#last line went so hard op

[skyahri]

Retire |Kakashi X Reader| HC

Summary: You need some convincing to leave ANBU.

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and depression. Mentions of suicide. A bit angsty and self-destructive, but fluffy overall.

- - - - -

Even though he'd retired a few years back, you were still an active ANBU captain.

The job was grueling, and he was well aware that the longer you stayed, the worse the missions became.

That isn't just because of the overall baggage people acquire, but because seasoned black ops were often sent on the more... unethical missions.

You'd been acting off recently. He had let it go at first, knowing how taxing the line of work could be, but something in his mind was bugging him to investigate.

He assumed everything had started to actually get to you, so he decided to check in on you between missions with team 7.

He knocked on your door. It took a minute, but you answered.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but this wasn't it.

Your appearance was appalling.

You'd lost a lot of weight, you had bags under your eyes, and you reeked of alcohol.

"Just checking in on you. It's been a while."

"Yeah, Tsunade has me on back to back missions. This is my first break in months."

He had assumed his intensive schedule with his team was the thing keeping you two apart, but apparently not.

"How about you get cleaned up while I go get us something to eat? My treat."

"I'm pretty tired, Kashi. I think I'd like to continue rotting for the time being. Thanks for the offer, though."

You gently shut the door in his face.

A sour look plastered itself on his face.

Unfortunately, your use of rotting didn't seem too far off, so he decided to talk to a third party about it.

His first stop was to see Tenzo. Maybe he knew what was up since you two worked so closely.

"I've noticed as well. I tried to ask, but they told me it wasn't appropriate for subordinates to question their captain."

Add that to the list of odd behavior.

You loved Tenzo like family, just like Kakashi did, so the sudden change was worrisome.

He went to ask Asuma as well, knowing he had been in the village more often than he had recently.

Asuma pulled him inside his home and away from prying eyes. Last thing he wanted was the wrong person hearing such a sensitive information.

"We already talked to Tsunade about it months ago when we noticed a decline in her health. Word got back to them, they said something about breach of trust, and they haven't spoken to any of us since."

Kakashi just nodded.

He remembered a time where he also reacted poorly when he'd been questioned in a similar manner.

The only difference is lord Third actually listened instead of allowing him to dig himself deeper into an early grave.

He dwelled on it for a few days.

He cared about you deeply. It was different than any of his other friendships- more personal and open.

The last thing he wanted was to go behind your back and end up with the same treatment the rest of the group was getting.

So he put on his big boy pants and showed up at your door again with vengeance.

He had been practicing what he'd say the whole way over. He needed to be prepared for anything you threw at him so he didn't falter.

But when you opened the door, his fire simmered out.

You just looked so tired.

His words got stuck in his throat.

So he did the only thing he could think of - he just walked forward, straight into you, and wrapped you up in a hug.

You resisted at first, but the second his warmth hit your bones, you relaxed.

It only lasted for a moment before the feelings started to set in, causing your body to shake with sobs.

You fell to the ground, dragging him with you, but his hold didn't loosen one bit.

"It's okay. I'm here for you."

That only made things worse. Something about his comfort was making all the feelings you've worked so hard to repress bubble up to the surface.

After you'd visibly calmed down, he'd picked you up and carried you to the couch. He positioned you so you'd be touching as much as possible without him being too forward.

"I hate ANBU."

Straight to the point. He wasn't sure if that was good or not.

"Why don't you retire? It's been almost fifteen years. That's way longer than most make it."

You hesitated. You had a reason, but the thought of saying it out loud made it sound so silly.

One look at Kakashi’s face told you he wasn't messing around.

You sighed and leaned your head on his shoulder. It made it easier to answer without him looking at you.

"If it's not me going out there, its someone else. I'm already too far gone, may as well save someone else from this fate."

Oh.

Kakashi had fully been expecting some sort of 'I can handle it' response, but this one was so... awful. Just absolutely heart-wrenching.

He collected his thoughts, trying to find a way to reason with you.

"There are people in ANBU who can handle that kind of mental load. You were that person many years ago,"

You just looked at him with that sad, defeated face, and it broke his heart all over again.

"But that's not the case anymore. It's time to pass on the torch."

You shook your head, ready to get up and kick him out. He just pulled you back down and held your hands in his.

"I was so angry when I was forced to retire. I felt like I could do more, like it wasn't that bad, and everyone was underestimating me. Do you know what happens when shinobi like us aren't told to quit?"

You shook your head.

"They end up like my father."

You stayed silent after that. How could you argue when he had just pulled the dead dad card?

So you promised to think about it.

He knew that would be as good as it would get, so he dropped it and opted to switch to a lighter subject.

After an hour or so of talking, you fell asleep. He carried you to your bed and tucked you in. He thought about staying over, but decided against it.

He didn't see you the next day. He'd knocked on your door, but no one answered, and he couldn't sense you inside.

He hoped you were just busy and not on another mission.

He did see you the next day, however.

He was heading to the Hokage's tower to chat with Tsunade about team 7's next mission when he bumped into you.

You smiled at him.

It felt like he was looking at a different person. You were almost glowing. Your eyes seemed a bit brighter, face looked a little fuller, and overall vibe was less damming.

"I retired this morning."

He damn near hugged you in front of the whole village.

"That's great to hear."

#naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto headcanons #kakashi hatake x reader #kakashi headcanons #kakashi fluff #kakashi x reader #kakashi sensei #kakashi hatake #hatake kakashi

[hopelessromantic423]

When The Anxiety Is Too Much

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Anxious!Reader

Summary: On a day when your anxiety is getting to you, Bucky comes to the rescue.

Warnings: Mentions of Anxiety. Angst. Fluff. Nickname, buttercup used once.

A/N: Anxiety looks different on everybody, but this is what it feels like to me sometimes. Maybe I’m not the only one, but this was a scenario I created in my silly little brain.

To Bucky, you were sunshine. The second you walked in a room, his day got a little bit better. That's one of the reasons he fell in love with you. Luckily, you had fallen just as hard and were taking the beginning steps at dating. You two had been on about three dates and Bucky was over the moon.

Hey buttercup, wondering if you wanted to get takeout and watch a movie tonight?

Bucky sent the text around 10am, knowing you were awake. He sat with a smile for a few moments and then went into the team meeting scheduled at the time.

Once the meeting had ended, you still had not answered. Which is odd because you usually answered around this time, and you hadn't told him you would be busy. He decided to call. You didn't answer.

He brushed it off. Probably just a miscommunication. His thoughts went wild for one minute thinking of scenarios, but then he took a deep breath and reminded himself you were probably okay.

The entire day he was checking his phone every few minutes to see if you had responded. Then he called about five or more times to see if you were alright. Finally, he decided to check on you.

"(Y/N), it's Bucky."

You opened the door with an anxious look on your face. Like the last thing you wanted to see was Bucky. Bucky scanned your body up and down like it was an ops mission and you came from enemy lines. No blood, no bruises, no clattering from inside the apartment. Normal.

"Hey," Bucky said in a soft tone. His eyes were worried but soft as he smiled at you.

"I'm sorry Buck, it's just- I saw your text, I did. My mind it went into a thousand circles and I couldn't answ-"

You were cut off by your words being muffled by the warmth that was Bucky Barnes embrace. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered before placing a kiss on your forehead, holding you so tight he was afraid he could hurt you.

You didn't fight back or saying anything, you just reciprocated the hug and shed a few tears on his leather jacket. You forgot how nice it was for someone to care about you like this.

"Can I come in?" Bucky continued his soft tone as he pulled away, which made you feel like a million butterflies were in your stomach.

"Yea, of course," you muttered.

He gave you an assuring soft smile while taking your hand in his and stepping towards the doorframe. He made his entrance and you closed the door behind you. Bucky took a few steps, peeking in your bedroom to make sure there were no intruders.

"You're not in any danger?" He asked in all seriousness. A little line formed in between his eyebrows as he continued his concerned stare.

"I'm safe Buck, really. My mind is what's playing tricks on me."

Bucky took a deep breath and gave you a look that wasn’t pity or sad, it was of understanding. "Do you want to talk about it? We don't have to if you don't-"

"Will you sit with me on the couch?” Your expression was nervous and anxious as you interrupted, like Bucky could walk out the door at any moment if you didn’t say what needed to be said.

Bucky nodded with a soft smile, pacing towards you and grabbing your hand. He lightly tugged you to the couch and led you so that you were sitting on his lap. His left arm protectively wrapped around your waist and the right stayed intertwined with yours.

"I have anxiety," you said matter of factly, with a thin layer of unconfident mixed in. "Sometimes that anxiety makes me push people away, and do things that I usually don't want to do."

Bucky listened intently, his thumb continually brushed lightly against your skin as you spoke timidly. He knew the feeling all too well, he just didn't expect someone so full of sunshine would be able to feel that too.

"Today was pretty bad, I wanted to answer but I got into a spiral and that led to me throwing my phone across the room and not looking at it all day."

"It's okay (Y/N), thank you for telling me," Bucky assured, moving his hand to brush up and down your back.

"There's days where I don't even want to get out of bed," Bucky muttered.

"So, what do I do if today happens again."

"We work on it, but talking to your therapist about this would be a step in the right direction."

"Here," Bucky lightly set you off his lap and stood up. "I want you to lay down."

"Don't get any ideas Barnes," you teased with a smirk.

"Ha ha," he deadpanned and he leaned down to kiss you lightly on the lips before laying down on top of you. Most of his weight was on you, but not enough where you couldn't breath.

"This feels nice," you mumbled as the pressure made your thoughts ten times lighter. Bucky let out a deep chuckled while leaning to grab the television remote.

“How about a movie?” He suggested.

“Perfect,” you hummed while placing your hands in Bucky’s hair to play with the brunette curls.

That’s what you did. The two of you laid together and watched a movie together, which you didn’t expect would be happening only a few hours before. It was nice that someone finally understood you, and that someone could help you through it one step at a time.

#reader x bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x fluff #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #Bucky Barnes x angst #marvel #bucky fanfic #fanfiction #bucky oneshot #Bucky Barnes x Anxious!reader #bucky fic #bucky x reader #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky x y/n

[the-way-of-words]

Flustered//Nick Folio prompt fic

Nick Folio x Female Reader

Content warnings: casual drug use, unprotected P in V sex, semi public sex, mentions of oral sex, mentions of using emergency contraception (this is a pro choice blog)

contains sexual situations with a fictionalized version of a real person. this is rpf. none of this is real. but if its not your jam, keep scrolling.

So apparently if you have an answered ask scheduled and then you try to move it to drafts, tumblr will just delete the whole thing. But, hey. Hi, anon. Here I am with your prompt fic (smut prompts found here)... about six months later.

If you'd like to request something and are up for possibly waiting, my inbox is back op

Thanks to Illy for being an awesome beta and catching my mistakes 💚

tagging: @throwingmetothelions @agravemisstake @ladyveronikawrites @jxstthisonce @cncohshit @kingdomof-omens

If you'd like to be tagged in any of my works just ask.

