#I haven't heard anything about it anywhere (I also haven't really actively looked) so!!

[skullzy20]

Hi warframe community does anyone know if the warframes that have gotten prime variants since duviri came out (wisp, grendel, eventually gauss) are gonna be available in the circuit eventually orrr

[thevoidscreams]

Could you write something about Vulkan? Preferably smut. I love this loving and massive super-human :3

Year 2 day 1

warning: smut and Vulkan being the GOAT (I love him so much)

Also the emperor being a good dad. Which is shocking. I know.

Word count:2966

'I heard that she's the wife of a primarch' 'she doesn't look like anything special to me' 'How long have they been married? and not a single child to be seen.. odd wouldn't you say?' 'Really it's an embarrassment that the emperor's own son would marry someone so.. common. There's nothing special about the girl at all.'

Your hand clenched around the stem of your glass as you tried to ignore the whispering around you. High Lords and nobles mingled or fought for the attention of your husband or brother's in law.

Vulkan was engaged in a very lively debate about something or another with his brother Ferrus, who seemed as though he would much rather be having the conversation anywhere but there.

Well that was certainly a mood, everything about this "party" blew, and not in a fun way. Why were they even having this party? Was it a celebration? A birthday maybe? Fuck if you knew, it just seemed like a prerequisite anytime more than two primarchs were back on Terra.

"You do not seem to be having a very good time." The speaker had come up behind you, which shocked you, you hadn't noticed anyone approaching. "Oh yeah, I'm not big on-" your voice faltered as you finished turning and saw the Emperor and two of his custodial retinue behind him. He was the height of an above average man at the moment and he was smiling down at you with a knowing sort of expression. "S-sorry, I um, I didn't mean any offense by that."

"It is alright, you are not required to be overjoyed by every gathering you attend. And I too admit that I would rather be elsewhere. But it is not a good look politically to decline every invitation."

"No, I suppose not." You smiled, and his demeanor shifted to a more fatherly one. It was hard to describe how exactly he did it, but suddenly the air between you both was far more at ease and comfortable.

"How have you been finding your marriage to my son?" You hadn't spoken in a few years, not since the wedding, so the question didn't surprise.

"Well, when he isn't actively campaigning or forging or teaching his sons, I must say I've never been happier. He is a wonderful man and I love him so much." You explained. The Emperor nodded and smiled. "I imagine you must be lonely when he is away." He supposed. "Sometimes, but his sons are good company and I always feel safe when they are around."

"Good, that is good." He seemed thoughtful. "Have you considered sons or daughters of your own?"

Luckily you hadn't had any drink in your mouth or you might have spit all over him as the suddenness of his question struck you.

"We've talked about it. I have no opposition to it, neither does he." You explained. "It's just that he's been rather busy and we haven't had much time recently." Your cheeks felt hot and it wasn't the drink causing it, that was for sure.

"I see. Perhaps he should take some time then, he has been doing well and I do believe he has earned it."

"Goodness, that would be nice, but I fear nothing short of you ordering it of him would take him from his work. He's so dedicated and there is so much expected of him."

Your father in law seemed to digest the words and nodded. "Well then, the hour is getting late and it is about time I start seeing my guests off. Would you like an escort to see you back to your room when you are done with socializing?" He motioned to the Custodes to his left and you fought back a gasp.

"Oh, no, thank you really, but I'm sure they have more important things to do than look after a grown woman."

His smile softened a shade and he placed a hand on your shoulder. "You are married to my son, that makes you my daughter now, that makes you a very important individual. It would not be out of line to assign one to you to see you safely across the palace."

Well, it seemed the decision had been made for you as he made a brief motion to the golden clad warrior and bid you farewell, leaving the custodian to watch over you. Though the armored giant didn't say anything as they took their post beside you.

Vulkan had concluded his conversation with his brother when he felt drawn to the other side of the room. Most of the guests had trickled out by now, very few were left, but he was delighted to see his father had remained. Motioning his son over, the primarch did as his father bid, going to his side. "Father, I am glad to have a moment with you. How have you been."

"Well, but there is a matter of importance that I wish to speak of with you."

~

The looming presence behind you was as intimidating as it was protective. Even if you knew the way back and knew that the palace was likely the safest place in the whole universe, the Emperor had ordained it and thus you had another very large guard keeping you safer than imaginable. They preceded you into the room, checked it and then allowed you in before standing guard outside the door.

'Stay on post with her until Vulkan returns.' Was the silent order they had received and so it would be.

The primarch of the Salamanders did not return for almost two hours. Well into the midnight hour. He greeted the custodian as he entered. Shutting the doors behind him and locking them.

Rousing from your sleep at the sound you were glad to see the man you loved so dearly. "Vulkan, my dragon, I missed you."

He chuckled as he disrobed and joined you in bed, kissing the top of your head. "I was gone but a few hours my flame." His strong arms pulled you atop his body and he peppered your face with kisses. "I know, but it was still too long."

His smile could have melted the ice of a frozen death world. It was so warm.

"My father pulled me aside after the party." He explained, which caught your interest.

"I see, is everything alright?"

"He has taken me from my duties to the crusade. There are other matters he wishes me to attend." His hands slide down over your hips.

"Really? That's so odd, I was just joking earlier that the only way you could be taken away from your duties in the crusade would be if he had ordered it."

Vulkan hummed, his hands gliding up to squeeze your ass. "Yes," he rumbled against your throat, "what do you think he took me off active duty for?"

His words sent a jolt down your spine and a bloom of heat between your thighs.

His lips worked over the tender flesh there, kissing and sucking as he grinds his hips up into you.

"Apparently I am to tend to my needy little flame, and I am not to return to duty until we have a little spark of our own." His voice deepened in the way it only ever did when he was giving an order or intensely aroused.

"And since I have you here and you're awake now," his hardened length pressed to your entrance as he continued to flex his hips. "I figure now is as good a time as any to get started."

"My love~" his fingers quested down to begin preparing your body for him. The warm press of his finger against your already wet hole made you shiver. He rubbed tight circles as he adjusted his cock just so his every movement would grind it against your clit.

"Fuck, Vulkan, I need more."

He smiled and continued his slow torture. "Why rush, we have all night?" He replied, his teeth worried little trails of his love into the flesh of your shoulder. You knew you'd have marks to show for it later.

"Please, Vulkan, please!" You begged as the pad of his finger pressed in slightly but pulled away again.

"Are you sure? After such a long day I figure you'd need some time to unwind before anymore rigorous activities. Why not let me take care?"

You whined in response as his thick drooling cock pressed just right and made your hips reflexively jerk. "Throne damn it Vulkan. Please, I need you. I've needed you all day and especially during that stupid party."

Vulkan shifted, he raised his hand to lift your chin so he could look at your face properly.

"What happened?" His tone was serious, his burning eyes searching your face for any signs of harm, but he only found upset.

"Just nobles being stupid." You sighed but the biting words that tore you down still rung in your mind despite how hard you tried to push them out.

"It's nothing, I just.. I'm being too sensitive about it."

He shook his head. "No, tell me, I will see that this is handled. What did they say to you."

"That's just it, they didn't say it to me. At least not to my face, they didn't all their tearing down behind my back, but I could still hear them."

Vulkan kissed your cheeks. "What did they say?" He asked again, more gently this time.

You knew you had to tell him now, and so you did, all the shallow and awful comments. You felt like a child again, tattling to the teacher when the other kids were bullying you. "Like I said. It's stupid, and I shouldn't have let their words get to me."

"None of their words are true." His hands squeezed your hips gently. "They're jealous, I married the most wonderful woman in the universe and they are unable to handle such a truth." He kissed the side of your face and neck affectionately.

"I wouldn't say the most wonderful, that's a bit much." You replied, holding in a giggle as he attacked a particularly ticklish spot.

"Are you calling me a liar?" He grumbled into your cheek. "No, just an over-exaggerator."

He growled and the sound went straight to your pussy as his hold turned more firm. "Why does my own flame doubt me so terribly?" "I just don't think I'm worth the praise." You breathed as he growled again. "Who do you trust more? Your husband? Or the jealous nobles who live and thrive off gossip and tearing others down to retain their station?"

"You, of course."

"Good, then trust that by morning you won't remember anything they said to you or about you at that unnecessary function." He promised, and his finger took its place from before circling your entrance, except this time he pressed it in.

You moaned softly as he gave you time to adjust. But only just as he began to move his finger, making you squeak and wiggle back into his hand.

It was almost absurd how easy it was for him to drive your mind blank. "Just relax my flame, I will take care of you."

Another finger brushed against your soaking heat and you knew he was going to push it in even before he did it. He needed to ensure you were thoroughly prepared before he could just take you. When he pressed it in there was no sting or burning as there had been when you first were growing accustomed to him, but you did feel full, fuller than any other source, save for his cock, could provide. He pressed his lips to the top of your head, his voice warm and deep as he praised you for taking his fingers so well.

He continued to press kisses to your hair and face as he pulled his fingers free causing you to whine at the loss. "I was so close." You grumbled as he raised his love slicked fingers to his mouth and sucked them clean with a deep groan. "Oh my flame, you grow sweeter each time I taste you." His massive hands hauled you up his body further as he settled you over his face. "I believe I will need another taste." He swallowed and a quick glance over your shoulder revealed his hard throbbing cock. The first lick was so inhumanly hot, but his body was always like that. He moaned as he went back for another swipe of his tongue. His hands slid down to hold your hips, pressing you down on his mouth further and you relaxed your weight onto him the way you knew he liked. He rewarded you with another long lick before he plunged his tongue into you. You had been so close from just his fingers and you found yourself teetering on the edge again as he fucked your pussy with his mouth, groaning in pure ecstasy as he drank down every bit of juice you provided. "Vulkan," you gasped, "I'm gonna cum love. I'm gonna..." Your body shook and your thighs clamped around his head as he growled in satisfaction, his burning eyes blazed up at you as he watched you fall apart. His growl morphed to a groan as you came on his tongue and he lapped up every drop.

Carefully he laid you down next to him, his body shifting over your as his cock strained between his legs. "My flame, I can not wait any longer." You reached for his face cupping his cheeks and pulling him down for a kiss. "Then don't, please my Dragon, I need you as well." He gave you a flash of the ice melting smile and kissed you deeply as he pressed his cock to your entrance. "My love, you are so much more than anyone could ever dream, and I intend to show you just how much you mean to me. Tonight, and tomorrow and the day after and so on until you know just how deeply I love you." His cock sank slowly into you, inch by inch as he professed his love, until your body had stretched to allow him to sink almost impossibly to the base. "You see. Perfect, just as I said." His hand sought yours, holding it gently as he raised your fingers to his mouth and pressed a kiss to each one as he pulled back his hips and thrust back in. He had to show you just how much he loved you even when making love. The bed groaned under you as he thrust again, the feeling of being so full of him was electric, each thrust making little stars dance behind your closed eyelids.

He kissed one of your knuckles, thrusting in hard, but not enough to harm. "Kind." He murmured softly, thrusting in and kissing the next. "Intelligent." He murmured again, moving to the next. "Funny." He repeated the process, for each knuckle he kissed he listed another thing he adored about you. "Loving, beautiful." When he reached the last knuckle he turned your hand over, kissing your palm. "Good with my sons." He gave you a sly smirk at that one, knowing that you always got flustered when they referred to you as 'mother'. Trailing kisses up your arm he continued his compliments until he got to your collarbone, where his lips sealed against your skin and he marked you, leaving a hickey that would be near impossible to miss without a necked shirt or sweater. He looked over the mark and once satisfied he smiled and began his kisses again. The whole while he had been going at an even and maddeningly unhurried pace. "Please, I need you to go faster, I'm getting close but I just need more." You whined, begging him with not only your words but your eyes. "Eager." He said as he left another kiss, this just next to your lips. Teasing you. "Please Vulkan, Please." He wouldn't admit it allowed in the moment, but hearing the way you cried his name as he was thrust into you as deep as he was drove him mad with lust. It had been a battle to keep his wits about him as he heard each little whine or moan. His lips finally brushed over yours, "Most of all," he groaned as his arms scooped under your body to hug you closer to him. "I adore you for being yourself, I could not have married a better woman." His lips pressed to yours and you met the gesture with equal enthusiasm. It was then the damn broke and he was barely able to keep from slamming into you and potentially hurting you, but his thrust picked up, his need to fuck you properly over coming him as he let his need take over in setting the pace. His mouth moved with yours now swallowing your moans and cries as he fucked you into the bed, his arms still holding you close as the bed creaked louder in protest. He felt himself get closer and you were there with him, pussy clenching as you fell apart, your arms tightening around his shoulders as well, as you used his body to keep yourself grounded. You both came, your body milking his cock as he did and his thrusts continuing to ensure you properly came undone beneath him.The primarch spent the next several minutes kissing you, his small wife, as you basked in the afterglow. He hadn't pulled out and he didn't intend to. After all, his father had told him that he was to stay off active duty until such time as you had conceived and given birth and he intended to use that time to the fullest.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Drabble idea for the ask thing: Steve works at a tattoo shop and Eddie works at a flower shop, they both get odd looks when they tell people about their job. Bonus: Eddie gets a tattoo of a flower from Steve and that's how they meet.

This is like if you took call me sunshine, send me to space and made it cuter with a flower shop and made Steve the tattoo artist instead. I'm just gonna write the bonus scene because that's a lot to keep 500 words or less and we all know how I go on 😂 Don't @ me over the super sappy ending, someone with spoons please write another 50k of this.

🌷🌼🌻🌷🌼🌻🌷🌼🌻

"You want a wildflower bouquet in the space of your full sleeve?" Steve stared at the fully tattooed man over his glasses, brows raised in disbelief. "I'm not one to judge tattoo choices but you seem to know what you're doing and I'm a bit confused as to how that fits with...anything else on your arm."

Steve had definitely done some wild tattoos. He was actively part of so many bad decisions made by people who would live to regret getting their girlfriend's name on their neck or the face of their best friend on their thigh.

