#& he does not react to it at all. he's exact opposite of eddie on the 'how they handle being in water' scale

[thesupreme316]

How aew men react to yn being girl version of them

nick wayne x female reader, darius martin x female reader, hook x female reader, action andretti x female reader, dante martin x female reader, Eddie kingston x female reader, ricky starks x female reader

AEW STARS REACT TO: You being them in a different font

Pairings: Nick Wayne x female reader, Darius Martin x female reader, Hook x female reader, Action Andretti x female reader, Dante Martin x female reader, Eddie Kingston x female reader, Ricky Starks x female reader

Word Count: 1.3K

Supreme Speaks: hey yall happy new year! hope everyone is doing well! here is my hc for today, plz enjoy! and remember that you are loved and appreciated.

Warning: none i think

Taglist: @hooks-martin @hookerforhook @batzy-watzy @wwenhlimagines @triscillal @cassie0sstuff @sheinthatfandom @eddie-kingstons-wifey

Ricky Starks

Omg does he have a field day with you

But y’all aren’t exactly friends but frenemies

Like on some mean girls type shit

Cause you are the exact same; slick, fabulous, luxurious, and funny

Sometimes you be stumping him with your comebacks

Ricky: At this point, I’ll join the circus

You: You don't have enough talent to join the circus…but then again you are a clown

Cue yall weakly slapping each other

Loves to bicker with you

Hates when other people are bickering with you; will jump to your defense

Eventually, you become the Gunther and Tinka (from shake it up) of AEW

You two frequently share Pinterest boards and give fashion advice to each other

At this point, you two are either color-coordinating or complete opposites in outfits

Will text you and see you as the only person who understands him (in front of Taz, Hook, Big Bill)

Yall go on friendly dates and love to gossip

Ricky: And they were roommates

You: Not the roommates

Ricky: Right?!

Nick Wayne

You’re a sibling to him

Personality wise: you are both shy golden retrievers

THAT IS THE BEST WAY I CAN DESCRIBE NICK

I think yall got along because no one else was around your age that thought the way yall do

Nick was shy about meeting others until he got introduced to you

Now you talk all the time

Loves exploring new parts of arenas or working Christian’s nerves

I can just see him being annoyed at the point that there are two Nicks

I also see Nick’s energy being on low until you come around

THEN HE’S BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS

Hates when people pick on you, and he goes to your rescue

…

Now both of you are pouting in a corner cause yall got your feelings hurt (think of Tamaki from ouran high school host club)

I also think that you would be his personal journal (he’ll tell you everything)

He feels comfortable telling you stuff because he knows you’re gonna keep it

Or you’ll just forget about it and you have to pretend you know what he’s talking about

Darius Martin

YALL ARE SO CUTE

He calls you his reflection

Cause he said looking at you is like looking at a mirror

Yall are the most unproblematic duo ever

Have yall seen fights where people in the background are in their own little world?

Yeah…that’s yall

You two are so unbothered by the drama around you

I feel like he would see you like as a sibling so everything he tells Dante, he tells you

You are on speed dial; he calls you now more than he calls his brother

Secretly Dante’s jealous of the relationship between you and Darius

Asks you to do the simplest of tasks like braid his hair or record his training sessions

I also feel like so many people would think yall are dating the way he treats you

He always holds the door, pulls out your chair, keeps on the inside of the sidewalk, will hold your hand if you want as you two walk

To him, it’s not romantic (it is to me damnit), it’s just him being a gentleman and doing the bare minimum (AS A MAN SHOULD)

Because of him, you raise your standards for men

But it doesn’t feel right without him next to you

Hook

Mans secretly in love with you

I think he would think your personality is refreshing cause he doesn’t see it often in women

At first he thought it was a gimmick or you’re trying to get him to like you

But nope, this is you 100%

Many people think it would be boring between you two

Nope…just comfortable silence

Tbh yall are the real unbothered duo; truly not giving a fuck about anything around yall

Can tell your thoughts just by looking at you

Over time, I think he sees you as a bestie OR SO HE THINKS

Allows you to handle your own business cause he knows you can handle yourself

Is always surprised by how well you know him

He’s just not used to anyone really remembering small details about him

He made sure that you were a part of the Lads now

The group welcomed you with open arms

I think he forgets that you’re in the room sometimes with how silent you are

OOO idea: he teaches you Italian so you two can talk in private in public

He also buys you the same hoodies and sweatpants that he wears…cause yall already take each other’s anyways

Action Andretti

Yall are the Himbo/Bimbo combo (non-derogatory)

…

You share the same braincell

Respectfully of course

Like yall look so cute and cool okay? You guys are sweethearts

BUT JESUS SOMETIMES-

You two are truly in your own world

(respectfully again, don’t take it seriously billy)

Yall are not unbothered but just oblivious to the drama around you two

He pulls out the best jokes for you just to hear you laugh

Yall just get hyper together a lot

I wanna say you two together are very innocent and happy-go-lucky

But it is very balanced between the two of you

Everyone who sees you, can’t help but think that you two are adorable

Listen I think in terms of feelings developing, Andretti is too caught up in trying to make sure that you two are having a great friendship to see if anything can develop

If anything, he’s just happy to have you by his side and he doesn’t want anything to ruin it

Dante Martin

Yall have bff necklaces

Or bracelets

whatever you prefer

Very playful relationship yall have indeed

Dante will tell you everything but not his brother

Dante has see you every day, if not, it’s an off day for him

You two will say the same things at the same time like twins or some shit

I think it’s very surface-level thinking with your friendship

He really does appreciate you and he doesn’t really see you as anything more

If anything, he sees you as a little sister that he is molding to be more like him

Drags you everywhere

Super protective over you

Hates to exclude you

Like with Hook, He made you a part of the Lads

I feel like Dante takes you very seriously in terms of yall’s friendship

There’s never a dull moment with him

Eddie Kingston (one day I really want to do a character/in-depth analysis on him)

Compared to the other men on this list

Eddie would think about you subconsciously and really does see you as another version of himself

And it bothers him to a certain extent

because your attitude, actions, and even the way you talk is just like him

Right down to the stubbornness

Will try to tell you certain things to calm you down or anything but really it’s what he wants to hear himself

I also think he finally gets what everyone sees in him cause he can see it in you (underdog vibes)

He can’t tell if he loves you as a BFF or more

Cause he never really met a woman who has the same strong yet realistic mindset as him

And it makes him feel butterflies

But he really loves your hustle and how quick-witted you are

He also loves how true you are to yourself and how you won’t change for people

Knowing Eddie he rather keep your friendship than lose you entirely

Even though he’s very close to Ortiz, Santana, Mox, and Ruby

You are #1 to him

#aew #all elite wrestling #aew imagine #all elite wrestling imagines #eddie kingston #eddie kingston imagine #eddie kingston x reader #aew hook #aew hook imagine #hook x reader #dante martin #aew dante martin #dante martin imagine #aew darius martin #darius martin x reader #darius martin imagine #ricky starks #ricky starks imagine #ricky starks x reader #action andretti imagine #action andretti #action andretti x reader #aew nick wayne #nick wayne x reader #nick wayne imagine #aew top flight

[tommykinard6]

I kinda feel like the great reaction to bucktommy and how great the GP is reacting to them puts them into question for an endgame ship for buck I really don’t think Tommy’s just gonna be a fling and get written off I think it’ll be the exact opposite I’m more worried about Eddie if he isn’t gonna have buck I’m dumbfounded at who his endgame and how the writers handle that

You know what, I’m curious about this too now that you brought it up. As much as I adore Tommy, I don’t think he and Buck are endgame, but let’s flirt with the idea that they are for a moment. First of all, what a beautiful relationship to follow for him and Buck.

But what about Eddie? I guess one point is, would they ever explore his sexuality if they didn’t plan on Buddie being endgame? I would hope so, the man is more demi than I am. Will he be stuck in a revolving door of unsatisfactory romances? I really can’t see a good relationship for himself outside of Buddie, but I probably would’ve said the same for Buck before Tommy came along.

I think the writers would need to tread very carefully.

I’m curious, what does everyone think? Hypothetically, if Buddie never happens, what kind of romance would we be looking at for Eddie?

#911 abc #911 season 7 #tommy kinard #9-1-1 #911 show #eddie diaz #bucktommy #evan buckley

[theold-ultraviolence]

Secondly. I had a veey fun night put last night. I wobblex home (from drinking oit w my girlies). And just imagine if aeddies paetner has a girls night them going out and when she comes home. How they would react trying tk scold her but also trying to help her at the same time. Maybe even Aemond poor baby getting a litltlw triggered by it whwn kt happesn the first time. Cause aegin probably has vaused him some trauma relating to very drunk people. So either he cries that night and is veey mad the next morning or cries in the morning also angry. Big brained anon (am feeling the angst)

oh gosssssssssh we've gone past horny onto angsty huh! Apologies if drunk!gf is a little bit off (fun fact I've only ever been drunk twice, ever, and I wasn't even with friends or anything lol. It was while being alone on new year's eve and wanting to test how much alcohol I could take. And when I did I didn't even get stupid, just super, super sleepy lmao). CW; Aegon just being a slimy bitch, some brief and vague mentions of him being a molestor while drunk.

