#if they totally hate it/dismiss it...sorry but i will have to do something Drastic

[the-everqueen]

ngh. just sent the diss to my committee.

#welcome to academia #this feels. bad. #both because it signals that a significant portion of my life is about to be over #and because it opens me up to criticism/feedback at a point where i feel #very tender about that...given the many many job rejections and possibility of impending unemployment #also the diss isn't everything i wanted it to be (it never was going to be) #and i feel. disappointed and unworthy and tired. #if they totally hate it/dismiss it...sorry but i will have to do something Drastic #my entire life has hinged on my performance for authority figures sorry i didn't choose this trauma #also lmao the dates i proposed for the defense will leave me with a week to do final edits #before uploading to the online server #so i'm sure i'll be normal about that if we get that far

[rivalry-trope-enjoyer]

Kaeya x GN! reader: Fake Dating AU

*Started a new series of the Genshin Impact boys as different romance tropes in one-shot form, starting with Kaeya! The list will go on soon and I plan for Diluc to be next. Disclaimer: May be a little bit OOC since this is my first time writing Kaeya. 

The Kaeya as far as you had known has always been a sweet talker that wooed all the people of Mondstadt with a mysterious and alluring charm. You, too, had fallen victim to his hand. 

Unfortunately, being a traveler with no permanent place to stay in all of Teyvat, it was customary to take someone like Kaeya with you on such adventures. You didn’t hate his company; he always loved to crack jokes even if it came with a flirtatious anecdote at the end. He had even already established sweet nicknames for you and even went as far as playfully calling you “sweetheart” or “dove” from time to time. 

Spending time with him casually already seemed like a nightmare for your poor heart, and commissions and tasks were the exact same story. 

This time around you were sent on an errand to take care of some Fatui agents with Kaeya around Mondstadt, the two most capable, arguably, of sneaking around when it came to the Knights of Favonius. 

Around this time relations with diplomats have soured from the incidents that had happened in Liyue, and a lot of secretive moves are needed to take care of the root of the Fatui in Mondstadt. 

The both of you have decided to embark on your journey, in which Kaeya had the faintest of ideas that he had under his sleeves on how to get through with the Fatui. 

Upon arrival you both decide to approach them, careful with how you act and greeted them politely. 

“What is your business with the Fatui?” they grab a blade under their coats as their masked faces pointed to you both.

Kaeya casually approached them and snaked his arm around your waist, pulling your closer causing you to blush instantaneously. 

“I apologize for the intrusion, but my significant other had run a shop in Mondstadt, we sell sunsettias and apples that we farm in springvale and we have gone bankrupt from the unfair trade system of this entire nation!” Kaeya had played his part well, a little too well to make you realize how much he had been acting around you. 

He had shocked you initially with his actions, and you had thought of it to be selfish to hold onto him like this a little longer and to just pretend. 

You slowly embraced him back, which caused Kaeya to flinch initially, but tightened the grip he had on you like a warm embrace. 

“He’s right,” you stated in a sullen tone. “My husband and I, we cannot make an honest living from this, and we had heard around that your code involved economics, so we hope that we can trust you to, even out the scales a bit,” you instantly lowered your head at them with respect and tugged at Kaeya to do the same.

Waiting for a response your heart tensed up ever so slightly, but when you heard a gruff “Fine” coming from the Fatui, your heart soared in excitement. 

“We will avenge your little fruit stand at dawn tomorrow. Mondstadt’s knights will know terror,” she muttered before walking away and signaled for the rest of the Fatui to do the same. 

Kaeya had immediately let go of you and the strong winds of Mondstadt had struck you ice cold. He gave you a flirtatious smile as he held your chin with his index finger and thumb close to your lip.

“You did a great job playing my significant other there, sweetheart,” he continued to call you these playful names that made your heart twinge in confusion and embarrassment.

Realizing his skills when it came to acting, you wondered if the affection that he gave you from time to time as well as this very moment was all a ruse. 

Giving him a sullen face you slowly pulled his hand away from your chin, backing away from him and walking back to the headquarters.

“Hm? What seems to be the matter? Nothing Captain Kaeya can’t fix,” he ran to stand next to you, but you looked away from him, terrified of what he could do next to you. 

“It’s nothing, Kaeya,” you wave him off. “Nothing you can do about it, anyways...,” you mutter the last line to yourself that he had barely heard with his own ears. 

It was difficult for Kaeya to help you in such a depressed state that he had, and thought going about it by giving you space. After what had happened in the past, he preferred for you to have your moments before he’d butt in himself. 

He distracted the thoughts by letting the Knights of Favonius know about the incident and prepare for a raid at dawn. However, when leaving Jean and Lisa had noticed something drastically different about Kaeya’s behavior; a worried look on his face. 

Dismissing it as part of the Fatui’s attack, he had never really felt total fear towards them and knew how easily he could take a couple of their members head on. However, he found himself checking up on you and did not dare step in the bar he loved, knowing that because of his actions he would be the last thing that you would want to see. 

In the mean time you spent a lot of time at the tavern, letting the bard’s music and lively atmosphere drown out your overthinking thoughts, as you waited till the next morning until you had to face the mysterious Kaeya yet again. 

With a sword ready in hand and the other guards at the front of the headquarters, you watched the Fatui approach and soon became no match for the Knights of Favonius, countering the surprise raid with ease.

At first your swordsmanship kept you protected, but upon seeing Kaeya in a distance, you fumbled consistently. Forcing yourself to get back up in battle, he looked back at you, too. Worrying for your safety, a feeling that you would have last expected from him. 

As you took on more of the Fatui agents than you can handle, one had crept up behind you, and aimed a blade towards your throat. 

Fortunately, Kaeya was quick enough to act and knocked down the Fatui with a couple of blows, aiming a sword at their neck. 

“Y/N! Quit slacking off you could have died there,” his normal cunning attitude and mocking remarks seemed to have lessened tenfold.

“What, are you acting about caring about my wellbeing now?” you were fueld with anger as you let it out on the enemy attacking, knocking them out in a similar fashion with swords clashing the blades of the Fatui. 

“Well-” Kaeya parried the shots being thrown at him. “-If you consider me hiding what I’ve felt for so long acting, then I must be the most talented actor in-” he was cut off by quick attacks from the enemy. “-all of Teyvat!”

You were shocked at your statement, and in the heart of battle, yours filled with adrenaline from Kaeya’s words. “Wait-” you continued to battle those in front of you, swiftly putting them out of their misery with quick blows to free room to talk to Kaeya. “-Wait, why now?” you panted out with tire. 

He let out a cocky laugh as he took on more of the agents. “Doesn’t matter when. Doesn’t matter if you thought I was faking it before. What matters is-” he grunted out of pain when he was forcefully hit at his side. “-That I got the message across, right?”

After hours of relentless battle he finally doubled down and the Fatui had retreated, leaving you with minor injuries but Kaeya taking on more than needed. 

Sitting at his side on the battlefield, you grabbed medicine that was strapped to your waist. “Lift up your shirt,” you disregarded what he had said earlier in fear for his wellbeing. 

“Are you sure you don’t need that medicine yourself, Y/N? You’re face is awfully red,” he outstretched a shaky hand to cup your face with a wry smile, his eye shimmering as he stared at you.

Your heart thumped rapidly when combining his previous words of confession and his present actions now. You froze in time to Kaeya’s cold touch and let him be in your company this time around.

“Shut it, Captain Kaeya,” you took out the medicine and poured it over his toned chest, hands shaking from the flustered feeling you had throughout.

“Ouch, who knew that someone without a cryo vision could be so cold to a person with one?” he winced at the stinging medicine covering his wound, and in return you held his hand cupping your face.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered to him. “It’ll only hurt a for a little bit longer before it heals, if it actually hurts at all,” you stubbornly let out. 

He let out another weak laugh. “I wish I was faking it this pain this time around, Y/N, but everything I’ve said on this battlefield is the truth.”

You were silent at this point, working diligently to bandage his wound.

“Holding you had felt like I cradled the world in my arms, even if it was a temporary moment, dear,” his fingers tapped gently on your cheek. “Even if the idea of us being wed was fake, the feeling that significant others would have for each other felt real to me.”

You smiled at his notion, staring into his glimmering eye with the weak smile and face caked in scars and dirt. 

Holding him close to you, you could not help but smile back.

“And you promise that you aren’t faking it this time?” you asked.

He laughed again, taking your hand and kissing your knuckles gently. “I promise what I feel is real, Y/N, and I’d love to show you for whatever days in Teyvat we have left.” 

And in that moment, that fog of mystery unveiled Kaeya’s true nature and colors in front of you in a moment of vulnerability, one you wanted to cherish every moment and label as real. 

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

#genshin kaeya #genshin impact #genshin x reader #kaeya x reader #kaeya alberich #genshin impact kaeya #genshin oneshot #fake relationship #genshin fluff #genshin imagines #x reader #oneshots #mihoyo #gi kaeya

[13eyond13]

Do you really think Takada could have gone against Light's wishes or used him in return in a way that made sense with the way she was written morally, politically and personality-wise? How do you imagine that could have gone? What could she have wanted to do, achieve, or how could she have gone against his wishes? And do you think it would have been more morally related, like Mikami killing people that didn't fit Kira's criteria, or more at a personal level? Both?

I would also like to know if you think Light liked Takada to some extent or even harboured some feelings for her, despite his ultimate coldness, and if you think their relationship gets a different treatment in the manga and the anime.

Hello again! Thanks for both of your asks. I am only publishing this one with the questions, but I liked and agreed with all the insights you included about Kiyomi, Misa, and Light in the previous ask too. And I'm very impressed that you re-read the entire manga in such a short period of time! Please be warned that I'm too tired and lazy at the moment to reread anything myself lol, so I am basing this off super distant memories of last reading and watching the successor arc approximately 3 years ago now...

(under a cut bc it's a bit long)

Do you really think Takada could have gone against Light's wishes in some way? Or used him in return in a way that made sense with the way she was written morally, politically, and personality-wise? How do you imagine that could have gone? Would it be more morally-related, or on a personal level, or both?

I think yes, it could've been possible for Ohba to write Kiyomi that way instead while still keeping her in-character. But he normally isn't too concerned with emotionally developing most of the characters apart from Light. And any drastic changes in behaviour like this for Kiyomi in the second half would probably be more effective if Ohba had been consciously setting her character up from the very start to return again later on, or to play a role in the narrative of that sort. And apparently this was not the case. Ohba said in the behind the scenes book that he never originally planned for Kiyomi to return at a later date when he first introduced her; I think she was initially just meant to be one of the many expendable female classmates whom Light was camouflaging his social life with while being tailed at school. Indeed, barely anything of significance happens in Kiyomi's introductory scenes to even really warrant introducing her character by name. So when she was brought back as Kira's spokesperson later on I don't think it was because Ohba had some strong desire to further develop her emotionally. Maybe he was mostly just wanting to flesh out Kira's posse and the overall worldbuilding a bit more. This is typical of the series in general though, as most of the characters stay pretty static in their stances and their motives and emotional journeys apart from Light.

I don't have a ton of energy to come up with a lot of specific scenarios for Kiyomi to do something differently right now, and to be honest it's kind of even slipping my mind how the whole thing even was working between Light and Kiyomi plot-wise in canon as it was. Like I'm totally forgetting now what kind of faking they had to do initially with each other and the task force listening in on their meetings and Light secretly being Kira and such, lol.

But anyway, here are some things that maybe could have been done differently with her character:

SHE DIDNT ACTUALLY LIKE HIM BACK THEN -It could've been revealed that Kiyomi hadn't actually had sincere feelings for Light when they were dating back in the day at all, and that Light's vanity about his usual popularity with girls somewhat blinded him to this fact. I think this would be just as realistic as Kiyomi secretly holding a flame for him all these years and then agreeing to be his mistress, for sure. And it would make sense to me that she is equally as opportunistic and shallow and image-conscious as he is when it comes to who she dates, both in the past and in the present. Especially because apparently she was the one who made the first move and asked him out. Even if this didn't affect the plot all that much, I still think it would be funny and a bit of a refreshing break from everyone always drooling all over Light

SHE DID LIKE HIM BACK THEN, BUT SHE DOESN'T LIKE HIM NOW -She could have maybe genuinely liked Light when they briefly dated at school, but him being kind of a dick to her back then means that she no longer feels anything for him when he looks her up again. She could still act like she is interested in rekindling their romance, but really only be doing it for utilitarian and selfish motives of her own. Maybe career-building motives or ideological ones or personal ones, or a mix of them all, who knows. But she would be secretly playing him the entire time he's playing her; inwardly looking down on him for his vanity and his arrogant assumptions all the while he is secretly looking down on her for apparently being so gullible. It could possibly be pretty funny to watch

SHE LIKES HIM AGAIN, BUT THEN SHE CHANGES HER MIND - She could still be genuinely into it him when they reunite, but then experience something traumatic or shocking like the kidnapping a bit earlier in the plot that she survives and that radically changes her views. It could make her completely lose her faith in her Kira ideals, or her attraction to Light, or both. Or maybe just something like the grim reality of Light asking her to personally murder people with the notebook could cause her to rethink things that she previously stood for, because it all becomes a lot more scary and gruesome and real. She definitely had a horrified reaction when faced with the task of committing any murders herself, but she still went along with it anyway. That easily could have been a personal crisis that set her off down an entirely different path

I would also like to know, considering Takada's relationship and parallelism with Light, and how Light seems to treat her marginally better than he treats Misa while with her, if you think Light liked her a bit or harboured some kind of feelings for her, despite ultimate coldness, and if you think their relationship gets a different treatment in the manga and the anime.

I think Light treated Kiyomi with a bit more attention than Misa mostly because she is higher maintenance in the respect she requires from a romantic partner in order to feel trusting of them and devoted to them. But he still mostly looked down on her inwardly, and seemed to barely even pay enough attention to her to develop any feelings for her otherwise. All of Light's thoughts about Kiyomi are dismissive and mocking and unkind, no matter what kind of flattering and admiring things he's saying to her to win her trust. I don't think he particularly hated her or anything like that; but he clearly didn't ever respect her or find her very interesting, either. I think this is because he could successfully fool her with his manipulation, and because all he ever really cared about whenever he was interacting with her was using her to achieve his own goals.

Their relationship was depicted pretty similarly between the manga and the anime, I think? But it's been so long now since I've read or watched it that I can't really confidently say what the major differences between the anime and the manga for this relationship are now, sorry. I haven't been keeping fresh on canon these days, because I'm spending all my time this year trying to read and watch new things instead

#kiyomi #light yagami #misa amane #kiyomixlight #ask #anon #p #i hope this is coherent hahaha i am half asleep #also maybe a little stoned #meta

[what-is-your-plan-today]

CSI: Rogers and Barnes- The Serious Cereal Serial Killer

Episode 5- Defrosting

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: So nothing like the possibly one time love of your life being hurt to make you realise that actually, you might just care a little bit… Episode Warnings: Bad Language words.

