#And while I'm at it what's up with May's cousin? Why is he in our buisness ?

[thefriendoforatioisdead]

Listen, I'm all for staying friends with your exes ! Some of my best-friends are my exes ! But that's only because we are in fact friends ! And this sneaky classist woman is NOT a friend ! If I were May and a so-called ''friend'' talked to my girlfriend like that I'd kick her out of my house ! I feel so much anger about this ex I hope we never see her again ! (my wish will not be granted) (90% sure we'll see her again so she can be an asshole again. And then we'll see her again on the wedding day being all forgiving and forgiven)

[snootlestheangel]

What if Soap had a cousin that's really close to his age: maybe the difference in age is as much as months apart, rather than years.

They were two peas in a pod, partners in crime growing up. They're cousins through Soap's mother's side of the family, so he doesn't have the MacTavish name, which sometimes Soap thinks is a good thing.

His cousin didn't join the military when Soap did, (partly due to the fact Soap cheated the system but that's neither here nor there) and a couple years went by before he decided to follow in Soap's footsteps and join. He's plenty smart and plenty capable, maybe not nearly as like Soap, but he's good enough that he progresses through pretty quick.

He's made Sergeant before either of them know it, and Soap is fucking proud. They're still close, and the shared experience of military life has definitely helped keep them that way in their adult lives. His cousin was the only one Soap confessed to about his feelings for Ghost. Granted it was more along the lines of a warning: "don't fall in love with your lieutenant, it'll only hurt."

Of course, that conversation happened a while ago, long enough ago that Soap and Ghost have indeed done something about their feelings for each other, but Soap and his cousin aren't ones to gossip about that sort of thing.

All his cousin knows is that Soap may or may not have something going on with his lieutenant, and quite frankly that's all he wants to know.

But here's the thing: his cousin doesn't know Soap is called Soap, and he doesn't know what taskforce he's a part of. He knows that Soap does some top shit, and he's not one to pry. Certainly not when he's got his own problems to worry about.

But he has heard of The Ghost. Everyone in the UK military has, for fucks sake. You can't be a soldier in that military without hearing about The Ghost and his almost supernatural abilities. You can't avoid hearing the higher ups mutter under their breaths "thank God he's on our side". It's considered one of the greatest honors a soldier can receive to work alongside The Ghost.

And that's how he ended up here. Standing in front of his new team, the two sergeants, his captain and lieutenant, suddenly feeling very murderous.

There are 2 options as to why he wants to commit murder:

1. Prior to coming to the Taskforce, he had a bit of leave and spent a few days with his cousin, John MacTavish. He asks him how things with "that lieutenant" are going, to which John says with a cheeky grin "Aye they're going". He then laughs a bit before adding "guess you could say he's my boo".

Of course his cousin is very confused: "boo?"

"Ya know, like a ghost"

"Like a ghost? GHOST?! YOU'RE FUCKING THE GHOST?!?!"

Its quickly revealed the taskforce his cousin has been assigned to is actually Soap's, to which the cousin refuses to believe Soap isn't just trying to mess with him. So he says "I'm kicking your ass if you're right"

2. There's never a chance for the two of them to talk about those sorts of things prior to his cousin joining the team. But he still knows that there's something going on between Soap and the lieutenant, so he's quickly putting together the pieces and getting very angry

Either way, the introductions end with his cousin politely asking if they would excuse him for just a minute. Price, albeit very confused, agrees. He doesn't expect the new sergeant to toss his duffle bag at Soap's face only for them to start wrestling, Soap cackling like a madman the entire time as the other shouts "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" And Gaz is the only one to say out loud what they're all thinking

"Holy shit, there's two of them."

[thebiggerbear]

"You're safe now. I'm here." - Russell Shaw Prompt Response Part 1

Summary: You've been taken hostage and Russell is part of the unit sent in to retrieve you.

Pairing: Russell Shaw x Female!Reader

A/N: This is a prompt from @sydnee-kom-spacekru that I had to turn into a two-parter because it got way too long for just one posting. I've been working on this since May 19th when I decided to add Russell to the multi-character prompt response project I'm currently working on.

For this story, I chose Colombia as the country featured in here because I remember when we were growing up, we would ask our parents why we couldn't visit our cousins from there, and we were told it was too dangerous. As we grew older, we obviously found out why. That's the only reason I chose it for that part of the story. Obviously, I'm not making any statements, political or otherwise, about Colombia or any past/present situation happening there.

A tiny disclaimer: I do not work in the medical field so I apologize for any inconsistencies, exaggerations, or complete fallacies. I did my best to research but ultimately, I'm not trained in that industry. I also am not in the military, political, or governmental fields. I also am not the CEO of a major corporation. I utilized those parts of the story strictly for fictional purposes. So I apologize in advance again if I get anything incorrect for those fields.

All unbeta'd.

Part 2

Warnings: graphic violence; attempted sexual assault; trauma; graphic blood/injury; gun violence/gunfire; mentions of dead bodies; death; mentions of execution; kidnapping/hostage situation; PTSD; angst

Word Count: 11k+

You can also read on AO3

“You’re safe now, I’m here.”

Soldier Boy version ✨ SDV Leah version

Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187; @rieleatiel

Jensen Taglist: @samanddeaninatrenchcoat; @deansbbyx

You slowly glanced around the room you were being held in. You winced when the pain in your head started up again from the movement. You knew you had some cuts on your face, your lip, and one near your hairline. One of the people who had taken you and your co-workers hostage had shouted at you in Spanish and worked you over a little. You understood most of what he had screamed but you had no answers for him. 

You and your team had come down to visit the Bogota office upon the insistence of your father. The company his grandfather had started decades prior had expanded to become one of the top corporations in the United States, eventually branching out internationally. Growing up, you hadn’t wanted for anything. As you got older and entered high school, your father made it clear to you, being his only child, that he wanted you to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business one day. It wasn’t exactly what you’d dreamed of but it had been made known from the outset that whatever you might want would never matter in the scheme of things. Not when it came to the importance of legacy and carrying on the family name and the company’s brand, all while working closely with the Board. So, you had pursued your business degree in college at an Ivy League school, even going so far as to achieve your MBA and make your father proud.

You were quickly welcomed into the company and you put your nose to the grindstone, worked hard, and began to climb the corporate ladder. A lot of people knew that had to do with your last name but they also saw you working the same long hours as them, working just as much, and sacrificing any semblance of a personal life you could have had. You didn’t even have plants in your lavish city apartment because you were practically never there to water them. Weekends were a concept that ceased to exist the moment you left the university. If your co-workers worked 60-hour work weeks, you worked 80. If they worked through holidays like Memorial Day and July 4th, you worked those days, too, in addition to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. So you earned some respect, some envy, and some resentment — a healthy mix of it all as you raced to the top at your father’s constant prodding. 

Only a year ago, you’d moved to Manhattan to run the New York office, a promotion that had your father beaming with pride. It was a bit of a transition, as any transition would be, but ultimately, you got to know your team, your department heads, and you’d settled in as best you could. You never truly relaxed into your role but you let your employees know up front that you were there to make things easier, not more difficult. You were interested in flooding the figurative harbor so everyone’s boats would rise, not just yours or the Board’s. Your father had not appreciated that little introductory speech you had made but you couldn’t find it in yourself to regret it. You had meant every word and you set out every single day to not only prove yourself but to also make that vision come true. 

Which was partially what had brought you to the Bogota office. While you were responsible for New York, your father had made the valid point that you should travel to the international offices of Bogota, London, and Beijing. You should show your face and introduce yourself in person, not just on Zoom. You had been hesitant, not because you didn’t want to visit the sites and meet the crews, but because you still didn’t feel confident that you could afford to be away from your home office for that long (it would be about a two and a half week trip). Not because you didn’t trust your team to run things without you but because you had several projects in the works that required your constant participation, feedback, approval, and sometimes guidance. It felt strange to put it all at risk by choosing the most inopportune moment for you to go shake hands on the international stage and take tours of the other facilities. You didn’t want to leave your team in a lurch at a dire time such as this one. You had tried to explain all of this to your father when he grew irritated at your resistance.

“Stop with the excuses. You’re going and that’s final,” he had snapped at you before leaving your office. And that had been that. 

The next morning, you and a few selected co-workers (handpicked by your father) were on a flight to Bogota, the first stop on your international tour. Thankfully, Colombia was only one hour behind New York so you’d be able to check in with your office as soon as you landed. 

Things were going well with your visit, right up until the moment you and your team were leaving the building to head back to the hotel for a late lunch when you were ambushed. A black hood had been thrown over your head, you’d felt pain as something hit you from the side, and the next thing you knew, you woke up in a vehicle that you could feel and hear but not see. You had no idea what happened until you were instructed in Spanish to shut up, stay quiet and not struggle, and you wouldn’t get hurt. You knew you were in trouble when you came to but now you knew without a doubt as you listened to the conversation between the men surrounding you, you had been taken hostage.

You had no idea where they had brought you but you’d been there for what felt like a month though you couldn’t be sure. You had been held in the same room, only able to use the bathroom which they escorted you to. You were in some compound and any time you’d tried to sneak a peek out of an open window during your bathroom treks, you either got yelled at and hit or you could only make out a thick cover of trees. You and your group had been terrified every single day of your captivity that they would kill you all, or worse. You had three men in your group and four women including you. One of the kidnappers had already tried to take advantage of that fact and had thrown Meredith from Finance onto the floor, unbuckling his pants. You had begged in Spanish for her to be left alone while Pat and Suzanne had cried and screamed. Tim, Jerry, and Rob had all been taken to the bathroom beforehand (something that hadn’t happened before, they usually took the guys one at a time) so it had been just you four in the room. When the man didn’t show any signs of stopping and Meredith tearfully begged him from the floor to let her be, something switched off in your brain and you flew at him. You attempted to hit him anywhere you could but he knocked you down flat in seconds. He backhanded you a couple of times, making the women in the background scream louder, and he then decided you were going to be the one he was going to assault instead. He ripped your shirt and you tried to fight him off but he was too strong. Thankfully, another kidnapper heard all of the commotion and came running, rushing into the room and stopping the man, yelling at him that none of you were to be touched, that was part of the deal. Your would-be assailant yelled back at the man who had saved you and then got to his feet, spitting on you, as he stormed out of the room, followed by your unintentional savior. 

You attempted to cover yourself with the shreds of your shirt but it was useless. You now only had a bra and little bits of cloth left from how violently he had torn the fabric. You were shaking but somehow you were able to crawl your way over to Meredith to check on her. Sobbing, she held onto you and before you knew it, Pat and Suzanne had rushed over, throwing their arms around you both, still crying themselves but also trying to speak reassurances to you both. Your body shook in their embrace as it finally hit you how close you had come to being assaulted. If that other man hadn’t interrupted when he did… You shuddered at the thought. It wasn’t long after that when Tim, Jerry, and Rob were returned to the room, their hoods removed, and one glance in your direction let them know immediately what had happened. Rob had actually removed his shirt and offered it to you, apologizing for the smell. You appreciated his selfless gesture but you were thankful when Tim instead offered up the windbreaker pullover he had been wearing the day you had been taken. You took the latter, thanking them both for their generosity and thoughtfulness. Tim at least still had his t-shirt.

Then, a couple of days later, you had been dragged from the room, thrust into a chair, and tied up. The questioning began, about the money from your company among other things, and you were worked over when they didn’t get the answers they wanted. You hadn’t noticed a man holding a smartphone while sitting in the corner, taking in every second of the torture you endured, until your interrogation ended. You had been afraid but seeing that phone…you were absolutely terrified. Were they going to kill you on video, sending it off to media outlets to share globally for your father to see? Or would they use social media?

They didn’t end up killing you, though. Instead, they brought you to a room with a single bed that you had never seen before. You did not like the fact that you had been separated from your group. You began to hyperventilate at the realization that they were isolating you for a purpose, thinking you would be attacked again, especially when you heard a loud gunshot reverberate from outside followed by yelling that you couldn’t quite make out. But instead of anyone coming to hurt you, they sent in a doctor to tend to your wounds. Once he had, you curled up into a ball and hugged your knees to your chest, waiting for the worst to happen, intent on fighting tooth and nail when the time came. But a few days later or however long it had been, they brought you back into the interrogation room again. 

You expected the blows this time though they still hurt horribly. They began to cut you on your arms, near your neck, your shoulders, your torso…they never cut your face, though. While you were grateful for that small mercy, they still beat the hell out of you, the worst they ever had. While your face may have been spared the cutting, it was not spared the hits. You had even taken a couple of hard blows to the head that left you reeling. You didn’t even remember if you had screamed, cried, or begged for them to stop. Instead, you remembered some random saying in some movie you had seen stating that pain was the way you knew you were still alive. You held onto that as they continued to inflict as much damage as they could without actually killing you or making it impossible for you to speak. They had even unzipped Tim’s pullover at the beginning of the torture, leaving you in your bra, and besides the cuts they had also landed punches to your already severely bruised stomach and sides. They had even stomped on your bare feet, making you cry out as some of your toes broke from the force. They had even taken a bat to your right knee. That time you screamed the loudest you ever had in your life, sobbing so hard you didn’t think you’d ever be able to stop. The pain was immense, something you hadn’t felt before, and tears poured down your face, mixing with the blood dripping from a busted lip and most likely broken nose. When they stopped to take a break, it didn’t surprise you in the least that the same man with the phone from last time was there in the same corner. It did surprise you, though, that they didn’t leave. While you figured they were just ramping up to go for a second round, something told you that you may not come out alive from this particular interrogation. You could only hope the others you had been brought here with somehow did. A small part of you wondered if the reason they were going harder on you this time, possibly about to kill you on video, is because your company didn’t pay the sum demanded in the last one. You knew your father must have done everything he could to secure your release, even if the Board for some reason hadn’t. You hadn’t prayed since you were a girl, right before your mother died, but you sent a silent one up anyway to anyone who might be listening that your father would never see this footage. It would destroy him if he did. You didn’t expect much, though. Your mom had still passed away from a terminal illness, so you were pretty sure your father wouldn’t be spared seeing your last moments like this.

But instead of starting back up again as you anticipated, the men ended up stepping outside of the room though they left the phone behind, on some sort of stand, still pointing in your direction. 

So now here you were, your body exhausted yet radiating nothing but pain. You slowly swung your head around in a daze, blinking against the bright light they had turned on before leaving. You waited for them to come back, to finally do their worst and possibly end your life. You were terrified but you also knew how badly injured you were, that there was nothing you could do. Even if you could somehow get loose, how would you manage to escape? Even if you got outside, this compound was heavily patrolled by armed guards. And even if by some miracle you could get past them without being seen or an alarm being sounded when your absence was discovered, you had no idea where you were. You were in the jungle for Christ’s sake, from the brief glimpses you’d managed to catch on your bathroom runs. You had no idea where to go from here. Still, though, you heard that small voice inside your head, telling you to fight, not to give in or give up. You had to work hard, be the best, and prove yourself. Go, go, go. The voice sounded strangely like your father’s. 

