PRIDE & PREJUDICEㅤ{ an Unequal Affections inspired fancast } ㅤㅤㅤ❯ㅤThe BINGLEY Familyㅤ❮

Dev Patel as Charles Bingley Simone Ashley as Caroline Bingley Shoba Narayan as Louisa Hurst (née Bingley) Nadim Naaman as Mr. Hurst

{ og post / the bennets / the darcys / the bingleys }

A Crinkle in Fate; Ch. 10: Summer Stories

 Original: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/40183823

Fancast:  http://afaithy.tumblr.com/post/182695568319/so-an-anon-asked-for-some-real-people-references

"Summer night-- even the stars are whispering to each other." — Kobayashi Issa

The end of the school year arrived. It felt like it’d been yesterday when she had say goodbye to her parents and boarded a train completely alone; and now she was about to board the train once more, but unlike the first time, she was now joined by a group of noisy Gryffindors and a pretty grumpy Slytherin. “I can’t believe the year is over!” Sirius growled “Ah...it’s gonna be quite a boring summer. I might sneak to your place, James…” “You know mum and dad always welcomes you anyway…” James chuckled “Same as Peter…” “So I take you live pretty close by?” Tonks asked sitting down next to the window. “Yup, east London...pretty nice actually…” James nodded. “You mean snob…” Sirius snorted. “You two are city boys huh?” Lily said tilting her head “That explains a lot.” “Severus and you are neighbors, aren’t you?” Tonks asked. “Yes…” Lily nodded with a smile. “You’re lucky...I don’t think I have anyone close to hang out on summer…” “Where do you live?” Lupin asked. “York...a small town called Castleton…” Tonks shrugged. “Ohhh, you’re a yorkie too? Well, don’t worry about that. Remus here is a yorkie, too.” Sirius smiled. Lupin rolled his eyes at Sirius use of a dog breed to address them. He then turned to Tonks who seemed quite excited about the news. “You’re from York?” “Yes, Heatham Hollow….it isn’t far from Castleton. We might as well hang out during summer…” he smiled. “See that’s fixed…” Lily smiled “You won’t be lonely after all. Remus will visit you! And we will write you tons of letters, right Severus?” “Oh, I was planning on that anyway. You think I’m going to let him forget about me during summer? Not a chance…” Tonks laughed. “...I might consider burning anything you send me, Nymphadora….” “FOR MERLIN’S BEARD….it’s TONKS….” she answered annoyed and she saw the grumpy Slytherin smirk. Well, as long as the boy was a little happier, she could deal with the name harassment. “I might as well go visit some time, too.” Sirius smiled “go see old cousin Dromeda.” “Mmm as long as you’re in good terms with her...I wouldn’t want her to Hex you because a Black stepped into our front yard…” “I only met her a couple times when I was a kid. I liked her since she was nice. Thousand times nicer than her sisters.” “Well, I tell her you said that.” “If Sirius and Remus can go...does it mean we can, too?” James asked with a grin. “Well, sure I guess. I’m sure mum and dad wouldn’t mind the company and since we are at it, maybe you can drag Lily and Severus too.” “That’d be lovely…” “I pass. It’s most likely that I’d have to deal with you for another year next term. I want a peaceful summer…” Snape said shaking his head. “Aw...I’ll think of you too…” Tonks replied rolling her eyes and winning so snickers from the other kids. “We can all go visit, Remus afterwards…” “I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind either…”Lupin nodded. “It is a plan, then.” It was a half made plan, but Tonks didn’t care. As long as she got to see her friends during summer vacation, she was more than looking forward to it.

*** Tonks felt happy to be home. Her parents had showered her with love, hugs and sweets. It was more than evident that the Tonks had missed their dear daughter, but they had been glad to hear about her friends and were more and excited about meeting them in the near future. The first days she had spent the mornings in the garden with her mother. The young girl would show her mum a plant and then she’d continue to tell her all the properties and uses that she had learned in her gathering adventures along Snape and professor Slughorn. Her mother would look at her proudly and ask her more about her little excursions and the kids she so fondly talked about. Sometimes, her dad would join and he would purposely ask something about a plant feigning ignorance. Then the three of them would laugh. It was the happiest she had ever been. Honoring his word, Lupin sent an owl a few weeks after the start of summer vacation, telling her that he and his parents would be visiting Castleton in three weeks and that’d he’d love to spend some time with her. Needless to say, she was delighted with the idea and her parents were more than glad to meet the famous Remus Lupin that their daughter was so fond of. That morning, the weather was nice and fresh, so Tonks had decided to take a stroll to the small river that was a few meters from her house. She was walking around down the road when she found a small featherless baby bird in the middle of the road. It was so lonely and vulnerable that Tonks didn’t have the heart to leave it there. So she picked it up carefully and began searching around the nearest trees until she came up with the nest. It wasn’t too high and the tree seemed perfectly climbable, but knowing her amazing lack of graceness, she wasn’t sure she would make the climb unscathed. The girl bit her lip in thought and looked at the bird tucked in her hand, and thought that if she had to break her arm to get the animal back in its home, then so be it. It’d be a worthy war injury. The climb was easy and smooth. She didn’t lose her footing nor she slipped. Perhaps she’d make it out neatly this time, she thought. When she reached the nest, she carefully put the bird back in its place and smiled. “There you are...no better place than home, right? And now be careful. You don’t want to fall over again,would you?” Tonks giggled. It wasn’t like the bird would answer anyway “Alright, now I’ve got to get down from here. I’ll see you around…”

