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#she talked about seeing the show again over covid!
aparticularbandit · 2 years
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Finally got it up! I'm SO happy!
Now hopefully the kitties do not make an attack. ><
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writingwithciara · 3 months
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Broken Bond ~Chris Sturniolo~
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summary: the stupid reason chris stopped talking to his best friend
pairing: chris sturniolo x reader
word count: 4.3k
notes: allusions to sexual content, nearly toxic chris, sweet baby matt
masterlist
y/n and chris were inseparable from kindergarten all the way up to the summer between freshman and sophomore year. it was as if chris just decided he didn’t want to be in her life anymore. and that shocked everyone. but unfortunately for him, she was always going to be a permanent fixture in his life, whether he liked it or not because she was still close with nick and matt. they never felt the urge to get up and abandon her like he did.
but he believed he had a good reason.
the summer between 9th and 10th grade, chris noticed that y/n changed quite a bit. she had gone to florida to visit her grandma for a week and when she came back, her shorts were shorter and her shirts seemed to be tighter. every time chris saw her, he had an over abundance of unfamiliar thoughts. he didn’t like them so to cope with the change, he stopped talking to her altogether. he started going out of his way to make sure whenever she was at the house that he wouldn’t be.
and it broke her heart.
she spent the first week alone, afraid that matt and nick would also change their minds and leave her too. but on a cold rainy saturday morning, when matt showed up to her house with movies and snacks, she knew he wasn’t going anywhere. and for the rest of that summer, y/n spent all her free time with nick and matt, almost completely forgetting that chris even existed.
when the boys announced they were moving to la to move their career along, they invite y/n to come with them. she was supposed to go to school there anyway so she figured it would be easier for everyone. so they packed their bags and headed west.
when they got to town and the boys began their career, y/n found herself feeling alone again. especially when the boys had to leave to film a video. or when they went on tour. she joined them when she could but most of the fans were never happy with her presence, despite her blossoming career as a youtuber.
it was never matt or nick that made her feel alone though. they publicly defended her against the fans & spent whatever time they could with her. it was always chris who would make her feel unwanted. he just didn’t seem to care.
but he cared so much.
he could tell that basically abandoning her in sophomore year had really hurt her, both physically and emotionally, and he wanted to go back and change it all. but he couldn’t do anything about it now, nor could he get rid of the impure thoughts that littered his brain whenever she was around. she used to be his best friend and he shouldn’t have been feeling that way to begin with.
he couldn’t take back what he did in the past but he could try to make up for it in the present.
whenever he would see a fan comment something mean about her, he would send that person a message, completely defending y/n. but nobody ever knew about it.
so when the hate started to die down, chris felt like he did a good job. y/n was confused at first as to why she was getting fewer and fewer hate comments but brushed it off, happy they weren’t being mean to her anymore. it started taking a toll on her mental health. luckily for her, she still had matt. he helped her through her first everything and they were suddenly the inseparable ones. probably even more so than y/n and chris once were.
---
y/n was sitting in her room when nick called her. although she was confused, she picked up her phone and smiled. “why are you calling me when you live right upstairs?”
“y/n, i tested positive for covid so i'm stuck in quarantine until i'm better. and seeing as how you were just with me earlier today, i feel like you should get tested too, just in case.”
“oh okay.” y/n grabbed the text from her nightstand and sighed. she took the test and waited on the phone with nick. when it came back negative, she was relieved. she didn’t want to be stuck in her room all day every day. “i'm sorry you have it, nick. do they boys have it?”
“matt does but chris keeps testing negative.”
“so i can’t hang out with my 2 best friends but i'm gonna be stuck with chris? i would much rather have covid, honestly.”
“the week is going to fly by. i promise.” y/n smiled at her best friends optimism.
“i could always pretend i have it so i can avoid him.”
“that’s true.” nick chuckled. “but why would you do that?”
“i can’t be around him, nick.” y/n sighed.
“girl, it has been 6 years. it’s about time you bury your grudge.”
“i tried. but you can’t just get rid of several years of feeling every emotion. i loved him at one point and the fact that it was before he ditched me really hurts.”
“if it makes you feel any better, i could tell you why he ditched you, even if it is the most ridiculous reason ever.”
“you know?”
“not entirely. but i did read his journal entry from that date and although it lacked detail, it’s pretty obvious why he did it.”
“tell me.”
nick decided to describe the reason in as much detail as he could create. he painted a vivid picture for y/n but she didn’t seem to believe that was the reason chris stopped talking to her.
later that day, y/n was in the kitchen preparing a meal for the boys when chris decided he was hungry. he walked up the stairs and stopped at the top when he saw y/n at the stove. he could’ve turned around and headed back down to his room before she knew he was there but his stomach rumbled so he decided to walk to the fridge. y/n turned at the exact moment chris was reaching for the door, causing her to nearly slap him with the spatula she was holding.
neither of them said a word as they silently stared at each other. the tension was palpable and seeing y/n dressed in sweats with her hair up in a messy bun, caused chris to cough awkwardly. he shifted slightly as he tried to look anywhere but her face.
y/n was the first to break the silence. “what are you doing out of your room?”
“was hungry.” chris shrugged nonchalantly and opened the refrigerator. “need food too you know.”
“yeah but i figured you would’ve seen me and went back into your room, seeing as how that’s the way it’s been for 6 years.”
“my need for food was too strong.” chris turned but avoided her gaze. he looked down at the food in front of her. he went to grab some off the plate but she smacked his arm and pushed him away.
“this is for the 2 brothers who didn’t abandon me.” she looked at him.
“can you make me something too?”
“no.” she grabbed the plate and walked to matt’s room first. when she walked in, matt noticed she wasn’t wearing the mask she was supposed to.
“where’s your mask? i don’t want you to get sick too.”
“matt, i keep telling you that i don’t care. i'll be fine. and even if i do get sick, i know you’ll take care of me.”
“what makes you say that?” he asked, jokingly raising an eyebrow.
“okay fine. guess you don’t want this wonderful & delicious food i made you.” she picked up the plate and went to walk towards the door but matt’s whines stopped her.
“you know i'd take care of you. in sickness and in health.” he chuckled. y/n set the plate back on his desk and smiled.
“the way you’re talking sounds like we’re making a wedding vow.”
“that’s the deal, remember?” matt smirked, causing y/n to think back to their junior year of high school.
she had been in a relationship with a member of the lacrosse team for quite some time so when he abruptly dumped her with no explanation, she began to wonder if there was any hope for her. matt found her after a game and they had made the promise to marry each other if neither of them were in a serious relationship by the time they were 25.
“yeah i remember.” y/n smiled. “but i highly doubt that’s going to happen, matt.”
“and why do you say that?”
“because look at you. you’re…good looking and you have a great personality. plus, you’ve dated way more than i have. i think it’s safe to say that you’re more likely to be in a serious relationship at 25 years old than i am.”
“don’t sell yourself so short. you're good looking too, obviously. and you have the biggest heart out of anyone i know. your personality rocks and you’re going to find the right guy someday. gary just wasn’t the right one, of course.”
“you’re my favorite triplet, you know that right?”
“oh i am fully aware.” he chuckled and took a bite of the food she made. “don’t worry. i won’t tell nick.”
“i'm sure you will eventually.” y/n kissed his head and walked back to the kitchen. she ignored chris and took nick’s plate to his room. he was asleep so she left the plate on his nightstand and went back to the kitchen.
she had only been out of the room for 10 minutes and chris had somehow managed to make a huge mess.
“what the fuck are you doing, chris?”
“i'm trying to make myself some food since you won’t do it for me.” he rolled his eyes and focused back on the grilled cheese he was trying to make. or burn, y/n wasn’t sure what the endgame was.
“holy shit, you’re helpless.” y/n rolled her eyes and moved him out of the way. “go to your room and i'll call you up when it’s ready.”
“i don’t get room service?”
“don’t push your luck.” she pointed the spatula at him threateningly and smiled to herself as he retreated to his room in defeat. she began to cook his food and questioned why he was even talking to her, eventually chalking it up to the fact he was probably lonely without nick or matt.
when she finished cooking, she decided to bring it down to him. she knocked on the door and opened it slowly when she heard the faint ‘come in’. she set the plate down and was about to walk out when chris called out for her.
“wait, hold up.” he turned around in his chair and looked up at her. “thank you.”
“no problem.” she stood awkwardly as he stared at her. “can i go now? got a big mess to clean up.”
“yeah you can go. but, um, don’t worry about the mess. i did it so i'll clean it.”
“okay?” y/n was more confused now than she was earlier. she walked out of the room as chris resumed the game he was playing.
chris' eyes roamed the computer screen in front of him but his mind was running rampant with thoughts again.
“how am i supposed to get her out of my head?” he muttered to himself. he could hear nate laughing on the other end of the headset.
“still can’t believe you stopped being her friend just because she got boobs.”
“she got boobs and she got hot. all it took was one week.” chris sighed.
“and you’ve been in love with you since you were 8. in case you forgot, that was before she was hot. so why did her, um, development have to change the dynamic between you two?”
“i don’t know. it just did.” chris sighed frustratedly and looked down at his phone, suddenly coming with a way to get rid of the thoughts that wouldn’t leave. “i'm gonna go now. play later though, okay?” nate said his goodbyes before chris hung up. his attention turned to his phone. he picked it up and opened instagram. the first post he saw was a picture of y/n and he thought it was perfect. he took a screenshot and added it to his album filled with pictures of her through the years. chris swiped a few times until he settled on a picture of y/n that he always loved. he knew matt had taken it but he didn’t care. she was smiling and wearing an orange fresh love hoodie. it was right after he launched his brand and he gave them each a hoodie, purposely giving y/n the orange one, even thought it would drive him crazy.
and it was certainly driving him crazy. he hated that it didn’t take much for him to get excited but he also loved that it was only y/n that could do it for him.
y/n was watching netflix in the living room when she just happened to glance over at the kitchen. it was still a mess and she hadn’t seen chris in a few hours.
curiosity got the best of her and she found herself slowly approaching chris’ bedroom door. it was slightly ajar and she could see a faint light coming from the crack, along with some low music coming from his speaker. his voice could be heard but he was muttering something y/n couldn’t hear. she quietly pushed the door open a little more and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight before her.
chris was facing away from her but from the way his arm was moving, y/n knew what was going on. that didn’t bother her though. it was what he was getting himself off to that bothered her. there, right on his screen, was a picture of her. it took every ounce of self-control not to scream out loud or go over and berate him for using a picture of her.
she stood there, unable to move, and watched as chris finished himself off. he rolled onto his back with his eyes closed and y/n found herself finally able to make a run for it. too bad she suddenly lacked the coordination to do so and crashed into the wall. chris' shot open and he looked at y/n. she was trying to look anywhere other than him. he pulled the blanket up to cover himself and couldn’t find the words he needed to say.
“i just….i’m just gonna head out now.” y/n almost slipped as she stood up and rushed back up to the living room. there was no way she just witnessed that.
the week that followed was even more awkward than it had been before. y/n never went out of her own way to avoid chris before but how was she supposed to look him in the eye after what she saw?
when nick and matt both tested negative and were able to come out of their rooms, matt was the first to point out the tension in the air. nick brushed it off and told y/n she was going to be in their car video, giving her no time to argue as the 4 of them piled into the car.
matt took them to mcdonald’s to get food then drove them to an empty parking lot and they began to film. y/n wasn’t sure of what the topic was and the only thing she could focus on was chris.
“how are you guys feeling today?” chris asked, keeping his gaze on matt, fearing that if he looked to the backseat, y/n would disappear.
“i'm feeling fantastic actually.” nick threw a few fries into his mouth. “so glad i can actually taste things again.”
“yeah me too.” matt smiled and shoved some fries in his own mouth. “i'm also glad that you two didn’t kill each other or burn the house down while we were stuck in our rooms.”
“chris almost burned it down on the first day.” y/n stirred her mcflurry and looked at matt. “after i brought you your food that day, i returned to the kitchen and this kid was wither trying to consume a charred sandwich or was intentionally trying to burn the house down.”
“hey now.” chris spoke directly to y/n but caught himself and looked at matt. “she refused to cook me a meal.”
“i don’t blame her.” nick rolled his eyes and looked back at y/n. “but you should’ve known letting the kid in the kitchen unsupervised would result in a disaster.”
“did you end up making him food anyway?” matt chuckled.
“of course. couldn't let him attempt it again.” y/n attempted to joke and looked up to see chris looking at her through the rearview mirror. he looked away quickly. nick witnessed the awkward interaction and he shared a look with matt. matt stopped recording so they could address the tension in the car privately.
“what’s going on with you two? one minute, things are back to normal between you two & the next second, it’s like you guys were never friends at all.”
“yeah. what happened?”
“nothing happened.” y/n and chris said at the same time. nick shook his head, clearly not buying it.
“that’s fucking bullshit. the tension, as strong as it was before, has never been this intense. why is it so awkward? did someone see something they shouldn’t have?” nick chuckled and when they didn’t respond, his eyes widened. “wait, what?!”
“you’re joking, right?” matt glanced between them. “tell us.”
“i’d rather not. it was kind of embarrassing.” y/n looked out the window behind nick.
“so did chris see something?”
“no. y/n saw something.” chris sighed and looked back at y/n. “and i'm sorry.”
“it’s okay, chris.” y/n avoided eye contact and opted to look at matt.
“well, what did you see then?” nick questioned, getting more and more invested in the story.
“she caught me, um…..” chris glanced down at his lap, hoping his brothers would pick up on the hint. they did, immediately going crazy.
“what? no way!” matt couldn’t contain his laughter. nick on the other hand was too grossed out to even speak.
“told you it was embarrassing.” chris glanced out the window, hoping nobody would bring up what he was using to satisfy himself and thanking y/n for not mentioning it.
the rest of the video went by rather smoothly after the revelation. when they got back to the house, y/n and chris were in the kitchen while the other 2 went to shower. chris was focused on his phone and y/n was finally ready to ask why.
“i know it’s a week late but i was just wondering-“
“no, i'm not going to tell you why it was your picture. i don’t need you to hate me anymore than you already do.” chris sighed, not even taking his view off the phone as he answered the question she never finished.
“chris, i don’t hate you. and as much as i have tried to do it in the past, i just can’t. you may hate me but we’re clearly going to be in each other’s lives forever, whether or not we want to  be. so maybe we should just start at the beginning.”
“i don’t hate you, y/n. that’s the fucking problem.” chris set his phone down and finally looked up at her. she was scared of the sudden aggressiveness in his tone.
“then why the fuck did you stop talking to me before sophomore year?!”
before chris could answer, matt came out of his bathroom. his hair was still damp and he was attempting to dry it with a towel. he looked up and could feel the tension again. “what just happened?”
“nothing.” chris picked up his phone and went down to his room, slightly slamming the door.
matt just turned to y/n with an apologetic look. “i'm sorry.”
“not your fault.” she sighed and walked over to him. “let’s just go to your room.”
matt didn’t argue with her as they both climbed into the bed, passing out shortly after.
chris was not as lucky. he stayed awake for most of the night, trying to come up with a valid explanation for the picture.
when he finally managed to get to sleep, he was woken up by a soft knock on his door frame. he looked up to see y/n standing in the shadows. he sat up straight and looked towards her.
“we need to talk, chris. so please don’t brush this whole thing off. i'm being serious. don't change the topic when you know i want a clear answer. got it?”
as rare it was, chris loved it when y/n would get a little bossy. thankfully, it was dark and the blanket was hiding everything from view. “okay.”
“first, i need to know why you ditched me that summer. then i need to know why it was my picture you were jerking off to. and please don’t lie to me, chris. i know your tell.”
“if you know my tell, then how come you couldn’t figure out that i have never once had a bit of hatred towards you in my life? how come you didn’t figure out anything from the past? i don’t think you know what my tell is.”
“fine. i don’t. but i want to know the reason you dropped me like i meant absolutely nothing to you. are you gonna tell me or am i just going to have to go tell matt what you were using when i caught you?”
“fine. i'll tell you. just please don’t tell him. he’ll kick my ass for being a ‘pervert’ and i would rather that not happen.” chris shifted himself on the bed as y/n walked closer. she was wearing matt’s blue fresh love t-shirt and her legs were bare but chris knew she had shorts underneath. “the reason i stopped talking to you that summer was because when you came back from florida, you changed.”
“changed how? my tastes and personality were exactly the same.”
“no. i mean, um…” he hovered his hands over his chest and gestured them outwards. y/n quirked  an eyebrow before catching on.
“oh.” she looked down at her feet. “that’s the stupidest excuse i have ever heard.”
“i had to stay away from you as much as possible because when you came around, my mind was fully clouded with very impure thoughts and i didn’t want to keep them. plus, i didn’t want to be around when all the guys came out of the woodwork to ask you on a date. i figured with distance and time, i could stop myself from wanting to kick the crap out of every guy that suddenly decided you were interesting, just because you had boobs.”
