#my heart breaks for drake as well as his victims

[plxviophile]

Drake Bell is a survivor of abuse

Drake Bell also perpetrated abuse

both realities exist and coincide. to discredit Drake’s abuse on the basis that he has done it himself is wrong. it’s a systematic cycle that must be investigated and stopped so that no more people get hurt in the future

#drake bell #nickelodeon #drake and josh #dan schneider #brian peck #my heart breaks for drake as well as his victims

[dairy-farmer]

https://www.tumblr.com/dairy-farmer/726959056617635841/and-i-thought-youd-be-the-last-person-to-ever?source=share

ok but dick cheating au kinda makes me want jason to swoop in and be unbelievably smug about it

like jay and tim's relationship is at lot and yes jay has hurt tim badly but jason has also never been anything but unfailingly honest with tim

if jason was having issues or doubts or even thinking about cheating on tim he would at least put their relationship on a break instead of self sabotage like dick

i think tim deserves that type of honesty and dick deserves to see tim happy with someone else

and also i'm a jaytim shipper at heart

!!!!! jason and tim have a very different dynamic from the rest of the family. they're not quite brothers and not fully enemies but they're also not quite friends. they're in this weird gray area and so tim's not sure who's more surprised when he goes to jason's apartment after leaving dick's- him or jason.

the only place tim can think to go is jason's because...unlike most of the bats jason is surprisingly nonjudgemental. his disapproval or pity or whatever knee jerk reaction people will have about tim getting cheated on in a relationship is sort of...not there. jason, when he feels like it, is a very calm presence. despite their tumultuous history and even antagonism towards each other tim feels an odd kind of comfort and ease at being around jason. jason is also someone who never hesitates to speak their mind and enforce firm boundaries. so when the family starts calling tim after dick desperately reached out to them, jason doesn't hesitate to tell them to fuck off and leave him alone.

jason is an unexpected pillar of support and a big relief from the rest of the family's tiptoeing.

tim does not tell them why he and dick have broken up. he doesn't want to endure that awkwardness and humiliation of forcing the family to try and navigate the minefield of THEIR breakup. jason accompanies him to dick's apartment to pick up his things because...well jason is the only one who really knows about the circumstances. tim couldn't very well just show up to his apartment without an explanation and so tim had condensed it down to a 'i walked in on dick fucking barbara in our bed and he has the keys to all my apartments can i stay here?'

jason is not some paragon of virtue. tim knows that lying and cheating is something jason does daily to get shit in his part of gotham done but if there's one thing jason isn't- it's indecisive. sometimes he will do something stupid and live with the consequences rather than hem and haw over it. tim respects that. it makes it so that jason is always blunt and brutally honest about stuff whether or not they hurt people's feelings.

so tim knows jason is being truthful when he tells tim he won't let dick talk to him if tim doesn't want to when they pull up to the apartment.

dick cries when tim shows up with boxes. he begs and he pleads and it amazes tim to realize that just a few days ago those sounds would've ripped his heart to shreds. dick also apologizes. a lot. he says it was a mistake that he never meant to do it, he doesn't know what came over him, he loves tim, he doesn't know why he hurt him.

and maybe its true. maybe dick honestly is a victim of his own impulse. but that's up to him to fix. lest he do this to his next partner.

jason keeps dick in one corner of the apartment while tim sorts through their laundry and wraps up antique dishes that belonged to his parents. the rest of his stuff will have to be for movers to take and tim takes pictures of dressers and couches so they can be forwarded to the company. its better to cut this off clean and quick. no mess. tim won't leave even a hair behind so there will be no confusion about this, no excuses for dick to show up at his door with a shirt tim left behind. tim drake is not a forgetful person and so him "forgetting" a knick-knack or shirt behind must be a sign that he was leaving the door cracked for them to possibly reconcile, wasn't it???

no. tim was not doing that. he wasn't THAT big of a masochist. but he had to make sure he cleaned everything out because dick...lingered. every one of dick's breakups was messy and fell into a cycle of repetition and it was never really 'the end'. dick was on again and off again with so many different people and tim was not about to do that. he didn't play games like that and so dick needed to know that whatever they had was off and would stay off.

the first time tim speaks to dick in the hour that he spends cleaning out the apartment is to turn to him and ask for the keys to his other lodgings across the city. and dick just...crumbles. he lets out loud heaving sounds and starts breathing hard and...tim's not heartless. this is clearly hitting dick very hard and...tim has most of his stuff gathered. so tim just tell him to mail him the keys to jason's address.

he's careful not to comfort dick or treat him delicately. that's the job of dick grayson's lover and friends and right now...tim doesn't want to be either.

jason makes it easier.

he's frank and he's honest and he doesn't try to save tim's feelings from telling him exactly what he thinks. that dick is a piece of shit for this but mostly a coward. that this is the kind of disrespect you don't take sitting down. that tim should firebomb dick's car, don't worry jason will cover for him.

jason is short with dick, if not outright rude. barbara gets the same treatment even though tim tells him to leave her alone because it's not like SHE was the one who owed him a commitment of monogamy and trust.

but jason just stares at him and quietly says that she knew full well they were together and she disregarded his entire existence, his feelings, and his relationship for a fuck with a boy who had dropped her numerous times. and plus, like dick, she was too ashamed of herself to even have the balls to properly apologize.

so being around jason is refreshing.

and soon after a few weeks in his apartment tim finally receives all his keys in the mail and a shameful note from dick accompanying it. he's sorry. tim believes him (some part of tim would like to believe that if he'd never walked in on them, if dick fully believed that he could make sure tim never found out- that he still would have told tim and tim still would have done...all this). but that still doesn't change anything.

tim doesn't stay in jason's apartment much longer, he knows how important having a space to yourself is so he doesn't want to be a bother for much longer.

but still, jason continues to talk to him. call him. text him.

tim asks why and is softly pleased by jason's reply that he enjoys spending time with tim.

things with dick are weird. frosty, even, when he gets too comfortable and casual for work acquaintances. but jason tells him to always maintain his boundaries and that dick will either get it eventually or tim will need to bring up an ultimatum so they can work together.

it isn't easy. some days tim wakes up feeling like absolute crap, sometimes he wakes up with nightmares of being on the other side of that door and hearing barbara and dick and the squeak of bed springs.

it was unbelievably selfish jason tells him. so fucking shortsighted and stupid. dick blew up the best relationship he's ever had for a girl he knew it didn't work out with. and babs? god. jason had actually thought she was kind of alright but for her to hurt tim like this when he'd never done a single thing to her?

its safe to say jason hates them. he probably hates dick and babs enough for both of them because most of the time tim can't muster enough strength to feel anything but indifference to both of them. he wonders if that means he should see someone. it's not normal is it? to amputate an entire limb of his soul. the part that belonged to dick.

but it gets easier. slowly.

jason helps. a lot.

even when tim registers his attraction to jason and his sensitivity and the way he gets so indignant at the pain of others, tim still doesn't try to pursue it.

it feels cheap. disingenuous. it feels too much like he'd be treating jason as a rebound following his relationship with dick and tim doesn't want that for jason. jason deserves better. he deserves to be loved wholly and fully with no agenda attached.

but jason has always been someone to go after what he wants and damn the consequences. he asks tim out ignoring how it would look, what people would say.

jason was already a 'reject', already ostracized, he told tim. people already thought the worst of him so who cared if they thought he was an opportunistic parasite who'd been waiting in the shadows for the moment dick and tim's relationship fell apart?

and...jason is good at that. helping tim get out of his own head. helping tim steady himself and figure out what he wants.

he makes him feel like its okay. to disregard what others might think, what dick might think if tim started a relationship with jason.

dick had already shown he could be selfish so...why shouldn't tim do the same?

#answered asks #asks #anonymous #jaytim

[starrycassi]

Wrong place, rigth time.

Damian Wayne wants to eradicate the new killer in Gotham. Jonathan needs to get his brother back. They become unlikely allies — vampire, and vampire hunter.

Next

Damian scoffed, fixing his hair one more time.

Whoever this was, they were good. Too good. The bodies, dry and cold, didn't reveal too much information. The killer was strong, if the snapped joints were anything to go by, and they were quick; quick enough that the five minutes it took for the Robins to get here were sufficient to commit the crime and escape.

He scoffed again, and Tim sighed. They were both tired of this.

The new killer — Swiftbreeze, as the gothamites called them — was an unnecessary annoyance. Batman saw himself in a desperate enough position that he had to ask both of the current Robins to work alongside. They said yes, if only because neither one wanted to be left out.

And perhaps, only perhaps, they needed more help.

Tim was a great detective, even Damian could acknowledge that. That just made the situation all the more frustrating. They were both competent at this, and he knew it, so for one case to take so long to be solved… Well, it was equal parts disappointing and concerning. Bodies, no matter how stiff and maimed, usually weren't completely drained of blood.

“Analyze the scene” Drake's voice was drowsy, slow, “I was supposed to meet with someone, like, five minutes ago”

It didn't sound like a question, but he shuffled his weight from one foot to another, looking at Damian. Damian nodded. He knew well that “someone” meant Bernard, but, whatever. He didn't expect this crime scene to be any different to the previous ones left by Swiftbreeze. What an idiotic name.

Tim smiled and mumbled what could’ve been a thanks, turned around and left the room, jumping out of the window like the suicidal maniac that he was. Damian waited until he did so, and then continued with the checkups. The cops would arrive in fifteen minutes or so. Leave it to Gotham's police force to show up twenty minutes late to a murder scene.

He did the usual checks, careful and quick. No signs of any fights on the surroundings, no security cameras, nothing. Apart from the body and the usual apartment disorder, the place was spotless. Not a drop of blood, not a single scratch. The victim — a blonde man — fit the only pattern criteria that they had for victims; he was tall and, apparently, in his twenties.

In serial cases, the bodies tended to share characteristics, but they were usually other things, like eye color. In his eighteen years on this planet, he'd never seen someone who only killed tall people.

He wondered if perhaps it was himself from another dimension, body shuddering with the reminder of The Heretic.

He scoffed, again. The sirens were near.

.

Jonathan chuckled to himself, tears ready to come out at any given moment.

“No, I can't find him. What do you mean- Of course I already did that. I'm not using a tone with you, I'm just hungry! It reeks of blood and guts in here- in every part of here! I tried that. No, I'm not going back. You know what? I think my battery is dying. Bye”

He hung up the phone, and turned it off. Fuck everyone. Of course he tried to follow the smell of blood, but EVERYWHERE on Gotham reeked of blood, apparently. He hated this place.

He kicked a rock, too angry to try to act his age. A Kal-el should never be so childish, but he was so, so tired. Everyone has refused to help, even his dad, and that wounded him so deeply that he felt the need to puke whenever he thought about their conversation.

“Konner is a grown up” said his own father, looking at the wall to avoid his eyes, “he knows what he's supposed to do”

Still, Jon knew that it would only be a matter of days until someone noticed that the new murders in Gotham could be blamed on a very obvious specie. Then, they would catch Kon, and that would be so, so bad for the vampire community. Plus, it would break Jon's heart.

Rogue vampires were to be dealt with. Death was sometimes the deal they got.

He really, really needed to find Konner.

#damijon #sorry to my followers for posting anything but what I'm supposed to post #but can I say #these babies have my heart #damijon au

[grumpybreakfastfriend]

I appreciate Drake's candidness on podcast interviews, he's willing to talk about things and I commend the podcasters / hosts for not pushing him too far and trying to get him to talk about things he's uncomfortable with.

The Luminosity Podcast was where he revealed that he had spoken to the ex girlfriend who had been there during the worst of what had happened and ultimately was the reason he confessed to his mom and she had reminded him of a time when she wanted to hang out with him but Brian refused to drive Drake over to her house so she asks her mom to drive them there and she knocks on the door, barges into the house and finds that Drake has locked himself in the bathroom and he talks in the podcast about realizing that was the one safe place in that house where Brian couldn't get to him.

It's heart wrenching to hear him speak of the anger that Brian would have and the fear that he had because he knew that Brian idolized John Wayne Gacy and had paintings from the man in his home. There are some moments in particular in interviews / podcasts where you can see / hear the pain and the trauma and it just breaks my heart because I'm a victim of CSA as well and it resonates with me how horrible and difficult it is to vocalize things.

I honestly can't believe he masked / bottled up as much as he did for as long as he did.

Thanks, anon. I relate to your experience as well, and I honestly don't know if it's cathartic or retraumatizing for me to be focusing on this story as much as I am. But at the end of the day, I just have nothing but empathy for the guy.

#drake bell #tw

[disney-imagines]

May I please request a Rourke x Fem!Reader songfic with the song Mr. Wrong by Mary J. Blige ft. Drake? 😊

Sorry for the delay going through some personal stuff the past couple weeks but here it is!

You can listen to the song here!

Don't it seem like, like I'm always there when it matters

But missing most of the other time, a terrible pattern

The rewards I see from working made me an addict

There's way more people that want it than people that have it

I don't get it, I would hate to think I tricked 'em

Dating your superior was never an ideal situation, that situation made all the worse when your superior was Lyle Rourke. He was greedy, ruthless, and just plain mean when it came down to it. But you loved him regardless. It was tough trying to make it work, it always seemed he cared more about his job, about his next payday, but when he was there for you all of his attention was on you. Making you feel like you were the only other person in the world, he was charming and a romantic, but only when the time was right for him.

They fall victim to my system, guess I sure know how to pick 'em

And I'm always her regret, yeah, I'm always her regret

And I always make it harder on whoever's coming next

It goes up and down, it's just up and down

She's crying now but she'll laugh again

Cause we on the rise and she here with us

But right now was a time where he was totally focused on his job, and you were right there with him. But you might as well have been invisible as far as you were concerned. He was totally zeroed in on completing this mission, the lost city of Atlantis, you were surprised he agreed to this if you were being honest. It was never like him to believe in ancient myths and legends, but here you were in a giant hunk of metal at the bottom of the ocean. You were in your quarters trying to calm down to face the rest of the crew after a spat with Lyle, your frustration with being stuck here with your boyfriend who barely acknowledged you finally boiling over.

She loves it, she stares at me like who does this

And we hold hands while I pray that she's not the type to hold grudges, I'm wrong

Bad boys ain't no good

Good boys ain't no fun

Lord knows that I should

Run off with the right one

Me and Mr. Wrong get along so good (so good)

As you finished up splashing some water on your face to calm down you heard a light knock. Hoping it wasnt just Milo here to brief you on some new inane information about the culture of Atlantis you opened it and yo your surprise you saw it was Lyle. He stood in the doorway taking up a majority of it and holding some food that seemed a little too nice to have come from the kitchens here. “Mind if I come in?”

Even though he breaks my heart so bad (so bad)

We got a special thing going on

Me and Mr. Wrong (mister wrong)

Even if I try, no, I never could

Give him up cause his loves like that

Ain't no way that I'm moving on

I love my Mr. Wrong

Hung up off your good

You calling, I run

You take a second to comprehend before letting him in through the door. He enters into the small living quarters and setting down what he brought on a small table. You were in disbelief as you watched him sit down and start eating what he brought with him. Not a shred of remorse on his smug and currently extremely punchable face. “That’s it?” You finally say. He shrugs and continues eating. “You are unbelievable. I don’t know why I bother with this I should just break up with you get it over with”

My fam' is screaming at me don't do it

Don't do it baby

I guess they never had none

Me and Mr. Wrong get along so good (so good)

Even though he breaks my heart so bad (so bad)

We got a special thing going on

Me and Mr. Wrong (mister wrong)

Even if I try, no, I never could

Give him up cause his loves like that

Ain't no way that I'm moving on

I love my Mr. Wrong

After a few more moments or tense silence he stand once again and walks over to you “come on you don’t really mean that do you?“ he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into a gentle hug. “You know when we’re on a mission I can’t get caught playing favorites right?” You nod into his chest and he pulls away and smiles, this time genuinely not like his previous smirk. “Listen I promise once this is over we’re gonna have more money then we know what to do with and we can go away travel the world just me and you”

When he put that loving on me

I can't think of nothing

That'll make me walk out

I'm holding on

I love my Mr. Wrong

He be kissing and touching on me

I can't help but love him

I must be outta my mind

For going so strong

I love my Mr. Wrong

“That’d be nice” you respond and he gently takes your hands in his and leans in and kisses you. You can feel butterflies in your stomach as you remember why you put up with him in the first place. He Leads you back to the table and you both sit down and begin to eat. You lean into his shoulder and once again feel like you’re the only too people on the planet.

Me and Mr. Wrong get along so good

Even though he breaks my heart so bad

We got a special thing going on

Me and Mr. Wrong, (mister wrong)

Even if I try, no, I never could

Give him up cause his loves like that

Ain't no way that I'm moving on

I love my Mr. Wrong, Mr. Wrong, turn the lights off

#disney #disney imagines #disney x reader #romantic #atlantis #lyle rourke #Lyle Rourke x reader #atlantis the lost empire

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 28: Summer Changes (School)

AO3

Prev

A week after the Disney movie marathon, Marinette was finally back on patrol. No thanks to her dad though. If it was up to him, she’d probably never patrol again. Luckily for her, (unluckily for him) her brothers were adamant on her coming back to the field. Which led to her current problem. Hanging upside down from a gargoyle near Wayne Enterprises.

“Ukht, what have you done?” Damian asks, and though she can’t see his face, she can tell by his voice that he’s exasperated. Join the club, she thinks, at least you’re not upside down.

“Why do you automatically think I did something?” She asks, trying desperately to turn around so that she can talk to him. It was really awkward talking to someone when you couldn’t see them but you knew they were near you.

“Because you are the one hanging upside down,” Damian says flatly. She huffs.

“It’s not like I want to be, Robin. It just kind of happened,” She says.

“And how exactly did it happen? I have never seen your yoyo betray you like that before. Not even in the videos when you were still very new.” Damian says, and she swears he’s smirking. He’s definitely laughing at her on the inside, and as much as she wants to be frustrated, she can’t. It wasn’t easy amusing her little brother (unless you were an animal) so she wasn’t about to ruin it.

“Hood made a bet relating to this exact gargoyle and I’d never been this way before and I just, I don’t know. Somehow I misjudged where my yoyo was going and next thing I know, I’m tied up and Hood is gone.” She says, sighing.

“Where did he go?” Damian asks.

“Over here so I could record the dumbass trying to untie herself.” Jason says with a snort, she manages to turn just enough so she can see him and stick her tongue out at him. He chuckles. “You’re the one who somehow tied herself up with a magic string, I’m just getting the proof so I can show Wonder Woman.” He says and Marinette’s jaw drops.

“You wouldn’t dare!” She screams, struggling against her yoyo, finally able to get the string to loosen slightly.

“Oh, I’d dare.” Jason says and Marinette just knows he has a huge smirk underneath his stupid helmet.

“But Wonder Woman is the coolest person ever and she can’t see me like this!” Marinette complains, trying not to grin when she feels the string start to move the way she needs it to. She ignores Jason’s next remark, instead focusing on the string and- yes! She free falls for a moment, laughing at her brothers’ panic before she swoops up and jerks Jason’s phone away from him.

“You little shit!” He calls after her, starting to chase her.

“You’ll get it back once I delete the videos!” She calls back, laughing as she continues swinging through Gotham, a warm feeling in her chest as she looks over the city that has quickly become her second home.

---

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” A voice screams, making Marinette jump out of bed with a yelp. She clutches her hand over her heart, glaring at her oldest brother.

“Are you trying to make sure I don’t make it past my fifteenth birthday?” She asks with a huff. Dick just grins.

“Happy birthday kiddo! I can’t believe you’re already fifteen!” He exclaims, picking her up in a giant hug. She wants to complain, ask him to let her down, but it’s nice, so instead she returns the hug the best she can. Until she glances out the window.

“Richard Grayson.” She says in a tone she usually reserves for enemies. She feels him stiffen, the hug turning into more of a restraint than a cuddle.

“Yes?” He says.

“Did you honestly wake me up, before the sun, because it’s my birthday?” She asks.

“Yes?” He says, his voice cracking slightly. She purses her lips and lets out a long sigh.

“Dad has a no killing rule.” She says, and suddenly she’s back on the ground.

“Oh would you look at the time, Mar’i needs another bedtime story loveyousomuchgottagobye.” Dick rushes out, practically sprinting out of her room. She just smiles and shakes her head. She’d learned intimidation tactics from Jason and Damian, who both claimed her size made her an easy target against bad guys. They were right, of course, so she was fine with a few extra lessons. Seems they were working. Deciding to call her Maman and Papa since she’s already awake, she frowns as it goes straight to voicemail. It would be nearly eleven in Paris, so the bakery shouldn’t be too busy. She quickly checks the Akuma Alert App to make sure she hadn’t missed anything while she slept. Nothing. So why weren’t they answering? She had assumed they would be waiting for her call since it was the first birthday she’d spent without them. Sighing, she lays back down on her bed, closing her eyes and trying to fall back asleep.

