#like ?????? is this supposed to apply to all four ?????? she said some but then used the general word 'vampire' ???????

[masonscig]

okay. genuine question. how does this ask make sense. i am being so serious right now. narratively how does this make sense at the point we’re at

#explain it to me like i'm five. like i'm serious what the hell does she mean #how does it narratively make sense to force along relationships that a lot of us wanted to keep a slow burn #and then be like 'but their resolve weakens!' #why would it make sense for any of them to have weakening resolves when it comes to the person they're falling in love with #like. in her fantasy world where love at first sight is normal and mc is the sexiest person in the room and everyone is getting kidnapped – #and it takes 2 weeks to break up a literal traff/icking ring #why would it make sense that the li's resolve weakens. as their love strengthens. i do not get it. #like ?????? is this supposed to apply to all four ?????? she said some but then used the general word 'vampire' ??????? #im so mad. b3's plot should've been pushed back bc it does not make sense w the stuff she's teasing for later books #i know i've been infa/mous posting and i fully intend on figuring out how to balance them at some point but #this brought me back immediately #jade.txt

[kitixie]

The Sapphire Ring

request: Hi! If your requests are open, I’d like to ask for a Thomas Shelby x Reader. Tommy gets injured in WW1 at some point and is taken care of the same nurse (reader) at the battlefield medic hospital. She has something distinct about her (I was thinking maybe some unique piece of jewelry so it could apply to anyone). He always remembered the nurse for helping him and the reader always remembered him as a patient she saved after losing a lot of her patients. And then years later they reconnect in Birmingham (he recognizes her jewelry first). Just helping eachother through hardship and fluff and reconnection leading to romance. You’re the best, can’t wait to see what you do with it! Thanks!

word count: 2.5k

warnings/info: no warnings for this, just sweetness and a happy ending :) also, i promise i am working on the next part of “Little Girl Gone”, so be on the lookout for that this weekend!! i had so much fun doing this request, i’d love to do more so if you have any requests, please let me know! enjoy!!

1916, in the midst of World War 1.

“Y/N, there’s a patient down the hall, he’s just out of surgery. Would you check on him, Love?”

You turned to face MaryAnn, the lead nurse tonight. Her curly brown hair framed her face a shoulders, her soft smile aimed at you.

“Of course, MaryAnn,” you said, returning her small smile.

Making your way down the hall, you ducked your head in. Most of these patients you’d already seen, so spotting a new face shouldn’t be hard. Especially if he was fresh from surgery, his moaning and grumbling would probably be heard before he was seen.

You had been working at the hospital for two years, you had only started working here because of the war. Your brother had gone off to fight, leaving you and your father home alone together. Your mother had passed away two years before that, leaving you only her cherished sapphire ring. The piece of jewelry was the only luxury your mother had ever had, growing up in a small town on the banks of Dundalk. It was a large sapphire in the center, flanked on four sides by sparking, clear diamonds. You wore the ring at all times, not much worrying if it would get messed up, as the hospital had paid you nicely, and you’d saved up a small pile just in case something happened to it. You loved the ring almost as much as your mother did, feeling as if it was your only connection left to her. You peered at the ring on your finger, continuing on your search for the mystery patient.

A few doors farther down, a loud bang came from one of the patient rooms. You rushed to the door, only to see a man standing up, and a rolling metal tray lying on the floor. You watched him for a moment, just to see what his next moves were. You observed his pale skin, almost blue tinged; then his dark hair. His head was shaved around the bottom, leaving a messy patch on the top half of his head. He looked to the tray, then to the bed, then to the window on the other side of the room. He leant over to retrieve something off the floor, when he cursed.

“Sir, are you okay?” You called, stepping into the room slowly so as not to frighten him.

He slowly turned towards you, and only when he was fully facing you did you see the bloody bandage dangling from his shoulder.

“I could use a bit of help, I suppose,” he grumbled, staring at you.

You slowly approached him, letting him see that your hands were clear. He was young, a few years visibly older than you, but young enough to justify that the only reason he was in here was because of the war.

“I’m not delusional, I know where I am. So you can stop easing towards me like I’m shell-shocked, aye?” He said, an accent coming out from somewhere.

“You can never be too cautious, ya know,” you stated, straightening your posture back up to full height, and walking normally paced towards him.

You removed his own hand from his bloodied shoulder, and nodded towards the bed. He followed orders, and sat down, rolling his head to the side so you could get a better look.

“I’m Tommy,” he offered, blowing out a deep breath.

“Y/N,” you said, focusing your attention on his now leaking stitches.

You could feel as he watched you, those blue eyes tracking your every movement precisely. He had indeed pulled out his stitches, but it was nothing you couldn’t fix.

“Ya pulled your stitches, so I hope whatever you were trying to do was worth it,” You laughed, casting him a gentle glance so he’d see the joke in your eyes.

“I was trying to get a smoke, so I’d say it was worth it.”

“You want a smoke? I’m about to restitch your shoulder, so ‘ats the least I could let ya do,” you smiled, picking up his discarded pack of cigarettes from the floor, also handing him his pack of matches.

He returned the smile, immediately struck up a match, sending the smell of smoke and tobacco throughout the room. You gently closed the door, not wanting to disturb the other patients with the smell. Walking back over to Tommy, you held a small suture kit in your hands.

“This is gonna hurt, so be ready,” you breathed, not wanting him to lash out at the pain.

“I’ll be fine, Love. But talk to me, will you? Helps distract me,” he said, exhaling a long stream of smoke from his mouth and nostrils.

“Okay,” you agreed. Readying the needle and thread you began speaking right before running the small metal piece through his skin.

“I’m from Ireland, born and raised. Although I used to live in Dundalk, now here we are in Dublin. My brother is fighting in the war, at least I assume he’s still fighting, hasn’t come home alive or in a box yet,” you joked, but feeling a slight twinge of pain in your heart. You continued, “I work ‘ere every night, I like nightshift best because it’s when the least amount of people actually come into the hospital. I don’t really handle losing patients well, but that’s another story,” you sighed, nearly done with the first few stitches.

Tommy nodded his head, releasing another puff of smoke before speaking.

“I’m from Birmingham, it’s not really a place worth talking about though. I fought in the war, ‘ts how I ended up here, but you’ve gathered that much. I’ve got a couple siblings, some still at war, some not, but they’re my only family.” he said, going back to his cigarette.

“I have the one brother, and my father. My mother died a few years ago, but it’s part of my past life now.” You spoke, finishing up the last few stitches. He hasn’t flinched the entire time.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Love. But every sorrier to say I can relate.” Tommy said, gently turing his shoulders towards you now that you were done putting him back together.

“It’s alright, I’m sorry for your loss too, it never really gets better, just more dull,” you remarked, cleaning up the kit from the small rolling tray you had placed it on.

You took notice of Tommy’s staring, following his eyes as the flicked over you, assessing every detail. His eyes caught on your ring, and he cocked his head.

“That’s a lovely ring, Mrs. Y/N,” he said, drawing out the Missus.

“It’s just Miss, and thank you,” you laughed, “it was my mothers.” You gave him a soft smile, looking toward the ring on your middle finger.

You helped Tommy settle back into his small bed, then bid him goodnight with the promise to check on him tomorrow.

-

The next evening, you barely had time to check in before MaryAnn was hounding you about Tommy. He had been refusing care all day, saying that you were the only person he’d allow to check his stitching. The other nurses had tried to reason with, tried to explain that you wouldn’t be here until 10 pm, but he would not listen. He wanted your care, and only your care. You promised MaryAnn you would handle it, and went off on your way to his room. You rapped your hand against the door, slightly cracking it open.

“Tommy?” You called out, not wanting to startle him.

“Oi, finally. I’ve been asking for you all day, where have you been, Y/N?” He said, slowly sitting himself up in the cot.

“I told you Tommy, I work nightshift. It doesn’t switch over until 10,” you laughed, “although I am flattered that you refused all care other than mine.”

“Of course I would, you have the best bedside manner of all the nurses.” taking a drag from the cigarette you hadn’t noticed earlier, “Plus you’re beautiful,” he added.

Your cheeks flushed, and you brought a hand to chest, resting it over your heart.

“Flattery rarely works on nurses, Tommy. Now let’s get those stitches checked.” You smiled, your cheeks hurting from how genuine it was.

After checking his stitches, you gave him the all clear and told him he should be released in a few days, and you swore a frown flashed across his face before straightening back out. You bid him goodnight, with the promise to see him tomorrow night.

For a week straight, this little routine carried on. You’d come see him as soon as you arrived at work, check his stitches, then the two of you would just talk. You talked with him about varying subjects, both of your families, home life (although Tommy didn’t give much away here), and your hopes for the future. You told him of your plans to travel after the war ended, and he told you how he never wanted to travel again. You would compare families, your brother palling in comparison to the array of Shelby boys that Tommy had described to you. Every night, the two of you would talk, some conversations were short, some lasted so long that MaryAnn had to come pull you from his room so that you would round on your other patients. You developed a sense of kinship with Tommy, although the two of you were admittedly very different. You got excited to go to work, marking events in your day that you were excited to tell Tommy about. You thought of him outside of the hospital, more than you should. But how could anyone resist the charms of Tommy Shelby?

On Friday night, you arrived to the hospital. You checked in, and began rounding on your patients, saving Tommy for when you had a bit of free time; you had a lot you wanted to tell him. You eventually found your way to his room, softly knocking on the door.

“Tommy?” You called, easing through the doorway.

Tommy was sitting up in his cot, stitches almost healed enough to go home. You had come to dread the day he would leave, he felt like a friend, maybe more.

“Y/N, Love, I thought you had forgotten me.” He said, adding his signature Tommy Shelby smirk to the end.

“I could never forget you, Tommy,” you blushed, “Now, let me check up on those stitches.”

He nodded his head, tipping it to the side so that you could access his shoulder better.

“How’s Georgia?” He asked. Georgia was an elderly lady who lived in your apartments, you had told Tommy about how she loved to bake for you.

“She’s good, she brought me meat pies earlier today,” you said, giving a soft smile, “These stitches look healed Tommy, I think you can go home soon.”

Tommy grew a distant look in his eye, gazing to the floor.

“I don’t really want to go, if I’m honest.” He said, pulling you from similar thoughts.

“I know Tommy, but your family probably misses you, I know I would be.” You replied, trying to coax him with a soft rub of his shoulder.

He placed his hand gently over yours, his massive hand covering the ring.

“You would be or you will be?” He said, cheekily flashing you a smile.

“I will miss you, Tommy. You have been a joy to take care of, and a good friend to talk to.” You could feel tears wanting to come from your eyes, but ever the professional, you held them back.

He gave a soft smile, placing a gentle kiss to your hand.

“If you ever find yourself in Birmingham, come find me. I’ll be at The Garrison, waiting for you.”

Tommy had mentioned The Garrison a few times, noting how it was his family’s favorite bar and pub, and how they spent most evenings there. You gave him a soft nod, and retracted your hand.

“Goodnight, and, goodbye, Thomas.” You smiled at him and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, before you exited his room.

-

1921, five years later

You found yourself staring, craning your neck up to the sign in front of you. A hundred questionable decisions had led you here, to Birmingham.

The first decision, was getting married. The second, was getting divorced. Your husband had been a prick, and you knew it when you married him but he was handsome, and certainly you could have done worse.

The third decision was traveling. You had been all over the world, but you had avoided Birmingham like it had the plague. After Tommy was discharged, you quit the hospital. Every time you would walk by his former room, tears would well in your eyes and breath would catch in your throat. You hadn’t realized how accustomed to Him you had become, not until he’d left.

But now, five years after last seeing each other, you stood in front of the doors to The Garrison.

Pushing into the pub, holding the leash on your fear and anxiety, you approached the bar. An unpleasant bar keep took your order, appearing surprised at the order of Irish Whiskey for a young lady. You got your drink, and waited. Waited to see if what Tommy had said still rang true. Had he been waiting for you?

You heard a knock, coming from the window that peered into the back room of the pub. The bar keep opened it, and you nearly fainted. There, ten feet away, stood Mr. Thomas Shelby.

You stared at him, mouth hanging open like a fool. He had only gotten more handsome, a peaky cap now sitting atop his head, which looked much better now that he had some color and a fresh haircut. He was dressed in a fine suit, looking polished and refined, like a real man, not just a patient in the hospital. His eyes caught yours for a single second, and a look of recognition flashed across his face before vanishing. The window closed, and your heart sank. He didn’t remember you, or worse, he didn’t want you here.

You stood from your barstool, slapping a bill on the bar. Your ring, that same ring Tommy had stared at and asked a hundred questions about, still sat on your middle finger. The metal slapped against the bar, and you could only look towards the floor on your way out.

A warm, pale hand snatched your arm from your side, cradling that soft hand that held the ring.

“Y/N?”

You whirled around, face to face with Tommy. He had remembered you! You wrapped your arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug. He returned the gesture, wrapping his long arms around you and lifting you from the floor. Your head tucked into the crook of his neck, inhaling the tobacco scent you had always associated with Tommy. He gently placed your feet back on the floor before speaking.

“I never thought you’d come,” he breathed, a grin on his face, “but I am so glad that you did, Love.” He said, just before leaning in and placing a hard, passionate kiss to your mouth.

#thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby x y/n #tommy shelby fic #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x you #peaky blinder fanfic #thomas shelby #tommy shelby x reader #thomas shelby fic #tommy shelby #kitixiewrites

[gyu-effect]

(tryna do) what lovers do || y.jh (teaser)

PAIRING || Jeonghan x Female Reader

GENRES || Fake Dating AU, College AU, Humour, Fluff, Friends To Lovers AU, Rich Kids AU

SUMMARY || When you had roped Jeonghan into your idea of being a ‘pretend’ couple, you did not expect the lie to grow this big. What was supposed to be a one day thing soon became a rather frequent occurrence. And the gravity of the situation did not really hit you until your parents were requesting an audience with your new ‘boyfriend’. Will the two of you be able to keep your act till then?

Or, in which, you keep promising yourself that this would be the last day you pretend to have feelings for Yoon Jeonghan.

SERIES MASTERLIST || teen, age

A/N || If you want to be added in the taglist, send me an ask!

“Oh my god, why am I even here?” You sobbed to yourself, as you frantically turned the pages of the thick textbook, searching desperately for anything that could help you in your project. Despite being in the library for the past four hours, you had managed to write only two pages of your five page essay. You cursed yourself mentally for picking such a difficult topic, in an attempt to be different from others.

“To get your degree and a job that will secure your future?” Seungkwan replied, as though he hadn’t been complaining about his own work a minute ago.

“Thanks. I wasn’t really sure before why I applied for college but now I definitely am.” You muttered, squeezing your eyes shut as you closed your laptop. As the semester was approaching the end, all the project deadlines had clogged up your calendar and you were pathetically struggling to finish everything on time. 

“You did not ask yourself this question when you were at the party yesterday.” He reminded you, causing you to open your eyes and glare at him. 

“I’ve been to a maximum of five parties throughout this entire semester. How much more do you want me to quit? If I don’t let out my stress in some way or the other I’m going to combust.”

“Lies. You hate these parties and your stress busting mechanism is to go shopping with Kim Yeri.”

You raised your hands in defeat, but still sticking your tongue out at your best friend. Just because he was right didn’t mean you couldn’t complain and whine to him. 

“Speaking of parties,” he continued after shutting his laptop and looking at you, “What are you going to do about the one next week?”

You stared at him.

“Next week? What party?”

“Min Seolah’s party? She sent an invitation to you?” 

“Ah,” you said, vaguely remembering something in your inbox which you might have deleted out of anger at your pending work. “I just won’t go. Where’s it taking place? Her apartment?”

Now it was Seungkwan’s turn to stare at you.

“You didn’t go through the invitation did you?” He glared at you when you smiled sheepishly at him. “It’s an elite party. And you are expected to have an escort. In more polite terms, a date.” 

You felt your smile dip as soon as you heard the word ‘elite’. You absolutely hated these formal parties. More than boring, they were painful beyond words and talking with all the powerful delegates who were usually present always exhausted you mentally. 

“Can’t I- can’t we excuse ourselves?”

“Our parents will be there.”

That line hit you like a truck and you finally felt the realisation sink in. “Oh my god. Oh my god, Seungkwan. I-I need to pick a dress! And shoes! And-And an escort! Where the hell am I supposed to get a date?” Even Seungkwan didn’t seem to have an answer for this. You continued your rambling as the panic finally settled in properly. “Oh god. How does one, who had next to zero social interactions outside her friend circle, manage to find a date in less than a week? And how are you so calm about this? Do you want to pretend to be each other’s escorts? Everyone knows there’s nothing between us anyways.”

“Er, about that.” Seungkwan began, awkwardly scratching his neck. “I already have a date.”

For the second time that day, Boo Seungkwan dropped another bomb on you. You closed your mouth that had been hanging open and edged your chair closer to his suspiciously.

“Wait, what? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

“It just happened right before I came into the library!” He began, clearly flustered as he was avoiding your gaze and aimlessly flipping the pages of the book in front of him (it was actually your book, a subject he didn’t even have). “Siyeon just- just randomly asked whether I wanted to go with her because she thought I was cool and I was so taken aback, I said yes without even thinking-”

“Is that all it takes to ask you out? Just tell you that you are cool?” You asked, leaning back and grinning at your furiously blushing best friend. You had seen Seungkwan embarrassed (and had sometimes even been the cause of it), but to see him this shy because of some girl from economics seemed worthy to make fun of. In the back of your mind, you made a mental note to tell this to Chan. 

“Is that what’s bothering you? Shouldn’t you be worried about your lack of date, instead?” 

“Yeah…But I’ve got to finish this assignment before.” You always had your priorities right, and getting a degree was definitely one of them. “And I’m hungry.”

“It’s almost lunch time. Want to grab something from the canteen?” Seungkwan asked, checking his watch. You nodded and both of you packed up your things, walking out into the sunlight after what felt like an eternity. 

No sooner had you stepped out of the threshold, you felt a gush of wind from behind you that nearly knocked you over, but Seungkwan wasn’t that lucky. He stumbled onto the ground as that gush of wind (now identified as Soonyoung) grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. Or rather yanked him up.

“Hey! Do you want to die?” Seungkwan yelled, as you blinked and tried to process what had just happened. Then feeling a smile tug at the corner of your lips at the sight of Soonyoung nervously apologising to Seungkwan, you gently patted the latter’s back.

“Are you okay?” You asked, his neck visibly red at the sudden tugging of his shirt collar. 

“I highly doubt you should be smiling while asking me that?”

“I- okay I’m sorry.” By now you were grinning. “Drink some water, you should be fine. And Soonyoung, why the hell did you try to knock us out?”

“I wasn’t trying to! I just wanted to surprise Seungkwan from behind but I guess I ran a bit too fast.”

“A bit?” Seungkwan was still massaging his neck. “I bet you would have told that excuse to the judges after my head got dislocated from my spine.”

“Anyways, what do you think they are serving us for lunch?” Soonyoung asked, hastily changing the subject.

Before you or Seungkwan could reply, all of a sudden you realised you had left your jacket on the chair in the library. “Uh, guys I’ll catch up with you in the mess? I left my jacket behind.”

“You don’t want us to wait for you?” Seungkwan asked but you shook your head in negative.

“It’s fine. But don’t forget to save me a seat or else I’ll steal all your tiger plushies Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung faked a look of horror, pulling Seungkwan and breaking into a run. This earned an eye roll from Seungkwan as he waved you goodbye. Giggling at their retreating figure you went back inside the library. Thankfully, it was still there and slipping into it you quickly walked out again. 

