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cellythefloshie · 11 months

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;; The Bet Dedicated to @puckmaidens for her birthday bingo

Summary: You've never been one to shy away from friendly competition or a little risk - so you bet Nico that he won't score a hat trick in his game. Little did you know that the prize you offered was the only motivation he needed. Lydia's Bingo Card Tropes: Stary Night, Hattrick, New Jersey Devils, First Kiss Other Tropes: Friends to Lovers Word Count: 1.6k+ A/N: Happy Birthday Lydia! I know you weren't expecting anything until probably a bit later since you posted your bingo a little late, and have your "deadline" set for September, but I wanted to make sure you had something to read for your special day! I hope you enjoy! 🎉

The conversation hung in the air for a moment as your fingers hesitated over the keyboard. You knew his stats better than you would ever admit to anyone. Nico Hischier had only scored 2 goals in a game twice so far that season - and only 9 total times in his career so far. Statistically, it wasn’t going to hang in his favour, but you would humour him.

You smiled to yourself. You had been friends with Nico for some time now, hell maybe even best friends would be the right word for it. The only time you weren’t talking was during a game, or while you both slept it seemed. You hung out at least once a week if his schedule allowed it, and in the off-season, the two of you got into nothing but trouble.

There was a long pause. The … on your screen indicating his typing left your heart racing. You knew he wouldn’t do it, so wagering something like that was more of a joke than anything. Hell, you didn’t expect him to agree with it at all. But then his text finally came through. Just one single word:

Your phone was silent the rest of the evening as it always was before game time. Nico had his pre-game rituals to go through and you never tried to interfere. Not even on a day when there was a little more on the line. Instead, you put your phone aside and went about your own pregame ritual. You finished up with your work and took the leisurely walk home during the peak hours of hustle and bustle in the Newerk streets. Then, when you got home you went straight into the kitchen and cooked up one of your favourite meals.

It was enough to keep you satisfied until game time when you settled into your place on the sofa with a bowl of ice cream for dessert. You drew your blanket in close, pulling it close to your body as the anthems were sung and then the game began. With mere games going into the playoff season - and the Devils expected to make their first playoff appearance in years - you had expected it to be a relaxed game. Competitive yes, but with the intention of resting certain players before what you hoped would be a long playoff run. And for the most part, you were right. The boys were looking a little more sluggish than you were used to seeing - a little more careless as they were biding time until game one of round one. But there was one player who stuck out from all the rest.

Nico, fucking Nico, was playing as if it were game seven of the Stanley Cup Final and the trophy was about to be put into his hands. He was skating fast than you had ever seen him go, and dancing around players like he was Connor McDavid - so it didn’t surprise you when he had been the one to get the first goal on the board for Jersey. But you weren’t nervous. That was until he scored his second goal of the game before the first period could even end. He would have 40 minutes of play - 45 minutes if the game went to overtime - to score one final goal and it left your nerves so raw you didn’t even send him the menu of the restaurant you had picked out. Instead, you sent him one text you knew you wouldn’t get a reply to until well after the game was over:

You were wearing a small smile as you clicked send, placing your phone and your now empty bowl aside before you got comfortable under one of the throw blankets you kept on the couch. It was a dangerous thing, to get snuggled up beneath the blankets - and tonight was proven proof of that because you were asleep before the end of the second period. You slept through every penalty and every goal against and didn’t wake up until the game was long over and you heard a series of hollow taps against the glass of your kitchen window.

It was a sound that left you lurching, your body in a panic as you realized the television had defaulted to the post-game screen reading; this program has ended. You cursed yourself as you pushed off the blanket, lurching for your phone to check the time. It was nearing midnight, and the NHL app had been sure to notify you that the Devils had won 5-4 in overtime, but you didn’t get the chance to check who the goal scorers were - not when the tapping on the window persisted.

“I’m coming!” You shouted from the couch and grabbed the blanket before you scurried through to the kitchen. The kitchen window was large and opened up to the fire escape that you abused as more of a patio when the weather was nice enough. You liked to keep it decorated with plants, and quirky trinkets you would find during your time out at the shops, but in the chill of the April night there was only one thing left out on the escape, and you hadn’t left it there: Nico.

He hadn’t gone home after the game, his game-day suit still dawned on his frame jut a little less polished now as his collar was left loose and his tie had been lost in one of his pockets.

“You could have buzzed the door Neeks!” You exclaimed as you passed the window open and took a step back to let him climb in but he didn’t do more than peak his head inside.

“You going to come out here, or what?”

“It’s the middle of the night!” “Com’on, it’s beautiful out here,” he pulled back and offered you his hand. You used it to guide you out the window, your blanket wrapped around your shoulders like a cape to keep you from the night’s chill. It left you shivering as you looked out at the apartments across the street and up into the sky where the stars shone bright. He wasn’t wrong, it was a beautiful night.

“You come all the way here just to star gaze, Neeks?” you spoke slowly, your eyes still trained up at the sky and how the stars glistened like glitter.

“No, no,” Nico hummed, his hand still holding onto yours, “did you not watch the game?”

“I watched…” you started slowly, bright eyes glancing over at him as you held back a smile, “The first half. I fell asleep…”

“You missed a good game,” Nico’s smile grew as he reached into his pocket and drew out his phone, “you want to take a look at the score sheet?”

His grin was unlike one that you had ever seen. One that oozed confidence and - you squinted at him a bit - trouble it oozed trouble. “You didn’t-” Your words were broken as it hit you. He scored three!

You grabbed his phone quickly, the light illuminating your face as your scroll through the scoresheet. Hischier Hischier Thompson Tuch Jost J. Hughes Skinner Palat Hischier

“Oh my god!” You were sure you were loud enough to wake up the entire apartment block as you jumped up, your arms reaching out from beneath your blanket to wrap around the strength of his form. You not once thought what this meant for you in that moment, you were just too damn happy for him. It was the first of his career! Something worth celebrating even if it was just out on the fire escape in the middle of the night. “I’m so sorry I missed it I-”

“You doubted me?” he cocked his head at you, but he wasn’t mad.

“Maybe a little,” you added, matching the smile that grew on his lips with your own.

“You really underestimated how badly I’ve been wanting to do this…”

Drawing back just enough, Nico reached up with both hands. He cradled your cheeks in them, the warmth of his touch flooding over your skin. It rendered you still, your body not doing so much as breathing as he arched over and drew you into him. His lips were soft, and smooth as he eased into the kiss. The heat of his breath against your face as he kissed you slowly, gently, just enough to lull you into the idea that kissing him was something you liked a lot more than you could have anticipated. And not only did you let him kiss you, but you were also kissing him in return, your hands coming up to clutch the stretched fabric of his button-down as your lips parted just to get a taste of him.

When he pulled back, your cheeks were red hot with blush and your gaze cast up at the sky in an attempt to hide just how much you had enjoyed it - but her must have liked it too because he was still willing to hold up his end of the bet even if you had lost, “I’m still going to take you out to dinner, but not as some sort of consolation prize-”

And you just smiled up at him, your body leaning into his as you both admired the night, “it’s a date.”

#nico hischier #nhl imagine #hockey imagines #nhl rpf #hockey rpf #nhl fanfiction #new jersey devils fic #lydia's birthday bash #lydia's birthday bingo #aesthetic

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pluckysidekick · 4 months

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Nancy Drew Episode 218: The Echos of Lost Tears

I wrote a little essay about how amazing this episode is for the HAND Discord server, where we’ve been doing brackets for the show’s episodes (the brilliant idea of @binancydrew). But it got kinda long-I had a lot to say 😂. So I’ve posted it here along with a few gorgeous GIFs from some amazing Nancy Drew fan creators (with credits). I hope you enjoy it!

————-

218 is the zenith of the best season of TV ever, Season 2 of Nancy Drew. The Wraith storyline, hidden in plain sight throughout this incomparable season, comes into focus and allows Nancy to work through her deep trauma and learn to accept all of the parts of herself, even the ones she doesn’t like e.g. Nancy Hudson. And her friends, her soulmates, are there, in real life AND in her dreamscape, to support her, to defend her, and to love her just as she is.

218 is also the culmination of Nancy’s journey to find out what kind of person she wants and needs as a partner in life. We see hints of her being amused by Ace, being attracted to Ace, and increasingly relying on Ace, throughout Seasons 1 and 2. But only in 218 does she finally admit to herself that Ace is her *person*. There’s a reason that in 403 she tells Ace that she knew she had feelings for him when they fought the Wraith.

GIF by @andsjuliet

“You’d been there for me so many times before, but that was…” She was overwhelmed by how supportive Ace was throughout their fight to defeat the wraith, while he asked nothing in return. He tells her “All this time, the wraith made you think there was no separating you from it- you just proved that wrong”*Swoon*. He kept her safe as he drove her to New York in Florence, and held her up when she was weak. He held her hand, and rubbed her back, when she was fighting the wraith. He helped her to stand when they’d defeated it but she was still weak. When Nancy expressed surprise that she was strong enough to hold the trauma, Ace is the one that said, “I think you always were, Nancy,” as he helped her stand up, and with that look between them.

GIF by @nacesource

But 218 also has growth for every character. Bess saying goodbye to Odette, and George’s generous offering of love and friendship to allow them a passionate kiss before Odette goes inside forever, with Lo Moon playing, was so beautiful I want to cry just writing this.

GIF by @booasaur

George takes a huge step forward by proposing to Nick after she hadn’t even wanted to pretend to be his fiancée, and Nick has found someone that loves him for him, and we see him preparing to open the Youth Center. Carson helps Nick to lay Celia to rest, signs away his right to be Nancy’s dad, and invites Ryan to move into the Drew house. An incredible turnaround in their relationship, and the foundation of Dad #1 and Dad #2!

The ending, as heartbreaking as it was that Nancy just missed Ace (for now), Nancy ending the episode claiming herself as a Hudson and deciding to break up the company and provide reparations to Everett’s victims is a powerful statement. And while the wraith is a fantastic supernatural monster, it’s also an amazing metaphor for depression, and feeling a lack of self-worth. Nancy’s breaking up with Gil is so powerful and meaningful for many people who’ve been in difficult relationships.

GIF by @hucklebucket

And so many classic moments! “You drew a fish!” “I hate zebras!” The look between Nancy and Ace at Odette’s antics outside Myrtle’s house- silent communication at its finest. The Myrtle/Temperance reveal! The Dads and knuckleball! And of course, “You weren’t born broken- the only way to heal is to let that pain become love.” “It’s time to kick the monster out of your house.” “Will you hold me?” “I thought you’d never ask.” “Knock ‘em dead”.

GIF by @hucklebucket

Speaking of which, the dreamscape was an amazing sequence technically, writing-wise, and emotionally. The progression through Nancy’s different selves, the support of her friends (George and her crowbar), the realization that she loves Ace and that amazing dream scene at the bluffs (the first almost kiss!). And the way it ties together so many moments from past episodes - tween Nancy and her first big case, her birth at the bluffs, her adoptive mother’s death, the evolution of her relationship with Nick into deep friendship, her low point of the kidnapping of Everett. AND the little touches of everyone wearing outfits from earlier episodes - Ace wearing his 212 outfit e.g. the Grant episode where Nancy saves him at great cost (“I couldn’t lose you”), was a personal favorite touch of mine. All in all, brilliant storytelling, perfectly executed.

GIF by @nancydrewcentral

I haven’t said enough about Ace’s growth. He starts the episode wanting to get away, but not being able to leave Nancy when she’s in trouble. And then he’s the most supportive friend he (or anybody) could be. But he’s loyal, and he doesn’t suspect that Nancy has developed feelings for him yet (remember he thinks it didn’t happen until DetectiveCon). So he is able to put his hurt feelings about Gil aside, and apologize to Amanda, and go on the road trip. But when he tells her “I feel like I left something behind”, while Nancy is simultaneously going to his house to confess her feelings, while “For Me, It’s You” plays- AAAHHHHH. *Weeping*.

GIF by @wandasviz

313 is an amazing episode with iconic scenes, the Nace scenes specifically. I advocated for it as one of the strongest episodes of the latter half of the series. But some fans found the pacing is challenging, and the fakeout deaths of Ryan and Ace (beautifully) painful, and can be hard to rewatch. 313 is a jam packed, excellent episode of television. But 218 is a beautifully constructed, emotional journey for Nancy, the Drew Crew, and her Dads, and a cap to what many, including Kennedy (on Twitter), think is the best season of the show. It’s a superior episode overall from a superior show and fantastic season. Vote 218!

GIF by @drewcrewdaily

#nancy drew #nancy drew cw #nace #ndcw #ace hardy #2x18 #author: pluckysidekick #cwnd #cw nancy drew

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myriad-of-things · 1 year

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Retirement Home SMP or, the Book and Quill 1.19 June 2022 - Jan 2023 (6 months)

From left to right, then top to bottom if people overlap: Dice (@dontrollthedicesideblog), Squish (@squish--squash), Schleep, Alias, Faded, Myriad (me), Light (@lightns881), Ryan, Cyngus, Lumo, Pack Yak. Missing is ZodiacLight who joined a bit later.

I'm almost a year late putting this out. I drew everyone in like 2 days but hated coloring so I never finished :(

The new server name was a reference to how we were all once a bunch of mcyt writers and now we’ve “retired” and dispersed into other fandoms. The spawn area contained two villages: one in a plains biome, and the other in a mangrove swamp. The server was mostly split into two factions depending on where players resided: the Grove and the Plains. There was also a third “faction” of wanderers who belong to neither village.

This season contained the original Book and Quill members, and also some of my irl friends I invited. Yes, it was briefly a social nightmare but I survived.

