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nygmobblepot-trash · 3 years

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It was odd for Riddler to get visitors. He wasn't exactly popular with anyone. Oswald would show up when he wanted something and was desperate which was more often than you would hope for from Gotham's mayor/king/whatever he was calling himself these days. Gordon would show up with arrest warrants. The last group would be considered random. They would show up when Riddler got bored and let someone else take over so he could save the puzzle later on.

Riddler hadn't lost control recently... at least he thought he hadn't. He hadn't done anything since being released and Oswald doesn't believe in having to knock. So why at 10:46 pm was someone knocking at his door?

Instead of playing the guessing game, Riddler decided to throw the door open and deal with whatever or whomever was making all that noise behind it. Except when it swung open he saw no one.

That's odd.

Another mental break down perhaps?

Whatever.

He'd deal with it later and shut the door. He didn't get very far till he heard the knocking again.

Ignore it. It will stop eventually. Just distract yourself.

He looked around the room to find something fitting for the task. Which was a old torn up book hidden under the couch. He brushed off the cobwebs and collapsed on the couch.

The knocking persisted.

Riddler tried to focus on the words with all his heart but the pounding wouldn't stop.

He had enough. Please don't be Ghost Oswald, he thought as he threw open the door for a second time.

Still nothing.

He went to close the door for the second time when he felt something grab onto his arm in order to prevent the action.

Riddler quickly looked down and everything clicked into place.

He wasn't expecting a child. "Oh it's just you, Martin." He sighed happy he didn't accidentally drug himself. The calm quickly disappeared when he repeatedly his words, "Oh it's you! What are you doing here?"

Martin must have already assumed that question was going to be asked because he only had to flip to a page in his notebook and show it to the annoyed Riddler.

"Oswald dropped me off." Ed read aloud with a frown. "I doubt it. He would never leave you in my care without an hour lecture. As if I need a lecture on how to keep a child alive."

Martin gave Riddler an, 'Are you sure about that?' look.

"I forgot to feed you one time! I've gone days without eating and no one throws a fit. You go without dinner one time and I never hear the end of it!" Riddler yells as he retreats back into Ed's apartment.

Martin follows and closes the door behind him.

Riddler quickly turned around. "Oh no you don't. Go back to Oswald. I know you're lying about him driving you here."

Martin shakes his head no.

Riddler aggressively digs into his pockets to look for his phone but finds nothing. "That's odd... I had it in here an hour ago." Riddler scans the room and sighs when he immediately doesn't find it. "Once I find my phone you're gone, Buddy."

Martin shrugged and made his way into the kitchen as he was hungry. PB&J sounded real good. He had managed to find all the supplies while Riddler threw stuff around the apartment. The more the man looked the angrier he got. Now all the boy needed was a knife to put the jelly and peanut butter on his bread. He found one fairly quickly. What was even quicker was Riddler grabbing the knife away from him. He was paying attention?

"You cut yourself and i'll get blamed." The green man announced.

Martin expected to hear the knife go back into the drawer, but it didn't. Instead Riddler with a roll of his eyes quickly smeared the toppings onto the bread. When he was done he tossed the knife into the sink with a loud clank and went back to look for his phone without another word.

Martin quietly ate his sandwhich and when he was done put the dirty dish into the sink after washing it off. Like Oswald said, 'no one likes a pig.'

The boy took this opportunity to clear out any unusable pages from his notebook. He didn't see certain responses being used soon, if ever again.

"I haven't left all day. It should be here." Riddler mumbled from under the couch he retrieved the book from. After throughly checking the couch Riddler turned to the boy. "Shouldn't you be... I don't know... in bed?"

Martin shrugged knowing damn well the answer.

"Bed." Riddler commanded.

So the boy did as told... well almost. The man yelled, "not my bed," as the child climbed into his bed ignoring him.

"I'm going to kill Oswald." Riddler promised under his breath.

The boy quickly wrote in his note book and turned it to the man when he was finished.

"I don't care if Oswald reads to you. I'm not Oswald." Riddler answered coldly.

The boy scribbled down more.

"I do have great stories! Way better than any of Oswald's." Riddler hissed.

So Riddler lost again and told the boy a story. But he boy refused to shut his annoying little eyes. So he said another one, which turned into another one. Riddler wouldn't admit that the stories were infact true and about himself and Oswald.

After the 3rd story Riddler stood up. "You said he reads you one story and I have given you three. It isn't my fault you're still up, so go to sleep."

Martin quickly wrote in his notebook and threw it at the Riddler as he was leaving.

Riddler quickly bit his lip to avoid yelling at the boy and picked up to see what the runt wanted now. "...you want to know what my parents are like?" Riddler was about to tell him no when he read the next sentence, "I'll go to bed and never bother you again, I promise." He ripped the note out of the note book and placed it his pocket. "This is legal now." He sighed and sat back down.

Riddler opened his mouth to answer the boy's request but the words seemed to leave his lips.

You technically don't have parents. A voice not belonging the Riddler echoed in his head.

"Shut up." Riddler hissed through clenched teeth.

For someone who thinks he's the best of me is terrible at taking care of kids. This one doesn't even speak and you're losing it.

A pain started pulsing behind his eyes.

As Riddler grimaced in pain the boy stuck another note in front of his eyes. It read, "Is it Ed?"

Hey kid.

"Please be quiet." Riddler whisper as he put his head into his hands.

Martin upset at what he seemed to cause quickly ran out of the room. Riddler don't notice this at all. He hadn't known how much time had passed even he managed to look farther up the bed where Martin was last seen. The issue was the boy wasn't there anymore. In his place were a couple of pills and a note, "I'm sorry I bothered you, Mr. Riddler. My dad seemed more happy when you're around. I came here to figure out why Oswald and you don't get along. I even left a note for Oswald hinting you took me. I wanted him to show up and see that you do take good care of me. It's my fault that you don't see each other anymore. I refused to eat that day and you still took the blame. I'm going back to Oswald's to explain what I did. As an apology I'll give you a riddle, 'I can be a salty treat for some, and a breath stealer for others. What am I?' -Love Martin."

Riddler quickly looked at the time on his watch, it read, 1:07 am. "Oh dear." Riddler and Ed said in a worried tone.

Riddler wasted no time finding the peanut butter in a cabinet. Please don't be ruined and please be what I hope you are, he though.

Ed on the other hand was trying to calculate all the possible routes the boy could be taking.

Riddler spun the lid off and shouted, "Yes!" as he quickly unwrapped the napkin that was in the jar. It was his phone which he may need later. It was the nuclear option.

Then suddenly the front door swung open and crashed into the wall harder than it ever had.

Shit. Riddler though as he hit the floor to avoid being seen.

"EDWARD DUMBASS NYGMA." An angry mother penguin shouted louder than should be possible.

'What did I do?!' Riddler heard Ed scream in terror.

'We have to avoid him at all costs, when he's like this he won't listen to a word we say.' Riddler told Ed.

The pair listened as Oswald stomped around the apartment. Once they could hear him in the guest bedroom he bolted to Ed's room. Going out the front door would get them spotted immediately.

Riddler could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He has never moved this fast and quietly in his life, including all the other personalities. He threw open the window and leaped out of it. He fell about 6 feet before he was able to stop his fall by grabbing onto the fire escape ladder. The force made the ladder extend closer to the ground. Once it stopped a few feet above the ground Riddler let go and landed in the snow.

He didn't feel the coldness nor acknowledged it was even winter in Gotham as a voice from above him dripping with hate, "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME."

'There's no way he'll come down this way. Just go.' Ed commanded.

So Riddler did what Ed said for the first time in his existence. His mind was a blur, but that was okay because Ed was giving him directions. It wasn't long until he spotted the boy walking under the street lights on a particularly dangerous street.

"Hey! Kid wait!" Riddler yelled very out of breath. When the boy stopped and turned Riddler finally noticed how tired he was.

He was about to collapse when adrenaline shot back up his body.

"I TOLD YOU."

Riddler's eyes widden as he turned to see Oswald quite a bit off into the distance hobbling towards them. "...how?" The three questioned together.

He was running out of time so Riddler whipped back to the boy to say what he wanted to say. Unfortunately Oswald was faster and had a gun pointed directly at him.

'And you're the bad parent?" Ed questioned.

Martin quickly stood in front of Riddler to his surprise. He frantically waved his arms around and shook his head. All three men noticed the tears in his eyes.

"Martin I want you to step to the side, put your hands over your ears, and face away with your eyes closed. Do. Not. Make. Me. Ask. Again." Oswald said with a reassuring yet offsetting tone.

Martin stood his ground.

"Oswald I need to show you something, you're only making the situation worse." Riddler pleaded.

"You won't ever stop crossing the line will you? Every single time I let you live you make sure I regret it. Well not this time, old friend."

'Well we're dead.' Ed sighed.

Martin dropped to his knees with his hands together, no doubt pleading for Riddler's life.

Oswald's moved his finger to the trigger. Since he was aiming for Nygma's head, Martin wouldn't get hit. "Haven't I taught you anything? Don't be like me. Don't let anyone stab you in the back ever. I wouldn't be doing what I preach if I don't do this."

Riddler slowly moved his hand to his pocket.

'Stop you idiot' Ed screeched.

Riddler grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and held it above his head. "He thinks we aren't..." Riddler didn't know the right words, many of them made his stomach flip. "you know... a team anymore, because of him. He blames himself, Os."

"But it isn't his fault." Oswald's finger slowly backed off from the trigger. "Let me see. I doubt this will save you."

Riddler nodded and handed the note back to Martin. The boy whiped away some tears before running to Oswald.

Oswald held the note in the air under the street lamp to read the pencil words.

Ed, Riddler, and Martin watched with baited breath to see how Oswald would react.

Paying attention to microfacial expressions wasn't Ed or even Riddler's strong suit, but this time they caught everything. How Oswald bit him bottom lip as tears brimmed in his eyes. How he quickly turned his head away and blinked those tears away to avoid Martin seeing them. Ed and Riddler watched as he shook silently. Then he took a sharp breath and blew it out. "It was never your fault and it never will be. Edward is an idiot-. No we are, grown ups are. I'm sorry you had to see us flight. I promise to be better and I think me and him going our separate ways will ensure that."

Martin shook his head.

'Wow look at Oswald Cobblepot being the adult. I guess you got what you wanted.' Ed's voice still echoed in Riddler's head, thankfully without the migrain.

"You're wrong, that's not what I want." Riddler said out loud to his and Ed's surprise.

"What the hell-" Oswald started to yell again but Riddler cut him off.

"I don't think we should go out separate ways. It would be a shame if Gotham's best duo faded into nothingness. There is still greatness for us. Our story isn't done yet, Ozzie." Riddler closed the gap inbetween him and Oswald. "I'm sorry... for some of the things I did. Sometimes you deserved it though."

'Please shut up.' Ed begged.

It was Riddler's turn to bite his lip. He then took and deep breath and through clenched teeth spoke, "The truth is..." Riddler felt his face go warm and suddenly realized how terribly cold it was. "I'm happier when... you're...around...too."

Oswald covered his laugh with a cough. Ed did not follow that courtesy. 'I knew it!'

"Oh God damn it." Oswald sighed. "You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?"

"You know me so well." Riddler answered with a coy smile.

"Holy shit it is fucking cold. Can we go inside now before I actually turn into a penguin? And you..." Oswald pointed at Riddler with a smirk. "Shouldn't you hate the cold."

"Nope." Riddler shrugged as he tossed his suit jacket onto a shivering Martin. "It reminds me how I saved your sorry ass."

#gotham #edward nygma #nygmobblepot #oswald cobblepot #holy fuck that took forever

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kimoralov3 · 3 years

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Let Me Buy You a Coffee

Requested by: Anonymous

Word Count: 1861

Pairing: Erik Lehnsherr x mutant!fem!reader

Warnings: swearing

(Y/N)'s POV

"One medium black coffee and an extra large iced coffee." The barista called from the counter. I walked up and grabbed the coffee, thanking the barista then making my way back to the table where me and Alex were sitting.

"You keep drinking all that coffee and you're gonna have a heart attack." He said as I handed him his coffee. I chuckled as I sat down, throwing my balled up straw paper at him.

"Well, I haven't died yet and you only live once, so why not enjoy the life you have." I said as I took a sip of my coffee. "So, how's working at the school going for you?"

"About as well as working with elementary to high school aged kids could go. I know I'm probably not supposed to say this, but some of those kids would make the devil himself blush with their 'pranks'."

"Damn, that bad?"

"(Y/N), if you think we were bad as kids, wait till you meet these ones. They're fucking ruthless."

"Maybe I should take back my application for student counselor."

"No, those kids need someone like you to set them straight. Maybe then they'd stop putting hair dye in the coffee creamer." He groaned out as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Damn, these kids are ruthless."

----

Erik's POV

"Are you sure this is the coffee shop Alex always runs away to?" I asked Charles as we walked inside the small shop.

"Yes, he mentioned that he has started meeting an old friend of his a few weeks ago. What kind of coffee do you want?"

"Just get me a latte, I'll find us a table to sit at." Charles nodded and walked to the counter while I got us a table by the window. This place could use a thorough clean. Or two. Charles came back and sat down, setting up the chess set he brought along. "Do you really need to drag that around everywhere?"

"There's nothing wrong with having a game of chess at the ready. So, how do you like being a history teacher?" Charles asked as he made the first move.

"It's going as well as it can go, I guess. I still can't believe that you decided to create a school for mutant children, but waste their time making them learn human history."

"No matter what they are now, they should still know their ancestors' history. Especially if it's still holding an effect on how they're treated now."

"I guess you're right. How's your search for a student counselor going?" I asked as Charles took one of my pieces.

"So far only 2 people have applied. The first one I interviewed just didn't seem right, and the other one's interview is tomorrow evening."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck."

"One latte and one green tea!" The barista called from the counter. While Charles went to get our drinks, I took the chance to get a good look at the place. Besides the obvious need for a clean, this place looked pretty nice.

"Here you go." Charles handed me my coffee while he sat down. I muttered a thank you, looking across the room. Who is that with Alex? Charles followed my line of eyesight, chuckling when he saw what I was staring at. "That's Alex's friend I presume."

"Who knew that there could be anyone who could deal with Alex." I said as I took a sip of my coffee.

"You should go say hello to her." Charles suggested as he sipped his tea.

"What? No, that's insane. Why would I do that?"

"Because you think she's cute."

"What makes you say that?" I asked as I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I may be a telepath, Erik, but even a blind man could tell that your eyes sparkled when you saw her."

"You're delusional."

"Whatever you say."

----

(Y/N)'s POV

I walked down the hallways, searching for the principal's office. Why is this school so damn big? I'd been wandering around for about 15 minutes now, and if I didn't find his office soon I would be late for my interview. I should've asked Alex for directions yesterday.

"Do you need some help?" A voice called from behind me. I turned around to see a man - a very cute one at that - standing outside a classroom.

"Yes please. I'm looking for the principal's office, could you point me in that direction?" I asked as I walked up to him. He towers over me. It would be intimidating if we were under different circumstances.

"Leave it to Charles to forget to give people simple instructions. His office is down this way, 3rd door on the left. Would you like me to walk you there?"

"Yes, thank you so much. What's your name by the way?" I asked as we started walking towards our destination.

"Erik. What's yours?"

"(Y/N). So, are you a teacher here?"

"Yes, I teach history. What made you decide to apply for student counselor?"

"Well my friend Alex is also a teacher here, and he told me that there was a new position opening up. I've always loved working with children, so this job seems like a perfect fit." I explained.

"Well, you'll do great here. These kids may be a handful, but I have no doubt that you'll be able to handle them." He said as we came to a stop outside Charles' office.

"Thank you. And thank you for helping me find his office. I hope to see you again soon."

"As do I. And I wish you the best of luck on your interview."

----

It's been a few weeks since I officially started working at the school, but I haven't seen Erik anywhere around lately. Maybe he's avoiding me.

"Knock knock knock. Are you busy?" Alex asked as he knocked on my office door. I looked up from my paperwork, nodding my head.

"Yeah, I have a lot of paperwork to fill out. Some kids got hurt earlier today, and I have to fill out reports for that. Then some other students have just been coming to me for advice for what to do after they graduate, so I'm looking up mutant friendly places that will be hiring around that time."

"Sheesh. Seems like you'll be busy for the next few days. You want me to pick up some coffee from our favorite place?" He asked as he leaned against the door frame.

"Yes please, I haven't had coffee in 3 days and I'm 5 minutes away from exploding." I said as I gave him the money for my coffee.

"Sounds like you'll need an extra large today. This will be the only time I encourage your addiction though, so don't get used to it."

"Whatever you say, Summers."

----

Erik's POV

"The paper is due next Thursday, so that will give you plenty of time to research and revise whatever you need to. Class dismissed." I said as I wrote the instructions and due date for the paper on the chalkboard.

"Wait Professor Lehnsherr, could I ask you a question?" Jean asked as she walked up to my desk. I nodded, sitting down at my desk. "Have you talked to the new student counselor?"

"Only once. Why?" I asked as I adjusted my glasses.

"Oh, no reason. That's all I was wondering." She said before she hurried off. That's strange. I sighed, packing up my stuff before exiting the classroom.

"Sounds like you'll need an extra large today. This will be the only time I encourage your addiction though, so don't get used to it."

"Whatever you say, Summers."

Alex walked out of (Y/N)'s office, giving me a nod before continuing about his day. I haven't talked to (Y/N) since the day of her interview, I should probably go say hi. I walked into her office, knocking on the door frame. (Y/N) looked up, smiling and putting her work away when she saw me.

"Hey Erik. What brings you here?" She asked as she sat up straight.

"I was just stopping by to talk to you. Sorry I didn't get a chance to stop by sooner."

"Well you're here now. Go ahead, sit down." She said as she gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk. I smiled slightly, taking a seat in the seat positioned directly in front of her.

"So, how have you been adjusting to working at the school?" I rested my chin in the palm of my hand, giving (Y/N) my full attention. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"I've been getting along great. The rest of the faculty don't seem to mind me too much, and most of the students love me."

"Do you have any favorites?"

"Now now professor, you know we're not supposed to have favorites." (Y/N) joked as she leaned back in her chair. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"You can call me Erik. And there's no harm in having students you can bear more than others. You're telling me you don't have even one of those students?"

"Well I may have one or two." She finally confessed.

"Do tell."

"Jean Grey and Peter Maximoff. They both have very different personalities, but they're the most sincere kids at this school."

"How do you know?"

"Empathic abilities plus being able to tell when someone is lying. Comes in pretty handy sometimes."

"That's fascinating. I've never seen something quite like that."

"Why thank you."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you long. You seem to have a lot of work to fill out and I have a lot of papers to grade. I'll make sure to visit you soon, though." I said as I stood up, fixing my coat. (Y/N) nodded, walking me to the door.

"See you around, Erik."

----

(Y/N)'s POV

I pulled the door open, walking into the coffee shop and stopping for a second to take in the pleasant smell. The smell of coffee will always feel like home.

"(Y/N)?" A voice called from the side of the shop. I turned around to see Erik seated at a table, briefcase spewing with papers. I smiled, walking over to him.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here. You having fun grading those papers?" I asked as I sat down in front of him.

"As much fun as you can when your students don't know when to use a comma or a semicolon. Would you like a coffee?"

"Yeah, but I'll pay for it." I reached into my purse but my hand stopped midway. "Are you using your powers on me?"

"Maybe. Let me pay for your coffee. You're gonna have to sit here and listen to me complain about my students horrible grammar, the least I could do is provide you with some fuel."

"Are you asking me on a date?" I asked as I tilted my head to the side.

"Only if you want it to be. What do you say?"

I pretended to think about it for a moment before sighing. "Fine, but I'm buying the next round of coffee. Deal?"

"Deal."

#erik lehnsherr #erik lehnsherr x reader #marvel #x reader imagines #xmen #erik lehnsherr x mutant!reader #erik lehnsherr x fem!reader #erik lehnsherr x you #professor!erik #lokis-reindeer-games

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etherealwaifgoddess · 4 years

Text

Somewhere Only We Know

Main Characters: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Since joining the Avengers you can’t seem to get any alone time with Bucky. You take matters into your own hands and find a creative solution to get the handsome super soldier back in your arms.

Warnings/ Content: Referenced sex. It’s all off screen and nothing is blatantly stated.

Dialogue prompt: “Pleeeeaaase, can we just step away for a little bit? I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Word Count: 1.5k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! This is my little entry for Lani’s 3rd Mysterious Writing Challenge for the oh-so-talented @propertyofpoeandbucky. She’s amazing ya’ll. If you haven’t read anything by her yet I *highly* recommend you go take a look at her stuff. I hope you enjoy this Lani!! Thank you for hosting such a fun challenge :)

Somewhere Only We Know

(title from the song by Keane)

It wasn’t often you had time alone with Bucky. If it was up to the universe, you’d have none at all. Since joining the Avengers you found yourself constantly surrounded by various members of the eclectic group. Whether you were on missions or just lounging around the tower on your day off, there was always someone, most times multiple someones, around. It was like living in a college dorm all over again, and that was not an experience you were happy to repeat. Especially while you were trying to flirt with a certain centenarian ex-assassin.

You’d had one blissful week together when Bucky came to recruit you. He’d found you in a crappy motel outside Philadelphia, hiding out after your powers had manifested on live TV in an almost horrific incident at a NFL game. A bomb had gone off during half time and you managed to get a protective force field around it in time for the bomb to implode inside the bubble without harming anyone. Of course, a girl with purple energy flowing around her who was able to save thousands of lives garnered a lot of attention from both the good guys and the bad ones. You had been on the run for two weeks when Bucky finally caught up with you.

You were his first recruitment mission and he was determined to bring you in to join the team. You weren’t certain about being an Avenger but you were sure about getting him in bed. The super soldier’s thighs gave you a brand new appreciation of the word thicc. You’d spent the next six days enjoying each other’s company until Steve showed up, thinking he could help Bucky convince you to come back with them. You had never seen someone blush so hard their ears turned red. Steve was blessedly oblivious and you returned with them the next day.

After you returned to the tower with the guys your life had been a blur of training and practice. Bucky and you both agreed to keep what had happened to yourselves, not wanting it to potentially impact your ability to join the Avengers. You sparred with Nat, learned marksmanship from Clint, practiced controlling your powers with Wanda, jogged with Steve and Sam, and picked up a little basic first aid from Bruce. You knew it was important to be learning all that you could, to get yourself ready for the inevitable first mission, but you still missed Bucky. You’d barely get ten minutes alone with him at a time, never quite enough to make good use of it.

