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gomzwrites · 11 months

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Task force 141 found out about your soft spots | Part 2

Summary: Ever since they saw the softer part of you, the task force 141 has been trying to see more of them. a/n: This is a follow-up from the previous part! It can be read separately but part 1 gives more context :) Also! The dividers were made by @gomzdraws (which is also me lol) apologies if I took too long! I'll have to admit I got a bit carried away with part :>

Tags: incorrect military terms, fluff, can be read as platonic or romantic, horrible attempt at Scottish accent(I gave up near the end xD), mention of dog bites, x gn!reader

PLEASE DO NOT RESHARE MY WORK ON OTHER PLATFORMS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION

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Captain John Price

The two of you returned to base after just recently completing the mission; the target was secured and handled, and you rested in the general area as you looked through your phone again, updating your to-do list as you had stumbled upon the photo of the cute latter art previously. You stop and lean on the counter as you smile. It's so freaking cute, you think to yourself before a nudge takes your attention.

"Come", was all the captain said before you quickly followed along without questions. You’re always eager to follow any instructions he gives; maybe he needed to discuss the upcoming mission. But it’s obvious it's not going to be that as you sit in his car. Where are we going?

You ask curiously as you fasten the seat belt. The Captain only gives you a smile as he presses the gas pedal. "Just getting something to eat", he replies as you nod and relax into the chair. Well, it's nearing evening, and you are, in fact, quite hungry, so a small bite before dinner doesn’t sound too bad. It wasn’t long before you finally reached your destination. It’s a quiet town that has a few stalls and shops, and you walk alongside the captain until you stop before a small cafe, tucked nicely at the end of the street.

You look through the window as you watch the few people and barista chilling inside. It looks warm and cosy; there were soft fairy lights lining the pale yellowish wall with brown pillars supporting the structure. The captain gently places his hand around your back as he guides you to enter the cafe. You follow along as you take in the fresh smell of coffee and pastries and the sight of the small place. Price let you wander around for a while before taking a seat near the stairs, and a waiter quickly came as he greeted him.

"Ah John! It's been a while; I see you brought company." The older man then hands you both the menu as he chuckles and bumps the captain’s shoulder. Price nods back as he glances back at you and says, "Pick anything you want, it’s on me", You give him a surprised look before you nod and take a look. You smile as you look through the list on the menu; it has a lot of cute drinks and desserts, so he saw. You thought to yourself as you ordered a latte; it's apparently their best-selling drink with the 3D cat milk foam on top of the drink. The waiter nods as he looks at Price, to whom he orders tea and some apple strudels. The waiter takes down the order on his notepad before promptly returning to the counter and preparing the orders.

How did you find this place? You ask the captain as you take in the surroundings again; it's a hidden gem, that’s for sure, and the prices on the menu were not bad as well.

"I knew this place because Oliver, the man who took our order just now, used to go to the same college", you hum as a reply and nod.

It's a nice place, and I can’t wait to try the drink, you reply back with a smile as your eyes twinkle with excitement. The captain chuckles as he nods.

"Well, I didn’t take you as someone who likes these kinds of things, but it's a pleasant surprise, don’t worry. So I figured I'd bring you here."

He raised an eyebrow out of amusement as he watched you blush slightly. You huffed out a puff of air before you replied sheepishly,

Ah well, I guess cute things are my weakness after all; who would’ve guessed?

"Just don't let the enemy know, and you’ll be fine", the captain jokes back as your drink arrives, and you immediately close your mouth as you watch the foam wiggle around when it was placed gently on the table.

Oh my god, you whisper to yourself as you gasp and take in the sight, quickly taking your phone out and taking a picture. You glance back at Price with sparkling eyes as you tilt your head, giving him a "are you seeing this?" look as he chuckles and nods. He can feel the joy radiating from your face as you go ahead and stare at the drink, and the way you carefully turn the cup around to see the whole thing? Precious.

He watches you take a sip. You close your eyes and give a nod as you savour the taste. Not only was the drink cute, but the flavour was perfect as well. You can smell the coffee's aroma and see how smooth the drink is. You didn’t realise when you had a bit of foam below your nose as you smiled back at the captain. Price couldn't help but laugh slightly as he took a tissue and wiped off the foam from your face. "Guessing you like it then?", you nod as you place down the cup and cover your mouth slightly to hide the pink blush that’s creeping up to your cheek.

Yeah, it's not too bitter, and it tastes pretty rich. I like it. You reply as you watch him hum and take his strudel and tea.

"Good, we can come here again next time". He says this as he gives you a warm grin and a wink.

John Soap MacTavish

It was another week of training with the two military dogs, specifically Max and Judy, two German Shepherds who have been quite fond of you as they follow the training. Over the course of the regimen, you are supposed to reinforce essential handling techniques and carry out a few conditioning exercises like generalised commands. You may not be a military dog handler, but the training has definitely improved your skills to be one. Soap has joined you on a few training sessions and watches on the side as you smoothly handle the dogs, carrying out the essential steps and watching as the dogs follow you obediently. He finds it inspiring to see you train with the professional dog handler, Sergeant Sam, who has been offering a lot of help and tips.

Today, Sergeant Sam guides you through controlled aggression training for Max, something the dog has had some trouble with for the past few days. Max has shown a good level of precision when commanded to attack a target, but its restraint technique still needs more practice, as Max tends to move before you give your words. You coo and guide Max as you carry out the demonstration, pointing at the volunteer as Max growls. You hold onto the leash firmly when Max tries to run towards the target, and you speak with a steady, calm voice as you patiently coo at the dog.

Alright Max, steady. Not yet. Stay.

Your voice hushed Max as it reduced his growl and made him stand on the ground, no longer pulling on the leash, and wait for your next command.

Okay, good boy Max, you don't forget to praise it immediately. This is one of the many bits of advice given by Sergeant Sam, it is said to give the dog motivation and let it know it’s doing the right thing if you praise its action immediately.

You finally gave the signal after a while, and Max immediately went to jump and bite on the protective coat the volunteer was wearing, growling and displaying its aggression as you guided the dog. Sergeant Sam and you continue to practise a few more times with Max to properly train him to improve his restraining skills.

After a few hours, you were finally given a break as you sat on the floor, sweating as you gently rubbed Max’s head.

There you are, good boy Max~ So proud of you!

You whisper to Max as you feel something poke your back. You glance back and smile as you watch Judy (the other military dog) wagging its tail and giving your cheek a lick.

Ah! Judy, did you miss me? Hey now, who’s a good boy~?

You immediately shower Judy with attention and pat its head as you glance up to watch Soap approaching you. You wave to him as he stands at a distance. You watch his nervousness show as he rubs his neck and taps his foot repeatedly on the ground. You then stand up and order Max and Judy to sit and remain still on the floor as you walk to Soap.

Sergeant Soap, good to see you. You greeted him with a smile as he relaxed slightly and smiled back at you.

"Aye, I saw da training todae; it seems yer gettin better at this!", he said as he nervously glanced back at Max and Judy before staring back at you again. You nodded appreciatively as you chuckled and spoke.

Yeah, Max and Judy have been behaving well, and the training with them is running smoothly. They remind me of my own dog back home, you say fondly as you watch him glance back at you with a surprised grin.

"Wut? You owned a German Shepherd? That’s perfect, then, actually", You watch as he shuffles around his pocket as he holds out a bag of snacks; it’s Milk-Bone dog biscuits! You smile widely as he hands you the snack.

"Well, I wanted to give it to ya as a wae to say thanks since yer took the job for me; you seem close to dogs anyhow; I hope I bought the right thing". Soap says as he laughs and pats your shoulder, "What’s the name?", He asks before you take out your phone and proudly show him photos of your own German Shepherd. It's big, and it has a golden sable pattern that shines ever so slightly under the sun.

Named it Meatball because he always managed to steal some from the kitchen. He is my little ball of sunshine, you explain with a soft giggle as you show him more pictures, swiping the gallery before stopping on one where you were carrying Meatball with a struggling look, face scrunched up with a frown with a grin, you chuckle as you look back at Soap,

He’s almost 5 years old now and still jumps and expects me to carry him around like a baby, even when he's 60 pounds!

Soap laughs along as he stares at the photo. You looked so happy and content, and he likes how cheerful and giddy you are when you start talking about your dog. He’s still scared of dogs, but he felt like with you, he might be able to overcome that fear a little as he listens to your stories.

I'm sorry for babbling so much, by the way. You stop halfway when you realise you’ve been talking for the past 10 minutes about your own dog, but Soap quickly shakes his head as he rests his hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring look as he speaks,

"No, no, go on. I love hearing yer talk about Meatball. He’s really cute!", Soap says as he gives you a nudge. "might even visit the fella with how sweet he sounds". Your eyes beamed when he suggested that,

Really? I mean, I don't want to force you to meet him if you’re still uncomfortable and all

Soap nods again as he gives a chuckle.

"Well, I think I'm still a bit nervous, but it's something I want to try again, ya know?", You nod in understanding before you think for a moment and give a reply as you glance back at the military dogs.

How about you start by warming up to Judy? Max is a bit bigger and more intimidating, but Judy is smaller, and he’s more obedient. Do you want to try it? Soap sucks in a breath as he contemplates for a few minutes before finally sighing as he nods slowly. You smile as you rest your hand on his thigh to soothe his nerves.

It's okay; you’re with me. It will be alright. You say gently as you call for Judy to come around. Soap watches as Judy slowly makes its way towards you and Soap, his legs shuffling a bit as his muscles tense up when Judy comes and sits in front of you.

Be good. Soap is going to touch you, okay? You coo at Judy as the dog gives a nod and rests its head on your knee. You glance back at Soap as you hold his hand and speak.

You’re going to be okay; Judy won't bite, I promise. Soap nods with a gulp as he lets you take his hand and guide it to Judy’s head. You watch as he retracts his hand a bit when Judy tilts its head to stare at Soap.

"y-y/n…" Soap says nervously before you pause and rub his hand in small circles,

It's alright; take it slow and don't worry. You speak patiently as you watch Soap nod and take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. You don’t move and continue holding his hand in the air, and wait to let him take the initiative to move, and not long after that, he starts running his finger along the head of Judy’s fur cautiously. Judy remains still as it closes its eyes and wags its tail slightly. You give a small chuckle as you whisper back to Soap,

You’re alright; look, Judy likes you. You say as Soap relaxes more as he watches in awe, smiling slightly when he watches the dog press its furry chin onto your knees and melt into his touches. It’s certainly a much different response to what he imagined, and the memories of dogs biting into his legs and arms still haunt him sometimes. He can feel those sharp teeth sinking into his skin and drawing blood in those nightmares, but now? This dog he's touching is peacefully laying on your knee, not moving an inch as he strokes his fur softly with his palm, it's unnerving to him still, like he still expects the dog to bite him if he lets down his guard. But slowly, he gets more comfortable when he sees no signs of that happening, he also knows that if you're here with him, he'll be alright.

Soap glanced back at you as he held his gaze. "Thank you...", he said with a tone full of appreciation as you smiled back at him and nodded.

No worries, I'm happy you’re able to come this far, you say back with a soft tone as the both of you just continue like this, chatting idly back and forth as Soap slowly strokes Judy’s fur. By the end of the conversation, Judy was resting its head on Soap’s tight, and Soap was no longer trembling as he rests his hand on its head.

Kyle Gaz Garrick

Ever since Gaz dropped off the bear in your room, you’ve been trying to reach out to him. But many times that has not happened because of the busy schedules, and it also doesn’t help that you’re not often teamed up with him.

However, when you do see him, you make sure to give him a nod and an appreciative stare as he returns the same. You’ll admit you were not as close to Gaz when compared to Ghost, but ever since the IKEA trip, both of you have been trying to change that, even if it’s just a bit. Sometimes he brews you a cup of tea in the morning; other times you’ll secretly take on his paperwork when you notice those tired eye bags in the morning.

But you wanted to return the favour with more than just these small gestures. You’ve thought about a lot of options; the first thing was perhaps to buy him a game of sorts. You heard from Soap before that Gaz is a gamer himself and owns a Switch. The problem is that you’re not aware of what kind of games he’s into, and asking those questions will raise suspicions. You have a rough idea that he might like action role-playing and multiplayer games like Elden Ring and World of Warcraft; sometimes you know Soap and Gaz will play Mario Kart because of how loud their laughter can be in their room. But you don’t like guessing and would rather get him something you’re absolutely sure he will like. The other thing you wanted to get him was perhaps a hat or a scarf, seeing as he likes wearing those. But you learned that he is very attached to his scarf, so buying him a new one didn’t seem right to you. As for the hat, you actually found a blue beanie that might look good on him, but you decided to save it for his birthday. After many sleepless nights of trying to figure out what on earth to give him, the opportunity finally presented itself one day. You just finished a mission with the team, and as the crew made their way back to base, you noticed how Gaz’s gloves were damaged; the thumb side was burned off, most likely due to the explosion previously. Gaz took notice of your gaze and gave you a smile.

"It's alright; the rest of it is still fine I can live with it."

You give a nod as he turns around and speaks to Soap again, back to their usual banter as Gaz elbows Soap for not warning him when the bomb goes off. You secretly thank Soap for his recklessness because now you know exactly what to get him.

You tip-toed around the base during the late hours, being quiet and stepping cautiously on the floorboard to avoid generating any noise. You rest your hand along the wall as you walk before finally reaching the door. You glance around once and finally bend down to put down the little green box with a cute yellow ribbon. You smile softly to yourself as you stand up, only to yelp slightly when Gaz taps on your shoulder from the back.

"Hey, erm, what are you sneaking around for?-", he stops as you quickly glance back as you nervously stand before the gift, shuffling it behind your feet as you shake your head. Gaz watches your demeanour before he smiles as he looks down, noticing a small gift box. "I didn’t know it was my birthday today", he jokes with that charming smile of his, chuckling softly as he tilts his hand and leans closer.

"You don’t have to be so shy around me. Come on", He bends down to pick up the box as he opens the door. You were about to leave before he stops as he looks at you, motioning to enter his room. You gulp as you nod and follow along, deciding to sit on his bed beside him. You have never entered any member’s room at this point, and you’re surprised at how cosy his room is. A few blankets here and there; he even has a few plushies himself! You get distracted by his place without realising he has already pulled off the ribbon and taken out the gift. You turn around and face him when he lets out a gasp.

"YOU DID NOT-"

Gaz said excitedly as he held a pair of Moto gloves, navy in colour with a dash of blue camouflage, lined with hard leather that protects the knuckles. You watch as his eyes shine and he smiles so big that you can see his prominent canine teeth protruding, silently satisfied with yourself when he thanks you for the gift.

I've been wanting to return the favour since you got me the bear.

You say softly as he nods and tests out the glove. It’s a perfect fit as he feels the texture and size.

"This is amazing! I love it. Thank you so much", He thanks you again as he gives your head a pat. Both of you decided to stay for a while and chat idly after that.

Simon Ghost Riley

You were awake the entire night, blinking and shuffling around your bed as you sighed deeply.

Another sleepless night

You thought to yourself as you pressed a pillow to your own face. You usually have trouble sleeping sometimes—more than you would like to admit. Whether it's because of the stress that lingers after missions or because of nightmares, They plague your nights without mercy.

You groan and sit up as you stare at the clock.

It's about 5 a.m. already, and I still can’t sleep.

You grumble to yourself as you stand and stretch, pissed that you can’t even enjoy a day off without getting a good night's sleep. You decided to run some laps around the field to tyre yourself out and nap afterwards.

And you did just that, running around the field for the past half an hour already, yet somehow you can feel that you’re more awake than usual. You know you’re physically tired, but your mental state refuses to calm down and screams at you. You sat on the ground hopelessly before lying on it, staring up at the sky as you let out a long, defeated sigh as you let out a few more grumble.