“chris-“
“and then gary, the only guy i ever truly felt jealous of, asked you out and you guys dated for a while. i hated that so much. he didn’t treat you how you deserved.”
“oh, and you did?” y/n felt angry at this revelation. “you don’t get to stand there and tell me how i deserve to be treated when you didn’t treat me any better than those guys did. it's complete bullshit, chris.”
“i was a stupid teenager all jacked up on hormones. i didn’t know how else to deal with the feelings that were bubbling up inside.”
“that’s still no excuse, chris. do you have any idea how many nights i cried myself to sleep after, thinking i just wasn’t ever going to be good enough to be your friend? every fucking night, chris!” y/n tried to keep her voice down but she kept getting angrier. chris pulled her into his room and shut the door.
“will you keep it down? you're gonna wake matt.” chris let go of her shoulders and sat back on his bed as y/n began to pace.
“the way you’ve been treating me for 6 years is not fair. do you know how hard it was to get over you? it seriously fucked with my mental health.” y/n paused and looked over at chris. “so, were my boobs the only reason you stopped talking to me?”
“yeah. well that, and the fact that i had a terrible crush on you since we were 8. you should know that i'm not the best at expressing how i feel. i do stupid stuff all the time. for instance, i have an entire album on my phone filled with pictures of you and since i'm being honest, i use them sometimes.”
“for what?”
“seriously?” he looked up at her and noticed she was standing at the end of the bed. he could see the look of realization flash through her eyes.
“oh. right. that thing.” y/n shifted on her feet before sitting on the end of the bed, facing chris. “so why did you use my picture? why not use one of the other girls you find attractive?”
“i literally don’t find any other girl attractive.” he looked away from her and missed the look she shot him. he only looked up when he felt the mattress move beneath him. when he finally looked back at her, she was sitting in front of him.
“you’re lying.” she looked into his eyes and held the eye contact as he swallowed nervously
“no i'm really not.” he shook his head and his eyes flicked down to her lips. “you’ve always been the only attractive girl i know. and i'm sorry i could never find the proper way to tell you.”
“well you’re telling me now.” she looked at him. “the next time you need to ‘take care of yourself’ please come find me. i would be more than happy to help.” y/n climbed off the bed and made her way back to the door. “good night, chris.”
she walked out of the room, leaving chris no opportunity to beg for her help.
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taglist: @worldlxvlys @carolinalikesthings @fearfam69691
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ellielatinagf · 1 month
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Ellie Williams in Covid head cannons
Sooooo this is just a small idea I had because I’ve never seen anyone else do this soooooooo. Our poor girly in yet another epidemic. Love you all!
Warnings: a tiny bit nsfw content, cursing, for the girls only pleaseee, lmk if there’s anything else
Was absolutely thrilled when everyone was advised to stay inside because she’s such an antisocial loser untilllllll she saw how everyone was rapidly spreading the disease. She’s low key a germaphobe.
Totally had a YouTube channel which consisted of her recording herself doing nothing but laying on the couch with you watching tv. Her only subscribers were Jesse, Joel, and Dina and some rando from Tennessee.
She found a new obsession every week and now the garage is filled with boxes of old paintings, crochet chickens, and diy art stuff.
Had ranked every Ramen noodle flavor from best to worst
Absolutely freaked OUT when you got Covid from your job and she ended up sleeping over at Joel’s. She actually refused to come back untill you showed her how you deep cleaned the whole house.
Ellie on FaceTime
Ellie: wait babe lemme see right there on the dresser
You: Ellie I literally wiped it down twice
Ellie: well I didn’t see it
Tried to make cookies one time and thought they were perfect and crispy around the edges. They really tasted like chips and she got mad when you laughed and claimed you never take her seriously.
Okay I’m sorry but she was a horny monster like cmon she was in the house all day with you like how can she not.
Had an obsession with the Big Bang theory and made you watch it with her and explained all the science stuff which she knew for the most part. On the ones she didn’t know she’d yap about it till you looked it up and she’d gaslight you into thinking she was right.
You: “Umm babe google says……”
Ellie: “that’s literally what I was saying”
She was at Joel’s house one time helping him make more guitars. She accidentally cut herself and when you demanded she go to the hospital which she was terrified of because of all the Covid patients getting her sick she went like this
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“Hold on babe i watched greys anatomy”
Fell victim to the meme pages all in her camera roll that were like this
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Hated zoom meetings but she’d be the type to hold her phone on the screen and watch those Roblox Tik toks.
I know i already said she was a fortnite god but that girl watched every single fortnite concert at the time and made sure you were right there with her and she made sure to clip the whole thing even though when watching the clip back her and Jesse were yelling their asses off. She loved season three of fortnite.
Ellie: “ HURRY UP BABE TRAVIS SCOTT IS GONNA PREFORM OH MY GOD JESSE WHERE ARE YOU!!!”
Ellie hated when people overstocked at the grocery store meanwhile she did the exact same thing because she was paranoid and it came in hand since you guys wouldn’t need to go grocery shopping for at least a week and a half
Ellie also discovered games with an emotional storyline like Detroit becomes human, red dead redemption, resident evil, ect. And had a phase where she’d be all poetic and shit thinking she was Shakespeare, she got tired of talking like she was from the 1800s.
Ellie: “my love, your eyes, they remind me of a thousand sunsets…”
You: “did you take out the trash?”
She had all her favorite YouTubers and would watch them on the tv and she’d make you play among us with her because that was “the game of century” as she proclaimed.
She actually had a small mini breakdown because our poor girl found out Joel had Covid and remember that in the news it said older people were more at risk. The poor girl though Joel was gonna die and you laid in bed with Ellie who was sniffling and crying in your shirt while you rubbed her back. Those always calm her down. Then when Joel was better again she made you pinky promise not to tell anyone anything. But she did end up calling Joel more frequently.
You guys actually had spent a lot of time together and most couples who spent so much time together broke up and got bored and such and such but you two actually enjoyed you time together. You and Ellie would would go to an open park where no one was around and watch the sunset and talk about what your plans were after everything was back to normal. Ellie asked if you two could get a puppy and who can ever say no to those eyes and freckles cheeks?
Another thing you guys liked to do was spent all day in bed and cuddling. Now a lot of people will assume Ellie would be the big spoon and that can be true sometimes but the girl is a hugeeeeeee softie. She loved being the little spoon because she felt safe by feeling your soft breath ok her back or shoulder. And she’s hold a dinosaur plushie. Like always.
She cried when she watched videos of family’s finally being able to reunite or grandparents watching their families through a class. Who didn’t cry?
She loved playing just dance with you and she’d purposely pick a song where you both had to dance together because she never has the balls to ask you to dance to with her.
She had a little camcorder where she recorded almost everything in your lives at that point. You brushing your teeth, both of you eating cereal, having tickle fights, ect. What Ellie doesn’t know is that now you sometimes go to the camcorder and watch the old videos and she’d a tear here and there because you loved the memories.
Some how she was actually a beast at the toilet paper kick up challenge and got a good 14 kick ups.
You cannot tell me she didn’t buy those apple juices that actually founded like apples when you bit into them.
I lowkey just had an idea of what Ellie would be like at this time sooooo lmk what other hcs you guys might want! Also be sure to let me know if you’d like to be in the Taglists! Don’t forget to talk about Palestine guys! Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸🇵🇸
Taglists: @vqxen @bready101 @lilylynne11 @Lively-blues @Yurixxiii @vampyangel @gato-chino @a-little-bit-of-everybody @abbysbraids
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nolita-fairytale · 1 year
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comfort & chaos (carmy berzatto x fem!reader) chapter two: covid & carbonara
summary: in a time of isolation, you and carmy find unexpected connection in unexpected places: each other. (the five times carmen berzatto fell in love with you a little and the one time he finally told you)
warnings: swearing, no use of y/n, she/her pronouns, drinking & smoking, suggestive language, mentions of covid-19/the pandemic, eventual smut.
word count: 4k
listen to: hot sugar - glass animals | hard to live in the city - albert hammond jr. | alone together - del water gap | foreign girls - bleachers
read: chapter one
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March 2020: 
“Carmy, can you hear me now?” you ask, listening carefully for his response. 
“Yeah hold on. Wifi’s shit in this room,” he mumbles. You hear a rustle of sounds and the picture on your phone goes blurry for a second. This is just something you’ve come to accept is a part of your life now as you wait. 
Suddenly, the picture is clear again and it looks like Carmy’s in his living room now. He wears a white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants as he tries to get comfy on the shitty sofa in his Flatiron apartment. 
“Ok there we go. I gotta-, yeah, I can hear you now,” he says, finally settling in. 
“How are you?” you ask as you grow more sure that you’re going to be able to talk now. “It’s good to see your face.”
“Yeah, no uh. It’s good to see you too,” he replies. “Shit’s so weird right now, huh?”
“Totally,” you agree. “So… what’ve you been up to? I mean… how are you spending your time?”
He sighs, shaking his head, as if to say that he barely knows how to answer that question. He thinks it over before answering with:
“I don’t know. Workin’ on some recipes. Tryin’ not to lose my fuckin’ head. You?”
“Same,” you commiserate. “Though… I don’t know. I’ve kind of been enjoying some of the down time, you know?”
He couldn’t agree less. 
Carmy tells you about the recipes he’s working on. You share with him the plot of the show you’re binge watching right now. He tells you he hasn’t really been in touch with family much and you let him know that you’ve been running errands for your parents where you can. It’s a fairly normal conversation for a very uncertain and strange time, but it brings you comfort – talking to Carmy. 
You talk about the state of the restaurant industry. The state of the world. The two of you wonder when the restaurant might open back up – if they’ll consider doing to-go’s. He’s not sure and neither are you.
It’s almost two hours later when you realize your phone is dying, and that somehow, time has flown as the two of you have been talking. 
“Shit, uh. My phone’s dying. I may have to go,” you say remorsefully. 
“Oh yeah! No problem,” Carmy replies, almost apologetically. “And I uh, if I get in touch with the people at World Central Kitchen, I’ll let you know. I’m sure they can always use more chefs and volunteers.”
“No, that’d be great. Uh… before I go,” you start, knowing that you want to tell him this. “I just wanted to say… I’m glad we did this.”
“Yeah me too,” he agrees, and you can tell he means it. 
“Maybe… we do it again? Keep each other company… you know. Virtually?” you propose, hopefully. 
“Yeah,” Carmy half smiles. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
And as the pandemic drags on, you find yourself FaceTiming with Carmy more and more. Once a week turns into once a week and a consistent exchange of texts. He shares with you the recipes he’s working on. You bounce ideas around with him on dishes he feels stuck on. You send him silly memes and TikToks, even though he refuses to get an account himself. Once a week turns into twice a week, and then phone calls, and soon enough, you don’t go a day without talking to Carmy in some capacity. 
You’re not sure how you’ve done it but you think that maybe you and Carmy just might be friends. 
May 2020: 
“Thanks so much for all the help guys. It means a lot. Especially having two chefs of your caliber,” the volunteer coordinator says, addressing both you and Carmy. 
“Listen, we’re just happy to be a part of something right now. With so much going on… it’s hard to know where to begin helping,” you reply with gratitude. You’re genuinely thankful that you’ve been able to be a part of World Central Kitchen’s COVID relief efforts, and you know Carmy feels the same. 
“We’ll see you guys next Friday?” the volunteer coordinator asks. 
“Heard,” Carmy answers, thanking the coordinator one more time before the two of you leave the building. 
Around the corner, there’s a bench that the two of you find. It’s an easy choice to sit down – neither of you are quite ready to go home yet. You sit on opposite sides before removing your masks as Carmy pulls out a pack of marlboros. 
“You want one?” he asks you, holding out the pack.
“Yeah,” you agree, taking one from him at a distance. You watch him light up, before handing you the lighter he keeps in his jean jacket pocket.
It’s nice to take a moment to pause. Between the chaos of being in a kitchen again to the chaos of the world around you, it feels good to smoke a fucking cigarette on a street corner with the man that’s so unexpectedly become your friend. The two of you sit in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the sounds of the city, each others’ company, and your fuckin’ cancer sticks. 
You break the silence between the two of you, letting out the smallest chuckle.
“What?” Carmy asks you, your laugh garnering his attention. 
“It’s just… it’s almost funny,” you say, continuing your giggle. 
“What?” he asks you again, a look of amusement on his face. He can’t imagine what must be so funny. 
“Just… seeing you here… Mr. Fine Dining…makin’ sandwiches,” you tease playfully. “Thought you were too fancy-pants for that.”
“Fuck off,” he rolls his eyes playfully, sucking on his cigarette as he inhales. You laugh again as he shakes his head, shooting you another look. 
He takes his time, exhaling the smoke out in the opposite direction, before addressing your playful remarks. 
“Nah. It uh-, actually reminds me of my family’s place a little. Back home,” he shares with you. 
It catches you off guard. Carmy rarely ever talks about home, let alone his family. 
“Yeah?” you ask curiously, hoping he’ll elaborate.
“Yeah,” he answers with a nod, before placing the cigarette back in between his lips. 
To your disappointment, you realize that’s all he’s planning to share. You resign yourself, taking another drag of your cigarette as the two of you smoke to the sounds of the city. After a long shift at the volunteer kitchen, your exhaustion begins to catch up with you. It’s been a few months since you’ve had to stand for that long, and as exhilarating as it’s been, you can feel the fatigue in your back and your feet already. 
“So… I was thinkin’ about something,” Carmy says, breaking the silence between the two of you. 
You angle your body towards him before asking, “What’s that?”
He shrugs, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s dumb.” 
He’s suddenly shy, and your eyes flicker over his cheeks that have turned a darker shade of red than they were before. 
“Carmy, what is it?” you ask, leaning towards him, now intrigued.
He avoids your gaze before he replies, “Nah. Nevermind. It’s stupid.” 
“No, it’s not! What is it?” you continue to press him.
You’re not going to let this go. 
“I shouldn't've said anything.” 
He sighs, taking one more drag of his cigarette before leaning forward and tossing it on the ground. His left foot hovers over the cigarette butt as he stamps it out, his forearms resting on his legs as he finally turns to you again. 
“I don’t know how you feel about it, and you can totally say no because like… shit’s still fucked, you know but-,” he starts, shyly. Was Carmy about to ask you out?
 He pauses, his eyes scanning the pavement beneath his feet before saying, “It’s just-, I’m not like, seeing anyone else in person. Except you.”
“Yeah, no me either,” you agree. 
Where was this going?
“Would you maybe wanna-?” he asks, before trailing off, his piercing blue eyes so intense it feels like he’s looking right through you. He nods towards the kitchen before continuing with, “... see each other in person. Like outside of here. As long as we’re being safe you know?” 
You nod, quick to put the poor man at ease, and only a little intrigued as to why it was so difficult for him to ask you that. 
“Yeah no. I’m not seeing anyone else in person either. And at this point if we had COVID, we’d probably already have exposed each other, right?” you reply. 
“Yeah,” he answers. 
“Yeah, I’d be down. To… you know. Maybe move some of our FaceTimes… in person, if that’s what you mean,” you agree, a smile on your face. 
You’re not sure what you expected, but you weren’t expecting for Carmy to ask you to become his quarantine buddy – even if you’d already kind of been doing it anyways. 
“Cool,” he says, taking a breath. 
You can tell that it was a big deal for him – to ask you that – even if he doesn’t want to show it. 
“Can I walk you home?” he asks. 
You smile in return, “Yeah. And if you’re feeling wild… we can… pick something up on the way there. You can come up and hang.”
“No, yeah. That uh-, that sounds great,” he replies, something softer in his eyes this time. “If you don’t mind. I mean-, if you want the company-.”
“Oh shut up, Berzatto,” you roll your eyes at him. You shoot him a look, even though you’re kind of loving this softer side of him. 
“I wouldn’t have offered, if I didn’t.”
July 2020: 
Carmen Berzatto becomes an unexpected yet pleasantly surprising part of your support system, and your COVID-pod. It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago, you thought the man absolutely hated you. He’s still the hot and cold, emotionally turbulent man you met last October, and he’s also become your friend. You’ve learned that he can be soft, that he’s terribly uncomfortable in any and all social situations, and that he’s the most single-minded, driven, obsessed motherfucker you’ve ever met. 
By now, the restaurant has pivoted and reopened for to-gos only. It’s nothing like the fine dining establishment it was before. You’re only open Thursday to Sunday and it’s a much more family style, to-go kit sort of operation these days: to-go cocktail kits, to-go curated menus, to-go assemble your own dishes at home. 
It’s strange. And it’s a strange time for all of you. 
You’re finished with your shift today, ready to head home and spend the next three days off. You’re not sure when you’ll ever get three days off in a row once all of this is over, so you’ve decided that you’re just going to embrace the slower lifestyle right now. You’ve been more creative in this chapter of your life than you can remember. 
