#all righty then mike

[stephadoo]

#sarah jane smith #mike yates #classic who #doctor who #dwedit #cwedit #my gifs #parallels #all righty then mike

[jaimebluesq]

Struck by a plot bunny, don't know if I should let it die.

All righty...

"The Full MDZS". Yes, it's a "The Full Monty" parody.

Modern Day AU, NHS et al are in their 20s and most of them are just surviving and paying off their student loans (*glares at Jin Zixuan, who does NOT have to do this because daddy did it for him*). NHS and Mianmian have a night out and check out a Chippendale's/Magic Mike type strip show and come out feeling 'meh' about it - NHS criticizes the terrible choreography, Mianmian the 'sexy' dancing that isn't sexy at all, and both lament the lack of Asian dancers.

Mianmian: Ugh, it's like they believe all those stupid stereotypes about race and dick size

NHS: They obviously haven't heard Wei Ying wax poetic about Lan Zhan's dick.

They start talking about all the men they know in their circle that would be ten times hotter than the ones dancing in the show they just watched, and after NHS goes home, his brain begins to work. Because NHS does NOT like to work, and has been wishing he could find a way to make money without actually working so he could pay off those stupid student loans.

And then NHS comes up with the idea of gathering a bunch of his hot male friends together to do a strip show of their own - they'll make a fortune! Not only that, but he might finally get to ogle some of his favourite friends naked (save for a thong - that's the plan at this point of the story).

So of course he goes to Wei Ying first, who's easy to convince, which means Lan Zhan will be in as well because he'll cave the moment Wei Ying asks him to participate. Then:

Wei Ying: You do know who you need to ask, the ONE PERSON every single one of your friends has had a crush on since they day they met him - even the straight ones.

NHS: *groans* do I really have to ask Da-ge?

He does, and NMJ is reluctant, but eventually gives in if only in the hope that NHS might actually put work into the damn thing. **Of note, Trans!NMJ, thus far perfectly fine with stripping down to a thong figuring he has a couple of packers to choose from that will do the job.

Wei Ying then brings JC on board - way too easy, we all know how competitive JC is with Wei Ying, and NHS is over the moon at getting to see him strip down. NMJ shows up with LXC ready to join, to everyone's shock (possible awkwardness of LXC being NHS' ex? Dunno, maybe?). Then 2 last dancers are recruited - Xiao XingChen & Song Lan. That makes 7 dancers and NHS who's happily playing choreographer and sitting back to direct all the action while the others do the work.

Everyone: Where will we even do this thing?

NMJ: *coughs to get everyone's attention* I know a guy.

The guy is Meng Yao, who managed a strip club. NMJ calls in a favour to get the hall at a very low price, and so they have a plan.

Over the weeks, much shenanigans happen. They find out another event is happening to conflict with theirs and realize they need something bigger to draw an audience. NHS suggests and Wei Ying agrees that they should do away with the thongs and go full nude, and eventually the rest are convinced - all but NMJ who is absolutely adamant about not doing it. There will be a tender brotherly scene about NMJ's insecurities about going bottomless - he's comfortable enough with his physique, but his relationship with his genitals is *complicated*. They talk, NMJ eventually agrees to go along with it no matter how anxious he is. Other dancers express misgivings or hesitance at other times, and NHS is always the one talking them up and encouraging them.

So it's almost the date of the show, and two days before showtime, one of the dancers (prob XX or SL) gets into a minor accident - they're mostly fine, but they can't dance. The choreography was made specifically for 7 dancers and the group gather to try and figure out what to do. NHS laments the worst... and then Wei Ying puts his arm over his shoulder, gives him a shake, and then...

WY: You know... you know all the choreography too.

NHS: What?

JC: He's right. Hell, you're a better dancer than half of us!

NHS: What, me? No, no, you can't possibly mean-

Every remaining dancers goes about repeating NHS' words of encouragement back at him (how dare they?!), and he fights worse than ANY of them did. They want him to WORK? To strip with the rest of them, all of whom are hot and he's just NHS?

Well, the show must go on, so NHS gives in.

The show goes well and the boys not only make lots of money but they gain self-confidence and new perspective on themselves. The end.

Other than WangXian, other pairings (if any) are yet to be decided.

#plot bunny #poll #my writing

[taiblogcomics]

Tooned Out

Hey there, delicious dungeon demon desires. It's the Slapstick finale this week! It's been a great ride, but all fun must come to an end. Which is… maybe a terrible sentiment to have when dealing with literal living cartoons. But oh well! Let's just see how this fun ends~

Here's the cover:

Well, this one's a pretty fitting end and visual metaphor for the whole series. You get a symbolic "ending" with Slapstick being erased. But if you look close, what parts of him are they erasing specifically? It's his whole batch area, which the lack of has been his whole obsession throughout the comic. No wonder he's so horrified. So yeah, that's a pretty great sum-up of the comic as a whole, and a fitting note to go out on. Now let's get into it and see if Steve's downstairs desires are ever finally addressed~

All righty, recap time! So Steve Harmon, the Awesome Slapstick, has teamed up with ARMOR to go exploring Dimension Ecch, where he first gained his powers and lost his dingus. After rescuing his pal Mike in a fun Saturday morning adventure, the Princess revealed her true colours: she wants Dimension Ecch to remain sexsless (or secchsless, if you will) so she can run her baby-making scheme. And it's literal baby-making: melting down existing toons and remolding them into baby versions of themselves. Horrifying! No longer needing either of them, she condemns Slapstick and Mike to a gladiator tourney.

So that's where we open: Slapstick and Mike duking it out in front of a crowd. Except they're both totally whiffing the whole thing, since A) neither wants to actually hurt the other, and 2) to buy time in the hopes of the ARMOR agents coming up with a way to get them out of it. Because let's face it, neither of them is gonna come up with a winning plan. This goes on for some time, until the Princess dials Slapstick up on his phone and says she knows he's faking it. So either he really takes out Mike, or she will and "baby" Slapstick in the process.

So before Slapstick can make good on making Mike dead, he suddenly starts hearing a voice in his head. This voice essentially claims to be his fairy godfather, and the best way out of this mess is to breach the tower behind the stadium. To that end, Slapstick pulls a rope from his pants, then lassos Mike and swings him do-si-do into a wall. This goads Mike into playing seriously, and he pulls out a cartoon rocket launcher, blasting Slapstick backwards--and straight into the top of the tower, impacting through the wall. And he pulls Mike along because he's still lassoed with the rope. Brilliant~

Well, the Princess knows this is trouble, since that's where she's keeping her secret weapon. She sends her troops, the Luna Marines (a bunch of militaristic Sailor Scout stand-ins), to secure the tower before Slapstick finds whatever she's hiding. And what's up there? Why, it's the disembodied head of Julius T. Flakfyser, the Scientist Supreme of Dimension Ecch. He's the guy who got Slapstick his powers in the first place. Now he's a severed head, and he's been using a telepathy device to communicate with Slapstick. He also does a lot of shtick, so let me simplify it for you.

On his last adventure, when Slapstick defeated the Overlord and blew up his tower, Flakfyser got caught in the blast. His body is having fun acting as a Scooby-Doo villain in a swamp somewhere, but his head went flying and landed in the lap of a scullery maid. This worked out for both of them, as he needs her help to build a new body. She agrees, if he helps her get revenge on her evil stepmother and stepsisters. This ends up being the baby-making machine, and she uses it as she promised. And then she just keeps using it, and doesn't fill her end of the deal.

She then also used the story of the Champion and Adversary to seize political power, and that's how she became Queen Princess. But there's a grain of truth in it: Mike really is a champion. Since he's spent so much time thinking about Dimension Ecch and re-drawing Slapstick's adventures, Flakfyser believes he can re-draw the realm itself. So he actually can restore everyone's missing no-no bits. He's got a machine for it and everything. He just needs Mike to rewire it, and he needs Slapstick to fend off the Princess' troops until they can finish.

Said troops are already here, too. Every princess can call forth wildlife with her song, right? And the birds she's called are mutant ninja teenagers, and they knock Slapstick for a loop. He's blasted out of the tower, only managing to cling onto it with his tongue. By convenience, he crashes right into the cell where the ARMOR agents are being held. He grabs onto them, and Flakfyser dumps hot sauce on his tongue, which lets Slapstick rocket back into the tower using the heat. It's classic cartoon logic, very nice~

They're just in time, too, since the Princess has busted into their chamber brandishing a sword. The agents hold off her guards while Slapstick goes hammer-to-sword with her. Mike powers up the machine, and his thoughts begin to reshape Dimension Ecch back to how it was before--less cartoony, more realistic. It's happening in waves, and some of the guards start bleeding as they fight. Slapstick even briefly can feel himself turn human for a moment. It's working, and the Princess is getting desperate. So she pulls out her final gambit.

She has a new cartoon mold for her baby-ifier. Rather than a baby, she can mold Slapstick a new dingus, a better dingus that he can have while still remaining a cartoon. All he has to do is just… not save the day. She'll even let him bed her. And this is an attractive offer, especially for a frustrated 20-something who's never gotten it on. But you know what's better than sex? Not being an asshole who betrays his friends. So Slapstick beats her into a wall, where an anvil falls off a shelf and squashes her flat. How cartoonishly appropriate~

The device finishes its work, and the art style shifts the cartoony design to more realistic ones. Everyone celebrates the return of the fuc-king, and carry Mike off in joy. Everyone except Slapstick. He's remained as cartoony as ever. He asks Flakfyser what the deal is, and he replies that the invention only reshapes Dimension Ecch. Slapstick's from Earth originally. Peeved, Slapstick punts the guy's head over the horizon, which he admits he probably deserved. So despite saving everyone, our hero doesn't get what he wanted, eh?

Well, not quite. Noticing his bad mood, the other ARMOR agent--not Teresa, the one he's been hitting on, but the other gal, Isabel--comes over to ask what's wrong. He pouts how his lack of manhood makes him less of a man, and Isabel advises he forget Teresa. She'd never appreciate him anyway, she's got no sense of humour. But Isabel? She likes funny guys, and none of the other losers she's dated ever saved a whole dimension. She gives him a more private number to call, suggesting he do so once they get back to Earth. And Slapstick muses that he saved the day and got the girl. Maybe he should stop being so down on himself! Things are looking up!

