#that normally wouldn't go in a produce fridge

[victorluvsalice]

-->And with that, it was finally off to Van Liddelton Groceries once more! Alice got to open the place up this time, though first, I had her set the prices to “Sale” (aka 15% markup) down from the regular 25% markup. Why? Because they DO NOT need the money, and I wanted to see if stuff would sell faster if it was a little cheaper. She then got sent to have some zoomies to deal with her slowly-growing Fury (no wolfing out at work!) while Victor bunked down for a nap in the break room and Smiler went out to handle the sales floor (after consulting their future cube for advice, since I wanted them to do something while waiting for customers – “the cube abides,” apparently)! Amusingly, the very first Sim to show up for the day was L. Faba – guess she was tired of Morgyn getting all the attention whenever the gang visited the Magic Realm. XD (Which reminds me, I really gotta bind Victor’s dragon familiar to him already...) Anyway, after a bit of lag, Smiler was able to let off one of their patented vampiric happiness bursts for the incoming customers and chat with Catarina Lynx for a bit to try and convince her to buy stuff –

-->And then Alice came back, and I decided that I wanted her to make some more food downstairs rather than force her to chat with customers. A decision that led to me transferring $40,000 of their household funds over to the store so I could upgrade the downstairs kitchen area with the best Schmapple fridges and ovens, and add a counter by the corner so I could put in a stand mixer, a waffle iron, and a pizza oven! All in the blue swatches, since I thought those looked nice. :) I then had Alice use the bulk food processors from Simsonian Library to process some potato flour so she could whip up a batch of dough –

-->Aaand suddenly EVERYONE WAS BUYING SHIT. Yeah, apparently cheaper prices DO encourage more sales. I quickly had Alice run up there to help Smiler with the initial rush (since Victor was still working on taking care of his needs) – Catarina picked up a loaf of cheesy bread for $71; Christen a jar of blueberry jam for $80; and Janae a small mushroom for $5. We got a brief break while some of the customers got distracted by the sight of celebrity Brytani Cho in the store (long enough for Victor to get up and go to the bathroom), but after that and another annoying case of lag, the sales started coming again, with Bella Goth grabbing a box of dried sage for $413, and L. Faba getting a box of cheese for $621. I took a moment to check downstairs and saw that Alice’s dough was ready, so I had her go downstairs and grab that –

Aaand got an LE as she did so. However, that was shortly followed by customer Olivia grabbing an avocado from the produce fridges/warming racks, so I think the LE was actually related to that – specifically, to my Brazen Lotus stuff. Meh. At least I'm pretty sure I know what it is (the game doesn’t have a proper animation to play if a Sim is getting a normally-not-allowed-in-produce-fridges item out of a produce fridge, so it goes “hey”) and that it’s not TOO game-breaking!

#sims 4 #the lazy save #victor van dort #alice liddell #smiler always #yeah I'd been meaning to lower their prices for a while now #as stated they do NOT need the money #and I want to get this place emptied so I can rethink what I want to sell and how I want to sell it #thinking of going toward a more 'prepared foods' model #we will see #in the meantime you can see things remain pretty busy on the lot #good thing Smiler loves socializing :p #and Victor and Alice can tolerate it :p #and I liked upgrading the processing area downstairs with the new small appliances #looks a little more professional now #Alice seems to enjoy using everything #though now I'm thinking we should have more than one of each appliance #so we could have multiple items getting cooked at once #I mean I have two ovens and two fridges already #things to ponder as we move forward! #and yeah that LE really does seem to be related to people trying to buy things out of the produce fridge #that normally wouldn't go in a produce fridge #and since I have a mod from Brazen Lotus that allows you to put things in the produce fridge that normally don't go there #not gonna worry about it for now but #it is a factor in me considering redoing the store a bit #we'll see what happens! #queued

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita for throwing out expired food from the family fridge?

I (17F) live with my dad (54M) and my mom (53F), but my mom works out of the country a lot. My dad is normal and seems to have a sense of shame(? for lack of a better word) when my mom's at home, but when she's working abroad, sometimes for months at a time, my dad kinda spirals. Necessary background is I'm also mildly immunocompromised.

When mom's home, he never does weird stuff, but once she's been gone for about 3 weeks, he starts getting weird.

He does things like cut mold chunks out of (soft) cheese and then put it back in the fridge, and once full on tried to convince me that so called 'live foods' like yogurt and kefir and tofu don't expire because 'they're already fermented' and putting expiration dates on them is either (when he's being more normal) a technicality/regulation or (when he's being weirder) a lie by Big Grocery™ to sell more food (for those who aren't familiar, live foods are fermented in specific ways with very specific bacteria, after they expire they go bad with things like mold just like any other food).

I've tried ignoring it and just not eating it, but it was making the other food in the fridge go bad faster and my dad started getting food poisoning symptoms, also my dad wouldn't buy new food if there was an expired one still in the fridge. Also, with things like the cheese, when he puts it back, I risk eating moldy food without realising it cuz there's no way to tell a mold chunk was cut out until I bite it and taste mold alos on multiple occasions, I've said I tasted mold in something and my dad has lied saying he didn't do this, only for me to see the moldy cheese trimmings in the garbage later when I'm throwing something away.

I've talked with my dad about this and it always goes something like this:

My dad: *drinks a pintglass of expired newman's own lemonaid*

*15 minutes later*

Dad: *coming back from the bathroom* I just had explosive diarrhea.

Me: You know how you drank a glass of expired lemona—

Dad: And it's delicious!

Me: Well, I'm just worried it's making you sick...

My dad: *5 minute rant about Big Grocery™*

Anyway, I started just throwing out the expired stuff, but he'd take it out of the garbage, even when there was something nasty on it, like used coffee grounds or 12 hour old egg shells dripping salmonella-y egg. So I started opening the containers of expired food and spilling them into the garbage bag (they're hefty bags, so it's not making a mess in the can) and sometimes I'd put a handfull of (clean/unused) cat litter into the bag too if it was something like bad produce (think limp carrots or slimey lettuce) so he couldn't just rince it and put it back.

Then I cleaned the fridge with bleach spray and now things aren't going moldy as fast and we have so much more room in there (I didn't get rid of anything but expired food, I wiped non-expired containers off with the bleach spray and put them back), also, my dad's stomach problems have stopped.

I still don't think I did anything wrong, since I know my mom would have done this the second she came home and my dad wouldn't have objected, but since I did it, he yelled at me for wasting money, called me a stooge to Big Grocery™ and compared me to his brother, who thinks leftovers go bad in the time it takes to drive home.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #unsanitary cw

[foster-notmatty]

—Starter for @kennydavis Location: The Soup Kitchen

Foster had the day off, and Phoebe was being too fucking weird lately for him to even begin untangling her behavior. Technically, he supposed he had other friends that he could call, but he decided he'd rather spend the day jerking off and cleaning up his apartment instead. It only took one look in the fridge to remind him he had a bunch of produce that was about to go bad, and while normally he wouldn't think twice about tossing it, a random idea occurred to him instead.

With all the produce, plus a few extra things, in a bag, he made his way to the soup kitchen, hoping he might run into Kennedy before he spent too long wandering the space looking like a lost puppy. But finally, he managed to find his way back to the kitchen. "Kennedy?" he called out, his eyes scanning for the woman. "It's Foster. You guys cool with visitors?"

#c: kennedy davis

[miniimapp]

4*TOWN As Kids

Gen ;; Crack + Fluff (??) - Headcanons

Warnings ;; nah

Proofread + Edited ;; nooooo

Auth. Note ;; WELCOME TO DAY 14 OF THE 4TOWN CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN !!

this idea was literally me trying to figure out wtf the pictures when i was younger were meant to be and then boom, 4*TOWN content babeeyyyyy

Enjoy !! <3

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

Aaron T - The Weird Kid

You know those kids that just go up to anyone and start spitting some random or sometimes disturbing bs

Like,, kinda reminds me of the of the boy I sit next to in language study tbh

Mans will just start talking about the wirdest of things out of nowhere

Why tf are talking at me about thumbprint and how yours are superior ??

Why do you know that you can burn them off ??

Why have you researched how to organise a crime and get away with it ??

And why on earth are you telling me the details ??

You know,, that kinda stuff

Mans will just start talking, no brain to mouth filter needed

Not a single thought,, just a river of words

Mans was talking before he could even crawl

But he's also the type of kid to just get away with anything but he just has that charm yknow ??

Like,, he could be babbling away and being cheeky to a teacher and it's fine but if someone else even dares to breathe they're sent out

He's the class clown throughout his whole life

Nursery to graduation babeyyyy

Not book smart but street smart definitely

Common sense frrr

Most people wouldn't expect it because he always makes silly comments but T knows what he's talking about

I feel like he picked up an interest in music tech and producing when he was p young

Probably on some school music trip thay was only accepted to get more money out of parents but hey,, it provided T with his passion so..

He is the kid who shows you bugs out of nowhere

Yes he's very proud of them

He tried to keep a pet snail in his room once

That dream soon died in the form of a scolding lmao

Jesse - The Art Kid (obviously)

Never without a sketchbook or some form of paper

If his parents didn't put his art on the fridge he'd put it up himself, covering up all his grades and any other paper on there

Kinda cocky for a kid tbh

People told him often how talented he was and mans ran with it

Suddenly he's god's gift to the world

Golden child vibes tbh

People always asked him to draw them, you know, like how annoying people do

He would literally just ignore anyone who tried to interrupt his art time

Fair enough tbh, art time is art time for a reason,, not socialising time

Hhhhhh some people,, eh ??

Still though, mans did act p arrogantly about his skills

Somewhere along the way someone had to teach this kid the meaning on humility and confidence vs cockiness

So glad that it wasn't me tbh

You do not want a little grumpy Jesse on your hands

When I say fits of rage,, I mean fits of rage

I think Jesse, for the most part was a delight to be around, overly confident at times perhaps but fun either way

But if he was faced with any kind of conflict

Absolutely screamed his head off

I'm sorry but it's true

Also incredibly dramatic

Winning emmies by the age of 4

If he got any kind of sickness, whether it's a slight sniffle or a fever, he's gonna act like he's on the verge of death.

Seconds away from popping his clogs

He will make you feel bad if he doesn't get his way

Puppy eyes turn to daggers in milliseconds fr

He was definitely forced into classical music growing up and as he grew he explored other routes

He also calmed tf down as he grew too, thank all that is good

Mans cycled through many instruments and genres of music before landing on thinsg that stuck

Aaron Z - The Quiet Kid

Literally the stereotype of a quiet kid

He walked so all those quiet kid tiktoks could.. waddle ??

The funny thing is Z is not a quiet person at all really,, he just wasn't interested din any of their asses tbh

Tbh it normally amuses him when people always default to describing him as the quiet kid, or the shy kid, or the silent but deadly kid

Somehow people, at every school he went to, got the impression that he's a delinquent of sorts

That he'd fight anyone who dared to mess either him

Literally no sweetie,, he's just unnecessarily tall lmao

And also just doesn't care about you lmao

You know he does care about tho ??

His grandpappy !!

Being practically raised by him can do that to a kid

His most treasured possession is a harmonica his grandpappy got him with both of their initials engraved in it

Mans literally has a special case for it and everything

His grandpappy is the one who got him into music and all

Grandpappy used to be in a folk band back in the day, didn't you know ??

Z is so proud of his grandpappy, so happy to be related to him

Z wasn't particularly talkative when he was a kid,, he wasn't as quiet as people made him out to be but even around famy and friends he wasn't really loud

But he was, and continues to be, really expressive

In expressions, gestures

It's what makes him such a good dancer

And what makes dancing so fun for him

He can speak without words but instead with his body

Sometimes though, Z can get really passionate and talk for hours about something

Robaire - The True Golden Child

Is there anything little Ro can't do ?? Evidently not

The biggest teachers pet throughout his younger years istg

Probably got teased about it a little bit cause kids are cruel

But Ro literally aced every test he was ever given and it was hard to find an activity he struggled with

Basically a prodigy

I actually think that Robaire was a pretty shy kid though

Like,, people made him nervous and he had a bit of separation anxiety from his parents

Nursery was rough for all parties involved

Definitely a hard worker from day 1 but also a fair bit of a dreamer

Sometimes Ro's head would float up in the clouds and take ages to come back down

A-fucking-nother classically trained baby and he carried it on throughout his life

Mans has muscle memory with the same duration as an elephant

On that topic I feel like Ro has above average memory, maybe not photographic but definitely above average

He can remember practically every lyric he's ever learnt and every piano score he's learnt too

No one knows how he does it

You know the recorder lessons in nursery where you play hot cross buns or whatever tf

Ro somehow managed to make that cheap plastic shit sound good

Honestly astounding

Perfect pitch KING,, move out of the way charlie puth

His talent for it certainly helped but it wasn't the praise that made Ro decide music was his thing

It's the way he felt during his playing,, before he heard any praise about it..

Over the moon

Tae Young - The Cute Kid

Had everyone fooled from day one bro

Everyone's under the impression that he's an angel.. ha ha,, no

Not in any way, shape or form

It literally became a known thing that whenever he's get in trouble or introduced to someone new people would say

"Don't be fooled by his puppy eyes,, he's actually vicious underneath that expression.. "

No one ever heeds the warning until the damage is done

You were warned bro..

Grab a pair of listeners at the door and prepare to use them in the future

Tae was the trouble kid though, always doing things he shouldn't

And he'd always get away with it because of his adorable little face

By age 5 Tae had mastered the way of making any adult fold to his demands with just 1 look

A terrifying child to babysit,, can you imagine ??

I'd rather just be broke tbh

And that's coming from someone who has less than a fiver to their name lmao

Other kids his age would send Tae out as a back up plan to get teachers to derail from their lesson plan and watch above or something instead

Shit worked every fucking time

Pissed off every other class known to man

Another classically trained kiddo and he stuck with the violin

He just really enjoys it tbh

Maybe it's because he had a really good childhood teacher

That teacher instilled a passion in Tae bro

Talented teacher for that fr

Tae struggles with motivation tbh so habits are important,, especially those established when he was young

So yeah, that teacher was p incredible to Tae,, did something that Tae had never seen before lmao

#4town christmas countdown #4town #4town headcanons #4*town #4town jesse #4town aaron t #4town aaron z #4town robaire #4town tae young

[talesofsonicasura]

Crocodile Rock: Prologue

Second attempt at an x Reader but with my Saltwater Crocodile MKR Sun Wukong. This is gonna be different from By The Sea, There He'll Be. You'll see in a sec. Can be read gender neutral or preferred gender. Enjoy.

Sometimes life can be a big pain in the ass when it wants to be. A fact that somehow lead your personal escape from the hells of your life to the most impossible thing that refused to leave you be. Let's start from the beginning.

You were born into a very strict family of pure business, so tight knuckled that you can't even share your own name. Hence the personal alias of 'Reader' which is the only identity left to have. Anywho, your family were business tycoons in the fashion world.

They approved and produce any article of clothing that pass their unique quality tests. An occupation you had no care for. It was the world of graphic design that taken your heart. To create wondrous digital worlds for many to enjoy. Adventures that they can choose whether it be action, adventure or just mingle with people and NPCs in a peaceful environment.

Something you knew your parents wouldn't approve or even twist to make an extra buck. The last straw had been when they try to set you up with heirs from other companies. Fuck that! Hence you secretly leaving home to live in the country that borders more on the wilderness side.

A little two floor cottage you have been investing in, all personal documents that revolve around it on your person. A haven no one from that slice of hell could find. There was a small town not to fair on the more traditional side. Which means they are highly unlikely to know or even care about investing in your life.