As she lays there, she frowns as a realization hits her. This was the anniversary of her birth mother’s death. Her mood instantly sours and her stomach churns. It was the first year that she could do something about it, the first year she could visit her grave. Quickly making a decision, Marinette throws on a pair of black leggings and an oversized black hoodie. Hopefully no one would spot her.

“Kaalki.” Marinette calls out quietly, not wanting to wake Tikki (who had somehow slept through Dick’s intrusion).

“Oooo, Guardian, are we sneaking out?” They ask, an amused smile on their face. Marinette frowns.

“Yes, but it’s for a good reason.” She says, and Kaalki snorts.

“Whatever the reason, I’m happy to be of assistance.” They reassure her. Marinette smiles and calls the transformation, opening a portal in the cemetery where her birth mother is buried. Her Maman had taken her once, right after telling her she was adopted. It was extremely hard to avoid being akumatized that day, and Marinette steels herself before dropping Kaalki’s transformation. Today would probably be even harder. Pulling the hood over her head to try and hide her identity, she glances around the cemetery, unsurprised to see the small place empty. Despite its small size, it was well taken care of, with beautiful trees adding shade and creating a melancholy feeling. Taking a deep breath, she walks over to the tombstone in the far corner, underneath the Willow tree. Bridgette Le. Died July 9th. Marinette barely notices the tears that start to form as she sits down, tucking her knees into her chest.

“Hi Mama. I-I’m sorry I haven’t really been by to see you much. Did you know I’ve been spending the summer with Dad? Sometimes, I wonder if you would’ve been okay with that. None of us really know why you left, why you didn’t tell him. I’m not blaming you, I just wonder if you would’ve been okay with me knowing him.” She talks, though she knows she’ll never hear a response. And she tries to pretend that fact doesn’t hurt her. “I have brothers. Four of them. They’re all great in their own ways, but they all also make me want to rip my hair out. Three of them are older, Damian’s younger than me. He kinda acts like a big brother at times though. And I have a big sister, Cass. She doesn’t say much, but she’s awesome. She’s in Hong Kong right now, so most of our conversations have been video calls. I have a niece, too.” Marinette stops, wiping furiously at her eyes. She didn't want to cry. At all. But knowing her birth mother would never be able to be part of her life, would never know any of these people like she did- it was hard.

“Guardian, please breathe.” Kaalki says, floating up to sit in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette blinks at the Kwami before listening to them. If they were worried, then Marinette was more lost in her head than she originally thought.

“And today’s my birthday. I was excited at first, and then I remembered the other thing that this day was. Remembered that it’s also the day you-” Marinette pauses, and grits her teeth. “I am so sorry, Mama. I am so sorry that I caused your death.” She chokes out, dropping her head onto her knees, trying to suppress the sobs threatening to break out of her chest.

“We need to go. Marinette, we need to go.” Kaalki urges, patting her cheek urgently. Marinette calls the transformation and falls through a portal, closing it quickly to keep the butterfly that was surely after her from following. She definitely didn’t need to test how far the victim had to be to be akumatized. The second she lands, she lets the transformation drop and the sobs break out.

“Shit Pixie.” Jason curses, and suddenly she’s wrapped in a warm hug, sobs tearing through her as she continues to apologize.

---

Jason Todd had been through a lot of weird shit. Waking up in a pool of green water after being fucking murdered by the Joker, was weird. Emotional baby sister falling through a portal into the room and sobbing? Also weird. But also heartbreaking. He grabs onto her and just holds her, desperately trying to give her some type of comfort.

“Shhhh, it’s okay Pix. I got you.” He mumbles, holding her close. Damian rushes in, sword drawn, face scrunched up when he sees them. Jason shakes his head, this wasn’t something that they could fix with a sword. He wasn’t exactly sure why his baby sister was crying so hard, but he had caught a couple of muffled apologies, so whatever it was, he didn’t think it was something that he (or Damian) could kill. Or, rather, maim, since she was against murdering people that were against her for some reason.

“Has anyone seen Mars, she’s not in her room-” Replacement starts, freezing as he walks into the room.

“Excellent situational awareness, Drake.” Damian mutters, glaring at him. Jason shoots both of them a glare, now was not the time to be fighting. Especially since the kid’s other parents were on their way to celebrate her birthday. If they showed up and she was sobbing, they’d take her home and never let them see her again. And Jason was NOT going to let that happen.

“Anyone know if M’s decided to not kill me yet?” Dick asks, walking into the room with a huge grin that falls the second he sees what’s happening. Jason resists the urge to roll his eyes. Apparently none of his brothers could read a fucking room. Instead of staying at the edge of the room like Damian and Tim, Dick walks over.

“Hey kiddo, it’s okay. We’re here.” He says softly. The kid pulls away from him, though he can tell it’s a little reluctantly, before launching herself at Dick, her sobs starting to die down. Jason lets out a short huff, running his fingers through his hair as he tries to think of what could have set her off. There were no akuma alarms, but she fell out of a portal. Which means she was out of the manor when she got upset. He watches as Dick pats her hair gently and whispers to her. God, he’s such a dad. Then again, he’s been mother henning him and their other brothers for years, so it’s not really a surprise.

“I’m sorry guys.” Marinette says suddenly, her voice small as she stays hidden in Dick’s arms.

“No need to apologize, Pixie Pop.” Jason reassures her. She finally pulls away from Dick and Jason’s heart, honest to god breaks at the broken look on her face.

“She died in childbirth, you know.” She whispers, and suddenly it makes sense. Why she was sitting there sobbing on her birthday, why she’d fallen out of a portal.

“That is not your fault.” Damian says firmly, walking over and standing face to face with Marinette, something Jason knew annoyed the girl. Damian was two years younger, but a little taller than her. She didn’t seem to mind now, though.

“But it was. If I hadn’t been born-” She starts and Jason frowns at the thought.

“The world would be a much shittier place.” He says with finality, not leaving room for her to argue. “Pix, you’re amazing, and the world would really suck without you. Never be sorry you were born.” Jason says firmly, stumbling slightly when she launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Thank you Jay.” She mumbles, and he can tell she’s crying again, but this time it’s not sobs, so he thinks it’s fine.

“Come on, let’s all watch a movie.” Repla- Tim suggests and Jason raises an eyebrow at the idea, briefly wondering what kind of movie he’d pick. They all pile on the giant sectional that Bruce had bought specifically for impromptu movie nights as Tim sticks the DVD in. Jason just snorts as the title card for “The Addams Family” comes on, settling back in the couch, ready to watch one of the greatest movies ever.

---

“Thank you again for flying us out here for her birthday.” Sabine says, smiling at him. Bruce returns the smile and nods.

“Of course, thank you for letting her spend the summer here. I know she’s appreciated the break from her classmates.” He says, his smile quickly fading at the confused look on both Sabine and Tom’s faces.

“What do you mean?” Tom asks.

“Marinette hasn’t told you?” Bruce asks, suddenly regretting bringing it up. Why hadn’t she said anything? They were her parents too. Sure, she’d made it clear they couldn’t know about Ladybug, but her class wasn’t a hero problem. They were a civilian problem.

“We knew that she wasn’t hanging out with them as often, and that she didn’t talk about her class as much as she used to. We just assumed that she was busy.” Sabine says, her face a mixture of sadness and anger.

“My apologies, I assumed she’d talked to you.” Bruce says, feeling as if he had crossed a line. Would they be mad at him, for her telling him something she hadn’t told them?

“She’s always looking out for others first,” Tom finally sighs, a tired smile on his face. “She probably thought she was saving us from being akumatized.” Bruce’ jaw clenches. Had Marinette really suffered in silence to avoid being forced to fight her parents?

“We can continue this conversation later, right now we should focus on her birthday.” Sabine says, placing a hand on Tom’s arm. He nods and Bruce makes a note to talk to the two about the possibility of her switching schools.

“She’s probably in her room.” Bruce says, leading the two towards the stairs.

“Actually, Master Bruce, the children are all in the informal sitting room. I believe they snuck down to have a movie night after Master Dick woke Miss Marinette to wish her a happy birthday.” Alfred says, Bruce watches his face and knows that’s not all, but doesn’t press. It had to be something that he couldn’t talk about in front of the Dupain Cheng’s.

“Of course they did. Thank you, Alfred. Alfred, this is Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain, Marinette’s parents. Tom, Sabine, this is Alfred Pennyworth. He’s the man who raised me.” Bruce says, smiling at him. The three exchange pleasantries and soon Bruce is leading the two to the sitting room. He pushes the door open gently, careful not to let it slam. He spots a sword on the floor near Damian and quickly grabs it, moving it away. If he was woken up suddenly, he would still panic and attempt to fight his way out.

“She looks so peaceful.” Sabine whispers, and Bruce smiles, a genuine smile, he didn’t have to fake a smile when most of his children were together and safe and happy. Or, quiet, at least. It was rare.

“I’ve found them like this several times.” Bruce admits, pulling out his phone to show the two all of the pictures he’d taken of the kids piled together sleeping. Sabine and Tom smile widely at the pictures and Bruce quickly sends them their favorites.

“B, I swear to god, I can sense you in here. Let us sleep.” Jason mumbles grumpily.

“Sorry Jason, Marinette’s parents are here so it’s time to get up.” Bruce says, amused at the way his son’s hair was attempting to defy gravity. Jason looked around sleepily, waved lazily at Sabine and Tom, and then collapsed back on the couch. Bruce sighs. “Would the two of you like to have a cup of coffee while we give them a few more minutes to sleep?” He offers.

“That would be lovely.” Sabine says, and Bruce leads the two to the kitchen, hoping Tim (who had sat straight up after Jason flopped down) would take the hint and wake up the others.

---

Marinette sighs happily as everyone sits down at the table for dinner. The day had been amazing, despite the rough start. And her Dad had even flown her Maman and Papa out to spend the day with her. They couldn’t stay for long, they had the bakery to run after all, but it was still nice to see them. Marinette glances at the end of the table where a place was set, but no one sat.

“What’s with the extra plate?” Jason asks, turning to Alfred who was sitting in the chair next to it instead of his regular seat.

“It is for Miss Le.” He says, and she can almost feel everyone freeze. Her throat tightens, but she still smiles at him with watery eyes.

“Thank you, Alfred.” She says quietly. He nods.

“You are quite welcome, Miss.” He says. She clears her throat and looks back at her Maman, noticing that her smile was also a little sad. It had been all day, but Marinette was certain it wasn’t anything to worry about. Bridgette had been close with her Maman, surely she was just mourning her today, openly for the first time in a long time.

---

Marinette groans at whoever is trying to wake her up.

“Five more minutes.” She mutters, burrowing deeper under the covers. It was summer break, why wouldn’t anyone let her sleep?

“Come on sweetheart, your Papa and I want to talk to you and Bruce.” Her Maman says, and she immediately sits up. Was she in trouble? Had her Maman figured out the whole Batman thing? Had she figured out the Ladybug thing?

“Uh, okay.” She says, sliding out of bed and stepping into slippers. She wasn’t sure how serious the conversation was, but since her Maman didn’t stop her from walking out of the room in her pajamas, she relaxed slightly. It couldn’t be that serious, right? She follows her Maman into her Dad’s study, glancing wearily at the clock in the corner. Her Maman was often too observant. Hopefully she didn’t notice anything odd about the clock. They all sit in silence for an entire minute until Marinette can’t handle it anymore.

“Am I in trouble?” She asks hesitantly, looking between her parents’ faces.

“Of course not, we just- We noticed how different you are.” Her Maman says and Marientte frowns, furrowing her eyebrows. Different? She was different?

“How?” She asks.

“You’re happier than I’ve seen you in months honey. Your smile reaches your eyes, you talk freely, you seem peaceful.” Her Maman says softly, and Marinette blinks in surprise. Had she really been so easy to read in Paris? Had her parents really been able to tell? She’d wanted to hide it from them, not let them see how everything was piling on her, crushing her. She didn’t want to worry them.

“What do you- how-” She stumbles over her words, trying to figure out where she messed up.

“We didn’t know why until we talked to Bruce.” Her Papa says and she turns to glare at her Dad, feeling a little betrayed. He holds up his hands in surrender.

“Marinette, you didn’t tell me not to tell them about your class.” He reminds her, and she huffs.

“Guess we can cross mind reader off the list of things you can do.” She mumbles, making her Papa snort.

“It wasn’t just that though. We’d seen how restrained you had become, how you never went out with friends and you stopped talking about them.” Her Maman says softly. Marinette grits her teeth, hugging herself to try and hold herself together.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” She says, her voice barely audible. That wasn’t the main reason though. She didn’t want to fight her parents, and if they knew everything going on with Lila, they’d definitely be akumatized. She couldn’t fight them. Not if she could help it.

“What would you say about transferring schools?” Her Maman asks suddenly, and Marinette jerks her head up, looking at her with wide eyes. Transfer schools? It would be great, amazing, fantastic, but- but her classmates would still come to the bakery. Still give her the same odd looks they’d been giving her since they found out that she’s a Wayne.

“What school?” She asks, because yes, that makes a difference. Chloe had transferred schools not long ago, and Marinette did not want to trade Lila for Chloe. She’d rather not deal with either of them, if she was being honest.

“Gotham Academy.” Her Maman says, and Marinette feels lucky that she wasn’t drinking anything, because she would have definitely done a spit take. Gotham Academy? As in, live in Gotham year round? What-

“Are you giving me up?” She asks, suddenly hurt. Her Maman’s eyes widen and her Papa pulls her into a giant hug.

“Of course not honey.” He says, rubbing her back gently and squeezing her lightly.

“We asked Bruce if he thought Gotham Academy would be a good school for you. He offered to let you fly home some weekends, and any of the breaks you want. Or to fly us out here if you have time off school. You don’t have to say yes, and you don’t have to make a decision right now.” Her Maman reassures her as her Papa lets her go. Marinette turns to look at her Dad, his face unreadable.

“Would you really be okay with that?” She asks, and he nods.

“We all just want you to be happy, Marinette. Wherever that may be. And we’re all willing to work together to do that.” He says and she smiles, letting out a soft sigh.

“I- I’d need to think about it a little more,” She says, running through the idea in her head. It seemed perfect, besides the whole ‘bouncing back to Paris for attacks’ thing. But she’d been doing it all summer, it had been fine so far. And maybe, maybe, Hawkmoth would even be defeated by the end of summer. No matter what, things were changing and Marinette was trying her best to keep up.

Next

Tag list:  @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

#maribat #maribat fanfiction #maribat fic #mbdbwm2021 #maribat bio dad! bruce wayne month 2021 #maribat bio dad bruce #maribat bio dad au #maribat bruce wayne #maribat jason todd #maribat dick grayson #maribat damian wayne #maribat tim drake #platonic dickinette #platonic jasonette #platonic daminette #platonic timari #maribat marinette dupain cheng #day twenty eight school

[sillydg]

Shattered: When spring sets in (Ethan X F!MC)

Pairing: Ethan x F!MC ((Elisabeth Sarah Hughes (Liz))

With guest stars Liam, Maxwell, and Drake (The Royal Romance).

Book: Open Heart Book 2, two months after Ethan’s return from the Amazon.

Rating: 18+ Mature

Summary: Ethan breaks up with Liz after his return from the Amazon and completely shuts her out. Two months later, Liz finds herself in Kismet, New York for a bachelor party of her cousin, when there is an attack on the crown prince.

Drake gets shot, and Liz decides to help Liam by taking them back in secrecy to Boston’s Edenbrook, where she has a surprising rendezvous with a jealous Ethan.

The story continues after the moment that Ethan runs off when he finds out that Drake, her ex, was the one by her side and saved her from certain death.

Category: Mini-series SHATTERED part two; Angst; pining.

--Part one--

Warnings/triggers: Mention of shooting with fatal unknown victims/ blood/ Language (some sexual terms and swearing). And nightmare about a fatal shooting.

Wordcount: 4574

A/N: I’m not medically schooled so there could be major errors in this story, please forgive me for it 😊

A/N: Thank you for pre-reading this @kachrisberry! You're the best!

A/N: I used my whole tag list for this one and I’m planning to do more cross-overs in the future. Please feel free to let me know if you’re not interested in cross-overs.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry.

When spring sets in

"Ohhh Rookie; I missed you so much..." He takes her cheek in his hand, and her eyelashes start to flutter as she leans into his touch. But right as she wants to give in, someone clears his throat. Ethan jumps away from her, and both realize how close they came to making a huge mistake.

Liam finds it hard to compose himself and speaks in a stern political voice. "I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but Drake just woke up and he asks for you, Liz."

Ethan's eyes snap back to Liz, who avoids his at all costs. And suddenly all of the pieces fall in place. He takes two steps back, disbelief showing on his face and Liz swallows the moment he turns on his heels and storms out of the basement.

She closes her eyes, takes a deep shaky breath and she manages to whisper, "Coming!"

She walks towards the door with heavy feet, and her eyes meet Drakes as soon as she follows Liam through it. She freezes at the sight of his bloodshot eyes and his broken expression. Immediate tears are forming in her eyes, her hand cold in lack of support. Realizing that he once again ran, when she needed him the most.

Drake tries his best to put up his signature cocky grin, but it doesn't meet his eyes at all. “Yeah, I know I know. Even after getting shot three times I look ‘freezing in your pace’ irresistible.”

Sienna glances between them and decides to kick everyone out of the door, "Why don't we leave them alone for a while?" And before leaving herself she gives Liz an encouraging squeeze in the arm.

And her tears start falling as soon as the door closes behind them, "You fucking asshole! What the hell were you thinking?"

Drake grins and tries to sit up, but a sudden pang of pain makes him wince.

She rushes over to his side and stops him from further sitting up, "Wow, wow, wow what the hell are you doing, Walker?"

"This fucking grumpy asshole needs to sit up, Liz!"

"No, the hell you are! For God's sake Drake, lie the fuck down!"

He grins and winces at the same time as she helps him lay down again, “God, I missed your dirty talking."

She rolls her eyes to hide a small smile, while ruffling up his pillow and tucking him in, “Well at least someone is feeling better. Now tell me, are you completely comfortable?"

"Absolutely, it’s good to know that you haven't lost that gentle touch Li…," but before he can finish his sentence she punches him in the good shoulder, “Good.”

He exaggeratedly groans while rubbing his shoulder; "God, I miss the days where the hero gets rewarded with wet kisses instead of punches."

Liz snorts through her sniffing; "Oh God, don’t be a baby. Besides, you like it rough. We had sex once upon a time remember?”

He smirks, "Spanking and punching are two different things, Liz."

She wipes away some escaped tears while sitting down on the edge of the bed, and her hand finds his. He gently strokes hers with his thumb and a comfortable silence falls.

“So,” he says with his eyes locked on her hand in his, “I think I have missed a visitor tonight? One I would've thought who would be in front of the “Thank you for being such a hero,” line.”

Liz swallows, “Or we save the trash talk for later, and you go to sleep.”

“No, we are doing this now. I’ve seen pictures of the two of you and he was definitely not here tonight. So where is he? Shouldn’t he be here to do this,” and he nods towards their hands touching. Then he snorts mockingly, “Not to think of the fact that if your so-called ‘love of your life' wasn’t the dumbass he is to dump you, and if Riley just denied Liam’s proposal, we wouldn’t even be in this mess.”

The pain flashing through his eyes the moment her name rolls over his lips is almost unbearable to see. Liz sighs and she only could imagine how deep the scar runs that Riley left behind on his heart. She squeezes his hand gently, “I know hon, but we can’t blame them for this.”

“Nah, you’re right. The only one I can blame is me, for leaving you all of a sudden behind without a word of warning about moving back to Cordonia.”

She sighs, “Oh Drake. You’re not to blame either. We both know that we would’ve crashed and burned before we ever would have hit two weeks dating mark.”

“But hell, the break-up sex would’ve been awesome.”

“Or the angry rebound sex…”

“And after two days of disastrously trying again the break-up sex.”

They grin.

“But for now you really need to rest okay?” He nods slowly, and she lays a gentle hand on his cheek as his eyes start to flutter out of exhaustion. He manages to relax and his eyes fall shut completely. For a second he leans into her hand before shaking his head, “What? I wasn’t sleeping. You were sleeping!”

She whispers, "You took care of me tonight. But right now you’ve got to let me take care of you, Walker. Sleep! I’ve got you!"

He lays his hand on top of hers and he finds it hard to keep his eyes open. He murmurs, "I never hesitated..." He finally stops fighting and his eyes stay shut, "Liz... but I've got to say, I'm sorry..."

"Ssht! I know, silly. But for now, just sleep, we'll talk tomorrow."

