, and Dean’s positive he’s radiating “leave me alone” vibes, but for some reason the stranger decides to sit next to him anyway.

The irritation is gone as fast as it appeared however, Dean just doesn’t have the energy. Not anymore.

A couple days after they’d won, after Jack had left and Sam had reunited with a newly brought back Eileen, Dean had broken down in the bunker.

He’d lost it a little, had cried and cried and cried for days. Begging and pleading and praying. But Cas hadn’t come back.

Not long after, the sadness had turned to anger. Anger at Cas, for making the deal in the first place. For loving Dean so much it killed him. For telling him and then leaving before Dean could say it back. Anger at Jack, for dying and causing the deal, for becoming God and not bringing Cas back, for leaving Dean just like Cas had, just like Sam.

But mostly, Dean had been angry with himself. For not saying it back when Cas told him, for just standing there, for being the reason Cas died, for being too stubborn and too scared to say anything sooner, back when he’d had the chance. He was angry at himself for not being everything that Cas apparently thought he was.

Those few days were fueled entirely by anger in Dean’s opinion. He knew, deep down, that the anger was caused by love, but he didn’t want to think about that. Because if Cas was right, if he was right about Dean then there really wasn’t any good reason why Dean had never said anything.

Those few days were fueled entirely by anger. He knew, deep down, that the anger was caused by love, but he didn’t want to think about that. Because if Cas was right, if he was right about Dean then there really wasn’t any good reason why Dean had never said anything.

Nowadays though, Dean just felt numb. He drives around in Baby with the hopes of bringing something back into his life, but nothing helps.

He almost missed it, he was so lost in thought, and he barely caught the tail end of Jenna asking the stranger what she could “-get for you, dear?”

“I’ll have a slice of cherry pie,” came the low and gravelly voice, and Dean’s heart stopped, “and a slice of apple pie for my friend here,” Castiel finished.

Dean could barely hear Jenna’s acknowledgement and departure over the sudden ringing in his ears and the unavoidable bloom of hope in his chest.

He wants to look over, he does. He wants to see for himself if it really is Cas. Or if he's finally going crazy. But he can't move. He's frozen in his spot.

And then Cas’ hand comes to rest on Dean’s shoulder, right where his handprint had been, both as a scar that was no longer there, and as a bloody stain on a jacket Dean kept in the trunk of the impala for safekeeping. That movement, that touch, it was undeniably Castiel, and it forced Dean into action.

He turns his head, and looks his best friend in the eyes for the first time in what feels like forever.

And it's Castiel. Undoubtedly. He has the same messy hair, the same stubble, the same beautiful blue eyes, same dirty trench coat, the same stubbornly crooked blue tie.

“Cas?” Dean croaks, voice wobbling, painfully close to cracking.

Castiel smiles softly and the sight of it brings endless relief to Dean. And when Cas responds with, “Yes. Hello, Dean.” The relief doubles until it floods over Dean so completely his hands begin to shake.

“Cas,” he starts, voice trembling almost as much as his hands. “I- you- how-?”

“Oh look, our pie,” Cas says, cutting Dean off as their slices of pie are placed down in front of them.

“Cas, listen-” Dean begins quietly.

“Dean,” Cas interrupts. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk, I promise. Just eat your pie.”

And maybe, some other time, Dean would’ve been worried, would’ve been suspicious over Cas’ clear redirection. But he isn't. Because Castiel’s eyes are earnest and honest.

And Dean suddenly understands. Cas doesn't want to talk about it yet. He doesn't know how Dean is going to respond. He wants to have this first, just a quiet, peaceful moment.

So Dean nods, and begins to eat his pie.

It is really good pie, especially a regular apple pie, and it's probably the best apple pie he’d had in years. Mentally, Dean decides to give Jenna a large tip.

He’s halfway through eating his pie when he can’t do it anymore. Not with the way he could feel Cas watching him contentedly, fondly.

“Cas, listen, I-”

“It’s alright, Dean,” Cas says, cutting him off again, but Dean can’t be mad at it. He just needs to keep going.

“No,” he says sternly, looking stubbornly down at his half-eaten slice of pie. “No, it’s not Cas. It’s not alright, and I need to say this.”

He looks back up at Cas and waits for his response. When Cas nods in understanding, Dean takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes to steady himself briefly before opening them back up and looking Cas in the eyes. “Cas, I love you,” Dean says quietly. “You gotta know I love you too.”

Cas’ eyes widen slightly before his expression softens to something so fond it would probably make Dean uncomfortable had it been coming from anyone else. “I know,” he says with a smile that’s almost a grin.

“You kno-?” Then Dean gets it. “Oh you little shit,” he laughs. “You did not know, you don’t get to Han Solo me, you asshat,” Dean says with a wide grin.

Cas chuckles and the sound warms Dean up from the inside out. “My apologies, Dean. It seemed fitting and I figured you’d appreciate it.” Cas ducks his head slightly, avoiding eye contact, though he’s still smiling.

“Hey,” Dean says, and he reaches out and grabs Cas’ hand. “There’s no need to apologize, man.” Dean’s grinning too, and, distantly, he figures he should probably make an effort to stop calling Cas “man” and “buddy”, considering the fact that he’s in love with the stupid angel.

Cas’ smile widens and he looks back up, meeting Dean’s gaze as he turns his hand over and laces their fingers together almost hesitantly.

The flood of warmth the action brings Dean, as well as the hesitation in Cas’ eyes, brings Dean to squeeze their hands automatically, reassuringly.

All the hesitance in Cas’ expression melts away, and he practically beams at Dean. “You should finish your pie, Dean,” he suggests softly.

“So should you,” Dean points out.

Cas chuckles again and shakes his head. “It only tastes like molecules to me. I’ll get a to-go box for it and you can finish it for me later,” he says, and the ‘later’ in that sentence fills Dean with joy.

They aren’t over. There’s going to be a “later” for the two of them.

He grins at Cas and squeezes his hand before turning back to his delicious pie.

It’s after he finishes it that he gets an idea, and he grins. “Hey Cas, you wanna taste it? It’s pretty good.”

Castiel frowns and does his confused little head tilt that Dean has always secretly found unbearably cute. He realizes, suddenly, that he doesn’t have to keep that a secret anymore, and the thought makes him smile.

“Dean, I don’t understand,” Cas says slowly, “there isn’t any pie le-” and then the look on Dean’s face must sink in, because he cuts off with a slowly growing and a little shy smile. “...yes,” he says finally. “I would like a taste.”

“Good,” Dean says, and then he reaches over with both hands, wrapping one around Cas’ arm and cupping the back of his neck with the other as he pulls his angel into a kiss.

Castiel melts into it, and Dean feels a little like he’s glowing from the inside out, he’s so happy.

When they pull away, Dean is still grinning. “Well?” he says. “Did you like the taste?”

Cas is wearing a matching grin. “Hmmm,” he says with mock thoughtfulness. “I’m not sure, I think we should do it again, so I can have another taste.”

God, Dean is in love.

They meet again in the middle for another kiss.

Dean’s face almost hurts from smiling so much after such a long time of not smiling at all. And he knows, as they hold each other close in the pie diner, that they have the rest of their lives to spend together.

And Dean is happy.

Tag list! Ask to be added or removed!