But this one was different in that this guy had clearly meticulously planned out every tattoo on his body, and that was a lot of tattoos, and now he wanted to add...wildflowers. In between skulls and guitars and some metal band logo. Right.

"Yeah and if it's a problem, I can go somewhere else, man. I just heard a lot of good things about you and my flower shop is two doors down, so-"

"Wait. You're Eddie? You're the guy who owns the flower shop." Steve perked up, face relaxing more into a smile.

"The one and only. You been by?" Eddie didn't remember actually seeing Steve before.

He'd been shocked to walk in and see a barely tattooed Steve sitting behind the counter. Assuming he was the secretary, he'd said he was here for an appointment with the guy in charge, and Steve smiled and explained who he was.

"I haven't. But someone brought me a bouquet you made when I first opened and it was beautiful. Managed to keep it alive and thriving for almost two weeks, which is a record for me, and then someone said it was because of the way you take care of them before they're sold and the minerals you use in the water and I'm turning into Robin. Jesus."

Eddie was endeared.

Steve was looking down at his tablet in front of him, a barely visible sketch on it.

"Is that what you've come up with?" Eddie asked as he leaned over the counter to get a closer look.

They could talk about his love of the bouquet Eddie made later.

"Yeah, but. Now that I'm looking at you...I'm not sure it's right," Steve sighed, closing the app and looking back up at Eddie. "I can redesign at no charge and set up another consultation."

"Can I see?"

"Sure."

Steve pulled his tablet out and opened the picture back up.

It was beautiful, actually resembled a bouquet Eddie had done not long ago for his friend Jonathan.

"It's perfect. Can it be done in one long sitting or do we need to break it up?" Eddie smiled at Steve, pulling up the calendar on his phone to make an appointment.

"Uh. Well." Steve cleared his throat. "I guess you could probably handle the pain so all in one is fine with me? It's probably gonna be six hours with breaks every hour. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Eddie looked at the tablet again, tilting his head as he thought back to when he'd made this bouquet.

"Do you know Jonathan Byers?" Eddie asked, not looking away from the picture.

His eyes focused on the coneflower that he'd only been able to use in one bouquet before his part time employee found out they were allergic.

"Yeah...why?"

"He got you that bouquet, right?"

Steve nodded.

Eddie didn't really believe in fate or destiny or whatever type of miracle people tended to wish for. He also didn't believe in soulmates or the perfect partner.

But wildflowers grow anywhere, and sometimes love can too.

[irkimatsu]

I was calmly looking at the whole Hellaverse again and I wondered...

What if the person Husk is in love with is Hellish royalty? Is she/he a descendant of one of the Deadly Sins or someone from the Goetia family?

How would Husk take it? Him, a loser, a miserable sinner, with someone like Reader...

This makes me wonder - how do royalty like the Sins and Goetia view human souls? I've always figured they don't pay them much mind at all; humanity is Lucifer's mistake, they aren't any of their business. The closest they ever get to humanity are the Goetia that need to go to the surface to fulfill their duties, but they're more likely to sacrifice humans than get to know them on a personal level. Whether a human is alive, or dead and in Hell, Hell Royalty outside the Morningstar family do not give a fuck.

So when a Goetia starts making advances toward Husk, of course he's going to have his guard up. He doesn't have any notable experience with the Goetia, but he's heard all he needs to know; they don't really care about anything outside their circle. They work in the background to keep Hell stable using their magic, but for the most part it's just a whole lot of royal parties and inbreeding. He's not interested. His ideal fancy lifestyle includes way more risk than a bunch of sheltered princes and princesses and whatever the fuck else.

I wonder if all the Goetia are as... awkward around commoners as Stolas? (I say this with affection, it's an intentional flaw.) Lord knows Paimon doesn't give a fuck about anyone outside the circle... so I think any Goetia who fell for a Sinner would fall into the same traps, even without meaning to.

A Goetia is disgraced somehow. They weren't nearly as high ranking as Stolas, so there isn't as big of a fuss made about it - they're simply stripped of their duties and possessions while Paimon goes off to make a new replacement kid. Only people with an active interest in the royal family even know exactly what happened. They don't have anywhere to go after their banishment - royalty look down on them for their mistake (Bee and Ozzie are probably more forgiving but have other things to worry about), and commoners like imps and hellhounds generally resent the Goetia as a concept.

But there's one class they haven't tried to mingle with yet - human Sinners. They know that the Princess of the Pride Ring started a hotel for Sinners, so they decide to pop in and see what it's like. It's surprisingly easy for them to integrate, since half the Hotel's residents don't even know what a Goetia is or why they should care, so they treat them like any other new resident. They especially like that bartender, so charming in the way he speaks his mind and doesn't care what others think of his sloppy mannerisms. They'll go try to make friends with him!

It's a rocky start. If there's a slur in Hell for human souls, it gets casually used at least once, and it's fifty-fifty odds whether Husk even realizes what he was just called. (Charlie's horrified if she overhears such language, though.) The Goetia would have the same problem I imagine most of them would, viewing the "lower class" as a fun little novelty and not quite as living beings with rights. And we all know how much Husk loves being condescended to, I said sarcastically.

Husk is so used to being an Overlord, having the power over his partners - and now here he is with the attention of someone who could probably crush Alastor if they gave enough of a fuck to try? What is he supposed to do with this? What's the catch? How horribly is this going to break him in the end? He can't trust this fancy-ass noble who just wandered into the Hotel and started acting like they own the place, only showing the barest respect to Lucifer and Charlie and zero consideration for anyone else.

But if they can meet on middle ground... the Goetia becoming more humble, and Husk becoming more trusting... it could be a lovely slow burn.

Also, if Husk's new Goetia lover goes full demon mode to protect him? Transformed Sinners have nothing on transformed Goetia. Husk is both terrified and horny.

[brighteststar707]

Yeah, it's been a long time! I've been doing alright, though! I'm kinda mostly waiting for my last school year to be over and find a job so I can earn money and slowly fix my life the way I want.^^"

The fandom is Blue Period! It's actually my next big focus after Mystic Messenger actually, I even found a character I consider my f/o from there! I got a special box with a sketchbook that is full of drawings and illustrations with really good quality! Since the fandom is not even active, there is stuff in this book that you won't find anywhere else, makes me feel good SMSMSM and one of the best parts is that it's in Japanese! So whenever I have progressed way more, I'll come back and read all the new juicy info and new scenarios I've never seen before, exciting!!!!

I also got some bookmarks and two keychains from there! Although I wasn't kinda happy with the shipping process, I'm still very happy I got them!!

Blue Period has also helped me a lot with my path with art, it has given me plenty of motivation and the main character has opened my eyes to so much about art, too! I felt so seen when he had the same thoughts and experiences as me, even if he does oil painting^^"

You can watch the anime or read the manga if it interests you! If you start with the anime, please check the manga out since there is so much more! If you do anything with art, it might give you motivation just like it did to me.

Learning the language can be fun but it is challenging, haha. They are many words that have different pronunciations and stuff I haven't seen in a language before. I found that listening to people speak makes me remember the words easier haha

I hope you are able to rest well, you're doing great, I reassure you! I'm also so happy I got to speak with you again, it really has been a lot of time, holyyyy!

I'm thinking of starting to use Tumblr when I get more Into art again but I'm still here, I still check some stuff every day when I can! <333

I understand that sentiment. So much changes once you're done with school. I'm rooting for this year to be an easy one for you!

Ooh, I've never heard of Blue Period before, but I looked up the premise and it sounds interesting! I will keep it in mind when I'm in the market for a new anime/manga!

It's so wonderful to be able to pull motivation from the media you enjoy, especially when it's a hobby like art or writing where it sometimes feels like you can hit a wall. Funnily enough, even though it has nothing to do with writing, Mysme is what pushed me to write more often and put more effort into it. It's thanks to these guys that I've been able to develop my skills as far as I have.

That merch sounds so nice! That sketchbook especially sounds really detailed and extra bonus that it's something you won't find elsewhere. It'll be fun to see what else it holds once you progress further in Japanese! Shame about the shipping issues with other merch pieces, but at least they made it to you!

I've had similar experiences learning languages. What I love is that each language says so much about the country's culture. I'm currently attempting to learn Italian, and while it has its difficult and awkward moments (I've messed up in front of locals more times than I can count), I love learning about the expressions and their meanings.

Thank you for your support, it means a lot! I'm taking time to catch my breath and to do the things I enjoy before life gets busy again.

[dumbestthingiveeverheard]

Dumbest Thing I've Ever Heard: 8/14/2023

Fifth Place: Dean Phillips

Another day, another Democrat trying to push for somebody--anybody--to come out and primary President Biden for reasons that never make any fucking sense. Of course, Phillips is a "moderate Democrat" (read: Republican) who clearly wants Biden out of the way because of how progressive the President is--and honestly, I think Biden should welcome the hatred of people like this. I also cannot believe we live in a world where Joe Biden of all people is too progressive for some Democrats, but here we are.

Mind you, Biden is much more well liked not just among the insiders of the Democratic Party but also among the rank and file members who actually would vote in a primary. Meaning any chance of a primary against him is unlikely to be successful, but the fact that these idiots keep trying to run to Biden's right while assuming that's what the Democratic voter base wants (a large chunk of Democrats are too the left of Biden) is just sad. And that's not even getting into how Biden is seen as some sign of the status quo by these people--while they constantly want alternatives who are too his right and would more than likely continue the status quo, albeit with a younger face.

Of course, this fear about Biden being old is a totally manufactured concern by the political class. The average voter doesn't care how old a politician is--in fact, back in 2016 and 2020 the youngest voters went for Bernie Sanders, who is even older than Biden. This is all just bullshit designed to scare Biden into not running for re-election, and I am very happy he has not fallen for it.

Fourth Place: Kurt Schlichter

Speaking of primary challengers that have no chance of going anywhere, Ron DeSantis is still running for President--and Kurt over at Townhall firmly believes he'll be the nomination. You see, according to Kurt, the real reason why DeSantis isn't leading in the polls is because nobody has heard of him yet:

Remember, this is a primary race, not a Twitter popularity race. The simple fact is that the polls in July 2023 do not reflect the real situation on the ground in 2023, much less 2024 when the actual voting happens. You know who are active right now? The activists. And those aren’t polls of activists. Those are polls of regular people living regular lives who think “Yeah, I like Trump and Trump’s getting a raw deal from the scumbag prosecutors, and he’s the only guy I really know about, so I’m going to put his name down.” They haven’t had to think hard about it yet. They haven’t had to weigh the facts. They haven’t really looked at Ron DeSantis’s record – if they’re looking at Twitter, they’re going to think that he parties with Paul Ryan over at George Soros’s crash pad. That kind of dumb lie is easy to dispel, and when people see that they’ve been lied to, they’re going to look deeper to find the truth. 

You mean four years of the media shoving him down our throats hasn't been enough time for the average person to know his record? And none of this is even getting into the stupidity of assuming that people who are political enough to vote in the Republican primary also haven't taken the time to know who DeSantis is.

Mind you, more exposure to DeSantis does not seem to be helping him--if anything, the opposite seems to be the case. Remember two years ago when DeSantis was seen as the 2024 frontrunner? Some were even predicting that he'd replace Donald Trump as head of the Republican Party by the midterm elections--and that never happened. That is because people saw exactly who Ron DeSantis was, and they didn't like it.

Third Place: Ron DeSantis

A short follow up on my last entry, it seems like Ron has trouble keeping the attention of the people who already know of him. Here's some reporting from Mediaite:

Donald Trump literally overshadowed Ron DeSantis — with planes – at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, flying over the event and prompting the throngs of GOP voters to chant “we want Trump!” while the Florida governor was flipping burgers and trying to woo support.

This man seriously thinks people want him to be President.

Second Place: Karl Lake

The former Arizona candidate for Governor challenged somebody to "milk a bull" in order to prove that there are only two genders. Of course, given people aren't steer--and people assigned male at birth can produce milk if they have enough estrogen in their system, by the way--this comparison was seen as really dumb, because it is.

Winner: Merrick Garland

I talked Friday about Merrick's choice to create a special council to investigate Hunter Biden, which was little more than an attempt to appease Republicans--and said attempt has failed as many Republicans, including ones who asked for the exact special prosecutor Garland picked, are still upset with him.

So Garland has lost all Biden supporters and Biden critics--this is the most Merrick Garland move of all time.

Merrick Garland, you've done the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[cellard0ors]

The next few weeks are a whirlwind of activity.

Mainly of the sexual variety.

Laura will turn to Travis at the oddest of times for satisfaction - random 4am wake ups, after breakfast, during a walk - one time she called him at the office and begged him to come home early.

Honestly, it didn't take much begging.

(cut for length)

Not to mention it's been nice...being so wanted.

Travis has had her over almost every surface of their shared home. The dining room table, over the back of the couch, in the front doorway, against the wall in the living room, the backseat AND front seats of his car AND her car...

Anywhere and everywhere Laura's asked, he's answered. They've had to get creative with positions as she's started to fill out and Travis doesn't know what it says about him that her growing belly just turns him on more.

There's just something about the idea that she's with his child that drives him insane. She's glowing and beautiful and she's already pregnant, but sometimes when he's with her, he whispers in her ear in the lowest and darkest of tones how he wishes he could get her pregnant again or more or some nonsensical thing that's arousing as fuck when they're screwing, but outside of the bedroom seems weird.

Apparently she's not the only one with weird hormonal ticks.

He also tries to do what she asked of him. To speak to her. Travis feels rusty as hell at it, but he starts small - asking how her day went, telling her about some of the cases he's worked on, asking her about animals that have come through the vet - things of that nature.

Travis is talking to Laura, trying to create a connection, lay down some real groundwork for some type of relationship - friendship at the very least.

And while his plans haven't changed, he's started to think about how, maybe - just maybe - he can be a part of his kid's life.

He'll never be as close as a real father should be - that's too dangerous. Even an uncle is too much to hope for - look what happened there!

But, if he can at least offer support of some kind, he'll give it. Like a godfather or a close family friend or something.