He nods slowly and she gets up while holding his hand in hers. She softly squeezes his hand intending to let go, but all of a sudden his clenches around hers. "Please stay," he whispers.

"Of course," and she gives him a sweet peck on his forehead, before sitting down on one of the chairs next to the bed with his hand still clenched around hers. His breath turns slow and deep, and soon the steady rhythm of the beeping heart monitor is all that’s left.

She feels so relieved that he will be alright, but her heart keeps breaking at the image of him shielding her with his body. She can still feel his blood everywhere and she shivers, as she is cold, tired, and alone. So alone. She looks down at her hand, not long ago touched by the man she longed for. The man who ran again at her most vulnerable, after hearing Drake's name. And what did she expect? Of course, he ran at his name, since Drake always has been one of the sore spots in their relationship.

There was no way to convince Ethan that things were over before they even began and that there was no chance in hell that they would’ve come out of the friends with benefits zone even if Drake had stayed.

Liz snaps out of her thoughts the moment Naveen enters the room, "Sienna will be taking the first shift, and Bryce is ready to take you home."

She shakes her head, "I can't leave, he asked me to stay.”

“Liz…”

She shakes her head, “He saved my life, how can I ever leave?"

"Because you need sleep," he walks up to her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulders, "You need to recover, Liz. You took quite the beating, physically and mentally."

And again she shakes her head. She was not going to leave him behind. Besides, she also didn't want to be alone right now. Of course, Bryce was happy to crawl into bed with her and cuddle all night, but she needed something else. Someone else. The one she just had the first physical encounter within the four months, escalating quickly. But anything less would not do, not now he ripped everything open again.

Naveen sees the determination in her eyes and nods, "Okay, but before I'm driving Ethan home, I'm going to send Sienna in to get you some supplies to get through the night."

Her heart wrenches at his name, making her set her jaw and she averts her eyes, "I'll be fine, please make sure Dr. Ramsey is getting home safely."

Naveen frowns at the sudden coldness in her voice. He's not sure what just happened outside of the room, but he could take a few wild guesses. He nods, "But please, try to get some sleep, Liz."

She swallows at his words, because how was she ever going to sleep again after everything that happened tonight? She nods nevertheless and Naveen leaves her behind with a twisted stomach.

He knows she's a stubborn hothead, just like Ethan is, but even with that familiar determination in her eyes, he feels conflicted to walk away from her in the state she is in. Though he knows that he is the second last person she would want to talk to when it comes to Ethan. The last person is Ethan himself.

Naveen enters the diagnostic room where Bryce, Sienna, and Ethan are sitting together in silence. "Sienna, can you check up on Liz, please? She doesn't want to leave Drake alone and I think she needs a blanket and something to eat and drink." Ethan winces as soon as Drakes's name comes to ear. Sienna nods, “Of course.”

Bryce sighs while rubbing his hands over his face, "Okay, I'm going to get some sleep in one of the on-call rooms! If she decides that she want to go home anyway I'll be there for her."

“Thank you Dr. Lehela, Dr. Trinh.”

Bryce slings a comforting arm around Sienna and with a nod towards Ethan and Naveen, they disappear out of the door and into the hallway.

Naveen squeezes Ethan’s shoulder as worry is written all over his face, "Are you ready to go?"

Ethan sits on the edge of his desk and he hides his face in his hands, "I'm not sure if I'm able to leave."

Naveen nods and lets go of Ethan’s shoulder to lean against the round table across from him. He folds his arms, "Do you want to talk about what happened outside of the room? I remember leaving the two of you alone, and only a completely flustered Liz returning inside without you."

Ethan swallows, realizing that he did it again. He ran from the most important woman in his life, one who just had a near-death experience for Christ's sake. Once again, he left her standing there all by herself when he was needed the most. He lowers his eyes, desperately searching for words to describe how he stamped on the glass shards instead of making an attempt at saving what’s left.

"Tell me what happened, Ethan. You know I will be the last one to judge."

Ethan shakes his head since he wasn’t even sure what just happened. He remembers her icy eyes, right before he made the biggest mistake that he could make. He ripped her open with a single touch, turned on his heels, and left her to bleed. Again. I'm such a coward.

He drapes his hands over his face. But he had to run, he just had to get out of there. If she was with Drake this weekend... with the one that got away... she might just have turned into his 'one that got away.'

Naveen sighs as he slings his arm around him, “Okay. You need a drink and some rest, come on. I’m going to take you home.”

Ethan nods, feeling himself sinking in thought again as his own words hit him harder than he ever expected. How could I’ve been so stupid to run from her again? What the hell am I supposed to do?

Naveen leads him through the hospital and they arrive at the long hallway, leading to the oh-so-familiar doors to the construction working place.

He stops at his pace and stares into the hallway he and Liz walked so many times when the man next to him needed their help.

The start of everything. And it hits him. He knows what he needs to do. He knows it very well. I need to tell her. I need to… I need to thank him, I need to tell her that I...

He takes a deep breath.

I just need to be there for them. And with a newfound determination, he turns and walks into the hallway, flying through the doors. His feet carry him further and further as he quickly glances to the place where he had her pinned against the covered glass merely an hour ago. But he doesn’t stop. Foot for foot, step by step. Determined.

He reaches for the door handle, as Sienna opens the door, her eyes growing wide the moment she sees him. With her blocking his path, he needs to stop.

“Dr. Ramsey, I thought… I thought that you were on your way home.”

“I need to see her, Sienna, I need to talk to him… to her and tell her that I lo…”

Sienna moves her head in question since he has never called her by her first name before, and it's just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the situation on the bed. Without thinking he places a hand on her shoulder and softly ushers her towards the side, setting a step inside of the room to find Liz curled up against Drake’s chest, together under one blanket, contently and fast asleep.

His heart sinks, he was too late. Sienna softly pushes him back until the door falls shut behind them. “I’m sorry dr. Ramsey. But she finally sleeps…”

He nods, still staring through the small windows in the door, as if staring at a horror scene in a movie.

“Do you want me to get Naveen? I have to start my rounds anyway so I can pass by the office if you need me to.”

He shakes his head, “I’m staying put, I’ll be looking out for her. For.. for both of them.”

“Dr. Ramsey, you’ve had quite the beating yourself…”

“I thank you for your concern Dr. Trinh. But I need to do this. I will take over and maybe get some sleep on that old couch over there in the corner.”

“I can get you some…”

“Again, thank you for your concern. But I will be fine. Please, you have patients to go to.”

She nods and moves to walk away, but hesitates again as her gaze drifts from Drake and Liz in bed towards a broken Ethan.

Ethan sighs, as the wounds of her earlier speech are still palpable, “Can I help you with something, Dr. Trinh?”

“Please don’t think bad of her. They're just two broken souls seeking comfort. He never meant and never will mean what you mean to her. She just needed…” and she falls silent.

“Thank you Dr. Trinh.”

And with a nod of acceptance that she will not finish that sentence, she disappears around the corner. He moves his attention back towards a contently sleeping Drake holding Liz secure in his arms.

He did this. She needed him. And he ran. You did this once again to yourself Ramsey.

He sighs as the only thing he could think of is how stupid he has been these past months. How stupid he has been just now, by letting her go while she needed his support. She could’ve been in his arms right now, but he denied it. Because he ran at his name, like the coward he is… And his mind drifts off.

Drake.

The first time she talked about him was in Miami after they shared almost two bottles of wine. It was a warm summer night and they were sitting on his hotel room balcony. She was wearing this beautiful dress, which revealed too much and nothing at the same time. Drunkenly talking, secretly longing. And he was so stupid to ask about exes. So stupid, but not the first mistake he made that night and certainly not the last.

The question rolled over his tongue, instant regret, followed by instant relief when she told him, "No exes here, only random hookups'. But right as he thought that he dodged the bullet, he felt his heart dropping again as the word but was chosen as a follow up for the once relieving sentence, ruining everything within the second.

But there was this guy, who she met at a random college party. Not many words were shared, but body fluids were not spared. Never had sex twice with a random hookup, but this guy was different. Once turned into twice, turned into uncountable. Talking before and after brought them closer together, until the point where Drake dared to ask her on a date. And she assured him, that she never said yes when a random hookup asked her out, but this guy was different. She said yes to a date, one where the fool never showed up. She went towards his apartment, only to hear from his old roommates that he disappeared in the matter of a night. God, she has a type.

For fuck sake. He remembered how he looked at her, as the moonlight stroked her beautiful face, thinking, how the hell could anyone ever run away from her, this asshole must have been out of his goddamn mind.

He pinches the bridge of his nose, how naive he was, not knowing that she would be the one to touch his heart.

He knew he had to run, the moment he realized that he loved her. Never he dared to speak those words out loud, because the first time the thought crossed his mind, the first time he detected the feeling in his chest was already enough to realize that he needed to take his distance. So he ran, without hesitation. He did it for her. It was better this way. This was the only way for her to blossom. To reach full potential.

She was going to get over him, and he was going to carry the burden since he knew that he would not be able to stop caring about her, love her.

And that he still loved her with all of his heart became painfully clear tonight, when his cold skin found hers, turning warm for the first time in four months. Frozen eyes melted the moment they met, for a minute washing away all the painful memories. The feeling of spring after a long, long cold, and lonely winter.

He closes his eyes as the sensation from earlier is taking over his body at the memory that he was just a brief second away from welcoming her lips back where they belonged. On his.

But now there is this guy, who she had a probably steamy rendezvous with at a bachelor party. Maybe not many words were shared, but body fluids might not be spared.

Every other person had thought twice to put themselves between someone else and a bullet, but this guy is different, but she is different. She's not just anybody. He saved her. HE.

“They do make a cute couple, don’t they?”

Ethan startles as a woman’s voice abruptly breaks his thoughts. His head snaps towards her as his mind runs all over the place why this unknown woman was standing here in what was supposed to be a hidden hospital room.

But then he notices the tenderness in the way she looks at Drake. Her blond hair is bouncing on her shoulder in a bob line and her brown eyes remain focused.

All of a sudden her head turns to look at Ethan, “I’m sorry how rude of me.” And she sticks out her hand and Ethan shakes it briefly, “Riley Baskens, and you must be the famous Dr. Ethan Ramsey.”

“That is correct. You, you know about me?”

“Of course, Drake showed me a picture of Liz, and well, you were on it too.” And with a sigh, she moves her gaze back towards the scene in the bed, “What a sight those two.”

And Ethan groans unwillingly.

“Don’t worry. At least it’s going to stop being your problem soon, it's going to be my problem and my problem only.”

Ethan shakes his head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Well, Liam is making her an offer that she simply can’t refuse. But since they are both sound asleep… I might just find my fiancée and gets some sleep. Let me put this on the nightstand…”

But Ethan stops her, “I can’t let you in there. They need all the rest they can get, but if you’ll give it to me then I'll give it to her.”

She nods and hands over the papers, before walking away with a sigh, “I’ll talk to you later Dr. Ramsey.”

He stares at the envelope in his hand. Doubt fills his body only for a few seconds as Riley's words play through his head. 'Well, at least soon it’s not going to be your problem anymore to look at, only my problem.'

I need to know.

He rips open the envelope and his eyes scan through the papers…

His heart pounds in his chest as his mind is nowhere near clear…

How can she refuse this?

Oh, God.

What does this mean... Goodbye?

All of a sudden he hears the door open and Naveen walks in. He quickly hides the paper in his doctor's jacket and moves his gaze back to the window.

Naveen stands beside him and lays a hand on his shoulder, “I brought you some blankets and a clean pair of clothes for you and Liz, I will lay them onto the small table over there.” He squeezes his shoulder, “Do me a favor, get some sleep and start the morning with a shower and some fresh clothes.”

Ethan nods but doesn’t make any effort to move. And with one look, Naveen walks away to sleep in one of the on-call rooms just in case Ethan needs him.

Suddenly, Drake pulls her even closer and his heart wrenches. Was he really too late? Or was this just like Dr. Trinh said?

Two people, broken and seeking comfort? And after one deep breath, he moves over to the couch and lays down.

He is cold, actually, he’s freezing. The warmth of her skin he felt on his earlier is long gone, making so that blankets are not going to do it for him. He messed it up, and without bothering to grab one, he drifts off in another restless sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------

Drake is standing in the middle of a full dancefloor and he just made a move on her, which she rejected. “Are you serious Liz? You are still defending that asshole? Still, hoping for him to crawl back at your feet? You deserve so much more.” He gently lays his hands on her cheeks, and both of them wobble since they both have had their fair share of alcohol.

“It’s just complicated Drake, and yes I still love him. Just like you are still in love with…” She falls silent as she doesn’t want to speak her name out loud since she knows how much pain it causes if she actually did, “We both would be getting involved for the wrong reasons. You know that. We both know that.”

Drake falls silent as he glances over his shoulder towards Liam and Maxwell who are happily talking with no clue what’s actually going on, “Well love sucks. And not the good kind that is.”

Liz gently slings her arms around him to pull him close, “I know Hon, I know all about it.” He takes a deep breath and manages to relax a bit. He sets a step back as they both startle at one sudden bang, followed by a lot more. Liz’s eyes meet Drakes and before she can even process what is going on, he wraps himself around her and starts moving. Bang, and he groans, but determent walks through. Bang, bang. Frozen from fear and limp as a doll she hangs in his arms. He manages to carry her towards a corner and drops himself on her. His breath stops short as the blood is everywhere. “Drake…” and she tries to help him but he is too heavy on her. All of a sudden she sees a man coming over Drake’s body, who points a gun at her head. And bang!

Startled she sits up in bed. All sweaty, flustered woken up from her terrifying dream. Her heart pounding and she gasps for air. She stumbles out of bed, luckily without waking up Drake. She lets out a relieved breath at the song of the steady beating of his heart, performed by the heart monitor. He’s alive.

But her heart still races out of proportion, her head burning as the adrenaline runs through her veins. She needed to get out of there, she needs…him. The warmth of the room is too much, she feels closed up with the covered windows… and it’s almost like she’s still not able to breathe. She stumbles out of the room as the image of his blood everywhere is still playing on her hands, followed by the barrel of the gun straight in her face.

She panics and she starts moving towards the old couch in the corner. She needs to sit down. The coolness of the space is cooling her down a bit and she manages to reach the couch. With a sigh she lets herself fall onto it. But the moment she suddenly feels something move beneath her, she starts screaming out of shock. With her nightmare still fresh in mind, the unexpected movements had triggered something inside her.

And Ethan, who was fast asleep, gets the shock of his life as soon as she sits onto him and her screaming hits him right in the soul.

He instantly sits up, pulling her close by instinct, but she panics even more.

“No, No No, let me go…” Tears are running over her face and Ethan’s eyes find hers and a shock runs through his body. The horror in her eyes is almost palpable for him., and they stare straight through him, completely caught up in the trauma. Reliving the nightmare.

“No, no, no,” she screams again.

“Liz,” he whispers while pulling her close at the wrist he was holding, “It’s me, Ethan. I'm right here. It’s okay. Sssst.” She keeps struggling, and he pulls her even closer to his chest, rocking her back and forth. “Sssh, you’re safe, I’m here,” and she relaxes more and more as she got no space to move while she’s completely locked in his arms against his chest.

“No, no no,” now barely a whisper against his neck as she finally gives up struggling.

A familiar scent fills her nose, calming her down. She feels his heartbeat going crazy against her shoulder. More and more she comes to her senses. He calms her like no other. He warms her like no other, the fear in her heart slowly melting at the first strokes of the sun after winter. It's finally spring. And she whispers, “Ethan… you’re here. You came back for me, you actually are here.” She lays her hands on his cheeks, trying to determine if she’s still sleeping. But his cold skin makes her shiver.

“God, you’re cold,” she murmurs still a bit hazy. She realizes that she sits right on his lap, blankets folded on the small table.

“Why did you sleep without blankets?” She now lays her forehead against his, her hands lingering on his cheeks. He gently strokes her hair with one hand, the other resting in her neck. Again she was merely a breath away. “I.. I came to tell you,” he stumbles, “That I lo…”

Suddenly the sounds of a door slamming echo through the room. Both of their heads snap towards the sound. Drake's stumbling out of the room, “Liz, are you alright? I heard screaming, Liz?” He breaths hard and wobbles in clear pain. Then he notices her sitting on Ethan’s lap, “Oh Good, you’re safe.” And with one wobbly step forwards he points at Ethan, “You are a fucking asshole!” And he collapses...

Part three prob. jan 2022.

Taglist (Tagging my OH and Trr list. Please let me know if you don't want to be tagged for cross-overs:)

@karahalloway

@angelasscribbles @lovingchoices14

@kingliam2019

@walkerdrakewalker

@queen-arabella-of-cordonia

@tinkie1973

@tessa-liam

@ladyangel70 @princessleac1

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@queencarb @shanzay44 @schnitzelbutterfingers @jennieausten

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@secretaryunpaid

@ruy-oh

@choicesficwriterscreations

#choices fic writers creations #fics of the week #fanfic #open heart #choices open heart #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan freaking ramsey #open heart fanfiction

[iphoenixrising]

The Demon You Know

Day 1 Urban Fantasy AU | Magical/Supernatural Creatures | Time Travel

So, something a little off the grid for my first day of DickTim Week 2021. Special thanks to my wonderful babe @vellaphoria for the beta and the incredible peeps on the Capes and Coffee discord (looking at you @themandylion, @strawberryjei and others). Also need to show my undying love for @chippon because babe, we are making it work.

**

When the sun creeps up over the sky in Gotham, then it’s time to GTFO. Capes in the daytime aren’t the usual for the city, and Red Robin has been playing it too late, staying out far past O’s warning to bring it in for the night. So, really, he’s only got himself to blame.

His penthouse perch has seen more use in the last few months since, welp, Gotham and the fact he likes to get away from the team mentality sometimes, like to return to his roots and run the rooftops like when he was still that Robin. His trips to the Manor had become more frequent since B was back in the cowl and things in the family seemed to be returning to some semblance of normal. 

Well, as normal as it could get, really.

But all that goodwill and positivity is literally ghost. Red’s hands are shaky and his inner calm is absolutely blown. He’s ducking into his perch to throw his suit off, grab his duffle bag full of sundries and fake idents, then he’s going to hit the airport as fast as he can get a flight the hell out of town, away from the terrifying sight.

(He should just call Bart or Kon or Cassie, tell them he needs an out faster than he can arrange it himself, he needs to get away from–)

He knows he fucked up when the slight sounds, small and metallic in nature, make it past his pulse thumping in his ears.

Like a horror flick, he slowly turns as the front door gives a groan and is pushed open by a very familiar palm.

Dick’s blue eyes fall on him like a ton of bricks, on Red Robin’s feet frozen to the floor, his suit only half on, and no way he can get far enough to throw himself out a window.

Fuck.

“So,” Dick keeps his voice soft, footsteps easy as he steps inside Tim’s penthouse and closes the door behind him, “you finally found me out.”

Keeping his mouth shut in times like this has really saved his ass before, so Red doesn’t say a word, keeps every muscle in his body ready to spring for the right second –

Watching the would-be robber struggle in Dick’s grip, watching the light show brighten overwhelmingly, seeing what had to be-had to be feeding.

“I figured it would be you if anyone, actually, so I’m not really surprised, just… disappointed.” Dick continues softly, only in jeans and a t-shirt since Nightwing was oddly missing from the patrol roster last night.

And Red is apparently the only one that knows why.

“But that doesn’t mean I can just let you go, Timmy,” Dick isn’t stopping, his whole body lax while Red is wound tight, backing away from the man he thought he knew. “I really wish you hadn’t found out like this. I...I had other plans.” 

Whirlybirds and pellets aren’t going to help him here. Hand-to-hand and martial arts, aerial acrobatics, none of it is going to make a difference. 

His throat goes dry when Dick’s eyes get more and more blue, when his former mentor doesn’t stop advancing, and Red Robin is running out of room to back away.

“I tried to save you, Timmy. I tried so hard to get you away, out of Gotham, even if you went because you thought you had to find Bruce, I’m the one that gave you the compulsion to leave.” The low laugh is edged with something desperate, “why the hell couldn’t you stay away?”

“This is my city, just as much as Batman’s. You taking my fucking cape wasn’t enough,” Red Robin bites out, back thumping against the kitchen counter, realizing Dick had backed him into the corner. “How did you keep it from him? Constantine, Zatanna, all the magic users he has on speed dial and he never figured you out? No one in the JLA or Titans did?”

That makes Dick pause.

“He never had to. He knew what my parents were before they ever died, Timmy. Haley’s Circus came to Gotham regularly. Bruce always knew.”

The information blast hits him painfully, that Bruce didn’t bother to tell him and look at where they are now.