As you waited for your captors to come back, you glanced around the room to see if there was anything that could help you. You attempted to move your arms but gasped in pain when you did. You didn’t even try anything with your right leg. You knew your kneecap was broken; it had to be. You chanced moving your left leg, though, but it didn’t budge. You were stuck to this chair.

Suddenly, you heard the last thing you expected. Gunfire. 

Not that gunfire was all that unusual around here. You had heard some happen during your captivity but it was short and never answered. You and your co-workers had no idea what went on in the rest of the compound but after hearing those rounds being fired every so often, you didn’t really want to know.

But these were extended rapid bursts of gunfire and someone was definitely shooting back. Not to mention all of the furious yelling you could hear down the hall. You idly wondered if one of your people got free and they were making a break for it. If it was, you hoped they got free and were able to go for help. 

You knew you should be scared as the gunshots got closer to you, when you heard more yells and some thuds right outside your door, but you simply resigned yourself to your fate. Especially when one of the kidnappers burst into the room and held a gun to your head, yelling in Spanish at an unseen person to stay back or he would kill you. Your body began to shake uncontrollably once more, thinking this was it. You knew it; you were going to die. 

Two men swept into the room, dressed in tactical-looking gear and donning black face masks with holes only for eyes and mouths, assault rifles pointed in your captor’s direction. The man on your right told him to let you go in Spanish or he would be dead before he could squeeze a round off. 

The man on your left briefly glanced at you, his gaze an assessing one, before focusing back onto his target. Your captor screamed at them and pushed the gun into your temple, making you shake harder and take shallow breaths. 

“You got him?” The man on the left asked, surprising you when you heard him speak English. He sounded…American. 

“I got him,” the man on the right answered. Another American.

The kidnapper must have understood them because he gripped your head and pulled it back, pushing his gun now into the side of your face, making you scream out in pain. You heard a gunshot and suddenly the barrel against your cheek was gone as was the pressure around your head. A loud thud sounded as your captor’s body fell to the ground behind you and you moved your head to a position that didn’t hurt so much.

The two men were suddenly there, the one on the left laying a hand on your shoulder. “Please…don’t hurt me,” you begged in a raspy whisper. You followed it up with the same plea in Spanish, still not sure who you were exactly dealing with as your head swam.

“Hey,” the left soldier spoke softly. “Look at me.”

You did the best you could. It shocked you to see green eyes staring back at you with something that looked like kindness. Kindness…you hadn’t seen that in what felt like forever. Considering you’d only seen hatred and disgust from everyone around you since this whole ordeal started, this was something new and you held onto it with all of your might. 

“We’re here to get you out. Just hold on.” He pulled out a switchblade and you immediately gasped and began to shake again. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just cutting the ropes,” he explained gently as he did it. “See?” You carefully moved your head to gaze down, seeing that he was indeed doing as he said. 

Once you were free, you began to slide off of the chair, unable to sit up right due to your head still swimming. The movement caused you to cry out in pain from your injured knee being jostled when he caught you and lifted your arm around his shoulders to gently help you back into your original seated position. Your body still shaking, your brain told you that he was telling you the truth and he had just proved it, but you were still terrified and unsure of what to believe — no matter how kind his eyes were. “Shh, you’re safe now. I’m here and I’m going to get you out. I’m guessing they did a number on your legs?” He frowned down at your bloody feet. 

“My knee,” you quietly sobbed, the pain still radiating throughout your right leg. “They—they broke it.”

“Shit,” he muttered, studying the leg you had glanced at. 

In the background, you noticed the other man grab the smartphone and slip it into his pocket before heading back over in your direction. “What are we doing, man? Grab her and let’s go. Clock’s ticking.”

The man crouched in front of you looked up at the other one. “She can’t walk.” He inclined his head in the direction of your knee. “We’re going to have to carry her out.”

“Fucking hell,” the other one hissed. “Maybe we can get in touch with the chopper and get an evac.”

The man in front of you shook his head. “No, this is supposed to be a quick in and out. We have to get to the extraction point. They’re not coming for us.” So maybe these two were soldiers? They sounded like they might be military. Had your father somehow managed to get the government to send the US military in to rescue you?

“But, there’s no way we can—”

“No time for this, man. We’ve got to move now before reinforcements arrive.” Your rescuer turned back to you. “Alright, listen, I’m not going to lie to you, this is going to hurt like hell. I’m going to try my best to take it easy on you but we have to get you out of here now.”

You shook your head, causing tears to roll down your face. You wouldn’t admit it but you were as scared of the pain as you were to go out into the chaos you still heard happening outside of the room you were in. 

He laid his hand on your shoulder again and locked gazes with you. “We have to do this. I told you before. I’m here to get you out and that means I’m not leaving without you.” He very gently rubbed at your shoulder in reassurance. “So, just try to relax and I’ll—” He carefully tried to slip his free hand underneath your legs and gingerly lift them but the movement caused you to scream in pain. 

“Okay, okay,” your soldier soothed and backed off.

The other soldier was shaking his head. “We are so fucked.”

“Hey, we’re not.” Your guy turned to give him a sharp look. “Just give me a second with her.”

The other one let out an aggravated sigh and impatiently pointed to his watch before holding his rifle up and leaving the room. 

Your soldier glanced back at you. “Okay. Time for some real talk. We’ve got about seventeen minutes to get to the extraction point which is out of this place and up the hill on the north side. Which would be, not exactly a cakewalk because it would still be tough, but if you were able to use your legs and we were running, we’d probably make it there in the next fifteen despite any resistance we might encounter. But, this is—”

“Going to slow you down,” you choked out. “I’m not going to make it.” More tears rolled down your cheeks, stinging when they came into contact with your injuries. If you had to be left behind, you knew you would die. No question about it.

“Hey,” he spoke softer than he had a moment ago. “I told you I’m not leaving here without you and I meant it. So don’t go thinking anything like that.” His eyes narrowed slightly as your head became too heavy to try to hold up. His hand was suddenly behind your neck, helping you, as he visually inspected one of the wounds at your hairline. “Dammit,” you heard him mutter. “Okay, I’m getting you out of here.”

He bent down to scoop you up but you grabbed onto his uniform, gripping a bit of the fabric in your fingers though it hurt to do so. He turned to look at you and you shook your head, whimpering. “Please,” you begged. 

He reached up with a gloved hand and gently wiped under your eyes with his thumb. “I’m sorry but I have to. If I don’t…” He didn’t finish that sentence but he didn’t need to; the concern you saw in his green gaze said more than enough, and confirmed what he had already told you. “I know the pain is going to be a bitch and a half, but you’ve got to push through as best you can. I’ll carry you and get you to that chopper, I promise, but I need you to hold on. If you have to cry, scream, hell, even bite down on me, you do whatever you’ve got to do. But we’re doing this and we’re doing it now. You ready?”

“N-No.” Your voice wobbled a little bit but you heard him. You were going to try your best but you were still scared of the impending pain. “I’ll try.”

“Atta girl.” He gently positioned you as close to him as possible, zipping up the pullover that your captors had left open, and then carefully placed his free arm under your legs again. You got ready for the pain and whimpered again when he got ready to lift you. “I promise, after this, we’ll get that knee looked at, and that head injury, as soon as we get you someplace safe. Hey, look at me.” You struggled to meet his eyes but when you did, you saw the kindness from earlier staring back at you. “You’ve got this. You’ve made it this far and you’re going to make it all the way. I’m going to make sure you do.” 

“Okay,” you whispered, afraid to speak any louder when the threat of the impending pain. Almost as if you spoke a half a decibel higher, you might make it hurt worse than it already was going to. It didn’t make sense but you weren’t exactly thinking straight right then. 

You held onto the outer edge of his vest, wincing at the flare up of pain in your hand, as ready as you could possibly be in that moment. 

He gave you another second, a brief respite from what was to come, and then a nod. “Alright, here we go.”

The man slowly lifted you and it hurt, sure, but what really hurt was when gravity did its work when he carefully got to his feet. You couldn’t help but cry out. You immediately stuck your thumb knuckle into your mouth and bit down, hoping this would all be over very soon.

The other soldier appeared in the doorway, having heard your cries. Your soldier took a few steps towards him, forcing you to bite harder into your skin and more tears to roll down your cheeks. “Let’s get moving. Call the bird and let them know we’re on our way.” The man nodded and turned, speaking to someone to let them know you were about to leave the compound and would need backup on the way. 

When he turned around and gave you both a nod, your soldier held you a little closer to him. “You take point and lead us out. We’re good.” He then turned a reassuring smile on you. “Aren’t we?”

You wanted to answer him but you couldn’t. He hadn’t even started really moving yet and already the pain was agonizing. Instead, you carefully laid your head on his shoulder, feeling pure exhaustion wash over you that left an even foggier trace behind in your mind.

“Let’s do this.” Your soldier looked back towards the door and began to follow his fellow soldier out of the room. You gasped from the pain, bit into your flesh harder, and ignored the tears spilling onto your face. You weren’t going to be able to hold back the pained cries for long. You had no idea how you weren’t screaming at this point.

As you all turned down a hallway, you couldn’t help but think of the others and that provided a momentary distraction. “What about—my people?” You asked through gritted teeth.   

“Already extracted,” he whispered. “Now it’s your turn, Y/N.”

You were still fighting your way through a misty fog of pain and sluggishness but that caught your attention. You released your thumb and stuttered out, “You know my name.”

“Of course I know your name. We came here for you.” He shot you a wink and then proceeded to carefully make his way down the stairs after the way forward was cleared. 

You idly wondered about that as you held onto him, noting several dead bodies in your peripherals but refusing to look straight at them. You could hear him huffing and puffing next to you and you felt badly that he had to carry you because you were unable to walk. A couple of times, he had to stop and hunker down with you while the other soldier engaged the remaining kidnappers you came across. The third time, it was a struggle for you but you whispered, “Slowing you down. Not —gonna make it.”

“Shhh, don’t worry about that. I’ve got you,” he murmured back. And sure enough, once it was clear again, you were on the move. Before long, you had met up with more soldiers (the backup that must have been called for) and one of them offered to take you. You involuntarily tightened your grip on your rescuer’s vest and he shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m good.” 

Eventually, you made your way out onto the terrain and you could no longer hold back your pained cries. “Almost there,” he promised. After what felt like prolonged agony, you finally reached an area where a helicopter was indeed waiting. The sight of it made something that felt like relief loosen inside your chest. You were really going to make it out of here alive. Your soldier went to hand you off to another inside when your fingers tightened reflexively around him again. “It’s just for a second to let me get in,” he reassured you. 

You nodded, hoping it wouldn’t hurt as bad as that run had, and let him go. Once you were all boarded onto the helicopter, you were moved around again until you were back in your soldier’s embrace, holding tightly onto him as the aircraft lifted into the air and headed away from the compound where more gunfire erupted. 

You tried to ask him something but he couldn’t hear you so he ducked his head near yours. “Where are my people?” You asked as loudly as you could, taking every little bit of strength you had left. You were still under the fog, but you still noticed your co-workers weren’t in the helicopter with you. 

He turned and placed his lips near your ear. “They’re in another chopper!” You had all made it safely out. Thank God.

You nodded and laid your head against his shoulder, completely spent and feeling the throbbing of pain in your body intensify, making you acutely aware of all the rest of your injuries. The pain radiated from your knee outwardly and now you could feel it in your torso, your arms, your head… Your eyes began to close of their own accord when he shook your shoulder a little. “I’m sure all you want to do right now is sleep but I need you to stay awake. At least until the docs get a good look at you!”

You blinked dazedly up at him. “I don’t think I can,” you mumbled, not even sure he heard you. The tide of pain was washing you under.

He then did the last thing you expected. He lifted his mask and you finally saw the man underneath, the owner of those green eyes that you had been holding onto during this entire ordeal. 

“Man, what the hell are you doing?” You heard yelled nearby, but your soldier kept his eyes on yours.

“I need you to stay awake, Y/N! You think you can do that for me?”

You took in his features, your fingers carefully lifting up to touch the thick beard he sported, noting the dirt and grime smears all over his face, but his eyes were what captivated you. Now without the mask in the way, you were free to get lost in those green orbs as deeply as you dared. Too bad you couldn’t seem to stay conscious. 

He shook you again. “Y/N! Hey! Stay awake!”

“Sorry,” you slurred before everything went black.

The next time you jerked into consciousness, screaming out in pain, the helicopter had just landed and your soldier, once again wearing his face mask, was yelling instructions to the men around him. You couldn’t hear exactly what they were, the pain was that intense. You were lifted out into another soldier’s arms and looking past him, you saw a second helicopter not that far away. You watched as your co-workers were ushered off of it alongside other masked soldiers but something didn’t seem right. You weren’t sure what it was but something was off to you.

You were placed into someone else’s arms and you saw the eyes of your rescuer once again, softening when he saw that you were crying.

“Something’s—wrong.” 

“Stay with me this time, Y/N,” he urged as he hurried you away from the helicopter. “Help is just a few feet away! Only a little bit more to go.”

You tried to stay with him, you really did, but the tide of pain started to blanket you once again. Alongside it, the feeling of something’s wrong surged throughout your body before the darkness overtook you once more. 

The next time you came to, you were on a gurney and bright lights were shining down on you. Doctors and nurses surrounded you, talking quickly in Spanish and calling out a few instructions. Your body began to involuntarily tremble again. Had your rescue been a dream? Had your kidnappers brought you to another part of the compound where they had an assembled medical team waiting to somehow keep you alive after they had unleashed such brutality on you? Or were you just dead?

You felt a warm hand in yours, a thumb stroking the top of yours reassuringly. You gingerly turned your head to find your soldier, still wearing his mask, standing right there, smiling down at you. “There you are. You had me worried for a second.”

Before you could ask him if he was real, if any of it was, a nurse started yelling at him, trying to get him to leave. He replied in perfect Spanish, telling her in a very resolved tone that he wasn’t leaving until he knew you were going to be okay. She let out a frustrated huff and shot him a glare before turning away to speak to the doctors. They insisted he had to go and once again, without your permission, you tightened your grip on him, not wanting him to go anywhere.

“No,” you rasped out. “Please let him stay. Please.” He was the only thing anchoring you in this moment. You got the distinct feeling that if you lost him, you’d be lost entirely, never to resurface. He was safety for you, an end to the horrific ordeal you had been through, and you didn’t want him to leave you.

A doctor leaned over you, speaking kindly in English. “It’s okay,” he spoke with a heavy accent. “We are going to make you better but he can’t be in here.”