It was a month into your training when you’d hit your limit. Bucky was too shy to slip off to your room at night, he was still sharing an apartment with Steve and his absence would be obvious. You started looking for out of the way places you might be able to slip off to unnoticed together. There were a few regular times that your day intersected with Bucky’s so you strategized when you would be able to make your move. You just hoped Bucky was still interested. Though the way he’d had to excuse himself last week when your shirt rode up while sparring with Nat seemed to indicate he was.

You were cleaning up the kitchen after lunch, packing away the last of the leftovers, when Bucky walked into the room. He was still sweaty from his workout and the sight of his grey joggers riding low on his hips made your mouth go dry. It was now or never. “Hey Buck.” you greeted him with a welcoming smile.

“Hey, Y/N. Are there any sandwiches left?” he asked while refilling his water bottle from the tap on the fridge.

“There are, or I could go show you the new wing of the bionics lab they’re building.”

“What? I thought they’d stopped construction on that until Spring?”

“They did. But you see, it’s all the way up on the twenty second floor and no one ever goes up there.”

“Then why would we… oh.” Bucky’s eyes widened as he realized what you were implying.

“Oh.” you echoed, nodding your head. “So what are you more hungry for, Barnes? The sandwich, or me?”

Bucky blinked a moment at your blatant proposition before his brain got on board and you raced to the elevators.

It became a habit, meeting up in the abandoned construction of what would eventually be an extension of Stark’s bionics lab. It was always frantic, heated, and absolutely amazing. You were dreading Spring’s arrival when you’d lose your hideaway. Hopefully by then your relationship would be able to be public.

After an agonizingly long mission away, Bucky returned to the tower, tac gear covered in grime and still reeking of smoke. The second you locked eyes on him, you desperately wanted to get him alone. You wanted to help ease the tension in his shoulders and sadness in his eyes, take his mind off of whatever he had endured for a little while.

Everyone was gathered in the common room while Tony gave a mission report to the rest of the team. It wasn’t ideal but you were undeterred.

“Hey.” you whispered quietly to Bucky, knowing his super soldier hearing would pick up your words.

“Hiya, doll.” he answered, making sure his voice was just loud enough for you, and you alone, to hear.

“Wanna go up to our spot? They’ll never miss us.”

“We should hang around ‘til Stark is done.” he whispered with a frown.

“Pleeeeaaase, can we just step away for a little bit? I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” you begged, “We’ll be quick, they won’t even notice we’re gone.”

Bucky sighed and you could tell he was relenting.

You were exiting the elevators, ready to slip back into the common room unnoticed barely twenty minutes later. Tony’s debrief meetings were usually an hour, so you should have still had plenty of time. Bucky went first, phantom silent as he slid back to his place along the back wall of the room. You waited a heart beat before making your way back to your spot next to him. It should have been perfect, you had practiced your stealth moves with Nat and were getting pretty damn good. Unfortunately your best laid plans were all taken down by a chip.

Clint had helped himself to a bag of potato chips from the snack bowl and he crunched into one loudly right as you appeared in the doorway. Everyone’s eyes snapped over to the source of the sound and saw your attempted sneaking in the background. It might not have been too suspicious if it weren’t for the smudge of soot on your neck and your deer in the headlights expression. The fact that you’d buttoned two of your blouse buttons wrong in your hurry was just icing on the cake. Bucky’s eyes widened in silent panic as he realized you were busted and he stayed frozen in place as you laughed nervously, eyes scanning the shocked expressions of your team mates.

Finally, Tony cleared his throat. “Wow. Robo Cop and our own little Glow Worm.” he shook his head in amused disbelief, “Good job, Glow Worm. Robo Cop, don’t make me give you the shovel talk, capiche? Now, let’s get back to work.”

Everyone else was too stunned to comment so you just slunk back to your spot next to Bucky. “So much for discrete.” you whispered with an apologetic smile.

“It was inevitable.” he shrugged.

“At least we won’t have to sneak upstairs to fool around now.”

“I don’t know, doll. I kinda like having somewhere only we know.”

“Love birds!” Tony shouted, startling you both. “Do you want to pay attention to the class, or do you want to go back upstairs and keep defiling my almost-lab?”

The two of you cringed in unison.

“So much for that.” you chuckle quietly, nudging Bucky in the ribs. “Sorry Tony!” you shout back.

“Wait? What!? Were you really? I was just taking a stab in the dark there. Oh god, my new lab! FRIDAY, get a hazmat crew up to the twenty second floor, stat! And you two. Ohhh you, two. Please, I beg of you. Go make use of one of the many beds we have here at Avengers Tower, preferably your own.”

Bucky blushed fiercely, his ears adorably on fire.

“I don’t want to see either one of you until noon tomorrow at the earliest. Go on now, shoo.” Tony waved his hands at you dismissively.

“The boss said so.” you shrugged at Bucky with a flirty smile.

Bucky grinned wolfishly at you, “Orders are orders.” he said before scooping you up in his arms.

You let out a little squeak as Bucky carried you off and you could hear Tony resuming his debriefing in the distance. It wasn’t the most ideal way for the team to find out, but somehow you couldn’t seem to mind at all.

#lanis3rdmysteriouswritingchallenge #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky fanfic #marvel #Winter Soldier #Marvel Avengers #non cannon compliant

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gruvia4ever0910 · 4 years

Text

Starting Point

CHAPTER 2

-WELCOME BACK-

GRAY POV

I'm driving my car going to school, and I'm excited that I'm coming back, not because of attending classes, but I missed my friends. I haven't seen them for 2 weeks because I got injured in our practice game. I'm the captain of the school's hockey team.

I was not able to attend our first day of school because of my injury. I told my friends not to visit me in my home because I will only get insults from them, especially from flame brain. I also heard from him that there was a new transfer in our school, and he is leaving me hanging, but I don’t care much about it.

I arrive at the school, and I immediately spotted my friends. I know that they had an idea of me coming back today. I parked my car then planning to surprise them, but I failed because some of the girls were already screaming my name. So annoying.

Natsu: Look who's back! Hey, ice prick!

Gray: (walking closer to his friends) I'm about to surprise you all…

Cana: You know that it’s not going to work…

Gray: Yeah (sits on the bench beside Erza) …

Laxus: How's your foot?

Gray: (raises his right foot) Better now, and I can’t wait to play again…

Loke: Do they know that you are coming back today?

Gray: Of course, Sting is probably hiding now (smirks) …

Natsu: Since you're better now. Let’s fight!

Gray: You know that I will not back down flame brain!

Natsu and I are always like to fight with each other, but it is more like insults, nothing physical, well sometimes. However, before we even lay are fists to each other, Erza already crashed our heads to each other, and it really hurts.

Natsu: Damn it Er ---

He looks at Erza, but he immediately lowers his head because of her death glare, and he just rubs his head.

Gray: I just healed from my injury…

Erza: It was your foot, not your head…

All laughs at Erza's words, we can’t really win against her. We continue with our chats since we still have an hour before our class.

JUVIA POV

It's been a week, and my life has been very peaceful. No one is trying to harm me, but I still receive some glares. Although, that is the only thing that I can get from them. I don’t need to hide, or be scared, but I am not letting my guard down. I don’t know what can happen here, so I'll just do what I always do. Be alone.

As I am walking going to my class, someone blocks my way, and it is Lisanna.

Lisanna: Hi! (greeting Juvia lively)

Juvia: Hi…

I met Lisanna 4 days ago, Lucy introduced her to me. She is also their friend, and sister of Mira. They both have white hair, and both are beautiful.

Lisanna: I'll see you on Saturday, okay?

I remember that they are inviting me on Lisanna's birthday this coming weekend, but I am not sure if I'll go. These people, why are they being good to me? But they seem trustworthy. Maybe, I can let myself be more open, but I am scared. Should I try?

Juvia: I'll try…

GRAY POV

I'm in the middle of an argument with Natsu because he intentionally kicked my foot that was injured. It just healed and this flame brain is wanting me to come back in the hospital. As our argument continues, something caught my eyes, actually it is someone, and she is talking to Lisanna right now. Is she the one that Natsu was talking about?

Natsu: Hey!

I came back from spacing out because Natsu flicked my forehead.

Gray: What was that for?!

Natsu: That's what you get for ignoring me!

He smirks then turns around.

Natsu: Oh, you saw her already…

Gray: (frowns) Why is that?

Natsu: It is supposed to be a surprise…

My eyes are still looking at the girl with the blue hair. It is the most beautiful shade of blue I have ever seen. I can only see the side of her face because she is still talking to Lisanna, but I can tell that she is beautiful. I want to see her up-close. Then I got interrupted when Loke joined us.

Loke: She is a beauty, isn’t she?

Gray: (glances at Loke) What are you talking about?

Loke: (taps Gray’s shoulder) Don’t deny it. You are staring at the beautiful bluenette over there (pointing his mouth at Lisanna and Juvia) …

Gray: I am not (getting annoyed) …

Loke: You can meet her later, but if you are interested in her, don’t bother…

I understand what Loke is trying to say. Loke is a playboy, so if his next target is the new girl, I feel sorry for her. I'm just curious, not interested, and I'm still in the process of moving on because my last relationship didn’t end well. I can’t believe that I was cheated on.

Gray: You just met her…

Loke: That is the fun part…

Natsu: Stop it Loke! She is a nice girl, and the others likes her. She can be our friend and stop playing with girl’s feelings…!

Natsu walks away from us, and Loke and I look at each other. Natsu has a point, Loke was never serious in his past relationships, I just hope he'll change that behavior of his. Loke is about to open his mouth to talk to me, but our school bell rings, which means we have 10 minutes to go our class.

Gray: Let's go…

***

JUVIA POV

I am walking in the hallway with Lisanna, and ready for class. Then out of nowhere someone's arm is wraps on my shoulder. I got surprised and it make me drop my phone.

Lisanna: Loke!

Loke: I'm sorry…

I glance at Loke for a second then I bent down to get my phone on the ground, but someone is already picking it up for me. I look up and stare at the man I've never seen before. I didn’t mean to stare at him intensely, but he is so handsome. I can feel my cheeks getting warm, but I immediately throw away the unnecessary stuffs that running in my mind. He is also just staring at me with his dark blue eyes then he reaches out my phone at me.

Gray: Here…

I felt a shiver runs up my spine when I heard his voice. It is deep, husky, and muscular, but it is somehow comforting. I took my phone from him and bow.

Juvia: Thank you…

His face doesn’t have any reaction, and he just went inside the classroom. So, I guess he is our classmate too.

Natsu: (appears in front of Juvia) Good morning Juvia…

Juvia: (smiles) Good morning to you too Natsu…

Loke taps my shoulder, and I look at him.

Loke: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startled you…

Juvia: It’s fine…

GRAY POV

I, Natsu, and Loke were walking in the hallway going to our class. The girls calling my name was getting on my nerves. I don’t like them saying my name, so I just ignored them. Then Loke began walking ahead of us, and I saw him putting his arm on the blue-haired girl I saw earlier. She dropped her phone, Lisanna shouted at Loke. I walked past them and picked up the phone, and in just a heartbeat, we were already looking at each other.

She was staring at me with her big midnight blue eyes that are so beautiful. I never thought that she is more beautiful up-close, but I didn’t give in. I ignored her pretty face while still looking at me, but I just gave the phone to her; she bowed and thanked me. After that, I went inside the room, and sat on my chair.

I watch Natsu and Loke enter our room, the new girl is following them. Natsu sits on the chair in front of me, and she sits on the chair near Natsu. While waiting for our professor, I see Natsu throws a crumpled paper at her. Is he trying to flirt with her? He already has Lucy, but I know Natsu is not like that. She looks at him and raises her brows.

Natsu: Do you have something to do in your vacant later?

Juvia: (shakes her head) Not really, why you'd ask?

Natsu: Good, because Lucy is wondering if you can join her and Levy to do homework later. She is asking me. (showing Juvia the text from Lucy)

Juvia: (smiles) Sure, I can just tell her later…

Okay, so I don't need to worry. After the short talk with Natsu, Cana is the next one talking to her right now.

Cana: Juvia, let's hang out…

So, her name is Juvia, what a cute name. I could have asked Natsu and Loke for her name earlier, but I don’t want them to think that I'm interested to her because I am not. Her voice is cute too, it sounds so angelic.

Juvia: I would like to, but I just started with my new work ---

Cana: I know where you work, we’ll go there sometimes (smiling brightly) …

Juvia: (smiles back at Cana) Sure…

As I am looking at her talking to Cana, I caught Erza smiling at me. Why is she smiling at me? Better to ignore her, so I turn my head to the other side, and just watch the other students outside from the window.

ERZA POV

We are waiting for our professor to come in, but he is running late. I'm in charge in this class if our professor is not yet here. I'm a 3rd year student already, but I'm joining my 2nd year friends in this minor subject that I wasn't able to register last year, which is Accounting 2.

I'm observing my classmates and they are in their best behavior, although they are still chatting with one another, it is not that loud. I saw Natsu throwing a paper to Juvia, and they were talking quietly, after that I heard Cana asking Juvia to hang out, and I look at Juvia because I also wants to hang out with her and get to know her more. I really like her, she is simple, very polite, and she is smart, but she is still shy around us.

While I'm looking at Cana and Juvia, I get a glimpse of someone's eyes staring at Juvia. I smile because my friend who just got back is checking Juvia out. Is Gray interested in her? He caught me smiling at him, and I can see that he became embarrassed, but I know Gray, he is not the type of person that will show his emotions easily. He rolls his eyes and looks away.

Little while later, Professor Jura finally came inside our room.

Jura: I'm sorry for being late. We just had a little meeting. Uhm by the way, Mr. Fullbuster, welcome back.

Gray just smile at our professor, and just a within a second, his back to his usual expressionless face.

Jura: And one last thing… Ms. Lockser?

Juvia looks at our professor nervously, and she looks so cute. This girl is making me want to pinch her. So adorable!

Juvia: Y-yes...?

Jura: Principal Dreyar, wants to see you later. So, if you have a free time, go and see him in his office.

Juvia: (nods) I will, thank you…

Jura: Okay, let's start our lesson. Natsu!

Natsu is starting to doze off, his head is about to fall down, but when Professor Jura called his name, he sat up straight like nothing happened.

Natsu: Yes Professor?

Jura: Summarize our lesson few days ago…

Natsu clumsily opens his notebook then began summarizing what we discussed last week.

***

JUVIA POV

I am heading to the principal office right now because Professor Jura said that Principal Dreyar will be expecting me in my free time. I talked to Lucy and Levy earlier after class that I'll be meeting them at the cafeteria because I agreed that I will be joining them to do our homework together. I am now standing outside the principal office and I knock. I heard Principal Dreyar’s voice and told me to come in.

I open the door, and I see him having a conversation with someone. He smiles at me and gestures at me to sit down, so I sit down on the couch.

Makarov: Juvia, this is Professor Aquarius…

Juvia: (bows) Hello, I'm Juvia…

Professor Aquarius looks at me, she is not smiling or tried to talk to me. I gulp because I am getting nervous right now.

Makarov: Relax child. Professor Aquarius will not bite you… I asked for you here because I would like you to meet Professor Aquarius. She is our coach in our school's swimming team…

I confusingly stare at Principal Dreyar, is he trying to get me in the swimming team?

Makarov: She will be needing a new member, and the tryouts are scheduled next week. I'm wondering if you would like to join the team.

Aquarius: Do you swim?

Juvia: Y-yes, I do…

Makarov: You don’t need to answer us right away child. You still have a few days to think about it, but I really hope that you can join the swimming team because of what I heard you have potential. I don’t want to waste some talents like yours…

Aquarius: Well, Principal Dreyar will not recommend you to me if he knew that you don't have the ability, but here is the form (slides the form towards Juvia that was already on the table). If you want to join the team, just fill this up and look for me. (stands up) I'm sorry to leave early, Principal Dreyar, but I have an important meeting right now…

Makarov: It's okay, go on…

Aquarius: (looks at Juvia) I'll be expecting you next week.

Professor Aquarius excused herself then left the room.

Makarov: (smiling) You can go also child and enjoy your free time. We’ll talk again sometimes.

Juvia: (took the form from the table, stands up, then bows to Makarov) I'll be going now, Principal Dreyar.

GRAY POV

Our first period in the afternoon are over, we walk out from the room because we have a free time for 2 hours, and we are going to meet Lucy and Levy at the cafeteria. Natsu is walking too fast, I guess he really wants to see Lucy so bad. They are making me sick; our schedules are mostly the same, and they just saw each other during break and lunch, and now they are going to see each other again.

Natsu: Ice prick, come on. Lucy is waiting for me…

Gray: You'll go ahead. I'll see you there…

Natsu: Okay… (began running and left Gray)

I am walking down on the stairs, and again I ignore the girls who are calling my name. When I am on my last few steps, I saw Juvia leaving the principal office, and she looks troubled. I wonder what happened. I am standing on the last step of the stairs, I am not sure why I did that, but Juvia just walks past me. Did she not see me? I am not expecting her to greet me or anything, but I guess she is not like the other girls.

I start walking behind her, and just keeping my distance. She keeps walking, and I can tell that we are both going to the cafeteria, maybe she is also going to meet Lucy there because I remember her conversation with Natsu earlier.

Then I can see one of my teammates, walking his way to Juvia, like he is catching up with her. What is Sting doing? He walks past Juvia but stops as well in front of her. Juvia looks like she didn't notice him, so she bumps her head on Sting's chest.

***

JUVIA POV

I’m on my way to the cafeteria now, I'll apologize to Lucy and Levy for being late, but I can’t stop thinking about what Principal Dreyar told me. Am I ready to join a swimming team this time? I'm afraid to experience the terrible things that I received from my previous team before. I am not saying that it will be the same, but it is really hard not to think about it.

However, I really do miss to be in a water again and the feeling of it embracing my body. Should I go for it?

I'm looking at the ground while walking, this is what I do when I'm thinking. Then I suddenly bumps into someone, I look up worriedly, and a blonde-haired man is smiling at me.

Juvia: I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to --- I was not looking ---

The man in front of me is just smiling at me. Do I look stupid right now, so he is making fun at me?

Sting: It's okay, actually, I wanted to talk to you…

Juvia: Talk to me? Uhm, I going to meet with my classmates right now. Sorry, but I need to go.

I'm confused, I only saw him today, and he wanted to talk to me. I'm don’t want Lucy and Levy to keep waiting for me, so I slide to his left side and walks again, but he grabs my wrist with force, and it made me face him. I am now annoyed, and I'm on the point of pulling my wrist from his hand. "Juvia!". I heard a man's voice calling my name. The man grabbing my hand and I both looks at the man approaching us.

It's Gray, the man I encountered in our first period this morning. Lucy told me that he is also their friend, and just came back after having an injury.

GRAY POV

I stopped when I saw that Sting and Juvia were talking to each other, but it didn’t last long because I think Juvia brushed him off, but Sting still followed her, and grabbed her wrist. Sting held her a bit strong, and I can see it in her face that she was not liking it at all. I don’t quite understand Sting being aggressive, he is not like that, but I need to stop him.

Gray: Juvia!

Juvia and Sting looks at me. I am walking towards them then stands beside Juvia.

Sting: Gray…

He is still holding Juvia's hand, so I look at him then glance coldly at their hands. Sting immediately let go of Juvia's hand, and she hides behind me.

Gray: What are you doing Sting?

Sting: I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just want to talk to her.

Gray: Well, you've gone a bit too far… Natsu and the others are waiting for us in the cafeteria, that is why she is in a hurry.

Sting: Do you know her?

I look over my shoulder to check Juvia behind me, and I can tell from her face that she is irritated, I look back at Sting and smile.

Gray: Yes, she is our friend…

Sting: Oh, (nods) okay. I'm sorry again…

Gray: You should apologize to her…

I move a little on the side, so Sting can apologize to Juvia, her face is more relax now. She is not frowning anymore. So, I think she can talk to Sting now.

Sting: Juvia…? (Juvia looks at Sting) I apologize for my action earlier. I really didn’t mean to do that… Forgive me…

Juvia: It's fine. It just surprised me…

Sting smiles in relief; I know his apology is sincere. Sting is my teammate and also one of my closest my friend, so I knew him well.

Sting: Thank you…

Juvia: (slightly bows) Excuse me, I'll better go…

Juvia is now walking away from us, and I am just watching her from my spot. Sting on my side is mumbling some words.

Sting: I screwed up big time…

Gray: We'll talk about that later; I need to go and see Natsu and the others.

Sting: (looking sadly on the ground) Okay, I'll see you later at practice… Oh! (looks Gray) Welcome back Captain (smiling) … I'll go now…

***

LUCY POV

We are waiting for Juvia here in the cafeteria, but she is quite late. She said that she will be going to the principal office because she was told that Mr. Dreyar wanted to talk to her. Maybe it is really important that is why she is taking so long. I'm not bored though, because I'm with Natsu, and our friends.

Levy: Do you think Juvia will come and see us?

Lucy: Of course, I know she will…

Natsu: You can start doing your homework while waiting for her, and she can just join you later…

Levy: I'm quite lazy now to do our homework…

Lucy: (laughs) Yeah, me too…

Natsu: (hugs Lucy) So, this means I can still hug you (hugging Lucy tightly) …

Loke: Get a room, you two… (looking at then disgustingly)

Natsu: Jealous because I can hug my girlfriend anytime… (Lucy is blushing)

Natsu is being so straightforward, it is making me embarrass, especially we are with our friends.

Cana: There is our new girl…

We all look at Juvia who is walking towards us, but we also notice Gray is trailing behind her.

Loke: Are they together?

Cana: (stands up) I like to know it as well, but we should go to class now Loke (pulling Loke's shirt and it made him stand up) …

Cana and Loke left for their class, they greet Juvia, and they both tapping Gray's shoulder, which he doesn’t have a clue why they did that.

Juvia: My bad Lucy and Levy, I hope I didn’t make you wait that long…

Levy: It's alright. Come and seat beside me…

Juvia sits beside Levy, while Natsu approaches Gray halfway from here.

Lucy: We still have time, I'm sure we'll be able to finish this before our last class…

NATSU POV

Since Juvia is already here, I stand up and walk closer to Gray then we both sits down on the other vacant table, and let the girls focus on their homework.

