#to those of you wondering: yes those are all actual bottles in the Survive bar

[tuinendraws]

Metal.

#yakuza 7 #yakuza: like a dragon #koichi adachi #osamu kashiwagi #to those of you wondering: yes those are all actual bottles in the Survive bar #as well as other bars in the series

[hibernationsuit]

something something... Max noticing Toby leaving the penthouse in the middle of the night thinking he's going to go solve things all alone like on Gorgon and instead finding him having a not a very good time in Grand Colonial's empty bar. Bonus points to our beloved vicar for knowing how to make people talk, especially those who would rather talk about literally anything else than what's bothering them 👍

have something i wrote at 2am related to this under the cut:

The bar was empty, quiet, and quite dark, with only a few of the room's lights working.

The whole view wasn't typical for the hotel they've been stuck in, which seemed always full of life. Max was surprised to see that they actually tended to quiet it down a little during Byzantium's local night time, so the guests would feel like home.

Or did they close the bar early because the visitors were scared the killer would strike again?

A lonely, familiar figure was standing behind the bar counter, facing the wall, a half empty glass of water next to it. Max hesitated to walk closer, afraid he could scare the captain.

"I know you're there, Max, this cutlery's too reflective to stay unseen."

Max shook his head and walked to the desk. "What the hell are you doing here at this time?"

"Trying to have a smoke. Don't want the penthouse to smell more of it," Tobias said, "What, thought I'd ran off all alone again?"

"No." The reply came too quickly, too loudly. "Fine. Yes. Not like there's a reason to believe otherwise."

Tobias shruged and lit the cigarette, flicking the lighter's button several times for it to work. "Did you see how many cigarettes Ruth had used? Twice more than Halcyon average. Strange, ain't it?" He paused, as if he was waiting for some kind of reaction. Being left without it, he cleared his throat and continued. "And to add to that, Halcyon average is three times Earth average. No wonder she had her initials on her lighters, probably wouldn't get done much without it if she lost it or something. Do you think she borrowed them from others or only used hers?" He blowed smoke into the air and watcher it disappear. "I quit almost twenty... No, wait, sorry, almost ninety years ago. Imagine how low the probability of me starting to smoke again was."

"Statistics keeping you awake?"

"Law, no. Just enjoy it a lot. Professor asked to use my work for epidemiological statistics as an example of 'best grade work' once..." His voice trailed off and he stared at his own reflection for a moment. "Knowledge is always good, but sometimes makes you realize how bad some things are going... Sometimes reminds how little time we may have left to do what we need to do, sometimes pokes at my health anxiety, sometimes points out how this colony's not going to survive if nothing will be done. And no one seems to care..."

"Epidemiology? Thought you were a chemist."

"Come on. Who can work on life-saving drugs without knowing shit about the sickness?" He pointed to the left. "There's whickey bottle there, by the way."

Max sat on the bar stool, reached for the whiskey and poured it into a glass. "You want anything?" Captain shook his head and chucked some of the ash into the ashtray, decorated with the Grand Colonial's logo.

Tobias leaned his head back to watch the smoke fly up, almost mesmerised by it. And finally creating a chance for Max to see his face, or why he stood in badly lit bar face turned towards the wall. Eyes still somewhat red, and their puffiness barely gone. "Law, what happened?"

Captain closed his eyes and sighed. "Do you think Phineas will complain when we go back to his lab? For taking so long?"

Max was surprised by the question. He hadn't thought about the scientist for a while, sometimes even forgetting he existed outside of the wanted posters. "Why do you ask?"

Tobias grinded the remains of the cigarette in the ashtray and finished his glass of water. "I started thinking about it accidentally. Couldn't fall asleep because of it. Went here to maybe get something to drink I guess, so I wouldn't wake anyone up at the penthouse. Instead I find the bar closed and no one in sight. And being alone, well, gets to you sometimes, you know?" He poured more water into the glass and added more ice. "Phineas, he... reminds me of my mother sometimes. She always demanded more no matter what I did. Never felt that I'm doing enough, or that I am enough."

"You're afraid he's not going to be happy that it took you so long to finally decide to skip the Hope?" The vicar took an ice cube, wrapped it in a hand towel and handed to Tobias. "I am sure he will understand the situation. It's not every day you get asked to endanger your whole life to skip a centuries-old colony ship full of people."

The captain pressed the cold towel again his face and muttered, "Honestly? Wouldn't be surprised if he thinks it's an easy choice. Considering all the 'small errands' he's had me doing."

"I can go with you and stand up for you, if you want."

"Gee, Max. Am I a little child? Doesn't fit the idolized 'Captain of the Unreliable' role Felix's trying to build." He chuckled a little, and continued, "I'd be grateful for that, though. Thank you."

"Always glad to help. Though, you probably need to solve the murder first, though."

"Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."

#my art #my writing #my ocs #oc: tobias #the outer worlds #outer worlds #captain of the unreliable #vicar max

[kspl200]

Memory Number 8 Sacrifice

Morning came and you could only tell from Lawrence's wristwatch that the sun didn't reach this cold basement. Mc was in bed she couldn't sleep all night knowing what she had done and with whom she had done it she couldn't feel more than a despicable being she knew that what she had done was to be able to survive and have a life outside of that basement even so she felt very alone Lawrence was sleeping peacefully on the other side of the mattress with only his white shirt and underwear mc, on the contrary, she was fully dressed as soon as Lawrence fell asleep she tried to clean the body with one of the bottles of pure alcohol, since not wanting to wastewater, he put on his clothes and tried to sleep without success until Lawrence's alarm went off pretending to be asleep so as not to see him.

Lawrence: (looks like she's still asleep but she's fully clothed that's kind of weird but I guess it's because she was cold women are more sensitive to cold who would say she'd do something like that in the middle of an apocalypse most adults are idiots feeling that they are superior because of their age, but I must accept that they were right in this I had never felt so good in my life so perhaps the drama they made when referring to this was not an exaggeration she asked me if she would have enjoyed it too, she he didn't complain about anything his face looked embarrassed but for me it's certainly lovely we didn't make much noise because of the zombies we're in the basement but it's better not to risk it I'm glad I could control myself because it certainly cost me too much I think I should go clean up, but the showers are on the second floor there shouldn't be a problem she should go take a bath too it must be uncomfortable after sweating so much, but I'd better go first and when I'm done I will not take her to bathe there is water in the tank it is not potable to drink but enough to bathe)

/Lawrence changed and quietly left the basement for the showers while mc got out of bed not knowing where Lawrence went cooking half a can of canned meat with a small pot of rice, salt, and what little pepper was left until Lawrence arrived in the basement to find mc serving on the plastic plates at the desks leaving the dishes ready/

Lawrence: wow you woke up in a good mood, you've never cooked before it smells great, enjoy

Mc: thanks, by the way, good morning

Lawrence: It actually looks good, it's not bad, thank you very much, sorry for not letting you know where I was going, I just went to the showers, after helping you clean up I'll take you so you can feel more comfortable. I know there are no things for the hair or anything like that but I got a bar of soap so that should suffice for now

Mc: thanks Lawrence

Lawrence: mc are you okay? I have no idea if what I did yesterday was okay for you, you didn't seem to dislike it anyway, I wanted to confirm if you feel okay

Mc: I'm just a little tired, that's all, don't worry, you didn't hurt me or anything like that, let's go to the showers? Lawrence: yes, of course, let's go

/ while mc is taking a bath, Lawrence is at the entrance of the bathroom trying not to let anything get close while he immerses himself in his thoughts /

Lawrence:(this should be enough to make sure she won't leave me and will obey me i guess after almost 3 months she finally broke and is in my total control psychology was right stockholm syndrome is powerful it doesn't matter if we now go to the safe zone she would stay by my side, but it doesn't seem wise to risk her in vain I wonder if only the safe zone would be closer if it were only I could try to climb as fast as possible I doubt those idiots realized the way zombies behave so I wouldn't have any distractions if she was safe in the basement there is food and everything I need how long would it take me to get a stable job 4 or 3 months maybe if I get it I'll bring her with me to a place where no one questions too much she wouldn't slave for the government and we could do what she wants so much it's decided i'll go to the safe zone i'll just get a nice position of power and bring her with me meanwhile she will be here safely locked up she would come maybe once a month to make sure she is alright)

/mc got out of the shower and they went to the basement together/

Mc: I need you to tell me what will happen? you decided we're leaving

Lawrence: I have a plan, I don't think you'll like it, but it's perfect, the best we could do is for me to go only to the safe zone, first don't make that face, listen to me.

If I go first with all the experiments I've done on zombies I'm very useful, I could show my knowledge and get a high position in the safe zone when I have it I'll bring you with me and we'll live comfortably and do just what you wanted I will not leave you alone at all I will come to see you once a month I do not think it will take more than 4months to get the job I'll make sure this is a safer place scaring away zombies is not a difficult task just trust me I would never leave you alone I do it because it's what you want and it's the best way you think

Mc: what you say makes sense, I want to trust you, but I'm afraid of being alone

Lawrence: I would never leave you I promise to keep my promise I'll come back for you just trust me /kisses mc's forehead/ wait for me understood I'll leave next week today is Friday meanwhile what could we do?

MC: Lawrence you are not afraid of what we did yesterday

Lawrence: No why should I be afraid?

Mc: Well, I had never done something like this in my life, honestly, I couldn't imagine doing it in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I had no idea that I was going to do it so soon, I was only interested in studying, but I always thought that I would do it. I would always take great care of myself so that nothing bad happened to me

Lawrence: What happened did I hurt you in any way? Because you didn't tell me I would have stopped, I tried to be very delicate

Mc: no, that's not that, but I mean, you know in this new world there are no contraceptives or any way to avoid any accident and both of us are only very young and I don't want to have more problems in a world like this

Lawrence: I've never thought about it that carefully, but you're right, it would be irresponsible to bring more trouble when we can barely ensure we have food for ourselves, let alone someone else, it was very irresponsible of me not to think about it

Mc: I don't think there will be many problems due to my schedule, but I don't feel comfortable or safe doing anything until I can ensure that we can eat 3 times a day.

Lawrence: I would never allow myself to be like those idiots who, even though they were poor, had so many children that looked like rabbits, it seems so stupid to think that you eat with love

Mc: yes you are right

Lawrence: Don't worry when I go to the safe zone, I'll get the stability we need at all costs and we won't have to worry about that

Mc: why can't go with you from the beginning?

Lawrence: I would work too much and the food we will receive will be less than what you will eat here you would be hungry, cold, and tired unnecessarily, part of me could not concentrate 100% on achieving a high position, it is putting yourself at unnecessary risk and allowing those idiots of hurting you because I would need to be attentive almost always to get the job and I couldn't protect you as necessary

Mc: seeing it that way you're right, it's unnecessary to go through all that

Lawrence: you have nothing to worry about, the only way for me to get away from you is death, I will never let you go, we will always be together until death does us part.

#lawrence dangerous fellows #dangerous fellows #fanfic #otome fandom #estocolmo #survival #lovesick

[southernersblog]

First Week in Boston 

As you can tell from the title, I have survived my first entire week living up North. Was I worried about this? Yes! I was very nervous about getting kidnapped and whatnot. But I have come to realize that everyone who told me that Northerners weren't mean were actually right.

In my very first honorable blog post I figured I would make it light and talk about what I have done this week and even some culture shocks I have experienced as a southerner living so far North.

I am thirteen hours from my comfort zone because I got the wonderful opportunity to work with Harvard Graduate School of Education or HGSE (which alumni pronounce as 'huggsy'). I am interning at this institution for eight whole weeks! So far I have been introduced to many lovely faces who have been nothing but welcoming. I have also been introduced to two of the projects I will be helping with. Due to these projects not being public yet, a lot of the details around what I am working on will not be mentioned in this blog. Once I am given permission, I will go deeper into what I have done to help with these project launches.

But what I CAN tell you is I am working in such a healthy and dedicated work environment full of great people. The two projects I have worked on are focused around familiarizing communities and families with the terms "social emotional learning (SEL)" and "culturally responsive teaching (CRT)". We are working inside and outside of the schools to build this group understanding of what these terms really look like when they are appropriate practiced, either in the classroom or in your living room! A certain school we are working with is a low income all girls school that ranges from grades Pre-K to 6th grade! For a lot of people, especially the ones back home in the south, they would argue that those ages are too young to be talking about topics like racism, sexism, and other prejudice that come along with SEL and CRT (not critical race theory don't freak out y'all). BUT these ages are not too young. That is one of the main points why HGSE working with these ages! Our reasoning is if children these ages can EXPERIENCE racism, sexism, and other prejudices then their counterparts that don't experience are not too young to learn about it.

Some culture shocks I have experienced here are:

1.) People honk their horns ALL THE TIME! They don't even wait a full three seconds at stop lights and such to blare their horns. Also, people don't blink an eye at it, it's just acceptable behavior. In the south you barely hear people honk unless it's serious.

2.) Restaurants on nice days open their windows! There are options of seating where you can sit right on the street view and have conversations with anyone that walks by because the window is completely gone! I find it a bit awkward but I did talk to a little boy and his father one morning so that was a sweet encounter.

3.) The movies are not lying about how much construction goes on in the city, all the sirens from ambulances, cops, and firetrucks, and how you can hear EVERYTHING from your window if you live in town like I do. Saturday nights are always the busiest especially since I live across a bar (that has a bouncer!). You hear everyones music, their laughs, and even their arguments. It is safe to say though this past weekend was a little wild because of how the Celtics championship game went on. Celtics lost by the way...

4.) It might not be all Northern states but Massachusetts is very eco-friendly! There are recycling bins everywhere, they charge to use plastic bags so you better bring your own, and at certain places to eat when you order a bole of water they come in aluminum bottles instead of plastic.

5.) Massachusetts is pretty clean for the most part, at least in Cambridge it is. I was a little shocked to see how little the homeless population is here too. I mean this was a great shock! I know there is a homeless population in Kentucky but you don't really have much contact with it unless you live in the few big cities that KY has to offer. And big city in the south is totallyyyyy different than big city up north.

I will end this with some weekly unsolicited advice. Anxiety is what keeps us from walking straight into traffic, sure. But anxiety should never keep you from doing bigger things. It is worth it to trust your gut and ignore all of that anxiety you may have, trust me.

#travel #education #workspace #massachusetts #boston #citylife #centralsquare

[muichiroslover]

HEY!!

I saw you made a part two on the meliodas angst.

I was wondering if you could make a part two of that ban angst where ban runs into y/n years later. Cuz she survived the demon by jumping into a deep body of water somehow and washed up somewhere.

I just think its would be pretty cool 😅

Oooo yes! I changed up the story a little if you don’t mind! I hope you enjoy this!

Part 1 here!

Pairing: Ban x fem! reader (pt 2)

Warnings: none!

Genre: Angst

_______________________________________________

Meliodas sits at the bar as Ban cooks up some food for when the boar hat opens

“Hey Ban have you heard about that masked hero going around?” Meliodas asks as he gets himself a cup of beer

Ban turns around placing down a simple breakfast plate

“I’ve heard of them” he says shrugging and the door opens to show a excited Diane

“Are you guys talking about the masked hero?? I heard that she’s actually a girl!” She says excited as she sits close to Ban and Meli

“Oh yeah? I wanna meet this Masked hero, after all with her around she’s been taking all of our work” Meliodas says cheerfully

“Eh she doesn’t sound that interesting” Ban says dismissively and Diane rolls her eyes at that

Finally when the team had all arrived they were just chatting when all of a sudden their were booms and explosions, they all got up with haste

“That’s our call” Merlin says

“Please stay safe Ban” Elaine says and he nods

they all begin to leave the boars hat, they quickly follow the sound of the noises and screams

But by the time they had gotten there they were surprised to see a person fighting the last demon, a mask covering their lower face and a hood over them that pulled down to a cloak

“Is that-“ King begins surprised as the person finishes off the last demon and the people cheer and praise them

“That fighting style looks familiar, though I can’t quite put my finger on it” Merlin says putting a finger to her chin in thinking

“Well let’s not let her get away! I wanna ask her some questions!” Meliodas says excitedly as he starts walking towards the person

“Captain!” Diane shouts following after him and King sighs as he follows and so does the rest of the team

The person was adjusting their mask and putting their weapon away getting ready to leave until

“Hey! Masked hero, nice to meet cha! I’m meliodas!” A voice suddenly says next to them, they slowly look to the side and down at the little man who was grinning widely at them

The team soon gets closer as well causing the person to back up

“We won’t hurt you, our captain here is just too curious” King sighs as he sits up criss crossed on his floating pillow

The person still didn’t make a move to get closer or speak as she basically glared at the group in front of them

“Is it just me or is she glaring at us” King sweat drops and Gowther nods

“She is in fact glaring at us, after all we left her to die” he says and the whole team looks at him confused

That’s when Merlins eyes widened

“Y/n?” She asks and it falls silent as the masked person makes a ‘tch’ sound, slowly they remove their hood and pull down their mask

Your eyes looked tired and dead and your face void of emotion, you had a scar that took up most of your right cheek now and your hair was slightly disheveled

Everyones eyes widen upon seeing you and your new appearance

“W-we thought you died” Diane says, tears starting to form in her eyes and you stare blankly at them

Flashback

As the demon grabbed you you believed this was the end and that your life would end here because of your stupid love for a guy who never loved you

you thought you could accept that

you were wrong, you used the wine bottle you were drinking and broke it, you stabbed it into the demons hand that was gripping you and it let you go dropping you to the floor in pain

You got up quickly, limping a bit and started running as fast as you could, the demon didn’t stay still for long as it chased you, you started running towards the boars hat, but you suddenly stopped

It’s not like they were looking for you, in fact the one you thought you could trust the most left you for dead, you grit your teeth, running back to the place you dropped your weapon you find it and pick it up, you skillfully kill the demon and drop to the ground

You were in a lot of pain, the injuries were brutal, usually Merlin would heal you right up but now

You shakily get up

You limp around and end up leaving the town, you go to a town a few towns away and end up collapsing, when you wake up you slowly sit up to look around the infirmary type room, the door opens and a guy looks up and smiles

“You’re awake, I was afraid that you would be asleep for a day or two” he says and you get on guard, he noticed this and smiles kindly

“Don’t worry I won’t hurt you, I saw you collapsed and wanted to help, you can leave if you want but don’t push yourself too hard with those injuries” he says and you furrow your brows slightly as you slowly slip out of the bed

You keep an eye on the doctor who was fixing the bed you left and sighed when you realized he truly had no bad intentions

“Uh..thanks” you mutter and he turns around and lightly smiles

“You’re welcome”

It was like that for the rest of the months you were missing, you’d go out and fight demons then come back to Dr. Ealis’ office

“Jeez Y/n, this time is really bad” He says as he mixes potions together, you groan “Sorry Ea, they were tougher then I thought” you say as he sighs and hands you the light blue potion

“It’s fine, just don’t be too reckless” He reprimands and you roll your eyes as you chug the potion

Ealis also was the one who gave you the mask and cloak, he’s the only person you felt you could truly trust in this world

Flashback over

The team stand guiltily silent as you stared at them blankly

“That’s how I survived being left behind by my ex boyfriend Ban for his ex girlfriend Elaine” you deadpan looking directly at Ban who looks away from you

“We’re so sorry Y/n...” Merlin says not knowing how else to respond to this, Ban was biting his tongue to stay quiet, this hurt for some reason

You sighed as you pull back on your mask and pull your hood up

“I don’t care anymore, I’m fine as I am now and don’t need to rely on this team” you say

“Don’t say that! Please come back!” Diane cries and you close your eyes

“I’ll pass, I escaped death once, I won’t put myself in the position to have to escape it again, goodbye” you say and before they could say anything you were already off, they stood in shock and guilt

Ban covered his face as he sunk to the floor, a tear slipping out

“This is my fault, I’m sorry y/n”

#imagines #fiction #romance #writing #angst #ban x reader #sds anime #sds ban #ban sds #sds x reader #seven deadly sins #ban x elaine #seven deadly sins meliodas #sds meliodas #meliodas #sds gowther #gowther #merlin sds #merlin

[mistresspotterhead]

The American Ymbryne- Chap. 1

Alma Peregrine x fem!reader

Warnings: Yelling, slamming hands on a table, being outed (kind of)

Words: 1,900 on the dot

A/N: Wow, this took a lil bit. Alma doesn’t appear until the very end of this chapter, but she’ll be in the next one a lot. Everyone has been so kind, and that has helped a lot <3. Also: Miss Saker indicates the type of bird you are, not your given name. I hope you guys like this. 😊😊😊

Tags: @itsonlydana @evil-feather @merci-bitch @multimilfs @escapetodreamworld @gay-and-sad-tm @multifandomfix @romanottsmaximoff @n0thing-is-real-exe​ @theaudreymere 

(ask if you want to be added/removed)

In a strange way, Cairnholm reminded you of the Chicago loop you and your wards had just fled from. They were both very dreary, cold, and, from what you could tell from those on the ferry, the people would rather be anywhere else. 