But we can't end without a little sequel bait, so while Slapstick's closing out with a monologue about how sometimes happy endings do happen and everyone got what they wanted, tying up all the loose ends, we cut to a jail cell in ARMOR's facilities, where Quasimodo is grumbling to himself and scratching threats into the wall, clearly plotting a future revenge against Slapstick for selling him out… Which, sadly, as far as I know, has yet to be followed up on in a future comic! In fact, Quadimodo died in an Iron Man story in 2020, so a conclusion to that seems pretty unlikely now~

All in all, I think this series is a lot of fun. Slapstick's kind of a moody grouch of a protagonist, but not to a point where it makes him unbearable. It contrasts well with the cartoony goings-on around him. Besides, it's a realistic attitude to have, while also being an incredibly silly thing to motivate your character with. That's what makes it humorous. The various parodies are all on-point, and never come off as disrespectful to their original properties. And the excessive amounts of gore from the first couple issues tones down considerably afterwards, so I don't have any complaints about that either. A fun look at a modern Slapstick.

Next time, though, we'll be looking at something in a much less modern setting. Or at least with less modern inspirations. Like, Slapstick's book was all about a cartoon world being affected by Earth's realism. What if we go about with the opposite premise~?

#comics #reviews #Slapstick #The Awesome Slapstick #Taiblog

[realhankmccoy]

just ignore these dodos on the right... unless maybe you're sexually objectifying them, which is what they deserve, especially if the sexual objectification makes them uncomfortable. let their men find out what it feels like for them to make women feel as they do....

but as for their daytime agenda, it's a punchline at best.

neoliberals, liberals in american and socialists are more than profoundly processed, controlled, slaved and produced enough by the system that there will be no shortage of striving to be better than their fellow americans

without righty wonderbread to pop on in to offer a mousey chirp about being better than others

indeed, that's all america is composed of, mostly

idiots trying to be better than others, trying to feel exemplary and proudly show they are exemplary... the same paper doll tone

even the dumb halfhomos all alpha this, alpha that... it's a monoculture of striving to be on top well-parodied in the title of Mike Judge's King of the Hill, which subverted this tiresome imperial status quo

jobs on linkedin that pay $62,000 a year that have 1045 applicants cuz everybody wants to strive higher, higher, higher up

climb that mousetrap for that cheese show prove your worth better than them all

tv says only one can survive tv says strive for excellence tv says you are nothing without excellence you will be sent home sent home forever -- the fate befalling a total loser to be sent home, possible even one's daddy's home, and stuck there nothing more humiliating we see the results: massive failure, massive control systems by people who believed in their own 'superiority' due to having won the awards of 'excellence' on the climb up a pyramid that Whiteness gave a big huge Stay Puft boost to

millions upon millions of such idiots, rendering a nation sterile, asexual, grody, busted, psychopathic, homicidal -- and when folks get burned out by the rat race, suicidal and fat

BE A RODENT is what these people are sayin' they ought to watch that Rat Race film BE RODENTIA BE CAVIA PORCELLUS She even looks like a rodent:

#trump #mommie dearest #stupid americans #american idiots #be best #be dumb #be produced #be rodentia

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

Apparently I’ve never seen this before...but omg, what fun. I LOVE THEM.

#Sleater-Kinney #Mike McCready #Jeff Ament #Matt Cameron #apparently Jeff's wearing a purposefully weird wig. all righty then #music

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Ben’s Epic LeftTube Recommendation List OMG

NOTE: this by no means encompasses all of lefttube, and some of these creators aren’t even considered truly lefttube. Put your own additions if you want :D 

NOTE 2: some of these people may be problematic or something. i have no idea about intercommunity drama, so let me know if anyone on this list has done something awful. but hopefully not

HasanAbi (obviously gotta get hasan in here, if you dont have time to watch streams his shorter stream vids are good)

Big Joel (big joel does a lot of pop culture analysis and stuff like that. cool guy)

Shaun (shaun does short and longer video essays basically debunking a bunch of righties. he recently made two videos about the BBCs transphobic articles which i really recommend, but tw for discussions of sa)

Samantha Lux (samantha lux does reactions and responses to mostly transphobic content, and also does storytimes on occasion, shes also funny as fuck)

Philosophy Tube (ABBY MY BELOVED, im halfway through her latest video on protest and violence. she does the most amazingly produced, funny, informative, and well-researched video essays. seriously give her content a watch if you havent already she is a genuis and never disappoints)

FD Signifier (he does a lot of black media analysis and responses to problematic media)

Noah Samsen (funny as fuck. does a lot of internet culture analysis especially tiktok and youtube stuff)

CJ the X (god. my beloved. imagine mikes mic but political? they have similar energies and even similar content in some ways)

Jarvis Johnson (brilliant analysis videos mostly focusing on instagram, tiktok, and random shows/media)

TRO (the right opinion. i barely watch his vids cause they are so long but theyre pretty good. almost all of them are about internet stars)

hbomberguy (hbomberguy, no relation to hbomb. he makes long ass funny ass videos with just insane amounts of research. he is the one who started the 'blank is garbage/genius, heres why' thing and he does genuine analysis of media and has some amazing videos on things like flat earth and vaccines)  

D’Angelo Wallace (does he count as lefttube? idk! we all love him tho. i followed him for his art content imagine how i feel rn)

David J Bradley (does a lot of asexual/aromantic analysis and content!)

amandamaryanna (lots of class and race commentary especially in relation to internet culture, very worth checking out)

Rowan Ellis (queer feminist who does a lot of media analysis and was also on the tv one time debating terfs. lots of good stuff explaining the history of gay media)

Innuendo Studios (brilliant videos on the alt-right pipeline and how to avoid it. how it works. etc. absolutely essential viewing for newbie leftists)

Tee Noir (talks about sexism, racism, and a lot of other stuff, mostly focusing on race)

Kristina Maione (kristina maione. got a notice from the gun girl :) is canadian i believe. lots of pop culture and political stuff)

Kat Blaque (the trans black experience mostly, cw lots of nsfw content but very good takes)

ContraPoints (CONTRAPOINTS MY BELOVED)

#lefttube #leftism #leftist #recommendations #youtube #links #long post #ben chats shit on the internet

[incorrect-catcf-quotes]

Veruca: Hey, look, it’s Miolet.

Mike: Miolet?

Violet: A juvenile amalgamation of our names. Mike and Violet, Miolet.

Mike: Oh. I don’t like that. Don’t do that.

Veruca: All righty. What’s new?

Mike: Well, just recently, I learned that you refer to us as Miolet, and I don’t like that.

#Veruca Salt #Mike Teavee #Violet Beauregarde #incorrect quotes #Charlie and the Chocolate Factory #CATCF #Source: The Big Bang Theory

[thrudreamland]

the part when connor reaches for evan's sharpie to sign his cast and has to hold the letter under his left arm because he's a righty

reblog if you agree???

#am i the only one who agrees? probably #idk why i love this so much but it's so good . thank u for being a righty mike faist🙏 #mike faist #ben platt #dear evan hansen #deh #connor murphy #evan hansen #tree bros #i guess. if im tag whoring go all out!!!!!!!!! #reblog thus

[noladyme]

The Crown Princess of Charming - part 15

Welcome to Charming - its name says it all. Cat needed a fresh start; and though she hadn’t planned on that being in the arms of the crown prince of this little town’s bikerclub - that was what happened. Charming CA would either be the death of her - or a whole new life.

Rated M

Tags (let me know if you want on the list) @wonderlandfandomkingdom​ @edonaspanca​

15

I wrapped up my phone in the kitchen towel and the bag again; and went into the yard; leaving it in the small shed there. Walking back inside; I looked meaningfully at Jax. “She has what she needs…”, I said. He nodded, and pulled me into his arms again. “Last night…”, I muttered into the crook of his neck. He shook his head. “Not the last. I’ll be back”. I sighed. “A year, Jax…”. “Just keep my side of the bed cold”, he smiled. I put my lips to his; looking deep into his eyes. “Not tonight”, I whispered.

Jax put his hands under my bottom; and lifted me to straddle him. Smiling all the way; he carried me to the bedroom – lowering me onto the bed; hovering over me. “I love you”, he smiled. I put my hand behind his neck; and pulled him closer to me. “I love you too”, I said, and our lips met.

For the longest time, we just kissed. Our lips perfectly molded, and our tongues gently brushed against each other. When our lips weren’t connected; we where whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears.

“The first time you got behind me on my bike; I had to shift in my seat to keep anyone from seeing my hardon”, Jax grinned. “Really?”, I smiled. “Yeah. Gemma was gonna send Rat over with those papers for you to sign. I snatched them up, to take them to you myself. Just wanted to see your face again”. I chuckled. “Well, I gave you more than you bargained for, huh?”. “Darlin’; seeing you in nothing but that towel…”. His hand travelled under my top, to brush his fingers across my belly. “Sent some very impure thoughts through my mind”. He kissed the secret spot on my neck. I shivered under his touch. “I kept telling myself; you can’t have sex with the biker!”, I grinned. “I’m happy you decided to break that vow”, Jackson breathed; and sat up to remove his t-shirt.

I sat up myself; and began kissing Jax across his chest; letting my tongue flicker over his nipple. He let out a small gasp; and tugged at the hem of my top; to remove it. With my arms in the air, he pulled it over my head. He smirked softly. “You wore this bra the first time we slept together”. “I forgot”, I smiled. “I think I was more focused on you taking it off”. He raised a brow and tilted his head. “Well, I was happy to”, he leered. “Let me get at them…”.

He grinned, and expertly snapped open my bra; pulling it off me. He pushed me down on the mattress; and pushed my breasts together; nibbling slightly at my right nipple. He ran his teeth over it; and I whimpered from the signals it sent to my core. “Righty is happy… let’s check lefty”, he snickered; and repeated the action on my left nipple. “She’s perking up…”. “Mmhmm”, I moaned. I ran my nails across the reaper on his back; and he let out a slight groan.

“How many orgasms did I promise you?”, he breathed. “A shitload”, I panted. He chuckled; and lowered himself to the waistline of my shorts; kissing across my skin just above it. “Let’s get these off”. He unbuttoned the shorts; and tugged them down my hips and bottom; having me raise it, so he could remove them and my panties all at once.

I was stretched out naked under him; and he sat on his knees; straddling my legs. He looked me over – his eyes soft and admiring. “Your body… baby…”. Jax lowered himself onto me; and kissed me deeply. Moving his lips down; he ran his hands over my mounds, my ribs and hips – all while letting his mouth explore my chest, belly; and finally ending up just over my warmth.