Tonks turned away with the intention of climbing down and a sudden thought crossed her mind. She could now understand why cats could climb up a tree, but never climb down. The latter was much harder and when the branch she had grabbed broke sending her unceremoniously, she told herself she’d never climb a tree again. To her surprise the impact wasn’t as hard as she anticipated. “Tonks...we really need to stop stumbling to each other like this…” a familiar voice groaned with a small hint of amusement. Tonks looked up. Lupin was spread on the ground by her side; and she realized that she must have hit him on her way down from the tree. “Remus!” she groaned horrified “Oh, Merlin...did I hurt you?” “I’m fine….” he laughed “It’s just amusing how we always stumble with each other like this.” “You mean...how I always seem to fall on you?” “Yes, basically…” The two laughed. Lupin pushed himself up and patted the soil from his clothes before helping Tonks on her feet. He gave her a quick scan and was satisfied when he found no injuries on her. “What were you doing on a tree?” “Eh...getting a bird back home?” she smiled “I was doing pretty well…” “Until you...fell?” Lupin frowned. “Well, in my defense it wasn’t like I tripped. The branch broke….and I will never mock cats again. Climbing down trees is the worst.” Lupin laughed loudly at her last remark and Tonks smiled. It’s been a while since she heard him laugh. “Remus?” Tonks hadn’t noticed the couple standing behind Lupin until the woman had spoken. She was pretty with long honey colored hair and hazel eyes that slightly reminded her of Lupin’s; the man by her side was tall, with a friendly smile and green eyes. His hair was neatly combed, but if it hadn’t, it would have most likely looked like Lupin’s. “Oh, mum, dad…” Lupin smiled “This is Nymphadora Tonks. The friend I told you about…” “Didn’t we agree it was only Tonks…?” she pouted at him “Ehm...hello, nice to meet you. Ehm, I didn’t meant to fall on your son...it was...sort of an accident?” The Lupins smiled at her as they walked closer and Tonks could almost feel the flush of embarrassment in her cheeks, but she was quick to morph it off. “It’s alright sweetheart. Are you alright?” Mrs. Lupin asked with a smile. “Oh, I’m okay. I’m already used to it, I think….” “Falling from trees?” Mr. Lupin asked amused. His smile was the exact replica of Lupin’s. “Yeah, well no...I mean...mostly...falling..,” “Oh, if I’m not mistaken...I think Remus did mention that you two met when you fell on the train…” “Ah...yeah…” Tonks shrugged “How many times did I trip that day?” “I counted three…” Lupin chuckled “Twice in the train and one during the sorting ceremony.” “Oh, did you have to remind me that?” Tonks said rolling her eyes “How come you didn’t tell me you’ll come today?” “We just arrived. I thought about sending you an owl, but mum wanted to walk around for bit.” “It’s such a pretty day for a walk after all…”Mrs. Lupin smiled. “Oh, it is! You should go to the river. It’s a really nice sight…” Tonks smiled “My house is right up this hill. Would you like to come? My parents would be delighted with the company…” “Oh, we wouldn’t want to intrude. We are here unannounced after all.” Mr. Lupin said politely. “My parents won’t mind. We don’t get too many visitors and I think they get a little bored dealing only with me…” “Is that really possible?” Lupin laughed. “I don’t know...maybe?” Tonks shrugged “I’m not that entertaining,” “I beg to differ…” Lupin chuckled. “Either way...please. If you’re not too busy, I’m sure they’d love to receive you…” Lupin’s parents exchanged looks and then nodded. Tonks was delighted to lead them to her house. When they reached her house, Andromeda was planting some new plants in the garden, while Ted read the newspapers in the front porch. Both of them seemed quite surprised to see her daughter return with company, but just as Tonks had said, the Tonks were more than delighted to receive their unexpected guests. Introductions were made and soon the adults had headed into the living room to share some tea and pastries. Lupin’s mother, Hope and Ted soon discovered that they had gone to the same school when they were younger. They were both Welsh after all. Soon enough the four adults were happily chatting like old friends giving the younger ones the chance to sneak out. “Well, told you they would be happy to receive you…” Tonks laughed “Come on, I’ll give you a tour around…” “Does the tour include climbing trees?” “Maybe...but you’ll do that alone or you’ll have me falling over you again.” “I’m sure I could catch you. You’re quite small after all…” “Just because you’re tall doesn’t mean you can bully me for being small…” “I didn’t mean to bully you…” he laughed “I think it is cute. You don’t seem to have neighbors…” “No we don’t. Dad and mum prefer to keep muggle company limited and well, we are not exactly...comfortable with magic neighbors either…” “Why not?” “Well, after a whole year with Boreas rubbing it in my face, I thought you would have caught on. You’re the brilliant mind in the group after all…” “You mean...your mum and all the pure-blood supremacy?” “Yes. Mum has her own army of enemies, courtesy of my two dear aunts…” she sighed “so we keep a very a low profile, but hey. It isn’t that bad...not having neighbors, I mean…” “I suppose. This place is really nice.” “Yes, we’re close to the moors. If we climb up that hill over there, you can see them. Sometimes at night you get to see lights. Dad said they’re hinkypunks.” “Oh, probably. Dad was interested in that, hence why he wanted to visit Castleton.” “What does your dad do?” “He’s a researcher. He’s a specialist in Non-human-spiritous apparitions, but he does a bit with magical creatures and defense against dark arts, too.” “That’s so cool. Now I know why you’re so good in that assignment; it is in your blood…” Lupin smiled shyly as Tonks guided him to and old tree swing at the top of the hill. The spot had a wonderful view of the moors, he thought as he sat in the swing next to Tonks. “Don’t worry. The swing was charmed by my dad to make sure I wouldn’t fall from it in anyway, so it will stand our weight...” Tonks smiled “The view is beautiful, isn’t it?” “Yes, it is….” “It’s even prettier at night. The sky is so filled with stars…” “Now I see why you have the habit of taking night strolls…” Lupin chuckled. “How did you know?” Tonks said surprised. Lupin felt like smacking himself. She didn’t know he was Mr. Wolfie, so he wasn’t supposed to know about her full moon escapades. “Ah...Snape might have said something….” “Oh, yeah….I did stumble with him a few times when he was out with Slughorn.“ Tonks nodded. “Has Sirius written to you?” he asked trying to change the topic. “Oh, he did. He wrote a whole parchment complaining about his family and saying how much he wanted to visit. He’s probably run off to James by now…” “Yes, most likely. The Potters are really nice people. At least they are not Pure-blood obsessed like the Blacks.” “That sounds nice.” “You know there are a lot of wizards who wouldn’t mind about your mother…” “I know. Not all wizards are gits; but the Black family is ...influential. So…” “They wouldn’t want to go against them. I think I know what you mean…” Lupin nodded “Well, I’m sure my parents are more than delighted to go against that.” “Haha, well my dad is definitely comfortable with your mom. Can you believe they went to the same muggle school?” “Yes, it is curious. To think they knew each other. That’s really a surprise…” “I already expected your dad to know my mum; but that was a nice surprise…” she grinned “how long will you be staying?” “A few days. Dad wants to look around and ask some questions. Mum wanted to know the area too....” “Oh, maybe my mum will want to volunteer as guide. Either way, it’d be nice to have you around for a bit…” “That would be nice.” Lupin nodded.

They spent the rest of the morning chatting and laughing until Andromeda’s magical voice called them -using her full name, to her despair. The Lupins had to leave since they had an engagement programmed for the afternoon. So Lupin had left with his parents promising to come by the next day. “That’s a nice boy…” Ted said watching them walk away. “He is…” I smiled proudly. “He’s such a gentleman. It’s obvious he’s been well taught by her parents. They’re really nice people, and we don’t need to worry about repercussions, considering that Hope is a muggle. I invited them for dinner the day after tomorrow.” “Oh, that will be delightful. It’d be nice to have them over again.”

What they didn’t suspect, was that they’d have another unexpected visitor soon. Tonks was helping her mother pick up some mulberries for a tart she was planning to make for the Lupins when she heard voices coming from the road. She immediately recognized the strong laugh and her eyes widened. “SIRIUS?” she shouted when she recognize the familiar mane of thick black hair and the charming smile. Lupin stood behind him with a faint smile. His arms were crossed over his chest and he seemed slightly apologetical. “Hey cous! Happy to see me?” “...More like….surprised. What are you doing here?” “Got tired of my family, so I flooed here.” Sirius shrugged “I knew Moony was staying in a hotel close by and went to find him.” “It was a surprise for my parents, as well…” Lupin shrugged “Since I was planning on coming, I thought I should take him along.” “You live in a nice place…” Sirius said looking around “A little lonely, maybe, but nice. I like it...so what are you doing?” “Picking up berries….” Tonks replied still a little shocked “Mum wants to make berry tarts.” “Ah, I should go say hi…” Without waiting for Tonks replied, Sirius headed to the house and Lupin stood at her side with a smile. “I don’t reckon your father set some Anti-Black spells, did he?” “Oh...if only, haha…” Tonks laughed.

