#//anyway. i had a point to these tags at one point but the bean thoughts took me over again

[keeps-ache]

oh right i forgot about polls

[sailortongue]

Lima Bean

pairing: kenji sato x reader

summary: kenji makes his intentions clear and a certain reporter is a little too committed to his job

an: ik the title is kinda dumb but bear with me i have an idea (title is still subject to change if the idea falls through). also tags are being kind of silly and I don't know how to get them to act right so if you asked to be tagged but didn't get notified I swear I tried 😭

wc: 2k

navi | prev | series mlist

--------

“I’m pregnant.”

Those two words changed Kenji’s entire demeanor in seconds. His face dropped and his jaw hung open in complete disbelief. “. . . Are you sure?” He asked. 

“Positive test, missed period, morning sickness,” you listed off. “I’m going to make an OBGYN appointment anyway just to be 100% sure, but so far yeah I’m pretty sure.”

“Ah,” was all he could say in response, his mind both blank and racing at the same time. Had he really not used protection? Was he that drunk? He tried to think back to that night, but all he could seem to remember was a flash of you under him and his lips on your neck. His face immediately flushed scarlet. 

“Are you angry?” You asked, noticing the rapid shift in his complexion. 

He rushed to deny your assumption. “No! No, nothing like that. I'm just . . . not sure what to make of this.”

“I know how you feel,” you said wryly. “Just thought you should know, I guess.” You shrugged your shoulders, feeling almost hollow inside with the knowledge that your life was about to undergo a drastic change.

“I appreciate it, thank you. If you don’t mind, uh,” he hesitated, searching for the right words. “I'd like to be present. To be a father.” He thought back to when he took care of Emi and how much he came to love her. He was confident in his ability to take care of his own biological child, even if these weren’t the circumstances in which he imagined he’d have one. 

You looked at him as if you were meeting him for the very first time, entirely taken aback by his willingness to step up. Truthfully you'd expected him to deny any responsibility, but there he was, asking to raise the baby alongside you—to step up to the metaphorical plate and be a dad. “Really? And you’re not going to leave at the first inconvenience?”

“No. You have my word on that.” His expression was one of utmost sincerity. “I want to be a dad. Granted, this isn’t how I expected it,” he laughed awkwardly, “but it’s how it happened, and I won't run away from it.”

You gave him a soft smile. “I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to be so noble.”

“Thought I’d tell you to get rid of it or just throw a check at you to never contact me again? I understand the concern, but I want to be there every step of the way.”

“Then, would you like to come with me for my appointment? I haven’t scheduled it yet but . . .” you trailed off, realizing you were asking a very busy man to take time out of his day to accompany you to a doctor's appointment. “Unless of course you’re busy or don’t want to,” you added quickly.

He laughed at how flustered you’d gotten. “I'll be there. No matter the weather, practice, or a game, I will be there. That’s my kid you’ve got in there after all,” he said with a broad grin on his face as he pointed to your abdomen. “And that takes priority over everything else.”

“Wow. You’re smitten with something that’s probably the size of a lima bean right now,” you teased.

“Woah now, that’s our lima bean and I’m going to be the best dad a bean could wish for,” he asserted, imagining teaching his future son or daughter to play baseball with him or helping with homework, even what it would be like to do his daughter’s hair, or perhaps teaching his son how to tie a tie.

He was snapped from his thoughts when you slid your phone towards him from across the table, the screen displaying a new contact. “If we're going to be coparenting we should have each other's numbers.”

He picked up the device to input his number and then checked his own phone. He showed you the screen, a message from your own number displayed there. 

It was only when he handed your phone back to you that you noticed how late it had already become. “Oh wow, I didn’t realize the time. I didn't mean to keep you so late,” you apologized. 

“No no, it’s fine. I'm glad you, or, Ami, I guess, insisted we have this conversation in person. Think if I had been told over text I’d still be sitting on the couch reading it over and over again,” he laughed. 

“That was how I felt looking at the test. It didn’t feel real.” You had a smile that mirrored his own, and you couldn’t believe how fortunate you were that Kenji wasn’t the douche you expected he’d be when he found out. Quite the opposite, to your pleasant surprise.

“Do you need a ride back home?” He asked earnestly, not quite ready to say bye. After all, you hadn’t  allowed him the chance the last time you had met. 

You shook your head as you stood from the table. “No, I drove here, but thanks anyway. I guess I'll keep in touch?”

He hummed in affirmation, standing from his chair, his impressive height towering over you. He gestured for you to walk first, following close behind you, his hand lightly pressed to your lower back as he walked with you to your car. While the two of you were wishing each other good night, another patron of the cafe was typing furiously into his phone, notifying his boss that he had just overheard the sport's world's juiciest scandal in months.

-❀-

The first thing you did the following day was schedule an appointment with an obstetrician. There had been a recent cancellation so you were able to get a slot in just a few days. You sent Kenji a text to notify him when and where, a small part of you looking forward to seeing him again. He responded quickly, saying he would definitely be there. 

When the day came, he called you to ask if you wanted to go together, rather than take two cars. You agreed and told him your address, choosing to wait for him inside due to the biting cold of December. When you heard a car pull up, you exited your home, and it took all of your willpower not to gawk at his car, which was probably worth more than your entire house. You saw the driver's door begin to open, and he stepped out, breathtakingly handsome as usual. He pushed his sunglasses on top of his head and waved, greeting you with a jovial “Morning!”

“Good morning, Kenji,” you returned, a smile gracing your features. 

As you approached the car, he slid back into the driver's seat and looked over at you, taking in the sight of the mother of his future child. He'd lain awake all night, playing with the idea over and over in his mind. He was really going to be a dad. How different could it be to raise a human baby if he’d already done so with a 20-foot-tall kaiju baby?

You noticed his gaze in your peripheral vision, but as you turned to look at him he snapped his attention forward and made himself busy with inputting the name of the doctor’s office you’d given him into the GPS. 

The ride was filled with pleasant small talk, asking each other how you had been since last time, basically avoiding the elephant in the room and talking about everything except the new life between you. After parking, he made sure to open the door to the office for you and entered after you, a rush of cold air enveloping you as you approached the front desk. You confirmed your appointment with the receptionist, and she directed the two of you to sit in the waiting room and told you your name would be called when the doctor was ready. 

As you were waiting, you noticed Kenji’s leg bouncing up and down rapidly, showing his nerves despite it not even being his appointment. You took the opportunity that had presented itself and placed your hand atop his knee. He looked over at you, his brown eyes wide and his lips pressed into a thin line. “You can wait in the car if you’d prefer—“

“No!” He all but shouted, refusing to let you believe for even one second that he would run out. “I said I would be here for you and I will,” he said adamantly, placing his hand over yours where it was still on his knee and squeezing tightly, a physical reassurance that we was staying put. 

“y/n l/n.” You heard your name called.  You and Kenji stood together, his hand not releasing yours. Instead, he rubbed calming circles on the skin as you were escorted into the patient rooms, though you weren’t entirely sure if it was meant to ease his nerves or yours. Either way, it was a sweet gesture.

-❀-

The gel was cold as it was spread across your exposed skin, sending shivers up your spine. A grainy black and white image showed up on the screen, and the doctor pointed to a small grey object depicted on it, surrounded by a sea of black. “This,” she started, “is the fetus.” You looked at the screen in awe before glancing over at Kenji. He was seated in a chair against the wall, his elbows braced on his knees as he leaned forward, his attention rapt on the screen and his lips open in a small “o” shape. 

The doctor chuckled at your amazed reactions. “Excited to be parents?” She asked.

You don’t think Kenji even heard her, so you answered. “To be totally honest, this was unexpected, but I think we can make it work. Kenji here made it very clear that he wants to be a dad.”

“That's wonderful to hear. Well, looking at the scan I'd say you’re about 7 weeks along and you can expect to welcome the baby around August 11. 

Kenji was practically bubbling as you each took your seats in the car, and he kept stealing glances at your tummy even if you weren’t showing any visible change yet. 

-❀-

These past few days of tailing the nation's sweetheart baseball player were so worth it, thought the man sitting in his car while browsing through the photos of Kenji Sato and a woman he’d never been seen with before entering and leaving an OBGYN facility together. Interesting. Very interesting. With those photos there was no denying that Kenji Sato, baseball heartthrob, was a soon-to-be father.

-❀-

Kenji put the car in park in your driveway. You made to get out of the car until he exclaimed “Wait!” You re-situated yourself on the seat, angling yourself towards him. He seemed almost at war with himself, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to actually say what had prompted him to stop you from leaving. “Would you, uh,” he faltered, chuckling awkwardly. “Would you like to go on a date with me?” He gave you a hopeful look. 

Heat flushed across your face and ears, and you beamed at him. “Doing things way out of order aren’t we?” You joked. 

He laughed mirthfully as well. “Way out of order,” he agreed. “So, was that a yes? To go out?”

“Yes, that was a yes,” you giggled, finding his eagerness endearingly sweet.

He nodded his head. “Ok. Ok, great. Are you free this Saturday? I'll pick you up?”

“I’ll see you then,” you agreed cheerfully, and, deciding to take another risk since you were doing things all out of order anyway, you leaned over and placed a quick peck against his cheek before hopping out of the car and waving goodbye. He continued to wait in the car until he saw you safely enter your home, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest and his face crimson red, one hand placed lightly against where your lips had touched his skin. 

----------

next

----------

taglist: @mochminnie @lovingyeet @sassy-cat-in-town @hanachiiii @aise-30 @reivelmin @fcheung750 @breaddippedinorangejuice @lunaryasha @imsimping4life @boomboom-tanjiro2019 @f1uveryysblog @random-3455 @b3e-sat0 @retaaaa56 @casualburning

[boobearymuch]

Sweeter Than Coffee

Summary: He was his own worst enemy, he knew this. His friends knew this. And as annoying as it might seem, he promised them to try. Leon could at least have the decency to pretend to be interested in this date. That’s when he heard it. His name. At first a question, then a statement loud enough to finally grab his attention. And – oh wow, are you his date? Tags: Leon S. Kennedy/gn!reader, fluff, light angst, mentions of anxiety and insomnia, first date fluff, blind date Word Count: 2k Read on AO3

Notes: Another upload from ao3!! Writing some new stuff though, maybe sneak peek soon ? (it's a plagas!Leon fic hehe)

Fuck.

Just one night. Was just one night of sleep too much to ask for? Surely of all days his fucked up sleep schedule decided to wreak havoc, it just had to be this one, didn’t it? So much for a fresh beginning, Leon thought darkly. Well, if the agent were being honest with himself he knew he’d fuck this up; to think he ever thought otherwise is a total joke. And – speaking of jokes – Leon swore he heard his love life die out in a pathetic gurgle as the coffee shop came into view. Jesus, he hoped it was the right one. When he left his apartment he initially took off in the wrong direction, muscle memory taking him in the direction of work instead of the date he promised his meddlesome coworkers he would go on. At this point, it would probably be less humiliating to say he never showed up than admit he arrived so late his date thought he never showed up. But it was too late. The door handle was right there, and after working up a sweat running to this place, he damn well deserved a coffee. 

Like most coffee places did, this one smelled heavenly. It has admittedly been a while since he last visited his usual one – the shop a few blocks from his apartment that also served Cuban sandwiches – and the smell of coffee beans was almost enough to make Leon forget how irritated he was. Almost. His expression dropped into its usual frown now as he allowed himself to catch his breath and survey the room. He couldn’t help but look predatory as his frosty gaze lingered at the counter, then to the many small tables dotted around the room. Was this a waste of his time? Were you even here? His coworker seemed to think he’d get along with you, for whatever reason, but looking for you now had him second guessing. It’s been a while since he’d been on a date. A long, long while. And assuming he didn’t fuck this up and you were still here, he might end up talking himself out of it anyway. I mean, maybe it wasn’t too late. Leon could spin on his heel right now and leave, maybe walk to the park with a sandwich…

He was his own worst enemy, he knew this. His friends knew this. And as annoying as it might seem, he promised them to try. Leon could at least have the decency to pretend to be interested in this date. That’s when he heard it. His name. At first a question, then a statement loud enough to finally grab his attention. And – oh wow, are you his date? 

Leon only caught a glimpse of you prior to the meeting thanks to a grainy photo on his coworker’s flip phone. But nothing could have prepared him for the vision waving at him shyly, an uncertain smile reaching your lips. “Hi,” He said, unable to take his eyes off you, “I’m Leon.” He didn’t even know when he moved close enough to grab the chair opposite you. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Your excitement reached your eyes, and a sudden wave of guilt overcame Leon for his idea about leaving just moments ago. God – you look nice. Like, really nice. Should he have tried harder than a t-shirt and jeans? He prayed to god his shirt wasn’t inside out, but hopefully the bomber jacket covered that negligence. Hopefully. Shit, did he wash it? It takes him a moment to realize you’re talking again, snapping himself free of thoughts of dirty laundry and instead on the cup you pushed toward him. Like some sort of angel, you’ve already bought his coffee. “It’s got cream and sugar, I hope that’s okay. I wasn’t sure how you took yours…” 

Usually, Leon drank his coffee black. Not necessarily because he liked it, but rather out of convenience more than anything. Sometimes it’s all they have on missions, and when you’re pulling all-nighters in freezing temperatures, hot (albeit bitter) coffee is a blessing. He remembers his manners long enough to thank you, before taking a gentle sip. It’s sweet, and he’s not used to it, but he drinks it gratefully after the night he’s had. Which reminds Leon of his predicament. “I’m sorry for being late.” He began sincerely and lowered his gaze to watch your hands wrap around the paper coffee cup, “It’s kind of…lame, but I slept in by accident.” The bouts of insomnia haven’t gone away since returning from Spain. 

But you don’t seem to mind, and only let out a small, “Mm, it’s alright. I was late too, so it worked out.” A blush reached your face – embarrassed – and Leon felt an invisible weight lift off his achy shoulders. You could have chosen to keep that to yourself, Leon would be none the wiser, but you didn’t. Perhaps his confidence was finally returning to him, but he had to know. 

“Oh, really? What’s your excuse?” 

The way you peered down at your coffee to avoid his teasing made him want to reach over and direct your warm gaze back at him. “You’re gonna think it’s ridiculous, but…” You tell him. It was a damn hummingbird. Walking over, perfectly on time, you were distracted by a hummingbird going crazy in a flowering bush. You even stopped to take pictures on your small flip phone. And Leon can’t help it, he laughs. To think he jogged down the street – haggard and unkempt – while you stopped to admire a bird. 

You smiled too, but feigned offense to his reaction. “I never see them in this part of the city.” You defended, and Leon shook his head, shoulders still shaking with a silent laugh, “What? They’re good luck, you know.”

“Mm, really?”