"Good morning, y/n" comes a voice as you glance to your left, recognising it as you divert your gaze from his shoe to his mask.

Good morning, Lieutenant Ghost, You reply back as you sit up and frown, slightly embarrassed that he saw you like this.

"Grabbing coffee for them, coming along?" He asks as he shakes the car key in his left hand, his other resting in the pocket of his black hoodie. You nod as you stand up by yourself and brush away the dust as both of you head to the jeep.

You’ve done this routine before with Ghost, sometimes doing it yourself. The group likes to take turns buying coffee and breakfast every weekend near the base; even the barista and workers have already recognised you guys at this point.

"Ah, it's you, 3 black coffees and 2 Earl Greys as per usual, yes?" Ghost nods to the shorter barista as she promptly prepares the drinks. You stood beside Ghost as you glanced around when you waited for the order before catching your sight on the fridge that displayed pastries and other small bites.

swiss roll!!

You take notice of the delicacy as you step closer to the glass. They rarely have cakes, at least whenever you come to visit anyway; mostly they display croissants or sandwiches, and you have to admit that the swiss roll they sell looks pretty good and tempting.

Matcha, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate

You take a close look at all the options as you stare excitedly. Ghost watches as he stands closer and bumps your shoulder.

"Chocolate is good."

He whispers into your ears as you blush slightly at the sudden closeness and glance back at him. You nod as you stare back at that specific swiss roll. It even has what you assume is chocolate whipped cream with a small cherry on top. You whisper back softly as you grab his sleeve timidly.

Can I try the cake with you?

You know you can finish this cake yourself, but you wanted to share it with him since he suggested it in the first place.

Ghost blinks before nodding as he pats your hand, ordering the chocolate swiss roll as you smile and happily take a seat in the corner of the cafe. You watch as he brings the plate and sets it on the table. He hands you a fork as he watches you poke through the cake and take a bite.

!!!

Your eyes beam as your face lights up when you have a taste; the soft, spongy chocolate cake is perfect, and paired with the chocolate whipped cream? It tasted like heaven. Ghost chuckles as he watches you take another bite.

"Told ya"

You nod as you glance back at him with a giddy smile. You were right. You say as you take a much bigger part of the cake and hand the fork to him, and he nods as he pulls his balaclava to eat the cake, making sure he watches you from the corner of his eyes as he eats it. He likes seeing you take in the sight of him shamelessly, even if it's just his jaw and lips. He liked how you always stare and trail along the faint scar he has around the chin; it's as if you’re mapping him out and memorising his features. He gives a hum of approval as he finishes the bite and hands you back the fork, urging you to take more as you shake your head.

"It's okay, kid, I’ve tried this cake before already. Eat."

He says this as you frown slightly and nod along, then enjoy the cake again as your brows slowly relax. He smiles as he continues to watch you eat; he knows that you’re always eager and tend to be more compassionate than the other members, even if you don't show it. Gestures like how you always save a seat for him in the planes beside Soap, or how you silently wipe and clean Soap’s guns after missions, or how you always helped Gaz with reports, and you always brew a cup of coffee for Captain when he needs it, your actions doesn't go unnoticed by him.

Do you have a sweet tooth?

The question caught him off guard as he watch your eye. He took a few moments to ground himself before nodding. He watched the glint of amusement in your eyes as you smiled and leaned in to ask another question.

Then what’s your favourite dessert?

He smiles at your question as he leans in and rests his arm on the table as he stares back at you.

"Chocolate, if that wasn’t obvious enough already."

You chuckle as you shake your head and slightly poke his muscular arm.

Yeah, I have an idea, obviously, but you know, like, what kind? Like chocolate bars? Cocoa drinks? Chocolate brownies? You know what I mean, you list out the example as you bite on the fork.

He chuckles as he goes on and answers back, then you shoot another question and the process repeats. They may be small and mundane questions, but moments like this make him feel human again, to remind him that he is not just a war machine in this world, that he too has cravings and such, plus it also feels like you get to know him better, and perhaps this friendship can flourish more.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a/n: am I biased towards Gaz? yes, yes I am(and yeah the gloves are from CSGO lol), like and reposts are appreciated! Have a good day/night! <3

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the-californicationist · 3 months

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Good Fences (Fluffuary #01)

Welcome to Fluffuary 2024! Check out the schedule here. This will be a multi-chapter story where the theme of each chapter is guided by the daily schedule. While they are meant to be read back-to-back, they can be read as one-shots, too. Thanks for being here! 🩷

They say that good fences make good neighbors, but when you share an apartment balcony with a handsome, kind, and single British SAS captain, you start to wonder if a fence is going to be enough to keep you away.

My blog is always restricted (MDNI) despite the fact that these works will contain very little smut.

FEB01: First Meeting

There was a strange man in your apartment’s foyer. He was dressed in olive green cargo pants, laced black boots, and a bomber jacket. On his head, a black woolen beanie sat just over his ears. His face was covered in a well-groomed beard, and his entire body filled the room. This man was enormous. Too big, you thought, for a normal man to be. He seemed like one of those characters at a theme park, dressed in carved foam, every part of them comically disproportionate to the tiny children screaming around them for hugs and attention.

You watched as he tried to use the elevator, and you melted a bit. He must have just moved in. That damn deathtrap hadn’t worked for the whole four years you’d lived here, and even if the doors did open, you could push every button that it had to offer and it still wouldn’t carry you up even an inch. You noticed that his hands, also too large, tightened their grip on a rattling, overstuffed cardboard box, so you made a quick comment,

“Are you just moving in?”

He turned, noticing you for the first time, and he smiled. That made his enormity much more palatable.

“Aye,” his British accent was distractingly strong, “I’m John.”

John shifted the weight of the box to his hip so he could shake your hand properly. He seemed like the kind of person who thought that a handshake in a first meeting was very important, so you stacked up your mail and keys into your left hand and offered him your right, letting his huge paw envelop your whole palm.

You told him your name, and you filled him in,

“Elevator’s been broken for years. You’re not going anywhere in that thing, and to be honest, I’d pay money not to.”

He chuckled, warm and deep, like a bass drum, and you enjoyed the way his eyes wrinkled as his smile reached them,

“Alright. Stairs it is.”

As you slogged your way upstairs, you chatted about all of the usual things. You discovered that he was in the British armed forces, and he was staying in Bethesda for an extended time, serving with some Americans. It was all very vague and cagey, but you’d been in the capitol and its surrounding towns for close to a decade now, so secretive answers were very much the norm.

You told him about your job as a student advocate. You worked from home most of the time, but you served students in tens of schools and districts around the region. He seemed to take quite a keen interest in your work, lauding you for your willingness to fight for student rights. You were such a lone wolf most of the time, it felt lovely for someone to finally take notice.

He kept following you, past floors three and four. By the time you reached your floor, the last one, you asked him,

“What apartment are you, if you don’t mind me asking. There’s only two per level, so you might’ve walked past it.”

He sighed,

“I’m all the way up. Just my luck right? 501B.”

“I’m 501A,” you stopped walking as the landing leveled off, pointing a thumb over your shoulder at your door.

He grinned, a little rakishly you thought,

“I might be luckier than I thought.”

You let his words wash over you for a minute, his rapt attention on you making your breath catch, and then you offered,

“Do you need some help getting in? Lemme hold that for you.”

“Aye, thanks.”

He popped open the door with a bit of a shove from his shoulder and trod inside. You followed him tentatively, not wanting to intrude on his space.

“I haven’t had a neighbor in years. Not a permanent one anyway. They all claim this unit is haunted,” you laughed, setting his box down on the countertop.

“Haunted? Well, I’ve met a few ghosts in my time. Should be alright.”

His way of smoothing out all of his words, purring them from his chest, was lulling you into a false sense of safety. Here you were, in the depths of this giant man’s empty kitchen, and you had forgotten all of your decorum somewhere down the stairs.

You turned to leave and he caught you, snaring you with his voice,

“Hey, it was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’ll see you around,” you smiled politely, clutching your mail to your chest like a shield.

“You will,” he said, watching your retreat with a cool fascination.

As you slinked back into your place, shutting and locking the door behind you, you hung on that promise like a hook, realizing that you were very much looking forward to having that immense, burly man next door.

AO3 Link

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c-nstantine · 5 months

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I'm on a random Roy Harper and John Constantine kick rn so I need literally anything with them and black batsis😭🙏🏽❤️

i need to write more for roy and black!batsis. they have my heart. there are some brief allusions to roy's background as an addict

@blckbarbiedoll let me know what you think!!

"Roy, you hate these things," Dick spoke while standing next to his best friend. Dick's eyes scanned the crowd of older people at the annual Wayne Holiday Gala. He was on older brother duty and making sure the younger siblings didn't completely destroy them even before everyone went home.

"Yep," Roy sighed sipping apple juice from his champagne flute. His eyes, however, were trained on the person. Y/N Wayne walked and talked on the arm of her father as they made their rounds. She looked gorgeous in that red dress with a high slit and her knotless goddess braids were pulled into a half-up half-down fashion. She looked up and saw him staring and gave him a soft smile that he quickly returned.

"You hate suits," Dick said plucking hor d'ouevres off a waiter's tray as they walked by. He didn't get it, Roy was so utterly devoted to Y/N. Dick was raised with her and knew all her faults and flaws but none of that mattered to Roy.

"Yep," Roy pulled at the collar of his tux at the reminder of the stiff contraption that he was wearing. Y/N had it custom-made for him so it was as irritable and it matched her dress. His hair was slicked back with one or two strands falling to frame his face.

"So, why are you here?" Dick couldn't fathom being in love with one person this much. Sure, he'd put himself through hours of torture for Kori or Babs but something so minuscule in the grand scheme of things seemed a bit tiring.

"I'm your sister's date," Roy shrugged. She asked if he wanted to come and said he didn't have to but the way her eyes lit up when he said yes made it all worth it.

"You know you don't have to do everything she asks," Dick stated. Roy considered it for a second. Sure on the surface it did seem like Roy mindlessly followed Y/N around but there were things she did for him that no one could fully understand even if they tried and he loved it. She was more than Bruce Wayne's daughter that everyone tried to make her out to be.

"I know but look how happy it made her. I'd do anything for her to be happy, you know that, right?" Roy stated clearly without hesitation.

"You're a good man, Roy," Dick patter his friend on the shoulder before going to take a knife from Damian.

"Roy?" A voice called from behind him. A voice that he'd recognize from anywhere.

"Oliver," Roy turned to the older man. The two had fallen out of contact in the past five or six years. Not because of bad blood or anything but the two had simply stopped talking. It was a little odd how the man he considered to be a father figure just disappeared but it was okay. Roy was going to get better regardless of whether Oliver was there or not.

"I didn't know you'd be here," Oliver wasn't clear on what to say. What do you say to the person that you raised as a child but abandoned because of a drug problem?

"I'm Y/N's plus one," Roy continued to sip his apple juice.

"Right, Bruce talks about how happy he is to have a grandkid. How is Lian?" Roy smiled at the mention of Bruce and Lian. The old Bat had enjoyed babysitting whenever Y/N and Roy needed a day off.

"She's good. She adores Y/N." It was true. Lian and Y/N were basically inseparable at times. It felt like Lian preferred at times but Roy would never have it any other way.

"Good, that's good. Why don't you, Y/N, and Lian stop by for dinner sometime?" That sounded like an empty offer but Roy would follow up with Dinah nonetheless to at least say he tried.

"Yeah, yeah" Roy was this close to breaking his champagne glass but if he learned anything from Y/N, it was to smile through the pain.

"Nice seeing you," Oliver disappeared into the crowd of rich people. Roy sighed with relief. His mood cheered when he saw Y/N walk towards him. She wore a bright smile on her face and seeing that smile made the painful interaction with Oliver so much more worth it.

"Hey, babe. Thank you for being here. I know you hate these things," Y/N pulled him close and inhaled his cologne. Her social battery was almost at zero and she wanted nothing more than to be cuddled on a couch with her boyfriend.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. There was nowhere else he would rather be as long as he was with her.

#x black!reader #black!reader #x black reader #black reader #black!batsis #roy harper x batsis #roy harper x reader #roy harper x black batsis #roy harper x spoiled!batsis #spoiled black!batsis #spoiled!batsis

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romanarose · 11 days

Text

Love and Friendship

Joel Miller x fem!reader

Summary: Joel drives you and you friends home.

Warnings: Mentions of drinking and getting drunk, brief mention of cheating and bad relationship not with reader or Joel, but her friend. Joel being respectful as hell.

Immersivity: Reader is fem and drinks

Written for the @swiftiscruff fic exchange! This is dedicated to every single one of the people in my RomanaVerse discourd server, in no particular order.

Lila, Angie, Kit, Kate, Katie, May, Tara, Winnie, Alicia, Del, Whitney, Dolli, Fen, Haru, Ivy, Mickyla, Pimo, Soup, Olive. Thank you to all you guys who have been supporting my work for years or few weeks. I love you all. If i somehow missed your name its just bc im silly i swear.

******************

“JOOOOOOOOOOOEL!!!!”

Joel had to pull the phone away from his head as you screamed over the thumping sounds of the club. He hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. While you were out with friends, he had spent the evening and into the warm summer night Sarah’s room putting in a built-in bookshelf. She was on a trip with his parents for a few weeks and wanted to surprise her when she got back. Sarah always wanted a built-in bookshelf.

“Shit! I’m so sorry darl’n!” Joel ran down the stairs, shoving his feet into his shoes and grabbing his keys. “I lost track of time, I’ll be there in 10!”

Joel was supposed to pick you up at 1 AM from the bar. It was 1:53, and he wouldn’t get there until the bar closed.

“It’s okay baby!” you didn’t sound peeved at all. “But could we maybe drop off my friends too? Since we’re out anyway?”

He hopped into his car. “Yeah, of course baby, of course. Just stand outside once they close up, don’t talk to no one and don’t go near any cars. Make sure Angie doesn’t wander off with no one.”

You promised to stay on the phone with him until he got there. Joel didn’t like you leaving the bars on your own, too many freaks and perverts out there.

Joel pulled up to find you with your friends standing by the building, and he got out to open the door for you and them. “Sorry the back’s a little messy, ladies, work truck and all- hold on.” As you got in the front, Joel got a blanket from the black and laid it over the seats “There, less dirty.”

Angie, Kat and Lana all thanked Joel, and climbed in the back.

While Joel drove to Lana and Kat’s, you talked to you rfriends about the night.

“I can’t believe you danced with him Ang, what the fuck. He cheated on you three times.”

“I knoooooowwww!” She giggled. “But he’s sooooooo cute!!!”

Kat rolled her eyes with a smile. “Girl he looks like a grown up Big Mouth guy.”

“Nick Kroll?”

“What? No. Like the cartoon guy grown up.”

“Yeah, the weird Big Mouth kid was modeled after Nick Kroll so that’s just Nick Kroll? And he’s hot??”

Kat groaned, sinking down into their seat. “No, not Nick Kroll, the one voiced by John Mul- wait, you think Nick Kroll is hot?”

The conversation continued with Angie trying to justify how she wants to give Jake ‘Just one more chance!’

Finally, you turn to Joel. “What do you think, baby?”

Joel sighed, and shifted in his seat a bit. “Well, it ain’t none of my business, and I shouldn’t really git involved…”

You smile at your boyfriend. “But you have an opinion anyway.”

With a good natured huff, he lets it out. “It’s just that Angie, I think you’re a nice gal, and if I may, respectfully, easy on the eyes and I think you could do better than a 30 year old still trying to get his rap career off the ground and looks like a naked mole rat.”

The truck erupted in laughter, including Angie,at Joel’s half-roast, half compliment, and he smiled softly. He liked your friends, and he wanted them to like him too.