Near your cottage other than a thick forest is a swamp that leads downward towards the open sea in the form of a large deep river. Only thing you had to worry about there were things like leeches or other hazards as no alligators live in this particular swamp.

At the moment you were making some fruit tarts alongside a peach pie to go with some lavender tea that you recently purchased. The pie currently cooling by the window while the shell bakes in the oven. You are well aware of the cartoon stereotype of someone trying to steal pies from the windows.

Henceforth the little counter is where it sat at than the windowsill. You were busy making the filling for your fruit tarts only to be barely catch the glimpse of something at the corner of your eye. It was a shade of brown that been quick to disappear. Maybe a bird?

Except there's one problem, a bird couldn't steal your pie! The counter where the cooling pastry once laid now completely vacant. "What the?" You didn't hear anything! Enough reason to hole yourself in and do a sweep around the cottage. Something was just here.

Upon the next day, you began to look up any affordable security cameras. Nothing too expensive cause it'll grab the wrong attention. The one thing you didn't expect to see is your stolen pie tin. Where an entire peach once laid now held a peculiar note.

The calligraphy unlike anything you ever seen before, so elegant and precise. It should be placed in a museum cause no one has been capable of this kind for a very very long time. Something made more insulting from what the note read. "Thanks for my favorite snack."

Normally shit like this would scare you but now? You are just pissed, angry drowning out any rational sense. If a thief is going to troll you then it's only fair to retaliate in return.

A trip to the farmer's market had been needed to purchase some special ingredients: Carolina Reapers and Ghost Peppers. Hot Pepper Pie with enough peach extract to completely cover up the spicy scent. The real peach pie in the mini fridge upstairs as a celebratory treat once the punk got his just desserts.

Just like before, you left the pie near the window counter but a bit further than last time. Couldn't be too suspicious or else the thief would not take the bait. You decided to have meatloaf for dinner mainly cause it'll give your guest enough time to show up.

Not even 2 minutes after putting freshly prepared meat in the oven did the Hot Pepper Pie vanish. Softly chuckling to yourself as you imagine the pie thief's face upon realizing they been punked. If only you knew just where it lead you now.

The thief returned to your home alright but there was a problem with this. Apparently they aren't human! Something you found out upon opening the door to a massive crocodile tail. The tip alone was huge probably around 4 or 5 ft in size. Quietly close the door to not alert the Godzilla outside.

'I should go back upstairs and hole myself in the closet. Any window will just ring the dinner bell.' You really didn't want to find out how big this croc is. Thus began the slow quiet race upstairs, crawling on all fours and even lower to stay out of sight.

It didn't help your nerves whenever a large shadow passed through the window forcing you to painfully hug the wall. This often giving the rare glimpse of something dark brown as it faded from the glass' view. It felt like an eternity before reaching the second floor of the cottage.

Your room on the far corner but luckily there wasn't any windows up here. Not an excuse to run like a mindless nitwit though. You carefully walk towards your bedroom, the hair on the back of your neck rose with each step. Something is seriously wrong as basic instincts were screaming to just stay put.

A thought that you should've listened when you carefully open a crack in the door to your room...and met a large brownish slitted stare back. It had been waiting for you. You didn't even get a chance to move as the cottage harshly shook.

The roof above peeling up as a large fur covered arm came inside. You try diving down the stairs but the hand snagged your small body before you even reach the staircase. Carefully hoisted from the little cottage as the beast put the roof back like it was a dollhouse. And what the fuck is this?!!!

Holding you could only be described as something from a monster. A half monkey/saltwater crocodile about 56 ft in size, his lower being that of a crocodile. Four powerful legs with the front pair closer to being arms in shape, chunky lower body topped by a thick brown fur coat that stopped at the beginning of the tail. You could make out the spike ridges poking from the fur.

The upper half of his body felt more human in build than just monkey. Godlike muscular form on the leaner side and thick brown fur outlining the abdominal muscles while coating the arms. His surprisingly handsome face had minor monkey traits from the short muzzle to large pointed ears. The hair on his head similar to a frohawk in style and those slitted brown eyes were outlined by smoke black mask like markings.

Yes, you were the type to indulge in THOSE type of books from time to time. Mainly cause humans had more ugly secrets to hide than the actual monster by personal opinion. Question was whether this a monkey/saltwater crocodile-taur or a Mermonkey. The swamp did connect to an open ocean after all.

You were torn from your thoughts by a harsh click. Right, big monkey croc monster holding your dumbass hostage. "Like the pie?" Being cheeky in the face of something that can eat you? Better to go out with some sort of jolly than screaming like the stereotypical bitch in horror movies.

The creature just stared at you in complete confusion before letting out an amused chuckle. "Such gall for something that I can devour in one bite." Damn, he had a nice voice too. Impish with a rich baritone, a drop of husk, and a perfect ounce of hiss/growl to it.

"Might as well be positive than die like a little wimp. Let it end with a joke than a scream I always say." Your answer had the strange creature laugh even harder. Clearly amused by how ballsy his probably prey is. "It has been a long time since I met such an interesting mortal. Taunt the beast with a spicy inferno hidden under the scent of peaches and then have a laugh at the face of death."

To your surprise, he laid you in the palm of his other hand giving you a chance to actually stand. His large tail patting the earth similar to an amused cat. "You are lucky I don't eat humans nor find enjoyment in killing your kind. It doesn't mean you aren't going to pay for that trick." You couldn't help but stare.

"This coming from the person who stole food from me twice. Last time I checked, I paid for those ingredients and put in the time to make them. Can't forget about you tearing off the roof of my house either." The creature got in your face but you stared back with equal ferocity.

Any fear you had was replaced with snarky ire. Especially at the gall of this oversized monkey fur crocodile handbag. He been terrorizing YOU, not the other way around. "Such words wouldn't have any weight on a king. Are you royalty or just a mere peasant?"

That's it. You weren't taking anymore offence from this fucking bastard. "Actually I am cause this entire property is mine! I had it built overtime with my well earned money. Home can be a person's castle and your fat scaly ass not only trespass but stole then terrorize my house."

You grabbed the side of his cheek and glare straight into those chocolate brown slits. "How would you feel if I stole your food then proceed to terrorize you in your home? I don't care if you are a king or a bloody god! No way in hell am I having the only thing that I can declare as my own get messed with by a B Movie Monster!" You then punched him in the nose.

The monkey/crocodile shirk back a bit from the surprise blow. He let out an angry hiss as his face became more narrow, large sharp teeth protruding from his lips and muzzle look even more like the alpha predator which made up his bottom half. You held your ground despite those brown eyes turning yellow in a sea of angry orange.

He's definitely pissed now. Especially since the big beast decided to ROAR IN YOUR FACE. And holy shit did his breath reek! Salmon, onions, peppers with peaches didn't mix well. "That is so rancid!" You practically pinched your nose to block out at least some of the smell.

The monkey/crocodile's face shifted back to it's more monkey appearance as he was still dumbfounded by your reaction. Something then click in his mind. Whatever it was didn't look good from the mischievous fang filled grin that spread across his face.

"You amuse me little morsel. To have such gall, such fury and practically laugh at a predator fully capable of tearing you apart. I been looking for a very interesting person for a long long time." Uh oh.

You're concern growing as a bloody CLOUD manifested underneath the foundation of your house!!! The fucking hell?! " I am Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and Great Sage Equal To Heaven. You'll be living with me from now on, little morsel."

I'm sorry, did he just say Sun Wukong?!! Last time you checked, he's a full monkey not half saltwater crocodile! However there was no mistaking the cloud that now carry your house away. Or the pearl shaped barrier that form around you.

The giant beast, Sun Wukong, headed straight for the ocean. His large frame made all the animals nearby flee in seconds. Last thing you saw before he dove into the grand sea is a glimpse of your home nestled in the gold tint cloud.

You just been kidnapped by a deity from Chinese Mythology.

And that's it! Like I said before, Monkey King Reborn Sun Wukong is the type to kidnap especially one that got his attention.

How did he carry Reader's house away? A few clones in the form of a mole is responsible for that with their own somersault clouds. As for Reader's family, they'll be coming into play but not until later.

Until next time folks, we'll see where Reader ends up. I'll see you back on the Journey West. Here's the link for my Saltwater Crocodile MKR Sun Wukong.

#tales of sonicasura #self insert #fanfic #sun wukong #sun wukong x reader #sonicasura #monkey king reborn sun wukong #monkey king reborn imagines #monkey king reborn #mkr sun wukong #mkr sun wukong x reader #mkr sun wukong x y/n #journey to the west #jttw

[goldnn-harry]

can you wrote about harry dating his producer’s daughter ?

of course! hope you enjoy! :)

warnings: none, just fluff :)

tags: soft!harry, loving!harry, harry x y/n reader

y/d/n: your dad's name

y/n/n: your nickname

click the (***) for pictures on how things look!

y/n's father wasn't a strict man. that didn't mean that he let her do whatever she wanted, tho. he wanted y/n to be as happy as possible, and he knew that she wouldn't be if he controlled her every movement, like some of his own producer friends did.

y/d/n friends were very strict when it came to their children and the singers that they worked with. most of them didn't let their kids date them, befriend them, or sometimes even get near them. y/d/n wasn't like that tho. he knew she could care for herself and he knew she knew what she was doing.

“remember harry's coming over today. at around 2pm.” her father told her.

y/n nodded. “alright.” she turned back to the tv and continued her movie. you'd think she'd be thrilled to have harry in her house, but if she was being honest she didn't care very much anymore.

when her dad got this job, she was always thrilled to have singers in her house. but now, it was just a routine. it was normal for her and not a big deal anymore. sure she had befriended some, like taylor swift, olivia rodrigo, and even shawn mendes who she briefly dated for 3 months before they decided to call it quits last year. it was a mutual breakup, and they were still friends.

besides, it's not like the singers came over to talk to her, they came over to talk to her dad and work on their songs. so when she did get the opportunity to talk to them, was when they stayed over a long time and had to eventually eat lunch or dinner. y/n usually cooked and ate with them, which gave her the chance to spark a friendship.

but harry was only coming over for an hour or two, since he was only discussing one song with her dad. that meant he'd be out of the house by 4, so she wouldn't have to cook anything for them. she was slightly relieved by that, because she was exhausted today.

after finishing her movie, she headed upstairs and took a long bath to relax her body.

after her bath she changed into some silk pijamas and layed down to take a nap.

three hours later

y/n woke up to the buzzing of her phone. after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her hands she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone.

text message from dad: hey, can you make some dinner? i think there's left over meat in the fridge. its alright if you just heat that up. turns out harry has a lot more to discuss, so he'll be staying until late.

y/n looked at the time. it was in fact 5pm now, so both of them should be hungry. she rubbed her eyes one more time and got out of bed.

after changing into some navy blue pants with gold detailing and a forest green tank top she headed downstairs to cook. (***)

she knew the meat was too little for both her father and harry, so she quickly made some pasta too. while the meat heated up she cooked the pasta, serving into white bowls after. she decided to leave the meat on a separate plate and let harry and her dad choose how to split it. she placed the leftover pasta on a separate bowl and placed it on the dining table aswell.

“dad! food's ready!” she called down to the basement, ready to send a text just incase she wasn't heard.

“coming y/n/n!”

y/n nodded to herself and sat down on the couch.

“wow- smells amazing up here.” she heard. she turned around and spotted harry making his way over to the dining room.

“thanks. it's just pasta and meat.”

“still great. aren't you going to eat?” harry asked.

“oh no that's fine. i ate earlier.”

“nonsense y/n,” her father said, “you ate pancakes. at 10am. it's 5, come eat.”

she nodded, knowing her father was right, and walked over to the dining room too. she took a seat at the head of the table, two chairs away from harry who was seated at the right side by her dad, and facing her father who was at the other end of the table.

“so what were you guys working on? i thought you were only going to discuss one song.”

both her dad and harry nodded, but harry was the one that spoke. “we were, but turns out your father liked my whole album instead, so we decided to record all of them.”

y/n hummed in understandment. “when is it coming out?”

“in 3 months. but you can listen to it earlier if you want. your dad will have all the recordings anyways.”

y/n smiled and shook her head, “i'll torture myself and wait until the release date.”

he laughed, “suit yourself. this pasta is really good by the way. i'm glad we're not going to finish today, because i'd be devastated if this was the last time i ever ate this.”

y/n laughed and looked down as a light blush coated her cheeks. “i'm glad you liked it. you can take the leftovers if you want.”

“i definitely will.”

16 months later

harry couldn't contain his excitement as he waited for y/n to walk through the door of his apartment. today was their first year anniversary, and harry was more than excited to give her her gift. he had everything perfectly thought out and ready to go.

text message from my love <3: hi, i'm getting on the elevator now. can't wait to see you :)

harry grinned. just a couple more seconds before his baby love walked through the door.

25 seconds later (yes, he counted) y/n walked through the door with a huge smile on her face. her simple dress looked amazing on her, and harry couldn't help but smile even wider at the sight of his girlfriend. (***)

y/n laughed and gasped as she took in her surroundings, everything harry had done. the floor had a few rose petals, and the lights were dimmed. the dining table held two beautiful assortments of flowers, and the best part, harry was right in the middle.

“oh my god harry this is amazing!” she grinned and ran over to him, kissing him.

harry smiled and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her off the floor in a hug. “happy anniversary darling. i hope we can do this again for hundreds of years.”

“happy anniversary baby. i love you.” y/n placed a teary kiss on harry's cheek.

harry was quick to wipe her few tears. then he guided her to the dining table and over to the flowers. “i got you two. these are real,” he pointed to one of the bouquets (***) “and these are fake. that way, when the others die we can still keep these forever.” he smiled, as he pointed to the other arrangement of flowers. (***) he had to admit he was quite proud of himself for thinking about that.

“harry they're beautiful. thank you so much.” y/n kissed him again, this time a bit deeper.

he kissed her back, “okay okay, now gifts.”

y/n smiled and nodded. they were going to agree on no gifts, but since this was their first anniversary they decided against that.

“you first?” harry asked.

“mkay,” y/n hummed and pulled out a bag from gucci. “before you say anything, i've been saving up for this and you will accept them. no buts,” she leaned up and kissed her boyfriend's pouty lips, who were ready to protest on how she shouldn't have had spent so much money on him.

“here ya go.” y/n held the bag up to him and watched him open it.

harry gasped when he saw two ring boxes inside, “two?!”

“yes h, two. i couldn't decide and i know you'll love them both. please don't worry about the cost alright?”

“alright,” he mumbled while he took out the first box.

harry's eyes lit up when he opened it, “you remembered!”

y/n grinned. the first ring was one harry had mentioned he wanted a couple months back. (***) “i did. i hope you love it still.”

“course i do!” harry smiled and pulled out the other box. “i love this one too.” he motioned to the other ring (***) and then slipped both of them on his fingers.

“i'm so glad then,” y/n mumbled through the kiss harry was giving her. he planted another peck to her lips after pulling away and held a box up to her. “your turn.”

y/n opened her box and grinned. “i love it! and its pink.” she looked down at the necklace (***) which had a pink heart on it, a color they had decided was their 'relationship color'.

“help me put it on?”

harry nodded and placed the necklace on her carefully. “gorgeous. i have one more gift for you.” he smiled.

“no way, really?”

he nodded and handed her another box. y/n was eager to open it, she didn't have a clue on what could be inside since she had already received an amazing gift.