I'm thinking Eddie and Aemond are having their own little get together over at Eddie's trailer, because they already knew their gf would be going out drinking until late and they wanted to be together and wait for her call if anything happened; so they just spent the time watching movies or jamming out.

They get your call quite late, even they were already starting to feel a little drowsy, but they're up in an instant and hopping into Eddie's van to go pick you up.

You're at some sort of party over your friend's house, so at least they're glad you're in a safe-ish space, rather than some dingy bar.

But the place is stuffy and absolutely reeking of alcohol. Even if it was a small get together with your friends (friends outside of you and Eddie and Aemond's scene), everyone was sprawled on top of one another.

"There they are! look at my boys!!" you exclaim as you stand up from the couch, faltering in your step but Eddie and Aemond are quick to grab you from either side and help you up. "My handsome boys! aren't I the luckiest?" you mumble while staring at them both with a dopey grin.

Eddie and Aemond rush you out of there; Eddie's driving while Aemond sits with you on the back seat. The entire ride back to Eddie's trailer you're mumbling nonsense into the crook of Aemond's neck while he holds you, and Eddie can see from the rearview mirror that while Aemond's looking a little tense back there. Eddie worries that maybe you're spilling some mean things to him in your drunken state.

"Everything alright back there, Aemes?"

"Yes, everything alright." He curtly replies, all serious and quiet and Eddie knows he meant the exact opposite.

They basically carry you inside the trailer, help clean up your face and put you in your pj's and tuck you into Eddie's bed with no fuzz, while making sure that you have a glass of water and some advil on the besdie table.

Sleep has totally escaped them by now, so they return to the living room and settle on the couch once again, where Eddie finally asks Aemond what's wrong, for he'd been eerily quiet - more so than usual - through the whole ordeal.

Aemes lets out a puff of breath, trying to release the tension of his shoulders, and Eddie's quick to wrap his arm around him for support.

And it's then that Aemond bares his heart out, talking about his brother and all the awful things he's done while inebriated. The people he's hurt, humilliated, the girl's he's molested. And the disaster that he leaves in their house whenever their mom is out of town with their grandpa and Aegon uses the chance that they're home alone to throw parties that pretty much border on orgies.

A lot of family heirlooms have been destroyed by their drunk friends, and they've even gotten into Aemond's room to mess up his things.

Eddie lets his friend vent all he wants, embracing him all throughout and even soothing his hair as he does so. And when he's finished, he just hugs him tightly and lets Aemond be as soft as he can be with him. He needed it, and Eddie was more than happy to be the one person Aemond felt comfortable being vulnerable with.

But now Eddie fully understands why Aemond was acting a little distant since they picked you up, how he wore a constant frown on his face the whole ride back home. Eddie assures him that you're not like his brother AT ALL, that you'd never ever hurt him (and neither would Eddie for that matter).

You're up before anyone else and are staggering to the living room to find your boys cuddled next to one another on the couch, lightly snoring. You go to the kitchen to get some toast or anything to help with the sluggish feeling you got hungover.

Eddie finds you in the kitchen and tells you the whole thing, so when you see Aemond later in the morning, when he finally wakes up, you hug him real tight and set all his worries at ease.

#aeddie au #aemond targaryen x eddie munson crossover #big brained anon #my writing

[littleoddwriter]

ahhh awesome!! ur writing is so good btw <<33 i’d love to know how eddie would react to finding things in readers room- reader is ftm and maybe eddie finds out the reader is trans by seeing some needles and all the empty T vials on their bathroom counter. (i tooootally don’t have like 10 of them lying around & collecting dust) & how he’d react to the reader having a cat :> ♡

Getting to Know You | Edward Nashton/The Riddler x Trans!Male!Reader (Pre-Relationship)

Hiya there! Thank you so much!!! <3 <3 <3 Gosh, thanks for the request, hdfkjdhkjs, I really hope you like what I've done with it! By the way, I'd be willing to continue this particular story if you, or anyone else, wanted me to. :') <3

summary; Ed looks through your apartment to get to know you better, before he actually goes to talk to you, and finds some interesting things. Disclaimer: The card's text is not mine, I simply found it on the internet.

notes; Trans!Male!Reader; Reader is on T; Reader does not make an actual appearance; Pre-Relationship; Stalking; Obsession; Breaking & Entering; Pet Cats; No Dialogue; Mild Dark Fic.

Lately, Edward had a new favourite way to pass the time after work and whenever it fit in, which was watching his newest obsession: You. 

He didn't just watch you in places you went to, though, taking pictures of you to study them once he returned home. No, he followed you home once, and took photos of everything to find back to your place for when you should be at work yourself. 

And then, on his day off, he decided to finally go and look around your apartment. He hasn't been able to do that yet, and it was definitely about time. 

He found you so interesting, so fascinating, so charming. He wanted to know everything about you that he could before he would try to talk to you. He wanted you to know that he was the right one for you immediately, and that would only truly work if he knew absolutely everything about you beforehand. He couldn't allow himself to make mistakes. 

Edward had gotten into your apartment almost too easily. Something that concerned him. You needed to be more aware of how easy it was to find your spare key under the potted plant outside your door. It was dangerous, considering that the wrong people could simply walk inside. He'd have to warn you about that eventually. 

Right now, though, he only wanted to look around your apartment and see what new information he could find out about you. 

As soon as he'd gotten in, a cat greeted him. Quickly, he closed the door behind himself, lest the cat would manage to get out. 

He looked down at it, tilting his head to the side. The cat did the exact same thing, eyeing him curiously. 

When nothing else happened, Ed shrugged and let his eyes sweep over the entrance way first. There was nothing much of interest to him. Your jacket and coats hung on a coat hanger, your shoes and boots were placed below on a small shelf, and there was a chest of drawers that also had a small bowl on top of it, which was empty now, but he guessed your keys landed in there when you came back home.

He took out his phone and photographed your coat and its size, doing the same thing with a pair of shoes and boots each. 

He walked down the hall and turned right, which led him to the kitchen. He spent quite some time there, finding out what your eating habits were, what you ate most, such as your favourite drink, which was evident by the amount of bottles you owned, and taking photos of all the products he deemed important. The cat followed him throughout, sticking to him, but otherwise not doing anything. He thought that was a good sign. Your cat already trusted him, and it should. You were meant to be with him after all. He couldn't afford to be disliked by your pet. 

Once he was done in the kitchen, he walked over to the living room, which was on the opposite side. 

It was decorated nicely, made to feel personal, as it was covered in things you liked; posters, books, DVDs, CDs, action figures, and more. He liked that. There was also a TV and a couch not far from it, such as a carpet on the floor between them. He took photos of the entire room at different angles, making sure the posters and the likes were visible. He took close-ups of your DVD and CD collections. He'd have to take a weekend or two to himself to watch and listen to each title. 

Next was your bedroom. He looked forward to it. 

It was similarly decorated to your living room, which he thought was a nice touch and really underlined how much you liked certain things that you've hung up posters of in either room. 

After he took a photo of your king sized bed, he put his phone away for a second, to take your sleeping clothes into his hands; a soft, big, cotton shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.

He hesitated for a moment, but then gave into his instinct and put his face into the shirt, inhaling its scent. It smelled clean, but there was something underlying that was just you. He breathed in deeply to savour it. He really liked it.

Exhaling slowly, Eddie pulled away from the shirt and put your clothes back on the bed.

Then, he opened each drawer of your bedside table. He almost expected to find something related to sex, considering that most people kept their lube and condoms in one of those drawers, but you didn’t. There were just some trinkets that he guessed you couldn’t fit anywhere else. He took a photo of those as well, thinking that they could be important if they were beside your bed, rather than in a different drawer.

After that, he walked over to your closet to look into it. He only found your clothing neatly stacked or hung up, showing off all the different items you owned. He also took a photo of the entire closet, noting down some of the brands you owned more pieces of, such as the different sizes for each. 

When Edward was done with your bedroom it was time for the last one - the bathroom.

He heard a quiet meow behind himself and turned around. That was a different cat than the other one. Huh. So you owned two pet cats? He could work with that.

Ed crouched down and held his hand out to the cat. It sniffed at his hand for a bit before coming closer and rubbing its head against his palm. Smiling he scratched the cat’s head and behind its ear, making it purr. He mused just how lucky he was to not be allergic to the felines. 

After a few minutes passed, though, Ed straightened back up. He couldn’t let himself be distracted like that for long after all. While you were supposed to be gone for a few more hours, he shouldn’t risk anything just yet. 

In your bathroom, he first went to the shower, looking at the products you used and taking photos of them. Then he turned around and crouched down to look at the cabinet below the sink. The left side held cleaning products and the right side held extras of the hair and body products you used. 