Episode Pairings:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark (The Ice Queen is thawing…)

Song for Episode:  For What It’s Worth by Liam Gallagher

A/N: This entire series contains dark humour (CSI + Brooklyn 99=CSI Steeb) Avengers and Stark Spangled Banner Easter Eggs and jokes. You don’t need to have read the SSB series to understand or enjoy this, but we’ve used the Universe to spin this off from so somethings might puzzle a few of you if you ain’t, but feel free to ask.

Also, our knowledge of American Policing and Brooklyn is limited, so bear with us if we slip up, but at the end of the day this is a fiction so we’ll claim any mistakes as creative license!!

As always we live for re-blogs and comments  

CSI Rogers and Barnes Master List 

Main Masterlist 

“I’m so sorry for your loss…” Bucky bowed his head as he stood next to Steve’s mom.

She dropped her eyes to the floor taking a deep breath.

“I’m alive, jerk.” Steve shot back from where he lay on the hospital bed.

“I was talking about the car, punk.” Bucky shrugged “Or the beard. Man you look like 12 years old without it.” “Not like I had a choice.” Steve grimaced pointing to the line of stitches in the corner of his mouth “And is my car really totalled?” Bucky grimaced and nodded “Fraid it looks that way.” “Shit.”

“Language.” Sarah looked at her son. “Steve, it’s just a heap of metal…”

“No, no bad move, he loved that metal.” Bucky shook his head.

“He should be grateful he is getting away wit cuts and bruising.” Sarah narrowed her eyes “Could have been a hell of a lot worse, he’s been in an out of consciousness for almost 5 hours! I mean what was that idiot doing running the light?”

“It happens Ma.” Steve said gently “He’ll get dealt with.” He rubbed his shoulder which felt a little stiff and then looked up as the Doctor that had been looking after him returned.

“Ok Mr Rogers…your recent scan results show there’s nothing going on with your brain…” Bucky sniggered and Sarah slapped him around the back of the head. “Owww.” he said, reaching up to rub at his hair.

“So if you have someone at home with you, I’m happy you can be discharged.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him for the rest of the evening” Bucky nodded. The Doctor smiled and set about sorting out the forms and in a little while they were making their way, albeit slowly, out of the hospital.

Steve was grateful to his ma and Bucky for getting him home. Once his mother had stopped fussing as much as she could do she finally left with the promise of returning in a few hours and Steve went straight to his bed after popping a few painkillers. He was lucky, it was bruising more than anything, and a few stitches to his face where the glass from the car windows had cut him but all in all nothing too drastic.

He couldn’t help but think back to the last time he’d been injured enough to land him in hospital. They’d been on a drugs bust down town and had gotten separated, and thanks to a catastrophic coms failure he had been ambushed by 6 of the gang at once. He’d managed to get the upper hand at one point until someone had crashed him straight round the back of the head with a piece of wood. Thankfully, it hadn’t been too serious and Katie, Natasha and Clint had stormed in a few seconds later and it was all locked down. Katie had been by his side in the hospital for hours until Peggy had turned up and dismissed her, rather curtly actually. Katie had bitten her tongue and simply left with no fuss, and he and Peggy had ended up having a huge argument.

“I’m your girlfriend, Steven, not her.” Peggy crossed her arms and glared at him as she sat in the chair. “It’s ridiculous how much she hangs around you.” “Peggy, for god’s sake.” he groaned “She came in the ambulance with me!”

“Why not Clint, or Natasha?”

“Oh, you know what, I don’t want to do this now. My head hurts and, well, frankly I’m sick of having the same discussion. She’s my best friend.” “She wants to be more than your friend Steve.” Peggy sighed “Ever since her and Ward split she’s been hanging around like a bad smell.” “She needs support.” Steve shook his head

“She has a brother and god knows how many friends.” Peggy shook her head “But you were the one she called to help her kick Grant out, you changed all her locks…”

“Peg, she’s hurting, and I’m not gonna turn my back on her. She wouldn’t do it to me.” “Bet she can’t wait to get me out of the way.” Peggy sniffed, pursing her lips. “Soon as I’m off to London you mark my words…” “Oh stop being ridiculous.” Steve closed his eyes “Katie wouldn’t do that. And I wouldn’t do it to you either, you know that.” Oh the irony. In the end it had been Peggy that had done it to him. She’d departed to London for the 6 month placement, and they’d both agreed to stay together, what was 6 months after all when you wanted to spend the rest of your life with someone and they wanted to spend the rest of theirs with you?  

Or you thought they did. Less than a month later he had received the message, telling him that it wasn’t working, that she thought he was a burden and a tie to a life she wasn’t sure she wanted anymore. He’d tried calling, even debated getting a flight over to speak to her face to face but she’d point blank refused to even consider it, telling him if he turned up she wouldn’t see him.

So it had ended and he and Katie had navigated their heartbreak together. In bars, taking weekend trips upstate, hiking…anything that took their mind off things. And he dare say now, in hindsight, that it had brought them even closer. He understood now that he and Peggy were never going to make it. They were too different. Peggy was practical, realistic, stoic in every area of her life whereas Steve, whilst all those things when he needed to be, also had a softer side, showed his emotions, wore his heart on his sleeve.

Like Katie.

Breaking up with Peggy at the time had killed Steve, but now he realised that it was for the best. But he also knew that it had really tainted his views of relationships in general, even almost a year or so down the line. And the only person he had been close to since he had pushed away.

With a groan he lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes, thankfully the codeine did its job and he slipped into a dreamless, painless sleep.

****

“Guys…” Bucky said loudly over the chatter in the briefing room. Everyone turned their attention to the front and he noticed a few puzzled glances. It wasn’t unusual for a Sergeant to take the mid-morning briefing in any other Precinct, but it was unusual in the 101. Steve liked to see his troops in the morning, he felt it was only fair. “Captain Rogers won’t be in today, and probably not for a little while. He was involved in a car accident last night and…” “An accident?” Wanda spluttered out. “Is he ok?”

“He’s fine. The car that hit his wasn’t travelling that fast it just unfortunately hit the driver’s side. They checked him over at the hospital and decided he was good to go home late last night, or earlier this morning even. Few cuts and bruises, no doubt some injured pride and his car most certainly isn’t ok but…he’s good, just needs to rest.” He couldn’t help but glance at Katie who was looking down at the table as she bit at her thumbnail. Her brow was furrowed and he could see in her face she was concerned but trying not to show it. Bucky didn’t say anything, simply carved up the duties. Whilst the murder investigation was taking most of the resource, there were still the other crimes to cope with and as such he ended up sending Clintasha to go and speak to the victim of a mugging. But for him and Stark, the morning was slow, real slow. She had already called through to Peralta and arranged for them both to head over there the next morning once he had been able to pull the files from the archive but until they didn’t have much else to go on.

“I just hope looking at the old case throws something up.” Katie said, looking at him “Because if not, we’re dead in the water. No leads, nothing…”

“Let’s worry about that tomorrow.” Bucky said. “Look, why don’t you finish for the day? There’s really nothing we can do now.”

“I just got a few bits to tidy up and then I might do, thanks.” she looked back at her screen.

Bucky kept one eye on her as he continued clearing the admin from his inbox, and he could see that she was grappling with something.

“Have you errr…spoken to Captain Rogers?” she asked a few minutes later. Smiling to himself, Bucky looked up.

“Careful, Stark!” Bucky smiled “You almost sound like you care.”

She scowled, “I’m not a completely heartless bitch.”

“I never said you were…”

“Just because I hate him doesn’t mean I want him hurt…”

At that, Bucky almost fist pumped the air when he realised that actually this could work in Steve’s favour somewhat.

“You don’t hate him.” he said, matter of factly, looking at Katie. “You hate what he did, but you don’t hate him. And that’s what you find so hard to take about this entire situation.”

She paused, open mouthed for a moment, before she snapped her jaw shut and folded her arms, glaring at him. “What are you my therapist now?”

“No, just someone who the pair of you are starting to really piss off…” he sighed and ran a hand dramatically through his hair “Did you ever stop to consider exactly why Steve did what he did?” “Because he’s an ass hole.” Katie said, “He got what he wanted and then…”

“You and I both know that’s bullshit doll face.” Bucky said “He’s never been one for one night stands. Had a few at Uni but, well, frankly he always told me he hated it, but that’s not the point…the point is he cared about you…”

“Funny way of showing it…” “…and he did what he did because he thought, in his stupid pea brain, that it was for the best.” “The best?” Katie snorted “he thought bailing on me, and ghosting me was for the best?” “If you two had made a go of things, one of you would have had to move, and it would most likely have been you because Captain vacancies are harder to find…” “Yeah, I kinda figured that we’d have to do something about the chain of command, but, for fucks sake, I was contemplating going to DC…we could have sorted this, made it work!”

“I get it, I do…but this is Steve we’re talking about!” Bucky chuckled with affection, he was a dumbass but he was still his best friend. “The guy is an idiot when it comes to women and very rarely lets his heart rule his head…but with you he did. And that shows me just how much you mean to him.”

Katie looked down at her hands, her fingers were twisting around one another. After a little while she looked up and shook her head “That doesn’t make what he did ok.” “No, and I’m not trying to make excuses for him.” Bucky said gently “Just trying to give you the explanation you’re not allowing him to give to you himself.”

Katie turned away from him and wiped at her eyes. Bucky was tactful enough to look away whilst she composed herself.

“If you wanna go and check in on him I know he’d appreciate it.” he said, sowing the seeds of the idea in her mind. “Just think about it.”

She shrugged, but there was a definite softer expression on her face as she turned back to her computer.

About half an hour later Bucky came back from the bathroom to find her gone. Tacked to his monitor was a post-it note.

“Thought about it…thanks Buck.” “Don’t blow it Punk…” he mumbled to himself as he re-read the note before scrunching it up and throwing it in the bin, a huge smile playing on his face as he laced his fingers behind his head, swinging his feet up onto his desk.

“What you looking so smug about?” Natasha asked and he looked over to see he was being watched by her and Clint.

“Well…” he said, leaning back in his chair “Seems that the stupid Punk getting t-boned made Katie realise that she actually still cares about him. So Phase 1 of ‘Operation Cap’n Crunch and Special K” is officially underway. Time to prepare Phase 2 Romanoff.”

“Wait, Phase 1 was getting someone to T-bone him?” Natasha looked at Bucky, her mouth open.

“What?” Bucky frowned as Barton looked at him.

“That’s just sick man…” Clint pointed at him before he frowned and looked at Nat “hang on, what plan?” “Oh after I spoke to her yesterday, I talked to Serge and we decided that we’re fed up of the pair of them moping around and pretend hating each other, when they’re both blatantly still head over heels despite their protestations to the contrary.” Nat shrugged “So we came up with a 3 step plan, of which the first phase, I thought, was simply making them talk…”

“Yeah, and I was gonna lock them in a cupboard or his office until they agreed to do so but hey, I’m all for grabbing the moment, right? This worked a treat” Bucky said, grinning at them both.

“So what’s Phase 2?” Clint asked. Natasha arched an eyebrow and grinned at him.

“Wait and see Barton, wait and see.”

Clint blinked, looked at Natasha who now had a devilish grin spreading across her face an then back to Bucky who was smirking into his coffee cup.

“Man I love you guys!” Clint said with a small laugh as he leaned back in his chair.  

***** “Ma for the last time stop fussing…” Steve looked at his mom as she set a mug of coffee down on the table in front of him.

“I’m your mother, Steven…” she looked at him. “It’s my job to fuss. Now, what do you fancy for dinner?” He was just about to tell her he was capable of dialling a pizza when he heard the key in the lock and glanced at his watch, frowning. It was early for Bucky to be home.

“Buck?” he questioned. But the reply wasn’t what he was expecting, or who he was expecting for that matter.

“No, it’s errr, me.”

Steve looked at his mother whose face had lit up at the sound of Katie’s voice and he pushed himself up of the sofa, hissing a the bite of pain in his side and turned to see her stepping nervously into the living room.

“How did…” he asked and she looked at him, sheepishly, holding up her keys.

“Never did give it you back.” she said softly. He watched as her eyes travelled over the bruising and cuts on his face and her brow furrowed somewhat as she swallowed thickly and continued “Thought you might have changed the locks, you know like you did for me when I threw Grant out.” “Not really the same thing.” he said with a soft smile. “But I’m surprised you kept it.” “It was on my keyring.” she said, shrugging “I kinda forgot about it, should have mailed it to you or something…” Steve could tell that wasn’t the truth. There’s no way she would have forgotten about it, but he didn’t pick her up on her white lie. The fact she had kept it made him slightly hopeful she wasn’t quite as ready to give up on him as she made out.

“Hi Sarah…” she said in a small voice, her gaze turning to his ma.

“Oh my little star…” Sarah hurried over to give her a warm hug before she held her at arms length “Let me look at you…I love the hair!” “It’s grown a little.” Katie smiled, running her hand through her hair, the longer side was now an inch or so below her chin.

“How have you been?” Sarah pressed.

“Oh, you know…” she shrugged “Ok.”

Sarah smiled at her and then over at Steve before she nodded. “Well I was just about to head out to the store to pick something up for tonight.” “Ma, I told you…” “And I told you to shut up.” She shot him a look “Does carbonara suit?”

Steve sighed “Yeah, that’s great…” “Ok, so, I’ll be back in a little while…” she said, rushing for her purse.

“Hang on I’ll get my wallet…” Steve made to move and she shook her head

“I don’t want or need your money.” she said sternly. Again he rolled his eyes and noticed a smile on Katie’s face.

His ma made to hug her again “If you’re not here when I get back, you best stop by some time…oh, did he give you your pie the other night?”

“He did and it was amazing as always!” Katie smiled, giving her another hug “And I will, I promise.” With that his mom left them alone, and once the door was shut Katie turned back to him and looked him up and down as she raised an eyebrow “You look like you got in a fight with a bus.” “Not quite, it was a chevvy Blazer.” he said, chuckling slightly at her joke.

“How are you feeling?” “I’m ok, just a bit sore. Be fine in a few days.” She nodded “Ok, well, that’s all I wanted to check…when Bucky said you’d been hurt I just…” she trailed off, taking a deep breath before she sighed, “God why is this so awkward?”

Steve gave her a soft smile “Because I fucked it up?” She gave a soft huff of a laugh.

“Do you want a drink?” he offered “Ma just made a fresh pot of coffee so…” “I err, I don’t…” she looked at her watch, biting her lip. Steve could tell she was searching for a reason to say no so he decided to put her out of her misery.

“It’s fine, honestly.” he said, “You don’t have to make excuses not to stay. I appreciate you popping in.” She licked her lips and looked at him, her green eyes searching his before she smiled softly “Coffee’s great, you stay where you are. I’ll get it.”

“Everything’s in the same place…” he said softly and she nodded. But she didn’t move straight away. Instead he noticed her eyes flickering to the space by the TV where the photo of the two of them used to be.

“It’s in the bedroom.” he said. She looked at him, blushing slightly that she’d been caught but didn’t try and deny what she’d been thinking.

“I’m not gonna lie, my copy is in a drawer.” she replied quietly “I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away but…” She swallowed and headed into the kitchen. He slowly sat back down and he heard her clinking about before she emerged with a mug. She placed it on the coffee table, removing her keys and phone from her pocket before she tossed those just to the left of her mug and took a seat on the sofa, picking up her drink and cradling it in both hands, the way she always did when she was seeking comfort.

