#but especially not if harry stays a cop forever

[even-disco-baby]

YOU — “What was it like when we were partners?”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He looks at you, taking a long drag from his cigarette. His eyes are hard. “You don’t remember at all?”

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Impossible: Failure] — You try to search through the mire of your mind, but come up with only the ghosts of vague and conflicting feelings— comfort and pain, gratitude and resentment, and above all, fear.

YOU — Fear of what?

CONCEPTUALIZATION — Of being seen. Seen and despised.

EMPATHY — He fears that, too. That one day, he’ll look at you and realize that it was all for nothing.

-1 MORALE

PRECINCT 41 — The night air is pleasantly cool, and even this late, you can hear plenty of signs of life in Jamrock. Dogs barking, laughter in the distance. It only makes your own silence more pronounced.

“I remember we were friends.”

“I remember we hated each other.”

“I remember you cramping my style.”

“I remember being a burden.”

“I don’t. I’m sorry.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He sighs. Smoke trails as he shakes his head. “It’s fine.”

DRAMA — It is decidedly *not* fine, sire.

JEAN VICQUEMARE — “You know what? It’s probably better that way. Don’t worry about the past. Your great big life is finally starting.” Every word drips with irony. He takes another puff of the cigarette. “Good for you.”

“You’re right. I won’t worry about it.”

“I swear I’m going to make the most of it. It’ll be different this time. I swear, Jean.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“You sound sarcastic.”

JEAN VICQUEMARE — “Oh, do I? Sorry, let me try again.” He claps with mock politeness. “Congratulations on the amnesia. You must be thrilled.”

“Ha ha. Real funny.”

“Maybe I am. Fuck off.”

“No. I’m scared. It’s been really hard.”

“I’m sorry, okay? It’s not like I can undo it. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I’m sorry…”

(Say nothing)

JEAN VICQUEMARE — He lets out another breath, closing his eyes. “…Sorry. Look, just forget it, okay, Harry?” He tosses the butt of his cigarette dispassionately into the bushes and lights another. “Believe me, it’s not worth dredging up.”

DRAMA — What he means to say, sire, is that you don’t want to know how bad things got.

EMPATHY — Even he doesn’t like to reminisce. Not on the bad *or* the good. It would all swallow him up if he wasn’t careful. But he can’t forget, either, so he just carries it. And now he carries it alone.

INLAND EMPIRE — He was fooling himself if he ever thought that to live was to be anything but alone. We are all either leavers or those left behind.

HALF LIGHT — It’s not your fault that he started to look like a leaver. You had to be faster than him. You couldn’t let it happen again. Never again.

VOLITION — Derail this train of thought before it builds momentum. It won’t lead you anywhere helpful.

None of this is helpful. Fuck this. [Leave]

[Espirit de Corps — Formidable 13] Just how bad did things get?

CHECK SUCCESS

ESPIRIT DE CORPS — Apocalyptic. Screaming matches that devolved into agonized wails. Words that neither of you can ever take back. Nights spent talking you off of ledges only for you to turn and shove him toward the edge. Times he told you to go ahead and jump, only to then turn and cling to you in terror of a lifelong haunting. Pitiful attempts to revive the corpse of your friendship. Empty ideals of brotherhood clutched tightly to your chests. His orbit around you, both a curse and a reassurance.

SAVOIR FAIRE — You needed him to think you were cool again.

EMPATHY — He needed you to think he was worth trying for.

INLAND EMPIRE — You both discovered that you were sad, cruel animals, incapable of anything but lashing out at each other and licking your own self-inflicted wounds.

VOLITION — And so you changed, somewhat. You did what you had to do to survive and evolve. There is no use or sense in regretting it.

EMPATHY — But *he* refuses to change. He cannot bring himself to dig his heels back out of the dirt. This precinct will be his coffin. He has already decided.

RHETORIC — A memory stirs. A letter, written to you, but never meant for your eyes. You read it, anyway. He never forgave you. You never forgave him, either.

“Kid,

“I bet you think someday your life will begin. That it’s still out there somehow, a great big life just waiting to start. Well, it isn’t. This is all there is. This job is the only fight we are given. After this, we will be its veterans.

“There is nothing more in that beloved future of yours. We are all done there. Done and gone.”

VOLITION — But there is a future beyond ourselves. There is all of the rest of human history-to-be, and they are at our mercy. Find some mercy in yourself, Harry. You know there’s something beyond this job, this precinct.

No. Jean is right. This is my home, these people my half-brothers. I would be nothing without them. I don’t want to die alone.

No. He’s right. There is no future for me. I’m a dead man walking, and soon I’ll be gone. It doesn’t matter.

No. There is no mercy in me. I’m tired. I hope the world ends. I hope we can all be done.

You’re right. I changed a little. That means that I can keep changing. I can be a kinder animal.

You’re right, but I’m afraid. I don’t remember my life before the RCM. I don’t know what I would be if I left.

Isn’t there any way to change Jean, too? Is there a great big life waiting for him?

VOLITION — I… I don’t know. I’m sorry, Harry. I cannot answer for other people. His future is in his own hands.

PRECINCT 41 — Dogs howl in the distance. What a lonely sound.

#disco elysium #harry du bois #jean vicquemare #suicide tw #ok sorry this is not the one that i said was gonna be different it’s gonna be the NEXT next one #i had to get this one off my chest while i was still thinking abt jean #but um. yeah. lots of complicated feelings abt this guy #can’t say i Like him. since he’s a cop and all. and also just generally #i think he’s very interesting and funny and there’s a lot of poignant stuff to unpack w him and harry #but i dunno i just???? how do you even articulate this #the damage to their relationship is never gonna be undone no matter what #but especially not if harry stays a cop forever #and i think jean is never gonna quit even if harry goes #hell i think even kim is more likely to be convinced to leave and i’m not even optimistic abt HIM #‘’there is nothing more in that beloved future of yours. we are all done there. done and gone.’’ #that does not sound like a man who has any interest in changing… man i dunno. #acab and all that.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Love Is A Curse | T.M Spider-Man Series P.2 (read content warnings & notes⚠️)

Series Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Tobey!Peter Parker x female!reader/ Black Cat (eventual romantic), tobey!peter x Mary Jane Watson (only for S1), Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Eddie Brock, Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, J. Jonah Jameson (pretty much every character from the Raimi trilogy)

Content Warnings: major angst, serious implications of SA (not explicit or detailed), aftermath of SA, descriptions of panic attack, blood, mentions of violence, profanity | female reader (she/her) | roughly 1k words, read with caution

Premise: What started as a great day, ended with lives changed forever. For one, she vowed revenge. And she couldn’t wait for how sweet it would taste.

Note: please read with caution, especially if you are someone you know is a survivor of SA. As someone who just graduated from college not even a year ago and was part of an organization to end SA on college campuses, I want anyone who has experienced a traumatic event such as SA to remember help is out there. Don’t be afraid to speak up, because the only way we are going to lower the percentage of dating, domestic, and sexual violence on college campuses is by using our voice to report and raise awareness. You are not alone, and will never be alone. ♥️

I am not going into detail at all by writing a scene because I’m not comfortable with that—I’m only writing the aftermath which implies it took place. In the comics, Felicia Hardy/Black Cat goes through this and it leads to her adopting the Black Cat persona in her storyline, so I wanted to do the same for Y/n. However I wanted to make it to where the reason Y/n ends up taking the murder/revenge route is because she didn’t get the justice through the system. Which unfortunately is a common reality of these cases. This chapter is pretty short, again read with caution.

I will tag those who are part of the masterlist tags for chapter updates, but again please read the content warnings & notes before you do read.

————————

Y/n had been standing in front of the bathroom mirror of her dorm for hours. Her reflection painted a thousand words. If a doctor or cop were to walk through the door, it wouldn’t take them much to piece it together. Torn clothes, bloodied face, and bruises in an array of colors. Y/n couldn’t even recognize herself—the girl staring back at her was not the same girl from that morning.

Ticking away was the clock—the only sound to fill the silent void. It read 3am, the Devils hour some liked to call.

Nothing good ever happens at night.

That’s why they tell you to always watch yourself—look for red flags. Get home, be safe, stay alert for anything.

But sometimes those who hurt you the most are the ones closest to you.

Y/n never saw it coming. How could she? They hadn’t been dating that long, barely would consider themselves a couple and both were so busy with other things they hardly got time to see each other. Maybe on average twice a week would they have free time to have dinner or catch a movie.

This night was different.

Y/n felt the shift in the atmosphere not long after he had entered her dorm. His movements sparked alarm along with the way he was looking at her. Any excuse to get him to leave came to her mind like ‘I have class early tomorrow, maybe we should meet up at a later date,’ or, ‘I’m getting pretty tired, I think you should go now.’ But they were to no avail.

Y/n pretty much disassociated after that. Felt like she had an out of body experience where she wasn’t truly there. It was the only way to get through it. Her roommate was gone for the night, and anyone who passed by more than likely had the bystander effect.

Which meant they did nothing. Even if they heard something wrong.

Now here she was staring at the broken girl in the mirror. No words had left her even after he left. The second he did all Y/n did was limp to the bathroom and lean on the sink to keep her up.

She had a choice now. One that would determine the trajectory of how the aftermath would play out. All Y/n had in terms of first aid supplies were a few bandages and hydrogen peroxide. That wouldn’t do much to what ever internal injuries she might have.

Y/n finally felt the cracks beginning to break as she tried to keep it together. But a human could only take so much.

Her knees finally gave out as the first wave of cries made their way through her mouth. A hand came up to muffle them as she lowered down until her back met the edge of the tub. Blood mixed with tears and saliva. Y/n felt like the porcelain doll being shattered against a wall.

‘Why? Why? Why? Why me?’ Her mind repeated over and over. The cries were a waterfall, never ending as the pain and anguish took over Y/n.

Her mind, body, and soul felt broken. And it would never be the same again.

The free hand that had been to her side came up to tangle in her hair. Gripping it hard, Y/n felt strands pull out until several wrapped around her fingers. That’s when her fingers started to tremble and her breathing became fast.

That’s when she started becoming scared—feeling her airway constrict against the waves of her cries. Her brain was telling her to calm down, but her body was filled with a sensation she couldn’t describe. The trembling in her hands which felt like stinging turned numb.

‘Stop—stop,’ she kept thinking as her heart pounded against her chest. ‘No-no-no please, no’

Everything hurt. Everything was a blur. Y/n didn’t know what to do as she laid on the floor of her bathroom willing her mind and body to calm down so she could breath. A dizziness sensation had her leaning her head against the edge of the rub, blinking repeatedly until she let her eyes fluttered shut.

‘Think, Y/n—think of dad—of mom,’ she ordered herself. ‘Think of ice skating during Christmas’

The memory started to replay the moment the words entered her mind. It was one of the only Christmases where her dad was there—after he had went to prison the first time. Y/n was eight going on nine and had always wanted to go ice skating where the big Christmas tree was at. Her mom had always told her ‘we’ll go next year’ when she started asking at the age of five. Her dad surprised her that year, taking her without her mother knowing and the two spent hours at the rink. ‘Careful, Y/n’ he laughed when she almost slipped, holding onto her hand tightly. Her face was red from laughing so much, on top of a sore bottom from falling several times. But it was the best moment of her life.

And it was one of the happiest memories she had of her dad.

Just thinking about that night had Y/ns breathing slow until eventually she found a constant pace. The numbing eased away, the tears coming to a end. The dizziness was gone and she could feel the air flow though her—no longer constricted.

She knew what she had to do. If she was going to make sure he couldn’t hurt her or anyone else again, then she had to do something about it. The feeling of shame and guilt was replaced by anger.

Love. That’s what he tried saying when it was over. That he loved her. His pathetic excuse for violating her—for breaking her mind, body, and soul.

Monsters can’t love. And neither do they deserve it. It’s greed and power they desire, and use love as their scapegoat to gain it.

‘Love is a curse,’ Y/n thought as her bruised jaw clenched, ignoring the pain from the movement. Darkness filled her eyes, muting out the normal Y/E/C they bore. ‘Love is a curse, and I’m going to make sure he knows that.’

Getting to her feet, Y/n grunted at the pain in her ribs as she limped back into her bedroom. With shaky hands, feeling conflicted for a moment, Y/n picked up the receiver of the landline—her thumb moving to dial a certain three-digit number. With one last push of courage, Y/n hit the call button and placed the receiver to her ear.

Her breath hit the end of it. It was wavered and matched the pounding of her heart as the nerves in her raised again. But she was focused, determined, and anger fueled her. There was no way she would not get justice. That fucker would not have the last laugh.

“Nine-one-one, what is the nature of your emergency.”

Y/n caught her reflection in the mirror hanging behind her bedroom wall. It was now or never. She’ll go the justice system route, praying to God they will do something.

But if they fail her, his fate will lie in her hands.

“I need to report a rape.”

…………………………..

Tag list: @todaywasafairytale07, @r0bynsblogins, @edgycatx, @andrewgarfieldsloml, @fuck-goes-on

#tobey!spiderman #spiderman fanfiction #tobey!peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #tobey!peter parker imagine #tobey!peter parker x reader #tobey!spiderman imagine #tobey!spiderman x reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel #marvel imagine #black cat #black cat reader #spiderman x reader #spider man sam raimi #angst

[bluefirewrites]

‘BUCKLE THE F** UP’ Wayne Juke AU

Taken from the previously Youtube Red-Turned-Amazon Prime show ‘Wayne’. Some elements borrowed but within the context of this AU, Julie and Luke ran away from home, getting into trouble while on the road, especially with Luke’s ‘Dirty Harry with a Heart of Gold’ tendencies. The duo make both friends and enemies alike while heading to Florida.  

Spoilers for last episode.

Warning: swearing, violence

"Shit, shit, shit," Julie whispers frantically to herself, hands gripping the wheel so tight that she could barely move to steer.

Luke groans in the passenger seat, bloodied, left arm out of commission, slumped against the car door. She spares a glance and stutters out a gasp from how much blood she was seeing. 

Fuck, there's alot-

"No, no-" the back of her hand swats his face, rousing him. His eyes kept fluttering closed and Julie is trying for dear life to keep him conscious, "Luke, baby, stay with me. Please," she practically begs, as if its within their control.

For once during their time on the run, Julie's got no plan. Nowhere to go. She wants to take him to a hospital, but then they'll get caught and all of this is for nothing.

At least that's what Luke said, when she lugged him into the first car she saw on the compound.

She's just driving. Driving until there's no more more road, no more gas left or until the grip on her hand slackens and Luke...

Her eyes well up in tears and she had to wipe at them, so she could fucking see where she's going.

"Fuck!" she bangs on the steering wheel, "This can't happen! This can't fucking happen to me. Again!"

"J-Julie..." Luke croaks, grunting, struggling to set himself upright but falters every time.

He's still holding onto her hand, though the hold slippery from all the blood escaping his deep wounds.

"Fuck everything!" she continues to curse, keeping the car going, "Fuck the cops! Fuck Bobby! Fuck- just..."

The tears are streaming down her face at this point and she makes no move to stop it.

They're on a deserted road, no one else but them traveling along, and Julie likes to pretend that this would be their world, forever.

But reality had other plans.

Does she really think they were gonna get away with this? The both of them? Does she expect to be on the run for the rest of her life?

Maybe.

Because it’s Luke. And nothing involving Luke would ever fill her with regret...

"Luke, I'm gonna-" her voice breaks, "I'm gonna say something. And it's not because- not because I think you're gonna-"

She blinks, trying to recollect herself before continuing.

"I don't think I've ever said this to anyone, b-but to my family, you know? But," she breathes a shaky sigh, "Luke, I-"

"I love you too, Julie...” 

That does it, Julie's weeping at the wheel. She doesn't know whether to rejoice or to break down. That she finally hears these words but they come with that air of finality that- that harkens the end.

Julie has to look at him. She gives him a tear-stained smile, whether for her benefit or his... she couldn't tell.

Just this moment of peace. Him quirking his lips into a half smile, something he could manage without hurting himself.

But then his features warp suddenly, eyes widening as he spots something-

"JULIE!"

What follows is a loud crash, screaming, and then-

Darkness.

****

Luke blinks, head pounding, ears ringing, but the din around him getting louder and louder, overwhelming the ringing.

He's no longer in the car, but on the road, back hitting the pavement, adding onto the list of injuries applied to his battered body.

The last thing he remembers was Julie, the car T-boning them from the intersection, and then the crash.

"Luke!" he hears her, yelling, above the sirens. Her voice screeches, clawing at him desperately.

Flipping over he sees her, his vision cloudy but he recognized that blob to be his one and only. Being picked up by the cops, dragging her away.

Fuck. Of course. It's that story her Tia had spun. That Luke had coerced her, kidnapped her- that she was more of a victim than an accomplice.

"Ju-Julie," he pushes himself into a crawl.

He's on his knees before he's suddenly kicked back down, his chin colliding against the ground hard. Now he's at eye level with too nice of shoes to belong to a cop.

Fuck.

"This is what happens, Luke, when you cross me..." the chilling voice of Caleb Covington pierce through him harder than any boot to the back.

"Let go of me! Luke!" Julie cries.

She needs him. She needs him right now, but he's... he's so weak.

"What do you want us to do with him, boss?" Thug Number One asks, digging him further into the asphalt.

"Leave him. Not like he's gonna survive anyway," the mob boss throws out carelessly, "And if he does, then the cops would get him."

The boot leaves his body but then reconnects at his face, knocking the wind out of him.

He couldn't move after that.

So he's forced to watch Julie get taken away by those guys, pulling away in their decoy squad car.

His hand stretches too late, his sight growing dimmer and dimmer with each second.

The last thing he sees is a glint of gold, lying on the road.

‘JULIE'- her name on a chain. 

And it's all that he has left of her...

****

He doesn’t die. Which is as good news for him as it is bad news. 