“I’m gonna be thinking about this every time I eat prison-jello…”, he smirked; and slid his tongue over my nub. “You telling me I taste like jello?”, I whimpered – body twitching under his touch. “No, I hate jello”, he grinned up at me. “I’m gonna be thinking of this, to block out the taste of it”. He slicked a trace from my clit to my entrance, and back again. “You taste like… sunshine… ice cream… and tasty, tasty pussy”. I laughed; before a flick of his tongue made me cry out in extasy. I grabbed on to his hair; and panted heavily; as he buried his face in my folds.

Jax grabbed my knees; and put them over his shoulders, to give him better access to me. He slid his thumb into me for a second; before trailing it down my taint – finally probing the ring of muscle behind my genitals. The action made me jolt; and squeal. It felt so good to have him stimulating all of my privates like that. His thumb entered my ring just slightly. “Someday, baby”, he breathed against me. “Keep dreaming, Teller…”, I moaned. “That’s not… Oh my god!”. I cried out; as his thumb entered my hole down to the knuckle. He chuckled against me. “You want me to stop?”. “You… oh, no. Keep going… don’t…”. Jax sucked hard on my clit. His free hand found my main entrance; and two fingers began pushing at my front wall.

The intense sensation of his fingers working on me; and his tongue playing with my nub, as he sucked it into his mouth – sent me over the edge; and I literally screamed out his name; as I came with violent shocks streaming through my body.

Jackson carefully withdrew his fingers, and ran his hand up my body; as he came up to lay next to me. My body was still convulsing. “Are you ok?”, he whispered; with a wide smile on his handsome face. “I… can’t talk…”, I croaked. Jax laughed; and kissed me gently. ”Can I get you anything?”, he smiled. I managed to relax my breathing; and smirked at him. “Already?”. He grinned in surprise. “Just take your pants of, Jackson!”, I chuckled.

Jackson looked like a giddy teenager; and jumped out of bed – wrestling his pants and boxers off. He threw himself on the bed; and sat himself with his back to the headboard. I looked down at his wanting hardness; and bit my lip. Straddling him; I lowered myself down on it. Jax’s face contorted. “Holy sh… baby…”, he gasped. I put my hand against the headboard, and began riding him. His hands found my breasts, and he hold on to me for dear life; as I grinded against his groin.

I clenched my walls around him; drawing loud groans from his mouth. “How do you do that?”, he asked. “It’s like sex and a handjob all at… woah!”. I’d clenched my muscles again. “Wouldn’t want you to forget me”, I smiled. He leant forwards; and met my lips. “Never gonna happen”, he growled.

He wrapped his arms around my back; and threw me down to lay on my back. I lifted my leg, to let him put my knee over his shoulder. Jackson began thrusting into me with force. He was hitting my g-spot perfectly. “You found it again”, I whimpered with a laugh. “Oh god…”. I put my hands on Jax’s bottom; digging my fingers into its firmness – desperately trying to force him harder into me. “More?”, he breathed. I closed my eyes, and nodded. With a grunt; Jackson pounded into me fiercely – almost making me sob from the amazing sensation. He looked at me worriedly. “Too much? Are you ok?”. “Keep going”, I pleaded. He brushed my lips with his own; and pounded into me again.

Jax put his hand to my throat, and squeezed gently. Every inch of my body was on fire; and I let out a guttural sound, that then turned in to another scream. My body tensed; and I came again. Jackson thrusted hard into me; riding out my orgasm; to reach his own – finally finishing with a growl of relief, and coming inside me.

Kissing my lips gently; he laid down next to me. The air was heavy with sex, love – and sadness. “Why does it feel like forever?”, Jackson muttered. “Because it might as well be…”, I croaked. He turned his body; and pulled me close; kissing my temple. “Did… did anyone ever tell you about a prison-clause?”, he muttered. “No…”, I said. “Thank god!”, he smiled. I chuckled. “I think I know what it means, from the name…”, I whispered. “And that’s not going to be an issue. Juice will be on the inside with you”.

My joke instantly made Jackson laugh; and he attacked my mouth with rough kisses. “I told you!”, he grinned. “Don’t joke about that!”. He squeezed my ass cheek and growled into the crook of my neck. “Yes, sir”, I giggled.

Lust took us over again; and Jax delivered on his promise. I spent the night having a shitload of orgasms.

---

When we woke up; we didn’t speak. We merely got dressed, and ready to leave. There wasn’t anything to say, after all. The plan was set; and now was the time to strike. Jax kissed me deeply; and we got on his bike, to drive to TM. A black escalade followed us closely; parking a little way down the street from the lot.

The parking spots were mostly empty, save for Clay’s, Happy’s and Juice’s bikes. The door to the garage was closed; and I guessed more motorcycles where hold up in there. Inside the clubhouse, all of Samcro – except Tig, who had already said goodbye, and was waiting in the warehouse with Quinn and the Nomads – where waiting. Chicago – including VP Mike – where gathered in a corner – solemnly looking at us, as we stepped into the room. Unser was leaning against the bar. The badge usually adorning his uniform, was gone. He looked content.

“It’s time”, Jax said. He, Happy and Juice were all wearing blue jeans and black hoodies; dark scarves hanging around their necks. “Nichols will be at the warehouse in an hour and a half; giving us time to get there, switch, and start the chase”. “They won’t try to take us in, before we reach it?”, Happy asked. “No. Stahl will want me and the drugs. We’ll be safe until we get there”, Jackson answered. “Just don’t make too much of a ruckus on the lot”.

“We got your back, son”, Clay said. “You mother told me to say she loves you… Abel’s in safe hands”. Jax looked at me. “I know he is”. They embraced; and Clay stroked my cheek. “See you on the other side, teach’”, he smiled. I returned the gesture. “Will do”.

Unser shook Jax’s hand. “The phone is in the shed in our yard”, Jax said. “I got it, kid”, the old man said. “How does retirement smell?”, Jax smiled. “Like stale beer and motor oil”, Unser grinned.

Opie came over, and hugged Jax. “Lyla send her love to both of you”. He turned and hugged me. “Thanks, man”, Jackson muttered. He began embracing all his brothers in turn; Happy and Juice doing the same. “Have a cold one ready for me when I get back”, Juice said to Chibs; who had tears running down his cheeks. He patted his brother’s cheek. “Two of them”, he said. “And the ginger from the gas-station”. Juice grinned in glee.

Jax pulled the scot in for another hug. “Take care of my family for me, brother”. “We will”, Chibs said, and wiped his eyes. “We got ‘em”, Opie agreed. Jax sent a loving smile to his best friend. “Thanks”.

Piney grabbed me into a warm embrace. “Stay safe, sweetheart”, he muttered; before patting Jax’s shoulder.

Bobby came over with what looked like a black vest. He kissed my cheek, and handed it to me. “Put this on, sweetheart… just in case”. He pulled it over my head; and Jax strapped the velcro straps across my chest. “Bulletproof”, he muttered – looking grave. “I’ll be ok”, I whispered. 

He stroked my cheek, and kissed my forehead. “You ride with them, just like you do with me”, he said seriously. “Hold on tight, and keep your head down”. “We got her, man”, Happy said. Juice nodded. Jackson stepped back. “Ok… let’s do this”. He pulled the blue flannel out of the bag we’d brought; and I put it on, closing the buttons over the Kevlar vest, to hide it from view.

The three future felons each grabbed a brown package from a table; and strapped it to their torsos with duct tape – making sure they wouldn’t drop the drugs needed to take them in.

“Make it look real, boys”, Clay exclaimed with a smile. Jax nodded and grabbed my hand – taking a deep breath. “Go!”.

Happy, Juice, Jax and I ran out the door. Jax pulled me with him to his bike; looking towards the street, where the agents were waiting. He pulled me flush against his body; kissing me with passion, before handing me my helmet. I put it on. Seconds later, Clay, Opie, Chibs and Bobby came running after us. “Jax!”, Clay roared after us; and pulled his gun. The three others pulled their own weapons, and aimed them at our group. Happy pulled his own gun; and shot in their direction – missing on purpose. The men chasing us fell to the ground, covering their heads.

We jumped on the bikes – my arms firmly locked around Jacksons torso – and we sped out of the lot, and down the street. We were going to fast for me to look back, but I noticed Juice looking back, from where he was riding next to us - and he nodded at Jax; before trailing in behind us. They’re following us. Stahl is coming.

We drove past the sign at the beginning of town – and left Charming behind.

---

Speeding through stop-signs and down the highway, the wind was blowing in my ears. I had made myself leave fear behind. This wasn’t the time to go into anxiety-mode – and I had full trust in the man I was currently holding on to.

After about 30 minutes, we neared a cluster of trees, marking the edge of forestland. “Hold on!”, Jax yelled; and made a sharp turn. We continued down smaller roads; Happy and Juice constantly zigzagging behind us, to cover my back from the agents trailing us.

I saw a small sign telling me we where nearing somewhere called Oswald’s Pond. We made another sharp turn, down a gravelly road – small bumps sending jolts through the bike. I held on harder to Jax. “You’re doing great, baby!”, he yelled back at me. Happy came up next to us. “We lost them”, he yelled. Jax nodded.

Another turn, down an even smaller road; led us to a small building – the warehouse. A double door opened, and we got inside on the bikes – the door closing behind us again. Tig was waiting for us, with the Nomads; wearing the same outfit as his brothers. Jax jumped off the bike; and turned to face me. “I love you!”, he said, his eyes fierce – and he kissed me deeply one last time, before turning to Tig. “Take care of her, man”. “I will, brother”, Tig nodded – all jest gone from his usually cheery face.

Quinn handed me a backpack. I recognized it as Ellies. It was filled with something – giving it some weight and fill.

Happy, Juice and Tig pulled up their hoods, put on sunglasses; and lifted their scarves to cover their faces. “Go!”, Jax yelled; and Tig jumped on his bike in front of me. “Hold on, puddin’!”, he said; and I put my arms around him.

Jax smiled encouragingly at me; and went to open the doors at the other end of the building. I looked back at him a final time before he closed the door behind us, as we sped out.

I love you, Jackson.

---

We sped back down the road we’d arrived on, suddenly hearing sirens in the distance. Tig was a good driver; but I couldn’t help but feel my heart in my throat. I grabbed on to his hoodie - digging my fingers into the fabric. “Doing good, Cat!”, he yelled.

Happy and Juice followed closely behind us, until we made the sharp turn back onto the larger gravel road. The sirens where growing louder, and I could hear them multiply. There was more than one car trailing us. The two other bikes began zigzagging behind me again; before we took one more turn, leading us onto asphalt. Tig made a hand gesture to tell the others to speed up.