This time when you walked out, you found yourself staring at the couple underneath the willow tree near the library. It was still full of leaves despite it being almost autumn. It was almost cute to see the couple until you remembered your own position; you had to find a date before the week ended.

The sun glared on you and you instinctively took a step back, immediately colliding with someone. The two of you let out an ‘ah!’ as you stumbled back more before you felt the person’s hands on your shoulder, stabilising you.

“I’m so sorry!” You gushed, turning back to look at the person. You found yourself looking up at Yoon Jeonghan’s equally surprised face as he helped you up. “Jeonghan, shit, I’m so sorry. I should have looked.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Are you okay? Don’t walk backwards like that, you might get hurt. Unless, you have Mad-Eye Moody's eyes.” He joked casually and you smiled sheepishly at him. 

Jeonghan was a good friend of yours; he was in your close friends circle and you thoroughly enjoyed his presence (as long as you weren’t the one getting pranked). He also happened to be smart and handsome, a plus point which made him a campus heartthrob. As you took in his appearance, you noticed he had grown out his hair a bit. A gentle wind blew against the two of you and his hair ruffled slightly, sunlight catching his face as he grinned at you.

And then, it struck you.

“What? What’s wrong?” He asked, as you stared at him, your mouth slightly open. “Don’t tell me there’s sauce on my face and Joshua didn’t tell me about it.”

That snapped you back to the present and you shook your head. “Er, no. Um, Jeonghan?” 

“Yeah?”

You knew for sure he had been invited to the same upscale party as you, but you had to make sure before asking him.

“You don’t have a significant other, do you? Or maybe a crush?”

Now it was time for him to stare at you.

“Uh…no? Where is this coming from?”

“Then, do you want to date me?”

© 𝐆𝐘𝐔-𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑  

#╼ 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑 #╼ 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐍𝐀 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐎 #jeonghan x reader #yoon jeonghan x reader #seventeen x reader #svt x reader #jeonghan x you #jeonghan x y/n #yoon jeonghan x you #yoon jeonghan x y/n #jeonghan fluff #jeonghan angst #jeonghan fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen fanfic

[artbyblastweave]

As a big superhero guy, I have a question: Why do you think it's so common to show Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy (ESPESCIALLY those last two) as, at best, morally ambiguous and at worst, downright awful in modern portrayals? Is it standard American anti-intellectualism, tied into our growing distrust of science and technology, or is it just that they seem kinda bland?

I don't think it's anti-intellectualism per se. For three of the four I think it's just a consequence of contemporary writers being Allowed To Notice And Unpack Things.

For Reed Richards, it's the result of fans and writers applying a level of scrutiny to early plots and character beats that weren't intended to stand up to any real level of scrutiny. He's a guy who got all his best friends horribly mutated by taking them up in an untested spacecraft. He's a guy who brainwashed a bunch of captured skrulls into thinking they were cows. He's a guy who keeps whipping up extremely specific technological solutions to the problem at hand, which never seem to trickle down to the consumer market- hence the "Reed Richards is Useless" trope. And he's gotta dodge and weave around patriarchal accusations vis a vis a lot of the casual sexism of early FF, where Sue had limited combat utility and was often in the mix as the Damsel-in-distress classic. And obviously excising the unconsidered sexism from the dynamic is the right way to go, but treating that early recklessness/ruthlessness/callousness seriously, as an actual personality flaw that he has, and has to work around, is significantly more interesting than just rewriting the character to not behave like that.

For Iron Man it's the result of people starting to take more seriously the moral implications of the fact that he's an arms dealer and a billionaire. (Apocryphally, Stan Lee did this to see if he could create a character who would be popular with his left-leaning audience despite being everything they hate ideologically, but I take this with a grain of salt.) Another element, I think, is that in preparation for the release of Iron Man, Marvel made him a headliner in Civil War in 2007; the nature of Civil War lent itself to him doing a lot of authoritarian bullshit, and said bullshit sort of set the bar for his capacity for extreme behavior when pressed. Put Iron Man in any situation, try to determine the extent he'll go to in order to resolve it, and you have to take into account that time he was sticking his colleagues in virtual-reality prisons on behalf of the government. A demonstrated willingness to do atrocities for what you think of as the greater good does add some flavor and tension, I have to give them that!

For Hank Pym, it's totally down to the midlife crisis arc from 1981, where he rebranded as Yellowjacket, got drummed out of the Avengers for using excessive force, and battered his wife Janet when she tried to. You know. Talk him out of building a robot to perform a false flag attack against the rest of the team to get back in their good graces. The whole arc was supposed to be a very deliberate tragedy about his mental breakdown but it kind of poisoned the well on the character and became the thing future writers endlessly relitigate, either doubling down on it (The Ultimates, Marvel Zombies) or trying to repudiate it (Mighty Avengers, Avengers Academy.) Even before that, though, he had a pointed loose-cannon mad scientist situation going on even in comparison to the others on this list- his debut was a Twighlight zone-style horror story where he nearly gets himself killed testing the shrinking formula, and he also created Ultron and nearly got everyone killed that way!

I have no idea what's going on with Hank McCoy. I don't think I want to know what's going on with Hank McCoy. Every time I turn my ear in the direction of that corner of the fandom these days, all I hear is screaming. Are you guys alright

#asks #thoughts #comics #all positions outlined here are tentatively endorsed

[helloalycia]

the Clarks [three] // alicia clark

summary: now that Nick has finally returned from rehab, you both have to start considering what happens following graduation.

warning/s: mentions of relapsing, drugs and alcoholism.

author's note: it’s a bit late again, my bad! but here’s part 3, hope you like it 🥰

one / two / four / five / masterlist / wattpad

18 years old...

Time had flown so quickly since Nick returned home and, before I knew it, we were counting down the days until graduation. There was only a week left before we'd both be walking onstage to collect our diplomas – something we were both surprised to achieve, but nonetheless grateful.

We were laying on his roof the evening before our last week in school, staring up at the stars and chatting about anything and everything. It was one of those moments you didn't want to end because you were at peace and nothing could change that.

"Are you gonna leave if I pull out some weed?" he asked suddenly, ruining the moment.

I groaned quietly. "Nick..."

He laughed quietly, already pulling out a joint and lighting it. "It's only weed, it won't kill me."

I gave him a disapproving look. He was supposed to be clean, but he'd been using weed on and off for the past few weeks. It was better than much worse drugs out there, but it still worried me in case he got addicted again.

He breathed in before sighing with relief as he got more comfortable, moving one arm behind his head to use as a pillow.

"What do you think you're gonna do after school's finished?" I asked him once it fell quiet again.

"Dunno," he said honestly.

"Haven't you applied for any colleges?"

He snickered, as if I'd said something amusing. "Nope. Mum's been on my back about it, but I don't know if I want that right now. Why force it?"

I hummed in acknowledgement, admiring the few stars dotted in the sky. "You've been through a lot this past year. Maybe you should use this time to focus on yourself for a while."

He put his joint to his lips once more before handing it over to me. "Maybe. What about you?"

I quirked a brow, looking between me and the joint. He tried not to laugh as he waved it in the air.

"C'mon, it won't kill you," he teased.

I sighed, figuring it would be okay to let loose just this once. Accepting the joint, I took a smoke and pulled a face at the taste. I'd had weed before, but only a little, and aside from the momentary high it gave me, I wasn't a huge fan.

"I don't know either," I finally answered his question. "Not properly anyway."

He laughed as he nudged me. "Yeah you do. C'mon. Tell me."

I shrugged. "I'll be working full time at the diner, hopefully only for the year. They said they'd take me on. I'm saving to go to college."

"How wise," he joked, making me smile and roll my eyes.

I smoked some more, letting myself fall into nothing as I embraced the silence, and then Nick and I both turned to the left when we heard a noise on the roof.

"Gee, thanks for the invite." It was Alicia.

Nick groaned lightheartedly. "Go away. I'm trying to hang out with my friend and you're ruining it."

I slapped his arm playfully. "Shut up, Nick. She can join us."

"I was going to anyway," Alicia said before laying down beside me.

Nick grumbled to himself as I chuckled, then I passed her the joint. She gladly accepted, smoking it, before glancing over at me.

"So, what were you talking about?" she asked.

"What Y/N's gonna do after graduation," Nick filled her in.

She hummed, looking back to the sky. "Working, right?"

"Uh-huh," I confirmed.

"If only we could all get straight A's like you, Leashy," Nick teased.

"If you tried, you could, idiot," she retorted, making me chuckle as he scoffed.

The three of us stayed up there for a little while longer, talking nonsense, getting semi-high and preparing ourselves for the last week of school tomorrow. By the time the sky started spinning above me, I knew it was probably time to pack it in for the evening, but before I could say anything, Alicia spoke up from beside me.

"You'll still be around, right?" she asked. "Afterwards?"

It took me a few seconds longer than usual to realise she was talking about after I graduate, and I looked over at her, nodding.

"Of course," I said. "Where else would I go?"

She smiled softly, eyes dilated and half-lidded at the same time, and just like me, she was slightly out of it. It didn't help that I couldn't seem to look away from her, and I wasn't sure if the moment was abnormally long or if I was too high to make sense of it, but I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty she looked. About how much I wanted to kiss her right now. About how I was certain I'd stay by her side as long as I could because she meant so much to me, more than I'd ever let on.

When I found my thoughts drifting, I looked up at the sky again and blinked, suddenly coming out of my weed-induced daze. That was weird, thinking of Alicia like that. She was my best friend's little sister and she thought of me as family. I was being weird. Oh, God.

Massaging my head briefly, I began to sit up. This is why I wasn't a weed person, especially not whilst laying next to the girl I had major feelings for.

"You okay?" Alicia asked, and Nick nudged me with his foot, his way of checking in.

"Yeah, just tired," I half-lied, because it was kind of true. They didn't need to know the rest. "I'm gonna call it a night."

"We all should," Alicia agreed. "Early start tomorrow."

I hummed in agreement, and avoided looking at Alicia for the rest of the evening.

Graduation day finally arrived, and though my mum didn't care enough to see me collect my diploma, I still had the Clarks standing in my corner, making it worthwhile.

The last thing I expected was for Madison and Alicia to throw Nick and I a joint celebratory party at their house after the ceremony. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me – the other nice things also being from them, funnily enough – and I definitely cried. Nick appreciated it too, but he was never a fan of these sorts of things. Either way, I was grateful enough for the both us.

Madison had invited some of the neighbours and Alicia had invited some of her friends to hang out with. It was a small affair, but I didn't have anyone special to me other than them anyway, so I loved it nonetheless.

It was at this party where I finally met Alicia's boyfriend, Matt. He was nice enough when she introduced him and he seemed to treat her the way she deserved. Truthfully, there wasn't a single fault. And yet, I still didn't like him. I knew why, but that didn't matter. My feelings didn't. So, I played nice and avoided them like the plague, as one does.

After conversing with everyone, I took a breather in the corner of the garden where some food was laid out. Nick found me there, revealing that he was heading off.

"So soon?" I asked with confusion "This party is mainly for you, Nick. You can't just leave."

He waved a dismissive hand. "No one will care. Besides, you'll still be here. I'm gonna go hang out with Gloria."

Gloria was his friend from rehab, and though she seemed lovely, the two of them didn't seem to bring out the best in one another. Still, it was clear she was more than a friend to him, so I couldn't comment.

"Why don't you invite her here?" I suggested, before popping some fruit in my mouth. "Everyone seems to be bringing their partners."

He chuckled, giving me a look. "Firstly, Gloria isn't my partner. Secondly, that technically leaves you out. Where's your partner, Y/N?"

"Non existent, arsehole."

"Hopefully not for long," he said between laughter, before hugging me. "See you later."

I sighed as I watched him leave. It was his day too, and if he wanted to celebrate with Gloria, who was I to stop him? My eyes drifted from his retreating figure to the other party guests mingling in the garden, and then they settled on Alicia and Matt, lingering without meaning to. She was giggling at something he said and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It was stupid to still like her after all this time, especially when she had a boyfriend, but I truly couldn't help it.

"How's my new graduate doing?" Madison suddenly appeared, earning my attention.

I returned her smile and straightened up. "I'm good, Madison. Thank you again for doing all this. It's wonderful."

"You gotta stop thanking me," she said with amusement, before standing beside me with her drink and looking out at everyone. I wondered what she wanted, but before I could ask, she said, "I got you a little something."

She pulled out an envelope from behind her back and held it out to me.

"Oh, Madison, you really didn't have to. This party is more than enough," I said, attempting to decline, but she shook it for emphasis.

"Stop it, Y/N, just take it."

It didn't feel right to, but it was also rude to decline her sweet gesture, so I reluctantly accepted the envelope and opened it. My jaw immediately dropped when I pulled out a cheque for five thousand dollars, addressed to me.

"It should cover most of your time at community college, right?" she asked innocently, like she didn't know.

"Madison, I..." Five thousand dollars? That was more than I'd saved in the past three years! "I could never take this. I– What the hell?"

"It's yours now," she assured me. "A gift."

I glanced at her, seeing her kindness reflected in her eyes, the same one she offered to me ever since I moved in next door. But this was too much. I couldn't accept it.

Ignoring her, I put the cheque back in the envelope and tried to give it back to her, but she refused, hiding her hands in her pockets.

"Madison–"

"No," she said sternly. "You're like a daughter to me, Y/N. I see a lot of myself in you and I care about like I do my own kids."

I pressed my lips together, unsure how to respond. She never spoke how she felt, so this was a rarity.

"Nick, he... he's lost," she continued, smiling at me dryly. "He doesn't wanna go to college apparently. I'm hoping that'll change, but..." She clicked her tongue. "Alicia is already set. It's always been smooth sailing for her. So, that only leaves you. And I know that your mum, she... well, I don't expect her to have saved for you, and I know you've been saving for yourself, but it'll take too long and I don't want you to miss out. So, I'm giving this to you and I want you to enrol now. For this year. It's not too late."

Tears were making their way to my eyes as I looked at her. "Madison."

"Please," she said gently.

Nobody had ever cared this much for me before, nobody except her. I'd always known she considered me family, but there was playing family and there was actually being family. And nobody just handed somebody five grand unless they meant it. And Madison, especially, wouldn't do something like this unless she meant it.

My mum, my dad... they never cared. Not truly. And though Nick and Alicia would both argue that their mother had no emotions, I'd always think the opposite. This woman stood before me was the most sensitive person I knew.

Unable to answer with words, I nodded slowly before pulling her in for a hug so tight that I was certain I couldn't let go. She rubbed my back comfortingly before we both pulled away and I looked down at the envelope once more.

"I'm gonna pay you back," I promised, to which she instantly shook her head.

"No way. It's not a loan, Y/N, it's a gift."

I breathed out slowly, laughing to disguise from my embarrassment at crying with happiness. She may have gifted it to me, but I knew I'd pay her back one day anyway. For everything.

"I'm so so proud of you, sweetie," she said, resting a hand on my shoulder and making me look at her again. "You're gonna do amazing things one day and I can't wait."

More tears rolled down my cheeks and I felt an overwhelming happiness flood through me. I wasn't sure what I'd done to deserve this, but I was glad for it.

"Y/N, hon, can you go get Matt and Alicia? Dinner's ready," Madison called to me in the living room.

I glanced back at her from the couch. "Sure thing."

I would have much preferred not to, but I also knew I needed to get over myself about this whole Alicia thing, so I forced myself off the couch and headed upstairs to Alicia's room. Her door was almost closed, slightly ajar as per Madison's rule whenever Matt visited. I was about to enter, but I paused when I heard them talking in quiet voices.

"I just can't wait to leave already," Alicia was saying, which is what earned my attention because she sounded a little fed up. "Get as far away from them as I can."

"Not too far, I hope," Matt joked.

"Not too far, of course," Alicia agreed, before they both sighed in unison, and I cringed, knowing they'd probably just kissed.

I was going to stop lurking and just walk in, but I couldn't help but overhear as she continued. And I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I had an instinct to just listen.

"I'm just tired," Alicia continued. "Looking after Nick, being mum's second priority, dealing with Travis..."

Travis was Madison's boyfriend, a recent part of the Clarks lives, and a better one, in my opinion, but of course Nick and Alicia didn't see it that way because their father's death was still fresh for them. Travis was a teacher at school, which is how Madison and him had met, so Alicia probably saw him more often than she wanted to.

"It's just easier to look after myself," Alicia finished. "I basically have been anyway."

"And what about Y/N?" Matt asked curiously.

"What about her?"

"You wanna get away from her too?"

I held my breath as I awaited her response, the second of silence killing me.

"Of course not," she said matter-of-factly, which had me relieved for a moment before she unfortunately continued, "but she won't leave here. And I can't hang around."

Definitely not expecting that, I frowned and stepped back instinctively, but I must have made a sound as Alicia called out loudly.

"Is someone there?"

Flushing with embarrassment, I cleared my throat and pushed the door open, poking my head in, but I couldn't for the life of me meet any of their eyes. "Madison said dinner's ready."

"Oh, okay," she answered awkwardly.

"Matt, you can stay too," I added uncomfortably.

"Actually, I should head back," he answered, "but thanks for the offer."

I nodded and turned to leave, heading back downstairs and forcing myself to ignore everything I'd just heard. It wasn't my business anyway, and I shouldn't have been eavesdropping. It had just taken me by surprise is all, as Alicia had never expressed thoughts of leaving as strongly as she had just then.

When the Clarks and I sat together eating dinner, I felt Alicia's eyes burning holes into the side of my head, but I refused to meet her gaze. I still felt odd and I couldn't stop thinking about her words. Were her family that bad that she wanted to leave so quickly after graduation? Was I?

After dinner, once I'd helped Madison clear the table, I was on my way to get my jacket when Alicia suddenly pulled me to the side, out of sight from everyone else as we were alone in the living room.

"You heard me talking to Matt, didn't you?" she blurted out in a hushed voice.

I blinked, looking down at her hand which was still gripping my arm. She let go once she realised, and I played dumb.

"No, I didn't."

She narrowed her eyes, studying me carefully as if debating whether to push it. Finally, she rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but I couldn't seem to just let it go.

"Are you really just going to leave?" I asked calmly. "Go as far away as you can?"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You don't get it."

"Then explain," I said with confusion. "Because it sounds like you're counting down the days until you get your diploma, then you're off."

She met my eyes, giving me a look. "It's not like that. But yes, I've been applying to colleges far from here."

I frowned, a little hurt that she'd never told me any of this before and that I'd found out the way I had. "Well, at least I know you'll get in, right? You're not dumb."

Her expression softened and she tried to touch me, but I backed up. "Y/N."

"You don't know how grateful you are, do you?" I said, a little sterner than I intended, but it was the only way I knew. "Your family. They're a little dysfunctional, sure, but they care. And the way you talk about them, like they're such a burden–"

"They are!" she snapped in a low voice, surprising me. "Nick is back on drugs, and who has to be there when he's coming back down? Me! I babysit him like he's the younger brother. And mum, she's always at his beck and call, but me? She couldn't care less!"

I scrunched my eyebrows together in shock. "Alicia, that's not true–"

"It is!" she exclaimed angrily. "You wouldn't know."

Her anger was contagious and I scoffed, shaking my head. "So, what? They're all a burden because they need you? Makes me wonder what you think of me."

"That's not fair," she said in a low voice.

"Isn't it? I won't leave here. Isn't that what you said?"