The cops did find him, laying on the road beside the wrecked stolen car. And given the havoc he had caused over several states, it was no surprise that they took him in. 

Luke's pushed into his cell, arm's still in a sling after being discharged from the infirmary prior to getting processed.

The guards and the other delinquents try to goad him, pushing his buttons, trying to get him to snap back and show weakness. 

But for once, he refrains from backtalking, keeping to himself until he's finally alone.

Once the door locks, sealing him inside, he takes a breath.

Then pulls out the gold chain from his mouth.

He plays with the metal, traces his fingers over the script, spelling out his girl's name.

"I'm gonna get out of here, Jules," he whispers, determined, his fist curling over the necklace. Tight.

And when he does-

Covington's gonna pay

Tagging: @blush-and-books @lydias–stiles @smolfangirl @echocharm17618 @thedeathdeelers @lukepattersun @ourstarscollided @missjoolee @story-courty @heademptynothoughts @teenagepeanutbird @writerownstory @lukepattersun ​ @thereigning-lorelai ​ @preoccupied-educator ​

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #juke #very angsty #and dramatic #took the 'dirty harry with a heart of gold' line from the wayne sypnosis #like really couldn't describe him any better #that last episode fucked me UP #can it please be renewed? #like please? #it's been YEARS #just like another show hmmm i wonder #wayne!AU

[wiseabsol]

Let’s talk about why it’s a bad idea if Karrin Murphy’s fate is final.

Some quotes to consider:

pg. 217: “See that this warrior is laid in state,” [Mab] said, and moved her head in a curt gesture toward the Bean. “She has shared our enemies and earned our respect, and so shall it be known amongst my vassals and to the furthest reaches of my kingdom.”

pg. 366: “You tell Odin that Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden says, upon his Name, that if he doesn’t treat Murph better than I would myself, I’m going to kick down his door, pluck his fucking ravens, knock him down, kick his guts out, drag him to the island, and lock him up in a cell with Ethniu [ . . . ] I beat a divine being once [ . . . ] If I have to build a nation to get it done, I’ll do it again.”

pg. 366: Gard shook her head. “Not until the memory of her has faded from the minds of those who knew her. That is the limit not even the All-father may cross.”

So what points can we draw from this?

- According to Gard, Murphy cannot return to Earth until her memory has faded from the minds of those who knew her. This, presumably, includes immortals, whose memories last for a very long time. If this is truly the case, then Murphy cannot participate in the BAT. She and Hendricks will be benched for Ragnarok. In short: Murphy is fucked. 

- Dresden has sealed away a Titan and is willing to do the same to a god. He is currently planning to build his own magical community. Would it really be that surprising if he is willing and able to do something that a god cannot in a future book? Especially when, as mentioned above, Murphy is fucked?

But let’s unpack this more:

First, let’s look at this from a writing standpoint. Why does this rule need to be in place? The short answer is that Butcher is covering his bases. Once we, the readers, learn that Odin has snatched Murphy’s body and is making her into an einherjar, we feel a burst of hope and relief. After all, we’ve seen einherjar before, so doesn’t that mean that we can look forward to Murphy returning at a later date?

Butcher doesn’t want us to think that, though. He wants us to feel as though she’s gone forever...even though we know that the BAT, aka Ragnarok, is coming up, and the einherjar are destined to fight in it. So how does he try to throw us off? He comes up with something that feels...contrived. Something that isn’t a part of the einherjar myth. “She can’t come back! Because--because everyone has to forget about her first! Yes, that’s it! Her fate is final because of this rule I’m only just now saying is a thing!”

But why should we buy this? This is a series in which Dresden is constantly pushing past his own limitations and the roadblocks placed in front of him, and where other characters aren’t afraid to do the same. It’s a series in which the rules are set up to be broken in creative ways (zombie T-Rex, anyone?). Even reality itself can be shattered (and why set that up in Battle Ground if you’re not going to do it in the BAT?).

Aside from that, though, if Murphy really is gone, then we’re left with some problems:

1. Murphy’s death is pointless. As much as Butcher tries to have the characters say that she died fighting a Jotun, she didn’t. She was killed on accident by a scared cop. That’s not satisfying. It could have been if it had more set-up across multiple books, and if Murphy had spent some time grappling with poorly trained officers and cases of police brutality (maybe even cases in which she’d gone too far). But the Dresden Files is stuck in the 90′s in a lot of ways, complete with valourizing “good cops” like Murphy and chalking up “bad cops” like Rudolph to a weakness of character, rather than admitting that there’s a problem with the institution as a whole. In short: This isn’t even political commentary on Butcher’s part. It adds absolutely nothing to the series. 

2. Odin making Murphy into an einherjar is arguably a Fate Worse Than Death for her, rather than a reward. Why? First, her Catholic faith has been ignored. Her soul is not going to the god she chose (did Odin even ask her if she wanted to go to Valhalla? Did Murphy consider it an honor?). Second, everyone she knows and loves will have to die before she can fight again--and what’s the point of her fighting then? Third, she will be forced to sit out of Ragnarok/the BAT. So Odin, in addition to doing a disservice to Murphy, would be benching a warrior during the End Times. How does that make strategic sense? Also, if he’s not going to use his shiny new einherjar, why make her into one at all? Why not just let her be buried and let her soul go to her own god?

3. How much agency does Murphy have in this scenario? Would she really accept the above rule and choose to not help her friends with her new powers? Does that sound like her?

4. If Murphy stays gone, it means that yet another woman has been written out of the story to give Dresden manpain. That’s exhausting, especially considering how poorly Butcher has treated his female characters in the past. Losing Murphy, who is arguably our main female character, feels like adding insult to injury after what happened with Susan, Molly, Lash, and so many others. Why should female readers keep reading a series in which almost every woman character is tortured, killed, or transformed against their will?  

5. Murphy and Marcone were the last important vanilla mortals. If she’s gone for good, then between that and Marcone now being magical, we are left with a series in which normal people--including those with disablilites--can’t survive and make a difference in the fight between magical forces. They’re victims to be protected by Dresden--and thus don’t have agency--or canon fodder if they do get involved. While I suspect that Randy will act as their voice in future books, losing both Murphy and the non-magical Marcone is a blow that I’m not sure the series can recover from. As one reader put it, it’s hard for us to see ourselves in this world anymore, considering that there are no characters like us left in it. Granted, this is a problem even if Murphy returns as an einherjar. But Murphy didn’t have to die in this book, so this problem could have been avoided.   

6. And on a more petty note: Teasing a Dresden and Murphy relationship for ten+ books, and then throwing it away in one, is a nasty thing to do to the readers who were invested in that subplot. “Characters in happy relationships aren’t compelling” is also a weak excuse for doing it, considering that those characters have more to fight for when the world is ending. Finally, just to point out something small: Murphy had sex with Dresden for the first time on the evening of Day 1 of the peace talks, then died on the morning of Day 4. That’s not cool. Butcher can do better.

#Karrin Murphy #The Dresden Files

[cursebroken]

task 001 : interrogation

james was not surprised that he was being interrogated. it was no secret that his relationship with sara ended badly. you’d have to live on mars to not know that the two had spent the last week of sara’s life at one another’s throat, constantly found arguing on campus. when james was told that the auror’s would be arriving, ready to take everyone’s statements and do interrogations, he had half-heartedly hoped his father would be among those asked to come to campus, but that was a long shot, not just because of who harry was, but because of who james was to sara. 

james had been guided to a small, dimly lit room, a classroom he had never been in, he thought, or perhaps an office. he almost laughed at how cliche this set up was, like a set of a muggle police show, the kind he and his mother would stay up late watching. seated across from him were two auror’s, a male and a female, he didn’t recognize either, it had been years since he had been to visit his father’s office, so it made sense that they would send two rookies to interrogate the boss’ child. he sat across from the two, looking them up and down. james knew how the auror’s worked, he knew they would use whatever they could against him if they got even the slightest idea that he had been the one to kill sara. “do i need a lawyer present or are you guys just here to take my statement? should i be calling my dad right now?”

“ we’re not accusing you of anything, mr. potter, just asking a few questions.  i assume you know why we’re here today, but please tell us how you knew the deceased? go into as much detail as you can,” the male auror said, looking at james,

“sara and i had dated off an on for a little over three years. we broke up a few times over the years, but got back together fairly quickly after. we fought a lot... especially at the end, but i really loved her. i’m not going to say things were always perfect with us, but we were good together... for the most part at least.”

“were the two of you on good terms after your break up?” the woman asked the question this time.

“we broke up, of course we weren’t on good terms. we had a big fight and ended things. most people aren’t best friends with their ex a week after they break up after three years together. we argued a few times this week before she- you knows.. died, but it’s not like i wanted her dead, i just didn’t want to deal with her drama any more, and believe me, sara loved drama.”

“it sounds like things were complicated between you two, do you believe you stand to gain anything from sara’s death?” the male spoke this time, james figured they’d go for a good cop/bad cop schtick to try and intimidate him, but it seemed like they were more so just reading a script.

“i’m not sure what you mean? my ex girlfriend was murdered, how would i gain anything from that? i’m not fucking heartless. we broke up because we were sick of always fighting, not that the fighting stopped after we broke up, but that was our thing. we’d fight, break up, bicker for a week or two and get back together.”

“one last question and you can go. what do you have to lose?”

“i’ve already lost sara, and any hope of a future with her. i haven’t told really anyone but my brother and a few friends but i bought a ring.. it’s not the biggest or the fanciest, and hell she might not have even liked it or said yes if i had proposed, but i bought one and now it’s just going to collect dust in a drawer forever. she’s dead and any chance at us maybe making up and us giving our relationship another go died with her.”

james sighed after answering the final question, “can i go now? if you have anymore questions you can ask them with my father here,” he got up and left the room before they could fully get their answer out.

#victoria.task #victoria.task001

[holycrapharry]

The Girl on the Left

Another night in. My life is always a night in. Why does the takeout guy ask me if it’s for two? I can’t be ordering that much. Finally, I hate this elevator. “Oh wait! Can you hold it?” Does she live here too? “Thank you so much. I was gonna have to wait forever for this thing to come back down again.” She’s gorgeous.

“No problem. What floor?” She smells like cookies.

“Three, please.” That’s my floor. Why haven’t I seen her? I definitely would’ve remembered, especially with an ass like that. Don’t think with your dick, Harry. *ding* “Oh you live on three, too? That’s so funny. What’s your name?” Don’t blow it.

“Harry. I’m Harry.” I bet her name is something cute. Her hand is soft. I’m glad she wanted to shake.

“Well, I’m y/n. Nice to actually talk to someone who lives here. Like your accent”. I wish she would’ve stayed. I don’t mind watching her walk down the hall. I hope she doesn’t think I’m following her. No way does she live beside me. No way that she’s the girl on the left. The girl who I can hear through the wall. The girl I can hear moan when she’s alone. The moans that drive me to jack myself off.

more

“This is kind of strange. I didn’t know you were my neighbor…” She’s laughing,

“Oh my gosh! You’re the one who’s watching Chopped every Friday night! This is gonna sound weird, but I watch it with you.” Why is she home on a Friday night? She’s far too hot to be single.

“It’s not weird. It’s a good show.” I think we’re both smiling at each other. It’s awkward. “Well, until next time.” I could’ve been smoother.

Y/n. I like her name. And I like how she said mine. She’s got the nicest eyes and her lips looked so soft. I can’t believe she’s the girl on the left. I wish I could hear the softest of moans. I wish I could hear her say, ‘Harry, Harry, Harry. Right there’. I need to snap out of it.

“Ohh.” I’ve lost track of time. “Ohhhh.” Fuck. She’s doing it. How is she so loud? That soft voice, making these dirty noises. It gets me harder than before. Knowing what she looks like has made it somewhat real. I can see her hands touch herself all over and her ass raising off the bed. I’m already hard. She’s gotten a head start. I bet she would know how to play with me, oh I bet she’s the type to sit on your face. Mm. Yeah. Y/n sitting on my face. “Oh. Oh god.” I would love it. Shit, this feels good. She sounds so good. I bet she plays with her tits. Tugs on her nipples. I wanna bite them. “Fuck, Harry.” Oh, my god. She’s using me. I’m fucking her and she’s fucking me. Say my name. Please say it again. “Right there.” She’s close. So am I. Say it. Say it. Who’s fucking you? “Yeah. Mmm, Harry” Fuck that’s what I needed. That’s it. Ugh. That girl is going kill me. I’m still hard and I bet she’s still wet. I want to clean her. I want to fuck her. I don’t care if we’ve just met. I want her to come for me by my hand, not hers. I’m going over. I’m going to give it my best shot. Open the door. I know your home. I know you’re there.

“Oh, hey. What’s a…what’s up?” She looks wild. Her hair is all frizzy and her mascara is a little smudged. I love it.

“Why are you alone tonight?” She’s so beautiful and anyone would be proud to please her.

“What?” I hope I didn’t offend her. I just don’t understand why she’s alone.

“Can I come in?” She’s ushered me into her home. It’s cozy. I smell snickerdoodle.

“How did you know I was alone?” I can’t help but stare at her. Don’t blurt it out. Don’t be weird.

“Because I can hear you.” Look up. Look up to check if she’s not calling the cops or ran out the door. Oh. She’s looking at me. “I’m sorry, I, um…”

“You can hear me? Like, you can hear me? Oh my god…” She looks positively red. Shit. She still looks so cute in her little jammies. I like her cat socks. Does she do it in her socks? Focus Harry.

“Um, I just needed to tell you. It drives me wild and I don’t-” She walking closer to me.

“It drives you wild?” She’s right in front of me. I didn’t notice she was this much shorter. “So you heard me tonight?

“Yes.” I can’t even hesitate. We both know why I really came here. I need it and so does she. “You watch chopped with me, I get off with you.” She’s biting her lip. Jesus Christ. Please come here. Please come to me. I’m dying.

“You thought of me?” I tell her that I did today, and I will tomorrow. She asked me what I thought about. I can’t tell her that. “Tell me Harry, tell me what you thought about.” She’s got her hand on my arm and her touch is so delicate. The same touch that gets her off.

“I heard you moan and I thought about watching you. How your hand looked when you were touching yourself. Then I thought about what you would do in bed, would let me touch you, how you would you want me to. I thought that you might be the type to, um, sit on my face.” She’s brought my hand to her face, she warm and her skin is soft. Oh, she’s biting my thumb. I should’ve worn looser jeans.

“I could be if that’s what you wanted.” My thumb is completely in her mouth and my dick is screaming to be let out. “Hmm? Is that what you want?” I didn’t think of her has this kind of girl. I pegged her to be dominating and to get it how she wants.

“Is that what you thought about? Doing as I say? You wanna obey me, be a good girl for me?” Her eyes have gotten big and her mouth has stopped playing with my thumb. “I think that’s what you want. Y/n, you can be good for me any night of the week.”

“Can I be a good girl for you tonight?” She has that pout down. I can’t help but smile, she’s so eager.

“That’s up to you now isn’t it, baby?” Her arms have wrapped around my neck and her nose has nuzzled into my ear. Her chest is against me and I know she can feel hard I am. She even whines before speaking.

“I like when you say that. I like how you sound.” All of her little ear nibbles are killing me. She’s a good girl in many different ways.

“Take me to your room. Show me where you were.” She shows me her bed. Soft and full of white fluffy blankets. I lay her down on them and kiss her slowly. Her mouth tastes so good. I want to fuck her, but she’s worth the wait. What is it about her? Why am I so smooth with her? She began to wiggle her hips. Don’t rub your dick on her. Kiss her, savor it. “You know, you smell like cookies and your lips tastes like sugar. What does the rest of you taste like?” She has no response, she whimpers. I kiss down her neck and suck at her collar bones. Her nipples feel good against my tongue. She likes this. Yes, moan for me. “I love that sound.” She’s giggling at me. “I love that sound.” She’s smiling. I make my way back up to her neck, her hair is still so wild. I want to feel how wet she is. “I want you to take your clothes off, can you do that for me?” She’s doing it. Her body is marvelous. Her ass is bouncy and full. I’ll put that to use later. “Lie back down for me, love.” Her body is so close to mine. I can’t believe I’m here. “You want me to touch you?”

“Yes. Yes, please.” She’s covered in goosebumps. She’s moaning into my mouth. I could breathe her in every second of the day. Her legs are pressed so tight together. “If you don’t want me to, I don’t have to.” Oh, that’s it. She’s so wet for me.

“No, I’m just kind of nervous.” I kiss her and rub her clit.

“No reason to be nervous, let me make you feel good. Let me hear you.” I slip two fingers in and she’s already singing for me. I put my mouth to her ear, giving her words of encouragement. “You sound so good. A good girl, yeah? Tell me what you want, show me how good you can be.” She shuffles in the bed and kisses me. She kisses me with hunger and determination.

“I want your mouth.” She wants me to eat her and I can’t get down her body fast enough. Her pussy is wet and the warmth puddles on my tongue. Her body is shaking from the contact. Her clit is sensitive, passing it with my tongue makes her gasp for air.

“Give me your hand, show me how you touch yourself.” She starts slow, her technique is captivating. She spreads herself with one hand and rubs herself with another. Her actions are short-lived. I move her hands out of the way, holding them to her sides, then dip my head down. I eat her feverishly, licking and sucking. This is what she sounds like through the walls. I love it, but I want to make her scream. I get off the bed and undress. She’s resting on her elbows as she watches me. “Do you like to be on the top or the bottom?”

“I’ll be wherever you want.” She really is a good girl.

“Get on top of me.” I sigh as she sinks down on me. I hold her close to my chest and her hands are in my hair. “You’re such a good girl, baby. I want you to hold onto my shoulders and ride me until your legs hurt. Use me to make yourself come.” Her small hands grip my shoulders and she wastes no time. Her pussy has engulfed my cock and her chest is right in my face.