“move in with me?” harry said the moment she got the box open. inside was a key to harry's apartment.

she gasped, “oh my god harry-” she wrapped him up in a hug as she cried tears of happiness. “yes yes of course i will.”

harry grinned and kissed her, “i love you so much y/n darling.”

“i love you too, h.”

#harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfiction #harrystyles #harry styles #soft harry #soft!harry #fluff #singer!harry #oneshot #imagine #i love harry so much #harry is the loml #harry being a loving boyfriend

[stevesbestgirl]

A Moment of Your Time - Part 6

Mob!Bucky x Reader (1337 words)

Series Masterlist - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Warnings: Mild Language, Brief Violence

Days slipped by and true to his word, you didn't see hide nor hair of Clint or Barnes. Despite constantly reassuring yourself that you'd done the right thing, you'd been pretty down; you'd liked Barnes. No matter how many times you reminded yourself of the things he'd done, you couldn't shake the ache of longing that had taken up residence in your chest.

One week after your dinner, you visited your mom. It was your turn to bring her groceries, so you took the subway across town and did the shopping, arriving with a paper bag stuffed full of food.

You let yourself in, calling out, "It's me, Mom! I brought groceries!" You headed straight for the kitchen and began unpacking, the familiar apartment feeling like home.

You put the cold cuts from the butcher in the fridge and heard her footsteps come into the kitchen. You greeted her with a hug, "Hey Ma, I brought turkey from Panucci's, I know it's your favorite."

You started unpacking the produce and she took a seat at the counter, "Thank you, dear, you know I-" She stopped mid-sentence, her hand shooting out to capture your arm, "Your wrist!"

You stifled a sigh, "Same one I always had."

She glared at you, "Don't be a smart mouth. You met him?"

This time the sigh did escape, "Yeah."

Her voice rose in pitch, "And you didn't think to tell me?"

"I thought soulmates were 'horseshit'," you quoted flatly.

"They are- and don't say that! But I'd still like to know if my daughter is finally seeing someone!"

"I'm not." You slid your hand from her grip.

She watched you resume putting groceries away, dumbfounded, "What do you mean you're not?"

"I'm not seeing anyone."

"But what about-"

"It wouldn't have worked out."

You could see the gears turning as she processed your tone. Finally, she asked, "Who is it?"

You bit your lip, dawdling in the cupboard so you didn't have to look at her, "James Buchanan Barnes."

Two hours later, you headed home. It had been two full hours of nothing but questions about Barnes and admonishment over wasted opportunities. Once she'd landed on your age and how you weren't "getting any younger," you decided it was time to go.

She was surprisingly undeterred by Barnes' reputation; once you mentioned that he'd cooked you dinner, she was sold. In fact, she seemed more afraid of her daughter becoming a spinster than she was of the organized crime syndicate.

Even if you didn't want to admit it, having your mother's approval made you feel better about the desire to overlook the unsavory parts of Barnes' job. But you'd already turned him down- twice now, in fact. You couldn't just change your mind.

You chewed thoughtfully on a fingernail while you waited for the subway. It was dinner time, so you’d missed the evening commuters, leaving the station nearly empty. You were so involved with your own thoughts that you didn’t notice the two men watching you from down the platform until it was too late.

The cold metal of a gun barrel poked into the small of your back, “Train’s delayed, sweetheart.”

It slipped out before you could think better of it, “Not this shit again.”

Someone clicked their tongue, “That’s not very ladylike.”

“Fuck you,” you spat.

There was a loud thunk as pain exploded at the base of your skull and the world went black. When you came to, it took a moment for your brain to catch up as your eyes fluttered open. You strained to make out your new surroundings in the semi-darkness, absently squeezing your sore neck and surprised to find your hands unbound.

Rubbing your bleary eyes, you squinted at the room. It wasn’t a creepy basement or a torture chamber; it looked like a normal guest bedroom.

You slid off the bed and checked the bedside table for something to use as a weapon, but it was empty. The only other furniture was a large bureau, which was also empty. You peered out the window, eyes straining to see in the twilight. You were no longer in the city; there was nothing but trees and open field to be seen. Even if you managed to get out, how far would you have to run to find help?

You checked the closet, although it felt futile at this point. It was completely devoid of any signs of use. Just to check all the bases, you gave the wooden bar meant for hanging clothes a sharp yank. To your surprise, it came loose easily, a single finishing nail clattering to the floor.

Peeking out to make sure no one was rushing in at the noise, you gave another firm tug and pried the bar free. Raising it behind your head like a baseball bat, you pulled the bedroom door open quickly and jumped back, but there was no one in the hallway either. Where the hell were you? It looked like an ordinary house.

Peering down the staircase, you spotted the front door, also unguarded. There was no way it could be this easy, right? Still, you stole down the stairs and reached for the doorknob. Maybe if you were lucky, there would be a car parked right outside with the keys inside. You’d never driven before, but you could probably figure it out.

Voices drifted over from the room to your right and you stifled a curse, slipping off to the left. The front door opened a few moments later and you let out the breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. Not exactly keen on following them out the door, you gazed around the room. There was a door at the back and two windows- a large picture window at the front of the house, curtains drawn, and a small one on the wall opposite where you were standing.

You crept over and pried at the lock, your heart stopping when you heard a shout from upstairs- your absence had finally been noticed. Heavy footsteps came hurtling down the stairs. Abandoning the window, you dropped behind the couch until the front door closed again. There went your plans to slip away into the night; they’d be crawling around outside for hours. You needed to lay low.

More steps in the hall highlighted your need for a better hiding place. You skirted over to the door at the back of the room and froze as someone paused in the entryway. Holding your breath, you cracked the door and slipped inside.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” an amused voice rang out.

You whirled around, makeshift weapon held aloft, “Stay away from me!” You blinked as your gaze fell on a stunningly gorgeous man. Close cropped blonde hair was neatly styled to highlight bright blue eyes. His large frame was cleanly lined in a tailored black suit.

He smirked at you over the papers he’d been reading, “Is that supposed to intimidate me? Because I’m having a hard time being frightened of a scared little kitten.” He stood and approached, as if daring you to strike.

You tightened your grip on the wood, “Stay back! I mean it!”

He chuckled and took another step, leaning in to whisper in your ear. You wrenched back and swung hard, but he raised a forearm and the wood splintered like it was a toothpick.

You felt your eyes grow wide as you fumbled behind you for the knob- all there was left to do was run. Just as you wrapped your fingers around the brass and twisted, his hand shot out and slammed the door closed, his fingers barely an inch from your head.

The smirk grew, “You don’t want to do that. I think you’ll find my men aren’t nearly as friendly as I am.”

The splintered wood dropped from your fingers, hitting the floor with a clatter, “What do you want from me?”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He steered you away from the door, “Have a seat.”

#bucky barnes x reader #mob!bucky x reader #bucky x reader #steve rogers #mine #bucky #mob!bucky #fanfic

[a-pokemon-daycare]

any tips on raising a bidoof or a spheal?

Hi!

Both of those Pokémon are very easy to raise and keep, as they are very simple little critters that don't require nearly as much as others would. On top of that, neither of them are very intelligent, so there's not a lot to worry about with them either. I know that sounds mean, but it's the truth! Anyways.

Bidoof can be fed most normal type feeds, as they are not picky about what enters their stomachs as long as it's nutritous and helps them feel full. You can also feed them plant based water-type feed as they grow, due to the fact that they evolve into Bibarel.

One of the big things about Bidoof, and Bibarel by extension, is that they will constantly need things to chew on because their teeth are constantly growing. I advise getting firewood from the market for them to chew on so they don't turn their gnawing teeth onto your furniture, or worse, your home's support beams.

When it comes to grooming a Bidoof, there really aren't any methods that are simpler. Just use a soft bristle brush to brush out any dirt or debris that the Bidoof can't get off itself when in water. They are typically hygenic Pokémon, so you really don't need to step in to bathe them more than once every two weeks or so. When you do bathe them, though, use gentle Pokémon Approved shampoo. (We have some in the Daycare that you can buy for 10 dollars.)

Spheal, on the other hand, is a lot less structurally dangerous. The only risk is that they roll everywhere they go, and they may bump into walls or shins, causing very minor impact damage at best to whatever they hit. I wouldn't worry though, they're very soft and squishy.

As Spheal, and their subsequent evolutions, are all Ice and Water type, they do need certain accomodations to live happily. They need cool air and colder water to remain comfortable, and too much heat can result in injury to them. I suggest always keeping a few gallons of water in your fridge and a few trays of ice in your freezer if you live in semi-warm environments. You can also keep their fish based ice-type feed in your freezer, or their fish based water-type feed in your fridge.

For enrichment, Spheal enjoy rolling, so I would suggest taking a Spheal out to a tall hill during the winter months and just letting the little orb roll down it. Or, you could allow children to roll it around like a snowball in the snow, since Spheal are good with kids.

Finally; grooming Spheals. It's easy. The have special coats that sort of wick away dirt and dust, keeping their skin clean and free from irritants. Worst case scenario, use a soft bristle brush and very gently brush away anything that the Spheal can't get off itself, but don't use soap or shampoo, as it could mess up the special waterproofing oils that Spheals produce naturally.

#Spheal #Bidoof #Pokémon #pokémon daycare

[planetdemon]

I just wanted to be a swan

pairing: bang chan x reader

genre: angst, fluff, but mostly angst

warnings: low self-esteem, body hate/dislike, eating disorders, swearing, food, insecurities, arguing DONT READ IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH IT!

wc: 2.003

note: so this scenario has been going through my head for quite a while now, and I tried writing it by myself lol. Hope it's good ;) I've also sent a request to @channienet about the same topic, so make sure to check her interpretation out as well! enjoy!

summary: Due to Chan's heavy working schedule, spending time alone was a thing you couldn't quite befriend with, especially after you've noticed some changes you have gone through. There is a to change it, but it isn't quite... let's say healthy. How will Chan react, after he finds out? Will he even care? (dude I'm shit at writing summary lol)

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

Taking a bath was normally something that should be considered relaxing or calming. You've always enjoyed letting the hot water surround your body whilst taking all the dirt and negativity off that you have collected during stressful days at work.

But lately, taking a bath wasn't as enjoyable anymore as it once was. Chris has been working a lot lately, due to the kingdom stage and their nearing comeback. He has been spending more and more time at the company, working on producing new tracks for him and the kids, often staying at the dorms because they were closer to the studio than the apartment you shared. So you were left alone, by yourself.

Even though you wished he would be by your side while you were falling asleep, you couldn't be mad at him. You knew what his work meant to that boy and you would never tell him to stop doing what he loves just so you could spend some time together.

But being alone also meant that you had to kill the boredom somehow and, thanks to Felix's Brownie and Cookie recipes, you had the perfect thing to do in the meantime. Baking and eating delicious desserts.

You were just stepping out of the bathtub, grabbing the towel you had prepared, and drying yourself with it. Once your body was half-dried, you turned around to hang the towel back at the hanger, so it could dry properly.

And at that moment, you knew, you've fucked up. You couldn't avoid looking at your wet, naked body in the hot, steamy mirror near the hangers.

You always hated looking at it, but thanks to the sweets you had been eating lately, looking at yourself only made you feel sicker than it ever did.

You couldn't tear your gaze off the excess of flesh around your tummy and thighs and the stretch marks, that decored your boobs only seemed to scream "Look at me!". You slowly turned around and saw the tiger stripes creeping up your bum and the undersides of your arms.

'Fucking disgusting', that little voice in your head sneered.

'How could I let this come this far?', you thought. At this point, you were somehow happy Chris wasn't here, knowing he would be disgusted with how you've changed.

You've always felt a bit insecure by his side, knowing you could catch up with neither his attractiveness nor his muscular godlike body. But seeing yourself like this destroyed every little self-esteem you had left in your cells.

-

It has been nearly two months since 'the incident' in the bathroom and you couldn't shake that feeling of disgusts off. Not even for one second.

You only wanted to try a one-week detox diet that was blowing up all over social media, hoping you could lose a little bit of weight, so you would be back to normal. But seeing the numbers on the scale dropping so unbelievably quickly only made you realize that you could look even better than you thought you could.

You kept on following the diet and restricting everything that wasn't included, not noticing that restricting also damaged your mind.

One time, Han and Felix asked you if you wanted to have lunch with them and the others, but fear crept up you back as soon as you thought about the food they would have ordered, knowing that you would only gain weight again if you didn't follow the rules.

So you stayed home, keeping yourself isolated from your friends and most importantly, Chan.

You were lying on my bed, scrolling through Tumblr when Chris' Caller ID showed up and your phone started to ring. You sighed lowly, not wanting to talk to him.

Over the past few months, you stopped showing up at the studio, being afraid the boys would notice the changes your body went through, thanks to the diet. You were happy about it, knowing that you were losing weight, but you haven't reached my goal. You were afraid, they would judge you the way you did when you looked at yourself.

"Chris?"

"y/n? Han just told me that you weren't coming over. Are you okay? Y-" Chris's muffled voice appeared and you felt instant regret deep in your guts, knowing how much fun you guys had when you spent time together back in the days.

"Yeah, I'm okay Channie, don't worry. I just feel a little sleepy. I'll come next time. Promise" You tried your best to sound optimistic or at least not too sad, hoping Chris would believe your lie. "Okay," he mumbled, "I love you, baby girl".

-

You knew you were in big troubled the second Chris opened the fridge, seeing no food in there.

He randomly decided to stay over the weekend, saying that he missed you. You weren't ready for this, knowing that you couldn't hide the signs of the 'passion' you had developed in time.

"Why is there no food?" You fumbled with the arms of Chris sweater you were wearing while looking at the ground. "I've forgotten to go grocery shopping" You answered.

"But there is nothing in there, y/n. Nothing" He walked over and took hold of your cold hands while looking you straight in the eyes.

"Why is there no food?" Chris asked again.

"I just told you I forgot to go grocery shopping, Chan. Relax" You snapped back, getting anxious about the fact that he could notice something.

You were nearing your goal, even though you knew that you could never be satisfied with how you looked. He couldn't just come over and ruin all the progress you've made after being not here for so long. He doesn't have the right to do this.

"Don't fuck around, y/n. You always have at least some butter in your house. Where is the butter? Where is Ramen? You must have some food here!"

Your body started to shake as you heard his voice rise, keeping your gaze low, not daring to look him in the eyes right now. He was right.

You always had something at home, so you could quickly cook something when you were hungry. But you didn't saw a point in keeping food at home if you wouldn't eat it anyway. It would just rot.

"Y/n look at me" he whispered, after realizing that you were trembling. Chris gently grabbed your chin to make you look up at him. You were expecting to see anger, but the only thing you saw in his brown orbs was sadness.

You started to tear up after you noticed it, knowing that he put one and one together. You missing out on lunch with the boys, you not showing up at the studio to bring him food and spend with him there, listening to his tracks, you not having any food at home. It was obvious, but you still hoped he wouldn't notice.

Chris slowly took you in his arms, noticing how your figure felt smaller and bonier than before. It made him sick, knowing what you did to yourself. 'Why would my girl do something like this?' he thought 'how could my little princess torture herself this much?' But he couldn't find a 'because'.

In his eyes, you were the best thing that happened to him. You were the prettiest girl on earth. Warm tears were running down his pale cheeks, dropping to the floor.

He couldn't stop blaming himself for what you did. Maybe if he would have been there, he could have stopped you. Maybe if-

"Channie?" You quietly asked, looking up at his tear-stained cheeks. "Channie why are you crying? We can go to the store and grab something if you want. You don't-"

"Why have you been doing this to yourself, y/n?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why haven't you been eating"

Well, shit.

"What are you talking about, Channie?"