“ATF! Pull over!”, someone was yelling from a loudspeaker on one of the cars. Happy – or Juice; I couldn’t tell from the speed and their masks – trailed up next to me and Tig; before making a hand-gesture himself. This one was a middle finger to our pursuers. I heard Tig let out a loud laugh; and I joined in myself.

Suddenly, we split up. Tig and I went down a smaller road, with one of the others; and the last rider continued forward. We met up minutes later at larger road. The single rider had made some distance to one of the cars; which was struggling to keep up.

We hit a speedbump; making me jump in my seat. Just like with Jax… Just like with Jax…

Tig turned down another small road. This one led us into an industrial area, filled with small buildings. Stopping the bike; Tig pulled his gun. “Switch!”, he yelled. He shot at the following cars; and I jumped off the bike, running towards Juice, who was waving me over. He would be the second Jax.

Climbing on behind him, I held on to his torso; and he sped behind a building – before doubling back; and driving in between two of the cars following; forcing them to swerve. Juice drove us back onto the road, before taking a turn down towards a junction. Tig and Happy had disappeared behind some of the other buildings, and came from two different roads to join us. We drove together, taking turns every chance we got.

I had no idea where in the county we were – merely held on to Juice for dear life. “It’s gonna get bumpy!”, Juice yelled, and took a turn down another gravel road. No shit!, I thought. The road we were on was more an animal path than anything else – surrounded by trees. Mud splayed up my leg, when we hit a puddle. “Sorry”, Juice yelled.

I saw one of the other riders a through the trees a good 30 paces from us. He had a car right on his ass; and turned back to shoot for the tires of it. The car swerved; and hit a tree. “Woo!”, I heard the rider yell.

Once through the trees, the path ended; and we were back on asphalt. Two cars where blocking our way; and Juice had to make a hard brake; putting his foot to the ground, to turn us around fast. “Stop!”, we heard from the loudspeaker. I heard a loud pop; and Juice flinched in front of me. One of the other riders almost took a spill; but managed to get up in time to follow us. We split up again.

The two other drivers headed in separate directions, and Juice once again took us off road – heading over a grassy field, towards what looked like an abandoned farm. Happy was already waiting for us by the main house. “Come on!”, he roared, and Juice halted. He doubled over for a second, holding his hand over his thigh. Blood was running from a hole in his jeans. I put my hand on his arm, looking at him in fear. “I’m ok. Go!”, he yelled at me – and I tore myself from my bleeding friend – running towards Happy, and getting on behind him. “Let’s go, princess”, Happy growled, and we once again sped off.

I looked back towards Juice. He’d managed to start driving again; but his body-language was strained. He was in real pain from the gunshot. Happy drove us straight through an old barn, shooting back towards the following cars. This man had no mercy when it came to his friends getting hurt. “Assholes”, he roared.

Tig met us on the other side of the barn, trailing up next to us. “Last stretch!”, he yelled. He and Juice returned to zigzagging behind us, before once again taking a turn in separate directions. At this point, the agents following us seemed to have no idea which rider was Jax, and focused on getting all three of them.

We needed to create some distance to be able to hand over the backpack to Clay safely; without getting shot at. Happy gave made his bike give it all; and for a second it felt like I was going down a rollercoaster. We hit a bump, and took air for a second. My strained squeal was blocked out by Happy’s cheerful Whooo!.

He suddenly made a drifting turn; and we were head on with our pursuer. “What are you doing?”, I yelled. “Chicken”, he laughed. Oh, shit! Happy sped up, and leant forward; revving the engine. With a squeal of the back tire, we suddenly flew down the road – head to head with the car. “Come get me, shithead!”, Happy growled. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

The sirens came closer, and the wind was blowing around my head. I held on to Happy harder than I had ever held on to anything in my life. “Jerk alert!”, Happy yelled; and I opened my eyes, just in time to see the car swerve off the road, and off the road, hitting a large boulder. “Yeah!”, happy whooped, and we left behind the totaled vehicle.

Turning down a larger road, Tig and Juice met up with us again. All three bikers where laughing loudly. “Lost ‘em a mile back!”, I heard Juice yell. “It’s time!”, Happy answered. Tig sped up, and drove in front of us, and led us to an exit, down a hill. At the bottom of it, a group of bikes where blocking our path.

Clay, Chibs, Bobby and Opie where waiting for us. They were all aiming their guns at us. We made a halt; and with sirens nearing, we slowly got off the bikes; hands in the air. Out the corner of my eye, I saw one of the cars stopping; and people getting out. I’d recognize the bony ass on one of them anywhere. Stahl.

“It’s over, assholes”, Clay smirked. “Hand over the bag…”. I saw Stahl put up her hands to stop her underlings from shooting. She wanted the handoff to happen. I could practically smell her gleeful sweating, over catching the president of Samcro with drugs in his hands.

I slowly walked towards Clay, and took off the backpack – handing it to him. “That’s it, sweetheart”, he said. “We got it”, he muttered below his breath.

Stahl came running forward, three agents at her heels. “Hands in the air!”, she yelled. We all raised our hands. “Guns down”, she demanded. The men in front of us all slowly dropped their weapons on the ground; kicking them away. Clay glared at Stahl, as she walked up to him. “Well, Mr. Morrow”, she grinned. “Seems we caught you with something you shouldn’t have. Give me the bag”. Clay handed her the backpack; and a smile ghosted his face.

Stahl set the bag on the ground, and while her men aimed their guns at us; she opened it. Her jaw dropped. “What the hell is this?”, she said; holding up a book. “Where are the drugs?”. “No drugs…”, Clay said. “Samcro doesn’t deal in drugs”. “Then why were you chasing them?”, she hissed. “She stole my kids favorite book…”, Opie said. Stahl threw the volume on the ground. It was the copy of Pippi Longstocking I’d given Ellie. I looked up at Opie; and the corner of his lips twitched.

“Shit!”, Stahl said. “Fine… We still got murder”. She turned to face the three masked bikers. “Jackson Teller, you are under arrest for the murder of Joshua Kohn. Anything you say, can and will…”. The three men began laughing. “What?”, she sneered. “Take those masks of them”.

The three agents removed the bikers glasses and masks; revealing Juice, Happy and Tig; all grinning and laughing at Stahl’s guffawed face. “Where is he?”, she yelled. She grabbed my arm. “Catherine, where is Jackson Teller?”. “I don’t know…”, I said – truthfully. “Search them”, she sneered. Within seconds, the agents had found the drugs strapped to the three men. They were all cuffed; and read their rights.

Clay shook his head in mock sadness. “Really, guys… I’m so disappointed in you all”. “Take the rest of them in for illegal gun possession”, Stahl growled. “All our guns are registered and legal; ma’am”, Bobby said. “Shit!”, Stahl screamed.

It was my time. “Agent Stahl?”, I said. “I’m willing to testify…”. I swallowed hard. “Against Jackson”. Her lips turned upwards in a terrifying smile. “Really?”. I nodded. “Yes… please, just get me out of here. I’m afraid!”. Stahl narrowed her eyes at me. “Take Huey, Dewey, and Louie back to Charming. I got miss Rose… The rest can go”.

I sent a look towards my three protectors. They all nodded at me knowingly. See you in a year. A smile ghosted my lips. I’d never be able to thank them enough.

I followed Stahl back to the car; and got in the backseat – letting her drive me back to Charming.

---

An hour later, I was back in the interview room at Charming PD – a cup of coffee and a pack of smokes in front of me. At this point, I was alone. I’m not going to jail. I’m going to take care of Abel for Jax. Be Momma Cat. I can do this.

Agent Stahl walked into the room with a file folder; and sat down in front of me. She tried for an encouraging look. “I’m happy you’ve finally decided to talk to me”, she said softly. “It’s just too bad it had to take such a chase to get us together… Did Jackson make you do that, to let him slip away?”. “Something like that”, I muttered. She nodded. “It’s hard, when you love someone that much… but he left you behind, kitty”. “Don’t call me that”, I snarled. She sighed. “Sorry… Catherine”. She smiled gently. “My agents are still looking for Mr. Teller. We will catch him; and once we do, he’s going to do hard time”. I looked up at her. “Yeah?”. Stahl nodded. “Yes. And you’re going to help me with that”.

I shrugged. “You already know everything… I know my phone was bugged”. She tilted her head. “If you did; why did you keep it around?”, she asked. “To set up Jackson?”. To set up you… “I… love him”, I said. “But you were also afraid”, she muttered. I nodded.

“Can I smoke?”, I asked. “Go ahead”, Stahl smiled. “I quit myself; but a little second-hand smoke once in a while, helps with the withdrawals”. Keep trying to be my friend, bitch. I lit my cigarette; and took a draw from it. “I don’t want to go to jail”, I said. “That doesn’t have to happen”, she smiled. “We both know Jackson killed Kohn… I have the recordings”. I nodded. “But you can’t use them”. She grimaced. “They weren’t exactly procured legally”.

I sighed. “So your case rests on me… and that guy who saw me”. “He’s out of the picture”, she grumbled. “I need your help”. I nodded. “If I help you; you’ll let me go, right?”. She smiled widely. “Ally Lowen already set up the papers. I have them right here”. She opened the folder, and took out a pen. “When I sign these, you’re free, as long as you agree to testify in court against Teller”. “Ok”, I whispered.

She reached for my hand; and I jolted in my seat. “I’m sorry… did he hurt you?”. I tried to stiffle my smirk. “He… gets a bit rough”. In bed… it’s heaven. “I understand”, she smiled. “Now, tell me everything, that happened that night”. Nope, can’t let you get it that easy. “I don’t… I still love him. It’s hard”. “He doesn’t care about you”, she said earnestly. “Do you know, how he talks about you when you’re not there?” I let my lip quiver. “You heard him?”, I whispered. She nodded, with a sad look in her eyes. “He calls you names. Calls you stupid…”. I looked down. “You heard everything… even when we…”. “Had sex… yeah”, she admitted – trying for a solemn look. Bet that got you off…

She leant back in her chair. “There was a long break, when I couldn’t hear anything… why was that?”. “Jax figured it was bugged… made me hide it. I told him it was fine; that I needed it in case my old job needed to get a hold of me”. “Right… I forgot”. She sighed. “I could help you with that… get your job back”. “Really?”. “Yeah… though, are you sure you want to stay in Charming? Samcro isn’t gone. You might not be safe”.

I sighed. “You’re right… ok”. I chewed my lip. “Can you get me out of here? Somewhere safe?”. She nodded. “I’ll get you into protective custody as soon as I’ve signed these papers”, she said, and gestured to the document in front of her. “But I need you to tell me what happened first. I need to know what you’ll say in court”.