“M-miss Saker? I’m cold.” The bundle of talking coats shivered next to you. 

“I know, Astrid. We’re almost there, though.” You sighed and looked out toward the slowly approaching coastline. Your surviving children, Elina, Alexander, Leonard, and, of course, Astrid, all huddled closer to you. You stared at Cairnholm for a while longer, until the ferryman’s voice suddenly called out.

“Alright everyone, ‘ere we are! The… lovely… Cairnholm!” He steered the small ferry over to the somehow smaller docks, and you led your children out.

“Is everyone here? Astrid, Leo, Elina, Alex?” David, Beth-Anne, Lisa, Frankie, June, Stefanie, Josef, Alice, Rosie, Reggie. You suppressed the urge to call out their names as well. 

“Yes, Miss Saker,” they called in long-suffering voices- you were very adamant about attendance. It was good to see something was normal.

“All right then. Leo, can you see where the loop is? And Alex, are there any other peculiars near?” Ah yes, your diviners. It was very lucky for all of you that they were two of those that survived the wight’s invasion of your loop. 

Your Chicago loop near the Art Institute was one of the last surviving loops in America maintained by an Ymbryne, along with your South Side, McKinley Park, and St. Louis loops, though the latter was run mainly by its older wards and reset once a week.

As of a fortnight ago, though, the Art Institute loop was the only one you had. McKinley Park was attacked by Wights and Hollows in December, with South Side following close in early January. Samuel, the sole survivor of McKinley Park, was what Syndrygasti call a Librarian. He could see hollows and alerted you to them when you were traveling to St. Louis for reset. The problem with this, though, was that Sammy was only five years old, and so frequently got distracted.

It wasn’t hard to understand- Illinois in 1975 was very colorful. Sammy was gone now, though, as were all most all of your children. Speaking of… 

“There aren’t any other peculiars on the island, Miss Saker- at least not in this time,” Alex said, startling you out of your thoughts.

“Thank you, dear. How are you faring, Leo? Have you located the loop? I don’t like being out in the open for this long.” For emphasis, Elina gave a giant, chattering shiver that was surely exaggerated.

“Indeed, but it is on the other side of the island, and the night is fast approaching.” 

You looked over and scowled at the sun; if you couldn’t get rest, then why was it allowed to?

“Well then. It looks like we’ll have to go into town.” Immediately, protests arose.

“Aw, no!”

“Come on, Miss Saker! We can make camp out here!”

“Because that sounds comfortable,” Leo deadpanned to Astrid.

“Well, it’s better than town! There probably isn’t even a hotel!”

“Actually, Astrid, that’s where you’re wrong.” Astrid looked shocked at the suggestion that she could ever be incorrect at something. “There is a hotel. It’s called the….” You took out the crumpled guidebook the ferryman had given to each tourist. “Preist Hole. What kind of hotel is called the Priest Hole?” You muttered that last part to yourself. “Anyway, off we go. Come along, single file now.”

Your ducklings dutifully arranged themselves from youngest to oldest, seven-year-old Elina closest to you and sixteen-year-old Leo at the back.

You hoped that the food was at least good.

Nope. Everything on the Preist Hole’s menu was covered with vinegar. You wondered if that was a Welsh thing or a Cairnholm thing. Maybe the owner just liked vinegar. Next to you, Elina was grimacing with every bite. On a whim, you decided to flag the bartender down.

“Hey, Kev, was it?” He grinned widely at you. You gave him a small smile in return.

“Yes, ma’am, that’s me. What can I do for you ‘n yer bunch today?” 

“I was just wondering if you had some fries- sorry, chips- with less vinegar. My youngest is still picky.”

“Hmm. Well, I’ll talk to Arnie ‘n see what he can whip up fer ye. He’s the cook, ye see.”

“Thank you so much, sir.” You attempted a bigger smile, but it still felt forced.

“Naw, it ain’t a problem, really. ‘N please, call me Kev. Sir sounds like I’m fifty- ‘n I’ve still got twenty years ‘fore that,” he chuckled.

“Well then, you must call me y/n.”

“Of course, ma’am- y/n, sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s alright, Kev.” This time, your smile was a small bit genuine- his hesitancy was endearing.

“Yeh. Well, um, I’d better talk teh Arnie now. I’ve kinda been lingering here for a while.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to keep you from work, anyway.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t object if yeh did,” Kev concluded, winking before walking away.

Once he was out of earshot, Astrid started chittering.

“Ooh, was that flirting I saw, Miss Saker?” You rolled your eyes, and Alex guffawed into his water.

“Miss Saker? Flirt with a guy? I think Elina would drink an entire bottle of vinegar before that happened.” You turned your head sharply in his direction, but not before Astrid snapped back at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You jerk your head toward her now.

“Well, Miss Saker isn’t really the type to, ah, dabble in the male gene pool.” It was like you were watching tennis, really, with all this head-turning.

“That doesn’t make any-”

“ENOUGH!” You stood up, placing your hands on the bar. “This is not a discussion we are having, especially not here and now. Alex, I told you that information in confidence, and I am severely disappointed that you have betrayed that. Astrid, whether or not I am flirting with someone, and really my love life in general, is none of your concern. Do you both understand?”

They nodded, Alex looking especially ashamed of himself.

“Sorry, Miss Saker. It just slipped out.”

You sighed and ignored all the stares you and your wards were getting because of your outburst. 

“Alright, Alex. Just… you can’t share things that people tell you privately.”

“Yes, Miss Saker.” He was quiet after that, poking at his food.

It bothered you that he had shared that information, though it didn’t seem as if the other wards had understood. Of course, Leo was the only one you would expect to, as he was sixteen, but he had been sheltered in your loop his entire life. All of your wards had, really.

Just as you were beginning to sink into your past again, Kev came out with Elina’s new plate of fr- chips.

“Here ye are, little lady. I hope you like these better.” He smiled at Elina, tugging a small one out in return. You both watched expectantly as she took a tentative bite. And another. And another. Until the plate was almost gone, and she was rubbing her stomach in contentment.

“Well, that was fast.”

“It was good, Miss Saker. I wasn’t going to let it cool.” You laughed at the disapproving look on her face.

“Alright, alright. I suppose you have a good point.” You turned to Kev. “Thank you again, sir, for-”

“Kev.”

“...right. Thank you for doing this. How much will it cost?” You were ruffled at his interruption, but he didn’t notice. He pretended to think for a moment.

“Hmm… how much will makin’ a little girl ‘n her mam happy cost? I dunno.” He smiled at you. “It’s on the house. I can see that ye haven’t had such a good day, so….”

“Really? Are you sure? I mean, I have the money….”

“I’m completely sure. It’s good te make someone happy once in a while.”

“Well, I truly do thank you. It also seems that we’ll need a room, if that’s alright?”

“Sure. Room four was just recently vacated. It’s right up here.” He led you up the stairs, the kids trailing behind.

The room was small for five people, but it seemed like a mansion to the children, who only had their old, overcrowded loop to compare it to. There were four rickety beds, though they did seem to be clean, and a barren nightstand next to each of them. 

“Ah… I forgot that this only had four beds. I can get ye another room, or-”

“No, no, this is fine. Thank you for your help, Kev.” You subtly ushered him toward the door.

“Oh- well, if ye need anythi-”

“Yes, of course. Ta, then! Have a nice day!” You shut the door, leaving him very confused.

Alex was wheezing on the floor behind you.

“That… that was absolutely amazing Miss Saker! You are an absolute icon!” 

What in Abaton does that mean? You never could understand the new slang terms that the 1970s held. 

Elina yawned, setting off all the other children and alerting you to their needs.

“Alright then, time for bed.” Immediately, they were completely awake.

“I’m not tired at all, Miss Saker, therefore I shan’t be able to fall asleep.” 

“The fact that your accent is coming out very strongly tells me that you are indeed tired, Leo.” You crossed your arms. “Bed. now.” Your wards slouched, and grudgingly picked out a bed each.

“Miss Saker, where will you sleep tonight?” Astrid asked as you were tucking her covers in.

“On the floor, of course. Now, did you remember to take off your gloves?”

“But it won’t be comfortable! The floor is so hard and cold and dirty and-”

“Your gloves, Astrid.” She was very talkative, even late at night, though you had come to enjoy it. Sometimes.

She took off the gloves that helped control her peculiarity and was about to start chattering again when Elina suddenly spoke up from her bed in the corner.

“I could make you a nest with a spare blanket, Miss Saker?” You gave her one of your very rare genuine smiles.

“That would be lovely, Elina.”

“Wait- how did she know you were going to sleep in bird form?” Alex asked, finally catching on. You smiled again at Elina and kissed her on the forehead.

“She’s made me a little nest before when I fall asleep in my study while in bird form.”

“And that happens often?”

“Surprisingly so. Now, snuggle in and no more talking.” As the children said their goodnights, you finally transformed into your bird form; a stunning saker falcon. You jumped lightly onto Elina’s bed, careful not to hurt her with your razor-sharp talons or accidentally hit her with your wing (which had happened on more than one occasion). 

Though you nestled into the warm bunch of blankets right away, you didn’t fall asleep until much later, and even then, you were restless all night. 

---

Little did you know, in the old manor that you would trek to the next day, a group of peculiars and one very curious ymbryne had observed all of this. Alma LeFay Peregrine set her watch and gave the children a reassuring smile while she pondered what this meant and why her stomach had fluttered when you gave that dazzling smile.

#tw yelling #tw slamming hands down #tw being outed #alma peregrine x reader #miss peregrine x reader #alma peregrine #wow im so gay for her

[bakugousbussy]

Plus Ultra

BakuDeku w/ Lee! Deku & Ler! Bakugou

Summary: Ever since being enrolled in U.A. Midoriya won’t quit saying “Plus Ultra!” Whether it would be meaningful like when he was giving a pep talk, or stupid like when he was trying to open a jar of pickles. And Bakugou was getting annoyed.

-

It started off as a beautiful day. The sun was slowly starting to peak out from behind the horizon, birds chirping a sweet tune, dew resting on the grass.

Bakugou opened his eyes, it was 630AM, he sat up and took a deep gulp of air. Enjoying the morning’s peace and quiet, sighing happily at the scene. Nothing could ruin his day.

Around 730AM, everyone else started to awake and emerge from their dorm rooms and into the common area. Small talk, morning greetings, and the smell of breakfast filled the air.

“Can you pass me the ketchup please?” Uraraka turned to ask Midoriya, while pointing at the red bottle that was next to him.

“Oh yeah of course!” Deku beamed her a smile as he passed her the bottle.

Uraraka fiddled with the cap for about a minute before sighing out loud, defeated.

“Deku can you open it?” She hands the bottle back to Deku, giving him a small smile and looking down at her food, slightly embarrassed. Imagine being a pro-hero in training and losing to a bottle of ketchup.

Deku notices her visual distress, “Hey, don’t worry! You know what you need to do? Go Plus Ultra! Focus all your strength and try again!” He shot her a wide smile.

Bakugou, who was sitting on the couch at the time, listening to their conversation, just rolls his eyes. “Go pLuS ULtRa!” He mocks, whispering to himself.

“You’re right Deku! Hand the bottle back!” Excitement and determination replaced her previous embarrassed face, as she grabbed the bottle from Deku before struggling a bit with the cap, but finally popping it off.

“Deku I did it!” Uravity exclaims, huge smile plastered on her face.

“Because you did it PLUS ULTRA!”

Deku and Uraraka laugh and continued to finish their breakfast before the school day started.

It was 830AM and the members of the Bakusquad were all seated in the common area impatiently waiting for Kirishima.

“Kirishima hurry up!” Mina sighed, looking at the red head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I forgot about the math worksheet! I have like 5 problems left!” Kirishima responded with a panic, trying to quickly solve the math problems in front of him.

“We’re going to be late for school if you don’t hurry up, then Aizawa sensei is gonna chew us out!” Denki said with a hint of fear laced in his words.

“Tch. Shitty hair, we better not be late because of you.” Bakugou snarled from his position on the couch.

Midoriya sat on the opposite side of the table Kirishima was working on. Deku was engrossed in his hero notebook, writing thoughts, making up strategies, all while mumbling to himself. The green haired boy snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a frustrated sigh coming from Kirishima.

“Kirishima are you okay?” Izuku asked with genuine concern.

“This last problem is hurting my brain!” Kirishima whined, erasing his previous markings and letting out another frustrated sigh when he dropped his pencil from erasing too hard.

“Don’t worry! You know what you need to do? Just make your brain go Plus Ultra!” Midoriya nodded as he gave Kirishima his nonhelpful advice.

The phrase made Bakugou once again roll his eyes. Make your brain go Plus Ultra? How are you even going to do that? That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Nobody with half a brain cell is going to believe they can make their stupid brain go ‘Plus Ultra’. Bakugou thought.

“You’re so right MidoBro!”

Of course Shitty hair is going to eat that crap up. Bakugou finished his thought. Scowl on his face as he scrolled through his phone, angrily listening to the conversation.

“And there, it’s done!” Kirishima sighed in relief as he shoved his now finished math homework into his backpack. “Thank you for encouraging me Midoriya! And thank you brain for going Plus Ultra!” Kirishima happy danced his way over to the Bakusquad. “Alright let’s head to class!”

Time was going by so slow. Bakugou felt like he’s been in the same class forever. When the bell finally rang he jumped with excitement.

Finally, my favorite class. Bakugou thought, a small grin creeping on his face. Gym.

Everyone got changed into their gym clothes and met Aizawa sensei at USJ.

“Okay students, I will be splitting you up into partners and you will have to work together to stay hidden. Me and some of the other teachers are going to try to catch you.” Aizawa stated, monotone.

“Like a game of hide and seek?” Mina asked, excited that training today was more of a game than actual training.

“Correct. The winning team gets a prize.”

Ooh’s and ahh’s filled the air as the students got psyched to play. All wondering what the special prize at the end was. Everyone was determined. It’s gonna be one hell of a game.

Aizawa quickly broke up the chatter. “Listen, partners are:

Aoyama & Ashido

Asui & Hagakure

Iida & Jiro

Kaminari & Koda

Kirishima & Mineta

Ojiro & Sato

Sero & Uraraka

Bakugou & Midoriya

Shoji & Yaoyorozu

Todoroki & Tokoyami”

“Trade partners.” Bakugou asked everyone. No way was he going to be stuck with his childhood friend, turned enemy, turned rival.

“There will be no trading partners.” Aizawa stated, pinching the bridge of his nose in a annoyance. “You have 10 minutes to think of a strategy, you can use the whole training center, there will be a bell that rings after your 10 minutes of planning, when the bell rings, you have approximately 6 minutes before the other teachers and I start hunting. Understood?”

“Yes!” Said all the students unanimously, quickly finding their designated partners and started planning their survival, working together flawlessly.

All except Bakugou and Deku.

“Come on Kacchan I think it would be better to hide in the forest so we can hide in all the trees!” Deku whined at the explosive blonde.

“Tch. No nerd, we’re going to the city.” Bakugou stubbornly argued.

Bickering went back and forth and before they knew it, their 10 minute planning time was up and the bell rang. Everyone started to scatter, running to their chosen areas. Bakugou and Midoriya were too caught up in fighting that they didn’t decide on a place, so they both just ran. No plan, just running.

They ended up in the city area and hid in what seemed to be like a little bomb shelter. It was a little room underground, they had to take some sketchy staircase hidden inside a bar to get there.

Breathing hard, they both looked at each other and nodded, agreeing this was a good place to hide.

As time went by, Deku tried to make conversation with the explosive blonde, but Bakugou just ignored the green haired boy the whole time.

They heard some commotion outside of their hiding spot. Sounds like another team was hiding near us and got caught. Bakugou thought.

15 minutes of hiding passed, and Deku had a huge smile plastered on his face.

“What are you smiling about Deku?” Bakugou asked with annoyance.

“This hiding place is so good! It’s like we’re hiding Plus Ultra!” Deku beamed, hands shaking from all the excitement.

Not that shit again.

“You know what. That’s it.” Bakugou said as he tackled Deku to the floor, both boys landing with a huge thump. “I’m sick of hearing ‘Plus Ultra’ come out of your mouth. Plus Ultra this, Plus Ultra that. I’ll show you Plus Ultra you nerd.” Bakugou pins Deku to the floor and pinning his arms above his head with one hand.

“Kacchan wait!” Midoriya begs, shaking his head while tugging at his hands to try to get Bakugou off, not sure what is going to happen to him.

Bakugou wastes no time as he shoots his free hand into Midoriya’s exposed armpit.

“AHHAHAHA NAHAHAHAHAH KAHAHAHACCHAHAHAN!” Midoriya laughs out, surprised.

“Every time you speak all i hear is ‘Plus Ultra,’ so I’m going to take your advice nerd, and tickle you. Plus. Ultra.” Bakugou teases, with emphasis on the last two words, digging in a little harder into the green hairs’ armpit.

“WAHAHAHAHAIT IHIHIHIHIHI’M SOHOHOHOHORRY!” Midoriya squeezes his eyes shut, kicking his legs miserably.

A distant memory floods Bakugou’s mind. It was back in their elementary days. The two boys were in this same position, Deku a giggling mess under Kacchan. They had just finished school, and Deku was in a rather sad mood, and Bakugou cheered him up with tickles. Things were simpler back then, Bakugou thought to himself, a genuine smile forming on his face as he thought of his childhood. He was brought back to reality when he heard a small scream.

“NGA! KAHAHAHAHACCHAHAHAHAN NOHOHOHOHO MOHOHOHORE!” The broccoli headed boy cried out with laughter, trying to buck the blonde off of him.

Bakugou responded with an evil laugh, and released Midoriya’s wrists, and used both of his free hands to dig into Deku’s ribs. Resulting in waves of high pitched shrieks from Deku.

“STAHAHAHAHAP! NAHAHAHAHA! KAHAHAHAHCCHAN HAHAHAHAHAVE MEHEHEHEHEHERCY! SOHOHOHOHOME OHOHOHOHONE HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHE!” Midoriya’s eyes started to collect puddles of mirthful tears, as he endured the ticklish torture.

“Tch. Deku, nobody can hear you down here. Guess you’re just gonna have to take it, and go…….?” Bakugou paused, words laced with that teasing tone that Midoriya couldn’t help but blush at. Continuing to assault Deku’s ribs, waiting for an answer.

“PLUHUHUHUHUS UHUHUHUHULTRA HAHAHAHA IHIHIHIHI GEHEHEHEHET IHIHIHIHIT!” Midoriya spat back, shaking his head, hoping the blonde had enough fun tickling the shit outta him.

Bakugou moved his fingers rhythmically, up and down Deku’s ribs, almost like playing a piano, not letting a single rib escape from his tickle attack.

“Oh-hoho, now you’re getting it.” Bakugou couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as he looked at the scene beneath him. “And now for the best part.” With those words, Bakugou stopped his fingers. And Midoriya’s eyes grew wide.

“No no no Kacchan, you know I can’t take it there.” Midoriya blurted out through gasps of air, tired from the previous attack, but still trying to push the explosive blonde off of him trying to protect himself.

“But what’s that thing you always say?” Bakugou pressed his fingers into his chin creating a thinking pose. “Hmmm, oh yeah! Don’t worry! You know what you need to do?” Bakugou’s hands lowered themselves to each side of Midoriya’s hip bones.

“Go.” Bakugou started to knead softly at Izuku’s hips. Resulting in loud giggles from the boy.

“Plus.” Bakugou added more pressure, circling his fingers on the sensitive bone. Louder laughter exploded from the boy.

“Ultra!” Bakugou dug his fingers into Deku’s hips and Deku lost his shit.

“KAHAHAHAHAA-” Deku couldn’t even finish his attackers name before he fell into silent laughter. His hipbones were the most ticklish and he couldn’t last very long once someone started tickling him there. Since they were younger, Bakugou would always use this little piece of information to his advantage.