“Yes, actually.” You insisted while he bit back a goofy smile and took another sip of his sweet coffee, “I mean, maybe. I’ll have to see how this coffee pans out first.” You seem shy again, as if it suddenly dawned on you this was a date. Fuck, he’s so glad he came. How could Leon have gone about the rest of his day without hearing about your lucky hummingbird? And then you asked, “So – what do you do?”

Ah. He wished you had asked him about anything else. Leon’s gaze suddenly dropped to his coffee, and he thumbed it as flashes of his latest work trip came to mind. Spain, Las Plagas, Ashley. “Um, I do work for the government.” He cleared his throat, unable to focus on your reaction – on anything – when he thinks about Spain. “It’s…a lot.” It wasn’t fair. You were making each other smile just moments ago until his damn anxiety reared its ugly head again. Spain, Las Plagas, Ashley, Luis.

“The government? I can’t imagine how overworked they have you.” You sympathized, and god bless you for trying to make him lighten up. The truth is, he’s developed some odd habits since returning. Sometimes he feels his veins twitch like they remember the parasite that nearly consumed him. And if he’s wearing sleeves, he fervently pushes them up about two or three times in the same hour to check for veins. But his insomnia…that fucked with him worse. When Leon lies down to rest, he’ll be dozing off and swear he hears Ashley’s voice in the distance. It just sounds so vivid, he can’t help but get up – each and every time – to check each room, make sure they’re empty. If it happens multiple times in one night, he’ll grab his gun and do a perimeter check outside the apartment. It’s a miracle his neighbors haven’t called the police on the crazed man in pajama pants who circled the property twice a night. And when his body finally tired out from being on alert, sleep was no respite. If he dreams, he’s running through castles and empty police stations. Footsteps squelch with rainwater and blood. 

But he doesn’t tell you any of this. Spain, Las Plagas, Ashley, Luis, Krauser.

Fuck, he’s been quiet for too long. His friends warned him about being curt. “Yeah, I have to travel a lot. It’s exhausting.”

You nodded in understanding, but Leon couldn’t bring himself to look at you anymore. You probably thought he was such an asshole for switching up on you. But if you did, you didn’t show it. “Really? Traveling sounds nice. Where do they send you?” Your refusal to let him stew in his emotions tugs at his heartstrings, but he wished you’d change the subject now.

Leon laughs without humor. “Recently, Spain.” 

“Ah, not a fan of Spain then?” Your voice is softer now, the tone of your voice akin to someone approaching a wounded animal. 

  “No,” He confessed somberly, “Not really.” 

“Yeah, fuck Spain.” Your cussing caught him off guard, and he finally looks up to watch you flush with warmth as you feign hatred for the topic. “And their late night dinners. And…and paellas.”

Leon is amused by your declaration, clearly trying hard to make him smile and god he loves you for that. And, fuck, it works. “Actually,” The corners of his lips rise, “Paellas are pretty good.”

“You’re right, they really are.” You admit, which makes him huff with a laugh. 

God, he needs to get it together. Ask you something, at least. Leon was never spectacular at small talk – he quipped here and there – but holding a conversation that wasn’t about work? Hell, he was struggling to even do that. “Listen, can I ask you something?” The words leave his mouth before he can second guess himself. You tilt your head curiously, but your eyes communicate an invitation to continue. And your gaze makes him feel so nervous and warm, how can a stranger’s eyes feel this safe? He wanted to tell you everything, but not just yet. “How did you feel about coming to meet me today?” Apprehension oozed from his bones, down to his hands and the poor sleeve on his coffee cup that his blunt nails picked at. He wasn’t sure what he hoped to hear, but he knew he liked you – really liked you. Leon knew he wanted a second date the moment you mentioned the hummingbird. God, he sincerely hoped he didn’t screw this up. Was he too moody? Were you only here as a favor to your mutual friend? Did his coworker beg you to go on a date with Leon – some broken guy who can barely see the point of going to sleep anymore? 

There was no predicting what you’d tell him, but he never imagined you’d tell him, “I was nervous, of course.” You began stroking the side of your coffee with a steady thumb, “But excited? I don’t normally do this sort of thing — go on dates with strangers. But I had a good feeling about you.” Leon could melt. “I’ll admit I almost said no, but…we shouldn’t let our pasts get in the way of a new beginning, right?”

It seems he isn’t the only one worried about baggage. “Yeah, that’s right.” For the second time that day relief washed over him, dropping his shoulders at least by an inch after hearing your sweet response. “I would have had a really shitty morning otherwise.” A beat, and then he’s opening up like a flower in May. “I’m glad I’m spending it with you.” With you, this angel who can somehow read him like an open book and say things like fuck paellas and emotional baggage. And you’re smiling so warmly at him how could he not want more mornings like this with you. 

But it ends all too soon, and you’re hugging him goodbye, and he hopes your scent lingers, and you’re trading numbers, and you poke fun at his beat up phone, but yours is worse. You part ways, and he can’t help but look back over his shoulder to watch you walk away. For the last several moments with you, it’s like Leon forgot the ache in his heavy chest was because of Spain, Las Plagas, Ashley, Luis, Krauser –

It was peaceful in your arms – for just a moment – nothing plagued his mind. And it was all because of you, you, you.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 26, Unsurprising - Pt. 4

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of miscarriage, mentions of sex, violence.

Word Count: 894

Previously On...: Bucky rejected your sexual advances, but Nat texted you, so at least you have that going for you.

A/N: ANSWER TIME

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Sadly, tag list is closed; Tumblr will not let me add anyone new. If you want to be notified when I update, please Follow me for Notifications!) @jmeelee @cazellen @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @blackhawkfanatic @buckybarnessimpp @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff @angelbabyyy99 @keylimebeag @maybefoxysouls @vicmc624 @j23r23 @wintercrows @crist1216 @cjand10 @pattiemac1@les-sel @dottirose @winterslove1917 @harperkenobi @ivet4 @casey1-2007 @mrsevans90 @steeph-aniie @bean-bean2000 @beanbagbitch @peachiestevie @wintrsoldrluvr @shadowzena43

Tumblr will not let me directly tag the following: @marcswife21 @erelierraceala @jupiter-107 @doublejeon @hiqhkey @unaxv @brookeleclerc

You stabbed your finger on the button to dial Nat’s number, the brevity of her texting style leaving you with more questions than answers. You were terrified it was going to go to voicemail before she finally picked up.

“‘Bout time,” Nat answered instead of a greeting. “How long did it take before you and Barnes got naked again? I’ve got money riding on it.”

“Jesus Christ, Nat,” you said, not wanting to waste time playing this game. “We didn’t, okay? Now tell me what the hell’s going on!”

“I told you in the texts,” she said, “and if you’d bothered to reply, I’d have answered any questions you may have had.”

You didn’t respond to that, waiting for Natasha get over your lack of response and start talking. “Fine,” she eventually capitulated. “Sam called Steve, told him about A.J., who is going to be okay, by the way– just a long recovery; and how he needed to go home. He said he didn’t want to leave you, and asked Steve to send down coverage.”

“Yeah, I knew that already,” you said, though you were relieved to hear the news about A.J.. “What else?”

“Well, obviously Barnes volunteered,” she said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world, “but Steve wasn’t having it, because he didn’t want to spring Barnes on you without clearing it with you first.” 

“That was thoughtful of him,” you said.

“Hmm,” said Nat cryptically. “Anyway, I was going to come down, myself. Sun and surf and stripping with my best friend? Sounded like a fucking vacation.”

“Natasha,” you warned, urging her to stick to the point. 

She sighed. “Yeah, okay. So, Bucky gets a call from a SHIELD med facility out in Wilmington, Fucking Delaware, of all places.” Nat paused, waiting for you to speak. When you didn’t, she asked: “Care to explain what that was all about, Pocket?”

“Not at this exact moment, Natty,” you said, truly not wanting to get into your surprise pregnancy/miscarriage two-for-one evening. 

You could practically hear Nat’s eyes roll in annoyance at you through the phone– she despised not knowing things, which was what made her such a damned good spy. “Fine. Carthage finds out Bucky’s taken off, and when she asks where he went, Steve tells her he went to be with you, that you needed him. Pocket, this girl fucking flipped her shit. Like, I half expected her to turn green and start growing through her clothes. I’ve never seen anything like it that didn’t involve Bruce Hulking-out,” she told you.

“She was screaming how it wasn’t fair, had some choice words to say about you, which I won’t repeat, because I’m your friend, by the way, then starts talking about how ‘it wasn’t supposed to be this way,’ and ‘this wasn’t what she was promised.’ It was weird. Just… fucking weird. 

“Steve tried to calm her down,” she continued, “but she wasn’t having any of it. Kept saying he ‘didn’t understand,’ and how now she was ‘gonna die,’ and it was all your fault. Steve tried to restrain her, but she clocked him. He needed to call in Thor to help wrangle her. They got her sedated and put her in her room, but when Cho went to check on her a few hours later, she was just… gone. Ransacked her room, punched holes in the walls, packed up all her shit.”

“Jesus Christ,” you murmured. “Nat, this is absolutely beyond. I mean, it’s more than a crush, it’s a fucking obsession.”

“Tell me about it,” Nat agreed. “She left behind her Stark phone, her coms, and her tracking device. Steve and Tony made the decision to list her as AWOL, and they’ve got SHIELD crawling around like ants looking for her, but there’s been no sign of her since.”

You took a shaking breath. “That’s a hell of a lot to take in, Nat.”

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, and you could hear the smirk in her voice, “that’s not even the best part.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“You have no idea.”

“Out with it, Natalia, I swear!”

Your friend scoffed. “You’re no fun, but fine. You remember our little conversation with Sam, right? After she fucked up the Malaysia mission?”

“Where he said he thought she set them up, yeah.” You remembered, alright, though it felt so long ago now. “And I checked the Tower’s systems; she hadn’t accessed anything she shouldn’t have.”

“Except for Bucky’s files,” Nat clarified to remind you.

“Except for Bucky’s files,” you agreed, not understanding where she was going with this.

“You know how my part was to reach out to my old KGB contacts, see what I could find out from them?” Nat asked, and you grunted in affirmation. 

“Well,” she continued, “I just heard back, not long after I started texting you. Turns out, our BFF didn’t escape from a Hydra base.”

You felt a cold chill go down your spine. “What are you saying, Nat?”

“I’m saying I was given some very interesting security footage,” Nat continued. “Carthage never escaped Hydra, because they willingly let her out.” You let out a shocked gasp, and Nat paused for dramatic effect, making you want to reach through the phone and shake her. “They let her out,” she continued, “with an objective: to bring home the Winter Soldier.”

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[saintbleeding]

Hii~

So i saw this on a tumblr post but is very jonmartin

"Jon and Martin are planning their wedding, they want to have their cat as ring bearer (is this how it's called?) But Martin doesn't know the name of the cat because they always call it different nicknames and jon just doesn't tell him and he don't want to admit that after all that years don't know.

Because jon didn't know either! he thinks that the cat is Martin's and he also is trying to figure out the name."

Martin’s not a cat person.

Honestly, he’s just not really an animal person. Like, in general.

The same isn’t true for Jon, of course. On, like, their second date, Jon—who, up until that point, had been all leather elbow patches on his stupid tweed jackets and “hmm, perhaps” and thoughtful squinting—got approached by a cat in the street, and pretty much melted on the spot.

Martin melted, too, but for slightly different reasons.

So it wasn't really a surprise when Jon moved in and Cat started turning up. Sure, it felt a little bit out of character for Jon not to excitedly announce that, one, he'd gotten a pet cat really recently, and, two, he was bringing it into Martin's place, which is a relatively humble little cottage, but Cat seems to free-roam most of the time, so it's not like she's encroaching on much of the space. And, anyway, it's not like Martin hates cats, so he doesn't mind. He just sort of thought Jon would have said something. But he didn't.

So.

You know.

There's a cat.

She's grown on Martin over time. In fact, it's usually him that wakes up with her purring and headbutting him at fuck-off o'clock in the morning, and Jon's not a heavy sleeper, so if she'd attacked him first, Martin would know.

But she's nice. Lovely little tufts of fur between her toes, and quite a deep meow for such a pretty lady. He'll call her Lady Catherine sometimes, and Jon's got the gall to pretend he doesn't think it's hilarious. Mind you, Jon's terms of endearment for her skew a bit more—pejorative, for lack of a better term? Like, Cat will take the opportunity when Jon is hunched over a stack of student essays at the dining table, and she'll leap onto his shoulders, and do that loaf thing, and Jon always says "unhand me, you infernal creature", or the few times she has bothered Jon in the middle of the night for pre-dawn breakfast service, he's grumbled "vile beast" even as he gets up to feed her.

Martin's tried telling him he shouldn't be encouraging her. But Jon just turns around and says "yes, I know, that's why I chastise her".

Martin stays impressed that someone so smart can be so stupid. Which he means affectionately, obviously. If he didn't, they wouldn't be getting married.

Which is great, by the way. It's great.

Does present some—unique problems, though.

Martin's got absolutely no bloody clue what her actual name is.

Which, you know, it's not like he's filling out adoption papers or anything, but at some point after some late-night banter it became part of the plan that Cat should be the ring-bearer at the wedding.

And he can't not know the name of a member of the party at his own wedding.

So he starts sleuthing.

"Hey," he says one evening, when GBBO is over and they're just sitting there with the telly on mute.

Jon looks up from his thorough inspection of Cat's beans, her paw gently clasped between his thumb and forefinger, and goes "Mm?"

"Been thinking."

Jon lifts one eyebrow. "Mm?"

"We could get her a proper little collar and everything."

Jon blinks a couple of times, then smiles. "Oh, for the wedding, you mean?" Martin nods. "Oh, yes, it could match your tie."

Okay, that's adorable, but also, unfortunately, not the point.

"Ooh, yeah," he says, then: "Oh! And, like, a little engraved name-tag. Really fancy."

Jon's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly.

"Yes," he says, tone completely unreadable. "Silver or gold, do you think?"

Martin's suddenly wondering if it's a trap.

"Dunno," he says, turning his eyes back to the brightly-coloured advert on the screen. "What's her vibe, you think?"

In the corner of his eye he sees Jon's jaw working silently as he searches for something to say.

"I think your input should be taken into consideration," he says, lifting his chin as Cat stands, stretches, and headbutts him. "Since... you know."

Martin considers whether or not Jon's messing with him, because frankly, he very much does not know.

"Mmm. Well! Uh- I- I like gold. Would match our bands."

"True enough," Jon says. Cat leaps onto the back of the sofa, and they're both silent till she curls up there and falls back asleep.

Jon doesn't seem very eager to say anything else.

Bugger.

"So..." Martin says, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes. "Um... what's the spelling, again?"

Jon's blurry form sits up straighter, and when Martin puts his glasses back on he sees his mouth open in shock.

"Might I ask why you're asking me?" Jon says, which doesn't make any sense.