Master list can be found here

~~~~~~~

It’s been years since you’ve seen him, since you’ve both been back in town at the same time, and yet here you both are, sitting in your backyard in the hottest part of summer. The heat was miserable, but that wasn’t going to stop your parents from throwing their annual barbeque, especially not with you and your brother home at the same time. 

It didn’t take long for him to show up, and you don’t know if he was home for a visit, or if he came just because your brother called. But you can’t help the way your heart stutters when you walk into the backyard and see him sitting there, engrossed in conversation with your brother, your cheeks coloring when he finally glances over at you. You clear your throat, quickly trying to shake the way your heart skips a beat when he does a double take, because even behind those sunglasses you can see the way his eyes rove your body; taking in every change since he saw you last.

~~

There aren’t a lot of things your brother doesn’t know about you; it's hard to keep secrets from the person you came into the world with, but with Nick Folio, you have more than enough.

Your brother still doesn't know about that time right before graduation when his best friend snuck up to your room where you were waiting for him. Doesn't know that his best friend buried his head between his sister's thighs, using his tongue and fingers to bring her off before using her slick to ease the way as he jerked himself off. He definitely doesn’t know that you took pictures of your cum covered tits to send to Nick sporadically over the next month or so. 

It was never more than that, a few flirty texts here, a conversation or two that skirted the boundaries there. All culminating in that one moment of need, and then he was gone, sequestering himself with his new band. But that's okay, he wasn’t the only one off to bigger and better things, anyway.

But a year later, you found yourselves in the same city for the night; the cheap hotel sheets scratching against your knees as you rose and fell above him. his hands burning like a firebrand on your waist, urging you on until you both found your release. He left early the next morning, with nothing but the bruises on your skin and the red lines from your nails on his as proof that anything ever happened. 

~~

Your dress sticks to your thighs when you sit down and you can feel the heat of his gaze even as he and your brother talk about the last time they went fishing, his eyes stuck on your inked skin as you try to keep your composure. It used to be a favorite pastime of his, to see how quick he could get you to blush. I love making you flustered, he’d say whenever he’d get your cheeks to turn pink; it’s cute. But you like to think you’ve grown up in the years since then, and you’re determined to not let Nick Folio get to you. 

You’re proud of how long you stick it out, putting up with his wandering eyes as the three of you catch up, and it’s nice. The years have made it easy to forget how much you missed having him around. But just when you begin to think you’re in the clear, he corners you in the back of the shed after you slip away once the sun starts getting low on the horizon and people start saying their goodbyes. His voice sounds loud in the quiet space as he interrupts you lighting up a joint. 

“Figured I’d find you here.” For the first time this afternoon, he looks unsure of himself, the usual swagger missing as he stands in front of you, hands buried in the pockets of his black jeans.

Your eyes roll skyward as you inhale, pulling the smoke deep into your lungs before you turn to look at him. “Busted.” A smirk pulls onto your face and you shrug, tilting your face back to avoid blowing the smoke into his face.

Maybe you should have picked a different place for a smoke, but your feet took you to the only place you knew you would be undisturbed. However, it also just so happened to be where you, your brother, and Nick would kick back in high school. Old habits die hard, you guess. 

“Did you follow me here to stare some more?” 

It seems to startle him out of whatever nerves were holding him back, and he huffs, a smile pulling at his mouth. He rolls his shoulders, standing up a little straighter. “I don’t know what you're talking about,” he says, even though his eyes track down to where the joint sits between your lips as you take another hit.

You scoff, a biting retort sitting on the tip of your tongue, but before you can get it out, he steps into your space, electricity sparking at your fingertips when he pulls the joint from you to bring to his own mouth. His intense gaze burns against your skin as you step back, leaning against the old workbench your dad stopped using ages ago. You look around the small space, trying to ignore the way his arm brushes against yours when he settles next to you. Your parents moved out the old couch you and brother found free in front of the neighbors a year after you left for college, boxes now filling the space once occupied by the milk crates the three of you used as a makeshift coffee table. 

But being here with him at your side quietly reminiscing as you pass a joint back and forth almost makes you feel like you’ve been transported back in time.

“You ever think about that night in St. Louis?” 

The peaceful moment shatters just as you inhale a mouth full of smoke, choking on it as it makes its way down your throat. You cough, trying to cover it up before you take a deep breath and scoff as you hand the blunt back to him. “What? As if you do?” 

Out of the corner of your eye, he shrugs, takes another hit, “Sometimes.” Your eyes are drawn to his mouth as he blows the smoke out, and for a moment, you remember just how soft his lips were compared to the scrape of his teeth. The smoke curls between you and you try to think of something, anything else, to avoid the heat growing between your legs as you reach for the joint. But instead of passing it over, he holds it back. 

“Are you really withholding my own shit from me?”

“Answer the question and you just might get it back.” He straightens his arm when you go for it again, holding the blunt out just beyond your reach. You know he has no intention of doing what you ask until he gets his answer, and contrary to popular belief, Nick Folio has the patience of a saint if it’s going to get him what he wants.

A frustrated sigh leaves your lips and your eyes roll as you cross your arms. You level him with a look and throw his own response back at him. “Sometimes.” 

He smirks. “Only sometimes?”

As much as you forgot how much you enjoyed his company, you also seemed to have forgotten what an absolute annoying shit he could be. Because he knows how to push; knows exactly how to dig to get under your skin. However you’ve been here before, played this same song and dance with him over the years, and this time, you refuse to give in. You can tell the minute he realizes he won’t get any more out of you.

He sighs, squinting your direction as he tilts his head. “You know, you used to be a hell of a lot easier to crack.” 

Your head tilts and you shrug. “People change.” 

“You certainly have.” He snorts, exaggerating the way his eyes move over you, just like they have all day. “You didn’t have any of these the last time I saw you,” your breath hitches when one of his fingers traces the shape of the snake on your right thigh, almost hoping he’ll follow the lines of ink up under your skirt. Disappointment curls in your stomach when the warmth of his hand slips away and he must notice because his mouth is curled into a smirk when your gazes meet, his thumb brushing against the apple of your cheek, “and you blush nowhere near as easily as you used to.” 

Like prey caught in a predator’s sights, you freeze, holding your breath as he studies your face, only feeling free to exhale when he takes a step back. You gesture to the dying joint in his hand refusing to focus on the butterflies swirling in your belly. “Okay, I answered your question, can you give me my shit back and let me finish it out in--”

You pause mid sentence as you watch him take a hit, anger flaring in your chest as you watch him finish it off. “Are you fucking kidding me??” 

You scoff when he crooks his finger, but all he does is tilt his head, raising an eyebrow and it’s almost as if you can hear him goad you. C’mon. You know you want to.  

And perhaps you shouldn't. You've indulged this for too long, despite your better judgment, you do. “Fine,” you mutter, pushing off the workbench and into his space. He cups your face in his hands, his lips brushing against yours as he blows the smoke into your open mouth. You’re not sure if it's the marijuana or his closeness, but you feel dizzy as you inhale, hands gripping his wrists to steady yourself. 

You’re very aware of the fact that he moves first, walking you back against the workbench, but you meet him halfway; slotting your mouths together and slipping your tongue between his parted lips. He groans, fitting his body against yours as he nudges his thigh in between yours and heat sparks anew in your belly when he presses the thick muscle against your core. 

You pull away from his mouth to hoist yourself up, spreading your thighs as soon as you’re settled and pulling him back against you.

Your hands move on autopilot, tugging open his pants and shoving his underwear down as he pulls you to the edge of the tabletop. He hooks two fingers in the edge of your panties, pulling them to the side and slips the head of his cock inside you. Your mouth falls open with a quiet gasp at the stretch, head falling back as he sinks himself deeper and deeper until you’re flush together. 

Nick curses and cups the back of your head to pull you into a kiss as he grinds into you before breaking away.

“Shit,” his fingers drum against your thigh, “do—do you think there’s still some condoms in here?” 

You snort. “Probably? But I don’t know how good they’d be. Last time any of us were in here was--”

“Senior year.” He finishes for you with an exasperated laugh. Nick sighs, squeezing your waist one last time before he moves to back away. But you don’t let him. Your feet lock behind his back and your thighs hold him close. Your name sounds like a benediction when it leaves his lips.

“You just said…” 

“I know, but I still want to.” You say, rushing to add, “If you still want to.” 

“Yeah?” There’s a blush on his cheeks as his dick kicks inside you and you can’t help yourself.

You skim a finger across the flushed skin. “I love making you flustered… It’s cute.”

“When did you get so damn mouthy?” He asks with a roll of his eyes, groaning quietly when you clench around him for a beat. 

A self-satisfied smirk pulls on your mouth. “I’ve always been this mouthy. You’re just not used to it anymore.” You slide your fingers through the short hair on the back of his head as he huffs and pulls his hips back. “But if you cum in me, you’re buying me a Plan B.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” He replies right before he thrusts back into you sharply. 

While you’re aware how stupid this is, you can’t find it in yourself to care. Not when he wraps an arm around your back to hold you close as the table beneath you shudders and shifts with every thrust of his hips. Pleasure lights across your nerves as the new angle has his cock grazing along that one spot inside you that always works you closer to the edge.

“Oh, fuck.” You curse. “I’m gonna--”

“Yeah? You gonna cum?” You can hear the smirk in his voice as you nod. “C’mon, then, cum for me. C’mon,” he taunts quietly into your ear and you hate how it’s that easy, how you seem to do it on his command. 

Your pussy clamps down on his shaft as your inner muscles work him and you bury your face in his neck to smother the noise you can’t hold back. His arm tightens around you and his rhythm slips, muttering a litany of curses until he suddenly stills, warmth flooding your cunt as he releases into you. 

His forehead comes to rest against yours, your breath mingling as the two of you come down. It almost feels tender, this moment in the afterglow, and it's easy to get lost, to let the rest of the world fall away where the only things that matter are him and you here together. But the world comes rushing back when you hear your brother's voice right outside the shed, sending the two of you scrambling away from each other.

You hold your breath as you pull your dress back down, straightening it out while Nick rushes to pull his pants up. He gets his belt buckled just in time for your brother to round the boxes blocking you from view. 

“Heyyy,” you try to keep your voice steady and aim for a casual air, but it’s no use. Not for the first time, you find yourself cursing the twin intuition as he crosses his arms and levels the both of you with a look.

“Really dude? My sister??” 

Your and Nick’s voices mix together as you both try to spout off some excuse, but your brother just holds his hand up, waiting for you to fall silent before he sighs. “Have you guys been hooking up this whole time since St. Louis?”

“What?! No. Absolutely not!”

“How do you know about that?!”

You speak at the same time again and you swear you watch your brother age at least five years, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I honestly don’t know which option I dislike more… Did you really think Janey wouldn’t tell me—fuck.” He cuts off, eyes wide. “I owe her twenty bucks.”

“Did you and your wife really bet on us?” Nick asks incredulously.

“You,” Your brother’s finger points at Nick, “just fucked my sister. You don’t get to be offended.” He sighs again. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but, you hurt her, I will come after you, clear?”

“Uh… yes?” 

“Good.” Your brother nods and turns to go, pausing to turn back and face you. “Actually, mom told me to tell you to stop smoking weed in the shed.”

You have the courtesy to at least wait until the door shuts behind him before you let the hysterical laughter burst forth, falling into Nick as it takes over and he joins you. The air feels charged when it finally subsides and your eyes meet. He regards you with a soft look, and it pulls at your insides. It almost feels like he’s going to kiss you again, but then he sighs. 

“Come on.” He takes your hand, sliding his fingers between yours. “Pretty sure I owe you a trip to CVS.”

~fin.

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fic #bad omens fanfic #rpf #bad omens rpf #nick folio fic #nick folio fanfiction #nick folio fanfic #nick folio x reader #nick folio/reader #nick folio smut #female reader #smut prompt fic

[mrspasser]

I saw you on the train - Sterek Fanfic

Sterek fanfiction, shamelessly based on this Tumblr post by @tsaiko. (OP, please let me know if I overstepped!) This is also on A03.

I saw you on the train

Derek gets on the subway after work, mentally bracing himself for having to deal with people because he didn’t charge his phone last night. Or he did, but his pup chewed through his charger cable and he frankly didn’t notice the nearly empty battery until he was already at the office. Any other day he loves his old brick of a phone, but today it was a bit of a bother that nobody had a charger that he could borrow. Ergo, he has no music to drone out the conversations of the other passengers.

He makes his way a little down the train car and sits down in an open seat. Across the aisle and one seat down are two men, mid to late twenties. They’re having one of those whisper-shout conversations with each other, where the words at the end of each sentence get louder with their anger, before they remind themselves that they are in public and go back to furious whispering. Derek can tell they are trying to be quiet, but emotions are high. Things are tense between them, it’s obvious within a few minutes of involuntary eavesdropping.

He knows he should try to ignore them, but it’s pretty hard to do. They’re in Derek’s direct line of sight and one of them has the most mesmerising whiskey coloured eyes he has ever seen. Right now, the lines around the young man’s eyes are hard and stressed, yet Derek can imagine the twinkle that would be there when he’s in better spirits. It fits the slight uptick of his nose. Somehow he just knows the guy can be a nuisance in all the best ways. He has an expressive face, which makes him far more interesting to Derek than his more generically handsome partner, who has neatly styled brown hair and blue eyes.

It’s an easy guess that the two of them are in a relationship, even though the expected easy chemistry is missing. But there aren’t many people that would be fighting in public, except when they’re in a close, intimate relationship. It’s a bit odd that they chose to have a discussion about the future of their relationship on the subway during rush hour, but whatever, they probably had a head of steam up on this topic. 

It's a relationship drama that doesn’t involve Derek, yet he’s kind of forced to listen to it as one of the few people without headphones in the direct vicinity. There’s an older woman that glances curiously in the direction of the two men every now and then, but she’s reading a travel guide in a language that Derek can’t place, so chances are her English isn’t good enough to know what the two are talking about. 