The green haired boy’s tears finally fell from his eyes, leaving his cheeks tear stained. Midoriya’s arms flailed and tried to remove the explosive blonde’s hands away from his death spot. Failing of course.

About a minute later, the tickling slowed, until it finally came to a stop. Bakugou’s hands resting on the boy’s hips.

Residual giggles left Deku’s lips, and Bakugou hopped of his waist. Deku sat up, enjoying his freedom. Bakugou’s eyes were fixated on Midoriya. His hair a mess from the attack he just endured, cheeks still a little damp from mirthful tears, sweat building on his forehead. Bakugou mentally awed at the sight.

Midoriya could feel the stares coming from his childhood friend, and turned to face him, eyes meeting with each others. Deku gave Bakugou a smile and Bakugou looked away.

“Tch. Don’t think we’re friends or something, I just wanted you to shut it with that Plus Ultra shit.” Bakugou scoffed, permanent scowl plastered on his face. He knew that was a lie.

Midoriya was just about to reply when they heard loud bells, and an announcement that followed. “2 teams left! Who will be the last to survive?!” Both boys heard Present Mic practically scream out.

The game wasn’t over.

#boku no hero academia #bokunoheroacademia #bnha #my hero academia #myheroacademia #mha #bakugou #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #midoriya #bakudeku #deku #bakudeku tickle #mha tickle fic #bnha tickle fic

[bagadew]

The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Great Departure (Part 3)

Last Time: We finally found Miss Brett, the English woman who’s present had been erased from the scene of the crime, and dragged her ass to court only to discover that she was a Massively Racist Bitch in a swan hat. After a lot of back and forth it became clear that Dr Watson Wilson actually died of poisoning, and that Miss Brett took advantage of the fact Japan currently doesn’t do autopsy reports to shoot his corpse in the chest and frame me (Ryunosuke) for the murder. Fortunately for us Hosonaga took the bottle from the crime scene, and after needlessly translating Miss Brett for the last hour (and presumably filtering out a lot of questionable content) was only to happy to produce it for the court. Unfortunately for us the poison wasn’t in the bottle, so it’s up to a lady in pink to save the day!

I’m going to roundhouse kick Auchi

I’m liking how everyone else in this room is just as done with Auchi as I am

Our saviour Ryunosuke, that’s who

Oh, that’s not a glass

Is it about poisons?

It is!

Ok so I’m pretty sure that Curare is incredibly powerful and fast acting poison (which lines up with what we know). Unfortunately I think it needs to be injected but I might be mixing it up with something else.

Susato’s actually given me the report now, which is probably a much more sensible way of getting information (rather than me trying to remember what I’ve picked up from Agatha Christie novels), and unfortunately it looks like I remembered correctly about it needing to be injected.

(Side note: how alarming is it that I’ve retained this much knowledge on poisons? I feel the need to explain that I’ve been reading and listening to audio dramatisation of Agatha Christie novels since I was about three, but I feel like that makes it worse)

What is curious though is it’s potential use as an anaesthetic. Given that Dr Wilson had just had a tooth removed with anaesthetic I wonder if there’s a connection there?

I’m not sure what it could be though, unless it turns out Miss Brett Weekend at Berniesed his corpse all the over way from the clinic.

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!

Actually wait...

GET HER ASS JUDGE!!!

Auchi if we were to run this courtroom on things you know about we’d be running a kindergarten.

Auchi, you’d never even heard of Curare until I told you about it, be quiet while the grownups are talking.

Yeah, Curare is not a nice poison.

I’m not going to post the full explanation here, but wow, Kazuma’s really going all out with his description!

Also it looks like I misunderstood about it needing to be injected. Everyone’s saying that it can just be swallowed, which I guess that makes sense given how deadly it is.

Miss Brett’s being a bitch again (but what else is new) and Kazuma’s taking none of your shit and telling her that the feeling’s mutual. (Something I would have screenshot, but I was too busy calling Kazuma a legend to press the little square button.)

I knew it, it was only in the glass.

Yeah, now try it again from the glass you took.

Don’t worry Ryunosuke, I got this!

It’s ok Kazuma! Believe in me (Ryunosuke) and our beautiful friendship!

It astounds me too Kazuma, but for once I’m on to something!

Kazuma, please stop saying foreboding things, I need you to survive the next case and you’re already not being helped by the fact that you’re so much better than me. You’re so good you kind of render me, the protagonist, a little bit obsolete in fact.

PENALISED!

I guess I was wrong then! That bottle does somehow contain poison.

Yes Kuzuma, because I’m going to be penalised otherwise!

OH FUCK I’VE GOT IT!!!

I UNDERSTOOD CORRECTLY THE FIRST TIME!!!

IT DOES NEED TO BE PUT INTO THE BLOODSTREAM!!!

AND THE DOCTOR HAD A GAPING WOUND IN HIS MOUTH!!!

WHICH MISS JEZAILLE BRETT ADMITTED SHE KNEW ABOUT!!!

It’s finally time!

Let’s get her!

He’s got it!

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!

She’s cracking!

Is it hatred Ryunosuke?

Ah no, my mistake - it’s lawyer rage conviction!

I know I’ve said this a lot but...

GET HER ASS RYUNOSUKE!!!!!!!!!!

HE DID THE THING!!!!!!!!

WE’RE USING HER OWN WORDS AGAINST HER

AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!

Oh good... she’s started laughing

Oh no. We’ve set things into motion haven’t we.

Kazuma, I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to take care of yourself in the case to come.

SHE’S DESTROYING THE EVIDENCE!

You can’t do that!

Oh who am I kidding, this lady’s been dancing on privilege since she walked in.

Oh Ryunosuke I think she might have done...

I knew she felt like an end of game villain!

Auchi’s about to catch these hands!

Kazuma’s telling us to step into our mind palace.

‘Is Kazuma right’, he thinks, as he remembers the blood on the plate.

I don’t know Ryunosuke? Is water wet?

You got it Kazuma!

I mean to be fair it did only just happen.

DID HE STEAL THE PLATE?!?

YES HOSONAGA!!!

YOU BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!!!

I do genuinely love these moments in Ace Attorney though. When everyone works as one to get some untouchable big fry. There’s something very rewarding about the whole thing.

Shit... she swapped it out...

Fortunately my man Hosonaga has everyone’s plates though!

Cheer up Ryunosuke, look, we have steak blood at least. And I’m sure Hosonaga’ll bring us the rest of the plates if we ask nicely. Especially after Miss Brett broke his bottle.

Miss Brett’s now making racist statements again.

But at least I’ve been given the steak to examine!

Bless you Kazuma

Ryunosuke what short of cats have you been looking at!

Get his ass (affectionately) Kazuma!

THE STOLEN COIN!!!

I KNEW SHE SWAPPED THEM!!!

(Also it looks like I was right about it being stolen by Nosa)

Didn’t know that was there, did you Miss Brett?

Now, dig your own grave with your words!

Now it’s time to dob Nosa in it. Sorry Nosa but you were kind of a jerk. Look on the bright side though, now’s your chance to redeem yourself in my eyes, like Hosonaga has!

Old man Korekuna’s armed and pissed!

Nosa I’m sorry. It’s best to throw yourself on his mercy now before I rile him up more. Use your baby to calm him if you must.

NICE CATCH NOSA!

I take everything back, Nosa your complete safe, old man Korekuna has no idea how to use that thing.

Ah, I forgot he was proficient in vase!

(Which I forgot to screenshot)

Never mind Nosa, you’re still screwed!

That is the right face to pull (Nosa not Hosonaga):

Look at him in the corner there. I feel bad now.

It was theft wasn’t it?

...oh Nosa what have you done?

(Kept food on his kids plate probably, given how he can’t afford childcare)

Nosa’s now accusing his infant son of being the mastermind... Sure Nosa, everyone’s bying that.

Either accusing a baby is a panic response, or I don’t need to feel so bad anymore.

Hosonaga how did you not immediately catch this guy?

HE SLIPPED THE COIN UNDER THE STEAK SO IT WOULDN’T BE FOUND WHEN HE WAS SEARCHED!

MISS BRETT’S TRYING TO WEASLE HER WAY OUT TO LUNCH AGAIN!

Oh thank god!

I thought for one terrible second we were letting her go.

(I’ve say it before and I’ll probably say it again, this is an intense first case)

Yes! ‘Her’ steak had a big bite mark in it!

But I thought and English Lady like yourself wouldn’t eat steak that way Miss Brett?

Of course, there’s a difference between the two photos.

I knew I could see the glass in the first one, which means it was taken before Miss Brett rearranged the table!

Oh, now Nosa’s saying that he switched the plates.

I must admit I didn’t expect that, I thought it was something Miss Brett did to remove the bloody evidence.

She’s cracking!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

YEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

IT WAS ALIVE!!!

BABIES!!!

BABIES EVERYWHERE!

Oh god... what’s she planning.

Your honour, she’s already poisoned one person, do you want to be next?

Kiss my ass Miss Brett

Get used to it Auchi.

HAHA!

DAMN KAZUMA

(Editor Note: I am very upset by how poorly my screenshots conveyed Kazuma destroying Auchi’s hairdo with his sword)

Also, were you always hot Kazuma?

Wait no - I can’t be thinking that. The bar for fictional men I like is the floor and if I want Kazuma to continue to live a long, happy, non morally ambiguous life, I need him to not fall into the category of ‘fictional men I find hot’.

For some reason, I picture it being blue and spiky your honour

Wait what’s this about Kazuma having a mission?

Oh fucking hell, I’ve doomed you to moral ambiguity haven’t I Kazuma?

Thank you for the backhanded compliment your honour!

Ooh, petals rather than confetti, that’s a nice touch!

We did it!!!

And most importantly of all, we’re being praised by Kazuma!

Susato! Our saviour! Has turned up, along with her father: the innocent Professor Mikotoba, who I would like to thank and to reiterate that he could never kill anyone!

Seriously though, what was the relationship between him an Dr Wilson?

Ah ok, I simply just had to click on to find out.

So apparently the two of them worked together in the same hospital in London for a while.

OH MY GOD KAZUMA’S TAKING THE SWORD WITH HIM TO GREAT BRITAIN!!!

YES KAZUMA! F THEM UP!!!

(Also if your journey tragically ends in the customs office there’s a non-dead-Kazuma reason for me to go in your place.)

Oh fuck, she got off didn’t she...

I knew it

Of fucking course...

So basically she’s going to get off with a slap on the wrist. That’s what I’m getting from all of this.

Yep

Ah, but what you’ve failed to understand Kazuma is that the British Government and 99% of those people in power, are hypocritical dirtbags who will change the rules to suit them.

OK TEAM LETS GO GET HER ASS!!!

FINAL BOSS! FINAL BOSS!

Now on to the party with Kazuma!

And also Hosonaga apparently. Who is clinging onto his waiter job even though the case he was investigating is solved. Look like Ryunosuke was right about money being tight.

Hosonaga, do you not have a job anymore?

Were your superiors upset when you said ‘fuck the government’ and bought Miss Brett to us? Or was it your one man forensics team shtick that upsets them?

Oh yeah, we never did find that out did we?

Kazuma Asogi I forbid you from charging me with looking after your sister, of for that matter anything, incase something happens to you!

Fortunatly for us Hosonaga is here! Diving in-front of that Kazuma shaped plot bullet with promises of food!

Ryunosuke over here, taking the cases final moments to roast Hosonaga.

I think we’re even now Satoru, my second favorite character.

I don’t want to click to the next text box.

OH FUCK!

Oh wait, false alarm everyone!

I genuinely thought that the case was going to end with something like: but little did I realize that he never would.

Anyway that’s enough worrying about Kazuma! For now let’s enjoy the fact we’ve finished this bastard hard first case!

We’re moving on to Episode 2: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band next!

#tgaa spoilers #tgaa #the great ace attorney #the adventure of the great departure #ryunosuke naruhodo #kazuma asougi #satoru hosonaga #jezaille brett #susato mikotoba #yuujin mikotoba

[sevlgi]

the special one

requested: yes

group: mamamoo

pairing: moonbyul x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst

contents: vampire!moonbyul, bartender!reader

warnings: blood, weapons, vampires

synopsis: Moonbyul was always used to getting her way. So encountering an entire bar warned against her powers, and led by a surprisingly feisty human, wasn’t exactly on her bucket list.

a/n: lowkey wanted to wait for byul’s birthday to post this but i couldn’t wait :D enjoy!!

word count: 3.3k

As soon as she stepped into the bar, Byulyi could smell the thing she had been craving for the past month. Well, two things: blood, and some good alcohol.

She paid no mind to the hands grabbing at her as she slid through the crowd, skillfully evading being pulled into a dance circle by a group of admittedly pretty girls. Sure, they were easy targets for feeding, but there needed to be some alcohol in her system before she dealt with horny foreigners.

“A bottle of your finest soju, please.”

She smiled at the waiter who turned around, a girl probably barely 20 years old. A perfect target, then- someone who didn’t know the kinds of creatures that frequented the darker bars of Seoul.

It wasn’t even an egotistical thing to say that no one had been able to resist the allure of Byulyi’s gaze for centuries, and she never expected an almost teenaged girl to be the one to break that record. To her surprise, the kid looked down instantly, voice sounding odd as she polished the glass in her hands. “One second, ma’am.”

Pursing her crimson-stained lips, the vampire checked her clothing for the unlikely chance of bloodstains on the black fabric. Maybe it was the dark smeared eye makeup? But usually, all her looks did was draw more people in, even without using the power behind her eyes...

“Another one of you, eh?”

When her eyes shifted over to the staff door that the boy had entered, she found a defiant gaze, eyebrows cocked and hip jutting to one side. Unlike the earlier bartender, you stared right into her eyes without a change to your expression, no lust or euphoria seeping into cold irises. “I’m sorry, you are?” Byulyi asked, sending you a small smile. 

You remained unimpressed, flinging a dishrag onto the bar counter as you slammed your hands down onto the stone and leaned in closer. In close proximity, you were interestingly beautiful, the lack of sympathy attractive in some twisted way. “Y/N. Manager, and a strong hater of you vampires. See yourself out.”

The short-haired woman shrugged, leaning back in the barstool and crossing her arms. “I don’t think I will, manager. Tell me, did you train the kid how to recognize people like me?”

Taking a good look at the points of Byulyi’s nails and the glint to her teeth, you evidently decided not to fight her, gritting your teeth instead as you matched her stance. “Ryujin’s smart. She isn’t as strong as me, maybe, but she knows enough to not be caught in your trap.”

Every word spat out of your mouth sounds like a barbed and poisoned insult aimed right at the vampire’s heart, but they make no impact on stone skin. Still smiling, Byulyi waved a hand at the alcohol littering the bar. “Well, since you know not to fight me, how about that soju?”

You bristled at being ordered to do something, but set an ice-cold bottle of the soju down on the counter. “The most expensive in the house,” you hissed, shoving it over at her. “And you’re going to have to pay. No one else is coming to serve you tonight, now that I know what you are.”

“See you soon, manager,” she saluted, cracking the soju open with a simple flick of her wrist. Even if nothing else resulted from the night, she’d found another first.

You were going to be the first person that Byulyi won over by herself, without the influence of any powers whatsoever. And yes, she would win you over somehow. Eventually.

At first, Byulyi had been confused by the vendetta you seemed to have against vampires. It was true that she didn’t fit in with the clan system that most vampires in the city (or world) tended to adopt, but she didn’t think that anyone could be bad enough to make you quite so wary.

And it just so happened that the next time she dared to visit your bar, you were dealing with the difficult ones.

“I told you that we don’t allow vamps for a reason,” you scowled, eyes flicking between those of the five girls who stood with their arms crossed before you. “I may not be able to control you, but I sure as hell won’t let you feed on innocents.”

Irene exchanged a glance with Joy, who was just about to step forward when another voice interrupted the conversation. “Hey. Are you giving the manager trouble?”

You glared at Byulyi as well, though there wasn’t the venom that you directed at the clan. “Rogue. You’re going against us?” Seulgi asked, head cocked to a side. “Isn’t it in your best interest too to get rid of this... human?”

Strolling forward with her hands in the pockets of her pants, Byulyi sighed. “Look, manager here is stronger than you think. And if I want to remain in her best interests, be able to come to this bar sometimes, I’ll do what she asks. Including throwing you out.”

Despite the numbers of the clan, there was no possible way any of the five could match up to Byulyi’s sheer experience. She wasn’t violent compared to some, but she could certainly hold her own in a fight. You were silent behind the bar, but the stare you directed at the clan spoke volumes.

“Fine,” Yeri rolled her eyes, lips pinching together. “Come on. Survive another day, right?”

As they filed out of the bar, Byulyi’s eyes remained on them until the door swung shut. “You didn’t have to do that,” you said with your back turned, hands scrubbing at a bottle for no reason.

“Don’t worry, it was fun,” she grinned, sliding onto the barstool. “Is this why you dislike us vamps? Not all of us are like them, you know.”

You turned just to send her a half-hearted glare. “No, that’s not why. I always- I never liked you undead things, and being immune to your powers doesn’t help anything. But hoity-toity ones like them make it worse.”

The vampire leaned her chin on her hand, watching you work. The reddish glare of the bar’s lights only made the column of your throat look more inviting, but Byulyi wasn’t reckless enough to attack someone capable of resisting her. Besides, you were an interesting one. “I see. Well, if anyone tries to mess with you again, you call me,” she jested, smiling wider when you scoffed.

“Sure.” But contrasting your cold words, you slid a bottle of soju over to her, the same flavor that she’d liked best the last time. “On the house this time. But I don’t owe you anything after this,” you warned.

“Come on, a bottle of soju isn’t enough,” Byulyi pouted, laughing when you scrunched your nose. “You owe me a favor. I’m responsible, promise, I won’t ask for your blood or anything.”

You hesitated before agreeing, but finally allowed her to shake your hand. “Fine. A favor- geez, your hands are cold.”

She stared down at the pale skin once you had jerked away, a slight warmth from your human hands lingering. “I guess. I mean, I’m dead, what do you expect?”

“Dead, huh?” You almost look sympathetic for once, pouring out some soju for the both of you. “What’s that like?”

Byulyi raised an eyebrow as she clinked her glass against yours. “Being dead? Well, I don’t remember that. But now, it’s similar to being alive. My heart still beats, if that’s what you’re wondering. That’s what makes it hard for people to realize that we aren’t human too.”

“It still beats?” you frowned, scrunching your entire face at the taste of alcohol burning the back of your throat. “I always hear differently.”

She reached out for your hand, holding on loosely when you allowed her to hold it. “Come on, feel.”

You exhaled sharply when you felt the pounding at the pulsepoint of Byulyi’s neck, leaning in closer as if that’d allow you to hear it, too. When you looked down, though, you realized the position you were in. “If anyone looked at us, they’d think I was the vampire.”

“You’re right, aren’t you?” she smiled, only tilting her head more to expose her neck to you. “You could kill me right now.”

“Aren’t you already dead?” You bent down under the counter to hide the heat in your cheeks, your fingertips icy just from a couple seconds of contact. “How would I kill you?”

The vampire shrugged, “Wooden stake works on the weaker ones. Holy water, if you had any, but that one takes a lot to kill. For us older ones, the only thing that works is a sacred bullet; hard to come by for you humans, which is why you don’t know about it.”

Frowning, you looked over from the vault of good alcohol stored under the bar. “Huh. What else is fake?”

Byulyi scrunched her nose, looking remarkably like a cute and harmless hamster in a slightly bloodstained black outfit when she did. She was almost charming when she pondered your question, tapping blunt fingernails against her chin. “The mirror thing is, my friend Yongsun spends hours staring at herself. So’s the garlic allergy. I like garlic.”

“Good to know,” you chuckled when you stood up again. “Enjoy your soju, Byulyi  .”

She ghosted her own hands over your fingerprints marring the frosted glass of the alcohol bottle, bringing the entire thing to her lips. “I will.”

Seulgi’s grip was iron tight as she pulled your head back by your hair, your wrists straining against the duct tape holding them together as your scalp screamed. “I’ll ask you again. Where is she?”

Ryujin’s eyes were nothing short of terrified over the tape clamping over her mouth, but you remained firm with your chin jutting out. “I. Don’t. Know. I don’t serve vampires, and I don’t protect them.”

Scoffing, Irene scraped a fingernail against your cheek, the skin tearing under the serrated tip. “Don’t lie. She saved you from us last time, and Byulyi doesn’t risk her rogue status for just anyone.”