"Don't fucking lie to me, it's too obvious for you to do so. Why haven't you been eating?"

"I... I, I'm pressured Chan" You answered, knowing that he wouldn't believe you if you would tell him otherwise. Telling him the truth was the only option at this point, even though you didn't want to.

"Pressured?"

"Yes"

"Princess, I don't understand what you mean by that"

You shook your head and let go of him, before walking over to the couch and sitting down with a low sigh. "Maybe you shouldn't understand," I said.

"Jesus, y/n" I heard him mutter under his breath. He walked over and sat on the floor, in front of you, looking at you with a scared expression.

"Please tell me what's in that pretty little head of yours. I can see that you have lost weight, but I don't understand why. I mean, you are the prettiest human I have ever seen in my whole life, why would you do something like that?"

"Why do you even care? It's not like you here anyway" you simply said, grabbing your phone, trying to ignore him.

After he noticed your intentions, he quickly took your phone out of your hands, placing it on the coffee table behind him.

"Hey! Give me my phone back, you dump a-"

"Fucking stop it, y/n. Stop ignoring me. I care for you because I love you! You are my everything and I know I haven't been home lately, but at least I tried making time for you and inviting you to the studio", he said, "but you never came! Don't act like it's only my fault we haven't seen each other."

You looked at him with wide eyes, shaking your head. He was right, it was also your fault. And you hated the fact that he was right. "I-"

"Please y/n, please stop turning away from me and closing up. I-I know it's not easy to open up, but I'm here for you. I'll always be."

"Well, I... I couldn't, no, I can't feel happy when I look like this, Channie. I mean, look at you, look at your perfect body and your perfect personality and your perfect everything! I don't fit in. I don't fit in, because I am the ugly duck surrounded by beautiful swans. I just... wanted to be a beautiful swan, Channie."

That's it. You've made it. You've told him what was going through your mind all the time.

He slowly pulled you off the couch, into his lap. He could feel your seat humps against his thighs, how bony and strong they were. Chris shook his head in disbelieve, another wave of sadness crushing over him.

"You are perfect, baby girl. You are perfect in every single way. You always were the most beautiful swan I have ever seen in my entire life. I love everything about you, y/n. I love how your thighs wiggle whenever you run towards me when we meet, I love how curves look in that dress I brought you a year ago, I love how your stretch marks are decorating your body like silverish paint. I don't want you to change for me, because you are perfect the way you are. Jesus, even Hyunjin said you are even prettier than himself, and that means a lot. Please don't hurt yourself like this, princess. You are destroying yourself"

He took hold of your hands and kissed your palm.

"I promise I'll stop working so much, so I can spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend, but please... stop hurting yourself" he whispered, searching for any signs of discomfort in your eyes. But you just set in his lap and listened to him.

"Hyunjin thinks I'm prettier than him?" you asked awkwardly.

Chris chuckled and nodded "Is this the only thing that got stuck in your pretty little head?" He asked.

You smiled a bit, leaning your forehead against his while closing your eyes. "I'll try to get better, Chris" you whispered.

It wouldn't be an easy journey going back to 'normal. Once the hole is there, digging is difficult. But it is possible, especially if someones helping you.

#bang chan imagines #bang chan angst #bang chan fluff #bang chan images #skz imagines #skz chan #skz angst #stray kids x reader #bang chan x reader #bang chan x you #stray kids angst #stray kids imagines #stray kids fanfic #bangchan fanfic #fanfic #x you #x reader

[kylosgenesis]

Teardrops on Fire

Synopsis:

Steve Rogers is the last Alpha of the an almost extinct Lycan pack. With only less than 100 members left. Steve must produce an heir to ensure the species survival and reduce the chance of attacks from others. Omegas are rare, and betas have a hard time producing children. Steves reality is finally setting in as his obligation of producing an heir faces a major set back.

Reader is the last suitable omega to mate with Steve, due to the fear of her daughters fate in the pack, her mother kept her hidden from the pack after her own exile. Only her mother, and Bucky's family know of her existence. Bucky is Steve's right hand man, and the packs best warrior! He and the reader developed a friendship and bond over the years, but age forced them to become distant.

What happens when she presents and her first heat cycle comes? Her body is in excruciating pain and a strong fever quickly overcomes her body. Facing the fear of her daughters possible death, her mom calls on the only person who can save her at this point, Alpha Steve! Bucky and the alphas friendship will be tested. The reader will be faced with her love for Bucky or her duty to the pack.

Unbeta'd: There might be spilling mistakes ( English is my second language so please be kind)

Authors note: We've made it past the filler chapters. I cant wait for the next chapter. You know when you come up with a whole story just because of one little scene on your head? thats next chapter for me. We'll be making a little time jump.

*Other Authors note at the end*

Chapter 7: I really wish I hated you

You woke up early for your morning jog, excited about your first day having a job.

When you heard Natasha mention she needed extra help at the pub, you didn’t know what possessed you to volunteer, but you were determined to have as much of a normal life as possible and this was your first step.

The air was wet from last night's rain, and the temperature had started to drop enough to require a jacket on your runs.

You finished the run in record time, and got ready for your first day. Thankfully Wanda had given you some of her old clothes, and Natasha was kind enough to let you borrow some of hers or else you would have been in the same worn clothes you'd arrived in. Steve had offered to take you shopping yesterday, but you didn’t feel comfortable with the thought. For 19 years you’d taken care of yourself and your mom, you were strong , and you didnt wanna forget that.

It’s incredible how much you’d let the past weeks change you, you felt out of place, out of mind. But having something for yourself again was once step closer to feeling your old self again.

You finished getting ready, and started coffee for Nat who would be waking up any moment now as her grouchy morning self. Just a few days with her had let you know she wasn’t the friendliest in the morning. You laughed at the mug on the counter that had the words ‘Don’t talk to me till I’ve had my coffee’ in bold letters. It fit her perfectly! Whoever gifted it to her hit the nail in the spot.

Despite not being too familiar with coffee before, it became a comfort to you. You developed a live hate relationship with the liquid, by itself it was the most disgusting thing you’d ever tasted. And you had made tea out of wild mushrooms once, so that was saying a lot. Once Nat introduced you to French vanilla creamer, you’d become addicted to it.

Setting up the two mugs on the counter you prepared your cup, before listening for the footprints coming from down the hallway.

Even with morning hair, and a red face from recently washing. Nat was easily the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen. She was all and every one of the main characters in your favorite books.

“Good morning, Nat” you handed her the coffee mug, as she still looked half asleep.

She took a couple of more sips of the liquid before you saw her soul come back into her body. She leaned against the counter while swinging and finishing the contents of her mug.

“Someone’s excited” she said with a small laugh.

“ohhhh really? What gave it away? “ you had finished your coffee, and were just pacing around the kitchen waiting for Nat.

“Well... you’re usually a morning person, but today you’re even more of a morning person than usual.” She set her mug in the sink , and reached for the hair tie in her wrist as she neatly gathered her hair into an effortless ponytail.

“ I don’t know how you do it, but I hope it will rub on me at some point” you both laughed.

You were almost ready to leave when Nat reentered the kitchen with a hairbrush and some pins.

“Nat , if that's your way of saying I need to fix my hair we’re going to be late, I’m sure it’s fine. “

She motioned you to the seat near the counter and you sat down. Trying to protest against Natasha would get you nowhere.

“First of all you’re never late if you own the place” she started slowly brushing the ends of your hair as you relaxed at the gentle massage of the brush.

“Second, you’ve been wearing the same ponytail since I met you. You have a new life, and a new job.” You felt her take a small strand from the front of your hair, and pin it to the back, and the same motion on the other side.

“ My mom always said when you look good, you feel good! And I want you to be a strong confident woman” she put all the products on the counter as she took your face upon her hands.

“ You deserve to be happy and besides… you might bump into anyone in this town. So you better look good” she laughed

“I'm telling you, those old ladies can be mean!” Nat made her best impression of one of them ”back in my day we wouldn't leave the house unkept… no alpha would ever settle for that. I don't know what's with this new generation” she sounded so funny you couldn't help but snort as you broke in laughter.

When you both regained your composure she forms loose strands around your face “ ohhh shit, now we might actually be a little late. Come on!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you arrived at the pub, there was already a white truck in the parking lot. Nat took the keys out of her purse, and tuned the lock. The place certainly looked different without the lights or people, but it still felt cozy to you. Coming from the back was a faint light, and you could hear some thrashing noises. Nat didn’t seem bothered, so she just tuned in the rest of the lights and you flooded her to the kitchen. His smell hit you before he even rounded the corner. He came into the kitchen holding a large box that blocked his view.

“Hey Bucky” you waved at him. Causing him to drop the box. The sound of metal falling as it hit the floor.

You and Nat just stared at bucky's confused gaze. Before Nat cleared her throat.

“I should’ve told you yesterday, but she’ll be starting to work with us. I thought it would be a good idea for her to get to know everyone.”

Bucky bent down to pick the spilled contents of the box, you followed after gathering a few of the metal tools.

“I hope it’s okay with you?” You asked him, not really knowing how he'd respond.

“ Yeah, it’s fine by me” he said with a nervous tone as you handed him the pieces from your hand, and you felt a current run down your spine at the contact of his hand against yours, which he quickly removed.

You all exited the kitchen towards the bar where he placed the box

“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I came over. Thought maybe I could clean the inventory room, but I noticed the beer tap wasn’t working“

“It seemed to be working just fine yesterday, Barnes”

“By just fine, you mean extremely slow pull time? “ he turned to face nat caring the large box out of the room with you both following suit.

“ then it works like a charm ” he made the snarky remark towards Nat, but you couldn’t help to notice his eyes were on you the whole time.

“Fine, but don't break it more” she pointed at him. “ last time you tried to fix something the AC was down for three days”

“And you're never gonna let me forget that wont you?

“Nope” she was already walking away from him as she responded.

“I’ll have it running by opening” he kneeled in front of the small fridge, under the beer tap. .

“Who’s gonna order a beer at 10 in the morning?” You asked, watching over his shoulder as he tweaked with the mechanisms of the fiter on the inside

“ You’d be surprised!” He looked back at you, noticing you already holding the wrench he was looking for.

“Thanks” He smiled, and took the wrench from you. You hadn’t seen him like that in 10 years, he seemed relaxed!

“Howd you learn to do that?” he turned back to face you surprised at your choice of tool.

“ the fridge broke down a couple of times on us, so i learned from taking it apart and back together...after a while you get good at mechanics” you laughed

I still wouldnt trust me to fix it though. Id rather you take the blame if it doesnt work”

“Playing devils advocate now? “ he was flushing water through the hose system before turning on the machine again. You watched attemptively at his concentrating gaze.

“No… id just rather stay on Nat’s good side.”

“Good choice! She punches hard” he seemed relax with you. It made you feel tingly inside as you both had a sense of normality after 10 years.

“Not as hard as me!“ you reapplied

“Definitely not. I still get phantom pains from those” you both laughed.

You patted his shoulder as you got up to Shadow Nat.

Bucky grabbed your arm before you turned to leave. It's nice to see you! … you look... “ he eyed you head to toe and you felt his gaze linger on your hair “ you look beautiful!”

You felt drawn to him, just being around him brought you comfort in a way you couldn’t explain.

You both felt a tug as you left with Nat, turning back to take a glance at him and noticed he had his eyes glued on you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once the rush after lunch was over you were wiping down the tables. You felt the exhaustion of the job begin to take over.

You knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but compared to your daily tasks back at the cabin. It was a different kind of exhaustion.

“Don't quit on me just yet” Nat said as she voiced a tray of cups to the back.

“Not yet, but I definitely didn’t know how much people can drink before 3 o’clock” you both laughed as you wiped down the last few of the tables. So far you’d just used the tap, or poured some easy drinks. As the day got slower, Nat promised to train you on some specialty stuff.

You held on to the table as you felt a dizzying feeling deep through you, then you felt a pair of arms behind you.

“Here!” Bucky placed a cup of water in front of you as you eagerly reached for it and frank it entirely in a few gulps.

“Thank you, I should probably start keeping track of how much I owe you every time you rescue me”

You turned back to face him.

“How did you know?”

“ I could feel it through the..” He didn’t have to say it but you knew what he was referring to.

“Ohhh so that’s what that one is” You looked amused as you stared at him.

“I can’t always tell what the bond is trying to say, but I guess being an alpha just makes it easier to interpret ” he was starting to walk away as the words where leaving his mouth

“Is that why you were avoiding me ?” He stopped on his tracks.

“ I wasn’t avoiding you!” He turned to you.

“It kinda seemed like you were.” you stood your ground and placed your hands crossed around your chest in an effort to appear more composed.

“The past weeks I’ve just thought of you, and this bond! “ you pointed at your neck “ I had this voice that kept telling me I wasn’t good enough.”

You felt the pent up feeling of fear, sadness, and frustrations of a few weeks finally leave.

“You know Bucky, I can’t tell what the bond is trying to say, cause I haven’t spent enough time with you to even know how to read you.” You felt the tears stream down your face as the knot on your throat cleared

Bucky walked towards you pulling you into an embrace, just as the tears began to stream down your face. His smell calming you, and his heartbeat merging with yours as he allowed himself to let go of his fear.

“I will always be inclined to take care of you “ he said, burying his head into your hair. While you continued to embrace him.

“Not just because of the bond, but because I loved you more than anything once” you felt your heart stop at his words.

“I thought I hurt you, and I couldn’t forgive myself. But I realized I was running away. That's why I was staying away! “ he lifted your head, and you felt the honesty of his words when you looked into his eyes.

“I missed you ... you know all those years I thought I did something wrong.” You said with choked words.

“ I loved y...”

You both heard the sound of shattering glass. You responded first separating yourself from Bucky and running towards the source. Bucky cursed under his breath, and ran after the source as well.

You walked into the kitchen to see a couple of bottles shattered on the floor. The liquid contents inside spilled all over the floor. You leaned over and started picking up the large pieces of glass.

“You guys alright? “ Nat stormed the kitchen not knowing what she’d find.

“Yeah, we're fine ” Bucky said, examining the room. “We were in the main room, and heard the crash, we thought you were injured”

“Peter must’ve put the bottles on the edge... that boy is going to be the death of me. I'll go get the mop ” you saw Nat had retreated to the pantry.

“Here, let me help you” Bucky was helping you scoop the pieces of glass.

“Careful!” You looked at Bucky and laughed at his worry “ Buck, I’ve been skinning prey with knives shapelier than this since I was 5 ... I think I can handle some glass.”

He was looking at you in awe, you realized after the words had left your mouth “ I haven’t heard you say Buck in a long time” He smiled at you.

“ ohhh that’s cause you used to say it made you think of deer” you were picking up the last pieces.

“ I was a growing boy... always hungry”

He helped you up, and you noticed he used his metal arm to do so.

He noticed you staring, he was wearing a tight black t-shirt. It was short sleeved which you hadn’t seen him wear yet.

“Does it hurt?” You traced your fingers through the cold metal.

“ Not physically, sometimes I forget it’s there” he admired the way your eyes fell fascinated with the metal segments and the mechanism as he flexed.

“Hey, Bucky do you mind cleaning the spill? I’ve got a few minutes, so I’d like to show her some drinks” Nat walked into the kitchen with the industrial mop.

“I got it” he winked at Nat.

He smiled at you as you left the kitchen, and you felt your heart skip a beat at that smile.

You hoped he wasn’t actively trying to spy on you through the bond or else you might be caught in a vulnerable position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Nat collapsed into the couch at the end of a long day.