"W- um. Y- you know, you're the English teacher."

Jon inclines his head to the side, frowning. "Hmm," he goes. "W- I- I- yes, I—mm." He lowers himself back against the sofa again. "The usual way."

Martin sighs.

"Right," he says. "Okay."

The silence gets a bit fraught, then. When Martin stands up to take their mugs to the kitchen, he might be a tiny bit huffy. It's possible.

Jon follows him, and he stays huffy, because it's easier to keep up than neutrality when he's trying to hide that he's a bit annoyed and a bit embarrassed.

"Everything alright?" Jon says, leaning casually against the fridge as Martin puts way too much effort into scrubbing both mugs clean.

"Mm."

Several seconds pass.

"Could I say something?" Jon asks, a bit hesitantly.

If Martin had to guess, he'd put money on "you're a negligent idiot for not paying enough attention to know my cat's name and I hate you".

"Yeah."

Jon exhales audibly behind him, as though amused.

"With all due respect and affection, darling—" He pauses till Martin is finished aggressively rinsing the mugs. Martin still doesn't turn to face him, though, because he's a tiny bit scared of where this is going, honestly. "If you've forgotten how to spell your own cat's name, that's not, strictly speaking, my fault, is it?"

Martin turns around.

Several things occur to him at once.

First, Cat's a dirty freeloader who owes Martin like fourteen months of rent.

Second, it might, legitimately, have been a coincidence that she and Jon moved in around the same time.

Third, he can't remember a time he's heard Jon use any method of address on her except for creature, or beast, or the ones Martin uses himself.

Which means, fourth, Jon doesn't know her bloody name either.

Because she's not his cat.

Well.

"Okay," Martin says. "Let's assume I have forgotten. Couldn't you just—help me out—and spell it?"

"Martin," Jon says disparagingly with a frown.

"Jon," Martin says, trying really hard not to smirk.

Jon does that thing where his mouth starts in a flat line, but as his irritation grows, his nose scrunches up, and the line of his mouth slowly rises up his face until he exclaims inarticulately and throws his hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine!" he says. "Fine, okay, alright, fine. I—I don't—I don't know. I don't know! I meant to ask, but I felt negligent not having known when I moved in, and then, after a month or seven I couldn't very well come out and ask, could I? And then—good heavens, it's been more than a year, there was no subtle way to recover!"

Martin's not laughing at him.

But he is laughing.

Breathlessly, uncontrollably, doubling over—to the point where Jon actually crosses the few steps separating them in the tiny kitchen to place a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him upright with a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry," Martin manages eventually, wiping tears from his eyes. "Christ, sorry, I'm just—"

He takes a deep, measured breath.

"I've got to tell you something," he says sheepishly. Jon puts his hands on Martin's shoulders and looks into his face with the earnest sobriety that, even now, gives Martin butterflies.

"Anything," he says, still frowning intensely.

Martin averts his eyes. "She's not my cat either."

When Jon stops laughing, he spends the rest of the evening lecturing Cat in his Not Mad Just Disappointed voice ("identity fraud is an extremely serious matter, young lady, and you are terribly lucky you have such sweet little eyes, or I might be compelled to take legal action against you, please let go of my nose").

Oh, but they do end up getting her an engraved gold name-tag for the ceremony.

It says 'Lady Catherine (Beast)'.

[roseglazedlens]

i love that new bubble tea fic how did u know i was craving some - what do you think leon's and rebecca's bubble tea order would be?

-🍫

⦑ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐛𝐚 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 ⦒ [ part one ]

read part two here (ethan winters, jill valentine, jack krauser, claire redfield) read the 'boba tea date' fic here (leon kennedy x gn! reader) characters: leon kennedy, rebecca chambers, chris redfield, ashley graham, carlos oliveira & ada wong a/n: funny you asked, because i had a convo ab this with my friend hahha! also added some other characters too ;) what other characters should i do? content: SFW

LEON KENNEDY

Ever since that date, he sneaks off when you're not around to try all the flavours.

He would be a sweet tooth (despite how passionately he will deny this), and orders the limited edition seasaonal tea with extra foam on top! Always 100% ice and sugar.

He's a closet sweet-tooth (especially RE2 Leon, he looks like he pretends to like coffee, inspired by this)

When you find an empty cup in the bin, he will act nonchalant and say "Oh I happen to pass by for work".

But you already know he's lying when you found a membership card in the frontest pocket of his wallet - probably eligible for a few free drinks at this point.

REBECCA CHAMBERS

Caramel milk tea with pudding. Extra sugar and standard ice.

She likes sugar, and she's not afraid to admit it!

Always get the large size since she works long hours in the lab, so she sips away her drink throughout her shift.

Probably hyped up the shop to all her colleagues already, hoping to find a companion to join her.

Very close with the shop manager since she goes there daily - will chat and banter with them

CHRIS REDFIELD

He would just get plain black tea, no sugar and less ice.

To keep up with his physique and body fat percentage low, he doesn't usually drink unless you drag him there.

Raves on about the antioxidants in black tea and how it's good for you (such a health nerd)

Starts complaining 'it's too sweet' everytime he sips on any of your drinks - apparently even a hint of sugar is too much for this old man sometimes.

ASHLEY GRAHAM

Matcha with fresh milk, extra sugar, cream on top, and mini pearls!

I think she will start drinking mango fruit tea/fruity with popping pearls but eventually branches out to matcha.

She probably thought of doing a bottomless bubble tea stand for her dream wedding ceremony.

I think she would get along with Rebecca with their mutual love for bubble tea! I think they'll be such good friends if not their age differences!

CARLOS OLIVEIRA

Normally, Carlos orders a very normal coconut green tea with no modifications.

Until one day he decides to be really cheeky and order it with every topping the shop has to offer

Rainbow jelly, pearls, pudding, grass jelly, etc. (yes, even red beans)

So many toppings that only half of the cup is liquid and the other half is a concoction of chaos

Bobarista is terrified, but Carlos is grinning widely

Still inhales the whole drink in less than an hour anyway

ADA WONG

She will go for a warm brewed tea (thinking between oolong or earl grey), no toppings or sugar.

Don't think she enjoys iced drinks in general, rather have warm/hot drinks or just plain water.

Something in the bubble tea gives her acne breakouts so she avoids it. Plus her job is so busy that it doesn't allow her such luxuries.

Might indulge in extra sugar if she wants a treat, but suffers the consequences later.

thanks for reading! come check out my other works. ––yours truly, rose. tags: @carlosgf @sporeghost @femnedy @emilzke (not sure people tag for headcanons? but here it is anyway xd) © roseglazedlens - please do not repost, plagiarise, or feed to ai.

[corinthianism]

last kiss | sam winchester (1)

pairing: sam winchester/f!reader additional tags: best friends to lovers (?), fluff, angst

summary: you and sam were inseparable; two like-minded souls brought together by a life of saving people and hunting monsters. when the world is about to come to an end, he's forced to make a choice, one that might just haunt you forever. - set in the season 5 finale

masterlist | next chapter | ao3

CHAPTER ONE: SAVIN' ALL MY LOVE

Trusting a demon, especially the king of crossroad demons, was not what you had in your itinerary for saving the world… but perhaps you should’ve known. After all, being a hunter wasn’t exactly a cut-and-dry profession, especially when you’re working with the Winchesters. Still, you were wondering if being left in an abandoned house with Sam, while Dean and Crowley, of all people, tracked down Pestilence’s demon assistant, or as Crowley liked to put it, “the horseman’s stable boy”. Leaving Sam out of such an important mission left a bad taste in your mouth, but you knew that your best friend wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy candidate to save the world right now.

Not after what happened with Ruby. 

You grimaced. Best not to think about that too much, unless you wanted to match Sam with a cranky, scrunched up face of your own.

“Keep an eye on him, would you?” Dean pulled you aside before he left with Crowley. “If I know anything, sweetheart, it’s that he sure as hell listens to you more than he listens to me.”

You let out a long breath through your teeth as you glanced at Sam, who was, unsurprisingly, drinking his feelings by the fireplace. There was only so much to keep you busy in a place like this, so you decided that you might as well join him.

“Got room for one more?” you asked gently, not wanting to irritate him further. He gave you a look, which you had affectionately called “Sam’s kicked puppy look”, and huffed before scooching over to let you sit on the worn-down couch next to him. “This reminds me of Cedar Falls.”

Sam laughed quietly, shaking his head, “This is nothing like Cedar Falls.”

“True, but it made you laugh,” you grinned victoriously at him. “Penny for your thoughts, Sammy?”

He took one big sip from his bottle of whiskey, and turned to face you, his eyes doing that thing where it got bigger and sadder and you couldn’t help but give him whatever he wanted. What an asshole. The corner of his lips turned upward into a tired smile, “You don’t really wanna know that.”

“Actually, yeah, I don’t,” you rolled your eyes. “But I did kinda grow up with you and I’m your only friend besides your brother and an angel, so I’m morally obligated to know.”

That earned you a scoff from him, but he spilled the beans anyway.

“It’s Dean. I mean, I know he’s not exactly wrong for not trusting me right now, but trusting Crowley?” he ranted, his voice growing tighter and louder in frustration. 

“He doesn’t trust Crowley,” you made your point as softly as you could, knowing he was thinking of a million possibilities right now. You didn’t want to add to that. “He just doesn’t have any other option at the moment.”

“He does have an option though, and it’s not working with a demon. Trust me, I know firsthand that it doesn’t end well.”

You probably made a face at the mention of his “firsthand experience”, because he chuckled again and took another swig of his drink. 

“Well, on the bright side, you got me. And that’s about as good as it can get, Winchester,” another small smile from him. “I think we need more drinks. For me, I mean,” you commented, happy with your small victory. You stood up once again to get the mini-cooler in the other room. He nodded in agreement, going back to spacing out as you left. Taking one last look at him, you couldn’t help but imagine the weight he must’ve been carrying. You knew him. You knew him deeply, and that made things suck even more. 

Of course, there was no other solution besides burying the emotional damage every world-ending problem left on you. There was no time for heart-to-hearts in the life of a hunter. For now, the only real help you could give Sam was to lend him an ear and to toss him a few more drinks.

A flash of blue in your peripheral told you that you found what you were looking for. Cold mist pleasantly greeted your skin as you opened the cooler up, finding it full of ice and an assortment of drinks. “Leave it to the Winchesters to save the world but also somehow always be fully stocked up on alcohol,” you smirked, pushing the lid back down and picking it up to bring it to the living room. 

Sam’s voice made you stop in your tracks. He was talking to someone. On the phone, you thought.

“What if you guys lead the devil to the edge… and I jump in?”

What?

You found yourself inching closer, just to see if he would say anything else.

“It’d be just like when you turned the knife around on yourself; just one action, just one leap,” he persisted, voice heavy with desperation.

Everything he said after that was a blur, but you figured he was talking to Bobby. And God, you hoped the old man talked some sense into him.

“Was that Bobby?” you finally walked in, setting the cooler down on the floor. Sam straightened up, shoving his phone back into his pocket as he heard the clipped tone in your voice, no matter how much you tried to sound casual.

“Uh, yeah,” he mumbled before furrowing his brows. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Just enough to call you an idiot,” you crossed your arms, unimpressed.

“You sound like him,” he rolled his eyes, facing away from you and sitting back down on the couch, as if he could avoid your incoming sermon if he wasn’t actively looking at you.

“I damn hope so, because he’s the only one here with any sort of sense! Do you even hear yourself, Sam? We just managed to convince Dean not to say yes to Michael, and now you wanna let the devil ride your meatsuit? What’s wrong with you?!” you yelled at him, setting the cooler down so you could focus all your energy into conveying to him that he was, in fact, an idiot. “No, Sammy. I won’t let you do it. I won’t… I can’t.”

He must’ve noticed the panic in your voice; how the anger melted away into fear. Sam was familiar with that tone. It was what he heard in Dean’s voice nearly every goddamn day for the past two years. He just hadn’t expected to hear it from you. Even when he was sneaking off to meet with Ruby, you stood by him, protecting him from the worst of Dean’s paranoia. When it all came to light and his brother’s fears came true, you still held his hand like he had knocked over a vase instead of starting the apocalypse. He knew he didn’t deserve your kindness, and yet you still gave it to him so freely.

Hearing that desperation from you, it squeezed his heart in a way that made him forget how to breathe. The alcohol was already tearing away at his system, forcing only his most basic instincts to push him forward. Those instincts told him to look at you, to not be a coward and not be the reason for your worry. He hated making you worry.

Something wet trickled down your cheek and as you brought a hand to wipe it away, Sam had already turned around and seen the second tear fall. You hated being seen like this. It was weak, it was juvenile. You kill demons and vampires and shifters, for fuck’s sake. There was no time for crying your heart out.

But the possibility of a world that didn’t have Sam Winchester in it was enough to stop even you, in your tracks.

“Hey,” Sam pulled you out of your thoughts. “Look at me.”

“I don’t want to, asshole.”

He only smiled. Damn him.

Setting down his bottle of whiskey on the floor, he grabbed your shoulders, “I’m not gonna do it, not unless we all agree. It’s like you said, we don’t have a lot of options, so we need to make our own.”

“Why is killing yourself an option?” you argued, struggling to look him in the eye as if he was already dead. Like he was just a figment of your imagination designed to haunt you and taunt you for words left unsaid. He was still here with you but your mind, treacherous as it was, was already imagining his hunter’s funeral. How the wood would burn and how you wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about him in hell. The chance of him dying, of losing him, had always been a real thing but now, more than ever, it felt real. 

“It’s me or 7 billion people,” he pointed out gently, swiping his thumb over your cheek to wipe a tear away. “I’m not that important of a person, but I can make an important decision. That has to count for something, right?”

“We’ll find something,” you promised. “I’ll find something.”

He smiled again at your determination, “That’s my girl.”

He pulled you in close. Underneath the smell of whiskey, you could smell the minty soap he always uses. You breathed it all in, trying to ignore the fact that learning his new plan felt like being splashed with ice cold water. He seemed to notice you tense up, because he spoke up again, “Do you wanna dance with me?”

“What?”

“It’ll be just like Cedar Falls,” he offered teasingly. “And besides, it’s just you and me here anyway.”

The corner of your lips twitched upward at the memory, “We have no music.”

A beat. 

He stood up, making a show of clearing his throat. Liquid courage was truly something else.

“A few stolen moments is all that we share,” he began, grinning stupidly at you. Though Dean was usually the singer between the two (as much as he tried to deny it, him belting out Toni Braxton in the shower told you all otherwise), Sam wasn’t bad at holding a tune. He gave you that look, telling you that what he was doing was just for you, and only you, as he guided your hands to rest on his shoulders, “You’ve got your family and they need you there.”