She opened her mouth, eyebrows raising with disbelief. "That's because it's true! You won't! This is your chance to get out, make a life away from this one, but you stay!"

"I won't, or I can't?" I answered, glaring at her with teary eyes. "In case you've forgotten, I have fucking nobody! No money, no family, nothing! I don't even have a freakin' car! Where the hell would I go? I'm only at fucking college because your mum felt sorry for me and gave me the money! So, of course I won't just leave. I can't!"

She'd never hinted she felt this way before and it was horrifying. Had I overstayed my welcome? I was technically an adult now, but I never thought... maybe I had pushed my luck. Either way, there was a way to tell me and this wasn't it. And now I felt humiliated, burning with anger and hurt and it was so much worse because it was coming from Alicia.

"Wait...," she murmured, eyes roaming my face as her expression softened and the reality of the conversation hit her. "Just wait. Y/N, I didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have said that."

She attempted to touch my face, but I moved away and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"It doesn't matter," I said, tired. "Forget it. Just– forget it."

"No, just– Y/N, wait, please, I'm sorry–"

Walking past her, I grabbed my jacket and didn't bother to stay any longer or hear her out. Clearly, I wasn't wanted.

The next day, I was sat on campus eating lunch after class. It was supposed to be a well-needed moment of quiet in one of my favourite places – next to a park where some ducks always came out near the water and made for a lovely sight. I wasn't able to focus in class after everything that went on last night, so I thought a lunch alone in my favourite spot would help, but it was just my luck that I couldn't even have that.

A familiar figure began to approach the picnic bench I was sat on, not even giving me chance to open my sandwich.

"Hey," Alicia said when she stopped before the bench, looking nervous.

I sighed, dropping my sandwich. "How did you find me?"

She waved her phone in the air. "Find My iPhone."

I was seriously regretted enabling that function, but we'd all agreed to do so after we couldn't find Nick that one time when he went on a night out. Now, I just wanted to be alone.

"I want to apologise and I couldn't wait any longer," she said softly.

"Forgive and forget," I said dismissively, picking up my sandwich again. "You can go now."

"No," she said stubbornly, before taking a seat opposite me. "Y/N, I'm so fucking sorry. I never meant to say what I did. I didn't mean it like that at all. You were right. I have more than most and I took advantage of it. I guess I just wanted to start fresh."

"Yeah, without everyone," I reminded her, looking between her eyes. "Without your family. Without–"

"Not without you," she stated with an apologetic look. "Never without you."

I wanted to believe her – she'd never lied to me before, but after everything she'd said... there had to be some truth to it.

"I applied for colleges here too," she shared, resting her hand on mine on the table. "I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing, but I'm not trying to run away. You're all my family. I love you."

I swallowed hard, looking down. "Maybe I don't get it. Not fully. But I just thought–" I paused, not even sure what I was trying to say. "I don't know."

She squeezed my hand gently, earning my attention. "The best thing that could have happened to me is us taking you in as one of our own. The last thing I wanted was to make you feel any less."

I sighed, hating how much I cared about what she thought of me. About what all of the Clarks did. But they were all I had.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated. "I never meant to upset you and I've been kicking myself since I said what I did."

I nodded slightly, resting my other hand on hers in reciprocation. "It's okay. I get it. Your situation is tough and you had to grow up a lot faster because of Nick... I've tried to help ease that burden for you, but Nick can get out of control sometimes, I know."

"I appreciate it," she said, but I wasn't looking for acknowledgement, I just wanted her to be okay.

"I'm sorry, too," I told her. "The whole making your problems seem smaller thing wasn't cool."

"Thank you," she said with a nod of acceptance.

"Wherever you choose to go to college, I'll still be here for you," I promised her. "Whether it's Timbuktu or around the corner."

She cracked a small smile, bringing a light to her eyes that I'd missed. "I know."

"Ideally not Timbuktu though," I added lightheartedly. "Flights would be a little pricey."

A quiet chuckle flew from her lips as she nodded. "Noted." Her smile reminded as she met my eyes hopefully. "I have a free period. Wanna eat lunch together?"

I returned her smile. "I'd like that."

19 years old...

Nick's MIA. Is he with you?

I read Madison's message with furrowed brows, both confused and worried for my best friend. It was the third time this month he'd gone rogue, worrying his whole family.

Attempting to call Madison, I cursed when she wouldn't pick up then dropped her a text to let her know he wasn't but that I'd update her if anything changed. Then, when I finally finished my morning classes, I gave Alicia a call as I waited for the bus.

"Y/N, what's up?" she answered straight away.

"Your mum just said Nick's missing again," I said, but before I could finish, Alicia was already speaking.

"He's been found," she assured me, though she sounded understandably pissed off. "They brought him into the hospital this morning. Idiot got hit by a car. No surprises what he was up to."

I chewed on my lower lip, worried. "Is he okay?"

I could imagine her eye roll as she said, "Considering he didn't get arrested, I'd say he was great." She paused, then her frustration left her tone as she said, "I've got class, Y/N. Can we talk later?"

"Of course," I said, feeling bad for her because this sort of thing had been happening a lot more than usual lately. "Sorry. See you later, Leashy."

"See you later."

I wanted to check on Nick, but he was in hospital overnight and when Madison offered to let me join her, Alicia and Travis to visit him in the morning, I couldn't afford to miss class. I almost did, but Madison assured me it was okay and he'd be fine, so I promised I'd visit later that afternoon. Only, when I tried to arrange it with Madison, they revealed he'd escaped the hospital without telling anyone.

Naturally, I was worried out of my mind, but Madison and Travis promised they were searching for him, so I shouldn't worry about it. Easier said than done, of course.

That same day, after class, I tried ringing Madison to see if there were any updates about Nick's whereabouts, but there was no answer.

By the time I'd stopped by to grab some lunch and headed home, I went straight for the Clarks house to check in. I was surprised to find Madison at home.

"Y/N, you're here," Madison said when she answered the door, immediately pulling me in for a hug. "I was just about to call."

Confused, I returned the hug. "Er, yeah... I just wanted to see if there was any news with Nick."

At this, she pulled me inside the house and that's when I saw the idiot himself stood in the living room. Relieved at the sight of him, but also concerned because of some bruises covering his face, I pulled him in for a hug.

"You fucking idiot," I muttered.

He hugged me tight, about to say something, but Madison spoke up instead.

"Alicia's calling... Y/N, can you just– can you watch him for a sec?"

"Sure," I said, still confused with why she was panicked. "Everything okay?"

It wasn't hard to miss the deadly stare she shot her son, who looked like he had a million and one things to say.

"What's wrong?" I asked him when I saw his ghastly expression and inability to stand still.

He simply shook his head, saying nothing, but he looked anxious. Madison left two of us alone, heading into the kitchen.

"You can be such an idiot sometimes," I scolded him once she was gone. "Using again? Getting hit by a car? Are you insane, Nick?"

He wasn't listening to a word I was saying as he took a seat on the couch, knees bouncing up and down with impatience. I rolled my eyes, knowing how this would go since he hadn't listened to me for a long time now.

"...no, Alicia, don't touch him!" Madison was saying, on a phone call but loud enough for us to hear.

She returned not long later, looking stressed out and as anxious as Nick did. Was I missing something?

"What's up? Is everything okay?" I asked her supportively. "Is Alicia okay?"

She brushed her hair from her eyes. "She's with Matt. He's sick."

"Yeah, a load of people were off sick today in class," I realised, before shrugging. "Maybe there's a bug going around."

Madison wasn't satisfied with that answer though, as she went to grab her car keys. "I'm gonna pick her up. I don't want her getting sick, too."

"I can get her her if you want," I offered, but she shook her head and glanced at Nick, who was sweating profusely.

"No. You stay with Nick. I won't be long."

Not really getting much of a choice, I nodded and watched her leave. Nick didn't reveal much, even when Madison left, but he seemed troubled by something and no amount of coaxing from me would help. He was suffering from withdrawals, just over twenty-four hours passing since he'd taken anything, and the symptoms were making themselves known.

After what felt like forever, Madison returned with an irritated Alicia in tow. Though, as soon as she saw me with Nick, her irritation disappeared.

"He's not doing too well, Madison," I told the blonde, kneeling beside a shivering Nick.

"I'm gonna get him his prescription," Madison assured me, before looking between Alicia and I. "You girls look after him. Travis will be here soon with Liza and Chris, so keep an eye out."

Alicia and I exchanged confused looks. Why was Travis bringing his ex-wife and son back here? And what was Madison so worried about, apart from Nick?

"You're gonna make me stay here and look after this idiot when Matt needs my help?" Alicia asked her mum.

"Alicia, don't argue this," Madison said knowingly. "Stay put, okay?"

She didn't wait for a response as the door slammed behind her when she left. I sighed, using a damp cloth to cool Nick's forehead. Meanwhile, Alicia threw her backpack on the floor before looking to me.

"Can you watch him? I wanna check on Matt," she said.

"I–"

"No," Nick groaned, pushing me away as he struggled to sit up. "Mum said you have to stay."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "You've got Y/N."

"Is he okay?" I asked her, noticing her worry behind her mean girl facade.

"He's sick," she said with a frown. "Didn't show for our date in the park and that's why I went to check on him. His parents are out of town, Y/N, I can't just leave him."

The last thing I wanted to do was go against Madison's request, but I truly didn't see the harm in her checking on him.

"Okay, fine," I gave in with a nod. "Go. I'll watch Nick."

She smiled appreciatively before making her way to the door, but Nick didn't seem to like this as he forced himself to stand up.

"Alicia, no!" he shouted after her, making her roll her eyes. "You can't, Alicia, it's not safe!"

"Nick, sit down!" I shouted at him when he leaned against the couch for support. "Nick– Nick!"

I screamed his name when he fell to floor suddenly, convulsing, and Alicia was by my side in an instant, helping me help him.

Alicia and I sat on the two armchairs, exhausted and nervous as we watched Nick laying on the couch, sleeping. Madison still wasn't back with his meds and, considering we'd almost watched him choke to death on his own vomit, we were pretty impatient for her return.

"You okay?" I checked in with Alicia.

Her green eyes flickered from Nick to me. "No. You?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "You thinking about Matt?"

She nodded weakly.

"I'm sure he's fine," I tried to put her at ease. "Have you tried calling him? Maybe his parents are back."

"He won't answer," she said monotonously.

I frowned, unsure what else to recommend. Thankfully, keys were rattling at the front door and in walked Madison with Nick's meds.

"I've got it," Alicia said, grabbing the bag and attempting to wake up Nick.

"Y/N, have you checked on your mum?" Madison asked randomly.

I quirked a brow. "Er, no. Am I supposed to?"

She glanced out the window uneasily. "There's a lot going on out there. Just do it, hon."

Already knowing I'd regret it, I gave my mum a ring there and then, to which she picked up after a few rings.

"Mum? It's Y/N," I said, in case she happened to be too drunk to read her caller ID. And woo-hoo, guess who was right?

"Y/N?" she asked with confusion, before exclaiming with realisation, "Y/N! What do you want?"

Unsurprised at this point, I said, "Where are you? Are you coming home?"

She laughed, though it was hard to make out because of the sound a man talking nearby, giving me the creeps. "I'll be on my way soon. Don't wait up."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. See you later."

Once I hung up, I realised Madison was still waiting to hear an update.

"She's drunk," I told her the usual. "But she's gonna be back soon."

She nodded distractedly, before saying, "When she comes home, you need to check if she's sick. And if she is, you shouldn't touch her."

"Mum," Alicia said disapprovingly, before I could even think to speak. "Not now."

I shook my head with confusion, looking back to Madison. "What?"

"This sickness, it's spreading," she said with concern. "I don't want you getting sick, too. Just promise me you'll check, okay?"

Alicia scoffed, unimpressed at her mum's ignorance.

"I promise," I told her. "Besides, she'd have to actually make it home first..."

#alicia clark x reader #alicia clark imagine #alicia clark x you #alicia clark #alycia debnam carey #feartwd #fear the walking dead #fear the walking dead imagine

[ckret2]

bill doesnt really strike me as the type to be really into listening to music, but if he were, do you think there are any particular genres/artists he would enjoy/hate less?

You're in luck because I've put COPIOUS thought into this.

Here's all the canon and semi-canon info about Bill's musical tastes I can recall off the top of my head:

ONE. From the AMA, his favorite "song" is a rising Shepard tone.

*MY FAVORITE SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rzIiF7LpPU

TWO. He is interested in the "good stuff" out of human pop culture, which includes the song "96 Tears" by Question Mark & The Mysterians.

Are you at all interested in human pop culture?

JUST THE GOOD STUFF! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uC5m-IRns

THREE. He knows the song "Stacy's Mom". This says nothing about whether he likes the song, but he's knowledgeable enough about recent human pop culture that he can casually drop a reference to it in a joke. It's probably safe to assume he's familiar with a broad variety of popular human music.

Hey Bill. What's up with Wendy's mom?

WENDY'S MOM HAS GOT IT GOING ON. SHE'S ALL I WANT AND I'VE WAITED FOR SO LONG.

FOUR. When he gives himself a super cool car its radio is playing a rap song. I wasn't able to find any identification for the song, but it sounds to me like it could potentially be by Lil Bigg Dawggg, the same in-universe artist behind "Straight Blanchin'"—so, extremely popular mainstream rap. (Song heard at 2:50).

FIVE. He's got some kind of generic-sounding electronic dance music playing during his Fearamid party.

SIX. The "We'll Meet Again" scene. He can play the piano. I suppose you could choose to believe that Mr. All-Seeing All-Knowing Eye can play any instrument and he just happens to pick the piano for effect—he might not even actually be playing, since the song keeps playing itself when he turns away—but I choose to believe he's playing it and at some point he actually made the choice to learn piano for fun just because he wanted to. As someone who took piano lessons for over a decade, assuming that is indeed his own playing, I'd rate him as competent and skilled (that's a pretty impressive run at the start), but no virtuoso. He'd be a hit at the family holiday party but not in a concert hall. The choice of "We'll Meet Again" might mean he's got a soft spot for WW2-era popular music but might just be a "he knows human popular music and will freely reference it for a joke" thing.

SEVEN. "No! Synthesized music! It hurts!" Considering the circumstances, this may or may not actually apply to his musical tastes. Maybe only this particular synthesized music hurt him because Mabel had specifically decided that Xyler and Craz's music would injure Bill, maybe only extremely 80s-sounding synthesizers hurt him, etc. Most damning to the theory that he's got some kind of synthesized music allergy is the fact that almost all the music he's shown to voluntarily listen to and presumably enjoy (rising Shepard tones, the rap song, the party music) makes use of synthesized sounds. Still, it's worth mentioning that this is something he said at one point. (At 2:06.)

If anyone else recalls anything I missed about Bill's musical listening habits, toss it at me.

So, that's what we've got canonically. On that basis, here's what I headcanon about his tastes:

ONE: favorite music

His absolute favorite "music" is stuff that doesn't sound like music to humans at all. So sounds that are created to follow certain patterns (not quite as random as, say, pure white noise); and on top of that, sounds that, subjectively, sound extra creepy to humans or make humans anxious (think how folks claim Shepard tones can drive people "insane"). So think nuclear alarm sirens, unnerving tornado sirens, War of the World tripod horns, Saturn, foghorns, The Backwards Music Station. If you want some actual music that sounds as close to these kinds of sounds as possible, thus far I've collected Curious Noises & Distant Voices, 20210310, Happy Happy Happy—and if you want to start drifting into more "musical" sounding genres, Tira Me a Las Aranas or Ledge.

I feel like noise as a genre ought to have a lot of music that fits the sound I'm looking for, but in practice a lot of what I've crossed paths with is really harsh/loud—sounds like breaking machines and blasting microphones—rather than the more swoopy tones I'm looking for. I think of all the noise subgenres I've sampled, death industrial noise is the closest subgenre to what I want, but it's not quite there either. I've had some success looking at hauntology artists, but that's a pretty big umbrella stylistically speaking. Does anybody know a genre that sits somewhere halfway between noise & ambient?

TWO: favorite human music

So that's that for Bill's alien musical tastes. As far as his human musical tastes, he cites Question Mark & The Mysterians specifically as "the good stuff"—so I imagine that's probably his idea of the best kind of music humanity's produced. So: extremely sixties. Hammond organs out the wazoo. Bands with occult-sounding names and lead singers who claim to be Martians that lived with dinosaurs and will be alive in the year 10,000. I tend to tilt him toward bands/songs that fall under the "psychedelic" umbrella, considering that the aesthetic tends to be kinda, well... just go google "psychedelic art."

Tell me this isn't what Earth would look like by Weirdmageddon day 30 when Bill starts to get bored. I mean come on. The only difference is Bill's version would have more fire and blood.

So start with some of your traditional psychedelic songs—Incense and Peppermints, White Rabbit, Breathe (In The Air), Time Of The Season, Purple Haze, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, etc.—and branch out from there. Slap on any decent psychedelic/hippie-themed playlist and you're good: try this hippie playlist, this psychedelic pop/rock playlist, or this dark psychedelic playlist.

Once you get past the more mainstream stuff, I go toward weird things that sound like they ought to be from a lost 1960s art house film that accidentally predicted the rise of UFO cults—things that vibe with Bill's occult + conspiracy theory + faux religious figure vibes. Think Bruce Haack, such as the album Electric Lucifer, particularly Electric to Me Turn, Cherubic Hymn, or War; Joe Meek's album I Hear a New World, particularly the title track or Orbit Around the Moon; or the particularly alien-sounding The Red Weed (Part 1) off Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.

And after all that, I poke at modern psychedelic rock songs that lean more heavily into witchy & occult imagery—such as Astral Sabbat or Come a Little Closer—but by this point we're really on the fringe of the sound I'm looking for. There isn't nearly enough Hammond organ.

THREE: favorite human party music

Now, compared to the last couple of sections, this section is gonna be something of a cop-out, because I've done less musical digging; but when it comes to what he'll slap on for a party—which I imagine makes up probably a good 75% of his casual music consumption—he's just gonna slap on any popular current music he thinks is good for a party.

Currently? That probably means a lot of hip hop and EDM. Okay. In the 80s he probably woulda put on disco. In the 21st century he'd put on Get Low, First of the Year, Shots, DotA, Intergalactic, and Dragostea Din Tei (hardstyle remix), in a row, without a second thought, and with no heed to the humans going "what the FUCK is this party mix." These are not the best examples of what he'd play; just the first, most cringe, and most discordant examples I could think of. The more easily a potential party song can be described as stylistically or lyrically "obnoxious," the more likely it is to make his playlist. Does it sound like it should be played extremely loud? Would it offend the neighbors? Does it have a bass line that sounds like it could crack concrete and break ribs? Would humans recognize it as part of a widely-known meme, but not know whether Bill (an alien) is oblivious or if Bill (a troll) added it for that reason? It's going on, he's hitting shuffle, and it's not coming off the party playlist until he gets bored of it and finds something newer and even more obnoxious to replace it with.

If anyone has any good recommendations for specific genres that would yield a reasonable pool of Party Songs That Would Get Noise Complaints Filed (And Also Don't Go Together At All), I'm willing to take them. My gut says crunk and dubstep, but my hip hop knowledge is lacking and my EDM knowledge is extremely eclectic.