Andromeda’s shock to find her younger cousin standing in the front yard with a smile and waving at her couldn’t be described with words; but Lupin thought that her face when she saw Sirius was exactly the same look that Tonks had a few minutes before. After recovering from the shock, Andromeda smiled and dragged them into the house and showered them with food. “Feel fortunate. Mum doesn’t throw food at anyone…” Tonks laughed “I hope you’re hungry…” “Ah, I’m more than willing to eat it.” Sirius smiled “This is a thousand times better than eating at my home…” “Which reminds me that you haven’t answered my question.” Lupin said with a raised eyebrow “Where do you plan to stay, Sirius?” “Ah….that….” “Oh, he can stay here. We have spare rooms…” Andromeda said pouring them more tea “I don’t have the honor of receiving likeable family visits that often. You can stay with us for as long as you want…” “Well, thank you, Dromeda.” Sirius grinned “See, Moony? All under control…” “You’re just too lucky, Sirius.” Lupin sighed rolling his eyes. “I thought you were planning to run to James…” Tonks said tilting her head “What made you change your mind?” “What? I can’t come visit my two favorite cousins and one of my best mates?” Both Lupin and Tonks looked him skeptically. “Oh, fine. James and his family went off to Birmingham. He said something about paying Evans and Snivellus a visit on the way. He did say I could tag along, but it wasn’t that appealing.” “So you decided to run off here?” Lupin said shaking his head “Seriously… your parents must be so annoyed.” “I bet they are….but that’s the whole point.” Sirius replied winking at them “So how long are you staying, Moony?” “Not sure yet. Depends of what my dad finds, but it won’t be more than three weeks… “Why not?” Tonks asked curiously and Lupin seemed a little nervous. “Well, I have to go back...I have an event I that I can’t miss…” “Oh...I understand.” “Well you can always come back afterwards. I mean...I suppose your house is connected to the Floo...isn’t it, cous?” “Eh, yes. Why?” “Then Moony just needs to floo here and that’s fixed.” Sirius shrugged. “Sirius, just how long are you planning to stay here?” Lupin asked with a frown. “Well...I was thinking about the whole summer….” “What?” Tonks and Lupin said at the same time. “Oh, come on. I’m sure Tonksie would love the company.” “Sirius...you’re staying in someone else’s house. You can’t just invite yourself to stay over the whole summer…” Lupin said sternly. “Ah...fine. Hey, Dromeda?” Tonks mother came out from the kitchen with a smile when she heard her name and Tonks thought that she hadn’t seen her mum so cheerful for a long time. “Yes?” “I was wondering. Would you mind if I stayed over for the rest of the summer? You know how things are in the...Most noble and ancient house of Black…” the last part was said in a over dramatic and sarcastic tone. Both Lupin and Tonks turned to Andromeda awaiting her response. Her mother had made a disgusted face when she heard the reference to the family motto and her look quickly turned to pity. “Of course you can stay. I wouldn’t send anyone back into that hell…” “You’re the best, Dromeda. You were always my favorite cousin…” “Aw, you don’t need to sweet talk me, Sirius. You can barely remember me.” “Maybe, but anyone with enough guts to go against the Black stupid ideas is my idol.” Andromeda smiled and shook her head before disappearing into the kitchen once more. “Well...that was easy…” Tonks said with a raised eyebrow “You’re such a sweet talker, Sirius.” “Just being honest, cous. Just being honest…” “He always gets away with it…”Lupin sighed. But despite their complains, having both Lupin and Sirius around made that summer one of Tonks’s best ones. The trio had their own small bunch of adventures in the area, from chasing a porlok in the forest, to catching up hinkypunks in the moor which result in Tonks falling into one of swamps. Hope spent almost the same amount of time with Andromeda that her son did with Tonks and Sirius. Despite being from two completely different worlds, the two women got along pretty well and Andromeda was more than glad to show her some of the herbs in her orchard and their uses. When the day of the Lupin’s departure came, both Sirius and Tonks were a little sad, but after Ted had assured that his chimney would always be open for any of the Lupin’s, the boy promised to visit again soon. And so the days passed, and the full moon lit up the sky over the moor. Tonks, as usual, had sneaked out from her room and was sitting on the swing watching the sky as her thoughts flew to a certain wolf. She wondered if Mr. Wolfie was missing her as much as she missed him.

The Right People: Ch. 1

Summary: Its Junior Year of college and after the break-up with her ex-girlfriend Riley Matthews wants to focus on school and her friends, most especially her new friendship with Lucas. She’s hoping that with the right people this year will be a great one.  Fancast: x A/N: This is a bisexual Riley Matthews, so if you don’t like that you don't have to read. This will deal with topics and instances of emotional abuse(TW) so if you are senstive to that proceed with causation. But I am very excited to write this story! I don’t know where it will lead, but I hope you enjoy it none the less. If you want to be tagged in future posts let me know and let me know your tag. ENJOY!  Word Count: 2,205

Lucas and Zay were excited to be back on campus for their junior year. The two had spent the summer in Texas where they grew up and well they had fun with their friends from high school they were dying to see the tight group they had created last year once again. They had already seen Farkle briefly when they moved in but where anxious to see the rest. They had all agreed to meet at the local café on campus to catch up before classes the next day.

Lucas had met Farkle in a science class of his and had enjoyed the genius’ wit. Zay had met Maya in an art class and the two had it off as art friends. It wasn’t long before they were all hanging out in a group that also included Farkle’s girlfriend Isadora Smackle. The one person that was missing from their group almost always was Riley. Zay had met her once, but then she had to leave to go see her girlfriend and he didn’t get to talk to her much. Zay and Lucas knew that no one liked Riley’s girlfriend, they often talked about how she didn’t treat Riley right. But Riley saw the good in her and stayed. Despite this the others assured the boys they would love Riley.  Lucas especially, Maya just felt they had a lot in common personality wise.

The boys found their four friends at a booth. Giving hugs all around. Lucas was the first to ask about Riley, he had really been looking forward to meeting her.

“Hey guys isn’t Riley supposed to be here? I was looking forward to meeting her, she isn’t hanging out with her girlfriend right?” That was the usual reason Riley gave for not being able to meet up with them, but he immediately regretted asking that way when he was the fire in Maya’s eyes.

“She better not be anywhere near that awful bitch. God.” Maya shook her head and softened her look at Lucas, “They broke up over the summer for not the best reasons. It’s Riley’s story to tell, but lets just say her girlfriend did a real number on her. So if she’s not the bright sunshine we told you about, that’s why. She’s here I promise she just had…a moment and went to the bathroom. Look there she is now!” Maya waved over at one of the prettiest girls Lucas had ever seen. She had long legs and a shy expression on her soft face. Her brown hair was just above her shoulders with the ends of it dyed purple. She sat in between Maya and Lucas offering him her hand with a small smile.

“Hi, I’m assuming you’re Lucas. I’m Riley. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got here, its really my fault I-“ She was cut off by Maya who gave her a firm “Honey.” With a hard look and Riley quickly quit her ramble.

“It’s really nice to meet you Riley. I really like your hair.” He commented, he couldn’t help but want to reach out and touch it but he thought that might be weird.

“Really? You like it?” Riley asked surprise evident in her tone, “Maya helped me dye it. I’ve wanted to dye it and cut it for a while but Paula said I wasn’t allowed to.” Riley replied with a shrug

“Who’s Paula?” Lucas asked with a frown, he didn’t think anyone should be telling Riley what to do with her appearance.

“Oh….my ex-girlfriend.” Riley answered softly

“You mean the devil?” Maya asked earning a look from Riley, who gave it to her right back. “Paula was a royal bitch Honey. I’m going to keep saying it until you understand that.”

“She wasn’t that bad. I mean like I could do any better than her anyway. She was right about that.” Riley replied

“JAR!” Maya, Smackle and Farkle shouted at Riley. Riley sighed as she pulled her backpack onto the table. Lucas noticed a variety of buttons on it but before he could get a good look she opened it to pull out a little mason jar with scraps of paper.

As she did this Farkle spoke up, “Since Riley will be spending more time with us all, you guys should know about the jar. Whenever she says something self-depreciating about herself she has to counter it with the jar. We all wrote good things about her, we take turns reading it to her.”

“Its to build her back up when she tears herself down. Much like when building a house you must go brick by brick. We go phrase by phrase.” Smackle tacked on.

Riley sighed, “Who’s turn is it this time?”

“I can read it Sugar if you want.” Zay offered, Riley nodded and handed him the paper

“ From Maya, you’re the best person I know. Let the Rileytown flag wave.” Zay read. Lucas noticed an obvious cringe at the term “Rileytown” from Riley.

He changed the subject, “So what did y’all do this summer?”

“Really Huckleberry? Y’all?” Maya asked with a teasing tone.