“And he didn’t try to help you?” Red, Tim, gapes at the still silhouette that used to be someone he thought he knew like he knew himself. Someone that’s always had this secret. “He didn’t try to –”

“Cure me?” Dick’s mouth lifts in a semblance of a smile Tim knows. “There is no cure for this, Timmy. It’s what I am. What my parents both were, the curse of the Romain Bababiljos. It’s unfortunate for me both of them were cursed, that just makes the...the hunger two-fold.”

And it’s just a few more steps, a raised hand that makes Tim flinch back, but only a fingertip taps the edge of the domino, makes the whiteouts raise.

Automatically, with everything he’s learned, studied, experienced about supernatural creatures, he ducks his head so he isn’t looking directly into those eyes. That doesn’t stop Dick from bracketing Tim in, both hands on the counter, their bodies a breath apart.

Dick laughs softly, close enough for Tim to feel the breath on his face. “The Titans...I never had to tell them. By then, I could control myself, at least mostly. The JLA? I’m one of the Batman’s proteges. I’ve been fighting crime since I was eight. They believe in me. There was never a reason for any of them to look too deeply past the surface.”

“Wh-what do you mean mostly?” Tim’s heart slams in his chest, “how many people have you killed, Dick?”

“Do you have any idea how awful the hunger is?” And the lower Dick’s voice goes, the harder Tim’s heart starts to pound. “Surviving on hugs and family affection is tantamount to starvation for someone like me. It’s so easy to kill someone during sex because the hunger is so much I can’t control it sometimes. Anyone I’m with is in danger.  That’s why I couldn’t stay with Babs, she’s too human. The one time I came close–” 

Dick breathes again and all Tim looks at is the span of throat, thinking of the soft, vulnerable parts, anything he can use to get the fuck away.

“–but I didn’t. I have...willpower sometimes. I drained her so close, though. She was-was so fragile, Timmy, and I was so hungry. I’d been starving for so damn long. She was hospitalized for longer than she’d been when the Joker shot her, and I said never again. But Wally and Kory were...different. I could go further with him without killing them, I could get more full than I’d been in a long time. It was still dangerous for them, but I was so far gone by the time...”

“They’re both still alive. Babs is still alive. Does she–?”

“Remember? Of course not. None of them do. I made sure of that, Tim, so none of them would be afraid of me.”  And the air changes when Dick gets closer, his eyes get brighter, and Tim almost chokes with the almost touch to his body under his suit. “But, you are going to be different, aren’t you? I’m not going to be able to convince your mind that what you saw was a dream.”

“So what? You’re going to make me “disappear”? You’ll give Bruce some sob story about how I got tired of the vigilante life and left for college or some shit? Going to bury me where no one will ever find me?” He isn’t looking at Dick’s face, can’t see his own end coming, can’t believe he’d put all his faith and belief in this man only to have it all come to this.

Tim laughs wetly, blinking rapidly, and everything suddenly comes together. “He won’t ever come looking for me anyway. You made sure of that when you made Damian your Robin. Nice plan, Dick. No one is going to give a shit if I’m never seen again anyway.”

And it’s stupid not to at least try, not to duck and kick out, trip up whatever Dick really is, to break a window and fucking run, try to get Bruce, Clark, Kon and Bart and Cassie, to get anyone to listen to him about what Dick really is, to try to save himself.

(If you’d never figured out Dick was Robin, if you never put yourself in front of him, you’d be safe now. Miserable but safe.)

Even if it’s his own brain pan spitting this out, he knows it’s bullshit. 

If he’d never approached Dick Grayson with proof Batman was losing his mind, Tim Drake wouldn’t have reached twenty-one. The way his life was going, he would have probably hung himself long before getting to this stage in his life. If he’d never had Bruce or Alfred or Dick or Steph, if he’d never had Robin, never had Young Justice or The Titans, if he’d never had the Clench, never felt the rumble under his feet as Gotham had fallen, if he’d never had the agony of losing everyone in his life, if he’d never had the drive to prove his adopted father was alive…

The civilian Tim Drake wouldn’t have had the strength to make it through life alive.

So if this is the way he goes out, if Dick is the one that ends it for him–

There’re worse ways to go.

He’s not going to be the Joker’s next victim or Ra’s al Ghul’s heir with a mix of Lazarus Pit crazy. The HIVE, the Light, the mass of aliens he’s fought, any number of Rogue Gallery thugs, none of them will be the ones to take him out.

But this?

His career as Robin started out with Dick Grayson, so maybe...maybe it’s fitting this is the way it all ends. 

He sucks in a breath and finally tilts his head up, looks up into those electric blue eyes, and lets his breath out so so slow.

Because Dick is looking at him with watery eyes, with a grimace, with something Tim can actually recognize.

But those eyes light up in his penthouse perch, take on a supernatural glow, Dick snatching his wrists in bigger hands, pulling Tim closer, the heat getting through layers of Kevlar and Nomex. And just like that, he can’t pull away, can’t pull back.

There’s no way to defend himself when Dick pulls him in, when he expects to get his throat ripped out, his neck snapped, something important crushed, for the darkness to take over and his heart to slow down to a sad, weak pitter patter.

He can’t defend himself when Dick kisses him, opens his mouth, and stuns him into going completely slack.

“I told you,” Dick growls softly when he pulls back, bends enough to get Tim laid out over his shoulder, “I had other plans.”

But Tim can’t reply, can’t do anything other than lay across Dick’s back as the Romani love deamon strides down the hallway and kicks open the bedroom door.

**

And if Tim Drake survives until morning, shocking the hell out of the both of them, staring up at Dick’s surprised face and glowing blue eyes, if the soft touch to his jaw contrasts sharply with the bruises and red marks blossoming all over his body from an intense night with his supernatural mentor and best friend, if Dick doesn’t whisper, “finally, finally, my mate,” before kissing him. 

If the power Dick drains from him doesn’t kill him, doesn’t do more than give him the most amazing span of unending multiple orgasms to ever happen, if Dick isn’t fully satisfied for the first time in his life. If Dick doesn’t call them both off patrol for the next three nights, carts Tim back to his apartment, refuses him clothes and computers and tech, tells the Titans they’re taking a break from crime fighting while Tim is tied and gagged in his bed, sated enough to listen hazily with half-mast eyes. 

If Dick doesn’t hand feed him while he’s getting feeling back in his legs (finally) and give him the full run-down about his parents. If the strange mark on his abdomen doesn’t get warm whenever Dick’s hand is on it, fingers tracing the edges, making those blue, blue eyes dilate in possessiveness. If Tim doesn’t eventually escape with his sanity intact and a little terrified how much his body craves only to have Dick chase after him with single-minded purposes to convince him they’re meant to be.

Then only the man with cameras all over Gotham, waiting and watching with bated breath and fear for his Robins, unmitigated relief when his theory proves true, would be able to give all the details.

#dicktimweek2021 #winter writes #dicktim #back on my shit #dick grayson #tim drake #my ficlet #my writing

[emkay512]

Once Upon A Time

Chapter 3

Summary: This starts at the beginning of TRR book 2 with the Fydelia ball but with a different series of events. This AU is based off the show Once Upon a Time with Riley and Liam mirroring Snow and Charming. Characters belong to Pixelberry.

A/N: I felt like I needed to still post this, even though I’m terrified with living up to my own hype. Let me know what you guys think.

A/N 2: thank you for pre-reading @queenrileyrose and @sfb123 both of you have given me such encouragement and I really appreciate it!

Warnings: This will contain NSFW adult language and content. By reading, you acknowledge you are 18 and over.

I’m keeping the same tags from my earlier post, please let me know if you want to be removed, absolutely no hard feelings! If you’d like to be tagged, I would be happy to add you!

Tags: @burnsoslow @ao719 @kat-tia801 @callmeellabella @charlotteg234 @neotericthemis @bbrandy2002 @kingliam2019 @iaminlovewithtrr @amandablink @iluaaa @jared2612 @sfb123 @twinkleallnight @tessa-liam @secretaryunpaid @ladyangel70 @gkittylove99 @texaskitten30 @shanzay44 @ofpixelsandscribbles

“Wait.... what!?” Drake’s face had gone white with shock. “But, we all saw! We all saw her fall in love with you. She loves you for sure Li, what the hell is going on!?” Despite his best efforts, Drake had come to accept Riley as an important person in his life, she was a truly trustworthy friend and she was a chance to see his best friend marry for love. Surely she’d never give up on hope and love, she was the epitome of both.

Liam wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he watched the latch on his bedroom door shut with Riley’s departure. He had dropped to his knees unable to stand with the weight of his broken heart still staring at the door trying to unsee what just happened. He was so sure of her love for him, he had never seen such happiness and sincerity exist in his life than when she told him she loved him in the hedge maze at his coronation ball. All this time he’d been apart from her was spent planning for a solution, clinging to the memory of her smile the last time he saw her before getting engaged.

Getting engaged. Then he started to think about the effect this had on her. He hated himself, she was vulnerable and abandoned, of course she’d fall out of love. Liam’s head was still foggy, but he remembered pouring two glasses of whiskey and calling Drake to meet him and briefly telling him what happened and now getting his reaction.

“You.. you don’t understand.” Liam was still just only choking out words. It was bad enough to live in this reality, but to have to utter the words and make someone else understand what was happening was like living his nightmare over again. “She said she did love me, or that maybe she did, or that she couldn’t love me anymore... God, it feels like it all happened so fast! I can barely get my head straight!” His tone was clearly crossing into frustration, he lifted both hands to his head and balled his fists into his hair while groaning out his hurt and anger. “This is my fucking fault.. in so many ways, Drake. She said I let too much time pass, that it convinced her that I should forget about her, and that she didn’t love me. I should have protected her from those goddamn photos and fucking Tariq. I never should have gotten engaged to Madeleine, and I shouldn’t have kept her away.” Liam was huffing his words.

This was difficult for Drake. He’d never seen his best friend so defeated like this. Liam always knew how to maintain his stoicism keeping an air of calm and rationalism. But that was not the man before him now, Liam was completely disheveled with eyes bright red from all his earlier sobbing, he looked completely broken. Drake understood the pain, he knew all too well how easy it was to fall for a girl like Riley, but like he said, their entire gang watched them fall head over heels for each other, and that was what he wanted for both of them.

Drake knew he needed to reel Liam back in, and once he could get the full picture, he’d know how to return Liam to his sharp tactical self. “Ok, ok, ok. I know your feelings are all mixed up, and judging by your overall behavior it looks like you hit the whiskey long before I got here, and I’m sorry, but I need you to get a grip and tell me everything.”

Liam nodded and sucked a breath in recalling everything. How she walked in his room, how he thought he was protecting her, how she said he didn’t want to know who was responsible, how she noticed the missing lock on the door, and how she walked out. Drake felt like he hadn’t blinked once after hearing everything and he could see it seemed these obvious clues hadn’t dawned on Liam. “Li, it sounds like she gave you like a dozen red flags. You didn’t press on any of those strange things she said and did?”

Liam wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “I.. all my instinctual strategies were out the window. I couldn’t focus on anything at fucking all except the sound of being dumped. There’s no tactical training on having your heart smashed since this bloody institution snuffs out the idea of love from day one. I feel like my mother was the only exception, and look what happened to her.”

Drake sighed and pinched the top of his nose with closed eyes. He himself was having a hard time comprehending things, he couldn’t imagine Liam’s anguish. “Look. First of all. This is not your fucking fault. There is clearly something large at play here, and you and Brooks seem to be the center. I think... I think Brooks knows something. She’s a smart girl and I think she was leaving you clues.” Liam could feel the gears moving in his mind as Drake went on. “It’s odd that she just walked in through the door.. how would she have just walked through the halls undetected? Weren’t you expecting her on the balcony? Which, by the way... wild expectation, bro. Shouldn’t Romeo be beckoning Juliette on the balcony, not the other way around?” Liam side eyed him hard, yes they’re best friends, but really? Was now the time to bust his balls? Drake couldn’t help himself and continued, “When you told her you wanted to find out who was responsible for the tabloid photos, why did she try to convince you to stop? It would be one thing if she just wanted to end things, but why mention that you wouldn’t want to know who it was? To me, these suggest that she either knows or has an idea who the culprit is. Then, the smoking gun. Another lock-less door and her freely walking out again.”

Liam shot up, determined and clear headed. “You’re right. I won’t play victim to this scheme and I sure as hell won’t let her be one either. Ok. We need to get a hold of Maxwell, either she’ll talk to him, or we can have him check on her without any suspicion.”

“Then I’ll call him so it can’t be immediately traced to you.” Drake pulled out his phone and clicked Maxwell’s name putting the line on speaker.

“Yo, Drakester! What’s up? Hate to break it to you, but the party’s over, you missed it.”

Already annoyed, Drake responded, “Cut the crap, Beaumont. We got a problem, Riley is gone, have you seen her? You need to check her room, but for the love of god, do it quietly.”

“What the hell are you talking about, I just left her, she was on her way to see Liam. Drake, please don’t tell me you’re cock blocking the king.”

Drake and Liam had no time for Maxwell’s carefree antics, they were both on strategy mode. Hearing this, Liam spoke first, “Ok so we know she was always on her way to see me with the intention of actually being with me. Something happened between her leaving Maxwell and her walking into my room.”

Maxwell was completely shocked to hear Liam’s voice on the line and started to panic that what Drake had said might be true, “Liam!? So she’s really gone? Last I saw her was getting her outside, as she was on her way to your balcony..”

She does love me. Was Liam’s immediate thought when Maxwell said she was on her way to his balcony.

As Maxwell recounted his interactions, Drake and Liam ignored any of his inquiries and focused on each other, working out the information they were getting.

“So she had to have been intercepted..” Liam realized. “Someone TOOK her!”

“Guys...” Maxwell was still being ignored on the line

“...And convinced her to say those things to you. Blackmail. It’s the only explanation.” Drake was finishing out the same conclusion Liam was getting to.

“Guys!!” Maxwell screamed and got their attention. “I made it to her room, we’re too late, it’s been ransacked. She’s on the run. What. Happened?”

Drake filled him in with strict instruction to keep this a secret, they would have to investigate quietly to prevent getting caught. He disconnected the call and looked at Liam, “Ok, she’s MIA, which only supports the theory of blackmail. If she was making a voluntary move back home, she would have said goodbye. We just need to find out where she went.”

Liam squared his shoulders and steeled his expression, now knowing he was on a rescue mission, “I’ll find her, I will always find her.”

#choices trr #king liam #liam x riley #choices #trr #the royal romance

[buriedinbaltimore]

I’ve seen some more discussion on Kevin being morally gray lately, specifically in these posts from palmett-hoes here and i-did here

Kevin was not only a victim, but also a participant in the fucked up hierarchy and abusive culture of the Nest. He benefited from his position as Riko’s second and one of the “sons of exy”. He didn’t have the power to stop or change anything, but that doesn’t make him less accountable for his part in it.

I think this concept is something that the books illustrate beautifully with the post-Drake confrontation between Andrew and Neil.

Neil was just trying to help Nicky out by getting Andrew to agree to dinner. He had no way of knowing or even suspecting what would happen. But Andrew still points out that his actions led to the attack.

And Neil turns around and points out that Andrew didn’t stop Drake from preying on other kids. Andrew was in juvie, he tried to get Luther to stop Cass from taking in more kids, he did what all he thought he could at the time. And yet, he still has some responsibility.

When someone asked Nora about that exchange she points out;

Andrew understands the difference between assigning blame & blaming someone. He can tell Neil You had a hand in this without meaning You did this to me. He isn’t holding Neil personally accountable for what happened to him, but that doesn’t mean Neil didn’t play some part in the tragedy.

So back to Kevin, I think it is important to consider how his time in the nest and everything it entailed affected him and at the same time not dismiss or forget where he might have had a hand in things. Because I don’t think Kevin will ever be able to forget, and it’s as much a part of his character as all his other trauma.

We get tiny glimpses in canon of Kevin dealing with it. After Renee rescues Jean, Neil convinces Kevin to talk to him by reminding him;

"You already walked away from him once knowing what Riko would do to him in your absence. Don't do it again. If you don't protect him now, his death is on you."

Later in that scene Neil tells Kevin that he is more afraid of losing everything than the consequences that may come from holding on.

"I don't understand." "You do, or you wouldn't have trusted Andrew and Coach in the first place. Problem is you put yourself in their hands and refused to commit any further than that. You think Riko will hurt you for your defiance, so you're afraid to step too far out of line. But this middle ground won't save you forever.”

Kevin survived in the Nest by managing to stay in that middle ground, he protected people when he could*, but he never defied Riko. He was there for everything Riko did to Jean, he stood by Riko’s side through all of it. It wasn’t his choice, and he couldn’t have stopped it without risking his own safety, but he was there. Now that he is no longer in the Nest he needs to come to terms with his past or else he’ll never be able to move forward.

*so I inferred this from one line in canon that always intrigues me but I’ve never seen discussed. My thoughts on it kinda tie into the discussion of Kevin being morally gray, and since we’re already here…

After Kathy’s show, Riko is telling Kevin he should get rid of Neil and Kevin says he as potential (this is before Riko knows who Neil really is). Riko responds with;

"You said that goalkeeper had potential and then wrote him off as useless when I offered him to you. You'll get bored of this one just as quickly. Believe me."

Which I take to mean that after Andrew refused to join the Ravens, Riko offered to do something to force Andrew to sign, and Kevin called him off. There are so many ways that could be interpreted, but I tend to believe his reasons were because

A) Kevin really believed it wouldn’t be worth it to them. Andrew’s strength of character, stubbornness, and lack of care for his own well being would have made it nearly impossible to break him into playing the way they’d want him to. (Kevin would have figured that out from the research they did on him & their meeting)

and

B) Kevin was trying to protect Andrew from whatever Riko planned. He already had to witness all the cruelty and abuse that Riko put Jean and the other Ravens through, but Kevin had no control over that. Jean was property and the Ravens had all signed up for the team and could theoretically quit at any time. He was the one who wanted to recruit Andrew, Andrew didn’t want to join, so if Riko forced him on to the team it would be all because of Kevin, and any abuse Andrew would face would be Kevin’s fault.

Now it would be easy to focus on B, Kevin’s guilt and compassion, because A is a cold-hearted calculation about Andrew’s value. In a cost-benefit analysis of the effort it would take to get Andrew’s playing up to scratch and how much it would actually improve the team, it’s not worth it for the Ravens to put so much into one player. Kevin writes him off as a waste, unusable to him. Seems pretty cruel for a man who later promised to give Andrew’s something to build his life around.

But, if Kevin didn’t have that understanding of both Andrew’s strength and potential, he never would have trusted him to protect him. He wouldn’t have believed that Andrew could stand up to Riko, and possibly more importantly, he wouldn’t have had something to work towards after Riko broke his hand. Because while it may not have been worth it to whip Andrew into shape for the Ravens, the difference Andrew’s talent made to the Foxes was huge. Kevin latches on to Andrew’s potential as his own way back to exy. The other Foxes weren’t worth his time, but Andrew was. 

If all that is true, why even believe that Kevin cared about Andrew at all? He was just using him for his own gain, right? Well, first, when Kevin called Riko off he had no reason to believe that he would ever need Andrew’s help. He went to PSU for Wymack, not Andrew, and their deal and everything that came after pretty much came down to right-place right-time kismet.

At the time Riko made the offer, it probably was less about Andrew as a person and more about Kevin not wanting to feel responsible for putting anyone else in Riko’s sights. We saw with Kevin’s reactions to Neil how he could be caring and compassionate and even to a degree self-sacrificing. When he finds out the truth about who Neil is, he tells him to run away and save himself, even though that would cost the Foxes the season, in which case he would be extremely vulnerable to going back to Edgar Allen. When Neil comes back from winter break he offers to talk about his experience with him. And even in the scene this is all about, after Kathy’s show, Riko goes to grab Neil and Kevin stops him, getting elbowed in the face before Andrew shows up.

Without considering both A and B, you don’t get a full picture of Kevin’s character.

#i feel like im missing something #its 4am i really shouldnt post this without sleeping then proof reading it but oh welll #i have lots more thoughts about Kevin and Andrew and their friendship and deal #but some other time #jes.post #aftg #kevin day #do i want this in the tag? probably not... #jes go to bed

[jesslockwood]

olive | chapter one

pairing: actor!Tom Holland x actor!reader

words: 3.5k ish

warnings: swearing, mentions of sex and smut (in between the ***)

a/n: special thanks for @stuckonspidey for helping me not only start a kinda guideline for this story, but go over the beginning of this chapter, go check out Lilly’s works!

I also am taking name suggestions for one of the characters (little miss diva celebrity personal) as im horrid at coming up with names and also want to involve you! (That’s why she don’t have a name in this yet lol) so send me an ask with your suggestions!

series masterlist

You couldn’t believe it. How could it even be comprehended of what was going on when it felt like a dream? 

bro, you’re living every Instagram jealous fangirl’s dream right now…

Man, you couldn’t even imagine the backlash you’d be getting after this once everyone knew. 