Glancing up at the ceiling, or the floor of your actual bar, Wendy mused, “I wonder if she’d hear you scream. If you mean so much to her, what would she give to save you?”

You sighed, going limp just to shake your head. “I told you. Byulyi protected me out of spite against you, not because she gives a shit about me. And I won’t scream. You can kill me in peace, as soon as you--”

Crashing into Wendy, the door to the basement slammed open with a kick from the very person you claimed to not give a shit about you. Byulyi finally looked like the vampire you feared her to be from the start, dark eyes ablaze with something that quite honestly frightened you. Her dark clothing swirled around her in the dusty air, pale brown hair glinting gold as her own nails cut the bonds holding Ryujin. “Go.”

She ran as told, too fast for Yeri’s claws to grasp onto the hem of her work jacket. “So it worked,” Joy smiled, cocking the slightly rusty pistol in her hand. Sacred bullet, you remembered, struggling more against your bonds when you realized what that bullet could do to the vampire glaring daggers at her opponents. “Stupid of you.”

In a sudden burst of strength, the duct tape ripped and you surged up, feeling at least a couple locks of hair remain in Seulgi’s fist. But in that rush, you tackled the tallest girl in the room, all breath knocked out of your lungs at the impact.

Scrambling for the gun, you screamed out at the feeling of sharp points sinking into your arm, hand faltering. “Let go--”

A harsh crack sounded by your ear when Byulyi’s foot stomped down on Joy’s ribs, her fangs pulling out just as your fingers closed around the gun. You panted as you twisted, blood dripping from your arm onto your face as you pressed the stone cold barrel into the girl’s pretty face. “Stand up,” you breathed, hands shaking as she eyed you. “Stand.”

The other four in her clan circled around you; despite the fact that you had no clue whatsoever about how to handle the weapon in your hands, you hoped that the fierce expression on your face was enough to convince them. Byulyi’s hand was surprisingly gentle on your shoulder, as was the expression on her face when she smiled at you. “Well. I believe you know what the blessed bullet in this gun does, and I’m sure you know better than to fight me on this.”

Irene hissed, fangs glistening under the dim lighting of the basement, “You don’t have Yongsun with you right now. What makes you think we can’t kill you, and your pretty human girlfriend too?”

Byulyi’s lips curved up in a smile as the cocking of another gun sounded by the basement door, Ryujin’s brow furrowed as she aimed. “Unlike this one, which I bet you only loaded one bullet into, that pistol over there has 4 bullets, straight from the hands of a priest,” the vampire explained with her hands behind her back. “More than enough to kill all of you, if I don’t get to you first.”

Yeri was already tugging at the wrist of Wendy, who stared futilely at the gun still pressed into Joy’s neck. Finally, Seulgi spoke up with a wavering voice, Irene not bothering to dispute as she asked, “What do you want? Money?”

“I want you to stay away from this bar, and with it, Y/N,” Byulyi gestured, deep voice smooth as she turned to you, sending a greasy wink that you rolled your eyes at. “And I’ll be telling all the other clans about this... incident. Sound fair?”

You breathed out a shallow sigh of relief when Irene nodded tentatively. “Good. Then get out, and don’t expect the pistol back,” you warned, waving Ryujin to get out of the stairway. “I don’t ever want to see your faces again.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

Byulyi shrugged, clinking sojus with a grin on her face. She looked positively delighted, though she wasn’t the one with bite marks on her arm and a scrape on her cheekbone. “No need to. It was fun.”

“Fun?” you scoffed, downing the alcohol. “I wouldn’t call it that. But seriously, what do you want in return? That’s two favors I owe you now.”

“Is it?” she blinked. “I wasn’t keeping track.”

Looking out over the bar, you smiled at the sight of a vampire-free crowd, customers downing Ryujin’s specialty drinks as music boomed in LED speakers. “Yeah. Two favors. You better think fast, vampy.”

“There is one thing in mind.”

You raised an eyebrow and looked back over, head tilting when you realized that Byulyi wasn’t staring back like she usually did. “Yeah? What’s up?”

She cleared her throat suddenly, though you were sure that alcohol didn’t burn her like it did you. “I don’t want to use the favors for this, since I think that’d be immoral, but I... I want to be closer to you.”

Flicking your hand in the air between the two of you, you clarified, “What’s that mean? You wanna be friends? You wanna sit closer to me? Or sex--”

“No!” She held her hands out in front of her; to your satisfaction, you were sure that she’d be blushing if she was capable of it. “I may feel something for you. Not sexual, but something that I haven’t felt in a while. If I can, I’d like to use both my favors to call you my... girlfriend. Is that the term you use these days?”

“A girlfriend?” you laughed, shaking your head as you leaned forward in your chair. “That’s great and all, but you’ve barely known me for a month.”

Despite being a (not-so) human being, Byulyi visibly deflated. Without realizing it, your hand shot out and settled on her knee, thumb caressing the rough material of her jeans. “Okay. Then how about this: I will be your girlfriend. But it’ll be probational, like our alliance. As soon as you do something to piss me off, which I’m sure will be soon, I’ll decide if it’ll continue.”

She grinned, nose scrunching up as she offered you a toast. “Sounds perfect to me.”

The clink of the glass bottles was the chime of bells ringing in a new chapter, clear over the drunk energies of the night. Not wedding bells, of course- that wouldn’t happen for a good hundred more years. 

#mamamoo #mamamoo x reader #mamamoo moonbyul #mamamoo imagines #mamamoo scenarios #mamamoo reactions #mamamoo moonstar #moonbyul #moon byulyi #moonbyul x reader #moonbyul imagines #moonbyul scenarios #moonbyul icons #mamamoo icons #girl group scenarios #girl group imagines #mamamoo incorrect quotes #mamamoo fluff #girl group fanfic #mamamoo fanfic

[marvelousmarvelimagines]

Burn

Pairing - Sam Wilson x Reader

Summary - You knew that things were going to change the moment that Captain America walked into you and your boyfriend’s lives. You just hadn’t expected them to change so quickly. 

Word Count - 2.5k

Warnings - None except angst! But I promise it’s a happy ending! :)

Could you say that you didn’t see it coming? That you were blindsided? That you had never expected things to end this way? No. From the moment that Captain America had come knocking on the doorway of your apartment, you knew that things were about to change. 

You could admit that you hadn’t expected it to end so quickly after that. 

“I’ve got to go help him. I feel like . . . I’ve found what I’m supposed to do.” He told you, sitting across from you at your small dining room table. 

 “I thought working at the VA was your calling?” You asked. It was where the two of you had met. You had been working at the front desk there for years now. 

“This is different.” He replied, and you watched as his fingers tapped on the table. It was an anxious habit he had come back with from his two tours. “Captain America needs my help, and I can’t turn him down.” 

“Even if it means losing me?” You asked, your voice a whisper in the air passing between the two of you. 

There was silence for a long time after that. You knew this couldn’t be easy for him. The two of you had gone through so much together that letting each other go had always seemed an impossible thing to do. How would you survive? Even though Sam was the one sitting here, cutting the tie, you knew he was thinking the same thing. 

“Even if it means losing you.” Sam answered. 

And just like that, it was over. 

____________________

The first time you saw Sam Wilson after your break up was almost a year later. The forces of the Universe must have been against you, because it was while you were on a third date with a guy. It had been going okay, you always tried to give it at least three dates before you gave up, but you had a feeling it wasn’t going to go anywhere. 

You had a hard time finding any hope about a relationship these days. Not after you had lost the person you thought might have been your soulmate, but you couldn’t sit around your apartment feeling sorry for yourself. You knew he wasn’t. Every once in a while you would get a letter, a postcard, from somewhere across the country, but you never replied. How were you supposed to be getting over him if you were getting reminders of his presence all the time? 

He hadn’t sent a letter this month, so you assumed he had gotten the message, or was too busy saving the world, but then you saw him, sitting at a bar with Steve Rogers, and all the hurt came rushing back like a tidal wave. “Hey, um, can we go somewhere else?” You asked your date, hoping and praying he would say yes. 

“Why? I’ve got us a table reserved and everything.” He told you like it was a big deal, and he had pulled a lot of strings to do so. 

“It’s just my ex is here -” You started to explain, but he cut you off. 

“So?” He asked, giving you an annoyed look. 

Yeah, this relationship was definitely not going anywhere, but you didn’t want to be rude, knowing he had already driven to come into town, and shook your head. You took one more glance at Sam, who hadn’t noticed your presence, and you sighed. “Never mind.” 

This response seemed to please him. He smiled, and gestured toward a booth in the corner. “Go ahead and have a seat, I’ll get us some drinks.” 

It was not your night, that much was for sure. You rubbed your forehead, already feeling a stress headache coming on, and not looking forward to the next at least hour or so. You leaned against the back of the booth, closing your eyes and trying to focus on anything other than the man who you could feel from all the way across the room. You were so lost in thought you didn’t even notice the drink in front of you until your date spoke up. 

“I got you some red wine. I’m sure you’ll find it to your satisfaction.” He said, with a grin. 

You, on the other hand, wanted to grimace. “Oh, thank you.” You replied, once again, not wanting to be rude, and took a sip, trying to fight back a grimace. He was still standing there, and you knew he was assuming that you would scoot over so he would slide in beside you, but you had always thought that was so weird, so you didn’t move, pretending to focus on your glass until he finally sat down across from you. 

In fact, you didn’t even look at him until he cleared his throat, trying to grab your attention. “You look nice tonight.” 

Surprised, but pleased by the genuine compliment, you gave him a hesitant smile. “Thank you, you look -”

“I mean, I’m sure your hair would look nicer down, but -”

Wow. It really was going to be one of the worst dates of your life. 

“She looks great no matter how she wears her hair actually.” A voice interrupted, and your whole body tensed. 

You would recognize that voice anywhere, with the amount of times you had heard it, even though it had been a year since you had heard it in person. You tried to prepare yourself, but there was no way to do so. 

Sam Wilson was not a man you could look at without getting flustered. He looked as great as you remembered, cute smirk, strong jaw, soft eyes, but there was a hint of tiredness, along with something else you couldn’t put your finger on as he looked at you. You wondered what it was, but then decided to chalk it up to him seeing you for the first time in so long. You knew that you were definitely feeling shaken up looking at him, so you imagined he was too. 

Memories of your times together started to cloud your memory as you two stared at each other, and you had no idea how long you were looking at him until your date spoke up, clearing his throat unnecessarily loudly. “Excuse me, we’re on a date.” He spoke up. 

God had his voice always been that irritating, and you had never noticed? “Not a great one from the looks of it.” Sam said, never taking his eyes off of you. 

“Excuse me?!” 

Sam didn’t even spare him a glance. He lifted his arm, and in his hands was a bottle of your favorite beer. “Want to go for a walk?” He asked you, holding it out as an invitation. 

Oh this was a bad idea. A terrible idea. Sam stirred up a lot of emotions inside of you that you struggled to keep in check on a day to day basis. Being alone with him would only bring them to the surface. Not to mention you were on a date, no matter how terrible it was going, and it would be rude to - 

“For old time’s sake?” Sam added, as if he could see your wavering thoughts. 

Ah well, you knew this wasn’t going anywhere anyway. You took the drink from Sam, ignoring the sputtering man at the table, and followed him upstairs and outside to the balcony. 

The two of you sat in silence for several moments, staring out at the city beneath you. Since he had been the one to speak first, you felt like it was your turn, but at the same time, what were you supposed to say? How much you missed him? How sometimes you would wake up in the mornings and forget he was gone? How you had quit your job at the VA because the memories were too much? Sam had been the one to dump you to go on this grand adventure with Captain America. So why was he still sending you postcards and trying to talk to you now? 

“Why did you never write me back?” Sam said, breaking the silence. 

“Why did you keep writing to me when I didn’t?” You asked, avoiding his question as you took a sip of your beer. God that was so much better than red wine. 

“We were together for three years -” He started to say, but you cut him off. 

“Exactly, Sam. We were together until you decided to end it. Do you know how it felt getting those letters? It was like I was getting stabbed, over and over, and you were holding the knife.” You told him, anger rising in your chest. All you had wanted to do was try and get over him, yet here he was, trying to pull you back, like he had tried with those letters. 

When he replied, you could hear the frustration in his tone. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you! I just . . .” He trailed off, and you found yourself getting even more upset, wanting to know what he was about to say. 

“You just what?” You repeated, urging him on. When he didn’t respond again, you couldn’t take it anymore. You put your beer down on the table behind him. “You know what? Keep your beer. When you decide why you wanted to continue to make my life miserable, you can let me know.” You said, tears streaming down your face as you stormed off, doing your best not to look back. 

____________________

There were no more letters. Nothing to remind you that Sam Wilson existed at all until his face was plastered all over your television. 

Criminal, wanted by the government, treason, all scary words that didn’t fit the man that you knew and loved. You knew something wasn’t right, and you couldn’t help but worry about him no matter how hard you tried to forget him. 

Then one night, your phone rang, and when you answered, it was a familiar voice on the other end of the line. “Hey sweet girl.” 

The voice was filled with static, and you knew he couldn’t be calling from a good phone, and you had no idea how far away he was either, but there was no mistaking his voice. “Sam,” You sighed in relief, grabbing your pillow and hugging it close to your chest. “What the hell is going on? You’re all over the TV, and they’re calling you -”

Sam chuckled, like he always had when you started rambling. “Yeah, I bet I am. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.” 

Those words sent a shock straight to your heart. “When you get back -”

“I guess if I come back.” He replied, and in seconds, your anxiety multiplied. 

“Sam . . .” Your voice was calm even though you were not. “What are you doing?” 

“There’s this guy . . . Big, alien guy. We have to take him out, or it’s going to be real bad.” He said, and your fingers tightened their grip on the pillow you were holding. “If something happens, I wanted to answer your question.” 

“My question?” What question? You hadn’t talked to him in so long. What could he have to tell you - 

“I didn’t send those letters to hurt you.” Sam said, and you didn’t dare interrupt him. “I sent them because about one minute after I walked out of our apartment, I realized how bad I messed up.” There was a pause as he waited to see if you had anything to say, but you couldn’t speak. “It thought if I sent you those letters, I would keep you thinking about me. Now I know how selfish that was. This whole damn thing is selfish, but if something happens to me, I wanted you to know I still-”

“Shut up.” You cut him off before he could say anything else, taking a deep breath and forcing yourself to hold back your tears. “Don’t say another word until you come back here and can say it in person.” You demanded. 

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments, but when he spoke, you could almost hear the grin in his voice. “Yes, ma’am.” There was a loud rumble of noise from his end, and when he spoke, his tone was serious once more. “I’ve got to go.” 

“Sam?” You said, stopping him from hanging up. “Please be careful.” 

____________________

Five years had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. For you, it basically had been. One moment you had been standing in line for some takeout, hoping that at any moment your phone would start vibrating against your hip, and Sam would be calling you to tell you that he was on his way. The next you had popped up in the exact same place, that was now deserted, half the people that had been there with you materializing as well. All of you were equally confused, and it took awhile for everyone to realize what had happened. 

In about a week, you were busy moving all of your stuff into a new apartment since your old one was now occupied. Everything had been put down in their various rooms when there was a knock on your door. Letting out a groan, you stood up off the couch, assuming you had forgotten something, and made your way over to the door, not even bothering to see who was on the other side before opening it. 

“Hey,” Sam Wilson said, appearing at your doorway as if it was the most normal thing in the world. 

All your emotions came rushing back in a tidal wave, and you threw your arms around his neck, clutching him close to you. At once, he wrapped his own arms around you, hugging you even tighter against his chest. “You’re alive.” You murmured against his skin. You hadn’t known, and you didn’t even know who you could call to find out. 

“I had a promise to keep, didn’t I?” Sam replied, walking you backwards into your new apartment and shutting the door behind him without letting even an inch of space between the two of you. 

“But Sam . . .” You pulled back enough so that you could look into his eyes. “There’s so much going on right now . . . don’t they need you to -”

“They can wait. I’m not wasting any more time away from you.” He said, one of his large hands reaching up to cup your face. “Nothing’s been right since I’ve walked away, and I want to change that right now.” 

Tears started filling up your eyes as he spoke, one of your hands reaching up to hold the one that was against your face. “Sam . . .” 

“I love you.” He said, “and I’m never going to forget how much again.” 

The logical part of your brain said that you needed to make him prove it. See him grovel, all the normal things that a person wishes for after a break up. After all, what assurances did you have that the next time Sam wanted to go on a big adventure, the same thing wouldn’t happen again? 

Your heart, on the other hand, knew Sam Wilson like nothing else. Yes, the possibility was there that he would hurt you again, but the sincerity in his eyes was obvious, and besides . . . 

Maybe it was worth it. Just to keep loving Sam for a little while longer. 

“I love you too,” You replied, leaning up on your tiptoes to kiss him for the first time in a long time.

It was worth every second apart.

#sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x you #sam wilson imagine #marvel imagine

[rebloged-content]

Recommended Sanders Sides creators

Marry Christmas, everyone! And a wonderful December day to all of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, too. Let’s be honest right off the bat, though: I’m only using the date as an excuse to do this list anyways.

So. Throughout the time I’ve spent as a part of this wonderful corner of the sanders sides fandom over here on tumblr, I’ve often found a new creator and wished I’d found them sooner. It kind of makes me wonder who else I might miss. If you do to, here are a few creators I’d love for you to check out. You’ll probably recognize some of the names, if not all, but maybe you’ll find a new favorite creator here?

And to the creators in question, I really love your content. If you’ve made it onto this list, you’ve definitely cause one or two sleepless nights of reading for me, because who needs sleep if I can have this, right? XD Whatever you’ll find written next to your name is the impression you’ve left on me and… Well, just know that you’ve made some days of my life at least a little happier, all of you. And I hope to repay the favor by telling you how much I appreciate you releasing your content into this world… Well, repay the favor at least a little, I suppose.

Let’s begin, then, shall we?

@5am-the-foxing-hour Because this? This is who you go to if you want to read good Janus-content. You are in a mood to read sympathetic Janus? Wanna see the danger noodle just casually interact with other sides? Go to their short stories. I mean, “the cult”? Prime example of how to tell a story with impact in just a few words. 8 paragraphs, but boy did I read that one on repeat. Or “water spray bottle”, this one is fun, short and will make you laugh. An energy drink for the fander heart, so to say.

Then there’s their mafia-au, “there’s more in me than precious metals”. Six are out so far, and I adore every single word of every single part of this. Protective Remus, sassy Janus, angst, comedy relief, destruction, Roman-Remus-sibling-rivalry, braincell Logan, survival instinct Virgil, working together over a common enemy… This fic has it all, believe me. Take your time and read it, because you will read the entire thing in one go once you start. At least I did, and I didn’t even notice.

And their advent writings? Those had me squealing and jumping around in a way I will deny if anyone ever sees it. I don’t even know what else to say, they are fucking fantastic and that’s that.

So, yeah. Go check them out, before I start fangirling about them even more. You know my personal favorites now, so just go there. You won’t regret it.

Next up is @coconut-cluster. Ah, yes, Lexi. Lexi, whose uni-AU started as self indulgent and has become the loceit story on tumblr. We all know her, or at least most of us do, and we all love her too. And while I also drop everything I do at any point of time I possibly can once I realize the uni-au has any form of new addition, there are a lot of other fics created by her that you should check out as well.

Did you, for example, ever want a sappy prinxiety one-shot with the sappiness only being implied, a mutual understanding of “we’re-not-saying-we-care-but-we-both-know-we-do” born from joking reassurances and a not-a-date-nope-only-a-break? While that may seem to be a tall order, that is exactly what “before the sun goes down” is. Plus there’s ice cream. Or maybe you’re more of a logince fan? Do you want a fic where Roman isn’t the prince but serves His Highness? Do you like sincere talks while you’re procrastinating showing your face to the subjects you don’t really want to rule over? In that case, you really should read “Viva la Vida”. Careful, though, this one is so sweet you’ll probably get a toothache… There also is an analogical fic that I’ve enjoyed very much: “Cracks in the Ceiling”. I love it, because it’s just calm. Fears creeping up on you, thrown away by a trusted friend with a few words, just by being there and playing into the metaphors you head created this time around. It’s calm, and there’s not really a climax or anything, but it doesn’t need one. Because it’s just a glance into everyday life. It’s beautiful in its own right, really.