Below the cut: character notes about the server members, in the order of the list above

Dice: The Warden Affiliation: Wanderer

the first thing they did on the server: stab fish and dig a hole

an End Busting god???? went on their own and didn’t die.

built a PRISON. made people very concerned about who it was supposed to hold

Squish: Guardian of the Grove Affiliation: The Grove (leader)

has a fox form. used to have wings but lost them when The Grove briefly fell into disarray

local prankster. Hid 18 skulk shriekers around the common areas after the ancient city raid, then moved them to new locations when found. Gave the entire of server war flashbacks

escalated into a prank war with Schleep

built giant gunpowder farm over an ocean

goat horns! got goat horns for everyone so that the two villages could call to each other!

Schleep: The Anarchist Affiliation: Wanderer (duh)

anarchist, has been convicted of All the Crimes

residential minecraft sweat, carried the server

made a powerpoint presentation on how to raid an ancient city

the techno to Myriad’s philza

filled the Grove with chicken bombs and bells after Squish left one too many shriekers around the Plains

Alias: Wanderer of the Wastes Affiliation: Wanderer ("leader")

skin suggests a relation to the warden glow squid

accidently jump scared a bunch of people (namely, me) during the ancient city raid because their skin looked so much like the warden

Faded Didn't make it onto the server but had a cool skin design

Myriad Affiliation: Plains

on their retirement arc

founder of the Plains village but not in any positions of power. trying to keep a low profile

the philza to Schleep’s techno

kept getting rickrolled by Light with the lyrics of Mask

god complex. Light and Schleep built a giant statue of them while they were offline

Light: The Executioner Affiliation: Plains and the Grove

local redstoner. built most of the farms on the server, such as: iron farm, melon and pumpkin farm, lava farm with rotating cauldrons????

built like, 70% of the buildings in the Plains.

built a guillotine. ended up becoming the only person to have ever been executed by it after she got too impatient and decided to try it out on herself

built a cute little cottage on the side of a hill with a secret doorway in a waterfall that could only be opened by triggering skulk sensors hidden midair in hot air balloons with an elytra.

went to extreme lengths to prank Myriad with the lyrics of Mask (and got me every time. see her post about it here)

“Ryan”: Director of PASA (Plains Aeronautics and Space Administration) Affiliation: Plains

the only normal person on this server

hasn’t played minecraft since like 1.8. tried to get out of a boat once by ramming it in hopes that it would break. has died multiple times due to new game mechanics.

player with the most deaths on the server. Responsible for 11 out of the 17 collective deaths during the ancient city raid

built a scale model of the NASA Artemis moon rocket. went to space before we went to the End

Cygnus: Pontiff of the Plains Affiliation: Plains (leader)

insane builder

built the titular Retirement Home. also serves as a city hall and their personal manor

the Honorable Judge Cygnus. serves as judge to the like 50 court cases against Schleep that we never got around to holding yet

Lumo Affiliation: Wanderer

just vibing

frOg

Packyak Affiliation: Plains (he just happens to live under it)

MINEcraft

spends all his time mining. only resurfaces occasionally to upgrade his tools. rarely seen otherwise

bomb disposal robot during the ancient city raid.

ZodiacLight (not pictured)

the other Light on the server

minecraft sweat

With summer rolling around again and 1.20 coming out soon, Retirement Home SMP Season 2 is on the horizon!

#the new tumblr post editor crashed like 10 times while I was trying to write this post wtf #the book and quill #retirement home smp #minecraft server #minecraft smp #moonrise draws #minecraft fanart

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ezralva · 6 months

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I've been following you for a coupla years now ever since your xicheng era. It's interesting to see whenever you get into new fixations, it introduces me to lesser animes or BLs or new ships that otherwise I would never think of and more often than not I got hooked to them thanks to you 😁 I'm very shy and awkward so mostly in fandoms I'm in im just a silent enjoyer and follower. I'm so happy when you started posting and reblogging jjk because it's a fandom I've been silently lurking for years and moreover because you like stsg and also chousou because they are one of my favorites too. I pretty much enjoy reading your posts and your reblog tags, they are funny! May you share how you got into that? Because you mention one time that you regret those who drew you into jjk 😅 is it something to do with big fandom?

Ps. I like your fic so much, it's like a healing session after chapter 236, I thought i'd let you know here because i'm too shy to comment directly on the fic

Omg this is so sweet of you, anon, thank you! I hope y'know your kind words just made my whole day <3. Wow if you've been following me that long then you shud go off anon so I wud know who you are ^^ but I get it! I enjoy being silent lurker and follower too from times to times.

Also wow I'm amazed you've put up with my everchanging fixations that long lol I know I'm annoying that whenever I'm into new fixation then I wudn't shut up abt it for a while and too lazy to ever make sideblogs. Anw, I don't really remember when I said that ahaha I'd most likely just joked or be sarcastic when I wrote that. I did feel so much pain knowing my otp is a doomed ship but it's nothing I didn't know before I even started jjk. Moreover it ended in a good note for me what with the latest chapters of them so it's all good now. The abundant loveable characters of jjk making it easy to explore other dynamics and ships too. Even dynamics I'd usually nvr entertain so it's been an eye opener experience! I don't regret a thing. Glad to know we share similar tastes :)

but yea I'm really not good with big fandoms overall and am usually content with the tiny corner of my own. My last experience with big fandoms, before I switched completely to obscure fandoms, were too unpleasant that I didn't wish to ever repeat it. But I'm more adept with curating what I wanna see now so I won't get put-off or get bored quickly. Tiny fandoms are nice and comfy but they were oftentimes unsustainable for me due to the lack of interactions. Still, I'm so happy to hear my shitposts could actually introduce you to new fixations!

Abt how I get into jjk. Well, unlike any other animes mangas I'm into, I actually have irl friends and coworkers that are fans of jjk. 3 of them are close to me (one of them is my spouse lol) and had literally pestered me to try it for long so they'd have someone to talk with. So I'd known about it since around 2 years ago when the movie came out. I was curious bcs it was such a hype around me even though they were all adults who usually didn't even watch anime so there must be sth different abt it. Yet I kept putting it off cz I was just not into supernatural fantasy shounen. I decided this year would be a good time to start since with season 2 the hype around me was too high that I just got swept in it, naturally. I cudn't tamp down my curiosity any longer plus I got time now during this break so why not, right? The thing is my irl friends arent into simping let alone shipping (at least not that I know in public, who knows what they might be doing in private) so I keep that side here ofc!

Awwwh thank you so much for letting me know you like my fic! Ch 236 was indeed devastating for a while tho it was still a HE in some aspects (for me). It's an outlet for me to pour my HCs for the characters that stuck with me. I hope you know that even if it's just excited emojis, a comment in the fic worths a lot for authors cz it let them know not just abt whether their fics are being read and liked, but how their works actually affect the readers, it's a potent drive for authors and feedbacks are helping authors so you don't need to be shy 😉

#ask #fandom #long post

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jrpneblog · 4 months

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Super sub Keane to impress

The much quoted "game of two halves" was never more appropriate than to describe this encounter between North End and Bristol City. A very dull and predictable first half had the crowd close to the edge by half time and you just wonder how toxic things might have become had not the half time changes brought about an upturn in North End`s fortunes. Keane, Riis and Frokjaer were all introduced at half time and North End started to attack much to the amazement of the majority inside Deepdale who have witnessed some turgid stuff over the last few months. The change to a 4-4-2 at half time with Frokjaer in an advanced midfield position did the trick for North End with Will Keane converting twice to give North End the points. It has to be said that the visitors looked a shadow of the side that drew with West Ham last week and perhaps they had more than one eye on this week`s Cup replay at Ashton Gate.

Ryan Lowe made one change to the side that lost at Chelsea last week with Duane Holmes coming in for Will Keane in a 4-1-4-1 starting formation. The Robins were the first to have a meaningful effort but Woodman saved well as North End just struggled early on to get into gear. They eventually got going but it was a lot of the sideways stuff that has turned people away from the Lowe brand in recent months although Osmajic did have a half chance after twenty minutes with the effort going wide. Both keepers made some decent saves towards the end of the half with an effort by Millar just on the stroke of half time being the best but it was saved by O`Leary. North End left the field at half time to some booing among the faithful but I rather think that this was aimed at the manager rather than the performance of the players at the break.

The atmosphere inside the Stadium was one of apathy in some quarters and toxicity in others as Ryan Lowe made, probably, the biggest gamble of his managerial career. Lowe decided to bring off Captain, Alan Browne, Osmajic and Holmes. He replaced them with three attacking players in Keane, Riis and Frokjaer. There is no doubt in my mind that if this had gone the other way there would have been civil war on the Deepdale terraces. However it didn`t, the changes worked very well and Lowe lives to fight another day. North End were at it right from the kick off in the second half and Keane had an effort saved within two minutes. The striker then turned and fired over from six yards when it seemed easier to score. With twenty minutes gone of the second half there was relief all round as Keane latched on to a poor headed back pass and pushed it past the City keeper before firing into an empty net. It was all North End now as the visitors offered little at the other end. With twelve minutes to go Keane sealed the points when he guided home a cross from Riis at the near post and it was job done for North End. We saw the game out with very few concerns and a welcome three points were in the bag after another strange game at Deepdale.

So with nineteen games to go North End sit in the top half once again just two points behind sixth place. However the team in fifth are seven clear of North End so we really need to be getting our skates on and with Leeds away next Sunday lunchtime it is not the easiest fixture to enhance our position. As far as the manager is concerned, nothing has changed for me in spite of this being a good second half performance and a very welcome three points. Lowe must be congratulated on his half time changes, right enough, but how many times has he got it wrong this season and cost us dearly. We have two tough away games up next with Leeds and Millwall so the manager will be tested again but I guess his position looks safe for another two weeks at least, however with Ipswich the next visitors to Deepdale it is not looking like getting easier anytime soon.

PRESTON 2-0 BRISTOL CITY

WOODMAN 7

POTTS 7 STOREY 7 LINDSAY 7 HUGHES 7

WHITEMAN 7

HOLMES 7 McCANN 6 BROWNE 6 MILLAR 7

OSMAJIC 6

Subs:

FROKJAER 7

RIIS 7

KEANE 8

BRADY 7

MOTM: Will Keane

Attendance 14,929

Preston Fans 14,268 (95.57%).

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hide-in-imagination · 1 year

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Taylor swift X Simbar

Song recommendation that sound like simbar?

Oooh baby, you've come to the right place. *cracks knuckles* Actually, I have a Spotify playlist for Simbar that includes many Taylor songs.

The Archer: Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay? / All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put me together again, 'cause all of my enemies started out friends, help me hold on to you / They see right through me, do you see right through me? I see right through me. Basically, I feel like this would be Ámbar during season 2, right at her worse moment and wondering if it would be okay to hang on to Simón.

King of my heart: The beginning of Simbar. Almost all the lyrics apply, but I'll put some here: I made up my mind, I'm better off being alone, we met some weeks ago, now you try on calling me 'baby' like trying on clothes / 'Cause all the boys in their expensive cars and their range rovers and the jaguars never took me quite where you do / AND ALL AT ONCE YOU ARE THE ONE I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, KING OF MY HEART, BODY AND SOUL / IS THIS THE END OF ALL THE ENDINGS? MY BROKEN BONES ARE MENDING WITH ALL THESE NIGHTS WE'RE SPENDING / SAY YOU FANCY ME NOT FANCY STUFF, BABY ALL AT ONCE THIS IS ENOUGH

(BASICALLY THE ENTIRETY OF REPUTATION IS SIMBAR CODED, OKAY? I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. REPUTATION IS ÁMBAR'S ALBUM)

This is just a feeling, but I love to associate Today Was a Fairy Tale to right after their first date <3 My babies were so happy that day🥹 ❤️(WHY DIDN'T IT LAST, GOD DAMN IT😭)

THE ULTIMATE SIMBAR SONG AND I WILL FIGHT WHOEVER SAYS OTHERWISE IS 'CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT'

They took the crown but it's all right / all the liars are calling me one, nobody's heard from me for months, I'M DOING BETTER THAN I EVER WAS / cause my baby's fit like a daydream, walking with his head down, I'm the one he's walking to, so call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to / ALL MY FLOWERS GREW BACK AS THORNS, WINDOWS BOARDED UP AFTER THE STORM, HE BUILT A FIRE JUST TO KEEP ME WARM❤️❤️ / and I know I make the same mistakes every time, bridges burn, I never learn, AT LEAST I DID ONE THING RIGHT. I DID ONE THING RIGHT / I'm laughing with my lover, making forts under covers, trust him like a brother, yeah you know I did one thing right (This line literally inspired chapter 22 of Roads That Cross) / starry eyes sparkling up my darkest nights

Long Story Short: I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole, long story short it was a bad time, pushed from the precipice, clung to the nearest lips, long story short it was the wrong guy (Benicio), now I'm all about you <3 / When I dropped my sword, I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door / No more keeping score now I just keep you warm / Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things, and he's passing by, rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky, and he feels like home, if the shoe fits walk in it everywhere you go.

Snow on the Beach (the beginning of their story) / Sweet Nothing (post canon) / The Great War (The entirety of season 3 basically ksdjnf. 'You drew up some good faith treaties, I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone, you said I had to trust more freely...')