“You feel so fucking good, Oh my god.” The last time I checked, ‘Good girls’ don’t curse. I spank her and she juts forward and groans. “Mmmph. Harry.”

“I thought you were a good girl? Do good little girls say curse words? Apologize, y/n.” She does so but in only a few minutes’ curses under her breath. I slap her ass once more and she yells out my name. I flip her on her back and give her all I have. “Being on top is a privilege,” her hands try to find something to grab onto so I hold her arms down, she moans at my actions and tries to push herself even closer to me. “All of the nights I heard you fucking yourself, I wondered if I could get you louder. I think I can.” I know I can, she’s whimpering and yelling every time I hit hat spot.

“Harry, I’m gonna come. I’m gonna come.” I can feel her pulse around me. I let her arms tree and my hands land on her hips. I pound into her until she can no longer make sense of things and don’t let up until I’m coming. Shit. I’ve never felt so good. When I pull out of her she points at the trash can at the corner of her room. On my way back to her bed I see her full body again. I could stay here all night.

“This is not how I thought my night would end.” She gets closer to me, her nose touching mine. I give he small kisses and hold her by her hip. “So, what now, love?”

“Well, we can always go to yours and watch chopped.” The girl on the left is by far, the best neighbor I’ve ever had.

#harry styles fan fic #harry styles #HS #Writing #Smut #harry styles smut #cant access old blogs

[zozophoenixxx]

Friendly reminders about The Flash⚡️

Things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Season 4✨

Even though this was honestly one of my least favorite seasons it was pretty interesting to watch and it had some pretty cool, badass and hilarious scenes lmao

Ok but the intro on the first episode was kinda cool

Cisco, wally and Joe working together... we stan 🙌🏼

Also the new star labs tables and tech make it look pretty cool

Samuroid, Kilg%re, Hazard, Amunet Black, T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r, Black Bison, The Thinker, Bᵣₐᵢₙₛₜₒᵣₘ, 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ, Prank and Trickster Jr., Dwarfstar, m̾e̾l̾t̾i̾n̾g̾ ̾p̾o̾i̾n̾t̾, Null, The folded man

Ramsey Deacon aka Kilg%re

Rebecca Sharpe (Becky) aka Hazard

Ralph Dibny aka the elongated man

T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r

Mina Chaytan aka Black Bison

Dominic Lance aka Bᵣₐᵢₙₛₜₒᵣₘ

Neil Borman aka 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ

Sylbert Rundine aka Dwarfstar

Izzy Bowen

Matthew Kim aka m̾e̾l̾t̾i̾n̾g̾ ̾p̾o̾i̾n̾t̾

Janet Petty aka Null

Edwin Gauss aka the folded man

Wally can speak Japanese😂

Joe being able to forgive Caitlin after what she did is amazing I love them 🥺

West-Allen kiss count (approximately): 46 😘

Cisco being upset because he was at the "doghouse" in ep2 is hilarious

"Rule number 1, when a girl say it's fine, it's not fine" i- I'd be happy with Cisco as my boyfriend

Gypsy's gorgeous bro 🤩

Ok i'm sorry but that "we are the flash" bothers me

Not Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin playing laser tag... AGAINST KIDS😂💀 And Cisco really went "you have failed this city" I love them (ep3)

Jesse just broke up with Wally... With a…

Breakup cube i-

HARRY IS SO AWKWARD

Joe being lost or done with everything going on around him is hilarious, and he also looked so sad when Cecile asked him to sell the house

Iris and Barry really would've gotten married out of the blue if it hadn't been for Kevin (the lil boy in ep3) LMAOOO

This boy really used cinnamon incense on purpose when the father was allergic to it and just went :) ┐(´ー｀)┌

"no need to shame the little boy" I-

We love Barry defending little kids 🥺

I liked Cisco's shirt in this episode

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don't make sense

Refrigerator

Not Wally leaving 🥺😩

BAHHAHHSXHAHSGHASGAH Joe's reaction when Cecile told him she was pregnant

OMG just realized that in the beginning of ep4 when Cisco and Gypsy are making out on Cisco's bed that… BRO I-

After Cisco asked Gypsy what her real name was she went to the bathroom and he stayed in bed but went to look for something in the little night table… that something was probably a condom… Y'ALL WHAT BAHBSAHBSHAS

Ralph Dibny used to be a dirty cop, I had Completely forgotten about this man

I just noticed that every time that Barry goes into a new room he looks around and i guess he tries to grasp as much information of it as possible and it's kinda cute

I like how Breacher always has a serious face but when Gypsy talks to him he smiles 🥺

CISKY KABDjahdHAHDSH

Also Breacher being Danny Trejo (Machete) from Spy Kids

"Good people don't destroy lives and call it noble"

Gypsy's real name is Cynthia and Breacher's Josh

Girl Night's out was an awesome episode, I mean we got to see the girls working together, Felicity, Drunk Barry and Cecile going #feminism it's just great

Amunet was kinda funny lmao Annoying but funny lol

BAHSHAHHA that scene when they get mugged by the guy that try to mugged Barry in s1 is hilariousss (ep6)

Ok but Black Bison (Mina) was right like why are things that belong to people that are still here in a museum?

Uff istg I hate Marlize sm like she's so manipulative and she just slapped Barry like bro u know ur guilty he's just doing his job ugh, I know she becomes good at the end but still 😤🙄

Harry and Caitlin 🥺

I love how Cisco's powers improved throughout the seasons. Like at the beginning he needed his goggles to vibe and now he just did it without them.

Bro even tho Amunet is evil she really just encouraged Caitlin and let her know that she is amazing for her, not only for killer frost.

I like Iris and Caitlin's friendship

The fact that she decided to go after Caitlin, instead of Barry shows how good of a leader she is

"those white girl dreads came straight from the 90s" BAHSHAHHA I love Cisco

Bro no wth I only saw Dominic for one episode and I already loved him 🥺

UGHHHH He didn't do anything this is not fair it makes me so upset like it was so infuriating to see him go through trial for something he didn't do🥺

Ig that's what he felt like when his dad-

I-

Noooooo

Caitlin holding Iris's hand during trial 🥺

Ralph really protected Joe and prevented him from basically destroying his life by planting fake evidence on Marlize's shoes

Ok but I love 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ's episode because I think it's like the first time that we get to see Killer Frost fighting alongside them 🥺

They really helped Caitlin turn into Killer Frost with... puppies 🥺😂❤️

Bro the amount of people that are in jail for crimes they didn't commit makes me so upset

And the fact that he got the same cell as his dad 🤌🏼😩

"I'm the fastest mop alive" I love how even when he's in prison he's still finds a way to smile or make Iris smile i-

Zoey Clark was James Jesse's girlfriend and Axel Walker's mother.

Ralph's first superhero name was stretchy man

Lexi La Roche was Caitlin's childhood bully

Omg just saw Nora for the first time in s4 ehhh actually probably not the first time since I think she appeared in the crossover but I skipped that episode so oh well 😂

She's so awkward- her Barry is showing lmaoooo

OMG I love this, Cecile just found out she can read minds lmaooo

JOE'S FACE BAHSHHHAHAHA

SHE'S A TELEPATH

BULBASAUR BAHAHAHAHAHA

Big Sir's real name is Dave and i-🥺

BARRY'S A CHEATER ABSHAHAHH he cheated on poker lmaooo

Cecile would definitely be me if I had powers

Harry's actually pretty insecure

Mini Ralph and Mini Cisco are hilarious

I will forever love Big Sir like 🥺

The fact that he did get his happy ending 🥺☺️❤️

Bro I felt so bad when the bus metas were almost free and Devoe took them 🥺

I'm ngl I'd love to get a pep talk from killer frost

OMG THATS WHY HE NEEDED T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r i never really understood why he needed him but it was to keep Marlize in love

BAHSHAHHA I love Cisco "Ralph I love you but you sleep on a futon" (a damp futon)

AND IRIS "you nasty" JAHSHAHA

Ok but I love Izzy Bowen's energy, she reminds me of Laurel sm

I love how Harry calls Cecile- DA Cecile Horton

The Flash s4:E14 "Subject 9" minute 12:14 - Cisco yelling "Iris" with the voice Crack is the most hilarious thing I've seen today lmaoo

Just realized that the first time we saw Izzy Bowen she was singing Somethin' Bad which was probably foreshadowing what was going to happen with her character

Bro izzy🥺

"AH SON OF A BREACH" BAHSHAHHA

Iris being a speedster is kinda cool and I like that her lightning is purple :)💜⚡️

Cisco just saved Iris 🥺

Poor Cisco, Harry just destroyed his little airplane thingie he was working on because he was looking for his thinking cap that Joe had because Harry was getting addicted to it

And Joe noticed because Harry had the same symptoms as Francine did 🥺

Bro that scene in ep18 where Marlize and Iris are fighting is pretty badass, especially when Iris basically stabs herself to get rid of Marlize or when Joe makes it into the Cortex with the Samuroid's head in a pole lmaooo😂

Ralph and Killer Frost 🥺

I love Snart from Earth-X

Bro no I love Cisco and Gypsy I cried when they broke up 🥺

Amunet's real name is Leslie Jocoy

Diggle throwing up after running with Barry every single time is hilarious😂

I love it when Cecile inhabits other people's minds right when she's about to give birth BAHSHAHHA SHE REALLY IMPERSONATED JOE PERFECTLY

Joe and Cecile baby's name is Jenna Marie West🥺☺️

This house is bitchin' BAHAHAHA I hated this cliffhanger like I loved it bc it wasn't that bad but it was yk?😂

#broooo #just finished it #UGHHH #about to start season 5😩 #geee #Nora gave me bad vibes sometimes #lmao #the flash #rewatch #barry allen #iris west #joe west #Cecile #Jenna Marie West #Caitlin snow #Cisco ramón #Harry #wally west #nora westallen #Devoe #tried to make this one shorter cause a lot of people #stopped reading them #oh well😂 #ralph dibny

[weeklyfangirl]

Frat Boy Pt. 19

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 (1), part 7 (2), part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 , part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18

You’re a gal on a mission in this one. And you’re determined to get answers one way or another ;) Share this with a friend and drag them them along for a roller coaster ride too! xx 

“This is a bad idea,” Renny muttered. We were parked a street away from the frat house, waiting for the boy who’d been ignoring me the past week to appear and get in his car. Granted, I’d only reached out once, but still. He’d never replied. Never reached out. It was the radio silence that scared me more than any gang tags. Ignorance might be bliss, but conscious ignorance was hell.

 After our dinner, I’d woken up to my car in the driveway. The windshield clean. Spotless, even. He must’ve hardly gotten sleep. 

 “Why is this necessary again? Do you think he’s cheating on you?” Renny asked. 

 I shook my head too quickly at the word cheating, because even if he was seeing somebody else it wouldn’t technically be cheating. We’d never even defined this. The only thing I hated more than knowing I was in the dark were gray zones. I shook my head too soon, though. What else could I tell her? I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth - that I think I’m being targeted as a cause of Harry’s random association with a gang and that we need to follow him to confirm my crazy conspiracies so I can affirm that one, I am not crazy, and two, I can reach a decision about whether I should talk to the cops. 

 That was too complicated.

 “Actually, you’re right. I think he’s seeing someone else.” I let the lie slip from my lips.

 “Shit. You think he’s seeing Viv?” 

 I wanted to smile at the edge in her voice. The first evidence she didn’t really like the girl either. “He already told me they slept together,” I said casually, as though I’d mentioned I ate Cheerios for breakfast again.

 Renny almost spat. “Ew!! Seriously? I mean, I guess we kind of already thought that. But still…-” she shivered “-GROSS.” 

 “Yeah. Gross,” I agreed. Something stirred next to the bins, and I clutched her arm. But it wasn’t Harry. The random associate walked on, blissfully unaware of the two girls watching his every move and so completely disappointed by his presence. We both sighed. 

 “Wait, he’s behind him!” Renny screeched. 

 Sure enough, Harry emerged, trailing behind the associate. His hair looked damp. He’d probably showered after practice, then. They did some sort of weird bro handshake and parted ways. 

 A beep of an alarm and Harry slid into his Maserati. Let the chase begin.

 “Still can’t believe he drives that thing to school,” Renny muttered. “I mean I would if I had one, too, but … cheating prick.” 

 I had to hand it to Renny. Even if someone was the most likeable person in the world, if they’d done something to cross her friends, she’d find a way to make them the most detestable. At least in her eyes. 

 We waited as he revved the engine and pulled out. He drove fast, but thankfully Renny’s VW could keep up. Grandpa would’ve been a different story. 

 “Where the hell are we going?” 

 “I don’t know.” I fought the urge to add ‘that’s the problem.’

 We travelled towards the coast before he senselessly veered inland again, ending up somewhere I’d never been before. We trailed him slowly, past locked up storefronts, and tagged alleyways, until he turned into a gritty-looking neighborhood. We slowed around the corner, making sure to keep several streets between us. 

 Around the bend, Harry suddenly slammed on his brakes. Renny lurched forward. 

 “What the fuck-” Renny ducked lower in her seat. “Do you think he saw us?”

 In the split two seconds I had, I wagered our chances of reversing and getting through this unseen. But my split two seconds were up, and I hadn’t moved. 

 The motor ran as he got out of the car, calmly, not bothering to shut the door. He’d known. He’d known all along. Time slowed when he faced us, arms crossed, squinting as his judgement penetrated through his Ray Bans all the way through the windshield. He stalked towards our car. No one was around in the rundown neighborhood street to yell at us to get our cars moving. No one could save me from this eternal embarrassment slowly mounting with each step of his black Chelsea boots. 

 The gig was up. 

 I rolled down my window when he tapped on the glass.

 “Go home,” he ordered. 

 I scoffed. “Really? You haven’t talked to me all week and those are the first words you’re going to say to me?” 

 He stepped backwards, acknowledging nothing. “Go. Home,” pointing the direction whence we came. 

 “We weren’t even following you. We were already in the neighborhood asshole!” Renny yelled. 

 I couldn’t have it end like this. I couldn’t have another week of silence, of questions unanswered. The plan was to follow him and see where he ran off to, not utterly expose my desperation. But now that plan was obliterated. Was this it? Was this seriously how he wanted to end things so… pointlessly?

 I opened the car door, running after his sulking frame. The second I placed a hand on his shoulder blade, he whipped around. I cowered. 

 He hadn’t needed to bare his teeth or shout at me to be intimidating. This oppressive darkness rolled off of him in waves, knocking me down repeatedly just when I saw the shore. Like a tired sailor, I’d return to the ocean, knowing the damage it could cause, but knowing it was worth it. It would be worth it… if I could only see beneath the surface. 

 He flinched as I pulled the shades off, but he didn’t look at me. My hand went along his jaw, against the slight stubble that’d made its way through. He relented.

 His pupils were blasted, almost shadowing the outer ring of green. 

 “I changed because of you,” I breathed. Something flashed in his eyes. Something beneath the darkened surface. “I’m not the same as I was before. And I don’t know even know how to… express it. I don’t even know if that’s a good thing,” I admitted. He opened his mouth, but I raised a hand. “I need to know what you’re not telling me. The old me could’ve gone without it, but who I am now? I can’t.” 

 But it was like he only heard half of what I’d said. “I never asked you to be in my life, Y/N.”

 “No, that’s right. You just swindled me into it by pretending to be dumb. You’re a little too good of an actor.”  

 It was his turn to scoff. “No one’s making you run after me.” 

 “No one’s making you be a complete and utter asshole right now, either. Besides yourself. Can you just-” I pushed his chest- “PLEASE. I’m clearly tired of getting nowhere.” 

 Harry looked at his watch, and his jaw clicked. “You know for someone so concerned with their life, you certainly don’t seem to have much of one.” His eyes bore into mine. 

 I swallowed, hard, unmoving though it stung. “I know Viv’s in on it.” 

 It was a stab in the dark, but it worked. He nearly growled.

 I heard Renny open her door behind me.

 “She’s involved in a lot of parts of my life, Y/N. But at least she doesn’t ask too many questions. And she sure as shit doesn’t overstep,” he growled. 

 “We both know I’m not Viv.” 

 “Yeah,” he chuckled. “You’re right…” His eyes levelled with mine. At least she actually fucks me.” 

 I felt like he should’ve stayed, watch the awful betrayal fill my eyes. But he walked away as the air was ripped from my lungs. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run up to him, push him to the ground and tell him-! 

 ...tell him what? 

 It was true. 

 He paused at the car door, not even trying to face me. “Get yourself home.” 

 I didn’t see him drive away. I just heard the slam of the car door as he left me, halfway up the hill. 

 Renny pulled the car up next to me, and I suddenly felt dirty. Like I needed a shower. A very hot, scalding shower, that would burn every inch of him off my body forever. 

 “What’s the plan?” she asked.  

 Clearly, our plan to trail the subject in very deep question had turned out very deeply miserable. 

 In a close encounter, the sailor realizes fairly quickly that the ocean holds all the power to kill them. But the second they acknowledge that, they don’t abandon what they’re looking for. 

 “Can you drop me off at a friend’s?” I asked.

 They just get a bigger ship. 

 -----------

 The just-built senior apartments were the envy of everyone on campus. Modern architecture and sleek interior made it THE choicest option for the upperclassmen - especially the athletes. It was the next best thing for those not living in fraternities or sororities.

 It was also the most expensive on-campus housing available. You could live there if you were rich enough, but more importantly, if you were lucky enough. There was one other way you could live here, though. Chapman held a raffle to “make our housing opportunity equal for everyone.” Which, was bullshit, considering the apartment only reserved four out of sixty rooms for those “raffle winners.” Four raffle winners, out of four THOUSAND upperclassmen.  

 Felix and Zayn had some pretty insane luck. 

 I knocked on their door, antsy as I thought of their probable reaction: “Why is Y/N standing beyond our door on a Thursday night without Renny?” She was my strongest link to them. I’d begged her to come up with me, but she wasn’t budging. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was a little annoyed at spending the whole day only to have found no other woman and to have been told off by Harry - who she now deems worse than Lying Panty Tossing Baby. 