What I’m saying is, Lexi has a lot more wonderful stories to tell than the uni-au. It’s the most popular one, sure, and it’s one of her best works. But you really should check out her other fics as well. Lexi herself once said that she writs fics she’d like to read. I would figure it’s because of this, but her stories are mostly things you don’t really find anywhere else. Dynamics, stories, world building, all of those are aspects you may find somewhere else. But Lexi is just one of those people who see what they miss in a fandom and create it themselves, and among these creators Lexi is my favorite. She just has that certain skill that makes that approach to writing result in the most enjoyable reading experiences. Lexi’s fics are special, because they’re different, because they are authentic and you can feel that when you’re reading her work.

@djpurple3 is another talented individual I want to talk about. I have to confess, DJ is, as far as original content goes, almost exclusively locked in my brain with the fiction “I just keep loosing my beat��. 23 Chapters so far, one better than the last. It’s a bitter-sweet story following Remus and his children, after the bitch of a mother has been brought behind bars. Abusive piece of shit. Yeah, I don’t like her much. But the story is so full of love and support, everyone trying their best, everyone seeing how much the others deserve the world and wishing they could give it to them… Roman and Remus have a sibling-dynamic I would die for here, too. Patton is just the most adorable friend to Deceit - here Damion - Virgil is a precious bean, Logan is cute and the teacher we all wish he’d had ourselves and… god, I could keep gushing about this fic forever. I’ll stop now, though, before I’ll start spoiler things. Wouldn’t want to do that, especially since I really, really, really want more people to give this a go. It’s not underrated, I just think everyone who doesn’t is missing out by a lot, so… Go over there and read DJ’s fic right fucking now, if you haven’t already read it at least once. Thank you.

@delimeful​, our wonderful lime-friend with a cute cat making a terrifying face in his header. First of all, there is the WIBAR universe, short for “Watch it burn and rust”. 5 chapters in act one, 4 intermissions (one of those with three chapters), one chapter of act two, as well as three extras and an au of this au called “the end of being alone”, and I’ve lost count of how many nights I spent reading those instead of sleeping like I should. (Or interacting with family. Or being productive. Or… It’s really a good story, okay?!) WIBAR is a deathworlder au. So a space au in which humans are regarded as dangerous deathworlders who can survive on a deathworld like earth. In other words, Virgil is the only human, and boy does that scare everyone around him. And the best part? You can feel the development, the shift in mentality regarding Virgil, feel the moment approach in which he isn’t a threat but a companion instead.

And, apart from the fic that inspired me enough to start writing “TINND!R?” over on my writing blog, there are a lot more amazing fics to read on lime’s blog. He wrote “How easy you are to need”, for example. It’s soft, it pulls at just the right heartstrings, it’s achingly hopeful and, god, the ending still has me in tears, even after the fifth - ? sixth? something among those lines - reread. This one’s a werewolf au, actually. Virgil is the werewolf, Logan, Patton and Roman are the humans.

Do you want yourself some of that pre-AA dynamic? I’d recommend “to taste your beating heart”. In this, Virgil gets separated from the rest of his group of vampire hunters and gets turned into a vampire himself, loosing his memories. And he’s “Anx” now, not “Virgil”, goddamnit! He isn’t their friend anymore, why don’t they understand that? Well, probably because they can still see Virgil’s old habits shining through. There’s a lot of tension, a lot of angst and a whole lot of frustration involved in this.

He also wrote some amazing one-shots. They’re mostly so well written that I’m almost sad not to be waiting on a continuation. There’s “the littlest mermaid”, in which Virgil goes to investigate a noise, finding a scared, tiny mermaid in need of help. In “community gardens” we have Remus being Remus, gaining the interest and friendship of the forest’s giant Logan. “Magical mutualism” tells the tale of a witch and a demon making a pact beneficial to both parties and opening the doors neither could have gone beyond alone. The way we’re all confused about our ships not actually having set sail yet comes to a hight in Virgil in regards to his friends in “amateur matchmakers”. And this is the point at witch I stop talking before I actually recommend every single one of lime’s fics instead of just my favorites as I had planed because I started to gush too much… XD

Let’s move on to @muppenthings​. Mupp is an amazing artist and she created a giant mermaid au. There’s this one orca who’s just… We love her, but I actually don’t think she’s the brightest. I really, really love her, though. Virgil himself is being a little protective over his human friends and casually so. I love this comic series for the art style, but I also love the way it makes me crack a laugh at least once per work. Or appeal to my mother-instincts, if it’s about baby Virgil. Too cute for his own good, I tell ya! And the facial expressions! The detail, the jokes, everything about this is wonderful. You should at least take a look.

@whenisitenoughtrees​. Cat got me with “This cup of yours tastes holy (This lie is dead)”. “A slow voice on a wave of phase” was next, later “Infinity and beyond”, “we are not alone in the dark with out demons” and “changing of the guard”. And then, suddenly, the night was over. I’ve read almost all of the fics in one go, and I’ve been semi-frequently visiting her master post ever since. When “There’s an endless road to rediscover” came out just a little while back, that lead to me re-reading through almost the entire list. I don’t regret it, my plans for that weekend would like to disagree.

These six fics I mentioned here are, by no means, the only ones I enjoyed. Those are just the ones I’ve found myself opening up again and again in sleepless nights. Those are the ones that pop up in my head and have me smiling to myself in the middle of god-knows-whatever-I’ve-been-doing-at-the-time.

Angst, fluff, hurt-comfort, you’ll find everything in that list. And something I’ve grown to like about Cat’s fics even more than anything else is the quick change between feeling perplexed, a startled laugh at certain wordings (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it) and apprehension. These fics will have you at the edge of you seat, swooping you away on an emotional roller coaster. And, god, the way Cat writes from Remus’ perspective? The introductions of her stories and the way she redirects to the main topic after going into detail on something? I saved a few paragraphs as screenshots on my phone because I love them and I want to read them again when I’m down. I just… Cat’s great.

Next up is @eliemo. Because Elias Virgil is the royalty of Virgil angst. From the touch-starved Virgil we’ve all had a head cannon of at one point in “Heart of Ice”, over ace Virgil panicking over telling his boyfriends that he his ace and didn’t think to tell them before in “Love our way” to so, so much more.

Mostly EV follows the story arc of an underlying feeling of dread at the beginning, which slowly grows into panic, exploding in a storm of angst and concludes in everyone, or at least whoever is around, coming to the rescue and helping to calm down, with the end being the hope for getting better in the future. They always manage to convey the confusion, fear or just the general thought process so well that you can’t help but get absorbed in the story. They know exactly what to say and what to leave between the lines to get the maximum effect. And, your heart will definitely be shattered after their angst. Still, the way the sides comfort each other and support each other so well every time is just… I love their stories, a lot.

I want to make two more suggestions if you want to check out this creator. A Janus angst fic, which can only be described as “ouch” you’ll find under the name “snake bite”. It hurts in the best way possible, because Janus gets the comfort he deserves.

The other suggestion gets a lot darker. It’s about Virgil having been abused by the “others” before he got accepted into the light side. The others are shocked to find out what has gone on behind their backs and they help Virgil in every way they can to recover. Of cause it’s a rocky path, though. This would be “Learned Behavior”. The series/au has twelve stories so far, one of which has two parts. You’ll find the master post for this pinned to the top on their blog.

If you like angst, you should also give @maybedefinitely404​ a look. Ly has a soulmate-au going, in which they use the concept of “you hear the music your soulmate listens to”. "Music in my head” is a prinxiety fic, but the two of them have yet to meet. Four chapters and two mini-fics in. The reason I mentioned angst is because in this - spoiler alert for the first few chapters here - , Virgil gets put through conversion therapy. Luckily Janus and Logan are better foster parents than the ones who did that to him.

They also have a master list for all their soulmate stories, featuring different ships. Apparently they participated in soulmate month, if I understood that correctly. And to be honest, that was how I even found their account. I absolutely adore their anxceit fic, which takes place in a human au. It’s starting off pretty sad, but the bonding moments are absolutely wonderful. It’s a lovely story, and the ending is one of the best ones I’ve yet to read. Their logince fic took my breath away, too. A flower shop/tattoo artist au, and Logan is the tattoo artist. Stunning writing, wonderful world building, just the right amount of backstory to have everything make sense without overwhelming/drowning the reader in unnecessary details. Their moxceit fiction… Well, this one had me in tears within the first few paragraphs. It’s terrible and you feel for Janus, whose perspective this is written from. The ending, though… Gods! The ending was so indescribably cute. To be honest, all of the soulmate stories are great, these three are just my personal favorites.

Concerning their one shots, you’ll probably have to figure it out on your own concerning this. I haven’t been able to read all of them yet, as sad as that makes me. Definitely palling on doing it in the future, though. I did read two of them, though. “Pippity poppity” really was amusing, and I am so looking forward to the second part of “The Boy who sings next door”. The way they write the dynamics between the sides? I live for that.

Another creator I would like to recommend is @maybe-im-tired.They don’t have a master post, as far as I could see, but they only post their content anyways, so… “Can’t take my eyes off of you” is my favorite out of their fics so far. I mean, the way they managed to fit the sheer chaos that is intrulogical into this one short fic is amazing. And you could take about two thirds of what Remus said and put it up on your wall as out-of-contexts-quotes. Don’t worry, he says them out of context anyways, and they will definitely make you laugh. 

The series of short stories for the human au that starts with “Glowing stars” is another au by them that you will almost certainly like. We have Logan and Virgil as kids (about 7 I think), Remus and Patton as single parents, Roman as the most adoring uncle, Emile as babysitter and Remy as his amazing partner. Remus is a great father, wonderfully chaotic as well. And a teacher! Imagine that, Remus as your teacher... He’s great with kids though, as long as they aren’t entitled villains come to make his precious Virgil feel bad, that is.

They also wrote a bunch of “random one shots”. They are all amazing, but my favorite has to be this one. It’s a logince one, once again human au. Patton may or may not tell his big brother’s crush about the feelings he wasn’t prepared to share yet. You know, as small kids do. It’s soft, it will make you smile as much as Logan does, and I love Remus in it. I generally like how they write Remus, okay? I know how much I’ve said it, but I’m not even exaggerating. They always write him differently, and all versions they write him as are so, so lovable and just… I wanna hug the life out of all Remus versions they wrote, okay? Take a look, you’ll know why.

Anyways. Let’s continue with @figurative-siren-song. This is the last account I’ve followed and I’m still sad about it having taken me this long to find them. Little salty, to be honest. (I’ll stick to they/them because they said just not to use she/her, and, well… consistency, you know? Don’t have much, so I have to get what I can XD). When I finally did find them, I went through their entire master list (at least all of the ships with characters I actually know. I’m kinda bad with the shorts characters, so I usually just… avoid them? Idk. Personal preference, I guess), and, well… I would honestly recommend every single fic on that list. They call themself “Repair Fluff King™️” and they deserve that title. But when they warn you that a fic will be angsty, it will be angsty.

I found them through the anxceit fic “A Deal”. Well, through an animatic by their friend on youtube that had linked the fic, but details. I’ve been reading this fic up and down again and again. It’s just so good! And when they talk in the second part and Janus explains why he proposed that deal. Or in the continuation, which i can’t talk about because I will probably spoiler things! So wholesome!

 Also, their losleepxeity fic “We’re worth it”. So soft! The nicknames, the plot, the everything. It’s softer than clouds look, and we all know that means something.

But, really. Everyone will find something for them by this creator. So many ships, all incredibly well written, and soft and fluffy without getting boring in the slightest. It’s as energizing as coffee, actually. And, let’s be honest, this whole fandom drowns itself in angst most of the time. Take a break from that, repair your broken hearts with goof fluffy content that you’ll want to read over and over again. Go check this creator out. You will love them. 

Last but not least… @myfriendsasthesides​ A blog by a creator who just takes the wonderfully chaotic dynamics of a friend group and using that to give us content of incorrect sides quotes. Maybe it doesn’t fit with me going on and on about fics here. I don’t care. Follow them and turn on those notifications, please, because seeing even one post of theirs on your dashboard will make your day. It’s funny, it’s absurd, it’s chaotic, it’s making you jealous of them for having friends like that. Believe me, you will want to see those posts. It’s just… the random shots of serotonin and dopamine out generation needs really fucking desperately 100% of the time. 

That’s it with the list! Eleven creators I absolutely adore, and I’m sorry I was babbling so much all the way through, but… Well, actually I’m not sorry. And actually, half of the reason I even made this post is to tell them how much I love them and fangirl about them a bit. So… Yeah. Well.I love you guys and hope you’ll have a wonderful day! And to everyone else reading this: I hope this helped you ind some new creators you can enjoy. And a good day to you too, of cause.

Sincerely, Joy 🖤

(@joylessnightsky/@sanders-sides-fic)

#I hope it's okay to you I just went ahead and did this #if you don't feel comfortable with this or anything written in here feel free to let me know #also no I didn't check the spelling #I'm too tired to do that anyways #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #recommendations #list

[galadrieljones]

The Walking Dead: Episode 4.12, “Still” Rewatch

So I rewatched “Still” in honor of the Stilliversary tonight. My thoughts are not related much to Team Delusional stuff, more so just thoughts and idle analysis, but I had fun and definitely did not cry.

Here we go!

Beth is already feeling it, right away, after the trunk scene, ie: what he must think of her. She’s just another “dead girl” who needs to be protected. It is both insulting and embarrassing at the same time.

Daryl misses that squirrel and breaks an arrow! Dammit, Daryl. This is just another trial, but it’s interesting in how we see Daryl in like rote provider mode, and yet he makes a mistake.

The suck-ass camp begins with some Garden of Eden imagery: While Daryl skins and cooks the snake, Beth is admiring the beauty of a ladybug crawling on a leaf. The music is actually full of wonder. Beth sees the beauty in the natural world while Daryl sees it only for what he can use. It is an essential masculine vs. feminine moment, in terms of their individual themes, and what propels them and their actions. Their masculine and feminine energies will be subverted later though, and well-complicated, because the writing is good.

Beth brings up Hershel’s death early: “He’s not exactly around anymore so...” She wants to have a drink, maybe to rebel against her father, maybe to honor his memory, maybe to seal her own fate. It is a complicated choice for Beth. It’s not just some “dumb college bitch” moment. She knows this, but how is she supposed to communicate it to Daryl?

Daryl is like an animal eating that snake while Beth tries to talk to him. Literally, out of body. I imagine being her and just like, Ugh. Gross, dude. Then, when she leaves, Beth totally expects him to come after her. When she doesn’t see him right away, she mutters, “Jerk.” She called him a jerk in season 3, too, after he takes off with Merle. I think Beth is used to being treated nicely by boys. Ofc, Daryl, while he may not be an overt gentleman in his scarfing of that disgusting snake, was there watching her the whole time. 

“You wanna spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something.”

I sort of missed this before, the mention of “the rest of our lives.” It is a small acknowledgement that they are now “stuck together.” Ofc, Beth’s idea is to “make the most of it,” to go out into and DO something! Embrace the future! Daryl sees only the here, the now, and the past. He would prefer to stay still.

Unrelated but: God, Daryl is peak hot in this episode. 

Anyway, so, the state of Pine Vista, and what happened there. Jfc. It’s very ugly and very sad. The Dogtrot seems a reference to a dogtrot house, which is an old Appalachian style home. Basically like two shacks connected via a breezeway. I see some sort of backcountry types having moved in here and tortured the rich folk. There is evidence that “fun” was had. “Rich bitch,” etc. Maybe it’s the same psychopaths who tormented the OG Terminus crew, ultimately turning them into crazy cannibals.

Beth finds the Washington D.C. spoon. Why?? It’s such an odd, pointed shot, with a slow zoom. Is that where we’ll find her? Does anybody else know anything about this?? Anyway maybe this is a TD post lol.

Beth finds that bottle of wine and it’s a shame she has to break it! I remember feeling so bad about that the first time I watched this episode. Like NO BETH YOUR BOOZE!! She uses it to stab the shit out of that walker though, and to defend herself. She’s kind of pissed at Daryl for not helping her, again used to only the kindest of attention from boys. But Daryl isn’t like other boys (lol). He was there the whole time, once again, but he let it play out, because he knew she could do it. I like that her first (almost) drink here sort of has to become a weapon instead. Nothing is ever easy! And sometimes, the environment IS best observed, not in terms of its beauty or promise, but in terms of how its use can best be served to survive.

Tempus Fugit - Time flies! Oh, yes. Yes it does lol.

Daryl and Beth both need to escape their old selves here. Beth with her pretty cloths and Daryl stealing the cash and the jewels. They need to shake that shit off. Burn it all down, if you will. I think this episode we mostly associate with Daryl changing and having his epiphany, but Beth changes, too. She is just quieter at it.

It is 3 o’clock! The grandfather clock is this interesting motif that puts pressure on the situation literally while also bringing the symbolic pressure of time passing, running out, etc. It makes us feel detached from reality, like this is a purgatory episode. I like when The Walking Dead does this, like when they take us to a new place in which we become critically aware that this thing we’re watching is fiction, and by the rules of fiction, anything (ANYTHING) can happen.

“I know you think this is stupid, and it probably is, but I don’t care.” She just is who she is. She doesn’t give a shit what he thinks. I think that attracts Daryl to her in this moment and emboldens him. I think Daryl actually really cares what other people think of him, that he is keenly self-aware in this way. We see this fear manifest as Merle in Chupacabra, ie: that the rest of the group thinks he’s a “freak,” a piece of “redneck trash,” and that they’re all “laughing behind [his] back.” Meanwhile, Beth is just like, “You probably think I’m just some dumb bitch. But guess what, Daryl? I DON’T CARE.”

Beth sitting at that bar trying to clean out glasses: “Who needs a glass?” She clutches the bottle longingly and then cries. I would argue she is thinking of Hershel and the line of questioning that arises in this moment. Should she do this? Is she betraying him? This moment also contradicts what she tells Daryl in 4.1. “I don’t cry anymore Daryl.” This is the moment that breaks him.

Beth keeps trying to make him feel normal, while they’re walking to the shine shack. She thinks he used to be a motorcycle mechanic. But Daryl’s normal is not hers, and he doesn’t really do small talk. In these little moments, we see him being who he is. Daryl is really good at being who he is when who he is revolves around passivity and silence.

They go from country club to moonshine shack. What we see is how a class divide might differ in longevity. A country club full of walkers, made out of humans who turned against each other, every bottle dry in the house vs. an empty shine shack, no death in sight, absolutely full of booze. When societal protections collapse around us, it is the ruthless and the bereft who will know how best to survive. It’s like Beth sad about Daryl, being “made for this world.” 

They are trapped! Tropes. So many romantic tropes! Lol at people who would like to ignore that any of this happened or that Bethyl was never canon.

This: 

Anyway, I think Daryl is actually pretty mean to Beth toward the end here, out on the porch, like the way he treats her, kind of tugs her around physically. He doesn’t hurt her, but he is not gentle. This puts things into harsh perspective for Beth, as I do think that, while he is not right in how he handles her here, he is right in some ways about who she is. She is not naive but she is used to protection and safety and relying on others, the same way he is used to the opposite of those things. Both of them need to learn how to exist from the other side. 

Beth also sees what’s going on, however. I think she also might be used to this sort of quasi-violent, performative, drunken behavior. Her dad was a drunk. I think it’s interesting that so much of this episode hinges on alcohol in Hershel’s wake. I always thought this might be one reason Beth is drawn to and accepting of Daryl. We only really see Hershel while sober (I mean, mostly). We never saw him in his deep element of alcoholism, but Beth did. She is not innocent to vices or men spinning out of control. It’s why Beth responds to Daryl’s whole insane story about the tweaker and Merle with, “You miss him, don’t you?” She doesn’t care that Merle was a degenerate drug addict. He was Daryl’s brother who died. She has loved and lost an addict, too.

Before, Daryl was just “drifting.” In this episode, Beth gives him a quest. I think that’s very important. She also gives him something to look forward to:

“You got away from it.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“Maybe you gotta keep on reminding me of it sometimes.”

The hint at their future: “You gotta keep on reminding me,” he says, counting on them staying together. Beth is so kind to him here, too, even doting as she talks about him being the “last man standing.” I can’t imagine a girl has ever treated Daryl like this. I think she scares the living shit out of him.

Daryl suggests they go back into the shine shack, but Beth says they should burn the place down instead. Again, stillness vs. action. See their complimentary traits: Daryl is passive. He needs someone to tell him this is okay. Beth is active. She does what she wants. It is uniquely antithetical to their gender roles and subverts the power dynamic we might otherwise expect from a relationship like this: Daryl is older and a man. Ofc he should be the more aggressive, assertive one. The actor. But he’s not. It’s Beth who makes their choices in this episode. Daryl follows her and protects her along the way. 