@dreamnovak @tearsofgrace @bluebell-24 @rambleoncas

#coda #spn fanfic #destiel fanfic #destiel ficlet #destiel coda #spn 15.19 #spn 15x19 #spn spoilers #supernatural fanfic #deancas #deancas fic #destiel fic #destiel #my writing #catch me being a musical theater nerd #and adding Jenna from waitress to the story

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the-insomniac-emporium · 3 years

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Crimson Ties (Bela Dimitrescu/Reader, Soulmate AU) Pt. 3

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language Warnings: Typical Vampire shenanigans + mentions of animal death Genre: Hurt + comfort Summary: Time to meet the family! What exactly has Cassandra told her mother? Can Bela convince her family to calm the hell down? We'll find out! Spoiler: there's the start of a cute date afterwards Notes: Once more we visit Bela's private study, which I first described in a chapter of Serenade. Added a few more details this time. PS reader is probably low-key a theater nerd with a hint of a goth phase, just saying. Also this chap is a little short, sorry. Previous Chapters: 1: Stem the Flow, 2: Tangled Strands

3: Rumbling Thunder

Heart racing, you step into the dining room, just behind Bela. Both of you are nervous, but find comfort in each other. Still, what you see upon entering only makes you feel worse. At the head of a large table stands none other than Lady Alcina Dimitrescu. Besides her is her middle daughter, the one who confronted you earlier, who sends you a knowing smirk as you walk in. Lady Dimitrescu, on the other hand, is scowling. Her eyes are squinted in a clear display of disapproval. If not for Bela’s hand squeezing your own, it was likely that you would have fainted from fear.

“I see Cassandra has wasted no time in spreading rumors,” Bela said bitterly. You’re amazed by her ability to stand tall in the face of her family’s tension. Yet there was a part of you that wondered if you were worth the struggle, at least for your soulmate. Thankfully, you are not given much time to ponder the thought. No, you’re being pulled towards the closest side of the tabe, guided next to an ornate seat. Neither Bela nor yourself sit yet, however. “Please, mother, do not be hasty to make your judgement. I promise that-”

“Do not presume to tell me of my own business, daughter. The timing of my judgement is my prerogative, not yours,” Lady Dimitrescu interrupted, staring right at you. A shiver runs down your spine at the eye contact. What did Cassandra say to her? You wonder, struggling to breathe past the lump in your throat. Even Bela becomes visibly nervous at the interaction. “Now… are you certain, without a doubt, that this is your soulmate?” Did she really even have to ask? What were the chances that Bela would save you, one person out of at least a dozen in the cellar, for any other reason? Still, your soulmate straightens up at the attention, and replies as confidently as possible.

“Yes, of course, mother. I would not dare risk your anger for any lesser reason,” Bela assured. Then she gives your hand another soft squeeze, before pulling hers back a little, catching the thread that bound you together with her fingers. Lifting it, she tugs it somewhat absentmindedly. Out of habit you immediately return the action. Unfortunately, those around you would be unable to see the display. For all they knew, the two of you could be faking it, simply attempting to get out of the situation unscathed. Surprisingly though, you see Alcina hesitate. Her left hand twitches as if she was thinking of her own red string. Has she ever met her partner? Did she know the pure joy that her daughter had so recently felt?... Maybe she’d be more sympathetic to your situation if she had.

“We will see if your defiance pans out in time, Bela. For now… Why don’t we hear what your pet has to say about themselves, hmm?” Lady Dimitrescu suggested, giving a somewhat devious smile. Next to you, Bela grimaces, then sends you a pleading look. Alas, you cannot read her mind, and can only guess as to how you’re supposed to respond. Bowing is a sign of respect in virtually all cultures, you think, probably a good place to start.

“It is an immeasurable pleasure to formally make your acquaintance, Lady Dimitrescu,” you said, before giving your full name. Then you rise from your bow, once more making eye contact. Out of the corner of your vision you see Cassandra rolling her eyes. “I know that I am a mere human, and hardly the epitome of a prime specimen. But I am determined to prove my worth, for there is no prize on this earth more grand than being allowed to love Lady Bela. Every ounce of my willpower is prepared to devote myself to this task, entirely, so that I may give Lady Bela the courtship and happiness that she is deserving. It is both an obligation and an honor.” Hopefully your soulmate wouldn’t mind you using the same line twice, at least under these circumstances.

In the seconds that follow, several things happen: One, you see Cassandra frown a little, and refuse to look in your direction. Two, Lady Dimitrescu makes a surprised face, but quickly shifts into an expression of satisfaction. Thirdly, Bela’s hand finds your own again, giving it an incredibly soft squeeze. Last but not least… someone you haven’t seen before enters the room. She has red hair, a green pendant around her neck, and eyes that light up with curiosity when she sees you. If you had to guess, you’d assume that she was another one of Bela’s sisters. Here’s hoping she’s a tad bit friendlier, you think.

“Did I miss anything? Ooh, please tell me we’re having this lovely stranger for breakfast?” She asked, grinning maniacally. So much for being friendlier, you think, figuring that she was being literal. Based on the way Bela tenses up in response, you’re probably right. Before she can protest, however, Lady Dimitrescu clears her throat and speaks.

“Ah, Daniela… This stranger-” she says the word with far less venom than you anticipated, but it is venom nonetheless- “is your dear sister’s soulmate. We will not be draining them of blood. Again. Assuming that they behave themselves. Is that clear?” She asked, staring down at the newcomer. There’s a slight pause, tension still lingering in the air, followed by a sigh of relief from Bela. Much to your surprise, neither Cassandra nor Daniela seem particularly upset by this announcement. In fact, the latter simply shrugs and takes her seat at the table. Next thing you know everyone else is sitting as well, including Bela, who gestures for you to follow suit. “I’ll have one of the servants fetch you some more… appropriate food. Cynthia, my dear?” Soon enough a maiden, perhaps a decade or two older than yourself, hurriedly enters the room. With a bow, she addresses Alcina.

“Yes, Lady Dimitrescu?”

“Have Miss Bouregard make an extra plate of whatever it is you sort eat, and bring it here. We have an… unexpected guest,” Alcina explained. At that, Cynthia glances at you, her eyes briefly widening in surprise. Without another word she turns away, giving another bow before heading away to fulfill her task. Once more you’re the only human in the room. Oddly enough, you manage to feel quite at ease, as if surviving one round was enough to guarantee you’d win the overall game. Well, at the very least you now had a chance. Regardless of what was to come, you were glad for that, for this opportunity to be with your soulmate. At the end of the day… little else mattered to you.

———————————

Much to your relief, the rest of breakfast proceeded smoothly. Conversation was sparse, with most of it being hushed whispers from the other side of the table, but you hardly minded. Normally you would find it rude. Now, you were simply pleased that they weren’t being up front with their hostility. More so, it allowed you and Bela to have your own conversation, which mainly pertained to your plans for the day. Several times during your discussion, a glance elsewhere would show you that Alcina was paying attention. Exactly once you even saw her attempting to hide a smile. A sense of pride had swelled in your chest at the sight.

It has remained there, even until now, as you move into Bela’s private study. One quick survey of the room tells you a thousand things about your soulmate. For starters, it’s clear that she’s musically inclined. There’s a harp in one corner, adjacent to a folded music stand, as well as a small bookshelf dedicated entirely to sheet music. A couple medium sized instrument cases are nearby, but you don’t immediately recognize their shape. Further into the room is a rather old looking desk, slightly worn, yet clearly cared for. Possibly passed down the generations? Next to the desk is a massive window with a couple spare chairs. All across the walls were bookshelves and mementos, including several skulls (at least one of them human). Every book you looked over appeared to be well read, with many bookmarks inside, some held together by tape and prayers.

“This… this is sublime, my darling. I could rest here for a month and hardly finish cherishing half the space!” You said, grinning at your soulmate. She’s equally pleased, seeming a tad relieved as well. Perhaps she had worried you’d be thrown off by the skulls? Wanting to reassure her, you approach that particular shelf, examining them closely. However, you do not touch them, not wanting to risk damaging her collection. “Truly marvellous. Dare I ask where you got these specimens?” It’s a joke, but Bela stiffens nonetheless, making you quickly redact your statement. “My apologies, I meant it as a jest. Though you are welcome to tell me more about them if you so desire! I will listen with rapt attention, I promise.”