 A tall athletic-built woman eyed me as she carried their trash down the hall. 

 Felix opened the door. 

 “Oh, hey.” It was the awkward I remember you but we aren’t friends dance. “S’been a while. Come in.” 

 I noticed he was at least 6’ 2” as I moved past him into the foyer where Zayn and Andre paused the video game. They had a whole tech center set up around the T.V. and dull EDC music came from their speaker system. 

 Andre waved and Zayn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Hey! What’re you doing here?” He moved a pizza box out of his way to head to the open kitchen. Before I could answer, he returned with a cracked beer, handing it to me. 

 “Thanks,” I said, taking a sip out of politeness. Old Da Vinci maps hung on their walls along with tasteful sketches of nude women, and a framed vintage Star Wars poster was in the hallway. 

 “Where’s Renny?” Felix asked, arms crossed as he sat on the arm of the couch. He’d meant it to be casual, but it wasn’t quite casual enough.

 I didn’t want to be the one to break his heart and tell him about Niall if he didn’t already know. And something told me Renny wasn’t cruel enough to rub it in his face. “Uh, not sure. She had to buzz off somewhere though.” To Niall’s bed. I looked between the three of them. “All of you got so. Lucky. With this place. I almost didn’t believe it when Renny told me.” 

 “Not me!” Andre lifted his beer and dramatically pounded it, slamming it down on the table next to the other four beers.

 “Woah-ugh! Pa! That’s mahogany!” Felix spluttered. 

 “You found it at a garage sale!” 

 “It’s still mahogany!” he squeaked. His gangly arms flailed before adjusting his collar. “Either I’m never donating furniture to this apartment again - or you’re not allowed back in this apartment again. Or both.”

 Andre didn’t answer, just fell flat on the couch. Something was off with him. The energy shifted in the room as the guys eyed Andre. I’d clearly come at a wrong time. 

 “I can swing by later, I know you guys were in the middle of a... game…” 

  Zayn swatted his hand. “No, you’re fine. He’s just…” 

 Andre perked up, awaiting Zayn’s next words. 

 “You want to tell her?” Zayn finished. 

 Andre let out an awkward moan. “You know how date night is coming up?”

 My brows stitched. 

 “No??” He cleared his throat, surprised he had to explain. “So Sig Chi’s date night is coming up and basically we just bring a date, and… party. There’s a theme and everything. You really haven’t heard about this?”

 I shook my head.

 “Huh. It’s kind of a big deal that’s why I’m kind of... huh.”  

 “When is it?” I asked.

 “Tomorrow.” 

 “Tomorrow?!” I paused, thoroughly confused. Had Niall told Renny about this? And if it was Sigma Chi then… Harry must already have a date. For tomorrow. My blood boiled thinking that could be part of the reason why he’d dropped off the face of the Earth this week. So he wouldn’t have to take me as his date. 

 “Mine cancelled on me,” Andre said, running a hand over defined black coils. 

 “Dude, for the hundredth time, it’s not that big of a deal.” 

 “You’re not the one in a frat, Felix!” He laughed humorlessly before landing in a pile on the couch again. In a rare moment, I laughed with him. It was slightly ridiculous how important parties were.

 “Oh-kay,” Felix muttered. His blonde hair flopped on the couch next to Andre. He looked up to me, shrugging. “He’s helpless. Without the distraction of video games. Absolutely helpless.” 

 Zayn gave me a once-over. “You’re in the sorority with Renny, aren’t you?” 

 “Uh, yeah. Kind of. Not officially official yet. Kind of in the process of everything right now. Uh, but” -his eyes narrowed from my rambling- “Yeah. Yeah, I’m in it,” I settled on. 

 Andre came to life again. “Would you go with me?” 

 “Oh! Uh…” 

 “You don’t have to,” Zayn offered. 

 “I can do it. I wasn’t doing anything anyways.” The Netflix I was betraying threw a tantrum in the back of my mind. This weekend I’d been wanting to do nothing but lay low, and preferably, in bed.  

 But if today taught me anything, it’s that my plans clearly never work out too well.

 “Seriously?! It’ll only be a couple hours, I won’t make you stay the whole time. Actually, you can leave whenever you want. Just walk in with me.” 

 “Excuse me?” I asked, half-smiling. 

 “Okay, that sounded bad.” He let out a breathless laugh. “What I meant to say was, thank you. You’ll have a great time.” He threw up the finger guns. 

 Zayn nudged my shoulder with his beer. “Want to go on the balcony?” His eyes bore into mine, and I knew that he knew this wasn’t just a friendly visit. A slight chill ran through me at his perception. It was unnerving how he always seemed to… know. But I guess I shouldn’t judge him for having a keen sixth sense. 

 I let him lead me to the sliding glass door.  

 “Oh, the theme’s James Bond, too! So dress like a Bond girl!” Andre called after us. 

 “Like heels?” I asked. But Zayn slid the door shut behind us. It was dark out, but inside I could see Andre give me a thumbs up before resuming the video game with Felix. 

 “Saved his life. Mate wouldn’t stop gabbin’ ‘bout how gutted he was.” Zayn muttered. The flick of a lighter grabbed my attention. The slight orange illuminated dark features and hollowed cheeks as he took a drag. There was no denying he was handsome, especially in this mood lighting. He probably could’ve been recruited for any fraternity off looks alone, but something told me he wouldn’t step near the place. His vibe was too… anti-organization. He blew the smoke over his shoulder. 

 “Very tortured artist of you,” I noted.

 His head tilted at tortured as if throwing the title back to me. “Artist, maybe. Tortured, no.” 

 “What’s a yes for you, then?” 

 “Yes to whateva you’ve been plannin’ on asking me,” he smirked. “Must’ve been important if you didn’t find me in the studio.” 

 I looked down, then out at the city. Thousands of little people scattered everywhere. Students crawling from late-night classes on the fringes of campus looked like ants. I held my thumb up for scale. Verified ants. Maybe smaller. 

 “I came here to find a different perspective.” My hand fell. I faced him square. “Your perspective.” 

 He took another drag, letting the smoke fill the space between us. “On?” 

 I was a little surprised he didn’t know.

 “Harry.”  

 If he didn’t know, he also didn’t seem too surprised. He leaned against the railing, hazel eyes undressing desperate thoughts. “What do you want to know?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

 The ash from his cigarette floated down to his feet, but an unseen wind carried it up again, rolling over and down like dirty snowflakes to the street below. 

 “I know he doesn’t like you.” 

 Zayn’s laugh was light, soft, but carried the same fullness as Renny’s. “Perceptive girl, ya? S’not what you want to know though is it.” 

 “Why is he so scared of you?” His brow arched, and I could tell I was losing him. “What do you know?” I clarified. 

 Another drag and his shoulders straightened. “Thought you were flatterin’ me there for a second.” Something glimmered in his eyes, something just beyond the surface, and I looked away before I could see anything more than friendly. “Can I ask you somethin’ in return?” 

 I nodded. 

 “Why do you want to know?” he murmured. 

 “I just want to understand.”

 “Mm,” he hummed, the treble of his voice like slow-spilling silk. “Curiosity killed the cat.” 

 I swallowed a little too loudly, but his words hit a little too closely. 

 “S’all right,” he continued. “S’human nature t’want to understand.” He cocked his head a little. “I actually met Harry before school started during the summer. I was working at Hilltop Resort.”

 “Really?” 

 “I was his server.” He let out a short breath as if he couldn’t believe it happened. “Tipped well, actually.” 

 “I remember you working there!” Faint summer memories of Renny whisking us away for lunch on our treat yourself day came back, stirring faint feelings of happiness. It seemed so long ago. I felt like I’d aged five years in three months. “So let me get this straight. He doesn’t like you because you’re in the service industry?” I spat.

 He winced. “No, s’more like…” He took a breath. “There was a coworker of mine. He wasn’t mean, but he wasn’t exactly nice either. Kept to himself on breaks, never really chatted with any of us except to flirt with the bartender. Anyway, I used to see Harry a lot there, but when Jack got promoted Harry’d only sit in Jack’s section.”

 I crossed my arms, the night time air finally sinking in. 

 “I didn’t think too much of it at first,” he admitted. The cigarette moved in his mouth, hand fiddling with the lighter. “But one night I was running out to give a guest the card they’d left behind, but I saw them together instead.” 

 Before I could picture Harry and Zayn’s coworker making out against the wall, he continued - “He was giving Harry stacks of cash.”

 Flashbacks of Viv trying to pass Harry money in the Catalina Island bar played out like a movie in my mind. 

 “What’d you do?” I pressed.

 He shrugged. “I saw Harry slip something else in his pocket. It looked like a little bag. Must’ve been a bonus.” He muttered the last words. 

 “A bonus for what?” 

 “I didn’t know then. I just thought he’d somehow found a way to steal from the manager’s safe and was splitting the profits.”

 “Why give it to Harry though?” 

 “That’s what I couldn’t figure out.” He leaned in. “I saw them together a few more times. The second was an accident. Third, not so much. Harry saw me that time. Then before I left for the night, I searched his locker. Took me a while, but I found some pills. Little bag of coke, too. He came in right when I was putting it back.” 

 “No.” 

 “Yeah. He didn’t say anything. Just stared at me like he was going to kill me. I got my shit and got the hell out of there. Next day, the boss said they received a tip to check my locker and they found the drugs in mine. You know the fucked up bit? I was fired.” 

 “But it wasn’t yours!” 

 “Doesn’t matter. Still found it there.” Zayn stamped out his cigarette, blowing away the last smoke. I guess pity was etched in my face, because he suddenly turned defensive. “Don’t look at me like that. I work at Javier’s now. I’m fine.” 

 Javier’s was the fancy Mexican restaurant overlooking the Pacific. He was doing more than fine.

 “That’s still not fair to you,” I muttered.

 “I didn’t want to be involved, anyway. S’better I left one way or another.” 

 “What was his name again? Your coworker’s?”

 “Jack.” 

 Jack. Why did that sound so familiar? 

 “He’s not sound, you know,” Zayn added. 

 “Well clearly if he gave you murder eyes.” 

 “No, not Jack. Harry. He’s not…”

 “Sound,” I repeated. The word felt heavy on my tongue.

 Zayn nodded, tucking a cigarette behind his ear.

 “I can’t believe Harry got you fired.” 

 “Well, I don’t exactly know. Jack must’ve been the one to move the drugs into my locker.”

 “Yeah, but who told him to?”

 Zayn didn’t answer. The facts had been there this entire time, but I didn’t want to see it. I still didn’t want to see it. But Zayn was here, undeniably linking them together for me. Harry and drugs and money were three things that’d been circulating in the same place much longer than I could know. For some reason beyond me, Harry was a dealer. Or ran as head of them. Which meant his association with the men who’d assaulted me was… what? A business deal gone wrong?

 “England’s a small country, you see the same faces everywhere. Like here, if you’re perceptive enough. And in each, he’s jus’... involved in something bigger, while at the same time trying to hide. S’like he’s a magnet for infamy to his own detriment.” 

 “Are you referring to his adoption?” 

 He twisted the cigarette behind his ear, realizing I didn’t really need an answer to this question and that now I was just testing him for what he knew. “Contrary to what he may believe, I don’t know everything.” 

 But I couldn’t fight the feeling that he was talking about me. Smooth artist’s fingers fiddled with the lighter again, but he didn’t light the second cigarette. He knew more than what he was telling me. 

 But even the new me didn’t want to hear much else tonight.  

 “You don’t want to stay?” he asked.

 I didn’t realize I was walking towards the door ‘til his words stopped me in my tracks. Disappointment tinged his words. I felt a little guilty, heading out the door as soon as I’d gotten what I’d needed. 

 But I was tired. And sadly, unless there was a sketch pad in front of him, I didn’t know what else we could talk about. I didn’t know what else he’d see. 

 I shook my head, and he lit the cigarette, not bothering to walk me out. 

 ------

Racing down the spindly halls, my heart pounded out of my chest. I heard the cries above the whispers of the Watchers, and they grew louder with a sickening urgency. A gutteral wailing meant for me. 

 I looked down the hall, awaiting the dark shadow to appear from the walls, when he’d creep closer, suffocatingly closer. 

 The door wouldn’t open, not past an inch. 

 But he called for me, this time. My name fell from unseen lips.

 “Y/N,” he called. It was hoarse. He was scared. I’d never heard that cry before. This time it wasn’t solid air the door was against - it was pills. Tiny pills, hundreds of them, thousands of them, multiplying on top of each other until they filled what I could see of the room. Until they were spilling out the crack. 

 “Y/N!!!” His voice was panicked, but muffled. It was muffled now. Why wasn’t he opening the door?? Why couldn’t he reach me?? The shadow drew closer. It surrounded me, outside, every inch of the hall covered by darkness. 

 My heartbeat was the only sound. 

 A waterfall of pills. The glint of a knife. 

 I couldn’t reach him in time. 

 I couldn’t save Harry. 

 I couldn’t even save myself.

part 20

#fratboy! harry #harry one shot #harry styles imagine #harry blurb #harry imagine #harry styles fan fiction #harry preference #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry styles one shot #fratboy!harry #harry styles blurb #harry styles preference #one direction #zayn malik #zayn fanfiction #zayn one shot #zayn fic #zayn #niall horan #niall #harry #one direction fan fiction #1d #one direction imagines #one direction imagine #one direction blurbs #one direction blurb #zayn imagine

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, January 4

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Prince Andrew and Duchess Sarah Ferguson marrying again

Page 2: Art Carney of The Honeymooners’ tragic struggle -- he battled booze and mental illness 

Page 4: Michelle Pfeiffer’s fashion in her movies 

Page 6: A teen who was short $30,000 to finish school while his parents needed expensive medical care found help from the unlikeliest of sources -- a group of inmates at the Soledad State Prison raised the money for him 

Page 7: It’s been over five years since Adele released an album but she made her triumphant return to the spotlight by hosting Saturday Night Live -- Adele has been patiently waiting for the right moment to make her comeback and she pulled it off brilliantly and she walked off that stage feeling great and excited for the future 

* Heather Locklear has a lot of reasons to be happy these days -- in addition to marking more than a year of sobriety she is celebrating her engagement to Chris Heisser whom she first dated in high school 

Page 8: After a long absence Sophia Loren is back on the screen in her first feature film in a decade and she’s got some advice for other seniors when it comes to aging 

Page 9: The COVID vaccine is here -- what you need to know 

Page 10: A cop who hated to leave behind an abused little girl he met during a welfare call will never have to leave her behind again -- he and his wife have adopted her 

Page 11: Your Health -- what not to eat -- stay away from these unhealthy items 

Page 12: Tom Selleck’s co-stars say Tom’s true blue -- superstar Tom has been entertaining fans for more than 50 years -- here’s what the hunky actor’s co-stars really thought of him after the cameras stopped rolling -- Will Estes, Donnie Wahlberg, Candice Bergen, Courteney Cox, Larry Manetti 

Page 14: Dear Tony, America’s Top Psychic Healer -- it’s a new year -- time to change your life -- Tony predicts Maya Rudolph who plays Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live being around and in demand for some time and perhaps even getting her own show 

Page 15: At a very special grocery at a North Texas high school the cost is in good deeds not dollars -- they give their students the same points to start with but they’re able to earn extra points and it’s a way for students to earn the ability to shop for their families 

Page 16: Elvis Presley -- 20 surprising facts about The King on his 85th birthday 

Page 18: Some needlephobes think there’s nothing to smile about when it comes to getting a shot but new research says smiling or even grimacing while receiving an injection can help dull the pain 

Page 19: Every stray animal deserves a forever home but Perdita the cat with a sinister look posed a particular problem: she was one sour kitty so they decided the best hope of getting her adopted was to be brutally honest starting with, “Meet Perdita, not for the faint of heart” -- she was adopted and the new owners changed her name to Noel and since being adopted she’s has made a Grinch-worthy turnaround having her heart grow three times in size proving every animal deserves love 

Page 20: Cover Story -- Duchess Fergie and Prince Andrew marriage shocker -- devoted couple plans to wed again so she can’t testify against him 

Page 22: These days everyone’s stuck at home dreaming of traveling again and Star Trek legend William Shatner is no exception -- here the 89-year-old star reveals a few of his best around-the-world memories 

Page 24: A Minnesota elementary school custodian who was frantically searching for a kidney doctor got one from an unexpected source which was a teacher at his own school 

Page 28: Robert Redford at 84 -- a peek into his life now -- Robert is largely retired from acting but is always busy 

Page 29: Legendary actor Christopher Plummer just turned 91 and has no plans to retire ever -- he would rather die right on stage doing his craft 

Page 30: Over-the-Top Celebrity Proposals -- some celebrities spare nothing when it comes to popping the question -- Pink and Carey Hart, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Eva Longoria and Jose Baston 

Page 31: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, John Stamos and Caitlin McHugh 

Page 32: Ava Gardner’s steamiest sex secrets exposed -- the dirty truth behind the screen goddess’ superstar marriages, affairs and nearly fatal attractions 

Page 34: The enduring power of The Andy Griffith Show -- the iconic TV show is still a sweet salve 

Page 36: 50 amazing housecleaning tips 

Page 38: 9 to 5 is still funny at 40

Page 39: Tony’s Mystic World -- let angels help you 

Page 40: Marlene Dietrich treasured our troops -- Marlene was a tireless fundraiser for WWII soldiers and made more than 500 appearances before Allied troops who she called “my boys” all her life -- Marlene won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her courage and dedication 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Carrie Underwood performs songs from My Gift during an appearance at Nashville’s historic Oceanway Studios (picture), Antonio Banderas pals around with Spanish journalist Maria Casado (picture), Elton John is enjoying his most important role as a dad and admits he has no immediate plans to record new tunes, Wolfgang Van Halen says he’s in no rush to release tunes from dad Eddie Van Halen’s vault following the guitar legend’s death, Whoopi Goldberg has signed on to produce and star in the third installment of the Sister Act movie series, Harrison Ford will play Indiana Jones for the fifth and final time in a new movie

Page 45: Ian McKellen wins a career achievement award in the U.K. (picture), Melanie Griffith works out (picture), Lil Nas X dazzled on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (picture), Robin Roberts on GMA (picture), Gwyneth Paltrow says she was so starstruck upon meeting Meg Ryan she couldn’t even be herself, Dionne Warwick has been charming fans and fellow musicians on Twitter but she’s refused to reveal if she admires the work of up-and-coming stars, the L.A. property from 1962′s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is on the market for $3.79 million 

Page 46: Life has been hard for everyone lately but it is especially important during tough times to keep a positive outlook because your health depends on it 

#tabloid #grain of salt #tabloid toc #tabloidtoc #prince andrew #fergie #duchess fergie #sarah ferguson #duchess sarah ferguson #art carney #michelle pfeiffer #adele #heather locklear #sophia loren #covid vaccine #tom selleck #will estes #donnie wahlberg #candice bergen #courteney cox #larry manetti #elvis #elvis presley #william shatner #robert redford #christopher plummer #ava gardner #the andy griffith show #9 to 5 #marlene dietrich

[fortuitousmind]

Living Life in the Era of COVID-19: We’re Not Feeling too Hot

Check in on your friends. Check in on all of them, but especially the friends that you know struggle with mental illness.