First up was Kat and Lana. Lana was quite drunk so Joel put the truck in park and helped Kat take her girlfriend inside. Once through the door and up the stairs and safe, Joel said goodnight and locked the door as he left.

Angie was asleep by the time he was back.

“She alright?” He asked about your best friend.

You mumbled, tired but with a smile. You had a great night, and loved your friends very, very much. “Yeah, she didn’t drink that much. She’s just not used to being up this late”

Joel hummed in recognition. “That’s right, she works the early shift. She’s probably up at like what, 4 AM?”

Turning to him with a bright smile, you giggle a bit. “How do you remember that?”

He shrugged, not thinking much of it. “Angie’s usually the first to leave, so it makes sense.”

You can’t help beam at him, streetlights periodically illuminating his pretty face, strong nose, full cheeks. Your friends mattered to you, them and Joel and Sarah were your everything. So many times, you hear of women whose friends hate their man and vice versa, how there was contention. Hell, Angie’s stupid ass ex never wanted her to hang out with your girlfriends, saying you and them were bad influences, accusing Kat and Lana of trying to sleep with her, etc etc etc. Joel was never like that.

From the beginning, Joel was respectful, kind, and welcoming to your friends and family. They were welcome over any time, and sometimes came over when you weren’t home to wait for you. You trusted them with Joel and Joel with them. He’d always offer to BBQ something on a warm day, or make you drinks. Slowly, as he’s gotten more comfortable, your precious, shy man has been joking around with them, which makes you smile. Joel was more nervous than he let on a lot of the time, hiding his anti-anxiety pills from you for months after you moved in. Still, he always welcomed your friends and in return they were respectful of his space and self.

Pulling up to Angie’s, she’s sleeping like a baby.

“You’re gonna have to carry her and put her to bed, ain’t noth’n wake’n her up once she’s out.” You are about asleep yourself, leaning against the window.

Joel bawled. “I can’t do that!”

“Sure you can, have you seen your arms? Jacked.”

“No- I mean-” He sighed. “I can’t take a drunk lady to her bedroom, it’s indecent!”

“Well she ain’t sleep’n in the truck, c’mon I’ll walk with you.

Joel sighed again but agreed. Walking around the truck, he unbuckled her, scooped her up and carried her to where you opened your door with your spare key. You guided your boyfriend to the bedroom and excused himself to get her water. There was no way you were gonna be able to put her in pj’s by yourself, so you just unzipped her dress to give her room to breathe and took off her strappy heels. You put fuzzy socks on your feet, the aloe infused kind she loved and covered her in her blankets.

A knock on the door. “She decent?”

“Yeah, come on in.”

Joel placed the glass of water and an Advil on the counter and a trash can by the bedside and said he'd be in the living room.

You sit by your friend’s side, just for a moment, stroking her hair, admiring how pretty your friend was. Beautiful woman, beautiful heart. Your best friend.

She murmured your name. You took the opportunity to sit her up, making sure she drank some water. “Yes babe?”

“I like Joel a lot.” Angie yawned. “You should keep him.”

You chuckled. “He can’t escape me if tried.”

Once she was asleep again, you walk out and take Joel’s hand, wrapping your arms to hang off his. Joel opens the door for you, and you slide into the middle of the seat, snug against him when he gets in the driver’s side.

“Seatbelt.” He reminded you, you mutter ‘blah blah blah’ but he reaches over you and straps you in.

“Love you.”

“Love you too, darl’n.”

You drive down the road, Joel taking the long way home just so you could watch the night sky together. His truck rumbled and vibrated and bounced, but his arm around your shoulder steadied you.

“They like you a lot. My friends.”

“I like them too. And baby, I ain’t try’n.”

You look up at him. “Hm?”

“To escape.” Joel kissed your forehead tenderly. “Heard what you said to Angie, and I ain’t trying to escape. Not in a million years.”

******************

due to everything happening, this will be my last fic for a little. If you know my other writing formates, I will be updating there a bit here and there but with everything going on I think it's best to keep things quiet for a min. the timing is fitting, as I have a lot of projects to do before school finals.

Then, I'll be backand raring to go again! I think a break will do me good.

I love you all dearly!

No tags bc given everything, I don't wanna draw attention from myself to anyone else. Don't feel like you gotta reblog this one, I would suggest you don't to avoid the heat.

Hugs, and thank you to everyone whose supported my writing for the last 3 years.

#PPCUGiftExchange2024 #Joel miller x reader #the last of us fanfiction #tlou fic #joel the last of us #joel x reader

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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 2 months

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02/12/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Parrot Analytics; Cast & Crew; Kristian Nairn; Nathan Foad; Erroll Shand; Trends and Stats; V-Day Video for Prime; In person events and Watch Party reminders; People of Earth; WooAsACrew; Kudoboard for Cast & Crew Update; Love Notes; Daily Darby; Tonight's Taika; Well folks, it was another busy busy day. I apologize, I'm a bit exhausted today so I'll be making this quicker than normal.

== Parrot Analytics ==

Some Q4 data was released by Parrot Analytics for HBO and Max and as you can probably imagine, this made most of the internet explode. Referencing @adoptourcrew here since they did a great bit of research.

SRC: HBO's Most Popular Shows - hidden behind Paywall

== UK How You Can Help==

Below are actions to do every day to capitalise on #OurFlagBBC! More info below on how to use YouGov. Tumblr

=Cast & Crew Sightings=

= Wee John Wondays ==

I think everyone's favorite part of the day was when Nathan Foad appeared on Wee John Wonday's. He is by far one of the best guests ever.

Please go watch the whole damn live, but if you don't have time right now. Here's a clip from our fabulous friend @edscuntyeyeshadow who recorded it for us, I have just left it on repeat so I can continue to laugh.

A few quotes/highlights in case you can't watch anything right now:

Highlights:

Kristian's Garage Fire

Nathan's Writing

Nathan was VERY sick at the beginning of filming S2, Sick AF and had to learn how to roll and smoke cigarettes.

Nathan was not aware he was on camera when the sandwich hit him in the face.

Gypsy made him a jacket to wear IRL that matched his gorgeous one in the show (Gypsy is the best)

Nathan's favorite scene was the one with Matt Maher with the Art on the Wall.

Kristian's favorite scene was the one with Con O'Neill and asking to put on make up

Quotes:

"NOT TO BE A BIG THING RIGHT NOW BUT I AM" - Nathan

"Sniffed the air like a fox in heat" - Kristian

"You little gay bitch" - Nathan

"Mid town special" - Nathan, as Kristian

"Im a horrible un wanted nipple twister" - Kristian

"Needy puffs" - Nathan

== Erroll Shand ==

As usual our dear friend Erroll is out here really pushing the SaveOFMD material/data.

== Trends and Stats ==

== Valentine's Day Video For Prime ==

It’s Monday, which means it’s time to send Prime Video all our love ! Let’s #WooAsACrew 🐙💜 Vocals: ferventrabbit on Twitter Video: Giulianaazr on Twitter

youtube

== Event and Watch Party Reminders! ==

= OFMD Matelotage Processional =

Tues Feb 13: 8-11 am at: Kismet Salon 4111 W Olive Ave. Burbank CA 91505

If you show up-- you get free stickers!

= People of Earth Watch Party =

People of Earth Season 1: Episodes 3 and 4 tomorrow! If you don't have access reachout to @iamadequate1!

10 PM GMT / 5 PM EST / 4 PM CST / 2 PM PST

#PiratesOfEarth

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

= WooAsACrew =

Tue 13: Send @netflix some love!

== Cast & Crew Kudoboard ==

Hey all, I already made a short post about it but the Kudoboard was overrun by some absolute twats today so I had to lock it down with a password. If you'd like to still submit something to the cast and crew that's still doable, you'll just need the pw. Please just DM me here or twitter, or Instagram, or wherever you can find me or the @saveofmdcrewmates folks also have it. We will be sending it off / locking it on Valentine's day early morning so please reach out prior!

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies, I am really low on spoons tonight so I'm gonna let some other folks send you love on my behalf. See you tomorrow, all the love. <3

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's gifs are courtesy of:

Taika: @chrysalis-writes and Rhys: @thunderwingdoomslayer

Happy Murray Monday and Enjoy tomorrow's Taika Tuesday!

#daily ofmd recap #daily ofmd recaps #ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #save ofmd #rhys darby #save our flag means death #taika waititi #kristian nairn #nathan foad #erroll shand #wee john wondays #in person events #watch partys

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goldsainz · 1 year

Text

POPSTAR!Y/N — series.

pairing: harry styles x reader

MASTERLIST.

NOTE: this is to celebrate 1k followers!!! thank you guys so much, it is actually insane that so many people follow me and like my content, so i'm very grateful. harry is back, and with a trope/series i have not planned out but i feel will develop beautifully!! also i added “‘s finsta” to celebrities bc i was too lazy to search if they had them or not… i too wanna thank @harrysfolklore for all of her help while i made this!! happy reading 🤍

liked by harrystyles, livkatecooke and 13,104,826 others

yourusername i can love me better.

view all 196,572 comments

ynfan1 WHAT IS GOING ON

devonleecarlson hugeeee slay

ynfan2 miss y/n stop giving me heart attacks pls

user1 when’s she gonna let liam go omg

ynfan3 new album alert!!!

gemmastyles I’m obsessed already

↳ harryfan1 gemma what are you doing here?????

ynfan4 this new era is gonna slay

billieeilish 👏mother👏

liked by ynfan21, ynfan22 and 31,928 others

alistupdates Y/N Y/L/N was seen arriving at a restaurant in NYC! We don’t know for sure who she was meeting, but word has it Harry Styles was also there!

view all 479 comments

harryfan21 what would harry be doing there tho?

↳ ynfan23 maybe going on a date w her

↳ harryfan22 as if harry would go out with someone like her

user21 This John Galiano look on her 🔥

ynfan24 MOMMY!!!!

liked by harryfan31, ynfan31 and 187,254 others

ynupdates y/n’s reaction when asked about harry styles!

view all 2,809 comments

harryfan32 “harry’s… haha… um, i haven’t had the chance to meet him properly…”

↳ user31 girly was struggling hard to deflect the question

ynfan32 her face was priceless

ynfan33 best bit was when she mentioned her manager to stop herself from revealing anything

↳ ynfan34 How so?

↳ ynfan33 jimmy asked if the rumours of harry being on her upcoming album were true and her eyes slightly widened and then went “i guess you’ll just have to wait and see, i mean… i see my manager glaring at me, i hear you loud and clear, sharon!”

user32 ugh get her away from harry now

harryfan33 they’d be a better couple than him and olive for sure..

↳ harryfan34 anything is better than that

liked by florencepugh, selenagomez and 11,897,032 others

yourusername i’m very excited to announce that my latest single ‘Flowers’ will be out this week! this song is for anyone who was heartbroken over a relationship but knows they are worth much more than that relationship. love yourself because no one will do so better!

view all 178,455 comments

ynfan41 already a bop!!!!!

harrystyles 🌺🌸🌼

↳ harryfan41 HAROLD WHAT R U DOING HERE

↳ harryfan42 the flowers😭😭😭 i love him sm

ynfan42 ON LIAM’S BIRTHDAY👏

sabrinacarpenter so mother of you

↳ sabrinafan41 i just know her management team is sighing

ynfan43 the queen is back bitches

user41 i can feel myself relating alr

dualipa this song is pure beautyyy ✨

↳ yourusername you’re pure beauty!!! 🌼

liked by bellahadidsfinsta, harrysfinsta and 147 others

yourfinsta me and my (alleged) bf out in the wild🔥

view all 7 comments

harrysfinsta Looking good! 😊

↳ yourfinsta can’t tell if you’re being narcissistic or complimenting me

↳ harrysfinsta Always compliment! ❤️❤️

victoriapedrettisfinsta You guys are so cute it sickens me

bellahadidsfinsta MY BABIES!! 💕

↳ devonsfinsta ours***

↳ yourinstagram i love you both sm💋

liked by ynfan61, ynfan62 and 76,430 others

ynfanclub guys someone sent this account which is supposedly y/n! it has a childhood pic as the pfp which we could not find ANYWHERE!! there are no apparent celebs who follow it, so it could be fake… what do you guys think???

view all 1,146 comments

user61 if it is her, respect her privacy. there’s a reason she made a finsta

ynfan63 i don’t think it’s her tbh

↳ ynfan64 same here!

↳ user62 not the first time someone faked being her…

ynfan65 i’d be so annoyed if i had a finsta and someone exposed it, just saying

user63 if it has that many followers, im betting it’s her

ynfan66 i requested too!!!!

↳ ynfan67 as if she would accept😭😭

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emhasthoughts · 6 months

Text

Gertrude and the cat-avatars

Summary: Gertrude let one cat in. Said cat has a habit of bringing in other cats.

A/N: During @dcartcorner's stream the topic of avatars as cats came up and I decided to write a little something for it. I have another part with the Distortions that might be posted later. Also worth noting: I do not own a cat, never have, I'm horrible with cat breeds, so I've tried to describe Simon/Peter/Elias through this art and Mike's look is taken from this

Lastly: Not beta read by someone else, just me and my lil google document.

Pt 1, You're here! / Pt 2, Michael and Helen Distortion, Agnes / Pt 3, Annabelle, Jude, Oliver / Pt 4, John, Jane, Maxwell, Manuela / Pt 5, Jon, Martin, Sasha, Tim / Pt 6, Melanie, Daisy, Basira, Georgie / Pt 7, Jared, Gerry, Nikola / Bonus, a visit to the vet / Halloween bonus!

Simon was the first cat she actually adopted. It had been one of her coworkers who had wanted to get rid of him due to their financial situation and asked Gertrude about it. Claiming that he was old and an inside cat, easy to take care of. She had agreed. Thinking it would be easy and that, in the worst case, Simon would not live for long after getting him. She could not have been more wrong.

Sometimes he could have passed as a kitten. Rather small for what he was meant to be, thin despite the amount of food he ate, his gray fur was not fluffy enough to hide how thin he could look. Despite it all, the veterinarian had claimed him healthy. He was also not that much of an indoor cat. Sometimes, whenever he felt like it, he would wander out of the house, sometimes gone for days. Gertrude did not mind it that much. He was a rather loud and talkative cat after all.

Simon also had a habit of getting more cats to her doorstep.

One day she opened the door to see small Simon standing proudly in the middle of two new cats. One looked nearly ridiculous next to him. Light beige and at least three times bigger and fluffier, with yellow eyes that sort of made it look like he did not want to be there. To the other side was a mainly brown cat, who seemed to be in a perfect middle of size and fluff. A bit of white around the eyes, nose, stomach and paws. He looked at her with judgemental green eyes and for a moment she worried if a cat could actually see into someone’s soul. Since they kept coming back she had named the two Peter, the fluffy cat and the other Elias.

Peter came and went. Similarly to Simon, he could be gone for days, maybe even weeks. Whenever he was home he was with Elias and/or Simon, being quiet and calm. Elias was probably the most judgemental cat she had ever come across. He was not really loud or overly talkative, but he could spend hours in a corner just looking at her without blinking. It was a bit creepy and sometimes it felt like he was secretly planning to kill her in her sleep.

Four months ago Simon was gone for a week, only to come back in with a very disgruntled cat. Looking rather similar to Peter, though smaller, thinner bit of brown around the eyes, paws, tip of ears and tail, including a branching scar most visible on the back. Despite the cat not being a small kitten, Simon still managed to drag them there. The cat had seemingly accepted its fate, making Gertrude question how far from home they were.

She had taken the cat to a veterinarian the day after. It was a male, named Mike, who had once belonged to a couple that passed two years before in a house fire. The scar was older, though it had gotten infected over the two years. She had gotten more of a rundown of everything that was wrong with Mike and she planned to simply let him up for adoption, except Simon did not seem to leave Mike’s side. So, Gertrude accepted Mike in. If only until he was healthy again, by then Simon would hopefully be over it.