And while it IS galling to think of some man stepping into Laura's life to fill the role of husband, to be the man in his child's life - Travis knows it's the right thing to do

He's too old, too set in his ways, too...poisonous. He'd bring nothing but pain to the both of them. He's a bad omen, a lodestone that weighs heavy around the necks of those he loves.

So, this is for the best.

But then it happens.

Laura's wild libido is finally starting to trickle down as she gets closer to her third trimester. She's round enough now that tying her shoes is a struggle and Travis hates to admit, but: it's cute.

Very cute.

She waddles around and glares at him, but mainly because he can't seem to stop smiling at things that bug her. Like when she drops a dishtowel and struggles to pick it up or when she asks for wacky food combinations.

They've been dutifully going to doctor's appointments and doing what needs to be done to check on the health of the growing fetus. To Travis it's all been very clinical.

He's seen ultrasounds (they look like weird playdough blobs) and heard the heartbeat (all echoed out and wonky) and nothing has really effected him.

Until the day the baby moves.

Laura is just a little past her twentieth week. She's on the sofa lying down, watching television, when she lets out a little gasp and sits up. Travis, who was sitting nearby looking over some files at the coffee table, frowns, "You okay?"

Laura shakes her head and runs her hands all over her belly then gasps again. She looks up at Travis with wide eyes, "I think I felt them kick."

Travis remembers Laura asking the doctor why she hadn't felt anything in particular so far and she'd been reassured that some first time pregnancies are like this - that not feeling movement until week twenty is natural.

He'd seen her chew over this with worry and done his best to comfort her - something he felt wildly unqualified to do. Travis Hackett wasn't known for his bedside manner.

But he did his best and now here she is, looking both alarmed and happy. Whatever she felt must happen again, because she lets out a surprised yelp and then turns to him with the most dazzling smile, "They're moving!"

"Okay." Travis goes for casual, because he's not sure how else to react. Laura just continues shaking her head and rubbing her belly like it's the most marvelous thing that's ever happened to her.

"I'll be honest - I thought I'd feel like it was gross or something - this living being moving around, but it's actually-?!" Laura just laughs, "It's unbelievable."

She waves to him, "C'mon! Come over! You have to feel this!"

"Laura, I don't-?" And Travis feels immensely uncomfortable. He remembers when Amelia was pregnant and how Chris talked about how cool it was. Travis had never gotten the appeal.

He also had never been happy when Caleb or Kaylee had been shuffled his way when they were infants, but he'd done his best.

Once older, his niece and nephew grew to mean a lot to him - but as babies he'd just been awkward around them. He can't imagine it'll be any different here

But Laura's gesturing him over like mad and he feels an obligation to comply, so he does. He puts his hand on her belly and feels nothing.

At first.

Then there's the slightest movement under his fingertips. It doesn't feel like a kick. But there's...motion - a gentle press and pull and press again and the sensation of it makes his breath catch.

His baby...his child... they're reaching out to him...

Laura lets out a watery laugh and runs a careful hand over one of his shoulders, "You okay there, Sheriff? This too much for you?"

"It's not-? I'm not-?" Comes out shaky and broken and then he feels a thumb along his cheek, "Your crying."

"I'm what?" He asks and he can see her thumb is wet and he realizes some tears must have come from him somehow and he clears his throat, draws back from it all and rubs at his face, doing his best to return to some form of stoicism, "Oh. Yeah. Guess so."

"I get it." Laura knuckles at her own tears, "Though, to be fair, my emotions are all over the place. Yesterday I cried because I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the purple looked so bright against the bread. It was weird "

"Yeah...weird." it comes out slow, halting, and Laura's too distracted at the idea of feeling the baby move again to recognize Travis's internal meltdown.

This has gone on too long. It's gone too far.

He has to start pulling up his stakes - now. Before it's too late. This in mind he gets up and takes his work with him to another room. He puts away his files and finds the local paper and starts frantically flipping through it, looking for apartments, for rooms to rent - anything.

He has to get out of here.

Travis has to get out. To protect Laura, to protect the baby. Travis has to be gone. It's the only way they'll be safe. He tears through the paper, circling promising ads and then he turns to the internet.

Travis starts planning and he starts planning fast.

Because he doesn't have a lot of time left and honestly, horrifyingly, he's legitimately worried that it's already too late.

[moontrinemars]

Hi 👋🏻

How are you ? Hope you're doing fine :)

I just saw you answering a question about synastry and it got me thinking. What would you think about 6th house moon synastry for both (so my moon in their 6H and their moon in my 6H) and even in the composite chart ( 6th house libra moon ) ? I haven't read or heard anywhere about the moon being in the same house in synastry AND composite so i thought it would be interesting to ask about it 😅

Hi ♡ Aw, thanks

Here's the thing about composite charts - their value is sort of up in the air. They're not technically “real” - as in, they’re entirely theoretical, calculated by combining two charts rather than derived from an actual date and place. So if you're looking for me to tell you that this is a sign of being soulmates, I'm sorry to say it doesn't say anything in particular about the intensity of your compatibility, and there's nothing particularly karmic about it. Sorry.

This isn't to say it isn't really cool, though. As I've said before, I adore mutual house overlays, and this one actually really warms my heart. As a Virgo IC and Pluto in the 6th, it sounds pretty dreamy. I only tell you that it’s not a sign of destiny because I don’t want to give you the wrong idea once I launch into why I think this placement is so cute lmao.

The 6th house is the house of wellness, routine, skill - ‘practice makes perfect’ is the 6th house’s way. It deals in physical and mental health, and our daily activities and responsibilities. It’s also the house of acting in service to something other than themself, whether that’s a person or a higher cause. People tend to forget the 6th house, probably more than any other if I’m honest, maybe tied with the 2nd. Many consider it boring.

I consider the 2nd round of Bhavas (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th houses) to be defined not just by how we relate to others, but also the choices we make. The 1st round is driven by impulse and feeling, and the 5th house is where we start to reign those instincts in, and hone them for a purpose. The 6th house is the first foray into that purpose, and into the more difficult, duty-driven choices we make because we know how important it is. Yes, the 6th house is tedious, but we push through it and work anyways, because the results are worth it.

With the moon as the internal world, this mutual overlay speaks to two people who trust each other to put forth the effort not just to support one another, but to understand one another, to people who are willing to make their daily lives into homes for the other person. That is, of course, if all goes well.

If it turns sour, the effort and work required by the sixth house will become a chore, and you both may feel as though the other is a sort of nagging mother in your ear, or as though the other is a whining child you can’t seem to convince to just wash their face and do their homework already.

The key here is to recognize the effort you both put forth, without treating it like a sacrifice. Ideally, we’re supposed to mostly like our daily routines, or at least find them comforting. Try to do the same with emotional care for each other.

You may also be drastically emotionally affected by each other’s health. This is the type of couple where Partner A gets sick and convinces Partner B to go out and have fun anyways, but B just spends the whole time wishing they could be at home with A to take care of them and make sure they get better.

You also may have met each other at work, and if you didn’t you may connect in part through the support you feel you get from each other over your work.

While I do find them to be consistently reliable for their purpose, composite charts are still ‘imaginary’, so you can’t really take it as seriously as a synastry chart. That said, composites show how a pair acts as one entity, so to sum up, when faced with chores, tasks, and health problems, you both come together to act with care and nurturing, although you may be a two-headed mother hen of sorts. Libra will soften the expression of it, but the need to ‘fix’ through ‘nurturing’ is a mutual concern.

Oh, and once again, for the sake of clarity, overlays don’t substitute aspects - they only effect how placements manifest, they don’t instill significance on their own. Rather, they are important to a relationship, but they don’t make a relationship important. However, for this overlay, Mercury-dominant or Moon-dominant people will likely feel it more intensely, and the effects may be temporarily intensified if Mercury or the Moon rules your Solar Return, or if transit Mercury or Moon is interacting with your chart.

That’s about all I can come up with at the moment, hope that helps. Let me know if you have anything else you’re wondering ♡

[repo-net]

I recognize you from reddit. Why have you stopped posting there? Or like, interacting at all.

Reddit, huh. That's a name I haven't heard in a while.

Truth be told? I have definitely thought about posting on the danganronpa subreddit again. Those urges still come around every now and then, like something in me just wants to put out content again. Specifically, Nagisa content. Because that stuff damn near ceased to exist as soon as I stopped posting. Even got a reputation there for being the Nagisa guy, y'know? Made me feel good.

A lot of the comments I got were really nice, and well, I even met an incredibly dear friend to me via the reddit. So I definitely don't regret spending my time there.

But really, the main reason I stopped posting on reddit was merely out of convenience that tumblr can provide that reddit couldn't. Tumblr is a relatively harmless site these days, definitely far from the hole that it was back then, and it's generally still active enough in terms of userbase that I have zero regrets moving here.

People who specifically want to see the content that I post are completely able to do so just by searching through the tags that I frequently post on.

Honestly, I know that sometimes it happens here too on tumblr, but one of the main things that turned me off of reddit is how lower effort posts can just so easily thrive and make it to the front page with thousands of upvotes and praise by just sharing some random pretty art they found on Pinterest and not even bothering to post a link. Or if they do, they did it with the link that isn't even directly back to the artist.

Meanwhile, a lot of higher effort posts, especially the one in my creative specialty ot writing (believe me, even if I wrote something much more popular than Nagisa like actual maingame characters and stuff, there'd hardly be any difference it'd get.) just... don't go anywhere. They'll be drowned out in the sea of shitposts, reposted memes and art that I've seen thirty times by bow, or by polls of people asking who the worst character is with the same predictable options and outcomes. It's just not worth the trouble.

This isn't jealousy talking, trust me. If I was worried about post revenue like it was some sort of competition, I would've compared myself to other, more talented people than me and quit by now. I've stayed because I know I provide content to a niche group of people in this small corner of the internet, and I want to keep doing so. This much I'm comfortable with.

But again, it's just really discouraging to be in a community for an entire series to post your work on but have people not even look at it because they just don't even get the chance to because the waves of posts on the community are too damn fast for you to catch up on. And it gets especially hard for someone like me, who has to rely on his writing to get any sort of creative work out, from a sidegame character in a game a good amount of people haven't even seen, and on a subreddit that's only gotten bigger and even more shitposty as time's gone on? Yeah, there's just no way I'd even be able to get anything done.

Basically, the main point is, why post to a community that hardly cares about what you do when you can show your work off to the small group of people who are interested in your specific kind of content? The people who actually pay attention to my stuff is who I want to provide for, y'know? I'm sure there are some people out there on the subreddit that'd like to see it, but... I really just don't have it in me to post there right now.

Also, this is kinda unrelated and there's some recency bias speaking, but a month ago there was a guy who commented on a bunch of my old posts just having this massive hate boner for Nagisa. I get not liking a character, that's completely fine, and I'm not even going to be mad at people making posts about why they hate a character. I totally get why someone would dislike Nagisa.

But going onto a person's posts who clearly loves and appreciates the character, actively going there to hate on the character and tell them how much you want them to suffer, going to their DMs and verbally harassing them by telling them to delete their account because of the shit that I post, and even fucking tagging me on NSFW subs claiming that I post NSFW content on my account is a real fucking douchebag move.

I'm really not bullshitting lmao, I have the screenshots to prove it. I've hidden their name and pfp out of any resemblance of respect I have for this person so they don't get targeted especially after I've already told a mod about them a month ago about this and they finally left me alone.

You'd be able to find the commenting on old posts just to say how much they hate Nagisa just by looking through my post history and eventually finding one of them, but these are the ones that aren't so public that I may as well provide proof of them.

And no, whoever the hell u/Molly_Maybe is isn't the person who did all this, and I didn't censor their name precisely because, well, they're completely innocent.

Now look, I'm a 20 year old grown man who has better things to do than argue with petty redditors that can't fathom the idea of someone having a different opinion than them, but this shit is not okay at all. Even if you're supposedly "joking" or "trolling".

If this sort of toxic behavior were directed at someone who wasn't mature enough to handle the situation and genuinely took it personally, deleted their account and might've even done worse things in real life, things would've taken a trip for the worse.

it's also ironic that this is the same person who commented on a kotoko cosplay saying how they wanted her to do bad things to them, but i'll hold back on the screenshot i have for that one. i've said enough.

I'm going to put another tip for everyone here just so you should know; people don't like it when you comment on you disliking a character on a post that's clearly meant to appreciate said character. Stop with the "but why? this character sucks." comments. That stuff is just rude, don't tell people they aren't allowed to enjoy fictional characters.

Rant over. That's the gist on why I haven't returned to posting on reddit, and also about an annoying experience from a month back that I felt people need to learn on what exactly not to do as a human being. Sorry if that got negative, anon. I do appreciate that you recognize me though. It at least reminds me that my time spent there isn't all bad, y'know? Thanks again.

[charmspoint]

Dr Stone review

Finally done catching up with dr stone! I don't feel like I have much to say that I haven't said when I watched the anime or during the manga reading but I really enjoyed it! I don't have much of a science brain so most things just flew straight over my head but I can only imagine now fun this manga is for people who are interested in this stuff.

I heard before i started reading that the characters don't get much development and that we don't know most of their backstories and I thought that would grate on me eventually because i'm a very character oriented person. And that is true, there aren't really characters arcs I can point to and very few characters receive any tangible development that isnt enemy turned friends (Chrome and Suika are exceptions that first come to mind). But that didn't make the story dull at all! Dr Stone is very plot and progress focused and it's more of a story about the humanity than Senku's story. And i ended up really liking that! I really liked the growth of the community from one dude in the jungle to multiple cities working together, I really liked how much the power of humanity as a whole was emphasized. In dr stone its clear everyone has something to offer. Senku is the mover and shaker because he possesses the most how-to knowledge but without different people who have different talents he wouldn't be able to get anywhere no matter how smart he was. Idk it's just rare to find a manga so community focused instead of putting everything on a handful of protags so it's just !!! it's good I like it. It kinda lets you immerse yourself more like, I'm not as smart as Senku nor am I strong as Tsukasa but the more i read the more i've found myself in other characters and i could think of ways i too would be useful in a stone world. It's a lot different that the usual 'well im not a fighter so id be totally useless in this shonen setting'. It's fresh! I like it! And even tho the characters don't grow much they are all fun and memorable people so you'll hardly get bored of them in the first place and there is so many of them and they all work so hard it's doubtful you'll ever get stuck for long with one you don't like.