“Most of them are gifts from Cassandra. During the summers we hunt, her more so than Daniela or myself. I… dislike wasting anything, and there’s only so much to be done with most bones. They have quite a few ornamental uses, however. Useful for study, as well,” Bela mentioned, smiling softly. Then she moves to stand next to you, carefully reaching to grab one of the skulls. “This was from one of our hounds, actually. I raised her from puppy to adult, took her on every hunt, even let her sleep in my quarters on colder nights. When she got sick I…” A pause, mouth open but unmoving, eyes slipping shut. “I couldn’t bring myself to put her down. Even argued with my mother, night after night, begging for another choice. None came, of course, and in the end even I could not deny her the softest embrace of death… Still, you must think me strange, to keep such a thing as a reminder of her.”

“Not at all, my dear. We all remember, and grieve, in our own ways. I’ve often found myself intrigued by skulls, of all sorts,” you admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of your neck with your hand. “All we are, our minds or mayhap our souls, contained in one hard shell. It’s incredible, and terrifying, all at the same time, to hold one in my hands, or even merely examine one. Oh, what stories these bones could tell, if only they could talk… Though I suppose there are entire fields of science devoted to such a thought…” With that said, you look back at Bela just in time to see her staring fondly at the canine skull. Then she places it back on its perch, dusting her hands off afterwards, taking one last moment to appreciate her collection.

“I’m glad you and I agree on this,” she said softly. Once more she’s looking at you, smiling wide. “Now let’s make memories of our own, to hold in our bones forevermore, yes?”

#bela dimitrescu x reader #bela dimitrescu #resident evil: village #re8 village #tw animal death

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shijjii · 3 years

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5 alarms that woke Chad up and 1 that didn't

Pretty self explanatory, noh?

(also, Chad has three siblings, two siblings that are two years older than him (twins, Fynn and Esi) and a sister younger than him by one year only (Adia), and he has two mothers Brianna Johnsons and Aimee Danforth (Fynn, Esi and Adia are Brianna's children) wow this is a long explanation I'm so sorry, please enjoy this thing)

One; cookies and lavenders

Sophomore year was something that he was supposed to enjoy, or at least, that's what his older siblings had told him.

Chad groaned as he sat by the window and waited for someone to sit beside him. Troy was somewhere near his dad, it was Mrs. Bolton's request that her baby boy not be separated from his father while travelling, so Chad was left to his own device, sitting by himself in the bus, looking outside the window as if he's in a movie

The others were already paired off when Troy told him his mother's request, making Chad unable to ask anyone else to sit with him

"you okay there, man?" he looks up to see Zeke standing from behind him. He was paired with Jason, who was already catching his sleep. It was way too early in the morning to even be awake but he did not complain as he knew how long the trip would be

"yeah, man. Just a little bummed, I guess?" Zeke hummed, disappearing into his seat for a moment and popped up once more with a Tupperware in hand "here, help yourself with these. I-Mom made it last night for me" Chad stared at it and took the container from his teammate's hand, thanking him before settling down as the bus started to move

He was too focused eating the cookies that he didn't notice someone sitting beside him until someone elbowed him due to the fact that the person beside him was almost tangled up with his bag

"oh, sorry" Chad looks up to see Ryan Evans, adjusting his lavender newsboy cap

"ish okay" he replies, mouth filled with cookies, Ryan was almost out of the bag's grip on him but he made one mistake and all of a sudden, it seemed like he was back to square one, making him click his tongue in annoyance. Chad settled the cookies in his lap and helped the boy out of his misery

"thanks" once the bag was now on the floor, Ryan thanked him and Chad just quietly hummed as he stared at Ryan and his lavender cap and lavender pants. He looked at the container in his hands before offering some to Ryan, who smiled and took one. He thanked Chad once more before Chad decided he had enough of the cookies and rest his head on the window to catch some sleep

He woke up when something was ringing and vibrating underneath his butt, groggily looking for whatever that was, he finds a phone that was definitely not his, he turns off the alarm and looks at Ryan who was asleep, with his arms crossed and head facing up the ceiling as his newsboy cap covered his face

Chad also noticed that he was shivering slightly and took off his jacket to put it on the boy, adjusting it a couple of times so that it won't fall off, he had to tuck in some of thr fabric and smiled to himself once he was satisfied with it

looking at the phone that was in his hand, he wasn't sure where he'll put it so he puts it inside the pocket of his jacket, hoping that Ryan will notice the phone once he wakes up

Two; illegal

Chad was waiting for Taylor to finish her daily 'light' reading in the library, he didn't really have anything else to do since Troy was off canoodling with his girlfriend

he made an impatient noise once more, making Taylor put her book down "if you don't want to read then just sleep" he looks at her for some time before deciding that she was right. He can just take a nap, so he made himself comfortable and crossed his arms, tilting his head down and closing his eyes. Tuning out the quiet chatter of some students who were discussing the theory of general relativity

He was startled awake as he hears a loud ring from somewhere inside the library, Taylor was almost finished with her reading when she too, was startled by the loud ring

"what the heck" she mumbles under her breath as she looks at the source of the noise, only to see Ryan scrambling to look for his phone to turn off the alarm

He was hatless and one side of his face was red, there were outlines on that side making chad presume that the boy had fallen asleep with his head on the table

The way Ryan rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and look for his fedora that fell on the floor when he was woken up by the alarm was doing things to Chad, and he didn't mind being suddenly woken up if the view was like that

"keep staring and he might melt" Taylor smirked at Chad as she closed her book, he huffs out in annoyance "let him melt then, it's illegal to look that good when you've just woken up" Taylor lets out a breathy laugh and stand up "come on, lover boy. Gabriella just texted me, saying that Troy's looking for you"

They both make their way out of the library, completely unaware of the eyes that trailed after Chad's back

Three; dreams don't count, but if it feels real...

The face Ryan had after he saw the enormous amount of collection of DVDs in their living room was amusing and cute, he had invited the boy over to watch some recorded musicals and Ryan said he'll bring some over, not expecting to see tons of playbills and DVDs. Chad explained to him that his mothers, Aimee and Brianna were quite the theater nerds themselves

The musical that they were watching was long finished and Chad had said something about Troy that just made the blonde burst out laughing, holding his stomach with his hands as he bent over. Chad laughed along with him, but he did not let this opportunity to look at Ryan go to waste. He just stared at Ryan, laughing with him, in hopes to not get caught. The way that the sun shine on him through the window made him look like an angel

After Ryan had calmed down, Chad only noticed how close they were together. He looked at the bright cerulean eyes that seemed to shimmer as the setting sun disappeared into the horizon through the open window

Chad doesn't know who leaned in first but the next thing he knew was that Ryan's lips were on his-

RING RING RING

Chad groaned and opened his eyes. He was just having a good dream when his alarm blared out through his room

"fucking-" he sat up and annoyingly stopped the alarm on his phone. As he sat on his bed in the quiet room, he thought back to his dream and smiled as he remembers the last part before he was rudely woken up by his alarm

"Chad!" snapping out of his trance, he hears Brianna call for him for breakfast

"coming, ma!" he shouted, finally getting up and fixing his bed quickly before making his way downstairs where he hears his mothers and sistsr, singing along with a song that he knows Ryan had sung once under his breath

sitting down on the table, ignoring his family's singing, he had a smile on his lips while his thoughts were filled of Ryan's face and laugh. Ever since the baseball game, Ryan would invade Chad's head at any point in time and it would sometimes get annoying because he can't focus but honestly, it was better than anything else

"mooom, Chad is smiling creepily at the table" Chad snapped out of his trance and kicked his younger sister under the table

"mom, ma, Adia is being offensive" Adia lets out a dramatic gasp and sets her spoon down with a slight thump "what?! I'm not offensive!"

"your face is offensive!"