“Has the station fallen to pieces yet?” Steve asked and she snorted.

“Not quite.” she smiled “To be honest it’s a bit slow. Oh, erm, I’m going to see Peralta tomorrow with Bucky, dig through the files on the old rape case. I know it’s just a hunch but something feels off.” “Well your instincts have never failed you before.” Steve smiled gently.

She smiled and shrugged “Who knows?” “Stop it.” Steve said.

“Stop what?” She frowned

“Doubting yourself.”

“I’m not.” “Yes you are I can tell. You always do it.” “No I don’t.” Steve chuckled and then winced at the pain in his side “Yes you do. And you’ve no reason to. You’re a damned good detective.”

She took a sip from her drink and looked down before she opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it. She took a deep breath and swallowed, her eyes remaining on the floor.

“Use your words Doll.” he said, softly.

“I don’t want another argument.” she said quietly. “It doesn’t matter…” “Katie.”  he urged, his voice almost stern.

“I just… “ she licked her lips “I was just thinking that, well, I can’t remember the last time we did this, you know, drank coffee in your lounge.” “I can tell you exactly when it was.” he said “It was the morning of the Christmas party. About 12 hours before I sent everything sideways.”

She looked at him, before she looked away and Steve felt a pang in his chest that was totally unrelated to his accident. He yearned for her, longed for the way things used to be before he’d fucked it all up.

“I never thought you would be the man that I cried myself to sleep over.” she said so quietly he almost missed it.

As she placed the mug back on the coffee table Steve took a shaky breath “It wasn’t easy for me either you know?” he looked at her, blinking back his own tears “I hurt too.” “Yes but you did it to yourself Steve!” she said, running her hands over her face

“You think I don’t know that?” he said, his voice a little louder “If I could change it, go back and do it differently I would but I can’t…”

“Bucky told me why you did it, that it was your stupid idea of being noble.” she cut him off, her voice soft as she shook her head “Frankly I’ve never heard anything as ridiculous in my life…all that stuff and panic about getting involved in someone in your chain of command…Steve, I had had feelings for you for a long time before that, do you think for one second that I never considered what it would mean? Fuck, I’d just told you I was considering the DC move, I’d have been well out of your chain then!”

“I should have talked to you, I get that…I do” he pressed “I was an idiot and I panicked and then I didn’t want anything to stop you moving or getting in your way and tying you back here..”

“You thought I’d do a Peggy?” she looked at him, frowning, as if she was understanding something for the first time, which in fairness she probably was. “That I’d move and things would end”

He didn’t reply, he knew that one look in his eyes would be enough to tell her. She always knew.

“Steve, what Peggy did was cruel. The way she left and then ended it, calling you a burden and a tie she didn’t need…I’d never have done that.”

“I know.” he said softly “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t.” She shook her head before she spoke again, her voice cracking slightly. “You know what the worst thing about all this is?”

One look at her was enough to tell him she was struggling to keep herself controlled, he could see from the way her chest was heaving and she was stuttering for words.

“I can’t hate you.” she shrugged “No matter how much I try, and believe me I tried, I just can’t. I wanted so hard not to care when Bucky told me you’d been hurt, but all I could think about was making sure you were ok.”

She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath as her tears began to fall. She looked up and he saw her before him, as utterly broken as he had ever seen her. Her face crumpled and she stuttered to him. “I miss you. I miss my best friend.” With that he felt a tear slide out of his own eye and he moved from his chair onto the sofa besides her, pulling her to him, ignoring the aches and pains in his battered body. She didn’t shy away, instead she pressed her face into his chest, her arms linking round his waist at the back as his hands gently slid up and down her back, soothing her as he had done so many times before.

“I’m sorry.” he managed to stutter “I really am…I never wanted to hurt you sweetheart, I swear…”

He pulled her tighter to him and then instantly winced as the pain in his ribs. She pulled back straight away and looked at him.

“Steve…”

He felt a little light headed then, and it must have shown as she frowned a little.

“Hey, you look really pale.” she said, concern etched across her pretty face “Don’t pass out on me…” “I’m fine, honestly…” he protested. “When was the last time you ate?”

“I errr…” he shrugged, scrunching his eyes shut. “Yesterday, some point. Mac and Cheese.” “You made Mac and Cheese?” she said as a twitch in the corner of her mouth grew into a small smile. “Sorta, well, opened the box…”

“Mac and cheese, from a box.” the smile went and she looked horrified “Steven that is disgusting. I showed you like a million times how to make it properly.” “Yeah well it never comes out as well as yours so…” he blinked again and took a deep breath. No, he definitely felt dizzy.

“You need to lie down.” she said, standing up.

“I’m fine…” he protested, but she wasn’t fooled. She never was fooled by his bullshit. “Stop being a stubborn asshole and do as you’re told.” she said sternly as she grabbed a throw cushion and positioned it against the arm of the sofa. “Go on.” she patted it gently and he slowly moved himself backwards, laying his head where she told him.

“Just need to close my eyes for a moment…” he muttered, and he did.

************

Steve blinked and stirred a bit. He was tired and his ribcage ached. He opened one of his eyes and saw Katie sitting on the armchair beside the couch, her shoes discarded and her legs tucked underneath her as she was reading something on her phone. A warm feeling filled his chest and he closed his eye and smiled at the thought that she was still there, looking after him, keeping him company even though he was sure she’d rather be anywhere else. She had said earlier she had missed him, she had missed her best friend. If only they could go back to the way they were. He was snapped from his thoughts by the sound of keys in the door before it opened, shut and his mother’s shoes tapped down the hallway.

“Shhhh” he heard and opened one eye again, ever so slightly, to see Katie moving her right index finger to her lips and pointing her head at him, where he lay on the couch holding onto a yellow cushion for dear life.

“Is he asleep?” Sarah asked in a hushed voice.

“Apparently” Katie answered, and he didn’t miss the fond look she shot his way. “He was feeling dizzy and I forced him to lie down and rest. I didn’t want to leave him alone so I thought I’d wait for you or Bucky to come back.” she added as if trying to excuse herself for being there.

“Good. Thanks for looking after him.” the old woman smiled at her fondly. And then Steve decided he should make them aware he was awake.

“I wasn’t dizzy.” Steve suddenly said with a hoarse voice.  He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up so fast all his body was in pain and he grimaced again.

“Steven!” Sarah scolded him. “Be careful, love. Have you taken your painkillers?”

“Yes ma.” he answered. “Took them before you left.”

She nodded and smiled at her son and then turned to Katie “And you, my dear, are having Carbonara with us this evening?”

"Sarah, I don’t want….” Katie started but Sarah cut her off.

“I wasn’t asking Star.” she said “It’s the least I can do after you looked after this mad driver I have for a son. Besides, you’re helping me fix it, we have a lot to catch up on.”

“Wait Ma! I’ll help you with those” Steve said as his mother turned to head for the kitchen, taking a shopping bag in each hand.

“No. Stay put. I’m perfectly able to do it myself, Stevie. You rest until dinner’s ready.” she refused her son’s offer.    

Katie stood up and sighed. “I’ll better go help her.” she said before smiling at him and ruffling the hair on the top of his head softly, and God that was a balm to his soul. Such a familiar action she had done so many times before, but yet never had it felt so significant as it did then. The ghost of a grin threatened to spread on his face at her show of affection but it was quickly turned into a grimace as she tugged on the longer locks at the top of his head.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed and Katie, who was heading for the kitchen turned to look at him and grinned.

“Serves you well for letting them shave you.”      

“I was kind of unconscious so I didn’t have much of a choice” he looked at her “And besides, they had to stitch my lip.” he shrugged innocently.

“Whatever.” she said over her shoulder walking towards the kitchen.

Steve leant against the back of the sofa, closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. Was it him or was the ice queen beginning to thaw?

He must have dozed off again, but that stupid grin was clearly on his face as he was jerked back to the here and now by another voice about 15 minutes later.

“Are you high?” he heard Bucky ask him. Steve opened his eyes to see a smug smile on his friend’s face who was examining the packet of painkillers the doctors had prescribed him.    

“Jerk.”

“I love you too, honey.” Bucky grinned at him and frowned when he heard the two female laughs coming from the kitchen.

“Is that…?” Bucky asked squinting his eyes at Steve and he nodded.

“She came by this afternoon. Ma invited her for dinner.” he said.

“Well, this is getting interesting.” Bucky smirked, tossing the packet of painkillers down onto the table “Very interesting indeed.”

Steve didn’t miss the cunning smile on his friend’s face as he turned and headed for the kitchen.

“Buck.” Steve warned him, but Bucky was already gone. He came back a few minutes later drinking a beer and sat sprawled on the armchair beside the couch and Steve cast a longing look at the bottle.

“Don’t even think of it.” he said mocking Steve’s captain voice “You’re not allowed to drink a single drop of alcohol on those things.”

Steve groaned took the TV remote and started channel-hopping until he found a film that caught his attention.

“Why does Superman wear a cape? I don’t get it. What’s with making superheroes look like idiots with those spangly tight outfits?” Bucky began to rant but Steve ignored him.

Bucky side eyed him for a moment, before he smirked to himself. “Sooo. I guess you and your girl are on better terms now, seeing as she still hasn’t torn your head off.”

“She’s not…”

“Your girl. Hmmm, yet you wanted to punch me in the face for buying her lunch.” Bucky finished for him. “You’re smiling, just saying pal.” he added pointing at him with his beer bottle before turning to the TV screen again. But as he gave Steve another side glance, he could see the blonde was smiling again.

Twenty minutes later Katie emerged from the kitchen cleaning her hands with a tea towel.

“Dinner will be ready in five, so move your asses and help me lay the table.” she said standing in front of the TV screen, hands on the buckle of her belt.

“Yes, Mrs. Captain.” Bucky sat up mocking a salute.

Kate shot him a glare and both turned to watch as Steve was struggling to stand up from the couch with a pained expression to no avail.

“Here, hold on to us.” Bucky offered reaching one of his arms out for Steve to hold at the same time Katie approached the coach and offered hers. But they couldn’t lift his weight.

“Come on, man. Are you on our team?” Bucky asked between gritted teeth.

“Just represent. Pull!” Steve bit back.  And with that they were able to lift the Captain’s weight and haul him upright.

“Are you ok? Are you still dizzy?” Katie asked Steve while she rubbed his arm.

“I’m fine, doll. Thanks.”

Bucky flinched waiting for Katie’s outburst at the pet name, but when nothing came he just raised an eyebrow at the pair but they were too busy looking at one another to notice him. He just smiled, shaking his head. He had to remember to text Romanoff later.

“Ok, pal. Lean on me, I’ll walk you to the dining room.” Bucky said ducking under Steve’s armpit and putting his friend arm over his shoulder while holding his waist with his free hand. “We are your sidekicks after all.”

“Yeah, just like Mulder and Scully you two.” Steve scoffed.

“Thought it was Cagney and Lacey?” Katie, who was walking ahead of them, turned to quip.

Soon after the table was ready and Sarah had finished fixing a salad to go with the Carbonara. She passed the bowl to Katie who placed it at the centre of the table and all four sat to enjoy the food. But as Bucky was about to take a breadstick Sarah slapped his hand.

“What’s with people slapping my hands?” Bucky protested

“Have you washed your hands, young man?” Sarah asked.  "God only knows where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing.”

“Or who.” Katie muttered under his breath and shared a smile with Steve who was sitting opposite her. He grinned back.

“Yes, I did ma'am.” Bucky answered, taking the breadstick from the bread basket and biting it unceremoniously.

“Are you going to tell us where you’ve been all day?” Steve asked looking at him while he helped himself to some salad.

“Playing Captain Dickhead.” he quipped.

Sarah, who had just stood up to go find a pitcher of water, smacked him on the back of his head.

“Language!” the old lady said and Katie couldn’t help but snigger.

“Ouch!” Bucky dropped the fork on the plate and rubbed the back of his head as he looked at Steve “Doing your job, buddy. Which I must say I did beautifully.” he added with a smug smile.

“Well, he didn’t burn the station down.” Katie shrugged.

“Chasing the bad guys. Looking after your herd.” Bucky continued.

“We’re not goats.” Katie scoffed.

“That is debatable, honey.” Bucky said pointing at her with his fork and Steve smiled at the bickering between the two. “And I met a friend later.” he added casually.

“Oh, anyone nice?” Sarah asked excitedly as she returned with the water.

“Don’t encourage him Ma.” Steve shook his head.

“You could say that.” he looked at Sarah smiling before adding “Name’s Sammy, we’re not a thing yet.”

Steve saw Katie stop eating and try to catch Bucky’s eye but he was avoiding her purposefully. After a second or two she gave in and stood up.

“I’ll fetch the Carbonara, pass me your plates.” she said holding out her hand at Bucky and looking at him intently. He shot her another passive look, but there was a faint tinge of red in his cheeks and as Steve watched Katie smirked, knowingly, before she collected the other plates.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Sarah said to Katie as she headed to the kitchen. “And James, make sure you treat your dame right.” he said looking at him before raising an eyebrow at her son.

“Will do.” Bucky said looking at the woman at the same time he reached for his water glass.

“You’re not a thing? Yet?” Steve asked Bucky leaning an arm on the back of the chair to look at him directly.

“Nope.” he replied, not wanting to go into many details.

“But you could be?”

Bucky shrugged.

“What are you waiting for?” Katie asked placing a pasta plate in front of Sarah.

“Just leave him alone.” Sarah said patting Katie’s hand. Katie shrugged and dropped another plate in front of Bucky before returning for her and Steve’s.

“Thifif delishos” Bucky grunted with his mouth full of food.

“Thank you, I guess. Did you mean the food was delicious?” Sarah laughed and Bucky nodded.

“It is good, thanks.” Steve said, nodding appreciatively.

“It should be after feeding on mac and cheese from a box. Did you know that?” Katie asked Sarah, who nodded resigned and shook her head.

“What’s wrong with box mac and cheese?” Bucky looked up.

“What’s wrong with it? It’s disgusting!” Katie said, affronted.

“Katie cooks the best Mac and cheese you’d ever taste.” Steve told Bucky before he shot her a wink as he refilled her glass with water.

“Thanks, Stevie.” she smiled back softly.

Bucky couldn’t help but grin. “STEVIE?”  he mouthed to Sarah who nodded at him, smiling knowingly.

For Steve it was like he had been taken back to before everything went wrong. Sitting with his Mom, Katie, eating dinner…with the addition of Bucky this time. It was nice. The 4 of them ate, chatting, there was no arguing, no frosty moments. Ok, it wasn’t as easy as it had been once upon a time but still, this was progress. And he wasn’t taking it for granted.

Eventually his mother announced it was late and that she should be going. Much to Steve’s disappointment, Katie checked her watch and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll walk down with you Sarah.” Katie said “Tony’s already bitching about me treating his place like a hotel. If I’m much later home he’ll probably threaten to Ground me or something…”

Bucky and Steve both sniggered as Sarah looked at Katie.

“If he’s annoying you that much you can always come stay with me love.” she said and Katie grinned.

“You’d feed me that much apple pie and banana bread I’d be the size of a house.” “Well you do look like you need feeding up….have you been eating properly in DC?” “Ma stop it.” Steve sighed as Katie laughed.