The conversation continued on like normal. The group all shared classes they had and it turned out Riley and Lucas had English together. They made plans to walk to class together the next day. Lucas couldn’t help but get caught up in the brunette’s eyes when they talked. At one point Riley excused herself to go back to her dorm, she was rooming with Maya and Smackle this year. Farkle and Smackle were leaving too, so they told Riley they’d walk her. Smackle was going back to Farkle’s place. He, Lucas and Zay lived together as well.

“Peaches you stay, I’m just going to take a nap anyway.” She gave Maya a hug and waved goodbye to everyone. Lucas watched her go with a saddened expression; he wanted to keep talking to her. She seemed sad, he couldn’t help but want to make her smile or lift the weight that seemed to be on her shoulders.

Maya noticed this and gave Zay a look, he had noticed to. “Wow Huckleberry you met her once and you’re already in love with her?” Maya teased him with a smirk

“Whhhaat I’m not in love with her I just met her. She just looks so sad I just want to help. Anyway isn’t she just into girls?”

Zay and Maya laughed at him, “Sundance did you not see her backpack? She had like four bi-pride pins. Are you that dense? Do I need to re-come out to you and explain what bi means again?” Maya asked as she nudged him

“What…No. I was just didn’t catch them. Do…do you think she’d be interested in me? I mean.. not that I’m going to ask her out…I mean maybe…but didn’t she just break up with her girlfriend? Doesn’t she need time?” Lucas asked directing his question at Maya. He knew their story, the two had been best friends forever. He was sure Maya knew her better than anyone. Maya sighed deeply.

“They broke up at the very end of the school year and she’s had all summer. Like I said it did a number on her. But she told me she’s open to the idea of dating again, but she’s not going to seek it out. Just…try to be her friend first. She could use someone as good as you in her life right now. She’s going to have a hard semester. She’s an English major ya know? And besides that personal narrative class you’re taking together, she’s taking poetry and then gen-eds. Its going to be a lot of writing about her feelings and she’s still working on all that. Just like…don’t push her. And both of you remember the jar. And if you have any little notes like that, you can give some to me and I’ll shove them in there for her.”

Lucas nodded his head. Zay piped up, “Of course. I’m just curious where did the jar idea come from? That’s a really cool way to help.” Zay asked

Maya gave a soft smile, “It was her idea, and she’s always said it always mattered more to her what people say about her than what she says about herself. That’s why Paula was so bad for her. She believed everything that ho-bag said. So now we’re trying to build her back up.”

Lucas decided right then and there that he was going to do just that; he was going to help build Riley back up.

---

Riley had already had her gen-ed classes in the morning and now she was packing her backpack for the English class she was going to with Lucas. Lucas, his name made her heart flutter. There was just something about him that drew her to him, sure he was handsome he was around 6 ft tall with dirty blonde hair and don’t even get her started on his eyes. But there was something more than just his appearance that drew her in, she couldn’t explain it. She was glad when a knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts.

She grabbed her bag and opened it so see Lucas who gave her a wide smile.

“Wow Riley you look great! You ready to go” Riley nodded her head unable to respond verbally after such a nice compliment. She was worried about dressing for the first day so she had opted for her Jesus sandals a jean shirt and a white shirt with colored designs on the sleeves. They chatted about their days so far and it felt so easy to talk to Lucas. He smiled and nodded as she talked and looked genuinely interested. Today was going to be a good day Maya was right! Riley entered the English building with a newfound sense of hope for the year.

There was still a class in the room their class was meeting in so they stood off to the side continuing to chat. It was going great until Riley spotted her and felt her body run cold. Paula. Of course she still looked gorgeous, she hadn’t seen Riley yet but Riley couldn’t help but feel her fight or flight kick in. She didn’t want Paula to see her; she wasn’t ready to talk to her. But she couldn’t miss class, her panic was slowly rising. That was until she felt Lucas grab her hand.

Lucas wasn’t sure what had caused it but one second Riley was smiling and chatting with him the next she was looking over at someone and then she went limp. He could sense the panic in her eyes and she looked she was going to bolt any second. So he did the only thing he could think of, he intertwined his fingers with hers. It seemed to calm her down, and he had to admit her tiny palm against his sent tingles up his arm. He saw Riley take a few deep breathes before she turned her attention back to him.

“Thank you.” Riley gave his hand a squeeze; she was terrified he would remove it from her grasp. When he held her hand a wave of calm swept through her, she needed the calm he provided. Lucas just nodded and gripped her hand tighter.

The class before them got out and they waited for the students to trickle out before they went in. Riley thought she heard her name being called so she turned her head around and was wished she hadn’t. Paula saw her and Lucas holding hands, and although she didn’t see who Lucas was she saw Riley holding someone else’s hand. Paula gave a disgusted look before Lucas pulled Riley into the classroom.

Riley held onto to Lucas’ hand as they found their seats and even once they sat down. It worked because she had Lucas’ right hand and her had her left. Lucas was a lefty and Riley was right handed. She gave him a small smile as they adjusted as they waited for their teacher.

Their teacher went through their syllabus with them. Telling them important dates and when they wouldn’t have class, giving them general guidelines for class. She then told them to look at the person next to them. Riley and Lucas quickly looked at each other.

“This person will be your partner for the semester. You two will share your writing giving feedback to one another as much as you wish outside of class. But for the purpose of this class they’re you’re partners.” After explaining what they would do next class she dismissed the class.

Lucas gave Riley a smile as they got their stuff and walked out, still holding hands.

“Looks like you’ll be seeing a lot of me this semester.” Lucas told Riley as they got to her door. She giggled at him releasing his hand

“That I will I’m excited. I think we’re all meeting up for diner later? So I’ll see you then?” She asked Lucas shyly biting her lip.

“Of course, I’ll see you there Riley”

With that the two parted ways, Riley walked in smiling but already missing the warmth of his palm against hers. Maybe things were looking up.

Ask the Admins 13.0

anon asked: For any of the admins! I’m not sure if this was asked previously, so I apologize in advance. But what's everyone’s favorite au / prompt? (Also thank you guys for starting this blog, im forever grateful this exists)

Chamomile: awww! I’m grateful that this blog exists too (lol). My current favorite type of au’s are murder mystery au’s because of the Rabbit Doubt writing group I’m in so like, expect so many of those coming up soon. I’m also really digging superhero au’s.

M: I’m a fan of the whole “kidnapping / assassin / mob / killer” sort of a trope for some reason - it’s loads of fun to try and mess with original tropes and make them ridiculous, funny, modern, etc.!

Jynn: My fave AUs are ones that incorporate real life twists on typical AUs, like including people with disabilities.

@tomorraw​ asked: How many of you guys are there? Do certain people answer in certain genre? Or does everyone write what they are given? How did you guys meet? (Btw, this is one of my favorite idea blogs. They are so many different views on different ideas and so many genres.)

Chamomile: Currently there’s four of us! I know admin m and admin jynn from a loooong while back -- like two years back. Admin jynn and I go back to our homestuck roots (love her for that) and we’ve stuck together ever since. We all just kind of write whatever floats our boats! M: I met both Jynn and Chamomile through working on the Night Unvaled, which is a Night Vale Fancast that we wrote and produced. We’ve been friends ever since!! As for the certain genre thing, I can’t really say that we all write solely one genre, but we all certainly have our specialties!! Jynn: We have a posting schedule for who posts what when, but when it comes lists we all just take what interests us. Chamomile and I met more than two years back… in a Homestuck role play. Shortly after, we met M in a podcast project we were all working on and we've all be friends since!

Anon asked: what are some of your favorite tropes?

Chamomile: does “I love the way that you understand me and make me feel like I’m the only person in the world when you pay attention to me” count as a troupe? Like an OTP troupe? Bc that’s my ultimate favorite.

M: My favorite trope is messing with tropes. Best thing.

Jynn: “Flaws” turning out to work to someone's advantage!