“So you layin’ it down for Carmy or what?” a voice asks, jolting you from your thoughts. 
“Excuse me?” you snap, turning your head to a very smug looking Nate Walker, stripping off his face mask.
“What the fuck, man?” Tim exclaims, as he’s changing back into his street shoes. “Not okay to say.”
“What?” Nate defends himself. “I’m just wondering who I have to thank. This is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen the boss man.”
You scoff, rolling your eyes, “Really nice, Nate.” 
You shake your head, before slinging your backpack over your right arm, exchanging a look with Tim. 
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Carmy and I are just friends,” you correct. “Ever think that some time off has been good for all of us and that’s why Carmy’s been chill?”
“‘S not like we’re working at the same capacity we used to be. I think it’s been good for him,” Tim chimes in, trying to offer you a little backup.
“Sure,” Nate replies, unconvinced. 
“What’s it to you anyways, Walker?” Tim asks, putting the spotlight on his coworker. 
“Nothin’,” Nate replies, defensively. “Just noticed you guys spendin’ a lot of time together lately. Besides, the guy could use a good lay.”
“You’re a child,” you snap with an eye roll. You slide your left arm into the other strap of your backpack, ready to leave. “Now if we’re done with the girl talk, I’m going home.”
As you begin to walk away, you can hear Nate defending himself as Tim points out how inappropriate it was for him to say that to you. You’re grateful for people like Tim, because you’re not sure that Nate would listen to anyone else lower in the French brigade system – let alone a woman. 
“We still on for tomorrow?” Carmy asks you, as you're on your way out. He’s still in his chef whites because, as the both of you know, he’s going to be the last person to leave. A smile spreads across your face as soon as you see him. 
That’s right. You’re spending your day off tomorrow with him. 
“Yeah,” you smile with a nod. 
“Mine or yours?” he asks. 
You shoot him a look – a ‘I know you haven’t cleaned up your place’ kind of look. 
“Mine,” you reply. 
“Sweet. There’s a cool market nearby I wanted to check out. I’ll pick somethin’ up on the way,” he says back. 
“Heard.”
You wait a beat before adding, “Try not to work too hard, chef.”
He likes that you’re looking out for him. 
He smiles, “Heard.”
*
As much as you’ve tried not to let Nate Walker get to you, you can’t stop thinking about what he said the day before. Did people think you and Carmy were sleeping together? Did the whole staff think you were trying to sleep your way to the top? Your mind races, and you notice the anxious feelings you have have settled deep in your chest. Carmy moves around your kitchen, intentionally, and while you’d like to enjoy how happy he looks when he cooks for fun, you can’t seem to shut off your brain. 
“You sure I can’t help? I went to culinary school too, yknow?” you ask, trying to put on your best lighthearted tone. 
“Nah,” he dismisses, pulling together a sauce in one of the glass bowls you keep in your kitchen for prep. 
As Carmy steals a glance your way, he’s surprised to find that whatever weight it seems you were carrying when he first walked in, hasn’t gone away. He returns his focus to the stovetop, shaking the stainless clad frying pan that holds his precisely-cut lardons. 
“What’s up?” he asks you, keeping his back to you. 
“Uh… nothing,” you reply, trying your best to shake it off. 
He knows you’re lying, and he turns to look at you again, more intently this time. Your lips are pressed together in a thin line and there’s a new tension knitted between your brows that’s not normally there. As much as you’re trying not to let it get to you, your face betrays you and he knows that something’s been bothering you all day. He shoots you an unconvinced look and you sigh in defeat. 
Since when had Carmy learned what that look meant. 
“Just-, you’re gonna think it’s dumb,” you start, almost embarrassed that you have to bring this up to him. 
“What’s up?” he asks, patiently. 
You shrug, “Just something that Nate said yesterday’s been… bothering me, I guess.”
He rolls his eyes, letting out a dry laugh as he asks you, “Well Nate’s a dick. What’d he say?”
“I-, I don’t know if I should tell you,” you admit hesitantly. 
“Why?” he asks, a pang of nerves hitting him right in the gut. 
You wait a beat, trying to figure out how best to convey what Nate said without freaking Carmy out. 
“He uh… he kind of… suggested that everyone thinks we’re sleeping together?” you say cautiously, your voice going up at the end of the sentence, almost as if it were a question. 
“Oh,” is all Carmy manages to get out. 
“Yeah,” you exhale. 
“Well, we’re not,” Carmy replies, simply. 
Right. 
“Right,” you agree. 
You’re surprised by the feeling of disappointment that wells in your chest in response to Carmy’s reply. This had been eating away at you and for him to shut it down so quickly – like it was that simple – doesn’t quite make sense to you. 
Maybe it’s because men never bear the burden of an inappropriate workplace relationship, not that you’re having one with Carmy, but you know it’d be a bigger cost to you than it’d ever be for him.
“I just…” you start, beginning to understand why it’s bothering you so much. “Do you think… like is it a problem that we’re hanging out? I mean, you are kind of my boss and… I don’t know. I guess we never really talked about the ethical implications of… you know. Us. Being friends. And also working together.”
Friends. 
Right. 
Maybe because it’s because he’s never really had friends, let alone a girlfriend, that catches Carmy off guard.
You’re just friends, motherfucker, Carmy thinks to himself. 
It’s like he’d almost forgotten. 
Perhaps it’s the isolation – the way of the world right now – but he’s never thought about what you were to him. Ever since the two of you had decided to start spending time together, it had been you and him against a very scary and uncertain world. Carmy’s surprised to find that, hearing it said aloud, friends, leaves him with a feeling of dissatisfaction – like the word friend didn’t quite describe the way he felt about you. 
But he’s terrified to think about what that could mean. That anything else would probably scare you away – push you out of his life – and there’s no way in hell he’s going to let that happen right now. 
Because he likes this too much. 
Because he likes who he is when he’s with you. 
Because you’re all he has. 
He pushes the thoughts out of his mind for another time, because right now, you’re sitting right in front of him, and he’s got a problem to solve for you. 
“As long as we’re professional in the kitchen… I don’t see why it should be a problem,” he says. 
You’re not sure how it seems so simple for him, because it doesn’t feel this simple for you. 
“Yeah, no. I-, I agree,” you lie. 
Carmy returns to what he’s doing, and you accept that that’s probably the full conversation that you’re going to have with him. At least right now. You watch as he continues to cook, pulling together the sauce as he tosses the pasta and cheese in your frying pan. You open up your phone, scrolling through a few social media posts to try your best to get your mind off of your worries as Carmy finishes up in your kitchen. 
It’s not long before he’s returned to your small dining table. You set your phone down, watching as he approaches you. 
“I remember you mentioning that it’s hard to find a good carbonara so uh… thought I’d make you one,” he says confidently. Carmy hands you bowl containing a perfectly twirled nest of spaghetti, along with a fork he’d gotten from your kitchen. 
“How do I know it’s gonna be up to my standards?” you challenge him playfully. 
He shoots you a ‘don’t play with me’ kind of look and you giggle in response. You exchange glances with Carmy before messing up the perfectly plated nest by digging your fork into it. 
“Make sure you get a little bit of everything,” he reminds you. He watches as you twirl the spaghetti around your fork, making sure to scoop up a bit of crispy guanciale. You lift the fork to your mouth before taking a bite, your eyes closing as the salty, cheesy, bite hits your tongue. 
It’s perfect.  
“Holy fuck,” you practically moan in response to your first bite. You open your eyes and he smiles back at you, proud of the response he’s earned from you. Your face twists into a look that falls somewhere between ‘this is so good I’m angry and hello, I’ve reached nirvana.’ 
“This-, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m pretty sure your talents are being wasted on fine dining, my friend. This is… this is fucking unreal, dude,” you say, as you continuing processing the most perfect carbonara you’ve ever had in your life. 
“No offense taken,” he says. 
You shake your head at him, “Best carbonara ever.”
September 2020: 
“So we go upstate, and we’re searching for outdoor activities we can do, you know, safely, at a distance, with masks on. And we end up at this goat farm,” Maya says, describing her and her fiance’s last few months spent in upstate New York. 
“...Was the goat named Milo?” Carmy asks, a humorous tone to his question. 
“Carmy!” you exclaim with a laugh, shooting him a look. 
“What?” he asks back. 
Both Liz, Maya, and her fiance Patrick send you questioning looks. 
“I-, it’s an inside joke,” you explain, shaking your head once again in response to Carmy’s very silly interjection. 
“Anyways, it’s so nice to be back in the city. Seriously, Liz, thanks for organizing this,” Maya continues. 
“Oh, I’m kind of getting really into this whole cute picnic thing actually,” she replies, in reference to the picnic she’s organized for the five of you. “Plus, the to-go picnic kit has been killing at the restaurant. Thanks for letting me run with that, chef.”
“No, yeah. You’re killin’ it. It was a great idea,” Carmy compliments. 
The five of you spend time in the park, catching up and enjoying time spent in person for the first time in a long time. You, Liz, and Carmy have been back at work, pushing through, what will hopefully be, the last month or so in the to-go only business at the restaurant. As the sun begins to come down, you all agree that it’s time to pack it up and go home. You’ve begun to collect all of the trash in a brown paper bag as Carmy offers to take it. 
“You sure?” you ask him. 
“Yeah,” he answers. 
As he takes a walk, in search of the nearest trash can, your friends are immediately on you about whatever the hell it is that you and Carmy are doing. 
“So what I’m hearing is… you talk every day, you have inside jokes together, and you’re basically quarantining together. How are you trying to tell us that this man is not your boyfriend?!” Maya exclaims. Her partner shrugs in agreement. 
“I know that what Nate said was hella inappropriate, but he’s not wrong… that this is the most I’ve seen him relaxed in… maybe since we met him,” Liz adds in as your friends make their case. 
“He seems into you,” Patrick offers. 
“I-,” you start, knowing you don’t have much time before Carmy returns. “I don’t know. All I know is… I like what we have. And right now, we’re friends so.”
“God, you’re so good at it,” Maya sighs. 
“What?” you ask, looking from her to Liz as they exchange glances. 
The both turn to you, before saying in unison, “Compartmentalizing!” 
Patrick holds his hands up as he says, “I’m gonna stay out of this one.”
“You ready to go?” Carmy asks, rejoining you and your friends. 
You can practically feel Liz and Maya staring at you. 
“Yeah,” you reply to Carmy. 
You say your goodbyes before going your separate ways, and Maya swears when Carmy isn’t listening that you’re not done talking about this. It’s just been you and Carmy for so long that you hadn’t thought about what it might look like to other people. Now that things were slowly reopening… you were beginning to get more questions, and maybe, you were beginning to have more questions too. 
But the last time you’d tried to bring up any conversation about your relationship with Carmy, he’d shut it down and distracted you with the best carbonara you’ve ever had in your life. Not that you were complaining, definitely not, but you were hesitant to bring it up any time soon.  As Carmy looks at you, there’s something about the way you look against the backdrop of the city, the setting sun, and the sparkling lights, that catches him off guard. He’s not ready to part ways with you yet.
“Can I walk you home?” Carmy offers, hopefully. 
“Sure,” you nod.
read chapter three
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urf1lterr · 1 year
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lovesick | pedro pascal [3]
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"and on this night and in this light i think im falling, im falling for you."
next chapter: [4] previous chapter: [2] series masterlist
summary: in which a 1975-obsessed film student accidentally falls in love with an older man she can't have.
pairing: actor!pedro x intern!reader
genre: acting world!au, big age-gap!, strangers to friends- maybe lovers?? au | angst, mature, awkward, love- eventually
word count: 5.7k
status: in progress
author's note: in my head i have a certain way this story ends- but thats farrrr from this chapter. i couldn't stop laughing while writing this. i might have to rethink my ending bc i don't wanna make this series looooong. not edited.
Brutal banging on your bedroom door was not how you imagined to be awakened, especially when you were barely endearing maybe four hours of sleep.
Jolting up, you could feel your shoulders begin to ache as your severely tangled hair got stuck on the insides of your shirt. The shades in your room being shut, you had no sunlight whatsoever so you weren't sure what time it was.
Not like you needed to be anywhere important on a Wednesday- not until later anyway. Wednesday's were your arranged day off from school so you made sure to plan something productive to not feel more useless as you already were.
Typically, you were scheduled to work on these days- but we all know how that ended.
Thinking about your unemployment status aggravated you. The same day you were told you were going to be cut was actually your last despite being scheduled for the rest of that remaining week.
Oh how you wish you could say you didn't show up because of your stubbornness.
But frankly you had covid.
Not only did that job fire you, but they gave you a thoughtful farewell gift of a deadly virus to remember them goodbye.
Guess they took their storyline a little too seriously.
However, you did receive a few texts from your old coworkers wishing you well. At first, you wondered if Finn disclosed your personal medical information after you contacted him, but Jules admitted to doing so, swearing she only told Joon with the likelihood someone overheard and the rest was history.
Sadly, you barely talked to Pedro and Bella anymore.
The duo did reach out once they discovered you were sick and Bella would occasionally send you tiktoks at the most randomly times. But again, occasionally.
Pedro, on the other hand, never got back in touch after his 'feel better' text.
You weren't exactly distraught over it, it wasn't like you two made it your mission as friends to go out every day. But the thing was, you still did that when you worked together. Barely seeing him for a few seconds on some days in the past still meant you got to see him, but now you don't.
And strangely you miss him.
You always heard your coworkers discuss how considerate and down to Earth he was whenever they managed to work with him and you agreed. All the stories of him being one of the rarest, mindful human beings were true.
He was always the one spamming you with texts, but the only messages you received now were from your roommate, Joon, or the deals sent by your favorite food places.
But you weren't going to think too much of it. He's an adult, his days are always scheduled with new projects. You can't blame him for not making time for you.
Two weeks later here you were, using your extra free time to your advantage to stay up past midnight watching shows like Hell's Kitchen while eating ramen noodles.
The only con was you had the tendency to wake up late all the time.
Yanking the warm covers off your body, you slowly slip out of bed trying not to hit your desk by how poor your vision was at the moment. Opening your door, you give daggers to the other person behind it. "Is there a reason why you felt attempting to break my door was necessary?"
Jules sheepishly smiled, lightly rubbing the door in remorse before continuing. "I just wanted to remind you about our study date!"
"That's at 11."
"It's 10:32," she replied, pulling her phone out and showing you.
Gasping, you shut the door in her face before searching for clothes to wear. How could you possibly sleep in?
Actually, it was quite easy with American Horror Story having amazing plot twists. You decided to switch up your late night shows every now and then to spice things up.
But you were certain you turned on your alarm the night before. You must have slept through them. Damn, you were turning into Jules.
Quickly running to the bathroom to take a quick shower, you managed to finish the rest of your routine with ten minutes left to spare. You were certainly glad you could always count on the city's nonstop traffic as an excuse for your late arrivals.
Once you were able to catch a cab, which was a tremendous struggle considering your hand signals weren't clear enough to apprehend, Jules and you made it to a coffee shop a few streets away.
Being your designated place to study, you had to introduce Joon to it. He was practically the fifth member of the group, the third one being one of Jules' friend you frequently talked to and the fourth being the one you shared with Joon.
The best part about this cafe would have to be that it was two stories. You guess you could say you used the upstairs room conveniently when it came to debating, definitely not being afraid to raise your voice when your friends believed disagreeing with your opinions was acceptable.
"I didn't know a triple meant three shots of espresso," Joon pulled a disgusted face as Jules and you arrived to your familiar large booth. Sliding right next to him, you saw the coffee he was drinking was extremely dark. "I thought it meant three shots of creamer."
"For a guy who is phenomenally smart, you are phenomenally stupid," you heard your shared friend, Yoongi, comment after looking up from his notes.
The next hour consisted of the five of you centralizing your attention on your individual work before you decided you wanted to buy a coffee as your energy slowly drained away.
Walking down the stairs and placing a swift order, you stood to the side of the counter waiting as they prepared it. Scrolling through your phone to pass the short time, you felt someone near you.
"Hey, covid girl!" you heard a man exclaim, causing you to rush and shush him before the customers begin giving you the eye. "Long time no see."
"Don't expose me like that! I'm negative," you flush, tapping your fingers on your face to cool it down.
"Don't expose me," he clarifies, taking two steps back. "You're the one who's sick."
"Was," you groan, not standing for his teasing this morning. "Stop messing me with me, Nick. I am just a tired, broke college student who can't take anymore mocking in their life."
Nick chuckles, not denying that may be the case. He understands how you're feeling, he was once a student and knows how stressful it can be. Honestly, he can only imagine how tough it is now compared to when he last attended.
Inflation was no joke.
"I take it you're studying?" he eyes the large black frames on your head and the thick headphones around your neck. You only nod, making him laugh. "Very studious I see, it's a shame they let you go even after I told them not to. You could've done our taxes."