(Anyway if you made it this far I'm rewarding you with a link to my Bill Cipher spotify playlist I listen to when writing fic. It's 50% songs that I think actually match the "music he'd like" categories, 50% songs that are about him but that he wouldn't necessarily like, 50% songs about his relationship issues, 10% songs that are NONE OF THE ABOVE but that need to be in there because I need them for fic-writing vibes, and one single solitary song that is not actually about Bill at all, but rather about Pacifica, but that i put on the playlist anyway because it's a REALLY GOOD Pacifica song and I don't have any other Gravity Falls themed playlists so here it is. "That adds up to 160%—" and what of it. The percentages aren't even accurate.)

#(Don't talk to me about characters' musical tastes i will Really Get Into It and you are not escaping. This post took me three days.) #bill cipher #headcanons #meta #music #gravity falls

[heyclickadee]

So, today on silly headcanons that don’t matter and would probably never apply to the batch’s situation but I like them anyway: Random thoughts on what would happen if each of the batchers had to make a cake (and had unlimited access to all of the ingredients that they’d need):

Omega: Woo!! Cake!! *makes a bunch of space chocolate (there’s space chocolate, right?) cupcakes with a few different colors of icing so that she can put them together and make it look like Ruby. Wrecker keeps walking by to help out and even sneaks her some ruby chocolate chips so it can be a ruby chocolate Ruby cupcake cake. The end result is very cute, even if Omega does have to end up having to use mantell mix to make the face (someone kept eating her cupcakes and she ran out by the time she got to the face). The kitchen, though—it’s a complete disaster by the end, and Omega had the best time making that mess*

Hunter: So…my batter’s cured solid in the mixer. Is that supposed to happen? *Okay, so, his cake looks gorgeous. He’s managed to paint a sunset on Pabu onto what looks like a three tiered cake with buttercream, and it’s got this amazing texture and impressionistic look. Unfortunately, when you cut into it, it’s just three tiers of ground up ration bars fused into a kind of concrete using burnt caramel. It tastes like sand and death.*

Echo: It’ll be perfect as long as I follow the recipe. *He looks at the recipe, sees at least five ingredients he can’t eat, and decides to make a smoothie that he can eat instead. He’s not a big fan of cake, and that’s okay. It’s a really good smoothie.*

Tech: Baking is just chemistry. What could go wrong? *Lots of things. Lots of things can go wrong. Turns out that chemistry (outside of biochem) is a bit of a blind spot for Tech, and our guy can’t just follow directions without experimenting a little. Or a lot. In the end, he does end up with something. It��s not cake, but it’s definitely something. Some might call it clam chowder in a bread bowl. Really good clam chowder in a bread bowl. Just—it’s definitely not cake.*

Crosshair: Hhmm. *Crosshair can’t be too bothered to make a cake, so he buys three boxes of space funfetti cake mix, follows the directions on the box exactly, stacks the three funfetti cakes with funfetti icing in between, and then decorates the whole thing with the icing leftover from both Hunter’s and Omega’s cakes. That said, his piping is amazing. Everyone’s afraid to eat his cake because it looks so pretty. He also ate about five of Omega’s cupcakes, but it’s okay—she kept putting them on his side of the table so that he would.*

Wrecker: YEAH! CAKE TIME, BABY!! *disappears for three days and re-emerges with this gravity defying illusion cake that looks like the Maurader flying over a rocky moon full of B-1s. The B-1s are made of tempered chocolate and full of salted caramel, he’s using at least four different flavors of cake and three different kinds of cream filling, there’s a ganache river on the moon surface, the marauder cake is actually levitating (because Star Wars), it has jets of sugar glass that actually light up coming out of the engine, AND it fires choux pastry proton bombs that actually explode with jogan fruit mousse when they hit the ground. There’s even a whole section especially made for Echo so that he can eat it. And it all tastes perfect. He ends up the designated cake guy on the rare occasions they need a cake, and he couldn’t be more delighted.*

#the bad batch #anyway my general headcanon is that Wrecker would be #both the best cook and the best baker #because he’s the one who cares most about what food actually tastes like #for Hunter it’s more about the smell and the texture #and for Echo it’s more about whether or not he can eat it at all #or whether it will make him sick #Omega is still a kid so she’d still be learning if she ever got the chance to cook at all #Crosshair just wants to finish his damn lunch for once he doesn’t care what it is #and Tech I’m not sure #all that said #most of them have spent most of their lives eating ration bars and nothing else #that’s what they’re used to. #AND it kind of seems like cooking and baking is something of a luxury in the GFFA #but that could just be because of who we are usually following in Star Wars

[roseofdarknessblog]

Love Treatment (Reiner Braun x Reader)

Word count: 4 840

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

Summary: Every Titan Shifter has a unique ability to heal different kinds of injuries. That can be considered a pretty useful skill, mainly directly on the battlefield. But amidst the chaos of the Marley Mid-East War, Reiner Braun finds himself injured without being able to handle the situation himself. Fortunately, there is someone very special in Liberio′s Military Hospital, who could help him heal in more than one way.

Love Treatment

„May I come in?“ you asked, before entering one of the hospital rooms. Almost all of them were full, but you were used to it by now. War was a horrible thing, many casualties happened every single day for almost four years now.

Injured soldiers straight from the battlefield were coming to the hospital daily. And today was no different. You were pretty busy since early morning when your shift started just a short while after sunrise. Even earlier than other days, because the workload was just too much for your colleagues. And it seemed that the rest of the day is going to be just as hectic.

„Sure,“ said the young Warrior on the other side of the door. When you walked in, Reiner Braun, the inheritor of the Armored Titan was sitting on the edge of the bed, his golden eyes fixed on the door.

„How are you feeling?“

„Fine.“ He shrugged with an almost deathly tired look on his face. His white uniform was soaked in blood, mainly from the gunshot wound he suffered before shifting into his Titan form. At least that’s what you’ve been told. „I wasn’t expecting you, exactly.“

A shy smile made its way to your lips. „So you’re disappointed?“

„No, I wouldn’t put it like that.“ With a small chrome tray in your hands, you walked closer and put it down on the bed. „Do you know what happened?“

„You’ve been shot and the wound is not healing for some reason. Even though your titan powers should’ve taken care of the injury a long time ago.“

This was the first time you witnessed something like this. Surely, you’ve heard about similar situations during your time in medical school, but never actually came in contact with such a case.

What made it even harder, was your long-lasting crush on Reiner.

The two of you got to know each other shortly after he returned from Paradis. It was here in the hospital when he brought in his cousin Gabi, who managed to sprain her ankle during military training. The girl wasn’t even nine years old at that time, she was too young to be a soldier. At least in your opinion.

You were one of the very few Eldians who got to work here in the military hospital. Being the best and more successful student in your year, you dared to apply as a surgery resident in a prominent hospital under the head of the military. And thanks to some miracle happening, you got positive feedback in a couple of days. You spent the last four years working your absolute hardest, studying day and night, to become the best Eldian surgeon in the whole of Liberio.

All of your hard work started to truly pay off a couple of months ago when you saved the life of one of the highest-ranking generals in the Marleyan Navy. Your surgical preceptor and all of the other doctors were too busy saving the lives of another high-ranking military personnel. The general was in a critical state, basically on the brink of death. Maybe that’s why your colleagues rushed to help people, who had more chance to survive.

You were supposed to be helping your preceptor, just like every other time, but decided to act against his orders. With the help of two nurses, it was you who saved the general’s life. Getting three bullets out of his body, suturing the wounds, and tending to some other injuries, you worked in total concentration and didn’t let anything or anyone disturb you. It took you almost five hours until you were finished and his condition wasn′t critical anymore.

The general lived, and it was only thanks to you. Your determination to save every patient, who was under your care. Even if people like him hated people like you.

A couple of days later, when he was feeling a bit better, the man called you into his hospital room for a talk. You were beyond surprised when he wholeheartedly thanked you for saving his life and said, that you should expect a very interesting reward. After he was released from the hospital, you received an important message. Marley decided to grant you an unimaginable gift – the status of an honorary Marleyan. And not just you, but your parents and two younger sisters as well.  

Since that moment, you were walking around the hospital and your hometown with a red armband, which now seemed to catch Reiner’s eye as well.

„How did you get the armband?“ he asked a little shocked, while you sat down next to him. It seemed that a little chat would do some good for both of you. After all, you needed a quick break after all the work you’ve already done today.

„I saved the life of a high-ranking navy general. All my colleagues were busy with other patients, so I did it by myself with the help of two nurses,“ you explained, studying Reiner′s face.

When was the last time you saw him? How many months ago? Five or six, maybe even more. Some days it was hard to keep track of time. But that didn’t change anything about the fact, that you used to think about him almost too often. Daily, mainly when you couldn’t sleep at night and wondered what was happening on the battlefield.

„I didn’t know he would reward me like this. It was a pleasant surprise.“

„Oh wow, that’s great. Your whole family got the honorary Marleyan status, right?“

„Yeah, my parents and sisters wear them too.“ Would you accept it if it was meant only for you and not for your closest family? No, of course not. If it wasn’t for their undying love and support, you would never make it this far. „My mom wants to move out from the internment zone, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. You know all too well that these armbands don’t change how Marleyans see us.“

Reiner nodded quietly, probably reminiscing over his own experiences he never told you about.  At least not yet. But you were sure, that his life wasn’t that much better just because of the red armband. Not after what you’ve heard about Paradis, where he spent almost five years of his life.

„So...“ you said after a while. The silence was starting to be uncomfortable, so it was better to get back to work. „Can I take a look at that wound?“

„Yeah, sure,“ he said immediately, turning his head away from your face.

You watched him carefully unbutton his uniform, baring the area under his left collarbone, which was covered in a big piece of gauze. Whoever was shooting, was probably aiming for the heart and missed. Even with his Titan powers, you weren’t sure he would survive something like that.

An uneasy feeling washed over you. Even thinking about something like that happening to Reiner...

„How did you get shot? When did it happen?“ you asked, reaching for the small chrome tray with all the necessary supplies you’d brought and pulling it closer. You had to push all the bad thoughts aside and concentrate.

„I had to leave the Titan’s body behind in a pretty dire situation, and before I transformed again, somebody shot me. I don’t even know from where that bullet came, it simply hit me.“ The area around the wound was cleaned from any remains of dried blood, but visibly reddened and swollen a bit. It surely hurt, if he didn’t take any analgetics before coming here. „I thought it would heal, but it was still pretty painful and bleeding after the battle.“

„Did you see a doctor there?“

„No, they had plenty of work with other wounded soldiers. I still hoped it would heal on its own. And Pieck helped to patch me up a little, so it was okay.“

„So the bullet is still inside?“

Reiner shook his head. „No, it went completely through me.“

You worriedly furrowed your brows, placing one of your hands on his forehead and cheek to check his temperature. Fever was sometimes the first sign of an ongoing infection, which was pretty common with gunshot wounds. Mostly, when they weren’t treated right or soon enough.

„Okay, strip from the waist up,“ you commanded him.

What surprised you the most, was how subconsciously and innocently Reiner leaned into your touch. For a moment, you felt bad about pulling your hand away in panic. You could feel the embarrassment pooling on your face, while he was taking off the top part of his uniform, almost too visibly avoiding eye contact with you.

When you heard that the inheritor of the Armored Titan was here and needed medical attention, you took the case without thinking. After all, seeing Reiner for at least a couple of minutes was what you longed for the last few months. But now, sitting there in front of him, with all sorts of thoughts going through your head... Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Perhaps you should’ve let someone else look after him and have a word later.

„Are you in any pain right now?“ you asked while looking at his back. There was an exit wound near his shoulder blade under another piece of gauze, which you really carefully took off. The angle of the bullet seemed pretty unfortunate, but the important thing was, that it wasn′t stuck there anymore. And if he was in a pretty decent shape, there couldn′t be any serious internal bleeding happening.

„Just a little.“

„Do you want anything to help with it?“ He shook his head even without thinking, again tearing his gaze away from you in a hurry. It seemed much safer for him to look at his armband, which he was now holding in his right hand. „Are you sure? The suturing is going to hurt.“

„No, I′m fine. You can start.“

You waited for a bit, but eventually got to work, putting on a pair of sterile gloves, before you did anything else. Cleaning the area with saline was the next step. Reiner watched you do your job without any words.  

„Tell me, if it gets too painful, okay? I′ll give you some medication, there is no need to suffer in order to play a tough guy.“

The tiny smile on his lips was a bit of a surprise. But it somehow gave you the confidence you needed at that moment. Operating on other people and treating their wounds felt completely different. You usually weren′t nervous. But now... your hands were slightly shaking.

„Believe me, many soldiers try to convince me, that they don′t any local anesthetic or other pain meds, then end up whining and crying the whole time. I truly hate that. It′s no fun when I can't talk with them during the procedure because they are too busy wailing.“

„So I have to talk to you as well?“ he teased, while you got hold of the necessary instruments. A needle, forceps, and medical scissors. You were taught that using the curve of the needle was the best method to pass the suture through the skin. „What would you like to hear about?“

You shrugged, carefully avoiding pulling the suture through the skin in a straight line while using the forceps to avoid touching the wound directly. Reiner winced a little, but that was it. No other movement or other demonstration of pain.

„Maybe you should start with the reason you′re here. I′m sure you haven′t told me everything yet.“

Closing a wound was an easy procedure. It was repetitive work, the hardest part was starting. At least in your opinion. Everything that came after, became purely automatic to you.

„So?“ you asked, when Reiner stayed quiet, averting his gaze once again. But it surely wasn′t because he didn't bare to look at a bloody wound. „Wouldn't you feel better if you talked to someone?“

You never truly viewed him as a talkative person. And that was okay, there was no need for him to share every little detail of his life with you. But right now it seemed a good idea to make him open up a little. It was pretty obvious, that something was very wrong.

„If everything was fine, you wouldn′t be sitting here getting sewed back together. Your mental state is important for using your titan powers. Healing abilities including.“

„Aren't you a little too smart?“

You smiled. „Well, if I wasn't, I surely wouldn′t be here today.“

Closing the wound under his collarbone took you very little time. Before you knew it, you instructed Reiner to turn his back to you, so you could do the same thing with the other half of the wound.

„Why did they send you home? This could have been done right there on the battlefield by any medic. No need for a hospital visit and a flight to Liberio and back.“ You were determined to get him talking. He wasn't leaving this room until he told you what really happened.

He could be stubborn, you already knew that. But you could be a million times worse when you set your mind to it. After all, you weren′t doing this out of boredom, but to help him.

„I won′t let you leave until you talk to me.“

„It seems that the war will be ending soon. We only have one more battle to fight, if everything goes well at Fort Slava. Everybody is busy with planning right now, we are set to attack next week,“ Reiner finally said, after letting you work in silence for several long minutes. He winced occasionally but didn't show any other signs of being in pain. But he was far from being relaxed either, the precisely defined muscles on his back and shoulders were visibly tensed. „They need me in the best shape possible, that′s why Commander Magath sent me here.“

„And are we supposed to find out why your wound wasn't healing or just properly stitch you up and send you back?“ you joked to ease the dense atmosphere, slowly finishing with the suturing. „I personally would try to find the main reason for your problem. So you don't end up like this again. Even though it could have been worse... much worse. It seems that the shooter was aiming for your heart, but missed.“

„Unfortunately,“ he sighed quietly.

„Stop that!“ you scolded him immediately, finishing your work almost at the exact same moment. It still surprised you how well Reiner took the pain. Almost as if he didn′t feel anything the whole time. „Did you see your family before coming here?“ you asked, trying to change the subject.

Reiner shook his head, while you started to carefully dress his wounds. For some reason, it was becoming harder to focus on your work with every passing second. All you could think about was him. You desperately wanted to help the Warrior sitting beside you, but it seemed he had no interest in letting you do that.

He probably didn't even know you liked him and cared for him much deeper, than for your other patients. After all, you were at work, you had to act professionally. Personal feelings and emotions had nothing to do at the hospital ward.

„Okay, all done. You can dress up,“ you said after a couple of minutes, looking Reiner over one more time really carefully. He seemed much different from the time you saw him last. But not in a good way. „So... are you going home now?“

„No, I think I′ll stay at the HQ for a couple of days.“ You raised your eyebrows in surprise, while you tidied up your medical instruments, desperately trying to occupy your hands and therefore your mind as well. „Why do you ask?“

„Just wanted to know. I bet they miss you, especially Gabi.“ You knew almost nothing about his relatives. Only that he grew up without his father and that his little cousin wanted to inherit his Titan one day. „Seeing them for a couple of hours could do you good, maybe help you relax a bit.“

With one eye still on his back, you watched as he slowly put his uniform back on. But other than that, it didn′t seem he was in a hurry to leave this place. And you didn′t want to be the one to chase him away. So even though you had tons of other work to do and patients to see, you stayed there with him. Just sitting in complete silence, while Reiner was looking to the ground, fingers playing with the edge of the red armband still in his hands.

There was something about that particular moment. About seeing him without that damned piece of fabric on his left arm. Something, that made your heart ache for the young blond Warrior. You knew what he had to undergo, how hard he had to train since being a little kid.

And right there, in that moment, for maybe just a second it seemed, that he was just as scared, tired, and defeated, as a little kid forced to complete such harsh military training.

„You can stay here if you want,“ you said suddenly, not even thinking about the words which came out of your mouth. Only after they′ve been said out loud, and got Reiner′s attention. „I mean... I′m working the night as well. So if you′re not going home, you can stay here. With me,“ you added a little quieter, already regretting your stupid habit of talking before thinking.

„I don′t think it′s a good idea,“ he said, putting the armband back in its place. Without even looking at you, he suddenly stood up and tried making his way to the door.

But only until you got to your feet as well and reached for his hand. Your still trembling fingers wrapped around his wrist, as you urgently pulled him towards you. „Stay,“ you said firmly. „Please, stay.“

The whole world around you felt like it was on fire when he finally turned his head and looked at you in pure shock. You could feel your heart breaking into million little pieces when you once again saw the sadness and despair in his beautiful light brown eyes.

If only you knew how to help him and ease his suffering.

Reiner carefully pulled his wrist from your grasp, but almost immediately reached for your hand again, gently interlocking your fingers. You ran your thumb along his knuckles, pulling him even closer until his body collided with your own, and you wrapped your arms around him as tight as possible.

Only then you truly understood how much you yearned for this. To feel him this close and know, that he was okay. Alive and with you. At least at that moment.

„You don′t have to tell me anything, just... stay here,“ you whispered into his chest, gently resting your head against his right shoulder. You′ve dreamed about this moment many times – simply being in his arms, safe and sound from all the horrors of the world around.

„I wanted...“ he started but got quiet almost immediately. However, when you didn′t start talking, he took a couple of deep breaths, before speaking again. „I needed to come home for a couple of days,“ he said, running his fingers through your hair softly and lovingly. „I needed to see you and hear your voice.“ You smiled into his chest, wrapping your arms around his body even tighter. If it was only possible for this moment to never end. „I needed to remind myself for who I need to keep fighting for.“ His voice almost broke, as he got those words out.

With another tiny smile, you caressed his chest and tilted your head slightly back, to look into his face. Reiner was already looking at you, his eyes waiting to meet yours and tell you so much more, without even using actual words.

„I missed you so much,“ you said, fighting many different emotions all at once. There was so much you wanted to say to him. But was it the right moment? Or would it be better to leave everything for later? For after the war, when you finally can be together? „And prayed every night, that you′ll come home unharmed.“ You could feel his whole body relax against yours.