You shook your head and grabbed at your soldier’s forearm with your free hand though it hurt like hell. 

“Doc, can you give us a second?”

The doctor gave him a look but did as he asked, moving back over to his team. 

The man next to you pulled a chair from out of nowhere and positioned it next to you. He took a seat and only when he had did you release him, wincing as you dropped your right hand next to you. 

He smiled reassuringly down at you. “You’re going to be okay. They’re going to fix you right up. You’ve been through a lot but you’re going to be alright.”

You knew what he was doing; he was calming you down and saying goodbye. For some reason, that made you tear up. Even though you didn’t know this man, he had been your harbor of safety in a chaotic whirlwind, a beacon of hope to cling to in a truly terrifying situation you had found yourself in. When a tear rolled down your cheek, he wiped it away with his thumb. “Will you be here when I wake up?” You choked out.

“I’ll be here until you fall asleep.”

That set loose more tears and he made sure to catch every single one. In the meantime, the nurse came over and injected something into your IV. When you started feeling drowsy a minute or so later, it wasn’t hard to guess what was happening. “Will I ever see you again?” You frantically intertwined your fingers with his as you struggled to stay awake.

He leaned closer, smiling in the same reassurance his green eyes were trying to convey. “I’ll find you,” he murmured, gently squeezing your hand. That made even more tears fall. It surprised you when he moved in to whisper to you, “Get some rest, sweetheart. You’ve more than earned it.”

You wanted to stay awake; you fought it, not wanting to lose sight of those green eyes fixated on you, knowing they would be gone once you closed yours. But you lost that battle as a sea of sleepiness dragged you down with it. You held onto his words as your eyes finally shut from the weight of the drug and you could no longer see him or feel his hand in yours. “I’ll find you” reverberated through your mind as you sank deeper and deeper into oblivion, falling at a rapid rate from deep green into solid black, until you were completely engulfed by it and you were gone.

You briefly closed your eyes as you felt a cool breeze gently make its way past you. You watched as two orange leaves pirouetted in the air, spinning round and round, until they landed several feet away. Silent ripples danced along the water’s surface in front of you and you could hear the sounds of people milling about near you, talking, surrounded by a symphony of nature sounds mixed in with the faroff noises of city life. You couldn’t help but smile when you heard small children giggling as they played on the grass nearby with their parents watching over them. You watched as a small group of teenage girls walked past you, laughing as they reminisced over something that had happened the past weekend. You saw an old man on another bench further down the path, an open book in his hands. 

These were the small peaceful moments that you had come to appreciate since you rejoined society a couple of months ago. These were the ones you held onto when the memories of the terror and pain all became a bit too much, that reminded you that you were back home, safe. 

You watched as two moms in workout gear jogged by with their strollers. A man and woman coming from the opposite direction made their way around the two women and continued their trek, drinking from to-go cups and dressed in business casual attire. Sure enough, you could hear them discussing work-related topics as they passed you by. You smiled sadly as you watched them get further and further from your sight. 

That had been you not that long ago, where you didn’t have a care in the world other than pushing out new product lines and being in charge of one of the main offices of the family business. The pressure had been near soul-crushing most of the time but you had adapted for the most part and rolled with it. You worked hard, you worked long hours, and you were alright with that. You took the stress of hectic deadlines and constantly putting out fires and you rolled with the punches. It became part of your make-up and it could only help fuel you even faster towards your goal — your father’s goal. Now, after what you’d been through, your outlook on it all had changed. What had felt like life and death matters in the corporate world before no longer felt as dire as it used to. You’d been in a literal life and death situation and lived to tell the tale; whatever came your way business wise you knew you could more than handle. There was something about being tortured and having a gun held to your head, convinced you were about to die, that just put things into perspective for you.

And though you survived, you didn’t actually get to tell your tale. The minute you were reunited with your father, while he had been grateful you were alive and kissed your forehead, it was made clear to you that you and the co-workers who had been in captivity with you were to sign NDA’s. That had completely floored you. That was the Board’s main concern? That the public might find out that some of its employees had been kidnapped, terrorized, and tortured? How were they going to explain your month long absence from the job, from your lives? You knew Meredith had a fiance, Pat was a grandmother, Rob had just gotten married weeks before this happened, and Tim had a wife and kids waiting back at home for him. Suzanne was dating someone in HR and you could have sworn you heard Jerry mention at some point that he had a dog to get back to, hoping his neighbor had either checked in on it or at least notified someone to do so. How in the world did the Board plan to explain away any of it?

Your father had let out an aggravated sigh as you fired question after question at him. Who had taken you? What had they wanted besides money? Why hadn’t the Board met their demands? Why had it taken them so long to get the government involved?

“They weren’t involved.”

Your eyes had widened in shock. “What? How?”

Your father had taken your hand in between his and stared into your eyes with meaning. “I’m only going to mention this once and then we’re never going to speak of it again. We hired someone to send in a team to get you out of there.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “Hired someone? As in mercenaries?”

“Private contractors for security. They handle this type of situation quite frequently but they keep it all very hush hush. So that is why the Board is insisting on NDA’s for all of you. It’s not only to protect the brand but also to protect all of you.”

“Protect this organization they hired, you mean.”

Your father nodded, not looking troubled by your accusation in the least.

“I don’t understand, Dad. You have contacts in Defense. Why wouldn’t you call them?”

“We did. They recommended these people and said they were our best option. If we hired them, they could get in quickly and get you out. If we didn’t and chose to go through more official channels, it might prolong the process and that might be time that you didn’t have.”

You could see the wisdom in that advice he’d been given. They had been right; had they gotten there even just an hour later than they did, you might not be alive right now. “But a month, Dad? Why did they wait so long?”

Your father tightened his grip on your hand and you knew you weren’t going to like what he had to say next. “At first, we didn’t know who had taken you. When they made contact…the Board wanted to try negotiating with them first.”

You huffed out a breath in disbelief. Those sons of bitches…

“I pushed for them to do something more drastic but they fought me every step of the way. It wasn’t until they received that first video message that they finally agreed that I should make the call.” 

So your father had fought for you, but to a point. That fact rolled around in your brain for a moment. Had your roles been reversed, you would have told the Board to go screw themselves and immediately contacted whoever could rescue your father as soon as possible. No amount of money, litigation threats, or risk to the business would have stopped you. You, his only child, his only surviving family member, had been in mortal danger, and he hadn’t done everything he could to secure your safe return home as soon as possible? It was hard to wrap your mind around that. Then his last words finally registered. “Wait, what video message?”

His blue eyes softened with sympathy then and you could swear you could see a little bit of pain beginning to cloud them. “Where you were tortured.”

You should have known. Why else would your kidnappers have filmed it? Truthfully, you had known it back when they were hurting you. You shouldn’t be surprised, but you also didn’t want to talk about it. “You mean the pictures weren’t enough to convince them?” Before that first night, your kidnappers had forced you and your co-workers to look up at them as they snapped photos of you on their phones. You knew then that they were either using it as a scare tactic for your father and the Board or they were providing proof of life. Either way, it hadn’t mattered in the end since obviously the kidnappers had kicked it up a notch after that. 

A haunted look fleeted across your father’s tired face. While you may still be struggling with the idea that he hadn’t done everything you would have done in his place, you knew this had taken a toll on him. He had been genuinely concerned for you and the relief you’d seen on his expression when he saw you for the first time since you’d been separated was palpable. “When they saw the video, they could no longer pretend that this was something they could simply deal their way out of.”

Your brows drew together as you studied him. You were sure it had been hard for them to see what had happened to you, to hear your cries, your screams, your pained whimpers. You knew it must have been even more difficult for your father to see. But somehow you got the distinct impression that’s not what he was referring to. “Dad.” He glanced up at you and sure enough, you could tell he was keeping something from you. “Tell me.”

He grasped your hand tightly once more. This was definitely not going to be good. “It was bad enough to see what they did to you…but the end of the video was what convinced them.” At your knitted brow, he elaborated, “They pulled Tim out of the room they were keeping you all in, brought him somewhere, and then killed him.”

Your eyes widened and your heart stopped. What?

“And they said if they didn’t get what they wanted in three days, you were next.” 

Your heart started up again and began to pound in your chest. You felt like you were falling with no end in sight. Tim was…dead? Your breathing sped up into short pants and you could hear beeping from a machine you were connected to but it sounded so far away.

You had blocked out some of that experience, your brain subconsciously trying to protect you perhaps, you weren’t sure. And whatever memories stayed, each time they started to flash in your mind, you would close your eyes and grab hold of your safe harbor in those turbulent waves of trauma that tried to overtake you. You would think of green and while the images didn’t exactly disappear, it kept them at a safe distance. Well, while you were awake at least. The nightmares you experienced were something else entirely.

But this…nothing could protect you from this. You suddenly remembered being locked in that bedroom, hearing the yelling, the gunshot—oh God, the gunshot. You had heard the moment they— Your father urged you to calm down, rubbing your hand comfortingly, but you couldn’t hear him or even when a nurse rushed into the room to ask what was going on. Because at that precise moment, a memory came back to you, ripping your tight grip on your green harbor and tossing you back into the dark ocean of trauma and pain to drown in. 

It had been right before you’d passed out the second time. While your soldier had gotten out of the helicopter, you had glanced over to see the other helicopter that your people were disembarking from. At the time, you had been so out of it due to the pain and disorientation you had been feeling that you didn’t realize the number of people you should have been seeing was one short. You didn’t even seem to process the black bag two soldiers removed from the aircraft and carried off the tarmac together. You just knew something was wrong, something you had tried to tell your soldier before you passed out again. But now you knew exactly what you had seen.

Tim. Tim had been with you since you started in the New York office; he preceded you actually. Even though your father had chosen him to accompany you and the others, all you could remember was the nice man who had smiled and said hello as he walked into the office; the man who was quiet and reserved but also a hard worker; who had offered you his jacket to cover up with; the man who had begged the kidnappers for the photos of his kids from his wallet that they had taken and then denied him; the man who talked about his family and proudly told you all about his children. His daughter, Riley, was eight and she had recently taken up soccer. Before you’d left for Bogota, she had told him that her coach wanted her to try the goalie position but she was scared; she didn’t want balls flying at her head. You couldn’t blame her on that one and had said as much. You remembered all too well the sports you had been made to join growing up and it had never really been your thing, but it made your father happy so you did it each time he urged you to sign up or try out. Tim’s son, David, was nearly six and he had just graduated kindergarten. And the baby, Olivia, could be quite the handful since she was a very rambunctious toddler who never seemed to run out of energy, but his wife, Angela, lived up to her name and couldn’t be happier with their current family setup. And now… Now, he would never get to see any of them ever again.

The pained wail that met your ears caught you off guard until you realized it was coming from you. Tim was a good man and he had managed to make a life outside of work. He had something you had never let yourself dream about having since it would inevitably get in the way of your successful climbing of the corporate ladder. Now, he would never get to see his kids grow up, go to any more of Riley’s soccer games to encourage her, go on any more date nights with his wife — none of it. You had the horrible thought for a moment that it should have been you in that bag instead. It nearly had been you.

Your father held onto you as you wept, as the nurse rubbed your back from the opposite side of the bed, crooning soft reassurances to you and urging you to try to calm down. But nothing could reassure you; you were here and Tim was not. A cold hard fact that you could do nothing to change. Even worse, you had missed his funeral since you were stuck in the hospital you had been transferred to once you were flown from the one you had briefly ended up in down in Colombia. You hadn’t even known about his death until this moment, your suddenly resurfaced traumatic memories aside. 

Since that day, the memory of that single gunshot had tormented you. Had Tim known it was coming? Did he think about Angela and the kids right then? Had he prayed they would be okay without him? How terrified must he have been? You knew how scared you were in that bedroom, how fearful you had been during your second round of torture, sensing that this wasn’t going to end with the doctor treating you as it had the last time (which had now been confirmed that your instinct had been spot on). You could only imagine how he must have felt in that final moment.

The nightmares proceeded to get even worse and you were afraid to be left alone in your hospital room. Though your father and the medical staff had assured you that you were safe, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you weren’t, no matter how irrational you knew you were being. Eventually, your assistant Luna started working remotely from your room to keep you company and your father had hired two full-time bodyguards to watch over you: Owen during the day and Simon at night. When the nightmares became practically unbearable, that rotation switched. For some reason, you felt safer with Owen there. Perhaps it had to do with his look, specifically his salt and pepper beard…you briefly remembered the feeling of a beard underneath your bloody fingertips though you couldn’t place the face it belonged to. You had a feeling it was connected to the green you remembered, that you clung to in the tumultuous sea of mayhem that was the night you were marked to die — the green that you associated with your rescuer. Why you couldn’t recall his face, you had no idea, but you chalked it up to your brain once again trying to make sense of the chaos that reigned inside your head. 

Green continued to symbolize safety and reassurance for you. So much so that when Luna brought a bag of clothes for you to change into for your beginning rehab sessions, you immediately picked out an olive green hoodie she had selected from your closet and set it aside. You took to holding it close as you slept, letting the scent of home attached to it wash over you as you closed your eyes. When you would wake from your nightmares, sometimes gasping for air that wouldn’t come, sometimes crying, or sometimes screaming, you would see the hoodie next to you and grab it, holding it close until you could either breathe again or calm back down. It became a source of comfort for you and long remained that even after you were discharged. 

Your doctor had recommended therapy in addition to the outpatient rehab you would be continuing but truth be told, you weren’t in a rush to relive anything or even unearth something that might somehow be worse than what you already remembered. Your father had also dismissed the idea of therapy, saying that focusing on regaining your ability to walk without the assistance of crutches would help, as well as getting back to concentrating on work. You didn’t agree, you knew better, but you also allowed his view to become your excuse, solidifying your refusal to deal with the trauma you had suffered. After all, you were still here, still breathing — as long as you kept reminding yourself of that, you would be fine. 

So you did as your father insisted: you focused on your physical therapy and you slowly found your way back to working full-time. You had graduated from crutches to a cane. Your doctor said your knee was healing nicely and right on schedule, which made you glad that you had listened to him and not your father’s initial suggestion of a knee replacement. You still felt a twinge of discomfort and a whispery echo of pain when walking so you relied more heavily on the cane than your doctor or physical therapist might have liked. You may not have remembered everything from your ordeal, but the pain of the initial impact of the bat and afterwards as you were carried to a waiting helicopter to take you to safety was still a very recent and clear memory for you. You doubted you would ever forget it as long as you lived. 