“ My feet are killing me! “ you massaged the soles of your feet as you eyed Nat get comfortable on the couch.

“ You get used to it!...ohhh gods I can’t wait to shower”

“You say that, but you’re in fact getting more comfortable ” you teased at her.

“I never said I’d shower right now” She threw one of the pillows next to her at you and just as you were about to return the gesture.

Lights lit up the living room from outside as a car approached.You heard a door shutting and the sound of footsteps approaching the house.

“ I’ll go check it out” you stood up and walked to the door, just as someone was about to knock you opened the door.

“Steve, hey how’s it going? “ you felt the same nerves you felt meeting him the first time.

“ Good... good” you could see his breath as he spoke in the cold of the night. His hands were tucked in his jacket pockets.

“Would you like to go on a walk ?” he motioned to the trail along the house.

“Sure!” You hesitantly stepped out of the comfort of Nat’s house and into the cold night. You were still getting to know Steve, so the ambiance still felt awkward around him. You just followed his lead and waited for his next words.

“ I was wondering how your first day went? ... I wanted to stop by, but Wanda needed me at the school” he faced you as you walked together.

“ It went very well! We had actually just gotten home! “ you were cradling your elbows in a hug trying to preserve your body’s warmth from the house.

“It was a lot to learn, but Nat and Bucky made it a lot easier on me” you replied with a small laugh, but noticed Steve’s eyes glued on you. His jaw tensing up at the mention of Bucky from your mouth.

“That’s good...” he noticed you shiver, he took off his jacket and handed it to you. It was a kind gesture. The jacket just smelled like him. You felt his smell overwhelm the faint traces of Bucky.

“Are you excited?“

“ Well yes ....?it’s been really good so far, I can’t wait to get the hang of it” you picked at the strand of hair surrounding your face tucking it behind your ear.

“So he didn’t tell you?” Steve said with a snark

“Tell me what? “ you felt your heart speed up.

“Bucky made a deal with the Wakandan's Coven... they are going to undo the mating. Next full moon you’ll be free again.”

You could tell he was awaiting a reaction, he just crept closer till you could feel his breath in your skin.

You felt lightheaded at his words “ that’s... news”

You felt tears stream down your eyes. Today things had felt like they were always meant to be. Bucky had made you feel like you could trust him.

But he had known, and you fell for it! Once again you felt like a part of someone else's agenda, not your own. Just an omega, in a world of alphas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Authors Note:

Do you think the bottles were an accident?

Tags:@dottirose @tanyaherondale @iloveshawnieboi @marmite79 @austynparksandpizza @nerdgirljen @exposition-belongs-somewhere @patzammit @connie326 @blessedwedgie

#alpha bucky x omega reader #alpha bucky #alpha steve rogers #alpha steve x omega reader #alpha beta omega #omegaverse #omega reader #alpha bucky barnes #alpha steve rogers x omega reader #alpha Bucky barnes x reader

[onyxylophone]

(here's a new one for @bakedbananners werewolf mcga AU! ♡ tw: blood/injuries!)

"I May Be Losing Blood but at Least I Didn't Lose You"

"...What are you doing?"

Magnus froze in place. He was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor; washed in the sterile, bright light of the open refrigerator with one hand about to cram another fistful of cold shredded cheese into his mouth. He was eating it straight out of the bag.

A pause. Magnus blinked, looking over at the person who caught him. Alex was clearly about to leave again- she had her hand closed around the doorknob. Her voice was hoarse from her injuries, the side of her face and throat still layered in bandages. No jacket. It didn't even look like she was wearing shoes.

"What are you doing?" Magnus countered, raising an eyebrow as he shoved his hand back into the cheese bag.

"There's something wrong. Something in our territory that shouldn't be," Alex got a far-off look in her eyes, "I have to warn Samirah."

Magnus sat up slightly, abandoning his late-night snack. "You're going alone?"

"I've got to move fast," Alex explained, fingers drumming the metal knob, "The others wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Well, I believe you," Magnus told her as he got to his feet, letting the fridge close behind him, "But you're supposed to stay in bed, remember? You can't even see on one side."

He tilted his head towards her partially-wrapped face. Alex shrugged, "Why don't you come with me, then?" She tapped her bandages with one finger, "Be my other eye for me."

Magnus glanced over towards the staircase. He thought about waking up another member of the pack, but he doubted that Alex would wait that long for him. Just a quick walk to Samirah's place and back. They probably wouldn't even be gone for more than an hour.

He at least managed to convince her to grab shoes before they were both slipping out the door and into the night. Magnus pushed back the nagging feeling that something was really, really wrong. He watched Alex warily out of the corner of his eye. She looked deathly serious, staring ahead down the sidewalk. Her mouth was set in a hard line.

"Damn bandages," Alex muttered, "We'd be there in half the time if I could transform…"

"What do you think it is?" Magnus asked her, trying to dispel the eerie feeling inside his mind.

"Don't know," Alex said, briefly glancing over to meet his eyes, "You're picking up on the scent too, aren't you?"

Magnus tilted his head backwards, focusing on the cold, Boston air. The first scent that hit him was Alex's: metallic-y, old blood from her healing wounds mixed with the sharp, spicy smell of the half-eaten pack of cinnamon gum she kept in her pocket. She said the strong taste helped her focus on controlling her transformations or something. Magnus thought about asking for a piece, but that bad feeling still lingered in his mind.

Moving past her, the city was the same as always; a heavy, constant thrum of hot-blooded people and car gasoline. Magnus inhaled slowly. Underneath all the normal, everyday life there was something…else. Faint, but pungent. Instantly he knew that, whatever this was, it was bigger than the two of them- both literally and figuratively.

"I'm picking up that the McDonald's on the corner just put their garbage out." He said with a shrug, not wanting to scare her.

Alex rolled her one good eye, "Boys."

They both moved to walk closer to each other. Magnus shoved his hands into his pockets, briefly feeling a longing pang in his chest for the warmth of his bed and the meaning behind access to something as simple as shredded cheese.

Alex whipped out her pack of gum and produced two foil-wrapped pieces. She handed him one and unwrapped the other with one hand before popping it into her mouth. The strong flavor burned the tip of Magnus' tongue, but he chewed on it anyway.

They were a little over halfway to Samirah's grandparents' house when Magnus begrudgingly admitted that Alex was the winner of their impromptu bubblegum-blowing contest (even with her limited mobility.)

Alex flashed a grin and bowed dramatically. Magnus could feel himself steadily acclimating to Alex Fierro as a pack member. It was like she was a stick of her own cinnamon gum. An acquired taste; one that burned at first, but was now kind of weirdly sweet.

They stopped near the entrance of a darkened alleyway. Both werewolves looked around, trying to get their bearings. If they were right, this alley would open up only a block away from Samirah's bedroom window. Ten minutes, tops.

Alex took a few steps forward, trying to see if she could pick up Sam's scent from this distance. She visibly bristled. Her hands twitched. She stared intensely into the darkness.

"Magnus-"

The darkness moved, revealing a massive shape that lunged straight at Magnus. Alex leapt into action, throwing herself in front of her friend. She snarled, morphing into her full werewolf form to block the hit meant for him.

Alex's bandages tore as her body changed, falling limply to the ground and revealing the now-agitated gashes across her face and throat. Her massive canine jaws snapped at the creature, which Magnus could see finally in the light of a nearby streetlamp: a huge wolf with reddish fur. This wolf was big, bigger still than Alex's current form despite traveling on all four paws. The wolf's face was covered in old scars and patches of skin where fur could no longer grow.

That sickly scent filled Magnus' senses again. This was the intruder Alex had been so afraid of. To her credit, she got a few painful-looking bites in before her opponent grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, shaking her roughly and abruptly dropping her down to the concrete. Alex's body reverted back to its human form. One paw held her down as she writhed and kicked, trying and failing to re-transform with so much pressure on her ribcage.

She tossed her head back, inhaling as much as she could and howling loudly until her damaged throat gave out on her. Magnus growled, feeling his skin prickle as a feverish anger made his bones ache and his chest cavity swell.

His mind clouded. His judgment dulled. Alex was hurt. She asked him to come with her. She protected him. They were friends now. She-

"Chase, don't!" Alex called to him, "You can't control it yet, someone could get hurt! That's what he wants!"

Magnus blinked. His growl faltered. He met her eyes. She's right, something doesn't add up. A paw that large could easily have reduced every bone in Alex's body to splinters. Instead, it was like the wolf was just…holding her there, waiting for Magnus to make a move.

Something else was off, too. Something about the way Alex spoke.

"...Do you know him-?"

Alex winced like he'd hit a sore spot. She opened her mouth to answer, but the wolf lowered his head at the same time, bowing until his eyes were level with Magnus'.

"Oh, Alex dear, I didn't know you were bringing company," The casual ease of his speaking voice made Magnus uneasy. The wolf fixed him with an unwavering stare, "We've met before, Magnus Chase. You must not recognize me in this form. You're Frey's boy, right?"

Magnus froze up. What the fuck what the fuck what the-

"Leave him out of this," Alex said quickly, her voice audibly strained, "This isn't about him."

"But it could be," The wolf looked down at Alex, "What happened to your pretty face? It's so easy to see the resemblance now, isn't it?" A pause. "Last chance, love. It's such a simple request-"

She spit at him, "Fuck you."

The wolf snarled loud enough to rattle the metal dumpsters. He bared his teeth just inches from Alex's face. She didn't flinch.

"Very well. Have it your way." The wolf turned away, pivoting his attention back onto Magnus. He took a couple steps forward. "You can't trust her, Magnus Chase. She doesn't care about you. She brought you here because I told her to."

"Liar-" Alex coughed, trying to catch her breath.

The wolf continued, his eyes glittering, "She'd slit your throat in your sleep if I asked it. It's a good thing you caught us, hm? Too bad your friend Samirah wasn't quite as lucky…" He trailed off, "Doesn't that make you angry, Magnus? Don't you just want to hurt me? Hurt us? Why don't you transform, son of Frey? Obey your instincts. Rip this little traitor limb from limb-"

Magnus swung, his fist connecting with one of the wolf's eyes. In a flash, Alex was up on her feet. She shifted into her wolf form and lunged forward.

For a brief, terrifying moment, Magnus was afraid he'd made the wrong choice. Then Alex's jaws latched onto the bigger wolf's throat, trying to tear through vulnerable flesh underneath thick fur. Her opponent rose up on his hind legs and swung her like a pendulum. Alex flew through the air, slamming sideways into the brick wall of a nearby building. Her form became human again as she slid off the closed lid of a dumpster and crumpled to the ground. She didn't move again after that.

"Alex-!"

Magnus was running to her side before his mind even fully registered what had happened. He was a few feet away when a sharp, stinging pain shot through his arm. He felt cold enamel pierce his skin as hot blood trailed down towards his shoulder. His feet left the ground as the wolf lifted him into the air. All his weight pulling on just one arm caused the teeth currently hooked inside to drag. Magnus screamed.

The alley erupted into snarling barks and flashes of fur. Magnus felt himself drop suddenly, and almost as soon as his legs hit the ground he was being yanked over towards the sidewalk. He looked back over his shoulder. His vision was dim from the pain, but he could recognize Mallory in her werewolf form. She pushed Magnus aside with one paw-like hand and rushed back in to fight alongside TJ. Halfborn was doing his best to help by swinging a metal baseball bat at the giant wolf's legs.

"Everybody get back!" A familiar voice yelled from the other end of the alley, "Magnus! Grab Alex!"

Magnus ran, dodging the battle as he dropped into a crouch next to Alex. He wrapped her in a tight grip from behind, trying to use whatever adrenaline was left in his body to drag her along with him.

She was still conscious, but barely. Almost all her old wounds were bleeding again. She put one hand on Magnus' injured arm and immediately recoiled.

"You're hurt…?" She said, dazed.

"You're more hurt."

"He didn't tell me to bring you," Alex mumbled, weakly resting the back of her head against Magnus' shoulder, "He's lying."

"I know."

Magnus looked up in time to see Samirah running into the fight. She was holding something up over her head. The rest of the pack retreated towards the street, with Halfborn helping pull Alex the rest of the way. Samirah reached the front end of the huge wolf and spun on her heel.

There was the sharp hiss of an aerosol spray. The wolf stumbled backwards, paws frantically scraping at his face. Mallory and TJ both growled, perching on top of a row of parked cars as they tried to put more distance between them and Sam.

The inside of Magnus' mouth and nose began to itch and burn. The acrid scent of wolfsbane filled his senses. His eyes watered.

Halfborn shed his jacket, dropping it over Magnus and Alex's heads. From under the edge of the thick fabric, Magnus could see Samirah. She was tense, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve, staring directly at the writhing werewolf in front of her. She didn't lower her arm for even a second. Magnus could see her whole body was shaking.

Next to him, Alex slowly stirred. "Sam…" She whispered, brushing against Magnus as she tried to pull her body forward. Magnus rumbled low in his throat. Don't, he wanted to tell her, you're too hurt already.

He ignored both his own advice and the throbbing pain as blood seeped into his clothes, ready to leap forward into action if the intruder took even one step towards his friend. Instead, the wolf retreated, melting into the darkness as his form became distinctly human. He said something that was even too quiet for Magnus' hypersensitive hearing to pick up; but whatever it was, it made Samirah look like she was going to throw up.

Multiple minutes passed. He was gone, but Samirah didn't move. Her knees threatened to buckle underneath her. Halfborn walked over. He stood between her and the darkness, quietly talking back and forth. Eventually she gave a shaky nod and dropped the can of wolfsbane into his waiting hand.

She hadn't quite regained her composure yet when she walked over and knelt down beside Magnus.

"You okay?" He asked.

She wouldn't meet his eyes. It looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Show me your arm."

Magnus obliged, wincing and gritting his teeth as he rolled his sleeve up. She looked over the wound with a grim expression.

"He knew my name." Magnus told her, staring down at his forearm.

"He knows a lot of things." Samirah said, still looking like she might puke.

"I thought you said you didn't use that stuff." Magnus rubbed at his nose, trying to ease the stinging.

"I said I didn't use it unless I had to," She took Alex's jaw in her hand, carefully tilting the werewolf's head to get a better look at the re-opened gashes on her neck, "He could have killed you both."

Magnus looked over at Alex. Normally, she snapped or growled when someone touched her. Now she was uncharacteristically quiet. Her face was missing its usual vibrancy.

Samirah ducked her head to make eye contact, "Can you walk?"

Alex blinked. "Yeah…" She said in the most unconvincing way possible, "Easy-peasy."

Magnus and Samirah both stood, the former cradling his injured arm close to his chest. They each held a hand out to Alex, slowly pulling her up. She stood there for a few seconds, swaying back and forth on her feet.

Her entire body pitched forward. Mallory lunged, catching fabric in her teeth and holding their newest pack member up by the back of the shirt like a misbehaved kitten. Alex didn't react, just stared blankly down at the ground.

"You better not bite me this time, Fierro." Halfborn took Alex from Mallory, slinging her over his shoulder.

"There's still a first-aid bag in the van from before," Samirah turned to Magnus, "I can wrap your arm for you."

He nodded, "I'll help you with her."

"Put me dooowwwn…" Alex howled.

Unfortunately, fully-transformed werewolves weren't exactly capable of driving minivans. Mallory climbed up to the closest rooftop for a moment alone to collect herself. Magnus sat with TJ, helping him through a series of deep, calming breaths. Once everyone was human again, they all piled inside the werewolf-mobile.