The ending is so happy. Oh my god. Anyway.

Thank you for humoring me. Happy Stilliversary!! 😭🥺❤️

#the walking dead #bethyl #daryl dixon #beth greene #daryl x beth #4.12 #still #stilliversary #❤️❤️❤️

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

Habanero

You're a good girl, well behaved.

Absolutely not the type to rail random guys in nightclubs.

Until you are.

Fandom: BNHA

Pairing: Aizawa x Reader, eventual polyamorous Erasermic x Reader

Rating: Explicit. Minors BE GONE

Trigger Warnings: None in this chapter.

AO3: Here | Want to support me? I have a Kofi

Chapter: 2/16 (all chapters)

“Oh...do you two know each other?”

Principal Nezu glanced from you to Shouta, eyes bright with curiosity. You didn't blame him. In his shoes you too would wonder why such a thing hadn’t cropped up during the application process. Why hadn’t you named him as a reference? Why hadn’t Shouta mentioned knowing someone with your skillset the moment the role became available?

“No, no,” you said, conscious of how defensive you sounded.

Nezu was now your boss and there was no appropriate way to explain the circumstances of your first meeting. You were the new guidance counsellor, hired for your good sense and professionalism; the perfect role model for teenagers in line to become the next generation of pro heroes.

Good guidance counsellors didn’t fuck strange men. They didn’t sit in nightclub toilets for twenty minutes, scrubbing away a seemingly never ending stream of cum. You had thought having a guy cumming inside you would be the least messy option. Oh, how wrong you were.

Nezu didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t press it any further. Instead he dismissed himself, leaving you and Shouta alone in the corridor in an awkward silence. He clearly hadn’t expected to see you again either.

“This way,” he said, leading you to his classroom, which had erupted into chaos in his short absence.

You wondered what sort of teacher he was. He must have been a respectable one if Nezu had asked you to observe him specifically.

The change in atmosphere as you entered the room was enough to answer your question. The classroom fell silent, all eyes on you.

“This is (Name). She’s the new guidance counsellor and the Principal wants her to observe us for a while. Don’t embarrass me,” he said, before turning to you. “Take a seat.”

He wasn’t even your teacher, but you hurried to obey, taking a seat at the back of the classroom and reaching into your purse for a notepad and pen.

You tried to concentrate and ignore the elephant in the room. Every time you tried to focus on Shouta’s words, though, your mind wandered to how he’d sounded groaning with pleasure.

You crossed and uncrossed your legs, trying to ignore the heat pooling between them. It was inappropriate for you to be thinking of such things at work, in a classroom no less.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to make it worse. You wondered how it would feel if he bent you across the desk; what it would be like to ride him on it.

You were only too grateful when class took a short recess and Professor Nezu returned to show you to your office.

“You look a little flushed, (Name),” he said, “are you feeling alright?”

“Oh, yes,” you said, “it’s just...new job, lots of information to process. I’m fine, really.”

You got the feeling Nezu knew you were lying, but he didn’t say so. Instead he left you to log into your computer and rearrange your desk, safe in the knowledge that someone would come in to check on you in an hour or so.

Reshuffling the office turned out to be a bad idea. The previous guidance counsellor had a collection of pamphlets behind her desk that covered all manner of issues, such as drug use and bereavement. Your gaze lingered on the one about unprotected sex.

Somehow, even the office was judgemental.

You reached for your cell phone and opened the group chat.

>> I’m in trouble

Sayaka was the first to reply.

>>Why? What happened?

>> The guy from Ego. He works here.

At that, everyone in the group started to type at once.

>> Omg is he your boss?

>> No, he’s a teacher here.

>> Kinky ;) does he have a cane

>> Of course not!

>> Shame.

You put your phone down on the desk, rubbing your temples as it continued to ping with each new message.

Your mother had always told you to be mindful of your actions and their consequences, but she’d never told you what to do when it was too late.

You thought you’d gotten away with it. You weren’t pregnant, you weren’t sick and you were never going to see him again.

You picked up your phone again and skimmed through the new messages before typing yourself.

>> What do I do?

Aptly enough, Rei was the first to respond.

>>Talk to him. You said he didn’t like games, remember?

She was right. You remembered the straightforward way he had asked what it was you wanted from him and how flustered it had made you feel. You got the impression he would want the same treatment under the present circumstances, no matter how awkward it was.

>> Alright. I’ll try and get him alone at some point.

>> Good luck!!!

You switched off your phone and sat back down at your desk, running your fingers through your hair.

It was the right thing to do and you knew it, but you got the feeling it was going to be easier said than done.

━

Five minutes after the final bell of the day, Present Mic walked into your office.

“(Name),” he called out, “con-grat-u-lations on surviving your first day!”

“Thank you, Professor,” you said. “I’m looking forward to working together.”

If Shouta worked here, then the guy you saw at Ego must have been the real Present Mic and not just someone with a passing resemblance. You wondered if he recognised you, though soon dismissed it. He was direct in a completely different way to Shouta, who didn’t waste a single word. Present Mic didn’t seem to have an off switch, but all of his words came straight from the heart. If he recognised you, he certainly would have said so.

As if sensing your thoughts, he thrust a hand into your face and waggled his finger.

“No, no, no! This will not do! Call me Hizashi. Hi-za-shiiii.”

“Okay,” you said with a small smile. “I’ll make sure to call you that from now on...Hizashi.”

“Cute! So cute,” he cried out, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “Now listen. The school day is over, and you know what that means?”

He didn’t give you a chance to reply, instead squeezing your shoulders.

“It’s time for the after party!”

“A-after party?”

“Yes, yes,” he said. “You’re the newest member of the faculty and the principal has asked us to be as welcoming as possible, so we’re going to take you for beers!”

“Beers?” You said, suddenly wondering if they were going to take you to Ego . You hoped not.

He led you out of the classroom, arm still wrapped around your shoulders.

“Yes, yes...no need to thank me,” he said, “it’s our duty as your colleagues. You are but a cute duckling stepping out onto our riverbed…soon to be a beautiful swan.”

You chose to ignore the implication that you were an ugly duckling.

“Hey, Eraser!” he called out across the corridor. “Eraser, this way!”

You wondered who he was talking to, only for your heart to skip a beat when you actually saw. Shouta was standing in the doorway of the staff room, a pile of folders under one arm. His gaze drifted from you to Hizashi and then, as if he already knew what was coming, turned the other way and let the staff room door close behind him.

“Hmmm, maybe he didn’t hear me,” said Hizashi and you had to fight to keep the smile from your face. This was exactly how things had played out at Ego .

Hizashi led you to the staff room, where the professors were packing up for the day.

“Everyone,” he called out, “grab your things, we’re going for drinks!”

“You really don’t have to make a fuss,” you said, feeling incredibly self conscious. “It’s very kind of you, but…”

“Nonsense,” said Midnight, strolling over. “We should get to know one another, we’re going to be working together, after all.”

“Eraserrrrr,” whined Hizashi, “you’ll come too, won’t you! It’s 2 for 1 on drinks!”

You hoped he’d say yes. There would be plenty of opportunities to get him alone at a bar.

“I’ll pass,” he said.

“Awww, come on,” said Hizashi. “It’ll be fun. They have those fruity drinks with the umbrellas that you like!”

Shouta shook his head and dumped the pile of papers he had been carrying onto his desk.

“I have papers to grade.”

Hizashi let go of you and scooped the files up from Shouta’s desk.

“These papers?”

“Give them back.”

“I will,” said Hizashi, an enormous smile across his face. “At the bar.”

Shouta’s face fell, as if they had had this conversation a dozen or more times before.

“Fine,” he said. “Let’s go.”

━

An hour and a half later, you were sitting at a table in an izakaya, cradling a lukewarm beer. You’d taken only a couple of sips since your arrival, partly because of how self conscious you were about being in the company of your new colleagues, but also because you wanted to keep your wits about you in the hopes of getting the opportunity to speak to Shouta alone.He had had even less to drink than you, spending the time glaring from the sealed bottle in front of him to the papers Hizashi had confiscated.

Questions had been rapid fire from the moment you sat down. What was your quirk, where did you go to college, were you local, had you relocated for your new job?

Midnight, Nemuri as she had told you to call her, asked the question you had dreaded the most.

“So,” she said, leaning over the table, “are you seeing anyone?”

“No.”

“A cutie like you? Single?”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly curious.

“I was seeing someone,” you said, thinking back to the dinner that had changed everything. “We were together for years, actually, but we broke up a little over six months ago.”

You didn’t miss the flicker of recognition in Shouta’s expression as he no doubt did the maths. You cringed, realising too late that you had indirectly admitted to him being your rebound. He picked up his drink and took a long sip, all while your coworkers murmured between themselves. Your gaze drifted to the edges of his jawline; the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

“Don’t tell me...did he cheat?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Did he travel overseas?”

“No, no…”

“Did he die in a horrific accident?”

Everyone turned to Sekijiro, who shrugged defensively.

“What? Someone had to ask.”

“He didn’t die,” you said, “he didn’t leave the country either… he just…wanted different things I did, that’s all.”

Not so long ago just the mention of your ex left you in floods of tears. Even now, after so long had passed, it brought tears to your eyes if you didn’t catch them fast enough.

You had found one of his sweaters in the back of your wardrobe only a matter of days before your interview at UA. You had no idea how long it had been there, or how you had managed to miss it during your clearout, but it still smelled of him and you buried your face in it before you could stop yourself.

“Men are dogs,” said Nemuri, raising her glass and clinking it against yours, “you’re better without him.”

“We’ll find you a new guy,” said Hizashi, “what’s your type?”

“I…”

You didn’t know and you didn’t want to admit it.

“I um…”

“I think I know a guy,” said Nemuri, “how do you feel about dog hair?”

Shouta sighed loudly at that.

“This is a waste of time,” he said, “I’m going home.”

He reached across the table for the papers Hizashi had taken, only to receive a slap across the knuckles.

You were grateful for the interruption, especially as it seemed to distract everyone else from your love life.

“A toast,” Sekijiro said, lifting his glass, “to our new guidance counsellor!”

Nemuri lifted her drink and you lifted yours, clinking drinks together.

In that moment, embarrassing one night stand aside, you felt less like an outsider and more like you belonged.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be as complicated as you thought.

“Cheers!”

━

You parted ways another hour later, Nemuri and Hizashi drifting away for karaoke and Sekijiro saying something about chicken wings. 

“I’ll walk you home,” grumbled Shouta, “I have business that way anyway.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“I told you. I’m going that way.”

“Okay, well, if you’re sure.”

You hadn’t had the chance to get him alone at the bar and knew this would be the only one you got that day. Perhaps that was his plan as well. You found it difficult to get a read on him.

You stood in awkward silence as you took the train, body close to his. You thought about making conversation a few times, though very few subjects came to mind. You didn’t know him well enough to make small talk that wasn’t immediately obvious.

“Well, this is me,” you said as you arrived at your front door and fiddled with your keys. “It’s not much but it’s home!”

Relax, you told yourself, we’re adults and more than capable of an adult conversation. If you show your professionalism then-

You dropped the keys.

Fuck

“Haha, sorry about that,” you said, scooping them up all but shoving the door open. “Butterfingers.”

Up until recently you had been proud of your apartment. Originally it had belonged to a great aunt, who let you rent it for a discounted rate. You had painted the walls yourself, built cupboards and shelves and painted those too. You’d crocheted your own throw blanket and stuffed every single cushion you owned.

Since your boyfriend left, though, all you could think about were the hopes and dreams you had lovingly worked into everything: the corner you had left empty to make room for a future moses basket; the wine rack you had bought for when you hosted dinner parties. It was surely a direct contrast to anything Shouta might have expected, and almost embarrassingly so.

“Uh, would you like some tea?”

“Mhmm.”

This was your chance and you were determined not to waste it, reaching for some snacks as the kettle came to a boil.

“Make yourself at home,” you said in an attempt to distract yourself from how badly your hands were shaking. You had no idea how to broach the topic with him. No matter how you phrased it in your head, it sounded awkward.

Shouta had taken a seat at your kitchen table and nodded his thanks as you carried over the tea tray.

“I wanted to talk to you about my students,” he said, reaching for the folders Hizashi had taken from him. “Just seeing them isn’t enough. They keep their problems to themselves.”

Only then did you realise that he hadn’t got papers to grade at all. These were student dossiers- gold dust for a guidance counsellor. Had he meant to discuss these with you all along?

“Sorry if it’s not a good time,” he said. “But I wanted to give you an overview of the students in my class and my points of concern.”

It was the last thing you might have expected from this conversation. In class he had seemed distant, almost hostile. Here he was, though, giving you a head start on how best to support them. It was not at all what you had expected from him, yet you weren’t sure why. You had left almost everything you knew about him in Ego’s bathroom.

“Of course,” you said, taking each file he offered.

He took the time to go through each one, going through every grade, every quirk, every weakness. You had never known a teacher with so much insight into their students, from Todoroki’s difficult home life to Midoriya’s self destructive need for success. You could see you had your work cut out for you.

“Thank you for all of this,” you said, turning a page as he nibbled a rice cracker.

“Don’t mention it.”

Even now, in the process of giving you a cheat sheet, he was straight to the point. It brought a smile to your face.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” you said, “it’s just...you’re a surprisingly nice person.”

He sighed at that and the pair of you fell into a heavy kind of silence.

“About what happened,” he said, “at Ego …”

“Y-yes?”

“I’m not gonna say anything about it at work.”

“Really?”

He raised an eyebrow and you realised just how excited you had sounded.

“What, did you think I was going to compare notes in the staff room or something?”

He genuinely did sound offended and you instantly felt awful. You’d admitted to him being a rebound, expressed surprise at him being kind and now this. You’d insulted him so many times today without meaning to.

“No, no,” you said. “Nothing like that. It’s just...well...I’ve never...done anything like that before. I don’t know what happens next.”

“Nothing,” he said. “That’s what happens next. Today is our reset.”

Reset.

You quite liked the sound of that. It was the best case scenario and more than you could possibly have asked for. You could shelve the events at Ego as something someone else had done.

It was perfect, so why did it leave you feeling empty?

Your heart was heavy as you showed him to the door and you leaned against it after you closed it behind him.

You had never dated, so why did it feel as if he’d broken up with you?

You told yourself you were happy for the reset, even as you ripped the door back open. He hadn’t gotten far, walking along the street with one hand in his pocket and folders under his other arm.

“Shouta,” you called out.

“Hmm?”

He stopped and turned to you, perhaps wondering if he’d left something behind.

“Tomorrow,” you said, “tomorrow is day one.”

He smirked.

You wanted your life to go back to normal and the rational part of you protested even as you took two steps back through your front door, dragging off his shirt. He hadn’t undressed much at all at Ego and for the first time you saw exactly how many scars cobwebbed his body. You wanted to run your fingers over them all, but he reached for your hands and lifted them above your head to pull off your shirt.

You dragged him closer, adding fuel to the flames. You’d never wanted anyone quite this much, running your lips over his jawline and throat.

You led him towards your bedroom, fiddling at your skirt zipper and kicking it to the floor. Fittingly enough, you were wearing the same bra as when you went to Ego, though that realisation lasted all of half a second as you ripped it off and threw it across the room.

You were wearing only your panties and a smile now, but it didn’t occur to you to be modest. Instead you crushed your lips against his and reached for his belt buckle, sighing at the feel of his chest against yours.

He lowered you onto the bed as if you were made of bone china before stepping out of the rest of his clothing. It was the first time you’d been exposed to a fully naked man in well over six months and you couldn’t stop yourself from staring.

He really did have scars everywhere, though your gaze drifted past that to the trail of hair beneath his belly button. He was already hard, and your mouth ran dry. If you hadn’t already had sex with him you would have been very daunted.

He reached down to grip his cock and you crawled up the bed, reaching into your bedside drawer and tossing him a condom. He tore the foil with his teeth and your insides turned to jelly; it was probably the most sinful thing you’d ever seen.

He put on the condom and got down onto his hands and knees, crawling towards you until you were able to stroke his face with an intimacy that didn’t cross your mind until much, much later. He grazed his lips over your cheek and you giggled as his stubble scraped your skin.

He lined his hips to yours and pushed in, so slowly that you thought you were going to die. You gasped, running your hands down his back and tracing every scar.

“Please,” you whispered, loud enough for only him to hear. “Please…”

At that he pushed himself in all of the way and you cried out as your bodies connected, digging your nails into his back and earning a moan from him in response.

He sat up and took hold of your bed frame, steadying his weight and giving you a dark smile before slamming his entire length into you.

“Oh...my g-“

You never got the chance to complete that particular train of thought, for he did it again and again until the bed rocked from the force of his body.

You knew you were being loud, but you didn’t care.

Tomorrow everything would be reset, as if you were perfect strangers. You finally understood why people got so desperate in movies about the apocalypse. This wasn’t remotely the end of the world, yet you dug your nails into his back in the hopes of never letting go.

You held onto him as the coil inside of you snapped and left you in free fall, frantically rubbing your clit in the hopes of loosening up even more. He lifted one of your legs over his shoulder and took you even deeper, though it still wasn’t deep enough. You wanted to lose track of where you ended and he began, though settled for the impact when his hips hit yours.

Just like the first time, he lost almost all of his rhythm as he grew close. You stroked your clit, chasing the shivers of pleasure running through you and making sure to catch his eye as he sucked in one breath and then another, losing himself in his own release as well as yours.

“Ahh, F…” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut in a failed attempt at keeping his composure. He bit his bottom lip and gave a few more shallow thrusts, dragging out his orgasm for all it was worth.

He rested his forehead against yours the moment it was over, stealing several lazy kisses that you would have been only too happy to give away.

He pulled out of you and rolled over onto his back, gasping from the exertion even as he pulled off the condom and tied a knot in the middle before dropping it in the waste paper basket at the side of your bed.

“I’ll just...catch my breath…” he said, resting his head on the pillows. He closed his eyes, basking in the same happy afterglow that had so thoroughly overtaken you both.

You caught yourself reaching to stroke his hair, though stopped yourself just in time.

Before long, he was snoring softly and you glanced around your bedroom. It had been immaculate when you left that morning. Now, though, it was a mess of discarded clothes and heady with the smell of sex.

You glanced across at your bedside clock and took note of the time: 1:02 AM.

Well… you thought, glancing across at the man sleeping beside you. So much for Day One .

#aizawa x reader #eraserhead x reader #aizawa shouta #shouta aizawa #boku no hero academia #habanero

[kim-ruzek]

Girl Code Duty

Summary: Fix-it for 3x20. Sylvie stops Kim making the bad decision to sleep with Roman.

Warnings: Sean Roman bashing.

Word Count: 3.4k

Read on AO3

Notes: This is the quickest I've wrote a fic in so long and I loved every second of it. This was basically just written as an excuse to Roman bash, and I like fixing things so that Kim never slept with him. I'm just sad I had to acknowledge that my girl Sylvie also had.

Also, a thank you to @justanoffalygirl because one) this fic idea was created when talking to them, and two) for letting me steal a line from their fic.

Sylvie sits at the counter at Molly’s by herself, quietly drinking her beer. It’s one of those nights at the bar, where it’s full—not full-full, that it was loud and overwhelming, but enough that you could sit alone in the crowd peacefully unnoticed—but not that much by fifty-one, or really with their friends from the twenty-first or Chicago med.

It had been a quiet few days. Her shift—which ended that morning—was an uneventful one, nothing too straining happening the whole shift. Those shifts can be hit and miss, for Sylvie. On one hand, they’re a breath of fresh air, a welcome break from the chaos that comes with her work, but in the other hand, they tire her in a whole different way to a chaotic shift.

Sylvie’s born to be a paramedic, and she truly thrives in the situations the profession demands of her, and the days where she does nothing but sit around itches her feet, tiring her with boredom.

And of course she’s still mentally exhausted by all the drama that went down with Chilli.

Sylvie had a rather uneventful day even after the shift. A day spent watching home renovation shows, which though entertaining, just made her even more itchy to do something. And all that did was make Sylvie realise she’s gotten herself into a really boring rut recently.

So in the evening, she found herself at Molly’s.