He started swaying, so you attempted to return the favor by continuing the song, “Though I’ve tried to resist, being last on your list… but no other man’s gonna dooo…”

“So I’m saving all my love for youuu…” you both sang in unison, wide grins on both of your faces at the sheer cheesiness of the situation. You took turns singing the lyrics, dancing slowly by the fireplace. For a moment, you could almost forget that the world was about to end, but you thought maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad if Sam’s face was the last thing you ever saw. Not bad at all.

▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

It was the year 2000. You were comfortably tucked under the cheap motel blanket, watching reruns of the Golden Girls. John had taken Dean out to do a salt and burn somewhere near the outskirts of town, leaving you alone to guard all your belongings as Sam went to his senior prom. Bobby owed him one, but sent you instead since the old man was busy helping other hunters. The room telephone rang a few times, and you had half a mind to answer it, before eventually deciding that it probably wasn’t the best idea to leave it hanging in case the Winchesters needed help. 

“Hello?” you rolled over to answer the phone.

“Hey,” came Sam’s voice, sounding smaller than you were used to.

“Sammy,” you sat upright, now holding the phone with both hands, as if you could reach through and pull him next to you. “Are you okay?”

He let out a deep sigh, “I, uh… yeah, I’m okay. I’m coming back to the motel though, I think.”

“What do you mean? I thought prom didn’t end until 10? It’s only 8:45, Sam.”

“So, my date kind of, um, ditched me, I guess?” he replied meekly, drawing breaths between each heavy word. “You know, it’s fine. I should’ve known.”

“No.”

“What?”

“You give me 20 minutes, Sammy. Just stay where you are.”

In less than a fraction of a second, you were up and scouring through your duffle bags in search of something that would resemble a prom dress. Hunting required you to own a small collection of various clothes and finally, you managed to pull out a dress that wasn’t marred in some way. It was deep blue satin, and it wasn’t until a year ago that you were able to grow into it. Feeling the smooth fabric in your hands, you thought of the one time you got to wear it, posing as a lawyer’s (played by John) spoiled daughter. Shockingly, Dean had thrifted it somewhere, somehow not opting to choose the most hideous frilly dress for you. He argued he liked the color, and he didn’t really want to think about what your bust size was, so it stayed unused for a fair while because it didn’t fit you well enough to be convincing.

You slid the dress carefully over your head, and decided that perhaps a little bit of color to your face was needed, lest Sam mistook you for a vengeful spirit. Once again, you dug through the endless pockets of your duffle bag to grab the old red lipstick you had quietly nicked from a witness’ house. It was old, probably expired, but you dabbed the rouge on your cheeks and lips anyway. Ultimately, you decided your hair was better off as it was. You slipped your feet into the uncomfortable and only pair of heels you owned. Even with the dull ache already forming in the balls of your feet, you smiled to yourself.  For once, you weren’t a dirty, bloody, beaten hunter. Tonight, you were just a girl. And even if you weren’t doing this for Sam, it felt wonderful to have a taste of normal.

The motel you stayed at was a short motorcycle ride from the Cedar Falls High School, so you opted to carry a silver dagger and a silver bullet-loaded gun with you for protection. Underneath the dress, of course. Without even stepping foot onto the school property itself, you could already see the familiar silhouette of Sam sitting by himself on the steps of the entrance. The stairs weren’t high at all, and it emphasized how tall he’d gotten in the last couple of months. He hugged himself, hunched over with his eyes closed as he inhaled and exhaled slowly.

Taking in a few breaths of anticipation yourself, you awkwardly walked over to him, steps wobbly and unsure. He looked up at the sound of heels meeting concrete, and you froze. He was wide-eyed, and looking at you. God knows you never thought he’d be able to look at you like that. For a moment, it was like time itself had stopped. The dust floating in the air stilled and butterflies stopped flapping their wings. Sam Winchester, in the suit that was much too big for him, in leather shoes beat up by hours of running around and chasing monsters, sat on the concrete stairs of his school and stared at you like you were the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

“Hey,” you were the first to break the silence. 

“Hey,’’ a small smile appeared on his face. He pat the space next to him, taking your hand so you could sit down without falling over. “I like the dress. Isn’t this the one you wore last year? When we did that shifter case in Oklahoma?”

You chuckled, “Yeah. I’m surprised you remember.”

“Of course I’d remember.”

Heat blossomed in your cheeks at how casually he said it, and suddenly a random streetlight was the most interesting thing to stare at. Anything was more interesting to look at than his stupidly beautiful and kind eyes.

Sam spoke up again, “You didn’t have to come here, you know. I could’ve just gone back to the motel.”

“And waste this outfit?” you gestured to his ill-fitting suit, grinning wide. “I don’t think so.” 

He laughed, and somehow you think this was the first real laugh he’d let out in the past week. He was less tense now, more open. This was the Sammy you knew. This was the joy you wanted him to feel for as long as you were around. 

“Dance with me,” you stood up, offering your hand to him. “That’s what you’re supposed to do at prom, right?”

His eyes widened, his back slouching as if he was trying to hide from you, “Uh, no.”

“Come onnn, Sammy!”

“No!” he laughed, trying to scoot away from you. You tried to grab his wrist, but his sudden movement threw you off balance, causing you to nearly fall over... but Sam caught you. He held a firm grip on your arm, forcing you to notice just how much he’s grown up. His arms were strong; toned from years of John’s training in addition to hunting. Now standing, he was taller than both his father and brother, yet he felt uncomfortable in his body. Like he didn’t know what to do with all of it. Like he was still just awkward, nerdy Sam. But he wasn’t. Not anymore. You didn’t really know how to feel about that.

“Thanks,” you said breathlessly, trying to come back to reality. “Dance with me? I can hear your school’s speakers all the way from here. Let’s make the most of it, hm?”

“Okay,” he agreed, finally, looking a little awestruck by what just happened. Gently, he placed his hands, which were much larger than yours, on your waist as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. The muffled sound of Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You” echoed from inside the school. The two of you started swaying slowly to the music, just enjoying each other’s company. There were no monsters here tonight, and there was no hunting to be done.

Your eyes flickered upwards to look at Sam, his own eyes closed and his lips pressed into a peaceful smile. For once, he looked 17. For once, he was just a boy.

Resting your head on his chest as the music swept you away into another world, there was one thought that lingered in your mind: this was how things should be.

[monosanimegenericzone]

thank you random guy also posting on the hxh tag for reminding me about this bombshell realization i had while rewatching the phantom rogue recently.

and i will say this up front. it wasnt that bad when you consider the absolute shitshow that was the last mission. do i say that just because its extra troupe content + a troupe to kurta interaction we never got? mmmmmaybe....

but basically omokage makes his puppets off of memories of that person. somehow theyre able to completely retain their abilities even though theyre memories and even steal the eyes of other people. theres probably some other conditions but basically: he's fucking strong as hell.

but the point im after is: the puppets are made off of MEMORIES.

so what kind of fucked up perspective did omokage have. that made shalnark look like THAT.

the entire time we see shalnark in the phantom rogue he is furious. like i didnt see puppet shal smile once- and we know theyre capable of smiling bcs of retz and pairo because thats how they were remembered.

so why didnt omokage remember shalnark smiling

what did he DO????

did he piss shal off or something?? did he only remember that one time when shal got extremely serious? bro that is not my boy!!

anyway food for thought. omokage says shal is his favorite but only remembers him as this angry sonova bean.

[eemamminy-art]

Get to know me tag game! Tagged by @4th-make-quail 💛💛💛

Last song played: Dance of the Moonlight Jellies from the Stardew Valley soundtrack... 😊 It's one of my go-to songs to play on repeat when I'm writing, and I was writing a little before bed!! I love how it has the gentle wave sounds underneath the music, it adds a really soothing effect for me. Also while I was not writing this scene (I've already long since written it ahaha) there is a very very special scene in my fic centered around the Moonlight Jellies festival so... :3 I kind of associate it with them anyway.

Favourite colour: Brown, specifically umber :3 I also really like olive drab green! I used to wear camo a lot because I was like wow, all the best colors ghjdfkjds (how to spot a country butch) an earthy plaid is more my style now though

Favourite dish: Green bean casserole :3 I could eat it forever!!! I tried making it from scratch last year on Thanksgiving because I couldn't get the fried onions at the store and had dubious results lol need me an air fryer or something

Current favourite characters: The ones currently occupying my brain most are Alex from stardew valley, Cecil from uta no prince-sama, and Otis from ffxiv dawntrail. Rotating those three in my head and kicking my feet 😊 Sphene too but with an asterisk on her name, like Sphene but [redacted] spoiler spoiler 😞 Playing the music from that one dungeon on repeat all the time. Waves vaguely!!!

The all-time faves of Zenos and Lyse are also there but that's like a constant. 🥰

Currently watching: I never had a chance to see it before but my friend hooked me up with a way to watch the anime of uta no prince-sama finally!!!! I had read fan translations of the visual novels (though what I was reading was incomplete at the time, and I think I forgot to go back and check if it ever got finished) and I played shining live so I know the characters and their stories well but actually getting to see it all play out?? 🥺 Aaaaaaaa!!! I just watched episode 8 from the first season today while I was having breakfast

Last film I watched: The Watchers (2024)! I liked it!! Not the most compelling film I've seen but I thought it was decent! I love folklore but truthfully I know little about Irish folklore (my interest is more in American folklore) so I don't know how accurate it was to actual legends from the region but I found it really interesting!! If anything it makes me want to dig more into learning about the premise at some point :3

Current obsession: This might sound weird but I feel not so much obsessed with one series (as I have several on my mind strongly at the moment) but I feel like my current obsession is just with creating itself. Like drawing and writing, that's what's motivating me! I spend my whole day drawing for work but I'm not thinking about a game or a show as the reward at the end of the day, I'm thinking about writing or drawing for myself as my reward. If that makes sense? Maybe just something that comes with making art my job, I find greater passion in drawing for myself now :3

Last thing I googled: "When is spotify wrapped calculated" since I usually am listening offline, need to make sure I go online so it can sync my listen data before it's too late!

-

Um.... this was really long. Thank you for reading my ramblings and thank you to Quail for the tag!!! I'm not sure who to tag for this but if you see this and want to do it, please consider yourself tagged!!

[dantent]

Chapter 9 - Rusty Pipes And Gilded Books (Silco x OC)

Tags: 𝘼𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 | 𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛 | 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 | 𝙎𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣 | 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙢𝙪𝙩 | 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 | 𝙃𝙪𝙧𝙩/𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 |

Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence

The mechanic couldn't help but be suspicious of Jinx's giggles echoing through her room occasionally. She was far more giddy than usual, making Ren confused. At first they payed no attention to it, only raising an eyebrow in question. The girl just shook her head, dismissing the unspoken question. But she had done it again and again, which had ultimately got Ren to ask about it. 

"Okay kid, spill the beans." they placed what they were working on down. "What got you so happy?"

"Nothing, nothing..." she cackled. 

"Jinx." Ren gave her a look. 

Her smile widened, as she leaned closer to the mechanic. "I heard you and dad have been getting chummy."

Ren blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Sevika was furious when she didn't know where dad could've possibly been last week. "she explained, rolling her eyes when mentioning the woman. "When he got back she went on this stupid rant and blah, blah blah..."

Jinx clearly didn't care enough to tell the mechanic what Sevika and Silco talked about. 

"Anyway," she turned back to her giddy self, "dad mentioned he was with you."

Ren cleared their throat. "And did he mention where we were?"

"Nope!" she emphasized the pop at the end of the word. "Why? What did ya do?" 

Jinx was practically climbing on Ren, as she gripped into their arm with wide eyes looking straight into their soul. The mechanic stuttered as they tried to come up with an answer without sounding unsure. Truth be told they weren't exactly sure what happened between them and Silco just a couple days ago at the sumps. Silco hasn't been any different to them after the events than he was before. Apparently Jinx saw otherwise. 

"We just... had a conversation." Ren finally answered. They didn't want to dump all their personal matters on a child, it was bad enough that Silco knew all about it. 

"Aaaaand?" her smile widened. 

"It's personal, Jinx." they tried calming her. 

Her cheerful expression dropped and she idled away from the mechanic. "You're no fun..."

She hopped down to continue her project, paying no mind to the dumbfounded mechanic behind her. Maybe Jinx had a point. They have been feeling weird around Silco lately, that much was true. Ren wished to see him more, talk to him more and thought about him more. Sometimes they strolled around the market and upon seeing something interesting, their first thought was I can't wait to tell Silco instead of anything else. 

Ren turned back to their project, mind focused on the event just last week. How kind Silco had been to them, even when he didn't have to. The mechanic thought back of the stories Silco shared of his youth; how similar yet so different they were from Ren's. And the longing gaze into the darkness for a time he couldn't return to. Had anyone told Ren a couple months ago that they would see Silco like such, they would've laughed at them. Yet they saw him. 

A quiet sigh escaped their mouth at the thought. Ren never thought they would feel bad for him. What tore them away from the reminiscing was the giggles coming from their side. They looked over at Jinx; she had a weird look in her eyes. Ren squinted their eyes, knowing the girl planned something. 

She rose from the floor, running to a bookshelf. It was full of trinkets, and hardly any books. But ultimately she grabbed one of the few books she had, before dusting it off. Then she hopped over to the mechanic and gave it to them with a wide smile on her face. 

"Choose an animal." she ordered them. 

Ren raised a brow before opening the book. It was a picture book full of animals and some basic information about them. The mechanic quickly flipped through the book, seeing what kind of animals it offers. They abruptly stopped when they noticed one section was filled with notes. Ren opened the book further to check it out, only to realize it was the shark section. As they inspected it, the handwriting on the pages caught their attention. It was different from Jinx's, although clearly written by a child. They recognized the way the letters flowed. Silco's handwriting. 

"Jinx, is this Silco's book?" they turned to her in disbelief.

"Mhm," she nodded, "from his childhood. It's mine now, though."

Their attention returned to the book and they began reading the small notes. It was interesting to see just how much young Silco was obsessed with sharks. And of course, he analyzed them. Even back then he must've been a smart and calculating child. He even wrote calculations on how big these creatures could possibly be based on the pictures. Ren could only think about how much of a genius he was. But their favorite note was "Very cool" with an arrow pointing at a shark's teeth. 

Ren giggled as they showed the little note to Jinx. "By Janna's name, he was absolutely obsessed."

"Yeah, he still is." Jinx nodded happily. 

"And do you have an animal you're obsessed with?" they questioned her. 

"Monkeys." she announced proudly. 

Sharks, monkeys. These were the symbols on Jinx's door and also the animals she drew practically everywhere. Ren thought that Jinx was just an avid fan of animals but it turns out that she was drawing her family this whole time. 

"Monkeys are cool." they smiled. 

"Yeah, they are!" she exclaimed. "Now choose an animal!"