Boichi's art has been a topic for me and my brother for quite a bit now, since it's...like that when it comes to girls, but also i weirdly?? Didn't mind it?? Like yeah if you look at some shots for too long your eyes hurt but somehow despite the art being horny the writing is so unhorny it kind of balances out? Like i told this to my brother before but there's no 'seeing a girl naked when she doesn't want you to' scene or anything similar to that despite the art looking Like That. Like Kohaku is obviously the worst offender with her weird battle poses but they are just??? in midst battle??? in midst running or looking for something or otherwise being active and affecting the plot. Like the art is horny but it never feels like the purpose of the scene is to be horny, the purpose is never 'lets all ogle Kohaku now'. I said it to my brother and I'll stand by it: I think this is just how Boichi thinks girls are drawn.

But other than that I do enjoy the way Dr Stone handles romance when it does emerge it has such a good take on it. Like Senku isn't interested in romance At All and it's such a nice character trait to see for a protagonist, it's showing kids you can be a full and interesting person even when you don't want to get involved with anyone. And the romantic pairings we do have (Yuzuriha and Taiju, Chrome and Ruri) are so goddamn good and sweet and supportive and silly, i feel like the story is really telling the boys that usually read shonen manga 'girls like it when you're nice to them' which considering some of them might be attracted to dr stone cuz kohakus butt on cover is a very good thing.

Also Senku is just such a good protagonist I honestly love him. Usually in Shonen the protagonist is the character i care about the least but Senku is just!! so good!! Like at first glance he comes off as asshole but I honestly don't think he ever really brags and is always so open to learning and teaching others and despite being verbally unkind he shows so much with his actions. He is a perfect example of someone who shows his love and appreciation for others by making their lives nicer and easier. He is confident in himself and he never gives up and keeps trucking along but is also ready to be humble and admit when he can't do something or when someone can do it better than him. And he does it all while keeping the cool cocky persona so I think he's also a good remodel for young boys to emulate.

Anyway loved it 8/10, my favorite arcs are Senku's dads and Suikas i cried

[bi-snape]

Chapter 4

Chapter Characters: Severus Snape, Female OC, Evan Rosier, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Lily Evans

Severus's mind filled with voices, so many that it was hard to tell what they were saying. He's dealt with these voices before, they normally speak to him one by one but sometimes they all start speaking at once and it causes him such great stress. These voices always tell him the same thing to give in to the darkness, to end it all but he never listens to them cause Lily is always there for him, she makes the voices go away simply by being near.

Tho she isn't the only person who could keep the voices away by being in his presence, no there was another person who could rid the voices from within his head. "Severus" well speak of the devil and he shall appear. Severus looked up tears streaming down his face, the voices that had filled his mind completely vanished at the sound of his savior's voice. "Evan" Sev said softly and quickly stood up "You came" he added as he practically threw himself into Evan's arms. Evan wrapped his arms around Severus and smiled "Of course I did, you said you needed help" he spoke softly. Severus's mind was at a complete blank, he had forgotten everything that had happened minutes before Evan had arrived. Sev always seemed to forget about his panic attacks when either Evan or Lily showed up, for some reason they both made him forget about everything that happened before their arrival.

"Oh yeah" He said quietly and removed himself from Evan. "So is everything alright?" Evan asked as he was still concerned about his friend, Severus smiled "Yup, I had what Lily calls a panic attack but it's fine now. Oh I got a surprise! Come Come!" He said excitedly and practically ran inside the house. Evan followed him inside all his worries having faded away the minute Severus smiled. The pair headed to Severus's room where a certain little girl was sleeping in. Once they reached their destination Severus slowly opened his bedroom door and quietly stepped inside, Evan followed suit and slowly entered the room "So what exactly is the surprise?" He asked in a whisper sensing that it be wise to not make a sound. Severus walked towards his bed and smiled "I have a little girl!" He shouted out in a whisper excitedly as he pointed at the little girl who was fast asleep.

Evan stared at the girl in complete shock "How the hell did you get a kid?" He questioned. "One night stand" Severus said quickly, Evan knew for a fact that that was a lie. The girl looked nothing like Severus and as far as he was concerned Sev never had any interest in any sexual activities. Sev always told him that sex was a waste of time and that he never saw the appeal in it anyways, later in their friendship Severus had declared he was asexual something that Regulus had brought up during conversation. Severus had also declared he was aromantic the very next day after he had spoken to Lily, now he was trying to figure out why his friend would lie about having sexual relations with a random woman. If Severus ever had to sleep with a girl Evan was certain Sev would sleep with Lily or her Sister, tho Severus and Petunia aren't exactly friends but they're civil to one another. Evan can tell that the little girl looked nothing like the Evans sisters, and the idea of Severus getting drunk and having a fling was out of the question. Severus never felt comfortable with drinking anywhere except within his own home and only drank when he was alone, on some occasions he'll drink with friends but he'll never drink any hard liquor.

"So did this chick just leave her in front of your house?" Evan asked, he wanted to know how Severus really obtained the girl but he knew Severus would never tell him. "Her mom died, she wrote in her will that I would gain custody so the cops brought her here" Severus said, he knew Evan wasn't believing a single word he was saying and to be fair he didn't care. The only reason he was saying such obvious lies is because Evan has no clue that he's Nevermore and he wasn't going to tell him anytime soon. "What's her name?" Evan asked, his mind still trying to figure out why Severus had this girl in the first place "Her name is Clair, tho I might get it changed I haven't decided yet" Severus said happily "I know you don't believe me but that's the story you're gonna tell people when they ask why I have a kid, okay" He added as he turned to look at Evan. "Okay" was all Evan said, he had a hard time saying no to Severus when staring into his eyes.

"So what is it that you need?" Evan asked "Everything that declares her as mine" Severus said in a serious tone. Evan nodded and the minute he did so there was banging on the front door that caused Severus to flinch violently "Oh god I'm gonna die" Sev said quickly and carefully picked up Clair and ran into the bathroom "Make them go away" He said as he locked the bathroom door. Evan shook his head and exited out of the room making his way towards the front door. The banging on the door continued which seemed to make Evan angry, he grabbed the door handle and forcefully opened the door "What!!" He shouted out angrily. "Where is he?" James said with just as much anger "I'm not telling you a damn thing until you calm down" Evan said as he crossed his arms. James sighed heavily and forced himself to relax "Where's Severus?" He asked as calmly as possible "Upstairs in his room in the bathroom, you got ten minutes to talk before I kick you out" Evan said as he stepped aside to let James in.

"Alright" James said as he stepped inside and made his way to Severus's room. Once there He stepped inside and looked around "Severus we need to talk" He said loud enough for him to hear but not enough to startle him. James heard movement and the bathroom door swung open "Hi Jamie" Severus said cheerfully as ever "What brings you here?" He asked jokingly. "Where's the kid Severus?" James said in a tired voice "What kid?" Severus questioned which caused James to groan. "The little girl Severus, you took her after you killed her parents and then you sent me a picture with the caption Fuck the Police" James said quickly "Hehe that was funny, she's in the bathroom I was giving her a bath because I forgot why I ran in there. Imma keep her and name her Yulia" Severus said excitedly while giggling softly.

"You can't keep her!" James shouted out "But I wanna have a kid!! I want her to be my kid!!" Severus shouted out with tears forming in his eyes "She needs to go to an orphanage Sev, you can adopt her later" James said hoping to keep Severus from crying, last time he made Sev cry Lily was practically poisoning him when he was in the hospital after being shot by a thief. Luckily Severus forgot about the incident and was confused as to why Lily was killing him so she stopped. "But I already have her!!" James watched as tears fell from Severus's eyes and before he could say anything to calm him down he felt a dark presence behind him. James slowly turned and came face to face with a very angry Lily "Hey Lily" he said slowly as his body filled with fear "L-Lily" Severus said sadly as he cried softly.

Lily glared at James and rushed over to her best friend "Hush now Sev" She said softly as she hugged Severus. Her attention soon returned to James "I think it's time for you to go" She said and snapped her fingers. James gulped unsure of what was gonna happen next but that was soon answered when he felt someone grab hold of him and drag him out of the house harshly. He felt himself get thrown out the front door and land on the cold hard pavement "So this is you handling the situation" James looked up to see Sirius smirking. "Shut up" James said as he stood up and dusted himself off "Dude you are terrible at talking to Severus, seriously you'd think you learn how to keep him from crying after last time" Sirius said while laughing.

"He won't give up the girl, says he wants to keep her but when I told him that he could adopt her he said no cause he already had her" James said softly "He really wants a kid huh, sucks that it won't be her" Sirius stated

"What do you mean it won't be her?"

"James we found out the girl's has a Aunt who lives in America, once we get her back that's where she's going. Severus won't see her again" Sirius said softly which caused James to sigh deeply "There's no way that Severus will give her up. What do we do now?" James spoke as he turned to look at Severus's home. "We let him keep her and fake the girl's death, I know someone who can help" Sirius said excitedly "So help me god if you call your brother for help I will-" James started but was interrupted "End me uh huh sure, don't get pissy cause my brother dumped you for someone better now come on let's go home and figure out how to keep Lily from poisoning you again" Sirius stated and grabbed hold of James before making his way back to their home. James sighed and allowed his best friend to drag him back home hoping for the day to end.

[pink-peony-princess]

My Heroes

-Ester-

“Are you sure you want to do this?" Shawn asked, looking down the snow covered mountain and back at me. He looked petrified. Something which I found hilarious considering he regularly went into dangerous situations, putting his own life at risk to help others. He was an Emergency Response Doctor and worked both in the hospital and out in the field, quite often in highly dangerous and ‘touch and go’ situations.

The other guys laughed at his uncertainty. “We'll be fine Shawn,” Connor, one of my brother’s friends, and a fellow doctor spoke.  They had all taken me for a ski getaway for an early birthday present.They all work as doctors, Connor in PEDs, Dave in Orthopedics and Brian as a heart surgeon.

“We’ve done this route about ten times already,” Brian added.

"Yeah, you have,” My brother spoke, emphasising the fact that he had not be present on previous occasions.

"Just shut up!" I commanded, sighing. "I'm going. Who's with me?" I asked, a smile starting at the thought of the thrill we were all about to get.

A chorus "yeahs" and "hell yeahs" returned, and then we were off. All racing one another down the mountain. I couldn't see the others, who must have been a few metres behind me, but I knew they were there, and desperately wanted to turn to try and catch a glimpse of Shawn making his way down the mountain.

The wind was exhilarating! So fresh, and clean compared to life back in the city. I found my mind wondering slightly as I made my way further down the track, having already down it several times, I didn't feel like I needed to be as cautious. Boy was I wrong!

I was making my way around what I thought to be the final bend in the course, when I was faced with a massive pile of freshly placed snow. They had changed the course trajectory, and there was nothing I could do about it now. Rocketing as I was towards the freezing wall.

My body hit it with such force that the air was literally knocked out of me for a few seconds, but worse than that was the fact that my left leg went one way, and the rest of my body, the other, I heard the snap, before the pain consumed me. The next few minutes were a blur of fear and agony. I was too cold, and in too much shock and pain to even cry out for help, so when Connor finally came to a skidding holt beside me I was a blubbering mess.

"Ester, can you hear me honey?" he asked, taking my hand and pinching my thumb to try and elicit some sort of response. He let go when I groaned,just wanting him to make the pain go away. Not to cause more. And where was my brother? I was a barely twenty year old, stuck on a snow covered mountain, on my birthday severely injured. I needed Shawn.

Within a matter of minutes there were more hands on me, a flurry of activity and noise that I could hardly decipher. "What the hell happend?" Someone asked, Dave I think.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I came round the corner, and she was here, I haven't started vitals yet, but she did respond to pain stimuli which is a start." I could feel myself teetering on the edge as the two doctors spoke, but I wasn't going to give in. I didn't want to be unconscious in the middle of nowhere as my brother and his friends worked on me. Reaching my hand up I tried to feel for one of their hands, but when I felt nothing I began to get frustrated.

"Ester, can you hear me honey?" The same voice from before spoke. Definitely Dave. This was confirmed when I managed to open my eyes and found him smiling grimly back at me.

In that moment my head wasn't straight and before I'd even processed what my body was doing, I was moving. As I tried and failed to sit up, ignoring the intense pain that was coming from my shoulder and pelvic area, I managed to catch a glimpse of the ground surrounding the lower part of my body. It was red, red as if someone had obtained a can of red paint and discarded it carelessly into the snow. Shock took over as I realised the source of the vibrant liquid. Me. I suddenly felt very faint, and could feel my chest tightening.

"Ester, honey, you have to stay still. I'm pretty sure judging by the angle of your arm that your shoulder is dislocated. You'll only hurt yourself more. Let us look after you okay. Let us do our jobs." Connor half chastised, half begged me as he helped me to situate myself again.

"My leg, there so much blood!" I gasped feeling quezy at the sight of my mangelled limb.

"Sweets, don't watch okay, it'll just make it worse, you have to try and stay still okay? We don't know how much damage you've done until we can get you to the hospital." Connor explained grabbing my hand again in comfort.

I lay there not really aware of what was going on around me just wishing I could be anywhere but here. "Ester, baby?" Finally I broke out of my state and came to reality.

"Shawn?" I whispered, making eye contact with him as he lent over me.

"I'm right here, bug, I've got you. I'm going to unzip this jacket for a minute okay sweets, we need to see what other injuries you have." he explained, before carefully but quickly removing my only source of warmth, immediately earning a moan of protest.

"Shhhh, Just a minute okay, then we'll get you extra rugged up okay?" Brian spoke for the first time, removing the bag he had been carrying from his back and starting to remove blankets.