Since then Gertrude had tried to throw Mike back on the streets while Simon was away. Except the pair kept coming back. Which caused her current situation. Sitting on her sofa, trying to watch TV, except she found herself staring at Mike, who had made himself comfortable on the shelf next to a vase, glaring back at her. His paw slowly raising towards the vase, never breaking eye contact. Gertrude narrowed her eyes. Until -

There was no crash. The vase was no longer on the shelf but it was also not shattered on the ground. Her eyes did not leave the falling - flying? - vase. It did not really stop the small cat from glaring at her.

Gertrude had no real clue how long it was like that. The vase floating on the spot, her looking at the vase and Mike glaring at her. Like a picture, frozen in time. At least until -

CRASH

Well fuck.

#mike crew #simon fairchild #peter lukas #elias bouchard #gertrude robinson #cat avatars #mention of past fire #very brief mention of death #tell me if I should add anything

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lastweeksshirttonight · 3 months

Text

LEE'S FAQ!

Over the past nearly-two years, I've noticed that I get some questions about John's work asked repeatedly. That doesn't bother me - half of his prominent work is somewhat lost media, Tumblr's search is super fucked, and I always want to help anyone falling down the JO rabbit hole - but I realized that one central pinned post would be helpful! I'll keep this up to date as much as possible.

I know I have a lot of international followers, and if you have any knowledge of where to stream or find some of these items, please let me know and I'll update this post.

WHERE CAN I FIND...?

Anything really, I've just started going down this rabbit hole:

The John Oliver Masterlist is an incredible resource - while it hasn't been updated since about 2017 and has some broken links (especially in the LWT sections), it has functional links to every JO clip from The Daily Show, all the main segments of LWT through 2017, radio shows, and lots of other material. This was made by @johnoliverphotos and @ilovejohnoliver, and I'm eternally grateful for it.

The Department:

YouTuber Ben Jennings has the entire series on his channel.

Player FM has the series uploaded here as well.

The Bugle:

The Bugle Archive has all Times Online era episodes available to download. PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE EPISODES DIRECTLY; DO NOT STREAM FROM THIS SITE.

The Bugle is starting to upload Times Online era episodes to their official channels, which can be found here. They're up to ep 75 as of Feb 2024.

All post-Times Online episodes (starting with episode 179) are available on The Bugle's official channels linked above.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

Have you perused the John Oliver Masterlist above? This is the best way to find direct links to JO clips from The Daily Show on the Comedy Central website, because this shit is still not streaming anywhere else. Use a VPN if you're outside the US to view.

There are a small handful of TDS episodes available for purchase on Amazon Prime if you're in the US. I have no idea if any of them feature JO in any meaningful way - I will update this section once I review that.

Otherwise, you're gonna have to sail the high seas to watch this. I'm sorry that this is the state of the US' most important comedy show of the 2000s. Maybe Paramount will drop it on us when Stewart comes back to host TDS, who knows.

Community:

In the US, this can be streamed on Netflix and Hulu. Individual episodes can be purchased on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.

Worldwide, Community is available on Netflix until April 1st.

Every season of Community is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show:

In the US, the whole show is on Paramount Plus and can be purchased through Amazon and Apple.

The godawful Comedy Central website has limited episodes for viewing. You'll need a US cable subscription to watch more than the first episode of every season, because of course you do.

Back catalog episodes of Last Week Tonight:

You can buy back catalog episodes on YouTube and Amazon in the US.

In certain areas outside of the US, LWT is now being uploaded in full on their YouTube channel. I'm glad that there's more offerings for you all!

HBO Max no longer has back catalog episodes because capitalism is fucking ridiculous, I pay monthly for this service entirely for this show and I can't even watch old news from 5 years ago

The Horne Section:

The whole series is on Taskmaster Supermax+, which should work everywhere except the UK.

In the UK, you can stream this through Channel 4.

BLOG-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

How did you get into John Oliver?

I answered this in too much detail in two posts, here and here.

Where is your icon from?

UPDATED: It was made by the lovely @stalebagels for me. She is wonderful <3

Is this blog a bit?/Do you really find this man attractive?

No, this is not an ironic bit, I really like John Oliver and find him genuinely hot. (Tbf, I get this question way more in person than online.)

#john oliver #last week tonight #last week tonight with john oliver #the daily show #the daily show with jon stewart #the department #the bugle #the bugle podcast #john oliver's new york stand up show #john oliver's new york stand-up show #community #community nbc #nbc community #community tv show #the horne section #all my friends hate the comedy central website #but it's all we got sorry

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layce2015 · 8 months

Text

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

Jump The Shark

Masterlist pt 1

Masterlist pt 2

Sam was leaning against the hood of the Impala, brushing his teeth, and I leaning against the side of Impala, looking out at the lake we had parked next to. Dean was lying across the front seat, head and shoulders up against the door. I rubbed my eyes and let out a yawn, I hadn't really slept well the last few days as these damn dreams of a white light and a figure of a person keeps appearing in it and the sound of a high pitch ring which startles me awake.

I don't know what these dreams mean but I would love for them to stop so that I could get some damn sleep.

Then I heard something move and I turn around and see Dean waking up then he goes to open the door. I moved aside as Dean nearly dumps himself on the ground. "Hey. How'd you sleep?" I asked him as he climbs out of the car. "How do you think?" he grumbles as he gets up on his feet.

"I'm starving. Let's get breakfast." Dean said. "Where? We're like two hours from anything." Sam said. "But I'm hungry now." Dean whines as he comes around to the front of the car.

"There's probably still a sandwich in the back seat." I said as I turn to the back driver's side door and reach through the open window. I pull out a paper bag and look inside of it. "Um...how do you feel about tuna?" I asked him as I turn to look at him. He scrunched up his face, in disgust, at this and I shrug at him.

Then a phone rings inside the car. I toss the bag back into the back seat and puts my hands to my jeans pockets, Sam spits out toothpaste foam. Dean leans in through the front window and rummages in the glove compartment, pulling out the ringing phone, hitting his head on the roof as he tries to get out.

"Isn't that Dad's phone?" Sam asked as Dean looks at it. He flips the phone open, presses a button, and puts it to his ear. "Hello? He can't come to the phone. Can I help you?" Dean said and Sam and I look over at him.

"Well, sorry to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago." Dean said and there was a bit of silence before he asked. "Who is this?"

Then his face turns into shock and confusion. "Dean?" I asked, worried, but he doesn't move or say anything.

Windom, Minnesota

We park next to Cousin Oliver's Hilltop Cafe then the boys and I get out of the car. "Dean, look, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real." Sam said Dean unlocks and opens the trunk, then the weapons box. Apparently, the guy Dean talked to on the phone claims to be John's son, Adam, which, of course, shocked and confused both me and Sam.

Sam, who dug up information on Adam, pulls out a folder and reads a paper. "Um, born September twenty-ninth, 1990 to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout." Sam reads while Dean pulls assorted weapons out of the trunk, including Ruby's knife. "Graduated from high school with honors and currently goes to the University of Wisconsin—biology major, pre-med." Sam said and I give an impressed look.

"Wow, impressive." I said while Dean closes the weapons box. "Dean? You listening?" I asked him. "This is a trap." he mutters then he closes the trunk and heads past me and Sam, who closes the folder.

The boys and I enter the diner with a bell ringing at the door. There's a man at the counter, a waitress serving a burger, a couple other customers sitting nearby. The boys and I scan the diner until I noticed an empty table in a corner with four chairs.

Dean and Sam sit in the two chairs on one side of the table, and I sit on the other side, across from Sam, ensuring that Adam will sit in the last chair. Sam thumps John's journal and the folder on the table. "Dean, I'm telling you, the kid checks out." Sam said. "Great, so he's an actual person on the planet Earth. Sucks he's got a demon in him." Dean grumbles as a waitress approaches the table with menus and glasses of water; she gives us each a glass.

"Hi. Welcome to Cousin Oliver's." she greets, smiling. "Thanks." Sam and I said to her. "Can I—" the waitress started to say but Dean talks over her. "We're actually waiting on somebody." he said, quickly. Annoyed, the waitress slaps down a menu in front of us.

"Thank you—" I said, giving her an apologetic look, as Sam picks up his menu long enough to slap it down. Dean takes his glass and pours it into the potted plant behind him. "What are you—" Sam started to ask as Dean puts the glass between his knees and pulls out a flask, unscrewing the top.

"Holy water?" I asked. "Yup." he said as, under the table, he fills the glass with water from the flask. "One sip of Jesus juice, this evil bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt." he said then he places the glass in front of the fourth place at the table. "And what if he's not possessed?" I asked as Dean pulls out a felt-wrapped package and undoes it.

"Then he is a shapeshifter." Dean said as he sets silver cutlery in front of the last seat, removing the silverware already there and dropping it on the floor. "Hence the silver." Sam said and he moves the journal on top of the menu. "Look, either way, this thing is gonna bleed. I mean, using Dad as bait? That's the last mistake of its short, pitiful life." Dean said and Sam frowns at him.

"What?" Dean asked him and Sam looks away. "Sam, what's wrong?" I asked him. "There's an entry in Dad's journal." Sam said as he flips through the journal. "From January of 1990, saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case. That's, roughly, oh, about nine months before the kid was born." Sam explained. "Coincidence." Dean dismissed.

"Coincidence. Next two pages of the journal—torn out." Sam said and he indicates the remains of the pages; these must have been deliberately left, because the journal is clearly a three-ring add-and-remove-pages type. I furrow my brow at this. "Huh...interesting..." I muttered. "You're not actually buying this, are you?" Dean asked me.

"I'm just saying it's a bit odd and interesting a few pages are missing out of his journal." I said. "Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible." Sam said as he closes the journal and picks it up, waving it. "I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time, and he wasn't exactly a monk." he said as he puts the journal away.

"I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl...sometimes the girl's grateful." Sam said. "Well, now I’m thinking about Dad sex. Stop talking." Dean said. "Maybe he slipped one past the goalie." Sam said and Dean jumps q bit at this. "Dude!" he exclaims as I set my menu aside. "And suddenly, I ain't hungry..." I said as the door chimes.

Sam looks up, then me and Dean, and we see a young man with short blond hair enter as he looks around. "Adam?" Sam calls out and Adam looks over as Sam raises a hand. "You Sam?" Adam asked as he walks over to us. "Yeah. Uh, this is Dean." Sam said as he gestures to Dean then he gestures to me. "And this is (y/n), Dean's girlfriend." He introduced and I give a small wave.

"Hey." Adam said as he sets his backpack on the floor next to the empty chair and takes the chair next to me. "So, um...how did you know my dad?" Adam asked us. "Uh, we worked together." Sam said and I notice Adam's facial expressions indicate confusion.

"How did he die?" Adam asked. "On the job." I replied. "He was a mechanic, right?" Adam asked. "A car fell on him." Sam said as the waitress comes up to the table, much friendlier. "Hey, Adam. How you doing?" she asked as she puts a glass of water in front of Adam. But Dean leans forward to take it, making me and Sam frown.

"Oh, I’ll take that. I am very thirsty." he said as he takes a sip. the waitress eyes Dean, displeased, and I face-palm and shake my head. "The usual, Adam?" the waitress asked him. "Uh, yeah. Thanks, Denise." Adam said and Denise leaves and Adam takes the glass of holy water.

The boys and J watch carefully as he drinks; nothing happens. Clearly, Adam is not possessed, or not by a demon less powerful than Azazel. Adam wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

"So, uh, when's the last time you saw John?" Sam asked him. "I don't even know. It's...a couple years." Adam replied. "Why did you decide to call him now?" I asked him. "I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got." he replied and I glance over and see Sam blinking at this.

"My mom's missing." Adam said. "Really? I'm sorry. Uh, for how long?" Sam asked. "It's tragic, really. But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?" Dean said, interjecting Sam. "'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years ago, anyway." Adam replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked him. "My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff." Adam said. "What kind of stuff?" Dean asked him. "My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family." Adam said, shrugging. "Yeah, well, who is these days?" Sam chuckles.

"So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?" Dean asked Adam. "When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and—and after I begged her—God, twenty-four-seven—she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night." Adam explains as Denise puts a plate in front of him. "There you go." she said and Adam looks up at her. "Thanks." he said. "Well, that's heartwarming." Dean grumbles then Adam indicates his food.

"You mind?" He asked as he looks around at us. "Please, dig in." Dean said and Adam takes the napkin out from under the silverware without touching the silverware and spreads the napkin on his lap. "He would swing by once a year or so." Adam continued as he picks up the knife and fork; nothing happens. So Adam is not a shapeshifter, nor anything else that reacts on contact with silver. I glance at the boys and see Dean glancing away.

"You know, called when he could. But still..." Adam said as he takes a bite. "He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen. And, uh...he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala—" he goes on then it seemed Dean was fed up.

"Oh, this is crap. You know what, you're lying." Dean said and Adam seems startled by this. "No, I’m not." Adam said. "Uh, yeah, you are." Dean accused. "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?" Adam asked. "We're John Winchester’s sons, that's who." Dean yells as he indicates himself and Sam. "We are his sons." Dean said and Adam stares between the boys.

"I've got brothers?" He asked, shocked. "No, you don't have brothers. Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here." Dean said. "Dean!" I said, warningly. "I have never been hunting in my life." Adam said. "Whatever. I'm out of here. Come on, guys." Dean said and he gets up and goes to leave. "I can prove it." Adam said and we turn to him.

Adam brings us to his home and shows us some pictures. Dean holds up a framed picture of Adam and John, who was wearing a baseball cap. The boys and I examine the picture. "He took you to a baseball game?" Dean asked, disbelieving. "Yeah, when I turned fourteen. Dad was around for a few of my birthdays." Adam said while Sam holds John's journal then opens to a page he reads from. "September twenty-ninth, two thousand four. One word. Minnesota." He said but Dean was still dumbfounded by the picture.

"He took you to a freakin' baseball game?" He said, his voice rising a bit. "Yeah. Why? What'd Dad do with you on your birthday?" Adam asked as he takes the picture back. "Dean..." I whispered to him and he looks at me, frowns then looks away from me as Adam looks between us.

"Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing." Sam said. "Yeah." Adam replied. "How long has she been gone?" asked Sam. "Three days." Adam said. "Who was the last person to see her?" I asked him. "Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor. He saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up to work on Wednesday." Adam said while I see another picture, this one of John hugging who I assume is Adam's mom.

"Did you call the police?" Sam asked Adam. "Mom's supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could." He replied then he pauses. "I should have been here." he said.

"What'd the, uh, what'd the cops say?" Dean asked. "That they, uh, they searched the house. They didn't find anything. She wouldn't leave without telling anybody. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?" Adam replied.

Adam takes me and Dean up to his mom's room and Dean shifts her dresser. I noticed a picture of John and Adam's mother and a younger Adam. "The, uh, nightstand was knocked over. Was there anything else?" Dean asked Adam as he sets the dresser back. "Oh, not really. The sheriff said there's no sign of a break-in." Adam explains.

"What, you think the cops missed something?" he asked us as Dean and I looked around. "Maybe. Yeah. They don't have my eyes." Dean said. "You're a mechanic." Adam said. "Yeah. That's right." Dean said as I look around the room

"Dean, what else can you tell me about Dad?" Adam asked Dean. "You knew him." Dean replied. "Not as well as you." Adam said and Dean turns to him. "Trust me, kid, you don't want to know." he said as Sam appears at the door, holding up a handful of papers.

"Give us a minute." I said to Adam as I take Dean's arm and we leave the room. The boys and I walk away from the room and I turn to Sam.