Pulling a forced smile, you just raise your right shoulder slightly not really wanting to talk about it much.
"Good thing I am very understanding," you joke.
"Hell, I wouldn't be," he curses, shaking his head briskly. "The least they could've done was offer another position while we left the country."
"When are you guys leaving anyway?'"
He looks up at the ceiling, trying hard to remember the exact date before clapping his hands. "The 3rd of next month."
"Three weeks from now? Are you ready for the cold and the snow?" you laugh as he shakes his head.
"Dealt with it growing up, don't wanna do it again," he groans before a barista calls out his name for his coffee. He excuses himself for a minute, grabbing the coffee along with a few napkins before walking back to you. "Have to get back to filming, they only gave me a half an hour break before we change scenes. Good look in university, kiddo. If you ever need anything you always have my number."
With that, he retreated back outside but not before sending you one final wave. You loathed the fact you missed them, but you had to get over it.
Grabbing your coffee once your name was called, you walked back up the stairs to find your friends staring at their own laptops as if they were going to breakdown in tears any second.
"When I tell you I would rather give up one of kidneys than learn about screenwriting," Jules weeps, pulling her hair in distress. "I just wanna tell people what to do, not write stories."
And that's how your whole study session went, one of you having your own malfunctions for the next few hours before the five of you agreed to end it.
"I am going to get a refill, meet you by the door?" Jules asked as you packed up your school belongings. You nodded, allowing her to walk downstairs with her friend as you stayed behind with the two other boys.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Joon called out as the three of you were making your way down the stairs. "I'll be out in a jiffy."
With that, Yoongi and you were stuck around a large crowd of customers trying to get their coffees in this 5 o'clock chilly evening. And one thing about these customers, they loved to push.
"If one more person hits my arm a brawl will unfold," Yoongi proclaims, making sure to raise his voice a bit to make his point come across. Which did nothing as he was granted another push in his arm in return.
Moving you head towards the exit, you made it clear to Yoongi that you two were better off just waiting outside unless you wanted to continue being compressed by total strangers whose been god knows where.
Feeling Yoongi's loss of touch from your shoulder, you sensed a group of friends rudely crossing between you both in order to make it to the front of the shop.
It amazed you how people had no manners in public places.
"Ah!" you shriek, feeling somebody aimlessly hit your body hard, knocking the wind out of you as you fell on your side.
That was until arms wrapped tightly under your upper arms, barely being able to stop your whole body from touching the ground as you felt you legs lay across the cold floor.
With the strong pair of arms effectively pulling you up, it caused you to slam your body against their unknown chest as the mob of customers didn't seem to die down any time soon.
Trying to find some stability, your eyes widened as your peripheral vision was met with a broad chest that you were too scared to figure discover who it belonged to.
This could either end with you meeting the love of you life or encountering a complete weirdo.
Moving your gaze upwards, you were met with familiar brown eyes that creased slightly as a gentle smile was released.
Okay, the second option was indeed your answer.
"Pedro? You fucking scared me!" you pushed him away, slapping his chest as he whined in response, clutching it in pain. "I was going to grab my pepper spray!"
"I see you're still satan," he glared as you crossed your arms. "No 'thank you for saving my severely mentally mad life from the mass of people who could've stamped over me'?"
Expressing an infuriated expression as he scared you, you begin to walk away from him but he quickly pulls you back into his arms and stares down at you. "Why are you leaving?"
"My friends are outside," you declare as he peers over the crowd to see who you were talking about.
He glances back down at you before pushing you straight by your waist, causing you to trust his guidance as he directed you backwards until you were against one of the walls to avoid being crushed again.
"Wait, my friends-"
"You wear glasses?" he slightly grasps the frames propped on your face, generating a strike from you. "What a dweeb you are."
"Isn't this a question you can ask through text?" you remark, causing him to purse his lips at how mediocre you were being.
"Oh come on, kid! I haven't seen you in weeks, it's my right to ask questions," he defends, giving you a staggering look as you sighed.
"And my glasses were the first thing that came to mind? Very clever."
"Would you rather me ask why we say 'cool' when it's not really cold?"
Studying his face in pure boredom, you set out to march past him but he pushes your shoulders back again, forcing you to stay put. "Sorry! Just trying to lighten the mood."
Scanning past him, you tried to locate your friends but to no luck they were absent. Glancing back up at him, you take a deep breath. "I really have to go before they leave me stranded a-."
"I can take you home," he instantly speaks up. "I know where you live remember."
Laughing, you disagree with his proposal. You arrived with Jules, you were leaving with her. But you were curious as to why he hasn't left you alone. It surely couldn't be just to chat about corny jokes-
Actually, you've had many of those conversions in the past.
"Is there a reason why you aren't letting me escape?" you blurt out, making him tilt his head suspiciously, trying to figure out what you were speculating.
His body language became edgy as he motioned his palm out in front of you. "I just so happened to drop by for some coffee and ended up being tackled by you," he confessed, making you scoff. "We haven't talked for some time, I wanted to check up and see how you were doing."
"I am as happy as a clam," you let out a radiant smile, making him squint his eyes and direct them to the side.
"English, please?" he pleaded.
"It means I am very happy," you respond, standing up straighter as he questioned you longer with his eyes as if he didn't believe a single word you were saying. "Everybody knows that expression."
"They really don't," he denies, giving you an awkward smile by your strange dialogue. "Anywho, I've been wanting to talk to you."
"Then why didn't you call?" you accidentally spit out, shutting your mouth as you grasped how bitter it came out.
He caught onto the sound of your tone, registering how unhappy you must've been for abandoning you friendship after strongly bonding for two months.
But he couldn't let you believe he did it on purpose, he had a reason. One that he was finally going to disclose after fighting battles until it was finally approved. "I was preoccupied with something else, I really am sorry," he apologized. "But I was going to reach out today."
Uncomfortably shrugging, you don't put too much thought into it. You didn't want him to assume you were upset, but you had a feeling he could sense it by how tense you were becoming.
"For what?"
He looked around before averting his eyes back to your own, grinning widely. "So I think there's a chance you'd be able to get your internship back."
Standing up straighter, you stared at him dumbfounded. What the hell was he talking about?
"How? They already terminated our useless contracts," you argue. "Why hassle making another one."
"Work for me," he ignores your sour tone, getting straight to the point.
This was why he didn't have time to communicate. Too busy trying to find ways to convince his own boss to keep you, it led to him being in a bad mood after failing each attempt.
He couldn't talk to you knowing his plan went wrong.
After the constant begging, whines, and even going out of his way to format a ridiculous petition as to why you should stay, which centers all interns because he didn't want to throw himself under the bus for you- the main producer eventually gave in.
"You want me to work for you here when you're leaving the country in a few weeks?" you narrow your eyes, confused as to how that was going to work out in the end.
"I was going to sneak you into my suitcase."
"What in the world are you rambling about?" you exhaled sharply.
Pedro grinned brightly as he held onto your shoulders again, "Come with us to Canada."
"No," you quickly answer, not even processing fully but you knew it could never happen.
There was no possible way you could ever go through with this. For one, you can't even leave the country. You parents were so strict they'll probably smuggle drugs in your luggage so you'll be gunned down and locked into the country.
Second, well there really isn't another reason- your parents were enough.
"Oh come on," he whined. "It'll be great! You'll gain so much experience like you've been wanting. Plus, you'd do more hands-on work with the film crew. Think of it as a student exchange program."
"That's literally not what a student exchange program is."
"Stop rejecting the idea. You go to school here, yeah? I assume you're taking classes online because you basically lived at the studio," he implied and you slowly nodded. "We can adjust your schedule to where you'd have time to work and focus on school."
Silently looking to the table nearby, you began digesting what he was going on about. It wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't an easy one either. "My parents would never let me."
"Give me their number and I'll convince them," he persuades and you sway you head. You wanted to laugh in his face if he really believed he could make your parents agree.
"No," you fight back, watching him exhale loudly by how restrained you were being. "I k-"
"What would Matt Healy do?"
Immediately shutting your mouth, you freeze as he catches you off guard. He did not come to play and knew you well enough to use your weaknesses against you.
He knows Matt Healy would easily agree- that man was literally the devil's spawn.
And god, you just knew Matt would be disappointed in you if you didn't go.
Curse you and your infatuation over this short English man.
Luckily, your thoughts disappeared as you felt a tap on your arm. Looking up, you see Yoongi breathing heavily as Pedro eyes him, unsure if you knew him.
"There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere! My god the lecture your friend gave me about losing you-" he groaned, shivering. "-I was certain she was gonna file a police report."
Slowly averting his eyes to the older man beside you, Yoongi's face fills with curiosity. "Hey, aren't you that one guy from that Netflix show..." he stops, looking up as he tried hard remembering the name. "Narcos!"
Pedro's eyes shoot open as he tries to innocently stretch his body, purposely blocking your view of him, "No." Secretly waving his palm across his neck, he sends Yoongi daggers to keep quiet. Stiffly turning to you, he becomes flustered. "But don't watch that show."
Raising a brow, you decide to drop the random topic and focus your attention back to your friend until you heard another person shriek. The three of you searching to where it came from, you find Namjoon stumble between people, trying his hardest not to fall face first on the floor.
"A jiffy later and I'm back," Joon winks once he's released from the mass.
Pedro scrunches his face. "Jiffy?"
Joon breaks out into smiles once he notices who was with Yoongi and you. "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here? Did you miss us that much?"
"I don't think it was you he missed," Yoongi muttered, making Pedro send him a questionable glance and Joon tilt his head, not sure what he meant.
Wanting to leave this now weirder conversation, you step forward and grab onto Yoongi's shoulder. "Let's go, I wanna breathe." Turning your attention back to Pedro, he swiftly moved his eyes from your hand to your own. "Text me if you need anything else."
"Only you," he sends you a cheeky smile making you blush by how nice he was being. Yoongi glanced at the two of you, dazed as what you two were implying.
Staring at him, you waited for him to say his farewells first so everybody could leave already. Waiting for one, you never received anything but his quiet stance and gaze stuck on you.
It felt strange not feeling the strength to walk away- not even the strength but the need to go anymore as you couldn't take your eyes off him. It also wasn't only you as he couldn't help but bear comfort from the sight of you.
It felt like the both of you were interacting to each other in your minds.
"Are you having a staring contest?" Joon questioned, making your your consciousness come back to life as you looked back at him. Pedro's gaze weakened, but they were still on you as yours was unfortunately long forgotten.
"No," you laughed, now gripping onto Yoongi harder. "But seriously, let's get out of here. See you whenever, Pedro."
Watching as you stayed close to your guy friends in hopes of being secured through the populated room, he sighed to himself. He was sure your friends might confess their own intuitions to you and perceive him as a creep.
The sad part was he knew why your particular friend would have his suspicions. He never knew his age would have that much of an effect, but he never hung out with people that young before unless it was for a project.
Shaking these thoughts away from his head, he chuckled to himself. He shouldn't care about what other people thought, the two of you never engaged in anything but friendly encounters.
He just despised his gut feeling as if he was doing something wrong. People are making him feel this way, that was guaranteed.
But he feels awful how he keeps trying to find ways to see you, too embarrassed to think about the things he done just to see you for not even a minute.
He's just never had a friend like you before. It was nice.
"I can't believe he's offering us a job like that!" Jules exclaimed as Joon and you nodded. Yoongi lived in the opposite direction so he made his departure a few minutes ago as well as her friend. "I can't go."
Widening your eyes, you stared at her. "What? Why?"
She laughs before pointing at herself. "You think I'll be able to properly manage school and work in another country? I barely did that these last two months- I'll just be partying it up at hockey games eating gravy with fries."
"You mean poutine," Joon corrected.
"Same thing," she rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is, being home made me realize how much I love sleeping. I would rather give that up when I graduate and actually have a real adult job."
She did have a point, she really enjoyed her naps.
"I'll consider it," Joon spoke up, putting his hands inside his hoodie as the three of you continued walking. "Doesn't sound too bad, it'll look good on resumes."
Smiling, you nodded. You weren't sure why you even dared to be happy about this when you were the one wanting nothing to do with the idea not even a half an hour ago.
You just knew your lord was giving you a disapproving glare from the clouds.
Within the next 20 minutes, Joon went his separate way home as Jules and you arrived in front of your shared apartment. Rushing to the bathroom, your roommate excused herself for the next hour for her 'needed' relaxation.
In other words, a bubble bath.
Turning on the tv, you sat down on the couch swiping through boring news channels until you decided to switch to Netflix. You still had to make time for Evan Peters before the night ended.
Clicking on the current season you were on, Freak Show, you began thinking about how massive Evan Peter's hands were. How can his girlfriends survive.
The thought freaked you out, this really was a freak show.
Soon, the next episode began featuring Twisty the clown more and you were terrified by how huge he was. He could crush you with a flick of his fingers.
Knocks on your door alarmed you, making you slightly jump and look towards the bathroom. Your roommate's music was softly playing in the background meaning she probably couldn't hear the blows on the door.
Slowly standing up, you grab the bat you keep near the door, in case someone tries viciously murdering you in your doorway, and go on your tiptoes to see what kind of stranger needed to pay a visit in the middle of the night.
Well, it wasn't even 7 o'clock in the evening yet but you get the point.
Gasping at the sight presented through your little peep hole, you promptly unlock the handles before extending the large door wide. "And why exactly are you here? Miss me that much?" you tease.
Not receiving an answer, you scoff. "Are you really giving me the silent treatment? You're hurting my feelings."
When he didn't react to that either, you felt your face drop. Slowly striding towards him, you notice his head was low as he stared at his shoes. Placing your right palm softly on his left shoulder, you felt him glance up.
Did something happen during your short time apart? Was he in trouble?
Knowing it was really you in front of him, Pedro lunged his body onto yours before you could stop and think about what was happening. Colliding his lips upon yours, you felt your thoughts drift away as he steadily moved forward and made his way inside your warm apartment.
Stopping to swiftly shut the door, you had no time to take in a full breathe before his mouth found yours again. Clutching the back of his head, probably pulling his hair out, you groan as his nails claw your exposed waist, your shirt slowly inching up more and more as the seconds went up. Slipping his tongue inside you, you felt the way his nose hit yours as dominance took over.
He wanted to control all of you.
It wasn't until your legs began wobbling from the long standing when his hands lost your waist, instantly making contact with the back of your thighs, squeezing them, soon allowing them to suffocate his sides. Following his lead, you pull your lips back before diving them to the corner of his jaw as he groaned, walking to god knows where.
You figured out where once you shrieked as your back made contact with your couch, his palms widening your legs in a hurry before situating himself on top of you. Surprisingly, the difference of weight wasn't an issue as he clinged harder against you, moving his hand behind your neck to pull it down, making sure to make you feel the pain of the slight hair tugging.
"What are y-" you softly choke, voice coming out in whimpers as he ignored you. Latching his lips to the top of your chin, he stuck his tongue out, dragging it gradually down your neck as your back arched, needing to feel closer to him if that was even possible. Your wish was his command as he hastily pressed himself against you, making you groan in surprise.
Making his way lower, he passes your neck down to your chest while his hands found their to your collarbone, smoothly rubbing the area up and down before clutching onto it harshly as he continue down his path. Something about the way his soft fingertips applying pressure near your neck as his lips kept kissing the rest of your body had you in wonders. You couldn't believe this was happening.
It wasn't until you felt his mouth near your exposed waist that made you completely lose it. You had long forgotten that Jules was in the room next door when you gasped, feeling his teeth swipe against your skin. "Shhh," he whispered against your lips as a way to silence you. "Don't want to let your friend know I'm here now, do we?"
You could only stammer shaky sounds as he planted a few more deep kisses, slowly pulling away and feeling the wetness of both your mouths descend down. He gave you one last dark gaze before returning his mouth on yours, loving the feeling of the dampness between your faces.
His mouth opening wider, he began intensively tasting you, swiping his tongue around your lips as you tried to keep up with his eagerness. Not giving you much time to catch his pace, you could feel how wet he was making you.
No, he was literally drowning your face.
Pulling back, you squint your eyes and take a few seconds to adjust to the poor lighting in your living room. You were met with dark, green eyes.
Lady Gaga.
Shrieking, you grab the black, green-eyed demon on top of you and throw her off, causing her to let out a loud hiss with the immediate sounds of footsteps following afterwards.
"Lady Gaga!" you hear Jules squeal in her pink robe, wrapping the nauseating cat in her arms before turning to you, giving you a look of rage. "Did you throw her?!"
"She licked me!"
Jules scoffed harshly before hurling a nearby pillow at you, allowing it to hit your face in full force before stomping back to her door and violently slamming it shut.
You fucking hated that cat.
Laying back against the couch, you rubbed your red face in humiliation. Not only did you have an intense dream about Pedro but you're pretty sure you just had a full on make-out session with a cat.