Ren turned back to the book, looking through it more carefully now. There were quite a few animals that Ren never heard about, even some extinct ones. All the sea related animals had some sort of annotations attached - all done by Silco, of course. The mechanic read them carefully before turning to other animals. It was a long list, with too many to choose from. Finally, in the lizard section, they spotted a lizard with a collar around it's neck. They burst out laughing as they thought of the funniest thing. 

Jinx immediately rushed to them. "Wha'?"

"Look." they pointed at the frilled lizard. "It looks like Silco with his jacket on."

The girl shrieked so hard, she had to hold her stomach. With her other hand, she was balancing her weight on the side of the table. 

"The lizard!" she screamed.��

Ren wondered for a moment if people could hear her upstairs. 

"Yes!" they laughed along. 

Soon the both of them were holding their stomach and almost rolling on the floor, while taking heavy breaths between the laughs. Ren started coughing so bad they thought they would die for a second. After some time they were rather just chuckling at each others reaction than the idea itself, but after a couple minutes they finally calmed down. Both of them still held tight onto their stomach as they tried fighting off the cramps all this laughing caused. 

"I'm adding this to his nickname list." Jinx giggled to herself before grabbing a notebook and beginning to scribble. 

"Oh, Janna..." Ren wiped the tears of joy from their eyes before returning to the book. 

They continued flipping through the pages, a giggle leaving their mouth occasionally. Once they saw all of what the book could offer, they turned back to the animal that most grabbed their attention. A raccoon. It looked pretty simple but in Ren's opinion, it was the cutest animal in the book. So they turned to Jinx and pointed on the raccoon.

"I like that one." they smiled. 

"Raccoons?" she raised a brow, tilting her head. "Yeah, I can see that."

She turned back to her notebook to write it down. Ren wasn't sure why she needed to know their opinion but they shrugged it off as a quirk of hers. Instead the mechanic turned back to their work, shaking their head with a smile like a parent would while watching their child run off to cause chaos. 

The next day of meeting Silco rolled around and Ren couldn't help but feel excited to see him again. All the new projects they had, have been finished, so they could speak with him more. That is, of course, after they finished fixing one of the sinks. As they approached the Drop, the mechanic could feel a small smile creep up on their face. 

On the inside the usual sight greeted them. Ran and Lock invited them over for a round of poker as soon as they stepped inside, although Ren politely declined and promised them a game another time. The other henchmen gave the mechanic friendly greetings or bumped fists with them without a word. Even the ever so serious bartender gave Ren a knowing nod. It truly felt like they were a part of this crew, which fought side by side for a greater cause. 

Ren arrived to the bathroom with the clogged sink and began to work. The mechanic didn't know what kind of idiot tried to push a vial of shimmer down the pipes but clearly they didn't think it through. It broke in the attempt of removing it, leaving shards all over the pipes. Sadly as they tried pulling it out, one of the shards cut Ren's hand. They pulled it away with a hiss. For just a second, the shimmer leaking from the broken vial mixed with their blood. Ren panicked and turned to the working sink on to wash it off immediately. Thankfully the shimmer didn't get into their system.

Once the wound was more or less cleaned, they turned back to extract the broken pieces, now more carefully. It was a tedious process, one that made Ren wish they had a different job, but ultimately they were able to remove the glass. Then they had to remove everything else that was stuck in the pipes. Ren wasn't quite sure how much time it took them to finish the job but once it was done, they couldn't wait to relax on Silco's couch. 

They left the bathroom and headed towards the stairs. Sevika was coming down so they stood aside to let her through. Something was different about her, though. The woman smirked once she spotted the mechanic and gave their shoulder a firm pat. 

"Good luck." she snorted before walking away. 

Ren looked after her with furrowed brows. She left the Drop without as much as a goodbye. They turned back towards the stairs and the guard standing there. With a silent prayer for their life, they began their journey upstairs. The walk was short and soon they stood outside Silco's office. Ren hoped with their whole being that he wasn't in a bad mood. There wasn't time to think about it however, so they gathered their courage and knocked on the door. 

They entered and stopped in their track when they saw the look on Silco's face. He was pissed. If looks could kill Ren would be six feet under by now. The mechanic gulped before closing the door behind them. 

"Rough day?" they questioned, walking over to the couch. 

His eyes followed their movement. Ren hopped down, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. Silco finally looked away, and raised the book he was reading just slightly, so Ren could see. And it was the same book about animals that Jinx showed them just a couple days ago. Ren's eyes widened. 

"Frilled lizard, you say?" he spoke, eyebrow raising. 

Jinx.

"Well- uh- it was- you see..." Ren stumbled over their own words trying to find an excuse.

"Thanks to your observations, my daughter now calls me a lizard." Silco looked angry but the mechanic didn't miss the small turn of his lips. 

He was, not doubt, enjoying this. At least the part of confronting Ren. The mechanic was sure he was pissed about the nickname. 

"If the shoe fits." they whispered, shrugging.

Silco's eyes darkened as he set the book down. "Oh?"

"Well, it's collar looks exactly like your coat." they explained. "I didn't say it as an insult! I just thought it was funny."

"Clearly, seen as Jinx has no problem calling me that in front of my employees." he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me why I still let you around her. You are bad influences to each other."

Ren shrugged once again. "Because I'm the coolest person and best mechanic you know?"

He looked at them, contemplating his answer. "I'd say it's because Jinx has grown attached."

The mechanic rolled their eyes as they relaxed on the couch. "Bastard."

Silco huffed a quiet laugh. He gave them a half smile before returning his attention to the book. After flipping some pages, his gaze shifted to Ren again. The man looked like he was searching for something behind their eyes, although they couldn't quite decipher what it could be. Ren raised a brow, hopefully urging him to say what he wants. 

He pointed at the book. "Why raccoon?"

"I think they're cool." Ren said without much thought. 

"Surely there's another reason." he urged them with his hand. 

"Why would there be?" the mechanic slightly tilted their head. 

"There's a reason behind all our actions." Silco answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"I don't think so." Ren shook their head. "Jinx asked me to choose an animal, so I chose one. I picked raccoon because I thought it looked cute. No more or no less reason behind it."

Silco hummed as he looked straight into their eyes. Oddly enough, what Silco said wasn't much of a surprise to them. He was the type of person to carefully contemplate all his choices before picking the most logical one. But Ren didn't function like that. They admired the man for his brain but also didn't understand him at the same time. It wasn't as if Jinx asked them a dire question with no good outcomes. The girl only asked them to pick an animal, not to pick which city to blow up. 

"You should really think outside the box here for a moment." Ren offered him a kind smile. "Sometimes people choose without thinking much of it."

"Clearly, seen as how much paperwork I have." he gestured to his desk with a sigh. 

"Nothing good, I assume?" they grimaced. 

"Hard to say." he leaned forward. "The Council sent a confirmation that we can start repairing the water filtration system-"

"We have a water filtration system?" they cut him off. 

"Exactly." he hummed. 

Ren made an "oh" sound before nodding. Surely it was in such condition the effects of the filtration weren't even visible in the water. 

"How bad is the situation?" the mechanic stood up and walked over to Silco's desk. 

He slid a couple scrolls to the end of his desk. Ren opened one of the ancient looking parchment paper to look it over. It appeared to be the base of the system, where the main part of the filtering happened. The more they inspected it, the more their eyes widened in shock. 

"This look complicated." they finally turned to Silco. 

"To say the least." he nodded, hands clasped in front of him. "Can you do it?" 

Ren bit their lip as they looked down at the blueprint again. "I never worked on a filtration system but I can try."

Silco hummed but Ren wasn't paying any mind to him because they were too caught up in the drawing. It looked so intricate and detailed that the mechanic almost got lost while trying to decipher it. And it was only just one part of the system. Ren grabbed the other scrolls as well and opened them up. One of them revealed the map of Zaun - which was highly inaccurate in the present day - and what the filtration system's path looked like in the pipes. What the other one showed, they had no idea about. 

"How old is this?" they pointed at the outdated map. 

"If I'm correct, it should've been made around the first years of The Fall." he shrugged

"This was made when Zaun sunk?!" Ren yelled at him in horror. "Janna grace us all, the whole system must be rust eaten by now."

Ren raised their hands to their forehead, gripping into their bangs. This wasn't an ideal situation at all. If it was truly so old, it would be a matter of time before the system collapsed; if it hasn't already. Such amount of damage would mean that most of it needs to be replaced, or even completely rebuilt. 

"Do you have a time frame you need this done by?" they sighed, completely defeated. 

"Construction can't begin during winter, so you have until the weather gets warmer." he explained.

"So like two months." Ren nodded to themselves. "Gods, this is gonna be hard."

"I'm aware." he admitted. "Unfortunately, this is not something we can delay."

Ren nodded once again. Silco was right, of course. Water in Zaun was never known for being clean and as such, many diseases spread in the water. Every parent taught their child to only drink water once it has been boiled and cooled, otherwise they could very well die. 

"I need to see the filter in person, to see what I'm working with." the mechanic declared. 

"Alright." Silco wrote it down on a paper. 

"And could you perhaps get the sheriff to give me a pass over to Piltover?" 

Silco's writing stopped as his eyes turned to Ren. It was clear from his furrowed brows that he didn't like the idea. 

"Why?" he questioned them. 

"I need to access the library." Ren explained. "I've never built a filtration system, let alone this big. If I borrow some books I could understand it better."

"Borrow?" Silco raised a brow. 

Right, borrowing meant stealing in zaunite terms. 

"I would return it!" the mechanic raised their hand in defense. "The next time I go to Piltover, that is."

Silco stayed silent for a moment before releasing a sigh. "Consider it done."

Now that Ren had more work, they immediately started it. Draped on the couch, they began studying the blueprint intently. They were able to determine which parts were the most important and what could need to be fixed, but without seeing it in person, it would be hard to tell where to even start. So they studied the map in the meantime, trying to understand the best way they could repair it. 

If they start working on the filter, they would need to turn off the water in several districts at once. That would be manageable, but if the pipes are in bad conditions, they need to be replaced with new ones. Taking away water from the entirety of Zaun for an undisclosed time would surely plunge it into chaos. Surely Silco understood this as well. 

After hours of studying, taking notes and drawing out ideas, Ren's attention shifted to Silco. Yes, he definitely understood what replacing this system meant for Zaun. His left hand was gripping into his face as he worked on the papers, mouth shifted in a way that made his teeth visible. The way he breathed was heavy and Ren could hear it all the way from the couch; some of them sounded close to sighs. Silco looked so tense as he was hunched over the table, buried in his work. 

As if by magic, he raised his gaze only to meet Ren's. They offered him a friendly smile. Silco's shoulder fell a little as he was clearly fighting his muscles not to offer one back to Ren. 

"You look tense." they noted. 

"Mildly." he hummed. 

"Want a massage?" Ren smirked. 

Silco fell silent, eyeing the mechanic. His lips parted to say something but he changed his mind and closed them. For a moment he just gazed at them before answering. 

"Perhaps another time." he said in a lowered voice.

For some reason this made Ren feel as if the temperature rose in the room. They swallowed hard as they re-positioned themselves on the couch. 

"Well, then you should go sleep." they suggested. 

"Are you ordering me around?" he leaned back in his chair. 

"I'm suggesting to take care of your health." Ren shook their head.

"I have work to do." Silco countered. 

"Don't worry, the rats won't steal your paperwork while you rest." the mechanic snorted. "Besides, you could work more tomorrow if you are well rested. 

He wanted to argue with them but decided against it. 

"Also, have you even eaten today?" they questioned him pointedly.

"No." Silco admitted.

"Go eat right now." the mechanic pointed at the door. "No wonder you're so frustrated you practically have no energy."

"I'm fine." he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, until you faint." Ren stood up, packing the scrolls under their arms. "I'm going home so you can eat and sleep."

"That's not nece-"

"And I will ask Jinx to confirm you did what I told you to." they looked back before reaching for the door handle. "See you soon, Silco."

With that they left. 

In the following days, Jinx declared that she was busy on her own and not to be disturbed, so Ren had no choice but to be occupying Silco's office. They stated that they could simply work at the Drop or at their apartment but Silco had none of it and let the mechanic relax in his office. Not that they were disturbing each other most of the time. Usually both of them were hunched over their own papers, stressing away the hours. 

Ren worked relentlessly on studying the blueprints, all while managing some minor jobs at the bar. Nothing new, just fixing up a few broken pieces here and there. The bar always seemed to have them. Not that it was a surprise, it's always hard to manage a group of drunk people, let alone those who are taking shimmer. It's safe to say, there's always someone who falls and breaks a table or sink. Cleaning the blood off surfaces is by far the hardest in Ren's experience. 

Today they were sitting in Silco's office, drawing out some improvement for the filtration system as Silco was working at his desk. Ren had never seen him so stressed before, but when they asked about it, Silco simply dismissed their concern. Yet he seemed restless, as he continuously tapped the desk with his fingers. He only ever stopped to drink and smoke a cigar. After about an hour of this, he finally put the papers down with a deep sigh. 

"Is everything alright?" Ren turned to him. 

"Mhm." was his only answer. He didn't even bother to look up. 

Silco wasn't very talkative that day, so they just left him to himself. Ren knew better than to pressure an answer out of him. They did wonder what got him so upset, though. Perhaps one of the shimmer shipments were delayed or the Council had made another law that were to the expense of Zaun. 

"Idiots." Ren heard him mutter under his breath. 

It was a rare occurrence - hearing Silco curse. The mechanic stared at him with knotted eyebrows, itching to ask him what was wrong again. Silco felt their eyes on him and looked up with a clearly annoyed expression. Eyes narrowed, face twisted in a frown. This was every bit of the feared Eye of Zaun Ren was so scared of in the very beginning. 

"What?" his tone was heavy and demanding. 

Ren gulped. "Should I leave?"

Silco considered for a second too long. "Yes, I have business to attend to soon."

"Okay." the mechanic gathered all of their equipment before looking back at Silco. "Uhm... have a great day?"

He just hummed in return. "Before you go," his body stiffened, "our dear Sheriff complied to your request. You're to meet him at the bridge at 10 am tomorrow - sharp. I will inform Jinx."

"Alright." they nodded, before waving the man goodbye. 

His eyes followed the mechanic as they left, expression only growing colder. A shiver ran down Ren's spine as the eye contact was finally broken by the closed door. What got into him?, they wondered. In all the time Ren spent working in his office, they've never seen this type of behavior from him. 

Now - being kicked out of the only place they could work at - Ren had no other choice but to entertain some of their coworkers in a few sets of card games. Out of all the games their friends could've picked, they decided to go with poker. Which they soon found out, was a bad idea. Ren was an insanely good player, beating almost everyone at the table. Once they started betting on the game, the mechanic found their pocket grew rather heavy by the end of many rounds. 