"alright children, settle down" Aimee said with a snort and put down the food on the table, then they discussed that next week both mothers will have to travel to Chicago to visit their older siblings

Four; let the nightmare pass

Chad asked Mrs. Darbus for a quick break time as he was tired, he was surprised that she allowed an hour of break time. He had not slept very well yesterday night as his mothers got into a car crash. They were lucky that Brianna did not have any major injury but Aimee was the unfortunate between the two mothers as she has a broken arm and a couple broken ribs

the jock lays down in between the seats at the back, not even caring if someone sees him there, he just wanted to sleep somewhere quiet and far away from people. He set a quick alarm on his phone and laid there quietly

with his eyes closed, he thought how were his mothers doing? Were his mom doing okay? Did they eat? And if so, did they eat enough? Was Adia doing okay? He was sure that she was just as sleepy as he was feeling right now but how was she feeling? Was she scared? Of course she's scared, it's their mothers

and before Chad could even worry more, his mind and body has shut down

Ryan was tasked to search for Chad as they were going to start their rehearsal again, he searched every part of the theater for him, only to see the jock laying down at the very back, in between the seats and it was pretty obvious that he was having a nightmare, with the way he was twitching, the way his face would scrunch up and the occasional whimpers that he'd let out

Chad looked very vulnerable to Ryan at that time, he heard from his mother that they shouldn't wake up a person who's having nightmares, you have to let it pass. So he gently raises Chad's head and puts him on his lap, softly pushing his curls away from his forehead and with his other hand, he held Chad's, hoping that the nightmare will go away with the soothing actions that he was doing, not even noticing that he himself was falling asleep

They were both woken up with the alarm that Chad had set, Chad felt something quickly raise his head, a small thud and a sharp intake of breath

He opened his eyes to see Ryan's eyes tightly shut, holding the back of his head with one hand, he had his lips pursed. Quickly turning off the alarm, he then focused on Ryan

"what happened?" Chad rasped out, slowly sitting up and noticed that they were holding hands. He gently squeezed it to get Ryan's attention "I was so startled by the alarm that I hit the back of my head on the chair" Chad snorted and used his free hand to gently caress the back of his head as if it will relieve the pain

Ryan subconsciously leans into Chad's hand and softly smiled at his attempt, he feels Chad's hand carefully move from the back of his head to his cheek and he finally opened his eyes to scan the jock's face "you still look tired" Chad slightly opened his mouth to say that he was fine but closed it when he realized he didn't have to hide anything from Ryan

He smiled and put his forehead on Ryan's, closing his eyes "I am. Stay here for a little while, so I can recharge and everything will be okay again" he hears the blonde hum and lay his hand on top of Chad's, sitting there in the comfortable silence between them.

Five; apologies for the intrusion

Chad slowly opens his eyes as he reached out to his phone that was ringing, he looks at the time and sees that it was nearing the time to attend the last graduation party. They've already graduated and Troy was hosting one last party for their batch before they all go their own ways

Before Chad could even think of sleeping more, a message from Troy came in then suddenly his phone rang with Ryan's name

he dismissed the text message and quickly answered the call "what's up?"

"I had a feeling that you're going to sleep more so I've taken the liberty to come to your house right now and give you a ride to the Bolton's"

"what?" Chad sat up and made his way to his door but then he hears Ryan knock the same time someone knocked on their door

"Coming!" he hears his ma, Brianna, shout and walk to the front door

"wait, ma!-" too late, Brianna had already opened the door, looking at Ryan who was smiling brightly at her, phone still up to his ear

"oh!" Ryan's smile turned into a grin, he did a curtsy and said in his most posh accent

"Apologies for the intrusion, Madame. I'm Ryan Evans, I'm here to take lord Chad to lord Troy's party" Chad groaned as he ended the call and made his way down, he sees Ryan's amused expression, he was assuming that his hair was a mess and he did not care one bit that Ryan saw him like this if he get to see that amused cheshire smile on the blonde's face

"so this is Ryan Evans?" Brianna asked, smiling at the blonde who was standing by the door

"yes, ma. This is Ryan" Brianna opened her arms and hugged the boy, thoroughly surprising him "I've heard so much about you! Come in, come in" she ushers the blonde inside their home, Ryan regained his composure and followed Brianna inside

"Aimee can't greet you since she's resting right now"

"that is completely fine by me, I'm the guest and unannounced too, you don't have to inconvenience yourself because of me" Brianna chuckles "I like him" she points at Ryan and grins at Chad who was rubbing his face

"alright, you two go and get to know each other. I'll just get ready" he mumbles under his breath, waving his hand and not even looking at the two who was beaming at him as he make his way back upstairs

As he goes back downstairs, fresh out of the shower with a new set of clothes, he sees Ryan and Brianna talking about musicals and theater, quietly leaning on the wall as he observed the two talk in a quick manner. Chad just can never get enough of Ryan

Ryan finally notices him and stopped, smiling at Chad "you ready?" Chad nodded, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and bid her goodbye

"take care of my son" Brianna says and waves them goodbye as Chad and Ryan get into the blue convertible

"so what did you two talk about?" Ryan chuckled under his breath, as he put up the hood of the car and closed the windows as it looked like it was about to rain "you ask as if you didn't listen in our conversation"

"yeah, but I wanna hear you talk. More so, I want to hear you talk about it because I know you two talked about musicals and that makes you excited" he sees as the tips of Ryan's ears turn red and started to talk about what he and Brianna discussed. He liked making Ryan blush, he liked it more when he sees him excited over something and happy

Ryan finally parked near by the Boltons and looked at Chad who was staring at him with love and adoration, there was a soft smile on his lips as he raise an eyebrow at the thespian

"nothing" Ryan said as he shook his head, answering the unspoken question

"sure?" Chad asked, Ryan hummed in response, there was a long comfortable silence between them, they were just staring at each other as if it was a competition but then Ryan made the mistake of looking at Chad's lips, and all of a sudden he leaned it. When he realized midway that he was going in for a kiss that may or may not destroy his friendship with someone he really got along so well, he decided to kiss Chad on the cheek

"you missed" the jock said, he managed to sound teasingly and breathless at the same time and that did things to Ryan

"did I? Where should I have kissed you?" he smirked at him, both eyes were challenging each other

"here" Chad whispered and leaned in, giving Ryan a kiss on the lips. They both sigh in relief, Ryan's hands snake up to Chad's arm, gently squeezing it, slightly opening his mouth, kissing Chad Danforth was not something he expected to be doing but his whole body felt like it was on fire and Ryan deepened their kiss more, making Chad groan

Before they can even do anything else, someone knocks on the window of the car making the two slightly part away from each other and Ryan click his tongue in annoyance

"later?" Chad asked, not really letting go of Ryan

"later" Ryan smiled and gave him a quick kiss before they made their way out of the car to greet Sharpay (she's the one who knocked on the window) and Zeke

+One; my knight

there was a ringing in the room, making him sigh and quickly turn off the alarm. Finally opening his eyes, he scanned the room that he has been sleeping in for the past six years. His eyes landed on the body that laid beside him, breathing slowed and relaxed, lips slightly agape and both their hands were intertwined. The two golden bands on their ring fingers glinted in the morning sun that was peaking through their curtains

Ryan smiled as he caressed Chad's cheek and sat up so he can become more awake. He remembers the day that Chad gave him a promise ring back in 2012, doing a wedding vow because they knew it wasn't legal to get married yet, and when they both proposed to each other back in 2015 when same sex marriage was finally legalized then got married in 2016, Ryan thought that getting into Juilliard was a happiness that cannot be replaced by any other, but now, with his memories with Chad, waking up beside him, were memories that Ryan will never get tired of.