„Trust me, that bullet was so worth it.“ A shiver run down your back when he laughed quietly and pressed a kiss to your forehead. „By now it′s probably healed.“

„So much for my hard work,“ you teased him, while your eyes involuntarily wandered to his lips. How many times did you dream about kissing them? Probably too many. „Just try not to get injured again. We can see each other under much more pleasant circumstances.“

The height difference between you and Reiner was almost too perfect. Standing on your tiptoes, while he slightly bent down was enough to close the distance between the two of you. But before your lips finally brushed against each other, a loud knock on the door startled you.

„Just a moment!“ you shouted, suppressing your laughter. „We′re almost done.“

Reiner closed his eyes with a smile as well, cradling you in his arms just a moment longer, before he let go. As he sat back onto the hospital bed, you slowly opened the door, only to find your supervisor standing there. He needed your assistance with a complicated surgery immediately.

With an apologetic look toward Reiner, you left the room and hurried after your supervisor, debating the case while you were getting ready. It was truly a complicated surgery, which lasted almost six hours. You were dead tired when you finally walked out of the operating theatre and headed to the dressing room to change into a fresh pair of hospital uniform.

You wanted to find Reiner again, but more work got in your way and didn′t let you relax until late at night. The only thing you were able to do, was to fill out an official paper about Reiner′s medical condition and your decision to keep him here overnight for observation. Almost everything you wrote down was simply made-up nonsense, but it did the trick. Nobody questioned your decision, not even your supervisor. Quiet the opposite – he complimented your dedication to your work and thus to Marley itself, by taking such excellent care of somebody so important for the military.

It was almost midnight when you finally had time to get off your feet and eat something. Your head and back hurt as if someone beat you up, while your feet could barely carry you anymore. The morning was still far away, anything could happen until the first rays of sunshine appear on the horizon and your 24-hour shift will be finally over.

After hesitating a little, you made your way to the room, where Reiner was staying. It was late and quiet almost everywhere around you, so you didn′t want to knock and disturb someone. You just very carefully peered from behind the door, finding Reiner laying in bed. Thankfully, he wasn't sleeping.

„I was starting to think you forgot about me,“ he said quietly, sitting up without any sign of being in pain. Only a small lamp on the nightstand was switched on, but it gave out enough light for you to see the content, but somehow still sad look on his face. „Too much work?“

You nodded tiredly and closed the door, making your way to the bed. Sitting down felt more than nice after such a long day. „How are you feeling?“ With that question, you reached for his hand. It was surprisingly warm compared to your always cold ones. „Did the wound truly heal up already?“

„Yeah, it′s completely gone. I′m okay.“ You shook your head with a smile, slipping into Reiner′s arms almost immediately. „But only thanks to you,“ he added gratefully, running his hand up and down your aching back. If you closed your eyes, you could very easily fall asleep right there. „I really mean it.“

„And I meant what I said earlier. We can see each other under more pleasant circumstances and outside the hospital.“ You let the tips of your fingers slide along his jaw, gently grabbing his chin and tilting his head more toward you. Everything about him seemed so perfect. Every little detail of his face, even his disheveled hair. „Next time, please, don't get butchered just because you want to see me.“

„What if there won′t be any next time?“

„What do you mean?“ The light you thought you saw in his eyes was gone once more. His smile vanished, while his gaze lingered over the contours of your face. He was truly looking at you as if he never saw you before. Or as if he′ll never get the chance to do it again. „It will all be over soon, Reiner,“ you reassured him, resting your right hand against his chest, right over his steadily beating heart. „And after that... well, I don′t know what is going happen to Marley or to us, but...“

You were glad, that he shut you up with a tender kiss. His lips finally, after so many months of thinking about it, collided with yours, and for a glimpse of a moment helped you forget about reality. About the tiring work here in the hospital, and about the war itself.

Right there, it was only you and Reiner.

„Just say if I′m crossing any lines,“ he said a little hesitantly, his soft lips brushing against yours once more. You didn′t even dare to open your eyes. What if he disappeared? What if this all turned out to be just a dream?

„You have no idea how long I was dreaming about this moment,“ you whispered, cupped his cheeks, and kissed him again. A million times more urgently, as if he was the only thing keeping you from death′s reach.

Seconds turned into minutes and if it wasn't for your need to breathe, you would stay like that probably forever. As you tried to catch your breath again, Reiner leaned against you, burying his face into your hair. It didn′t take long until you hear a quiet sob escape his mouth, while his arm pulled you even closer to him.  

You knew this was coming. From the moment you saw him earlier, you could tell he′s going to break and let all his anger, disappointment, exhaustion, and sadness out. And it was more than okay. To be honest, it made you feel so much at ease, that he let his guard down like that in your presence. That he trusted you this much. That he wasn′t afraid to show you, just how much these last few years affected him.

„Cry it all out, it′s okay. I′m here,“ you whispered reassuringly, running your fingers through his hair in a calming motion, while simultaneously pressing tiny kisses to the top of his head. „You′re safe with me, I promise.“

Hearing him cry for many long minutes was truly one of the most painful things you′ve ever witnessed, but there was very little you could actually do to help him. Besides holding him tight and making sure he knows, that you will always be there for him. Always. In any kind of situation.

„I′m sorry... I just...“ you shook your head before he could continue, planting a kiss on his temple. As he slowly pulled away to look you in the eyes, you couldn't help but smile, while wiping away the remains of his tears. „I′m sorry,“ he said again.

„Nothing to be sorry about, Reiner,“ you assured him, leaned closer for a quick kiss, and made yourself comfortable on the hospital bed. Reiner watched you with teary eyes until you opened your arms and pulled him into another hug. „Try to get some sleep, I′ll stay here.“ His head came to rest on your chest very carefully, while his arms tightly wrapped around your waist securing you in place. He truly wanted to make sure you′ll stay there and won′t leave him. „Everything will be fine. Maybe not tomorrow or in a week, but eventually.“

„As long as you′re with me,“ Reiner whispered, his lips pressing against your neck.

A content smile made its way to your lips, as you felt Reiner relax in your arms. Everything about that moment felt so right. The weight of his body on yours, his arms holding you close to him, and the mere reality of the two of you being together like this.

School and work always came first to you, there simply wasn't time for silly little romances. Not when you were determined to fulfill your dream. But looking at the brave and handsome Warrior, who was holding onto you for dear life while slowly falling asleep on your chest, made you reconsider everything.

Maybe making room for love in your life wouldn't be so bad.

#reiner braun #reiner braun x reader #reiner braun x you #aot x reader #aot x you #attack on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin

[rpstartersinc]

* 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓.

feel free to change pronouns / wording!

“ what’s the point, she’s dead? ”  

“ you look like a man who could do some wishful drinking. ”

“ been behind this bar since you were in short trousers. ”  

“ not seen you in here before. ”  

“ i don’t get out much. ”  

“ i bet you’re the life and soul of the party, eh? ”  

“ whilst he was a bit of a sadistic cunt, he was first and foremost a professional. ”

“ he’s eye-fucking us. ”  

“ there’s blood everywhere. ”  

“ you must be a tough guy then. ”  

“ you don’t look like a tough guy to me. ”  

“ finish the fucking story. ”  

“ am i supposed to be scared? ”  

“ anyone else make a move on me, i’ll kill them! ”  

“ get away from that door! ”  

“ you remind me of someone. ”  

“ only takes a moment to be courteous. ”  

“ i don’t blush now, darlin’. ”  

“ can’t fucking hear myself think. ”  

“ well, to be fair, you have just blown his foot off - it will sting a bit. ”

“ nice and quiet. ”  

“ you’re full of shit, apparently. ”  

“ you eyeball me i’ll blow your fucking head off. ”  

“ this isn’t the first time i’ve looked into that end of a shooter. ”  

“ prison turned you into a stone-cold killer, did it? ”  

“ i’m gonna take pleasure cracking your fucking skull open. ”  

“ i got pretty good at waiting. ”  

“ doesn’t know the meaning of dishonesty. ”  

“ means more to me than life itself. ”  

“ never, ever, ever lend money to family ”  

“ why do you talk to me like that, eh? condescending. ”  

“ you always fucking get excited, you and that temper. ”  

“ i don’t wanna do anything illegal. ”  

“ trust me, it’s a piece of piss. ”  

“ so you knocked him out cold? ”  

“ it hurt, and i don’t just mean the money. ”  

“ i made a mistake, right? it’s not gonna happen again. ”

“ about two and a half pounds of none of your fucking business. ”

“ if she causes you any trouble, you can knock her out cold, can’t you? ”

“ i didn’t have a criminal record, i never had that mindset. ”  

“ say excuse me, cunt. ”  

“ excuse me, cunt. ”  

“ you should’ve said please. ”  

“ they make me look scary as fuck. ”  

“ got into a bit of a scuffle. ”  

“ nothing to be proud of. ”  

“ i was on my own. ”  

“ it was clear that i was gonna have to look after myself. ”

“ it’s self-defence, clearly, right? ”  

“ what do you want me to do, let them stab me? ”  

“ i had to change myself into something i didn’t even recognise anymore. ”

“ the body can be strengthened to a degree, but it’s your mind that makes you impervious to defeat. ”

“ just like the skin on your knuckles, the mind can be made callous as fuck. ”

“ i learned how to take pain, but more importantly, i learned how to dish it out. ”

“ my daily existence became about survival. ”  

“ i bet you didn’t know it’s possible to make your own napalm in prison. ”

“ probably not gonna be easy for you to hear. ”  

“ i didn’t think you had it in you. ”  

“ none of us had planned on being held hostage today. ”

“ i’ve got the devil me in me, too. but i learned to accept my wickedness, i learned to apply it for good. ”

“ you’ve gone and messed up my nice interrogation room floor. ”

“ i fucking remember it vividly. ”  

“ this is so fucking bad. ”  

“ i’ve been living with the threat of violence hanging over my head, twenty-four-fucking-seven. ”

“ i’ve been stabbed half a dozen times. ”  

“ i’ve killed people, with my bare fucking hands. ”  

“ you do have a problem with your attitude. ”  

“ you’re a loose cannon. ”  

“ i never said a fucking word, not a syllable! ”  

“ you’re not thinking straight. ”  

“ there’s no coming back from that. ”  

“ maybe i don’t wanna come back. ”  

“ oh, shit me, that toast smells nice. ”  

“ are they aware of what you do? ”  

“ i didn’t take you for the violent type. ”  

“ you sure are racking up the reasons to get yourself killed tonight. ”

“ i hope your little revenge mission was worth it. ”

“ key words there - revenge. ”  

“ when i found that purpose? well only then could i bear all the pain and suffering, because now it all had a meaning. ”

“ why are you protecting him? ”  

“ they’re gonna kill you in here, you know that, right? ”

“ i’d quite like to leave, actually. ”  

“ the only thing you’re ever gonna be remembered for is being a fucking mess. ”

“ i’m alright not being remembered for anything. ”

“ whatever satisfaction you think you’re gonna get out of all this is gonna be very fucking short-lived. ”

“ i will not be fucking disrespected. ”  

“ what’s done is done. ”  

“ that’s what happens when you get other people to do your dirty work, you forget to check the gun to see if it’s loaded. ”

“ two shots, two barrels, and i’ve already used both of them, you dumb fuck. ”

“ i think i’ll call it a night then. ”  

“ sorry about the mess. ”  

“ i’m thinking clearer than i have done in years. ”

#( sentence. ) #sentence meme #sentence starters #rp meme #rp starters #movies #crime #action #avengement

[cicada-circuitry]

Hello I am curious about “we’re not friends.” (because: who is not friends? [I have some guesses]) and “there are only victims of virtue here” because that is a banger title

oh man okay a VERY COOL KID in my inbox LETS GO

11. we're not friends i blame entirely on @moocowmoocow writing this molly/karen femslash february fic that i happened to read right as I was getting to the karen/danny arc in s2 like honestly it might have been literally the first FAM fic i ever read just blindly opening the tag and it gave me some kind of brainworm i could not get rid of. {there really are so many people this title could apply to sooo curious about the guesses}

Tiny snippet:

"Oh! I can come back another time. It's nothing urgent." "Nonsense. He'll be home..." Molly waved a vague hand. "Sometime. Eventually. You can come in. Have a drink. Smoke. Both." Nervously, Karen stepped into the Wayne-free Cobb residence after Molly. "Well, if you're sure he'll be by soon." "Didn't say that." Molly lit a cigarette. Offered the pack. Karen used two fingers to press it away. "No thank you." Seconds ticket by as Molly smoked, leaning idly against the frame of the kitchen doorway, watching her. Karen swallowed and wrung her hands. "If it's going to be a while I can really—" "It really bothers you, being here with just me." Karen's mouth fell open. "No, I— Well, there's no reason for you and I to— You're Ed's friend," she said a little sharply. "Wayne and I are friends. It's... a little odd, but it makes sense, given your— Given his—" "Given Wayne's the astronaut wife." Something about that made Karen flush.

4. there are only victims of virtue here is... margo x irina. i am pretty sure i am never going to post this fic so the fact that there are more than 20,000 words of it is completely inexplicable the margo in russia arc really just hit me like a truck.

its a mix of expanding on a bunch of season 4 itself and an exploration of what might happen if irina gets to decide star city isn't through with Margo after the season ends after all.

here's one early bit of it tacked onto the night after the coup

Her flat is unwelcoming when she stumbles in at quarter to ten. It should be relief, taking off her coat, unwrapping her scarf, fumbling her way into the shower to finish washing the blood out of her hair. She should feel safe now. 

She doesn’t. She sees the dark spots in the corners of her shower she’s never been able to scrub away. The flecks on the vinyl curtain she should have replaced months ago. The crack in the cheap mirror whose dingy glass manages to make her look paler than she is. Levering herself down into her bed, it’s not her old life she’s comparing it to. She’s lived in worse. This place has multiple rooms, a functional television, even an out-of-tune piano. It’s not like she’s regressed to her bare bones fresh-out-of-college apartment she never even furnished for preference of furnishing her closet-sized office. 

Her broken glasses make a concerning clicking noise when she sets them down on the bedside table. She turns out the light without looking and groans her way into a position that only aggravates every single muscle that’s been tugged the wrong way in the last twenty-four hours, but doesn’t seem like it’ll prevent her from falling asleep. It’s not even that she can’t feel safe in this part of the city anymore, after being forcibly dragged away. 

It’s the itching, straining feeling that she shouldn’t be here. 

That she was exactly where she was supposed to be three hours ago. Before two of Director Morozova’s silent, scowling men drove her home. 

In an empty Roscosmos building scattered with the remnants of its last guard—half-finished cups of coffee, papers strewn across desks and floors, a single broken briefcase leaning up against the knee of the cosmonaut in the mural in the main lobby. Where Irina had said, “I expect you back here tomorrow, Ms. Madison.” 

Margo—rattled and bruised and bloody and exhausted as she was—had said, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to… stay?” 

#congratulations you somehow managed to pick TWO of the rare not margo x molly fics on this list #pretending i am not even SLIGHTLY embarrassed about my choices lmao #for all mankind #margo x irina #irina morozova #karen x molly #c-c answered asks

[sarcasticscribbles]

Artschool Dropout

I made a thread about how and why I became an artschool dropout, and want to share it here too. Storytime! It's mainly a highlight of parts I despite in the art worlds; capitalism and superiority. My experience was affected by the environment, and hell was a bad environment

Back in the distance year of 2019 I went to an(community) art college in like the *fancy* part of my area. I lived across the lake on the countryside, so I was not prepared for this environment. Rich people cosplaying poor is the best description. Fancy clothing made to look dirty and no-one wore shoes. It was very networking-vibe, with "omg we HAVE to talk more later" but never doing so. Like nurses energy. To be fair I became more and more non-approachable as time went on.

A good note is that Swedish education is normally free, even uni degrees, but this one cost money. It was that was never addressed or mentioned when I applied; that's on me maybe, but the few friends I had didn't know either. A lot was beaten around the bush when it came to expenses. A big draw for the school was a trip they made to Berlin during a film festival. Once the time came around they mentioned the cost for the trip (which was not mentioned before, I thought it was included) and kinda of shamed people if they wouldn't pay and go. Saying how its a highlight of the education and the few staying behind just watch movies for a week. In addition, the film festival wasn't included in the price, and we would have to pay extra to go. It was supposed to be a week, but two days was for travelling by train.

The price was something I would rather use for a private Berlin trip. It wasn't a lot, but I refused to do it, mainly for how indirect they were with everything. A friend and I said we wouldn't go and a staff complained how they would have to keep the school open just for us.

My classmates weren't an issue, it was the teachers and system, which all just felt like a money laundering scheme. One day we travelled to Stockholm, and we were tasked to go four hours alone, sit and stare at an object and think what it made is feel. Those were the instructions.

Four hours. Alone. Then home.

I and one other instead went to grab a coffee and trash talk. Once the time was up, I just made up on the spot "what it made me feel" and he gave me a job well done. I understand the assignment, but the execution from the teacher was all wrong.

It wasn't my crowd tho, I came from a gaming development High school while these people were like, social studies. I'm used to a nerdy crowd, is what I'm trying to say.

I have two funny examples:

I was talking to some guy during a break the ice get together with the whole school (very small school) and I explained I studied video game development before, and he said "omg that's so cool!!" And I answered, "yeah! Do you play?" And he said "yes, the piano :)"

And other time we were talking about painters, and when they asked me who my favourite was, I thought I would joke and said "oh, donatello :) because I love purple" and NO ONE got my tmnt ref and instead thought some Italian Renaissance was my favourite artist.

But back to the main issue, it was the school: First day our teacher handed us supplies from a closet and I was like "wow! Thank you! When these run out (BECAUSE WE'RE FKN ARTISTS) can we grab new ones in the closet?" And she said "no :) this is for the two years you are here" Like eight different hardness pens and a block of paper.

My worse experience was that every Tuesday was lecture day (although we didn't have grades nor exams) and all students gathered in a dark room to look at a PowerPoint about culture and people.

Fun in theory, but again executed so badly. My last lecture one teacher said "oh, and we gotten complaint not everyone can take notes during the presentation, so we thought one from each class could take notes and share with everyone else later :)! Any volunteer?"

Like ??? What? I raised my hand and said "you have a PowerPoint there? Why can't just share the presentation with everyone if they want to go back later?" AND SHE ANSWERED "that is a great idea, but unfortunately that would take weeks. So this is a better alternative:)"

TO THIS DAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT

Smaller details ; expensive lunch, creepy teacher keeping images of women's privates on screen (and I'm an artist I don't mind nudity) pointless activities and little progression. I can't give it a fair judgement, I only lasted three weeks but jumped in the opportunity to leave.

Cherry on top was I had communicated in private with my mentor about quitting and the day it was decided I had to go back to get my stuff and have one last day and the teacher (not my mentor) exclaimed in the shadiest way "Sophie? I thought you quit" I hadn't told my friends yet.

Last day I replaced all my supplies with new from the fancy closet, and me and my friends stole coffee from the cafeteria during lunch (it was only included if you bought food) to celebrate my time. We all hated the system of the school, but all of us loved art.

My experience is mainly the environment the school was located in; upper-class pretending not to be. The people were alright and i got a few friends before quitting. It was also traditional, general art when I prefer digital art. The school, system, and teacher were hell, which is a shame because it took something I loved and turned it into all the things I hate. i don't regret going and I don't regret quitting when I did. Best thing to come out of it was my literal label Artschool Dropout

#artschool dropout

[hxneyhxrts]

Rain Soaked || Jake “Hangman” Seresin (part 6)

Part 5

note: sorry this is so late i’m in my morning sickness era lmao. thank you everyone for sticking with me and sorry this got a little horny

warning: brief mention of masturbation, explicit language, some less than innocent touching but not much of it

Sweater Weather

It was fucking hot. So much hotter than Gwyn ever remembered California being. No, this was the kind of heat to break a man, dismantle him from the inside out. This heat could kill her a thousand times over and continue to sting long after. The sun was a distant enemy so much worse than any she had seen or ever would see, she thought. Maybe it was the hours she had spent roasting in it, but Gwyn was nearing her breaking point.