The gist of their discussion is that the one with the blue eyes wants to move forward with their relationship, maybe move in together, while Whiskey Eyes wants to slow down. Suddenly, Mr. Generic breaks in with a story about how his mom hates the city, but she moved to New York to stay with his dad and has lived there for twenty years now. And then he actually says the words: “Because relationships are about sacrifices.”

Whiskey Eyes looks like he wants to argue that point - which Derek can understand - yet he decides to follow his boyfriend’s reasoning. “And what have you sacrificed for our relationship?”

The barely hidden sarcasm in the question is apparently lost on Mr. Generic, because he has the audacity to come up with something or other he missed out on because he went with his boyfriend to a wedding. “We flew all the way back to California for your step brother’s wedding. I even had to sleep on the floor of your childhood bedroom!”

Like Derek, Whiskey Eyes is totally unimpressed with that answer and even rolls his eyes. Of course, his boyfriend doesn’t like that and their whispered argument continues. Derek can’t exactly hear what they’re saying, though it’s apparent that things aren’t getting better. Then, in a voice clear as day, Whiskey Eyes asks: “Name one thing I’m interested in.”

Mr. Generic freezes. He does a pretty decent impression of a store mannequin, with the vacant expression and the empty eyes. Derek can almost hear the dial tone coming from his brain. It’s clear that he can’t come up with a single thing that his boyfriend likes. On top of that, he looks confused as to why he’s even asked that question.

Things are quiet after that. The boyfriend tries to talk to Whiskey Eyes a couple of times, but he ignores him and just stares straight ahead. There’s a grim expression on his face, his jaws clenched. Still, the boyfriend doesn’t seem to understand the trouble he got himself in. 

The train pulls up at the station, Derek’s stop, and Whiskey Eyes gets up. “Baby?” Mr. Generic frowns at his partner. “This isn’t our stop.”

Whiskey Eyes gives him a cold glance. “It’s my stop now.” The doors open and he walks out. Just fucking walks off and leaves him on the train. 

Derek almost forgets to get off himself, he gets out just before the doors close. The boyfriend comes to his senses too and he jostles roughly past Derek in his hurry to go after his partner. Or ex-partner, probably. Because Derek sincerely doubts he can recover from that. He almost feels bad for the idiot. Or not, since the contents of Derek’s messenger bag go sprawling across the platform because of his rude shoulder check. 

The platform of the small station empties out quickly, leaving Derek to pick up the notes that spilled from their folder. When he looks up, still on one knee and with his papers in hand, he sees the couple from the train. They’re standing halfway between Derek and the exit and he’s just in time to see Whiskey Eyes pull his arm loose from Mr. Generic’s grip. Their voices echo in the empty station.

“We are through, Matt. I should’ve realised before that it wouldn’t work out, this thing between us.” Whiskey Eyes gestures angrily between them. “If there ever was a thing, because I’m starting to think I was the only one who was really invested.” 

Mr. Generic - Matt - scoffs. “You’re overreacting. And for what? Just because I couldn’t remember the name of your favourite movie from the top of my head? It’s Star Track, or something.”

“Star Trek,” Whiskey Eyes corrects, emphasising the last word. “And my favourite is Star Wars, not Star Trek.” He looks like he’s completely done with his ex-boyfriend’s bullshit. “Good bye, Matt. I’ll ask Lydia to pick up my stuff from your place later. Don’t follow me please.” He turns on his heel and walks to the stairs. 

“Baby…” The now definitely ex-boyfriend tries to keep up with him, but he’s quickly shot down.

“Don’t follow me.” The words are cold and clipped, making the ex-boyfriend stop in his tracks and just watch Whiskey Eyes disappear up the stairs.

Derek briefly makes eye contact with the asshole ex-boyfriend as he too makes his way to the exit. The man ignores him, mumbling something about ‘stupid nerd shit’ as he fumbles his phone from his pocket and simultaneously checks the board for the next train.

Yeah, Derek doesn’t feel sorry for him.

He does feel sorry for the whiskey eyed young man he finds standing forlornly just outside the exit of the train station. The guy just looks so lost that Derek can’t help but go up to him. “Are you okay?” he asks, startling the other.

“What? Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m okay,” Whiskey Eyes hurries to say. Then he looks around him and huffs a small, sad laugh. “Actually, I’m not. I don’t have a clue where I am and I just realised that I left my keys at home and my roommate won’t be home until late tonight.” 

“Shitty day, huh?” Derek remarks, showing him a sympathetic smile. 

“You can say that again,” is the blunt answer. It sounds almost rude, though it’s followed by a rueful smile. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t… I mean, I didn’t want to…” Derek isn’t really sure what he’s apologising for and neither seems he. “Sorry. Again. You caught me at a bad time. I just broke up with my… Well, my ex-boyfriend now.”

“I know,” Derek answers and he winces, because it’s clear he was listening in to things that were none of his business. “I mean,” he tries to course correct, “I couldn’t help but overhear. I was on the train too.” 

“You were?” Whiskey Eyes blushes a delicious shade of red. “Fuck. That’s embarrassing.” 

“Nah.” Derek shrugs. “If anything, he’s the one who should be ashamed. Like, who doesn’t know Star Trek apart from Star Wars?”

“I know, right?” He’s still blushing, but it goes well with his smile. 

Derek usually isn’t this forward with strangers, but right now he feels like taking a chance. He could be mistaken, but he doesn’t think he is, not with the shy way Whiskey Eyes is rubbing the back of his neck. So he asks: “Would you like to get something to eat? I’m on my way home and I was planning to get some take out, but if you want, we can go grab a bite together?” 

“Uh, sure!” Whiskey Eyes is only a bit taken aback by his question and seems eager to distract himself from the situation from earlier. “Yeah, why not? I have to wait until my roommate gets home anyway.” Then he holds out his hand. “I’m Stiles, by the way.” 

“Derek.” He takes his hand and is pleased to find it warm and firm. “How do you feel about Thai food?” 

They settle down in the window seat of the small Thai place a block or so from Derek’s home. Stiles declares it the best Tom Kha Kai he has ever had and they discover that they’re born in the same county in California. Derek’s family moved out when he was about twelve years old, yet Stiles’ father still lives there. And so does his recently married step brother.

Conversation flows easily and Derek is happy to discover that Stiles indeed has a very appealing sparkle in his eyes when he’s amused. 

Four months later, they kiss for the first time. Another four months later he finds himself lying on a thin camping mattress on the floor of Stiles’ childhood bedroom. There’s a large Star Wars poster above the bed, with the letters of the opening crawl. Glow in the dark stars that have long lost their shine dot the ceiling. 

A little above him, Stiles rolls so he can look down over the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry my bed is so tiny,” he whispers. “Are you sure you’re okay down there? We can switch!”

Derek catches the hand Stiles extends to him and presses his lips to the knuckles. “I’m fine, sweetheart. It’s just for a couple of nights anyway.”

Stiles smiles fondly at him. “Okay, if you’re sure.” 

“I’m sure,” Derek nods. He presses another kiss to the back of Stiles’ hand. “Now go to sleep, you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Stiles yawns and nods. As only son and best man he’s invested in making his father’s wedding day a success. “You really don’t think he’d let me walk him down the aisle?” 

Derek chuckles quietly. They’ve been over this before. “Just leave that part to Scott and his mom. Don’t steal their thunder.” 

“Right.” Stiles caresses the side of Derek’s face one last time and then tucks his arm back underneath his blanket. “Good night, Der. Love you.” 

“I love you too. Good night.”

#sterek #sterek fanfiction #sterek fanfic #derek hale #stiles stilinski #teen wolf #matt daehler #fighting on the subway #public break up #getting together #meet cute #I saw this tumblr post and two hours later there's this #Ilse writes fanfic #Ilse writes fanfiction

[77gigabytes]

Second Button {Kuroo x Reader}

Graduating Third Year! Kuroo x Second Year! Reader

So... I'm back from the dead.

I have so many things I want to write lined up, but would you look at that? I haven't done any of them XD.

Whelp, I'll work on a master list when I have a few more fics up.

I hope you enjoy :3

-Seven

He’s graduating next week. He’s graduating next week. He’s graduating next week.

You’re chanting this to yourself as you breeze past other students in the hallway. The final bell has rung, and you were on your way to the shoe lockers.

He’s… you slow your steps as you spot Kuroo surrounded by his friends and a few underclassmen in the courtyard below, leaving me behind.

You shake your head. Ugh, why couldn’t I have been born a few months earlier?! We could have been in the same year. We could have been graduating together; going to university together.

You continue to walk with slow steps. Where has the time gone?

You’ve been wanting to confess for a long while now. You had it all planned out. You’d confess before months before his graduation. That way you would have enough time to get used to having a long-distance relationship since he would be leaving Tokyo for university.

Or… If he rejected you… Well, he’d be leaving Tokyo for university. So, it worked either way.

You took a deep breath. It was now or never. If anything, it might be better to confess today since you could receive the second button on his jacket.

It was something you heard from a few other girls in your class. They’ve been talking about it a lot, leading up to the graduation of the third years.

The first button was for themselves; a memento of sorts. The last few buttons would be for their friends or underclassmen. Then, the second button… The second button is the closest to the heart, and would be given to the person they like.

You know Kuroo gave one to Kenma. You saw it in Kenma’s pencil case in class this morning and he told you who it was from.

If he gave them away this morning, does that mean he’s already given his second button away?

“Ne, ne~.” You hear a few girls talking in the classrooms, “Did you see Kuroo-senpai?”

“Yes! I’m so sad he’s going.”

You freeze just past the doorframe of the classroom. Your hand is going white from how hard you’re clutching the straps of your shoulder bag.

“Yes, but hear me out. His second button is missing!”

What? Your whole body goes slack.

“What? No way! Who did he give it to?”

Your heart fell out of your chest. No, no, no, no, no, no. I don’t want to hear.

“I don’t want to hear.” You whisper under a breath.

You speed off to the shoe lockers. Nearly tripping down the stairs on the way.

All the confidence you had been mustering up has vanished. Who…Who could he have given it to?

You slip off your school shoes and bend down to pick them up.

Rika-chan? You know they have chemistry class together.

You’ve slipped on your outside shoes and tap them against the ground to slip your feet into them.

Maybe, Akira-senpai? Kuroo sometimes studies with her and a few other friends.

You splayed your hand across the door of your shoe locker. Your chest is being squeezed tight at the thought.

Who…

“Y/N. There you are.”

Kuroo.

You look up at him and sure enough, his second button is missing. It’s right in front of your eyes.

You see him tilt his head a little and chuckle.

Flick!

“Ow…” Your hand comes up to rub at the spot in the middle of your forehead. “What was that for?”

“You’re spacing out. I said I went up to your classroom, but you weren’t there.” He walks over to his shoe locker, not too far from yours, and begins changing his shoes. He looks up at you again with a small pout. “Were you planning to leave without me?”

“No, I…” You pinch at the tips of your fingers. “I thought you were busy.” You mutter.

He shuts the door to his shoe locker. “With?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean, well… I went to walk with a friend and saw you with a few underclassmen, so I thought I’d go on ahead.”

“So, you were thinking of leaving without me.”

You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

Then Kuroo snorts, “I’m just teasing you,” He nudges your shoulder before wrapping his arm around it, “Let’s go.”

Your eyes meet the floor, and you hum as you’re guided by his arm.

The walk home was rather uneventful.

Usually, you’d be the one animatedly talking about your day. Whether a teacher told you off for a stupid reason or if you knew you totally messed up your presentation. Kuroo was, more often than not, the one who listened to you.

You really don’t know what to say. What else is there to say? There was no way you were going to confess now that you knew he had someone he liked. That’s the only reason his second button would be missing.

He calls your name once more and you tilt your head back to look up at him, “Hmm?” you hum.

“What’s on your mind? You’ve been quiet ever since we left.”

You shake your head, “No, nothing…” You shrug, “Sad that you’re leaving, I suppose.”

He hums in agreement. “Oh, yeah?” He leans towards you with a smug smile.

Once again, the space where his second button would have been is right in front of your eyes. You swear it’s taunting you.

“Who would you give your second button to?” The words slip from your mouth before you even realise.

Kuroo stands up straight and smiles at you. It’s a soft, almost endearing kind of smile.

Your heart squeezes in your chest, and your blood is pumping loud in your ears.

Were you reading too much into everything? Had he just been acting normally all this time, and you thought it was something more? Had there been someone else that he loved, and you didn’t even notice?

All these thoughts are whizzing past in your head and your heart has found its way to your feet.

Oh, he really must love her a lot to be smiling so sweetly at the mere thought of her.

“Oh, my second button? I—”

You push your hands to his mouth. “Wait, wait, wait.” You close your eyes and look away from him, “I don’t want to hear, I’m sorry, forget I even asked! I didn’t even realise I said those words out loud.” You’re spewing bullets at this point with how fast you’re speaking.

He chuckles into your hands, and the vibrations cause tingles to run across your palm.

You open one eye to look at him and he‘s reaching into his pocket.

“Did you mean this?” he asks, and twirls a small golden button between his fingers.

Your hands fall to your sides, and your mouth is wide open. You could collapse from the relief.

“Is that…”

He lets out a small laugh. “Yeah.” He breathes out. He gently takes your hand and tilts it upwards so he can place the button in your palm. “I thought I’d save it for you before anyone tried to steal it away.”

You let out an exasperated laugh, “You mean,” You look up at him when his hand cups your cheek, “You… You like me back?”

He chuckles, “It’s more like I liked you first.” He lightly pinches your cheek. “You were a little slow, but I’ll forgive you because you’re cute.”

So I felt like Kuroo could have been more teasing, but I didn't know how to incorporate it.

I have a few more I want to work on and post, but I might just die again, lol.

Thank you <3

-Seven

#haikyuu!! #haikyū!! #hq #kuroo tetsurou #haikyuu #fanfiction #fanfic #angst #fluff #tetsurou #kuroo #kuroo tetsurou x reader #kuroo x reader #tetsurou x reader #fluffy #angst to fluff

[neeterloveschenford]

Thoughts on Tim Bradford

I was thinking about some of the things we've seen about Tim over the years and boy, is it now making so much more sense. I know a lot of this has already been meta'd and have been very eloquently said. But I just needed to put my two cents in.

Let's start with what Isabelle said to Tim in 1x12. She never felt like she measured up to Tim because he saw things so black and white. Tim had no idea that she felt that way and never thought that about her. And I've always thought she was wrong and was just projecting her own sense of failure onto him. But now I'm re-thinking that stance. We know from 4x19 and 4x20 that Tim was involved in black ops when he was in Afghanistan. His whole "Reaper" persona is obviously from that time in his service. We know from so many things that have come out in the last couple of decades that those involved in those types of operations often blurred the lines of legal and moral. I think that once he returned stateside that his rigid moral code was part of how he dealt with his PTSD. He probably didn't even realize he was going that far. Think about it, he went from black ops to being "Eagle-eye", the cop that took every order literally and got his shop tagged while standing there. Someone who was involved in off book missions wouldn't naturally be that rigid. I think it was easy to fall back into that type of mindset because of his childhood. I'm sure he needed to have every duck in a row when he was younger to make sure he never did anything to set his dad off. But having seen and done some bad things in the midst of war, Tim had to default back to this to be able to integrate back into society. He's often scorned psychology over the years. So I imagine he dealt with the trauma of war on his own by becoming that black and white guy that Isabelle was talking about. It was only after Lucy entered his life and started challenging him to be a better man that he started to see those shades of grey that life is all about. Remember in 5x17 when he showed mercy to the Make a Dream kid's dad? Season 1 Tim would never. He even admitted that Lucy was a good influence. Chances are he would have mellowed over time, but I believe he still would have had a certain amount of rigidity. That's why he told Isabelle in 5x20 that Lucy was different. She showed him that he had to readjust his mindset to be a better man.