Groaning, you couldn't believe what was happening to you. Why would you dream about him-
No- why would you have one doing not so child friendly activities?!
You just know you'll never be able to face him with a straight face, too embarrassed to even be near him now without thinking about this moment.
It wasn't even like you thought about him in that way- you didn't.
Maybe your time of the month was approaching or you were in desperate need of a date because there's no way any normal human being would fantasize over some older man that way.
Okay, maybe it was possible.
But that was definitely not you...even though you just did. Although, you did see the comparison between him and Lady Gaga.
They looked kind of alike- right? Same whiskers.
One thing that was certain was you were never going to tell anybody about this. If people believed for one second you had feelings for him, which you don't, you'll never hear the end of it.
He was not your type nor close to your age. It would never happen.
Sighing, you close your eyes and silently send out a prayer to not engage in another session with the demonic cat. Maybe sleep will make you think clearly once awoken and abolish all these wild concepts floating through your head.
But once you were actually awoken, your mind still wasn't clear- or maybe it was because the pounding on your door ultimately pulled you from your slumber.
Stretching your arms, you scratch the top of your head as you try to open your eyes but it was no use, you were way too tired to fully engage with anybody right now.
Completely avoiding looking through the peep hole, which was a red flag on your part, you swing the door open to find a man who looked like Pedro standing on the other side of it.
Groaning aloud, you slap yourself as he takes this by surprised, not sure why you just did that.
How are you having another dream about him? Was this the bad luck needed after scoring tickets to your favorite band? Is this some kind of sick revenge someone has against you?
Pointing at Lady Gaga, who was dressed up as Pedro, you rudely spit out the words needed to be said. "You are just a cat. Nothing happened between us."
With that, you step back inside, ignoring Lady Gaga's attempts of trying to gain your attention by waving their arms in front of you. Making your way to your room, you see Jules walk out of hers.
"Who was that at the door?" she questions, hearing another round of knocks appear.
You tiredly wave your hand in nonsense, denying that thought. "It was Lady Gaga, go back to bed."
Jules sends you a bewildered look as you enter your bedroom and face-plant on your cozy bed, allowing sleep to reel you back in. Turning her head, she looks at Lady Gaga who was sitting casually by her bedroom door.
"She is turning fucking nuts," she whispers to herself before swiftly opening the door to reveal a very confused Pedro. "What's up?"
Pedro's concerned face takes over his actions as he jumps to his eager questions. "Is y/n okay? She thought I was a cat."
Jules shrugs, rubbing her eyes with her palm. "Who knows, I think she's getting over her coffee hangover."
Pedro carefully nods, still skeptical as to what happened to you. What did you mean nothing happened between you two? Did something happen that he wasn't aware of?
Were you hiding something from him?
Gracelessly gesturing his leave, Pedro walked quickly down the hall as Jules stood there for a moment too tired to comprehend why he paid the apartment a visit this early in the morning. The sun was barely out, why did he come?
After shutting the door and taking a seat on the couch, she laid back and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but for some reason a strange intellect emerged out of nowhere.
She shrugged it off, instantaneously knocking out, too exhausted to conquer her suspicions.
+
taglist: @thesapphirequeen @floralsightings @wrathofcats
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stewieonthewall · 3 days
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🚨🚨 calling all pazzi enjoyers 🚨🚨
here’s another covid fic snippet that no one asked for bc i feel the need to defend myself atp 😭😭 let it be known that this was written in MARCH ok? also no warnings for this or anything it’s just silly
•••
Looking around for her phone, Azzi takes two photos. The first shows the curtain of blonde hair doing little to hide all the points of contact between Paige’s face and Azzi’s neck. The second shows the pale hand nearly digging into Azzi’s exposed side, the pushed up hoodie (she’d always recognize it as Paige’s) making it look even more suggestive.
She knows it’s a bad idea, maybe even a terrible one, but she tells herself that she’s going to use them for something productive, like sending them to Imani (whoever she is) and telling her to back off. It doesn’t even sound convincing to her. She’s fucking ridiculous.
Sighing, she stands up and makes her way to the bathroom. Soothed by the familiar morning routines of washing her face and brushing her teeth (the bitter aftertaste in her mouth taking a while to go away), Azzi is able to look at her reflection without wanting to scream.
Making fun of herself has always been her best defence mechanism, so she does a stupid pose and takes a stupid photo of herself in Paige’s hoodie and posts a stupid ‘Who wore it better?’ poll on her private story. Less than three minutes later, a FaceTime from Colleen covers her phone screen.
Azzi is quick to answer, not even getting a greeting in before her friend blurts out, “So what’s up with you and Paige?”
Eyes widening, Azzi rushes to find headphones, frantically mashing the volume button down before Colleen can say anything else.
“What are you even talking about?” She whispers once she’s settled back in the bathroom.
The other girl shrugs. “Did something happen between you two?”
Azzi still doesn’t get it. “Like, a fight? We’re fine, I promise. Why are you asking, though? Did Paige say something to you?” She hopes her voice doesn’t sound as paranoid as she feels. It’s been a long 24 hours.
“Your story? It looks a bit… y’know,” Colleen smirks. “I figured it was only a matter of time, but I didn’t think you’d post it like that. I have to say, though, I thought Paige would be the type to leave hickies. Unless they’re just somewhere el-”
“SHUT UP!” Azzi shrieks, immediately slapping her hand over her mouth. “How are you getting all of this from a photo? You we’ve never even kissed!”
Colleen has the decency to look slightly apologetic. “Sorry, I guess you wouldn’t see it that way. Look at the photo again, Az. Try to understand, because I promise I’m not the only one.”
“Fine.” Azzi clicks on her story. Shit. Her hair is messy, her tongue is out in what she realizes now looks like a smug smile, and Paige’s hoodie is hanging off her in a way that makes it look like she’s not wearing anything else. Colleen is totally right.
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germworms · 7 months
Text
Etho's unexpected face reveal
A shortfic of Bdubs accidentally seeing Etho's face on call.
Wordcount: About 1400 words.
Pairing: Etho&Bdubs Platonically
RPF
---
"I'll see you guys later!"
As he stopped recording, he leaned back in his chair. Through his headset he could hear his friends chatting away, about some random topic. He heard snippets of redstone talk, and that made him zone out. He double checked to see if he had stopped recording, which he had.
"Bdubs!" Someone yelled into his ear, making him jump up.
"Argh! What!" He asked, he moved his mouse around to find whoever scared him, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, hello, Etho."
"You tired?" Etho asked, his avatar sneaking in front of him, up close. He was laughing a bit, his own voice an octave lower. A sign of tiredness from the canadian.
He yawned, "Not at all, I gotta edit my video tonight too."
"Awh, you need motivation?" Etho asked, punching him in the game, "I'll be your ear worm."
"Thanks, you are a sweetheart."
"Yeah, I'll go take a quick washroom break, be right back."
"...Washroom." He mumbled, "Crazy man." He couldn't help but smile, he never could stop smiling when talking to him.
Someone walked into the room, hovering above him while wrapping their arms around his shoulders, "I'm headed to bed, the girls are asleep."
He turned his head to kiss his wife, "I'll finish up my editing and join ya', honey."
She closed the door behind her, smiling before closing it all the way.
He turned in his chair, opening up discord to check when the next hermit meeting would be. He saw Etho in the voice channel and joined, knowing that Etho liked to listen to music through Mee6. A big picture of a room showed up suddenly, his heart dropped.
Should he tell him? How would he even tell him, he was pissing right now! No use in calling for him.
He should have turned a blind eye, gone out of the voice group, but he was a tad too nosey for his own good.
His friend for over a decade, his faceless friend who he had never met. An internet friend whom he had spent countless hours talking to.
They had talked about meeting up 5 years ago, and then again yearly since then, but then Covid spread around right as they finally started making realistic plans. Everything got cancelled and they stopped talking about it. Etho stayed in his apartment alone, and he had his family he needed to take care of.
So as he watched, silently, and listened to every sound, a door closing made him jump. Footsteps.
First comfortable black pants, then the bottom of a black hoodie, "Bdubs I'm back."
He felt his heart speed up, the anticipation, not even Beef knew about this. He felt guilty already, he had seen more than enough, "Etho!"
A face became visible on the screen, a head full of brownish blackish hair, quite skinny face, clean shaven. His eyes were tired, but nonetheless, he was handsome. He gulped, "Uh, uhm."
"What did you do, silly?" He heard minecraft sounds, forgetting all about the game. Etho was probably wondering why he was standing so still, listening to him through the game and not through discord.
He couldn't stop staring, he felt like a sinner. Like this was more embarrassing to admit than when his parents had walked in on him as a teen, than his first kiss with a girl and with that boy in elementary.
An embarrassed blush crept up on him, "Bdubs, are you okay?"
Ethos mouth moved while he talked, of course, but seeing a face to a voice he wasn't even supposed to see made him speechless. The way he said his name made his heart skip in a way he hadn't felt in a long time maybe because he could see every syllable from Etho now.
"I- uh, ugh, your-" He coughed, watching how confusion spread across Ethos face. He noticed how Ethos posture was quite poor, "You should check your posture."
"Oh, thank you."
There was a moment of silence, "Hold on."
"Bdubs!!!" Etho's camera was quickly turned off, "You! What! You should have told me!! I- I don't know what to say!"
"Well!" He started, "I mean! Your handsome! Pretty! I mean, you're very- what I mean- I'm sorry!" He stumbled over his words, not knowing how to react. "I'll turn- I'm gonna turn on my face cam!"
He turned it on, forgetting how his face was completely red in embarrassment, "Oh god." he noticed, "It's the lighting!"
He let his words die out. Should he hide away?
"Are you angry?" He asked in a small voice.
"Angry? I- I don't know... A bit, I guess. I trust you, of course, but this has become a big deal for me, my face. I mean, you were gonna see it one day, I wanted that time to be special." Etho said, his voice became weary. "Be happy I actually wore clothes."
"I wouldn't be un-happy so to say."
"You- You're something else, man!"
Bdubs eased up, "I know, baby."
Etho took a long breath, he could hear the gears turning in his head, not knowing what he was planning. Who knew what that man was thinking anyways.
"You get ONE time of facetime, okay?"
He hadn't expected a sudden meet and greet, "Really?"
"Just make a private call, I don't want any of the other hermits joining, Gem will be so mad at you by the way." Ethos voice quieted down.
All hope of a session of editing went out the window, as he pulled up his private chat on discord with Etho, the last message read, 'U up for mc?'
He clicked the call button, "I'm calling! Okay! It's happening!"
Etho chuckled once, "Well, you already saw my face, WITHOUT me knowing, stalker."
"I'm sorry, okay?"
The call was picked up, eyes staring directly at him, while his mind blanked out, "Uh- hi."
"You're so RED, man!" Etho laughed at him, his whole face full of laughter, a mix of nervousness and excitement.
"I am?" He felt his face, "Well, don't blame me! You're pretty handsome, not more than me, though." He lied, of course Etho would be good looking, he could feel it in his guts from the moment he met him. Beauty followed the soul.
"Don't sell yourself short... Literally." Etho began cracking up again, going off screen to laugh.
"Oh, FREAKING funny, huh! I can prove I'm 5'10!"
"Stand up for me, then." Etho said, showing back on screen to stare directly at him. Making him nervous.
He halted in his action to stand up, "I don't take commands from you! You should trust my words."
"Oh, so now you don't wanna do what I say? Sounds like someone isn't as tall as they say they are, hmm, Bdubs?"
His heart skipped a bit, "I- I uh, I am." His voice more quiet now.
"You okay?"
He had to look away, "Nothing! I'm fine! Can you uh, say my name again?" He spoke the last part quickly, too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Ethos face scrunched, "What?-" His voice high, but then he spoke, "Bdubs? BdoubleO? John? Which one?"
He coughed, "Uh! Thank you! That's all, I wanted you to look stupid! Okay, Ha! Yeah.." Hearing his name from Etho was always something he enjoyed, but from Etho AND his face was something else entirely. He was comfortable with his sexuality, of course. He had always been open to girls and boys, and he fell in love with his wife the first time they met.
When he met Etho, he started wondering how his life would be if he had married a man. A thought for the dreamers, a thought he wouldn't make a reality, because he loved his life. He loved his children, his wife, his job.
He loved Etho as much as he could too.
"You like when I say your name?"
As much as a friend could love him, perhaps he never saw them as only friends, but also not as lovers. His wife knew about Etho, how could she not? And she adored him as well. They would frequently put an Etho lets play in the background when making dinner, laughing at the commentary. His wife never had any problems with, what Cleo would call, his obsession.
"You do, you weirdo." Etho said, leaning back, "Can you say my name?"
"Etho." His eyes scanned the screen, the face for any reaction.
A smile spread across Ethos face, he scuffed, "Yeah, okay."
A small pause between them and then a strange question, "Should I buy a better webcam for you?"
"For me?"
"You're the only one who gets to see me, mind I add, maybe HD is better for you." Etho said with a slight smile in his tone, "Anything for you."
In their years together, Etho had picked up on his adorations for him, and he had never said anything about it. Slowly, after a long time, it became their normal.
"You should get some rest, Bdubs."
"I should."
His head was tilted while the two men stared at each other, Etho said in a low voice, "This is kinda nice."
"Yeah, it really is."
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grogusmum · 4 months
Note
Hey Lovely Hazel! 🖤
Happy Saturday evening to you and sending lots of love your way!
I'm here to challenge you with Pedro Boy ficlet, let's see now... let's go for Dieter!
He's excited!
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Love you! 🖤
Thank you my darling Jett! I hope you are having a good Saturday! 💚
Okay, this is connected to another lil 300-word doodad I wrote soon after The Bubble came out.
I got carried away, I had some of this worked out before, so a 300-500 word thing turned into 1300 oops!
Dieter was excited. He was trying to keep his cool, but it had been weeks since he had seen his sweet pea! But this time, he notices someone else... you.
🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐
“I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
Anika looks up expectantly.
“Do you have the number for the therapy animal people?”
In his suite, Dieter looks around at the mess, turning a circle at the center of the room. The paint, the drugs, wine and liquor bottles, his clothes, KitKat wrappers. The only area clean is the space set aside for his fitness mirror, which he looks at sheepishly, then throws a towel over it. 
Pressing his lips together as he makes his decision, he gets to work. He cleans up the most offending messes, then calls housekeeping for new sheets and towels, and a bathroom clean up and vacuuming, before heading back to the lobby to meet with the goat lady.
Dieter had called right away, and asked about Skipper, and if he could book another session with him. The woman he spoke with was very kind. She was the main trainer and creator of the therapy program, she explained it ran out of a larger farm owned by her family. She wished aloud that he could come to the farm, he would get an earlier slot… Dieter told her he would happily pay any fee for expediting his session. She relented, telling him she remembered how he connected with Skipper and she thought he could miss the next group and go to visit Dieter. She would bring him herself.
You drive your jeep since it's just one small animal, Skipper bleats quietly back in his crate. Thinking back to the day at the hotel, Dieter's reaction to the baby goat was not entirely unusual, especially these days. But you felt for him, it seemed like he was releasing a lot. So you weren't surprised to get his call. He had offered an exorbitant amount of money, but you told him you'd gladly accept an additional fee, but that his offer was far too much. You thought, sure it's a business and it has to keep making money but it is for helping people. And he seemed to need it.
Before you know it you are on the grounds, at the gate you show your credentials, get the Covid rapid test, and the safety protocols spiel. You park, pull a large duffle out of the backseat, and put Skipper on a leash. You let him relieve himself, then put a water bowl down so he can have a drink before getting to work.
You look up at the front doors and you see Dieter watching, his body language tells you he is excited but trying to be patient.  
Skipper finishes his water break and you start up the gravel drive toward him.
Dieter has been practicing his spiel to convince you to sell Skipper to him. He doesn't know if he's going to pull the trigger on it, but he wants to be ready. 
You put on your mask and approached the actor. 
"Mr Bravo, nice to see you again."
"Hey, uh, hi," Dieter says looking a little needy. 
You don't usually do this, but since its one on one, you hand him the leash.
Dieter lights up like a Christmas tree, so different from the first time. He starts talking to Skipper as the three of you walk to the side lawn-
"Hey Sweet Pea! I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you." 
He gets ahead of you so you can't quite make out all he says. But it's animated and happy.
Skipper was still determining where he was going but he likes to be with you, so having you on his own was exciting. When he was taken out of the jeep he recognized where he was a little. The smell, the cobblestones. He saw you look toward the big building so he looked to… was that the Fluffy Guy? 
It was. Well, he needs all the help he can get from what Skipper could see. 
The goat looked from you to Dieter as you passed the leash to him. 
Is this wise, mama? he thought. 
"...I've missed you." 
It's okay, guy. I'm here, what are we doing today?
"I really want to adopt you… but I don't know if the therapy woman will let me."