Magnus sat in the far end of the very back row of seats. Alex was laying down on the two seats beside him with her legs stretched across his lap. Samirah sat on her knees on the van floor, working quickly to clean and dress Alex's wounds. Magnus handed her things from her bag as she asked for them.

Whatever she'd used to numb the pain in his arm was working. Magnus started to somewhat relax for the first time in hours. The painful demand to shift slowly subsided.

Alex started coming back around towards the end. Her chest heaved with quick, panicked breaths. Magnus whined. He rested one hand on her ankle.

Samirah secured the last of the bandages. She took Alex's trembling hands in hers, whispering quietly.

"It's okay. He's gone now, you're okay," Samirah lightly squeezed Alex's fingers, "Everything's going to be okay…"

#alex fierro #magnus chase #fierrochase #mcga #percy jackson #pjato #my post #my writing #okay to rb

[liron-ao3]

Read on AO3 here.

Pie-ning

It's in the wee hours and the kitchen worktop looks like after a demon attack.

A thin layer of flour dusts the stainless steel, butter softened by being outside the fridge for too long slowly greases the surface. Scraps of clingfilm are stuck on the bench, and dough sticks to a rolling pin. Formerly ice-cold water reached room temperature a while ago.

Castiel sits at the wooden dining table, his arms folded underneath his head. "This is a disaster," he murmurs.

The plan started easy enough. Castiel waited until Dean, Sam, and Jack were fast asleep. Then he started with the filling, because the recipe said so.

Unfortunately he hadn't read it properly. It asked for ready made pie crusts and well, he hadn't had the time to go shopping and smuggling the apples inside had been difficult enough.

The filling was already cooling in the pot when Castiel started to search the internet for pie crust recipes. They sounded easy enough. Boy, was he wrong.

Cutting the dough with a fork was a drudgery and it took ages to produce something that looked even close to what the photos showed. Why for heaven's sake had a kitchen where Dean Winchester lived and breathed not a pastry cutter!?

The recipe mentioned to cool the dough for an hour, but Castiel was running out of time and hoped it wouldn't turn out too bad if he gave it just 15 minutes in the fridge.

Well, it did. Turn out bad, that is. About half an hour ago, Castiel declared defeat by carbohydrates and fat. Stupid molecules!

Right when he decides to rise and clean up the mess he made, the kitchen door swings open. In comes Dean, eyes still at halfmast, the open bathrobe showing his batman pyjamas. Castiel can't suppress a small smile at the sight. How can a grown man look so adorable?

When Dean catches his gaze, Castiel looks down at his wringing hands, not sure if he can hide the heat he sure feels crawling up his neck. Maybe it's just a phantom blush. He hopes it is just that.

"Whatcha doin', Cass?" Dean asks, looking around the kitchen. He scowls at the chaos.

Castiel diverts his gaze to the messy worktop and opens his mouth to say something, but his lips close again when he realises that the reason is a sure thing to turn into something he will be the butt of the joke of.

He gets up and walks over, scrapes the unsuccessful attempt of an apple pie into the wastebin.

Dean watches him in utter silence. He frowns at the scene as Castiel opens the fridge to save the rest of the butter, walks to the kitchen sink, does the dishes as if he hadn't heard the question still hanging between them.

Dean closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his still sleep-heavy head. This is too much before his first coffee of the day.

He contemplates to walk over to prepare a cup of liquid ambrosia, but the even for his own standards oddly acting angel deems him more important. Dean cocks an eyebrow at that thought. Must be the sleep deprivation talking.

Castiel concentrates on the cleaning. Maybe Dean will just walk away and leave him be. It's not as if he didn't already think him to be weird. Even after knowing each other for so long, Castiel is well aware of the fact that they might be friends, even family of some kind, but that Dean still doesn't see him as a normal man. He is always set apart, but who isn't in this strange, self-made family? They are all freaks in their own ways.

Dean's attempts to dress him up, to make him appear more human notwithstanding, Castiel thinks he still sees him as not really part of this world. Or maybe it's just Castiel's fear that whispers these thoughts into his ear. They've never been good at talking things out. That nearly broke their friendship more than once.

As Castiel pulls the plug and dries his hands on the white apron Dean loves to use, he feels a hand on his shoulder, warm and solid. He wishes it would ground him, but it doesn't. It stirs him up in a very confusing way. It's not exactly hurting. Castiel knows pain. He's a born soldier after all. But on the other hand, it kind of does, but in a more than physical way. Every touch outside a life and death situation sends tendrils through his body, interacts with his grace, lights up every synapse of the human body that is wholy his now. He feels like going up in flames, the heat spreading like a wildfire from his shoulder to every cell of his body.

The hand just stays where Dean put it, a silent question, just a few more unspoken words between them.

Castiel wishes he could just say out loud what it feels like to be touched by Dean. To finally see his reaction. At this point the outcome would be nearly all the same to him. His urge to make Dean happy, to help him with all the crap that is thrown at him won't go away anyway.

"Speak to me, buddy," Dean orders, his voice still rough from sleep, and Castiel huffs a tiny laugh in response.

"I wanted to surprise you."

Castiel can nearly hear Dean's frown now. He turns to look at the other man which is a mistake as they are standing way too close now. But they somehow always do, so what's the point in correcting it?

The soft titillation of Dean's breath dancing on Castiel's skin is a welcome distraction from the thoughts the angel allows himself to think only very rarely in Dean's presence.

The hunter's breath catches and he takes a step back. Of course.

"I thought it would be nice to have pie for the special occasion. I know traditionally it's a cake, but as you love pie, I thought ..."

Dean stares at him in confusion. "What are you talking about, man?"

"It's your birthday, Dean." Castiel shrugs his shoulders nearly apologetically. "Granted, I don’t know the traditions in the House of Winchester, as I never celebrated your birthdays with you before, but Sam didn't buy a cake and Jake won't know that ..."

"You baked me a birthday pie?" Dean asks with barely hidden delight in his voice. His face lights up in the most beautiful way. It takes Castiel's breath away for a long moment.

"Well, ... I tried," he says when he can breathe again. He gestures to the waste bin and presses his jaws together, "but it seems I failed."

Dean starts laughing, a whole body, full belly laugh. He slams his hands on the worktop and shakes his head. Castiel looks at him, a tiny smile forming on his lips. He could hear Dean laugh for all eternity. It's not often enough that he has a reason to do it. The lines around his eyes are at least 50 percent made of grief and pain. Castiel would give everything to let them grow deeper only from laughter from now on.

The sparkle in Dean's eyes catches him off guard. There was a time when Castiel had seen the beauty of Dean's soul, the goodness of his heart. He still sees all of this despite the things the hunter has done and what others did to him. But there is even more he sees now.

Maybe it's because he lived with humans for too long or it's just Dean, Castiel isn't quite sure. But what he is sure about is that Dean is beautiful on a purely physical level, scars, wrinkles, and all. It's the greenness of his eyes and the curl of his lips, the slight curve if his nose and the freckles dusting his cheeks. Castiel can barely keep himself from staring. Not that any of them is good at stopping themselves from doing that, again and again. It's awkward for everyone forced to watch.

Dean grins at him with that boyish look that makes him seem a decade younger and that turns Castiel's legs into jelly. Dean Winchester will be the death of him, most likely literally. The angel doesn't even care. It would be worth it, if he saved him instead.

"That's ...," Dean trails off and blushes a little. Adorable and beautiful shouldn't be looks that go hand in hand together, but the hunter somehow pulls it off. "I don't know what to say, buddy ... Thank you."

"There's nothing to thank for. Filling doesn't make a pie." Castiel waves his hand into the stove's direction and Dean straightens to walk over. He sticks his finger into the mixture and stuffs a piece of apple into his mouth.

Cinnamon explodes on his tounge, the tartness of the apple perfectly balanced with brown sugar. "That stuff is good. I tell ya, I could eat it with a spoon."

The mere thought that Castiel put into this warms Dean's heart in ways that he couldn't admit to anybody. He wished he could speak his thruth out loud just once. How these little gestures keep him from falling apart, how Castiel's kindness rubbs off on him, and how thankfull he is that the angel somehow manages it to keep him human. But that's not possible, not without risking to let even deeper things out. "This is friggin' awesome!" he says instead.

Castiel smiles mildly at the praise. He watches Dean beam at him as if he hang the moon and his heart threatens to leap out of his chest. Human bodies are weird.

"As I see it, we have two options here," Dean says matter-of-factly.

Castiel raises a questioning eyebrow, amusement clearly tugging on the corners of his lips. "Is that so?"

"Mmh," Dean says around another fingerful of filling. "A - We pull out the spoons and share it just between us; the others will never know. Or B - I show you how to make a proper crust."

Castiel's face turns into a countenance of surprise. "You know how to do that?"

"Yeah. It's not as easy as pie. The folk saying is wrong about that. But it's no witchcraft either."

Dean raises his hand to motion Castiel to stay put and returns just a few minutes later with an old notebook in his hand. A women's handwriting says 'Recipes' on the front and Dean browses the pages until he finds what he was looking for.

Castiel watches him in silence, his eyes tightening in concentration. Dean appears almost bubbly. The angel hasn't seen him like that often. It only occurs when the hunter lets his guard down and that's barely happening.

"There it is. My grandma's pie recipe. That's how my mum baked it."

Pain flickers over Dean's face for a second before he schools it. He walks to the fridge and pulls a fresh block of butter from the back of it, then collects the other ingredients.

"It's important to work quickly and then give it a good, cool rest," he says and starts working as if he had done this a hundred times before. Maybe he did. Castiel watches him with awe.

"Help me with the water and the vinegar," the hunter says and Castiel obliges with a soft smile, watching as Dean uses a wooden spoon to incorporate the liquids and then switches to using his hands to form the dough.

"I didn't know you were a baker," Castiel states.

Dean chuckles. "Well, I haven't done proper baking until we moved into the bunker. I used cake mixes before that. One year I stole cupcakes from the store for Sammy's birthday."

Dean's smile falters at the memory. "We aren't really great at celebrations. I tried to give Sammy the holiday and birthday experience, but ... I guess it fell short on what other people have."

Castiel looks at him with sad eyes. "I'm sure Sam appreciated your efforts."

Dean shrugs it off. There is no use in dwelling too long on his fucked up childhood. He clears his throat. "Where is the plastic wrap?"

Castiel reaches under the table and hands it over, their fingers brushing against each other when Dean takes it. The hunter looks at him from beneath his long eyelashes. Castiel remembers when he recreated every single one of them, not knowing what a gaze thrown through them would be able to do to him one day.

He swallows the sudden lump in his throat. Maybe he should just say it, get over with it, see Dean's disgust or delight or even indifference. But, no. That could destroy everything between them. It's enough to be allowed to be in Dean's orbit. It has to.

Dean busies himself to put the dough into the fridge and cleans the surface of the worktop. He dries his hands at a rag and leans against the kitchen island. Castiel's gaze is as unreadable as it is inescapable now and Dean feels a rush of something running through his body.

The softness of Castiel's eyes is warming him from inside out and the feeling is highly disturbing. He can't have these kind of emotions for his best friend who isn't even a real human being.

Dean rolls his eyes inwardly at himself. As if that would be the main problem here. He interrupts his train of thought and walks over to the coffee maker, brewing two cups.

"I wish I could have taken the pain away," Castiel says seemingly apropos of nothing.

Dean sits down at the table, putting one mug in front of him and one on the opposite side of the table. He stays silent for a long moment. "Care to elaborate?"

"When I rebuilt you. My order was to pull you out of hell and put you back into the exact state you were before, past injuries, bad memories, and all. I wish I had known you well enough then to spare you at least some of them."

Dean purses his lips and shruggs. "It's what made me who I am today."

Castiel nods and sits down. "That's true. A righteous man, loyal and caring. The best friend someone could ask for."

Dean blushes under the praise. "Come on, man. Don't turn this into a chick flick moment."

Castiel tilts his head to the side and his eyes tighten in concentration when he scrutinises the other man. "I wish you could see yourself the way that I do, Dean," he finally sighs, well knowing that the stubborn hunter would rather leave than listen to the truth. The truth that he is worthy to be saved, worthy to be loved, worthy to die for.

Dean takes a big gulp of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process. The pain is a welcome feeling. It eases the sadness and melancholy inside him that swarms his guts like an unwanted colony of bees. He can't handle Castiel looking at him like that, so open and warm as if he were the most precious gem in God's vast creation.

No, it can't be that. Castiel could never look at him like this. He knows his very soul, he knows how broken he is inside, how ugly his dark spots are and how rare the light ones. There's no way that he looks at him in adoration.

Dean wriggles about on his chair. He doesn't know what to make of it, of this look, of the way the angel always comes back no matter how often he chases him away. And he doesn't know what to make of the feeling of pure relief every time he sees his angel again, well and alive.

Fuck, this shouldn't be so difficult, right? He is just a friend, his best friend. Dean would bake him a cake too, if the angel had a birthday. Or maybe not. Without Castiel Dean wouldn't even know that it is his birthday, today. Calendars kind of lose their meaning if you're hunting monsters and fighting God 24/7, 365 days a year.

No, celebrations and anniversaries are for normal people, and the Winchesters and their chosen family are anything but.

The two men drink their coffee in silence until Dean starts chuckling. Castiel raises a questioning eyebrow.

"One year, I bought a cheap cake mix for my birthday. I used margarine to make it, butter was too expensive. The cake tasted awful," he chuckles. "But Sammy had the idea to coat it and we built little towers of thin sliced cake and jelly layers. My old man was drunk in front of the tv. I had been so happy that he wasn't gone for once that I brought him the tower I had built and he looked at me in this way, where your insides get all twisted and you think you will throw up."

Dean's fingers run over the rim of his now empty mug. He shakes his head to clear it from the memory. Why is every good one always attached to one tainting it?

He feels Castiel's hand nudging on his own, giving it a squeeze when he lets go of the cup without resistance. They keep the contact, loose and soft. It should bug Dean, but he can't make himself pull away. Castiel's hand is like an anchor pinning him to the presence. It's way too easy to get lost in memories if there isn't something or someone to hold on to.

Dean doesn't know how long they are sitting like this. It doesn't matter. He is so starved of human touch. When did he stop to pick up women for that? Maybe at the same time he started to feel comfortable in the rare hugs he and Castiel are sharing.

The timer pulls him out of his unhelpful musing. "Time to rock'n'roll," he exclaims a little too enthusiastically as he pulls his hand away, missing the touch instantly.

Castiel follows him and watches as he dusts the worktop with flour, much more lightly than the angel did a few hours earlier.

"C’mere," Dean says. "I'll teach you how to roll it out properly."

Castiel walks around the kitchen island and stands in front of the two balls of dough, squinting at them suspiciously.

Dean chuckles. "They won't bite. Flour the rolling pin and roll it over it. Not too timidly and not too slow. If it cracks in some places, we can fix it later."

Castiel does as he's told, but the dough doesn't cooperate. Dean laughs at his failing attempts and the angel swears unholy curses, the scale of his embarrassment rising steadily. For heaven's sake. He should be able to do such a mundane task with ease.

He's just short of giving up when he feels Dean moving around him, his hands gliding past him on either side.

Castiel holds his breath when Dean puts his hands on top of his own and guides his movements. The hunter's breath tickles his ear and the closeness of their bodies is nearly unbearable.

If Castiel just knew that Dean is feeling the same. That he's wavering between joy and dread, that the fear to overstep any boundaries nearly overwhelms him. But it feels too good to lightly press into the angel's body and it would be awkward if he pulled back now. So he decides to enjoy it, a little birthday present that's harming no-one but him.