Natsu: Why are you following Juvia?

Gray: (frowns) I am not following her. What makes you say that?

Natsu: Is that why you let me go here first?

Gray: Look flame brain, I don’t know what you are talking about. It just happened that I was able to see her coming out from the principal office then Sting approached her…

Natsu: Sting did what?

Gray: I don’t know, maybe he wanted to make a move to Juvia, but he failed…

Natsu: Why? What did he do?

Gray told me that Sting approached Juvia in a wrong way, and it made her uncomfortable. He added that he just helped Juvia from that small misunderstanding.

Gray helping a girl is very rare, after his breakup with his ex-girlfriend, he barely talks to girls he doesn’t know, or just met. Well, he is always like that. Anyway, I don’t really like that ex-girlfriend of his, not just me, but all of our friends. I'm glad they are over. Don’t get me wrong, I'm not hating her with a useless reason, but we actually do have some reasons to hate her, but we didn’t want to interfere with his relationship because we respect Gray's decision, although we did argue about her before. She seemed sweet, and innocent when she was with Gray, but I caught her before, not once, but twice.

I was with Lucy when we saw her in the café near my apartment, she was with her group of friends. Lucy and I became spy that day, and to be honest we had fun being one. She was badmouthing Gray in front of her so called friends, like Gray doesn’t gave her enough attention, Gray was hurting her physically, and I know that Gray will not do that to a girl, especially to his girlfriend. I told Gray about it, but he didn't believe me and Lucy, so we let him be. We didn’t talk for a week, but then ice prick approached me and apologized. Of course, we reconcile, he's my best friend.

The second time I caught her, I was with Erza. It was Gray's hockey team championship game; Fairy Tail University vs. Lamia Scale University. Gray with his skills, they won the game, and Gray was the best player. That explains it why he is the captain.

After the game, we were all outside the rink because Gray pleaded us to wait for that girl. Even if it was against our will, we still accompanied him. While we were waiting, Erza saw a nearby dessert shop, she wanted to buy her favorite strawberry cake, so she just grabbed whoever her hand reached, it happened to be me. We were about to past another alley, but Erza suddenly stopped. There we saw Briar; yes, that is her name. Briar was kissing another man in the alley.

Erza went back to the rink on her own, and I hid behind the wall. Few minutes later, I saw Erza dragging Gray, when they reached the alley, Erza pointed her finger at Briar, who was still making out to the guy. Gray didn’t like what he saw, he walked towards them then punched the guy, and without hearing Briar's explanation, Gray glared at her then left. Matter of fact, her explanation was no longer needed.

Enough with Gray's past lover, we joined the girls where they are seated. Gray sits beside me and he is in front of Juvia. We didn’t bother the girls to do their homework, because if we do, Lucy will be mad at me. I notice Gray is stealing glances at Juvia, I cannot blame him though, Juvia is a beautiful girl, and being her classmate with all of my minor subjects, she is smart as well. I think Juvia will be the best girl for Gray, I just hope this idiot already moved on.

#juvialockser #grayfullbuster #GRUVIA #natsu #lucy #gajeel #levy #mira #erza #jellal #laxus #cana #loke #NALU #JERZA #GALE #MIRAXUS

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bee-kathony · 5 years

Photo

Four Years | Year Three - “April 10th, 2016″

a/n: thank you so much for reading! back to Claire’s POV now and a wee bit nsfw...

Year One | Year Two

January 9th, 2016 | January 24th, 2016 | March 3rd, 2016 | March 30th, 2016

April 10th, 2016

I’d taken Jenny’s advice about occupying my mind and I sat in our backyard, knees and hands in the dirt, digging out a spot for a rose bush. First I had started on clearing up all the weeds and dead plants from when my parents had lived here.

With dirt under my nails, I stuck my tongue between my lips and concentrated on digging a deep enough hole. I could hear shrieks and laughs from Fergus inside and looked up to see Jamie chasing him through the house. While it touched me to see them so happy and getting along, I felt ashamed that I hadn’t connected with our son yet.

Every time I looked at him, curly brown hair and dark brown eyes, I couldn’t help but feel my heart squeeze at the thought of Jane. We had been blessed with one child, but I still wept for the one that was lost.

That’s what made this whole thing so damn difficult — Jamie seemed to be doing just fine. He’d bonded with Fergus quickly and I hadn’t seen him shed a tear in weeks. Perhaps he was better at healing than I was. Perhaps I was broken beyond repair.

The fresh earth under my fingers was keeping me tethered to something real. This rose bush was real. My heart was beating — that was real. Jamie… Fergus… they were real.

Sometimes I woke during the night, a cold sweat on my skin and I imagined that I heard Jane crying in her crib. Only once — after I came home from the hospital, did I walk to her half built nursery to find that she wasn’t there.

Now that room was empty. Jamie had taken out all of the things we had slowly been collecting over the months and gotten rid of them. That door stayed shut at all times.

“Sassenach,” Jamie appeared in the doorway, slightly out of breath from chasing Fergus. “Do ye want somethin’ to drink? Or are ye hungry at all?”

“I’ll have some lemonade if we have any,” I smiled and then bent my head to resume my work.

A few moments later, he was kneeling down next to me, offering a cold glass of lemonade. “Thank you,” I took it and drank, downing half the glass in a second.

“I guess ye were thirsty,” he smiled and then started to stand up again.

“Jamie?”

He knelt back down, his finger pushing back a stray curl that had fallen over my face. “Aye, Sassenach?”

“How did you—“ I stopped, shaking my head.

“What? How did I what?”

I looked down at the dirt in my hands, crumbling it between my fingers, ashamed to meet his eyes. “How did you move on? You seem so happy, so… much lighter than I feel.”

“Ye mean move on from losing Jane?” He sank to his knees beside me, sliding his hand over my back. “Claire, what makes ye think that?”

“You laugh,” I sniffed, wiping my face, no doubt smearing dirt across my cheeks. “You play with Fergus and manage to act like a well put together human being for starters. I just don’t understand why you aren’t still sad.”

“I am sad, mo nighean donn,” he said softly. “And I only laugh and play because we still have a son that needs our attention. Ye havena exactly been able to help me wi’ that.”

“Of course I haven’t been able to!” I jerked my head to look up at him. “It kills me to be missing out on this part of his life. I hate myself for not being able to love him like I should — to not be able to bond with him as you have.”

“I didna mean to make ye upset, Sassenach.”

“Why don’t you cry, Jamie?” I said, so quietly I wasn’t sure he heard me.

He took a deep breath and was quiet for a moment before saying, “I cry, mo ghraidh. I cry every day, but I have wanted to be strong for ye. I thought that if ye saw that I was cryin’ it would only make ye more sad than ye already are.”

“Jamie,” I reached up to cup his cheek. “I thought you had forgotten.”

“Forgotten? Oh Christ no, Claire. Tis only been 76 days since we lost her, I willna ever forget what happened. Have you thought this of me the whole time?”

I saw the pain in his eyes then — the dark circles from sleepless nights and for the first time I really looked at him. He was thinner, his cheeks didn’t have that rosy glow they usually did. Jamie looked miserable and here I had been thinking him a heartless man.

“I did,” I nodded. “I hadn’t seen you cry or heard you talk about her unless I brought her up since just after we came home without her. I’m sorry for that.”

“Ye’ve nothin’ to be sorry for, Sassenach,” Jamie placed his hand over mine and brought it to his lips, kissing the inside of my palm. “If anyone is to apologize tis me for not bein’ open wi’ how I’ve been feeling. It’s been hell, a nighean.”

“Share that with me,” I pleaded, turning my body towards him. “Share that pain with me, we promised we would get through this together and just as you hold me up, I will hold you up James Fraser.”

His eyes watered and my own blurred with tears as I pressed my forehead against his. “There’s the two of us and I need you now more than ever.”

“I miss her, Claire,” Jamie buried his head in my neck, his arms wrapping around me and his body shook. “I miss her so damn much, it isna fair!”

I held him, as I said I would and let him cry, wetting my shirt sleeve. It pained me to think of how much he’d been hurting and I hadn’t even asked how he was. I had shut out anything and everyone other than what I needed to do to grieve and move forward.

“Jamie?” I pulled his head up, wiping his tears away with the pads of my thumbs. “Do you know why I wanted to plant this rose bush?” He shook his head, wiping his nose on his sleeve like a child.

“I’m doing it so that every time we look at the beautiful roses, we will think of Jane. When they blossom, we can think of her and her beautiful little spirit,” I smiled, a feeling of warmth returning to my body.

“I love that, Sassenach, tis a wonderful thing to do,” he said and then placed both his hands on the side of my head and kissed me. It was full of unspoken hurts and conveyed all the words we had kept to ourselves. I love you, I need you, I will always need you.

“I was also thinking,” I said as I wiped my thumbs under his eyes. “That we should talk to someone. Of course, we need to talk with each other about all of this, but perhaps a professional.”

“Jenny mentioned that to me as well, I meant to ask ye about it,” he squeezed my hand. “I think it would be good for us, so that we dinna bottle up all of the pain. I wish I could help ye, Claire, I do, but I fear that I can’t help ye this time.”

“Oh, Jamie,” I pulled him to me again, rubbing his back with my hand. “You have helped me so much. You’ve given me space and time, more than I deserve. You’ve helped with Fergus, and for that I can’t thank you enough. No one is prepared to lose a child. No one.”

Jamie turned his head and rested his cheek on my shoulder, and I felt the way his breathing was slow and steady. I always felt safe in his arms — it had never occurred to me that perhaps he felt the safest in my arms as well.

We sat there for awhile longer until I realized that Fergus was in the house alone. “Is Fergus alright, Jamie? Where’s he at?”

“He’s playin’ wi’ the Batman figure in his room,” he smiled. “He hasna taken it out of his hands in days.”

I sighed, leaning my head on Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m a terrible mother aren’t I?”

“Shhh, Sassenach,” Jamie stroked my head, “Dinna ever say that. If it makes ye feel any better, the wee lad has asked for ye almost every night at story time.”

“He has?” I looked up at him. “Now I just feel worse,” my head sank back down, but Jamie lifted my chin up with his hand.

“Ye’ve been grievin’, Claire. We have time, he’s no goin’ anywhere,” he smirked. “If ye feel up to it, ye can read to him tonight.”

After talking with Jamie, I was already beginning to feel like my old self again. All I really needed to know was that we truly were in this together and that if either of us had a bad day, we would be there to pick up the pieces. Of course I should have known this after the way Jamie handled my cancer. He’d been my rock when I needed him most.

“I think I’m up to the task. I can’t promise any good voices though,” I laughed and it sounded strange to my own ears.

“Come inside, Sassenach. Ye’ve got dirt on yer face,” Jamie smiled and stood up, pulling me up by my hands. He lead me inside and pushed me towards the kitchen sink, grabbing a cloth and wetting the end. Turning to face me, he put on hand on my hip and then dabbed at my cheeks, wiping away the dirt. “All clean,” he smiled and leaned in, kissing the wet spot on my skin.

I had missed him. His touch, his warmth. The way my body so naturally called out to his to simply hold me and do with me as he would. The past weeks I hadn’t wanted him to touch me even though my mind was at war with what I needed. Now… I never wanted him to stop.

My eyes fluttered closed as he kissed my other cheek, slowly moving his mouth to nibble on my ear. Goosebumps broke out across my skin and I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on lest my knees gave away. “I’ve missed ye, Sassenach,” he whispered into my ear and that was all it took.

“Oh God, Jamie,” I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks as I clung to him, my body shaking as his hands parted my legs, pushing my dress up around my waist. I heard the zipper of his fly and then felt his hand between my thighs, and he quickly guided himself inside of me. The doctor had told us to wait three weeks before having sex after the miscarriage.

It had been eleven weeks.

As Jamie thrust upwards, hitting that spot just so, I leaned my head into his neck, gently biting his flesh. He had me pressed against the counter, hands clutching onto my back so tightly I knew I would have his fingerprints there.

It was primal, it was needy. We were both desperate to feel something other than pain and I gave over to feeling the pleasure I so needed. “Jamie, I need you.” I pushed against him, circling my hips as he jerked again and again. “Sassenach,” he whispered and as he kissed me, I felt him spill inside me and only a moment later did I follow him, whimpering my own desperate cry of relief.

Slowly, he pulled out of me, tucking himself back into his pants and then helped me straighten up. I looked up at him, smiling and then started laughing. A deep belly laugh that echoed around the house.

“Why are ye laughin’?” He smiled.

“I just can’t believe we did that and Fergus could have walked in and seen us,” I covered my mouth with my hand. “We have to be more careful!”

“Well I didna have anythin’ on my mind other than partin’ yer legs, Sassenach if I’m honest.”

I blushed, “Well nor did I. Next time, let’s do it behind a locked door, alright?”

“If my lady insists,” he smirked and kissed me again, his hands settling on my waist. “Want to go check on Fergus now?”

“Yes, please,” I turned on my heel and made my way down the hallway towards Fergus’ room with Jamie hot on my trail. He was sitting on the floor with the Batman figure in his hand making him walk around. I felt a nudge on my back from Jamie and I walked over, sitting down beside him.

“Are you enjoying Batman?”

He nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Cape!”

“Oh yes, he does have a very lovely cape,” I smiled, picking up the nylon cape and waving it around. Fergus started laughing and I looked up to see that Jamie had gone, most likely to give me time on my own with our son.

I spent the next hour lying on the floor, playing with various toys. My dreadful fear that Fergus wouldn’t like me after all these weeks of me moping around started to fade away. He was talkative — with the few words he knew and very cheerful. While I would never forget the pain of losing Jane, my heart was beginning to lighten as I looked into the eyes of our son, seeing hope and love.

#four years #year three #outlander fanfic #curlsgetdemgurls #april 10 2016 #jamie x claire #healing

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arcaneranger · 5 years

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Final Thoughts - 2018 Long Shows

It’s finally here! I’m so close to being done with 2018 (...mostly. We’ll get to it) that I can taste it, but in the meantime, this list is gonna be weird, because there will be things that were already on other lists since I revised my rules of what should be classified how. This post is specifically for any show that ended in 2018 and lasted longer than 13-ish episodes (including shows that aired a second season during the same year or within six months of finishing the previous one), which means that there’s about as much on it as a usual season of shows, but they all had more time to impress - or disappoint me. I’m doing a better job in recent seasons of getting to everything, but last year there were unfortunately things that I missed (I was burned out in the winter) and just have to leave aside for now because I can’t wait any longer for these lists.

Anyway! As usual, let’s start with what I skipped!

* The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of the Commandments, The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo S2, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, Garo: Vanishing Line, and Mr Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues because I haven’t seen their previous seasons or parent works. (Yes, even Cardcaptor Sakura. Y’all can shoot me later.)

* Hakyuu Hoshin Engi, Beatless, and Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls because by the time I was rounding things up, I hadn’t heard a single positive thing about any of them.

Next comes what I dropped -

WORST OF THE YEAR: Steins;Gate 0 (4/10)

What a fucking mess this show was. Aside from a very noticeable downgrade in production talent from its predecessor, the plot meanders and flirts with maybe actually happening this time before just dropping out again, over and over, to the point where I was perfectly willing to drop it two episodes from the finish line because it was such an insult to fans of the original. (Also, continued disgusting mistreatment of the transgender character.)

Gundam Build Divers (4/10)

Taking the Build series from being a well-written kids show to an averagely-written kids show that hides itself in decent mech designs.

Katana Maidens (4/10)

I remember so little about this show, and granted that I did drop it after one episode almost nine months ago, but what I did remember was that it gave me strong KanColle vibes with laughably inconsistent animation and flat characters. Meh.

Darling in the FRANXX (5/10)

This should probably be lower on the list, but I got out of Darling while the getting was good, sixteen episodes in. I understand that future episodes of the show cemented it as crappy right-wing nonsense in addition to pushing worldbuilding out of its fortieth-story window, but the moment it lost me was much sooner, when the crazy yandere female lead was reduced, almost instantly, to Good Anime Waifu as a reward to the protagonist for going against his friends with his selfish motives.

Persona 5 the Animation (5/10)

In addition to not actually finishing in 2018, Persona 5 just did not give me a single reason to watch it when I’d already finished the source game, with middling-to-bad visuals (thanks to the switch from Production I.G. to A-1 Pictures, and not even the team that created the much better-looking Day Breakers OVA before the game was released in the U.S.) and phoned-in music, which is especially unacceptable in a Persona adaptation. Also, we all absolutely called that the studio couldn’t tell the story of the entire game in just 26 episodes.

Record of Grancrest War (6/10)

There’s people that like this one a lot, but I didn’t see much that interested me in the first two episodes. I’ve heard better things about the manga.

Golden Kamuy (6/10)

I had problems with the first half of Golden Kamuy that the second half simply didn’t fix, and it became difficult for me to keep watching - the show still interrupted almost every fight scene with a dick joke, but still wanted to maintain a serious and occasionally frightening tone - and those things simply don’t go together. It needed to either spend more time being funny, or keep its lowest-common-denominator humor out of the fights.

Next, I have two shows that are (potentially permanently) On Hold, simply because it’s time for me to move on and I don’t have the time or energy to marathon them when the Winter shows are starting to wrap up:

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, because even though I initially dropped it, I’ve heard a lot of good things since and I want to eventually give it another shot.

Yowamushi Pedal Glory Line, because despite the fact that I still enjoyed the previous season, this one started right in the middle of my burnout and I only heard bad things about it. I’ll get to it eventually, but it’s a shame that this series has been on a clear trend downwards since its revival.

And finally, the stuff I finished!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (6/10)

Keep in mind that this is here entirely on the merits of its aesthetic and its side characters - in the end, Ancient Magus’ Bride is a Beauty and the Beast story where the beast gets what he wants without learning to be less of a dick or even apologizing for his clearly wrong actions.

Major 2nd (7/10)

Always pleased to have even just Good sports shows around, and this one is a very effective reboot of a classic series that’s never made its way stateside (man, the underperformance of Big Windup! really did a lot of damage to this genre in the West). With good character development and a decent second-generation premise, Major 2nd has the potential to be the beginning of a solid baseball story, assuming that it gets a needed followup.

IDOLiSH7 (7/10)

I dropped IDOLiSH7 when it first aired, and though I wound up enjoying it after I was very strongly urged to revisit it, the problems it started with never quite left it behind - that is, it has an okay cast of characters but doesn’t present even passable performance sequences, and if you’re going to include big song-and-dance numbers, they have to be good, or you may as well just be UtaPri.

ClassicaLoid Season 2 (8/10)

In 2017, I gave the first season of ClassicaLoid a near-perfect 9/10, and while this season gives us a satisfying conclusion to the story, it does things both a little better than the first, and also not quite as great. It’s story is much more well-integrated over the runtime so it doesn’t happen all at once in a few chunks, and the jokes that work are still absolute genius, but there’s simply too much that doesn’t quite land correctly, and a little too much immature humor, for it to reach the same lofty Hall of Fame heights as the first season. Still, one of the most underrated shows I’ve ever seen.

My Hero Academia Season 3 (8/10)

God, Izuku in that onesie is too damn cute.

My problems with Hero Academia are frustratingly persistent - the show is at its best when the students are competing with other students, because outside of last season’s Stain (a villain whose motivation is specifically related to the world of MHA), the villains are just not at all compelling and they all seem a little too generic for their own good. I just want Horikoshi to be a little bit less predictable of an author and do a little less reading of the Standard Shounen Playbook. Luckily, when it works, it works magnificently.

March Comes in Like a Lion S2 (8/10)

March remains director/auteur Akiyuki Shinbo’s most accessible work, and one of his masterpieces, as a well-paced and marvelously moody story of a depressed shogi prodigy learning to be a normal teenager before his youth completely passes him by, and the fantastic characters that surround him with their own complex problems and motivations. I just really, really hope it gets a third season eventually, because this one did not leave off on a satisfying conclusion.

Speaking of which...

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma S3 (9/10)

It’s almost a shame that My Hero Academia became hugely popular purely based on its accessibility to American audiences, because Food Wars pretty squarely deserves to be the reigning Shonen Jump king - each season has only improved on the previous one, and this one was based entirely on a continuing arc that could only have happened in the universe of this show, Fighting Food Fascism. That being said, it also leaves off right in the middle of the arc (because it had almost caught up to the manga), meaning that we have to hope that it can remain relevant long enough for there to be enough source material for another season. I’ll be crossing my fingers until they snap.

Banana Fish (9/10)

Yes, this has risen a point since my review, but Banana Fish still deserves to be thought of as both a complete masterwork of crime fiction, being fantastically paced and expertly plotted in the use of its many, many twists, and a work that disappointed the side of me that hoped that, in adapting it into the modern day, MAPPA could have managed to get the author to let them depict what is clearly a queer relationship with the authenticity and legitimacy that it deserved. It’s still amazing, though, and Amazon should be pushing it with their most lavishly-made originals. At least it was the last noitaminA show they’ll get to totally bury.

And, finally, the one you all saw coming.

BEST OF THE YEAR: Lupin the 3rd Part V (10/10)

Lupin is, quite simply, one of the pinnacles of the medium. A simple idea that can (and did) go in thousands of different directions, handled by highly creative writers and an animation staff that has been knocking it out of the park for years, despite the fact that it is criminally (heh) unrecognized in the West. To put it simply, there’s a very, very good reason that it’s been around since the 70′s.

Okay! All I have left to do is finish Dragon Pilot (waiting on a friend) and we can get the last two lists out of the way! We’re almost done...

#multi 2018 #arcaneanime #year end anime list #final thoughts #lupin the third #my hero academia #banana fish #food wars #the ancient magus bride #March Comes in Like a Lion #idolish7 #major 2nd

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emmea12 · 5 years

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Making Lists (Steve Harrington x Henderson OFC)

Beth Henderson made lists when she was nervous or anxious. Usually they were scrawled out on napkins or the corners of magazines. They were all over her bedroom and bag. When she was in school her notebooks had been covered in them and her locker had been full of the small scraps of paper. This list was personal, however and was all in her head. It was reciting itself over and over again: get rid of the blood, get him into clean clothes, food, patch him up, sleep.

Beth makes a list of things to do to put Steve back together again after Starcourt.