Anon asked: What is pastel/punk or pastel and punk? I don't get it and google isn't explaining it to me because it's a meany

Chamomile: I remember this AU! It was an AU Friday list that I did and loved doing it! Basically, there’s  ‘pastel’ aesthetic which is very like, cutesy baby pink and pastel blues and other ‘soft’ colors being worn with other ‘soft’ aesthetic items like, glitter or hair clips or oversized sweaters ands stuff like that. Then there’s punk aesthetic, which very like, ‘heck all of you, I want to be comfortable and show that I’m rebelling against the social/political norms’. It can vary from person to person, so it might be better just to google ‘punk fashion’. The whole tag is supposed to be sort of an ‘opposite attract’ type deal.

Anon asked: So in regards to the color au in which you only see color once you touch your soulmate: what if you were born blind? Or when you touch your soulmate, it turns out that you are colorblind?

Chamomile: mmmmmm I’m not a fan of this AU bc of reasons I’m too longwinded about. Skipping this question for me.

M: I guess it’s possible and would make for quite the interesting change in AUs from the usual soulmate trope, but make sure you’re careful when it comes to writing AUs about topics you’re not personally familiar with (such as being blind), but go for it!

Jynn: Idk about it. Lmao I'm picky as heck when it comes to soulmate AUs, and this one has the potential to be interesting but never “stuck out” to me.

Anon asked: hi there! i'm new {ish}, and i've been looking thru ur old posts. i think it's really cool how u help ur followers, school related or not. out of curiosity tho, who is the person who according to that school survey watched so much anime? if u have time, would u mind asking?

Chamomile: Anon I want to know too like, please, show yourself.

M: We support you. Maybe. For the most part.

Jynn: Show ya self ur among friends. I too have consumed too much anime.

Anon asked: Just wanted to say I love your blog. It gives me inspiration! :)

Chamomile: Aaaaa! Thank you <3

M: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jynn: Awwwww!

Anon asked: just poppin in to ask if its okay for us writers to adopt these aus? and claim the whole plot as ours but still credit the bunnies (ie linking it to this acc)? thanks for clarifying!

Chamomile: Totally! We completely encourage it because it brings more people to the blog and also, we get a lot of satisfaction from seeing people enjoy our prompts! Here’s a link on how to cite our au’s: link

Anon asked: omfg, i still think the admins are gorgeous. like f***, you are cute.

Chamomile: Bless your heart, thank you! We really should update what we look like...

M: OKAY YEAH WE SHOULD PUT OUT UPDATE PICS!!!!!! BUT THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Jynn: :o ! Thx!

@genosha-meiuqer asked: Weird question. If you woke up one morning and realized you could grow a beard made out of cotton candy, how happy would you be on a scale of 1-10; one being not happy, and ten being extremely happy.

Chamomile: Genosha, I would be so hype, you wouldn’t understand. Like a 10/10. Even if I did get tired of my new cool cotton candy beard like?? I can just wash it off?? Because cotton candy is water soluble?? I see no problems here?? 

M: maybe a 2. Too sticky.

Jynn: 7/10. Might get sticky and tedious (and I work in and pool so it'd probably get in the water) but endless free cotton candy? Yes.

Anon asked: Deadpool 2 boyfriend? yes or no?

Chamomile: consider this….boyfriend….and girlfriend…..dating both at the same time….

M: yus

Jynn: Yes on boyfriend but NOT at the expense of a lady characters story ending badly.

Anon asked: what's your dream job?

Chamomile: whatever makes me happy? Right now I’m happy serving coffee and doing odd writer jobs in exchange for gift cards (#hit me up y’all), but in the future I might want something different so like, it depends as I grow!

M: Creative Producer in Hollywood!!

Jynn: Aaaa I wanna work in entertainment. Running tech, performing, whatever. Gotta be near that world.

Anon asked: Are you a part of any fandoms? Which ones?

Chamomile: oh jeeze well uhhhhh -- I still hold homestuck dear to my heart, but I’ve mostly moved into podcasts (SAYER, The Adventure Zone, WTNV, Carpe DM) and a lot of like, writing niche groups with my friends? If I can count those as ‘small fandoms’.

M: soooooo many: Nightvale, Merlin, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc. Too many.

Jynn: Still Homestuck like Chamomile. Various Nexflix series: Voltron, Stranger Things. Miraculous Ladybug too. Lots of Max Fun and Night Vale Presents podcasts, McElroy products. I work about 60 hours and week so I like things I can listen to while doing other things.

Anon asked: If you were a dragon, what would you hoard?

Chamomile:....scraps of paper. I have so many. I write down AU ideas and story lines on them and then just like, shove them into my bags and pockets and forget about them.

M: pens. so many pens.

Jynn: Useless cute stuff/LUSH products/stim toys probably.

Anon asked: M, did you draw the illustrations in your piece "The Beacon"?

M: I made it in photoshop, yeah! If anyone is curious, here’s the link to the fic (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxP7qW60hE6fUmdSWDJMNHBhRGs/view?usp=sharing). The first draft was written by Admin Chamomile for a speed write but adapted and extended by Admin M just for fun. Go for it and read it if you’d like!!

(Chamomile: just gonna….slide this first draft right here….shhhhhh)

Anon asked: How long would you survive in a zombie apocalypse?

Chamomile: hopefully until humanity can find the cure, lmao

M: maybe a month. maybe.

Jynn: Mmmmm no.

Anon asked: Which Never Book quote is your favorite?

Chamomile: “What were you thinking in that last moment between life and oblivion?” Jynn: “So you take another hit, and sick into a whiskey flavored kiss because he’s not there to tell you no.”

Anon asked: Unicorn or Pegasus?

Chamomile: Unicorn! No real reason why. M: Pegasus. Fly bitches. Jynn: Pegasus is more utilitarian.

Anon asked: this is probably too late for ata, but have you ever wanted to write a piece where the characters are southern but you don't know how to write their drawl or accent or dialect? (currently going thru this for the walking dead)

Chamomile: This sounds like a really interesting “How Do I Write” segment soooooo check back on Thursday ;D 

M: ^^^^^^^^^^

Jynn: Not this specific situation. I live in Missouri so I know well how they talk lmao. I have run into something similar with an Irish character though, lots of research!!

foxhole rec

so all for the game is the name of the series more commonly tagged as the foxhole court which you’ve probably seen more of then all for the game. all for the game is the name of the series but not many people tag it as that cuase foxhole court is just more /them/ but yeah i obv tag it as all for the game

NAYWay

first of all … http://coldsaturn.tumblr.com/post/145954896501/ so damn accurate i swear

basically its like this.

you’ve met ronan lynch… now meet andrew minyard. okay. lemme tell u about andrew minyard. he is basically like ronan turned up about 100 notches and then some. the first time he meets neil is so perfect (neil is the protagonist) also speaking of neil. nora (nora sakavic aka the author) has basically more or less stated that neil is demisexual (cause like nora herself) neil simply does not understand attraction (unless ur name is andrew i mean what) and a lot of the fandom kinda makes him genderfluid too which nora has said shes fully cool with too and she could see it (Nora is a precious angel you’ll love her but we’ll get to her) andrew minyard is an angry smol and i mean the DEFINTAIOTN of angry smol like hes barley 5 foot but e is also th emost deadly Exy player there is (we’ll get to exy too) and he protects whats his and who he loves no matter the cost. the things he does for the people in his life who mean something to him like sHIt fuck me up ten ways to sunday m8. book 2 is really when u get more of a feel for andrew as in book 1 ur kinda like okay wtf who is this lil psychotic midget putting neil through hell. and why should i care?? but YOU DO and you WIll like shitshit he caught me so off guard that lil shit.