Chad groans and snuggles closer to Ryan's body warmth, he can't believe that this man has stayed with him for thirteen years and that they're married for six years now.

the door of their room slowly opens and two children popped their heads in, Amara and Aidan Danforth-Evans blinked at Ryan in surprise. Clearly not expecting for their father to be already awake

Ryan smiled at them and motioned for them to come into the bed with him and Chad

Aidan quietly moved but Amara had different plans as she ran and jumped on Chad's sleeping figure, making both Aidan and Ryan snort

Chad made a sound as if he was dying "oh nooo, the horrible horrible monster has me! My knight, save me" Chad rasped, reaching out to Ryan

"you can save yourself"

"hey!" they all laugh at their antics, Chad maneuvers himself and had Amara up on his shoulder as he stood up from the bed

Aidan was now trying to save his twin sister from the horrible dragon as Ryan just watched them from the bed. If someone asked him thirteen years ago where he sees himself in the future, he'll probably say that he'll be alone and happy, dedicating his time and life to work

If someone told him that he'd get to marry his long time crush, Chad Danforth and get to take care of two adorable little monkeys, he'd probably laugh at them and tell them they were crazy

But looking at the scene that was unfolding in front of him, the way Chad slowly went down to the ground with equal amounts of drama, and the twins laughing at him, Ryan would not trade this for anything in the world. It was not something he had foreseen in his teenage years but it was definitely better than anything

#Chyan #Chad Danforth #Ryan Evans #Highschool musical #Fluff #5+1 fic #fanfiction #Highschool musical fanfiction #Chyan fanfiction

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rezfalling · 2 years

Text

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 / 𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒!

ੈ✩‧₊˚ˏˋ°•⁀➷ ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍀 ꒱

NAME?

my name is rez! it's not my irl name, but it's something i've grown to love in the year and a half i've gone by it online <3

AGE?

i'm a minor and in school, but that is all i will share! my birthday is may 20!

GENDER?

i'm genderfluid and proud! my pronouns are mainly they/he but i'm generally fine with any.

SEXUALITY?

i am asexual and omniromantic!

WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE?

i won't be posting any pictures of my face for privacy reasons, but i can show you this picrew which looks like me! my hair fades into bright red but i couldn't add that to the picrew.

HOBBIES?

obviously i love to write, but i like lots of other stuff too! i'm a huge theater kid so that comes with loving singing. i also like to read (especially historical fiction and horror) and paint! i'm a music nerd too so you'll never catch me without an earbud in :)

FAVORITE MUSICIANS?

ajr, will wood, lovejoy, cody fry, and anything from a musical :D

BOUNDARIES REGARDING YOUR WRITING?

i do not write anything nsfw. the closest you'll get is mildly suggestive.

i have a life outside of tumblr and writing so please don't bother me about finishing requests.

being rude to me, my mutuals, or my anons will result in both a public callout and block.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ˏˋ°•⁀➷ ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍀 ꒱

#rez talks!

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stillseeitallinmyhead · 2 years

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🐣🐨🦔🐢🐄🐸🐧🦭

DID YOU LIKE MY COUNTDOWN!? That was fun! I had fun. That was actually more fun than I thought it would be! There were too many good posts to name. It was very fun reading all your comments and theories. Though side note: animal anon has no problem with people joining her BUT it must be animals and it must not mess with my countdown. No statues! Animal anon does animals, not statues. Side side note: can someone settle the debate of if that emoji is a hedgehog or a porcupine? Because I have no idea. Side note side note side note: sorry if you got multiple asks in a day...my system isn't perfected yet so sometimes I send two (or three) because I forgot I sent one and didn't want to accidently miss anyone (also sorry if i did miss you, still perfecting the system, no one has been animal anon blacklisted, i promise!)

Anyway, GUESS WHAT TODAY IS!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 It's been one year since I started animal anon! How exciting is that?! Phew, what a year we've had together! I mean what better way to start this second year than some chaos since that's how animal anon started to begin with! I will admit, it was slightly stressful coming up with something to meet the occasion of this event. I hope the countdown and this post live up to it. No, I'm not going to reveal myself just yet.. maybe that will be for year 2...😏😏. BUT I will give you some fun facts about me! So let's see; first, I'm from the Midwest (so not Canadian, but close so I do have a slight accent), but I currently live in the TriState area. Second, I am a MASSIVE theater nerd. No, seriously I have been to 21 shows since Broadway reopened in September and I'm actually going to my 22nd tonight. I don't know if this makes that fact better or worse, but I've really only been to about 12 different show because out of those 22, 10 of those are one specific show. Third, I am fluent in German and English. Though, I suck at writing in German, I never learned how to, so don't ask me to do that please. Fourth, my favorite color is red, so you can guess my favorite Taylor album (and coincidently also the show I've been to see 10 times on Broadway...). Fifth, I love to talk A LOT if you couldn't tell by the essays I send yall. And lastly, I can also confirm I am not Taylor...but I will say that I do share something very important with her... tell me your guesses down below as to what very important thing you think Taylor and I have in common, and I'll send some extra animals to whomever I see gets it right first!

So contuining on with my dissertation here, this week I have been trying to figure out a prompt to live up to this occasion. As I already mentioned, my system isn't perfect! And I've been thinking a lot about community lately and how that's been lacking for so many because of Covid. So what I want yall to do is if you get this dissertation of mine, please send a message, post, anon, whatever you want to at least 1 other blog (though you can do more), telling them something you like about them and giving them an animal emoji! That way we can keep spreading the love all day long to as many as possible! 🥰

As always, you are all brilliant, kind, worthy, beautiful and as this past week has shown, hilarious and unique human beings. No seriously, some of your posts had me kneeling over in laughter. If you would so like, you can tag #animalanon so I and everyone can read all your lovely posts! IM STARTING EARLY TODAY SO WE CAN PARTY ALL DAY LONG BECAUSE I LOVE YALL SO MUCH 🎊 🦥🦁🐯

animal anon, you have no idea how much happiness you bring to my inbox. every time i open my inbox and see you i get the biggest smile on my face. i cant believe it’s been a whole year!!!! i still remember the original chaos, you’ve mad spells think your taylor all over again. i’m gonna guess that what you have in common is december 13!! you share birthdays?!?!? alsooo, i too am a massive musical theatre nerd. haven’t been to see a bow on broadway but i do catch many tours. i am currently hyperfixating on moulin rouge and hadestown (also this hyperfixation has been happening since it opened lol such a great show). we need to talk more about broadway!! thank you for sharing more about yourself, you truly are a beacon of light in this fandom :))) i hope you have a great day today, we’ll continue to celebrate!!! 🐈🐰🐭🐹🦔🦊🐿🐻‍❄️🐼🐷🐄🐴🐸🐝🙉🐟

#animal anon

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carnationcreation · 3 years

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can you do 15 with reggie peters pls❤️

TITLE: 3 Simple Rules (Reggie Peters x reader) [MUSICAL THEATER AU]

✌🏻Masterlist Taglist, Requests, and Works in progress!

Please check bio to see if requests are open before sending any in!

Request: can you do 15 with reggie peters pls❤️

Prompt/summary: [Musical Theater AU] Reader has to explain the three simple rules of the theater to Reggie. (And also help him out of trouble)

Word Count: 1,411

Authors note: From my AU prompt list on Tumblr!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were three rules that came with being in the theater department at Los Feliz High School.

Rule One: No talking in the wings.

From the moment I met my co-star Reggie Peters at auditions, I knew he was going to be a pain to work with.

For example, he did not prepare an audition song. Instead, he broke out a guitar and took a request from Mrs. Harrison and wowed with his impressive vocals instead. His lines were half memorized and his wardrobe was not fit for the dance portion of the audition.

For Christs sake we’re doing NEWSIES!

The rehearsal period was over a month long and every week about thirty students crammed into the auditorium to relentlessly rehearse and prepare for opening night.

My character, Katherine, didn’t dance much other than in King of New York. The big tap dance number I had to master next week.

A lot of my time was spent waiting in the wings for my next cue. Unfortunately, so was Reggie’s.

“Wait was that my cue?”

“SHHHHH!” I said, looking anxiously to see if the stage manager on the other side of the stage heard us.

“Oh come on,” he said, “they can’t hear me over the music.”

I rolled my eyes before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the hallway of dressing rooms right behind the stage.

“Do you seriously not know anything?”

He looked at me confused.

“The rules of being in theater?” I said, when he shrugged I continued, “One, no talking in the wings. Two, no eating or smoking in costume. And three, always show up early or else you’re late.”

“I didn’t think this was that serious.”

I scoffed, “Why did you even sign up for this?”

He shrugged, “Mrs. Harrison cornered me in English and said she needed someone who could actually sing for Jack Kelly.”