Eventually, you returned to your office and you accepted the well wishes all around. You had no idea what they had been told about your obvious injury or what had caused it but thankfully, no one questioned you. You had been in brief touch with Meredith and the others in the days after your initial surgery back in Colombia but not since then. You had been so focused on your recovery and processing the news of Tim’s death that, truthfully, you hadn’t thought of much else. Even though Luna had been working from your hospital room for a time and she kept you apprised on all developments as well as anything that required your attention, you knew your father had instructed her to keep it all to a strictly need-to-know basis until you were finally ready to fully take up the mantle again. And because you were already dealing with more than enough, you allowed it and didn’t push for more than she told you. So the guilt consumed you when you were informed that Suzanne had resigned and Pat had taken an early retirement to be able to spend more time with her kids and grandkids. Rob had taken a position at another company, though Jerry and Meredith were still there. However, Meredith worked remotely most days, something she had worked out with your father while you had been out. You wondered if it might have been a result of Meredith initially refusing to sign the NDA, a sort of compromise to get her to agree to keeping your ordeal under wraps. You made a mental note to reach out to all of them so you could at least check in to see how they were doing. Jerry was in Research; you’d stop by there later.

As tough as all of that had been to learn and stepping back into the swing of things proved to be a little more complicated than you thought it would be, the most difficult moment had been when you went up to Design. Seeing Tim’s office not being Tim’s anymore had left you reeling. Your father moved fast and had hired his replacement within days. From a professional perspective, you more than understood; the business still had to run after all and Design was one of your most crucial departments. But knowing it and seeing it were two different things. The nightmares were particularly brutal that night. You kept hearing the gunshot, kept seeing one of the kidnappers with their cell phone look over at you afterwards and give you the most terrifying smile. Even the hoodie hadn’t helped. When you looked at it, you didn’t see green anymore but red. A very bold and wet shade of dark red. You tossed it away from you and screamed, bursting into sobs as you rocked yourself back and forth in a soothing motion. 

You had immediately called out sick the next morning and spent the rest of the day in bed, alternating between crying and staring blankly at the TV on the wall. Later on, when you could think clearly again, you gave yourself a stern talking to. You were here, alive, and you had hundreds of people looking to you to lead them. You refused to dishonor Tim’s memory by hiding away in your apartment for the rest of your life, no matter how appealing the option might feel. You could hear your father’s voice in your head again, pushing you, telling you to get back up and go to work, to be the best you could be.

And sure enough, you heard his voice for real the next day when he walked into your office. “What is he doing here?”

You glanced up and looked over where he was pointing to see Owen sitting in one of the chairs off to the side, watching you both. You pressed your lips together and shut the portfolio in front of you. “His name’s Owen, Dad. You know that. And he’s here because I asked him to be.”

Your father looked quite displeased with that. “I dismissed him and the other one last week. We talked about this.”

You let out a quiet sigh and sat back in your chair. “I know but—”

“It’s not a good look and it certainly isn’t good for morale. The cane you still insist on unnecessarily using is bad enough. Do you think people around here aren’t asking themselves or each other why you have this man sitting in your office, watching your every move?” 

You leaned forward and lowered your voice. “Dad, I get that. I do, but I need—”

“Is this why you called out sick yesterday?” You briefly dropped your gaze to your desk. You didn’t really want to talk about that or how despondent you’d been in your bed for hours until your alarm went off, jolting you into grabbing your phone and making the call. Your father’s eyes softened though his tone didn’t. “Honey, what you need is to dismiss him, permanently, and get back to your life, to your work. Don’t forget, you’re at the helm of this ship and everyone’s looking to you to navigate it seamlessly through the waters.”

Your jaw clenched and for the first time in your life, you were about to draw a line in the sand between what he was telling you to do and what you knew you needed to do. “I’m aware of that and I can’t steer the ship unless I feel safe. Owen here,” you nodded in the man’s direction. “Makes me feel safe. With him present, I can focus and get the job done. So, Owen is staying until I say otherwise.”

Your father’s own jaw tightened. “I’m not paying for more—”

“You’re not. I am. And believe it or not, while I’m doing what’s right for me, I’m also doing what’s right for this office, to ensure our complete success. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some reports from Research to review.” You slipped your eyeglasses back on and reopened the portfolio in front of you, scanning the contents.

You glanced up when your father stepped closer to your desk, his voice lower than before though his now angry gaze burned into you. You should have known by dismissing him in that manner after standing your ground, what it would do. “I’m going to strongly suggest that you finish up with Research and take your lunch out of the office. Perhaps outside. It’s a beautiful day and a dose of fresh air might just be what you need.” He gave you a curt nod and then swiftly left the room. Once he was gone, your shoulders deflated and you slumped back into your chair. You knew your father loved you and he only wanted the best for you, for you to succeed, but sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder if it ever came down to the choice of you or the business, who would he choose? He already chose. You blinked the rapidly forming tears in your eyes away at the thought that had popped into your head out of nowhere and carefully got to your feet, reaching for your cane. 

“Owen,” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him immediately stand at attention. “I think we’re going to take my father’s advice. He’s right. It is a beautiful day and I would like to take full advantage of it.” He moved towards you, watching as you moved to the corner and slipped on your light coat. “I’d prefer to be anywhere that isn’t here,” you mumbled, grabbing your handbag. 

You carefully made your way across your office with Owen following right behind you, ready to assist if need be while also keeping an eye out. You called out to your assistant as you passed her by, “Luna, I’m going out for lunch today. Please hold all calls until I return.”

“Of course, Ms. Y/L/N. If Research calls while you’re out, is there anything you would like me to tell them?”

You thought it over for a moment before turning towards the elevators. “Tell them I’m still working on it. Thank you.” And for the first time since you’d started in this company, you left without getting the job done. The thought didn’t sit well with you, you had always been conditioned to complete all of the tasks set out before you, no matter how late you might have to stay to complete them. But at the same time, it oddly made you smile a little.

So here you were, in Central Park on a gorgeous fall day, having taken your father’s advice to heart. You took every single one of your lunches outdoors now unless it was raining or too cold to sit outside for long. You always marveled at the fact that you had lived in New York City for close to two years and you had never once taken the time to stop and notice what surrounded you on a daily basis. You had never taken in the present moment, never taken an opportunity just to be, to sit quietly and listen. The bench you were on by the lake had quickly become one of your favorite spots. You could relax and indulge in the art of people watching, take in all of the sounds, sights, and smells around you. Truth be told, it was the best part of your day. 

Owen stood sentry not too far from you, giving you enough space but also ready to intervene at any moment should he be needed. Despite sitting in a park in the middle of one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, you felt beyond safe. Owen would never let anything happen to you and being in public, around people living their everyday lives…you felt the safest you had in a long time. A feeling you ended up trying to replicate by looking up Central Park ambience videos on YouTube and playing them while you fell asleep though it didn’t always manage to keep the nightmares away. But you expected that; trauma could be a real stubborn pain in the ass.

But right now, sitting here like this, you were okay. That is, until someone decided to sit down on the opposite side of the bench you were on. All of the times you had sat in this spot, you had been left alone, free to claim this bench as your own for the hour or so you’d spend here. Now, someone appeared not to have gotten the unofficial memo. Out of your peripherals, you saw Owen quickly approaching, most likely intending to tell the stranger to move to another bench, when the person glanced back at him, holding a hand up.

“Relax, man. I appreciate you looking out but I’m not here to hurt her, alright? I’m just here to talk.” The second you heard the voice, your gaze snapped over to the man across from you. You immediately recognized it; it was one you’d heard in your nightmares over and over, telling you to stay with him as you desperately clung to his hand until the kidnappers snatched you away. Was it even possible or were you just imagining this man had spoken to Owen with that voice?

When the man turned back to look at you, you recognized the green eyes immediately and a small lump began to form in your throat. Sure enough, he had a beard, one that looked startlingly familiar when you warily prodded at the memory, trying to recall it. A flash of his face, dirtier than it appeared now, popped into your mind. As if it had been patiently waiting all of this time for you to simply reach out and grab a hold of it. Tears began to burn in the corner of your eyes; it was him.

“It’s you,” you choked out in a whisper without really meaning to. 

The smile you faintly remembered graced his face. “It’s me,” he confirmed.

You stared at him, truly dumbfounded. “How?”  

“I told you I’d find you.” 

You nearly started crying when the familiar words floated up from your subconscious, the phrase you had somehow forgotten in the midst of everything. But you remembered it now, as clearly and vividly as the man sitting before you who had said it. You had been about to pass out in the makeshift surgical room, crying and holding onto him tightly, afraid to let him go. “Will I ever see you again?” “I’ll find you.” 

“I made you a promise and I intended on keeping it.” His green eyes softened slightly, much as they had all of those months ago as he caught every single tear that rolled down your cheeks as you succumbed to the drug beginning to course through your system. “I’ll find you.”

And find you he did.

A little preview of the next installment:

Still sensing your discomfort, Russell immediately lifted up and peeled his shirt off, revealing his bare skin to you for the first time. Immediately, you noticed a small bandage wrapped around his left arm.  “What happened?” You gasped, sitting up and gingerly running your fingers below the bandage line.  He shrugged and looked down at it. “Got shot on a job.” Your jaw dropped and when he glanced back up at you, he must have seen the worry that was consuming you because he immediately chuckled and affectionately cupped your chin. “I’m okay. Besides, that’s not what I wanted to show you.” He took your hand in his and moved it to his other shoulder, guiding your fingertips over skin that was jagged, puckered slightly, and silver-looking. “Shot.” He then moved your hands down his side until it reached a decent sized line that was anything but smooth. “Stabbed.” Your hands moved again to right above his abdomen. “Cut.” They moved once more and ended up on his clavicle. “Cut from an attempted stab.” You winced as he mentioned each injury he had received; they had all been the result of violent means. He moved your hands up to the upper tip of his right ear. “Bullet graze.” There was no scar there to speak of but you could see the tiniest bit of difference between his ears in that area when you looked closely.  He finally brought your hand to rest over his heart, holding it there. “Sofia.” Your brows furrowed in confusion and he smirked over at you. “Cute little waitress in Costa Rica. Gave me one hell of a weekend and then left me high and dry for some young British guy who showed up at the beach and hadn’t yet run out of money.” You scoffed and yanked your hand from underneath his, making him laugh, as you crossed your arms. He moved closer to you, cupping your cheeks and staring into your eyes. “I’m kidding about that last part. The rest, I’m not. I’ve got plenty more on my back and even a few on my legs. A couple more on my arms. We all have scars. They’re just reminders of battles we’ve fought and survived. Don’t be ashamed of yours.” A tear escaped and rolled down your cheek but his thumb caught it. He pressed his forehead against yours and murmured, “You’re beautiful.”    When he looked at you like this, spoke softly to you like this, you genuinely believed him.

A/N: Coming soon. Please let me know if you would like to be tagged for Part 2.

dividers by @firefly-graphics

[bookishdaze]

Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?

Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.

Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.

"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.

The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'

I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.

It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!

The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.

Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.

The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.

Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.

Now lets take a look at their sequels.

The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.

Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.

The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).

There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)

These losses make things worse, by the way.

In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.

In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.

Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"

Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."

And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.

Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."

Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).

This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!

"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"

What's that?

"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"

Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈

[call-mi-jinx]

Robert "Bob" Floyd X Reader - What's a wallflower?

summary: Coyote sets Y/N and Bob up with some alone time. Bob thinks Y/N hates him but it's the complete opposite and he has no idea.

Warnings: swearing, kissing, fanboy being a matchmaker

Main Masterlist Robert ”Bob” Floyd Masterlist

a/n: hey girliessss! its been a looooooong time since the last time i posted anything. hope u enjoyyyyyy xx

robert “bob” floyd x fem!reader

Robert Floyd was a very shy man on the outside. I always admired him. The way he just sees and hears everything without being seen himself. Like a wallflower.

All of us are at the Hard Deck, Bradley is trying to pick up a girl at the bar. So was Hangman. Fanboy, Coyote, Payback and Phoenix were all chatting with each other while playing pool, as was I. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bob, eating from a cup of peanuts with his drink at the side of him.

He hadn't yet seen me staring as he was watching Bradley try and pull the girl beside him. Did he think the girl was attractive? If he did, I think he's lost his shot at being with her because Bradley is now locking lips with her. Gross.

"Y/N! You listening? It's your turn to shoot." Fanboy shouted to me waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked, shook my head a little then looked to Fanboy.

"Uh sorry. Lost focus for a second." Fanboy gave me a knowing look. He was the only one, other than Bradley (my cousin), that knows I may or may not have a thing for Bob. Bradley only knows because he guessed and I couldn't stop smiling when he mentioned Bob's name.

I grabbed the pool cue off of Fanboy and looked around the table to see where I could pot a ball. I moved around the table and found my shot. I lined my cue up with the white ball, then looked up to see Bob intently watching me. I shook my head and refocused on the ball. I drew the cue back and hit it with enough force so that the ball potted. The white ball then hit another of our balls into one of the holes. Fanboy patted me on the back and said well done before I sat down.

It was now Fanboy's turn to shoot. But before he did, he shouted to Bob.

"Hey Bob! Please could you get my jacket out of Y/N's car? She'll help you find it, can't remember where I put it." My eyes instantly went to Fanboy. I shook my head slightly with a pleading look. I could not be around Bob alone. Last time I was I completely embarrassed myself. I didn't show my face to him for two weeks.

"U-uh sure!" Bob put down his cup of peanuts next to his drink and got up off the chair and headed towards me. "After you." He muttered with his eyes glued to the floor. I began to walk out and turned to give Fanboy a death stare.

The walk to the car was silent. And awkward. Very awkward.

I unlocked my car and decided to start off in the boot of the car while Bob started in the backseat.

"Not here!" Bob shouted as he then began to look in the front seat of the car. I muttered a quick "okay" before continuing looking in the back.

I was zoned out. Just moving things about, not actually looking for Fanboy's jacket.

"Do you like... hate me or something? Did I do something wrong?" I quickly snapped out of my trance and closed the boot so I could see Bob's face.

"Why would I hate you? You haven't done anything wrong..." I furrowed my brows but my tone was quiet.

"You barely talk to me. There was a period of time where you avoided me, I know that because every time you saw me you did a full 180 and practically ran the other way." With every sentence, Bob took a step towards me until he was only a few inches away from me.

"I... I do not hate you." I chuckle as I make eye contact with him, Bob had a serious look on his face.

"Then why do you always avoid me? There has to be a reason..." Bob really wanted to know... Should I tell him? What if he doesn't feel the same way? Fuck it. I'm gonna tell him.

"Bob... I... Fuck!" I couldn't get my words out. I ran a hand through my hair and breathed out through my nostrils.

"You should know already! You're like a fucking wallflower!" Bob's brows furrowed and head tilted to the right in confusion.

"What's a wallflower?" He seemed very confused. The way he looked right now was adorable though.

"It's someone who sees and hears everything around them but isn't seen." I chuckle as I look into his eyes. The moonlight made his face look absolutely ethereal.