Hope you liked this, anon! 💜

#simbar #anon #answered

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otnesse · 29 days

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@pepsi-al Making a separate post regarding your and Mattress's exchange about Pokemon ratings, since I can't reblog the latter directly:

pepsi-al: themattress: Here are the regular ratings averages for the Pokeani shows following the OS (all you need to know about that is that it was perpetual highs in Kanto, Orange Islands and early Johto, and then the biggest rating drop in the franchise happened during the rest of Johto.) AG: 1 - 35 (Series Premiere — May’s First Contest) = 9.0 36 - 80 (Musuem Theft — May’s Fourth Contest) = 8.0 / 7.0 81 - 131 (Resumed Fillers — Hoenn League) = 6.0 132 - 192 (Battle Frontier) = 6.0 / 5.0 DP: 1 - 85 (Series Premiere — Ash vs. Crasher Wake) = 7.0 86 - 141 (Summer School arc — Meeting Palmer) = 6.0 / 5.0 142 - 152 (Evil Togepi — Team Galactic Finale) = 7.0 153 - 170 (Resumed Fillers — Meeting Bertha) = 6.0 171 - 191 (Dawn gets Togekiss — Series Finale) = 5.0 BW: 1 - 60 (Series Premiere — Milos Island) = 6.0 / 5.0 61 - 82 (Ash vs. Clay — Pokewood Studios) = 4.0 83 - 108 (Ash vs. Roxie — Unova League) = 6.0 / 5.0 109 - 122 (Episode N) = 4.0 123 - 142 (Decalore Adventures) = 3.0 XY: 1- 44 (Series Premiere — Ash vs. Korrina) = 5.0 45 - 66 (Serena Gets a Goal — Return to Lumiose City) = 4.0 67 - 122 (Ash vs. Clemont — Ash vs. Wulfric) = 3.0 123 - 141 (Kalos League — Series Finale) = 2.0 Basically, DP and BW were successful, AG and XY less so. Coincidentally (or not), Gens IV and V were more popular than Gens III and VI. Maybe Gen VII’s popularity will reflect on the ratings for the SM anime…but if it’s popular and the show still bombs, that’ll be interesting. And I saw someone on YouTube just now literally try to point this fact out about XYZ specifically. In the replies he got, there was nothing but reality denial and blind accusations of “hatred”. I just can’t with this fandom, sometimes… As I have said before and will say again, ratings doesn’t necessarily reflect quality or opinion, they reflect interest. I found a chart about it and drew lines for the baseline ratings that would be expected for each series (which is basically a million less that the previous series.) For the most part, the Original Series was well above the line, sinking under only toward the end of Johto but rising back up for the Johto League. Like I noted above, AG remained above water for around 80 episodes before sinking, only having a temporary rise to expected numbers during the Hoenn League before promptly dropping when Battle Frontier, viewed as a “filler” arc, started. DP sagged following the Summer School arc, rose back up around the time of HeartGold/SoulSilver’s release, but then fell again around the time of the Grand Festival and never recovered ‘til the end. BW did just fine for all of its 2010 and 2011 run, but then fell in 2012 until the Black 2/White 2-inspired “Season 2″ rebrand brought the numbers up again….until the Unova League, after which there was a freefall. XY held steady for its first half, then dropped like a stone in its second half. SM, as it turns out, is the most stable the anime’s ever been ratings-wise, the numbers rising to the line then back under over and over again like the tides of the ocean (appropriate!), with the main drop happening in the final year with the change in timeslot and the advent of streaming services providing an alternative way of watching the show. While the series known internationally as Journeys…..yeah, let’s just say there’s a pretty good reason we seem to be looking the end in the face right now. But like I said, ratings reflect interest, not quality. I personally found the second half of XY, especially XY&Z, to be drastically better than the first half, but that doesn’t matter since the target audience in Japan got burned out by the first half that their interest in the whole show dropped completely. That SM never had a comparable plummet speaks volumes about which style the kids preferred, so the producers embracing that style for Journeys makes sense.

Looking over those ratings, it's pretty clear that if anything, the biggest and most prolonged drop in ratings actually happened in AG, not Johto (even Johto at least tended to stay above the line even if it's undoubtedly less than Orange Islands or Kanto especially). Really acts as a bit of vindication to me that this proves the audience did NOT like Hidaka's decision to axe Misty, ultimately. Sure, AG started off strong, but it ended up tanking quickly, and not due to the fad dying out either. And it being turned into Contest hour at Ash's expense certainly didn't seem to help either, nor the rather cheap wins against Gym Leaders. DP for all its faults at least found a way to stabilize the ratings somewhat, and BW, even though I personally found Ash's character reduction to being an idiot distasteful, at least did overall well ratings wise until the league (which is obviously due to Ash losing his rank).

So, no, Johto, for all its faults, didn't nearly kill the show, and AG most certainly didn't save the show. Quite the opposite, the mishandling of AG if anything is what helped KILL the show ultimately. Sun and Moon, even though I really disagreed with the decision to go all Emperor's New School on it, at least did better by actually trying to do better quality for the most part, not to mention actually have Ash WIN an in-game league and, heck, even bring back Misty and Brock to fix one of the biggest glaring problems with the show (namely, the mishandling of gym leaders).

The AG-stans really need to look at the ratings better, because this definitely doesn't look at all like AG even saved the show at all and if anything is more likely to have driven the show's audience away in a massive number, ultimately leading to Ash being replaced after one mistake too many. You would think they'd learn their lesson after Orange Islands that replacing one of your leads would not work in the long run, but alas... Sure, maybe keeping Misty wouldn't have guaranteed that the ratings would go back to Kanto or Orange Islands level, but at least it would have had AG having its ratings be above the line rather than consistently below it, barely meeting it at best.

#Anti-Advanced Generation series

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elecman108 · 4 months

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It's nearly the end of 2023, and... Hey, a lot has happened. I'll put most of it under the read more because there's a LOT to unpack this year, and if you're here to see the original posts for most of this art... surprise! Some of it was never posted! So no links will be provided to balance it out. All of my art is under the same tag though of "#drawings by me" so feel free to leaf through that on your own time.

To summarize the year, I learned (at the end of the year) that my temporary boss was overworking me for most of the year she was working there (yikes, but hey, I did agree to it and was able to... we'll say "keep up with the chaos" to keep it simple) but my permanent boss is, naturally, 1000% better. The side effect is... instead of December being a low month for drawing due to it being the busy month, almost every month is!

The new year should be better. I hope. On to the month summaries!

JANUARY - New D&D character refs made, Lixori as a rabbit (pictured). I didn't draw that much in january, but I claimed big ambitions of drawing more bunny girls. Sadly... I did not. Next year I'll sneak a few in here and there to make up for it - I do love drawing bunny girls (and guys especially) lol. Other than that... Year of the rabbit! Woo?

FEBRUARY - I... only drew this one image of perspective/mirrors practise with Irina and Axel. February was not busy. I was just really burnt out from the holiday season. It was... rough. Home life wasn't great, and I couldn't do much about escaping the frustrations during February anyway.

MARCH - The Existential Dread set in (pictured), my April Fools Day art, and a sketch dump. Yep! I drew my April Fools Day art in March! And early March at that! This month I had planned to take a vacation week riiiiight at the end of the month, but it got pushed back because the "new" staff member I was supposed to train didn't start until the end of the month. We'll get back to that.

APRIL - Sketches. The lineart pictured was never posted, but I cleaned it later (I think in... July or June?) but the sketch was dated back in April. Remember that vacation week that got pushed back to April? It's not riiiight after the first full week in May. Why? Because the staff member didn't know shit and needed more training. Fun fact: there's more to that story coming up.

MAY - Happy Birthday to me! I got my vacation (finally), and used the week to draw more D&D idiots before returning to work and... the "new" staff member ended up making a royal mess of things on my week off. She did not remain for much longer after that. Apparently she talks fondly about working for us, but by god, I have grey hairs. But this isn't a rant post, this is art! I... did NOT do much else in May. Not even a birthday art! For SHAME past me!! Although this month did give me an awesome new coworker (bless!) to replace a previous awesome coworker who moved back to their home city. We're both nerds. It's so funny.

JUNE - That Colour Wheel Meme from Twitter (pictured) and one half-assed drawing of Blaze in front of the pride month fire engine are all I have to show for this month, alongside cleaning up more sketches from back in April. My actual boss had returned and thank GOD. We - as in me, my nerd coworker, and our other coworker - are glad to have our boss back. She's fantastic. This month went by pretty well. But welcome to July, dumbass! It gets worse!

JULY - I forgot to do digital art this month. Why? Because all of my out-of-work time was spent working on doing Card Making craft packages for the clients. Sure, I loved doing it, but it was a LOT of work for not a lot of payoff. To be fair, I offered to cover the weekly groups for our volunteer who had been doing it up to that point before her two month vacation, so... hey! It's just for those two months, right?

AUGUST - Welcome to Burnout 2 (electric boogaloo), but I managed to fight it off by getting back into FNAF towards the end of July. Something about horror games really gets my brain in the good zone I want it to be in. This month I drew Eclipse (once) because of Ruin, this wonderful first draft of how I wanted my AU!Foxy to look, and then... I started work in on my FNAF Full Body Refs. Same as my D&D ones, only for my FNAF characters! I have the same refs for all my other OCs, may as well.

SEPTEMBER - If I told you I was only drawing FNAF and FNAF-related stuff this month, would you believe me? Because I did! I did the main characters for the portion of my FNAF!AU that I had figured out (SB and Ruin with a few extras from past games to fill out the roster), but other than that... Nope! Nothing else! I'm still redoing some of the old ones from back in September. My first batch of them (minus Bonnie, dunno what I was smoking when I made Bonnie bc he looks AWESOME) were a bit rough, so... New year problem for me.

OCTOBER - I did only one drawing and that was putting costumes on my full body references of the FNAF!AU guys! Whoops! I considered posting each character and info about them per day in October, but I just... didn't? Dunno why though, maybe I was just peanut-brained.

NOVEMBER - More FNAF! This time, the lineart/sketches I was doing on the side were all of my OCs, and the odd one was FNAF. Didn't post shit until the very end of the month though, mostly because I forgot to post essentially anything. Whoopsie!

DECEMBER - Yeah I've finished some of my sketches from November (and April), and have more to come. I'm redoing some of the FNAF Refs, and planning maybe in the new year to queue up posts for a while with info about each dude to sort of give insight into my AU to some degree... or... not make such grandiose plans.

Either way, my work schedule is destined to be much more normal come January, and I hope to be able to set aside a day or something to draw every week, because I love it so much. It's been a rough year! Thankfully didn't get Covid this year, but y'know... Maybe next year I'll get sick and be forced to take time off or something so that I can draw more.

Regardless, I'm typing this post up while now 6 minutes left to me leaving for work, so no proofreading for me! Any typos will remain forever.

Catch y'all later! You might see a new years' post from me, or one between now and 2024, but... don't bank on it.

For those of you who made it all the way down to the end of the post... Poke a poll or something. I've never done this feature so here's to figuring it out.

#the disappointment speaks #drawings by me #a day in the life of the disappointment #tumblr woes #life woes #with 3 mins to go I am good! hit post kronk!

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crossbowking · 3 years

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More Than Anything (Part 2)

(Click HERE to read More Than Anything Part 1)

Summary: (Set mid-season 6) The reader’s feelings towards the archer evolve, but a supply run that goes south threatens to destroy it all.

Request: “I’d love to see something w protective Daryl and some angst, maybe set at the start of their time in Alexandria w an established relationship?” - @pulplorrd

A/N: See, you'd think I would've learned after making you guys wait a year and a half for No Way Out Part 2, that I should probably FINISH my stories before actually posting the first part...yet, here we are, one month later lol I'm sorry for the wait but hopefully it's worth it!

Happy reading and let me know what you think :)

xx Jess

Masterlist

Tip Jar

Previously...

But as its grasp slipped away from around Tara’s arm, the walker’s deadweight, in turn, collapsed against you.

You lost your footing and fell backward.

Except the solidity of concrete never rushed up to meet you.

Instead, you were embraced by water, the tarp that’d laid across the motel pool coiling around your body as you sunk deeper and deeper into nothingness.

Now...

When the world ended, you’d accepted the idea of death — your death, specifically.

You knew that one day, your life would undoubtedly end — most likely at the hands of the dead, ripped to pieces, torn to shreds, the way so many others before you had been taken. But you’d always hoped your death would at least mean something — maybe laying your life on the line, sacrificing yourself so the people you loved could survive.

Something noble, something brave.

Not like this.

Before the fall, you’d managed to inhale a sharp breath — though once you’d submerged into the grimy pool water, the coldness, the darkness, the shock of it all, had zapped the air right out of your body. You were becoming increasingly aware of the tightness in your chest, the burning in your lungs as you struggled against the walker pressed against you, its weight sinking you further into the depths of the pool.

Then, the panic set in — your heart pounded against your ribcage, right alongside the immense pressure crushing your lungs. Glimpses of sunlight hung just above you, peeking through parts of the drifting tarp you frantically attempted to push aside. You were completely disoriented, your vision obscured by the murkiness surrounding you, floating specks only visible beneath the shattered light above.

When your back connected against the bottom of the deep end, you managed to wriggle out from under the dead’s listless body — though the tarp remained twisted around your limbs. No matter how hard you fought, how hard you struggled, you couldn’t free yourself from the suffocating material. You could’ve sworn you were caught in a dream, your movements lagging and sluggish as you thrashed beneath the surface.

It felt as though someone had reached their hand directly through the center of your chest, squeezing your insides in a vice-like grip. A tingling sensation crawled down your spine, settling atop your churning stomach as the throbbing behind your ears began to slow.

You were listening to your last heartbeats.

It became unbearable, the water threatening to force its way past your clamped lips, the simple need to breathe. A sharp stab of pain shot through you as the blackness in your vision intensified, pulsing reddish-white around the edges as the fire in your chest consumed you at last.

Then, with nothing else left to do, you inhaled.

You weren’t sure what happened next — everything felt faint and fuzzy and quiet. The darkness that lingered no longer struck fear in you — instead, it was warm, enveloping you in its arms like a long-lost lover. The silence was soothing as you drifted in the emptiness, like careless whispers and forgotten melodies. You were weightless, you were freed, you were everything and nothing all at once.

You were dying.

That you were sure of.

Yet much to your surprise, you weren’t afraid — no, instead…you felt at peace.

But the brevity of calm didn’t last as you were suddenly aware of a vague pressure, though it wasn’t all-consuming nor constant. It was distant at first, a feeling you could’ve easily brushed aside had it not begun to gradually grow in force, in vigor — a steady pounding, coming from the center of your chest, over and over again.