I had laughed at him earlier in the morning, remarking that it was as if he was going for a camp out in the snow, not for a mere ride on the trails, but now I couldn't help but feel extremely greatful.

"Right, Princess, you're  breathing way too fast at the moment. I know you're in pain, and you're probably scared. But I need you to try and slow it down." Brian spoke as he moved the last layer of clothing covering my stomach. There was no disguising the sharp intake of breath as he surveyed my mid-section. Everyone was silent for a minute as Brian examined me ever so gently. The others watching his every move. I couldn't help but feel slightly like a bug under a microscope, especially given the crowd that had started to form. It felt like every two minutes someone new was asking the guys if they had called for an ambulance. The answer to which each of them took in turns to patiently answer with a "yes", reassuring the by-standers that they were doctors, and knew what they were dealing with.

"Connor, I can't be sure, but I think she's got some broken ribs, her breathing is inhibited, and she's got some serious bruising forming, her left shoulder is well and truly dislocated too." Dave finally spoke, agreeing with Connor's theory, before starting to readjust my clothing, protecting me from the bitter cold.

" It's possible that it's internal bleeding or a bruised spleen." Brian put in as they all shared a little glance above my head.

I couldn't help the groan that left my mouth as this new information sunk in. They thought I was bleeding from the inside out?

"Ester, I need you to tell me where it hurts honey," Shawn spoke, holding my hand in silent comfort. When I didn't respond Connor took my hand and pinched my finger once again.

"Ow!" I glared up at him, earning a smile.

"Good to see the princess is still as feisty as ever!" This caused everyone to laugh. Even me, but the fun was short-lived, as my body was once again bathed in pain.

"Make it stop!" I begged, squirming around uncomfortably.

"Just stay still baby." Shawn tried to sooth me while also trying to help Dave.

"But it hurts and I'm cold." my teeth chartered as if agreeing with what I just said.

"I know you are princess," Brian spoke softly.  I sighed before starting to close my eyes.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  "Hey, follow my finger okay," he called, trying to get my attention. Begrudgingly I opened my eyes again, and was met by glare that immediately made me squint. I did as asked though, before I heard him answer a question I hadn't heard be asked.

"Definate concussion, pupils unequal and slow to respond, though it's hard to tell the full extent here without the proper equipment. Keep her talking Shawn."  Brian muttered, moving around my body to help Dave with whatever he was doing.

"Wow," I heard him let out a low whistle, my heart rate spiking in response.

"Brian!" Dave groaned,  seeing the panic that had begun to set in.  "Would you keep it down.  The poor kid's heart is already racing,  and you're not making it any better.  You're terrifying her," he spoke.  Stopping whatever he was doing to look up.  "Ester, can you feel this honey?" he asked, before I felt an odd sensation on my foot. Nonetheless I could feel it,  so I nodded causing all four of the doctors to such in relief.

"That's good news Princess.  It means your leg isn't as bad as we first thought! " Connor looked much more excited than I felt, but I smiled back as convincingly as I could in my haze. I tuned out for a few minutes, but soon what they were saying caught my attention. Well some of it. Something about having to "apply pressure to my leg" to stop the bleeding, and sedation. That was all it took before I started to panic again.

"Just take nice deep, slow breathes Princess, you can do it, here give me your hand, " Shawn spoke, noticing my obvious terror and changed breathing. I couldn't believe how calm he was as he took my hand gently in his own again , and laid it against his chest. "Copy me. In, out, in out, that's it," he praised as I finally managed to follow his lead. "They won't hurt you bug." I wasn't sure I trusted him,  but the sincerity and intensity with which he met my gaze won me over.

"Oh-okay," I spoke in barely a whisper. My head was starting to hurt from the noise.  The crowd, the guys conversing with one another.  "But my leg," I whimpered as another round of panic hit me.

"Look at me bug," Shawn commanded,leaning over me, blocking out the surrounding crowd that had previously filled my peripheral vision.  "I won't let them hurt you. Hell, they'd rather die than hurt you.  We're not going to do anything until help gets here okay? We can't, it wouldn't be safe." he added as if to try and make his point even clearer.

-Shawn-

10 minutes later

As I stood waiting for the stupid satellite phone we had been given by the service people at the bottom of the run, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. There was my baby sister, who was meant to be celebrating her 20th birthday, laying in the snow, half- conscious with a flood of blood coming from a gash on  her left leg along with what looked like a probable fibia fracture, another open wound on her head,  and bruises so bad after only a few minutes that she looked more like a blueberry and less like a person.

Finally the phone connected and I was put through to the Emergency Department. This is doctor Shawn Mendes  head of Emergency Response. We have an incoming pediatric trauma with an eta of 45 minutes possibly an hour."

After going though the motions all the while being consumed with worry and guilt,  I made my way back over to Ester. Connor who had taken over comforting her for me, looked up, his expression bleak, and somewhat pained.

"It's not great mate, Brian's pretty sure she's got air in her lungs, and she's about to pass out."

I felt my own heart rate rise as I took in my sister's form. Shaking my head slightly to try and clear my mind I nodded "Helicopter is about 2 minutes out. The hospital just got a GPS location on it."

"Ester look at me," I called moving to lean over her again so she could see me without moving. "I need you to stay awake okay? Can you do that honey?"

She made the smallest noise to indicate "yes", before going quiet again.  Whether it was the shock or she was simply in so much pain she didn't know how to process it, the silence was concerning, and as a doctor, my biggest concern was to keep her talking.

"Tell me what else hurts okay," Connor chimed in, seeing what I was trying to do, and that I may need some help.

"My other knee, and like it's kinda going down into my private area." She blushed at having to tell four males, and basically a crowd of strangers this piece of information.

"Just there? Or the whole area?" Dave called from down by her leg.

"Whole area," she whispered clearly terrified.

"Okay,I can't really see a whole lot with all these layers in the way, but when the help arrives we'll take a look," he explained moving up towards her head slightly so he could talk to her more easily.

"No don't touch it! Dave! Please!" she begged hysterically, tears once again running down her face. He was quick to notice the change in her demenor, and acted quickly to try and calm the situation again.

"I'm not going to hurt you honey, but I need to have a look so we can assess how bad your injuries are." The look of pity and sympathy on his face was one I saw was shared with the two other guys as I looked to each of them.

The pain she was describing was consistent with sciatic pain.  If what we were all thinking was correct,  then she was doing a great job at hiding her discomfort.

We all shared a knowing look. On the one hand it was good that she could feel her legs and pelvic area.  But sciatic pain was excruciating at the best of times, and now was not that.

We spent the remaining time trying to keep her calm, and alert.  Both of which were proving difficult, especially as the initial shock wore off and the gravity of the situation she was set in. This was compounded when she somehow overheard Brian and Dave discussing the fact that they would need to remove the clothing on the bottom half of her body to stem the bleeding and stabilise her legs.

"No please!" She begged again, it was clear from the way her voice shook as she spoke that not only was she done,  but she was terrified. But she couldn't give up yet, she needed to fight. We needed her to fight, it was proven that patients who believed in their recovery were much more likely to live a full life after experiencing trauma. I sat next to her for a minute trying not to cry myself, as I watched Connor try to calm her. Then it came to me.

"Sweetheart listen to me," I spoke looking her right in the eye. "Right now the most important thing is that we get you to the hospital  in the most stable condition possible.  We think you've got a fractured fibia,  and you definitely have a dislocated knee and potential ciatic damage. Trust me when I say the least of your problems is being slightly exposed in front of your brother and his friends. We're all doctors. We've seen it all before princess. Nothing's going to happen,”I promised.

"But what if they can't fix me?" she whispered so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. I was slightly taken aback by the question. Luckily Brian had stood moments before reaching for the pocket knife that he always kept in his backpack when she voiced the fear, and so he was the one to answer.

"You listen to me Poppet," he started in a gentle yet commanding voice.  "You're going to be just fine. You've got four of the best doctors in the area working on you right now."

"Im just scared," she responded, small tears rolling down her face and mixing with the blood that had started to dry from the laceration on her head.

"Ester your brother here is the head of the Emergency Response team, Connor's the head of PEDs, Dave's the head of Ortho and I'm of the Cardiovascular Department.  You are completely safe okay. I know it may not seen like it right now, but you will be okay." His tone softened slighty when he saw that she seemed to be taking on board what he was saying. "You're doing great Poppet," he added, gently stroking the side of her face, as she looked up at him.

"Tell me everything?" she asked some uncertainty still evident from the way she was gripping my hand like a vice.

" Of course, Princess you're in charge!" he agreed before saluting her jokingly. This seemed to lift her spirits a bit, as a small smile graced her face. " I'll even make you a deal. You let us do what we need to do and I'll make sure you have all the chocolate you can eat when you're discharged."

"Thanks Bri," I whispered when she wasn't paying attention. 

" Don't sweat it! Just doing my bit.”

Third person

5 minutes later

None of the four young doctors could admit it, but they were all beyond relieved when the helicopter landed, and two paramedics stepped out, bringing with them all the gear they might need. “Who do we have here?” One of them asked as he knelt next to Ester.

“This is Ester, she’s my little sister. Twenty. We're not exactly sure what happened, but basically blunt trauma.” Shawn filled the new medics in as the three other doctors went about unpacking the several bags of medical supplies, getting ready to begin more in-depth observations and stabilisation before transfer to the hospital. “We've started some basic observations, but we were limited till you got here.Possible bruised spleen, broken ribs and collapsed lung with bruising, severe concussion, dislocated left shoulder, air in chest cavity. Possible spinal, elevated hr 135, increased breath sounds, unequal, left side diminished somewhat, deep laceration to the left leg, and severe fracture to the fibia, lacerations on the face, abdominal/thoracic, dislocated right knee and suspected sciatic nerve damage.”

As Shawn rattled off the long list of injuries that they had found just from the initial observations the gravity of the situation started to hit him and he found himself having to actively calm himself so that he was able to concentrate on helping his sister. He felt like a duck, sailing smoothly on top of the pond, and paddling furiously underneath. Luckily for him his friends were better at keeping their emotions in check than he was… at least in this situation.

Brian wasted no time,taking a stethoscope that one of the paramedics handed him and listening to Ester’s chest. “Yep, there’s definitely a collapsed lung. I can hear the air. I’m going to need to put a tube in.” he grimaced as he stepped back, allowing Shawn, who had come to a little more when the other medic had handed him the penlight he had been using and asked him to check that he was correct.

"Pupils are fixed and dialated, we need to get her off this mountain now. Someone hand me a knife and Connor, can you get a line in mate? Standard of saline and pain meds please."

"Princess can I have you're hand. I'm going to give you some stuff to make you a bit more comfortable," Connor explained as he went about gathering the necessary equipment, before locating a vein and cleaning the area. " Sharp scratch bubs," he warned before the metal broke the skin, causing her eyes to water slightly. "All done, you should start to feel a little more comfy in a minute," he smiled encouragingly as Ester lifted her hand and gave a thumbs up before taking his hand in hers.

"Ester we need to remove these pants so we can stop the bleeding and splint your knee and leg," Shawn spoke earning a groan.   "I know lovely," he agreed, feeling sorry for his sister.  It had to be humiliating to be exposed like this. "You're okay sweets," he added as she cried out when the doctors moved her limbs into place to gain better access to the effected areas.

" Here, can you suck on this for me?" he asked as he handed her the green whistle, a device that held pain medication, and often sent patients a little loopy. "It only works if you keep using it honey. Focus on breathing it in okay," Shawn spoke trying to keep his sister's attention anywhere but Dave and her legs.

"This is going to hurt like hell,"  Dave whispered. As he moved around to help Shawn start to maneuver her right leg. "Look at the knee cap. She's really done a number on herself."

"I know feel horrible. I'm her brother. I don't want to see her like this," Shawn knew he wasn't technically meant to be treating her, but right now it was exactly that,a technicality. He would be damned if he would let his sister suffer. 

It was only a matter of seconds before she was begging them to stop, but they all knew that it would be more painful to stop the process half way through so continued despite the increasingly desperate sobs of their patient."Ester listen to the sound of my voice Princess," Brian spoke when they had finished, both legs satisfactorily taken care of for the time being.

Once he had gotten her a little more calm he broke the next lot of bad news.

"I need to put a chest tube in, and I need you to be brave okay."

"No," she answered immediately trying to shake her head that was now restricted by a spinal collar.

" Listen to me," he continued, " Right now your lung has a hole in it, and air is building up in the wrong spot and stopping it from inflating properly."

No more was said as they all went about numbing her up,  but once the first incision was made they felt terrible.  None of them could understand how someone that was in so much pain hadn't passed out. Ordinarily they would have put her under, but with unknown injuries it was far from safe.

" And we've got it, " Connor spoke as he checked for breath sounds.

From there everything was much more smooth sailing. They finished hooking her up to the necessary equipment- blood pressure (low at 90/50),  heart rate 160 beats per minute, oximeter and oxygen. 

When they were finally ready to leave the surrounding crowd clapped for them, and yelled out well wishes for Ester,  though she didn't hear many as she was now so loopy from the green whistle that she was trying to tell Connor that she loved the way the sunlight lit his hair, and that he should think about going into modelling. When they all started laughing she looked around very indignantly (well as best as she could)  and told them to ' not even talk' which only caused them to laugh harder.

- 35 minutes later-

They arrived at the hospital and the whole process was started again.  CT scans, x-rays, ultrasounds and surgery the list went on.

"I honestly don't know how she didn't pass out." Brian sighed as he and Connor stood just outside the door to the room in the intensive care unit she had been assigned.

" Shock," Connor answered.

The conversation was cut short however when they heard her voice " No, just leave me alone!"

"But Ester, I need to check your obs. I need to make sure your temp has come up," Dave tried to reason as he and Shawn stood beside the bed looking dismayed. "You've done so well so far!"