"Oh right... But... You still haven't answered my question." Bob had a small smile on his face.

"I..." I sucked it up, he was probably gonna find out sooner or later. "I have feelings for you Bob..." I couldn't look at him, I didn't want to. He surely doesn't like me back.

When I looked up at Bob, he was looking at me with utter shock on his face. Oh no... Shit... I've probably just fucked everything up.

"It-It's alright if you don't feel the same. I don't actually know why I told you... I could've just come up with an excuse but I just said it out loud." I kept on rambling and rambling.

Bob then grabbed both my arms and shouted my name.

We looked at each other intently until our faces began getting closer to each other. Bob couldn't wait as his hands found place on my cheeks and connected his lips to mine. It was a sweet, soft kiss. Severely contrasting to the other guys I've kissed before.

My hands then traced his abs and up to the back of his neck. I pulled him closer and he backed me up against the boot of my car. My hand went up to tug at his hair to which he let out a groan to.

We then pulled away for some air and stared at each other with goofy smiles on our faces.

"I have wanted to do that for so long..." Bob says breathlessly. I giggle as his smile becomes impossibly goofier.

"Come on, let's go back inside." We both then head back inside the Hard Deck to which Bradly, Coyote, Hangman, Phoenix and Fanboy were waiting and cheered as we got back inside.

"Did you tell them all?" I asked, to which Fanboy gave me a smug grin and hugged me.

"Well done for deciding not to be a pussy anymore Y/N/N." He said in my ear, I hit him on his back in reply which received a laugh from him.

I then go over to Bob who took back his place on his chair next to the wall and rested my head on his shoulder.

I'm glad I decided not to be a pussy.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

Rebuild & Restore - Chapter 15

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS

❤ Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

All OC Characters belong to me

All Falls Down (Prequel)

Series Masterlist

~ 1 week later ~ Friday Afternoon

“If you don’t wanna do this, I can call Mel and tell her we changed our minds and she not invited.” Josh voiced, interrupting Kiyana’s thought process. 

Kiyana smiled as she turned her head from looking out the window to looking over at Josh. “No. I’m good. But I'm telling you now. She got one time to say some outta pocket shit. I still owe her from that shit she was talking at Jay-Jay’s birthday party.” 

Josh bit his lip as he remembered how disrespectful he was to Kiyana that day. As she came to a stop at a red light, he turned his gaze to her. “I wanna apologize for that too.” He started, his stomach tightening as he remembered how he let Melvania talk to and about Kiyana.  “I could have stopped her but –” 

“I’m over it.” She cut him off with a flag of her hand.  “I understand why you were so mean” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “And I really can’t blame you. We technically were divorced already. It’s a lot of shit that I said about you too, so let’s just move on from it.” 

Josh arched his eyebrow at her. “Whatchu say about me?” 

Kiyana bit her lip, trying to suppress a laugh. “I may have told Samara about the um... Forty-five-second incident.”  Josh’s mouth dropped out in shock. He then closed his eyes with a groan, covering his face with his hands. 

“Kiyana…” He groaned out, what happened to taking it to the grave?” 

“I’m sorry!” She laughed. “You pissed me off and I was venting to Mara.” He narrowed his eyes at her, before turning his attention back to the road as the light turned green. “You mad?” 

“No, I’m not mad.” He shook his head. “Little embarrassed, but not mad.” 

“I mean it’s not like you left me high and dry” She tried to make him feel better but Josh sucked his teeth, turning the radio up so he could tune her and her laughing out. 

Melvania tried to keep the scowl off her face as her brother and Kiyana walked over to the table holding hands. It make her sick to her stomach to see him all happy with Kiyana after everything she did to him. 

“Wassup Sis,” Josh smiles at his sister as he walks around the table to hug her. Melvania hummed as she eyed Kiyana before standing up and hugging her younger brother. 

Kiyana rolled her eyes a little as she picked up the menu and scanned over it. She wasn’t interested in exchanging pleasantries with this woman, all Kiyana wanted was to let her know that there would be no more disrespecting her. 

“Hello, Kiyana.” Melvania managed through gritted teeth, eyes narrowing into slits as Kiyana continued to ignore her. 

“Key..” Josh whispered. 

Melvania watched as Kiyana set the menu down and turned to Josh, they seemed to be having a silent conversation that ended with Kiyana letting out a loud sigh. 

“Hi, Melvania, how are you?” Kiyana asked, with a very obvious forced smile on her face. 

“Good, thanks for asking,” Mel muttered and Kiyana rolled her eyes and dropped her smile, bringing her attention back to the menu in front of her while Mel turned her attention to her brother. “So what's up? Why did y’all call me here?”  Melvania eyed Kiyana as the waiter came over and took their orders. She couldn’t understand why her brother was willingly here with her after sleeping with their cousin. The only logical reason Mel could come up with was, that Josh wanted to be present in the house with his boys and Mel knew that Josh should have followed her advice and filed for full custody from Kiyana. 

“You know Mar is about to turn seven right?” Josh started the conversation as the waiter walked away with their orders. “And I know he wants you there but for that to happen, there needs to be a conversation about how you be disrespecting Kiyana, and that needs to stop.” 

Melvania reared her head back like she had been slapped. “What –” she started but Josh interrupted her. 

“Me and Kiyana are working on our relationship and we’re trying to get back to how things used to be and I should have put a stop to it years ago, but I’m telling you right now sis. There will be no more talking slick to and about Kiyana. She is the mother of my children and whether you like her or not, you have to respect her.” 

“I don’t have to respect shit." Melvania scoffed "What the fuck are you going on about Joshua? Have you forgotten what she did to you?” 

Josh and Kiyana shared a look and then turned their attentions back to Melvania who was looking at them like they both lost their minds. “I haven’t forgotten and me and her have talked about that because it’s our relationship, Mel.” 

Melvania's eyes flashed with disbelief as she let out another scoff, her eyes bouncing between her brother and the devil. “So you’re saying you’re just going to overlook everything? Pretend it never happened?” 

Kiyana huffed and rolled her eyes. “What are you not understanding?” She asked, shrugging off the hand that Josh placed on her shoulder. “Me and Josh are working through our issues and if you want to be in your nephew's lives, you will respect me, especially with them around. All the calling me names at Jayla’s party was uncalled for and unnecessary and will not happen at my son’s party.”  

Both Kiyana and Melvania stared at each other with narrowed eyes and at that moment Josh wished he brought Jon or Sefa along with him because he didn’t know what to do next. 

“What’s the real issue?” Kiyana asked, breaking their staring contest. “You’ve hated me since high school and it’s only got worse when me and Josh got married.” 

“You just too dumb to see it huh?” 

“Mel, what did I just say?” Josh snapped, getting extremely frustrated with his older sister. 

“Y’all not about to sit here and gang up on me. I am not the villain in this damn story!” 

“You’re the villain in my story. I haven’t done shit to you for you to hate me as much as you do!” 

“Chill..” Josh tried to interject as he noticed they started drawing attention to their table with how loud Kiyana and Melvania were getting. “We don’t have to yell at each other.” 

“You haven’t done shit?” Mel scoffed “You ruined my fucking like Kiyana!” 

Now Kiyana was the one who reared her head back like she had been slapped.  She turned to Josh who shared the same look of confusion. “What?” 

“You knew that position was mine! And you just swooped in and took it.” 

“Position – Girl! The damn cheer captain position from high school?” Kiyana scoffed and sat back in the chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She muttered, rolling her eyes.  Kiyana was beyond done with this conversion. They were grown-ass women now and Mel was still upset about some shit that happened eons ago! “Put on your big girl panties and get over that shit Mel.” 

Josh, increasingly frustrated, rubbed his temples. “Nah, that can’t be the reason. It gotta be another reason. Right sis? All this animosity ain't because of some shit that happened in high school?” 

“Nope. That’s it.” Mel shrugged and Kiyana decided at that point it was time to go. She abruptly stood from her seat and grabbed her bag from the chair next to her. 

“Pointless ass conversation.” She muttered, before turning towards Josh and holding her hand out. “I’m going to sit in the car, can I get the keys please?” Josh nodded and fished the keys out of his shorts pocket and handed them to her. “Can you tell them I want my food to go now?” Josh nodded again. 

“There she goes... Running away, again!” 

“Girl, fuck you.” Kiyana snapped and that’s when all hell broke loose. Melvania stood from her seat and tried to charge around the table to attack Kiyana. Josh caught her though, wrapping his arms around Mel’s waist and pulling her away from Kiyana who honestly didn’t even flinch. 

Kiyana faked a yawn with a roll of her eyes and continued out the door, ignoring the insults Melvania was shouting her way. 

“You stupid bitch! I swear on my momma imma getcho’ ass!” 

“Enjoy your night, Mel. Maybe one day you’ll figure out how to handle your issues like an adult.” Kiyana stated as she walked out of the restaurant. 

“Mel, chill. What the fuck!” Josh shouted as Mel tried to push him out of the way. 

“Sir, two have to leave before I call the cops. I’ve canceled your orders.” Josh sucked his teeth and grabbed Melvania’s bag and all but dragged her out of the restaurant. 

“Where y’all parked at?!” 

“Melvania! Chill.” Josh yelled pushing her back away from him. “I’m not going to let you attack Kiyana. What the hell is wrong with you!?” 

“What the hell is wrong with me? You so lucky you my brother cause I would have smacked you by now! What the hell is wrong with you Joshua?! Her pussy is not that good that you're forgetting everything she did!” 

“No, I didn’t forget! But it’s my damn relationship! If she can forgive me for betraying her then I can forgive her. You need to move the fuck on.” Josh spat, eyes narrowing as he looked at his sister. “And don’t bother showing up to my son's party. I don’t want you there.” 

Saturday Afternoon

Kamari’s 7th birthday bash was in full swing, He had invited his whole class plus his friends from Karate and Soccer so their house and backyard were almost packed with people, but as long as Kamari was happy, so was Kiyana. 

As Kiyana was walking around the party, she heard one of Josh’s aunties make a sly comment that made her roll her eyes. “Who made this pasta salad? It’s like they didn’t even try. You know who makes a good pasta salad? Melvania.. If only she was allowed to come.”  Kiyana knew that last part was a dig at her and she didn’t care. 

She let out a sigh as she made her way to the grill where Josh and Jon were. “Your auntie keeps taking digs at my pasta salad.” Jon snorted and Josh reached over to smack him on the back of his head. 

“Don’t let it get to your head Key.” 

“I’m not, I’m –” 

“Aw hell. You didn’t say he was going to be here.” 

“Oh my god,” Kiyana muttered, as she started to rub her temples, feeling a headache coming on. “Why wouldn’t he be here Yatta?” 

“Direct that stank ass attitude somewhere else sis.” 

“Kenyatta, stop.” Imani chided as she walked over, giving Jon and Josh hugs much to Kenyatta’s dismay. Just like how Mel and Kiyana had a rivalry in high school, so did Josh and Kenyatta. It just wasn't on some petty shit like how Mel’s and Kiyana’s were. Kenyatta always thought that Kiyana could do better than Josh and he never missed a chance to voice his opinion. 

Josh sucked his teeth and turned his attention back to the burgers that needed to be flipped. Jon – sensing the tense atmosphere, decided it was time for him to skidaddle and go find his wife and mother. 

“Look, y’all can continue to pretend to be a happy family or whatever you call it, but I ain’t forget whatchu’ did to my sister.”  

“Oh my god,” Kiyana muttered again. “Now is not the time.” Josh started laughing. “Josh, please” Kiyana pleaded. “Not right now.” 

Josh's laughter only seemed to further agitate Kenyatta, who took a step closer to the grill. Imani quickly placed herself between the two men, her hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Kenyatta, please. This is Kamari's birthday party. Can we not do this here?" Imani pleaded with her stepson. “Like Kiyana said, now is not the time.” 

“Yeah alright, I’ll be seeing you,” Kenyatta muttered, grilling Josh as he looked him up and down. And Josh, not one to back down from anybody dropped the spatula he was holding. 

“You can see me now, the fuck” 

Kiyana's eyes widened in alarm as she watched Josh step away from the grill, squaring up to Kenyatta. The tension in the air was palpable, and she could see a few nearby parents starting to take notice of the brewing confrontation.

"Josh, please," Kiyana hissed, grabbing his arm. "Think about Kamari." Josh ignored her, his heated gaze locked on Keyannta’s. Kiyana grabbed both sides of his face and made him focus on her.  "This is our son's birthday. Don't do this."

For a moment, Josh's jaw clenched, his eyes still burning with anger. But as he looked into Kiyana's pleading face, his shoulders slowly relaxed. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"You're right," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

Kenyatta scoffed, "Yeah, that's right. Back down like the punk-ass—"

"Kenyatta!" Imani snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut through the tension. "That's enough. You're leaving. Now."

Kenyatta looked like he was about to argue, but Imani's stern gaze silenced him. With a final glare at Josh, he turned and stalked away,

Josh closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down and once he opened them, he did not like what he saw. Kiyana was looking at him with nothing but disappointment in her eyes. 

“Key –” 

“Don’t” She cut him off, dropping her hands from his face. “Let’s just try to finish out this day with no more drama.” She muttered before turning away from him and walking into the house, to calm herself down. 

Josh watched Kiyana walk away, his heart sinking as he realized how much the confrontation had affected her. He was still fuming from the argument, but seeing her disappointment made him feel even worse. He rubbed his temples, trying to push the anger aside and focus on salvaging what was left of Kamari’s birthday party.

Authors Note: Whew... Mel and Kenyatta, need to get over themselves.

Sooo. How did y'all like this chapter?

I'm thinking maybe 2-3 more chapters left of this...

❤ Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

🏷️: @christinabae @empressdede @southerngirl41 @reci1996 @harmshake

@theninthwonder @alyyaanna @nbanenefrmdao @raya-hunter01 @msbigredmachine

@paigereeder @amandairene88 @woahthatshitfat @allmyn1ghts @reignsboy19

@cyberdejos2 @saintaquarius @bebesobrielo @scarlettnoir01 @alichesmi

@xiamentshoneypot @hunnidmilly @jeyusos-girl @li-da-savage @jaethaone

@black-yn @mzv11 @shantinextdoor @sheydnni @thatone-girly

@xmonetsworld @jeysbae @kill-the-artiste @simpin4pixels @mindairy

@vebner37 @trashbin-nie @adoreesun @shayaaaaaaa @angiedawn02

@rianasixx @bookuce @sageispunk @yourbane @Yana3sworld

@kat3457 @queeny23 @privateeyed95 @melonberry @xbriexx

@rebelrel0987 @mymyhhxoxo

[fanfictiongirlie]

Twilight: Some Soulmate - Chapter Seventeen

Click here for masterlist

Parings: Paul Lahote x Reader

Description: Y/N a member of the Cullen family is imprinted on by one of the wolves, she is shocked, he is shocked. She is struggling with drinking animal blood over human, and he is disgusted by a vampire for a soulmate… But maybe it could work..?