When they managed to roll both crust out, Dean steps back and prepares the baking tin. It's only when the decorated pie is in the oven that his mind goes fully back to Castiel who just finished the cleanup.

Dean should make fun of his appearance, the apron powdered with flour just like the coat the angel is still wearing underneath. But he can't find it in himself to tease him. Because honestly? Castiel without his trenchcoat would border on nudity and Dean knows better than to let his thoughts go astray. It's too risky. It might make him blurt out how much he loves him, that he wants him to stay. Forever.

But no good would come out of it. Are angels even capable of romantic love? Physical attraction, sure. He had that with Anna. Obsession, clearly, as Ishim showed. But true love? Dean swallows at his own thoughts. He knows by now of what nature his feelings for Castiel are. It's not as if he didn't try not to fall in love with the angel. But he can't help it. Damn it, Elvis, shut up!

"What is it?" Castiel asks softly, his low voice vibrating through Dean's very soul.

"Nothing." Yeah, that sounded totally convincing. He clears his throat. "Thank you. For the idea to make me pie and for spending the time with me to finish it."

That sounded more cheezy than wanted, but Castiel doesn't get that. It's little mercies like these that keep Dean from forming puddles of embarrassment ever so often.

"You're welcome," Castiel says, forrowing his brows in a way Dean wants to kiss away. "I liked spending time with you. Although I still wish I would have managed to do it on my own."

Dean chuckles. "I baked our birthday cakes every year, but the only time I remember is the one with the jelly towers. It's memories like that that will stay with us, Cass. Not the picture perfect ones. Not that I had plenty of experience with those. Anyway." Dean clears his throat again. Why is it so dry?

Castiel nods. "You are a remarkable man and I hope to make many more beautiful memories like this with you."

Dean swallows around the lump in his throat with no success. How can the angel just say something like that? As if it was the most natural thing to say. Maybe it is. Or Castiel is just insane. Dean doesn't know what's normal anymore. Maybe he doesn't want to if it means having the angel at his side.

"Yeah," he agrees tersely, too worried that the truth might spill out otherwise. How Castiel's sheer presence makes his life more beautiful, that he would be happy to just look into his eyes and forget the world as he does right now. But he keeps it inside, neatly packed away next to all the other things he holds on tightly, never to see the light of day. His love is poison. He knows that. It had been for Sam, for Lisa and Ben, and even for Castiel way too many times to count.

He wasn't aware that he was staring again when Castiel moves into his personal space and cups his face tenderly with both hands. It would be easy to just lean in a little, to brush his lips over the angel's.

"Happy birthday, Dean," Castiel says reverently and Dean closes his eyes. It's too much and way too little. And still the best birthday present of his life.

#happy birthday dean #happy birthday dean winchester #dean winchester #fanfiction #destiel #deancas #I miss Dean #Dean deserved better

[being-worthy]

Sunday Home Cinema: Army of the Dead!!

I haven't done one of these reviews in a long time (thanks to Covid-19 ¬¬) but I'm glad this film was the one to get me back in doing these reviews.

Honestly, I found out about the film about two weeks ago when I clicked on it on YouTube out of curiosity. It looked good and I'm an all big fan of zombie films and series and every zombie-themed film/series, even if it's extremely bad made (e.g. Z Nation but it's so funny to watch).

Sorry for any mistakes or things that make not much sense but I'm writing this at 2.30am and I just wanted to write this down while it's still fresh (I might review it later on if I feel like it).

> SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! <

Apparently, Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead (here's the trailer), which can be watched on Netflix, is the prequel of Dawn of the Dead from 2004 also directed by him, which was a remake of the George A. Romero classic. I've got a hard time seeing this due to the zombies being so different but well, let's just roll with it.

Scott Ward (played by Dave Bautista) is offered/hired for $50 million by Bly Tanaka (villain/businessman played by Hiroyuki Sanada) to break into a walled Las Vegas after it was overrun by a zombie outbreak starting at the outskirts of the city with patient zero aka alpha zombie Zeus (more to the different zombie types later on) to "apparently" retrieve $200 million that is stashed in a safe at the casino's basement. Basically, it's like Ocean's Eleven but with zombies giving the film a nice touch.

I knew from the moment Tanaka offered Scott this job that there was going to be more to it. Why else would a stinking rich guy like Tanaka need to have a group to retrieve some money when: a. the insurance paid him some of that money back. I know he mentions he can't use it but come on, people like him know how to find either a way around whatever rule there might be or even wash it. And b. he looks like a guy who understands how business works and is well off, so you're telling me he wants to send a group there just for $200 million? B*tch please, I'm sure that's just petty cash to him, and there's surely more to it, especially after one of his goons (Martin) "invites" himself to tag along with the group to "make sure" they get the job done.

If I was offered that kind of money to go to a completely sealed city ruled by zombies, I wouldn't accept it no matter how bad my situation might be. The probability that something might go sideways is too high not to mention the risk that the virus spreads out to the rest of the world, I wouldn’t be able to live with that on my conscience.

In order to pull off this heist Scott assembles a team for the mission:

Vanderohe, the tank and chainsaw man. There'll be a little paragraph for him since his fate doesn't make entirely sense to me.

Marianne Peters, the pilot.

Maria Cruz, the mechanic.

Kate Ward, a volunteer in the quarantine zone. She's Scott's daughter and the only (human) survivor in the film.

Geeta, the mother. She ventures into the zombie-infested Vegas to find money in order to pay for safe passage out of the quarantine zone for herself and her children. I believe she dies in the helicopter crash but we don't see her body, so she might be alive somewhat?

Ludwig Dieter, the thief/safe expert, and I love how he questions everything lol!

Lilly "The Coyote", "the one who knows her stuff" aka zombie expert. Somehow interesting that she's got a conscience/good heart.

Martin, the inside man, and Bly Tanaka's right hand and got the death he deserved by kitten Valentine.

Mikey Guzman, the Sharpshooter and a YouTuber.

Chambers, the muscles and Guzman's sidekick (sort of). Her death was very predictable and her own fault! Girl, why the hell would you tell Martin that you don't trust him directly to his face?! That's such a rookie mistake!!

Burt Cummings, also the muscle for like 5 minutes before turning into the bait/bargain chip for a "deal" with the zombies in order to pass their territory. Overall, he's just a big jerk.

We see the first five people are survivors of the outbreak when Vegas was "freshly" being overrun by zombies and barely made it out of the city before it was completely sealed off. The rest of them are new characters. Almost none of them have any deep character story/feeling/development, most of them are quite plain and you don't care whether they survive or not. I've got also a hard time seeing any father-daughter relationship between Scott and Kate. I get that they haven't talked to each other since Scott had to put down Kate's mother after she got turned into a zombie but if I hadn’t seen the beginning I'd say they're just two strangers who met during the outbreak and he saved her at some point.

I very much like the fact that they introduce different types of zombies! On one hand, we've got the standard zombies aka shamblers who move slowly and are dead if you blow their brains out and if they bite you you become a shambler too. Then, there are the alphas who are fast (so fast that they can dodge bullets), they can also think, take orders, and are very organised. If you're bitten by one you become an alpha too but they also die if they're shot in the head which is easier said than done! We've also got a zombie horse, that's more bone than anything else, and a big tiger kitten called Valentine who used to be part of Siegfried & Roy's show (which also throws in the question, during which year is this movie set? They've both already passed away and they haven’t been retired from the entertainment world for a while before they passed away, and we see Tanaka carrying a modern mobile, so it must be during the past 2-3 our years.)

Their leader is patient zero aka Zeus who we see at the beginning being transported by a convoy of soldiers from Area 51 to somewhere else but never makes it there because he breaks free due to part of the convoy crashing into a car of a recent married (while the guy gets a blowjob and doesn’t watch the road!). He also takes the Bride as his queen (later on she's beheaded and her head still alive), who we see to be pregnant!! HOLY COW!! This throws in sooo many questions! For instance, how do zombies reproduce? The same way as we humans? What will the baby look like? Full zombie? A hybrid, half-human half-zombie? What power would they have? Do I even want to know or see this? Probably. Probably not. How many times did I wish they'd have introduced something like this in TWD (before I stopped watching it). At some point the virus that makes people zombies is supposed to mutate, every virus mutates at some point. We did already see a zombie baby in Dawn of the Dead but that was different since the woman was already in the late stages of pregnancy when she got bit. This one was one that was produced from zombie sex. I’ve got a feeling that their sex must be quite violent to say the least. Also, they way how the care for each other, especially Zeus for his Bride and child and seeks vengeance for both their deaths showing they’re capable of feeling and caring for their people. Maybe, just maybe want to find a way to survive without having to turn people but I think they’ll still need humans as a source of food. I don’t think they’re capable to live from eating normal food.

I've to make a special mention about Vanderohe. Besides, the fact that he's very attractive, there are a few things that don't make entirely sense to me.

He survives the nuclear blast of Las Vegas since he was looked inside the safe, which I can see being possible but (a little more possible than Indiana Jones seeking shelter in an old-fashioned fridge from a nuclear blast in Indiana Jones and Kingdom of Crystal Skull)... the whole city was nuked! And I mean big smoke of mushroom nuke! So, shouldn't the place, I don't know, be radioactive or something like that? And shouldn’t he find the nearest decontamination shower? Furthermore, it doesn't make sense that he gets infected, i.e. bitten. He gets into a fight with Zeus while they're in front of the safe and I watched that part several times and in slow motion too and we don't see Zeus bit him. There's one time where Zeus almost bites him but his teeth don't end up sinking into the flesh. He has Van in his hold, dislocates his right shoulder, and almost bites him there but only almost! In that same moment, Dieter hits Zeus in the head and pulls Van into the safe closing the door behind him (and most likely gets killed/turned by Zeus). I repeat there's no "visible" scene of Van being bitten by Zeus or any other zombie in another scene. So, where the f*ck did he get the bite and from who? I've also read that there's a theory of Van being immune because he's not turning as quick as the soldiers at the beginning of the movie when Zeus escapes the convoy (he still might be able to infect others though). He starts to feel lightheaded/dizzy and his body feels cold to the touch on the plane, and around the bite we see the veins turning black but that's it.

As much as I love the concept of the movie, it's very predictable as well as easy to figure out who makes it out alive and who makes it out the other kind of "alive" and it also reminded me a bit of Resident Evil (the first film was good and the rest just a waste). Tanaka wanting a fresh sample of an Alpha to make a virus that enables him to create an army of zombies he can control and take over the world. He could be Wesker's twin and his company the equivalent of the Umbrella Corporation. It's worth to watch but it doesn't compare to other zombie films such as 28 Days Later or even Dawn of the Dead (the classic and newer version), and many others.

#army of the dead #zack snyder #netflix #netflix original #sunday home cinema #honest review #film night #movie night #the ending makes no sense

[carterhartful]

Work Calls and Coverups; Jack Hughes

Requested: no BUT PLEASE SEND SOME

Word count: 1.2k

Type: smut

Notes: so this my third imagine and my second jack Hughes one, and there’s no like full smut but like this is my first smut ish thing so suffer with me🦋

You sat uncomfortably on the stool at the sparkling granite countertop, but could not figure out what to do in the very rare occasion of the Hughes house being mostly empty and calm. You were bored out of your mind as you watched the seconds on the clock tick by on the sleek clock, as your mind swirled blankly. Soon after, Jack had wandered into the kitchen making his way towards the fridge in search of some fruit.

You sprung up from your position wanting to do something with him to liven up the plain day.

"Are you doing anything right now Jack?" You questioned spinning him around and lightly grabbing his hands, a giddy smile spread across your lips. Your heart raced with excitement in hopes of a

'nothing' for a response.

"Doing important work emails for the draft on my laptop, but I can come sit with you if you want?" He offered in hopes of helping the situation, not being able to get out of the work he was given. But only a tight lipped smile spread across your face, since you weren't surprised but were also not necessarily happy with the answer. Jack's face contorted to an apologetic frown, feeling guilty about the situation.

"Sure, I guess that works." You had sounded upset, but it wasn't as bad you seemed, you were honestly happy with him just being around you with his glowing presence.

"Okay, I'm sorry we couldn't do anything today baby girl. Maybe tomorrow." He offered sincerely hoping that would cheer up your mood a little bit, and get the beaming smile that he fell in love with back on your face.

"Sounds like a plan." You were truly pleased with the word of hanging out with the love of your life, just sitting around and doing nothing would've done the job too. But today you were up for something else.

As Jack quickly gathered his things from his bedroom, bring them to the counter, you had thought of stuff the both of you could do while just in the kitchen. Some stuff came to mind. Then other stuff came to mind. You had decided on option two.

As the boy had sat down with his laptop and tangled cords set in front of him as he had soon gotten back down to business and opened the next email, you had walked up behind him and placed your hands around his neck, giving him a sweet hug from behind. You then turned your head and put your lips to his neck in the most gentle and grazing manner, leaving him wanting more. As soon as he had turned around in hopes of continuing, his phone began to ring, indicating that it was an important call with the Devils management.

He paused in his motions to pick up the call, swiftly putting the phone to his ear ready for a meeting.

You internally had produced a deep groan of annoyance, being interrupted.

"Hello, this is Jack Hughes speaking?"

You could hear the sense of seriousness he had tried to use in order to cover up the playfulness his natural tone gives off, really wanting to be on the Devils good side, in hopes of the number one pick.

Spinning back around, he had locked his eyes back onto the bright pixelated screen, now deep into the conversation he was having.

But you wanted to continue. As he had exchanged important words with the other man, you had once again wrapped your hands around his neck, spinning him forewords and out of the trance of the computer.

He raised an eyebrow as he had taken in the words from the other end of the line, but still confused on what you were doing. You soon proved your point when you had repeated your actions from before, and had started to leave purple mark on his neck. Once you had done that, he understood what you had been going at, and shook the thought in his head away as he focused back on the call. You soon pulled away and needed something new to get his attention. You took a moment, stepping back casually and think about the possibilities.

Your mind quickly sprung to an idea as a smirk covered your face, your boyfriend raising an eyebrow at you. Leaning forewords, you placed a silent soft kiss on his lips, as you slowly lifted your legs one at a time until you were straddling the boy who had a look that said 'oh god' written all over it.

You go to place a gentle and seductive kiss on his jawline, feeling him try to slightly distance his face from yours so he would be able to act normally. His plan not working.

Jack was trying his hardest to pay attention to every detail and word that the man had said as you schemed, but his brain just wouldn't work properly.

But from your view he hadn't seemed to be affected by you, so you decided to kick it up a notch. What you had been doing was really risky, not knowing whether jack would get really mad at you or not but you felt like being dangerous. Next thing you knew, your hands working without your mind, you were gently palming the boy through his jeans.

At that moment you could hear Jack's breath hitch, his eyes going wide in worry. In the silence you could hear the man repeat the question waiting for an answer.

Jack had struggled to get the words to come out.

"Y-yes S-sir," his stutter had cracked you up, seeing the affect you had.

"I'd appreciate that very much, thankyou"

You had advanced wanting to see how far you could go, your next step to pull down his jeans leaving him in his boxers. Jack's breathing had sped up immensely as you had just placed your hand over him again.

You had only started your job and you could hear the breathy held in moans, that had been muffled under his breath as best as possible.

"Thank you, once again, for speaking with me." Jack had shared as he seemed to be at the end of the phone call.

"No problem, but nice try, go have some fun with that girlfriend of yours." He said with a laugh attached.

“Thank you, have a good day” Jack finished as he hung up the phone right after. He placed the phone on the table before turning back to you, sliding his hands around your waist, reaching your ass, giving a firm squeeze.