The warmth around you began to splinter, shattering like shards of glass, the fallout piercing your skin as it collapsed around you. The pain was deep and burning and you longed for just a moment ago when all you felt was the sweetness of oblivion. The pressure pounding against your chest increased, becoming the sole thing you could feel, the only thing you could focus on, the unwavering thuds drawing you back from whatever place you’d drifted off to.

In the next moment, you were awake.

Your body flailed, jolting upright, but you’d only managed to get an inch or two off the ground before water began to suddenly spurt from your mouth. Your eyes squeezed shut as you choked on the liquid, every nerve ending in your body red-hot. You were vaguely aware of hands, rough and calloused and familiar, gripping onto your arms and forcing you onto your side, the motion allowing the water leaving your lungs to flow easier.

You gasped a constricted breath, coughing harshly on the exhale, completely and entirely disoriented as to what in the fuck just happened. Your chest tightened as you spit up more water, your throat closing around the sensation as you fought for control of your breathing, the feeling of concrete against the side of your body grounding you.

When your coughs finally died down, the same hands from before grabbed onto your arms, pulling your deadweight upright, maneuvering your limp body as if you were a rag doll. You blinked your bleary eyes open, wincing from the sunlight directly above as you drew in shaky breaths.

And then you saw him.

Daryl knelt in front of you, his ragged breathing mirroring your own, soaking wet from head to toe. Strands of hair stuck against his forehead, droplets of water still dripping from the ends as he stared at you, wide-eyed, his expression a mixture of horror and shock — something you rarely witnessed when it came to the archer.

He was mouthing something — no, he was shouting something — but you couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t hear a damn word he was saying as you sat there, dazed and confused, wondering if what just happened actually happened.

His hold around your arms slipped away, his hands cradling either side of your face instead, tilting your head up and brushing your drenched hair back. He leaned forward a fraction, frantically studying your features, his haunted eyes bouncing back and forth between your own as though making sure you were there — really there.

The silence was becoming a little less resounding, the world around you gradually seeping back, though muffled and dull — but the way Daryl was looking at you, the apprehension in his gaze, shook something loose inside you. Your mouth opened, but no sound came out. You wanted to tell him it was okay — that you were okay — but damn it, why couldn’t you speak?

So instead, you slowly lifted your hands, weakly grasping onto Daryl’s wrists, the small motion all you could muster — you had to let him know you were here. He glanced down at your hands, a small huff of relief escaping him.

But when he looked back up, you noticed the moisture that’d built in the corners of his eyes.

Daryl’s hands slipped behind your head, holding you still as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead gently against yours.

You, on the other hand, silently thanked whatever God or higher power was out there for giving you one more moment like this.

When the archer pulled back, you spotted a red streak smeared across his forehead that hadn’t been there before. Your brow knitted together as he sat back on his haunches. You tried clearing your throat, the sensation burning the rawness that’d spread. “You’re —” you croaked, your voice sounding foreign. “— you’re bleeding, D.”

Daryl’s expression darkened, his jaw clenching as he lowered his gaze and unsheathed his hunting knife. “It ain’t mine,” he rasped, suddenly slicing a long strip of fabric off from the bottom of his dampened shirt and balling it in his fist, ringing out some of the water.

Before you knew what was happening, he was reaching forward, pressing the material gingerly against your forehead and wrapping it behind your head, tying the strip into a knot to keep it in place. You were surprised at the sting of pain you felt, unsure when you managed to cut your head open in the midst of what had happened — everything was still sort of…fuzzy.

The sound of a car door slamming drew your attention. You peeked out of the corner of your eye, spotting Tara jogging towards you, the car you’d driven to the motel running idle in the parking lot.

“They’re coming!” she called out, motioning towards something just behind Daryl.

You craned your neck, attempting to get a look, but before you could, the archer was looping his arms beneath your armpits and hefting you up to your feet. The world tilted unsteadily around you, and had it not been for Daryl’s hold, the ground would’ve surely rushed up to meet you.

“I got ya,” he rasped, slinging one of your arms across his shoulders, his grip snaking around your waist.

Tara appeared at your opposite side, slightly out of breath. “Welcome back, chicka,” she shot you a slightly strained smile before following Daryl’s lead and winding your other arm across her shoulders, keeping you propped upright between them.

You wanted to tell them you were fine, that you were more than capable of walking on your own — but your strength had depleted, your legs shook beneath you, and the shock was beginning to wear off, making all the little aches and pains in your body alarmingly obvious.

Then, you were moving.

They half-dragged, half-carried you across the stretch of concrete, hurrying towards the parking lot where Tara had left the car. You peeked over your shoulder, managing to get a glimpse of what you were leaving behind — the small herd from earlier had been taken down, their bodies splayed out sporadically on the other side of the pool. Some sporting knife wounds, others bullet holes. The pool itself was rippling, the water sloshing back and forth, air bubbles visible at the surface.

Some of the dead had followed you into the water.

Just beyond the pool, you spotted exactly what you were running from — another herd, three times the size of the first one, ambling in from the woods behind the motel, most likely drawn in by gunfire.

When you reached the car, Tara slipped away and jumped into the driver’s seat. Daryl flung open the back door and maneuvered you carefully inside. You grimaced as you inched further into the car, only stopping once your back was pressed up against the opposite door. The archer quickly slid in after you and slammed the door shut, grabbing onto the back of the driver’s seat as Tara peeled out of the parking lot.

The silence that followed rang heavy.

Your heart hammered against your chest, your breaths coming out slightly wheezy, almost like there was still some water left in your lungs. You met Tara’s eyes in the rearview mirror before she focused back on the road — you noticed then that the sleeves of her shirt, up to her elbows, were wet.

She’d helped drag your body out of the pool.

You glanced over at Daryl, the archer’s grip on the driver’s seat white-knuckled as he stared at the back of the headrest. Waves of tension rolled off him, the feeling nearly palpable. But his eyes flickered towards you a moment later, as though he felt you watching him, and some of the rigidity faded.

He wordlessly shuffled closer, grabbing your arm and pulling you away from the door you leaned against. You were too tired and too sore to object, your body slumping against his side as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders — you thought for a brief moment that he was hugging you.

But instead, he wound your seatbelt around your body and locked it in place.

Daryl fell back against the seat beside you with a huff, keeping his gaze focused ahead, staring straight through the windshield. He didn’t look at you again — he remained still, like he was carved from stone. You weren’t even sure he was breathing. His arm just barely grazed the side of yours, but despite whatever hidden turmoil was surely happening inside of him, he made no effort to move away.

He needed time to process what happened — what almost happened.

But so did you.

You shifted, closing the small gap between you and resting your head against his shoulder, ignoring the way he stiffened. The material of his shirt was still damp and smelt like a mixture of chlorine and mildew from the murky pool water, but you couldn’t find it in you to pull away either.

You hadn't realized you’d dozed off until the archer gently shook you awake, the car now parked outside Alexandria’s makeshift infirmary.

You still felt weak and lethargic, but you managed to make your way inside without any help — although Daryl, silent and stoic as ever, remained at your side, his hand hovering over the small of your back.

The infirmary was quiet as Denise checked you over — Tara had gone to update Rick and the others on what happened, as well as distribute the supplies you’d managed to bring home. Daryl, on the other hand, paced — back and forth, like a caged animal, on the opposite side of the room. Almost like part of him desperately wanted to run, but a bigger part of himself needed to be there.

“Are you feeling any nausea? Confusion? Loss of basic motor skills?” Denise suddenly asked, breaking the silence that’d stretched on, looking up from the textbook she was reading from. She’d never dealt with an ‘almost drowning’, but had been able to scrounge up some old medical textbooks for help.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat, shaking your head once. “No. No, nothing like that.”

“Okay, good. Yeah, that’s good…” she murmured, mostly to herself, before flipping to the next page and skimming the stretch of words. “Besides your forehead, any other lacerations?” she looked up at you once more, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t —” you shot Daryl a look, but he was too busy pacing to notice. “I don’t think so,” you shook your head again, your fingertips ghosting over the bandage Denise had patched your head up with.

“Good, good. We’ll want to keep an eye on that in case of infection,” she informed before flipping to the next page, mouthing the text to herself. “Okay, and any soreness?”

You grimaced as you sat up a little straighter. “Just — just right here mostly,” you admitted, motioning towards your center, below your chest.

Denise shut the textbook and placed it on the metal table you sat on top of. “Can you show me?”

Your brow knitted together but you obliged, sliding off the table and grabbing the hem of your shirt. You fought back a wince as you rolled the material up, stopping just below your chest, exposing your skin.

The first thing you noticed was the way the room suddenly stilled — you glanced up, spotting Daryl standing frozen across the way, pacing no longer. But he wasn’t staring at you — he was staring at your midsection, a look in his eyes you’d never seen before.

When you lowered your head, getting a good look at yourself for the first time, you realized exactly what he was seeing.

Bruises. Dark and discolored. Scattered down your sternum and along the center of your ribcage.

Your head snapped up at the sound of the front door slamming shut.

And Daryl was gone.

You tried to ignore the pinprick of tears that grew, the hurt that settled across your chest as you lowered your shirt back in place — but when Denise suddenly reached out and placed her hand on top of yours, patting it softly, your features crumpled.

Everything that happened seemed to catch up to you in that moment — the fear, the shock, what Daryl must’ve felt pulling your unmoving body out of the water. You’d nearly died. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t been able to bring you back? Would he have been the one to put you down when you undoubtedly turned? Or would Tara have done it — the act far too painful for the man you loved to follow through with.

The man you loved.

Denise wrapped her hand around yours, squeezing gently and drawing you back. “Hey, it’s okay,” she soothed.

You quickly swiped at the tears that slipped down your cheeks, huffing a hitched breath. “I know, I’m just —” you glanced up at the front door, hanging onto the foolish hope that it’d swing open once more. “I don’t know,” you finally mumbled, albeit defeatedly.

Denise followed your gaze, scoffing slightly. “Men suck,” she finally shrugged.

You sniffled softly before shaking your head. “Not that one,” you murmured fondly.

Denise squeezed your hand once more, shooting you a sympathetic smile before she pulled away. “It could’ve been worse — most people who have CPR done on them end up with broken ribs or punctured lungs. You, my friend, are one of the lucky ones.”

You inhaled a deep breath, fighting back a wince, the motion stretching your bruised body. “Thank you. For everything.”

Denise nodded before taking off her glasses, using the hem of her shirt to clean the lenses. “Y/N, I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries, but,” she paused, sliding her glasses back on as she regarded you seriously. “You smell like a sewer rat.”

You faltered, completely caught off guard by her statement before remembering that you were still wearing damp, swampy, pool water clothes. Then, despite everything, a laugh slipped past your lips, breaking the tension. You let out a hiss as the movement sent a wave of pain through you. “Ow, fuck, don’t make me laugh,” you bit back another chuckle, lightly swatting her arm.

Denise smiled before motioning towards the door. “Go home, shower, get some rest — Doctor’s orders,” she grinned, turning away and beginning to clean up her workstation.

You thanked her again before hobbling out of the infirmary.

As night drew near, most residents of Alexandria were already in their respective homes — you were grateful for that. You didn’t want to see anyone right now, their worry and endless questions something you were more than happy to put off until tomorrow.

When you made it back to the apartment you and Daryl shared, you were, yet again, fighting back feelings of disappointment — he wasn’t home. You felt a pinprick of worry, but knew he needed time and space to process whatever it was he was feeling.

And when he was ready, you would be too.

You walked through the kitchen, the morning you’d shared earlier feeling like a lifetime ago — the pan he’d used to make eggs, now dry, remained sitting on the counter. The bedroom was untouched, looking exactly how it had this morning, just the way you’d left it. You grabbed a fresh set of clothes before making your way into the master bathroom attached, ignoring the bone-deep tiredness settling over you.

Showering was a good call — the warm water rained down as you scrubbed your body of the muck that clung to you, being extra careful not to get the bandage on your head wet or make any sudden movements. When you were finished cleaning up, you stood beneath the shower head for a few minutes, eyes closed, inhaling the steam around you with deep, calming breaths.

You were okay. You were alive. You were here.

You shut off the water, stepped out of the shower, and dried yourself off, gingerly patting down your chest and around your ribs, before slipping into clean clothes. You wiped away some of the steam that’d collected on the bathroom mirror before hanging up your towel, combing out your knotted hair, and brushing your teeth — the same routine you did every night.

The normalcy was soothing — you were already beginning to feel better, more like yourself. You were ready to put what happened behind you and move forward, sure to never take another day for granted.

But when you opened the bathroom door, ready to curl up in bed and doze off, all of your feelings from earlier came rushing back at the sight of Daryl.

Once again, he’d been pacing the length of the bedroom, only stopping after you’d entered the room, his gaze snapping towards you. He shifted his weight back and forth, opening his mouth before clamping it shut. You could feel his energy, rolling off his body in waves — tense, rigid, wild. He was struggling to say whatever was on his mind, only furthering his evident frustration. He flicked his hair away from his eyes, turning to face you head-on, clearly gathering up the gall to speak.

You took a small step forward. “Daryl —”

“Ya were blue,” he suddenly rasped, a fire in his gaze that wasn’t there before. “Tara was shoutin’ for ya an’ I — when I went in an’ pulled ya out, there wasn’t — I didn’t —” he huffed a breath in frustration, his face tinged red. “God, damn it, Y/N, ya were fuckin’ blue,” he finally growled, chest heaving, hands balled into fists at his side.

His anger wasn’t directed at you, but the situation itself, you knew that. But still, his words — or more so the emotion, the truth hidden behind them — had you recoiling from him, your heart breaking at the thought of what he’d seen, of what had run through his mind when he realized you weren’t breathing.

You couldn’t imagine how scared he must have been.

And that was what was beneath his outburst — not rage, but fear.