When he looked at the bathroom counter, he stopped short. There were at least eight vials and needles on the right side. He took a closer look, picked one vial up, and read that it was testosterone. Interesting. He knew what that could mean. 

So, he took a photo of it and noted down to do research on what being a transgender man meant for someone, how it may impact their daily life, etc. Ed had to admit that he only had the most basic surface knowledge about it, so doing this research would definitely benefit him in more than one way.

Edward only found you to be even more intriguing now. It was as though everything he’s found out about you thus far changed in some way, like it became more meaningful. He’d have to look at his photos of you more closely again with the knowledge he now had. 

That was why he thought it was so important for him to do this and go through all your things. He didn’t mean to invade your privacy. He only wanted to know everything he could so he wouldn’t make any mistakes and potentially mess up. And this was something he could have fucked up terribly if he hadn’t snooped around. 

At last, he’s seen and photographed everything he needed. 

Before he left, he opened his jacket’s pocket and pulled out the envelope with the card he’s written for you. It was risky. He’s never contacted you before, but he felt that it was time to start initiating it. 

‘To Y/N’ was written on the royal blue envelope.

Inside was a card with an owl printed on it, saying ‘Guess who…’. 

In the card, Ed had written, ‘Although you may not know my name, you are special to me just the same.’

Usually he would opt for a nice riddle, but he discarded each one he’d written because none of them really conveyed this sentiment well enough. But he would try them out for the next card he would write to you. This one was mostly to test the waters anyway.

At the bottom, the card’s own text continued, ‘... your secret admirer.’

Edward walked out of your apartment, after having said goodbye to your cats, and placed the envelope on your doormat outside.

With a happy smile and while humming Ave Maria, Ed walked downstairs and out of the building, practically skipping to his own apartment complex. 

He couldn’t wait to finally make you his.

#if you've read my fic about Thomas Schiff breaking into your apartment I've taken like two aspects from there into this one #just because i find them particularly interesting and to be driving the point home that Eddie is a creep lol #trans male reader #trans male reader insert #male reader #edward nashton #ed nashton #edward nashton x reader #the riddler #the riddler x reader #dano riddler #dano!riddler #dano riddler x reader #paul dano #danonation #fanfiction #fanfic #dark fic

[woodchoc-magnum]

i identify a lot with eddie, and a big part of it is the way he composes himself and shoves everything into a box to "feel" later. that's why hearing that he doesn't "care" as much is really .... not it.

we saw the way he cried at the beach after having lost shannon, and we see that with the way he, at times, finds other outlets for his emotions that he's still struggling to work through (street fighting arc). maybe he doesn't react in the exact moment or in the exact way as someone more expressive would, but he certainly does act.

it's difficult to see people say that he's "unemotional" or "cold" simply on the basis of not expressing himself in the most straightforward way because it feels so blatantly obvious to me that he just feels so much that he simply tries not to feel at all (especially when 1. he's been trained to put those feelings on a back-burner and 2. he prioritizes everyone's health/safety before his own so that he can fix the problem where he can. therefore, those two work in tandem to make him collected and reserved despite whatever may be going).

anyways, i hope this ramble made sense wrt anon's ask

~ eddie-diass

I agree with you completely - I think some people find it easier to identify with Buck because he wears every single emotion on his sleeve. He doesn't lock things away like Eddie does, you know exactly how he's feeling in any given moment, etc etc.

Eddie's pretty much the exact opposite - a lack of emotion in a given situation doesn't mean he doesn't care; it just means that he processes things and reacts differently to how Buck would.

He's an emotional guy; he has feelings, he just doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve the way Buck does.

In conclusion I love him very much.

#eddie diaz loml

[realchemistry]

9-1-1 - “Fools” thoughts

I’m not gonna write a proper review, I figured it was better to share some of the thoughts I had while and after watching the episode regarding Buddie and Josh.

Buddie keeps getting better and better. They didn’t have a ton of scenes, but we got a lot to go through:

First, we have in-sync Buddie, which is always good cause they make such a great team.

Then we get pseudo confirmation that Buck is not a hetero. YAY!

At the same time, I think we get a whole lot more in that scene: I’m pretty sure that Eddie wasn’t there, tho he is a “solo,” because it wasn’t a “bring your kid over” type of night/he had the school meeting that same night.

Then Maddie denies setting Josh and Buck up because she likes Josh too much. From this we can go with the jokey conclusion: Josh is too good for Buck, or Buck not good enough for Josh.

But we can also go with my favored one which is that Maddie has been onto Buddie since day one, so she wouldn’t want to set Josh up with his brother because Buck is clearly into Eddie, whether he realizes it or not (and I have SO many thoughts on this, maybe another time).

There’s also Maddie saying she loves Buck too much to let him “keep being so incredibly, tragically (Chim “some might say, embarrassingly”) single” which kinda doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t you want your brother to stop being all that, if you’re qualifying singledom in such a way? Again, it adds to her being onto Buddie, cause that phrase could easily end in “unaware of his own feelings for Eddie,” or something alike, and it would’ve made ALL the sense in the world.

The Siri joke comes after, which is interesting because we know what Buck 1.0 used to be like, so to hear him say that he’s doing well and feels fulfilled shows growth. It can also indicate that, while he is dealing with the sexual part on his own, he might be getting the emotional connection somewhere else... Eddie and Chris, perhaps?

Finally, Josh and Buck talk about how hard it is out there for the solos and how they’re stuck with online dating. Again, to me this sounds like he’s completely unaware or hasn’t really connected the dots between what he has and feels for Eddie and romantic feelings. But I said I wasn’t gonna talk about this, so I will only do it once more... :P

Eddie is navigating school, and he thanks Carla for going with him. I love Carla, I’m so glad she’s around.

Let me tell you something, Eddie making eyes at the teacher feels a bit over the top. Like, IDK, maybe it’s just me, but it is A Lot. Don’t get me wrong, Ana is gorgeous and I get lusting over her at first sight, but Eddie has ZERO chills about it, which seems unlike him.

The whole scene is off to me, her guessing his name right, the whole “he was my favorite” - “mine too,” the compliments to Eddie for reading, “I’m sure you’re no slouch.”

Then Eddie plays dumb with Carla, the whole blue/brown eyes thing expose him, and I’m still here thinking, that is too much all at once.

It goes on with the skateboard accident, which is also over the top. I get worrying about your kid being injured, even going super overprotective about it, but Eddie is waaaaaaay rude to Ana. Like, he goes from 100 to -164876413 in no time. The fact that he knew her by that point should’ve made him react more calmly, specially knowing Chris was fine and didn’t actually feel the need to leave school at all. But I guess TPTB needed that unnecessary bit of drama there...

I’m so VERY glad Carla’s around, saying the exact right thing. Eddie really needed to hear both that Chris knows he’s different and that it’s up to Eddie to teach him what that means. Eddie refuses to tell Chris he has limitations, which is interesting considering a certain Buck’s thoughts...

Chris lets him know it was his idea to try skateboarding, encouraged by Eddie’s own words that Chris can do anything.

The worst date is hilarious, and Buck starts commiserating saying he knows how hard it is to meet someone as a fellow solo, yet ends up focusing on Eddie’s drama...

We go from the worst date happy ending, where the transition goes: (heart emoji) is messy but also (party hat with confetti and an opening bottle of champagne) with the right person.

To Buck and Eddie sharing a bottle of beer. Can I just say both boys look gorgeous in this scene?

And so we get a co-parenting moment. A lot could be said about Eddie’s joke, but I won’t now.

Buck is right to point out that Eddie might be overcorrecting, which takes me back to 14 and 15. Buck thinks, like Eddie, that Chris is capable of doing anything and he brings up an example from a sport Eddie knows to point out that just because Chris can’t do something the way everybody else does, it doesn’t meant he can’t do it at all. So we finish the scene with a pensive Buck, whose gears are turning trying to come up with what we’ll see at the end.

Eddie has a talk with Chris, which speaks for itself.

When Eddie tells Chris, "you’re my kid,” it gave me flashbacks to Buck seeing Chris’ picture after finding out Eddie had a son, and saying he loves kids and Eddie saying he loves that one.

Eddie goes to apologize to Ana, in what’s actually the only scene between them that doesn’t feel like TPTB are overdoing it. Ana basically says the opposite of what Eddie and Buck have been saying this whole episode. Her train of thought is: if you fail at something, it might lead you to some other things, which might be even better. It’s a silver lining type of thinking, and it’s fine, but it’s not what happens this episode with Chris.

At the end, we have a happy family, trying something new together.

Josh: I was really upset that they brought him front and center only to have him be beaten up that way. Then I read some of the actor’s tweets, and I’m guessing that he’s gonna encounter the bully (I’ll go with “bully” till I can think of something better) again, only this time it’ll be on a 9-1-1 call. So we’ll ge the whole Josh is going to help him despite knowing that it’s the bully, how great of him, yada yada.