“I’m promise you I eat as much now as I always have.” she assured the woman as they both stood up. “As you’ve just seen. I look like I’m having a food baby.”

Bucky and Steve both rose along with them, Bucky hugging Katie whilst Steve gave his mom a squeeze.

“Don’t blow this…” she hissed into his ear.

“I’ll try not to.” he replied gently.

She stepped back and Steve turned to Katie. Bucky and Sarah were tactful enough to move away to the door, talking loudly to give them some space.

“Think the polar ice caps are melting…” Bucky mumbled to Sarah who smiled as she watched Katie slip her arms round Steve’s waist.

“None so blind as those who will not see.” Sarah mused back.

“Aint that the truth…” Bucky said.

As her arms connected at the base of his back, the familiar fit of her body against his made Steve close his eyes as he gently hugged her back, dropping an affectionate kiss to the crown of her head as he always had done.

“Thank you.” he said softly, “for coming round and…” “It’s ok.” she said, she stepped back and licked her lips and took a deep breath “Look, Steve, I can’t promise everything can go back to like it was before but…maybe we can move forward right?”

“Forward’s good for me doll.” he assured her.

She smiled and turned towards the door. “See you tomorrow Bucky.” “Yeah later Doll Face…” he said to her retreating back.

The two men watched as she paused momentarily, took a deep breath before she held up her right hand and flipped him off over her shoulder, without so much as a look back.

Bucky let out a bark of a laugh and Steve chuckled as the door shut.

@the-omni-princess  @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld  @cobalt-gear  @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13  @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie  @navispalace @patzammit  @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @djeniiscorner  @ayamenimthiriel  @coldmuffinbanditshoe  @disneylovingal @madzmilllz  @sgtjaamesbaarnes​ @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ @southerngracela​ @goldenfightergir​ @kellymat​ @official-and-unstable-satan​ @charmed-asylum​ @pagesoflauren​

#csi rogers and barnes #csi au #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff #clint barton #wanda maximoff #tony stark #sam wilson #thor odinson #bruce banner

[fc5holidayexchange]

Far Cry 5 Holiday Exchange 2019 Fic

‘Aim for the Heart’

-John sets a trap for the deputy-

Deputy Emily Rook/John Seed

@oh-the-bliss

“My gift to you, hope you like it! Happy Holidays! - @sleepydaydreamz

Static came through the other end of the radio as Emily Rook set her sniper on the outpost in front of her. It was night and the stars began to show themselves as Emily took another drag of the joint between her lips. She ignored the noise and continued to count the Peggies surrounding the Jessop Conservatory in Faith’s region. Emily had dreaded coming to this place with Bliss barrels scattered everywhere but she knew she had to get it over with eventually.

“Depuuty,” sang out a voice from her radio. Emily’s shoulders tensed as she ignored it and looked through her scope, counting a total of fifteen cult members.

“You really should pick up your radio, dear,” sighed John. “Fine, I guess I’ll have fun with my new friend here. Such a cute and cuddly creature.”

A dog’s whine could be heard through the radio and Emily instantly dropped her weapon and grabbed the radio from her belt. She was about to press the talk button when a thought struck her. Just because there was a dog with him didn’t necessarily mean it was Boomer. There were plenty of strays roaming around Hope County, it wouldn’t be too difficult for John to catch one and lie about it.

“You’re lying,” she muttered through the radio. The last time she had seen the lovable dog, she had left him in the hands of Sharky. Emily knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to that dog; even promising he would die just to keep him safe.

“Oh, I would never lie to you, Emily,” said John and she winced at the way he said her name. “I’ll prove it to you. Your little dog just so happens to be wearing a red bandanna with a tag on it. It says Rocky on one side, but it seems to be scratched out. Looks like someone tried to etch the name ‘Boomer’ on the back. Sloppy writing if you ask me.”

The color drained from Emily’s face as she quickly packed up her gear and ran toward the truck parked behind her. As she started the car and slammed on the gas, she snatched the radio and let out a deep growl.

“If you so much as touch him-”

“You’ll what? Actually, you can tell me in person. Meet me at my ranch within the hour.”

His voice sharply cut out, making Emily step on the pedal until it hit the floor as she weaved between the few passing cars on the winding road. John had done plenty of things in the past to get her attention, but he did nothing this drastic. Her mind went back to how she blew up five of his silos yesterday and now she was starting to wish she hadn’t.

As Emily pulled up the long driveway, she slammed on the brakes and threw the door open as she ran outside with shotgun in hand. After kicking the doors open, she aimed her gun around crazily, searching for any sign of movement.

The house was silent and now that she thought about it, there were no guards posted outside or parked in the driveway. A fire flickered in the dim lighting as Emily’s heart rate began to pick up, her ears straining for the smallest of noises.

The sound of a door slowly opening upstairs nearly made her jump as she quickly turned around and walked up the staircase. A light shown through the half-opened door and she could hear soft noises coming from within.

Emily crept down the hallway and stopped right outside as she used the end of her shotgun to carefully open the door.

“Boomer!” she gasped. Boomer was crawled up in the corner of the bathroom, happily chewing on a bone. Emily set her gun down and crawled to him as she rubbed his ears when she felt something poke the back of her head.

“So happy that you came,” said John above her. “Don’t try to make any sudden movements. I might miss and hurt your friend here. Now, hands up.”

Emily scowled as she slowly raised her hands and stood up on her feet. John’s hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he pulled her out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him, locking Boomer in.

John hummed as he took away the two knives strapped to her legs and a small pistol tucked in the back of her pants. She hated herself for not bringing in more weapons but the fear of something happening to Boomer overrode all common sense.

“Move forward.”

John shoved the gun against Emily’s head as she walked down the hall and felt his hand push her into a different room. Emily recognized it as his bedroom and she already knew where he wanted this to go.

“You blew up my silos yesterday,” said John in a dangerously low voice. “I have to admit, you’re the only woman who has ever made a dent in my wallet. It’s starting to annoy me.”

John hit her in the back with his gun and she grunted as she fell to the floor. As Emily got up to her knees, she looked up and felt his gun press against her forehead.

“I would first like an apology,” said John. “Go on then, I don’t have all day.”

Emily narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he really would kill her this time. In the past, he had always let her off with a warning, although those warnings included getting marked or enduring his baptisms.

The click of the safety switching on grabbed Emily’s attention as he tilted his head down at her.

“I really don’t feel like putting a dog down today,” threatened John. It could’ve been just another one of John’s sick tests, but Emily didn’t want to take a chance on it. She leaned back on the heels of her feet and held her hands in front of her, hoping to look as demur as possible.

“I’m sorry, John,” she breathed. “I didn’t mean to annoy you.”

John studied her as he pressed the gun further into her head but Emily made no movements. It seemed like their staring contest was going to last forever until John let out a low chuckle and holstered his gun onto his belt.

“See? That’s all I wanted,” said John. He offered her his hand and she begrudgingly took it, knowing there would be severe consequences if she didn’t.

“You look tired,” he noted. “More than usual.”

Emily shrugged as he grabbed her chin and gently forced her to look at him. She couldn’t help but stare into his eyes and loved how they reminded her of the Montana sky.

“My men have been dismissed for the night,” said John softly. “They won’t be back until morning…”

Emily knew where this was going and part of her wanted to run away as far as possible. However, the way his hand trailed down to caress her collarbone stopped her from doing so. She knew it had been a mistake to kiss him the last time they had met.

It had been his second attempt to try and baptize her, this time, without Joseph interrupting. He had drugged her by using the Bliss bullets again and she had woken up in a drugged haze by a river. He had stood waist-deep inside the water and was completely shirtless, his sins and tattoos exposed for the world to see.

Emily remembered how sad he had looked and how his face changed when he realized she was looking at him. The face she presumed he saved for his old days as a lawyer came on, a small smirk with a slightly raised eyebrow. She hadn’t planned on going into the water on her own but her legs took her to him anyways.

Just as she approached him, she took his face into her hands and looked carefully at his face. It could’ve been the Bliss that was making her so vulnerable, but she wanted to see that face again; the one that showed the slightest hint of humanity among the madness.

“What are you doing?” he had whispered to her.

It was at that moment she saw it; the slight expansion of his pupils, the sharp intake of breath and the way his hands rested on her hips. For one full minute, they weren’t the cult’s Baptist or the rookie cop. They were just two people, holding each other in a moment of peace.

Emily’s lips had found his before she could even think twice about it. She remembered the small moan he had let out after finally breaking their brief kiss and she had never heard such a pleasing sound.

The sound of Boomer’s barking brought her back to the present and she tried turning away from him.

“I can’t stay here,” said Emily. She shook her head, hoping it would clear her mind of the past.

“No one will find ever out,” assured John. “When was the last time you slept in an actual bed? Or even took a nice, hot shower? I know for a fact you haven’t had a decent meal since this whole thing started.”

Emily shook her head again and took a step back but John quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into him.

“Please, Emily. Just one night, that’s all I ask,” he said. She could feel the slight trembling in his body as he held her. With all the promises he had made her, what was one night after all?

#fc5holidayexchange #john seed #john seed/deputy #deputy oc #gift: fic #oh-the-bliss #submission

[lokidokiliteratureclub]

Frostbitten (Chapter Three)

Y/N L/N is a child of a Jotun and an Asgardian. She spends her life hidden in the dungeons of Asgard, with no one to talk to other than one of the princes- a man who seems completely incapable of leaving her alone and entirely unable to give up on helping her. Y/N and Loki Odinson have always been inseparable, it seems- even when there is a cell wall, or a village, or an entire kingdom between them.

Even when he disappears, even when you run away, and even when his world falls apart; you are inseparable.

Previous Part

I’m gonna pretend that this didn’t take me way too long to write and I’m just gonna,, leave this here,,

This part of the story is mainly just exposition so that you have an idea of the baseline for the rest of the story. Romantic development starts very, very soon.

Tags are open! 

"If you were king, what would you do?"

Loki peers up from his book at the question, frowning sideways at you through a curtain of dark hair. His desire for the throne has always been evident, but he rarely ever talks about it. It always seemed like something he was.. afraid to mention. "What do you mean?”

"Oh, you know," you wave your hand dismissively, "how would you behave? What would you change”

He sweeps his hair behind his ears, and sighs. "Well, aside from an inevitable war or two, I'd, well, first I’d free you. Then, perhaps set up a system of trial- one that involves more than just the king, since we’ve seen how well that works out. I'd allow more children to study magic if they'd rather not partake in physical battle practices. Create a public library or two.” He shrugs. “I'd marry, probably have a child to pass the throne onto... You know, the very basics. Change the kingdom to focus less on glory and more on intelligence- wisdom. Strength is good short-term, but knowledge lasts forever."

You nod approvingly. "How very noble of you. I’d love to live under your reign.” That much is true. “But, really? No bragging? At all?" That part is a joke, mainly.

He grins, looking back down at his book. "You asked me what I'd do as a ruler, not as a man."

"My apologies. So, then, what would you do as yourself?"

"Everything I mentioned before, but I’d also create a very, very large statue of myself. Just as a constant reminder to Thor, since he never fails to remind me that because he is older he will inherit the throne.” He pauses. “Oh, and several very, very dramatic theatrical pieces. Community theatre would return in screaming colors.”

You snort. “There he is! There’s the Loki I know and love. Always one for drama.”

“What? As if you wouldn’t do the same.”

“I would.” You add, “but you know you’re allowed to exceed my expectations, right? You have full permission to be better than me.”

He scratches the spot just underneath his jaw with two fingers, turning the page of his book. “Why raise your expectations when I can drastically lower them and therefore have to work less to achieve appreciation?” 

Your eyes give a slight roll. “You’d better be glad there’s something keeping me from you right now. If I could, I’d snap your spine.”

Loki turns the page again, looking back up at you in between the motion. His grin flashes into a smirk. “I’d like to see you try.”

-

“What the hell?!” Thor bellows, stomping over to his brother and ripping him away from you by the shoulders. “You are not supposed to be here, brother!”

“Says who?” Loki retorts, feigning cluelessness. He takes a few heavy steps, his armor tight enough not to be shifting around, his boots soft enough to not make a sound on the hard ground. Unintentional mental rhyming. “Oh, my,” he gasps, lifting a hand to his mouth in shock, “did father explicitly tell you that I wasn’t to be here? That may be an issue. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried to tell you, but you cut me-” he breaks off and releases a loud grunt of frustration. "You tricked me!”

“He’s the god of mischief,” you speak up, standing up and taking in the cool atmosphere. Bits of jagged ice prick at your bare feet, but for some reason they don’t hurt you. Your head feels lighter in the new environment. You feel more awake. More... at home. “You should expect that of him. He’ll never fail to disappoint you.”

Loki rolls his eyes but smiles faintly. “I think you all need to lower your expectations.”

“Why can’t Loki be here, anyway?” Asks Sif, her green eyes glassy in the cold. “What’s the issue with that? Why not him instead of I? The point of this affair was to prove our sense of diplomacy, wasn’t it? Thor came along to prove to Jotunheim that Asgard unequivocally cared about the reform. Why not two princes rather than one?”

Thor runs a troubled, angry hand through his shoulder-length hair. “I’m not sure, but father made himself clear. Besides, he’s a total pain in the-”

Suddenly, the Bifrost closes. There’s a whoosh of wind followed by an awful, earsplitting silence. The others in the group look at you, then their eyes shift to Thor, then Loki, then Sif. There is a notable absence of trusted adults in the area, and you feel the collective blood pressure of the group begin to rise.

“Where’s Arvid?” asks Sif stiffly. She slowly turns her head toward Loki, who stares confusedly back. “Loki,” she takes a stride toward him, her hand inching toward the hilt of her sword. “What did you do to him?”

Loki frowns, putting his hands up in surrender. “I’ve not touched him. If I killed every man I opposed, I'd never be able to get away with treason the way I need to, even though I’d love a chance to see him suffer.”

Thor starts pacing around the area, moving in heavy, quick steps. “Heimdall!” he shouts at the sky, voice echoing across the terrain. “Heimdall, open the Bifrost!”

You straighten your back and pull at your tattered clothing, shifting your gaze to a dark formation of pillars and spires behind you, some collapsed and some upright- about fifty steps away. It bears a bit of resemblance to Asgard’s palace, but it’s much smaller. It’s beaten down- unrepaired after a history of war. Loki told you about his father’s experiences here, about the casket that resided in Odin’s treasure room. That casket- that war was both the thing that ensured your creation and the thing that took your life away. You should not feel a sense of pride for Jotunheim, but for some strange reason, you feel the urge to protect it. Or, at least, let it die of old age rather than in the heat of battle.

“Are you alright?” whispers Loki, moving closer to you. You think that Sif hears, because her head turns toward the pair of you for a second too long. You don’t really care. “You look shaken.”

You don’t respond. A prickly, steady sense of fear travels through you, crawling up your spine and nesting in your chest. 

“Heimdall!” Thor shouts a final time, raising his fists at the sky, before slouching, defeated, in a fit of anger. “We’re stranded!” he announces. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Why did you bring me here?” you say in hardly an echo, turning your back to what remains of the Jotunheim palace and looking out at the group. “Whatever your reason is, I assume you’ll have to go through with your intentions, with or without him. I’d rather I find out now if you don’t mind.”