But he wasn’t finished with what he needed to say — if anything, he was just getting more and more worked up as he began to frantically pace once more. “This is why — I fuckin’ told ya — I didn’t need ya comin’ out there. I didn’t need ya on that run but ya — ya didn’t listen ta’ me an’ then —”

“I love you.”

Daryl stilled, mid-stride, his gaze widening as if all of the air had been sucked from his lungs.

You felt your face flush, the air between you so thick it could be cut with a knife. You hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but the words just sort of…tumbled out? And now, there they were, hanging between you. Part of you wondered if the archer could hear your heart pounding from where he stood — or maybe it was his heartbeat, synched up to yours.

You sputtered a soft breath, shaking your head in disbelief, trying not to panic because the last thing you wanted was for Daryl to look at you the way he was looking at you after telling him you loved him. “I’m —“ you took a breath, regarding him earnestly. “I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. And I promise — I promise — you do not have to say it back. Hell, you don’t even have to feel the same way,” you huffed an awkward laugh, but the noise hitched somewhere in your throat, betraying your words. You grew serious once more. “I just — I couldn’t have another night going by without you knowing. Not after what happened today,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, shrugging a shoulder up meekly. “So, I love you — I love you more than anything.”

You weren’t sure what sort of reaction you were expecting from him. But you absolutely refused to acknowledge the tiny part of you that secretly wished he’d swoop you into his arms, pull you close, tell you he loved you too — because that wasn’t Daryl. That wasn’t the type of man he was — and you were okay with that.

Because you hadn’t fallen in love with that type of man.

You’d fallen in love with the man standing shell-shocked in front of you.

You cleared your throat and stepped forward, moving away from the bathroom doorway. “The shower’s all yours,” you murmured, needing to break the uncomfortable silence that carried on.

You sidestepped around his frozen form, ignoring the way your legs shook like jelly beneath you as you made your way towards the bed. You took a seat on the edge of the mattress, keeping your back towards him, staring ahead at the blank wall in front of you instead.

After what felt like forever, the floorboard squeaked beneath the shifting of his weight, his footsteps growing faint as he slowly walked away and entered the bathroom, closing the door shut after him.

You strained your ears, listening for any movement beyond the door he’d disappeared behind — but you heard nothing. It was like you could feel him through the panel of wood between you — you could almost picture him, just standing there, trying to process whatever the hell was going on inside that mind of his.

A moment later, the shower turned on.

And you released the breath you’d been holding.

Exhaustion swept through you, the day’s events wearing you down. You carefully maneuvered yourself into bed, pulling a thin sheet over your body and settling onto your side. Your eyelids grew heavy, the sound of the shower lulling you to sleep despite the strange, sort of freedom your admittance had brought you, the feeling buzzing through your veins.

You didn’t regret your vulnerability — he needed to know he was loved, damn it.

When you heard the shower turn off, you snapped your eyes shut. You listened to the archer move about the bathroom until the door finally creaked open. He seemed to be just standing there, and you could’ve sworn you felt him staring at the back of your head as if he was gauging whether or not you were actually asleep. But a moment later, you heard his footsteps padding across the bedroom before the mattress dipped beneath him.

You held your breath, covers drawn to your chin as Daryl shifted in bed, eventually lying down beside you. Another beat of quiet passed, neither of you moving, nor breathing it seemed.

But then suddenly, you heard him speak, so softly you almost missed it. “I know ya ain’t sleepin’,” he rumbled.

The corner of your mouth quirked up — because of course he knew.

You sighed, shifting gingerly onto your back, the sheet pooling at your waist as you looked over at him. He laid on his side, facing you, propped up on his elbow. He was dressed in clean clothes, his hair still wet from the shower, pushed back out of his face.

He really was rather beautiful.

“Busted,” you smiled, though the archer’s expression remained solemn.

Ever so gently, he reached towards you, his fingertip grazing the material of your shirt, over your ribcage, below your chest, hovering the bruises that lingered. “Does it hurt?” he rasped, the mouth turned downward into a small frown.

You shook your head. “Not really.”

Daryl’s eyes met yours, his expression skeptical and knowing.

You never were a good liar.

“At least you didn’t break a rib?” you offered sheepishly, your lame attempt at a joke falling flat given the current audience.

But when Daryl’s features fell, a flash of what looked like guilt settling over his face, you placed your hand on top of his, resting them against your stomach. “Don’t do that,” you murmured, reading him like a damn book as you rubbed circles with your thumb over the back of his hand.

The archer grumbled something indistinct, staring down at your intertwined hands.

Your grip tightened around his. “I mean it,” you spoke, an edge to your voice, only softening when he looked at you instead. “You saved my life, D — that’s it. You can let go of anything else you’re holding onto.”

Daryl’s lip twitched as he chewed on the inside of his cheek, seemingly mulling over your words.

You were sure he’d hang onto whatever unnecessary guilt he carried — because that was just who he was — but eventually, he nodded once and settled down on his back, staring up at the ceiling. You were too tired to press the subject further so you curled into his side and rested your head against his chest, winding your arm across his midsection. His arm automatically wrapped around you, his fingertips trailing absently up and down your spine, sending shivers through your body.

You weren’t sure how long you laid like that, melting into the warmth he exuded, the steady pounding of his heartbeat easing you to sleep.

You’d nearly faded away when Daryl suddenly spoke.

“Did ya mean it?” he rumbled, the noise vibrating from deep within his chest. “What ya said before?” he grunted, his hand pausing at the small of your back.

You could’ve imagined it, but you almost felt the slight tremble of his fingertips against your skin.

You slowly pushed up onto your elbow, your faces mere inches apart. You searched his uncertain gaze, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Of course I meant it,” you whispered. “Every damn word.”

Daryl’s eyes narrowed, as though not entirely believing what you said could be true.

So you leaned forward, closing the remainder of space between you, and pressed your lips gently against his. He returned the kiss, a quiet desperation growing as one hand came up to cradle the side of your face, his thumb sweeping back and forth across your cheek. You broke away from the kiss, brushing his hair back before meeting his lips once more, settling your hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath your touch.

When you pulled back, you noticed his skin flush, surely mirroring your own. He looked up at you, slightly breathless, a fondness in his gaze that sent your stomach somersaulting. He cleared his throat, the ghost of a smile flickering across his face. “Well, alright,” he finally resigned, accepting your answer to his question.

You snorted a breathy laugh, leaning forward and kissing his cheek before burrowing against him. A soft sigh slipped past your lips as Daryl’s hold tightened around you, as though afraid you’d disappear if he didn’t.

You closed your eyes, reveling in the feeling of contentment, unsure how many more moments like this you, or anyone else for that matter, had left in this kind of cruel and harrowing world.

But for at least tonight, you could be at peace.

“I love you,” you murmured groggily, beginning to sink deeper into unconsciousness.

Right before sleep came, long after Daryl thought you’d drifted away, you heard him whisper three, simple words.

“More than anythin’.”

Then he pulled you closer and the world dimmed.

A/N: Aw...a happy ending! (I figured I owed ya after putting y'all through Honey & Whiskey lol)

P.S. Feedback is incredibly important. I write for my own happiness, but I also write for YOU. So don’t be afraid to shoot me an ask or leave a comment with your thoughts! It truly motivates me and helps move along the writing process. Also, please consider donating to my Tip Jar. Every little bit helps!

P.S.S. I can no longer tag people on this account, so my tag list has been transferred to my side blog @crossbowking2. If you’d like to be added/removed, please let me know!

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kaypeace21 · 3 years

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Idk if this is possible or not or if you've done it already but could you list all the rainbow references in the show?

Haha- talk about pandora’s box. Sure, personally i think the rainbows have multiple meanings -3 meanings to to be exact

1) Rainbows being associated with psychics + Will’s powers plot twist

*We see in the stranger thing novel 'suspicious minds' when overusing powers you may hallucinate rainbows (which are also associated with the void/ monsters in the series) .

Terry: “Spots bloomed behind her eyelids. Every color … as the sunlight turned to rainbows” ( p44-45), “streaks of rainbow appeared (p47)”,“The rainbow stayed with Terry for a long while, but eventually it faded and in its place: darkness. A pit.”(p. 48).

Alice (who sees visions of the future) : “Snarling, snapping monsters,RAINBOW LIGHTS playing in the air around them” (p. 121).

cough Will being in the upsidedown/being chased by “monsters”. And Joyce communicating with Will via “rainbow lights.”

The rainbow room (from s2) also has a rainbow on the door- according to the novel kali drew that rainbow. Similar to Will's rainbow drawing. Kali in the book also creates a rainbow allusion with sunflowers (Terry ref).

Kali: “field of yellow sunflowers grew up around them. A rainbow arcing over the golden tops.” (p. 139). “He noticed she’d drawn up there, a rainbow with her colored pencils. Maybe he’d suggest that for the playroom” (the rainbow room we see in s2) (p. 298)

I also already talked about how Terry saying "breath, sunflower, rainbow " is actually a reference to s1 Will- here (in link including pic of Will and Terry being told to “breath”.

*El in s3 also thinks of papa, her mother , and the rainbow room- cause she sees a cereal box with a rainbow (on it).

Dustin and susie sing a song from the film adaption of the book "never ending story". Which indicates how Will is subconsciously creating the supernatural creatures & people in the series . Before they sing, we also see susie is next to a ‘wizard of oz’ posters & she reads & talks to Dustin about the book "wizard of earthsea'. 2 of the 3 examples have rainbow-related songs (in their film adaptions) & all 3 hint at Will’s powers.

* wizard of earthsea:

It’s about a pre-teen wizard named Ged who has a bowl cut (Will) who casts a powerful spell, but the spell goes awry and instead he releases a shadow creature (by opening a portal between the living & dead- Will is a zombie boy remember?)! The new Archmage, Gensher, describes the shadow as an ancient evil that wishes to possess Ged. But the ‘shadow’ turns out to be a representation of the darkest aspects of his personality. It’ only when he calls the shadow monster by his own name “Ged”(cough mf=will the wise) does the monster stop acting out. The only way to save the world is for ged to then merge with the shadow(and for Ged to accept himself-and “become whole”).This also reminds me of the “Jungian shadow”

* never ending story:

Bastian ( who has a bowl cut- and is from single parent house hold) subconsciously creates a fantasy world being over run by darkness (symbolizing the loss of hope and dreams). One of the characters he creates is Atreyu (El). Atreyu ( was the child deemed the ‘chosen one). “Atreyu is knocked into the sea of possibilities. There he wakes on the shore of abandoned ruins. And Gmorick (mindflayer) then latches his jaws onto Atreyu’s (El’s) leg.”Pretty much what happened to El.”The Empress in the story later tells Atreyu, that despite being told he was the chosen one (he never was). And that it was always Bastian (Will) who was the chosen one-since his imagination created Fantasia (so he’s the only way to stop the darkness from over -running it).”

Will has mental health issues and accidentally writes a “story” about the shadow monster (reflecting his tra*ma). Bastian is depressed (over his parent) and subconsciously creates a story about darkness over-running everything. Like how Hopper describes his depression- like a black hole.

song Dustin & Susie sing:

“Written on the pages is the answer to a never ending story” (cough the books susie referenced - are explaining the answer to what’s causing the mindflayer/upsidedown/the lab...this story )

“DREAM a dream. And what you DREAM will be” ( Will’s imagination making his nightmares come true)

“Rhymes that keep their secrets Will unfold behind the clouds.And there upon a RAINBOW Is the answer to a never ending story.”

(the lyric “rhymes that keep their SECRETS” purposely pans to Will both times the song is sung). Because the ‘SECRET’ is -he’s causing everything. And thus he’s the only way to stop it- or they’ll all be stuck in a never-ending story. The only way to stop it is for Will to face his shadow/the mindflayer (aka the other Will) who is always shown within the STORM CLOUDS . Will needs to create a RAINBOW (out of those storm clouds). Like rainbows that show up AFTER a storm.He’d do this by accepting himself , his tra*ma/mental health relating to his dad, and or his gay identity- then the story will be able to end.Dustin even says “ defeat his RAINBOW of DARKNESS” (and later says a “rainbow is the answer ”(to the story). st book:”The RAINBOW stayed with Terry for a long while, but eventually it faded and in its place: DARKNESS. A pit.”AKA: Will has to face his symbolic darkness and the storm/and than create a rainbow from it- for the story to end...

When Dustin says ‘rainbow of darkness’ he talks about my little pony- where one of their friends became a dragon. in d&d wizards can become dragons &Bastian also summons a dragon with his imagination powers in ‘never ending story’. And Will is associated with dragons: s1he has dragon comic & drawing, s2 Will has dragon poster in his room + watches his friends play dragon game. And again... dungeons & dragons.

Also tw for s.a/parental ab*se (so skip to ‘wizard of oz’ if you prefer ). In the 4th book of wizard of Eathsea (20 years after the original, where ged was the protagonist). The new main protagonist - was r*ped and burned by her father as a child (and in the sequel she became a dragon as a form of empowerment ). which goes with my lonnie theory-sadly.

*wizard of oz:

it’s about a Dorothy creating a mythical world based on people she both likes and dislikes . Dorothy sings in the movie a song about a ‘RAINBOW’ and references ‘DREAMS’ coming true in a mythical land -much like the ‘never ending story’ song (referencing “rainbows”/”dreams” coming to life).

“There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby Somewhere over the RAINBOW, Skies are blue, And the DREAMS that you dare to dream, really do come true...”

We see in s1 Hopper cop-partner calls the lab “emerald city”. Murray in s2 says people “don’t want to look behind the curtain” (to see what’s causing the supernatural -in the film what was literally behind the curtain was a wizard-cough like Will). We also have -lion, tiger, and bear stuffed animals (as a ‘lion, and tigers, and bears-oh my!’ quote )from the film. And David harbor (Hopper) when referencing the s4 rainbow room (quotes the song) and he also quotes a speech from Dorothy-when posting about the cabin the mindflayer destroyed.