So I am still upset because:

Society shouldn’t be at a point where people need to be reminded by TV shows that they shouldn’t be assholes towards anyone ever cause you might need them eventually. People shouldn’t be assholes to anyone ever, period.

The people ~wronged by the aforementioned assholes shouldn’t need to prove they’re good to the assholes and in spite of the bad things that were done to them. They’re good people, or they’re not, but the whole high road thing is tiresome. Be like Carol Danvers!

#Buddie #Buck and Eddie #Eddie Diaz #Evan Buckley #911 #911 FOX #Ryan Guzmán #Oliver Stark #Josh Russo #Bryan Safi #long post #SUPER LONG #sorry but I couldn't really cut it because of the list #oh well #Manu watches #Carol Denvers is always a reference

[volturialice]

Spork Haven chapter 23: salt fucking peter

welcome to spork haven, where I spork the EL James fic you’ve never heard of

previous chapter | next chapter | contents

previously on Spork Haven:

actor!Edward got an outlandish fucking award and became Best Actor!Edward! hotel maid murder witness cello prodigy orphaned ““cajun”” heiress!Bella was his date to the awards show! Ed looked into Emmett’s dark burning eyes and had a Moment! Bella felt dizzy and then went missing! will the Volturi mafia succeed in murdering her? let’s hope so stick around and find out!

warning: this chapter is incredibly long. please check the tags for content warnings—there are a lot! it’s eventful, though, so we’ll give it a pass. but settle in and make yourself comfortable. maybe go get a drink or something. I know I needed a drink after I read this garbage.

chapter 23 opens with Edward attempting to process the fact that Bella has disappeared. he does this in what I have to admit is a pretty seamless fusion of el james’s and stephenie meyer’s trademark styles (negative space here preserved for authenticity):

wow. eat your heart out, New Moon.

once we’ve experienced that bit of totally original typesetting magic, Edward leaps into action! 

just kidding. he’s “totally fucking immobilized.” paralyzed with fear, he “stifles a sob” and toys with whether to “wail, scream, and tear his hair out with impotence”

luckily, he’s very good at giving himself pep talks:

this bracing self-administered kick in the pants unfreezes him, allowing him to summon the mental faculties to go get Emmett.

Emmett clears the ladies’ room and calls for backup. He and Edward search the restroom and are joined by a rando Local security guard as they discover—gasp!—a secret second exit to the bathroom (shoutout to the phoenix airport womens’ room, amirite?) leading into a service tunnel.

the Local security guard informs them that the tunnel leads to an alley, but the alley’s only exit is onto Hollywood Boulevard. you know, the street currently clogged with limos, paparazzi, cameras, and fans. idk about y’all but I’m starting to think this kidnap attempt may have been just a tad poorly conceived. why kidnap her at all? they had ample time to kill her, dump her body in the service tunnel, and make their escape unencumbered.

as Ed, Emmett, and Local race down the service tunnel, Emmett radios for Jasper to go around and cut the Bad Guys off in the alley. Edward is the slowest of the bunch

so he quickly falls behind the other two.

he’s trying to catch up when—wait! what’s that on the ground? something...sparkly?

that’s right: he pauses in chasing after Bella and her kidnapper in order to notice “six thousand dollars’ worth of earring” lying on the ground.

then he stops and picks it up.

now, I know what you’re thinking, guys—is he seriously stopping to pick up a lost earring when Bella’s life is in danger?—but keep in mind, these earrings were twelve thousand dollars. also, Edward loves earrings! they make him horny! what else is he supposed to suck on at Bella’s funeral?

I mean, yeah, if your worst fear was that Bella might lose an earring.

what indeed, Edward. what indeed. 

imagine for a second that you’re Emmett in this fic. you’re a law enforcement professional racing to protect your charge’s life, bellowing into your walkie for backup, preparing to apprehend an armed and dangerous suspect in an area full of innocent civilians...when suddenly, from somewhere far behind you in the dingy gloom of the service tunnel, you hear the sniveling, British-accented voice of the bitchass manchild celebrity who’s tagging along:

“I’vE fOuNd hEr eArRiNg!”

jesus.

still ahead of Eddie boy, Emmett and Local burst out into the alley, guns drawn. Edward hears gunfire and is terrified for Bella as he finally catches up and arrives at the scene.

this is about where erika’s writing gets...incredibly confusing. and not in a POV, “we’re in the character’s head experiencing the chaos with him in real time” way. more like in a “several dozen drunk blind amputees playing Twister” way. this is my cute way of saying “it’s bad” and “I had to read it four times before it began to make sense.”

in the alley, all is chaos. a gun has just gone off

I’m sorry. salt...peter? saltpeter? did someone shoot off a Ye Olde Civil War Musket? I know fuckall about firearms and even I know they phased that shit out in the fucking 1880s.

and while we’re here, fun trivia fact about saltpeter: in Olden Times, people would ingest saltpeter in order to nuke their sex drives. silly Olden Times! if it’s a bonerkiller you’re after, all you have to do is read this fic!

ok, back to the alley. security are cordoning it off, keeping the “fucking jackal” paparazzi at bay (already?)

the LAPD are arriving (already??) 

but perhaps most interestingly,

real quick before we get into whose body it is, why we’re sexually objectifying it, and what it’s oozing, I just wanna draw your attention to the construction of that sentence. the artistry, if you will. below, I have replaced some of the nouns so that we may all appreciate the sheer poetry of the syntax:

“there’s a fucking meatball lying prone on the floor, all covered with cheese, a dark cloud oozing under the meatball.”

sitting a few feet away from the Skirt & Heels Body™ is Jasper, cradling the unconscious Bella. you could be forgiven for thinking that first body (you know, the oozing one) was Bella’s, because that’s what the narration wants you to think. the effect is somehow both enhanced and ruined by the fact that Bella’s actual body is mentioned in the next sentence. erika really tried to have her suspense cake and eat it too, with the result that by the time I finished reading this paragraph, I had absolutely no idea how many bodies there were or who they belonged to, which ones had on a skirt and heels, which ones were oozing, and where.

another excerpt I should probably share is the paragraph where we describe Edward reacting to this tragic pietà.

here’s our text, raw and unedited:

I can’t even begin to list all the ways this paragraph makes me uncomfortable, so I won’t attempt to.

anyway. remember how in the last chapter, there was an incredibly gay bit where Edward looked into Emmett’s dark, burning eyes? fasten your seatbelts because we’re about to blow that bit out of the water.

ｌｕｍｉｎｏｕｓ ｈａｚｅｌ ｅｙｅｓ

filled with

𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝐼 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒

the next sentence tries to take us back into heterosexual territory with

are we meant to understand that Jasper’s luminous hazel eyes are saying “don’t you just wish it was you getting to cradle Bella’s unconscious, injured body?” yes, that is exactly what we’re meant to understand. this attitude continues as Bella is loaded into an ambulance. at first, Jasper tries to stop Edward from coming, then the paramedic says they can both come but only if they sit on opposite sides of the ambulance like kindergarteners in Time Out.

l o n g i n g l y

the paramedics also checked the other body (you know, the oozing skirt and heels body) and Edward made a startling observation:

though oozing, the mystery person is still alive, and a second ambulance hauls off

and here I was thinking all this story needed to make it complete was some veiled transphobia! what a fun new direction for erika.

once at the hospital, Ed is banished to the waiting room with Emmett, Jasper, and Taylor. the doctors won’t let him see Bella, even when he tells them he’s her fiancé.

hmm. is it just me or is there a movie about this exact scenario?

yep, there are at least two movies about this exact scenario.

after the “fiancé” thing, Edward picks up on some bad vibes from Jasper

interesting. can you feel MY animosity hit you like a brick fucking wall? I guess it’s more of a brick fucking skyscraper at this point.

things we learn at the hospital:

Bella was roofied! so if you voted “poisoned” in the poll, I’m gonna give you this one. congrats on your victory.

Bella is fine now

Jasper shot the mysterious kidnapper in the chest. 

that’s right, Jasper is the cause of all the oozing. well done, Jasper. good luminous hazel eye.

finally, Bella wakes up and asks to see Edward. He goes back to see her 

and

she

dumps his ass.

not for any Sane People reasons, of course. having decided she’s “too dangerous to be around,” she breaks up with him in a scene straight out of New Moon, complete with “eyes full of tortured pain” and dialogue like

“You are too precious to me. Please. Go.”

Edward spends the whole scene in panicked denial, to the point where he’s practically gaslighting Bella, telling her she’s just been through a traumatic ordeal and she can’t possibly mean what she’s saying. 

then he interrupts her mid-breakup 

to fucking propose.