Originally posted on AO3 Making Lists

It was 24 hours since Beth Henderson had heard from her brother, which in and of itself wasn’t something to be particularly concerned with. The kid really didn’t have the forethought or even just common decency to call home any time he made plans with his friends. Everything felt like the end of the world, or the most important thing in the world to kids his age. He had no patience, no self restraint, and no problem doing exactly what he wanted to do at any given time. Beth however, tried to convince herself that everything was fine. His bike was gone out of the garage so he was probably just hanging out with his friends. She ignored the flashbacks of Will Beyers being taken to the Upside Down. Dustin was safe. He had to be. What concerned her was that it had also been over 24 hours since she’d spoken to Steve, and that was cause for some serious concern. Steve wasn’t the type to break promises. Not now at least. This new, semi-responsible, and largely less of a douchebag Steve at least called when something came up. So when she was left standing outside of the library after her shift on July 3rd, she knew something was going on. Something she wasn’t going to like. Beth wasn’t in the dark about the weird other dimension events that had happened in Hawkins. Hell, she’d been a large part of it. Dustin got into some deep shit trying to get Will back from he Upside Down and he dragged a reluctant Beth into it. She survived but not without scars and a deep appreciation for the mundane. She also came out with a new family: a bigger, more diverse, and loving family than she’d ever had before. Her bother and mother were great, and her dad and his new family were okay, but this new patchwork of people in her life was the best thing to have happened to her in a long time. Beth checked everywhere the morning of the fourth: Steve’s house, the kids’ houses, the Palace, and finally the mall, where she found Steve’s car but not actually Steve. She also found Dustin’s bike in the rack at the front of the mall. Something was going on, and she’d be damned if she was just going to sit there and wait for the other shoe to drop. But wait was what she had to do because she searched the mall up and down and found no sign of her brother or her best friend. The manager at Scoops Ahoy said that neither Steve nor the girl he’d been scheduled with had turned up for work. Then why was his car in the parking lot, and where the fuck was he? So she went home and waited by the phone. Her mother was none the wiser to Beth’s fears. She wasn’t a bad mom, but she was the definition of oblivious. Everything was probably fine and she was just grossly over reacting, Beth kept telling herself. That was it for sure. She had such bad anxiety since Will disappeared and Eleven appeared at the same time the nightmare squad of monsters turned up. That night in the Beyers house had been one of the worst nights of her life. She dreamed about that night every time she fell asleep and thought about it every day she passed by the woods on the way to town or saw a baseball bat sitting in the garage. She’d seen the end of her life dawn before her in the Beyer’s living room with it’s hideous carpet and the horrifically scrawled alphabet painted on the wall. Darkness fell around nine, and the darkness brought new fears. She contemplated telling her mother a thousand times that Dustin and Steve were missing and that they were probably together and that they were probably doing something she wouldn’t approve of. How much bullshit could one town have? Maybe Hawkins’ was cursed? That had to be it. What mattered was the her little brother was gone, and her best friend was gone, and as much as she wanted to believe the best, she knew in her heart that they were probably tied up in some dumb shit, God knows where, doing God knows what. The phone rang loudly, breaking Beth from her musings and scared her enough to jump in her seat at the kitchen table. “Will you get that, Beth. My show is on,” Mrs. Henderson yelled from the living room where the TV was on at a deafening volume. “Hello? Dustin? Steve?” Beth said into the receiver without giving the caller time to answer until the end. “Beth, thank God. I was afraid your mother was going to answer.” “Nancy?” Beth and Nancy weren’t particularly close. They were friends, sure, but they didn’t hang out on their own, and they certainly didn’t call each other out of the blue. Something was wrong. “Yeah, it’s me. Listen, could you come pick your brother and maybe Steve up at Starcourt?” Nancy’s voice had lost all of it’s optimism it had held when Beth had answered the phone. Nancy know sounded exhausted and far away. “Why, maybe Steve? His car is at Starcourt.” She was fully aware that she sounded like a stalker. She really didn’t care. “I don’t know if they are going to take him to the hospital or not. The paramedic is looking at him now. I would take them but Jonathon and I have to deal with Mrs. Beyers and El.” “Nancy, what the fuck happened?” Beth said a little louder than she’d intended.

She waited for a moment to listen for her mother to stir or ask her what was going on. After it became clear that the television was more enthralling than her teenaged daughter’s phone conversations, Beth repeated herself. “What happened?” There was a deep sigh and a terse, “Just get to the mall, Beth. Now.” The phone line went dead and Beth’s annoyance grew ten fold. “Mom, I’m going out for awhile,” Beth said loud enough to cut through the TV. “Nancy is having boy issues and needs to talk.” Her mother waved her away without a second thought and Beth tore out of the front door with her purse and car keys. The entire drive to the mall Beth feared the worst. Steve was fucked up apparently, and her suspicion that some stupid shit was going on was confirmed. Just how dumb was yet to be determined. She got an idea of just how dumb when she spotted the flames. “Shit,” she mumbled when she pulled into the parking lot of the Starcourt mall amongst the ambulance, police cars, and firetrucks. The mall was on fire. “Miss, this area is restricted,” a police office called after her as she flew past him towards the line of ambulances. He didn’t follow her, deciding that an acceptable substitute was to throw his hands up in the air and mumble something about how he tried. “Dustin!” Beth called. She stopped and spun around in a circle until she saw her brother’s hat poking out of what looked like a walking blanket. “Dustin!” She yelled again and started running towards the ambulance where her brother was standing next to Steve, who sat wrapped up in a blanket at the end of the ambulance with a paramedic shining a light into his eyes. He looked like shit. His hair was a mess. His eye was swollen almost shut. There were bruises littering his face and his lip was spilt. More specially he looked like he’d gotten into a fight that he couldn’t win. Again. At the sight of his sister, Dustin’s eyes lit up. “Beth, you will never believe what happened.” Before the younger boy could go into a full synopsis of what happened, Beth pulled him to him into a hug. “Jesus, Beth. Get off of me. Everyone is here.” Dustin tried to pull away from her, but failed. “Give your sister a hug, dipshit,” Steve said wearily from his seat. The paramedic had moved away for a moment. Steve’s eyes met hers and he cleared his throat, clearly realizing that he was in trouble. Dustin returned the hug quickly and pulled away when Beth let him go. “Do I get a hug?” Steve joked. He winced and reached up to hold his head. “Depends on if my urge to murder you is gonna waver after you tell me what happened here.” Beth quickly reached out and grabbed onto Dustin’s shirt before he was able to run off and escape the conversation. “Not likely,” Steve chuckled and then winced when the paramedic touched the side of his skull. “You aren’t going to need stitches, but you’ve got a concussion. I think we should take you in for the night and observe you,” the paramedic said while taking his gloves off. “No, no, no, no, no. No hospitals. I’m fine. Don’t be left unattended, wake up every couple hours to make sure I haven’t slipped into a coma, watch out for slurred speech and double vision. I’ve got it,” Steve stood up and crumpled the blanket up to give back to the paramedic. “Does this happen to you a lot?” the paramedic asked incredulously as he further eyed the damage to Steve’s face. “More than he’d like to admit,” Beth answered for him while she ignored Steve shooting her a withering look. “Twice before this that I know of,” Dustin added. “Once!” Steve corrected. “Jonathon doesn’t count,” Beth added much to Steve’s surprise. “We don’t count the dumb shit King Steve did.” Steve smiled a little to himself at her words. “I really must advise that you come with us,” the paramedic tried one last time. He took Steve’s blanket and Dustin’s blanket that Steve had just pulled off of the boy and crumpled up like his own. Steve seemed okay enough. He was bantering and walking semi straight. Straight enough for the wobble to be blamed on exhaustion rather than the fact that his body was badly beaten. Beth felt confident enough in his ability to stay alive. “I’ll take him home, sir,” Beth said loudly over both Steve and Dustin starting to protest. At her words the conversation stilled. “If I notice anything weird tonight, I’ll pack him up in the car myself and bring him in. We’ve had some experience with this. I’ll know the signs.” The paramedic nodded and seemed like he accepted that as answer. “Should we go?” Beth asked. The smoke from the fire and the sight of Steve’s blood smeared all over his face and shirt was making her nauseous. “We need to get you cleaned up.” “Please,” Steve sighed. He sounded relieved, and exhausted and in pain. “I need to go say bye to everyone,” Dustin protested loudly. He ran towards Max and Lucas who stood next to another ambulance before Beth could insist they leave now. “Hurry up, Dustin!” Beth yelled after him. Beth looked over at Steve and met his eyes. “You want me to get the car? It’s a little walk away.” Steve shook his head. “I’m fine. Let’s go.” The walk to the car was quiet and strange. There was no banter like usual. His arm wasn’t draped over her shoulders or his hand wasn’t settled on her back as he led her to the car. He was off kilter. When they got in the car, and they waited for Dustin, the awkwardness of the situation really became suffocating. Things with Steve, at the beginning of their friendship, were strained. He hadn’t yet transformed into this new Steve. They’d gone to school together for forever but she wasn’t the type of person that would garner his attention then. She was smart and a bit of a loser. Not the sort of person that King Steve would bother noticing at all. That wasn’t bad of course. It was better to be ignored than be tormented by his friends. Then, three years ago all hell broke loose in Hawkins and Beth happened to turn up at the Beyers home while Nancy, Jonathon, and Steve were fighting a monster that looked a little like a walking nightmare flower shark hybrid. Things changed after that. Steve spoke to Beth in the hall and they studied together some. He sought her out at lunch, and they sat in on the kid’s game nights. Not a huge deal. It was nice really. But then Dustin adopted a demogorgon and that demogorgon ate their family cat. So how does Dustin fix it? By dragging Steve and Beth into a grand royal fight with said demogorgon plus several bonus demogorgons and they all almost die. After that, Steve and Beth became closer and closer until they hung out more with each other than they didn’t. Things weren’t awkward after that. They were family now: inseparable and connected. So this weird sitting-in-the-car-in-silence while the smell of the blood in his hair choked her was a year too late and far too terrible for her to accept. They might as well have been in Geometry class freshman year when Steve was assigned to her as a partner on a project and he said, “who’s Beth Henderson” like he hadn’t been in the same kindergarten class as her. “So,” Beth whispered awkwardly. “Wanna tell me what happened?” Steve closed his eyes and rested his head on the car window but remained silent. “Steve?” Beth asked gently when the silence became too much. “Hopper is dead,” Steve said suddenly with a sigh. It was as if the information had just breached the levee of his will like a river with too much water. “What?” It came out weak and detached. It lined with what Nancy said on the phone. Why else would she have said that she was going to have to deal with Joyce and El? “He’s gone, Beth. Dead. Never to be seen again,” Steve snapped a little too harshly. The weight of Hopper’s death was sinking onto him slowly. He was never very upset about the death around him before. This nightmare, the Upside-Down, the Demagorgon, had never taken anyone from Steve that Steve couldn’t survive without. He hadn’t known Barb all that well, and Bob even less. Even Billy, freshly dead and burning inside of the mall wasn’t a huge hit to Steve emotionally. Hopper though: Hop’s death just hurt everywhere. It was the type of hurt that made your stomach cramp and your ears ring. It was all encompassing. Because while none of the other’s had deserved to die, Hopper had deserved it even less. On the other side of the car, grief flooded over Beth in a giant wave. Hopper, Jesus Christ. “Fuck,” she said as she fought through the tears that threatened spill over. “Fuck.” Steve reached over and grabbed her hand tightly without looking at her. She saw him wipe his eyes discreetly in the reflection of the window and she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “Does Dustin know?” The knowledge that Hopper’s death would hit the kids even harder than it hit them was almost panic inducing. Hadn’t these children been through quite enough? “Um,” Steve’s voice cracked and he took a minute to gather himself. “I don’t think so. I don’t think any of the kids know yet. Maybe El.” “Okay.” Beth sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes again. “Not tonight. We can’t tell him tonight.” She squeezed his hand and let it go. Reality hit her all at once though. “He’ll find out tonight though won’t he? Will will find out and then they’ll all know. Fuck, we’ll have to bring him with us to your house.” She was rambling. “He can sleep on the couch. We can unplug the phone and take the batteries out of his radio. Hide his bike. We can-” “Hey, hey, hey, hey, it’s okay,” Steve said and leaned over to her seat, looking at her for the first time since they got into the car. His eyes were glassy: one swollen almost shut and both red and bloody. “It’s not okay! He’s going to be devastated. They are all going to be devastated. Fuck. What are we going to do. And Christ, look at your face. Jesus.” Beth placed her hand on his cheek gingerly. “What the hell happened? Where were you? You were supposed to be at the library. We were supposed to go bowling, Steve. Who did this to you?” Steve shut his eyes and took a deep, steading breath.“I will tell you everything. I promise. Let’s just get Dustin and get out of here,” Steve pleaded. “My head is killing me.” After Beth nodded, Steve settled back into his seat and rested his head on the window again. His hand however found her’s and held it lightly. A few tense minutes later filled with sniffling and silence, Dustin appeared at Beth’s drivers window, red faced and watery eyed. Fuck, he knows. “Do you know about Hopper?” Dustin asked quietly. The kid looked heartbroken. After Beth nodded her head, Dustin sniffled. “We’re going to stay at Mike’s house.” There was no explanation and no room for negotiations. The tight group of friends needed to be together, and that’s all that mattered. Beth could relate. Beth nodded. “I’ll call mom and tell her. I’m telling her that I’m staying with Nancy but I’ll be at Steve’s, okay? If mom calls, tell her I’m asleep.” Dustin nodded. They’d covered for each other too many times for there to be a debate or conversation about it. They had a mutual understanding. “I love you.” “I love you too,” Dustin whispered before he hugged her through the open window. “Bye Steve. Thanks for - you know - saving my life again, I guess.” “I’ll see you later, buddy,” Steve said with a sudden injection of faux energy. Dustin nodded and turned around to walk slowly back to his weeping friends. Twenty minutes later Steve and Beth walked into Steve’s parents empty dark home. “You want me to wash your hair out in the sink or do you wanna take a shower?” Beth asked quietly. She needed to do something productive to keep her mind busy. Putting her best friend back together was just the thing. “I kind of just want to go to bed.” Steve gingerly lowered himself onto a breakfast bar stool and rested his elbows on the kitchen counter. Beth was unsure if she’d ever seen someone look so exhausted in her life. “You’ll ruin your sheets,” Beth countered. As if that mattered at all. Jesus Christ, he was a nineteen year old boy. What the fuck does he care about ruining some sheets? “Plus, I think you’ll feel better without all that blood everywhere.” She recovered quickly and gained her control back because that’s what she needed now: some sort of control over the situation that felt too big for just the two of them. Steve sighed and went to run his hands over his face before he remembered what kind of pain that would induce. Beth could practically see the adrenaline seeping out of his body and his mind registering the pain piece by terrible piece. “I want to take a shower, but I don’t think I’ll be able to wash my hair. I was tied to a chair and fell so I fucked my shoulder up and I don’t think my arms will go up that high for long enough to wash all of the blood out.” Beth ignored all of that information because why the fuck was her best friend tied to a chair in the first place? She couldn’t deal with that. That wasn’t the important problem right now. One disaster at a time. “Okay,” she breathed. “Let’s go up to your bathroom and wash your hair out. Then you can take a shower while I make you something to eat. Then I’ll patch you up and we can go to bed.” Beth Henderson made lists when she was nervous or anxious. Usually they were scrawled out on napkins or the corners of magazines. They were all over her bedroom and bag. When she was in school her notebooks had been covered in them and her locker had been full of the small scraps of paper. This list was personal, however and was all in her head. It was reciting itself over and over again: get rid of the blood, get him into clean clothes, food, patch him up, sleep. Steve knew this well. He also knew that deviating from that list, especially when she was scared was an unwise decision for the both of them. Bringing attention to the fact that she was doing it was also unwise. So he only nodded and winced when he stood back up from the chair and slowly made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. He was followed closely behind by Beth. “Why are there so many stairs,” he complained. He was met with absolutely no commiseration from Beth who only followed and looked as if she was ready to catch him at the slightest wobble. As if she’d be able to physically catch him falling down the stairs. Wouldn’t that be perfect? Then he would have killed them both with his sheer inability to stay out of trouble. When they made it to his bedroom, he flipped on the light and was only a little embarrassed by how messy it all was. Beth didn’t pause as she kicked her shoes and socks off, rolled her pants up and made her way into the small bathroom. “Sorry about the mess,” he said and tried to pick up a few pieces of dirty clothing off the floor and put them into the hamper. “Don’t worry about it, Steve,” Beth said tersely. “Let’s get this done and move on. You’ll feel better.” Beth turned on the water to the tub on and he noticed that she carried a plastic cup in her hand to pour water over his head with. When did she grab that? As she waited with her hand under the tap, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath while Steve just stood there like a kid with no place to go. He kneeled down on the ground where she’d need him to be and watched her.

The water was beginning to steam but her hand never moved. The skin turned pink and then red but she kept it under the tap. “Beth,” Steve said. When she didn’t react, lost deep in thought, he reached over and pulled her hand out himself and looked up at her eyes that finally met his. “Steve,” Beth said weakly before lowering her forehead onto his shoulder and keeping it there for just a moment as she listened to him breathe. “Hey,” Steve cooed softly. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” He brought his hand up to her hair and stroked gently while she leaned against him. She was cracking a little. One deep breath later, Beth was back at it. She grabbed a couple towels from the cupboard and laid them on the edge of the tub so the hard porcelain won’t hurt Steve when he leaned against it. “Lean against this. I’ll be quick.” He obliged silently and relished in how gently she poured the warm water over his head and how softly she scraped his scalp with her finger nails, lathering the shampoo. Steve had a front row, perfect view of the red tinged water and suds being rinsed from his head as she poured cup after cup of warm water over his head to rinse it. “I think we’ll skip the conditioner this time around. Your hair won’t fall out. I promise.” She gingerly rung his hair out a little and tapped him on the shoulder for him to straighten up. “I’m gonna grab you some clean clothes, hold on.” He didn’t protest as Beth stood up and went rummaging through his drawers before finding a tee shirt, and a pair of sweatpants for him. Steve eyed her movements as she set them on the bathroom counter. “I’m going to go downstairs make something for you to eat and call my mom. You mind keeping the door open so I can hear you if you fall or something? I promise to stay downstairs unless I think something happened.” Steve nodded and she smiled weakly. “I’ll see what food I can come up with. On a scale of 1 to 10 how hungry are you?” “Like a 5. I should be starving but the nausea is keeping it manageable.” Steve looked a little pathetic with his bruised face and sopping hair falling into his eyes. “Good old concussions will do that to you,” Beth tried to joke but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Get cleaned up and yell for me when you are ready for food. I’ll bring it up here so that you don’t have to take the stairs again.” Steve nodded again and went to take his sailor shirt off as Beth made her escape out of his bathroom and down the stairs to the kitchen that had almost zero food in it but surprisingly no dirty dishes. She made a note on her mental list for tomorrow to drive into town and buy some groceries but tonight she’d have to do her best. Praise God he had a half a loaf of almost stale bread. She made toast and a couple scrambled eggs. Nothing too heavy and nothing too complicated. In the downstairs bathroom, under the sink, she retrieved the first aid kit and set it on the counter next to the plate of food and glass of water.

While she waited for Steve to give her the all clear she called her mother quickly and told her that she and Dustin were staying at the Wheelers. Her mother believed her lie without question. Beth almost felt a little guilty. Four minutes later he called for her. It was a little bit of a struggle carrying everything upstairs in one trip but she managed without spilling anything. Steve was sitting on the edge of his bed in the clean clothes she’d found him.