I rolled my eyes, “You better keep your mouth clean. I don’t want to have to kiss someone who’s breath stinks every weekend.”

Suddenly, the door we just came out popped open.

“(Y/N)! It’s almost your cue! Reggie, what are you doing out here?” Julie whispered.

“Nothing. Let’s go Reginald.”

“It’s Reggie!”

Rule 2: No eating in costume

The snack table near the dressing room was kept stocked with lots of different things, and it was meant for those out of costume or stagehands since we didn’t get to eat dinner until afterwards on show nights.

I’d never been a stickler about eating in costume considering I’ve done it myself numerous times. At least I was always careful about it though, putting on a jacket or blanket over me to keep stains from getting on the meticulous costumes our school would make.

“What are you doing?”

I tried to keep my voice low, but the shock and panic that went through me when I saw orange smears on Reggie’s vest from the pack of Cheetos in his hand made it come out in a squeek.

He looked up at me frantically, “I forgot!”

I huffed in frustration before running into the womens dressing room to grab paper towels.

Reggie tried to take them from me when I came out but I slapped his hand away.

“You’ll try to rub it, you need to pat the stain out.”

The wet paper towel made the brown vest look darker, but at least I got the orange out.

I grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the dressing room, “Stand there.”

He stood where I pointed right beside the electrical outlet and watched me silently as I plugged in the hair dryer and set it to the cool setting. I put it on it’s lowest setting so I could carefully listen so we wouldn’t be late for our cues. Luckily it was Pulitzer’s solo so we should have enough time.

I looked up and noticed his cheeks were red, “What? It isn’t too hot is it?”

“Uh- no I just- we’re in the dressing room alone-”

“And I’m getting the stain out of your shirt so Katie won’t go nuts when she sees your costume almost ruined. No one’s gonna say anything Reggie, especially not to me. This happens more than you think.”

He nodded and looked down at the vest. It was still slightly damp but not enough to be noticeable on stage.

“Thank you,” Reggie said as I pulled the door open.

“Next time put a jacket on before you eat. Three simple rules Peters. Remember them.”

Rule 3: Always show up early or you’re late

It was almost the end of our show run. The past few weeks had been amazing and it was saddening to think that tonight I would have to say goodbye to Katherine.

As I sat in my dressing room I heard a knock at the door, Julie entered and stood behind me as I pinned my hair up for my wig.

“Have you seen Reggie? It’s almost 10 minutes till places.”

“No I haven’t, has he messaged Luke about being the understudy?”

She shook her head, “Katie said he hadn’t.”

I felt anxiety rise in my chest, hopefully we wouldn’t have to delay the show just to get someone in costume.

I peaked my head outside and just as I did Reggie Peters came sprinting down the hallway.

“Where have you been?”

“I got a flat on the way, how much time do I have?”

“10 minutes till places. If you hurry you might not be late.”

He nodded.

“Rule number 3 Peters!”

He shouted over his shoulder back at me, “I know!”

I rolled my eyes. Having pity for the boy, I decided to try and help.

I went and grabbed his mic from the stage manager and updated her on the situation. With it in hand I went back to his dressing room and knocked.

“Come in!”

Reggie stumbled around the room finding pieces of his costume to pull on.

“Sit,” I said once he had the pants and shirt on.

I handed him the vest and tucked the mic pack into the back of his belt before letting him run the wire up through the shirt.

“Do your hair, I’ll get the makeup ready.”

He tousled his hair and I couldn’t help but stare. Him clearing his throat brought me back to reality and I began applying the foundation and powder to his face. The entire time I felt his eyes looking at me causing my face to become unexplainably hot.

Finally I pressed a cut up makeup sponge covered in black and gray eye shadow to give him the look of a dirty newsie.

“All done,” I said. I tried to stand up quickly so I could go and get my face to not feel like it’s on fire.

He grabbed my wrist, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

He sighed, “You’re always helping me with something.”

“Well,” I smiled, “Hopefully you’d do the same for me if the situation was reversed. Besides theater geeks look out for each other.”

“I’m not a geek!”

I laughed, “It’s almost time for places. Let’s go Peters.”

The final curtain call had most of the cast in tears. This was the night we’d have to put all the props away and say goodbye to Newsies.

I neatly put my costume away before turning off my dressing room light for one last time.

I’ll admit. Working with Reggie wasn’t all that bad. At least he was a good kisser and took a mint before the finale each night.

I pulled my duffle bag over my shoulder and walked towards the entrance of the school.

“(Y/n)!”

I looked behind me to see Reggie jogging to catch up with me.

“The rest of the crew is going to iHop, are you coming?”

“I dont know,” I said, “I’m kinda tired.”

“Come on,” he groaned.

“No Reginald I’m tired and sad the show ended.”

He smirked, “And going with the rest of the cast will make the grief a little less.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Please?”

I walked off leaving him to trail behind me.

“Please (Y/n)!”

“Why do you want me to go that bad Reginald?”

“It’s Reggie,” he said, I smirked, “And... I don’t know anyone else that well.”

I stopped and turned to him, he looked slightly embarrassed.

“Please? I don’t wanna go by myself.”

I sighed, “Fine. But you’re buying me a milkshake.”

He smiled widely and before I could react pressed a kiss to my cheek.

As he pulled back he realized what he had done causing us both to blush.

“Is that against the rules?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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myvividreams · 4 years

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[Maribat] Hamilton the Musical AU

When @fsketchart started screaming about a Hamilton AU in the discord server, I screamed back with a Hamilton the Musical AU and now it’s a thing. Feel free to scream back to me about it!

First of all, yes, this is Jasonette

At the start of this AU, Jason is two years older than Mari, recovering from Pit Madness, reconciling with the Batfam, attending therapy with the rest of the fam, and recently declared legally alive.

When Jason’s therapist tells him he has to find more hobbies outside of hero-ing, some genii in the batfam decided to ‘help’ by arranging the entire production of a play since, you know, Jason in this AU is very much a thespian in addition to being a literature nerd. Alfred is very proud

Said play is Hamilton the Musical. It’s a charity production funded by the Martha Wayne Foundation, and all proceeds will go towards fixing up and providing aid to the residents of Park Row (which is half of what sold Jason on the plan).

Mari, having just finished her second year of college, is brought in by Tim as MDC to design and create the stage costumes.

On her way to the theater for her first meeting with the cast and crew of the play, Mari is caught in a villain attack---a minor one, as far as Gotham is concerned---that is resolved without needing any sort of intervention from her. It’s Red Robin and Red Hood who resolve it (since Tim and Jason were nearby and on their way to the same meeting as Mari).

Mari negotiated for a workroom in the theater so that she doesn’t have to keep lugging costume parts and cloth around. One night, she stays in a little late and Jason catches her singing to the Hamilton soundtrack while working. He asks her if she’d help him practice. She agrees.

It’s dark out though, and Mari still has to head home. Jason offers to walk her home bc Gotham is dangerous. She agrees. Which is a good thing because they’re held up by some thugs. When they attack, Jason takes down most of them only to turn and find that Mari is a BAMF who took down two of them herself. He’s impressed.

One of the batkids catch them practicing and snitch on them to Alfred who tells Jason to invite Mari over for dinner.

Mari helps Jason practice for a bit and then ropes the other batkids into helping him. Dick has video evidence of Jasonette practicing which he accidentally on purpose posts online. Social media goes wild.

Who is this girl with the second Wayne son?? They’re so cute??

By the way, the Justice League isn’t a thing yet in this AU. For a future JL meets the Batfam trope! (Plus Mari)

A few weeks into rehearsals, Eliza’s actress calls in sick after an encounter with Scarecrow, and Mari is roped into playing Eliza’s part for the day. Mari’s good at it, to the cast’s surprise, and the chemistry between Mari and Jason is great. Mari ends up being cast as Eliza’s understudy.