🤣🤣🤣 READ THE ROOM, BUDDY. Bella is resolute for the first time in her doormat life, turns down the proposal, and firmly breaks things off with Edward. he returns her earring (you remember, the six thousand dollar earring we paused in the middle of the climactic chase scene to pick up), “inhales her fragrant hair for the last time,” and leaves.

and with that, the chapter is FINALLY over.

possibility.mp3

best “fucks”

“level fucking head”

“a fucking microsecond”

“fucking sirens”

“loud fucking noises”

“enough fucking damage”

“a soothing fucking balm”

“fucking Hale”

“fucking purgatory” (the hospital waiting room)

“pale as fuck” (bella)

“fucking lifeless” (bella)

“non-believing fucking arse” (edward)

“like a fucking idiot” (edward)

best “shits”

next chapter: fucking blinds and curtains

#spork haven #twilight fanfiction #twilight revival #anti e.l. james #long post // #transphobia // #drugs // #guns // #injury // #blood //

[extasiswings]

Nonnie again Lol. Can we talk about adding Eddie's sexuality into this mix? The complexities of his identity, including his complicated relationship with himself? And I don't mean the lazy trope of "latin cultures are macho and homophobic." I am queer. EVERY culture is homophobic, just in different ways. Poor Eddie was deprived of a lot, emotionally, including permission and the tools to feel his actual feelings. What on earth is he supposed to do with the enormity of Buck's feelings for him?

PHEW! YES WE CAN! I’ll be honest, when I’m writing Eddie, I don’t even think about homophobia because: 1) as you say, all cultures are homophobic; 2) I’m also queer and don’t feel like writing about it when I don’t see it as being particularly relevant here; and 3) to be perfectly honest there are a million other more interesting things to talk about that are relevant.  (This got long and rambly so I’ll throw a cut in here)

I’ve touched on this vaguely in fic, but yes, Eddie’s background is hugely important to how he forms and reacts in relationships.  It is clear from the snippets that we know about his childhood that his father was physically and emotionally distant and there’s no evidence Eddie ever learned how to express himself in really healthy ways.  He’s great with Christopher now, but it’s clear he really worked at that, and I would guess probably did something along the lines of considering how he was raised and committing to doing the exact opposite with his own kid.  But with other people, other relationships, both platonic and romantic, we see him holding back, being reserved, struggling to open up, to connect, to be vulnerable.  At times he struggles to even identify what he’s feeling, let alone have any real discussion about his feelings.  In terms of sexuality, I think it’s very possible that struggle could extend to a difficulty recognizing attraction to men as attraction, recognizing which feelings are romantic and which aren’t.  Being attracted to multiple genders is in itself a difficult and complicated thing because U.S. society is phobic toward the plethora of various polysexual identities.  I know so many bi/pan/queer folx, including myself who spent years brushing off attraction to people of the same gender because we also felt attraction to people of different genders.  I don’t see why Eddie’s experience would be any different.

I may be driving this Buddie clown car, but I am entirely convinced that Eddie doesn’t have a clue how he really feels about Buck right now.  And, yeah, he might not even realize that he’s not straight.  And even if he does realize all of those things, should they manage to get together, Eddie would still likely struggle to articulate his feelings explicitly verbally.  In a way, that ties into what I touched on in the original meta about cultural constructions of masculinity exacerbating difficulties acknowledging and discussing emotions, but it’s even more than that too.  Eddie blames himself for things easily.  He carries a lot of guilt, a lot of self-loathing (wheee, that cultural Catholicism will do a number on you), and then on the flipside, clearly has a lot of baggage about being good enough and part of his difficulty with forming connections, for me, reads as a fear that they will leave.  

Shannon left. Twice.  And you hear the struggle in Eddie’s conversation with Bobby—the rawness of  (paraphrasing) “I did everything I could think of and it still wasn’t good enough.”  Buck left.  (The lawsuit arc is nonsense and so inaccurate that it makes me want to spit nails because there is no reason why there should have been a lawsuit to begin with and even if there was it wouldn’t have precluded Buck from talking to his friends, but since that’s what the writers decided FINE, that’s what we’re going with I GUESS).   And it was probably easier for Eddie to move past that because unlike with Shannon, Buck’s reasons weren’t about him, but that kind of logic and rationality doesn’t help the emotional sting in the middle of the night when you’re thinking about how everyone you’ve gotten close to has walked away.  I look at Eddie and I see someone who is so afraid of being left again that he would rather just not risk anything as a coping mechanism, and it’s going to take some serious work to unlearn that.  (This kind of thing is, relatedly, why I can’t relate to easy love/feelings confessions in fics).

(Side note: what’s interesting to me is that I view Buck and Eddie as having the same or very similar issues with this, but where Eddie withdraws, Buck takes the opposite approach of feeling everything very loudly and trying to shape himself into whatever everyone around him needs the most regardless of whether that’s good for him in order to be loved/validated/accepted)

And then, you have Eddie’s war trauma and PTSD which are bound to create their own barriers to opening up to people and come with their own layers of shame and guilt and messy, complicated feelings that would have been hard to talk about even if Eddie had otherwise been perfectly good at talking about his feelings which, as noted, he is not.  

All this to say, I actually think that in canon, Eddie does need to date someone new and work on being able to connect with the rest of the 118 and get better at relationships.  He needs to learn how to get in better touch with himself and his own emotions in general.  And if he doesn’t already know, he may very well need to do those things to even realize he’s not straight.  Our boy is a mess.  I love him.  

#chapel writes #eddie diaz #eddie anon #meta #Anonymous

[beepbeeprichiellc]

Part 1. Part 2.

His breath was fogging up the glass, his fingers leaving smudges along the smooth surface. The housekeeper was going to have a fit when she saw what he had done, he knew this and yet all he could focus on was the two standing on the front lawn. The thing about Beverly was that she was the perfect wing man-woman-whatever. She always knew the exact way to flaunt what he had as to weed out those suitable for her friends. It was how Richie almost always got laid, excluding for drunken one nighters he occasionally ended up in. When he answered her call he hadn’t expected her to show, knowing that she was recovering from her late night fly in so when she walked onto his property with those short shorts and tank top he knew she was out to kill. Although the look on the pool boy’s face when she advanced told him that he wasn’t falling for her tricks and Richie was afraid he would see right though the shamble.

The truck with chipped paint pulled from the curb, carrying with it his new pool boy. Richie watched it leave, discreetly using the sheer drapes to keep himself hidden. Once the tail lights were around the corner he sighed, banging his head loudly on the glass. There was a gnawing in his stomach, an unimaginable feeling that he wished to just go away. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been laid in over three months, or maybe it was because just the sight the boy made him a blubbering mess but he felt restless.

There was a bang from the back door and Richie nearly ran over to where Beverly stood, her cheeks flushed from the heat. Stopping short of jumping in to his arms he leaned against the countertop, biting his bottom lip nervously. “So?” He sang, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“He’s gay.” She answered, knowing the question without verbal confirmation. “Didn’t even bat an eye when I asked for his number.”

“Hot damn!” Richie nearly yelled in excitement. “Thank god for the little things.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you two would work.” Beverly admitted softly, pulling her sunglasses from her nose and burying them into her hair. There was a twinkle in her eye, like something was brewing in her head. “I mean, he’s just here for the summer and-”

“Well so am I. I’m not looking for a relationship Bevvy, just someone to get dirty with while I’m home.” Richie rolled his eyes, a sly grin stretching from ear to ear. “Don’t dangle him in my face and expect me not to bite.”

“I’m not danling anything in your face.” She nipped, snapping her fingers in his direction. “I just think he isn’t your type. He was all worried about your dad, about his job. He’s a straight shooter and I don’t think you’ll be able to bend him like you want.”

“Okay first off.” He muttered, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he looked at his friend amusingly, “He’s gay, so he isn’t a ‘straight’ shooter. Secondly, I’m not gonna bend him unless that’s the way he likes it. I mean I’d like to bend him over a lot of things like that chair or the counter or-”

“Okay fine!” She barked, rubbing the space between her eyes. “Fine, just stop putting that very vivid image in my head.” Glancing back up to her friend she smiled, sighing with contentment as she leaned into the door frame with her hip leading. “You can be so disgusting sometimes, remind me why we are friends again?”

“Because we are the black sheep in our families and that causes us to gravitate towards each other.” He mouthed back quickly, pursing his lips and blowing a very suggestive kiss. “Now tell me, what is that cutie’s name?”

“Eddie.”

“Eddie.” He whispered, the name making his lips tingle. It tasted sour, not the type of sourness that made you cringe but rather the sourness that left your mouth watering, making you beg for more. Richie smiled, running his long nimble fingers through the rats nest he called hair, wincing when he caught a few knots. “Even his name is sexy as hell.”

Beverly scoffed, pushing herself upward and strolling past him with a slight push. “Get dressed.” She commanded, not looking back at him as she began her rampage through his parents fridge. “And hurry up because we have to pick up Bill along the way.”

“Where are we going?” He asked, shamelessly watching his best friend bend over to reach a soda from the bottom self. There was no spark, no need when he looked at her backside but rather a respectable appreciation of its glory.

Slamming the fridge door she replied, “To the beach.”