-Ester-

There was so much going on, that even now in my own room, nurses were in and out of my room, doctors trying to ask questions, I couldn't catch a break, I hadn't even been able to pass out. What a way to spend your birthday.  As if on cue, Dave walked in, my chart in hand.

"No," I cried, "just let me sleep!"

"What's going on?" I heard Connor ask as he came to stand by my bed with Shawn (who hadn't left my side) and Dave.

" She won't let me do her obs,"  Dave sighed causing me to glare.

" I just want to sleep!"

"Come here bug, Shawn spoke opening his arms wide, knowing that above anything else I needed love.

"Can Dave finish checking your vitals now?"

"Fine." I conceded snuggling in to Shawn's side. Feeling the most comfortable I had all day. Little did I know, but that was the start of a very long recovery  One that had ups and downs. No matter how down hearted I got though the guys never gave up. They were my heroes, and I made sure to tell them  After Brian had gotten me my chocolate as he promised of course.

[razielim]

2023 Edit: A lot of this info was close but the Celeste stuff is incorrect. Her appearance has NOTHING to do with the moon phases. I already forget whether she shows up every week or every two weeks because I haven't farmed her in forever, but essentially, she shows up on the day that you're going to get the most shooting stars that week - your best bet for knowing that is therefore the MeteoNook website, which will give you exact times and dates for all shooting stars. And the best way to get your weather seed from MeteoNook is to accurately record the time stamp for each shooting star you see for a while. Just play at night a lot for a while and you'll eventually accumulate enough data to get your weather seed.

Everything else on the original post looks to me to be correct. I've done... so much ACNH grinding.

Original Post:

I don't know if this is getting to be known but literally no one ever mentions these things in guides and forums that I've seen while trying figure out how to get at least ONE fucking zodiac fragment. There's a whole fucking tool for predicting stars using weather patterns to get these fragments and jfc, it's all so much simpler than that. Istfg it's like people don't want to share their shooting star know-how so they can keep the craft items more exclusive.

Setting aside the phenomenon of "meteor showers" bc I've never had one announced and don't know anything about them, when you're playing ACNH and hear a shooting star, there are exactly FIVE shooting stars per minute. FIVE.

If you miss the first, there will be four more, always, no matter how many seconds elapse, so don't go running off if you've only seen one or two and then there's a long pause. But once that minute is over, the shooting stars are as well and you are free to keep running around, pull out your tools, etc. If you see 9:17 on the clock while they're falling, the moment the clock switches to 9:18, they are donezo until the next burst.

Bursts can be hours apart or can be 9:01, 9:10, 9:16, etc. They can happen during lightly cloudy weather - it's not like the sky has to be perfectly clear, despite what everyone says. You can even get them frequently when there's clouds floating by - the above example is from one such evening. The good news is that pressing A works even if the star is hidden behind clouds or trees or buildings or even a cliff, so if you were a little late to look up and don't see the star you heard, press A just in case, it might still register the wish at the last moment if you're lucky. You'll hear whether or not it worked, but it's worth a shot.

Unless you're making wishes with guests, which I've never tried, the max number of stars you can have wash up is 20, so the max number of wishes you need to make is 20. So that's four bursts you need to max out wishes, or five if you always miss the first star. Of these, an average of 2 will be zodiac fragments. Maybe more, maybe zero.

Your best bet for both Celeste and frequent shooting stars is the days around both the new moon and the full moon, so about every two weeks. So the day before, day of, and day after, try playing at night. Go about your outdoor activities and just keep your ears peeled for tinkling noises. Each tropical zodiac season has at least one new moon and one full moon, and with all this info in hand, you should be able to get enough zodiac fragments to craft any of their DIYs. You don't need "meteor showers" to get your hands on those items.

On the subject of time travel, and this really fucking irritated me that no one mentioned this anywhere, shooting stars always fall not only on the exact same day but also on the exact same MINUTE of that day. So if you really want to fucking go to sleep instead of waiting an indefinite amount of time for the next stars, if you save, close the game, and reset the clock to a minute before your last known shooting stars, you'll have just about enough time to find a clear space and look up before the stars fall again. Save, close, and repeat until you have 20 wishes.

Hope this info helps you guys get more beauty sleep and cute furniture. 🖤

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

My Heroes

-Ester-

“Are you sure you want to do this?" Shawn asked, looking down the snow covered mountain and back at me. He looked petrified. Something which I found hilarious considering he regularly went into dangerous situations, putting his own life at risk to help others. He was an Emergency Response Doctor and worked both in the hospital and out in the field, quite often in highly dangerous and ‘touch and go’ situations.

The other guys laughed at his uncertainty. “We'll be fine Shawn,” Connor, one of my brother’s friends, and a fellow doctor spoke.  They had all taken me for a ski getaway for an early birthday present.They all work as doctors, Connor in PEDs, Dave in Orthopedics and Brian as a heart surgeon.

“We’ve done this route about ten times already,” Brian added.

"Yeah, you have,” My brother spoke, emphasising the fact that he had not be present on previous occasions.

"Just shut up!" I commanded, sighing. "I'm going. Who's with me?" I asked, a smile starting at the thought of the thrill we were all about to get.

A chorus "yeahs" and "hell yeahs" returned, and then we were off. All racing one another down the mountain. I couldn't see the others, who must have been a few metres behind me, but I knew they were there, and desperately wanted to turn to try and catch a glimpse of Shawn making his way down the mountain.

The wind was exhilarating! So fresh, and clean compared to life back in the city. I found my mind wondering slightly as I made my way further down the track, having already down it several times, I didn't feel like I needed to be as cautious. Boy was I wrong!

I was making my way around what I thought to be the final bend in the course, when I was faced with a massive pile of freshly placed snow. They had changed the course trajectory, and there was nothing I could do about it now. Rocketing as I was towards the freezing wall.

My body hit it with such force that the air was literally knocked out of me for a few seconds, but worse than that was the fact that my left leg went one way, and the rest of my body, the other, I heard the snap, before the pain consumed me. The next few minutes were a blur of fear and agony. I was too cold, and in too much shock and pain to even cry out for help, so when Connor finally came to a skidding holt beside me I was a blubbering mess.

"Ester, can you hear me honey?" he asked, taking my hand and pinching my thumb to try and elicit some sort of response. He let go when I groaned,just wanting him to make the pain go away. Not to cause more. And where was my brother? I was a barely twenty year old, stuck on a snow covered mountain, on my birthday severely injured. I needed Shawn.

Within a matter of minutes there were more hands on me, a flurry of activity and noise that I could hardly decipher. "What the hell happend?" Someone asked, Dave I think.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I came round the corner, and she was here, I haven't started vitals yet, but she did respond to pain stimuli which is a start." I could feel myself teetering on the edge as the two doctors spoke, but I wasn't going to give in. I didn't want to be unconscious in the middle of nowhere as my brother and his friends worked on me. Reaching my hand up I tried to feel for one of their hands, but when I felt nothing I began to get frustrated.

"Ester, can you hear me honey?" The same voice from before spoke. Definitely Dave. This was confirmed when I managed to open my eyes and found him smiling grimly back at me.

In that moment my head wasn't straight and before I'd even processed what my body was doing, I was moving. As I tried and failed to sit up, ignoring the intense pain that was coming from my shoulder and pelvic area, I managed to catch a glimpse of the ground surrounding the lower part of my body. It was red, red as if someone had obtained a can of red paint and discarded it carelessly into the snow. Shock took over as I realised the source of the vibrant liquid. Me. I suddenly felt very faint, and could feel my chest tightening.

"Ester, honey, you have to stay still. I'm pretty sure judging by the angle of your arm that your shoulder is dislocated. You'll only hurt yourself more. Let us look after you okay. Let us do our jobs." Connor half chastised, half begged me as he helped me to situate myself again.

"My leg, there so much blood!" I gasped feeling quezy at the sight of my mangelled limb.

"Sweets, don't watch okay, it'll just make it worse, you have to try and stay still okay? We don't know how much damage you've done until we can get you to the hospital." Connor explained grabbing my hand again in comfort.

I lay there not really aware of what was going on around me just wishing I could be anywhere but here. "Ester, baby?" Finally I broke out of my state and came to reality.

"Shawn?" I whispered, making eye contact with him as he lent over me.

"I'm right here, bug, I've got you. I'm going to unzip this jacket for a minute okay sweets, we need to see what other injuries you have." he explained, before carefully but quickly removing my only source of warmth, immediately earning a moan of protest.

"Shhhh, Just a minute okay, then we'll get you extra rugged up okay?" Brian spoke for the first time, removing the bag he had been carrying from his back and starting to remove blankets.

I had laughed at him earlier in the morning, remarking that it was as if he was going for a camp out in the snow, not for a mere ride on the trails, but now I couldn't help but feel extremely greatful.

"Right, Princess, you're  breathing way too fast at the moment. I know you're in pain, and you're probably scared. But I need you to try and slow it down." Brian spoke as he moved the last layer of clothing covering my stomach. There was no disguising the sharp intake of breath as he surveyed my mid-section. Everyone was silent for a minute as Brian examined me ever so gently. The others watching his every move. I couldn't help but feel slightly like a bug under a microscope, especially given the crowd that had started to form. It felt like every two minutes someone new was asking the guys if they had called for an ambulance. The answer to which each of them took in turns to patiently answer with a "yes", reassuring the by-standers that they were doctors, and knew what they were dealing with.

"Connor, I can't be sure, but I think she's got some broken ribs, her breathing is inhibited, and she's got some serious bruising forming, her left shoulder is well and truly dislocated too." Dave finally spoke, agreeing with Connor's theory, before starting to readjust my clothing, protecting me from the bitter cold.

" It's possible that it's internal bleeding or a bruised spleen." Brian put in as they all shared a little glance above my head.

I couldn't help the groan that left my mouth as this new information sunk in. They thought I was bleeding from the inside out?

"Ester, I need you to tell me where it hurts honey," Shawn spoke, holding my hand in silent comfort. When I didn't respond Connor took my hand and pinched my finger once again.

"Ow!" I glared up at him, earning a smile.

"Good to see the princess is still as feisty as ever!" This caused everyone to laugh. Even me, but the fun was short-lived, as my body was once again bathed in pain.

"Make it stop!" I begged, squirming around uncomfortably.

"Just stay still baby." Shawn tried to sooth me while also trying to help Dave.

"But it hurts and I'm cold." my teeth chartered as if agreeing with what I just said.

"I know you are princess," Brian spoke softly.  I sighed before starting to close my eyes.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  "Hey, follow my finger okay," he called, trying to get my attention. Begrudgingly I opened my eyes again, and was met by glare that immediately made me squint. I did as asked though, before I heard him answer a question I hadn't heard be asked.

"Definate concussion, pupils unequal and slow to respond, though it's hard to tell the full extent here without the proper equipment. Keep her talking Shawn."  Brian muttered, moving around my body to help Dave with whatever he was doing.

"Wow," I heard him let out a low whistle, my heart rate spiking in response.

"Brian!" Dave groaned,  seeing the panic that had begun to set in.  "Would you keep it down.  The poor kid's heart is already racing,  and you're not making it any better.  You're terrifying her," he spoke.  Stopping whatever he was doing to look up.  "Ester, can you feel this honey?" he asked, before I felt an odd sensation on my foot. Nonetheless I could feel it,  so I nodded causing all four of the doctors to such in relief.

"That's good news Princess.  It means your leg isn't as bad as we first thought! " Connor looked much more excited than I felt, but I smiled back as convincingly as I could in my haze. I tuned out for a few minutes, but soon what they were saying caught my attention. Well some of it. Something about having to "apply pressure to my leg" to stop the bleeding, and sedation. That was all it took before I started to panic again.

"Just take nice deep, slow breathes Princess, you can do it, here give me your hand, " Shawn spoke, noticing my obvious terror and changed breathing. I couldn't believe how calm he was as he took my hand gently in his own again , and laid it against his chest. "Copy me. In, out, in out, that's it," he praised as I finally managed to follow his lead. "They won't hurt you bug." I wasn't sure I trusted him,  but the sincerity and intensity with which he met my gaze won me over.

"Oh-okay," I spoke in barely a whisper. My head was starting to hurt from the noise.  The crowd, the guys conversing with one another.  "But my leg," I whimpered as another round of panic hit me.

"Look at me bug," Shawn commanded,leaning over me, blocking out the surrounding crowd that had previously filled my peripheral vision.  "I won't let them hurt you. Hell, they'd rather die than hurt you.  We're not going to do anything until help gets here okay? We can't, it wouldn't be safe." he added as if to try and make his point even clearer.

-Shawn-

10 minutes later

As I stood waiting for the stupid satellite phone we had been given by the service people at the bottom of the run, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. There was my baby sister, who was meant to be celebrating her 20th birthday, laying in the snow, half- conscious with a flood of blood coming from a gash on  her left leg along with what looked like a probable fibia fracture, another open wound on her head,  and bruises so bad after only a few minutes that she looked more like a blueberry and less like a person.

Finally the phone connected and I was put through to the Emergency Department. This is doctor Shawn Mendes  head of Emergency Response. We have an incoming pediatric trauma with an eta of 45 minutes possibly an hour."

After going though the motions all the while being consumed with worry and guilt,  I made my way back over to Ester. Connor who had taken over comforting her for me, looked up, his expression bleak, and somewhat pained.

"It's not great mate, Brian's pretty sure she's got air in her lungs, and she's about to pass out."

I felt my own heart rate rise as I took in my sister's form. Shaking my head slightly to try and clear my mind I nodded "Helicopter is about 2 minutes out. The hospital just got a GPS location on it."

"Ester look at me," I called moving to lean over her again so she could see me without moving. "I need you to stay awake okay? Can you do that honey?"

She made the smallest noise to indicate "yes", before going quiet again.  Whether it was the shock or she was simply in so much pain she didn't know how to process it, the silence was concerning, and as a doctor, my biggest concern was to keep her talking.

"Tell me what else hurts okay," Connor chimed in, seeing what I was trying to do, and that I may need some help.

"My other knee, and like it's kinda going down into my private area." She blushed at having to tell four males, and basically a crowd of strangers this piece of information.