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: None

Words: 1,092

The vampires started arriving, and soon our house was full, full of so many red eyes, most of which I had met, but there were a few I didn't know. 

It was always good to see our Denali cousins again, I hugged them all and mostly stayed close to him, the few vampires I didn't know didn't trust me or some members of my family and I didn't like how it felt. 

It was good seeing Garrett again, I had known him for a long while too, and our sarcastic sense of humours worked perfectly together. I followed him outside one day, my family were outside, Nessie was showing the two vampires from the Amazon her gift. I lent against a tree and watched them, they were showing Edward their gifts, however Bella could not see what he could see. 

And when Kate took Bella's hand in hers, it made sense, why Edward couldn't read her thoughts. 

"Edward you never told me your wife was a shield" Eleazar spoke softly, Carmen close behind him. 

"The ones I've met are so different" Edward answered. 

"What do you mean, I'm a shield?" Bella asked. 

"A shield, it means you can shield yourself from others gifts, potentially shield others" I explained. I had met a few shields before, and I tried to learn as much as I could from them, as I tried with most vampire gifts. 

"Could I protect others?" She asked. 

"Maybe, if you trained" I shrugged. 

The days were spent now with various vampires training Bella, more vampires appearing, and just overall vampire things. It was a little overwhelming. 

"I'm sure you could disappear for a day?" Edward suggested quietly to me. I nodded, knowing he could read my mind, he knew exactly what I wanted... Paul. He wouldn't come here, not with all these vampires. I couldn't blame him. 

I nodded quietly. 

"I think I may stay at his house tonight, will you tell Carlise and Esme please?" I thought, Edward nodded. Smiling I run to my room and grab a few things, before leaving, I chose to leave quietly. Not being noticed. I loved my family, but all these vampires were overwhelming. I ran through the forest hoping to not run into any of the new wolves, they were as patient as the others. They'd bite before they figured out who I was. 

I reached Paul's house in record time, and knocked on the door. When I did I finally thought maybe I should of called, or texted. And when the door opened I knew I definitely should of. A man answered the door; Paul's dad I think. 

"Hello?" He looked confused. 

"Hi, sorry, is Paul home?" I asked nervously, trying to remember all my human ticks I should be doing. 

"Yeah, he's upstairs, he's asleep though" The man explained. 

"Oh okay, never mind then" I smiled and went to turn around. 

"You're more than welcome to go upstairs, I suppose you're the girlfriend?" He asks, I nod. 

"Yes, it's nice to meet you" I smile, not extending my hand, I wasn't sure if he was a wolf, I didn't think so. 

"You too, just head up" He smiled, letting me in, I ran slowly upstairs and crept into Paul's room. He was sleeping, he must of been on patrol last night. 

Carefully I laid on the bed next to him, he stirred a little, but only to snuggle closer to me. I smiled widely. Who would of known he'd be such a softie? 

"Mmmm Y/n" He mumbled. I grinned and stroked his hair, enjoying the moment with him. 

"I love you" I whispered leaning down to kiss him forehead. He didn't wake, so I grabbed my phone and started playing random games whilst I waited. 

"Hello" His sleepy voice mumbled to me, I smiled and lean down to kiss his lips. 

"Hey" I smiled. 

"How long have you been here?" He asks me. 

"About an hour, your dad let me in" I answered "He also said to tell you he was going out and he'd be out late"

"Probably staying over at his new girlfriend's" Paul answered gruffly. 

"Can I stay the night?" I asked. 

"Of course, you don't need to ask" He smiled, reaching up to kiss my lips again.  "Mmm I love kissing you" He whispered against my lips. 

"Same here handsome" I whispered back. 

Paul sighed happily as his lips met mine again. I gently moved my lips against his, always worried I'd hurt him, I wouldn't of course, his wolf strength made it impossible for me to acciendelty hurt him. One of his hands grabbed my hip, pulling me close to him, whilst his other hand reached up to hold my face. God I was so in love with this man. 

"Marry me" I mumbled against his lips, I had only meant to think it. 

"Yes, anything for you" He mumbled back, his lips moving against mine more frantically. I could feel his desire for me, he wanted me. 

Soon, and I wasn't one hundred percent how, I was on top of Paul, kissing his lips hard, his hands were firmly on my hips, holding me tight moving me against him.

"Did you mean it?" He mumbled against my lips, his hands holding onto my hips, he pulled away from me and looked up at me with those gentle eyes that made me all goofy. 

"What part?" I asked, feeling slightly nervous, I didn't want to scare him away. 

"You asked me to marry you" He answered bluntly. 

"Oh yeah, that, I guess I did" I said, laughing nervously. 

"I was going to be the one to ask you" He grinned, pulling me down for another kiss. "I had it all planned out" Each word he seperated with a kiss. 

"Well I'm sorry" I answered, giggling softly. 

"I even have a ring" He spoke, his lips now kissing along my jawline. 

"You do?"

"I do, would you like to see it?" He asked and I nodded. He lifted me off him and opened the draw next to his bed, and pulled out a black velvet box. He handed it to me and I opened it, if I were human I'm sure I would have been breathless. 

"So Y/N, would you marry me? And I know it's very soon into our relationship but I promise I am serious about this" He spoke, rambling a bit. 

"Of course I will" I answered giggling, as he pulled me towards the bed, pressing his lips to mine once more. 

Previous Part - Next Part

[doberbutts]

weird question, but is there a reason why humans with rabies don't become as mindlessly aggressive as animals with rabies? like, how come people with rabies aren't running around biting everyone?

If I'd hazard a guess, it probably cooks us before we progress that far. Additionally, it also likely has something to do with natural instinct- humans with rabies while they are still able to talk report feeling intense fear and pain while experiencing hallucinations.

Most humans actively don't want to hurt other people- I have a schizophrenic aunt and even in her worst delusions and hallucinations where she may be screaming threats, she's never actually followed through on any of them because she genuinely doesn't want to hurt anyone when she's capable of processing situations logically. Similarly, I have a friend-of-a-friend who is also severely mentally ill, and the only times he's ever hurt someone are when he gets grabbed while he's hallucinating that someone is trying to hurt him. Those he's lashed out at in this state get shoved or kicked or punched before he continues to try to get away from them (they also forgive him immediately because they are his caretakers and understand his mental state very well).

When we started using tools as a species, we also stopped reaching for "biting you" as a defensive response unless there is truly no other choice. Even in the grips of intense fear and panic and pain and delusion and hallucination and paranoia, humans are more likely to choose literally any other option than teeth unless that's their last line of defense. We probably did bite each other back when we were no different than our great ape cousins.

More or less, I'm not entirely convinced that rabies sends signals for "bite" specifically, and is more sending signals for "attack", and humans don't really reach for "bite" when attacking as a general rule unlike other animals. Humans who are restrained in their hospital beds are significantly more likely to bite their caregivers- shoving, kicking, and punching are out of the question when you're tied down. That is true regardless of if they have rabies or not.

Additionally, the virus seems to only progress so far before it stagnates at a specific stage in certain animals. Bats are significantly more likely to have "dumb rabies" than "furious rabies". This could be due to a number of things ranging from "dumb rabies makes them incapable of flight and fucks up their sonar [true!] and so they starve to death before symptoms can progress past that [theory!] since they have fast metabolisms and missing even a single night's meal is devastating to their health [true!]" to "bats show some resistance to rabies as a whole [true!] and thus it may take much longer for symptoms to progress in the usual manner and so the bat generally dies before it can go any further [theory!]" Bats CAN progress to the furious stage, but we don't tend to see it as often.

There has never been a recorded instance of rabies passing from human to human so my money's on a combo of the two theories. It's very possible that Grug The Caveman got rabies from the wolves he was trying to tame and then wiped out his entire society by zombie-biting the fuck out of everyone who tried to help him. But we weren't writing things down at that point, so we have no way of knowing.

Rabies' first documentation is 4000 years ago- but it's very possible it existed before that, since the writing just states that the owner of a rabid dog needs to take provisions against it biting anyone, meaning we knew by then what rabies was and that the bite was dangerous. It's very possible this disease has followed us around since before humans harnessed fire and invented the wheel. That's a decent amount of un-accounted-for time for humans to have hulked out and started zombie-biting.

We have so many folkstory monsters in nearly every culture on the planet that boil down to "had contact with an animal that was acting strangly, turned me into a savage monster that tries to kill everything I see less than a month later, btw my monster disease is super contagious and I spread it by biting the fuck out of you" that predate any modern science knowledge of how the virus works, which makes me think that it probably did happen back in the caveman days and it's ancestrial memory that has us clinging to these concepts to this day.

[zhvakinnn]

Hello! May I be ⚡ an)on? If that's ok? Anyways! Wondering if I could request a tyler x reader where they thought reader couldn't go to the phantom world but one day while they are there, they are running from a group of Phantoms before a flash bang goes off and reveals reader, holding a machete, and a huge light that was keeping the Phantoms away? You may edit it as you wish! Just keep the basic plot pls! -⚡anon

I was thinking about they flash the light at reader, I don't understand the basic plot but i goggle it (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

I'm choosing if i should choose the

while 'you' were running

Or

While' i' was running

Warnings: none ig?

Character: Tyler

G/N reader

Relationship

✨as always i don't know much English so if something is wrong correct me✨

Let's start on how you went to Savannah

You didn't know why you went to Savannah you didn't even have friends but your parents insist you on going there to make friends

But instead of making friends you look like a lost cat

You wonder around the place then you saw a mansion you went close to it trying to peak but ran away when you heard a rattling sound

You panted as you ran when you look back you froze for a moment you scared of the sight, while you stare at it, it suddenly came running towards you, you shriek while holding your arm up in defense

You fell down when you felt it scratch you

That's when a woman came running towards you

"hey! Are you okay?!" A brown haired woman with yellow shirt came running towards you

You look up from her then your arm, you were shock 'i swear i felt it scratch' then you look around but nothing was there it was just you and your embarrassment

Screaming without anyone harming you is kind of embarrassing

You stand up but the woman help you

"yes I'm fine sorry, i just saw snake came but i guess it disappear?" You lied because you always saw in movies they don't believe ghost or monster ti'll they see it in their naked eye she nodded believing it

"hey? Do you have anyone with? Like a friend?.. sorry to say this but ever since you walk out of the bus you look like a loner" you were offended but she's telling the truth anyway

"well yeah I was just force to be here, no friends" you said smiling softly while scratching your nape

You were shock when a hand was Infront of you "well then i will be honored to be your first friend, im Taylor Hernandez, im on the mechanic club" she smiled brightly at you

"oh, well hi Taylor im (name) , and glad to be you're friend" you smiled back as you were about to shake hands a group came running

"hey Taylor everything ok?" "Yeah just them seeing a snake" Taylor and.. tyler the baseball player that you're inlove with

"(name)" you can't help staring at him his so beautiful "(name)?" His brown eyes "(name)!"

You jump all the sudden only for Taylor apologize "oh no need to apologize, sorry i zone out, what are you saying again?"

"oh just introducing them let's start again this is Logan fields the genius of our group friend" she said pointing at the blonde boy with glasses

"and that is Aiden the uh? Hmm the insane one of our group" he yelled a 'hey' making everyone giggle

"and that is Ben the tall one of our friend, Aiden and him are cousins" Ben waved at you and you wave back

"and that is Ashlyn the quite one sorry not sorry" she shrugged it off and just said hi raising her hand

"and last this is-" "oh yeah i remember him being in the baseball club right?" She nodded and telling you their twins

"so that's why you two look alike"

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

When on that night you were in a different room all by yourself when you heard a banging you woke up the sky is red you looked out of the window seeing there's already the black monster it bang its head on the window and you search the room you were shock when you saw a machete

'weird but okay?!'

You swing it in its head and they died

You ran into the bathroom wishing this wasn't real you remember you have your phone on the bed

You cursed why didn't you didn't think to get it first

You open the door looking if there is anyone you quickly snatch your phone and went back in the bathroom you tried calling someone but there are no service

'of course there isn't, am i now in the horror movie ' you thought as you look at the time 12:00 for you it was passed by minutes now yet the clock was still 12:00

This made you cry with fear you tried calling for someone out and you just noticed you have a bleeding arm, you remember that from earlier you look for a wrapping bandaid

Once you find on you wrap it

'i knew it i was scratch!'

That's when you felt your body being pulled

You woke up gasping, you look out of the window and regretting it when a bright light came to your face you closed it immediately

They're are many thoughts on your mind but glad that it was a dream, while thinking that you felt something coming out of your throat

After all that vomiting you still felt sick

You kept vomiting then vomiting so you went home, you ask your teacher permission and he agree

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

Present time

By the time you made friends with the six but you came more close to Barron

He was sweet and caring and he asked if you could help him do his assignments and you agree only regretting it

"hey Barron i thought im gonna help you but instead you kept playing baseball" you said looking frustrated and scared at the same time

"oh sorry but can you do my assignment i never had baseball before cause my mom always wanted me to study" he looks at you smiling, you only nodded and went to do his assignment and he added his friends assignments too

But day after day he started to get violent kicking you, Punching your gut, beating you up

You didn't dare to confront him you were to scared of him

.

You were at the arcade like Barron said you were meeting up there

"hey (name)! It's nice to see you again after weeks, how come i don't see you around" you saw Taylor and his twin Tyler i mean

You were about to speak up but Barron already pulled you away making tyler glare at him

"heyy (name) who's you're friends" Barron glared back

Then you notice Logan looking worried at you and mouthing 'are you okay?'

"oh i.. i i just met them on the camping, its nice seeing you again you wave goodbye as Barron lay an arm around you

"they're not okay" Logan said looking at everyone then you

Ben might not know you but he was mad whenever he saw someone encounter with Barron

But when they got there you were no where to be seen

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

They were now in the phantom realm Logan was at the top of the wall looking out

Ashlyn suddenly said "hey Logan how many phantom are there they kept getting louder"

When Logan looked with his sniper he can see a group of phantom chasing someone

"there's someone there running!" "Someone? Quick put the light on the direction it might be another person!" Ashlyn said as they all climb up because of curiosity but Ashlyn went out to grab you

When Logan put the light he can see a person when all the phantom became a slime you look at the light seeing someone you were happy that you're not alone anymore

Then you felt a hand grab you and ran towards the wall

Once you got inside the wall you Taylor and ben and Logan, Ashlyn and....tyler

'stop with your thoughts (name) its not healthy

.