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. “Ok”, I said. “Joshua Stahl had been stalking me for over a year. He convinced me to go with him; when he threatened to put the ATF on Jax and the club”. I looked at her; trying to hide my disgust. “I went with him to that motel where you found me”. Where you knew I’d be. “Joshua was about to… rape me… when Jax arrived”. “Who was with him?”, she interrupted. Shit! “I don’t know…”, I said. “I was beat up and terrified. I only had eyes on Jax”. She nodded. “Then what?”. “Jackson pulled a gun, and shot Joshua. Killing him”.

She stared at me intently. “Where did he get the gun from?”. I handed it to him. “It was just there”, I muttered. “It was just there…”, she repeated. “Yes”, I whispered.

Stahl picked up the pen, and tapped it against the table for a moment – stalling. Keep calm. I took a deep draw from my smoke; waiting. “Will you repeat this in court, Catherine?”, she asked earnestly. No… no, no, no… “Yes”, I whispered.

She looked at me a moment longer; lifted the pen – and signed the documents, setting me free. I closed my eyes, and let out a deep breath. “You’re a free woman”, Stahl said. “Now let’s get you somewhere safe, ok?”. “Thank you”, I croaked. “No”, she said, taking my hand again. It was as clammy and cold as Joshua’s had been. “Thank you”.

An officer opened the door, and peaked inside. “Agent Stahl; all your men are still looking for Teller”, he said. “Do you need an escort for transport?”. She smiled, and shook her head. “No, us girls will be fine”.

We both stood up; and I was about to follow her out of the room; when I halted. “Agent Stahl?”. “Yes, Catherine?”, she asked. “How did you know where to find me?... with Kohn”. Her eyes flickered for a moment. “I was aware… that Kohn might not have had the best intentions for you. Made sure to know where he’d go”. I swallowed bile. “Why didn’t you stop him before he got to me?”, I asked. “Where you hoping Jax would show up?” Did you set him up, you rancid piece of shit? She narrowed her eyes at me. “I had every intention of getting to you in time… but I made sure that if I couldn’t, you’d still be saved”, she said. “Jax would want you back”.

I tried to control my breath. You did… you were going to let me get hurt, to get to Jax… you deserve everything you have coming your way.

---

We left the police station through the front door. Stahl didn’t seem very worried we’d be stopped by the club, or anyone else for that matter. I got in the back seat of the car we’d arrived in; and prepared mentally for the last stretch of the journey. Stahl seemed ecstatic, strumming her fingers on the wheel. It took everything I had, not reach in front of me; and slam her face into the windshield.

Once on the highway, tears began streaming down my face. Stahl caught my eyes in the mirror, and handed me a tissue. “It’s ok. He can’t get you anymore”.

Jax. At this point I had no idea where he was. I didn’t even know if his part of the plan had worked. The next time I saw him; I could be looking at him across a courtroom; forced to testify against him. I could be sending him to jail for the rest of both our lives. I wanted to scream.

Suddenly, I heard sirens. A police car was racing to catch up to us. “What the hell…?”, Stahl muttered. “What does he want?”. Unser pulled up next to us; gesturing for Stahl to pull over. At the next exit; she drove off – letting Unser pull up behind us. He exited his car; and walked up to her window.

“Agent Stahl!”, he smiled. “I’m gonna need you to let me take miss Rose back to Charming”. I exhaled in stutters. “What are you talking about?”, Stahl sneered. “I’m taking her into protective custody, up until Jackson Tellers trial…”. “There won’t be a trial”, Unser said.

Stahl got out of the car to join him on the side of the road. “I think dementia is getting to you, Unser”, she chuckled. “Just get back in your car…”. “Teller turned himself over to the state prosecutor on drug charges, just over an hour ago”, Unser said. “He’s in custody right now”. “Drug charges”, Stahl snarled. “Look; you don’t believe me – call this number…”. Unser pulled out my android from his pocket. “Use my phone…”. He dialed a number; and handed her the phone.

Unser looked at me meaningfully, and nodded. It’s done.

The agent snatched the phone from his hands, and put it to her ear. “This is agent Stahl… yes… You’re shitting me… No! My case is… That can’t override murder! My evidence… Put him on!... You listen here, you biker piece of shit, you can’t do this. You’re killing my career!”. She let out a roar; and threw the phone on the ground.

A group of bikes came driving down the road towards us. I opened the car door, and stepped out on the road. “Stay in the goddamn car, Catherine!”, Stahl growled. I walked over to my phone; and picked it up. “Jax…?”. My voice was quivering. “Cat… it’s me”, he breathed. “It’s over, baby… It’s over…”.

The bikes made a halt a few yards away; and suddenly we were surrounded by Clay, Mike, Chibs, Bobby and Opie. I looked at Stahl. “It’s over”, I whispered. “Baby, put me on speaker”, Jax said quietly. I pressed the screen, letting everyone around me hear what he had to say. “Agent Stahl?”. I looked at the wide-eyed woman who was shaking in her heels, at the sight of the angry men surrounding her. “She’s here”, I said. “Listen, agent. I’m sorry your case didn’t hold up. Like you heard; I’ve turned myself in, to the prosecutor. I’m about to be taken to state pen… I wish I could be there to see what happens next”. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Stahl looked at the phone with wild eyes. “You can’t do this”, she hissed. “Jackson… do you know what your brothers will do to Catherine, after what you did?”. She looked at me. A smile ghosted my face. “Cat?”, Jax said. His voice was now low – pained, but loving. “I got you something… I wanted to give it to you myself; but there wasn’t time”.

Clay stepped over to me; and reached out his hand to me. He dropped a white gold ring in my hand. It was shaped like a crow’s head, turned to the side; with its wing stretched backwards. The eye of the crow was a black sapphire. “It’s your crow”, Jax said. I chuckled. “When I come back; I’ll give you one to match. We’ll walk up the aisle together”. “Together”, I smiled; tears running down my cheeks. “I love you”. “I love you, Cat. Always will”. He sighed. “I have to go… Tell ‘em all... I’m happy it went down this way”. The men around me nodded solemnly. “They know”, I said. “Goodbye”. “Goodbye, Jackson”.

I hung up the phone, and wiped the tears from my face. I was calm. It was over – and everything was going to be ok. I put on the ring.

Stahl looked from my face; to the ring now resting on my left hand. “Are you crazy, Catherine?”, she hissed. “Do you know what these men will do to you? You flipped on a club member!”. Chibs walked over to me; and wrapped me in his arms; making Stahl’s jaw drop. “Are you all right, my love?”, he asked softly. “I will be”, I said quietly. He kissed my forehead.

Unser sauntered over to us. “Do you need a ride home, sweetie?”, he asked. “She’s got one, old man”, Clay grumbled. “You can go… thanks”. Unser nodded; and went back to his car, to drive away.

Stahl was reaching for her gun, but Bobby quickly aimed his own at her. “You can’t do this…”, she whimpered. “I’m not doing it”, he said. “He is”. He nodded his head towards Opie.

Opie’s face was unreadable. He looked at Stahl with indifferent eyes. “Opie…”, she whimpered. “You don’t have to do this…”. “You killed her…”, he said quietly. “I didn’t… It wasn’t me”, she said. “You… made it happen. Set her up to be killed. You would have done the same to Cat… my best friends future wife”. He shook his head softly. “Just to get what you wanted… No more”.

He looked towards me. “Do you want to see it?”, he muttered. “No… I don’t need to”, I said. I walked over to Stahl. Her eyes were wild. “Catherine… you can’t let this happen!”. I shook my head. “You let me get drugged – almost raped and killed… You just turned your back. So that’s what I will do”. “Go to hell!”, she snarled. “Right after you”. I turned my back; and walked away.

“Get in the car”, I heard Opie say. I went to stand and look down the road. Two car doors closed. There was a quiet muttering; and then a silent pop. I never turned around.

Clay came up to me. “Finish it, Cat”, he muttered. “What?”, I said. He handed me my .38 – the one Jax had given me – then looked down at the phone still in my hand. “Finish it”.

I took a deep breath; and put the phone on the ground in front of me. Cocking the hammer; I aimed at the last link between me; and the life I had left behind. “Goodbye, Josh”, I whispered – and pulled the trigger.

---

#jax teller x oc #jax teller fic #jax teller #jackson teller fic #jackson teller #soa #sons of anarchy fic #sons of anarchy

[insidethegiftbasket]

AL WILD CARD GAME: YANKEES AT RED SOX

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, at 8:08pm

Broadcasts:

ESPN: Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez, Buster Olney, and Marly Rivera

ESPN2: Statcast Broadcast: Jason Benetti, Mike Petriello, and Eduardo Perez

Red Sox Pitching

Nathan Eovaldi will get the ball for the Red Sox to start the game out, and while he has come back to earth a bit from his insane start of the season (specifically with the long ball), Eovaldi is still a dang good pitcher.

He led the AL in games started, led the AL in FIP, and led the majors in BB/9.

His April/May were unsustainably good, specifically the one home run he allowed over eleven starts, but he’s done an excellent job of limiting walks and throwing strikes. He averaged 16.1 pitches per inning this season, and batters were only ahead in the count ~21% of the time this year. Eovaldi is a flamethrower -- he throws his four seam fastball roughly 42% of the time and it sits at 96mph -- doesn’t have a lot of spin (29th percentile) or vertical movement (10% less drop than average) but it does have 46% more horizontal break (12.2 inches of horizontal movement) to the four seam. He also mixes in a slider vs righties (13.7% of pitches thrown and has average movement) and a curve vs lefties (18.8% of pitches thrown and also has average movement.) Neither pitch gets hit a lot but when the slider does get hit it’s usually for extra bases. He’ll also mix in cutters and splitters -- the splitter is an out pitch and gets a good amount of strikeouts, the cutter is a bad pitch that should get hit hard.

That is his pitch chart from his most recent start against the Yankees.

And the chart of when he’s throwing his pitches -- now it’s a good thing for him that he’s getting ahead in the count, because you can see that when he is behind, he’s essentially only throwing fastballs. When batters ARE ahead in the count, they’re slashing .280/.414/.527 against him, which is actually well below MLB league average. He also really struggles the third time through the order:

So I would assume that Eovaldi goes 4, maybe 5 innings before being pulled for the bullpen. 

 Nathan also has been significantly worse vs right handed hitters than vs lefties:

And importantly, has already faced the Yankees six times this season: going 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 34 innings -- giving up 38 hits, five home runs, four walks, and striking out 34 batters. That’s a .279/.310/.434 slashline for the Bombers.