I’m about to make myself incredibly vulnerable, but at this point I know I can’t be the only one feeling this way. This entry is moreso an avenue to vent than an informative resource. Things in my head are bad. They’re really bad.

They’re so bad that I was off of work all last week because I had some symptoms of illness and I still could hardly bring myself to show up this morning. I’m having a hard time convincing myself to make it in tomorrow. Being alone is hard. Being around others is scary. I’m worried about my family. I went through a bottle of hand sanitizer in six hours at work today. I’ve been having panic attacks because I’m terrified of getting sick. My lungs are garbage and my inhaler hasn’t been helping. I’m the only person at my apartment and if anything happens that causes my lungs to give up, nobody is going to know. That scares me.

At first I was indifferent about school going online, but I’ve started to realize everything that’s been taken from me. I have a lot of friends that I’ll probably never see again. I finally had a group of people around me who consistently worked to build each other up and genuinely just enjoyed each other’s company, and I’ve never had a steady group of friends in my life, and now we’re separated. A lot of us are seniors. I was looking back at all of the pictures I’ve taken in the past year and there are so many memories that I was ready to make more of.

On top of that, I can’t read on computer screens. I just can’t. I got a concussion the winter before last and it still hurts to read anything on my laptop. My eyes don’t focus on the words. Pitt shut down their printing services. If I can’t physically take notes directly on the article, I don’t understand what I’m referencing when I look over it again later. My memory has gotten so bad that my doctor referred me for a neurocognitive function assessment. I missed class the entire week before spring break because of my mental health. I have no motivation because my mental health is so taxing right now that I can’t put energy into anything else. My grades are going to suffer.

All of my mental illnesses are flaring up at once. I keep having panic attacks related to my PTSD that aren’t even touched by the medication I’ve been prescribed. I have constant anxiety about every single thing that’s happening all at once. I’m so on-edge that if more than one noise happens at the same time, my brain just shuts down from overstimulation. I’m paranoid from being alone. My depression is the worst it’s been in years (and I keep saying that, but each time it comes back I seem to slip further and further into the abyss). I need a medication change, but I don’t have a psychiatrist right now. I know exactly what dose of which medication I need because it’s been effective for me in the past, and I have an entire bottle of this medication, but I can’t get ahold of my PCP to ensure that she can refill it if I start it back up. I need therapy, but my therapist isn’t making appointments because she and her husband are both vulnerable to severe complications if they get sick. My chronic passive death wish has gotten more intense and is at the point where, if it gets any worse, I’m going to need more help than I can give myself. I don’t trust myself because my impulsivity has skyrocketed and nobody is here to check me on it. I’ve started falling back into the pattern of attempting to sabotage my relationships so nobody has to deal with me anymore because I’m exhausting myself with my own mind and am afraid of people abandoning me first. I haven’t been nice to my body either. I’m glad it’s still cold outside.

For a lot of people, myself included, being isolated at home alone can quickly become dangerous as we lose access to our typical mechanisms of care and coping, as well as our ability to reach out to others for help in ways other than speaking over the phone. One of my go-to safety measures is going to a friend’s house so I don’t lock myself in my room and so I know I’ll be in a safe environment. All of my friends are either working, sick, or hours away. I can no longer engage in the one thing that has never failed to guarantee my safety. I can’t distract myself by going to museums or walking around the city or hanging out in a coffee shop. I can’t get to the store to buy things that I know would significantly help me. Even if I could go to the store, I am paranoid and anxious and afraid of what could happen. I’m not supposed to hang around other people and my darkest moments have always been when I’m alone with my own mind.

I’m not sharing this for a pity party. I don’t need anyone to call the cops to come check on me. I have a lot to live for and so many things to do and so many people to help and so many places to go and so many concerts to see and so many dogs to pet (I would like to mention that the highlight of my day was my parents surprising my sister and I with a puppy. Our dog passed away last June), and I still haven’t hugged Harry Styles.

I just want people to know that a lot of us are struggling with a whole bunch of things right now. Remember to be kind. Remember to be loving and to spread the love. Remember that things will not be this way forever (although it sure does seem like it right now). It’s okay to not be okay, and we are all significantly less okay at this moment in time, and it’s okay to break down the wall and express that instead of hiding it away. I want people to know that they’re not alone in their struggles.

Some things I tell people I work with all of the time that I’ve been trying to remind myself of:

Things are not going to be like this forever.

Things are going to get better.

There are a lot of people who care about us.

We have to be patient with ourselves because we don’t all have control of our own minds.

We need to trust our instinct when our brains tell us we need some assistance.

It’s okay to need help.

We don’t need to go through this alone.

I am struggling, and I know I’m not the only one. Every time I look on social media, I am reminded of the state of the world and the fear and sadness that plagues it. I fall further down the rabbit hole of negativity and can’t pull myself out of it because it seems like it’s all that’s out there right now. Check on your friends. Check on your coworkers. Check on the people who can’t stay home. Check on the people who have to stay home. Check on yourself, too.

#recovery #mental health blog #mental illness #anxiety #mental health #positive mental attitude #bipolar disorder #borderline personality disorder #bpd #depression

[luckyspenny]

Penny and the Birches || Part 1

Where: Penny & Jude’s Apartment Who: Penny, @hcrrybirch & @lvcybirch What: Harry and Lucy show up with chili for Jude and find Penny there alone. Lucy goes off and leaves Harry to talk Penny alone about Jude. 

The two Birch siblings had arrived at their brother's apartment with worried affects and a peace offering. Harry carried with him a large container of his girlfriend's chilli, figuring that Jude probably wasn't eating a whole lot in his current state. No matter how angry he'd been with him, the worry far surpassed that. Lucy banged her fist against the door, wanting to give her brother the privacy to clean up anything he didn't want them to see first, rather than barging in as she usually would. Still, she was impatient to get stuck into the food. "Judey, hurry the fuck up!”

Penny had been busy. Between work and trying to make the apartment somewhat nice, she'd been back and forth from the thrift store and accepting donations of household stuff from the regulars at the The Bullet. She'd managed to get some curtains which could almost match in the right lighting, a futon and a cheap fake wood coffee table that had it's gouges in the top covered with a pretty blue scarf she'd found for a quarter. The kitchen had enough stuff in that she could at least make mac and cheese and after making friends with the neighbor she'd managed to score their wifi password. Now with more than just a bed she was excited for him to get home, not entirely sure where we was. He'd be so surprised when he saw it.

 At the sound of pounding on the door, Penny froze, instantly think of the cops and making her tentative way over after making sure her kit was well stashed away. Pulling open the door, it wasn't the cops standing there, but what she could only assume was a couple were on the other side. "Um... Hi? Can I help you?" Blinking at them in confusion she managed a bright smile nonetheless.

  As the door swung open, Lucy stiffened immediately as she saw exactly who was behind it. So it was true, what people had been saying. Jude and Penny were living together. Harry, though stirred by Penny's presence, noticed his little sister tense up in front of him and laid a hand upon her shoulder to remind her not to do anything irrational. But it was a gesture laid out in vain. "Yeah, you can get the fuck out of my brother's apartment." Lucy spat, only to be tugged backward by Harry who's heart was pounding at the suddenly explosive situation. "Lucy, stop. You're not helping the situation." He said before turning to Penny and replying coolly. "We're Jude's siblings. You must be Penny."

Blinking in confusion as the female snapped out at her, the word brother had it all falling into place. Shit. "I-..." She wasn't even entirely sure what to say, this was entirely the last way she wanted to meet any of them. Swallowing hard, eyes wide with confusion and sudden anxiety, Penny nodded her head to confirm his assumption. "Um... Jude's not here, but-... but, you can totally come in and wait of course. We um... have a place to sit down now." Pushing her hair behind her ear she shrunk back a little from the door so they could step in if they wanted to. When she'd shown up it'd been little more than a mattress on the bedroom floor and some towels, she she was thankful for the timing of what she'd managed to accomplish in such a short time. At least Jude could be happy that his siblings had shown up to something at least somewhat homey looking. "I can't really offer anything besides water."

Harry was about the only thing keeping Lucy from snapping again. Even then, she was hanging by a thread - red-faced and tight-jawed. The older Birch kept a hold of her, his fingers digging a little into her shoulder now. "That'd be lovely, thank you." He said, though his voice had certainly lost its warmth. He steered Lucy past Penny and toward the couch. "We're fine. We brought chilli over." Harry said, though no longer hungry, as he set the tub down on the coffee table that hadn't been there the last time he'd been at his brother's. He almost felt bad for assuming the worst of this woman, given how she had clearly touched the apartment up. Lucy took a seat by her brother, still fuming, as she hissed through clenched teeth. "It's for Jude." Ignoring the pointed look she earned from Harry once she had done so. "I'm Harry, by the way. This is Lucy."

Penny felt bad for not recognizing Lucy. They'd met a few times in LA when she and Jude had first started dating, and they had gotten along, but that felt like forever ago. It didn't help that Penny was hardly able to look her in the face now, well aware of the seething anger in the other female. She wasn't even entirely sure what she'd done wrong. Was this all over Ari? "Yeah, I've met Lucy... It's um... it's really nice to meet you, Harry. I've heard a lot about you from Jude, I'm really sorry that-... that I never really got a chance to make a first impression." 

Inching forward she even kind of leaned away from her as she reached for the container. "I'll just um... I'll put this in the fridge for when he gets home. I ate at The Bullet." Music from her new phone playing on the kitchen counter where it was propped up with the stand on her case, Penny took the moment stepping away to just breathe. She could do this, she could totally do this. What had she really done besides make their brother happy? She had a job she was contributing in more ways than she'd admit to them and things were okay. For now, they were okay and she was just praying she could get it to stay that way.

"This is first impression enough." Harry pressed softly, trying to keep his judgement out of the picture and focus on the facts in front of him. Lucy was too far gone, blinded by her protectiveness over Ari, seething in her corner of the couch as she watched Penny disappear into the kitchen. The siblings used that moment to communicate quickly to one another - Harry arching up his brows expectantly at her, Lucy countering with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Be nice. For Jude." He whispered to her and though the words were met with another eye roll, Lucy's shoulders sagged a little. "How long have you and Jude been living together for?" Harry asked once Penny had returned.

Adding some ice from the trays that had been empty in the freezer she assumed when Jude moved in, Penny had washed them and filled in prep to maybe celebrate that night, but thoughts of that were so far out of her head. Filling two mismatched glasses with ice and water, she quickly brought them over and set one down in front of each of them. At least it seemed less like Lucy was about to hit her at any moment.

 "Oh well... Um... Since the whole thing with Ari, really, or just after it. And I just gotta say-" Putting her hands up she was obviously speaking mostly to Lucy. "I get that it came off so bad, I do, but you gotta understand that I had no idea that they were anything before that. I didn't even know they knew each other. And then all of sudden she's in love with my boyfriend and calling him a liar and I just I lost my cool and that's entirely my fault. I'd apologize to her but I lost my phone that same night so I couldnt even call her if I wanted to. I was actually gunna talk to Jude about that tonight, because I'd already promised him I'd stay away from her. I just-... really wanted to say that. I'm sorry for all of that." Her apology spewing from her mouth in a quick paced vomit of words she just wanted to get it out there before she ended up making things worse. Especially when Harry was being so nice.

All the softness that Jude's name had instilled in Lucy was gone the moment her best friend was mentioned. She could feel Harry's eyes on her, but she didn't care. All she saw was red. Lips parted to speak, or shout, or cuss Penny out but she was stopped before she got the chance to. Scoffing at the words spoken, she rolled up her hazel eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Nah, fuck that. You need to learn how to pull other women up, not punch them in the fucking face when they try and warn you about a guy." Lucy retorted, her voice strangled with seething anger. Shrugging off Harry's hand the moment it reached out to touch her shoulder. "Your attitude's bullshit. Like, you can say you're sorry all you like but there is something so fundamentally wrong with what you did." Her voice was rising though she was trying to keep it even, it wouldn't be long until she snapped completely. 

So she pushed herself up off the couch and stuck her hand out in front of her brother. Still glaring down Penny as she did so. "Fuck this, Harry, gimme your keys. I'm gonna go wait in the truck." Harry's lips pressed together, watching his sister tremble with fury. Trying to contain it, for Jude. He sighed in defeat and pulled the keys from his pocket for her, figuring it would probably be best if Lucy wasn't here. There was no getting anywhere with Penny when they kept coming up against Lucy's contempt. 

#hcrrybirch #lvcybirch #C: Harry #C: Lucy #Part 1

[fyrapartnersearch]

Hi guys!!! I’m Crystal. I’m in my late 20s and I am looking for new RP partners. I write to unwind and because I feel like it is a good outlet for me. I can’t stress enough how open I am, please don’t be afraid to message me with basically any idea!  I feel like the easiest way for anyone to read this is to use bullet points so here goes. 

I like making friends with my partners so please be friendly. When I get excited about a ship, I tend to want to send headcannons and ideas to my partners randomly, so please be okay with that. 

Also, please be 18+, especially if you want to write smut. 

And I love multiple threads with my partners. I write both males and females but please don’t just use me for my guys! I love my girls too!

Timezone: I am in the Eastern time zone and I do have a full time job and family but I try my best to be active every day. If I am not, I will try to at least let my partner know what’s going on. 

Type of roleplay I’m interested in: I love smut but I prefer for the characters to have a decent connection. I also love to write fluff and plots with some angst and drama. I also love some good hurt/comfort. I don’t mind dark(ish) plots and I am open to discussing anything. 

I have a wish list of plots that I want that I am adding to all the time, feel free to check it out https://crystal-indie-rp.tumblr.com/tagged/wishlist

See below for some that I would really like!!!

I also have a few OCs that I have already created. They are very basic and can be altered for almost any plot. They can be found here https://crystal-indie-rp.tumblr.com/characters

What I want to avoid: I have very few no-gos. I’m not interested in writing anything that is illegal (rape, pedophilia, etc)

Style: I am open to any style of writing depending on the plot but I prefer 3rd person. I do try to match my partners length. I try to avoid one-liners unless they are texting because it doesn’t keep the plot moving forward but I am more interested in quality over quantity.

Method of roleplay I’m interested in using: I really prefer Discord  or Kik because I am mostly mobile but I am open to other methods if you have any suggestions. 

Contact info: My Discord is crystal.indie.rp#9686 and my tumblr is https://crystal-indie-rp.tumblr.com My Kik is Crysty09

Fandoms: 

Roswell New Mexico (KYLEX, Malex, Mylex, Echo, Maribel, Open to any)

Harry Potter 

Pretty LIttle Liars

One Tree Hill

The Fosters

Riverdale

Ask About Any Others

Wishlist plots I am REALLY wanting currently:

muse a is fresh out of prison, solitary confinement to be exact, and hasn’t truly seen the light of day for at least a couple of years. they’re adjusting to the real world; they barely speak anymore, and they haven’t experienced gentle human contact in what seems like forever. insert muse b, their new neighbor.

Muse A and Muse B grew up together; they were best friends. Muse A’s home life was awful; their parent(s) were alcoholics/drug users and could be abusive when they used. Muse B’s life was pleasant and low key. Any time the home would get explosive, Muse A would sneak out to see Muse B would calm them down and make them feel safe. Muse B was head over heels in love with Muse A and Muse A has feelings but isn’t sure what to do with them. Fast forward to their college years, they have grown apart some but are still friends. Muse A is an abusive/controlling relationship but doesn’t leave. Until one night things go too far and Muse A shows up at Muse B’s door or calls Muse B from the hospital to come save them. Muse B falls back into protective mode and while taking care of them the old feelings start to come back.