"how did you get here, how long have you been here, when did you get here"

"calm down Taylor don't ask them many questions" Tyler said as he look at you then looked away

"I got here ever since the field trip then I had a dream well... Now I know it's not a dream then woke up vomiting and this been happening for a few weeks now "

They also explain that's what happened to them

"okay okay now thats done what the hell does Barron have to do to you?" Tyler said changing the topic you let out a small 'oh' before being silent

Logan sigh and look at you "Barron also force me to do his homework and violently beat me up" when you heard that from him you started to open up to them

"just letting you know if Barron came to you again I'll beat the shit out of him" you started to feel the warmth of your cheeks when you heard what tyler said

Who would've thought you would fall for him even though he doesn't know you

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

"woah you use machete" Aiden said with a big grin on his face

"well yeah i found this on the room where we slept while having the field trip, weird they have this things"

Ben tapped you then showing you a board "hey (name) question how did you survive these weeks?! I mean you didn't have any light"

"oh! Well we have a Bunker and I hid there with these torche but when im running out of food i decided to run in a market nearby but none was there only finding those creatures and your light lead me here" you explain to them

"but did you know in the human realm you can put anything, anywhere and it will be on the phantom realm like those lights, before we don't have those but them we figured out we can transfer anything in the phantom realm by being in the human realm" you only nodded but still couldn't catch up to what his saying but you get what he was saying

"okay okay how about we get some rest for now, and here eat you said you ran out earlier you must've hungry" tyler said giving you a snack

"whoa this is not like you tyler, where's a grumpy old Tyler" Tyler glared at him like there was flaming fire around him

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

You all are quiet while you ate the snack you thank Tyler for it

This tiny things can make your heart jump you were inlove with him but now being this close you were every much now falling and falling inlove

-

The next day you we're getting pinned by the wall because you forgot to do his homework and so as your homework

"seriously are you really that dumb?! It was an easy task and you couldn't do it?!"

Barron kicked you gut and you fell on the ground

"if it was an easy task why can't you do it?" You heard a familiar voice you knew that voice, you love that voice

"If it isn't prince charming what your gonna save your helpless s/o" they all laugh as Barron did too you grunt in pain holding your stomach

Tyler saw you then quickly get blocked by Barron when Tyler was about to punch him a teacher appeared out of nowhere making them run

Tyler didn't care he was worried about your situation right now he asked if your okay, you nodded and look at him if you were and emoji you could've have been the emoji with heart eyes

"from now on your sticking with us, were gonna protect you from that maniac like we protected Logan from him" you smiled at him and lead you to the group

-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-✧-

It was months now you were officially their friends

You suddenly didn't regret going to the field trip thought you regret being in the phantom realm but you were also glad you have them

You've been hangout most of the time with the twin their mom loves your company aswell

-

"oh hey ty-ty" you said when he sat down next to you

"congrats its been months your now our officially friend" heh right friends...

You two sat there in a comfortable silent while in the background there was a chaos you laugh when Ben suddenly went flying on the spinning thingy

"hey.. i know we don't know each other much but.. nevermind"

"no go on im listening"

" we were classmate ever since grade 6 and we aren't close but ever since we became grade 8 i suddenly catch feelings for you... Even now" you were shock at his words he fell for you ever since grade 8 while you fell for him at first sight

When you were silent Tyler stand up "sorry I just ruined our friendship we just started and I already ruined it im-"

"no.. no Tyler im.. i accepted your confession though i already fall for you ever since grade 6" you grabbed his hand then he sat back again

"really?..." Another silent was made but then tyler held your hand " so does this mean we're you know... Together?" "Well i guess yes" you giggled at him

When his face started to get close you closed your eyes when your foreheads was at each other Aiden suddenly shout

"GET A ROOM"

"SHUT UP!!"

This story doesn't make sense but I hope you liked it🙏🏻

Masterlist | about me | rules

[up-in-flames-writing]

I feel like we never talk about how hard it is to be a trans immigrant. We never talk about how escaping from a country that persecutes you does not free you from suffering & bigotry.

I may not be able to attend my own graduation ceremony. I worked so hard these past three years to achieve something, to be the first person in my immediate family to finish uni, get a degree, & then be able to actually do something with it, to pick my own life course & not stray from it. I reinvented myself during these last three years so much, from the shy, dysphoric kid with no friends to a man who maybe isn't doing the best in life, but who has a hope for the future. I worked hard to present myself in the best way I could, & yet I won't be able to see the fruits of my labours.

And, sure, the reason is real silly. I can't legally change my name, so the name on the degree will be my dead one, & the Vice Chancellor will read out the corpse of my old self in front of all my teachers & peers, everyone who knew me as Booker, & Booker alone. And they will expect to see a young lady in a dress climb the stage, only to be met with a boy who isn't quite a man yet, who is still forced to live under a girl's name.

And why? Why! Because I am an immigrant who feared for my young life when Brexit was happening, who has been teased & bullied for being an ESL student, who never quite belonged. Because I am an immigrant transman who could be imprisoned in my country of birth for the crime of wanting to reinvent myself, who has to walk on eggshells around the man who reared me because he grew up Polish & catholic & who knows how he would react if I told him I was his grandson & not his granddaughter. I am an immigrant who has to hide behind their parents because who knows how my extended family will react to me, who is still not allowed to tell his cousin, his little sister whom he adores, his real name despite the fact I was her age when I started questioning my own gender & I somehow wasn't too young to be in pain!

I am an immigrant who cannot safely return home, but the country that took me in isn't quite the safe haven either. Because I need a passport to prove that my name has changed, but a passport cannot be issued to me under a name my birth country does not approve of. Because to change myself fully, I need to become a citizen to a country that abandoned my homeland after the war & looked away when it was being subjugated during it. Because I need to know how many of the swans in London belong to the Crown for the state to consider me a citizen of this dying empire, despite the fact I've lived here for so long, I can't remember what my childhood home back in Poland even looked like! I cannot truly remember what my room in that flat in a small, backwater Polish town looked like anymore, except for the bed that we now have in our guest bedroom, & the bookshelf that cradles all of my books on transness & queerness & feminism.

Because I am an immigrant from a country who hates me, I am forced to live in a country that hardly tolerates me, & to live as my true self I have to subjugate myself for the sake of an old empire that lost its touch. I have to submit myself to a personal sort of colonisation, to be able to walk onto that stage at graduation with my real name on the degree. But I can't do that, because I don't have the money, because I spent the last three years breaking my back proving to people that the little girl with behavioural problems who was always bullied, was able to become something greater than the sum of her parts. Because I now don't have the time or the patience to tell you exactly when the Union Jack was created, or at what hour of the day is tea time, & I don't have the time to wait for a passport to be sent to me, only for me to return it to sender with a plea of changing my name upon it.

Because my transmacs friends in college had their names changed at sixteen, while I'm already done with my undergrad & still have to contend with the question of what citizenship I would rather have. Because I will sooner be on hormones & growing a beard than I will be able to change my name.

And in all this I find it so ironic that I was named after an angel, & like everything else in my life, I reject the goodness & the easy way out, I reject the things that once made me, me, to become my own god & rebuild myself out of the scraps left behind by a life of turmoil.

And still I am just some immigrant bitch stealing jobs from good, hardworking Britons, & I'm still just a transsexual fag taking women's rights away, & I'm still just some freak of nature manipulating the kids into sin & immorality. And no matter where I go, where I turn to, I don't feel all that angelic at all.

[legendaryfugitives]

Athena’s Exes

So, I recently noticed people agreeing that Goddess Athena is Asexual, but from mythological sources like the stories about Pallas, there are hints that she was not aromantic. During a long research spree and reading other people's opinions, I've noticed she'll be considered a Biromantic Sapiosexual Asexual. AKA, not into the, how do I say this in PG language, bedroom stuff due to being a Parthenos, but shows romantic interest to anyone with brains. These are just notes I made while researching this topic. I encourage you all to do your own research. I'm willing to make a part two post of links if anyone needs them. Warning! Greek Mythology is known for incest included in their stories. You've been warned! Please let me know if there is anyone else I missed so I can update this post. Hephestus will not be included since Athena was not in love with him in any way. Now, let's move on to my notes of a few examples.

Pallas, The Lost BFF

When Athena first burst out of her father's head, Zeus, she was taken in by Triton, her cousin and son of Poseidon. Triton also had a Nymph daughter named Pallas. The sources are borderline on how Athena and Pallas viewed each other. Some say they were sisterly best friends, and some say they were more than friends. What the sources have in common is that the two girls practice sparring and compete together.

Fate: During a sparring contest or a friendly sparring practice match Zeus attended or happened to be watching, Athena and Pallas’s fight got heated. Scared for Athena's life, he used his aegis to distract Pallas. Unfortunately, this caused Athena to accidentally impale and kill her best friend. To make it up to Athena, Zeus gave her his aegis, which we see Athena wear to this day. Athena later created the palladium, a statue that looked like Pallas, and Athena took the name Pallas as her epithet.

Prometheus, Thief God of Fire and Hearts

There are a few theories about these two. Especially since Athena helped Prometheus steal the fire. There was one story in which Prometheus had a crush on Athena, which is why he was punished. And believe me, Prometheus and Athena were not on my Bingo Card this year. However, it makes sense since the two have a lot in common, they have worked together many times, and both played a role in creating a new version of humans. Another variation of Athena's birth myth is Prometheus freeing Athena instead of Hephaestus, or he does help out in the process of freeing Athena from Zeus's head. Yes, you may say, “But didn’t accident resources say Prometheus was married and had a son?” Remember, these stories have changed and merged over time with different variants. Some sadly lost to time. Ultimately, we are left with our imaginations when approaching these stories as long as the original culture is respected. But it does make things complicated. Prometheus and his wife, Pronoea or Hesione, never got married or divorced. Be free to come up with theories, everyone.

Fate: After getting caught afterward, Prometheus was punished by getting chained to a rock, and his liver was eaten by an eagle. Then, Prometheus's liver regrows overnight, but his torcher continues each day until he is finally freed. But unfortunately for the rebel titan, it ended his relationship with Athena. To make things worse, Athena was part of making Pandora, so Athena was punished at the end of the day, too.

Myrmex, Maiden Heartbreaker

In an insect origin story, Myrmex was a young Attican maiden who became the goddess' favorite. She was known for her cleverness and her chastity, a significant reason why Athena had a love for the maiden. Athena showed humans how to sow their fields when she created the plow. However, Myrmex was greedy on the inside. Myrmex went behind Athena’s back, stole some sheaves, and claimed she invented the plow to the public in conman fashion.

Fate: Heartbroken, Athena turned Myrmex into an ant, cursing her for stealing other's grain forever. So, talk about the worst breakup of the year there. The lesson is don't break the heart of someone who cares for you, romantically or platonically, because the betrayed will get petty revenge.

Phereclus (or Phereclos), the Shipbuilder of Tragic Dreams

Although one line mentions this, the Illiad mentions a Trojan shipbuilder, Phereclus (or Phereclos), who once made well-balanced ships. According to the different translations of Book V, Athena had “a special love for him,” “for Pallas Athene loved him above all men,” or “Pallas Minerva had dearly loved him.” Either he was her protégé, there was something more, or both.

Fate: According to Book V of the Illiad, Phereclus was killed by Meriones since it was one of Phereclus’s ships that Paris used to kidnap Helen. And if you read it, it’s pretty graphic. People can form their theories on the subject despite just that one line.

Hercle (aka Etruscan version of Heracles/Hercules), A Lover in Question

Disclaimer! This is from the Etruscan sources. I do not ship Hercle/Heracles/Hercules with Menrva/Athena/Minerva. Please do not attack me, people! In the Etruscan religion, Athena was not viewed as a Parthenos. Some sources hint at the two being romantically involved despite being siblings or half-siblings. Even having a blood or adopted kid together named Epiur??? But the two Gods were probably Epiur's protectors instead. Hercle and Menrva were Gods of protecting children back then to the Etruscans. Epiur is still a big mystery, so people, please do your research!

Fate: If we go with Hercle's Greek Version, Heracles had a crazy death, but he became a God, and then he ended up marrying his other half-sister, Hebe, the daughter of the Goddess who was out for revenge on Heracles, Hera. Yeah, this family tree is messed up for the wrong reasons, and I don't want to elaborate further.

That's it for now! Criticism is welcome if I get something wrong and need to fix it. I'm willing to post the links if anyone is curious about these details. Studying Athena's past friends or possible past lovers was an interesting rabbit hole to explore. If I inspired you in any way, please use these ideas as long as you respect original sources and know Athena is a Parthenos. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk of Athena's Exes for now!

Edit: To Epic the Musical fans, be free to use this for any of your theories because these losses may have affected Athena.

[simonsrosebud]

ik I'm late to the party but omg.... abram boyd.... I'm sobbing that's so sweet 😭😭 pls tell me more about them

AHHH THANK YOU I LOVE HIM

Abram has certified protective big brother energy, but since he isn’t a big brother this goes to his girl friends at college instead. Palmetto is a safe campus, but he (and Elliot by association) still always end up getting their girl friends back to the dorms safely no matter what. I’m talking if two of their friends are fucked up before he even gets there he will leave the bar 10 minutes in just to get them home and then come BACK. (this is based on my sisters friend at lsu and it’s so wholesome)

Abram’s relationship with Neil is interesting bc he’s growing up as Neil is traveling in the pros in his late 20’s. However, Neil visits whenever it’s convenient and once he gets in the groove of this whole godfather thing he treats Abram like he’s his uncle bc he sees how Andrew is with Aaron’s girls. He keeps up with his schedule when he starts playing little leagues and makes Dan send pictures. She sends first day of school updates and a picture of a little Abram missing his two front teeth.

Abram gets a Josten Court jersey and wears it until it stinks. He gets new ones when he outgrows them. By his third one Matt gets him a huge one to grow into as a grown man. He does indeed grow into it.

Neil sends him post cards with a little letters written inside when he’s 4 and Abram loves it so much that Dan facetime’s Neil like 2 weeks after he got the first one but it’s just Abram’s face all up in the camera. “When will I get anover wetter, uncle Neil?” “Oh!” instant delight “It must still be in the mail, buddy, but just keep an eye on the mailbox, okay?” “Okay… do you wanna see your wetter?! I put it on my wall, uncle Neil!”

Neil is the first to start calling him B, firstly bc calling someone else Abram is something he has to get used to. Secondly because Abram acknowledges it as Neil’s nickname and stubbornly doesn’t let anyone else call him it.

Matt retires from exy at like 32 when Abram is 3. Matt’s exy team loyalties lie where his friends are at, so Matt, Jace, and Abram make it a thing to watch every game. Abram can’t keep track of Neil is and gets frustrated by it. Matt mentions it while laughing, two games later Neil has the butt of his stick wrapped in orange. After that Abram keeps saying, “Ope, there’s uncle Neil again …. There’s- I see orange, Daddy! …. There he goes again! …. Look! Uncle Neil!!”