Captain Jake Seresin in his infinite wisdom had ordered them outside for what he called “survival drills” where he was having them run through crash procedures. Knock on wood, he had said, but Gwyn remembered enough about their last mission to see the value in it, even if she felt like her skin was going to start peeling from her bones at any minute.

Reaching her breaking point, Gwyn tugged her shirt free from her waistband and yanked it over her head with a groan. It practically clung to her as the sweat soaked cotton stuck to her sticky skin. Her cargo pants and sports bra weren’t much of an upgrade, but at least she wasn’t soaking wet anymore.

The day was so scorching that Jake had ordered them all to bring sunscreen, meaning he knew just how excruciating the heat would be. Gwyn had already reapplied three or four times by now, but had quickly sweat through every new layer she rubbed on.

Alec had already shed his shirt, along with most of the others (including Jake she noted regretfully), and had been incredibly heavy on his SPF use. Much like a mother would, he had nagged her about applying more every time he noticed her cheeks flushing a bit more. And at the sight of her pulling off her shirt, he clicked his tongue and grabbed the sunscreen once more.

“Turn around,” he ordered quietly as Jake ran through the various ways to signal Search & Rescue. Gwyn would’ve snickered at his hovering if she didn’t already feel the bite of the sun at her shoulders.

Slumping her head forward and lifting her hair into a makeshift ponytail catastrophe, Gwyn allowed her friend to rub the now warm lotion into her skin. She sighed softly through her nose at the sensation, allowing her shoulders to relax ever so softly as Alec kneaded and massaged at her skin. His hands traveled down her spine with just enough pressure to make her want to moan. If his aviator gig ever failed, she supposed he could make a killing as a masseuse.

“Keep it in your pants,” he scoffed under his breath, earning him a soft jab to the ribs.

He finished with a pat to her hip, and Gwyn had started to turn her attention back to the blonde captain at the front of their group (a group she had dragged Alec to very back of, as far away from the other pilot as possible), when Alec uncapped the sunscreen again and dropped a dollop of it in her open palm. She shot him a curious look at which he scoffed.

“Do you not have skin on your front or something? Come here,” and then he was pulling her closer again by the arm and rubbing more SPF into the front of her shoulders. His hands drifted down her stomach and hips, but she stopped him with a swat to his hand when he began trailing his lotion covered fingers over her chest.

“I think I can take it from here,” she scoffed.

“You sure? Lots of ground to cover up here, maybe we should tag team it,” he quipped with a wink that she pretended to gag at.

She rolled her eyes but he clapped her on the cheek softly in a playful gesture as he ran some sunscreen over her face. Finishing it off with a soft tap to her nose, he gave her his cheekiest smile and turned back to the lesson at hand.

Gwyn followed his direction, only to find Jake’s eyes already on her, a small pinch in his brows.

“We’re going to work on ejections now. Go find your planes,” he ordered, still holding her gaze with unwavering hardness.

Alec’s hand slid around her elbow and pulled it until she was trailing behind him to the plane that they had effectively claimed as “theirs” in their weeks of training.

“Let’s pray you don’t get stuck this time.” He had said it as a joke, but Gwyn could still hear the note of uncertainty there. She slid her fingers around his and squeezed.

Arriving at their aircraft, Gwyn swept a hand out in a theatrical motion. “Ladies first.”

Alec bowed with a shit-eating grin, clambering on to the wing and pulling himself into the backseat with ease. Gwyn made to follow him, but stopped short when her sunscreen-slick hands slid across the metal of the wing. Again, she made to push her arms under her, but her hands found no traction and slipped from the surface before she could find her balance.

“Goddamit,” she muttered.

Alec was giggling from inside the plane, only stopping when she cast him a glare.

She gripped at the edge of the wing once again, attempting to pull herself up, but found herself slipping once she jumped. She would have probably fallen to, had hands not found her hips and guided her back and into a strong solid wall of muscled chest.

A familiar chest.

Her breath stilled in her lungs. Jake’s hands were clasped firm enough to almost hurt, a touch that she had become used to in their time together. The thought brought a shameful shade of crimson scattering across her already sun-flushed skin, and she was suddenly thankful to be nearly burning in the heat.

Her spine was completely flush against him, each vertebrae pushing against his bare skin. Many nights spent in this exact position flooded her brain, and Gwyn choked on her own sputtering breaths as they pushed out of her in tiny gasps.

She felt his digits flex gently into the bones at her hips, maybe out of habit, and she selfishly wanted to lean into the feeling. Gwyn could feel his breath panting at her the hollow of her ear and washing over the damp skin of her neck, caressing her intimately.

Maybe it was because it was Jake or maybe it was how badly she had missed the feeling, but she became alarmingly aware of how many professional boundaries they were toeing with.

Something seemed to shake Jake out of his trance, and he cleared his throat. “Need help?” he husked, a low growl lost in his voice somewhere. The same tone she had shamelessly thought about some nights when loneliness had been especially suffocating and the only relief she could find was her fingers dancing between her legs.

Words had left her, so she nodded instead. Jake’s hands held her tighter and then he was pushing her up by her hips until she could find some footing on the wing of her plane. She couldn’t even look at him as she threw a “thanks” over her shoulder.

Alec was still silently snickering when she buckled herself in.

—---------

Her almost something-more-than-a-casual-run-in with Jake had quickly been forgotten once training had picked back up. The temperature inside the cockpit was stifling enough that the air outside of it felt like welcomed relief. The higher ups were busting their asses, but Gwyn supposed it was better to be over-prepared than not at all.

Jake had wrapped up the rest of their instruction relatively quickly before dismissing everyone with a promise to meet up back in the hangar within the hour to discuss some mission specifics.

“Mission specifics” never meant anything good, so Gwyn took her time showering off the thin film of sweat and sunscreen and grime from her skin, scrubbing at herself until her flesh had turned a raw sort of pink. Her hair was still wet, curling around her ears wildly while she slipped into a shirt with the word “NAVY” stamped across the chest in massive letters. She had once stolen a shirt from Jake’s closet, identical to this one, loving the way it hung on her frame and how his eyes had always darkened when she wore it around his apartment. She had packed that shirt away in a box she had sent off to his address overseas once she received the text that ended her days in his clothes, and had secretly missed its warmth ever since. Now, she was stuck stealing clothes from Alec if she wanted even a crumb of that same comfort.

The older man in question was leaned against the wall opposite her locker room door when she pushed through the door after pulling on a pair of shorts. His hair was also damp, dripping a wet patch onto the shoulder of his shirt, and he offered her a weak smile once she planted herself directly in front of him. His hand reached up to tug at a small curl hanging over her forehead and dodging the angry swat she batted at him with.

“I’m fucking exhausted,” he breathed, closing his eyes against the hallway fluorescents. Gwyn studied the planes of his face and the way fatigue had tainted it before patting at his chest reassuringly.

“Days almost done. Let’s go.”

Alec allowed her to tug him by the hand back to the hangar where they found the rest of the group already gathered and waiting. Gwyn would’ve felt sheepish about being the last to arrive if it weren’t for the threat of collapsing pushing at her bones with every step she took.

She had just planted herself in a chair next to Alec when Jake began speaking.

“Alright. Let’s get to it then.” Admiral Holt was poised beside him, eyes firm and hard, but he said nothing and allowed the blonde captain to run the meeting. “We have decided on mission teams.”

Gwyn’s lungs squeezed in her chest. Alec laid a hand across the back of hers and dug his nails into crescent moons on her flesh. So this was it. Today was the day Jake would politely tell her she had done well, but they were going in a different direction and send her back home to the quiet life in California she was secretly coming to despise.

Because Holt would never put her in the air at this point. Not when he had already been so vocal in his doubts up to this point. No amount of dogfighting or ass kissing could change a fixed mind, and her fate was set in stone. No one to blame but herself, she supposed, but a bitter end to her work here.

Gwyn wondered if her disappointment had anything to do with the people she had missed so much and how disheartening it would be to leave them once again. She wouldn’t name who specifically, but her heart lurched in understanding.

“We’ve decided on two teams, comprised of two planes, and one alternate for each team. The first team will be Rooster and Vegas on his wing. I’ll be heading up the other team and acting as squadron leader for this hop.”

Of course he was. Gwyn hadn’t considered any other possibility in which Jake Seresin relinquished control to anyone else outside of his immediate influence.

She had just started to slump in her chair and run over her mental packing list when he continued.

“Cheek will be my wingman.”

White noise rushed her brain, static filling her ears and drowning her while her spine went ramrod straight. She registered Alec’s hand squeezing hers again, but it felt far away, like the touch wasn’t really hers to feel.

She was his wingman.

He had chosen her.

Jake ran through the rest of the details, covering the list of alternates and their oles, but she had completely tuned him out.

After several minutes of disgruntled comments from the remaining aviators and exasperated discussions about the finality of these decisions, the group was dismissed. Gwyn stayed rooted in her spot, firmly in her chair even as Alec poked at her gently.

“I’ll catch up with you,” she breathed, eyes focusing in on Jake across the room as his head bent towards Holt in what looked like a heated discussion.

Once the room had mostly cleared out save for some lingering pilots and techs from other divisions who gave them a wide berth, Gwyn wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs and approached the green-eyed menace.

Jake was waiting for her, an expectant look on his face as she stalked towards him. His eyes burned at the space above her breasts, as if he could see the bare skin beneath her shirt, and a valley formed in her brows before he was looking back up at her.

She didn’t even know what to say. Was there anything she could say to really express how she felt?

“Thank you,” she whispered, but it still felt insignificant on her tongue. She didn’t know what strings Jake had pulled to keep her on, or if it really had just come down to her flying (she doubted it), but she was grateful. Grateful for him.

A strange sensation after all this time.

Jake nodded, mouth pressed into a firm line and eyes once again studying her chest. She wanted to say more, be vulnerable enough to let him see her heart without worrying he’d dig too far and find the rest of it. He was someone she now had to keep at an arm’s length, whether it be for how insufferable he was or how he could flatten her with just a grin.

Gwyn needed to walk away now, while she still could. She dipped her chin in goodbye and spun on her heel, but Jake’s low whisper broke her stride.

“You’re not wearing your necklace.”

Fingers subconsciously raised to stroke against the empty space between her collar bones, and suddenly Gwyn felt almost guilty. Like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar or cheating on a test.

She swallowed. “I lost it.”

Because lying to him felt like a mercy compared to telling him it had sat in her jewelry box ever since that text had lit up her phone scream, calling at her like a siren song when she spent too long thinking about him. To preserve herself, she would lie to him.

Shallow breaths echoed behind her. She steeled herself for whatever Jake might say next, simultaneously dreading it and gnawing her lip in anticipation.

Finally, Jake sighed. “Gwyn, I-”

“Gwyn!”

She spun around to find Jake casting a look over his shoulder as James approached the two of them, blissfully unaware of the painful tension hanging between them.

She didn’t want to see him. Not now. Not today.

Instead, she smiled brightly and tried to sound cheery as she said, “James! Hey!”

Jake’s green eyes filled with what she recognized at annoyance, probably due to the interruption, but he stayed silent as the other pilot jogged over.

James was in uniform, much more formal than her borderline pajamas, and she suddenly felt very small in his presence. Weird, considering Jake was still in his digs as well, but James’ appearance made her shrink into herself as he neared.

“Hard to track you down these days,” he joked once he had slowed to a stop only a few feet away from her, firmly planted between her and the blonde captain staring daggers into the back of his head.

“Oh, yeah. I guess,” she shrugged non-committedly. “Busy doing pilot shit and all that.”

It sounded stupid even in her own ears, but James was laughing and she tried to relax at the sound of it.

“Well,” he started once his chuckles had subsided, “when you aren’t busy, I wanted to know if we could go grab a drink. Maybe tonight?”

Gwyn paused.

A date.

He was asking her on a date.

In front of Jake, whose eyes had narrowed as his glance slid between the two of them quickly.

And maybe it was because Jake was listening and she needed to prove a point that she wasn’t the groveling ex-girlfriend and that she really could be just his coworker. Or maybe it was because Jake wasn’t terrible even if he wasn’t Hangman.

But she said yes.

Jake’s face had gone stony at her acceptance, but she pointedly kept her eyes on James’ face as he lit up and proceeded to name the time and place for them to meet.

It was a date, then.

—----------

“Where is it?” Gwyn groaned as she tossed what felt like the thousandth article of clothing over her shoulder. She had spent the better half of an hour looking for some ridiculously frilly sundress that Alec called her “date dress”, but had come up short even as she ransacked her closet.

“Maybe you didn’t pack it when you shipped out here,” Alec drawled from his place on her (their) bed. He had been lounging in amusement while he watched her rifle helplessly through mounds of clothing. “Why don’t you just wear the black one?”

Gwyn puffed a sigh through her nose. “Black is too gloomy. It doesn’t really say ‘I’m glad to be on this date’, now does it?”

A cackle sounded behind her and she wanted to smack the sound right out of him. “G, it’s not that big of a deal. I didn’t think you even wanted a date with this guy.”

Tension seized at her posture, stiffening her joints and even the very marrow in her bones. It was the very thought she had been trying to avoid.

Did she want to go out tonight? Did she want to go out with James at all? He wasn’t unattractive by any means, but he wasn’t-

Gwyn swallowed. “It’s only fair that I give it a shot. An honest one.”

A scoff rang out through the still air hanging in her tiny bedroom. “Fair to who?” Alec pressed, almost sounding annoyed at her.

She was too drained to have this conversation. Between training all day in the sun and the mental gymnastics she was pushing herself through, she wanted nothing more than to curl in right next to Alec and sleep the weekend away.

But getting over Jake and committing herself as his strictly professional wingman meant giving the dating scene the ol’ college try, and trying meant actually dressing up. So she’d bust out the date dress, smile when he told jokes, thank him for dinner at the end of the night, and text him about how much fun she had in the morning. And if a second date rose from that, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

If she ever found this fucking dress.

“For Christ’s sake, just pick the fucking black one.”

She was going to snap if Alec opened his mouth one more time, so she snatched the crumpled pile of onyx fabric and yanked it over her barely brushed hair with a huff. She searched around until she found the only pair of sandals she owned that she hadn’t worn a hole into yet, and figured they were classy enough for a date she maybe didn’t want to go on.

She yanked the top to her jewelry box open in irritation, stopping short at the small gold chain and plane pendant sitting on top of her earring stash.

As if she wasn’t already thinking of Jake too much.

It would be stupid to wear a gift from her ex-boyfriend on a date with a new man. Downright foolish and weird, even. But her fingers itched to grab the small necklace.

She reasoned it would make up for her little white lie concerning the jewelry earlier in the day, her way of righting her own wrong in some weird poetic way. The logic couldn’t stand on its own if it had crutches, but she snatched up the necklace and clasped the chain around her throat.

If she was going to spend this whole night pushing herself out of her very inviting comfort zone, she could afford one little shortcoming.

—----------

The date was disastrous.

Not that James wasn’t the perfect picture of chivalrous, but Gwyn physically could not stop herself from comparing everything about him to her charming green-eyed former lover.

It started with the location. The same naval bar they had first run into each other (a detail she had forgotten considering most of that night was spent in Alec’s embrace) for dinner and drinks. That had set off her runaway train of traitorous thoughts.

Because Jake would never take her to a dive bar for one of their dates. “We go there all the time with friends, I’m not spending one of our nights there,” he would say. He also would know how much she hated bar food.

But it was okay, because this wasn’t Jake.

Then, it came time to order food. Gwyn had spent several minutes rehearsing in her head how she’d insist on just having fries or something simple that wouldn’t totally ruin her appetite, but when one of the waitresses swung by to grab their order, James had cut her off before she could speak. He had ordered them both an order of wings and onion rings, and Gwyn’s stomach had curled. After an entire day sweating her ass off in the baking sun, hot wings were not exactly what she would consider appetizing at the moment.

Because Jake would never order for her, always insisting he thought she was too smart to ever dare speak for her, instead choosing to smile along whenever she voiced her own opinions or ideas.

But it was okay, because this wasn’t Jake.

The final straw had come when he had smirked at the waitress as she dropped off their grease trap entrees, and even going as far as to wink as he thanked her. She wasn’t jealous, no not by a long shot. She’d have to care to be jealous, but it was the fact that he was so brazen about it when they were quite literally on a date. A date he had asked her on, and that she had agreed to despite her better judgment, and now he was sleazing over another woman right in front of her.

Because Jake would never even consider looking at another woman while she was around, always flat out ignoring anyone who hit on him in favor of her. “They don’t even begin to compare,” he would say, a line that always made her stomach flutter no matter how she rolled her eyes at him.

But it was okay, because GOD, this wasn’t Jake.

“I’m gonna go grab another drink,” she muttered, not even caring that she had interrupted some fantastic story he was in the middle of telling, and ignoring the nagging voice in her head that insisted ‘Jake would never let you grab your own drinks’.

The bar was almost completely surrounded all around its circumference, and Gwyn barely squeezed in to a space close enough to flag down a bartender.

“I don’t care what it is, just make it strong please,” she muttered over the bar chatter and despising the pity in the other woman’s eyes.

She didn’t need pity. She needed a drink.

“Put it on my tab.”

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

She could recognize that voice through layers of bar noise and then some, Recognize the woodsy scent mixed with sea salt and brass.

She didn’t want to look at him. Not here, knowing where she was and what she was in the middle of doing.

The bartender stalked off with a smile to make her drink, leaving her utterly alone with Jake Seresin as he towered behind her, an overwhelming presence without even looking at him.

Gwyn couldn’t even bring herself to say thank you, instead chewing on her lips anxiously and hoping her drink would slide across the counter soon.

“Not really your scene, Cheek,” Jake declared arrogantly, a smirk so wide she could feel it boring into the back of her skull.

Gritting her teeth, Gwyn bit out, “How would you know?”

She meant it to hurt him, maybe bruise his ego enough to force him to retreat. But Jake was laughing, a full and booming sound that rang through her ears even over the crowd.

“Because,” and then arms were caging her against the bar, strong columns of muscle trapping her between them as his hands planted themselves against the bar top. “I know you, baby.”

His breath was fanning across the back of her neck now, and she could feel the top of his chest pressing into her as he leaned forward. The nickname lit a fire low in her belly, and she chalked it up to the two drinks she had already downed in her misery.

“Don’t call me that,” she muttered, wincing at how weak it sounded.

Jake was leaning down further now, head directly next to hers and peering down at her. “Why? Why are you so against me-”

His sentence stopped abruptly, and she peered up at him to find his eyes locked on her throat.

And on the small pendant laying against the hollow of her breasts.

His eyes darkened, a storm gathering in his gaze that seared against the column of her neck. “You lied.”

Guilt and heat licked at her in equal measures, her skin feeling so much warmer and tighter against her bones now that he had effectively trapped her against the bar.

The airplane charm was burning hot against her chest, heated further by the intensity of his gaze. Gwyn wanted to look away from the firm set of his jaw and the sternness in his eyes, but she couldn’t.

“So? What does it matter?”

Jake’s hands creeped closer to hers until he had laced his fingers through hers and pinned her hands against the bar under his. Her stomach flipped, acutely aware of the brush of his hips against her backside and how it sent her mind reeling.