Meanwhile, Damian is forced into being the Burr understudy after he and Titus repeatedly disrupted rehearsals and destroyed stage props they were still making. Bruce (aka Alfred) hopes it will teach him to appreciate the work the cast and crew are doing.

Damian needs a lot of help. So Mari pitches in and then ropes Jason in, and then they both rope in the rest of the batfam one by one. Soon Mari is visiting the manor regularly to help them practice.

It starts with Steph. She volunteers to play Philip for the chance to play dead and dying again.

They’re singing Stay Alive (reprise) when Bruce walks in wondering what’s happening. Is someone hurt?? Was there an attack he doesn’t know about?? He spies them in the middle of the living room with Stephon the coffee table while Mari and Jason are sobbing over her dramatically. He walks out. He’s done.

At some point, they convince Bruce to do Washington’s parts and are blown away. Washington’s lines resonate a little too well with the batfam, and it makes things awkward for a while. These emotionally constipated bois

Dick is King George. He relishes the opportunity to trash talk Bruce. Jason is annoyed he can’t join him and breaks character one time to gang up on Bruce

Imagine Dick singing da-dadada-DADAAA while swinging on the chandeliers

Tim sings/raps Jefferson’s parts. What Did I Miss and the Cabinet Battles are amazing to watch. Except Jason and Tim are uber competitive, and they make additional (historically accurate!) rap lines to keep the cabinet battles going.

Cass is still mostly non-verbal, so she helps out by handing the others props or figuring out a way to add special effects (like using a flashlight as a spotlight). She also signals if the acting of the Actual Actors in the batfam is accurate/passable or not.

...Cass is also The Bullet. It’s a very respectable role, what are you talking about!

The family therapist starts wondering why the batfam’s progress suddenly jumped. It’s because they’re working through their issues vicariously through the characters in Hamilton

Dick, Steph, and Tim post videos of the fam and Mari practicing on social media. They start trending.

They also coo over Jasonette singing It’s Quiet Uptown while walking through the manor gardens, dancing on the dining table, and basically serenading each other with broadway songs all around the house. And Gotham.

They have video evidence.

(The production crew create a blooper reel of all their cast and crew’s shenanigans which they later sell on DVDs as part of the charity. Batfam and Mari take up 80% of all the bloopers on the DVD)

After social media realizes that most of the batfam aren’t in fact part of the charity show cast, people start a petition for a show with all the Waynes acting in it.

They cut it too close to the dates of the charity show for it to be possible, but their therapist mentioned to Alfred once that having the family work on a fun (non-violent) project/activity together would be good for them.

So, Alfred convinced Bruce and mentioned it to Mari who convinced Jason who helped convince the rest of the fam, and they agree to hold a concert ala the 25th Anniversary Les Mis concert in place of the final show they had initially planned. Tickets sold out in the first hour.

Damian, seeing the petition’s success, creates his own petition---for Alfred the Cat to be part of the production. Everyone votes for it.

The director tries to talk him out of it but Damian is a stubborn brat. The director finally puts his foot down and says he’ll allow it but only for the concert with the rest of the batfam. Damian agrees.

The director approaches Mari for help in mitigating the “damage” by making the cat a costume. Just in case.

(She does, and it works for about half the song before someone notices that baby Theodosia is strangely mobile. Then the baby meows, Damian coos at it during the instrumental, and the audience slowly catches onto the fact that baby Theodosia is actually a cat.)

(Alfred the Cat goes viral.)

The charity shows go live on the weekend of Jason’s birthday. Opening night is Aug 14, then they have two shows each day on the weekend. The main actor for Burr and Eliza step down on Aug 16, Jason’s birthday, to give Mari and Dami the chance to perform---and so that Jasonette can act together.

They get a standing ovation.

Unlike the full production of the original charity shows, (Mari and) the batfam’s concert was entirely meme worthy.

It had all the wackiness of the blooper reels but cranked up to eleven

Damian’s rendition of Dear Theodosia becomes a meme. Someone was able to get a hold of a video of him singing it with and without Alfred the Cat as baby Theodosia. The difference is like night and day.

Bruce half regrets that he allowed it to be immortalized on film/DVD and sold with the bloopers.

#maribat #jasonette #maribat au #hamilton the musical au #go ahead and ask me for snippets #i have lots of feelings for this au #there's also a soulmate au version of this au which i have p l a n s for #ask me about it i'm begging you #this au needs to be shared

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theonetheycallhannah · 4 years

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The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter Eight: Heat/Ice

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: Playing hooky leads to more delicious food (Sy cooks! Swoon!), some deep conversation, and new revelations about Shane’s past.

What? You’re behind? Don’t worry! CLICK ME to catch up before reading this chapter!

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Language, mature themes, more food sluttiness, shameless nerd speak, unfettered and shameless sappiness.

Author’s Note: So, guys, I’m sorry. I really wanted to get this chapter to you Sunday. Life has just been a bit disheartening of late. Between being upset over some personal turmoil some friends are going through (two of my oldest friends are getting a divorce!) and coming home from work utterly exhausted on all possible levels, it’s been hard to write about lovey dovey things. As I said in my recent reblog of my masterlist, though, I’m working on some prologues, one for each character. I don’t plan on them being terribly long, but I want you guys to have some more back story.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

It was hard to feel guilty for calling out of work for the afternoon under false pretenses when she was curled up on the sectional in Sy’s “nerd lair” with his head in her lap as they watched John Wick on the massive TV he had down there.

“You mean to tell me we watched the entire Bourne franchise upstairs on that…that iPod Touch, by comparison, when we could have watched down here on this majestic monolith!? In what is essentially a theater!?” She’d asked immediately, derailing the grand tour of the museum of things she would soon find amazing.

“Hey, I haven’t been coming down here a whole lot since I hurt my knee. Stairs haven't exactly been easy or, ya know, possible. I had my gaming computer down here for weeks, too, couldn't do a damn thing about it, because I didn't trust a'one of my buddies or my neighbors to haul her up the stairs for me. Leia's a custom machine worth thousands a' dollars. If she's getting' broke, it's all gonna be on me."

"You named your gaming computer? Leia?" So many emotions were flooding her. Adoration, sympathy, lust, and just a sheer need to squeeze the bejeezus out of him.

"Yeah, it's a common thing. And…not to be that guy, but…you do know who Leia is, right?

"If by Leia, you mean Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, true daughter of Darth Vader, adopted by Bail Organa at birth, sister of Luke Skywalker, hero of the Rebellion against the Empire?"

"Hey, I thought you wanted to take things slow, sunshine." he pulled her close, flush with his body. "Then you go talkin' all sexy to me like that." he lingered at her cheek with light kisses.

"Well, you did the same with your baseball talk the other night." she moaned into the contact with relish.

"I can't help it if certain sports terms have made their way into everyday speech. Your…exposition there, about my boyhood crush was intentional."

"You had a crush on Leia?" he nodded, shyly. "I had a crush on Han! Heck with Cap and Widow, THERE'S our couple's costume for next Halloween!" she said, excitedly!

"Oh, I didn't know you were talking about costumes for public use." he said, a naughty smirk in his eye.

"Stop it, you. Finish your tour. I want that soup on the stove." she said, patting her tummy.

He showed her the various memorabilia he'd procured over the years. Posters from a few of her favorites, and a few others that she recognized but wasn't as excited about. Die Cast models of several famous film vessels and vehicles, and a "life size" LEGO R2-D2 which would have had her salivating even if she hadn't been hungry. Apparently it took him almost a month to assemble the droid, but he did it all by himself.

"Aww…I wish I could have helped." she lamented.

"Maybe I'll pick up the Death Star and we can do that one together."

She nodded excitedly, eyes wide, rubbing her hands together in front of her chin with greed.

"Okay, little mouse." he chuckled. "Let's fill that belly and start this movie."

They filled massive bowls with generous portions and took the crackers down stairs so they could start the marathon. If they wanted to get through all three films tonight, they'd best get started.