Thor stops pacing to stare you in the face and then starts to approach you, practically fuming. Your fight or flight reflexes start to kick in, but instead of reacting you stand your ground, keeping your face set, your pulse thrumming in your ears. “If you believe for a second that it’s within your rights to speak to me, you-”

“Brother, I hate to remind you, but we’re in her realm,” Loki states firmly, just before Thor reaches you. When he freezes, you calm a bit, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “Besides, she’s a princess, now, is she not?”

I’m not Laufey’s daughter! You think, raising both eyebrows. The fear is joined by subtle exasperation.

Thor turns to tower over Loki, but despite being quite a bit smaller he doesn’t flinch. “Watch your words. Neither you nor her need to know of the plans, especially now that they may not be set in motion. Now that Arvid isn’t here to perform the-” he breaks off, groaning loudly. He raises his fists to the sky. “This is all going to Hel!”

“I read the plans, brother. And I still have many questions. So should you.” Loki steps forward and lets his arms hang at his sides, staring daggers into the blue eyes of the older prince. “Until someone explains why this ordeal is to take place in the first place despite the obvious inhumanity, I’d suggest you stop acting as though you’re in control. As if you know what the Allfather has planned.”

“Loki, you know not of what you speak,” offers Sif, her breath fogging in the cold air. “Give it time.”

He turns to her, his lips parting into a somehow-menacing smile. “I’m sorry, is this not a sufficiently appropriate time?” He lets the words ring out, and then scoffs. “No, then? Sif, the two of you need a magician, correct? Are you going to ask me next to sew her lips shut and heal the wounds? To drain the thought from her mind, the soul from her body?” he points to you, and you blink in horror at the thought, shoulders tensing. Loki did make a move to warn you about what might happen if you didn’t escape, but this just sounds... very un-Asgard like. 

It makes you think there’s something else going on. Odin is covering something up, or he’s scared. Maybe both. Your legs, weak from lack of use, begin to shake under your weight, and you try to steady yourself, pressure building.

What could an all-powerful being have to be afraid of? 

Unlike before, Loki seems to be completely unaware of your mental state at the very moment. “Would you like me to take Arvid’s place as the puppeteer?” You’re going to lash out. You’re going to lash out. You’re going to lash out. “Speaking for her, moving for her, breathing for-”

“What in the Allfather’s name is happening?!” You snap, balling your hands at your sides. You glare at Loki, despite your intent to remain calm, and it takes him aback. “Assume we’re stranded here, how about! Assume we’re stuck on this frozen ice-land, and Heimdall and Arvid have been killed by some unknown force of nature. We’re stuck in Jotunheim, not Asgard. I don’t believe the rest of you have any means of surviving here, so perhaps it’s a good idea to tell the one person who can possibly keep you alive what you’re here for!” 

“I don’t believe you’d be of much use-” Sif begins, scowling, but you cut her off.

“Was your intention to take over my body and use Laufey’s belief that I’m the heir to the throne in your favor? That’s what I’m gathering, and I hate to break it to you, My Lady, but if Arvid was meant for that job, and he’s gone, your best chances lie with me.” You glare harshly, and then, noticing the jagged ice stemming from around your feet, take a deep breath in and try to relax. It barely does anything. “I have no intentions of hurting any of you, despite what you might have forethought.”

Sif is offended, but firm. “Do you think that we’re feeble-minded enough to trust you with the throne? Your word means nothing. You’d have us all killed if you had the chance.”

You laugh, the last of your patience fading away. “Would you like to test that theory? I’ve plenty of methods to prove you wrong, and plenty more to prove you ri-”

“Asgardians?”

It’s a cold, rumbling voice from behind you, familiar and foreign at the same time. You turn toward the noise and lay eyes on several Jotun soldiers emerging from behind the large, jagged bits of rock and ice that sprout from the desolate ground. In the midst, a large, guarded Jotun glowers down at you and the others, looking amused and angered

Your aggravation fades and leaves only the prickly, paralyzing fear. The Jotun speaks again. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Did he hear you speaking earlier? He had to have heard Thor screaming for Heimdall. Did he hear you and Sif arguing? How much does he know?

You find yourself backing up, and you stop when you feel Loki’s hand, outstretched slightly, press against the covered surface of your back, gently steadying you. When you look at him, he seems to be at a loss for words. You can’t say you feel any differently.

Thor, who had spoken loudly and boldly just moments earlier, is silent and pale. Sif, stepping silently and shakily forward, is the first to speak.

“King Laufey,” she utters, doing her best not to display signs of despair, “while the circumstances of our visit could very much be better, we come to return a prisoner.” The last word is a threat toward you, a reminder that previous plans have been canceled. She is going to get rid of you.

The giant, his face lined with intricate, deeply marked lines, looks quizzically at her, then at you. “Small for a giant’s offspring. ” He speaks slowly. It sounds like an insult. You take in a deep breath, refusing to look away. “Twenty years of age.”

“We understand that you believe her to be your daughter,” starts Sif, but she breaks off suddenly, sounding as though the air has been pulled from her body.

"We bring your daughter here in a gesture of peace," Loki says, and you notice that at the same time Sif lost her breath, Loki curled his fist, as if he had been the one to stop her talking. She looks at him accusingly but doesn’t do anything else, probably terrified. "Asgard's rulers have come to the conclusion that our quarrels with this realm ended inefficiently. We'd like to take some time to organize a proper treaty."

Oh, he's good.

Laufey chuckles, amused. He doesn’t seem to notice Loki’s magic. "And three of you? What well-dressed expandables Asgard must have."

Loki smiles faintly, signaling to Sif. "This is Lady Sif, one of our fiercest warriors. This is my brother, Thor," he signals to Thor, who is still looking a bit flabbergasted, then to himself "and I am Loki. We two are the Odinsons."

That piques his interest. He steps forward, and the four Jotuns surrounding him follow his movement. "The princes?" Laufey turns his gaze back to you. "And you, child. You're my daughter?"

You freeze for a moment, waiting for someone to speak for you, but they don't. You clear your throat. Your voice only shakes a little when it comes forward. "I certainly don't believe there to be any other undersized Jotuns my age, dead or alive, that were taken during the battle. It's not a very popular title."

To your relief, the answer seems to satisfy him. "Then they've kept it from you?" Laufey stares down the princes, lingering on each of them for far too long. Thor looks as if he’s going to speak, but Loki’s fist clenches tighter, and his lips seal shut. "They have locked you up, kept you from the truth, and even now, they restrain you." The handcuffs, frozen but refusing to break, feel heavy on your wrists. "If you were to one day sit on my throne, I wonder, how would you have these men pay for their crimes against you?"

Sif is giving you a cold, silent warning stare, and Thor looks like he might pass out- he does not appear to be breathing. Loki, on the other hand, edges closer to you, growing calmer with each passing moment.

"Well," you say, staring straight ahead. "Lady Sif has had no part in these doings. She hardly ever went down to the dungeons. So, even though I'm certain she'd have me hung if she had the chance,” the soldier is holding her breath, frozen, “she's technically innocent. Her only crime is disrespect." You practically feel the surprise bouncing off of her, and then her face contorts into an expression of suspicion. Loki is controlling her ability to speak- she must think he’s controlling yours as well. "Thor was arrogant, bothersome, but like Sif, he has not tried to harm me. The two of them live in Odin's shadow. They have no knowledge of what to do aside from what he instructs."

Laufey doesn't move, he just shifts his eyes between them, thinking. You don’t dare wait for him to speak, practically tripping over your own tongue in haste for this conversation to be over.

"Loki is so kind that he’s hardly even Asgardian.." You look over at him, asking silently for permission to go more into detail. You don’t want to spill your lifelong secrets if he doesn’t approve. He glances back, holds your gaze for a moment, and then nods wistfully, looking toward the ground. You turn your eyes back to Laufey. "He snuck down to the dungeons. Taught me how to read, how to speak, how to go as many places as I could without leaving my cell. I'd have gone mad without him.”

“They’re all innocent?” He furrows a brow, frown deepening. He’s testing you. “You don’t wish to put them through an inch- a fraction of the pain they put you through? Not even for a moment?”

“You asked me what I’d do as a ruler,” you quote, trying not to smile when Loki’s eyes light up at the familiarity. It’s always a joy to know he remembers your conversations. “Not what I’d do as a man.”

He barely registers any physical reaction before speaking again.

“How amiable. Unfortunately for them, I’m not quite as generous.” Laufey’s red, beady eyes sweep the four of you a final time, and then he turns, beckoning the lot of you, plus the soldiers, after him. “I’d normally have them chained to the walls and beaten to sod. However, your kindness has inspired me.”

Guards move behind you, pushing the other three forward, quite forcefully. Sif breaks free of Loki’s spell and unsheaths her sword, swinging toward the giants, but one of the guards closest to her grabs hold of her wrist, and she drops the weapon before she gets a chance to strike, holding her wrist close to her chest and stumbling back with shock. Two Jotuns seize her by the shoulders and steer her back with the others. She struggles against them, and Thor, alarmed by the sight of the wound, moves to help her, but the giants swat him aside just as easily as they did her. Loki doesn’t bother fighting, resisting. He seems to already be thinking of a plan. He looks calm. He doesn’t look at you.

“I’ll leave them alive. They’ll live what time they have here in the dungeons. And as for you,” he turns around once more, and you freeze, watching the three Asgardians as they’re shoved toward a downward stairwell, leading into a lightless below. “You’ll join my other children in their quarters. They will be awaiting you.”

He walks out of the room, double doors closing loudly behind him.

Frostbitten Tags:

@natalia-rushman @what-inspirational-name@jessiejunebug@fandomdestroyer @a-new-schematic @iris-suoh @pandacookieowo @givememyskittlesback @awesomefandomsunited @itsanallygator @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fire-treasure-iii @strangerliaa @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @woohoney @itsanallygator

#Loki Laufeyson #loki x reader fluff #loki x reader #loki #tom hiddleston #loki (marvel)

[random-aya]

Detroit: Become Human | Chapter VIII

Chapter I - Chapter II - Chapter III - Chapter IV - Chapter V - Chapter VI - Chapter VII - Chapter VIII - Chapter IX

Fandom: Detroit Become Human (of course)

Pairing: Connor x Reader

Word Count: 1,991

Author’s note: I’m so sorry to have taken so long to post this new chapter! Last week have been a little difficult and during the weekend I was away from my computer. Thank you so much for your patience!

As always, English is not my first language so excuse my grammar and my repetitions.

You met Hank at Jimmy's bar, his favorite spot to get drunk. You were sitting in a rounded table in a corner drinking your third round of beer. "So, what is it?" Asked Hank. "We've been here for an hour and still haven't said a word." He was waiting for you to speak but since you have been drinking your previous beers in silence he started to get impatient. "I don't know..." You sighed. "I don't know what to think anymore..." You held your beer tighter and Hank waited for you to continue. "I- I believe that deviants... Are really alive..." You confessed surprised by your own words. "Could it be that their AI has evolved to that point? To develop a consciousness..." Hank gazed at you with attention waiting to see what you say next. "All the cases we have seen... I just see people in an unfair situation that they had to take drastic decisions to free themselves." You took a sip of your beer. "We might have done the same in their situation! And we are just chasing them like animals!" You hit the table with your empty bottle. Hank took it from your hand and commanded another round. "That's not everything, right?" he said giving you a new beer. "It's about Connor." You frowned staring at the table remembering how he just pursued Fitz. "You see him more than a machine." He added. "He is a fucking idiot! That is how I see him!" you blurted bothered. "My God, you sound like an angry wife!" he mocked you. "What did he do?" "He just chased my Android Fitz..." you drink from your bottle. "He was my only friend since I came here... Strange right? That I consider an Android a friend?" You raise your eyes to Hank but he just looked you back. "Fitz was waiting at home for me, he wanted to talk. Androids don't want anything, except, if they have deviated from their program." You took a sip of your beer. "After that deviant speech, he must have wake up. He wanted to ask me if I let him go free... Well, I guess since that stupid bastard started to hunt him!" "And what happened?" "Luckily he got away." You drank from your bottle and remained silent in your thoughts. "And what about Connor?" Insisted Hank. "I don't care about that bastard..." You spat out not looking at him. You were so bothered by what he did that hearing his name made you angry. "That's not true." Hank stated. "You care for him more than you want to make me believe. You see him more than just a machine." You bit your bottom lip, you knew what he said was true. You cared for him so much. "I have seen you looking at him." Continued Hank. "How you care for him. That's not what you do with your vacuum cleaner." You remained silent for a few seconds. You felt a lump in your throat but you had to talk, you had to take it out of your head. "I- I want him to be more than just a machine... Sometimes, I think... I think he is so much more, for what he says and what he does... Sometimes I think I want him to become deviant... But I can't let him do that..." you took a long sip. "What will happen if he does?" He dare to ask. "I- I can't let it happen... I have been working on him those past three years. We have worked so much to prevent him to deviate..." You justified yourself. "And now, all I want is him to deviate. To free himself. To act as he believed he had to act." You looked down your hands on the table, your voice was trembling and you felt a heavy pressure on your chest. "If he becomes a deviant... I will have to report him... And... They will destroy him..." You covered your face with your hand when you felt tears starting to fall down your cheeks. "Do you love him?" Hank suddenly asked. You raise your head looking at him surprised. You didn't think about that. But his question made you realized something: you were not indifferent to him, you actually appreciated his company and, you still didn't really know why you kissed him, being completely drunk wasn't an answer for you. You knew you wouldn't do that to anyone. But to love Connor? He was an Android in the end, even if you started to see him as something more...

A few hours later, Hank was unlocking your apartment door helped with your hand. You were completely drunk and he was holding you by your waist trying to keep you in balance. "Where is your room?" He asked you once inside. You raised your arm pointing to your room. You couldn't say any word, you felt that if you talked you would start throwing up and you have already been through this and you hated it, all of it. Hank holding you took some steps in the direction you pointed him when Connor emerged from your office. "Fucking Jesus Christ, Connor!" Hank exclaimed holding his chest. "You scared the shit out of me!" "I'm sorry." He apologized tilting his head. "I didn't expect you neither. This is Dr. L/N apartment." "That's why I am here." He protested. "Special delivery!" Connor analyzed you, he could easily tell you were drunk, and he noticed your red eyes. "What are you doing here?" Asked Hank leaving you on your bed. Connor remained silent thinking the right answer."I was waiting for Y/N."  He just said. Hank stared at Connor, then looked back at you. Hank was worried, he saw you so down earlier, and he didn't like to see you getting completely drunk for your worries. You were too young to follow his path. This Deviant case was too much for you. "I'll leave her to your care." Hank announced. Hank got close to Connor and tapped his shoulder. "She is a good girl. Take good care of her." He said before leaving.