Lock grunted as he threw his cards on the table - another win for Ren. Everyone else sighed before taking another shot of tequila and tossing a couple coins at the mechanic. They took it all with a cocky smirk gracing their face. All of them have been at this for hours and even Ren could feel the alcohol starting to affect their body. With a tipsy haze over their brain, they started counting the coins one by one. 

"That's exactly 124 coins in my pockets." Ren looked them all over with a satisfied smile. 

"Just admit you cheated." one of their coworkers crossed her arms. 

"Why, you wound me!" they feigned a surprised gasp. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Where did you even learn to play like this?" another one asked. 

"Bet they beat the pilties' asses." yet another chimed in. 

"I can neither confirm nor deny that accusation." Ren chuckled. 

The rest of the group just shook their heads, some with annoyance, some amusement. One thing was for certain, the mechanic had practically robbed them all of their pocket money. Now, with a lot of loss on their ends, the games ended and everyone moved over to do something else. It wasn't long until the bar opened for the public, and quite honestly they didn't wish to get caught up in the crowd. So they gathered all their stuff and made a run for the bathroom before leaving. 

Just as they came out from there, Ren bumped into Sevika in the hallway. She looked down at them furiously, as if she was ready to punch them. Ren raised their hands and tried walking past her. 

"Not so fast, mechanic." she grumbled. 

"Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?" they sighed. "Listen, I swear I didn't cheat at the games-"

"I don't care." Sevika stopped them before they could continue. "I want to know what the fuck got into Silco."

Ren made a 'huh' face at her before shrugging. "Psh, how am I supposed to know?"

The woman frowned. "He's being more of an asshole than usual, thought you had something to do with it."

"As if I could affect him that much." Ren waved their hand dismissively. 

Sevika raised a brow at that but decided not to question it. "Go home, you look like you'll fall over any time now."

"What? I'm as sober as I could be! I won most of the games!" they raised their voice in annoyance. 

"Then you handle your drinks horribly." with that she moved past the mechanic and walked away. 

Ren stared after her with furrowed brows before releasing a grunt and going on their way. They muttered a few less than kind words under their breath as they made their way over to the front door, forgetting why they headed in the direction of the bathroom. 

Perhaps the alcohol truly had affected Ren more than they would've liked to admit because the headache they woke up with the next day was truly mood shattering. Even by just staring at their ceiling as the alarm went off, they felt like the entire world was stinging needles into their brain. They rose from the couch with a loud groan and moved around the apartment with a sluggish walk. With eyes half lidded, they didn't notice one of their equipment pieces left on the ground and promptly stepped on it. 

They managed to get to the bathroom and after about an hour of getting ready, they left their home. Ren calculated that they would get to the bridge just in time to cross. Hopefully the sheriff didn't still hold a grudge against them, especially after seeing they worked for Silco now. Truth be told, Ren hasn't thought about the incident that much since starting to tutor Jinx. It turned into more of a distant memory that Ren would sometimes bring up in a 'wow, this happened to me' sort of fashion. 

Zaun was the same as usual, thousand of apartments towering over each other. The people were either hurrying to their jobs or having dealings in dark alleys. On the occasion, they saw tattoo shops tattooing their clients outside. Nothing out of the ordinary. Today was quite boring, in Ren's opinion. All they had to do for the day was to go read at a library and then work some at home. 

It took them quite some time to get to the top of Zaun, mainly because they tried avoiding any attention. They moved in the shadows with their jacket pulled tightly against them and their head bowed. Thankfully Ren soon arrived to their side of the bridge. It looked like the Sheriff wasn't waiting on the other side yet, so they stopped to admire the pictures, lanterns, candles and other flowers left at the side to remember those who have been lost in the uprising half a decade ago. 

Ren heard news of it, albeit they weren't living in Zaun anymore. They heard it was merciless fight between zaunites and the enforcers, one which the Undercity undeniably lost. So many people lost their lives on this very bridge, just so they could have freedom in their polluted home. It was an ample reminder why Ren was going to Piltover right now - to help change lives. 

What disturbed their melancholic thought process was the sound of metal on metal. They spun around, only to find themselves faced with Sevika. She only spared Ren a quick glance, before turning to the memorial. Her brows furrowed a little as she scoffed. 

"Have you lost someone in the fight?" she questioned, her voice unusually low. 

"No." Ren shook their head, voice kept just as low. "I already lived in Piltover by then."

Her jaw clenched and brows furrowed even further. 

"How could you live with them after this?" she could practically shoot daggers with her gaze. 

"All of us do what we can to survive, don't we?" Ren shoot back in a similar fashion. 

Sevika's eyes looked deeply into the mechanic's. In many ways, she was similar to Silco; Ren had noticed. Always so ready to act for their home, despite all the violence it takes. Yet they were also so different from each other. Sevika simply didn't carry that aura Silco had that demanded respect from everyone. Sevika was scary because of her physical strength, but Silco was scary simply because of who he was. 

"Who have you lost in the fight?" the question spilled from their mouth before they could stop it. 

The woman shrugged in indifference. "Many."

Ren nodded. "You came to pay respect?" 

"Nah," she snorted, "I'm here 'cuz boss wants me by your side."

Silco wanted Sevika to come to the library with Ren? They didn't want to assume but the woman didn't exactly look like an enjoyer of the fine arts. Ren cocked their head to the side, eyeing the tall woman. 

"He sent you to read books with me?" they raised an eyebrow.

"What, would I not make a fine piltie woman?" the side of her lips turned upwards. 

"Oh, you'd be the most refined of them all, alright." they laughed. 

Sevika barked a laugh before her expression turned back to neutral. "It makes me sick to even think about it."

Ren smirked as they turned their attention over her shoulder. In the distance they could see an enforcer standing in the middle of the road and staring at the two. With a curt nod, they told Sevika to go on their way. 

The two approached the other side of the bridge with wariness. It was purely on instinct to fear the enforcers and what they could do. With the Sheriff as Silco's loyal little dog, there wasn't much to fear anymore but learned behaviors are hard to undo. Regardless, they arrived to the other side, greeting the Sheriff with a curt nod. He only gave them a suspicious look before taking them over the set of enforcers standing to guard the bridge. 

Marcus wasn't exactly talkative today, not that the mechanic wished him to. Perhaps he was bothered by the fact Silco ordered him around like such and simply refused to engage with the zaunites. Ren almost smirked at the idea how much it was probably bothering him. Sevika, on the other hand, wasn't giving away any of her emotions besides annoyance. 

The Sheriff brought them just far away from the bridge, before giving them two papers. 

"Once you wish to go back, give these to the guards." he explained. "Don't make a ruckus."

"Won't promise." Ren muttered under their breath which made Sevika huff a laugh. 

Marcus sent them a cold glance, his eyes narrowing. The mechanic only smiled at him in feigned kindness. 

"Don't worry about your precious books, Sheriff, we will take exceptional care of them." they bagged the paper with an innocent look in their eyes. 

"Alright, let's go." Sevika tugged on their arm. "We have business to return to."

Ren waved goodbye to Marcus as they turned around to leave. 

The walk to the library was pretty uneventful, if they ignored the fact that both of them got lost in the midst of the Uppercity. To be fair, it wasn't really their fault, since all the streets looked the exact same. All houses and decorations cut the exact size and length, only varying in different colors. Even so, most of them were pure white which made both Ren and Sevika walk with their eyes somewhat squinted. The rocks they walked on were polished so much they both nearly slipped multiple times. 

It was strange how unaccustomed they became with Piltover in the span of half a year. Once they walked these very streets to buy their groceries and now they couldn't even find the library. Not that Sevika's passive aggressive advices made them feel any better. The woman basically just told them to think harder until they remember where it was. 

Ren soon gave up on finding it alone and after releasing a sigh, they abruptly stopped one of the passersby to ask for directions. Poor man was so terrified he almost ran away as soon as he saw two zaunites were standing next to him. He gave the directions before hurrying away. Sevika scoffed at him, before heading to the library. 

After many minutes of unsuccessful search, they finally stood outside the library. It was gigantic, painted in colors of white, blue and red. The edges were adorned with gold that shined so bright in the sunlight, it gave a glow to the entire building. Looking at it, Ren wondered if they had accidentally entered the afterlife. This building represented everything that Zaun couldn't be. It was the pinnacle of education, housing tomes from all over the world. Just the outside of this very building could've cost enough to buy the entirety of the Undercity. 

The inside was even prettier than they imagined. Stairs spiraling all the way to the top of the building, making them nauseous to even look up. The ceiling was painted in dark blue hues and huge golden planets hung from above, representing the world they lived in. On the blues, they could see painted golden stars, forming constellations above Ren. And the bookshelves - there were so many. All of the wall - except for the small portion of the checkout section - was covered in hundreds, if not thousands of books. If that wasn't enough, on each level there were a dozen more lines of bookshelves the readers could choose from. In some places, there were imperial blue chairs and desks set out so the visitors could enjoy their selected tomes. 

Ren's mouth fell open as their eyes skimmed over the building. All of this was unimaginable for a child of the Undercity, yet there they stood, taking in the beauty of knowledge. Their attention turned to a few scientists talking about their latest creations just to their right. All of them looked well groomed and dressed in the elegant clothing of the Academy. 

"Can I help you?" a voice came from behind the two zaunites. 

They turned around, only to see, presumably, the librarian. She eyed the trenchers with suspicion. 

"Uhhh, do you have any books about mechanical work?" It was a dumb question but Ren didn't quite know what else they could ask. 

The woman hesitated just for a second before clearing her throat. "Third, fourth and fifth floor."

Ren nodded. "Right, thank you."

Both of the zaunites walked over to the stairs, eyeing how much they had to climb before moving up.

It was torturous, Ren had decided once they finally reached the third floor. The mechanic had to climb around Zaun each day, yet it wasn't as energy consuming as the climb of stairs they had just put themselves through. Even Sevika's breathing was just a tiny bit heavier than before. Once they got on the third floor though, Ren looked around. All the lines of bookshelves filled with the most exquisite tomes had them panicked just a little. 

"Do you have an idea where to start?" Ren turned to Sevika with raised eyebrows and widened eyes. 

"No." she answered shortly. "What are you even looking for?" 

"Sil-"

The woman grabbed their bicep before they could finish the name and tugged them closer to herself. She gave them a look that basically screamed 'don't you dare say his name' at them. 

"He didn't tell you?" Ren gulped. 

Sevika finally released them, with a frown. 

"He's been pissy for days now." she shrugged. "Not telling me much."

"Alright," they sighed, "I need to find some books on how to build a goddamned water filtration system."

"Do they even have books on those?" she scoffed. 

"I have no idea." Ren admitted. "But anything can be better than my current knowledge."

"Fine, I'll help you out." Sevika sighed as if this was the biggest inconvenience in her life. "But if you don't find it in three hours, I'm leaving."

This was a disaster. One hour has definitely passed by now, maybe even two, and Ren was still sitting by one of the desks and reading pages upon pages of material. Yet they still haven't found a perfect tome for what they were looking for. Sevika sat down on the ground to look through the piles of books the both of them have gathered. Her expression could only be explained as if she had just experienced the death of all of her loved ones. 

Ren wasn't looking any better either. Locks of hair standing to the air as they had an iron grip to hold onto the last bit of their sanity. They were able to find bits and pieces of what information they needed, so they were able to put away some books but on a larger scale, they still had way too many to flip through. Oddly enough, their best find yet was a history book that somewhat explained how Zaun's mechanics were built upon the city's sinking. Most of the information was about the ventilation system though - which also wasn't properly working anymore. 

After another hour of searching, both of the zaunites gathered enough books that could help in Ren's process - ten in total. Sevika grabbed five of them as Ren did the same, before walking back downstairs. They brought it to the librarian, who looked at the two with a questioning glare. 

"We would like to take these." Ren offered her an awkward smile. 

The woman blinked for a couple seconds before taking a document and grabbing a pen. "Name?"

"Ren." 

"Last name?" 

"... from Zaun?" they raised an eyebrow, taking a quick glance and Sevika. 

She just shrugged at them.

"Right." the librarian muttered before writing it down. "Address?"

"Is that necessary?" Ren was fidgeting with their left hand as the awkward conversation went on. 

"Yes." her tone was monotone and completely uninterested. 

Ren sighed, before giving the librarian their address. 

"You have two months to return the books." she stated after writing it down. "Now for the payment..."

"Payment? I thought libraries were free?" the mechanic raised a brow. 

"How much?" Sevika interrupted them.

"One hundred." the lady answered.

Sevika scoffed before pulling out a pouch and all but slamming it on the counter. 

The librarian flinched before grabbing it and counting the money. "Alright, we are all set." She handed a card to Ren. "This is your library card. Once you return the books, you'll have to show this to me."

"Right." they nodded, inspecting the item. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." With that the librarian turned away from the two. 

Both Ren and Sevika grabbed an equal amount of books and left the library. Ren thought they would take another route, just in case anyone was following them. It was only on instinct that they went towards the old shop they worked at - the mechanic tried to tell themselves. The pure familiarity took them on the path that they walked several times. 

Somehow they felt a strange sense of comfort upon seeing the weathered down buildings of the poor district. It looked mostly the same as Ren had seen them last time. The red poppies still bloomed at the local flower shop and Brutus, the dog who always sat outside the fast food restaurant, was laying on his side as usual. He recognized Ren in an instant and ran up to them. The mechanic chuckled before catching the dog as it jumped into their arms. Ren couldn't balance both the books and the dog, so they all fell to the ground. 

"Brutus!" they laughed as the dog licked their face. "Who's a good boy? Yes, you are!"

He barked at the mechanic before going to sniff at Sevika. She frowned at the dog, but rather at the sight before her; Ren with their bangs messed up and face drenched in saliva. 

"No, leave her." The dog whined at Ren's words and walked back to their side. "Sit."

Brutus followed their orders with those bright eyes of his. Ren got up in the meantime and grabbed the books once again. 

"Is he your dog or what?" Sevika furrowed her brows.

"Nah, he's a street dog." Ren explained. "He hangs around here in hopes of getting food. The owner of this restaurant doesn't mind him."

"He's clearly energetic." she remarked. 

Ren shrugged. "Brutus is cute. He learned where I lived and greeted me at the door sometimes. Walked me to my work too. When he felt like it, that is."

"So you lived close?" she raised a brow. 

The mechanic didn't answer for a moment and when they did, they tried to sound as neutral as possible. "I guess."

Sevika didn't press on the matter but she rushed the mechanic back to Zaun. Ren said their goodbyes to Brutus and continued on their way. They turned a couple buildings and soon stood outside their old apartment. As they looked at the window, they could see some decorations that weren't their own on the sill, along with azaleas growing in a pot. Ren didn't expect their old apartment to be left abandoned but it still stung a little to see it be taken over by someone else. They only watched it for a moment before turning to head towards the shop. 