She had gone thinking at least she’ll get some excitement hanging with her co-workers and friends. Otis isn’t on shift today, but Gabby and Herrmann are and it’s always exciting around them. But the punters are keeping them rather occupied, and the rest of the bar is rather empty of friends.he had gone thinking at least she’ll get some excitement hanging with her co-workers and friends. Otis isn’t on shift today, but Gabby and Herrmann are and it’s always exciting around them. But the punters are keeping them rather occupied, and the rest of the bar is rather empty of friends.

It’s okay, though, she finds herself thinking, enjoying the beer and the peacefulness of just among the crowd. The perks of drinking at a bar, with none of the anxious worries of perverts or being in danger; not with this being a firefighter run bar.

“Herrmann! Another beer, please?” Sylvie’s attention is drawn to where Kim Burgess sits, at a table not too far away from the bar. Her voice is a few octaves louder than it normally is, and Sylvie wonders how many beers she’s had. Having gotten drunk with Kim before, Sylvie would think at least a few.

Kim had been Molly’s when she had came in herself, and Sylvie had not been surprised having heard from Gabby the events that pd and med was focused on today. No one could say they didn’t have a quiet day.

Sylvie briefly had considered going over, but Kim had been sitting with Sean Roman and Natalie Manning, the three looking as if they were processing the day’s events together. Knowing how important those decompressing moments are in their line of work, especially decompressing with those you were ‘in the trenches’ with, as it were, Sylvie had decided against it.

And up until now, Sylvie had forgotten all about them.

In the time between Sylvie getting here, and this moment, Natalie had left, just leaving Kim and Sean remaining, and there is a couple of empty beer bottles on the table.

Sylvie watches them for a few minutes. She’s aware that it’s rude to stare—her mother’s words to her when she was a young girl echoing in her mind—and that she should either look away or go over to them, but something, right at the back of her head, niggles at her, telling her to watch. And as a trained paramedic, Sylvie has learnt to listen to those feelings.

Kim is drunk, that Sylvie could see. Not so much that Herrmann should cut her off, but definitely slightly more than her usual preferred tipsy. Sean is also buzzed, which makes sense depending the case they had. They’re sitting very close to each other, very much in each other’s space, and they’re clearly having a good time as they’re laughing. Kim’s hand keeps touching Sean’s shoulder, a touch he’s very much returning at every given moment.

Yet again, this makes sense; Kim gets super affectionate the more drunk she gets.

But at the same time, Sylvie understands that isn’t Kim’s usual affectionate touch and it dawns on Sylvie why her friend senses have been activated. Sylvie isn’t watching her friend get drunk after a tough day: she’s watching her friend considering making a very stupid, drunken mistake.

Kim is considering sleeping with Sean.

Or, she should say, Kim’s considering letting Sean fuck her, quickly, because Sylvie’s own experience very much told her that there’s no way that man knows the woman is also meant to be satisfied. And what a glow down that would be for her, as from what Kim’s told her drunkenly before, Adam is very good in that area.

No, Sylvie thinks to herself. There’s no way her girl code can allow Kim to have such disappointing dick. It’s a bad decision for Kim to have her post-engagement rebound like this anyway, and even if that wasn’t enough for Sylvie to interfere, she couldn’t in good consciousness subject her friend to that.

Every time Sylvie looks at Sean and remembers that night, all she can think is how she wished someone was able to do that for her.

Sylvie jumps off her stool, walking towards Kim and Sean now stand. It looks like this is their last beer before they’re going to leave, and Sylvie’s glad she spotted them when she did.

“Hello, you two,” Sylvie greets them, inserting herself between the two of them. Cock-blocking her friends to stop them making bad decisions is something she’s rather good at—she’s not just an amazing paramedic who saves people on duty, medically.

A look of irritation passes across Sean’s face, but Kim’s far from annoyed at her sudden presence, evident by how she throws her arms around Sylvie the moment she gets there. Kim hugs her tight, her drunkenness making her squeeze maybe a little too hard.

“Sylvie! Hi.” Kim grins widely at her. “We saw a baby survive today. It was, Sylvie, it was incredible! And amazing! Medicine is truly incredible,”

Sylvie smiles at her friend’s excited amazement. Kim then gasps.

“But I don’t need to tell you that, do I? That’s basically what you do every day. Like a blonde, pretty superhero.” Kim squeezes her again.

“Oh, I don’t know if—” Sylvie begins to protest, but Kim cuts her off.

“Yes. You’re a superhero.” She nods with enthusiasm, certain in her belief. A smile appears on Sylvie’s lips again.

“Okay. I’m a superhero.” She concedes, before adding, “but if I am, you definitely are. You’re a kickass cop!”

“Hm. But you save lives. Like actual lives, people call you when they’re dying. I’m like the sidekick to your superhero. Like you’re the boss, the one people go to. I just help,” Kim rambles on. Sylvie’s got an urge to point out to that technically, paramedics generally turn up to assist cops, not the other way around, but she pushes it down, knowing drunkenness knows no reason or logic.

“Okay, then, sidekick. Let’s get you home,” Sylvie says, thinking that it’s not only best if she stops Kim from leaving with him, but ensuring that even after she leaves the bar that she doesn’t make the bad decision.

“Oh. Brett, actually, Kim and I, uh, we were getting a taxi together,” Sean speaks up then, reminding them of his presence. At the use of her last name, Sylvie almost rolls her eyes. It’s almost as if he was trying to pretend he hadn’t seen her naked, that they hadn’t also “got a taxi together”.

Sylvie must’ve drank more of her beer than she thought as she’s tempted to remind him of such—and how Sylvie had left alone in another taxi only fifty-two minutes later.

“Well, I’m here now,” Sylvie dismisses him, acting as if his meaning of getting a taxi together had gone over her head. She links her arm with Kim’s, keeping her attached to her side. Kim looks between the two of them, as if trying to decide which one to go with. (Like Sylvie would be giving her a choice).

“No, uh—” Sean continues to protest, but Sylvie sticks to doing her friend duty, interrupting him by talking over him.

“Come on, Kim. I’ve had a boring day today, I can use some girl time,” Sylvie tells her friend. At her words, Kim pouts sympathetically at her, and Sylvie knows she’s successfully diverted her friend’s attention away from Roman. Kim then looks at Sean, giving him an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Sean, she needs girl time.” Kim tells him and Sylvie would be lying if she didn’t get some satisfaction in how disappointed Sean looks.

Annoyance is also wrapped up in his expression, but Sylvie can see he’s trying to hide it, presumably so to ensure Kim wouldn’t dismiss whatever was going to happen from happening another day. Sylvie makes a mental note to make sure, when her friend is sober, that this was a one off, that Kim shouldn’t ever consider going there again.

With that settled, Sylvie lightly tugs at Kim, to get them moving towards the door. Sometimes, leading drunken friends can feel very much like herding farm animals, but Kim moves with little encouragement, barely taking the time to say (well, yell rather loudly) a goodbye to Sean before she heads to the exit with Sylvie.

“Can we go to yours instead?” Kim asks, yet again her voice louder than usual, as soon as they get into Sylvie’s car. “You know, for girl time? I really don’t want to be at mine,” she adds on.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Sylvie nods. She understands Kim’s unwillingness to go back to her apartment; just a few weeks ago, she was thinking it would soon not be her home, that she’d be building a life in another apartment with Adam.

After Kim asks her that, she stares out the window for a minute or so, a troubled and sombre expression on her face. All Sylvie does, all she knows Kim needs from her at that moment, is reach over and lightly squeeze her hand.

Then, whatever dark thoughts were swirling around in Kim’s mind passes, and Kim’s her animated drunken self, rambling on about the baby again for the rest of the journey to Sylvie’s apartment.

“So what do you want to do?” Kim asks her when they enter Sylvie’s place. Before Sylvie can answer, Kim gasps, spinning around to face her.

“We could put on some music? I’ve missed dancing. I love Molly’s and all, but it’s not always the best place to just let loose. Or do you want to watch a movie? Oh! Let’s watch one we can make a drinking game to play while watching. Or do you just want to drink and talk? Or a game? But what game would be fun just the two of us? Maybe we should call others. Gabby’s working isn’t she? But maybe—” Kim talks a million miles a minute, her mind jumping all over the place.

“Kim. Kim.” Sylvie grabs her attention, interrupting her friend. “How about we don’t drink, and you go to sleep?”

“But what about you? You wanted girl time.” Kim tilts her head, her drunken confusion amusing Sylvie. Sometimes Sylvie thinks there’s nothing funnier than being sober, or more sober at least, than your drunk friend.

“I’m fine. But you need to sleep. This has already been enough excitement to make up for my boring day,” Sylvie reassures her, expertly leading Kim to get bedroom while she talks.

“Oh. Okay.” Kim accepts. “But do I have to sleep? I’m not tired,”

“That’s because you’re drunk, Kim. You’re buzzed. But you’ll thank me tomorrow, so come on. Get off your shoes. You can borrow some of my clothes to sleep in if you want?” Sylvie offers as Kim sits down on her bed, doing as she said and taking off her shoes. Kim shakes her head.

“’s alright. I can just sleep in this.” She responds. Sylvie can see that she’s starting to loose her buzz, her eyes getting tired.

“You sure?” Sylvie double checks.

“Yeah. But I don’t feel right sleeping here. This is your bed, I’ll take the sofa,” At Kim’s words, Sylvie shakes her head.

“No, I want you to sleep here. It’ll help your hangover to get some good rest. And I’m not on shift tomorrow, so I can sleep the whole day if I want, so it’s fine.” Sylvie reassures her, holding up a hand as Kim goes to protest.

“Kim. I’m a paramedic, remember? You should listen to me.” That stops her, and so Sylvie nudges her, moving onto the next part—actually getting her in the bed. Because it has been a while since Kim’s last drink now, and her buzz is going, leaving a sleepy drunk Kim in it’s wake, that is a relatively easy task.

“You’re such a good friend,” Kim tells her, her voice sleepy, after Sylvie’s gotten her into her bed. Sylvie smiles at the brunette. “An amazing kickass, sweet wonderful friend,”

“You want to know something?” Sylvie asks softly as Kim snuggles down into the sheets, settling. “You’re an amazing kickass, sweet wonderful friend too,”

“No, I’m not.” Kim protests. Her voice is quiet, full of sleep still, but Sylvie can also hear the pain, the hurt, that’s in it. “I’m an idiot. Why did I think I’d get to be happy, that I’d get my happy ever after? And now I never will. Who’ll want to be with me, when they find out I’ve had a failed engagement? I never wanted this, I only ever wanted to be engaged once, and now. I’ll probably never be again.”

Sylvie sits on her bed, next to where Kim lies. Kim’s looking at her with such pain and hurt in her eyes, a pain and hurt that Sylvie has known herself, and she’s glad she intervened because this Kim, this drunken hurt Kim, is most definitely not ready for a rebound.

“Kim. That’s not true. You will find love again, I mean, you’re a catch! And who cares if you’ve had a failed engagement—so have I, remember? It doesn’t define you or stop you from getting dates. Yeah, it’s a little bit more than this, but it’s still essentially just another break-up.” Sylvie strokes some of Kim’s hair, in the way her mother did to her when she was a little girl.

“And you are many things, Kim Burgess, but an idiot is not one of them. You deserve happiness, and you will get it. I promise. And if anyone ever tells you otherwise, give me their names and I’ll kick their ass. And that includes you, yourself. You’re a wonderful person, and you should recognise that.” Sylvie reassures her friend, her voice firm, showing how serious she is.

Kim gives her a small smile, her eyes having become watery at Sylvie’s words. Sylvie can still see the pain in her, but she can also see that her words has had an affect on Kim, in a positive way. From her own experience, Sylvie knows Kim is far off from being totally okay, but she knows that a small part of her has been healed ever so slightly. And that is a win, for both of them.

It’s not long after that Kim falls asleep. Sylvie turns off her bedroom light, after putting a glass of water and paracetamol in her bedside table for when Kim wakes up in the morning.

Sylvie’s already awake, sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee, pancakes and a newspaper when Kim sleepily stumbles out of her bedroom rubbing her eyes.

“Good Morning,” Sylvie smiles at her in greeting. Kim blinks at her for a few seconds before returning the smile.

“Morning,” Kim’s voice is still groggy from sleep. Sylvie pushes her plate towards her.

“Here. Eat.” Sylvie tells her. Kim opens her mouth, and sensing protestions, she holds up her hand. “You look like you could do with it, and I can always make more.”

Sylvie watches as Kim sits down at the table, obediently beginning to eat. She rises, heading for her fridge. “I’ve got some bacon you can eat with that, if you want? It’ll help you with your energy. Also, I can make you some coffee,”

At that, Kim’s head lifts up. “Coffee,”

Sylvie laughs at that reaction, and how Kim’s voice sounds so desperate and she realises offering the coffee should’ve been her first move.

“Please,” Kim then adds, as if realising that she could be coming off rude. She isn’t, of course. Sylvie recognises she’s just sleepy and hungover, but Kim is always so conscious of being polite. “Thank you. And could I have some of that bacon, please? It sounds like such a good option right now,”

Sylvie places the freshly made cup of coffee in front of Kim before working on the bacon. It’s silent in the apartment, as Sylvie cooks and Kim eats, and she finds herself thinking that if she hadn’t been at Molly’s, Kim would’ve been having a very different, awkward morning instead.

“Sylvie?” Kim says as she eats the bacon. Sylvie looks up from her newspaper. “Thanks. For what you said last night. I, I needed to hear that.” Kim smiles at her and Sylvie returns it.

“No problem. Really, Kim. I’ve been there, remember? And at least I didn’t have to see my ex-fiancé every day at work.” Sylvie affectionately squeezes Kim’s hand. “Anytime you need to talk, especially to someone who understands, I’m here. Even if you just want to get drunk and talk about anything else,” Kim smiles appreciatively at her words.

After Kim’s finished her coffee and food, she tells Sylvie that she’s going to go, needing to go back to hers and shower and get dressed before work. Sylvie offers to drive her, but Kim shakes her off, saying she’ll get a taxi. Sylvie wants to protest, insist, but she can tell that Kim isn’t just wanting a taxi because of not wanting to a burden, but because she needs the time alone, so Sylvie drops the matter.

“Thank you. Really.” Kim says to her as she goes to leave. She hugs Sylvie tightly, appreciatively, a hug Sylvie happily returns. “And not just for this, breakfast and letting me sleep here, or even not just for what you said but for the whole night. I, I was feeling very emotional and that combined with the alcohol... I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for making decisions,” Sylvie nods, getting exactly what Kim meant.

“It’s fine. My duty, really, as your friend.” Sylvie replies, continuing.

“I mean not just because I’ve been there, and because you were drunk, but because honestly? As your friend, it’s my duty to save you from disappointing dick,” Sylvie pulls a face, remembering her encounter with Roman.

A laugh splutters out of Kim, and she leans forward towards Sylvie. “Really? He’s no good? I mean...I get that vibe, but really?”

“Kim. I was out of his apartment fifty-two minutes later. He’s not just disappointing, he’s quick and awful. Very in-out, selfish kind of man.” Sylvie grimaces as she remembers. Kim laughs again, and Sylvie’s happy at least something good came out of that night.

“Oh god. Really, then. Thank you. I mean, I get the vibe, but you seriously left that soon after?” Kim shakes her head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,”

“Trust me, so am I. So, please, Kim, never ever consider that again, no matter how drunk. It will not be worth it.” Sylvie shivers at the memory. Kim pulls her in for another hug.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I don’t even know why I even considered it. Maybe because I know how much Adam hates him, so I was kind of being a bit destructive? I don’t know. But whatever the reason, it has passed. If I’m going to make a bad decision, I better be getting satisfaction from it,” she reassures her. Sylvie grins.

“Good. My job here is done, then.” Sylvie pauses. “And Kim, for what it’s worth? If I was you, I’d probably spend some time thinking about that reason why—maybe your relationship with Adam isn’t as failed as you think. But I know I don’t know the ins and outs, so maybe don’t give my opinion much thought. Now, you should get a move on! You’ve got work.”

Kim gives Sylvie a thoughtful look, before nodding. “Yeah, I should go. Bye, and uh, thanks again,” she says, before heading out of the door.

#kim burgess #sylvie brett #chicago pd #Chicago pd fanfiction #Chicago pd fic #ree writes #ree's.writing

[thesassenachswiftie]

A Preview of Reputation (Lover Prequel)

The chaos of progress report grades, the holidays and you know, surviving a global pandemic have been keeping the muses away, so I haven’t been writing much. A few months ago I started writing the prequal to “Lover” where Claire and Jamie first meet. I haven’t been able to start posting it yet because the first couple pre-Jamie chapters involve Claire and Frank being very much in love and it’s not something I’ve been super inspired to write. However, I did write the scene where Claire and Jamie meet, and since it takes place on New Year’s Eve, I figured I post a preview! Without further ado, here’s a rough, unedited preview of Reputation: Chapter 3 “Gorgeous”

Claire was on her second glass of wine when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t ken anyone would be down here, they’re all outta whiskey upstairs and I was told there was more down here.”

Fuck. You’re so gorgeous it actually hurts. Claire couldn’t believe the man she’d been avoiding all night was standing before her, alone in the basement, lit only by the backlight of the bar.  “Help yourself” she answered, gesturing behind the bar with a flourish. “You ken?” she giggled “What is that, Sco’ish?” she mimicked in a poor, slightly tipsy attempt at his accent. 

He slipped behind the bar and pulled the whiskey bottle off the shelf. “Are you making fun of the way I talk, lass?” he chucked with a twinkle in his eye, picking up a glass as well. 

“You should take it as a compliment.” she lilted with a flirtatious smile. “By the way, There’s ice in the fridge if you need it” She didn’t want to flirt with him, but it seemed to come out naturally--and being several drinks in, she didn’t have much restraint.

“Thanks. You don’t exactly sound like yer from around here either, Sassenach” he pondered. Heading towards the ice maker with his glass.

“Sass-a-nack.” she pronounced slowly, savoring each syllable on the tip of her tongue. “What on earth does that mean?”

“It means something akin to ‘outlander’ it’s just that ye don’t really seem like you quite belong here, perhaps that’s why yer hiding in the basement? Where are you from anyway? I can’t quite pin down your accent.”  He was back at the bar now, setting his glass down.

“Allow me” she implored, taking the bottle from him and pouring. “My parents were English, but they raised me in Boston, after they died when I was 14 I traveled the world with my Uncle, I suppose I picked up on a little bit of everything.”  She handed him the glass, “one whiskey on ice, sir.”

“Ah, so you’re a true Sassanach then? From everywhere and nowhere all at once” They were drawing in closer, Jamie drawing closer to where Claire was perched atop the bar. 

“I suppose you’re right, I never thought about it that way...” she trailed off.  God, how did he seem to understand everything about her moments after meeting her? 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, sometimes I let my mouth run off without thinking” he apologized, touching her hand in the darkened room.  The moment he touched her, it was like electricity surging through her veins.  Her face was flushed, her pulse was quickening.  Those ocean blue eyes were looking straight into hers. I think I might sink and drown and die. She couldn’t say anything to his face, cause look at your face, you’re gorgeous.  Their eyes and hands lingered on each other as they sat there in silence.  After what could have been a moment or an eternity, he lifted his hand from hers.  “Christ Sassanach, say something, if I’ve offended ye badly I’ll leave.”

“What can I say? I’m fine, no harm done, I’m just not used to people really seeing me like that is all.  I promise I’m not upset.”

“Good. I’d hate to hurt ya.” he said, finishing his whiskey and giving her a stunning smile that made her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach.  It was getting too intimate and she had to change the subject.  

“So what brings a Scotsman to our lovely cul-de-sac?”

“Well, I’m just visiting my sister for the holidays right now, but I’ll be spending my summers here for the foreseeable future as well.  Ya see, my brother-in-law, who also happens to be my childhood best friend was in an accident.” he saw the look of concern on her face “don’t worry, he’s fine, just he injured his leg pretty badly and can’t do the farm work he used to. I came down this summer to help him plant and harvest before I had to go back to my wee tree farm.”

“In Scotland?” questioned Claire. 

“In England actually, not too far outside of London.” corrected Jamie.

“Ah, the motherland, that’s respectable.” she replied “It isn’t too much, managing two places so far from each other?”

“My godfather Murtagh oversees my place back home while I’m gone, the thing about trees is, they pretty much grow themselves.  I really just need to be there for the holiday rush.”  Claire looked at him quizzically “It’s a Christmas tree farm, ya ken?”  Claire could picture it perfectly: rolling snow covered hills,  families dragging small children along on sleds, trees being twined up on top of cars, twinkling lights decorating a barn.