I want a plot where there’s a hard ass cop, and healways sticks by the rules and works hard and hiswork is his life and all that blah blah, but then one day he makes a huge bust in an underground sex ring and carries a girl out, and the media dub him as a superhero, and he feels strangely protective over this girl. So he goes and visits her at the hospital, and she lights up as soon as she sees him and just thanks him continuously, and he starts smiling a bit more, and she doesn’t really talk to anybody except for him because she doesn’t trust anybody excepthim. Cue her having trouble sleeping at night because of bad dreams and memories, so she calls him to help, and he does, he always does of course. And shecalls him when her car breaks down in the middle of the night and she’s terrified, and he literally drops everything for her, and its so obvious they like each other, but he doesn’t know how to do relationships and she’s just a mess from everything thats happened to her, and so much angsty fluffy goodness of them two being awkward and shy dorks at times but also staying up and telling their entire life stories to each other

someone give me a plot where muse a was arrested in high school due to drug dealing and was sentenced to ten years — except he’s let out a couple of years early due to good behavior. with no car, his feet take him to the one place he never thought he’d set foot again in a lifetime. his ex-high school sweetheart, muse b. except, when the door opens, it’s not her. it’s a seven year old little girl with her mom’s hair and her dad’s eyes. tldr; muse a gets arrested and leaves behind his (unknowingly) pregnant girlfriend at the time. years later, he’s out and he has a daughter he doesn’t know about.

i just want a damaged, broken boy who doesn’t have a lot of friends & keeps to himself & a caring, kind girl who takes interest in him & gets him to open up & rocks him in her lap when he can’t stop crying & rubs his back when he has nightmares & teaches him that it’s okay to show his pain because being strong doesn’t have to mean hiding your emotions please give me this 

whispers but i would love a cliche poly plot where like two best friends are in love with the same girl but instead of fighting over her they share her but of course there is small competitions in bed seeing who can make her cum faster and !!!! and omg like her settling them both down like ‘boys please you are both my prince charmings’ and ‘i wouldn’t be the same without the other’

can i have a plot where best friends drifted as they got older because lets be real they were in love and never wanted to admit it because it scared the hell out of them so they went their own way and now 10 years later, they bump into each other and it’s like things havent changed except oh wait, he’s engaged to be married and they spend the last few weeks leading up to the wedding together and the final night they end up sleeping together (for the first time) and things get angsty because they realize that they are in love and theyre the ones supposed to be married, but she cant bring herself to ruin something he’s built without her ?????? and he pushes the wedding date because he wants her and JUST PLS

*screams* i want a plot where a guy goes on a roadtrip just wandering around the state trying to find meaning of life with his big ass doggo and one day he comes to diner where this shy young woman works and like her boss is always yelling at her and she has abusive boyfriend and her father used to be abusive as well and this guy he is the first man who ever treated her nicely and he just asks her completely out of the blue if she doesn’t want to leave with him and she’s like “why not?” so she takes all of her things and leaves with him. Pleaseee!

someone give me a plot where muse a is a cop/firefighter/military/etc whose partner/best friend gets killed in the line of work. before they pass, their friend makes them promise to take care of muse b, their spouse. muse a takes the promise to heart, helping muse b make the arrangements and becomes the rock while muse b’s entire world is turned upside down. but soon muse a begins to fall for muse b, despite their fear of crossing a boundary or being the reason for their friend’s death ( and bonus points if muse b is pregnant when their spouse dies )

#indie rp #indie roleplay #oc rp #para #long term #submission

[xuxibelle]

Little White Lies 5

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Word count: 3,026

Warnings: mentions of blood, swearing, Tom Holland, Holland Twins, Zendaya (mentioned as “Z”)

Requested: No.

Summary: What happens after Y/N’s transformation.

“Rest, my love, soon you’ll be with me forever,” he says softly before he presses a kiss to your temple. He wipes the blood the escaped his lips on the sleeve of his shirt as he pulls his phone from his pocket to call Tom, not wanting to leave you alone. “She’s ready.” Tom and Z were standing by the bed in the next couple minutes, ready to complete the linking. Z placed her crystals in their positions and nodded to Tom as he nodded back. They all three joined hands over you as Z began to chant her words. As she was almost halfway through, sparks began to randomly fly making her eyes pop open. “What’s that?” Harrison asked her.

“Something’s different,” she tells him.

“Bad?” he asks.

“No… just different. I… can’t see what it is. I can only tell that it won’t hurt us. This will actually help us,” Z tells him.

“Please continue, then,” Harrison tells her. As she does, the sparks keep flying and intensify. When she comes to the end of her chant, she reaches inside her pocket and pulls out a flower and a handful of blue dust that the boys don’t recognize. She says a few words over these objects before she tosses them over your body and they burst into flames in the air, falling over you in tiny, microscopic ashes. Suddenly, you sit up with a deep breath in and your eyes wide open, and glowing… blue? Harrison, Tom, and Z all look at each other wide eyed.

“The fuck?” Tom said in shock. “She was bitten… They’re supposed to be green! What the fuck is that??”

“Y/N?” you hear Harrison call your name before you turn your head to look at him. “How are you feeling?” You blink your eyes a few times as you look around the room and take a few deeper than normal breaths.

“I feel… I-i feel amazing,” you tell him with a smile as you meet his gaze again. “Is it done? The link?”

“Yea, love. It’s complete,” Harrison says as he looks from you to Tom and Z. “There was something that happened that we weren’t expecting, but it was nothing bad and what happened will help us.”

“What happened?” you ask curiously as you looked between the three people standing in your room.

“Well, you remember how we were explaining to you how to tell supernatural beings apart by their eye color?” Harrison asked you before you gave him a slight nod. “And we said that bitten vampires have green eyes?”

“Right. You said bitten were green and born or pure blood were blue, right?” you asked.

“That’s right… Well… Your eyes are supposed to be green,” Tom tells you.

“Are they not?” you ask. Tom and Z both shake their heads no.

“No, love. When you woke from the linking, your eyes were blue…” Harrison told you as he held your hand in his.

“Wh-what does this mean? Do you know? Is it bad? What’s gonna happen?” you start to ramble. Harrison pulls you into a hug as he shushes you quietly.

“Ssshhh, it’s okay, love. I promise. It’s nothing bad,” Harrison tells you as he rubs a hand up and down your back. “Breathe, love. You’re okay.” Once your breathing leveled out, Harrison pulled back and met your eyes. “Y/N, this is a good thing,” Harrison smiles at you. He cups your face in his hands before he continues. “This means you’re pure blood… I don’t know how… We’re going to do some research and find out more, but from what I remember from my parents… you must have had a Dhampir side that went dormant somehow… There have been stories of this happening… I’ve never seen it but my parents told me they saw it once with another pair like us and it was a very powerful thing. I promise you… we are going to do everything we can to find out everything we can,” he tells you, his eyes never leaving yours.

“How… how does it go dormant?” you ask confused.

“There’s lots of ways, I’m sure… We’ll figure that out too,” Tom tells you.

“For all we know, a witch like me could have put a spell on you years ago,” Z says as Harrison looks up at her.

“You really think so?” he asks her.

“It’s a possibility. I’ve heard of it happening before, never seen it though,” she tells him.

“What would that mean… if that’s the case?” you ask.

“Well… if it was a witch’s spell… I would have to say you pissed someone off. Either the actual witch that cast the spell or someone that knew her,” Z explained. You look at your hands as you sigh. Harrison pulls you to him again.

“Love, it’s alright. I promise,” he comforts you.

“No… I know. It’s just… I need to know what I did… or what happened, you know?” you tell him as he rubs his hand up and down your back again.

“And you will. We have the best researchers in the world,” Tom tells you. You get a look on your face as you think back to what Z said about the spell.

“Y/N… What is it?” Harrison asked you.

“Is there a way to… how do I say this… ‘trace’ a spell, you know… how cops trace phone calls?” you ask curiously as you looked between the three of them. You all turned to look at Z.

“There might be. I’ve never heard of one myself, but let me talk to some people while your people are researching,” she tells you and you give her a nod.

“Thank you,” you tell her with a grateful nod. She gives you a warm smile. You notice that she looks at you like she’s known you for years.

“Anything to help the Queen,” she says with a smile.

“I’m not the Queen yet,” you half laugh as you feel your face flush.

“Close enough,” Tom says. “Better get used to it… Your Highness,” he says with a wink as you scrunch your face in a cringe making them all laugh.

“Please tell me you’re not gonna be formal with me all the time….” you say as you look at Tom with wide eyes, making him laugh.

“No, I know you don’t like it, Y/N. I just like teasing you… However, there will be times in public, possibly here as well if we have certain visitors, where I will have to address you formally,” he explains.

“Yea, I realize that. That’s okay,” you tell him. “Okay, so what’s next?”

“Well, you get to meet everyone as your new self first,” Harrison says as he smiles at you. “While you sit in the living room with them, Z will look into the spell thing and Tom and I will be looking into the rest.”

“Does it have to be you?” you ask with pleading eyes.

“It has to be people in our circle. I’d prefer it to be me, yes, but it you really want me to stay with you, of course, I will. We just can’t risk telling anyone outside our circle right now,” Harrison explains as you nod in understanding.

“It’s okay,” you smile up at him. “As long as Harry and Sam are with me, I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Harrison asks you with concerned eyes. “You know I’ll do anything for you.” You shake your head no.

“I’ll be okay. I’m just nervous,” you tell him. He cups your face in his hands and presses a kiss to your forehead.

“No reason to be nervous love. You know everyone loves you… They’re just gonna love you more now,” he says with a smile. “Before we walk out there, I want to make sure you know how to control the glow of your eyes.” You nod your head before he continues. “Close your eyes and focus on what you want them to do, remember to keep your breath even, and open them.” You open your eyes and look up to see him smiling. “Perfect.”

“I did it?” you ask almost in disbelief.

“You did, love. Now, let’s try turning it off. Same concept,” he tells you. You close your eyes and breathe before you look up at him again. “You’re a natural, Y/N.” You smile at him.

“It has to be that dormant thing… I wonder if maybe it’s like we were talking about… a witch cursed me for some reason… and maybe she wiped my memories too,” you suggested. You all turn to Z.

“That I know is possible. I’ve heard and seen that happen. Never actually performed that one though,” she tells you. “We’ll know more soon. Don’t worry.” You nod at her with a smile.

“Thank you again,” you tell her as she returns your smile. “Ready to go in?”

“Ready if you are,” Harrison tells you as he holds his hand out for you. You take his hand and rise from the bed. He leads you out of the room as Tom and Z follow you to the living room. “Guys,” Harrison calls as you enter the room. Sam and Harry stand from their seats and turn to you.

“Y/N, you look good,” Harry smiles at you.

“Thank you,” you smile at him. “I feel amazing… Got a bit of a surprise though… Might want to sit down for this,” you tell them as you take a seat on the couch between Harrison and Tom. They take their seats and look at you with curious, expectant expressions.

“What happened?” Sam asked curiously. “Something bad?”

“No, not at all. It’s gonna take some research from us and Z, but in the end... “ Harrison glances at you lovingly before he looks back to the twins, “in the end, it’s only going to help. It’s going to make her more powerful, therefore we know Zayn won’t be able to touch her, especially since the link is complete now.”

“Okay, Okay… so what happened…” Harry says impatiently as soon as Harrison finishes, making you laugh.

“Should I just show them?” you ask Harrison with a playful look. He thinks about it for a split second before he smiles and nods his head as he looks at them. You turn your head back to the twins, still smiling. You closed your eyes and took a breath, opening them to look at the twins again as you hear them both take in a sharp breath when they see the blue.

“The fuck?” Harry says semi-quietly, making you laugh. Sam never said anything, he just kept staring at you. You looked over at him and noticed the look on his face as you nudged Harrison.

“Sam…” you called him. “What is it?”

“I-i… uhm… Harrison, I need to talk to you,” Sam tells him. “It’s nothing bad,” Sam tells you when he sees your face fall. Sam and Harrison walk down the hall to the one of the rooms the use as an office.

“What is it?” Harrison asks him.

“It’s her…” Sam tells him.

“What?” he asks.

“The letter…” Sam tries to get him to remember all those years ago.

“What letter… from who?” Harrison asks.

“Haz, come on… think! Your parents’ lock box… Your Mom told us about a very, very important girl that would come into our lives. She said there would be a letter in her lock box for when that girl finally arrived,” Sam reminded him.

“Right… I remember that, but how do you know it’s Y/N Mom was talking about?” Harrison questioned.

“Because… She made me swear not to tell you… After she talked to all of us, she took me to my Mom and… we had a discussion sort of… They told me about this girl… they said she wouldn’t be from here, she’d be new here…. They said she was your Tuhinga… That’s how I knew. They told me they knew you would resist because you would think she was human because her Dhampir side had been put under a dormant curse over 800 years ago. She’s been forced to relive a ‘human’ life since she was cursed. The curse wiped her memories from before and each time her ‘human’ life restarted. But, Haz… she’s not Dhampir like you think,” Sam tells Harrison

“What do you mean she’s not Dhampir…? What else could she be?” Harrison asks dumbfounded, still trying to wrap his head around this news. Sam looks at him with wide eyes.  “Sam, please,” he begs.

“She’s pure blood. She was born,” Sam tells him as he watches Harrison’s eyes grow wide.

“H-how… is that possible? And how do you know?” he asks.

“The spell… it works on any supernatural being,” Sam says as Harrison walks to the door and calls for Z, closing the door after she walks inside.

“Tell her,” Harrison instructs Sam.

“Y/N is pure blood,” he blurts out.

“Quit pulling my leg,” she laughs.

“I’m not. Haz’s Mom, years ago, told us about a very important person that would enter our lives and left a letter for them in Haz’s parents’ lock box. Then, his mom took me to my mom and basically told me that this person was a girl that was gonna be new here and she was Haz’s Tuhinga and he’d resist because he’d think she’s human because the spell put on her made her vampire side dormant. It was a curse put on her over 800 years ago that wiped her memory and has made her live ‘human’ lives ever since, each time she starts a new one her memory gets wiped again. The curse that made her dormant can work on any supernatural thing. It was put on her by some prince. He’s long dead now. It was supposed to have been an arranged marriage but she backed out of it and ran. He had the witch put the spell on her,” Sam explained.

“What the fuck….” Z said quietly. “So that’s what the sparks were…”

“What…?” Harrison asks curiously.

“When we were doing the linking…?” Z asks to make sure he remembers. Harrison nods his head lightly. “It was because she was pure blood. It was telling us that the spell was being broken and the bond was becoming that much stronger.”

“So it’s even stronger than we thought?” Harrison questions.

“Oh yes,” she nods. “My Great-Grandmother talked about a vampire king and queen from her Great-Great-Grandmother’s time that went through this same thing. She said the bond of their link was something that couldn’t be touched, and that anyone that tried was a fool and was destroyed by it. It’ll make Y/N stronger as well, possibly even giver her powers. The queen my Great-Grandmother spoke of had visions after the linking.”

“Is she safe?” Harrison asked.

“Absolutely. No one can harm her now that you’ve linked her,” she tells him with a smile.

“Thanks, Z. We’ll still do some digging even though we know most of it now. Sam, about that letter…?” harrison said as he looked at Sam.

“Got it. Back in a flash,” Sam said as he walked out of the room and Harrison and Z made their way back to where you were.

“Everything ok?” Tom asked as he noticed them walk back in. You looked up at Harrison.

“Yea, all good. Got some news, obviously. Turns out we knew you were coming… In a way,” Harrison said as he looked at you. “Many years ago, my mother told us about a girl that would come into our lives. She said there wasn’t much she could tell us, but that she would be extremely important and that there would be a letter for her in my parents’ lock box, which Sam has gone to get by the way. Don’t worry about that for now. That’s all she would tell us. Sam, however got another story it seems. After we all left, Mom took Sam to see his Mom. Those three had a discussion about you. They told him basically everything that has happened since you got here. It’s how he knew you were my Tuhinga so fast. They told him you would be new here, I would resist that you were my Tuhinga because I thought you were human. You okay so far,” Harrison stopped his explanation to check on you. You nod your head as you look at him.

“Yea, please, continue,” you tell him with a smile.

“Okay… So apparently you’re not Dhampir, love,” Harrison blurts out as he hears everyone gasp around him and he sees your brows furrowed in confusion.

“If I’m not Dhampir, then what am I…?” you ask as you look around the room.

“Y/N… You’re pure blood,” Harrison tells you.

“How’s that possible?” Tom asks.

“I can’t be…” you say quietly.

“You are, love… There was an arranged marriage with some prince over 800 years ago. You backed out of it and tried to run away. He, obviously, was upset so he found a witch to curse you. This curse made your vampire side go dormant. It wiped your memory and made you live a ‘normal’ life. And each time you would start a new life, it would wipe your memory again. There’s nothing to worry about. The prince has long been dead, so no one will be coming after you now that the spell has been broken, well mostly broken. The memory part hasn’t yet, but I’m sure Z can figure that out too,” Harrison explains.

“Is that it?” you ask.

“There’s one more thing…” he says a little softer, trying not to scare you because he knows you’re taking in a lot. “With all of this and you being pure blood, that makes the link, and you yourself that much stronger. Now that the link is complete, no one can hurt you.”

“Really?” you ask as you feel your eyes line with tears.

“Yea, love. You’re safe,” Harrison tells you as his smile grows wide, kissing your forehead as he pulls you into a hug. You wrap your arms around his waist and squeeze him to you. “You’re always safe with me.”

@nerdraging4point0 /  @bringmethehorizonandpizza​  /  @sunshine112  /  @summernykole  /  @empressdreams / @justasmisunderstoodasloki / @bisexual-sk8r / @devildisguiseasangel

#HARRISON OSTERFIELD #HARRISON OSTERFIELD IMAGINE #HARRISON OSTERFIELD X READER #vampire!au #werewolf!au

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

Second Chance at Forever - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of this year’s entry for the @dwsecretsanta, my present to @wordsintimeandspace!  Beta’d by the always-kind @stupidsatsuma​.  Thank you!

@doctorroseprompts​ and @timepetalscollective​ as an AU fic

General warnings for: alcohol use, cursing, discussions of sexual activities

Masterlist

AO3

Summary

Once upon a time, a boy and girl met at a bar and fell in love - until he ghosted her.

Five years later Rose Tyler’s best friend Mickey is getting married, and arranges a dinner for her to meet the groomsman she’ll be walking with - unaware that the two already know each other.

John Noble’s not sure how his friend and mentee managed to connive with the Universe to bring the One Who Got Away back into his life; all he knows it carefully built and maintained walls are crashing to the ground with no warning.