Connor stood a few seconds trying to catch the meaning of Hank's words but he couldn't find it. He then got close to you and helped you get properly inside your bed. You were totally passed out. Your lips moved a little like you tried to speak but no intelligent sound left them. Connor covered you with the blanket and noticed the trace of tears on your cheek. He removed a lock of hair from your face and caressed your skin. "Y/N..." He whispered. But you didn't reply. You were deeply sleeping. Those tears bothered him. He saw you earlier crying when he chased your deviant Android and he felt bad about it, being himself the cause of so much distress. Something inside him made him feel bad about hurting you or seeing you hurt. Were you crying now with Hank? And what was the reason? Was because what he did earlier? His eyes locked into your lips remembering the last time you got drunk how you kissed him. Connor closed his eyes and when he realized it, he was joining his lips to yours. He got away surprised touching his own lips being unable to understand why he did that.

When you woke up a thousand drums started in unison in your head. Fuck, you were tired of this shit. It would be better if you stop drinking, at least, that much. How Lt Anderson managed it? The sensation was horrible to handle it every damn day. You got out of your bed holding your head and you went into the living room. On the coffee table, there was your breakfast freshly made. You were confused, you remembered Fitzwilliam getting away freely. Could he come back? You ran to the kitchen to see if he was there, but the kitchen was empty. You stare into the emptiness of the place looking for a trace of him, holding yourself. Damn, who would imagine it? Missing an Android so much. But you knew, Fitz was dared to you. You hope everything will be all right for him. You would have loved to talk to him as a free Android. To know how he felt all those years he had been with you, serving you. Did he hate you for that? You tried to treat him well, but at the end, he was always taking care of you and fixing all your messes. "Good morning, Y/N." You heard Connor's voice behind you. Startled, you turned at him with your hand on your chest to prevent a cardiac arrest. "What the fuck are you doing here?" You asked him inquisitory. You still were mad at him. "I- I'm sorry, Y/N." He apologized a little taken aback. "Didn't mean to scare you." "That's not what I mean." You insisted. "Why are you here? In my Apartment." His eyes roamed from you to the floor like a kid that is being scolded. "I- I didn't want to leave you alone...." He confessed looking shyly at you. "Not chasing my Android away would have been a nice start." You threw it with bitterness going to the living room to take your coffee. Connor stood there in the same place. If you had looked at his face you could see he was hurt. "I'm sorry, Y/N..." he followed you to the living room and stood in front of you. You already sat on the couch a drank the coffee. "I- you know how I am programmed..." "I don't need you to remind me." You took a sip of your mug. "Actually, that's your fucking Problem. You always do what you are programmed to do without thinking if it is good or it is bad. Like Fitz for example, what had he done? Nothing! He was innocent and you just chased it away!" Connor just stared at you. "Or the Eden Club girls! They were defending themselves from people who were beating them, and what Connor did? He killed them!" Connor was getting confused by moments. His LED started to blink. You stood up and went close to him staring into his eyes. "Do you really think that all we have done, all you had done is good? Is it the correct thing to do? Because I really don't think so." Connor LED was completely yellow processing all you were saying and he had a hard time to understand everything. "I'm going to take a shower." You dismissed him heading to your bathroom. 

Under the hot water you though, you thought about what you just said to Connor, maybe you were to harsh on him, but you were so bothered about Fitz... He was like a friend to you and you didn't know where it went. Deviants... Were they really a menace? Fitz wasn't dangerous, he had always done what you told him and when he woke up after the deviant speech, he was just waiting for you to talk about it. Everything spun so fast in your head and with your hangover you couldn't think straight. But you suddenly got an idea. You ran out of your shower covering yourself with the towel."Connor!" You called him. He turned to you and roamed his eyes from tip to toes from you, covered by only a tiny towel, winking like processing the information. You were busy getting rid of the knot in your hair to notice that."I need you to find me where Elijah Kamski lives." You asked him. "And when you'll get the address, call Hank!"You went to your room to dress. Maybe it was useless but Elijah Kamski was the founder of Cyberlife, the father of Androids, he left Cyberlife years ago but with all the work he had done he might know something about deviants.

#Detroit: Become human #Detroit: become human fanfic #Connor X Reader #DBH Connor x Reader

[novelblujay]

Chapter 3

Title: Breaking Walls

Genre: Fiction, Action, Dystopian Future, Original, Romance

Words:  2.8K

Rating: T

Summary:  Puck keeps lying to Wally and he knows it but now he has a plan to find the truth.

Wally was mindlessly scribbling in his notebook, impatiently waiting for class to break for lunch. Class had started almost an hour and a half ago, and Puck still had not shown up, likely because he was still throwing his tantrum from yesterday.  Most of the time Wally didn’t mind Puck’s dramatics, but he couldn't stand it when Puck’s dramatic behavior caused Puck to leave Wally alone for days.  This wasn’t the first time Puck had done this, but this time was especially upsetting to Wally because he didn’t feel like the new kid seemed worth this hissy fit.  Wally had spent a few moments this morning looking at Sky to try and understand why Puck was so obsessed with the boy, but he couldn’t think of a reason.  He could, however see why Puck called Sky a zombie, since his skin was disturbingly pale and his eyes were bloodshot, sunk in, and bordered by hideous bags, which looked twice as bad today.  Regardless, he looked cleaner and more put together today, with his hair pulled back in a small tight pony tail, still damp from a shower.  

Because of Puck’s disappearing act yesterday, Wally had been stuck listening to the girls rant and complain about how upset and confused they were with Puck’s behavior.  Wally was also upset and confused, but he didn’t feel like spending much time talking about it, so he had sat with them bored out of his mind, listening halfheartedly, and agreeing occasionally to make it look like he was listening.  It was days like this, when Puck was absent, that reminded Wally why he had become such close friends with Puck when they were all young.  Since Summer had gone to the same baby daycare as the twins the three had always been inseparable, but Wally needed someone when he was alone in the boys classes and an escape when the girls were being too much for him to handle, and Puck was the only boy their age that could keep up and go along with Wally’s antics.

Wally was in the middle of drawing a stick figure, he named Pluck, being eaten by a monster, when Puck finally came in and hurriedly took his seat next to Wally.  His hair and clothes were a mess and it looked like he had just gotten out of bed, which was Wally’s thing, definitely not Puck’s.  After sitting, Puck had the nerve to immediately resume yesterday’s staring session, rather than giving Wally an explanation for the late arrival.  He only mumbled a quiet ‘hey sorry I'm late’ to Wally without looking, but that was not nearly as much as Wally needed to hear.  Also, the way he was looking at Sky was drastically different from the day before. He looked tired, sad, and confused, staring forward with none of yesterday’s malice, and Wally demanded an explanation for what had changed.  Wally glared at Puck waiting for the explanation, but it never came causing his eye to twitch in irritation.  Rather than getting Puck’s attention he decided he could play this game too, and spent the rest of class ignoring Puck and drawing stick figure Pluck being attacked in various ways.

As soon as they were dismissed for lunch Puck shot up and headed over to Sky’s seat.  Wally got up and angrily followed, filled with surprise at the sudden change in Puck’s behavior, and annoyed at how he seemed to have been forgotten by his best friend.  “So what happen to you this morning sleeping ugly,” Wally said, cringing at his own lame insult.

Puck turned towards Wally, rolling his eyes, “Had a late night at work, and slept through my alarm, nothing special. No need to worry about little old me.”  Then he turned back towards Sky excitedly, “Anyway, I wanted to tell you, me and Sky ran into each other yesterday and we talked everything out.  And I think you and everyone else would love him, so I thought he could eat with us again and stuff.”

Wally looked at the two skeptically, he knew there was something they were hiding about yesterday.  “Would have been nice of you said somethin’ earlier but okay….” he mumbled bitterly.  Sky gave a small smile and Puck didn't seem to hear the anger in his friend’s voice and happily lead the way to the cafeteria.

The girls were already sitting at a table when the three boys walked in.  Both of their jaws dropped when the three boys sat across from them, Puck taking the seat in between Wally and Sky.  Wally watched the gears turn in the girl’s heads, as they quickly took in Puck’s abnormal appearance as well as the unexpected company.  Then they turned to Wally in perfect synchronization, which creeped Wally out, but all he could offer was a small shrug in response.

Voice dripping with worry, Molly asked Puck, “Are you feeling okay Puck, you look- ”

“ -like shit,” Summer finished emotionlessly.  

“I'm fine,” Puck huffed.  “Work just went late last night, and so I slept through my alarm.”

Wally rolled his eyes, “Couldn't tell me that when you came in though,” he mumbled bitterly, under his breath.

No one seemed to hear however, because Summer narrowed her focus on Puck.  “You seem to have gotten over yesterday’s tantrum surprisingly quickly,” she said angrily, looking between Puck and Sky.

Puck rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously, “Yeah… I thought about it and I may have overreacted, so ya….”

Summer was making her scary face, and Molly looked like she was trying not to laugh.  Wally was jealous of Molly’s immunity to Summer’s wrath, both the boys had been on the receiving end of her anger so many times they stopped counting, but Molly never had.  This made it so that Molly found the boy's fear of Summer hilarious, even though Wally would bet good money that Summer could bench press both him and Puck at the same time, so their fear was totally reasonable.

“Sky, are okay with all this, or is Puck holding you against your will somehow…, blackmail maybe?”  Summer asked.

Puck gasped dramatically and Sky shook his head quickly, looking more animated than he ever had before.  “We talked after school yesterday and then he asked me to eat with him,” Sky said.  His voice was low and quite like Wally would expect, if not a little deeper than he imagined.

“Good,” Summer smiled.  “Then moving on from that, I brought extra food for you if you would like some,” she said sweetly, displaying the wide variety of food she had in front of her.

Sky mumbled a thank you, but shook his head.  Puck tried to take some, only to have Summer smack his hand away.  Wally laughed at Puck, taking his own food from Molly.  Normally, Puck would pick off the group’s food for his lunch, with Summer being the biggest donor, but it looked like today he would have to rely on the twins.  Too bad for Puck, Wally wasn't feeling very giving today either, but he knew if no one else gave Puck food Molly would end up giving away all her food.

Wally looked over at Puck out of the corner of his eye, and could see that he was pouting and pleading with Summer with baby doll eyes.  Wally rolled his eyes then looked over at Molly, she was glancing between Puck and her food, clearly calculating how much to give him.  Sighing heavily, Wally pushed all his food in front of Puck and reached over to grab some from Summer’s plethora of food.  She gave him a small glare, for letting Puck win, but didn't object.  

The rest of lunch was dominated by a tense and awkward atmosphere and comments by the girls about classes and finding work to try to relieve the tension.  Sky would occasionally nod in agreement with what was said, and Puck was spent the whole time staring at Sky, like he was a puzzle that couldn't be solved.  Wally stayed quite, eating his snacks from Summer in anger.

When lunch was over, they all went to class, and Puck resumed his staring session, still ignoring Wally.  Not wanting to deal with Puck or class, Wally put his hood up and laid his head down on his desk.  He wanted to leave, but he had no way to tell Molly first and that was a must.

Wally ended up sleeping through the rest of class, and the next thing he knew he was waking up to the sound of everyone getting up to leave.  Puck was standing over by Sky’s desk, talking to him quietly.  Wally frowned and got up from his seat.  He grabbed his things and went over to the other two.  Puck stopped talking as soon as he was close enough to hear, causing Wally’s frown to deepen.  

“So what are you two planning to do today?” Wally asked bitterly.

Puck gave Wally a confused look at the tone and answered, “Nothing. I need to head into work right after school today, so I can't do anything sadly.”

Puck rarely had to go into work immediately after school, and if he did it was at the end of the week not on a Wednesday.  Wally narrowed his eyes at Puck then shifted them to Sky, who only glanced at Puck then back at Wally with wide eyes.  “Sky, you wouldn't happen to know where Puck works would you?” Wally asked, trying to sound sweet and innocent.

Sky’s eyes widened further, then he shook his head harder than Wally thought was necessary.  Puck hadn't moved, but looked like he might be getting nervous.  Puck hated when anyone asked him about his work, and had basically forbid the group from talking about it in any way.

Wally didn't trust either of the answers the two had given him, but he decided to let it go for the moment.  “Damn, thought maybe you ran into him there yesterday or somethin’.  This asshole refuses to tell me anything about it, thought I could finally figure it out where my ‘best friend’ works,” Wally said putting emphasis on best friend.  Then trying to play off the tense atmosphere he added “Anyway I gotta go meet up with Molly, do you wanna join us Sky?  It should be fun.”

“Uh, no thank you,” Sky nearly whispered.

“Alright, well see you tomorrow,” Wally yelled over his shoulder as he walked away in a hurry.  Then stopping at the door he added, “Puck you better be here on time tomorrow and actually talk to me or Imma kill you.”  As soon as he was out of sight he started running to his and Molly’s meeting place.  Running even faster when he saw his other half walking with Summer several feet ahead of him.  He crashed into them, not really trying to stop.  Summer looked like she was about to yell at him, but he grabbed Molly so that they were face to face.

“Hey! I'm gonna be out late with Puck today,” he said hurriedly, and pushed away from his sister.  Then he turned towards the main exit and started to run again, “Don't wait up for me,” he yelled over the crowd.

Molly looked confused and concerned as he left, but he didn't have time to explain.  He needed to get to the exit before Puck did, without the taller male seeing him.  

There were several student loitering around the hall just before the exit, but Wally quickly squeezed and pushed his way through, gaining several angry looks.  The moment he was out of the doors he scanned the area for any place to hide.  The best he could find was a bush, large enough to hide him and still have a view of the exit.  He leaped behind it and pulled his hood over his face, hiding his easily noticeable hair and eyes.  He then laid down to look around the bush from the ground.

After several minutes of nothing Wally started to lose hope, thinking Puck could have already left, but, finally, Puck and Sky walked out together.  Puck was talking excitedly about something, while Sky walked alongside him listening and looking the same as ever.  Wally shrunk back further behind the bush.  Puck was too distracted by Sky and likely wouldn't notice him, but he didn't want to risk it.  

He waited for them to pass and get several feet away, before he got up to follow.  He tailed them as they walked away from school, he ran from bushes to fences, doing whatever he could to stay hidden and unnoticed.  The pair seemed to be headed for the lower half of District 3, Wally highly doubted that Puck would work there so maybe the two were actually on a date and trying to keep it secret.  Either way, Wally was looking forward to revealing their secret.

Wally was starting to get tired of following them as they got closer to the District 3 and 6 border, but his curiosity also grew the closer to the border they got.  Soon, they were in a shopping district right along the edge of District 3, and it was becoming hard for Wally to keep track of his targets, as large crowds of people began to appear.  However, he was determined to not lose them now, because he had spent too much time watching them, but nothing had changed and he had learned nothing from it.  Puck had been talking the whole time and Sky sometimes responded with a small nod or shake of his head.  They didn't seem to have any intention of stopping at the nearby shops, almost like they were only going for a walk.  Feeling extremely disappointed and confused as to why Puck had lied about work, Wally started paying less attention to his surroundings.  When he focused on the crowd again Puck and Sky were nowhere to be seen.  Panicking, Wally started turning around randomly and abruptly, looking for any sign of the two he was following.

Suddenly he crashed into someone, and they both tumbled to the ground, Wally landing on top of the other person, straddling them.  Wally quickly recovered and looked down at who he had landed on.  Laying underneath him was a small girl with her face hidden beneath a hooded cape.  