“Here you go. I hope it’s okay.” She handed him the plate of food and set the water on his bedside table. “Eat while I take a look at your face.” She pulled his towel he had used off of the floor and towel dried his hair gently and brushed it back with her fingers so that it was out of her way. She pretended not to notice his eyes closing when her fingers scratched his scalp. She dragged Steve’s barely used desk chair to the spot right in front of where he was sitting and lowered herself onto it before opening the first aid kit and pulling out some rubbing alcohol and cotton buds. “Are you not eating?” Steve asked in-between slow mouthfuls of eggs. He hissed when the cotton bud of alcohol touched his split cheek. “Shit, sorry, this is going to hurt,” she apologized. “And don’t worry about me. I’m not hungry.” “Bullshit,” he said. He scooped up a forkful of eggs and held it out for her to eat. Beth shook her head and pressed the alcohol onto the cut on his lip. “You need to eat that, Steve. How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” “I had some popcorn out of the trash can like three or four hours ago,” he tried to joke. “Well, as nutritious as that sounds, you need to eat some real food.” She continued her work, but he didn’t move the fork of eggs away. After thirty seconds of Beth trying to ignore the eggs, she sighed dramatically and let him feed them to her. “Are you happy?” she grumbled. “Not really, but better than I was 45 seconds ago.” He picked up a piece of toast, took a bite and offered Beth a bite, which she took without argument this time. They continued like this for a few minutes: Beth silently treating Steve’s broken face and Steve eating while intermittently feeding her. When the had both finished, Beth took the first aid kit and dishes downstairs and refilled his water glass. “So,” Beth said when she came back into his room. “Are you ready for bed?” Steve was still sitting on the edge of he bed with his head in his hands as if waiting for her to instruct him what to do. When he heard her voice he look up and nodded. “Yes, please.” He stood up and pulled the blankets down and crawled in bed while Beth watched. “Can I get you anything?” She asked softly. “You can get into bed, Beth, and let me tell you this story,” he grumbled sleepily. “I think it’s best that I sleep in the guest room tonight. Remember, I kick and I really don’t want to wake you,” she put her hand on his forehead and pushed his hair back but he caught her hand. “You won’t wake me up,” he insisted. “Change and get into bed.” There was no arguing with him about this. He’d made up his mind and unfortunately, when Steve Harrington made up his mind, it was resolute. At least when it came to her. “Please,” he added weakly. Beth changed quickly into a pair of pajamas that stayed in the bottom left hand drawer of his dresser mixed in with his teeshirts and then quietly got into in the other side of the bed. Steve looked like he was already asleep, but as soon as he felt her body weight lower in next to him, he wrapped his arms around her. “Ready for that story,” he whispered. “Tomorrow,” she said. “It will be just as exciting and heartbreaking tomorrow. I need you to rest now. Please.” She rested her head on his chest and noticed that he fell asleep almost immediately. —————————————————————————————————————— The plan had been to wake up every couple hours to make sure that he was still alive. That didn’t happen. When Beth woke up the next morning, or afternoon rather, she found Steve’s alarm clock unplugged and Steve asleep next to her. He was snoring softly, so she figured the risk of him being in a coma was gone. She’d seen some pancake mix downstairs when she was down there last night, so she went to the kitchen and started making pancakes. After ten or fifteen minutes, a groggy Steve found her in the kitchen. “Good morning,” she said brightly. She smiled and met him halfway with a plate of pancakes. He leaned over and kissed the side of her head affectionately. “Good morning,” he repeated. “These look great.” He took the glass of milk she handed to him and two aspirins. “Thanks.” “No problem,” she leaned against the counter and took a bite of the pancakes on her own plate. “I’m going into town later for food. Any special requests?” Steve’s eyes fell onto a small notebook that Beth kept in her purse sitting on the kitchen counter with a list already made for the day. It was long. “Come sit with me,” he sighed and patted the seat next to him. She obliged and he grabbed her hand. “Relax,” he said soothingly. “I’m fine. I didn’t die overnight and everything is okay. You don’t need a list to keep me together. You don’t have to worry about me. I promise.” “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Beth said and uncomfortably pulled her hand away from his and stood up again. “Beth-” “Steve, drop it. You could have died,-” “You don’t even know what happened!” “Yeah, but I can imagine. And I have eyes. People just don’t get beaten to a goddamn pulp while they are safe. That shit just doesn’t happen. Not to mention that the Startcourt burned to the fucking ground last night which I’m pretty sure you and my brother had at least something to do with.” “This is not the first time something like this has happened,” he argued loudly, his head splitting. “I can handle this." “Yeah, well this is the first time it’s happened since I’ve loved you,” Beth yelled. She regretted her words the second they left her mouth. The room was silent for a moment, only the echo of her words could be heard. “You love me?” Steve said in barely a whisper. “That’s not the point,” Beth argued. “But of course I do, you big asshole.” Steve stood up and moved towards her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I don’t know, Steve. Fear I guess. I really don’t know. It’s okay. Help me put together a grocery list so that you can eat more than carbs for the next week.” She tired to turn around to go back to her list, but Steve’s hands stopped her. He was a lot stronger than he looked. He leaned down and kissed her, an action that Beth promptly stopped by pushing him gently away. “Stop, Steve. Please.” She pulled away from him and left him standing there while she went to the kitchen counter. “I was thinking a roast for dinner. You can heat it up for a few nights for dinners.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and added carrots to the list. She hands shook as she wrote. “Beth.” “Mashed potatoes too. Those will keep alright in the fridge.” “Beth.” “Cereal for breakfast. Milk for sure. You like 2 percent right?” “Beth!” Steve yelled. His voice cracked and when Beth looked up at him, he looked even more broken than he did last night. “We need to talk about this,” he demanded. Beth closed her eyes and leaned against the counter. “Not right now.” “And why not?” “Because this is not how I wanted this to go. This is not how I wanted to tell you. That wasn’t how I wanted our first kiss to be. I don’t want you to decide that you want to be with me after our friend died, and you’ve nearly died along with him. I don’t want this to be some emotionally compromised thing that fizzles out when you feel better again, and Hopper’s death doesn’t sting so badly. Then, all we will be left with is what-might-have-beens and a broken relationship that means too much to be to break.” The words came out fast but strong and clear. “I’m not emotionally compromised,” he argued and took a stop closer to her. “I know what I want.” “Steve, stop.” Beth put her hand up to stop him from coming any closer. “I’m going to go to the grocery store. Lay down,” she looked at him and tried to contort her face into sternness but failed miserably. She blamed her damn mouth for all of this. “Please,” she begged. “I want to talk about this,” he said firmly. He could feel his heartbeat in his head as it throbbed in his skull. Beth closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine,” she said softly. “When I get back. We’ll sit down and talk about it. Will you please rest while I’m gone?” Steve was mad. Beth could always tell with only a glance what he was feeling and she needed even less than that to know he was livid. “Fine, Beth. I’ll see you when you get back.” He was out of her sight in seconds, having completely abandoned his pancakes. ——————————————————————————————————— The house was loud when Beth returned with the groceries. There were children inside, 7 to be exact, sitting around Steve who sat on the couch with a blanket on his lap. “And then, Erica and I stormed in and saved Robin and Steve!” Dustin said dramatically. “I can’t believe you teamed up with my baby sister, Dustin. She’s so damn annoying,” Lucas laughed. “Hey,” Steve protested. “Be nice. She saved my ass down there.” “I guess I will have to hear that story after all,” Beth said to announce her arrival. Steve’s eyes found hers immediately and then saw the shopping bags in her hands. He went to stand up to help and groaned. “Steve, I’ve got it. Stay seated.” Beth went to the kitchen without another word, and heard the kids delve into another facet of the story. All of that noise couldn’t be good for the concussed boy sitting on the couch. “We need to talk.” The words came from behind her as she put the food away, causing her to turn around quickly and drop a box of cereal to the ground. “Let me put the food away,” she said but a hand came down onto of hers and stopped her from continuing “No,” Steve said firmly. “Let’s go outside.” He led her to the backyard, into the summer heat. They sat on the edge of two pool chairs facing each other. Beth let her attention fall to a black inner-tube floating on the surface of the immaculate water. “We need to actually talk about this,” he gestured between himself and Beth. “What is there to talk about, Steve,” Beth said. “Why are you fighting this so hard?” “I’m not fighting shit. I’m stopping this before it gets too far.” “It hasn’t gone anywhere.” Steve grabbed Beth’s hand only for her to pull it away and stand up. “Exactly. That’s exactly what we need. We need to cool it. We need to take a step back and reassess the situation.” “I’m not even sure that you know the situation. I’m in love with you,” he stated as a matter-of-fact. That stopped Beth in her tracks. “That’s bullshit, Steve,” she laughed. “I’m not your type.” “What is exactly my type?” He ignored the pang in his chest at the word “bullshit” coming out of the mouth of a girl he loved. Beth paused for a moment. “Nancy Wheeler,” she said plainly. “I haven’t loved Nancy Wheeler in over a year,” Steve protested. “No one since her either. Except you.” “And when did you realize this? This morning when I accidentally told you how I feel?” “No. The night Billy almost killed me. Near death experience 2.0 as I like to call it,” he chuckled. “You took care of me after that too. Last night was like deja’vu. Except it wasn’t Billy Hargrove that beat me up, it was a Russian general and his cronies.” “What the fuck?” Steve smiled and put both of his hands gingerly on her shoulders. He fully anticipated her to pull away from him, and was a little surprised when she didn’t. “That’s a story for later. This is far more important than that.” “Are you sure?” “There are a lot of things I’m not sure of. I’m not sure of what I’m going to do now that my only source of income is ashes. I’m not sure what my dad’s going to say when he comes home and I have to tell him I got into another fight. I’m not sure if tomorrow a demagorgon is going to rip me to shreds. What I am sure of is that I’ve been in love with you for a very long time and I’m not going to just stand here and let you throw it away because you are scared that it’s going to ruin something. Fuck everything else. Fuck everyone else. It’s just you and me. And the kids, I guess. They matter too. So, fuck everyone but the kids.” Beth laughed and stepped closer to him. His hands moved from her shoulders to her head. “Yes,” she breathed. “I love you too.” Steve pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply. He ignored the stinging pain where his lip was split and the pain in his head dissipated into nothing. He felt better in this moment than he had in months. When they finally pulled away, Steve rested his forehead on hers and caught his breath. “So, we’re going to do this? We’re going to give this a shot?” Beth nodded and went up onto her tiptoes to kiss him again. “Hey,” a voice from the house yelled. “What the hell do you think you are doing?” Dustin came out of the house looking furious. “Shit, dude,” Steve stumbled over his words. His hand nervously went to the back of his neck. “I’m sor-“ “Not you, asshole,” Dustin waved Steve away dismissively and looked to his sister. “What the hell do you think you are doing with my best friend, Henderson?” Steve paused for a moment and finally let out a barking laugh. Beth stood in shock. “It’s not funny, Steve,” Dustin argued. “This is serious. There are rules. There are boundaries that must be honored. My sister can not suck face with my best friend.” “Jesus,” Beth laughed. She ignored her brother and stepped up to kiss Steve again. “Oh my God. I’m going inside before you two do something that will scar me for life. Try to keep it in your pants, Beth.” Dustin turned around and walked towards the house. “Shit!” he yelled before sliding the door open and slamming it shut.

#steve harrington #stranger things #steve harrington x ofc

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fanfics4all · 6 years

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The Giant and The Dwarf

Request: Yes, not sure if you do sweet pea but if you do can you do one where the reader is Toni’s little sister and even smaller than her and sweet pea likes her but everyone is protective of her bc of her height and no will let sweet pea tell her he likes her ? Cause they think he’ll actually crush her lmao. Idk if this makes sense but thank you if you do! 😊🖤 Anon

Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night

Sweet Pea x Topaz! Reader

Word count: 1463

Warnings: a little bit of cursing

Y/N: Your Name

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

Summary: You are Toni Topaz’s little sister and you’re shorter than her so everyone is extra protective of you.

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

Everyone thinks Toni is the smallest person they’ve seen, that is until they find out she has a little sister and see me. Toni is 5’ 2”, I am 4’ 8”... so being as tiny as I am Toni and the other serpents are very protective of me. It can get very annoying at times, like when we’re hanging out with Jughead, Sweet Pea, and Fangs. First off I have to look directly up at Pea because he’s a freaking giant! Second Toni, Fangs, and Jug make sure he only gives me side hugs since according to them he’ll crush me. The same goes for any of the other tall Serpents.

When we had to transfer to Riverdale High I thought they would chill out a bit more ya know because no Ghoulies were around, but no they went into overdrive! I wasn’t allowed to walk the halls without one of the Serpents with me (usually Sweet Pea but sometimes Fangs), I had to stay the hell away from the Bulldogs, and I could pretty much only talk the Serpents or Betty. It was honestly annoying. So here I am at lunch sitting next to Sweet Pea (looking like a child because of how tall he is!) with Toni on my other side. Fangs, Jughead and Betty were across from us.

“So Y/N/N, you down to play some pool at the Wyrm after school?” Sweets asked with a smirk.

“Pea you know the pool table is literally half the size of her right?” Fangs pointed out and I rolled my eyes.

“I’m down to beat you.” I smirked.

“Oh really? Care to make a bet?” Mischief danced in his brown orbs.

“How much you wanna bet?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of if I win I get a kiss and if you win well you get whatever you want.” I thought about it for a minute. It’s not like I haven’t thought about kissing Sweets before since I did have a crush on him, I never told anyone but Toni and she brought up the fact that he’s a player. So I’ve pushed my feelings down and acted normal around him. He probably wanted a kiss just to say he did it.

“Alright, if I win you have to buy my drinks for a week!”

“Deal!” He smirked and we shook on it. I pulled out my phone and saw I was late, I had to go talk to one of my teachers about an essay.

“Shit, guys I gotta go.” I said getting up and gathering my things.

“Go where?” Toni asked.

“I have to go talk to my teacher about an assignment.” I said turning to leave. Toni grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Take one of the Serpents with you.” I rolled my eyes.

“T, the halls are empty and I’m already late; just let me go!” She shook her head and ordered one of the other Serpents to take me to the classroom. I sighed but had no choice so I just left with him.

Sweet Pea’s POV

“What the hell Sweets!” Toni whisper shouted and smacked me on the arm as soon as Y/N left the room.

“Ow, what?” I asked confused.

“You just made a bet and your prize is to kiss my sister! I told you, you’re not allowed to like her!” I rolled my eyes.

“I can’t very well help how I feel Toni. Besides your reason for keeping my feelings to myself is stupid.”

“She’s not wrong though, you would totally crush her.” Fangs chimed in.

“What the hell dude! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Dude you’re like two feet taller than her.” Jughead pointed out.

“You guys make it seem like she’s made of glass.” I rolled my eyes.

“She might as well be around you.” Toni said.

“Guy I think you should let Sweet Pea have a chance.” Betty piped up and everyone stared at her.

“I mean Y/N can take care of herself.” She added.

“See! Cooper gets it!” Toni rolled her eyes.

“Nope, and you better change that bet!” She said getting up and leaving.

After school at the Wyrm

We were all hanging out at the Wyrm and I was getting warmed up by hustling some Serpents out of their money. I finished my 3rd game and walked over to the others.

“Y/N you ready to lose?” I smirked.

“No, but I’m ready for you to lose.” She smirked back. God, she’s so adorable.

“I’ll believe it when I see it princess.” I winked and we talked to the pool table. She got her cue while I racked up the balls.

“You can break princess.” I finished and stepped back. She leaned over the table to line up her shot but because she was so short she had to stand on her tiptoes. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. She was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. She hit her shot and didn’t sink any. I smirked and went to take my turn. This might be too easy.

Y/N’s POV

Halfway through the game I knew I was screwed, it was hard trying to sink shots when you just barely reached the table! Sweet Pea just had to sink the eight ball while I still had three balls left. I walked over to the table determined to win, I lined up my shot with my tongue stuck out in concentration. I pulled back and hit the cue ball and sunk one of mine. I smiled and moved to hit again, I sunk another one. I moved to line up my shot to sink my last ball before the eight ball. I took a deep breath and hit it but missed. Sweet Pea smirked and I walked over to the side pouting. Sweets lined up his shot and of course sunk it.

“Looks like I win princess.” He smile grew when he saw my pout.

“You somehow cheated!” I accused, I knew he doesn’t cheat but I was annoyed that I lost!

“I didn’t cheat Y/N.” He laughed. He walked closer and grabbed my cue putting on the table behind him. He pushed some hair out of my face and smiled.

“Now I believe you owe me a kiss.” I blushed remembering the bet. Sweet Pea leaned down and I went on my tippy toes. Our lips met and I swear I saw fireworks. I felt electricity rush through my nerves and it was amazing. I wanted more but of course it was interrupted. Sweet Pea was pulled off me and I opened my eyes to Toni looking pissed.

“I told you to change the bet!” She shouted.

“I told you to keep your damn feeling to yourself!”

“Wait what?” I asked her confused. Her eyes widened like she forgot I was there.

“Nothing, let's go.” She said quickly and grabbed my arm. I pulled away from her.

“No, what the hell are you talking about?” I demanded. She looked to Fangs and Jughead for help but they stayed where they were.

“Y/N let's talk about this at home.” She said trying to get me to leave. I turned to Sweet Pea.

“What is she talking about?” He glanced at Toni but returned his gaze to me.

“Y/N I’ve liked you for awhile now and Toni told me if I ever told you she would have my head.” I stared at him in shock. Sweet Pea actually had a crush on me? I turned to face Toni again and glared at her.

“Are you serious!? You knew he liked me and told both of us to keep our feeling quite, for what reason?”

“Wait you like me too?” Sweets asked shocked. Jughead and Fangs came over to intervene now.

“Y/N/N we just don’t want him to accidentally crush you.” Fangs answered for my sister. I started at them.

“Your reason for keeping us apart is because you think he’s going pretty much accidentally kill me?” I asked with a raise of my eyebrow. They nodded sheepishly.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

“That’s what I said!” I grabbed Sweet Pea and pulled him outside so we could talk privately.

“So let me get this straight. You like me and I like you?” He asked when we got outside. I nodded and blushed a bit.

“Well then.” He moved closer and cupped my cheek.

“Would you do me the honor of being my girl?” He asked with a smile, I blushed.

“I would love to Sweets.” His smile grew and his lips met mine again and the greatest kiss I’ve ever had in my life.

#riverdale #riverdale serpents #riverdale imagine #sweet pea #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea x you #Sweet Pea x Topaz! reader #toni topaz #toni x sister! reader #fangs fogarty #jughead jones #betty cooper #betty x jughead #fanfic #request

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futurewriter2000 · 6 years

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War ~ Part 2

A/N: DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS TOOK ME TO WRITE!?! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG! I HOPE YALL ARE HAPPY BC IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME TO WRITE THIS. Also enjoy and happy birthday to my favorite twins ❤🎉❤🎉.

REQUEST: can you do a part 2 to War (with the main pair being fred x reader) and it's set during the battle of hogwarts. fred gets injured pretty badly (he never died what are you talking about) and it makes the reader realize that she cares about him (in a romantic way) it's cool if you don't want to write this tho :)

TAGS: @siriusly-loves-snuffles, @shadyladyperfection, @nadinissavage, @geeksareunique, @ashkuuuu, @xinyourdreamsx, @maralisa124

Part 1

‘I must not tell lies.’

You repeated the sentance in your head as you brushed your fingers against the scars.

‘That was it. She has finally done it.’ . Not to your brother, not when you’re still alive. You continue to stare at the emptiness, your hand holding Harry’s and your grip getting tighter by the minute.

“(y/n)?” asked Harry worriedly and watching as how your blood seemed to boil from the rage you tried to hide inside.

You turned your head towards Harry, your eyes meeting his, then glancing at Ron’s and later Hermionie’s. “ I am going to kill her. ” you growled and stood up from the couch, making your way to the portrait hole.

“(y/n)! Don’t!” yelled Harry behind you but all you could hear was someone's mumbles.

Kicking and pushing everything and everyone out of your way, just so you could get to that bitch and all that seemed to matter to you right now was seeing Umbridge’s head on a stick. That’s what you wanted at the moment. Nobody will ever hurt him like this, not anymore. The Dursley’s were one thing but torturing Harry, hurting him... that was completely over the edge.

The twins laughed their way into the Common room only to find you storming towards them. The look in your eyes was terrifying but when Harry shouted to stop her, Fred didn’t hesitate to grab you from behind and lift you up. “FRED WEASLEY I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU WON'T LET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW, UMBRIDGE WON’T BE THE ONLY ONE MURDERED TONIGHT!” you bellowed, trying to get out of his grip and punching his back with your fists but his strong arms wrapped around you even tighter, taking you further away from the exit.

“(y/n), no! If you go to her and pull any kind of stunt, you will get expelled!” yelled Harry, walking over to you and Fred and pulling down his sleeves to hide the scars. “Trust me, I don’t like it just as much as you do but please just leave it.”

“Just leave it!?” you scoffed and stopped resisting, looking your brother directly in the eyes. “How can you even expect me to just “leave it” !” you spoke angrily, finally being put back down on your feet and walking closer to him. “I won’t leave it! I had enough of this from the Dursleys and do you think I’m just going to leave it!” you continued to growl.

“But the Order?” he spoke quietly, looking guilty as you continued to glare at him.

Sharply turning around back to the portrait hole, you brushed past Fred and George with your shoulders knocking them out of your way. “Screw the Order!” you retorded and walked through.

And as hopeful, as you were, thinking nobody would try and stop you this time, you heard another shout come from behind. “(y/n)!”

“Try and touch me Weasley, one more time and I’ll cut both of your hands off. ” you threatened without glancing back, your eyes directed to her office and your feet taking you there faster than you thought.

And just as you were close to grabbing the doorknob, his arms wrapped around your waist once again and pulled you away from them. “ Sorry, darling but I can’t let you do this.”

“Dammit, Fred! Put me down!” you shouted and started kicking around.

When the distance was safe enough, he put you down on the ground, hoping that you were going to stop but you only kicked him in the knee and turned your way back to her office. “So damn stubborn. ” he growled, bending down and holding his knee from the pain.

Yet it happened again. Right before you even tried to reach the doorknob, he jumped in front of you, lifting you up and throwing you over his shoulder. “Are you bloody serious!” you yelled and this time, you didn’t even bother to resist. “Look what she did to Harry! My Harry! You don’t expect me to just stand by and watch her get away with this! What would you do if it was Ginny! Huh?”

“Well I probably wouldn’t just burst into her office with no plan and no wand.” he snickered and finally threw you back on your feet. Before your hand even tried to hit his cheek, he grabbed your wrist and looked at you with a serious look in his eye. The look you have never seen before on him. “What were you thinking (y/n)? You have an internship waiting for you at the Ministry. You have everything planned out, why would you throw it all away?” he started to scold you.

Speechless by his words, you managed to get your hand away from his grip. It took you a moment though just to realize that was Fred talking. The never-serious Fred. “Because Fred..” you started with a big lump forming in your throat and tears gather in the corner of your eyes. Swallowing back the tears, you took another deep breath, turning around and grabbing your head just before collapsing on the ground and starting to speak. “Because nothing ever goes as planned. All I do is try and protect him. I have tried to do that my whole life and here he is, going into trouble over and over again. And he saw things, things even I didn’t see yet. He felt things, things so terrible that a 16-year-old boy should never see. I thought it would be different after he started Hogwarts but it only got worse. How can I protect him when I haven’t succeeded even one time?” you sobbed, hugging your legs and throwing your head on your knees.

He sat down next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulling you closer so your head was laying on his chest. “We can’t protect them every second of the day. Don’t you think I don’t know how you feel? Ron has been with Harry since day one, he was just in as much danger as Harry. The chess in the first year, Ginny in second, getting his leg almost torn by Sirius in the third year, Charlie in Romania, facing dragons every day, Bill in Egypt doing god knows what, Percy at he ministry where criminals are judged. The list goes on. You only have one to worry about, I have six. “

“Oh.” was the only thing you were able to say back to him. You had no idea how it must have it felt for him. Here you were, almost throwing your life away because of your rage while he was going through the same thing with his siblings. “How do you get through it?” you asked him, pulling away from his hold and looking into his brown eyes.

“To be honest, I don’t have a bloody clue. “ he forced a laugh and let his fingers linger on your palm. “But we can always get through it together.” he sent you a grin making you roll your eyes and get up from the stone cold bench.

“Seven years Weasley and still not giving up. “ you smiled at him and offered him your hand.

“You never give up on love, darling.” he only grinned and took your hand, spinning you around before holding you tightly against his chest. “And I have a feeling I am slowly winning you over.” he winked and tightened the hold on your hand.

“In your dreams.” you scoffed and pulled away from his hold, slowly walking away from him with a foolish smile plastered on your lips.

That boy. He just can’t seem to give up.

ˇˇ FLASHBACK ˇˇ

~1st year~

Running through a brick wall was definitely something. It was terrifying and fun at the same time and your heartbeat still didn’t slow down. Not for a minute. And everything felt so real. The world you thought never existed was real and there were young boys and girls running towards the train, saying goodbye to their parents and laughing. It was a dream come true. Oh, how you wished Harry was able to see this. This sight, the smell, the sound...

“Watch out!” you suddenly heard a shout before you were faced with a trolley crashing into you and a tall ginger-head later laying on top of you.

“Ouch.” you groaned and finally opened your eyes to be met with light brown color.