Another thing that struck me is how he is basically treating Lucy like his boot or aide right now. If it was Angela that knew something was up I could totally see it. He could possibly blow up her life and it wouldn't be worth it. She is his best friend, but not his life partner. I could even see it if this had happened circa 5x6 or 5x7 when Chenford was trying to find their way back to friendship. But things have changed. I know that "fierce protector" Tim will do anything to protect the people he loves. I mean he offered to take the fall for falsifying those after action reports so that his friend with a family wouldn't be affected. But Lucy is not a friend, not an old Army buddy or his boot or aide. She is the most important person in his life. The reason he has begun to heal from all of the trauma he has had to face. He can't hide this from her. I am hoping that he realizes that next episode. Cause as juicy as this angst is, I'm ready for it to be over.

One last thing, as hard as it is to watch them fighting, it's what Chenford needs. I think this is going to bring so much to the surface that they need to face. Now Lucy is getting a taste of what being the person left at home feels like when their partner is UC. I think Lucy is going to take Tim to task for the whole going behind her back with Grey thing. And they both are going to have to deal with their communication issues. I feel like they are only going to come out of this stronger.

#chenford #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #6x5 meta #it's only my opinion #i love them your honor

[chvoswxtch]

alright friends

i’ve slammed back two margaritas, had some tacos, & feel mentally stable enough to talk about the con so let’s get into it

*long ass rambling under the cut

so this entire con was extremely chaotic. i’ve only been to one con before, and it was a horror con last year, and that one was an absolute shitshow. this one was significantly better, but still a hot mess. emphasis on the hot. it’s texas y’all, and it’s summer, so ya girl was sweating all day (my mood is also directly affected by the heat 🙃)

it was really hard to tell where everything was supposed to be happening, and we had to ask for directions several times

the first op we got was with hayden, and that was a MESS. they were so behind schedule with his pictures (our time was at 2pm and we didn’t even get to him until like 3:45pm) so i didn’t get to go to the daredevil born again panel. i was also super stressed and on the verge of having a panic attack that i was gonna be late for my op with charlie and jon bc that was at 5pm

luckily, we made it. ✨ hayden was so incredibly sweet, and really fucking tall, and has one of the most soothing and mesmerizing voices ever. he made direct eye contact and said hello, thanked us for coming when we left, and was smiling the entire time. he was so so so lovely

now charlie & jon’s op was super on time. their people weren’t playing any games. unfortunately though, we got put in the wrong line which fucked us over when it came time to take the picture, bc we ended up getting super rushed through it

as soon as we stepped into the booth, charlie told me to go to jon, to which i was like 🫡 yes sir. now i had told my partner that i wanted to stand in between charlie and jon (i wanted my main character moment, & he was cool with that) but since things were rushed, charlie directed him to stand next to me and then charlie stood by him. so unfortunately, i didn’t really get to interact with charlie at all, which did break my heart, not gonna lie to y’all

but that honestly was not his fault at all. the con was super packed, and i think they oversold tickets, so he was doing his best to help move things along as quickly as possible while still making sure everyone had a good experience

also i can’t even imagine the pressure they are under meeting so many people in one day, and they were probably overwhemled and exhausted themselves, but you’d never know it bc they were both so happy and excited

but, charlie did smile at me, and his smile is so much more blinding in person. i can’t confirm what he smells like, but i can confirm that he was so incredibly sweet, is way more handsome in person, is so fucking british it’s comical (experiencing that accent in person was 🫠), and i could tell he was genuinely so excited and happy to be there

now onto jonny boy. see i thought when charlie smiled at me, my soul left my body. but nope, there was still more soul to lose. jon called me mama (his exact words were, “c’mon over here mama”) and i’ll never fucking recover. i think he could tell i was overwhelmed, bc he put his arm around me, looked me right in the eye, smiled so sweetly and asked me how i was doing, to which i smiled like an idiot and said this was the best day of my life. i asked him how he was doing and he laughed (he fucking laughed y’all) and said he was doing good. he also smelled SO GOOD (exactly like what I thought he would smell like: earthy with some spice). he was so gentle and sweet. also can confirm he says y’all

the picture happened so fast, it literally felt like a split second. jon gave me a little pat on my back and smiled again and told me to have a good day, and charlie smiled at me again and said thanks for coming

i was incredibly emotionally overwhelmed when we went to pick up our picture. i was already super overstimulated, but there was also this disappointment gnawing at the pit of my stomach bc everything happened so fast, and i didn’t get a chance to say how i wanted my picture. then when i got my picture, i felt even worse bc i feel like i look so uncomfortable and frazzled

i didn’t get to take many pictures during the con at all (i think I only took 3) so i apologize for not really having more to post for y’all. the whole thing was just far more overwhelming than i anticipated

i am so sweaty and overheated, my feet are killing me, and i’m trying not to cry. i know this all sounds dramatic (i am a drama queen) but i’m trying to focus on the positives of today. i know they say don’t meet your heroes, but if your heroes are one of these three guys, definitely meet them. you won’t regret it. they are just as fucking wondeful as we think they are, if not more

i got to meet three of my favorite people in the whole world. i got to hug hayden. i got a blinding, beautiful smile from charlie. and i got an incredibly sweet interaction with jon. i may not like how i look in these pictures, but i’ll get over myself when my emotions settle, and every time i look at them in the future i’ll remember today was one of the best days of my entire life bc i met my boys 🥹

also i feel really special that jon actually smiled in this picture (he’s like straight up cheesing) bc homeboy never smiles (which, same. that’s why mine is so fucking awkward)

if you’re still reading this rant, i appreciate you listening to me ramble. thank you for being an incredible friend <3

and if you’ve been wondering what the tiny evil little demon behind the screen looks like, here ya go :)

psa i am not as tall as these pictures make me look. it’s the angle, & i am wearing boots :) ya girl is a humble 5’4 on a good day

#court rambles #face reveal ??? #hi here’s my sweaty overwhelmed face #charlie cox #matt murdock #daredevil #jon bernthal #frank castle #the punisher #hayden christensen #anakin skywalker #star wars #fan expo dallas

[pleasinghellfire]

Having you first kiss with Joe

a/n: i had to rewrite this so many times bc i absolutely hated it so i am so sorry it took so long for me to finish your request but i thought of this idea while i was waiting in joseph’s autograph line at fan expo. i hope this is good enough. enjoy!!

First Kiss

It was a rather busy day at Fan Expo and Joseph was getting pretty tired though he never showed it. He loved meeting his fans, taking pictures with all their beautiful faces, signing thousands of autographs no matter how much his hand cramped. The smiling excited faces when walking up to him to say hello and tell him how much they love his characters was what kept him going. He loved this. He never imagined such a small audition for one show could change his life so fast and he wanted to bring you along for the ride.

You and Joseph were together since before season four of Stranger Things premiered but Joseph was adamant about keeping your relationship from the public eye. Joseph knew how crazy some fans could be in this line of work so as a way to protect you, he publicly didn’t have a relationship and it was seen that you were just a long time friend who would help Joseph during conventions.

It was already past lunch, well into the afternoon sessions and Joseph was still going. Having just finished a photo op, he was urgent to get back to his autograph table at the end of the hall for the long lines of fans waiting.

He waved goodbye to the last fan after the blinding flash went off and thanked the photographer and security before finding you standing off hiding behind the curtain.

“Hi love.” Joseph placed a quick kiss to your forehead as you adjusted his shirt and chains.

“Hi. Did you get your break yet?” You smiled up at him, bringing your fingers up to tame some of his stray curls.

“I had a quick bite before we started the photos but I am quite thirsty right now.” He gave you cute puppy eyes and pouted out his bottom lip.

“I can go get you something. Water? Coffee? Tea? What would you like?”

“Oh, I would love a cup of tea darling. It is quite rather cold right now. But if you don’t mind getting me a bottle of water as well please?” Joseph shivered, bringing his hands up to rub at his arms.

“You got it. I’ll bring it to your autograph table.” You placed a kiss on his cheek as you two walked in your different directions. Joseph getting escorted down the walkway to his awaiting fans and you going backstage to get his beverages from the break room.

Once you made Joseph’s tea just to his liking, you grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and pushed open the door into the main hall. The loud chatter of the convention came to life as you showed the security your badge at the checkpoint and made your way to Joseph’s autograph curtain.

You thanked a volunteer as they opened the curtain for you and walked into the secured area. Joseph was smiling up at one of the fans with so much appreciation as they talked and thanked him for all his hard work.

“Thank you. Thank you. It was so great to meet you as well. See you later.” You caught the end of Joseph’s conversation as you carefully placed his water and tea on the table next to him, making sure it wasn’t in danger territory to get knocked off as fans quickly walked up to the table for their time to meet Joseph.

“Here you go baby.” You whispered as the fan walked away. “It should still be fairly hot so just be careful.”

“Oh, thank you so much love.” Joseph took his tea and took a slow sip, humming at the warmth and taste. He always loved how you made his tea.

You were about to say welcome before Joseph turned his head and placed a kiss on your lips for the first time in public. Your eyes shot open as you heard the gasp of the fans waiting in line.

“Oops, I forgot. I’m sorry.” Joseph whispered to you.

“I guess the cat's out the bag now huh?” You shrugged, smiling.

“I guess so. Come here.” Joseph placed his palm on your cheek and pulled you in for another kiss. The two of you laughed as everyone let out a course of aww’s.

You pulled back with a blush and Joseph turned back around to the fan waiting.

“That was so cute! Are you two together?” The fan asked, pointing between you and Joseph.

Joseph shrugged his shoulders and chuckled as he signed his name on the fan’s photo, “I don’t know. I don’t know, maybe. Who knows?”

#pleasinghellfire #joseph quinn #joseph quinn imagine #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn fluff #stranger things #stranger things imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff

[mercurygray]

The seashell prompt has me DESPERATE for Marion's pov of Harding's departure 😭

Kind anonymous friend, I'm going to level with you - I think I got home this afternoon and chose violence.

It was strange, in moments like this, just how small the world really got.

It was dark now in the Ops room - most of the crew had gone to bed, and the usually noisy machines were silent. There was a single light on at the switchboard, a single observer up in the tower - and Red and Marion, sitting in Red's office with the private line phone, waiting for news.

The only light in his office was the desk lamp, a small yellow circle focused in on the desk blotter, just barely illuminating Red's face as he stooped over the desk, waited with the handset pressed to his ear. Marion pressed her legs closer together, her hands clasped tightly in, arms pressed to legs, legs pressed to the seat of her chair, everything in close compression, like she was trying to hold herself bodily together.

Because, in fact, she was.

Across the desk from her Red nodded, listening to the slightly tinny voice on the other end of the phone, his face grave. "Right. Thank you. Please let us know when you have more. Yes, we'll - absolutely. Thank you, Lieutenant. Good bye." He sniffed and set the phone back down, standing up. "They're booking him in for surgery now. Expect he'll be in recovery for a bit, but they'll want him stateside for that. Bennett will take the lead, and they'll see about getting us an official replacement as soon as they can."

"Good," Marion said, though she wasn't sure if she really meant it or not. "That's - that's good, that they're getting him in quick."

Bowman nodded, and, after a brief consideration, opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. He glanced at Marion for permission, and she shrugged. Can't hurt anything, I suppose. He nodded and opened the bottle, pouring them both a more-than-generous fingerful and passing her one of the glasses as he moved around to the other side of his desk and sat down opposite her. She took the glass and drank, the whiskey burning at her tongue.

It was strange, just how much they could communicate now by face alone. A year overseas, more or less, and they worked so close that now a raised eyebrow said as much as words ever could.

Red studied the whiskey in his tumbler, rolling the liquid around the edge of the glass. "Stover said you went to see him a few days ago - told him you were worried about Chick."

Marion felt herself opening up again, her hands braced against her lap. "We all were." I know I shouldn't have done it - betrayed his trust like that. But I couldn't let him keep going the way he was. And maybe I - maybe I saw things differently than others would - personal things, intimate things I shouldn't have known. So what did Wendell tell you, Red?

"You know, for the last year I think I've been a little in love with you," Red said quietly. Marion's eyes snapped up to his. "That kind of thing - makes a man notice things. Like how his CO's eyes keep following his Captain. About how torn up she is that he's gone, even when she's not saying anything about it." He sniffed and smiled, and took a sip of his whiskey. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Red, please." But she knew now there were no more secrets.

He raised his eyebrows, suspicions proved correct. She couldn't tell whether the look in his eyes was rage or jealousy. "You deserve better, you know. Than being second choice."

"Maybe I do. But I was never second." I know that better than anything in the world. I knew what I was - we didn't joke about that. Never talked about after because there wasn't anything to talk about. I wasn't waiting on some promise he wouldn't keep. We had what we had for as long as we had it, and that was going to be enough. "We'll need to pack his things. They'll want to ship them home."

"Home to his wife?" He slide the word in like a knife, voice brittle with disdain.

Come on, Red, you're better than that. Even if you say you've loved me. "Yes, to his wife." To Doris. I know her name - know she exists. I don't have any illusions about it.

He looked down at his glass and drained it, sitting bitterly in his chair. "Where do we go from here?"

"Back to work," she said, rising stiffly from his chair. "Where we've always been." She took one last sip of the whiskey and set the glass down on the corner of his desk.

"Aren't you going to say anything? About me loving you?"

"Say it again when you're not angry with me, Red." Say it again when my heart is less heavy and maybe I'll be able to hear it how it's meant.

Her hands were shaking - she wanted nothing more than her bed, to be small and alone in the dark, cocooned and cozy against the world. At least that I can control - since it's wildly apparent I haven't got anything else.