------------------

Eddie laid his back on his board, looking up at the clouded sky with fondness. Things began to cool as the storm rolled in, the blueness becoming overpowered by the grey puffs of condensation. He wondered what it would be like to be caught in a storm, really caught under the sheets of rain. There had been glory stories told about surfing during a summer storm and anyone who was everyone knew that it was the best time for such a thing. Stan had done it once, Mike twice but he still had yet to live through the glory. He was afraid, just like he always was, tucking tail and running before the real masterpiece touched down.

Maybe someday.

But not today.

“Well this turned out to be a shitty day.” Stan’s stoic voice came from across the still water. “I skipped my hot yoga class for this?”

“Remind me why you take hot yoga again?” Mike jeered, laughter following his question. “Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“It’s freeing.” He nipped, splashing water over to where Mike was currently floating. “And like you are one to talk, you are majoring in history! Who fucking does that!”

Eddie smiled, enjoying the banter that followed. It had only been a few days and yet he felt more free here than he would have back at home. When Mike had brought up the idea of the three of them heading to the coast at the end of semester, he had been against it. Too many people, to many unpredictable variables. It took one very long, uncomfortable phone call from his mother to change his mind and even then he had only done it out of spite. Now he was floating in the Pacific Ocean with his two best friends without a care in the world.

“I think we should head in.” Mike’s reassuring voice suggested, making Eddie cringe. “The storm is going to hit soon and the last thing I need is another concussion from surfing.”

“Yeah, and I don’t feel like saving you guys when you drown.” Stan added, turning his board back to the mainland. “I say we head back to the house and order some paper view, maybe some pizza in the process.”

“Both of those things involve money, which mind you, we do not have.”

With a sigh Eddie sat up, looking at his friends with a frown. “You know it’s Stan’s job to be a downer right Mikey?” He joked, starting the long ride in. This made his friend laugh, muttering under his breath that he was just a realist. Once the touched sand Eddie’s stomach sank, the fleeting opportunity passing by him. He dug his feet in, wiggling his toes one last time before stepping out of the salty water. Looking once more to the sky he muttered, “Do you think it’s really gonna rain?”

“Na.” Stan replied, walking ahead towards the parking lot. “I think this place is fucking with us. Our first time out on the water and it’s gonna trick us back to shore.”

“Huh.” Eddie thought it seemed likely, even more so as the so as the sun peered through a storm cloud. “Well that sucks.”

“Life sucks my man.” Mike said, throwing his board on top of his truck. “Don’t worry, we can try tomorrow once you get off.”

This made Eddie shrug, half assuming that he would be fired by tomorrow anyways so why even care about it. The three of them had strapped their things in, taking time to adjust as needed so that the truck would actually make it back home. Eddie had been so busy that he hadn’t noticed the company he had gained, or the eyes that followed him with each move. It was Stan who noticed her, scowling as she approached. “Eddie, I think you've attracted a stray.” He groaned.

“Wha-”

“Eddie!” Beverly’s excitable voice called, her smile widening as she and two others moved closer. “Fancy meeting you here!”

Eddie froze, his body refusing to react as she pulled him into a awkward, one sided hug. Shimmying he was able to drop her hold, forcing a laugh. “Uh hI Beverly. What are you doing here.” He glanced behind her, noticing the Tozier boy who now wore a pair of khaki shorts, a god awful hawaiian shirt and-jesus christ-a pair of bright pink sandals. It seemed that Richie was more confident in person, his eyes bright and exuberant as he watched the exchange. There was also a normal looking boy with soft brown hair and a soft smile, being almost the exact opposite of his friend that stood beside him. “Are you following me?”

“What? No!” She pushed against his shoulder playfully, “The beach sounded like a good place to be so I decided to come down here with some of my friends, same as you.”

He was being stalked, Eddie just knew it.

“Hi, I’m Mike.” The kind hearted boy muttered, breaking the tension and extending his hand out to the rich girl. “And this is Stan.” He gestured to the unamused boy. “How do you know Eddie?”

Beverly smiled, taking hold of Mike’s hand and shaking it. “We met this morning, he was working on Richie’s lawn when I came over.”

“Ah, leave it to Eddie to make new friends on the first day in town.” Mike jokes, laughing at his friends expense. “So you’re Beverly, who are these two?”

“Oh! This is Bill.” She motioned to the calmer of the two, “And Richie himself.” The jumpy kid waved, a cheeky smile crossing his face instantly. “So you guys are new in town huh? Where are you staying?”

“Oh in my parents old beach house down the street. It’s not much but it’s a roof over our heads.” Eddie frowned, he liked the cozy home. It felt safe, and warm to him. More so than his own home back in Derry. “What are you guys from the upper east side or something?”

“Yep.” Beverly replied, “Hey since you guys are new why don’t we show you around. You have no idea where the good hanging spots are yet and there is a bar a few blacks down that has the best mixed drinks. What do you say? First round on me.” Eddie could not have been shaking his head any more, his ears ringing painfully as Mike replied for all of them with a genuine smile.

“Sounds fun.”

Pool Boy Eddie Tag:

@softuris @snooxyspazz @ihavesympathyforthedevil @reddieornox @addimagination @tozierbinch @loadsofgayy @helfeatencupquakes @pankoozie @moved-to-some-raging-fangirl @strangerl0ser @letsgetreddietorumble @oh-mayfield @superbcoffeekid @iamworried7 @ephemeral-elipisis @stan-tozier-denbrough @im-alover @tapetayloe

#poolboy!eddie #it #it au #reddie #only tagging requests #not a full fic #just a blurb #idk small and easy #inbetween the others #enjoy loves

[backtothestart02]

The Burglar in My Kitchen - 2/?

A/N: Finally an update! Chapter 1 can be found here. It should be all wrapped up on Tuesday (I hope). Enjoy.

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing again, as always. ;)

Early the next morning, six a.m. to be exact, Iris woke up to the gross realization that she was sweaty and sticky. She couldn’t recall having any nightmares, but she did remember tossing and turning a lot after the startling introduction of their late night guest.

Barry Allen.

She’d thought of him a lot before she drifted off restlessly into three hours of quasi-slumber. Her dad had said he’d moved when he was ten, so that had to mean she knew him to some extent when they were children. She couldn’t recall a Barry Allen at school though, not one that could match the description of the tall, lanky man sleeping on her living room couch.

Maybe he was shorter when he was younger – well, obviously, Iris. She’d rolled her eyes at herself and shook her head. Most kids weren’t tall at ten. He could’ve shot up in high school when he was nowhere near her vicinity. He could’ve even attended a different elementary school than her. She certainly didn’t remember him or this Henry that her dad talked so fondly about visiting their house. It was perfectly reasonable that they lived farther away.

Her dad did say they still lived in Central City though. Was there more than one elementary school in Central City? The knowledge escaped her. She certainly didn’t ever remember writing an article on more than one local elementary school whenever she wrote about simplistic things.

Not that any of this mattered. She probably wouldn’t see him that much once the week was out, if he even stayed that long.

She thought about how often she saw Jerry though – often. Whenever she went to the precinct to see her dad, in fact. With only one CSI working all the cases at the precinct, he had to work very closely with any cop investigating a homicide or any crime that required testing or analysis. If Barry was skilled enough to get hired at CCPD, that meant she wouldn’t be able to avoid him.

She wondered why that bothered her so much.

Her eyes flashed open, her consciousness fully awake, when she heard the sound of water coming down the hall. It was from the nearer bathroom, not the one in her dad’s room, so she knew it had to be Barry, and it made her groan.

Her dad almost always left for the CCPD before she left for CCPN, which meant Barry would have to leave with him. If Barry Allen was already in the shower, it meant he would be gone before she could see if his eyes widened at the sight of her in slightly more revealing clothing than her usual work attire.

She wondered why that troubled her so much too.

It wasn’t like she never got hit on. In fact, she and her best friend Linda were often the prime targets at the newspaper. It had been very flattering and boosted her ego tremendously when she first started there, but soon enough it grew tiresome because she wanted to be credited more for her work than her appearance. And she was, Linda reassured her in those early days. She was one of, if not the best journalist there, certainly the most daring in her field. A fact her father did not hesitate to frown upon even as he congratulated her every success.

I wonder if Barry would be impressed with my reputation at the newspaper, she contemplated thoughtfully, and then promptly stripped away the blankets covering her body. Why does it even matter, Iris? She seethed at herself.

She got up and strode over to her closet, much as she’d done just a few short hours ago. Except this time she went to choose her outfit for the day. Then she waited impatiently until the water stopped and Barry Allen’s footsteps sounded down the hall and the stairs to where her father no doubt was waiting in the kitchen.

…

“Wow, what’s up with you?” Linda asked, watching with amusement as Iris West deposited herself at the desk opposite hers.

“Nothing,” Iris grumbled, taking a long swallow of her very strong, very dark morning coffee, and then darting her tongue out quickly when the temperature proved too much to handle.

“Hot?” Linda asked, taking a careful sip of her own beverage.

“Scathing,” her friend admitted, her lips twisted ruefully as she set her cup down away from her computer.

“Going to tell me what’s up?” She pressed again.