Now, when the Red Sox do end up going to the bullpen, they’ll have a lot of right handed relief options to go to: Garrett Richards, Garret Whitlock, Hirokazu Sawamura, Adam Ottavino, and Matt Barnes. The Sox ended the season with the 13th best bullpen ERA, but the 23rd best bullpen WHIP -- so they’ll let guys on base.

Garret Richards was legitimately bad as a starting pitcher this year, but a move to the bullpen may have revitalized his career:

He was a guy with two decent pitches -- a four seam fastball and a slider, and by moving to the bullpen he’s been able to increase his fastball velocity and not have to worry about showing other pitches. He still has the 12-6 curve he can pullout in emergencies, but he’s not having to throw a near eephus pitch a couple times an inning just to give guys a different look. Garrett Whitlock is in an interesting situation -- he was one of the best stories in baseball this summer and was looking like one of the best relievers in the AL…until he wasn’t. He started to get hit around a bit in May, and then in September started to really struggle, but its hard to know how much of it is him, and how much of it was his injury. He went on the IL on September 21st with a pectoral strain, but he was activated before the final game of the season for the Red Sox, so it’ll be interesting to see if Cora throws him into the fire with no rehab appearances on Tuesday.

Old friend Adam Ottavino was doing well for the Red Sox this season (if you ignored the lefty/righty splits for the first half of the season) until this September, where in his last 13 appearances he’s given up a 1.152 OPS against and a 7.36 ERA. So yeah, typical Otto! Lastly, Matt Barnes also had a dominating first half of the season before falling off a cliff after the trade deadline, and has a 6.48 ERA since the All Star Break.

Red Sox Lineup

The good for Boston- this offense is really, really good from top to bottom. The bad for Boston -- JD Martinez sprained his ankle running to the outfield during the last game of the season and Alex Cora said he’s questionable for the Wild Card game. They can just play both Schwarber and Dalbec if that’s the case, but if he does miss the game it would be a huge loss. The other bad news for Boston -- they’re literally the worst team in baseball at fielding. Boston’s defensive efficiency was at .659, meaning that roughly 66% of balls put into play ended up being outs. The next worst team were the Angels at .680, and the Red Sox committed more errors than anyone other than the Marlins. According to Statcast’s Outs Above Average, other than Enrique Hernandez in CF, every Red Sox player was either neutral or bad defensively this season. They have some good arms, especially Hunter Renfroe, but this is a bad defensive team that the Yankees should hopefully take advantage of (Devers and Bogaerts especially are beyond awful.) That said, as bad as Bogaerts and Devers are defensively, they more than make up for that offensively:

Devers in particular has become one of the game’s best hitters, and might be the best hitting third baseman in the AL.

And Bogaerts is no slouch either, putting up a monster year of his own at shortstop.

This is a team that also hit Cole hard, and if JD Martinez is able to play, then I’d expect them to start Schwarber at 1b and then use Dalbec as a pinch hitting option late as a counter to either Luetge or Wandy or Chapman. I’d also expect them to call up Jarren Duran, one of the fastest players in baseball, to use as a pinch runner late if they need to.

Fenway Park

It’s a major hitter’s park -- its currently the second most favorable hitter’s park (behind Coors Field) over the past three seasons, and that’s with it being a below average park for homers. Expect lots of doubles and triples and singles here due to the wonky dimensions and fences. It’s also the #1 left handed hitter’s park.

Yankees Offensive Keys to Success

Make Eovaldi work and get behind in the count, letting them tee off on his fastballs

The lefties have to do work -- whether thats Gardy or Rizzo or Gallo or Wade or Odor or Velazquez, a couple guys from that group have to punish the purely right handed bullpen of the Red Sox.

When the Red Sox let our guys get on base, the team has to take advantage of it -- whether its through stealing bases or productive outs or just not grounding into a double play right away.

Someone other than Judge and Stanton needs to carry some of the load offensively and get a big hit

Yankees Defensive Keys to Success

Cole needs to get through the first inning -- over the course of the season he allowed a .839 OPS against and a 4.80 ERA against in the first inning, and he allowed almost a third of his home runs in the first inning. Get past that first challenge by Devers and he should be good.

Don’t be afraid of giving up the long ball -- it’s better to attack this Boston team and give up some damage then nibble around them and have the big hits count for more than one run. They’re going to get theirs, it just comes down to whether its a couple solo shots or a couple three run bombs.

Don’t worry about the steal -- other than Duran (who’s in the 96th percentile for sprint speed) this is a really slow team that stole the second least amount of bases in baseball. If someone gets on, don’t be overly worried about the runner and get distracted, just focus on getting your outs.

Please catch your pop ups.

Prediction Time

I’m going to say Yankees win this 5-3, mostly because I trust the Yankees bullpen more than Boston’s at this point. If the Red Sox bullpen was clicking like it was in April and May I’d feel differently, but especially in a Wild Card game where starters rarely go more than five innings, it’s just a lot to ask of this Boston bullpen to be able to give good length.

#Yankees #Red Sox #New York Yankees #Boston Red Sox #Fuck the Red Sox #MLB Playoffs #MLB Wild Card #MLB Postseason #David Ortiz Did Steroids #He Is Still Getting to the Bottom of It

[myhockeyworld87]

All righty! Your numbers are: 20, 28, 84 and 90.

I failed at writing down what they were. Oops!😉

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? Definitely my laptop. Though I’m in the market for a new. Trying to decide if I want a Mac book

28. five songs to describe you? Ugh this one is hard.

Look for some reason I’m identifying with Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran at the moment, sacred by Nina Nesbitt, Place In This World Michael W Smith, it’s Only Life Kate Voegele nd Don’t Think Mike

84. podcasts or talk radio? Podcast

90. luckiest mistake? Hmm I gotta think on this. This will sound weird but I took a job for what was supposed to be two weeks, when I was a junior in high school. Anyhow long story short, my supervisor quit on me the second day. I ended up there all summer, but that job got me a huge opportunity in college to work for the President of the university I went to. Which in turn let me meet the President and VP of the US. I’ve also met so many more influential people because of that job and it really helped me be where I am today. Woah that was long sorry kids!

Thanks @luvsherleafs 🤗💕🤗💕

#ask games!! #myhockey personal

[ao3-spideypool]

You Can't Spell Awesome Without Me

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2UMliW5

by Pineau_noir

On Peter's 30th birthday, he finds a red and black mark over his heart. Then, on his way to his teaching job at Empire State University, a heavily scarred man dies in Peter's arms. The two things don't seem connected until Peter's Spidey Sense goes haywire and his AI, Janet, tells Peter about soul marks.

But soulmates are just an urban legend, like Reagan killing all the birds in 1986 and replacing them with spies, right?

Meanwhile, Wade is stuck in the hospital, after losing his favorite kidney and briefly being dead. He flirts with his cute nurse (Anthony), gives a false name (Thom Cruz), and learns to live without his precious righty (his kidney).

Peter and the Avengers are on the hunt for the slightly shady man who may or may not be Peter's one-and-only until something unexpected brings them together.

Spoiler— it's really dumb and ordinary but Wade lives for the drama of it all: car chases! Illegal drug rings! Exotic animal smuggling! Or as Peter tells it, patrolling and seeing cars go by, accidentally stealing a bottle of ibuprofen from Tony Stark, and finding a stray kitten.

Either way it's going to be all the fluff and domestic Spideypool the author can manage.

Words: 25307, Chapters: 5/5, Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Deadpool - All Media Types, Deadpool (Movieverse)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Peter Parker, Wade Wilson, Blind Al, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, Spider-Gang (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Avengers Team (MCU)

Relationships: Peter Parker/Wade Wilson

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Fluff, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Attempt at Humor, Embedded Images, So many pop culture references, too many Mike Schur jokes, Fanart, Wade has 1 (one) eyebrow, non-powered Wade Wilson, No Deadpool Thought Boxes, Peter is still Spidey, Natasha is comic book age, Janet from The Good Place is the hero of this piece, Even if this is Spideypool, She's just the best, if you try, you'll see Stucky, Domestic spideypool, MJ is from the MCU because Zendaya is fire emoji, background Gwen/MJ, Frotting, Making out like teenagers, Blow Jobs, Anal Fingering, Face-Fucking, ...Kinda, there's no big age gap, Spideypool Big Bang 2020, Peter is Peter B, but before he gave up on life

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2UMliW5

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #spideypool

[nancywheelxr]

The best universe AU where they visit the carnival and Ritchie wants to go in the funhouse/mirror house and Bill remembers his dream and is like “nope. No. Bad idea. No. nononononono” and they manage to calm him down and convince him it’s fine and they all have fun

As always, this is my favorite AU ever and you can find more of it here!

*

“Okay, run this by me again, why are we doing this?”

See, Richie's asking because he's not sure a carnival is the sort of place he'd like to be right now. Or, you know, ever.

“Exposure therapy?” Bev suggests with a hopeful shrug. 

“I mean,” Eddie snorts, frowning at the bright colorful lights, “we all do need therapy, but I'm not sure a licensed professional would approve of this.”

“Man,” Ben commiserates, looking sadly at the Ferris wheel, “can't believe that clown ruined this for us.”

“Let the record show, I still think this is a bad idea,” Stan huffs.

“We could still go back to my place and get wasted?” suggests Mike, and man, that sounds like a way better idea.

“We c-came all this way,” Bill argues, sounding either stubborn or determined, Richie can’t quite tell the difference, “we can't g-go back now.”

“Dude, this is like, two blocks away from the townhouse,” he rolls his eyes, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket, “it's really not that far.”

Bill doesn’t dignify that with an answer, not that Richie had expected him to, what with the way he’s staring at those neon signs like Pennywise has personally put them there overnight. And it’s not even like Richie can blame him, really, when this fucking cheerful music is giving him the creeps, reminding him too much of the sewers and that goddamn clown dancing in its own fucking circus.

A shudder runs down his spine and Richie shakes his head, feels Eddie brush his fingers against his, eyebrows raised in a silent are you okay? They don’t hold hands because while it’s not the 80s anymore, a couple got beaten up just two weeks before right here, and honestly, they’ve gotten enough fight last time to last for a lifetime. It sucks and it reminds Richie why he had been so far up in the closet, he’d been living in fucking Narnia, and any other time, any other day, he’d be uncomfortable as shit, but Eddie’s here, close enough he can smell his cologne, hands brushing as they walk, and that’s– well, it’s not okay, but it’s not so bad. Once they’re out of Bumfuck, Nowhere, it’ll be better.