Andrew may have been the one humanizing Neil, but Abram is the one who softens him.

Abram used to hold onto Addie or Annie’s hands and just follow them around at Fox reunions, which got more frequent throughout the years and is why/how the fox kids all got close.

Abram plays minecraft but just creative mode. He likes adventure or sports videogames while his brother likes Call of Duty and whatnot.

BIG lego kid until he’s like 14.

As a teenager, Abram and Neil text so much and talk on the phone a lot. About exy, about French help bc he’s learning it in school, about some fantasy show that Abram somehow got Neil into, about sports and college applications and when he can come visit again. And then about who these new kids in Neil’s house are and are they gonna stay a while? should we add them to the cousin gc? hey how’s elliot doing? and hey can you send me elliot’s number? and if i’m doing all this hard work to keep the strikers away the least our strikers could do is do something with the ball i keep getting to them, anyway, are you guys bringing blake and elliot to thanksgiving? i’m excited to meet them. and i know ur gonna be weird if i ask you about guys but im pretty sure i have a crush on one and im kinda freaking out and im scared to tell my parents and-

Matt is so loving when he comes out to him and Dan, hugging Abram really tight and just telling him he loves him and he’s so proud of him and Abram cries a little.

The first time he kisses a boy (bc crushes are only from afar) it’s freshman year of college and it’s because he starts looking at Elliot too often for too long and needs to get that shit out of his head bc that’s his best friend.

Abram has lunch with Dan like twice a month because she tries to stay out of his hair since she’s the exy coach at PSU.

When he and Elliot get together he finds he loves to wrap Elliot up in his clothes.

Elliot goes to all of his home games with their friends and cheers obnoxiously. Abram loves it. He also… fucks Elliot while he wears his soccer jersey.

He is definitely a gentle giant, but once he and Elliot get together he throws that boy AROUND in the bedroom.

there’s a lot more about him but i hope that’s good for tonight hehe

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

I can see the inconsistency of Felix character is because he actually a character for there "Fans demand" :

Sooo you prefer 2D-Catnoir/Felix rather than our angel Adrien ? Here Felix ! He official debut in "Felix" ! He is Adrien cousin and a big jerk ! Hate him just like how I hate him too !

Wh- What ? You like him ? Fuck ! So you feel he is more competent that our pure evulz bitch teenagers ? Fine ! Here's Felix who manage to trick Gabriel in "Gabriel Agreste" ! Now He is as dangerous as Gabe

Oh Fuck ! You still like him and feel he is more "relevant" than our angel Adrien and my sweetie Marinette ? Here's I present YOU Felix join Miracuclass as "Dog Hero" and then sell all the Miraclouses to Gabe ! He is Evil ! EVil ! EVIIIIL !

What ? You asking me why he want Peacock Miraculous so much ?! Here I present you Felix as Argos ! He wiped humanity out-of-spite and try to create the Utopia for his own freedom ! He is misanthrope !

What A second ? Why... You... STILL.... EXPECTED... CHLOE... TO BE REDEEMED.... why she already... has many traits... to be put in "Complete Monster" territory ? Why YOU keep want her to be redeem like Zuzu and Pacifica just because having shitty parents ? FINE ! Here's Felix to be our Zuzu ! He is tragic little peacock... has tragic backstory.... shitty dad... and a handsome teenager.... pretty much like Zuzu right ? Now shut up and Go simp on him and Feligami already !

Proper redemption arc ? Who hell need redemption arc as long as he is "tragic and handsome" ? Don't worry... we will make Kagami as "senti" out-of-nowhere aside she wear different ring as excuse and a "horny possessive girl" who still can't move on from Adrien and make her Simp felix because he smell and looks like Adrien RIIIIIIIIIIIGHHT LOL

Honestly, it is pretty hilarious that Felix was meant to be seen as the actual character who went through a serious redemption arc compared to Chloe, when the writers pretty much speedran through every major part of it in time for the finale.

Like, say what you will about Chloe and whether or not you think she deserved to be redeemed, but at least the arc leading to her betrayal was spread across three seasons. Felix's redemption arc only lasted three episodes.

Because of the poor pacing, this is the character journey Felix goes through during the latter half of Season 5.

Emotion: "I'm going to wipe out all of humanity and create a better world! Wait, you think I'm insane for erasing your friends and family from existance while essentially committing mass genocide? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

Pretension: "Even though I've spent almost no time with you, I think I'm falling in love with you because you may be a Sentimonster person with strict parents like me. Of course, I don't love you enough to break my new moral code against using Sentimonsters or even answering for my betrayal of Ladybug."

Representation: "I'm finally going to do something to help Ladybug because her arch-enemy is getting in the way with my week-old relationship, and that moral code against Sentimonsters? I don't want to use Sentimonsters to fight, but using Sentimonsters to put on a play to convey information I could easily tell Ladybug myself, since my new girlfriend conviently learned her identity over ten episodes ago? Perfectly okay. And since I have a personal stake by wanting to protect both my cousin and girlfriend, surely, this means I'll get to play a big part in the season finale instead of just letting Ladybug do all the work, right?"

Conformation and Re-Creation:

[jacethebeltsculptor]

Outer Wilds Exploration Log #3 #2

OK, picking up directly where we left off- after making sweet, sensual love to a wall of cacti at 20 meters per second, I blasted back off go explore the twins again only to meet possibly the only astronaut who both has a job and actually does it anywhere in this galaxy, Chert. Lord knows I'm not.

Chert was such a breath of fresh air. Didn't even need the trees, could've filled up my tanks on their delightful attitude. They had tons of helpful information about how the Twins worked, advice for what to check out, and even clued me in that whatever is happening to our sun may be happening to other systems as well. They even let me borrow their jetpack fuel. 10/10 coworker, would visit again.

Early on in my exploration, I encountered a chunk of Quantum Rock and a puzzle about a guy who went missing. I wasn't able to figure out the puzzle, so I moved on down into the Sunless City. Hope to God cousin Oskaar doesn't see all these guys living here when there's a sun outside or he would flip his shit.

Now, we found some cool stuff here, but the headliner is that I found some old writings debating whether or not to proceed with the Sun Station project. The Nomai were split, because it could either produce the infinite energy they need to find the Eye, or just explodify the solar system. Pretty damn inconsiderate if you ask me. Suddenly starting to get a better idea of why all of these suns are blowing up, and what that thing I definitely didn't kill myself trying to land on was. The Nomai are really shaping up to be a parable about how the relentless pursuit of knowledge can be dangerous unless tempered by a strong foundation of ethics and responsibility- which is great, but it'd be nice if they didn't have to learn their lesson by exploding my home, my coworkers, and all of my stuff.

I used the last of my time in that cycle to check out the Quantum Moon locator- a disappearing moon just has to be plot-relevant, so that'll be handy later.

Turns out, I didn't need it, because I ended up catching a pretty lucky break- I was going back to Giant's Deep for another series of inconveniently-timed blowjobs when I happened to catch the Quantum Moon in orbit. Managed to snag a photo of that fucker to pin it in place and land- solving mysteries is for chumps! I mean, for different chumps, who aren't me. With the solution to all my problems handed to me on a silver platter, I proceeded to try to gravity-sling my way around the planet to explore quickly, and instead blasted my reckless ass into space at Mach Dumbass. This led to me letting the moon out of my sight, and it teleported off into the ether and took my ship with it. I got carjacked by the fucking moon.

Now, earlier in my playthrough, this would've been another stupid way I died- suffocate in space, or splat against the next thing I hit, or meditate serenely while I float slowly towards the sun. I've climbed several rungs up the echeladder since then, though, and I instead managed to get to Giant's Deep and land in the drink. I took the opportunity to sneak into the Statue Lab where I heard about the Ash Twin project and how the statues store memories. I'm not sure how they're getting sent back in time, but I guess when you have a supernova powering your tech, anything is possible. Looks like I'll be visiting Ash Twin in the next loop. Overall, I'm enjoying the hell out of the Outer Wilds. I've struggled to finish similar games, such as Subnautica, in the past, as I eventually found a point where the game slowed down and I stopped feeling like I was discovering new things. The much smaller map, computer system which marks what locations still have more to find and how the information is connected, goes a long way towards preventing the downfall into aimless wandering that results in me dropping the game. I adore the cozy atmosphere of this game- it feels at once cozy and familiar and like a grand cosmic adventure. I'm pretty sure I'm about 60% through the "What's going on?" phase and steadily working towards the "How do I fix it?" phase, with a few more planets to visit to fill out the rest of the picture. To-do list for next time: Check out Dark Bramble / find Feldspar. Return to Ember Twin and Brittle Hollow to figure out the Quantum Puzzles there. Check out Ash Twin. Kidnap Chert and take him to the Statue Workshop so he can start looping with me.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I often wonder what was that one particular thing, ingredient X, if you may, that made Harry succumb to Meghan in June 2016?

I understand that he had psychological trauma from his mums death, from his dad's bourgeois parenting style, from the very fact that he was Windsor male for that matter. I also agree that he is quite simple minded, so now in hind sight we can say he is increasingly motivated by resentment towards his perfect brother, his own greed and need for adulation etc. But back in 2016, he was on a good path. Settling into his job. Enjoying the perks of his popularity. And it's safe to assume that both William and Harry, were used to the fact that women threw themselves at them both. So they also had some sense to know that not everyone had good intentions.

It's also been speculated that Harry did meet Meghan a year before in 2015, at Soho Istanbul (according to many bloggers). And may even have met her in 2014 at Miami (according to Shauna, Vintage Reads). So he had enjoyed her company and still evaded her clothes then.

And not just her, he probably had come into contact with many wannabes who he hooked up with and managed to shake off.

So why 2016? When everything seemed to be going so well for him? His family circle was fairly well grounded. He had an independent profile of his own royal work. He had a good team and loyal, competent staff. He had a great, extensive friend circle. He could have anything and anyone he wanted. He seemed nice, engaged with people, showed empathy and some commonsense when out and about. So I am so perplexed as to how and why, that "blind date" at Soho in May/June/July/whenever led to his spectacular downfall.

I know this isn't really the blog or the platform where we can psychoanalyse Harry correctly and succinctly. But it's just a question that I'm fascinated by. In 3 years, he lost every single thing he had - his family, his relationships, his work, his friends, his honour, his glory, his legacy, his prospects at any royal relevance. How were mental defences so down, so ineffective, how was he so walled-in into his trauma that he had no chance at being saved? It sure couldn't be as simple as greed for more money or a Hollywood lifestyle?

And let's be honest, Meghan isn't that great a catch where someone like him would just lay down everything at her feet and be like "here queen, feed on my guts, eat my flesh raw". Urghhh

I'm so confused and so perplexed.

All of Harry's friends and cousins were getting married and settling down in 2015/2016. That's a lot of peer pressure and expectations on him, even if it wasn't overt and directly applied.

And when everyone around you is coupling up, settling down, getting married, and having babies, that can give you beer goggles because now you're rushing through relationships to catch up with them. We've all seen it happen in our own friend groups, I'm sure. I've got a few friends who were so bothered by being in their 30s without partners and families while the rest of their friends are planning weddings and having babies that they marry the first guy who shows interest. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

That seems to be what happened to Harry. Everyone was settling down. He was feeling left out. So he met someone that suited his needs, said "to hell with the rest" and married her ASAP.

And also this: "He could have anything and anyone he wanted." isn't true. He wasn't getting the girls he wanted. He wanted someone like Kate - pretty, British, media-trained, from a good family, and well-off - and all those girls were staying far, far away from him. They knew what he was really like behind closed doors; needy, paranoid, cheap (he once made Cressida buy her own plane ticket for a trip he had invited her on), and heavily partying. The 'anyone he wanted' that Harry was going after wasn't into that.

Also, anon - if you haven't already, you might want to give Tom Bower's Revenge a read. Specifically Chapter 13, "A Troubled Prince," has a little bit of psychoanlysis of Harry that you might enjoy.

[voidsentprinces]

Shadowbringers took Emet-Selch from ARR Lahabrea levels of mustache twirling, Saturday Morning Cartoon villain. All monologue and evil laughter while his evil boobs malevolently boobed down the Post-Stormblood's darker breast boobily and changed him into an actual character. And the first Ascian who actually spent time with us in a more meaningful way. Flipping them from one note, evil that must be defeated. To one we came to understand and a group that connected to our character's literal past reincarnation that we do not recall.

Additionally, atmospherically, Shadowbringers brought us to Post-Apocalypse that wasn't 28 Days Later, Mad Max or Rapture-esque. While pulling from all those series. Its a world 100 years after the Apocalypse was averted but still causes the world to live in its shadow.

This expansion seems to be the beloved darling of the community. Even topping Heavensward in most regards. But, also, personally, I feel like Shadowbringers is only good Shadowbringers for the last three levels of it. And rest is just so much set dressing and putting together the A-Team. For lack of a better comparison, 70 - 79 is our Avengers Infinity War. We get the band back together, fight off the big bad and actually almost win. But then we lose and we lose HARD and we spend a handful of quests somewhat wandering aimlessly until we resolve to go after the one who took victory away from us. That lead up, to me, is alright but the story didn't really HIT, outside of my long winded story analysis reasons, until we reach Amaurot.

Even its Post-Patches seemed to struggle to figure out what to do. Having Elidibus bounce hither and thither without the Scions really trying to stop him because, "We don't know what he is up to." which was counterproductively frustrating to me. You are literally not stopping and banishing the villain so the plot can happen. Alisaie literally kept tabs on the Warriors of Darkness because we were focusing on dealing with Nidhogg. Why the hell couldn't they have kept tracked and harassed Elidibus at least? But no, the sky starts to shower stars and then it is go time. And while To the Edge and the Seat of Sacrifice are awesome. My suspense of disbelief that our Scions would just shrug and only off screen keep tags on lesser Ascians and then just be like, "I dunno fellas, this here Elidibus is tricky." strikes me as dense. Like, this is denser than a dead star. They let things happen for the sake of it happening.

Bottomline, there is some wiggle room here. Shadowbringers may be the community's darling. But I wonder if, its just because we remember the super highs of Amaurot to Seat of Sacrifice. And kind of brush things like; the Ran'jit fights, the Supernatural problem of Lucifer's Cousin's Roommate being the big bad in Lunar Primals, Thancred's treatment of Ryne and Speedrunning him some redemption in the Amh Araeng second half.

I'm rambling now, as a whole. Did you enjoy Shadowbringers? If not why? Vote your answer and leave your opinion in the tags if you'd like.

Note: I am aware that the Post-Patch production was stunted by the COVID Pandemic. Still, I'd like your opinion about anything you felt lacking. Even with that dead whale hanging over the entire thing.