Iris sighed and propped her elbows on her desk, caving to the desire to vent. “Why the hell not?” She blew out a puff of hair, causing some strands to fly to the side of her face.

“Ooo, language.” Linda grinned. “I’m intrigued.”

Iris rolled her eyes and set her chin in the palm of her hand. “My dad brought in the new CSI last night to stay with us for a few days.”

Linda’s eyes widened. “Barry Allen has been hired already?” she asked, gawking. “It’s only been a few hours. He must be really good.”

“Well, I don’t know if he’s been officially— Wait.” Her eyes narrowed, analyzing the girl across from her. “You know about him?” Linda nodded. “How? You do Sports,” she spat. “I’m the one who usually ends up at the precinct.”

“But you didn’t know,” Linda realized, a smirk twitching at the corner of her lips. “Did you?”

Iris’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Eddie Thawne told me.”

“Eddie Thawne?” Iris asked, clearly with disgust. “What does he have to do with sports? Or wait, let me guess, you’re dating him.”

Linda laughed. “Hardly. His cousin happens to be the new assistant coach to our much esteemed Central City Falcons. I stopped by last week to get some info on him since, as you know, he is much cloaked in mystery.”

Iris nodded absently.

“What do you have against Eddie anyway?” She took a sip of her drink. “He’s very pretty.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “He also keeps a tally of all the arrests he’s made. That’s the equivalent of boasting about how many women you’ve hooked up with in my opinion. I don’t care how pretty he is, nobody likes someone with an ever-present inflated ego.”

Linda shrugged. “He seemed alright when I talked to him.”

“That’s because you weren’t allowing him to talk about himself. He was forced to give information on something that had nothing to do with him other than being related to the star of your article.”

“Wow.” Linda sank bank in her chair and crossed her arms beneath your breasts. “You’ve really got it bad for that Barry Allen, don’t you?”

Iris nearly choked on her coffee. “What?” Her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. Her jaw dropped. “How…How can you even say that? I’m just annoyed that my dad—”

Linda grinned. “Iris, I’m your best friend. I know you.”

She scoffed. “Not this time you don’t.”

“No?” She raised one eyebrow.

“No.” Her eyes narrowed. “I almost pummeled him last night with a baseball bat.”

Her jaw dropped. “What did he do? Diagnose the true cause of your fish’s death?”

“I...no.” She scoffed, annoyed. “Besides, my fish aren’t dead, Linda.”

Linda snorted into her drink. “Yet.”

“I take care of my fish.”

“When is the last time you fed them?” She folded her arms on her desk and stared Iris down, daring her to respond honestly.

Iris glared, but then shook her head, determined to change the subject.

“Barry almost got pummeled because he was stealing an orange out of my fridge.” She decided to ignore how pathetic that excuse sounded in the light of day.

“Your fruit are that precious to you, huh?” she teased, which only bothered Iris more.

“I didn’t know he was going to be there, Lin. My dad never said anything.”

Linda’s voice took on theatrical tones.

“So, you decided there was only one way to prevent the unthinkable from happening. You were going to pummel to death the fruit burglar who dared to enter your place of residence.” Her voice resumed its normal tone. “Is that it?” She took another sip of her drink.

Iris tried to maintain her anger, but her best friend made it impossible. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms beneath her breasts.

“You think I’m exaggerating?” Linda nodded once. “It’s just weird, Lin. Apparently my dad has known Barry’s dad for years and known Barry for years too, and yet he never thought to bring it up. Ever. In all these years.”

“Never?”

“Well, his dad – Henry Allen – is an old friend of my dad’s from college who apparently stitched him up a bunch when they were younger and my dad was a daring rookie on the force. But…” She shrugged. “Aside from that? No. Nothing.”

“Hmm.”

She leaned forward across her desk.

“The reporter in me is screaming, Lin.”

“And what about the woman in you?” She gave her a crooked, devilish grin.

Iris blinked. “What are you talking about?” she asked, sounding mystified but unable to meet her eyes for a moment.

Linda’s grin widened. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t think I do. I mean I…”

“What do you think of him? This…Barry Allen.”

“I don’t even know him,” she said, her voice and facial expression insisting that should be enough.

Linda shrugged. “You know a little.”

“Not enough,” she finally said.

“Yeah.” Linda nodded. “Enough.” Iris’s mouth opened, but she kept going. “You know what he looks like, what he sounds like, how he reacts to a woman in pajamas threatening to pummel him with a bat – the silver one right, not the plastic?”

Iris sank into her chair, resigned, and nodded. “The silver one.”

“I’m guessing you saw a touch of personality too when things got cleared up. Did he – at any point – boast about his skills as a CSI?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Did he hit on you?”

She sighed. “No.”

“Did he disrespect your dad or make assumptions of anything he was entitled to while he’s staying in your house?”

Iris avoided her eyes again.

“What’s your point?” she muttered.

Linda suppressed her laughter just barely.

“As a woman, not a reporter, not as someone immediately jumping to conclusions about anything, even just based on his looks… What do you think about Barry Allen?”

Iris recalled how disappointed she’d been when she realized she wouldn’t be able to show off some extra skin that morning before Barry left for work with her dad.

She looked at Linda and said nothing, but the look on her face was enough confirmation.

Linda laughed once, freely, letting her know she knew.

“You’re into him,” she said. Iris’s lips parted, but she didn’t say a word. “Like I said,” she took another sip of her drink and booted up her computer. “I know you.”

…

That afternoon on her lunch break, Iris marched over to CCPD, determined to prove her best friend wrong. She couldn’t be right about this. Iris was not the type of girl to be into someone based on one crazy interaction. It didn’t matter that she found out his favorite food, how he reacted to a legitimate threat, and some of his family history, as well as how respectful and apologetic he could be whether he’d done something wrong or not – which was generally not something she’d expect even on the first date.

You’re thinking in terms of dates now, Iris?!

She was furious with herself.

The truth was she didn’t like how Linda had put her on the spot. She had never been in denial of her attraction to a guy before. She wasn’t as bold as Linda, the girl who spotted a guy and immediately pursued him, but she sure as hell didn’t deny how she felt about a guy either, at the very least on a physical level.

Linda had to be reading her wrong; and if she wasn’t, there was only one way for Iris to know for sure.

She would have to get all her reporter urges out of her system. She would have to invade this Barry Allen’s personal space and ask him all the questions that were gnawing at her, questions that had absolutely nothing to do with the possibility of her physically attraction to him.

She would become Barry Allen’s worst nightmare. If he still wasn’t repulsed after that and his record came up clean…

Well, maybe I’ll…think of something when the time comes.

But that time was not now and—

She stopped dead in her tracks when she was halfway across the lobby of CCPD. Barry was standing with her dad by his desk. They were talking seriously about something, Barry’s arms folded across his chest, nodding every so often at what her dad was saying. Then he grabbed a file off her dad’s desk, opened it, and presumably started talking about its contents. Her dad nodded along and they began conversing again.

She stood there, perplexed, watching the two interact. She didn’t know what she expected. For Barry to be failing miserable perhaps? For him to be a total basket case? He clearly wasn’t. He looked to be very much on her dad’s level. There wasn’t a hint of annoyance or embarrassment from either. When Singh came over to join them, there was a similar attitude between them.

Iris was about to turn away, guilt flooding through her for assuming the worst, when a familiar voice stopped her.

“Iris!”

She looked up and spotted her dad walking towards her, a welcoming grin on his face. She put away her swirling emotions and met him halfway, embracing him.

She looked over his shoulder before they parted and spotted Barry watching them. He quickly looked away when their eyes met, but the moment couldn’t be erased. Just like the fluttering in her stomach couldn’t be ignored. She would just have to hope the sports news Eddie had given Linda last week would be enough to keep her occupied when Iris returned to CCPN later.

“Hey, baby,” her dad was saying. Iris refocused and looked up at her dad, smiling brilliantly. “What brings you here?”

“I’m uh…” Her eyes went past him to Barry, who was watching them again and quickly looked away as soon as she caught him for the second time. She looked back at her dad. “I’m on my lunch break. I just thought I’d stop by and say hi.”

Joe smiled warmly. “That’s really sweet, honey. You know I always love seeing you.” She forced a smile as his lips twisted ruefully. “Unfortunately I have a heavy work load today, since we got called out for a double homicide as soon as we walked in this morning.”

Her jaw dropped. “A double homicide?”

“Mhmm.” He nodded.

Her mind started swimming with a different set of questions.

“Anything you can give me for a story?” she asked, a sneaky grin on her face.

Joe laughed. “Well, as I said, I’m a little busy right now, honey.” She pouted. “But Barry was with me on the scene, so I’m sure he’d be more than happy to fill you in since he’s going on break now. In fact, he’s done for the day.”

She felt the blood rush out of her face. “Done?”

“Yeah.” He eyed her curiously. “He was working Jerry’s shift more than shadowing him so far today, so Singh has basically ordered him to go home and do more observing tomorrow, less participating. I’m pretty sure that’s just code for not wanting to look like in front of pushover for new hires, but he’s clearly impressed. I’m sure by the day after tomorrow, or maybe even sooner, he’ll be handing over the paperwork for Barry to fill out to become a full time employee.”