"Just there? Or the whole area?" Dave called from down by her leg.

"Whole area," she whispered clearly terrified.

"Okay,I can't really see a whole lot with all these layers in the way, but when the help arrives we'll take a look," he explained moving up towards her head slightly so he could talk to her more easily.

"No don't touch it! Dave! Please!" she begged hysterically, tears once again running down her face. He was quick to notice the change in her demenor, and acted quickly to try and calm the situation again.

"I'm not going to hurt you honey, but I need to have a look so we can assess how bad your injuries are." The look of pity and sympathy on his face was one I saw was shared with the two other guys as I looked to each of them.

The pain she was describing was consistent with sciatic pain.  If what we were all thinking was correct,  then she was doing a great job at hiding her discomfort.

We all shared a knowing look. On the one hand it was good that she could feel her legs and pelvic area.  But sciatic pain was excruciating at the best of times, and now was not that.

We spent the remaining time trying to keep her calm, and alert.  Both of which were proving difficult, especially as the initial shock wore off and the gravity of the situation she was set in. This was compounded when she somehow overheard Brian and Dave discussing the fact that they would need to remove the clothing on the bottom half of her body to stem the bleeding and stabilise her legs.

"No please!" She begged again, it was clear from the way her voice shook as she spoke that not only was she done,  but she was terrified. But she couldn't give up yet, she needed to fight. We needed her to fight, it was proven that patients who believed in their recovery were much more likely to live a full life after experiencing trauma. I sat next to her for a minute trying not to cry myself, as I watched Connor try to calm her. Then it came to me.

"Sweetheart listen to me," I spoke looking her right in the eye. "Right now the most important thing is that we get you to the hospital  in the most stable condition possible.  We think you've got a fractured fibia,  and you definitely have a dislocated knee and potential ciatic damage. Trust me when I say the least of your problems is being slightly exposed in front of your brother and his friends. We're all doctors. We've seen it all before princess. Nothing's going to happen,”I promised.

"But what if they can't fix me?" she whispered so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. I was slightly taken aback by the question. Luckily Brian had stood moments before reaching for the pocket knife that he always kept in his backpack when she voiced the fear, and so he was the one to answer.

"You listen to me Poppet," he started in a gentle yet commanding voice.  "You're going to be just fine. You've got four of the best doctors in the area working on you right now."

"Im just scared," she responded, small tears rolling down her face and mixing with the blood that had started to dry from the laceration on her head.

"Ester your brother here is the head of the Emergency Response team, Connor's the head of PEDs, Dave's the head of Ortho and I'm of the Cardiovascular Department.  You are completely safe okay. I know it may not seen like it right now, but you will be okay." His tone softened slighty when he saw that she seemed to be taking on board what he was saying. "You're doing great Poppet," he added, gently stroking the side of her face, as she looked up at him.

"Tell me everything?" she asked some uncertainty still evident from the way she was gripping my hand like a vice.

" Of course, Princess you're in charge!" he agreed before saluting her jokingly. This seemed to lift her spirits a bit, as a small smile graced her face. " I'll even make you a deal. You let us do what we need to do and I'll make sure you have all the chocolate you can eat when you're discharged."

"Thanks Bri," I whispered when she wasn't paying attention. 

" Don't sweat it! Just doing my bit.”

Third person

5 minutes later

None of the four young doctors could admit it, but they were all beyond relieved when the helicopter landed, and two paramedics stepped out, bringing with them all the gear they might need. “Who do we have here?” One of them asked as he knelt next to Ester.

“This is Ester, she’s my little sister. Twenty. We're not exactly sure what happened, but basically blunt trauma.” Shawn filled the new medics in as the three other doctors went about unpacking the several bags of medical supplies, getting ready to begin more in-depth observations and stabilisation before transfer to the hospital. “We've started some basic observations, but we were limited till you got here.Possible bruised spleen, broken ribs and collapsed lung with bruising, severe concussion, dislocated left shoulder, air in chest cavity. Possible spinal, elevated hr 135, increased breath sounds, unequal, left side diminished somewhat, deep laceration to the left leg, and severe fracture to the fibia, lacerations on the face, abdominal/thoracic, dislocated right knee and suspected sciatic nerve damage.”

As Shawn rattled off the long list of injuries that they had found just from the initial observations the gravity of the situation started to hit him and he found himself having to actively calm himself so that he was able to concentrate on helping his sister. He felt like a duck, sailing smoothly on top of the pond, and paddling furiously underneath. Luckily for him his friends were better at keeping their emotions in check than he was… at least in this situation.

Brian wasted no time,taking a stethoscope that one of the paramedics handed him and listening to Ester’s chest. “Yep, there’s definitely a collapsed lung. I can hear the air. I’m going to need to put a tube in.” he grimaced as he stepped back, allowing Shawn, who had come to a little more when the other medic had handed him the penlight he had been using and asked him to check that he was correct.

"Pupils are fixed and dialated, we need to get her off this mountain now. Someone hand me a knife and Connor, can you get a line in mate? Standard of saline and pain meds please."

"Princess can I have you're hand. I'm going to give you some stuff to make you a bit more comfortable," Connor explained as he went about gathering the necessary equipment, before locating a vein and cleaning the area. " Sharp scratch bubs," he warned before the metal broke the skin, causing her eyes to water slightly. " All done, you should start to feel a little more comfy in a minute," he smiled encouragingly as Ester lifted her hand and gave a thumbs up before taking his hand in hers.

"Ester we need to remove these pants so we can stop the bleeding and splint your knee and leg," Shawn spoke earning a groan.   "I know lovely," he agreed, feeling sorry for his sister.  It had to be humiliating to be exposed like this. "You're okay sweets," he added as she cried out when the doctors moved her limbs into place to gain better access to the effected areas.

" Here, can you suck on this for me?" he asked as he handed her the green whistle, a device that held pain medication, and often sent patients a little loopy. "It only works if you keep using it honey. Focus on breathing it in okay," Shawm spoke trying to keep his sister's attention anywhere but Dave and her legs.

"This is going to hurt like hell,"  Dave whispered. As he moved around to help Shawn start to maneuver her right leg. "Look at the knee cap. She's really done a number on herself."

"I know feel horrible. I'm her brother. I don't want to see her like this," Shawn knew he wasn't technically meant to be treating her, but right now it was exactly that,a technicality. He would be damned if he would let his sister suffer. 

It was only a matter of seconds before she was begging them to stop, but they all knew that it would be more painful to stop the process half way through so continued despite the increasingly desperate sobs of their patient."Ester listen to the sound of my voice Princess," Brian spoke when they had finished, both legs satisfactorily taken care of for the time being.

Once he had gotten her a little more calm he broke the next lot of bad news.

"I need to put a chest tube in, and I need you to be brave okay."

"No," she answered immediately trying to shake her head that was now restricted by a spinal collar.

" Listen to me," he continued, " Right now your lung has a hole in it, and air is building up in the wrong spot and stopping it from inflating properly."

No more was said as they all went about numbing her up,  but once the first incision was made they felt terrible.  None of them could understand how someone that was in so much pain hadn't passed out. Ordinarily they would have put her under, but with unknown injuries it was far from safe.

" And we've got it, " Connor spoke as he checked for breath sounds.

From there everything was much more smooth sailing. They finished hooking her up to the necessary equipment- blood pressure (low at 90/50),  heart rate 160 beats per minute, oximeter and oxygen. 

When they were finally ready to leave the surrounding crowd clapped for them, and yelled out well wishes for Ester,  though she didn't hear many as she was now so loopy from the green whistle that she was trying to tell Connor that she loved the way the sunlight lit his hair, and that he should think about going into modelling. When they all started laughing she looked around very indignantly (well as best as she could)  and told them to ' not even talk' which only caused them to laugh harder.

- 35 minutes later-

They arrived at the hospital and the whole process was started again.  CT scans, x-rays, ultrasounds and surgery the list went on.

"I honestly don't know how she didn't pass out." Brian sighed as he and Connor stood just outside the door to the room in the intensive care unit she had been assigned.

" Shock," Connor answered.

The conversation was cut short however when they heard her voice " No, just leave me alone!"

"But Ester, I need to check your obs. I need to make sure your temp has come up," Dave tried to reason as he and Shawn stood beside the bed looking dismayed. "You've done so well so far!"

-Ester-

There was so much going on, that even now in my own room, nurses were in and out of my room, doctors trying to ask questions, I couldn't catch a break, I hadn't even been able to pass out. What a way to spend your birthday.  As if on cue, Dave walked in, my chart in hand.

"No," I cried, "just let me sleep!"

"What's going on?" I heard Connor ask as he came to stand by my bed with Shawn (who hadn't left my side) and Dave.

" She won't let me do her obs,"  Dave sighed causing me to glare.

" I just want to sleep!"

"Come here bug, Shawn spoke opening his arms wide, knowing that above anything else I needed love.

"Can Dave finish checking your vitals now?"

"Fine." I conceded snuggling in to Shawn's side. Feeling the most comfortable I had all day. Little did I know, but that was the start of a very long recovery  One that had ups and downs. No matter how down hearted I got though the guys never gave up. They were my heroes, and I made sure to tell them  After Brian had gotten me my chocolate as he promised of course.

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: Death of the Doctor Chapter 7

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Death of the Doctor Chapter 7 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 7/? SUMMARY: The Doctor’s death is looming on the horizon and Elise is growing every day. What the Doctor doesn’t know is that he has 200 years to teach Elise all he knows. Amy, Rory, and River let Elise in on their secret, because River knows she will keep it. What will Elise do when he’s gone? 

[A/N - We’re moving swiftly along into “Day of the Moon” and it looks like this one will be a two chapter episode. Kinda like the first one.]

River, in an evening gown, and Elise, in a matching child sized one, ran through a skyscraper under construction. River’s first instinct had been to hide in New York City. She also wanted to introduce more of earth culture to Elise.

They both had tally marks running up and down their arms. Two Silence appeared in front of them.

“I see you. I see you,” River said, making two more tally marks on her arm.

Elise did the same.

“Doctor Song? Doctor Song?” Canton’s voice sang.

Elise and River started running again.

“Go! Go! Go!” Canton yelled.

They soon came to an open wall.

“Don't move! It's over,” Canton told them.

“They're here, Canton. They're everywhere,” River said.

“I know. America's being invaded.”

“You were invaded a long time ago. America is occupied.”

“You're coming with us, Doctor Song. There's no way out this time.”

“There's always a way out.” She took Elise’s hand in her own and fell back out of the skyscraper, taking Elise with her.

Elise’s whole body flooded with relief as she heard the sound of the TARDIS engines. She and River fell into the TARDIS, through the corridors, and into the swimming pool. Not again… Elise climbed out of the pool and looked around.

At least this time it wasn’t in the library.

Elise walked back to her room and changed before following River to the control room.

River had already dried Elise’s hair and was now drying her own with a towel.

The Doctor danced around the console. “So, we know they're everywhere. Not just a landing party, an occupying force, and they 'have been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them.” He spotted Elise and scooped her up in his arms. “Oh, I’ve missed you! Have you grown?”

Elise playfully rolled her eyes, but giggled as the Doctor peppered kisses all over her face. She pushed him away. The beard he’d grown was scratchy.

“Don’t like the beard, huh?” he asked.

Elise shook her head.

The Doctor set her down and she ran over to Amy and Rory to hug them.

“So what are they up to?” Canton asked.

“No idea. But the good news is, we've got a secret weapon,” the Doctor told him.

The TARDIS landed and they ran outside to see a big rocket.

“Apollo 11's your secret weapon?” River asked the Doctor.

“No, no. It's not Apollo 11. That would be silly. It's Neil Armstrong's foot.”

They went back inside the TARDIS and waited while the Doctor cleaned himself up. When he came back into the control room, he was holding a small gun. He first walked over to Canton and injected something into the palm of his hand.

“Ow!” Canton said.

“So, three months. What have we found out?” the Doctor asked walking over to Rory. While Rory was talking, the Doctor injected him.

“Well, they are everywhere. Every state in America. Ow!”

“Not just America, the entire world,” River said.

The Doctor injected Amy.

“So you've seen them, but you don't remember them,” Canton said.

“You've seen them, too. That night at the warehouse, remember? While you were pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like,” River told him.

“It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away. The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything,” Rory said.

“Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always,” Amy added.

“So that's why you marked your skin,” Canton said.

“Only way we'd know if we'd had an encounter.”

“How long have they been here?”

“That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out.”

“Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover,” Rory said.

“How long do you think?” Canton asked.

“As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall. They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins,” the Doctor said.

“How?” Canton asked.

“Like this.” He reached down and injected River.

“Ow!”

The Doctor laughed. “Nanorecorder. Fuses with the cartilage in your hand.” He injected himself. “Ow. And it tunes itself directly to the speech centers in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So, the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it…” He pressed down on the center of his palm with his ring finger. “…and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing.”

A recording of the Doctor’s voice played. “And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing.” “Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened. The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand if you've had an encounter. That's the first you'll know about it,” the Doctor finished.

“Why didn't you tell me this before we started?” Canton asked.

“I did, but even information about these creatures erases itself over time. I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you.”

Canton looked away for a second and then looked back at the Doctor, adjusting his bow tie. He noticed everyone staring at him. “What? What are you staring at?” he asked.

“Look at your hand,” River told him.

His nanorecorder was flashing. “Why is it doing that?”

“What does it mean if the light's flashing? What did I just tell you?” the Doctor asked.

“I haven't…”

“Play it.”

“My God, how did it get in here?” Canton’s voice on the recorder asked.

“Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie,” the Doctor told him.

“What? What are you staring at?”

“Look at your hand,” River said.

They all turned and saw one of the Silence standing there.

“It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone. Take a good, long look,” the Doctor told them. He turned off the hologram. “You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting. Describe it to me.”

“I can't,” Canton said.

“No. Neither can I. You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature.”

“So they could do that to people. You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it,” Amy said as the Doctor pulled the monitor around.