Rose held two different earrings up to her ears, trying to concentrate on her reflection and which pair better suited her outfit.  Her focus, however, was on her closed bathroom door, and who was behind it.  John was singing Beatles tunes in the shower, Tardis yowling along in harmony.  Every so often the singing would be replaced by a low murmur, the cat meowing almost in reply, sending bursts of warmth and love through her chest for man and animal alike.

The water shutting off startled her back to reality, and picking the gold hoops, she put them in and the other pair away before hustling towards her kitchen.

Most of the food was already packed, but she fussed over the bags as she waited for her boyfriend to be ready.

Her boyfriend.  Even after an entire (uneventful) summer, the words still sent a shiver of delight and awe down her spine.  After the engagement party they’d settled into a routine, growing closer and their relationship stronger.  Rose had never felt more comfortable with a bloke, more adored; especially not with a man she wasn’t shagging.

So far they had been very good about ‘resisting temptation’, thought not so good about not putting themselves into tempting situations.  Weekend nights were usually spent together, with nothing more physical than some brilliant snogging and even better groping sessions.  At this point, it was almost a game of chicken to see who would break first.  She was determined for it not to be her.

“Ready?”  John walked into the kitchen still tugging on his shirt, Rose’s belly swooping as the fabric settled over his toned abs.

“Mhmm.”

“For the cookout?”  He was smirking, eyes scanning her body appreciatively, pausing on her bust before fixing on her eyes.

Rose smoothed the skirt of her sundress.  “That too.”  For being the start of September it was still sweltering, and the dress she’d chosen walked a fine line between being modest enough for a family get together and as little as fabric as possible to beat the heat.  Any maybe torture her boyfriend a little.

John snorted, coming to stand in front of her and settling his hands on her hips, pulling her closer.  “Thirteen weeks.”

“Sometimes I don’t think I can last another thirteen minutes.  Especially when you’re in my shower.”

“We made it this far.”  He buried his nose in her hair, breathing her in, and he relaxed against her.  “Dunno how.  But if we made it through the summer, we can make it all the way.”

“All the way,” Rose sighed, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.  “Stop teasing.”

They swayed together, only breaking apart when Rose’s phone beeped.  “We’ve got to go or we’ll be late.”

“Definitely don’t want that,” John agreed, checking the bags.  “D’you think he’ll be there already?”

“Donna’s new boyfriend?  Probably.”  Settling her purse over her shoulder, Rose grabbed one of the bags, leaving the other two for John before making her way towards the door.  “Come on.”

“What do we even know about this guy?”  He followed her out, calling the lift as she locked the door.   “It just seems too early.”

Rose shook her head, not looking at him.  “We know his name’s Shawn, and that Donna really likes him.  No matter how many times you ask me, I’m not going to know anything more.  Just relax.”

The lift arrived, but didn’t deliver the relief she was hoping for from the conversation.

“I’m just saying, after Lance-”

“No!” Rose cut in, turning to glare at him.  “Don’t you dare bring him up today.  Give the bloke the benefit of the doubt.  It can’t be easy meeting your new girlfriend’s family.”

“It’s technically your first time too,” he pointed out as they stepped out into the lobby.  “At least, as a ‘meet the family’ sort of thing.”

“Yeah, but that’s just your mum.  I know your grandad and sister already.  And you’ve met mine.”

“It’s almost like we’re a real couple,” John teased.

“And not to stick my nose where it don’t belong, but you better stay that way,” Wilf interjected, walking up to them with his uniform jacket slung over his shoulder.  “Cause if not, don’t think for a second Donna and me aren’t keeping Rose.  You can have your mother, and good riddance.  Now I’ve been sprung, so don’t just stand around on my account.”

“I hope the eagerness is to see Donna, and not to interrogate her new boyfriend,” Rose said, smirking at Wilf’s comments and John’s offended glare.

Wilf bristled as they started for the tenant parking.  “After Lance-”

“Oh, not you too,” Rose cut him off in exasperation.  “Look, you need to have some faith in Donna.  He’s a perfectly nice bloke-”

“Hang on, have you met him?”  John stopped dead, staring at her in disbelief.

“What?”

“You said ‘he’s a perfectly nice bloke’.  Not you think, or imagine, but as though you know for a fact.”

Rose kept walking to her car.  “I’ve just heard enough about him to feel like I do,” she said stiffly, popping the boot.  “Bags in.”

The two men gave her suspicious glares, but she didn’t blink.  Loading her own bag of food in, she merely moved to the driver’s seat and settled behind the wheel.  “We’re late.”

Still grumbling they piled in, Rose steadfastly ignoring John’s highly suspicious looks as she drove towards Donna’s.  In the backseat Wilf chattered about his shift, providing colorful commentary about the other owners in Rose’s building.

By the time they arrived John’s shoulders had unhunched, and he was laughing along to a story about the woman across the hall from Rose when they pulled up to Donna’s.  It was a semi-detached, hers being on the right, with a few balloons tied to the door handle.

“Well, here we are.  Wilf, why don’t you go in and get settled, we’ll bring the things in.”

“I can help,” the older man protested, but John shook his head in agreement.

“No, we’ll get it.  You be good cop, I’ll be bad cop.”

“John!”

Wilf snorted, climbing out of the car.  “This’ll be an interesting little get together, between you protecting Shawn from us, and us keeping Sylvia away from you.”

“Oh joy,” Rose muttered, though not quietly enough given John’s snort.  “We’ll be right behind you!”

“Don’t sit out here snogging for too long,” Wilf advised, whistling as he slammed the door and danced up the walk.

“I love him,” Rose said fondly, turning her head to smile at John.

“I think the feeling’s mutual.”  The affection in his eye suggested Wilf wasn’t the only passenger to love her, but they hadn’t gotten to the point of saying it just yet, so it sat comfortably between them for a moment.  “I really do apologize for anything my mother says.  Please don’t hold her against us – you know the rest of my family, you’ll know she’s an outlier.”

“You’re scaring me,” Rose scolded, though she’d listened to enough of Donna’s stories over the past three years to be rightfully on guard.  “Stop it. Grab the bags, will you?”

Rose took the one with refrigerated items, leaving the other two for him, and they headed up the walk hand in hand.  The storm door was closed but unlocked, the main door open behind it, and John didn’t hesitate to push right in. “Donna!”

“Kitchen,” she shouted back, and they followed the sounds of activity through the house.  The front door opened onto a hallway, steps leading upstairs while a sitting room was off to the left.  Following the hall, they found the kitchen occupied the back half with a dining room jutting back towards the sitting room.

The kitchen was where the party was, bowls full of crisps, pretzels, and popcorn waiting on an island.  Donna was at the counter taking biscuits off a tray, a middle-aged blonde woman nagging her as Wilf resettled bottles of wine in ice.

Donna looked up as they walked in, features sagging in relief at the sight of them.  “Oh, you made it!  Brilliant! Can I put you to work?”

“Of course!  What do you need?”

The harried hostess cast her a grateful smile.  “John, you get what you brought settled and a glass of wine for Rose.  Rose, we’re doing chicken kebabs on the grill- all the ingredients are in the fridge.  Would you mind putting them together on the skewers?”

“Now hang on,” the other woman complained.  “We haven’t even met yet, and you’re putting her to work?”

“Sylvia, it’s so lovely to meet you,” Rose said warmly, putting on her best ‘heiress’ smile as she moved closer, extending her hand.  “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“And I’ve heard quite a bit about you,” the woman scowled, crossing her arms.  “My daughter, my son, my father.  They all think the world of you.”

“And I of them.”  Rose didn’t let Sylvia’s frostiness change her attitude, her hand falling to her side.  “You’re very lucky to have so many lovely people.”

“Don’t you think you’re a little young for John?”

John, Wilf, and Donna groaned in unison.

“Mum-”

Rose’s smile never faltered.  “I think it depends on the couple.  It works for us, and we’re very happy.”

“I’m sure.”  Sylvia looked to have more to say on the subject, but a deliberate throat-clearing from her own father silenced her.

“Top shelf,” Donna said firmly, shooting her an apologetic look behind her mother’s back.

“Thanks.”

Rose opened the fridge door, taking the chance to roll her eyes as she took out the pre-cut chunks of raw chicken, onion, and pepper.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

Shawn arrived an hour later after getting off work, inadvertently giving Rose away with a warm greeting and ‘good to see you again!’.  She escaped as soon as she could, hiding in the kitchen and busying herself with dishes.

“So you have met him,” John accused, following her in a minute later.

Rose groaned quietly, glancing at him over her shoulder as she continued to fill the dishpan with soapy water.  “He picked her up at the office last week for lunch.  I spent all of thirty seconds in his presence.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”  He settled near her, his back to the counter as he watched her start washing dishes.  Most of the censure had left his voice, but enough remained to earn him a raised eyebrow.

“We’ve talked about this.  What happens between work Rose and Donna stays between work Rose and Donna, and the same about our home lives.  I met him as her boss, not her… brother’s girlfriend.”  Technically Donna had introduced her as her future sister-in-law, but Rose saw no need to give John a heart attack.  Though, it would probably distract him from Shawn…

“You could have said that,” he grumbled.

“It was Wednesday, I already knew we’d be meeting him officially today.  Come on, don’t make this a thing.”

John made a face but said nothing else, silently taking a fresh towel and setting to work on drying.  By the time they had most of the dishes done he’d gotten over his snit, occasionally bumping her hip with his as they worked and laughed.

A throat cleared behind them, and they found Sylvia standing at the island, scowling.  “Can I have a word with Rose?”

John looked at Rose who nodded, and after a moment he slowly moved towards the door.  “I’ll be right outside,” he said, a promise to Rose and a threat to his mother, before disappearing through the sliding door.

“Hello,” Rose said politely, rinsing and drying her hands to give the other woman her full attention.  “Did you need something?”

“I’m sure you’re a lovely girl,” she started, not sounding genuine in the least, “and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”  Rose just barely managed to refrain from snorting, keeping her expression even.  “But John… he’s not the relationship type.  If you’re looking for a future, you’re wasting your time with him.”

The faux sympathy and care from her made Rose’s spine stiffen, but she didn’t let her feelings show.  “We’re very happy,” she repeated, “and on the same page with our relationship.”

“Darling I’m sure you are, but, well, you can’t spend the rest of your life on your back, can you?  Eventually he’ll want a real connection outside of the bedroom, and wouldn’t it be better to save yourself the heartbreak now?”

Rose blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing.  “Excuse me?”  She didn’t know whether to be offended or laugh.  “You think we’re together because of sex?”

“You’re half his age, what else could it be?  So he’s having a midlife crisis you’re benefiting from.  He’ll lose interest sooner or later. I just don’t want you to think it’s more than it is.”

The Rose of four months ago would have agreed.  The Rose of four months ago would have fled in tears, her worst fears confirmed.

The Rose of four months ago didn’t exist anymore.

“I know exactly what it is between us, and it has nothing to do with sex.  John and I are very happy, and we plan to be very happy, together, for a very long time.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m being terribly rude by being in here so long.  I don’t want Donna to get the wrong idea.”

Head held high she swept past the spluttering woman, walking out the door and crashing right into John’s chest.  “Oof!”

“Sorry,” he muttered, steadying her.  “Rose-”

“How much did you hear?”

“A little.”

“A little?”

“Almost none, really.”

“So everything.”

“Rose-”

Grabbing a fistful of his shirt she pulled him down to her, lips meeting in a bruising kiss.  “It’s okay,” she whispered when they parted no more than a breath.  “I’m okay. Let it go.”

His fingers flexed on her waist before relaxing, pulling her closer.  “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

Rose drove John home at the end of the night, and the ride was comfortably silent after an afternoon of fun and laughter.  Finding a parking space in front of his flat, she turned the car off and settled back into her seat, sighing.

“I’m sorry about my Mum,” he said quietly, staring out the windshield.

Rolling her head to face him, she smiled.  “It’s okay.  Really.  I’ve heard enough stories from you and Donna and Wilf over the years that I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I’m not holding it against you.  And quite honestly, I’m perfectly happy to have the less abrasive mum in this relationship!”

He turned to face her, looking serious.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes.  I… I have no doubts about us,” she admitted shyly.  “I haven’t for a while.”

“Neither do I.”  He glanced away for a moment.  “Rose, I…”

She placed a finger across his lips, silencing him.  “I know.  And, I do too.  But things are good, and… I still want to wait.  I like how things are right now, and as much as I’m looking forward to our future… I want to savor these moments as well.  Is that okay?”

John leaned forward, kissing her softly.  “More than.”

They snogged for several minutes before Rose finally remembered what she’d originally wanted to talk about.  “Wait!”

He pulled back panting, leaving his hand buried in her hair.  “What’s wrong?”

Rose wrung her hands nervously in her lap.  “I wanted to ask- well, invite you to something, but… I don’t want to pressure you, and it’s a big deal- not a huge deal, but not nothing, and I just- well-”

“Rose.”

Taking a deep breath, she focused on his open and expectant face.  “Next month is the annual Vitex Ball.  Every year a different charity in a different field is honored, and it’s a huge fundraising deal.  Obviously I have to go, and I was wondering… well, hoping, that you might be willing to go with me?”

“As your date?”

“Yes.”

“For a charity ball?”  His face was blank, and she had to bite her lip to keep from rambling on about it.

“Yes.”

“What’s the charity?”  It wasn’t a no, and her hopes began to rise.

“First let me say I have no input on the charity, and it’s selected like a year in advance.”

“Rose.”

“Doctors Overseas?”

He blinked at her, mouth dropping slightly as he stared.  “What?”

“Yeah.”

“I work with them,” he said.  “Frequently.  Martha too, sometimes.  Did you-”

“I know you do,” Rose rushed to say, “that’s why I’m inviting you.  I mean, I would have anyway, but- will you think about it?”

“Yes,” John said, a smile slowly growing across his face.

“You’ll think about it?”

“No.  I mean, I’ll go,” he corrected.  “What’s the date?”

“September 20th.  It’s a Saturday night.”

“It’s a date.”  His eyes crinkled as his smile widened, before he paused.  “Erm, how much is the ticket?”

“We buy a table,” Rose dismissed with a wave of her hand.  “Don’t worry about that.  There’s an auction, tombola, and straight up ‘deposit check here’ opportunities as well if you want to contribute personally.”

John hummed skeptically.  “Aren’t plates like fifteen grand?”

“Erm, yeah.  Over the years my parents have worked out good relationships with the vendors, so for as expensive as the event is, it doesn’t actually cost that much, with lots of donations and things.  Almost all the money raised goes towards the charity itself; Vitex pays seventy-five percent of the final bill, with the rest from the event profit.”

“And then gets a free table?”

“Yes, but we use it for the guests of honor.  You know, head of the charity, a few of the staff members.  We buy our own table personally.”

“I would love to go,” he said earnestly, and Rose let out a sigh of relief.  “There shouldn’t be any calendar conflict, and if there is I’ll fix it. I’d be honored.”

“Great!”  A yawn interrupted her smile, and John let out a laugh.  “Well, it’s been a long though wonderful day.  I’ll see you at the lesson tomorrow?”

“Looking forward to dancing with you,” he confirmed, kissing her again.  “Good night, Rose.”

“Good night.”

Rose waited until he was inside to pull away, and that night she fell asleep to visions of dancing in his arms.

The next afternoon she was walking up the sidewalk to the dance studio when she heard John call her name.

“Rose!”

She turned to see him jogging up behind her, grinning madly.  “Hi!”

They kissed, before heading into the studio arm in arm.

“I thought you’d already be here,” he commented, holding the door for her.

Rose winced, seeing the other three couples already present and waiting, standing around chatting.  “I had brunch with my family, remember?  Tony refused to let me leave, and I got caught in traffic.”

“I got caught up in lesson plans.  Least we’re late together, I suppose.”

“Great, you’re here!” Martha called, spotting them.  “Ready to get started?”

“Sorry we’re late,” Rose apologized, greeting everyone with a hug and kiss.

“Tony?” Mickey guessed, laughing when she nodded.  “Told you, babe.”

Martha just smiled, shaking her head fondly.  “No worries, you’re not actually late.  Set your stuff down and we can start.”

Rose dumped her bag on a chair, shaking her hair loose from its ponytail as she surveyed the space.  Martha and Mickey had booked a private dance lesson for the wedding party, so the studio was empty except for the eight of them and two teachers, a man and a woman.

Hurrying back to John, she rolled her eyes to find him at the back of the group.  “Why are we back here?” she muttered.

“Because.  You look beautiful, by the way.”  He ran a heated gaze of her, and she preened.  She had on a dress similar to the style Martha had picked for the bridesmaids, though this one was crimson, and her favorite heels for formal dancing, to get a better sense of how it would go during the reception itself.

“Thanks.”  Before she could say more, the female instructor began to speak.

“Good afternoon, welcome, I’m Hilary and this is Ryan.  Let’s get started.”

“God, my feet are killing me,” Rose laughed, clinging to John’s arm as they staggered into his flat.  “Two hours of club dancing after two hours of waltz lessons was not a good idea.”

“Leo said they’d paid the babysitter for the whole afternoon, it only made sense to make use of her.”  John steered her to the couch, where she sank gratefully into the plush cushions.

“Mhmm, tell me about it.  My parents do that to me all the time.  I don’t mind, I love Tony, but seriously.”  Rose settled her feet on the coffee table, eyes fluttering closed only to jerk open when her legs moved.  “What-”

“These don’t look very comfortable,” John commented, sitting on the table in front of her and putting her feet in his lap, before undoing the straps.  “How about a foot rub?”

“Oooh, that’d be amazing,” Rose moaned, sinking deeper as his thumbs began to knead the balls of her feet.  “Wow.”

“Doctor,” he bragged.  “I think I know a bit about how bodies work.”