What was happening?

“Since when do you lie to me?” he breathed against the hollow of her ear, voice fanning over her flesh and leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Gwyn stuttered. “Since when do you pin me against bars when I’m on a date with someone else?”

Jake’s hands flexed, squeezing her fingers in a vice grip that had her toes curling in her sandals. “You call this a date?”

She wanted to smack him. “Is this just a jealous show out of your macho-ness then? You don’t get enough attention at work, captain?”

The full length of his body pressed flush against hers, belt digging into the swell of her ass as he hissed in her ear. “Stop calling me that if you aren’t going to back it up, baby.”

“Stop calling me that when we aren’t together, Seresin,” she bit back with as much malice as she could muster. “What are you even doing here, anyway?”

It’s the question she should have led with, but had completely forgotten in her stupor.

Jake leaned further into her, pressing unbelievably close as if they didn’t have an audience. “Looking out for you. Just…” he trailed off, brow furrowing. “Just making sure you’re okay.”

“Well I’m fine,” Gwyn bit viciously. “So you can stop touching me like that and leave.”

“You don’t want me to stop,” Jake breathed.

Gwyn’s teeth grit. He saw right through her, despite the time, despite the distance.

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” she asked, obviously avoiding the question, but hoping her defensiveness wasn’t tangible.

Jake didn’t answer for several moments, and she would’ve thought he had left if not for the firm grip wrapped around her hands.

Where the fuck was her drink?

“Just want to be close. You barely acknowledge me at work.”

She scoffed. “Again, are you that attention starved? Do you really not get enough praise from everyone around you?”

“Not the people that matter.”

Damn him. Damn him and his smooth tongue that always drew her in.

“I just,” he began again, sighing heavily and painfully. “I just want you to not hate me anymore. And maybe this is coming on a little strong, but-” he stopped. Gwyn found herself wanting to beg him to continue. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

She had opened her mouth to respond, maybe tell him off or kiss him, but the bartender slid her drink to her, a bright and colorful thing that smelled like pure liquor. Jake’s hands untangled from hers so that she could wrap her fingers around the glass, and when she had turned around to face him, he was already backing away.

“I’ll be around if you need a ride,” and with that, he dismissed himself back into the crowd.

Gwyn would be lying if she said she didn’t spend the rest of the evening searching for him from her table.

Part 7- Final

tags: @my-soulmate-is-mycroft @unknown1010000202 @alanadetigy @barbiewritesstuff @dempy @maggieromanov @jake-h-ngm-n-seresin @fangirlingoverfangirls @mavswife @the-winter-marvel33 @fuzzy-panda @fangirlofallthings22 @wildxwidow @winesex @blue-aconite @supernaturaldawning @turningtoclown @kkrenae

#jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #hangman top gun #jake hangman x reader #top gun maverick

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Detours

     I think we all know what a detour is.  You are going somewhere and the way you were going is blocked for some reason. You have to divert and go a different longer way.  Detours aren’t always a surprise, sometimes we plan a detour into a trip, maybe we detour to see some sight or perhaps to visit with a long lost family member.  So to summarize, a Detour can be planned or unplanned, but normally involves going in a less than straight direction.

     So what I have described above normally applies to some kind of trip you are going on, but what I have been pondering lately is Life Detours.  That is when your life is going in a certain direction but then goes off in another direction, often because of someone who you have met on your life path.  These people can often act like a bumper in a pinball machine sending you off in an unexpected direction, perhaps playing a small role but having a big impact.

     Now let me tell you how my thoughts got hitched to this train of thought.  A young man that I used to work with came to visit me recently and shared with me something that he said had a big impact on his life.  Apparently one day many years ago, before we really knew each other I stopped him in the hallway at work one day.  I hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with him prior to that day, but I had read enough of his reports to know that he was a good, hard working officer who I felt would be a good fit for our detective office.  I stopped him that day and suggested he apply for an upcoming opening we had in the Detective office.  He told me he hadn’t thought about applying before I suggested it, but he went home that night, spoke to his wife and he applied the following day.  From this short conversation, that I only vaguely remember, he was brought into the detective office, which led him to being promoted and just recently leaving the Police for an prestigious position in the Justice system.  He credits that conversation I had with him as having a significant impact on the direction of his life.  I had totally forgotten that conversation until he mentioned it.

     Another example I can offer is a woman I worked with years ago stopped me one day to thank me for being there for her many years earlier.  Apparently we were working together on the same squad and she was having a really challenging time.  She tells me that after a tough nightshift I had taken her out for breakfast, listened to her, offered her some guidance and sent her home feeling a lot better about her situation.  It was more than ten years after that breakfast that she was thanking me.  I had absolutely no recollection of that breakfast, but it had a significant impact on her as she made some changes after we spoke that sent her life in a different direction.  

      So this got me thinking about some of the detours I took in my own life, and the people that were largely responsible for those detours. 

     My first real significant job of note was when I was hired on Security at General Motors in St. Catharines.  It was supposed to be a summer job but I stayed for seven years, and during my time there I my life took two significant detours.  

     One of the people I worked with there was Gerry, a guy about ten years my senior, who became a very dear friend to me, and still is now, some forty-four years later.  Gerry was significant in my life because, well I would say he is largely responsible for the person I am today.  When I met Gerry I would describe myself as a twenty year old young man who was like many people that age.  I thought I knew everything, when in fact I knew very little, and if I met myself at that age I don’t think I would like me.  Gerry was just this really likeable young guy, married to a beautiful wife and with two handsome young sons.  He was kind, thoughtful and gave me the impression of being an exceptionally good person.  He didn’t directly teach me how to be a better person or a better father, but I learned so very much by watching him, listening to him and then emulating what I saw and heard.  Sometimes when I was struggling with a decision I would think to myself, what would Gerry do, and I would then do that.  I guess you could say he was a life mentor for me.

     Also working with me at GM was a guy named Wayne who left the Provincial Police and eventually ended up with GM Security.  Wayne knew of my desire to pursue a career in Policing, and one day as I was approaching ten years of failed attempts to get hired by a Police Force I shared with him that I was thinking that maybe I should give up this dream as it did not appear it was ever going to happen.  He looked at me and said why don’t you apply to the Hamilton Police?  I explained that it was too far away, but he pointed out that lots of guys drove down the highway to the steel plants everyday.  I thought about it, then did as he had suggested and a few months later Hamilton Police hired me.  I haven’t spoken to Wayne in over three decades, and I doubt he would even remember that conversation, but thanks to him my life took a huge detour. 

     My life took another detour one cold, wintery January day when my daughter made her entrance into this world.  Suddenly I was a Dad, and so began the desire to be the best Dad I could be. I am still working at it some 42 years later.  I watched how Gerry parented and copied him, I watched how some others parented and did the opposite, but mostly I just tried my best not to screw up the most important role I would ever have in my life.

     There are as many different styles of Policing as there are Police Officers.  It was important for me to be the best officer.  I had three Sergeants that made me a good officer, each causing me to detour from the way I had been doing things.  Peter who taught me that I had the best career in the world, and if I wasn’t having fun than I wasn’t doing it right.  Robert who was such a stickler for detail that we would often get our handwritten reports back covered in sticky notes with questions that needed to be answered.  Once I learned to write reports to his standards I never had a Sergeant send my reports back for further work.  John who taught me that true leaders create an atmosphere where those who work hard for you don’t do so out of fear or intimidation, but do so because they don’t want to disappoint you.

     There is an old saying, its better to be lonely and alone, than lonely with someone.  I was a broken man, living an unhappy life with little hope for my future.  This is when I met Traci who convinced me that my company was enjoyable, that I was interesting, that I was attractive and desirable.  Although Traci and I didn’t get our happily ever after, I credit her with opening the door that allowed me to find my way back to a happy and fulfilling life.

     Like many others I am a survivor of an ugly war in Family Court that stretched over ten years and cost an obscene amount of money.  I was trying to represent myself, drowning in a tank of sharks when Gina stepped in to throw me a life ring and pull me out of the shark tank.  She directed me to Michael, my third family court lawyer who was a kind, gentle and wise man who managed to win in court and give me back my life.  Gina and Michael, two people with minor roles in my life, but who both had a major impact.

     After two failed marriages I had begun to wonder if perhaps I wasn’t meant to be single for the rest of my life.  My friend Lynda convinced me to try out online dating and I reluctantly agreed.  I went on a string of dates and had some fun along the way but wasn’t really clicking with anyone.  Then one day I received a message from a pretty young woman, I was above her requested age range, and she was below mine, but there was something about her.  I wrote back and we began to message back and forth daily.  After a month we met, and she was every bit as special as her pictures and messages suggested.  I sometimes wonder what our lives would look like today if she hadn’t been looking outside her age range that day.  It was this detour which led me to my last, best and final wife.  The woman I was meant to be with.

     There was the Neurologist who was the first one to tell me that I had ALS and would likely be dead in 2 - 5 years.  This was an unplanned an unwelcome detour I found myself on.  If we go back to the Pinball metaphor, the steel ball has now hit the last bumper and is rolling down the centre of the game, out of reach of the flippers.  It is the last play, the game is soon to be over, there are no replays.

     Every life has detours, some good, some not so good.  

     What detours has your life taken?  

     Who in your life has had a minor role but a major impact?  

     Who on your life path have you been responsible for sending on a major detour?

#als #detours #life detours

[kingkyle5]

Cassie at the end of her story in my (not happening anymore) Transformers au TF: Armageddon! I still would like to explain what happened to her so prepare yourselves It's gonna be long af! . . . . . .

Cassie’s story:

She sneaks into the pizzaplex with her (fraternal) twin brother Gregory to get away from her caretaker Ravage after finding out he's a wanted war criminal. They move around the pizzaplex for a while, grabbing walkie-talkies from a gift shop, one of Roxy and one of Freddy. Eventually they split up, with Gregory going off to the arcade and Cassie going to Fazer-Blast putting on a pair of AR glasses for an AR princess quest game. She eventually encounters the M.X.E.S but it quickly disappears out of her view. As she continues through the game she finds a Faz-wrench with a message written on it, seemingly by her brother. It tells her to use any AR device to see and deactivate the security nodes. Not trusting it she just ignores the message and takes the Faz-wrench planning to hand it to a security guard. But gets a message from Gregory from her walkie talkie telling her to follow the instructions on the Wrench. And that he was trapped underneath the Roxy Raceway, and to get him out she needs to deactivate the security nodes. Nervously she put on the AR glasses and began to deactivate the security nodes. Traveling deep into Fazer-blast ready to turn off the last one but before she could, she was stopped by the M.X.E.S who shut off her Faz-wrench. Mistaking the digital rabbit for a monster she ran stopping when she encountered Funtime Freddy laying face first in a pile of trash. Funtime Freddy is possessed by Powerglide (A young soldier enlisted into the autobot military during the beginning of the war, and executed by Ravage per Megatron's orders along with two other young warriors. He is one out of four spirits[Wedge, Seaspray, and David] that keep Megatron's soul at bay) who reactivates the bear and begins chasing Cassie with Wedge who possesses Funtime Foxy, and Seaspray who possesses Monty. Things would be shaken up when some bounty hunters Shockwave employed started to bust up the pizzaplex as the Autobots fought them outside eventually after running from some of the drones that the bounty hunters deployed eventually finding herself under the raceway. She ran over to what she thought was Gregory but it was actually THE MIMIC!!!! Who then revealed itself to be Megatron in a new body and with Cassie's (Unwilling) help he finishes his main body and 3 other bodies A Glamrock animatronic version of himself and 2 pretenders one of which was the same size as Cassie.  

She questions the warlord on the purpose of the pretenders and he explains that he needs extra fail safes. Cassie nervously laughs at his plan and asks where he's going to get skin for the pretenders he looks at and says that he just needs a sample. Cassie tries to run but is caught and turned into an imperfect bio-polymer. (Bio-polymer is a fleshy substance that when perfected is supposed to gray so it can have any attribute applied to it. Imperfect bio-polymer is the opposite and still has genetic attributes from the host.) Which he used to coat not only his pretender shell but also Cassie’s. Bringing her back from death and putting her soul into the robot body, using his glamrock body’s stomach hatch as a rejuvenation chamber to make sure nothing went wrong as she came back to life. They both make it out of there and Cassie gets to reunite with Gregory. Cassie asks what happened to which he explains that he made an E.M.P gun to shoot the bounty hunter drones with. Cassie is about to explain what happened to her when suddenly Megatron activated his main body causing all technology connected to him to bug out that includes Cassie causing lots of blood to fly out of her nose as well as making her die (again). She wakes up in a limbo space and meets Tigatron who watches over said limbo. Tigatron teaches her to truly value life and nature. Reformatting her, interweaving her flesh with the metal on the cellular level. Giving her the ability to control non sentient machinery.  She wakes up with her new biomechanical body, and teams up with the spirits that were chasing her down, and with their help she goes to deactivate the now revived Megatron, which they do after he gets some damage from Optimus Prime. After that she helps Cassidy, her aunt Elizabeth, and Charlie save Cybertron from Shockwaves tyrannical rule. 

#security breach #fnaf fanart #fnaf #fnaf sb ruin #fnaf ruin #ruin dlc #ruin fanart #cassie fanart #fnaf cassie #cassie #transformers #beast wars

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

House Isekai: Subnautica AU Masterpost

House Isekai Masterlist Here

**This was from my og blog, but this is all the Subnautica crossover posts from the OG House Isekai into one place! Hope you get a good laugh out of this!

The adventures of House Isekai brings them to an utterly alien planet, and  are forced to fight for survival underwater in the horrific and beautiful world of Subnautica!

===

Anononymous asked: Laura will probably fare well in Subnautica

(Rean) “Hey, has anyone seen Laura? I haven’t seen her in the lifeboat or the base.”

(Ainz) “I think she said she was going to go swimming as practice.”

(Rean) “What?! We were told to stick together!”

(Ainz) “I doubt she went far. Besides, it’s Laura we’re talking about. She’s not stupid.”

MEANWHILE

(Laura) 

AGGRESSIVE BUBBLING

===

unknownsymbol367 asked: Imagine aqua attracting some of the bigger, scarier, dangerous sea beasts all by accident in subnautica.

(Kazuma) “WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL US THAT YOU ATTRACT FISH YOU USELESS GODDESS?! NO WONDER THESE FUCKING THINGS HAVE BEEN ALL OVER US!”

(Aqua) “B-Because these are ALIEN fish, Kazuma! How was I supposed to know it applies to aliens!?”

(Megumin) “Uh, I think they’re trying to break through the windows-”

(Darkness) “Ooooh, I wonder how sharp those teeth are-”

(Kazuma) “AQUA’S ABOUT TO FIND OUT FIRST!”

(Aqua) “SCREW YOU KAZUMA, I’M SORRY OKAY!? I-I DON’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY…Wait, that’s it! I CAN CALL IN A REALLY SCARY FISH TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY!”

(Kazuma) “Wha-NO NO NO NO! DON’T YOU-”

“Warning. Leviathan-class lifeform is approaching the base.”

(Minato) “Uh, guys?”

(Minako) “HOLY SHIT!”

(Yu) “I don’t think our swords can go through that.”

(Akira) “Morgana, can you turn into a submarine?”

(Morgana) “YOU IDIOT, I CAN’T BREATHE UNDERWATER!”

- Doomguy looked at his wristblade, then back at the Reaper Leviathan. He repeated this process a few times.

(Yuuri) “Everyone, we need to get our oxygen tanks!”

(Albedo) “Lord Ainz, what do we do?”

(Ainz) “MY GOD THAT’S HUGE-…ahem…WE PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

(Byleth) “…Why is it when something happens its always you four?”

(Kazuma) “GOD DAMN IT AQUA!”

===

Anonymous asked: I bet the Slayer's Cyclops is named "BFSub" while his seamoth is "SFSub"

(Byleth) “You know Slayer, You seem to use the letters “BF” for a lot of your weapons and vehicles. What does that even stand for?”

- Doomguy grabbed his PDA (Handheld PC) and typed on it for a moment before giving it to Byleth.

(Byleth) “Big fucking-OOOH. So your sub is Big Fucking Sub. Okay, got it…Then the little one must be…Small fucking sub?”

- Doomguy nodded.

(Byleth) “…Well, I’ve heard worse names.”

===

Anonymous asked: Imagine House Isekai using a submarine.

The Bridge

(Cocytus) “DO ANY OF US ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO DRIVE THIS…MACHINE?”

(Sara) “Psh, absolutely not. I don’t even know how to use orbal cars.”

(Sharon) “I am afraid my training did not cover controlling submersibles.”

(Cocytus) “…THEN WHY WERE WE PUT IN CHARGE OF DRIVING?”

(Sara) “I mean, all the staff are in charge. Byleth, Megunee, Towa and Angelica too. If we put our heads together, we can think of something.”

(Sharon) “Lady Sara, do you honestly think that we can get the hang of driving before we crash straight into a rock?”

(Sara) “…Probably not.”

Storage/Entrance

(Akira) “It’s pretty impressive that we all got a Cyclops now.”

(Yu) “Yeah, it took a couple days but it’s really cool seeing this in action. Though, should all of us be packed into it? It’s big, but not that big.”

(Minako) “Well, it’s to get familiar. We’re going to get more submarines for each group. Soon us Persona Users will get our very own sub!”

(Minato) “I’m not exactly sure that’s a good idea. I trust tech savvy people like Futaba, Aigis, and Naoto but…people like Ryuji and Junpei worry me.”

(Yu) “I guess we’ll find out.”

(Akira) “…I think I’m having second thoughts about being a part of a Cyclops.”

Engines

(Ainz) …How the hell are we supposed to make this thing work?! I’ve never even seen a submarine before when I was still in the real world! More importantly there was never anything like this in Yg-

(Albedo) “Lord Ainz?”

(Ainz) “Hm? Oh, Albedo. What is it?”

(Albedo) “Demiurge and I have finished looking at the engines, and we have confirmed there will be no trouble in maintaining it.”

(Ainz) “HM?!”

(Demiurge) “It was a bit of trouble at first, but combined with our magic and the PDA’s assistance, we can safely traverse whatever the ocean may throw at the Cyclops!”

(Ainz) “Ah…G-Good work. I can always rely on you two no matter the situation.”

(Demiurge) “T-Thank you Lord Ainz!”

(Albedo) “You are too kind!”

(Ainz) No, really. I’m pretty sure we’d explode if I got something wrong, it’s a miracle that you managed to make heads and tails of this thing…Thank god Kazuma’s group isn’t working the engines…

Loading Bay

(Kazuma) “What, Aqua?”

(Aqua) “A-Are you sure this thing is safe?! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

(Kazuma) “Hell no I’m not sure. None of us here has even been in anything remotely like this. Well except Doomguy, but he’s on bodyguard detail.”

(Aqua) “THEN WHY ARE WE IN THIS DEATH-TRAP?!”

(Kazuma) “You wanna be swimming out there with seaglider where something can eat your sorry ass whole instead of this massive titanium reinforced hull?”

(Aqua) “I…ugh!”

(Yuki) “Hey, hey! Come look at this Megunee!”

(Megumi) “A-Ah! Please don’t run, Yuki!”

(Kurumi) “Even on an alien world, she’s still having fun.”

(Yuuri) “A little TOO much fun. This entire place is terrifying!”

(Miki) “I mean, I find this trip fun as well. I’ve always wondered what it was like to scuba dive.”

(Yuuri) “I’d rather have done so in a coral reef on Earth.”