If you'd like to read more of Marion, you can do so at her tag here on tumblr.

#asked and answered #Anonymous #i have written a thing #mercurygraypresents #tds cinematic universe #marion brennan #marion x neil #colonel harding x oc

[winchesterwild78]

Chance Meeting pt 6

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

18+ Minors DO NOT interact

This is my first ever fan fiction. I adore Jensen Ackles and have no hate towards his family. In this he’s single. I’m not sure exactly how to do this so any suggestions or feedback is appreciated. Please be kind and all mistakes are my own. All work is mine. Please don’t copy it.

Warnings: fluff, angst, smut, Jensen being a sweetheart

Chapter/ Trigger Warnings: fluff, mean girls, body insecurity, SMUT

A/N: I’m working hard on making sure the chapters get done quickly. I don’t want to leave you hanging for too long. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Reader is older-not trying to alienate anyone, but I wanted the reader close to Jensen’s age and with children. This will make more sense in later chapters.

———————————————————————

You got in line for your photo ops. The first one was a single photo with Jared. You stood in line and waited chatting with the fans around you. Y’all talked about the con and how great the guys are and how you all felt the ending of the show needed more, because Dean deserved so much better than dying like that. You giggled because you’ve always believed he deserved so much more. As the line kept moving you started to get a bit nervous. Jared was Jensen’s best friend and brother. You worried if he would accept you or if you would get the third degree. You all did have a great conversation earlier, but was he just being nice? After all, Jensen is such a good hearted guy and he deserves to have friends who have his best interest at heart.

Your mind was racing and you started to feel your chest tighten. You could feel the anxiety creeping in. You didn’t realize you started to fidget and bite your lip. While deep in thought you felt your phone go off.

J: Mmm don’t bite your lip. That’s my job ;)

You smile then look around.

Me: where are you and is it really?

You take your tongue wiping it over your bottom lip and biting your lip.

J: just standing to the side watching the most beautiful woman in here fidget and get nervous about seeing Jared.

Me: I can’t help it. I’m worried he was just being polite earlier and he doesn’t really like me. I mean I did just come into your life out of nowhere.

J: Oh sweetheart, don’t worry about that. He was being genuine. When he really gets to know you he’s gonna love you. Besides we are family and he just wants me happy. Now, let me see that beautiful smile.

Me: Thank you Jensen. You text while smiling.

J: there it is. Thank you sweetheart. I’ll see you soon. Xoxo

Me: You definitely will ;)

You put your phone back in your pocket and notice you’re closer to the front. As the next group is walking up Jared notices you, smiles and nods at you. You smile back and think “okay, maybe this won’t be so bad.”

You continue talking to the people around you and you over hear some girls behind you talking about karaoke last night. The girl with the very short crop top on said “did you see that girl that sang with Jensen last night?” The shorter brown hair girl that was with her said “yeah, I can’t believe she got to sing with him. Who is she and what’s so special about her?” You heard her ask. It made you smile when you thought about last night. The first girl said “yeah, I mean did you actually see her? God she’s fat. She doesn’t have a chance with him. He’s into skinny hot girls like me.” She said and her friend laughed but agreed. Your smile instantly went away. You couldn’t believe how nasty these two were being.

You looked up and realized your turn was next. Jared saw you and when you walked up you tried to fake a smile. He bent down and asked you what’s wrong. You told him nothing but he really didn’t by it. That’s when the girls looked up and saw you. They gasped loudly and Jared noticed it. He bent down and said “hey, I know Jay and he has never done anything like he did last night with anyone before. You’ve got to be pretty special to him for him to have done that.” He grabbed you into a huge bear hug and you were grinning from ear to ear. The photographer snapped the picture and told you to pick another pose. Jared yelled “dips on little spoon” You started laughing hysterically. You were having such a great time trying to figure out how to get your arms around this gigantic man you didn’t notice Jensen leaning against the wall and smiling. You thanked Jared and the photographer. Jared gave you one last hug and you started to walk away. You felt your phone go off and when you looked it was a text from Jensen.

J: Hey, why are you hugging that moose? ;)

Me: Because he’s a sweet Moose that gave me some words of encouragement about a certain squirrel.

J: oh really? What did he say?

Me: Oh that’s between me and the moose. ;) Where are you?!? I miss you.

J: Look up. :)

You looked up and met his beautiful green eyes. He motioned with his finger to come to him. You walked over and Jensen pulled you into a tight hug. “Hey beautiful” he said to you. You smiled and said “Hey handsome, how’s your morning been so far?” “Oh it started out pretty great. Waking up next to a beautiful woman and taking a very hot shower.” He said with a wink and smile. “I’ve been keeping busy and I’m about to get ready for my photo op.” You looked at him and smiled. You desperately wanted to kiss him but you knew eyes were on you both. “Um, Jensen should we go somewhere more private? People are starting to stare.” You said looking around a little nervous. He looked around and pulled you back behind the curtain.

“Better?” He asked. “Almost” you said with a smile. You stood on your toes, cupped his face and placed a soft kiss on his lips. As you pulled away he grabbed you by your waist pulling you closer and pressed his lips back to yours. The kiss started to get hotter and more passionate. You both kissed until your lungs were on fire begging for air. You both pulled away panting trying to catch your breath. As you regained some breath Jensen’s lips were back on yours. Your mouth parted as his tongue swept across your lips and your tongues began fighting for dominance. You both were so lost in the kiss and each other you didn’t realize someone had walked in until you heard a throat clear. You both looked towards the sound to see Misha standing there with a huge grin on his face. Jensen looked at him and said “Oh sorry Mish, I know she’s a Cass girl, but I couldn’t help but try to persuade her to be a Dean girl.” You playfully hit his chest and you all laughed.

Jensen told you he had to go get ready for his photo op and he’d see you soon. Jensen gave you one more sweet kiss and a hug. Misha chuckled and playfully teased you and Jensen. As he walked away you couldn’t help but smile. Something started to tingle in your chest and you could feel your heart swoon. Misha noticed the look on your face and leaned over to you. “Y/n, you know he’s never hooked up with anyone at a con before, right?” “Yeah, he told me that and Jared did too. I guess I’m just a little nervous and shocked he picked me.” Misha looked at you and said “I’m not. You seem like someone who can handle him, this life and you deeply love and care for the people in your life.” “Thank you Misha, that means a lot to me.” He smiled and hugged you. “Now make sure you take care of our boy. He doesn’t usually let people in easily, but when he does he’s all in.” “I promise, Misha. I’m not going to hurt him.” You smile, hug Misha and start to walk towards Jensen’s photo op.

You’re standing in line again. This line is just a long and energetic as Jared’s. You’re chatting with the people around you as you’re waiting and you keep watching Jensen interact with the fans. You can’t help but smile. He definitely loves his fans and he’s such a great guy. One girl walked up to him and she looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Jensen was so caring and took his time with her. By the end of her time she was calmer and thanking him for his patience. Your chest tightened with that feeling again. Oh man did you have it bad for him. It scared you too. How could you be feeling like this so soon. You pulled out your phone to text y/f/n to chat with her when someone from behind you was trying to get your attention. The group behind you said “um ma’am, those girls over there are trying to get your attention.” You followed their finger to the two girls from Jared’s photo op. Oh great you thought. What could they possibly want.

You turn around and say “hey, what’s up?” The girl in the crop top looks at you and asks if you were the girl who sang with Jensen last night. You shook your head yes. She looked you up and down and said “oh okay, you know he was just being nice. He’s not interested in someone like you.” The people around you gasped at her boldness. You simply looked at her and said “Oh honey, you have no idea what he’s interested in. Please don’t pretend you actually know what he wants or doesn’t want.” You turned back around and looked up and locked eyes with Jensen. He gave you a soft smile and you smiled back. Then from behind you a voice seething with venom said “well we know he doesn’t want you Shamu.” You could feel the anger and embarrassment rushing over you. You’ve had people call you things like that before and every time it stings. You tried to just ignore them but she kept on. Jensen saw your face and looked concerned. He mouthed “are you okay?” You simply nodded yes. The other people around you started jumping to your defense and were getting loud. The event staff, Jensen and security took notice. Cliff walked closer to Jensen as a precaution and Jensen whispered something to him. Cliff made eye contact with you and walked over. “Are you okay, Ms y/l/n?” “Yeah I’m okay. Just some ugliness from some people. Nothing I can’t handle. Thanks Cliff.” He leans over and asks what was said. You tried to tell him it wasn’t important but the people around you started to tell him. He thanked them, gave you a quick side hug and walked to Jensen. You could see Jensen’s face tighten as Cliff told him. His eyes met yours and he looked so mad and upset.

The line kept moving and between every photo Jensen looked at you. When it was your time the photographer asked if you had an idea of a pose you wanted. Of course you wanted one where Jensen was hugging you with him behind you. He took you in his arms and the photo was taken. Jensen told the photographer he had an idea for the next pose and smirked at you. You knew he was up to something but you were not prepared for what he was going to do. He made eye contact with the rude girls and grabbed your hand spinning you around to face him. You let out a loud laugh and squeal. You looked into his eyes and saw a mixture of lust, love and mischief. The mischief look had you a little worried. He whispered in your ear “do you trust me?” You nodded yes. He told the photographer to get ready. He grabbed your waist, pulled you to him and placed a kiss on your lips. The whole room got silent then there were gasps and the sound of cameras clicking. You pulled away stunned and he was smirking like the cat who caught the canary. He whispered in your ear “now that’s what I want. Meet me in about 20 minutes in the green room.” “Okay” you said with a smile.

As you walked away you looked at the two girls whose jaws were on the floor. You smiled and walked back towards the green room. About 20 minutes later Jensen was walking through the door with Cliff. You stood up and Jensen wrapped you in a big hug. You instantly felt better and safe. You looked at Jensen and said “I can’t believe you did that. I’m sure it’s all over the internet by now.” He smiled showed you his notifications on his phone and said “yep, my phone has been going off constantly with photos that were taken.” You looked at his notifications and it already had over 1200 notifications. Dang, I don’t think I get that many in 2 years you thought to yourself. You both sat on the sofa in the green room talking about what this meant now and if your were comfortable with the attention you were going to get now. You admitted you were nervous, but you could handle it. Jensen cupped your face and kissed you softly. “Hey pretty lady, don’t let what those girls said get to you. You’re absolutely beautiful and I’m so glad I found you.” Dang it, there’s that feeling in your heart again. Oh Jensen, if only you knew what my heart was doing. You thought to yourself.

Jensen grabbed your hand and said “come on, let’s go get some dinner.” “Can’t we skip to dessert?” You said with a smile and wink. Jensen groaned and smiled. “We need food so we can enjoy a very long dessert later” Jensen said as he was pulling you out to the waiting SUV. He helped you in and climbed in beside you. Cliff climbed in the drivers seat and pulled away. Jensen started kissing you and grabbed your hand. He was grinning ear to ear and so were you.

Cliff pulled in front of the restaurant and walked to the door to open it. Jensen got out and helped you out. He took your hand following behind Cliff into the restaurant. Cliff told Jensen to send him a text when y’all were ready and he’d come get you. You smiled at Cliff and thanked him giving him a big hug. Jensen smiled and took your hand leading you to your table.

Dinner was delicious and you were both on your way back to the hotel. Jensen’s fingers wrapped around yours and your head resting on his shoulder. Jensen’s thumb was rubbing circles on the back of your hand. You looked up at him smiled and thanked him for tonight. He smiled and kissed your forehead. Instant butterflies started floating in your stomach. You put your head back on his shoulder. When you arrived back at the hotel Jensen helped you out of the SUV and took your hand in his. “Where to sweetheart? Your room or mine?” He asked with a smile. “Hmm how about mine.” You said with a wink.

You both made it to your room and his lips and hands were on you. As you’re trying to get the door open he’s being very distracting. You giggle and tell him to stop so you can get the door open. Once open you pull him inside and he pushes the door closed with his foot. You push him against the door kissing him and letting your hands roam over his shirt with his tight chest and arms. He bites your lower lip just enough to send electricity through you straight in between your legs. You could feel your panties getting soaked. He grabbed you like you weighed nothing and playfully tossed you on the bed. You kick off your shoes and he’s pulling your shirt up while his lips are still locked on yours. You sit up so he can pull your shirt off exposing your bra. He bites his lip and growls. His beautiful green eyes are now darker and full of lust. Damn he makes you so wet with just a look. You help him pull his shirt off and as he stands up you bite your lip. He’s absolutely gorgeous and right now he’s all yours.

He starts to crawl towards you kissing you from the top of your pants up your body to your bra covered breasts. He pulls one cup down exposing your breasts. He starts to lick and kiss your nipple sending a chill through your body. Jensen starts kissing up your neck peppering your upper body with kisses, love bites and marking you. As he gets to your ear he whispers for you to lean up. He wraps an arm around you and unhooks your bra exposing your beautiful, ample breasts. Jensen lets out a low growl as his eyes rake over your exposed breasts. His hands grab both of your breasts and he begins sucking and kissing your body. You throw your head back as he takes one of your nipples in between his thumb and index finger giving it a squeeze. You begin to moan and move your body. This drives Jensen more. He starts to unbutton and unzip your pants. He pulls them down before you have a chance to lift your hips. “Damn baby you’re so beautiful” he said in a deep lust filled voice. You looked up into his deep green eyes and smile. You lean forward and start to remove his pants too. You unbutton and unzip his pants. As you’re sliding the zipper down your hand brushes against his already hardened cock. He sucks in air quickly as you run your hand over his length as you pull his pants down.