“Mhmm.”  Rose relaxed in silence, enjoying his comforting touch as he massaged her feet and ankles.  As always, his touch set fire to her blood, a low simmer she’d gotten used to ignoring.

Eventually he stopped, and her eyes blinked open to find him watching her with a rapt look.

“Hi.”

“Dance with me,” he said abruptly, standing.

Rose got to her feet as well, wrinkling her nose.  “There’s no music.”

“So?”  He led her to the other side of the table with more space, taking her hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Their bodies fit together perfectly, and Rose lay her head on his chest as they swayed.  Every so often he would lay kisses to her crown, and she sank deeper against him.  His heart was under her ear, the steady beat a familiar comfort.  No place was better than this, being in his arms, nothing had ever felt more right, and those three little words bubbled up inside her until she could no longer contain them.

“John?”

“Yes, darling?” he murmured, holding her tighter.

Rose leaned back enough to see his face, searching his eyes as she tried to find the right words.  “I-  You- John,”

A ringing mobile cut her off, and they both groaned.  “Sorry, that’s me. Hang on.”  He fished his mobile out of his pocket, tucking it in the crook of his neck.  “‘Lo?”

She couldn’t quite hear what the person on the other end was saying, just random snatches of words, but knew it wasn’t good when he stopped moving, body tensing as he shot her an apologetic look.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.  Okay.”

He hung up, tossing the mobile back towards the couch before burying one hand in her hair and using it to tilt her head back as he plundered her mouth.

Rose’s knees went weak, sagging against him, and she was breathless by the time he pulled away.  “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I have to go,” he sighed regretfully.  “That was my contact at Doctors Overseas – there’s been a hurricane in the Caribbean, they need all hands on deck so to speak.”

“Of course you have to go,” she agreed, seeing the relief those words brought him.  “How long will you be gone?”

John grimaced again.  “Hard to say.  Last time I was there almost two months, but it was earlier last summer and I didn’t have any obligations.  I’ll do my best to be back for the Ball.”

“But you don’t want to leave until the work is done.”  He nodded, and she smiled slightly.  “Well, I can’t say I won’t miss you, but I know how important this is to you so I’ll just say be as safe as you can be.”

He kissed her again before pulling away with a groan.  “I have to go pack, there’s a chartered plane leaving in two hours.”

Rose followed him into the bedroom, settling by the headboard to watch, savoring every last second she could get with him.  “Is there anything you need me to do while you’re gone?  Rent, plants, bills, family?”

“Would you mind terribly closing this place up?”  He glanced up from the duffel he was packing.  “Trash, perishables, that sort of thing.  Bills are all on auto-pay, including rent, and I’ll call the school on my way to the airport.”

“Done.”

“And, here.”  He grabbed a gift-wrapped box out of a drawer.  “I was going to give this to you soon, and under much more romantic circumstances, but this will have to do.”

“What is it?”  Rose took the lid off the box to find a keyring with two keys hanging from it.

“Thought maybe you should have your own key,” he said, failing at being casual.  “One’s the building, the one with the bit of blue paint is the front door. Would you mind coming by to water the plants every few days?  Donna’ll kill me if I let them die.”

“Of course.”  Rose clutched the box to her chest.  “Anything else?”

He zipped the bag shut before moving around the bed to where she kneeled.  “Yeah.  Take care of my girl.”

Rose flung herself into his arms as he reached for her, and they kissed as though it would be the last time.

“Come home to me,” she whispered.

“Always.”

With a final, bruising kiss he was gone, the door shutting behind him echoing in the suddenly empty and bereft space.

She already missed him.

#bbatcfic #doctorroseprompts #timepetalscollective #ficandchips #dwsecretsanta #doctor who #Human!NinexRose #human!nine #rose tyler #au #second chance at forever #oohlala

[missizzy]

Ficlet: Sherry Yang, Six Weeks Later(Iron Fist)

She couldn’t have avoided Wing forever, and things with Zhong have now gotten to the point that she doesn’t want to either. Sherry arranges for the meeting to happen in the community center during the day. Two guards insist on coming with her, though they wouldn’t be much use against Wing. Even though the setting at least obliges her to leave the katana at home.

Wing comes in with a smile which does not hide how wary she clearly is. Especially not when she says as they sit down, “Good to finally see you. I’ve been wondering where you were. Though maybe I’d heard wrong and you were in the dustcloud.”

Sherry decides to avoid the niceties on this one. “I have been moving into more legitimate business, as you have said I need to do.” If she was still involved in a few less than legal activities en route, especially in the early months, she doesn’t need to disclose that. “Not that everyone has believed that; our friend Harry Zhong has made clear to me he doesn’t.”

“What do you know about him?” Wing immediately demands. “I’ve been trying to find out who he even is for over a month.”

“It’s not easy,” Sherry replies. “I still don’t know much. He lives in Williamsburg, and it’s clear he has some money-though if it comes from any source other than weapons sales, that isn’t under his own name. I have names of people who work for him, some of which I think are their real ones, others of which I’m sure aren’t. I have it all written down with me.”

“And you’re hoping if you give me this information, I’ll do something about him?”

“I would think you’d want to.” She kept her tone as calm as possible. “He may live in Brooklyn, but I know your cop friend has told you most of his activity takes place here, and it has turned violent multiple times. It’s obvious he wants control of Chinatown, and he’ll return things to the way they were.

And I’ll tell why you haven’t seen me around. I’m sure Captain Knight has also told you a least a little bit about all the surviving major figures in New York’s underworld trying to kill each other. Most of them didn’t go after me; at least I’m no longer worth the effort for them. Not that I knew that for nearly three weeks, because there were multiple attempts on my life anyway. I’ve traced them all back to him. And he has killed people of mine.

I won’t have this, Ms. Wing. We all must defend ourselves. If you don’t take care of this man, I will.”

To her credit, Wing betrays no reaction to this. “I know he does have to be stopped, yes,” she says. “Give me all you’ve got, and I’ll see what I can do. For now, I would strongly advise you to stay out of it from here on in, unless I ask for your help again.” There is a bit of a threat of her own there, the awareness that they might not get through this without disrupting the balance they’ve now spent well over a year keeping; it barely survived that business with Danny Rand just before everyone died.

But they need not give that up for lost immediately, and Sherry just says, “Then I will be waiting to hear this man has been dealt with.”

#iron fist #sherry yang #colleen wing #marvel cinematic universe #infinity war

[multi-fandom-central]

birds of a feather |stan uris x oc| |it 2017|

|chapter one: to the grave|

The past and present are revealed.

"Hear me out 'cause I never made the sound / Couldn't keep it locked away, couldn't take it to the grave"

On Wattpad and AO3

~1979~

third person's pov

The day started like any other for Lily Blue and Mike Hanlon.

At 7:45 am on the dot, Jessica Hanlon would bring her son, Mike Hanlon, to the Blue household. Will Hanlon and Jason Blue, Mike and Lily's fathers, had left an hour earlier for work, as per usual. When Jessica would arrive,  it would be 8:00 am and Bridget Blue would have some buttered toast and jam ready for breakfast, with a glass of orange juice, Lily in her seat, waiting impatiently to eat. The Blue-Hanlon families would eat, the mothers giggling about something that their husbands had done for them the night before and the children would hurriedly eat their breakfast, not having time to talk for the food in their mouths.

From there, Bridget and Jessica would clean up breakfast as the two children giggled and played in the living room, playing with barbies and Mike's G.I. Joe.

At 10:30, the Mike and Lily would take their usual nap, before waking up an hour and a half later.

At 12:30 everyone would have lunch, before proceeding to clean the house.

By the time 5:30 rolled around the house would be spotless and prepared for Will Hanlon and Jason Blue to come home.

The two men would stroll in at 6:00, in time to eat dinner before it went cold.

Except something was off the whole day, to Lily anyway. Like she could feel something was going to happen, but she didn't know what, and quite frankly, didn't care. She was 4 and a half, why should she?

At 6:45, though, that was when Mike Hanlon and Lily Blue's lives changed forever.

The adults were in the living room and Mike and Lily were in the spare room, which had been turned into a playroom when everything went wrong.

The front door opened quietly, though no one had heard it. Not until it was too late anyway. Whoever had entered, then proceeded to pour gasoline all over the kitchen and walls, before moving to the living room.

Jessica Hanlon screamed as something poured over her head, covering her hair, face, and dress, soaking Will as well.

Will pulled Jessica to him as they tried to see who was soaking them with gas.

Quickly whoever had plans to destroy the families, splashed gas on the Blue family, before pulling out a lighter.

"NO!" The adults screamed and made desperate grabs for the lighter.

Finally able to see who was intent on murdering them, Bridget Blue watched in horror at Butch Bowers smirked evilly before dropping the lighter onto the gas and running out of the building.

The adults screamed as the fire because to climb up their limbs, scorching them.

The fire began to spread throughout the house, as the four parents, despite being aflame, ran to the playroom, desperate to save their children.

The door had at that moment decided to jam as both the children and parents tried to open the door.

Lily and Mike cried as they heard the pounding on the door begin to cease, the adults still screaming in pain as the flesh was burned off of their bodies.

The flames licked at the door of the room and slowly spread to the walls.

Mike and Lily huddled together, holding on tightly to each other as they waited to be burned alive as well.

The rest of the door was kicked down, a fire extinguisher spraying the flames that had entered the room.

The fireman that had extinguished the flames quickly spotted the two 4-year-olds, curled around each other, shaking.

He walked over, and gently placed a hand on Mike's back, as the way they were curled up, Mike's back had been facing towards the fire, with Lily in the corner. It was as if Mike was using his 4-year-old body as a human shield. His father told him one day when they were helping Mike's grandfather around the farm, "Mike, if there ever comes a time, when me, or Uncle Jason, or even Aunt Bridget and your mother aren't around, and it's just you and Lily, you always protect her, okay? Against anything. She's your best friend, she's been with you your whole life, and will probably continue to be with you for the rest of your life. You probably won't understand this now, but when you're older you will. Lilith is like your platonic soulmate in a sense. Platonic means love or a really strong friendship and soulmate's like your mother and me, or grandma and grandpa. Alright?" to which an owl-eyed Mike responded, "Okay Daddy". "promise you'll make sure she's okay when no one else can?" Will held his pinky out to which Mike wrapped his smaller one around his, nodding with the most solemn expression Will Hanlon had ever seen.

Now, that the fire was put out, the two kids peaked up to see if they actually had died but it just didn't hurt but were pleasantly surprised when they saw that the fire was out and there was a fireman that saved them.

The fireman, Chester, helped Mike up, who then helped Lily up and grasped her hand tightly.

"Is Mommy and Daddy okay? Aunt Jessy and Uncle Willy?" Lily asked, her lip trembling as she held onto Mike's hand tightly.

Chester didn't look at them, and instead picked them up and ran out of the room, and down the hall, trying to get away from the burnt corpses of the Blue and Hanlon families.

Unfortunately, it was no use as they both saw the burnt piles of cloth and bones laying by the door.

Their jaws hung in shock, neither saying anything, quite literally shell-shocked.

Outside four cop cars were scattered around the house, and two fire trucks were stationed on the left and right side of the house, water spraying from both trucks as the firefighters continued to extinguish the house that was still on fire.

Mike and Lily sat by two bushes, eyes wide, both shaking.

Leroy and Shirley Hanlon drove up to the burnt down house on Harris Avenue, Leroy still wearing his plaid button up shirt and blue jeans, but Shirley had obviously just changed and was preparing for bed, standing in her pink nightgown, light blue bathrobe tied tightly to her frame, black slippers on her feet.

Shirley was the first to spot her grandson and her future adopted-granddaughter.

Quickly, she pulled Leroy to the two children, but a police officer held them back.

"Sir, ma'am I'm afraid you're going to have to take a step back." Kenny Rayson said, holding the woman back, well attempting to anyway.

"Officer, with all, do respect, that is my grandchildren over there, now you can either let me by, or you can take me to the jailhouse, but I'm getting to my grandbabies whether you like it or not." Shirley Hanlon was an incredibly fierce woman when she wanted to be.

Kenny Rayson wasn't a bright man, but he knew when to get out of a woman's way, especially when she wasn't afraid to put up a fight. Officer Rayson guided the couple to the shaking children. Shirley frowned at the traumatized children and picked up Mike and Leroy picked up Lily, Rayson walking them to their car without question.

That night, Lily and Mike vowed to forever stay connected at the hip, no matter what, because even as children, they knew that nobody would understand what they've been through, except each other.

~1989~

lily's pov

Mike and I stood in the farmhouse with our Grandfather, Leroy Hanlon, and Mr. Moe Lawrence, one of Grandad's workers that helped around the farm from time to time.

I grimaced as the bolt penetrated the sheep's skull, plunging into the poor thing's brain, killing it instantly. I knew that the animal didn't feel any pain because it had happened so fast and by the time the pain set in, it would already be dead, not having to feel anything. I knew this, but still couldn't help but feel terrible for taking an innocent life.

Grandad turned to Mike and me, staring at us, waiting.

Noticing that my best friend wasn't going to make a move, I stepped forward, swallowing thickly.

Grandad handed me the gun, reloading it, and clicking the safety off.

He helped me position my arms correctly and I bit the inside of my cheek, as I placed the barrel between the animal's eyes.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I pulled the trigger, the gun pushing me back a bit, signaling that I wasn't prepared for the kick.

The sheep hit the ground, and Grandad placed a rough, calloused hand on my shoulder, giving me a pat on the back, taking the gun from me, and reloading it, before handing it off to Mike, who gave my shoulder a small squeeze, before copying my actions, following our grandfather's directions.

"Go on Mike, pull it!" Grandad encouraged Mike.

After a few minutes of hesitation, Grandad pulled the gun away from Mike and shot the sheep himself.

"You need to start taking more responsibility around here Mike, Lily. When your dad was younger than you-" Grandad said, before he was cut off by Mike.

"You're not my dad, alright?!" Mike snapped.

I decided it would be best just to keep quiet because it wasn't really the best idea to get into a fight with Grandad and Mike.

"Man, look at me, son," Grandad was speaking softly at first, but when Mike didn't look at him immediately, he got slightly harsher.

"Look at me!" Mike turned to look at him, with a slightly irritated look on his face.

"There are two places you can be in this world! You can be out here, like us. Or you can be in there, like them. You waste time, hemming and hawing, and someone else is going to make that choice for you. Except you won't know it, until you feel that bolt, between your eyes." Grandad Leroy said, placing his pointer finger between Mike's eyes, before walking away.

I gulped, watching them.

Another sheep was let through, and thankfully, Grandad let Mike and I go.

We went up to the house, going into the kitchen.

Mike went to get our books as I began to make some lunch for Grandad, Mike, and myself. Moe always brought a lunch that his wife would pack for him, and he was also the only one here today.

Gramms had passed away a few months ago. It was pretty gory if I'm being honest.

When we found her, she was out in the fields, laying by the old oak tree, eyes open, a look of terror written a crossed her face, her eyes still holding the fear she had felt in her final moments. She was covered in blood, her own blood, and she was laying in a pool of it too. Her stomach was bloody, and her intestines were missing.

The autopsy said she had died of a heart attack, her intestines being eaten out were after she had passed.

After she passed away, Grandad kinda went off the deep end. His temper had gotten shorter for sure, but he had also quit taking care of himself like he used to.

Before they would take turns cooking, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays Gramms cooked dinner, and Grandad cooked Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Every couple of months they would switch it up a bit, and whenever they cooked, they taught Mike and me so that we would know how to cook and take care of ourselves when the time came when we only had each other.

Now, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, I cook lunch and dessert, and Mike does Breakfast and Dinner. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, I cook Breakfast and Dinner, and Mike does lunch and dessert.

We've definitely gotten a system down.

For now, though, I was making some sandwiches.

I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich for Grandad, and some peanut butter and honey sandwiches for Mike and I.

I placed the sandwiches on the table as Mike washed his hands and pulled some glasses out, filling them with ice and tea.

As we were placing the cups on the table, Grandad came inside and washed his hands, before taking his seat at the table.

"Thank you, both of you" Grandad had calmed down since his little fight with Mike, now eating quietly.

I gave him a smile, nodding, polishing off the rest of my peanut butter and honey sandwich, washing it down with the tea.

The rest of the meal was quiet after that, as we ate in silence.

After we were all done eating, we cleaned up the mess and got back to work, well Grandad did, Mike and I had taken to do our school work.

After a few hours, we had finished our homework and had eaten dinner and dessert, now just lounging around.

Grandad had already gone to sleep, so it was just Mike and me up.

Mike and I were up in my room, laying on my bed, just staring at the ceiling.

I had my head in Mike's lap, with Mike running his hands through my hair, playing with it.

"Do you think our lives would be different if the fire never happened?" Mike suddenly asked.

"Yeah of course. I mean for starters, we'd probably be in public school, with parents like everyone else. We wouldn't live together, we wouldn't live with Grandad! The list goes on!" I let out a yawn and closed my eyes.

"But I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. Everything happens for a reason, we've just gotta find what that reason is." I let out another yawn, and Mike pulled me up to the head of the bed where he was.

"Yeah, but if that reason wants to tell us, that'd be good too" Mike let out a yawn as well, and we snuggled up under the blankets getting comfy.

"Don't forget that someone's gotta go grocery shopping tomorrow" Mike reminded me. Oh yeah, it was my turn to go out to the shops.

I nodded before I began to drift off to sleep.

"Good night, Lily," Mike said.

"Good night, Mike," I said before I allowed myself to drift off into the imagination of my memories and thoughts.

So that was chapter one of birds of a feather! let me know what you think!

#birds of a feather #stan uris au #i'm a loser #i am a demigod #i am a witch #i dont sparkle #i'll be my own hero #it 2017 #stan uris x oc #mike hanlon #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #ben hanscom #bill denbrough #beverly marsh #stan uris #lilith blue #lily blue