This is nothing new, pal. Everyone wants to adopt me…
Skipper bleats up at Dieter and Dieter is beside himself. He sits down on the grass and starts to pet Skipper's flank. You soon catch up and sit down with him. When you've both settled, Skipper climbs onto Dieter's lap. The man's eyebrows lift and his mouth is a small "o". Then his eyes get wet. As Dieter tries to pull himself together, you put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to go over and sit on the patio. Mr. Bravo, you be you, talk to Skip, and if you want to cry, cry. This is what he is here for."
Dieter gives a grateful nod and hugs Skipper, the goat bleats happily. 
"Would you want to live with me?" Dieter wonders. "No, why would you… fffu- sorry Sweet Pea, I shouldn't curse. I just, it's only-"
Dieter growls in frustration. Skipper bleats and twists his head to see him.
You watch from the patio, Dieter's body language has changed, so you stand. 
“Mr Bravo, is everything alright?”
Dieter lets out a breath, continuing to scratch the kid’s rump.
“I want to buy Swe- ah Skipper. I’ve really never- I don’t know I just- I will pay you anything!”
“Mr Brav-”
“Dieter, please, call me Deiter.”
“Dieter”, you say gently, putting an equally gentle hand on his arm. “I am not going to sell you Skipper, I’m very sorry.” 
His crest-fallen face pulled at your heart. 
“Okay let's do this-” You open your duffle bag and pull out two yoga mats. “Do you do any yoga, Mist- I mean Dieter?”
Dieter shrugs, his pout makes you smirk, a man who is used to getting what he wants if he throws enough money at it, but he does stand and assume a stance with his legs shoulders width apart. Skipper knows the drill, he did the moment you unfurled the mats- he loves goat yoga!
Soon enough Dieter is giggling as Skipper insinuates himself in all of Dieter's poses. But far from getting in Dieter's way or anything, Skipper finds where he needs to balance, and its not unlike getting a massage at the same time, as Skipper’s hooves dig into knots. But Dieter was starting to be taken by you as well, your quiet praise, and with a completely unnecessary request for permission to touch him, some hands-on adjustments to some of his poses. Soft and warm but also assertive, you touched his hips shoulders, and back with assured purpose. 
After some water and downtime, Dieter paints with Skipper in his lap, and finally, you hand him a stiff bristle brush to groom Skipper with.
Yes, fluffy Guy! My favorite!! Now just let me nibble your fluff and we are golden.
Dieter brushes the little goat and you and he chat idly. 
Dieter feels fantastic, but sad, as you leash Skipper and hoist your bag over your shoulder. You decline when Dieter offers to take it and hand him the lease. His boyish grin gives you a little jolt of something, you aren't quite sure about. He’s handsome, and you truly enjoyed your time with him today, but you’ve seen the articles - he is a walking Hollywood disaster story… but-
He reluctantly hands you the lease as you come to the jeep. 
“Thank you,” his voice is low and quiet, “That was- that was amazing.”
“You and Skip did some great work together.”
“You were great too.”
Why is heat rising in your cheeks? Skipper looks up curiously at you and if goats could smirk, he would.
“Thank you.”
“How much would it cost to convince you to come once a week?” 
🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐
thanks for this ask, Jett! It kind of kicked my butt in gear to get this little thing out of my WIPs, for good or bad. lol 💚
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Kaiju Week in Review (December 3-9, 2023)
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I made a frame from this shot Wikizilla's Image of the Week. No regrets. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, I love ya. When I was a teenager, explicit queerness was anathema to most big-name franchises. Those dominoes have been slowly falling, often in lower-profile tie-ins first, and to me this is a huge one: 69 years without a queer live-action Godzilla character are over. And Cate's the main protagonist of the show! I'm not under the delusion that media representation will cure all society's ills, but it sure doesn't hurt. Now, the non-Tumblr parts of the fandom are being completely normal about this, right? Right? Whatever, that's why you'll never get rid of me here. Cate had a couple more sweet moments with May in this episode, and Mariko Tamaki wrote episode 7, so don't expect her to stop kissing girls. Hopefully she's learned a valuable lesson about cheating though.
"The Way Out" is also another gift to those of us who have always wanted to see more of the ramifications of a world where Godzilla exists, from underground towns for the super-rich to ruined cities where federal troops shoot looters and harass people experiencing homelessness. And the show continues to find ways to use kaiju to talk about COVID, from Cate and Kentaro's exchange about San Francisco truthers ("It's easier than waking up every day and thinking, at any moment, the same could happen to you") to the blink-of-an-eye speed at which the threat went from on the news to her front door in the flashbacks.
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As I foretold, we got a Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire trailer, an amusing contrast to the weighty Toho flick and Apple show already fore of mind. It's Adam Wingard unbound, that's for sure. The human cast seems pared back, a longstanding Monsterverse problem, and the kaiju fights were far and away the best part of Godzilla vs. Kong, so hopefully this approach will play to his strengths. But that movie also had excellent VFX, and some of the shots in here are rough. There's time to fix them, at least... which probably can't be said of Godzilla's design. I like that he's pink (did some Warner Bros. executive take the wrong message away from Barbie?) and sporting a thagomizer on his tail, but his proportions are uncanny. And I see Kong found the Infinity Gauntlet; good for him.
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I am, of course, not done talking about Godzilla Minus One. It added over 200 screens and made $8.3 million in its second weekend in the U.S., a minuscule drop considering that its $11.4 million opening "weekend" spanned five days. Almost a third of all tickets sold this weekend were for Godzilla or Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, remarkable in a market so allergic to foreign imports. That brings its total to $25.3 million (more by the time you read this). With an avalanche of Christmas blockbusters on the way, its grip on premium-format screens is about to slip. Still, I see it hanging around theaters for a while. I have never seen the fandom so united in praise for a film before, and it's making plenty of new fans.
Some of those fans are in high places. Variety leaked that it's on the 20-film shortlist for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars (to be narrowed to five nominees), something I, again, never expected to read about a Toho Godzilla film. Alas, it's locked out of this year's Best International Film category due to the quirky nomination period.
Much has been made of how great the film looks on a $15 million budget. I have two caveats, one in each direction. No one is quite sure where the $15 million figure came from; Yamazaki said at a recent con appearance that he only wished he had that much to play with. (He has yet to divulge the actual budget, just that it was above ¥1 billion.) Now, unions in the Japanese film industry are much weaker than in Hollywood, so a given production budget goes a lot further in Japan. All the same, I doubt that alone explains Minus One looking better than most superhero movies made for twenty times the cost. I'll offer a couple more reasons: Yamazaki has extensive visual effects experience (he's been the VFX supervisor of all but one of the live-action films he's directed), and the film's big effects scenes aren't as busy or lengthy as many of the Hollywood counterparts. I don't know if Disney will ask Yamazaki to direct the next Star Wars movie (that would require there to be a next Star Wars movie), but the studios here should be taking notes.
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the sphinx, a blog with a ton of American Godzilla rarities to share, has outdone itself—behold a continuity and dialogue script for the U.S. version of King Kong vs. Godzilla! Included in the download is a detailed comparison with the film. No huge differences, apart from the script giving the secretary added to the U.S. version a name, but a fascinating piece of history all the same.
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The Minus One incarnation of Godzilla (MaiGoji?) has joined Godzilla Battle Line, accompanied by [SPOILER]. To be honest, my enthusiasm for this game has been flagging, and I'm not caught up on the strategies developing around these two, so I'll just refer you to Sir Melee's channel as usual. This Godzilla's also doing a collaboration with the Japanese mobile game Fleet of Blue Flame.
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Tiffany Grant, Asuka's original voice actress, will narrate the audiobooks for the Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA light novels which explore an Instrumentality-free path for the show. Seven Seas Entertainment published them in English from 2019 to 2021, which, to be honest, was also news to me.
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This one's for my fellow library workers: the obscenely popular Who HQ nonfiction series for children is publishing a book about Godzilla next June. I don't know if this will have quite the same impact on today's young Godzilla fans as the Ian Thorne tome had on Gen Xers and Millennials, what with the Internet and all, but it's certain to be more factual. Expect illustrations instead of licensed photos, and not just because of Toho.
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I can finally talk more about the Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers mobile game without fearing a DMCA. Not that there's much to talk about; it's freemium through and through and I'm not sure I know a single person who's excited for it. Interesting to see some critters from the comics break into another medium, at least. Here's the trailer.
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grimreaperschild · 10 months
Text
bones
summary: you and your housemates are thrown into a completely different world and for some reason they all look to you for answers
warnings: angst, character death, gore
a/n: this was so fun to write, definitely want to make this a series! give me your thoughts and mdni pls-🦷
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you’re shaken awake by chad, you slap his hands away trying to roll over “y/n wake up- please there’s something on the news- tara liv and quin are out- somethings wrong.” his voice is shrill, his tone showing you how scared he is your up in an instant booking it to the living room where your housemates are, mindy and anika are sat hand in hand starting at the tv, sams pacing ethan is sat on the floor looking white as a ghost chad comes behind you looking concerned, you turn your attention to the tv “breaking news! people all around the world are going rabid some are saying it’s a side affect of the new covid-19 virus please stay inside until further notice” the same message playing on repeat.
that has you pulling your phone out of your pocket, pressing your girlfriend tara’s contact with shaky fingers, it rings 3 times before she picks up “baby! we are nearly home, open the door” she sounds breathless you don’t say anything as you try to walk to the door, failing miserably you all but sprint to your front door throwing it open with a bang just in time to see a homeless man giving chase to the 3, you don’t remember moving but the next thing you know your down your steps and running towards them, you get there just as he pounces on quin she lets out a scream as he takes her to the floor you haul him off her punching him square in the nose a sickening crunch is heard as he falls “fuck” you hiss shaking out your hand, he makes a move to jump up but before you can do anymore damage tara is pulling you by your arm “y/n leave it come on please we need to get to the house” you don’t argue.
as soon as the door slams shut your pulling the smaller girl into your arms checking every inch of her “tara are you hurt, what happened” she relaxes into your hold and snuggles into you “im ok we were on our way back from the mall and people just started screaming and chasing each other we ran home as fast as we could” a yell comes from the living room and you follow the noise hand in hand with tara, ethan is stood pointing at quin red in the face sam is stiff bedside him liv and chad are standing protectively behind quin who looks like she’s about to throw up.
you quickly stand between the group hands raised “whoa, what the fuck is going on guys” you question voice soft but firm, they all start explaining at the same time “ok ok i can’t understand you if you all talk over each other like this” you point at ethan who still has his hand raised “why are you yelling” this snaps him out of his trance as he starts pacing again “she’s bit y/n that dude bit her, this is zombie apocalypse 101 she’s gonna turn im telling you we need to get her out” you raise your eyebrow at sam “your with him on this one? didn’t take you for a paranoia kinda girl” she shrugs her shoulders “somethings not right, i can feel it” you turn to quin “that homeless dude bit you?” she nods tears spilling out over her cheeks “ok, i think we all need to calm down, t could you make everyone some hot chocolate? im gonna clean quin up” she nods and makes her way into the kitchen. ethan throws his hands up “what your just letting her stay” he takes a menacing step towards her “ethan calm down we don’t know anything yet last thing we need is you trying to kill people because you read too many comic books” chad says getting up in his face pushing him back, you have to step in again “first of all it’s a tv show as well as comics and we don’t need you going all hero right now either, sit” you point to the sofa “you too ethan” you turn and give him a pointed look he frowns but sits anyway, you grab quins shoulders and steer her to the bathroom.
she’s sat on the toilet seat while you clean the bite he managed to sink his teeth in good, right where her neck meets her shoulder, you put pressure on to stop the slow trickle of blood “do you think ethan’s right” she’s shaking and your not sure if it’s from the adrenaline or the way she’s been softly crying this whole time “i don’t think so q, i mean if you were gonna catch some virus it would have been from that goblin i found in the kitchen last week” she giggles at that finally cracking a smile “yeah i made a bad choice with that one huh” “you make quite a few bad choices” you take the cloth off her shoulder readying the hydrogen peroxide “this is gonna hurt like a bitch” you warned, she nods you pour a hefty amount onto a clean cloth and press it to her shoulder, she lets out a cry and a fresh wave of tears spill out of her eyes “im sorry q, nearly done” she doesn’t say anything else as you put a patch over the bite.
3 soft knocks on the door as it opens and tara pokes her head in “hey hot chocolates made” she smiles half heartedly “go on i’ve told ethan to quit it” she smiles at you gratefully slipping past tara and out of sight, your shoulders slump as soon as the door closes tara gives you a once over with her eyes and points to the counter top, you oblige happily jumping up and opening your legs so she can stand between them. she takes your hand gently in her own you didn’t even realise you were bleeding till she started the cleaning process, she places a soft kiss to your bandaged knuckles when she’s done looking up at you with adoration in her eyes “thank you for coming to the rescue baby” you smile leaning your head forward to rest against hers “i’ll always be there to get you out of trouble love, you know that” she giggles pressing a soft kiss to your lips “my knight in shining armour” she fake swoons hands over her heart blinking rapidly, you chuckle jumping off the counter having to peer down at the girl as she only stood at 5’2 to your 5’7.
as you enter the room hand in hand with tara everyone is sat solemnly with cups and biscuits in there hands, you take your seat on the main sofa in-front of the tv it’s still blearing the same emergency broadcast “will someone please shut that off” chad looks up at you “huh- oh yeah sorry” he clicks the tv off and the room is plunged into an uncomfortable silence, you start to regret asking for it off you feel tara place a reassuring hand on your thigh as you notice that everyone’s looking at you as if waiting for you to speak, fuck when did i become the appointed leader you take a sip of your drink before talking the tension in the room growing with every passing second “ok so obviously no one’s going outside” wow y/n good job. you mentally kick yourself as you stand walking over to the window and opening the curtain to take a look out on the street.
what you see makes you stagger backwards hitting into the coffee table the mugs nearly falling off you think for a second you imagined it throwing the curtains open with a new sense of urgency your heart drops to the pit of your stomach with the realisation that you had seen it perfectly the first time, there was a little girl couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6 laying in the middle of the road a woman was hunched over with her back to the window pulling her guts out of the massive tear in her stomach and shoving them in her mouth with such eagerness youd think it was her first meal in years, you gag as she pulls some intestine out your vaguely aware of someone closing the curtain but that does nothing for you the image still burned fresh in your mind.
anika runs to the kitchen sink and starts hurling and that snaps you out of your daze spinning on your heel you take in the carnage, quin is nowhere to be found sams pacing again mindys sobbing into a pillow liv and chad are holding eachother and ethan is running to join anika at the sink, tara as always is stood dutifully by your side tears running down her face she’s shaking and for the first time you take in what she’s wearing, a blue long sleeved tank top and jeans she looks good. you take your jacket off and wrap it around her shoulders hoping to give her some comfort before you turn to the group “ok sam i need you” your proud of how clear your voice is, you sound strong the complete opposite of what your currently feeling.
sams eyes meet yours “windows we need to board up the windows and the door, can you do that for me” she nods moving swiftly to the basement door opening it and disappearing out of view, you turn surveying the rest of the group “chad, go help her” he doesn’t move “chad it’s gonna be ok you just have to listen” that gets him moving, your attention falls to mindy she’s still crying but it’s not as bad as before she’s shaking like a leaf, you sit next to her putting an arm around her shoulders “i need you and tara to do something for me ok?” tara perks up at the mention of her name listening intently “i need you guys to get all the food in the house and log it in a book” mindy nods grateful to have something to distract her.
as the 4 of you make your way into the kitchen you see ethan and anika pale sat with there backs to each other keeping close, “you tryna steal my girl landry?” mindy quips that brings a smile to everyone’s faces, it’s gonna be fine mindys still cracking jokes “ethan i need you in the livingroom now please, anika help these 2” with that you turn walking to your room grabbing 2 notepads and a bunch of pens and setting them out on the coffee table “everything we know about zombies or anything like that, no matter how stupid we write down ok?” ethan grabs a notepad and starts scribbling instantly, your mind turns to quin now everyone’s occupied you make your way cautiously to her room knocking softly, you hear a whimper from the other side and you open the door.