There’ll be better days, an infinite number of them.

“Okay,” he says loudly, clapping his hand in forced excitement, “are we gonna stand here like creeps until someone calls the cops on us or are we gonna freaking do this?”

“Richie’s right,” Bill concedes, then immediately makes a face, “c-can’t believe I’ve just said that.”

“Huh, it happens once in a while,” Eddie shrugs, “even a broken clock is right twice a day, you know.”

“Why do you hurt me so?” He asks dramatically, wiping fake tears from under his glasses and swooning into Bev’s arms. She laughs, looping her arms around his, fondly says, “beep beep, Richie.”

They move as a group like a pack of gazelles or something, and that must be weird as fuck to an outsider view, but hey, they ain’t about to give up the whole safety in numbers shtick, nossir. Around them, the air smells like cotton candy and buttery popcorn, children run past them squealing and giggling, tired parents dragging themselves after, and the bright lights paint everything in red and white and blue.

Technically, it’s pretty.

Theoretically, it’s pretty whimsy. 

By all means, there’s nothing particularly off about it.

Still, Richie can’t help feeling uneasy about the entire thing. Eddie’s sticking close to him, fidgety and jumpy, and Ben seems to be about to crush Bev’s fingers. Not even Mike, the one who stayed, who lived his whole life in this place, is looking too happy to be there, sandwiched between Bill and Stan.

Jesus Christ, they must be looking so fucking shady, they’re gonna end up being kicked out soon.

“We should, uh,” Ben clears his throat, eyes glancing around nervously, “check out at least one of the rides. Right?”

“Righty-O, Benny Boy,” Richie slips into one of his Voices not to draw attention to his own anxiety, “how about the funhouse? Some wacky mirror fun?”

And you know, he’s sure, Richie was so sure, oh man, he had been so sure he hadn’t said anything wrong this time, no stuffing his foot in his mouth, just some stupid impression of a bad Australian accent from a dude he saw in Cali once, but he still feels stupidly guilty when Bill chokes on his Coke.

“No,” Bill hisses so vehemently, eyes going wide and furious, like it triggered his flight or fight response and boy, did he choose fight. “No, no one’s g-going in there, absolutely not! Promise me,” he latches onto Richie’s arms, glaring and so goddamn scared at the same time, Richie doesn’t even have to ask to know that this has something to do with Bill’s nightmare, with IT. Nothing causes a reaction like thinking about Pennywise. “Promise me, you’re not g-gonna go there, Richie– guys, we can’t, it’s– just, everyone, p-promise me, alright?”

“Okay, okay,” Stan pries Bill away gently, murmuring assurances in that quiet way of his, and they all trade a determined look. It’s not like anyone was truly interested in some dumb mirrors anyway. “No funhouse, we promise, Bill. Okay? See, we’re all still here.”

“Sorry,” Bill rubs at his eyes, runs a hand through his hair, and damn, he looks tired, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out.”

“It’s cool, man,” Mike rests a comforting hand on his shoulder, warm with understanding, “nothing to be sorry for. How about some food instead?”

“Do you even– food! In this place!” Eddie huffs, someplace between indignant and alarmed, cheeks puffed adorably, “did they even have a healthy inspection? Did you see how many pigeons were here this afternoon? Do you want food poisoning, Mike? Is that it? You know what else you can get from contaminated food? Salmonella. Salmonella, Mike. Do you want all these years of not eating cookie dough go to waste?”

Heart swelling and chest feeling too small to contain all the unbridled affection that bubbles,  Richie really is a goner. Look at him, it’s Eddie’s time to shine, and if Richie didn't know any better, he’d say Mike knew exactly what he had been doing.

“The man makes a compelling argument, Mikey,” Richie grins, delighted, and slings an arm over Eddie’s shoulder. It earns him a half-hearted scowl like Eddie wants to be mad, but really can’t. “Think about the cookie dough you have most definitely not been eating!”

“That’s– I really don’t like the way you said that,” Eddie shakes his head, pained, “I know what you’re implying, and it’s distressing.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Richie sees Bill smile, small and tentative, and thinks Mike just might be a clever bastard after all. Either way, if it means he gets to tease Eddie into looking unfairly adorable ruffled, well– Richie’s more than happy to oblige.

#it chapter 2 #reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #it #the losers club #bill denbrough #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #mike hanlon #stan uris #look an ask #it tag #reddie tag #best timeline au

[sundayeb06-blog]

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[twins2994]

NC Dinos-Doosan Bears Series Preview

6.26.20-Jae-Hak Lee RHP (3-3) 5.58 ERA Vs. Jong-Gi Park RHP (1-1) 2.53 ERA

6.27.20- Jin-Ho Kim RHP (0-0) 4.91 ERA Vs. Raul Alcantara RHP (7-1) 3.70 ERA

6.28.20-Drew Rucinski RHP (5-1) 2.67 ERA Vs. Chris Flexen RHP (3-1) 3.26 ERA

The Dinos At A Glance- The NC Dinos have come down to Earth a bit over the past week or so. They are (5-5) in their past ten games and took two out of three games against the KT Wiz this week in Suwon. Jin-Hyuk No is on fire as of late. He hit 6-for-10 with a homer and three RBI’s against the Wiz this week. The Dinos scored thirteen runs in the three-game series. Drew Rucinski threw a solid game on Tuesday night with seven innings, where he allowed three runs. Mike Wright allowed one run over five innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Thursday. Chang-Mo Koo struggled for the first time all season. He gave up five runs over four innings in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Closer Jong-Hyun Won has locked down twelve saves with a 2.33 ERA on the season. Jae-Hwan Bae has been a solid righty out of the bullpen with a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings of work. Yoon-Gu Kang is the best left option with a 3.12 ERA over 8 2/3 innings. 

The Bears At A Glance- The Bears were in a slump heading into last weekend, but they have came out cruising. Doosan swept the LG Twins and took two out of three games from the SK Wyverns this week. They are half a game out of second place behind the red hot Kiwoom Heroes. Jae-Hwan Kim is liking DH duty now that Jose Fernandez is forced to play first base. He hit 7-for-12 with two homers and eight RBI’s against the Wyverns. The good news is that the Bears got third basemen Kyoung-Min Hur back this week and Jae-Il Oh played at first base to close out the night cap on Thursday night. Oh went 0-for-5 in the first game and didn’t bat in the nightcap. Chris Flexen threw a great game on Tuesday night with eight strikeouts over six innings of work. Hui-Kwan Yu got knocked around in the first game of the doubleheader, but the Bears still won 14-6. The Bears couldn’t figure out Seung-Won Moon in the nightcap and lost 7-0. Duk-Joo Ham is the closer for the Bears with seven saves and a 2.75 ERA. Chi-Guk Park 3.22 ERA and Kang-Ryul Kim 2.84 ERA have been solid relievers for Doosan. 

What To Watch For- The Dinos are (4-2) against the Bears in 2020. NC took two out of three games in May at Jamsil Baseball Stadium then took two out of three again back in Changwon. Eui-Ji Yang has three homers against the Bears this season. Jae-Il Oh has homered off Dinos pitchers twice in 2020. Jose Fernandez is hitting 8-for-25 (.320) against NC this year. I’m anxious to see how the Bears lineups look in this series. Kyoung-Min Hur is back and Jae-Il Oh is too. Jose Fernandez was playing first base in Oh’s absence, but Jae-Hwan Kim has been the primary DH lately. Do the Bears add more offense and put Kim in left field or keep Oh out of the lineup and add more defense with In-Tae Kim in left? That will be interesting to watch. This is a big series for both teams, who just saw the Heroes go (8-2) this week and rise up to second place. 

-Chris Kreibich-

#KBO

[ashnadir]

and then there was mike

[Before the opening of the Rabbit’s Foot, an old friend of Ciara’s pays a visit to her shop.]

@thatwhichbindsus

Ciara emerged from the backroom carrying stacks of freshly poured bottles of potions, each with strict labels on how to be used, and each stoppered with a little cork. She'd already set up a "return your empty potion bottles for a discount" station by the front desk, these just needed to be put up for displays. Hard work from brewing the potion had her hair bun frizzing and sweat trickling down her neck. They opened tomorrow. Tomorrow! Ciara couldn't deny the bubbling excitement in her chest as she set down the crate of potions on the counter. "Babe, can you set these up for display on the counter over there? I've got one last cauldron cooling that I need to pour."

 "Righty-o," Iann said crisply, coming over to divest Ciara of the crate.  The bottles tinkled and Iann one-armed  the box to pick up a potion, squinting at the label with interest.  The shop was so clean and organized, well-designed.  Everything about it spoke Ciara in terms of its design.  There seemed to be a lot left to do still, but Iann and Ciara worked with a boundless energy - really, Iann fed off of Ciara's energy.  

"This is a lot different from Mal Ojo," Iann mentioned, since he hadn't really brought up his old shop since Ciara had inherited the Rabbit's Foot.  He smiled over at her, as he put the potions on the counter, turning them label-forward (he figured Ciara would appreciate that).  "Those little differences between a witch and a human, hm?  Or maybe the difference between a guy and a gal."

"How so?" Ciara asked. "Wait, hold that thought, I'll be right back." When she said she had to pour it out, once Ciara was in the back room all she had to do was set out the next set of bottles, tap a rune on her trusty cauldron, and liquid started to float into the air and portion itself out into the bottles, one at a time. Trusting the spell, Ciara returned to the main room, where she began sorting through another box that had been delivered this morning. 

"You were saying about Mal Ojo?" Ciara repeated, looking up just in time to catch his smiled and return it. "Or just you and me, hermoso."

Once he finished assembling the potions, Iann wandered around to check the other items on display.  He got distracted by some of the shelving, which was clearly Ciara's own carpentry work.   Every builder had their own craft and Iann was just learning her signifiers in her work recently.   It was nice, that she was at a point where she could build, and where he could notice her build.  What a luxury...he turned when Ciara returned to the front, and Iann grinned.  

"What I mean is, if I end up lurking about here on the daily, how annoyed would you get?  Scale of one to ten."  Iann sauntered over to her, leaning in to give her a kiss.

"Depends on your lurking. Might get a bit claustrophobic," Ciara replied, smirking as he walked over. When he leant in for a kiss, she thre her arms around his neck, closing her eyes to indulge in the luxury of it. This was overwhelming happiness, her heart felt full. At least, that was what she thought, until she opened her eyes, and spotted someone at the window. Ciara gasped, stepping back from Iann with a mile wide grin as she waved the figure at the door in. He was tall, dark, and well muscled from his work in construction, with the sweetest smile and a bouquet of lilies. 