(Kurumi) “Technically, our first base was in the Shallows where there are coral reefs-”

(Yuuri) “Don’t get technical on me, Kurumi.”

(Miki) “Hah, well I admit it’s scary, but it’s a sense of terror and amazement!”

(Kurumi) “Agreed…Except the Leviathans…I wonder if I can hit them with my shove-”

(Yuuri) “No.”

===

Anonymous asked: Megumin is gonna have a blast when the aurora explodes.

- Megumin stood on top of the lifeboat, eyeing longingly at the Aurora in the distance.

- Futaba poked her head out the hatch and raised an eyebrow.

(Futaba) “Oh, hey. What are you doing here? I thought you were with Kazuma and the others.”

(Megumin) “I was but now I’m about to watch some fireworks!”

(Futaba) “Fireworks?”

(Megumin) “Yeah, the Aurora’s about to explode!”

(Futaba) “…W-What? I thought our timeframe was 2 hours!”

(Megumin) “Apparently it reached critical state only a few minutes ago-”

(Futaba) “AND YOU JUST NOW TOLD ME?!”

- Futaba’s clothes changed as she got into her Persona and frantically reached for the screen.

(Futaba) “EVERYONE, GET BEHIND COVER OR TO THE LIFEBOAT RIGHT NOW!”

- Everyone stopped what they were doing in the waters and reached for their PDA’s.

[Radio](Byleth) “Huh?”

[Radio](Akira) “What’s wrong?!”

[Radio](Kazuma) “Wait hang on, why?”

Emergency: A quantum detonation has occurred in the Aurora’s drive core.

[Radio](Rean) “Ooooh crap!”

[Radio](Byleth) “SHIT!”

The reactor will reach a super critical state in T- 10,

[Radio](Ainz) “DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!”

9

[Radio](Megumi) “EVERYONE, IN THE CAVE!-”

8

[Radio](Yu) “LIFEBOAT, NOW!”

7

[Radio](Minako) “SHITSHITSHIT-”

6

[Radio](Minato) “OVER THERE, GO!”

5

- Doomguy shrugged and continued looking for resources.

4

[Radio](Darkness) “K-Kazuma! You’re so rou-”

3-3-…

[Radio](Kazuma) “SHUT THE FUCK UP, DON’T SAY THAT OVER THE RADIO WHERE EVERYONE CAN HEAR-…WHERE’S MEGUMIN?!”

2-2-

(Futaba) “MEGUMIN, GET DOWN HERE NOW!”

(Megumin) “ARE YOU KIDDING, I GOTTA SEE THIS!”

O-

KAFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

(Megumin) “Explosions are such a beautiful thing! If only I could be so grossly incandescent…-”

(Futaba) “KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN, SHOCKWAVE INCOMING!”

(Megumin) “…Shockwa-?”

On Kazuma’s Cyclops: The Wiz…

- Kazuma drove the Cyclops in the open waters, calmly watching his sonar and hearing the hum of the engine.

- Darkness watched the engines alongside Kurumi and Yuuri while Megumin and Yuki were in the vehicle bay.

- Aqua and Miki were in the bridge with Kazuma, watching the status of the ship quietly.

- Until Aqua spoke up.

(Aqua) “OH MY GOD IM SO BOOORED!”

(Miki) “Um, isn’t quiet in a place like this a good thing?”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, having nothing to do in a killer planet means we’re solid! And besides, we said we were going to get copper and stuff, why did you even tag along if you knew nothing would happen?”

(Aqua) “I don’t wanna be left alone at the base!”

(Kazuma) “Then quit bitching.”

(Miki) “That’s a bit harsh, Kazuma.”

(Kazuma) “Oh don’t you start too, Naoki. You’ve been here long enough to know how I am.”

- Miki sighed.

(Miki) “Fair enough. Oh Aqua! Why don’t you read one of my novels?”

(Aqua) “And fall asleep? No thanks. Ugh whatever. At least nothing bad can happen as we’re going back.”

Warning. Entering Ecological Dead Zone.

(Aqua) “HUH?!”

- The waters in front of Kazuma’s bridge went from a clear blue into almost pitch black as he slowly turned to face Aqua.

(Kazuma) “You gotta be fucking kidding me, Aqua.”

(Miki) “M-MULTIPLE TARGETS APPROACHING THE CYCLOPS BRIDGE!”

- Kazuma reached for the mic they installed near the bridge.

(Kazuma) “HEY EVERYONE, STRAP IN, AQUA GOT US INTO SOME DEEP SH…CRAP!”

(Yuki) “Huh? What’s happening?”

(Darkness) “LEVIATHANS?!”

(Kurumi) “Please don’t make that face.”

(Aqua) “HEY WHY IS IT MY FAU-…”

- Aqua’s face suddenly went pale as she looked out the windows.

- Kazuma and Miki turned to the direction Aqua was facing.

(Kazuma) *a noise that can’t decide whether its a swear or gibberish*

(Aqua) “WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?!”

Anonymous asked: Everybody gangsta until the warpers speak English.

(Sothis) “Hm? Child, we have a new message from the radio.”

(Byleth) “Oh, we do. Heads up everyone, we got a new message coming in. It could be someone responding to our distress signal.”

(Yuuri) “I hope it is…”

(Ainz) “It could be another lifepod, maybe we could find survivors.”

(Minato) “I sorta doubt it, considering all of them have been torn open.”

(Minako) “That’s optimistic…”

(Yu) “But he’s not wrong for thinking it, is he?”

(Aqua) “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be friendly!-”

Playing partially translated broadcast.

▀▖┗▛New biological subjects designated. Mode ▄▖▜▚┣: hunting/analyzing. Sharing subject locations with other agents.

(Everyone) “…”

(Akira) “…I don’t think that was human.”

(Sothis) “What was your first hint?!”

(Kazuma) “What. The. F…Hell, was that?”

(Rean) “You just HAD to open your mouth, huh?”

(Aqua) “OH COME ON, NOW WE’RE BEING HUNTED?!”

(Yuuri) “How do we even know if they’re watching us?”

“…”

(Yuuri) “Put more camera drones everywhere, are we in agreement?”

(Everyone) “Yup.”

===

Day 1 with the Konosuba Gang

(Rise) “Okay, so from what we’re able to scan, this shallow reef seems to be safe to explore, so we’ll split into groups, grab whatever you guys think will be useful!”

(Byleth) “We’ll be going into our respective groups that we came in with. House Reps, you will be the leader of your group.”

- Kazuma and his group nodded, and dived into the water.

- The first area they went into was a somewhat small cave.

(Aqua) “Oooh, this weird tube thing looks pretty!”

(Darkness) “Is it edible?”

- Kazuma put a scanner to it and read the name.

“Acid Mushroom”

(Kazuma) “…Nope.”

- Kazuma continued to swim off as Aqua stared at it.

(Aqua) “Hm…We could use it for something. Right?”

(Darkness) “I will go find the most hostile fish in this area and…hehehe, fight it!”

- With an insane look in her eye, she swam away.

(Kazuma) “Megumin? Find anything in there?”

- Megumin was inside the cave and found a small red-plant like creature.

(Megumin) “I think so?”

- The plant revealed an eye, which made Megumin jump.

(Megumin) “K-Kazuma?!”

- A creature with a giant eye made an unholy noise as it bolted towards Megumin.

HUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

- A massive explosion could be heard from across the entire shallows as it jolted Aqua and Kazuma into attention.

(Kazuma) “What the hell!? MEGUMIN!”

- Megumin swam out of the cave with her scuba gear clearly dented as a crazy smile took over her.

(Megumin) “THESE CREATURES! THEY KNOW THE ART OF EXPLOSIONS!”

(Kazuma) “You gotta be- KAMIKAZE FISH?! THAT’S GREAT!”

(Aqua) “Hm…”

- Aqua purified the mushroom and looked at it curiously.

(Kazuma) “DO NOT EAT THAT MUSHROOM! Where’s Darkness?!”

(Darkness) “How disappointing.

- Kazuma and the group saw Darkness getting bitten by some shark-like creature.

(Darkness) “These predators will not provide the stimulation I crave.”

- She punched it so hard it flew into the nearby coral tubes, splitting it apart as if it were paper.

(Kazuma) “OH FOR FUCKS SAKE, DON’T GO PICKING FIGHTS WITH THE PREDATORS-”

(Aqua) “K-Kazuma?!”

- The fish began to swarm Aqua, which eventually led to those same shark creatures headed her direction.

(Kazuma) “RETREAT! RETREAT!”

(Aqua) “Psh, it’s just a buncha fish! THEY’RE NO MATCH FOR THIS GODDESS-”

- The predators began to bite Aqua.

(Aqua) “OWOWOWOWOW-”

- Kazuma began swearing loudly and incoherently as he brought up his knife and tried to save Aqua as Megumin and Darkness took care of the exploding fish being drawn to Aqua.

30 minutes later…

(Sharon) “Welcome back, Master Satou.”

(Kazuma) “Ugh…”

- Kazuma flopped onto the lifeboat’s floor, dragging up Megumin, Aqua and Darkness.

- Sharon helped them up and calmly got a towel while Kazuma continued to groan.

(Sharon) “May I ask what you have found?”

- Kazuma reached into his pocket and put them near Sharon’s feet.

- A fish, several teeth from the shark-like fish, some acid mushrooms, and 1 piece of titanium.

(Sharon) “Would you like some tea?”

(Kazuma) “Please?”

===

New Class VII visit the back of the Aurora

- Altina drove the Seamoth forward while the rest of Class VII tagged along on their seagliders.

- Juna kept looking around left and right until Kurt spoke.

(Juna) “Juna, are you alright?”

(Kurt) “Ugh…No, not really. I don’t like this place is all. It’s so…alien.”

(Ash) “Well yeah, it’s another planet.”

(Juna) “Bah, you know what I mean! We were never trained for this, surviving underwater!”

(Musse) “Neither was the original House Isekai, but they still survived!”

(Altina) “Instructors Rean, Towa, Aigis, and Kazuma seem to have sufficient knowledge of the planet, despite how much time has passed.”

(Juna) “I wonder how the others are doing right now…”

(Kurt) “If I had to guess, like us. Especially the Garreg Mach students, I don’t think they ever anticipated on going on a journey like this.”

(Musse) “Hm…I don’t think the original three houses ever went on this planet, did they?”

(Ash) “Don’t think Rean mentioned it…Er, Altina where are we going?”

- Class VII only now realized where they were. The waters had changed from a blue-green tint to almost brown.

- They couldn’t see very well in front of them.

(Altina) “I was told to search for blueprints. The back of the crash site seemed like the most likely area to find some.”

(Juna) “Wasn’t this the one place all the Instructors told us NOT to go?”

(Ash) “Eh, I’m sure it’s fi-”

GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR

- Altina looked to her right and almost stopped breathing when she felt her Seamoth shake violently.

- The Reaper Leviathan grabbed her Seamoth and swam towards the sand cliffs, slamming it down.

(Juna) “OH MY GOD, ALTINA!”

(Kurt) “We have to help her!”

(Ash) “GET THAT BASTARD!”

(Musse) “Arcus, activate!”

(Altina) “I REQUIRE ASSISTANCE-”

…

(Diluc) “…Hm. Class VII still hasn’t returned.”

(Elizabeth) “Oh dear, you’re right. Should we go look for them?”

(Venti) “I’m sure they’re fine. They’d just call us if they were in trouble.”

(Amber) “Still, this place looks pretty dangerous.”

(Helena) “I think we’re underestimating their skills. They’ll be back.”

…

- All of Class VII was on the Reaper Leviathan, stabbing it with tools and weapons while Altina was still in the seamoth, getting crushed.

(Altina) “CLASS VII, I AM PINNED HERE-”

(Juna) “DIE, DIE DIE DIE!-”

(Kurt) “THE SWORDS WON’T GO THROUGH!”

(Ash) “COME ON YA SON OF A BITCH!”

(Musse) “This rifle is going STRAIGHT INTO YOUR EYE-”

…

(Diluc) “…You’re probably right.”

===

Garreg Mach Students getting used to the ocean

The Garreg Mach students flew out on their seagliders around the safe shallows, being instructed to grab whatever copper they could find.

Sitri followed them since everyone who had been here before was required to stick with a group.

Not to mention she had been here with Byleth before.

(Elizabeth) “Ugh, this is quite unpleasant…”

(Helena) “What, don’t like the ocean?”

(Elizabeth) “Helena, dear. I enjoy the ocean as much as any girl would-”

(Kairos) “Could’ve fooled me.-”

(Elizabeth) “Shut up, Kairos. And I like walking near the beach, and even swimming. But living inside it and fighting nature? No, I do not like it at all.”

(Stefan) “Y-Yeah this is a bit much for swimming.”

(Astrid) “Least we’re all getting our exercise!”

(Kairos) “…Sure.”

(Helena) “It’ll give us experience in case we ever need to swim underwater.”

(Elizabeth) “Where in Fodlan do we possibly need to swim?!”

(Helena) “With all the places the House keeps dragging us into, it might be handy. Hell, it came in handy for Sitri.”

The group stopped swimming and looked at Sitri, who was gliding right behind them.

(Sitri) “Well, I learned it on the fly like you all are currently. But it is helpful that we’ve been to this world before.”

(Stefan) “Just how many have you been to, Lady Sitri?”

(Sitri) “Let’s see…Here, that one world in the far future, the one where we had to hunt ghosts, the one with the talking animals…”

(Helena) “See? She now has skills that’ll be helpful for surviving in another world.”

(Kairos) “How many times has she been underwater for it?”

Sothis appeared behind Sitri, though the students didn’t seem to notice.

(Sothis) “If only they had met Aqua…”

(Sitri) Yeah, I bet they would’ve been terrified of Leviathans…

(Astrid) “Anyways, this place is seriously freaky. The giant sea monsters trying to eat us, and we can’t even use magic here!”

(Helena) “We could always visit the back of the ship like Class VII did.”

(Kairos) “A-ABSOLUTELY NOT, HELENA!”

(Elizabeth) “Do you have a deathwish, dear?!”

(Stefan) “It’s not so much them I’m worried about, as I am about the dark…”

Everyone shuddered.

(Helena) “That’s true, we can’t really see if something’s coming up from behind, and it might just emerge from the-”

(Astrid) “GAAH, SHUT UP SHUT UUUUP! Ugh, I wanna go back home…”

(Elizabeth) “Sitri, ma'am, how did you survive here last time?”

(Sitri) “Well we all took our own Submarines. I think if you ask Kazuma to ride with him on ‘The Wiz’ he’ll let you.”

(Kairos) “Does Professor Kazuma even know how to drive it?”

(Sitri) “Better than most of us did. The only other ones were the old staff.”

(Stefan) “Then what about you?”

(Sitri) “Um…”

(Helena) “Great confidence there, ma'am.”

(Astrid) “C-Come on, you can be a little nicer.”

(Kairos) “Let’s just go back inside, I’m suddenly feeling a bit queasy…”

#House Isekai #House Isekai Subnautica AU #House Isekai ARR #crossover #fanfic

[dandelionflowery]

😭

Bit of a vent

If you read this I am very sorry about all the initals but I didn't want to give their real names so my friends are M (they/them), E, Y, L, the one i'm going to call X just because we already have E (all she/her)

So

My friends and I have a gc

In the gc, they suggested going out to lunch and then a museum together

People reacted to the message so I assumed that meant that they were all willing, there was some discussion about one of them [X] being away until sunday night and someone else [either M or Y] said that was a shame.

It was supposed to be yesterday (friday), the evening before (so thursday) I asked what time and where we should meet.

I got told that it was a bit hard for the day we'd planned, they had a lot of stuff to do in the end so we moved it to today.

This morning, still no info, so I sent a message to the group and to one of my friends [M] separately (I figured they'd be the most likely to answer and i was right) bc if we were supposed to meet at noon or something I'd have to leave way earlier than the others (they live in the big city, L and I don't)

M actually answered super fast, and answered my question of "uh are we doing something today ?? (implied 'bc no one's said anything')" by saying "No in the end 🥲 we wanted to talk about it in the gc but everyone forgot hold on"

I couldn't think of anything so i just said "oh ok"

M then sent this "In the end it's hard for like a lot of people bc homework, I have family at my house etc 💀 we're going to have to change the date again + sniff" in the gc

(side note idk if sniff makes sense in English but it's like a tear ig- i'm translating everything so in french it does make sense at least)

And then M came back to dms to tell me they'd sent the message in the gc and I askes if they'd discussed it before/elsewhere

Very cheerily, M answered "Yep! E invited us for a sleepover!"

I just said "oh ok" again but wtf

I had no idea E had invited them for a sleep over, and I'm absolutely not saying they can't do that, but the use of the word 'us' does make me think that E invited M and at least one of the others. The thing is that there are 6 of us in the friendgroup, and we'd already established that one of them was unavailable, so if E invited M plus one other person, that leaves two of us out. I have a feeling she invited Y (they live like right next to each other), but she is also "fake dating" L (idk what's going on there)

L may not have been invited to the sleepover, she lives about as far as I do from the four who live in the big city, but then again she may have been (especially since M said that "everyone" forgot, which could technically be three people but it makes it sound like they all talked together and at one point remembered that they should probably tell me but that they'd do it later).

Again, I'm not saying they can't have sleepovers without me, space is limited after all, and i know that the distance makes it hard for me. But since we met last year, M, E and Y have had afaik a ton of sleepovers together, L has done a lot too I think and I just feel like X and I are often excluded.

We've done some sleepovers with everyone of course, for the past Halloween for example, and there was one, for M's end of June birthday, where I had definitely been invited but either I was getting my wisdom teeth out or I would already be out of the country for that one.

I'm honestly used to feeling like an outcast (...middle school was... interesting...) but I thought that with these girls (and nb person) that I wasn't as much of an outcast, but then they do this and... Yeah I still am not really part of a friend group apparently...

Oh also I realize that stuff happened, which is perfectly fair and everything, but I did try to invite them all over to my house for a sleepover recently, and the evening before E mentioned she couldn't come - no explanation - and L didn't seem to think the invitation applied to her (i'd called it a yarn party and she doesn't know how to knit or crochet and apparently doesn't want to learn - which, fair, but literally all the others know how to crochet - so I guess she felt excluded? Even though I would have been more than happy to have her come over)

M got to my house pretty much on time, at about the same time E said she'd be half an hour late bc she was finishing homework. Y sent a message at the time we'd planned to meet at my house (bc i actually like knowing schedules and stuff) saying that she had just woken up and so it would be a bit hard for her to come over and she had things to do.

So basically I invited 5 people and 2 showed up

And i know that most of them are fed up with another friend of mine [A] for whom I'm almost literally their only friend (X hangs out with us? But is usually caught up in her thoughts and seems to mostly just follow me, so if I decide to leave A and go with M, Y, E and L, X will follow me and abandon A as well) and A absolutely cannot stand Y, E or M and they + L can't stand A so they might be a bit annoyed about me hanging out with A (...so am i honestly, I like A but I have to deal with all of their mood swings and i almost feel guilty if i want to go chat with my other friends, who i would rather be with)

Anyways I'm probably overanalyzing this way too much, they definitely didn't mean to exclude me, they genuinely like me (again, a fact that's new bc middle school 💀) but I'm just kinda annoyed (/sad/jealous/idk emotions i usually bottle them up) that they didn't include me

If you read all this, i hope that wasn't too incoherent lol, bc I sure as heck am not rereading all that lol

#vent #Seriously middle school absolutely sucked