neil josten… neil josten is also a smol bean. u know how every otp has one asshole? yeah no. neil and andrew are both asshoels and its gr8. so neil is the narrator and it starts off with him telling you about his life and okay this kid. this kid has been through the ringer. his dad is some scary ass serial killer dude called The Butcher and he and is mum we’re on the run from him for years. but now its just neil by himself and his whole life hes been on the run from the mob and his dad who wants to gut him. so neils life has just been one town to another new names new lies and etcetc. but then he gets approached by someone wanting him to play Exy (we’ll get there shh) with this … hm… this.. group of troubled kids as other people would say (but rlly theyre just human okay and all my loves are amazing) called the Foxes and his first instinct is to run. run away now cause he cant have a future and get noticed u know for neil that was just never an opition. but coach (coach wymack is amazing good lord at one time he even calls neil or andrew fucking retarded or something like coach pls) wants to adopt neil and neil is like nah uh but then coach mentions a name. kevin day. and lolol basically book 1 is so gay with neils hardon for kevin and 90% i thought kev and andrew we’re bangin and we’re boyfriends (originally first draft nora said it was gonna be kevin/andrew then kevin/neil and then onc eupon a time poly neil/kev/andrew but thank god she changed it cause that so wouldnt have worked u will see) but alas. anYWay

neil knows kevin from his ~past~ and hes got a creepy lil stalker book of all things kevin he carries with him like neil pls

anyWAy EXY okay exy my pal is like basically think a hardcore version of lacrosse with hockey ;) i could honesty ramble on so much more about why i love it with how all these kids have such srs mental illnesses but they mAKE It and they WORK THROugh it and that makes me super happy or i could tell u how much of an angel nora herself is and how she talks to us (she has a tumblr ill give u later) or i could tell u

how amazing the girls are how renee… okay i wont spoil anything but her backstory is INSAne and dan and just ugh my girls… how neil looks up to them

Neil thought about Renee’s bruised knuckles, Dan’s fierce spirit, and Allison holding her ground on the court a week after ____’s death. He thought about his mother standing unflinching in the face of his father’s violent anger and her ruthlessly leaving bodies in their wake. He felt compelled to say, “Some of the strongest people I’ve known are women.”

also andrew has the biggest sweet tooth and is an actual five year old

here have some links

(all non spoilery)

http://jasontodds.gq/post/145908105104

http://jasontodds.gq/post/142056738689

http://jasontodds.gq/post/144830349107 matt boyd is an actual angel and his girlfriend could and will fight u and nicky hemmick NICKY goddamn hemmick is hella gay and he talks about his german boyfriend and its SO SWEET hes SO in love i can not deal with it (hes also andrew and aarons cousin)

“[Erik] taught me to believe in myself. He showed me how to balance my faith and my sexuality, and he made me okay again. I know it sounds dramatic, but he saved my life.”

posey is basically the most common fancast for him and its ace http://jasontodds.gq/post/142056689769

here have this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEN_sPynauU

last one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaWr8hIuws4 honestly i just… love these kids so much okay they have all gone through such SErious traumas each of them and they still find a home in each other and its so beautiful and raw and kevin day oh m88 dont get me started on kevin honestly i could talk about all of these kids for days about why theyre so perfect and angel (except for aaron hes an asshole but hes OUR asshole so we kinda have to love him cause hes also andrew twin bro so)

okay so this is a gr8 one http://plantparrish.tumblr.com/post/139619235147/might-i-inquire-to-know-what-tfc-is-exactly-what

and hERE more

http://coldsaturn.tumblr.com/post/141462171061/what-is-the-foxhole-court-is-it-as-gay-as-the

aNND okAY *huffs out* thats it thats all i got for now

LAST IMPORTANT THING THOUGH

there are a LOT of triggers

here is a list so you know what youre getting in for

http://coldsaturn.tumblr.com/post/142178121481/detailed-list-of-trigger-warnings-for-the-foxhole sexual abuse is a pretty big one in book 2 its a spoiler re who its happened too and other stuff but if you want i can tell you when its gonna happen or come up just so youre prepared but yEP okay

I’ve said all year I don’t swing and I meant it. Kissing you doesn’t make me look at any of them differently. The only one I’m interested in is you.  

Chapter 14 Review - Intimacy and evasiveness in equal measure

Thank you so so much for this chapter; you are freaking awesome. At this point, your fic is longer than most PhD thesis. You’re completely bonkers, in the absolute best way. Please never change. Seriously, the level of interactivity in this fic is such fun and thank you for encouraging that. Some of the recent fancasts have been beyond amazing.

Gabi: “the level of interactivity in this fic is such fun” - you mean how I take fifty fucking years to respond to reviews that legitimately make my life!?!?!?!?! THAT LEVEL OF INTERACTIVITY!?!?! LMAO, gurl, can I just say before I dive into any of this that this review literally made me go back and edit some parts, that’s how helpful it was, and yet here I am, answering it an entire CHAPTER LATER!? For some reason the feedback for fourteen was really slow at first and then all of a sudden like 10 giant reviews came in at the same time, and I just took way too long to get around to all of them and kept answering the short ones first (because they take less thought/time), and then once I was done answering the short ones I was drained because I’m weak and wouldn’t survive the winter. BUT HERE I AM. Ten years later. Ready to friggin go. LET’S DO IT.

Firstly, I can’t believe you stopped before the Steroline sex! Rude. I would have been devastated (melodramatic OTT much) had you not given us one of the best SC kisses ever. Honestly, I think I might have sighed a little out loud. And after Stefan’s stupid assed, jealousy mental meltdown, Caroline demonstrates exactly why he has no need to be jealous in one sentence - “Damon could do all those things without it once being intimate.” It’s really obvious that ‘intimate’ is a mental thing for Caroline, I loved watching the switch click in Caroline’s mind from non intimate to intimate. Oh Caroline - you poor silly girl, you’ve got it bad!

Gabi: So, the plus side of answering this once 15 is already up is that I don’t have to feel bad about blue ballsing anyone anymore, muahahaha. Steroline sex is officially up and out there and there’s no taking it back now. Re: 14, though, love alllll of these insights and the particular moments of theirs that you choose to compare and contrast. They’re both stupid levels of in denial here, but the good news is the end of 15 and hopefully the majority of 16 is a bit of a new era for them - one where they actually try, I don’t know, communicating? It’s going to be wild. 

The part where they are watching YouTube videos together and eating Caroline’s secret food stash (naughty Caroline keeping treats from the other inmates of 2B - tsk, tsk) was very sweet and surprisingly intimate in it’s own right. I love how they have elements of easy friendship that they don’t even seem to recognise. I’m very interested in how their sexy timez are going to go because they could be hot, sweet or kind of silly/jokey or maybe all three. I think it’s going to get intimate whether Caroline likes it or not; Stefan may even bust out some of his Disney Prince romance vibes. I’m so intrigued as to who their third wheel could be.

Gabi: I really enjoyed writing that scene for exactly that reason - that somehow, these two super awkward people with a bunch of confusion and tension between them keep finding themselves in random moments of easygoing camaraderie, and all it really takes for that to happen is time and/or a distraction. I’m trying to hint at a possible future for them that doesn’t have all of this drama, that’s actually driven by a genuine enjoyment of spending time together and light-hearted banter and a warm hum of affection, but their poor coping/communication skills from their past experiences are just getting in that way of it. And hahaha, re: sexy timez, now you know! Disney Prince romance vibes definitely happened and Caroline, well... had some conflicts with it. As for the silly/jokey thing, I wouldn’t rule that out just yet for future scenes.

I know you are trying to achieve balance between your characters. At this point, I feel I know a lot about Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline, but with Damon, he’s still a mystery.

I both love and hate that we don’t know more.