2) Rainbow cups (hinting at Lonnie’s return)

We see 2 rainbow cups in the series.

in s2) when Mike & Will are sitting together & saying they’re “crazy together” . This cup next to them says “happy birthday” in rainbow. Later that season- they talk about Will’s birthday-rainbow drawing, Mike&Will meeting & Lonnie leaving. And in s2, we also see in Will’s room a card that says “sorry, I forgot your birthday”(most likely from Lonnie). So both Lonnie & Mike are associated with Will’s bday.

in s3) We see a woman yell “I don’t want her in my house!” (while she sits next to a rainbow cup). reminiscent of Joyce saying to Lonnie “get out of my house”. We also know there are rumors s4 takes place during Will’s birthday & Lonnie’s actor may have been spotted on set. Along with the fact (it’s pretty much confirmed) Mike will be visiting the Byers in s4. However, the woman (next to the rainbow cup) also says “2 visitor only. 2!″

THE 2 VISITORS ARE MIKE &LONNIE (for Will’s b day).

Also, in s3, when El is drinking from cup- she sees a rainbow. And what’s the first word she thinks of? “Papa.”

so rainbow+cup= shitty dads (lonnie & brenner) probably returning

*And of course if that’s the case -Lonnie (the same guy who called Will h*mophobic sl*rs) will not be supportive of Mike & Will’s “friendship”. And will not be nice to Mike (to say the least). Like... imagine Hopper in s3 - but we know he’s not bluffing and the audience won’t have the option to take it as a joke... and yes the s4 movies hint at that...

3) gay symbolism

First we have Mike wheeler. He in s1 has rainbows sheets, rainbow bedroom blinds , and in his basement there’s a heart propelled by a rainbow. This is like how in s3 Mike kisses El and there is a drawing that says "Mike'. And on the drawing is a heart propelled by a rainbow. I already explained how its symbolic of him trying to be straight/fighting his feelings for Will, but wherever he goes a rainbow still follows (even when he tries being romantic with El). He’s trying to hide his “rainbow heart” by dating El- why in s3 (the rainbow-heart in his basement) mysteriously disappeared from his room (but a similar symbol follows Mike even when he kisses El).

Even in s2 when talking about Will (in the AV tech room): Mike is placed in the center of 2 objects : an object with 11 on it & on the right a rainbow apple (this apple is supposed to be an ode to the gay father of computers- but also about the forbidden apple). Hinting at the love triangle of Mike (with El/Will). PLUS, in the ST book ‘worlds turned upsidedown’ they literally show Mike in the AV room- and put the caption “FALLING IN LOVE- with tech” (and placed rainbow flags next to the caption). And of course we have Mike & Will pose next to the rainbow apple- in the AV room.

We also see when Mike and Will says they’re “crazy together” (aka LOVE-as Flo stated) and they’re next to a rainbow cup that says Happy birthday .

And later that season they ref the rainbow ship Will drew for his birthday-which Joyce was "proud" of. And while dancing with a girl (Will according to the script was looking at Mike instead of her) . That girl is wearing a rainbow heart hair pin. This is essentially a parallel to Mike . Will (next to a rainbow heart) is dancing with a girl, but is secretly thinking of Mike. Mike (next to a rainbow heart) is kissing el but secretly thinking of Will (and immediately goes on a movie double date with Will after this). The lyrics of both these scenes indicate they're not happy pretending to be straight. The lyrics for Will are "every smile you fake". And Mike while kissing el is "just a little uncertainty can bring you down" (and during this lyric is when El puts her hands on him-and he removes her hands from him *aka he’s not as confident in the relationship as he pretends to be.

We see in s4 bts that the rainbow heart hair pin (worn by the girl Will dances with) is also worn by nancy while standing next to Robin (who is gay). So being near a ‘rainbow-heart’ is prob a hint a character is gay. Aka robin & Will & Mike.

tumblr user “awhstrangerthings” pointed out the nancy -hair clip detail.

In s1 when troy is calling Will h*mophobic sl*rs (in front of Mike) he wears a rainbow shirt. And max while often critiquing m*leven (in s3) (to Mike) often wears rainbow shirts. I talked about how I thought Troy and max subconsciously remind Mike he isn't straight - so they're associated with the rainbow iconography-post here. Like we see Max with rainbow sheets (like Mike) and than she immediately talks to him on the phone. I mean she could be queer- but I lean to that theory at the moment.

The whole being near rainbows when associating with a queer character makes sense (it’s like a ‘gay-dar”). Similar to Nancy’s hair clip when being near Robin/ that Girl having the same rainbow hair clip when dancing with Will. If we assume this theory than see a pattern with other characters (when speaking about/being near queer coded characters)....

it’s similar to how : When lucas (via subtext) criticizes m*leven- he is also next to a rainbow (in Erica's room). I explained here- why it’s about m*leven.

or when Jonathan says he’s going to hang out with Will (it’s near a rainbow).

This Jonathan moment -Is similar to when Steve ( who has a rainbow bandaid-from the Byers’ house) calls Mike “Nancy” (which is slang for a gay guy)

*another addition: you see in the comments of this post ghostgirlsatin mentioned Dart has a rainbow blanket. But, I noticed a couple of other things.

notice Dustin says "we have to talk- its about my friend ,Will". As Dustin is near rainbow lights and a rainbow bed sheet. Like how

A) rainbows are associated with the supernatural creatures + Will

B) rainbow lights associated with Will

C) rainbows near straight characters when talking about /near queer characters... similar to how Jonathan is near a rainbow when talking about Will

*also can’t tell if that is a ‘rainbow ship’ poster?

We also see Erica has a sunflower & rainbow drawing in her room... at the moment not sure if its just a random easteregg , foreshadowing something supernatural we're not aware of yet? or just for the m*leven diss?

(although given the fact i think some characters were created by Will- and given all the Max &Billy/Will & jonathan parallels ... the rainbow stuff may be a hint Will created them? I mean they even made a Troy comic just to show his dad is a bully.) But, at the moment, i still lean to (some) characters having rainbow iconography because they’re referring to/are near a queer character.

#will byers #byler #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #el hopper #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #jim hopper #joyce byers #stranger things #stanger things theory

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pluckysidekick · 1 year

Text

Hello, Drewds! It’s been a while since Nancy Drew filming wrapped. Am I the only one who couldn’t have imagined being almost two full weeks into January and still not knowing when Season 4 of Nancy Drew was premiering? Me either.

In the meantime, some happenings:

The big headline is of course Kennedy McMann is starring in ABC’s massively popular ‘Good Doctor’ series’ spinoff The Good Lawyer as a young lawyer, Joni DeGroot, with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - which Kennedy herself suffers from - opposite Felicity Huffman.

In the backdoor pilot airing March 13, we meet the “brilliant, funny and self-aware” young lawyer living with OCD, whose “attention to detail allows her to see cases through a different lens.” Sound familiar? Here’s to hoping Joni likes checked blazers and patterned scarves. If only her law firm also had a quirky tech guy…Congrats, Kennedy!

Speaking of Kennedy, she along with the writers and Riley came on Twitter to commiserate in solidarity with us on the lack of a premiere date, and to confirm that those fake episode titles (e.g. “The Whispers of the Grim” 😂) were bogus.

We also got SEASON 4 EMOJIS, her favorite scenes (in Ep. 3 and 13 after some clarification), and assurance that we will cry hard at the end of the finale.

Besides Cupid’s arrow (hopefully NACE and not some alternate love interests we have to suffer through), looking forward to the Hardy Family Hannukah Dinner, Game Night! (see below), camping out in that cool Airstream, road trip (PLEASE LET IT BE NANCY AND ACE), BABY (Carson and Jean’s perhaps?), curse breaking via a spell book Bess finds perhaps, and FIRE (oh no). Also Nancy’s gonna give some more blood, but we knew that already. I wonder if Ace is the latest blood donor….

Speaking of Game Night, here’s a little seen BTS photo from DP Nick Thomas I never posted from back in late September - Game Night is ON at Icarus Hall, and probably in the same episode with the earth shattering Nace photo Kennedy posted the same week. Does anyone recognize what game they’re going to be playing?

Next, the hit horror film M3GAN with the creepy life sized American Girl doll killer helped the CW pay the bills with a cross promo with ND that gave us a tiny bit of S4 footage.

We got to see Bess performing some kind of ritual? on Nancy with a weird contraption (mask? Ghost goggle type lens?) and Nancy vomiting black ick. They’re doing this in the in the Drew house, which is strange since Nancy seems to have moved into Icarus Hall. Ace’s voiceover where he questions Nancy’s eating habits has been debated to death of whether he’s actually in the scene or if it’s audio from the Tom Swift episode (inconclusive).

Based on Nancy and Nick’s (who’s behind Bess) wardrobe, and Kennedy’s mention of filming an episode with a ‘Burning Bride’ comedy vibe back in an early August podcast, I believe this scene is from Episode 2, and related to the cause of whatever humorous curse is going on in that episode. Anyway, Ew. But still nice to see actual S4 footage.

We also saw some of our actors on much deserved vacations, with Maddison and Leah both enjoying tropical vacations with their bfs (in Mexico and Costa Rica respectively).

This will probably be my last marathon post for a while. I do still owe a breakdown of Riley’s post from the last day of filming in the Claw set with baby shower props (!). Also, I finally reached 100+ notes with a short post of just fantastic cast BTS photos.

I’ve been hard at work on Part 2 of No One Mourns the Wicked, my Secret Sleuth fic with a Season 1 AU where the crew put on a summer stock production of Wicked. It’s almost done and it’s a doozy. I will probably split it into multiple parts to make it easier to consume, as it sort of turned into a multi-chapter extravaganza. Whoops. Speaking of which, I’ll be jumping right back into The Space Between (S4 spec fic) as soon as I’m done - there’s still a lot of insanity planned for the crew post curse breaking. They still have a mystery to solve…

Thanks for sticking with me, waiting impatiently for the S4 premier date along with everyone else. Bye for now!

#nancy drew #nace #nancy drew cw #cw nancy drew #nancy drew season 4 #nancy drew s4 #nancy x ace #ace x nancy #ace [redacted]#kennedy mcmann #maddison jaizani #leah lewis #author: pluckysidekick

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thewiglesswonder · 2 years

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I'm sending you three characters because I'm a menace: Warden Wrath, Hunter, and Bel.

You call yourself a menace, yet all you have done is given me an excuse to talk about my THREE FAVORITE BOYS.

Warden Wrath

First impression

It went something like, and I quote, "Hough. Now that's a good design." Like, I saw the plague doctor mask and he met most, if not all, of my standards. His voice just sealed the deal for me.

Impression now

I've used the phrase "Beefy Rules Dad" to describe him a couple times, so I think it's apt to use now. I still love him, I think he's a bit underutilized, and feel bad that the cards cast him as a level one villain.

Favorite moment

"You've always evaded our capture, you were always the one that got away. I found that alluring." He actually sounds genuine at the first part, and Luz's disgusted reaction to the second always makes me chuckle.

Idea for a story

I want to see him and Eda interact. Not in a fight setting or attempted-arrest kind of way, just a semi-awkward conversation between two people. Maybe they talk a little bit about being forcibly transformed (I found her "Wrath? You still in there, buddy?" unnecessarily kind).

Unpopular opinion

I'd say this is "unpopular" just by the fact that I have never seen it anywhere before, but you will pry the idea that he is a great dad from my cold, dead hands after sentient life has developed on my corpse.

Favorite relationship

I cannot get over how supportive his guards were in the first episode, so the notion of this weird relationship with them that includes "boss and subordinates" and "they will give him relationship advice and cheer him on when the time comes" is pretty stellar.

Favorite headcanon

You ended up being right about this, but Wrath being a control freak! It adds a lot to the base of "imposing warden" in a way that just scratches my brain.

Putting the other two under a cut to avoid too much scrolling:

Hunter:

Thoughts on our favorite ramet have been given here!

Belos (HOOH BOY):

First impression

Captivated. Entranced. Utterly fascinated by this guy. Back in season one, when we knew literally nothing about him, this air of mystery coupled with an insanely cool aesthetic (which I could write a whole separate post about) just drew me in instantly. I've been a villain enjoyer my whole life, and now is no exception.

Impression now

He is one of the few characters that I would refer to as "blorbo from my shows". I still have the same level of fascination, but it's gone from a kind of "mystery novel reader chortling and going along with the plot" to a "crazed conspiracy theorist who has covered the walls in paper and red string" thing. My love for him has only grown. I am the living embodiment of this video.

Favorite moment

It's a tie. Number 1 is "Okay. I'll play." because come ON. WHAT a way to kick off a boss fight in the season finale, no less! He isn't angry that Luz has been disrupting his plans, or caught off guard by her in any way, he sounds amused by her threat. That, and the fact that it's coupled with him melting and rearranging himself behind her to teleport. Number 2 is his face reveal and subsequent conversation with Hunter. I love it because it's exactly the opposite of the terrifying Emperor we saw fight Luz. He reminisces fondly about the Human Realm, even lightly jokes with Hunter, all while that music box tune plays in the background. Man, I just... the RANGE-

Idea for a story

Where do I even start with this one. I've definitely been on a Brothers Wittebane kick recently, so a flashback into their childhood rife with foreshadowing about their future would do nicely. Like several subsequent punches to the stomach.

Unpopular opinion

I think that his mental state is way worse than anybody seems to think. Like, yes, on the surface and aside from the curse, he's the picture of a calm, collected leader with a definitive plan, but I really think upwards of four hundred years of isolation and God knows what else has him a little crazier than anybody seems to suspect. I can't imagine also having Hunter around would do him much good, as he grows to look more and more like the brother that abandoned Philip so many years ago.

Favorite relationship

You know. You know damn well.