"You talk to the cops?" I asked him. "Yeah. Like Adam said, no leads on his mom." Sam said. "Shocker there." Dean mutters. "But I did find this." Sam said as he goes through papers till he finds a copy of the Windom Gazette. "Um...here. In nineteen ninety, there were seventeen grave robberies in Windom." Sam said.

"You think that's why Dad came through here?" Dean asked. "I'd say so. Check it out." Sam said and he points at the photo accompanying the article. Dean and I take a closer look and see John is in the background of the photo.

"All right, so he was hunting something. What?" Dean asked. "No idea. Those were the pages he threw out of the journal. But last month, the corpse snatching started up again. Three bodies from the local cemetery." Sam said. "So whatever he was after, he didn't kill it. It's back." I said. "And, what, it's stepped up its game to fresh meat? I mean, Kate's missing, and, uh—" Sam said as he goes to the next paper. This one's a copy of a photo of a man in large black glasses, Joe Barton.

"So is a local bartender—a guy named Joe Barton." Sam said and Dean takes the photo.

We walked back into the bedroom and see Adam sitting on the bed. Dean holds up the photo of Barton. "Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" Dean asked him. "Uh, I don't think so. Why?" Adam asked and Dean looks back over at me and Sam then back at Adam.

Then he goes over next to Adam and kneels down to the floor. "What is it?" Adam asked. "Watch out." Dean said and he flips up the edge of the comforter and looks under the bed, then gets up.

"Give me a hand with the mattress." He said as he tosses the pillows aside and, with Adam's help, moves the mattress off the bedframe. Under the bed is a vent large enough to fit someone through. Sam and I look at it then we all share a look. The boys raise their fists for rock-paper-scissors.

"Oh Lord, here..." I said and I make my way to the vent, pull out my small flashlight and shines it around it then slide inside. There is a T-junction at the end of the duct I'm in, there I see lots of blood.

I crawl a bit further; to one side is another vent cover, undisturbed. I have a pistol in my other hand, which I point around the corner before I lean around myself. There is a large amount of blood and bits of flesh or bone in the duct. "My God..." I whispered.

Later, we were in the motel room, Dean cleans a shotgun and I was sitting on the bed while Sam was sitting by a desk. There was a knock at the door and Sam goes over to it and opens it. "Who the hell are you?" Adam asked as he enters the room.

"Adam, hey." Sam said as he closes the door behind Adam. Dean flips a cloth over the shotgun. "Take it easy." Sam said to Adam. "No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you three—well, you tell me to call the cops, but you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?" Adam asked but we stay quiet.

"Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier—something about grave robberies." Adam accused and his eyes goes over to the shotgun that was poking out from the cloth. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on." Adam said but we stay quiet.

"Please." Adam pleads and the boys and I share a look before Sam says. "We're hunters."

"Sammy!" Dean yells. "He deserves to know, Dean." I said to him while Adam looks at us, confused. "What do you mean, 'hunters'?" he asked and Dean shakes his head while Sam goes onto explain.

"Okay, so...basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I’ve ever had, that's all real?" Adam asked. "Godzilla's just a movie." Dean said. "We hunt them. So did Dad." Sam said and Adam nods. "Okay." He said and I was taken aback by his reaction.

"Okay? That's it?" Dean asked. "What am I supposed to say?" Adam said, shrugging. "That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says okay." Dean said. "Well, you two are my brothers. You're telling me the truth, right?" Adam said. "Yeah." Dean mutters. "Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?" Adam asked us.

"We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what." I said. "There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill." Dean said. "You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam asked but Dean, Sam and I look down.

"Oh. How can I help?" Adam asked. "You can't." Dean said. "This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in." Adam said. "No." Dean said, firmly. "Dean, look, maybe—" Sam said. "Maybe what?" Dean asked him. "He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like." Sam said.

"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?" Dean asked. "Because—" Sam started to say but Dean talks over him. "Because he was protecting him!"

"Dad's dead, Dean." Sam said. "That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes." Dean yells.

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asked. "No!" both boys said while I face-palmed at this. Dean grabs my arm and starts to lead me towards the door. "Babysit the kid." Dean tells Sam.

"Where are you two going?" Sam asked. I shrug while Dean grabs his jacket. "We're going out!" Dean yelled and leads me out the door and shuts the door behind us. "Was that really necessary, Dean?" I asked as we go over to the Impala. "Look, I just needed to get out or I was gonna punch Sam." Dean growls. I nodded. “Yeah, that wouldn’t have been great.” I muttered.

“Can you believe him? He knows how tough this life is. Hell, it’s why he and Dad fought so much to begin with! Now he wants to drag Adam into it?” Dean asked angrily. “I don’t think he’s entirely wrong Dean.” I said. “What?” Dean asked turning to me, sharply. “I understand where you’re both coming from but come on, Dean. You know how dangerous the world really is.” I replied.

“Yeah and that’s exactly why I don’t want him a part of it!” Dean yelled and I held up my hands trying to keep him calm. “I know and I’m not saying Adam has to become a full-fledged hunter, but he needs knows how protect himself from what’s out there.” I said. “If we teach him, it’s only going to make him want to go down that path even more.” Dean growled. “He’s going to be tempted regardless. I hate to say it but revenge kind of runs in your family. At least he can be taught right.” I argued.

Dean turn away, shaking his head. “I just think…” He mumbled, looking down. “Think what?” I asked, Dean sighs and turns back to look at me. “I think Adam has a chance that we never had. He can live on a normal life, (y/n). It isn’t right for us to make him throw that away.” He said pointing back towards the motel room.

“We’re not making him do anything.” I argued. “Yeah well, it sure feels like it.” Dean muttered turning his head to look at the motel room. I stared at Dean, trying to think of what else to say.

“Come on, we need to get going.” Dean said before I can make up my mind. He turns and opens the driver’s side door. “Where exactly are we going?” I asked walking around the car to the passenger side. “We’re gonna look into something.” Dean replied.

"This tomb was built in 1926. Four generations of the Millsap family were interred here." the cemetery director said as he escorts me and Dean, both of us wearing suits. "They don't build 'em like this anymore." Dean said. "Tell me, Agent Nugent and Jett, have either of you thought about where you two might like to spend eternity?" The director asked us and Dean hesitates. "All the damn time." I replied and Dean nods before he looks around the tomb.

"So, three bodies went missing. Any idea who did it?" he asked. "Hooligans. Sick, deranged hooligans." the director growls while I noticed something spilled on the side of the tomb. I touch it, smell it, and recoil. "This isn't blood. What is this?" I asked. "No, it's embalming fluid. Whoever committed this crime didn't just take the corpses. They opened them up." the director said and I look at him.

Dean and I take a couple of seats at the empty bar and Dean unfolds the papers he's carrying. "First beer's on the house for cops. Feds too." The bartender said as she fills our glass with beer. "Are we that obvious?" I asked her. "I know all the local badges." she said as she sets the glasses in front of us. "And you two got that...Law & Order vibe." she said and she picks up a cloth and starts drying another glass.

"So, what's the FBI doing in Windom?" she asked us. "Looking into the disappearance of Joe Barton." Dean replied as he slides the photo of Joe across the bar. I noticed that the bartender looked stricken as she stares at Joe's picture.

"I assume you knew him?" I asked her. "A little. I'm his wife. Lisa." She replied. "Well, Lisa, what can you tell us about his disappearance?" Dean asked her. "Same thing I told the sheriff. He stayed late Friday before last to do inventory. Never came home." Lisa replied as Dean and I take our glass of beer.

"And the police?" I asked her. "Nothing. Truth is, I was scared they stopped looking. But now you're here." she said as I look at the photos behind the bar and noticed one of the pictures was of Joe in a police uniform.

"Joe was a cop?" I asked her, nodding towards the picture. "Deputy. For a little while. That was a looong time ago." She replied. "He didn't happen to work the, uh, the grave robbery case, back in 'ninety?" Dean asked. "He did. Yeah. Joe was the one who found those bodies. He got an award for that." said Lisa. "That was an interesting case." Dean said.

"He ever tell you how he did it?" I asked Lisa. "Most of the time, he said good, solid police work. But after a few beers, he'd admit he had a little help." Lisa replied. "From who?" Dean and I asked. "A 'specialist'. That's all he'd say." She said.

"Cops ever find the guy that stole the bodies?" Dean asked, nodding towards the newspaper article about the missing bodies. "No. But when I asked Joe about it, he'd say not to worry—that we took care of what done it." She said and Dean and I share a look.

We pull up to the motel and see Adam standing at the passenger side of his truck while Sam was on the driver's side and was actually being pulled under the truck by something. "Dean, (y/n), help!" Adam yells and I run out of the Impala and Adam and I grab Sam's arms and pull him free.

Dean comes out of the Impala, grabs a shotgun that either Adam or Sam dropped then fires, a bit of blood appears on the side of the truck. I look down at Sam, who looks at Adam as Adam flops onto the ground.

Dean backs Adam's truck out of the parking spot to see he had parked right over a sewer grate, which is half open. He gets out of the truck and approaches the grate, aiming the shotgun, while Sam and I were leaning on the hood of the Impala. "I winged it. Did you see anything?" Dean asked Sam after he stands up and comes over to him. "I didn't get a good look." Sam replied.

"What the hell is this thing?" I asked, desperately. "Why—who—should we go after it?" Adam asked us. "No, no." Dean said. "In that maze? That thing's long gone." I pointed out. "All right, so, we don't know what it is, but we do know who it's going after. Joe Barton, Adam's mom—" Sam said. "And Adam. It was under his truck, just waiting for him." Dean added. "It set a trap, and I walked right into it." Sam grumbles.

"Doesn't matter. You're right—there's a pattern. Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son." Dean said. "All the people Dad knew in town." said Sam.

"At least we know why it's back." I said. "It wants revenge." Adam said and we all look at him.

"Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road." Dean tells Adam after we get into his house. Adam flips on the lights and heads upstairs while Sam sits at the kitchen table. "We shouldn't leave." he says as he thumps his injured ankle on another chair. "Here, let me look at it." I said to Sam as I grab the first aid kit we brought in and go to the chair.

"Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked. Good one." Dean said, sarcastically, as Sam raises his leg and I sit on the chair and he places his ankle on my lap and I start to clean his wound. "I'm serious." Sam said. "No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you, me and (y/n) are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started." Dean said, firmly.

"How? We got no leads, no witnesses. We do have what this thing wants." Sam said and I stop cleaning his wound and grabbed the bandages and furrow my brow at Sam. "You want to use the kid as bait? That's why you want to stay here?" I asked him. "Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam—get him ready." Sam said as I bandage up his ankle.

"He could die, Sam." Dean yells. "We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?" Sam asked as Adam returns, backpack over one shoulder.

"I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it. I want to do it." he said and Dean looks at Sam then me then over at Adam.

We made our way to a field and Sam was teaching Adam how to fire a gun while Dean and I were leaning against the Impala. Dean was watching on, looking upset, and I look over at him. "This is so stupid." Dean grumbles. "He's gonna get himself killed."

"Dean..." I said, exasperated. "(Y/n), please don't argue with me. You know what I'm saying is right." He said and I sighed. "Look, I don't want Adam in danger either but...he should at least learn how to protect himself. I mean, what if a demon or any monsters we've fought find out about Adam? You know that they would love to jump at the opportunity to go after a son of John Winchester, especially one that can't defend itself." I explained as three gunshots sounds out as Adam had hit this sign he and Sam used for shooting practice.

Dean turns his head away from me as Adam and Sam talk then Sam claps Adam on the back. Dean sighs and shakes his head slightly.

"So, then we lit it on fire." Sam explains to Adam as we sit at Adam's house. Sam had spread out alot of books to Adam and they were looking through it. "With a homemade flamethrower?" Adam asked Sam. "Yeah. They're easy to build. I'll show you." Sam replied. "That is some job you got, man." Adam said, a bit impressed.

"Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam. It's life. You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend, friends?" Sam said, questioning, and Adam nods. "Not anymore you don't. If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections, ever. They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger, get them killed." Sam explained while Dean looks away and I place my hand over his as we sit at the nearby table.

"That's the price we pay. You cut 'em out, and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family." Sam continued. "Sam." Dean said and Sam looks over at him.

"Can I talk to you?" Dean as he gets up and goes over by the stairs, Sam follows him, leaving me alone with Adam. I look over at him and give a small smile. "They always argue?" Adam asked me and I let out a humorless laugh. "You have no idea." I respond. "Sometimes, I always have to get into the middle of them and stop them from trying to kill each other."

"Oh, so you're like some peacemaker?" He asked and I laugh alittle. "Something like that." I said. "So...how did you get involved with them?" Adam asked me. "I've known them all my life. My father and John had been partners from time to time until my father died. Then a few years ago, I teamed up with them." I said and Adam nods.

"Well...Sam called you Dean's girlfriend, is that true?" Adam asked me. "Yeah, it is." I said but then Sam comes up, annoyed. "Everything okay? Where's Dean?" I asked. "He just walked out. Can you go with him?" Sam asked and I sighed. "Yeah...I'll go babysit your brother." I said as I get up and walk out of the house just as Dean gets into the Impala.

"Wait up!" I called out and get into the passenger seat. "Babysitter (y/n) is here!" I said, sarcasm, and Dean rolls his eyes. "He asked you to come with me." He grumbles. "Yep...so where we going?" I asked him. "Gonna find what is hunting Adam." Dean replied as he starts up the Impala and we take off.

We .are our way into the cemetery and Dean opens the tomb. I turn on a flashlight and shine it around until I spot a loose stone. "Dean." I said as I pointed it out and Dean works it out of the wall with a crowbar, behind it there was a tunnel behind it. I shine the light along the tunnel. "Great." He groans and he crawls in and I follow.

At the far end of the tunnel is another room and I shine my light around. "Home sweet home." Dean said, snarkily, then we heard a noise on our feet. We looked down and saw a lot of blood that is next to a severed arm and a pair of large black glasses. Dean picks those up and looks at them.

"Sloppy Joe." he remarks and I make a noise of disgust. "Dean, don't ruin Sloppy Joe for me." I said then we hear something in the tunnel and Dean fires several times. The tunnel collapses.

"Oh, son of a bitch!" Dean yells and I try to make a call but no signal. "Damn it." I said and I turn to Dean. "No signal." I said and Dean growls. Then he kicks at the door out of the tomb, it remains sealed. I go to explore, pushing a skeleton out of the way with my foot and noticed that there is a sealed coffin with relatively fresh blood on the outside.

I open the coffin and gasped as I see that it is Kate Milligan, Adam's mother...well most of her as it seemed she had been eaten on. "Dean!" I said and he comes over to me and sees what I found. He goes and opens another coffin, this one has the corpse of Adam. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed while Dean puts a hand to Adam's mouth; there's quite a lot of blood. Both of us share a look of worry and fear. "Sam..." both of us said, fearfully.

"We got to get the hell outta here." Dean mutters. "Gee, you think?" I said, sarcastically, and we began to look around. Dean looks up then pats my shoulder and pointed up, where a stained-glass window was over us.

Dean breaks a long piece of metal off one of the coffins and tries to use it to pry the door open. It doesn't work. "Holy crap." he mutters then he and I go to stack one coffin on another, then stand on them, and use the metal bar to smash through the stained-glass window. Dean grabs the edge of the window and swings himself out then he turns around holds his hand out and helps me out.

We make our way back to Adam's house then enter inside of it and see Adam and Kate had tied Sam down on the table. "Hey!" Dean shouts as he aims his shotgun, fires and Adam hits the wall, a hole through his shoulder.

"Guys, they're ghouls!" Sam shouts and Dean pauses while Kate goes to charge at us. Anger filled my chest just as I raise my hand and she stops in mid-charge then I clench my hand, slowly, and she starts to choke. "Which means head-shot." Dean said and he goes to fight Adam.