They were both fairly quick eaters out of habit given her often truncated lunch breaks and his typical ten minutes in the mess hall. Even savoring the delicious creamy, cheesy concoction, as she tried to do, it was hard to slow down on. It did give her something to focus on during the first, emotionally devastating part of the film though. Once she finished, she expressed a final groan of delight and thanked Sy, kissing him on his cheek as she held the other. She felt the smile bloom across his face as she prolonged the contact.

They were about halfway through the movie, a big fight scene in a night club, when something dark and grim hit Shane in the chest. Watching Keanu Reeves pretend to beat up and kill all of these actors and stunt men, it occurred to her that the man with his head resting gently on her lap, long body taking up the rest of that side of the sectional, had fought and killed. The man letting her play her fingers through his hair and beard had shot and blown up people. He was told to do it. Ordered to do it. But even though he was doing it lawfully and by military order, as far as she knew, it was still his job…at least some of the time. She knew that was an oversimplification of the function of the armed forces, but…sometimes, it was an apt description.

She had never thought of Sy like that before. Someone other than the strong but gentle teddy bear that had come to be such a comforting presence in her life. She needed that, after all she'd been through…she tried not to think about the hurt of her last relationship. She hadn't discussed it with Sy. It was history. Ancient history. But she was, after all, a believer in the fact that those who knew nothing of the past were doomed to repeat it. She'd tell him…one day. Everything that Elliott had done to her…had put her through. But not tonight. Suddenly, she thought being on the arm of a soldier, someone who'd lived the kind of life that Captain Logan Syverson had lived, might make her feel more safe than she had in ages.

"You're awful quiet, sunshine." he said, cracking a beer open and handing it to her before doing the same for himself and sitting down with his thick arm around her.

"Just…trying to be respectful of the movie experience. You know." she smirked at him as the menu music to the second movie played.

"It ain't that. I know this is still new, what we're doin', but I've watched enough movies with ya over the last few weeks to know that you don't keep quiet for a full length feature." Shane worried the tab on her cold Miller Lite. She wasn't sure how to bring this forward. "Spill it, sweetheart. What's eatin' ya?"

"What…what do you think about when you're watching movies like this, Sy?"

"Guess, same as anybody. How awesome the fighting and driving is. Wondering when Keanu got to be a badass. And if there's really an underground society of assassins. Why, hon?"

"I, umm, I only wondered if it…it doesn't make you miss…your job?"

The smile he gave her was both bemused and amused. "Come 'ere." he prompted her to lean her head into him, and sat his beer down on the buffet behind the couch so he could better hold her. "Do we need to go over the function of a captain of the Army of These United States? Because as flattered as I am that you think so highly of me, I'm no John Wick, nor do I know anyone like John Wick. Or five guys that would make one John Wick. Ten guys. Maybe twenty."

"The fighting doesn't bring anything back?" she smoothed the creases in his shorts as she tried not to act like she was over thinking his past.

"That fightin’s…it's like dancing. It's choreographed, precise, and the outcome is predetermined. Real fights are the exact opposite. They're chaos, unpredictable, and the right guys don't always win. Trust me, I've seen a lot of them go south in a big way." they both let a moment of silence pass before Sy broke it. "What’re ya really askin’, Shane?"

She wanted to ask so many things. The questions seemed to clog the ventricles of her brain like leaves in a rain gutter. Bottlenecked traffic.

"I just…couldn't help but think…about things you must have had to do when…when you were active, and I just…if you need to talk about anything, I'm here." She imagined that taking someone's life, no matter how personal or impersonal the act itself seemed on the surface, would create some level of emotional scarring.

“Oh, sweetheart." he kissed the top of her head, making her feel as warm and cozy as the soup had…perhaps more so. "You are important to me for so many reasons. You've shown me how to smile again. Laugh. Real, genuine happiness. No sarcastic shit like I had to use on my men in my squad. But although I'd feel comfortable talkin' to ya 'bout near anything, there's a counselor on the base who's specifically trained to help guys like me. Who've seen what I've seen and been through…similar situations. He makes sure I don't feel like less of a man for what happened to me. You make me feel…like more than a man…something stronger than I thought possible."

She was straining hard to corral the tears within her waterline, but they broke free when he squeezed her tightly to him with both of his massive arms.

"So…that HEP I gave you is working?" she laughed, knowing full well that his home exercise program had no bearing on the strength he meant.

"Come on, Shane." he raised an eyebrow at her, challenging her to see herself the way he saw her. "Them handouts you give me don't mean a hill o' beans in this conversation and you know it. The way you hold yourself, speak to others. There is so much quiet strength in your kindness that comes right out of your beautiful little heart. Some days I'll see you working with kids, if I get in early, and I know they annoy you and freak you out, but you never let that show." He looked into her eyes, misty from emotion, and he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. "I'll never be able to explain it right, the way you inspire me to be a better and stronger man. And my heart just breaks to hear you put yourself down. And don't say you're just kidding, because I know you think you are, but behind every one of those jokes is a truth, at least as you see it." He'd seen her make to argue and knew her tactic before she had attempted it. "Give yourself some credit, Shane."

"I'm too busy blaming myself for the bad stuff to give myself credit for anything good." she sniffed. "You're the first guy I've…I've been involved with that's acted like I was worth anything more than a meal ticket. Someone who was only suitable for enough sex to make it an official relationship just so they could have a place to live, and do whatever quasi-job was a thing. First serious boyfriend was a freelance writer, but he never seemed to be writing. Then there was the guy with the internet start-up…but he could never tell me in a satisfactory way what the company actually did…so that was brief."

He seemed to know she was bracing for something big. Something difficult. He gave her silence and stroked her shoulder in encouragement to continue. She took one of her deepest ever breaths.

"Then came Elliott. Elliott Thomas. My last boyfriend. The worst of them all. Most useless and greatest offender. I ignored all of the signs, of course. He had a YouTube channel and an Instagram that he was trying to gain followers on and become a so-called "influencer." she rolled her eyes. "He had no life skills. He had a bit of an eye for photography and he could find humor in uncommon places, which he thought made him insta-famous and vlog-worthy."

"I hate him already." Sy growled.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you the rest, then." he asked her to go on. "He always seemed to find these ways to cheat on me and lie to me that I couldn't quite prove, but I was just certain of. But I just…I didn't want to believe it. I wanted THAT one to work. Well. I came home one night after work, and he had another girl in our bedroom. I told him he had until the next day when I got home to leave. Things got a little physical, but I can hold my own." she said, proudly, "and I bolted with my purse. I stayed with Heather, our evening secretary, and we hashed it out, and got a little blitzed on moscato, and cried together."

"Wow."

"He was gone the next day. All I heard from my landlord was, 'you shouldn't be hearing from him anytime soon.' so I guess he had his cop buddies send him a message. He blocked me on all social media and I haven't heard a peep from him since. That was five years ago."

"What a scum bag." he stated, obviously.

"Yeah, I haven't been able to really think about a relationship since then…until…" she let the word hang there, knowing they both knew what the end of the sentence was. "Until I met you." Drifting unsaid in the ether of the unspoken.

"It's been a long time for me too. I mean…I haven't quite been a monk, but I haven't…I haven't cared for a girl since…actually, I've never felt this way about anyone."

"I didn't mean to unpack all of that tonight when we're only a third of the way through our marathon. I really wasn't even going to bring it up at all. It's just…been on my mind. Ya know. I once heard a very poignant parable about keeping your mouth shut if you're warm and happy. I was attempting to do that." she chuckled.

"Yeah, but we need to be able to open up to people in this life. Keeping a bottle stopped under pressure ain't no good for the bottle. Or what's inside."

"Such wisdom. You know just what to say to me." she grinned into him.

"Just seen what keeping yourself closed off can do to a person. And the people they love."

Love…there was that word in the air. Not officially said, but felt in all ways. They held each other close as the opening to the second movie played.

Up Next: Chapter Nine-Group Therapy

#netflix sand castle #sand castle #captain syverson #captain syverson fanfic #captain syverson x ofc #sigh for sy

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