“I…see.”

Concern etched across Joe’s face.

“Are you okay, honey? You don’t look so good.”

Her eyes refocused on him, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’m fine, I promise. I was just hoping to spend some time with you.”

Joe’s gaze softened.

“Tonight after dinner,” he promised. “We’ll spend some time just you and me, okay?”

She nodded. Her smile soft but still forced.

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, well, I should go then.”

“Okay.” The smile was starting to hurt. “I’ll see you later.”

He nodded once and then started to turn away when he remembered.

“You really should ask Barry about the case though, honey.”

Barry looked up at the sound of his name, and Iris panicked. Which was ridiculous, she scolded herself, since she’d come over with the intent of interrogating him anyway.

“That boy is so excited about the case, it’s unreal. And it’s a murder.”

Red flags went up.

“Why is he excited about it?” she asked, trying to sound only vaguely interested.

“According to him, the cause of death is cyanide, but they both have gunshot wounds to the head delivered post-mortem.”

“That is odd.”

“It gets weirder.”

She crossed her arms, intrigued.

“How so?”

“Well…” he hesitated, suddenly aware of what he was doing. “I really shouldn’t give you too much information on a case, Iris. Especially since it’s not even solved and we still have to catch the killer.”

“Dad,” she whined.

“If this gets out in the media, our guy might run. The last thing we want is to lose the culprit because he ran as soon as the story hit.”

“So I won’t publish the story until you solve it. Problem solved.”

He sighed.

“I don’t even remember all the details. If you have to know, you should ask Barry. Like I said, he’s very excited about this one.”

“Well, I am too, so—”

“It was a hit man,” Barry said, surprising both of them as he’d done the night before.

“A hit man?” Iris’s jaw dropped. “How do you know?”

Barry sidled in close to her. Joe started to shift away, not even bothering with a good-bye.

“They both had folded notes in one hand that read the same thing.”

“What did they say?” She couldn’t hide her insatiable curiosity.

“‘Our father killed us,’” he said.

“And why is that odd?” Her brows furrowed.

“Their father lives in London.”

“He could have traveled and no one knew about it.”

Barry shook his head.

“Joe checked it out. It’s impossible.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’s been in a coma for the last six months.” Barry’s intrigue and excitement were brimming not so subtly in his riveting green eyes.

Iris glanced down to what he was clutching in his hands.

“Those don’t happen to be the files on the…”

“Cyanide case?” He lifted them slightly. “Yes, they are.”

She swallowed, her fingers tingling with excitement.

“You want me to tell you more about it?” he asked. “I could give you some quotes for your article.”

You’re not even assigned to this story, Iris, she told herself. But Barry doesn’t know that, and how exciting would it be to bring back full details on an untold double homicide with mysterious circumstances? It was an opportunity she could not resist.

“I…would love that,” she said, wondering why it was suddenly so hard to breathe.

“Great.” He grinned, dimples forming in his cheeks. The butterflies returned. “Let’s go up to the lab, and I’ll show you the samples I tested.”

He led the way, and she followed, just barely managing not to skip on the way to the staircase. There was nothing quite so thrilling as the opportunity to get hands-on with an intriguing new story.

Except, of course, the company of the very attractive man who promised to deliver details to the story she sought after.

*Also available on AO3 and FFnet.

#westallenatthemovies #westallen #westallenedit #backtothestart02 fanfiction #the burglar in my kitchen #chapter 2 #au #barry allen #iris west #barry x iris #fanfiction

[enouragement-blog]

Rejoice!

Too often, religious people make one of two contrasting errors when they go through various struggles and trials. The first is that they simply deny the problem. “I don’t have cancer - I’m healed in Jesus name!” It’s not that Jesus can’t heal, it’s that He doesn’t heal just because we tell Him to. He’s got His own plans and purposes, and we have to understand that. Of course, we should pray, but He doesn’t HAVE to answer any prayer. 

In ancient cultures, the various rituals religious people performed were focused on manipulating the gods to act in their favor. In essence, modern day Christians do the exact same thing. “I prayed in the name of Jesus, so that means it’s a sealed deal” OR “If I have enough faith...” OR “If I pray the right prayer and go through the right motions, God will have to heal me”. Many look for hope so much that they turn to charms, occult activity, healers, magical items, or (most recently) “healing frequency” and some supposed ability to tap into the healing found in King David’s music (such as this heretical charlatan: https://wholetones.com). Some go to televangelists and order supposedly “blessed” handkerchiefs or the like. It’s nothing more than people trying to be on equal ground with the Most High God. May God forgive us for trying so thoroughly to be in control of our destinies. God doesn’t have to heal us, and we all die eventually. It’s a big deal to us, but in the grand scheme of God’s eternal existence outside of the chains of time, a few extra years of life isn’t that big of a deal, and once again, death comes for all of us. 

I was on the verge of death multiple times, yet God healed me, and I have no idea why. I didn’t earn it either. He didn’t have to. Nothing I did afterwords made God’s grace any more deserved. At the end of the day, God is God, and we have to be ok with that, because denying our problems does nothing. In fact, God told His people specifically to bring their requests to Him (Luke 18:1-8). How can we bring a request to Him if we are either naming and claiming what is GOING to happen, or if we are denying the reality of what IS happening? The NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) is pretty big on this kind of stuff, and the founder of the cult “Christian Science”, Mary Baker Eddy, did this exact same thing - but even though she denied the physical until death, she died a slow and painful death with no healing. We aren’t healed by ignoring the problem, prayers of faith, or anything else, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The second thing religious people often do is they create a hypothetical “solution” that they think will happen in the future. “This is the good I think MIGHT ONE DAY come from this problem”. But in Philippians, Paul does neither of the two things I mentioned. In fact, Philippians is full of bad things happening, but Paul embraced those things. They were actually happening: He was imprisoned, Philippi was facing struggles, Judaizers (or quite possibly Jews) were troubling the church; it seemed like there was just one problem after another for both Paul and the Philippian church. Yet, Philippians is the most encouraging book in the whole bible. The presence of troubles did not mean that Paul couldn’t be happy, they gave him opportunity to be happy. Happiness and contentment is not the absence of struggles, the denial of struggles, or the ability to dream of what may happen after the struggle, but a daily choice.

In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul mentioned his imprisonment, which was bad, but he paid attention to the good from the bad situation: People were hearing about salvation through his imprisonment. And more than that, they were witnessing his joy in the midst of trials. It was also encouraging other Christians to be more bold. 

In Philippians 1:15-18, Paul mentioned the opposition he was facing by people who should have known better. They were even tainting the message of Jesus Christ with competition and spite. We see the same thing happening all across America: pastors competing against other pastors, Christians focusing more on their differences than their personalities. But even in this, Paul was able to point out the good: at least Christ was being proclaimed. If only we would carry that same mantle of rejoicing, we would find things to rejoice in, even in the darkest hours of our soul.

In Philippians 1:21, Paul mentioned that he was facing death, but even in the midst of death, he saw the good: it would be better for him if he died, and better for them if he didn’t. His entire focus was on NOT focusing on the bad. In life, you really HAVE to focus on the good, or else the bad will be all you see. Scientists have actually discovered that the more we complain, the more we teach our brains to complain. It literally becomes a habit. For instance:

https://medium.com/the-mission/how-complaining-rewires-your-brain-for-negativity-96c67406a2a

Of course, it’s not about simply being optimistic, and keeping your head in the clouds, and thinking about rainbows and butterflies, but in every situation, rejoice. The problem will be their anyways, but how you react to the problem is even more important than the absence of the problem. 

There is always reason to complain & get down, but there is also always reason to rejoice. Do this very simple project:

- write down everything that is upsetting you.

- write down a good side of the problem. Not the good that MIGHT come from it, not how you think the problem will be resolved, or what someone else or you could do to “fix” it, but the good side of the problem.

It will be hard, it will be unnatural, but in time you can train yourself to look at the bright side:

- control your thoughts and don’t dwell on the negative (Philippians 4:8)

- bring your requests to God, while being thankful all the while. Your thankfulness cannot be a result of God giving you your own way - that’s what brats do (Philippians 4:6).

- whenever you are tempted to complain, instead, thank God for the good part. For instance, my second son died last year. The bad side is that he died, there’s nothing I can do, etc. The good side is that: he is in the presence of God, I don’t have to worry about him being sick or in pain or mistreated, he was never mine - he was always God’s, I still have two children, I learned how God feels when Christians fall away - we are His children and when we go our own way it hurts Him, I have experience God, His love, and His comfort in a whole new way. I don’t know why it happened, but I rejoice in the midst of it.

#rejoice #happy #philippians #christian #church #cancer #requests #prayer #holy spirit #god #bad times #struggles #control your thoughts #divine healing #444 hz #frequency #david's music #healing #miracle