Then I wave my hand and fling Kate off to the side. She lands and rolls on the floor while I grab a knife then I get on top of her and start to stab her in the head several times. She stops moving and I let out a breath while I hear a noise nearby. I turn my head to see Dean beating Adam's head in with a metal bar.

"Guys!" Sam said and Dean and I go over to Sam and we cut through the ropes and duct tape. I grab a couple towels on the way as I see that he has some cuts on his arms and a stab wound on his side. We help Sam sit up and I use the towels as pressure bandages. "Come on. Come on. Come on. Hang on." I murmur to Sam as I hold the towels to his wound.

"All right, here we go. Here we go. Hang on, buddy. All right." Dean mutters. "Thank you." Sam said, relieved. "That's what family's for, right?" Dean asked and Sam looks at him. "Keep pressure on that." I tell Sam and he holds it.

"You sure we should do this?" Sam asked after we wrapped Adam's body in sheets and laid it on a pyre. "Ghouls didn't fake those pictures. They didn't fake Dad's journal." Dean said as he opens a bottle of lighter fluid then sprinkles it over Adam.

"Adam was our brother. He died like a hunter. He deserves to go out like one." Dean said. "Maybe we can bring him back. Get a hold of Cas, call in a favor." I suggested but Dean shakes his head. "No, Adam's in a better place." he said and he lights a match and tosses it on the pyre, Adam's body goes up in flames.

"You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person." Dean said to Sam. "I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now." Dean said as Sam looks at him, his brow furrowed a bit.

"I'll take that as a compliment." he said. "You take it any way you want." Dean said and we all watch Adam's body go up in flames and I take Dean's hand in mine, and I feel his hand squeezing mine.

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @ellie-andthemachine

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thatpodcastkid · 1 month

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Magnus Archives Relisten 2, MAG 2

Second part of the relisten analysis, featuring my beloved Joshua Gillespie <3 Sorry this is a bit later in the day than expected, had it queued but must've saved it wrong.

Spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Joshua Gillespie (my love) from November 22nd, 1998, regarding an empty wooden casket he acquired while living in Amsterdam.

Character Notes: Jon's from Bournemouth confirmed! Again, hindsight is hilarious when Jon says "it's nice to hear my hometown is not entirely devoid of odd occurrences." Like sir you were almost eaten by a book?

Statement Notes: Another instance of drug use. Again, I can't necessarily tell if this is just a device so that Jon can dismiss the statements or if the entities are specifically preying on people in fragile/weak states of mind.

But none of that matters because the incredible Joshua Gillespie was there <3 <3, smartest character in the series on God. Specifically loved the end of the statement when the man who gave him the coffin sees the key in the ice box and seems impressed, because damn I'm impressed to. The statement specifically says he was impressed after Gillespie "Told him where he could stick it." This definitely feeds into the idea that, as much as the fears prey on weak and scared people, they're really attracted to confident and bold people. I think a person's response to a scary scenario has a lot to do with whether they become an avatar or a victim; not necessarily whether they were scared or brave, but whether that fear overtook them or they dove into it. Gillespie really faced his fear of the coffin and just dealt with it in a head on, practical manner.

I don't recall the character who gives Gillespie the coffin coming up again, but of course his name is John. Obviously Breekon and Hope come up, but I don't remember this other guy showing up again, anyone else?

It's super interesting that the coffin didn't get delivered until after Gillespie spent the money, as if it was waiting for some kind of a debt to be established.

Entity Alignment: Little on the nose, but this is the Buried. It pretty weird, that although long term fans know this is Buried aligned "thing," there's really no mention of anyone entering or being buried in the coffin in this episode. But at the end of the statement, Tim discovers that no one was living in the building with Gillespie for many years. That could have to do with the money, whoever gave him the coffin may have set up the apartment sale to manipulate him into spending it, but a part of me really likes the idea that all the other residents wandered into the coffin while they slept, unable to resist the call. There's obviously evidence against that, being that no Tim found no one lived there for the entirety of Gillespie's residence and any other possible residence wouldn't have the coffin key.

People like to bring up the Vast/Buried dichotomy a lot, and I think it's really prevalent in this episode. Gillespie first hears the scratching on the coffin when he places a glass on it, but he doesn't hear the wailing until it starts raining. Thinking about the End episode in Season 5, where Oliver Banks determines things stop being scary if you become too used to them, I think hearing the rain is a tool used by the Buried to keep its victims afraid. It may be easy to succumb to the dirt and the darkness on a regular day, but a day you're reminded that there's a wide open sky you can't and won't ever be able to see? Not gonna happen. Letting the victims hear the rain amps up the fear and torment.

One of the best episodes in the series, let me know what you think!

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coughloop · 1 year

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tell us about your diner style breakfast. hash browns? sausage or bacon? inquiring minds need to know.

Just because I want to tall about my potato technique i will share this with you all NOT because you asked:

Simple good as hell diner breakfast for 2, including a meat, 2 eggs, potatoes and toast:

Meat:

Preheat oven to 400, evenly place 6 breakfast sausages on tin foil and bake for 10 minutes, flip and cook for another 5, turn on broiler cool for another 3, remove.

Preheat oven to 375, place 6-8 straps of bacon on tinfoil, cook for 7-9 minutes a side depending on preferred crisp level

Eggs:

Add butter to medium sized non stick pan, on 3/10 heat. Crack four eggs evenly around without breaking yolks, sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika. Cover and let the steam cook the top of the eggs. Remove from heat once the whites have solidified and the yolks are still runny

Potatoes:

Peel one medium sized Russet potato, cut into bite sized pieces whatever that means to you, put in a non stick pan large enough that they can rest in one even layer. To the pan add ~0.75L of low sodium chicken stock or enough to cover the potato bites until they're almost almost submerged. Sprinkle salt overtop like youre seasoning water for pasta. Turn your stove to high heat and being to a boil. Once it begins to bubble turn the heat down like 2 notches and boil UNCOVERED for 5-8 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat and strain to remove any remaining stock (though most should have already evaporated away) and swirl the boiled potato chunks around in the strainer to rough up the edges and increase the potatoes surface area (better for catching seasoning you add at the end.

VERY IMPORTANT STEP: WASH THE PAN

If you don't at least rinse it before the next part all the starch in the residual stock left coating the pan WILL burn onto and create a layer of burnt potato crust and your homefries so they won't cook properly AND it'll be a bitch to clan off later. DO NOT SKIP THIS

Once your pan is washed and dried and your potatoes roughened up, place the pan back on medium heat and add olive oil and butter, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and allow the butter to melt. Add the potatoes to the hot butter and oil and stir to coat it, sprinkle in a bit of kosher salt, mix it all up again and spread until the potatoes are sitting in an even layer.

This is the point that instincts will have to guide you and I don't think i can give a step by step instruction. Your basically trying to evenly brown each side of the potato bites as much as possible without overcooking the inside or burning the outside. My general strategy is to let it it cook undisturbed until it feels like it's time to stir then giving them a toss to see if they are unsticking from the pan and repeating this process until they look like they're cooked just a tiny bit less than I want them to be, could take 4 minutes, could take ten, I still don't have a consistent method for this part down. Once they are just about ready, cut the heat and sprinkle in pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika (thanks chef john). Mix it all up (AGAIN: OFF HEAT) and serve!

Toast:

Toast that shit .

NOW SERVE

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smartycvnt · 3 months

Text

Loving You*

Title: Loving You

Pairing: Felicity Smoak x Reader

Warnings: smut, oral (f receiving), vaginal fingering, top reader, bottom Felicity

Word Count: 1594

Felicity furrowed her brows as she watched Ash's location on the screen. It had been risky for Felicity to agree to help Ash out after Oliver kicked her out of the group. He belived that Ash was dangerous and all too willing to cross lines that Oliver had drawn in the sand. Technically, he was right. There were things that Felicity and John had hidden from Oliver for Ash's sake. Felicity was pretty sure that even Laurel had hidden a few things for the younger woman's sake.

"Ash, get out of there. Oliver is on his way," Felicity hissed over the comms. "Ash, please."

"Whatever you say," Ash grumbled. She wasn't happy about leaving her post, but Felicity called the shots. Especially whenever they had to work around Oliver. The last thing that Ash wanted was to get Felicity in trouble.

"I'm sure that whatever you were looking for will be there tomorrow," Felicity said.

"And if it isn't, I did get the tracker on the crate. You can do your magic, and I'll chase it down then," Ash said. She found herself a rooftop to wait and watch Oliver on. "What's he up to in there?"

"Mind your business. I don't tell John what you're doing when he asks," Felicity said. Ash huffed as she crossed her arms, muttering about how bossy Felicity was being. "What was that?"

"I'm bored. When are you gonna be done down there? I miss you." Ash pouted. Felicity sighed as she tried to distract herself from the familiar tone of Ash's voice. It was an innocent enough statement, and to an extent, Ash meant it that way, but Felicity also knew the true meaning of Ash's words.

"Once Oliver comes back, I'll head over to your place," Felicity promised.

"I'm on a separate comms channel, right?" Ash asked.

"Why do I think I'm going to regret telling you yes?"

"Talk dirty to me," Ash said quickly.

"You're ridiculous," Felicity laughed. She had never been good at talking, especially in that sense. Ash was smooth, always knowing just what to say in sexual situations to make Felicity impossibly wet. Ash was, for lack of a better word, a complete heartthrob. She easily could have a body count that would have put Oliver and Tommy to shame, but Ash refused to talk about her "former" ways. "You're going to get me in trouble one of these days."

"Alright, I'll head back to my place. I can't wait to see you, love you babe," Ash said. Felicity felt a familiar rush of heat creeping up her neck at being called babe.

"I love you too," Felicity said. Ash got the feeling that Felicity was trying to be quiet, like there was someone around. It couldn't be Oliver, who was still inside of the building as Ash made her way back to her place. She was nearly halfway home when she heard the police sirens rushing towards where she had come from.

There weren't a lot of good things that Ash could say about Oliver Queen, but the man could be punctual when it counted. Felicity just barely managed to get back to Ash's apartment before Ash did. Despite having seen Felicity earlier in the morning, Ash felt like her breath had been stolen right out of her lungs. Felicity seemed to get a bit antsy with Ash's staring, but Ash couldn't help it.

"You look gorgeous," Ash muttered as she leaned in for a kiss. Felicity closed the little bit of distance between them. The first kiss was fairly tame, but Felicity could tell that Ash wanted so much more.

"Let's get inside." Felicity grabbed onto Ash's free hand. Ash led Felicity inside and all the way back to her bedroom. It was quickly becoming their space, as was Felicity's house. Ash was happy about it, but she didn't quite know where they'd go from there. Felicity wasn't ready for anything serious after Oliver, and Ash had never gotten this far with someone before.

The few steps to Ash's bed were ones that Felicity had been making quite a bit in recent weeks. She let out a sigh of relief as she laid back on the mattress. This was the first night in three weeks that they had gotten home without being utterly exhausted. Three weeks that had gone by both in the blink of an eye and much too slow.

"Hi," Ash said as she moved to straddle Felicity. Ash's fingers tickled against Felicity's sides. Felicity let out a small laugh at the sensation. Ash bit her lip as she let her eyes drag down Felicity's body. Felicity had never felt overly good about herself, but Ash made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Hey." Felicity felt a little lame with her reply, but Ash had started it. If there was one thing that Felicity had learned, it was that Ash was not nearly as smooth as the media thought she was. Felicity was beyond grateful for that, though, because she doubted that she could have handled Ash any other way. There were already so many moments with Ash where she couldn't believe that what was happening wa real.

"I've missed you," Ash said sweetly. Felicity suddenly felt a little lightheaded under Ash's gaze. It wasn't nearly as heated as it had been moments ago. Ash constantly switched between pure lust and adoration that made Felicity feel like it's swallow both of them whole. She was terrified of not being able to love Ash the way that Ash very obviously loved her.

"I missed you too," Felicity mumbled. Ash smiled, as if she hadn't expected Felicity to say anything back. There had been moments where Felicity had been too taken aback to reply, but she had always tried to rectify that. The last thing that Felicity wanted to see was Ash trying to hide her love for anything.

Ash leaned forward to kiss Felicity again, as if she could sense the tension forming between them. Felicity closed her eyes and let herself get lost Ash's lips. Ash had softer lips than anybody that Felicity had ever dated before. If Felicity didn't know better, she'd think that Ash was put on Earth just to kiss people. There was no telling how much of Felicity's day was spent thinking about kissing Ash whenever nobody else was around.

Felicity felt her glasses being removed, and Ash's kiss went from gentle to much firmer. Felicity parted her lips with a small gasp as Ash's fingers snuck beneath the waistband of her skirt. Ash didn't venture any further with her hands as her tongue slipped into Felicity's mouth. Felicity could fully taste the remnants of the energy drink and gum that Ash had earlier in the day. The flavors paired together to bring out the subtle sweetness that Felicity had on the tip of her tongue after kissing Ash.

Ash's hands started to move to undo Felicity's skirt, and Felicity lifted her hips up to aid in the cause. Ash moved slowly back up Felicity's legs, caressing the inside of her thighs. It was like torture until Ash's fingers hooked around Felicity's underwear to pull them down. Felicity wanted to tell herself that she was above being so horny for Ash, especially after they had been sleeping together for months, but that simply wasn't true.

Felicity held her breath as she waited for Ash to make the next move. Ash didn't leave Felicity waiting for long. She dragged her finger between Felicity's folds. Ash let out a soft moan at the feeling of how wet Felicity was. Felicity had to look away when her eyes met Ash's. She squeezed her eyes shut and blindly reached towards Ash.

Ash leaned forward enough for Felicity to grab onto her. She made sure to let Felicity get grounded before she slipped two fingers inside of Felicity. Ash felt Felicity pull her forward and hold her close. Ash turned her head just enough to pepper Felicity's chest and neck in kisses. She could hear the small moans and sighs coming from Felicity's mouth, each one a little breathier than the last.

Ash could feel Felicity dripping around her fingers as they pumped in and out of her. It wasn't nearly fast or hard enough for Ash to consider it fucking. Felicity wasn't someone who Ash would have felt comfortable truly fucking, not unless Felicity begged her for it. In Ash's mind, Felicity deserved all of the softness and intimacy that Ash had run from in the past. It was much different than what Ash was used to, but in the end, Ash felt better about making Felicity cum than anybody else.

"Don't go," Ash muttered as she came to lay next to Felicity. She withdrew her fingers slowly and began to move to wipe them away when Felicity stopped her. Ash watched with wide eyes as Felicity took Ash's fingers into her mouth. "Fuck, I think I love you."

"Are you going to say that every time I come over to your place?" Felicity asked, a teasing lilt in her voice.

"I'm pretty sure that I love you other places too. It's just easier to say it here, safe space and all," Ash reasoned.

"Well, I know that I love you too." Felicity grabbed a hold of Ash's cheeks and kissed her. Ash melted into the kiss, whimpering just a little whenever Felicity broke it. "And I'm not going anywhere, not anymore. We're not running away from each other, we're well past that point."

#minors dni #my writing #one shot #felicity smoak x reader #felicity smoak #arrow x reader #arrow #arrowverse x reader #arrowverse #dc x reader #dc

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jbuffyangel · 3 months

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So Many Girlfriends: Arrow 1x17 Review (The Huntress Returns)

We were a little light on Oliver and Felicity content last episode, but “The Huntress Returns” makes up for it. A good deal of the episode is focused on how Oliver feels about Helena and McKenna, but ultimately shines a bright spotlight on how he feels about Felicity.

Let’s dig in...

Olicity, Helena and McKenna

Will Oliver Queen’s real girlfriend please stand up?

Just kidding. I think too much is made of how many women Oliver dated in Season 1. Technically it was only two… well three but we’ll talk about the third later in the season. This is not an exorbitant about of dating for a single man. That said, we’re juggling three out of the four in “The Huntress Returns” so things feel a bit crowded.