Let’s hope they never find out.

Maybe this whole ordeal should be explained...

You had been at an after-party for the first big movie you did, well it was a featuring role, that the character literally had a sex scene with Sebastian Stan- yeah you know what you’re thinking, he’s a literal Greek god heaven-sent being- we all know.

Anyways me being me found him way too unattainable- God all those marvel actors and actresses were-, especially after the mishap of seeing his butt naked self before the scene, and him telling you it was fine because you were like his “little sister”. Either way, he was a no go, and you kinda wanted to find someone to take home. you hadn’t been laid in a while, and after seeing Sebastian naked you kinda needed relief. 

you were looking for someone more in your league scanning the room, until Seb decided to bombard you at the bar, with probably another one of his actor friends he wanted to introduce you to. 

Yeah, heh… I know how this sounds, but you two actually became pretty close on set, as the lead to his opposite, was a total snob, and Seb couldn’t stand her so you’d do a spot-on impression of her while roasting her, and Seb and you got along pretty well because of that. You’re probably questioning: why Seb? Of all people why would a famous person like him get along with a weirdo like me? 

Boy, do I look like I know?

in all your years it would still probably be a mystery till you died. 

Throughout the night Seb had been introducing you to all his friends and helping you “network” even though they all knew you sucked. That still didn’t stop you from having a small heart attack every time it was an actor you admire.

This time maybe was a little different because you had downed some drinks, and was a little more… bodacious? That’s probably the worst description you could come up with but it is what it is... anyways it was the only way you could get through the night without completely dying of being in front of literal heaven-sent beings.

“Hey Y/n! you’d like you to meet one of my pals!” Sebastian yelled over the music, cutting through people to get to me.

you were sitting at the bar just getting another martini with olives. Before taking a sip you saw him. Holy guacamole! He was definitely out of your league, but alas, he was trailing Sebastian, coming over to you, with you almost doing a spit take. you knew who he was, but man, was he ever hotter in person! pictures did not do his beauty justice.

“Hey, Sebby, who’s the next victim you’re introducing to moi?” you ask, stirring your drink with the olives. 

Seb shook his head at you, with a smirk on his face

“This is Tom, and Tom this is the infamous Y/n.” you definitely rolled your eyes at that one.

“It’s a Pleasure.” He says all gentleman-like.

Just as Sebastian is about to speak, none other than the stuck up lead of the movie calls over to him.

“Sebastian, they're taking group photos of the main character’s with Drake Doremus, our director.” 

You could tell Sebastian refrained from rolling his eyes at the way she was smirking at you.

 “Sorry Tom! Y/n and I have to go-”

“Uh, Sebastian, they want the main cast. No extras.” she snarkily snaps.

“She’s not an extra she’s a featuring role and y/n-”

“I’m fine here entertaining Tom. Besides I’m all photoed out.” you cut him off quickly trying to deescalate the situation before Seb snapped on her causing a scene for all the hungry photographers to eat up.

“See? She doesn’t want to get in the way of our spotlight. I’ll meet you over there.” she blows a kiss at Sebastian and walks over to our director.

“Are you sure about this y/n? Because you know Drake would be fine with it, and she has no say over it anyways and-”

“I’m fine, and anyways, it would be rude to leave your friend here when you just introduced us.” you comforted giving the most genuine smile you can.

He dramatically sighs, raising his arms in surrender,  “Well if she ends up in the pool, it’s not my fault.” 

You laugh and wave him off before turning your attention to the arachnid superhero sitting beside you now at the bar. You sit in silence for a bit, admiring his freckles and eyes before speaking up.

“I’m sorry about all of that she can sometimes be such a-”

“-Bitch?”

“I was going to say Diva but that works too” you giggle as he starts to laugh with you.

“So Mister Spider-man, what made you come over here to be introduced to me?”

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t know anything about you till today, and seeing you act in this movie, I really am a fan of yours. Your acting ability in just this one movie blew me away!” He says intently, gazing into my eyes.

“You’re just saying that because I have a sex scene in the movie. It’s also probably just because of Sebastian’s acting. Or maybe you were turned on. ” you joke winking at him as you turn towards the bar, almost finishing your drink for the second time

He laughs, with a sly smirk on his face, “maybe.”

Before you can respond Sebastian interrupts.

“Hey, sorry I took so long, Miss Diva needed her ‘best angles’”

You internally groan. You just got cock blocked by the one you wanted before this whole ordeal.

“Well, I think I’m going to head out. We’re still on for breakfast tomorrow right?” Tom says, getting up abruptly.

“Yeah, Unless Y/n wants to bail on breakfast then we're still on, Then golf which Y/n will definitely bail on.” Sebastian jokes.

You were almost speechless, Seb said you’d meet some of his closest friends at the big brunch tomorrow. At least you’d be seeing him tomorrow. Maybe Sebastian set this all up? Either way, you weren’t turning down the opportunity.

“Well, uh I better get back to my hotel as well. We need to get up bright and early, and you know I need my sleep.” you mention, before downing the rest of your drink- very unladylike- and popping the olives into your mouth cringing a bit while eating them.

You hated olives, but it felt like such a waste to not eat them. You may have been in ‘high society’ but you still knew how rude it would have been, at least in your head it was.

“Party poopers. I’m gonna go say my goodbyes. Don’t wait for me.” Sebastian turns away going towards a group of his friends.

“I have a car coming, I can drop you off?”

“Oh, uh- are you sure? I don’t want to be a burde-”

“You’re not at all! Great company so far if you ask me,” he comments so… gentleman like.

You fight the urge to roll your eyes, and Once you got up and going, with Tom trailing behind you, you had to dodge a couple of waiters, apologizing every time, before really bumping into a waiter, who accidentally pushes Miss Diva, who wobbles before falling into the pool.

You stand there in shock almost watching as she, in slow motion falls into the pool, screaming on the way down. 

As soon as she emerges, she looks dead eyes at you, with looks that could literally, and probably would kill you.

Everyone falls silent before Sebastian, from across the pool breaks out into a fit of laughter and yells for you to “run”. Everyone who worked in the film and even the waiter starts to laugh along. Drake, your director takes out his phone before snapping a few photos. 

“AH! I‘m gonna kill you Y/n!” she screams at you before trying to swim to the ladder of the pool.

“Here,” Tom says before handing a hefty tip to the waiter before grabbing your hand and pulling you to the exit, “C’mon Y/n!”

The only thing that ran through your mind was “Holy shit. I’m dead now.”

Tom kept dragging you, to the entrance, through the paparazzi, and into the car, which mind you, the car was really nice, almost tumbling onto him.

“I’m a dead man now” you chanted a couple of times, before Tom started laughing really obnoxiously.

“Dude! You think me being six feet under is funny?!” ,You try not to giggle along to the now almost intoxicating sound, before hearing a pinging of his phone.

“Y/n, you’ll be trending for being Hollywood's hero!” He says before checking his device, “Trust me when I say she has no fanbase, at least won’t after this video Sebastian just sent me.”

“What?” you say stunned, before Tom shows you the video.

“That Fucking Bitch Y/n! You All saw that?! Y/n pushed me in purposely! She’s only out to get me, the talent of the movie! Talentless little bit-”

Sebastain cuts in the video “Yeah we’ve all heard it, you think you’re so much better than Y/n, Blah, Blah, Blah! You’ve treated her like shit from day one, and all she’s ever been was kind to you! I think karma is finally getting to you!”

Then your director steps in, “Well, I have news, we’re doing another movie, but in this time, Y/n has been bumped to lead role! I’m not so sure where your contract lies anymore though... Maybe it's just floating around in the water like your louboutins!”

Everyone cheers in applause in the video, chanting your name before it ends.

“What?! No, no, no! I don't deserve this because of a faulty point! She doesn't deserve this either! I know she's mean but to steal away from her talent and for someone to post that video?! She doesn't deserve that!” 

You started to freak out. Not only would she murder you if she had the chance, but no one deserved, not even she deserved the worst of what was going to come from the backlash from that video.

“Please tell me no one posted it!” you ask frantically.

“No, not yet, I’ll tell Seb not to, but I don’t think he can stop all the people who videotaped it.” He almost cringes, looking guilty.

“It’s fine I’ll just tweet something in the morning.” you sigh covering your face before telling tom where your hotel was.

It was almost upsetting, you felt like a second choice because of a bad apple in the batch, and you were the next.

“Hey Y/n? I know we don’t know each other well, but even though she might be booted down, or even off the next movie, your talent is real, and it doesn't take away from what you can do. From what I got from you already is that you're beautiful inside and out, as cheesy as it sounds.”

What the fuck. He was a fucking sweetheart. Let’s hope the fucking part litterally.

“Thanks Tom.”

You sit in an almost comfortable silence, all the way till you get to your hotel.

Once stepping out, Tom speaks up “Goodnight Y/n.”

“Dream of me Tom.” you wink before heading up to think of the game plan for tomorrow.

Once you got into bed, you couldn’t help but think of him. 

Why did he have to be so nice? Like god, did sweet guys ever make you horny.

Oh shit. Tom Freaking Holland made you this way.

Lets just say, you really did dream of him, probably because you thought of him while- well you know before falling asleep.

***

“Tommy!” you moaned loudly, as he went down on you, licking stripes from the base of your pussy to your clit.

He moaned onto your sensitive clit, sending vibrations all the way up your body, and especially to your core.

You could feel yourself getting close. His iron (man™️) grip on your thighs had you wishing it would never end and then-

***

Your obnoxious ringtone you had for Sebastian went off abruptly waking you up. You had set it to a fucked up sounding avengers theme song. 

“What the Fu-”

“Y/n uh, apparently there's a shit ton of paparazzi at your hotel right now… do you still want to go to the brunch?

You pause, “What? The Fuck?” you continue to look outside your window and sure enough, there's a hoard of them outside.

Greaaaaaat…

You really weren't sure about going, until you got a call from an unknown number. 

“Uh I’m getting another call gimme a sec-” you end the call with seb before answering the mystery person.

“Hey Y/n it’s me, Tom, Im uh almost in the back alley of your hotel waiting for you, I mean, only if you want to come, you were on my way anyways so i thought-”

“Hey Tom,uh yeah- okay, I’ll be down in twenty?” You say rushing around trying to find your suitcase.

“Okay, I’ll uh, tell Seb we’re coming soon” 

Tom hangs up after you say goodbye, and couldn't help the grin that reached his face being almost smacked back into reality by his brother, Harry and best friend, Harrison, goofing off.

“You div! You almost ruined my hair!” Harrison whines, as Harry rolls his eyes.

You, on the other hand, were rushing around taking a Guinness world record shower, before drying your hair, putting on minimal face shit, because thanks to Tom you didn't have time, and putting on an outfit that made you feel super cute and ready for golfing, well, watching it.

You weren’t much of a sport player, minus the competitive side that came out as soon as anyone challenged you. Then suddenly, you were an allstar (by smash mouth p.s fuck smash mouth) at whatever came your way.

Lets just hope you had this in the bag if someone challenged you. 

Your phone buzzed and you jumped, before quickly answering the texts you had gotten.

‘Are you coming?’

‘Yes seb im coming soon ;)’

‘Hey y/n it’s tom were here when your ready :)’

‘Wrong “you’re” but im coming lol ;)’

As you made your way down, Tom kept fiddling in his seat, trying to relax yet impress you. He just had to get over her, and you were the perfect solution for that. He didn't want to use you or anything, just have some casual fun that will help him move on.

As soon as you come into sight, of course looking both ways of the alley because who knows who's lurking, or going to hit you like Regina George, Tom couldn't help but almost drool in admiring you. You had your gorgeous legs on display, almost gleaming in the sunlight starting to peek through the alley, and your hair, looking almost effortless in your hairstyle, that took you like, five minutes to do. 

 As soon as you got into the car, Tom was snapped out of his daze, quickly trying to catch himself before being caught.

“Hey Y/n! You remember Harry? And this is Harrison. Harrison, Y/n-”

“Y/n I’m a really big fan! Maybe not as big as Tom’s di-” 

“Mate! Shut up!” Harry jabs Harrison in the side. You couldn't help but laugh at the interaction.

“Y/n i’m sorry about these divs.” he glares at them red in the face which makes you laugh even harder.

“It’s fine, I’m used to it from my catty family.”

“Oi! We’re not catty!” Harry says before Harrison gives him a wet willy in the ear.

“Haz!-”

And that's when you started to block out their fighting to focus on Tom.

“So uh, how many people will be at this? Sebastian totally didn't tell me for legal purposes of marvel-people-are-coming-so-don’t-tell-y/n-or-else-she’ll-freak-out.” You joke before earning a snort from Tom.

“Uh well, if you really want to know, the people I know are coming are Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson- you should close your mouth love, don't want any flies in there.”

You couldn't help but have your jaw slacked, and mouth hanging open. These were people you only had ever dreamed of meeting. You had to focus on what you wanted though. Tom was the priority, but damn were you going to freak out on the inside.

“That’s not the only thing you’re worried about going into my mouth? Right?” You joke, definitely meaning a sexual innuendo, but with a cover-up.

Now Tom’s the one with the open mouth.

“Damn bro!” 

“Oh my God!”

A chorus of reactions come through from Harrison and Harry, only leading you to say,

“Well? Don’t you have a frog in yours?” 

He tries to brush it off with laughter, though you could see his red face. He only hoped he didn’t have an even more noticeable way of telling he was turned on by that.

As the driver stopped, you realized you were at the restaurant, and man, was it ever a fancy and probably extorting you of all your life savings one too.

Tom almost rushed out of that vehicle, getting hotter than he should have been with the air conditioner blasting, if you were to ask, he’d blame it on the weather (we all know it’s not the weather).

You got out next, covering your face with your hand to block out some of the sun, and crossed your arm over to hold it steady, which may or may not have slightly squished your boobs together, making Tom’s mouth salivate. Man, was he ever screwed today, maybe literally as well.

As soon as he hurried into the restaurant, with you following closely behind, dogging more paparazzi, Tom goes to the front and asks where “Mr. Stan's table” is directed at the hostess. As soon as she saw Tom she looked behind to see you, which she definitely recognized the both of you, and that was pretty surprising, as you've never been recognized, other than hanging out with Sebastian, due to the movie.

“Right this way sir.” the hostess says professionally, leading you to your demise.

You were holding your breath. There were so many of them, all at once that you admired, it was going to be a difficult task. You could barely handle meeting sebastian stan, but all of your favorite celebs at once? 

oof

Once you got to the table hidden away in the corner, everyone said a chorus of greetings to Tom and friends and you.

You swallowed hard, only mustering out a small wave, before Tom pulled out a chair for you, (his momma taught him to be a gentleman) and you slid in whispering a small thank you.

Tom sat beside you to your left, with Harrison and Harry on your right. Sebastian was sitting right across from you, alongside Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, and Elizabeth Olsen surrounding the rest of the table.

“Hey everyone, so this is infamous Y/n, as you've probably seen the film or, the viral video, either way, this is her.”

“Hey! Y/n Seb here has told us so many stories about you, it’s like we already know you! You're a fan right? So who’s your favorite?”

You try to get words out but they don't seem to come. Tom notices and barges into the conversation,  “It’s obviously spider-man, ‘cause i'm so her type.” Tom mentions, in a cocky yet sarcastic tone, which started a spark for you to say something.

“And apparently I'm sitting beside a div? If that's the right word you use for a blubbering idiot.” you retort, re-using the words of his own. That got you a bunch of responses of “burns” “ohs!” and laughter.

It was almost as if the tips of Tom's ears were red in embarrassment with him still laughing along. You couldn't help but laugh as well at the sight.

During the rest of the course of breakfast, you had actually been vocal and had become quite fond of the people you now could say you knew, in one brunch. You especially loved the banter between Anthony, Seb and Tom, whereas you talked mostly to Scarlett and Lizzie, as she told you to call her, and Jeremy about projects they had done, and were looking for in their next ones.

Soon you had all had finished breakfast and had gotten the checks, with your eyes almost bulging out of your head at the price. 

Tom whispered into your ear, “I’ll pay, don't want your kidneys sold for this meal. Besides, I have to beat Seb in some way today.” he winks at you.

Your face feels slightly warm. 

Why did he have to be so nice?

“Well we should go to the course now everyone, I know Y/n’s out of playing so she can go to the pool, cause she apparently sucks at golf even though she's never tried it.” Sebastian taunts you. 

“Oh screw you Seb, I can totally do it, maybe, probably not but i'll try-”

“It’s nice to see some A list actors eat here too.” 

oh shit. It was her. 

#tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fic #tom holland x y/n #tom holland #arvin russell #peter parker #spiderman #spider-man #arvin russell smut #arvin russell fic #peter parker x y/n #peter parker fic #peter parker x reader #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine #olive

[daily-rubbersoul-redux]

Weekly Summary (1/29 - 2/4)

Last week's recap

It's Friday again already? Well you know what that means:

Summary time!

I. Character Happenings

Mae Okane has gone missing. Approximately 6 people care.

PSA from Celari: Stop asking about her whore of a mom, and stop simping for her. Violators will be fucking eviscerated.

In a move that shouldn't be surprising AT ALL and that is 100% in character, Kazuichi fucking loves the Cat of The Week segment in the school newspaper.

Flower lasers are progressing.

Suikai has given us some insight into his collection of cooking tools. Very cool, fluffy man.

Mai and Rizo had their anniversary date, and it went well! What came afterwards for Mai though.... Yeah she ain't doing so hot.

Mira has expertly demonstrated her EXTREME distaste for authority figures, which comes from a not-super-great home life.

In lighter news, Myrene has signed herself, Mira, and Drake up for speed dating. This was definitely a good idea on all fronts.

like seriously guys no more anime titty simping in my inbox, i know it hasn't happened since Saturday but still god wait until she's relevant at least-

II. New Characters

Daito Yasai-Ne: A police officer who aims to help as many people as he can. He just moved to Morioh very recently (a little under a week ago as of his introduction) and as such is still getting used to the weird things that seem to characterize the place. He's a pretty large guy (6'8), and possesses inhuman levels of strength (like, Celari levels), though his mellow disposition and general good attitude makes him more of a gentle giant. Despite all of this however, he has a past he's not too proud of, as well as a few pretty childish fears he never really grew out of. Also if you know, you know.

Myseterious Murder Figure: A serial killer who specifically targets young adults. Cunning and calculating, they seem to have been operating in Morioh undetected for a while. Seemingly has a method of disabling stands. Nothing else is known at the moment.

III. Plots

Kaiji Futamo’s Heart Throbbing Adventure

Yeah this is still relevant. Anyways as expected things did not go well with Kaitso's attempt to get the two to meet up. In part because he got a frantic call from Mai and rushed home.

Seems the girl Kaiji slashed is planning revenge on him. She did admit that what she did to Kyō was completely wrong and uncalled for though, so that's gotta count for something.

Celari’s Big Break

Nothing's really changed on this front, though things have seemed to calm down a bit? Celari's still taking it very poorly though.

Due to this, Sumi has been trying Very Hard to stay out of trouble, which is why she dipped as soon as Daito showed up (see: mid at best comic I spent way too long on)

The Mystery of the Disappearing People…? -> To Catch a Serial Killer

A lot to go over here. Starting off, Mae's bad day proceeded to get even worse when she went to talk to Suikai, only to find her sister was there too. One thing lead to another and she freaked out, letting out all the repressed hatred she had been feeling towards her before fleeing the scene. No one could find her afterwards, and it was assumed that she had went home.

Mae did not go home.

No, rather she is the current victim of the 'disappearances' (read: being kidnapped by a serial killer) and has found herself trapped in a quote 'murder basement' unable to use her stand.

Mae died. For like 2 seconds. And then she was magically alive again with no wounds, much to Mysterious Murder Figure's frustration.

She has no goddamn clue what's going on, or where she is, or even what the killer looks like thanks to (in)Convenient Shadows, and yeah she's still just stuck there trying to break the door down (it's not working).

Daito seems to be looking into the 'disappearances', going as far as to patrol the area, but investigation isn't really his forte, so... He's just gonna keep trying his best.

Laurence seems to know something about all this, or at the very least has taken interest in finding out more about it. He plans to ask around the school to see if anyone's heard anything, and then go pay Daito a visit to see what the police know.

Meanwhile, the entire Okane family are continuing their own searches in their own way. Kaitso is going to ask Merridith for help, Their Dad who I really need to give a name at some point is organizing a search party and filing a missing persons report, and Mai is frantically searching for any hint of a clue she can find at the place where she last saw her twin (aka at school). It is unlikely any of these methods will work, but don't tell them that.