Favorite headcanon

Although it's wonderfully angsty, I like that headcanon of yours that he picks and tears at his wood-rot. It kind of seems like just the unnerving, neurotic thing that would lie under such a composed surface.

#this was FUN monkey thank you!!#asks #the owl house #warden wrath #hunter toh #emperor belos #belos #philip wittebane

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jrpneblog · 9 months

Text

Down at the first fence

North Ends appalling record in the League Cup continued on Tuesday evening when we were knocked out of this years competition by League 2 Salford City. In a competition that is 62 years old we have never been past the fourth round and made it into the last 8 with what is a truly remarkable record of failure. North End were a tad unlucky to go out on penalties after being two goals down to the Ammies just before the break. Six minutes into the second half we were level and although we had two very dubious offside decisions cancelling out two efforts by Will Keane, we missed twice from the spot in the shoot out and that was the end of this particular competition for another year.

Ryan Lowe, as expected, made eight changes to the side that drew at Bristol on Saturday but in the first half it was a case of too many kids spoil the broth. A very young looking five across midfield, save for man of the match Duane Holmes, really struggled to get a grip on things and Salford exposed us particularly down the left flank where Whatmough and Best looked all at sea at times. Salford took the lead early in the game through McLennan who slotted home at the second attempt after poor defending from North End. Holmes was leading the charge for the home side and his two attempts were the best efforts for us before Salford doubled their lead. Whatmough played a goal kick right back into the path of McLennan and the visitors were two up. We did manage to get one back before the break when Holmes put Woodburn through to score to give North End a lift going into the break.

Three changes at half time saw the introduction of Ledson, Hughes and McCann as North End immediately started to take the game to Salford. In the 51st minute we were level when Holmes nipped in to nick the ball from Cairns and put North End level. Surely it was only a matter of time now as North End were completely dominant at this point. Cairns then made two excellent saves from Keane and McCann before a Keane header from a Best cross was ruled out for offside. A decision which looked dubious to me at first glance. Keane then had a second disallowed which looked even more dubious than the first with the still shots showing the player to be onside. Frokjaer, then Keane had efforts saved while at the other end Lund missed from a few yards out for the visitors. So the game went to penalties and with Ledson hitting the outside of the post and Frokjaer hitting the hotdog kiosk, it was Salford who went through 2-4 on penalties after converting all four of their efforts.

In the big scheme of things this is not a massive setback in the season, in fact it might prove to be a blessing in the Autumn months ahead. Nevertheless it is embarrassing to be beaten by a League 2 side at home and I hope the manager emphasises that to his players in the post match inquest into this game. Clearly one or two of the young players are ready for competitive football but plenty of the others need loan spells away playing against men to toughen them up for the years ahead. For the club as a whole it is just a time to brush ourselves down and get ready for a big home game against Sunderland at Deepdale and hopefully revenge for last seasons final game fiasco.

PRESTON 2-2 SALFORD CITY Carabao Cup 1st Round (Salford won 2-4 on penalties)

CORNELL 6

STOREY 6 BAUER 7 WHATMOUGH 5

SEARY 6 TAYLOR 6 LEIGH 6 HOLMES 8 BEST 6

KEANE 7 WOODBURN 6

Subs:

HUGHES 7

McCANN 7

LEDSON 6

BROWNE 6

FROKJAER 6

MOTM: Duane Holmes

Attendance 6,790

Preston Fans 6,377 (93.92%)

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favefandomimagines · 4 years

Text

Happens For A Reason (d.s.)

Summary: after rudy breaks up with you for elaine, you’re thrusted into the arms of none other than drew starkey.

AN: i wanna marry drew starkey and idk why it took me so long to write for him

also: i know rudy and elaine wouldn’t be the kind of people to do this, this is entirely a work of fiction! no hate to either of them, especially elaine!

You saw it coming. That was the worst part about your ever so subtle break up with Rudy. It was subtle to the fans but you, and everyone else, saw it coming. The second Elaine came into the picture, it was a matter of time before everything went to hell.

You had been dating Rudy since a few weeks after Outer Banks started shooting in May 2019. Now seeing as its April 2020, the rumor mill hadn’t stopped since Elaine’s numerous posts of Rudy.

Drew had known Rudy was going to break up with you for Elaine for a few days and it was killing him not to tell you.

Rudy had confided in him that the relationship with you just wasn’t working anymore. He said he loved you but he couldn’t stay with you when he had feelings for someone else.

Drew told Rudy it was going to hurt your regardless and Rudy just couldn’t accept that he was going to cause you pain.

But then it happened. And the worst part was that you didn’t yell, swear at him or get angry. You were quiet, though he could see the tears brimming in your eyes.

��That’s it? Just, ‘okay?’ You’re not going to yell at me?” Rudy asked you. “I knew this was coming. You and her had been inseparable for months. I was just in the way.” You said sadly. “I still love you, Y/N.” He said. “Not like I love you though.” You replied.

A solemn silence fell upon the apartment as you sat down on your couch. “I think you should go.” You said quietly, quickly wiping the tears from your cheeks so he wouldn’t see.

Of course he felt guilty. He never wanted to hurt you and yet he ended up doing so by making you feel like you were in the way.

You sat on your couch, bringing your knees into your chest to make yourself feel calm. You were on the edge of a full blown panic attack because you felt like you weren’t good enough.

Your boyfriend broke up with you for another girl. What did she have that you didn’t? Aside from Rudy now.

After a few minutes passed by, there was a knock on your apartment door. Whoever it was, you didn’t feel like the company.

Drew left Rudy’s apartment and quickly went to your’s the second his friend returned. He could tell by the look on Rudy’s face that you probably weren’t in the best state of mind.

He knocked on your door and waited for you to answer but that never came.

“Y/N, I have a key so I’m just going to come in anyways.” Drew said from the other side of the door. You didn’t move though. Not feeling like removing yourself from the comfort of your couch.

The door opened and Drew stepped inside, seeing you clinging to yourself on the couch. “Y/N,” He started, walking towards you with haste. He sat down beside you and pulled your distraught figure into his chest.

He held you close as you silently cried to him. “Why wasn’t I good enough?” You asked. Mostly as a rhetorical question but Drew needed to tell you that you were wrong.

“Y/N, you are more than good enough. Rudy’s an idiot and I know one day he’s going to regret ever letting you go.” Drew told you.

In the moment, you didn’t believe him. You thought you’d always be second best.

Over the next few weeks, a whirlwind of things happened to you. You began to realize that your relationship with Rudy was simply because you felt like it was right for you to be together. Your characters on the show were love interests, so of course lines were going to blur.

Outer Banks had been picked up for season 2 but amidst the pandemic, no one knew when filming would start.

And you and Drew had started going out. It started slow, him not wanting to rush you or make you feel like you had to go out with him just because he had feelings for you. But the pandemic had other ideas; the two of you ended up being on lockdown at his apartment.

But neither of you were complaining. You got what you could from your place before hunkering down at Drew’s.

It started out as you sleeping on the couch and various nights of binge watching Netflix. You didn’t tell Madison or Madelyn, in fear of it getting around. The only person Drew told was Austin. Mainly because he had waited so long to be with you he needed to tell someone.

But fans started to notice. Your instagram pictures had the same background as some of Drew’s lives. You’d post a story of a movie and an hour later, Drew would do the same.

Eventually you moved from the couch to Drew’s bed (not sexually). You and Drew got unbelievably close and soon it was time to make it official.

And it was the happiest you had been in quite a long time. Finally you were in a relationship where you didn’t feel second best or as if you weren’t good enough. Drew made sure you knew that you would always be the first choice.

Outer Banks was finally back to filming in Charleston and you were thrilled. You hadn’t seen any of your cast mates since before the pandemic.

You and Drew had arrived shortly after everyone else and met them at Chase’s apartment that night. After the daily COVID test you all would have to endure.

“We’re here!” You greeted as you stepped into the apartment, Drew’s hand wrapped tightly around yours.

Madison and Madelyn ran to you and hugged you tightly, one that you happily returned. “I missed you! Where have you been? You and Drew went AWOL for like two weeks.” Madelyn said.

“We had a little getaway for a bit before all the craziness started. Wanted a little relaxation just the two of us.” You answered. “Seriously you guys are the cutest couple ever. Instagram won’t stop talking about you two.” Madison said. “It’s been, what, five months?” Madelyn asked.

You nodded your head, a sappy smile plastered on your face as you thought about he past five months Drew. “Look at her! She’s blushing!” Madelyn commented.

You and the two girls were in the kitchen talking, while Drew was with the rest of the guys. “How are you and Y/N?” Chase asked. “We’re great. Like seriously, it’s been amazing. It doesn’t feel like it’s only been five months.” Drew answered.

It was clear that Rudy was a bit uncomfortable with the subject matter since you were his ex girlfriend. “Okay, there’s something I want to tell you guys.” Drew started. “And what is that?” Austin asked.

They watched as Drew subtly fished something out of his pocket and all their jaws dropped when they saw what was in his hand. “Dude, no way.” Chase commented. “Are you serious?” JD asked. “Yeah, I got it a couple weeks ago.” Drew answered, a smile on his face.

“I know it’s only been five months but I’ve loved her since that first month on set. The timing just wasn’t right.” He added. That was clearly a dig at Rudy and what had gone down between the two of you. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to get engaged? I mean, I get why’d you want to, you’re 26 but does she? She just turned 22.” Rudy interjected.

Drew felt he had no right to judge him on his relationship with you when he was the one who broke up with you to begin with. “Well, if you actually paid attention to her instead of another girl while you were dating, you’d know that she wants to get married and start a family by 23.” Drew snapped.

“That is true.” JD said bashfully. It seemed that Rudy was so preoccupied with another girl that he didn’t bother to listen to you and everyone else did. No wonder it was so easy for you to move on. You were being treated better than he treated you.

“I don’t know when I want to do it but I want to do it soon. While we’re here because this is where we met.” Drew explained. “I think it’s a great idea. You two are great together and I’ve definitely noticed a change in Y/N. She’s been way happier.” Austin said.

Drew smiled as he looked at the ring in his hand. He went to great lengths to find the perfect ring for you and that was making a fake pinterest account to follow your engagement ring pinterest board.

“Have you told the girls?” JD asked. “Are you kidding? They’d 100% tell her and I want this to be perfect.” Drew said.

Rudy sat there silently to himself, listening to Drew talk about amazing you were and proposing to you. He didn’t need to be reminded of how great you were because he already knew that. He knew better than anyone, he dated you for a year.

“Did you hear about Rudy and Elaine?” Madelyn asked you. “No, what happened?” You asked. “She cheated on him. A few weeks ago actually.” She explained. “Really? Is he okay?” You questioned. “He says he’s fine but I know he’s devastated. I mean, he did let you go for her and it bit him in the ass.” Madison answered.

Of course you felt bad for Rudy. It’s a terrible feeling to be cheated on and you wanted to make sure he was okay. “Should I talk to him?” You asked. “I think he’d appreciate that.” Madelyn said.

After everyone had settled down, you had gotten Rudy’s attention and asked him to join you outside on the balcony.

“What’s up?” He asked. “I, uh, heard about you and Elaine. I’m really sorry.” You said. “It’s okay. It was probably my karma. I let go of the best thing I had and then this happened.” He said.

“Rudy, it happened for a reason. I was devastated after you broke up with me. I thought I wasn’t good enough for you. So, I know how you’re feeling. Like you weren’t good enough and you clearly didn’t make them happy. It sucks but you’ll be okay. I’m okay now.” You told him. “Does he make you happy?” He asked.

You thought back to all the times you were at your lowest and Drew was always there.

“Yeah. Yeah he does.” You said with a smile. “That’s all I want. I just want you to be happy.” He said. You gave him a friendly hug, mainly for closure.

You both walked back inside and Drew pulled you down to sit on his lap. You pressed a kiss to his forehead as you fell into casual conversation with everyone.

Drew looked up at you as you laughed and smiled with your friends, completely enamored with you.

He knew you were it for him and you knew he was your endgame.

Drew had been planning your proposal for a while. It was now October in Charleston and the whole cast was going to the South Carolina aquarium on their day off.

Madison’s girlfriend, Mariah, was also in town visiting and Drew felt it was perfect.

Madelyn would have your parents on Facetime while Chase had Drew’s. All of the people you loved in one place to celebrate you and Drew.

You were walking through the giant ocean exhibit, admiring the animals, holding Drew’s hand.

All of your friends trailed behind, not wanting to ruin your moment.

Drew stopped you and you looked at him with furrowed brows until he got down on one knee.

“What the hell?” You questioned. “Y/N, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Since the day I met you, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Even when I didn’t have you, I knew we’d end up together. And I know it’s been about seven months but there’s not a doubt in my mind that I want you to be my wife.” Drew started.

Madelyn and Madison were crying, the boys were smiling, Rudy more than the rest. He could see how much Drew loved you, more than he ever thought he could.

“So, Y/N, will you marry me?” He asked. “Duh! Of course I will!” You answered. Drew smiled and placed the ring on your finger.

@y/n__: umm WTF i’m engaged?! i love you to the moon and beyond @drewstarkey

@rudeth: congratulations you wonderful humans! i love both of you

@madelyncline: i’m not crying, you’re crying

@fan1: OMG YAY CONGRATS

@fan2: my otp is getting married!!!!!!

@drewstarkey: i love you more (oh and thanks for agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me)

#imagine #imagines #Outer Banks #outer banks imagine #drew starkey #drew starkey imagine #rafe cameron #rafe cameron imagine #rudy pankow #chase stokes #madison bailey #madelyn cline #austin north #jonathan daviss

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puckngrind · 3 years

Text

Leave Her Wild: Chapter 2 - N. MacKinnon

Summary: MacKenzie and her friends head to opening night for the Colorado Avalanche.

Warnings: swearing, alcohol

Word count: 2, 675

Series masterlist / Puck ‘n Grind’s masterlist

Flames.