Both of them walked for a bit before arriving to the street Ren remembered so well. The burnt parts were long fixed by now. And the shop has been rebuilt. Different owner, different mechanic workshop. The name, the look of it, everything was different. It didn't look so welcoming anymore, rather just another shop with strict rules. 

Ren hummed while watching someone enter. "I used to work there. Before it was changed."

"Why did you leave anyway?" Sevika's face only showed genuine interest, no maliciousness whatsoever. 

"They didn't tell you?" Ren's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought you of all people would know."

Sevika shrugged. "He doesn't tell me as much as you think."

"The explosion." Ren explained. "I was the only worker who survived so obviously the blame fell on me."

"So the girl fucked both of us over." she scoffed. 

"Both?" 

Sevika tapped her metal arm, making a clanking noise. "Got it blown to pieces by her."

Ren didn't say anything for a moment, taking in the information. It must've been hard for Sevika; to keep working for the man who's daughter blew her arm off. Ren could sympathize somewhat, as they were also mad at the girl when they found out she was behind the explosion. 

"And that's why you don't like her."

She scoffed. "Yeah, and because she's a spoiled brat."

"Careful, don't let him hear that."

Sevika smiled. "He knows exactly what I think."

"I don't share you views, though." they sighed.

"Thought so." 

"She's a nice kid, you know. Just needs a bit more attention." they shrugged. "We all have our own demons. Doesn't mean we should judge her for it."

"You're too forgiving." Sevika scoffed. "You will end up in a ditch with this mindset."

"Perhaps." Ren hummed. 

With that they continued on their way, not making any more stops until they reached their apartment. 

Days went by with Ren learning more about the process of creating a water filtration system. Things have sped up as they had accessed the core of it to see the machine in person. Now they only had to plan a new system, which Jinx couldn't really help with so they ended up working on their own. Jinx never stopped complaining about her lack of experimental place though, which ultimately gave Ren the idea to offer up the fan propeller place they had a heart to heart with Silco on. 

They approached Jinx with it at first, only in passing but the girl liked the idea so much she dragged them upstairs to talk to Silco immediately. Ren remembered that conversation very clearly. Jinx pushed them inside with a smile on her face and let them do the talking. Silco was cautious as they began and could only manage a distraught expression as Ren told him the idea. 

"Absolutely not." Silco rose from his desk.

"Pleeease!" Jinx whined. "I could set my bombs off! In the name of science! Please dad! Pretty please." 

The man's face softened just a little as he approached Jinx. "It's dangerous. You could fall-"

"But I won't!" she stomped her leg like an angry bunny. 

Silco's eyes widened just a little as he looked at Ren for help. They could only shrug though. "The place is big enough, you saw it."

"Did he?" Jinx spun around. 

"Doesn't matter." he sighed. "It is too far away from the bar."

Ren sucked in some air as they grimaced making both turn to them. "Actually there is an entrance not too far away from the Drop."

"Really?" Jinx jumped in excitement. "Then let's go right now!"

"But" Ren held a finger up, "it has been closed up for over a decade now. A bunch of boulders blocked it off."

"Well fix it!" she whined. "I want to go there!"

Silco crossed his arms over his chest, clearly still not a fan of the idea. But he remained silent, only appraising the two as they spoke. Ren spared him a glance, apologizing with their eyes. They didn't really think much of it when they mentioned the hideout but Jinx was almost immediately enthralled by it. 

"Well, if some of us got together I'm sure we could push the boulders away?" they raised the question to Silco. 

"I do not like the idea." he declared his opinion. "But if this is what you want, dear."

For the last part he turned to Jinx, his face softening completely. Jinx ran into his arms and Silco embraced her with a small smile forming on his face. Ren couldn't help the warmth that spread through their chest as they saw the two hugging. He held her close, stroking her hair as the girl visibly relaxed in his arms. Silco's gaze slowly shifted to Ren, who offered him a smile. In a moment of vulnerability, he smiled at them too. Not at Jinx, but at Ren. 

They couldn't quite forget how his genuine smile looked at his usually cramped face. The harsh lines softened and his already thin lips thinning even more as he gazed at the mechanic. Silco's eyes held nothing but content. How Ren wished to witness such a thing once again. 

Unfortunately as Jinx had claimed the propeller as her new hideout, she also wanted to research independently. Which meant, Ren wasn't her mentor anymore. They remained working for Silco but with much less duties besides planning the water filtration system. It was hard working at the bar every day and Ren didn't want to bother Silco each day, so they rather worked at home. 

It was fine for the first week. Reading the books and studying the blueprints kept the mechanic busy enough. But soon they started to miss their co-workers. Suddenly Sevika's judging personality was much needed, along with Jinx's energetic monologues. Most importantly though, Ren missed Silco. Being around him was sort of calming. His presence helped clear Ren's mind, which was usually racing with thoughts. Now in the isolation of their own apartment, they could only think of that damned smile of his. 

Ren felt strange. They didn't even realize how attached they became to him. Silco turned into one of Ren's best friends in no time. He was so wise and understanding underneath all the harshness, almost like a different person. Not for long though; his cold demeanor always returned soon after his kind words. 

The mechanic began missing Silco even more when the apartment'S heating system stopped working in the middle of winter. Ren's apartment held onto the heat not even for a day before they had to dress up and stay under the covers permanently. It was bearable for a few days, as the work kept their mind off from the pain of freezing. That was until it became physically hard to move. Their hands slowed and the mechanic could barely move their fingers to piece together a project. Ren then decided to visit the Drop again. 

It was late at night, the city only being lit up by the neon lights. The bar was still open to the public, which could only mean that they had to visit Silco. They felt bad for having to barge into his office at such a time but Ren was sure that if they spent any more days in their apartment they would not make it to the morning. 

As they stepped through the entrance of the Drop, the warmth immediately hit them. It was the kind that everyone felt in big crowds - sweaty and choking. Ren rushed through everyone, only giving a wave to the guard as they practically ran upstairs. Well, running is a overstatement because their muscles were too frozen to consider it running. But to Ren it was definitely faster than what they managed lately. Yet they still stopped in front of Silco's door, unsure if they should knock or just stay downstairs instead. 

"Do you plan on staying outside?" a voice called behind the door. It was deep and smooth. Silco.

They finally gathered the courage to grab the doorknob and twist it. As they stepped inside, they caught sight of the small smirk Silco wore before they opened the door. But as his eyes fell on the mechanic, it was wiped off and replaced with a frown. 

He rose from the desk. "What happened?" 

Only then did Ren realize his brows were furrowed in concern. Making his beautiful face scrunched once again. 

"The heating went out." they managed to say. Strange, their voice was raspier than they remembered. Perhaps from the cold. "The whole building."

"When?" he walked to their side as Ren finally closed the door. 

"A couple days ago." they admitted. 

"You spent days freezing?" he scoffed. "What were you thinking? You should've come sooner."

"I didn't want to bother you." Ren shook their head. It was a slow movement but they couldn't manage more. 

Silco grabbed their face with a gentle hold and made them look straight into his eyes. "You are not a bother to me, Ren."

The warmth that spread through Ren was unlike anything they felt before. It was lower, deep in their stomach. They gulped as Silco released them and motioned to the couch. Ren followed his request without question and sat down. 

"It wasn't too bad." they tried saving the situation. "Working took my mind off things."

"Your skin is ice cold." he sighed. 

"I'm fine." they told him. 

"You may be skilled at many things but lying is not one of them." his eyes darkened. "I do not appreciate lying."

Ren didn't know what to say anymore. They felt just like back at the cave - being cared for. It has been so long since anyone has shown such great care for them, that they didn't know what to do with it. So what they managed to do was relaxing on his sofa. Their eyes were growing heavy, blinking slowly. 

"When was the last time you slept?" Silco asked, voice lower than usual. 

"Sleeping kept me cold." Ren confessed. "So I only slept when necessary." 

The man made a noise of displeasure. 

"Can I continue my work here? I could go downstairs if it's a pro-"

"No." he raised his hand, signaling them to shut up. "You are to stop working until you recover."

"But-"

"This is an order."

Ren shut their mouth. They sighed as they looked away from him. "Fine."

Silco stood up and walked over to the door on the side of his office. He opened it and walked inside, slightly leaving it ajar. Ren peaked over the couch, interested in where he could've gone. From what they could see, the door led to his bedroom, but it was too dark in there to see anything else besides the edge of the bed. The man walked out soon, closing the door behind him. In his hands, he held a pillow and a blanket. 

"Lay down." he ordered them. 

Ren was about to follow his order again but his voice stopped them. 

"Ah-ah, boots off." he pointed to their shoes. 

The mechanic let out a chuckle, before they removed their boots one by one. Silco placed the pillow on the end of the bed and gave Ren the blanket. Soon they were tucked in just nicely. They released a sigh of content and closed their eyes. 

"Thank you so much, Silco." they muttered, sleep already claiming their mind. 

"Good night, Ren."

"Good night."

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 048

What’s that?  The Zamasu Saga doesn’t suck enough?   Well, what if we throw in some Pilaf!

In the future, Trunks flies into a rage and attacks Goku Black for killing (ha!) Mai.  But it doesn’t work.  Black is too strong, so all Trunks can do is throw his sword like a boomerang to spoil Black’s aim, then use a Masenko to cover his escape. 

By the time Black locates Trunks, he’s already launched the time machine, and he disappears into the past before Black can figure out what’s happened.  All he knows for sure is that Trunks is gone.

Meanwhile, in the present day main timeline, we find this world’s Trunks doing a math class in his home.  I guess Bulma hired a tutor or something.   Also, he’s got Pilaf, Mai, and Shu taking the classes with him. 

This is another huge problem with this arc.  In a lot of episodes, time is pissed away by having the Pillaf gang uselessly comment on whatever is happening.  We’ll see this demonstrated later, but in this scene Pilaf does a whole bit when Trunks struggles to solve a math problem.  Everything just turns into this long, drawn out nonsense whenever Pilaf is nearby, because he doesn’t understand what’s going on with the plot, and no one ever explains it to him, and yet he feels compelled to babble endlessly about it.  And the people making this show thought you really wanted to see every second of this. 

There is a scene here which I appreciate.  I must have missed it on the first viewing in 2016, but Mai thanks Trunks for letting them live in the Capsule Corp. building.  This happened off-screen, but according to Trunks, they seemed to be having a hard time, and the house has plenty of rooms, so why not invite them to live here?  The way the Pilaf Gang have been lurking around so many major characters lately, it’s probably not much of a stretch that they ran into Trunks recently. 

The point of this, of course, is that Trunks is sweet on Kid Mai, which is meant to reflect the apparent relationship between Future Trunks and Future Mai.  This saga keeps insisting that this somehow matters, but it never leads to any profound connection.  Pilaf and Shu keep talking about it anyway, though, so that’s another tedious thing to sit through.

While they eat lunch on the balcony, they notice the time machine arriving in the backyard, and Trunks is astonished to find his future self inside.  Of course he doesn’t realize it’s his future self just yet.  Starting out, he’s just confused by the resemblance, and he doesn’t understand why Bulma keeps calling him “Trunks” too.  Pilaf speculates that Future Trunks is actually a secret love child Bulma had long before she married Vegeta. 

Much of this episode is an obnoxious game of telephone.  Trunks gets Pilaf to get Shu to get Bulma, who then tells Whis to tell Vegeta to tell Goku to tell Korin to get a senzu bean for Future Trunks.  This is like watching someone dial a phone in a movie.  You don’t have to show this part, dammit!

Also, everyone keeps freaking the fuck out in this episode, which is just really annoying. 

Oh, Korin’s playing limbo.  But he admits he doesn’t enjoy it much. 

So Trunks finally gets his senzu bean and wakes up to see his parents and Goku.  And he attacks Goku, mistaking him for his mysterious enemy in his own timeline.  And that’s the cliffhanger. 

Oh, and Beerus and Whis tagged along, because they have absolutely nothing to do with this nonsense, and shoehorning them into a story arc is just one more bad move to add to the pile. 

That’s a nice gazebo, though.   Gohan and Videl probably made out in there once or twice, don’t you think?  Sorry, I’m just trying to distract myself from this.

[noneedtoamputate]

Every Beautiful Thing - Chapter Seven

Rating: Teen

Characters: Chuck Grant, Original Female Character(s), Joe Liebgott, Original Male Character(s)

Tags: Postwar, Slow Burn, Non Canon Realtionships, San Francisco

Summary: A girl walks into a tobacco shop.

August 1951

Ellen backed out of the parking space in front of Joe and Miriam’s house, where the two couples had spent the evening playing cards.

“Only one more week until your birthday,” Chuck pointed out. “How does it feel to be almost thirty?”

“For the last time, Chuck, I am seven months older than you,” she said, exasperated.

He tried not to smile.

“You’re getting a big kick out of this, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yeah, I am,” he answered honestly, and she shook her head and couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’d like to cook you dinner,” he said. “For your birthday.”

He’d spent time thinking about how to mark the occasion, and he couldn’t come up with anything better. He wasn’t much of a cook, but he could handle the basics.

“I’d like that,” she said.

“You don’t have plans with your parents?” He doubted that her mother and father had organized anything, but he thought he should ask anyway.

She was slow to answer. “Actually, my parents will be in San Jose that night. It’s my aunt and uncle’s silver wedding anniversary party, and my aunt read my mother the riot act. She demanded she be there.”

He turned to face her. “Really?” he asked.

She nodded, keeping her eyes on the road, ignoring the implication of what she just shared.

Read the rest and comment on AO3.

Tag list: @coco-bean-1218

[voxofthevoid]

The chances are high that you won't get to this ask until after the date I sent it to you but I did send it on December 7 for me so Happy Gojo Satoru Birthday Day! I brought something so we can celebrate together!

*opens up a box containing all of the psychic damage you've unleashed on me the last months with your fics*

BTW this is werewolf anon. *finger guns*

So based on your recommendations, I read There’s a Lover in the Story and I must say, popping my JJK Fic reading cherry by a story that starts with a Nanami POV right after I had watched THAT anime episode was certainly A CHOICE. A masochistic one but I guess I am a glutton for punishment. Why else would I read your fics? (Also I'm going to imagine that Nanami made it to Malaysia and the other parts were us all collectively hallucinating *sobs uncontrollably*)

That being said, I really enjoyed your fic Nanami's suffering because teenage Gojo is a MENACE. Not to mention Gojo being critical of his older version was hilariously on point. Yuji is...I just want to hug him so much, that precious bean. You did warn me that the third part is heavy on the manga spoilers so I guess I better get my ass in gear and get caught up. I'm just going to re-read it from the beginning.

And I read your tags and I am honored you thought of me when talking about knotting dildos. *sparkly anime eyes* Thank you so much!