“Sounds lovely” she expressed. She found she was noticing how large his hand was around the whiskey glass, wondering what it would feel like to have it wrapped around around her waist, gently caressing her face, what those fingers would feel like tangled up in her curls, what they would feel like inside her--

“Oh Claire, there you are.” Frank interrupted coming to the bottom of the basement steps, “What are you doing down here?”

“Frank, darling” she beamed, her face flushing. She felt like she’d been caught although she did nothing wrong. “I just needed to take a break from these heels for a few moments.”

“Who’s this?” Frank asked, eyeing the imposing Scotsman who abruptly sprang upright from his position leaning at the bar as soon as he heard that beautiful woman call this man ‘darling’.

“This is Laoghaire’s date, Mr….”

“Fraser. Jamie Fraser. Pleased to meet ye.” he stammered, extending a hand towards Frank. “Frank, was it?” 

“Frank Randall” he replied, accepting the handshake. They were polite to each other, but Claire felt a tension between the two of them, as if they were trying to one up each other, staring each other down.  Claire couldn’t help but picture them snorting and stamping like bulls, which it seemed could happen at any moment. 

“Ah Randall! This wouldn’t happen to be your lovely abode, would it?”

“As a matter of fact, it is, and my lovely fiancee’s, of course.” he professed smugly, sidling over to Claire, who was still seated on the bar and wrapping an arm around her waist, claiming his territory. 

“Aye, it’s a lovely home--you’ve both done a great job, great bar as well.” He said, gesturing to the whiskey bottle and heading towards the stairs, understanding the implicit message Frank was sending.

“Darling, we really should get back to our guests, it’s not appropriate for the hostess to be hiding in the basement.” Frank chided, helping Claire off the bar, and casting a cold glance in Jamie’s direction. 

#reputation preview #lover #outlander fanfiction #outlander fanfic #outlander fic #jamie x claire #frank x claire #jamie fraser #claire beauchamp #Frank Randall #meet cute #inspired by taylor swift #gorgeous #prequel

[goddamnitkastle]

Tell Me Where Your Heart Is

Hello Brooke! (@the-restless-brook)! Yes, I am your Kastle Secret Santa. Ta da! 

You prompted me with “anything cozy, domestic, or angsty (as long as there’s a happy ending).” 

So full disclosure I really had no idea what I was gonna come up with for your gift. I thought about doing some sort of AU for you (because you really are the the Queen of the Kastle AUs) but that ended up being a red herring cause Season 2 of Virgin River came out and OH BOY did I get inspired lol

And so I ultimately decided to go full on angst, which I hope you will like. There is a happy ending, I promise. And there’s also a couple Marvel/Netflix Universe nuggets I threw in, I hope you’ll catch them :)

But to keep it simple, here’s a post The Punisher Season 2 fic in which Frank and Karen meet up at Josie’s. Will they make their way back to each other? (well, yeah, duh but it will be an angsty ride).

Enjoy! And Happy Holidays, Kastle Fam! <3

Josie’s on a Monday is pretty dead, even in December. Honestly a graveyard is more lively on this weekday than the bar in Hell’s Kitchen, despite the homely effort of the Christmas decorations put up by Josie herself. So when Karen comes strolling in, just dodging the light rain, and takes a seat, she’s not surprised by the look on the bar owner’s face.

“Wow. Must’ve been a hell of a day. Starting early for the week, huh?”

“I guess you can say that. Can I get a bourbon?” Karen asks as she places a twenty down on the bar top.

“You got it.”

Josie turns around and grabs the Four Roses bottle off the shelf. Karen takes a quick survey of the scene, clocks everyone here. Rob and Mira Donohue are having drinks at the table by the pinball machine and Tom Belkin is at the pool table with a friend.

“Here ya go, love.” Josie places the glass in front of her and takes the twenty. Karen takes a sizeable sip, tries to focus on the burn going down her throat rather than her rattling nerves. She doesn’t miss Josie’s eyes go wide though when she gives her her change. 

“Hey should I be worried tonight, Page? This isn’t your usual night and look, I don’t mind... usually…”

“It’s fine, Josie. I’m just... meeting someone. And I need this place to be quiet. I think they need... quiet.”

Josie shakes her head, walks over to the end of the bar. She pulls back a small curtain, revealing a safe hidden under the register. She turns the combination lock, opens it, and pulls out a 9mm.

“Josie come on, that’s not…”

“It’s a precaution. I do trust you... usually... but I got an establishment to protect.” Josie says as she ejects and checks the mag.

She clips it back in and clicks the safety off when the bell rings by the entrance door. Karen resists turning around, even though she is dying to see him.

God how long has it been since the hospital she thinks.

She goes for another sip of bourbon, tries to feign casualness even though his very presence has changed the mood of this dull Monday night. The Donohues have stopped talking and Tom and his friend have stopped playing. Heavy boots pad their way to the bar. Out of the corner of her eye, Frank Castle comes into her line of sight. He’s in all black, sporting a full beard, and scowling, but it doesn’t feel lethal to her. Josie though is gripping her gun like a lifeline.

“What can I do for you... scary hipster?” Josie asks.

Karen has to choke down her laughter. She covers her mouth with her hand and squeezes her eyes shut.

“I’ll just take a beer.”

Frank sits down a seat away from Karen and the tension lifts once Josie clicks the safety back on. The bar patrons resume their activities as she quickly serves Frank a beer, gun still in hand. Josie walks toward the end of the bar toward the safe but not before giving Karen a quick I will never let you in here again if there’s trouble tonight look. She just shrugs in response.

Neither of them say anything for a good while. Karen just focuses on her bourbon. Frank was the one who called her, he can start this. Not like she has anywhere to be...

Although drinking at Josie’s on a Monday night isn’t exactly at the top of her list.

“Hell of a place you picked.”

“Didn’t know what I was getting into. Knew it wouldn’t be crowded here... and I needed a drink.”

“What about your place? Don’t tell me you had to move again…” Frank cracks as he takes a swig of his beer.

“Nope, I’m still there.”

Frank takes a step closer to her. Karen can’t help it, she turns to face him and take him in. No bruises and his hair is growing out again. He looks the way he did when he first came back into her life, just without a blanket and not asking for change.

“Wasn’t sure you were gonna say yes to meeting me.”

“I wasn’t either. Still debating on leaving, actually…”

“Do you want to?”

“Honestly? Yes.”

“Okay. You can go.”

“Right.”

Karen starts to get up and she wishes she missed Frank’s face. Looking like a puppy who got kicked for chewing on someone’s flip flop.

“Hey.” Frank says intensely as he grips her arm. “Come on. Don’t…”

“Don’t what, Frank?”

“Don’t... go.”

“You literally told me I could go. Look, what do you want Frank? Can you just tell me why you called…”

“I will when you stop this.”

“Stop what?”

“Being pissed at me.”

“Being pissed... oh boy.”

She bites down on her bottom lip; a suppression to not straight up scream at him.

“I want to talk, Karen. But if you need to say something to me just say it. Just get it out in the open so that we can move forward.”

His eyes bore into hers. Karen hopes Frank isn’t looking into her soul, he doesn’t get to do that anymore. She knows she needs to break this, needs to move on. He chose the war. He chose to continue being The Punisher. The people that care about him, the peace he could have found... he pushed it all away. And he can’t just decide to want it now after almost a year of silence.

“Fine. I do have some things to say. But first, you’re gonna buy me a drink. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She walks back over to the bar and sets her bag and coat down again on the chair. Frank follows. Josie saunters over.

“Another bourbon, Page?”

“No I’d like two shots of whiskey please. He’s buying.”

Karen jerks her head toward Frank who immediately pulls out a wad of cash from his coat pocket.

“You got it.”

Josie walks away to get the shots. Karen takes a seat and Frank takes the one next to her.

“Didn’t take you for a hard liquor kind of girl.”

Karen opens her mouth, then closes it. How exactly is she supposed to respond to that? People have been making assumptions about her all her life and she’s in no mood to tell Frank that he’s wrong.

“But I guess I don’t know that much about you, do I? You always... surprise me.”

The genuineness throws Karen off. She wonders if she should cut him some slack. It’s not like they owe each other anything. The connection that Madani had told her they had will probably always be there but as it stands she doesn’t fit into his life and vice versa. What’s the point in trying to make it work?

“No. You don’t know anything about me.” She says after a prolonged pause.

Josie comes back with the shots and makes herself scarce again. Karen takes the shot and gestures to other one.

“Come on.”

“Jesus…” Frank mutters.

“Not into hard liquor like me? Wait. Let me guess. You actually love wine.”

“I do actually.”

He stares at the shot glass then back at her. He sighs and downs it. The grimace he makes is brief, but then he turns back to her and she knows what has to come next.

“It’s been a year since the hospital Frank. ” Karen starts as she rotates her empty shot glass with her fingertips.

“I think. I’m honestly not sure… anyway. I thought we were done. I thought you were finally out of my life and then those pot of white roses landed on my desk last week and… I really don’t understand what you want for me at this point. If it’s to get information I am not going to do that for you. If you are looking to reconnect I don’t want that either. Not while you continue to wage this war of yours that you chose. Over life. Over love. Over… me.”

She places the shot glass down, the clink on the wooden bar top being the loudest noise in her ears.

“I’m sorry. About that day. And I’m sorry I never called you after that. But I thought you understood.”

“Understood?”

“Why I am doing this. Why I couldn’t accept what you were offering me that day in the hospital. I lost my entire family, Karen. I had to watch them die and then bury them. You can’t even begin to imagine…”

“I’ve buried people that I loved. I absolutely know what you are going through. I know hurt. I know guilt. I know how it feels to want to drive a knife into this world just to feel like I had some kind of control over it. So don’t you dare try to tell me how I feel. I just…”

Karen huffs as she runs her fingers through her hair. Frank scratches at his beard, clearly processing.

“Do you think I like feeling like this? I am never going to see Maria again. I am never going to hold Lisa or Frankie Jr. in my arms. They are gone, Karen. And it is my fault that they are gone. If I let myself love you…”

“Frank…”

“It’s just a risk I can’t take. If anything happened to you… I wouldn’t be able to survive it.”

Frank’s trigger finger taps away on the bar top.

“So is that it? Is that why you called me? To tell me that you will forever be stuck in this black hole of a life? Stuck in a war that can never be won and you think it’s what you deserve?”

“It is what I deserve.”

“No it’s not Frank. The loss of your family… that is something that you will carry with you with the rest of your life. And the grief will always come straight at you, unexpectedly. But you deserve an after…”

“Karen, no…”

“You do. I know you can’t see it but you will come to a day where you’ll be able to think about them but still go on with your life. And that won’t feel like a betrayal...”

“I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I should’ve never called you.”

He practically bounds out of the bar stool and heads for the door.

“Frank!” Karen shouts.

The door swings and he’s gone.

This is a crossroads moment. Karen can feel it. She could let him go, never see him again. Maybe at last find peace with this pain. Find someone else to build a life with.

“You love him don’t you?”

Karen turns around to find Josie looking at her. She’s cleared their shot glasses away and is washing them in the sink.

“Josie…”

“Don’t try to deny it. And he loves you too.”

“Yeah, sure he does.” Karen replies sarcastically.

“He does. I remember that news story a while about that crazy asshole who shot up that hotel trying to kill ya and that senator or whatever. I read that he took a few bullets for you. That’s love.”

“How did you... nevermind. Yes, that is true, but then when I offered the option to love someone else, he said he didn’t want to.”

‘Yeah but then he asked to see you again. Timing is a bitch, that much I know. Come on, at least go out there and give the man a hug. Man looks like he could use one.”

Karen turns back to the front door. Before she can process it she is heading out the door, barely catching Josie‘s laugh.

The sharp, winter air hits her and the light rain Is back. Karen looks down both sides of the street, knowing that he is probably long gone by now. The man knows how to disappear, and will only be found if he wants to.

She goes to her left to head home. As she turns the corner, he’s there. Against the wall of Josie‘s, barely standing.

“Frank?”

She walks toward him but he doesn’t acknowledge her. He looks so broken, looking up at the sky.

“You belong with someone else, Karen. Not with me.”

“Don’t.”

“You do.”

“Well I don’t want someone else, Frank. I want you.”

He turns away from the sky and stares at her, wide eyed.

“Yeah. It’s still on the table. But if you’re not even going to open yourself up to the possibility of an after… And I’m not saying an after with me. I mean for yourself. If you won’t even allow yourself to try to find it then it’s not going to work. I need hope, Frank. I need to believe that there is a better world to make and to be had. Even if that means I am not going to be around for it. I am still going to try to leave it better than I found it.”

“Who was it?” Frank asks after a few moments.

“What?”

“Who did you bury?”

“My mom. My brother, Kevin.”

“Tell me about them?”

“Okay. Walk me to my car?”

She thought it would be a lot harder to tell him about what happened to her mom and Kevin, about who she was before she came to New York City. But it fell out of her, everything. He doesn’t interject nor interrupt her. They’re still a block away when she’s done talking.

They reach her car as Karen fishes for her keys. They are stuck at the bottom of her bag and she groans in frustration. She had almost forgotten that Frank is still with her but then she feels a hand lightly touch her shoulder.

“Karen.”

She looks up. He is looking better but there is still that same lingering, soul crushing sadness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

The sincerity of his apology stuns Karen. Then it comes back. The memory of when she told Matt about what happened to Kevin.

“Jesus Karen.”

Matt was wrapped up in trying to take down Fisk at the time. Karen was trying to pull Matt back, she knew it wasn’t the right time to tell him. She knows he would’ve probably have had a different reaction under different circumstances. Karen knows this. But Karen would be lying if his response didn’t haunt her dreams every now and then.

“Well I should get home. If you ever wanna talk… well I’m sure you’ll reach me somehow. I’ll keep an eye out for another pot of roses.”

She gets her car door open and climbs into the seat. She turns the key in the ignition but the engine stalls.

“Come on.”

Karen keeps turning the key but the engine continues to stall.

Frank knocks on her windshield window.

“Hey, let me check. I can probably jumpstart your car.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Jesus Karen.”

“I don’t want you here, Karen.”

Karen smacks the steering wheel repeatedly and then screams. And screams. And screams.

“Karen! Karen!”

Frank’s voice is muffled and Karen barely registers that he’s opened her door and is pulling her out of the car.

“Karen it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”

The screams turn into sobs and Karen stops trying to pull away from Frank.

She doesn’t know how long they stand there in the light rain while he holds her. Her crying does subside in time and all Karen feels is his heartbeat and his hand running up and down her back.

“I know. I know.” He keeps repeating into her ear.

Frank asks if Karen wants a ride home. Karen just simply nods, now realizing that her legs are numb.

“Okay. Let me make a quick phone call.”

Frank gets on the phone and says hi to Micro. Karen manages a small smile. Good to know that he’s not dead.

“Okay so Micro is calling in some favors. Your car is gonna get towed to a lot nearby. I will take care of it tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Frank.”

“Let’s get you home.”

Frank holds his hand out and Karen takes it. 

...

It takes an hour but they arrive in Karen’s neighborhood. Frank has to park ten minutes away from her apartment, which has him apologizing and cursing alternate side parking in one breath.

Karen feels simultaneously exhausted and wired. Frank hasn’t taken her hand in his since they got out of his van but they keep drifting and bumping into each other as they walk.

“Thanks for driving me back.”

“You’re welcome. You okay?”

“Yeah I just… I told Matt. About Kevin. And it... wasn’t the best timing and I had never told anyone before that moment and…”

“Yeah well I don’t think altar boy has the best bedside manner. Even on a good day.”

Karen can’t help but laugh. They walk up the front steps of her apartment building.

“Don’t worry about your car. It’ll be safe. I’ll pick it up tomorrow and take it to the shop. It’s probably the alternator.”

They reach her door.

“Okay so I have your car keys but you probably need these back.”

He hands her the rest of her key ring. He turns to go down the steps, their fingers interlocking around each other.

“So hold onto it. You have everything. Use two hands and never let go.”

Never let go.

Never let...

She grips on his fingers and he turns around. She doesn’t say or do anything but hold on to the key ring and his fingers. They just stare at each other but something changes, something shifts.

He walks back up the two steps, and they’re now face to face.

Karen can’t explain it but she’s filled with such a longing that she thought she had buried a long time ago.

They are still holding on to her key ring, the metal becoming warm from the heat of their hands. She inches closer and closer to his face, eventually ghosting her lips over his.

Karen places a small kiss on his mouth. He doesn’t react, which isn’t surprising, so she tries again. She can feel how taken aback he is but he starts to reciprocate soon enough. He angles his mouth as she pushes her tongue past his teeth, his hands cup her face as she wraps her arms around his neck.

The flurry and fury of their movements push them up the stairs. Karen has never been more grateful for her one floor walk up. He gets the door open as she gets to work on getting his jacket off. He helps her out of hers with ease, his mouth never leaving hers.

Karen is trying to take it all in but it’s too much. The ridges of the scars on his skin that have stories and how she wants to know all of them. How strong he is, taking her shirt off with a gentle force she has never felt. How soft his hair is, how his beard feels so fucking good on her neck.

They fall into her bed, still partially clothed but Karen doesn’t mind, she’s content to just kiss him and hold him close to her.

His mouth leaves hers and Karen tries to reach for it but stops. It’s that stare of his again. But it’s different this time. She’s seen him vulnerable but never this vulnerable. He honestly looks terrified.

“Frank what is it? We can stop…”

“No. I want to. I want this... I just... when we’re not together... when I don’t see you... it scares me. And I tried to hide from that feeling all year. Karen don’t…”

She runs her hands through his hair and he frames her head with his.

“It’s okay. It’s okay Frank.”

Instinctually, her hand slides down to his chest. Over his fast beating heart.

“It’s safe. You’re safe.”

She reaches for his face, her finger tips brushing against his lips. He kisses her palm and she pulls him back in.

...

Frank is warm. A comfortable warm, not the searing kind that comes from his nightmares. Hands are wrapped around his head and his face is pressed against soft skin. Karen’s skin. This stillness, after all that transpired last night between them, is strangely comforting. As is her slow, deep breathing. And when she wakes up, a smile forming at the sight of him, he still wonders if this is all a dream. 

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

“How do you feel?” Karen asks as she pushes away a strand of hair from his forehead.

“Happy.” Franks answers honestly. 

“That’s good.”

“And safe.” Frank admits quietly.

“That’s exactly how I want you to feel.”

“I do. With you.”

“So do I.”

He reaches for her face, brushes the pad of his thumb on her cheek. For a brief, sudden moment he sees smoke and a bloody cut on Karen’s forehead. How close he came to losing her that day…

“I will come for you.”

Frank shakes away the memory and tries to focus on this one. He wants these kind of memories with Karen, not the ones filled with violence and open ended goodbyes.

“Is everything okay, Frank?”

“Look Karen… I want to be honest. I don’t want to lie to you anymore and… you should know why I called you.”

Frank pulls away from her and sits up against her headboard. Karen follows suit, pulling her comforter up.

“Okay.” 

“I... want to be done. The Punisher… I want it to be over.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I won’t, uh, bore you with the details but… I was near death. About a month ago. I really don’t remember much but I wasn’t… planning to come back from this job. But I guess Curtis and Madani weren’t on board. They got me out and… I just remember cracks of light. From the car windows. And each time, I saw you. I honestly thought you had come with them. I kept wanting to let go though, finally be with… but you were there. Telling me to hold on. Cause there was another side to this. An… after. And I did. When I finally came to, I asked where you were. And yeah, I found out you weren’t really there but… it was real. And it got me through. And that was why I called. I want you there. But then you were ruthless... stomped on my heart... which I deserved... and I got scared. I’m still scared, Karen. But I don’t want to live without you anymore. And I don’t expect…”

Karen takes his hand, puts it in her lap. Whatever he was going to say next dies on his tongue.

“This is real, Frank. You know that, right?”

“I do.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

He leans in to kiss her and it is the sweetest touch he can muster. He hopes it is enough.

It was a hell of a journey for them to get to this point. And they still have a long way to go. But her heart is safe with him. And now his heart can be safe with her.

#kastlechristmas #kastlechristmas2k20 #kastle #kastle fanfiction #meganerinff #frank castle #karen page #kastlenetwork #therestlessbrook #daredevil #the punisher #tell me where your heart is #I hope you enjoy it!