And that's if for the 2nd recap! Looking forward to this coming week :]

#weekly summaries #yeah plot kinda popped off this week huh :] #ohoho i wonder what will happen next? :]c #i say as if i havent had this planned out for weeks jchbvhjcb #stay tuned!

[sweet-sammy-kisses]

Get a Little Worn Down in Between

For @summer-of-whump day 5 prompt: broken which gave me a reason to write hurt Tim Drake and protective Jason. Fandoms: Batman Comics/Red Robin Comics Warnings for: Suicidal thoughts, talk of emotional and physical abuse.  You can also read it on AO3 Rated Teen(PG-13)

Jason wondered if they even realized that they had broken Tim, the one that gave everything and asked for very little in return who fought and still fought to be usefully in hopes that it would mean that he would be welcomed into the family until they broke him beyond repair.

Given the smug smirk on Damian's face as the little demon stood behind Dick and Bruce as he once away got away with emotionally and verbally abusing Tim while Tim was lectured about how he was older than Damian, he couldn't let Damian get to him, Damian is just a child and Tim should know better.

Jason could see as each barb hit deep and left another scar already over his sacred heart.

"Enough!" Jason snarled as he stomped forward and pushed Tim behind him. He had done his fair share of harm to Tim, he allowed Talia to manipulate him, to twist and turn him into her weapon to get rid of Tim. He still didn't know why she hated Tim so much that she would use him and now her son to get rid of him

He saw Talia in Damian and it scared him. He couldn't deny that Dick had done wonders with the little gremlin but staying quiet while Damian went after Tim with everything he had to push him to the edge needed to stop it wasn't helping Damian it was just enabling him. If no one took Damian aside and explained to him why trying to kill Tim, why attacking him not with just his weapons but also his words were wrong and needed to stop Jason was afraid that one day they would find Tim standing on the edge of a ledge and no words would be enough to pull him back from the edge.

Tim had saved this family, it was time someone saved him.

"Just enough. Stop it. No," Jason held up his hand when both Bruce and Dick looked to speak, "You both have done enough talking now it is time for you to listen and you will listen to me even if I have to tie you to chairs, you will fucking finally listen." Jason snarled out.

"Jason?" Tim's soft voice came from behind him and Jason's heart nearly broke at how soft and hopeful it sounded.

Turning to look over his shoulder Jason flashed Tim a soft smile, "It's going to be okay baby bird." He found himself promising.

Biting his lower lip Tim looked at his Robin, his hero and he felt safe, not like he felt when he was with Kon, Bart, Cassie and Cass but safer than he has felt in the cave for years. "You don't have to do this." The last thing that Tim wanted was to cause strife between Jason and the others just when Jason was slowly starting to return to them.

"I'm doing this Tim because it should have been done long ago."

"What is this drivel? We have more important things to worry about than Drake's feelings. He is just proving how weak he is."

Jason didn't miss the way Tim flinched at Damian's words or how he curled into himself when no one spoke up for him.

"Your mother sure taught you all of her tricks on how to manipulate people. I heard that speech from Talia before when she was doing everything in her power to turn me against Tim. To make me her weapon in getting rid of him. I'm just surprised that Dickie and B are weak-minded enough to fall for that bullshit trick." Jason casually commented. "Physical, emotional and verbal abuse are three tricks of the Al Ghul's and you Damian have mastered them." Jason clapped slowly. "Your mother and grandfather must be so proud of you. You are proving you are Al Ghul through and through."

Damian froze as Dick let out a growl, "That is enough Jason." Dick snarled out.

Cocking an eyebrow Jason looked at Dick like he was a speck of dirt on his boot, "So it is wrong for me to talk to Damian like that but it is okay for him to talk to Tim even worse? And don't give me that bullshit that Tim is older and Damian is just a child because that excuse is shit and you know it. Tim is not an adult yet, he has been forced to grow up fast all of his life. He never had a childhood, the only happiness he had was chasing us all over Gotham. He is not you Dick! He didn't need space, he needed his family supporting him while he was grieving losing so many people that he loved. And what does he get a little brother that tries to kill him and doesn't even get a stern talking to? No, he gets Robin and he gets to keep up the emotional and verbal abuse because the only adults in his life are too much of a bunch of cowards to step up and set boundaries for him!" Jason could feel the rage of the pit starting to bubble up, a soft touch on his arm had him turning to look at Tim who had stepped up beside him.

Tim could see the pit beginning to take over and that was the last thing he wanted, Jason had worked so hard to learn to control it that he didn't want to set him back. "For so long I have wanted a family." Tim started and he found himself licking his lips as he met Dick's gaze, "From the moment you gave me that hug that horrible night I wished that I could be your little brother. Batman and Robin were more than my heroes they were the family I longed for." He moved his gaze to Bruce, "No matter how hard you pushed me, wanting to make me quit and go away I fought all that much harder to find a place here because you were my family. Only no matter how hard I tried it was never enough. I would never be Jason, I was just his replacement, a placeholder until someone else came along. Someone who was wanted."

The smugness returned to Damian while Dick paled as the words began to sink in and Bruce began to see where this was going.

"I will never be Dick. I will never be Jason. I will never be Cass. I will never be Damian. All of them are loved and wanted in this family. I am just Tim, the replacement, the placeholder, the tool of the Batfamily. I love you all, even you Damian. I had been so happy to learn that I was going to have a little brother that I could pass Robin off to." There was a tear trailing down Tim's cheek as his voice broke.

Jason felt his heart break for Tim as Damian's eyes widened as Tim's words finally seemed to sink in.

"I knew I wouldn't be Robin forever and that you would someday be ready for it. I know you hated me, Damian, that you saw me as someone you needed to get rid of to prove your worth here. I don't know if your hatred of me grew because I was the first and only one who drew a line in the sand and told you that we don't kill. In the end, it didn't matter because Bruce or Dick never once backed that rule up. They never thought to set limits for you because you had a tough life. But the thing is Damian you weren't the only one. And I'm not even talking about myself but Jason and Cass, both of who have made amazing progress because someone took the time to sit them down and teach them what is and isn't acceptable. I guess since I am the only one you want gone neither Bruce nor Dick think it is important enough to teach you why words can cut deep and leave scars that sometimes never heal. I guess I just am not worth it to them, after all, I am the unwanted one."

"Tim." Dick took a step forward, his hand reached out to touch Tim, only to stop when Jason shifted so he was once again standing in front of Tim blocking the younger man from view.

"Now is not the time Dick," Jason stated his voice hard.

"It's okay Jason," Tim informed him as he moved out from behind his bulky form, staring at his so-called family Tim decided it was time to announce the decision he had come to weeks ago, "I think it is best for myself if I left Gotham."  

Silence filled the cave, not even a bat could be heard.

"Son," Bruce started his eyes wide, he knew that things had been rough but he never expected this.

Tim shook his head, "No, it is too late. If I stay here it won't be long until I am jumping from a ledge."

Dick's legs gave out from him as he collapsed on the floor and out of the corner of his eye he could see Bruce falling back into the chair at the Bat Computer. Even Damian looked affected by Tim's words.

"If it wasn't for Kon and Bart finding me, breaking the no meta rule I wouldn't be standing here today. And that is why I am leaving. I can't take being someone's punching bag and then being blamed for defending myself. I am done being the victim in what is supposed to be my home. So I am moving to San Francisco permanently. Red Robin will no longer be a part of the Bat's so please don't contact me, not that you have. I haven't heard from any of you but Jason and Cass for six months."

"Timmy," Dick's voice cracked as he realized that he was losing his baby brother, again. "Please don't go." Once again he felt helpless as another brother left him behind.

"I can't Dick." Tim's eyes were full of sorrow as he met Dick's pleading gaze. "I can't stay here and wither away until there is nothing left of me. I am barely hanging on as it is. I'm sorry but it is time I put myself first for once. I will miss you, despite everything I still love all of you and still think of you as my family." With nothing left to say Tim turned on his heel and left the cave.

When Tim's footsteps could no longer be heard Jason let out a laugh, "Well Talia's plan worked she wanted to get rid of the light of Batman and she did." Not wanting to be around them any longer Jason turned on his heel and left, he wanted to make sure that no one tried to stop Tim from leaving.

Dick looked shaken as he turned to face Bruce as he begged to know, "Bruce, what do we do now?"

Bruce had no response all he could focus on was how much darker the cave looked now that Tim was gone.

#summerofwhump #summerofwhump5 #sherri writes #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #damian wayne #bruce wayne #my fics

[calypsoff]

Eighty Three.

I should maybe get out of bed, I swear I have been so spoilt staying with Mel, she does so much for Rylee. Every morning she is there, and she even says it to me, you relax in bed, and I can take the morning feeds and stuff with her, that is the kindest thing from Mel. She knows I am stressed the hell out; I hide it so well away from everything, but I am stressed, I always hate to be unsure of the future, I hate that it’s uncertain and that I am unsure of us, but I have begun to stop caring and start living. I think the more people are figuring it out, the less I am starting to care. And that is very much down to Chris, he did what he wanted, and he went on that tour with Drake, he’s done the video with him, and he is so cocky. His groupie ass was all on Instagram posting, he has posted more than he has ever before. I mean he expects me to care, I don’t though. Chris and I shared out our time with Rylee for Christmas, I decided to let him have her for Christmas and then I had her for the New Year because I wanted her for my anniversary, I needed that. Not like he cared, he bought her back the next day. Mel sees him, I don’t. I stay away, I am at the studio most of the time now anyways. I entered the new year unsure of my marriage, I didn’t predict this at all, but now that Chris is pictured constantly out, looks like people are starting to know about us. He doesn’t text me about anything besides when he says I will be getting Rylee on this day, that is it. He is being stubborn and honestly the ball is in his court. I did lowkey thought he may have done something for our first anniversary like I don’t know, send flowers to me. It makes me think, was I that bad with him. Or is it because he finally got some fame and he wants to go out there and try that, I think it’s the second option but I am just going to have to do me, do what is best for my daughter because I can’t continue in taking his shit, his nasty mouth too and for him to feel I trapped him, that does hurt me a lot to know he feels that but my year has started way different then what I assumed it to be, I was looking for a good family Christmas and New Year, it was far from that but I rather have stayed here then go Barbados and cried.

Yusuf is here, I wanted to change my hair “morning, oh wow. Rylee went to you!?” I spat, I am so shocked seeing that Rylee went to Yusuf like that, she isn’t the type to go to everyone “bitch what is wrong with me!? Why wouldn’t she” I shrugged “I don’t know, I barely like you nigga!” waving him off, my daughter is content so I can go and make something “has Rorrey arrived?” I asked looking around “Rorrey?” Mel questioned “mhmm yeah” Mel is looking at me gone off “you all looking around like you lowkey scared” looking back at Mel “not scared just explaining you know, he text me. He said why is nobody answering at your home, I said I am at Mel’ so he is coming here. But he doesn’t know, he did say I am hearing things so yeah. I just don’t want to explain to him, you know? They got on so well so I am trying to make it not as bad but to him he will not like it, so he is coming” Mel cringed “maybe lay it to him lightly about it I guess” nodding my head “Yusuf please don’t ask” I know he is going too “oh and I messaged Chris, I mean you have been going to the door and stuff. Personally I haven’t seen him so I text him saying Rylee is going to the doctors today, do you want to come with me because she is having like four or five injections, she will need some snuggles and soothing, I think it’s good if we go together, for her. He messaged me back, I am in Canada. And I then messaged him back saying there is planes, this was last night. Then I just told him to fuck off, pretty much so yeah. That happened, I just felt like Chris should be there, but he is having a tantrum. He said to me, when he called me. Last time I will pick up his calls, he said that I am being a bitch towards him and that I have always disrespected him, never made him feel like a man, I am like the fuck? This isn’t my fault you didn’t make the money; he didn’t want to be in the house I paid for, then leave. He is the one that is away from his daughter, not me. So you can come with me for her injections please Mel” Mel nodded her head “one of you need to cave in” I laughed “not going to be me!” I spat as I walked off.

Rylee is exhausted to say the least, she really cried her heart out about the needles, and I don’t blame her. They tried to hurry the process as much as they could, but it was going to hurt her, she just fell asleep in the SUV and still is as we got back to the apartment “this is why I hate apartments” I said to Mel, paparazzi be on my ass outside these places “sorry” she apologised “don’t be” opening the SUV door “shall I carry her?” Mel asked, shaking my head walking around the car “move out of the way” this SUV driver be having the base of Rylee seat in his car, I told him pretty much you are the only person to pick me up. The company swaps around the drivers but I said that he has to remain, no way am I going to be taking the base of the car seat in and out. These things are heavy as shit too, stepping onto the step and reaching to the sides to unclick the car seat “I got the bags” Mel said, placing the blanket over the seat. Lifting the car seat as I stepped down “you want me to carry her?” my driver asked, “no thank you, I have her now” the paparazzi did move to the side when I walked back around with Rylee “you are looking beautiful Rihanna, is the family ok?” that question is sly, they want to know what is happening with Chris and I of course. I mean a lot of people want to know but it’s just a break, that is what I will put it down too and will continue to just say that. Fuck what anyone else says and thinks, and if he does decide that I rather fuck other bitches then he is gone from my life forever.

I took in a deep breath; my brother is here. Yusuf let him in, I said we wasn’t going to be long “sister, how is the niece?” he has come here with that Barbadian tan, I miss my home so much “eh! You say my name first” he laughed hugging me “I missed you so so much at Christmas and New Year, I missed my niece too. I just missed you a lot, we all did. The gifts to us were beautiful” I smiled at him “she is in the car seat but asleep, please don’t wake her. She has been so stressed out, Melissa please can you just put her in the crib, I need to get Yusuf to do my hair for me. He has been waiting for a while now” I know he doesn’t mind but it’s unfair “I am used to you now, being a mother is first” I laughed, I laughed because Yusuf doesn’t know my plan was for him to babysit “Rorrey, can you babysit for me?” he is here now “I mean Yusuf was going to be my victim but now you’re here, uncle Rorrey” Yusuf yelped out “you sly bitch! I didn’t even know I was a victim of this” he cackled “well now you know” I am such a bitch, I do not want someone I don’t know taking care of her, I will see how she is when she wakes up before I decide “hey, Robyn. I know you dodging me, but we need to talk” I sighed out “I am setting up anyways” Yusuf said.

Rorrey is obviously not going to let me not say anything, he knows me so well too “I mean you have moved in here; I can tell because of all your stuff being around” playing with my hands putting my head down “I see rumours and stuff and I don’t like it, Rajad asking me and I say if Robyn was in trouble she would say so what is happening?” looking up at him “we are just having a little break away from each other, it is something we both need. It just stemmed from Chris feeling like I don’t treat him right and he feels I am holding him back, Chris just is very hot headed and stubborn which I know and feel I can handle, you know? But I couldn’t, he got angry that I mentioned to him about Drake wanting me more then a friend, he said that I am sabotaging his friendship, so the argument grew. Then Rakim, I am in contact with him still, jut friends. But Drake and him made a joke, you saw right?” Rorrey nodded his head “and Rakim said, I still speak to your wife. He then felt stupid, but I couldn’t take it anymore, the way he spoke to me. Couples have arguments but it wasn’t just that time, it’s like he doesn’t learn so I came here, and I said to him do what you like. If he cheats then we over but as you can see he is having fun” Rorrey nodded his head “I thought he was a good guy, I sensed he was a little temperamental, a little stupid at times. I did think why is he friends with Drake that close” he said, “that is my fault, I didn’t say it because it wasn’t anything serious but it seems like Drake is now in my marriage, but I want you to stay out of it, this is my issue and I can handle it, ok?” Rorrey nodded his head “if he lays a finger on you I will beat him” I chuckled “I know, he just all mouth, but we shall see” I sighed out “you really hurting” waving Rorrey off “don’t” I am going now, I need my hair done.

I have been very much hiding, like I haven’t been posting much or going out, like I am hiding for what. I mean besides the studio, so I decided that I am going out. I have tickets to the Clippers game, so I thought why not, I haven’t seen a basketball game in a while “you think Rylee is going to like your wig?” I snorted laughing, she might dislike me actually looking like this “well we shall see, I am feeling it though” turning to Yusuf “it suits you, it really does” pouting my lips out “oh wow, ok. I see you” I giggled at Mel; I got a pixie pink wig on. Like hell would I do it to my own hair, but I just wanted to do the most I guess, I am feeling a little crazy “I like it” Mel wouldn’t lie to me “let me go and see Rylee, she is awake” I can hear her crying, she may just cry with me but I hope not. I really want to go to this game, making my way to my bedroom. I have literally moved into this home “sis, I was thinking. It’s a little busy here, can I just stay at your home? He ain’t even there anyways” Rorrey said but he does have a point “of course you can but as long as you don’t argue and fight with him, I don’t want that, it’s my issue” he put his hands up “I won’t” do I trust him “nice hair though” I smiled as I walked off, I need to get my daughter. Walking over to the crib slowly “mamcita! Baby, calm down” looking down into the crib, I mean either she’s going to hate it or love it. Reaching into the crib and picking her out “ssshhh, it’s ok” he cries quietened down and that is when she kind of opened her eyes to take notice, she is really a mini me and I love that for her “hey” I smiled, her hazel eyes just staring at me “you know your momma don’t you, awwww. I love you, you like my hair baby? It will be off soon, but yeah. I need a change” making my way out of the bedroom, I am going to see what she is like with Rorrey but she seems content.

Rorrey looks so happy to Rylee “let me have her then” he opened his arms “what you been doing when you go to the studio then? I know you been there?” Rorrey asked “erm, I have had Rylee with me at the studio some days, ear defenders on but late night Mel is home and when I come home like five then Rylee wakes up I been staying up with her and Mel caught on, she has now taken over with that but I been working and being a mother, as I do. I also have a personal photographer now, Dennis. He is with me for like most of the time just taking pictures. I want to document my journey with it all so yeah, it’s work” Rorrey took my daughter from me “you are working hard, I will be here for her. Don’t be having to push yourself” smiling lightly “I know, I need too. I have the business venture I need to do so yeah. I am busy” walking off “you got my box of jewellery” I said to Mel “I do baby” making my way to the kitchen counter “keeping the ring on” Mel asked, she wasn’t even holding back “damn, like that?” I said laughing “yeah, just annoyed me. I hate that he is being that way, fame getting to your head type shit, he is so cocky too. You seen he has a gold grill? Like, who do you think you are, my sister made you” I shrugged “he hasn’t taken his off so yeah” what else can I say “well he needs the jewellery, that’s all he got” I chuckled, Mel is just funny.

I couldn’t help myself but post some picture of my new look while in the SUV going to the game, it feels so good to be out and just be me I guess “they going crazy saying Rihanna raiding Nicki’ closet now, what? I told you it suits you” I cooed out “thank you, I feel so good to be just me. Also smoke a blunt, I miss it. I am a little sad that feeding my daughter has been affected, like nothing is coming out now. And it’s because of me stressing, I told the doctor. She said stress can cause it, the stop of milk. Also I can go braless under this top, Chris wouldn’t have let me wear this. He disliked me ever not wearing a bra, I had to wear one always, he said only he can see my body but fuck you nigga, look at me now” I stuck my tongue “that’s my bitch, you go girl. You know what, it’s been a long time coming. But in a way, I didn’t know Chris was like that with you. I always saw the good but also I kind of saw his shit side at times, but we stick with he plan and we have fun yeah?” nodding my head, holding onto Mel’ hand.

My phone pinged again, third time now but she is posting constantly of herself in that hair. Looking at the photo anyways, the picture loaded up. She looks good but it’s whatever, they don’t know what Robyn is like. Locking my phone “ayyyeeee” Drake made his way over to me, getting my hand out as he dapped it “I been here for two days, you come now?” I said, he told me to just come and he will be back soon. I am supposed to be going on tour with him “busy, I thought why you need to come to the UK when I can come to you” that is annoying to be honest, he lied. He said he was here when he wasn’t and I could have been with Rylee for her injections “I am here now though” he patted my leg, nodding my head “yeah, yeah. Free weed though, thanks” I laughed “always, so she gave in?” rolling my eyes “gave in? Nigga, she just. Yeah, she makes me want to just I don’t know, I love her, I do. That is my twin always, but she didn’t ever let me live. A nigga just got out of jail; I want to live. I didn’t think she was ever insecure, but she seems it to me, even though she said she isn’t. Apparently you tried it with her?” I asked, I am asking because I want to know if it’s true because Drake always been one hundred with me “she gave me wrong signals, like when we were in the studio. No disrespect to your wife, she seemed to like me. But if she is not making you happy, then you know” nodding my head “the thing is yeah, I don’t want to lose her, but she needs to learn that I need space too, she is there telling that she can get other men, like to me that is disrespectful. You know, I don’t care though” laughing to myself “you both split?” he asked “erm, I don’t know. She said do what you like, you know. I had India hooting in my messages, I blocked her for Robyn, and I was like huh yeah, but she been hitting me up but nah, I am not down to cheat. I just want to annoy Robyn” Drake is laughing, I would laugh too “I can make that happen for you” I am sure he can, but I am missing her.