And the boy didn’t even move. He only smiled at you, his eyes observing your every feature and causing this strange feeling in your stomach. It was unfamiliar but his eyes were definitely the cause of it.

“Well then. Ger’off her Fred.” said another ginger walking your way and pulling the boy off of you. “Are you okay?” he offered a kind smile and lift you on your feet.

Your eyes still haven’t left the boy’s, whose lopsided grin still played on his lips as he watched you back. And as soon as you realized you haven’t answered the question you immediately turned to the older boy, smiling and letting go of his hand. “Yes. I’m fine. “

“I’m sorry for knocking you down with my trolley.” finally spoke the boy, taking a few steps closer and offering you a hand. “ I’m Fred by the way. Fred Weasley and this is my brother Percy.”

You shook Fred’s hand and nodded at Percy as he returned the gesture. “ I’m (y/n).”

“(y/n),” he repeated, tasting the name on his tongue. “Charming. ” he added before he realized he’s been shaking your hand the entire time.

“I wish I could say the same. Knocking down girls everytime you run through the barrier?” you quirked an eyebrow.

“I believe I was the one being knocked over by a pretty face like you.” he winked back, making his way after Percy and the other pack of redheads. “See you around, (y/n)!” he shouted before stepping on the train.

~3rd year~

“When she smiles, my heart starts to ache. And when she looks my way, I feel a tornado inside of me trying to break free. One look, one smile and I know she’s my only one.”

Your eyes slowly make their way to his, once again triggering the same unfamiliar feeling as always, you smirk before your eyes find their way back to the book. “Poetry. Charming.”

His grin only stretched wider as he jumped on the seat next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “ Every poet has its muse. You, my dear (y/n) Potter, are mine.”

“ Not giving up, huh Weasley?”

“You never give up on love, darling.”

~5th year~

“Potter!” you heard a familiar shout, causing you to stop in your tracks and turn around.

“Weasley.” you nodded and stuck the books in your bag as you knew this won’t be over anytime soon. He ran over, his twin left behind shaking his head left and right and walking away.

“Would you be the dearest and give it back to me?”

You furrowed your eyebrows at the redhead and watched as his infamous smirk only stretched into a wide grin. “Give you back what?”

“My heart.” he spluttered out and took a hold of your hands, placing them on his chest.

“Cheesy, aren’t we now.” you snorted, pressing your hands harder against his chest and pushing him out of your way. “You’re losing your game, Weasley. “

He ran behind you, stopping in front of you once again as his eyes stared at yours.

And there it was again. The unfamiliar feeling that grew stronger every time that boy locked his eyes with yours. “So you’re saying I have a chance?” he quirked an eyebrow, his arm pressed against the wall.

“You don’t seem to give up so I would say there is a slight chance. ” you smirked and brushed past him, hearing him jump around behind you. “Like I say, darling, you never give up on love!” he shouted from behind, causing your cheeks to burn and a foolish smile reappear on your lips.

ˇˇˇEND FLASHBACK. ˇˇ

And now we are here. 7th year and he’s still with you every step of the way. You may not have realized it now but this boy seemed to care. He seemed to care so much because he was the only one who saw you as you. Not the famous Harry Potter’s sister. Not the daughter of Lilly and James Potter. To him, you were (y/n) Potter. Just (y/n).

------

So how did you end up here? Knees bruised, arms scratched, lip cut and trying to survive this cruel war. Where was Harry? Was he okay? “Stupefy!” you shouted and the blast flew from your wand and directly at the Deatheater.

‘No time to think. No time to take rest. For mom.’ and another Deatheater has blasted away, “For dad.” you spoke glumly, your voice slowly fading away from exhaustion.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the Potter herself.” you heard a voice come from the pile of rocks, messy ginger hair walking your way. “Confringo!” he yelled all of a sudden, his wand pointing to you but the blast missing you by a millimeter, hitting three Deatheaters coming your way.

You turned around, seeing as they were blasted pretty far away, you locked your eyes with Fred’s once again, triggering the unfamiliar feeling in your stomach. “Fred!” you beamed and ran over to the boy, wrapping your arms around his neck and breathing in his usual cheap cologne as he wrapped his arms around your waist and lift you up. “Thank God you’re here. I lost Harry. I don’t know where he is.” you worried as he cupped your cheeks and smiled.

“Still beautiful as ever.” he grinned, making your roll your eyes and playfully punch him in the arm.

“ Unbelievable. No matter where we are, you are still going to flirt with me.” you scoffed, smiling as his eyes watched yours.

“ Like I always say. You never-”

“Give up on love.” you finished his sentence. “Come on. We have deatheaters to destroy.” you chuckled and grabbed his hand.

---

By now you were lost. Completely lost and exhausted from running around and fighting. All you wanted to do was to lay down and fall asleep. But you couldn’t. How could you sleep after you just witnessed your brother being dead and coming back to life? His pale skin and his weak and bruised body in Hagrid's arms. It was terrifying.

But it was over. It was finally over and all you wanted was to hold Harry in your arms.

And you did. He was holding you tightly around your waist as your hands were wrapped around him, both breathing heavily from all the exhaustion. “Don’t you ever do this to me.” you spoke sharply, pulling away from the hug and running your hands through his jet black hair. “Bloody hell.” was all you could say before pulling him back into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” he replied.

You lost so many people that day. Your godfather died, so did his wife. Colin Creevey, the boy you used to tutor. Such a happy boy, always asking you questions about your family, taking pictures as he did. So many lives were taken away but as you saw a group of redheads gathered around a body, you felt your life was taken away too.

You ran to the group, ignoring Ron’s and Percy’s sobs and keeling down to Fred. He was pale. Pale as the moon, his gorgeous eyes were closed shut and his lips were completely blue. “Fred.” your voice was shaky and lips were trembling.

But he didn’t respond. You put your hands on his neck, feeling a weak pulse through his veins and all you did was pray, leaning your forehead on his with noses touching. “Don’t you dare give up on me, Weasley.” you whispered, fat tears rolling down your cheeks as you carefully held his head. “You never give up, remember? You never give up on love.” you continued to whisper, your thumbs caressing his cheeks and your eyes closed shut.

You heard quiet sobbbing behind you, a hand placing on your shoulder and trying to pull you away but you stayed. You stayed with him. “Come on, Fred. Wake up. Wake up for me.” you started to sound more desperate, hoping, praying that he will open his eyes and retord something stupid.

Your heart was shattering into pieces because finally after years of the unfamiliar feeling in your stomach, you realized it wasn’t that. The feeling seemed to spread everywhere. Through your whole body, since the day his eyes met yours.

You pulled away, opening your eyes and seeing his eyes were still closed. Was this it? Will you not be able to see those eyes ever again? Those caramel brown eyes with a light shade of olive green?

Brushing a strand of his messy red hair away from his eyes, you leaned to his ear and whispered. “ I love you Fred and I won’t give up on you.” You kissed his cheek softly and started to get back on your feet, even though your knees felt numb you still managed to get up with George’s help. He wrapped his arms around you and let you sob in his chest.

Nobody ever saw you cry, not even Harry and for the first time in a long time, you saw the world go grey again.

-----

Days have passed and you managed to distract yourself with volunteering at the St Mungo’s Hospital. Taking care of patients was the only way you felt useful, helpful... It was also because it was the only way you’d stay closer to Fred.

George was always around, not leaving the side of his twin and you let him stay, even though it was against the rules but you wanted Fred to have someone when you were not around. So after it got dark, George left and you were finally able to be next to Fred again.

You approached him quietly, a warm blanket in your hands as you took quiet steps towards the bed. “Hey Freddie.” you smiled and put the blanket over him. “ I heard George talking before and there is no way in hell I will let you guys prank Ron with a pack of spiders again.” you laughed and tucked the blanket around him. You took his hand, brushing your thumbs on the back of it and softly kissing it. “I miss the hell out of you.” you smiled and ran your fingers through his red hair. “Wake up for me, okay.” you spoke gently before kissing his cheek and leaning towards his ear. “I love you.”

And that’s when it happened.

Long fingers were wrapped around your wrist as you tried to walk away. They were pulling you back and as soon as you turned your head around you saw those eyes again. Those gorgeous eyes of his and you couldn’t help yourself but cry from joy.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me.” he grinned, his voice low and raspy and his eyes still holding its mischief.

You felt your heart just freeze as did the time around you and all you could see was his eyes watching yours. You stood there, shocked with round eyes and parted lips. “Ar- you’re awake.” you managed to spill out, your fingers suddenly interlacing with his as you sat on the bed next to him. “You’re awake.” you beamed and wrapped your arms around his neck and jumping onto him. “You’re awake!”

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around you and breathing your floral and vanilla perfume. “ I am.” he mumbled in the crook of your neck before his eyes were met with yours once again. “And just so you know, I loved you from the moment I purposely crashed my trolley into you and I love you now and I will keep loving you until the end of days.”

“You always were a cheesy romantic, Weasley.” you smiled before pressing your lips to his.

#fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #george weasley #george weasley imagine #george weasley x reader #harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #the golden trio #goldent trio era

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manygalaxiesinone · 6 years

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3rd Party...Xehanorts?((A crossover discussion))

((Greetings Hee Hoo Dood, Prinnyfrost reporting for duty! I wonder how many people are still excited that Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally coming out.

After so long of waiting, the 3rd main title in one of everyone’s favorite crossover gaming series is finally coming out! In the meantime, I decided to look over the trailers of the confirmed worlds.

Some I’m excited about,

others, not so much.

The one trailer that caught me the most off guard was the Winnie the Pooh trailer, and that’s for two reasons.

The first is the fact that, unlike previous entries, you’re going around and actually fighting heartless in them instead of playing mini-games. This is one thing that actually disappointed me. I loved the fact that not every world in the games has to be about combat. It shows that Sora is capable of helping others even when there aren’t any heartless or nobodies involved to mess things up.

https://www.deviantart.com/inkoto/art/YourHeart-577335208

It was one of the arguments I made as to why an Undertale world WOULD work if they ever bothered to include 3rd party worlds, as unlikely as that sounds; however that’s still not as jarring about the second thing they showed in that trailer.

Eeyore becomes a Xehanort!

Yup! Everyone’s favorite donkey with a constantly missing tail that needs more love gets taken over by Xehanort. This blew my mind because I thought Xehanort was only going after characters that originated from the Kingdom Hearts series like Riku and Roxas, but this clearly shows that he’s up for nabbing anyone in his grasp. So that got me thinking, “Who else might he target as he go through other worlds getting ready for the upcoming keyblade war against Sora and friends?”

Now like before, I’m only sticking to possible candidates on the off chance of third party involvement. While I haven’t seen any videos about people theorizing who might be next on Xehanort’s list of people to infect with his heart virus (pun not intended), I do like to stick outside the box from time to time. Plus, there’s also that chance where someone could make a crossover fanfic and could take notes from this. And remember, when I mean “3rd party” I mean strictly “3rd party”. As in anything owned by either Disney or Square won’t count for this.

Which might be for the best considering that if Thanos were to be controlled by Xehanort while holding the infinity gauntlet with all the stones, I’m pretty sure we’ll have more to worry about than losing just half the universe. I’m also not going by just the villain characters in each of the worlds either. Anyone, hero, villain, or neutral could be under Xehanort’s radar on where to spread his infection. Basically anyone from a series that pops up to mind. Now with that out of the way, let’s get started. First let’s begin with the easiest one I could come up with,

Flowey from Undertale. The reasoning for this should be pretty obvious. Flowey has no soul inside of him, and considering that souls in Undertale work pretty much the same way hearts do in Kingdom Hearts, he would be considered a Nobody, the husk of Asriel Dreemurr.

As Xemnas pointed out in Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, nobodies are the easiest to take over since they’re born without hearts. While he did lie about nobodies never having one, he was telling the truth that they didn’t start out with one and it’ll take time for a new one to develop.

Xemnas: “A heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments with the heartless were attempts to control the mind and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes.”

Asriel didn’t become whole again until he absorbs the souls of all the monsters in the underground as well as the 6 human souls Asgore obtained. So I’d say his best bet take over Asriel is to implant his soul into him while he’s still Flowey or wait until Flowey starts taking everyone’s soul from the underground, become one of the souls he takes without him realizing it, and become the dominant one.

Actually, now that I think about it, it’s actually pretty damn dark when you realize this means by doing this, Xehanort has pretty much taken the ENTIRE underground hostage just to make Asriel his vessel, leaving only Frisk and Chara (who’s resting inside of Frisk’s soul) remaining. Ugh...and I thought the genocide route was fucked up. Speaking of crazy people and broken hearts, let’s head over to another series I mentioned might work for Kingdom Hearts,

Orphen. Considering that this is an old show that not a lot of people are familiar with, let me give you a quick refresher.

Orphen is the tale of a talented sorcerer named Krylancelo Finradi (or “Orphen”), who left a school of magic in order to save his sister Azalie after she transformed into a dragon by stabbing herself in the chest with a magic sword.

And believe it or not, it’s that sister whose going to be targeted by Xehanort next. Why?

Well, Xehanort seems to be able to control those that show darkness seeping into their hearts as if it found cracks and begins to flow through them, like water leaking through a whole. That’s the case in how he controlled Aqua, Terra, and Riku.

I bring this up because in the anime, Azalie was very nice and sweet. While she was the #1 student in the Tower of Fang, she never let it go to her head.

That is until one day where she confessed her feelings to her teacher, Master Childman (yes, that IS his name), the person who brought her and Orphen in while they were out in the winter on their own.

Surprise, surprise, Childman rejected her proposal stating that he only considers her his student.

It’s at that point the drove Azalie more into her studies. She became obsessed with power, aiming to become strong enough to impress and possibly surpass Childman. Orphen even says it when bringing up their backstory in episode 8 of the anime.

Orphen: ”Sometimes I could see a different side of her. Something that frightened me. She was intense, almost fanatical about her studies. Her curiosity was insatiable. I tried to tell myself it was just ambition, but deep down, I knew it was something else. Something dangerous.”

This got to a point where she attempted to experiment with the forbidden Sword of Baltanders. While it wasn’t clear of what she was trying to do with it, considering she stabbed herself in the chest with it, I believe she was trying to turn herself into an all powerful sorceress, since the sword has the power to turn anyone it cuts to anything the user wishes.

It didn’t work... It also didn’t help that her former colleagues began hunting her down and tried to kill her, which drove her even more insane, so she starts killing people! Do you get what I’m trying to point out here? Her obsession for power, her lack of sanity, she’s a prime target for Xehanort! Darkness has definitely found its way into her heart and it’s growing stronger overtime. The only issue I can think of that Xehanort might have is the fact that Azalie is well adverse with white magic. This includes mind manipulation and soul transfer, so there’s a good chance she could be at least somewhat resistant to him.

In which case, I guess he would try to take advantage of that Gaia machine in the video game. Alright, let’s see what else we could come up with.

Hmm, while I do think Shantae could work as a possible world, I can’t really think of anyone that could become a Xehanort. Then again, I should get back to playing Shantae 3 soon.

Hmm...the only possible candidate I could think of is Satsuki, and even then, that’s a huge maybe.

Pretty sure they already have their own true Organization XIII.

Okay! Now we’re talking! Sengoku Basara! Granted, while I only played the 3rd game in the series and watched the movie “Last Party”, I’m pretty sure we have a perfect candidate to become another Xehanort puppet.

At first, I was thinking about Mitsunari, considering his grumpy attitude and carries a huge vengence against Ieyasu (or Masamune in the “Last Party” movie). Clearly someone like the Dark Prince himself would definitely be a Xehanort...that is until I recall one important detail that Ieyasu points out in Oichi’s story in Sengoku Basara 3.

Ieyasu: “Back in those days, Mitsunari seemed to possess...qualities. Both darkness and light. People admired his exceptional abilities. He gained respect for fearlessly showing his true nature. I’ll admit, I was envious of him because of this.”

Although it may not seem like it, Mitsunari has a balanced heart. He’s cruel, and cold, but loyal to a fault and isn’t afraid of his true self. Xehanort tends to struggle when it comes to dealing with people with more balanced hearts. That’s how Riku was able to break free from his control without the aid of Namine’s lock. So, that’s fine and dandy, but you know who doesn’t have a good balanced heart?

Oichi Oda! After the fall of the Oda clan, Oichi became mentally unstable. She wanders around to different areas without much of a clue and in different hands, she could be kind and helpful or a threat to anyone she comes to contact with.

It’s almost like if she herself became a heartless or nobody, like she loss her sense of self.

That is until Nobunaga comes back to life, realizes what she must do, and she sacrifices herself to save the world. So, Xehanort may want to act BEFORE that happens. Like Xemnas said, a heart doesn’t stay lost forever. Okay, this is starting to get long so, I’ll bring up just one more possible candidate. For this, let’s head over to one of my favorite franchises,

The Disgaea series. I’ll be honest with you, this was more difficult for me than I expected. I kept debating about who could be the ideal candidate to work with.

At first, I was thinking Etna around the time she loses her memories due to the fact that she discarded them after so much frustration in terms of Krichevskoy marring another woman, having a child with said woman, and dying by the hands of Tyrant Baal. Guess everyone has their drastic ways of handling rejection.

Then I thought about Fubuki, a guy obsessed with seeking vengence against the fake Zenon after the destruction of the clan, no matter what the means.

Then there’s Mao, whose heart became in flux for years due to Geoffry pushing him to become the strongest overlord just to he can have a good fight.

Finally, I thought of Void, a guy who literally let a dark heart take over his mind after being jealous of Killia and accidentally killing his sister. I thought any one of these people would be a prime target for Xehanort, that is until my friends on Amino convinced me about what could possibly be the perfect candidate out of everyone in the entire franchise...

Nemo from Disgaea 4. And if you’re thinking that I’m just saying that because his name means “No one” in latin, like Desco points out in the game, you’re not wrong. It IS a major reason considering that he’s literally discarding his sense of self just to be a nobody. Remember what Xemnas said! That’s what the experiments he did with the heartless were all about! Also, remember that Artina spent her time as an angel trying to get Nemo to let go of his hatred, but overtime, he stopped hearing her voice and stopped believing, as if Artina failed to nurture his heart to see the brighter side.

Hell, knowing that Xehanort can time travel, I would be surprised if in Kingdom Hearts continuity, he would go back in time to try to convince Nemo to give into the darkness just for that reason. Kind of like if he’s another voice in his head telling him to ignore Artina and seek vengeance against the humans and demons. I can picture him doing it now actually, getting Nemo to turn away while giving Artina a fiendish smile as they leave. That’s how evil Xehanort is! It makes too much sense. So, those are the possible 3rd party Xehanorts I could come up with. Anyone you can think of?))

#kingdom hearts #the mun has spoken

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justoneday-namjoonii · 6 years

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Killer Killer. teaser

⌲Genre: SerialKiller!au | Thriller!au | Detective!au ⌲Pairing: Namjoon x Yoongi x OC ⌲Summary: She’s pulled from her dull assignments as a medical/crime investigator and put on a case with two peculiar fellas. The case gets more and more complicated as they try to unravel it’s mysteries..

a/n: Should I give this oc a name? I was thinking about it...

“Ah ha!” A young child with wonder-filled eyes gasped happily, holding a broken toy dog under the playground slide. Instead of playing duck-duck-goose, the little girl was determined to find out who broke Camila’s toy dog and left it here. She ran to the teacher, presented her evidence and found the culprit. That one day shaped the path of her life as a whole, she wanted to solve murder crimes. Quite the profession for a little girl. But that’s what she did. When she went to college, she had one goal, solve mysteries and crimes.

***

“As you can see,” Medical examiner, Amanda Baker, pointed to the horrific burns on the deceased body, the eager M.E’s to be were watching as she determined this corpses cause of death “he was burned, yes. But that’s not the cause of death. I found traces of a deadly amount of arsenic in his liver, a case like this is one the detectives would love.” She was all suited up so she wasn’t worried about the disease-ridden body she was displaying. With the soft click of your shoes, you peeked into the room to see your colleague giving her students raw training with the less than appealing deceased.

You swallowed before entering the room, being that you’ve dealt with graphic crime scenes many times before, this shouldn’t phase you. “Excuse me, do you have a minute?”

“Sure, we were just finishing up. Class, feel free to take notes on the board.” She dismissed the students and went to the sink to wash up and discard the mask.

"What’s up?”

"There's a case that the corporation has been really hush-hush about and I was wondering if you knew anything about it.” You two walked side by side through the spacious hall on the way to her office.

“I wouldn’t know Y/L/N, I haven’t been out in the field for a while. I’ve been teaching more than anything these days.” She pulled off her coat with an exhausted sigh, idly she took her multiple hairpins out of her ear-length hair.

You sat in one of her designated relaxation chairs for when she had to work late and you unbuttoned your uncomfortable collar shirt a bit. “Aw...”

“Why are you trying to snoop on someone else's case anyway? You’ve got assignments almost every week.” Baker knew your tenacity, you always looked for the case that would put you on the map.

“Yeah, but those are mostly local cases about break-ins and it’s been slow lately...” You exhaled.

“You should be glad, that means fewer people are getting murdered, less body for me to examine.” She laughed, skimming through her files to make sure she has her to-do list aligned for the next workday.

“I don’t only do murders, sometimes I do missing person cases...I don’t know, I guess I’m feeling like a private in an army full of generals.” You confessed. “Everyone on the 3rd floor are snobs and take all the good cases.”

Not like you’d really know what went on up there.

“What’s so special about the 3rd floor? We go up there all the time for briefing sessions and it seems pretty normal to me.” She knew that what went on up there was ‘Top Secret’ and people like you, weren’t qualified enough. You thought that was preposterous, not qualified enough? That’s B.S. You knew the reason behind not being allowed in the cases, your supervisor was a butthole and that was the only sensible reason.

“You know they’re lying to us, that's what corporations like this do, they lie to everyone except the inside man. I didn’t go to school to be a reporter but that’s what they have me do!” You got up and buttoned your blouse. “I signed up for this job to be out in the field, with the big league. Not behind a desk, in an uncomfortable chair and conducting research on crime scenes that have already been picked over. I’m a forensic scientist, not Lois Lane.”

“Take it easy, y/n, you’ll get your big break, I’m sure of it.” She put on her jacket, grabbed her bag and keys and began to walk out to the lobby. “Just hang in there, goodnight.” She bid you farewell.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Amanda, goodnight.” You waved goodbye and walked to the elevator with a plan in mind.