“quin?” shes stood with her back too you and there’s a purplish blue hue to her skin around the bite “quin you don’t look so good are you ok?” she stumbles as she turns and her eyes are a yellow colour leaking blood that falls off her cheeks and hits the carpet with a deafening put put put “shit” is all you get out before she lunges for you, your scream cut off by all the air being driven out of your lungs as your back hits the floor, she’s grabbing at your arms that are holding her as far away from you as humanly possible her jaw snapping wildly, you yell out as her hands find your face trying to pull you up to meet her, sam appears out of nowhere with a knife in her hands tara and ethan hot on her heels she lets out something that resembles a war cry as she sinks the knife into quins back it makes a squelching noise as she pulls it out, it makes you shudder. quin doesn’t even flinch her ginger hair getting in your eyes as your arms burn with the weight of keeping her up “the brain you have to kill the brain” ethan screames “i cant- fuck i cant i cant do it im gonna drop her” you wheeze out fighting with all your strength to keep her snapping jaws away from you. sam throws the knife down with all her might on the back of quins head just as your arms give out you scream and writhe around as her lifeless body falls ontop of you.
tara pulls you out from under her slamming the door shut as she pulls you into her chest arms coming around your shoulders, your breath coming out in short raged gasps as you try to calm down “shhhh shhh it’s over baby, i’ve got you everything’s ok” she coos to you rocking you back and fourth “my sweet girl shhh” your breath evens out and you clutch at her, you rise shakily to your feet eying the door suspiciously “im not bit” a collective sigh of relief could be heard “we have stuff to do guys common, sam i want this door boarded up asap” you let yourself be pulled away and into tara’s lap it must look comical with the size difference but you don’t care.
one by one the group finishes there tasks and takes there respective seats all glassy eyes and staring into the distance the shock that we lost one of our own settling in, your not sure what the fuck had happened in the last couple of hours but you knew you’d fight tooth and nail to keep the ones you loved alive.
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4 Years HHAtranslated
It's 15 April 2024, which means HHAtranslated turns 4 years old today 🫶🏼🥹
When I thought of starting this account pre-covid, I never expected it would turn into this. During lockdown, I had so much time and the nostalgia and my love for Anubis helped me through so much over the years.
So many accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter talk about this universe and it makes me so happy!
As there are four series and this is the fourth anniversary, I'd like to express my gratitude for each show.
Het Huis Anubis:
* HHA raised me as a kid and helped me through my struggles as a teen and now in my twenties
* Seeing the cast IRL in December was a dream come true and I still can't believe it happened 🥹
* I can't wait to see the EMDV vodcast of Anjali and Iris! They're teasing the date of the first episode online atm. I can't wait to unravel new truths 🤩
The Five of the Magical Sword:
* Such an overhated and underrated show in Belgium and the Netherlands, that I was scared to sub it. I'm glad I did, because international fans took Sterre, Pim, Marcel, Raphael and Anastacia into their hearts and didn't let them go 🫶🏼
* I also learned to appreciate the show a lot more
* I hope they've a reunion too
House of Anubis:
* HHA and HOA fans often butt heads and it's not necessary at all!
* Both shows are absolutely amazing
* HOA took the key elements of HHA and made it their own and I adore what they did with it. Some characters might have a different arc, but it makes them their own person and I love discovering the differences
* I need to rewatch the masterpiece that's season 3!
Das Haus Anubis:
* For some reason, DHA makes me hella nostalgic while I only discovered it in 2019
* The same sets and scripts make for fun comparisons and while DHA is a lower budget show, it's so much fun
* I love to watch DHA episode/day wise and I've rewatched it like that already often
* The cast is so involved still and it makes me very happy!
The future of HHAtranslated:
* Once I find an editing programme again, I'd love to sub the S100 Singalong Anubis concert, BTS of HHA/The Five and the discography
* I'd love to sub Das Haus Anubis someday🫶🏼
Now:
My main project for 2024 is the 9 Het Huis Anubis novels, based on the TV series and the movies.
The books are in third person, but follow Nienke's pov, throughout her stay at Anubis House. Some scenes are way more graphic than in the series, like Nienke and Noa's kidnapping.
The romance is also more present and we get new scenes which make Nienke's decisions more logical, like how she ended up in Anubis house with the grail mid-season 2.
I'm starting of with book 1: The Secret Club of the Old Willow
I'll try to upload frequently. I've less time as I work fulltime and live with my boyfriend, compared to university and living at my parents' years ago. A new blogpost will be created on my website, with links to the chapters, published in a Google Drive doc.
English isn't my first language so there will be mistakes. However, I hope to do the books justice like I hope I did the show.
Teasers to the books and chapter 1 will be posted soon. Stay tuned ❤️
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tooneys-russo · 4 months
Text
YOU DECIDED FOR US
Plot: Riley and Alessia have a messy history. Now that Alessia is back in the UK can they work out their issues?
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CHAPTER 1
Alessia and Riley had both grown up with a football glued to their feet, they had both gone into the youth teams together and competed with each other in many tournaments. There had always been some tension between the two, with a few kisses exchanged and a drunken night spent together when they were 17 just before Alessia left. Alessia had signed with UNC for her college years to develop her football further. Riley cut off contact during Alessia’s college years and had signed for Arsenal and had become close with Leah Williamson.
As soon as COVID hit Alessia went back to her family’s home in London, she continued training while her agent and brother Luca was talking to Manchester United about a potential contract. She saw an Instagram post from Riley of her in a park not too far from Alessia’s house having a kick, which was allowed with the COVID rules. Alessia watched the girl’s technique and it was flawless, she sent a message to the Arsenal player. ‘Hey Riley its Alessia, I saw you were at Gosche’s Paddock having a kick. I live near there. I was just wondering if you wanted to have a kick sometime?’ Riley was back at Leah’s having dinner when the message came through, she looked at it and showed Leah. “Oh shit, Alessia Russo. Maybe she wants to reconnect.” Leah wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Shut up.” Riley threw a roast potato at her Arsenal teammate. “We made out a few times years ago, we slept together once. Haven’t seen her in ages.” Riley responded and looked at the message again. ‘Yeah sure. I am going down tomorrow at 2. See you then.’ Riley glared at Leah who knew that Riley couldn’t resist the pull of a gorgeous blonde girl. 
The following day Riley showed up at the field in London, she had set up some cones and put out a bunch of footballs ready for Alessia. Riley had also set up some water and gatorade for them while they trained. “Nice set up Riley.” The blonde striker walked over. “Kind of shocked that you pulled all this together for little old me.” Riley turned to the blonde, she looked a little older but still just as gorgeous as the last time she had seen her. “I guess I just had to impress the UNC superstar right?” Alessia laughed. The two went through some drills. It wasn’t an incredibly hot summer in London but the two were sweating after an hour. “Holy shit Riley this is mental.” Alessia sat down by the water and laid back, Riley smirked and grabbed a water, she poured it over her head and it trickled down her body. Alessia stared at her and watched as she took her shirt off. “Take a picture Russo. It’ll last longer.” She threw her Arsenal training shirt at the blonde striker. “Just amazed that you are still standing.” Alessia choked out. “Yeah sure.” She rolled her eyes and offered a hand to Alessia to help her up. Riley pulled her up and they stood starting into each other’s eyes, they were the same height, Riley caught herself and stepped back. “Lets keep going. No WSL side will sign you if you are lazy.” Alessia grabbed Riley’s hand. “Wait, how did you know I am going to join the WSL?” 
Riley laughed at Alessia. “Oh please, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes. You have two fantastic seasons at UNC, then suddenly you are back and your brother was spotted at United a couple weeks ago?” Riley shrugged. “He kind of stands out.” Alessia watched Riley as she set up another drill. “What? Want me to get out some paper to show you how everyone worked it out? Come on Less you went to College it is obvious.” Riley walked back over to Alessia. “You will do great there, you would be better at Arsenal but I guess you don’t always make the best decisions now do you?” The question had a bit of venom that Riley regretted immediately. It had been three years since they had slept together, only for Alessia to tell Riley that she was leaving in a few weeks, meaning that Riley cut off contact and hid from the girl even at Lioness camps. Alessia looked down. “It was the best for me. For my football.” Riley didn’t respond, rather she walked over to their next drill.
Once their session was finished Riley began picking her things up to take to her car. “Riley, I am really sorry.” Riley shrugged. “Don’t be.” She said coldly. “Let me know if you want to do another session. Tomorrow is my recovery day so I won’t be around.” Riley couldn’t look at Alessia as she packed her car. Alessia followed Riley, “So you don’t want to talk about what happened between us?” Riley sighed and turned to face Alessia. “To be honest no. It was hard as shit to get over you Alessia but I did it, alone. All of that is just a memory for me, a great memory but I am different now. I just need to focus on myself and my football. Just like you did. I will see you around Less-Alessia.” Riley corrected herself and closed the boot of her car and drove off leaving the blonde watching her pull away. Alessia messaged Riley a few days later, wanting to meet up for another session. ‘Sorry, heading into club training. Maybe another time.’ There was minimal contact between the two, Alessia being the one to initiate contact. Riley couldn’t bring herself to let the girl back into her life, not like she used to be.
When it was announced that Alessia had signed with Manchester United, Riley had liked the instagram announcement but never reached out to the blonde and Alessia sat with the message box open unable to type out anything to the girl. After a couple celebratory drinks with Ella she messaged Lotte, ‘Hey, Ella and I are in London and we are having a little bit of a party to celebrate me signing and the COVID restrictions easing. Come over and bring some of the girls. If possible, can you bring Riley?’ Lotte showed up at Leah and Riley’s place telling them about the sneaky party. “Nah I am fine thanks.” Riley said not bothering to get off the couch. “Come on please, I will let you wear my vintage Arsenal jumper that you had your eye on.” Riley looked up at Lotte. “Fine.” She trudged upstairs to get changed, she threw on an oversized white t shirt, black skinny jeans, a pair of Nike Jordan’s and a backwards Nike cap. On the way Riley stayed quiet, nervous about seeing Alessia again after their last encounter and the fight. 
Alessia and Ella were already tipsy when they arrived at the house. They both wrapped their arms around Lotte, Leah and Riley. Alessia’s hug lingered on Riley for an extra second before the girl pulled away and looked at the ground, Alessia smiled at the girl. “You liked the post.” She said matter of factly. “Can’t hate me that much.” She sipped her drink. “Just being polite, would be weird if someone who had known you for ten years didn’t like that you were coming to WSL wouldn’t it?” Riley moved past Alessia to grab a drink. Alessia watched Riley closely as they both got slightly more drunk with every passing minute. Riley stumbled out the back into the yard and sat down on a chair by the fire, she was happy no one else was out there so she could have some peace and quiet. It was quickly ruined by a drunk blonde who pulled up a chair next to Riley. “You hate me.” Alessia said and sipped her drink. “Oh shit, how did you work that out?” Riley smirked and leant back on the chair. “I know I fucked up but you also know I had to go.” Alessia put her hand on Riley’s leg. “Yeah I know. But I also know that you could have told me. I would have waited for you. I would have done fucking anything for you Alessia.” She looked into the blonde girl’s eyes. “I am sorry.” Alessia leant towards Riley. “Fuck your sorry.” Riley leant in and spoke against Alessia’s lips before standing up. She felt an empty can hit her back. “Fuck you Riley.” Alessia spat. “Oh princess you already did. Or don’t you remember?” Riley turned and walked quickly to Alessia so they were inches apart. “You think I didn’t miss you? I spent fucking ages trying to get over you. I wanted nothing more than you.” Alessia held back the tears. “You had me. I know for a fact you got with someone two weeks into being at UNC. Good to know two weeks is ages for you. I don’t want anything to do with you Alessia. You are fucking poison. Have fun at United, at least I will only have to put up with your shit for 180 minutes a year.” Riley finished her drink and stormed out of the house. 
Alessia spent the rest of the night drinking more and began talking with Jill Roord, the rest of the night was a blur for Alessia until the next morning. She woke up next to a girl, part of her prayed it was Riley that they maybe had some heated hate sex. But that was quickly dashed when the girl rolled over and it was Jill not Riley. Alessia sat up and rubbed her face, her phone had messages from a few of the girls with pictures of her and Jill dancing together and kissing. She groaned and got up from the bed, she had to head back to Manchester that afternoon and knew she would be feeling a bit poorly the whole time. Jill rubbed her eyes and looked at Alessia. “Well good morning to you.” Alessia smiled at the girl. “Good morning. Sorry to be that girl but I have to leave back to Manchester today.” She grabbed a shirt from the ground and put it on. “Oh no don’t worry. We have a team meeting tonight, maybe next time you are in London you can let me know, we could catch up again.” Alessia didn’t respond, she was putting everything together in her head of who Jill plays for. “Um maybe.” Jill rolled her eyes and got up from the bed. “Okay guess not.” Jill got dressed in silence and left the house without anything else being said. 
Ella and Alessia headed back to Manchester in the afternoon. “So you and Jill.” Ella smirked, Alessia sighed and put her sunglasses on. “I had a fight with Riley then the rest is a blur.” Ella examined Alessia’s face. “What ever happened between you two?” Alessia ran Ella through their stolen kisses at youth camp and everything leading up to their first time. “Oh Less.” Ella said sympathetically, Alessia having a few tears escape her eyes. “I never knew. I am so sorry. Are you okay?” Alessia just nodded and kept looking out the window of the moving train. 
Riley showed up at the Arsenal team meeting with Leah, they were just chatting about the upcoming season. They sat towards the front of the theater as the rest of the team came in. Jill walked in giggling with one of the other players, Riley saw that she had a few hickeys on her neck and Riley laughed and whispered to Leah. “Seems like someone had fun at the party last night.” Leah cleared her throat knowing exactly what had happened, and who gave Jill the hickeys. Katie laughed loud and announced. “Oi Rood, nice neck! Russo sure as shit marked you up.” Riley clenched her jaw and looked down. The meeting and subsequent team dinner was wasted on Riley, she barely paid attention and disappeared without saying bye to any of the girls. She went for a walk after she got home, she walked all the way to the local football field and started running trying to keep her tears from falling. 
They had not spoken since that night and there was no instance where they ran into each other either being in two different cities. The night before they were to play each other both were in London getting ready to play at the Emirates. At the Arsenal and Manchester United game Alessia warmed up with the team and continued glancing at her ex friend. Riley was phenomenal in the midfield, she had a game awareness that most 21 year olds would kill for. Riley had worked her ass off the whole game, there wasn’t much else that she could do when the rest of her team was playing below their best. Alessia watched on in amazement at how far the other members of the good peeps had come. Ella and Lotte were fantastic but Riley was on another level. It was clear how frustrated Riley was as the game got closer to the end, she was starting to make almost reckless tackles leading to Katie Zelem to get in her face, all Riley gave back was a smirk as she took her yellow card. Alessia collected the ball from Ella in the midfield and began heading towards goals, she could hear someone running up beside her but before she could process what had happened she was on her ass and a whistle was blown. Alessia looked up to see that Riley and Katie Zelem were face to face again both pushing each other. “Maybe if she could actually take a tackle and not fall over every second she’d be able to handle herself in this league.” Riley yelled at Katie, she was quickly pulled back by Leah to avoid anything else happening. “Get up Alessia, this is the big leagues now, not some backwater college competition.” Alessia was quick to her feet and storming over to Riley. “What is your issue? Still fucking hung up on me?” Alessia bit back at Riley who tried to lunge at her. The referee gave Riley a red. “Off you go, you need to go to the changerooms.” Riley clenched her jaw and grabbed her shin guards as she walked off the field. 
Riley got back to the change rooms and sat in front of her locker. She kept her head down holding back the tears. She showered and got changed into her training gear. When the girl’s re-entered the changeroom they avoided Riley, even Leah couldn’t speak to Riley because of her actions. Riley was ripped through by her coach, she nodded knowing that she had gone too far. “I will meet you at home.” Riley said coldly to Leah as she walked out to her car. There was a local bar nearby that she would frequent when she had a bad game. She sat at a booth with her beer as she watched the people enjoy themselves. 
Suddenly she saw a bunch of familiar faces, the Manchester United girls were celebrating their last game for the year as well as their win. Riley kept her head down as she got another drink, the United girls were loud and dancing together. Riley sat back in her booth finishing her fifth drink, she decided that them being so joyful was punishment for her behaviour. Alessia recognised the lone figure in the booth and felt the rage from the game rise in her. She stormed over and slammed her drink on the table. “You calmed down yet? Or are you here to start another fight?” Riley didn’t bother raising her head. “Alessia, honestly fuck off. Go call Jill, she probably misses you.” Alessia leant down and said into Riley’s ear. “Don’t pretend you aren’t jealous. We both know you wish it was you that I marked you up.” Riley stood face to face with Alessia. “Oh please. You would have imagined me that night. We have a fight and you need a fuck to get me out of your head.” Riley snapped back at Alessia. The blonde swallowed and looked at the brunette in front of her, Riley grabbed onto Alessia’s shirt, the striker praying that maybe she would kiss her. Instead Riley pushed Alessia back so she could leave, she stumbled past the Manchester United players and turned to Alessia. “It’s not hard to hook up with someone, Russo.” She turned and kissed Ella deeply, Riley pulled back and walked out of the bar towards a cab. Ella stood there stunned as Alessia raced out of the bar following Riley. She grabbed her wrist and turned her around. “You really are an asshole.” Alessia grabbed onto Riley’s shirt. “You are so frustrating! When I saw you in the park it all came back, all the feelings, all the good and the bad.” Alessia was close to tears as she spoke to Riley. “Alessia, I loved you. With everything I had and you still left.” Riley looked at Alessia, she had never been so vulnerable. Alessia pulled Riley against her and kissed her deeply, trying to put as much love as she could in the kiss, but Riley pulled back and almost fell over some bins. She began crying and rushed off to the waiting cab. Alessia stood there watching the cab pull away.