“If I don’t go first overall you are in so much trouble baby girl” he teased before having the real fun of the night.

#jack imagine #jack hughes imagine #j.hughes imagine #jack #jack hughes #hughes #work calls and coverups #carthartful #imagine #smut #j.hughes

[ayanacam]

Stand Still

:05

Two Months Ago

November 24th, 2022

Thanksgiving Day

Christen slowly rubbed her belly as the car started slowing down to stop in front of her parent's house. It was a maternal habit she had immediately picked up around her fifth month of pregnancy. She was now eight months, due sometime in mid-December. She was huge, something she had been struggling with for a time but Dallas had always reassured she was beautiful each and every time. Christen was ready for her little one to come out, anticipation of having a mini-me around seemed so exciting. She could hardly wait.

Dallas had parked, turning to Christen.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dallas looked concerned, scared that his wife was hiding something from him.

"Yes, I'm sure. Just feeling a little big today." She sighed.

"You're beautiful baby, and even more so that you're carrying our angel. It'll never change." Dallas reassured, pulling her head down to meet his lips. His hand smoothly rubbed over Christen's belly as Christen sighed in contentment. Sometimes she needed to be reassured.

Dallas smiled at her before exiting the car to come to her side, helping her out. Christen heaved herself up against Dallas's weight before straightening her black sweater dress. She had taken a waddle up once she hit her third trimester, her back consistently making her ache, but she didn't mind.

"Ready?" Dallas questioned, making sure all of the food packed and Christen were okay.

She nodded, beginning her penguin walk while Dallas quietly chuckled in the background. He loved her walk. The fact that it was caused by their own creation made it special to him. He wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Christen stepped up the stairs slowly, huffing breaths from exhaustion. It seemed like every time she did anything, she was short of breath.

Christen immediately opened the door as she stepped in front, seeing no reason to wait as this was her own home.

Everyone had cheered as they walked through door, swarming around Christen and her big belly. Her mood had immediately shifted from calm to annoyed. She hadn't been big on touching lately, besides from Dallas. The feel of having multiple people around since she had revealed she was pregnant had been challenging. She normally would want tons of hugs and warm touches, but lately she hadn't wanted any of it. Being uncomfortable pregnant was enough without all the maneuvering she had to do to even hug someone. She'd rather avoid it.

"Did you guys make it safely?" Christen's mother asked once they got settled.

"Yes mom." Christen rolled her eyes, her mother the epitome of worrisome.

"We did Maria, thank you." Dallas replied, his hand smoothing over Christen's bangs as she leaned into him appreciating the warmth he'd given her.

"I know baby, you're ready for this to be over." Maria sat down next to her daughter, patting her knee. "She'll be here before you know it."

Christen groaned, "I want her out now. I'm ready to sleep normally again."

Dallas chuckled lowly into Christen's head, rubbing her shoulder.

"Alright guys, time to eat." Christen's dad called from the kitchen.

Dallas removed himself swiftly, his hands held out to pull Christen up. She stumbled slightly as he pulled a little too hard, but quickly balanced herself again. They all led themselves into the kitchen, cousins and grandparents crowded around the table.

"So, how long are you going to be off work after the pregnancy Dallas?" Christen's grandpa, Jack Collins, asked.

"About three months, longer if we don't find a nanny within that time frame."

"A nanny?" Christen's grandmother, Lucille Collins, exasperated. "In my day, the wife was a stay at home mother. You don't want to do that Chrissy?"

Christen screamed internally, her grandmother always a "do-it-my-way" figure. She didn't like when someone stepped out of those boundaries, and being a full time wife and mother was one of those boundaries.

"I figured we'd both go back to work, me in the gallery and him at the office. Life doesn't stop even when children come into the picture Gam." Christen forced a smile, her voice short.

Lucille scoffed, "You should always be in your children's life. You miss all the important milestones when you hire someone to take care of your child."

"Well it's 2022, not 1963." Christen snapped, her patience wearing thin. She wanted the discussion dropped and she wasn't in the mood to argue. Everyone around the table had gone quiet, their utensils clanking awkwardly against the expensive china Christen's parents always pulled out for the holidays.

"I think it's time to play White Elephant, don't you guys?" Her father announced, the tension relieved once the family tradition had been suggested.

Everyone piled their dishes into the kitchen and immediately moved into the family room.

Present Day

January 19th 2023

"Can we come in?" Andrew asked softly, not wanting to set the woman off.

Caroline debated silently, her mind reeling as she looked over the two people in Dallas's life she knew about very well. Christen especially. Dallas and Caroline had met three years ago at a bar in Times Square. Unfortunately she had learned the next morning that Dallas was married when he had lost his mind over the drunken mistake. Caroline had felt terrible, both of them highly intoxicated without anyone to stop what had been done.

Dallas had apologized profusely, leaving shortly thereafter. Unfortunately a month later, Caroline had found she was pregnant and a few more weeks later, with twins. A boy and a girl. She knew she had to contact Dallas, he had deserved the right to know.

Dallas had been less than happy to hear the news the day she had called the office. He went ballistic, cursing to the Gods. He calmed over the next few days eventually giving Caroline a sensible situation, her to be a secret.

They had gone no further than a friendly hug and a doctor's appointment but after the third trimester, they had quickly become more. Lingering touches and stolen kisses had become a thing and before they knew it, sex had been involved along with feelings. The twins had been born and Dallas promised to leave Christen. In the mean time, however, she would stay up here and wait.

"Sure." Caroline swallowed.

"I'm sure you know who this is?" Andrew pestered, seeing if the woman would lie.

Caroline nodded her head, ashamed and guilty. "Yes, it's nice to meet you Christen."

Christen found herself to be strangely quiet, not quite feeling the moment to be real. She was looking her husband's mistress in her face on her own porch and Christen couldn't help but feel her blood boil.

All three of them walked through the home, a hallway dividing the rooms in between. Overall the house was lovely, hints of Dallas everywhere Christen looked. Pictures of him had been posted everywhere with their family. Christen's heart tugged in hurt as she eventually looked down at her feet.

Andrew was disgusted, silent murderous rage filling his body as he thought about bringing Dallas back to life just to kill him again. He was utterly appalled, he never knew his best friend since college could do such a thing. His fingers interlaced with Christen's as he noticed her state. She wouldn't look anywhere, her curls covering most of her face as she kept eye contact with the floor.

"Would you guys like anything to drink?" Caroline offered.

"A water would be nice." Andrew suggested.

Caroline nodded and pulled herself to the fridge, producing two bottles of water.

"May I ask why you two came to visit me?" Caroline finally sliced the room full of tension.

"The insurance policy needs to be handled." Andrew curtly stated, infuriated by the fact that this woman was bold and daring. In a moment like this, she didn't have the right to ask any questions.

Caroline nodded, "What did you guys need to know?"

"Did you even feel guilty sleeping with a married man or is that the whore in you?" Christen asked, her courage had finally found a voice.

Caroline was taken aback, not surprised by the accusation but nevertheless shocked that Christen had asked it in this certain way. She cleared her throat and swallowed," Listen, what happened between Dallas and I will stay between us, even if he no longer is here."

"Well it's Christen's business now since she now has to file for you to be taken care of, so make this trip worth our while and she may consider giving you a part of her trust." Andrew worded slowly, driving each word home.

Caroline felt intimidated, Dallas had said Andrew was a gentle giant. It was nothing like the steel gentleman before her. "Ask away then."

"When did the affair start?" Christen murmured.

"May 2020." Caroline offered. "We met at a bar in Times Square and we had sex."

"That's the night you conceived the twins?" Andrew questioned.

Caroline nodded and Christen became sick. That was the month she had had the third miscarriage. Each one hurt more than the last, she would make it tiny bits farther but it would always end up with her in a hospital bed for 24 hours and bed rest immediately after. Caroline had conceived just fine. Christen knew it had been her. The reason conceiving had been impossible was on her end.

"Did you ever feel any remorse?" Christen swallowed, her mind unraveling.

Caroline sighed deeply, "In moments I did, but I won't lie, for the most part no."

Christen nodded, taking in her words.

"And what were Dallas' thoughts?" Andrew pressed.

"H- He felt guilty, every night and day. He would always talk about you and how much it hurt to cheat. He said that his fear of hurting you overrode his guilty conscience." Caroline admitted.

Christen finally had gotten a good look at Caroline. She was wearing a ratty old tee, no doubt Dallas' and a pair of leggings and white fuzzy socks. Her blonde hair was in a sloppy bun and her face was swollen as if she had been crying all night.

Christen was mindful of her next question. She wanted to stir the pot.

"Why didn't either one of you stop if you both felt guilty?"

Caroline took a deep breath, "We loved each other."

Christen froze, as did Andrew. Andrew wanted to strangle her from across the coffee table that was placed strategically in front of them. She had the audacity to claim such a thing but in Andrew's mind, Dallas had loved neither one of them. He loved the game of forbidden treats. He knew Dallas too well, that Dallas wanted his cake and to eat it too. Andrew thought he had changed when he met Christen but he had been dead wrong.

Andrew flicked his eyes over to Christen, her reaction being gauged. He didn't know what Christen was feeling, she wasn't even looking up from the coffee table. She simply had her arms folded under her chin with her fingers splayed across her mouth.

Christen didn't want to ask any more questions, it seemed like all the ones she had before had disappeared into thin air. She didn't want to learn any new secrets about Dallas. Everything she had learned already had been enough. Although, there were a couple questions she needed answered.

"Did you know Dallas was part of illegal activity?" Christen voiced.

Caroline nodded sheepishly.

Another thing Christen didn't know.

"It wasn't by him telling me. I had just caught a couple of transactions going through his bank when he asked me to check his bank account. A lawyer only makes so much. He confessed when I started asking too many questions." Caroline admitted.

So she had known everything, from the imminent danger that always lurked around to his relationship with Christen. She had known his finances and every back door about Dallas. So exactly why had Dallas kept Christen around? It seemed that he had everything and more up here with Caroline.

"He loved you...Christen," Caroline started. "He loved you so much that he wouldn't leave. He talked about you all the time, and I know you've got so many things coming through you right now but do not ever doubt what he felt for you." She sounded broken, as if this was hard for her to admit.

Christen shook, in hurt and anger. "Do not tell me what you think. It doesn't justify what I know."

Caroline nodded, preceding to back off. She didn't want to cause any more harm to anyone. She had the damage in front of her. Christen looked, in literal terms, broken. She had bruises on her face, her tight brown curls layered around her forehead and cheeks. She looked to be breathing hard and from what Caroline had heard, she had been beaten with a bat before she was knocked out.

"I think it's time to go. The lawyers will be in contact." Andrew softly spoke, standing up from the teal colored couch.

Caroline stood along with him, Andrew reaching out to pull Christen from the couch. Christen winced, the sharp pain of her ribs catching her.

"Are you okay?" Andrew worriedly questioned.

"Are the meds in the car?"

"Yes, should be in the glove compartment." Andrew answered to Christen.

Caroline stayed quiet, her heart hurting for Christen. She had no right, that she knew. But she couldn't help but place herself at the scene, imagining herself in Christen's shoes. Caroline watched Christen cautiously, ready to jump to her aid. She may have done heinous acts but that didn't take away from her caring nature.

Christen made it to the front door slowly but surely, Andrew's aid helping immensely. Caroline held the door open so no further obstruction could hinder Christen's progress.

"I know this really isn't my place. I just want to say I'm sorry. Things between Dallas and I...they should have never happened. There's nothing I could say or do, that would make this better." Caroline ejected.

Christen's blood boiled but she held her tongue. She had nothing further to say to Dallas's mistress. Andrew nodded to her apology before escorting Christen to the car. Andrew slid Christen in the car softly, aware to not stir her abruptly before he grabbed the pills and put them in her hand.

Christen gulped the pills down quickly, begging internally for the pain to stop. Nothing could make the pain in her heart go away. Dallas had ripped her to shreds and seeing Caroline today had done the final tinge on her heart. She had kids with the love of her life. She had gotten everything in life that Christen had wanted.

Christen hadn't realized that tears were now streaming down her face until Andrew gripped her hand from her face and shushed her. Christen wailed, her body racked with sobs. Andrew didn't know what to do, however streams of tears followed his face as well. After a few minutes, Christen finally calmed. Her body shook from time to time but Andrew could tell the worst was over, for now.

Christen stayed silent as Andrew gripped her hand and started the car. His thumb pressed against the push to start and off they were.

Christen for the most part had slept throughout the car ride. The darkness enveloping them as the trip to the motel back in town was almost over. Andrew quietly looked over at Christen's sleeping frame, detailing her. Her curls draped across her face as she breathed quietly. Her pink lips were parted slightly due to the positioning of her hand against her right cheek. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as she moved slightly to make herself comfortable. Andrew was entranced. He saw Christen for what she was, not for what she put on. 

Andrew pulled into an empty parking lot, the motel lights lit up the dark scenery. Trees lined the property, slightly moving in the wind. There were a couple of other cars, but for the most part the motel was vacant.

He triple checked Christen's sleeping state before moving out of the car to grab a room for Christen and him. The steps to the reception office had him on edge, but his feelings were kept in check. He couldn't be a weakling now.

The receptionist, the same from the night before was here again.

"Another night?" the clerk asked. 

Andrew breathed out a snort, "Unfortunately." 

The clerk rolled his eyes and took the card that was held between Andrew's slim hand. Andrew looked around the place briefly. The lights were dingy, the floors were dirty, and the furniture in the lobby was tore in multiple places. Andrew wondered how this place was even still open, what with the lack of customers and upkeep. 

Andrew quickly gripped his card back and stumbled out of the office area to help Christen upstairs. As he grasped his thoughts, he opened Christen's door to find her awake. Her curls were pulled towards the back of her head in a messy bun. Strands of small curls framed her face, blocking some of the damage done by her attackers. He still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, despite everything she'd been through in the last week. 

Christen clung to his arm as she pulled herself out of the sedan. She hated feeling this way, helpless. It only made her thoughts worse. She still had so many unanswered questions for Caroline and Dallas. But one was someone she hated, the other is dead. She couldn't bare sitting another minute with the woman who got her life way before she had actually started hers. 

As Christen started to move, her ribs began to throb heavily. With a sharp intake of breath, she doubled over, causing Andrew to catch her immediately. 

"What's wrong? What hurts?" his frantic voice and hands moving around her. 

"Meds, please." Christen gritted out. 

He immediately moved Christen to the side of the car to hold her weight before going to grab her medication. The rattle of the pills in the bottle calmed Christen down, at least she wouldn't be in any physical pain for awhile. The emotional pain was something she hadn't quite grasped yet. After swallowing her two white pills, she stretched up slowly to ease her pain. Andrew caught her as she stumbled and pulled her arm around his neck so she could have some balance. 

The walk to the room was silent, no words spoken between Andrew and Christen. Neither one of them knew what to say. What exactly was there to say? 'I'm sorry your husband cheated on you and got himself killed by doing illegal business?' or 'I'm sorry that your best friend wasn't who you thought he was?'. Neither option sounded like one the other wanted to hear. 

As soon as they had stepped into the room, Andrew had placed Christen on the couch and went to the kitchen. 

"Coffee?" Andrew's voice sounded. 

Christen nodded, even though it was late, she couldn't help but want coffee to soothe whatever she was feeling. The Keurig coffee machine began to whir, keeping Christen occupied with her thoughts. 

Christen stared out of the window to the empty parking lot, "What am I supposed to do Drew?" 

Her voice was soft, tears laden in the thickness. 

"I don't know." He answered quietly.