You pressed the dingy arrow button and waited. Most people were headed home since it was around 7 p.m and people had families to get to. Ding. The elevator opened and quickly got in and started pushing the close button in case someone was trying to catch it, you didn’t feel like awkward silence right now. When you stopped at your intended destination you saw that some of your co-workers were still here but just a few. You turned to your right and began walking towards your little office. Just as you were about to enter the room, you heard hushed whispering coming from the office across from yours—of course, you had to eavesdrop a little. Since it was fairly vacant, you got on your hands and knees, put your ear to the side of the door and listened.

“I can’t take it anymore.” You heard a low voice say through presumably clenched teeth.

“The hours are ridiculous, I wasn’t trained for work like that and I don’t work in the field! I won’t do it. Why don’t you ask someone else?”

That was Amir Perez doing all that whining...

“Because you’re my nephew and I want you to succeed. It’s not every day that we let Unit 2 people in on cases like this.”

You knew he wasn’t here because of his ‘fine set of qualifications’, he’s here because his uncle AKA your boss, is doing the family a favor. It was a bit of an understatement to say that you’re pissed. He’s been giving that guy all the good cases and he doesn’t even want them!

“I'm sorry, but I’m going home.” He suddenly slung the door open and you stood up in a frenzy to get to your office without being seen, not that they were paying any attention to you.

“Amir, wait!” You watched your boss scramble to follow the unmotivated 21-year-old take the stairs down but when he realized he wasn’t stopping he cursed.

“Damn it, that lazy kid.” He began to massage his temples, what was he going to do? He told the team he’d get someone from this unit, his first pick just walked out the meeting is in 5 minutes. Meanwhile, you stood in your doorway as if to see if he was going out or not.

“You.” You looked wide-eyed when he pointed directly at you with a hesitant expression, this is my only option.

“Me?” You wanted to make sure he was talking to you.

“Come with me.”

He started walking and you didn’t hesitate to follow him, this might be what you’ve been waiting for since you started this job. You looked around to see where he was taking you and he went opened the door to a flight of stairs that you’ve never even seen before. He went up to a large white door and pressed his hand to a tablet on the wall. When you saw that you were about to unload a million questions. But when that door opened, your heart fell straight into your stomach.

“Woah...” You knew the facility was huge but this was massive. It looked like a completely different place in here. There was state of the art computers, file rooms that were being skimmed through by the file organizers, there was even a large vault all the way across the room that you couldn’t even imagine what was in it. You looked around and saw that every office had a stately looking name on it, the more experienced detectives must work up here.

“Sir, what is this place?” You followed him around like a kid in the candy store, eager to find something to get into.

“This is Unit 5, it is not to be disclosed to anyone under Unit 5 clearance, you’re the exception.” He dreaded saying that. “I brought you here because you are now taking Amir’s position in this case.”

You couldn’t believe it. “Seriously?” You nearly squealed with excitement. “I get to work up here with-”

“Don’t get too excited kid.” He cut you off.

“Hey,” He went up to some guy working at a desk, “Get her a badge with all Unit clearance.” He left you standing alone after the command and the guy gave him a speedy ‘yes sir.’

“Okay, follow me to that room over there.” The guy got up from behind his computer and followed you to the room. “Stand in front of that background and in five seconds it will automatically take the photo.” He adjusted his glasses and waited for you.

“Okay.” You scurried over to stand in front of the wall and in seconds the picture was taken with a flash.

“Alrighty then, I’ll get this laminated and you just wait at my desk.” You went to his desk and waited for maybe a minute or so and he was back with two badges; one being a card and the other being a lanyard.

“Here you go, Miss.” He handed them to you and you stared at them in awe, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for...

“Thank you.” You put one around your neck and the other in your pocket with an uneasy exhale you went to find your boss. And on your quest to find him you saw a room with a bunch of pictures and evidence and you smiled as if it fed your inner investigator.

“Gather around everyone.” He spoke loudly and people scattered like ants to the middle of the room. You didn’t know where to stand or who to stand with so you tried to stand next to him but got booted out of the way—you settled for the far right of the circle of people you can’t say you’ve seen before.

“As you all may know, we have a sensitive case that needs the assistance of a Unit 2 member.” He made eye contact with you. “This is Y/F/N, she’ll be working with Min and Kim on this assignment.”

“Hello...” You gave a tight-lipped grin to those around you but you looked around for the two he called Min and Kim but they were nowhere to be seen.

“As for everyone else, resume what you were doing and have a good night.” He left through the main exit and you stood there excited but slightly lost. You inhaled and exhaled—stay confident, introduce yourself and do what you do best—that’s what your parents would say. You were still a bit confused about who to talk to but at this point, you were just happy to be here.

Some random guy with prominent dimples and a soft face came out of nowhere and extended his hand, “Kim Namjoon.” He smiled. “Nice to meet you, partner.” You returned his gesture with a firm handshake and boy, was he tall and handsome—you checked off your mental career-list, sweet coworker—check.

“Nice to meet you too.” You smiled. “I hope you don’t mind but, could you fill me in on what all of this is? I’ve never seen this place before and to be honest, I don’t know what my job is in all of this.”

“Unit 5 is the highest level in the corporation, we deal with everything from serial killers to speculated alien abduction, you name it, we’ve done it. For our case, we don’t have all the details yet, but we do know it was across town and we’ll be sent out there bright and early tomorrow morning.” He explained as you followed him to his office, he was wrapping up for the day. “The location is in this file, don’t lose it.” He opened his drawer and handed you the beige folder.

“Alright, sounds good.” You nodded in agreement. “By the way, where is um- Min?”

“Min Yoongi? He left earlier than normal today, he’ll be at the site in the morning.” He pulled on his jacket and left with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you.” You waved goodbye as your other hand loosely held the folder. You watched as he walked out of that door and you wanted to scream in excitement, but you kept your cool. There were still some people working on their important cases and some of them glanced up at you curiously—that was your cue to go. Even though he said there wasn’t much on the case, you knew he was being secretive about some of it. So, like the skilled professional you are, you decide to go get a little more information. When you looked around, you saw the file room was unoccupied, so you made your way into the dimly lit room. You opened up the file and saw there was no identified suspect yet, the case explicitly stated that visiting the site was required to finish the case file. It read file 19382, not an actual name, that was test file title so it wasn’t that relevant. He gave you an unofficial file.

“Of course.” You had a feeling that he was a bit too welcoming. Besides that, you knew how to find an undocumented file. You dug through the drawer that was basically empty, the file in the very front was the most recent. To find the one you’re looking for, you just needed to look a few files from it.

“Bingo.” You made sure no one was watching you before pulling it out to look it over, it was a thin file. It read, Woman reports erratic banging on her door in the middle of the night. She fears she’s being watched. Police have inspected the area and waited to see if the culprit would reveal themselves but that was unsuccessful.

“Interesting...” You read further, The next day, the woman was sent to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning caused by an unknown source. In critical condition. You heard shuffling outside the door so you took that as a sign to beat it. You snapped a quick photo of the file and stuck it back in its rightful home.

The fire has been ignited in you and this case will consume your life for as long as it takes to solve it.

#bts fanfic #bts detective au #bts scenarios #bts xfiles!au #namjon #yoongi #Yoongi detective #namjoon detective #bts angst #BTS au #Killer Killer #this is like a teaser #i don't know if any of you watch xfiles but it's got some of those themes #detective!au #horror!au #xfiles!au

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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“Yo, this is appointment viewing”A UFC 218 preview

Joey

November 28th

Not since LAST November-December have we had two genuinely stacked PPV events back to back. UFC 217 brought the sizzle with three title fights, former champions and title contenders competing for standing and a loaded prelim slate with HWs and BWs looking to find their place in the world. UFC 218 heads to Detroit with just one title fight but with it a host of potential #1 contender clashes alongside a flat out good undercard with relevant fights and action fights all across the ledger. The headliner is a short notice clash between Max Holloway and Jose Aldo, a pretty damn good 145 lb title fight that could either solidify Max Holloway as a P4P great or reannounce Jose Aldo's return to the top of the division. Under it, all four main cards are REALLY on point with potential #1 contender clashes at HW, LW, Flyweight and SW. I can't begin to express my excitement for this bad boy much longer so let's just get right to it!

Fights: 13

Debuts: 1 (Allan Crowder)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Frankie Edgar OUT, Jose Aldo IN vs Max Holloway/Al Iaquinta OUT, Charles Oliveira IN vs Paul Felder)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 13 (Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Alistair Overeem, Henry Cejudo, Sergio Pettis, Francis Ngannou, Michelle Waterson, Tecia Torres, Charles Oliveira, Alex Olivieira, David Teymur)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Angela Magana)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 11 (Sergio Pettis, Felice Herrig, David Teymur, Drakkar Klose, Alex Olivieira, Yancy Medeiros, Paul Felder, Tecia Torres, Max Holloway, Francis Ngannou, Alistair Overeem)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 41-35)- Allan Crowder

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 23-34-1)- Jose Aldo, Charles Olivieira

Second Fight (Current number: 27-37)- Justin Willis, Dominick Reyes, Sabah Homasi

Cage Corrosion (18-13-1)- 0

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- We should begin with the main event which in my estimation an improvement over the Edgar/Holloway booking. To explain, while Edgar/Holloway is a fresh fight and one that would've been truly awesome, we've seen Frankie lose to Aldo twice. Aldo is the superior fighter of that we have no doubt---and so seeing Holloway/Aldo II isn't as fresh but it is a better all around fight. The first fight in my estimation is one of those clear examples of "sometimes stats lie, man." Everybody, almost like a chorus of geese on a cold Winnipeg morning, honks about Aldo winning the first two rounds and that's true but also irrelevant. Why? Because if you WATCH the fight, you can tell that the second round was a round where stats lie. Halloway had no respect for Aldo's power, he marched him down, he took to give (in my opinion he won the round) and by the end of the second round, their respective reactions heading back to their corners should've told you who was winning or about to win that fight. It wasn't Aldo.

2- I also don't buy the idea that leg kicks are some vaunted weapon which has been missing from Aldo's game and will be some deciding factor. For starters, it's not Holloway hasn't faced explosive kickers in the past. Second, it's not Aldo's leg kicks are the key weapon to what was his dominant run to begin with. They're a tool in the act but no more a tool than his amazing takedown defense and superb angles. LASTLY this is a guy who has been rocked/dropped in 3 of his last 4 fights. He's been finished in 2 of them. The only guy who hasn't finished him is a guy who has one KO stoppage in the last six years (love ya Frankie!). Aldo has plenty of ways to beat Holloway and Holloway has plenty of ways to beat him in return---but leg kicks? Not really seeing it. Aldo hasn't been this big leg kick monster since about 2013 or so. They're a sparsely used gimmick at this point.

3- I wonder if the UFC is as frustrated at the 155 lb scene as we are as fans. We have:

-A champion who doesn't seem like he's defending any time soon.

-An interim champion who seems to be torn between waiting for the neverending stop of the McGregor/UFC table dance and taking a fight that risks him losing the biggest payday of his life.

-Two fantastic 155 lb fights that could determine #1 contenders for titles that don't seem to be getting defended any time soon.

-Dustin Poirier sitting on the outside looking in after dominating Anthony Pettis plus depending on who you ask finishing/almost finishing Eddie Alvarez.

Making matters worser than the worst worse, you have Nate Diaz potentially malingering around, the looming threat of Max Holloway or Jose Aldo finally making a move up as well as a solid crop of 155 lb talent who aren't close to title shot contention but would in theory be closing the gap if the division wasn't held up at the top so much (the aforementioned Paul Felder, a suddenly resurgent Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis is still young enough to turn things around, too too early to write off Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee after tough losses, Devid Teymur and the mystery that is Mairbek Taisumov). At some point something has to give along these battle lines and I wonder if that means biting the bullet, admitting that there's a need for it and opening up 165 lbs.

3- I do think, title contention wise, it says something that Alvarez/Gaethje is 4th on the card underneath Pettis/Cejudo when it comes to relevancy. Could be nothing, could mean everything.

4- There's a lot of hype and pressure on Francis Ngannou. That's probably well deserved but as I've said perhaps one time too many, don't get caught up in the narrative if he loses. Once upon a time, Stipe Miocic got his first real big step up and he was iced in two rounds by Stefan Struve. Shawn Jordan once put Derrick Lewis on ice skates with a fat guy wheel kick. This will shock and amaze you but fighters do improve over time and at HW, nobody is ever truly a lost cause. Division lives for chaos.

5- I know I'm the weirdo in this regard but I'm really excited to see how Sergio Pettis handles the challenge that is Henry Cejudo. Of all the Duke Roufus products, Sergio is the one who seems to most fit the mold of what they want. Functional in every facet of the fight while still having the flash, sizzle and workrate to keep people interested. Cejudo's rediscovered his power recently and his boxing has looked world's better. I have cardio concerns with him as you always need to but Sergio Pettis has always had an aversion to guys who pack a shot on the feet. This fight could be really great.

6- Paul Felder's stock, which continues to go up and down depending on the time of year, is probably as high as it's been since he iced Danny Castillo way back in 2014. Felder has always been really talented but at 33, the clock's ticking on him really making a run. He's won 4 of his last 5 fights but the only guy who remains int he organization out of that group is Stevie Ray. His losses are two totally acceptable ones (a decision to Barboza where he could've probably won, a 3rd round TKO stoppage vs Francisco Trinaldo in Brazil) and one totally bemusing loss to Ross Pearson where he spun for the entire fight chasing a bonus and never got it. Felder's inconsistency is partially the reason why it's hard to feel overly confident in him vs Charles Olivieira. Do Bronx is always dangerous for a quickie sub and he showed that vs Will Brooks when he got his back and subbed him in the first round in April. Historically Charles has won to the guys he's supposed to beat and found creative insightful ways to lose to the guys he shouldn't. He's always in a fight until it's over and Felder historically leaves enough margin for error where he could, in theory, give Do Bronx opportunities.

7- David Teymur thus far has passed every test put in front of him. He was successful in TKO-ing guys who he probably would've been fighting on the regional scene and then really broke out when he spoiled the Lando Vannata hype with a decision win in March. Teymur is one of those guys who mixes techniques well, never tries the same trick twice and has improved time and time again whenever he fights. He's a bit old for a prospect (28) and Drakkar Klose will probably be the bigger, stronger fighter but I'm excited to see what Teymur has added to his game during his time away. Dude has top 15 potential in my estimation.

8- There's going to be a lot of interest in the Waterson/Torres fight and fair play to it but I'm all about that Felice Herrig/Courtney Casey bout. I haven't been wow'd in Felice's more recent fights (never really impressed with Kish, thought Grasso won) BUT even having said that, she's finally matching her record with her boisterous personality. On the other hand, I'm all about that Courtney Casey violence. She debuted vs Joanne Calderwood on short notice and put it on her before she gassed. The same for her vs Seo Hee Ham where she started off hot and then the wheels fell off. She rebounded by finishing Christina Stanciu and has a "way more impressive in hindsight" sub of Randa Markos. A loss to Claudia Gadelha followed where she never seemed to get out of second gear and you could almost sense her upside would be "tough woman who lives on the outskirts of the top 10." She then went and beat the fuck out of Jessica Aguilar in a fight that wasn't competitive for a single minute of its duration. She is all action, all the time and Felice Herrig's size, grappling and developing hands are going to give her a real test. This fight is great.

9- Yancy Medeiros vs Alex "Cowboy" Olivieira is gonna be your favorite 90s gore action movie where it's all violence with no sense behind it. Just action figures ramming into one another.

10- Does the Ngannou/Overeem winner gets the "The UFC would like you to face Stipe Miocic on -insert date here-" sprung up on them?

11- So Dominick Reyes is arguably the most exciting prospect at 205 lbs in a long long time---but I can't help but feel like Jeremy Kimball is going to be a step too far for him in his development. I kind of think the UFC thinks so too since it's buried on the FP prelims where a loss can almost be hidden.

12- Would a loss to Tecia Torres expose Michelle Waterson as being a PVZ-esque hype job?

Must Wins

1- Michelle Waterson

Might as well just flow from A to B, right? Waterson came into the UFC off a loss after the organization had been hounding Invicta to free her up for a while. She went 2-0 and WME-IMG actually signed her and took over as her media reps. The response off of that was a loss to Rose Namajunas where she was outmatched from the get go. Waterson says she went out for a while to get stronger and balance her aggression in the cage (she felt Rose just swarmed her from the jump and she was too timid on the feet) so hopefully we're going to see a new and improved Waterson. She is still super markketable, talented and has exciting fights more often than not. A loss to Tecia Torres would be really tough on her career and would put a lot of things into question, primarily whether she's big enough for 115 lbs or whether this entire thing is really a new PVZ.

2- Eddie Alvarez

Alvarez exorcised a lot of demons when he beat RDA for the title and ended the bullshit about him just being a good fighter outside of the UFC who couldn't hang (loss to Cerrone and two ugly split decision wins weren't helping). He never had a chance vs McGregor where he was basically knocked out by the first left hand that landed. The last fight vs Dustin Poirier was, I suppose, the return of the Eddie Alvarez of old. He got hurt, survived, found whatever it is that makes him insane and then used it in the second round. A blatantly illegal knee ended the night for Poirier and Alvarez but for a BRIEF second, Eddie Alvarez was the man he was in all those wars. He's had a lot of wear and tear on his body from fighting great competition for little fanfare. The UFC version of Eddie Alvarez is a little smarter, a lot more chinny and the epitome of age kicking in too late to protect the body. Alvarez vs Gaethje really does feel like a battle between Eddie Alvarez retro and Eddie Alvarez off the shelf. Justin Gaethje has a ton of Alvarez in his game while being younger and hitting way harder---but does Eddie still have some magic left?

3- Dominick Reyes

205 lbs needs Dominick Reyes in the worst way. The under 30 LHW prospect got into the UFC on short notice after a viral headkick KO and he did little to disappointed in stomping out Joachim Christenson. Still I think we can admit that Christensen is ways away from being UFC quality and so Reyes still hasn't beaten someone of note. Jeremy Kimball isn't great shakes BUT he has a very deceptive record. He started his career 5-3 and since then he's gone 10-3 which includes a 1-1 stint at Bellator and wins over dudes with far more fanfare than he (TUF finalist Matt Van Buren, Cody Mumma and Chidi Njokuani all ring a bell). This is a sneaky test of Reyes' ability and I'm hoping he'll pass it.

Can't Miss Fights

1- Justin Gaethje vs Eddie Alvarez

2- Jose Aldo vs Max Holloway

3- Francis Ngannou vs Alistair Overeem

4-Henry Cejudo vs Sergio Pettis

5- Alex Oliveira vs Yancy Medeiros

#MMA #UFC #Holloway #Aldo #Medeiros #Oliveira #Cejudo #Pettis #Ngannou #Overeem

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the-tales-of-horror · 7 years

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We found my cousins "time" journal

Original Link By fknmadhed

Some days I get around slower than others... I don't even realise until I'm where I've gotta be and notice it took way longer than it should have.. I always wonder about that, often leaving the house without checking the time no matter how many times it happens to me, but it's an off and on thing and when I get in from work and it's maybe 2 hours later than I'm usually home I take it as it is. We rely on time so heavily that when it flys by it's so easy to just accept that maybe you weren't paying attention. So with that out of the way, I'm documenting times I leave and arrive by how long it takes to walk or drive.

3rd June, 8:47am - To work Arrived at 9:04am Normal day - This seems silly today

3rd June, 8:30pm - Heading home Arrived home at 9:56pm I went to the store, got some food for the night but I didn't buy much, nobody was really about so I was pretty much in and out. I don't really understand what took me so long, what would usually take me maybe 30 minutes has taken me an hour and a half... honestly it could've been anything I just need to get some food in me and to sleep.

10:31pm I'm still up, the tv's been acting pretty weird. I find that tv has a calming presence that helps put me to sleep.. though not tonight for god knows what reason, everytime I've started to drop off I'm being awoken by static harshly emanating from the TV.

Really I'm in two minds about what's happening with the time and all that, on one hand it's all just silly stuff that can be put down to my own mistakes or Whatever, but on the other hand there's just this voice going on in the back of my head telling me that it's not just that.

4th June - 8:45am Work Arrived at 9:06 Long day today, weird dreams last night. Probably will forget about all this by the end of the week

Left work at 9pm, arrived home at 11:32pm I didn't do anything. I didn't go to the store or clean up my desk, I checked the time at work, wrote it down and drove home. I'm sitting in my car still writing this, how did it take me over 2 hours to get home. How the fuck... I was driving the whole time, it felt like any normal journey driving at the same normal speeds. I don't want to sleep.. I even checked the time on my TV and just About everything I could check the time on incase my watch had messed up but nope. No such luck. The static is visible on the TV tonight, but the sound is different to how I remember it but my memories clearly fucked so I ain't even bothering I just turned it off.

5th June 11am I got to sleep in for a while, I had a crazy vivid dream last night after rolling around for a long while and finally slipping into a half slumber. What I remember from the dream is pure darkness, no color to the sky, no stars or moon or sun... just nothing. Like the sky was the back of a creature that had decided to walk away.

This thing has turned into more of a diary at this point but the dream felt related to what's been going on. 8th June, 12:16pm Nothing had happened for a while but then I was late to work today, I left the same time as i do every morning around 8:45am. I arrived at work for after 10. I lost an hour and I was aware of the entire journey. How does that even happen?

10:27pm So I've been thinking about this all day. like what it could be. My mind jumps between alzheimers and blackouts... neither sounding particularly exciting. But then right now I just looked it up online and there's this big thing around missing/losing time and how it might be related to aliens. Yeah. Right. Would take that possibility over the prospect of an untreated medical condition. 9th June, 1:15am Theres police lights outside I think. Kinda strange that there's not a single sound coming from the street but fuck it. Pretty annoyed by the fact that it woke me up and writing in this seems to get everything from the day out of my head, makes it easier to fall asleep.

9th June, left 8:45am and got in for 9:10am I'm dreading checking the time, when I close my eyes it's just numbers, it's all that I'm thinking about. I can't put it off and it's messing with how much work I'm doing. I'm putting this away for a while, my minds just fucking with me.

20th June I've been to see a doctor, there's no sign of anything that could be causing the memory loss or whatever it is. I went to be told that maybe my clocks wrong and Out of fear of sounding strange I agreed. I've checked just about every clock I've seen to double check on the days it has fucked with me. And also, I had another one of those dreams last night, darkness then lights and static like in the real world harshly vibrating my mind until it becomes unbearable, I woke up to static on the television and put it down to that. First time in my damn life I've had a recurring dream that I'm able to remember... still can't get the numbers out of my head.