As soon as his pants are down and off he motions for you to lean back on the bed. As you start to lean back Jensen is grabbing your legs and pushing them apart. He slides his fingers around your panties and feels how wet you are. Jensen pulls his fingers back and says “is this all for me sweetheart?” You smile and nod. He slides your panties off and quickly dives between your legs. His tongue lapping at your clit and between your folds like a man starved. He inserts a finger into your dripping wet pussy. You moan his name and grab his head with one hand and grab the sheets with the other. He slowly adds a second finger. Pumping in and out while he’s licking and sucking your clit. His fingers curl inside you hitting your sweet spot. With each lick, pump and suck you start to feel that familiar sensation building. Jensen knows you’re getting close. You’re running your fingers through his hair pushing him further into your sensitive clit. “Oh my god…Jensen…I’m so close. Yes! Right there, Jensen. Faster baby! Ooooh FUCK!” You scream “Jensen, I’m coming!” He keeps licking and pumping. You start to squirm as your body rides your high. Your toes start to curl and you try to break free from his grip. He hooks his large arms around your thighs and pulls you closer to his mouth. You could feel a second orgasm coming and your over sensitive heat felt like it couldn’t take much more. You squirm and moan Jensen’s name. He stops long enough to look at you and says “cum for me again baby. I love the way you taste.” With that your body responded to his command and you fell apart on his tongue again. He helps you ride your high and when he knows you can’t take much more he starts to kiss up your body. Starting at your thighs, making his way up your sensitive mound, up your stomach and peppering both breasts and nipples with kisses, licks and sucks. He smiles as your breath hitches and you run your hands through his long hair. “Please Jensen” you breathe out. “Please what, baby?” He says with a smile. “I need you so bad baby.” You tell him through your moans and gasps. Jensen leans down and kisses your lips as he stands up. He removes his boxers and his large hardened cock springs out. You bite your lower lip and slide to the end of the bed. You take his cock in your hand and guide it to your mouth. You look up at him a smile. As you’re taking his length in your mouth you keep eye contact and watch his eyes go wide as you take him down your throat inch by inch. You slowly start to suck and lick his shaft. You grab his balls with one hand and you feel him tense up. He takes your head in his hand and grip your hair. He starts to push your head deeper on him and you let him. “Mmm babe you feel so good. I’m not sure how long I can last and I want to feel you.” He says as you continue to take him in. You pull back and look at him. “Then take me, Jensen.” You said. He stripped his boxers off the rest of the way and positioned himself between your legs. You grab a condom and he rips the package open with his teeth. You lay back on the bed completely exposed as he lines himself up to your dripping entrance.

Jensen slowly pushes his length in giving you time to adjust. Once he bottoms out you move your hips to signal to him to move. Jensen slowly moves in and out. The way he’s moving tonight feels different. Good, but different. He’s taking his time and he’s being so sweet. You look in his eyes and see his green eyes sparkle. You felt an overwhelming feeling of warmth and love and you smiled. He leaned down and kissed your lips gently. Jensen isn’t just having sex with you, he’s making love to you. The magnetic connection you felt yesterday is definitely there and it’s almost like your bodies were made for each other. The sound of moans, kissing and heavy breathing are the only sounds in the room. Jensen leans over kissing you and your heart is overwhelmed by the feeling in your chest. Without realizing you whisper “I love you, Jensen.” While closing your eyes and gripping his arms. Jensen’s thrust stopped and you looked at him. Your brain just realized what you said. “I’m sorry Jensen. I know it’s too soon.” You say panicking. Jensen doesn’t say anything and you start overthinking and you start to think you just ruined everything. Jensen leans down and places a kiss on your lips and whispers “I love you too, y/n.” Your eyes start watering with happy tears. You’re so overwhelmed by the feelings and now he’s said it to you. He continues to make love to you and even though he’s moving slow you can feel another orgasm coming. “Jensen I’m going to come.” He places a hand between you and starts rubbing your clit. You feel your core tightening as he’s pushing you closer to your orgasm. “Y/n I’m not going to last much longer.” You tell Jensen to cum with you and you both ride your high together. Jensen’s thrust getting sloppy until he stops. He slowly pulls out and you moan at the empty feeling. He kisses your forehead and tells you he’ll be back. Jensen goes to the bathroom removes the used condom and grabs a warm washcloth. He returns and cleans you both up. He tosses the washcloth to the side.

Jensen slides under the covers with you and you snuggle to his side placing your head on his shoulder. He’s running his fingers up and down your back as you’re running your fingers up and down his chest. You look up and him and smile a soft smile. “I really do love you, y/n. I knew from the moment I saw you I did.” He said to you. “I love you too, Jensen. More than anything.” He kisses your lips and you both sigh a happy sigh. You’re safe in his arms and you hope your heart is safe in his hands. You’ve fallen in love with him and there is no going back now. You both smile and slowly drift off to sleep.

#jensen ackles x plus size reader #chance meeting #supernatural convention #jensen ackles smut

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Fault Tolerance

Roland POV of the end of Spartan Ops and the beginning of Halo: Escalation. Also posted on ao3

2558 had a rough start, Halsey escaping, Requiem dragged into a sun, said sun exploding. Hopefully the Infinity and her crew would have it easy for the rest of the year. Nothing bad would happen, right?

-

Earth.

Not home to him, but safe, or it was supposed to be.

Australia was directly below his orbit, half obscured by clouds. Swirls of white with deep blues uncovered by invisible winds. The landmass half covered in the sprawling grays of progress and parking lots. A maze of office buildings hid the object of his worries. It wasn't enough to block his scanners, but he'd be told to sit tight and wait.

He hated waiting. He hated the powerlessness of not knowing. His kind were supposed to know, supposed to problem solve, supposed to save the day with a wink and a smile. Back to Earth and everything seemed different now. Everything was different now. Last time he was here, Roland was brand new, eager to get started and ready to jump headfirst into a mission with his new assignment. His new home, the UNSC Infinity, was now his cage floating above Sydney, HIGHCOM Bravo-6, where his captain and commander were being debriefed after the debacle that was the Requiem campaign. 

Sit and wait, oh how it ate at him, especially when recently all he had been doing was running for their lives. Faster and faster, more and more, pouring on the engines and calculations to pull them from the fire. Spreading himself so thin to keep them alive for what was supposedly a reconnoiter mission. Less than a month ago they had arrived at the Forerunner shield world, and then it seemed like everything had gone wrong.

It was only March. Less than 72 hours ago, he and his entire crew were almost pulled into a dying star. He wasn't even 4 full months into service yet! What was going to happen? Was he going to lose his home? Lose his captain? Were they going to take the Infinity away from him or him from her? It was hard not to worry, especially since it was HIGHCOM and especially since the override code had unraveled him at a critical point of the campaign. Halsey had gotten her hooks into him, and now she was gone and he was a potential liability.  

The last time he was this worried was the trial. Iona. Her fate. The precedence she set forth, and his role as her advocate at the end of her life and the beginning of his. Black Box had tried to assuage his fears, and looking back, had been surprisingly hopeful for the future, but their roles as tools was still very much the status quo. Broken or faulty tools went into a box, or worse.

January felt like a lifetime ago, but it had stuck with him. Hard not to, what with having perfect recall and nigh infinite memory and all. What if they audited him? Black Box would be kind, maybe, if he was given the mercy of a peer review. Brand new AI, Forerunner engines grafted on to a human ship, destroyed Forerunner planet, missing evil scientist; he didn't have a lot going in his favor other than he was ready to be pulled off the shelf at the right time and that replacing him would be very, very expensive.

4 weeks ago he'd been excited to let loose and show what he could do, 6 weeks ago, with Iona's trial, he'd been worried but hopeful, 13 weeks ago he'd been ecstatic, new to this world and all of its intricacies and wonder. So much information, so much to do and see! Now with 351 potential weeks remaining, several parts of him worry at the paths that will be taken from him. There's only so much time. A week is an eon and a blink of an eye to his kind.

Fifth generation Volitional AIs were supposed to be top of the line, but what would happen because of this newly revealed weakness? Halsey had tricks that left them vulnerable during the attack. He'd lost crew and been helpless against the tempest of Forerunner influence and the debilitating override.

And now the two most important members of his Command were at the mercy of a board of Admirals baying for blood and a scapegoat.

Roland might wish he was as hopeful as Captain Lasky, but Palmer's pragmatic nature was more akin to his own logic trees. Not doubting, but realistic. You had to be when the numbers came naturally into your thoughts - especially when a thread of himself unhelpfully pulled up the track record of those who pissed off Osman. Not even Hood could protect them forever.

How had it all gone so wrong so fast?

Roland’s left with nothing to do but pace and triple-check…everything. Life support, engines, shielding, electrical, communication, and health systems, all came back green. Operating nominally, just as they were when he checked 10 nanoseconds ago. He circles the systems like a cat unhappy with how the furniture has been moved an inch to the left. He yowls at techs, at Spartans, at crew, for attention and updates. On their health and comfort as well as if they heard anything. He’s tolerated and comforted and swatted away. Roland skulks around Cmdr. Bradley and peeks at his datapad – nothing. He spies on chatty pilots who know the comings and goings. He startles neurotic mission handlers who know less than him. He listens in on conversations in the mess halls, the hangars, the science labs, the engine room, the crew quarters. The palpable relief should be contagious, but he still worries.

His crew reconnects with their loved ones via Waypoint in real time – no delay from lightyears of distance. Their joy is his, but like theirs it is also a fleeting thing. There is always another deployment on the horizon, and on the flagship, that could be tomorrow.

Hours pass.

The hive of activity winds down but never remains dormant for long. One shift ends and another begins; the constant cycle unbroken under his watch. Pelicans and Broadswords and frigates circle like remoras around a shark. They hover around the Infinity's hull and then land or depart. Roland watches them, watches their flight paths and signals strengthen and weaken as they flit around the massive ship. Her titanium hull casts a long shadow until her orbit over Australia crosses the terminator and then night comes. The ships continue on their own schedule - blips of light in the dark as they are not beholden to Earth and her gravity. They operate on military time and there is always work to be done.

Roland shifts his focus away, leaving a few winking eyes to watch the display. None of them have the signals he’s waiting for.

Hours pass.

It’s afternoon shiptime when a signal crosses his consciousness and Roland’s focus drops from unimportant matters to watch one lonely little pelican come home to him. He nearly smothers the dumb AI announcing SIGNAL DETECTED in his rush to check on the pelican’s crew. Pelican radios weren’t that different from Mjolnir when you push yourself.

He does not exaggerate his relief nor does he make any jokes; not with the mood coming off of his captain and commander. Their biosigns are a mess even as their masks are firmly in place. The bickering doesn’t start until they’re out of the hangar and making plans to talk somewhere with fewer eyes and ears. Roland would almost feel offended if he wasn’t oh so aware of the spooks onboard, and he knew there were most likely more ONI operatives that even he wasn’t aware of.

It does frustrate him that they go to the one place on the ship that he has the fewest cameras and holotanks. The atrium is an excellent place for humans to unwind, connect with dirt and plants and other stuff that calms their ape brains, and keep an eye on any unwanted parties approaching their debrief about whatever the hell happened at HIGHCOM.

Commander Palmer was upset but doing her best not to show it. Roland could tell by the clenched jaw and flared nostrils she was trying, but she was frustrated enough that it took her a second to slow her gait so Captain Lasky could catch up. The fact they changed into PT gear to keep up the charade was almost comical, if Roland hadn’t been stressing the entire time they were gone.

“You didn’t need to stretch the facts back there.” The captain says, partially out of breath and nearly too quiet for his mics to pick up. He can lipread with the best of them, but it’s still a challenge. Too many uncertainties. Though he did have plenty of practice staring at Lasky’s face.

“Uh, yes. I did.” The commander retorts. She furrows her brow and turns to make eye contact as they pretend to jog. 

Oh, she is not happy. The brief pause she gives him is punctuated with a look that lets Roland know she’s about to lay into the captain. And in his core, Roland believes that he probably needs it. After watching them work together this long, he’s been able to see how they balance each other out. His opinion might carry some weight, But the commander knew when not to pull her punches. Lasky’s bleeding heart would get him benched - or worse - without Palmer there to knock some sense into him. Didn’t mean that their arguments weren’t messy. Unstoppable force and immovable object, Roland thinks. 

“I don’t know if you noticed, but Osman was painting a target on you they could have seen from the Outer Colonies.” The commander continues.

“Sarah–” He has no chance yet the captain tries and interjects. 

“They pulled Del Rio out of the chair, Tom. And he had 20 years’ experience on you.” She continues on. Palmer is struggling to keep a slow pace, but Lasky is keeping up. “You can’t boy scout your way around those people.” 

Lasky’s frown thins into a pale line at that. Palmer slows her run as they near the end of the path and are closer to potential eavesdroppers– and Roland. 

Palmer isn’t finished either. Whatever happened down there wasn’t pretty and Palmer stretching the truth - lying - on Lasky’s behalf to a panel of Admirals was no small thing. She’s trying to drill her point into the captain’s head as if he’s a too-green IV. “Maybe when you were an XO but not anymore.”

The commander is upset; not mad, but fearful. Sarah Palmer doesn’t like to mince words and she doesn’t care for people lording their intelligence over her, but she's not stupid. She’s loyal to their captain and trying to keep him out of the crosshairs.

It’s just that Captain Lasky follows his gut more than the rules and ends up in them despite her best efforts.

They jog in silence for ten excruciating seconds, finally getting closer to a holotank where Roland doesn’t have to strain to hear or be heard. Now or never, since he’s got an Admiral asking for docking clearance. 

“Captain Lasky?”

“What is it, Roland?” Lasky asks. His voice is flat– tired, not annoyed at the intrusion – or at least not as annoyed as Roland thought he’d be. Maybe because he was using his avatar and grimacing politely when they approached.

Still, Roland’s job is not just delivering information or opening doors, he does try to take care of his captain. Soften the blow of bad news, when he could. He aims for humor despite the fact that Lord Admiral Hood is here, now, instead of back in Sydney. Something that couldn’t have been an email, Roland guesses.

“Hey, Cap. Orbital Command just alerted us to a shuttle inbound. Diplomatic transponder. Don’t suppose you’re expecting anyone for dinner?”

It doesn’t soften the news.

Twenty minutes later, Captain Lasky is meeting Lord Admiral Hood in hangar 11 and Commander Palmer is back in her armor with a snarl on her face. 

She still minds her “pleases” and “thank yous” with Roland while demanding updates every other minute.

“It’s Admiral Hood, Commander. Shouldn’t we be happy?”

“The Brass never make house visits for good reasons, Roland.” She sighs “Hood’s just as bad as Tom.”

Roland doesn’t think he should respond to that so he stays quiet, but keeps his avatar deployed in her office while he checks in with the other parts of himself.

In the hangar, he’s front and center for Captain Lasky’s talk with Hood.

“Admiral Hood. Twice in one day. I’m either very lucky or very unlucky.” Lasky smiles, but it’s a weak thing that doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s somehow sadder than his usual mopey expression when things go wrong.

“A little of both. I’ll fill you in on the way, but you should call upstairs and have your folks start spinning up for departure.” Hood returns with a tight smile of his own and then launches into the details of the plan.

Well…that might not be all bad. Not getting to deal with Halsey and ‘Mdama would be a sore spot for everyone, but at least they’re not grounded. Nothing’s going to happen to him either! No word on Roland’s performance. He feels guilty for his relief when the captain and commander went through an unofficial but really pretty official inquiry. 