Love - because I know you are being all clever and writery and keeping it from us on purpose. That having us see Damon through the other characters’ eyes is a clever way of 'revealing’ titbits without revealing them. Even Damon’s internal monologue is super evasive and kind of shallow (compared to Bonnie’s about him which was downright hilarious and completely nuts especially the hitman, Bonnie the world’s most boring mark lmao).

Hate - because I am such an impatient spoiler seeking nut bag, I need to know everything! Look honestly though, if you had told me before this started that I would actually be interested in Damon as a character himself, not as Bonnie’s boyfriend or Stefan’s brother, I would have scoffed at you. See Gabi, this is the power you wield. Use it wisely! Mwah ha ha.

Gabi: SOOO it was definitely still in the typical evasive flashes-of-insight format that Damon’s PoV tends to operate in, but I think 15 hopefully gave you a little more of what you were looking for regarding him? His guard was forcibly down for a bit, and his head went more into his complicated relationship with his mom, and part of the reason why I didn’t tie his panic attack fully up in 15 was because I’m carrying that arc into 16. There’s definitely aftermath, there’s definitely Bonnie the Hufflepuff making him feel unsettling things and think more about his life, and there’s also some Kai/Damon stuff that’ll have echoes of Damon/Tyler. So much more Damon ahead! And GURL, you don’t even know how happy it makes me to hear that re: ‘if you had told me before this started that I would actually be interested in Damon as a character’. That’s like the biggest compliment to me for some reason, like it gets me so hyped, so thanks so, so much for telling me! It’s tough to get people to like characters even when they’re blank slates, so getting someone to actually come around to someone they weren’t about before is like YAAAAAAS. 

In all seriousness, Damon didn’t deserve the kicking he got from Stefan in the opening scene. Sorry Stef, that was uncalled for even if Damon did start it. While this scene was all about Stefan’s pov and his reactions, Damon’s evasiveness is totally in character. Even though he’s oh-so-not-bothered, Stefan’s assessment of him has to smart a bit. I hope these two crazy kids work it out. I need my drigh!brotp back together. (Quick aside about Stefan – I hope at some point, he’s going to fess up that it wasn’t about Damon, Bonnie, Caroline or even Elena. It was about his own feelings of insecurity. It’s like Bonnie’s rampage of self-destruction as the person most hurt by this is himself. It’s actually very canon Stefan.)

Gabi: He definitely didn’t deserve it, and I wanted to write it that way because I wanted to show that Stefan, like everyone else in this godforsaken headache of a story, is a flawed character who gives into emotional reactions and insecurity sometimes and acts out. Like I really wanted to make it clear that Stefan was in the wrong there, and I really wanted to do it at Damon’s expense because at the shallowest of glances, Damon would be the guy you’d assume can be asshole sometimes and Stefan would be the guy you’d label as the patient, understanding saint, and 14 chapters in, I really wanted to flip that. As harmlessly trolly as Damon can be to Stefan about Caroline, turns out that Stefan is the one who drew first blood between them, you know? And I think you’re totally right about the oh-so-bothered-but-not-really thing re: Damon - he’s been called terrible things his whole life, so he’s learned how to let them slide off him like butter, but even butter leaves a trail, you know? They definitely add up to a perception he has of himself that’s probably darker/less flattering than it needs to be, and Bonnie absolutely confronts that in 16. She’s kind of like, ‘hey, newsflash dark and twisty, you’re a good guy’. She has a little speech I’ve written out that I really like. Lots of feelsiness coming in 16, man. Including Stefan insights and realizations about insecurity!

I’m still super interested by Damon’s two identities. Are the two different dates of birth significant? Him not mentioning anything after Bonnie fessing up to poking in his wallet - evasive much? So he doesn’t take his Fell ID out normally? I need more details, here, stop trying to kill me.

Gabi: lololol, got a little more of this in 15! I’m not sure how much was obvious from the story because Damon’s thoughts about his past always come out super jagged when I write them (and obviously I know the whole thing ‘cause I’m making it up, lmao), but I think I gave enough to kind of explain why he had that ID on him? Maybe?

Bonnie telling him all about her sex dreams had him speechless and I loved that. Yes, he was very much – that’s ok Bon, sexy daydreams are fine, but I still think there was an element of him being chuffed about it. That was really cute; I liked that his reaction wasn’t to grab her and lay one on her - she did that instead (oh Bon, you saucy minx). I loved their kiss, so hot; I really like their connection, it has a more brutal honesty to it than Steroline’s. By that I mean that Caroline lets Stefan get away with more introspection because that’s what suits her, whereas Damon pushes Bonnie to lay out her soul for him because he really wants someone to do it back to him, deep down. I may be over analysing this and be completely wrong.

Gabi: LMAOOO, ‘you saucy minx’ - she really is. And Damon is all about it. And no, you’re 100% spot on in your analysis of the two ships, assss usual - I think that’s a brilliant way to put it. Damon doesn’t wonder as much about Bonnie because he pushes, in more ways than one, till she gives him answers. He’s confrontational. Blunt. And Bonnie needs that, because her insecurities and problems are so deeply, deeply entrenched into her that they’re basically covered in layers of cement. You can’t slowly uncover that, you need a jack hammer (vs. for Caroline and Stefan, the wounds are still a little too fresh and shallow for a jackhammer to do anything except make it worse. They need the gentle discovery). Damon’s a bit of a paradox in that he’s either 100% blithe and flippant and dgaf, or he’s 100% blunt and real talk, and generally he uses the first mode to evade and the second mode to investigate. Problem is, Bonnie’s a bit of a jackhammer herself, and I think 15 was the beginning of the tide shifting to Damon being the one under the spotlight. And we’ll see how he likes that moving forward. Payback’s a bitch.

Did I detect that Damon might have a slight bird phobia? A dove in your shower is never good, but he seemed more than a little nervous. Also how is his hand doing? Dr Bon needs to follow up her patients better. I am kind of surprised how prompt he was for Kai’s dinner. Does Damon have immaculate time keeping? Or he is genuinely terrified of Kai? I guess I’m kind of struggling to find Kai scary, a bit loopy, somewhat odd, but I was really surprised that Damon would be scared of him (I have blanked out the crossbow in his face episode). We know he can handle himself in a fight (thank you for that Caroline) and he’s survived that gunshot as a child. Damon strikes me as being hard as nails (except around Bon) - Kai should be a cakewalk. Does he recognise something in Kai that he might have experienced in his past? Chapter 15 should be illuminating - I really hope we get plenty from his pov. I can’t wait.

Gabi: You did and it was totally unintentional. I actually went back and read over the way I’d written it after this feedback and totally got the same vibe (it was meant to be humorous but definitely came across as a little deeper than that), so thanks so much for pointing this out! I did a few little edits that I think put forth a more accurate picture of both the bird reaction (annoyance, bafflement, Damon in general being a growly diva) and his immaculate time-keeping (which was definitely supposed to be the focus more so than any actual fear of Kai, which, lmao, I think 15 makes pretty clear doesn’t exist). I think I could maybe argue that getting attacked by a dove in the shower could carry a bit of trauma from his basement-with-rats days, but even so, he’d hide that, so. Edited and more accurate thanks to bomb feedback!

ANYWAY, THIS IS ONCE AGAIN 600 YEARS LATE but oddly, it was kind of fun answering it with 15 already written? In any case, I’m so friggin’ sorry it took me this long to respond, and your feedback, as always, is one of my fave things about writing this fic because it’s always so hilarious and insightful. Thanks so, so much for this review, and hopefully 15 delivered the things you were after and 16 will deliver them even more. LOVE YA, BABE!