This episode primarily focuses on how Oliver feels about Helena. She’s back after discovering her father cut a deal and will be placed in witness protection for offering evidence against the east coast families. Helena will not allow her father to have any kind of life because for her there is no life after Danny.

Helena can’t go up against the Starling City Police Department alone and wants Oliver to help kill her father. We get sucked into another “revenge versus justice” argument between the two of them and honestly I am trying hang with my boy here. Oliver believes what he is doing is justice and not revenge, but he is splitting the thinnest of moral hairs.

I’ve done the mental gymnastics to follow his point in previous reviews, and I won’t repeat myself too much, but every time they argue about this I find myself agreeing with Helena. Oliver is dangerously close to the hypocrite line, but ok sir. You only kill when necessary (although I don’t remember every person crossed off the list being killed in self defense) and only when it serves justice (but Oliver has anointed himself judge, jury and executioner so it’s HIS kind of justice – that doesn’t actually make it justice.)

Moving on. Helen extorts Oliver into participating by threatening Tommy.

First, Tommy finds out Oliver is a superhero and then he gets beat up by a girl. This has been an emasculating couple weeks.

It’s Diggle that asks the all important and completely obvious question.

Diggle: Oliver if you didn’t still have feelings for this girl you would have thought of a different solution than letting her extort you into killing someone.

Oliver: What do you want me to do? You want me to kill her?

Diggle: I think you would have a long time ago if she looked more like me than the T-Mobile girl.

Diggle is never wrong. Exhibit A: the T-Mobile Girl

Normally John advises Oliver to stay his hand, but he’s worried Helena will drop a dime on both of them. A concern Oliver shares, which is why he hasn’t handed her over to the police.

Oliver does finally admit to his FEELINGS. He’s still holding on to whatever idea of Helena he has in his head. He believes this idealized version is the true version. This is a mistake Oliver makes a lot with women – Moira, Thea, and L*urel. Each of them have faults, some more glaring than others, but he stubbornly ignores them and believes in the Snow White version instead. It’s patronizing and keeps Oliver from seeing the women he loves as human beings – with imperfections just like him.

Oliver keeps telling Helena, “This isn’t you,” when it very clearly is her. Oliver’s hero complex means he believes everyone can be saved, but when a person refuses to change and chooses the darker road again and again, then you must believe them. Saving someone is an illusion. No one can be saved unless they want to be saved. We must all make that choice for ourselves. We must choose our salvation.

Helena’s return shines a glaring spotlight on how little we know about McKenna after several episodes. Oliver and McKenna haven’t progressed much past a few dates and some lukewarm kisses.

Arrow ramps up the heat with a love scene, but it feels very perfunctory - like they must have sex to count as a relationship. Something to check off the list before McKenna is shipped off to The Land of Forgotten Characters.

This is exactly what happens when McKenna gets caught between Oliver and Helena's show down. Helena shoots McKenna, which fractures her femur. She is moving to Ocean City to live with her sister and rehab for a year.

Oliver makes a valiant offer to visit and do the long distance thing. He cares for McKenna, but I couldn’t help but feel this offer came from a hefty dose of guilty. Of course, Oliver is going to blame McKenna’s injury on himself. He even says he’s responsible for her – not that he loves her. McKenna can see that Oliver’s feelings are not long distance level and she dumps him.

And every heartbreak was a yellow brick road Pointing me straight, just taking me home I was never lost I was just passing through I was on my way to you

"On My Way" by Jennifer Lopez

Arrow does not let these failed relationships go to waste. They are pointing us to Oliver’s real destination point. “Return of The Huntress” has a couple of dialogue gems that Olicity vidders have used again and again. More often than not, the writers are not talking about the relationship Oliver is currently in. They are talking about the relationship he is headed towards.

McKenna: The first thing you do is you find yourself someone you never have to apologize to.

It’s interesting that McKenna says this to Oliver right before they make love, but by the end of the episode he is wracked with guilt over her. He actually has to steel himself before going into McKenna’s hospital room because he cannot show what he’s truly feeling. The offer to come to Coast City is one big apology.

This is Arrow’s version of “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” which personally I think is a load of crap.

If you love someone and you hurt them then acknowledging their pain and apologizing for it is a very important part of forgiveness. You do not get a successful relationship without forgiveness.

I think the sentiment Arrow is trying to communicate is that Oliver needs to find someone who understands who he is and all the various pressures in his life. Someone he doesn’t have to lie to (McKenna/L*urel), but won’t ask him to murder people (Helena). The only woman in Oliver’s life that fits in these categories is Felicity.

As I said before, this show has the subtly of a jackhammer. Felicity calls as Oliver and McKenna fall into bed together. The camera panning to Felicity’s face on Oliver’s phone while he is having sex with another woman is not accidental. They are very clearly saying which woman Oliver SHOULD be having sex with.

Oliver leaves McKenna’s bed the minute he finds out Helena has attacked Felicity. This is in my Top Ten if not Top 5 of Oliver rescuing Felicity scenes.

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

Helena forced Felicity to hack the FBI database for her father’s safe house location.

Oliver arrives in a panic and calls out for Felicity. He finds her bound and on the floor. It is not often we see the Hood’s feathers ruffled, but they certainly are in this scene.

Oliver’s voice drops to that soft tone with an “I’m here” and “Hey” as he gently touches Felicity’s face to reassure himself she is okay.

There are limited circumstances where Oliver allows himself to touch Felicity. He sticks to shoulders for a looooong time, but allows himself something more intimate when Felicity is in danger.

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

The real tell here is Oliver’s RAGE. He goes absolutely feral when he hears someone entering the office and almost throws a knife at Diggle.

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

Helena has killed innocent people to get to her father. She knows Oliver’s secret which makes her a dangerous threat to Team Arrow. She subtly threatened Oliver’s family by showing up at the mansion and directly threatened Tommy by almost ripping his arm from the socket. NONE of these actions convince Oliver to kill Helena – until she threatens Felicity. Oliver’s carefully crafted façade which hides the anger simmering underneath is tossed aside immediately. He wants to rip Helena in half with his bare hands.

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

It’s starting to add up this episode! Helena has been searching for the right pressure point and boy did she find it. Felicity is not just comedic relief. She is not just Oliver’s Girl Friday. The writers are clearly writing their interactions with romantic undertones and this episode shines a very bright light on where Felicity ranks in Oliver’s life, how much he cares for her, and what he’s willing to do to protect her. Ok sure, Oliver has a lot of “girlfriends,” but there’s only one who truly matters.

Prepare yourselves. I don’t disagree with this statement.

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

Happy is not Oliver’s goal right now and I don’t believe he’s anywhere near the vicinity of happiness. If Oliver somehow achieved whatever his current definition of happiness is (which is also in flux) he wouldn’t know what to do with it. Not unlike a dog chasing a car.

Oliver is trapped in a self fulling prophecy attempting a normal life while living his vigilante life. He laments that marrying the two is impossible because it continually blows up in his face when he tries to merge his love life with his crime fighting.

He couldn’t be honest with McKenna because she’d arrest him. Oliver was honest with Helena, but she desperately needs to be arrested (and requires a good dose of therapy). Whenever the puzzle pieces don’t fit, Oliver throws his hands up in exasperation and says, “SEE? I CAN NEVER BE HAPPY!”

There is a problem with his math. As Diggle said, it’s about finding the right person. McKenna, Helena, *cough*L*urel*cough* are not the right person, so of course it doesn’t work out. Oliver never really addresses the massive issues with each of these women on an individual level. He sort of just chucks them all into the same love is impossible category.

We know the answer. Hell, I think even Diggle knows the answer at this point. It’s a 5 foot 5 inch blonde ponytail swishing Oliver right in the face. Felicity knows the truth. Not only does she NOT want him arrested, she has joined his criminal enterprise. She is wildly intelligent, beautiful, empathetic, witty and just the right amount of sass and toughness to keep a pain in the ass like Oliver Queen in line. This is the girl you bring home to meet your mother, Oliver.

Just hold her hand my dude!!

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

But Oliver refuses to allow himself to look at Felicity in that capacity for now, which brings us to the second issue with his math. Oliver doesn’t feel he can be happy. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love. He might be chasing after it, feigning some attempt at a normal life, but these relationships blowing up in his face is not completely unwelcomed.

There’s a sense of relief sinking back into the darkness of the bunker. He tried, it failed, and now Oliver can wash his hands of the whole “happiness” thing, which is fine because he doesn’t deserve it anyway.

So, no I don’t believe Oliver’s priority should be happiness right now. He’s nowhere near ready for that. Oliver needs to do an enormous amount of work mentally and emotionally before he is even in the realm of readiness for Felicity Smoak. What he needs desperately right now is a friend who understands him. Of course, Felicity will be the friend Oliver needs because he will never find a life with Felicity without her help.

But bring on all the shoulder touches in the meantime!

L*urel and Tommy

Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

Soooo Tommy is having some issues with Oliver’s identity. I always giggle inappropriately when Oliver is so offended by Tommy calling him a murderer. He looks like he wants to say, “Am not! It doesn’t count if they were bad people!”

Tommy is not interested in a morality debate with Oliver because he doesn’t trust him anymore - a consequence from all the lying. We’re already on Team Oliver. We know his reasons for doing this. We watched Robert Queen kill himself. We understand our vigilante’s pain, so it’s natural to get a little defensive of him when Tommy is this unforgiving.

But Tommy has a right to his anger. Oliver has lied. A LOT. He is a killer. This is a disquieting revelation about the kid you grew up playing t-ball with. Not everyone is as cool with murder as Diggle and Felicity. (Tommy does soften on Oliver a little by the end of the episode.)

It’s not all moral high ground either. Tommy doesn’t say it, but Oliver being the sexy and dangerous vigilante L*urel is obsessed with is not scoring him any best friend points.

Tommy is going through all the feelings this week, which means he’s not the most attentive boyfriend and doesn’t have the emotional bandwidth for the latest Lance drama. L*urel’s mother, the OG Dinah, is in town because she believes Sara is alive. Dun dun duuuunnnn!!

SPOILERS!!!!!!

This storyline just annoys the crap out of me. I hate that they introduce this in Season 1. I don’t know if it’s meant to be a red herring, dangle a hook or just to drive us crazy, but it lessens the emotional impact of Season 2.

The first thing Oliver did when he came back was state definitively that Sara was dead. Dinah's picture of someone who looks like Sara is pretty flimsy evidence to contradict the man who watched her die. It feels like the writers are trying to give L*urel and Detective Lance something to do and bring all the divorce drama with Dinah into the fold. Eh. Keep it.

What annoys me even further is L*urel immediately jumps up Tommy’s ass for being distracted and not fully invested in the dead-sister-is-possibly-but-probably-not-alive drama. Good grief woman. Can the guy have an off week? Calm down.

I’m 50/50 on whether Tommy really wants to tell L*urel that Oliver is the vigilante. Yes, he wants to tell her because that tea is PIPING HOT and he has to be dying to tell SOMEONE. No, he doesn’t want to tell her because of the previously mentioned sexy leather pants problem. It’s really a toss up at this point.

The problem is Tommy is actually a really decent dude who is terrible at lying and L*urel knows he’s keeping something from her. Thanks a lot Ollie. She throws a hissy about Tommy being “a million miles away” and storms off. The seeds of distrust and disappointment are sewn and we shall wait for the impending jealousy implosion to come.

Stray Thoughts

Oliver and Slade are negotiating a flight off the island. Wake me if it’s not a foregone conclusion this plan fails. The dude was stuck there for five years.

Thea wants to get Roy a job. Nothing says love like gainful employment.

Is date number six significant? What happens on date six? I am old and have not dated for awhile.

Oliver ordering Felicity out of the room was HOT. He doesn’t want her within fifty feet of Helena. I like it when he’s growly and bossy. Source: https://gifyu.com/paigeota

Roy gets stabbed saving Thea. She kisses him because he’s scared of needles. First kiss cute factor is off the charts.

“Why can’t you just admit that you still have feelings for me too?” Does anyone else feel like Oliver had sex with McKenna to prove he doesn’t have feelings for Helena? It felt oddly timed.

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x17!!!

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mlmxreader · 4 months

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Line of Duty | John Price x m!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ Could you do one with prompts 5 and 11, with Price and a male reader?? ❞

: ̗̀➛ So much can happen when on the frontlines, but certain things are more unbearable to cope with than others.

: ̗̀➛ swearing, major character death, angst, death/injury, depiction of dead bodies, smoking

↳ @mockerycrow @seigwaidau

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

Nothing was alive anymore. When the flood rushed through, it took most of the dead trees with it, and killed off the smaller saplings; their bodies littered the battlefield, bits of broken limbs scattered amongst the mud and the clay.

Bushes, once adorned with berries and bright green leaves, were left pulled and ripped apart across the mess; their small thorns charred and crumbled to ash upon the most delicate of touches.

No snakes slithered amongst the dead leaves, and no birds sang from the trees; not even the bravest of larks would have dared to sing as he flew past.

Not even the sun dared to shine anymore, hidden behind clouds that wept so terribly upon looking at the state of the land; in the shadow of the war, Price’s skin did not look the same.

Grey and pale, his blue eyes were dull and dark. He didn’t look the same. His lips were carved into a frown as he sat on a wet rock, the water up to his ankles as he lit a cigarette and hung his head.

He seemed to age a decade in that moment; no longer the forty year old Captain you had fallen in love with, still hopeful and who still had dreams - no.

His dreams had been set alight and burned in front of him, his hope had been strapped down and bludgeoned with a hammer. He seemed heavy, like there was something on his shoulders.

A burden not meant to be carried by anyone else but himself; he hunched over so that his neck wouldn’t hurt so much, staring at the murky olive water as he swallowed thickly and sighed.

You were cautious and slow as you sat beside him, resting your head on his shoulder as your hand sought his; his skin was cold, sending a shiver down your spine and making you frown as you looked at his knuckles.

They were raw, but he didn’t seem to care. He didn’t even move to run his thumb across your knuckles like he usually did; just sitting there, his gaze a thousand yards away as he kept it trained on the water he was hardly paying attention to.

You tore your gaze from him, looking up at the slanted and knocked over tree nearby; Gaz’s boot hung from one of the shattered limbs, the bottom half of his leg slowly slipping out of it.

The rest of him was nowhere to be seen.

You shuddered, quickly averting your gaze. Clearing your throat as you did your best not to think about it; to think about how, at least, Gaz’s death had been quick… you couldn’t say the same for Ghost, though.

You could still hear yourself screaming at Price to save him, to get him the fuck out of there the second that the canal started to be unlocked; you could still hear Ghost’s choking as the blood filled his mouth and turned to a thick foam.

You squeezed your eyes tightly shut, trying not to think about how desperate Price had sounded when he had tried to save Ghost.

“Let him go! You fucking cunts! Let him go!”

But they didn’t. They let him choke on a mix of his own vomit and blood. Left him there as his eyes burned from their sockets and his limbs cracked and contorted close to his body; his arms pulled up almost like a dead cockroach.

It took him so long to die, you hated it. You hated how you couldn’t save him, a pit in your stomach as you felt it churn and knot itself; you didn’t even notice you were crying, until you felt Price gently wipe away the tears before pulling you flush into his side as he shook his head.

“Control yourself, buddy boy,” he whispered, kissing your temple as he loudly sniffled. “They wouldn’t… wouldn’t want us to be upset.”

You leaned into him, clinging onto the back of his jacket as you wept against his shoulder. “It’s all my fault, John… I thought… I wanted…”

“I know,” Price murmured, shaking his head. “But it ain’t your fault… it’s not your fault, and it ain’t mine.”