"You are really gonna wear that?" Mosi looks her friend up and down.

"Yeah, why?" MacKenzie tugs at her jersey. Of course she was going to wear it. Opening night, only hockey jersey she owned. Was a Christmas gift from her parents last year. She did a little twirl to show it off to the group of unamused friends.

"Because..." Drew rolls his hands and she rolls her eyes.

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" Remy waves his hands in the air.

"That means, Let..." MacKenzie starts.

"Let the good times roll! We know.” Drew and Mosi say in unison.

"Alright, Mac is going to be wearing that. Remy has clearly pre-gamed. Mosi should’ve. We have our tickets and I'm driving so let's go." Drew starts herding the friend group out of MacKenzie's condo.

Opening night at Pepsi Center was always an event. MacKenzie and Drew got tickets from their volunteer efforts so the group headed out for their first time ever. They had gone to a Rockies game after Remy moved to Denver but normally the friend group didn't really do sporting events as outings.

“Is someone gonna explain these rules?” Remy plopped down from his first beer run with Drew and handed MacKenzie one. Eyeing her for the answer.

“Yeah. Kinda like soccer. You know?” She started. Knowing she was the only one who knew anything about hockey. “You can yell, cheer, boo. Doesn't really matter because no one really pays attention to the crazy you say.” The group all nod and she knows they will just clap when those around them do.

“So pizza-Jeep boy is wearing what color?” Mosi whisper yells while leaning into MacKenzie’s side during warmups.

“He’s in the blue and maroon jersey. The white is the Flames.” MacKenzie doesn’t take her eyes off the ice looking for Nathan to point him out but feels Mosi’s eyes on her. “Yes, Mo?”

“But… um... never mind.” Mosi stutters strangely.

"There he is." Kenzie ignores and points to the screen where they have a close up of Nathan showing his stats from the previous season.

The game starts which quieted the group’s chatter while everyone but Kenzie tried following the puck and going from watching the ice to the screen and back.

“Let’s go boys!” MacKenzie stands and yells after a big play with everyone in her section turning to look at her.

“Mac!” Drew pulls her down to her seat. “Check your surroundings.”

“You know I don’t care, right?” MacKenzie starts clapping again with a little cheer.

“As always, you do you.” Drew slow claps along as the game progresses.

Even though MacKenzie warned her friends that there might be only a goal or two, the game was high scoring which the friends all enjoyed. Remy cheered when anyone scored regardless of team. Colorado winning made the home crowd pumped and buzzing about being the year.

"We realize the season has over 80 games, right?" Kenzie comments to no one in particular as they head down the stairs.

“Food! Real food and drinks that don’t cost a million bucks.” Mosi begs on the way out.

“Allons! Let’s go!” Remy points to the closest restaurant he can see. "That one! Onward." Remy leads the group over.

Drinks, food, laughter fill the table as they banter back and forth.

“Isn’t that her, Mac?” MacKenzie hears someone nearby. She turns to see Nathan, Cale and a few more guys at a table about ten feet away. Nathan nods. She raises her hand then quickly feels the blood rushing to her face.

“Kenzie Lou, why are you the same color as your jersey?” Remy looks her up and down.

“Oh.” Drew mumbles with his mouth full seeing the table MacKenzie just waved towards.

“Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun!” Mosi clapped and is greeted with a kick under the table. “Ouch. Well it is.”

MacKenzie huffs and stands to her feet. Inhales and walks right over to the table of what she assumed was full of professional hockey players.

“Nice game Nathan.” She stops right at the end of his table and knows her face is still bright red.

“Looks like you were rooting for the other team there. Sorry 'bout that.” One of the boys down the table barks out.

“Hi MacKenzie. Thanks. Were you there? At the game, I mean.” Nathan turns his body towards her.

“Yes. Got tickets because of the foundation thing so we all went.” She gestures towards her eager looking friends. They wave and Nathan waves back with a flick of his wrist.

“Oh cool. So you are a… a Calgary fan?” Nathan gulps hard taking in the home Flames jersey.

“Well, a Tkachuk fan, actually. Yeah.” MacKenzie looks over at the 19 on her shoulder. “He was phenomenal last… ya'll. Well. Yeah.” MacKenzie looks around the amused players and shuts up.

“Sorry, let me introduce you. Guys, this is the other Mac. MacKenzie. Uh. Shit. I never caught your last name.” Nathan looks at her searching for a name.

“Blackwood.” MacKenzie answers and the guy across from Nate spits out his drink. “Um.” She just looks at him.

Nate wipes his face and stares down his teammate. “Are you fucking serious, EJ?”

“Sorry man.” EJ hands him another napkin. “No teeth.” He flashes his massive gap which makes MacKenzie giggle softly and Nathan groan.

“Let me get this straight. You live in Cale and Tyson’s building, volunteer with youth, only seem to follow Tkachuk 'cause you don't seem to know Avs hockey.” He wipes his mouth to continue. MacKenzie recognizes him as the captain from the game. “Have the same name as a goalie in the league, and are giving my boy, Nate here a run for his money.” Gabe winks with a sinister smile.

“Wait what?” MacKenzie puts her fingers to the bridge of her nose.

“What he means is…” Nate starts and MacKenzie places a finger up to stop him.

“No the goalie thing. I’m choosing to ignore the last part for now.” She says which gets a reaction from the entire table.

“Mackenzie Blackwood is a goalie in New Jersey. You happen to have the same name.” Nate explains.

“Gotcha. I’ll be honest, I catch games when I can but it’s background noise.” MacKenzie still feels her cheeks on fire but doesn’t let it stop her. “I will go to a Flames games if I'm in town when they play ya'll then a Blues game when I’m home with my dad and brother. Most of my hockey following is checking stats or social media.” She takes a deep breath not wanting to look directly at the table that all seem mesmerized by her presence. “Anyway, just wanted to say hi, which I did. So…. Nice game gentleman. Enjoy your post game dinner. Good seeing you again Nate. Cale.” MacKenzie nods and turns on her heals to her friends who haven’t touched their food since she left.

"Kenzie Lou!" Remy softly squeals.

"Don't." MacKenzie grits her teeth.

"What the hell did you talk to an entire table of NHL players about?" Mosi ignores her friend's request.

"I guess I have the same name as a goalie in the league." She annoyingly answers.

Drew starts typing before anyone can respond. "Oh yes. Mackenzie Blackwood. K not capitalized. Canadian. 22. New Jersey rookie who started last year. Wait, how does that happen?" Drew looks at MacKenzie's face . "Later. I'll google it later."

"Could we eat please?" MacKenzie takes a drink of her water and starts to finish her meal. She feels a ping on her phone and turns it over to read the notification.

Nathan's i-phone wants to airdrop you. Accept?

MacKenzie looks over and he nods at the phone. She looks back to accept and sees a screenshot from his notes apologizing for being awkward and asking for her number. She seems confused.

"Kenz?" Mosi questions.

"He wants my number." MacKenzie whispers.

"I'm confused." Remy whispers back.

"Found my phone on airdrop. Smart at least." MacKenzie chuckles.

"So airdrop your digits back to him or I will." Mosi pulls her phone out. "I just need to turn on mine. Who keeps it on? You, of course you do Mac." Mosi looks at Kenzie amused.

"Should I?" MacKenzie pulls at her loose curl wrapping it around her finger and letting it bounce back.

"YES!" Drew almost yells. "What could it hurt? Have a new contact for work at the least." Drew knew exactly what would get MacKenzie to send her number. She looks down to see Remy had written down her number on his napkin. The man always had a pen on him.

"Snap this to 'em." Remy pushed it over so MacKenzie did just that. Almost throwing her phone down as soon as she did. It buzzed not even a minute later.

Maybe Nate: Hi Mackenzie. This is Nate.

MacKenzie: Hi Nate. You can call me Kenzie or Mac

Nate: Okay Kenzie.

She looks up at him and he smiles wide.

Kenzie: enjoy your dinner

Nate: Same. I’ll text you later

She didn’t expect to hear from Nate but the next morning while getting ready for work, MacKenzie hears her text notification.

Nate: good morning. We are off Sunday and a few of us are playing cards at Cale’s place. Would you and your friends want to come over? It’s not far for you.

She stares at the text and starts to pace. Then sends out a group text.

Kenzie: Nate and some of the Avs want us to come over Sunday. Thoughts?

MacKenzie got all three messages immediately in return.

Mosi: obviously yes

Drew: yes is the only answer

Remy: fuck ya!

MacKenzie sent a text to Nate saying yes and asked what they could bring. She wasn't surprised Nate said nothing just themselves.

Sunday rolled around. MacKenzie and her friends walked down to Cale’s condo. She stopped in front of the door and Drew reached over her to knock. Kenzie looked up at him.

"What, just making sure we don't have to stand here forever." The door swung open as Drew finishes his statement.

“Nate, they are here and at least she’s not in a Flames jersey today.” The curly haired guy MacKenzie knew was Tyson from a quick google search of the team over the weekend.

“Decided to leave that at home, Tyson, but I can go get it.” MacKenzie points while giving him a half smile.

“Oh, and she...” Tyson turns to see Nathan behind him. “And she knows my name.”

“Sorry, don’t mind him. He got checked a little too hard at practice this morning.” Nathan pulls Tyson back into the condo. “Come in please.” He gestured and they moved past Nathan into the condo that was the mirror image of MacKenzie’s just slightly larger.

"Make yourselves comfortable." Cale popped his head out from the kitchen. "I'm sure you know where everything is."

"Yeah, just backwards." MacKenzie looks down the hall to the rooms. "Two or three?"

"Three. You?" MacKenzie raises two fingers and realizes her friends have already made their way into the living room.

"Thanks for coming." Nate was still standing behind her and she jumped.

"Thanks for inviting us. My mother tells me I need to make more friends here." MacKenzie sighs.

"Same actually. Tells me the team isn't enough." Nathan looks over her at his friends that were also his coworkers.

"Work, travel, and such keep my circle small." MacKenzie admits. "Oddly, same. You travel for work?" Nathan pushes his hands into his pockets and leans against the wall.

"I do then try to do different things for fun, you know?" She leans against the other wall.

"That's cool. Where are you heading next?"

MacKenzie's mind normally would be racing. Thinking of all the reasons why she shouldn't tell this essential stranger her work schedule but something about him made her feel easy. Maybe how he had more to lose if he burnt her. He didn't know what she did for a living but she could make his life miserable. Maybe it was the simplicity of their conversation or the kindness in his eyes. She felt like she could talk to him.

"Colorado Springs then off to Washington D.C. for the rest of the week and into next week." She answered him.

"Oh, I think we are in D.C. next weekend or maybe the beginning of the week." He stares at his foot kicking the invisible dirt then looked back up at MacKenzie.

"We are. Now are you two just gonna talk in the hall or are you gonna play cards here?" Gabe leans around the corner. "We've already gotten to know Kenzie's friends... let's go!" He gives Nate a look that doesn't go unnoticed. The two walk into the living room.

“Do I need to make introductions?” Nate looks around the room at all the eyes on both of them.

“Well, I googled ya’ll in preparation for today… so… I think I’m good.” She scans the room and sees a few of the girlfriends or wives. “Well, I don’t know the ladies.”

Nate took a moment to identify the few sitting around the room and who they belonged to. Pulling out an empty chair for MacKenzie. “Here, you can play here.” She sat down and pulled her legs up criss crossed under her as Gabe explained the rules. The group played poker until there were four left. JT, Nathan, MacKenzie, and Mosi. Mosi kept saying she accidentally won her table which made the competitive men agitated but made MacKenzie amused. Eventually it was just Nathan and MacKenzie.

“Kenzie, I think you and Nate need a wager of some sort.” Drew drops a bottle of water next to her and she glares up at him.

“I’m game.” Nate pipes up.

“Okay, so what if I win?” Kenzie takes a sip of water.

“Glass seats at the game of your choice.” Gabe declares.

“Okay, and if Nate wins?” Kenzie directs her attention to the captain who now has his hands on Nathan’s shoulders.

“You go out to dinner with him.” Gabe squeezes Nathan’s shoulders and smiles at Kenzie.

“Uh…” Nathan tries to nervously interject.

“That’s fine.” Kenzie tries to control her blush by not directly looking at Nathan then overcomes it to look right into his soft eyes. "Let's play."

Cale starts to deal and everyone can feel the shift of all eyes on the table even though most had scattered once they were knocked out in individual conversations. After three hands, Nathan goes all in.

"I think he's bluffing." MacKenzie whispers and pushes all her chips to the center.

"Kenzie..." He breathes out and Gabe's hand returns to his shoulder.

They place their cards down and Nathan wins with a full house. The cheers start and Nathan just stares at Kenzie who gives him a small smile. She gets up and heads to the kitchen to grab a drink. Finding Cale's rum and starts pouring more than necessary into her diet coke. Takes a drink and feels someone behind her.

"Drew, I'm not that competitive." She doesn't even turn around.

"It's not Drew." Nate murmurs.

MacKenzie turns around slowly. "Sorry. Nice game." She raises her glass to him.

"We don't have to go out for dinner, you know." Nathan shifts his weight.

"Well, a deal is a deal, right?" Kenzie tries not to breath him in as he reaches around her for a water but he smells amazing. He shrugs his shoulders. "If I won, would I have glass seats?" She leans into the counter.

"Yes, you can still have them if you want." Nate fiddles with the bottle, flicking at the paper label.

"So, dinner. When we both get back in town, okay?" Kenzie takes a sip and looks up at Nathan.

"Yes, I'll have my people call your people then." Nathan laughs.

"So Gabe will call Mosi?" MacKenzie bites her cheek with her comeback.

"Oooorrrr... I'll just text you." Nathan replies.

MacKenzie takes a drink again and winces with the burn. "That works too."

#leave her wild fic #N MacKinnon fic #Nate the great 29 #K's new series #2019 hockey season #nathan mackinnon

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