But this would go well and they could prove themselves! 2558 was still young! It was only March so plenty of time left for the year to improve.

Peace talks – babysitting emissaries who hated each other's guts and wanted to put a superheated plasma sword through the other’s skull. How hard could it be? He just had to sit and wait in orbit. Roland couldn’t shake the bad feeling buzzing through him. “Jiralhanae” and “Diplomacy” weren’t words usually used in the same sentence. A UNSC Admiral, Captain, the Arbiter, and two Fireteams go down to a planet sounds like a beginning to a bad joke to him.

He was overthinking again. No one knew the location and they had a full contingent of Spartans and a fleet on standby. 

This would be a cakewalk compared to Requiem.

-

Author's note: It was not a cakewalk

#halo fanfic #my writing #Roland the AI #Halo: Escalation #Thomas Lasky #Sarah Palmer #Lord Hood

[harrywavycurly]

I just remembered I didn’t post a recap of Joseph Quinn day last Sunday so here it is:

Had my first photo op with him and he was way taller than I expected (don’t ask me why I thought he wasn’t gonna be taller than me lol)

I asked how he was doing and he said good

It was SOOOO loud I couldn’t really hear him🥺

When we had our second photo op I asked if I could touch his chest because I’m not one to just touch anyone without permission and he said “sure! Yeah!”

Then we had to wait 3 hours for the autograph session so we went and got another photo op with Sean Astin while we waited

He remembered us from the day before and as we left he once again told me “be good!” Then looked at my roommate and said “be good” like this 👀

Waited in the autograph line for Joseph and I picked a photo of Arthur because I already have an Eddie one

Handed it to one of the five people standing around him and then once again asked how he was doing because apparently that’s just my opening line when meeting people 🙈 he said “I’m good how are you?”

I could actually hear him this time and said I’m good and then he slid the photo to me and said “this is for you” i told him thank you and he smiled and said “thank you as well”

He had on a jacket, hat and his glasses for the autograph and it was lowkey kinda hard to see his face but when he slid the photo back to me he looked up and that’s when he smiled 🫠

All in all it was a good day, it was very rushed so everything seems like a blur. But I’d recommend meeting Joseph and of course Sean if you can💖

#Joseph Quinn day #fan expo philly #Joseph Quinn #sean astin #my little british baby #fan expo philadelphia #fanexpo philadelphia

[arwenadreamer]

Let me tell you a bit about my wonderful, wonderful JiB 11 experiences.

It finally happened! I've met Jared Padalecki!

First thing Saturday morning I went to his auto. I had bought a moose notebook back in 2019 when I got the JiB tickets, and have been waiting to give it to him ever since. He looked at it, then visibly did a double take and started to laugh. I told him "Back when I got the notebook you had this huge hiatus beard!" He smiled, stroked with his knuckles over his own beard and said "I'll get there again!".

Next up was my Jared photo. While I was standing in line for the OP, he made eye contact two times, very briefly, and I almost died on the spot. Lol. I am an aro/ace woman in my fourties, but this man is killing me!

We took the picture, I said thank you and turned away. While I was turning away, his hand stayed on my back, and he rubbed me twice in circles. I don't remember much from this op, but I do remember the feeling of him stroking by back in circles. I also remember the feeling of his chin on top of my head. And how cold that stupid (sorry) Gucci jacket was against my face.

I'm not putting an uncensored picture on here, but believe me, I couldn't smile any more if I tried. I have a look on my face that is completely over the moon, but who can blame me?

With Jensen, I asked him to be hugged from behind, and I really love this photo too. I just wish I had left my jacket on. My bare arms don't look so good on here. But that's just me being self critical. So what the heck, I'm gonna share it with you anyways.

@takikojou and me planned on standing in line for a question at the first panel sunday morning. (A Jared solo panel.) I knew what question I wanted to ask, but I planned on writing it down. Just to be sure I'd get it right.

But while we were sitting in the Saturday evening Jared solo panel, close to the right hand side microphone for questions, the queue on that side was getting shorter and shorter, and suddenly there was no one standing in line at all. On the other side there were still plenty of people queing, and there was also quite some time left on the panel. So I just got up and went up to the micro without thinking. While I was standing there, my heart beat like crazy. I have no idea what was being said during the question Jared was currently answering. I just tried to get the question right in my head. When it was my turn, I asked him:

"At the last JiB I asked Jensen a question for both of you -"

Jared: "I wasn't there last JiB."

Me: "I know."

(That sounded rather rude-ish, but I swear I didn't mean it that way. I was just so incredibly nervouse.)

Me: "I asked Jensen to answer for both of you and he did, but he also said you would probably have this long insidefull answer. So now I'm asking you. What aspect of Sam's and Dean's personality was hardest to act?" And then, because I was kind of besides myself, I felt the need to clarify "Sam, in your case."

Jared said that a lot of Sam came pretty natural to him, and he gives credit for that to the writers who got to know who he is and wrote Sam that way. As an example he mentions Sam's "empathetic puppy dog eyes" written in scripts. He then says that the hardest part to act was Sam's kind of comedy. Because for him Sam's kind of comedy was hard to find. And that maybe that was correct, because Sam didn't think of himself as a funny person. Whereas Cordell Walker's kind of comedy is basically Jared's kind of comedy.

He concluded: "That's my answer. I hope it lived up to Jensen's expectations." Lol.

That's when I messed up completely in my nervousnes. Because I repeated Jensen's answer the wrong way around. Jensen had said for Jared it would be "having a shorter older brother". But I said to Jared:

"Jensen said it would be having a taller older brother."

But Jared, being the intelligent man he is, and knowing Jensen the way he does, immediately made sense of it.

"I guess for me it would be having a shorter older brother. Because my brother is taller than I am. So."

And with that he basically repeated Jensen's answer for him from JiB 12. Lol.

Here's the video, if you're interested. My question starts at around 19:10.

As I've just rewatched the video, I've realised that he was looking at me a lot. Unfortunately, I couldn't really see from my position at the microphone. In a panel on the next day Jared mentions that everybody on that microphone is squinting and shielding their eyes. There was this bright light shining right in peoples eyes over there. They dialed it down a bit after Jared mentioning it on Sunday, but Saturday, I could hardly make him out on stage.

On Sunday came my long awaited J2 OP. I asked them if they could look like Sam and Dean as opposed to Jared and Jensen. They both said sure and we did the OP. When I left I said thank you. Jensen answered in the most Texas drawl "You're welcome!". I loved the way he said it.

I also love the OP! I tried to smile a bit less, to make it more of a Winchester pic. I failed horribly at that. But again, who can blame me?

On my other post someone commented it looks like Sam and Dean are confused that there is someone in between their hug. And that is so true, lol. "Sorry, boy's, I'll get out of your way, now."

When I went to the Jensen auto with my friend, we were waiting in line inside the auto room, even though Jensen was not there yet. But Jared was. He was sitting at the table, giving auto's. I was standing at a point in line that was basically closest to Jared for about 20 to 30 minutes, without my line moving. So I had plenty of time watching Jared from about 3 meters away. And I was blown away by his kindness, his gentle and funny nature. What everyone says about him is absolutely true. He really makes these short interactions for everyone special. And his full attention is at the person in front of him. Always. It's one thing to experience that in person for one short interaction. It's another to witness that with dozen's of people. It's not just one friendly hello after the other. (Which, honestly, would be enough to ask for.) It's that his facial expression changes with every person. With some he laughs, with some he's serious. He's listening intently if someone talks to him. I could't here what was being said (and wouldn't have wanted to eavesdrop anyway), and couldn't see what he signed. But I saw his face. I saw he reacted to that. And it never seemed forced. He just is that kind of person. Genuine. Empathetic. I only saw one thing given to him. And I had to laugh. Someone brought him Haribo gummy bears. He was so FAST taking that and slipping it into the bag for presents he had behind the table. It was a blink and you'll miss it moment. Lol. I guess that's also genuinely him. He loves his sweets.

Then Jensen arrived and I had my autograph. He was really, really nice and attentive too. Jensen also always makes sure to look up at the end of each auto and look people in the eye.

I had so many great interactions throughout the convention, and everything I had hoped for had come true already. There were just a few panels left I wanted to watch.

So @takikojou and I went into the panel room for the Jared and Misha panel. And she points out that there is no-one at the microphone on the left hand side yet. She asked me to stand in line with her. So I did. I quickly came up with a question for both of them. I didn't want to ask a Jared only question at a Mishalecki panel. I thought that would be rude.

So I wanted to ask where in Germany besides Berlin they had been. I thought this would be a short question with short answers, nothing special. But then Jared Padalecki basically had a whole conversation with me, and it turned into the most amazing moment of the whole JiB convention!

I'll leave the link here. It starts at 7:20

You may have seen videos where people stand in the hallway at the end of JiB con, and the actors come out to walk through the people, giving high fives and stuff. There's a small area where people can stand, behind barrier tapes. When my friends and me came out of the panel room, that area was already crowded. So we just left the convention area through a hallway in which no-one was allowed to stand. But at the end of the hallway people gathered again. My friends and I got a really good place there, right at the end of the hallway, where the room opens again. Security quickly put up more barrier tapes. So basically, it was a espallier (? that what you call it? ) of people, then a hallway, and then another espallier of people, forming one long line.

People in the first area where shouting for Jensen to come out, and he did. But he didn't see us down at the second area at the end of the hallway, so the turned around and went back into the green room again. Same with Jared after that. They just didn't see us. I know because I was the first person at the end of the hallway and had a perfect view all the way up. They didn't even look in our direction. And they couldn't hear us over the loud crowd in area one.

Then came Rob, and he saw us. When he realised there were so many more people down there, he just started a sprint and came to us. The security guard accompaniying him was completely taken by surprise and had trouble keeping up, lol. Rob went through our row, and so did every other actor after that.

Matt Cohen was last. He went through our row, and when he came back, while passing me, I asked him:

"Matt, can you ask Jared and Jensen to come down here as well?"

He said he would. And he did.

A few minutes later all the actors came out together, and they all came into our second area.

I thought that was a pretty great grand finale. But then my friend surprised me with a can of FBBC beer she had brought from Austin to share with me. And that was just the crown on top of an overwhelming, amazing, wonderful weekend. I had the time of my life! And I am so grateful I got to share it all with @takikojou and M. It would not have been half as wonderful without you two!

#JiB 11 #arwenas jib 11 experiences #Jared Padalecki #Jared Padalecki admiration #Jensen Ackles #Youtube

[theflyindutchwoman]

I am curious, when do you think Lucy realized Tim had feelings for her?

That's hard to say! You know, for someone who seems to share a lot, Lucy can be very guarded with her feelings… leaving the door wide open for very different interpretations.

I think her 'confession' to Tim in 5.08 gives us some clues in that regard. Specifically this part right here : If we do this and it doesn't work, I'll have ruined the most important relationship in my life. […] So we should just keep going the way we have been, right?. The fact that she doesn't even hesitate in using the pronoun 'we' makes me believe that she is past questioning his feelings for her… Even after his ambiguous "you're right", she simply takes it as his way of agreeing with her that they should maintain the status quo. But at no point during this conversation does she seem to doubt that he has feelings for her. Their extent? Yes. Hence her saying "I'll have ruined the most important relationship in my life" and not 'we'. But that he has feelings for her? No. The only time she looks surprised is when he tells her they're worth the risk. It's even more striking once we compare this statement to how she fake-confessed her feelings for Tim back in 3.09 : "I have feelings for you". I know she was trolling him but her choice of words during the whole speech is very different… and telling.

So when did she figure it out? My guess would be during their undercover op, in 5.01. She may have had some inklings here and there before that - that actually was a part of her fake-confession, though I'm not sure she was really serious since she was simply trying to make a point… even if she wasn't wrong… But I think that when Tim tried to address what was happening between them in Vegas, that's truly when she realised that he might have feelings for her. I think she misinterpreted him at first, and once she saw his disappointed face, she started to piece the puzzle together. Only they got interrupted by Angela's call and the bad guys… So all of this took a backseat. I believe that's why she was bold enough to invite him in when he was walking her home. By that point, she knew that he was at the very least attracted to her. The fact that he came in, after saying he shouldn't, pretty much confirmed it for her : she knows Tim, she knows his character. He wouldn't have crossed that line if he didn't have some feelings for her. They both understood what him coming in meant… What they didn't know is if the other wanted to explore these feelings even further. And unfortunately, they didn't get to that part, courtesy of Rosalind. It went downhill fast afterwards.

So when Tim told her it was time to move on, she was even more confused and she probably interpreted this as his way of telling her they weren't worth the risk. That she wasn't worth the risk. This scene felt so much like a breakup and I imagine this is how she took it. Even though they weren't together. It's not until Tim tells her that she deserves to be with "someone who's worth the effort" that she gets the last confirmation she needs… The way he shies away after saying this, as if he has just divulged too much… All the while, she is watching him, trying to figure him out. It's a moment that stuck out for me. But like I said, this is really open to interpretation :)

#ask & ye shall receive #the rookie #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford

[meeblo]

A Light Spark in Darkness

(Spoilers for the full story of A Light Spark in Darkness)

As the title alludes to, I finished reading through A Light Spark in Darkness earlier today. It was, as I'd heard it would be, quite good; more than just being good, however, it surprised me in the ways it was good.

I'd heard that Goldenglow was depressed, that she really went through it in the event, but I wasn't expecting the manner in which it happened. I was expecting it to be more narrative suffering, well written but not realistically arbitrary. Seeing her instead have to deal with the indifferent cruelty of circumstance as all that she had managed to carve out was burned away entirely due to a conflict that she was not (yet) involved with at all. I also didn't expect it to happen so early in the event. I expected it to happen halfway, but instead it caps off the first vignette.

This is a good way to segue into the next thing that pleasantly surprised me: the story's structure. Telling it nonlinearly like they did, following different PoVs through fragments of the events and going further in time with each one, was a fascinating way to tell the story that worked very well. Apart from the initial vignette, every other one benefits from the dramatic irony of knowing key events that will happen because you have seen them in the other vignettes.