My timeline is full of Rihanna in that wig, she seems extra happy, and I am not even bitter. I liked her picture that is how much I don’t care for that, but she is so vibrant and happy, very happy. She is laughing and giggling, she has every man in that court struck from her vibe. And I dislike the braless shit, why can’t you just wear a fucking bra, it’s not hard. Also why is she holding her boob in front of the crowd like that, she really got them men under a spell. I haven’t seen her since, this is the first time since and it’s bittersweet “we going to party now” Chubbs said, nodding my head as I got up, I feel a little deflated, I don’t want to party actually but I rather do that then just look at pictures of her. I am literally refusing to see my daughter because Robyn doesn’t come to the door, it’s Mel constantly and I am like what the fuck, she is petty for this little break. This didn’t need to happen if she was just truthful to me. My phone pinged again, she posted again. Tapping on the notification, licking my lips staring down at the picture. She looks good.

#chrianna fanfiction #chrianna #chriannaff #chrianna ff #fanfic #fanfiction

[animatedminds]

Let’s Get Dangerous Review!

It’s dangerous. In a good way. <cue dramatic music> Okay, obviously there’s more thoughts than just that. I’ve been waiting for it for weeks, and it arrived just as awesome as I hoped. For the first time, let’s give my full movie style review to the double length Ducktales special: “Let’s Get Dangerous.”

The spoilers are open and widely discussed, so maybe don’t look past the following image if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

To note, I’m not entirely convinced that this was actually meant to be a pilot. It definitely does introduce a new status quo for the Darkwing trio of characters (minus Honker for now, here’s hoping they haven’t forgotten him), but it’s also a very remote story that still tries to take place within the context of Ducktales’ universe, so it really depends on what they choose to do.

But let’s just get down to it.

First off, as I mentioned in my earlier post… Taurus Bulba. He was maybe the biggest and most eye-catching aspect of the first part of the episode, as one of the few elements we hadn’t already seen yet, and his reputation as a really, really bad guy has quite preceded him. As I may have gushed somewhat about, he’s one of the best parts of the special.

James Monroe Inglehart, for those living away from the Disney scene for a decade, is an actor and voice actor most famous for being the original Genie on Broadway’s Aladdin. A grand, bombastic presence, he generally plays characters who - much like the genie himself - a big, jolly, kind but maybe a little mischievous souls that take the attention of a room and brighten up the characters’ day - like Lance, in Tangled the Series. The most interesting thing about Bulba is that Inglehart brings that exact same energy to the role, and so Bulba keep that jollity and lofty personality in a package that becomes increasingly less nice as the story goes on. As someone who keenly remembers Taurus Bulba as cruel monster willing to hurt kids and capable of crushing Darkwing like nobody’s business, the contrast was immediately fun to watch - and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In this story, Bulba is recast from a crime lord intending to use a super weapon go on an endless plundering spree to a FOWL scientist with a respectable reputation who intends to use a super weapon to take over the world, and the transition goes off fairly well. The end result is a pretty standard mix of superhero fight and Bond plot, as Bulba ends up holed up in his lab with his squadron of elite supervillain minions - all plundered a particular fictional universe - with the heroes having to break in / escape from his captivity and stop him before he destroys everything. It’s very Silver Age, with Bulba in the role of maniacal villain, and he’s contrasted very well with Bradford - who is as always an antagonist who prides himself on pragmatism. This contrast leads to some great moments: Bradford’s increasing frustration with the cavalier attitude of both the heroes and the villains gives him the best stint of characterization he’s had since the beginning of the season - he basically spends the whole episode arguing with everyone about how badly thought out their actions are, while also badly hiding his own secrets.

The Fearsome Five (of which Quackerjack is voices by his original actor) are great to see, though used minimally. If you’re expecting to see classic show dynamics between the villains and Darkwing, that’s not really what they’re used for. Mostly, they’re minions with personality, and they’re more there to establish both to the audience and to Drake the character himself that he is ready to take on really big threats even with his lack of superpowers.

But enough about the villains, on to the heroes!

A couple episodes ago, with the Halloween episode, I criticized that story for not balancing its A and B plot all that well. This episode does not have that problem. The story is actually maybe about three fifths Darkwing’s story, and the rest of it is Scrooge and the nephews as they figure out what Bulba is up to independently of Darkwing and try to stop him themselves. It’s somewhat similar to Timephoon, where they’re there constantly and are doing their own bid to solve the story but the focus isn’t primarily on them. Instead, we have some of the best “HDL actually matter to the story” bits of the show, where they escape Bulba’s prison on their own and lead Bradford out, all the while slowly figuring out that something is shady about the guy. Meanwhile, Scrooge gets stuck in the original Ducktales universe’s most memed scene, which was a fun gag (but not the best gag - that would be the one and only Bonkers D. Bobcat as the Harvey Bullock-style cop in the Darkwing show).

Which I suppose can lead to a digression about the mad science bit here. The alternate universes here are… interesting. I always pay special attention to how things like time travel or other dimensions or alternate universes work in a series, and this one reminds me the most - I think - of DC’s Dark Multiverse: a collection of universes that are both explicitly fictional but made real because people created them. Ultimately, it’s less as if the OG Darkwing universe exists independently of the Ducktales universe and more that the in-universe Darkwing show as a world based off of it that the characters can reach into. I wish the episode had delved into that more, and now you’ve got people trying to use it to look for more establishment of OG Darkwing elements (though I was fine with it being separate, perceiving anything else as rather needlessly inexplicable), but ultimately that is not specifically what the episode is about, and is kept rather separate.

So what is the episode about? Like you didn’t already know…

As always, Gosalyn Waddlemeyer is a little girl whose grandfather was done away with by Taurus Bulba, and who falls into Darkwing’s lap over the course of his adventure with him. Here, her grandfather is (possibly) still alive, just lost in the ether a la Gravity Falls’ Grunkle Ford. And like the mighty glazed McGuffin, Darkwing’s goal in the episode is less strictly defeating Bulba as it is helping her get her grandfather and her home back. Gosalyn here is self-sufficient and action oriented (it may be my inner Brooklyn 99 fan talking, but I loved Stephanie Beatriz as her, and kind of wish she had gotten a wider range of lines), taking on her own crusade against Bulba until she realizes she can go to Darkwing for help, and is constantly trying to pull him into the fight - even while he is reluctant, and no matter what the danger - so that they can win and she can get justice. But in the end, she has to accept that they might not be able to.

As a longtime Batman fan, I immediately recognized a plethora of Robin references with Gosalyn. She’s a kid who’s family was taken from her by a villain, given a surrogate home by the hero - like Dick Grayson. She’s a street tough who originally met the hero committing a crime, and who is both skeptical of his heroism and heavily critical of his flaws - like Jason Todd. And she’s a young genius with a lot of scientific knowledge, tech skills and common sense - just like Tim Drake. There’s even elements of Carrie Kelley or Terry McGinnis there, in her determined if not gung-ho approach to heroism despite her circumstances and the hermit-like behavior of the hero.

And in the end, this is a fairly apt comparison, because Gosalyn essentially ends the story more as a Robin figure than previously, now as Darkwing’s more of a ward and official sidekick alongside Launchpad. The story does not, to note, involve her being adopted by Drake or becoming Gosalyn Mallard. Indeed, they don’t really end up having that sort of relationship. They’re distant and don’t really know how to relate to one another, and not about to broach the subject of family except in distant terms. There’s ultimately far less emphasis than before on Gosalyn and Drake being similar and hitting it off on a personal level, or even really Drake keying into Gosalyn’s potential and spirit as a person vs an element in his adventure. Throughout the story he regards her as a victim to be saved, then ultimately as an ally with potential to be respected, and in the end he gives her an offer to take up the mantle along side him while they search for her family… which ultimately creates something very different.

For people expecting something a little more akin to the implications the show made with Gyro and BOYD, Gosalyn here. The implication that they could be a family is brought up by Launchpad, but neither Drake nor Gosalyn are really there at the end of the story - I want to say they’re not there yet, but the way the story goes gives off the impression that the dynamic duo dichotomy is the relationship for the two the writing is most comfortable giving them.

Again, I’m a longtime Batman fan, so I understand and appreciate the nod. It gives them a really cool status quo that’s distinct from what came before it. Still, the strong father/daughter relationship between the two was very much the heart and soul of the original show, an endearing quality that created the character traits we love about both characters, and ultimately one of the primary characteristics that set the Darkwing family apart even from most comic book superhero stars - so even if they made something great out of it, it’s a shame to see Ducktales ultimately keep that relationship at arms’ length.

But that’s less a criticism and more just something I wish they had chosen to do differently - and it makes sense for the 2017 team’s take on Darkwing, which has always been more focused on “irrepressible hero who doesn’t give up” - a pluckie rookie growing into his competence - than “former fool whose great potential is unleashed through the people around him.” The latter is there, sometimes, but it’s not prominent. Original Darkwing was a man made better by his daughter, while the modern Darkwing doesn’t quite need that to find the hero within.

The only (and I mean only) criticism I have is the way the characters kind of jump around in how they respond to things. Drake wanting more crime, and then freaking out when super crime shows up and it’s way more than he thought he can handle is fine, and is one of the better character bits in the special. It being unclear whether Drake is against fighting supervillains because he thinks they’re too powerful vs because he doesn’t want to risk Gosalyn’s safety is another thing, though - it seems the show intended to imply the latter but forgot to include the line somewhere, so it’s not inferred until later and Drake suddenly benching Gos towards the end lacks set-up.

For her part, Gosalyn is suddenly and quickly afraid to fight for a brief moment so Launchpad can inspire her to face impossible odds, even though it was hardly the first time she had done so in the special. The ending I think wanted the characters to be somewhere that the rest of the special hadn’t gotten them to yet. But it’s all good - it ends well, so all’s well. Best gag of the episode, btw? Fenton, who is awful at keeping his secret identity secret, has hooked up Darkwing with his own hi-tech hero lair. Darkwing, despite supposedly being a detective (or at least an actor playing a detective), ends up as one of the two or three people remaining on Earth who hasn’t figured out that Fenton is Gizmoduck. Darkwing considers himself good friends with Fenton, despite hating Gizmoduck. It’s actually very funny.

It’s as of now unclear what is coming up for Darkwing. We know the St. Canard characters are going to factor in more as the FOWL plot progresses, and this episode kicks that plot into high gear - the characters now know about FOWL and their intentions, and are preparing themselves for a far more dangerous fight than usual. In short, with the midseason comes the renewed focus on the primary plot of the season, as per the usual. Like I said before, while I’m not as on board as most with the idea that this was a pilot, St. Canard was definitely established here - with series regular Zan Owlson as it’s new mayor, and a general aesthetic and set of protagonists. It wouldn’t be remiss for a future episode this season to take place there (though we know Negaduck isn’t happening this season).

The new few episodes, however, are focused more on the quest for Finch’s treasures and FOWL, so that’s going to have to wait for a while. We’ve been promised, as I recall, an episode that brings all the kids together (unless that’s part of the finale), which is nice - I may have mentioned before that the best episodes of the series have been the ones that put the kids (who are the characters with the most focus throughout its run) together and let all their personalities run through an adventure together - and with the cast growing somewhat constantly, it’s nice to know that no one is being forgotten.

Either way, I give the episode a great deal of recommendation - I only had a couple things that bothered me, and a few wishes for different choices, and ultimately I’m planning on watching it a ton of times just like I did the first Darkwing episode. From a classic Darkwing fan, and in the words of Bat-Mite, it’s a different intepretation to be sure, but not at all one without merit.

So thanks to Frank Angones, Matt Youngberg and the Ducktales crew! I hope my virtual thumbs up reaches them somehow, but either way, it was a good day to be dangerous.

#ducktales 2017 #lets get dangerous #darkwing duck #gosalyn mallard #launchpad mcquack #scrooge mcduck #huey dewey and louie #taurus bulba #FOWL #bradford buzzard #90s animation #reboot #awesome #keen gear #Animated Minds for Animated Times #Frank Angones #matt youngberg #disney afternoon #crossover #animation review #television review

[sillydg]

The icy touch of two damaged hearts (Ethan X MC)

Pairing: Ethan x F!MC ((Elisabeth Sarah Hughes (Liz))

With guest stars Liam, Maxwell, and Drake (The Royal Romance).

Book: Open Heart Book 2, two months after Ethan’s return from the Amazon.

Rating: 18+ Mature

Summary: Ethan breaks up with Liz after his return from the Amazon and completely shuts her out. Two months later, Liz finds herself in Kismet, New York for a bachelor party of her cousin, when there is an attack on the crown prince. Ethan realizes that he could have lost her, and Sienna drops the Mic.

Drake gets shot, and Liz decides to help Liam by taking them back in secrecy to Boston’s Edenbrook, where she has a surprising rendezvous with a jealous Ethan.

Category: Mini-series part one; Angst; pining.

Warnings/triggers: Mention of shooting with fatal unknown victims/ blood/ Language (some sexual terms and swearing)

Wordcount: 6.000

A/N: My submission for: “AND THERE’S SOME GOOD OL’ PINING” I hope I did well on the pining part for both Ethan as Liz. 😊 @openheartfanfics​.

A/N: I’m not medically schooled so there could be major errors in this story, please forgive me for it 😊

A/N: Sorry, It turned out longer than anticipated, so I decided to turn it into a two or three-piece mini-series. A bit nervous to post it, but if you decide to read it, thank you! Thank you!

A/N: I used my whole tag list for this one and I’m planning to do more cross-overs in the future. Please feel free to let me know if you’re not interested in cross-overs.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry

Mini Series: Shattered

The icy touch of two damaged hearts

“Ethan!” Bryce burst into his office without knocking and walks directly towards the television. “Have you heard of Liz the past ten minutes?”

Ethan reacts without looking up from his file. “Bryce. I know that we work out regularly, but that doesn’t mean you just can barge in here like a savage on a rampage.”

Bryce feels how quickly he is losing his patience. While searching for the remote he snaps at Ethan; “I just asked you one fucking simple question, Ramsey, did she or did she not sent you a text, call you, or sent you a carrier pigeon for all I care.”

His eyes snap up from the folder at the urgency in Bryce's voice and it takes one glance to see that something is seriously wrong.

“No, I haven’t heard anything from her the past two days. She’s at her cousin's Emma bachelorette party in New York, remember?”

“Ohh, I remember, I do remember. Well, maybe she texted you the last three hours Ramsey, check your phone before you speak and give me the fucking remote.”

Ramsey throws the remote from his desk towards Bryce, before grabbing his mobile phone out of the drawer. He already knows that she didn’t reach out for him, since he checked his phone right before Bryce’s dramatic entrance. He threw it in the drawer as soon as the door opened, since he didn’t want anyone to know how pathetic he has been the past two days. Checking his phone every minute, desperately to hear something from her, even though he very well knew that those days were over. She moved on, he knew it fromt the moment she stopped sending those stupid texts. The ones he secretly adored so much. And it hurted him more than he would like to admit.

The television comes to life and Bryce finds the NewsChannel. The voice of the news reporter fills the room and Ethan looks up to the screen.

"It has been seven minutes since the attack on the club Kismet, New York. As far as we know there are at least twenty people hurt and three confirmed deaths. The target of the attack seemed to be the crown prince of Cordonia, Liam Rys, who was celebrating his bachelor week in New York, in honor of his upcoming marriage with Riley Baskens next month. At this moment, we have no further information about his well-being.

The situation is under control and two of the shooters are arrested, one has been shot. The definite number of victims will be confirmed later tonight. We will keep you posted.

Now in other news.."

Bryce mutes the television as Sienna walks in.

Ethan stares frozen at the tv, complete in shock, thoughts running all over the place. She said that she was going to Kismet for the bachelor party, but it also could be yesterday night. Or did she say tonight? No, it couldn't be tonight, right? It couldn't be... Right? Right?

"Ethan...Ethan?" He hears blurry voices in the back of his head, but his thoughts are screaming so loud that he couldn't reach them.

"I think he's in shock."

"Check his vitals. He is still breathing, everything seems to be fine, but we cannot reach him."

"He needs to lie down."

All the voices start to blur together and suddenly. Silence.

A hospital in New York, one hour after the attack.

Liz is sitting in a secluded examination-room, at a hospital in New York. She taps nervously with her feet against the chair leg, her broken phone on the table.

Her hand joins in on the tapping as she gets more nervous by the minute. One of the doctors told her, ten minutes ago, that he would be right back, with a phone to call her friends and an update on Drake. But who was she kidding? She knows how these things go. An emergency, a resident asking a question, results, and before you know it, the first thing on your list is forgotten.

And oooh, it killed her that she was not able to reach out to her friends.

To Ethan...

Ohhhhh no, no, no Hughes. Do not go there.

She jumps up from her chair, pacing back and forth through the room, trying to avoid her thoughts running off, and ignoring the feelings that come up in her belly anyway.

Because, God, no matter how hard she tries to deny it, she would give the world right now for his arms around her. To hear his voice, whispering that things were going to be okay. Her head against his chest, gently stroking her hair, calming her heartbeat at the sound of his.

She starts to murmur under her breath. "God, that stupid asshole."

She hated that he still had that effect on her, even after everything that happened the past four months. And with a deep sigh, her thoughts start to drift off to unwanting territory. After the hearing, they finally dared to take their relationship to the next level. And that, after a year of pushing and pulling by Ethan, has been such a relief. She hoped, against better judgment, that things were going to be more steady from that time on. But sadly, nothing appeared to be further from the truth.

Because only a few days after that night, she returned to work, only to find his desk empty. He just got up and left, said yes when the offer hit his desk. Rumors came to ear that there was not a spark of hesitation when he was asked to fight an epidemic in the Amazon.

So he went. Without a single word. And for two following months, he kept her in the dark. Two months of complete radio silence.

The days passing by slowly. Counting down, till the day of his return.

She knew that he would land early in the morning. Hoping to hear an early knock on the door. But that knock never came, it turned noon and she had to work a late shift. Maybe his flight has been delayed. That could be the only reason why he still hasn't reached out to me, right?

Checking her phone every minute, when she accidentally overheard two nurses gossip, learning that Ethan Ramsey had arrived a day early. He already was a whole day in Boston. Without reaching out to her. Like she meant nothing to him. And that became painfully clear the moment their eyes finally met in two months, later that night in the garden of Donahue’s.

His eyes cold, his greeting short, and platonic.

He didn't even had the nerve to come up to her. She was the one who had to come up to him, only to hear that he made up his mind about her. He told her how he had time to think. That the distance did him well and that he realizes that she would never be anything more to him, than just another co-worker. And that was that. Without further explanation. Clinical. Practical. Ice cold. And she just had to deal with it.

He stopped calling her Rookie, the nickname she adored so much. Even 'Liz' went out of the window. And the once teasingly tone of 'Dr. Hughes' disappeared and turned into a knife to the chest every time he called out to her.

Clinical, practical, and Ice cold.

He had pushed her away many times before in the first year after they met. But after every push, always came a pull, making so that she desperately held on to the thought that he would be coming around eventually.

But the pull never came. And she tried, oh yes she tried so hard to get him to realize that he made a mistake. That she wasn't just another co-worker. That what they shared was real.

She tried to find his hand, aching for comfort. To meet his eyes, hoping that he would look at her like he once did.

But as time went by, it became painfully clear, that it was time to admit that he had pushed and let go of the rope. And God did it hurt. It hurted like fucking hell.

She was barely holding on from the moment she admitted it to herself. He was over her. Or maybe he was never even into her, to begin with. But did it really matter? Because eventually, the result stayed the same. She was nothing more than just another co-worker to him.

She found herself bound together by treads and duck tape, and in her last breath, she decided that there was only one thing she could do. She turned cold, practical, and clinical. Defenses up, survival mode engaged. She simply stopped trying. She stopped making a fool out of herself. Eventually, she even started dating again but ended things as soon as he asked to be his girlfriend.

Because, how much she tried to deny it, the longing remained. Her feelings remained. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Liz?"

She looks up, right into the eyes of a blond, tall man.

"Yes, that's me."

The man walks up to her and he extends his hand. "Liam Rys, I'm a friend of Drake."

She stands up and without thinking, she offers her hand to shake his. But as soon as she notices Liam staring down, she follows his gaze and realizes that she's still covered in blood.

She immediately pulls back. "I'm sorry, I just got here and all I could think of was calling my friends." She glances at her broken phone with a long face. "Please sit." And she sits down again, Liam taking place beside her.