About agent R because we need more of him in this fandom

Offscreen- Todd: bleeding Farah: having nervous breakedown Amanda: screeching street: burning So, you might rememeber this CIA and mystery squad living happily together at Ridgely AU that we russian side of dghda put together some time ago. Remeber? No? There is like three fics in russian already about this somewhere in the world. Doesn’t matter. Well, for a sake of good storytelling we invented this one character, agent R., he’s the one who fill out all reports about what’s happening with main characters there. It’s funny, because suddenly he got his own storyline and asked Dirk for a coffee. And he said ‘yes’. And now we have our totally imaginary OTP with this agent without actual name but a heart. You might have seen something about it around here anyway, so finally decided I need to write about him, just because everyone here need to appreciate him too. (Technically I just put together bits of our conversation with @princessparadoxical so you know it’s a good stuff)

‘One guy from SWAT team is a bit shy with Dirk because he nearly broke his hand in the past (it’s not stoping him from outplaying him in cards though. Poker is poker). ‘Just ask him out, Greg!’ everyone tells him. But Greg is still too shy to do anything, for now.’ That’s him! Only he’s not Greg, just R., because secrecy and all this stuff. So Dirk is like 'Whatever, I used to codenames’ and just calls him Richard, Reginald, Ronald - everytime it’s different. R. is quite fine with that. They go for a coffee together (well, ice cream for Dirk). And it’s nice, really nice. And, of course, a bit bizzare. Later they would have some more bizarre dates like this. Dirk can’t work out whether the universe wants him to get laid. Or whether the universe wants him to remain forever alone. It swings wildly between the two and it’s confusing. On multiple levels ;) Fortunately, R. knows Dirk (by reading CIA files on him and in person) good enough to be able to patiently deal with all this. More or less. Dirk is fine with this knowing him firstly from dry CIA reports by the way, so long as R is honest about it and not trying to be too intrusive. I mean, he knows that the CIA have a file on him. The only issue would be if Dirk thought that people were all reading his file and trying to treat him like some project after all this time. But it’s not happening now. So, most of the time Dirk is quite chill about it. Or he act like he’s chill until something really uncomfortable slips in when they talk. It’s like with his psychic powers. He really appretiate chances when he can be as normal with other people as possible, or at least, he can pretend for awhile. So R is very careful. And also he’s the nervous one (at first), because he was so shy to even ask Dirk for coffee and was pretty sure it won’t work. Because he’s realistic - Dirk and CIA had a bad past. While Dirk is surprisingly open, just… well, just amazed at this sudden and happy turn of events. And what fascinates R. in Dirk, I think - he’s so out of ordinary in every possible way and this is beautiful. 'Weird’ beautiful, but R deals with weird every day and it’s kinda boring for him in a way, it’s his job. But Dirk is so endearing in his weirdness that it’s feells fresh and new every time he see him. Of course he falls for it easily. Dirk’s kind of weirdness is exactly the kind of weirdness that R finds most charming. Because Dirk’s not being weird for the sake of being weird. No part of it is an act. It’s completely and utterly genuine and of course R’s going to respond with affection. It has nothing to do with this Will of the Universe and Leaf in a Stream of Creation businesses (R strongly reject idea that something might have power over someones privet life. But, as it was said, he’s usually patient and quiet about this matter). It’s about Dirk being unique as a person. Anyway, here is some things we know about R so far: - huge nerd (likes books, cat memes and extra sweet coffee) but always play it cool (takes his job VERY seriously) - actually very self conscious and nervous (maybe as much as Farah), just very good at hiding it - have a dark gold hair and most impressive jawline - don’t like when people fooling around (but have agents G and U as his buddies, and they like two biggest gossip girls at school. Except they are two grown sarcastic man who sleep with each other and love being sassy with everyone. They keep sleeping part hush but everyone just know. They act like shits when R is near but they just teasing him and he rolls with it) - sometimes think about how CIA affected Dirk’s past too much, sometimes even more than Dirk (who just realy want to leave it all behind and make this relationship as nice and natural as it possible) - just constantly amazed by Dirk in general - honestly think Todd is fine fella, only sometimes annoying and whinie as shit. Also they lowkey gealous of each other but in a smug friendly way - there was this joke that Friedkin slept with almost every CIA agent at some point (“What? They all so awesome!”). Sometimes I think that R might be one of them and it keeps me awake at night. I think it’s keep Dirk awake too. - he’s from some some old artistic circus family (he can play several music instruments well, he can ride unicycle like a pro. He managed to get an actual elephant at Valentine's day just to impress Dirk??). But he's so shy of it, because they are so eccentric and he is trying to be Serious Agent. - tiny bit mind reading (it's runs in the family, something genetic). He actually uses this at work (it's CIA devision wich deals with supernatural, of course they have telepatic surveillance). It's not so great, he can only catch some bits of people's internal monologues and predict theirs actions for a few moments into the future, that's all. It's often become a subject of quarreling with Dirk (R thinks his 'hunches' is something genetic too, Dirk's just have been brainwashed with Rigginses propaganda in his childhood. R just don't have a nerve to say his feelings on that matter more openly, because, yeah, it might hurt Dirk too much) - we fancast Jamie Parker for obvious reasons Also a list of nice things to consider: - Dirk sending R ridiculous cat memes while he’s on duty, making him giggle and blowing his cover. - R is the first in line who will crush you if you touch Dirk (he and Farah. They kind of buddies now) - CIA team and mystery squad team are having a secret competition on whos gonna make them kiss first. They leave it to themselves after R put a sign with colourful 'Eff off!’ (Dirk’s writing) in front of one of hidden cameras at R’s place - R. teaching Dirk how to dance. Because Dirk can’t dance even simple three steps waltz as much as he can’t properly drive a car. So R. is forced to put Dirk (without shoes but still in his socks) on his feet and move him around carefully while firmly holding him by a waist. And Dirk definitely wouldn’t be able to dance at first, the boy is like 70% leg but doesn’t know what to do with them. Bonus: R dipping Dirk and Dirk getting adorably flustered. He’s got Dirk dipped and he’s strong enough to hold him there for a second and.. :) - IMAGINE DIRK BORROWING DIFFERENT PEOPLE’S CLOTHES AND EVERYONE IS IN A TIZZY He borrows R’s clothes and R almost proposes then and there. He borrows Todd’s clothes and R sulks around the apartment all day. He borrows Friedkin’s clothes in an absolute emergency and both R and Todd are jealous and horrified. And Dirk is not stupid, he knows that his borrowing is making people nervous, so he don’t say that sometimes it’s not even that big emergency, sometimes he’s just like how other people smell. (Dirk stealing other people’s clothes when he’s sad or lonely or stressed. R and Todd are a lot less jealous when they find this out). Also imagine it’s the middle of winter and Dirk’s wearing TWO jumpers. So R and Todd are like… are you wearing… both of our jumpers…? Dirk’s like yes, I love both of you and I love both of your jumpers so this made perfect sense. - that one Valentine’s Day Special Episode! So basically all that day Dirk works as Ridgely’s one and only kissogram (he says it’s for a case but no one believe him). He’s just send kisses for everyone - all of CIA (ten kisses for R. obviously), most of mystery squad, Estevez, Ken and Bart (he do this quickly and then just run), Friedkin (on a cheek), even one of the Rowdy (with his eyes firmly shut), suspected in kidnapping, victim of kidnapping, pizza delivery guy… Todd looks more and more confused. And, for no one surprise, a bit jealous. At the end of a day Dirk finally kisses him rather passionately, twice. Because 'Best friends get best kisses!’. And Todd’s definitely not put his hands on Dirk’s waist when a second one happens. (Well, one of the kisses is from R. whos just being cheeky. He and Todd give each other middle fingers from opposite sides of a room with smug faces afterwards). All is well. The most fun thing - Dirk acting like he’s most oblivious man in the history of the world. 'Ahh, of course!! We should all date together, all three of us! You are my closest friends, this is only logical!’. R and Todd: NO…'friends’?? and R is like: Brozman, you must talk to him about what word 'friend’ means. Todd: Dude, I’m TRYING While Dirk is just - :) There is more for it, but that’s enough for now.