Back to the story, there were some things that definitely stood out to me. Goldenglow, on the edge of committing suicide, is talked back from the edge by a dying Haze. Neither knew the others' connection to the Green Spark or the fire. Haze saves Susie, and then in turn Susie desperately tries to save Haze. The whole sequence of scenes is an excellent demonstration of both of their characters. Haze knows what it's like to have her dreams destroyed; she lost everything in the witch's forest. She knew what needed to be said to keep Susie from jumping. It's her kindness and care for others that keeps Susie going, and it's her kindness that has her push so hard to try and save Haze.

It was great seeing Grani again. It was very satisfying seeing her push back against the corruption in the local guard. Quercus was likewise interesting. But the real standout I haven't mentioned already was, of course, Red. He was great every time he was on screen.

I was definitely taken off guard by the main story connections and implications the event had, especially in its last vignette. Taking place prior to ep10 but after ep8, we hear about things like the dukes all moving towards Londinium. Reunion remnants have arrived in Victoria, and are making transactions with none other than the man himself, Cannot Goodenough. They score a new method of transportation, and Elba (please Hypergryph I am begging you for an official TL of the op team a1 manga, the fan TL I found only goes up to ch6) catches up with an old friend. It seems like Cannot's partnership with Reunion here is what might lead him to get the prospective investment system tech from Djikstra. Or at least, that's what I headcanon; one of Cannot's lines when the investment system crashes mentions a "Mr. D."

At first Cannot was just the funny suspicious merchant who shows up in roguelike gamemodes and takes a nonsensical currency no one else seems to use, but the more he appears in events like this and Vigilo the more I wonder if he genuinely might be critically plot important in the grand scheme of the story. He clearly has a grand agenda behind the scenes. He works with Rusthammer, Rhodes Island, and Reunion, all for the sake of finding people willing to change the existing world order. He wants the people of terra to stop their petty wars for power, territory, and control, and turn their attention towards the real threats like the seaborn writhing beneath the waves and the demons in the far north, as well as something mentioned to be deep underground. Who is he, really? Are those the blood tentacles of a vampire sarkaz, or something else entirely?

Tangents aside, this event story is very good. Arknights continues to impress me with its story at every turn. Goldenglow out of ten, I will be buying her skin.

#arknights #a light spark in darkness #goldenglow #cannot goodenough

[lostfirefly]

You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me (Ch.5)

Hello, kiddos! The idea for this fanfic came to me from a dream (again) I had about a month ago. Тhe main characters were Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill (don't ask me why), but with a light hand they have been replaced (sorry, guys). The main action of the dream took place somewhere in the sands. Аlthough this fanfic will feature Sir Crocodile and our beloved Buggy, the action shifts to the desert. No marines, ships etc. Sorry, not sorry :) The devil fruit's abilities are preserved. Catch the Mummy and Indiana Jones vibes :) I have no idea how many chapters there will be. Different titles and names from the original source material will be used to emphasise the general OP's vibe.

Since English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) 

And thank you to my dear @yujo-nishimura and @laurasoretta for believing in me :)

Description: Catherine, a librarian who is searching for the trail of her sister who went missing on an expedition. Notes in books and diaries lead her to Cairo. There she finds a retailer from an artifact shop who, in exchange for selling her a map and equipment, insists that Catherine take her along. They get into a little (or maybe a big) adventure.. 

Warnings: "F" words, slight tension. Adventures and fun are still here. Buggy x OC, Sir Crocodile x OC.

This chapter was a lot of fun and challenging to write. I'm not very good at describing male squabbles. That's why I'm a little worried. As a perfectionist with excellent student syndrome, I tried very hard not to go overboard with everything. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Words: 2170

The title is taken from «You've Got the Same Dream as Me» (Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli) (One Piece, Netflix)

Taglist: @gingernut1314

I had to added one shitty line. I'm not quite happy with it, but now at least my conscience doesn't bother me 😁

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

"Golly Gosh, his left hand looks like a beehive", Catherine whispered in surprise. At the same moment Rika hissed at her. 

The two of them looked at a tall man with purple hair and dark eyes. He was wearing an orange t-shirt, sand-coloured trousers, and massive boots. He was lighting a cigar. 

"We? We're not looking for anything. We're just a little lost", Rika whispered, tucking the book into her bag. 

"Come on, lassies, nobody drives on this road, unless you've got..... What are you hiding, heh?" he noticed Rika putting the book away.

"Nothing. Just my personal things.."

"Show me!" he bellowed and took a step forward. It felt like his movements made the floor shake. 

Catherine and Rika synchronously took half a step back. 

"I said sh…

"Heeey, Crocie!"

Catherine heard Buggy's voice from the front doorway.

"Thanks God!" she sighed in relief, a slight smile appearing on her face. 

"Buggy the Clown", the tall man turned towards the front door, took a cigar out of his mouth and took two steps forward. "I didn't expect you to be here. To be honest, I thought you'd be chilling out in a bar or lying drunk in a ditch". 

"Well, as you can see, I'm full of surprises", Buggy said, spreading his arms.

"By the way, you stole something from me the last time we met. A little black box, remember?" the man leaned over and put the hook around Buggy's neck.

"Crocie, baby, I didn't take anything from you. You got me mixed up with somebody else". 

"I wouldn't mistake your nose for anything or anyone, bastard", he put his other hand on the back of Buggy's head with force and drilled him with his dark eyes. 

"Crocodile, let him go. I'm not gonna let you get into a fight here", Rayleigh said, glancing over Crocodile's shoulder at Buggy. 

"You are so lucky, clown. But remember, there would be no more such exceptions. Now go hide behind those poor girls, because it's the one thing you're best at", he pushed Buggy aside where Rika and Catherine were standing.

"Fucking bastard", Rika said with a whisper. 

"I don't give a shit about those three, or your shop, though I must admit you're making some good whisky in your old age. Probably I'm gonna grab a couple of bottles or three just for fun. But you know why I'm here", said the Crocodile, dropping his unlit cigar on the floor and immediately taking out a new one. "Give me the compass", he said in a whisper, leaning towards Rayleigh and putting the hook on the old man’s arm.  

Rayleigh placed a small hexagonal brown object on the table.

"Here. Take it", he said with a strange wide smile. 

"You see? You’re a good boy. That was easy, right?" Crocodile blew smoke in Rayleigh's face and put the thing in his trouser pocket.

"The compass! I read about it in your sister’s diary", Rika barely audibly whispered this into Catherine's ear.  

Catherine suddenly called out to Crocodile. 

"Hey, tall man, I don't really know who you are, perhaps you are the coolest man in this desert of yours, but could you buy some whisky and let us talk to this grey…haired… gentleman".

"What are you doing? Are you insane?" Rika asked with a whisper.

"Back off!" Buggy tried to grab Catherine's arm, pulling her toward him. She yanked his arm back.

"Rika, you said you read about that compass. So, we need it, right? And you..", she replied, looking at Buggy, "don't stop me!"

"Are you talking to me, lassie?" Crocodile stretched and turned to Catherine.

"Of course, with you, who else", she walked over to the counter where Crocodile was standing. She discreetly tried to fumble for something heavy with her hand. 

"Do you even know who you're talking to? And in that tone of voice?"  he put the hook around her waist.

"Are you the local Prince of Persia or something?" Catherine kept her eyes on him as she continued to run her hand discreetly along the counter.

"Listen, clown. Is she with you? Shit, your girl's boring as you are", Crocodile said, running a hook down Catherine's head. 

"Let her go, Crocodile", Buggy uttered, clenching his hand into a fist.

"What? Did you mumble something, you stupid clown? I didn't hear you", Crocodile put his hand to his ear.

"I said. Let. Her. Go", he took a few steps forward, putting his back to Rika. 

"No, no. like I said, no more exceptions. So, you can give her and her pretty face a short "sorry, good-bye" speech".

At that moment, his hand and leg began to turn into sand.

"What the fuck??" Catherine's eyes darted around. 

"What the hell is that??" Rika yelled. 

At that same second, something fell backwards and dragged Catherine towards where Rika and Buggy were standing. 

"What the fuck is going on?", she stood up quickly and looked at Buggy. 

His one hand was holding her denim jacket, the other was dragging Rika towards the exit. 

"Holy Christ!! What's wrong with you? Why your hands....", she didn't have time to finish her sentence. 

At that moment, Crocodile turned human again and ran towards them. He caught Rika's arm with his hook and brought her down to the floor.

"What the fuck? What the fuck are you? Get off of me!", she tried to get up. 

Buggy stood in front of Crocodile, hoping to protect Rika, Crocodile swung his hook, but Buggy separated his body from his legs.

"What the hell is that?", Rika and Catherine shouted with glee, almost breaking their voices. 

Buggy reattached his body back.

"Crocodile!", a heavy voice came from behind the man with the hook. Rayleigh stood in front of Crocodile, holding a katana-style hilt., "I said, I won't let you pick fights here".

"Shit. Move!" Buggy yelled at the girls, tried to grab them to get them out of the building. 

Crocodile not paying attention to the old man and waved him off, took another swing at Rika but grazed the bag with his hook. 

"The book!" he growled, and his hand began to turn to sand again.

"You know, girls, I think, it’s time to exit stage left", Buggy said, take them by the scruff of the neck and drag them outside.    

After they were outside, they spotted Crocodile walking briskly out of the shop, holding something in his hand. 

"Fuck! The book!" Rika quickly checked her bag and tried to stand up, leaning on her wounded arm. "Fuck!"

"Forget about it, we'll get it back. At least we know where the bastard is going. Although it was obvious enough", Buggy helped Rika up and walked her to the car, "Сathie, honey, are you okay?"

Сatherine was lying on her back in the sand, looking at the sky.

"He turned into sand, he turned into sand.... He just fucking turned into sand. Jesus, tell me it's a hallucination from the heat", she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Hey", she saw Buggy's face above her.

"What in God’s name… you-- you--your body--your hands-- they just did that all…things..  by themselves", she was trying to make some kind of movement with her hands.

"Okay, pie, get up, let's go to the car", he held her by the waist and helped her up. 

"Sand. Hands. His arms. Your arms. Your body. His body.. YOUR body. No blood.. There's nothing. Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. What was that? Please tell me what that was", tears suddenly came out of her eyes. 

"Let's just say it's a side effect of the devil fruit", Buggy said, sitting her down on the bonnet of the car, checking for scratches. 

"The devil’s… what?" she looked at him with wet eyes.

"Fruit", he wiped her tears with his fingers. 

"The only devil fruit I know is durian", she kept muttering to herself. 

"Yes, but durian doesn't give you chop chop abilities".

"Ability to what?" the girls asked in unison.

"God, Buggy, I've known you for years, but you've never once said anything about your chop chop shit", Rika punched him in the shoulder, "damn....".

"Honey, hold still. That bastard hurt you, but I think you'll live. I'll take care of you. Wait here", he stepped back and reached into the boot of the car.

Catherine sat on the bonnet, trying to focus on Rika. 

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?", she leaned over to look at the wound.

"My first battle wound, sustained in a fight with some man who can turn into the fucking Sahara Desert in a second", Rika cursed.  

"Girls, if you saw Jinbe, you'd be blown away", Buggy laughed throatily, going back.

"God, he's turning into something, too? Food? Tumbleweed? Or what?" Rika asked, her eyes widening. "Shit, my arm!" 

"I said sit still, Rika. I'll sew you up and you'll be as good as new. We should disinfect your wound, but frankly, I don't want to waste good whiskey on you".

"You're very kind, you know that?" Rika said with a slight sneer in her tone.

"I have it!" Catherine said with a squeal. "When I was coming up to this.... what's-his-name. Crocodile... I picked up a bottle of this... Here", she held out a tiny bottle of tequila, about the size of her little finger.

"Yeah, you'd seriously injure Crocodile with a heavy object like that", Buggy couldn't contain his laughter.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't have time to pick out a weapon against a sandman like in a fucking supermarket", she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"Aaaand, done! Good girl", - Buggy finished stitching up Rika’s arm and checked the steams again. "Good? Good!"

He took her hand and led her to the car.

"Well, pie, are you ready to move on? If that Crocodile didn't scare you, of course", he returned to the bonnet of the car where Catherine was sitting.

"It was very weird. And your chop chop thing is weird too... And..", suddenly she ran her hands lightly over his arms, examining his face and head, "are you okay?".

"Yeah, I'm fine", he gently removed her hands from his head.

"Sorry..."

Buggy cleared his throat.

"So, ladies, how about to get somewhere to camp for the night? After all, I think we need some rest and you still need to come to your senses", he said loudly with a maniac smile on his face. 

"That would be lovely, except.. Helloo! Did you miss something? This fucking bastard stole the fucking book", Rika shouted from the car, lying in the backseat. "Sorry..  And the compass".

"Well…Yeah.. Instead of… he didn't take the compass", Catherine said, fiddling with it happily. 

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"I still can't believe you managed to steal that thing from Crocodile", -Rika said, sipping her beer, sitting by the fire, covering herself with a laid plaid. "No offense, of course, but you don't look like.. the girl... who.... well... climbing into a volcano". 

She tried to say it as softly as she could.

"As someone said today, I'm full of surprises", Catherine said, sipping whiskey from the bottle.

"Ooh! Someone is finally quoting Buggy the Heroic Clown. I'm flattered", he bowed, taking off his imaginary hat. "Honey, do you know you're already on your second bottle?"

He pointed his finger at a bottle and plopped down on the sand next to Catherine. 

"So what? Are you trying to be my mum?"

"God, not again, you guys are boring me. Could you please stop arguing for one night? I’m already sleepy because of you", Rika fake yawned and turned on her other side.

"Hell, looks like that bastard Crocodile got his bloody hook in my head after all", Buggy said, scratching the top of his head.

"Does it hurt?" Catherine asked, checking his head and running her hands through his hair. 

"No, I’m ok", he said, gently taking her hands away.

"You know, that.. your… chop chop thing is.. actually.. pretty cool", she said admiringly, taking another sip of whiskey. She set the bottle aside and nestled in his armpit. "Well, I mean, you can separate your body parts and still leave no bloody marks. That's cool. M-m-m.. S-sorry. Can I ask? Did you decide to become one yourself?"

Buggy's face changed. 

"No, of course not. Let's just say.. it happened, ok?" he cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "Listen, are you and your sister close?"  

"She's all I have left. Our parents died a long time ago. Why?"

"You.. you just followed her to some unknown destination", he shrugged and placed his hand gently on her wrist.

"She’s my sister. Don't you have someone in your life you'd go on an adventure like this for?" 

Buggy thought for a moment.

"I did. A long time ago. By the way, his hair is the same colour as yours. Red. But we went our separate ways a long time ago", he said in a sad voice, putting one of his hands on Catherine's waist and pulling her a little tighter.

Realizing that she had touched on some difficult topic, she decided to remain silent.

"Thank you for saving my life tonight, by the way", taking a deep breath, Catherine closed her eyes. "Good night, Buggy". 

"Good night you too, my cotton candy".

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