The girl groaned and Wally starting to panic, realizing he was laying on a strange girl in the middle of a walkway.  Then all at once everything was turned around and the girl had Wally pinned beneath her, lifting his head up by the front of his shirt.  She had bright brown eyes, and a scar running from the outside corner of her right eye down to her snarling lips.  Wally watched as the girl's face lost its anger for a brief moment, causing a strong feeling of recognition to pass through Wally.  She was staring at Wally’s mismatched eyes, seeming mesmerized for a moment, before furry retook her features.

“Ya need to watch where you're going, ya filthy fucking elitist pig,” she spat in his face.

The way she talked sounded foreign to Wally, but he still felt like he recognized something about her and the way she spoke.  He was struggling to place where he had heard such an accent before,and how to respond to that.  When suddenly, she was pulled off him by another, taller, cloaked figure.  She fought the hold for a moment until she seemed to recognize the person holding her.  The taller form leaned down and whispered something to her that Wally couldn't hear, then they both took off running.  Wally scrambled to his feet and ran after the bizarre pair, but he was not half as fast as he needed to be to keep up, and he lost sight of them within seconds.  Giving up he stopped and looked around, and realized he had lost both the girl and Puck, and even better, he now wasn't sure where he was or how to get home.  He sighed sadly looking toward the only landmark he recognized, the three story high wall that separating the lower and upper districts.  He thought about how the girl had called an elitist pig, an old term to used by those in the Lower Districts to insult those in the Higher Districts, and her strange way of speaking.  It was rare to hear insults to class these days since interactions between the Upper and Lower Districts were nearly nonexistent, from what he knew.  The only other time he had been insulted for being from the Upper Districts was a night that he had almost completely forgotten.  

He and his friends had gone into the underground and met a girl that had insulted them in a similar way.  The face of the young girl and the one he had just seen popped into his head, matching perfectly besides the scar and changes that came with growing up.  The realization hit him hard and he took off in a sprint away from the large, looming wall, towards what he hoped was something he would recognize.  He needed to talk to someone who was with him that night, and maybe plan another adventure under the city to find the girl.

#breaking walls #Novel #wip #work in progress #Original Work #ow #own story #creative writing #chapter 3 #wally #Molly #puck #summer #sky #oc #story #original writing #original characters #mystery girl #fiction #my fic #dytopia #dystopian future #writing

[5hfanfiction]

Seasons - Chapter 01

“Do you believe in mythology? The kind with gods, heroes and monsters. If you don’t, you’ll start to believe it; if you do, you’ll know that everything is true. Camila Cabello found this out the unusual way possible, dipping into a completely new world, full of dangers, monsters and the worst; she have to deal with Lauren Jauregui, an annoying, arrogant and beautiful Zeus’ daughter. What she didn’t know was that along with Lauren and her new friends from Camp Half-Blood, she would become the center of a plot full of adventures, mysteries and romance.”

Summer: Once upon a time a day that wasn’t normal

Hi, I’m Lina and I hope you’ll like my story. It’s based on Percy Jackson’s books.

Camila’s POV

Early in that morning, I considered myself a normal teenager. Sure, certain things insist on deny this statement, but to the point of my life, I had an idea that I was just a normal girl with a peculiar bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was a 16-year-old girl, who craved everything a teenager could want that age. No, I didn’t think about boyfriends, actually, it was very difficult to think about having a relationship with other people when I was constantly moving. So maybe one of the things I wanted most was that I have friends, that I could spend at least two birthdays with the same people. But that wasn’t possible, and part of it was my fault.

Not that I was a rebellious girl. On the contrary, I always wanted to do the right things so I wouldn’t give my mom any trouble. She was an exhausted and hardworking lady who did a bit of everything, a writer who spent much of her money to cover so many moves. Sinuhe wasn’t my real mother, she married my father when I was one year old. When Papa was still alive, things were much easier, but since he had been found dead in a street, everything had been drastically difficult. I was only seven at the time and all I understood was that I no longer had my hero. In her place was a warrior, with her ups and downs, but at the end of the night she still came to my room to wish me good night and place a kiss on my forehead.

So what went wrong? This was a question that kept repeating in my mind like a bad and scratchy disk.As much as I tried, I couldn’t fight certain things. I had something that the experts called dyslexia and hyperactivity, I used to say it was a pain in the ass. I couldn’t concentrate on studies, as it was almost impossible to sit still for more than half an hour. What made me uneasy in the classroom, doing everything but getting pay attention to what the teacher said. Oh, but these disorders are common and can be controlled, right? In parts, if that was just my problem. Certain things happened. Things that I often couldn’t explain. Many times I felt persecuted or being watched. A psychologist even suggested that I had paranoid schizophrenia, light type. Add to my long list of problems, small facts like being clumsy, curious and stubborn. It definitely put me in trouble too.

This year was being a great year. I had received only three detentions this month, I wasn’t expelled from school yet and summer vacations were about to begin. It was a week that I did not feel that bad feeling I was being chased. That was supposed to be the most normal day of my life. Was.

I met Dinah in the school entrance, as always. Dinah Jane was a tall, expansive girl with an incredible sense of humor. She was as dumb as me, which made her the closest I’ve ever had to a best friend. She was also agitated, and although she didn’t have to say it aloud, she also had difficulty keeping her attention.

“I think a slug can arrive early at school than you,” Dinah teased as soon as her eyes fell on me.

“Don’t start, DJ”, I asked with my usual bad morning mood.

“Woke up the Ms. Delicacy Ever” Polynesian girl laughed and began to follow me through the halls. “Have you told Aunt Sinu that we are going out at night?”

“Yes, I did. She was reluctant, but she let me go” I shrugged my shoulders despondently. “I can’t believe that I’m going to…”

“It’s a teenage party, guess what, you’re one! Even if you look like an old spinster who complaining about life”

“I know you love me, that’s enough for me and I-”

My thoughts were completely cut off. Suddenly my body bumps into something and my lack of body mass was totally in favor of gravity, making me to fall to the ground. I looked up still in shock, but as soon as my brown eyes locked in the green eyes of that girl, my anger rose to my head. Of course, it had to be that stupid Jauregui.

“Don’t you look where you’re going?” I grumbled and getting help from Dinah to get up. “Oh, I forgot you just have no education.”

“If you were as fast as your tongue is to speaking stupidity, you’d avoid many disasters.” she shot back promptly .

Well, up to that point, it was normal. Lauren Jauregui a troublemaker class A. No one really knew much about her, just that it wasn’t good to get in her way. Okay, I’d follow this rule very happy, if she wasn’t Dinah’s friend of Dinah. To this day, I wonder how this was possible because Dinah Jane despite her outgoing and imperative way, she was a great friend. It wasn’t possible to associate someone who is able to get close to Jauregui for more than five minutes.

“Don’t even think about,” Jauregui threatened as soon as I opened my mouth, her eyes changed from blue and green staring at me so intense that I almost stepped back. “DJ, I need to talk to you at lunch”

“I hope it’s important”, Dinah grumbled. “I always end up without lunch right when it happens”

“It is always important!” the Hispanic girl snapped.

Then Lauren leaves tripping over everything before her. No one dared stand in her way, so it was likely that students prefer jumping off her course than be bogged down. I glared at Dinah, raised eyebrows and sharp look.

“No point on do it Mila, I won’t say anything” Dinah shrugged and adjusted her backpack. “Now let’s go, the bell will ring and my first class is physics. Blah, I hate physics”

I grunted and bit my tongue so I wouldn’t argue with my friend. It was always like this. Lauren appeared with her “good” education and practically summoned Dinah. They missed the whole lunchtime, and then Dinah said nothing about what happened. Sometimes she would come back tired, as if she’d been running all the time, or even lightly injured. I believe that they are part of something dangerous, like a school gang and had to face other gangs, skipping from school for this. But I soon dismissed that possibility, it was just my fertile mind seeking reasons to have my only friend stolen from me. And even more for that girl.

While Dinah went to her physics class, I’d have my math torture dose. I hated math, and English, and chemistry, and physics… and every class. I had learning disabilities and instead of God making up for it by giving me a good advantage in sports, I had to be clumsy enough to almost suffer a serious accident every time I stepped on a sports court.

During class, I pretended to pay attention while trying to fool me, telling myself that I wasn’t bothered by Lauren have called Dinah for another secret meeting. I had to pretend I was ignoring that painful twinge of curiosity that always had when it happened. After all, Dinah was probably the only person on Earth who may know something about Lauren Jauregui. This girl was a real mystery, one that I didn’t care so much about finding out.

Prepotent, she didn’t follow orders or rules, violent enough to punch anyone in front of her. If I thought I had the records of going into detention, Lauren overcame me on showing up in that classroom for bad behavior or aggression.

Lunchtime came after a long and boring class in Political Geography. I was extremely discouraged to spend those thirty minutes alone when I saw Dinah and Lauren before they disappeared into a hallway. It was as if a little devil was whispering in my ear to follow them. I wondered where the little angel was saying I shouldn’t go, but he didn’t even bother to show up.

It would be just to know that Dinah was fine. Friends care about each other, right?

At least, that’s what I told myself as I almost ran toward that hallway hoping I wouldn’t lose sight of them. They both headed toward the deserted pool. The heater was broken and the principal never insisted on fix since the swim club trained in a school-affiliated club. I followed them at a safe distance, I didn’t want to imagine the Jauregui’s angry face or Dinah’s disappointment when she realized that I was following them. For a moment, I cursed my impulsivity and curiosity. But it was too late, I couldn’t go back, I had to find out what was going on, or I would be eternally tormented by my imagination.

They entered the empty building, and I waited a few minutes, looking for an alternative to enter without being caught. I went to a rusty window, just catching sight of Dinah sitting at the edge of the empty pool. Lauren remained standing, pacing back and forth, apparently nervous while argued something with I knew they were too distracted to notice my presence, so I managed to – incredibly – enter through the main door making no noise and direct me to some empty crates where it should be an old equipment of maintenance of the swimming pool.

“It may not be, Lauren,” Dinah argued tediously. “You said last week that Mrs. Turner might be a dracaenae, and even though she’s ugly like them, she’s just that, a grumpy old woman.”

“There’s something strange, Dinah!” Lauren huffed and ran a hand through her hair. “Last month there was that attack and I almost died because YOU said it was no big deal. And yet I was suspended for destroying the north courtyard” she stopped and pointed her finger. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t run away with a tail between your legs”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t get another suspension, I would be expelled!”

What kind of argument was that?! Attack? Dracaenae? I frowned totally lost in what I was hearing. Everyone knew that Lauren had had an attack and broken things in the north courtyard, which luckily was empty for being class time.

“I still think Cabello is involved” Lauren said out of nowhere.

I almost stumbled forward with the scare I took to hear my name. How would I be involved?!

“She may be a sensitive human to the veil of mist.” Dinah let out a long sigh. “I stood beside her as much as I could Lauren, nothing much happened besides her having bad luck and a little persecution mania. You’re forgetting that Mila is 16, she’ll be 17 soon. Something should have already happened, it’s the rule now!”

“You know very well how they don’t follow the rules. Or I wouldn’t even exist, right?”

“Oh, I’m sorry princess sparkle and…”

“Shut up!”

“Are you sensitive today?”

“No, shut up, there’s someone here!”

My heart was pounding so hard I thought they could hear my heartbeat and find me. I was starting to cringe and preparing an escape route, when everything changed. A strong, hairy and tattooed arms wrapped around me as if I was a rag doll. I screamed in panic more by instinct than actually processing what happened. I was easily lifted from the ground.

“Finally found!” a strong and masculine voice rattled as if he’d found his lost toy.

I looked up, meeting the new school janitor. I knew that just because I saw him and thought him was weird. It might just be my panic-stricken impression, but the man now seemed more than six feet tall, his muscles as strong as iron. But his teeth were so sharp eerily that my blood seemed to run away from my veins.

“Let her go now!”

Lauren ordered. Dinah had jumped from in the spot and now looked at me in pure shock and horror.

“No, I finally found the package Master asked for!” the janitor said and snorted. “My teacher said not to attract attention. But eating demigods isn’t to attract attention, right?” then he threw me against the boxes as if I really were a rag doll. “First the annoying one! Then it will be your turn, girl!”

My whole back ached from the impact, I had fallen awkwardly and my ankle was throbbing in pain. But I barely processed it. The janitor seemed to grow more, getting rougher, wilder. The full-sleeve shirt that made up his uniform ripped with his toned muscles, showing his arms full of tattoos I could barely identify. His hair was even curlier, more hideous, the air that surrounded him was savagery. His eyes weren’t smart, but showed a frightening force..

But Lauren wasn’t intimidated. Instead, her gaze became even more threatening, even sparkling. She took a lighter out of her pocket and pointed it at the janitor as if it were something dangerous, like a pistol or revolver.

“Last chance” Lauren threatened, chin up, higher posture. God, she was crazy!

“Mila, over here” Suddenly Dinah was at my side, speaking quietly. “Lauren will distract the Laistrygonian and we will escape”

“Di-Dinah, what…? Lauren, she… Holy shit!”

I couldn’t formulate a sentence. My mind was like a blind knot unable to untie. Everything seemed to get worse when Lauren, somehow, squeezed the lighter and it unfolded rapidly, growing and turning into a sword. It wasn’t one of those toys, it was an item you saw in epic movies, with warriors wielding and brandishing as if they were knives. My eyes widened refusing to believe the things happening right in front of me. Dinah was trying to pull me, but my body was simply petrified. I stared at her as if she wasn’t real. How could she be?

“Mom always said to play with food!” the janitor said.

Lauren groaned typically. Held firmer the handle of the sword and I could swear that a wisp of electricity went through the blade. The janitor stepped forward, trying to punch her directly. Jauregui just swerved, rolling her body to the side and moving away a little bit. She had everything in control.

“Mila!” Dinah slapped me in the face, finally waking me up. “We need to go!”

The sense of escape was almost suffocating. I knew I was in danger of life, the feeling of persecution almost sank me down. This time when Dinah pulled me, I followed her promptly, allowing myself to be carried away by my friend.I looked back one last time, worried about Lauren. But all I could see was a warrior girl dodging a sequence of blows and hitting the sword in the arm what I believed was our janitor. Her gaze was serious, intent on the task of attacking and dodging. I was sure that this wasn’t her first battle, just as I was even more sure of another factor: my morning started normal, had its end.

Little did I know that was just the beginning.

#UPDATE #series #AU #camren #caminah #laurinah #action adventure #submission #Seasons

[calliopekismet]

So...

I don’t post much on Tumblr. I prefer to just lurk about, look at fanart, read fics, and stay tf away from all the toxicity and drama surrounding fandom.

But for right now - fuck all that noise. I’m entering the war zone.

I’ve been peeping on the SW fandom for about the last year and a half now, and something has come to my attention - some people... predominantly, it seems, anti-reylo shippers - are so incredibly vile, ruthlessly harsh, and just generally terrible to other people who are just trying to enjoy their reading of the film in peace.