“Like posthypnotic suggestion,” Rory added.

“Ruling the world with posthypnotic suggestion?”

“Now then, a little girl in a spacesuit. They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?” the Doctor asked.

“It could be anywhere,” Canton said.

“Except they'd probably stay close to that warehouse, because why bother doing anything else? And they'd take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention. But you'll have to find her. Elise and I are off to NASA.”

“Find her? Where do we look?”

The Doctor looked at the monitor. “Children's homes. But before we do anything else, Ellie…” He picked up the gun again.

River pulled Elise behind her. “Oh no. You are not injecting her,” River argued.

“And why not?” the Doctor asked.

“Because she’s a child.”

“That doesn’t matter River, she needs one.”

“Says who? She’ll be with one of us at all times.”

“River…”

“Doctor, you come one step closer to her with that…”

The Doctor finally sighed and put down the gun. “Fine!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elise stood outside the Apollo 11 rocket as the Doctor messed around the inside of it. As she was standing there, two scientists came in. Elise tugged on the Doctor’s pant leg.

Amy called and he answered. “Amy. How do you know? Repeated memory wipes fry your head eventually. Find out what you can, but don't hang around. Got to go. Got company.” He closed the panel he had been working on and sat up. “Don't worry, I've put everything back the way I found it.” He held up a spare part. “Except this. There's always a bit left over, isn't there?” The Doctor climbed out and he and Elise were escorted into a lecture hall and handcuffed.

Elise’s wrists were too small for handcuffs, so they had settled for zip-ties, which the Doctor didn’t appreciate.

“Now, one more time, sir. How the hell did you get into the command module?” a man interrogated them.

“I told you. I'm on a top secret mission for the President and Elise is my assistant. She’s a child prodigy,” the Doctor said.

“Well, maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell.”

“I sent him a message.”

President Nixon walked in with Rory and River. “Hello. I believe its Mr. Gardner. Is that correct? Head of Security?” Nixon asked.

“Er, yes sir. Yes, Mr. President.”

Nixon turned to the other man and shook his hand. “Mr. Grant, is it?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today at Cape Kennedy, and you're the men who guard those dreams. On behalf of the American people, I thank you.”

“You're welcome, Mr. President,” Gardner said.

“I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr. Grant.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?”

“Just a healthy American, sir.”

Nixon laughed. “A healthy American will do just nicely. Now, fellows, listen. This man, here, code name the Doctor and his protégé, are doing some work for me personally. Could you cut them a little slack?”

“Er, Mr. President, they did break into Apollo 11,” Gardner said.

Nixon looked at the Doctor who mouthed, “Sorry.”

Elise rolled her eyes, causing River to smile.

Nixon laughed awkwardly. “Well, I'm sure they had a very good reason for that. But I need you to release them now so they can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?”

“Well…” Grant said.

“Son, I am your Commander in Chief.”

“Then I guess that would be fine, Mr. President.”

“Glad to hear it.”

The Doctor had his handcuffs removed and jumped up from his chair.

Elise followed him, her wrists still bound. She walked over to River, who placed a hand on her upper back to lead her to the TARDIS to cut the zip-tie off.

They entered the TARDIS and River walked over to her jacket and pulled out a pocket knife. She knelt in front of Elise and cut the zip-tie. “Arresting a child…” she muttered.

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor followed Nixon out.

River’s device started ringing and she answered it. “Canton? Whoa. Slow down. What’s happened?”

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

In and out (Part 4) (Nathan Drake x Male reader)

Read: Part one  Part two  Part three

Description: There was a deal between Elena and Nathan to make her way to Yemen for managing to get them to the city. But plans don’t go so easily as they should. Well, isn’t that pretty common thing for Nathan & Co.™?

Warnings: None really, just Florence being a goofball and Sully being a lovely fiancé.

A/N (not so typical maybe): I want you to give the feeling of actually reading some book about Uncharted guys, I want to honor it, I want it to be good for you. If you have anything you would like to change, just write it to me. Thank you!

A/N: We’re starting to get somewhere actually and I am happy that we did! We’ll hop on to the actual story in a few next chapters, I promise!  Just hate me like I hate myself. I am just trash for slow burn fics. Again, inspired by Uncharted 4: Nathan Drake playlist on Spotify. And for some better feeling of Sully’s and Flo’s relationship, you can use For Better Or Worse playlist on Spotify. (link here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3q1ZkxeHshhd2M9pKBRc7F)

So Elena couldn’t even make it to Yemen. She was at some time press because of some article she had to write about Bali, so he managed to contact Y/N in Yemen and asked him to watch over the trio while she couldn’t. 

“So, these passes will get you through the most of the checkpoints in the city. Elena said that she makes probably a huge mistake, but still.” Y/N pointed at small plastic cards with their photo on it. Nathan looked at the photo pretty miserable - tired, old and just nasty. And he knew that Elena used that photo exactly because of that. Florence had her museum pass photo there and she actually looked like a nice person, which couldn't be said she was in person. And Sully just looked like... Sully. 

“And I shouldn’t be worried about your bags, don’t I?” Y/N smiled with a playful spark in his eyes, but Florence’s eyes widened. Sully and Nate always brought a small personal gun with them, anywhere and anytime. But her set of knives couldn’t be hidden as easily as a small Parra od revolver. She had a sheat on her back with two of her favorite kukris there and she looked like she committed a sin. 

But Sully smiled at her so she understood that Y/N was only joking. If he wasn't, that wouldn't be only partially fucked up, that would be seriously fucked up. But they managed to walk to the small airport without any checking points or whatsoever.

“So you’re all journalists now, you will have to show some respect for the culture.” Y/N told to all of them over the shoulder and Nate just looked at Sully with a playful smile in his eyes.

“You think you can do that?” Nathan teased Sully openly and he heard the typical chuckle of his. 

“I think he’s talking directly to you, Nate.” Sully smiled a bit, looking at Florence. She has been directly cursing for a few minutes straight. In a low voice, but still.

“What’s the matter?” Y/N asked and Florence looked up as if they caught her doing something seriously nasty. Her hands were on her belt which seemed to not work. 

“I think mine buckle has broken. How am I supposed to walk here now? They’ll most probably set me on fire if they see my underwear, boys.” Flo laughed, still trying to repair the buckle. Nathan laughed then and took down his old, big, Texas buckle and gave it to her to repair her belt. “Respect the culture, understood, Carter?”

“Just don’t talk about burning someone alive or stoning at all, and I will do the rest.” Sully joked alongside Nate and she just laughed. 

“You seem like a bunch of funny people.” Y/N said with a serious tone, actually afraid of the consequences of leaving them all alone in Yemen. They looked like they can manage in hand-to-hand combat but they haven't any notion about the Arabian nor Muslim culture. They’ll most likely get arrested if they stayed there on their own. “Elena didn’t mention that.” 

“Oh, she actually spoke with you... About us?” Nathan started to listen at one moment and looked at Y/N with a curious face. All of them managed to get through a small terminal alongside Y/N, following him. 

Florence didn’t feel safe in there with all of the man judging her by pretty harsh looks. She regretted that she can’t hold Sully’s hand in hers as they continued on their way. They stopped in front of the airport, Y/N looking her directly to the face. 

“Is everything all right, Miss Carter?” He asked, slowly bending to her. Florence slowly took her glasses down and gulped out loud. 

“I’m just afraid of harassment from those men. They watched me like a piece of fucking meat, L/N.” She whispered and at that moment, some switch turned on in Sully, he was immediately ready to punch those guys to the face and say them to leave his fiancé fucking alone.

“I got an idea!” Y/N exclaimed at once and Flo just watched him, holding Sully’s shoulder in her hand, making him stand at one place. “Any of you got any rings?” Y/N looked at all of them and Florence nodded slowly. 

“I have my engagement ring with me.” She laughed quietly and searched for in knapsack to find a little white box. “I don’t like to wear it usually, but I have it with me all the time.” She smiled and Nathan just saw Victor’s face softening at her statement. Nate just turned around and smiled to himself. 

“It’ll help a lot in here, trust me. And you should cover your limbs more, that will help too.” Y/N said kindly and Flo slowly put on her ring again. 

She hadn't wear it in the last few years, because of Sullivan’s disappearance from her life. She got through some things when she was a single lady and she made her mind - even though she loved Sully with everything she got, she didn’t want to get married anymore. She liked the things how they were. Being together, enjoying the life and the time they just laid down on the bed and slept next to one another. What would be that commitment of marriage for? What would a thing like that improve? 

And since he got back to her, she didn't wear the ring, and she was just enjoying that they are actually back together. But it stated something different for Sullivan - it stated that their relationship went back on point zero and that it was so fragile that he could actually just break everything with a single shitty blow of air. 

So seeing that ordinary little ring made from silver in her finger just moved him like a person. It felt like she was committing herself to him a bit more again.

“Hey mate, back to my question.” Nathan interrupted that little intense moment between everyone so they don’t get sentimental too much - he was basically helping Sully to keep his cool image. “Elena Fisher talked about us?” Nathan looked at both of his friends and they looked concerned too. 

“She mentioned your past a bit,” Y/N answered, slowly walking forwards again. 

“What did she tell ya?” Sully asked with raised eyebrows and Y/N smiled at him over his shoulder. “That I should watch your activities. You didn't come to do something shady, don't you?”

“No,” Nate answered and he sounded like a little girl. His voice always started to get higher when he was nervous. Florence punched him to the back, giving that don't you dare to tell him anything look. “We’re here for some historical research.” He looked at Florence and she nodded with a pleased look on her face. 

“So because of that, you needed to make those passes from one day to another, right? They found something new or what’s the big rush?” Y/N grinned Nathan directly to the face. Fisher told him some things about that trio - she, Florence Carter, that little one with ginger hair, was a skilled kukri fighter working in her fiancé’s bar and in the local state museum of New Orleans, directly on the department of Sir Francis Drake. She definitely could say something she shouldn't in front of those two, giving them intel and tips where to go next. 

Nathan Drake was a privateer, private detective, fortune seeker and a treasure hunter with a huge weak spot for the historical artifact and cities - so much, he just destroyed a few of them out of pure passion. Or that was Y/N told. 

Victor Goddamn Sullivan was a name he heard of before. He was a big fish in the business industry circling around artifacts. He sold some very interesting pieces in the past, Y/N was on his auction once and that was a pretty wild and interesting experience for him. He also runs a bar in the New Orleans, which is co-runed by his fiancée too. 

So naturally, Y/N sensed that they aren't in Yemen out of pure adventurous enjoyment or whatever. And Fisher told him she thinks that too. 

“Exactly, because of historical research,” Nathan confirmed in a tight voice, making Flo grinned at his words. 

“So no cursed treasures?” Y/N asked with a playful voice. He was actually pretty curious about what they were after. 

“Nope.”

“No diabolical warlords?”

“No,” Nate exhaled and that was the moment Y/N realized that there’s more into his words. Even though Nathan acted like nothing happened, the man who walked next to him stopped, looking him directly to Nathan’s blue eyes. 

“You are the worst liar I have ever seen.” He laughed and Nathan’s jaw tensed a little bit. Nathan felt trapped at that point and he seriously hated that feeling. 

“So that what she told you about us, isn't it? That we are a bunch of liars and not to trust us a single word, didn’t she?” Nate dropped his bag in a furious reaction to the man’s words. Y/N wanted to say something, but Sully stepped forward.

“Where is our car?” Sully asked, watching the man like a seriously tensed tennis match. He slowly bent for Nathan’s bag and walked back next to Florence. ¨

“That red Jeep out there.” Y/N pointed out with a soft smile. 

“I and Florence will go there with our bags, gentlemen.” Sully gave them space for a little more opened talk, but Flo didn't follow him immediately. “Just try to not catch any more attention, ok?” She asked and then left.  

"Fisher didn't say anything like that, Nathan. I promise." Y/N tried to calm him down, but that only pumped more adrenaline into Nathan's veins.

"Didn't sound like she said something nice, L/N." Nathan fired up and stepped forward so fastly, that an old silver ring just popped from his white t-shirt. Y/N looked directly at it and watched it, it was an old ring scratched on many places with tiny letters on it. It looked very old. And he looked Nathan to the eyes with a smile widening on his lips, without Y/N even knowing about it.

Nathan knew that smile because he got that smile a lot too - Y/N heard the lure of adventure and Nate would bet a hundred bucks that his heart beat faster and heavier.

"So this is why are you here? Does the ring have some links to Sir Francis Drake?" He looked at Nathan a Nate just rolled his eyes over and stepped backward.

"She told you that too?" Nate whispered. What did he know? That he was Elena's legal husband? That they split up? That he was actually fond of seeing her here and even fonder that she actually didn't come? "In fact, my research just showed to be true all along. I just need to continue in the research." Nathan pointed down to the ground as he was getting more and more passionate. "He came here. Drake actually came here four hundred years ago."

"You sound like an obsessed person."

"Hold your horses, cowboy. I can take care of myself, alright?" Nathan answered and he was pretty offended by Y/N's tone. And that little bastard didn't answer, he just looked at Sullivan without a word and it was all that he needed to do to make Nathan grumpy again.

"I just heard that mister Sullivan is a loyal person, Mister Drake. Elena told me that he would go to the end of the world just for you. And I think that you should don't make him." Y/N whispered and looked at Sullivan with Nate following his look with his. He was smoking one of his cigars again, leaning his back next to the spot where was Florence sitting and laughing at some of his jokes with an extremely happy face.

“That’s none of your business,” Nate whispered stubbornly and walked directly to the car. Elena and her doctrines, just making sure that everyone believes her truth. 

“All set?” Sully asked and climbed to the front seat with Florence sitting down behind his back. 

“I would say so,” Nathan answered coldly and sat next to Florence. She hugged his shoulder and smiled at him. 

“It would be nice if you dropped us on the edge of the city...” Sully asked Y/N and he laughed as he climbed on driver’s seat. He started the motor and starting to drive from the airport.

“Not a chance, Mister Sullivan. Fisher said you're my responsibility now.”