But you could hear the dishonesty in his voice; he didn’t mean a fucking word of it.

q`1Price didn’t blame you for Ghost and Gaz dying, you knew that, but he almost certainly blamed himself; he was their Captain, he should have known better.

He should never have sent them in, knowing that the risk was too high… knowing that he would always feel their blood on his hands. Thick and sticky, gloopy and gooey as it dripped between his fingers and ran down his forearms.

Price huffed, pulling you closer as he thanked everyone he could that one of his men had survived - that at the very least the man going to be his husband had survived.

Even though he knew that neither of you would ever be the same; you had lost your best friend. You had lost a man that was like a brother to you; someone you adored and loved, even if you did take the piss out of him constantly.

You still loved him, you had spent your entire life by his side; from the cradle… to his grave. You had never left his side. Price knew better than to assume that you would be alright when you were extracted by Laswell in the morning.

When he looked at what was left of the body after the flood, he swallowed thickly, and did his best not to weep; his men meant enough to him as it was - Ghost and Gaz were family to him - but he knew that it was his own fault.

He knew that he had killed them, he had taken your best friend from you and he could never look at you without thinking about it again; he had killed your best friend.

He had murdered them.

“If you want to take a break from active duty,” he said quietly. “I’ll sign it off for you.”

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smkkbert · 4 months

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Time for a story - The Man under the Hood

“I still cannot believe we are doing this.”

Felicity opened an eye and turned her head just enough to not disturb the make-up artist, who was working on her face, but still enough to look at Oliver. He was sitting in a chair next to his, his face already ready for interview they would give in about five minutes.

“Because you don’t enjoy talking to the media or because you never thought that you would ever say on TV that you are the Green Arrow.”

Oliver considered his answer for a moment. “Both, I guess.”

When he had been younger, Felicity knew, his relationship to the media had been messy. As a white, rich boy he had been followed by paparazzi a lot, and they hadn’t always approached him in good moments. He had been drunk most of the time as he had been drunk most of his young adult life, so they hadn’t really caught him in a good light. He still felt like they saw a little bit of that man in him now which was why he disliked talking to the media most times, even when he was wearing a suit after he had invited them to come to his territory and he decided what he would talk about.

After his return from the island, not just the media but everyone really that had had a little too much interest in him had been a threat or a target. The last words echoed through her mind with Oliver’s voice as he had said those words during their first date back at that little Italian restaurant that had blown up while they had been there. It was why he had kept everyone at arm’s length and made sure nobody got to know his secret.

Nobody had been allowed to know his secret.

Then he had told John because he had needed to save him and he had seemed like a reliable person that he could trust.

Then Helena Bertinelli found out because she had been a lost soul like him, and they had thought that they were the only ones that could truly understand each other.

Then he had been left injured and bleeding after confronting his mother while he had been wearing the hood and suddenly found himself in the back of her car. Well, she had found him there, Felicity thought with a smile, and he had revealed himself to her and the rest was history.

Well, their history at least.

“It’s a good thing.”

Felicity looked at the small set where the interview would be filmed. Two leather armchairs were waiting for Oliver and her. On the opposite side of the small table, another armchair was waiting for woman anchor Marisol Marroquín. She had sent them some of her questions beforehand, but she had also made clear that the interview and especially their answers in it would decide about how she would continue with her interview.

Of course Felicity had did her research von Marisol Marroquín before she had agreed to do this interview. She was known to be a tough reporter, asking the right questions at the right time. She wasn’t going easy on the people she interviewed, but she wasn’t unfair. She accepted boundaries, and she didn’t just try to dig for gossip or whatever. She really wanted to inform people which had made Felicity know that she was the right person for this interview.

“I got a good feeling about this,” she told him once more and turned her head to smile at him, “I really do.”

Oliver smiled back at her, reached out his hand and squeezed her fingers. They held onto each other for a brief moment before they let go.

“We are ready,” one of the set people told them, “so we’d like you to take your seats, so we can check the lighting and the microphones before we start.”

Felicity had given quite some press conferences, she thought while five people from the set checked the microphones, the headlights and the camera positions. Nothing had been quite like this. It was a little much, nothing she could possibly see herself doing more than once.

Eventually, Marisol Marroquín joined them from her dressing room backstage. She looked incredible in her steel blue dress. It made her long, slim legs look fantastic. Her dark hair fell around her face in thick curls. Her full lips were painted in a bright red. Felicity wasn’t surprised that she was such a desired reporter for TV. She didn’t only do a great job, she also looked the part too.

“Are you ready?” she asked them with a smile when she sat down in her arm chair and crossed her legs. “Is there anything you need? Anything we need to talk about before we start?”

Felicity shot a look at Oliver, who looked back at her. He perked up his eyebrows, directing Marisol’s questions right back at her. Felicity shrugged her shoulders. They had talked about the most important issues beforehand, so there wasn’t much more she could possibly ask or say now.

“I think we are as ready as we can be,” Oliver replied.

“Great.” Marisol smiled at them and then turned to one of the people from set, nodding in their direction.

Three minutes later, the cameras started rolling.

“Three weeks ago, Starling City’s greatest secret was finally lifted,” she started directly, looking into the camera. “In a night of citywide fights against criminals, all of our heroes, formerly known as vigilantes, finally let us see the people behind these masks. In the center of this development is a well-known couple that is here with me now.”

She turned towards Oliver and Felicity now.

“Mr. and Mrs. Queen, why did you decide on giving this interview now?”

“After we were forced to reveal ourselves to the public, we were positively surprised about the support the city offered to us. We felt like we owed it to the people who decided to trust us to give that trust back. We want to let people in on the full story of how we came here and also be very transparent about where we are planning to go.”

“The city was in the dark about what we were doing and why we were doing it for a long time,” Felicity added to Oliver’s answer, “and that led a lot of people to doubt the vigilantes at the start. We want to make sure that there won’t be any doubts anymore.”

An almost natural conversation progressed. Marisol asked them how everything had started, so Oliver told her about the sinking of the Gambit and the revelations of his father. He told her about the list and his desire to right his father’s wrongs and how he had tried to find out what his parents had been planning on. He told her about how he had needed help and how he had used the skills of the blonde, babbly IT-girl at Queen Consolidated until he had eventually ended up bleeding in her car after he had interrogated his mother and she had shut him. That was when Felicity chimed in and told her how she had learned for sure what she had known already – that Oliver Queen was the Hood.

Oliver reached out his hand when Felicity said that, and she laced her fingers through his, squeezing his hand. Their love story had always been special. There had been a time that Felicity had wondered if some of that specialty had come from the fact that their love story had been a secret to most people. Since she had had children, she had known that their love was only more special when they could share it with others.

They told her about how the mission had changed, how the team had grown, how Oliver had turned from the Hood to the Arrow to the Green Arrow. They told her about Blood Rose and Ruben Midas, her many attempts as taking revenge and how that had led to Oliver outing himself as the Green Arrow, followed by the team revealing themselves too.

Marisol listened carefully and let them talk. She just asked some questions if Oliver and Felicity were about to forget that they were telling their story to strangers instead of sharing it with each other. She asked questions to fill in some blanks and redirect their focus.

“Looking back from where you are now, would you do anything differently?”

“A lot, I guess.” Oliver smiled regretfully. “I think if we could turn back time, I would try to do things differently from the start.”

“Like killing the people on the list?”

Felicity could feel Oliver’s fingers tightening around hers briefly. It was one thing to talk about the people he killed to her or to the team. Talking about them on national TV, knowing it would probably be broadcasted internationally and the kids as well as their friends would see it, was something entirely different. Fact was that the moment he had outed himself, people had known about it though. They just hadn’t heard why it had started that way or how much Oliver still suffered knowing what he had done.

“I guess it is my biggest regret,” Oliver said slowly, nodding his head. “I wanted to right my father’s wrongs and created my own wrongs along the way. My own trauma from everything that happened in the night of the storm and all those years after that made my blind to the trauma that I have caused. How couldn’t I regret that?”

He made a pause, and squeezed Felicity’s hand once more.

“I know that I don’t want to recreate that devil’s cycle though,” he added then, “so I don’t want my children to feel like they need to right my wrongs when I pass. I want to do it myself, so I am. I hope I am righting my wrongs.”

“Is that your new motivation?” Marisol asked. “To right your wrongs?”

“Partly maybe,” Oliver replied, “but it’s more than that.”

“Starling City is our home,” Felicity explained, feeling like Oliver could need a little break to refocus, “and our children’s home. We love this place, and we love the people here. We want to make this a safe place for good people, a place of fairness and chances. I think that plays a big role in why we are doing this.”

“Safety in vigilantism, fairness in rebuilding the Glades and chances in offering jobs and working charities,” Marisol concluded, “a busy life.”

“Indeed.” Oliver sighed, but he chuckled lightly as well. “It is worth it.”

Marisol, being indeed as good at her job as Felicity had predicter her to be, seemed to sense the need for a little lighter detour too. She certainly knew that it was easier to get the information she wanted if she didn’t press for too many too sensitive information too soon.

“Before the recording of this show, we have been to three of the local elementary schools and gathered questions that some of Starling City’s youngest have for you.”

Felicity was surprised. She hadn’t known about this, and she didn’t think that the show had ever done it before. It was kind of sweet though, and she really liked the idea. The kids were in her children’s age. These kids would grow up with the vigilantes protecting them.

Marisol grabbed for a small basket that had been placed behind her armchair. Dozens of letters were in there. She grabbed one, opened the envelope and read out what it said.

“Elena Kravicski, eight, asks what’s the worst injury that you ever got.”

“I was shot in the shoulder once,” Felicity replied immediately, “so I’d go with that.”

Oliver already opened his mouth to reply, but he fell silent instead. There were so many moments that he could name now, but they were all very intimate. Felicity doubted that he wanted to relive the worst of his injuries on TV.

“I was once bitten by a shark,” he replied eventually, “and although I am not sure that it’s the worst injury, I know it’s the craziest.”

“With everything you have told us today, how does a shark fit into that story?” Marisol asked and chuckled.

Oliver sighed. “That’s a long story.”

Marisol seemed to silently agree that there was no time and no reason to tell this story now. She turned to the next card in her hands.

“Zirui Ling, seven, asks how much you usually work out.”

These lighter questions were actually fun to go through, Felicity realized. Kids knew a lot of superheroes from TV. Their questions proved that they were trying to match their views of superheroes with the city’s own heroes. They asked about their kryptonite, about how they got their outfits, about their possible retirement and their advice for aspiring superheroes.

Felicity was sure that most of these questions could have come from their own kids if they hadn’t grown up knowing about their parents’ secret identities.

“One child, Cristóbal Suarez, eight, asks what makes you the best candidate for the job. He writes, Dear Mr. Queen, when you ran for mayor, you told us why you are the right person for the job. Why are you and your friends the right person for this job, too? A clever question.”

“Indeed,” Oliver replied, nodding his head. His thumb stroked over the back of Felicity’s hand absentmindedly. “I have to say I am not even sure that I am the best candidate. I think everyone who says they are probably prove that they are not. In this job you have to be very self-reflective because if you don’t, you will abuse the power you have eventually. You have to be sensitive with the information you are working with because if you don’t, you will break the trust the people you are trying to serve have in you. You have to put back your own thoughts and needs on the back sometimes because if you don’t, you don’t do what you promised to do.”

He made a long pause, nodding to himself. Felicity knew that he would never say that he was the best candidate for this position. She, on the other hand, could just say it. She knew he was the best heroes this city could have.

“You won’t hear me say that I am the best candidate for this job because it would be easy to say it, but I think it would be wrong. There are people out there that I am sure would do great in this job, some maybe even better than me if they had the same experience and the same skills. So I can promise that, if I ever find someone who could lead this team better than me, I will step down and make room for that person to take over.”

“So you would be open to applications for a spot on your team?”

“This team is based on deep trust as few people ever show themselves able to handle correctly,” Oliver replied, “so it was always hard to let someone new in. I know that some people will read about us or watch this show and think to themselves that they want to be part of this too, but being a hero is not as easy or as glamourous as it might seem.”

“People often forget that it takes a lot,” Felicity added with a nod of her head, “to do what we do. We have all gone through terrible experience. You do a lot of good and you earn a lot of gratitude, but you have to face a lot of losses, too. Sometimes, those sides aren’t balanced. It’s easy to forget that when you see pictures on the news of heroes jumping from roof to roof or whatever.”

“We have talked about some losses and traumatizing experience you and the rest of your team had to face,” Marisol responded to that, “but what you say, in your personal experience, what was the hardest and maybe least expected of the losses that you had to face? Or maybe even a recent one that you had to go through although your team has already been well-established for a while.”

Felicity felt that question forming into a thick rope and wrapping around her throat. It tied off her airways all of a sudden and made her heartbeat quicken.

She had known that a question like this would come, well, or at least she had expected it. The Queen Family had been a family that had been formed by losses as it was. With these new revelations about who they were, the number of losses they had faced in the last fifteen years had just increased even more.

They had indeed suffered a lot of losses. They had lost people. They had been through terrible things, gaining them visible and invisible scars. It should be hard to say which of these experiences had been the worst, but it wasn’t. At least for Felicity it wasn’t.

Oliver, who could feel her grief instantly and would know what loss she was thinking about even if she wasn’t sitting next to him, tightened his hold on Felicity’s hand. He was trying to comfort her, and in some way the way his hand squeezed hers did comfort her. At the same time, she was sure that they both knew that nothing could truly comfort either of them over the loss they had suffered recently.

“When we decided that Oliver had to reveal himself to save the city,” Felicity whispered, “we knew we were giving up on a lot. We knew that he might have to face a lifetime in prison. We knew that our family might have to hide from the villains that we have fought before and even knew ones. We knew that we might have to say goodbye to each other forever, so the kids and I could get to safe place or even just the kids could.”

The truth was that they had known that they had to make that decision, but little had they known what the consequences of that decision might be. They had had so many worries about what might happen. That Oliver had turned himself in could have meant that she would have been arrested too and that the kids would have lost both of their parents. It also could have meant that she and the kids would have been forced to go to same safe house, so nobody could hurt them.

Although Marisol was looking at Felicity intently, definitely looking like she wanted to push for more, but she stayed silent.

“At the time Oliver turned himself in, we were fostering the little girl that was abandoned outside of the Smoak & Queen Science Center. We fell in love with her instantly. It felt like there was a reason why she was placed right where we would find her.”

Oliver had felt that connection before her. He wouldn’t have suggested taking Mia in, not necessarily at least, but she had felt that he had fallen in love with her. Letting go of her after he had stayed with her at the hospital would have been impossible for him.

“The social worker that was responsible for her told Oliver that the little girl would have quite some troubles to find a family to take her in. Even in foster care, it wouldn’t be easy for her. The media had already taken interest in her, and her health issues might shy away possible adoptive parents too. That is how Oliver and I made the decision to take her in.”

She turned her head to look at Oliver briefly. She saw the same pain in his eyes that she felt in her heart. He smiled though, and she knew that he would still make the same decision again now. So would she.

“It was a difficult process, especially emotionally. Living with the fear that she might be taken away from us because her biological family would want her back or because we would be seen as unfit to take care of her was difficult.” Felicity took in a trembling breath. “We were afraid of getting our hearts broken when she would be taken away. And she was. In the process of-“

Felicity’s voice shook and then broke completely. She took in a trembling breath, but she felt her eyes filling with burning tears. She tried to look at the ceiling to will the tears to do anything but drop.

“If you need a break-“

“Mia is in good hands,” Felicity said instead, looking at Marisol again. She needed to get it off her chest. “She was placed in a new home, and I am sure that her foster parents love her very much and take good care of her. But she was part of our family. We miss her like crazy, and she will always be part of our hearts.”

A single tear slipped from her eye now, and Felicity wiped it away quickly.

“I would like to take a break now,” she said then, got up and left.

She needed some air.

#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic

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