Chapter 2
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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 3 months
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02/11/2024 Daily OFMD Recap
TLDR; Cast&Crew Sightings; Rhys; Wee John Wondays; Rosie; Vico; Kaimana; Vico & Samantha Rei; Claudia; Articles; S2 Rewatch; Relax I'm From the Future Watch; Articles; People of Earth Season 1 Watch Party Reminder; Apple Tv Valentine's Video; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika;
== Cast & Crew Sightings ==
= Rhys Darby =
Our favourite Captain attended the 28th annual Art Directors Guild Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom on February 10, 2024. He announced 2 of the winners and both those people weren't there to receive it! "This feels personal. What's so bad about meeting me?" NOTHING RHYS EVERY ONE OF US WILL COME MEET YOU DON'T WORRY. Thank you to @rhysdarbinizedarby for all the pics.
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==Wee John Wondays==
Wee John Wonday's are back tomorrow! 10.30 PM GMT (5:30 PM ET, 1:30 PT) Looks like there's a Mystery Special Guest! Could it be Nathan? Or Matthew Maher perhaps? Someone cute!
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== Rosie and Vico and Kaimana ==
Rosie also attended the Them Fatale last night! She got to meet up with Vico and Kaimana and it looks like everyone had an amazing time! These three are so adorable together.
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Vico also met up with Samantha Rei! Check out their Live IG here
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= Claudia O'Doherty =
Not OFMD related, but it's nice to see our lovely Claudia (Mary) out and about and being a goofy fun lady as usual.
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== Articles ==
The Best New TV Shows to Stream on Max This Week
== Today's Rewatch Party / Relax I'm From the Future Watch ==
= S2 Rewatch Party =
Our friends @adoptourcrew had a Rewarch party with Q! today in honour of Season 2 being on iPlayer. Just some highlights for you folks not on twitter:
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= Relax Im from the Future Highlights =
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== Watch Party Reminders ==
Feb 12 - Feb 16: People of Earth Season 1
People of Earth is no longer on any streaming platform, but it is available for digital purchase (ex, on Amazon). If access is an issue, DM Me @gentlebeardsbarngrill (@iamadequate1 may be indisposed so I have access if you need it).
Season 1 watch next week from February 12th to February 16th. 
Skipping the week after in case people want to participate in the next Palestine strike. 
Season 2 watch from February 26th to March 1st 
Times will be 10pm GMT / 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST. Watch two episodes per day. Episodes are 21-22 minutes each. Use the following Saturday for the tags/watch if interested but not able to make this time.
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Hashtags: 
#PiratesOfEarth 
#SaveOFMD 
#AdoptOurCrew
== Apple TV Valentine's Video ==
Some of the crew put together this lovely video for the Apple TV #WooAsACrew event! Check it out!
Vocals: twitter.com/ferventrabbit Video: twitter.com/Giulianaazr & twitter.com/ragsandmuffins
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== Love Notes ==
Alright lovelies, it's that time again. Covid brain is still pretty strong with me tonight so I hope I don't sounds like a raving lunatic. Over here in the US it's Sunday night. For those of you on the other side of the world it's already Monday. I hope you all got some good rest this weekend, you deserve it. You've been working so very hard at just living lately. It's tough I know, and it can really wear on you over time. You're doing great though, you really are. It's so hard to see how far we've come when we are living in this constant state of survival, but you know what's really cool? There's a past version of you right now that is so incredibly proud of you. If that you could see yourself right now, they'd be in awe at how far you've come, and how much you've grown. Where you are today will be that same person in a few months or a year, marveling at your progress. You are doing so very well, even on tough days. Remember that. The crew and I are so very proud of you lovelies, and we know past you is too (and hopefully present you, but I understand if that's harder to do). Get some rest and keep at it, you got this. <3
== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==
So for tonight, I have a serious question. How the HELL did I miss that Taika did a TED talk, in a goddamn suit vest? Holy Frijoles, someone please make him wear these more often, it's uncomfortable how good he looks in that. Ted Talk Src.
So, uh ya, tonight's vest themed, IDK it just needed to happen, I suppose.
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mosscoveredcowboy · 1 year
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What Each of the Disruptors masking behavior in the Arrival Scene tells us about their Character
Major Glass Onion Spoilers Ahead
Miles:
Miles is the most important, even if he's not pictured, he and how he treats the idea of masking to prevent the spread of covid is represented by the Efficient Man™
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Miles Invites all his privileged friends out to his private island mid-pandemic for an unnecessary party, and he has a vaccine/"cure"/SOMETHING that makes covid not a concern and either:
doesn't share it with the world
on some level knows that it's bullshit and just wants to make his friends not mask over their Fun Weekend! and bum out the mood
tbh i don't think the second bullet is likely bc like, miles buys into his own hype that's his whole Thing but also lying to his friends to manipulate them is also very much his Thing
either way, he doesn't give them much choice about receiving this experimental "cure" nor inform them of what is in it
Miles is an egotistical self-absorbed dumbass, and harming people for his own personal gain, hell, just for his own personal entertainment, is entirely ok in his mind. I've seen people suggesting that the movie should have ended with Blanc testing positive for Covid after the trip and I think that would have been perfect. Miles's "cure" did nothing and everyone put their lives at risk during a pandemic just so Miles could have some fun and remind them all why they are under his thumb.
Birdy:
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Birdy shows up wearing a flashy mesh diamond mask a la Lana del Ray (note the rest of her staff with her properly masking). She still removes this useless mask to talk to people around her and exclaims about being able to "breath again" after taking Mile's "cure".
She's clearly doing the bare BARE minimum to look like she cares about quarantining and protecting others (see earlier in the movie when asked if she should be having a party she states "they are all in my pod" about hundreds of people in her home).
This aligns with how she approaches doing the right thing in general. Kind of trying to look like she's doing the right thing, but just barely, and you can see right through (ha) her actions and tell she's really doing whatever she wants for her own personal gain. She's not informed, doesn't want to do better, and doesn't listen to those around her who try to help.
Birdy doesn't have empathy for others, and this is later shown when we learn about her sweatpants scandal, how she was unaware that the clothing she made bank off of in the pandemic was produced in a sweatshop. Birdy is more concerned with how this news will make people on twitter mad at her than the actual inhumane working conditions themselves.
Lionel Toussaint:
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In the Arrival scene Claire snips to Birdy when she asks if she and Lionel stayed in the hotel that clearly she and Lionel had just arrived. However, unlike Claire, Lionel arrives alone, no one in a car driving him or staff around him. He's wearing a K95 mask, and for this point of the pandemic (it's assumed late 2020) that is still fairly new and most people were not masking this well (to my memory).
Lionel is a scientist, and clearly has a level of knowledge about the transmission of infectious diseases and general contamination protocols to make safe decisions during a pandemic.
Still, he shows up to Miles weekend party and presumably takes the experimental "cure" (though it's not shown on screen). This tells us that Lionel is smart, smart enough to know that Miles is dumb as shit, but he buys into Miles's hype, convinces himself that Miles is a genius and backs him up even when Lionel knows he's wrong or being outright dangerous (see later with his reaction to the hydrogen energy running Miles mansion).
Lionel trusts Miles even when he should be smart enough to know better. He trusts Miles because if he actually questioned Miles's motivations and morals he would have to question his own, and Lionel doesn't want to do that.
Claire:
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Claire arrives wearing a cloth mask but not correctly. She gets out of the taxi she arrives in with something sticking out of her mouth and her nose completely uncovered. She constantly adjusts her mask in the scene, and gets too close to others while talking to them. She also takes Miles's cure without question.
Like Birdy, Claire is doing the right thing more because she has to, not from motivation to protect herself and others. Unlike Birdy, she seems to understand how to do this more successfully, a clear difference between the performance of a celebrity and a politician.
I think this is shown later in Claire and Lionel's discussion in the pool as she talks about losing her political base because of the actions Miles wants her to take. On some level, she must align with the environmentalist that makes up her political base, but her loyalty lies more with Miles and the power saying yes to him means for her campaign.
Claire, despite her clear disapproval of Birdy, is very similar to her in that they are both performing to an audience to not be in trouble politically.
This is also shown by her freak out about how Duke's murderer would report her being there, and how it would look if she was hanging out on a Greek island with a manosphere influencer. She seems to have more of a reaction to what people would think of her than to Duke actually being dead.
Duke:
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Duke and Whisky's arrival is announced with gunshots. They arrive on Duke's motorcycle, completely unmasked from the beginning (also, like, I assume they don't live in Greece, did they ship the bike there???). He's confirmed is shown to be a right-wing manosphere influencer, along the lines of Alex Jones or Jordan Peterson, those assholes who tell boys how to harass women and then grift them into buying supplements. Duke also takes the "cure" Miles provides without question, but if he lived long enough to see it, he'd likely be one of the people who wouldn't have gotten vaccinated because he doesn't trust what's in it.
Duke has probably been acting like the pandemic hasn't been happening at all, while capitalizing on the topic in his live streams to talk about how "masking is for beta cucks" and how the government is trying to control you.
He is the character that is the most honest to himself in why he is still friends with Miles. It is all about the power and influence Miles can give him, and Duke will cross any line (including making Whiskey seduce Miles) to get it. This forwardness in playing the group's little manipulation game is what later gets him killed by Miles in my opinion.
Duke not masking is a great way to show this. He doesn't align politically with the others, yes, but also he canonically does not care what people think of him. He is a self-absorbed egotistical asshole like the rest of them, but he's proud of it, giving him more freedom to be open about that than the others.
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"asshole"
anyway I love how the time period of the pandemic was used in this movie and using each character's approach to masking as a way to inform you of their character is so informative and good storytelling
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zephyrmonkey · 1 year
Text
Sick
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Summary: Steven and Marc take turns caring for their sick girlfriend
Pairings: Steven Grant x reader, Marc Spector x reader
Warnings: Sick reader, mentions of a sore throat, Anything else that comes along with being sick
Word Count: 695 words
A/N: I wrote this back in July of 2022 while I was sick with Covid, but never finished it because I didn’t feel good enough and forgot about it.
“Okay, Love. I got your favorite chicken noodle soup, crackers, cough medicine, three types of throat lozenges, the popsicles you like, plus some push pops that I thought you’d enjoy. I also got three boxes of Kleenex with lotion, so they don’t hurt your nose.” Steven announces to the quiet and dark apartment.
“Mmm.” Is the only noise (y/n) makes to let her boyfriend know she heard him.
Steven puts the groceries on the kitchen counter and makes his way to the living room, where (y/n) is curled up on the couch, absentmindedly watching television.
Looking at his miserable girlfriend trying to hold in a cough makes Steven’s heartbreak. He turns to the closest mirror and sees Marc staring back at him with the same sad eyes. “Do you want me to front?”
Steven looked over at (y/n) again, who had just finished a small coughing fit and curled up further into the many blankets surrounding her. Steven solemnly nodes to his alter, and Marc quickly fronts and makes his way to his sick girlfriend.
“Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Marc crouches in front of the couch to look (y/n) in the eye.
“Not good.” Her voice came out nasally, and by the pained expression she made, it is evident to both Marc and Seven (who is watching from afar) that her scratchy throat made it difficult for her to talk.
“Where’s Steven?” (y/n) asks, confused as to why he let Marc front. In the past, when she wasn’t feeling the best or down, he would be the one to comfort her. Steven is usually the comforter, while Marc is usually the protector.
“He um…” Marc looks in the mirror and sees that Steven is in no shape to take care of their girlfriend. “ He’s never seen you…um…in this bad of a state. He’s just worried about you.”
(y/n) gives him a weak smile and lazily pulls her hand from underneath the blanket and puts it on his cheek. “Tell him…that’s it’s…” she stops to cough. “fine…as long as…he’s here…it’s okay.”
Marc gives her a small smile before Steven’s voice enters his head. “Tell her I love her, and if she needs me, I’m here.”
“He loves you,” Marc tells the sick woman.
“I know.” (y/n) smiles at him as she shuts her eyes.
“If you need him, he will front.”
“I know.”
“Do you need him?”
“No.” She opens her eyes to look at the worried man who is trying (and failing) to show it. “You are great.”
Marc takes her hand and gently places it under the blanket and then continues to tuck her in. “Marc.” He stops to look at her. “Can I have some chicken soup?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Marc quickly leaves to get what she asked for.
“You know she asked for the chicken soup to stop you from smothering her?” Steven asks his alter.
Marc chuckles lowly so (y/n) won’t hear him. “Yeah, I know.”
While Marc tries his hardest not to burn down his girlfriend’s apartment with the help of Steven, (y/n) closes her eyes and starts to fall asleep.
Just before she can, Marc places a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetheart. You need to eat.”
Without opening her eyes, she pulls her hand out from under the covers and tries to reach for the spoon.
Marc chuckles and places the soup on the coffee table, and takes (y/n)’s hand. “You need to sit up and eat.”
(y/n) makes a noise that Marc can only assume is her complaining. He helps her sit up, which is really just (y/n) leaning on Marc. Instead of handing her the soup, Marc picks up the bowl and puts it on his lap. He takes the spoon and dips it in the bowl.
“I can do it.” (y/n) mumbles, barely awake.
“Let me do it, Sweetheart.” Marc brushes her hair from her face and gently puts the spoon in her mouth.
After hearing her hum in enjoyment, he takes the spoon and puts it back in the bowl.
“Thank you.” She mumbles out.
He kisses the top of her head and gives her another spoonful of soup.
“Anything for you.”
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kingpreciouswrld · 1 year
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soo i’m testing your miranda one shot where the reader comes home after some time away and i was thinking something like that with gwendoline??? gwen has been gone shooting for a new movie or show and tells reader that she won’t be home for a another week or so but ends up coming home earlier as a surprise
pairing: Gwendoline Christie x Reader
word count: 578
A/N: Sorry it's so short, I tried! This was actually a great idea, I'm surprised that I didn't think of it!!
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It was rare that Gwen was away from home for so long, but for shooting the show Wednesday, she was shooting for 8 months in Romania. You could've gone with her but you had other obligations that kept you at home.
You guys kept in touch everyday, calling each other or texting each other what's happening. You'd always get picture texts from Gwen in her outfits and you had to say that you absolutely loved the Larissa Weems fits.
The time difference made calls hard but you'd stay up as late as it would take to hear and see Gwen. She was your light and you wouldn't miss the call for the world.
It was down to the wire when you guys started talking about being back together. You had so many things to show Gwen and you were excited to finally be in her arms again. Little did you know, Gwen was set on surprising you at home.
The next day, you called Gwen at the usual time,
"So when does your flight come in next week?"
"I'm so sorry love but Tim wants me to stay a bit longer to reshoot some scenes with Christina. Jenna got COVID so we have done extra time for redos."
You frowned, one, because Gwen wouldn't be home until later but two, because she was exposed to COVID and could get sick herself, "Is Jenna okay? Poor girl."
"Jenna will be okay darling, they're taking precautions and she's taken care of," Gwen covered her mouth piece and said thank you to her assistant who took her suitcase off of the conveyor belt.
"Okay well…how're things going over there? Was it fun in Romania? It definitely looks beautiful." 
Gwen had muted herself as she got into her cab and unmuted herself when you finished rambling, "Oh it's just amazing here darling, we should really come here together one day. You would like it here."
You hummed as you say down on the couch,"I would, wouldn't I? Also, I really love your Larissa outfits, do you think you could take some home?" You asked shyly.
Gwen smirked, "You like Larissa, hm? Well I'll see what I can do love, okay?" 
Your stomach tingled and your toes unintentionally curled at the thought of having Gwen as Principle Weems at home, "Yes babe, thank you!"
"Of course baby doll," the older woman chuckled. She muted herself again as the cab stopped in front of the house. She got out her suitcases and walked up to the front door, "Darling, there should be a package at the front door, do you think you could bring it inside for me?"
You hummed and got off the couch, "Yeah, I can go grab it real quick. What did you get?"
Gwen covered the peep hole with her hand, just in case you looked. You didn't. You opened the door to find Gwen in her lounge wear, looking exhausted but happy to see you.
"Gwen!"
You squealed in surprise before jumping into her arms. You clung to her like a koala and Gwen laughed as she one handedly moved her suitcases inside. You started kissing her neck, your hand tangled in her hair. Gwen chuckled and hummed, "Don't start anything you can't finish bunny."
You blushed and stopped kissing her neck but pulled back and gave her a soft kiss to her lips, Gwen met you halfway and kissed you back. 
"Mmm what a welcome home indeed."
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