Mmm, inflicting psychic damage—exactly what I wanted to do for Christmas 💖

And I did see this on the 7th! Towards the end of it, just as I was going to sleep. And welcome back, werewolf anon! You might be pleased or at least amused to know that I read this ask and promptly punched the air. Embarrassing noises may have been made.

...In my defense, JJK turns me into A Creature, and I am Highly Not Normal about comments on those fics—even more than usual, that is. I don't think I was ever #normal in fandom.

Anyway! Sweet damn, yes, that's some timing. I won't say I'm over Nanami (I'll never be over Nanami), but I read that part in the manga when I caught up with it over a year ago, so the hurt isn't fresh, and even the anime just got me settling in and enjoying the pain (side note: the final death scene/moment is more brutal in the manga, 100% recommend). Cannot imagine what it must've been like to run into that for the first time in the anime. MAPPA went for the jugular with that beach hallucination. I've got tissues and porn, should you need any.

In the mean time, I can provide Nanami suffering in...less painful ways. Teen!Gojou only makes him crave death every other day.

But in all seriousness, I'm delighted to see you're enjoying that fic ❤️

Also, you'll have plenty of time to catch up on the manga before Part 3. I'm taking a break this month, so all updates have been pushed forward a month. Part 3 won't be up till April even without further delays.

And hey, it's a fun association! Your OG message is still a point of delight.

[mercurygray]

I posted 2,578 times in 2022

867 posts created (34%)

1,711 posts reblogged (66%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mercurygray

@carbone14

@shoshiwrites

@marvelingjules

@captainkilly

I tagged 2,357 of my posts in 2022

Only 9% of my posts had no tags

#asked and answered - 153 posts

#i have written a thing - 138 posts

#shopping for a fanfic - 131 posts

#rebagelling for a later crowd - 115 posts

#the care and feeding of your friendly writer - 98 posts

#this has been a psa - 97 posts

#writing - 92 posts

#joan warren - 85 posts

#original girl gang - 79 posts

#house of the dragon - 78 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#(which is great! your brain needs downtime! but pls try something with a higher difficulty setting too cos your brain needs that as well)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

One of my fandom servers recently shared another post about the vicious 'comments-likes-kudos-reblogs-no one is sharing my stuff' cycle that often pop up in internet writer circles.

And after we'd gone on a ways, one of the people in this conversation (the always lovely and astute @captainkilly) pointed out that that what writers want when we complain about things like this - what a lot of us want, anyway - isn't necessarily pure attention, but connection. We want to talk with someone about something that makes us happy. We've written something down specifically for the express purpose of giving voice to a thought we have. We want to have a conversation - ideally a deep and genuine one, but a conversation regardless.

I thought this was a very valid take. And I realized something else, too - To find that person, you have to BE that person.

How do I know this? Because I'm TERRIBLE at it. I have been the person on the sideline stamping my foot that my genius isn’t being noticed and isn’t that awful?  I can't start conversations on the internet FOR BEANS - I can be VERY self conscious when I want to be. I've done this with exactly four people over the last two years. Three of them are still talking to me.

And here's where this story gets interesting. That fourth person? I asked them for perceived internet clout. I wanted to be in their circle because I thought it would bring me fame and recognition and legitimacy and they could put me in front of eyeballs, and you know what, they're NOT still talking to me, because to be honest, I figured out after a while that she didn't care about my stuff - and I had never cared about hers.

But those other three folks? They'd jump through the internet and hit someone for me. I love them to bits. I would jump through the internet for them, too.

Connection, not attention. Talk to people. 

125 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

#4

House of the Dragon 1.9 thoughts: I love Jace's shocked Pikachu face with Helaena's speech. Like, what, that's how marriages work around here? I've only seen Mom with Dad, Totally Not Dad, and Daemon, and they all never treated her like that. This is an outrage.

128 notes - Posted October 10, 2022

#3

I went to go see the new Top Gun again after work ($5 Mondays!) and I think I found the moment in the movie where Phoenix really adopts Bob.

In their first dogfight against Maverick, Hangman is flying with Phoenix and Bob, and after their plane is shot down, Hangman desperately asks for help trying to find Maverick when the sun is in his eyes.

Phoenix reminds him that she's dead and therefore out of the game, and Bob says "See you in the afterlife, Bagman."

It's the first time someone else has used Phoenix's derogatory take on his callsign - and Phoenix smiles. Yeah, this guy's on her team. Just watch someone try to take her WSO. (And he made a joke!)

251 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

#2

Things You Said Prompts

… in the dark

… in the aftermath

… under a bridge

… for comfort

… with intent to harm

… in the shade of a tree

… where the water was loud

… out of anger

… out of fear

… when I wasn't listening

… when I was gone

… where everyone could hear

… where no one could hear

… when I wasn't meant to hear

… that you regretted after

… when we were afraid

… when we were in danger

… when one or more of us was drunk

… after the storm had passed

… to comfort me

… far away from all of it

… when we woke

… while we slept

… with our bodies and not our voices

… when we were close together

… when the world was ending

things you didn't say at all

336 notes - Posted April 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Achievements in Fan Writing:

inarticulate screaming in comments

'i read this in one sitting'

'i don't usually read this but I liked yours'

'I hoped somebody would be writing [x] and then I found this!😍'

'i didn't even know I needed this until now'

'i've never even seen this show but i loved this'

'you bastard now i'm writing this too'

'I have had your OC for only a day but if anything happened to them I would...'-insert meme here

'you made me start shipping [pairing]'

'you made me see this character differently'

'you made me see this character'

'here i drew you fanart based on your fic'

made it onto someone's rec list

2,607 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[biggreenneatbox]

Tagged by @sadiemacoy -- list a favourite character from 10 favourite fandoms.

Now, do I even have 10 fandoms in ma brain *to* pick from.....

(Turns out, answer is "No". So I will be listing my favourite characters from what seems to be my brain's current fixations)

Critical Role - Caduceus Clay / Grog Strongjaw / Laudna

I couldn't pick individual people, so I've listed, in order, my favourites from each of the 3 main campaigns. We've got out of place asexual loner with a heart of gold and a penchant for reason in a world of chaos in Cad; No Thought, Only Heart and Instinct for Grog; and misunderstood weirdo with a love of both the arts and a strong independant woman what don't need no man (but wouldn't say no to a woman if she were to try and fill that void) in Laudna

RWBY - Neopolitan

I love this little shit so much! And now that I fully identify as Non-Binary, having my favourite character be someone who can alter their appearance at the literal drop of a hat makes so much sense. Also, Ice Cream Aesthetic

God of War - Kratos (Norse era)

I liked the overarcing spectacle of the Greek era, and TC Carson was a fantastic Greek Kratos, but Norse era Kratos is just a whole other man and I am here for his growth. Christopher Judge conveys so much with so little; he's like the father I never had

Star Wars - Anakin Skywalker (Clone Wars era) / Darth Vader

If you think about it, he's a Gifted & Talented Kid that got pushed to the point of breaking. Especially when we got Season 7 of The Clone Wars and we saw the overlap of it and Ep.III. And then there's Vader. I have never really seen someone command a presence in everything he's in just by being there. He literally needs to *breathe* and that's most people done. He just shows up in Jedi: Fallen Order and everyone *knew* that we were fucked

Sly Cooper - Bentley

(I have to pick Bentley because apparently "The track 'Paris Rooftops' from the Sly 2 OST" can't be a character)

Joking aside, Bentley overcame his nerdy social anxiety and thrived when he had to face the world alone. And then when Clock-la happens and he becomes paralysed, he didn't stop. He adapted. I thrive to be like that eventually. But also, turtle: things going bad? Just jump into your shell

The Last of Us - Ellie Williams

Ah, my little Les-bean. Reminds me of a close friend, what with the arting and the guitar and the singing and the gayness

Sonic the Hedgehog - Shadow

An even darker and edgier speedy hedgehog? Yes please! But also, Shadow (especially in the games I played as a wee lad - Sonic Heroes & Shadow the Hedgehog) had a whole lot of uncertainty in his life and had to discover and forge his own path. Being told he's so many different things and having to decide whether that's what he wants to do and listen to one of their stories, or become his own individual person away from the pressures of everyone else

Dragon Ball - Future Trunks

What's that? My favourite Dragon Ball character has a hero complex, wherein he tries to prevent any ill-fate before it happens by going back in time to change the past, hopefully making his future a better place, only to find out that protecting them did nothing for him and he ended up sad and depressed anyway? .........nope, can't relate ......to the time travelling part

DBZ Abridged also helped by constantly drawing Doctor Who parallels with him, and that was one of my many childhood / teenage hyperfixations soo.....

Dead by Daylight - The Dredge

Got to give thanks to HighKingMargo on AO3 for delving into some lore of DBD that I wasn't aware of in their amazing fic "This Hunger, It Isn't You", but when I looked and really paid attention to everything, I kind dug the vibe of The Dredge. Long story short - it's a SUPER fucked up amalgamation of cultish despair that manifested as a shadowy mass of limbs and general ick. I'm not much of a horror fan, but of all the (non-license) Killers in the game, I adore this disgusting thing

Marvel - The Hulk

A man with a curse to be the worst version of themselves when pushed, so decides to live a life of relative solitude and ease for fear that the less people are around them, the better? And with that, the absolute power fantasy of having almost free reign to be as strong as I need to be in any given moment. Hmm, I guess I'll focus on that one. Also, they're literally part of the reason my blog is named BIGGREENneatbox

BONUS 11th: Avatar: The Last Airbender - Uncle Iroh

It's Uncle Iroh.

Well, now that fustercluck and self-realisation journey is out of the way... @dvdson @geekg1rl3 @calxiyn you try

[danaan13]

I regretted answering my phone.

Though, to be quite frank, I usually regret answering my phone. But normally it's robo voice with Shatner level dialogue pacing, telling me they're the IRS and I need to pay them a money order, or I'll go to jail. Or that my apple computer warranty, or car warranty, are running out and I need to renew. Funny thing about those is, I know I paid my taxes on time. I spent the refund check months ago. And I don't have an apple computer. And my car was too old to put a warranty on. The refund check wasn't big enough for either. (I got chicken nuggets, if you want to know.)

Regardless, this was a new one. And it didn't sound like robo-Shatner. And while I've been mistakenly called many names not my own, Thomas was a new one for me. I mean... my name's Shelly to my coworkers, Shel to my friends, and Sheila to my regional manager.

Still, I rather doubt Thomas' family deserved whatever was about to happen to them. So I grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and said, "Alright. What do you want?"

The voice on the other side hesitated. I didn't sound like a Thomas. If one took the generic assumption, that is. Even so, the guy rattled off an ungodly amount of money and a demand that no law enforcement be involved. He then gave me a drop point and a time. And then he hung up.

I looked at the information I had and just sighed. Well, I sure wasn't calling the police. Last time they pulled out the swat gear, they shot up a jewelry store at a mall and 'accidentally' hit the man playing Santa for the kids. Among a few other things that made the whole fiasco reek of discriminatory judgement. So, that was out.

Then I noticed the drop point was right next to the bank that my job kept its accounts at. Welp, I wanted to quit my current job anyway. I did a little thinking and a little planning, before deciding it was worth a shot. And with that done, it was time for work. So I got up and grabbed my work apron and went to my shift.

Lucky me, my manager was lazy enough to give me the deposit bag, for the money going to the bank that night. I had also stolen his work keys from his suitcase before he left. I unlocked the deposit bag and dumped the money into an old ratty backpack. I shoved the deposit bag and its little gps tag underneath the money and shuffled it all around till it looked like just a messy pile of money.

One short drive later and I was near the bank. I dropped the backpack in the spot and went back to my car. I watched a couple guys dart across the parking lot, acting like they thought they were being sneaky. They looked in the backpack and then took it, darting back the way they came into an alley.

Then two more people are shoved out of the alley. A middle aged woman in Louboutin heels and a boy in uniform for a pricey private middle school across town. I quietly turned on the car and rolled down the window. I waved at them and the two dashed for my car like they were running from the monster of the week.

I unlocked the doors once they get to me and they both jumped in. The woman blinked once and then squeaked out, "You're not my Thomas!"

I shrugged tiredly. It had been a long shift today. "I'm not anyone's Thomas. I'm Shelly. And your kidnappers dialed the wrong number. Anyway. I'm gonna take us to the police. Hopefully those guys won't find my job's deposit bag before the police can track the gps thingy."

I put my car in gear and headed out. I could see the woman staring at me in just absolutely dazed shock. Her kid finally piped up then, "Does your boss know you used the deposit bag for this?"

I grinned a little. "Nope. Or the money either."

The woman frowned in distinct disapproval. "That's theft!"

I kept grinning. "Grand theft, actually. But it felt like small beans compared to threatening bodily harm to someone's family. Besides, it got you out, didn't it?"

The woman fell silent at this and didn't argue. I could tell she was uncomfortable with it. Her son, on the other hand, was bouncing in the back seat like he'd just met a superhero. And given the Deadpool and Venom pins on the straps of his backpack, I imagine he was in the middle of an antihero phase anyway. I made his day, I guess.

By the time I reached the police station, my anxiety was back. I walked inside with the lady and her son, letting them tell their story, before giving mine. It took the police officer at the desk a good twenty seconds to realize I was being honest and they did technically have to arrest me.

I expected to spend the night there, figuring they'd transfer me somewhere more long term, till my trial. But another officer came and let me out, saying that a lawyer for Thomas had arrived with paperwork from a judge to let me out on bail.

I was taken to the lawyer who shook my hand and gave me a business card with a time and date on it. "This is your appointment with me, to set up the defense for your trial. Given matters here, declaring innocence won't work. But I'm certain we can mitigate your sentence."

I just kind of nod for a moment and then said, "I can't afford you. I technically can't afford what I just did."

The lawyer smiled. "No. But Thomas can. And well... his son was absolutely insistent that we help you."

I smiled a little. Or I tried to. I was very tired. "I guess, umm... thanks then?"

The lawyer smiled and then insisted on driving me home and having his assistant drive my car for me. I suppose I did look like a cheap one dollar burrito after the microwave.

The next several months were odd for me. I was officially fired for stealing. No surprise. The kidnappers were in fact caught, having not found the deposit bag's gps. That was a little surprising at least. The money was entirely accounted for. Even more surprising.

I was deemed guilty of grand theft, but given grace for my altruism and sentenced to probation and community service. For not reporting this to the police. I smiled and thanked the judge and the jury for their hard work. And kept my thoughts to myself, about the wisdom of police involvement.

Thomas and his family got me a new job, working for the company he owned. Though, he did make me sign a contract promising I wouldn't steal money to ransom people with. I signed it. After all, what was the likelihood of kidnappers calling the wrong number a second time?

You answer your cellphone and hear a mysterious voice say, “Thomas, we have taken your wife and son hostage. Do exactly as we say and they will be released.” Only one problem: your name isn’t Thomas…