22nd June, 1:16am Half in that same dream, I woke up to what felt like cold elongated fingers pulling me over to the other side of my bed and in the midst of rolling I opened my eyes to nothing but the damn blue lights outside my window again. I just had a look around my room cuz that shit gave me chills and after looking Until my heart was back to a normal pace I put it down to sleep paralysis or some shit like that, but then I just looked outside and it's definitely not a police car. There's three lights floating above the houses just across from me, I can just about make a dark shape out but it blends so well with the night sky that I don't know where it starts and where it ends. So needless to say my hearts racing faster than it was and I'm thinking about aliens like it's a possibility. I'm not gonna sleep again tonight, I'm gonna sit downstairs and wait it out.

So, I just got down and it's 3:40am What the fuck is happening to me

25th June I'm seeing little shapes when I move my eyes today, like something running directly across my vision, so much so That on my way to the store I tripped and cut my ankle. It's kinda pulsating right now especially when I see this weird fucking thing in my eyes...

26th June, 2am-ish I got woken up again, no dreams just darkness and the sensation of cold fingers almost as if they're allowing me to wake up. I scratched at my cut a little, turned the light on and there's these weird little fibres in my nails.. so I looked at where I'd scratched the cut and it's just covered in these strange fibres, it hasn't been uncovered since I was able to put a band aid on and it definitely wasn't like this then.

27th June It's worse, time has skipped I don't know how many times today. My cut is worse, it looks infected but it feels fine. The fibres haven't cleared up I've cleaned it repeatedly. I'm considering seeing a doctor but it always feels like a waste of time.

So I looked it up online, apparently I'm not the only one. It's something that seems to be related to Lyme disease, but I've never been latched on to by a tick, just never. I've not had any of the symptoms, just these weird fibres and the only explanation of what it could be are by dudes on YouTube with crazy eyes and the occasional little twitch or some shit.

Honestly is it just me, I wonder all the time if I'm the only one that constantly feels so close to death, like I'm not gonna live until I'm 20 until I made it, then it became 30 and I'm just over thinking this shit. I don't have records of what was in the sky the night of the blue lights, nothing physical has been Touching me, maybe the fibres are just coming from my clothes or whatever.. the weird thing in my eye is only there when I move it fast enough but it seems to be doing it far more spaced out than that first day. I think maybe I'm okay, I haven't been paying attention to the time so much, I've felt like it's just making me go insane.

2nd July Dreams again, lights again, the fibres are spreading inside of my skin I can feel it... I don't think they're fibres anymore though they're wriggling I think I can see movement

3rd July I definitely saw my skin move, my eyes jolted as I sat still too, like that effect in Fight Club where everything moves as the camera stays still. It made me super dizzy and grew until I passed out Waking up at around 11pm, which means I was out for a good 12 hours... waking up exhausted and shivery, my skin crawling worse than it has, a lot of the vision in my left eye is being blocked but only in movement. When I keep it still I see through whatever it is.

I feel like I'm dying. As I write this I'm giving into that thought. My hearts beating faster than it ever has, my bones ache, my fingers slowly forgetting how to type and my mind slowly forgetting where it is that I am.

4th July I woke up Fine The lights again, but they give me comfort now

5th July I do not see the point of this anymore I'm fine. The time does not skip anymore. I will work today.

And that's where it ends. Incase you're wondering this was my cousins 'time' journal let's call it. A few weeks ago he started acting strangely, the whole family had noticed and he opened up to me about the fibres and the weird dreams and time disappearing, I brushed it off and didn't tell anybody because it was completely out of character and I wasn't in it to worry anybody so I tried to get him help but he refused, frustrated by the doctors of the past I presumed. But I also suspected some part of him was enjoying all of this... now when he comes to our house he stares at things, he answers everything bluntly and cold with very few inflections to his usually colorful accent... he never sits down, he doesn't clear his throat or cough or sneeze I haven't seen him yawn, he hasn't cuddled me. He's a completely different person and I need answers about what has happened to my cousin... he's been making it clear that he wants to babysit my children and last month I wouldn't have even second guessed it. But he's lifeless.. he stares through me and talks at me, he doesn't respond emotionally and his skin is so cold. I watched him stare into my child's bed and replicate the nonsensical sounds he makes when trying to form sentences(being only just a year). I need answers, because if I hadn't heard what I thought was my son speaking that night through the baby monitor I may have not checked.. none of it is right. None of it makes sense. So I come to you for the answers I need and to share my story without everybody thinking I'm going fucking crazy. Because I'm scared that I am, especially after I felt the cold fingers he described Pull me over and wake me up last night.

#We found my cousins time journal #Horror Stories #TTOH #Scary Story #Reddit NoSleep

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khiphop-discussions · 7 years

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SMTM6 Ep.1 Commentary/Highlights

Nucksal telling the kid next to him about Tiger JK lol

Kinda feels like too much time spent on the producers right out the gate. We can get to know them as the season goes on. Well, we already know them to be honest. That’s my little problem straight out the gate.

Ok see, THAT car? That’s dope. The one from SMTM4 was trash.

The irony of Dok2 asking why Young B came back after winning HSR. I’m just gonna assume that was edited out of context.

People scared of JK but he’s a big ass Teddy bear. Pretty much the exact opposite situation of Sean on SMTM4 lol

Good lord, Punchnello’s eye brows...

uhhh,genius might be a little...let’s wait and see if he can convince me I guess

Awww, I think that was Nodizine that Bizzy failed 3rd. But he had to REALLY think about it. It’s all good though.

Yeah, he should have passed Nodizine if he had to think THAT hard about it. He was too critical. It’s all good though.

Awww Choiza!

Awww Gaeko!

Awww Microdot!

Why is everybody so adorable this season? So sweet and supportive!

I like Woochan. I see qualities in him that I see in other rappers who are in their teens that are doing real big things right now. So I’m excited to watch out for him in the future.

I don’t like people who come again? So much irony from the Jay/Dok2 team lol

I think Junoflo and Hash are at a distinct advantage though going off what Jay said (”I can already predict how they will act” or something similar) because we actually haven’t seen as much from them. Both went home really early and Juno was on like 2 episodes I think.

Come on Juno!

It’s so fucking IRRITATING to choke when you know you shit. I’ve done it before so I really feel for these people (not in rapping, public speaking at a competition lol)

Awww Junoflo! The way you see his confidence just grow all in a span of about 15 seconds while rapping. Heartwarming.

“I think if you’re handsome you should be better at rapping”. So much irony lol

Here they go with THIS shit again. The showing women prominently when a handsome male is onscreen but not much before.

Why Daeil be walking away from the person he rapping to? lol

His laugh is hella cute.

And he damn near snatched it out of Bizzy’s hand. I like him already.

I promised myself I was gonna be relatively nice unless necessary so I’m gonna be nice and think twice before I type lol

I’m actually not very familiar with MC Hansai so this should be interesting

I....guess not.

DinDin would have been nice. Thanks for that unintentional shoutout Haesan!

You know it’s real when you got Gaeko, the judge here, shook. lol

It’s still kinda old school...had Dean judged him he probably would have gotten failed. But as an older rapper (and someone who knows Digili) I think he got passed cause of the respect for old school from Gaeko

Awww Zico! (probably the last time I’ll say that lol)

(on to part 2)

Young B is wearing the cross earrings but GD (and others before Young B) wore them too so I’m not too sure how much of the influence is actually Young B but it is at least some of it so good for him!

Wow so much irony form Dok2/Jay team. Like how can y’all come for Young B and call him greedy for coming out so much but? like?...anyway...

Young B that outfit is a whole mess honey. Never again! You still my little homie though lol

Hmmm...B easily outclasses No:el but it’s all good. I’d rather see No:el face Hash Swan or Junoflo. Young B overpowers anyone with a laid back style. We already saw that with Osshun Gum on HSR. Not that he’s necessarily better, it’s just that his style is so strong and in your face. In the case on No:el I think he is just better overall though.

I mean...as long as none of those bitches pull out a gun though.

So we know that in real life Dok2 would never pass The Quiett lol

Like I said for that clip of episode 2, at least they are actually eliminating people for big mistakes now. It’s a double edged sword but I can’t say I don’t support it. Sorry Geegooin

Now we go to New York. Can’t wait to see Heesun!

LOL Swizz beats be waiting for subs too?

LOL “close”

He (jerry) lowkey looks like PaloAlto hahahaha if you look closely you can see it in there. Annnnd they’re doing that shit again with the women...good god.

Sangwook looks like Khundi Panda.

Heesun is my GIRL!

Awwwwwwwww get this cute shit off my screen because I can’t lol

She won’t win though. the Korean is gonna fuck with her just like it did Junoflo. It’s all good though. Just her being here and representing while being AWESOME is enough.

LA REPRESENT!

Wait...he didn’t give them out at first because people were too good and there might be someone better later? Good lord, that’s annoying as shit. Like I’m gonna have to not be nice right now because that can really fuck things up. He more than likely didn’t pass people who were better than him. Jesus give me a break...

Los look like he might beat yo ass. I’m not saying shit mean about him. He might come find me, we don’t live that far away from each other lol

I think the same thing with Heesun is gonna hurt Los. That Korean will ALWAYS kill you. Because rappers who aren’t as good as you lyrically will still kill you when you can’t even speak the language. Especially if they are already a good lyricist.

AWWWW Wonjae (talking about how he learned to rap by reciting Drunken Tiger songs and now it’s turned around like this being judged and passed by JK)

I’d rather see Nucksal go with the older teams, which I think he will anyway.

Can’t say I agree with Double K coming. Especially when he’s already won as producer. Like you can talk about Young B but he won a different show to me so that’s different. Plus, HSR is smaller, no cash prize, not as much notoriety. But when you’ve already WON AND as a producer? That’s kinda...yeah.

I’ll give him a chance though obviously. I like him.

This isn’t even Nucksal’s best by the way. He’s on like a 5 out of 10 in that rap he did. So that right there should tell you we’re in for a treat once he really starts trying lol

That’s all for now...see you for ep.2!

#smtm6 #show me the money 6 #smtm

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quarttoe9-blog · 5 years

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The Fan Within

Prior to Monday night, I can’t recall the last time I was truly nervous or stressed watching a sporting event. I’ve covered championship games, and had the pleasure of calling a few, but when you’re calling the game you are working and focused on the task.

Being in the stands, engrossed in the game is much different, and to be honest, it is more fun. More stressful, but more enjoyable.

This past Sunday and Monday I was at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, for games six and seven of the WHL Championship. The place was electric both nights, but the nervous anticipation and stress was double on Monday for game seven.

My nephew, Noah Gregor, plays for the Prince Albert Raiders. I’ve watched him play hockey since he was seven. I’ve watched him and his brother, and my sister’s three boys play hockey for the past 15 years. It was always fun to just sit back and enjoy the moments. From Initiation to Novice to Atom into Peewee then Bantam, Midget and junior for two of them. I never got caught up in the outcome of a game in Novice, or Bantam. It was simply about having fun.

The atmosphere in the old barn in Prince Albert was incredible even an hour before puck drop. When the doors opened, fans rushed in to claim their position in the standing-room-only area.

Fans chasing standing room spots before Game 7 between @WHLGiants and @PARaidershockey pic.twitter.com/SG2XaVSPrS

— Steve Ewen (@SteveEwen) May 14, 2019

I saw people carrying in milk crates, a few saw horses, and I even saw a guy with a six-foot ladder. Standing room was three rows deep, and if you are short you couldn’t see. These fans were veterans. They knew where they wanted to stand and came prepared.

The Raiders last won a WHL title in 1985. That was their only appearance in the WHL final until this season. That is a long run of frustration for a community-owned team. They still play in the same arena, but it has had a few upgrades over the past 34 years. Now there is a 400-person lounge on the second floor, and it was jammed an hour before the game and throughout. It remained open in the third period and into overtime. What a concept: let fans buy a beer before overtime.

I drove to Prince Albert on Sunday with my five-year-old son Beckett and my 13-year-old nephew, Owen. The plan was to watch the Raiders win game six, celebrate, and we’d drive home early Monday so I’d be back in time to host my radio show. The Vancouver Giants had other plans. They won game six. I decided to extend my stay at the hotel, extend my car rental and arrange for Jason Strudwick to fill in as host.

Struds won two WHL titles and two Memorial Cups with the Kamloops Blazers in 1994 and 1995. He was glad to fill in so I could stay for game seven.

We spent Monday playing at the skate park, watching videos and then playing at another park. I wasn’t nervous during the day, but when I walked into the rink the excitement started to build.

Fans were amped up. I immediately sensed a palpable level of nervousness. This was our second trip to PA during these playoffs, and my son liked to watch the Raiders warm up. He stood right by the glass in the Raiders’ end. Noah skated by one time, and pointed his stick at him. Beckett was thrilled.

We then made our way to our seats. My brother likes to be in the attacking zone (for two periods) and we had great seats in section 3. (There are 20 sections in the rink, numbered 1-20.)

FIRST PERIOD

When the Raiders emerged from the dressing room the cheering amplified. Everyone belted out the National anthem. “Go Raiders Go” echoed through the building for the first three minutes of play. My sister-in-law bought Beckett a horn when we came in round three v. the Oil Kings. He loved his mini-pirate horn, and thankfully the fans around us didn’t mind him blowing it for ten minutes straight to start the game.

Both teams were tentative in the first period. Each had nine shots, but no dangerous scoring chances and it was 0-0 after 20 minutes. Many of the kids played mini-sticks at various locations of the rink during intermission. WHL playoffs are great, but for young kids mini-sticks are equally important.

Watching those kids slide all over the floor brought a big smile to my face. “Dad, I forgot my mini-stick,” said my son dejectedly.

2ND PERIOD

The crowd took their cheering to a new level. When Ian Scott made a save chants of “Scottie, Scottie,” echoed through the building. With each passing second the anxiety heightened. Every shot had you on the edge of your seat.

Milos Roman! The @NHLFlames prospect opens the scoring for @WHLGiants in Game 7 of the 2019 @Rogers #WHLChampionship Series! pic.twitter.com/fBrgpcFkjx

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2019

Milos Roman opened the scoring 4:45 into the second period finishing off a great pass from Bowen Byram. Byram is a marvel to watch. He is so damn good. He is the best WHL defender I’ve seen since Scott Niedermayer. He skates like Niedermayer, holds onto the puck like Sergei Zubov in the offensive zone, and has the aggressive side of Drew Doughty. He is still 17. He turns 18 on June 13th. There is a lot of hype around Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, and rightfully so, but Byram should receive the same hype. In the future I won’t be surprised at all if people look at him as the best player in the draft. He will be a legit #1 defender and he will play 25+ minutes/night. He has so much confidence and moxie to his game and he is only 17. Unreal.

At the ensuing faceoff Raiders fans chanted “Let’s go Raiders.” Trying everything to urge their team on. Beckett blew his horn in unison with the words.

The pace picked up and the teams exchanged chances, and ten minutes later the place erupted.

Noah Gregor evens this game up with a beauty! The @SanJoseSharks prospect gets the @PARaidersHockey on the board! #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/59VoAcuym2

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2019

I haven’t jumped out of my seat in a long time, but I did here. The AHC went nuts. My brother and I high-fived. His face was a complete joy. Beckett was yelling and screaming. I think what he loved best about being at these games was he could yell and scream, blow his horn endlessly and never get in trouble.

The period ended tied at one. I needed the intermission to relax. Beckett wanted to go sit in the red car in the lobby. And have fries and ketchup. He was calm. My brother went and had a beer. I should have had one. I needed it.

3RD PERIOD

Everyone was back in their seats with four minutes left in intermission. No one wanted to miss a moment. The stress was building. Twenty minutes, or maybe more, to decide the WHL champion. Players work all year for this, and now the dreams come down to 20 minutes. I’m still hating my decision not to have a beer.

Period starts and once again the crowd ratchets up their cheering. Louder and longer. The announcer encourages them to keep cheering, but they didn’t need it. Many had been waiting 34 years, and they weren’t going away quietly.

Their loyalty got rewarded 4:25 into the third period.

Noah Gregor gets his second goal of the night! The @PARaidersHockey lead 2-1 in the third period!#WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/WCLYqkiA6r

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2019

Pandemonium again. My brother almost broke my hand when he high-fived me. Fans remained standing for two minutes. After we sat down Beckett looked at me, “Dad, who scored that goal?” He was cheering like a wild kid, but didn’t know who scored. He didn’t care. When I told him Noah scored he smiled, then quickly went back to blowing his horn.

Two and a half minutes later the Raiders take a penalty. “That’s a %$&#ing weak call,” I muttered to myself. I was a true fan again, questioning the officials. After the initial reaction, I tried to rationalize and think, yeah it probably was a trip. But I didn’t like it.

Bowen came on and this kid can cause a heart attack for opposing fans. He is so poised with the puck. The Giants didn’t score with him on the ice, but with 19 seconds remaining they tied the game. Roman again.

For those keeping score: Milos Roman 2 Noah Gregor 2. #WHLChampionship pic.twitter.com/qzGbyffMSP

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2019

For the first time all night the rink is quiet, except for the Giants fans and parents.

There was 11:30 to play and the game is tied at two. My stomach was in knots. I took a few deep breaths. Beckett sat down for one of the few times in the game. It was like a punch to the gut, but the fans recovered and at the ensuing faceoff they voiced their support with another “Let’s Go Raiders,” chant.

The teams exchanged chances, and the Raiders rugged defender Zack Hayes found himself all alone in the slot with less than two minutes remaining, but just missed the net. He was going far side. I thought he was going to win the game right there. How unreal would that have been, I thought. The defensive stalwart all season gets the winner. I love those kinds of stories.

The buzzer went. Overtime. Just writing this I can feel that anxiousness again. All fans have felt it. It is equally great, equally awful. You almost feel like you will throw up. Sports are so awesome. There are very few things in life that evoke emotion like this, and I could see the anguish and excitement on the face of every fan.

I decided not to have a beer. I didn’t have one the previous intermission and the Raiders scored first. I’m not even a superstitious guy, yet here I was telling myself my not-drinking a beer will somehow impact the game. It is preposterous to think this way, but I did. I laugh about it now.

OVERTIME

I was emotionally drained and the period hadn’t started. I hadn’t felt like this in such a long time. I loved it.

The period started and the crowd was urging on their Raiders. The cheers grew louder. Chants continued. The drama builds.

The teams exchanged chances, and at the 14:27 mark of the third period draft eligible forward Brett Leason took a penalty. The puck rolled up on edge just before he was about to shoot it out of the zone and it flew into the mesh. Delay of game Raiders.

The refs huddled to discuss if it went off a stick. It didn’t.

“Come on PK,” I say quietly. This is not the way a championship game should end. The next two minutes were excruciating. The Raiders managed to kill it off. I spoke to Leason on the ice after the game. “Longest two minutes of my life,” he said.

I leaned back in my seat. Took a deep breath and re-charged. I could’ve used a cigarette. I don’t smoke, but I hear they calm your nerves.

We entered into the final two minutes of OT and I planned to change my strategy and get a beer this intermission. Screw the superstition. I need a beer.

I never got that beer.

The celebration is on at the Art Hauser Centre! @hannoun19 wins the 2019 @Rogers #WHLChampionship Series for @PARaidersHockey in overtime! pic.twitter.com/JXqTrzMLZm

— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 14, 2019

Dante Hannoun scored the winner with 1:35 remaining in OT. Noah found him wide open in front. The Raiders bench piled onto the ice. The place exploded. I pick up Beckett so he can see as I jumped up and down with him on my arm/shoulder. He high-fived fans all around us. He was screaming. I was hollering. My brother was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Unreal.

The drought is over for Raiders fans. I can only imagine how Edmonton Oilers fans will react when their current 29-year drought ends. Or possibly St. Louis Blues or San Jose Sharks fans this season.

There was no knot in my stomach. I suddenly was not tired. Instantly all that nervousness was gone. I put Beckett down and we watched the ceremony. A few minutes later I looked over at him and he was crying. What’s wrong I ask? “I’m going to miss the Raiders. This was the best night ever.” I picked him up and consoled him. He is only five so his tears only last a few seconds, but it reminded me why I love sports. They create emotions. They make us feel, and when we feel we are alive.

I watched the boys mob each other. I saw some fans with tears of joy in their eyes. In a section over a gentleman in his 60s was sitting in his seat. Just taking it all in.

After we watched Noah skate around with the Cup we made our way down to the Raiders bench. I’m not great at capturing moments in pictures or on video, just ask my wife, but when we were on the bench I pulled out my phone and caught a video of Colin and Noah.

I saw so many players with their parents, or their billets, who are like second parents. Sharing success with those who helped you reach your goals makes it even better.

A few minutes later, I was standing by the bench, Beckett was running all over the ice. He thinks it is awesome he gets to go out there. Hulking defender for the Raiders Jeremy Masella skates over. I introduced myself and congratulated him. Masella is a classic, rugged, stay-at-home, third pairing defender. Selfless player. Due to an injury to Max Martin, Masella was promoted to the second pairing in this series. He played way more and he was excellent. I told him so, and he said thanks.

I’d never met him before and we spoke for a bit. I learned he is from Arizona. Chasing his dream in small town Saskatchewan. He couldn’t be in a better spot. His parents were in Vancouver for games 3-5, but weren’t here tonight. They hoped the Raiders would win so they could go to the Memorial Cup. Not every parent can be at these games. They have other kids, or jobs, and in that moment you realize the families that were there are really lucky.

The celebration continued on the ice. We took some photos and then I had to get Beckett to bed. It was 11:15. He usually is in bed at 7:30.

As we walked to the car he says to me, “Dad, I want to be a hockey player. Maybe one day I will win a trophy and score two goals.”

I hope he does, but mainly I hope he remembers the feeling of Monday night.

A very select few are good enough to play in the WHL, NCAA, USports or pro hockey, but we can all be fans.

And being a fan is awesome. I don’t get to be one very often, and that is okay, I love my job, but Monday was incredible.

Thank you to the Giants and Raiders for making the game so intense.

And to Noah, your performance made it a bit more special. Good luck at the Memorial Cup.

Recently by Jason Gregor:

Source: https://oilersnation.com/2019/05/15/the-fan-within/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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