And I mean, it’s not even like y’all (antis) have the correct reading of the film? You guys have CATEGORICALLY MISINTERPRETED everything you use as bait for why the Reylo ship is “wrong” “immoral” or “disgusting.” I’ve seen so many antis claiming that Kylo Ren won’t be getting a redemption arc and is a ruthless murderer with no regrets, yet the subtext of TFA, the SCRIPT ITSELF, dialogue in the novel, and specific comments from fucking JJ Abrams and Adam Driver himself refute that. You can’t argue that it’s incest, because at this point everyone associated with the series has essentially come out and said she isn’t a Skywalker or a Solo. To claim that Rey was “raped” by him and imply that it’s an abusive relationship is to -

1). Strip Rey of all her agency and overlook the fact that she has been established as a strong character who can defend herself (because, idk if you recall, but every time she encounters Kylo Ren...she defeats him). They have consistently been established as equals both in battle and in their abilities in the force, and to suggest she can’t hold her own against him is just blatantly ignoring the text. (And, going off the anti argument, when she enters his mind, that means she also “rapes” him, but I guess we can all overlook that because Daisy Ridley is a pretty, defenseless little woman and Adam Driver is a big, scary, superior man, right?).

2). To only have the capacity to understand text and character development as it’s presented to you in its most basic form. Y’all know this is a trilogy, right? See, what typically happens is that - over the course of a series of films - the characters change and drastically develop beyond what was presented to the audience in the first movie. This is what we call character development.

Do you guys seriously believe that every single Reylo shipper thinks they’re going to jump each other’s bones based on the mutual disdain for each other that was presented in TFA? FUCK NO! The Reylo speculation is centered around the potential we see for future development between the two, romantic or otherwise. It’s based on canon evidence in the novel and script. It’s based on comments from JJ Abrams, Lucasfilm and co. who suggest - nay, outright STATE - that the destinies of these two characters are specifically tied up in their relationship to one another. And now we have a poster, a trailer, and a whole host of spoilers to indicate that Reylo shippers are headed in the right direction in terms of character development and plot speculation. Don’t believe me? There are pages and pages worth of meta and Reylo-centered analysis circa 2015 - 2016 that has, as of recent news and revelations, pretty much hit the nail on the head. While y’all are still just hoping she’s a Skywalker.

The last thing I’m going to bring up is the the utter VENOM that is spat at people minding their own business, enjoying the SW series, and creating their art, totally unprompted, from antis. To call someone a pedophile based on a ship with a ten year age gap (the same age gap between Han and Leia, I might add, but you guys seem totes cool with that) is outrageous, offensive, and trivializes pedophilia. To call someone a racist because of their ship is, again, utterly outrageous, baseless, and wholly dismissive of POC shippers (like myself). Unless you see someone consistently posting pictures of swastikas and spewing hateful, anti-minority rhetoric, you - just another random, bitter asshole on Tumblr - have no right to call someone a Nazi, again trivializing the experiences of those who have had to deal with *actual* racism, stereotyping and social injustice. And if you think we’re sexist? I invite you to revisit Point 1.

Sorry for the long-ass rant. But people should just ship and let ship. There’s no need for the bullying, policing, name-calling, or even taking any of this shit so SERIOUSLY to the point where you would go out of your way to hurt others. Because at the end of the day, we’re all just watching a series of children’s films about space wizards with light-up swords. CHILL.

#reylo #anti reylo bs #the force awakens #star wars #shipping #leave people alone #shit is ridiculous

[tracey1302]

Episode 601 - A Fair Game

SPOILERS FOR 601 and 602....

Hi everyone!

As mentioned last week, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come back to the amazing online HL fandom. Better late than never. I also acknowledge I’ve been MIA since…. Pretty much the summer. Life got in the way as term started. And I got married…

And then I was hit with a barrage of Masters marking, so spent most of Christmas like this…

Not really, but god, so much work.

Anyway I am back and ready to party. I’m gonna try an episode by episode analysis this season. But I’m not promising anything….LOL. Between now and the end of term, my book should be coming out (not on Homeland, on another area of my research) and my sister is getting married. Talk about interruptions.

Anyway, so here we go.

So ‘Fair Game’. My favourite exchange in which was ‘Let me go.’ ‘Let ME go.’ 

So before I go on and do my analysis, I’m gonna include some of my thoughts on 5x12 which I’ve posted before. Simply because they link rather well into this discussion.

“Carrie has read the letter. She’s thinking about Quinn’s words, ‘This is exactly what should have happened.’ She’s thinking about what Dar Adal said, that this would be Quinn’s worst nightmare. I’ve no doubt it would be. So, she thinks she is doing the right thing by her friend. (I don’t want to get into a debate on this again.) This is my interpretation of this scene. I don’t think there is anything malicious in it at all. I recognise that Quinn’s vitals were okay - but as we had been told in the previous scene, the prognosis for Quinn wasn’t okay. And as we know, Carrie feels a deep responsibility for him now. 

So she goes in, knows what she’s gonna do, and then the light comes into the window and onto his face. What does this scene mean for me now?

Don’t let him go.

As much as Carrie thinks she’s doing the right thing by Quinn here, her change of heart (and the fact that Quinn is alive) proves that she’s not ready to give him up. She’s not ready to let him go. And indeed, she doesn’t let him go.

This also takes on a new significance if we think about the letter and the responsibility and poignancy it has. Carrie will feel the weight of the letter through the next season. He has given her everything, is she ready to give it back?

We know one thing, she’s not ready to give it up. 

Given our knowledge now, it’s easier to view this scene this way, and it’s a really lovely way to think about an episode that we all hated when it aired, for so many reasons. We know that she doesn’t kill him, and we know that she has a close relationship with Quinn next season (whatever that means)

We have also been told that the letter will be addressed, which proves that this scene, and Quinn’s words to Carrie has some serious repercussions for their relationship going forward. 

My thoughts? Carrie isn’t ready to be with Quinn, not yet. But she’s also not ready to give up on him, and most importantly, on them. They’re not friends anymore. This letter completely changes the dynamic of their relationship because Quinn’s laying it all on the line.Two years ago, there was a shift, and they kissed and contemplated leaving the CIA to be together. Now, there’s been another shift. Quinn confesses that he loves Carrie. That she is everything to him. This isn’t just, ‘let’s try a relationship that we both know can work if we leave the CIA’ (which in itself is huge for these two). This is, ‘You are the love of my life.’

While Carrie may not yet realise exactly what Quinn means to her, we’ve had a fair glimpse of it over the past few episodes, as we’ve been shown how Carrie reacts when she thinks she’s lost him. (Totally pips Brody. Just saying.) We’ve seen how she takes care of him, we’ve seen that she is ‘waiting for him.’

And for me, this scene, and its end, though not so ambiguous now, shows us just that. Carrie will continue to wait for him. Whatever that entails. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that Carrie is poised here thinking she will remain single until Quinn comes around. However,  I do think that ultimately her decision to keep him alive is based partly on the fact that she realises it’s not her decision to make, but also on the fact that she realises she’s not ready to let him go. Their relationship will be different now, but Carrie is acknowledging that, she’s taking the letter on board, it’s something she’s willing to accept, to take under advisement, to risk… and that, my friends, tells us everything we need to know.

She has Quinn’s heart… and she trusts herself with it. If that isn’t character growth for Carrie, I don’t know what is.”

 So fast forward to Season Six. We now have a fresh faced Carrie in a new job, thankfully not Carrie During. (Let’s have a moment and think about how happy we are that THAT didn’t happen.)

The thing is, there’s an echo of the dynamic between Carrie and Quinn here that we see in 504. That distance between them rearing its ugly head once again. Except instead of emotionally stoic Quinn, we have an angry, resentful and distant Quinn. They’re trying to underline that once again, Quinn has gone through another emotional and psychological transformation and is another person. Trying to underline that this is not a romantic show. Hell, this isn’t even a romance. Yet.

I still maintain that this is all part and parcel of the ‘will they, won’t they’ journey of OTPs. Both characters have to go on journeys before they’re ready to be together. A lot of the complaints about the C/Q pairing in S4 were directed around the fact that their relationship wasn’t earned. So they’re spinning it out longer than any other relationship on Homeland - so it does feel earned. And the emotional pay off will be flawless. How could it not be, with the state they’re both in?

Anyway, back to the VA hospital.

We do get this. You could hear a ruddy pin drop after this one.

‘Let me go.’ Carrie tells Quinn to let her go. He’s got her in a physical grip. It’s not like he’s got her by the scruff of the neck. It’s a very, very gentle push.

‘Let ME go,’ pleads Quinn.

Quinn wants Carrie to leave him be. To let him rot inside his own life. And I could believe this. It is believable given that Quinn’s self deprecation is right up there with all the Noir heroes. BUT it’s just this bit of the exchange that I struggle with.

We see it. I saw it. I know you saw it. We see a flicker of old Quinn. 

Quinn doesn’t really want Carrie to let him go. He just doesn’t want her to see him like this. It’s almost like the ‘It doesn’t matter now’ scene from 504.

And I think Claire’s acting in this scene is amazing. Carrie’s eyes after she hears Quinn say ‘Let me go.’

Reference to my earlier post. She’s not ready to let him go. She can’t let him go. I see the letter in Carrie’s eyes. She knows how Quinn feels. He doesn’t know that she knows how he feels. And yet she continues to take care of him. She continues to reach out to him. She continues to keep him close by. She’s not going anywhere. She’s not leaving him. She’s not.

Only this time, she actually isn’t. I just don’t think she’s ready to confront all of the very complicated reasons why she isn’t.

There is another scene I actually found VERY interesting from a C/Q standpoint and that is the scene that she shares with Otto. On a side note, how creepy is Otto? It turned my stomach (and Carrie’s by the looks) when he’s looking at her adoringly in the meeting room. Vomit. Anyway, this is the exchange I found interesting..

Otto: If it’s not me...’

Let it be someone else...

You see, the thing is....there’s only one person who it could be. Every Homeland watcher knows this. Even if so many seem resistant to the C/Q pairing, he’s the only one now that is filling that role.

And just in case we didn’t know who that was. The writers tell us.

Cut to.... Peter Quinn. HA.

But they also tell us that hell, romance is the last thing on Carrie’s mind right now. And that Quinn is...well... a mess.

In this episode, we see so much of the writers underlining that Quinn is a changed man. No shit. IMO, they pushed him a little too far down the rabbit hole. The scene where you could actually see the woman... doing her thing with him... was just a little too much. Lightyears away from the clean cut nerd we saw in 204, no? But that’s the point. We thought we’d seen Quinn at rock bottom – this is definitely rock bottom. It can only go up from here.

Carrie’s dedication to Quinn in this episode was actually really beautiful. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t think she knows all of the very complicated reasons why she’s so dedicated to him and why she won’t let him go. Conscience is a big one, of course, she feels incredibly guilty about what happened to him in Berlin. But it wasn’t all her fault. I don’t see Saul visiting Quinn every day at the Vet hospital. I think another reason drives at Quinn being her best friend. Because he was, once upon a time, he was the person she could always count on. And she misses him. She misses her friend.

Look at her sad little face when his ‘bye’ is so dismissive.

And I’d wager he misses her. The scene in the car post crack den was heartbreaking. He misses his old life and the way he used to be. Not in S5, before then... when he was on top of his game and their interactions didn’t revolve around his care. Quinn is a very proud man and the last thing he wants is to be babysat. Especially by Carrie.

I too, enjoyed the parallels with 302 (sorry if the episode number is wrong) when Quinn was being restrained by the security guards and Carrie was looking pained. The irony and sadness of the situation is not lost on Carrie either. Another reason why she decides to take such care of him. She’s been through it... and she doesn’t want him to have to go through what she went through. Or, any more than he has already...

She can’t stand seeing him like this and the scene builds to a head (very much set off by the music) in which she finally tells them to ‘Stop it!’

Drastic action is needed. Quinn’s moving in.

And that brings us to the last reason why she’s taking such care of him....she could fall in love with this man. He could be it. Thanks Leslie/Meredith. Can never remember which of them said this.

She loves him, yes, the care she’s shown for him this episode leaves me in no doubt about that. But is she in love with him? No. Not yet. But she could be. And I think everything that happened in Berlin, the way she felt when she thought he was dead, and all the very complicated emotions surrounding what happened at the hospital have left Carrie very very confused as to how she feels about him. And the letter is a big part of that. All she knows is that she doesn’t want him to go anywhere, and she’s not giving up on him becoming the man he once was (and still is, somewhere in there.)

She’s hesitant, yes. This is a big deal and a big risk for Carrie to take. Not just because Quinn isn’t exactly stable.

But because having him there, in her house, is a very different relationship. It’s a lot more intimate. And Carrie has never had this sort of relationship with any man. Ever. Are we counting Jonas? Yawn. But Jonas didn’t know Carrie. Not the real Carrie. So no, not counting Jonas. And Jonas isn’t a main character (thank Christ), Quinn is. Quinn has three seasons on Jonas. Jonas has time, yes, but it’s not significant time, because the writers didn’t show it to us.

So yeah, big step for Carrie. So much so, she’s not really ready to make it. So she locks the door. As well she should. I would have done the same thing.

But what’s interesting about this ‘locked door’ exchange is metaphorical.

I don’t mind admitting I actually choked a little watching this scene. 

God knows what he would have said if it had been open. Maybe he wanted to apologise. Maybe he just wanted company. Maybe he wanted to say ‘thank you.’

But there is, I think, a deeper symbolism to this locked door and (spoiler alert) the fact that we know that it’s Frannie that metaphorically opens it.

Quinn is not a prisoner in Carrie’s basement. He can get out, he can go into the garden. He can go anywhere, really. Except for the place that he really wants to go. Into Carrie’s home, and by extension, her heart. Yes, I know this is cheesy, but it’s true. Everything Quinn has ever wanted, that normal life

And by extension, a relationship with Carrie...

All of that is through that door. 

But he needs to change before he can really go through it. And Carrie needs to see that change in him before he’s ready to go through it. He needs to deal with his issues and work through what’s happened to him. It’s gonna be a long time but I like the fact that Frannie is going to be a facilitator to this change. It’s kind of beautiful.

But for me, that doesn’t really matter, it’s just part of the journey. Carrie (and Frannie) for that matter, are waiting for him. She’s true to her word. No, she’s not waiting with open arms, saying ‘Marry me...’ but a connection is there, if he wants it.

I will say again, when Quinn’s ready to walk through the door, we’ll get a lot of awkward moments. Inevitably Carrie and Quinn will get closer. And it will be an intimacy we’ve never seen from them before. They’re living in the same house, for god’s sake. When Quinn works his way back into Carrie’s life, which he will (I think it’s pretty damn clear from this opening episode that that’s the groundwork and journey for him this season) when we’ll see Carrie updating Quinn on everything that’s going on in her life with the new Pres, and the new job… and Dar… and Saul…. And when he will come to be something of a protector for Frannie (spoiler again there, sorry folks!)

I think this will be a very C/Q season. Quinn is literally the most important person in her life (apart from Frannie of course!) so they will share a lot of seasons together, confronting what has happened. Promised by this...

That’s just the thing.... why did you save him, Carrie? Carrie figuring that out will be a massive part of this season and her character development.

I am excited about what this season will bring for Carrie and Quinn. Bring it on.

#homeland #carrie mathison #peter quinn #carrie x quinn #quarrie #fair game