Mike swung open the door and Ciara practically jumped on him in greeting, and he swung her fondly. "Hey babygirl," he greeted in a deep, Texan accent. "Heard you were opening up something new and wanted to surprise ya." "You did! I can't believe you came all this way," Ciara laughed, pressing her lips to his cheek in greeting. He offered her the flowers and looked up at Iann, striding over confidently to offer his hand for shaking. "I'm Mike."

"That's what I thought," Iann laughed, relishing Ciara's warmth as she pressed up against him to kiss back.  But then it was gone, Ciara darting past him quick as one of her gitturns.  Iann tensed almost immediately, expecting the worst - some sort of attack, or something Ciara saw that looked suspicious or dangerous.  Or even just some sneakthief taking advantage of her half-open door to slip in and grab some goods.  He pivoted on his heel to see Ciara, arms around a tall, built fellow who seemed in turn to pick her up efforlessly in one arm.  The other busy hand with a huge bouquet of lilies.  Iann blinked, watching in some stunned fascination at the congenial-looking, pleasant man who deserved Ciara's joyful greeting.

"Ah - I'm - ah," Iann said, extending his left hand first, before hastily wiping his right hand down his jeans (just in case there was grime on it) and switching hands to shake. A firm grip, as if Iann expected anything less.  "I'm..."  Iann forgot his name for a moment.  "...Iann."  Iann tilted to the side, to look at Ciara, clutching her lilies.  "That's...Ciara...?"  At this moment, Iann felt he had to confirm her identity as well.

"Yeah, me and Ciara go way back," Mike grinned. "Nice to meet you, Iann. So, Ciara- wait, the fuck happened to your arm?" He had turned back to Ciara, but was staring at the black mark on her arm. "I thought you were done with tattoos."

 "Not a tattoo," Ciara replied, setting down the lillies. "It was that coven. But it's in the past now-" 

"-so why would it matter," Mike interupted, reciting her slogan a bit too well, "Yeah, yeah. I'm glad that's behind you. So, is this your new guy? I'm not surprised Francine didn't last, but I liked her. How long have the two of you-" 

"A few months?" Ciara said, looking at Iann to confirm or correct her. "Can I make you a tea? How long are you staying?" 

"Coffee'd be just great. Not sure. Can you recommend anywhere to stay?"

"Ah, I'll take..."  Iann helpfully reached out for the lilies when Ciara started to put them down.  He moved to the back room but only partially, to grab a big glass or vase and stick the flowers in some water.  It gave him something to do, to both fade into the background and also listen to the rapid, cheery banter between Ciara and this Mike.  She didn't sound anxious or tense, her conversation open, lacking in reservation.  Iann smiled to himself, when Mike repeated words all-too-familiar.  He brought the flowers back out, on the front counter and tried to think of how long he and Ciara were...whatever.  He couldn't come up with a timeline; 'a few months' was as good an answer as any, and Iann was glad that Ciara switched gears to offer tea. 

 "So did you - are-  I mean...who are you?" Iann asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.  One hand then immediately came back out to gesture as he spoke.  He squinted and pointed loosely from Mike to Ciara to Mike again.  "I mean - so who is he?"

"Thanks,  querido," Ciara murmured as he took the flowers into the back room. She watched him go with just a bit of concern, but it was quickly quashed as Mike's joviality swept her up with it. "I can't believe you're here! How's Everest?"

"Chaos, so no surprises there. You should come down to Texas some time. My family still asks about you like all the time." Mike turned to Iann, cocking his head at the question. "You haven't told him about me? Should I be taking that as a clue?"  He teased Ciara, bumping her with his arm. 

"No! Iann, Mike is a good friend of mine. We were together for what, three years?" It could have worked too. It almost had. That was something Ciara used to regret. But looking at Iann, even with his hands shoved into his pockets, she didn't anymore. 

 "Cleanest break up I ever had- Hey!" This was Ciara's turn to nudge Mike, rolling her eyes. "But we stayed close."

Never good at poker face once he officially let down his guard with someone, Iann's eyes widened almost comically when Ciara replied.  "Three years??" he blurted out before he could stop himself.  "Holy shit..." he laughed, one of those laughs someone did when they were nervous and didn't know how else to react. 

"Ahhh - y'know, Mike - I'll fix you that coffee.  She's just got instant..." Iann pointed towards the little station where Ciara kept her tea and kettle.  "Unless you want like a real cuppa joe, then there's the place across the street, or....like...yeah.  So."  Iann squinted at Mike again, his dark shrewd eyes trying to seek something in the other man.  But Iann didn't see any ulterior motives in Mike.  No sense of urgency.  Nothing hidden - nothing that Iann could spot at the moment, anyway.  The guy seemed to just be genuinely visiting Soapberry - visiting Ciara.  Because they had, apparently, three good years and a continued friendship afterwards.  Three good years and then Ciara broke up with him...or did Mike break up with Ciara?  That idea was unfathomable at the moment.

 "I own an Inn," Iann finally managed to add.  "And it's low season right now, so we got some suites available, if...ah..." Iann's gaze darted to Ciara to gauge the offer he was making to Mike.  If she continued to look complacent, or if her nostrils flared in warning.  "...if you need a good place to stay. I could check availability."

Ciara gave him an odd look when he blurted out his disbelief, tilting her head at him. Was he... jealous? Or just nervous? If so, why was he nervous? Mike wrapped his arm around Ciara and gave her a quick squeeze before clasping his hands. 

"Thanks man. Instant's fine, I'm not a picky man." 

In the meantime, Ciara pulled out a chair for him, while she perched on the front counter. Mike peeled off his coat and set it on the back of the chair. When Iann made his offer - finally - Ciara just nodded with a smile.

"That'd be great. I think the next couple of days will be chaos, but it would be great to catch up. There are loads of fairies in town too. Speaking of, where's Jake?" "Yeah, thanks again. Uh," Mike laughed, "We've been in the car for hours, so he's stretching his wings, checking things out."

Ciara instantly seemed pleased at the offer of staying at the Inn, to which Iann nodded and mutely turned to make the coffee.  There was still warm water in the kettle, so he just let it re-heat again.  He lit up internally when he realized - as Ciara conversed with Mike - that Mike was a fairy.  Iann felt instantly elated.  He wasn't sure why this information elated him so much, but he persistently chalked it up to his own enjoyment of the fairy species.  

"Wings? What's Jake?" Iann asked, jumping into the conversation in a point where he felt much more comfortable: the subject of supernaturals.  He'd already bitten down on his tongue when Mike mentioned Francine, so getting to inquire about the familiar Jake felt like a relief.   "I mean, I know he's your famliar, ha ha, I just mean what is he.  I'd love to meet him too."

He handed Mike the coffee, giving him a choice of sugar or cream from Ciara's mini-fridge (next to the jellied frog eggs).  Iann looked over at Ciara again, curiously now like she'd just gotten a drastic haircut and he was trying ot get used to it.

Mike looked at Iann, and this time it was with a flicker of annoyance, at what he'd grown up considering a faux pas. "He's a hawk." He turned to Ciara. "What's he?" He asked her, accepting the coffee from Iann with a grateful nod. 

Ciara cocked a warning eyebrow, but answered with pointed pride, "Iann's human." 

"Human?" Mike almost spluttered out his coffee, but raised his free hand in apology as Ciara glared daggers at him. "Hey, no judgement here! You know my whole team's human. It's just, Ciara, wow, I thought you didn't-" He looked from Ciara to Iann, and seemed to shrink in on himself. 

"Aw, sorry, real bad foot in mouth syndrome here. I really didn't mean anything by that." 

" Good," Ciara replied, like closing the cover of a book, before continuing her merry introductions, "Iann, Mike is the one who got me the construction job, got me into carpentry. Turns out, if you can fly, you don't have to worry about heights as much. Jake's pretty chill too, you'll like him."

"A hawk, oh wow," Iann gushed, luxuriating in the idea of a hawk fairy familiar.  Iann wasn't bothered by the fairy's blip of irritation; fairies tended to be very protective of how people saw their familiars, and also very changeable.  "That's so cool, now I really want to meet him." There was almost an air of anticipation in Iann, as he stilled and watched Mike when Ciara said that Iann was a human.  The sputter from Mike made Iann's face break into a puckish, gleeful grin, and he pointed at Mike and looked at Ciara, as if Iann was trying to prove some point.  

"No, no no no it's fine!  Humans are the worst," Iann said, relaxing completely now, as he thumped at his chest, like he was proud as he proclaimed,  "I'm the worst." That Mike got her into carpentry made Iann look over towards the shelves again.  He motioned towards them.  "Ciara built those, didn't you amor?  What do you think of her craftsmanship, Mike?"

"Well I'm sure he'll be around soon enough," Mike said, looking out of the window. "He aint' exactly social, though." Ciara rolled her eyes, as Mike gave them both a confused look. Luckily, he decided not to poke that particular nest of bees, and Iann's effusiveness. Really selling himself as Ciara's partner there. Ciara huffed, pressing her palm into the counter. Although as Iann started talking about her carpentry, her skin warmed along with a smile, softening her back up.

 "Not all of them, and not entirely," she corrected Iann softly. "Play nice," she added, slipping off the table and going into the back room, to pick up her tray of potions, which now needed wax seals, corks, and labels attaching. Ciara brought it all back out with her, to work while they talked. 

"Uh," Mike said, looking around. "Ciara always did the best dovetail joints. Looks solid. I saw the before pictures of this place. What she's done is incredible. Have you been helping her out."

Iann gave a half-shrug, not really concerned about the sociability of Jake enough to deter his eagerness to meet the hawk  It wasn't as if Iann could actually converse with a fairy familiar, it was more Iann's bolstered conviction  that when animals were people, Iann just felt they didn't hate him as much as regular animals did.  Even Iann had learned to realize that it was a good feeling, being liked. Shaking his head, Iann leaned closer to Ciara to nab the labels.  He started threading the twisty twine through the little eyelets, handy for Ciara's bottle-recycling program.  

"No, I've been busy," Iann replied to Mike, forgetting entirely that he had helped Ciara out.  He was so keen to downplay himself, now that the whole human-thing had been established.  Iann was comfortable in being less-than.  He conversed about shelving building with Ciara and Mike for a few minutes, before Iann asked,  "So you and Jake live in Texas?  Or do you travel around?"

#ciara