Liz starts to tap with her fingers again, leaning with her arms onto the table. "So, how is Drake? Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, he is going to be okay. Though, that's all thanks to you. He uhh," Liam lets his gaze drift over her bloodied clothing, realizing that most of it, is probably his friend's blood, "lost a lot of blood, and if you weren't there to stabilize him... I don't want to know what would have happened."

"First of all, he saved my life by shielding me, and second of all, it's second nature. I'm a doctor, located in Boston. So, I acted without thinking."

Shifting uneasy in her seat, she looks at her phone again. It's been twenty minutes now and the doctor still hasn't returned. For god's sake.

"You know, you can use mine if you wa.." The phone in Liam's hand starts to vibrate. "I'm sorry I need to take this. Dad!" And he gets up and walks towards an adjacent office, closing the door behind him.

Liz sits back in her chair, trying to maintain her patience with all the effort in the world; as Liam suddenly moves back into the room, his phone still against his ear.

"Yes, dad I know. But I'm not leaving Drake behind." She turns in her seat and he shoots her a panicking look.

"I know we have to leave New York... I know... I know... No, Drake's in surgery right now for at least two more hours...Again I'm not leaving him behind and a plane takes too long. He is not stable enough to fly eight hours straight... NO... Wait... Dad, Do you think Boston will be safe enough for now? Okay... Yes... Okay... Hold on...

He turns to Liz, muting his phone; "I think I need your help.

Ethan woke up to find Naveen staring at him. He scans the room and finds himself on the couch in Naveen's office.

He sits slowly up, hand against his head. "What happened."

Naveen smiles softly at him and he puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You went into shock and fainted after you've heard of the attack at Kismet."

"So, it wasn't just a bad dream?"

Naveen shakes his head with a deep sigh.

"Has she reached out to anyone yet? Are we even sure that she was in Kismet?"

"We haven't heard from her yet. And yes, we are sure. Sienna had contact with her before she entered the club."

Ethan rests his heavy head in his hands; "But they could've changed clubs, right? There is an actual chance that she wasn't in there. And there must be some logical explanation for why she hasn't contacted us yet, maybe her phone broke or her battery is dead. I can't just sit around here, I need to do something."

"Ethan, please just calm down. You've just fainted. You really need the rest. Elijah keeps an eye out for the lists that hospitals publish as they admit victims, Sienna tries to get in contact with Emma and Bryce is calling the rest of the group to join us. Rafael is already on his way. There is nothing you can do right now, Ethan. The only thing we can do is wait."

"But what if.."

"I'm not letting you finish that sentence, Son. As you said, there must be a perfectly good reason for her not to reach out to us. You just rest, please."

"But how can I rest.. she's... Oh, God." He closes his tired eyes and rubs them.

Naveen sits down beside Ethan. "I know, son."

All of the sudden, Naveen's phone starts to buzzz, making both men jump.

Ethan reaches for the phone first, and with one glance at the screen, he notices that it's an unknown caller, nevertheless he's answering it without hesitation.

"Liz?"

-------

Liz startles as she hears Ethan's voice through the phone, while she was expecting Naveen. She even removes the phone from her ear to check if she accidentally dialed the wrong number.

She hears Ethan call out to her again, and slowly she brings the phone back to her ear;

"Liz? Are you there?"

Is he calling me Liz? Why is he calling me Liz?

She whispers shakenly, clenching her hand into a fist, trying to ignore the flutter in her chest as he calls out to her like that; "Ethan?"

"O God, Liz! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, and my cousin Emma is okay, but I... I..."

Need you to hold me. I need you to tell me things are going to be okay. Please... Please tell me you love me and that you lied, that it was all a big mistake. That you will never let me go. Please.

Her eyes are tearing up, and she feels how Liam grabs her hand to give it a gentle squeeze, even though it's still covered in blood.

-------

Ethan holds his breath, waiting for her to finish the sentence. But it remains silent. He had never experienced silence as excruciating as this one. And he lived for silence. And after what felt like an eternity, it overtook him, making him break it with nothing more than a whisper: "Liz..."

Please come back to me. Please. I will hold you. Tell you what a fool I've been. But please. End this nightmare, come home, be safe.

-------

Liz swallows as he falss silent again, clearly not able to finish his sentence. But the longer the silence lasts, the more time she gets to breathe and she slowly becomes of the first shock. The pleasure of hearing her name on his lips gets devoured by the pain that she felt over the last few months. It was too late. He was too late.

Do not fall for it again. Do not get hope. You will not be able to survive another push.

And with those thoughts, she manages to recollect herself. She puts on her cold work voice, the one she perfected to survive, over the past few months.

"It's Dr. Hughes. I'm looking for Naveen, Dr. Ramsey. Can you please pass the phone to him?"

-------

Ethan swallows and looks up to Naveen. Visible pain in his eyes.

Her cold words hit him like a punch to the chest, and he was barely able to breathe from the moment her voice turned from warm to cold in a matter of seconds.

Ethan points the phone at Naveen. "She, she wants to talk to you."

Naveen sees the look on Ethan's turn from relief to pain in a matter of seconds. He takes the phone from him and puts it to his ear. "Okay, Liz. I'm listening."

Liz hangs up the phone, still startled from her earlier surprising encounter with Ethan, as Liam looks at her in question.

She gives him a small smile, trying to ignore her stomach twisting, repressing tears. "Everything is settled, Liam. We'll do our best to keep this transfer a secret, which means only involving the closest of my friends. As soon as Rafael arrives at Edenbrook, they will be sending him on his way over here. He will be flying the helicopter and I'll be the one keeping an eye on Drake's stability during the flight. But, we can only do this if he is stable enough after surgery because we'll be up in the air for about one and a half-hour and that's always a risk."

"I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to repay you for this, Liz. First for saving him and now this..."

"The fact that you don't want to leave your friend behind, says enough about you Liam, so no need to thank me. Though I could really use a shower and some fresh clothes. Since we have time on our hands waiting for Rafael to arrive and for Drake's surgery to finish up."

"The lady requested clean clothes, the lady gets clean clothes." Another man walks into the office and she turns at his voice. Even though he looked very tired, his brown hair messy, his blue eyes sparkled nevertheless and he put a wide smile up as he sees her.

"Everything for the woman who saved our grumpiest and bests of buds."

He gives her a set of clean scrubs and suddenly pulls her in for a big hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

She pats the still unknown man on the back; "You realize that I'm still covered in blood, right?"

"I couldn't care less. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for saving our grumpy old Drake."

"Maxwell, give Liz some breathing space."

"Sorry..." And he lets go of her.

"No, it's fine, really. But please don't thank me. Drake saved me first, by taking that bullet."

"Nope, still saying thank you.

She smiles softly. "And well, thank you for the clean clothes, Maxwell."

"You're welcome. The doctor who gave me these said that you can take a shower in one of the employees' dressing rooms."

She turns to Liam; "There is a chance that Naveen will call you since my phone flatlined. So, that being said, is there anything I can do for you guys before I'll take up the showering offer."

"Nope, you've done so much for us already. Just take that shower and I'll fill Maxwell in on the plan and let's meet right here in about an hour?"

She nods, walking out of the door. At least she was able to talk to Naveen for a little bit, letting them know she's alright. She makes her way towards the dressing room, ready for cleaning up and a good session of shower crying.

Naveen hangs up the phone with a sigh. "Come on, we need to find Sienna, Bryce, and Elijah.

Together they walk towards the diagnostic room where the three have gathered. As soon as the two men enter, the three heads snap in their direction, one unified question written all over their faces. Ethan takes place on the edge of his desk.

Naveen closes the door behind them, looking around the room; "I just got off the phone with Liz..."

Sienna starts to shake as the adrenaline leaves her body, her eyes start to tear up; "Is.. is she okay? Can we talk to her?"

"She's not injured and she's as fine as one can be after experiencing such a traumatic event. But her mobile phone is broken. I currently have contact with her through one a phones of the guy who she's with at this very moment. I expect her to arrive here in about three to four hours. You'll be able to talk to her then."

Relief showing on the three faces and Sienna starts to sniff softly. Bryce pulls her in for a hug.

Ethan, however, tries to hide the horror running through his body, the minute he heard of this 'other man'.

She's with another man? At the hospital?

Not for a minute, he thought of the fact that she did call with an unknown number, his brain was too relieved that she was alive and well. But now, this sudden feeling of jealously overwhelming him, grabbing him at the throat, making it harder and harder to breathe.

"But..." Naveen raises his voice a little, looking straight at Ethan, making him snap out of his thoughts. "She needs our help. So please tell me. I know that Rafael is already on his way, but was anyone of you able to reach Jackie?"

Elijah nods. "Yes, she'll be here in an hour or two. She is on a family visit, so she'll be here as soon as she can."

"Good, because we can use all the help we can get."

At that moment, Rafael runs through the door. "Is she alright?"

Naveen turns and smiles at him. "Yes, she is fine. But the two of us need to talk. Please walk with me, Rafael. And for the rest of you. Get some rest, take a nap and please inform me the soon as Jackie arrives. I'll explain everything then. Oh, and Ethan, I'll find you in a bit after I've talked to Rafael here." He looks around the room as nobody moves.

"Now, I believe you guys getting some rest was not a suggestion, it's an order. Come on, off to the restrooms. It's going to be a long night."

Sienna pauses next to an absent-looking Ethan as she watches everyone walking out of the room. "Dr. Ramsey, are you okay?"

"Mmh?"

Sienna talks softly, still sniffing a bit. "Are you okay? You've taken quite the beating."

"I'll be fine, Dr. Trinh, especially now I know she's alright. Thank you for asking."

She nods, taking the hint, and walks towards the door. But then she changes her mind, collects all her courage, and lingers in the doorway staring at Ethan.

He speaks while staring in the distance; "What is it, Dr. Trinh, speak your mind or go. Whatever, makes you stop looking at me like that."

"Don't you think it's time to drop the act, Dr. Ramsey?"

His head snaps towards her at the sudden dedication in her voice. "What did you say, Dr. Thinh?"

"Well, the whole; 'You're just another co-worker' and 'I want to keep my distance' act you've been playing towards Liz the past two months. Don't you think it's time to let her know how you feel about her?"

"But she IS just a colleague and she means nothing more to me. So WHY on earth would I tell her that?"

Sienna sighs. "You can keep lying to her and to yourself Ethan. But the look I witnessed on your face tonight, speaks more than a thousand words. And if we can draw a lesson out of what happened, is that life is unpredictable and that we sometimes have less time than we initially anticipated. So tell me, Dr. Ramsey, Why keep wasting it?" She turns around and walks away through the door, leaving a wide-eyed Ethan behind.

Naveen walks in after ten minutes, and Ethan is still staring at the door where Sienna just called him out on his bullshit.

He walks towards Ethan and guides him, with a hand on his shoulder, to the sofa. "Come on, let's talk."

Ethan pops onto the couch with a sigh, hands turning into fists on his upper legs; "Save it, Naveen. I already had the speech ten minutes ago from Dr. Trinh. I do not wish to hear it again."

Naveen takes place beside him. "I see." He falls silent, sits back, and folds his hands together. "So, given your defensive attitude, I take it that you are trying your hardest to disagree with her, while you know she is right?"

Ethan stares into the distance, thinking about Naveen's question, the words of Sienna replaying in his head.

Sienna is right and he very well knows it.

But he also can't forget that he made his decision for a reason.

The two months in the Amazon, created enough distance between the two of them to clear his mind. He came to realize that their relationship, or whatever it was, was only jeopardizing her development as a doctor, holding her back to come to her full potential.

After arriving early in Boston, he decided that it was best to avoid being alone with her.

Because he very well knew that if he was going to be alone with her, he was not going to be strong enough to say the words he planned to say and that they were one touch away from disaster. So, he needed to be sure that she was in a safe environment, with her friend, which led him to one conclusion: Donahue’s after her late-night shift. He remembers how hard it was, locking eyes with her the first time in two months. He wanted to sweep her off the bench, take her in his arms and kiss her until she saw stars, not caring that her friend would see every piece of affection.

But instead, he greeted her platonically, forcing her to come to him for an explanation, like the fucking coward he was.

And when she came up to him, he ripped the bandaid off. Telling her to stay away and that she would never be anything more than just another co-worker to him.

He stopped calling her Rookie, stopped responding to her work unrelated text messages, and avoided all physical contact.

Because she tried, she tried so hard to get close again the months after. Reaching for his hand. Touching his shoulder, his arm.

Searching to meet his eyes in meetings. Looking for anything to hold onto, aching for comfort. But he gave her nothing. He kept his walls up, his eyes cold and contact work-related.

And he had to. There was no other way, because he very well knew, the moment that he would touch that hand, meet those eyes... that he would crumble into thousand pieces and give in with all of him. And he very well knew that if that would happen, she would end up being hurt again. And he had to prevent that at all costs.

Only after a week, he heard careful rumors about her being back on the market. He noticed how people got excited because of it. And it ate him up, these co-workers drooling over his woman. His woman.

But it wasn't until one and a half months later, that he found out that she carefully started dating again. He didn't know the guy, but he remembers lying awake from that moment on, thinking about her kissing and touching another man. At her smiling at him, the way she used to smile at him. The smile he adored, that got him out of bed in the morning. Or rather, made him stay.

He got sick at the thought of her having sex with someone else, but still, there was no way for him to stop thinking about it. It consumed his mind, ate him up, making him pull up his defenses even more. It made him downright mean to her from time to time, just to make sure she stayed far, far away from him.

He met the guy once. Without a warning, this man suddenly walked into his office. This muscled, handsome idiot, with his grin, his tux, and a big bouquet of red roses in hand. Daring to pick her up for a surprise date, and asking him, as her boss and only her boss, if she could leave early today because he had something special planned for her.

He wanted to punch his face, tell him that he was not good enough for her, to fuck off and never return.

But instead, he said that it was okay. He paged her, lured her to his office by announcing an emergency meeting. And after that, he left the room. He stood there at the window, the minute she got in. He watched her as a beautiful smile appeared on her face, as he pulled her close, as their lips touched. Hands roaming over her body. He wanted to look away. But, he simply couldn't.

You did this Ramsey. You did this to her. To yourself. Look at it. Feel it. Never forget it.

Not long after, he heard that she broke things off with the guy. He should have been happy about it, hoping that she would be willing to give him another chance, but it became crystal clear that she was already over him. He had turned into nothing more than a co-worker to her. She stopped sending him useless texts. Stopped with reaching for his hand and stopped searching for his eyes at their daily meetings. Her walls came up, her eyes turned cold.

And the only one he could thank him for it was himself. He did this. And there was no way to forget it.

Suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to his office. Naveen gives him a gentle look as he softly starts to speak; "Welcome back, Son. Given your facial expressions, I figure that you were having some pretty intense thoughts about this whole situation and the question I just asked you. Care to share those?"

Ethan, still a bit flustered because of the rollercoaster he just went through, rubs his hand over his face. "I'm... I'm not sure." He felt so empty.

Naveen's phone starts to buzz again, Ethan's eyes snap up. "Is it..."

Naveen grabs the phone out of his pocket, looks at the number on the screen, and nods. "I'll be taking this call in my office, Ethan. But I need you to lie down, get some rest because we are in for a long night.

Let's finish this conversation later, give you the chance to let some of those thoughts sink in. You have a lot to think about. He lays a comforting hand on Ethan's shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze. After letting go, he picks up his phone and walks out of the door. "Hi, Liz?"

Ethan turns and lies down on the couch, completely drained, barely able to keep his eyes open. Maybe just for a few minutes. And before he knows it, he falls into a deep, troubled sleep.

"Ethan, Ethan..."

Ethan sits up in a second as a hand on his shoulder wakes him up, his heart beating in his chest.

"Easy there, Son."

He looks once again in the eyes of Naveen, sitting on his knees next to the couch. Naveen gets up and gives Ethan a worried look. "She's here, Ethan, come with me."

Liz is here? In the hospital? How long has he been out?

Ethan gets up; "But I missed the briefing."

"You did, but I thought, after all the things you've experienced tonight, that it was best to let you sleep. Given the circumstances, it's not going to be the last rollercoaster of emotions you are going to experience tonight."

He follows Naveen out of the door and into the hallway.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, to a room very familiar to me."

"What?"

"I figured, where best to keep someone whose admission needs to be a secret here at Edenbrook."

They walk towards the 'Under construction' part in the basement of the hospital and as soon as Ethan walks through the plastic barrier into the construction site, his eyes fall onto the room where Naveen was admitted in secret almost a year ago.

And to his surprise, it's buzzing with people. He sees Bryce and Rafael hanging up a plastic screen in front of the big windows. In the middle of the room, there is a hospital bed with an unknown man in it. Two unknown men are standing beside the bed and Jackie and Elijah are running some tests. He scans for Liz, but she's nowhere to be found.

He walks around the corner, his heart pounding in his chest. The tension in his body rising, making it almost impossible to breathe.

And there she is, dressed in scrubs, wrapped in a tight hug with Sienna, tears rolling over her cheeks.

Her eyes snapping up, meeting his over Sienna's shoulder.

Sienna immediately notices Liz's heart rate going up and she breaks the hug. She turns, not the slightest surprised to find Ethan standing there.

Naveen reaches out to Siena and lays a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we go inside, Sienna, to see how the patient is doing." Sienna nods and gives Liz's hand a gentle squeeze. "You okay with this?"

Liz nods, whiping away a few last tears, and Sienna follows Naveen inside.

As soon as the door closes behind Naveen and Sienna, Ethan starts walking towards her. He isn't sure what the hell he is doing, but he is not able to stop his feet.

Liz folds her arms, completely closing up, averting his eyes; "Well, I thought that I told Naveen only to include my closest friends, not my icy boss."

He immediately freezes at the hardness in her words. What the hell did you expect Ramsey? That she would welcome you with open arms, after how you've been treating her the past four months. You deserve every fucking piece of this and much, much more.

He just stares at her, allowing himself to really see her for the first time in two months. She looks so tired, so empty and he feels his heart shatter, realizing that he was the one who hurt her like this. The one who did this to her.

"Well, are you going to enlighten me with words, Dr. Ramsey, or are you going to keep staring at me like the idiot you are."

"Liz, are you... I mean..."

"Again. It's Dr. Hughes. And I'm fine; don't pretend to care, please, it's a waste of time for both of us."

Her eyes snap to his and they meet for just a second. And he could swear that there was a moment where her eyes soften, right before turning cold again. He stays silent, lost for words.

Liz frowns at the lack of words; "Well, this was a fruitful conversation, now I suggest you leave. I don't need you here. I don't want you here." She turns to disappear through the door, but a hand encircling her wrist stops her from going inside.

She freezes at the first physical contact they had in four months, staring dumbfoundedly at his hand encircling her wrist. Her heart pounding in her chest as she feelt how this simple touch is completly destroying all her defenses. Her barricade shattered in a million pieces on the floor before she knows it .

Ethan feels his heartbeat rise the moment he touches her soft, warm skin, overwhelmed by the longing he has been suppressing over the past few months. He was not able to think straight anymore and he softly moves his hand from her wrist towards her hand, entwining his fingers cautiously in hers.

Liz swallows as she lets it happen, taken over by his touch, making her weak as a lamb. He slowly guides her back to the covered window, away from the door.

He is still looking to meet her eyes, but her blues remained fixated on their hands, so scared that if she averted those for just a second, that she would wake up, realizing that it was just one of the many dreams she had of him touching her.

She leans against the covered window, desperate looking for support. He gently takes her other hand in his, laying it on his chest, his heart still pounding like crazy.

And suddenly her eyes snap up. Finally ready to believe that this was happening, but also immediately realizing that she made an incredibly bad mistake by meeting his eyes.

There was no turning back, as he takes a step forward, slowly leaning in. The hand on his chest escapes, and she moves it invitingly towards his neck.

Both scared of what doors they just opened. Both aware of the mistake they are about to make.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he stops with his lips right before hers. Waiting for permission, for her to close the distance. His breath, warm on her lips.

He lets her familiar, intoxicating scent in, and it feels like coming home; "Ohhh Rookie; I missed you so much..." He takes her cheek in his hand, and she leans into his touch, fluttering her eyelashes. And right as she leans forward to give in...

"Ahem" Ethan's and Liz's heads snap towards the sound, both completely flustered.

Liam is having a hard time composing himself as he starts to speak in a clearly political voice.

"I'm sorry to disturb the two of you, but Drake's awake and he, well, asks for you, Liz."

Ethan snaps his head back to Liz, who avoids his eyes at all costs, and all of the sudden the pieces fall in place.

He takes two steps back, disbelief appearing on his face and Liz swallows hard as he turns on his heels and storms out of the basement.

She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath as she whispers; "Coming!"

Next: Part two: When springs sets in.

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